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pepsiluvr0209 · 3 months

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White Ferrari (Final)

buckle in guys

WARNINGS: Angst, mentions of death and just overall sadness

Matt Sturniolo x Reader

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧.˚ₓ

"I let you out, at Central."

It had been one day.

One day of Matt never leaving your side. He practically had to be dragged out of your room for tests and to rest, since the lack of sleep the boy was getting was detrimental for his healing.

"Baby you need to eat." You look at Matt who stared back at you, sadness engulfing his eyes. He had been by your hospital bed for the past couple hours and you started to get concerned.

"I don't want to." He mumbled, tiredly grabbing your tubed hand and playing with your fingers. "I just want to be with you."

"Can you eat here?" Matt just shrugged. Just then you started coughing erratically and Matt jumped up, cradling you gently so you could stabilise yourself. After your breathing evened out, he reluctantly let go and instantly latches himself back onto your hand. This happens about once every 10 minutes and Matt feels his heart break with every episode.

"See this is what we can't do." You sternly say turning to look at him in the eyes. "I want you to take care of yourself."

Matt fiercely shakes his head and you can feel his larger hands start to tremor in yours. "I don't need to take care of myself." He says quietly looking down. "Because when we get out of here, I-I'll have you." He says with confidence.

You've experienced a couple heartbreaks in your time but nothing could compare to the pain you felt in that very moment.

"Matt-" You start.

"No. I don't want to hear it."

If you look close enough you can glistening streams flowing from his ocean eyes down his pale cheeks. You reach out to run your fingers over his stubble which was poking out since he hasn't had the opportunity to shave in a while. Matt's hand still interlaced with yours, he watches you as your intertwined hands caress over his face. You watch back staring at him with a bittersweet smile.

"I love you."

"I love you more." And he reached over to plant a gentle kiss on your lips.

Now, you weren't stupid. As soon as you regained consciousness the Doctor's gave it to you straight, and of course you were destroyed to find out that there was nothing they could do.

But what upset you the most was Matt.

We had everything planned out and it's all going to shit, because I can't physically be there with him. Create more memories with him. We're never going to go on 2am drives together again, never going to play fucking Mariokart with him again, and do stupid little things like shared face-masks, long hugs and deep talks, movie marathons and cooking monstrosities in the kitchen.

But he will do it with someone else.

He can marry another girl, and have kids, live right by Nick and Chris and go to Central with her.

While I'll watch and always know that it could've been me.

Maybe in another life.

The Doctor's told me it was a guy driving a white Ferrari. Had too much to drink and paid the consequences for it. They're burying him the day before my funeral.

It's such a weird thought. My funeral's in a couple days. Would I have scarring from all these wires? Would I be wearing my hospital gown? Who would show up?

Would Matt be there?

Would it be sad? Fuck, would they serve food after?

A guy came in for my will the other day and I told him all of my stuff me and Matt basically shared so he can decide what to do with everything. Obviously I gave my parents and Matt's brothers a respectful amount, but honestly I could care less, my stuff isn't as important compared to him.

"What are you thinking about sweetheart?" Matt gently moved my stray hairs from my forehead to the side.

"Nothing." I smile. He smiles back, and I can tell he knows I'm lying but he is perfectly fine living right now, without knowing.

I inhale sharply. "Matt?" He hums in response, sensing my hesitation. "How fast are you gonna move on?"

"I don't want to talk about that y/n." He says sternly.

"Why?" I retaliate, my brows furrowing. When he doesn't answer I huff and say quietly. "I've got just over 24 hours left Matt. I-It hurts to cough and sometimes I throw up blood-"

"No, no, no, no." He says loudly. "You're gonna make it baby. T-The Doctor's, they don't know jackshit okay. I-I- You can do this, I kno-"

"Matt... it's okay."

"No, its not." He sobs. "How could you leave me. It's not fair." He cries into my bed. "It's not fair, it's not fair. It should've been me."

"Shh, no it shouldn't have."

Matt hiccups. "Y-Y-es."

You feel hopeless, all you can do is stroke his hair and reassure him that it's going to be okay, when you both know damn well your not telling the truth.

Once Matt had calmed down, he rested his head on your bed, right next to your bandaged shins. Both of you were holding hands, his thumb stroking yours. You both were just staring at each other, no words to convey the amount of love both of you were pouring out of your tired eyes.

Suddenly Matt quietly speaks up, drifting his eyes from yours and onto the crisp white bedsheets. "I don't think I'll ever be able to move on from you." He mumbles. "I-I just... You were with me through everything. I can't comprehend how you're not going to be here one day, a-and it scares me that when you are gone-" He tremors again and you just hold his hand tighter. "That I won't know what the point of everything is without you. You're my everything a-and you're just gonna leave me." He starts crying. "I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave either Matt. I don't- I don't want to die." You cry with him. Everything hitting you all at once.

Eventually you both fell asleep and when you woke up medics were by your side. You glance at Matt's sleeping figure then around to look at everyone. "It hurts."

A nurse crouches down to face you. "We're going to give you painkillers, so when you pass it doesn't hurt as much."

You nod, and you can feel tears falling down your face. "Okay." This was real. It was happening. "H-How long do I have left... To live?"

The nurse looks at you sympathetically. "Judging by your vitals we estimate a couple hours." She reaches out and caresses your hair. "It'll just be like falling asleep. In the meantime we'll all leave and I'm going to unhook you to some of these machines, so you can at least be more comfortable."

You can only nod. Your whole body is flooded with pain and you realise that this is it.

You're going to die.

You can feel Matt stirring, just as the nurse unhooks you off the last machine, and everyone leaves.

"W-what's going on?" All of a sudden he's alert and checking his surroundings.

All you can do is softly smile at him and try your best not to burst into tears.

"Matt." You manage out. "It's happening."

Matt swore his whole world fell out of place. You continued. "They um- They gave me pain medication so I won't feel it and the-the nurse said it's like falling asleep."

"How long?" Matt felt like he didn't even recognise his own voice.

"A couple hours."

Matt gulped, but it felt like he swallowed a rock. "So what are you going to do?"

"Lie with me... please?"

Matt didn't even feel the rough scratch of your sheets or heard the creak of the bed. Facing you he said, "I can't even process this."

"So don't."

He just nodded and went down under the covers further. "Can I please hold you?... Just one last time."

It took everything in you not to start sobbing right there. "Yes Matt. You can."

So he gently took your body and moved it towards him, cradling you into him and holding you like if he lets go you would leave. Because you just might.

He was gonna miss you.

God, he was gonna miss you so much.

After an hour you spoke up.

"What were we going to do if we got to Central."

Matt looked down at you and smiled. "Well, last time I went I saw the prettiest bookstore ever and I instantly thought of you, so I figured that would've been our first stop. And of course, knowing you that would eat up a couple hours."

You laughed a bit, which made tears form in Matt's eyes. He's never going to hear that again.

"And then what?"

Matt sniffed. "And then I made a dinner reservation."

Your eyes gently shut and your heart rate slowed.

"Best carbonara in town. So naturally I had to take you there. Uh- It was an outside booking, and already a nice day, so I thought you would've loved it."

"Mhm, keep going." Snuggling into his warm chest, trying to ignore the pain shooting through you at a rapid pace.

"And then there was this park." He said softly. "Big open area, moonlit pond... fairy lights."

You smiled into his chest, the pain becoming numb as you felt it slowly encase you. "That sounds beautiful."

"It is, you would've loved it. They have little paths where you can walk around." You felt your pulse slowly fade. "And when we would get to a spot, I would hold you and tell you that I love you. And that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That your all that matters to me. I would list every little thing I love about you. Your hair, your eyes, your joy and how much you make my life better. You know why sweetheart? Because I love you. I love you so much okay? So whenever you feel like you have to let go, just know that I love you and that I will always love you, forever and ever and ever......"

"Y/n?"

"Sweetheart, are you awake?"

"Y/n? Oh my god, no, please."

"Y/n please wake up. Please."

"No, not yet."

"Not yet."

"Don't leave me."

"I love you."

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧.˚ₓ

Rain was pouring down heavily, as Matt got out of the car, double checking to see if he missed anything.

Matt felt heavy as he stepped along the gravel path, trudging towards the place where he spent most of his time.

He gently sat down next to you, ignoring the uncomfortable wet soil. Staring at you Matt remembered one of the things he bought and held it up to you. "I got you more flowers." He softly smiled. "I know your probably sick of them by now but they were half off so, you know."

Sighing he plucked at the grass in front of him. "Not much has happened. Except, you know Alisha? From my management team. I told you about her a couple weeks ago. She's new. Anyways, she-uh... She asked me out on a date. A-and I told her I'd think about it. She's great but... she's nothing like you." He mumbled. "I don't think anyone's ever going to be like you."

There was a brief silence until he spoke up again.

"Do you remember when I told you I'd never move on from you. I-It's true. Nothing can ever compare to you... But I know, for reasons I'd never understand, you would've wanted me to move on. So I thought I'd do this as um... closure? Just in case, but one of my biggest regrets is never doing this sooner because I was too scared." He lightly chuckled.

Matt stood up and reached into his pocket, suddenly feeling nervous.

"At Central." He whispered just so you could hear. "After the dinner and after we would explore the park and find the spot. And I was gonna tell you how much you mean to me and how I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Matt slowly pulled out a small box from his front pocket. "And then I was gonna get down on one knee and ask you to marry me." He whispered. Matt opened the box and gently placed it on the soil, littered with flowers he got you.

"I hope you would've said yes."

He stood in front of your grave.

"Goodbye, sweetheart."

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧.˚ₓ

"If you think about it, it'll be over in no time

And that's life."

WHEW

No bc I sobbed so hard writing this like goddamn

Shoutout to whoever said to put this out or they'd touch me wtf😃

But you guys rlly loved part 1 so here is your finale <3

Stay tuned see ya

#christopher sturniolo #chris sturniolo #sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo x you #sturniolo fanfic #nick sturniolo #matt sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #Spotify #frank ocean #white ferrari #angst #sturniolo angst

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3mcwriting · 1 year

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Any Fan's Dream, Part 12

Any Fan's Dream Masterlist

Synopsis:

When you look around and see Avengers Tower in front of you and Peter Parker beside you, you wonder how the hell you managed to get into the MCU.

Taglist: @secretly-sirens, @zeeader, @imdoingathingmom, @x-theolivia, @ainsley-official, @huntress-artemiss, @hoohoohope, @ourgoddessathena, @wiintaersoldier, @vine-enthusiast, @afraidofshrimp, @myfturn, @im-better-than-your-newborn, @mynightandstars, @mjaudrey, @igotthisasajokeyetimstillhere, @starr60

Sorry if I missed anyone, please just message me again and I'll add you.

MY BAD FOR DROPPING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH FOR A LITTLE WHILE--HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER

"Are you sure you're fine?" Nat asked. Her face betrayed nothing, but her voice was full of worry. She had made sure that the lights in your room were dim, and that her voice wasn't too loud.

You were back in your bed at the hotel after being released from the hospital, both Natasha and Tony insisting that you relax in your bed. They were especially adamant given that the doctor had told you to get as much mental and physical rest as possible.

Well, they said it was a suggestion, but you had a feeling that it was more of a command than anything.

You smiled at her. "I'm all.....good, Nat. Really. I'm not even in....pain."

"And I definitely believe you about that." Natasha deadpanned.

"Still," you said, "I'm okay. I'm just going to relax, I won't strain......myself or anything. Following doctor's orders." For now at least.

It was getting progressively more difficult to focus, and the slight ringing in your ears had persisted since you had regained consciousness back in the ambulance with the addition of a pounding headache had not helped you feel better.

"Alright," Nat still looked hesitant to leave you, so you tried to make your smile say 'I'm good, everything's good.' She still didn't seem convinced, but she finally left your room, closing your door behind her, and telling you to just text her or yell if you needed anything.

Speaking of texts...

Tony had given you a new phone, your old one was broken in the explosion. He had managed to sync your old phone info to the new one, so you had all of your apps, contacts, etc.

With the contacts, came the messages.

And holy shit, you had a lot of them.

Your eyes widened when you saw all the missed calls and panicked messages.

You dialed the number and took a deep breath, trying to steady yourself. They answered almost immediately, leaving you with no more time to prepare.

"I-" you started, ready to apologize to "your" parents.

"Are you okay?! Oh, baby, tell me you're alright," your mom's panicked voice came through the phone.

"Honey," your dad interrupted, "you aren't injured, are you?"

The urgency, and panic, and sheer concern surprised you so much, if you were standing, your legs would've betrayed you and you would've fallen to the floor.

Instead, you were on the bed, holding your new phone, eyes wide.

You had been dazed before the call, but now? You felt like you were hallucinating.

Your parents' alarmed cries brought you out of your daze, you stammering out a reply to assure you that you were, in fact, fine. It took a lot of convincing, both that you were okay, and that, "no, mom, please don't attack one of the richest people in the world," because it wouldn't end well(for Tony).

It took you almost half an hour, but finally, you managed to console your parents enough that they felt safe hanging up.

Unfortunately, they had seemed adamant that you came home as soon as possible, but you had managed to evade their requests.

You knew that you couldn't go home, not when the fight was going to happen so soon.

You had to stay.

Your phone ringing caught your attention, eyes going down to the flashing screen.

You answered the call when you saw who it was, feeling guilty about making them wait for so long.

"(n/n)! Ohmygodyouanswered!" Peter's speech was so hurried and panicked, you had a hard time believing he was that upset because of you.

"Are you okay?!" he asked, voice slow enough that you managed to pick out the individual words rather than the quick slur he had been talking in before.

"I'm all good, Pete," you affirmed. "How are you?" You hoped that the phone his how your words slurred a bit, trying to keep your sentences short so the sluggish way you were talking wouldn't be apparent

"How am I?" Peter echoed, "(n/n), you were in an explosion!"

You were almost tempted to say, "I know, I was there.", but managed to refrain because he was sincerely worried about you.

"I'm okay, honeybun." you assured, "I promise."

The noise you heard next made you pause, was that...a sob?

"Pete?" your voice was now the concerned one. "Pete, are you okay?"

You heard some sniffling before he responded. "No, I'm not okay! One of my best friends almost died!"

"I-" you felt guilty, "I'm sorry, Pete. I didn-"

"Don't apologize," his voice was softer, and now he sounded guilty. "I just- you...I was worried about you. They didn't say who the 2 were who died..."

Understanding dawned on you. "Peter, I'm okay, really."

"Can...Can we videocall?" His voice was at a whisper at that point. "I want..." to see you, to know you're ok. To know that he wasn't going to have to live in a world without you because you were ok, you had to be ok...

He trailed off as you switched the call from voice to video, seeing his face pop up on your screen.

"Look, see? I'm all.....all good." You smiled at him through the phone, doing your best to reassure him.

He chewed on his lip, eyes scanning every part of you that was visible on his phone, checking for any indication that you weren't, in fact, "all good". But he couldn't find anything. Even as relief from that sentiment flowed through him, he couldn't help but still worry. For all he knew, your legs could be burnt off and they were just out of frame. (Luckily for you, your bandages were all out of view for him.)

"Are you sure?" The tremble in his voice made your heart clench.

"I'm sure, Pete." you reassured him.

Even though your voice was steady, and your face wasn't pinched in pain, he still couldn't help his concern. Seeing the explosion on the news...hearing that two people died...

It wasn't easy for him to shake off that soul-wrenching fear that had enveloped him when you hadn't answered your phone.

He had been at school when it happened, the school year started only about a week earlier. He had felt uneasy the whole day, but it wasn't like his normal Spidey-Sense, so he had shrugged it off.

The news had reached him at lunch.

Everyone was talking about the signing of the Accords, that wasn't unusual, people had been talking about that since school had started again.

But what was unusual, was the murmurs of, "did you hear?" or "I hope they didn't kill Iron Man, I heard he was there."

That caught his attention, mind going blank for a moment and then flooding itself with worried thoughts.

He whipped his phone out, calling you and waiting anxiously for you to pick up, for you to call him and say something in that wonderful voice of yours, that voice that could be sarcastic or excited, but either way, just hearing it made him smile.

His hand started to shake when you didn't answer.

So he called again.

And again.

But you didn't answer.

And when he saw for himself the footage of the wreckage, he almost vomited.

You were in the that building.

You were there when it exploded.

Then, the headlines popped up.

"Explosion at the Signing of the Sokovia Accords: 30+ Injured and 2 Confirmed Dead"

Every memory of you he had, flashed through his mind, only one thought prevailing.

No.

Not her.

Please...

Not her.

"You didn't get injured at all?"

The heaviness in his voice and the tightness around his eyes made you want to reach out and wrap your arms around him, but thousands of miles stood between you.

Instead, you had to settle for trying to make your smile as comforting as possible.

Unfortunately, he had asked a question that you couldn't answer the way you wanted to. Well, you could tell him what he wanted to hear, but you didn't want to lie to him. In the end thought, what made your decision was simple: you didn't want to worry him anymore than you already had, so you settled for a little white lie.

"I didn't. I'm okay." And you smiled even brighter, just for him.

The pain from the burns and bruises were little punishments for your lie, and the ringing in your head only increased, but you bore it with steely resistance, unwilling to make Peter even more concerned than he already was. You didn't need to be anymore of a burden for him.

Your lie was well worth it when his face finally relaxed, easing with the knowledge that you were okay. That knowledge was false, of course, but he didn't need to know that.

"How was school anyway, Pete?" You were desperate to get his mind onto happier subjects.

"It's alright-" he rubbed the back of his neck, "-I have homework."

Your smile turned a little more genuine, remembering a specific scene from one of your favorite movies.

However, the reminder also caused you to remember why exactly Tony Stark was visiting Peter in that scene.

Your smile twitched, but you managed to hold the expression. You managed to hold that same cheerful smile for half an hour, until you ended the call with the excuse that Peter had homework to do. Peter still didn't want to go yet, but his aunt called him from the kitchen, so he had to.

Once it was over, you could finally let that damn smile drop.

"Is she alright?" Tony was pacing the living room, asking Natasha the question as she exited your room.

Natasha sighed and ran a hand down her face wearily. "She says she is."

”I never should’ve let her come-“ Tony buried his head in his hands, “-she would’ve been safer at home.”

”Yes, she would’ve.” Natasha agreed, “but knowing her, she would’ve made sure that you agreed to let her come. Still, neither of us should’ve let her go to the actual conference.” With that many important people in one place, the likeliness of any kind of assassination attempt should’ve prevented them from allowing you to come. Even with the amount of guards and security, it wasn’t the kind of place you should’ve been.

Natasha stood there, contemplating what would happen next, what kind of events would occur because of the bombing. Because of your injuries. She knew that the Winter Soldier used to be Steve’s best friend, but that person was long gone if they could bomb a building with that many people inside, if they could injure someone like you.

Steve better catch him, the redhead thought, mind full of dark endings for the bomber, I don’t know what I’d do if I ever met him.

Tony’s mind was similarly occupied as he entered his hotel room(well, technically all of them were his hotel rooms but the one he was staying in).

Even as he poured himself a drink, he couldn’t get his mind off your unconscious form, bruised and burnt on the ground, completely unresponsive as he and Natasha yelled for you to wake up.

His hands shook, spilling some of the whiskey.

He cursed, wiping his hand on a paper towel. He looked down at his trembling hands, willing them to stop shaking, his efforts highly unsuccessful.

After the ambulances had come, he had done everything in his power to clear the streets. The streets were packed full of cars, of emergency vehicles, and traffic. He didn't care about the honking of everyone else, of the sirens. You were hurt, everyone else could wait.

You were hurt, and the person who did it...

He looked down, releasing the cracked glass.

The apartment wasn't big, in fact, it was tiny, cramped, and just about everything you could expect from a man on the run. As Steve looked around, he couldn't help but feel sad that Bucky was living here.

His phone rang, surprising him. He didn't normally bring the phone with him on missions, and if he did, it was on silent. Steve never wanted to make a mistake during a mission, especially not one because of something as trivial as a phone, because it could mean someone else's life. But he had left the phone on for one very specific reason. And when he looked at the dim screen of the device, he saw that reason in the words on the screen.

He still shouldn't answer. He knew that.

Just leaving his phone on was an unnecessary risk, he didn't need distractions. Especially not on a mission this important.

But...

You were calling.

So he answered the moment he saw your name on his screen.

"(y/n), are you okay?" Concern weighed his words down, making your lips tug down in short guilt.

"I'm good," you answered, keeping your responses short. "How are you?"

Busy, on a mission, one he really shouldn't be answering the phone while doing. Especially since he was literally in Bucky's apartment.

"I'm alright, angel." Steve's eyebrows were furrowed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't get me wrong, I am....amazing, but I don't think I....I want to keep talking about....myself. Granted.....I'm a fascinating subject, but.....well, nobody wants to exhaust such an.....an....amazing topic, ya know? So, let's talk about you." You hoped that he didn't notice all the pauses in your speech, the doctor had informed you that you might be slow to answer, and you were desperate to hide it from him.

Steve noticed the pauses between your words, but your voice sounded okay. You sounded like you normally did.

You sounded like yourself, and that let him think that the pauses were just the phone. After all, he didn't know much about technology, it was probably just the distance of the call or some other technological thing.

"You have to....be careful, ok?" Your voice no longer held the humorous edge to it, now it was heavier. "Don't do anything stupid til- uh....I just want you to be safe."

He didn't allow himself to think about what those words reminded him of, especially that one phrase.

"Oh, shit, I have to go." You sounded surprised. "Bye, Steve!"

"Bye, (y/n)."

He put the phone back in his pockets, hoping that she was alright.

"Who was that?"

He turned around, meeting eyes with the man he had come looking for.

"Heads up, Cap. German Special Forces, approaching from the south." Sam notified him over their comms

"Understood."

"Someone who got hurt in the explosion." Steve still held out the hope that it wasn't Bucky who had set off the bomb. Not his best friend. "Do you know me?"

Bucky's eyes bored into him. "You're Steve. I read about you in a museum."

"They've set the perimeter."

"I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna." Bucky's words were firm. "I don't do that anymore."

Steve knew he shouldn't, but he believed him.

"They're entering the building."

"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive." Steve told him.

Bucky seemed to agree with those words. "That's smart. Good strategy."

"They're on the roof. I'm compromised."

The pounding of people running upstairs was loud, both super-soldiers knew what was about to happen.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck."

The door shook on its hinges as a battering ram struck the surface.

"It always ends in a fight."

A thousand miles away, you mirrored his words.

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addictedtoking · 4 months

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Snippet of something. Steve and El both came from the lab, season 3 canon divergence thing, kinda angsty. Idk. I tried.

———

“We wrote to each other.”

Billy looks over at El from the third rewind of Grease, waiting for her to continue. “When we were learning, we would write to each other. As practice. He would tell me to have a good day. Or what he was doing.”

She paused, sniffled. Billy offered no comfort; he didn’t know how and she wouldn’t want it. “And I would tell him what was on my mind-“ this time she swallowed and when she spoke again it was wet “and when we were apart we would write letters to read when we got back together and-“ the sob was nasally and so so heart wrenching that Billy wanted her to stop. But she needed to get this out. “And I know he can’t read them but I need to… I need to” she finally looked at him and Billy felt his own eyes turn moist. “I need to tell someone how I feel.”

Billy, yet in the face of such emotion, didn’t let the tears fall down his cheeks. “You could-“ he took a breath “-you could write to me.”

El swallowed and wiped her tears. “You can write to me too.” She looked at the tv again. “It’s good to get it out. That’s what he said.”

Billy nodded, even tho she couldn’t see it. Wiping cheeks from absent tears, he said, “I’ll add that to the list.”

…

It was rough, in the beginning. He was angry and this town was shitty and dad was shitty and Max-

Anyways. The plate. The fight. The drugs. When he woke up the next morning groggy and with Neil yelling down the hall, he had no regrets. Max was home and in fine condition. His face hurt a little, but that’s fine. It’s all fine. Except for when Neil took whatever was bothering him out on him. But that’s fine. It’s not max- the little shit head who doesn’t listen.

He spent the rest of the weekend working out and drinking. By Monday, he was somewhat prepared for high school again. So he sprayed his cologne, gathered the shitbird, and sped off to school.

He had no regrets when he walked into first period. Nor when he skipped second to smoke behind the bleachers. Nor third period. Lunch. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seven-

There, he saw the fallen king, sporting a bruised face and cuts bandaged by pink bandaids with butterflies. The coach was telling him to take the period off. Obviously he had a recovering concussion and needed the break. After all, there’s a black ring around his left eye and his cheek is purple and his lips are split but no less plump-

Billy scored four fouls.

He refused to regret it.

Billy refused to regret a lot of things.

Billy will think he should have regretted more to prepare him for this.

It was bad in the beginning. Now it might be worse.

…

Billy wasn’t all there. He remembered going to work. He remembered driving around in his car. He remembered the warehouse.

Then it’s blurry. There are images. And the beach. And a girl. And Steve-

And then he wakes up in a hospital bed. Max is at his side. Her face is all blotchy and an ugly red from crying, but they’re not close enough for it to be over him.

“Who was it?” He croaks. He wants water.

Max startles, finally noticing him. She blinks like she doesn’t know what he said. He’ll need something to drink before he says it again.

Max gives him water from the cup, eye tearing up again while he sips. A single tear rolls down her cheek and she furiously wipes it away. He would normally sneer at her tears, wrinkled face and spotty flush, but he needs to know who, who died, who did he kill-

“Steve’s gone.”

…

Robin-before-the-Russians thought the worst day of her life was when Tammy Thompson blew her off to try snuggling up to Steve Harrington. Robin-after-the-Russians has had a far worse day.

It’s also Steve Harringtons fault, but not because he stole a girl. No. That would be a concern for Robin-before-the-Russians. This Robin, the one walking up to a bunch of kids, knows this will be the worst day ever. This day will surpass the day her parents discover she’s a lesbian and it will surpass the day she dies.

This terrible day is Steve harringtons fault. Because apparently he’s more than pretty hair and pompous clothing. Because he’s actually a badass that takes down evil monsters with his mind. Because he’s dead.

The kids see her coming towards them, and they look behind her where Steve would be. But he’s not there, so they look back at her. The curly haired one, Dustin, Steve’s best friend, Steve’s brother- sees it in her eyes first. His face crumples and he falls, a tiny “no” leaving his lips.

The red one follows after, going down on a knee beside dustin. One by one, Robin watches them realize. One by one, the shock and grief overtakes their innocent faces.

Robin doesn’t notice she’s not walking anymore when another girl runs past her towards to group. Seeing their distress, she turns back and faces Robin and oh-

Robin sees Steve in her brown eyes, in her clothing, in the blood dripping from her nose.

Maybe she can see the sadness on Robin like Steve, because look is all it takes. The girl let’s out the harshest, most gut-wrenching scream. She realizes he’s gone.

He’s gone.

The children grab her as she falls into them, a pile of misery if she’s ever seen one.

Robin takes another step before her legs give out. It might have been from the drugs, from the lack of food, from the torture. It doesn’t matter. The kids just lost their protector and nothing she can do will bring him back. Their image blurs as Robin succumbs to the tears as well.

Yes. It’s all Steve Harringtons fault. She just wishes he were here so she could tell him that.

…

The days after are bad, with the grief and the recovery. The town has lost so much in one night, so many lives stripped away in one single building.

The nights are worse. For those in the fire, it’s a long, dark time filled with torture devices, enclosed spaces, and monsters wearing people as masks.

Dustin doesn’t sleep much. Usually, after this happens, he has someone there to wake him up from nightmares. The first time, the party had slept in wills room and he could wake up and see his friend sleeping in his bed. The second time, he spent the night at Steve’s house, who hadn’t minded when he crawled into bed with him and El.

It was not the beginning of their friendship, already too far past that, but it was somewhere about midway. As the months passed, dustin will joined Steve’s and El’s little family in the backseat of a beemer, in the yellow kitchen, in the last dredges of milkshakes. He and Steve and el became Dustin-Steve-and-El then just Dustin-and-Steve as summer began and everyone flourishes out. He’d thought this summer would be the best with his science camp and new girlfriend and Steve and ice cream and secret Russian messages-

So. This time, afterward, there’s no one. Lucas and Erica are stuck at their parents, max at the hospital with Billy, Mike and will hidding in the formers basement, and El-

Dustin hesitates less than he should’ve before shakily getting out of bed. The walkie sits on his desk, where it has been just in case he needed Steve. But Steve’s not here, so it sits there uselessly.

But know he picks it up and dials into channel 4, “you there? Over.”

There is a long pause before another voice gives a quiet “yeah. Over.”

The device is quiet again while they wait for the other to say something. El relents first.

“I miss him. Over.”

Dustin backs up until his thighs touch his bed, then he kind of falls back onto his sheets. He stares at the ceiling as he replies “me too. Over.”

Silence again. El is probably looking at the ceiling too. He can picture her looking up. It’s not her ceiling, covered in posters and stars and paint splatters. Instead, it’s probably the Byers, the ceiling above wills bed: wood planks and dark swirls. She hasn’t gone back into their house since he-

“Do you want to have a sleepover? Over.”

He waits for her reply, clutching the walkie to his chest. For a minute, he thinks she’s not going to respond until she croaks “yeah” a pause, her voice is clearer “I’ll be there in 10. Over.”

“Copy. Over and out.”

Dustin sits up and unlocks his window.

…

Max helps Billy get from the hospital to the car, then from the car to the house. Then, later that night, she helps him to the bathroom.

She doesn’t talk to him. Doesn’t mention Neil’s silent neglect. Doesn’t mention Susan’s air headed absence. Doesn’t mention the mall. Doesn’t mention what he did.

Still.

It’s a little too much. He’s not weak. He doesn’t esnt need his 14 year old sister to take care of him. But every time Max is there to do something for him and he feels a rush of anger and it’s so big it might explode out of him and jab at her-

It just.

Goes away.

Steve - Seven - Harrington had mind powers. He’s heard the kids talk about it over the walkie talkie Max keeps locked in her room. He heard about the nudges and pulls and keeping it there.

Now he knows what Harrington did to Neil. The lack of care. Absence of anger or annoyance. Just a mellow man living his days in a mellow town. No wonder the abuse stopped.

Now he thinks Harrington did something to him.

He’s on bed rest for almost three weeks. He has a lot of time to think.

And every time Max brings him water without asking or adjusts his pillows, and the anger and annoyance rise up and release just as fast to leave him cooler and more rational-

He thinks he’s kinda ok with it.

…

Max doesn’t sleep.

Her eyes are dry and crusty. There’s bags upon bags under them, black and sunken. Her mind is slow and she can barely tell what anyone’s saying to her the first time. She’s so tired it’s all she thinks about.

The nightmares are worse than the tiredness.

Steve’s bleeding from his nose and mouth, and some’s coming from his ears too.

It’s okay, he says.

It’s gonna be okay, he tells her.

He kisses her forehead. It does not distract her from the lie.

Go with Billy, he said.

Billy will protect you, he told her.

Billy carried El and Mike from the mall, but in this dream he’s carrying her instead.

She watches Steve get smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

He does not go to her no matter how much she screams.

…

Billy doesn’t remember what happened.

But the kids do.

Robin’s the one to tell him though, bundled up in blankets and sitting in a room with all the lights on. It’s the end of August. She shivers despite the heat.

“You- it had found the kids - Mike, Max, and El - and Mike was down and Max almost was, and y- it was toting off El over your shoulder. Steve found you- it.”

He doesn’t get mad at her mistakes. His body carried a monster. (was the mind flayer the only monster though? Was it not just you? Billy- BILLY).

“What did I do?”

Robin blinked her eyes a few times. She looked into his, though his baby blues didn’t hold as many tears. “You hit him.”

He tries to hold in his confusion - a hit wouldn’t have taken him down - but she sees it anyways. She swallows and holds up a hand.

A moment.

Two.

“The Russians banged him up pretty bad. There were too many of them for him to use his mind powers - manipulation thing - good enough, so he just distracted them from me,” she swallows again and sips from the water she clutches like a life line, “But he was fine- not with the drugs of course - but he wasn’t keeling over yet-“

She sobs again. Billy’s eyes remain dry. It’s awkward.

“But he tried to stop it and it hit him again and again until he could get to you-“ another sob, “and when I found him again after he sent you off there was blood coming from his mouth and I had to help him walk to the elevator and he wouldn’t sit because I don’t think he could get back up if he did and it was too much on top of closing the gate and I couldn’t carry him-“

She’s full on sobbing now, and for a second he regrets sharing the pot. He didn’t want to deal with this. He was not the person to deal with their emotions. He did not belong in this family.

He shouldn’t after what happened. What he did.

Still, he pats her shoulder and lets her curl up next to him until she falls asleep. Then, he lays her down and wraps the blankets around her.

He is not a good caretaker. So he leaves after that. But he leaves the lights on for her so she doesn’t wake up in the dark.

…

Here’s what happened:

Russians opened gate under mall.

Mind flayer started possessing people.

Billy got possessed and then helped mind flayer possess other people.

Russians attack ice cream scoopers.

Mind flayer attacks children.

Adults kidnap and commit grand theft auto with a Russian man to help stop both of the above.

Russian man dies.

Children distract mind flayer from its prey.

Possessed Billy finds prey, takes it, and then is intercepted by prey’s brother.

Possessed Billy beats up Prey’s brother.

Brother has another nearly fatal concussion. He undoes possession on Billy, brainwashes him into taking and protecting kids, then escapes down to Russian base with his ice cream scooping friend. Superboy closes gate, liquifies his brain because he had too many traumatic brain injuries, and is near death as mall starts collapsing around him.

Ice cream scooping friend has to abandon him to make it out alive.

No-longer-possessed Billy protects kids until mind flayer is killed. Promptly passes out from previous injuries.

That’s all he could get out of Chief Hopper.

Chief Hopper was shitfaced and mourning his child.

Chief hopper still doesn’t blame Billy.

Billy wishes he did.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #steve harrington #el hopper #jim hopper #robin buckley #dustin henderson #max mayfield #angst #harringrove #kinda

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polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup · 3 months

Note

Poor Nanami. Hes got all problems rn (one kid uncondcious, two kids really really insisting they did the grand theft auto, one going throufh the most insane emotional journey possible)

I keep thinking about how in the same conversation Yuuta both asked Nanami to neglect him more (insanely concerning) and then also said hed kill himself in front of him (also insanely concerning) after like 5 hours ago going youre *not* my dad. Parenthood is tough.

Nanami, going onto r/Parenting for help with this shit:

I (27M) am the father of three. My eldest (16M) was recently introduced to my two younger children (15F & 14M) under less than ideal circumstances. They all seem to be getting along well—my eldest son and daughter already appear to be friends. My youngest son had to be hospitalized, and the eldest has developed a very protective bond with him. This is one of the issues—I’m harboring some concerns that he may kill the people who hurt my youngest in his defense.

I have a series of other problems that have arisen in the last twelve hour span:

First, my daughter recently stole a car to transport her brother to medical attention after discovering his injuries. My youngest now insists that he was the one who stole it, despite being blind and bleeding out at the time of the theft. How do I convince him that it was okay that the car was stolen and to stop distressing himself with trying to take the blame?

Second, my eldest went through a medical issue recently that destabilized his emotional control, likely contributing to his strong bond with my youngest and the homicidal thoughts. I'm attempting to get him to rest; however, this makes him feel like he's failing to protect my youngest. How do I convince him to rest and take care of his own needs?

Third, the same eldest told me that I’m not his father, asked me to neglect him more, and told me that he’d kill himself in front of me if I tried to discuss puberty with him. Our relationship is very new, and I believe he was being hyperbolic in many of his statements, but I want to communicate to him that he can safely come to me with any issues he may face. How can I best do this?

Fourth, I have recently uncovered reason to believe that my daughter is harboring an active fear that we may one day cut her off from her younger brother permanently. We are currently parenting them through a non-sexual, platonic polycule, and I decided that I was obligated to share this information with the others so that we may address it as a family. Now, however, she has been avoiding me, and I fear she may trust me less. How do I address both the breach in trust and the likely fears of abandonment? I only want her to be happy.

Fifth, my eldest appears to have a relationship of indeterminate nature with his four closest friends. They were all found sleeping in the same bed together, are rarely apart, and he spends most of his time with his best friend/possible romantic partner (15F), though they have gotten in several physical confrontations in the twelve hours I have known them. It is unclear whether their relationship is platonic, romantic, or queerplatonic in nature, though his best friend does appear to be making romantic overtures to my daughter. I obviously support whatever their nature may take (both due to my pre-existing personal opinions and the obviously unique nature of the relationship I have with my coparenting polycule), but I do believe that the answers may affect what topics should be covered in any discussion we may have on puberty and sexual wellbeing. Obviously, this talk is not happening any time soon, due to the aforementioned threat to kill himself in front of me if I attempted to discuss such topics, but I’d like to be prepared should the need arise. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to casually communicate that I support him in whatever form of relationship he finds himself in? Should I cover all of the bases when I give him the talk just in case?

I consider myself somewhat of a veteran parent (I have been raising children for more than a decade now), but these last twelve hours have surprised me with how taxing they've been. Has anyone encountered anything like this? Any advice will be appreciated.

Edit: My youngest had to be hospitalized because his extended family, who is not allowed any contact with him, kidnapped him and injured him to the point of hospitalization. This is not what I'm seeking advice on. We are more than capable of formulating our plans for revenge without the aid of strangers on the internet.

Second Edit: Please stop asking how I'm able to be the father of three teenagers at the age of 27. All of my children were adopted. No one needs to call the police.

Third Edit: My eldest had not yet met his younger siblings because he was only recently adopted under rather dire circumstances. The ex-boyfriend of a member of our coparenting group recently attempted to murder him (for reasons unrelated to the group), and then in the aftermath a different group attempted to force him into indentured servitude. We were looking to allow him time to adjust to his new circumstances before introducing him to his siblings.

Fourth Edit: Yes, I adopted my first two children when I was sixteen. This was not so much allowed as no one could stop us. I fail to see the relevance in this to the problem at hand; however, due to the influx of questions I have decided to provide the information anyway.

Fifth Edit: Yes, I was the poster who sought advice all those years ago regarding the young children that my upperclassman had somehow acquired. No, I still do not know where he got them from. It no longer matters, because we ended up keeping them and are raising them ourselves. Please direct all further comments to the actual questions asked.

#sea glass gardens #nanamis going through it okay #he’s really fucking trying

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leelei1980 · 3 months

Text

Made for you

Part 14 - Bump

🛑smut warning- Mature Content-18+- Minors DNI🛑

" You are a fucking slut Ross, I don't know how you do it. How do you keep getting these chicks?" Richard asked as we all sat around the lunchroom table.

Conversations at lunch were never dull, always the highlight of the work day. Most days it was random conversation, shootin the shit, talking about something Robs kid said or new songs we should learn for our next gig, today's discussion was focused on Ross and his sex life.

" It's my sparkling personality, you Asshole." Ross smirked." And my massive dick."

" It's not going to be massive if it falls off because you have been screwing nasty ass girls, you need to wrap that shit up. You don't need a disease and you certainly don't need a fucking kid." Rob pointed at Ross with a pretzel stick.

" Ok Dad." Ross rolled his eyes.

" Well I am a dad, and I hope I never have to have this conversation with my kid."

" Your kid is 7."

" Yeah and I hope he makes good choices in life and does just stick a dick in some girl just because they are offering. I hope he has better standards. Same with my daughter, she had better not ever go near a guy like you."

" It should be quality over quantity, my dude." Kevin put his two cents in and pointed to me." For example, Munson here could have any fucking girl he wants, dude is a magnet. But instead of sleeping around, he found himself a nice, quality girl that is intelligent, beautiful and bakes the best god damn cookies I have ever had. A quality girl, wife material, someone that you could bring home to your parents."

I smiled and nodded." Relationship goals, buddy. Find a nice girl before your dick falls off."

We all laughed then went back to eating. The phone rang and Rob got up to answer it since he was the closest.

" Rockin Robs music emporium, Rockin Rob here."

" Next time I answer the phone I am going to answer it Rockin Ross." Ross laughed.

" Rockin Eddie doesn't flow so I'm not fuckin saying it unless boss man tells me I have to." I popped a pretzel into my mouth .

" Hey Munson, you have a call." Rob hollered over.

I looked at Rob and he waved me over. I got up and jogged over. He handed me the phone.

" Uh, hello?"

" Is this Edward Munson?"

" Uh yeah, who is this?"

" This is Ellen from the Medical Center, we have a Veronica Montgomery here-"

My stomach dropped and my heart jumped into my throat."Oh god, what happened? Is she ok? Please tell me she is ok?"

" Mr. Munson, Miss Montgomery informed us that you were her emergency contact. She has had a little accident and is currently seeking treatment here at our facility."

" What happened! Please just tell me what happened!"

" Miss Montgomery slid on some ice while walking to class, and fell. We are currently evaluating her to assess the damage-"

I felt myself going into panic mode, my poor girl. She's got to be ok, I need her to be." Is she ok though?"

" Suspected concussion and possible broken ankle."

" Jesus Christ! Where are you located I will be right there."

I wrote down the address then hung up the phone." Rob, I gotta go, Ronnie is at the hospital, she's hurt, I have to make sure she is alright."

" What happened? Is she ok?" Rob asked concerned.

" They are evaluating her now. Fuck!" I ran my hand over my face. I felt like I was going to puke.

Rob pat my shoulder." Go do what you gotta do. You ok kid?"

" Just worried. God I hope she is ok."

" It is going to be fine. Get going so you can see for yourself.Keep me posted ok?"

" Hey Eddie, do you want me to drive you there?" Kevin asked.

" Thanks man but I want to have my van so I can bring her home. Could I maybe follow you?" I looked over at Rob. " Would that be ok?"

" Absolutely. Why don't you guys get going. Let me know what's going on ok?"

I nodded and ran to get my keys out of my locker, then followed Kevin out to the parking lot." Hey Kev, do you know anything about concussions?"

" Yeah they suck. I used to play hockey so I have had a couple. Headache, fuzzy head, lights and sounds hurt your brain, trouble concentrating. Only temporarily though. She's gonna be alright buddy. "

I let out a shaky breath." Hope so."

We drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital, thank god it was only 15 minutes away, when I got there I went to the registration desk and they told me where to find her. When I got to her floor she wasn't in her room, she hadn't gotten back from diagnostic imaging yet so I asked if there was a phone I could use so I could call Lucy. I had no idea if she even knew. I took a little piece of paper out of my wallet that Lucy had given me with her and Bill's work numbers on them and punched in her number.

" Hello, Lucy Carver speaking, how can I help you?"

" Lucy, it's Eddie."

" Oh hey honey, what's going on? There must be something if you are calling me here."

I took a deep breath." I'm at the hospital, Ronnie has had a little accident, apparently she fell down some stairs and bumped her head, maybe broke her ankle."

" Oh my god!! Eddie is she ok?"

" I haven't seen her yet or talked to the doctor yet, but the nurse said that she will be ok. I just want to fucking see her with my own eyes, ya know? I'm worried about her,I want to make sure she is alright."

" My poor girl! My poor baby girl, possible broken ankle, maybe a concussion? Nothing major though, she's going to be fine,." I could hear the worry in her voice as she calmed herself down.

" I wish I knew more Lucy."

" I am glad that you are there with her Eddie. You're the one person I trust other than myself to take care of her. " I could hear her voice break." I really mean that Eddie. I know you will love and take care of my baby. "

" You know I will. She is my everything."

" I know Eds. We are lucky to have you. I wouldn't have let her move in with just anyone you know."

" I am glad that you know how much I care for her. "

" I do know. " Lucy paused." I think I will wait until we get more details before heading out, I want you to be able to get in touch with me. Eddie hon, call me when you talk to the doctor, or have the doctor call me ok? I am going to go home and pack an overnight bag real quick. I know you will take excellent care of her there is no doubt in my mind, but as her mom I just want to see for myself ."

" I am right there with you."

" Ok Kiddo, I'm going to let you go. I'm going to go home and wait for a call there Ok Honey? When you hear something call me."

" I promise I will."

" Tell my baby I love her and will see her soon. I love you too Eddie."

For some reason that one little phrase hit me hard, maybe because I was scared out of my mind and wound up. Maybe it was because I knew it was true, Lucy loved me. She loved me like I was her own kid. She could have treated me like every other person in Hawkins did but she didn't. She gave me the benefit of the doubt and gave me a chance. I felt my voice crack ." I love you too Lucy."

I hung up the phone and sat with my face in my hands. All of my emotions getting the better of me, the stress, the worry, I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. I knew she would be ok, from the sounds of it nothing life threatening, but the thought of knowing she was hurt and in pain made me sick.

I don't know how long I sat there before I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Mr.Munson?"

I uncovered my face and wiped at my cheeks and nose with the sleeve of my flannel." Yes. Sorry, uh, sorry about that."

The nurse smiled at me, she was an older woman with kind eyes." It's okay Sweetie. You're here for Miss Montgomery correct?"

" Yes." I stood up, " Is she back? Can I see her?"

The nurse squeezed my shoulder, " Your fiancée is going to be just fine."

I blinked." She's doing ok?"

" She is a little confused, a little sore, a little emotional but that is normal. She has a mild concussion, she is complaining about her head hurting, we gave her what we could for pain meds. Her ankle looks really nasty, it will look worse before it looks better, swelling, bruises . Now it is just a matter of getting the swelling to go down. We have it wrapped in ice for now." The nurse started walking down the hall and I followed her." She is going to be happy to see you."

" I just need to see her with my own eyes, ya know? I have been in panic mode since I got the call. "

" Well you can relax now Sugar.Your girl is going to make a full recovery." She stopped infront of a room and opened the door. " Here she is."

I stepped inside and my heart sank. It hurt my feelings to see my sweet Princess in a hospital bed, eyes closed, wearing a hospital gown, foot propped up and icing.

" Awww Sweetheart." I walked up to the bed and ran my finger down her cheek.

She blinked slowly then focused on me." Eddie you're here." I saw her lip quiver and I leaned over and carefully kissed the top of her head.." Of course I am here Sweetheart. I got here as quickly as I could. How are you feeling darling?" I sat on the edge of the bed.

" Awful, my head is pounding, my ankle hurts, I've got this big bump." She spoke slowly. She lightly touched the lump on her head and winced, tears forming in her eyes." Baby, I feel like I can't think."

" I'm so sorry my sweet girl." I carefully crawled up beside her, mindful of her foot on the opposite side. " I wish you didn't hurt." I slid my arm around her and she cuddled into my chest and started crying." Please don't cry Princess. You'll make me cry."

" I'm sorry." She sobbed. " I love you so much."

I carefully lifted up her chin and wiped her tears away then kissed her cheeks. " I love you more. And don't be sorry, baby. "

She sniffled, then whispered, " I told them you were my fiancé, I was afraid they wouldn't let you in. I hope you aren't mad."

I smiled at her." No, I'm not mad, you will be, someday." I brushed some hair out of her face and kissed the tip of her nose. Just then the nurse walked in, the same woman that walked me to the room. I started to move, ready to hop out of the bed but she smiled.

" You can stay right where you are Sugar, as long as our Patient here is ok with it. She looks pretty ok with it." She walked up to Veronica and inspected her ankle then switched out the ice pack." There is quite a bit of swelling and bruising. It must feel like hell."

Ronnie squinted." I don't know what's worse, my head or my ankle."

" Oh!" I remembered Kevin telling me about the light bothering with a concussion and I grabbed a pair of sunglasses out of the van. I pulled them out of my pocket and carefully slid them on. " How's that Baby?"

" A little better. Thank you Eds." She started crying again. " You take such good care of me."

" That's my job, Sweetheart. I promised."

The nurse smiled." You got yourself a good man here, don't let him get away."

" I won't." She sniffled again.

" The Doctor will be in shortly, he is just finishing up reviewing your x-ray."

" Thank you." The nurse left the room again. " Hey Baby, do you need a drink or something?"

" I think I will puke if I do."

" Well let's not do that then, maybe when we get home you will be more comfortable. I called your mom, she is going to come as soon as I call her, she wanted all the info first."

" She is coming?"

" Yup, she had to see for herself that you are alright."

" I just want to go home."

" I hear ya babe, we will get you home, get you comfortable in bed,"

" We'll cuddle?"

" Absolutely, if cuddles are what you want cuddles are what you get. All you have to do is ask. You just picked up that Stephen King book you have been wanting to read, the creepy clown one? I'll read it to you."

" That would perfect."

There was a knock on the door and I carefully hopped off the bed as the doctor entered the room.

" Hello, I am Dr. Novak, " he shook my hand." Ms.Montgomery, how are you feeling?"

" Awful. Nauseous, my head hurts, my vision is off, my ankle is throbbing."

" Your symptoms are typical of a concussion. Vision problems, problems concentrating, light and sound sensitivity, headache, nausea. You are going to need to rest, no TV, bright lights or overstimulation. We need your brain to rest so it can heal. I understand you are a Student? No class for now, when symptoms start to go away , you can ease back in."

" I'm going to fall behind."

" Your professors will give you time to catch up. They will make exceptions for medical reasons."

" Don't stress about it babe." I rubbed her knee." And her ankle?"

" Fractured but a clean break. Ice and compression, she will leave with a boot and crutches. Ice and elevation are the key to getting the swelling down. It should heal on its own. We will want to follow up with you to check healing, physical therapy."

" How long for recovery?" I asked, trying to think of all the questions I needed to ask.

" Around 2 weeks for the concussion, around 4 months for the ankle, you can be mobile with the boot."

" What can she take for pain meds?"

" Tylenol is recommended because of the concussion."

" Ok, got it. Anything else?"

" We will give you a paper with instructions, I know the information can be overwhelming."

" Yeah. "

" We will get you ready to go home. The nurse will be back in to help you."

" Thank you." We watched the Doctor walk out. " Get to go home soon Angel."

" Thank god."

" I'm going to go call your mom while the nurse's are getting you ready. I'll be right back ok?"

" Ok Eds."

I went out and found a phone to call Lucy, filled her in and she informed me that she was heading right out. It took what seemed like forever for them to release my girl, but finally I had her in a wheelchair and was wheeling her out to the van. I carefully loaded her up along with her crutches and we were on our way home. When we reached the apartment I ran ahead and opened the door then picked her up and carried her inside.

" You didn't have to carry me Eddie."

" Of course I did Sweetheart." I smiled at her as I carefully set her down on our bed then went out to get her belongings and close the door. I ran back in and closed the curtains to keep the light out.

" What do you need? A drink? Snack? Do you need to use the restroom?"

" Can you help me get in my Jammies?"

" Absolutely Dollface." I took off her coat then carefully took off her clothes without jostling her around too much and carefully taking off her boot." God damn baby that looks horrible."

" It feels worse than it looks. I'm such a fucking mess."

" I'm going to get you in your comfy PJs, get you a snack and a drink, get that ankle iced and elevated the we are going to cuddle. Sound good Baby?"

" You are the best nurse ever."

I slid a baggy T-shirt over her head. "Good?"

" Good."

" K, I'm going to the kitchen but I will be right back. Let me know if you need anything." She laid her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes. I quickly went out and gathered some ginger ale, peanut butter crackers and an ice pack then ran back in. " Still with me kid.?"

A faint smile spread across her face. "Still here baby."

I wrapped her ankle up and propped it up on a pillow. She grimaced in pain. " I'm so sorry-"

" It's fine. Meds will kick in soon."

"On that note I want you to try to eat even just a few crackers ok Babe? It might help. You've got those pills in there on an empty stomach."

" How do you know all this?"

" Don't forget, I had to take care of Wayne. He is worlds worst patient." I handed her a cracker and she took a tiny bite. Then I put the straw to her lips. I was happy when she ate a few crackers and drank about half of the ginger ale.

" Ok Munson it is time for you to crawl in here. It is the only thing that will make me feel better."

" Ok Sweetheart." I slid in the side opposite of her bad ankle and wrapped her up in my arms." Better?"

" Much."

" I have to wake you up every couple of hours to check on you."

" Ok Eddie."

I kissed her forehead and looked at my watch. Lucy would be here in a couple of hours. It wouldn't hurt either one of us to nap until then. " Just relax Princess."

" Mmhum."

And just like that we were both out.

I awoke to a light kiss on my cheek. When I opened my eyes there was Lucy, smiling down at me.

" Hey Lucy, we just closed our eyes for a little nap. We were exhausted." I looked at the clock beside the bed. " Perfect timing. We need to wake her up and check on her. Gotta do that every couple of hours tonight. Oh! I need to get her some fresh ice!"

" Why don't you stay right there and I'll go get the ice."

" It's ok, I need to stretch anyway." I carefully slid out from under Ronnie but she stirred.

" Baby? Where you goin?"

" Sweetheart your mom is here."

"Mom?" She sat up slowly.

" Honey I'm here." Lucy bent over and lightly kissed the top of Veronica's head. " How are you feeling baby girl?"

" Awful."

" Have you tried to eat anything ?"

" Eddie made me eat some crackers and drink ginger ale."

" What a good man! He is a spectacular nurse."

" He's the best."

I felt my cheeks get hot." I'm going to go swap out your ice pack. Need anything?"

" I'm good Eds, thank you."

I slid the spent ice pack out from under her ankle then went out to put it back in the freezer. I grabbed a glass of water and some Tylenol for myself, the stress and anxiety of the day catching up with me. I leaned back against the counter, resting my head on the cupboard. I closed my eyes.

" You good Honey?"

My eyes popped open" Yeah Lucy.. I was so fuckin- sorry, so worried, just constant state of panic all day until now, it's just catching up with me."

Lucy put a hand on my cheek." Your my knight in shining armor Eddie. I don't have to worry when you are around her, you take such good care of her." She leaned in and gave me a tight hug, I hugged her back, resting my head on her shoulder. This was what I needed after today.

" You have had a day kiddo." She pulled away and kissed my forehead." Go lay down with Veronica. I've got this."

" No really I-"

" Mom's orders. Go." She pointed to our bedroom." I'm going to call and get a pizza delivered and we can all just sit back and try to relax."

" Ok Mrs C. Thanks for the hug, I needed it." I smiled went back down the hall and crawled back into bed. I big spooned Ronnie, burying my head into her neck, inhaling her scent, just so fucking relieved that she was going to be ok.

" Making a move on my Mom, Munson?"

I laughed." I don't know what your talking about."

" Thanks for the hug?"

" Well actually she made a move on me. I even got a smooch too."

" On my deathbed and I'm being replaced by my own mother."

"She's the next closest thing , I mean you look just like her-"

" Dick."

I laughed, yup, my girl was going to be just fine.

As always thank you for reading- comments and re-blogs are always welcome ❤️

#eddie munson #eddie munson smut #eddie fanfic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson blurb

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radiant-reid · 2 years

Text

Beyond Breaking // Chapter Nine

Damage Control

Summary: Spencer is finally ready to get it together... with the help of a friend, a gift, and some honesty.

Content Warnings: divorce, swearing, mention of vomiting/stomach bug, mention of drinking

Word Count: 4.7k

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After Spencer was left in his office alone again, the dread sunk in.

He couldn’t believe how twisted things had gotten in a few days. One minute he was in hospital after a hallucination about fixing things, and he blinked, and now things were in a worse state than they’d ever been before.

This was not meant to happen, but somehow, his worst nightmares were playing out. The life they’d built was all slipping through his fingers like sand in an hourglass, and it didn’t feel like there was enough time to flip it.

Looking at the divorce paper, he felt nauseous. His stomach had dropped so far down it felt humanly impossible, and his heart was twisted.

His eidetic memory was killing him, repeating the words she’d said so flatly, ‘sign it uncontested.’ What type of parent would that make him? How terrible had he sounded being more concerned about getting in legal trouble over an event 15 years ago than getting to see his own kids more than a few days a month?

Granted, he wasn’t doing much better right now, but he would be if he could get it together.

The thoughts plagued his mind, repeating over and over.

But he wasn’t solely in the wrong. He knew that. And he couldn’t figure out why Y/n would group together all his years of trauma and used it to defend why she should have the kids.

It was out of line, and while he was predominantly upset, he was furious about that.

He couldn’t dwell on it for much longer without having a complete emotional breakdown, and when his amygdala took a break and let his cerebrum work, he grabbed his car keys and ditched the tedious faculty meeting.

Emily was who he first ran to, so it made sense to go to her place to find her. But the BAU worked late hours, and she wasn’t home, so he called and drove to a bar.

It wasn’t a good idea. Spencer knew that walking in. He’s not in the mood to drink. He rarely is, but today it’s a bad idea. It doesn’t stop him from ordering a drink... and a shot to accompany it.

His misery apparently isn’t evident on his face because the BAU team greets him warmly, exchanging hugs and pleasantries. The longer he sits there, the longer he realizes they’re no longer his favorite group of people like they used to be before meeting Y/n, and Spencer knows he wants to be somewhere else.

It takes him far too many drinks to finally get Emily alone. “Something happened.” He admitted, biting his lip and trying to distract himself by collecting the condensation on his scotch glass.

“I can tell.” She said lightheartedly, but it wasn’t funny. “Spill it.”

So he told her. Everything he’d done and said and what was written on the divorce partition. By the end of the story, he was close to tears but hiccuping instead.

What he left out was everything he felt. That would take too long, and even though alcohol made him more honest than usual, he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

Emily has always been a woman of action, so her next question shouldn’t have surprised Spencer as much as it did. “Okay, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?” He asked in reply. “Can I not just wallow here in grief?”

With a laugh, she shook her head. “No, and no offense, but you’ve wallowed enough.”

Spencer scoffed and muttered, “Harsh.”

“But fair.” She reminded him, unwilling to let up until it got through his skull. “You have to stop fucking with her.”

“I’m not. I wasn’t.” He defended. The influx of emotions that came with being drunk made him more argumentative. “When we were at the hospital, I told her I wanted to be with her. She was the one who said we have to be done, but it was so calm, and now I get served with this shit, and I might only get to see my kids a few weeks of the year-”

Emily cut him off before he could keep going. “Take a breath.”

He did so overdramatically, drawing air in and out, but it helped him control his thoughts. “I don’t want to leave them.” He stated sadly. “Or her.”

“You need to be clearer about that,” Emily told him. There was a reason she was Unit Chief. “When it all blew up, you told me you didn’t believe in being married to her. Then in the hospital, you wanted to get back together, and I get it, near-death experiences are good at supplying us with revelations, but you cannot flip-flop with this.”

He threw his head back, resting it against the booth seat. “I don’t think I can fix this.”

“What do you want to do?” She asked, taking the remaining scotch from in front of him.

The answer was simple. It was maybe the only thing that wasn’t foggy in Spencer’s brain. “Be with her.” He answered quickly. “I just had everything I ever wanted since I met her.”

“Shush, don’t focus on that,” Emily instructed, sick of his self-pity. “Think of it like a case, Spence. What was her trigger?”

Spencer’s brain worked slower than usual, thanks to the liquor, but Emily could help him build on his theories. “I don’t know. Seeing me in hospital? I didn’t see her after that.”

“Well, something else must have happened.” Emily kept him on track. She was going to help him, but she didn’t know enough.

“She mentioned that night, actually.” He recalled. “That day... oh. Oh, fuck!” He exclaimed loudly, drawing attention he wasn’t paying attention to.

It was terrible. So much more detrimental than Spencer first thought. The pieces began to click together like a puzzle. A puzzle he should have gotten quicker. If Y/n knew that, there was an easy conclusion to come to. A deduction that would make her furious and prompt that course of action.

His brain ran with the idea, calculating the probabilities and outcomes of the situation now that he knew all the variables. Knowing what Y/n thought made him feel horrible, worse than anything he’d done so far. Although he didn’t blame her, he hated the fact she believed it because that meant she could fathom him cheating on her.

Spencer worried for her the most, and he could only speculate how much that would have destroyed her faith and ruined her trust. He had been in many stressful situations in his life, more than a usual person, but nothing made him panic like unlocking that piece of knowledge.

“What? What?” Emily asked, grabbing his arm and trying to ground him. She’d seen the switch flick in his brain.

“She thinks I’m cheating on her with one of my students.” He blurted out with a deep sigh.

Emily had heard a lot of surprising facts, but her eyes were comically wide. “Why would she think that?” She asked, her tone coming off sharply. There’s not usually an explanation for something like that, as much as people claim there is.

Damn, sometimes he hated being honest. “Because I made another mistake.” He said truthfully. “The day before that night, I had Wren. We were at work, and I had a class, so I let this student, Lily, stay with Wren because she is doing her dissertation on language in early childhood.” He explained it all without taking a breath. “How am I going to explain that?” He stood up abruptly, grabbing his jacket and putting it on. “I have to go see her.”

“No.” Emily stopped him. “I mean, yes, you need to, but also no, you can’t. Not when you’re drunk.”

He conceded, sitting back down and sighing loudly. He ran his hand roughly through his hair. “What am I going to do?” He asked again, tears prickling in his eyes.

“We’re going to go home, and you’re going to sleep it off. In the morning, you’ll tell Y/n that you need to talk. The good news is, you have 21 days.” Emily formulated the idea, and Spencer had never been more thankful for her and the high alcohol tolerance that allowed her to think logically.

“Yeah, okay.” He agreed, more than ready to get out of the bar.

And he had learned just how easy it was to fall asleep after crying for a couple of hours, so it wasn’t hard to fall asleep quickly that night. The next day came with a hangover, mentally and physically. He didn’t even want to move.

Since she had become his big sister, Emily dragged him out of bed, and they went to the BAU.

Of all the things he thought might happen that day, a call from Bennett’s kindergarten was pretty far down the list. He had his satchel packed up within a couple of minutes, and he was in Emily’s office within three minutes.

“I need to go.” He said, satchel over his shoulder as he held onto the door frame and leaned in. She raised her eyebrows and waited for an explanation, hoping he hadn’t made a spur-of-the-moment decision to confess his love to his wife. “Bennett is sick at kindergarten, and they can’t get ahold of Y/n.”

She nodded in understanding. “Of course, go.”

He left the office without a second thought about the paperwork he had to do, driving to his son’s kindergarten. Bennett looked pale with red cheeks from crying, and there was nothing Spencer hated more than seeing the people he loved hurting.

“Hi, bud,” Spencer said softly, leaning down to scoop the little boy up. “Not feeling too good, huh?” He asked, only getting a reply in the form of Bennett’s head shaking against his shoulder.

Spencer signed him out quickly, carrying him to the car and strapping him into his car seat. He knew there was one other thing he needed to do before sort of kidnapping his child, so he texted Y/n a quick, informal update.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” He asked, looking at the little boy who was frowning.

“My tummy hurts,” Bennett mumbled.

One thing Spencer thought he’d hate about having children was their sickness, but he had never cared about the spit-ups and diaper blowouts. “Have you had anything to eat?”

“Mommy made oatmeal, but I was too sick to eat my cookies at snack.” He complained.

It occurred to Spencer then that he had no idea what food was at their house. “Why don’t we go to the store and get some bananas, pretzels, and ginger ale?” He offered.

“Some jello?” Bennett asked hopefully.

There wasn’t much in the world Spencer wouldn’t do to see him smile and the tiny ghost of a smile flickering across his son’s face made him feel a little better. “Of course.” He agreed, reaching behind his chair to grab Bennett’s foot and make him smile slightly.

“There is something else I have to tell you, daddy...”

The trip to the mall was quick because Spencer didn’t want Bennett throwing up all over everything, and they were back at home. It felt, to Spencer, like stepping back into a time machine. Eight years of love were built into the walls, and all the photo frames prompted little memories back into his head. It was hard to feel out of place when everything looked like it did when he left the first time and after they had sex. Even the drawings on the fridge were the same.

He carried Bennett through the house, leaving both their shoes at the door, and lay him down on the couch facing the TV where he could be seen from the kitchen. “Wanna pick a movie, bubba?”

Bennett frowned at the nickname but nodded anyway. “Cars, please.”

“Sure.” Spencer agreed, grabbing the remote and rubbing the little boy’s back to comfort him while he tried to figure out how to work it.

“It’s the middle one,” Bennett spoke up when he realized Spencer wasn’t getting it.

He finally got it, and the movie began playing. “My smart boy.” With a kiss on his forehead, Spencer got up from the couch, finding a bucket in case Bennett was sick before unpacking the food he’d gotten in the kitchen. Then he made a special platter of bananas, pretzels, toast and jello, and ginger ale, Gatorade, and water to drink.

Like it was the normal thing to do, Spencer started tidying the house, putting the coloring pens Wren must have left on the table away and doing the breakfast dishes.

He loved how domestic it felt, looking after his sick child while cleaning their house, and he liked having nothing more to do than be there. Maybe, more than any other feelings, being home was his favorite. And it wasn’t something he’d felt in a long time.

Bennett fell asleep halfway through the movie, brown curls splayed out against the pillow. He stretched out longer than Spencer thought he used to. All three of them seemed to be growing faster and faster each day, and he couldn’t do anything but wish he would be there to see it. Bennett’s nose was the only one of the three that mirrored Y/n’s, and Spencer traced his finger lightly over it while he slept peacefully.

The front door slammed a little while after he started the second movie just so he’d have something to keep his mind off how weird it was to be there. “Fuck!” Y/n cursed, ungracefully tripping over Maddie’s ballet flats.

She couldn’t go a day without something dramatic happening in her life, and apparently, she couldn’t go a day without seeing Spencer. When her meeting ended, she was on edge as soon as her PA told her that there were voicemails left from Bennett’s kindergarten. Then she found out he was sick, which always upset her because it meant he was in pain. The nail in the coffin came as a text message from Spencer, who was looking after Bennett. Usually, it would be nothing but relief that she felt, but it made her uneasy now. But being with her sick child would always outweigh having to see Spencer, or anyone for that matter, so she went home almost as soon as she got out of her meeting.

“Is he okay?” She asked frantically, walking into the living room. She crouched in front of the couch, holding the back of her palm to his forehead. Her ignoring Spencer went further than concern for her child.

“Yeah,” Spencer answered, still stunned to see her, and to be so close to her. This was not how he thought it would go, and it was not going well. He cleared his throat, continuing to fill the awkward silence. “H-he, uh, said he had a stomach ache, but he’s eaten and slept.”

When she finally looked up at him, he couldn’t do anything but stare back blankly and admire her like it would be the last time he saw her. It might be, he figured, without lawyers at least.

She knew she had to say it, even if she didn’t want to. “Thank you.” It wasn’t just for looking after his own child. It was for the living room and kitchen and their remarkable cleanliness.

“It’s okay.” He replied, not mentioning how much he loved and would do anything for them. He also omitted how much he enjoyed being home and how he’d do anything to come home.

“I, uh, need to go get the girls.” She told him, hoping he’d had enough people training to read between the lines.

It took him far too long to snap out of the trance he was in each time she looked at him. He knew what she meant, though, and it would be much easier for all of them, for varying reasons, if Spencer wasn’t there when Maddie and Wren got back. He wasn’t about to push his luck by arguing with her.

“Y-yeah, sure, I’ll carry him out.” He said, standing up as she did and reaching down to pick the little boy up.

Bennett missed the awkward silence and tension-filled atmosphere until they got out to the car, and he woke up. “No, daddy!” He cried when Spencer moved to put him in his car seat.

“Hey, hey, mom’s here.” He soothed him. “You feeling okay?”

“Don’t leave!” He screamed harder, cheeks already wet as he tightened his legs around Spencer’s waist.

Spencer rubbed his back. “You gotta go with mom and pick up your sisters.” He told him.

“Daddy, please,” Bennett begged. Spencer tried to make himself believe that the little boy was just overtired and feeling sick, not that he hated him. His heart was broken for the umpteenth time.

Spencer managed to wrestle him into his car seat, but it took everything in him not to turn around and beg Y/n to let him stay.

“Promise I’ll come back,” Spencer assured him, trying to wipe up his tears and kiss him goodbye.

“No!” Bennett kicked his feet against the chair. “You never come home. You don’t love me.”

That would be hard not to think about at night, and Spencer was unsure about how he managed not to break down hearing that. He knew that past-him wouldn’t have felt so numb to it.

Behind them and witnessing everything, Y/n was tearful also. She immediately knew she’d made a mistake hearing Spencer’s hoarse voice. Spencer was hurting her, but she was hurting them. Bennett begging him not to leave was proof of that.

“I promise I do, so much. I’ll come to see you as soon as I get back from work.” Spencer assured him, but nothing was helping calm the child.

The guilt sunk even deeper at Spencer taking the fall for his being away. Bennett might not remember this moment when he was older, but eventually, all three of them would start being able to recall the lies of times Spencer told them he needed to work and he would be the bad guy.

“I love you, okay?” Spencer repeated to the crying little boy. “Please be good for your mom.” He couldn’t take anymore. It was why he shut the door, took a deep breath, and turned around to look at her. “Sorry, I didn’t think he’d cry.”

“I can do this alone, you know?” Y/n asked, her upset and guilt coming out as bitterness.

He knew her well enough to know what she needed, and this time, oddly, it was comfort. And he could do that, even if he was feeling bad and could really do with some reassurance. “You have been since Maddie was born.”

For the slightest time, Spencer swore she shook her head, but he knew he could be a little delusional. Y/n stood in front of him, trying to find something to say, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Mutually and silently, they agreed that it was easier to walk away without saying anything.

But Spencer couldn’t let her go again. “Hey, uh, when you-” He stopped, clearing his throat. “If you want to talk, I can explain it.” Those were the exact words he was trying to avoid. Words that really did make him seem like a cheater.

She looked at him dead on because of all the things she didn’t know, she knew she could read his eyes and... he was telling the truth. And fucking complicating everything.

The hope in his increased exponentially when she nodded slightly, and it filled him with something lighter than air. Maybe he really could fix things.

The phone call from Bennett’s school was far more expected than a call from Y/n that night, but his phone really was ringing, and he was so shocked he had to confirm it with Emily.

Emily left him with wise words of advice, “If you fuck her, I’ll cut your dick off.”

It was past 9 when he got there when the kids would be asleep, and he took a deep breath before unlocking the door and walking in. Was it the right thing to do? He wasn’t sure, but he proceeded through the house to find his wife- technically- on the couch.

Children were the best conversation starters, he’d learned. Even better than dogs. Although he never thought he would be using the tactic that he used on strangers at Wren’s friend’s birthday parties on his wife, yet here he was.

“How is he?” He asked, trying to relieve the strain they were both feeling by sitting on the couch.

“Good, ate like two servings of spaghetti.” She reported back to him. He nodded slightly, and any words he had got stuck in his throat. She seemed to be having the same problem, so she threw a Hail Mary. “Tell me something, Spence.”

Maybe it was the nickname or just sitting in the living room like they used to, but he blurted it out before he could help himself. “You’re so beautiful.” He wanted to bang his head against a brick wall at the obvious overstep. “Fuck, sorry.”

Y/n was blushing, and he could see it, but it might have been out of secondhand embarrassment for his misstep. She didn’t say anything to the comment, but she was happy. She couldn’t help it.

“Did you have something to do with this?” She wondered, holding up her wrist so he could see the brand-new, diamond tennis bracelet. It was too nice for a nearly 6-year-old to have mysteriously gotten.

“Sorry.” He apologized again. Where was that brick wall that he needed? “Bennett said you lost a bracelet, and he was really upset about it. I just hate seeing him sad...” and thinking about you being sad, he didn’t add.

She chuckled humorlessly, crossing her arms defensively. “Just wanted to make sure Bennett didn’t steal it from your girlfriend.”

Oh so she did want to address the massive elephant in the room.

“I promise I can explain that.” He assured her. Instead of making a comment, she sat there waiting for his explanation. “She’s writing a dissertation on language development in children. I had a class, so I left her with Lily. I promise Wren was safe. The campus has, like, a million cameras, and she’s a good kid. I would never cheat on you, Y/n, I swear.” He talked too much, and it made him look guilty. He knew that, and he wished he’d been more succinct. She just sat there stunned. “Jesus, you really thought I did.”

“Do you blame me?” She wondered blankly, blocking out the tears.

“There’s no one that could ever make me disloyal to you.” He told her more firmly than he wanted to.

Yes, he was telling the truth, and yes, she had jumped to some bad conclusion that had even worse effects. She was only feeling more and more guilty about it, overwhelming, all-consuming guilt.

When he looked up again, she was crying. It was too sweet for her not to be in tears. “Please don’t cry.” He begged. “I hate it when you cry.”

She tried to wipe the tears up with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. He’d only feel like that if he still had feelings for her. “I hate it when Bennett cries.” She added.

"Me too.” He agreed.

She knew it must have, and she couldn’t imagine any one of them saying she didn’t love him. “He knows, though.”

Spencer just wished she knew. “I’m sorry you had to find that out from Wren.”

“We should talk about that, though.” She redirected the conversation, still holding eye contact. He didn’t anticipate what was about to happen to sting so much. “What we’re going to do when we get a boyfriend or girlfriend.”

It took him a moment to figure out what she was saying, and then he was the one with thick tears rolling down his cheeks.

He couldn’t stand the fact she might one day be with someone else. It wasn’t a fair objection, so he didn’t voice it, but he knew they were meant to be together with everything in him.

They were meant to be together in every universe. They were soulmates, something he didn’t believe in until he met her.

What he didn’t believe in was having more than one soulmate. Y/n was it for him. He would never be able to love anyone the way he loved her. He didn’t even want to think about trying to.

“We’re not getting back together?” He whimpered out, like a puppy dog that had been left outside.

She paused before speaking. “I need time.”

Time.

Spencer could do that.

Time meant to could win her over and they wouldn’t be divorced within the next month.

He wasn’t going to push his luck too much, so he just reached out to touch her hand. “Not tonight.” He told her. “Take your time, Y/n, but I’m willing to do whatever I need to get this family back.”

Then he was gone, standing up before either of them could say anything further and make a mess of it all. “Good night, Spence.” She waved softly.

“Can I?” He asked, pointing his finger up and motioning to the floor where their kids were sleeping. “Kiss them goodnight.”

“Of course.” She agreed, although her heart was urging her to ask him to kiss her.

Spencer made his way upstairs, pushing open Wren’s door first and arranging her teddy bears differently so she’d still believe in magic for another day, then Bennett’s where he left an ‘I love you’ note for the little boy, and finally Laine’s.

The torch flashed off quickly, and he knew exactly what that meant from his years of staying up late and reading. “Hi, Laine.” He whispered, trying not to trip in the room only illuminated by the hallway light.

“Sorry.” She apologized quickly, shutting the book and smiling up at him. She knew it always worked with him.

“It’s okay.” He assured her. “You do need to rest your brain, though, sweetheart. I just wanted to come to give you a goodnight kiss.” He leaned down to do so, pushing her hair out of the way so he could kiss her forehead.

“Is mommy better now?” She wondered innocently.

Spencer frowned, concerned about what she meant, and sat down on her bed next to her. “What do you mean, sweet baby?”

“She just cries a lot,” Laine said nonchalantly. Of course, she knew it was wrong for her mom to be crying a lot, but figured it was adult business. “But she hasn’t cried since she got her bracelet.”

That thought made Spencer smile. Wider than he’d smiled in a long time. “I think it’s a magic bracelet.”

“Good.” Laine agreed although she insisted she was too old to believe in magic. Spencer was set to prove her wrong, even if she’d never know it, he was about to perform a miracle. “I want her to be happy.”

He nodded at that. “Me too.” Even on their worst days, he wanted her to be happy, and he’d sacrifice it over his happiness any day.

“Are you coming to Bennie’s party?” She asked, changing the conversation as kids tend to do.

“Hmm, when is that?” He wondered jokingly. She laughed a little at him, shaking her head because of his silliness. He couldn’t exactly forget his son’s birthday was in a few days. “Of course, and we’re going to eat lots of cake.”

“And there’s going to be a bounce house.” She promised, excitement lighting up in her eyes.

Spencer nodded before kissing her forehead again. “You need to dream of it though, Lainey, because otherwise, you’ll be tired for school tomorrow.” He warned, standing up and walking away with a little wave before he shut her bedroom door.

He didn’t say goodbye when he left, knowing Y/n would be so deep in thought she wouldn’t hear it. Plus, maybe it was easier to leave quietly. He just hoped it would be the last time he would leave at all.

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kurisus · 4 months

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Noragami reread: Volume 25, 26 & 27 thoughts

The last of the reread thoughts. Until the next reread (I'll still use the same tag!), and see you with the release of the final chapter shortly. Until then, I'll be mostly off the grid.

Volume 25 is...absolutely brutal. It starts right off with Yuka clearly seeing Hiyori as similar to her mother (aka someone who smiled her way through problems), then we get a flashback of Yukine's father finding the letters and ripping them up in front of him. The most chilling part is that he said he knew all along what was in them, but Yukine isn't even listening. And then there's the page of sound effects followed by an unsettling silence. I just. ANOTHER TOP 10 MOST GUTTING MOMENTS OF NORAGAMI. (Maybe I will actually compile a list.)

Nora goes back to trash dad because even though she's figured out he's full of shit, she still craves the love of a parent--she wasn't ever alive long enough to have it, so that yearning will never go away. So when he calls for her with a fake apology, she's never heard that from him before and believes him, and gets swept up in the moment of working as they used to. But the illusion is broken, and that's why she eventually turns on him.

Yato's struggle to get Yukine back contrasts beautifully with trash dad's backstory--a story about how the world is mean, and cruel, and you have to fight to survive because everyone's just in it for themselves. Trash dad is projecting his anger onto Yukine because he never had a father figure to look up to, but Yukine does now--Yato.

Yukine realizes this in what is still probably the most beautiful scene in the manga (although him asking Yato about him being buried is tied). I cried so many tears over this, and I will continue to do so.

Trash dad in Yomi with Izanami is a super interesting scene because of how casual she is with him. She sits with him a while, seemingly never pressures him to dine with her, and willingly tells him all about shinki and ayakashi while asking him about his own past. At the end of this, he steals the brush from her and escapes. When we see Izanami in the current story where Yato and Ebisu encounter her, she's desperate for a friend and keeps pushing food on them. So my guess is that back then, she was a lot more hospitable (or maybe just because she knew humans aren't allowed to leave Yomi), but him stealing from her and escaping caused her to become even more lonely and distrustful.

Likewise, what Father says about the brush naming shinki is very interesting too. The law of Yomi supercedes the law of heaven as far as spirits are concerned, because she was the first person to try naming ayakashi. Since Hagusa and Mizuchi were both named as corrupted spirits, the names bestowed by the brush can't be removed by Amaterasu. Could Izanami remove them? Probably.

That makes me wonder if, in the final chapter, because the brush is destroyed they will lose those names. It doesn't really matter, though, because (a) Yukine already made the choice to become a stray. That won't change. Same with Mizuchi, even if she'd personally gone around and begged every god to release her. But (b) both of them were pushed into this choice by a master manipulator, one who is dead and won't be able to control them anymore. And (c) Yukine, at least, has found his forever master. Mizuchi is...a little lost in that regard, but I'm hoping the fan theory that Kofuku names her comes true.

Not a lot from volumes 26 and 27, but I didn't notice before that trash dad separated himself from Fujisaki so he woke up, but how did his lifeline to Father get cut? I assume they'll explain it in the last chapter--maybe Yato stopped by? He's unable to talk super well (probably because he's feeling some of the effects of decapitation) but he would still remember the name...but that also fades as he talks to the police.

Side note, I love that his birth date is omitted in his student ID. The month and date, not just the year. Adachitoka said NO celebrating Fujisaki's birthday for you.

Now that I'm not distressed and angry about the Hiyori shinki thing (because I know it was reversed), I want to comment that I wish she had said, like, a single word while she was a shinki. Wondering where she is, or who that girl's body is, or something. I do just wish this whole business hadn't happened in the first place, but it is what it is. Since it was undone, it's not a dealbreaker.

As for my other ending hangups--I think Yukine's father won't have his fate mentioned, or maybe just a quick mention that he's dead. There's a point in Yukine's Hagusa arc where he decides his father isn't worth his time, basically, and the official translation talks about forgiveness. But it's not really forgiveness, it's just accepting that getting revenge won't do anything now.

Still kind of wish Hiyori and Bishamon had had more to do in the final arc, still think it's a bit funny that the gods started slaughtering humans only for them to go back to normal like 10 minutes later, don't really care that much though. As long as the trio stays alive and trash dad stays dead, I'll take it.

Discord reactions:

#live update #Noragami reread #GoodbyeNoragami

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ladykailitha · 9 months

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OK so this one might be a little out there, but follow me on this brain worm that I've been stuck with for a few days now with. We have never canonically seen either of the older Harrington's. We've also never seen Dr. Brenner in a personal private life setting. That being said, what would happen if Dr. Brenner was Mr. Harrington?

Oh no. Don't do this to me nonny...I've got my own ideas on who daddy Harrington is and it's juicy.

Back when I was first getting into the Steddie brainrot someone posted that in 1985 the head of the Department of Energy was a John Harrington. Yup the same department that ran the lab in Hawkins. Now this can go one of two ways.

Mr Harrington was complicit in the creation of the lab and when things went to shit after season two was made head of the Department when a vacuum from everyone else being fired or dead. Knows Steve is involved, but doesn't care. Is also the reason for Steve not getting a job at his work, because as far as Daddy is concerned, Steve was part of the Scooby gang that fucked up a good experiment going.

Or if you want to believe that Harringtons don't suck, that back in 1978 Mrs Harrington (a lawyer in my head but could be a journalist or just a nosy Parker) got to digging into the lab so close their home and the DoE freaked and started sending Daddy on trips all over the country and maybe even the world to keep him from looking at the lab too closely.

Mrs Harrington was fed lies about her husband's infidelity (as in there never were any indiscretions, she just was told there were) and started going with him on trips to keep a tighter rein on him. Every time some shit went down in Hawkins, the DoE would make sure the Harringtons never found out and any phone calls about Steve's health were rerouted and they never got them.

In the wake of the 'gas leak' at the lab, Mr Harrington was made in charge of the DoE, which actually allowed the government to cover it up better because now they could send him overseas to other countries for longer periods of time while they operated under his nose.

Cut to Steve in the aftermath of Vecna, hiding how badly he was hurt, because he's. Just. Like. That. And his parents come home.

Mrs Harrington calls out to Steve, but he doesn't answer. So she goes up to his room, to find that he has a high temperature and burns her fingers to touch. She calls out to Mr Harrington who comes running. Mr Harrington scoops Steve up and carries him out to the car. He rushes Steve to the hospital and manages to save Steve in time, if he had been only ten minutes later, Steve would have succumbed to his injuries.

The Party rushes to Steve's side when they hear he's in the hospital and the Harringtons meet Steve's new friends. They are shocked to learn that they're all still in school and that's why they didn't know Steve was as bad as he was.

Robin and Dustin are trying to explain things to them, but they are confused. Mr Harrington lets it slip that he's in charge of the DoE and he doesn't know anything about monsters and little girls with powers. Dustin pales at the mention of the DoE and runs to go get the new rescued (and resurrected) Chief Hopper.

Hop explains things to them in a less jumbled, rambling way that Dustin and Robin were doing. And they are appalled.

There is a lot more to that that gets into Steddie a bit, but I won't go into that here. But yeah. I don't think Dr Brennan is Mr Harrington, I think he's much higher up than Brennan.

#my writing #asks #ladykailitha rants #steve's parents #meta #stranger things

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ch0c0-cake · 2 years

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Always by Your Side

five hargreeves x gn!reader

requested by the amazing @ells-graveyard

summary/request - (possible TW for scars?) could i request that of a five x fem! reader (or gen! neut) who has scars related to SH and one of the siblings ,, probs luther, he’s kinda dumb sometimes,, says something accidentally insensitive. reader could take a moment to themselves to leave the room and five could explain whats wrong with what he said before comforting the reader?? its totally okay if you aren’t comfy writing that or it doesn’t interest you

- thank you for the request! i had fun writing this one, don’t be afraid to send in more! i really hope this is what you wanted!

warnings - cursing, scars, s/h scars, s/h mention

Having the entire family + you all gathered in some random dude’s place was a little awkward. You’d thanked Elliott quite a few times for being so hospitable enough to let seven others be there, even it was from Five’s threatening (which you definitely did not approve of).

You gently held onto Five’s hand while the others explained to Viktor what had happened before everyone was transported to Dallas, Texas. You had been lucky enough to meet up with Five relatively quickly. You’d been teleported just two months before Five landed, and after a while of pretty much begging Elliott, he reluctantly let you crash with him. You of course tried to pay him back, such as cleaning and going to get food, things like that. That’s when Five forced himself inside the building and found you there.

You were stuck at his side like glue ever since. Five was definitely not the biggest fan of PDA or physical affection in general, but he wouldn’t mind letting you hold his hand or grab his arm if you were in need of comfort. He would gently rub his thumb on the back of your hand, tracing numbers subconsciously.

You were so absorbed by the feeling of Five’s touch, it took you a good few seconds to realize that Luther was talking to you.

“(Y/n)-!” Luther reached over and gently nudged you, and you gave him an annoyed glance. You were busy holding hands with your boyfriend.

“What do you want, Luther?” You asked in an exasperated tone, like you were a parent talking to a hyperactive toddler.

“Oh, I just wanted to tell you that you might wanna get those nasty wounds looked at.” Luther said quietly and gestured to the scars visible just below your wrist. As you and Five had been together, apparently the sleeve of your blazer had been pulled back to reveal the lines previously ‘drawn’ on your arm. “How did you get those? They look recent.” He hissed a little. “And pretty gross too. Yikes.”

You of course knew Luther didn’t mean anything by it. He was just concerned for someone who was basically his sibling.

‘Pretty gross too.’ Was what hurt.

You definitely appreciated it, but having to think about it was not fun. You cleared your throat and stood.

“I uh…I don’t feel great. I think I need to lay down.” You pulled your sleeves over your arms and catching Five’s death glare at Luther as you went over to Elliott. “Hey, Ell…is there somewhere I can go to be alone..?” You mumbled to him, rubbing your arms subconsciously.

Elliott looked up from whatever the hell he was working on, clearly surprised by your sudden interruption. “Huh? O-Oh, yeah. If my room’s okay, it’s just that door.” As soon as he gestured in a direction, you made a beeline there and shut the door quickly.

“Ew…Elliott smell.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☂️~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re looking at me like I screwed up.” Luther said to Five anxiously after you had excused yourself from the room.

“No shit you screwed up, apeshit.” Five hissed through gritted teeth, staring Luther dead in the eyes. “Are you that ignorant?”

“Wh-? I don’t understand.” Luther said, eyebrows furrowed.

‘He cannot be serious’, Five thought while staring his brother down. Five didn’t think Luther would say anything like that maliciously, that wasn’t really in his nature. He hated seeing that look of pain in your eyes. The way you shoved your sleeve down and followed that flight response.

Luther was right about the whole recent thing, though. He recalled you telling him over and over how hard it was without him. The fear that something awful had happened to him. You had struggled with this kind of thing in the past, and once he found out you had relapsed, Five felt absolutely terrible. He remembered holding you while sitting on the couch, softly pressing kisses to your face. He would do it a million more times if that meant that granted you peace of mind.

“You really are that stupid.” Five scoffed with disbelief. “Luther,” he lowered his voice as to not disturb the others. They didn’t really need to know. “Those are self-harm scars.”

“Huh?”

“I-” Five sighed and rubbed his temples. “Self harm scars, you idiot. They did those.” He whispered quietly, trying to stop the venom seeping from his voice. “It’s a…coping mechanism of sorts. A really bad one at that. It’s a sensitive subject, so you going and calling them nasty and gross is a real dick move. It’s incredibly insensitive, especially to point it out in front of a group of people that could have heard.”

Luther seemed to instantly realize he had messed up pretty bad. “Oh shit- I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to.” Five stood up and walked to where you had gone to, ignoring the calls of the others. He didn’t bother knocking and entered the room, grimacing at the smell as he shut the door.

A soft sniffle came from the direction of the window. “Smells bad, doesn’t it?” A weak chuckle came from you, who happened to be sitting at the window. Five almost winced at how upset you seemed. You seemed to have an iron grip as you hugged yourself, holding your sleeves tightly below your wrists. Tears glistened in your gorgeous eyes, a sight that pained him more than most things.

“It does smell pretty bad. Smells like Elliott.” He agreed, approaching you and taking a seat across from you. “I’m sorry about Luther.”

“No no, it’s alright, you don’t have to be sorry.” You reached up and wiped a stray tear away. “I know he didn’t mean anything by it.”

“It still hurt you.” Five whispered, leaning over and taking your face in his hands. He watched as you pressed your lips together in a thin line, looking down and away from him. He noticed the droplets of water streak down your face and fall onto his shorts. “Come here, let’s get more comfortable.” He stood up and guided you to follow him.

He sat on the edge of the bed, gently patting his thigh as a signal for you to sit. You usually would have protested, claiming you would crush him, but you didn’t exactly seem to care. Five held his arms out and you hurriedly sat in his lap, swinging your legs up and crossing them behind him so you could bring yourself closer to him.

There was a rush between both of you as arms were thrown around. Yours slipped underneath his and wrapped around his torso tightly. His snaked around your shoulders, a hand coming up and resting gingerly on the back of your head. His slender fingers threaded through your hair, allowing you to cling to him like a koala to a tree. He pressed a kiss to your temple, whispering sweet nothings into your ear and moving a hand down to rub your back.

“C-Can we lay down?” You requested shakily, sounding as if you were a little kid coming to tell their parent they threw up in the middle of the night.

“On Elliott’s bed?” He teased and cocked an eyebrow, adding another kiss to your cheek.

“I’ll lay wherever as long as it’s with you.”

Holy shit when did you get so damn cute?

“Yeah.” He breathed, his heart swelling so much he thought he was going to burst. “Yeah, of course we can lay down, sweetheart.” He carefully maneuvered so that you were laying down, and then to where he was next to you.

You were on him like a moth to a light, legs tangling in his and arms bringing him closer to you. Your eyes followed him as he propped himself up with one elbow, reaching with his other arm to cup your cheek in his hand. He delicately ran his thumb up and down your skin, before timidly pulling your arm to him.

“May I?” He whispered, fingers messing with the end of your sleeve. You hesitated, but after looking at Five’s eyes, you answered with a nod.

Five nodded in response and carefully pulled your sleeve up. Without a word, he leaned down and gently let his lips grace each scar that littered your arm. He took his time, putting every ounce of his attention on you.

When he pulled away, he now kissed your stray tears away and held your face in his hands once again.

“Listen to me. No matter what happens, I will always be here for you. We can go through however many damn apocalypses this stupid timeline throws at us, I will never stop being by your side, understand? I’ll always be here to help you when you’re going through a tough time. When my brothers stop being idiots or when I stop wanting a cup of coffee is when I’ll stop loving you. I will always love you. Nothing in any timeline will make me leave your side. Nothing in any universe will make me stop loving you.”

“Do you promise, Five..?” You sniffled quietly, letting your forehead rest against his. “You promise you love me even more than Delores?” A quiet giggle reached his ears, and even Five managed out a light chuckle as he gave you a long, passionate kiss.

“I promise, sweetheart. I’ll always be here for you. Always.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☂️~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tags 🏷 - @ay4kshalatus

#five hargreeves x reader #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy x reader #five hargreaves x reader #five hargreeves #five hargreeves x you #gn reader #luther hargreeves

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sercezgazety · 2 months

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Hello, I read your fic Variations and Fugue on a Theme, and I liked it! I always like when the narrator goes from talking about the present and the past smoothly, without spelling it out for the reader.

Do you have any further ideas for why Herbert mentions being put on Thorazine and (I assume) committed to a hospital as a child? You also write that his parents taught him that breathing through your mouth was bad manners, and that's all I saw that could point to his parents. He's obviously focusing on the most recent important event in his life, but it surprised me a little to see his mind not wander back to his childhood more while in solitary confinement.

I was also wondering what you intended with the repetition of the phrase "you take what you can get". I took it to mean that Herbert is trying to reevaluate every situation he thinks of, and the one he's currently in, to make himself more competent. He can't delude himself into thinking he made no mistakes, but he can delude himself into thinking he's smart enough that the mistakes don't really affect him that much, or actually have secret upsides that no one but him would be smart enough to utilize (like how he insists he likes solitary confinement because unlike him, other people need "contact with the rest of the primates") He has less paper but it doesn't matter, he has most of it memorized, and then he just needs paper for more advanced calculations, and then he can barely remember the word tinnitus and then he's only been writing the word Dan. But he brushes this off; he's "not sure how it happened", and then just flushes it down the toilet. Of course, mentally, and physically since the toilet backs up and overflows, Dan always comes back.

And, why did Herbert break all the fingers in that man's hand, if you have a specific reason.

Hiii, thank you so much!

As for the thorazine mentions, that's how I imagine it went down after Gruber's death - in the extended cut, Meg does mention he was put on a psychiatric observation after the, uh. Exploding eyeballs thing. I'd assume he wasn't concerned that much with his parents; from what the novelization tells us, they died early on and there's a strong suggestion that it was Herbert who was responsible for their demise (something that would probably be very traumatic to a child, but Herbert compartmentalizes shit; also, in my head, the not breathing through the mouth thing was something Herbert was taught not by his parents but in the institution he grew up in). It was Dr. Gruber that Herbert actually trusted and considered a father figure. In the greatest scene in cinematic history, we get to see That Single Tragic Tear Rolling Down Herbert's Cheek when Hill mentions Gruber. After all, Herbert comes to Miskatonic because he has a vendetta against Hill - though it's not his but Gruber's work that the asshole plagiarized. Gruber's death is something that clearly affected him, and I think Herbert dragged Dan into his work not only because he needed an extra pair of hands or, as the fandom tends to think, because he was attracted to Dan. I think Herbert wanted to recreate the mentor-mentee relationship to some extent, though this time, given how much Dr. Hill sucked and how there was no mentor figure available, he cast himself in that role.

Plus, of course, he latched onto Dan for... Reasons, whatever they were, and I'm not sure Herbert's fully prepared to face them, especially after Dan's betrayal. While Gruber's death must have hurt, it was easy to rationalize - but what Dan did? Oh boy. The second person in Herbert's life to be trusted, and he went and violated that trust like that. So, like you said, Herbert tries to brush the entire experience off, treating Dan as less than a person, denying any bond they might have had, swearing up and down this doesn't concern him at all, and still obsessively coming back to the memory of Dan - the man he thought he moulded into something he needed, but in reality, the man he was entirely dependent on. The guy who had the nerve to be his own person anyway, to show Herbert wasn't completely in control. The audacity!

It's pretentious as shit, but I intended to make the fic similar to a fugue - a piece that's sort of structured by a returning theme or a set of them, with numerous repetitions and variations on what we've already grown familiar with. The "you make it work" phrase is one of numerous things that keep coming back (the sound of the lightbulb being the most prominent one). Moreover, it's one of the many lies Herbert repeatedly tells himself (like "you don't remember much," "he'll come," the notion of settling for Dan, not choosing him, the assumption that Herbert remains unaffected by his surroundings and by Dan's betrayal). He's fine. He's fiiiiine, doing great.

He obsesses over those things to such an extent, he doesn't have the time to obsess about more distant past (like childhood). His brain is way too busy trying to delude itself into believing it's not fixating on Dan. Which it very, very obviously is. As for the broken fingers, well, I didn't want to be too specific and I intentionally left things vague, but there are, hmm, crumbs of context for that in the last chapter of The Pending Details (an attempted assault by an inmate who didn't know who he was dealing with and what is Herbert capable of. The answer being A Lot).

Anyways, thanks for reading and thank you so, so much for the lovely message!

#me? overthinking? never #vulgarized pop-psychoanalysis for the winnn

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phantomdoofer · 7 months

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A Brother's Tale - Running Hell

Gustavo strolled into the briefing room, holding his pack over his shoulder. He could see Giuseppe was already there, Anita beside him. Something was wrong. Giuseppe was slumped forward, his shoulders tighter than normal. Anita had her hand on the man's shoulder, with an expression of uncharacteristic concern.

Gustavo set down his pack and went over to his friend. I mean, with all the shit we've gone through, we've all got problems, but something feels... extra wrong.

Giuseppe looked devastated. He was staring at his hands, which held what was probably some kind of report. Gustavo knew the enemy had unveiled some terrifying new weapon, which was devastating the entire world. Plus they'd somehow found a huge group of new soldiers, and the allied lines were being pushed incredibly hard. Somehow, this feels more personal. Oh no, was our hometown targeted? Mom, Dad, Gustavo, Mama Spaghetti, Peppino... "Sepp?" He said tentatively. "What's happened?"

Without looking up, Giuseppe spoke. "Peppino may be dead."

Gustavo was stunned. A huge chunk of why this wild bunch of essentially super-powered individuals stayed in line was the knowledge that their other selves were being kept safe. I mean, accidents happen, but... "How?"

Giuseppe continued. "Somebody fucked up the paperwork that was supposed to keep clones out of the draft. A lot of clones got drafted... including Peppino and Gustavo."

Gustavo's heart stopped. Mine? But what... what about my parents? They need him! His parents, both ill from a chemical attack early in the war, relied on the other Gustavo for help and income.

Giuseppe shook his head. "They've been in the front lines a while now. Yesterday there was a bad ambush. Peppino and Gustavo's unit got wiped out, except for them. Peppino took one of those new shredder rounds right in the chest." He choked. Most of them considered their clones to be siblings. "Gustavo was wounded too, but he managed to get Peppino to a field hospital. They're working on him, but they don't know if he's gonna make it."

Suddenly Giuseppe wadded the paper into a tight ball, and threw it across the room. "My brother may be dead! Peppino might be dead! Because some goddamn pencil-pusher forgot to do their goddamn job!" He leaned over, clutching his sides, growling as he tried not to scream in grief and rage.

His friend's distress overrode his own fear for his brother. And there's not a damn thing we can do about this. Anita leaned over and hugged Giuseppe. "I'm so sorry, Sepp," she said.

The Major walked in, not doing his usual act for once. His face was grave. "I see you've gotten the news. If it's any consolation Giuseppe, I had no idea until it was too late myself. He's getting the best care they've got there, but they can't afford to move him." Giuseppe looked at the Major, who looked him in the eyes and said, "I truly hope he makes it."

Giuseppe's eyes were harder than Gustavo had ever seen them. They looked twisted, demented. This is worse than when he's running. When he spoke, his voice shook. "I hope so, Major. If my brother dies, I... I..." he looked back down. His voice grew tiny. "I don't know what'll happen."

The Major came over and stood in front of them. "Easy, soldier. You're getting close to talking about defection... or worse. I understand how you feel, but keep it under control. I guarantee you, the ones responsible for this are already on the way out. This was a major blunder, one that should've been caught several times over." He smiled grimly. "Now, I need you to come to the Theater," the Major said, referring to their rarely-used main briefing room. "We have a new mission."

~~~~

The three of them looked around as they entered the Theater. Here was where they'd been introduced to their new lives. Told the whole deal: the clones, the special talents, the works. Haven't seen this many of us together since we left boot. From one side, a hand waved at Giuseppe. "Oy! Rapitaliano! You break the sound barrier yet?" The voice was teasing, but friendly. Must be Enrique. Only one who ever called me that. He waved back, but didn't trust himself to speak. The guy was the only one faster than him in their original group. They had developed a friendly rivalry. Giuseppe wasn't too surprised he was still around, as fast as he was.

There were a lot of faces missing. We've been lucky. A lot of new faces, too. They all looked nervous. Must be new recruits. He frowned. This has got to stop. The NEED for it has to stop.

As they sat down, Gustavo had his laptop out. "They're hitting cities really hard," he said, looking nervous. "This thing is insane. It just... vaporizes the target. Melts it. Twenty cities now. They're not even just aiming at us. Even the neutral countries are being hit."

"Bet that's the Demons again," Anita said. "They like pain and suffering."

Giuseppe nodded. So far his and Gustavo's hometown had been too small to target. But it was only a matter of time. "They'll destroy the whole world at this rate."

"Attenn-SHUN!" The Major bellowed, and everyone stood straight as an older man strode into the room, moving to the podium. Mentally, Giuseppe whistled. A Five-Star. This is really serious.

The General cleared his throat. "Thank you. Be seated." They sat. "I just want to say thank you all for all your sacrifices. Without you, we would have lost this war long ago." He gestured at the screen behind him, which lit up with a map. "Some of you may have heard that we have located the enemy's secret weapon. This is true. We taken to calling it "Inferno.""

Inferno, Giuseppe thought, "Hell." Good name for a weapon that burns everything.

"Two days ago, the Demons and the Talpas betrayed the Ninda. They had since proceeded to systematically destroy the five biggest Ninda cities." On the map, the Ninda capitol and the four largest cities blinked out.

Anita snorted. "Good riddance." Gustavo elbowed her hard in the side. Giuseppe had mixed feelings. While they were the enemy, he thought about his own family. Can't punish everyone for a few's evil. This is genocide.

"Since this betrayal, the Ninda have offered intelligence and begged for assistance. They've offered an immense amount of information on Inferno, starting with its location." A light appeared on the map. "Our own intelligence agencies have confirmed the Ninda's information. It's close enough for a full strike, but it's heavily protected. And they're using old technology to shield it. There's no way we can take it down with conventional weaponry, or even using old tech. Or so they think." He gestured at the map again, which zoomed in. "Our forces will engage theirs at this location. We're bringing everything in: air support, ground troops... and you." He gestured. "Some of you will join our forces, being distributed to units where your special talents will be useful." He pointed at a few of them, Giuseppe included. "For the ones of you with speed-based abilities, we have a special mission. You're the key to this operation." He clicked again, and a diagram of a piece of Old Tech appeared on the screen.

"A teleporter," Gustavo spoke softly. "I thought they'd all been destroyed."

"We've kept a supply of these in deepest secrecy for just such an occasion. Thanks to the information provided by the Ninda, and some of our own scientists', efforts, they should go right through those damned shields. You fast types will teleport inside, find the control room, and plant a special-made device in their base which will overload this monstrosity."

Giuseppe gulped. He immediately started sweating. Gustavo and Anita both grabbed an arm each, and he untensed a bit.

But not much.

The General looked grim. "I won't lie. This is going to be incredibly dangerous. They will defend it tooth and nail. We'll give you as much time as we can, but if they get that thing charged up, they'll wipe us out. The war will be over. And they'll torch the planet."

Not a sound echoed in the chamber.

"We're counting on you all. It's been seven years since this program began. Hopefully, you will be the last we need."

~~~~

The actual briefing had taken an hour, then they'd been handed their unit assignments. Anita and Gustavo were going with a unit or Army troops.

Giuseppe, of course, had his own assignment.

He stood up to move towards his group. Anita touched his thigh, saying nothing. Gustavo spoke. "Hey, meet us up top afterwards. I've got something I want to do."

Giuseppe nodded, and moved to meet the rest of "Team Blitz."

Enrique was leading the discussion, of course. "Glad you're still here, 'Seppe. Honestly, I think you've got the best chance of pulling this off. Even if I am faster." He gestured in front of him. "No built-in shields."

A teenage girl spoke up. She's so young, Giuseppe thought, from the ripe old age of twenty-two. "Do they really think we can do this? You know the inside of that place will be a deathtrap."

"Exactly why they're sending us," Enrique said, "we might be fast enough to avoid some of it."

Giuseppe spoke, "We have to be. You heard the General. This thing can wipe out the whole force with one shot if they decide to use it. This is a Hail Mary - that thing can just snipe us anywhere in the world. If they spread out enough to not get hit all at once, they'll just be broken. The Demons seem to have endless troops."

Another one, an Ogre woman, spoke. "Think maybe they've found some cloning tanks?"

That thought was sobering. "If they found enough to make this many troops this fast, then that would explain the haste. It's not just Inferno they're worried about. They'll overrun us with endless troops," Enrique said.

"No wonder the Breads are scared, " the Ogre said. "They're gonna join the rest of us in getting wiped out."

All of them stared at the floor for a minute. This really is do or die. For everyone. "We can't afford to fail," Giuseppe said. Everyone nodded. "If we fail, it all fails."

~~~~

Giuseppe found Anita and Gustavo outside, staring up at the sky. He sat beside them. Out here, the stars were a river of light. Truly secret bases don't generate a lot of light, after all. Not on the surface. For several minutes, they sat in silence. Finally, Anita spoke. "Sepp... do you think we're getting out of this one?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the boss," Giuseppe said. "You tell me."

"Sepp, I may take the lead, but it's always you pulling our asses out of the fire." She shrugged. "This is... big. Too big for me." She looked back up. "If... when I get out, I want to just come live someplace like this. Away. What about you two?"

Gustavo shrugged. "I dunno. I kind of want to learn to cook. Wasn't your father a pizzaiolo, Sepp? What about you? Maybe open up a pizzeria?" He smirked.

Giuseppe thought about it. Maybe. "I don't know. I'd have to check on Ma and... and Pino..." his voice trailed off.

Gustavo reached into his pocket. He handed something to each of them. "Here. I made these a while back, but I never got a chance to give them to you until now."

Giuseppe held it up to the starlight. "A leather bracelet?"

"For my truest friends." Gustavo said. "I know, it's stupid and sentimental, but... if something happens... I wanted something for us to remember each other with."

Anita already had hers on. As Giuseppe gently wrapped his around his wrist, Anita hugged him. "I love you, you little boulder." She gathered Giuseppe into the hug, and he leaned into it. He reached around and enveloped the two smaller ones, holding them close.

"You two are family to me, just as much as Ma and Peppino. I won't ask for promises, because I can't make any. But... if don't make it... know that I love you."

The stars watched as the three huddled in silence.

~~~~

Giuseppe stretched and warmed up as they waited for the signal to go. Anita and Gustavo should be with their unit by now. Without his friends there, he was even more anxious than usual. Of course, this possibly being the end of the world as we know it might have something to do with that, too. The others around him were silent. Every face carried a mix of anxiety and determination. Even Enrique wasn't cracking jokes. He gently touched the leather bracelet, and his nerves calmed slightly. Thank you, mio amico. Be safe, both of you.

"Hello there," a familiar voice said behind him.

Giuseppe turned. "Doctor... Houlwea, wasn't it?"

The Ninda smiled. "I'm surprised you remembered! Yes, I've been working to get these teleporters set up." He handed Giuseppe a small cylinder, the size of a pen. "The button on that will bring you back to this." He held up a small briefcase-like device. "It's very old though, so try not to abuse it."

"Thanks, Doctor." He place the small item in one of the many pockets on the front of his suit.

The Ninda hesitated, then placed a hand on Giuseppe's arm. "I want to say thank you again for rescuing me. My notes turned out to be vital in figuring out a way to get these teleporters to work through those shields." He looked down. "I wish I'd known about this Inferno thing. Maybe I could've done... something."

Despite himself, Giuseppe smiled. "Doc, you know they'd probably just have killed you or something. You did what you could."

The bread-man shook himself. "I guess. I hope I get to see you again. We're all rooting for you."

As he walked away, Giuseppe patted his pocket. Hope this thing works. If it doesn't, it'll be charcoal time.

The Major stepped forward. Everyone but Giuseppe jumped. The Major's mustache twitched in amusement. "All right, listen up. The battle started a few minutes ago, and it's fierce. So far there's no sign of them using Inferno. They probably think they don't need to. When you get there, we estimate you'll have about five minutes between them noticing you and the weapon being charged enough to fire. Do not take chances, and don't get fancy. Get to your target, insert that drive, and use those porters to leave. Now, get your arms ready!"

Giuseppe nodded, and pulled his shotgun out. You and me again, he thought. One last run.

Houlwea worked a control panel, and a swirling green and pink portal appeared in front of them. The Major yelled, "That's it! Team Blitz, give em hell!"

They charged through the portal as one.

The transition was instant, moving from their meeting zone to the inside of one of the biggest rooms Giuseppe had ever seen.

All hell broke loose. Bullets began pinging all around him. He dashed forward, Enrique right behind him. They'd agreed at the briefing that he'd lead, acting as a shield for the other runners. Despite his desire to weave and juke, he charged straight ahead, using his special talent to provide a little cover to his teammates.

He heard a cry behind him. Someone had been hit. He heard the thump as they fell, the others hurtling over the body. Nothing I can do for them. Gotta go, gotta go!

The fire was intense. The only thing saving him was the field of pure speed and rage in front of him. Several Talpa and even a few Demons stepped out of alcoves, aiming weapons at them. The runners went on the evasive, the fire too broadly spread now for Giuseppe's shield to offer much protection for them. He heard several cries behind him as runners were hit.

He didn't hear any teleporters going off. Every hit was a kill. He turned the grief into rage, which he turned into acceleration. Faster, faster. Push it, break your limit. Don't let them die in vain.

As he ran, Giuseppe caught glimpses of rooms filled with glass tanks. Cloning tanks. He grinned hugely. Good. Two birds with one stone.

Guiseppe hit a straightaway, and he risked a quick glance behind him. He was shocked to see only himself, the ogre woman, and Enrique left. Oh Mio Dio, we might not make-

As he turned his head forward, a searing pain tore through the right side of his face, from right beside his right eye along the side of his head. He screamed, still running. He felt blood running down the side of his face. How did something get past the shield from that angle? He saw a flash, and a beam of light shot past him. Ahead, a group of Demons fired fiery blasts at the trio.

Oh shit, whatever those are, my shield doesn't stop them! His boots screamed as he started evading, hoping to throw off their aim.

The Ogre woman got past him, charging at the demons. She roared as she was grazed several times, then took a shot full in the chest.

Then Enrique blazed past him. What the hell is he doing??

"Go, 'Seppe! Go! You've got to do it!" He pinballed amongst the Demons, breaking their line and throwing off their aim as he bounced around. Giuseppe had just enough time to see one of them blast him before he was past.

I'm the last one. As he ran, tears streamed from his eyes. He screamed in pain and rage. Rage became speed. Tears mixed with blood as he accelerated more, pushing himself past the limit. Go. His heart felt like it would fly out of his chest, but he ignored it. Go. He skidded around a hairpin turn, barely losing speed. Don't let them have died for nothing. He bounced off a wall, spinning in a desperate attempt to avoid the beams and bullets around him. He felt several grazes, but no real hits. Do it for them. He jumped down a flight of stairs, slid down the handrail of a catwalk, a fall a million miles deep just below his feet. Do it for Anita and Gustavo, Ma and Pino.

DO IT.

Giuseppe ran right through a Demon who stood in front of him, who didn't even have time to respond before exploding into messy bits.

Faster, you bastard, faster!

The sound of alarms dopplered down as Giuseppe pushed himself harder and harder. Suddenly the air seemed to open in front of him, and he saw a shockwave fly away. Sound barrier. True Mach 1. He put everything he had left into his run.

Objects shattered in his wake.

Suddenly he realized he was there. He skidded to a stop, bursting through the door to the control center as he decelerated. It was surprisingly small. Only a couple of Demons were there, holding their heads as the sonic boom deafened them. With burning determination Giuseppe gunned them down. Fuck you and fuck you. Then he stepped over to the control panel. This is for you, guys. He plugged the small drive into the port, and it quickly did its job. He heard the rumble as Inferno's core started to overload. Ok, thirty seconds and this place will melt itself. Good riddance. Now to get out of here. He pulled the small pen trigger out and clicked it.

The pen garbled a strange noise, but nothing happened.

Giuseppe looked down at the pen in horror. "CAZZO!" He shrieked. He started running, back towards the entrance, clicking the pen rapidly. Fuckfuckfuck! The building was shaking, a roar like an angry god chasing him through the halls. He hurtled over fallen soldiers, enemies and allies both. Debris and fallen weapons threatened to trip him constantly.

As he ran, he clicked rapidly. "Come on, come on...!"

*click* *click* *click* *click* *cli-BWIP*

~~~~

The sound of cheering stirred Peppino from his stupor. Wha... what's... He felt so tired, like his body was made of lead. There was a pressure on his face. An oxygen mask. And everything hurt. Last thing I remember was... blood... pain... Gustavo, repeating my name over and over...

He blearily opened his eyes.

From the next bed over, Gustavo looked over. "Oh hey! You're awake!" He hopped down and came over, hopping up on a stool. He grabbed Peppino's hand.

"What... what-a happened?" Peppino said.

Gustavo looked grim. "I almost lost you, Pino. We got ambushed. You got shot, I brought you back. You didn't respond to anything. There was so much blood..." He pointed at the heavy bandages on Peppino's body. "You were close to death, my friend."

"We were... ambushed?" Peppino said. "What about... the others?"

Gustavo looked down.

Peppino's eyes filled with tears. All gone. Like that. I miei fratelli.

Gustavo looked up. "But look! Look at the TV! They did it! They destroyed the enemies' weapon!"

Peppino worked to focus on the screen. The words "Enemy Superweapon Destroyed" floated above a picture of what looked like a mountain of slag.

Peppino sighed. All he could think about was his friends. Riposate in pace, amici miei. He laid back, their faces floating across his mind's eye.

Gustavo patted his hand. "I'll let the doctors know you're awake. They'll be so excited!" As the gnome jumped off, Peppino noticed he had bandages wrapped around his own waist, stained with blood. "Gustavo, you're-a wounded, too?"

Gustavo waved a hand. "Non è niente. I got a graze while I was bringing you in. Nothing serious." He ran out the door.

Guilt filled Peppino's heart. Mio amico, that was no graze. You nearly got yourself killed saving me.

He looked back at the screen. People were celebrating in the cities. Outside, someone was setting off fireworks.

Peppino cringed, the sound distorting into bombs and gunfire, screams and curses.

~~~~

Be glad you didn't lose your eye, Giuseppe thought as he touched the bandage covering the right side of his face. Or your head. Part of his right ear was gone, burned away. The skin between his eye socket and ear had been fried, too. It would heal, but he'd have a hell of a scar.

I'm still here. If it hadn't been for the pain, he might not have believed it.

When Giuseppe walked in, the Theater erupted into raucous cheers and applause. Before he could respond, Anita and Gustavo wrapped around him.

"You did it, you did it!" They yelled together. Suddenly Anita dragged his face down and kissed him full on the lips, causing the crowd to erupt in whistles, catcalls and jeers of "get a room!" Giuseppe grinned despite himself. "Anita, I didn't know you cared."

She pressed a hand to his lips. "Don't read too much into it, Sepp. I'm just glad you're alive, friend."

The reminder of the other runners sobered him. "How many did we lose?"

Gustavo looked sad. "A lot. All the other runners. And most of us that were outside, too. There's maybe a dozen of us left." He looked up at Anita. "We got really lucky."

Giuseppe looked down. Riposate in pace, fratelli miei.

With mixed feelings, he let his friends drag him into the crowd. He didn't feel much like celebrating, but everyone else did. Can't blame them too much. The world didn't end.

A few minutes later, the Major came in, and pulled him aside. "I wanted you to know, your brother pulled through. In fact, he just woke up."

Giuseppe felt a band of tension snap in his heart. Ih grazie a Dio. Giuseppe grinned hugely, and gave the Major a giant hug that lifted him off his feet. Putting him down, happy tears in his eyes, Giuseppe threw up both fists and yelled "MY BROTHER LIVES!" Anita and Gustavo cheered loudly, the crowd cheered back, despite not knowing the context, and the Major straightened his tie. "I'll let that one slide this time, Spaghetti. Don't do it again." Then he smiled. "I'm glad. We've lost too much already."

Giuseppe smiled at him. "Amen per questo, Major."

~~~~

Standing outside in the predawn gloom, Giuseppe looked up at the fading stars. It's a new world from here on out. The program was officially being shut down, once things had been wrapped up with the war. Or at least, the original version was. Some of them were staying, including the three of them, to form the core of a new military branch. The world would still need guardians. Some sort of mixture of elite strike forces and intelligence operations, no name yet. But Giuseppe understood. There were far more threats than one alliance of aggressors.

Giuseppe smiled. It all meant something, in the end, after all.

Gustavo and Anita walked up on either side of him. He wrapped his arms around his smaller companions.

The three stood and watched as the sun rose.

~~~~

Peppino leaned back in his recliner, looking at his brother with newfound respect. "That was you!" he said in awe. "You're the one they called the Hellrunner."

Giuseppe grinned meekly from his position laying on Peppino's couch. "Yes. I don't know who came up with that, but it eventually became my call sign."

"The news channels were full of-a people speculating about the soldier who took that Demon superweapon down. It all sounded so fanciful and-a overblown. But knowing the kind of people who did it now..." He looked down. "Its still hard for me to believe I survived." Peppino said.

"You shouldn't have been in the war at all," Giuseppe said, frowning. "None of you. I found the ones who lost that paperwork and we had... words."

Peppino laughed. "So where are the bodies buried?"

Giuseppe chuckled. "Words. Just words. Not to say there weren't a few... implications."

Peppino grew serious. "All I did was take down a tower. You saved the world."

Giuseppe sat up. "Don't sell yourself short, Pino. We'd been trying to track down Pizzahead for years. If I'd have found him, I'd have sent in several teams. The technology in that tower could have done untold damage." He pointed at Peppino. "You are a strong man. Don't forget that."

Coming from the old soldier in front of him, that was quite a compliment. Peppino tried not to swell with pride. "Thank you for the story, fratello."

"Any time, fratellino."

#my stuff #peppino spaghetti #peppino #giuseppe spaghetti #anita #gustavo #pizza tower fanfic #pizza tower au #pizzatower #pizza tower #tower town au

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voltfruits · 2 years

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fuck it, have some more aubrey omori headcanons because i care about her in the most mentally ill way

she has chinese heritage on her father's side, french on her mother's

bisexual af!!!! had a small crush on mari growing up

always has cold hands. kinda anemic probably

has a very noticeable eye twitch when she gets stressed or angry—it kinda looks that way in some of her headshots ingame

her father was physically abusive, but she would always lie when asked why she had bruises. i think it makes sense considering how touch-averse she is post-timeskip :((

hero and mari were vaguely aware of her rough homelife, but only basil knew the full reality of it, because he'd been her friend the longest. basil being basil, he took that secret to the grave and never told anyone else (also i feel like aubrey would tell basil to keep it a secret because she doesn't want anyone's pity). this is another reason aubrey was so hurt by the blacked-out photo album; basil was the one person who really knew how badly aubrey needed their chosen family, and he was still trying to avoid her rather than support her

okay, a non-angsty one now! aubrey has a surprisingly sophisticated palate! i mean, she canonically loves grilled eggplant which is one of the few things i don't particularly like. she'll eat just about anything really. and she cried actual tears of joy when she got to taste hero's home cooking for the first time after the endgame. ("you don't understand. i've been living off monster energy and gas station hot dogs for the past year. without this salad i am nothing")

she wanted to be a witch when she was little. it was always her go-to halloween costume!! she threatened to put a hex on kel that would make him cough up frogs, and kel had at least one nightmare about it

after mari's death, she started going to the faraway town public library a lot and losing herself in books. it was safer than being home, and people could just exist there without having to spend money or explain themselves or anything, and it reminded her of all the time she spent reading with mari. she stopped going after a year or two because she got into a fight with someone :(

she did a bunch of odd jobs around faraway town to get enough money for food and clothes

after the true ending, one of the first things she does upon leaving the hospital is destroy her nail bat. not really on purpose. she just flies into a rage and pounds it against the wall of an alley until it breaks into splinters.

after that, she goes into a brief but intense depression and doesn't leave her room for 2 days until kel drags her out. around that time, she has a sort of "shit, i need to get my life together" epiphany, and starts applying for actual jobs. she ends up working at fix-it until she graduates high school

she stows away on a freight train to visit sunny in the city and tell him she forgives him. she's the first one to seek him out. a few weeks later she gets kel and hero to drive up with her for a full reunion (minus basil, he'll come later)

hero also teaches her and kel how to drive that summer (way more affordable than an actual driver's ed course). he also gives her some fun tips about cooking!! and general adulting. he is literally a big brother to her and it makes me sob happy tears pls i love them so much

sadly, hero and kel's parents aren't that fond of aubrey. they were vaguely disdainful of her even before mari died ("she's one of those people from the poor neighborhood, isn't she?") and they openly condemn her after her spiral into delinquency. even after she becomes friends with hero and kel again, she isn't allowed into their house... but that doesn't stop her from hanging out with them :)

her mother dies from alcohol poisoning a few months after the true ending. aubrey barely even grieves; as far as she's concerned, she lost both parents years ago. she moves in with polly and basil, who recently got back from the mental hospital and is now homeschooled. things are rocky for a while, but aubrey can stand to be around basil even if she can't fully forgive him. as time goes on, they get more comfortable talking to each other, and aubrey is yet again the first one to really make things right with him and accept his friendship again. the others follow soon :)

she and basil share a lot of clothes!!!! basil likes to wear things on the big and baggy side so they still fit aubrey perfectly

aubrey also teaches basil how to swim :') as well as some basic self defense. and she buys him plants and flowers and treats him to coffee now that she has a steady source of income. i am completely normal about aubrey and basil's friendship please trust me

now that aubrey has a parental figure who actually cares about her, she can finally afford to start going to therapy. she's diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which does still flare up from time to time, but her symptoms are more manageable than they were before the true ending. she gets more comfortable expressing all her emotions, not just the angry ones, and also gets a lot more comfortable with intimacy and affection, like her younger self

she also starts working out (buff auby my beloved) and playing guitar. she can't sing, but she does it anyway when no one is around

she listens to sonic youth, bikini kill, liz phair, joan jett, and various other icons of 80s and 90s girlboss rock music. she also had an MCR phase when she was 14-15, and i know from experience that once you start having an MCR phase it never truly ends (sunny likes them too!!)

she calls hero on the phone at least once a week. he helps her with her homework sometimes, and she hypes him up and encourages him to socialize and make friends!!

she's really good at most party games (air hockey, cornhole, beach volleyball, etc) and also has a strange knack for winning those claw machine games (she's gotten sunny and basil and kim soooo many stuffed animals). however, she's hilariously bad at video games. she has never won at mariokart in her life

she refuses to touch alcohol, but smokes marijuana every now and then. when she's feeling festive. or super stressed out

she cuts her hair to shoulder-length about a year after the true ending. after she graduates highschool, she stops dying it and lets it return to its natural black, except for one pink streak.

after high school, she moves to the same city where sunny lives and gets an apprenticeship at an auto repair shop. mechanic aubrey is my most beloved headcanon and i will take it with me to the grave. she also gets a motorbike because i say so

she starts spending more time with sunny (he's also doing a lot better; tbh i should make another headcanons post just for him!) and they eventually start dating and move in together :))

years after the endgame, hero tells aubrey that she's become just like mari, or at least a slightly more punk version of mari: a caring, lovable, accomplished, big-sisterly figure whom everybody looks up to. it makes her cry for the first time in years. this feels like the natural conclusion to aubrey's character arc—after years of struggling to control her grief and keep the memory of her best friend alive, she's succeeded in commemorating mari in the best way possible: by fully embodying her spirit.

#consider this my aubrey brainrot masterpost #it has everything #omori #aubrey omori #omori headcanons #volt.txt #damn this got long as hell actually. i should make one for every character

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