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anakinsthot · 3 months

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Since im not sure which ones you've been sent already: 13, 15, or 25 for jarpatine (i kid, i kid! Please do obikin!)

I was soooooo tempted to write jarpatine it's not even funny.

Here's a super self-indulgent fill from this prompt list.

Background: eventing is the equestrian sport that Anakin participates in. It is a 3-phase sport and the one that's relevant here is cross country, where horse and rider jump over solid obstacles across terrain. It is one of the riskiest competitive horse sports and also what I do - although not at the same level Anakin is at. If anyone has questions feel free to ask!

15. meeting in the ER/A&E au (1.3k words)

beep beep beep

Anakin came to awareness in stages. Hearing first: a steady beeping sound and far-away murmur of voices. Then touch: cotton sheets over him, cool air on his face, and pain in his shoulder.

Finally he blinked his eyes open and took in the white ceiling tiles above him.

Ah. Hospital then, was his first thought. Guess we couldn’t save it at that oxer. I knew it was going to cause problems for someone today, followed quickly by, “Artoo? Is he okay?”

His voice must have alerted someone that he was awake, because a doctor came into the room followed quickly by his mother and his coach.

“Mr. Skywalker, please lay back down. I need to assess your concussion,” Anakin hadn’t even realized he’d sat up. He ignored the doctor and repeated his question.

“How is Artoo?” His heart was lodged in his throat – if the worst had happened to his horse he could never forgive himself.

“He’s alright,” Mace reassured him. “He got up and walked away from your fall. The vet assessed him and he’s a little sore but nothing some NSAIDs and stall rest won’t fix. Ahsoka is taking care of him.”

Relieved, Anakin finally lay back down in the bed. “Sorry you had to see that, mom,” he said quietly. His mother had been so worried when Anakin started to move up the levels in eventing. After a couple years and successful runs at Advanced she’d finally started to calm down. This certainly wouldn’t help her nerves next time he left the start box.

Shmi didn’t say anything. She sat at Anakin’s side and took his hand gently, evidence that she’d been crying on her face in bloodshot eyes and dried tears on her cheeks.

“Mr. Skywalker,” the doctor stepped closer now. “I’m sure you’ll want to catch up with your mother and…” his voice trailed off for a moment, before Mace brusquely introduced himself as Anakin’s coach, “and coach. I really do need to do a TBI assessment though. This is the first time you’ve been awake long enough since you came in an hour ago.”

Anakin winced. Things could have been worse, obviously, but that wasn’t a good sign. Now that he was paying more attention he realized that the lights were dim and there was a pulsing pain in his head.

“I’m Dr. Kenobi, the neurologist on your case,” the man introduced himself. Anakin took a good look at him for the first time. He was well built, with an impeccable beard and kind eyes. If he had to be stuck in a hospital room, Anakin thought, at least he got an attractive doctor.

“Hi doc. You can just call me Anakin,” he said. He tried to offer a hand to shake, but at the sudden pain in his shoulder quickly thought better of it.

“You’ve broken your collar bone on the right side,” Dr. Kenobi informed him quickly. “You should be given a sling for it shortly, but the preliminary results from radiography look like you won’t need surgery.”

“Can’t you just kiss it better?” Anakin asked on autopilot. Shmi sighed and squeezed his hand. He could practically hear her and Mace rolling their eyes. He’d just been through a traumatic accident and the doctor really was attractive. Sue him.

Dr. Kenobi pulled up a chair on the side of the bed across from Shmi. “I’m afraid the hospital frowns on patient-provider relationships,” he said lightly. “Now, you’ve had a CT scan done while you were unconscious and we didn’t find anything concerning, but I need to do a neurologic exam as well. The CT shows us if there is any physical injury such as bleeding, but it can’t show a concussion.”

Anakin nodded his assent and followed the doctor’s directions. He tracked a pen light with his eyes, pushed and pulled with his good arm against Kenobi, and held his breath while the doctor leaned in close his face to examine his pupils and touch various parts of his face while directing Anakin to bite down.

“You’re lucky,” Dr. Kenobi announced, rolling back in his chair. “From what Mace has said your head was very badly clipped by Artoo’s hoof when you both fell. You have a mild concussion, but no significant brain injury and your collar bone should heal well. Thank your helmet that it’s not any worse.”

“And the air vest Mom makes me wear,” Anakin tried to joke. He glanced at Shmi from the corner of his eye. If he weren’t laying in a hospital bed, she’d probably be smacking him on the arm for such a poor joke right now, based on the look in her eyes.

“Maybe we can get Hit-Air to sponsor you now,” Mace said lightly. He gave Anakin a smile and stepped towards the door. “Text me any updates. I’m going to get a press release out and make sure Artoo gets home.”

“Thank you Mace,” Shmi said. Her eyes were clearer now, losing the ring of red around them and she’d scrubbed the tear tracks from her cheeks. “Anakin, would you like something to eat now? If that’s ok with Dr. Kenobi.”

Dr. Kenobi nodded, but gave Shmi instructions to get Anakin something light that would be easy on his stomach. She nodded and followed Mace out.

Now that they were alone, Anakin the question that had been sitting on his tongue for several minutes now. “When can I ride again, Doc?”

Dr. Kenobi laughed. “Typical equestrian,” he said with a smile. “I tell you you have a TBI and broken bones and the only thing you’re worried about is when you can get back in the saddle.”

He clicked his pen a few times in thought. “The collarbone break is pretty clean. Radiology has to write up their opinion on the x-rays but I don’t think you’ll need surgery. You’re still fairly young, I’d say six to eight weeks for that to heal.

“The TBI is another beast, as I’m sure you know. You could be recovered in a couple weeks or it may take months. I want you to take this seriously, Anakin. Even a mild brain injury can have effects that last for the rest of your life. After you’re released we’ll have follow-up appointments to monitor your progress. Physical therapy for your shoulder, possibly occupational therapy if you have any issues come up.”

It could be much worse, Anakin reminded himself before picking up on part of what Dr. Kenobi had said. “We’ll have follow-ups? You’ll continue to be my doctor?”

Dr. Kenobi chuckled. “If you’re staying in Ocala, then yes, I’ll be your neurologist.”

“Can I request someone else?” Hurt flashed across Dr. Kenobi’s face and he pushed further away from the bed before he quickly put on a professional mask. Anakin immediately kicked himself. He hadn’t meant to hurt Dr. Kenobi. “Only I’d really like to ask you out for dinner and I heard the hospital doesn’t like patient-provider relationships.”

“If we’re going to get dinner I think you should start calling me Obi-Wan,” Dr. Kenobi rolled closer to the side of Anakin’s bed. “And I have to insist that you at least wait until you’re discharged to ask me out.”

“I can be patient,” Anakin promised with a grin.

Obi-Wan scoffed. “If you were patient you wouldn’t be doing eventing. Don’t forget, I’m a doctor in Ocala. I know your type.”

“I can be patient if you tell me to,” Anakin insisted. “And anyway it sounds like it won’t be too long before they discharge me.”

Obi-Wan laughed and scribbled something on his notepad before tearing it out, folding it delicately, and giving it to Anakin. “Here, for when you get out. I’ll speak to one of my colleagues about taking on your case.”

Anakin grinned and took a moment to admire Obi-Wan’s ass as he walked to the door. “Thanks doc. I’ll see you soon!”

#this is sooo self-indulgent #i've been wanting to write an equestrian au for ages #anyway anakin gets back in the saddle before he's cleared to because horse people be like that and he def would #obi-wan punishes him for this with spanks (when he IS cleared for full activities)#obikin #prompt fills

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lfthinkerwrites · 10 months

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The Lonely Shepherd

The second winning prompt. Not as dark as Little Lamb, but still dark. Mentions of child abuse and Jonathan once again being an absolute dick.

When Jonathan awakes, he instantly realizes where he is. The familiar white, brightly lit Arkham patient interview room. He's sitting in a straight-jacket, his feet shackled to the chair. The guards aren't taking any chances. Why is he here and not his cell? His tongue feels heavy, his mouth numb, and then he remembers. He'd woken up briefly and was drugged, he'd woken up after...

Everything comes back to him then. A black flash colliding into him, sending him crashing to the asphalt. A girl with a crown of fire, her large green eyes smoldering. Now he remembers. Edward's daughter. His little lamb. He'd been so close, but she'd been denied him. Perhaps next time, he'd be quicker on the draw. Next time, he'll take her and he'll have her-

The door to the interview room opens and Jonathan sees two figures entering. One of whom is someone he's heard of, but he couldn't remember if he'd ever met her. Black Bat. The second figure is someone all too familiar to him. Someone he'd known intimately, inside and out. Someone whose absence from his life had come closer to breaking him than he'd ever admit.

Edward Nigma.

Just a day ago, Jonathan had thought that his heart would lift at seeing the man again, or at least he'd feel anger, but he feels nothing.

The door shuts behind them and Black Bat stays still. Quiet. Observing. Edward marches forward, his fists clenched. There's no weapon on him, of course, but Jonathan can see the murder in his eyes as he approaches. Edward pauses when he reaches the table and for an instant, Jonathan thinks he might lunge across it. Instead, he takes a deep breath and sits down in the chair opposite him.

Jonathan speaks first. "Well, well. How in the Hell did you arrange this?" He looks past Edward at Black Bat. She stares right back at him. Studying him like a bug under a microscope. "New friends help grease the wheels for you?"

Edward slams a palm down hard on the table. "Not. Another. Word," he hisses. Jonathan raises an eyebrow. He's seen Edward angry, of course. But this is different. This anger seems to come from somewhere deep inside him, it seems clawing at him from the inside, begging to be unleashed. Edward takes another breath, then folds his hands in front of him.

"I should have known this would happen," Edward mutters, shaking his head. "I should have known, but I got complacent. I thought after eight years, she'd be safe, but of course, I should have known that you are just that petty and that spiteful, and when you saw an easy target, you just couldn't help yourself, now could you!?"

Something like anger is brewing in Jonathan now, but it's not what he expected it to be. "Beggin' your pardon, darlin'," he drawls, and he smirks at the flush that comes to Edward's face. "But I do think I had some justification."

Edward's eye twitches. "Justification!? She's barely eighteen! If you had some grievance with me, then take it up with me, you twisted coward!"

"Some grievance!?" Jonathan shouts. "You ran out on me! For weeks, I didn't know if you were alive!"

Edward rolls his eyes. "Please. And just how long did it take you to realize I was gone? Don't pretend you didn't already have one foot out the door!"

"I deserved better than that Goddammit! I deserved a fuckin' explanation!"

Edward stares at him, his eyes narrow, before he sighs. "Yes, I suppose you do," he said, and in an instant, Jonathan can see how much his lover has aged in eight years. He can see specks of silver in his hair, lines on his face, and a weight on his shoulders that seems to crush him. "Where do I even begin?" he mutters.

"You can start with the girl," Jonathan says. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that Black Bat has moved closer. When did she do that? "You said she was eighteen. Did you only find out about her eight years ago, or did you know about her all along?" He's not sure what would be worse: Edward abandoning him for a stranger, or Edward keeping a secret from him for almost five years.

Edward wets his bottom lip. "I'd just turned twenty," he says. "I met a girl in a club and one thing led to another. To make a long story short, we had a disagreement about my career path and she left me. Two months later, she came back to tell me that she was pregnant."

"I'd have thought a genius like yourself would know how to use a condom," Jonathan hisses.

Edward glares at him before continuing. "I didn't want her to keep the baby, but she was adamant. I decided at least to fulfill my basic obligations and provide materially for her. That was all I meant to do. I wasn't at the hospital. I'm not even on her birth certificate. One day, after she was born, I stopped by to drop off my monthly payment, and I saw her in her crib and..." he sighs again. "She was three days old, and she already looked so much like me..."

Jonathan wonders bitterly how different things may be if the brat looked more like her mother. "And you couldn't stay away, could you?"

"I should have," Edward admits. "Her mother and I would argue about it every time I stopped by, but I couldn't just walk away and pretend she didn't exist. I couldn't see her often, of course, but she knew who I was. I'd keep tabs on her and her mother when I could, and I'd go incognito to her school events."

Jonathan remembers all the times Edward would disappear for days on end. He'd thought nothing of it then, considering how often he himself would disappear. Now he regrets never asking questions, never following him. "All the time you were still a Rogue," he says, shaking his head. "You really thought you could have it all, didn't you? The glory of your rivalry with Batman, and a little bastard on the side whenever you got bored."

Edward slams a hand down again. "Do not refer to her that way again," he says, the promise of violence in every syllable.

"That's what she is," Jonathan continues. "Your dirty little secret. Or maybe, it wasn't just her you were keeping on the side."

Edward just laughs bitterly. "Her mother wouldn't have anything to do with me if that's what you're implying. That ship had long sailed."

"So why did you leave?" Jonathan asks. "You seemed perfectly content to lie to my face every day. What changed?"

"Eight years ago, I went to her mother's apartment to drop off my monthly payment," Edward says softly. "It was just after we'd broken out of Arkham, so I didn't have up to date information about them. When I got there, all of their furniture was on the street. I asked a neighbor and she told me that..." Edward's voice trails off for a moment before he speaks again. "Her mother and grandmother had died in a car accident. She had an aunt, but her aunt refused to take her. My daughter was in foster care. I called Query and Echo and it didn't take us long to track her down."

Edward stops again and takes a breath. "I said earlier that you had one foot out the door. The truth is, so did I. I was at a crossroads, Jon. I'd been wondering if being the Riddler was worth it, or maybe if I should walk away from my daughter and give the Riddler my full attention. If she was happy with this foster family, if she was safe, I was wondering if I should just leave her where she was."

"But she wasn't, was she?" Jonathan asks, knowing full well where this was going.

Edward shakes his head. "When I knocked on the door, she answered it. She had a black eye." Edward shakes in anger from the memory. "My little ten-year-old girl took one look at me and clung on to me crying, begging me to take her away."

"So you did," Jonathan says. "You decided to rescue her like you wish someone had rescued you."

Edward nods. "I took back all of her things that her so-called 'foster parents' had taken from her to give to their own children, and I let her take whatever she wanted. Then I took her out for ice cream and let Query and Echo have their fun." Edward smirks. "That wasn't all I did, of course. There are so many ways to destroy a person without ever laying a hand on them." Behind him, Black Bat lets out a small sigh. Jonathan had almost forgotten she was in the room. "After that, I was halfway back to our place when it hit me. I was all my daughter had now. I had to finally make a choice about what and who I was going to be. And then I remembered that story you told me about your mother and half-sister."

Jonathan scoffs. "It never bothered you before. You knew damn well what kind of person I was when you started our affair."

"Yes, I did," Edward admits. He swallows. "And that's why I knew I had to leave. I knew she'd never be safe with you. I got everything we needed together and we left Gotham that night. Batman tracked me down eventually, but after I explained the situation, we came to an arrangement."

A lot of Rogues had had their schemes foiled in that time frame. Some of them had taken hits so great they still hadn't fully recovered from them, even after nearly a decade. Even now, Jonathan hadn't wanted to belive that Edward had been responsible for that. "I thought after a while that perhaps you'd left me for someone else," Jonathan says at last. "I thought it might have been a younger woman. How right I was. You always were a selfish creature, Edward. You want what you want when you want it, and to Hell with everyone else. You never gave a damn about me at all, did you?"

"Of course I did!" Edward shouts. "Do you think I would have stayed as long as I did if I didn't!? I loved you! It killed me to have to leave!"

"But you still did. Because you loved her more, and you always had. The truth is, I was the person you were keeping on the side, wasn't I?" Edward breaks eye contact and looks down at the table and Jonathan knows he's right. Whatever remaining affection he still has for Edward dies in that second.

"Do you know what's even worse than having to leave the man you love?" Edward says at last in a voice as soft as a whisper. He looks back up at Jonathan, his green eyes hard. "Having proof that you were right. The second you found out about her, you stalked her. You chased her down. You would have killed her if Black Bat hadn't intervened. You call me selfish? You would have killed my daughter because you wouldn't have wanted to share me."

Edward gets up from the table. "Your continued existence is somewhat controversial amongst the Bats," he continues. "Red Hood was ready to come down here and kill you. Batgirl was halfway to joining him. Red Robin was willing to look the other way. I was able to get Red Hood to back down by reminding him that you were my problem to deal with. You may want to keep that in mind if you get any ideas. Hell, the only reason you're still breathing now is because Black Bat informed me that if I tried anything, she would nerve-strike me." The vigilante nods in agreement. "Goodbye, Jonathan."

Jonathan can't let the man leave without one last parting shot. "You're wrong," he says. "I wasn't going to kill her." As expected, Edward's eyes widen in shock. Jonathan thinks he can see a small glimmer of hope in them. Perfect. "She looks so much like you, Ed," he drawls. Black Bat's posture stiffens and her dark eyes narrow. "But she's so much prettier." Edward's mouth drops open. Jonathan smirks. "I would have enjoyed making her my Mistress of Fear."

Several expressions flash across Edward's face. Horror, revulsion, and finally, anger. Anger like Jonathan's never seen. Before he can lunge though, Black Bat has grabbed him and pulled him to the floor. She steps in front of him, blocking him from the table. Jonathan sits stunned. He barely saw her move.

"No Edward," she says.

"You heard him!" Edward screams back. "I'll kill him! I'll rip his fucking head off!"

"You promised," she says again. "I promised."

Edward takes a few deep breaths, then gets to his feet, storming out of the room. Black Bat then turns to face Jonathan, her dark eyes penetrating his core. Jonathan simply stares back.

"What did you promise the little lamb?" he asks. "That you'd protect her? That you'd keep the big bad wolf at bay?"

Black Bat's stare never wavers. "Two things," she says. "One: that I wouldn't let her father go to jail. Two, that I'd tell you something for her." She leans in close. "She's not afraid of you. You're pathetic." Then she's gone, leaving Jonathan alone.

#scriddler and enigma is kind of incompatible in my mind #not pi verse

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the-graves-family · 7 months

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7. Radio Silence | "Can you hear me?"

“Mister… ah, Graves?”

The nurse’s voice breaks him out of the mess of spiraling thoughts that had been consuming him ever since he’d heard the news.

As he always does, Adrian smiles, an easygoing thing that hides his thoughts well enough from those who don’t know him. Everyone at the hospital is overworked and underpaid, they’re not going to look twice at one of the many patients’ visitors.

“That’s me. You had some paperwork for me?”

It’s a very long thirty minutes of looking over documents and signing off on things that needed to be signed. The staff is well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful. Not that he’s asking for help. Adrian doesn’t care about any of this, really. He wants two very simple things: to talk to the doctor, and to see his little brother.

The doctor, a middle-aged and tired-looking woman, doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Not really surprising, given that this is, in fact, a military hospital, and she must have done this song and dance with families thousands of times.

Adrian lets her words register in his brain, but keeps his emotions at an arm’s length. He has a job to do. He can process later.

“It’s been forty-two hours since the specialist last regained consciousness. I wouldn’t get my hopes up, Mr. Graves.”

“Right. May I see him now?”

Maybe she can tell Adrian’s not really listening, or perhaps she has more to do than humor him for much longer, so she just nods, shakes his hand and leaves him with a nurse. He’s sure they’ll have more to talk about in the coming weeks.

He knows it’s going to be bad when he’s asked to put on a gown and gloves before he’s allowed into the room.

There are a solid thirty minutes after entering Adam’s room which he doesn’t remember. He’s not sure if it was the sounds of the machines, the smell of blood and hospital, or just the sight of his little brother laid out on the bed looking dead that took him out. The next thing he knows, he’s sitting on a chair next to the bed, looking past the man laying on it, out the window.

He’d known what Adam looked like, in theory. He’s seen Aaron recently, and they’re still reflections of each other.

Adam’s more built than he’d been expecting, although he’s sure that’s not going to last long, now. He’s glanced once at where his arm and leg used to be, and that was enough to make him feel ill-at-ease.

Despite the burns, and the bruising, and everything, it’s still his brother.

The brother he’s pretty sure ran away because of him.

He hasn’t thought about that night in years. And now it’s back, staring him in the face. He wants Adam to wake up, wants so desperately to tell him he’s sorry. That he’d never wanted it to end up like this. But his brother is not waking up. Not now, and perhaps not ever.

That’s the part that’s scaring him the most.

Thinking about the future, as always, is not agreeing with Adrian in any way. He doesn’t want to think about the possibility of Adam never waking up. Or what will happen if he does. He’s built a life away from them in the years they’ve been apart. Surely he’d want to go back to it. Never see them again. All because of—

Adrian needs a smoke.

Talking to someone in a coma seems so cliché. Especially since Adam would certainly not want to hear from him if he were awake. ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t really cut it. Still, Adrian finds himself wanting to. Wanting to tell Adam, unconscious or not, of everything that’s been going on for the past few years, with him, with Dad, with Aaron—

Maybe not that last one.

“Just wake up,” he murmurs, settling in for a long night as he watches the sun outside dip beneath the horizon.

#whumptober2023 #no.7 #radio silence #“can you hear me?”#oc #fic #no warnings for once lol #(adrian)#(ace)#(writing)

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gojos-precious · 1 year

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The Singer Household

Summary: Courtney tries to adjust to living with Bobby

A/N: This is part 2 to Becoming a Singer. As always please be kind! :)

Adjusting to living with Bobby was hard. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot better than what I was used to, but it was still hard. I thought it would be easier to adjust because I knew that I was safe, but it was just… different. At Bobby’s house, I ate regularly and always had clean clothes. I didn’t have to worry whether someone would take care of me. Bobby taught me how to cook and it was really fun. He had so many of his wife’s old cookbooks lying around so we never ran out of recipes to try. But at night, when it was quiet, that’s when things were hard. No one talks about just how hard it is to adjust from an abusive situation. Bobby knew what it was like though. He was very patient with me. Bobby’s dad was an abusive drunk so he understood. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy taking me in, and yet he did it anyway.

I often had nightmares that would wake me up with my own screams. Without fail, Bobby would always come and sit with me until I was okay. Some nights we would just stay up and talk or he’d read me some of his favorite books. Sometimes we would even get up and start baking cookies. Bobby’s cookies always made it better. He didn’t force me to talk about the nightmares. I wasn’t ready to talk about them at first. He let me sit with them.

The Winchester boys didn’t know that I was having nightmares or the real reason why I moved in with Bobby. I still remember the first time that they were there when a nightmare happened. They had come to stay with me and Bobby while John was out on a particularly dangerous hunt. It was the first night that they were there. All day I was worrying about what would happen that night. I was worried that they were going to find out. I was scared to fall asleep. I tried staying up reading but it just made me even more tired. I had fallen asleep at some point and didn’t realize it. Then the dream started.

Dad was talking about the hunt he was about to leave for. I was crying and begging him not to because I knew what happened on that hunt. The hunt that changed everything. The hunt that killed him. But he wouldn’t listen to me. It was like I was talking to a statue. That was one of the worst nights of my life. That was the last time I got to hug my dad. I was a sobbing mess in the corner of the room as I watched everything happen in slow motion. After what felt like 30 seconds and an eternity, we got the call that he had died. I started crying immediately. Mom had put on the front of the mourning widow until she hung up the phone. It took her less than a minute to drop the mask. That’s when shit hit the fan. She started screaming at me, telling me how she regretted the day I was born. She told me I was just a burden and that I always would be. I was crying so much that I could barely breathe. It felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest. I could just faintly hear someone screaming my name. It wasn’t Mom. The voice sounded so familiar but I just couldn’t put my finger on who it was. The voice sounded far away.

Next thing I know, I’m awake. I’m at Bobby’s. I’m safe. After I realized that I was at Bobby’s, I did in fact hear someone screaming my name. It was Sam. Sam, Dean, and Bobby had all rushed into my room after hearing me screaming and crying. Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed next to me with his hands on my shoulders. He had been shaking me trying to get me to wake up. It was silent for an eternity, aside from my sniffling, before Dean piped up and said, “Courtney, are you okay?”

I looked at Bobby and he just gave a slight nod and I knew what it meant. It meant it was time to tell them. I cleared my throat before saying “I think it’s time I tell you guys the truth.” The boys looked between me and Bobby and Sam said, “Bobby, what does she mean?” and Dean said “Yeah, what have you not been telling us?” Bobby looked at me and said “Do you want to tell them or do you want me to?” I sat up straight in the bed and said “I think this should come from me. You guys might want to get comfortable, this is going to take a little while.”

I scooted to the middle of the bed. Sam sat on my left and Bobby sat on my right while Dean sat at the end of the bed. And so I told them. I told them everything. I refused to look up from my lap the whole time. I was scared to see their faces. I knew how they’d be looking at me. I knew that their eyes would be full of pity. But to my surprise, when I looked up and made eye contact with Dean, his face wasn’t full of pity. It was full of anger. I looked over at Sam and he had the same look. The only difference was that Sam had tears on his face.

I looked at Bobby and saw a few tears had fallen down his cheeks. He knew how hard that was for me and he was so proud that I finally told them. It was quiet for so long. I finally spoke up and said,“Somebody please say something.” Dean cleared his throat and kinda shook his head and said, “Why didn’t you want to tell us?” I looked at them both and said, “I didn’t want you to look at me any differently. I didn’t want you to think of me as damaged goods.”

At that moment, Sam grabbed my hand from where it was resting on my lap and said, “Courtney, nothing could make us think that you were damaged goods.” Bobby spoke from beside me and said, “See kiddo, I told you that they would understand.” I nodded and smiled. I guess I had been worrying for no reason. They took it way better than I thought they would. Out of nowhere, Dean said, “I’m still confused by one thing though.” I kinda tilted my head in confusion and said, “And what’s that?”

He said, “So you’re not just clumsy? Because I’ve definitely seen you fall in the salvage yard plenty of times and you’re constantly tripping over air.” At that, I busted out laughing which then made everyone laugh. After laughing until all of our stomachs were hurting, Bobby got up and said, “Well, we’ll let you get back to sleep.” Everyone left and the boys were already halfway down the hall before I said, “Now you know that there is no way in hell that I’m going back to sleep after that.” Bobby laughed and said, “Let me guess: you either want to watch a movie or bake cookies?” I giggled and started getting out of the bed saying “Why not do both?” Dean yells from down the hall, “Did I hear something about baking cookies?” The rest of the night was spent laughing and I realized that no matter what, this was my family. This is where I belonged.

@wdwmarveldisney

#bobby singer #bobby singer fluff #bobby singer angst #sam winchester angst #sam winchester fluff #Sam Winchester #dean winchester #dean winchester fluff #supernatural #Supernatural angst #supernatural fluff

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mcusonechicago · 2 years

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Y/N Is in the ED ~ 1

tw: hospital & emergency room, cursing, physical pain, illness, injury, mentioning of a car accident pairings: natalie manning x fem!reader patient, will halstead x fem!reader patient, april sexton x fem!reader patient other characters mentioned: maggie lockwood

It's 5 pm and you've had enough. You've been sick with a cold for six weeks. You went to the doctor after two, and they said it's just a cold -- exactly what you thought. You've been suffering from a runny nose and a cough for over a month, and you're sick and tired of having coughing attacks and blowing your nose constantly. You decide to drive yourself to the hospital, knowing damn well that you'll be sitting in the waiting room until 10:00, but you can't take it any longer.

One second you're pulling into the hospital parking lot, the next you're being picked up by a doctor who has red hair. He's running towards the hospital entrance with you in his arms.

"Incoming! Dr. Manning, meet Dr. Halstead in trauma two!" Maggie yells, nudging her over.

"Oh my God," Nat says, running over to trauma two just as Will gets there, "what have we got?" "I found her in the parking lot unconscious, her vehicle maybe twenty feet away. She regained consciousness as I picked her up, but I'm not sure if she knows what's happening," he replies, placing you onto the hospital bed. "She keeps coughing. No blood, as far as I can tell," he says, as Nat hooks you up to an IV. "Looks like her left ankle is broken, as well as her right wrist and left index finger. Multiple lesions on the arms and face, most likely from the glass when she was thrown from her vehicle."

"Oh my God, what happened to me," you say, suddenly fully awake as you sit up in bed. "Hey, hey, easy there, easy," Will says, gently pushing you back down. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just have a cold. I was coming here because of that. That's why I'm coughing. I've had a cold for six weeks and it hasn't gone away. I wanted to see if something was wrong."

Nat looks at Will, now even more concerned.

"What's your name?" she asks, handing a tablet to Will. "Y/N. My name's Y/N," you say, your voice shaking. "Heart rate spiking," Nat says, rushing over to get closer to you. "I'm fine. It's just anxiety. Promise." "I'm Dr. Manning, and this is Dr. Halstead. We're gonna take really good care of you, Y/N. How old are you? Is there anyone we can call?" "I'm 18. I live alone. My family lives halfway across the country. I don't want to worry any of my friends. I'm fine. I'm telling you."

"Someone who was thrown from their vehicle isn't fine. You have three broken bones, probably more that we aren't aware of yet," Will exclaims, making eye contact with Natalie before they both look back down at you.

"I WHAT?! I was wearing a seatbelt! How-"

"Y/N, what car do you drive?" Natalie asks you, a concerned look growing across her face. "Um, um... a 1962 Corvette, why? Is-is that bad?" "Older cars are known to be more faulty. Could explain the broken seatbelt. Is it an across-the-chest one, or does it just go across your waist?" "Chest, chest. I made sure when I bought it."

"Wait, why don't I feel the broken bones...?" "We're gonna find out. April, I want a full CT, CBC, BNP, MRI, X-ray of the arms and legs, and a chest X-ray. You know, why not just do a full-body X-ray? While you're at it, might as well."

"Y/N, I'm going to press on your abdomen. Tell me if you feel any pain." "AH!" you yell out, flinching when Nat touches various places on your stomach. "Few broken ribs." "No, no, no, no!" "We are going to do our very best to take care of you, alright, love? Just take a deep breath," Nat says, taking your hand. "I can't- OH MY GOD NOW I FEEL IT," you yell out, squeezing her hand. "April, give her 5 milligrams of morphine. I need those X-rays NOW. The delay in pain must have been from the trauma on her body." "On it," she replies.

"Oh my God," you moan out in pain, pulling your knees into your chest, then flinching again. "It hurts, it hurts. Please make it stop." "Y/N, I need you to stay still so we can take these X-rays, alright? It'll only take a second," Nat says, nodding. She takes a deep breath with you, which helps you slow your heart rate. "Are you sure you don't want us to call anyone for you? I'm sure your parents would want to know what's going on," she says, starting the X-rays. "No, no. They live too far away. I don't want to make them worry, or make them feel obligated to come here. It's alright." "Okay, well, let us know if you change your mind," she smiles. "Thanks."

"Yep, looks like a broken left ankle, right wrist, left index finger, and three broken ribs. Only the ankle has to be reset. Your left hip is also dislocated. I'm gonna need to pop it back into place as well." "Oh my gosh, how bad is my ankle?" you ask her, panicking as your eyes grow wide. "Pretty bad," Will says, tilting his head. "No, no, no, this can't be happening. Oh my God. Oh my God. I never should have come here. It's just a cold. Why on Earth did this have to happen? Why?" "Y/N, everything is going to be okay," Nat says, helping you get into position for the chest X-ray. "No, no, you don't understand. I don't have time for a broken ankle! Or a broken anything, for that matter." Nat and Will look at each other, confused. "I'm a dancer and an actress. I have to be on set tomorrow for a film I'm shooting, and I have to perform in a ballet in a week. I'm the lead. I have to dance. This is tech week. Rehearsals are mandatory!" "You don't have an understudy or something?" he asks, making eye contact with Natalie again. "Yes, yes, but I have to dance! Let alone film! Production ends in less than a month!" you say, tearing up, and Nat takes your hand again, nodding to Will.

"Y/N, I have to reset your ankle now. It's going to hurt," he says, walking towards the end of the bed. "How much is it going to hurt?" you ask, your voice quivering. "A lot." "How broken is it?!" He clears his throat. "Very." You start tearing up as your heart rate spikes to 200.

"Y/N, Y/N, sweetie, you have to take a deep breath. Just try to relax," Nat says, squeezing your fingers, being careful to avoid your wrist. "I can't, I can't!" "Breathe. Just breathe." "AHHH!," you scream out in pain, "OH MY GOD, THAT HURTS LIKE A BITCH." Will did it by surprise.

"Y/N, hey, hey! You're alright. You're okay. You did a great job. I'm right here, I'm right here. You're safe," Nat says to you softly, rubbing your shoulder.

"No, no, I'm very much not. Now you have to pop my literal hip back into its socket. I'm assuming that's more painful than just having a dislocated hip? And a broken ankle being reset?" "Very much so," Will replies. "God, why. At least you're honest, I guess."

"It's okay, you're okay," Nat moves your hair out of your face. "Please, Dr. Halstead." "I promise I'm going to fix your hip." "But it's gonna hurt," you say, looking over at Nat as a single tear escapes from your right eye. She looks at you in sympathy, giving your hand another squeeze. "It's gonna be okay. Take a deep breath," she says, grabbing a hold of your hip with her other hand.

Will and Nat nod at each other and he pulls on your leg. You scream in pain and begin to sob, grabbing onto the side of the bed with your left hand, and squeezing Nat's hand with your right one, despite the pain in your finger and wrist. "Pull, pull!" she yells at Will, and you scream the most when he finally pops it back into place.

"You're alright, you're alright. Breathe." You take a deep, shaky breath with Nat's help. "I'll be back to check on you soon. Just try to relax. You're gonna be okay," Nat says, giving your hand one more squeeze. Will gives you a smile. He and Natalie exchange a worried and sympathetic look before they head off to take care of more patients.

"Don't worry. We've got you, honey. I'm gonna have to take your blood now. Is that okay?" April says, tying the band around your arm before she squeezes your shoulder. You nod.

You know you're in good hands. The doctors and nurses are going to take great care of you. They've got you.

word count: 1433 i hope you enjoyed, my lovely !!! <333

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starkslove101 · 1 month

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CHAPTER 21: “The Prince of Rescue”

A/N: Here's chapter 21 of my story. Please Like, Repost or comment.

Tony.

Two months have passed since Ransom was taken. We had no idea where she was or if she was still alive. My eyes were burning from staring at my computer screen for so long. I was on my third cup of coffee. I was trying to stay awake but my body was fighting me.

Ransom's father appeared behind me. He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Son, you should rest your eyes,” he said. Ransom's father had been here ever since she disappeared. He was determined to find her. “I’ll be here to wake you when something happens. You can ask your computer ehm” he pointed to the ceiling. “Jeeves?” he said uncertain as to what name my A.I. had.

“I can’t” I sighed. I felt overwhelmed by emotions and I thought of only closing my eyes for a second. All I could see was her. I missed her and I couldn’t fathom seeing her. I couldn’t stand the idea of her being in pain and me not being able to do anything about it.

“Please, sleep. You’re of no use to her when you’re going crazy because of sleep deprivation” he pleaded. I sighed as I sobbed. Ahmed had a sorry look on his face as he sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. “We will find her” He reassured me, patting the back of my head slowly. “She’s still alive, I can feel it,” he said. “I’ve felt it for centuries” I looked up at him. His eyes were hopeful as he grabbed my shoulder tightly. I nodded believingly, trying to keep the hope.

Ahmed sat down at the office chair next to me as he took my cup of coffee away from me. “Sleep” he ordered, reminding me of my father. But again wasn’t so patient with me. I laid my head down on my desk. It wasn’t the best position for me to sleep in. But I was too tired to care. I drifted off into a deep sleep.

It was merely a few hours later when someone woke me up abruptly. I sat upright and wiped my face confused. “What’s going on?” I looked up at Ahmed who was looking at the computer screens trying to figure something out as they were beeping uncontrollably.

“The alarms you set months ago finally went off. A high temperature has been spotted right at the edge of the city” Ahmed said, his voice chirpy. I immediately felt awake and sat upright.

“Are you sure it’s her?” I asked, skeptical Ahmed nodded Yes.

“Look at the reading, not even a building on fire burns at this high of a temperature” The thermometer spiked red at the levels it was picking up. Hope was swelling in my chest. I think we might’ve found her.

“J.A.R.V.I.S. pinpoint the exact location for me” I commanded.

“Yes sir” he answered as I ran to get my suit. No one was going to stop me now from bringing her back home. She has suffered long enough.

It wasn’t long before we touched down at the edge of town. A vacant lot that used to belong to the Roxxon Energy Corporation. As we were about to storm into the building, Thor touched down.

Both Ahmed and I stopped in our tracks as the ground shook on Thors’ Impact. A Bright light touched down with him as he came down but disappeared as soon as he landed.

He turned and we locked eyes as I cocked my head to the side. “We have to get her out of there,” he said, his voice deep and his accent thick.

The building was starting to collapse as a circle of white and orange light engulfed it. People were running out in fear, screaming their lungs out. She was definitely in there. “It’s now or never,” Ahmed said. His suit appeared on his body like it was eating him. I used it as Nano-technology.

“Well, Let’s go then” The face of my helmet fell as my suit booted up. J.A.R.V.I.S. pinpointed where the energy surge came from. We burst into the building, trying to avoid falling on us.

“Mr. Stark the building's integrity is failing” J.A.R.V.I.S. stated. I rolled my eyes as I flew up the second floor of the building. All three of us touched down in the room where Ransom was being held. The floor was shaking and we all had trouble holding our balance.

Ransom's eyes were a bright light, fully covering her beautiful brown ones. Her body was convulsing, It looked like she was in pain. I took my helmet off, truly worried for her. There was some electromagnetic field surrounding her, that protected her from the debris falling. “What do we do?” I yelled. “I can’t get through” Ahmed looked at me and nodded.

“I can” his hands turned into a fiery bright orange. I put his hands through the barrier with ease, breaking it. Ransoms’ eyes closed. Her body stopped convulsing as she fell out of the thing that was holding her. I was so shocked about what was happening, that I couldn’t move.

Thor leaped forward and caught her before she fell. He scooped her up and walked out of the building with her in his arms. It felt like my body was frozen, I couldn’t believe it was her. I’ve missed her for so long and I couldn’t even move my body.

“Stark! We have to go” Ahmed yelled, pulling me out of my fear-induced slump. I shook my head and flew out of the building, as the building finally collapsed. All of us watched everything fall into dust. Ahmed, placed his hand on my shoulder, Thor was holding Ransom tight. Now that I took a good look at her, her body was fully covered with blisters and burn scars. Her body was shaking like she was cold.

What the hell did they do to her?

Next part

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i-am-robie · 3 years

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Thanks to @coffeeshib for letting me steal the amnesia + wife prompt... I couldn’t help myself. This is not what I thought would come out (content warning for canon typical violence and injuries), mostly this is just Kara being a whole entire idiot and Alex facepalming and Lena just being glad Kara is there for her, as her fake wife while she recovers from another quarterly attempt on her life:

“Supergirl! You have to go!” Alex is yelling at her as they roll Lena into the emergency room at National City General, but Kara is rooted to the spot - she can’t look away. Lena is pale, too pale, and there’s blood all over her dress, cuts and scrapes and bruises already blooming on every piece of exposed skin. She isn’t moving, isn’t breathing on her own right now; the only air making its way into her body is through the ambu bag being operated by a nurse, as women and men in scrubs crowd around the moving gurney, shouting orders. And all of that is terrifying enough, but it isn’t the thing that’s paralyzing Kara.

The reason Kara can’t move, the reason that she is barely breathing, is that she can’t hear Lena’s heart.

“Kara.” Alex is closer now, she steps gently in front of her sister, dropping her voice so that no one else can hear her. “Kara, you have to go, they’re getting away.”

“Alex - “ Kara takes a step forward, as if to walk around her sister, to head towards the doors that Lena and the medical team are disappearing behind.

“I know, Kara, I know,” Alex says, gentle and quiet. The doors shut, and Kara’s eyes snap away from it to her sister's face. Alex looks as terrified as Kara feels; she’s wearing an expression Kara has only seen on her before when it’s Kara who’s hurt. “You can’t do anything for her right now. But you can get the guys who did this.” She reaches for Kara’s arm, squeezes - the pressure is grounding. “You need to go. You need to go right now.”

So Kara goes.

__________________

She returns seven hours later, after dropping the men who carried out the attack on Lena at the DEO and declining to help in the interrogation. She nearly killed them, doesn’t think she has the stomach to listen to them talk. She’d still been in the field when the hospital reached out to let her know that they’d been able to stabilize Lena, restarting her heart, but that she hasn’t woken up yet. Alex had relayed the message to her, but now Alex only shakes her head when Kara asks if there are any updates.

Her sister pulls her aside when Kara says that she’s going to hospital to talk to the doctors, telling Kara quietly that she needs to go home and clean off her suit. When Kara looks down, she sees that Alex is right. She’s covered in blood - some of Lena’s, some of it the men she’s apprehended, none of it hers. It makes her want to sob.

But when she gets out of the bathroom after showering, pulling on soft joggers and a hoodie, Kara finds that she can’t settle. Every time she closes her eyes, every time she blinks, she sees Lena’s lifeless body in the rubble that had been her office, can feel Lena in her arms the moment her heart stopped, and the fact that Lena is supposedly stable doesn’t help at all because she hasn’t woken up.

What if she never wakes up?

Suddenly, Kara can’t breathe. Her chest is tight, the walls of her apartment seeming to flex and close in on her. Her heart rate speeds up and she’s taking choked half-breaths, clenching her fists and blinking away tears.

She can’t lose Lena like this, not after she worked so hard to get her back. Kara looks at the clock. It’s just after midnight. This is definitely not visiting-hours at the hospital, and Lena’s not awake anyway - but Kara needs to see her. Needs to know she’s alive.

Needs to hear her heartbeat again.

It’s all of this - the panic, the desperation, the single-minded focus on getting to Lena - that Kara will blame later when she’s trying to explain what happens next in the weeks to come.

The hospital is deserted except for the staff when Kara walks in through the main entrance and goes up to the ICU where she knows Lena will be. She heads straight for the desk at the front of the unit when she arrives, and introduces herself to a nurse before asking if she can see Lena.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Danvers,” the nurse says, and she does sound sorry in the face of Kara’s distress, “visiting hours aren’t until ten a.m.”

A man in a basketball sweatshirt and jeans walks past them, he scans a small badge that says ‘VISITOR’ in capital letters on a machine at the end of the desk, and nods at the nurse before he disappears down the hallway.

“He’s visiting,’ Kara tries, her voice bordering on frantic, “he’s visiting and I need to see her, you don’t understand, I’m not going to be okay if I don’t see her. Please, just let me...”

“I’m so sorry, honey, it’s immediate family only after hours.”

“I’m her wife,” Kara blurts out. “Please. I’m her wife.”

“You’re her…that’s not in the notes…” The nurse trails off, looking down at the computer in front of her.

“I’m her emergency contact, I’m her wife, please.”

““Oh, yes,” the nurse starts nodding, “I do see that marked here, they called you when she came in. Hmmm...Someone clicked the wrong box under ‘relationship to patient.’” She moves her mouse and clicks on something, then looks back up at Kara. “I’ve fixed that for you, Mrs. Danvers. Let me print you out a visitor badge so you can just scan it in next time.

Kara can feel her panic recede a little. She’s going to see Lena. The nurse takes a blank badge and feeds it into an electronic printer. She hands the finished product to Kara, then gets up and gestures for Kara to follow.

“Now,” the nurse starts as she walks Kara down the dark hallway, the lights on half since it’s night, “she looks a little rough, but I assure you, she’s receiving the very best care there is. Normally you would have been called for consent before we initiated the hypothermia protocol, but since she had an advanced directive on file already, the team went ahead and started it.”

Kara’s barely listening to her, has started to strain her ears for the only sound she’s wanted to hear all day. She nearly collapses in relief when she finds it, below the beeping and the whirring and the buzzing of the machines, unlike any other beat in the building. Lena’s heart is steady, slower than usual, slower than Kara’s ever heard it, but it’s there, rhythmically thumping away.

The nurse brings her to a halt in front of a patient room, Lena’s name on the board outside with a bunch of notations that mean nothing to Kara. She’ll ask Alex to translate.

“She’ll be cold to your touch, that’s alright,” the nurse continues. “The key right now is to try to stop or slow any of the damage she’s suffered as a result of going into cardiac arrest. She lost a lot of blood, and her left femur is broken, along with her right ulna, but there are a lot of reasons to be hopeful. We’ll know more in the forty-eight to seventy-two hours once the protocol is complete.”

Kara refuses to think about most of this. Lena is alive. She’s alive and she’s right on the other side of this door. She clears her throat. “How long...how long can I stay?”

“As long as you like, dear. We’ll round on her in the morning and if you’re still here you can talk to the attending. Also, we’ll be in to check on her, but most of the monitoring is electronic since she’s in a medically induced coma for at least the next two days. There’s a chair that reclines by the bedside, I can grab you a blanket?”

“Please,” Kara says. She stops with her hand on the door, turns back to the nurse. “Thank you.” It comes out wobbly.

“Of course.” The nurse smiles at her. “Go on in, I’ll be right back.”

_____________________

Kara’s woken up by the medical team the next morning during rounds, just as the night shift nurse had promised. She blinks awake and rubs at her eyes, stretching and going to stand up when the team enters.

“Hi Mrs. Danvers, we saw you’d arrived,” a tall woman in a white lab coat says, walking over to Kara on the far side of the room and sticking out her hand to shake. “I’m Dr. Sheldon. We’ll do our best to bring you up to speed now, I’m so glad you were able to make it last night.” She gives Kara a warm smile. “Believe it or not, it really does make a difference when patients are supported, even when they aren’t aware of it.”

The team walks her through their care plan for Lena, how long she’ll have to remain like this before they start the re-warming process, what they’re concerned about and what they’ll be looking for. Her arm and femur have been set and immobilized, but it’s likely that the femur will need to be rebroken and repaired surgically if and when Lena does wake up. Given the invasiveness of the procedure, the delicacy of her present condition, and the unknowns about her cognition, that decision will keep.

When they leave, Kara texts Alex. If the doctors think that it will make a difference for Lena’s recovery to have her here, then she’s going to stay. She’s owed time off anyway. This is the best use of it she can think of.

Two hours later, the door opens, and Kara looks up from the bed, relieved to see Alex standing there, holding a backpack with the food and change of clothing Kara asked her to bring.

“Oh gosh, am I glad to see you,” she says, letting go of Lena’s hand and standing up. She walks around the bed to where Alex has stopped.

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex says, and she’s frowning at Kara. “You have some fucking explaining to do.”

“What?” Kara stops abruptly.

“What?” Alex parrots. She narrows her eyes. “Are you being serious…?” At Kara’s confused expression, Alex rolls her eyes and reaches behind her to shut the door. She walks over to Kara, pulling some take out from the bag and handing it to her, before pulling up one of the swivel chairs a doctor had been using.

Kara takes the food and goes back to her seat.

“So?” Alex prompts.

Kara looks up from the styrofoam container, already having broken apart her chopsticks. “So what?”

“What do you mean...Kara!” Kara freezes, chopsticks frozen in midair clutching a piece of kung pao chicken. There is real frustration and confusion in Alex’s voice. “Imagine my surprise when I sign in at the front desk and the nurse says that my sister-in-law is stable right now. Wanna tell me why the fuck you’re playing house to visit your best friend in the hospital?”

Kara sets the chicken down. “Alex…”

“Kara, you have ten seconds to explain why the entire staff thinks you and Lena are married and the answer had better not actually involve marriage or I swear to god I’ll…”

“They wouldn’t let me in to see her!” Kara bursts out. “I got here last night and I needed to see her, Alex, I needed to. And apparently it’s immediate family only and I panicked, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Alex says, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. “I know Lena is important to you, but Kara, you could have waited ten hours and seen her.”

“I couldn’t.” Kara looks down at her food, not hungry anymore. “Alex, I couldn’t. I almost had a panic attack after you sent me home last night. I couldn’t wait.”

“Oh kiddo.” Kara looks up at that, all the frustration is gone from Alex’s tone. Her sister lets out a sigh. “Lena’s going to get through this and she’s going to get better. And when she does, you have got to tell her how you feel.”

“She’s my best friend.” Kara’s mouth twists. This is not a new conversation, but the stakes seem higher with Lena in the bed beside her, unconscious and battered.

“She is,” Alex agrees. “But she could be more.”

And oh, Kara wants more with every fiber of her being. But more than that, she wants Lena in her life, wants the easy love and affection they’ve finally gotten back to. And she’s been worried about rocking the boat.

“And by the way,” Alex says, pulling her back to the present, “lying to medical professionals is not a good look.” Kara grimaces and ducks her head.

“I know,” she says, glancing at Lena, the ventilator moving her chest up and down slowly. “But they said it’s good for Lena to have someone here, talking to her, holding her hand, even if she doesn’t know. And you know Lillian isn’t going to do that. And Lex is the one who put her here...just let me do this, okay?”

Alex hums. “You’re so lucky I didn’t blow your secret.”

Kara looks over at her sister. “Thank you.”

“Some of us are actually good at lying under pressure. I’m surprised you didn’t tell them she was married to Supergirl.”

“Well I wasn’t dressed as Supergirl.”

“Thank god for small mercies.”

______________________

Lena doesn’t wake up for the next three days.

In the interim, all of their friends visit, but Alex has already warned them about Kara’s new relationship status and other than Nia’s constant giggles, no one comments. Kara doesn’t leave the hospital. She keeps vigil in the chair, occasionally leaving for short periods of time to go down to the cafeteria, or to stretch her legs.

On day four, Alex convinces her to at least go to the DEO to shower and check in with J’onn about the duties he and M’gann are covering for her.

She’s just getting ready to head back to the hospital when her phone rings.

“Mrs. Danvers?”

“Yes?”

“This is Dr. Sheldon. Your wife has woken up and she’s being evaluated now by neuro, but we wanted you to know first thing.”

Kara has to sit down in the middle of the DEO, the concrete hard and probably cold underneath her, but it’s better than the alternative, which was just going to be letting her knees give out. She closes her eyes tightly. “I’ll be right there.”

She flies back to the hospital, landing in a nearby alley and running into the building with just a touch of superspeed. She makes it onto the unit just in time to see Lena’s care team leaving her room and turning down the hall to the next patient, and as much as Kara wants to get an update from them, the urge to see Lena herself is too much. She walks through the open door and nearly runs into a nurse, who’s moving some of the equipment out, now that Lena is conscious. It’s a nurse Kara is familiar with, her name is Bernadette, she’s been on shift the last two days. Her eyes light up when she sees Kara.

“Your wife is here,” Bernadette says, over her shoulder before Kara can stop her. She smiles warmly as she turns back to Kara. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She slips past Kara and into the hallway.

“My…” Lena’s eyes go wide as she sees Kara standing helpless in front of the now closed door. Her voice is still scratchy from the extubation. Her hair is greasy and all over the pillow, her right arm and left leg are completely immobilized, there are wires running through the top of her hospital gown, her whole body a tapestry of garish purples and greens and stitches. But she’s awake. Kara has never felt more relieved in her entire life, but it turns to ice in her veins as Lena struggles to speak, clearly confused. “My - my - oh god.” Her eyes start to fill with tears and Kara panics.

“No, Lena, no, it’s not - “ she starts saying, taking quick steps towards the bed.

“Oh god, oh god, Kara,” Lena chokes out, twisting a little in bed and flinching, “they said I only lost a week, they said my memory seemed okay, that there’s no - ”

“We’re not married!” Kara yells out trying to stop the clear spiral Lena is on. Lena’s eyes go wide, but she does stop looking like she’s about to start sobbing. “We’re not married,” Kara repeats, in a normal voice this time.

“Then why…”

Kara winces. “I might have told the hospital staff that we are. Married, that is.”

Lena looks wary, small and weak and confused in the bed, and she’s frowning a little at Kara now. It doesn’t even matter, though, because the feeling of seeing Lena awake is returning with every word she speaks, and Kara feels something in her chest open up. She has to resist walking over and climbing into bed with her and holding her, knows she needs to explain first.

In every single way Kara played out this moment all week in her head, not once is this how it went - she wants Lena to be smiling, to be okay, or at least as okay as one can be after coming out of a medically induced coma, with a number of near catastrophic injuries still to be dealt with. She certainly didn’t imagine she’d be contributing to the disorientation and isolation Lena’s projecting right now.

Lena’s eyes dart around Kara’s face. Kara takes a deep breath.

“The first night you were here, I had to see you.” She starts twisting her hands together, takes another step towards the bed. “And it was late, and even though I’m your emergency contact, they said no after hours visitors except for family and I panicked.”

“You panicked.” Lena sounds like she’s unsure how panic would lead someone to pretend to be married, and honestly, now that Kara is having to explain the decision, she’s not really sure either. The only thing she knows is that she doesn’t regret it. Would do it again, in fact.

“I knew if they thought I was your wife, they’d let me in to see you. And Lena, I had to see you. I had to. You were - “ Kara cuts herself off, can feel the tightness in her chest, closing around her heart like a vice. “Your heart stopped before I could get you to the hospital. The last time I saw you, I didn’t know if - “ A small sob works it’s way up her throat, and Kara’s eyes are burning. She feels a tear break free from her lashes. “I needed to hear your heartbeat.”

An unreadable expression crosses Lena’s face as Kara takes the seat by her bed that she’s occupied for the last week. To Kara’s great relief, Lena reaches out her left hand, lays it on the edge of the bed, palm up. Kara grabs for it with both of her own.

And Rao, the feeling of Lena’s hand, still cold, but undeniably warmer, squeezing back when Kara grips tightly - she doesn’t know how to describe this feeling. It starts a fresh wave of sobs in her, of relief this time, rather than terror.

“Hey,” Lena says, punctuating it with another flex of her fingers around the back of Kara’s hand. “Hey, I’m okay. I’m here. You saved me. I’m okay, see?”

And really, that just makes Kara cry harder.

“I’m supposed to be comforting you,” she chokes out.

“You are,” Lena says, disengaging their hands and bringing her fingers up to Kara’s face, wiping at the tears. “You are, god, I was just thrown. I thought...I thought, it doesn't matter what I thought.” She tries to laugh and ends up flinching.

“Oh no, are you okay, should I call the doctor?” Kara immediately reaches forward, lays a hand on Lena’s hip above the sheets and wipes furiously at her face with the other.

“It’s the broken ribs,” Lena grits out, jaw flexing as she drops her hand away from Kara’s face and back onto the bed. “Fuck that hurts.”

“I’m just so glad you’re awake,” Kara says, leaning forward again and brushing some of the hair out of Lena’s face, trying to tuck it behind her ear.

That’s how Bernadette finds them when she returns, Kara gently touching Lena’s forehead, and rubbing her hip, the two of them so close that Kara might as well climb in next to her.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she says, smiling at the two of them. “The attending would like to pop in with the head of ortho to talk about surgical options for your femur. Should I tell her to come back later?”

Kara moves to stand up, she doesn’t want to delay anything about Lena’s care, but Lena reaches for her hand again, and Kara’s powerless to do anything but lace their fingers together and sit back down.

Lena takes a shallow breath, “Can my wife stay?”

My wife. Hearing it come out of Lena’s mouth does something to Kara that feels a little dangerous, makes the room spin a bit. Her heart feels as if it’s expanding and being squeezed at the same time. My wife. My wife. My wife.

“Of course, she’s more than welcome to stay,” Bernadette says. “It’s probably a good idea, actually, now that there are care decisions to make.”

_____________________

“Let me get this straight,” Alex says, her head in her hands. Kelly reaches out to rub her back. “You’re still pretending to be married, and Lena is playing along with it?”

Kara nods. They’re sitting down in the cafeteria while Lena gets a sponge bath, something that Kara is trying very hard not to think about. It’s been nearly three weeks, one major operation, and thankfully no more complications.

And Kara has been here through it all. She’s started leaving for blocks of time during the day (it turns out she didn’t have a month worth of vacation saved up and Alex had nearly had an aneurysm when Kara asked if she was allowed to use family medical leave act time), but she’s spent nearly every night in the hospital with Lena since. The medical team loves them, has started talking to them about how devoted Kara is. Maybe Kara’s playing into it a little, bringing flowers, and Lena’s favorite foods, and always, always touching her in some way when she’s in the room.

“You know they’re going to build her discharge plan around you, right?” Alex squints at her. “Have you considered that?”

Kara flushes. “Actually,” she brings a hand up to rub at the back of her neck, adjusts her glasses for good measure, “we’ve agreed that I’ll just move in with Lena for a little while. She can hire someone during the day, but I’ll be around at night and I can help with the rehab. So, um, it’s fine.”

“You’re both fucking idiots.”

_________________

“I’ve been home for an hour and I’m already regretting every choice in my life that’s lead to this point. This is humiliating.”

“Oh my gosh,” Kara laughs, “no it isn’t.”

“Kara, you’re washing my hair in the kitchen sink because I can’t even wash myself right now with this fucking cast and brace on.”

Kara grins, squirting shampoo onto her hand and setting the bottle down on the marble countertop. Lena is sitting in the wheelchair, left leg propped up on the supports. She’s leaning back with her head over the edge of the sink, rolled up towels supporting her neck and her eyes are closed. She’s frowning, but it’s the frown she wears when she’s trying too hard not to smile. It makes Kara want to kiss it right off her face. She takes a deep breath, instead.

Kara is just so grateful that she gets to see Lena like this, hair stringy from the hospital, oversize sweatshirt with one sleeve bunched up over the top of the lime green cast on her right arm. The post-surgical femoral fracture brace looks uncomfortable, but Lena hasn’t complained about it at all. So, fine, maybe this nearly debilitating urge to kiss her best friend, to ask her if the last few weeks could be real, instead of fake (not the marriage part, not now, anyway, but the relationship part sure), is getting more and more intrusive. That doesn’t mean Kara can’t continue to ignore it until Lena’s better.

She finishes washing Lena’s hair and if she takes extra time massaging in the conditioner and making sure the water temperature is absolutely perfect, well, that’s just being a good caretaker. She sets Lena up in her bedroom, then goes back to the kitchen to clean up

“Ok, Lena,” Kara says, walking back into the bedroom. “You officially have zero edible things in your apartment. I’m going to make a list and head to the grocery store for supplies, ok? Your next meds can’t be taken on an empty stomach.”

“You’re underestimating my iron constitution.” Lena frowns unhappily in bed. “We can just order some, you don’t have to go.”

“I’ll be back in a jiffy, okay?” Kara smiles at Lena.

Sure, they could order groceries, but she wants to go get them, to pick them out herself, and bring them back. It makes her feel so good to be able to do things like this: wash her hair, go get groceries, make her something to eat. The best part of this whole terrible ordeal is that she’s gotten to take care of Lena, to show her, not just tell her, how important she is to Kara. It warms her up from the inside out.

“You sure I’m allowed to be by myself?” Lena teases, breaking Kara out of her thoughts. “I haven’t been left to my own devices in weeks now. Just imagine all the trouble I could get into.” She raises an eyebrow.

Kara laughs and shakes her head, drawn closer to Lena like a magnet. Lena’s tucked into bed, leg propped up on pillows to keep the brace comfortable, two books on the nightstand beside her, a glass of water within easy reach, and the next round of medications in a small porcelain bowl that Kara repurposed from the kitchen. Her hair is still wet from being washed, and although there are dark circles around her eyes, and her cheekbones are too sharp from the weight she lost in the hospital, Kara doesn’t think she’s ever seen anything more beautiful than Lena right at this exact moment.

She walks over to the bed and sits down next to Lena, reaching over to move the glass of water back from the edge of the nightstand and onto a coaster. “You’re going to be fine. I’ll bet you a whole order of potstickers that you’re asleep when I get back.” She reaches across Lena, adjusts the towel covering up her pillow to keep it from getting wet.

When she pulls back slightly, she’s startled by how close Lena’s face is to hers. Lena is looking at her with such unadulterated fondness, that Kara can’t help reaching up and tucking a wet tendril of hair back behind Lena’s ear. “I’ll be back so soon you won’t even know I was gone.”

“I always know when you’re gone,” Lena says, the corners of her mouth lifting up, her eyes crinkling lightly. Kara’s hand has drifted from Lena’s ear to the back of her head, her thumb brushing gently at the soft skin just below Lena’s jaw.

When she retells the story of what happens next later, Alex will roll her eyes and mutter under hear breath, but Kara will swear this is the truth: without even thinking about it, she leans forward and kisses Lena on the lips, quick and soft, then stands and turns to go, pulling her phone out of her pocket so she can start making a grocery list.

“You can drop the act now,” Lena says, a little stiffly.

“Huh?” Kara whips around, more at Lena’s tone than at her words, and looks at her in confusion. Lena’s face is bright red.

“Kara, we’re - I’m home, there’s no hospital staff to convince anymore.” She sounds a little upset and Kara, feels her forehead crinkle as she replays the last several seconds in her head: she moved Lena’s water, adjusted the towel behind her head, smoothed Lena’s hair, and…

“Oh Rao, oh gosh.” She takes a step forward, then back abruptly, as she realizes that she’s just kissed Lena on the mouth. She puts one hand on her forehead and the other on her hip, spins in a small circle. “Lena, I’m so sorry. I didn’t - ”

“It’s fine,” Lena says, her voice sounding calm and even now that Kara is having a meltdown, but her heart is doing some sort of high speed gallop in her chest and it’s giving Kara the impression that this is not actually fine.

Oh no, oh gosh… “Lena, I’m sorry, - ”

“I get it.” Lena cuts her off, holding up a hand to stop her. “The whole act, it’s a hard habit to break.” She drops her hand to the bed and laughs lightly, picking at the blanket. “Honestly I’m surprised we made it this long without accidentally doing that.”

“Accidently. Yes.” Kara’s nodding so hard, she feels like her head might come off. “It was an accident.” That might be a convenient way of putting it, but it doesn’t change the fact that Kara’s been wanting to kiss Lena, wants it to be as un-accidental as possible. And aren’t accidents things like tripping on the carpet, or spilling a drink at dinner? She may not have been thinking when she did it, but Kara knows there’s nothing accidental about that kiss.

But Lena’s giving her an out, and Kara can’t bring herself not to take it.

“I’m just going to - ” Kara gestures over her shoulder and then she flees.

“Alex, I kissed her.” Kara’s made it outside the apartment, but her heart hasn’t slowed down. She didn’t even bother making a list after walking out of Lena’s bedroom, just went straight to the elevator, dialing Alex before she’d even hit the lobby. Her stomach is squirmy, she feels like she might throw up.

“Finally,” Alex says, letting out what might be a relieved sigh.

“What do you mean finally?” Kara feels hysterical.

“I mean finally, idiot. Watching the two of you for the past three weeks has been the most painful experience of my life, I’m glad you finally did it.”

“She thinks it was because of the act!” Kara nearly yells. A man walking by looks at her, narrowing his eyes and giving her a wide berth. “She thinks it’s because of the act, Alex!”

There’s silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

“Kara Danvers, are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“No,” Kara wails. “I didn’t even mean to do it! Or, well. I meant to do it, but I didn’t know I was doing it. I was making sure she had everything she needed and then I was leaving to go to the grocery story and somewhere in the middle I kissed her! And she got kinda upset even though she said she wasn’t and she says it’s fine because it was an accident. And it was an accident, at least in the sense that I wasn’t thinking when I did it and god I didn’t even ask if she wanted to kiss me, but I meant it, Alex, I meant it.”

Kara can picture Alex right now: that tight, unhappy expression on her face, fingers pinching her nose between her eyes.

“Okay, I swore to Kelly I wasn’t going to do this, but that was before you lost your damn mind and kissed her.” Kara can hear Alex take a deep breath. “You need to go back upstairs right now and confess, Kara.”

“What?” Kara practically screeches. She spins in a circle. “No, this isn’t the right time. I’m supposed to be helping her, I’m supposed to be taking care of her, I can’t put this on her right now. What if she doesn’t feel the same, what if this ruins everything, what if - “

Thankfully Alex cuts her off. “That argument worked before you kissed her and decided to let her believe you didn’t mean to do it. And before you argue with me, you might not have known you were doing it, but you absolutely meant to do it, Kara.”

Kara is now facing Lena’s apartment and gently knocking her forehead against it.

“Kara, I heard that crack, stop headbutting the building.” Kara stops, keeps her forehead pressed to the cool limestone. Alex pauses, and her voice is gentle when she continues. “You gotta tell her, kiddo. You’ve been down the whole lying path with her before and while I don’t think this is the kind of lie that would cause her to try removing our free-will again, I do think that you guys decided on honesty as your way forward. You either own that, or you don’t.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right.” Kara squeezes her eyes shut. “If we can get through that, we can get through this.”

“That’s the spirit. And hey, if for some reason things don’t go well and you feel like you can’t stay with her? Kelly or I would be happy to swap out for you tonight. Just in case you need some space.”

“Thanks, Alex.”

“But Kara, I think you’re gonna be just fine.”

Kara doesn’t feel much better when she hangs up with Alex, but she knows her sister is right. She’s got to tell Lena.

And to be honest, Kara can’t imagine a world in which Lena would be upset with her for having feelings, regardless of whether they’re reciprocated. They’ll be able to work through this, even if it hurts for a while. She’s had friends fall in love with her before, and she’s always been able to keep them as friends afterwards. God, maybe Winn has some advice for me, she thinks.

So Kara takes a deep breath and goes back inside. Groceries can wait.

She’s trembling when she lets herself back into Lena’s apartment. It’s nerves, anticipation more than anything. She’s about to confess something that she can’t, won’t take back and it will change things between them, even if only for a while.

Lena looks up from her book when Kara makes her way back into the bedroom. She sets it down beside her hip on the bed and cocks her head.

“Well that was fast. Did Supergirl get my groceries?” She gives Kara a smile.

“I’m in love with you.” Well that’s one way to start this conversation. “And I didn’t kiss you accidentally.”

Lena’s smile drops, her eyes widening in surprise. Everything about her seems to freeze.

“Before you say anything, I need to get this out. I’m not telling you because I’m expecting anything. I don’t want anything to change, I mean, I do, clearly, but I don’t if that’s not what you want.” Kara squeezes her eyes shut and looks at the ceiling. She really should have thought this through. “I’ve known for a while, actually, I was just worried about what it might mean, if you didn’t feel the same way.” She drops her gaze back to Lena. “But then you almost died. And I pretended to be your wife. And I was planning on telling you once you’re totally recovered. Except then I kissed you without even thinking about it and I can’t lie about this, Lena. It isn’t good for either of us. So. Yeah. Just. Tell me what you need.”

Lena’s looking at her with an expression Kara can’t read, but she doesn’t look unhappy, or afraid, or upset...

“Kara, do you remember when that nurse told me my wife had shown up?”

“Yes,” Kara says, frowning, because she doesn't understand where Lena is going with this. “Of course I do, you were panicked that you’d experienced severe brain damage.”

Lena shakes her head, pats the space on the bed next to her.

Kara feels a weight lift from her shoulders: no matter how this goes, if Lena is asking her to come closer, then they’re going to be okay. She walks across the carpet.

“You’re right,” Lena says as Kara comes closer, “I was worried, but that wasn’t the only thing that made me panic.”

“What else was it?” Kara sits down and looks at her lap, bringing her hands together to fidget. She can feel Lena’s body heat next to her, but she doesn’t want to reach out unless Lena does it first. “Was it the idea of being married to me?” She laughs. She can laugh about this.

“No, darling,” Lena says. She reaches for Kara’s hands, smoothing her fingers across them to still them. Darling, that’s a good sign, right? “Kara, as terrified as I was that there was more damage, my first thought was that somehow I’d lost memories of us: of you falling in love with me, of dating and first kisses and someone proposing and a wedding.” Lena pauses and Kara stares at their joined hands. She hears more than sees Lena take a deep breath and let it out. “I’ve been in love with you for so long it broke my heart to think that those things had happened and I couldn’t remember them.”

Kara whips her head around to look at Lena. Her best friend is smiling, and her eyes are a little wet like maybe she’s overwhelmed and might cry and oh gosh, does Kara understand that feeling right now.

“You love me,” she says, feeling her own eyes start to fill with tears.

Lena nods.

“You’re in love with me,” Kara can’t help clarifying. This is something out of a dream.

Lena nods again.

“Can I…” Kara reaches for Lena’s face, trails her knuckles down Lena’s cheek and watches in awe as Lena leans into the touch. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Yes,” Lena breaths out, smiling, and it’s blinding. “But only if it’s not an accident.”

#this is not what I meant to be writing at all today and also it is much less funny than the tag ficlet but what're you gonna do?#robie writes #supercorp #WHAT'S PROOF READING I'VE NEVER HEARD OF IT DON'T @ME #tw canon typical violence

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imaginingmanyfandoms · 3 years

Text

Paul's Lullaby | part two

It had been a few days since your attack on the beach. Since then, Paul really didn't like when you were home alone. Or walking to work alone. Or anywhere alone really. It didn't have to be with him, but he needed to know he, or someone he trusted could get to you in time.

He was worried that the leech had caught your scent, and would come back. Sam didn't think so, Sam was under the impression that this person was actually testing their lines, and he wouldn't let the same mistake happen again. You were still waiting for Paul to tell you the whole truth, but you were being patient, as he had been with you. It was clear that whatever it was, was hard for him to say.

Your couch was permanently occupied by Paul, who picked you up from work to drive you home. And if he couldn't make it, he'd send one of the pack, or one of the imprints to pick you up and bring you to Emily's house.

You were cautiously optimistic about where things were going with Paul. There was still some trust issues, but you were working on it together. And no matter how much Embry or Jared talked about Paul's anger issues, you didn't really see it.

Currently, you were at Emily's, sitting on the couch and trying to stay awake until Paul got there. He made you feel safe.

"Have you seen this?" Emily asked holding a newspaper. There were missing people all over Seattle. It's what had Paul working overtime. He was pulling more than his fair share, and you knew that had to do with you. But you didn't understand what.

"Is anyone ever going to tell me what's going on?" you asked, but your tone was light, joking. Emily laughed, and sat by your legs on the couch.

"Paul really is taking his time, huh?" She gave you a sad smile. "He's doing that for your benefit."

"I know, I know," you said. "I'm just really confused. I swear the scenarios I'm making up in my head must be worse."

"Probably," she said. You both laughed this time.

"Well he better snap to it."

"I'm heading to bed," Emily said, patting your leg over the thin blanket. "You okay out here?"

"Yeah, thanks Em. Goodnight," you said.

"Goodnight."

"Wake up honey."

Paul was gently shaking your arm. He was sitting on the edge of the couch, trying to wake you up as nicely as possible. Jared laughed in the background at how soft Paul was around you, but quickly said his goodbyes as he took the night patrol. It takes a tough guy to make fun of someone and then rush out the door. But Paul didn't care.

"Paul?" you asked, finally coming to. "What time is it?"

"Late, it's very late."

"Take me home," you said, holding your arms out to him.

"I like you when you're sleepy, you're very nice." Paul picked you up, and said a quick goodbye to Sam as you closed your eyes again. It made Sam smile.

Paul carried you to his pick up truck, and got you settled into the passenger seat. He even did up your seat belt. You woke up a little more, but your squirming and stretching was the cutest thing to him. He was so enamoured with you. He didn't really care how long it took until you trusted him. Or even if you never wanted to be with him, he didn't care. As long as he got to be around you, he would be fine.

"Let's watch a movie tonight," you said, yawning right after.

"I don't think you'll be able to stay awake," he said, smiling.

"Can we try?"

"How about we watch something tomorrow, after work?"

"Okay," you said, closing your eyes again. "Tomorrow."

You fell back asleep before you got home. Paul was driving slowly, and the cool air was filtering in through his open window. He was listening to some folk band, and the whole thing just lulled you to sleep.

When he parked the truck, he did everything he could to get you into your room without waking you up, and he was pretty successful. But as he was tucking you into bed, you woke up a little. He moved to leave but you grabbed his wrist.

"Goodnight Paul," you said, not letting go of his wrist.

"Goodnight honey," he said, daring to lean down and kiss your forehead. You made a happy sound as you rolled over, getting comfortable in bed.

Paul would've done anything in the world to crawl into bed with you and fall asleep. But he was happy just to be here.

So, Paul went back to the couch. And got as comfortable as he could, and fell asleep, reminding himself that you were safest when he was here. And that he was doing a good job protecting you.

The next morning went better than most mornings. You woke up in a good mood, and decided to make breakfast for Paul. He'd been working so hard to protect you, that he deserved at least a fraction of that devotion back.

You made the lot, pancakes and eggs. A small fruit salad and a plate of bacon. While the pot of coffee finished, Paul wandered into the kitchen stretching.

"Mmm," he groaned, "something smells good."

"I made you breakfast," you said, a smile on your face.

Paul was in love with you, that much he knew for sure. And today he got his first sign that maybe you were at least starting to fall for him too. It was a good day.

"Eat up," you said. "I have to work in a few hours."

"You're going to eat too, right?" he asked.

"Of course I am," you said, stopping before you left the room. You turned on the radio against the wall. It was some band you'd never heard of, but it was nice enough. Paul was already filling his plate, but you went to pour two coffees. "Cream, sugar?"

"Just black," he said, mouthful of food. "Just come sit."

"All right," you said. "But for the record I wanted the coffee."

You chose the chair beside him, instead of across from him, and he took note of that but didn't say anything. You smiled at him, and he smiled back, like he always did.

Breakfast was relatively quiet, you made small talk about what was going on that day, but mostly you just enjoyed the silence. It didn't feel awkward, it felt right. It felt comfortable. When you were done, Paul wasn't. So you carried your plate to the sink, and rubbed your hand across his back as you passed. His breath hitched slightly, and it made you smile, thinking about how different Paul was.

Maybe it was time you cut him a little slack.

When he finished, Paul helped you clean up. And even shooed you away to get ready for work while he did the dishes.

"Thank you," he said, as you walked back down the hallway. He wiped his hands on a dishcloth and dropped it back on the counter. He leaned back, and you couldn't help but notice how beautiful he is.

"Thank you for being here," you said, suddenly self conscience under his intent stare at you. You pulled your sweater sleeves over your hands, keeping the fabric pinched between your fingers.

"I uh, packed up the rest of the fruit salad. I thought you might like to have it at work." Paul had one of your Tupperware containers sitting on the counter.

"And the bacon?"

He looked guilty. "I ate it."

"It's okay!" you said, laughing at his face. "It was made to be eaten."

He drove you to work, and although you missed to walk, you knew you'd get back to it eventually. When he dropped you off, you hesitated to leave. Paul sat patiently, giving you a moment to collect yourself.

"I want the truth tonight," you said.

"Honey..."

"Just, think about it from my perspective. I have no idea what it is I should be scared of, I have no idea where you work or why you're gone all the time. I'm worried about you, and I'm scared."

"I'm scared too." Paul took a deep breath. "I'm scared that something will happen to you. But mostly I'm scared that if you know the truth you'll be scared of me."

"I wouldn't."

"You don't know that," he said, he looked terrified. "You hated me earlier this month. Couldn't even look at me throughout high school and I am so embarrassed about that. And it's going to be even more embarrassing when I tell you everything because then you'll know that we didn't make eye contact from two years attending the same school."

"I'm sure we made eye contact," you said.

"No." He looked at you, and you could see the pain in his eyes. "We didn't." The look on his face made you hurt. It made your heart deflate, and you would've done anything to see him smile again.

You unclicked your seat belt, but didn't move as it sprang back into place. It didn't feel right to leave the air like this.

The heat he gave off seemed to float right into your space, and there was something about his presence that made you feel more settled than you had in a long time. You wanted to touch him, so you leaned across the middle seat, and placed a tender kiss against his cheek.

"Just think about it," you said, sliding back towards the door and starting to get out. You didn't want to leave him feeling sad, but you had to get to work.

"Have a good shift," he said, watching you leave. He hated watching you walk away.

"You too."

Work had been horrible. Your boss was kind of a jerk, and waiting tables had really lost it's appeal. You'd been serving tables in La Push's best diner, but when the new owners took over, it quickly began to lose it's charm. You wanted to buy it when they were selling, but coming right out of high school you didn't have that kind of cash.

You just felt kind of miserable, so when you saw Jared and Kim waiting for you outside, you just felt annoyed. You were under the impression you and Paul had made plans.

"Hey," Kim said, smiling from the passenger seat. You got in behind Jared. "Don't worry. Paul said another hour, tops."

"Can you guys just take me home? I had a long day and I just want to relax," you asked, pulling your upper body between Jared and Kim's seats.

"I don't know, Y/N," Jared said, making a worried face. "I don't think Paul would like that."

"C'mon Jared," you said. "I'll lock the doors, and I'll call you if I get nervous."

"Jared, she wants to go home." Kim smiled at you. You really liked her.

He rolled his eyes and started the car. "When he freaks out on me, I'm throwing you both under the bus."

"He won't get mad at us," you said, "he said himself. An hour tops."

Jared and Kim were actually really great travel companions. Kim always made sure you were included in conversation, and Jared was not afraid to sing at the top of his lungs which was hilarious. They really cheered you up.

And of course, they waited until you were in your house to pull away.

Inside, you were tired, and cold. And you had wanted to spend some time with Paul. But he said an hour, and you figured we wouldn't lie about that. It wasn't too late that you couldn't give him some of the patience that he had given you.

So you spent the time bringing out some blankets, and pillows. When that was done you made some popcorn and fresh lemonade.

Paul should've been there any second. So you just spent some time tidying up the place. You saw some fabric poking out from under on the blankets, and you yanked on it, pulling out one of Paul's shirts. You laughed. Because it seemed rare to even see him in a shirt.

You pulled your shirt over your head, and put on his instead. Your shorts were hidden by his baggy shirt, even baggier on your small frame.

Twigs snapped outside the window, and you gasped. You knew you locked the door, but decided on checking the windows too. Just so you could say that you did. They were all locked. When you walked back into the living room, Paul was standing there - jaw clenched tight just like his fists were. But you could see the restraint. You could tell he was actively calming himself. You took a step closer.

"Don't," he said, voice cracking. He closed his eyes, hating the way you stop dead in your tracks. He didn't want to scare you. "I told you that I didn't want you here alone for a reason."

"I was so tired after work," you explained. "I wanted to sit on the couch and watch a movie like normal people do."

"I am trying to make things as normal as possible for you," he said, the anger was already washed away, but it wasn't gone. Not entirely. "You just have to trust me."

"How can I trust you when you don't trust me?" you said, voice starting to raise with unavoidable frustration.

"You think that I don't trust you?"

"I'm not allowed to be by myself, how else would you like me to interpret that?" You felt tears brimming at your eyes, the confrontation bringing out your anxiety.

"If we're going to fight, I need you to take three steps back."

"For what?"

"Your safety."

"What does that mean?" you shouted. "Are you scared you'll hit me?"

"I would never hit you," he shouted back. "How could you even think that?"

"I don't want to argue," you said, quietly. "I'm sorry I shouted."

He saw the sad look in your eyes, and could've kicked himself for driving you to this. He nodded, prying his eyes away from your sad ones to look anywhere else. He looked at your shirt, for the first time, and even though he was angry with you, he loved the sight. It calmed him down knowing it was you, in his shirt, a couple feet away.

He held his hand out, palm up for you to take. You did, and he guided you, as if you were dancing - not fighting, to the couch. You sat beside him, and he kept your hand in his.

"I need you to really listen to me," he said, his eyes glossing over with the realization that if he loses you, he'd never be whole again. "For now, I need you to follow all my rules. Even when they seem excessive, or dumb. And in return I will explain everything. And I won't keep any secrets from you."

"I can do that," you said. "If you're always honest with me, I'll be honest with you."

"Okay, tomorrow I'll explain everything. You're off, right?"

"Yeah," you said, shuffling over so you could lean your head against Paul's shoulder. "Can we watch our movie now?"

He put an arm around you, and you fit to him. Like you were always meant to be there. Well, technically, you were.

"Yeah, honey. We can watch a movie now."

[if you want to be added to a taglist for this story then let me know :-)]

#imagine #imagines #paul lahote #paul lahote imagine #paul lahote imagines #twilight #twilight imagine #twilight imagines #the pack

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

Text

Anakin and the Jedi Babies: Names and Faces

Context: Anakin and the Jedi Babies, chrono

Word Count: 6,477

---------------

It goes like this:

Nobody wants to separate Anakin from the children in his care until they know more about why he’s here. The gamble paid off, to some degree, and he thanks the Force that it did.

He hasn’t felt that cold in years.

He knows the logic of why the Mandalorians he’s fallen in with aren’t doing anything yet. He’s an obvious Jedi, and they don’t know why he’s here or what he’s doing. Hedging on the Mando’a and the cultural obligation to childcare hadn’t been anything close to sure, but it was... enough. He got lucky that these Mandalorians leaned on those obligations, at least to the point of keeping them all in the same room. He can sense that much, even before he opens his eyes, and he has to be grateful.

The looming hypothermia had probably nudged things in his favor.

Anakin opens his eyes to a guest room of a cell, something well-furnished and cozy, but definitely not meant to be something he can escape from. His saber is gone, and there are Force-nullifying cuffs on his wrists, and he’s pretty sure they’ve taken his--yep, vibroblade’s gone.

Fuck.

His body doesn’t want to move, and he’s still shivering a bit, but he’s mostly back to normal. When he sits up, he notices that there is, in fact, only one Force-nullifying cuff. They detached his arm.

He closes his eyes and breathes deep and tells himself it was probably medically necessary. Large pieces of metal aren’t great for maintaining homeostasis. He’ll get it back.

Probably.

“Ah!”

The voice makes him jolt, and his eyes fly open.

Two cribs, one much bigger than the other. Both are occupied. The larger one has bars, and through it...

“Snips,” he breathes, lurching to his feet and then crashing to his knees, about as graceful as a newborn eopie.

“Bah!”

“Just--just one second,” Anakin grits out, grimacing as he tries to pull himself to standing again. The fact that he’s down an arm doesn’t impact him much, but the shakiness of his legs is... a problem.

“Owwww,” Ahsoka coos with an exaggerated grimace, reacting to his pain with the innocent sympathy of a toddler. She looks, what, two? Maybe? He’s not sure if there’s anything particular about how Togruta babies age. She’s too young for words, clearly.

“I’m fine,” Anakin assures her, even as his heart sinks. She’s Ahsoka, clearly, he knows her in the Force and it can’t be anyone else, but her memories...

She recognizes him, but that’s not saying much.

He manages to get over to the chair next to the crib, but doesn’t trust himself to take her out right now. The snow and the mess of a fight before that haven’t been kind to him. Instead, he just sticks his hand through the bars and lets her grab at his fingers.

He can’t help but smile, really. She’s adorable, and she’s so damn happy to see him.

“Skyguy!”

“Oh, so you are talking,” Anakin says, part of him relaxing just a tad. “I was worried.”

“Mine,” she stresses, patting at his wrist.

“Yeah, your Skyguy,” he says. So she remembers... some things, at least. “And you’re my Snips.”

She squeals and yanks on his hand, just enough that the Force-suppressing cuff clanks against the bars of the crib. “Sky, Sky, Sky!”

Oh, she’s precious.

“You having fun?” he asks, filling the air with words faster than his head can fill with doubts. “Has everyone been nice?”

“Mmmmm,” she grumbles, falling to her butt with a huff. “Doc!”

“Oh, a doctor?” he asks, wondering at his own tone. He never expected to be one for baby-talk. “Was the doctor mean?”

“Cold!” she tells him. “Cold here!”

She taps at her chest, right where someone might check her heartbeat or breathing; the metal would be cold, and also necessary. He doesn’t fault anyone for it. Considering how poorly Anakin had fared, he’s just happy they’re all alive and mostly fine.

He doesn’t know what year it is. He knows he’s not in the year he should be. He’s vaguely aware of the name Jaster--one of the Mandos had said it while bringing him in--but he doesn’t know when Mereel’s reign ended and Fett’s began. He does know both are supposed to be dead.

Has Anakin been born yet? Has Ahsoka? Hell, has Obi-Wan?

Can he give out any real names?

A series of small, upset noises start coming up from the other, smaller crib.

He stands, but Ahsoka clings to his hand and refuses to let go. He can’t pry her off, not without his other arm, but he pulls away with quiet reassurances that he just has to check on... on...

Her brother, he says, aware that there’s more than a slight chance someone has the room bugged. He’s a Jedi in Mando custody. They aren’t stupid, and neither is he.

Obi-Wan’s the most likely to have already been born. Having the same name and face will draw attention, will cause questions, but... he can’t just rename his master like a recently-adopted pet. That’s just... wrong.

Anakin’s less shaky than when he first woke up, but he still has no way of safely picking up the kids. He reaches into the small crib, something twisting behind his sternum, and tickles under Obi-Wan’s chin.

The baby--the infant--looks up at him with wide eyes, too blue for the Obi-Wan he knows, but full of wonder and--

Love, the Force whispers through the cracks in the effects of the cuff.

“Love you too,” Anakin whispers, though he wonders if Obi-Wan would really feel like this as an adult again. Babies love easily, he thinks, and he’s the only adult that Obi-Wan knows right now. Maybe it’s just chemicals.

He stands there for longer than is probably a good idea, with the state of his body, but he can’t help it. Obi-Wan keeps grabbing at his finger and kicking with tiny legs, and sticking a tiny, tiny fist in his mouth as he tries watches Anakin.

It’s all Anakin can do to mutter a stream of meaningless nonsense as he struggles not to cry. He’s always had too many emotions, and right now he’s the only person these two can rely on. He’s the adult.

The door whooshes open.

“The medic said you were awake.”

He knows that voice. He closes his eyes and doesn’t turn, because there are a million feelings in his chest and he’s not sure which one is going to come out first.

“Sky?” Ahsoka questions, likely feeling his worry. “Issokay! Good!”

No, she wouldn’t have the mind to recognize why this familiar face she knows as friend is quite the opposite.

Anakin turns away from the crib, and smiles. “Mando.”

“Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker,” the teenager in the door says. He’s not wearing his bucket, but the rest of his armor is in place. Anakin would peg him as younger than Ahsoka was, before. Not by much, but... fourteen, maybe fifteen. The face is painfully familiar, and stays utterly neutral as he answers the question Anakin didn’t ask. “We found your Ident card after you passed out.”

Cool, so, Anakin definitely can’t change his name.

“Are they yours?” the teenager that will one day create an army says.

“They have no one else,” Anakin tells him. It’s true enough. Still, he gets the feeling that’s not what Fett’s asking. “They’re family.”

Jango squints at him. “I was told Jedi can’t have families.”

Anakin’s mind flashes to Padme and the fantasies he’d long harbored of children born free, and tears himself away. He can’t think about that right now. He can’t think of who he’s--

“Jetii!”

Anakin’s head snaps up, and he realizes he’s shaking. Fett’s not neutral anymore, just... concerned.

“I’m fine,” Anakin spits out, and leans on the crib behind him. He can hear the little ones whimpering. He has to pull his thoughts in and bundle them up into something that won’t hurt the incredibly Force-Sensitive babies behind him. “I’m--I’m all they have. They’re all I have. Are the exact words important?”

Fett doesn’t grimace, exactly, but his expression isn’t pleasant. “I guess.”

Anakin waits to see if there’s anything else coming, but no. Just an awkward silence. He holds onto his frustration, but it still gets the better of him.

“What are my chances of getting my arm back?” he asks.

“Hm?”

Anakin waves what’s left of that arm, the tied-off sleeve flapping about. “My arm. If you don’t want to give me mine back, can I at least have some kind of placeholder? I can’t pick up the babies without worrying that I’m going to drop them.”

“I can ask the medics,” Fett says. He stares at Anakin for a little more, and then asks, “Aren’t you going to ask about our plans for you, or...?”

“If you wanted to kill me, you already would have,” Anakin mutters. “Right now, these two are my only priority. I’m more likely to keep them safe and alive here than I am if I try to break out. I can be patient. I would also assume they wouldn’t have been left in a room with me, alone, if any of us were in danger of medical complications.”

Fett flushes and turns. “I’ll tell buir you’re up and active. There’s a nurse droid in the hall, I can have it handle feedings until you get an arm.”

“Thanks,” Anakin drawls, aware that he’s a little bitchy right now, but not in any mood to temper himself.

He settles himself on the floor next to Ahsoka’s crib, lets her play with his hair while the nurse droid feeds Obi-Wan, and then feeds Ahsoka herself. Anakin thinks he could probably pull the droid apart for an escape attempt if it came down to it. He hopes it won’t be necessary. He’s barely existing in the moment as it is. The droid asks Anakin if he needs anything, and he... shrugs.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Perhaps some non-perishables,” the nurse droids suggests. “Ration bars, for if you are hungry before one of the Mando’ade returns.”

Anakin shrugs again. “Alright.”

He ignores the droid after that. He’s only mostly cut off from the Force by the single cuff. He can’t blanket his Master and Padawan in his own Force presence, try to make them feel safe and calm with the fact that he’s here and ready to protect them, but he can monitor them. He can meditate, even if it’s not the way he prefers to do it. He doesn’t have the strength for moving meditation right now, but a regular meditation... he can do that.

He needs to do that, because no other stress relief option is available to him right now.

Anakin lets himself feel the babies fall asleep, the two of them radiating contentment and warmth. He lets himself trust that, for the moment, he doesn’t need to worry. He lets himself sink into an absence of thought, and then the Force guides him deeper still.

“Anakin!”

His eyes fly open.

This is not the real world.

This is not the room-cell in the Haat Mando’ade base he’s managed to stumble across.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says again, a smile hidden in a beard and worn laugh lines about his eyes. The right age, the right size, reaching for him and--

There’s only a moment’s hesitation for Anakin to process, and then he sprints forward and yanks his Master into a hug.

“You’re good,” Obi-Wan mutters to him, rubbing his back as they both sink to their knees. There’s a click of bootheels against the empty white not-space that they’re in, and Ahsoka buries herself into their sides. Anakin pulls her in a little closer too.

They stay that for longer than is maybe necessary, but Anakin’s stress levels are sky high right now, and he needs this. A hug, even one that’s technically only taking place in his head, is important.

“Sorry, Skyguy,” Ahsoka whispers. “Thinking in the real world is... really hard right now.”

He pulls away from the desperate hug he’d started them off with, rearranges things so he’s leaning against Obi-Wan, lets Ahsoka lie down with her head in his lap, on her back and legs stretched out across the white nothingness.

“I don’t know what happened,” Anakin says. “I mean, Sith stuff, probably, but... we’re in the wrong year.”

“I’d wondered,” Obi-Wan admits. “I thought it odd that I couldn’t feel the clones, but I only have so much energy to think right now...”

“Please tell me there’s a way to fix it,” Anakin begs. “I can’t be the adult, Obi-Wan. I haven’t even been born yet, that’s how far back we are. I don’t know what to do, and I can’t just bang around making bad decisions without you there to pull me back and--”

“Breathe,�� Obi-Wan tells him.

“We’re in the Force,” Anakin says, just a little hysterically. “We don’t need to breathe!”

“Actually, I think we’re in your head,” Ahsoka says. She’s pointing and stretching her feet like a dancer, but looks up to grin at Anakin like the little shit she is. “You’re the only one whose brain is big enough right now.”

“Hey,” Anakin complains, putting his entire palm over her face as revenge. She giggles and swats him away. “That any way to talk to the guy who taught you how to kill five guys in one move?”

She sticks her tongue out at him. He rolls his eyes and runs a hand over her montrals, smiling when she wriggles and makes a little chirruping noise.

“She’s not wrong,” Obi-Wan says. “Though the phrasing was unfortunate, it does stand to reason that as the only person without the brain of a toddler, you’re hosting. Our minds can’t handle the strain of our own selves, let alone sharing space.”

“Infant.”

“Hm?”

“Ahsoka’s a toddler. You’re an infant. Maybe six months.” Anakin grins, just this side of brittle. He doesn’t want to joke about a problem he can’t fix, but what else is there? “You’re the literal baby of the lineage now.”

Obi-Wan sighs over the riot of Ahsoka’s laugh. “Of course I am.”

“It’s okay, Master,” Ahsoka assures him. “Skyguy’s gonna take care of us until we can fight again.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan says, grimacing slightly. “I am sorry for you being put in such a position, Anakin. It’s certainly not an easy one.”

Anakin wishes he could say that his immediate reaction isn’t a sense of hurt, a you don’t trust me, a you don’t think I can do this, a you’re disappointed someone else wasn’t here to handle things instead.

He wishes he could make that claim and have anyone believe him, but they are in a shared meditation, and in this moment there are very, very few secrets. He does not make the effort to hide his reaction in time, and Obi-Wan catches it.

Anakin turns away as Obi-Wan’s face fills with surprise and horror. “Anakin--”

“Can we just pretend you didn’t feel that?” Anakin asks, and flinches when Ahsoka pops up from where she lies and scurries around to hug him like a vise. “Can we just pretend I’m not--”

“Dear one, there are very few people I would trust as much as you in this,” Obi-Wan says. “Those who match up are largely the people who helped me raise me when I was actually this age.”

“Being completely reliant on your padawan isn’t--”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says, cutting him off there. “I can trust you to care for me in ways that don’t just come down to making me a useful general again. I already trust you to risk your life and safety and freedom to see us survive, given what little I remember of that storm.”

“You handed yourself over to Mandalorians you knew nothing about so we’d be safe,” Ahsoka mutters into the fabric somewhere over his ribs. “That could have gone really badly, and you still did it because you were worried about us.”

“We trust you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan says, pulling Anakin to his chest and resting his chin on Anakin’s head. “We know you.”

“You don’t even know what happened in the storm,” Anakin mutters. “You were asleep.”

“I caught enough listening to the doctors,” Obi-Wan says. He runs a hand over Anakin’s head and through his hair. “You did well, Anakin.”

Anakin wonders why they don’t do this in real life. Obi-Wan doesn’t usually hug him, let alone cuddle. Maybe it’s because they’re all stuck in too much truth in this shared meditation, and the other two are currently stuck in child bodies that crave physical affection in ways they don’t realize they’re expressing in here as well. Maybe it’s the stress.

“What even can you hear?” Anakin mutters, still in Obi-Wan’s arms. Ahsoka giggles at him, nuzzling into his side in a way he doesn’t think she’d ever let herself, normally.

“We can’t really think in the real world right now,” she muses. “Only when we’re sleeping, and probably when we’re meditating once we’re bigger. If I try to think too hard, my head hurts worse than that time Ventress got me in the head with the back of her saber.”

“Everything takes up more space than it should,” Obi-Wan adds. “It’s... all of my senses are bigger and brighter and take up more of my attention, but they aren’t very clear, really. They’re just more. I can’t focus on anything, either, except... well, the feedings.”

Ahsoka makes an annoyed noise. “The whole diapers and bottles thing is really embarrassing, by the way. Only here, though, I barely notice when I’m awake because...”

“Because you’re a toddler,” Anakin says drily.

She huffs. “How would you feel if you were stuck like that?”

That’s fair.

“I don’t remember much,” Obi-Wan says carefully. “But part of me recognizes familiar things, even if I can’t quite make the connection.”

“Was that Fett, earlier?” Ahsoka asks. “Because I thought I saw a friend, and I pretty much forgot the face as soon as they left, but--”

“It’s Fett,” Anakin confirms. “But I guess that’s good to know? You saw his face and your baby brain just assumed it was one of the clones?”

“Pretty much.”

“And we know we trust you,” Obi-Wan adds, and tightens the hug when Anakin stiffens. “Anakin, I can barely understand the world around me at all right now. It’s like being on the painkillers that don’t knock you out but leave you saying only the most ridiculous things that come to mind. You have a general understanding of what’s going on, but all your emotions are too much and the room spins, you can’t stay on one track mentally, you can’t remember what you’ve done and what you haven’t--”

“You can’t control your bladder,” Ahsoka mutters, just a touch spitefully.

Obi-Wan grimaces and nods. “An unfortunate commonality in the experiences, yes. What I was aiming to address, however, is the fact that I only remember a very few things with any reliability. Most of my adult mind, so to speak, appears to be stored in a stasis form in the Force itself, because the infant mind can only handle the barest edges of who I am. But what that infant mind knows, and what I remember thinking once I have some sense of my full self in sleep, is that there is no one I react to as positively as you, Anakin.”

“What he’s trying to say,” Ahsoka interrupts, “but can’t because he’s trying to be a serene Jedi Councilor who definitely doesn’t break the code, nosiree, is that we don’t remember much about ourselves when we’re awake, but we remember you, and we know that we love you, Skyguy.”

Anakin stares at her, and then twists around to look at Obi-Wan instead.

“Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka croons. “Stop being emotionally constipated. We’re literal babies right not, which sucks, but we’re like 90% emotion. Tell Skyguy.”

“Yes, er, Ahsoka was not incorrect,” Obi-Wan says, stroking his beard and refusing to meet Anakin’s eyes. “I, that is to say, we...”

“Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka says, a touch sharper than she might have dared if not for the reversal of their ages.

“I do love you, Anakin, and it’s one of the only things my child mind knows consistently.”

The Force does, in fact, sing with the truth of this. It circles them like a delighted tornado of emotional reality, pulsing like a coat of positivity.

Anakin buries his face in Obi-Wan’s shoulder and hugs him as tightly as possible.

“Oh! Oh dear, I--Anakin, really, this isn’t news.”

“Master Kenobi, you’re allergic to actually talking about your emotions. Let him hug you.”

“Anakin, I’ve raised you since you were nine, it would be nearly impossible for me to not care, why are you--”

“Master Kenobi, stop questioning him!” Ahsoka whines. “It’s affirmation time.”

“Ahsoka, have you been spending time with the mind healers again?”

“I was a teenager in a warzone and also Barriss bullied me into it for my own good.” Ahsoka shrugs. “I learned some stuff. You two should have gone, too. You were more karked up than I was.”

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan scolds.

“What are you going to do, spit up on me? You can’t exactly make me run laps, Master.”

“Both of you shut up,” Anakin mumbles, and tries to push as much of his own affection as possible into a little ball of feelings that he can just drop on the two of them while he’s still in his own brain and not somewhere he can’t touch the Force. “Just--just shut.”

Apparently, Anakin’s feelings are a lot, because Ahsoka bursts into tears and Obi-Wan zones out so hard Anakin starts worrying about him.

They’re in a mindscape, a thing that he didn’t really think happened, but does. He shouldn’t have to worry about his--

“Oh, Anakin,” Obi-Wan says, pulling him in tighter. “Why did you...”

“Skyguy, I don’t think you planned on putting in the part where you worry about nobody loving you back as much as you loved them,” Ahsoka says, raw and uneven. “Because, uh, we got that? Skyguy, that’s really wrong!”

Oh shit.

“No, you were... you were not supposed to get that,” he says, just a little strangled. “I am so sorry, that wasn’t--”

“Be our dad.”

Anakin stares down at his Padawan. She stares determinedly back.

“What?”

“Fett asked if we were yours, and you edged around the question by saying we were family, but he was asking if you were our dad. I’m guessing you didn’t want to claim that when we couldn’t agree to it, so I’m telling you now: do it. Adopt us the Mandalorian way or whatever. You were already my older brother, basically, this is just a step sideways in how we talk about it.”

He stares at her a bit more. He doesn’t have words, and his emotions are such a cyclone of conflicting thoughts that he’s surprised the Force hasn’t tossed him out.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be born, but if I am, then I need a name so I don’t have the same one as future me,” she says. She takes his hands, holds them tight and leans in close. “You’re going to be raising us anyway. The Force already made it clear there’s no fixing this, we tried asking while you were unconscious, it wants us to grow up the long way. You’re going to be our dad. Just make it official. Make me a Skywalker.”

Anakin sits up straight, looks her up and down, the determination and affection and--

He turns to look at Obi-Wan. “Master?”

“...yes, Anakin?”

“I know she said ‘we’ and ‘us,’ but I’m not letting anyone speak for anyone else. Not for something this important.”

Obi-Wan blinks at him, and then rearranges himself to something a tad more formal. He takes one of Anakin’s hands in his own. “Anakin, we’ve been family since you were nine. This is just redefining the terms. We can adjust as we go forward, but for all intents and purposes, the majority of the time, I will be that youngling in the cot. For all intents and purposes, I will be your child, and... and I would be honored for you to make that official.”

“Even if it breaks the Code?” Anakin presses.

“All is as the Force wills it,” Obi-Wan says, almost but not quite overriding Ahsoka’s, “This doesn’t break the Code.”

They both turn to look at her. She shrugs. “What? You guys are always arguing about it and Skyguy was married. I went and did some digging about what is and isn’t allowed. This adoption would be skirting the edges of some rules, since we should be taken to the creche to be raised in a communal manner, and official adoptions are discouraged for reasons relating to later padawan stuff, but since the Force is also insisting we stay with the Mandalorians, I think it qualifies as an exception and will be treated as such, retroactively, by the Council. You also won’t be able to take either of us as Padawan once that time comes. It does not, however, violate the Code in and of itself.”

“What the hell, Snips?”

“I’m impressed, young one,” Obi-Wan says, with a smile Anakin can feel. “I could have expected to see you in court in a few years, with an argument like that.”

“You knew I was married?” Anakin squeaks.

“Rex isn’t a very good liar,” she says. She then droops. “Or, he wasn’t. Wouldn’t be. He tried, at least, but I caught on. That was against the Code, though. Just so you know.”

Anakin runs a hand over his face, tries very hard not to think about what and whom he’s left behind. He can save that breakdown for later.

He chances a look at Obi-Wan.

He gets a raised eyebrow in response.

“You’re not mad?”

“I knew you and the Senator were close, considering all the kissing you did in the Arena,” Obi-Wan says drily. Anakin isn’t stupid enough to ask how he knows it’s Padme. “I didn’t know you were married, and am a little disappointed you didn’t at least tell me, or consult me before you did it, considering you were still a padawan... but no, I’m not mad. Even if I were--and I am not--we’ve time-traveled, so I’m fairly certain that qualifies as annulment. It’s a non-issue.”

Anakin pushes down the tidal wave of grief for people who haven’t been born yet, and just breathes instead. This is important. This is too important for him to just kriff it up.

“Names,” he says.

“I still want part of it to be ‘Soka,’ if you don’t think it’s too risky.”

Obi-Wan shrugs with a smile. “Almost every time I’ve posed as a Mandalorian, since my first mission with Satine, I’ve gone by Ben. It would be fitting that, now that we’re here and apparently staying, I take the name for real.”

Anakin nods. He closes his eyes, and breathes deep, and thinks that they may be among Mandalorians on a world of snow, but he has the desert in his bones and will never forget it.

“Ahsoka Tano, sister of my heart,” he says, hoping he’s getting the words right, and takes her hands in his. It’ll have more meaning here and now, where they’re both of full mind. He holds her gaze. “You ask to join my family, to be of those who walk the sky. You shed your old name as you shed the chains of your past. You become my daughter, not of blood, but of love, loyalty, and survival. My wells are your wells, and all I own and earn is to set the path of your freedom. I name you Sokanth Skywalker, she who slips through every hunter’s trap, and you are my child.”

She smiles brightly at him, and looks like she might cry. He presses his lips to her forehead. He turns to his Master. He hesitates, because it’s one thing to redefine his little sister, but...

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, father of my heart,” he says, his voice catching where it shouldn’t. He can do this. It’s weird but he can do this. “You ask to join my family, to be of those who walk the sky. You shed your old name as you shed the chains of your past. You become my son, not of blood, but of love, loyalty, and survival. My wells are your wells, and all I own and earn is to set the path of your freedom. I name you Ylliben Skywalker, he who hunts the monsters of the darkest nights, and you are my child.”

The man before him almost laughs, well aware of how absurd it is for Anakin to be the one adopting him, but keeps it limited to just a twinkle in his eye and a quirk to his lips. Anakin presses his lips to his teacher’s forehead.

He pulls both of them in close. Padawan and Master. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.

Daughter and son. Soka and Ben. His.

“I’m still gonna call you Skyguy,” Soka says wetly. “But Mas--um, Ben. Ben can call you buir, all the Mandos are gonna love it.”

“Fine by me,” Anakin says. “I’m going to be telling you Tatooine bedtime stories, by the way. You’ll remember creche stories as you grow, but these’ll be new.”

“I do believe that would be appropriate,” Ben says, laughing just a touch. “I also think we should perhaps disband this, unless you have something else to address. You’re going to be dealing with two very cranky younglings soon.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna have headaches after this,” Soka laughs, rubbing her face against his shoulder. “But it’s okay, we got what we ne--”

“No, shut up, what you do mean, headaches? You said that was only when you were awake!”

“I mean, we’d be sobbing after like three minutes if we were awake,” Soka says cheerfully. “This way, it’s been like... an hour or whatever between all the talking and the hugging and the crying and the feelings, and we’re just gonna be grumpy.”

“Oh my--wake up!” Anakin growls at both of them. “I’m responsible for you now, wake up.”

He ignores Soka’s laughter and drags himself back to wakefulness. Behind him, he feels slight confusion and pain mixed with love and delight. Ben starts fussing.

Anakin drags a hand over his face and groans. He gets to his feet, nods to the nurse droid, and steps over to the cribs.

“Can we put them in the same one until I get my arm back?” he asks. The droid obliges, moving Ben to Soka’s crib. She immediately crawls over to him and envelops him in a hug. She pouts up at Anakin, eyes going watery, and he drops into the chair next to her and offers his hand through the bars. She grabs it.

“You’re going to be trouble for a long, long time, huh?”

She sticks her tongue out at him, and he smiles at her. Yes, trouble in spades, his Snips.

He starts telling her one of the fables of Tatooine, the really sanitized ones meant for children her age, before they got to the slave stories and haunt-tales. She falls asleep for real, no Force Shenanigans, shortly after. Ben is dead to the world by that point, making small snuffling noises whenever the blanket tickles his nose.

Anakin knows he’s got the galaxy’s dopiest smile on his face. It’s fine.

It’s a few more hours before someone stops by. He’s used the fresher by that point, helped the nurse droid coax Ben through a feeding, and helped Soka play with the little stuffed eopie they’ve given her.

“They got names, aruetti?”

He looks up and over. “Yes.”

The middle-aged man ambles over, arms crossed. “Jango said you claimed to be all they had left.”

He is. “They’re family. I’ve had a few hours to think it over, now that I’m not getting shot at or dying in the snow. To any system that allows it, I’ll be their father.”

“No chance of returning them to their people?”

Anakin shakes his head. “Soka has none who would recognize her, and I already--I already babysat her regularly, and she thought of me as a brother. It’s an easy next step.”

“And the human?”

“I... the master-padawan relationship is often one that is compared to that of parent and child,” Anakin says carefully. “My own master was like a father to me, and Ben is... Ben is all I have left of him.”

There. Not quite the truth, but... technically not lying.

Ben makes a small noise in his sleep, fussing, and Anakin reaches through the bars to brush his thumb across the infant’s chubby cheek. He smiles helplessly as Ben whines and curls in tighter on himself, pressing a tiny fist to his mouth.

“You’re good,” Anakin whispers. “We’re fine, Ylliben.”

“I don’t know what you’re hiding,” the Mando says. “But I do believe you’re doing what you can for those kids.”

“That’s all that matters,” Anakin agrees, finally looking away from his... his son.

Mine, the greedy krayt in his chest whispers.

“When are you planning on going back to Coruscanta?”

“I’m not,” Anakin says, standing and looking the man head-on. Anakin’s taller than him. That’s usually useful. “I don’t know why, but the Force wants me to stay here, or at least with the Mandalorians.”

“You want me to believe that you support my cause?”

“I don’t know your cause,” Anakin admits. “But I don’t like Death Watch, and I know you don’t either. Nobody on Coruscant is going to know to miss me, and the Force is warning me away from trying to go back. Whatever it is that needs doing, I’m supposed to be doing it here.”

The man steps forward. “Anyone tell you who I am?”

“No.”

“I’m Jaster Mereel.”

Good for you, Anakin thinks, and doesn’t say. “I’m pretty sure you already know my name.”

“I do,” Mereel says. “Wanna tell me how a Knight with a seemingly valid ident card claims nobody will know to miss him?”

“No.”

Mereel doesn’t even blink. “Try that again.”

“It means exactly what I said,” Anakin says. “The ident card is real. My training and rank are earned and deserved and bestowed by protocol. All of it was done at the Temple in Coruscant, but if you phone up the Temple with my name and face, nobody will know who I am.”

“And you’re not going to tell me why,” Mereel grouses. “What’s stopping me from calling them up anyway and asking them to come fetch your hypothermic ass?”

“...the fact that I already offered to help you?” Anakin manages. “I... I did say that part, right? That I’d help?”

“What’s stopping you from wanting to go back? And don’t give me any of that ‘will of the force’ banthashit.”

“I broke the Code,” Anakain says. The words sit heavy in his mouth, but one of his violations is lesser than the other, and-- “I married, and we’re not supposed to do that. She’s... not around anymore, but it still stands that I did it.”

The Tuskens weigh on his mind, suddenly and intensely. He hasn’t thought about them in ages, has always pushed those memories down, down, down, but--

“And they won’t take you back?”

“They might,” Anakin admits. They probably would, with his full title and everything, especially if he told them about the future. “But they wouldn’t let me keep the kids.”

Understanding flickers. “Not allowed kids?”

“It’s not... technically against the code,” he hedges. “But they’d find out about my marriage while investigating my past--” maybe, he’s not sure what kind of investigation they’d justify for a complete stranger of a knight, especially to confirm the future, but if they had a psychometric so much as touch his saber or arm, once he gets those back, there’d be a risk, “--and after already breaking the code by marrying, they’d be far less willing to bend the rules about the babies.”

He doesn’t realize how likely the risk is until after he says it, because he’s just been focusing on staying alive and following the Force, but.. they’d want the kids in the creche. He’s broken the code enough that any investigation they set to prove he’s legitimately a Jedi Knight that isn’t recorded and isn’t in the system is going to uncover something through the Force. They might not let him keep his family.

“What are their names?”

“I already--”

“Jango kept his last name,” Mereel cuts him off. “Did yours?”

Anakin looks the man in the eye, and then attempts to cross his arms in response, to mirror the pose and hold his ground. Unfortunately, he’s forgotten that he’s only got the one arm, which is really kriffing irritating.

“I gave them my name,” he says. “They’ll know where they came from, but they are mine.”

Yeah, no shit they’ll know where they came from.

Mereel’s face twitches, but the man is unreadable in the Force. Still, there’s something in the air... “So, those names?”

“Sokanth and Ylliben Skywalker,” Anakin tells him. He spells it out when the droid asks. He assumes it’s just for the medical data their droids are collecting.

“How well can you fight without your laser sword?”

“You mean unarmed?” Anakin asks, and then smiles brightly and tauntingly and waves his empty sleeve around. Mereel does not appreciate the humor. “Pretty well, but I do better when I have the Force, and am not still recovering from hypothermia. And I’m a fair shot with a blaster, but no specialist.”

Mereel eyes him for a moment, and then nods. “One of my snipers is Force-Sensitive. Never was enough to get more than some basic training in mental shields and the control to not hurt herself, but when we mentioned bringing in a Jetii, someone asked her what she thought. Came by the room while you were unconscious and said she thought you felt sad, angry, and desperate... but that she had a good feeling about where you’d be going.”

“Sad, angry, and desperate?” Anakin repeats, a little offended.

“You act like a veteran, kid,” Mereel says. He shrugs. “Damn near everyone that goes through some kind of war has all that going on. S’normal. You got Kamira’s approval, though, and that means a damn sight more. Keep your secrets for now. We’ll get there eventually.”

No we won’t, Anakin thinks. Out loud, he asks, “So, how much of what kind of work would I have to do to borrow a ship to Tatooine and earn enough to free a slave girl?”

#disaster lineage #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #jango fett #jaster mereel #time travel #mandalore #tatooine #de aging #babies #phoenix files #Anakin and the Jedi Babies

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dourpeep · 3 years

Note

IT WAS 2AM WHEN I SENT THAT SO I HELD BACK MY SIMPING FOR COLLEGE ALBEDO A LITTLE. tried not to send all my brainrot so I didn't just send a wall of text into your inbox LOL. Some others I thought of were:

- Mona giving astrology forecasts and compatibility readings in this au and Albedo may have asked her about the two of you

- Going to botanical gardens or museums with Albedo but for some reason it feels like a date even when it didn't intent to be. You tug on his sleeve now and then when you see something he might be interested in or even when it's something that excites you, and Albedo can't help but have a soft look in his eyes that he can share this moment with you! Somehow it results in the two of you holding hands - just so neither of you stray from each other of course - and eventually, intertwined fingers. You hear someone say that the two of you seem like a cute couple and you know Albedo heard it too, but neither of you say anything. You feel his hand squeeze yours a little tighter and respond in kind. The two of you are too embarrassed to look at each other but can't help the smiles on your faces.

- Lending Albedo some of your favourite books for pleasure reading and you've left tiny tabs on lines that you like. Perhaps this is before Albedo realizes his feelings so when he reads particularly romantic lines, he wonders if this is how he feels about you. Or did you mark these pages because you feel this way about someone? His stomach is in knots to the thought that you may be intrested in someone that isn't him and he settles for it just being prose.

WHAT YOU WROTE WAS SO CUTE AAA. THANK YOU FOR SIMPING FOR COLLEGE BEDO WITH ME!!

Tugging his hand and not letting go omg . . . you tend to just intertwine pinkies or play with his fingers absent-mindedly that Albedo becomes so accustomed to it so he starts to offer you his hands without a second thought.

WAIT. I gasped at Albedo being a cuddler. He's a little delirious when he first wakes up but you're so comfy that he hugs you a little tighter, asking if you've slept well. You try to reply while worrying about whether or not he can feel your heart thrumming in your chest.

What if Klee is staying with Albedo one night and the three of you fall asleep cuddled up together. Alice comes back early in the morning before any of you are awake and takes a picture. She sends it to Albedo later and he sets it as his phone's wallpaper.

Albedo staring at your lips winded me, thank you.

YES TO THE SWEATERS. I bet Albedo would have the softest and coziest sweaters too! Imagine it being a little cold out and you see Albedo across campus so you bound over to him and give him a hug. You nuzzle into him and mumble out a little 'hello' and say he's warm. You feel his laugh rumble through his chest while he greets you back, wrapping his arms around you

And I LOVE ALL YOUR HEADCANONS! I believe I found your blog around the time you posted Albedo's snort headcanon and it was too much for my heart!! I held tight to that headcanon and never let go lol. I also thought the science + college headcanons you had of him were really nice despite not being necessarily romantic!

Side note: I looked up that lobster fact and that's so cool!!

The Lobster Fact(tm) is my go-to ice breaker and it always fails. I'd imagine it's normally the same w/ Bedo OTL so sad...not many wish to know about potential lobster immortality.

I'm glad that you love the headcanons though!! I enjoy writing for Albedo so so much as you can tell ehe

That being said--if it makes you more comfy to send stuff in a few bursts of asks, I don't mind :DD I'll answer them as usual nodnod

OKIE DOKIE

"...Mona, yes?"

"Ah, I was expecting you to come around sooner or later, Kreideprinz."

Really, Albedo didn't mean to stumble upon the Astronomy major, but for some reason the thought of you has been on his mind and the campus' observatory just so happened to be on the way. With the meager hope that...maybe he'd find some sort of answer (in what, he wasn't really sure himself), there she was.

Luckily, she knew just what he was there for.

The moment that she twirls her hand with a wave, telling him that there isn't anything to worry about, the apprehension creeping within his chest at the thought of seeing you next-

disappeared.

It's not often that he turns to less orthodox methods, but he wouldn't lie. Knowing that--at least in Mona's opinion (which tended to be correct, anyway)--the two of you were undoubtly compatible? Something about how your constellations were intertwined...

In fact, Albedo turns a little theory around in his mind. Though based in old folktales, the idea that you gravitate towards those who are made of the very same stardust as yourself, suddenly made sense.

Or, perhaps he was just being hopeful.

Little does he know that you most definitely asked Mona about the same thing earlier that day.

AHHHHH BUT OF COURSE-

Any of those kinds of places--Botanical Gardens, Art Museums, Aquariums, Zoos, Museums in general--Any place where you're able to utterly lose yourself in your surroundings and look around in awe, really, are your go-to date outing destination!

Usually, it's just the two of you, maybe with Sucrose or Timaeus if it's for a particular class, as well as the occasional Klee in tow whenever Alice is busy with work.

But in this case, fingers interlocked, it's just the two of you on a impromptu trip to the art museum downtown after seeing a promotional banner about a new exhibit. Once inside, you rush along, Albedo trailing close behind with a light squeeze of your hand. The large area used for temporary exhibits isn't far from the entrance, so it's not long until you skid to a stop.

All along the walls are incredibly detailed oil paintings, the thin layered strokes glistening in the light. Albedo takes a moment to whisper to you about how oil paint works.

Due to the thinness of the paint and it's transparency, light passes through every carefully placed stroke, allowing for a unique sort of depth that isn't achievable with other painting media. You smile, the artificial light of the art exhibit making your features glow and Albedo can't help but wonder if you are like those paintings.

So complex, so carefully created in an image perfected with time. Your eyes search his and you say his name and Albedo clears his throat when he realizes he's been staring.

"Do you like this one?"

Ah, you must've assumed he took a liking to this particular painting.

His eyes shift back to it, taking in the sight of the balance of color, the composition, then back to you. He only stares a second longer before nodding.

Whether or not you realize the view he likes is you is something that he dwells on as you both make your way to the next painting.

If you had a penny for every time that someone comments on the way you compliment each other, you'd probably be able to pay off your tuition for next semester.

Okay, perhaps not, but the idea still stands.

You're only just at the end of the art exhibit when the security guard wishes the two of you a lovely date. Something about how young love is something to be treasured, something about how the two of you already seem so natural and comfortable in each other's presence.

Before you can mumble out an explanation, Albedo just squeezes your hand, gentle as always, and smiles.

It's a compliment, right? For someone to see how close you are, even if you really are just friends, is a good thing.

Ignoring the warmth that spreads over your cheeks, you smile and turn your head away shyly. Squeezing his hand back, the thought of what it'd be like if you were together crosses your mind.

Just as you lend books to him, he lends books to you. Surprisingly, this time it just so happens to be a poetry book--something that you expressed interest in a week ago but ended up not getting.

Within, he's left colorful notes with his neat, slanted writing.

Short discussions (presumably questions to himself) of what the poet must've been thinking, different possible scenarios, are peppered throughout the book. But one just so happens to catch your eye. Rather than a question, it's a statement. Simple, short, and...sweet.

'You carry the aura of the stars.'

The little yellow sticky note pasted beneath a love poem to the night sky stands out. Suppressing a flutter in your chest, you continue reading through the poem book with a few giggles at Albedo's musings until you find a note with most of the words crossed out.

It's entirely unlike him, the way that the dark ink scribbled over the words, making them illegible.

But at the bottom was a continued attempt--one you presume he was satisfied with by the way it lay pristine on the colorful paper.

'You look. I fail to speak.

Your mind, so brilliant as it is I wish to see behind To further appreciate the one I love.

I can only hope one day you shall let me in, So for now I wait patiently by your side.'

Who could he have written this for? You can't help but stare at the poetic attempt, knowing full well that Albedo seldom does something without meaning.

The book closes and you tuck it back on the shelf to ask about later.

AAAAA YESYESYESYES I LOVE THAT CUDDLE PILE W/ ALBEDO AND KLEE

Even though Albedo's a grade A student and certified genius (he's adamant in his denial, shaking his head and mumbling about how he just studies hard), he's not entirely a stickler for rules.

Well, that is, Aunt Alice's suggestion that Klee goes to bed by 9.

Instead, the three of you settle in the common room of Albedo's place in a bundle of pillows and blankets at the demands of a pillow fort.

The tv blinks on accompanied by the near silent click of the remote.

"What should we watch?"

Klee always ends up picking the movie. This time, she wants Alice in Wonderland, commenting on how the bunny is like her best friend Dodoco and the blonde girl on screen is named after mommy. Albedo doesn't bother correcting her, even though he knows quite well that dear, sweet Dodoco is a chinchilla.

Between sips of juice and a few mouthfuls of popcorn, the three of you fall asleep, Klee curled up besides you and Albedo's arm draped over you both.

Even when the sun is up in the sky, you sleep peacefully.

So, naturally, Aunt Alice has a spare key just in case something like this happens.

Immediately she's met with the sweetest view--her two kids (she's practically adopted Albedo as her own at this point) and--

Hiding a cheeky smile behind her hand, Alice can't help but sneak a little closer when she spies the way that you and Albedo somehow gravitated closer, his face buried in your hair and yours resting against his collar. Wedged between you with tousled hair, Klee snoozes peacefully.

She snaps a picture, followed by another, and another, and a fourth for good measures before meandering into the kitchen to prep something for breakfast.

Might as well let her three favorite people enjoy the comfort of sleep for a little longer...

You wake up the moment that Klee wiggles her way out of the blankets, nuzzling against the warmth radiating under your cheek.

Nice and cozy. Smells nice...wait.

Eyes fluttering open, you're met with a familiar birthmark and the nearly gone scent of Albedo's cologne.

You nearly pull away until the arm, now wrapped around your waist, pulls you closer accompanied by a satisfied sigh. Ah. You shut your eyes tight when you realize that Albedo's going to be asleep for at least another thirty minutes, resigning to your fate gladly.

Of course, Alice takes the opportunity to snap a few more pictures when you've finally fallen back asleep.

YES ALSO ALSO

Speaking of Albedo and sweaters and warm and also the just mentioned cologne. A little fun tidbit--not only are you familiar with the scent of his cologne because he wears it often, but it (in this au) is actually one that you picked out some time back. You probably were at the store together smelling some of the perfumes when you came across one that you were pleasantly surprised by.

Specifically, something that's lightly floral, a little warm but sweet with a hint of earthiness.

The pros? It fits Albedo perfectly! It also kinda sticks well and his place faintly smells of it.

The cons?? Well...you're embarrassed to say that hugging Albedo tends to drag on a little longer than anticipated because it's just such a comforting scent-

Not because you associate it with Albedo or anything-

Ehe

Man I really went to town again, didn't I?? Well, I'm glad that you enjoy my headcanons :DDD Albedo just seems like such a sweet person??? Like endearing in a way that just is...him. If that makes sense.

Brain go brrrrrr

I'll admit that my favorite headcanons for Bedo are mundane and domestic ones though! Like these! Just the little moments where there's nothing really going on except for him and you and ahhhh yesyesyes

Okay that's all-

#anon asks #albedo #albedo headcanons #genshin impact albedo #albedo x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact fics #genshin impact drabbles #modern au #college au #modern au albedo

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lancermylove · 3 years

Text

Troublesome Brothers (HC)

Fandom: Obey Me

Pairing: All x Reader, Luke platonic.

Warning: None

Requested by: Anon

Prompt: Can you do one where a female mc is like exhausted from having to fix all the brothers problems so they're just sleeping for like a week straight. How would the brothers react? And... Maybe the undateables if you can! Thank you 😁😁

A/N: This request is great but poor MC! I can imagine the game having an event like this. 😂

———————————————

Lucifer

Who do I need to punish!?

Then a line of questions follows. Who would tire you out to this point? Is Devildom getting to you? Does he need to send you back to your world? What will he tell Diavolo?

Lucifer doesn't know where to start, but then Simeon hints that he and his brothers are the reason behind your fatigue.

He swallows his pride and let's guilt take over. How could he be so careless? He's supposed to be watching over you, yet...

Lucifer calls his brothers for an emergency meeting and explains the situation to them. All the demons feel guilty and decide to write an apology letter to you.

Once you wake up, Lucifer hands you the letters and asks you to take it easy for the time being.

If any of his brothers dare to fight in front of you, he will glare them down until they shrink into a corner.

Mammon

OH MY DEVIL, SHE IS DEAD!

Mammon runs around the House of Lamentation crying and calling his brothers while yelling that you're dead.

All the demons drop everything and rush to your room. Lucifer checks on you while Satan hits Mammon upside the head for scaring them.

Once he learns that you're just sleeping, he calms down a bit but is still worried.

Mammon waits for you to wake up next to your bed. He doesn't even leave the room to sleep or eat. Beel has to bring him food half-eaten food.

When you wake up, he greets you with a bone-crushing hug and tears in his eyes. Then he asks if you're okay and what happened. He adds that he was afraid that he lost you.

If you choose to tell him the truth, he will be upset at himself for letting this happen to you. Mammon will promise that he will not cause you any trouble.

He doesn't tell you this, but Mammon got into a habit of watching you sleep. So sometimes, at night, he sneaks into your room and sleeps there.

Levi

NO NO NO NO NO!!! This can't be happening!

Levi starts panicking, then freezes, then starts panicking again. Blood is rushing to his mind, and he feels dizzy.

Did I do something to hurt her? Did someone else hurt her? Did I keep her up too late? Maybe I shouldn’t have forced her to watch me play video games the entire night!

Levi sits against your bedframe with his knees to his chest, holding his head in his hands.

Only when his brothers come to check on you does he learn that you are just sleeping.

When you wake up, Levi is restlessly pacing around the room. As soon as he sees you awake, he nearly throws his arms around you but then blushes and backs away.

"Normie, can't you take care of yourself? You had all of us worried."

No matter how much he pressures you to tell him the reason behind your tiredness, please don’t say a word. Levi will not be able to handle the truth, so spare the poor demon.

Asmo

Oh no! My lovely sweetie is not waking up!

Asmo is truly worried about your health. Your skin will be well-rested, but not washing cleaning your skin will cause issues.

You will no longer be tired, but your muscles will stiffen. You need to eat to survive, so not eating is going to be an issue.

Asmo already feels wrinkles appearing on his skin from worrying so much. He asks Solomon for help, much to Lucifer's dismay.

When you wake up, Asmo immediately apologizes to you and tells you that you need to take better care of yourself.

"If you don't care for yourself, then you won't be able to care for us!"

Asmo becomes your partner in crime from then on. Whenever his brothers cause issues, he tries to help you, so that you don't take on too much stress.

Satan

WHY ISN'T SHE WAKING UP? WHOSE NECK DO I NEED TO SNAP!?

His rage gets to him, and Satan nearly wipes out half of Devildom. Thankfully, Lucifer, Beel, and Diavolo are about to stop him.

While the eldest brother searches for answers, Satan stays in your room and looks at you.

A thought crosses his mind...will a true loves kiss wake her up? Humans and angels are going to school in hell, so it's not a farfetched idea, right?

Wrong.

He kisses you, but you continue to sleep. Satan has never felt this embarrassed in his life.

"I need to stop reading romantic novels."

He is thankful that none of his brothers are there to witness this moment; otherwise, they won't let him live it down.

Satan patiently waits for you to wake up, and when you do, he can't look in the eyes. One thought keeps racing in his mind: what if she finds out I kissed her while she was asleep?

Beel

When Beel hears that you have not woken up for a whole day, he runs into your room and flings open the door so hard that it rips from the hinges.

He tries to wake you up by shaking you, hugging you, asking you to wake up, and even offering you your favorite food.

Beel gets so worried that he binge eats more than usual. He even eats inedible objects.

When you open your eyes, you see Satan sitting on the edge of your bed. He tells you to hurry and get ready.

"Beel has been eating so much that all the grocery stores in Devildom are out of food. Now, he is trying...no...I am sure he has already started eating Diavolo's castle. Only you can stop him."

Belphie

She's not waking up? Great, I have a nap partner!

Belphie takes this chance to nap with you every day. He is worried about you, but what better way to watch over you than sleeping by your side?

Belphie learns from Beel that the brothers are the reason for your condition. He makes up his mind that he's going to force you to nap with him daily. That way you can at least get some rest, and he can use that as an excuse to spend more alone time with you.

His brothers ask him to leave you alone, but Belphie doesn't listen to them. He doesn't want to miss this chance to snuggle with you.

When you wake up, you see Belphie's face in front of you. He is fast asleep with his arms wrapped around your waist.

Diavolo

She hasn't woken up in days? YOU TELL ME THIS NOW?

Diavolo drops everything and visits you. After seeing your exhausted face, he asks Barbatos to cancel all his meetings and appointments.

The King of Demons carries you back to the castle and asks the best doctors to attend to you. On the side, he also asks Barbatos to look into the situation.

When the demon butler informs him about the reason, Diavolo isn't sure how to react. He is angry, but he doesn't want to point fingers without getting your perspective first. So, he holds back on taking action until you wake up.

When you open your eyes, you see Diavolo's large form cuddling with you. He looks like an angel a puppy while sleeping.

Diavolo mumbles something in his sleep. Something along the lines of “(Y/N), wake up soon...I love you".

Barbatos

Oh dear, I was hoping this would not happen.

When you last visited Diavolo's castle, Barbatos noticed that you were exhausted. He even asked if you were alright, but you brushed his concerns aside.

It didn't take him long to learn the reason behind your fatigue, and the demon butler was unhappy, to say the least.

After getting permission from Diav, Barbatos shifts you to the castle.

Once you are settled in the castle, the butler sends the brothers a basket of their favorite foods along with a note saying to take care of themselves.

The brothers are delighted to eat their favorites, but their excitement diminishes as soon as they put the first bite into their mouths.

The flavors of the food are completely opposite; Asmo's wicked cupcake is super spicy; Mammon's spicy noodles are sickeningly sweet; Belphie's sushi has nothing but wasabi...

While the brothers are shell-shocked, Barbatos watches them through a window with a smile.

“This is just the beginning.” He chuckles before heading back to the castle to tend to you.

Simeon

I should have stopped her from pushing herself too hard.

Immediately comes to see you when Asmo tells him that you haven't woken up in two days.

You told him that you were tired and hinted that your fatigue was a result of helping the brothers and worrying about them. So why didn't he stop you?

Simeon feels immensely guilty for not catching your hint.

He asks Lucifer if he can take you to Purgatory Hall. When the demon agrees, Simeon decides to tell Lucifer the truth.

By no means does Simeon blame the demons, but he asks Lucifer to give you a break.

When you wake up, you see Simeon sitting on a chair next to your bed. His head resting on your bed, and his hand gently holding onto yours.

Luke enters the room and is happy to see you awake. He tells you that Simeon hasn't slept in the past few days as the angel was too worried about you.

Luke

SEE DEMONS ARE BAD!

Luke is upset with the brothers and blames them for your condition. Simeon has to hold him back.

The young angel tells the demons that you're much safer in Purgatory Hall, so henceforth, you will be staying with them.

Luke asks Simeon to carry you back to their dorm. When the brothers protest, the angel says demons are not to be trusted.

When you wake up, you see Luke sitting next to you, watching you with sad puppy eyes.

The angel immediately throws his arms around you and says, you're in a safe place now. He also promises that neither he nor Simeon will cause you any problems.

Luke asks if you are hungry and hands you a plate of your favorite sweets.

Solomon

Solomon is shocked and considers using a potion to wake you up. But when he sees you resting well, he reconsiders.

As a punishment for the troubles they caused you, Solomon comes to visit you every day and causes a few mishaps here and there.

He also makes sure to irk some of the brothers Lucifer in the process.

If Lucifer asks him to leave, Solomon taunts him by saying someone has to care for you since you're too busy sorting out OTHER people's problems.

When you wake up, your entire room is filled with firefly-like orbs and your favorite flowers.

Solomon greets you and gently strokes your hair before kissing your head. He immediately asks if you want to consider moving to his dorm.

———————————————

➣Obey Me Masterlist ➣ Buy me a Ko-fi or Commission?

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crypticwanda · 3 years

Note

Hi. I know this is sounds lame,but i'm very new to tumblr.i dont know how this apps works but I found ur profile last night and really love what you write. Will binge read all of them.😊 i saw you r open for request. How about y/n n wanda been dating n wanda gets jealous thought y/n cheated on her but she actually doesnt. And if u r comfortable writing this,maybe wanda accidentally blast her with her power since her power is connected to her emotion,wanda founds out she didnt cheat on her n feels bad then they made up. Really loves your works..thank u.😊

Oh my god ANGST and thank you so much! 💞

You don't trust me?

summary: wanda starts to become suspicious that reader is cheating on her and things start to get messy

pairing(s): wanda maximoff x fem!reader

warnings: arguing, cursing, little violence, there's a happy ending though

notes: can you tell I know nothing about the medical field

taglist: @myperfectlovepoem @supersourlemon13 @royalityofmultifandom @madamevirgo @b0mbdotc0m @fayhar @olsensnpm @internetsubmarines @aana4664 @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @imapotato

An exhausted sigh left your lips as you closed your eyes and opened your front door. It was around 2 am and you had just gotten off of work and back to your home. It was dark in your living room and you tried to be as quiet as possible, not to wake your sleeping girlfriend. You slowly and quietly made your way upstairs and opened your bedroom door. As you slowly turned to close the door behind you, you heard the light switch flip on. You turned around to see a tired wanda sitting up in her bed, her hand still slightly emitting red showing that she used her powers to flip the light switch on.

"I'm so sorry honey, I didn't mean to wake you up." You whispered as you walked over to her in the bed. You leaned down to plant a kiss on her head as she groggily grunts in response and lays her head back down on the pillow. You walked around your bed as you began taking off your work clothes and quickly putting on your pajamas. You crawled into bed underneath the covers and wrapped your arms around Wanda's waist. She hummed softly as she laid her hands ontop of your own and you placed a soft kiss at the crook of her neck. You almost instantly drifted off into sleep as you laid next to wanda in your comfortable bed.

The next day, you and wanda were just finishing up dinner as you heard your phone chime from the table next to you. You picked it up to see it was your assistant from the hospital. "Hello?" You asked as you answered the call. "Y/N, there's a patient here who needs surgery." You heard her say on the other line. "I already left work, can't you get someone else to fill in for me?" You ask as Wanda turns her head up to look at you. "Everyone else is busy with other work, you're one of our only available." She says across the line. You sigh deeply as you bring up a hand up to your temples. "Fine, I'll be there." You say briefly as you hang up.

"More work?" Wanda asks as she reverts her eyes back to her plate with an annoyed tone. "I'm so sorry baby, it's just that everyone's busy and I'm the only available surgeon right now." You explain as you put your jacket around your arms. Wanda didn't respond as she kept her eyes away from you. "I'm so sorry." You repeat sadly as you walk over to her and lay a hand on her cheek and turn her face to look at you. You lean down and softly press your lips against her own as you heard her sigh through her nose. You pulled away and held her cheek softly. "I'll make this up to you, I promise." You whisper as her lips purused downward.

She nods softly as you turn and begin to walk out of the door. "Hopefully I can be back around 1 but, I'm not sure." You tell her as you walk out of the door. You open your car door, start the engine and pull out of your driveway as you make your way to the hospital.

Many hours had passed when your surgery was finally complete. You were now on your way home at around 4 am, completely exhausted and ready to pass out. You groan as you step out of your car and make your way up the driveway and open your front door. You hear the lock click as you push open the door and walk inside. To your surprise, the lights were on and wanda was sitting on the couch with almost an angry look on her face. "Oh, you're still awake." You said surprised as you closed the door behind you. "I was waiting for you." She breathed out as she stood up from the couch. "You said you'd be here at 1." She said, obviously annoyed as she crossed her arms. "Well, I was hoping to come home at 1 but the surgery lasted longer than I thought." You tell her as you scratch the back of your neck.

Wanda breathed harshly through her nostrils as she looked at you. "You know you've been doing these night shifts for a while now." She snapped as she turned and began walking into the kitchen while continuing to talk to you. "I know honey, and you don't understand how sorry I am for that." You pleaded as you followed her into the kitchen. "You know, I'm starting to believe that these are just more than surgeries." She hissed as she quickly turned around to face you. "What are you talking about?" You asked as your face scrunched in confusion. A few moments later you realised what she had meant. "Wait, do you think I'm cheating on you?" You asked as you pointed to your own chest. "I didn't say that!" She snapped, her volume increasing. "Wanda, I would never cheat on you." You say shaking your head as wanda brings a hand to the top of her head.

"Why would you even think that?" You ask, your volume was loud but your voice was breaking. Wanda shut her eyes harshly as she turned her body away from you. "Wanda-" you begin once again as you softly grab ahold of her forearm. Before you knew it, red power emitted from Wanda and you felt your body fly across the kitchen and your back hit the cabinets. You grunted as you heard a few glasses fall onto the ground and shatter. Your body hit the ground as a groan escaped your lips. Wanda gasps and puts a hand over her mouth as she realised what she had done. "Y/N!" She yelled as she ran over to you and kneeled next to you on the ground. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." She frantically tried to talk to you as tears were welling up in her eyes. "I'm fine." You breathe out as you push yourself up and press your back against the counter.

"Wanda, honey, I love you absolutely more than anything. You're my world and everything I want and more, why would I ever want anything other than you?" You said with tears in your eyes as you softly laid your hands on either side of her cheeks. A single tear fell from Wanda's eye as she hung her head low. "I know and I'm sorry, I trust you Y/N." She whispers out as her forehead pressed against yours. You leaned in and tilted your head as you pressed your lips onto hers. She wrapped her arms around your neck and pulled you close, you could feel tears falling from her eyes onto your own skin. You pulled away after a few moments and gave her a soft smile. "I'm gonna take some time off, to be with you." You say. "Y/N you don't have to-" Wanda begins but you cut her off. "I want to." She looked up at you with a soft smile as you returned one.

#marvel #mcu #mcu headcanons #the avengers #avengers #avengers x reader #mcu x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #avengers headcanon #wanda maximoff x you #wanda x you #wanda maximoff #wanda hcs #wanda oneshot #wanda maximov

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helloalycia · 3 years

Text

a bitch [two] // leigh shaw

summary: when you finally decide to confront leigh about the incident, things don't go to plan.

warning/s: cheating, arguing, confrontation

author's note: here’s part two! hope you like it :)

part one | masterlist | wattpad

I refused to paint Leigh in the worst light, even if I'd seen her that way. She ended up staying the night at mine to pass out without being around her sister with her hangover, and I tried not to mind. I was patient for the rest of the evening and the following morning, trying not to assume the worst. But it was hard to do that when she continued to act like nothing was out of the ordinary.

My paranoia get the better of me, as whenever she got a text or slipped out for a phone call, all I could see was her and Abby making out at the party. Why hadn't she told me what happened if it wasn't what it seemed? The only explanation could be that she didn't want me to know, which meant she was hiding it, which meant she was cheating on me. Just like Alex.

It was later that following day after the party when I was sat on the dining table doing some work on my laptop and she was sat on the couch. Her phone vibrated, followed by a tone, signalling she got a text, and I tried not to writhe with discomfort in my seat. She scoffed before tossing her phone to the other end of the couch.

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to seem too interested, even though my heart was bruising.

"Nothing," she mumbled, eyes fixated on the telly.

I gave her all of my attention now, curious. "Go on, what is it? It's clearly not nothing."

She tilted her head to look at me. Sighing, she said like it was no big deal, "Drew wants me to work on a piece, but with somebody else. And you know I'm not a fan of collaborative writing."

Forcing a smile, I hummed in acknowledgement. "Who is it? The person he wants you to work with?"

Looking back to the TV casually, she shrugged. "Abby."

Just the mere mention of that girl's name in Leigh's mouth left a bitter taste in mine. And the longer I watched Leigh staring at the TV without a care in the world, oblivious to the fact that my heart was breaking because of her, the more I wanted to burst. And I eventually did.

"I know you're cheating on me," I blurted, making her look to me with a baffled expression.

"What?"

Deciding to roll with it, I closed my laptop and met her confused stare. "Don't try to hide it, Leigh, I know. I saw you last night. At the party." She continued to play dumb, so I added with distaste, "You were kissing Abby."

Leigh opened her mouth, half-gasping and half entertained as if I was suggesting the most ridiculous thing. "You're kidding, right? That's– that's what you think of me?"

I stood up quickly, glaring at her through glassy eyes. "Don't act coy. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. I tried to wait for you to explain yourself just in case I misinterpreted, but you continued to hide it. No doubt hiding every other moment you spend with her, too, right?"

Leigh's confusion was quickly replaced with anger, as she stood up from her place on the couch and walked towards me, pointing a finger my way.

"How dare you jump to conclusions like that!"

"It's not jumping!" I shouted, unable to stop my emotions getting the better of me. "It's facts!" Smiling bitterly, I shook my head, vision blurry with unshed tears. "I always had my suspicions that she liked you, but I never thought it could be the other way, too..."

Leigh's glare was fiery. She clenched her fists by her side as she studied my expression, attempting to find an explanation for this accusation. And the fact that she was still playing dumb pissed me off.

"God, everybody told me that you could be like this," I muttered between gritted teeth. "You flip-flop between emotions. The constant mood swings, an explosion that everyone gets caught up in."

She crossed her arms, shrugging sarcastically. "Don't hold back or anything. Say what you really mean."

I clenched my jaw and stared at her, tears finally flowing. How could this be the same person I was in love with?

"I shouldn't have expected any different when it came to your partners," I finished with a hurt voice.

Her eyes narrowed as my words settled in. "Fuck you."

"Well, you won't be, will you? You're too busy fucking Abby!"

"You're not even giving me chance to explain!" she shouted with irritation.

"Explain what?! How you kept this from me? How you had all day to explain and you just didn't?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "You know, sometimes you can be such a..." I searched for the right word before my frustration landed on only one. "Such a bitch."

She pressed her trembling lips together as she glowered at me through teary eyes. It stung, knowing I was the reason she was upset. But she cheated on me. I had every right to be.

"Fuck off," she said harshly, before turning to grab her phone and jacket.

Slipping on her shoes, she stuck a middle finger in the air before leaving my house. I glared at the space where she was stood, heart pounding in my ears and chest tightening with discomfort. She deserved it. She did exactly what Alex did.

But this hurt so much more.

—

I woke up late the next morning since I didn't have work and I was too devastated to do anything but stay in bed. Last night was difficult, just like the night before, and when I finally found myself falling asleep, all I dreamt of was Leigh.

Even though I didn't want to, I felt a guilt thrumming in my chest when my words came back to mind. I shouldn't have reacted so badly... and I definitely shouldn't have called her a bitch. My anger just took over, pushing away my love for her, and attacked her without question. But God, it still hurt. Just thinking about her with someone else reminded me of Alex and the voice message and–

Staying in bed sounded like the best option. But of course, the world had other plans.

My phone dinged, signalling I had a text, and I reluctantly reached over to my bedside table to pull it off charge. Through sleep-filled eyes, I tried to make out the name on the screen.

Leigh ♥️

Suddenly awake, I swiped to open the message and felt my heart drop as I read it.

Leigh ♥️: Fuck you.

Attached was a video, and as much as I wanted to get pissed at her text, I was curious to know what she'd sent. Playing it, I soon realised it was CCTV footage from her workplace, outside the toilets. At first, I squeezed my phone, thinking she'd sent it to rub it in my face. But then as I continued to watch, I saw the moments I missed last night.

Leigh walked out the toilet and Abby pulled her to the side, attempting to talk to her about something. There was no sound to the clip, but it was clear that Leigh was trying to back away and go elsewhere. They talked, Leigh using that smile she used when she was trying to be polite, before Abby suddenly pushed herself on her, kissing her. I pulled a face at the sight, reliving it all over again, but then Leigh shoved her away with anger.

Again, there was no sound, but I recognised that familiar Leigh wrath she subjected people to when they pissed her off. Hands were waving around as she seemed to be shouting in Abby's face, her face set into a permanent scowl as she did. Then she turned and stormed away, and the video ended.

Lowering my phone, I stared at the ceiling with a lump in my throat. She hadn't cheated, I'd just walked in on the wrong moment. Every horrible thing I'd said to her... completely uncalled for. No wonder she was angry and upset when I'd accused her – she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Fuck!" I shouted to nothing, before throwing my phone to the end of the bed with annoyance.

How the hell was I to make this right?

—

I spent the remainder of the morning trying to think of what I could do. Leigh wouldn't want to speak to me, understandably, but I had to try. It would be a terrible apology, but I couldn't just leave it. I loved her and I could only hope she'd still love me, even after every nasty thing I spat her way.

Knowing she'd be at work, I gave her boss and best friend, Drew, a call. Hopefully she hadn't told him everything I'd done otherwise he was definitely going to ignore me.

After a few rings, he finally answered and I couldn't stop my fingers from drumming against my thigh nervously.

"Y/N, thank God you rang! I was just about to call you," he said before I could build up the courage to speak.

I furrowed my brows. "You were?"

"You should come pick up your girlfriend," he said, and I figured he didn't know. "I don't know what her problem is and, don't get me wrong, I love Leigh, but I can't condone violence at the workplace."

My eyes widened so much I was surprised they didn't fall out my head. "What?!"

With a mixture of amazement and disappointment, he answered, "She punched a colleague of hers, Abby, in the face. It was so out of the blue – a solid punch to the jaw. Broke her knuckles, I think."

Jaw dropping, I forgot how to speak.

"She's at the hospital," he continued. "Thankfully, Abby isn't pressing charges – no idea why not, not that I want Leigh to get arrested obviously – but damn, there's a lot of paperwork to do and–"

"Drew!" I cut him off, worrying myself with thoughts of Leigh at the hospital by herself. "Text me the address. I'm on my way."

The drive to the hospital was agonisingly long, but I reached it quite quickly. I did attempt to call Leigh, unable to stop myself from checking if she was okay, but she didn't answer. This did nothing to ease my concern.

After making my way through the hospital, I finally arrived at Leigh's room. I let myself in, seeing her sat on a hospital bed with an ice pack covering her hand, balanced on a table. At the sight of me, she rolled her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she muttered lowly, refusing to meet my gaze.

I stepped inside hesitantly, my guilt returning as I remembered everything I accused her off. "Drew told me what happened."

She clenched her jaw. "Well, I'm not a baby. I'm fine on my own."

Ignoring her rightful annoyance, I sighed quietly. "Really, Leigh? You punched her?"

As if realising how silly it sounded when I said it aloud, she looked the other way and stayed quiet. Her jaw was still clenched as she contained her anger.

"What's the damage?" I asked, hoping my concern wouldn't piss her off. As always, I was wrong.

"None of your damn business," she snapped, still not looking my way.

I frowned, approaching her bedside, but she still refused to look my way. "Leigh, I want to apologise, I do, but I need to make sure you're okay first."

She rolled her eyes before finally looking to me and glaring powerfully. If I hadn't experienced being in a fight with Leigh before, I would have definitely tucked tail and ran. But I'd known her long enough to know that the mask of anger she wore right now was only a cover for the hurt she felt. The hurt I'd caused her.

"You don't need to do anything," she retorted, before nodding to the door. "You can go."

My heart pounded with guilt. "Leigh, please.”

"Sorry, I don't mean to be a bitch or anything," she cut me off bitterly, before looking away and frowning to herself.

The words I'd said to her in a moment of fury returned to mind and I'd never hated myself more than in that moment.

"You know, since Matt died, almost everyone I know called me a bitch," she revealed quietly, voice filled with pain rather than hostility. "Even my family. Especially my family. But you... you never called it me, Y/N. Not once. Not even when I deserved it."

The silence that followed her words was deafening. Why the hell did I have to call her that? Why?

Before I could even think of how to respond, the door to her room opened and in walked a doctor, holding what looked like print-outs of x-ray scans.

"Oh," he said with mild confusion as he spotted me by Leigh's bedside. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Leigh's doctor. Doctor Syed. And you are?"

"Her girlfriend," I replied, just as she also replied, "My ex."

I gave her a stern look, accepting if she wanted to break up, but definitely not leaving her here alone.

"I'd like to stay if that's okay," I told Doctor Syed, sensing his confusion as he looked between Leigh and I, attempting to make out whatever was happening.

To my surprise, Leigh didn't argue, even when the doctor looked her way to see if she had a problem. She simply rolled her eyes, scoffed quietly, and said nothing.

Taking this as a response, Doctor Syed proceeded to explain about Leigh's injury, particularly the broken bones in her knuckle. Apparently she'd punched Abby with so much force that she'd literally broken the bone with a crack. The x-ray proved just that and gave the doctor a perfect sight of where he could fix it, thankfully, without surgery.

I waited with an unusually quiet Leigh as he put a splint and cast on her hand there and then. He then spoke about recovery times and how she was to look after herself. After writing up a prescription for pain meds and handing it to her, he quirked a brow questioningly.

"Is that all okay, Miss Shaw?" he asked.

Leigh was too busy brooding to listen, so I smiled at the doctor instead.

"I'll make sure she does that," I answered for her. "Thank you, doctor."

He nodded and returned the smile before wishing us luck and leaving. I looked to Leigh, who was quick to get up and grab her jacket, being careful with her hand. The two of us said nothing as we left the room and hospital, making our way out onto the street. Before I could ask how she was getting home, she began to walk away from me.

I groaned inwardly before following after her, stopping her from going any further. She glared across from me.

"What?" she said through gritted teeth.

"I can give you a ride home," I offered. "I parked down the street."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine walking."

I gave her a knowing look. "Leigh, you just broke your hand."

Realising my point, she sighed. "Fine. I'll call literally anyone but you for a ride."

Okay, I deserved that, but it still stung.

"Fine," I said, before waiting with her as she made the call.

She took a seat on the bench to the side of the road, waiting for a taxi, and I joined her, making her scoff.

"Just to make sure you get home safe," I said, when she gave me an incredulous look.

"Whatever," she mumbled, before watching the road for her taxi.

When it finally arrived, she didn't even spare me a glance before getting in and leaving. I sighed with regret, glad she was okay but realising I still hadn't had the chance to apologise to her. I was still yet to make this right.

—

It was the next day when I'd deemed it enough time to have given her space whilst also deciding I had to tell her how sorry I was before it was too late.

Building the courage to approach her front door was one thing, but knocking was another. I'm pretty sure I stared at the wood for ages before actually lifting my hand to knock. And even then, my heart was still pounding nervously in my chest.

After a moment, the door opened and revealed Leigh. But as soon as she recognised me, she made a move to close it.

"Leigh, please, wait–!" I tried, and put my foot in the doorway so she couldn't close it.

"I have nothing to say to you!" she exclaimed with irritation, glaring at me when she noticed my foot in the way. "Move it, Y/N."

"You don't have to say anything," I said with a frown and apologetic eyes. "Just hear me out. Please."

She pressed her lips together firmly, disguising her hurt with frustration. But when her eyes met mine, the pain was there and I felt guilty all over again, knowing I'd made her out to be the worst.

"I never should have said what I did," I started quickly, not wanting to lose my chance. "And I definitely shouldn't have called you a–" I winced, hating the word more than ever. "A bitch. I know you get angry when you're upset and that should've been my first indicator to knowing something wasn't right. I should've heard you out."

"But you didn't," she cut me off with a terrifyingly calm voice. "You jumped to conclusions instead. When I've never given you any reason to doubt me."

I licked my lips and looked down shamefully. She was right. "I know."

"Do you?" she asked rhetorically, a hint of resentment in her voice. "Because you jumped on me so fast that I didn't even see it coming."

Risking looking up, I saw the defensive stance she took, arms crossed judgementally and jaw tensed with annoyance.

"For the record," she added, expression softening a little, "I didn't tell you about the kiss because it meant nothing and I didn't want to upset you for no reason."

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat, the guilt thickening and squeezing the life out of me.

"I can't believe you'd think I would do something like that to you," she admitted with a heartbreaking voice, uncrossing her arms. "I love you, Y/N. I'd never hurt you like that. Never."

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose, memories of Alex flooding to the surface. "I know, Leigh, I know. I do."

She sighed before me. "Then why?"

Releasing my nose, I opened my eyes and was surprised at the blurriness, tears having formed. I was losing the woman I love because of my stupidity and I couldn't. I couldn't lose her. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt.

"Do you remember my last girlfriend?" I asked reluctantly, before clearing my throat. "Alex?"

Her brows creased together with confusion. "Yes. What about her?"

Letting out an embarrassed sigh, I avoided Leigh's gaze. "We broke up because she cheated on me. With... with someone from work."

When Leigh didn't say anything, I looked up and saw her shocked expression.

"What?" she asked with disbelief. "You said it was a mutual breakup."

I pinched the skin inside my palm to feel something other than hurt and awkwardness. "I– it was easier to say that than admit the truth because the truth was– is embarrassing." Unable to hold her gaze for much longer, I focused on the door next to her. "You were going through a lot at the time, Leigh. The last thing you needed was to deal with my bullshit, too."

She frowned, trying to meet my eyes, but I was too ashamed to look her way. "You should've told me, Y/N."

I shook my head slowly. "I shouldn't have. Just like I shouldn't have assumed you'd be like her. I just– I got horribly insecure and I know that you're not her. You're nothing like her. And I shouldn't have treated you like the villain."

"No...," she began, still adjusting to my words. "No, that makes so much sense." Her good hand rested on my cheek as she forced me to look her way. "I'm so sorry that happened."

I pulled back, her hand dropping to her side, and wiped away a stray tear. I'd never meant to earn her pity – I'd done something wrong. This wasn't me earning sympathy, I just wanted her to know the truth.

"I don't want you to apologise," I told her. "I just want you to understand that I'm sorry. So sorry, Leigh. I hate that I– I ruined something good, something amazing. I never meant for this to happen," I motioned to her hand, "and I don't want you to think of me like– like– like this. Like–"

She moved forward and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me close. "I don't. I really don't."

I closed my eyes and stuffed my head into her neck, holding her tightly. She stroked the back of my hair soothingly and pressed a kiss to the side of my head.

"I forgive you," she murmured, and just like that, relief spread through me. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you. I promise I'd never to that to you. Never in a million years."

I pulled apart, wiping my tears away sheepishly whilst nodding. "I know you wouldn't, Leigh. I'm sorry for even thinking that you would."

She cupped my cheek, using her thumb to swipe away a tear. Green eyes met mine, sparkling with unshed tears that made me feel guilty because I'd never wanted to make her cry.

"I know you are," she said gently, before offering me a small smile. "Come inside, yeah? You can make it up to me by watching movies with me."

I let out a small laugh and she smiled, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to my lips before holding out her hand. I rested mine in hers and let her lead me inside, hand tingling where her skin touched mine.

Leigh Shaw was anything but a bitch. She was the most caring, considerate person I'd ever met, and when she flashed me a reassuring smile as we headed to the couch, I knew one thing.

I was lucky to have her.

#leigh shaw #leigh shaw x you #leigh shaw x reader #leigh shaw imagine #sorry for your loss #sorry for your loss imagine #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen imagine #elizabeth olsen

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