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skyfallslayer · 9 months

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The Daughter of The (Dare)Devil - Story 10

Series Masterlist

Series Summary: A Series of stories revolving around the MCU timeline of Matt Murdock and his Daughter, Kaila. Being the child of a vigilante can be hard and scary at times, but it doesn’t mean she ain’t going to enjoy the most of it.

(Can be read as Y/N if you’d like)

Story Summary: Relieved that his daughter is finally home safe, Matt makes two life changing moves. First is to stop and help Frank Castle in any way he can; The second one? Finally asked Karen out on a date. A date that might have to get cut short when someone from his past shows up unexpectedly (Set During 2x04 & 2x05, “Penny & Dime” & “Kinbaku”).

Date: 7/26/23

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 14,016 (Ya'll deserve it)

Warning: Possible OOC (?); Karedevil; The Murdocks Are Stubborn People; Angst; Heavy Language; Allusions To Mental Illness; Bullet Wounds/Recovery; Child Abuse; Blood and Gore; Violence; Heavy Injuries; Talks of Death/Murder; The Murdocks Could Use All The Hugs In The World; A Brief Near Death Experience; Matt Being Overprotective (He Needs A Warning, I think?); Past Toxic Relationship(s); Elektra Could Use A Warning Herself; Suggestive 18+ Themes; READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

- Let me know if I missed anything, please.

A/N: First off, a small apology. Like I was replying to a DM a few days ago, I don't know what really happened. Despite the fact that my laptop took a dive, I ended up on a unexpected hiatus. Which... I think was a good thing for me. It gave me enough time to take a step back after slowly becoming burnt out from writing. But I'm back! I promise I won't go MIA without saying something next time. So, sorry again! But the story you all have been waiting for has returned!

Secondly, Don't let this story fool you, I don't necessarily hate Elektra. I just don't like the fact how toxic she was for Matt and how she tried to change him after finally getting in a good place in his life. So I'm going to change Canon a little bit (Which shouldn't be a surprise since I've been doing that already). Other than that, Enjoy, my loves!

- Fifteen Years Ago -

His only comfort was the pittering of the rain against his window. He sat on his bed, feet touching the ground, his phone in hand; His finger hovered over the voice command. His mind racing over and over and over with the question of–

Should I?

He wants answers. Sure they didn’t leave on a good note, but shouldn’t she give him some kind of explanation? It’s only been two weeks, surely she hasn’t left the area already…

Right? But even a part of him knew she probably was long gone just like the cops said, yet he still held on to some kind of hope that’ll he be able just to talk to her at least once. To just ask the “simple” question of… ‘Why?’.

He rubs his face with an open hand, fingers massaging the dark circles under his blind pupils. He didn't need sight to know they were getting worse and worse everyday.

He sighs.

Loudly.

Heavily.

He let every ounce of emotion into that one.

He didn’t care.

I’m really drowning right now. And indeed he was, however–

His thoughts immediately fade away when he hears the familiar cries he’s gotten used to. Out of instinct, Matt lets his phone slip away as he slides down to the end of his bed, shifting his body down to carefully take his baby in his arms from the bassinet. He remembers how he was taught to hold his child properly, a consistent drill from the nurses and Mrs. Nelson badgered him with (mostly from Mrs. Nelson).

He shushes quietly in the attempts to calm her. “Hey, hey. Shush. You’re okay, you’re okay.” He whispers, exhaustion in his undertone.

God, he was so tired.

He whispers some more, his daughter starting to calm down into tiny whimpers. His face quirked into something bittersweet.

“Did you have a nightmare?” He asked, wanting to stroke those little teardrops away, but he was too afraid to free one of his hands out of concern of dropping her. “I have those too sometimes.” He chuckles humorlessly. “I guess those can be hereditary.”

He still has those kinds of dreams. Memories from his childhood. All the dark shit he’s been through, he’ll see them every once a while. His father’s dying day, His time in the orphanage, His roller coaster of past relationships. It’ll take turns haunting him. Taunting him. Egging him to give back in, crawl back into that dark hole. Jump off the edge.

It eats him alive every single time.

Matt’s lip twitched. “Sorry. That was a bad joke.” He admits, trying to look on the positive side. “Although, your Uncle probably would have come up with something more corny than that. Right?”

He could feel her tiny gaze, something he was still trying to picture what it meant. Happiness? Sadness? Confusion?

He sighs. “I wish I could see you. It’ll make this easier.” So much easier. “It’ll make your life easier. I’m not going to be the… typical parent of the group. So, I’m… sorry.”

How the hell was he going to do this? How was he supposed to help her through life? Through her first steps? Through school? Through any hardships she faces? How was he supposed to help when he feels like he’s drowning?

How am I supposed to be a father when I don’t know what I’m doing? How am I supposed to be a father when I can’t even see your face?

He heard the front door open and close. The person entering was setting their bag aside and kicking off their shoes and heavy jacket before strolling over where he’s been sitting for who knows how long now. Matt could smell the sweat on his friend’s brow and a light drum beat from his chest that told him his friend had been in a hurry to get here.

“Matt?” Foggy said, peeking inside the bedroom. A look of relief crosses his face upon seeing his college buddy. “Sorry I’m late.”

Matt couldn’t help but smile at his consideration. “Nah, you’re good, Foggy.” He said, half heartedly (he just hopes he doesn't have a look of desperation plastered on). He felt those hazel eyes scanning him head to toe, concerned.

“Have you been up since this morning?” Foggy asked, remembering he had called around eight this morning. There was a pause of hesitation from the blind man before he ended up nodding. He frowns worriedly. “Matt–”

“Please, don’t lecture me.” Matt said, sounding like a little kid cowering with fear.

Foggy felt his heart hurt from it. “I wasn’t.” He promises, his frown deepening. “Have you eaten?”

Another small nod. “Yeah. I ate a little.”

“Showered?”

“No.”

“How come?”

“I…” Matt felt his chest get tight as he stumbled with his words. “Don’t want to leave the room for too long.”

Foggy couldn’t help but laugh. “Matt, you can take her in the bathroom. Just put the bassinet by the door.”

His face scrunched up. “Isn’t that weird?”

Another laugh. “Okay, how old is she again? Two months old? Even if she sees you naked she’s not going to remember.”

Matt closes his eyes to sigh. “Yeah, yeah. I guess…”

Foggy shakes his head. “You need to sometimes turn that Catholic brain of yours off, Murdock.” He replies, coming to sit down. Upon sitting he felt something underneath him and pulled out his friend’s phone. It didn’t take long to figure out what he was doing. “Did you call Mary?”

“Tried…” Matt chews on his cheek. “I uh… I just want some answers. I mean she’s… the mother so, I would think she would be… more capable at this. I mean why would she give her kid to a blind man who has no idea how–”

“Okay, going to stop you there.” Foggy butts in, hand coming to rest on the troubled man’s shoulder. “Even if you thought Mary was more capable, you’re still the father, you know? Blind or not, parenting isn't easy. Trust me. My own parents made that very clear. I’m sure your dad told you something along those lines too.”

Matt grew quiet for a second, thinking. “Yeah. I guess you have a point.” He shifts his gaze in his direction. “But it’s just… it’s frustrating. I-I can’t see so I… I-I have no idea how she’s feeling half the time. I’m scared that if I get that wrong I’m going to hurt her.”

Foggy squeezes his shoulder comfortably. “I know, man. I know.”

“And she’s… s-so tiny, Foggy.” He whispers, fearfully. “So tiny and I’m… a big guy. I-I feel like I’m… like I’m drowning because I don’t know what to do.”

Now it was his turn to get quiet. Foggy was trying to figure out how to phrase the next few words without striking too deep. “Do you regret your decision to keep her?”

“No, no, no.” Matt shakes his head. “I just… I-I love her, she’s my daughter. But there’s… times I wonder if…” He swallows. “If she would be… better not in my care.”

Those words hurt to even say, but it was true. Maybe this would have all been better if he went through with the adoption.

As the processing time ended, Matt felt Foggy’s arms wrap around his shoulders, cautious of the baby, and placed his head against him. Matt couldn’t help but lean into the touch he felt like he suddenly craved, and tried not to cry.

“Matt–” Foggy begins, his voice full of warmth and love. “You’re going to do great. Sure it’s hard, and it’s always going to be hard, but under all that exhaustion I can see how much you love this kid. You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

Matt chuckles, somewhere between disbelief and relief. “You r-really think so?” He said, swallowing again as his throat tightens.

“I know so.” Foggy pulls back. “Trust me, Buddy. I’ve seen the emotions you pack. I can already picture you picking her up on her first day of school, or helping her get a summer job, or walking her down the aisle for her big day.”

Matt raises an eyebrow. “Who says she’s getting married?”

“See?” Foggy lightly slaps him in the arm, grinning. “You’re already accepting the universal dad laws. Never letting your daughter near a boy her age. You know when my niece was born, my brother was pretty much ready to lock her in a tower far, far away. Surrounded by a dragon that was fifty feet tall, which breathed hot fire.”

Matt laughed again. “Uh, not sure if Amazon sells dragons but… the tower I can find and work with.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m pretty sure New York has some of those.”

“How will I know they do?”

Foggy snorts and gives him a small shove while playfully saying his name. He finally felt a bit of success bloom when he noticed his friend’s happy face staying the same. “You’re doing great, man. But if you ever need help, Me and The Nelsons are here to help.”

Matt’s smile widens genuinely. “Thank you, Foggy.”

“Don’t even mention it.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-Present Day-

Matt’s eyes open at the shift in the bed, he sets his blind gaze in that direction, quietly listening to see if she is awake.

She wasn’t. Good.

She needed to sleep.

It’s been about a week since the incident, and they’ve just gotten out of the hospital yesterday, and to his surprise (Well, he really shouldn’t be), his daughter wanted to stay pretty close to him for a while; Not that he was complaining. He wanted this too.

He shifted his own weight too, rolling to his side for a better view. She had gently wrapped herself in his blankets, and had carefully propped her injured leg on a pillow. His daughter finally looked like she was at peace, especially since he could tell she wasn’t suffering anymore night terrors.

Good. She doesn’t need that right now. He remembers she had one after Brett left the hospital room, her body finally giving out after the nightmarish incident. He remembers she bolted up, drenching in sweat as her heart raced a mile a minute. She was hyperventilating in a way he’s never heard before as she started muttering. ‘Where is he?’ or ‘Where am I?’. It broke his soul to her muttering, to feel her shake in his arms as he calmed her down. He never wants to go through that experience again.

I wonder if Brett’s figured anything out? The whole kidnapping situation still wasn’t adding up. Why was this… man who claims to be their first client’s brother kidnap his daughter? Because… what? Nelson and Murdock ‘failed’ him? This just didn’t sit right with him. And Matt recalls when the man said something about a Boss. Boss? What Boss? Who could this Boss be? Who wanted to hurt Matt Murdock more than the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen? It just didn’t make any–

His daughter’s phone chimes loudly, the sound of a notification hit his ears quickly. Despite not being able to see it, he tries his best to reach over to the side table to hit the button to mute the sound. However his speedy actions cause a stir in his bed.

Kaila grumbles in her sleep, eye opening half lid. “Is it morning yet?”

Matt shifts back around, frowning at himself as he shakes his head. “No, no. Not yet.” He replies, gazing at her. “Go back to sleep.”

“Are you going out?”

That was like a little needle in chest, and made his face soften. “No. I’m not going out.”

“Shouldn’t you though?” She asked, dazed and confused.

“No. Not until I know you’re okay.” He brushes some of her stray hair out of her face, tucking it away gently. “Go back to sleep, baby girl.”

She hums at his touch and words, closing her eyes again, snuggling up the mattress some more. “M’kay… love you…”

He smiles. “Love you.” He waits for her to fall back to sleep before he does, closing his own eyes and forcing himself to sleep lightly for obvious reasons.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

He opens the door to the light knocking, a soft smile on his face as he senses who it was. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Karen said, with a small wave and her little quirky bow of her head.

“I'm just about ready.” Matt explains letting her in and walking towards his living room to finish up.

“Okay.” She closes the door behind him, watching him closely as he struggles to finish his tie. “Uh, here, let me help with that.”

“Oh, thanks.”

She hums in reply, getting real close to help him out. She mentally curses at herself when she could hear her own heart in her ears. Now that she knew his secret, she felt embarrassed by everything she did in the past.

Karen bites the inside of her cheek, keeping her eyes on the fabric in her hand. “You feeling any better?” She asked, knowing the last few nights were rough in the hospital.

Matt nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good… Now.” He swallows and whispers as she finishes, “With you.” He felt her curious eyes on him, now he felt embarrassed by what he just said. “Uh, not that I can verify, but you seem good at this.”

She brushes off her flustered face with laughter. “Uh, well, my brother wasn't, so that's where I came in.”

“Your brother must have been lucky for you.” He soon regretted saying those words as soon as it rolled off his tongue. Matt didn’t miss the goosebumps suddenly covering her body, and how her heart rate went up three notches. He frowns, concernedly. “Karen… You okay?”

She pales. “Um–”

“I thought I heard Karen.” Kaila says, coming into the room (unknowingly saving the day). She had her backpack in hand while her free one was gripping the crutch she was given for support.

In a motherly way, the blonde comes over to take the bag. “Let me grab that. That looks heavy.” She replies, slinging it over her own shoulder despite the teen’s protests.

“I can carry it.”

“The doctor said nothing too heavy, which…” Karen gestures to the bag and makes a face. “What’s in this?”

Kaila shrugs. “I gotta keep myself entertained somehow, because I ain’t doing you guys’ paperwork when I get there.”

Karen shakes her head, turning away towards the front door. Matt comes over next while sliding his jacket on, worriedness creeping on his face.

“You feeling okay?” He asked, hearing her crack a smile.

“Yes, Dad. I’m good. A little sore, but I’m alright.” Kaila replies, honestly. “So…” Her eyes flickered to the woman by the door before back at her father. “When’s the date?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “The what?”

“The date?” She chuckles at his puzzled expression. “Come on, Dad. I see the googly eyes, and you can cut the sexual tension in here with a knife.” She jabs him in the arm as he mouth becomes agape. “So when is it?”

“There’s no date.” He says, expressionless.

“But you want there to be.”

“Uh, well–”

“She knows you’re the devil, and she didn’t run away. I’d say that’s a keeper.” She walks past him, hand patting him on the arm. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“He’s lucky to be alive.” Karen says, as Kaila holds up an x-ray of the Punisher’s skull for them to see. “This is all of the stuff that the DA’s collecting for her case. And most of it’s about the Punisher’s victims. The Dogs of Hell, the cartel... But this was in the middle of it. Not someone he shot, him.”

“He’s insane.” Foggy says, as he, and everyone in the room, looked unwell by the picture. “Maybe he shot himself.”

“But he saved me.” Kaila points out, puzzled and baffled at the same time. When she learned that this was the man that helped save her from Baldy, the man known as ‘Punisher’, she was honestly surprised by how much of a bloody trail he’s really left behind.

“I know, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t.”

“I-I thought about that, but at that close of a range…” Karen trails off, waiting for someone to finish.

Which was Matt with, “Yeah, he’d be dead already.”

“Okay, not to go all tin-foil hat here, but Tower obviously slipped this to me for a reason. What if the Punisher isn’t the worst of it? What if Reyes is trying to cover something up?”

Now it was Foggy’s turn to look surprised. “You think that murderous psychopath isn’t the worst of it?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “And I think our best shot at protecting Nelson and Murdock is to find him.”

“It’s our best shot at career suicide or just getting shot.”

“She kind of has a point, Foggy.” Matt says, hands on his hips.

Foggy blinks in disbelief. “How?”

“I owe it to Frank, alright. He saved my daughter.”

“I know that. But what if he was just trying to get something out of you? Like an IOU? Or maybe he’s trying to pin the blame on you? Have you thought of that?”

“I have. But I don’t think those options are logical.”

“How? In what way is it not?”

Matt frowns. “He told me, ‘He expects me to do the same. Father to Father’. He’s a family man, or at least he was, I get the impression.”

Foggy sighs. “Look. Even if he is, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a dangerous man that tried to kill our client and a couple other groups of people.” The phone starts ringing and he gets up. “Just think about what I said, okay? I don’t want you getting shot again.”

Karen looks Matt’s way, confused. “Shot again?”

“Uh, he…” He clears his throat, blind gaze going somewhere else. “Kind of shot me in the head when I first met him.”

Her eyes widened. “Huh?”

“It was the day you came for a visit and I was pissed at him.” Kaila replies, setting the x-ray down after gazing at it for so long. “He went temporarily deaf too.”

“You went deaf?!” Karen said, scolding. She watches him shrug sheepishly before sighing. “And I thought I was insane.”

“Welcome to having a Murdock in your life.”

She sighs again, rubbing her face. “Okay, I… I know this Punisher, or Frank, is a lunatic, but–”

“But you care, anyway?” Matt finishes.

“I wouldn’t say that, it’s more like curiosity. In between these files and… Reyes’ obsession and the fact that humans are a pretty complicated species to begin with, I just feel like there’s gotta be more to the story.”

He hums. “I think you are.”

She scoffs. “Oh, my God, you think I'm insane.”

Matt chuckles at her reaction. “I’m kidding. You’re compassionate. It’s a good quality, Karen. Stuff of saints.”

Karen frowns. “Yeah, well, I’m no saint…” She mumbles, looking away (Kaila does too for obvious reasons).

Matt, sensing something was off, replies with, “I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear that.”

“Matt!” Foggy calls from his office. “We have real, live, non-criminal clients who need our help.”

“Excuse me for a second.” He excused himself and entered the room. “Tell me.”

“Mr. DiPesta defaced the elevator in his building.”

“Which, technically, makes him a criminal.”

“That’s what his slumlord, excuse me, landlord says, but look. He’s got no AC, no hot water. This has Nelson and Murdock written all over it. But we gotta file today. Kar–”

“Dad!” Kaila shouts, and the boys immediately run back to the front at a quick speed. She was standing at the door that was open. “Karen told me she’d drive me home later and then left.”

“Maybe she just stepped out for some fresh air.” Foggy suggested just as Matt suddenly had a sinking feeling.

“Did she take the files?” The blind lawyer asked, worriedly.

“I think so. She grabbed some folder quickly that I didn’t see.” Kai continues, as her father feels around her desk; His head drops immediately while sighing.

“Shit.” Foggy rubs his head.

“I have to find her.” Matt said, already shedding some of his work attire for some street clothes.

“Find Frank first.”

“Already planning on it.”

“But, Dad–” Kaila begins, watching him slide a sweatshirt on. “You didn’t bring your suit.”

“I don’t need it.”

She blinks. “Huh?”

“I’ve been waiting to pick up my new one. Reinforced alloy.”

“Which means…?” She trails off with her eyebrow raised.

And with a ghost of a smile he says,

“Which means I won’t get shot again,”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Thanks to Karen’s A+ detective work, she manages to track down George Buck, a nurse with an… interesting past experience. It took a little bit to convince him to walk along the Hudson, just a small bribe of getting coffee.

“You were with him when this was taken?” She asked, ready to jot down the mental notes in her head.

“Yeah.” He replies, nodding. “That bullet tore through his head. Not many people survive that.”

“Well, I’d like to know what you remember.”

“John Doe. Guy was a total vegetable. I guess that’s why they decided he only needed one nurse.”

“Any family or visitors?” She knew Frank was a father judging by what he said to Matt, but still wanted to know if they were still around.

“No. I mean aside from the suits.”

“Suits?”

“Yeah. Uh, sometimes men, sometimes women. You can tell ‘em ‘cause they all wear the same ear pieces. That and the black suits. Kind of like uh…” He trails off while gesturing to the open air, hoping she gets the idea.

“Got any idea who these suits were?” She asked, curiously.

“No.” He shakes his head. “Uh, but they had their run of the place and they were the ones that pushed for the, uh, the DNR.”

She tilts her head. “A ‘do not resuscitate’?”

“Yeah. They had the paperwork. And I was there when the doctor pulled the plug.”

“I…I’m confused.” This wasn’t making any sense. “You’re saying this guy died?”

“Yeah, for about a minute. It’s crazy, but they say it happens sometimes. You know, one minute, flatline, then boom.” George’s eyes widened with the shock that was still there. “His heart starts back up again. On its own. He just didn’t wanna die. Within ten minutes of being awake… h-he reaches up and grabs my scrubs, yanks me down, and says, real close ‘Take me home’.” He frowns, guilty. “I shouldn’t have done it. I shouldn’t have done it. I should’ve known it’d get me fired.”

Now this got her interest peaked even more. “His home.” She tests out, hopeful. “Do you have an address?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

As the sun finally kissed the sky goodnight, Frank was reliving his gut wretched past. He could still hear the music from the carousel; His children’s laughter; His wife’s beautiful words.

All of it.

The lights of the morbid thing only go off when the ride stops and everyone walks away with a smile on their face. Now all he sees is the silhouette that haunts him in his dreams. And with his extra sense, Frank quickly notices the mysterious man sitting on the next bench over, grinning like the son of a bitch he was.

“Nice night.” Is what he said, causing the ex-soldier some confusion. Before Frank could say anything, the man, who’s name was Rory, flashed the gun in his belt and replied, “I’m not alone.”

Right on cue people were coming in every direction, an expressionless feature greeted him.

Rory continues to boast saying, “You wanna come with us? Or you wanna make a mess?”

Frank, wasting no time, goes for him and starts beating him up, not caring that Rory had stuck some kind of needle into his neck. Rory’s guys move in only for Frank to take them all out with a single bullet each. But as soon as he thought the fight was over, someone knew entered the ring and shot his challenger.

The Punisher stumbled on his own two feet as the sedative kicked in, but his spirit wouldn’t be broken yet until he knew who this other person was.

The Irish gang leader, Finn, strolls over with his own set of individuals, looking more cocky than the man before. “Well, thanks for thinning out the herd. You’re surrounded, son. Now be a good lad and drop the iron.” He says, just as his men pointed their laser at his prey’s chest. “Come on. You seem like a smart one.”

With strong will, Frank tries to advance, only to be shot with various tasers and rendered unconscious.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Matt waited until he came out from the crime scene from the Irish themed bar. He stayed in the vibrant black and red light, ignoring the gun that was trained on.

“I need to know what happened here.” Sounds more like a demand than a question.

Mahoney looks behind him, nervously. “I’m not telling you shit.” He whispers, harshly. “You helped us catch Fisk, that don’t make us friends.”

“Was this the Punisher?”

“Jesus. The Irish, okay? To find the Punisher. They put a bounty on his head. Now people all over the Kitchen are getting hurt. It’s the goddamn Wild West out there.”

“Have the Irish found him?”

“As long as we keep getting calls like this, I guess not.” Mahoney watches as the vigilante seems satisfied with his answer, and was about to leave, although the cop was concerned for his safety. “Hey, stay out of it. You hear me?”

“I just wanna help, Sergeant.”

“No, you can’t help this one.”

“We’re on the same side, you and I.”

“Listen, You’re–”

‘2-Adam, shots fired. 65th Street transverse, by the carousel. All units to back.’

Mahoney touches his radio, eyes moving away. “Fifteen Sergeant responding, Central.” He replies, just as Matt makes his move to leave. Once seeing this, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

Jesus, Murdock. Stay out of this for once.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•��

The window rolled down completely to see Foggy’s smugged face. “Ah, look who finally showed up. Did Cinderella really want to go to the ball that bad?” He asked as Karen sighed apologetically.

“I’m really, really sorry, Foggy.” She says, honest.

“It’s okay, just remember, we’re your friends. We worry.” He says, as she apologizes again. “It’s okay. Seriously. But don’t run off like that again. I’m still technically your boss.”

Karen snickers. “Alright, Boss man, I’ll remember to ask.”

“Thank you, my lovely co-worker.” He smiles and gestures for the teenager to come over. “Ready, K-Pop?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Kaila replies as he opens the passenger door. “Thanks.”

“Sure you don’t want a ride?” Karen asked, as he shook his head.

“No thanks. You know I live in the opposite direction.” Foggy said, waving them goodbye. “I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.”

The girls wave back as he takes a few steps down the sidewalk looking for a cab. As the young Murdock starts putting her seat belt on, she could see the blonde’s mind practically racing over something. It especially was clear when she was gnawing on her bottom lip and her fingers lightly drum the steering wheel.

You can really never turn that Reporter brain of yours off, huh Karen?

“You ready?” The blonde asked with a ghost of a smile.

Kaila tilts her head, feeling her out. “You’re taking me back home, right?”

“Yeah.” Karen said, nodding.

The teenager raises a knowing eyebrow. “But I can tell you don’t want to.” She says, ignoring Karen’s shocked face. She sighs and rolls the window back down, poking her head out just enough to still see her Uncle. “Hey, Foggy!”

The man perked up at his name just as he was raising his hand for a cab. He wastes no time to jog back over, concern on his features. “What’s up?”

“Get in.” Kaila jerks her head towards the backseat. “We’re breaking and entering.”

Those hazel eyes of his batted quickly, bafflingly. “What?”

“I said, get in the car. We’re going to need a lawyer if this goes south.”

“...What–”

“Just get in the car, Foggy.” Kaila said a bit more stern, which managed to get his ass in the back seat, muttering about what was going on. She pays no heed to him for a second and looks back at Karen who still had the same exact look on her face from a moment ago. “All yours, Cap.”

“Huh?” Karen looks between the teenager and the road ahead of her, debating. “Kai, I really shouldn’t–”

“Listen. I don’t really know who he is, but he saved my life. Whatever you have in mind, we owe it to him.” She smiles bittersweetly. “It’s the least we can do. Right?”

Karen took a minute to let it sink in, before putting her game face back on and taking the car out of park. While she starts pulling away, their guest in the back still seemed clueless about what this really was.

“What exactly is going on here?” Foggy asked, watching as the two girls give each other a look before deciding on a way to spill it to him.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Rory did his best to pretend to be dead, but once the Irish took away the Punisher, he made his move.

Somewhat.

His leg was dead weight from the bullet wound, so his only option was to crawl across the grounds around the carousel. He was using all the adrenaline he had to make his getaway, but that dream seemed short lived when the Devil was suddenly peering down at him. He was soon pinned against the ride, his wrist broken so fast when he tried to use his gun, causing him even more agony than necessary.

“Who did this?” Daredevil snared, still holding a nice grip on the man’s wrist.

Rory clenches his jaw as he tries to catch his breath. “People you don’t mess with.”

With the subtle tilt of his head, he replies, “You’re bleeding out. And I got all night.”

“Go to hell!!”

Matt twists his arm, getting him to cry again. “Who did this?”

“The one they call Punisher.”

“Where is he?”

Rory lets out a laugh. “It doesn’t matter ‘cause when we’re done with him, he’s as good as dead.”

Matt mentally sighs, “That’s helpful.” He mumbles, and twists a bit more, causing a louder scream. “But it’s not what I asked.”

His voice grows darker just as the sirens around them become louder and louder; and with a look of fear in his eyes…

Rory spilled everything.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

So this is the Castle family’s house? The trio was thinking as they parked their car across the street before trekking along the darkness to the back door.

“So, what are we doing here again?” Foggy asked, feeling like he was still in the dark about everything.

“We’re going to find anything that can help us with understanding Frank.” Karen explains, surveying the area.

“And how are we going to find something by looking at a house?”

“Because we’re going to be looking…” She slowly gestures to the back door. “Inside the house.”

His eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“What– Karen, we can’t just–” Foggy trails off when he notices the teenager, crouching down carefully and jiggling a lock with a bobby pin. With a disapproving touch of his hand on her shoulder, he says, “Uh, excuse me, young lady. How do you know how to do this?”

Kaila smirks. “Remember that ‘secret’ candy drawer in your apartment?”

“Yeah…” He gasps quietly. “You were the one stealing from there?! Why?”

“Because–” She shrugs. “I wanted candy and you weren’t giving me any.”

He scoffs and shakes his head. “You’re in so much trouble. I interrogated a lot of people over that!”

“Yeah, and I lied. Sorry,” She pauses for a second. “Huh, and my dad knew the whole time.”

“You’re so grounded.”

She continues jiggling the lock until they hear a small ‘click’. She grins, standing up and grabbing her crutch as she moves inside, the other two following swiftly. The first thing they noticed beside the darkness was how cold the house was, and how you couldn’t hear anything. It made them all get goosebumps and a slight shock up their spines.

All having the same idea, Karen, Foggy and Kaila slowly start walking around the house with their phones’ flashlights. Going from the kitchen in the back to the main area. When they slowly start to make things out, Karen pulls a tissue from her purse, carefully grabbing and examining things as Foggy looks around, paling.

“This is really eerie, Karen.” Foggy replies, feeling his heart skip a beat.

“Well, I wasn’t really expecting a picnic in here either.” She says, feeling the same way.

But to add more to their emotions, the three of them nearly jolted out of their own skins when Kaila’s crutch hit a small toy frog on the floor, activating it.

“Jesus…” Kaila muttered, holding her chest before sighing with relief. “What was that?”

Foggy shines the light where he heard it land, frowning. “It’s a wind up toy.” Then the realization hit. “Oh, God… He really was a father.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Matt arrives at the scene just as Frank manages to get himself untied and kill Finn while muttering a very… interesting phrase. He knocks out the two that would have put a few more bullets into Castle’s brain before cautiously walking towards him, but there was still a concerned aura around him.

Frank’s face twitched in anger. “They’re gonna pay. Every single goddamn one of ‘em.” He spews with boiling venom.

“They will.” Matt agrees before shaking his head. “But not tonight. Move. And no killing.”

Frank gives him a glare. “Altar boy.” He replies before grabbing something he could use as a weapon.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

After a while, it was starting to become more and more heavy. It hit even harder when they came across the table filled with very depressing items. It made the whole situation worse than they thought.

Kaila stares at all the bouquets of flowers sent with condolence cards. The cards were addressed to none other than Frank Castle himself. She finds herself feeling very teary eyed.

“This is really…” She trails off, heart hurting. She couldn’t find the right word to say. Losing your entire family? In one night? She could only imagine what this must feel like.

So this is why Frank wanted to help my dad.

“I guess this explains his actions as the Punisher.” Karen said, standing next to her, looking the same. “I guess anyone would do the same thing in his shoes…”

“No shit.”

“Looks like he was a war hero, too.” Foggy calls out to them, getting them to turn around to face the wall of memorabilias. Sure enough there was Frank in uniform in several pictures, and a couple of his metals were on display. “And this is where his sniper skills come from.”

“Now it all makes sense.” Karen said, looking over them carefully, imprinting the images in her head.

“True. But–”

On cue, the three of them immediately turned their flashlights off when a vehicle pulled in front of the house. The headlights powered off just as Karen decides to take a peak. And just like the nurse from earlier was describing, here comes both men and women in black suits strolling out of the yellow van.

“Shit…” She whispers, letting go of the curtain.

What the fuck do we do now?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

On the other side of town, after an intense battle for their lives, Matt found himself carefully setting down a heavily injured Frank Castle against a tombstone. The man grunted at the way his body seemed to mold against it, his adrenaline finally wearing off.

“Hey.” Frank begins, panting. He spares the blind man a glance. “Not bad.”

“Thanks.” Matt said, breathing through his nostrils.

“I guess I, uh… I guess I was wrong.”

A tilt in his head. “About?”

“About you being a pussy.”

“Don’t get all sweet on me now, Frank.” Matt said, getting a laugh which soon turned into a coughing fit. He frowns worriedly. “Help’s on the way.”

“Nah.” Frank shakes his head. “You should go. I’m past saving. At least I’d have company, right?” A sigh. “I think I might cash out. You’d have made a hell of a Marine, Red.”

There was a twinge of guilt as he could hear the sincerity from his voice. Although Frank was the definition of ‘rough around the edges’, he could still see the soft and wonderful man he really was underneath.

It made Matt feel like shit to even think about.

“That rhyme. What's it mean?” Matt asked, genuinely curious while crouching down.

This catches Frank off guard for the first time in a while. “What’d you say? …Huh?”

“The thing you say. Right before you pull the trigger.”

“What do you… You heard that?”

“Well, when you’re a blind man, your other senses get heightened so… yeah, I heard it.”

Frank blinks in disbelief. “What the…” He sighs, not even going to question it. “I gotta say, sometimes... Sometimes I think you really just might be the devil.”

Matt nods in agreement. “Sometimes I think I might be, too.”

“It’s, uh…” Frank begins, already getting choked up. “One batch, two batch. Penny and dime, you know. It was her favorite book. You know, you… You gotta cross the ocean… and go fight. You see… whole time you’re thinking you’re gonna be scared, right? But then, you’re not. See, that part of it was always easy for me. Killing. Even watching my buddies die, it just… it didn’t mean nothing.”

His face twitches. “The first time I got scared was on a plane on the way home. I kept thinking God was gonna pull the rug out from under us, you know? Shit, that’s his kind of funny, you know. But the plane landed safe and we were home. Driving through traffic. Yeah, you pass fast food and donut shops and all that… that greasy shit. It’s the shit you fought to protect and then the car stops. We were outside her school. I get to her classroom, right?”

Frank keeps going as Matt slowly sinks himself into the ground, listening wholeheartedly. “She’s in there… but she’s got no idea.” His dark eyes glisten with tears. “She’s got no idea that Daddy’s home. I walk in, these kids, they’re not even studying, they’re–” He chuckles. “Doing some kind of yoga. Yeah. You know? She’s there. She’s doing her poses, you know. She’s bending and, you know, she’s moving. She looks like a flower. Yeah. And, you know, you can’t even understand it, you know, how does something like that have... How does something that beautiful– How does that… does that come from me, you know? I know you probably do. Don’t you?”

Matt nods. “Yeah. I do.” He could relate to that. Sometimes his daughter was so pure compared to him. So innocent despite the things she’s seen. It hurts a lot to think about sometimes.

Frank smiles brightly. “And she looks up and she sees me. I see her. By God, that’s real. That’s real, Red. Boom. In an instant, she’s across that classroom floor, she’s in my arms. She’s squeezing me so tight, I swear I was gonna bust a rib, you know? We just stayed there like that, we’re holding each other. Teacher, she’s filming the whole thing on her phone, you know, she’s gonna put it on YouTube or some shit. She can’t hold the thing steady, because, you know, she’s… she’s bawling so hard, and the kids are all wailing, you know, they’re screaming. And me? Shit, I’m the worst of all. I’m a… I’m a rubber-face clown, you know. I cried so hard.”

He looks up to the sky, trying to hold the floodgates from opening. “But not my baby. Not my girl. You know, she’s my girl. She’s… She’s not crying, she’s holding me up. My girl, she’s keeping me on my feet.” He sucks in a shaky breath. “She says, ‘I knew it, Daddy. I knew it.’ And then we go home. Wife, the boy. Place is the exact same. It’s like it was just holding its breath waiting for me to get back, you know? Then it hit me.”

Now he sounds desperate. “All of it, you know. The first time I felt how tired I was, you know, I was just tired, you know? You… Y-You ever been tired, Red?”

“Yeah.” Matt nods, sadly, knowing that feeling so very well. He’s known it his entire life.

“So, you know. It’s just, I couldn’t do nothing, you know?” Frank's lip quivered. “All the things… I couldn’t take my wife to bed. Ball with the boy. Shit, I was too tired, I couldn’t even drink a goddamn beer, you know. But not her. My girl was up. See, she wanted me to, uh… she wanted me to tuck her in. She… She outgrew it, she knew it, but she didn’t care. She wanted it. She had that book. Her favorite book was out on the pillows.

“‘One Batch, Two Batch Penny and Dime’. Yeah. I read her that book every night before this shit. I read it every single night, but, see, that was over now because Daddy’s home now. She looked at me and she begged me, Red. She begged. She begged. I said, ‘No… Daddy’s too tired, see. But I’ll… I’ll read to you tomorrow night. I’ll read to you tomorrow night, I promise’. Yeah. Never think that… for her there was not gonna be any tomorrow, see. The last time I’d see her, I’d be holding her lifeless body in my arms. Meat was spilling out of her, Red. The place where her face used to be.”

Frank casts a glance at the vigilante, pity on his features. “As much as I hated you for interfering with my work… I couldn’t stand the thought of another father going through that. I don’t think I could stand seeing you holding your daughter in your arms like that. Wailing like a baby, praying that the clock would turn back and the bullets would come for you instead. I didn’t want that for you.” He sighs, letting go of everything. “No. I think I’m done, Red. I think I’m done.”

Matt opens his mouth to speak, but a cop car pulls up with two officers hopping out, drawing their guns from their holsters.

“Police.” Brett said, walking at them at a steady pace. “Don’t move. Hands where I can see ‘em.” He sounded and seemed so disappointed. “Shots fired. Bodies, mayhem and shit. How come I just knew you weren’t going to listen?”

“I have something for you, Sergeant.” Matt said, standing up and giving them a view of the Punisher.

“That’s him?” Brett asked, getting a nod. “Cover him and get EMS.”

“Yep.” His partner replies, and moves around the Daredevil for the other man.

“And you, you incredible pain in my ass.” Brett continues, sheathing his gun as he makes the man before him kneel, hands behind his back. “I really wished you listened.”

“Get him help.” Was Matt’s reply.

“Shut up.” He starts pulling out his handcuffs. “I don’t want to do this.”

“Take the collar.”

Brett falters his movements. “What?”

“You heard me.” Matt replies with a bite. “You caught him, not me. It can’t be me, it has to be you.”

“Why?”

“To protect the Kitchen. For law, for order.”

“You’re telling me how to file a report now?”

“Yeah.” Matt scoffs. “Take the collar. Take the credit. Get a promotion, if you can. You’ve earned it.”

Brett purses his lip. “Bullshit.”

“No, people have to know the system works. Not his justice and not mine. Vigilante days are done in this town. The police are in charge.”

“That’s not how it happened.”

“Then make it how it happened.”

The cop closes his eyes, realizing he is speaking the truth. “Shit…”

“EMT and backup on the way. Two minutes out.” The other officer calls out.

Brett sighs, and pulls Matt up from the ground. “Go. Go!” He shouts, making the devil run off into a sprint, leaving him with a newfound understanding.

Now I really know that’s you, Matt. A smile graced his lips for a split second just as thunder rumbled the sky and rain started to fall.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Miraculously, the troublesome trio somehow got out of the house without being seen. Which ended up being Karen taking Kaila’s crutch from her hand, and Foggy throwing the girl over his shoulder like a shake of potatoes. On the drive back was a mixture of anxiety and small bickering. How in the world are they going to explain this to their vigilante friend? As Foggy puts it, they’re ‘so fucked’.

But they eventually could release a breath of relief as they arrived back in the city, and back on route to where they were supposed to have gone in the first place. And despite their protests, the exhausted teenager went inside the apartment alone as the adults watched from the car.

“Think she’ll be okay by herself?” Karen asked, being a mother hen she was.

Foggy nods. “She should be fine. She’s just going to sleep.” He sighs, running his fingers through his hair. “Matt’s going to be so pissed when I tell him what she can do. Fuck. He’s going to be pissed at all of us.”

“I’ll take the blame again.”

“Oh, hell yeah you are.”

Suddenly her phone starts to ring, a picture of Matt appears along with his favorite song.

Oh, yes…

Perfect timing Mr. Daredevil.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

After picking up their important guest, who had slipped a long coat over his costume, he had Karen drive them all back to the same apartment, watching/listening to the “news of the year” on the phone:

‘Frank Castle, the gunman wanted in connection with the Metro-General shooting and linked to dozens of recent gangland-related killings throughout Hell’s Kitchen was apprehended just hours ago outside Saint Michael’s Cemetery. An NYPD spokesman says, “Tonight, New York has Sergeant Brett Mahoney of the 15th Precinct to thank”.’

“Gotta hand it to Brett. He seems to follow you wherever you go.” Foggy replies, sending a look at Matt from the backseat.

Matt ignores that jab and says, “I’m glad people like him are looking out for Hell’s Kitchen.”

Foggy chuckles. “Yeah.”

“And I’m glad someone was looking out for him.”

“Oooh… I wonder who.”

“Press are calling Castle ‘a cold-blooded psychopath’.” Karen said, scoffing. “The DA’s gonna have a hell of a time using his prosecution to turn herself into a hero. It’s all working out perfectly.”

Now it was Matt’s turn to laugh. “Wow, way to bring us down, Ms. Page.” He says, smirking. “I think we've had enough Punisher for one evening. We’ll worry about the rest tomorrow.”

“Amen to that.” Foggy agrees, and Karen sighs again (Only Matt noticed something underlining there).

“You okay?” Matt asks, hearing her shift in her seat.

“Yeah.” She breathes, just as his eyebrows shoot up, not buying it. “Okay, that wasn’t convincing, was it? Um, I don’t know, I just, uh days like today remind me how precious life can be, you know?”

Matt and Karen exchange loving glances and that’s when Foggy, who was grinning like an idiot, made up an excuse to leave.

“You know what? My apartment’s kind of far. I-I should get a cab.” He explains as he starts gathering his things.

“A cab?” Karen asked, confused. She swears she convinced him earlier it was okay for her to drive him. What changed?

“You know we don’t mind driving you.” Matt adds as his friend shakes his head.

“Nah, that’s okay. Cab’s fine.” Foggy continues.

“It’s raining.”

“A little rain never hurts anyone.” He smiles and clasps a hand on each of their shoulders. “Well, you two have fun, have a drink for me, maybe play a board game, and try to keep it PG with your daughter in there. Okay? Goodnight!”

He wiggles himself out of the car with his belongings, leaving the two of them staring in disbelief…

Before both turning beat red.

Karen buries her face in her hands. “Oh, Foggy…” She said, making them both chuckle. “Uh… should we… um…?

“...ignore… him?” Matt says slowly.

“Uh, y-yes? Maybe?” She starts hearing him laugh again. “I don’t know.”

“Uh, m-me neither. So…”

“You… Um…” She fiddles with her hands. “Actually…”

He tilts his head. “Something you want to tell me?”

She shakes her head. “Oh, I’ll tell you tomorrow. Promise.”

He smiles. “Okay.”

“I’ll walk you inside.”

The two of them get out of the car, Karen taking him by the hand and pulling him towards the door. The warm rain soaking them immediately, but neither of them minded. They walked the concrete path, touching the edge of the steps with their toes when Matt suddenly tugs them both to a stop. The atmosphere was so light and comforting; It made them feel like they were on cloud 9.

Matt’s fingers ghosted her arm, trailing seductively up to her shoulder as she quietly gasped at his touch. Finally he cupped her cheek, some of her golden locks getting entangled, trapping his fingers like a spiderweb. And with hope in both of their eyes, both of them leaned in for a (long overdue) blissful kiss. Short and sweet, but it was breathtaking, exhilarating. And when they broke apart, they let their foreheads rest against each other, smiling.

“Can I take you to dinner?” Matt asks as he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Yes.” She replies, happily.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

His smile grew, his chest feeling a thousand times lighter now. “Goodnight, Karen.”

She mimicked him at this very moment as well. “Goodnight, Matt.”

With a new pep in her step, she heads back to her car which was just the cue Matt was waiting for to head back inside. He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he climbed the stairs and entered his home. Setting his things by the door, he starts heading in the direction of his room. If his daughter was still up then–

Oh, boy. He thought, only imagining what her reaction would be when he tell her the news.

Kai’s going to have a field day with this one.

But just as his hand was reaching for the door handle, his senses suddenly caught onto something. He jolts in his stance, spinning around with his fists up, ready to fight. He tunes in on a figure -a woman- in his kitchen, twirling with one of his knives. With that sweet, sweet voice of poison he remembers so very well, she says,

“Hello, Matthew.”

With his heart in his throat he croaks, “Elektra.”

Her sharp eyes stayed on him for a while before she stopped her movements to take a swig of the drink she stole from the fridge. “Mmm! German beer. Tastes like piss.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” He says, lowering his hands slightly, focusing completely on her.

“You’ve never been hard to find.”

He clenches his jaw. “That’s not what I asked.”

“At least your furniture’s improved.” She said in her attempt at small talk. She sets the bottle down and starts making her way over.

“Kinda liked my old futon.”

“I liked breaking it in.” She says, seductively. “Nice place. Too bad about the clothes, though.”

He holds his hand up, a sign she took for her to stop as she entered the living area. “Why are you here?”

She sighs. “Would you believe it if I said I missed you?”

Not missing a beat he says, “No.”

“Smart man. Columbia education really paid off.”

“No thanks to you.” He bites back.

She chuckles. “I’m in New York for a meeting. I thought I’d pop by.”

“Well, you’re not staying here, so…”

“Fine.” She shrugs. “My penthouse in midtown will just have to do, then. We spent some nights there.”

He mentally cusses, holding back an eye twitch. “Look, if you came here to walk down memory lane, I don’t really have the–”

“I’m sorry. I’ve spent years trying to convince myself that things happen for a reason, that you and I were not meant to be. But I know now. That wasn’t fate. It was a choice. My choice. And I’m sorry. I’m alone in the world, Matthew. Do you know what that feels like?”

Matt scoffs in disbelief. “No.”

She seemed disappointed. “Of course you do. You–”

“I really don’t.” He snaps, bitterly, honestly. “Not in a long time I haven’t.”

Elektra sighs. “Well, you must know what it’s like to clean up your father’s messes. A long time ago, before he died, my father did business with the Roxxon Corporation.”

Matt raises an eyebrow. “Roxxon?”

“Energy, cleaning supplies, macaroni and cheese. Child labor, slave trade. They have their fingers in everything. I believe it’s called diversification. And thanks to my father’s shitty investments, they hold most of his wealth.”

“Yeah, okay. I–”

“I have a meeting tomorrow with the board at the Yakatomi Building. And I need your help, Matthew.”

“How am I supposed to help you?” He asked, puzzled.

“I want you to use that expensive legal training of yours to help me get my money back–”

“See, I’m a defense lawyer.”

“I’ll pay you well.”

Matt laughs, shaking his head. “I’m not taking your money. And, even if I accepted, there’s not enough time.”

“For what?” Elektra asked, confused.

“Oh, just research. Accounts, shareholders, hierarchy of the–”

“You have fifteen hours.”

He blinks. “Fifteen hours, Elektra, are you insane?”

“Matthew.” She sighs his name. “You’re the only person I–”

She trails off like she suddenly listening for something, and Matt was puzzled on what until–

Nobody could miss the way he tenses and holds his hands up. “Elektra.” He starts warning, as he could hear her gripping the kitchen knife. “Wait– Don’t!!”

He manages to snag the knife midair just as the bedroom door slide opens, his quick action startling his poor kid. He winces as soon as the blade makes contact with his skin, and lets it go immediately.

“Shit!” He cusses, blood pooling from his open palm.

“Are you okay?!” Kaila gasps, shifting her weight onto her good leg as she tries to look at his injury.

“Matthew?” Elektra’s voice broke through making him stiff up again. “Who’s that?”

He hides his pain quickly, and uses his non-injured hand to push his kid behind him. “You need to leave.” He said, stern and underlining cold.

Kai casts a glance at him. “Dad?” She whispers, scared.

Elektra looks between the two, puzzled. “Dad?” She asked, hurt in her face as she looked at her ex. “You have a daughter?”

“Dad, who’s is–”

“You need to leave. Now.” Matt repeats, tougher.

“Since when did you have a kid?” Elektra asked, pain in her voice as steps closer. “And with whom?”

Matt pulls his daughter completely behind, a subtle sign to tell her to stay back. “Does that even matter?” He asked, not even letting her answer. “You have no right to ask me that. Leave.”

“Matthew–”

“Leave.”

If anyone else was in her place they would have trembled under his tone of voice alone; But even Elektra, who claims she knows the real him, seemed taken back. Not even saying another word, she left out the front door like she was a guest and not someone who trespassed (which seemed to piss Matt off more than it should have). Matt almost didn’t want to relax, he knows she’ll come back. She always does. She always seems to–

Kaila nearly fell to the ground if he hadn’t been standing there. Her name passed by his lips quickly as he caught her, leaning her against him.

“Why are you walking on your own? Where’s your crutch?” He asks, getting them both settled down on the bed.

“I kind of leaped out of bed ‘cause of concern.” She replies, before grabbing a gentle hold onto his wrist. “Your hand.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think I need stitches.”

She stares at his palm, carefully feeling around the cut to confirm his words before asking, “Who is she?”

He frowns, slightly ashamed. “She uh, is an old… flame of mine. Second year. My uh… party boy era.”

“Party boy era?” She watches him nod. “You told me some stories. But you never mention a girlfriend.”

“She’s… not my proudest accomplishment.”

Kaila frowns, sadly. “Was she before my mother?”

“Before Mary, yeah.”

“So what happened with… her?”

He sighs. “After a while, she started doing stuff that… I didn’t like. The last thing she did was pretty awful. When I comforted her about it, she yelled at me and then disappeared. That’s the last time I ever saw her.”

“Damn.” Kaila muttered. “That bad, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

“Well…” She starts leaning forward to grab the first aid kit under the bed. “You might have dodged a bullet there, dad.” She pulls out some disinfectant wipes and a gauze. “She seems… violent.”

Matt chuckles dryly. “Very.” His expression fades back into worriedness. “You’re not going to ask more questions?”

“I’ve heard enough. You told me enough.” She starts looking around for her phone. “Besides–” She snags it off the end of the nightstand. “If there’s more to what you need to tell me you will. But if it doesn’t affect our lives, then I’m not worried about it.”

She smiles up at him, and he couldn’t help but copy her.

“I really lucked out with you as my daughter, Kai.” Matt said, making her snort.

“Well, that’s good, ‘cause you’re stuck with me. Here–” She hands him her phone that had the flashlight on. “Hold this up for me.”

“Can do.” He lets her do her thing, taking this small moment and cherishing it despite the circumstances leading up to it. “Thank you, Dr. Kaila.”

She smirks. “Hey, that’s Dr. Murdock for you, sir.” Kaila replies, cheeky just finishing up. “‘Least it was your non-dominant hand.”

“And I’m grateful for that.” He says, handing the device to her. Just as he does, the teenager’s phone buzzes and he feels her gaze immediately lock with it, disappointment registering on her face. Matt latches onto this quickly. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s… nothing.”

“Doesn’t sound like it. You seem… upset.” He uses his non-injured hand to tilt her head towards him. “What’s wrong?”

She frowns. “It just… I met someone at work–”

“You met someone?”

“A friend. His name is Jayden–”

“His name?”

She rolls her brown eyes. “Dad, stop.”

“Sorry.” He apologizes. “Continue.”

“Anyway, we started talking and texting one another, and we even made plans to hang out, however I got… you know… kidnapped.” Her frown deepens as she crosses her arms. “He texted me if I was okay, I said I was, and then… that’s it. He hasn’t responded to any of my texts. It’s… weird.” A sigh. “Do you think I did something wrong?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “Of course not.”

“Then how come he’s ignoring me?”

“Well… maybe he doesn’t know how to respond after what happened to you. Maybe it just feels awkward for him. It’s not everyday that someone’s friend gets kidnapped.”

Kaila nods slowly, processing his words. “True.”

“He’s also probably taken back by how you responded. To him, you might have sounded… too okay with a text. It might have been different if you two would have talked on the phone or face-to-face.”

“True.”

“Just give him some time. If he doesn’t respond, maybe try giving him a call. Okay?”

She sighs. “Okay. You’re right.”

“Good.” He says, as a smile starts to grow. “Well, on the bright side–” He nudges her a bit. “I’ve got good news.”

“What?”

“Your old man might have… put a move on a certain blonde tonight.” A gasp. “And I might have asked her to dinner tomorrow.” Another gasp. “And she might have said yes.”

She squeals. “Dad, that’s awesome!” She shouts, making him laugh. “Awe. Do you have something to wear? Or do we need to go shopping? Or–”

“Kai–”

“We could go to that new tailor store up the road. Or we could go into town square for the day.”

“Kai–”

“What about places to eat? Do you have any idea where you’re going to take her?”

“Kai–” He laughs again at her enthusiasm and grabs her by the forearm to stop her. “Relax. You’re way more excited about this than I am.”

“Sorry.” She said, blushing. “You haven’t been on a date in a long time. One that you actually seem happy for.”

“Well, I…” Now it was his turn to get red. “I like Karen. She makes me feel… good. Happy. Warm.”

“Awe.” Kaila threw her arms around his neck. “I’m glad you feel that way. Although… I can’t believe Karen of all people is trying to take my number one spot with you.”

Another laugh. “Oh… baby girl–” He kisses her temple. “You'll always be my number one.”

And that was the absolute truth.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Morning.” Kaila said, as she and her father entered the office the very next day.

Foggy smiles, eyes still glued to the newspaper he was currently reading. “Murdocks.”

“We, uh, have anything for breakfast?” Matt asked as he started pouring himself a glass of water from their filter.

Foggy raises an eyebrow. “You hungry or hungover?”

A brief pause. “Both.”

Kaila gives him a look as she sits down. “Since when did you have a drink last night?” She asked, and got a shrug in return.

Foggy chuckles. “All right, you need some potassium, some electrolytes, and a jolt of caffeine. I’ll give you, uh…” He looks around before snapping his fingers at something. “-The last piece of Mrs. DiNizio’s peach cobbler, which is… the last piece of anything in this office.”

“I guess our finances haven’t improved since last week.” Matt said, frowning.

“Yeah, well, clients don’t respond well to a ‘closed’ sign.”

Kaila looks between the two, concerned. “Should… I be worried?”

Her father sighs and shakes his head. “No, baby girl, don’t… it’s my fault. I’m sorry, Foggy.”

“Don't be.” Foggy replies, taking a seat next to his niece, still reading. “You got Punisher off the street. I’m hoping Reyes will get her jackboot off our neck and this office can go back to normal.”

“Can you though?” Kai said, getting their attention. “I mean with everything we’ve gotten entangled with… can we be normal again?”

Before the boys could process her words, Nelson and Murdock’s last employee finally arrived.

“Matt–” Karen enters the room, startling herself as she tries to balance a tray full of beverages. “Uh, good morning.”

“Hey, Karen.” Matt said, a little smile ghosting his face.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Uh, not so much. You?”

“Me?” She slurred, closing the door with her elbow. “Yeah, sure. Uh, I-I mean–”

“Is that coffee I can smell?” He said, feeling his heart race.

“Hmm?”

“Coffee.”

“Uh, yeah, um… Yeah, arabica for all.” She chuckles and starts handing the cups over. “For everyone.” She hands over the last one for Kai. “Uh, Chai for you.”

The teenager’s eyes light up with happiness. “Thank you, Ma’am.”

“Yeah, Thanks. You’re a goddess.” Matt said, still grinning.

“Okay, you two.” Foggy cuts in, still smiling like a goof. “Let’s talk business. Potential clients. Real ones. With bank in the bank.”

“Uh, actually, yeah, can we, uh, talk about these first?” Karen asked, holding up some paper. The boys follow her as she stands behind her own desk. “The, uh, press is still painting Castle like he’s nothing more than some deranged lunatic.”

“Well, it’s not like our boy was out collecting for the Red Cross.” Foggy points out, even after knowing what he discovered last night.

“I know. I know, but–”

“You think there’s more to the story.” Matt finishes, already knowing this was going to be true (everyone did).

“Exactly. I mean, five different papers and not a word about the bullet he took to the brain, or his military record, or his family.” She continues, running a hand through her locks. “So we know what he said last to you about his daughter was true. W-We found this photograph. It’s of him and his wife and kids at the carousel–”

“We?” The Blind man asked, confused. “You mean…” He points between his friends. “The two of you?” He didn’t miss the way their heartbeats flickered. “You guys found it where, exactly?”

“W-We… sort of broke into his house last night.”

“Broke in? Last night you–” He trails off at a realization, and with a steady expression he turns in his daughter’s direction who was nervously sipping her drink.

She eventually just shrugs. “Murdock curse…?”

“I… shouldn’t even be surprised at this point.” Matt said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Anyway, I get what you were trying to do, but that still was dangerous and illegal.”

“I know, I know. Sorry.” Karen said, apologetically.

“For the record, I didn’t know that’s what we were going to do. I just thought we were going to look at the house from afar.” Foggy said, holding his hands up. “But, I will still take some of the blame… but your daughter knows how to pick locks.”

Matt looks her way again. “You know how to do what?”

“Why are you throwing me into this?” Kaila asked, dumbfounded. “Shouldn’t we be listening to Karen? I mean, I know Frank is a lunatic, but he threw one of his missions away to save me. Shouldn’t Nelson and Murdock at least try to see if they can help him?”

“No.” Foggy shakes his head. “No. I mean, yeah he saved you, but come on, we successfully dodged a metaphorical bullet and quite a few literal ones. We need to be done with the crazy, guys. We need normal.”

And with that said he stormed into his own office.

“I’m sorry.” Karen said, bowing her head. “I’m really sorry if I– I pushed it too far.”

“It’s okay.” Matt said, with a light laugh. “Just Uh, I don’t think you’re wrong about him, I feel the same way too, but it’s really simple, Karen. Just I don’t want you to get hurt. Not like I have…”

She lets those words sink in before deciding to test the waters somewhere else. “So, uh... Last night.”

“Last night?” He pinches his brows together, all tongue and cheek. “I don’t– What happened last night? At Josie’s? With Foggy?”

She giggles. “You…”

“Did something happen?”

“Yeah.”

“Anything else? I don’t–”

“Yeah?”

Matt laughs quietly, softly. “Yeah, it was great. And I like to think I can do better, if we’re still on for dinner.”

“Uh, yeah. It’s a date.”

“Holy shit!” Foggy said, coming back into the room. “That was the bank.”

Karen frowns with dread. “Oh, no.”

“No, it’s all good.” Foggy continues, still stunned by the news. “There was a deposit. A big one.”

“What?”

Kaila’s eyes widened with realization before looking at her Father. “Dad–”

“Uh, actually, do me a favor, don’t spend any of it.” Matt blurts out nervously.

“Dad–”

Foggy gives him a strange look. “Why not?” He asked, concernedly.

“I-I was hit up by a potential client yesterday, so, I just–” Matt tried explaining but his friend was now nervously saying things.

“Is it dirty money? Are we doing that again?”

“No! No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just, um– I’m not sure it’s gonna work out, let me… Let me just–”

“Dad!!” Kaila shouts, getting him to stop. “Enough lying! Just tell them the truth. You promised no more secrets.”

With those words, she trapped her Dad like a deer in a headlight. He felt everyone’s eyes on him, puzzled and on the border of hurt.

“What secret?” Karen asked, with a tilt of her head.

“Okay, who’s this client, Matt?” Foggy asked, bracing himself for the answer.

Matt lets out a sigh knowing he’s been pinned down. And with a small shift in his stance, hands on his hips he says, “It’s… Elektra.” And he didn’t need sight to know that his college roommate’s eyes were slowly bugging out of his head.

“Wait…” Foggy mumbles, hands waving around, grasping something imaginary. “Elektra?” He tests out the name that burns on his tongue. “Psychopath Elektra? Your old girlfriend from college?”

Karen immediately copies his expression. “Old girlfriend?” She asked, looking between the two.

“Yeah!” Foggy boasts, arms flinging out in a dramatic way. “I-I mean she was beautiful, b-but fucking off the walls crazy!” He stares at Matt in disbelief. “You mean she showed up back in your life?”

Matt nods. “S-She… was at my door when I came home last night.”

Karen crosses her arms, intrigued. “W-What did she want?”

“Uh, basically, long story short, she wants to get her father’s wealth back from this company called Roxxon. She wanted me to be her lawyer. I told her no, but apparently she didn’t listen.”

“What do we do?” Foggy asked, while rubbing his tired face.

“I’m going to have to talk to her, I mean we’re defense lawyers. What can we do?”

“And you’re talking to her as… Matt Murdock? Or the other guy?”

Matt frowns. “Not sure yet. I’ll be back.” He says, making his way where he left his walking stick. His gaze soon leads to Karen. “I’ll make sure to be back for tonight.”

Foggy raises an eyebrow between the two. “What’s tonight?” He asked, confused by this potential memo he missed.

“They’re going on a date.” Kaila sang, grinning ear to ear while making the two adults blushed.

“What?!” Her Uncle said, baffled. “Are you serious?” He gets a quick nod of confirmation from his niece before throwing his arms in the air. “Finally!”

Matt listens to his daughter’s giggle before touching her shoulder, grabbing her attention. “I’ll be back.”

Kaila nods as her expression fades. “Be careful.”

“I will, but–” He taps the top of her phone, knowing exactly what she was doing on it. “Worry about meeting your friend.”

Her eyes widened. “How did you know I was texting–” But he leaves without another word, and she’s left staring at her device.

Once the door closes, Foggy reverts back to a curious fellow. “Your friend?”

“Uh–” Kaila meets his eyes for a split second before looking away. “I made a friend at work, and I’m… having some trouble with him.”

“Him?” He asked in the same tone of fashion her father had the night before.

She almost visibly eyerolls. “Okay, I don’t need the protective lecture again. He’s just a friend that happens to be a boy. Alright?”

He shakes his head. “Sorry. Habit, you know?”

Suddenly the office phone rings and Foggy excuses himself to go answer it just as Karen takes a seat next to the teenager.

“Need some advice?” She asked, softly.

Kaila shrugs and sighs. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Well… what’s this boy like? Is he nice? How did you meet?”

“I… I met him before the summer, right around the time you guys were about to bring Fisk down. I met him, Jayden, at that coffee shop I like to go to sometimes. We talked, just a short little conversation as we waited for our drinks, then that was it.” Kaila explains slowly, shifting in her seat. “Then, about a month into my job, he started working there. Maybe it was just a weird coincidence, but I took it as a sign that maybe the universe was finally giving me a friend.”

Karen tilts her head again. “Finally?”

The young Murdock shrugged. “I never really had friends growing up. Everyone was also so cliquey. It was strange. I was basically the girl you invited to a party because you felt bad.”

The blonde frowns. “Kai…”

“It’s fine, really. I’m not bothered by it as much as before. I mean, I did have one friend who I considered my best friend in the sixth grade, I mean we did everything together.” She slouches in her chair. “But the day she and her parents met my father, she never spoke to me again. Her parents were the helicopter ones, strict about everything. And… they obviously didn’t like blind people. Rich jackasses.”

“Kai, that’s horrible.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I like Jayden because we have a lot in common. Same music taste, we love scary movies, love books, I could go on. But ever since the kidnapping, he texted me if I was okay, I replied back and that was it. Dead silence.” She continues. “I want to go talk to him, but I don’t know where he lives, and I can’t exactly go back to my job because I’m on temporary leave, and to quote my Boss, he said, ‘If I see you set foot in this store instead of being home healing I’ll fire you’. And I kind of like my job, so… yeah.”

“Huh.” Karen said, thinking. “Have you talked it over with your dad?”

“He suggested I should give him a little bit before calling, but I don’t know. Should I even wait?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t.” And just before more could be said, a certain DA’s right hand came strolling in. Karen stands up, surprised. “Mr. Tower? I, uh, wish you’d called. I’d have something set up.”

“Are they in?” He asked, quickly. And right on cue, Foggy peaks from his office door.

“Just the Nelson half.” He replies, puzzled as well.

“We need to talk. In private.” Tower replies, ignoring the many jabs the people in the room were giving him as he entered Foggy’s office.

“Asshole.” Kaila said, once the door was closed.

Karen chuckles. “Can be…”

“Why don’t you do what you have to?” The Murdock gestures towards the exit. “I know that detective brain of yours wants to work on the Castle case.”

The blonde looks surprised again. “You sure?”

“Of course. There’s not much I’ll be able to do since I don’t know what you’re looking for. Besides–” She holds her phone up. “Maybe I should try.”

Karen smiles and grabs her purse. “Good luck.”

“You too.” Kaila waits till she leaves before scrolling to his contact and hitting the phone icon; She lifts it to her ear, waiting to see if it’ll stop ringing.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Hours later after their separate adventures, both Karen and Matt made it on time for their date. The blonde was nervously flipping through the menu as the lawyer stayed silent, just listening.

“D-Do you drink wine?” Karen nervously stutters. “I should know that.”

“I… don’t drink anything they don’t serve at Josie’s.” Was Matt’s answer, which got her to laugh.

“Yeah, well, I don’t see swill on the menu.”

Their eyes locked for a moment before getting preoccupied again. Eventually they both tried to speak at the same time. “So how was–/So what did–” A laugh. “I’m sorry–/I was just gonna–”

Karen smiles, setting the menu down. “Uh, you go ahead. Go, go first.”

Matt copies her. “How was your day?”

“Fine. Uh, yeah, just a regular day at the office.”

“Well, it’s a nice change of pace, right? Not being shot at?” He nervously laughs. “That’s gotta feel good.”

She hums, and takes a sip of water. “Yeah.” She sets the glass down, folding her hands on top of one another. “You, uh… how’s the, uh, new… you know. Elektra.”

Matt inhales deeply, clearly still frustrated over the mess. “Honestly, I didn’t get the chance to talk to her. I kind of…” A slight shrugged. “Eavesdropped on the meeting.”

“Is she… in trouble you think?” Karen asked, genuinely curious.

He sighs. “I don’t know. Maybe. But I don’t want to get involved. Like I told Kai last night, she left many years ago, I’ve forgotten about her, and that’s all I want to do.”

Karen looks at him worriedly, finally seeing the hurt he’s been through appearing on his face. “I’m sorry. It… sucks when your past comes back to bite you. I know I’ve… I’ve had my fair share of that.”

Matt’s heart clenched, frowning sadly. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He whispers, and there was a brief pause before they both recollected themselves. “Well, uh… that covers work.”

She changes her expression to a joyful one like earlier. “Uh, well, it's a start. Um–” She pointed to a corner of the restaurant where the bathroom was. “I’ll be back in just a minute. Order something fantastic.”

“Sure thing.” He says, hearing her leave. Once she does he lets out a sigh, embarrassed how this was going. He thought maybe his struggles would be helped when the waiter suddenly appeared by his side. “Look. If I had to seem like I knew everything there is to know about wines in the next 60 seconds, what would I… what would I order?”

“Matthew Murdock?” The waiter said, sounding all buddy-buddy.

Matt tilts his head in confusion. “Yeah.”

He holds out a phone. “You have a call.”

“Oh.” Matt takes it. “Thanks.” He lifts it to his ear. “This is Murdock.”

‘Sorry to bother you while you're out, but you have a few moments before she returns, right?’

Matt mentally curses as soon as he hears her voice. He clenches the phone, and hiss, “What do you want from me?”

‘You should ask yourself the same question. That rooftop act was cute.’

“Yeah, nothing compared to your damsel-in-distress one.” He grits his teeth as she laughs at his reply.

‘Oh, you’re right. I didn’t actually need you. I told you, maybe I just missed you. But don’t worry, you can keep the money.’

Matt chuckles sarcastically. “Aw.. Go to fucking hell.”

‘If you really want to be done, consider this me firing you.’

And then he was met with the dial tone, supposedly ending this ‘nightmare’ (or maybe it was just starting it).

“Hey.” Karen’s sweet voice broke through, pulling him away from the memories of his past.

He flashes her a reassuring smile. “Hey.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah… th-they ran out of wine.”

She chuckles at what she thought was a joke. “No.” She frowns when she sees he wasn’t laughing back. “Wait, seriously? Matt–”

“I-I don’t I don’t like this place, you know?”

“Is it the place? Or is it–”

“It’s definitely not you.” He quickly says, truthfully.

“You’re sure?” She said, heart skipping a beat.

“Yeah.” He hears his own heart flutter, getting back into the groove. “I’m positive.”

She bites her lip seductively before taking him by the hand. “Come on. I know where we can go.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Thank you.” Karen said to their new waiter at their new date spot.

“Wow, this smells amazing.” Matt replies, the curry and other spices hitting his nose blissfully. “What is it?”

“Um…” She laughs at herself, not knowing either. “Who cares? They have wine.”

Matt finds himself grinning ear to ear. “Right. That’s… You know, I’ve always felt more comfortable with the cheap stuff. You know?”

“Yeah? Well, here, I’ll drink to that.” She holds her glass up waiting for Matt to do the same before clicking.

“Cheap stuff.”

She grins too. “Cheap stuff.” She sets her glass down after a sip, grabbing her fork to dig in. “You know, I never even had Indian food until a few months ago.”

“How is that possible?” Matt asked, surprised.

“Well, my hometown in Vermont had about 400 people, so the most ethnic food it offered was French fries.”

“So that’s why you, uh, came to New York? For the food?”

She shakes her head at his cheekiness. “Uh, no. Although, if I knew places like this existed, I’d have left Vermont ages ago.”

“You see, that’s why I love this city.” He says, hearing her hum to continue. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and the place never stops unfolding new secrets.”

She nods in understanding. “Yeah, you know despite the crime, and the darkness, every once in a while, New York makes me feel…

“Like, safe?”

“Yes, is that weird?”

He shrugs. “Well–

“Huh.”

“I get it.”

Another flutter to her heart as she leans in closer. “I wish you could see this place.”

Matt smiles. “I can, if you describe it to me.”

She hums again, setting her fork down and using her hands to speak. “S-So, anyways, my favorite part… is the ceiling. It’s literally dripping with thousands of lights. They’re shaped like chili peppers–” She holds her hand up before he could protest. “Which sounds really tacky, I know, but it’s um, it’s not. Just… It’s magic.”

“Magic?”

“Yeah.” They lock eyes again. “Magic.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

After dinner, the two of them took a lovely stroll hand and hand. It seems like this wonderful night would last forever, until they arrived just outside the Page residence.

Karen looks torn as she pulls them both to a stop. “This is me.” She said, before laughing nervously.

“Are you sure you don’t… live two more blocks?” Matt asked, feeling the same way. “Maybe three?”

“I wish.” She shifts her towards him. “We could sit.”

“Yeah.” He guides them down on the steps, and he pulls his shades off, taking this moment in. He chuckles, scooting closer. “All right, I’m gonna kiss ya.”

And she lets him.

They both started off sweetly before turning it up a notch, hands gripping onto each other’s clothing like it was a life line. Maybe in some way… it was.

“You can come up… if you like?” Karen asked in between their kisses.

Matt hums against her lips, smiling. “I’d love to.”

And he kisses her again.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Okay, so how many voicemails did you leave?” Foggy asked his Niece as they walked from the office back to her home. He wasn’t surprised when Karen left earlier in the day to do some research, but he was taken back by how his Niece seemed very repetitive with her moves today.

Looking quite embarrassed, and not even looking at him she said, “...Eight.”

“Eight?” He replies, shocked. “Jesus, Kai. I don’t think I’ve seen you stress something over like this before.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He frowns at how disappointed she sounded. “Kaila–”

“It’s okay, Foggy. I’ll be alright.” She says, as she heads up to her apartment entrance, keys in hand.

“Hey.” He says, getting her to finally turn around to look at him. “Try not to stress over it. I’m sure he’ll come around. And if he doesn’t…” He shrugs. “Fuck him. You’re too good for him anyway.”

Kaila cracks a smile. “Thank you, Uncle Foggy. Goodnight. Love you.”

“Love you too, kiddo.”

She unlocks the front door and heads inside, carefully guiding herself to ride the elevator. She sighs after hitting her floor number, a wave of exhaustion hitting her hard.

He’s right. I shouldn’t be stressing over this. And she shouldn’t, but it still hurts to admit that.

I finally found someone that I consider a real friend and he ghosts me. Lucky me…

The elevator dings and opens, and she slowly moves across the hallway to the very end. She fishes around her key ring for the right one–

“Hey, Coffee girl.” A voice erupts behind her, making her nearly jump out of her shoes.

Head whipping around quickly, she blinks upon confusion. “...Jayden?”

The dark haired boy looks nervous, and out of place, but still manages to give her a wave. “Hi.”

“W-What…” She shakes her head, recollecting herself. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I… got your voicemails.” He holds up his phone before putting it back away. “Can we uh… can we talk?”

“Talk…?”

“Yeah. Can we?”

She doesn’t know if this was a dream or not, but if it isn’t, something was telling her to cease this opportunity or else. Finally relaxing her tense body, she replies,

“Sure.”

-Taglist is open if anyone wants to join-

@stinkywhore @invinciblerikkai @glass-ghost

@your-not-invisible-to-me @ohtacosindrome

@mirkwoodshewolf @dreamscandys

@omniromanticbitch @987coley

@hearts4murdock @katnisspeetaprim

@astrobees @cg94 @simpingforpeterparker3000

@cg94 @winterschildren17 @wolfgirl-205 @hallecarey1 @mademoiselle-marquise-blog

@graciegoeskrazy @magsmilk

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princessisfinethx · 1 year

Text

Recom Miles Quaritch x FemReader Pt. 3

Part 3! Yay!

AND HERE'S THE WARNINGS: Mentions of fucking, sexual daydreaming, newly found size kink MINORS DNI

I'd also like to thank a lot of you guys, ya'll are so kind and I am still unsure of how to reply on comments but just know I see ya <3 I'm also super tired so I will post this to my A03 in the morning.

Hope ya'll like it! I read over it once, thats it.

-1 week later-

It was lovely up here.

Sitting on the cold metal floor, you peer into the vacant lonely wonders that was space. Millions of stars dotted the black. If you had a map, you could plot out which system or planet you were near. The ship intercom came on, “We’ll be entering a jump soon, please return to your pods for hypersleep.” You frowned, standing up and slipping your slippers back on. This journey couldn’t hurry and end already. You hated hypersleep, only because when you woke up you were prone to sickness.

Shuffling to the pod, you looked at the others. Only two or three others had woken up, while the rest had gone back to hypersleep. You watched as the other awake passengers went back to sleep, and you followed. Once you closed the pod however, the lights above went dim. A scream was heard and you gasped. “Hello?” You hit the glass, unable to break out. The pod was trying to put you to sleep. “Wait what happened?”

The pod ripped open, you screamed as you were thrown out of it. You scrambled backwards and looked up.

A xenomorph was hissing, stalking towards you. You screamed and tried to run, only getting nowhere as it grabbed you and shrieked in your ear. It did it again, and again, and again, and again-

Your eyes snap open, sitting up to find you were on the floor. You look up at your television and see the main menu for the movie Aliens. An annoyed groan leaves your chest and you stand up. Your body jumps when an alarm blares overhead. “Oh fuck!” You throw on some pants and a shirt you tossed on the floor from last night. You slip your shoes on and run out of your room. In the hallway, a few other residents were rushing to leave as well. You finally get outside, squinting at the sunlight. Everyone was outside, standing in groups and discussing the alarm. You rub your face and walk to a few familiar faces. “Well? Is everyone out?”

Alex turned around, also seeming like they awoke with a start. “Um, I think so.” They had on a robe and joggers. “This is the last drill alarm this month right?” They looked you up and down and made a face of concern. “Hey um, you wanna borrow my robe?”

You went to ask why but the alarms blared three times, then a few officers walked up to the large group of residents. “Good morning everyone. Thank you again for participating accordingly, we all know how important it is to practice these drills every month…” He began to go on, waving a clipboard which he should be checking off instead of preaching. Half the bodies here couldn’t hear from this far back.

There was a soft chuckle directly behind you but you didn’t turn around. “Mornin’ sleeping beauty. Is that how you usually wake up?” Your eyes glance to the side, seeing Alex biting their lip to hide a smile, maybe. When you turn your head, you only see the crotch area of some pants. Your eyes slowly lift up and you roll them away once you make eye contact with Quaritch. Behind him, a few other recom soldiers stood, mostly paying attention to the officers in the front.

“No, I usually sleep in furs and handmade quilts and wake up with perfect hair and a dolled up face of makeup and lies. You just caught me on a bad morning.” You cross your arms, a cold breeze hits your back and you sigh. At the corner of your eye, Miles bends down.

“Do you sleep naked or do you usually wear your shirts inside out?” His breath hits your neck and you feel a blush color your cheeks. He whispers so no one else hears him. “Unlucky for you, it's a bit uh, nippy ain’t it?”

At this, you groan and tighten your arms around your body. “Be a gentleman and offer a lady a coat or something next time.” You shoot back and he smiles, standing up straight. You hear Alex scoff and you look at them. “Not you, but thank you for offering.”

Miles hums while glancing between you and Alex before peering down at your form, seeing more of your exposed skin. You usually wore long sleeves or a coat to the office and seeing you in a tank top and pajama pants was kinda cute. As much as you tried to hide your chest, the man could see over you. Of course he was a gentleman enough not to stare, but he did see. He leaned down to whisper to you, “I’ll try to remember to bring one next drill, if you happen to still be working here with your sanity intact.”

“That sounds like a threat, Quaritch-”

Behind him, Lyle was watching the whole thing. He watched his commander bicker with you, and then he saw the Colonel's tail flicking left to right. Lyle smirked and backed up, elbowing Z-Dog to his right. She looks at him and elbows him back, “Fuck off it’s too early-” Lyle motions his head forward and she looks. She takes in the scene before her, seeing you turn your head towards Miles and hiss something low at him, causing him to chuckle and shrug. Z-Dog raises her eyebrows and smiles at Lyle. They both chuckle at each other, seeming to get the same idea.

Finally they were letting everyone leave, calling the groups out by hallway numbers and their residents. You didn’t waste a second as you hastened to get to your room. Miles watched, smiling the whole time while he turned and walked back towards his squad.

You get back in your room and flip the shower on. Grumbling the whole time you undressed and got in. You felt your face heating up again at his words from earlier. Of course something like this had to happen to you. With him. Maybe this was a good thing, his mind was in other places and that gave you time to plan. You were thinking if you really had to seduce him it wouldn’t be very hard. Would you have to climb him though? He was very much taller, obviously. Maybe if he were sitting down across from you, you could easily climb aboard that way. Obviously if he were into it he’d be grabbing you and pulling you onto him.

That made your legs shift together. You don’t know if he would be smiling or not. Sometimes you’ll catch his face when he’s thinking or focusing and you wonder if that's what he'd do. He'd be focusing on you, no smiles, all serious. You wonder if he’ll sit back and let you explore first, or if he’ll flip the tables and pin you to your desk or-

You hadn’t realized you were holding your bar of soap too hard until it popped out of your hand and fell to the ground. You curse lightly and pick it up, rinsing it off and just focusing on washing and getting out of the shower. Getting out, you dry off and towel dry your hair instead of blow drying. You get dressed properly this time and finally leave your room and head to the complex where your office and hidden cereal boxes would be waiting.

You push past the doors, round the corner to get to your office and see two Na’vi soldiers waiting. Your expression softens and you smile up at them. “Morning you two,” You get your keys out and unlock the door to your office, walking in and having the two follow you. “What brings you guys in today?”

Lyle smiles. “Morning Doctor. Just stopping by to say hello.” He shifted and his eyes glanced at the floor. “Yeah.”

“Oh please,” Z-Dog cuts in. “Sorry to be so straight-forward but are you and Quaritch fucking or something?” Lyle snorts and covers his mouth. You turned red.

“Jesus Christ Z, no! What would make you think that?” You were looking between them.

“I dunno, you two just seemed to be flirting this morning. And well, you didn’t hear it from me but it certainly looks like one of you wants to.” She shrugs. “But you didn’t hear it from me.” She looks at Lyle who shrugged as well.

“You two seem to be getting along nicely though, right?” He commented.

“Nicely?” You raised an eyebrow and your hands were on your hips. “Besides maybe two interactions between us that seemed fine, everything else this week has been a shit show…”

Outside of the office, Miles was leaning against the doorframe, his face was in a neutral expression.

“He insults my position, he’s accused me of ‘hiding secrets’, in the lunchroom a few days ago his tail tripped me and my bowl of soup was all over me.” One of the soldiers made a comment about remembering that. “He didn’t offer to clean it, he said whoops. That’s it. And now, just yesterday, I get a fucking paper-” there was walking and a drawer opening, and then papers being grabbed. “About an operation I have to attend, asked by Quaritch himself. ‘Dr. Linear, you are being asked to attend the 1st Recom Unit under Project Phoenix as medical personnel. Further instructions to be given.’ Who does that? Who takes a doctor out of their office to walk the jungle in case someone gets a booboo. Don’t you guys have people for that?” He hears the paper being put down harshly, then another drawer opening and something being pulled out. “It’s like he’s trying his damndest to piss me off.”

He heard crunching and he smiled just a little. He heard Lyle ask for whatever it was you were eating and you handed him the box.

“So no,” You continued, after eating whatever it was you had. “We’re not fucking. I don’t know what sources you’ve been listening to but neither one of us wants to fuck the other. Maybe he wants to drive me fucking mad. It’s possible. Hell, maybe he wants to hate fuck me, you never know, I could have pissed him off first day we met, god knows.” You sigh and he hears you slump against the desk. “I stayed up too late last night, had a stupid alien nightmare and I have a headache from it.”

Lyle hums. “You’re the doctor, you got pain meds.” His mouth was still full. “Tylenol?”

Z snorts. “I took a tylenol the other day, and that shit does nothing for me anymore.”

“Yeah your bodies don’t have the same digestive and blood system that humans do. Z if you needed pain meds you should have come to me. I don’t mind, really. It’s kind of my job.” You sounded concerned as you spoke, getting up and going to Z-Dog. “Was it the migraines again?”

“Ah don’t worry Doc, I’m fine now. Look we’ll be on our way, Lyle give her back the cereal, damn.” They were standing up and Miles waited outside the door. “We’ll see you later Doc. Don’t stress too much, you’ll have us on the mission too.”

“Yeah, trust in us.” Lyle cleared his throat. “We won’t let the big bad Quaritch ruin your week anymore okay?” At that, you had chuckled a little.

“You guys get going. And I’m serious about those pain meds, Z!” You called after them. Z was the first to walk out and her body froze when she saw Miles. Lyle was laughing a little and ran into Z-Dog on the way out. He was about to ask her what but saw him as well.

Miles motioned his head away from the office and they silently followed, walking away from the office door. Z spoke first. “How much did you hear?”

“Plenty.” He stopped at the end of the hallway, facing the two. “I have a few questions about that little meeting.”

~=~=~

You eye the paper on your desk, wanting to throw it in the shredder and give the colonel the middle finger. Nothing was that simple however. So you flipped the paper over and set it to the side. That brought you to a new problem. You wouldn’t be able to program your supply bot out into the jungle without someone noticing. You’d usually do this at night but you would be gone. For how long, you weren’t sure. Not long you suppose. You suspected this was a scheme of his, him trying to keep you distracted so you don’t realize he’s onto you.

You sat back in your chair and munched bitterly at your dry cereal, not wanting to travel to the cafeteria to get milk or a full breakfast today. Lazily, you look over at your coffee maker, wishing it would automatically make one for you. A knock at your door made you put the box away and wipe your mouth. "Door's open."

A tall blue form walks in and that knowing smile appears. Your small bit of happiness disappears. "Hello sunshine. Glad to see you're awake behind that desk." He closes the door behind him, standing at his full height and crossing his arms. The minute he called you sunshine you were out of your desk and making a pot of coffee, knowing you'll need it. "Well, almost awake." He walks up to the small counter you had your coffee station set up at. "May I have a cup?"

Your lips made a sort of pout. As much as you loathed the man beside you, you couldn't deny someone a cup of coffee. Especially when he asked so politely. "Yeah, do you take any sugar or creamer? I've got regular and almond."

"No thank you, I take mine black." He leans against the counter and watches as you fix two cups. Yours was in a decorative plant mug while his was in a much larger mug. There were a few of these specially made for the recombinant soldiers and you took two or three for instances like these. You had emptied most of the pot to fill the cup but it didn’t bother you since you had your cup already. You held it up and he took it from you carefully. "Thank you." He gives it a sip and hums. "Pretty good stuff right there."

"Yeah, I practically wrestled with the other facilities for that brand of coffee. Only comes in every few weeks." You smile softly at the image of you spotting Alex hiding coffee in their coat as you did the same. You remember both nodding at each other and you chuckled softly. Miles looks down at you and you clear your throat. “Funny memory is all. When I met Alex, we were both hiding coffee in our pockets and I spotted them while they spotted me, and we mutually agreed not to tell. They’re funny.”

“Ah, yes, the uh lab coat with huge glasses.” He watched as you smiled warmly at the memory. “You two good friends now or what?”

You gave a little shrug, thinking about the slow but progressive friendship you two had. “No, not really. Just coworkers.” You gave it some more thought, never looking up at him. “I think I would have lunch with them if they offered, Alex is a good conversationalist and we share similar views on a few topics.”

Miles had rolled his eyes slightly. “Glad to know you can make friends princess.”

“I don’t see you doing any better.” You got defensive and he had to hold back his smile.

“Oh I don’t make friends, I make soldiers.” He turned his body towards you and sipped his coffee again.

“Oh yeah and you plan to do just that by throwing me in the jungle?” You had forgotten your coffee now, setting it down to point up at him. “I don’t work under you Colonel, and I’m sure if I spoke to some higher ups and got the okay, I could refuse to go.”

“Ah, but you can’t.” He smirked. “I already asked our higher ups and they gave me ‘the okay’ to take you along.” He too set his giant coffee mug down. “And speaking of; you know how to use a gun, correct?”

You groaned and turned to face away from him. “That isn’t my job, I’m supposed to stay here, in my office!” You turned to him. “You really want me to quit so badly don’t you? You want my life to be hell, and for what? So you can get your shits and giggles?” He was walking towards you and you unconsciously walked backwards. “I have things to do here, I have other people to attend to, I am not only the recom’s doctor but I’m the human’s doctor too. Someone has to be here to do the paperwork and, and the check ups every day-” Your back hit the wall and you looked up to watch Miles squat down so he’s level with you. He reaches up and leans one arm against the wall behind you. You realized suddenly how trapped you were, how much you rambled without thinking and how much warmth his body gave off.

“What are you so scared of, doctor?” His eyes were so big, and the speckles of white that littered his nose were almost glowing. You felt your face burning up.

Your voice was a low whisper now. “I’m not a soldier. I’m going to die out there.” He stares you in the eye, and he could see some of the waterworks about to kick in. He smiles at you.

“You think I’ll let anything happen to you princess? I thought you had some smarts in that pretty noggin of yours.” He taps your forehead and you wipe your eyes while smacking his hand away.

“Enough smarts to know that’s bullshit. I’ll be drowning in some alien-like quicksand and you’ll just poke me with a stick.” You leaned back against the wall, staring at the desk behind him. “Just admit that you hate me already and leave. You’ve disliked me from day 1 and you hide it with witty smiles and jokes.”

“You’re overthinking it. There’s no quicksand here.” He smirked and you rolled your eyes. You went to walk away from him but he trapped you with his other arm. “I still have some matters to discuss with you.” You sent him a glare, he didn’t budge.

“I need to get my stuff together just in case I’m eaten alive in the next couple of days. Like a will and final wishes.” You watched him shift, so now he was kneeling in front of you. Your expression changed, he could spot it. From annoyed to surprised, to an angry confused look.

“While on the subject, what’s this rumor you’re spreading about me hate-fucking you?”

Your face dropped and turned pink in one go. “Excuse me? Believe me when I say I am not spreading any rumors, especially nothing as filthy as that.”

“Hm, my soldiers seem to think otherwise.” He glanced at the doorway, “I heard something being yelled earlier too. Something about ‘fuckin’ and ‘we’ being used a lot in most of those sentences-” He froze up when you grabbed his ear and yanked him down. It caught him so much off guard that his hands slipped off the wall and onto the floor on either side of you.

“I want you to listen to me clearly.” Your lips brushed his ear as you spoke unnervingly gentle. “I will restructure you an old and frail human body and put your subconscious inside just so I can kick your ass unfairly. I know you heard everything I had to say this morning clearly and if I have to repeat myself I will.” He flinched and leaned forward, causing your lips to press only slightly against his earlobe. You had let go and he sat up, looking at you with wide eyes.

Miles was strangely, but very turned on. His breathing was a little quicker and he hadn’t gotten off his knees. He was staring at you, flicking between your eyes and your lips and all mighty he wanted to feel you when you were pissed off like this. He wanted to run his hands through your hair from the back of your head then pull down so you looked up at him. He wanted to feel your nails scratching at his back, his shoulders, his chest and his scalp. He wants you on top of him, wants to see you use him while you’re infuriated. Just like this.

He wants you to hate fuck him.

You walked to your desk and sat in the chair. “You can leave if that’s all you have today.”

He slowly got up, leaning against the wall as his mind still carried waves of thoughts and ideas. “Yes.” He clears his throat. “I’ll be sendin’ more information later today. Thank you for your time Dr. Linear.” When he turned, he did it facing away from you. You didn’t miss how his pants were tighter in the front. When the door closed, you slumped forward again and covered your face with your arms.

You felt as if you had this strange power, this authority over him at that moment. You knew their ears were sensitive, but it couldn’t have been that sensitive that he was turned on from it. Maybe it was your words? Or maybe he was just sick in the head enough that he enjoyed this game you were playing. What was worse, was you were also quite bothered by the whole thing. His large form having been kneeling in front of you, then his heavy breathing…You swore he may have groaned at some point or maybe it was wishful thinking.

No.

Not wishful. Just lustful, clouded thoughts. Clouded thoughts that occupied your mind all day. His expressions, his eyes, his hands. Luckily, you didn’t see him for the rest of the day. You did however receive an email with a list of items you would need for the mission. A gun or weapon was listed as Optional, everything else such as a medical bag, military grade footwear and breathing equipment was necessary.

After checking the list off and deciding you’d need to stop by a few offices and departments, you took out your telegraph and sent a new message.

“MISSION-OUTING-AT-(COORDINATES)-TMRW-MORNING-SUPPLIES-ON-FOOT.”

You put the machine away and lock it, letting out a sigh as you think about the endless possibilities of your death. Animal attack, Na’vi attack, rock slide, and even maybe treachery.

#recom miles quaritch x reader #recom miles quaritch #miles quaritch x reader #avatar the way of water #avatar x reader #a03 writer #a03 fanfic #x reader #fanfic #spicy content

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bellybiologist · 9 months

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TLDR: Verzi Need Money. Here Link for Helping Fill Money Bar with Money Juice. -Ko-fi -Commission form (Open again! Note the price increase!) -Patreon -Paypal.me

Okay! Verzi need money. So! Here's this.

This shitty meter here is just for a bit of transparency (Graphic design is NOT my passion), cuz people like to know where there money is going. This will fill up as with funds from my patreon (money I got this month is already there!), from commissions, and from any tips/extras given by kind souls in passing, and I need to hit these marks EVERY month for like… a year. (This is after fees and such of course, cuz god forbid we don't pay the middle-men their dues.)

I will update this thing as time passes so ya'll will know where I'm at. Reblogging/Sharing is welcome, encouraged, and greatly appreciated!

A bit of info for each section under the Readmore:

-Rent and Bills: The Most Important thing to Keep Verzi Kickin'! I pay half my apartment's now $1368 rent PLUS the utilities, which range from 100~200 bucks, splitting with my aunt who works 2 jobs to make sure she pays her half. Since my mom passed away from Pancreatic cancer in 2021, this has been rough since it used to be split 3 ways.

-Dental Costs: The face bone doctors want my money after drilling holes and pulling out the insides!! My face actually feels BETTER so i'm not as mad as I COULD be about this, but this needs to be paid for the next 12 months. (And they want MORE money to do a cleaning and I almost laughed. Like, no buddy you ain't getting 750 out of me when I don't even have a refrigerator.(See Below))

-Big Purchase+Credit Card bills: It wont pay off ALL my credit card debt, but it keeps me from falling behind. Since the passing of Michael and Fred (my microwave and refrigerator respectively) I need to make some big purchases so my kitchen functions. Michael has been successfully replaced by Mikaela, and we are still looking for Fred's replacement. Ms. Frida, the chest freezer who is literally older than I am (I am 33!!) and STILL functions is holding down the fort while we look for a refrigerator. We can live without a fridge thanks to her constant service, allowing us to keep frozens. Also, like, literally on the 30th of July, Monty the Monitor must've succumbed to heatstroke so i had to buy one of THOSE too for my computer setup. I will name all my appliances to cope.

-Extra+Taxes: Once we get here, I'm in the clear for the month's expenses! However!! Taxes are due in October. I DO NOT know how much that will be, and since the whole Covid relief thing that lessened business taxes ended last year, I MAY be paying for quite a bit!! Anything past this point will be prepping for Taxes AND forming a buffer for More Happenings (God forbid).

===== Rewards??? Rewards!! =====

I considered a Drive like other kink artists in these circles, but I don't like drives for several reasons and those reasons are why I've never done one in the past. Despite that, I STILL want to do something that at least feels like a reward or incentive for people keeping me Alive™, so I'm going to do some simple doodles/sketches, and possibly try to stream those doodles in my discord!

Every 100 bucks past the "Rent and Bills Paid" section (meaning at 900 dollars and onward), I will do a RANDOM drawing from any requests/suggestions from the pool made by people who threw some cash monies my way!

Suggestions can be sent in through Ko-fi messages, Paypal notes accompanying payments/donations/tips, and a Patreon-only post (they are always giving me money, so patrons have access by default!). Commissioners who send in the form can ALSO suggest something for the pool if they like! (there's a question on the form for it) Now, like all requests, it's ultimately up to my discretion on whether or not I will draw something, but I will still try to keep it random and let it be a roll of the dice (or a RNG app).

There is no minimum requirement either! So people throwing only $1 at me, buying only one Ko-fi, or dropping anything bigger are free to offer a suggestion. But please limit requests/suggestions to one entry per person.

Now, as to what these will and can be:

-It will be a simple lined sketch with one color or flat colors. Depends on how many need doing, how I'm feeling when I draw it and how complicated it is.

-It can be up to 2 characters, but they may be less refined compared to a single character one. They can be the same character in 2 different states, or 2 different characters interacting with each other.

-No private requests please! It will have to be something that can be publicly posted and that you're fine with being perceived by others.

-In terms of kinks/sizes/etc, it will be something that you'd normally see on this blog or for my work! Mileage may vary, but more extreme stuff that I'd normally avoid may be glossed over when I'm constructing the pools.

-Unlike commissions, these will not go through a WIP stage/be modified after the fact! They end up how they end up. If you wanna be nitpicky, please use this opportunity to order a full commission!

-You're allowed to suggest OCs as long as it's yours or its owner has given permission to draw them in the context I am known to put boys in!

#Help a sista out #verzi's art

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xxavengingangelxx · 8 months

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Long Way From Home 4/?

Notes: I have finished writing this. Kinda. So it's going to be a series most likely. I need to see MW3 in November to make it as correct and canon as possible. So it's kind of a cliffhanger but it should continue once I play MW3. Time runs a little slower in this universe but should still be relatively canon. I still don't know how many parts are left but I have 50 pages of this. Expect more parts until I post all 50 pages :)

Also, if you wanna cry, go listen to Paralyzed by NF. :'( It helped me write the end(?) of the first part of these series.

Also, this quote applies to OC/Val/Reader and will be THE quote to summarize this fic: "There's a story behind every person. There's a reason why they're the way they are. They aren't just like that because they want to be. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it's impossible to fix."-Hanny Quinn

Ya'll know the drill. I assume this isn't ya'll's first rodeo when it comes to reading this but alas, because it's a dark fic, I will post triggers again. MDNI, 18+ TRIGGERS: Implied/attempted suicide, self-harm, torture, brainwashing, physical abuse, mind fuckery, Stockholm syndrome-related mental gymnastics, trauma bonding, mentions of foster care, threatened/implied/referenced rape, EXTREMELY dubious consent. If I miss, any let me know, please! DARK FIC

“I need you to do something for me,” Graves had you sitting in a large conference room. You wringed your hands in your lap nervously. The room was cold and so sterile. It was just you and Graves and you felt so small.

You’d thrown on a hooded sweatshirt because it seemed like you were always cold here. You’d apparently slept for 14 hours straight but you still felt tired. Considering they’d kept you awake for days on end at times, that wasn’t surprising.

“What’s that say?” he slid a manila folder your way.

You hesitated in opening it because what if it was code from 141? You couldn’t betray them. But at the same time you felt abandoned, forgotten. Whatever happened to never leaving a soldier behind?

But open it you did. They were newspaper clippings. All about El Sin Nombre. And about the gunshots that had been heard the night you were taken. And about Hassan. They were in Spanish.

“The newspapers?”

Graves nodded.

“Do you have something I can write with and on?”

You spent hours translating all the clippings into English, writing them into a small notebook. Hours turned into days and you translated newspapers, articles, military documents. They let you sleep at regular intervals. You had water, you had food. Hell you’d fallen asleep with you head on that cold conference table a few times now and they hadn’t bothered you.

Graves would come in periodically to get what was already translated and take it somewhere, you had no idea where.

One time he came in and sat right beside you. You instantly got nervous…and scared. You glanced up at him, dark gaze meeting his electric blue one.

“What?” you whispered.

“It’s not so bad, is it?”

You shook your head, not understanding what he was getting at.

“What do…what do you mean?” your voice trembled and you hated it.

“Workin’ for me,” he stated simply.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Can’t promise I’ll answer but shoot,”

“Did I break?” you asked, wanting to know if you’d given in amongst all that pain and torture and given him something useful.

“I can’t answer that,”

What you guessed were your days were spent translating. Your nights were spent on your knees, on your back, or with Graves’s face in between your legs, his stubble rubbing roughly amongst the inside of your thighs, drawing out unholy noises from you all while holding your hips down so you couldn’t escape him.

You push the thought that he’s borderline raping you away from your mind because your mind and your sanity just can’t fucking handle that. Yes you’d admitted to yourself that this wasn’t entirely consensual. He was your captor and you were his hostage for fuck’s sake. You had no idea what would happen if you refused him but you were scared to. Still, you convinced yourself this wasn’t rape. Your mind would finish breaking down if you did. You’d been through enough.

One day he randomly told you that you didn’t remember certain things because they’d been drugging you. But he assured you they weren’t doing that anymore, now that you were just so cooperative. Your homing beacon had been left behind in Las Almas. 141 had probably come across it and only that when they thought your homing beacon would lead to you. They’d probably found your radio ripped to pieces somewhere, too.

Graves assured you there was no way 141 was going to find you. You didn’t know how to feel about that. You’d been feeling abandoned. You’d been wondering why they hadn’t come for you. Surely 141 would have found you if they tried hard enough, right?

At the same time Graves told you that you probably didn’t want them to find you. “You’ve been working with me for almost a week now. They don’t want you back.”

You told yourself he was playing mind games, that he was slowly peeling away your identity so he could rebuild a new one. 141 would understand, right? They’d understand when you came back to them with broken ribs in several stages of healing, bruises that were blue and purple and yellow, a nose that had been broken multiple times, and possibly a hairline skull fracture all inflicted over you captivity. Right? They’d understand that you only did what you had to when they saw the numerous scars all over your body, right? One of them from a suicide attempt.

“You would’ve died on the streets of Las Almas without us,” Graves mentioned one night. “No telling what would’ve happened to you,” he continued. “I know how you grew up.” Those cold blue eyes focused on you in the low lighting of his bedroom. “Foster care. In and out of homes, being bounced around.”

You didn’t know you were crying until you felt tears falling down your sweaty face.

“You don’t have to keep that shit up anymore,” he said, brushing the tears from your face. “They’re not gonna take you back. They see you as a traitor. Stay here. We’ll take care of you.” He paused before adding, “We’d tear the world up lookin’ for ya if you went missing. Can’t same the same for 141.”

So you stayed. And not once did you think about leaving. Besides, even you attempted escape, Graves would find you and rip you apart all over again. It wasn’t worth it.

141 didn’t want you back, right? Your worst fear was being bounced around, being homeless, not wanted.

You got a watch one random day. A Samsung. Of course the location features had been disabled. But you knew the date.

Shadow Company had been protecting you for one month now.

You were learning the black site, at least the layout. There were still areas you weren’t allowed to go. You tensed when you passed a Shadow. They looked at you different now, though.

You heard Graves’s voice coming from a conference room.

“She’s ours now. So you protect her and you look out for her. Think of her as your little sister.”

You woke up to Graves shaking you.

“Get dressed. We gotta move.”

“What’s going on?” you asked sleepily.

“We’re under attack,”

You were in oversized fatigues, rolling up the sleeves and pant legs at least half a dozen times over so they would somewhat fit you. You felt like you were overheating as Graves tightened a thin Kevlar vest under your black uniform shirt before strapping it on. Tight. He pulled the zipper up on the shirt and then placed something at your feet. It was a heavier vest, similar to the one you’d had with 141.

But it was a Shadow Company vest. Your mind tried to reason that they weren’t giving back your old vest because it associated you with 141. They wanted to erase that identity and build a new one, remember? All the vests you’d seen on the other men as well as Graves had the Shadow Company emblem. The name tag?

P-80. It stood for Phantom-80. The name looked new and an increasingly fading part of your mind whispered that they’d given you the name Phantom because it mocked 141’s Ghost. You ignored it. What were the chances of that?

“Why do I need two?” you asked as Graves fastened the Velcro on the larger vest.

“Trust me,” was all he said.

He gave you a sidearm.

Shadows were engaged in gunfire. It was night. It was cold. Wasn’t it autumn? You’d forgotten how loud gunfire was. You were used to only hearing your own screams and other sounds that weren’t gunfire.

You had gotten so used to being indoors, to being in relative silence for the last month and a half now. So the gunfire was deafening, disorienting. Graves demanded you stay low and stay close to the Shadow he paired you with. Graves then disappeared.

Time seemed to drag on. You stayed low while you were both fired at and the Shadow returned fire.

Then the world went black for a few second and you found yourself in dirt. The breath had been knocked out of you and you felt a familiar sensation…you been shot but your vests had stopped it. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. You gasped for breath.

The Shadow with you dragged you somewhere by grabbing your vest. He pulled you out of harm’s way. Then more bangs, closer this time, and you were dropped to the dirt. The Shadow dragging you to safety had been shot. You crawled over to him, the momentary stop in the gunfire allowing you to do so. The bullet had slipped in just under the rim of his helmet and entered his brain on the left side of his face, just above his left eyebrow.

“Oh, my God!” you shrieked. You shook him but he just stared at the sky with lifeless grey eyes. “Hey—” you shook him but it was no use. He was dead, and he probably never even knew what killed him. So you slipped his rifle off of him and ran for cover.

You found yourself in another dilapidated building as you tried to catch your breath. You began hearing familiar voices. 141?

No, no, no, no, no…you’d been separated from them for so long that you would honestly feel like an enemy combatant in their hands. So you hid. You ran to the second floor of the building, stepping over gaps in the floor. You curled into a corner, rifle pointed at the doorway. You then cursed yourself because fuck going up to the second floor effectively trapped you. But maybe the soldiers below were too engaged in killing each other to even bother going up to a second floor if no one was firing from it.

You covered your ears when the gunfire got louder. It was getting closer and you had no fucking idea who was shooting. You really were a broken soul because you never used to cover your ears at the sound of gunfire. Things then became eerily quiet. Gun smoke hung heavily in the air, almost blocking out the thunderstorm clouds gathering.

You jumped when you heard thunder and you had to convince yourself if was thunder and not gunfire.

You stayed there for minutes, hours, who knows how long as sporadic gunfire filled your ears. You jumped with each shot, covering your ears. You were a shell of your former self. That much you knew.

Now that you were still your ribs ached. At least the vests had stopped the bullet.

Rain started and while you normally loved stormy nights, you cursed it now because it made it hard for you to see your environment and hear what was going on around you. Staying on alert so long without anyone to help you keep watch was exhausting.

You heard a creak. You opened your eyes, instantly awake. The gunfire had stopped. Where the hell were you and where was Shadow Company? Was Graves okay?

Downstairs you heard two gunshots and what sounded like a heavy body hitting the floor.

You raised the rifle, almost certain you were hearing footsteps. Someone was coming up those stairs. And whoever it was sounded large and heavy.

“Graves?” you called out.

No answer.

“Graves please tell me that’s you,” you added.

Whoever was there was now on the second floor. You were sure if you heard more footsteps coming up those stairs as you were focused on trying to pinpoint how close whoever was on the second floor was in reference to you.

You were sure that the person on the second floor would be at your doorway soon. You held your breath.

The footsteps stopped but no one appeared in the doorway.

You wondered if you were losing it. What if you were half asleep and dreaming?

“Graves, c’mon, man,” you whispered.

One more soft noise and the doorway was almost entirely blocked by a dark, tall figure.

Not Graves.

Not a Shadow.

König.

You didn’t know what to think. But you didn’t lower the rifle either. What was he doing here? Was 141 here?

“Don’t come any closer,” you warned.

“Val,” König’s voice seemed confused. “It’s me. It’s us.”

You kept the rifle raised but fuck because you couldn’t shoot.

“Please don’t come closer,” you begged.

“He can’t hurt you anymore, ja?”

So you faked it. You pulled the rifle’s strap over your head and set it down next to you.

“Okay,” König replied calmly. He got closer. He had long since dropped his rifle, leaving it to hang off his shoulder.

As soon as he got within arm’s length you ran past him. He definitely wasn’t expecting it but he still tried to grab you. You being small, you found it easy to escape his grasp, especially because he had not been expecting you to run. You knelt below his reach and ran.

You sprinted down the stairs, praying to God you’d run into Graves.

You were halfway down the stairs when you ran into Soap. König must have said something over the radio because Soap was ready for you.

Soap grabbed you, led you down the remaining stairs and easily put you on the ground on the first floor face down. Soap then got on top of you, straddling you from behind in an attempt to gain control and calm you.

You heard him say something but it didn’t register.

Mindlessly, you reached for your sidearm, getting desperate. Graves had told you they’d kill you if they found you and while you weren’t willing or able to shoot before now the idea was starting to look like it might be your only option to save your life.

“No, Val,” Soap said calmly. He pried the gun from your hand effortlessly and tossed it aside.

You reached for a knife on your vest.

And the same thing happened. He disarmed you without really putting any effort into it.

Boots stepped into your line of vision and you looked up. Ghost. He handed Soap something.

“Don’t kill me,” you begged.

“Never,” Soap replied. “But you’re unpredictable right now, lass, okay?” Zipties enclosed your wrists and pulled tight.

You snapped back to reality, gasping awake. You were on a bed. You’d fallen asleep apparently. So you had been dreaming.

“What’d you dream about?”

You recognized that voice. Graves.

“That they took me,” you replied. You sat up. You were at another black site. “How did we get out?”

Graves moved to sit next to you. He still had that battlefield smell of gunpowder and sweat. “You don’t remember getting out?”

You shook your head. You were sure you were losing your mind.

“Bad dream, then?”

“Yeah,” you admitted. “A nightmare. I was scared they’d kill me.”

“They will if they catch you,”

You ran your hand through your hair, pushing it out of your face. Your bangs still fell over your eyes and forehead.

“141 shot you,” Graves added.

“Were they aiming at me?”

“Who’s to say they weren’t?”

“Where am I?” you asked. Graves was sitting next to you, still geared up.

Graves scoffed. “Safe.”

“You okay?” You ask him. “I was scared you’d get hurt.”

“Sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere.” Graves then added, “It pissed me off they hurt you.”

“What’s next?” you asked.

“Staying in the shadows,” he responded simply.

You didn’t know why that made you tear up but it did. You sniffled. Wait…did it mean you were going to spend the rest of your life running with Shadows and looking over your shoulder?

“C’mere,” he muttered.

So you sat up and he pulled you into his arms. And you let him. He pulled the Velcro off your heavier vest and lowered to the floor and off the bed where you both sat. While you could barely hear his heartbeat through that big vest of his, you heard enough. His scent, his heartbeat, his body heat lulled you into a dozing state. You felt him place a hand on the back of our neck, brushing your hair softly. He placed his chin on top of your head.

And that was one of the first times that his presence settled you and calmed you.

You were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep but you were scared of having another bad dream. You needed to feel sure this was your reality, that you were really there.

So you shook off Graves’s hands and grasped his vest. You crawled into his lap, straddling him before kissing him.

By kissing him you could almost feel the tension he was under. It was almost like you were starting to be able to read him just by looking at him. He needed stress relief and you needed to feel him to remind yourself that you were still there. With Graves. You had no idea what 141 would do to you if they caught you but you didn’t want to find out. You felt him moan underneath you when you ground yourself against him.

Apparently that was all the invitation he needed. He easily picked you up and tossed you onto the bed. He climbed over you and straddled you, his gloved hands pulling down the zipper on your oversized shirt before tossing it aside.

The sound of Velcro ripping only made you hotter. What was it about vest Velcro ripping that turned you on? He easily pulled the lighter vest off of you and placed it next to the bed. Your shirt underneath the vest was pulled from you followed by your bra.

“I’m busy, darlin’,” you heard Graves growl. He leaned down to kiss you before then unbuckling your belt. So you kicked off your boots, hearing them fall to the floor heavily. You heard your uniform pants hit the floor, the sidearm attached to them causing a metallic clank.

“I don’t care,” you whined.

You were completely naked beneath him yet he was still fully geared. You found that hot.

He flipped you around, roughly putting you on your chest and stomach. You heard him unbuckling his belt and you pushed back against him. “So needy,” he gasped.

“Show me who I belong to,” the words came out of your mouth before you could stop them. Who the fuck were you turning into?

Graves then placed a rough, gloved hand at the back of your neck, pushing you into the mattress and used the other to wrap a hand around your waist, pulling you into an arched position. It was like he could read you as well. You wanted it rough and he knew.

“Don’t move,” he demanded.

So you didn’t. Your breath came out in short huffs, blowing your hair from your face before having it fall across your eyes again.

Graves placed two bruising hands on either side of your hips.

He didn’t go slow, didn’t give you time to adjust to him like he had all the previous times before. He pushed inside of you so roughly that he bottomed out inside of you and hit your cervix.

A scream was ripped from your lips. It was pain and pleasure and pressure and just feeling owned, feeling wanted. It reminded you that you hadn’t been taken away from him, that you were still there, with Graves.

“Quiet,” he snapped.

Graves grasped your hair, pushing you further into the bed in an attempt to muffle your sounds.

A ragged moan left your mouth when you felt him move inside you.

“Fuuuuck, Graves,” you said through gritted teeth.

“Slut, you’re getting off on this,” he stated between gasps.

You wanted to snap back, “So are you,” and you started but his relentless thrusts cut you off. He’d never been this rough with you ever but fuck you liked it.

You were cockdrunk and lost in the pain and pleasure.

Graves removed one of his hands from your hips and reached between your legs, roughly rubbing your clit all while carrying out deep, penetrating thrusts and hitting that spot deep inside you. The combination of the sensations, of feeling a slight hint of his nails between your legs finally pushed you over the edge. You surrendered yourself, your soul, your body, to him just as you’d done every time before. You screamed his name, although not audibly, more into the covers of the bed.

Graves followed shortly after, his thrusts faltering almost and becoming sloppy as he gave into his feral, untamed, animalistic desires.

He pulled out of you and let go of you. So you collapsed onto the bed, gasping as you tried to catch your breath. You heard him rebuckle his pants and he placed a shaky hand on your back, steadying himself before he moved and sat next to you on the bed.

You curled up next to him, feeling your combined fluids start to spill onto your inner thighs. “Where’d that come from?”

“It’s been a long time comin’, sweetheart,” he used his hand to brush hair from your sweaty face. “Hey,” he caught your attention before saying, “I need your dog tags.”

You frowned. But you didn’t care. You’d been conditioned to do what he said without questioning it. “Have ‘em,” you handed them over.

He took them and pocketed them. You were curious but knew better than to question him.

“I’m tired but I’m scared to sleep,” you admitted.

“Go to sleep,” he said. You felt him lie down next to you. With all that gear it couldn’t be comfortable. He wrapped an arm around you.

“Hey, what’s up with Phantom-80?” you mumbled.

“Your callsign,” Graves responded. “You’re ours now. You’re mine now.”

And weirdly enough that was all it took to lull you into sleep.

That night you had your worst dream yet.

141 had found you. But they were…different. They wanted to know where Graves was. You knew but you weren’t willing to give them that information.

But even when they were making you scream from the pain they were inflicting on you, something deep down was telling you this wasn’t them. But then again what if this was how they were going to treat you from now on?

Notes: Feel free to let me know what you thought ;) You'll keep falling down the rabbit hole of Stockholm Syndrome with each post.

#phillip graves #cod mw2 #cod mwii #phillip graves x reader #john soap mactavish #ghost cod #graves x reader #mw2 141 #konig mw2

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attapullman · 3 months

Note

My dearest Mo, thank you as always for letting me drop this stuff in your inbox, I'm super glad it cheers you up and hopefully these ones will do the same (lol).

-"Mating season" for the boys usually happens anywhere from Feb. 14th to March 31st and you bet your ass they get super territorial. Rhett and Kayce always have to go to the pharmacy to buy extra condoms and constantly drill it into the guys heads to "wrap it before ya'll tap it!". Luckily they don't have to spend an obscene amount of money since Foster and his boyfriend usually pick up that bill (lol).

-Speaking of which, one poor little freshman pledge had never been with a girl before and was a little scared to admit it in front of his big brothers. Rhett and Kayce felt kinda bad so they gathered up any pledges who had never been with a girl before and hauled out "The Official Delta Tau Sex Manual For Pledges" and this thing was as triple X rated as you could get!!! Each of the brothers had written a chapter in there on various sexual acts, what to do, how to perform and what to do in an emergency and my God did it serve the pledges well.

-If anything, the boys are absolutely TERRIFIED to leave a freshly baked apple pie laying around. Even when they all go home for Thanksgiving, Rhett kinda cringes whenever you see Royal or Cecelia taking the apple pie outta the oven (lol).

-Mating season is also at the height of spring break. The entirety of Delta Tau as well as the Phi Gamma sorority joined you guys down in Islamorada, Florida for spring break and was also forever immortalized as "Florida Fuckfest" because of how much fucking occurred on the beaches for those two weeks. It ended with you, Rhett, the other brothers and the sisters having to all go to one of the local diners on the beach for a hangover breakfast and Bloody Marys.

-You guys even got to stay at the house that Foster and his boyfriend had been renovating for a while. The place was already done but had no furniture so you guys decided to christen the house Delta Tau style by throwing a rager complete with glow sticks, glow in the dark body paint and a ton of swimming off the dock that stuck out into the ocean. The very next morning, you, Rhett and Kayce opened up the grill and an avalanche of beer cans and red solo cups came spilling out. Foster had to double check the toilet tank and sure enough some alien asshat had stashed full beer cans in there (lol).

Mo-Mo, I'm seriously lovin Frat!Rhett and I'm glad you're lovin it too. If you have any ideas and wanna share'em too, my box is always open and any kinda Frat!Rhett stuff that's written down the road, I'll be sure to tag you in it (lol).

THE DETAIL IN THIS!!! THE WAY I CAN SEE ALL OF IT!!!

I need to know about the apple pie. I need it more than any other basic human need - I need to know. But also poor dudes walking into a bakery!

I'm dropping something special into your inbox later tonight - a little frat!Rhett/Delta Tau special just for you! Your thoughts forever keep me entertained, your brain is incredible!

Everyone give Mary all the hugs and love for how well we are fed!!

#letters to mo #auroralightsthesky 🪩#frat!rhett abbott

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acourtofladydeath · 8 months

Text

Nessian Week Teaser!

Less than 3 days until Nessian week!!! Figured I'd drop a little teaser here for everyone else who is as excited as me. This excerpt comes from the Nessian Resolution chapter of my ongoing fic "3 Jewels in the Hewn City", which will be posted for Day 7: free day of Nessian Week.

NSFW Under the break, minors do not engage:

~~~

Much more slowly than she had mere minutes before court started, Nesta began to undo the buckles of Cassian’s leathers as she began to explain just exactly what she had in store for him. “Well, mate, seeing as how we both seem to have won and lost our game, it seems only fair that we each get a turn in the driver's seat playing with each other's toys. And I’ve decided that I’m going first, seeing as that coincides better with the end goal we both have in mind.” Cassian shuddered at her words, needing to be touched and straining to get out of his leathers and her damn cage. He moved to begin helping her undress him, but was quickly stopped as she grabbed both his wrists.

“Ah ah, Cassian. It’s my turn to play. You will not touch, you will not move, and you will not speak unless spoken to. Have I made myself clear?” Cassian groaned in ecstasy. Normally he was the one taking the reins of their more intense sexual escapades, but it seemed for once that Nesta wanted to control the scene. And he was more than happy to oblige.

“Yes sweetheart.”

“Red, yellow, green color system love, as per usual. You know the drill.” Yes. Cassian certainly did know the drill. He just wasn’t typically the one on this side of the playing field. He nodded at Nesta, who was still undressing him, taking his armor off piece by piece in the slowest possible manner.

When she was finally done, she walked over to her bedside table where Cassian had laid out many of their typical favorites. From the top of the pile, Nesta chose a black silk blindfold and a pair of matching black handcuffs. She came around the bed to stand in front of her now naked mate whose cock was already straining painfully against the metal confines of Nesta’s cage and gave him a wicked smile.

“On your knees, general. Hands together in front of you. I’m going to tie you up now, and take as much time with you as I want.”

~~~

I hope ya'll are as excited as I am! If you haven't read this fic yet and want to catch up on the first 5 chapters (which I suggest) before next week, here is the link to chapter 1 on AO3!

#nessian week teaser #3 jewels in the hewn city #nessianweek2023 #acotar smut #acotar fanfic #nessian #nesta x cassian #nesta archeron x cassian #cassian x nesta #nessian smut #acosf fanfic #acosf smut #nesta archeron #cassian #nesta #lady death #lord of bloodshed

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sansxfuckyou · 11 months

Text

Alt-human

Summary: It runs in the family, somehow Tommy is till caught off guard when he starts to mutate. Although that shock is still nothing compared to having the both of his brothers home.

Warnings: War mention, implied human testing, Ao3 port with full tags.

Authors Note: Finally a dsmp fic, written by me, where Quackity isn't a prick and SNF isn't the focus, never thought it would happen, but here we are. @sobredunia @h3xt0r @samathekittycat and @plutoprophecy only two of ya'll got snippets and previews but fuck it, I am wayyy too proud of this to not tag all of you. This was originally going to be a lot longer, but I wanted it to get done up before June was over, and I sorta lost motivation for it partway through. What I have no wraps it up nicely as some family feels, anyways, reblogs are dearly appreciated if you gave it a read.

"Not human?" Tommy asked the doctor hesitantly, his nails dug into the pleather of the cot as he spoke.

The doctor nodded, "Yep, soon enough you'll have sprouted a tail and grown some fur."

Fear washed over Tommy in waves, "Oh."

"Don't worry, there are lots of jobs for mutants," The doctor said, trying to be gentle as she spoke, "Like janitorial duties, garbage man, being a builder- lot's of places for the likes of your kin," Not a hint of malice was on her voice but Tommy still felt threatened.

"But, I'll get cast out of society! I'll get trashed in seconds!" Tommy exclaimed, terror was on his voice and he swears he can feel the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up. He threw out his hands as he did so, and all of a sudden his tail bone aches. He hisses in pain as a similar ache transfers to the top of his skull and the tips of his fingers.

"That may happen, but there are plenty of people out there like you, you'll find mutants like yourself sooner than later," The doctor said with a bit of a sigh on her voice at the sudden distress coming from Tommy, "I can prescribe pain killers until the morph is complete but otherwise there isn't anything else that I can do."

Tommy nodded, "Alright, do you know anywhere I can find any mutant groups?"

The doctor shook her head, "Sadly, I do not know of any groups, and considering how late signs have started to show for you I wouldn't be shocked if they won't let you in."

"Whys that?" Tommy asked carefully.

"At your age people have already morphed and been deemed a full human, and if a full human, then most of them have a habit of berating mutants," The doctor said, and in an instant Tommy was raking his memory for any instance of him torturing a mutant on any level, but he just couldn't find a clean slate of the notions.

Tommy nodded, "Alright, so, I'm screwed if I have?"

"Nope, although, I do know an Enderian whose consistently looking for late bloomers, he claims that he's searching for some form of equality," The doctor explained as Tommy nodded along, already rather uncomfortable in the doctors office, "I think he's just lonely- you'll know him when you see him, half black, half white, real tall, long tail."

"I'll keep an eye out for him, take my tylenol, and drink water; I know the drill," Tommy explained, he brought a hand to rub the back of his neck, and he was so much more aware of his bristly the hair at the back of his neck felt.

"I'll see you for a followup in a week, so how the progressions coming along

," The doctor said calmly.

Tommy stood to take his leave, the ache in his tail bone force him to crook himself at an awkward angle. A mounting pressure, he wondered distantly if this was what giving birth felt like, he shot down the thought because that was stupid. This is just numb and stinging and it won't end anytime soon, while hes heard that birth is searing hot and noisy and ends within hours of its start. It just hurts and he wants it to be over, but a part of him knows that won't be over until hes thrown out of society.

He turns back to the doctor, "Could I have some of those painkillers now?" A nervous chuckle is on his voice as he braces his balance by holding onto the chair closest to him, he is no way in hell making it out to the parking lot to find his dad.

"You can have some Tylenol until we can get your prescription, I'll write it up for you right now," The doctor said, she opened up the cabinet as she did so, pulling down a bottle of Tylenol and shaking two out before grabbing a small cup of water.

By the time she was done with that Tommy was already on the chair, he felt like crying. He knew that growing pains was a thing but this was most certainly not growing pains and it definitely was not this bad very often. The stress perhaps, maybe it was the fear, something or other made it flare up.

"Can I just, sit here for a bit?" Tommy asked, a strain on his voice as he tried to sit comfortably despite the way his coccyx was screaming at him and his head was simply pounding.

"Of course dear," The doctor said, jotting down a prescription as Tommy downed the Tylenol, "Would you like me to grab your pills as well?"

"Yes please," He sounds tired, he looks worn out, it just hurts and he doesn't know why it hurts or how to make it stop until the Tylenol kicks in.

"Alright, just stay put until I come back," The doctor said before promptly leaving.

Tommy heaved a sigh as he slumped back into his chair, he gave a groan of pain as the weight shifted directly onto the hurting spot. He started to wonder what life would be like as a mutant, he's sure he'd pick up a janitorial job of some sort, meet some others and get along just dandy and fine. He brings a hand to his head and rubs at the sore lumps, his hair is scraggy enough to cover it up but he wonders when he'll just have ears on the top of his head, or if his human ears will go away.

He wonders what'll happen when his brothers find out, he made fun of the both of them up until they moved out. He thought he was gonna be a full human, not a mutant. And he knew better than to tease and chide out in public, hell, he even defended them once or twice, but hes still scared. He had no one to protect him either, his parents will try, but what good will they be. And he's sure that his friends will abandon him because they're all full humans and he isn't. His brothers would protect him though, where he only used words they would use their fists and their advantages.

His brothers, Wilbur the Phantling, Techno the Suidae, and him, Tommy the human. But he isn't human anymore now, he's just a mutant now, like his two brothers who he hasn't heard from in years. His father was a mutant, his mutant was a full human, he just supposed he got the recessive gene. Apparently he hasn't and he's just a late bloomer, he should've stayed in touch with Wilbur and Techno, maybe if he hadn't teased them so much they would've kept in touch.

Regret washes over him in undulating waves as the drugs start to kick in. When the doctor returns with his pills he takes them and gives his thanks, the Tylenol kicking in. He can walk without his steps being disjointed and the headache that threatened to come in has shoved off. Tommy still found himself with his head hung as he made his way to Phils car, at least there was no way he could lose the car what with it's god awful collection of bumper stickers.

"How was the appointment?" Phil asked gently as Tommy awkwardly shuffled into the front seat and pulled on his seat belt.

Tommy gave grunt as he leaned his head back.

"What did they say?" Phil asked, shifting his words slightly, trying to pry an answer from his son.

"I'm a mutant," Tommy said, he opened his eyes and shifted in his seat, "Who knows what kind."

"They couldn't figure it out?" Phil asked, Tommy shook his head.

"You're a shifter dad, how could they find out? Your last two kids were a Suidaw and Phantling, and you stay with those massive wings out all the time- and only god knows what form you took when you knocked up mum," Tommy explained, lifting a finger every time he raised a point of some sort, Phil chuckled a bit.

"I don't think that's how genetics work Tommy," Phil said, glancing to his son, "I know an Enderian you could get in touch with, he's a little bit quiet though."

"Yeah, the doctor mentioned one of those, whats his name?" Tommy asked, slumping further into the seat as he did so. He reached out to touch Phils wings and the shifter fluffed them up in an almost agitated manner, a few feathers fell from their spot.

Phil shrugged, "Ranboo, he's a nice kid, around your age; he gave me his business card a while back, not sure if he'll talk until you look like a mutant."

Tommy heaved a sigh, "Yay," He shifted barely an inch but a spark of pain tore through his lower half and he groaned in pain.

"The doc gave you some painkillers right?" Phil asked, Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, she gave a Tylenol too," Tommy said as he moved around again, the Tylenol should've prevented that pain.

"No Advil? What a sham, as soon as we get home you're lying down and waiting until the Tylenol is almost done, then you're taking the actual painkiller," Phil instructed, Tommy opened his mouth to argue, "End of story, I'm not in a mood to listen to you moaning about how much it hurts all day long."

"Fine," Tommy said, a bit of a growl on his voice.

---

The following weeks were absolute hell for Tommy, what's a kid supposed to do with a tail and ears growing in. It doesn't even look like it, it just hurts, and maybe one day he'll just wake up with a fully furred tail and ears. The only development he can see is in his hands, faint bristles of grey fur growing in as his nails shift to claws. Never has he ever wanted his brothers to come the fuck home since they moved out more than right now.

Sure, he's gotten in touch with the Enderian, but because he doesn't look enough like a mutant he isn't allowed into the group. He just has to sit steady and wait for the pressure in his tail bone and the constant headaches to end. Having Phil there to consistently chide him and keep him home from school isn't helping much either, he's just glad that he has most of his textbooks on hand instead of falling entirely behind.

He really doesn't expect to wake up in the morning to find a message from his older brother, simply asking how he's doing.

As much as that should make him feel ecstatic because he hasn't gotten any sign of life from Wilbur in years, it doesn't because he's so tired and sore. He sends back a 'hi' and a 'fine' before pocketing his phone and stumbling down the stairs, his balance feels way off. More so than usual, and he swears the pain is different and that the world is just a little bit louder. He grips the railing and he has to hold his hand differently than usual, still unsure of how to retract his claws (if he can).

He doesn't even bother mumbling a 'morning' to Phil, opting to head to the cupboard instead. He pulls down a bowl and a box of cereal, it's half empty even though he's sure they got it just two days ago, maybe he sleep eats sometimes. He wouldn't blame himself if he did, chocolate cheerios are absolutely amazing, he pours himself a bowl and grabs a spoon. He can't bring himself to add more than a splash of milk before heading out to the living room, crunching on the semi-dry cereal as he did so.

His vision was blurry and he was in too much of a half asleep stupor to even give a greeting to whoever it was that Phil had invited over. He takes a seat in the center of couch but he has to change how he sits cause there's a bit of pressure on his back that hurts. He takes another bite of cereal and places down the bowl, and then two of sets of not human arms are catching him in a hug. He gives a yelp of surprise and tries to push them off, the tusks in his shoulder and the feathers and scales against his face. He keeps shoving, tail thrashing about as his ears swivel left and right, trying to get a grip on whose visiting as he glances back and forth.

It takes him a moment longer to recognize who exactly has him ensnared in affection than he'd like to admit.

Tommy is simply rendered speechless at the fact of the matter that the two people hugging him are his older brothers. He was sure that both of them were dead, but, life likes to play him as the chump sometimes. Cause of course Techno and Wilbur decided to just drop in for no reason when he starts to mutate. When he's let go of he doesn't let them leave because who knows if they're just dropping by for one hug and then leaving for another couple years.

"So dad called up and told us you're a mutant," Wilbur began, arms staying firmly locked around Tommys torso, his leathery and feathery wings clamped to his back.

"We came as soon as we could," Techno chimed in helpfully, one arm slung around both Wilbur and Tommy, he tried to tilt his head so a tusk wouldn't dig into the youngest brother too much.

"I thought you guys were dead," Tommy choked out, his voice was strained and he hadn't felt this awake since the night he realized they weren't coming back (but they did come back).

Wilbur gave a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, I probably should've sent some texts, job forbid from it," He rested his head on top of Tommys, chin resting between two soft Procyonidae ears, gray fur soft and smooth.

"War isn't exactly a place with good wifi most of the time," Techno said, a hand coming to rustle between the striped fur of Tommys tail, it was new but it was no doubt his brother in every aspect. A scruffy little scavenger, no with the mutant hybridization to prove it.

Tommy twisted his head to stare at Techno in shock, "You were at war?"

Techno nodded, "Yep, wanna see some cool scars?" He was already gesturing to one tearing through his eyes, "I got this one when some fucker decided to get up real close, and real personal."

"Wilbur, what job did you take up?" Tommy asked, turning to his other brother, fear laced his voice.

Wilbur shrugged, "Nothing too extreme, something of the government varietal, they just fired me so I thought I'd drop by, be out of your hair-"

"No! Don't go again, do you have the slightest idea how annoying living with dad can be?" Tommy asked, unable to stop the words from escaping, he hadn't seen either of his brothers for so long, and now at least one of them is leaving all over again. He speaks quieter as his ears flatten to his head, "I missed you guys."

"I was just joking! I wouldn't leave you again even if you paid me," Wilbur said, squeezing his brother just a little tighter, serpentine tail with frayed frills wrapping around his brothers waist, "I promise man."

"I gladly second that," Techno added on, smoothly shifting his cape atop both of his brothers. He easily overpowered the both of them combined, and he definitely had to actively try not to hurt them when he pulled them in tighter, "The war sucked ass, I'll never go back unless you two are with me."

"I'll hold you to that," Tommy said, a bit of a sniffle on his voice as he clutched his brothers even closer.

"You better," Techno spoke back, voice quiet and almost a growl, to Tommy and Wilbur it sounded like home, like video game nights getting too competitive, like someone making fun of the youngest or the oldest.

"I expect that you do," Wilbur added on, voice a soft tenor, a dulcet calm that reminded Tommy and Techno of when mom first died and he took up singing Tommy to sleep, of the talent show in grade school and middle school, of verbal throw downs whenever someone dared to even look at any of them the wrong way.

The sound of creaking footsteps caught all of them off guard, but they still didn't dare let go because who knows when they'll get to be at each others side next. Phil walked down, wings crooked and feathers askew, he was sipping on a day old to go mug of coffee. He looked beyond tired, but he perked up when he saw all three of his sons stuck in a pile on the couch for the first time in years. His pace picked up a little bit until he nearly tripped on the final stair.

"You both made it over the border, thank fuck," Phil said, a sigh of relief on his voice as he collapsed down beside Techno, he outstretched a wing that his Suidae son leaned into, leaving Tommy and Wilbur behind.

Techno hummed, "Yep, thanks for emailing us those documents in the middle of the night."

Phil nodded, "Hey man, whatever it takes to get all three of my sons back in the same house, I'd fly you over the border if I had to."

Wilbur to hold back a snort of laughter, "I'd like to see you try and carry Techno with that Elytrian form, he's all muscle dad," As if to prove his point he reached over and pressed on Technos forearm, there was zero give past the fabric.

"Indeed I am," Techno said, he was so bold as to raise an arm and flex, he used that same arm to yank Tommy into a hug again, the mutants tail flicked, "I could easily carry all three of you at once if I so desired."

Phil scoffed, "Please, you could barely lift me an inch off the ground when you left," He pressed a hand to his chest in an eloquent manner as he spoke.

Techno slid off the couch and stood at full posture, Phil had to crane his neck just a little bit.

"Okay, yeah, maybe you could," Phil said, voice quiet as he spoke, Techno chuckled a bit at that.

"Wanna find out?" Techno asked, a grin on his face as he held out a hand, Phil gladly stood beside his first son, to find that he had grown many inches taller since he left.

Tommy simply watched as Techno easily hauled Phil onto his back, the Elytrian shifter spreading out his wings as he latched on for dear life.

Wilbur grinned a bit, "Hold still!" He was quick to pull out his phone and snap a pic, "This'll make killer album art."

"Album art?" Tommy spoke quietly, unaware his brother was making full albums.

"Hell yeah! I got into making some music, a couple singles got onto the radio, I finished up my first album a while back," Wilbur explained, he sounded simply ecstatic to be talking about this with someone who hadn't already heard it. Tommy nodded along as he listened to his brother speak.

"I've definitely heard your singles on the radio before," Tommy said, a soft smile was on his face.

"He puts them on loop!" Phil simply barged in with the accusation as he positioned himself to have most of his weight on Technos shoulder.

"I do not!" Tommy shot back despite how true it was. Of course he'd loop the songs, how else was he supposed to remember his brothers voice. He couldn't not loop those songs, it was how he stayed sane at night, having a chance to believe that Wilbur was alive despite the dread that it might just be someone who sounded like him.

Wilbur reached over to ruffle Tommys hair, "I'm flattered bro- I been lyric crafting, writing some chords about coming back home, I'll need everyone's personal opinion," He glanced up to Techno, "That includes you to brute!"

"You know I'm bad at music!" Techno spat back at Wilbur as he rolled his eyes.

"You're just bad at working out your emotions, so many songs are inside of you Techno! And I will tear them out if it's the last thing I do," Wilbur said, it sounded like a threat but there was no doubt caring undertones to it.

"You've tried before Wilbur! It won't work," Techno shrugged off Phil as he spoke, the Elytrian shifter flaring his wings out as he landed for balance.

Wilbur stood up, walked two steps closer, and pressed a finger to Technos chest. A smug grin was on the Phantlings face as he spoke, tilting his head just a bit to get eye contact, "Watch me."

Techno shoved away Wilbur who flared out his wings, "You can try and unravel my war stories after you're done with your genetic testing stories," Venom was on Technos voice and he couldn't help it, the instant hurt on Wilburs face was indeed gut wrenching.

"Dude," Was all Wilbur got out, voice a rasp, "You know that's what my songs are about," His voice was even quieter when he spoke this time, he felt a shake coming on, "You know I don't like to talk about it."

Phil stepped between them, "And that'll be enough for today," He pushed them both away from each other.

"Sorry," Techno got out, he sounded worried more than anything, he should've known better than to spit that at Wilbur.

Wilbur took a step back, the shake he felt was growing stronger and he felt a sting at the corners of his eyes. He clamped his wings to his back, "I, I'm heading to my room," He sounded impossibly strained as he spoke, trying to hold back tears as he left.

Phil glared at Techno, "Alright, in fifteen minutes you're going up there and telling him you're sorry."

"But-" Techno tried to get out, Phil raised a brow.

"You may be twice my size but you're under my roof again, and I don't want any discord between the two of you," Phil said, "Understood?"

"Understood," Techno lowered his gaze to the floor as he spoke.

"Good, now I'll be back when Wilburs ready to hear your apology," Phil said, pivoting on a heel to leave.

Techno heaved a sigh before dropping down on the couch next to Tommy. He brought one leg up, knee to his chest and he rested his chin on it, tusks on either side.

"Wilbur got tested on?" Tommy asked quietly, Techno nodded.

"Yeah, he didn't want anyone to know about it though; the things he was allowed was a pen, paper, and one other thing, he chose a guitar," Techno explained, "All of those songs everyone heard on the radio are about his time in the labs and wanting to come home, no one knows about that except for me, Philza, and now you."

Tommy nodded, he wasn't quite sure what to say, he reached around to grasp his tail. The fur was striped, it consisted of black and gray hues, he was a bit too shocked to focus on that though, "Oh, yeah, that explains some of the lines then," Tommy leaned onto Techno, "He'll probably forgive you soon enough."

Techno shook his head, his whip like tail, much more akin to a boars than a pig, coiled around his waist. He heaved a sigh, "He won't, trust me, last person who found he excommunicated entirely."

"We're family, that's different," Tommy said, wrapping an arm around his brothers shoulders, Techno leaned the side of his head against the top of Tommys.

"I guess," He wraps his arms around Tommys torso and rests a bit more of his weight on his Procyon brother who feels a bit of an ache.

"Techno, as much as this is great all, hugs 'n shit, I'm not that strong," Tommy said, trying to speak swiftly and get across his point, Techno instantly pulled back.

"Sorry," The Suidae said quietly, leaning the opposite direction, "Hows high school been treating you?"

Tommy gesticulated vaguely with his hands, "As it treats everyone else."

Techno gave a snort of laughter, "Tommy, me and Wilbur went to school mutated- how am I supposed to know what it's like for a normal?"

"Well, um, I still got bullied after you guys left, it just, felt like it was worse cause you two weren't around," Tommy explained, a wave of unfiltered rage washed over Techno but he shoved it aside. Of course Tommy still got bullied, of course having the mutants leave wouldn't make it stop. Tommy paused for a moment, "Cafeteria food was good, I got the stuff that counted as 'real food' compared to what the mutants got."

Techno nodded along, "Yeah, at least the food for the mutants has gotten better since I was your age," He shuddered at the sorry excuse of food that the school system tried to feed him on the days he forgot his lunch at home. He swears the full humans made a game of who could get the most in his mouth and down his throat, jokes on them, he could break their spines even more swiftly than he could back then.

"Oh yeah, they're given real potatoes and gravy now, sometimes they even have spare fruit or vegetables on the side," Tommy explained, he was probably speaking louder than he needed too.

"Nice, finally something the school is doing right," Techno said, a bit of a smug look on his face, "Back in my day we had sludge, we theorized what it was but could never figure out the true concoction."

Tommy shuddered, the fur on his tail stood on end causing it to double in size, "Gross," Techno hummed in agreement.

"Super gross," Techno said, a grin on his face, the tusks barely obscured it, "Do we still have that one type of candy lying around?"

"Like, the caramels Wilbur loved so much?" Tommy asked, Techno nodded, "Totally, Phil has recently fallen in love with Werthers caramels."

"How old is he getting?" Techno asked with a bit of laughter on his voice as he followed Tommy to the kitchen, he watched inquisitively as Tommy moved around a chair and perched himself on it.

"Old," Tommy answered with a shrug as he swung open a cupboard door and grabbed the first bag, not caramels, the second, some organic crap, the third, caramels. He tossed the bag down to Techno who easily caught it and tore open the plastic on his tusk, the sweet scent instantly bombarded him.

"Figured as much," He unwrapped a caramel with one hand as he headed upstairs, Tommy followed.

Neither of them dared to knock on Wilburs door when they arrived at the Phantlings room, Tommy could hear crying, so could Techno. Technos grip on the bag of Werthers caramel tightened, he hesitantly brought a hand to knock on the door. In an instant the crying came to a stop.

"Go away!" Wilburs voice was muffled through the door.

Techno pursed his lips before speaking, "I have caramel."

There was a brief pause of silence, then footsteps, and Wilbur was opening the door. He looked like a mess, his tail was wrapped around his waist and he had fresh tears on his face. He held out his hand expectantly and Techno placed a single candy in his older brothers hand.

"Sorry," Techno got out quietly as Wilbur scarfed down the caramel.

"It's fine, can I have another one?" Wilbur asked with a bit of a sniffle on his voice, he brought the back of his hand to wipe the tears from his face, "That lab testing didn't fix my metabolism."

"Just take the whole thing," Techno said, shoving the bag into Wilburs hands, "It's an apology, I guess."

Wilbur grabbed another caramel, "Thanks," He glanced to Tommy, "Nice tail bro."

Tommy looked down at his tail which he indeed had, it was pretty large. He flicked it experimentally, a grin on his face, "Barely noticed it," Wilbur gave a snort of laughter.

"You've had it all day," The musician stated.

"And I've had my brothers back all day too Wilbur, I find my family more important than myself sometimes!" Tommy snapped back with, pointing at Wilbur as he did so, the fur on his tail bristled and he was aware of it now.

"Fair enough, fair enough," Wilbur said, cracking caramels between his fangs as he spoke, "Wanna take a look at some of my lyrics I've been working on?"

Tommy nodded eagerly, so did Techno.

Wilbur gave a soft smile, "Then come on in, I got my guitar ready and everything."

#dsmp #dsmp fic #dsmp fanfic #tommyinnit #technoblade #wilbur soot #philza #shit i did the worst possible job tagging this #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #fan fic #fan fiction

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