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brelione · 4 years

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Kind Of A Cinderella Story (Sarah Cameron X Reader)

Request:37 from prompt list 2 with Sarah?+More Sara Cameron dating a Gardener pls

Warnings:This is trash and for some reason took me like three hours to write.Isnt proof read,implications of smut kind of.

Sarah was sick of her life.It was the same thing over and over again.She had to pretend to be this elegant,proper girl when all she wanted ot do was have fun.She felt like a puppet,being told what to wear and who to hang out with.She ahd been set up with countless kook boys that wanted nothing other than a girl to use as a sex object.She hated it.

Everyone thought that she was some perfect kook queen with no problems in her life but they couldnt be more wrong.People called her a whore for cheating on her boyfriends but all she wanted was to be loved.Like,genuinely loved for something other than her appearance.It was a process of trial and error.Ward would introduce her to one preppy kook boy with gelled back hair and toxic masculinity in a never ending cycle,hoping ot find the perfect fit.

Little did he know that she didnt want any kooks there was.She didnt even want any boys,no matter eif they were a pogue or a kook.Her heart was set on one pogue girl that didnt know how to match her pants to her shirt and had pierced her nose with a paperclip.She found her heart speeding up,trying not to smile or let out a nervous laugh whenever she saw said pogue even walk by.

You had always envied the kooks.While you worked at a bakery for 16 hours three days a week,living from pay check to pay check they were living it up in their huge mansions and getting their nails done with diamonds and gold.

You didnt even have a refrigerator or a microwave,you just kept what needed to be cold in a cooler that you had found on the side of the road two years ago.The bakery could only pay you so much so you decided that you might need another job.

It was either that or start stealing things.You chose the first option,unfortunately.Upon hearing that Ward Cameron was looking for someone to plant flowers and cut weeds in his garden you had volunteered for it.That’s what got you to this point,mud on your cheekbones,little scratches on your palms as you secured another bundle of impatiens into the soil.

The grass was still damp from the early morning rain,you were obviously tired and planning on going back to bed once you got back home.That was when the kook princess,Sarah Cameron,came running out of her house with a butter knife in her hand,demanding to know who you were and what you were doing in her backyard.You wiped your slightly bloody hands on your jeans,grinning.

“Im the gardener,Ward hired me last week.”You explained,smiling when a look of realisation came across the kook’s face,dropping the butter knife into the grass. “Oh-im so sorry!Im Sarah,they didnt tell me they hired you so I got scared.”She looked down at the butter knife,a blush coming across her cheeks.

After that first encounters she was desperate to speak to you again,having to wait a whole week until you came around to pull the weeds from the garden.She had considered stomping on the plants so you’d be forced to stay around longer but that would be pretty rude of her if she wanted to make a good impression.She had checked the weather,seeing that it was gonna be over 100 degrees.

That meant she had a perfect reason to speak to you without being strange.She’d come out after ten minutes of you being there and offer you a cold drink inside and when you were distracted with your drink she’d ask you questions about yourself and then boom.

You two would fall in love.It sounded like a great plan in her head.The night before the day you were due to come over she had set a blue gatorade in the fridge,preparing.But then she saw you out her window and became weak.Her legs were shaking as she took the gatorade out of the fridge,pacing around the kitchen with teh bottle in hand,taking in big breaths as she prepared herself.

With one last,deep breath she opened the back slider door,putting a smile on her face as she walked up behind you as you put long weeds into a bucket,your sleeves rolled up and sweat on your face. “Weather kind of sucks today,figured you needed a drink.”She licked her lips,wanting to redo.That just didnt sound right at all.You looked up at her,squinting from the sun that shined around her almost like a halo.

“Thanks,climate change is a real bitch.”You took the gatorade,opening it and taking a sip,some of the blue energy drink dripping down your chin. “Oh my god,I know.Don't even get me started on whats happening with the sharks in New England!The government is full of shit!”She exclaimed,not as nervous as she had been before.

You nodded in agreement. “Yeah,just like our oceans!In twenty years there will be more plastic than fish,I hate this world so much.”You sighed,sitting in the grass as you took another sip of the cold drink. “Do you want to come inside and talk about this?We’ll both get sunburned if we stay out here too long.”her hands went to her pockets,something that always happened when she was anxious.

You shrugged,standing up. “Yeah,ok.”You replied,following her.You were hesitant to actually step inside the house,figuring one of the tiles was probably worth your whole paycheck.You sat awkwardly at the counter,drinking the gatorade until there was barely anything left.

She grabbed you a water bottle and offered you a sandwhicih.You said yes of course,thanking her when a ham and cheese sandwich on a blue plate was placed in front of you. “You know what else I hate?”You asked,taking a small bite off the corner of the sandwich.She hummed,looking up.

“How organizations protecting endangered species are being defunded by the government!It’s trash.”You sighed,becoming increasingly more angry.SHe nodded,agreeing. “Same with deforestation!If the government was taking away tv’s everyone would freak out but of course when they cut down our source of oxygen its fine!”She smacked her palms off the table.

“I say we poison them all with wolfsbane and give Mother Nature her shit back.”You wiped some mustard from your cheek,making her grin.Once you finished the sandwich you insisted on getting back to work,groaning when the sun hit your skin again.She had sat by the pool,telling you that you could go for a swim when you finished working if you wanted to.

You tugged dandelions from the garden,it was your last task of the day which meant that you got it done as quick as possible,placing them into the bucket when you got a good idea.You took them back out,forming the weeds into a crown of yellow,grinning at your creation before presenting it to Sarah. “Figured the queen needed a crown.”Was al you said,placing it on her head before flashing a peace sign and beginning your walk home.

Sarah waited another seven days to see you.The sun didnt shine so bright,her hair felt lifeless and her smile just couldnt look right.She felt herself falling for you,not even bothering to fight off the feelings.Tuesday night,the night before you would be coming over she prepped herself.She made a ham and cheese sandwich with mustard and lettuce,wrapping it up and putting it in her fridge along with a blue gatorade.

She practiced how to do a cute bun that she had seen on her pinterest feed,picking out an outfit that would make her look nice without being too over the top.She ended up showering at two in the morning,making sure she would smell nice and her hair wouldnt be greasy.She woke up with drool tunning down her chin,her alarm loud.She groaned,wiping her face and checking the time.

She had a text from her dad to let her know that he and Rose had taken Wheezie to the beach and Rafe was off doing whatever it was that Rafe does.She sat in her living room,staring out the window as she waited for you to appear and walk around her house into the backyard.She grinned when she saw you,light overalls and a rainbow striped shirt,deep tan work boots and a tired look on your face as you opened the gate in the fence,walking around to the backyard.

She let out a soft sigh as she wiped her hands on her shirt,making sure there were no wrinkles as she grabbed the sandwich from the fridge,tucking it under her arm and holding the gatorade in her hand,opening the slider door with the other.She closed it,the hot humid air hitting her in a huge contrast from the cold air conditioned house.

“Hey,Sar.”You grinned,noticing that there wasnt much work that need to be done today.She held out the wrapped up sandwich to you along with the drink,crossing her arms awkwardly. “Do you want to come inside?”She asked,peeling at her white nail polish.You licked your lips,standing up and brushing off your pants before picking up the gatorade and sandwich,sitting at the kitchen table and eating. “So like,can I ask you a question?”She asked,leaning her elbows on the table.

You raised an eyebrow at her,swallowing the sandwich that you had in your mouth with a swig of gatorade. “I hate when people ask that.Are you gonna ask if I murdered someone cause the answer is no.”You said quickly,trying not to let your brain run wild.

You hadnt done anything wrong.Maybe you fucked up the order fo the flowers? “Oh,oh cool.But um….Like,what would you do if I accidentally kissed you?”She asked,making your eyes widen.Her heart beat only got quicker as the monet of silence lasted longer,a tension growing between the two of you.

“I dont know...thats never happened before.”You answered,avoiding her eyes.She blushed,leaning down quick and pecking your lips,pulling away just as quick. “Love that.”You answered,biting your lip lightly,trying not to laugh.

“Love you.”She answered,her face beet red.You smiled,looking up at her. “Love you too.”You answered,hearing the door open a few seconds later,Wheezie walking in,her skin slightly more tanned than it had been when she left. “Uhh...hi?”She frowned,looking at you but deciding not to question it before going up the stairs and into her room.

Ward and Rose came in soon after her,the same look on their faces. “Arent you the gardener?”Rose asked,coming into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of wine. “She’s done with her work for the day.”Sarah answered quickly,looking over to Ward.

He didnt say anything,feeling that there was something going on between the two of you but deciding to stay quiet.You and Sarah had been dating in somewhat secrecy for a month and you no longer came over on just Wednesday’s to pull weeds.You came over pretty much everyday,going swimming or going to the beach with your lovely girlfriend.

You laid on your stomach on her bed,head on one of her many pillows,the show Lucifer playing on her large tv. “We should do something.”She spoke confidently,a mischevious grin on her face.You sighed,sitting up. “Like what?”You asked,knowing that she would probably suggest something ridiculous.

She smirked,grabbing her purse. “We’re gonna go shopping.”It wasnt even a question,just a straight out statement.You shook your head,going back to laying down when she grabbed at your ankles,trying to drag you off the bed. “Please?”She pouted,trying to get you to crack.

You simply rolled your eyes,reminding her that you didnt have the money for that type of thing.She sighed,grabbing your hands and pulling you up but you refused to go down without a fight,purposely pushing her backwards by wrapping your arms around her like a toddler.

“No.”You muttered,your nose in her blonde hair.You stared ahead of you,passing by trees and large houses,getting to the rich kook side of the island near the shopping boutiques and gold clubs. “I hate you.”You sighed as she pulled into a shop parking lot,a grin on her face. “I love you too.”She answered,opening the car door for you and making you get out.

“What if I buy you icecream after?”She asked,trying to get you to be less miserable,succeeding when your face lit up. “Like the fancy kind in a dipped waffle cone with the sprinkles?”You asked,willing to try on clothes if it meant getting to the sweet cold treat.

She nodded,complying with your request,holding your hand and bringing you inside.It didnt feel right for you to be here,even the lights looked expensive.There werent even carts,fabric bags instead.Thats how you could tell just how expensive everything here would be. “Sarah,this is ridiculous.”You mumbled as she dragged you over to some t shirts that had stripes but even they looked expensive,the material thick and durable between your fingers.

You gripped the price tag,eyes widening. “This shit is $130!”You exclaimed,letting go of it.She smiled,shaking her head. “Suck it up,buttercup.”Was all she had to say,finding your size and placing it into the fabric bag when a worker came up to the two of you. “Can I help you ladies?”He asked.You answered a wuick no but was overpowered by Sarah. “Yes,yes please.

Im thinking a whole new vibe for her,maybe like eighties meets surfing.”She tried to explain her ideas,somehow the sentence made sense in the man’s head as he guided the two of you through the store,showing you both sundresses,ripped jeans,pastel collared shirts,headbands and earrings.

He watched from a far as Sarah held up the clothing next to your body,holding others near your hair as she tried to decide on what she wanted you to try on.She decided a light yellow shirt,some light washed jeans,a pair of shorts that were dark blue with gold stars,a purple sweatshirt with the word ‘lovely’ on it,a set of cream colored underwear with a matching bra,a gold headband with flowers on it,a pair of boyfriend jeans,or as she called them,girlfriend jeans.

You didnt even give an opinion on any of the clothes she was putting into the bag,thinking about what kind of icecream you were going to get,snapping out of your thoughts when she told you to start trying things on.

She had requested that you took mirror pictures in everything you tried on and asked that you send them to her as she went to the jewelry counter,supposedly getting a spot on her gold necklace fixed.You took your time trying on clothes,trying not to become to insecure about it.

You took the photos quickly,plowing your way through the outfits,getting to the set of bra and panties.You slid on the underwear over the ones you were already wearing,seeing the sign on the dressing room wall that said not to try on undergarments on your bare body.You simply pulled on the bra over your breasts,not seeing a policy for that.

The fabric was soft and the bra held up your breasts perfectly,the cream colored lace straps tickling your skin.You snapped a few photos in the set,feeling a bit of heat rush to your face when the door opened,Sarah sticking her head in. “Are you checking yourself out?”She asked,a smirk on her face.You placed your hands over your face,laughing.

“Shut up.”You answered,letting her see what you looked like in the set.She did indeed shut up,biting her lip as she looked you up and down. “Yeah,we’re buying that.”She nodded,asking to see the photos and closing the door behind her.You scrolled through the photos,her head on your shoulder and kissing it lightly as she looked at them,nodding.

“Ooh that sweater is cute as hell.”She took the phone,zooming in. “So lets go look at some bathing suits and maybe get you some more bras...and then we can leave.”She grinned,gulping as she tried not to let her thoughts get the best of her.

You changed back into your normal paper thin striped shirt,shitty bra and overalls,putting the clothes back into the bag and walking back out,seeing her sitting in the chair with a grin on her face as if she knew something you didnt. “Look at how cute this bikini is!Your boobs would look good-we’re getting it.”She said quickly,putting a white one piece into the bag.

“Sarah-this is gonna cost like,a million dollars.”You grumbled,not really approving what your girlfriend was doing.She rolled her eyes,not worrying about it as she grabbed an ash colored bralette and underwear set,finally done picking clothes for you,dragging you to the counter to pay.You werent paying attention to anything the cashier was saying,only watching the total go up until it hit the point of $830.

What the actual fuck?Sarah simply swiped her card,taking the white and gold paper bag with a grin,pulling you along as you tried to get over the fact that she had just payed so much so carelessly.You two ended up back in the car,the bag in the backseat as you were still struggling to wrap your head around it.

“You okay?”She asked,noticing the look on your face. “You just spent an entire month of bills on clothes.”You whispered,making a smile come across her face. “That’s okay.”She answered,backing out of the parking lot and making her way to the icecream shop.

“Do you want to go to the beach to eat our icecream or do you want to go back to the house and model for me?”She asked,hoping you’d pick the second option.You shrugged,not really caring as long as you got your icecream. “yeah,you’re modeling for me.”She decided for you,turning on the radio. “Yeah?”You asked.

She hummed in response.The drive was quiet,your chin on your palm,the cool air of the air conditioning on your skin and the hot of the sun on your arm. “I feel like Cinderella right now.”You admitted,making the blonde laugh. “What do you mean by that?”She asked,curious.

You shrugged,turning down the radio. “I mean,you’re my beautiful fairy goddess and you just bought me some kook clothes and i’m used to cooking for people and pulling weed from rich people’s gardens...its like im becoming one of you.”You mumbled,her hand squeezing your thigh.

“You say it like we’re vampires, (Y/N).”She shook her head,pulling up to the icecream parlor,getting out of the car.You both walked up to the metal counter,looking at the menu.She got the same thing everytime.A medium cotton candy scoop in a chocolate sprinkled cone with whipped cream.

It was colorful and over the top,just like her.You decided on a rainbow milkshake which was layers of cotton candy icecream,strawberry,black raspberry,orange creamsicle and lemon all in one cup topped with whipped cream.

After getting your icecream you two went right back to the car,Sarah playing Lucifer on her phone and placing it between the two of you as she struggled to eat her icrecream quick enough so it wouldnt fall off or melt.She rested her icecream cone in the cupholder,driving back to the house,running up to her room with you close behind her,the white and gold bag tucked under her arm.

She ate the cone,getting to the end of it when she asked you to try on the bathing suit.You rolled your eyes,stripping of your overalls and t shirt,earning a quiet whistle from her.You sent her a quick wink,pulling the bathing suit up your body,pushing your arms through,your cleavage showing.

“Yeah,I was right.Your boobs look great.”She grinned,opening her drawers and picking out her pink bathing suit,changing into it right in front of you. “Lets go out to the pool.”She suggested,grabbing two towels from her drawer.The two of you sat in the cool water,the sun making it hard to look at. “I’ve got to get back to the house soon.”You mumbled,floating on your back.

She frowned,standing up in the shallow water. “Why?Cant you just sleep over?”She asked,not wanting you to go.You shook your head,figuring that it wouldnt be wise to spend another night. “I cant let the place get messy.”You answered,wringing out your hair.She pouted,understanding.

“You have to leave now?”She asked.You shrugged,sitting on the steps. “Probably soon,i’ve got to check the mail too.”You replied,stepping onto the hot concrete.She sighed,lifting herself out of the water and offering you a ride home.

You said yes,giving her a quick kiss before leaving the car,your backpack clinging to your shoulders,the store bag in hand. “I love you.”She grinned as you closed the car door. “Love you too,pretty girl.”You replied before going inside your small house.It was hot,dust on the counters and cabinets.

The coolers ice had melted,leaving cans of sprite to float in the water that was left.You sighed,going into your room and letting your backpack fall onto your mattress that stayed on the floor.You took the clothes from the store bag,putting them on hangers and letting them hang in your closet,far away from the one other pair of overalls you owned.You grinned at the splash of color in your dull home,ending up falling asleep on your stomach on top of your mattress,face in the blankets you had collected over the years.

Sarah looked in the mirror at her tube top that was covering a honey colored bralette that you liked so much,a pair of white jeans over matching yellow panties that you liked so much.

She tied her hair into a messy bun,letting out a soft sigh,grabbing her keys and getting ready to surprise you at your house.It had only been a few hours but she already missed you.She jogged down the stairs quick,close to leaving when Rose interferred.

“Where are you going?”She asked,looking at the outfit.Sarah cursed in her head,turning to look at her step mother. “Out.”She replied,not in the mood for her bullshit.Rose crossed her arms,a knowing smirk on her face. “Out where?”She pushed,acting like an annoying fifth grader.Sarah completely understood where Wheezie got it,Rose equally as annoying as the thirteen year old.

“Out on a date.”Sarah answered,glaring.Rose’s eyebrows furrowed,surprised. “Yeah?”She asked,raising an eyebrow.Sarah nodded. “Yeah.”She repeated,hand on the door knob. “With who?”Rose asked,really testing Sarah’s patience.

“With someone im interested in.”Sarah replied,venom dripping from her voice. “Hes got a job?”Rose asked.Sarah nodded. “Yeah.”She answered,sick of this interrogation. “What does he do?”Rose asked.Sarah rolled her eyes,nearly laughing at how clueless she was.

“Gardening.”Sarah replied,squeezing the door knob tightly.Rose frowned,a sympathetic smile on her face. “Sarah,he’s probably gay.”She whispered.Sarah chuckled,opening the door. “Yeah,she is.”Sarah answered,slamming the door behind her.

When she showed up to your house she let out an anxious sigh,standing at your door.She had never actually been inside before,knocking gently.Of course you couldnt hear her in your sleep though.She opened the door,frowning at the built up dust and lack of color.

She found your room easily,the one room that had a door.She knocked on it,not hearing anything and growing concerned,opening it quickly.She calmed down when she saw you asleep on your matress,hair messy.She smiled,taking a photo and sitting down on the mattress next to you.Your eyes fluttered open,squinting up at her. “Hi.”She smiled down at you.

You sat up,confused.The sun was nearly completely down,teh sky pink and purple. “Sarah?”You asked.She nodded,a grin on her face. “What are you doing here?”You asked,not really understanding why she was in your house or why she would want to be in your house.

It was messy and small and you hadnt been ready for her to see it yet.She shrugged,laying down with you. “I dont know,I missed you.”She shrugged,arms around your waist and head on your chest.You smiled,kissing her head. “I didnt end up cleaning,got tired I guess.”You replied,enjoying the warmth of her body.

She pouted,sitting up straight. “Its hot in here.”She mumbled,making you frown. “I mean yeah,I dont have air conditioning so-”You stopped talking when she peeled off her shirt and shorts,leaving her in one of your favorite sets that she owned.You nodded,agreeing. “Yeah,it is hot in here.”You agreed.

@outerbongs @copper-boom @httpstarkey @teenwaywardasgardian @drewswannabegirl @simonsbluee @jiaraendgame @khiaraaa-in-spacee @on-socks-off @poguestyleskye @jjtheangel @dannii-li @lovelyelinor

If you’d like to be tagged in all future JJ imagines/headcannons/series comment with a heart,if you’d like to be tagged in all future Pope imagines/headcannons/series comment with a smiling face,if you’d like to be tagged in all future Rafe imagines/headcannons/series comment with a frowning face,if you’d like to be tagged in all future Kiara imagines/headcannons/series comment with a question mark and if you’d like to be tagged in all future Sarah Cameron imagines/headcannons/series comment with a plus sign.If you’d like to be tagged in all Kelce content coment with a “>” and if youd like to be tagged in all Topper content comment with a “%”.Or if thats too complicated you can just comment whose name you’d like to be tagged in.

#sarah cameron #sarah cameron x reader #sarah cameron imagine #sarah cameron x you #obx sarah #sarah cameron headcannon #sarah cameron smut #sarah cameron fluff #madelyn cline #outerbanks

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tarisilmarwen · 4 years

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RobStar Week 2020, Day 5 - Rescue

(This one was my second favorite to do.)

---

Cinderblock bellowed as he pitched the lifted piece of metal scaffolding at them. Cyborg ducked and Beast Boy morphed into a sparrow to evade but Robin caught the piece full in the stomach, grunting and doubling over as it knocked him from his feet, carrying him clean over the side of the pier and into the water below.

The chilly autumn saltwater blasted around his head and body in a stream of furious bubbles as he hit, and the scaffolding sank into the bay, down, down, dragging Robin down with it.

Robin struggled against its weight several moments. A sliver of panic poked through him as he felt his back hit the muddy bottom.

He looked up frantically towards the surface, not even fifteen feet above him, but still agonizingly far away. His hands pulled on a beam, tugging, hands slipping around the slick metal.

The heavy piece of construction material wouldn't budge. It had settled on the harbor floor, wedging him in place, pinned down by the corner pressing into his stomach.

Robin's legs kicked loosely. His hands scrabbed at the beam on his midsection, fumbling towards his belt, but his tools were just underneath the thick metal in a way that made them inaccessible and his throat was tightening and he was running out of breath.

His wide eyes flashed up towards the rippling ocean surface and the air above him, horribly out of reach.

***

On the other side of the construction site, Starfire and Raven blasted twin streams of energy into the sloppy, gelatinous pieces of Plasmus.

The pieces screeched, melting apart and dissolving into amorphous goop, laying in splotchy patches on the concrete.

The main body of the creature wobbled and teetered, exhausted from the fight, finally breaking open and spilling the man inside onto the ground, where he moaned softly.

Starfire panted hard, but didn't relax, glancing over at Raven and seeing that the other girl had stiffened, her violet eyes widening slightly.

Cold fear started trickling through her. Their fight was over and yet Raven's face was paling, which meant she must be sensing something through her bond with Robin.

Which meant something had gone wrong.

She stepped towards her friend, worry beating through her heart. "Raven?" she called.

Raven shook herself, raising her hands.

"We need to get back to the boys," she just said urgently. "Now."

Starfire didn't need to be told twice, stepping quickly closer as Raven's black energy swelled up around them.

***

Cinderblock sprawled on the dock behind him as Cyborg watched the water's surface anxiously. He had been acutely aware of Robin's absence at his back, a slow-growing anxious panic building inside him.

Robin had been under too long.

Beast Boy had dove in almost before Cinderblock had finished falling, morphing before he hit the water, becoming a large shark.

Now a fin broke the water, followed by Beast Boy's head as he morphed back, and then Robin's, limp and lolling forward.

Cyborg leaned down at once, stretching out as Beast Boy kicked back for the dock, one arm slashing through the water until he was within range.

His metal hands slipped under Robin's armpits as Beast Boy lifted him up.

Cyborg hauled Robin onto the dock, trying not to think about how limp and quiet and pale he was. Beast Boy scrabbled his way up onto the wooden pier momentarily, shaking the water off, biting his lip until it hurt as Cyborg checked first with his arm sensors and then manually at Robin's neck.

A swish of magic sounded and then Raven and Starfire were there, running up, Starfire already looking horrified and panicked.

Cyborg leaned his ear down over Robin's face, then straightened.

"Weak pulse, but he's not breathing," he told them, carefully tilting the boy's head to begin resuscitation.

He managed a single cycle of breaths before the girls reached them, Beast Boy biting his nails the whole time.

To his surprise, Starfire was the one who shoved Cyborg aside first, grabbing up Robin's head, sealing her mouth over his and...

...Well, it looked like some kind of rescue breathing, but no kind Beast Boy had ever seen. Some Tamaranian technique maybe.

Starfire's lips were practically biting Robin's and Beast Boy was fairly certain her tongue was down his throat, but a moment later he forgot his curiosity as Robin's diaphragm gave a sharp twitch.

Then he gargled.

Then Starfire detached, long tongue retracting quickly into her mouth and Robin choked, coughing up, turning his head over and expelling small mouthfuls of water into the wood under his right arm.

Relief pinged through the Titans, and it was obvious Starfire was holding herself back from throwing her arms around Robin. She sat back, her hands curled happily over her chest, expression elated as she watched him gasp and cough, slowly regaining color and recovering his breath.

Raven knelt down, looking him over in concern. "You okay?" she asked.

Robin pressed a hand to the base of his neck, swallowing and making a face. "Ngh..." he groaned. He sat up, touching a hand reassuringly to Starfire's arm as he shook his head. "My throat feels gross," he complained.

Starfire ducked her head, scrunching up sheepishly. She tapped the ends of her index fingers together, avoiding eye contact. "Forgive me," she said. "I... may have used secretions from my tongue to... stimulate your gag reflex."

He looked askance at her.

The other Titans were silent for an awkward moment.

"It is a Tamaranian first aid technique. For drowning victims," Starfire elaborated, hiding her face outright now, blushing furiously.

"Was that... safe?" Robin asked, his eyebrows scrunching slightly.

"For humans, I am... not sure," Starfire admitted. Her hands were wringing together now, agitated. "But... you were so still and... and Cyborg said you were not breathing so..."

Sudden tears welled up in her eyes and she gave a cry, throwing herself on him, arms grabbing him tightly.

"Oh Robin!" she cried in distress. "I thought I was going to lose you!"

He grunted a bit from her sudden affection, but immediately wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing her reassuringly.

"Hey. It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay, you didn't lose me. You saved me."

She hiccuped, burying her eyes in his neck and sniffling softly.

Raven cleared her throat.

The two became aware of the other three still awkwardly standing there around them and pulled away, though they didn't let go of each other.

Raven spoke in a neutral monotone. "You injured anywhere else or are you okay?" she asked.

Robin touched a hand to his side and grimaced. "I think the beam might have cracked a rib," he said. "And I'm definitely bruising."

Cyborg glanced at his arm scanner. "Well, doesn't look like you've got any internal bleeding. And I'm not reading any reactions to Starfire's, erm..." He trailed off a moment, his expression looking like he very much wanted not to think about it. "...'secretions'," he finished.

"Don't embarrass her, she saved my life," Robin chided, kicking Cyborg's knee a bit with his toe.

"Yeah but it's still gross," Beast Boy said, turning aside to mutter about weird alien biology.

Starfire gripped his wrist, standing, helping him gingerly to his feet. She was trembling slightly, the emotional rush of her fear and then her relief still vibrating through her.

He was right. It was okay. He hadn't drowned.

He was safe.

Her heart swelled with warmth as he turned a grateful look up to her, whispering a reverent, "Thank you." and she just squeezed his arm tighter in response.

#robstar #robstarweek #robin #starfire #cyborg #raven #beast boy #Teen Titans #fanfiction #prompt fics

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fyregrayfong · 4 years

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Under Pressure 2|15

FryeArcana

Chapter 2

Spirits

Summary:

You go to the South Pole to help Asami with a possible deal with Varrick and come across from dark spirits.

You hold on Lin’s waist as she drives on your cycle dropping you off the to the airstrip. You unmount from the cycle and smile, “you should change from your sato-mobile to a cycle, you look way sexier on it” you smirk as you flirt and see Lin’s cheeks redden “stop it, y/n.” she whispers at you. You look around and laugh “no one is around, they’re setting up the plane, I appreciate you dropping me off before work.” She groaned “don’t mention it”

“I’ll see you when I come back” you whisper softly as you cup her cheek then look around and steel a kiss, she leans in and kisses you back before you pull away, “be safe” she mutters as she looks at you and you nod, “always, don’t stress too much” you slowly pull back as Lin drives off but not before giving you another glance.

You walk over and see Asami walk up to you and gives you a knowing look, “so you and Chief seem to be getting along well” she smiles, you give her a knowing smirk and brush her off, “we’re just friends, Sami.” “sure, is that what you’re calling it?” she laughs as you pack your bag into the under compartment of the plane. You lean against the plan and groan “I don’t know what’s happening. The past six months we practically spend most of our time outside of work together. I even sleep over most nights even last night” You rambled then stopped “I- you didn’t hear that” look over at her and see Asami give you a surprised face “you and the chief, you’ve…?” she stammered, and you cross your arms “What?! No! I literally slept over…. I mean we were in the same bed, but all we did was sleep. Nothing else. I swear.” You huffed then rub your face “it’s just I never felt this way for anyone before. I’ve had romances before sure, but no one like Lin.” You sigh “well, have you spoken to Beifong about it?” she looks at you as she leans back on the plane beside you. You deadpan at her “Have you met Lin; she isn’t really the talking type.” You both exchange soft laughs “well enough about my love life or whatever kind of life that is…when are we taking off?” you change the subject

“soon, we’re just making sure we have enough fuel to make the round trip and that everything is working perfectly.”

You and Asami reach down to the Southern Water Tribe and get settled into a hut Korra arranged for the both of you. Later in the night you girls check out the Glacier Spirits Festival, “you think we’ll run into them?” you look over at Asami while you check out the games. “Probably, I mean I have no problem with it. I asked Bolin to accompany us to the meeting with Varrick.” You look at Asami confused “Bolin? Cute and clumsy Bolin. Mako’s brother Bolin?” you laugh softly “sure, if you think he can help secure this deal with Varrick” you grab some food and munch on it a bit.

After checking out the festival you end up bumping into the rest of Team Avatar. “oh hey…. guys” you wave at them, you see Korra and Mako being all into each other as a couple. You’re glad for Korra but still have some reservations with Mako, but after your talk with him you decide not to let it go. “Oh hey girls!” Bolin exclaims cheerfully after stuffing his mouth with an artic hen. “so I’m we hoped to run into you guys, well with Bolin. You ready to go to that meeting?” You look at Bolin and give an awkward smile. Bolin gulps trying to eat the hen in one go before patting his stomach, “yeah let’s go” the three of you wave at the couple and walk in the opposite direction towards one of the docks. Looking for Varrick’s private yacht.

“I’m glad you guys came with me to this meeting. Varrick is one of the richest men in the world, and he controls the entire global shipping business. So you guys can be my assistant and advisor. Just stand back and don’t say anything. I can handle this.” You nod understanding the plan and look at Bolin hoping he won’t say or do anything stupid. “no problem, Pabu and I are natural assistants” he rests assured and you sigh while you follow Bolin up towards the yacht. You three watch as Varrick is in the middle of the floor in a deep concentration while his assistant is writing down notes and a couple dozen people are just staring intently. You wonder what is going on until Varrick opens his eyes and exclaims, “did you see that! Levitation! I was a foot off the ground.” You look around confused as you watch the other business folk clapping encouraging him. I guess whatever you have to do to get in Varrick’s good graces, you think as you and Asami join in on the clapping. Bolin continues looking at Varrick confused then opens his mouth to say, “it looked like you were just sitting on a pillow.” You and Asami’s eyes widen while she gasps, and you lower your head in shame as you groan putting your hand in your face. Shit Bolin you just had to say something. You hear as everyone else in the room gasps as well looking at the back of the room where you three stands. Varrick eyes Bolin and stands up stomping towards him and you look between Varrick and Bolin, “are you saying I wasn’t levitating?” he leans over Bolin intimidating. Bolin looks scared as he lets a loud gulp go down his throat. “um, no?”. Varrick turns around and yells at the group in the room, “well why didn’t anyone tell me? Now I look like an idiot. Swami you’re fired!” you’re taken back and watch as the older man bows out the room and look back at Varrick as he grabs Bolin by the shoulder. “I like you kid. You’re a real straight shooter, just like me.” he points at Bolin’s chest then turns over to Asami “Ms. Sato? He’s with you?” Asami nods and sighs as Varrick smiles “brought your tiger-shark with you to do business, huh. Now that’s moxie?” you laugh awkwardly “there’s no other way to do business, sir” you and Asami walk after Varrick and Bolin. “oh please just call me Varrick, no sir, I’m not old. I pay good money to prevent that sort of thing.” He pushes Bolin down on a pillow “get over here and pop a squat. Zhu Li, get some tea for my guests.” You sit down as Zhu Li hurryingly brings over a tray with various teas for Bolin while Asami starts with her business talk, “thank you for meeting with me. As you know, Future Industries is looking for a partner to handle our shipping—” Varrick cuts her off “sure. But first, you gotta check out my new venture: Moving Pictures. Zhu Li, do the thing.” He orders Zhu Li who is still tending to Bolin on the tea. She shoves the tray at Bolin and runs over to the projector. You look at the wall as you watch a series of pictures show up giving the illusion as it’s running in place in front of you. “wow” you mutter under your breath. “mind blowing right?” Varrick looks at the three of you “yeah!” Bolin exclaims before Varrick jumps in “Forget that! That’s the past! Shut it off, Zhu Li!” he barks at his assistant. “Imagine watching this” he motions for a young woman with bright red hair to come forward. “Ginger, come over here and do your poses.” You have to agree with Bolin that she is quite the looker. Her hair really makes her exotic. Varrick further explains his ideas on these moving pictures before he explains they are going to be called movers for short. You look at Asami wondering if this is normal with business deals with Varrick. He seems to just be talking to Bolin instead of Asami, Asami speaks up confused “okay, but I’m just concentrating on getting Future Industries back on track. If we could hammer out a deal--” Varrick puts his hand up to stop Asami and tells her to look him in the eye. You’re there sitting right in front of their stare down, just confused on this whole meeting. You watch Asami stare him down not blinking and standing her ground. Varrick smiles and screams out “We got a deal!” you let go of a breath you didn’t know you were keeping, and sigh then get up and smile. Varrick proceeds to shake Asami’s hand “we’ll hammer out the details at the Royal Feast tonight.” You watch as Varrick exclaims if anyone wants to take a ride on his rocket boat and everyone hurries out the room. You watch them leave “that was interesting…” Bolin joins in “is that how business usually goes?” Asami turns and gives Bolin a big hug then ruffles his hair “you are a natural assistant.” You laugh and give him a pat in the back “yeah, you did great Bolin!” you smile.

You take a seat besides Asami at Varrick’s table where you are joined by Ginger, Mako, Bolin and Zhu Li at the Royal Feast. You finish eating when you take a sip of water looking back at Tenzin and his family. Your eyes catch the waterbender sitting next to him then look at Bolin “hey Bolin, do you happen to know who that waterbender that’s sitting next to Tenzin?” you whisper over to him. “oh that’s Kya, Tenzin’s older sister. She lives here in the southern water tribe with Master Katara.” You slowly nod as you hear the information and eye the waterbender “Kya…” you whisper under your breath. You have the feeling you might have met her before, she gives you a sense of familiarity, but you look back at your table. Maybe it’s nothing. Your attention is back at the northern water chief as he gives his speech. He voices his concerns on how the south are handling the respects towards the spirits and hope it can be turned around. His concerns cause the crowd to murmur and wonder what’s going on before Varrick tries to defuse the tension by bringing in an otter-penguin show. You wonder what that speech was about, maybe Korra will know.

You and Asami break away from the rest of Team Avatar and check out the different booths. “I don’t know what Unalaq is talking about. The festival seems like a nice thing, but I guess if it’s a problem with the spirits then there must be some way to calm their anger” you mutter as you try to knock down some cans. Asami agrees then you guys continue walking around until you meet up with the team again.

As everyone gets ready for bed, you guys get together and talk about how Korra is feeling being back home. She’s happy to see her parents but is annoyed at her father after learning the truth of some things. “My dad and Tenzin were the ones to keep me cooped up in that compound not Aang. Then Unalaq offered to train me. He says he can teach me about the spirits and my connection to them.” You look at Korra and smile “that’s great! Doesn’t help to work on your spiritual connection especially since he says they are angry for some reason, but what does Tenzin think about this?” you look at her as your eyebrows furrow. Mako mutters “don’t mention Tenzin” but it’s too late Korra sighs annoyed and rolls her eyes “Tenzin treats me like one of his kids. Air bending training is boring and taking too long. I’ll never finish training if I stay with him.” She groans. “I get what you’re saying but it takes time to master an element. You just unlocked air bending and you made great improvement. I’m sure Tenzin is just looking out what’s best for you. He's just trying to help you as the mentor he is.” You try to calmly speak to her. Korra groans and pulls her knees up “but you heard what Unalaq said! The south is spiritually unbalanced and it’s the Avatar’s job to fix it, and my dad won’t let me even think about Unalaq teaching me.” she sounds defeated already. You frown “well your father has his reasons as to why not, but like you said it’s the Avatar’s job to restore peace and fix the unbalance between humans and spirits. If you feel like Unalaq can better help you in your spiritual training then maybe it might be a good idea? Maybe try talking to Tenzin about it first, not as Korra and Tenzin but as mentor and mentee.” You put your hand on her shoulder as you try to give her some advice.

Soon everyone heads to their respective huts and turn in for the night. You’re in a deep sleep before you hear loud howling that sounds like Naga. You wake up and rub your eyes “what the flameo is Naga howling at now?” you mutter as you get up from your bed, grabbing your coat and walk outside. You rub the back of your neck running your hand through your hair as you look in the direction of the howling. You see movement ahead of Naga and Korra and your eyes widen as you see a dark spirit coming from the snow. “what…” you watch it quickly turn around having seen Korra and in a blink of an eye you watch it sprint to her and hit Korra sending her back. “Korra!” you yell out as you start running over to her. The spirit has Korra in its grasp pinned against a snowed wall of earth. It’s so close to hurt Korra that you metal bend your cable smacking the spirit on its head, “Hey! Back off our friend!” you yell at it as Mako and Bolin fire and earth bend at it. Bolin creates a wall between the spirit and Korra giving her a chance to escape. The three of you watch this spirit moving too quickly for either of you to land a shot. It swings its large tail at you three and knocks you guys to the ground, groaning as you hit and roll down the ground. Tenzin and Tonraq run out of their hits and help you guys get up, you wrap your arm around your stomach as your groan softly, “it’s a dark spirit, it’s attacking Korra up the mountain” you point in the direction. Tenzin and Tonraq run after to assist Korra, you gain up your strength and ready to head back to help Korra when you see Tenzin hurling back in your direction getting hit by the spirit. You help Tenzin back up “you okay?” he nods and looks at the spirit “we must find out why that spirit it angry with us. Fighting it will only make it worse.” You nod understandingly before Mako points in the direction Korra is in “well it’s going to Korra and she’s about to fight it.” The four of you run down the mountainside as you watch Korra and the spirit battle it out. Korra gets thrown into a booth right when you arrive you watch as Unalaq starts bending on the spirit. It seems to be calming the spirit no longer in a hostile manner. The water starts to illuminate in a bright yellow light that you cover your eyes while you walk up to the scene and stop as you watch that the spirit is become illuminated. “woah…” you watch the scene play out and watch the spirit walk away and soon it seems to dissipate. You look back towards Korra and run towards her, but you stop with the rest of the group when you see Korra in a heated discussion with her dad, Tenzin and Unalaq. Soon Tenzin returns with a hint of sadness which means Korra has made her decision.

You stand next to the guys and Asami while you watch Tenzin packing up the rest of his things while his family are settling down on Oogi. You can’t help but feel sort of sad of the situation you cross your arms as you warm yourself up. You watch Oogi fly away with the family and you sigh looking down before you climb up the plane. You and Asami fly your way back to Republic City.

You settle your bag down quietly as you make your way through the apartment and tiptoe into the bedroom. You weren’t sure why you had to come here right when you came back, you guess to surprise her or check up on how she’s doing. There she is. Lin is sleeping; you change into your sleepwear and slide into bed wrapping your arm around her and softly kiss her shoulder. Lin stirs a bit then settles back down before she mumbles “you’re back”. You smile hearing her voice again and kiss the back of her shoulder again “I couldn’t wait until morning to see you. I hope it’s okay” you whisper. “I wouldn’t expect you to do anything less” she mumbles as she takes your hand in hers like that night you spent together back in the southern compound. You feel like you’re back to where you belong, whether it’s this confusing are you or aren’t you dating or courting. You lay there and admire the woman next to you, as she sinks into you and settles back to sleep. Your mind wanders back to what happened between Korra and Tenzin, you understand where Korra is coming from. You’re just hoping that she made the right decision at the right time.

#linbeifong #lin x reader #lin beifong #TLOK2UnderPressure #fyrefics #linxreader #linbeifongxreader #linbeifong x reader

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themanicgalaxy · 3 years

Text

SPN 4X19 Jump the Shark

Oh hey is this the illegitimate brother plotline

boy I love me some sweet sweet ANGST

whelp she's fucking dead

picture of JOHN?

Sam's peacefully brushing his teeth and Dean's Not a Morning Person

boy he's having a bad morning

to be fair, living out of the car is kinda not fun either

"I'm his son" Dean: I'm gonna fUCKING KIL-

he's..premed?

they're going to ruin his life too aren't they, Aren't The-

Dean is taking this really well

I mean he did get the brunt of John's Issues, so I get it, yike

ASDFPIHP them discussing their dad's ~sex life~ is very funny though

Dean was...preteen? when this kid was born? Sam was under ten definitely

Dean Please

No that's your Actual Brother guys PLEASE

hunting accident "ah fair enough"

"who is a nuclear family these days" FEELS SO LOADED

Dean...Dean please don't fUCKING KILL HIM DEAN

THE IMPALA NOOO

"he took you to a baseball game" IDSFHAPF

He's Trying not to CRY OH MY GOD NO WAIT

Sam resonates with the away from college thing oh NO

Dean is trying SO HARD not to snap

at least he's...trying..to keep adam out

corpse snatching => HEY LOOK IT's THE BONE STEALING WIT-

I think I need to stop being online jesus christ

the [both sigh] was so good

well...that's a lot of blood

How the hell do you break it to your illegitimate brother that you're ~technically Wanted by the FBI

at least he's not an idiot

HE'S SO MUCH YOUNGER THAN THEY ARE

I mean obligatory dead mom

"do i get a say in this?" "NO!"

no..no SAM DEAN HAS A POINT

Middle sibling + younger sibling gang up on elder

"have u thought about eternity" "bro i've literally been to hell Idk what to tell u"

Dean doing it solo but Sad is...:(

Oh he worked the old case, that's neat

"so it's over for you" welllllll

OO THE TRUCK SHOT WAS COOL

dean + long dark coat truthing tonight HE LOOKS G O O D

it wants revenge

YOU FUCKERS AND YOUR REVENGE BELA WAS R I G H T

and Adam Instantly wants revenge, you sir are definitely a Winchester

"it's life" WELL IT SHOULDn'T BE

the stupid isolationism I hate it

NO GO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE KRIPKE WHY

Sam's becoming his dad, and Dean isn't

...SAM WHAT THE FUCK

DAD MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT DO RIGHT BY YOU

HIS GODDAMN GRIEF SPIRAL GOT BOTH OF YOU

LET HIM BE NORMAL! HAPPY! IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW(NOT ALWAYS)(Also very close to the thing with zachariah in placement(eye emojis) BUT LEAVE HIM ALONE!

I do appreciate Dean Eldest Sibling'ed it up even if he didn't like the kid/was jealous. Goddammit I wish we got connection in this stupid show

I was expecting a jump scare but somehow the squish is worse

sOn oF aBitcH

Ah FUCK NOT ADAM TOO

I do like the little angel Icon though, that's what's Dean's way out

Ghouls is a racist term?what????

no john winchester was 100% a monster

ah it was their father

yada yada father killing circle idk

YAY! DEAN'S INGENUITY IS BACK!

Ghoul!mom is really really good. I liked Scared Adam better though

the slicing sam scene is BRUTAL jesus christ

So...John got his own son killed in the end...

SERIOUSLY HE WAS TERRIBLE

Dean JESUS CHRIST

awww caring Dean is nice

AWW HUNTER'S FUNERAL

"Adam's in a better place" :(

Dean tried to fit himself into the Dad box, Sam's actually him

"you take it any way you want" oh for FUC- HE- I-

he looked so Sad, so like...he's stopped idolizing him

jesus christ.

boy there's gonna be overlap ok here we go.

1. poor dean. Ok couple things: 1) he elder sibling'ed it SO HARd! he didn't even like Adam, but he still tried to keep him safe(I think). he gave him a hunter's funeral! I just. It was nice to see. It was also INCREDIBLY painful to hear the realization of "you were always like dad, I never could be" and the fact that he didn't even see it as a good thing anymore? fUCK man, that huRT me. Dean tried so hard to be something he wasn't, he got probably the brunt of the abuse(because he didn't measure up to that metric like Sam always would), and in the end all it got him was...just. so much pain. Like it felt like John left his Broken children behind to get a new one, and just turned them into his quest for revenge. It was SO So fucked

Hey actually speaking of

2. AM I SUPPOSED TO LIKE BEING A HUNTER/JOHN? WHAT HTE FUCK?

YALL ALREADY MARTYRED HIM BUT UR MAKING HIM WORSE?

LIKE ok listen. John's kinda set up as the ideal of hunting. They martyred him! And I was halfway sold provided they didn't mention him again. Then! he did this thing where he abandoned his kids, seeing them only as tools to fulfill his quest for revenge, literally broke them(that too late thing+zachariah saying "it's in your blood" when really it was just trained from a young age), got a NEW family he treated a lot better. I just. I have...NO idea how I'm supposed to see him as a good guy here. Maybe I just kin Dean, or his plight is WAY more sympathetic(it is, Sam is kinda pissing me off), but John's just...coming off worse and worse and they KEEP doing it!

Also! this whole cycle of revenge thing! about how if you keep taking an eye for an eye, everyone ends up blind! they barely escaped this time, and I think this was the second revenge plot that I can think of with MONSTERS alone! it was a BIG theme! Like!! hunting sucks! revenge makes you end up in worse places! it's like this one episode was made to show how SHIT hunting was!

wait who wrote this

Dabb+lofflin. The hunting sucks always comes from-

this GODDAMN INCONSISTE-

3. Fuck John Winchester

4. Individualism. Ok this is a big one. Alongside the whole revenge plot thing(which is BIG, and a hunting sucks), this one drove home the sheer individuality of hunting. But while some of the writers see that as Badass, this one made it seem lonely, and painful. Like the flip side to American Individualism is American Chronic Loneliness. I know this one was used to process the ennui of the post recession/post 9/11 time, and it's doing very well for that, but it kinda ends up like this show is EVERYONE'S therapy all at once! the gang's all here! and we're gonna traumatize you in the process as well.

EDIT: and yeah yeah yada yada american individualism is King and then so is it’s accompanying loneliness in the post 9/11 post war in iraq post recession world(we were not having fun in 08/09)

and I get that this show is the writer’s therapy and whatever

(I just thing this is phrased better)

5. bring him back. Connect! Look. I know it breaks the core ethos of this episode. But having Weird Esoteric Hunter siblings would have been SO FUNNY!

give me more sibling content! Sam+Adam teaming up against the Eldest Sibling Dean WAS SO FUNNY! I WANT MORE OF THAT

6. SAM WHAT THE FU-. Look. I hate John. I very much hate John. They set up the Sam/Dean dichotomy in regards to John first episode, and Sam acting more like an ass+like his dad is. Not making me like him. Also I feel like this was written to sympathize with Dean. Which makes the finale even more ironic, I feel.

7. Listen. Listen. One of you has to keep track of continuity. Like I know this becomes a WAY bigger problem later in the series, but if a certain writer wants to process/examine a certain part of the Life/Story(and they should, they set up a lot of interesting stuff), they have to keep track! Because then the show becomes everything all at once.

Like this show has ALREADY started feeling like fanfic of itself, where it just kinda does whatever it wants with its own concepts. And the concepts are GREAT! but you can TELL how inconsistent it is, even in the kripke era

like it ends up being Study of X, Riff on X! and I think that's where the inconsistency comes from. It's also why it's so fucking Excellent in places.

whelp this was a lot holy hell.

OH AND ONE MORE THING!

Bela didn't fit the narrative. That's why they didn't like her. I said at the beginning that an Int'l art thief does NOT fit the vibe of "grungy Angsty American Midwestern gothic" and I was right. With the lucifer story and the vibe she didn't fit, and so they just killed her as foreshadowing, and only used her like that. God I wish they'd riffed on her, especially because her callouts were all completely correct

we're Bela Salting again

listen she was preppy Jack Sparrow with some spiritualism, how dare you tell me not to like her.

#pawswatchesspn #4x19 jump the shark #this one was a lot of...#I mean I can't say fun #but it was interesting #...I accidentally fucking quoted Gandhi #this show truly is everyone's therapy and I mean that in the worst possible way #this is unrelated to the gandhi thing these are two separate thoughts #And Bedlund wrote on the head of a pin #which was cool #but HE WROTE MONSTER MOVIE! MY PROBABLY FAVORITE EPISODE!#and the fun wishing well one #ok listen if spn was the reason meta shit got popular #or it helped #most of that was cuz of bedlund #....bow down to bedlund for singehandedly popularizing my aesthetic holy hell

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

Text

Playing Pretend (5)

Requested by @calkesttiss | Prompt:

Hi! I just watched isi & ossi (rich girl and poor boxer boy AH) on netflix and now i cant stop thinking about cal and fake dating. Do with that what you will 😂

Cal Kestis x Reader

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next: Part 6 | Masterlist

5 of ?

You couldn’t stay still while sipping on champagne. At the corner of Tazha’s eye, she takes notice of a boy who seem to perfectly fit the description of the boy you first met days ago. She tapped you repeatedly on the shoulder.

“Look over there, [y/n],”

You turn your attention to the direction where Tazha’s eyes are. You froze and your eyes widened in sheer surprise, you almost fell from losing balance on your heels, and the word that you wanted to utter became just a choked grunt.

“Oh my God…” was all you managed to say.

You strode down the stairs, tailed by Tazha, you pushed and excused yourself from the large adults that stood in your way until you could get to Cal.

“Cal?”

When he turned to look at you, he was just as surprised as you are. He wasn’t wearing a fancy suit or outfit, his jumpsuit was black—contrast to the blue one that you remembered him wearing when you met him.

“[y/n]? What are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,”

Cal explained that he and his companions were proxies for some of the guests that didn’t make it. He also said that one of his companions personally knew Senator Bail Organa.

“Who invited you?” the clueless redhead asked.

“Who invited her?” Tazha repeated mockingly, warranting attention from both Cal and you. “Her dad is responsible for this shindig. She lives here!”

At that moment, you felt like the floor would crumble under your feet anytime. You were pushed into a corner, no thanks to Tazha’s unsolicited reply. Your quick wit couldn’t even save you from that revelation.

“Is that true?”

“Yep. Sorry, I didn’t exactly specify where in Alderaan I lived,”

Suddenly, the lightbulb in your mind flickered on.

“Look, I’m sorry in advance but this is probably gonna be the weirdest thing but… Could you be like my boyfriend for a few minutes, please?”

“What?”

A lump got stuck in your throat that you can’t seem to swallow away, your palms were sweating, and your own heels are trembling at the mercy of your stilettos—all happening at the same time.

Oh, suck it up, [y/n]!

“Tomorrow at the Tipsy Taun-Taun. Meet me there at 0300,”

Logan appeared in the corner of your eye, you saw him looking for you in your general direction. You inhaled sharply, stepped closer to Cal, clutching him by the arm, and then kissed him on the cheek—close enough to give off the intimate façade. Even Tazha was surprised with this bold move of yours; she also noticed Logan standing a few meters away but is in full view of you and Cal together in the dance floor.

When you pulled away, he was simply taken aback, at a loss for words. It took him a few good minutes before his mind registers what just went down. He didn’t have the chance to object—as a matter of fact, he never had the time.

“Please at least tell me what you’re planning on doing, [y/n]?”

“What does it look like I’m doing, Tazha? I’m sabotaging my own arranged engagement,”

The next morning, you felt a hangover coming on even though you didn’t have much to drink, though it was more of an emotional one. When you woke, the words that you’ve let go were still fresh in your mind—as if you’ve only said them moments ago—you also thought the whole scene last night was kind of funny, you fight your incoming laughter by chewing on your cheek.

You contemplate whether to go or not.

“What have I go to lose anyway?”

You bring yourself out of bed, get dressed and ultimately miss breakfast with your parents and had a bowl of cereal as brunch instead. You ponder about your parents’ next possible move—predicting that they’re finally working on the campaign, another heated argument either over dinner again or in the living room is likely to happen. Though you didn’t let that linger in your head that much so you sneak out of the house to meet Cal.

Along the way, you were worried that this plan was silly and pointless. Should it come through, it will be short-lived. Out of all the things you’ve planned in your entire life, this is possibly the most badly-thought, the most desperate, and perhaps your only fighting chance.

When you got to the pub, the barkeeper greeted you only with his eyes, then gestured you to the farthest side of the pub—at the booth of the left side of the building, the ends of his hair were poking out of the couch’s tall backrest.

“You made it,” you say as you approached the booth and took a seat.

“Well, that was the only clear thing you ever said to me last night,”

“Right, about that, I guess I owe you an… elaborate explanation,”

“Obviously,”

“I’m engaged,”

An awkwardness lingered between the two of you, it hung around the air like the small cheap chandelier suspended above your heads. Cal’s eyes shifted from left to right, he twiddled his thumbs together while deciding the most appropriate thing to say to that.

“Uh… congratulations?”

“No!” you groaned in great vexation. “I didn’t want that engagement in the first place.”

“You don’t wanna get married?”

“Not to that imbecile they’ve paired me with,” your face cringed at the thought of Logan as a husband which he clearly is incapable of being. “So, no, I am not putting a ring on that.”

Cal’s silence as a reaction to that implied you to lay on your plans involving him and why you uttered those words to him last night at the party.

“Be my boyfriend until it convinces my parents well enough to cancel the engagement,”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Well, what do you want?”

Cal shifted in his seat, he leaned back some more into the couch, and knew that this was an opportunity to help Greez with his loan problem. What’s holding him back is his moral compass.

“A friend of mine has a problem. He’s taken a loan and the shark is after him, we only got into this planet via an alias. It’s a loan for the ship we’re using to go around places,”

“So you want me to cover what’s left of the payment?”

“Smart girl,”

“No, it’s just plain logic, dude. But sure, I’ll help. How much do you guys need anyway?”

“We’re short on 40,000 credits,”

The amount didn’t faze you, although you wondered what kind of ship they have to garner such a price in the loan. It didn’t take long for you to think hard about it, you simply agreed to help Cal with his friend’s ship loan problem.

“Okay, that seems doable, but only if you play along with what I want.”

“And what’s that?”

You shrug one shoulder and eyeball your right side. “Be my boyfriend. Or pretend to be—until my parents blow of the engagement because they’ll think I’m too in love with you.”

Cal smacked his lips, “Okay then, that’s… possible.”

Both of you were awkward about this but were willing to make ends meet. One needed something from the other. A simple cycle, a classic pattern.

“Maybe one of these days, you’ll show me to the ship, if that’s okay.” You said demurely.

Cal shrugged his shoulders, “Sure, no problem. Who knows? You might like it.”

“Do we have a deal?” you extend your hand across the table to him.

He shakes on it.

“Alright, we got a deal then.”

Your handshake slowed down but neither of you seem to be letting go of each other’s hand. You had to take the initiative. Cal cleared his throat.

“Okay, so how does this work?”

“What does work?”

“The whole fake dating thing,”

“Pretty much like what you’d do in a real relationship, Cal. The hugging, kissing, cuddling, hand-holding—typical stuff.”

You chuckled, thinking that it was silly enumerating things couples normally do as if it was rocket science. But then again, you’ve never been into a relationship before. For what it’s worth, this could be your first actual relationship—despite it being a charade deal hybrid.

You were the first to break the ice, you didn’t even realize that you freely spoke about anything you wanted to him. He lent his listening ear and sometimes continue the flow of the conversation. Starting off with basics such as homeworlds, hobbies, and what you did growing up, it eventually shifted to the interests you’ve developed as you grew up. That’s when you’ve become more animated and vocal with your stories.

Cal was observing you across the table that you didn’t even notice it. He watched you ramble on, maintaining eye contact with him as you talked, and making slight gestures with your hands as you continued telling stories. Unconsciously, the corner of his mouth curled as he listened to you speak.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, I’m rambling! I just got carried away with the stories and stuff,”

“No. It’s not a problem, I mean… that’s the first step, right? Getting to know each other,”

You shyly smiled, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

Coy smiles exchanged with one another over the table. Thinking of other things to talk about, Cal decided it would be a good idea to show you the Mantis—the exact thing that you’re fulfilling your end of the bargain for.

“Come on, [y/n], my turn to show you something,”

“Really?”

“Come on,”

He stood up, you didn’t expect him to extend his hand to you but you took it anyway. The two of you left the pub and followed him to the place where the Mantis was docked.

32 notes · View notes

saiilorstars · 4 years

Text

Rise Up

Ch.4: A New Firestorm

Previous Story: It Had To Be You || Current Masterlist

Pairings: Barry Allen x Female OC

Chapter Summary: The Snarts have made their way back to STAR Labs only this time they're in need of help.

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

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel

Despite the team's best efforts, professor Stein was still under heavy health risks.

"Hold him steady!" Cisco shouted at Caitlin and Barry who were frantically trying to keep Stein's convulsing body still enough for Cisco to come in with a device similar to the Firestorm splicer. It was just hard to do when Stein kept spontaneously blowing blue flames.

"He's dropping out!" Caitlin anxiously said.

Cisco had managed to get in and put the splicer on Stein's chest, but his fingers fumbled trying to get it activated. "Come on, come on, come on, come on!"

"Cisco, we're losing him!"

But just then Cisco heard the splicer make a 'click!' and pulled back with a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh, Díos mío. Thank God."

"He's getting worse," Barry sighed and stared at the now unconscious Stein. It had been a cycle like this all night and they still had no real ideas on how to stabilize him permanently.

"Look, I did what I could to re-engineer Doctor Wells' original stabilizer to quell the reaction, but I don't know what he used as a power source," Cisco started out the side room. "Best I could find was the one from his wheelchair."

"And how long will that last?" Caitlin wondered as she and Barry followed him out.

"Well, that's the problem, we had already used up most of its energy trying to dampen the metas' powers during our little rogue air trip with Weather Wizard and company. I think we got a few days tops."

"And he's stuck in bed?"

"Yeah, when he wakes up, I'm gonna transfer the stabilizer to this, give him a power cane, get him moving," Cisco moved over to a table to pick up another silver device.

Barry knew that was only a temporary situation and sooner or later Stein would be in trouble yet again. "We gotta figure out a way to save him."

"I think I might know how to do that," Caitlin decided to share her spontaneous idea with them. She headed for the main desk and pulled up Stein's profile up on one of the computers across them. "When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the dark matter that collided with Professor Stein fused with the Firestorm matrix and altered the normal molecular processes that occurs within his body. Those highly reactive molecules needed something to bond with in order to stabilize. But now that Ronnie is no longer a part of Professor Stein-"

"Those molecules don't have anything to bond to," Barry realized the problem.

"And the longer he goes without merging, the more unstable he becomes."

"Ugh," Cisco foresaw a much bigger problem of finding Stein a new replacement. "All right, so, what do we do?"

"We find another... participant."

Cisco shot Caitlin a sarcastic look. "Okay, cool, so, how do we do that? Are we just gonna make a Tinder app for potential meta-humans? 'Cause I'm pretty sure merging with Stein and randomly bursting into flames sounds like the biggest "swipe left" of all time."

Barry disapproved of Cisco's lack of seriousness but did have to agree that it wouldn't such an easy thing finding someone willing to become Firestorm. "I mean, even if we could find someone willing, Stein can't just merge with whoever he wants."

"No he can't, but I have done some research, and found two potential candidates that might be compatible with him," Caitlin typed on the computer to bring up two young men's profiles. "They both were affected by the dark matter, and they were both admitted to the hospital showing symptoms of gene rearrangement mutation. And they both share the same blood type as Professor Stein and Ronnie."

"All right. I mean, this is more than organ donation," Barry felt the need to remind her. "We'll need more than tissue typing to see if their bodies are compatible."

"If I can isolate the genetic locus of the two candidates and cross-reference it with the mutations in Professor Stein, I might be able to find a match and save his life."

"What do you need to do that?"

Caitlin formed an apologetic smile, indicating she would definitely be requiring his speedy abilities.

~ 0 ~

Belén was uncomfortable. She didn't need to say it: her body outright showed it. From the way she awkwardly sat on the metal chair, to the way her hand reached for the prison phone...everything screamed "I don't know what to do here".

Luckily, Maritza had assumed the reason her sister came to visit. "I'm glad that you and Mom are salvaging the only family relationship left in this...wonky family of ours. I know that with time you'll be close, like it should've been from the start."

Belén gave a low sigh of doubt. As much as she wanted that closeness with her mother, she was aware that it wouldn't happen overnight and that it certainly wouldn't be easy. She told Maritza that and added her biggest fear: "I can't even be completely honest with her."

Maritza knew she was talking about Belén's double life as a metahuman. "Maybe it's better that she doesn't know."

Belén shrugged and looked to the side in thought. "Despite everything that's happened between us Maritza...I just want to say..." There was a clear struggle for her to say it out loud but she knew Maritza did deserve it this time. "...thank you."

Maritza blinked in surprise since she hadn't been expecting that. In fact, she hadn't been expecting any form of gratitude from Belén anytime soon - maybe not even in this lifetime after what she did. "Belén..."

"You did a lot of bad things Maritza but this was something nice..." Belén drew in a breath, "So...thanks. It's better to be friends with my mother than enemies. At least this way I get to see Axel and...he's good. Better, now, actually, since he's living with his grandmother now."

"I'm happy to hear that you're doing better now," Maritza offered a smile that Belén couldn't return. "I saw one of the newspapers with your article in it."

Belén blinked and stared at her sister with curiosity. Her article about the Azalea being alive had finally been published and was so far doing well with the public's response. They were eager and hopeful that their beloved Azalea was still alive. Belén just never expected for her sister to be one of the readers. "You read my articles?"

Maritza smiled again. "Of course I do. You're a hell of a writer and the fact you're making a comeback to the city is amazing. I'm glad that you're doing better, Belén. You deserve that. You deserve...everything."

And just like before coming, Belén didn't know what to do.

~ 0 ~

Barry intended on getting back to STAR Labs as quick as possible after he finished a bit of work at the station. If he continued to make unscheduled leaves then someone would definitely start to notice and that would be the last thing he needed at the moment. He hurried down the stairs with a needed case file in his hands, and in his rush to get to Joe, he bumped into a tall woman who then dropped her purse.

"I-I am so sorry!" Barry went to pick up the purse off the floor. When he looked up to see the woman he was met with familiar-looking brown eyes.

"That's fine," Veronica Green took back her purse with a polite smile. "I wasn't looking where I was going either." In his surprise, Barry couldn't say anything. Veronica tilted her head to examine the young man. "I know you, don't I? I've seen you…"

"Th-the...funeral," Barry stuttered to explain and seeing Veronica's confused gaze he shook his head and began anew. "I'm Barry Allen-" he stuck a hand to shake with hers.

"Oh, right," Veronica shook his hand politely. "You were my daughter's boyfriend."

"Well, not 'was'...am…" Barry watched her awkwardly process that news and wondered if the woman was about to hate him or mildly tolerate him. She didn't appear too friendly at the moment.

"Oh," was all that came out from Veronica's lips.

She hates me, Barry concluded.

"Barry? Hey!" he then heard Patty call for him and thanked every God he knew of for the distraction. It was incredibly awkward - even for his usual.

Patty came rushing up to him and Veronica, smiling widely. "You'll never guess what I found." But before Barry could even begin to guess she held up a plastic bag of teeth.

"Are those...teeth?" Barry made a face.

"Shark teeth," Patty excitedly corrected. "And I have an eyewitness that says he saw a shark walking on land-a man-shark."

"Man-shark?" this time Veronica had spoken up, letting Patty realize she had yet to know who the other woman was. "This city has man-sharks?" Veronica looked at Barry like he had the answers.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Patty inquired.

"Veronica Green," Veronica reached to shake Patty's hand. "I'm transferring from Star City."

"Oh, nice," Patty smiled as she shook the woman's hand. "Patty Spivot. I just started working here too."

"Right, I know. And I'm assuming you're working on...what are they called again? Metahumans?" Veronica's face said it all. It was an absolutely not. The things she was doing for her daughter she could not believe.

"Well…" Patty said after Veronica took an abrupt leave, "...she seems like a cheery one."

"That's actually Belén's mother," Barry watched Veronica head for Singh's office.

"Oh my God," Patty put a hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry, I think Belén knows that too."

Patty glanced at him, surprised by his statement.

Barry winced. "Don't...tell her I said that, actually."

"Only if you don't tell her what I said."

"Deal."

The two smiled at each other.

"So, um...do you think that's actually real?" Barry one again looked at the bag of teeth. He had heard and seen of all sorts of metahumans but a shark that walked on land seemed just a bit too much.

"Yeah, I mean, I know it sounds really wacko...but, I mean, nothing seems impossible now that we have meta-humans, right? And I thought it would be fun, you know, for us to work together again on a case."

"Yeah, I mean, I really- I'd love to work on anything with you. Um, it's just, you know, meta-humans aren't really my thing," Barry tried looking as convincing as ever. He didn't want Patty looking too much into the metahuman criminals lest she be kidnapped again.

"Really? I mean...I can handle it myself…"

Then again, if she was going to keep looking into it herself, alone, Barry would rather have an eye on her upclose. "No, you-look, how about I just- I'll run a test, see where the teeth came from."

Patty beamed. "That would be amazing! Thank you!" she handed the bag over to him.

Joe walked out of the office room and saw the bag of shark teeth. "How's your man-shark case coming?" he looked at Patty, amused.

"It's good. I was just gonna go and canvas the area, see what else I can dig up, and Barry here agreed to run some tests for me."

"Really?" Joe raised an eyebrow and looked over to Barry.

"Mm-hmm. So, progress," Patty beamed and said another 'thanks' to Barry before leaving herself.

"For real?" Joe inquired from Barry, eyes trained on the bag of teeth.

"If it's another meta I'd rather know first and lead Patty away from it before something like Sand Demon happens again," Barry explained.

"Mm," Joe walked over to the reception desk to leave behind some papers and then started back for his office.

"Uh, so did you hear we have a new co-worker?" Barry followed after him and glanced at Singh's office where he could see Veronica having an idle chat with him.

Joe followed his gaze to the office and nodded. "Wasn't expecting that from one phone call, I'll tell you that."

"Yeah I don't think she likes me very much…" Barry let his file flop on Joe's desk.

Joe started to laugh. "What parent likes their daughter's boyfriend?"

"Thanks," Barry said with a straight face. To his dismay, Joe only continued to laugh more. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it up to see who it was. "Hey, you know what, I gotta go. It's Cisco. It's about Professor Stein."

"Okay, go, I'll cover you with Singh," Joe shooed him off and just as Barry turned to leave he heard the man laugh again.

It was not funny.

~ 0 ~

In the cortex, Stein tried out his new makeshift silver cane that was meant to keep him stabilized in the meantime they found a possible firestorm partner. "Well, I must admit, I never imagined the Sphinx's riddle about a man requiring three legs would ever apply to me, but if this device keeps me mobile, then I will gratefully oblige."

Caitlin smiled at the man as he took a small trip in the cortex to test out the cane. "Hopefully, you won't need it for much longer," she gestured to the two profiles of the candidates that could possibly (and hopefully) work to save him. "There was no agglutination in the blood samples, and cross-matching was negative for both, and it appears that the dark matter from the Particle Accelerator explosion mutated their genes in a very similar way it did to yours. I think they're both potential matches."

"So who do we go with?" Belén looked at the two men on the computer screen. She could see one was far younger than the other but as far as she could tell they both matched Stein. "Do we pull popsicle sticks or…?"

Caitlin chuckled and shook her head. "My first choice is Henry Hewitt. He graduated summa cum laude from Hudson University with a double major in Applied Physics and Bioengineering."

"A Hudson boy," Stein said thoughtfully. "I like him already."

"What about this other guy, Jefferson Jackson?" Barry moved up to the computer to take a closer look. "High school quarterback, 4.0 student. He's got the physical attributes. And it looks like more of his alleles match than Hewitt's. Doesn't that mean that he's more compatible?"

Caitlin reluctantly agreed but it was easy to see that she really did prefer Henry. "On paper, perhaps, but Hewitt is a scientist. Clearly, he's trying to make something of his life."

"That's a bit mean to say," Belén sarcastically glanced at Caitlin as if she were scolding the brunette.

"I'm just...I think he'd be open to something like this," Caitlin raised her hands in defense.

"I think we should meet with both of them before we make a decision," Cisco muttered, thinking both candidates would probably have to think about it really hard before being able to come up with a decision.

"That's an excellent idea," Stein agreed.

"I'll see if I can get Hewitt here," Caitlin said fast.

"All right, in the meantime, we'll go meet with Jefferson Jackson," Barry turned back, looking at Belén and Stein for agreement.

"I have to go pick up Axel and bring him to Mrs. Andrews," Belén patted him on the arm.

"Hey, that reminds me," Barry walked up to her while the others dispersed to do their tasks, "I met your mother today at the station."

"Oh yeah," Belén smiled. "She said she started on that transfer thing."

"Um...yeah, it's just…" Barry hated to be the one to tell her because she really did look happy about it, "...I kinda got the feeling she wasn't very happy that we were back together again."

Belén's smile faded a bit as she considered the idea that perhaps never telling her mother they were alright now could've had a bigger influence than she thought. "Oh, oh I'm sorry Barry. You know, that's probably my fault. Last time she heard you were the jerk that broke up with me."

But Barry wanted to say that he felt it was a bit more than just that. There was something about the way Veronica had looked at him earlier that...sort of said she couldn't believe her daughter had chosen him.

"Barry, do not worry," Belén assured him it would be fine. She set her hands on his arms and looked so sure of herself, it made Barry dread the outcome if things didn't go her way. "My Mom's a grumpy woman but she's going to try and make things work with me. Once she gets to know you - and knows how happy you make me - she'll warm up to you."

"You think?" Barry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Absolutely," Belén chuckled and leaned in to kiss him. "It'll be fine."

"Okay," Barry relented very quietly. He didn't realize how much it would bother him if Veronica ended up truly not liking him. There was something he'd been meaning to tell Belén but so far was unable to find a suitable moment and place.

Belén mistook his silence as more worry and laughed. She repeated that it would all be fine, gave him a last kiss before truly leaving. On her way out, she missed their newest E-2 visitor lurking behind.

~ 0 ~

Axel bounced on his feet while he waited for his aunt Belén to buy him that ice cream from the ice cream truck. It was his reward for getting a sticker at school that indicated he'd attempted to write his name unlike other students.

"But you know that you won't get a reward every time, right?" Belén asked after giving Axel his Bugs Bunny popsicle. "I'm happy that you're putting an effort but you don't get a reward every time."

"Mhm!" Axel practically waved her off while he licked his popsicle.

Belén playfully rolled her eyes and ushered him towards the car. While she was putting Axel into the backseat, she could've sworn she felt burning eyes on her back. She hurriedly finished adjusting Axel's seat belt then closed the car door. As she moved for the driver's seat she made a diligent look around for anything strange but as far as she could see there were only students being picked up.

Get it together Belén, she berated herself and opened the driver's door.

She missed the brunette women across the street peering behind another ice cream truck. A dark smile spread across her face as she watched Belén drive off. "Gotcha."

~ 0 ~

When Belén returned to STAR Labs, she found Caitlin in a side room excitedly conversing with one of the chosen candidates for Firestorm. Cisco was sitting at the desk with a grim face at the two.

"What's going on?" Belén dropped in the chair next to him.

"Caitlin got Henry Hewitt to come," Cisco said but sounded nowhere near happy about it.

"What's wrong with him?" Belén asked quick, garnering a confused look from Cisco. "I know you hate him. It's in your voice, stupid."

Cisco smiled and shook his head. Before he got to explaining his reason of dislike for Henry, Barry and professor Stein walked into the room. Seeing them from the side room, Caitlin brought out Henry to meet them.

"Caitlin, what's going on?" Barry frowned at the sight of the man in the room.

Caitlin seemed happier than ever. "I'm glad you're back. This is Dr. Henry Hewitt. This is Barry Allen, Professor Martin Stein and Belén Palayta."

Stein shook hands with Henry. "How do you do?"

Henry seemed in awe. "The illustrious Martin Stein. I've read all your papers back at Hudson, especially on transmutation. Fascinating. You're a legend."

"Kiss-ass," Belén mumbled under her breath but she soon realized it wasn't as quiet as she thought because Cisco had snickered beside her. Even Barry had let a smile slip.

Stein laughed shyly at the praises. "Oh, please. I think you're overestimating my contribution to the field. I-I appreciate your enthusiasm."

Caitlin happily walked to the other three. "Isn't he great?"

"He's got an ego the size of Texas-" Cisco muttered, "-but, yeah, he's alright."

Caitlin rolled her eyes at him. "So, where's Jefferson Jackson?"

"We just need more time," Barry sighed. It turned out the younger candidate was more stubborn than they thought.

"We don't have more time. I couldn't find another power source for the cane and that thing's running out." Cisco didn't really like Henry that much but Stein was running out of time.

"So then...that's it?" Belén asked. "We convince Henry to do it?"

Caitlin smiled. "Oh he's already agreed. We can do the merge right now."

"What do you mean? You told him the details of the Firestorm Matrix?" Barry gave her an incredulous look.

"Absolutely, becoming Firestorm is a huge life change. He needs to know what he's getting himself into."

They were then taken when the two scientists chanted their apparent school's theme.

"Aw, look at that, that's so cute," Cisco sarcastically rose from his chair, smiling impossibly wide. "We'll have two Professor Steins if this works."

Belén laughed. "I don't think anyone could be professor Stein. There can only be one softie scientist here."

Being settled, they gathered up the potential new Firestorm and Cisco stood in front of Henry holding the splicer in his hands, giving Henry a final instruction.

"When I put this splicer on your chest you're gonna feel a rush. That's a molecular primer being released into your body. Then you can make physical contact with Professor Stein, and Firestorm Matrix will take over."

"Easy enough," Henry nodded, but the manner in which he said those words gave the impression he thought it was simple math terms.

"Ready?" Cisco asked both men this time.

"No time like the present," Stein held his cane for Caitlin to take. "Thank you, my dear."

"Okay," Cisco put the splicer on Henry's chest. The device immediately whirred to life as it sprouted three metal bars across Henry's chest.

Both Henry and Stein turned to face each other, their hands reaching to make contact with the other. Their tips flamed on before dying out, leaving the two very much separated.

"Try again," Caitlin encouraged them after a moment of confusion.

They reached out to merge again but not even flames had appeared that time. It appeared that it was not going to work.

"This is unexpected…" Stein pulled his hand back.

"Something's supposed to be happening, right?" Henry shot the others an irritated look. "Why isn't it working?"

Belén didn't like the attitude displayed towards them like it was their fault. "Genius if we knew we wouldn't be having this problem."

Cisco stepped towards the two men to take off the splicer from Henry. "Uh, well, looks like you two aren't compatible after all."

"So all this was for nothing?" Henry now openly snared.

"Believe me, no one is more disappointed than I am," Stein despondently sighed, but Henry flatout ignored the implications of the failure.

"Yeah, don't be so sure about that. Next time, try to get your act together before you get someone's hopes up." Henry stormed out of the cortex.

The group didn't know how to react after that setback. Stein would have to continue muffling through for the moment.

"So, what happens now?" Belén dreaded to ask. She and Barry walked down the street leading up to her house. "If Henry Hewitt can't merge…"

"We have to hope that Jefferson Jackson comes through," Barry said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You met him with professor Stein today, right? Did he look interested?"

"Uum…" Barry made a face that said it all.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow," Belén hoped this other candidate would turn out to be better than Hewitt. They walked up to Belén's front porch staircase.

"Is there anyone home?" Barry looked at the dark windows of her house. Belén told him earlier in the day her mother would be staying at a hotel in the meantime they made good on the house deed.

"No, it'll just be me and Axel," Belén moved up to the door to unlock it. "I need to start packing, actually. I'm leaving Axel with Mrs. Andrews for the rest of the day so I can get a head start."

"But you're staying alone in the night?" Barry's tone indicated his outright refusal.

"Relax," Belén rolled her eyes and opened the door, "I doubt Zoom or Datura make house visits."

"I...Bells, do we really want to push that luck? Would it kill you to just stay with Caitlin some more time?"

"No offence to Caitlin, but what exactly makes it more safe at her place than here?" Belén smiled as Barry fumbled over an answer. "It's not like Caitlin has powers. Buuuuut…" she pretended innocence, "...you know, I wouldn't be opposed to some help with packing. Without the speed."

"Oh c'mon," Barry complained but was already coming in after her. Belén giggled while he began making his case on why he should very much be allowed to use said speed.

~0~

The next day, the group was more than happy to see Jefferson Jackson deciding to meet with them. The young man was fascinated by all the scientific machinery set around and had to take a moment to really get the jist of the place.

"I thought S.T.A.R. Labs had to shut down," he remarked after a while.

"You can say it's under new management," Belén innocently waved a hand from her spot at the desk. She figured he looked more or less the same way she did when she first stepped foot in the room a year ago.

"Cool. So, let's get started," Jax clapped his hands. "You got some kind of "Billion Dollar Man" technology that gonna fix my knee?"

Barry realized the other man was under the ruse they would be bringing him back to his regular self. "Actually, Jax, this isn't about fixing your knee."

"What are you talking about?"

"When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the energy wave that collided with you is known as dark matter," Caitlin began explaining.

"And it didn't just hurt your knee," Stein finished for her. "It-it changed the molecular structure of your body."

Jax raised an eyebrow at him. "Whoa, hold on, Grey. So you're saying I'm like one of those meta-humans I keep hearing about on the news?"

Stein was not amused by the little nickname the man had branded him with. "Yes, I am. Please, call me Professor."

"We think you have potential capabilities," Cisco tried to explain next, assuming they were freaking Jax out.

"What kind of capabilities?"

"The same as Professor Stein: the ability for your body to process fission and fusion," Caitlin answered.

Cisco raised the splicer device for Jax to see. "And you can harness excess energy and turn it into these massive nuclear blasts."

"And, if it helps, you can fly," Belén added whimsically, adding a moment later in a low voice, "Wish I could fly."

Jax was bewildered and glanced at Stein sitting on a chair, looking far too, well, old to do all those powers. "So you're saying you can do all this?"

"Only during times of convergence with a willing partner.

"Convergence?" Jax concluded what they needed from him and laughed. "You and me? No, this is crazy."

"No, Jax, this is your chance to right the wrong that was done to you," Caitlin frowned at his careless reaction.

"Yeah, sorry, you got the wrong guy," Jax made a signal he was going to leave. "I don't want nothing to do with this."

Caitlin wasn't going to give up and cut him off. "Wait a second, we are giving you the chance to be a superhero, and you're gonna say no that quickly?"

"Yeah, not my kind of thing," Jax said.

Stein began pushing himself upwards from his chair "If the man isn't willing to participate-"

"Look, I saw your test scores, Jax. Your grades were good enough to get into college, but you didn't go," Caitlin continued on, sounding angrier. "Why? Is this the type of guy you are? One setback and you fold? Well, then maybe you're not the guy for us anyway."

"Caitlin-" Belén meant to stop her but the damage was done.

"Well, maybe I'm not," Jax sourly agreed and stormed out.

"Maybe this just wasn't meant to be," Stein exceptionally walked out as well.

"Caitlin you shouldn't have done that," Belén got up her chair, earning a very sharp look from the brunette in return.

"He said no to being a superhero. Who does that?" Caitlin angrily looked at the others for back up. "I mean, you didn't say no when you had the chance. Cisco, would you?"

Cisco battled through a nervous laugh. "Chance to have superpowers? Sign me up."

"Look, we're asking Jax to change his entire life, to sacrifice what he does have," Barry tried simplifying it for Caitlin, because he thought she'd been a bit hard on Jax too. "I mean, that's not a decision that can be made lightly. It took me a long time to figure out this whole hero thing."

Caitlin still didn't understand. "Exactly, which is why we need someone who wants to do this."

"Where are you going?" Belén watched the woman begin to leave.

"To get Hewitt back. We have to try again," Caitlin said loudly and stormed away.

~0~

Later that day, Barry called in Patty to give her the results of her "shark teeth". As soon as Patty heard the results, she projected grave disappointment.

"Human DNA?" she looked up from the results.

"Yup, definitely not a man-shark. Not even a land shark, Ma'am," Barry laughed but Patty seemed pretty upset.

"Well, thanks for testing it for me," Patty sighed and turned to leave.

"What are you gonna do now?"

Patty stopped and thought for a moment. "I don't know, probably file it under "never gonna happen." I have another case anyway."

"Oh, anything I can help you with?"

"No, no, no, no, Detective said definitely n-not," Patty knew she was being a horrible liar but in her defence she warned Joe she couldn't keep secrets very well. And keeping the newest case that involved apparently the deceased Harrison Wells was a big one.

Barry immediately recognized her off look and worried. "Is everything okay?"

Patty did not make things better by laughing so nervously. "Sure, why?"

"I don't know, you're just acting kind of different…"

"No! No. I'm the same old P. Spivot, you know?" Patty inwardly smacked herself for being so obvious. She needed to leave fast. "I have to go, but thank you so much for testing this, and I'll see you."

Barry couldn't even get an "okay" out when the woman had already rushed out. He decided he would go to Joe himself for some answers. Why wouldn't Joe want him working on a case with them? It wasn't like him.

As Barry was coming down the stairs, he caught sight of Veronica coming out of the main office. Thinking of their oh-so-grand meeting the previous day, Barry thought he would try it again with some better results. He knew Belén was right in that Veronica didn't know him and perhaps they just needed time but it did bother him that this woman decided - out of the blue - that she wouldn't like him.

"Ms. Green?" he called to the woman engrossed with a file in her hands. Soon as she looked up Barry could see her eyes narrow a bit. "Everything...okay?" That was a stupid question but Barry couldn't think of another way to start.

"Of course. I just finished with papers for my transfer. I start this Monday," Veronica informed.

"That's great! I guess we'll be seeing each other more often then," Barry smiled but Veronica just stared.

"Yes…" Veronica didn't have to openly say that she wasn't as thrilled as one would think.

Barry saw that and inwardly sighed. "Ms. Green, I just want to say that I'm very happy you and Bells are working on a new relationship."

"Bells?" Veronica repeated her daughter's nickname with distaste.

"U-uh, sorry, Belén. That's just...what we call her sometimes…" Barry said slowly, seeing no such progress. Veronica still did not lighten up. "Anyways, I just…" he sighed, deciding to simply be honest with how he felt and see what happened from there, "...Belén has suffered a lot, I've seen it, and I think she could really use her mother. She deserves that."

"Yes, well, she deserves more doesn't she?" Veronica openly said instead, jabbing him with her double meaning. Her knowing smile on him didn't make Barry feel any better.

~ 0 ~

"She said that?" Cisco gaped after hearing Barry's story - which was admittedly funny in some point. The two were in the cortex, watching over Axel while Belén went for some coffee in the kitchen of the building. "Duuuude…" Cisco began to chuckle, much to Barry's offence

"Why does everyone think it's so funny?" he frowned. First Joe, and now Cisco? Next thing he knew Iris would burst out laughing next.

"I mean, it would happen to you," Cisco walked over to the desk where Axel sat. He glanced at the boy who was busy attempting to write his name on paper, oblivious to their talk.

"Thanks," Barry frowned. "I get that not everyone is gonna like me but...this precise woman happens to be Belén's mother. She has to like me."

Cisco smirked as he plopped down on a chair next to Axel. "Right."

"I mean, Bells won over my Dad so quick…" Barry began to pace in front of the desk.

"Well, Belén is adorable, so…" Cisco trailed off when Barry glared for his lack of seriousness. "Alright, no time for jokes, then."

"No," Barry shook his head and came to a stop. He put his hands on the edge of the desk and sighed. "I can...see a future with Belén, I really can, and in that future...I don't see this," he gestured to the situation.

Cisco raised his eyebrows, able to barely to hold his teasing smile back. "Belén Allen?"

"Hey!" Belén had walked in, eyes wide and on Cisco. "I don't know what you were talking about but I know 'shut up' fits perfectly."

Cisco found it even more difficult not to tease. Belén placed down a mug of coffee for Cisco on the desk, handed Barry his own then took her own.

"So, dare I ask what we were discussing?" she made eyes at Barry who was busy trying not to be as red as possible.

"Auntie Belén! Look at my name!" Axel waved his paper in the air, nearly smacking Cisco on the face a couple times.

"Let me see that before you paper cut this beautiful face of mine," Cisco took the paper from the boy and looked down at the squiggly-lined name. "Well, for a four year old, it's not that bad."

"It's my homework," Axel said proudly.

"Great job, Axel," Belén mused after seeing the paper. "Least your name isn't Annah-Belén with a hyphen and everything," she shook her head and shot Barry a look. "You and I know about long names, don't we Bartholomew?"

The speedster silently glowered.

"You guys," Caitlin came rushing into the room seeming very concerned.

"What's wrong?" asked Barry, but Caitlin came directly for the computers. She said nothing as she typed and pulled up a page on the one of the computers up on the wall.

It was a news-reporter in the middle of a newscast, the byline underneath reading something about questioning a Henry Hewitt.

"What's…?" Belén blinked at the screen.

"There was a scene at Mercury Labs where apparently Hewitt showed some sort of metahuman abilities," Caitlin explained, sighing deeply. "He nearly hurt one of his bosses and the witness said he was unusually aggressive."

"But...he has powers now?" Belén looked at the others for some help understanding that.

"Hewitt's dormant abilities must have been triggered when we attempted the merger," Barry realized.

"And that could be catastrophic," Caitlin crossed her arms. "If his powers are anything like professor Stein's then he requires a grounding mechanism to stabilize his volatility."

"Yeah, he's gonna pop his top," Cisco scoffed, wondering if he hadn't done it on his own already. The man seemed to carry a temper with him anyways. "And considering he's got a long history of violence - according to his police record - we probably don't have much time."

"Police record?" Barry threw a look over to Caitlin.

"I didn't find a police record," the brunette said defensibly.

Cisco scoffed. "Yeah, of course not, it was sealed, but guess what, ya boy hacked in and-" he started on the computer, "-hold on, wait for it."

"Yowzah," Belén's eyes roamed the heavy police record Cisco pulled up for them.

"One count battery, two counts aggravated assault, court-ordered anger management therapy," Cisco listed.

"He seemed like such a nice guy," Caitlin said dejectedly.

"Looks are deceiving," Belén remarked.

"Professor Stein is getting worse. And Hewitt's like this because of me. And now Jefferson Jackson will never come back because of what I said," Caitlin felt completely guilty for the mess she thought she was responsible for. "I just didn't believe that he has what it takes."

"This isn't because you didn't believe in him," Barry made her stop for a moment. "Sometimes, great possibilities are right in front of us, and we don't see them, because we choose not to. I think that we need to be open to exploring something new."

Caitlin valued his words, she did, and nodded her head. "I'm gonna go fix it," she mumbled and turned to leave.

"We have to keep an eye on professor Stein," Cisco got up from his chair. "Time is running out."

"Yeah," Belén moved over for Axel. "We'll be back later, then. I promised my mother I would show her my new place. Which reminds me…" she started smiling at Barry, with purpose, "...I know I said no speed for moving out, but...considering I'm a bit behind…"

"I got it," Barry nodded, promising her. "I'll go in later tonight, don't worry."

"Thank you," Belén ushered Axel off his chair and the two walked off.

"So...we're just not gonna tell her that her mothers hates you?" Cisco curiously looked after Belén.

"No," Barry replied instantly. With a warning finger for Cisco to keep quiet as well, he walked out too.

~ 0 ~

As soon as Belén had gotten word from her mother she was waiting for her back in their old home, Belén did her best to get there on time. If there was one thing her mother despised it was tardiness.

"My toys!?" Axel gasped the moment he saw various boxes already piling up around the living room. "Auntie Belén, are my toys in there!?"

"Don't worry Axel, your things are in your room," Belén assured as she closed the door. "Mom?" she called, leaving her purse on a stand by table.

Veronica walked out from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. Axel was delighted to see his grandmother and ran forwards to hug her. "Grandma, wanna play with my toys with me?" he asked excitedly.

"Not right now, sweetheart," Veronica smiled at him, speaking a soft voice. Belén honestly couldn't see that version of her mother as, well..her mother. It was always arguments and bickering with the others.

"Aaaw," Axel pulled back and turned away.

"Axel, go on out to the backyard for a moment," Belén instructed the child.

"Okay!"

"But stay away from Aunt Belén's flowers, alright?"

"Yes!" Axel promised and rushed for the back door.

"So you've been packing…" Veronica lowered her glass to observe the room. "I checked upstairs and...you're almost completely packed too."

"Yeah," Belén shrugged. "I want to get out of here as fast as possible."

"You know I'm not kicking you out-"

"No, yeah, I know that," Belén promised her. "I just…" her eyes began to look around the familiar living room, "...don't like being here anymore. There's too many bad things, memories...I can't continue living here if I want to function normally."

"You're almost set then," Veronica gestured to the packing boxes behind them. "I'm surprised you packed so fast."

"I had help from Barry, Mom," Belén rolled her eyes.

"Oh," Veronica could not help the face expression that settled.

Belén saw it too and frowned. "Oh c'mon, are you actually not liking him? Barry mentioned it but I just thought he was being dramatic."

"He told you that?" it appeared Veronica was offended and yet, upset that apparently Barry had disclosed this information.

"Well gee, Mom, considering I'm his girlfriend and he just met my Mom who created such a negative image of him...yeah, he did mention it because he was upset."

Veronica made a small noise and shook her head. She brought her glass to her lips and drank.

"Can I just ask what is the problem?" Belén sighed, so completely done with arguments between them. "You know nothing of me, and then you have the audacity to hate my boyfriend whom you've never even properly met."

"The last time I heard he broke up with you in a very harsh way," Veronica tilted her glass, pretending to be interested in the swirling water. "And that left you so bad you decided to go to a psychologist."

"Hey-" Belén struck a sharp finger at her mother, "-that was because of Maritza, Axel, Rayan, and the frikin black-hole that appeared in the sky as well! I decided to go to Dr. Baeva for me. I decided I wanted to feel better, to be better so I went for professional help."

"Belén-"

"No, Mom, you're being unfair," Belén said softly. "I bet grandma and grandpa were against at least one of your boyfriends when you were my age. And how about Nona Enger? Remember how that feels?"

Veronica's lips twitched into a smile. "Your father's mother was an outright..." she definitely wouldn't finish that sentence out loud.

"Can't you at least give him a chance?" Belén asked. "One dinner - that's all I'm asking. You can get to know Barry and see that he's really sweet and...and dorky, I'm not gonna lie," she smiled. "But overall he is someone that I can truly think about having a future with."

Veronica's attention was drawn most by the last statement. "That much, huh?" she asked with eyebrows raised.

Belén nodded. "Yes."

Veronica gave a small nod as she thought about the deal proposed. "Okay-" Belén's eyes widened, "-I accept. One dinner-" she raised a finger, "-this weekend."

The biggest smile spread across Belén's face. "Oh my God, thank you!" she rushed up to Veronica and surprised her with a large hug.

Belén rarely hugged her.

~ 0 ~

By the time Belén returned to STAR Labs, much had happened. But it was to her delight to learn that Jax had come through and merged successfully with professor Stein, creating a new Firestorm. Unfortunately, she also learned that Henry Hewitt was up and about again attacking people. Barry and the new Firestorm had gone out to stop him.

"You sure Jax can handle this?" Belén anxiously stood behind Caitlin and Cisco at the desk. "He did just get his powers…"

"He has this," Caitlin assured with a new sense of faith in Jax.

"Plus, he has professor Stein in his head," Cisco added with a wag of his finger.

Belén agreed it was true but it still didn't diminish all her concerns.

"Hey, guys, cutting the power didn't work," Barry's voice came through the speakers. "It's like the more we anger him, the stronger he gets."

"Powers based on emotions? Hm," Belén pretended to think for a moment, "Now where have I seen that before."

"That's it," Caitlin realized. "The more powerful he becomes, the more unstable they become. Barry, make him angry, and he'll blow his fuse."

"Are you saying that I'm unstable?" Belén shot the brunette a look.

Caitlin made an apologetic face.

"Don't worry, we'll get her back when you can go full-on Azalea again," Cisco nudged Belén on the side. "Imagine what new sides you can unlock."

When all was said and done, Henry Hewitt was brought back to STAR Labs and placed in the pipeline where he would not be able to tell a soul of what he learned in the recent week. It appeared like his powers had diminished with his last fight. Now as the new firestorm prepared to leave to begin training again, the group went on to say their goodbyes.

"Why Are we going to Pittsburgh again?" asked Jax after hearing Stein mention it to Joe.

"A colleague of mine was monumental in helping train Ronald and me. She's graciously offered to help the two of us as well."

"How's she gonna help us?"

"Well, there were many aspects of our abilities that we never quite achieved. Hopefully now, we can fully realize that potential." Stein said hopefully and turned to say goodbye to Caitlin. "Oh, my dearest Dr. Snow. Ronald may be lost to us, but he will never be forgotten."

Caitlin hugged him goodbye.

"Okay but when you start flying...take a picture dammit," Belén told Jax, making him laugh. "I mean it. That view would be phenomenal."

"I think they'd have more to do, Bells," Barry came by for her.

"I was just saying...you know, if you got a chance," Belén casually waved her hand on her side.

Cisco approached them with the splicer in hand, excitedly apparently. "I went ahead and recalibrated the splicer so the merging should be even smoother now."

"Are you ready, Jefferson?" Stein asked the younger man. With a nod, Jax moved over so that the two would merge better.

"All right," Jax said after merging, still sounding surprised of his new ability. He erupted in flames and flew up into the sky.

"I really want that picture," Belén mumbled under her breath.

"Yeah c'mon," Barry tugged her by the hand. "You want to get lunch?"

"Mhm! So I can tell you the big news I have," Belén excitedly revealed.

"Interesting," Barry hummed in thought. He said a goodbye to the others and took off with Belén for Jitters.

"So, I talked to my Mom," Belén began as soon as they entered the place.

"You did…?" Barry made a face behind her.

"Yes, and I don't want you to freak out or anything but...she doesn't exactly favor you."

"No?" Barry feigned perfect surprise. "I wasn't dreaming?"

Belén sighed. "Nope. But I got her to give you a chance. You think you can do dinner with her and me this weekend?" there was a heavy alarm in Barry's face that questioned the sanity of the plan. Belén clapped her hands together, ready to plead. "I promise it will be just fine. You just have...to be yourself."

"I don't mean to be rude but I think 'being myself' is what got me into this situation in the first place," Barry released a breath he'd been holding in.

"She doesn't know you," Belén persisted. "She knows a part of you that...that wasn't you. Please say you'll do it? Pretty please?"

"Oh, sure, use that face on me, how can I refuse?" Barry sarcastically said.

"So...you'll come then?"

"Yes, of course I will," Barry nodded. "But you have to do one thing in return."

"What is it?"

"Don't leave me alone with her," Barry pleaded with a shaking voice.

Belén laughed but agreed nonetheless. Throughout the rest of their lunch, which turned out to last much later, Belén started giving Barry helpful tips for when they met with Veronica later that weekend. While Belén was confident that her mother would end up liking Barry she also thought that a little help couldn't hurt either. When they were finished, the two arrived at the CCPD for different reasons. Belén promised Patty they would have that pending coffee night - which switched to a movie night considering Belén had just come back from Jitters. Barry had a bit of work to finish before he could call it a night.

"So, any movie you're interested in seeing?" Belén asked Patty as the two walked out of the station.

"Something actiony?" Patty suggested and Belén just laughed.

"A cop wants to watch an action movie I'm not surprised!"

But the two had barely made it across the street when a loud clash stopped them in their tracks. Green vines had wrapped around trash cans and threw them towards the two women. They lunged in opposite directions to avoid being hit. Soon as Belén looked up she saw a woman in a glimmering green bodysuit and long ginger hair coming for her. There were bits of green plants adorning the corner of her eyes.

"What are you-"

The ginger made a wag of her finger and struck forwards a hand. Belén was hit with a thick vine tendril and blasted back against a street pole, effectively knocking her out.

"Oh my God!" Patty didn't waste a minute and whipped out her gun, taking aim at the ginger who was coming for them. "Put your hands in the air!"

But the ginger smirked and reached a hand out, making Patty begin to shoot. Poison Ivy swiveled with her vines to avoid the bullets successfully. Hearing the bullets, Barry appeared as the Flash to see what the trouble was and came to the horror sight instead.

"Flash," Poison Ivy's lips curled into a delighted smile. "Zoom wants you dead. But for now I'm here to collect for Datura."

"Over my dead body," Barry frowned. He sped Patty and Belén into the station and then returned. Poison Ivy had yet to even blink.

"Don't make me hunt my prey at this hour," Poison Ivy's darkened red lips curled into a sinister smile.

"Why are you hunting her in the first place?" demanded Barry.

"For Datura, of course," Poison Ivy held her hands out, ready to attack when someone blasted her with a high-tech gun. She cringed and fell forwards to reveal a hooded man.

The hooded figure made to leave just as he'd appeared but Barry sped after him. "Who the hell are you?" he grew tired of asking the same questions.

When the hooded man pulled down his hood, Barry wished he would have never asked.

The man turned out to be Harrison Wells.

From afar, the same brunette women who had watched Belén now watched the scene unfold with satisfaction. "Here we go," she glanced in the direction of the precinct with flashing red eyes.

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

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xrikix · 4 years

Text

» Hiraeth || Haikyuu AU

❝They will learn how to fly.❞ – an AU where the kids of Haikyuu characters grow their passion for volleyball and face new problems.

Read Part 3 Here!

Starring our OC’s Hoshi, Minami, and Leo! (don’t worry they’re as fluffy as our babies from Haikyuu but sprinkle in more angst)

Prequel 4: Saying Goodbye (goodbye fluff we’ll see you again in uh... 189208 chapters)

There was a slight chill in the air as the sky was gray, with the smell of rain on the horizon. They were at the playground besides their middle school, saying their goodbyes before heading to their high school lives. The volleyball soared through the air as Leo setted the ball towards Hoshi who promptly bumped the ball towards Minami. The cycle continued within their little triangle as they eagerly shouted for the ball. The sound of their gasps in the air mixed with the dust from their shoes as they played. Leo’s phone abruptly rang, surprising him enough to get hit by the incoming ball on his face. "Oww," he muttered as his glasses drooped to the side. Minami laughed as she watched her brother fix himself before snickering at the glare he was sending her.

"Leo, you should get it." Hoshi said as he picked up the ball, clutching it under his arm.

"Yeah, yeah," Leo muttered as he slowly walked to the bench where his phone was. His phone was vibrating, the sounds of baby shark doo doo doo do blasted throughout the playground.

Minami chuckled, “When are you going to grow up, loser.”

“Shush! It’s a funny song okay?-- Hey dad," Leo said as he talked into the phone. Minami and Hoshi resumed passing the ball as Leo nodded, "Yeah okay, we'll see you soon." He pressed the end call button and turned towards Minami and Hoshi. "Hey! Dad just called, we gotta get going." The ball dropped into Minami's hands as she pouted, "I'm not ready to leave yet," as she looked wistfully at their school.

Hoshi put his hands in his pocket, his mind preparing the next few sentences he needed to say, "We should get going," turning his head away, trying to tell himself everything was going to be okay.

"It looks like it's going to rain," Minami muttered as she peered up at the sky.

"We should hurry then, we're almost home," Leo responded, picking up his pace. He turned around to face Hoshi who was lagging behind, playing with the volleyball in his hands. "C'mon Hoshi! We gotta make it before it starts to rain!"

Hoshi looked up from the ball and ran towards them, forcing a smile onto his face. "I'll race you guys there!" Before running off.

"Oh it's on!" Minami yelled, rolling her sleeves up and chasing after him.

"Guys!" Leo shouted before beginning to sprint, too caught up in the excitement.

Panting, they arrived in front of their homes as the sky turned into a palette of melancholy yellow, orange, and purple.

"I-" Hoshi raised his hand out of breath, "-won."

Stretching her back Minami laughed, "Pft you wish. I did."

Leo looked at them, his eyebrow raised, "You both are crazy. I won."

They all looked at each other before bursting out with laugher, their smiles chasing away the gloomy sky. "I can't wait to have more fun in high school. And play volleyball with a team!" Minami yelled, throwing her fist into the air. Hoshi stopped laughing at her words as his smile dropped.

Leo quickly saw the shift in his mood, "What's wrong, Hoshi?"

Hoshi turned to look at the twins and softly smiled, "Nothing, its… nothing." Leo tilted his head as Minami started to notice his faltering smile.

She scoffed, "You can't lie to us," as she pointed to Leo, "he notices everything because of his nerd glasses."

Leo glared, "I'm sorry that I happen to be the smarter one," smirking. Minami stuck her tongue out, muttering under her breath.

Hoshi sighed as he looked away, his hands shoved into his pockets and the volleyball on the ground besides him. "I--"

"Just tell us, it can't be that bad," Minami said as she put her hand on his shoulders and gently encouraged him, already forgetting about the ordeal that just occured.

His answers came out as whispers as Leo nudged him on, "We can't hear you."

Hoshi clutched his shirt, clinging onto it as if his life depended on it. "I'm not going to Karasuno like you guys."

The twins were stunned. Their smiles dropped as the air tensed. Thunder struck in a near distance, as rain began pouring out of the gloomy sky.

Hoshi could not look up towards the twins. "My parents want me to go to Aoba Johsai just like they did and it just makes more sense-"

Minami’s voice quivered, “But you told us that-” Tears began falling out of her eyes, anger crossing her face as she turned away from him and ran into her house. The front door was slammed shut, with the sound resonating throughout the street.

Leo looked at Hoshi who seemed like he had just been shot. Hoshi’s hands were trembling as he looked into the dark sky, avoiding Leo’s gaze.

Leo brought himself to put his hand on his shoulders, "Thanks for telling us."

Hoshi looked up at him, as the rain slid down his face, seemingly like tears, "It was the right thing to do, right? Before disappearing on you guys..."

Leo halfheartedly laughed, "We'll still see you?"

"Of course, we'll still be neighbors, and… I'll see you on the court!" Hoshi responded bringing his hand out in a handshake determinedly.

Leo laughed as he grasped it, his smile beaming. "Hey, I'll talk to Minami about it, you know how she is with emotions." Hoshi halfheartedly nodded.

Leo turned towards his home, "Promise we'll see each other on the court?"

Hoshi stared at his outstretched hands before smiling with determination, feeling slightly better, "You know it."

Leo put a hand over his head as he quickly ran to their front year before turning around and waving. Letting his hand drop, Hoshi bent to pick up the ball and ran towards the door as the rain continued to fall like stars who had lost their way. The door opened to Okiawa who had a somber smile on his face. "Did you tell them?" He gently asked, bringing a towel to dry his son’s hair.

Hoshi looked at the floor, watching the water drip as his previous feelings returned. "Yeah. You heard it didn't you?" The towel hanging limp around his neck.

Okiawa nodded, "Even aliens could’ve heard that door slam. Your dad is on the phone with Hinata right now. He called right after Minami barged into their house, wet and crying. He was very worried, but I think they understand now. And… Minami will calm down soon, don't worry."

Hoshi dryly laughed, "Didn't you tell them?"

Okiawa shrugged, "It was just, kind of assumed, I guess. But now…" He pointed towards the bathroom, "Take a warm shower before you catch something. We don't want you sick on your first day of school." Hoshi nodded, and shuffled into the bathroom before tears began dripping onto his towel.

"Minami’s in a state of shock right now." Iwazumi said as he walked towards Okiawa, phone in hand.

Okiawa sighed, "Those two… they liked each other, didn't they?"

Iwazumi nodded, "I feel bad but Aoba Johsai is going to be better for him."

Okiawa put his hands on his hips, "Besides why would we send our son to our enemies? He's too good for them." before manically laughing.

Iwazumi rolled his eyes sighing, "You're not helping."

"Hey sis?" Leo said as he knocked on her door. Sniffles could be heard in the room, before he gently opened her door.

Minami was curled in her bed with Hinata and Kageyama sitting, consoling her. Leo walked over as his parents made room for him.

"Sweetie, it's all going to be okay," Hinata said as he rubbed her arm.

Minami faced the wall, the blankets all bundled up around her. "I just- just- thought we'd all stay together." sniffles continued as she rubbed vigorously at her eyes.

Leo looked at her with soft eyes, "Hey, we'll all still be together, but just at separate schools… We're still neighbors, and we'll still see Hoshi a lot!" Leo said, trying to contribute. Whenever Minami felt down, he would always console her, and even though he felt like shedding his own tears, he wanted to make his twin smile.

"I don't know… we're all gonna be playing volleyball and that takes a lot of time out of our day…" Minami responded, her voice sounding dry and raspy.

“We'll make it work, we always do!" Leo said positively.

Kageyama ruffled Minami’s hair, "I learned from my past that despite being separated, you can still keep your strongest relationships, like this annoying tangerine of a husband and I."

Minami turned around to face him with a smile creeping into her lips, "Well yeah cause you're married to him."

Hinata laughed as Kageyama tried to find another way to help comfort his daughter. "You know what I mean!"

She started giggling, “Yeah I know what you mean… thank you guys for trying to make me feel better."

Leo flicked her on the forehead, "Anything for you, sis!"

Hinata grinned, "You wanna go into the kitchen for some hot choco?"

Minami shook her head, burrowing herself deeper into her cave of blankets, "No imma stay here for a while but call me for dinner."

Hinata and Kageyama proceeded to leave and prepare dinner as Leo jumped into her bed despite her protests. Blankets were flying all over the place covering Minami, while she tried to fight back. Luckily he saw her tiny smile amidst her grumbles, and realized their future would still be full of stars.

#haikyū!!#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu au #haikyuu fanfic #kagehina #kageyama #hinata shouyou #iwaoi #iwazumi hajime #oikawa #anime #anime au #oc #haikyuu oc

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hms-chill · 5 years

Text

The Dewey Decimal System, and Other Love Languages

Alternate Title: Love in the Time of Midterms

Summary: A few weeks into his job at the library, a patron asks Henry where to find “the gay books”, kicking off half a semester of pining.

Henry is finishing shelving a cart of large print books when his life changes forever.

"Excuse me, hi. Do you have any gay books?" The boy asking is around Henry's age. He's short, and he's dressed casually in a polo and jeans, dress shoes and backpack categorizing him as a student at the local college. Henry's brain notes that he's attractive, though Henry refuses to acknowledge that thought.

"Of course! Fiction or nonfiction?"

"Oh. I... I guess either one? I wasn't sure I'd get to pick." Henry isn't offended that this handsome college student wouldn't think there were queer books in the library. He isn't, not in the slightest, offended that he seems to think the library is stuck in the 1940s. He refuses to let the other boy see how not offended he is, and he certainly doesn't use the excuse to show off a bit and display just how many queer books the library has.

"Alright, well, for nonfiction, you're going to want the early 300s for books on gender and sexuality. I believe it's somewhere between 303 and 307, and I want to say 306, but I've only been here a couple weeks and don't know the Dewey decimal system as well as I'd like to. I don't get to shelve much nonfic. If you're looking for fiction, we don't exactly have a queer section, but I could direct you to some that I've enjoyed or heard about."

"That would be good."

"If you like Greek mythology, Madeline Miller's A Song of Achilles is very queer. So are most of Rick Riordan's books, especially his later series. If you like travel novels or adventure books, Mackenzie Lee's The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue has a bi lead, and the sequel focuses on his aro/ace sister. If you're into fantasy or fantastic realism, Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle has queer characters, and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows is a heist story with a bunch of queer characters. There's also How to Fix a Mechanical Heart, Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, and Kiss Number 8 in YA, though I haven't read those. In sci-fi, I haven't gotten around to them, but the Welcome to Night Vale novels under Fink would almost certainly have queer representation. The main character of the podcast is gay. He wrote an Alice Isn't Dead novel, too, and that podcast is about a woman looking for her wife, so I can't imagine the book would be... Sorry; this is probably more than you want." The other boy is typing furiously on his phone, brow furrowed just a bit as he tries to get everything down. The way his tongue pokes out the side of his mouth most certainly isn't the cutest thing Henry has seen all day. He has a dog, after all. David is, objectively, much cuter than a handsome boy seriously taking notes on queer fiction that Henry likes.

"This is good. It's perfect. Thank you," the boy says, still looking at his phone. He looks up a moment later, suddenly quieter, to ask, "Um, another question; do you have any books on mental health?"

"Mid or late 100s I think. They're before mythology in the 200s, but I'm not entirely sure where, sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. You're new. That's perfect. Thank you. Have a nice ga-- day. Have a nice day."

"You, too. If you need anything else, I'm working until six, and I spend a lot of time shelving in the kids room. I'd be happy to help."

"Okay. Yeah, thanks. Have a good one." With that, the boy turns to leave, and Henry finishes shelving his cart, trying to forget the other boy's smile and the way he'd furiously typed every book Henry recommended. He tries to forget the other boy's hesitation to ask about mental health books, the endearing shyness that most definitely did not tug at Henry's heartstrings. After all, there really isn't a point pining over a patron he'll never see again.

As it turns out, Henry does see the patron again. He's back a few days later, and Henry looks up just in time to see him dump a massive stack of books into the return slot. He smiles at Henry, making a beeline over to where he's shelving.

"Hi again, um, do you have any cookbooks?"

"Upstairs; 641."

"What the fuck. Hod do you do that?"

"We have a lot of cookbooks, and they're popular. I reshelve them a lot." It's really not that impressive of a thing to know. Some of Henry's coworkers know the Dewey decimal system forwards and backwards, but the other boy is looking at him like he's just done something incredible."

"What else do you have memorized?"

"Um, let's see. World War II is in the 940s. Current politics are in the 900s; The Meuller Report is in the 990s I think. I shelved that a lot. Mythology is in the 200s, folklore and fairy tales and stuff the late 300s. UFOs, cryptids, that kind of thing in the 90s, and computer stuff before that. Hobbies are in the 690s or 790s. Animals are 590s; sharks in particular are... 597? No. 587. I think. Airplanes 626. 808 is short stories, poems are after that and then by 811 you're into plays. Workout and health stuff is before cookbooks, so 639 or 640. Queer and gender stuff 306. Biography 900s is princess books, and 400s are foreign language. Travel is the late 800s or early 900s I think; they're in the back somewhere."

"That's incredible. I thought you said you were new. How long have you been here?" He's so impressed, and Henry isn't sure he's ever felt so proud of something so simple. The fact that this random patron is one of two people in the city to actually compliment him recently certainly doesn't help with the crush he's working hard not to develop.

"About three weeks."

"Holy sh-- cow. You're so smart. How are you this smart?"

Henry feels his face start to go red. "It's just one of those things you pick up."

"Still, it's incredible."

"Thank you. But you needed a cookbook? Any type in particular? We have a pretty large collection, so I can show you the online catalog if you want. It can give you more exact information than I can."

"Yeah, but if you teach me to use the catalogue, I won't have an excuse to come bother you." He winks, leaning against a shelf, and he really doesn't have any business looking so carefree and handsome. He came here to check things out, not get checked out. Not that Henry is doing any checking out.

"Well, I wouldn't mind if you still come bother me. It's a nice break from the monotony. The catalogue could just help for when I'm wrong or not here."

"Alright, fine. I'm not sure how much help a search is going to be, though. I doubt there's a book called What to Make When You Invite Your Family to Your College Apartment to Tell Them You're Bi." He freezes for a second, and Henry knows all too well the sudden nerves, the tense moment of waiting for a reaction.

"If you find one, let me know. I'm sure I could adapt it for being gay," he says, and the other boy relaxes. When he looks up, his smile is back, and he follows Henry to a computer catalogue.

He comes down from the cookbook section nearly an hour later, three cookbooks in his arms. He's headed for the checkout, but he turns when he sees Henry with an empty cart.

"Hey, hi. I, um, well, I found a rainbow cookbook. I'll have to change the colors and things, but I thought maybe I could do something from that? Like a layer cake with a pride flag or something? I mean, I know they'll be okay with it. At least I think they will. My... my dad's pretty catholic, but we have a family friend who's gay and my dad's done a ton to look after and fight for him. We all love him. And my best friend is bi, and they've practically adopted her so it should be okay. I don't... I don't think it'll go badly, but... sorry. This isn't part of your job."

"I don't mind. You're making a cake with a pride flag; what else are you going to make? Would it help to talk it through?"

"Sure. Yeah. I'm thinking elote, since we made that a lot growing up, and one of these has a recipe for doing it on a stovetop instead of a grill. And then I was thinking ribs, but I don't have a grill, so I thought instead I'd make some pulled pork? It's got that barbecue thing that'll go well with the elote, and it's really easy to make a lot, so I can just tell everyone at once and get it over with. And if there's extra I can freeze it."

"I think it sounds good, and it sounds like they'll be happy to support you. I can tell they mean a lot to you; you're lucky to have them. You'll have to let me know how it goes if we bump into each other again."

"I will, yeah. Thank you. You've been wonderful."

"Good luck."

The other boy smiles and goes to check out, and Henry takes his cart back to the staff room, hoping he'll get an update soon.

On Monday, the other boy is back, and he comes up to Henry with a giant grin.

"It went well! It was so good. My mom got a bunch of brochures about staying safe, which was awkward but it's how she shows love, and my dad didn't care, and my sister won't stop trying to get me to join tinder so she can set me up with someone. They... they love me, and they don't care that I'm bi. It doesn't matter."

Henry grins. "I'm so happy for you. That's huge."

"Thank you so much for everything. Seriously, talking to you helped a lot."

"It was the least I could do."

"No, it-- I'm trying to say thank you; just let me."

"Alright."

"Thank you for letting me talk to you about coming out. Was that so hard? You're more important to people than you give yourself credit for. Anyway, I've got to run to a thing, but I wanted to stop in and see you. And update you. And thank you. You helped."

He's gone before Henry can respond, but he's surprised to realize he can't stop smiling for the rest of his shift.

Over the next few weeks, Henry sees and hears a lot of the things that happen in the library. He hears a little boy complain that there's loud noises in the library, and he hears the woman with that little boy explain that by yelling, he is the loud noise in the library. Henry sees a little girl falling asleep on a parent's lap as they read to her. He sees the handsome boy from before help a fourth grader through her math homework in a tutoring session and hears him talking to a little boy about Nancy Drew. He doesn't see everything, though. He doesn't see the mystery patron re-shelve some of the books that are out of order, making Henry's job easier. He doesn't hear the other boy call his sister on his way out to gush about the cute librarian he just saw teach a mom how to find Percy Jackson books so she could teach her son. What he does get used to seeing, though, is the same cute boy, settled at a table that Henry walks past regularly.

By the time midterms roll around, Henry's gotten used to seeing the other boy in the library. On the first day of midterms week, he's already there when Henry's shift starts. Henry, who has three essays due soon and only one started, plans to stay in the library when he gets off work. If he can't find any open tables, well, it must be due to midterms. He certainly didn't avoid looking in a few less popular places in order to justify going up to the table where his mystery patron is sitting. The other boy looks up with a smile.

"Do you mind if I sit? It's full everywhere else. I swear I'll be quiet; I've just got to draft an essay."

"Not at all. Here; let me slide some stuff over. What's your essay on?"

"Identity and fluidity in Virginia Woolf's Orlando. What are you working on?"

"A study guide for the politics of international economics."

"Sounds thrilling."

"What are you writing on? A book about Florida?" and god, Henry has to fight not to laugh just a bit.

"A book about Virginia Woolf's girlfriend."

"No way. Wasn't she like... old?"

"The 1920s aren't that old; we have examples of queer folks going back to the 400s BCE. Sappho's poetry would be in either the 200s or 808 if we have any, and tons of queer folks from Julie d'Aubigny to Alexander Hamilton are in biographies."

"Maybe later. Tell me about your essay; I can't study anymore."

"Okay, so, this book is a fake biography of a person named Orlando who, halfway through, changes from a man to a woman. I'm arguing that by using water to symbolize major change, Woolf signals to readers that their sex change isn't actually a big deal in their identity. Basically, every time Orlando gets a new opportunity or something else major happens, there's water involved somehow. But when their sex changes, which at first glance is the most drastic thing that happens to them, there's no water anywhere. In fact, there's fire, and that fire is mentioned a few different times. So I'm arguing that this shows readers that gender doesn't actually have that much impact on who someone is, but it's instead just how we present to the world. Therefore, it shouldn't matter if Virginia's in love with a woman, because Vita's just another human, and this whole thing is just a massive love letter to Vita and also a screw you to everyone else, because they all knew it was about Vita and Virginia didn't care."

"Wait, people knew? People knew they were lesbians."

"Well, they were probably both bi, and Virginia was probably demi-romantic, but it's not fair to put labels on them because all of those terms are more modern than these women. But yes, people knew they were dating. Vita's mom complained that Virginia stole her daughter."

"That's incredible,"

"Portrait of a Marriage by Nigel nicholson, Vita's son, is probably upstairs in biographies. Chapter five especially goes into detail on their open relationships."

The other boy laughs at that, throwing his whole body back as he does. He has the weight of five midterms on his shoulders, but for the duration of that laugh, he is happy and free and light as a feather.

"You're amazing. I'll let you write your essay, but just know. You're incredible."

Henry pulls out his laptop and opens the file for his essay, but it's a good five minutes before he can start to actually write anything. When he's finished, he nearly asks the other boy to get dinner with him. He doesn't; he can't. He's not confident enough. Instead, he just wishes the other boy good luck on his test as he says goodbye.

When Henry gets to work on Wednesday, it doesn't look like his patron has moved. When Henry gets a bit of a break, he texts Pez, who responds immediately with a series of emojis. The man is an enigma, but fifteen minutes later, he's arrived with two of the cookies Henry made them the night before. Henry takes them to the table where his favorite patron sits, the eye of a storm of notes, highlighters, empty coffee cups, and granola bar wrappers.

"Hello. Sorry to bother you, but you look like you could use these," Henry says, setting the cookies on the table as he passes.

"What... thank you! Thanks."

Henry is gone before the other boy can say more, his face going red. He doesn't see the little smile that spreads across the other boy's face or the way his whole body relaxes as he bites into the first cookie. When he passes the table again, though, he does see an empty bag and a somewhat refreshed patron.

As midterms pass and life settles down a bit, the table where his patron sits starts to be empty occasionally. Henry tries not to miss the boy who used to sit there, surrounded by clutter and wearing adorable glasses. He must have other things happening, a life outside of class work and study sessions. Still, it's a bright spot in Henry's day to see the familiar backpack in a chair, even without his patron at the table.

He finds his patron a few minutes later, or more accurately, his patron finds him.

"Excuse me, hi. Do you happen to have any books about how to ask out the hot librarian who's super smart and puts up with my constant nagging and helped me come out to my family and brought me cookies during midterms?"

Henry freezes, then says, "If we did, I would assume the first suggestion would be to tell this person your name." He's doing his best to stay calm, but the other boy isn't making it easy. He's leaning against a bookshelf, casually, like asking to date another boy in a public place is the easiest thing in the world.

"Did I not... fuck, I-- I'm Alex. Alexander Claremont-Diaz. Sorry. Shit. Yours is on your nametag and I just kinda assumed we... sorry."

"Alex, it's nice to meet you. I'm Henry. Back to your question, if we had such a book, I would assume it would also suggest waiting until the person you want to ask out is off work. But, when he's not on the clock and can be his own person, you shouldn't have any problem. You're smart, and you're nice, and you're good looking."

"You think?"

"I do. And you didn't ask, but I get off at six, and I don't have dinner plans."

With that, Henry finishes sorting his cart and walks away to shelve it, leaving Alexander Claremont-Diaz, mystery patron, grinning behind him.

On AO3

Notes:

To my knowledge as someone who's worked at a library for a month, the Dewey decimal numbers in this are accurate. 306 is definitely gay books, and that'll be the case at any library that uses this system. Also, the fiction books mentioned are all real and queer. Especially Orlando. - Speaking of Orlando, read it! It's so good! I'm working on the play (adapted by Sarah Ruhl, who's incredible) and I'm in love with it.

#henry fox mountchristen windsor #henry fox mountchristen windsor x alex claremont diaz #alex claremont diaz #rwrb #rwrb fic #my fic: rwrb #red white and royal blue #it's the library au #library au #FirstPrince #rwrb au

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wardencommanderrodimiss · 4 years

Text

Witches, Chapter 19: yeah there’s actually still one last little bit of investigation left in this case. I’m sorry too. Now who wants backstory for side characters in a DLC case!

[Seelie of Kurain Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

[Witches Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

----

For all her bluff and bluster about getting back to investigating in the face of Blackquill’s disdain, Athena doesn’t seem to have a clue what they should do next. She tromps in stocking feet back into the aquarium, Phoenix and Pearl trailing behind her, and stares at a poster on the wall with life cycle facts about penguins for five minutes before she suggests that they go visit Sasha, because if Blackquill was here, then he had to be done interrogating her, right?

Pearl remains behind at the aquarium to get settled in, and Athena complains the whole drive to the detention center because Phoenix made her put her wet shoes back on instead of driving barefoot. “I’m wearing tights!” she insists. “It’s not barefoot!”

“Shoes, kiddo.”

“They’re wet! It’s gross!”

“Should’ve thought of that before you threw a bucket of water at a witch.” Or whatever he is. Fae-adjacent, the same vague broad classification to encompass Phoenix and Trucy and Klavier and Thalassa. Apollo’s not quite there yet.

“Wicked witch of the bench afraid he’d melt if it hit him, you think?” She steps out onto the parking lot asphalt and winces at the tiny rocks digging into her feet. “Okay,” she sighs. “Shoes.”

As they wait at the detention center for Sasha to be brought out, Athena turns, very seriously, to Phoenix. “Alright, Boss, we’ve gotta cheer Sasha up! If you’re feeling bad about the investigation, don’t you dare show it!”

The door on the other side of the glass opens and an officer escorts Sasha in. She wears a grin on her face but has a wild look in her eyes. “Ahoy, me buckos! Worry ye not about me! My spirits be good and ol’ Prosecutor Nostache won’t keep me down!”

“Uh.” Athena blinks and turns to Phoenix. He shrugs.

Sasha’s entire posture collapses. “Well that was an anchor,” she says. “Straight to the bottom. I wanted to make you feel better for all the trouble I’m causing…”

“We were hoping to cheer you up,” Athena says.

“Maybe you both can just act natural,” Phoenix says. Not that telling anyone to “act natural” ever leads to any normal or natural behaviors. Certainly not if he ever told Maya that, though after the first time he learned to add the qualifier “act what might be natural for a human”.

“Anyway.” Athena inhales deeply and the large, forced smile that she had put on calms down into something still friendly, still smiling, but closer to neutral, and much more natural. “What we’re here for, Sasha, is to tell you that we’d like to represent you in court tomorrow!”

“What!” Sasha shoves herself backward from the sill, her chair screeching horribly across the floor until it gets stuck, and she still pushing tips herself and the chair over backwards, thudding out of sight to the ground.

“Sasha?” Phoenix asks. “Is - is something wrong?”

She doesn’t stand back up. Athena pushes herself up on the sill and presses her forehead against the glass, trying to peer down to see if she’s okay. “Pros - Prosecutor Blackquil s-said--” Sasha’s shaking, shuddering breathing interrupts her words. “Said that you w-wouldn’t show up. You’d abandon me.” She’s definitely crying now, loudly and messily. “And you’re here! You - you’re - you’re h-here. To rescue me.” She rights the chair, rubbing tears off of her cheeks and out of her bloodshot eyes.

“No, Sasha!” Athena still has her face up close to the glass and she presses her palms up against it, too. “We would never! Even Prosecutor Blackquill should know that! I would never! Don’t cry!” The next loud sniffling comes from Athena.

Oh boy.

“These are happy tears.” And Sasha is smiling, beaming really, even blinking furiously to stop further tears from falling. “I’m so so glad I met you both! For Orla and me a-and—” Another shaky breath stops her for a moment. “Okay. I’m okay. I’m okay! You’ve probably got questions, right? Fire away!”

What she tells them of cleaning the orca pool that early morning is a review of what they’ve already heard, up to the point that she readily tells them she was arguing with the captain. She talks more about Orla’s tricks, says that the calendar with the seven am meeting with the captain is definitely not hers, and when they tell her that they dropped off her medications - it was Fulbright who tasked them with this, but it still had to be cleared with the prison so that they know no one is trying to smuggle in something illegal like white powder (Apollo is way too straight-laced for an Anything Agency and it’s hilarious every time he smacks inconsequentially up against that wall) - she starts getting weird. Like she’s trying to distract them from the fact that she’s on medication at all, which isn’t really working. “Are you sick?” Athena asks. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s all just peachy!” Sasha says with false, feigned cheer; the fact that she couldn’t drum up a fish pun to use really seals it. (Wait, isn’t a drum a kind of fish? Why’s he know more about fish than flowers? And seals - god damn it.)

Athena stares doubtfully at her. Her shoulders slump. “I guess I could just tell you, huh,” Sasha says. “It’s for a heart condition but—”

“A heart condition?” Athena cries, her voice high and shrill.

“—but it’s not that serious—”

“Not that serious!” Athena’s second echo isn’t quite as much of a piercing shriek, but it’s even louder, an angry yell. “It’s your heart! Don’t tell me not to worry!”

Sasha heaves a sigh. “This is why I don’t tell people,” she says. “Because you freak, and then I’m trying to reassure you that you don’t need to treat me like I’m fragile, and I’ve got to explain that I’m not dying, so on, so on.”

“Oh,” Athena says. “I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s okay.” Sasha shrugs. “I’m sorry for snapping at you like that. It’s not you. It just gets a little tiring going through the same song-and-dance every time I tell someone. Much less fun than putting on the same song and dance with Orla every show!” Athena laughs and Sasha sticks her tongue out at her. “And I’d just had that argument with the captain the other night, too. The one that came up in the trial this morning. He knew about my condition, and I’d told him that I’d scheduled the surgery that would fix it, and he was worried and he told me that’d been thinking, and he was taking me out of the show. You saw the new flier, right? That I’m not in it?”

Phoenix nods.

“And it was supposed to debut yesterday. But I needed to go out there and perform yesterday. It was the anniversary of Azura’s death, and I had this crazy idea that I would go in front of the audience and tell them all that her death was just an accident, that Orla didn’t kill her, and now the captain wasn’t going to let me out there. So what I did” - her smile is somewhere between devious and sad - “was move the skull rock from the show stage. Put it back in the orca pool, figured the captain probably wouldn’t look there, and if he couldn’t find the major prop for the new show, we’d have to do the old one again, right? Marlon gave me a hand with it, while he was watching Orla at the stage pool.”

It was a bold plan, is about all Phoenix can say to that. “Azura is the orca trainer before you?” he asks.

“Yeah. Azura Summers. She taught me everything I know - she was a year older than me and we were like - anemone and clownfish. Remora and shark!” Phoenix doesn’t speak marine biology but Athena is nodding in solemn understanding. “She was a year older than me. She was the best - you ever meet someone and just, hit it off immediately, you just know that they’re someone who’s gonna be so important in your life?” Sasha stares down at her hands, fiddling with something. “And then she was gone.”

“That must’ve been awful,” Athena says. “Losing someone you loved, and then having everyone else say that your friend was the one that killed her, and no one believes you when you know otherwise.” She sniffs again. Poor girl and her sensitive hearing and hyperempathy.

Sasha nods. “Azura was like family, since my own family was never exactly supportive of my career path.” And not that Phoenix wants to downplay the severity of family disapproval, how much of a mess of hurt their influence can make, but he can’t exactly say he’s surprised to hear that a selkie’s family might think that her getting a career with an orca was bad news. “I can only imagine what they’re saying now after the captain’s death now too.”

He doesn’t want to pick at a reopening wound, but he never knows what strange little pieces of information will help, and so he asks, “Were you and Ms Summers - involved?”

“Huh?” Sasha blinks at him. A moment later the meaning clicks. “Oh! No, she was straight. She had a boyfriend that I never got to meet, but I’d help her send him videos of some of our orca-training sessions, because I mean, getting to see your cute girlfriend hanging with a cute orca, what could be better?”

“Toss a cute penguin in there too!” Athena suggests. “And then you’re golden!”

“Athena, I love the way you think!”

Phoenix clears his throat. Something more for his “legal etiquette Athena needs to learn” list: the detention center is not a place for hitting on people. Or maybe it’s more Sasha hitting on her. Or maybe they’re just like this.

Sasha’s face falls and her eyes turn downcast. “She had this matching charm with her boyfriend that I’d wanted to return to him after she died, but I didn’t know enough about him to find him, so I just hung onto it myself. Swore on it that I’d become the best orca trainer ever, for her.” She holds up the charm; it hangs from a cord with a bead strung on it, and looks like a little talisman or envelope one would find at a shrine. “Just like the captain always used her walkie-talkie after that. It had teeth marks from Orla in it, when she brought Azura back up from the water…”

Jack Shipley’s death must be like reliving a nightmare for her.

(But also, remembering the photo of the body, Phoenix did not see a walkie-talkie in the victim’s holder for it.)

“Wait, you didn’t even see her boyfriend at her funeral?” Athena asks.

Sasha shakes her head sadly. “She didn’t even have a funeral. We held our own memorial for her at the aquarium, but her family just sort of - showed up and took her away. I’d suggested that we get an autopsy or something done, to know how she actually died and that it wasn’t Orla, but we needed her family’s permission for that and they wouldn’t give it.”

Her face is turned toward them, and her eyes are, or should be, but she has the spaced-out look of someone not seeing what’s right in front of her. “They had this huge row with Dr Crab about something, too. I wonder if that’s part of what changed him. He and Azura were pretty close, and he started acting so different after she died - talking about how he was going to euthanize Orla, when before he said he’d never do such a thing. He thought she did it! He still always keeps poison on hand, ready to put her down at any moment! If she’d been found guilty today he would’ve just done it, right then!”

Phoenix has a very good idea of who they need to talk to again, next.

Back at the aquarium, they find Dr Crab in his laboratory, with Pearl, who is holding a furiously a squawking Rifle in her arms. “—correct, she does hate me. Since this little annoyance” - Dr Crab gestures at Sniper, who is for once free of the nest of his hair and waddling about the lab - “imprinted on me right out of the egg, she thinks I stole her baby. I didn’t want to steal her baby! But I guess she feels like the human parents of a changeling would.”

“That’s very sad for both of you,” Pearl says seriously. Rifle’s wings flap against her hands. “Your job involves inducing animals to vomit a lot, doesn’t it?”

The doctor snorts. “Today’s just been a hell of a day.” He squints down at the strange machine in his hand, something too boxy to be a regular tablet, with a small screen that flips back on a hinge. “Now let me see if I can find out when she ingested that foreign object.”

“Hi Mr Nick!” Pearls releases Rifle to the ground and the penguin makes an immediate beeline for Dr Crab’s shins. Absorbed in whatever he’s looking at on his machine, he doesn’t seem to notice. “Watch the penguin vomit! It’s for Sniper to eat!” She directs his attention to a pile of, yes, penguin vomit, that he doesn’t want to consider any further, but that Sniper is pecking at. “Mr Doctor told me that mama penguins partially digest and regurgitate fish for their babies to eat, because it’s easier for them to eat that mush!”

“You two seem to be getting along well,” Phoenix says. “You and Dr Crab, I mean.” They already knew that Pearl hit it off with Rifle, somehow.

“Rifle ate something she shouldn’t so I was helping him get that out of her.” Pearl gestures now at the corner of one of the lab tables, where an object, familiar though it’s partially covered in mushed-up fish, lies. Phoenix takes a few more steps forward. The mess doesn’t smell as fishy as he expected, or perhaps he’s lost all sense of smell, and yes, whatever it is that Rifle ate looks a whole hell of a lot like the little talisman Sasha had, that once belonged to Azura. And there was supposed to be a second one, that Azura’s boyfriend had, wasn’t there?

“Excuse me, Dr Crab?” Phoenix says. He grunts. “Can we take a look at that charm that Rifle swallowed?”

He grunts again. Phoenix decides that’s a “yes”. Investigations don’t get anywhere fast, otherwise. He gingerly picks up the cord on the charm and lets it dangle. Yeah, that’s definitely the same thing as—

“Hey! What are you doing with that?” Dr Crab snaps out of his reverie, with all the anger of a man who’s only just realized something is happening that he would’ve liked to have stopped sooner. “Put that down! That’s Azura’s!”

Phoenix drops it back on the table. Dr Crab, with no regard for penguin barf, snatches it away. “What the hell was it doing in Rifle’s stomach?” He drops it back into the pocket of his lab coat.

“Would this one happen to have belonged to Azura’s boyfriend?” Phoenix asks.

“I don’t make it a habit to discuss the affairs of the deceased! Especially not with you people!”

Bit of a fraught subject, there. Sasha did say that they were close. “Yesterday was the anniversary of her death, right?”

Dr Crab’s sigh sounds more like a growl. How close is Phoenix to being kicked out of the lab? “That’s right,” Crab says. “A year since the orca killed her.”

“You really think Orla did?” Athena asks. “I don’t believe it!”

“And I was there, Ms Lawyer. I saw Orla bite her. Maybe she didn’t mean to kill her, who’s to say - but what I do know is that Azura is dead.” The point he puts on his last several words closes down the topic even more firmly than his outraged yelling did. Satisfied that he’s shut Phoenix up - for the moment, because Phoenix refuses to be done until he’s run out of questions and he’s still got plenty - he returns to studying the data on his machine.

Who knows what might be important information for a trial? “So what’s that there?” Phoenix asks.

“Monitoring system. Collection of medical records for all the creatures. Between it and the cameras I can monitor them all constantly, twenty-four/seven. Company secret, that’s all I’ll tell you.”

“Really?” Phoenix asks. “Aren’t medical records just like - past exams and stuff? How can you get present, constant data from that?”

“Good point,” Crab says, after a slight pause. A sneered, thin smile stretches out across his face. “I can see there’s no fooling you.”

“Are you trying to fool me?” Phoenix asks.

The two Psyche-Locks that clang into place answer that question for him.

“You tell me,” Dr Crab says.

“Clearly,” Phoenix says.

“Excuse me, Mr Doctor?” Pearl asks. She scoops Rifle up into her arms to stop the penguin from resuming an attack on Dr Crab’s shins. “Mr Nick is a very good lawyer who always finds the truth but he needs to know everything he can to do so. Even if you don’t think your monitorings have anything to do with the case, it might be the information that Mr Nick needs to bluff himself into a better position to win!”

Dr Crab stares at Phoenix, his eyebrows raised. Phoenix wishes Pearl had found any other way to phrase that. “And it would be very kind and helpful of you to do,” Pearl adds.

The lab is far from silent - the hum and murmur of computers, Rifle’s struggles to break free and attack, Sniper eating, Athena cooing at Sniper. But it still feels quiet and empty as Pearl waits for any response and reaction at all from Dr Crab. He says nothing. She narrows her eyes, glancing from Rifle to the floor, like her next step in convincing him will be to sic a penguin on him.

Instead she simply readjusts her hold on Rifle, pulling the penguin up further in her arms, and says, much more seriously, no longer with any sort of pleading edge, “You asked for my help to examine Rifle and I gave it to you, remember? It was just a few minutes ago, right before Mr Nick came back, but I didn’t just offer that on my own.”

“Son of a bitch,” Dr Crab hisses. “That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? I asked her if you could grab her for me and - damn, now I owe you, don’t I?”

He and Athena both glance over at Phoenix’s sharp intake of breath. Pearl doesn’t do this; she cares about human standards of fairness and tends to cancel debts made out of careless words of people who don’t know better and don’t know what she is. This situation, this case, she thinks is desperate. And Dr Crab saw what she is. It’s fair.

Pearl, unblinking, hollow-eyed, nods. “And I think you should answer Mr Nick’s questions about your monitoring,” she says.

Dr Crab shakes his head. “Well,” he says. “Shit. I got careless and that’s on me - to the victor go the spoils. So if I answer whatever questions our Mr Lawyer here has about my monitoring equipment here, then we’re settled, yes? No debts after that.”

“No debts after that,” Pearl agrees.

They both wait for Phoenix to say something; it’s a bit tricky, he thinks, to follow up a top-tier negotiation such as Pearl’s. “So. Twenty-four/seven monitoring. How’s that work?”

“It’s an ecological data organization system developed in Europe. Teleobservation Realtime Pertinent Data Organizer, TORPEDO for short.”

Phoenix decides not to try and suss out how well that acronym actually fits it, and not just because the whole name has already been ejected from his brain and he couldn’t repeat it back if he tried. Tele-pertinent real-time data what?

“It records information on its subjects constantly - heartbeat, vocalization, movements, temperature, and so on - through sensors placed on or near the subject. All that gets sent to me and my equipment here. Rifle has her sensor attached to her flipper ID tag.” Pearl takes Rifle’s wing in her hand and holds it out to examine the tag in question. “For Orla and the fish, it’s attached to the side of the tank. Now here we go, what’s it say about Rifle’s feeding?” Dr Crab glares down at the terminal in his hand. “Four am on the nineteenth is when she swallowed that. What a weird time. And - shit, Orla didn’t eat at all that night until the next afternoon.” He shakes his head. “What is going on here?”

“Maybe that’s why Rifle wouldn’t eat my fish but Orla would.” Athena sounds slightly cheered at the prospect that it wasn’t her causing personal offense to Rifle - Rifle just wasn’t hungry.

Phoenix clears his throat. “Why keep it a secret?” he asks. “This monitoring system - it’s clearly helpful and it’s not like we’re competitors trying to come in and steal your secrets.”

“Let me preface this by saying” - nothing good ever starts that way - “that this system has been tested rigorously and approved as safe and legal in many countries. Just not this one.”

Ah, that would do it. “You’re breaking the law?” Athena asks, startled.

Dr Crab grimaces but it ends as something more like a grin. “That’s why I keep this terminal with me at all times. Lucky, else the police might’ve been poking their noses into it yesterday. None of the rest of the crew knows - keeps them safe from the legal repercussions, but I had Jack’s permission for this. He felt, and I agreed, that giving the best care possible to our animals was more important than legality.”

“But - but you’re breaking the law! And that’s—” Athena sputters, searching for a solid objection. “That’s breaking the law!”

Yeah, she’s a smart kid but hopefully she’s not going into a trial without a co-counsel any time soon.

“And if breaking the law betters the lives of our animals? Are we supposed to just sit and wait for the law to change, when in the meantime we can have more information and act quicker to help them - to save their lives?”

“But…” Athena glances to Phoenix for backup she won’t find. Not that he’s not a hypocrite, but he’s not going to step into this debate just to be one. It’s disconcerting, again, every time he realizes that part of Athena’s admiration of him comes only from the fact that she doesn’t know him as well as Apollo does. She’s arguing against the logic that bore him his ace in the hole. And he can’t blame her; it took him a long, bad time to get there. “You’re just - twisting it around, now.” But she looks rattled, not sure how to square this away with the foundation of her career.

“Dr Crab,” Phoenix says. “I might need to use this information in court tomorrow. But that would obviously cause serious problems for you and the aquarium.” He isn’t asking permission, but this isn’t quite an apology, either. It’s just a statement of what it is, regrettable, inevitable.

“You’ve gotta do your job, Mr Lawyer, and I do mine.” Dr Crab shrugs, more resigned than bothered. This must be a prescient concern, for however long it’s been since they installed this system at the aquarium. Maybe it’s even a relief by now, to no longer be hiding. “I stand by my convictions and don’t have regrets, and I hope you won’t, either. I can’t blame you, or her, for that.” He nods at Pearl.

“I appreciate it.” Nice to not have a witness biting his head off, even if in this case it would be - not deserved, he’d like to think, but understandable.

“Hmph. Any last questions on that or can I—”

A loud peeping begins, like the chirps Sniper made but louder and constant. Dr Crab frowns and slips a phone out of his pocket. “Hello? Crab here.”

“That’s a ringtone?” Pearl asks. “That’s adorable!”

“I don’t think Maya’s gonna let you change mine,” Phoenix says to her.

“I didn’t think that Dr Crab liked the penguins that much,” Athena whispers. “But I guess he’s just a big softie, really!”

Were he actually listening to them Phoenix has no doubt the doctor would consider those fighting words. As it is, his fighting words are for whoever is on the other end of the line. “Son of a bitch, you people again! What more do you—”

He storms from the lab and slams the door behind him. Athena looks at Phoenix. He nods. She creeps closer to the door to listen, crouched with her ear by the crack where it closes, though Phoenix isn’t sure she needs to be that close to actually hear. “He’s saying that Orla was found not guilty,” she says, “and that should be enough - stop harassing him, he knows that - if it comes to it he - Mr Wright!” She tried to spring back up but smacks her head against the bottom of the doorknob on her way up, and wincing and grumbling to herself, stands tall again. “He said - that if he has to he’d euthanize Orla!”

“No!” Pearl gasps. Rifle wriggles around in her arms and Pearl sets her on the table. “She’s not guilty! In a court of law! She can’t be punished!”

Knowing that the whole orca pool can function as a faery ring makes Phoenix even more nervous that she’s going to commit larceny as soon as anything starts seeming tense. Grand Theft Orca. This is not something he ever thought he would have to consider.

The door swings violently inward, banging hard into Athena’s shoulder. She stumbles away, cursing under her breath again. Phoenix picks out pieces of several languages. (He really should ask her how to say “fuck you” in German. It would be funny.)

“Where’s my goddamn calendar?” Dr Crab storms back in, sweeping a dozen takeout containers from the desk in front of the largest screen into the trash can strategically positioned right next to it. A few fliers for the orca show drift to the floor. “Son of a bitch, where did I leave it this time?”

“Calendar?” Athena perks up. “It wouldn’t happen to be one of those cute penguin ones, is it? Mr Rimes found one in the nap room and—”

Dr Crab snatches it away from her and scans the mess of his desktop for a pen and scribbles something on it. “Yes, that’s mine. It was a gift, all right?” He sighs. “From Azura. She designed the calendars for this year and this was the prototype.”

“Oh.” Athena’s smile vanishes. And then, seeming to take a cue from Phoenix’s line of questioning of Sasha back at the detention center, she asks, “Did you and Ms Summers happen to be, erm, romantically involved?”

“Of course not!” He bristles at the suggestion, almost weirdly defensive, so while he sees no Psyche-Locks, Phoenix still won’t take it as the end-all-be-all. Maybe he’s defensive about the calendar for what’s written on it, that meeting with the victim at seven am. Could he, at that time, have committed murder? “Were I even so inclined to partake of ‘romantic feelings’” - he doesn’t make them with his hands but Phoenix can hear the air quotes - “I certainly would not involve myself with—” He stops. He glares at Athena and Phoenix in turn. “What business of yours is it, anyway?”

“I just heard a lot of sadness in your voice when you mentioned her, and the calendar,” Athena says. “And I wondered—”

“She was a good friend and now she’s dead, of course I’m sad!” Though he’s probably not sad now, just mad at them and their prying questions. “How can you possibly think that’s related to your defense of Sasha, or do you like using the excuse of being lawyers to pry into people’s personal lives?”

Seems like it’s time to redirect; this thread when pulled on isn’t going anywhere good. “Your phone call just now - what was that about?”

“Heard all that, did you now?” Dr Crab sighs. Phoenix skips the part where he clarifies that Athena did, because she has better hearing than the human and fae also in the room. “That’s the Center for Dangerous Animal Control, insisting that if Orla ever attacks anyone again, we’d better not bother with this rigamarole and just put her down immediately.”

“But that’s not fair!” Athena has her fists raised, ready to fight the shadowy specter of this vague organization. “Did you agree to that?”

Dr Crab is quiet for a very long time. “Sometimes,” he says finally, “unfortunately, things happen. As a veterinarian, I am prepared to do whatever needs to be done.”

“Sasha says you keep poison on hand to always be prepared to put Orla down!” Athena levels the accusation with fury that Sasha would be proud of.

Dr Crab reaches into one of the pockets of his lab coat and pulls out a tiny plastic bag that contains within it a red and yellow capsule.

One that looks exactly like that they found mixed in with the contents of Orla’s stomach.

Phoenix is very, very glad they didn’t show it to him.

“That’s awful!” Athena says. “How dare you!” She’s livid enough that Phoenix isn’t sure she realizes this pill is like the other one, and while that’s something they’re going to have to work on - making sure she’s clear-minded enough to make all the connections that matter, for now she’ll have him or Apollo with her, and Phoenix is just glad she won’t blurt it out to Dr Crab. He wants to keep this one close to his chest until he sees the best opening to play it.

“Sasha thought the same thing.” Dr Crab drops the pill back in his pocket. “When security around Orla was tightened last year, she insisted that I not be given a key card to access the orca pool room. Thinking, I imagine, that the chances of Orla having a medical emergency when either she nor Jack were here to let me in were lower than the chances of me doing something to her.” He huffs derisively, Athena still seething.

“Dr Crab, I have a last question for you,” Phoenix says. “This - Center for Dangerous Animal Control.” Or however the words were ordered. “Ms DePlume told me something interesting earlier today.” That the Center had made this same demand a year ago, and for some reason relented, but the aquarium has been making large monthly payouts to someone or somewhere ever since. Phoenix repeats this fact to Dr Crab’s expressionless face, and adds, “It’s clear that there’s something going on behind the scenes here, and I suspect that it has something to do with this murder.”

“Do you.” He’s good at responding by saying nothing, but any words at all are sometimes enough to trip the trap, let Phoenix know exactly how much a witness is hiding.

Five Psyche-Locks this time, the appearance punctuated a moment later with loud footsteps and a louder yell. “Dr Herman Crab! Sorry to interrupt, but Prosecutor Blackquill wants to speak with you!”

“Son of a—” Dr Crab punctuates his speech by smacking his calendar down hard on the the table. “What the hell else could you possibly have to ask me?”

“We were hoping to have Mr Rimes testify at tomorrow’s trial, but we’ve been having some trouble getting him to cooperate. As such, Prosecutor Blackquill would like to call you instead!”

“Hmph.” Crab takes a moment in which he clearly is sizing up and assessing Fulbright, deciding whether he can get out of this and if he wants to tangle with Blackquill in that way. Surprising that he didn’t manage to coerce (or threaten) Rimes into talking and has to go for a backup. “Fine. But I’m not giving my opinion on what happened. I’ll tell you what I know, but I’m not taking sides.” He turns to Phoenix. “Until tomorrow, Mr Lawyer.”

Neither Trucy nor Apollo notices when the office door opens. Trucy has her laptop in her lap and is furiously scrolling, glancing between the screen and the notebook Apollo is still trying to write it. It’s a silent and periodic scuffle between the two of them as Trucy grabs it and yanks it toward her to check something, and Apollo pulls it back to continue writing. Phoenix shudders to think how unreadable his handwriting is from this. “Commonly for a number of heart conditions,” Trucy mutters. “Is this relevant, Apollo?”

“Of course it is!” He reaches across her keyboard and turns her screen toward himself. “Go back to the book - the picture. If she had a heart condition and a physically intensive job—” He taps his pen against the screen. “There’s no visible injury, look, wouldn’t you think a killer whale could cause some damage—”

“Oh! You think that—”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, guys,” Phoenix says. “What are we working on?”

They shriek in tandem, Apollo flinging the pen and Trucy knocking the notebook to the floor and almost dropping her laptop. Athena claps her hands over her ears, belatedly, and braces herself against the doorframe. “Yes, we’re back now,” Phoenix adds. “What’ve you got?”

“First: the capsule!” Apollo moves his hand like he means to gesture with the pen to the capsule in a bag on the coffee table, except the pen is no longer in his hand, so he’s just sort of waving, and his voice still as enthusiastically loud as ever. “It’s a sleeping drug! That’s the brand name on it, ‘3 Zs’. The Shipshape Aquarium vet recently bought a bunch of it from Hickfield Clinic - it’s meant for people, but apparently would work on other mammals.”

“A sleeping drug?” Phoenix repeats.

Apollo nods.

That had been Phoenix’s first thought, when he first saw that capsule, but Dr Crab called it poison - sure, enough of it could certainly kill, but he’s a veterinarian. He’d be legally able to get some kind of actual euthanization drug instead of trying to overdose an orca on sleeping pills - if that was actually what he intended with it, and not something else. Why pretend it’s poison?

“And the other thing - Shipshape Aquarium had the woman who died last year, Azura Summers, right?” He doesn’t wait for Phoenix to confirm he knows and barrels on, “She was getting medication prescribed by Hickfield Clinic to help her manage a heart condition.”

“I found an illegal download of that writer lady’s book!” Trucy pipes up. Bless that girl.

“A heart condition?” Phoenix can’t do much but echo right now, but his mind is racing. What was Apollo saying when they walked in? Jack Shipley removed Sasha from the show for fear that she would come to harm because of her condition - theoretically, that could’ve already happened. “Do you know what the medication she was on was called?”

“Uh…” Apollo glances down at his notebook. “I wrote it down? It’s like—”

Phoenix takes the notebook from him. The writing is exactly as messy as he imagined, jagged pen lines trailing off across half the page when Trucy grabbed it. “That’s the same medication that Sasha is taking,” he says to Athena.

“So what’s that mean?” she asks.

“I have no idea.” That’s a hell of a coincidence, but he doesn’t really see how it could be anything but an unfortunate coincidence, even as a man whose policy is to not believe in coincidences. Orla isn’t on trial now, and wasn’t on trial for Azura’s death, either, yesterday. But maybe this information could offer some reassurance, and closure, to Sasha and the rest of the aquarium crew. “But that capsule, now that’s something. Nice work, Apollo.”

Apollo gives Phoenix a wide-eyed, startled look. Has Phoenix really complimented him so rarely?

“Where’s Pearly?” Trucy asks. Her face falls. “Did she go back home already?”

“She’s staying at the aquarium to help out with Orla, with so many of the staff dragged out to testify and everything.” There she goes again, slotting herself perfectly, naturally, in somewhere, like she’s meant to be there, so that no one even questions letting a strange little faery girl in so far behind the scenes.

The only thing to put him slightly at ease is that she said she would be ready to call in, from the aquarium, through video phone during the trial tomorrow, which holds the implication that she’s not going to spirit Orla off to the Twilight Realm in the middle of the night to keep her safe.

Though she didn’t promise for sure that she wouldn’t, so he should probably call her and extract that promise from her, before he ends up defending in a case of orca larceny.

#roddy fanfics #fic: the witches of los angeles

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queerhargreeves · 5 years

Text

hi again :)) Trans!diego is near and dear to my heart and this is me projecting/venting my dysphoria onto my angel boys and nb love. this could be really triggering so pls read w caution ! yet another fic written too late at night on little sleep

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Diego woke up with a jolt as he frantically eyed his room. He looked over at the clock which read “2:26 AM”. He sighed, running a hand down his face. Waking up during the wee hours of 2 - 4 AM had become an unfortunate common occurrence lately. After successfully avoiding the end of the world it was sort of difficult to think about life clearly again. He’d become a bit lost on what he wanted to do. He knew he couldn’t play pretend cop forever just like he knew the Umbrella Academy couldn’t last forever. Even if they had come together to save the lives of billions.

However it took about two more seconds before he registered the dampness beneath him. He froze, the smell of dead skunk quickly slapping him in the face.

Silently, Diego stood up. The sticky/damp feeling growing to be too uncomfortable. He turned on a lamp to assess the damage. His baby blue sheets looked like a murder scene.

When he had his first period, Grace was the person who helped him. Diego has had to walk into the kitchen with stained sheets in hand and eyes red on more than one occasion. She would understand immediately every single time. She’d put a hand on his cheek and wipe any tears that remained.

“Accidents happen Diego - even to big, strong men like yourself. I’ll go ahead and put these in the wash. Go have a seat and I’ll make you some tea.” She’d kiss his forehead and would go off with her duties. Diego always would go back to bed feeling more content than he did when he awoke.

Diego let out a whimper and immediately wrapped his hands around his stomach. Diego’s cycles were always the worst out of the Hargreeves siblings. He had hoped that going on testosterone would stop his mensuration but alas he wasn’t so lucky. Of course he wasn’t. Testosterone did however make his periods far and few between. He had gone a year and a half without a period just to have a 2 month long cycle. The unknown was the worst part. When he had his unexpected periods he suffered all of the symptoms and then some.

He quickly disposed of his underwear and sweat pants and threw them in a bag along with his sheets to inspect the damage. He came to the conclusion that shark week took victim on yet another pair of perfectly good underwear, pj’s, and sheets.

He set the bag aside and walked over to his dresser. He got ahold of another pair of sweatpants and underwear and shuffled into the bathroom, uncomfortable in his now complete nudity. Once inside he took a look at himself in the mirror. His face was rugged, jaw sharp. He had facial hair, thick brows, and two scars underneath his chest. His flat chest. He looks like the epitome of masculinity. Diego should see a man looking back at him. But all he sees is the little girl his father oh so wanted him to be. He saw the little kid with bangs and long hair in that stupid uniform. He saw that little kid that hated being called “she”. His vision started to blur and he blinked violently. He let the tears stream down his face as he choked back a sob. He couldn’t do this now.

Diego shook his head and slapped his cheeks, focusing back to the task at hand. He quickly opened the sink drawer and found the black box hidden in the very back. Opening it he grabbed a pad and placed the box back where it belonged.

For Christmas one year Klaus had bought Diego special briefs that were made for pads. His sibling learned that tampons made him even more dysphoric - the thought of anything being “inside” of him was too much to handle. They were 17 and Klaus had helped him get through a particularly bad episode. He was always thankful for him for that even when Klaus insisted on calling them his “best sibling ever rescue briefs”.

Diego placed the pad in his underwear and slipped the pair on, sweatpants quickly after. He washed his hands and made his way out of the bathroom, avoiding the mirror. His reflection was a little too much to handle right now.

Without the damp clothes on he already felt a bit better. Diego knew he probably wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon; he never did when he had these accidents. Diego grabbed the bag and walked out of his room and made his way towards the kitchen as quietly as he could.

As walked down the stairs he saw that the kitchen light was still on.

“Huh.” Diego thought to himself. His mom was already asleep as is everyone else in the house. Or so he assumed.

He turned the corner and into the kitchen to find Klaus in nothing but tiny silk shorts that probably belonged to Allison. They had a cup of tea in their hands and they were chatting softly to the seat next to them. They seemed to be in a pretty deep conversation seeing as they didn’t notice Diego.

Finally Klaus made a little “wha” sound and whipped their head around.

“Oh! Guten morgen brother!” Klaus chimed with a grin on their face.

“What brings you down here?”

Diego swallowed, his voice and brain trying to process what he wants to say.

“I-I uh,” Diego shifted his gaze, not wanting to make eye contact. Even after all these years, after all that Klaus had seen, he still felt ashamed when he was vulnerable.

“Shark week.” Diego signed, sliding his pointer finger straight across his palm. He didn’t quite trust his words yet.

Klaus’ smile quickly turned into a look sympathy, their muscles softening. They knew how bad their brother hurt when this happened. They got up from their seat and walked over to Diego, linking their elbow with his and walked him over to the table.

“I’m going to get you some Advil and make you a cup of tea, alright? You sit tight, sir. Ben will keep you company.” Klaus took a deep breath and clenched his fists. Blue light emitted from them and slowly their brother appeared in the seat across from Diego. Over the months of sobriety and training, Klaus had gotten a lot stronger in their abilities. It didn’t take nearly as much out of them to manifest their brother. They just couldn’t do it for 12+ hours at a time. Klaus took the bag from Diego’s hand and disposed of the remnants of his items.

Ben had a welcoming smile on his face as he pat Diego’s shoulder.

“How are you?” Ben asked softly, his eyes never leaving Diego’s gaze.

“P-pai-pain.” Diego choked weakly, wanting nothing more than to look away. But he knew his brother wasn’t there to judge or hurt him. Ben, other than Klaus, was the only other person who could understand some what of what he was going through. Ben never felt at peace with his body either, his “demons” hurt him. Physically and emotionally.

The hooded man nodded, “You know what I mean Diego,” Ben started. He chose his next words carefully, “How are you dealing with this? It’s been what....7 months since your last one?”

Diego shook his head, “N-nine mo-onths. Glor-g-glorious months.”

Klaus walked over to their siblings with 3 advil PM’s in one hand and a hot cup of chamomile tea in the other. They placed them in front of Diego, taking a seat next to him. He popped the pills in his mouth wordlessly and swallowed.

“If you don’t want to talk about this it’s fine, I understand. But,” Klaus put their finger under Diego’s chin and turned his head so they were making eye contact, “you know we’re always here for you. The even numbers gotta stick together, yeah?” They winked, removing their hand from his chin and back into their lap.

Diego’s vision blurred once more and he felt his cheeks heat up. He took a shaky breath as he tried to regain his composure.

“Diego it’s okay. I promise it’s okay.” Ben reassured his brother. He knew he needed time to process his thoughts when he got like this.

“Y-you’d th-th-think aft-after all th-these years I-I-I,” he let a sob escape his lips, his whole body jerked as he did so, “I’d b-be u-u-used to th-th-this. I’m f-f-fucking thirty!” Diego exclaimed, slamming a fist on the table.

“Diego you shouldn’t have to get used to feeling like your body doesn’t belong to you.” Klaus took their brothers hand, leaning down so they could attempt to lock eyes.

“Your body is yours and it’s a wonderful body. It’s a strong body. Its a talented body, one that can do things not a lot others can. It’s saved the world before too, ya know? It has a lot of memories written on it.” Klaus ran their thumb along the scar on Diego’s eyebrow.

“You are you and that’s all we could ever ask you to be.” Ben expressed, his tone steady.

His siblings kind affirmations were proving to be too much for Diego to handle. He broke down even more, his body shaking violently. Ben got up and walked around the table to his brother. He immediately wrapped his arms around the sobbing man, cherishing the fact he was able to comfort his siblings again. Klaus quickly followed suit.

Klaus and Ben gave each other an expectant look and then a nod. After a few minutes of their embrace, Diego’s sobs slowly started to subside. They silently stood up and put their hand on their brothers back.

“Diego we’re gonna have a cuddle pile, okay?” Klaus inquired even though they knew Diego would have no problem with it.

Diego nodded and they made their way up the stairs and into the “cuddle room”, a term Ben coined. It was one of the many guest rooms in this giant house however this one had a full king size bed. Aka a bed big enough to fit 3 grown adults.

This room had been their safe haven growing up. It had been Klaus’ when he woke up screaming, his nightmares not having left him in his sleep. It has been Ben’s when his demons were hurting and taunting him so much he felt like he couldn’t breathe. And it had been Diego’s when his body worked against him. They were always there for each other.

Ben opened the door and they made their way to the large bed, the three of them finding comfort in the familiar fluffy light yellow comforter. Diego crawled in first with Ben to his left and Klaus to his right.

“Is this okay?” Klaus asked, their voice barely above a whisper. Their arm hovered above Diego’s mid section, ready to back off if needed.

Diego mumbled out a “Mmm” and Klaus happily dropped their arm. Ben nuzzled up on the other side and followed suit, wrapping his arm around his brother.

The three of them fell asleep within minutes. Klaus nightmare-less, Diego content, and Ben relishing in their touch. This was the best night sleep they had gotten in a while.

#klaus hargreeves #diego hargreeves #ben hargreeves #tua fic #trans diego #nb klaus #nonbinary klaus #angst #dysphoria //#menstruation //#periods //#hurt/comfort #the umbrella academy fanfiction

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wildtige429 · 5 years

Text

Bad Boy

He was bored. Oh so bored. There’s nothing new in this dimension and no girl has got his attention.

Axel leaned back on his stool in the bar, arms behind his head and puffing out a huge cloud of smoke from his cigar. Littered all over the ground, many bar-goers were found knocked out and beaten up, with one holding up a wanted poster of his bounty. 15000000000000000000000000 dollars for his capture, dead or alive.

“Wish I’ve gone to that Neverzone Dimension, their babes are hotter here,” he grumbled to himself as he snuffed out his cigar.

Hopping off his stool, he left a tip behind and strolled out of the saloon that was entire littered with beaten up bodies of bounty hunters and those who want the bounty, all hanging and propped up against the walls, railings, windows and stairs. He jogged down the stairs, not caring that he stepped on the backs of his former opponents, and walked straight up to his dragon cycle.

“Let’s get outta here, Spitfire,” he told it, earning a chuff of agreement from the beast. He mounted onto its back and gently revved it up to drive down the lane slowly and calmly.

And he caught something at the corner of his left eye.

“Hello~” He braked to a stop, earning a growl at the sudden action. He softly told it to be quiet so he can gaze at whoever caught his attention.

A nice-looking girl, with the finest grey scales, black hair, green eyes and tail was loitering around in an alley, appearing to be waiting for someone. No matter how she looked through that clothing, she was the hottest lizard she has ever seen.

“Jackpot,” he smirked to himself, hopping off and with a flick of his tail, Spitfire followed him to the girl.

“Excuse me miss, you looking lost?” a voice startled Mint. A horned lizard guy approached her with a Chinese-looking dragon cycle behind him. He has a smirk on his face that made her feel suspicious and he smells of booze and danger.

“Yeah? What do you want?” she questioned, suspiciously.

“Nah, just wanna.......get to know you that’s all,” he answered, “Never seen a beauty like you here before.”

“Beauty? Seriously? The only guy who calls me a beauty is my boyfriend, thank you,” she retorted.

“No need to be hostile with me,” he held his hands to signal her to calm down, “Just some passing lone rider. Wanna talk to someone and get a little booze you know?”

“Passing lone rider?” she retorted again, holding up his wanted poster that surprises him, “I know who you are, Axel. Or maybe, Scourge Rider, Axel if I’m right. Responsible for bank heists, vandalism and raids in numerous dimensions who have put a number of zeroes on your head of every crime you committed and never ever been caught in your life.”

“And I recognise any Dragontail like you among other Dragontails, buster,” she finished with a snarl.

Rasticore has told her about his tribe, the Dragontails. Septarians with dragon blood flowing through their veins, they inherited their predecessor’s traits; horns, ear fins, frills, wings or even all in one. They have strong vocal chords and large lungs that are as tough as boulders that enables them to release an intimidating roar that whoever hears it head on will be paralysed by the intimidation and become deaf for 2 hours. They even have night vision and often use their bestial instincts in difficult situations. Despite there are Septarians with ear fins and frills, to know that he or she is a Dragontail is by their draconic growls and snarls.

And she has to be careful with this Dragontail.

“Well, well, well, it seems someone knows me,” he smirked, leaning forward and making her reel back with disgust, “How about I take you around town and show you some places that I never been to? Need someone to tell me about this dimension.”

He was getting to close for comfort, cringing when she feels the cold steel fingers of his metallic prosthetic hand caressing her cheek. “I advise you...to get outta my FACE!” And she lands a powerful slap across his face. She thought he was stunned by the sudden action, until she saw his lips curve upward in an excited grin and slowly turned his face to her.

Now she felt really cornered and scared.

“Feisty,” he purred. He suddenly snatched her wrists, pinning her to the wall, “I love it when girls get feisty with me!”

She tried to shout back when all of a sudden, she found herself hovering and planted unceremoniously on his left shoulder. She felt him grip her waist and pinning her kicking legs together.

“PUT ME DOWN, YOU BRUTE!!!” She screamed in rage.

“Nu-uh,” he shook his head with a smirk, “You and I are going to know each other for a long time.” He drawled at the last two words with a purr of satisfaction.

“If Toffee were to see me in this situation, you are DEAD MEAT!” she shrieked.

“Then two feisty girls is all I need!” he chuckled, almost getting onto his dragon cycle.

Mint blinked in surprise that he is misunderstanding Toffee, “Uhm? Toffee isn’t a girl.”

He tilted his head so his left eye can glance up to her, “What do you mean, Toffee isn’t a -”

WHACK!!

“OOF!” A fist came flying into his face and he was launched off his dragon cycle, flopping onto his back with Mint tumbling away from him. He was dazed from the punch and he could feel a small trickle of blood dribbling down his left nostril and he was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his vest and was lifted upward till his toes were inches off the ground.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING WITH HER!?” An angry voice demanded him.

His vision clearing, he sees a long haired, red jacket-wearing lizard scowling murderously at him as he has him lifted off his feet. Even though Axel is a few feet taller than him, this shrimp carried him like he were a bag of potatoes.

“Scourge Rider, Axel was about to kidnap me and planning on wooing me,” Mint told the newcomer.

“Wait, wait, wait, this guy is the Toffee you speak off?” Axel pointed at the still scowling Toffee. In a second, he burst into mad laughter, making Toffee scowl even more murderously, until his stomach felt like bursting, “You must be very sad to have a GIRL’S name, shorty!?”

With a snarl, Toffee threw him to the ground with such might, he was left skidding across the ground, leaving a trail. Stunned, Axel felt a surge of fear and panic when he sees Toffee approach Spitfire from behind and raising his palm up in the air.

“No, please don,” he warned.

“It’s too late,” Toffee darkly informed him, raising his palm even more higher in a striking position.

“If you do what I think you’re doing, you’re dead meat, buster!” Axel snarled. Toffee narrows his eyes at him, “I would rather die.”

With such swiftness, the grey lizard smacked Spitfire’s rump so hard, it sent the dragon cycle screeching and roaring in total panic, shooting out lightning bolts out of its mouth, before driving off into the distance in full throttle, leaving it’s rider behind.

“Spitfire!” Axel quickly got up, “SPITFIRE!!!”

He growled in anger of what the shrimp did as Mint went up to Toffee, her hands on his left arm. His growling then turn into an amused chuckle, confusing the two, and he turned around on his heel, his sly grin making him resemble a hungry shark.

“You just started a war, pretty boy,” he announced, “I ain’t leaving this dimension until I get your gal. Besides, it won’t be long until I get the thing I need here.”

His gaze fixed onto Mint, her face changing from a frown to a glare, “I’ll be seeing you around, hot stuff. Never forget that Axel is still here to woo you in his arms. Ciao.”

He gave them a two finger salute and began to walk off, following the trail left by his startled dragon cycle. Minutes after he left the area, Mint couldn’t help but sneer in disgust at Axel’s path. Even Toffee felt the same way.

“I hope you kick his ass,” she hoped.

“I will,” Toffee promised her, “Because if he does, I’ll shove his horns into his throat.”

(Epilogue)

Mint, now in her half monster form, was fishing at a river in the woods, hoping to get something to snack on. As she waits for any tugging from her line, she hears the sounds of a dragon cycle stopping behind her and a shadow loomed over her.

“Excuse me?” an oh-so-familiar Western-accented voice called out.

She turned her head around and found herself looking at the Scourge Rider himself. She thought he was going to grin and say some woeful stuff at her but she realised that he doesn’t recognise her as the lizard girl he has his eyes on days ago.

“Have you seen a pretty lizard lady around here? Slim and tall, green-eyed like yours and grey-scaled like yours?” he asked her.

She pursed her lips in full thought at the oblivious Axel and she gave him a pretending shrug, “Nope. Haven’t seen her.”

“Oh thanks, little lady,” Axel thanked her, his hands gripping the horns, “If you see her, tell her that Axel is here and wanted to ask her out for a little booze drinking.”

She snorted, trying to hide her giggle as she rolled her eyes. Revving Spitfire to full max, Axel did a full wheelie and flew off into the distance. With a satisfied sigh, she resumed her fishing and continued waiting for the tugging.

Axel doesn’t know that the pretty Lacertian and half monster Mint are the same person.

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@lynea-kureji The epilogue is a little present for the running gag you imagined. And thank you so much for loving Axel! I hope I get to see Toffee and Axel battle it out for Lizard! Mint’s hand.

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