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maithefluffychicken · 2 years

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My first Steddie fic, you can read here and on Ao3!

Getting together, childhood friends au, angst with happy ending.

Enjoy!

Steve heard Dustin cries of fear, or it was like he could feel the boy's distress, he just knew he should run towards him, thinking the worst.

Dustin was trying to fight some demobats while protecting Eddie's body, laying lifeless in the ground.

Steve ran, launching himself to help the kid - no, teen - praying that Eddie was still alive.

Eddie wakes up a few weeks later, or he thinks that weeks have passed. It feels like fucking weeks. His head throbbing and body aching all over. He's not in a hospital room, but he can barely register that just now. He feels the soft duvet wrapped around him and his head resting in the softest pillows.

It's not his room either, he doesn't recognise the space, he just knows that he's on a cosy, warm bed. His bed has never been this plush and soft, that he knows too well.

What annoys him the most is that fidgeting beside him is a very stressed guy, huffling and shifting in a chair ever so often. Eddie has the feeling that all that movement is what awoke him in the first place.

"Hnng, dude, stop," he rasps, his voice rough and dry of disuse. His whole body shivers in pain with just those three words.

"Eddie! Oh God, Eddie!"

Eddie’s sight can’t focus for shit, not yet, but his brain is still more or less functional, even if he finds himself wrapped in a bear hug, warm arms around him holding him tight, the softest hair brushing his cheeks and lips.

Steve Harrington’s voice, his mind supplies. Steve “The Hair” Harrington is hugging me.

That can’t be, he must be sleeping, dreaming a wild dream, or maybe he’s dying, yeah, his mind giving him visions of what he wants before exhaling his last breath. Because, why, why, would Steve Harrington hug him?

The pressure of the hug is enough to make Eddie whimper and shock in pain, and he barely hears Harrington calling him to stay awake, begging him to not fall asleep again… But he’s tired, he can’t remember why, or why his whole being is screaming in pain, but his eyes shut close once more.

And then he’s again in that hellish dimension that is like the real world but corrupted and toxic, an eternal lighting storm crowning the sky. And that dark hurricane of winged things is attacking him again and again, he feels fangs clamping at his soft skin, breaking it, long, whip-like tails choking him.

He’s dying now for sure, there’s no way he can survive this shit, and he misses the previous dream with Harrington, he misses his arms around him, protecting him… As Steve promised him he will always do.

Just, he didn’t, right? Steve forgot about Eddie, but Eddie never forgot about Steve. And now, unsure about if he’s dreaming or if he’s again in the Upside Down being eaten alive, Eddie is just happy to be friends with Steve again. What a pathetic little thing he is, well, some things never change. But he can’t die, not yet, not without knowing that Steve and the girls and the kids are safe; he can die being perceived as a satanic murder by the mob, he can die knowing his love will never be requited, but he’s not going to surrender without watching his friends climbing through the portal to their world again.

Before everything.

“Hi, I’m Steve Harrington!” A chirpy voice startles him from behind. Eddie turns slowly, his dark brown fringe almost covering his eyes. “We can sit together if you want! I always sit near the window, but you can take that place if you prefer it! What’s your name?”

“Edward Munson,” the kid answers shyly. “But everyone calls me Eddie.”

Everyone is just his uncle Wayne, since his mother called him monster and his father never called him anything. But well, uncle Wayne took him last year and now they’re living together, and he does call him Eddie in an affectionate way, and he doesn’t blame him for having to work hard to be able to feed them, nor for taking the only room in the small trailer. Uncle Wayne is his family now. Uncle Wayne is everyone who matters.

“Nice to meet you, Eddie!” The kid, Steve, says, and points him to sit near the window. “I never saw you here before! Are you new in Hawkins?”

Eddie nods, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the other kid’s energy. “No, but… Last year I was sick and couldn’t come to Middle School…”

“Oh, no, the school sucks but being sick is worse!”

During that first day, Steve doesn’t leave Eddie, asking every single question to him. What happened to his parents? Does he really live in a trailer? Is he really a year older than Steve? Steve seems like he can’t understand that Eddie is eleven while he’s still ten years old, Steve is already a bit taller and broader than him, it just feels weird - they both are lanky, gangling kids as the rest of the kids in the class, but Steve only cares about Eddie.

Weeks turn into months, and Steve and Eddie are the best friends ever. They spend all the time together, in class and then after school. Mrs Harrington doesn’t like Steve to be at Munson’s trailer, but she allows the kids to play in her home; uncle Wayne buys Eddie a bicycle, but he picks him from Harrington’s house in his car when the night falls.

Eddie is now more open, he’s not the shy kid that keeps his mouth shut, but a funny, noisy kid that loves making his best friend and his uncle laugh. He has a vivid imagination and he quickly discovers his love for fantasy books and his mind is full of ideas.

Steve is more into sports, but he always asks Eddie to read to him or to tell him about the stories he imagines in his head, and Eddie is happy to oblige.

Eddie loves when Mrs Harrington lets him stay for the night, like she finally accepts him as his son’s best friend, and she even allows them to order pizza for dinner.

They’re twelve and they’re in Steve’s living room alone, Eddie is reading out loud for Steve, the kid is looking at him in awe. Eddie loves to make voices and to impersonate the characters. This tale is of his own invention, about a warrior and a bard - Eddie recently discovered music and guitars and he’s a bit obsessed with them, if he’s honest - that travel the world together living adventures and facing monsters.

The bard just made something stupid in his story, like launching himself to a monster to protect the warrior, his best friend, and the bard ends wounded. Steve gasps and props on his elbows.

“No!” He almost yells. “Is he going to be ok?”

“Hm, want me to read it to you or…”

“Come on, Eddie, dude, you’re killing him!”

“I’m not! It’s good for the story!” Eddie argues.

“How’s that good for the story?”

“Because a good story needs to have feelings, Steve, and…”

“Well, why isn't the warrior saving him?” Steve demands to know. “They’re friends, right? It’d suck if he dies because his best friend in the world just ignores him to death!”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, Harrington! He’s not going to die, ok? Of course the warrior is going to save him.”

“Really?”

“Promise, now, let me finish or I won't read to you again.”

Eddie finishes his story and closes the notebook where he wrote it, feeling warm and proud of himself when Steve hums and nods, a smile in his lips.

“He lives.”

“Promised you, didn’t I?”

There’s a moment of silence before Steve talks again.

“You know, I’ll always protect you and be with you, right?” He’s now kneeling in front of Eddie, extremely serious. Steve can be really serious when he thinks it matters, and now, this moment, matters a lot.

Eddie feels himself blush, lately that’s happening a lot when they’re together. It’s a funny feeling, his stomach feels like it's full of butterflies flying all over, and his heart skips a beat right before it starts hammering in his chest.

“And I’ll do the same for you, Steve, you’re my best friend.”

“I know,” Steve smiles.

It’s… a strange moment for them both, the boys are too close to each other, faces almost touching, and they both know that this is the moment in movies when adults kiss, usually a boy and a girl. Eddie and Steve always make funny grimaces when that happens, gesturing as if they’re about to puke.

Also, they both are boys but Eddie can’t care less about that fact, Steve is his best friend, he’s a handsome boy, and suddenly Eddie realises that the whole kissing affair doesn’t seem as disgusting now, well, maybe it’s not disgusting at all if it’s Steve.

Steve looks like he’s thinking the same thing as Eddie, because his best friend’s tongue darts out of his mouth to lick his lips while looking at Eddie’s.

“Steve…” Eddie whispers, the hairs of his arms on edge, his skin prickling everywhere in anticipation.

“‘S ok, Eddie, we’re friends, right? Best friends, and sometimes…”

“Shut up, Harrington,” Eddie snaps, unable to stay still and just wait for Steve to move, so he’s the one closing the distance between them and flushes his lips against Steve’s wet ones.

The kiss is chaste and clumsy and it lasts only a few seconds, but Eddie decides that it was a perfect first kiss, if he’s one to say it. Steve’s cheeks are red and he’s smiling.

“Maybe… maybe the warrior and the bard should do this in your story, Eddie,” Steve prompts. “You know, after the battle.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Eddie agrees.

Eddie has never heard about best friend kisses, but it must be a thing because since that night, Steve and him kiss a lot. Without tongue, of course, because that’s gross, just lips against lips.

Maybe he’s never heard of that kind of kiss before because it's like a secret, they never do it in public, nor talk about it with anyone, it’s their little secret. Eddie is happy, though, unable to think about a better way to express how much he cares for Steve.

When Eddie is fourteen, things start to change, not for good.

Eddie is unable to stop thinking about their kiss and he wants to kiss his friend again, but Steve is… acting weird. He never talks about the kiss, and instead, he starts talking to girls and chasing them. Eddie supposes that he should do the same, he just doesn’t find any girl pretty enough, not if he compares them with Steve, and he can’t help but to compare.

Eddie is slowly realising that, well, there’s something wrong with him, since all the guys in their class are talking about the girls they like, and Eddie is just thinking about, well, other boys. Mostly Steve, but Eddie is not blind, there are some other boys in the school that are handsome enough to look at and, well, they seem kissable too.

It doesn’t help either that Steve barely has time for Eddie now that he joined the basketball team and has new friends, like Tommy H. Tommy is, well, a bully, he doesn’t like Eddie and he lets everyone know what he thinks about the dark brown haired boy.

The first four or five times that Tommy faces Eddie and starts calling him bad things, Steve puts himself between them both and stops Tommy, quickly apologising in the name of a new friend, but then he makes an excuse and leaves Eddie behind.

They don’t hang out anymore; uncle Wayne asks Eddie about Steve and Eddie feels a rush of rage and shame taking over him and says that Steve is stupid and an idiot, and that they’re not friends anymore. Uncle Wayne takes him out for ice cream, not knowing what to do to cheer up his boy.

Eddie doesn’t try to reach Steve anymore, and Steve, well. If he cares he doesn’t say it; they don’t sit together at class anymore, and it’s for the best, really. Now, Eddie can nurse his broken heart alone, and he’ll make new friends, while Steve can focus on his sport and stuff, it’s ok. Eddie would never have thought that losing a friend could hurt this much, but his uncle promises him that it’ll pass with time, all wounds heal with time and care.

If Eddie cries at night thinking about Steve and wondering if he’s kissing pretty girls the way they used to kiss, well, that hurts even more.

For Christmass, uncle Wayne buys Eddie his first electric guitar, with the promise that Eddie will practise every day. Eddie knows that they don’t have a lot of money and guitars are expensive, and he promises that he’ll learn and that he’ll become a great guitarist. It’s not like he has friends to spend time with, though.

Eddie doesn’t kiss anyone else until his sixteenth birthday.

He made it to High School somehow, his hair almost reaching his shoulders in wild curls, he decided that he’s not cutting his hair anymore. He’s following the steps of his favourite rock stars - a new rock band, Metallica, released their first album last year and Eddie immediately fell in love - and he really thinks the whole aesthetic suits him just good.

And he’s been exchanging looks with a guy in his class. James Wheatly is his name, he has a lovely mop of light brown hair and cold eyes, and smirks at him knowingly every single time. It’s James who moves first, shoving Eddie to the empty gym between classes, his front flushing against Eddie’s back, sending shivers down his spine.

“Heard it’s your birthday today, Munson,” James whispers in his ear when they’re finally alone inside the gym, crowding him against the wall.

“It is, Wheatly, why? Do you have something for me?” Eddie teases back, his whole body on fire and reacting quickly to the other boy’s proximity.

James is taller than him, Eddie likes that. He also likes his soft hair. He tries his best to not think about another boy, also taller and blonder than him, because it’s his birthday and he doesn’t want his special day ruined by old memories.

“Maybe I have something for you…”

And just like that, James is kissing him. His tongue demanding to enter his mouth, Eddie gasps at the intrusion, dizzy and a bit confused. It’s his first kiss with tongue, after all, and it’s nothing like he imagined it would be. It’s rough and James’ teeth clank against his, and his hands are sweaty when they wander under Eddie’s t-shirt.

It’s an awful, shitty kiss, but Eddie is hard in his jeans too soon, looking for friction; his hands grab James’ hips and tugs to flush their bodies together, happy to find that the other guy’s cock is just as interested as his own.

But of course…

“Hey! What the fuck are you two doing here?”

The door opens and clicks shut in an instant, Eddie bolts and tries to squirm off James’ body, but the other doesn’t let him, pressing him harder against the wall, arms bracketing his head.

“Fuck, let me go, Wheatley!” Eddie demands.

“Eddie? Is that you?”

Fuck.

“Get off, Harrington, this has nothing to do with you,” Wheatly snaps, turning to see Steve. Eddie looks over James’ shoulder as well, and his heart breaks a bit more at seeing him there, standing still, frozen in his spot, eyes wide taking in the sight in front of him.

“Eddie, are you ok?” He’s cheek enough to ask and to even sound, what? Offended by the sight? Like he never kissed a guy before. Eddie can be the only guy he ever had kissed, but still, he has no right to be offended by this.

“He’s good, Harrington, leave now.”

Eddie is, well, he’s not exactly ok. He can feel anxiety creeping up his spine and twisting his stomach in knots, his hard on flagging down, and his birthday is very much ruined.

“I’m not going anywhere unless he tells me to, Wheatly,” Steve says in that tone that gives no space to argue.

Eddie shouldn’t find it as hot as it is, honestly, and his very soul is singing because it’s close to what he wants. He wants Steve to look at him again, he wants Steve to protect him as he promised years ago, and fuck, he wants Steve to be the one kissing him and not James Wheatly.

If Steve wants to be concerned and worried about him, then better do it in private, because Eddie can’t open that door again, he can’t believe that he means something for Steve still, because his poor, weak heart is not healed yet and he doesn’t want to break it again.

But Eddie knows better. This is nothing like that. This is Steve The King Harrington, probably thinking that Wheatly is the bad guy here, like he’s forcing Eddie or whatever. Eddie wants this, or wanted it before the interruption.

“I’m ok, Harrington,” Eddie growls. “Wheatly was about to give me my birthday gift before you showed your stupid face here, now, if you would let us alone…”

Eddie regrets his words immediately, and he knows he’ll regret them even more lately. It just sucks to not be able to forget Steve, to be forced to witness how he’s growing up into a handsome man, to know all the girls' names he has been dating. It’s a specific kind of torture he never knew he was supposed to get used to.

Steve grimaces and, for a moment, Eddie thinks he’s going to approach them and separates them for the way Steve is looking at him.

In a better world, Steve and him would still be friends and maybe something more. In this world, though, Steve turns around and leaves them alone, the door shutting closed again with a soft click.Eddie shouldn’t feel disappointed about the fact that Steve didn’t even close the door with a hard, loud slam.

James says that he can’t do this now, after the interruption, obviously worried about his own name, if Steve decides to talk about what he has seen…

“He’s not going to say anything,” Eddie reassures him, even if he’s not completely sure about it either.

“He better not, Munson, or you’ll be the one suffering the consequences, you hear me? I can’t… Fuck, Stacy can’t know…”

“Stacy?”

“My girlfriend, you fag,” James spits. “Don’t talk to me again.”

James leaves him alone in the gym and Eddie sighs, unsure about how to feel. He knew that being into men it was going to be hell, he just thought he’d have more time to enjoy little things.

The day after his birthday, basically the whole high school is throwing weird glances at him. In his locker there is written, in bright, red letters, cocksucker. Great. If at least he had the chance to suck a cock…

Steve Harrington gives him a worried, sympathetic look on his way to his class. In a corner, James Wheatly and Tommy H - and his insufferable girlfriend - are laughing at him. Eddie knows that it wasn’t Steve who opened his mouth nor who wrote the original graffiti in his locker door. But Steve did nothing to stop them from doing it, either.

Eddie’s heart breaks even more, but well, he can survive whatever life throws at him.

It’s almost Christmass, finally 1983 is coming to an end - fucking finally.

It has been hard, with the Byers kid disappeared - he found him dead and then he was alive? That was insane, man -, but it was good to know that Byers Big Brother, Jonathan - handsome, nerd boy - fought against Steve and won.

Eddie didn’t want to feel the urge to come to Steve and help him with his swollen, wounded face, but the heart wants what it wants; he’s proud at least that he didn’t run to him to actually do it. It’s something.

And then that poor girl, Barbara. Eddie didn’t know her but fuck, it’s still scary.

He survives thanks to his DnD club and his band, Corroded Coffin, and after all, he supposes that he’s doing great if he’s still alive and with friends and hobbies to keep his mind occupied.

People still call him fag and other things, but well. When uncle Wayne discovers all this shit that is going on with his nephew and asks him, Eddie confesses his sins, a lump in his throat. This is when you kick me out too, Eddie thinks the whole time.

“Is this why you and that kid, Harrington, are not friends anymore?” His uncle asks, and Eddie nods, expecting the worst.

His uncle reaches to him and hugs him fiercely.

“I’m going to talk with the headmaster of that shithole that is Hawkins High School, and the next time talk to me about this, Eddie, please, I don’t want them to hurt you.”

Eddie cries his heart out, clinging to his uncle in that tight hug, and he can’t help but to feel grateful. His life is shit, sure, but it could be so much worse that he feels sick about thinking about it.

The start of 1984 is not better.

It’s kind of ironic to see Jonathan Byers scowling at Steve and his girlfriend, Nancy, the same way Eddie scowls at them, just for different reasons. Jonathan, poor boy, is longing for Nancy Wheeler just as himself is longing for Steve Harrington.

It’s also the year Eddie starts making really, truly horrible decisions. He starts hanging out with the wrong people, the smell of weed is not as bad after a few tries, and the weird sensation like being floating frees his mind.

He lies to himself, saying that he doesn’t care for Harrington anymore, telling himself that his heart is not clenching every time he drives around the city and finds Steve taking care of a curly haired kid.

Eddie learns about other things in his spare time. Now he wears a black bandana on his left pocket, and… it’s not perfect, but he has a different kind of fun.

There are more guys like him out there.

What if he once thought about having a loving, meaningful first time with someone who loves him and who he loves back? Mindless, senseless sex is just as good.

His focus problems are worse than ever, and he can spend hours playing his guitar and thinking about his next DnD campaign, or not wanting anything with the things that make him happy for weeks. He feels restless and fidgety, and he fails miserably on every test.

But he knows, his life is about to change.

Eddie starts to believe that Hawkins is, indeed, cursed.

Every day more and more people disappear without leaving a trail, just to be found dead weeks later after July the 4th.

The big ass mall Starcourt is eaten by flames.

He knows that Steve has been working there the whole summer, and he can’t express how relieved he is when his uncle tells him that Steve is safe and sound, even if a lot of people died that night, Chief Hopper among them.

Eddie tries to distract himself, even if he’s scared as fuck.

He decides to adopt the new outcasts that come to Hawkins High; he recognises immediately the curly-haired boy, Steve’s friend or whatever. The kid has a wide grin and a pure heart and fuck, he’s brilliant. Dustin Henderson, huh, of course the kid can’t stop talking about Steve.

Eddie does care about it, but Dustin digs his way to Eddie’s heart so fucking easily that Eddie allows him, well, everything, even when the teen introduces Erica Sinclair to the Hellfire Club.

Those kids are something else, man, and Eddie can’t help but accept them. He always wanted little brothers and this is the closest thing; he vows to protect them as long as he can, here in their small DnD club that people claim is a satanic cult.

Chrissy. Such a wonderful, lovely girl, oh if he just were straight he could fall in love with her. And she dies in front of him.

No.

That’s not dying. That’s being tortured, for some invisible, allmighty form.

He’s hiding.

He’s holding a broken bottle to Steve’s throat.

The Upside Down.

…

He’s dying in the Upside Down, he’s telling Dustin that this is his year. 1986, baby. He can feel it.

Now.

“He wakes up and falls again, I don’t know what to do.”

“The wounds are all clean, Steve, you did a great job,” another voice says, a girl.

“I can’t even have him awake enough so he can take the painkillers, what if this is not enough? We can’t take him to the hospital.”

“He doesn’t have a fever anymore, that’s a good sign, right?” Another female voice.

They all sound distressed and worried, and fuck, it seems like they’re worried about him.

“He needs time to recover, and you need to rest. I’ll stay with him, ok?”

Eddie is tired, but for once, he thinks he’s alive.

His body hurts too much to be dead, fuck it, and his mind has been spiraling over and over a single thought since the last time he was awake enough that words made sense.

Steve Harrington is worried about you, can’t die now, you need to wake up, Eddie. Wake up. For Steve.

He wants to hate himself for being like this, for being still in love with his childhood best friend. Oh, Eddie is into S&M, sure, but this is a whole next level of masochism, this will to keep himself alive despite the hard work the demobats took with him, just to know how things would be now with Steve.

Eddie is not the innocent twelve years old who kissed him once. Eddie survived middle school and, well, he survived more or less through high school. He’s a great DM and leader of the Hellfire Club, he’s a fucking amazing guitarist and a freak, and an okayish drug sealer.

He can remember stepping into Steve’s personal space and he can remember feeling that old friendship renewed between them both. Steve wearing his Dio’s vest.

Steve, shirtless, just his vest and some improvised bandages.. Fuck, Steve is hairy now, far hairer than him.

“Fuck,” Eddie groans out loud, his body reacting by itself, ignoring all his wounds and headache and hunger and, well, his state can only be worse if he was actually dead.

“Eddie!”

Again that bear hug, but now Eddie knows is real.

“Hey, it’s ok, it’s ok,” Eddie manages to say. He made it, he’s alive if only to see Steve for one last time. “I’m fine.”

“You’re awake, I need to tell the kids… Fuck, Nancy was here just a moment ago, I.. fuck! You’re awake!” Steve has again that restless energy and that father-of-the-year attitude that Eddie finds endearing.

But Nancy? Oh yes, Eddie tried to convince Steve to fight for her, since he’s clearly after her still. Well, he wanted to be supportive, and it’s not like he has a chance, right? Maybe he and Steve can be friends now that he’s not a total jerk. It will hurt but…

“Eddie? Fuck, do you have a concussion? Answer me, dude.”

“I’m ok, Harrington, relax…”

“I asked you what do you want to eat, you need to eat something to take the painkillers, but if you have a con-”

“I don’t have a concussion, I promise, I… I’ll eat whatever, thank you, I’m just fine with whatever, you know.”

Steve makes a pained sound. He doubts for a moment before leaving Eddie alone, like he doesn’t want to.

Bit by bit, Steve tells everything to Eddie.

Steve describes the scene the best he can: Eddie dying, laying on the dirty ground, demobats all around them, Dustin nursing him while Steve protected them both.

Shortly after, the demobats started falling into the ground, dead, and the ever-present storm produced a deafening thunder then. The magical girl, Eleven or Jane or whatever defeated Vecna-Henry-One in his own mind, and saved Max, the day, and they all.

Steve carried his body to their world then, Robin and Nancy were barely able to keep Dustin from Eddie’s lifeless body during the trip home.

“We thought we lost you, man,” Steve says softly, sitting at the edge of the bed where Eddie is still laying, propped against pillows. “Dustin was crying, Nancy and Robin looked like they were about to faint, and you… “

Steve swallows and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down his throat. Eddie shouldn’t be focusing on that but alas.

“You were unconscious, a dead weight on my arms, your hair brushing my arm and it felt like barbed wire, I swear, it was unreal. So pale, so… “

Dead.

“And I couldn’t stop thinking about… everything. About what you said to me about Nancy and me, about our friendship, about Dustin and the kids…”

Now Eddie is who has his mouth dry. Good to know that his almost death is what made Steve think about what he wants in his life: his wife, his six kids - yeah, Eddie heard that, he still swears it hurt more than the demobats attacking him -, his adopted kids that are now growing up…

Eddie braces himself to hear it, to hear that his almost death was good for Steve because now he knows that life is short and that he’s going to ask Nancy to marry him or whatever.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie.”

What?

“What?”

“I promised you to protect you but I left you alone, I left our friendship die because I’m a fucking coward, and I don’t pretend you to forgive me or to even being friends again, because fuck, why would you?” Steve is rambling, trying to stay calm but he’s not. His hands are again fidgeting and for the first time Eddie sees it. One of his rings is on Steve’s little finger, and Steve is playing with him to keep the composure.

“It’s ok, I understand…” Eddie says. He really does understand Steve, and he knows about unrequited love and after what happened during the last month, he had the chance to see for himself that Steve Harrington had changed for real. Now he’s the older version of that ten years old kid he met once, the kid that was his friend: open and confident and kind and good. Steve has grown up and has taken care of childs that are not his, just because it was the right thing to do.

Steve is now a good man; he never was a bully, but he had bully friends, and Eddie believes in second chances.

Eddie can forgive him for making bad decisions, just as he did as well. That’s what youth is, right? To be a teenage and be dumb as fuck and then learn of your mistakes.

“I should never have stopped to be your friend, Eddie, I missed you so much, and then it was too late and then…”

“And then the Upside Down happened…” Eddie finishes for him, and Steve nods. “It’s ok, Steve, hey, really. I’m alive, the bad guy is dead and you have your happy little family again, it’s like the stories I used to write or… Or my DnD campaigns. Happy endings and all that jazz, right? Everything is fine.”

Steve snorts.

“Is it okay if we’re friends again? I… I know I messed up everything and I promise to make it up to you, Eddie, I’m not that asshole anymore, or I try not to be at least.”

“Of course it’s ok… Fuck, Steve, maybe you can even help to be one of the popular boys now that we’re friends again!” Eddie jokes, and he laughs seeing Steve’s grimace at that, it’s worth it even if he coughs and his ribs make him gasp in pain.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #happy ending #steddie fanfic #everyone lives au

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darthkruge · 3 years

Text

Anakin Skywalker x Reader ~ Help

Summary: The five times the Senator!Reader needs Anakin’s help but refuses to ask for it and the one time they do

Warnings: Language, reader is afraid of vulnerability, reader is going through it, angst, violence, fluff (it ends on a positive note, I promise)

Words: 4k

A/N: This idea has kinda been bouncing around my head for a hot minute and I finally decided to just go ahead and write it. And somehow it became the longest fic I’ve ever written! Is this self-indulgent? Who’s to say?!

(not my gif)

Okay, so a right, then a left, then another left, then-

You groaned. You’d been going over the cryptic instructions Padme gave you back at the temple but they were, unfortunately, not helping. It was your first time alone in Coruscant and you were completely lost in the painfully literal sense. You had just been given your first actual mission with the Council as a senator, something you’d worked your entire career for. As an added bonus, you were on the same planet as your boyfriend, Anakin Skywalker.

You’d gotten close over the last year and were elated when he asked you on a date the last time you were in the same place. This was the first time you were together in the two weeks it had been since then.

Anyway, you were currently wandering around the bustling Coruscant streets, looking for the market. Well, you were looking for the market. Now, you realized you would probably never find it and were just trying to make your way back.

You debated calling Anakin. You could. He would be able to guide you home easily, you rationalized. But it’s Coruscant! How difficult could it be? If people came here for missions all the time and didn’t get hopelessly lost, so could you! And Anakin was probably busy anyway, you didn’t want to disturb him. Besides, the relationship was so new! You didn’t want to annoy him. After weighing the odds, you pushed down the urge to reach out and decided to just find your own way.

This logic was ridiculous, you realized far too late. Fuck. There was no way around it, you were going to be late. Or at the very least, cut it exceptionally close. You started running, heart racing. It would be so stupid to be late to your first actual Council meeting because you got lost. You wanted them to take you seriously and think of you as a professional. Tardiness as a first impression went against all of that!

After sprinting and taking several aimless turns, by some stroke of magic you found your way to the Temple. You checked the time and realized you had two minutes to make it to up several flights of stairs.

Fuck it. You decided, taking off in a run. You took the stairs two at a time, stumbling occasionally before unceremoniously bursting through the doors to the meeting.

You gulped in air quickly, chest heaving while you desperately tried to calm your heart. You inelegantly brushed a hand through your hair and gave an awkward smile.

“Hi, uh, everyone! Hi! I’m,” You took a quick break to breathe in some more oxygen as your gaze shifted to Anakin. He looked amused and concerned as he took you in. He gave you a discreet and supportive smile and head nod. You gave your own in return. He believes in me. “I’m Senator Y/N L/N”

II.

Honestly, you didn’t know how your speeder had broken. You’d been flying them for years and, despite being a senator, you were pretty damn good at it. It was something that gave you solace as a kid, those little moments of freedom. Even then, though, you were a decently cautious person and didn’t break many of them.

Thus, you ended up in your current predicament. Staring at the fried wires under the hood of your speeder, trying to figure out what the fuck went wrong. You knew Anakin was freakishly talented at fixing basically everything. He could probably look at the speeder for 10 minutes, know what’s wrong with it, and get it back to you in perfect shape.

You think this is why you don’t want to tell him. What if he thought you were stupid? Shouldn’t you be able to figure this out yourself? You fought with your instincts, feeling the conflict build inside you.

You knew he wouldn’t judge you. You knew he’d be glad you came to him for help. Even so, you felt physically incapable of moving to call or find him.

Frustrated, you turned back to your work. You decided to pull this one gear, thinking it might do something. Well, you were right about that. A stream of oil sprayed out of the speeder, coating you in its thick, black paint. You stood there frozen for a second, trying to mentally comprehend that you had just been sprayed with oil because you were too afraid to talk to the man you were in a literal relationship with!!

You groaned, wiping your hands on your pants before grabbing a towel to wipe some of the grease off your face. You walked back into your apartment quickly, praying to the Maker that no one would see you like this. Honestly, they’d probably smell you first and run the other way.

You finally got back without problems and made a bee-line straight to the bathroom. Pulling off your clothes and turning on the hot shower, you sighed as you finally felt the oil washed off your skin. You spent about twenty minutes in there, scrubbing furiously to ensure you didn’t smell like a fucking garage.

Finally, you went out and saw Anakin sitting on your bed, messing with a piece of wiring.

“Hey, Y/N! Did you know your speeder was broken? It looks like you blew a cable, easy fix, don’t worry. I’ll have it ready for you by tonight.”

He looked up and saw your exhausted state and the clump of dirty, grease ridden clothes you were holding.

His brow furrowed, trying to piece it together. “Maker, what happened to you?”

“I had a fight with the speeder. And lost”

Anakin bit back a laugh before his confusion compounded. “Wait, you know I can fix this, right? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was an idiot. I mean, I did something and broke an entire speeder and somehow didn’t even know what I broke! It’s humiliating!”

“Cables are hard, it’s not your fault you didn’t know what to do, love.”

“Really?” You asked, unconvinced.

“Really. Come on, let’s go throw those clothes in the wash and I’ll get back to fixing this.”

“Oh, no, Ani you don’t have to-”

Anakin cut you off with a kiss, distracting you enough to quickly take the clothes from your hands.

“I’ll have it ready within the hour, my love.”

III.

Who the fuck decided to put the plates that high up?!

You jumped again and again, arm outstretched as far as possible. Once again, you didn’t even get close. Sighing, you looked around the apartment and noticed a ladder. It looked a bit unsteady but you would be fine, right? You were a whole ass senator, you were sure you could handle an old ladder.

Pulling it over to you, you climbed up and reached out. Much closer this time, but you still couldn’t reach them. You went on your tiptoes, eyebrows furrowed and lip bit in concentration. You angled your body just a little further, a little further-

The ladder was suddenly ripped out from under you and you desperately shot your arms out, hands clawing to try and stop your imminent fall onto the hard kitchen tiles. Bracing yourself for the inevitable pain, you squeezed your eyes closed.

“Y/N!!” You heard as your fall suddenly stopped. You opened your eyes and noticed you were barely floating above the floor. Anakin ran toward you and noticed the ladder strewn on the floor beside you.

“What the hell were you doing?” He said, offering you his hand and pulling you up.

“I was just-” You gesture lamely to the plates, realizing how ridiculous you must look.

“Y/N, no one can reach those! Next time, just call me, I’ll get them for you!”

“But-” You sigh, hating this. “I wanted to be able to do this, I don’t want to rely on you and your Jedi powers all the time”

Anakin’s gaze softened. He knew you had trouble relying on others. Even so, he couldn’t even start to think of what would have happened if he’d arrived home even 10 seconds later.

“I know, baby, I know. But, please, try. You’d have to rely on me a lot more if you break your legs falling off a ladder.”

“I know” You reply softly, giving him a shy smile. “I’m working on it, I promise”

IV.

You’d been up all night working on a new presentation for the Council. You’d spent hours going over it, the facts, the plans, the details. Everything was set. Well, everything except one little piece. To make your point stronger, you needed the statistics from the latest Jedi missions.

The only people with access to those were Anakin and Obi-Wan. You knew, logically, that if you asked Anakin he’d give them to you without hesitation. He supported you always and knew that you only used your power as a senator to improve lives.

Even so, there was that part of your brain that told you he wouldn’t give them to you. He would think you’re just trying to use him for his connections as a Jedi. Or perhaps he simply wouldn’t care enough to search through the reports to find the information.

All of this was, of course, completely inaccurate. But you’d never had someone who actually wanted to help you. It's always been “okay I’ll do this for you but only if you do this for me, too.” No one ever looked out for you and you’d grown accustomed to it. It’d become almost comforting, in a way. At least you knew what to expect.

This was how you ended up seeing your beautiful boyfriend across the halls of the Jedi temple and walking another way. Your heart tugged painfully and your brain screamed at you. Why don’t you allow yourself to trust him? Why would you assume the worst? Why can’t you fight these thoughts?

You took one more look back at him. You didn’t want to be closed off by any stretch of the imagination. You wished you could turn off the thoughts and the doubt. You knew Ani didn’t deserve it. You sighed. There he was, training by himself in the courtyard. You looked away and took a moment to compose yourself before your legs carried you away and toward your good friend.

“Hey, Obi-Wan, could you help me with something for the next Council meeting?”

You were running. You were running and as fast as you moved, you never got closer to him. You were never safe. A masked figure was chasing you and you just couldn’t get away. Your legs burned with the effort, your lungs straining to grasp oxygen. You were exhausted to your core, your sheer panic the only thing keeping you awake.

You looked back and saw the man gaining on you. Tears started streaming down your cheeks. You knew what he was capable of and had no doubt he would kill you if he caught you. You didn’t want to die, not like this. You didn’t want him to beat you. You were so, so scared. You screamed as he caught up to you, your body no longer moving. You pleaded with your legs to work, reasoned with the heavens, did anything you could, and yet you wouldn’t budge.

The stranger’s claw of a hand twisted around your neck, squeezing. You fought. It was pointless. You began to black out, feeling the life slip out of your body. Dark spots appeared in the corners of your vision and you tried once again to kick your way out of his grasp-

You bolted awake, eyes shooting open. Your chest was heaving and tear stains marked your cheeks. You placed your hands on the bed sheets, bunching them up and trying to feel the texture to remind yourself that you were safe. You tried to breathe, tried to calm yourself but nothing was working.

You got up, pacing quietly. Out of all the nights to have a nightmare, it had to be today. The one night you and Anakin weren’t together. Since you had to hide the relationship, you couldn’t technically share an apartment. This didn’t stop you from spending basically every night together, though. His chambers became yours after the first month or so of dating, neither of you wanting to spend time apart.

But, unfortunately, the Council seemed more cautious as of late and you didn’t want to risk it. Thus, you decided to spend tonight apart. Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to care right now. You grabbed one of his Jedi robes, pulling the black fabric around your body. You were immediately calmed by his scent and wrapped it closer around you. You started to make your way down the hall. You knew it was risky but after that nightmare, you just needed him.

You made it to his apartment, went to knock on the door, and abruptly stopped. What are you doing? You can’t just go to him! He’s exhausted, he’s been working all week! He finally got home from a mission and you want to wake him up in the middle of the night because you had a nightmare? It wasn’t even real! Maker, get a hold of yourself, Y/N!

Your hand hovered over the door. You wanted him, you did. But those lingering thoughts, those lingering emotions remained. A childhood of neglect, of constant feelings of unimportance left scars you couldn’t avoid. You hated that your parent’s inability to show you affection or care manifested in your inability to be vulnerable. Despite this, you somehow understood. You’d spent years letting them in and only getting invalidated in return. Like all patterns, this one wouldn’t go away just because you wanted it to.

Now, every time you tried to let Anakin in, it’s like an alarm was tripped in your brain. Every part of you that wanted to allow him to know you was combated with the overwhelming fear that, if you did, if you went to him for comfort or help, he would think of you as a burden. He’d leave, just like the rest of them did. So you pushed the urge for comfort aside, dropped your hand, and made the lonely walk back to your room.

You got back to your room, mentally beating yourself up. You wished your brain worked differently. You wished you would allow yourself to be loved. You wished you could trust, fully and completely. You sighed. Knowing you wouldn’t be getting any sleep, you made yourself a cup of tea and sat on your cough, the room solely illuminated by the moonlight. You kept Anakin’s robes around you, wishing it was his arms. You sat like that until morning, sipping the drink on and off until it grew cold. You were zoned out, staring out the window at the Coruscant traffic. Your thoughts either drifted to him or your past trauma. Maker, you wished you could change it.

Fuck. You’d been driving around on your speeder, zipping in and out of alleys, for the last twenty minutes. There was a bounty hunter after you. A damn good bounty hunter, at that. Being a high profile senator, it made sense you’d run into the occasional person trying to kidnap you. Or kill you.

Damn, this bitch is good. You kept trying to lose them but you couldn’t shake them. You didn’t even know who they were but it didn’t matter, you supposed. At the end of the day, regardless of who was in that speeder, they wanted you dead. And if you didn’t figure out how to get out of this mess, you would be.

They’d been shooting at you for a while now but you’d been able to avoid the blasts. Whether it was skill, luck, or a combination of both, you weren’t sure. Even so, you didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t shoot back at them, as you stupidly forgot your blaster. Who could blame you, though? All you wanted to do was go for a ride to clear your head, you didn’t expect to be fucking shot at!

You continued like this for a while. All you had to do was get back to the Temple. You were probably about 10 minutes away if you continued at this pace, 7 if you really pushed it. You looked ahead and saw the walls of it come into view and suddenly safety didn’t feel so far away. Despite the circumstances, a smile graced your face. You could do this.

Or maybe not. As you tried to swerve between more buildings, they hit you. You felt your speeder plummet 10 feet instantly and screamed. Your engine sputtered and your heart dropped. Mind racing, you tried to drive but came to the chilling realization that there was no way you’d make it back. Your engine was done for, it wouldn’t make it 3 minutes, yet alone all the way back.

Your mind went to him. Anakin. Fuck, you loved him. You let out a humorless laugh. Since you started dating, you almost never asked him for help. You couldn’t let him in. Something in your brain stopped you every single time. And yet, now, all of that felt stupid. It felt juvenile. When you looked at your speeder, slowly but surely stalling and the bounty hunter approaching, you felt this overwhelming sense of clarity.

You were going to die. This person, they would get to your speeder and shoot you. You didn’t have a single weapon. It was inevitable. Your mind, however, wouldn’t relent. It was stuck on him. In this moment, you pressed the comm button in your speeder, hoping beyond hope that it would still work.

“Y/N?” Anakin’s staticky voice cut through the speeder and went straight to your heart.

“Hey, Ani” You said, your voice broken up with unshed tears.

“Y/N? Where are you? What’s happening?”

“I’m- Anakin, I’m in trouble. A bounty hunter is after me, my speeder is hit and going to stop working probably within the next 20 seconds. I don’t have any weapons to defend myself. I, I, uh, I need your help”

“I’m coming to get you, stay where you are.” His voice was firm, his need to protect you overruling everything else in his body.

“I’m just a few-”

“I’ve got you, love. I can sense you in the Force. I know where you are”

Of course he could. You took a few deep breaths and you speeder sputtered out, stopping in a deserted alleyway. You looked around and saw the bounty hunter, now obviously male, stepping out and making his way towards you.

“He’s here, Anakin” Your voice was tight, anxious. You were quiet, paralyzed by fear.

“Please, Y/N, fuck! Hold on, I’m almost there”

“Ani, Anakin I’m scared! Ani! Ani!” You were hysterical now, screaming and sobbing his name as the man punched the top of your speeder, fracturing the glass. He pulled you out of it by the hair and threw you harshly onto the concrete.

You yelped in pain as he kicked you directly in the ribs. He backhanded you across the face, the power from his hit making blood pool in your mouth. Harshly you spit it onto the ground, looking up at him with pure hate.

He placed the blaster to your head, right on your forehead. You let your eyes flutter closed. Your knees were scraped, legs bruised. You were sure at least one of your ribs was broken. You could feel blood running from your temple. Your arm was radiating pain from landing on it. Despite all this, the only thing you thought of was Anakin. Funny, you thought, how the brain chooses what to focus on in its last moments. All you hoped was that he didn’t feel responsible for your death. All you hoped was that he knew you loved him.

“You’re finished, Senator”

“I don’t think so” Anakin’s smooth voice, tight with anger, cut through the air. His lightsaber unsheathed, he swung it directly into the man. You gasped, everything happening so quickly. As soon as the blaster was gone from your forehead, you scrambled back.

Anakin walked up to you but, from the shock, you pulled back even further.

“Hey, hey, it’s me, it’s Anakin, okay? I’m not gonna hurt you”

You whimpered, looking at him and placing a hand on his jacket before harshly jumping into his arms. He gripped you to him, both of you sighing in relief.

“You came for me”

He looked at you like you were insane. “Of course I did! You needed me, you called! I’m always going to be there for you, Y/N. I am always going to show up”

“Thank you” You said, voice muffled against his chest. His hands raked through your hair while you just breathed him in. His scent comforted you, his strong chest and large arms grounding you after a day so intense and horrifying that nothing felt real.

You were still trembling, the aftershocks quite apparent.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you. You’re safe, he’s dead, he’s gone. No one’s ever gonna hurt you again, I promise.” Anakin whispered these affirmations into your hair, holding you until the shaking ceased.

“Thank you for calling me, Y/N. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“It wasn’t that hard, to be honest, I- wait? What do you mean, you know it couldn’t have been easy for me?!”

Anakin looked at your sheepishly. “You honestly think I haven’t noticed your problems with asking for help? We’ve been together for almost a year and, contrary to popular belief, I can be quite perceptive. I didn’t want to call you out on it, I assumed you’d be embarrassed. But I’m glad that when it actually came down to life or death, you called me.”

“I’ve always known I could call you, Anakin. Please, I don’t want you to ever think my inability to be vulnerable is rooted to anything you do. You’re, fuck, you’re perfect. You’re kind and compassionate and caring and you’re always looking out for me. Look, I know I haven’t been too open about my past and I still struggle with that. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve never had someone who actually wanted to be there for me. This thing where you care and want me to come to you when I’m hurting or simply just want affection or company or help with the little things, it’s foreign to me.”

Ani’s heart broke at your words. “I’m sorry I didn’t know you back then, Y/N. I hate that this” He said, gesturing between you both “is unique to you. But, seriously, anytime you need anything I’m someone you can come to. I honestly want you to come to me. Regardless of if you think it’s something small or this life-altering favor, ask me. I doubt I’d turn you away and, on the off chance I do, I’m not gonna hold that against you.”

“You won’t leave? Even if I show you all of me? Even if I rely on you?”

“I won’t leave you, beautiful. So long as you allow me to show you all of me, too. And you let me rely on you, too.”

Your eyes widened at his words. “Of course! Of course, Ani! I’m here for you, I got you, too, always.”

“I know you do” His flesh hand went up, cupping your cheek.

“I know you do, too.” You sighed into his touch. You were exhausted beyond belief, your body and mind pretty much shutting down from the stress of it all. Even so, you relaxed further into his body. Yeah, this was new. Yes, it was scary. But you were going to try. Even though it terrified you, you wanted to be loved. You wanted to be loved by him.

tagging julia bc she asked when i was textpost-complaining about having to edit this <3

@anakinswhore

#megan writes #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker x gn!reader #anakin skywalker x gender neutral reader #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin skywalker imagines #anakin skywalker angst #anakin skywalker fluff #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x y/n #anakin skywalker

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sunshinestrand · 3 years

Text

Drifting Beneath the Horizon

Carlos is regretting ever doubting that a hike could not be dangerous.

Written for day one of @911lonestarangstweek

[3373 words]

AO3

“Be safe, I love you.”

“I’ll promise as long as you do, I love you too.”

It’s the last thing that he and TK had said to each other as Carlos was dropping his boyfriend off at work. It’s something that the two of them had become accustomed to saying before departing for their days. Carlos remembers rolling his eyes at TK when he had said it to him that morning, TK knowing full well that Carlos was just going on a simple hike with Paul and not walking into something incredibly dangerous. But he’s regretting ever doubting that a hike could not be dangerous.

TK’s words echo in his head now as he lays on his back, staring up at the blue sky above him. It’s a beautiful sight really. But he can hardly admire it with the pain surrounding him, a feeling that he can’t quite place and when he tries to move, he’s met with a blinding pain. Black dots swim through his vision and there’s a ringing in his ears. Blinking against the sun, his vision begins to focus, though still hazy around the edges and suddenly he’s looking at Paul instead of the sky. His friend has a look of complete worry and fear in his eyes and Carlos has no idea why, they are hiking, supposed to be having fun, bonding. There should be no worry.

But when Paul’s gaze meets his, his features soften. “There you are. You scared me.”

Scared him? What would he have done to scare Paul? He didn’t mean to. “What happened?”

Carlos attempts to move again but is met with the same resistance of the pain along with a wave of nausea that nearly makes him pass out. Paul shakes his head, placing his hand onto Carlos’ shoulder. “No, don’t move, Carlos. Listen, man. You slipped from the cliff face and fell.”

Well, that would explain the pain.

“I did?” Carlos asks. He doesn’t remember. In fact, he hardly remembers getting to the hiking trail in the first place. Carlos looks to Paul who seems to come to this realisation and his look of worry grows.

“Can you tell me what hurts?” Paul asks.

“Something tells me you already know.” Carlos whispers and he tries his hardest to focus on his breathing, on keeping his eyelids from drifting closed.

“Just humour me, Reyes.”

Carlos closes his eyes for a moment, trying to come up with an answer but finds that he’s very much unable to think, the thumping in his head having become more persistent. But for a single moment, he thinks he can feel blood on the side of his face, he wills away that thought and reopens his eyes.

“My head.” He mumbles finally.

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Paul says and Carlos feels pressure, along with softness against his skin. He flinches at the sensation and tries to move away. “I’m sorry, I have to try and stop the bleeding. I think it would be a safe bet to assume you have a concussion. Anything else hurt?”

Carlos goes back into his own mind, attempting to figure out if there truly is anything else but he comes up empty. He can’t really feel anything, which both relieves and scares him at the same time.

He decides on telling half the truth. “I can’t feel any other pain.”

Paul nods. “Alright, do me a favour and hold this to your head, okay? I’m just going to grab my cell from the backpack and see if I can call for help.”

Carlos slowly nods, the motion causing the nausea to return, hitting him hard. He bites back hard on the sickness as he raises a hand, taking Paul’s place in holding the cloth to his head. Paul moves from beside him and over to where Carlos assumes he had dropped his pack. He focuses on listening to what is happening, intent on staying awake. Having a paramedic as a boyfriend has surely given him the awareness he needs when it comes to concussions. But he struggles more and more, his eyes growing heavy with each passing minute and he slowly begins to slip, feeling his hand fall away.

“Whoa.” Paul says, alerting Carlos back to reality and he opens his eyes. He then feels the softness as the cloth is pushed back against his head again. “Hey, Carlos. Are you still with me?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” He whispers.

“Okay, you have to stay awake, alright? It’s almost over.” Paul says before he mumbles a curse. Carlos tilts his head to look and he sees Paul staring down at his phone in frustration. “I can’t get a signal.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Paul chuckles lightly. “Yeah, it’s not ideal, that's for sure. I might - ah, nevermind.”

“What?”

“I just might be able to get some further up, but I’m not going to leave you here.”

“Yes you can.” Carlos says, too quickly for his own liking. He didn’t really want to be left alone but if it meant getting home and onto something more comfortable than a rock ledge, he’d be okay with that. “You have to go, Paul.”

“No, Carlos. I can’t do that. You’re hurt, I can’t just leave you here by yourself. Don’t even think about trying it, Reyes, you may be concussed but that won’t stop me from arguing with you.”

Carlos laughs, it’s barely there and it takes more power than he originally thought. “I’m tired.”

“I know you are, man. But you have to stay awake. I’m sure someone will come along eventually.”

He knows that Paul is simply trying to make him feel better but Carlos is sure he only saw two people walking and it had been in the opposite direction. But he wasn’t sure how long ago that would have been. He blinks a few times and the ringing is back in his ears, annoying him out of closing his eyes and going into the darkness. Carlos looks up and back to the sky, hoping and praying that someone will come along for them.

***

Carlos isn’t sure how long it’s been since he had fallen, having lost all sense of time. But the sky above him is now dark, stars dotting it and he thinks it must have been a few hours. Paul sits beside him, tending to his head wound and Carlos finds that his limbs are beginning to grow numb. Well, at least he can feel them now. He tries shifting, but finds that there’s a weakness in his limbs that prohibits them from moving. Paul seems to understand what he’s trying to do and so he helps him into a sitting position and leaning him back to the wall behind him.

“Thanks.” Carlos whispers, his voice thick with exhaustion and pain.

“You’re welcome. How are you feeling?” Paul asks as he reaches into the backpack for the water bottles.

“I’m okay. Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Where are we?”

Paul looks at him, freezing in his task of drinking from the bottle and he swallows hard. “You don’t remember?”

“No, not really.”

Carlos’ voice sounds weird to his own ears, like a different person’s words are coming from his mouth. “You hit your head and have a potentially severe concussion.”

Carlos frowns and lifts a hand to brush over where Paul had set gauze onto the wound on his head from the first aid kit. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Okay, I’m going to try for service again.”

Carlos nods and leans his head back, closing his eyes. It’s a welcomed relief that doesn’t last for long as he feels Paul’s hand on his shoulder. “Just five minutes.”

“No, Carlos. You can’t. I know it’s hard, man. But you just have to stay with me. Shit, there’s still nothing.”

“You’ll have to go higher up for service.” Carlos mumbles as he opens his eyes once again, looking to where Paul is staring at him. “What?”

There’s a look in Paul’s eyes that Carlos hasn’t quite seen come from the other man before but he isn’t totally sure what it is. It takes a moment for him to speak.

“We already talked about this, Carlos. I am not leaving you here.”

Carlos certainly can’t remember the conversation but he knows that whatever version of him had it would have been saying the same thing. “You have to, Paul. It’s the only way and it’s not fair for you to be out here just for the sake of me.”

"It's not fair to you to be left alone here."

Carlos tries his best to throw him a look despite the weakness he is feeling. "That's a pretty poor argument, Strickland."

Paul seems to hesitate for a moment, staring down at the phone in his hands before he takes a deep breath. "Are you sure? I really don't think it's a good idea."

"I'm sure. It's the only way we will get out of this mess."

Another moment of hesitancy passes before Paul finally looks up at him. "Okay, if you're sure. I will climb up and as soon as I find it, I'll be back. I promise."

"I trust you." Carlos whispers and he tries his hardest to push out a smile. "Now go."

Paul stands and throws his backpack over his shoulder, before making his way towards the ledge. He stops in his steps, turning back.

"Don't die on me, Reyes." He says and it sounds a whole lot like a threat.

Carlos manages to chuckle dryly. "I can't. TK would kill me."

Paul nods, giving him a smile before he turns and disappears from Carlos' sight. The moment he leaves, Carlos finds himself relieved to finally be able to close his eyes and go into the darkness.

***

Carlos dreams; the first is when he was a kid, sitting in the living room with his father watching a baseball game, both of them screaming at the TV. The second is when he was a teenager, cooking in the kitchen with his mother, laughing and learning. The dreams go into memories of hanging out with friends and going to school functions. But then they switch and suddenly TK is standing in front of him, a bright smile reaching to his green eyes. Carlos can't get over how much he loves them sometimes, how much he loves TK.

But just as quick as TK is there, he's gone again, disappearing into thin air and then everything disappears, until Carlos is left with only the darkness again.

***

When he opens his eyes again, he's met with a gaze that he adores so much. A gaze full of love and comfort. TK. Carlos can't help but to smile at the sight of him and he reaches up to bring a shaking hand to TK's cheek.

"Are you really here?"

TK leans into his touch, nodding his head. "I am. We've got you, baby."

Carlos nods and his gaze moves upwards, hoping to find the sky but instead finds the top of what looks like a vehicle. As he moves it again, he finds that TK is in his paramedic uniform.

"Is Paul okay?" Carlos asks.

"Yeah, he's okay. Don't worry, he's on his way back with Judd. Everything is okay."

"You gave us quite the scare, Reyes." He hears Nancy say from his other side. He nods, taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes.

"Hey, I need you to keep your eyes on me, Carlos. We'll be there soon and then you can rest. But right now, I need to see those eyes that I love so much." TK says, tapping his shoulder.

But Carlos can't open his eyes and suddenly he loses control of everything. He can hear TK and Nancy talking, TK's voice sounding more frantic and all Carlos wants to do is reach out. But he can't. He can't do anything but sit and wait as his body continues to convulse before everything goes completely silent. Then nothing.

***

TK shifts for the third time in the uncomfortable hospital chair, pulling his knees up to his chest before reaching over to grab Carlos’ hand again. It’s been four hours since Carlos had been brought into the hospital, his seizure having upgraded his condition from moderate to severe. But despite the doctors telling him that they are hopeful, Carlos still has yet to wake up. TK stares at his boyfriend, the way that his chest rises and falls as he takes slow and easy breaths. He moves his hand until his fingers find Carlos’ pulse point and when he feels the gentle thrum, he feels relief wash over him.

A knock at the door startles him from his thoughts and he turns to look, finding Paul standing in the doorway, a tray with two cups of coffee in one hand and a package in the other. TK tries his best to smile as a way of inviting Paul into the room and the other man approaches as TK turns back towards Carlos. Paul takes the seat next to him and holds out one of the cups.

“I got this for you.” He says and when TK takes it, he extends his other hand that is holding the plastic package, which TK can now see is a sandwich. “Also this. I know you said you weren’t hungry but I really think you should try eating.”

“Thanks.” TK whispers, taking a sip of the coffee before setting it down and fiddling with the plastic tab on the sandwich. He knows logically Paul is right, he should be eating something but every time he tries, sickness just immediately takes over.

“Has there been any change?” Paul asks.

TK shakes his head, squeezing Carlos’ hand. “No, they said they are hopeful but he hasn’t woken up. His parents are on their way.”

TK hears Paul shift in his seat before clearing his throat. “TK, I’m sorry.”

TK’s eyebrows knit together in confusion and he manages to pull his gaze away from Carlos long enough to look at his friend. “Sorry for what?”

“For leaving him. If I had just stayed with him then maybe—”

TK shakes his head, effectively stopping Paul’s words. “Then maybe he would be in a lot worse shape. You did what you had to do, Paul.”

Paul shrugs, looking down at his coffee cup. TK has never seen his friend like this, the other man is always so confident. “I don’t know.”

“I do.” TK insists. “All I know is that you helped him and brought him back to me. Everything else doesn’t matter and I’m sure that he would think the exact same thing.”

“I could have done it earlier. He tried telling me to go before but I didn’t, I let it get worse before he was totally out of it.” Paul says, shaking his head. “I should have listened to him.”

“Paul, listen to me, if I know anything it’s you will drive yourself crazy with ‘what if’s’. It is a thought process that will exhaust you. You can try all you want, but it won’t change anything. The most important part is that you are both here and that you are safe now. That’s all that matters to me, okay?”

Paul nods, taking a deep breath. “That helps.”

TK smiles. “He’s strong, he’ll make it through. And when he does, he’ll probably yell at you for thinking like this is your fault.”

Paul chuckles, shaking his head. “Oh yeah, he definitely would.”

“Seriously though,” TK says, glancing back at Carlos. “All of that was just to say thank you.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. He’s my best friend.” Paul says matter-of-factly. “I’ll always look out for him.”

“And I’m glad he has you to look out for him when I can’t.” TK whispers before turning back towards Carlos. “I just hope he wakes up soon.”

He feels Paul’s hand on his shoulder. “He will, TK. Like you said, he’s strong and besides, he did say you would kill him if he didn’t wake up.”

TK can’t help but smile, even if it is just a small one and he shakes his head. But despite it all, he can’t help but to think about how he wouldn’t be able to live if Carlos didn’t wake up. He tries hard to push the thought out of his head, but finds it lingering there, weighing him down until he feels as though he is drowning in it.

***

TK gives up trying to sleep, his mind running at a million miles. His family had left, promising to return in the morning but he insisted on being able to stay. He knows he wouldn’t be able to sleep in their bed without Carlos beside him. He settles for scrolling through his phone, his tired eyes attempting and failing to focus on something. He sighs, putting his phone on the side table before curling himself back up into the chair and resting his head on his hand, closing his eyes. “TK.”

TK hears the familiar voice and feels his heart skip a beat. He’s not sure if it’s totally real or a product of a dream, but his eyes pop back open anyway. He looks quickly to find Carlos staring at him through a half open gaze. It takes a few moments for his eyes to open fully and TK feels a wave of relief wash over him.

“Hey Carlos.” TK says, his voice gentle and he leans forwards, running his hand carefully through Carlos’ curls in hope of soothing him.

“What happened? Where am I?” Carlos asks, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds. “Why does my head hurt so bad?”

“You’re in the hospital.” TK explains. “You fell while hiking and hit your head, got yourself a pretty nasty concussion which resulted in a seizure. But the doctors say you’re going to be okay, everything will be okay. You’re safe now.”

Carlos takes a deep breath before swallowing hard. “Is Paul okay?”

“He’s fine, baby. Everything is okay, I promise. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“No,” Carlos whispers, reaching to grab TK’s free hand. “I’m good. Are you okay?”

TK chuckles, shaking his head. “Only you, Carlos Reyes, would ask me if I’m okay when you’re sitting in a hospital bed. Honestly.”

Carlos smiles and it’s one of the most wonderful sights TK has ever seen. “I can’t help it.”

“I know. I can’t help it either.” TK says. “I’m a whole lot better now that you’re here with me.”

“I’m glad.” Carlos mumbles, closing his eyes for a moment. “I saw you, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know like when you’re on the brink of death and you see your life flash before your eyes? You were there. You were the last thing that I saw, that I thought of before I went under. You were it for me, you are it for me. But I can’t tell you how relieved I am that I get to see your eyes again.”

TK feels an overwhelming sense of emotion at Carlos’ declaration and even with him attempting to hold them back, tears fall from his eyes. “You’re it for me too, Carlos. You’re everything to me. I think you’ll be everything to me for the rest of my life.”

“The rest of your life, hey?” Carlos whispers, his eyes blinking closed. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too.” TK whispers back before leaning up to place a gentle kiss to Carlos’ cheek. “Get some rest, baby.”

“Stay.” Carlos says as sleep begins to take him, his hand squeezing TK’s.

“I will. Always. I promise.”

And they are words that echo between them in that moment and that will continue to years into the future. As they spend each day falling more and more in love, TK finds that he'll always need Carlos by his side. That if anything had happened to the other man, TK was sure he'd fall completely apart. But as they sit with their hands pressed together and TK settled in as close as he can get to Carlos all those thoughts disappear. They are safe and together, and TK can be glad for that.

#911 lone star #tarlos #911lsangstweek2021 #userkimmy #userjillian #pragmaticoptimist34 #reyesstrand #userthai #userbones #userjilly #tuserjamie #ronenrubinstein #sixringss #paige writes

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nevermore-the-kitsune · 3 years

Text

Pokemon Teams for Fictional Characters pt. 2

Damian Wayne

(Also, I'm not including move sets because in my headcannon Pokemon do remember all their old moves. But humans choose to only use four)

For this AU I'm having the Wayne's own the Gotham City Gym, which specializes in Dark types. Most of the cannon events still happened. Just with a few tweaks here and there. (Dick's 20, Jason's 16, Cass is 15 Tim's 15 but younger than Cass and Damian's 13 because I love AUs where there closer in age).

Anyway here we go!

First things first in the Pokemon Universe his alias wouldn't be Robin since they don't exist. Instead I think it would be Rookidee, since thats the closest Pokemon to a Robin.

His Partner Pokemon and ace would be a Gligar

Name: Goliath

Gender: Male

Why: Gligar screams Goliath (his Batdragon) plus the coloring of his evolutions matches with Dami's Robin and Batman outfits

Story: He found Goliath while climbing a mountain for his training. At the time he was four and Goliath was a hatching. Damian ended up giving him some food, seeing that the hatching was hungry.

Grateful, the Gligar followed him hoping to return the favor.

When Damian's hand got broken on that same trip, Goliath was the one to help him finish his mission and get home safely.

Talia was impressed that Damian could tame a wild Pokemon without catching it, so she allowed him to keep him as his first Pokemon.

-----

Next he would have a Meowth

Name: Alfred

Gender: Female

Why: This one has to do with its evolution. Persian are said to only be loyal to trainers it likes and that it takes a lot to get them to like you. Their also said to be prissy and uptight. This reminded me of Damian. How it took forever for him to trust his brothers and his own snobby attitude. Thus I think it fits.

Story: After coming to live with his father Damian didn't know how to act. He saw his "brothers" and father treating their Pokemon so different than how the League did. They all trained hard. But, there was something eles: warm praise for a job well done, asking for insight on a case (they had taught their bipedal pokemon sighn language) and comfort on a bad day. His father and brothers treated their Pokemon like... people

In the League Pokemon where the lowest soldier, lower than the slaves or concubines. They trained, ate then they had to and got in their ball.

He had been a little more lenient in his training with Goliath. When asked he said that he was still a baby and he had to take things slow in this stage or he might develop too much muscle mass and be unable to fly.

He had kept him out of his ball with the excuse of developing muscle mass at a proper pace.

He liked Goliath's company. The Gligar was a good companion. But on the same level as another person?

He had expressed these thoughts to Pennyworth, the only person in the house to give him a straight answer when he needed it.

Pennyworth had explained to him that some people love to hold power over others and that Pokemon where an easy target, since they couldn't communicate their emotions as clearly as people could.

"Think of Mistress Cain. She sometimes cannot communicate with words, but we know that she's intelligent. But some people see her as less than intelligent and treat her as such because of the power it gives them."

Two weeks later Damian would come across a group of teenagers attempting to shave a Meowth. The Pokemon was little more than skin and bone and crying out on pain. So, Damian broke their fingers and shaved part of their heads for good measure.

He kept the Meowth and named her after the man who taught him about the abuse of power.

---

Next, a Poochyena

Name: Titus

Gender: Male

Why: These Pokemon and their evolution are ruthless with their pray, and only obey trainers with external skill.

Story: Raven gave Damian Titus as a gift. She said that she rescued him from an underground fighting ring (where the battles are to the death). He was still to young to battle so he didn't need much rehabilitation. The other Pokemon there though...

---

Now we have a Type Null

Name: Heretic

Gender: ???

Why: This Pokemon was created in lab, and artificial designed for the purpose of fighting, just like Damian. True I could have given him Mewtwo, but that cat seems to fit Kon more.

Story: Damian's mother had spent years creating Type: Null with the purpose of being able to kill any target. As a last test she wanted to see which of her creations was suppirrior. So she sent the Type Null out to (try and) kill her son.

Damian, with the rest of his team, beat the Pokemon but couldn't kill it. He had long since vowed to wash the blood from his hands. Instead he offered his hand to it and asked it to join him.

---

Here we have the hardest to explain... Mimikyu

Name: Habibi (I hope I spelled that right)

Gender: Female

Why: Damian is complex, he wants to be accepted and loved just like Mimikyu but dosent know how. Both try to mimic others in order to get that love, Damian his father and Mimikyu Pikachu. So I see this as Damian's spirit Pokemon in a way.

Story: He didn't know why it was so hard to fit in. Gods know he tried. But... little things confused him. Like how eveyone could understand each other without words or singhing. He had no problems with that on a battlefield, but in day to day life; it felt like he was on a separate server.

Like how Todd knew at breakfast with just a look that Drake was in a bad mood and how to help. Or how Grayson could audomadicly tell what kind of day at school the rest of them had withen a few minutes. Hell even Drake could tell what grunts ment what from father! Which ment good job, Which ment I'm glade your okay, or frustration either at them or at a case (Cass didn't surprise him, she had to learn how to communicate without words and watch body language and micro expressions).

School was no better; sometimes it was to load or bright othertimes, when everyone was doing a test, it felt to quiet. But, to much or to little, Damian was always aware of every movement, every sound. It was like the very instincts that saved his life every night where turned against him.

He turned to his nearly forgotten childhood habits to distract himself from everything around him. That only led to more whisper shouting and what even he could tell where displeased glares with a grunt of "fucking tapping" or a snap of "stop!" He knew it was disrupting but it was all be could do to drown out the noise or silence.

On one particularly bad day at school; apparently during one of their tests one of his classmates had had enough of Damian's tapping and decided to make a scene.

There was some yelling from the kid. A few cries in agreement. Before the teacher had gotten hem to settle down. He had demanded that Damian look him in the eye and when he finally did told him to stop with the tapping or else he would be sent to the office, Gym Leaders son or not.

He was the last to finish that test where he normally finished first. The silence had been to load!!

After that clusterfuck Damian finally headed home. He had texted Grayson saying that he was meeting a friend somewhere to work on a project and to not pick him up. In truth he didn't want his brother reading what kind of day he had had. He needed some time to himself.

That was how he found himself in a nearby park. It was filled with plenty of sounds that didn't suffocate him and the fall leaves where soothing to his eyes. Damian had Titus out of his ball as company, knowing that the pup loved park walks.

They had been walking for an hour when they came across a box set off just on the edge of the trail. "Free to Good Homes" was written on the side in black sharpie.

No sound was coming from inside, so he assumed that the had all been taken. Until Titus went closer sniffing at the seemingly empty box.

"Pooch Pooch"

"Hmmm... what is is it boy?" He asked as he walked closer to his Pokemon and the Box. Damian hoped he was wrong. It was cruel to leave a baby Pokemon all alone, especially since the weather was getting colder by the day.

Inside the box was in fact a lone Pokemon. At first glance it looked like a Pikachu. But something was off. It looked more like a doll than a living creature. If it wasn't for the small chirps it let out and slight way that it was shivering from the cold Damian would have written it off as a toy. No wonder it got left behind...

Damian reached down and picked up the mystery Pokemon as gently as he could.

"Come on beloved, lets go home."

He tucked the Pokemon in his jacket to warm it up before reaching for his phone to call Grayson for a ride home.

That night Damian locked himself away, even skipped patrol, and spent a sleepless night learning everything he could about his newest Pokemon.

---

That was inspired by this comic

---

Finaly, for his last spot Eevee!!

Name: Omni

Gender: Female

Why: I'm going to have all the Batfam members have an Eeveelution. This branch and the Batfam are both growing consistently. We all have our favorites but we love them all the same. So I think it fits.

Story: Everyone in the family had an Eevee or one of its evolutions. Damian's Father said that Eevee was the Wayne family symbol, it was potential, the ability to become whatever you wanted.

Though it surprised Damian that the Wayne symbol wasn't a Noibat or Noivern (Batman's ace) at first he eventually understood the logic in choosing such a Pokemon to represent the family name. That only made things harder for him being the only one not having one. Did they not truly see him as family?

On the one year anniversary of Damian arriving at The Mannor, his family through a small party. Pennyworth made his favorite foods, The Mannor was decorated in tacky streamers (Graysons' idea) and they watched some of Damian's favorite fims, their Pokemon curled up with them. His father had offered to take the day off from the gym. Until Todd suggested that Damian take on the challengers.

The Gotham gym was part of his heritage. Damian had been training for the day that he could finally help weed out the weak challengers just like his siblings sometimes did (think the battles you do before challenging a gym leader in the games).

On that day, if the challengers agreed to it, their final battle wasn't with Bruce Wayne the Dark Knight but instead his son. Most accepted thinking that it would be an easy win, that they had lucked out in not having to battle one of the stongest Gym Leaders in the League and could still get the Shadow Badge.

Those poor fools.

Damian was only allowed to use Alfred, Titus and Habibi since he used Goliath and Heretic primarily as Rookidee.

Damian fought seven trainers that day in 3v3 fights. Only two of them got the badge.

With the day overwith and the night rising, so did Gothams' protecters.

The night ended with exhausted body's and adrenaline crashes. Damian was ready to slip into a mini coma from the day he had but before he could head upstairs to The Mannor...

"Not so fast baby bat." Graysons' voice called out to him. "We got one more surprise for you."

Damian raised his eyebrow at that. What else could they do? His father came back from the locker rooms where he had been desuiting, it always took him the longest because of his "old man bones" as Todd said.

"Son," his father said "its Wayne tradition to get your first Pokemon when you turn ten years old. I missed that with you." He paused, eyes briefly shifting to the floor before they snapped back on Damian's face. "Luckily there's one tradition we didn't miss. When you've lived at The Mannor for a year or the adoption papers get finalized, I give my children this..."

He pulled a Poke'ball out of his poket and handed to Damian. "Go on son, let them out."

He did

Staring at him was his own Eevee.

---

AN: All of Damian's Pokemon (sans maybe Omni, I'm thinking of leaving her as an Eevee) will eventually evolve. Eventually.

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huilian · 3 years

Link

for @sassydefendorflower in thanks for being a mod in that chaotic environment we call a server 😆

“Robin, watch out!”

Damian turns around to find Richard jumping in front of him, intercepting the blow that one of the kidnappers aimed at Damian’s head. The bat hits Richard’s head with a sickening clang, and Damian watches almost in slow motion as Richard’s body drops onto the wooden surface of the pier.

“Nightwing!” Damian cries out in warning, but it’s too late. The bat comes down to land another hit on Richard’s unprotected head, and before Damian can incapacitate his own opponent and moves to help Richard, the man with the bat has already kicked Richard’s unconscious body out of the pier and into the murky waters of Gotham harbour.

“You’re next, little boy,” the man growls out, but Damian has had enough of playing nice. He strikes the man in front of him with a nerve strike that he very rarely uses nowadays, for fear of it being lethal, and ducks down to tackle the other man. Damian wrestles with him, and, after a few seconds of vicious struggling, grabs the bat from his hands and hits him with it.

The man goes down in an instant. Damian did not pull his punches.

He looks up, and checks that all five men of the kidnapping ring are unconscious— no time to bind them more securely, so he’s just going to have to hope that they don’t wake up— and that the shipping container that they have identified as the victims’ holding place is at a safe place. He would love to be able to free them right now, but Richard’s life takes precedence.

All of that done, Damian takes a deep breath and jumps into the icy waters of Gotham harbour. This kidnapping ring was actually smart for once, and when they realized that Nightwing and Robin had tailed them to their shipping place, they activated an EMP.

An EMP means that none of their electronics work. None of their electronics working means that Damian can’t call for backup.

He just has to hope that whoever is watching in the Cave notices that their trackers are deactivated and sends in backup. Preferably soon.

Once inside the water, Damian turns on the night-vision in his mask lenses, but even that did not help in the murky waters of Gotham harbour. He can’t see anything that is not the grey of the water and the small slivers of light that manages to come into the water in the middle of the night.

But Richard must be here. He must be. Damian will not accept any other outcome, so he must be here.

He chants that in his mind while circling around the pier, trying to find any sign of life, but still, no trace of Richard anywhere. He widens his radius, but still, he can’t see where Richard is, and his lungs are already burning with the need to breathe in. Damian could hold his breath for three minutes, in an ideal condition, but he was already breathing hard from the fight right before he jumped into the harbour, and he needs all the oxygen he can get to haul Richard’s body up from the depths of Gotham harbour.

Damian resists the urge to huff in frustration— no use in wasting what little air he has— and swims up as quickly as he can.

One big breath in, and he is swimming back down. If his sense of time is right, then Richard has been down here for nearing four minutes already. He cannot afford to be inside the water any longer.

He got lucky. On his second dive in, Damian sees the bright blue of Nightwing’s uniform, reflecting what little light is visible down here.

He forces himself to swim faster, to reach Richard as quick as he can, while ignoring the protests from his aching muscles. He is Robin, and he will do this, regardless of what his muscles say.

As soon as he reaches Richard’s body, Damian hooks his arms around Richard’s armpits and pushes against the water to swim up. His lungs are once again burning, but he is not going to let go of Richard’s body, no matter how much harder the extra weight made it for him to swim up.

It takes him twice as long to reach the surface as it would with him alone. By the time he breaches the surface of the water, Damian is already opening his mouth to gasp for air. He wishes there’s enough time for him to just get his breath back, but Richard has been underwater for far too long. So, after just one breath— which would have to be enough— Damian starts kicking as hard as he can to propel them in the direction of the shore. The pier is closer, but there is no way that Damian can climb up the rigging while dragging Richard with him, and so, even though it is a longer swim, he would have to go all the way to the shore.

After several kicks, Damian manages to gain enough momentum to switch his hold on Richard to a one-handed one, allowing him to use his other hand to help with the swimming. He has to reach shore as fast as he can. Even with the water all around them and through his gloves, Damian can already tell that Richard is no longer breathing.

He forces himself to swim faster.

The very moment he reaches the shore, Damian’s fingers are already searching for the switch for the built-in AED in their suits. Before he could reach it, however, he remembers. EMP. No working electronics. No AED.

Shit.

Damian gets on his knees, places his hands on Richard’s chest, and starts pushing.

One, two, three, four, five. He hopes that someone notices that their tracker is dead.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. He hopes that backup will come soon.

Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Richard has no breath. No pulse.

Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Breathe, damn it. Breathe.

Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five. Damian is not going to lose Richard to this. He is not.

Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. Why isn’t he breathing?

Damian tilts Richard’s head back, pinches his nose, and breathes into Richard’s mouth, watching as his chest rises and falls. He wishes with all his might that the next breath Richard can take on his own, but no such luck. Damian had to breathe for Richard again.

He goes back into position, places his hands on Richard’s chest, and does it all over again.

By the fifth repetition, Damian’s legs are trembling with the effort to hold him up. Richard is much, much heavier than he is, requiring far more effort from Damian to properly do the chest compressions, and he is already exhausted from fighting five men and pulling Richard from the water. By the ninth repetition, his shoulders are screaming in agony, and he can barely regulate his breathing to provide the rescue breaths to Richard. By the fourteenth repetition, it feels like his entire body is on fire with the effort required to maintain the proper rhythm of chest compressions.

Damian ignores all of that. Ignores everything that is not the rhythm of his pushing, and the fervent effort of trying to keep Richard alive.

One, two, three, four, five. His uniform clings to him in a foul mixture of Gotham harbour water and sweat.

Damian ignores that.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. His hair clings to his eyes with every up and down movement of his body, obscuring his vision.

Damian ignores that.

Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. He hears voices coming from behind him.

Damian ignores that.

Wait.

He hears voices from behind him.

“Over here!” Damian shouts, still pushing on Richard’s chest in a rhythm he refuses to abandon. He hopes that he is right, and that it is backup, because if it isn’t, there is very little that he can do right now. He keeps pushing on Richard’s chest, finishing the fifteenth set of the compressions, and bending down again to do the rescue breaths.

When he straightens up again, he sees the tell-tale mask of the Red Hood, and breathes out in relief.

“Get clear, kid,” Todd says, and for once, Damian obeys.

Todd pushes the button to activate the AED that he has placed on Richard’s body when Damian was giving the rescue breaths, and shouts, “Clear!” just before the AED beeps, indicating that a shock was given.

As soon as the beep stops, Damian gets back in position, preparing himself to do another round of chest compressions, even though every single one of his muscles is screaming with exhaustion. He already places his hands on Richard’s chest when a gloved hand rests on his shoulders.

“Let me do it, Robin,” Todd grunts, pushing Damian away from his place next to Richard’s chest. Damian considers protesting, but the moment that his legs are no longer supporting a combination of his weight and the power needed to do chest compressions on someone that is nearly twice as heavy as him, they collapse. He watches as Richard’s chest goes up and down with the force of Todd’s compressions, and prays to every god, spirit, and deity that he knows of for Richard to start breathing again.

In Todd’s third repetition, Richard starts coughing.

Damian has never been happier to hear the sound.

#dc #dick grayson #damian wayne #cpr #drowning #whump #lian writes

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wordsfromthesol · 3 years

Text

Reconciliation

Author: @wordsfromthesol Taglist: togasbetch @malfoys-demigod @pricetagofficial Pairing: Tim Drake x Reader Summary: You seek the help of an old friend when you accidentally end up in the middle of a blood bath. Word Count: 1.8k

It all started ages ago, when you walked into the same class as the infamous Timothy Drake. If it wasn't for the Wayne Grant, your parents would never have been able to send you to such a fancy school…not that you understood that at 5 years old. Since that day the two of you were inseparable. You had practically lived at Drake Manor, and when Mr. Freeze killed your parents, you did. Not that Jack and Janet had any idea.

A few years later Jack and Janet were gone and Tim was taken in by none other than Bruce Wayne himself. Thankfully, Tim let you remain in his house. At first, everything was normal, but after the first year, he started to visit you less and less. He became more distant and secretive with each interaction and eventually, he stopped coming altogether. You made the decision to leave once you graduated high school, after all, it had been over a year since Tim had bothered to come see you. What would he care?

You jumped on a bus, clutching a backpack full of your belongings…and a few things from the Drake Manor. Somehow you lucked into a full-time nanny job for some wealthy family a few hours away. You were afforded a small living quarters, a stipend, and access to anything already at the mansion. The little girl was only 3 years old at the time. It's hard to believe that was 2 years ago.

You and Kaylee were upstairs when you heard a large group of people force their way through the front door. As you peaked out of the room, you saw a parade of people with their guns drawn. Immediately you rushed back into the room and whispered, "We are going to play a game."

"Game?" The child's ears perked up. You nodded your head as you made your way to the window. Opening it, you slowly climbed out and motioned for her to follow. You had no idea how long you stayed up there, pressed against the side of the house praying no one came looking. Eventually, the noises had stopped.

"Wait right here for me, okay?" She nodded as you made your way back to the window. "Don't move a muscle until I come for you." Your mouth hung open as you descended the staircase. Bloodstained the room as bodies littered the floor. As you walked over to the filleted bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Barco, your vision blurred as you felt the back of a hand strike your face. Staggering backward, you opened your eyes to see a man grinning before you. His eyes trailed down your cheek and landed on the sizable ring that graced his own finger. You began to feel the warm blood drip down your cheek. A state of panic washed over you just as you felt your knuckles collide with his ribs. Dodging his next blow, you thrust your shoulder into him and grappled for the gun tucked in his waistband. He looked almost pleased as he stared down the barrel.

"Whatcha gonna do with that, hun?" When you refused to answer, he continued. "You know you're going to be dead soon. What's the point…" Your eyes locked onto his hand, which was slowly inching towards your own.

The ringing in your ears had just barely subsided when you reached the top of the stairs. You slowly climbed out the window and ushered Kaylee to come inside. Her feet had just touched the ground as the words lucidly fell from your lips. "I need you to promise me that you won't open your eyes. We are going on a surprise trip." If Kaylee could tell something was wrong, she wasn't letting you know. You walked as fast as you could with the small child on your hip.

Your mind had gone completely blank, your eyes glazed over as you drove. You didn't know where you were going, but your motions seemed instinctive. As you pulled up to the gates, everything began to wash over you. Pressing the call button, the only words you could stutter out were: "It's Y/N. I need Tim." Thankfully, the message worked and the gates began to open. You drove up to the ornate front door, but couldn't force yourself out of the car. A knock on the window shook you out of the trance. It was Alfred.

"Mx Y/N, welcome. Perhaps you and your guest would be more comfortable in the house. I have already summoned Master Timothy." You just nodded as you stepped out of the car. Every move your body made relied on muscle memory: opening the back door of the car, unfastening Kaylee's car seat, placing her on the ground beside you. Alfred led you inside to the kitchen before kneeling down and facing Kaylee. "And what is your name?"

"KAYLEEEE!" She gleefully screamed at him.

"Ahhh, Miss Kaylee. How would you like a snack?" Kaylee's eyes went wide as she furiously nodded her head up and down. Kaylee looked up to you for permission as Tim rounded the corner, already speaking.

"Alfred, what's so --" Tim froze as he saw you sitting at the kitchen counter.

"You my Y/N/N's friend?" Kaylee narrowed her eyes as she glared at Tim. Her eyes softened as Tim slowly shook his head yes. "Make sure they get ban aid. Prefably a princess one." Once satisfied, she turned her attention back towards Alfred and her snack.

You turned towards Tim, revealing the gash on your cheek surrounded by a newly forming bruise. Tim rushed to your side, grasping your hand in his, just as the words began spilling from your mouth. "Tim, I'm so sorry. I just didn't know where else to take her. They were dead..."You felt your body giving out, "all of them…"

"Calm down. We'll figure this out. You need rest." He refused to let you speak anymore as he scooped you up from the chair and carried you upstairs. Carefully, Tim sat you on his bathroom counter and began cleaning the wound. Once it was bandaged he brought you over to the bed. "Now what happened?" He looked at you, his heartbreaking as he watched the tears fall from your eyes.

"They're dead. So many bodies. Tim, I can't see anything but blood." You collapsed into his chest, trying to conceal the overwhelming panic.

You had no idea how long you stayed like that, all you know is you woke up with Kaylee cuddled to your chest and Tim sitting at the adjacent desk.

"Tim?" His eyes shot up at the sound of your voice. You slowly got up and walked down the hall and into the study. You didn't check to see if Tim was following you, but you knew he was. Ignoring the unknown man already occupying the room, you continued onto the balcony. "I just don't know what happened." Your eyes glazed over as you stared into the distance. You knew if you looked at Tim, you would break down again. "People stormed in with guns. Me and Kaylee hid. Once I came back in, everyone was dead. Her whole family. Their security team. Everyone. And then this man came up and struck me. I thought I was dead. All I could think of was Kaylee, sitting on the roof, alone, confused. And I shot him." You turned around and stared into Tim's dark blue eyes. "They're going to kill me now. Aren't they?" The tears bubbled up, but you refused to let them fall.

"Y/N, how much did you know of that family?" Concern laced his voice. That voice that you hadn't heard in years. That voice that used to be your home.

"They were rich and needed a nanny." You looked down at your fiddling fingers, "I didn't have many options, so I didn't ask any questions."

Tim took a deep breath, pushing down his anger. "They are…were one of the biggest crime families in the country." The words rang in your mind as you forced your eyes back on the horizon. You didn't even realize Kaylee had woken up and walked into the study. Or that the unidentified man took her by the hand and led her from the room carrying a fairytale book. "You really didn't know?" Tim's brows furrowed.

Too many emotions were spinning around your head until one of them exploded. "Why the fuck would I know that?!" You made no attempts to sedate your anger.

"You worked for them for years, Y/N!"

"Well clearly you knew, so maybe an old friend should've warned me!" The anger wasn't geared towards him, not really. Though seeing him again, feeling all this again, that's something you never thought you'd have to do. And that was just the icing on the cake. An eerie silence blanketed the air. "I shouldn't have come here," you mumbled before turning to leave. "I shouldn't have put you in danger."

Tim stood stoic as your words played over and over in his mind. He never told you of his nightly activities for this exact reason. So you wouldn't be thrust into this chaotic world. And now here you are, begging for his help, and he let you walk away. Again.

A pillow slammed into his face, knocking him from the stupor. "Probably not a good idea to let them leave. Love of your life, Barco heiress, not a great combination."

"Shit." Tim pushed past Jason, ignoring his snide remarks because unfortunately, he was right. Tim grabbed your arm just as you opened the front door. "Wait!" Tim yelled as he pushed the door closed. "I can't let you leave."

"Wh --"

"Look," Tim cut you off and began pulling you through the house. "I need to show you something."

"Where…where am I standing right now?"

"The Batcave." His voice faltered as he stopped in front of his Red Robin costume.

"So you're a superhero? Are you kidding me?"

"I don't have any powers, so I don't think I would qualify…" Tim's voice trailed off as he watched your eyebrows raise and a disapproving smirk form. "Anyways. I can help. I want to help."

"I can't ask you to do that." You tried to turn away, but Tim laid his hands on your shoulders. His eyes lingered on yours.

"You were supposed to be safe. Away from me. That's the only reason I let you go. I was wrong. You're safer with me and I'm not letting you go again."

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haijimee · 3 years

Text

It Should Be You

authors note: um i love tobio bcuz hes so blunt and mean <333 but here <33 i couldn't figure out a name for the bitch so meiko ig?? idfk im terrible w names dhmu

cw/tw: slight??angst?? if u squint??, fluff bcuz that's what im all abt, uh, some naughty words (watch ur mouth tobio >:(( ), uh plastic ass hoe??? fuckin shit up???, childhood friends to lovers <333, DW HAPPY ENDING!!!

song to listen to: Home to Me (Live) , Devil & The Deep Blue Sea

[Tobio Kageyama x Female Reader]

He didn't get it. Why was this happening to him? His teammates told him that getting in a relationship would be enjoyable, so he did, with this girl named Meiko in his class, who wore hair extensions and way too much makeup. She was the first girl to confess to him after the conversation so he said yes.

But why was she so fucking annoying? He could hardly stand it. Sure he had a short temper but she made it even shorter. Always whining and complaining about everything!

"Tobioooo!! I said I wanted to go the the PINK café! This is red!!!"

"Tobioooo!! Why are you practicing right now?! You should be taking me on a dateeee!!"

"Tobiooo tell me my makeup looks good!"

"Tobiooo! Why were you talking to that other blonde girlll!! I don't care if she's your manager you can't talk to other girls when you have meee!!"

God, if she wasn't a girl he would've sent a ball into her face. He tried to talk and she would cut him off talking about her so terrible problems, which consisted of her makeup looking horrible or her hair was disgusting.

She looked the same to him so he made no comment until she whined about it. But the thing that irritated him the most as that she kept trying to change him. Saying he should dress more cleanly, or that he should focus more on her than volleyball, which was so fucking stupid! He wasn't going to change, he liked the way he was!

He hated it. His teammates said relationships were soothing and would make him happier, but he just felt shitty, he could never get a break.

And he told this all to one person. You. His best friend.

He'd rant about Meiko and all the issues on the days he'd go over to your house, he'd lay down on your bed as you'd comb your hands through his soft black hair, whispering "really?" and "oh Tobio" every now and then. He spent most of his free time with you, usually, but Meiko kept dragging him away. It made him stressed and unhappy, he was so used to spending everyday with you. But on some days he could spend time with you, avoiding Meiko and walking home with you as he used to.

On one of those days, he was tired, drained, as you both walked through the door. You said hello to your mother as you slipped off your shoes and Tobio did the same. You took your backpacks and walked up the stairs to your room.

But the second you closed the door he flopped down on your bed face first. You laughed, taking his backpack from his hand and placing it next to yours as you climbed on your bed and laid back against the pillows and headboard, opening your legs and patting your lap as he crawled over, flipping over to look up at you.

Your hands found their way into his coal black strands, egging him on to begin talking, easing him easily into relaxation. And the waterfall flowed. Telling about how Meiko began screeching at him because he wouldn't eat the bento she made him, and he explained that it was all burnt and smelled like shit! So of course he wasn't going to eat it!

"And she went all 'I put love into that bento!' but if that's her love it's fucking gross!" he cried and you giggled, closing your eyes in a smile.

He looked up at you, as you began to laugh harder, your shoulders shaking as you laughed, little snorts interrupting your giggles, which made you laugh even harder.

He looked at you and felt his heart pound, his face go beet red. He had never realized how happy he was with you. How comfortable it felt to have his head in your lap, your hands on his face. He'd never noticed how he knew everything about you, from your favorite food to the strangest birthmark you had on your back. He had been there for a long time, and you were the only person strong enough to break down his walls.

As your giggles settled you looked back down at him with the warmest smile.

"Go on, tell me about the rest of your day Tobio, I wanna hear."

He stared at you, wide eyed before he sat up quickly, startling you as you jumped. He looked at you, his eyes tracing every feature of your face.

"Why couldn't it be you?" He asked, his face blank.

"What?" You said softly, confusion in your expression as you looked back at him.

"Why couldn't it be you who confessed?" He said.

You stopped, blinking.

"Tobio what do you mean?" You laughed nervously, was he serious? Of course he was, Tobio was always serious! But what was he talking about? 'Why couldn't it be you who confessed?' What did that mean?!

"I mean, why can't you be the one I'm dating?" He said bluntly, and your jaw dropped. Your cheeks flushed red as you looked at him.

"Tobio! You have a girlfriend you can't just say that! I'm just your best friend!" You squealed, fisting your bedsheets between your hands.

"But why can't you be more? Do you not like me?" He looked sad, his eyes looking down. It panged in your heart.

"Of course not Tobio. I like you, I like you so much! But- you have a girlfriend! Don't you love her?!" You cried, the words dug into your heart. He loved her.

"No? What made you think that?" Tobio asked, confused.

"Well, you're dating her so you love her right?" You asked, stating the obvious.

"What? No. My teammates said that dating would make my life better so I said yes to the next confession, though it's not making my life better to be honest." He said, and your jaw dropped. Again.

"Tobio! Do you even know how dating works?!" You screamed, grabbing his uniform collar and pulling him closer.

"Um...no?" he said, sweat dropping at your tone. Was there something special about dating he didn't know? Like, money? Or magic?

You looked at him, massaging your temples.

"Dating is something romantic. When two people feel love towards each other and decide to pursue a romantic relationship together. Where you kiss and go on dates to the movies or to restaurants or cute cafes where you get lattes with hearts in them. Where they're both comfortable with each other and cuddle on the couch, talk about life and the future. And if things go well they get married and live life together, maybe having kids or getting pets. Just loving each other with everything they have.." You said softly, a faraway look in your eyes, ever since you were a child you had dreamed of something like that. And as you grew, you realized you wanted to have the future with one person. The one person you could never have.

Tobio Kageyama.

He looked at you, his eyes wide in realization.

"I guess I'm breaking up with Meiko now. Thank god." He said, and you looked at him, laughing a bit. You felt so at ease with Tobio, even now he was making you smile and laugh. "So..have you ever..dated..anyone?" he asked.

For some reason, he didn't like it. The thought. He didn't like the picture in his head of you sitting on the couch with some random guy. Going out together and..and kissing. Or you running your hands through some other guys hair as he talks about his day and you give him that soft smile or snort laugh. It made his chest hurt. He didn't like it not one bit.

"Ah..no..I've never uh..been one for dating.." You mumbled, cheeks pink. Tobio looked at you and suddenly you realizing his eyes were sad. And as he looked at yours he saw beyond that smile you always gave him. He saw the swirls of pain in your eyes. He hated it. You gazed back at him to see those sad blue eyes, his lips curled in a frown as his brows furrowed together.

"Hey Tobio whats wrong?" You asked as you looked at him, reaching out to cup his cheek. His heart started pounding again, erratically beating against his chest. He stared at you, eyes wide before jumping back, scrambling a bit away from you as you watched in confusion. He calmed down, moving to sit on his knees as he looked at you again.

"So..do you..love someone?" He asked, breaking his gaze away from yours as he looked down at the bed.

You eyed him, before lifting your chin up a bit, looking at the corner of your ceiling.

"Yeah. I do, and I've loved them for a very long time." You said softly, and his head snapped up to look at you. Of course you loved someone, he spat in his head. You were so kind and so nice, it's obvious you'd find someone nice who you'd fallen for. But his chest squeezed. He knew there was someone. But why. Why did it hurt so much. Knowing it wasn't him? Why couldn't it be him.

He hadn't even realized he'd been clutching his chest, squeezing his uniform so hard his knuckles turned white. He hadn't realized until you grabbed his hand, unfurling it from the black material of his uniform as you took it in yours, rubbing your thumb across his knuckles like you always did. He looked at you, and felt the pain build up again as he stared into your eyes.

"Who is it..?" he asked, praying the emotions swirling in his head weren't betrayed by his voice. You looked at him and then at his hand.

"I don't think I'll tell you." You murmured, and Tobio gritted his teeth. As the thoughts in his head pounded until one slipped out of his lips.

"I want it to be me."

He said, and your eyes widened as you looked at him.

"What?"

"I want it...to be me.." he repeated, his ears and face reddening, "I want to be..the person that you love.." he mumbled, as the thought settled in him. He did. He always has. Wait a minute. He always has. Yes..he..he has hasn't he?

He's always wanted to be the person holding your hand on the way to school. The one who leans over and asks you for help with his notes. The one who eats lunch with you as you share your food, as he sloppily takes his chopsticks and places a piece of chicken in your mouth as you laugh and put a piece of eggroll in his. He always wanted to see you at his games, it fired him up to see you cheering his name and looking so proud when he did a good set. He always wanted to be the person who took you out for snacks and who you could call at 2am when your crying because you feel sad, and he'll go over to your house just to hug you and listen to you rant.

He..he wants to be the person to kiss you, and hug you and cuddle you and take you out to romantic places. He wants to be the one to marry you.

As he looked up at you it hit him in the face. He has always loved you. It's why dating Meiko felt wrong. Why the past few weeks without you felt wrong. The truth was, he couldn't bare life without you. He wanted to always be with you.

You were still mulling over his words, eyes wide and blank. You couldn't even comprehend what you were saying until you said it.

"Silly Tobio..you've always been the person I loved."

You clasped your hands over your mouth as the words came out, face red as Tobio stared at you, his eyes were wide as he realized it. You both sat there for a few seconds before he carefully crawled over to you, taking your hands off your mouth and pressing them to his chest, where you could feel the fast beating of his heart.

"Is this..is this weird?" He asked softly, and you looked at him, his pink cheeks and ears, and smiled. Smiled so much as tears fell from your eyes and cascaded down your cheeks. Tobio began to panic but you simply pulled him closer, burying your face into his chest as you hugged him tightly. He looked at you before relaxing, sitting down as he wrapped his arms around your torso, resting his head atop yours.

"Hey?" He asked softly, after you two had sat like this for a few minutes. You looked up.

"Mhm?"

"Does this mean we're dating now?" He asked, and you giggled.

"Just break up with Meiko tomorrow and yeah, yeah I think so." You said, and Tobio gave a proud smile. As you both shifted to lean against the pillows, legs and arms tangled up as you pressed close to eachother, his head atop yours and you snuggled into the crook of his neck.

"Hey?" He asked again, and you hummed in an answer, as he looked down at you.

"I think I'm in love with you."

"I think I'm in love with you too."

CAN YOU GUYS SEE THE TEARS IN MY EYES OH MY GOD

its so fucking LONG now that i realize it. i just got so into this wrote this in like 3 hours..

i love awkward tobio hes so cute

anyways

now kiss <333 come get ur man tobio stans <33 THAT RHYMED FUCK YEAH

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jessie-writes-things · 3 years

Text

From the Darkness | Part 1

This is a commission from the lovely @grogusmum! I'm so so so sorry for how late this is love! Life got in the way a bit. Originally I was gonna do this as one giant piece, but you've been waiting too long and so I just needed to get something out. This ended up being a bit more soft-angst rather than fluff but I tried my best to balance it out. The next part will be full-on found family fluff though! 🥰

This whole thing stemmed from that throwaway line 'I've spent much time on Tatooine' from The Marshall. Basically, I just liked the idea of Din having a somewhat secret life hidden away there. It gets explained a bit more in the second part, but that's really all the context you need right now. 😅🥰

Pairing: Din Djarin x Neutral Reader

Words: 2.5k

Genre: Found family, fluff, soft angst

Warnings: Star Wars level violence, vague mentions of PTSD/Trauma, nightmares

Summary: Din comes home to Tattooine and you spend the night on the Razor Crest.

You always heard the Razor Crest before you saw it. The loud hum of the clunky engine made you jump every single time and you had always wondered how long it would be until the ship just dropped out the sky.

Your answer came quicker than you thought. It was around midnight when the first signs came, snippets of voices fluttered by like quiet, sleep-laced whispers on the wind.

See you we do! Coming home we are!

Then came the ship barrelling onto the landing pad, and you weren’t dramatic in saying you thought the planet was about to explode; walls rumbling, ground vibrating. Peli had been prompted to spew out a few choice words, stepping outside just as you did to watch the slivers of silver moonlight spring off the ship as it finally settled down.

The landing had been…less than graceful to say the least. The engine sounded worse than you’ve ever heard. One of her feet had been ripped clear off, making her tilt to the side at an unnerving angle and you didn’t even want to think about the number of outer plates there were to replace.

What worried you more was the look of annoyance on your boss’s face, pinched and red, and you just had enough time to convince her to head back to bed, promising to deal with The Mandalorian until morning. And thank every planet in the galaxy she listened because if the Crest hadn’t woken up the neighbourhood, you knew she sure as hell would of.

There was an etiquette, you learned through years of working on the hanger; you should never enter a person’s ship first. To regulars, it was like walking into someone’s home without being invited. But so early in the morning you weren’t for niceties.

You walked up that ramp like pray on a hunt, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes and you may have stumbled a bit, but it was a hunt.

The Mandalorian was clearly waiting for you, sitting in the cockpit, the baby asleep in his pod although you had no doubt he was listening to every word.

Very out of character, he was the first to speak, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.’

‘It’s okay.’ It wasn’t…well, it was. You were just grumpy and tired and wanted to go back to bed, ‘She looks a mess.’

‘Can you fix her?’

You had assumed her mess from the work of another bounty gone wrong, maybe Mar again but you weren’t in the right mind to ask. ‘Depends.’

‘On?’

‘What you’re about to ask me to do next.’

There was a silence, a comfortable one but silence, nevertheless. Eyes heavy, you were fading fast, head resting against the passenger seat you had claimed as your own. You weren’t too sure if you had fallen asleep or not. You closed your eyes for what felt like a moment too long and when they opened again, Din had shifted his seat to look at you.

‘We need to stay for a few days.’ His head tilted like a little puppy dog. Helmet still on, you were left trying to imagine how he looked in that moment; eyes squinted, crinkled around the sides in admiration.

Not the exact words you wanted to hear, but not surprising in the slightest.

You decided to push again, ‘Anything else?’

He was smiling, at least you were sure he was, his voice sounding a little lighter despite the artificial muffle of the modulator, ‘Come to bed?’

---

I caught a frog today. Very big frog. I wanted to show you. But ManDad was not very happy with the frog in the big ship. So I ate it, I did. Miss you lots, I did. And so did ManDad. Smiles when he thinks about you, he does. I feel the happiness. Thank you for making him happy.

---

Turns out it hadn’t been Mar that took a hit at his ship.

There had been an incident, Din told you in the quiet of darkness, arms wrapped around you, his head buried safely. Long tufts of hair tickled your jaw and chin whenever he moved or talked, about due for a haircut but that was a battle for another day.

‘Moff Gideon is dead.’ But so was Kuill, the kind Ugnaught who had helped at the start of all this mess. Whatever was left of the Empire was still after the kid and Din still needed to find the Jedi. ‘Karga’s still alive.’

‘I thought he double-crossed you?’ At some point his head had moved onto your chest, letting your fingers card through his hair. You could just about see his face in the small cracks of light, not that he needed to hide anymore, sometimes you think the dark was comforting for him.

The smallest of smiles tugging at the corners of his lips and you really hoped it was because of your touch and not the thought of the Guild agent. Small wins and all that, you guessed. Better to have Greef around than no one at all.

‘I can’t stay long.’ His voice wavered, ever so slightly. You had become accustomed to the bittersweetness of it all, stroking the back of his neck as your heavy eyes began to droop again.

‘That’s okay.’ While it felt like a brick being thrown at your chest, you understood. Truly. The entire Empire was after the kid and, subsequently, him. Not to mention the constant battle against other hunters who had it out for his head.

Because while you knew time was finite with him, at least you had something.

---

Happy to be home we are. ManDad gets lonely sometimes. Feel it I do. I try my best to make him smile but sometimes it does not work. Make him happy, you do. A man should not be lonely for too long, he must not, for loneliness can be deadly. When I am gone, look after him you must. Promise?

---

Quiet moments in the dark were always the loudest for Grogu. Like father like son, you guessed. Neither of them liked the stillness much, both of their minds racing faster than the speed of light. It was always easier to read them in these moments. Flashes of images blended into a mosaic behind your eyes as you tried to hold down a specific part of a memory or a dream.

Some nights it was easier than others. There were times Grogu would sense you in his mind and would purposefully push an image forward, always something he thought was silly like a particularly funny looking frog or a memory of Din singing to some cheesy eighties song you had left behind on a CD during their last visit.

The colourful rhythm and syncopated beats making the walls of the Razor Crest dance along with them and you did everything not to burst out laughing in the still night, biting your lip only for a small snort to escape. Din caught on, barely opening his eyes a crack to mumble out some half-arsed are you okay before rolling over and heading back to sleep again.

It was easier to read Din when he was asleep. Not that you did it much or even intended to in the first place. But sleep tore down the walls he had spent years building up, subconsciously pushing the dreams into your mind. If Grogu’s thoughts were a lulled whisper, Din’s were white noise. Fuzzy static took up most of the space, at times slipping to let through blips of voices or a grainy picture of long past memories. They were too quick to get a full idea of what he was dreaming about.

A boy.

The pop of blasters.

A woman screaming.

One deep breath and the image faded. Din would wake for a moment, eyes closed and he’d turn back to face you. His chest shook, barely and nothing noticeable normally, but you caught it, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, and mumbling a soft it’s okay as he settled back into you.

---

Today was not so bad, it was not. But sometimes I still think about the dark place. Scary and lonely was I. For a long, long time. Then there’s light and I see ManDad for the first time. And then everything is better, it is! No longer do I need to fear the dark.

---

Like always, Grogu climbed out of his pod early morning and forced the doors of the sleeping pad open, giving him room to wiggle his way between Din and you. These were the times you’d feel the tug of his mind at the doors of yours, asking permission to be allowed in.

If your consciousness was awake enough, you’d let him, letting the Green Bean explore the distorted images of Earth and your past life. You would find him standing next to you, present you, in the middle of the dirtied street, dark and damp as rain pounded on the concrete around you, drowning out the screams of the people as they rushed by.

He’d hold his arms up, a quiet hold me please passing by and you’d take him in your arms, holding him close. Sparks of fear rolled through you, weighed down by dread and it was hard to tell if it was coming from Grogu or your past self.

Clouds filled the sky like grey shadows. It had taken you a long time to realise they weren’t normal, that the clouds were too big, were floating by too quick to be anything natural.

That had been the first time you saw them. Aliens. Or what people on Earth would think of as aliens. Tall, grey, slimy, the stuff you had only ever seen on TV and they were now shooting from the skies in streaks of red light. Streets pathed in dust that smelt like ash and day-old water.

The two of you walked through the mess like ghosts, people running left and right and through you, some in slow motion while some were ungodly in their speed. They all died in the end. Zapped out of existence by a singular lazar.

Someone yelled about children. Save the children. Spare the children. Collect the children. Round them up near the hanger, discard the ones we don’t need, you know the ones I mean, don’t talk back to me. Their voice washed over you in cold chills, sounding so far underwater that they might as well not be there at all.

A man stopped in front of you. Tall dressed in all black. A human man staring right at you. He didn’t look panicked like the rest, was calm and collected as he pulled out his gun and aimed so perfectly right at your head. You didn’t move, didn’t duck for cover as he pulled the trigger.

You should know better than to look.

There’s a woman behind you. Was a woman behind you. She’s dead when you turn around, a pile of smoking ash on the cobbled path, already being washed away by the rain.

Then there was the child, arms still stretched out to hold their mother’s hand, eyes wide in fear but they don’t cry. No matter how much their heart is racing. No matter how much they want to scream as the man grabs their arm and drags them away, throwing them in line with the rest of them, waiting for their turn to be scanned and thrown in the hanger.

They don’t scream, even when the doors slam shut and darkness is all that’s left.

---

Awake, are you? Sleep I cannot. Wonder if ManDad knows how much I love him, I do. ManDad is amazing he is. He saved me from the dark and keeps me safe, he does. Let’s me eat cookies, he does. Such lovely cookies. Try some, you must. But ManDad hurts, I feel. Feel his heavy heart, I do. So much pain and loss cause a man to be sad. Want him to be sad I do not. When I am gone, please tell him all the time that he is special, he is. Always be my buir, he will.

---

‘Buir.’ Grogu sat on your stomach, watching with wide, curious eyes as he followed your finger to where Din moved back and forth getting ready to head out. It was just some low-level bounty, armature work really, but that didn’t stop the anxiety from budding in the pit of your stomach. Distractions curved the nausea, curled up with the pod door open, blanket tucked under your chin with the residual warmth of his body still hugging you, ‘He’s your buir.’

Din hadn’t put his helmet back on yet, the roll of his eyes contrasted with the small half-smile on his lips. In the light, it was easier to see the damage he had taken during his last fight. There was only so much an ex-bounty-turned-nursing droid and some bacta spray could do. The large gash across his forehead looked painful and you made a mental note to check it over when he returned.

‘Don’t teach him that.’

‘Why not?’

There was a pause. You caught the way the small smile faltered, wavering with doubt and uncertainty and maybe a hint of sadness although that last part was hard to tell. And while the wall Din had built around himself was thick, sadness was strong enough to creep through the cracks. Even Grogu noticed, large ears pricking, head tilting in ManDad’s direction with a small coo.

‘Aliit ori'shya tal'din.’

‘You’ve been practicing.’ The words were light, a brow quirked in your direction and you knew what it meant; you’re adorable. Thank you for trying. At least he was smiling, finishing up the last buckle on his holster ‘Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.’

Maybe you should have been more surprised by the slip of his tongue. The way he carried on getting dressed, not even pausing once at his mistake.

You had heard him say those words before a hundrad times or more. But you wondered how long he had meant those words. Months? Years? Was it a new development? Was it something he had always known?

But there was no surprise. Instead, a warmth planted itself in your chest, and it grew, branches stretching to fill every ounce of your being until it was all you could feel.

‘Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.’ His eyes widened at your mimicked words. The pronunciation was still a bit off and sometimes the emphasis was stressed on the wrong bits, but it was nice to know you were close enough that he understood you, ‘I know what it means now. You can’t trick me anymore.’

Din picked up the helmet and put it on before you had the chance to see the full smile that bloomed, but you heard it, the hints of pure happiness shining through the modulated, ‘I was never trying to trick you.’

You fought back your own smile. The heat spreading across your cheeks told a different story though, serving as a reminder of years old built-up emotions neither of you had time to unpack at that moment.

So, you did what you both did best. You quickly changed the topic, shifting your attention back to the Green Bean plopped on your stomach, happily teething on the small silver ball he sneakily snatched from the controls. A few seconds later and his attention found yours, giving you a gleeful smile as he held out the ball as a peace offering.

‘Ba'buir.’ You pointed back at Din and Grogu laughed, ‘He’s your Ba'buir.’

But Din was already out of sight, halfway to the door when he called back, ‘He’s older than me!’

Older, I surely am. And wiser. Yet know, you do not. Be careful ManDad For space can be dark and dangerous.

The lock hissed as it opened, seemingly louder in the suddenly quiet Razor Crest, ‘Be careful.’

‘Always.’

---

buir = parent

Aliit ori'shya tal'din = "Family is more than blood."

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum ="I love you."; literally: "I will know you forever."

Ba'buir = grandparent

#jessie writes #grogusmum #commission #the mandalorian fanfic #the mandalorian #the mandalorian fluff #the mandalorian soft angst #din djarin x reader #din djarin fluff #din djarin angst #din djarin fanfic #grogu #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal fluff

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beauvibaby · 4 years

Text

little family - t.seguin

a/n: the inspo for this was me having a very bad week at work haha

Nearly two month old Laila was finally started to calm down as she laid on your chest, Chase, your two your old was grumpily playing with his toys, claiming he wasn’t speaking to you because you were “mean” to him. His version of mean was you putting him in time out for coloring on the wall. You couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh as Chase stood walking over to you, “mommy?” He spoke sweetly, you hummed in response, carefully sitting up, trying not to wake Laila. “Snack?” He asked, giving you those big eyes, he looked so much like Tyler in that moment, brown eyes staring at you with happiness swimming in them. You let out a soft chuckle, “yeah, honey, you can have a snack.” You mumbled, carefully standing up, cradling his sister to your chest. She stirred, soon beginning to wail as you rushed to give your son his snack, settling for some goldfish crackers as it wasn’t too long until Tyler would be home and you’d be making dinner. “No!” Chase shouted, you looked down at him with raised eyebrows as you started rocking Laila. “No!” He shouted again, throwing the open packet on the ground, “Chase, pick those up right now.” You demanded, glancing at Laila who was turning red and you knew she was about to spit up. Right as you went to move her, she spit up all over the floor, it landing by Chase who started crying at the sudden appearance of it. He went to run off because he knew he was in trouble for throwing his food but his foot caught the spit up and he slipped, landing on his butt with a thud and the screams doubled.

At the sudden screaming the dogs came running over, finally choosing to check if everything was ok. “Marshall!” You gasped when he started licking up the food, “no, no, Gerry!” You snapped, visually gagging when he liked up Laila’s spit up. You scooped Chase up, grimacing as his foot covered in spit up wiped all over your shirt, Laila was still whining, desperately searching for her pacifier. “Chase, you’re fine bud.” You hated that you had to pick which child to comfort, but he was not really crying from the fall, more for attention. You set him down, watching as he wrapped himself around your leg, clinging to you, repeatedly shouting mommy, only breaking your heart further as you lugged him along on your leg, gasping in relief when you found the pacifier, popping it in Laila’s mouth. She finally calmed down, still squirming but the crying had stopped, Chase was still dramatically sobbing, your head shot over to the door when you heard it opening. “Oh thank god.” You whispered, barely hearing yourself over the crying boy. “Look, daddy’s home!” You cheered down to your son, “no, mommy!” He shrieked like you had just told him he was getting a punishment. Tyler raised his eyebrows at the sight in front of him, “hey, buddy.” He kneeled, holding his arms out for his son, who only gripped you tighter. “Tyler, can you just take her please?” You mumbled, giving him a silently begging look. “Yeah.” He sighed, pushing away the heartache of his son not even wanting to say hello, but he knew it wasn’t personal, after all Chase was in the middle of a temper tantrum. “Hi, my little-oh god, stinky princess.” Tyler mumbled taking Laila, grimacing as you both suddenly smelt her soiled diaper. You smirked, “she’s just saying how much she loves you.” You gave him a quick peck before squatting down to your sons eye level as Tyler whisked off with Laila, cooing to her about how much he missed her today.

“Look at me.” You demanded softly, placing a hand on your sons back, he looked up at you with a huge pout and tear stained face, you reached out and cupped his chubby little cheeks. You pushed your insecurities aside from letting him cry for so long, it was part of having two little kids, but it didn’t make you hurt any less. “We don’t throw food, and we don’t color on walls.” You spoke soft, but stern, he nodded still in your hold. “Are you sorry?” You asked, removing your hands, he nearly knocked you over, “I sorry.” He mumbled hugging you tightly. You smiled at his actions, kissing the top of his curly mop of hair. “You know, I think it would make daddy very happy if you went over there and gave him an even bigger hug and a kiss. He missed you today.” You spoke sweetly, Chase looked up at you with a grin, running off towards where Tyler was with Laila, Tyler was on his way back, Laila only covered in a diaper. “That was a huge blowout.” He laughed, letting out an over dramatic groan when Chase ran into his legs, you took Laila back from him, watching with a quivering lip as Chase was lifted happily up into Tyler’s arms. You watched your son wrap his arms around Tyler’s neck tightly, hugging him before leaning back and giving him a cute little kiss. Tyler enjoyed every second, it was no secret Chase was a mommas boy. “Did you have a good day?” He asked his son, but glanced over to you, doing a double take when he saw the tears pooling in your eyes. He went to speak but you shook your head, “I’m gonna go get her some clothes.” You whispered, walking past him before Chase could see you begin to cry.

You slipped Laila into a simple onesie, constantly wiping your tears as you admired the little girl before you, you loved your kids, with every ounce of your body, and always would. You’d do anything for them, and everything for them, and with that being said, you did, and you were tired. So damn tired, and you didn’t blame Tyler at all, because when he was home he was just as hands on as you were, he was never one of those dads you had to ask twice to do something, he just did it. It was hard still, most days were good, but Laila was an easy crier, so different from how Chase was as a baby, and today was a bad day, you’d been up since before Tyler had even left, Chase coming in to your room not feeling good, Laila waking early and eating in clusters all day, Chase being on his worse behavior. It just got to you today, and it made you feel worse that it got to you. It shouldn’t, you’re their mother, you shouldn’t feel so burdened, you wanted them, you prayed for them your whole life and they were here and they were perfect. A knock on the door made your head shoot up, you were sitting on the edge of the bed, Laila laying beside you, peacefully looking around. You saw Tyler standing in the doorway, arms crossed as he looked at you softly well Chase ran over to you, he had a note in his hand and skillfully climbed into your lap, he put the note down and gave you his pouty lips, not the sad ones but the ones he made when he wanted a kiss, you smiled tearfully and gave him a kiss, your heart bursting with love as he wiped the tears off your cheeks before running back over to Tyler silently. He gave you a smile as he usher Chase out, shuttling the door as they left. You opened the note, sniffling as you read Tyler’s slightly sloppy handwriting,

“don’t come downstairs until we get you!”

You rolled your eyes, not hesitating to oblige, you placed the note into the drawer of your nightstand, carefully moving to lay beside your sweet little girl. “Hi.” You whispered, grabbing her little fist when she looked at you, gurgling softly, “we’re really lucky you know, you’re daddy’s great, and your brother is gonna protect you so much when you’re bigger.” You laughed softly to yourself as you thought about the future, “don’t worry, I’ll make sure they let the good guys get to you.” You teased softly, smiling as your emotions leveled out a little, sometimes you just need a good cry. You grinned down at her blank expression, lightly tickling her stomach, her lips cracked up a little and you gasped, stopping your movements, did she just smile? You did it again, and she smiled, a real toothless smile and you cheered jumping to your feet. You wanted Tyler to see it, but you didn’t want to ruin whatever little plan he had Chase all excited about, so you pulled out your phone and FaceTimed him, he answered, holding the phone extremely close to his face, not letting you see anything. “Yes?” He sang, “she’s smiling!” You shrieked, pointing the camera to her, you did your earlier actions, her face lighting up again. “Oh my god!” He grinned, his eyes lighting up, “that’s my baby girl!” He cheered, speaking to her through the phone, she continued smiling, and you knew instantly, she would be a smiley baby now. “When can I come down?” You asked with a laugh, turning the phone back towards you, he quirked a brow. “Let me confirm with my assistant.” He joked, pausing the video you laughed, scooping Laila up as you heard two sets of footsteps running up the stairs. Really it was more of Tyler’s and Chase lightly padding before him, you hung up the phone, slipping it back into your pocket.

The bedroom door opened and your two boys smiled at you, “mommy!” Chase ran over to you, Tyler follows slowly behind him, holding his hands out for Laila, he took her but not before pressing a short but sweet kiss to your lips. “I love you.” He whispered, laughing when Chase started pulling your hand, “I love you.” You repeated to him before allowing your son to pull you along. “What did you two do?” You teased, Chase kept his eyes focused on the stairs, something he was getting better at walking down. “Patience.” Tyler scolded, walking right behind you. He laughed under his breath when you glared jokingly at him. “Oh my goodness,” you gasped, looking down at Chase who was looking at the living room proudly, they cleaned up the toys, and laid out pillows and blankets all over the floor, against the couch. Of course, yours and Chase’s favorite Disney movie was set up on the screen, Moana. You lifted your son up into your arms, he giggled as you smothered him in kisses. “Mommy, stop!” He shrieked, pushing at your face, his face turning bright red from laughter. “Alright, alright, I have to cook dinner.” You mumbled, stopping long enough for Chase to catch his breath. “Oh no you don’t, we’re having a junk night.” Tyler laughed, wrapping his free arm around you, “I ordered Chinese.” He mumbled, you sighed in relief. “Thank god.” You whispered leaning into his hold slightly. “Aw, honey.” You cooed to Laila, it was time for her to eat and she was letting you know as she went from peaceful to wailing in about half a second. You lowered Chase down and he happily cuddled himself up into the pile of blankets looking at you and Tyler cheesily. “By the time she’s done dinner will be here.” Tyler sighed, handing her over, “thank you.” You responded, he shook his head, looking over when the doorbell rang and the dogs hopped up. “Don’t thank me.” He laughed, pushing you off to the living room as he went to get the food, you sat in the chair, propping her and your arm up on a pillow as Chase paid no mind to you feeding her, he was used to it, never even asked any questions about it, which surely surprised you and Tyler.

Dinner has since come and gone, the credits to Moana playing on the screen as Chase slept on the floor in front of you, Laila was sleeping on Tyler’s chest, you had your head on the part of his chest she wasn’t taking up. “Y/N?” Tyler whispered, fingers running up your arm as spoke, “yeah?” You lifted your head, hearing the concern in his voice. “Are you okay? Really? I know it’s hard, baby, and I wish I was here more.” He spoke softly, you smiled softly, he was searching your eyes for anything, he needed an answer, he needed to know what he could do to help you. “Ty,” you mumbled, placing a hand on his face, his beard slightly tickling the palm of your hand. “It was just one bad day, you know I’d tell you if it was anything more.” You assured him, he was so attentive, he never wanted to make you feel like you had to do it all, you were equal partners in this life. “You’re a great mom, you know that?” He questioned, looking at you expectantly. “I know, and you’re a great dad, now can we please get them to bed, I just need to shower and sleep.” You teased softly, carefully standing to your feet, he laughed but agreed, following your actions, somehow you picked Chase up, carrying him up to his room, placing a kiss to his forehead once you set him down. “Goodnight sweet boy.” You whispered, tucking his blanket up over him, quietly shutting the door and walking down the hall to where Tyler was in your room, placing Laila down in her bassinet. “Come here.” You mumbled, standing in the middle of the room, he walked over to you, smiling down at your childlike expression. “I,” you paused, kissing him, “love,” another one, “you.” One long kiss, and he pulled away a little surprised, but grinning like someone just told him it was Christmas. “I love you too, so much.” He sighed, kissing your forehead softly, “hopefully they’re better tomorrow, but how about that shower?” He teased, hands sliding lower down your back. “No funny business, we don’t need another one yet.” You chastised, he put his hands up in surrender, but smirking when you walked away with a little extra sway in your hips. “Hurry up before I change my mind!” “What? No-I’m coming.” He tripped over his pants as he kicked them off following you, he laughed along with you when you were stood in the bathroom watching him with a grin. When he stepped into the shower with you, truly being nothing but sweet, showering you with kisses and whispers of sweet nothings, you knew that you would go through a hundred bad days if it meant you still had a great night like this with your little family.

Taglist: @thathockeygirl @literarycharleton

#imagine #imagines #tyler seguin #tyler seguin imagine #tyler seguin imagines #tyler seguin fluff #nhl dallas stars #nhl wiriting #dallas stars imagine

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olivia-anderson-fanfic · 3 years

Text

Soulmarks, Part 18

First part

~~~

Tim hugged himself. He was, in a word, shaken.

In many words, though, he was absolutely terrified of what Inamovibi-Lady had become. From dropping him and Bruce off a building to murdering Harley and Joker in gruesome ways, she was extremely amoral in how she achieved her goals. Sure, he’d known that akumas have their own moral code, but it had never really sunk in until he’d been faced with it.

And the akuma had told him that Marinette was inside there, and that she wasn’t particularly against anything she was doing.

But how true was that?

It appeared that she was just now starting to process what she’d done. She was shaking a little bit, her eyes wide. He hesitated and detransformed momentarily to get his jacket and then draped it over her shoulders. It wasn’t a shock blanket, but it would have to do.

She looked at him for a second and seemed to smile a little more (it was hard to tell) before looking down at her yoyo.

He went back to standing a careful distance away, his eyes wandering to his family. Everyone seemed a mix of sickened and frightened by what had happened.

Adrien was full on crying, curled up on the floor with his head in his knees. Fair enough, this really wasn’t his night. He’d found out his father was the supervillain he’d been fighting for years, had his best friend akumatized, had difficulty communicating with everyone, and now an akuma that he’d helped create had brutally murdered two people. A breakdown was pretty much inevitable.

Dick sat down next to him and pulled him into his side. Adrien didn’t seem to know what to do with the affection for a second before burying his face in his shoulder.

“Master Fu’s house, please,” said the akuma, bringing his attention back to her.

He hesitated slightly.

He was definitely going to be alone for this one. Even if he could break the moral barrier keeping him from taking a crying Adrien along to fight her, he doubted that he would be of much help.

But it wasn’t like he was really getting any choice in this. Her next target after the ‘Master Fu’ person was definitely going to be Hawkmoth and, though he could admit that she was stronger than normal, they definitely weren’t prepared to fight him. He had to beat her.

How, though? Sure, he at least knew that she wasn’t trying to hurt him (he’d just found out what would have happened to him if she had actually wanted him dead), but that didn’t mean much when she went to drastic measures to ensure that things went her way. He didn’t know how lenient she would be with him if she actually thought him a threat, because she obviously didn’t --.

He felt a hand rest on his arm and pulled himself from his thoughts to send Inamovibi-Lady a smile.

“Sorry.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest. He tried not to think about the bloody handprint now on his arm as he glanced at his family. Still no help. Great. How dare they be in shock?

He gave Inamovibi-Lady an awkward smile and opened a portal underneath them.

When they dropped into the tiny shop it took everything in Tim not to slam his head against a wall. Master Fu was just sitting at the table, drinking tea and eating sandwiches. He’d had a five hour warning, why the fuck hadn’t he even tried to run?

She twirled her yoyo, her black eyes narrowed to slits.

“Hello, Marinette.”

“Inamovibi-Lady,” she corrected. Her head tipped to the side. “You’re not going to run away?”

“If you’d like to air your grievances, I would love to hear them.”

The akuma, if possible, looked even more suspicious. “Really?”

Master Fu shrugged and gave a tiny wave of his hand before leaning back. “Mhmm. Go on.”

“I…” Inamovibi-Lady began, then stopped. There was a few times where she opened and closed her mouth, unsure what to do in this type of situation, and then she shrugged and brought her microphone to her hand. “Right, um… citizens of Paris! I’m back, and I’m here to do hearing number five! Well, four for you guys, but five total! With us today is Wang Fu!”

The old man caught Tim’s gaze and then flicked his eyes to the side quickly. Was Tim sure it had meant something? Yes. Did he have any clue what this guy was trying to say? No.

“Now, what he did was particularly messed up. Imagine, you’re a kid on their way to school, and you see this old man about to get run over. You help them. And, because of this, this random guy decides to give you the responsibility of making sure the entire city of Paris never falls to a superterrorist!”

“You must understand --.”

“Shut up. I’m not done.”

Tim rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and took a few short steps back so he could hopefully stay out of this conversation.

He also took the chance to detransform out of Inamovibi-Lady’s view. He didn’t know if Hawkmoth could hear and see everything that the akuma could, but he wasn’t going to test it. Kaalki floated over to Master Fu and stole the bread off of his sandwiches before settling herself on Tim’s shoulder to eat.

“Let’s skip over the fact that you asked two thirteen-year-olds to protect an entire city for now, because let’s talk about the fact that I didn’t have a choice!”

“You could have refused at any point.”

“Like hell I could! The city was under attack and it was obvious no normal person could do it, and then after that I was too popular to just disappear! At least the Americans recruiting kids ask them if they want to do it before they set them up as vigilantes!”

Tim transformed again and crossed his arms over his chest as he considered what to do.

He kind of wanted to let her attack the old man -- he knew first hand exactly how stressful being a vigilante is, and the idea of being thrown into it without warning was enough to make him wince -- but, at the same time, letting her do that would be kind of messed up of him.

Also, he had no plan at all, which was kind of a problem if he was going to be trying to stop her.

“So, now for your judgement.”

Shit!

“How about…” She tapped her finger on her chin as if in thought for a moment before smiling widely. “I take those miraculi off your hands. You’re clearly too old to make proper decisions about who to give them to, and I have someone better in mind.”

He needs a plan! And now!

Ah. There’s one. A bad one. But one nonetheless.

He launched himself at the akuma from behind and they both cursed as she stumbled and threw them off-balance.

But, instead of just falling to the ground for a wrestling match, her back hit something invisible and they screamed in a mix of panic and confusion as the illusion broke to reveal that they were in the turtle miraculous’s shield. They had bigger problems, though, as they rolled through the room.

They came to a stop when they hit the wall, which was unfortunate considering they were at the top. They fell the few feet to the bottom of the hamster ball and groaned.

Tim peeled his face out of her stomach and slowly pushed himself up and looked around.

Master Fu was wearing both the turtle and fox miraculi.

Well, now he knew what he’d been trying to tell him earlier: to move so he wouldn’t be caught in the hamster ball, too. Wow. Wish there was a hand motion for that or something, because Tim was not eager to be back inside, and especially not with a particularly angry akuma.

Actually, now that he was thinking about it, she was taking this remarkably well (for an akuma). Inamovibi-Lady laid back in the hamster ball and started doing tricks with her yoyo.

“You can’t keep this up forever, Fu. You have to sleep. I don’t.”

Oh. That made sense. Unfortunately.

“Besides, since Hawkmoth knows you have miraculi here, I’m expecting him to come by at some point. Gonna protect yourself and the miraculous box or keep me in here?”

Can she please stop making sense? Just for a few minutes?

He sighed and covered his ears. He needed to concentrate. He needed a plan. He had quite a bit of time, he assumed, but the faster he fixed this the faster everything could work out.

Well, not work out, they were long past that point, but at least it would be over.

His eyes found their way to her yoyo. Of course they did, it was moving around wildly, and the human eye is attracted to movement. But…

Tim shrugged to himself. A terrible plan came to him, it was really too bad they were desperate. He grabbed the akuma’s arm and opened a portal underneath them.

And they were falling.

Inamovibi-Lady screamed obscenities as they plummeted towards earth, the Eiffel Tower whizzing past them at lightning speed. He pulled her actual yoyo from his belt just in case he was wrong in how he thought this would play out...

She pulled him to her side and he breathed a sigh of relief as she threw her yoyo. She hooked it around a beam and their fall came to a jerking stop that he was not ready for. He swore he left his stomach about ten meters up.

But no time to think about that! He wrapped his arms around her as well.

“That went to plan,” he said.

“Really? Your plan was to almost die, then?” He couldn’t tell for sure, but he knew she was rolling her eyes. “You’re literally so stupid. You and Chat should have a stupid-off.”

He grinned.

She looked around for a safe place for them to land. “You might need to climb the string to get up. How good are you at that?”

He gave a tiny shrug and made a move to push himself up, only to pull the earring from her ear.

Relief flooded through him as purple and black engulfed her and her weapon. Done. Finally.

He only came to realize his mistake the moment her yoyo started to disappear.

And they were falling again.

And she was barely conscious.

And he had no idea how yoyos worked as weapons or grappling hooks are you kidding me?

He looked at the one in his free hand and shrugged mentally. He either doesn’t try and they both end up dead, tries and fails and they both end up dead, or tries and actually succeeds. He hooked his arm and legs around her as tightly as he could and prayed that it was even slightly like his grappling hook as he threw it.

They swung to safety. Kind of. He caught them pretty close to the ground, and the yoyo didn’t really hook around the beam all that well, so it mostly just slowed their fall, but outside of a few bruises they’d probably be fine when they took off their suits.

He groaned quietly and crushed the earring in his hand and caught the akuma.

And then he let himself lay down beside a confused and groggy Marinette.

Tim watched the sun start to rise and sighed, bringing an arm up to cover his eyes.

It had been a long night, but it was over now.

~~~

Next part

Taglist

@pawsitivelymiraculous @golden-promises @salty-fang @kitsunebell @sassakitty @octobitch @glastwime859 @miyla-lokidottir @onlyabatfan @ira-sairain @2confused-2doanything @ultimatetornshipper @ladybug-182 @laurcad123 @we-want-mini-mini @roguishredaxion @just-reblogs-by-h @futursworld @magic-miraculous @nathleigh @smolplantmum @vroomtaka @emimar7 @toodaloo-kangaroo @charme-de-malchan @spicybelladonna @fusser90 @indecisive-mess-named-me @rosesgonerogue @celestialsiren @bluesimani @loysydark @trippingovermyfeet @goblinwhoships

#timinette #timari #soulmarks #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #red robin #tim drake #maribat #adribat

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crowtrinkets · 3 years

Text

Barista’s Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter 2: An Elf, a Manor, and a Catman

The Barista is still trying to find a way out of this strange dream, but they meet even stranger people on the way

Word Count: 3,789

Pt 1

Whooooo chapter 2, I stopped at like 2000 and was like yknow what lets keep going ;u;. Enjoy, gender neutral Barista as always

The dirt crunches under my feet as I follow down the path. Thank god I bought nice shoes for work otherwise I would be covered in blisters by now. As I continue down I spot something in the brush of trees. I get closer and realize it’s a door inlaid into a rock wall. The bushes surrounding it unfortunately are all white giving it an ominous look.

"Go through the creepy door? Or continue in this creepy forest in a strange place?" I ask out loud. Weighing my options I grab the key Felix handed me earlier and put it in the lock. Wincing for a second in fear that this door too will scream at me. But nothing happens and the key turns to unlock the door for me. I walk in and close the door behind me and stop to observe the room I've entered. A yellow couch and a desk sit in the center. There's a large bookcase that extends across the walls and reaches the ceilings, but despite its massive size, there are still piles of books stacked everywhere. Some reaching half my height. In the corner, I spot a kitchenette.

"Man this guy likes to read," I mumble to myself. "What was he asking for again his relic? And Glass-" I stop mid-sentence. Patting the pockets of my apron I pull out the book and glasses I picked up earlier and held them in front of me.

"Right I had them all this time… This is awkward," I mutter and place the items on the desk. "Maybe I can wait here and when he comes looking for me I can ask for a way out of wherever here is," I speculate. My stomach rumbles and I place my hand on it in an attempt to console complaints. My eyes travel to the kitchenette I saw earlier.

"I mean maybe a snack couldn't hurt, he did ask me for a favor," Approaching the cabinets I open them only to find, a small wine bottle that says drink me.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I grab the bottle to inspect it, opening the lid I take a whiff, sure enough, coffee. Just like the bottle from before. Running a hand over my face I let out a frustrated groan.

"This is the weirdest dream I've ever had!" I look back at the small bottle still open and still in my hand.

"That’s right… a dream," I ponder for a second and then. "Fuck it," I upturn the bottle and empty its contents into my mouth swallowing it like a cheap tequila shot. The flavor of lattes and espresso fills my taste buds and then it's gone. I put the bottle down and inspect my hands, trying to determine if I have grown or shrunk this time. Nothing.

"Well, I guess that wasn’t so-" I stop when my head smacks something hard above me. Letting out a slew of curses I crouch and cradle my poor crown.

"Ow ok, I guess I grew," Still crouching I look around the room, in my rapid growth it seems I had knocked over a few of the many stacks of books. I adjust so I'm sitting on my bottom and try to gauge my situation.

"Ok well I definitely cannot fit through the door," I say as I see my shoe is now much larger than said door. As I shuffle uncomfortably I hear voices approach.

"Well I don't know where he went I asked him to fetch my things but he has yet to return," a familiar voice grows closer, muffled behind the door.

"But the Duke-" an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes! I am aware the Duke is still expecting me but I cannot leave without my glasses or my relic, I will only be a moment," I let out a small gasp when I realize it's Felix. The door suddenly is pushed open but is stopped by the heel of my shoe.

"Oof! What in the heavens," Felix sounds annoyed and confused. I move my foot so he can open the door properly. He pushes the door open and lets out a gasp when he sees me.

"Hi Felix as you can see I'm kind of in a sticky situation," I attempt a joke.

"The giant!" he yells. Felix lifts a fist and green fire emits from his palm when he opens his hand.

"Oh! No thanks," I say and I quickly kick the door closed careful not to break it. I hear shouting and banging on the other side of the door as I use my foot to keep it closed, trying to find some way out. I grab the couch, which might as well be the size of a Barbie's in comparison to my large size, and place it in front of the door.

"I am ordering you to apprehend this giant!"

"Sorry sir you're not Miss Anka you can't order me to do anything," an exhaustive groan escapes Felix.

"Must I do everything myself?" he grumbles. I crawl over to the desk and start to search the drawers hoping I can find anything to shrink me or even to defend myself. I am not in the mood to be burned by green fire. I finally open the bottom drawer and I find a familiar item. A desert case with flan inside labeled "eat me". Without making any second guesses I upturn the case and drop the flan into my hand, throwing it into my mouth and praying I shrink to a decent size. Squinting my eyes closed I wait and wait, the desert case seeming to grow larger in my hand. When I open my eyes it's bigger than before, not comically so but much too large to appear normal. I stand and realize I'm about as high as the desk.

"Ok toddler size is better but still not great," I sigh. The sound of the door cracking startles me and I run to hide behind the desk. I hear the sound of the couch creaking against the wood floor as it is suddenly pushed a few feet back. I hold my breath and peek around the desk. In walks Felix and a man dressed as what I am assuming a knight.

"Where is it?" Felix mutters under his breath. He lets out a yelp when he notices a pile of books, all open and laying on top of each other. When Felix's back is turned as he attempts to right his collection I make a run for the door.

I run and run until my legs ache, not even bothering to keep track of where I am going, I stop to catch my breath, doubling over in a heaving mess. After catching my breath I decide to look at my surroundings, I am caught off guard when I realize I am not surrounded by trees but in fact large mushrooms. I look up and inspect the telltale gills many mushrooms have on their underside, backing up I try to take in the scope of just how large this mushroom is.

"Oh my god," I whisper. I suddenly hear the shuffle of fabric on top of the mushroom and a person peers over the edge. The first thing I notice about this person is that they have pointed ears. I try not to stare but I'm so amazed that I forget to speak.

"Well, who might you be hm?" They lean into their palm looking at me with a sort of annoyance crossed with curiosity.

"Oh um, I-I am uh," I'm still a little shocked and the person seems to take note. They let out a sigh.

"Never seen an elf before have you?" They ask. I decide to refrain from speaking and give a slow nod, flushing with embarrassment.

"I would be surprised if you did, you don't seem to be from around here, in all honesty, you look lost and a little naïve," Suddenly they disappear and toss a rope ladder over the side. "Come, join me," They say. I observe the ladder with a sort of hesitance, giving it a slight tug to be sure it won't fall whilst I climb. Deeming the ladder worthy of my ascension I climb up and onto the mushroom cap. Once I am at the top the person I met is sitting, long draping clothes cover their body. Multiple glass jars of different sizes and shapes surround them. In close proximity, I realize just how tall they are, although I am now the size of a child they still appear to be at least 6 feet in height. Once I settle down next to them, they tilt a glass container in my direction.

"Uhm what is that?" I ask.

"Lotion," they say. I mumble thanks and take some in my hand. It smells of lavender.

"Thank you uh-" I hesitate.

"Saaros," they respond. "So what are you doing here? You appear to be a traveler although that get up is not very travel friendly," I look down at my apron and sweater letting out a laugh.

"Oh yea uh, no I'm just lost and looking for a way out," Saaros eyes me, a smirk forming on their lips.

"Oh? And perhaps it isn't because you are looking for love?" they question. A small undignified escapes me as I feel my face warm.

"N-no, I'm lost and I just need to find a way out, I've only met a few people here and besides it's not like I'm- I'm looking for a man named Felix. He has a red waistcoat and messy looking hair, a-and I think he does magic?" I trail off thinking about Felix. I guess he wasn't bad-looking but he mistook me for someone else and then got scared of me as well. What a strange man Felix is. Saaros leans towards me, their smirk never leaving.

"No! I am not looking for love," I avoid eye contact, hoping to see something that will drag me out of this awkward situation. Saaros lets out a hum.

"Very well then, I however must get going," they stand and start to gather the bottles surrounding them and placing the items into a bag.

"But wait, I'm still lost!" I plead. Without another look at me, Saaros begins to climb down the step ladder they tossed down earlier. I lean over the edge and watch as Saaros descends.

"Could you at least tell me how to get back to my normal size? I'm not usually this small," I call out. Saaros looks up at me, an annoyed expression plastered on their face. They sigh.

"Very well," With one arm holding themselves on the ladder they point with the other. "The right side will allow you to shrink, while the left will allow you to grow, simple enough?" They ask. I give a small nod. They then point their hand in the opposite direction from where I came.

"If you go that direction you may find Blackthorn Hall, there you may find your dear Felix," I flush at their use of "dear" but elected to ignore it.

"Thank you," a small smile forms on my lips. Saaros gives me a nod and continues down the ladder, eventually reaching the floor, and disappearing into the forest. Turning back around I look at the mushroom I am sitting upon.

"Right to shrink left to grow," I mumble to myself. I grab a tiny piece of the left side and take a bite. Suddenly I grow much larger, way too large. My legs now dangling over the side of the mushroom cap.

"Too much," I yelp. I take a bit of the right side, even smaller than the last and I shrink down once again, I look at my surroundings trying to gauge if I am at least my normal height. Deeming myself as being back to normal I ascend down the ladder as well, heading the direction Saaros pointed me to.

I follow the path Saaros gave me and once I round a bend I stumble across a creepy-looking manor. It's not that it is unkempt or dirty, it's actually rather beautiful, but something about the particular building is giving off an unsettling aura. I let out a slow long sigh and approach its doors. Once I approach the front I find I am not alone. I see a very very large woman standing in front of the door. The door opens slightly, barely giving me a view of who is on the other side. The woman and whoever is on the other side of the door exchange a few words. I can make out the woman's name is Orion, and that the letter she hands him is an invitation meant for the Duke by the Queen, to attend a dinner. The man thanks Orion and then closes the door. Her posture remains stiff and upright, almost military-like, and as she turns around she spots me.

"Oh uh, hello, is the Duke in there?" I ask. Orion's expression remains inscrutable as she looks down at me from atop the steps. She gives me a slow nod and then sits on the stairs.

"Are you waiting for him?" I question, slowly ascending towards the door.

"I am but a messenger, and the next time a letter is sent I will send it again, it's all I do," She responds.

"Oh um, ok," I respond. Ok, that was strange and kind of cryptic. "Well I'm just gonna-" I point towards the door, but Orion's eyes still look forward into the distance. I let out a small nod and walk up to the door, and then I lightly rap on it.

"He won't answer," Orion suddenly speaks up, never bothering to look at me. Just before I can respond I hear the sound of broken glass and yelling. I open the door and a glass bowl suddenly flies out and narrowly misses Orion's head, who doesn’t react.

"What the hell," I mutter. I run inside to see what the commotion is, not even bothering to second guess myself. The door closes behind me and I am suddenly shrouded in darkness.

"Hello?" I call out, my nerves slowly start to build as I attempt to see through the darkness. Walking forward I hit a wall. Running my hands on it I hear a sound to my right. I look over and once my eyes adjust to the darkness I realize I see the outline of light poking out from under a door. Feeling along the walls, I approach the door until my hand finds a doorknob. I turn it slowly, allowing the door to open, squinting my eyes as the light that comes through blinds me.

When I finally open my eyes I can see the room in front of me. A green dining room with a long table with only two people sitting in it. On the left side is a hearth, a woman with long pale blonde hair slaves over a pot mixing its contents. The two at the table however catch my eye the most. They sit across from each other on the short end of the table, whispering and glaring at the other across from them. The man on the right has long dark hair that is greying, his heavy black and green robes compliment the room perfectly, almost as though this may be his house. The woman on the left has dark leather pants and a white shirt with mesh sleeves showing off her plethora of tattoos. I can't help but think they look familiar. The food in front of them consists of soup and wine, a strange dinner choice. My attention moves back to the woman at the cooking pot. No one has seemed to have noticed me yet. Are those… cat ears? On her head? My face twists with confusion. But something moving in the corner catches my eye. A man with a long purple coat and dark pants perches on a windowsill, high up. I realize he is not wearing a shirt and he too has cat ears. His ears are white to match his long braided hair, and the thing that caught my attention was his equally as whitetail. He catches sight of me and gives me a toothy smile, then winking.

"Why does that man have cat ears and a tail," I catch myself thinking out loud.

"He's an Ilpheta of course," I quickly turn my head and realize the man at the table has taken notice of me. An almost sinister smirk creeps onto his lips.

"Well, I didn't know cat boys existed," I attempt a joke, feeling awkward that I've been caught in this man's home.

"You don't seem to know very much do you?" The man says it's more of a statement than a question. Feeling insulted I clench my fists. He's technically correct, I really don't know anything about this place but I don’t need him telling me that.

"Now now Escell, no need to insult our guest," the woman says, peeking a glance at me.

"I hardly remember inviting them Scylla," He responds. Suddenly the sound of broken glass catches me off guard. The cook, who I have confirmed now definitely has a tail and ears, is throwing plate wear at the catman on the windowsill. However, he doesn’t respond when they make contact with him. He just continues to pick at something in his teeth while the woman furiously chucks items at him.

"Be careful you're going to hurt someone!" I shout. The sound of the chair creaking across wood startles me and I see the woman Scylla begins to approach me.

'Well you out to be careful lost one," she says, a flirty trill dances across her lips. Scylla stops at the end of the table and picks up a glass of wine, then holding it out to me. Her smile never leaves her lips. I begin to reach for the glass but I stop midway when the cat man speaks up.

"It's poisoned yknow," he says without looking at me.

"What?" Scylla then grabs my wrist and pulls me towards her.

"Just a sip dear, it couldn't hurt," She begins tilting the glass towards my mouth as I struggle to getaway.

"No!" I shout, suddenly a bright flash of light emits from my hand, knocking me backward and onto the floor. I slowly sit up groaning, I open my eyes and I see that Scylla is nowhere to be found, just a bottle of wine, upon further inspection I realize no one else is here. Escell, the catman, and the woman at the hearth are all gone. I slowly rise and pick up the wine bottle. Inspecting its label my breath hitches when all it reads is "Scylla".

"Oh um…" I mutter, I then place the wine bottle on the table and run back out of the manor.

Once my eyes adjust from the darkened halls to the bright sun outside I close the door behind me letting out a sigh. I notice Orion is no longer sitting in her spot atop the steps. I do however see the catman that was inside earlier. He flashes me another smile which takes me aback slightly.

"Um hello," I give a small wave. The catman approaches me, leaning against the wall.

"Well hello to you," I can't help but glance down at his form, his abdomen poking out from his long purple coat. My eyes snap back up to his and I don't miss the smirk he gives me.

"I'm uh, looking for a way out of here, if you know," don’t stare at his abs don’t stare at his abs don’t-

"Well, I could tell you but, not for free," I wince a little.

"I don’t have a lot of money, and I don't even know your name," I explain.

"It's Sage and besides, I'm cheap," he finishes that off with a wink, causing me to flush.

"L-look I just need to be pointed in the right direction, isn't someone free to go wherever they like?" I ask, hoping he takes the bait. Sage ponders for a moment, looking to the side as his tail lashes about behind him.

"Alright," he lifts a gloved finger and points behind me. "If you go down that way you'll find the Holy Knight, she'll be able to help you out, you'll also be able to find the not-so-holy Engineer, both are beautiful in my opinion though, I won't judge you for having a hard time picking between the two," Sage's smile never falters as he speaks.

"I am not looking for love, just a way out," I speak.

"Well, you must be if you've come here,"

"I am not!" My voice pitches a little and my cheeks grow warm. Sage ponders for a second, tapping a finger on his chin.

"You agree a monster is a monster yes?"

"I suppose so," I say, confused by where he is going with this.

"Then you best avoid them, they'll only drag you down, if you can avoid love you can avoid the monsters" Sage takes a slight step back, clasping his hands together in front of him. I look at him with confusion.

"I don't think you're a monster," I say. I may have just met this strange catman, but something about him tells me I can trust him, in some way.

"You should," he says, almost inaudible for me to hear. "U-uh anyways, are you going to the dinner?" Sage asks, dodging the subject he started. I decide to drop it for now.

"Dinner?" I ask. Sage nods, I then recall the conversation Orion had earlier, the Queen is hosting a dinner. "I guess I am a little hungry,"

"You seem like the type to get around," Sage begins to walk down the steps of the manor and I rush to catch up with him.

"W-wait there's something I don't understand," I say. Sage slows down to my pace but continues to walk towards the forest I came from. "What happened to that girl that approached me? Scylla?"

"She's a spirit now," Sage says, still looking forwards.

"What? What do you mean by that?" I turn around to look at the house once more, my head filling with even more confusion.

"Sage-" I turn around to speak with him but he's gone. I turn around looking for any signs of the cat man dressed in purple, but I see nothing. Letting out a groan I turn towards the direction he pointed me to.

"I guess it's time to pay this Holy Knight a visit," I say to myself.

#fictif #fictif fanfic #fictif fic #fictif last legacy #last legacy #last legacy fictif #fictif saaros #fictif sage #fictif elowen #fictif escell #fictif scylla #last legacy fic #au fanfic

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avengerscompound · 4 years

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The Surrogate - Chapter 4

The Surrogate: A Clintasha Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Clint Barton x Natasha Romanoff x F!Reader

Word Count: 1813

Rating: E

Warnings: Blood and Serious Injures, talk of past miscarriage and red room fuckery.

Synopsis: A freak end of the world incident leads to meeting your two best friends, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. While your friendship with the two Avengers is anything but conventional, they are your all-time favorite people. When you find out that Clint and Natasha want to start a family but have exhausted all their options, you realize your powerset might allow you to give them what they want. Having your best friends’ baby might seem like a good idea on paper, but when you are as close as you, Clint, and Natasha are, will doing something so intimate mean feelings get a little mixed up?

Chapter 4

“We could use a healer over here!”

Clint’s voice had come over comms, and you looked around the area trying to figure out where ‘here’ actually was. You eventually spotted both him and Natasha with a group of children, sheltering under a bridge.

You took a quick looked around, and ran out from your hiding spot, vaulting over a stone fence as you charged in the direction of Clint and Natasha. Gunfire immediately broke out and you caught a bullet in the side. It slowed you for a moment as a hot pain flared out and then died back off. By the time you reached Natasha and Clint, the only sign that you had been shot at all was a hole in your catsuit and some already drying blood.

“Think this might be above your abilities,” Natasha said. She was cradling a young boy, and when you moved closer she moved her hand showing you where their leg now had broken exposed bone.

“Fuck,” you cursed, crouching down.

“She said a bad word,” a very young girl said.

“She sure did. And right now you all have special Avengers’ permission to say as many bad words as you know,” Clint said, as he loosed a couple of arrows. “Ready… set… go.”

The group of children all broke out into random cursing and you looked at Natasha. “I’m gonna try blood. Pray to Thor that we match. Can you get that bone back into alignment?”

Natasha nodded. “Okay, malysh,” Natasha soothed and took one of her lives out of its leather holsters. “This is going to hurt a lot. But I need you to be very brave for me and hold as still as you can. And when we’re done, we’ll make sure you get home safe with your family. I promise.”

He nodded weakly and she held the leather holster to his lips. “Bite down on this, little one.”

The boy bit down into the leather and Natasha quickly snapped the bones back into place with a loud and gut turning crack. The boy screamed into the holster and passed out. You took the knife that the holster homed and cut open your arm.

You had been part of the Avengers for over three years now. One mission had turned into many and you had gone from being a new recruit to a full-fledged agent. You settled into life at the compound and the memory of a time where you were scared and didn’t know exactly how you could use your powers to help people.

You had friends and a routine and you dated on and off and when you were off you would hook up with Natasha and Clint because they were just that little bit too hard to resist. Especially when you’d just gone through a breakup. You considered them your best friends and you loved their relationship dynamic. They were hilarious together and their way of showing affection was so perfectly them.

Most of your missions were with one or the other or both. The closeness had made you be able to work like a well-oiled machine together, being able to predict each other’s patterns and counter each other. This particular mission was a big one though. A small town in the Midwest had been attacked by domestic terrorists and the whole team had been sent out to stop it.

As your blood mixed with the boy’s, nothing seemed to happen. You cursed the stupid limitations of your powers and you were just about to let your own wound close back up when you noticed the bones and flesh knitting back together on the boy’s leg. You had to keep twisting the knife in your own wound to keep the blood flowing and your hand was beginning to shake from the pain. As the wound closed you let go of the knife and your own cut rapidly healed. Color returned to his skin and his eyes fluttered open.

“Thank Thor,” Clint sighed. He turned back to look at the kids like he was planning what the next move should be and there was a crack from a bolt of lightning behind him, making him jump

“You can save the thanks for when I have actually helped,” Thor teased, playfully. “Come, your extraction has arrived.”

A huge armored vehicle pulled up at the bridge and the side opened. Clint ran to the side of the truck and began loosing arrows out past it, creative cover.

“Come, little ones,” Natasha said. “Onto the truck.”

You and she herded the children into the vehicle, carrying the injured boy into the back and putting him on a stretcher. When you were all safe inside, Clint climbed in and pulled the door closed behind him.

“Hold tight,” the agent driving called back. Clint sat down on one of the benches as the truck took off much faster than you expected.

“How close are we to being done with this?” You asked as a little girl climbed up into Clint’s lap and clung to him. He wrapped an arm around her and held her steady as the truck bounced over the rough terrain.

“Captain Rogers is mounting an assault on the last remaining group now. Shouldn’t be much longer,” the agent called back. “You were the last group that had been cornered by them.”

“Thank god,” you sighed and let your head fall back against the wall of the truck. You immediately regretted it, as it banged against metal.

You sat back up and watched Clint with the little girl. She had calmed down and was gradually drifting off to sleep against him.

“Clint looks really good with kids,” you whispered to Nat.

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s a natural with them. I think because he is basically a giant child.”

You snorted and bumped her with your shoulder. “You were good with them too. You guys gonna have kids someday?”

Natasha frowned. “Can’t,” she said, trying to keep her voice neutral, but the slight strain giving away her pain. “We want to. But… the Red Room did something to me. Having children creates weakness, so they sterilized me. But… not… I mean… I have been pregnant but it ended up in a late-term miscarriage.”

“I’m so sorry, Natasha,” you said. If it was anyone else you would have wrapped your arms around them and let them be weak. Natasha would rather stab herself in the eye than let that happen though, so instead, you leaned against her a little, hoping that your weight might be comforting and allow her to be strong. “Have you ever considered adoption? Or surrogacy?”

She nodded. “Surrogacy is out, it’s something about the genes. They have a self destruct in them. We applied to adopt but were told in no uncertain terms that no one is allowing an ex Russian-assassin adopt a child.”

“That fucking sucks,” you said, not quite sure what else you could say. It did fucking suck and you wished there was something you could do. You weren’t used to hearing that crack of pain in her voice. It was akin to seeing Wanda in actual tears.

Natasha laughed softly. “Yeah. It does. I’d love to be a mother. But I guess for me, that isn’t to be. I have escaped what the Red Room did to me. I’ve tried making up for it. I send money to the families of my victims. I save people. But they will always have this over me.” She sighed and looked over at Clint. “He says he’s okay with it. I know that he would never complain about missing out, but I hate that my past has taken this from him too. When he called me to tell me he met a healer that day when he met you, I got a little excited. I thought… I hoped maybe you could undo what they did to me. But that’s not how your powers work.”

You shook your head. “I’m sorry.”

She rubbed your thigh. “Not your fault. You didn’t do this to me. They did,” she said. “Just have to accept that maybe after everything I did, I have to just be happy with the ending I get. I am lucky I have him. It’s enough.”

You couldn’t stop thinking about the things Natasha had said on the way back to base, through the cleanup, on the ride home, and through the entire debrief. Your powers couldn’t help fix what had happened to her. Even if you gave her a full blood transfusion they couldn’t fix something that had been done to her so long ago. You needed an exchange of fluids and it to be fresh.

Normally a surrogate wouldn’t work because whatever they’d done kicked in late on in the pregnancy due to genes. But if you were the one that was pregnant, the issue wouldn’t be old, your powers would be here, correcting mistakes and potential health issues before they happened, and as far as fluids, they’d be soaking in them, and sharing your blood supply. You didn’t know for sure if it would work, but the more you thought about it the more you were sure it would.

You thought about what it would be like having a baby for someone else. It took a special kind of person to agree to put their body through that for almost a year and then to give that baby up. It wasn’t for everyone and it would be hard, both physically and emotionally. Clint and Natasha were your best friends and you might be the only chance they had to have kids together. If you could give them that, you wanted to try.

After the debrief, everyone scattered to their rooms or apartments to sleep it off. You couldn’t turn your mind off and so after half an hour of pacing your room, you went to Natasha and Clint’s apartment and knocked on the door.

Clint answered the door and looked you up and down, grinning. “You didn’t get enough of us this week?” He teased.

“I just… I wanted to…” You shook your head and took a deep breath.

“No offense, dorogáya,” Natasha said, coming over to the door. “It’s been a long week and Clint and I just want to have some couple-time.”

“Right, yeah. I’ll leave you to it,” you said, tapping your hands nervously on your thighs. “I just… I wanted to say…” You took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Let me do it.”

“Let you do what?” Clint said, putting his arm around your shoulder. “Babe, what’s wrong? You’re so worked up.”

Your eyes flicked between Clint and Natasha. You didn’t know why you were so nervous. This was a nice offer. If they said no then they said no. “Natasha,” you said. “Nat. Let me carry your baby.”

// NEXT

#clint barton #natasha romanoff #clint barton x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #clint barton x natasha romanoff x reader #clint barton x natasha romanoff #clintasha x reader #clintasha #hawkeye #black widow #hawkeye fanfic #black widow fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #pregnancy #the surrogate

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thatsgay-writes · 4 years

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Catradora x Reader Part 8

Summary: You, Catra, and Adora have known each other your whole life. You’ve gone through some hardships together and apart but in the end you’ll be together again. (That sounds very cryptic but its not, I swear)

Warnings: Light cursing? I think

Sad Ending

You regain consciousness with a groan. You still felt weak but you knew you had to push through for Adora and Catra. "I love you guys." Is the only thing you say before pulling Catra into a kiss. Catra eagerly kisses you back, her hands around your neck keeping you close. You feel yourself transform into your knight version. When you pull back from the kiss you see yourself glowing. You go to say something but get stopped by being pulled into a kiss by Adora. As you both kiss your feel this huge wave of energy release like a tidal wave. When you pull back from the kiss you see that Adora is in her She-ra form and glowing as well. They both pull you to your feet, all of you glowing now, and grab your sword. You find a slot on the floor and line up the blade of your sword to it. "You ready?" You ask preparing to push the sword in the hole. Both Catra and Adora nod their heads, giving each other a quick peck on the lips before putting their hands in your shoulders. You raise the sword before pushing it in as hard as you can. Once you hear a click you let go of the sword and back away. The heart starts beating faster and faster like a bomb about to explode. It starts pushing the green of Horde Prim's virus away. Then it lets out another large surge of energy and you see Adora light up even brighter.

A door opens before you and Adora walks out before you and Catra. As she walks the ground beneath her feet turn from dried dirt to luscious green grass with different colored flowers. You and Catra trail behind her slowly, holding hands, and looking around in awe. Adora points her sword down towards the ground and stabs it sending out another wave of energy but this time it turns all the ground into more vibrant green grass. Adora points up sword up to the sky this time and sends out a ballast of magic turning Horde Prime's ship into a gigantic tree. As your watching all this going on you can feel all the adrenaline it gave you going away. You were now back in your normal clothes because you had to leave the sword behind, stuck into the grown. What you hadn't noticed before was that those green lines the had spread all over your body from the wound the monster gave you were spreading back again. This time it was more aggressive. But you didn't given in to the pain you were feeling just yet, wanting to stay strong in front of the others. But you knew the green was close to getting to your face. Once Adora was done with getting rid of Horde Prime, you saw her walking over to Bow and Glimmer to talk to them. You look over at Catra who hadn't moved since you stopped walking. She was staring over at Scorpia, who was hugging Perfuma and Frost. "Go get her." You tell Catra nudging her forwards, you could see how much the friendship they had had meant to her. Catra looked at you one more time, face showing a bit of fear, before letting go of your hand and walking over to Scorpia.

With her finally gone you groan in pain before turning around and walking up a hill that gave you a beautiful scene of greenery. You moved your hands that had been holding your right side and see the wound looking bigger than before. You can hear people walking up the hill behind you and you pray to god it's not Adora and Catra cause at this rate you feel like your gonna collapse... and you do.

Catra was so relieved that Scorpia had forgiven her and allowed them to restart their friendship. When she was done talking she looked back to where she had left you. You weren't there. She looked around a little before spotting Adora talking to Bow and Glimmer. She walks up to Adora and grabs her hand to get her attention. Catra makes it a point to ignore the smirks that Bow and Glimmer are giving them. "Have you seen y/n? They aren't where I left them." Adora looks around a bit before seeing you on top of a hill, your back to them. "There they are. Come on guys let's go." Adora says pointing at you and starts walking towards you, still holding Catra’s hand. Bow and Glimmer walked behind them both wearing smiles seeing how happy Adora and Catra seem to be. When they were halfway up the hill Catra was going to scream your name to try and scare you. But right as she opens her mouth to yell you collapse to the ground. Her yell turns from one of humor to one of terror.

She and Adora let go of each other's hands and start sprinting up to you. When they get to you Adora kneels down and sits your body up, pulling your head against her chest. "Y/n what's wrong? Are you ok?" Catra asks as she sits in front of you, holding your hands. Your whole body was covered in green lines at that point and your breathing was shallow. "The monster... It was powerful enough to take out She-ra... It-it must've poisoned me." You say in between breaths, trying to control your breathing. "There has to be something I can do." Adora says desperately before turning into She-ra. She focuses on trying to heal you and starts to glow but nothing is happening. "No... no... no! This isn't happening." Adora says trying harder. "Why won't it work!" By now the sounds of Catra yelling and Adora glowing gathered the Princess Rebellion. They all stared down sadly at the scene before them.

Both Catra and Adora were in full blown tears now, holding on to you tightly trying to keep you awake. "It's... it's ok guys." "What the hell no this is not okay!" "Catra let me finish... please. I love the both of you so much... You both have always been there for me since day one... I know we all went through a rough patch... But I wouldn't change anything knowing it got us here... When we were with the Horde I always imagined that if I died, I would die alone... But now I'm surrounded by people I don't just call my friends, I call them family..." your speech is interrupted by a sudden flash of pain ripping through your body. Your body convulses and seizes. All Catra and Adora can do is pull you closer and they hate that. When your body finally stops you continue talking, "When I go please don't be sad for me... My life was full of adventure... My one regret is not telling you both how I felt earlier... When I'm gone I want you to keep living the way we have been... Living each day to the fullest and loving who you love." You look up at Adora and Catra before weakly leaning up and giving them both a kiss on the lips. You pull them into a hug and whisper, "I love you both so much, never change." As soon as you finish your sentence, you start convulsing again. This time the pain was worst than the last. You wanted to scream, to shout, anything but you didn't want that to be the last sound they heard you make. Black spots slowly started taking over your vision before you felt your eyes roll to the back of your head. Your eyes never opened again.

Feeling and watching your body go limp hurt more than anyone had expected. Perfuma burst into tears sobbing before getting pulled into a hug by Scorpia, who was letting her own tears fall freely. Scorpia also pulled Frosta, who was trying to be strong and not cry, into the hug as well and once she did Frosta started sobbing. Sea Hawk was full blown sobbing as well as he was being hugged by Mermista who let out tears of her own. Netossa and Spinerella were crying and hugging as well. While Entrapta let out some tears herself holding onto Emily. Bow and Glimmer both got on theirs knees crying and pulled Catra and Adora into a group hug. Catra and Adora were both sobbing into your shoulder refusing to let go just yet. When they finally did pull away and lay your body on the stretcher the guards of Bright Moon brought, they both laid a final kiss onto your forehead before pulling each other into a hug.

*10 Year Time Skip*

"Y/n!" Catra yelled running around the room trying to get her child dressed. She felt a ton of relief when she saw Adora walk into the bedroom. "Thank god! Please help me get them dressed." Catra practically begged. Adora laughed at her wife's desperation before grabbing their child as they ran by. "Come on and get dressed. You know what day it is right?" Their kid shook their head. Adora smiled lightly before answering her own question, "We get to go visit mommy/daddy today." The child’s eyes widened in shock before climbing out for their moms arms and running around trying to get dressed. Catra let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god. How are you so good with children?" She said as she wrapped her arms around Adora’s waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Before Adora could reply though y/n came running up to them saying that they were ready to go.

Walking up to your grave was always a bit harder to do then stare at a statue of you made in all the different kingdoms. A grave just made it so much more real. Y/n ran ahead of them so they could tell you about their day and catch you up on whatever they did for the past few weeks. Adora and Catra stopped a little ways back, giving their child some alone time with their honorary mommy/daddy. Which you had been dubbed after they learned who they were named after and how much their mommies had loved you. When y/n was finally done telling you about everything they turned around and waved their moms forwards. Adora and Catra both kneeled down and out a hand on your grave. They both told you about what happened the last few weeks for them, while throwing in jokes or comments here and there to make the conversation lighter.

But if course they always ended it by telling you how much they loved you and missed you. When they were done they turned around to see the rest of the Princess Alliance there waiting their own turns. Everyone would always visit your grave on the anniversary of your death and they would all go to lunch afterwards to catch up. When everyone was done taking turns to talk to you they stood in a semi circle around your grave. "It's been 10 years but it still feels like it happened yesterday." Adora spoke, saying what everyone was feeling. Everyone slowly left couple by couple heading towards where they go to eat every year, your favorite restaurant. As Adora, Catra, and y/n left, y/n felt the sudden urge to look back and so they did. When they looked back they saw 3 people standing over your grave facing it. The one in the middle acted like they had felt y/n'a eyes on them and turned their head around to look back. Both the y/ns made eye contact with one another. The younger one made a face of surprise while the older one smiled and waved before disappearing with the other 2 people.

PREVIOUS /// HAPPY ENDING

#Spop #catradora x reader #catra x reader #she ra and the princesses of power #adora x reader #female character #x reader

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mab1905 · 3 years

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More Fitzjames content? Yeah... here’s a playlist for ya’ll...

These are songs which I think describe him at different points in his character developement or simply different aspects of his personality. Somewhat James/Crozier (Fitzier) but all about James.

(25 songs, 1 hour 33 min)

Song List + Most Character-Relevant Lyrics:

Fancy — Orville Peck

We didn't have money for food or rent / To say the least, we was hard pressed / Then Mama spent every last penny we had / To buy me a dancin' dress / Mama washed and combed and curled my hair / And she painted my eyes and lips / Stepped into a satin dancin' dress / That had a slit in the side clean up to my hips / It was red velvet trim, and it fit me good / Starin' back from the lookin' glass / There stood a woman where a half-gown boy had stood / ... / It sounded like somebody else that was talkin' / Askin', "Mama, what do I do?" / She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy / They'll be nice to you" / "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down / Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down / Lord, forgive me for what I do / But if you want out, well, it's up to you / Now don't let me down now / Your mama's gonna move you uptown"

gold rush — Taylor Swift

What must it be like / To grow up that beautiful? / With your hair falling into place like dominos / ... / At dinner parties / I call you out on your contrarian shit / And the coastal town / We wandered 'round had never / Seen a love as pure as it / And then it fades into the gray of my day old tea / 'Cause you know it could never be

The Name Of The Game — ABBA

Your smile, and the sound of your voice / And the way you see through me / Got a feeling, you give me no choice / But it means a lot to me / So I wanna know / What's the name of the game?

Spectrum — Florence + The Machine

And when we come for you / We'll be dressed up all in blue / With the ocean in our arms / Kiss your eyes and kiss your palms / And when it's time to pray / We'll be dressed up all in grey / With metal on our tongues / And silver in our lungs / ... / And when we come back we'll be dressed in black / And you'll scream my name aloud / And we won't eat and we won't sleep / We'll drag bodies from the ground / So say my name / And every colour illuminates / And we are shining / And we'll never be afraid again

Dreamy Bruises — Sylvan Esso

How can we question / What we knows feels right / Black eyes turn to marigolds / In the morning light / Ohweeohweeoh kids move so slow / Shaken all over like some dogs at the pool / Ohweeohweeoh kids move so slow / They’re kicken all the records over acting like they hanging water / Ohweeohweeoh kids move so slow / Down in the basement where the sun don't show / Ohweeohweeoh kids movie so slow / Naked dollars wonder piles dreamy bruises rotten lovers / And they say I want you / To bend me back in two / To make me sing your tune / To make those words so smooth / Fill me like a song do

Wolf — Sylvan Esso

But no birds nor beast does he eat / He only wants the tenderest meat / And oh the sounds he makes them speak / Under all different patterns of sheets / ... / The modern wolf, the modern wolf / Drippin' in all the lives that he took / He'll go on home, try to wash them off / But when he shaves, he hears them call

Francis Forever — Mitski

On sunny days I go out walking / I end up on a tree-lined street / I look up at the gaps of sunlight / I miss you more than anything / I don't need the world to see / That I've been the best I can be, but / I don't think I could stand to be / Where you don't see me / And autumn comes when you're not yet done / With the summer passing by, but / I don't think I could stand to be / Where you don't see me

James — MGMT

James / If you need a friend / Come right over / Don't even knock / And I'll be home / The door is always open / And we both can say, "Who's laughing now?" / Oh, James / My little doll / You just go outside and you call / Oh, James / Oh, you're never too far off / If your fire's out / There's no need to shout / I'm always home / And walk on in / I'll make you tea and breakfast / And we both can say, "Who's laughing now?"

South London Forever — Florence + The Machine

I drive past the place that I was born / And the places that I used to drink / Young and drunk and stumbling in the street / Outside the Joiners Arm's like foals unsteady on their feet / With the art students and the boys in bands / High on E and holding hands with someone that I just met / I thought it doesn't get / Better than this / There can be nothing better than this / Better than this / And we climbed onto the roof, the museum / And someone made love in the glass / And I'd forgot my name / And the way back to my mother's house / With your black cool eyes and your bitten lips / The world is at your fingertips / It doesn't get better than this / What else could be better than this? / Oh, don't you know I have seen / I have seen the fields aflame / And everything I ever did / Was just another way to scream your name

Oh! You Pretty things — David Bowie

I think about a world to come / Where the books were found by the Golden ones / Written in pain, written in awe / By a puzzled man who questioned / What we work here for / All the strangers came today / And it looks as though they're here to stay / Oh You Pretty Things (Oh You Pretty Things) / Don't you know you're driving your / Mamas and Papas insane / Oh You Pretty Things (Oh You Pretty Things) / Don't you know you're driving your / Mamas and Papas insane / Let me make it plain / You gotta make way for the Homo Superior

Venus As A Boy — Björk

His wicked sense of humor / Suggests exciting sex / His fingers they focus on her and touches / He's Venus as a boy / ... / All across your lips, oh, then until / Well be that it's a little now, until / He believes in a beauty / He's Venus as a boy / He believes in a beauty and gentle

Winds Change — Orville Peck

Had a lover but I lost my patience / Gonna get a song on a radio station / Got a fire but you just can't use it / I don't mean no lies, baby, please don't lose it / Lost my way on the other side / I know why, I don't know when / From the way that we said goodbye / I knew I'd never see you again / Left my mind in the Salt Lake City / Met a lot of men who would call me pretty / Pack of reds, watch the days get colder / Don't it make you cry, how we're getting older?

Fluorescent Adolescent — Arctic Monkeys

Oh the boy's a slag / The best you ever had / The best you ever had is just a memory / And those dreams weren't as daft as they seem / Not as daft as they seem / My love, when you dream them up... / Flicking through a little book of sex tips / Remember when the boys were all electric? / Now when she's told she's gonna get it / I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget it / Clinging to not getting sentimental / Said she wasn't going but she went still / Likes her gentlemen not to be gentle / Was it a Mecca dauber or a betting pencil? / Oh the boy's a slag / The best you ever had / The best you ever had is just a memory / And those dreams weren't as daft as they seem / Not as daft as they seem / My love, when you dream them up / Falling about / You took a left off Last Laugh Lane / Just sounding it out / But you're not coming back again.

Cheerleader — St. Vincent

I've had good times / With some bad guys / I've told whole lies / With a half smile / Held your bare bones / With my clothes on / I've thrown rocks / Then hid both my arms / I've played dumb / When I knew better / Tried so hard / Just to be clever / I know honest thieves / I call family / I've seen America / With no clothes on / I don't know what I deserve / But for you I could work / Cause I don’t want to be a cheerleader no more

Queen Bitch — David Bowie

She's so swishy in her satin and tat / In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat / Oh God, I could do better than that / Oh, yeah / She's an old-time ambassador / Of sweet talking, night walking games / Oh and she's known in the darkest clubs / For pushing ahead of the dames / If she says she can do it / Then she can do it, she don't make false claims / But she's a queen and such a queen / Such a laughter is sucked in their brains / Now she's leading him on / And she'll lay him right down / Yes, she's leading him on / And she'll lay him right down / But it could have been me / Yes, it could have been me

Boys Keep Swinging — David Bowie

Heaven loves ya / The clouds part for ya / Nothing stands in your way / When you're a boy / Clothes always fit ya / Life is a pop of the cherry / When you're a boy / When you're a boy / You can wear a uniform / When you're a boy / Other boys check you out / You get a girl / These are your favorite things / When you're a boy / Boys / Boys / Boys keep swinging

Caterpillars (Of The Common Wealth) — Will Connolly

You know you'll always be my valentine / Now swear to god that you will never tell / They're streaming every indiscretion live / For caterpillars of the commonwealth / Gotta go / You can stay / Make yourself at home / Gotta go / This campaign / Don't run itself you know / You've got potential little parasite / I tie your hands so i can wish you well / Cuz i'm a gentleman and you are like / A caterpillar of the commonwealth / Gotta go / I said no / You need to know your role / Gotta go / I said no / It's all under control

Imposters (Little By Little) — The Fratellis

You wear your mask, I'll wear mine / They don't come cheap, but they fit just fine / You can be her and I can be him / We can both sink when the rest all swim / ... / We can pretend that our fates were entwined / A beautiful lie is the beautiful kind / Everybody knows that the sun still sets / And everybody gives and everybody gets / ... / I could be the one that you just can't shake / Till you swear that your eyes go blind / We can disappear till the sun burns a hole / In the life that we left behind

Sweet Painted Lady — Elton John

I'm back on dry land once again / Opportunity awaits me like a rat in the drain / We're all hunting honey with money to burn / Just a short time to show you the tricks that we've learned / If the boys all behave themselves here / Well, there's pretty young ladies and beer in the rear / ... / Forget us we'll have gone very soon / Just forget we ever slept in your rooms / And we'll leave the smell of the sea in your beds / Where love's just a job and nothing is said

Super Trouper — ABBA

Super trouper beams are gonna blind me / But I won't feel blue / Like I always do / 'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you / ... / So I'll be there when you arrive / The sight of you will prove to me I'm still alive / And when you take me in your arms / And hold me tight / I know it's gonna mean so much tonight

Babooshka — Kate Bush

She sent him scented letters / And he received them with a strange delight / Just like / His wife / But how she was before the tears / And how she was before the years flew by / And how she was when she was beautiful / She signed the letter / All yours...

Paris is Burning — St. Vincent

I write to give word the war is over / Send my cinders home to mother / They gave me a medal for my valor / Leaden trumpets spit the soot of power / They say, "I'm on your side / "When nobody is, 'cause nobody is / "Come sit right here and sleep / "While I slip poison in your ear" / We are waiting on a telegram / To give us news of the fall / I am sorry to report / Dear Paris is burning after all

Dream of Sheep — Kate Bush

Oh I'll wake up to any sound of engines / Every gull a seeking craft / I can't keep my eyes open / Wish I had my radio / I'd tune into some friendly voices / Talking 'bout stupid things / I can't be left to my imagination / Let me be weak, let me sleep and dream of sheep / Ooh, their breath is warm / And they smell like sleep / And they say they take me home / Like poppies, heavy with seed / They take me deeper and deeper

Hunger — Florence + The Machine

At seventeen, I started to starve myself / I thought that love was a kind of emptiness / And at least I understood then, the hunger I felt / And I didn't have to call it loneliness / ... / Tell me what you need, oh, you look so free / The way you use your body, baby, come on and work it for me / Don't let it get you down, you're the best thing I've seen / We never found the answer but we knew one thing / ... / And it's Friday night and it's kicking in / In that pink dress, they're gonna crucify me / Oh, and you in all your vibrant youth / How could anything bad ever happen to you? / You make a fool of death with your beauty, and for a moment / I forget to worry

#Spotify #fanmix #gay #fanwork #playlist #i have a crippling addiction to making playlists #james fitzjames #fitzier #francis crozier #francis rawdon moira crozier #Jim fitzjimmy #james fitzjames + gender = ? we dont know her #spotify playlist

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awkwardpenguinproductions · 3 years

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Nemesis

Part 10 of the Dragon of the Yuyan

Read on AO3 | Series Masterpost

The smarmy jerk’s got style, Zuko will give him that. He still rubs Zuko the wrong way––instincts honed over years spent in the company of soldiers recognize bloodlust regardless of how well it disguises itself under smooth charm. He and Sokka exchange irritated glances, but both Aang and Katara are googly-eyed, and if half the squad is dug in, the rest aren’t going anywhere.

The hideout’s pretty cool. Zuko can appreciate the strategic genius of the location; the trees are so tall and the canopy so thick that there’s very little chance of the Freedom Fighters (oh Agni what a stupid name) being discovered––firebenders like to be rooted, and that preference informs almost all of Fire Nation military tactics, so it’ll be a rare Fire Nation soldier that would think to look up for his enemy. That speech, though... Zuko shivers and prays to Agni, Tui, La, and the Four Winds that his new squad has the sense to keep Zuko’s firebending confidential.

The next morning, Jet takes Zuko and Sokka out on a scouting mission. Sokka's trick with his knife in the tree is really clever, and Zuko would love to learn how it works. Once Sokka's more fluent in Yuyan hand-language–right now, he can barely contort his hands into the letters for finger-spelling. Sokka hisses that someone's approaching, and an elder steps shakily down the path in the trees. Sokka calls the false alarm, but Jet ignores him.

Great Agni and all the stars, the guy’s a nutcase. The elder he’s just assaulted was barely able to stand up without the cane Jet had swiped out from under him, and now he’s on the ground and Zuko has a rappel line ready but for once Sokka beats him to the punch, leaping from the perch like a diving eagle-hawk. The Water Tribe warrior catches Jet’s foot with his club as it swings towards the elder’s face, and Zuko lands behind his squad mate just as Jet snarls “remember why you fight” in Sokka’s face. When they return to the hideout and Sokka tells Katara and Aang what had happened, Jet fucking lies to their faces—if that elder had actually been an assassin, Zuko will snap his bow in half and join the Imperial Firebenders.

What really surprises Zuko is how all Katara needs to hear is "the guy was Fire Nation" and she immediately decides that regardless of whatever Jet had done to the guy, it must have been justified. She knows he's Fire Nation. She knows he's a firebender. There's a reason he's dressed in Earth Kingdom browns, and avoids looking anyone in the eye. Zuko trusted his new squad with his identity, but now, looking at the waterbender's cold blue eyes as she glares at Sokka, he wonders if that had been a mistake. Sokka finally storms out, grumbling about packing his things, and Zuko follows, feeling vaguely uneasy and wondering if he should do the same.

Zuko is awake at dawn (he is a firebender after all) so he clearly hears the whispers outside the hut. Sokka hears them as well, and without a word they both slip out and follow Jet and his cronies to a cliff overlooking a nearby village and the dam that protects it. The plan they overhear makes Zuko's blood run cold. Zuko knew Jet was bloodthirsty, but wiping out an entire village just to get rid of half a garrison’s worth of soldiers? Gaipan, Zuko remembers from reading pilfered reports back at the Stronghold, is barely worth the ink that marks it on the maps. Wiping it out wouldn’t do a single thing to uproot the Fire Nation’s foothold in the Earth Kingdom. And the guy’s bullshit excuse about the demands of war makes Zuko want to either laugh hysterically or breathe fire. This kid has no idea about the demands of war; he’s just lashing out at what he perceives as monsters.

But he’s too dangerous to be pitied, and too steeped in fear and rage to be reasoned with. When Sokka refuses to go along with their plan, and Zuko makes his opinion clear by spitting in the nutcase’s face with all of the precision trained into him by the Yuyan, Jet orders Pipsqueak and Smellerbee to take them on a “long walk”. Their hands are tied behind their backs, and Smellerbee jolts them into motion with the poke of a dagger. As they walk, Zuko is itching to fight; the odds are much better now that it’s two on two, even accounting for Pipsqueak’s size. But a single look from Sokka banks his fire. The Water Tribe warrior is subtly leading them in a specific direction, so subtly that even Zuko hadn’t noticed until just that moment.

Sokka suddenly speaks; it’s a signal, and Zuko watches carefully for signs of what to do. He knows that Sokka is going to break left the second the other boy shifts his weight, and they turn and run in unison, so suddenly that their captors are left behind to shout and give chase. Zuko immediately sees where Sokka is going with this—two of the same kinds of traps they had discovered yesterday are primed and waiting. The two Freedom Fighters bumble into the traps and get snapped up like hog-monkeys, and Zuko smirks as he easily snaps the shoddy vine-rope with a flex of his arms. Even spitting mad, a blush spreads across Smellerbee’s face, and Sokka laughs as he easily undoes his own bindings.

“While you’re up there and daydreaming about how ripped Zuko is, you might want to practice your knotwork,” he quips, and Zuko cuffs him under his stupid wolf-tail.

As they sprint back towards the hideout, Sokka breathlessly outlines his plan. There’s no time to argue, and Sokka isn’t yet advanced enough in Yuyan hand-language to understand him anyway, so Zuko agrees, and they pack up Appa’s saddle and race to the village. Zuko and Appa drop Sokka off to get the villagers evacuated, and then return to the hideout to pick up Aang and Katara.

Who aren’t in the hideout.

Shit.

It’s hard for Appa to punch his way through the forest’s dense canopy, and by the time they find a hole big enough for him to get through without scraping the saddle and half the fur off his back, they’re much farther from the reservoir than Zuko wants to be. They fly back as fast as Appa can manage, but the reservoir’s full, the blasting jelly is in place, and Zuko can hear a birdcall whistling through the air. Another call answers it.

A burning arrow arcs through the sky, too far away for Zuko to shoot it down. All he can do is watch.

The dam explodes.

The village floods.

Agni, please let Sokka have gotten them out in time. Please let Sokka have gotten out in time.

Heartsick, burning with fury, he directs Appa over the flooded remains of the village, following the flow of the water. There are no bodies, but that means nothing. Until they round a bend, and then it means everything.

Sokka is waving his arms and jumping around like a maniac, grinning from ear to ear, jubilant in his plan’s success. Behind him stand the entirety of the village’s residents, Earth Kingdom natives and Fire Nation colonists and soldiers. Zuko returns Sokka’s grin, and holds out an arm for the other boy to hoist himself up on Appa’s head. Sokka waves to the people, and everyone but a few shell-shocked soldiers cheer. Zuko spots the elder from the day before, tears in his eyes as he bows shakily to the two boys.

They find Katara, Aang, and Jet just inside the treeline atop the cliff. Jet is frozen to a tree, and Katara is shouting at him furiously, tears flowing down her cheeks. Aang is sitting on the forest floor with his big, stormy gray eyes staring at Jet like the asshole had broken his heart. Zuko’s fury reignites at Aang’s expression, and he glares at Jet and wishes that he could roast the bastard to ash with the strength of his gaze alone. The flinch Jet can’t suppress at the sight of Zuko is satisfying enough, he supposes.

Aang and Katara climb into Appa’s saddle, Momo flutters down to wrap around Aang’s shoulders, and Sokka flicks the reins. The bison roars and lifts off, drowning out the furious, insane screams of the would-be terrorist of Gaipan. Looking at the faces of his squad, Zuko knows that this was a lesson that needed to be learned, but it was a cruel one, and he’s not looking forward to the debrief. For now, though, he’s content to act as comfort for shell-shocked Aang and miserable Katara, and smirk when Aang points out to Sokka that they’re flying the wrong way.

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#atla #atla fanfic #awkpenproductions presents #dragon of the yuyan #part 10 nemesis #full text post

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