#I one day will get a DNA test and finally figure it out but yeah crazy shit

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

really weird fun fact about me,

okay this needs some backstory before it makes sense.

so my nonni know this couple, one is from Trinidad and one is german.

the German one's father was a literal nazi no joke, actual nazi from nazi Germany he also kept a shit ton of journals from nazi era Germany and those probably should be scanned or archived in some form but story for another day.

anyway, so my nonni's friends father was a literal nazi that guy must of stolen a shit ton of stuff ngl but when he died he left it all to his son, my nonni's friend.

and among that stuff was a random brass candelabra, my nonni's friend (the one from Trinidad) was like "here have it, I'm not using it or want it"

so, my nonni now have this brass candelabra. I was living in their house at the time and me and my family were playing around with it.

because you could move the different candle holder branches, and we realised we could make them straight in a line.

and low and behold, it was a FUCKING MENORAH

just.. a random menorah??? that doubled as a candelabra, honestly sweet design choice.

but, my nonni just. have a random menorah now, that is 500% stolen.

so to whoever's family lost a brass menorah that doubles as a candelabra good news! it's perfectly fine!

and that is the random fun fact.

#-pop #nazi cw #nazi mention #other random bits that are important the guy in the story is currently 80 something and uses a wheelchair #he's just a guy his father was awful but he's not his father #also it's pretty funny my nonni have a menorah considering one of them probably is ethnically jewish (yeah we can't really pin it down sinc #who the fuck has birth documents for a random rural ass Italian family there was kinda no way too know bc the records don't really go- #back that far. and also bc like I don't live in Italy and can't go on a pilgrimage to go figure that out it also considering that one of my #other bisnonni was a literal orphan and we know nothing about her mother or anything past that so who the hell actually knows #I one day will get a DNA test and finally figure it out but yeah crazy shit #like you go to my nonni's house and there's just a menorah by the window lol

[ur-fav-inactive-writer]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫/𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐨'𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞...

Being Luthers daughter would be rather boring

You never knew who your mother was, Luther had been with a few women on missions and one day you appeared on the doorstep. They DNA tested you and you and Luther were a match

(Yes I'm aware in canon Luther is a virgin until he goes to some furry convention but shhhh, its for the story)

Because he was on the moon, you didn't get to see him for so long

You became adjusted to being raised by Grace

You, like your father, had been born with special abilities. You didn't find out for years what it was but as you got older you discovered that you had the power of telekinesis

When Luther was around when you were younger, he was a very boring dad

You'd be grounded instantly for the tiniest things

There were very few times you had fun with him when you were much younger, he rarely ever had time for you

Then he had to go to moon and that was the last time you saw him for years

There were very high expectations for you after being raised by Grace, Reginald and Pogo for 4 years while your father was gone

Reginald decided to train you, even called you number eight

Grace never referred to you as number eight, only ever by name

You were taught by them so you were very smart

They kept you inside, not many people knew of your existence, only those you lived with knew about you

Once Reginald had died, you met the rest of your family

And you were also reunited with your dad

He was much bigger when he came back, but so were you

When he saw you for the first time he was rather shocked

"(Y-Y/N)? Is that you?"

"Well.. yeah. Thought you might recognise your own daughter."

"O-oh, you're just so much... older."

"Thats kinda how aging works, dad."

As boring as he was as a father, you were so happy to be reunited with him

Once you started talking to Klaus though, you were wreaking havoc constantly

You got to meet Allison and quickly sensed something between her and your dad, which was weird considering she was your aunt

It was probably nothing.. right?

Diego didn't exactly like you in the beginning because you were Luthers daughter

He quickly learned to love you once he learned you weren't like Luther, he loved to team up against your dad with you

He always took you out and let you do things your dad never let you do, doing all this just to spite your dad and it worked

"Diego! I told you she wasn't allowed to have that!"

"No shit, that's why I did it"

You just stood in the corner laughing, thinking of the next thing you'd get Diego to do for you

Meeting Five was... strange

He was impressed by your smarts compared to Luther

You didn't ever get a chance to properly bond with Five, yknow with all the saving the world stuff

Your dad didn't really like you being around Viktor, he thought that if you tried bonding with him he'd spill your secrets and even reveal your existence and put you in danger

You had never actually left the house so once you met your uncles and they let you out of the house, you were ecstatic

Once you got to the 1960s, you felt so lost and lonely

You'd never been by yourself before, it was terrifying for you, you had always been with someone

You had to try find your way around a world you'd barely ever explored, eventually you learned how to navigate yourself and be by yourself

Well not entirely by yourself, when people found some strange teenage girl wandering around by herself, looking scared to death they took you to an orphanage and you stayed there for 2 years

People never wanted to adopt teenagers, especially not when they were nearing adulthood. Until one day when you were called into a room to meet someone

It was your dad, he had somehow figured out where you were, you soon learned he had found out because of his boss but you didnt care, you were just overjoyed to see your dad again

He took you back to some random store, where you were reunited with your family, you couldn't have been happier to finally see everyone again. Though you didn't know your family that well, you loved them more than anything and when they saw you, they leaped to hug you.

You had to attend the family dinner with your dad, uncles and aunt

You just sat there awkwardly throughout the whole experience, Reginald was shocked to learn he had a grandchild and was further shocked by your intelligence

You demonstrated your powers to him and began to recite things he had taught you, he kept you behind after the dinner to talk to you

Luther was very opposed to this idea but allowed it to happen

When you were at the farm and the battle began, your father was purely focused on protecting you. As the bullets flew through the air, he picked you up and used himself as your personal shield. Your eyes were ringing from the sounds of the shots and he covered your ears for you

You were terrified, you'd never really been exposed to this before. The only time that you had experienced something like this was at the bowling alley and at Viktors violin show but even that didn't even compare to what you were experiencing there.

Once all the commission was wiped out, you were in the barn, watching as Diego had a heart to heart with Lila until a shot rang out

Diego collapsed to the floor, the handler stood in the doorway with a gun and suddenly

She fired it at all of you

You collapsed to the floor

Then Five reversed time and you then had to travel back to your original timeline.

Well, you thought it was the original timeline

(Not gonna do HC for season 3 in this because there's already so much for Luther)

𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐨, #2

Diego is a funnish (???) dad

You came from a one night stand that Diego forgot about

Nearly a year later, Al called him to tell him a 3 month-old had just been dropped off at the gym and it apparently belonged to Diego

Though, as soon as he saw you, he remembered the hook up because you looked just like your mother will small resemblances to Diego

He was scared to be a dad, his father was so cruel, abusive and distant

Diego didn't want you to be raised with the same hatred that he had for his own father

He's a busy guy, you were mostly raised at the gym with Al

You were also raised by Eudora, she was like a mother to you

But any free time Diego had, he was determined to spend with you

He loved you dearly, he lived for you

When you were much younger, around 4, you had wandered out of Al's sight and watched your dad training

You were inspired by watching your dad train, you wanted to try too

Diego heard some small grunts and looked over to you

There you were, mimicking the sounds and punching moved he was making, his heart melted

But he was very mad at Al for letting you wander out of sight

After seeing you, he decided to start training you

You had lots of fun with your dad

You went to public school, your dad couldn't afford anything fancy

If you ever got detentions, Diego would just laugh, he found it hilarious

When he was with Eudora, she encouraged you to be a good student, you rarely listened but you truly loved her so you did try

Then your grandfather died, which meant Diego had to attend his funeral, but he didnt want you staying at the gym for too long by yourself and decided to take you with him

That's when you finally met the rest of your family, they were rather shocked to learn Diego had a kid

When Eudora died, your heart broke, you just cried, cried and cried

Diego attempted to comfort you but it didn't work too well, you really did miss her

You were used to being around Klaus, your dad often picked him up from jail when he got in trouble or would find him on the side of the road and take him back to your place

Klaus was fascinated to know that he now had another niece, he bonded with you quickly and took care of you when Diego was gone

Well, he tried to take care of you, he more messed around with you whilst Ben reminded him to be gentle and responsible with you

Klaus was your best friend, you didn't get along with a lot of people at school and Klaus was your escape from that

He was so funny and eccentric, he was way better than all the kids at school. Diego didn't think the same, he thought Klaus was a bad influence on you but you never cared

Meeting the rest of your family was certainly strange

Luther didn't exactly like you but fuck him, he was annoying anyway so you didn't care

Allison liked you slightly more because you reminded her of Claire in some ways

Your dad didn't let you speak to Viktor, the most you could do was give an awkward wave

It was strange to finally meet your family, but you were happy you did

(Sorry loves, I'm not gonna write much for Diego because I've already done something pretty much exactly like this in the past)

(A/N) : Hope you enjoy reading this, I really hate it but i hope you guys like it!

Taglist: @book-place @shefollowedthestars

#ur fav inactive writer #tua #diego hargreeves #luther hargreeves #luther hargreeves x reader #diego hargreeves x daughter!reader #diego hargreeves x reader #luther hargreeves x daughter!reader #five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #klaus hargreeves #klaus hargreeves x reader #allison hargreeves #allison hargreeves x reader #ben hargreeves #ben hargreeves x reader

[phantom-dc]

Dad Hood - part 8

‘So, he just showed up in your appartement?’

Tim was still confused how Danny ended up in Jason’s care. At least he wasn’t the only one, as Jason still doesn’t know either. And of course this was the one thing Danny’s memory kept failing him on.

‘I told you, one moment I was alone, and the next he was just sitting on the floor. I don’t know how he didn’t set off any alarms.’

The brothers were both looking at Danny, who was playing with his stuffed bunny, none the wiser to their conversation. That was boring adult stuff, and the adventures of Mr. Bun-Bun were much more interesting.

‘You don’t think he could’ve teleported inside, do you?’

Jason took another swing of his beer. ‘Honestly, the kid pulls a new power out of his ass every other day. If he did, it wouldn’t surprise me.’

They were waiting. Tim had convinced Jason that they needed go talk to Talia and get more information from her. The DNA-test wasn’t as useful as Jason had hoped, but knowing for certain that Talia was involved gave them a new lead to follow. Tim had managed to find out which LoA base Talia was in at the moment, but that had left one problem to figure out.

‘How long do you think it’ll take for him to get here?’

There was no way Jason was bringing Danny along to a LoA base. Apart from the obvious dangers like the ninja’s, Jason didn’t want Danny anywhere near a Lazarus Pit. The kid had enough of that stuff in his system as is. Knowing Danny, he’d say something about spicy soup and slurp the whole thing up with a straw! Well, maybe not, but it wouldn’t surprise Jason if that did happen.

‘Should be any moment now. It’s only 3 days, can’t take that long to pack a suitcase for that.’

So in short, Tim and Jason were leaving for the LoA base, and Danny stayed here. That meant:

‘Hey, I’m here! What’s the emergency? Where are we going?’

Nightwing climbed through the window behind Tim and Jason. Dragging a suitcase clumsily through the window, he toppled over once it popped through. The noise had startled Danny, who had promptly gone invisible.

‘Hey, Dick! Glad you could finally make it.’ Tim stood up from the couch to help Dick up.

‘Yeah, yeah. In case you didn’t know traffic out of Blüdhaven is always the worst. Plus I had to change out into my suit on the way. So, what’s the problem. Must be pretty serious if Tim was willing to cash in his blackmail.’ Dick stretches his legs, before dropping down on the couch as well.

Jason stands up and gathers the supplies he had set out. ‘We’re having a bit of a problem with my case. So we’re heading to Egypt, where Talia is setting up another LoA base and interrogate her.’

Dick stands up as well. ‘So, we’re going to Egypt? But you guys told me to bring regular clothes. It sounded like a Gotham mission?’

Tim puts his hand on Dick’s shoulder, pushing him back on the couch. ‘No, Dick. Me and Jason are going to Egypt. You’re staying right here.’ Tim took his own bag and headed to the window.

Dick was now very confused. ‘Hold on. You’re cashing in your blackmail and pulled me all the way from Blüdhaven, just so I could house-sit for Jason?’

Jason smirked. Knowing instinctively where Danny was, he picked the invisible boy up and turned back to Dick. Tickling the kid to make him drop his invisibility, Jason showed Danny to Dick.

‘Nope! Not house-sitting. You’re baby-sitting!’

That had been 3 nights ago. Dick was looking at the kid. It had been just three nights. Three nights! And Dick was already at his wits end. Danny was a meta, and a wild one! No, not wild. Just, a lot to handle. Jason had just left him, only leaving a notebook and the food in the fridge! Sure, he had already been tired. He had just finished a case, but not yet had the time to rest. Danny had immediately jumped on Dick, asking all sorts of questions.

‘Uncle Dick, what are these?’

Dick immediately rushed to get his Ecrisma sticks out of the 5-year-old’s hands.

‘Those are my weapons. Don’t touch them, they are very dangerous!’

He swears this kid has the survival instinct of a hamster. Knives, sockets, if it was dangerous Danny wanted to know all about it. And he was the type of kid that wanted to touch EVERYTHING.

‘Uncle Dick, why do you dress like that?’

Now that was uncalled for. His clothes were just fine. He wasn't even wearing his uniform, just regular clothes! Maybe the superman logo on his hoodie threw the kid off?

‘This is just my hoodie. I just like Superman, that’s all.’

Dick hadn’t even gotten the time to skim the notebook. Instead he had asked Danny about his allergies, likes and dislikes. That’s probably all that was in there anyway. As long as he didn’t poison the kid everything would be fine.

‘Uncle Dick, what does daddy do for a job?’

Dick rubbed his temples. How does he tell that to a kid? At the end of the day, Jason has killed a lot of people, and still does.

‘He- uh, he puts bad people in the ground.’

Ok, he shouldn’t have said that. Luckily it didn’t seem like Danny dwelled on it too much. Now, if Dick could just get him to sleep, then maybe Dick could-

‘Uncle Dick, what is this?’

Rushing to pull his grappling hook out of Danny’s hands, Dick knew he needed a plan. Danny was most likely bored. With that white hair and glow that Dick had noticed when he turned the lights off, Danny most likely hadn’t been able to leave the appartement. The kid must be climbing up the walls. That gave Dick an idea that hopefully allow Danny to burn off some excess energy.

‘Uncle Dick, when will da-’

‘Hey Danny, do you want to go somewhere fun?’

Thinking no one would be here in the middle of the night, Danny and Nightwing arrived at the playpark. Due to Danny glowing and being an obvious meta, Dick had opted for wearing his Nightwing uniform and giving Danny a spare domino mask. Danny immediately flew to the slide. Seeing that Danny was more than happy to just play, Nightwing sat down on a bench. He was exhausted.

Why had Jason not warned him the kid was a meta? Dick couldn’t take his eyes off Danny for a second! Danny would fly up only to drop down, so Dick needed to catch him. If Danny had too much sugar he would fly around the appartement with breakneck speed, making Dick pray he didn’t fly into something. If Danny didn’t want to go to bed, he’d turn invisible and Dick would be searching for hours! Right as he was finally relaxing a bit, Dick suddenly heard a sound he and his family were acutely aware off.

‘Help!’

Knowing someone was in trouble, Nightwing knew he had to help. But he had to watch Danny! Seeing Danny happily play, he made a decision. One he knew he was going to regret.

‘Danny, I need to go and help someone. Promise me that you’ll stay right here, ok? I’ll be right back!’

Danny gave him a thumbs up, and kept playing with Mr. Bun-Bun on the slide. Nightwing ran to the source of the scream, leaving Danny in the park. He could do this, it’s only be a minute!

Danny was looking at Nightwing leaving, when he noticed something in the other direction. Promise forgotten, he got up and was determined to make a new friend tonight.

A few minutes later, Nightwing was running back. Just a stupid mugger trying to steal a lady’s handbag. He could’ve let the police handle it, but that’s the beauty of hindsight. It didn’t matter, he was almost back at the playpark. Almost back to-

‘Danny?’

Danny was nowhere to be found.

First - Previous - Next - AO3

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dc x dp #dp x dc #red hood #jason todd #dp au #nightwing #dick grayson #red robin #tim drake #dad jason #dad hood

[warmaidensrevenge]

Love and pinball

Pairings: Eddie x Fem!plus size reader

If you want to read my other work you can find it HERE

A/N: Hello my loves. This is the next part in my little series. For those of you who are new, feel free to click the above link to catch up on this fic. Just a warning before the warnings. This ends sadly. So be prepared. Also, I am looking for some help for the 8th and final part of this series. If anyone is interested, please message me. Also, I had a couple of songs that inspired me. They are posted below. As always feedback is greatly appreciated and comments/reblogs are always welcomed. They are what keeps us creators going. Kay love ya byyyyyeeee.

I do not give permission for my work to be posted anywhere else. Respect all creators. Also, all pictures used are from a Google search. A credit to the original posters.

Word count: 3,977

Warnings: 18+ No minors please. Language, angst, sexual implications, death and not proof read.

Part 7: Making the right choice.

Summary: Eddie makes the best decision of his life. But his happiness is short lived.

" It's been a long time, son."

Eddie tensed up a little. " Yeah…how are you?"

His dad chuckled behind the prison glass. " Well I guess I'm doing alright. As well as I can be."

Eddie pressed his lips together. " Right. Sorry."

" So you gonna pussy foot around or you gonna tell your old man why you're here?"

Eddie laughed a little. His dad always did cut to the chase.

"Okay, so normally I go to Wayne when I have a problem. But he's on his way to Nebraska for work and couldn't get a hold of him. I-I need help. Like now."

" Who did you knock up?"

Eddie stood quiet and hung his head. " I got one girl pregnant for sure."

" One?"

He sighed and rubbed his face. " My sorta ex is having a baby too. But it might not be mine."

" What the hell boy?! I know it feels good not wearing a jimmy. But two girls! And what the hell do you mean sorta ex?"

Eddie went on to explain the entire situation. Start to finish. And his dad just sat there shaking his head.

"I really need your help dad. I think I know what I have to do. But I don't want to make the wrong choice here. And regardless of where you are. I still need my dad." Eddie looked back. " I get that things didn't work out with you and mom. But I remember how much you loved her. And how much she loved you…you would do anything for her. So I need you to help me…I love this girl. And I want to marry her one day. I just don't know what to do if my ex has my kid."

Allen looked up at his son and saw the doubt and insecurity there. "Alright. Here it is. Get a DNA test done. And if it's yours make sure you get joint custody. If it's not then go be a good dad to the other. But don't jump from one relationship to the other. Son, you've been in a relationship for your entire adult life. Do you even remember who you used to be? Because I'm looking at you and I don't see my son."

Eddie furrowed his brow. " Well I have grown up since I last saw you."

" I know that. But the Eddie I remember used to be so happy and full of energy. You had plans to play at The Garden…what happened to that guy? Don't tell me all the guitar lessons I paid for are going to waste."

" I just play now for shits and giggles."

" See that's what I'm talking about. I remember a time where that's all you would ever talk about. You said you weren't going to quit."

" I didn't quit, okay! I wasn't good enough."

Allen scoffed. " Bullshit."

" Dad, seriously?"

" Look boy, all I'm sayin' is give yourself some time to figure out who you are without a girl. Figure out who you want to be. Because you only have a few months to get it right. And if I were you…well I would choose the one you can't stop thinkin' about. Your best friend. And if you end up with two kids. Then son you gotta work things out with both. I can't tell you how to do it. But I can tell you no matter what, be a better old man than your old man. Make your kids proud. And be with a woman who loves and respects you as a man."

" So you're saying that I shouldn't be with either one of them?"

" I'm sayin' find the man inside you. All the shit you were doing before was kid shit. Grow up."

…

Eddie left his dad more confused than ever. So he went home.

It was three days later and his first stop was to the apartment.

He took a deep calming and encouraging breath before walking in. The second he did he was instantly annoyed. Jason was there cuddled up with Chrissy on the couch, watching a movie.

They both looked back and genuinely looked surprised to see him.

" Ed? You're back."

He stared at Jason and wanted to throw him out. But then he thought that it didn't matter anymore. Obviously, Chrissy didn't give two shits about his feelings.

" Chrissy, can I speak to you in private?"

She looked at Jason and what looked like her asking permission to do so. Eddie rolled his eyes.

" Yeah. I umm I'll go and get that foot spa for you." Jason said before giving her a kiss on the head and taking off.

Eddie then walked around the couch and sat down. " I guess Jason took care of you while I was gone."

She hung her head in shame.

" Look I'm not here to hurt you or stress you out. If you're happy, then I'm happy for you. But I came back to tell you I'm still gonna move out. And that as soon as you're able to do it. I'll pay for a paternity test."

She nodded and wiped her tears away.

" Whatever the outcome is, you and I are done… You have done something that I can't really believe. Still, I love you. And I respect that you might be the mother of my kid. So the only time I want to hear from you is if it has something to do with the baby… I'll be at Gareth's."

She shuddered a breath. " Th-that's fair."

He shook his head a little and got up to grab his stuff.

Before he left he stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder at her.

" Oh. By the way, Y/n's pregnant too."

Chrissy covered her mouth in shock.

" We're gonna be a family Chrissy. And if the test comes back that it's mine…just get used to the idea that she's gonna be his or her mom too."

" His." She accidentally said.

Eddie felt a jolt of joy when he heard that. And if under any other circumstances, he would call everyone and celebrate that he was having a boy. Instead, he gave her a weak smile and left.

…

When he pulled up to your place, he never felt so bad. These past few days were not what he was expecting. He was given advice that wasn't what he hoped for. But what he needed to hear. That's why he was here. He was going to tell you that though he was deeply in love with you. That he needed to step up and figure out what to do.

When he got off the van he was met with a worried you.The second you opened the door and saw him, you threw your arm around his neck and squeezed.

" Do you have any idea how worried I've been!?"

It took everything he had to not burst into tears.

" Don't you dare disappear like that again! Don't you dare put me through that again. I thought-" You pulled away to wipe your tears. " I put in a missing persons report for you. I-I didn't even have a picture…Robin printed off one from your old yearbook."

" I'm so sorry sweetheart."

Eddie couldn't believe that you did that. Not even the girl he had loved for five years gave a crap that he was gone. And here you were, scared that something had happened to him.

You pulled him back and hugged him so tight that he could feel the anguish coming off of you.

" Where did you go? I thought you might come back after you talked to Chrissy."

He put a hand behind your head and rested his cheek on your forehead. " I wanted to…I needed to talk to someone."

You leaned back and looked at him. " And you couldn't talk to me? Or at the very least call and tell me you were okay?"

He went quiet and looked away.

When he didn't say anything after a few seconds you took a couple steps back.

" Just say it."

His eyes returned to you. " Say what?"

You crossed your arms and sighed. " That the possibility of having two babies is too much."

He licked his lips and shook his head. " That's not-"

" If you want to bail on me. F-fine. I'll be alright. I can do this by myself. But don't bolt on Chrissy if you're the father of her's."

" I'm not gonna leave you high and dry. I'm not that guy Y/n. And if the baby's mine. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to-"

You cut him off. " But?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Everything his dad said seemed so wrong now that he was standing in front of the one person who got him. His best friend.

Eddie took a step towards you. You expected him to say that he was going to do right by you and Chrissy. But he didn't want to be with either of you now. However, that wasn't what he said.

" Chris and I are over… But you and I. Baby we will never be over. I love you. I'm in love with you. And I'm gonna be here for you whether you want me to or not." He stepped close enough to cup either side or your face. " I wanted a family and you're giving it to me…I-I just need to ask you one thing."

You held onto his forearms and nodded.

" I know it's a lot to ask, but are you willing to still be with me and accept that I might have a son in three months?"

Your eyes went wide and a small smile found your lips. " Son?"

He softly laughed. " Yeah."

Tears of joy filled both of your eyes. After a second you wrapped your arms around his waist. Burying your face in his chest. Saying a soft yes.

" Hmm?"

" Yes and I still want you." You leaned back and looked up to him. " But what're we gonna do now?"

He started rubbing your shoulders and let out a sigh of relief. " Well, right now I'm gonna go drop my stuff off at Gareth's. Then I'm gonna come back and take you to a late lunch. Afterwards, I'm gonna see about getting a different job. I can't support you and our baby on a mechanics paycheck."

" No. You like that job bud. I'm not gonna let you give that up. And I'm a big girl. I can help too."

He chuckled. " I know you can. But I want you and our baby to not want for anything…I have a little saved up. So we can use that for the nursery. And as soon as I get a good paying job, we could…if you want, we could… maybe get married."

" Eww!"

Eddie furrowed his brow.

" Seriously curls? I'm not gonna have a shotgun wedding."

He hung his head and shook it. " Right. Not another cliche."

You grabbed his chin and made him look at you. " After what you put me through the last 3 days, you're lucky I didn't kick you in the shins. But yes. I honestly don't think we should even be thinking about that right now. What we should be doing is getting you settled on the pull out."

He tilted his head. Silently asking what?

" I don't know how I'm going to feel in a couple months. And I would feel a lot better if you were closer."

"On the pull out though?"

" Yes in the pull out." You backed away from him. " You're not getting off that easily, mister. Now get your stuff and come inside."

Eddie watched as you went inside. What he planned for the conversation was not what happened. But he honestly couldn't be happier. He finally got the girl he was meant to be with and he was going to have a family of his own.

…

2 & ½ months later

Eddie had noticed you been down lately and wanted to make you smile. So he took you to the place it all started for him.

" Man it feels like I haven't been here for ages." You said as you and him walked through The Palace. " You know, I wonder?"

Eddie grinned at you. "Wonder what sweetheart?"

You looked towards a certain area. "Follow me."

He was right behind you and stopped just a couple of steps when you went to the game that started it all.

" When I first moved here, I had this ongoing battle with this little kid. Every Sunday night, I would come and see that this loser beat my score with exactly 1,000 points." You sighed then smiled at the pinball machine.

Eddie came and put a hand on your lower back. " Yeah? Did he do it again?"

You looked at the score and shook your head. " Looks like the little dweeb hasn't been here in a while either."

He smiled and went to reach for the note you left months prior. You watched in confusion as he smirked at the note and put in the quarter you left. He then proceeded to play until he beat your high score. With guess it, exactly 1,000 points.

He then put a quarter in the coin slot and grinned.

You crossed your arms and furrowed your brow. " You?"

He laughed a little and nodded.

" This whole time?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. " You're not pissed are you?"

You ran your tongue over your teeth then clicked it. Laughing a little after. " Kinda."

Eddie frowned. But then you wrapped your arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the lips.

" I'm totally gonna kick your ass at that later. But right now. I want you to take me home."

He smirked while leading you back to the van.

You guys didn't make it home though. You had him make love to you in the back of the van.

He had just came deep inside your pussy and went limp on you.

" Aaaannnddd I'm pregnant."

He chuckled and shook his head.

A few minutes passed when you cleared your throat.

" Eddie?"

He looked up and started stroking your hair. " Yeah baby?"

You looked back and forth between his eyes. " I'm really happy you picked me."

Before he gave you a loving kiss he whispered. " I will always pick you."

…

The following morning you found yourself on the couch with Eddie.

" Shit! Did you feel that sweetheart?"

You smiled at Eddie who had his head on your belly. " I did bud. The baby's kinda in-"

You were cut off by a sharp pain in your lower back.

"Ooofffff!"

Eddie's head shot up. "What is it? What's wrong?"

You let out a shaky breath. "I think our chicken nugget head butted my kidney."

He gasped and turned to your tummy. " Hey booger. You need to be nice to your mommy."

You shook your head and smiled. " You know, ever since we decided on waiting until the peanut is born to find out the gender. I love how we come up with neutral nicknames."

He grinned and put his head back on your stomach. " Well I for one love the one you said the other day. What was it?"

You pressed your lips together and sighed.

" Oh! That's right. Daddy's little squirt."

" Oh my god! That was you!"

He smirked and kissed your belly. "Yeah. I like that one."

You shook your head and laughed.

Eddie looked up at you again and looked like he had a lot on his mind.

You moved his bangs away from his eyes. " What is it curls?"

"Nothing. I'm just really excited to meet the munchkin."

You nodded. " Me too."

He kissed your tummy again and crawled up your body. Landing a kiss. The second it turned into more the front door opened.

" Oh! Ummm sorry." Paul shielded Natalie's eyes.

Eddie got up quickly and went to grab Natalie's bag.

"Hey guys. You're early." You said, sitting up right on the couch.

Paul gave you an I'm sorry look. " I uhh I got called into work early."

You held out your arms for Natalie after she gave Eddie a hug.

" Hi baby."

" Tee!" She squealed while hugging your neck. " Tee? When's my baby coming?"

You smiled at her and held your little tummy. " not for a while baby."

She pouted, making you tear up. " I'm sorry."

Eddie felt his heart fill with warmth seeing you and Natalie. At that moment he wished for a girl.

After Paul left Eddie and Natalie watched cartoons while you started making lunch.

The phone trilled.

You went over and answered it. A few seconds later you looked at Eddie.

" Yeah we'll be right there."

…

You were holding Eddie's hand watching Natalie play with the hospital's toys. Waiting patiently as Chrissy gave birth down the hall.

Eddie was quiet. You could feel his anxiousness.

" Bud?"

He looked at you.

" Whatever happens…we'll figure this out. Together."

He squeezed your hand and nodded.

13 hours later

Chrissy's mom came out and motioned for Eddie to go with her.

He squeezed your hand once more before following her.

One look at the baby and he knew. He was his. His heart sank. But at the same time he was relieved to know the truth.

He gave Chrissy a kiss on the head and went to hold his baby boy. Tears fell from his eyes. A mixture of happiness and sadness filled him.

A little while later he returned to the waiting room to find you talking to Jason.

You knew immediately from his face that Eddie now a son. It hurt. It hurt a hell of a lot. But you faked a smile and hugged him.

" He's- he's beautiful."

You nodded and smiled.

Jason got up and went to see Chrissy while you and Eddie sat back down.

He sighed. " I don't know what to say."

" There's nothing to say Eddie. Just be happy."

" I…I really thought he wasn't going to be mine."

" But he is. And now you need to be here…I'm gonna take Natalie home. It's her nap time."

Eddie didn't want you to leave. But you gave him a hug and he handed you the keys to the van.

"I love you."

You kissed his cheek and nodded. " I'll see you at home."

His heart broke watching you walk away from him. He hated that more than anything. Even though he wanted to go with you, he had to be with his baby.

…

Two weeks later Eddie had spent more time with Chrissy than he did with you. It was selfish but you wanted him to be at home. With you.

When he did come home he came to eat and sleep. Then he was gone before you woke up.

You felt so alone. Sure you had Paul and Robin. Even Steve and Gareth came around a lot once they found out that you and Eddie were together. But all you wanted was Eddie.

One weekend he finally came home with baby Liam.

You nearly cried seeing his big brown eyes.

" God curls. He's…so perfect."

Eddie grinned. "Wanna hold him?"

You looked at him with caution in your eyes.

"It's okay sweetheart. Chrissy doesn't mind."

You sat down and he placed baby Liam in your arms.

You fell in love instantly. " Hi monkey."

Liam cooed and smiled.

" Look at you." You sniffled.

Eddie sat closer to you and started rubbing your arms. " You okay?"

" Yeah. It's just the hormones." You wiped away your tears and looked at him. " I miss you."

He frowned a little. " I know. I miss you too. That's why I brought him today. I wanted to ask if he could stay with us sometimes. I hate not being here for you. And I don't want to be away from him."

" Is Chrissy okay with that?"

He pressed his lips together. " She doesn't really care."

" What's that supposed to mean?"

Eddie looked at Liam and frowned. " The only time she really spends with him is when he needs to be fed."

You turned to look at the beautiful little human in your arms. " Eddie, that's not okay…maybe she had postpartum."

" That's what I thought. But I don't know. It's like she doesn't want him."

That right there broke your heart. How could anyone not want this perfect little angel?

" Baby, I don't know if that's okay. I think she might need some help."

" She's with Jason. "

You were instantly pissed. " What?!"

He shook his head. " She said she needed some time. So she went to stay with Jason today."

" You're joking.'

He shook his head.

" What about his feeding schedule?"

" I-I have a couple of frozen bags of milk-"

" That's not gonna last him at all."

You looked at Eddie again and he looked like he was gonna cry. He also looked so tired. You immediately knew that you had to do something.

" Okay. This is what we're gonna do. First, I need you to leave me the bags of milk and go back to the apartment and get some extra clothes and blankets. Then go to the store and get a couple of cans of formula. Make sure it says for newborns. Then get diapers and fragrance free baby wipes."

" O-okay."

You cupped his face. " Together, remember?"

" Y-yeah. Anything else?"

You looked back at little Liam. " Whatever else we'll get it. Just be careful and come back. Don't freak out on me and take off again."

" I'm not leaving him." He kissed your temple. " Or you."

-

When he came back you were sitting in the nursing room. Rocking Liam back and forth.

You quickly put your finger to your lips.

Eddie then watched as you put Liam in the cradle he bought for your guy's baby. You then grabbed a baby monitor and walked with him to the living room.

" Baby's sleep a lot. So you should sleep when he sleeps." You whispered.

Eddie wrapped his arms around you and silently cried. "I-I don't know what I would've done without you."

You hugged him back. " Well good thing you have me huh?"

He chuckled lightly. " I love you."

"Promise?"

He looked at you and smiled softly. " Pinky."

…

Two months had gone by and Chrissy got over the initial shock of having a baby. You were seven months pregnant now.

It was awkward at first but then it became weirdly normal.

Eddie brought Liam home with him four nights a week and sometimes on the other days Chrissy would come over too.

Overall you guys became this unusual little family. Then the worst possible thing happened.

You had gone to Paul's house to babysit Natalie.

Ever since he found out that Eddie had a baby with Chrissy, he and Eddie have been on the outs. Paul didn't want Natalie around Eddie anymore, so you respected his decision and started watching her at his place.

You had gone upstairs to get her ready for the day, when all of a sudden you slipped on one of her toys and fell down the stairs.

You were unconscious for a few minutes until you heard Natalie crying.

-

Eddie was at Chrissy's when he got the call from your brother. He immediately went to the hospital. Paul was sitting outside the room when he ran up.

Paul looked up and Eddie knew. He knew that something terrible happened.

Paul tried to stop him from going in the room but Eddie pushed him away.

He froze when he saw you. Your arm was in a cast and you had bruises all over. The beeping from the monitor sounded so ominous.

He looked over the room and didn't see a bassinet.

That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

" She didn't make it. I'm…I'm so sorry."

Eddie's heart fell.

Paul's words echoed in his ears.

She?

…

@marsmunson86 @browneyes528 @erinsingalong @salenorona23 @emsgoodthinkin @eddie-is-a-god @manda-panda-monium

#fanfic #eddie munson #eddie munson x female original character #eddie munson x you #stranger things #eddie munson x plus size reader #eddie x reader #eddie my beloved #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x y/n #eddie x oc #eddie smut #eddie x plus size reader #eddie x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x oc #plus size reader #Spotify

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Ignore the Doubt

whumptober2023 day 25- storm fandom- batman TW- none summary- Tim and Dick arrive in the cave to find a possibly unconscious Jason Todd.

ao3 whumptober23 masterlist part 4 of WDKY

WIth a roar, Tim’s motorcycle pulled into the cave. He hopped off and headed towards the batcomputer. “Where’s Hood?”

“In the medbay.” Bruce answered not looking away from the computer.

“Why isn’t he in one of the cells?”

“Hng.”

Tim sighed and marched over to the medbay. He froze in the doorway, looking at the unconscious figure that had been shackled to the cot. He looked so familiar. But it couldn’t be. But why else would Bruce have brought him to the  medbay instead of dropped him off for the police?

“Bruce, that looks like…”

“I know.”

“Have you checked?”

“Yes.”

“And?” Tim said getting frustrated with the one word answers even though he knew they wer common from Bruce. He still couldn’t tear his eyes away from the young man on the medical cot.

“The DNA matches Jason Todd.”

Tim inhaled sharply. If this really was Jason, what had happened to him? How was he back? And why…why hadn’t he gone home?

“What are we going to do? Even if he’s… He’s still a crime lord.”

“I’m running the tests again.” Bruce said, and of course he was. He’d probably run them more than ten times before he was even remotely satisfied.

“Do we know how he…”

“There were trace amounts of Lazerus water in his blood.”

“Talia.” Tim whispered. Of course it was her. She just couldn’t keep her nose out of Gotham.

Tim went over and sat in a chair by Hood. They had him connected to an IV, and when Tim checked he saw it contained a light sedative. That was probably for the best. At least until they could run a few more tests.

A while later, Dick pulled in. He was soaked.

“I hope this is important. It started storming when I was halfway here and I’m soaked and freezing.” Dick set his helmet on his bike. “Where’s Hood?”

“In here.” Tim called. “And before you ask why he’s not in a cell, you need to take a look at this.” 

Dick complied and walked over. He froze in the doorway and Tim saw his expression shift from surprise to confusion to grief to a spark of anger and finally settle into neutrality.

“What is this?”

“His DNA matches Jason’s”

“But–”

“We think Talia may be involved.” Tim interrupted. “There were trace amounts of Lazarus water.”

Dick’s expression changed to grief for a brief moment before he stepped forward. Tim saw him taking in Hood’s injuries. His fingers twitched, before he reached out and took one of Hood’s hands in his. “Do you thinks its– do you think it’s really him?”

“Bruce has run the DNA three times, all of which have been a match. Of course we probably can’t confirm until he wakes up, but… But all evidence points to it being Jason.”

Dick’s other hand reached up and he ran his fingers through Jason’s hair. “My little wing.” he whispered and Tim turned away.

He hoped this was Jason, for Bruce and Dick’s sake. But a selfish part of him wanted it to be a lie. He didn’t want to be alone again. He liked hanging out with Bruce and Dick and Alfred. But if this was Jason, that would mean he was no longer necessary. His mind went to an empty house and microwavable meals, an endless cycle of boredom. If this was Jason they wouldn’t need him anymore.

But Tim knew better than to be selfish. Jason had a lot more people that cared about him. It would be incredible if he could come back. The second Robin!

Tim hoped it was Jason and squashed the childish voice inside him that yearned for the Waynes to be his real family. He knew his place.

“Someone needs to check his grave.” Dick said, not looking away from Jason.

Bruce didn’t answer.

“We can do it after he wakes up.” Tim said. “I’m sure we all want answers, and it will be better to ask him directly.”

Dick nodded.

“God, I hope it’s him. If this is a trick…” Dick trailed off.

“Yeah.” 

Dick sighed. “We also need to call Talia.” Dick looked over at Bruce. He hadn’t turned away from the Batcomputer.

“Let’s wait till after he wakes up.” Tim said. They wouldn't be able to get Bruce away from the computer for a long time.

Tim spotted Alfred coming towards them carrying a tray with tea.

“Good evening, Master Dick.”

“Hey, Alfred.” Dick said giing the older man a small smile.

“I must insist you take a warm shower and change into some dry clothes. It will do no one any good if you catch a cold.”

“But–” Dick said looking back at Jason.

“Go on, my boy. I’ll be here to watch over him.”

Dick slumped. “Alright, Alfred.” Dick glanced back one more time before heading for the showers.

“And, Master Bruce. I believe you have looked at those results enough.”

“There could still be a chance that–”

“You can investigate more after– after the grave has been checked.” Alfred said setting the tray by Tim. His hands were trembling slightly.

“Then I’ll contact Tallia.” Tim said. He should leave the family to reunite with Jason in peace. He wouldn't be here much longer, after all.

“That can wait for tomorrow, Master Tim. We all know she is not easy to work with.” Alfred said in a tone of voice that allowed no contradiction. 

Tim sat back down.  

“Now then. Master Bruce, Master Tim, please drink some tea while I disconnect the sedatives from the young sir. But I forbid you from questioning him as soon as he wakes up. He will need time to adjust. Am I understood?” Alfred raised an eyebrow at Bruce.

“Fine.”Alfred walked over to the young man who looked so much like Jason. It was him, Alfred knew his boy. He’d recognize him anywhere, even now two years after he was supposed to be dead. He’d just have to wait for the rest of the family to get over their paranoia.

#whumptober #whump #no.25 #storm #Jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #Tim drake #Tim Drake has low self esteem #no titans tower #whumptober 2023

[somecrocanadian]

A Volunteer from the Past

So, instead of finishing a final project I wrote this to procrastinate. I hope you enjoy this!

~~~

President Snow sat in his velvet chair watching the reaping ceremonies across the districts, paying special attention to district 12s reaping. He watched as the camera zoomed in on Katniss, the only female tribute. He could tell she was barely keeping it together. Good. Her symbol of hope would be no more. 

Snow watched as the overly dressed Effie pulled out the single slip of paper from the bowl, a small smirk appearing on his face.

“Katniss Everdeen!” She called out.

The camera closed in on Katniss’s face as she barely held it together. Snow could only imagine what was going through her head. His smirk only got larger. Checkmate. 

Snow was lost in thought he almost missed the sudden turn of events before him.

“I volunteer!” An unmistakable voice called out. One that froze Snow right to his core.

The camera panned to the back of the crowd showing an 80 year old woman, with long white curls, wearing that same dress.

“My name is Lucy Gray Barid,” She said walking forward as the crowd parted before her, “Victor of the 10th Hunger Games.”

“It can’t be,” Snow muttered. After all this time she was still alive. How? He had killed her in the woods with the mocking jays. Why resurface now? Everything was so perfect, why would she resurface?

Snow went back to that day in the woods 65 years ago, a day that he never truly forgot. He remembered getting bit by a snake, shooting at her, watching her fall, finding her earring, then hiding the guns. He never saw a body, he had assumed that her injuries would kill her. There was no way to recover from a gunshot in the woods, especially with his impeccable aim. Either way he sent soldiers to track her down, even if it was just to recover her body.

Snow has to force himself back into the present. He made sure all records of the 10th Hunger Games were erased, that no one even remembered Lucy Gray. There is no way to prove her claims. That’s why Snow was speechless when the mayor came out and tested her DNA with a sample he had from an ancient looking document and it matched.

How is that possible? Snow made every effort, albeit discreetly, to make sure that she was erased. Who missed the mayor's records?

Snow missed the male reaping, too caught up in his thoughts to pay much attention. 

That filthy district bitch doesn’t deserve to be alive. She was hunted down. Who confirmed the kill? Why did I never see a body?

The broadcast cut but Snow didn’t move, too caught up over Lucy Gray to care about anything else.

~~~

Once Snow had recovered from his shock he sent someone to confirm that it truly was Lucy Gray and not someone trying to impersonate her, though he already knew the truth. Then he sent someone else to figure out who was on that mission to find Lucy Gray, and to execute every single one of them. He also sent someone to fetch Tigres, if one woman from his past was causing issues he was going to be sure the only other one would be faithful to him. 

It only enraged him further to learn that Tigres was nowhere to be found. Maybe she hid Lucy Gray all those years ago, maybe she was behind it all. One final act to stab him in the back after everything he did for her. She’d be dead soon too.

As soon as it was confirmed that it really was Lucy Gray, Snow invited her over for dinner. He would serve her the best meal then poison her to force Katniss back into the games. A small setback didn’t mean the end to his plans. 

~~~

“Coriolanus, I’d never thought I’d see you again,” Lucy Gray said entering the dining room.

“Leave us,” Snow said, dismissing the staff before they had fully served the meal. They all knew better than to question Snow and left quickly.

“I go by Snow.”

“Yeah, but I like Coriolanus better. It has a nice ring to it. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, quite. I thought you were dead.”

“I’m sure you sent men after me but I’m quite good at hiding.”

Snow didn’t know how to respond to that, Lucy Gray didn’t need one; “As I starved away in hiding I’m assuming you won that prize of yours and was able to afford as much food as your heart desired.”

Snow stayed silent.

Lucy Gray reached forward to grab the water pitcher, “Though I never figured out who that third person you killed was, and it definitely wasn’t your old self because I see him right in front of me.”

“I’ve killed a lot more than three people, Lucy Gray,” He said, trying to deflect the question. But saying her name out loud distracted him, a small voice in the back of his head was reminding him that this is the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with at one point.

“I know you have, but who was your third? You killed Bobbin in the area, Mayfair, the mayor's daughter, then someone else before you killed me,” Lucy said, now pouring Snow a glass of water, “Who was it?”

“Sejanus,” Snow said, “I sent a recording of his plans to Dr. Gaull and she ordered him to be hung.”

Snow took a long sip of water, this was something he had buried long ago, he didn’t need to drag it up again.

“Really? Your best friend?” Lucy Gray questioned, “All for power and money I assume,” She said, taking a sip of water.

“He was weaker than someone in the capital should have been,” Snow said, but something didn’t feel right.

Lucy hummed in response. Then pulled out an old compact from the folds of her dress.

Snow’s eyes widened in response, “You-”

“Yes, good-bye Coriolanus Snow,” She said. 

Snow was speechless, there was nothing he could do to stop this, he was dying and fast. What would become of his family name without him there? He couldn’t go out like this! Not killed by some district scum.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a gentle singing voice.

“Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be,” Lucy Gray sang as both of their noses began to bleed and the room went out of focus, “If we met… at mid-night, in the hanging tree…”

The pair were discovered a few minutes later by a servant, slumped over on the table, dead.

#fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #fanfic #ao3 author #ao3fic #the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #president snow #what if scenario #lucy gray in 75th hunger games

[blingblandfanfic]

Lup and Barry clone Taako

i've been dabbling in taz fic lately, and i started this and realised i only wanted to write this scene, and thus didn't want to flesh it out further LMAO

one scene isn't enough to post on ao3, but it is enough to post on tumblr ;)

It starts with Lup’s hovering.

Her metaphorical hovering, that is, not her literal hovering. It’s been a month, maybe a bit more since they’ve defeated the Hunger, and on account of being a lich with no legs, she’d have to drift from place to place for all that time.

Taako doesn’t know why she and Barry haven’t made her a new body, but whatever.

To be honest, it takes a while for Taako to even notice her metaphorical hovering, let alone be bothered by it. There’s something about being separated for over a decade that’s made it so that neither of them can be apart for too long without getting panicky about it. But as Taako soaks up sister time, his Lup quota fills up a little bit faster every day until it’s almost back to pre disappearance levels. 

He’d expected it to be the same for Lup, but she’s still clingy. Still hovering. Metaphorically. It’s obvious that there's something she wants to tell him, and he’s never known her to be shy about anything, so he’s waiting for her to spit it out herself. 

One night, when she’s decided to ‘sleep’ in Taako’s bed instead of Barry's, she finally plucks up the courage to ask whatever she wants to ask him.

“Taako. How much do you love me?”

“What do you want?” his eyes are closed, but if they weren’t, they’d be squinting suspiciously. 

“Seriously, babe, just answer the question.”

“You’re my heart, duh,” if this is what she’s been worried about the whole time, then Taako’s gonna be pissed. 

“How would you like to make that literal?”

He finally pulls open an eye to see his sister, floating ominously above him, “and what the fuck do you mean by that?”

If Lup had a face, she would use it to give him a bashful smile. 

“Well… we need like, a lot of DNA samples in order to create a clone, and it was easy for Barry because he always had access to his body but–”

“But your body is dust,” Taako closes his eyes. 

“Hey, we’re already technically clones of each other! We just need to do it manually this time!”

“It’s still fucking freaky, though!” he sits up on his elbows, “I don’t wanna go about my day knowing there’s a version of me growing in a test tube!”

“Then don’t think of the clone as you, dummy, it’ll be my body, I just… won’t be in it, for a while.”

“Oh my god,” he slumps back onto the mattress, “when the fuck did this become our life?”

“I think we were pretty much locked in the moment we got the IPRE acceptance letters,” she floats down to lie on Taako’s body, her not-face propped up by her hands. “Seriously, though, if you really don’t wanna do this, then it’s fine. We’ll figure something else out.”

“Oh yeah, like what? Possess some poor schmuck and spend the rest of your days running from Kravitz? No way, this is the easier option.”

“I have a feeling you’re not fully 100 percent on board with this.”

“Yeah, of course I'm not! Who wants to be cloned? But I’m doing it anyway because you’re my sister, and I want to fucking hug you.”

“God, same,” Lup sighs, “and I want to bang my husband,” she ignores Taako’s retching, “it’s just that we have to be really careful about this, now that me and Barry are working for the Raven Queen and all, we have to make sure this is super duper ethical. Cloning is super light necromancy, and she’s barely willing to let us do it.”

“Fine,” Taako raises his hand, “you have my full unequivocal consent to clone my body and bang your husband with it. I just don’t want to see the fucking thing until you’re in it. Do you need that in writing or what?”

“Actually, yeah. Like I said, the Raven Queen is being super strict about it. Kravitz says we’re lucky she’s letting us do this at all. I guess being the saviors of the universe helped us out there.”

“She also has a big soft spot for Kravitz. She’s like his Mom.”

“Aww, really?”

“He can deny it all he wants, but I know the truth. He blushes like a motherfucker when I bring it up.”

“Ha!” She barks out a laugh and sits up, “I'm definitely gonna bring that up the next time I see him,” she floats off him and makes for the wall– doors are obsolete to a lich– but she pauses, turning back to face him. He can almost imagine her face in the empty darkness that is her hood, a reflection of his own, but far more open and gentle than he’s ever allowed himself to be. “Seriously–”

“Seriously,” he raises his hand, “I'm cool with it. Now can I go the fuck back to sleep?”

“Yeah,” she says, soft, with a hint of a smile, “you can.”

#Taz #the adventure zone #lup #Taako #exclusive content #snippet #taz balance

[cha0stv]

i’m trying to flesh out my spidersona’s backstory and the whole canon events thing so this is what i got.

the basic idea is that Lobo (yeah ik the name is kinda meh but i’ll come up with a better one) is the child of two incredibly smart scientists. however, their parents are far from “normal”. They’ve devoted their life to the study of genetics and they have been trying to figure out a way to splice DNA (looks at miguel anyways). One day, they have the bright idea to finally run a trial test and to see firstly see if their test will work, and to see what effects it leaves.

Being the amazing parents they are, they decide to try this test out on their kid! Lobo is basically fucked over by all of this and spends her early/developmental years being studied and experimented on.

idk how to format good lord ANYWAYS. this was supposed to be a short summary. i’ll put some other notes i have about his story below but it’s really really rough so don’t make fun of me 🤨

ok now for concepts idk

(pls get the reference from the first pic)

#across the spiderverse #spidersona #artwork #concept art #idek tbh #the story is really rough #and kinda basic #but i’ll make it better #TRUST!!

[astorythatwritesitself]

Hell why not I’ll roll again: shrios sorry brainrot + Only Poppies Grow Where I Last Saw You

Contemplating this as Halcyon plays, clearly this is supposed to be the angst mines, right?

... anyway this immediately puts me in the mind of my like - one of my little monkey's paw 'Thane Lives' scenarios for post ME3 - man's alive and well, but Adrian's.

Officially. MIA.

Realistically, presumed dead by virtually everyone except like a third of current/former Normandy crew, and Thane is... well, both channeling his grief and doing what he can to confirm things one way or another; he's on Earth, aiding the search for bodies, and perhaps, survivors. The blast from the Catalyst has severely fucked most tech, so it's a long, tricky job. Heartbreaking - but occasionally, almost miraculous, it can be like seeing the dead come back to life.

And yet he does not - cannot - believe the reports from a seaside camp, that they found Commander Shepard washed in with the tide.

That's what the dogtags say, anyway; and while lab tests against prior samples are a bust due to records getting scrambled, they do have both elder Shepards present to test DNA against, and it is a match. And - look, a full on clone couldn't fool Thane, he knows it's her.

Which, great! Cause that makes one of them!

Yeah, while there's a little bit of patchy recall - she recognizes her parents and Joker fairly ok & feels some empty recognition towards her crewmates- it's very quickly apparent that Adrian's lost most of her memory prior to like, her very early 20s. So, you know, very fun times for everyone involved, particularly the guy who's already been half mourning and trying not to totally lose himself in what memories were there - now she's there, but sees him as little more than a stranger. 🙃

And beyond that - the general consensus is, well, try to fix that, right? But there's a few members of the crew (Joker, Ashley & Tali, probably) who are hesitant - and Thane is trying to figure out how to articulate that forcing Adrian to remember would be straight up cruel, and yes it's painful but gods be damned, he loves her and knows what it's like to keep reliving the worst day of your life, if Shepard can finally have some peace, then let her.

Shepard, meanwhile, is like. Mostly focused on physically recovering and re-learning how to walk after having about half her body rebuilt again, and doesn't have any helpful answers regarding the mental part of her recovery. On the one hand: clearly she is Someone Important, these people hanging around seem to Mean Something, and even if she can't remember why... there's that hollow little ache every time she sees them, like taking a step without realizing you're going over an edge (to badly quote lemony snicket lol).

On the other: the bits she's picked up of Shepard's life sound like way more of a burden than she wants to bear. So, she politely yet firmly asks everyone to fuck the hell off for a little while and let her breathe for a few.

It could just end there...

but I'm a sucker lol. The setup lets Thane still be around as Adrian’s recovering, and as she has some time to just. Fucking rest for once without a bajillion nightmares, she decides... yeah, if things return naturally, fine, she'll take it. But if Shepard’s life was half as fucked up as it feels, just learning them as facts without the experience recall, she'd rather let that go.

That doesn't mean she's necessarily letting the people go, though; it becomes a sorta slice of life/recovery fic, Adrian slowly re-learning about the people in her life and how those relationships might or might not change -

But also a strange, sweet little journey with Thane. He remembers plenty of course, and tries to keep his distance at first because yeah he's alright at looking calm but internally his emotions are a wreck... but it's almost like the first time, quick talks that stretch a little longer, not-at-all subtle looks (Adrian may not recall much, but her tastes haven't changed & she's still weak for dark eyes and a cool coat lol); support when some things do start coming back - Akuze does return, a few scattered pieces through the first battle of the Citadel, some elements of Virmire - but relatively muted, compared to how they affected her before.

She never does remember their first courtship, but she likes spending time with Thane after all, especially once she's cleared to start getting some time outside - he's sweet, good to talk to, and she did very much appreciate that he seemed willing from the start to accept if she didn’t want to focus on recovering things. Idk man just increasing Soft moments, and yes it hurts Thane, knowing the Shepard who awoke him is essentially dead... but he's coming at it this time with a different perspective too, no longer expecting to die any time between now and next Tuesday, y’know? It's not like he's quite exactly the same man Shepard left on the Citadel.

So it's different - but maybe a bit of a gift, getting to fall in love all over again and dream of a future together from the very start.

#shep tag #ask #korblez #shrios #SORRY IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE im cursed by the tired sleepy #also somewhere in there: Adrian in a Funk & thane just 'ok all protocol be damned i have an idea' & just #breaks her out of the hospital to go to the seaside for a bit & he gets to see the unabashed /adoration/ she has for it #that. was there before but also yknow beaten down by. -gestures at ME series- #and by 'unabashed adoration' i mean the man gets an hour long infodump about ocean facts #then gets to explain why a pretty seashell makes her Extremely Sad but y'know #anyway i'm a simple beast I project my severe memory issues onto every character of mine ever

[thejavavoid]

elaborate on the lab part of this au. what happened there? i assume it was traumatic but specifically what went down?

YEEAAAAAHAHAHAAA HERE WE GO IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!!!! 🙌🙌

okay.

so.

basically, to start: two scientist dudes found some weird alien muck that had strange properties (you can guess what that muck was), and they decided to do stuff with it. (btw, these two dudes were bishop & stockman)

SO!

they both sorta worked for this dude called the shredder who was in the middle of a war with his 'mortal enemy' Hamato Yoshi, you know how it goes. anyway, shredder allowed the two to study this stuff that they called mutagen. he personally funded this project and also donated some of his own DNA for tests.

so, as you could guess, thats how the turtles get mutated.

the first one mutated was leo, known as test subject #1. a year later, donnie and raph hatched from the same egg and were mutated, then became subjects #2 and #3. And finally, two years after that, another egg hatched subject #4, later known as mikey.

while the boys all showed clear signs of sentience, bishop and stockman didnt care. they saw the boys as nothing more than animals, just playthings they could do whatever they wanted with. they were constantly poked and prodded and tested on, and the older they got, the worse their treatment was. the boys all picked up bits and pieces of language from what the scientists around them said, even calling each other by their assigned numbers. there were some particularly nasty events there, such as #2 going blind or #3's constant misbehavior which was a problem solved in a rather disturbing way. involving bugs. lots of bugs.

anyway, when the boys were eventually rescued, leo was six years old, the twins five, and mikey three. at this time, the war between the hamato clan and shredder's (called the foot) was still going on but the hamato clan was losing BADLY. eventually, yoshi himself was captured and the war came to an end. instead of killing his enemy though, shredder sent yoshi to the facility stockman & bishop built up. that's how he ended up later being mutated into a rat. while he was there (it was only for a short period of time), he noticed a lot of screaming coming from a particular room and he saw what he thought was a child being carried away.

so within a few days he decided the best course of action was to burn the entire place down, find that kid he'd seen, and escape. instead of one child though, he found four human-sized turtles, but he took them with him anyway. it wasnt an easy escape though and there were multiple mishaps, one of them leading to leo being trapped inside the fire which resulted in his current scars.

yoshi, or as he later called himself, 'splinter', thought that he every human in that facility at the time had died in the fire, but there were two survivors he was unaware of.

splinter decided to take the four turtles into the sewers, because he figured that was the safest place to stay, and raised the boys as his own children. he gave them proper names, taught them how to not only read and write but also how to fight, in case anything happened where they needed to protect themselves. from there on it was relatively smooth sailing (except for some instances like raph's shell getting damaged).

until the boys went aboveground for the first time, but that's a different story.

so yeah

thats their whole background and stuff

i want to also mention that the boys all habe different memories from their time there.

leo remembers the most of the experiment stuff that happened to him, but he blocked out a lot of it. he perfectly remembers the fire though, and the faces of the people who ran tests on him.

donnie remembers mainly voices. a lot of screaming, or crying even, but no visual things. that's because he was blind for most of his time there.

raph only has one consistent memory, of something he called 'the bug room'. im not going to elaborate in the hopes someone will ask about it. it also deserves its own post.

mikey only remembers his brothers during that time. out of everyone, he was tested on the least, and spent most of his time in the cell the four of them shared.

#tmntexperimentau #teenage mutant ninja turtles iteration #jjq&a #keep the asks coming #please ask questions if you have them

[tempest-sun]

Diamond in the Rough Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Prince Tech(y)

Warnings: None; save for a mention of the use of a needle to inject a substance.

Words: 2,315

Summary: Tech completes his research. A familiar face appears. The Bad Batch infiltrates the Royal Palace.

Ch. 01 - Ch. 02 - Ch. 03 - Ch. 04

Over the next few days, Tech has been burying himself in research, diving deep into encrypted Republic files. As much as he’d loathe to admit it, he’s hit a wall with his equations, missing an essential piece of the puzzle. Currently, he is scrolling through the files of successful undercover missions searching for one in particular. He’s about to quit for the night when he sees it.

‘HARDEEN, R.’

Bingo. 

Impatiently, he navigates past details of the mission to the page he cares about most. A smile crosses his lips reading the ingredient and measurement list to replicate the serum. Committing what he needs to memory, he eagerly rushes out to the marketplace to find what he needs. 

Back on the Marauder, Tech lays out all of the components of the serum. It was surprisingly easy to get all of it in one fell swoop. Almost like it was fate that he was meant to do this. However, Fate is a cruel mistress and his plan has come to an abrupt halt when he re-reads the last but most crucial part of the serum.

‘Lastly, you’ll need a DNA sample of the person you’re looking to replicate.’ The final step reads.

Dank Farrik. Tech begins to panic when he realizes that it’s going to be near impossible to get a sample of his batch twin’s specific DNA. Unless…

This is the one time he’s thankful that his brothers are as messy as they are. Gingerly, he picks up a discarded toothpick that must have rolled under the racks last time his batch twin was there. Walking back to the front of the ship, Tech blows any excess dust off the toothpick. He slides it into the test tube, watching as the meticulously mixed concoction dissolves the wood. 

The bubbles dissipate and that’s how Tech knows the serum is ready. He reaches for the syringe. He hesitates. What if it doesn’t work? 

Pushing his doubts aside, he draws up the recommended dose into the syringe. It has to work. 

Fashioning a tourniquet out of one of Hunter’s discarded bandanas, Tech ties it tight above the injection site. He presses the needle into the thick vein raising on the inside of his arm hissing in pain as the serum mixes with his blood stream. It HAS to.

—————————————————————���——

“Hey, has anyone seen Tech anywhere?” Hunter asks the squad, descending the ramp of the Marauder. “His goggles are here…”

“Maybe he went to the market again?” Echo suggests not looking up from the panel of wires he is repairing. 

“For his secret project!” Wrecker says with his mouth full nudging Omega’s shoulder.

Hunter squints his eyes. “What secret project?” He asks Omega pointedly, his hands on his hips.

Omega shrugs. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a familiar silvered hair figure. “Crosshair?!” Hopping off the crate she’s perched on, she discards her breakfast plate bounding over to her brother. She wraps her arms around his skinny waist. “What’re you doing here?!”

“Omega,” Tech’s voice spills from Crosshair’s lips. “It’s me. Tech.”

Omega’s eyes widen in shock. “Tech?!”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Hunter pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Woah, how’d you turn into Crosshair?” Wrecker circles Tech. “Can you turn me into Crosshair?!”

“Yeah, how did you manage this Tech?” Echo joins them, his arms folded across his chest in disapproval. “Better yet why?”

To be a suitable contender for the Princess’ heart. 

Tech squares his shoulders. “I thought it was obvious. Crosshair is unknown to this region, there is no chance of recognition for the mission.” Always confound them with logic.

Hunter doesn't fight the smile that creeps on his face before he lets out a full barking laugh. 

That’s unexpected… Tech thinks to himself. He watches as his no nonsense brother is doubled over with his hands on his knees wheezing in unrestrained laughter.

“Tech,” Hunter sputters out when he finally catches his breath. “What have you– this is too good.” He chuckles. “Omega, get the cam.”

Omega sprints inside the Marauder returning in a flash with the small silver holocam she convinced them to buy many moons ago. 

“Is this necessary?” Tech rolls his eyes. 

“Say Lula!” Wrecker laughs.

Tech is unimpressed as Hunter snaps a holostill of Tech as Crosshair. Hunter chuckles. “Gotta say Tech, you’ve got the Crosshair look down.”

“Crosshair is gonna love this!” Omega looks at the holostill. 

“Oi, I’m not paying you all to stand around,” Cid hobbles up to the Batch. “Who’s the newbie?” She juts her thumb in Tech-as-Crosshair’s direction. 

“Oh, that’s Crosshair, er, Tech.” Wrecker rubs the back of his neck. “It’s confusing.”

Cid’s expression remains neutral. “I don’t want to know.” She hands Hunter a data pad. 

“What’s this?”

“An in. Tonight the Queen is throwing a party. My source says the guards will be occupied in the ballroom…” Cid trails off.

“Meaning the vault will be unguarded.” Hunter finishes her sentence. 

“Good news Goggles, you’ll get to see your girlfriend again,” Cid smirks. “However,” she looks Tech up and down, clicking her tongue. “If you want to impress her, it’s gonna take a lot more than changing your face. Come with me.” 

Tech looks confused. “I don’t understand?”

“You will,” Cid walks away. 

“I’ll come with you Tech,” Omega slips her hand in his. 

Against his better judgement, he and Omega follow Cid back into town. She leads them to a shop with tables upon tables of luxurious fabrics from across the galaxy. 

“Tech! You gotta feel this,” Omega smooths her fingertips over a swatch of red Nabian silk. 

“Eh! You stain it, you buy it,” a silver-haired woman comes out of the back room. Her unruly curls held back from her tanned face by a thick turquoise headband. “Oh hey, Cid.”

“Hey Jo’rie, I need a favour.” Cid leans forward on the counter. “We’re looking for some clothes for tonight.”

Jo’rie wipes her hands on her apron. “No deal, do you know how many customers I had looking for last minute alterations? It’s a miracle that I was able to finish the Princess’ dress in time.”

“Listen, see that guy over there?” She points to Tech who is admiring what Jo’rie’s shop has to offer despite him knowing full well they are impractical for his lifestyle. 

“He’s handsome alright,” Jo’rie shrugs her shoulders. “What about him?”

“Let’s just say, he’s not from around here,” Cid leans in conspiratorially. “I’m not supposed to say anything but he’s a Prince from the planet Abaya.”

“Abaya? I’ve never heard of it,” Jo’rie looks Tech-as-Crosshair up and down. 

“I didn’t either but with this new Empire maps are being redrawn everyday.” Cid cleanly lies. “Needless to say, he’s looking for a suit to woo the Princess.”

Jo’rie shakes her head. “I know we go way back, Cid, but I can’t help you. Not already so late in the day.”

Cid squints her eyes. “I don’t think you understand what I mean Jo. It’d be good for business. Not only would you be dressing one monarch tonight, but two.”

The shopkeeper muses for a minute, tapping her foot. “Well. When you put it that way…” she smiles. “There isn’t time to make a whole new suit but I do have some pieces that were ‘left behind’. I can whip up a few alterations.”

“Knew you’d see the value in it,” Cid grins. “Hey Goggles and Tiny! Get over here. It’s time to get ready.”

Tech and Omega sit on two steel barrels waiting while Jo’rie moves about her backroom. Objects clatter to the wooden floor. “This won’t do. No. Not this colour. Definitely not. Hmm. Let’s see,” she returns carrying a bundle of cream and gold fabrics. “Put this on.”

Tech takes the bundle from her, walking towards the changing area. Methodically, he folds his blacks laying them on the bench before changing into the cream silk suit. In the mirror, he admires how the serum has worked. It’s strange to see Crosshair's face staring back at him when he’s been so used to his own reflection. He squints leaning closer to the mirror. Crosshair's signature tattoo over his left eye has faded completely. The serum can’t be wearing off this fast… can it? 

“You okay Tech?” Omega asks from the other side of the curtain.

“I look ridiculous,” Tech sighs, reluctantly opening the curtain.

“Woah,” Omega gasps. 

“Not bad Goggles,” Cid compliments. “Who knew you’d clean up this good.”

Omega beams at him. “Yeah Tech! You look good!”

Tech looks down at his little sister who is clad in a matching cream tunic and trousers with a gold trim on the sleeves and seams. “You look beautiful Omega.”

“Well, I am a Princess now after all,” She winks. 

“So about payment?” Jo’rie interrupts. 

Tech and Omega look to Cid. Cid rolls her eyes, producing a small purse of credits from her pocket plunking it on the counter. 

“Pleasure doing business with you Cid,” Jo’rie smirks. “You best be going now if you want to make the party in time. The Queen is a real stickler for punctuality.”

————————————————————————

Tech and Omega can hear the festivities long before the palace comes into view. Red lanterns illuminate the road leading to the main gate. A sequence of pleasant, jaunty melodies punctuate the balmy night air. Convoys of people in fine jewels and clothes leisurely make their way towards the castle. Tech flexes his fingers curling them in and out of fists at his sides.

Omega puts her hand on his arm. “It’ll be okay Tech.”

Tech bites the inside of his cheek. “The last time we were here…”

“I know,” she squeezes his wrist. “But we’ll actually see the Princess this time and give her back her necklace!”

They make it to the main gates where two guards are marking guests' names off a data pad. 

“Your name Sir?” The guard yawns.

“I, uh,” Tech stammers, his cover name completely escaping his mind.

“This is my brother, Prince Techy.” Omega pipes up quickly. “And I am Princess Omi from the planet Abaya.”

The guard searches the list. “Abaya huh? Never heard of it.” He regards the two suspiciously. “What is your business here?”

“Well,” Omega begins. “We heard the Princess is a sight, you know, lovely to see?”

Tech, meanwhile, discreetly tries to press the button on his vambrance to override the guest list that should've had their identities on it before they got to the gate.

“That is why, good sirs, we got dressed up all nice to drop by,” she continues. Tech nods out the corner of her eye. “Perhaps check the list again?”

“I’m telling you, the list is correct–” he looks down again at the blue screen. He squints. Sure enough their names are now there. He rubs his temples. “Many apologies, your Majesties. It’s been a long day. Forgive me.”

Tech waves his hand dismissively. “No apologies necessary. We shall be on our way.”

“Of course,” the guards bow to the pair. 

Once they are out of earshot of the guards, Tech confirms with the rest of the Batch that they made it. 

“Good, we’re coming up to the outer walls. We’ll signal when we’ve infiltrated the castle. Try to blend in.” Hunter states. 

“Still not fair how he gets to party when we don’t,” Wrecker grumbles.

“When the job is done, you can party anywhere you like.”

Wrecker gasps. “You really mean that?”

Tech can practically hear Hunter’s eye roll. “Yes Wrecker. Now can we focus on the mission?” 

The comm channel is closed as Tech and Omega enter the expansive foyer of the palace. 

The foyer looks more inviting this time compared to the last time Tech was here. The lights this time have been dimmed from the harsh white light to a soft yellow. The sweet aroma of Alderaanian flame lilies, purple passions, and candlewick flowers dances through the air. Omega inhales deeply. “Can we bring some back to the Marauder? I think it’d freshen up the ship a bit.”

“You’re not wrong about that,” Tech cracks a small smile even though the feelings of unease have begun to bubble up. “But I don’t think they’ll appreciate us stealing some.”

“Well we are stealing the crown jewels,” Omega shrugs, looking around the room at the smiling, mingling guests. “What’s a few flowers on top of that?”

Kids got a point. Before Tech can open his mouth to speak, the sound of fanfare silences the room. 

“Honoured guests,” the rich voice of the Royal Advisor rings out at the top of the stairs. “May I present, her majesty, Queen Shira.”

The crowd claps enthusiastically as the Queen appears beside her advisor. She waves, elegantly descending the stairs. 

Tech scans the upper balcony searching for you, the person he’s been craving to see since the last time you spoke. 

“And may I present the Crown Princess, Princess Y/N.”

Time stops when you appear at the top of the stairs. Tech’s heart pounds in his chest at the sight of you and your effortless ethereal beauty. The deep turquoise blue gown you are wearing compliments your complexion perfectly. It is as if you’ve appeared straight out of the tales that Omega has been reading between missions. He has to remind himself to breathe as you descend the staircase waving as your mother did.

He notes that it appears you are looking for someone among the crowd. 

She’s looking for you. Tech shakes that impossible thought away when he sees Prince Jafan kiss your knuckles. You give the Prince a soft smile, allowing yourself to be led away. 

Before you disappear from sight, Tech meets your eyes when you glance back. A small flicker of a frown appears on your face. The disappointment stings but he is determined that he will make you see that he is the man for you. 

Tag List: If you would like to be added, do not hesitate to ask

@unstableyetlovable

@luladoll

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars the bad batch #bad batch fanfic #bad batch au #the bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch au #the bad batch tech #bad batch tech #the bad batch #clone force 99 #tech x reader #tech x reader fic #star wars reader insert #star wars angst #aladdin au #diamond in the rough #aladdin

[yoohoo-undead-unleashed]

Chapter Five: Roodee's rather big problem

"Wow... What a scene..."

YooHoo and the others were staring at the sight of what appeared to be an Undead version of a bloodbath.

There was goo and tattered cloth everywhere, with a singed crater in one spot in particular.

"If only Roodee could see this," Chewoo noted.

Ever since Orca had given the stuff to them, Roodee had been holed up in his house studying everything.

"Should we keep looking for Orca?" Pammee asked.

"Don't you remember what she said? We need to fight these Undead before we can get back to her," Lemmee told her.

"But Roodee hasn't even been with us for the past few days," she responded.

"I'm sure he'll come back to us once he's gotten everything figured out," YooHoo said. "Then we'll decide on who takes the potion, and then we'll test that in a fight when we get to some. After all, it did seem interesting..."

Roodee pushed up his glasses as he continued to inspect the small drop of the potion and its properties.

After a while of searching, he'd finally found the blueprint and finished up the latest contraption.

This was the invention he'd wanted to tell the others about. It was able to inspect the DNA of whatever had some in there, so he could know the source.

And, according to that, he'd discovered that the potion was made with some Monster DNA.

Maybe that was what would cause the transformation Orca told them about?

He grabbed the flask and swirled it, watching the concoction swish around in the glass.

The only thing he should do now was—

"ROODEE! COME OUTSIDE!"

The squirrel's voice startled him to the point he spilled the potion all over himself, much of it splashing into his mouth.

He tried to spit it out, but as he'd already swallowed some, it was pointless.

"Y-yeah?"

"I think a Monster did it! You won't believe what you'll see, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

He had no choice but to come out and join them.

A few days had passed since then.

He had no clue as to why all of this was happening now.

It started with the headaches. He could barely move when they occurred, and every day when it happened, he just wanted to curl up in his bed and cry from it all.

Then came the hunger. It wasn't impacting how much he ate, in fact, that was pretty much the same as before; it was what he'd wanted to eat this hunger was kicking him in the butt for. It sucked when he'd wanted a nice, juicy mango and instead thought about wanting to take a bite-sized chunk of Lemmee's tail for abolutely no reason at all.

Those were the only symptoms that something was absolutely wrong with him.

He couldn't stand it.

Today he was finally going to find Orca and try to ask her about...this.

Getting out of bed, he kept thinking about everything.

Why did he have to get the potion on him? Shouldn't he have just given it to Lemmee instead?

He sighed.

There had to be some explanation.

A sharp pain shot through his head and stomach, forcing him on all fours.

He sputtered and coughed as the pain only grew in his lower back, it was like he was being pulled like soft taffy in all directions...

Wait, what?

Before he knew it, he was able to stand again, letting him see what had happened.

His arms were much longer than before, and he could only describe himself as a freakishly tall, fuzzy noodle.

He trembled, knowing this wasn't over. Oh, not in the slightest.

He sure wished it would be the end of it, though.

Well... He was going to suffer some more.

He pushed his back against the wall as the transformation surged into its second stage, his newly-elongated body now gaining muscle, biting his lip to keep himself from screaming as his arms ballooned out right in front of him.

Tears blurred his vision as he continued to silently pray to whatever higher being, if there was one, who could listen.

He panted and groaned as his chest reshaped to fit his now-increasingly burly frame, grunts deepening to suit his new size.

He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to witness any more of this horror...

Then, just like that, it was over.

He didn't want to see himself.

But if he opened his eyes, surely he'd...

He opened one eye.

Nothing so far.

He opened the other.

...Huh.

Looking in his mirror, he could see that it was still him.

Him, of course, except big and muscly.

He contemplated making a few poses to show off his new body, but he immediately changed his mind on the matter.

Maybe he could take off his glasses instea—

"ROODEE, I'VE LITERALLY TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES THAT WE NEED TO LOOK FOR ORCA!"

Uh-oh.

The transformed capuchin, still getting used to such a top-heavy body, sped to the door and shoved himself on it to keep it closed.

Okay, Roodee, stay calm, stay calm...

How was he going to do that? How long was he going to stay like this? What if he was going to look like this forever? He didn't want to be stuck like this forever...

He didn't want anyone getting suspicious.

As soon as he knew nobody was near his house, he decided to go back to bed.

#goonya monster #グーニャモンスター #yoohoo #yoohoo and friends #유후와 친구들 #yoohoo: undead unleashed

[shedobewritingalittle]

Golden

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: The Reader and Bucky go through different stages of the Reader’s pregnancy.

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, giving birth

Two Months

Y/N had been mulling over how she was going to tell him since she found out a week ago. She had thought her anxiousness and worries would have faded away after she saw those two little lines on the test. No, they had only increased ten-fold, only worsening when she went to her doctor and got an official test. Her stomach tossing and turning when the doctor told her that she's been pregnant for eight weeks. Y/N was now stuck with the most important and difficult part of this whole thing-telling Bucky Barnes that she was pregnant with his baby.

How does one tell an over one hundred year old super soldier that they're going to be a father?  Getting a tiny Brooklyn Dodgers onesie made? Too cliché. Make some awful pun themed dinner that might include "buns in the oven"? Might go over his head. Hand him the sonogram that she had gotten after the pregnancy test just to be sure? He's from the forties, what the fuck is he going to know about a sonogram?

Y/N was terrified over he was going to react. Bucky was barely getting used to the world, barely getting used to having control of his own mind. And while he had been doing a lot better and he makes sure to take care of himself, Y/N didn't know how he would handle the stress of a baby. Did he even want to be a dad? Y/N didn't even know if she wanted to be a mom, but she know that somehow it felt right. They've never even talked about having children and now-well they were sort of past the point of thinking about having kids.

The whole situation made her want to vomit, and she was pretty sure it wasn't just from the morning sickness.

Y/N eventually landed on telling him over dinner. Nothing too fancy, just the usual place they always go to so that Bucky wouldn't think anything was up. All day long as she sat through meeting after meeting, her date got closer and closer, and that dread that had settled in the pit of her stomach grew with every second. Y/N felt like she was going to vomit by the time she met up with her boyfriend back at their apartment. Luckily, Bucky talks the entire car ride to the restaurant, complaining about something Sam did that day. She uses her training for good, covering up her nervousness with a neutral face.

They made their regular small talk as they sit in the back of the restaurant at their usual table. Y/N orders her usual lemonade while Bucky orders a Coke. They share a basket of bread and Y/N hopes that the carbs soak up the acid that keeps threatening to rise up her throat. Each time she wants to bring up her news, their waitress would come up with refills, an E.T.A on their food, or just to ask how they were doing. And each time, Y/N would glare daggers at her back once she was turned around to walk away.

Then their respective plates of pasta were placed in front of them. Bolognese for Bucky, arrabbiata for Y/N. While usually she immediately dives into her plate, the way her stomach is twisting and turning, she's unable to eat. Y/N pushes her pasta around with her fork as she works up the courage to talk to him. She just didn't know how to say it. All she knew is that she had to say it. Y/N puts down her fork, moving to wipe her now sweaty hands on the cloth napkin on her lap as she looks up at him. Bucky was raising a pasta laden fork up to his mouth as she opened hers.

"I'm pregnant." She finally blurts out. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, barely audible over the noise of the other guests at the restaurant. She was afraid that he couldn't hear her, afraid that she was going to have to say it again. But by the way Bucky's eyes widen, she knew that he had heard her loud and clear. He lowers his fork, mouth opening and shutting.

"I-What? You're-What?" The super soldier asks, looking from her face to her stomach and back to her face. Y/N felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach, the blood draining from her face.

"I-I'm pregnant. I found out last week." Y/N manages to get out, still looking down at her plate. Her eyes started to sting and she tried to blink her eyes rapidly in order to keep her tears at bay. Bucky's silence is deafening and Y/N wishes she could run out of the restaurant, but it's like she's glued to the chair. She wants him to say something-anything, but he is silent. Y/N is about to say something when he holds his hands up, almost in defense.

"Wait. I-I don't want you to be upset. I'm not mad-I just don't know how to put my feelings into words. I'm happy. I'm really happy. I just-You know I'm not good with words." Bucky finally speaks, stumbling over his words. Her eyes widen and she quickly looks up at him.

"I-Really?" Y/N asks, the knot her stomach slowly unraveling. Bucky nods, a small smile appearing on his face. This time the tears that are filling her eyes from happiness.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about babies or raising a child, but I'm sure I can figure it out." Bucky jokes, his metal hand fiddling with his utensils on the table. Y/N feels a million times better, a huge weight being lifted off of her shoulders. He looks up at her again, "I'm happy, Y/N. I am."

"Me too. Me too."

-

Four Months

As Y/N walked into her apartment, the only thing on her mind was kicking her shoes off, taking off her bra that was digging into her sides, and taking a much deserved nap. Her meeting had ended early and with Rhodey not needing help with anything, she had decided to return to her apartment. Yet, with not even a foot inside of the apartment, she was immediately greeted with an argument.

"No, what I am saying is you're painting wrong." Bucky snaps, which makes Y/N's eyebrow raise. Her boyfriend wasn't in sight, but he certainly was in the apartment somewhere. She sets her things down, walking over to where the arguing is coming from.

"How the hell can I be painting wrong? I'm putting paint on the wall. The wall is getting painted." Sam fires back and Y/N has to force herself to not laugh, covering her mouth. She stands in the doorway of the guest room, taking in the sight in front of her. The floor and furniture was covered in plastic tarp, blue painting tape lining the white molding and outlets. Painting supplies littered the room and standing in the middle of all of it were two idiots, both of them holding paint rollers covered in a light sage green paint.

"I'm sorry-what's going on here?" Y/N questions, motioning to the two of them and the mess in the room. Their heads snapped towards her, nervous smiles spreading across their faces. They looked like two kids that have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Hey doll-uh fuck-surprise." Bucky announces a little defeatedly while Sam gives a one handed jazz hand. Y/N laughs, carefully stepping into the room as the 106 year old man tries to explain, "I-We were going to surprise you by painting the room. Why are you home so early?"

"My meetings ended early and I am extremely surprised. Thank you and thank you too, Sammy." Y/N says sweetly, smiling at the two of them. Bucky lets out a sigh of relief and Sam chuckles. While the men may not see eye to eye all of the time, Sam has been a great help to both of them. The man had some knowledge about babies and children, being the proud uncle to two little boys, and he had been trying his best to put some of Bucky's worries at ease.

"I'm just trying to be a really great uncle." Sam teases, which makes the super soldier roll his eyes.  Bucky didn't have any living siblings and Y/N's teammates were the closest thing she had to family so it was going to be Uncle Sam, Uncle Rhodey, Auntie Pepper, Auntie Wanda, and so on and so forth. Their little patchwork support system that they were incredibly grateful for.

"Do you two need any help? I can't because I am pretty sure I'm not supposed to be inhaling paint fumes. But I can give Peter a call, I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Y/N offers, grinning from ear to ear. She knows that both men weren't exactly best friends with Peter Parker, both of them having gotten their asses handed to them by a teenager. Y/N didn't have any issues with the kid, hell she talked to him on a weekly basis. He reported to her every Friday, filling Y/N on his week. While it had first started as him telling her what Spider-Man did, it soon turned into a three hour long meeting that included take out while he filled her in the weekly drama and tales of him and his two friends. And every Friday when she would return to the apartment, Sam and Bucky would greet her by calling her traitor.

"Jesus-No, we are okay doll. I think we can manage, right Sam?" Bucky asks, looking at the other man. Sam just nods, holding his paint covered roller a little higher.

"Yeah yeah I think we will be okay. This room will be done in no time."

-

Seven Months

Y/N watched from her seat at the kitchen island as Bucky moved around the kitchen, attempting to make dinner.

Y/N had been put on bed rest due to the fact that the Super Serum that had affected Bucky's DNA was causing the baby to grow at an accelerated rate. Seeing that this is going to be the first baby born with the serum (that they know of), the doctor wanted Y/N to be cautious.

Bucky, had taken the doctor's words incredibly seriously, going so far as to not even let make any food, like he is doing now.

"Bucky, baby, I can help you, y'know." Y/N tells him as Bucky attempted to follow a fairly simple recipe for marinara sauce. It was already going south pretty fast. He hadn't bought the right type of tomatoes and hadn't chopped nearly enough garlic. She kept herself from micromanaging the whole thing, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

"Doll, I used to make dinner for me and my sister. I think I can handle this." He replies, setting the knife he was using to chop up the yellow onion aside. He scoops up the onion in his hands, moving to toss it into the big pan on the stove. The onions sizzle as soon as it hits the olive oil covered surface of the pan.

When Y/N had told Bucky she was craving pasta, she had kind of meant that they would just pick something up. Bucky had decided that he would make the meal himself and Y/N, once she saw how excited he was, didn't have the heart to tell him that she had wanted take-out.

It was actually sort of sweet, seeing him trying to hard to make this meal for her. All he wanted to do is take care of her, take care of their baby. She loved cooking for him for the same reason. It was a way to show her love, to show how much she cared about him and he just wanted to do the same.

"Alright, Barnes. I believe in you." Y/N responds, smiling at him. She just watched as he cooked (and occasionally danced to the jazz music that was playing on the record player). It didn't matter if the meal sucked, Bucky was just trying his best to take care of his girlfriend and their child.

But for the record, the meal did suck.

-

Eight Months

It was a sight, seeing them together.

Bucky held their daughter close to his chest, bouncing her carefully as the light started to filter through the blinds of her hospital room. A smile was stretched across his tired face as he moved from side to side, cooing to her softly. His hair was a mess, his clothes incredibly wrinkled. The morning light surrounded the two like a halo and if Y/N could, she'd take a picture of them. A picture of her family.

Their daughter had been born a month early, which wasn't too surprising considering with how fast she had been growing. Although it was a shock when Y/N's water broke the night before while they were sleeping. Then Y/N had spent most of yesterday in labor, finally giving birth to their sweet baby girl-Rebecca Natalia Barnes, named after Bucky's little sister and Y/N's best friend-in the evening. Bucky had started crying when Y/N had told him that she had wanted to name their daughter after his sister, not thinking that Y/N would have wanted to pay tribute to his long dead sister.

"Look Rebecca, mommy's awake." Bucky says softly, looking over to where Y/N was laying in her bed. The Super Soldier grinned at her, still rocking their child. Y/N smiled at the two of them, shifting on the bed so she can sit up a bit more as her boyfriend walked over. She looks up at the two, her heart swelling with the way Bucky looks holding their daughter.

"Hi baby." Y/N says hoarsely, the bundle of pink shifting and squirming in Bucky's arms. She holds her arms out, silently asking if she can hold Rebecca. Bucky carefully places the newborn into her arms before he pulls the plastic chair closer to the bed, not wanting to be too far from either of them.

"I can't believe she's actually here." Y/N announces softly, taking in every detail of her daughter's face in the early morning light. She had Bucky's blue-gray eyes and his nose, but her hair. It felt weird to see her, felt weird to be holding her. Y/N felt like she was dreaming, but the pain she had gone through the night before-the pain she was still feeling now-had made it real.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Bucky asks, looking at mother and child interacting. Y/N nods, tears filling her eyes as she looks down at her daughter. She presses her lips against Rebecca's forehead, taking in that baby smell that every parenting book seemed to mention. Bucky is still smiling, looking at the two, "My two beautiful girls."

Hours from now, the hospital room would be filled with friends what were more likely family, wanting to share this incredibly special moment with the Y/L/N-Barnes family. Rebecca would be introduced with her aunts and uncles, each one of them getting a chance to hold and introduce themselves to the newborn.

But for now, for now, the three of them were alone. The three of them sat together in this room, all getting used to each other. Nothing else existed outside of this room, nothing else mattered outside of this room. All that mattered was that they were together.

#bucky barnes/reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson #tfatws

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Chapter Five: Paris Revealed (Stories/Memories)

Prev

AO3

Marinette flinches back as the room erupts in shouting. The younger boy, who was definitely younger than her and yet almost (if not definitely) taller than her, was fiercely glaring while he screamed at Mr. Wayne in….was that Arabic? The man that walked in with him was waving around the knife in his hand while Dick yelled at Mr. Wayne, his face filled with confusion instead of fury. Glancing around for a way out, Marinette makes eye contact with Alfred who nods behind him. Sneaking away from the group of angry men, Marinette follows Alfred into the kitchen and instantly feels at home. And much calmer.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbles, breathing deeply to avoid spiraling again. Alfred simply hands her a cookie before turning around and putting water in a kettle.

“There is no need to apologize, Miss Marinette. It seems Master Bruce has forgotten all sense today and is instead insistent on acting like a fool. It was wrong of him to announce you like that, without preparing you or the boys beforehand. I do hope that his atrocious display of proper manners doesn’t make you want to leave.” Alfred says, and Marinette’s eyebrows shoot upwards. Was he? Was Alfred actually blaming this situation on Mr. Wayne? Was it Mr. Wayne’s fault? Did he not actually hate her? Did he just make a mistake?

“I- what?” Marinette says, unsure of herself.

“You, my dear, are not at fault. Your father didn’t tell any of his sons that you were coming to the manor today, or that you existed in general. And judging by your face, you weren’t prepared for the boys to be here either.” Alfred clarifies.

“Oh. No, I wasn’t. Mr. Wayne just said that he wanted to get to know me, and he knew I wanted to get to know him. I- my birth mother passed away. But my Maman knew her, so I can find out from her how I’m similar to Bridgette. But neither of my parents knew Mr. Wayne, and I just wanted to know if I was like him, I guess. I didn’t even know who he was until two days ago.” Marinette admits.

“As in you found out Bruce Wayne was your birth father two days ago or-” Alfred trails off, waiting for her to clarify.

“Oh no. I found out the name of my birth father awhile ago. It’s just- I really don’t pay attention to celebrities. The only ones I really know are designers. So I didn’t put two and two together, and I didn’t even know about Bruce Wayne and Wayne Enterprises until a few days ago. My friend Adrien made me google him and that’s when I found out about...the boys.” She says, stopping herself from saying her brothers as she was still unsure if Mr. Wayne actually wanted her like he wanted the others.

“Well I’m certain that things will start to calm down shortly. In the meantime, would you care for some tea?” Alfred asks, holding up the kettle. Marinette nods gratefully, trying hard to stop her inner spiral from drowning her.

---

“What do you mean daughter?” Damian snarls, finally switching to English. Bruce blinks at the boy before sighing.

“I mean, you have a biological sister.” He says, tired and wishing he had been able to convince Marinette to go somewhere else. Not that he didn’t want her to meet her siblings. But it definitely wasn’t the laid back first meeting that he wanted.

“You mean half-sister.” Damian spits out, crossing his arms and sticking his nose into the air.

“Shut up, Demon Spawn. She’s our sister, get over it. Where’d the kid come from? Her mom drop her off?” Jason asks, obviously trying to actually understand the situation.

“No. I first met her at the Museum and had my suspicions. She’s in Gotham on a class trip, and before you ask, yes. We had a DNA test done and yes, I am her father.” Bruce says, frowning when he sees Dick’s hurt expression morph into one of excitement.

“Wait, wait, wait! Was she the girl who was sassing the Joker?” He asks quietly, practically buzzing with excitement. When Bruce nods, Dick cheers and runs from the room. Okay then.

“Wait, she met the Joker?” Jason asks, his expression turning dark. Bruce watches his son’s face morph into one of disgust when he puts it together. “She’s the French kid he had at gunpoint, isn’t she?”

“Yes. Which is one of the reasons why we both thought the manor would be a more appropriate meeting place rather than somewhere public.” Bruce says, sighing as Damian once again starts screaming. This was not what he had planned.

---

After just a few minutes with Alfred, Marinette already felt calmer. Calm enough to giggle at another story about something that one of the boys- one of her brothers- did. Calm enough to let her guard down. And mess up.

“If you wanna see something ridiculous, you should look up the 26th time Monsieur Ramier was akumatized into Monsieur Pigeon. He made all the buildings turn into bird cages and all the food turned into bird seed. Luckily it didn’t last long, but seeing the Mayor of Paris stuck inside a giant bird cage was kind of hilarious.” Marinette rambles, giggling at the memory. It was definitely a needed akuma, situated right between two super destructive akumas. Monsieur Pigeon was, while a nuisance, always a breath of fresh air. His akumatized form was brought on by his fierce protectiveness of the pigeons, which luckily never led to death for civilians.

“Pardon me, Miss Marinette, but could I ask what you mean by ‘akumatized’?” Alfred asks, his posture suddenly stiff. Marinette’s eyes widen as she realizes what she just did. She told someone outside of Paris about the situation happening in Paris. Well crap. Normal Parisians didn’t know about the media block that she had set up with the help of the Mayor and Max. But after her calls to the Justice League were ignored, and she realized how disastrous it would be for a member of the League to be akumatized, the media block was the best choice. Time to act clueless.

“Akumatized, as in, a person is possessed by an akuma? Surely you’ve heard of it. It’s been happening in Paris for almost two years.” She says, hoping he doesn’t ask to see any evidence. This isn’t good, this is awful, this-

“And what is an akuma?” Alfred asks. Okay, this isn’t too bad.

“It’s an evil butterfly sent out by the villain, Hawkmoth.” Marinette says, giving out more information than she’s really comfortable with. Okay, time to change the subject, no more questions about heroes or villains or-

“Marinette!” A new voice calls, sliding into the kitchen, almost immediately falling over.

“Master Dick, have you forgotten about your ban on the kitchen?” Alfred asks, his lips quirking up in amusement.

“Awww, Alfred, I just wanted to talk to Marinette. I feel bad for all of us overwhelming her back there.” Dick says with a pout that somehow doesn’t look ridiculous on him. Despite obviously being at least ten years older than her.

“Don’t feel bad. It was just...a lot all at once.” Marinette says with a small smile.

“So I have to ask, are you the one who sassed the Joker at the Museum the other day?” He asks, a wide grin on his face as he sits on one of the stools. Marinette’s eyes widen and she blinks. How?

“Oh, uh, yeah, I guess. It wasn’t a big deal though. He thought I was a Wayne- well, I guess he figured it out before I did- but I think he just wanted to scare my class.” She says, waving her hand to brush off the topic. She really didn’t want to talk about the Joker. Because she was sure it would turn into-

“I apologize for asking, but have you been caught up in the villain attacks in Paris before?” Alfred asks, Marinette instantly panicking. Sure, she’d been caught up in almost every single akuma battle as Ladybug. But there were a few on record where she was targeted as Marinette, and even a few battles that she assisted as Marinette. And then there was Kwami Buster…

“Well, a few. But basically everyone in Paris has dealt with it at some point. That’s just what happens when there’s an attack so often, you know? And my school seems to be a hotspot but that makes sense because teenagers are full of negative emotions and-” Marinette cuts off her rambling, cursing herself on the inside. Great job, Mari. Now they’re going to be worried or they’re going to think you’re a freak or-

“What do you mean negative emotions? Why would that matter?” Dick asks, his previous cheerful smile replaced with a look that clearly meant business.

“That’s how the villain chooses his targets. Negative emotion. If someone is having a bad enough day, he can take control of them and give them powers and basically destroy the city trying to get to Ladybug and Chat Noir, who are our heroes. I only know what’s been posted on official sites like the Ladyblog or miraculousparis.org.” Marinette says, smiling apologetically and hoping that this conversation can be over.

“Have you ever been akumatized?” Dick asks, tension suddenly filling the room.

“No, thankfully. I’ve found ways to manage my negative emotions so that they can’t take me over. I don’t blame anyone who has been akumatized, it’s hard not to be. But, I also don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself if I was akumatized.” Because then her family would be a target. Because Hawkmoth would know her identity. And if Hawkmoth’s insistence on her being akumatized was anything to go on, she’d be a devastating akuma. And if Ladybug wasn’t fighting in the battle….would the cure even work?

“That is a lot of pressure, Miss Marinette.” Alfred says softly after a moment of tense silence. Marinette grins brightly.

“I can handle it, don’t worry!” She says, hoping no one can tell how hard it actually is. How hard it is constantly being strong. Never truly feeling a negative emotion.

---

Bruce winces at the faux cheerfulness in his daughter’s voice. He had only found out about the Paris situation a few days ago, but he was determined to fix it. Find a solution. Do something to help the city and by extension, his daughter. She’d be going back there soon. Back to a city that was being held hostage by an emotional terrorist. Bruce would fix this. He had to.

Next

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[from-a-reckless-writer]

because, i think it's stupid that lena wouldn't have a back-up plan after alex took the device from her...

“Hey, Alex,” Lena calls, jogging to where Alex was putting her jacket on. Everyone was already gearing up to go home and she’s been thinking about this for the past hour. 

So, Lena shoots her shot.

“Yeah?” Alex turns to her, motor helmet in hand and already clad in her leather jacket.

“I was wondering if I can bring home the tracker? I know it’s a long shot but I was thinking maybe if I get another look at it, I can reverse engineer some of its properties and try to come up with a another way to get Kara back, I know Nia’s already doing the time-travel the but it can’t hurt to-”

Alex mercifully puts a stop to her rambling and puts a hand on her arm to stop her nervous fidgeting.

“I left it on top of the workstation.” She smiles in reassurance. “Of course you can take another look at it. Anything to help Kara.”

Lena lets out a relieved sigh. After everything that’s happened today she’s still a bit wary of stepping on anybody’s toes. That showdown with Alex was really something not to mention that talk after.

“Okay, okay. Thank you.”

“Alright. Good night.”

She sprints to the lab--which looks like more of an awkward gallop in her high heels--and snatches the tube-like device from the table.

She doesn’t even realize she’s hitching an elevator ride with Nia and Brainy—too caught up with planning out what to do with the device—till Nia speaks up, “Hey, that wasn’t bad for a first day.”

Lena looks up from the device in her hands, meeting Nia’s eyes.

“What’d I tell you, Nia Nal? Lena has always been extraordinary,” Brainy states, pressing for the ground floor.

“T-thank you,” she says, voice shaky and shy, but who can blame her? She isn’t used to this kind of appreciation. She still can’t believe they’ve accepted her like this, even though she very nearly ruined the whole mission by choosing Kara above everything else. 

It was a good thing Alex was there to call the shots.

Nia gives her a small smile before slowly closing her eyes and resting her head against Brainy’s shoulder.

They say their goodbye’s at the door and then Lena’s speeding her way to her apartment.

***

The device worked with Kara’s DNA before it got recalibrated, if, and that’s a big if, Lena thinks.

If she can extract Kara’s DNA, replace the core of the device, and input it in, then she can recreate the same tech she did earlier.

She already knows she’s not going to get any sleep tonight.

She pulls up in front of her building and heads straight for her penthouse.

Kara hasn’t been here for a year, what with their falling out and everything that’s happened with Lex. They didn’t even have a chance for one last movie night before Kara disappeared.

Her eyes start to sting with unshed tears at the thought, but knowing the work she has to do tonight, she quickly pushes it down.

Despite Kara not having visited her home recently, Lena knows there are many traces of her in this place. Namely, the lavender hairbrush living in her second bathroom drawer, the one she didn’t have the heart to throw away even during their fight.

She quickly makes for her bathroom, throws open the drawers, grabs the brush and puts it in a clean zip-lock, one she pulled from the kitchen.

She didn’t even bother changing clothes.

She was too busy outlining tonight’s lab work in her head to bother with something as trivial as changing clothes.

There are more important things to do, like busting inside the LuthorCorp tower, and down to what used to be her private lab. Lex hasn’t changed security. This, she knows. Therefore, she also knows that Mr. Johnson still works the night shifts and if she plays her cards right, she can sway him to open the door for her and keep it discreet.

Of course, you must be wondering why doesn’t she just use her private lab at home, instead? The reason being, her private lab is strictly an engineering and physics lab. What she needs right now, is enzymatic reagents and buffers; a gel electrophoresis machine and a PCR machine.

All of which can be found in LuthorCorp’s cutting-edge Biochemistry laboratory.

***

Turns out, she was right.

Mr. Johnson still does the nightshift and he was only a tad bit surprised to see her there. Already used to Lena staying holed up all night long, in her lab in the past.

He tells her he’s on her side despite the bad news about the Luthor Children’s Hospital, tells her that most of them here dearly misses Miss Luthor and hopes that Lex as CEO is only a temporary thing. He also tells her thank you again for the thousandth time for Lena saving his daughter’s life. Lena smiles warmly and asks if he can keep this visit under wraps if he doesn’t mind, to which he immediately agrees. Lena fights the urge to let out another sigh of relief.

See, Lex? It pays to treat people kindly.

It’s 11 pm when Lena reaches the labs. It was already dark, save for the lights of the big freezers. She knows there’ll be footage of her little excursion here but that’s an easy enough problem to solve when you have a Twelfth-Level intellect as back-up.

When she said she isn’t going to sleep tonight, she really genuinely means she isn’t going to sleep tonight.

See, it’s already 11 and she needs at least an hour to sterilize all equipment, another hour to sift through the clump of hair in the brush and look for an intact hair shaft. Then, she estimates 2 hours for extracting the DNA from the hair shaft using enzymes and she knows all too well how long a time it takes for a pipette to find the right fit during electrophoresis, not to mention the PCR machine can take 2-4 hours.

And even then, Lena still has to test the device, link it to her transmatter portal in order to open a portal once she gets Kara’s coordinates and after all that she isn’t really sure if this is going to be effective.

She has half a mind to call Brainy here and run her through all the probabilities.

But she knows this is something she needs to do alone.

***

It’s been so long since she’s had to do anything with physiology that she has to spend at least 30 minutes reading up the lab manual.

Extracting cattle DNA like she did back in college was an easy enough task with someone with the brains as hers, but a Kryptonian’s?

Lena had to do some extra calculations on what temperature to set and how much solution to use to get through Kara’s hair of steel.

In the end, she figured it out and soon enough the hum of the PCR machine becomes her only companion. It took a while to denature Kara’s DNA, she had to double the amount of Taq polymerase before actually getting it to the PCR machine.

It’s 4 am now, and she only has two hours before the LuthorCorp employees show up; two hours before her brother pulls up.

Thank God, for state of the art PCR machines that get things done in under an hour.

***

She’s been actively avoiding thinking of Kara throughout all of this.

But now, she’s home and in her private lab with Kara’s DNA strands in vials inside the LuthorCorp sterile container.

If she pulls this off, if this works, Kara would be home.

She won’t have to talk to holograms anymore, she won’t have to dream about bloody capes, she won’t have to feel incomplete anymore. Kara would be home. She can bring Kara home.

With a newfound determination, she sets on recalibrating the device. She takes out a vial of Kara’s DNA; gloved hands carefully inserting it unto the core of the device.

Now, onto the second part; linking her transmatter portal to open up at the exact coordinates the tracker points.

The whole process took her at least two hours. By the time she trudges to her bedroom to test the device, the sun was already peeking up from the horizon.

She opts to do it in her bedroom, granted that her physics lab was nothing more but the size of two small rooms mashed together. Her bedroom was more spacious and in the event that Kara needs to lie down, her bed would only be three steps away.

The device feels heavy in Lena’s hand, it actually feels alive. Lena supposes, it is. 

It does have Kara’s DNA in it after all.

She feels like this is one of those moments where it will be ingrained in your brain for forever. That small in-between in the middle of the Before and After. The realization of how important this moment is clears up her mind.

So, with sweaty hands she raises the device, clicks something on her wristwatch, watches as the tube fills with a blue hue getting brighter and brighter, till a streak of blue-white light beams out from the device and from a single point starts to form the beginnings of a portal.

Lena’s seen one too many portal openings for a lifetime to know in the next instant that this is it, it works.

She fucking did it.

***

A gust of ice cold air is the first thing that hits Lena once the portal fully opens.

The next was the sight of Supergirl. Kara. She was slumped against a boulder; cape tattered, hair dirty and face begrimed. She looked tired, exhausted, and in those first few seconds, Kara had her eyes closed.

Before it hits Lena all at once, Kara’s right there! She’s right there! She found Kara! Kara is right there, just three steps away—

“KARA!” She shouts, runs to the portal and into the Phantom Zone.

Kara jerks at the call of her name, squints her eyes at the bright blue portal before she realizes a figure is barreling straight for her, screaming her name.

A figure she knows all too well, a voice she knows all too well.

Before she knows it Lena’s crashing unto her place on the ground, two arms wrapping at Kara’s neck, sobbing, “It worked! Oh, God, it worked, I found you! I found you, I found you-”

All Kara could do was mutter a Lena in response, still suspended in disbelief.

Lena pulls back to touch her face and Kara finally takes a good look at her. Lena knows her hair was a far cry from her prim ponytails, she’s been tugging at it since midnight, her face was blotchy with tears and her eyes must’ve screamed exhaustion. But she couldn’t care less about her appearance, because Kara was here, she found Kara.

Kara was here and she’s crying too, also bringing a hand to Lena’s face and wiping at her tears.

They were crying and smiling and sobbing in each other’s arms.

“You found me.”

Lena leans in to Kara’s touch, both hands cradling Kara’s hand on her cheek, smiles in between sniffles and nods.

“I did, Kara I did. I found you. I'll always find you.”

“Take me home, Lena.”

***

Alex picks up on the third ring.

“Lena?” she answers, voice still groggy with sleep.

“I found her, Alex, I found her, she’s home.”

“What? Who? Lena what-”

“Kara. Kara’s home, Alex.”

The next thing Lena hears were sobs. She passes the phone to Kara, who was still in her filthy supersuit, sitting on the edge of Lena’s queen bed probably making it dirty beyond saving but Lena cannot find in her to care.

“Hi, Alex.”

She exits the room to give the Danvers sisters some privacy and also to prepare Kara a shower, grabs a couple of Kara’s clothes from when they still had sleepovers and left it in the bathroom counter.

By the time she comes back again, Kara’s put the phone down, still sitting on the bed and fiddling with her thumbs. Kara looked small like this and there’s nothing more Lena wants to do than to embrace her.

So, she does.

“Hi,” Kara says, as she holds Lena close, Lena straddling her lap, foreheads pressed together.

“Hi back,” she whispers, smile in her voice, Kara’s blue eyes were filled with exhaustion but still beaming bright just for her. “Would you like to take a shower? I’ve prepared the bath for you.”

Kara nods, refusing to pull away, “Okay, okay, great,” she mutters even though the both of them make no move to pull away from each other, choosing to remain in this quiet existence of overwhelming love for each other’s presence, instead.

There’s still so much to say and so much to do, but all of that can wait, everything can wait, there’s no rush.

Her hero is finally home after all.

***

When she opens the door, Alex crashes into her with an embrace so tight, Lena had trouble breathing. Kelly closes the door for them, they drove here still in pajamas Lena notices, as Kelly gives her a smile from over Alex’s shoulder.

“Where is she?” Alex gasps out, tears springing from her eyes at the sight of Kara’s supersuit on the floor, right next to her grimy red boots. Concrete proof that her sister really is home, that Lena really did the impossible.

“In the shower,” Lena murmurs, giving Kelly a cup of tea as Alex paces in anticipation, Lena was half-afraid she’d wear a hole in her hardwood floors.

“H-how?” Alex asks, too emotional to let out a full sentence.

“Well,” Lena begins, and takes them through the entire process of what she had done the night before, how she didn’t sleep, how she kind of needs Brainy to scrub clean the LuthorCorp surveillance system, how she replicated Kara’s DNA as substitute for the life force in that crystal, how the portal had opened in her bedroom.

Alex took all of this in with quiet tears streaming down her face and Kelly’s hand tight in hers.

“Thank you, Lena. Thank you.”

***

The sight of the Danvers sisters reuniting was something that would make even a grown man weep.

Alex collides into Kara, before she even gets the chance to say her name.

“Rao, Alex, I missed you.”

Alex couldn’t respond to hearing her sister’s voice again for the first time, so she just sobs into the embrace.

Lena has to wipe away a stray tear or two before turning around, feeling like this moment was something too precious to intrude on.

This moment belonged to Kara and Alex, not her.

Kelly did the same and asked Lena if it would be okay to use her kitchen, she wanted to fix Kara her first breakfast.

***

“Are you sure you’d rather stay the night here?” Lena murmurs unto the crown of Kara’s head.

They were both laid in Lena’s bed, she doesn’t why she asked, when the both of them are already in pajamas and are two seconds away from slumber still Lena can’t help but ask.

Surely, Kara would want to spend her first night back in her own bed rather than here, right?

“M’sure, I’m right where I want to be,” Kara says around a yawn, pressing close to Lena, and nuzzling into her neck. She was clearly wearied, which was totally understandable, hell the both of them were. Lena’s been up for 24 hours. She’s amazed her body hasn’t knocked her out yet.

After that emotional morning, Alex insisted Kara be checked in The Tower. And so they did, everything was fine with her vitals, though they all still insisted she stay a couple of hours under the sunlamps. All of them knows, there was no sunlight in the Phantom Zone.

Nia, Brainy and M’gann all had teary reunions with Kara. Although, Nia’s was the most amusing one, “I’m sorry, in advance,” she said between sniffles, “But I just couldn’t think of anything and- and- Andrea was grilling me so I just said you were with Cat,” she sobbed.

“It’s okay, Nia,” Kara laughs, “We’ll work on it together,” she promises.

Seeing Kara back with everyone, seeing her in her pastel clothes, seeing her without her glasses; laughing and soft and safe has Lena crying quietly again at the memory.

“Hey? Why are you crying? This is a happy day, remember? I’m home. You brought me home. No more crying, okay?” Kara tells her from her place in the bed.

“I know.” Lena quickly wipes a tear, “I’m sorry, I’m just happy. So, so happy.”

She is. She really, really is. Especially right now, finally laying in bed with Kara after a long two weeks of lonely nights.

Kara requested to be held tonight, asking Lena shyly, “C-can you hold me? For tonight? Please?”

Lena was powerless and now here they were.

“For the record,” Lena says, “I’m right where I want to be, too.”

#ignore the science part i read like one article from ncbi and then wrote that shit in #sdfjklasdjf thats like stock knowledge from my past biochem lessons #anyways yeah cos i really think it's stupid that lena wouldn't have a back up plan or at least a replica of the tech #the reckless writer writes #supercorp ficlet of sorts #supercorp #supercorp fic #supergirl spoilers #rcklss writes

[userholland]

all for her [3]

pairing: dad!bartender!tom x female!reader

warnings: cursing, lots of angst

summary: a single-dad bartender, a supportive best friend and their continuous, unrequited love noticed by his optimistic daughter. is it possible to break a heart they never knew they had?

word count: 8.7k! 

a/n: another month has passed but! finally here’s part 3!!! sorry for the delay but i was caught in between this rut & midterms so it took a while for any big ideas to spark. but i’m so happy that so many of y’all have enjoyed this story. i want to say again that this is my favorite fic series i’ve ever written so thank you so so much for appreciating it! i may end with 5 parts, but i won’t leave y’all hanging!

— masterlist ☆彡

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

A week had passed since the gruesome bar fight and Tom was still left with a dark bruise surrounding his right eye along with another on the side of his chin and the start of his jaw. Luckily, there were no broken bones or dislocated limbs, but it was made known that he had a concussion after you forced him to go to the emergency room and get properly looked at by a doctor. As stubborn as he was, Tom tried listening to the careful instructions given for the follow-up appointments that would come, but everything went in one ear and out the other.

“We want to make sure each part of the brain that was impacted is still intact, so we want you to see this specialist and they’ll run a few cognitive tests to make sure everything is okay.” The doctor explained in simple terms as he scribbled the information on his prescription pad and ripped it off.

You nodded, taking the paper from him, “How much is all this?”

“It’s not too costly, but insurance should cover most of it.” He reassured, glancing at you before looking back at Tom’s chart, “I recommend a lot of rest and time away from work for at least two to three days.”

Tom quickly looked over, “I can’t take off work right now. I really can’t afford to do that right now.”

“Mr. Holland, we want to make sure that there’s no way you could injure yourself even more than now. You need to take a few rest days in order to relax and stay away from anything strenuous.”

“I’m a bartender, I think I can-”

“Tom... relax, please.” You retorted at him, your jaw slightly clenched.

Tom stared out the window with his side against the wall, feeling like he was miles away even though he was just across the room. You peered over at him a few times throughout the appointment, but you knew he didn’t want to be here. One of the strings of his black hoodie curled around his pointer finger, pulling on the coil before letting it spring back, repeating it a few times as the doctor continued informing to you.

He’d been fixated on the results of the DNA test. It was rooted in his mind from how many times he read over it, convincing himself it wasn’t true and it was a huge mistake. Doubt consumed his thoughts, wondering how he could have been so stupid to fall for the entire ruse even though Tom never regretted one moment of raising Summer. He loved her so much and would do anything to have her back, but finding out the truth made it harder for him to figure out if he should still be fighting for her.

Throughout the nights, he tossed and turned enough to wake you up, feeling his pull on the sheets. Sometimes you’d hold him from behind, curling your arms and locking them to make him feel safe. You pressed your cheek against his back, the eerily sound of his heartbeat against your ear as it quickly thudded. His thumb brushed over the top of your hand, remembering that you were still there, but when he closed his eyes, every thought crawled its way back in and cluttered his mind enough to make him want to burst into an angry fit.

After a few minutes, the doctor left you two to gather your things. Tom ran his hand over his hair as he started to walk to the door, but you blocked him from taking another step. With your arms crossed in front of your chest and your eyebrows furrowed, Tom knew that look was never good.

“Talk to me… C’mon, what’s going on? What’s on your mind?” You softly asked, still looking into his eyes.

Tom ran his hands down his face, a light groan leaving his lips from the frustration slowly building inside his entire body.

“I don’t want to talk about it now, Y/N. Please. I’m fucking embarrassed enough.” He huffed.

“Then when are you gonna talk about it?” You retorted, your eyebrows furrowed from concern, “You can’t keep the weight of the world on your shoulders forever.”

He shrugged, “I’m not Summer’s dad. That’s it! It was all fucking nothing. It doesn’t matter-”

“It’s always mattered, Tom!” You whisper-shouted, not wanting to make a scene with everyone passing by even though the door was closed, “What Maggie did to you was fucked up, but you raised that girl to be who she is now and that’s what matters.”

Tom gulped, his tired eyes beginning to water as he kept eye contact with you. His bottom lip quivered, but he quickly wiped his tears with his hoodie sleeve. The dryness in his throat hurt and even closing his bruised eye was painful to do, making him curse under his breath every time. He clenched his jaw tight as he rubbed the back of his neck, but you placed your hands on each side of his delicate face. 

It was hard to see him in this state where nothing mattered to him and there was a greyness that clouded over the great and wonderful person he truly was. It wasn’t the Tom you grew up with, not even close, so to see this side of him for the first time astonished you, and you weren’t sure what else it would take to see his old self other than getting Summer back.

He ran his hand over his soft curls, “Can we just go home?”

“Yeah, but remember we have a call with a lawyer tomorrow morning. He thinks you could get a good settlement deal since the guy who beat you up had prior arrests.” You reminded him, pecking his cheek then rubbing your thumb over the bruised skin under his eye.

Tom nodded, “You know we can’t afford this guy.”

“We’ll make it work.” You said, wrapping your arms around his waist with his around your neck.

He licked his lips, “Y/N, I’m not gonna make you pay for it.”

“Who said you were making me? I know you want her back as much as I do.” You sniffled, gently holding his face so he could look into your sincere eyes and saw the way they gleamed.

Neither of you wanted to surrender and it never crossed your minds to give up on Summer, but it was getting harder when you felt like Tom was a ticking time bomb and it could only take Maggie’s choice of words to pick at the one nerve no one else could reach to make him completely snap.

Your noses brushed together with your foreheads lightly pressed, both of you reminding yourselves that you had one another. Tom placed his hand on your cheek before leaning in, feeling how soft and light your lips were against his and tasting your minty chapstick. As your eyes tightly closed, you shared a slow kiss with your arms still loosely wrapped around his neck. It was a blissful kiss, one you hadn’t shared in a while, but it was comforting in moments like this where you were terrified of what was to come. 

When Tom pulled away, he planted a faint kiss on the center of your forehead, “I love you so much.”

“I love you so much more.” You mumbled as you looked into his beautiful, russet eyes, “C’mon. Let’s go home and put some ice on that eye again, maybe take a nap after.” You hinted.

He half-smiled, “That sounds nice.”

You quickly furrowed your eyebrows, pouted your bottom lip, “Hmm, and maybe take a shower, you look like hell.” You joked, raking your fingers through the front of his messy curls to the crown of his head.

Tom rolled his eyes and smirked, “You know you used to be nicer to me, like when we were kids.”

“Well that’s before I fell for you, I can’t get too soft… plus, I think it balances your ego.” You smiled, pressing your lips against his while the two of you giggled within another kiss.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

Later that afternoon, you and Tom were napping on the couch with the TV on low volume. The birds chirped by the window and traffic was below the terrace, the sudden honks echoing between the buildings. You were laying between Tom’s legs, the fluffy blanket over your whole body. With your arms loose around Tom’s torso, you slumbered with your head comfortably against his chest. Tom wanted to go some sleep, blinking his dry eyes every few seconds to keep himself awake, trying to distract himself with his phone.

Light snores left your lips, your face hiding in his neck as you unconsciously curled up more. Tom stretched his neck a bit, making sure you were okay before running his hand over your hair. If he could lose Summer, Tom worried that you could slip away just as easily. He never realized how protective he was, hoping it wouldn’t push you away from his own faults and insecurities; he didn’t want to be left alone.

Tom kissed the top of your hair, nuzzling his face against the top of your head. Throughout this, you were his rock, an anchor to hold him down when things got to be too much and he couldn’t believe how supportive you were with how confused he was. You held him when he cried and you listened to him when he needed to vent. It was things you’d done before, but you both felt emotionally closer like another wall had fallen and there was nothing you couldn’t tell each other.

He slowly raked his fingers through the crown of your head to the end of your back, over and over as you peacefully napped before his phone vibrated against the coffee table. You stirred in your sleep, turning your head away and loosely wrapping your arm under Tom’s neck. As his vision cleared from his sleepy daze, Tom furrowed his eyebrows at the contact name.

“Hey, baby, I have to take this,” Tom said in a low tone, not wanting to completely wake you up.

You nodded, your eyes still closed, but Tom slowly got on his feet. After he placed the blanket over you, Tom went out to his bedroom so you could have some quiet.

“Hey, dad.” He answered.

“Hey, Tommy.”

His father always had the same monotone voice, like a poker face that he had to figure out since he was born.

“What’s going on? Is Sheryl okay?” Tom replied, sitting down on the bed.

Ever since his dad got remarried a few years ago, Tom and his father’s relationship slowly parted over time. With work, school, and a kid, Tom didn’t have time to take the backhanded compliments and concerned parenting skills that his new stepmom persistently gave to him on any family occasion. They used to have dinners together every Saturday night when Tom could get away from the city and school, but each one got worse. The last straw was around this time last year, it was Thanksgiving dinner and the blowout was something Tom tried to forget every other week. He couldn’t even bring it all up to you which was hard to keep since it’s been biting at his nerves for the last year.

As Summer got older, Tom didn’t want her to think she was “some kind of mistake” as Sheryl would put it. So for the sake of her, he told himself that his family wasn’t going to cost his daughter’s happiness and he never returned a call back until now. She asked about her grandparents around birthdays or holidays throughout the year, but it was getting harder for Tom to avoid the question when she wouldn’t give up sometimes.

Even though Tom’s mom was usually out of the country, she made sure to send presents, pictures and call every other weekend to make sure he and Summer were okay, but Tom would never admit to her if something was wrong. His mom was never there, not for him growing up and rarely now, but he knew she was trying to make up for it holiday after holiday.

“Uh, she’s well. We’re fine. I just wanted to call you and ask what’s going on… How’s Summer?” His dad genuinely asked.

Tom chuckled, “Why do you ask?”

His father hesitated for a second with his answer, “I haven’t heard from you in a while. Your mom called me and said that she hadn’t heard from you either. So, we’re just worried about you…”

“Yeah… yeah.” Tom raised his eyebrows as he rolled his eyes.

He heard his father sigh, “I know things weren’t the best the last time I saw you-”

“Some woman I barely know tells me that I can’t raise my daughter? That she was a mistake? No, dad. I should be visiting even more after that.” Tom retorted, grinning to mask how the anger was building up inside him slowly but surely.

“She’s your stepmom.”

“Not to me.”

Tom’s dad didn’t fight back his bitter attitude, “Tom, I just want to talk to you. It’s just you and me.”

“Dad, I’m really… not in the mood.” 

“Let’s get lunch… or dinner, maybe? Just the two of us.” His dad suggested, almost pleading.

There was silence between the conversation as Tom thought for a few seconds. As damaged as his bond was with his dad, he didn’t want to push him away. It would be what Maggie was doing to him, and to feel the separation from a child hurt like hell.

Tom sniffled, “Fine, yeah. Sure.”

“Great. Well, what about dinner tonight? Where do you want to meet?”

“Um, we can meet at the bar I work at… before my shift starts. Six o’clock.” Tom trailed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

Tom quickly hung up before he could burst into tears. In the back of his mind, he thought there was an ultimatum behind the real reason he wanted to talk, not thinking it was just some catching up. But, the stress of the past month had made Tom into a walking mess. Maybe this would bring back some old times, like when he was a kid in a baseball cap and his dad brought him to baseball games and carnivals when his mom was on business trips.

“Fucking Christ,” Tom said under his breath, running his hands through his hair. He blinked away the tears at the waterlines of his tired eyes, wiping them with his t-shirt before getting up.

It was still hard to pass Summer’s room and see it still untouched and empty. Tom kept it neat and clean, hoping it motivated his hope to have her back home. Sometimes he’d sit on her bed and think about the little life the three of you had together. She probably missed her stuffed animals she had tea parties with or the t-shirts she couldn’t fit in her bag. Maggie refused to let him over anymore, not after the last time they saw each other and how frustrated he got. It was hard to think that Tom was holding out for nothing, and Summer could never be in his life again.

He leaned against the doorframe, staring at the bunny sitting on her bed. It was the bunny you and Tom spent hours looking for sometimes, one day realizing that Summer started to do it on purpose. She would hide it in the last place you could think of and it became a race of who could find Mr. Fluffycakes first. She finally admitted one day that she thought it was a game that you and Tom liked to play, so she would try to find the perfect place to almost camouflage the soft, grey bunny.

Tom held it in his hands, bring it up to his face, and smelling the familiar, lavender-vanilla detergent. He sighed, glaring at the small paintings taped with scotch tape to her wall by the dollhouse in the corner of her room. It was Summer’s favorite Christmas present she had ever gotten, Tom’s mom hoping she’d like it after getting it from London. She traveled a lot, always sending things in the mail to Summer, but rarely making appearances with how much she did work. Tom hoped that would change from when he was a kid, but now he understood how his parents ended up separating.

“You okay, babe?” You grinned, leaning on the doorframe and glaring at Tom sat on Summer’s book nook.

“Yeah, just miss her.” He half-smiled, biting his bottom lip after and tossing her bunny on the bed.

You walked over, sitting next to Tom and wrapping your arm around his shoulder before kissing his temple trailing to the apple of his cheek then lightly pressing your nose against his cheek.

“I bet she misses you a lot too.” You replied. “Have you heard from Maggie? Any chance of… seeing her? Maybe a short visit.” You asked, pulling your head away to turn to him.

He nodded, “We haven’t talked. I don’t want Summer to see me like this anyways.” Tom said low, lightly touching his bruised eye.

“C’mon, you look noble and tough. She’ll think you’re more of a hero than you already are.” You joked, trying to get a smile out of him.

“Hmm, I wish I felt like that.” Tom sighed.

Trying to figure out the gears working in Tom’s head was always a mystery. You watched his brown eyes shift back and forth as he was leaned over, his elbows against the top of his knees. Another long sigh passed his lips and you could tell something else was really bothering him, not needing him to say it.

“What’s wrong, baby? C’mon, you have that furrow in your brow.” You tilted your head.

He bit the inside of his cheek, his pride fighting his urge to just open his mouth, but he had a soft spot for you like no one else could. The instant Tom looked into your eyes, he felt the comfort he knew he needed.

“My dad called me, just now.”

“Oh… Is that good or bad?” You asked.

He cracked his knuckles, shrugging, “Both, kind of...”

You didn’t know much about Tom and his dad’s relationship other than Tom hating his stepmom, in light terms than he used. But, he wanted Summer to keep in contact with them for as long as he could. So many years had passed since you last saw his dad, so it didn’t feel right to butt in when you knew the bare minimum, but last Thanksgiving was unforgivable in Tom’s book so you stood by his side on what he felt.

“We’re gonna meet for dinner tonight… at the bar. I want to take a shift tonight.” Tom added.

You sighed, “Tom, you can’t work. We have to go to the doctor soon.”

“Just tonight. I promise. I… I need to do something with myself.” He groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing the top of his head before looking back into your eyes.

“Okay… I understand. But, just tonight.” You agreed and rubbed his arm, pressing your cheek against his shoulder.

Tom sat up, straightening his back and you pulled your face away from his shoulder to look him in the eye. Your faces were close together, a few inches away before he asked, “Can you come with me? ‘Cause, I don’t think I can do it alone.” He admitted then bit the inside of his cheek.

You tried to hide your smile, happy that he was opening up a bit at a time.

“Of course, babe. I’ll go with you for however long you need me.” You said as you trailed your hand to his, intertwining your fingers together and giving him a quick squeeze. Tom’s smile slowly painted on his tired face, bringing the top of your hand to his lips.

“Thank you. Really, thank you. You don’t know how grateful I am for you.”

“Well, I have all day.” You jeered and it made him smile again, wrapping his arms around you to scatter kisses on your cheek and neck.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

The bar wasn’t busy during the late afternoon, before the fleet of college students and single women came through for the nightlife. But it was a relaxed spot when the sun was still out. A few husky men sat at the bar, eating chips and drinking pints to watch the various games on the flat screens or truckers stopping by for a nice meal and taking a smoke outside. It wasn’t the most formal place to meet up, but Tom had work in two hours so it was more convenient than worrisome to impress his dad.

You and Tom sat at a table for four, sitting next to one another and your arm linked around his. He was dressed in his work attire which was a dark-blue button-down paired with a white t-shirt with his name tag on the right side of his chest, solid black jeans that were a bit baggy on him, and his raggedy converse with the laces looped around the ankle once. He kept checking his watch every few minutes while he tapped his right foot against the floor and it began to make you a bit antsy.

“Baby, you need to relax.” You reminded him, lightly pressing your hand down on his thigh.

“I am. I’m just mentally preparing for what he’s gonna say to me.” He sighed as he sat up in his chair.

“Like what?”

“Oh, you really want me to go through the entire list?” Tom sarcastically joked, a half-smile on his lips.

You humored him with a giggle, but nodded your head, “You’re overthinking it. It’ll be okay and I’m right here next to you.”

Tom leaned in, giving you a light kiss that made your stomach fill with butterflies. You never knew how tender he could be when he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who enjoyed PDA. But, he became putty when he was around you by this point that it was hard not to want to kiss you when you comforted him.

He quickly looked down at his watch again, “He’s almost an hour late. He probably bailed.”

“Don’t say that. He’s gonna come, maybe, he’s just in weekend traffic.” You tried to keep his head up.

Tom rubbed the back of his neck, but he couldn’t help but slowly feeling the creeping feeling of abandonment on his shoulders. He wanted to give his dad a chance, he really did, but this was reminding him of how he was never the most reliable. It twisted Tom’s trust issues in every person he met and having to be forced to sit there, wondering and waiting, was eating Tom alive.

Another half-hour passed and Tom decided to clock in early. He didn’t feel like having to sit there for another hour, only to be asked and told exactly what he expected to hear. You told him that you’d sit at the end of the bar, staying with him until he specifically asked you to go home, but really you wanted to hang around to make sure Tom didn’t get into another bar fight that ended up with him having more than a concussion.

Some college students fled in and asked for a round of beers while others waited for their favorite cocktails. There was enough staff tonight that Tom didn’t feel overwhelmed like last few times, sometimes having to clock in on days he didn’t work because someone called in sick. The new guys were nice, most of them young and needing something to do during graduate school or trying to make rent.

As Tom wiped down the bar when a group of girls left, his manager, Teddy, called his name from behind. He quickly looked over his shoulder and tossed the rag in the bucket underneath the bar, walking over to Teddy who never failed to not have a clipboard in his hands. He never took off his wedding ring at work like some of the other servers and bartenders and even so, he gushed about his wife, Anna, when he could. Even though he sounded like a broken record some days, Tom admired how Teddy flaunted his stable, almost 20-year relationship.

“Glad to see you back, Tommy!” Teddy grinned at him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah. I feel better, I just have to go to a few doctor’s appointments, if that’s okay with you.” Tom asked in the moment, crossing his arms.

“Of course! Of course. For how long you’ve been working here, I don’t think you’ve ever taken a sick day or called in last minute.”

“It’s just been two years, Teddy. You make me sound old.” Tom joked, cracking a smile.

“Yeah, but I still appreciate you. You’re a valuable asset.”

Tom didn’t want to take the compliment, but he still nodded and grinned.

“Hey, have you heard anything from that guy’s lawyers? Are they giving you any compensation?” Teddy curiously asked as he wrote with his signature, blue pen on the paper of the clipboard.

“My girlfriend and I found a lawyer, but I don’t know if he’s good enough to make sure I get the money I’m supposed to get. We’re working it out.” Tom reassured him as he glared at his feet.

Teddy smiled at Tom, big and sincere, “Well, as long as you have that support, you’ll be prepared for anything that comes your way. I’m sure your daughter will too.”

Tom nodded, “Yeah… She’s a great kid.”

He still hadn’t told anyone at work what had happened with Summer, seeing it was no one’s business other than everyone knowing he got hired because he was a single dad trying to provide for his daughter, at least who he thought was his daughter.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. Let me know if you need anything.” Teddy acknowledged before walking to the kitchen through the doors.

Tom bit his bottom lip before sealing his lips, looking out at the crowd coming in. Out of habit, he checked his watch again, but quickly turned away to not keep holding out with his dad to come. When Tom’s gaze landed on you, his eyes softened a bit at the natural glow you had. You were talking to a girl who you knew in college, both of you still sat at the end of the bar and you smiled and laughed with her.

As he walked over to where you were, your eyes went to him and your friend looked over her shoulder.

“I’ll see you around, Y/N.” She grinned, flashing Tom a friendly smile before she walked back over to her table of friends.

Tom’s eyes followed her then turned his focus to you, leaning on the bar, “Who was that?”

“She was in a few of my classes in college. Good friend. She thought that I had a pretty cute boyfriend too. Apparently, his black eye makes him look very brawny.” You teased, bringing your class of water to your lips as you watched him chuckle.

“Is he here tonight? I’d love to meet him finally.” Tom joked back.

The brightness was back in his brown eyes, a glimmer of hazel under the warm light. You hadn’t seen that gleam in a long time and it was a good sign and as much as you couldn’t know what was going through his mind, you just wanted more moments like this. Both of you away from the apartment where you weren’t secluded to walls that had too many memories built within them.

You leaned on the bar, your nose brushing against Tom’s before you shared a sweet, short kiss. You giggled against your lips as he did too, but you pulled back when you heard someone say his name from behind.

Tom’s dad stood there, his hair was a salt-and-pepper shade and a few lines along his face. The shoulders of his cargo jacket were wet from the downpour outside, a few raindrops dripping down his forehead and nose.

“Hey, Dad…” Tom sighed.

You turned to Tom, “Go, it’ll be okay, baby.” You reassured him, placing your hand on top of his.

“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.” Tom said before giving you another kiss then walked around the bar to meet with his dad in the middle of the floor.

“Do you wanna sit?” His dad asked him, gesturing his hand to the table next to them.

“Yeah, I just have a few minutes,” Tom said, pulling out the chair.

His dad furrowed his eyebrows, “What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight?”

“Uh, yeah. Sort of. It’s not important.” Tom deflected as he lightly touched his eye, not thinking his bruise was that noticeable in the dim lighting of the table.

“I think it’s important.” His dad chuckled, leaning on the table to get a closer look, “C’mon, who was it?”

Tom nodded his head, “That’s not why you’re here to talk, Dad.” He said lowly, crossing his arms.

“Well, I wanted to catch up. How are you? How’s Summer?” His dad tried to carry the conversation in a more positive manner, hoping he could connect with Tom without it becoming an argument.

“Um, Summer’s fine. She’s in kindergarten this year.” Tom replied.

“Wow! Kindergarten already? It’s like yesterday you were that age. You would always wear that damn baseball hat everyday… your mom would throw a fit and she tried to hide it from you all the time, but you managed to always find it. Ah, she just loved when your hair grew out.” His dad chuckled, leaning back in his chair and he glanced over at you.

“Yeah… She’s getting older.”

“You have a picture?” His dad quickly asked.

Tom pulled out his phone, scrolling through his gallery until he found a picture from a few weeks ago at her birthday party. It was when Summer was blowing out her candles, her knees pressed into the chair cushion and her one hand pushing her up on the table while the casted one was by her side as she tried to reach the top of the cake.

“She broke her arm? Geez, what’s going on in your lives?” His dad smiled at the picture before Tom took his phone back.

“Her and Y/N went ice skating and she fell and… it was a whole thing, but she’s okay now.”

His dad grinned, “Is that Y/N over there?” He nodded his head in your direction.

Tom looked over his shoulder at you, still sat at the bar and you were talking with one of the bartenders. You crossed your leg over the other as you carried the conversation with a glowing smile painted on your lips, gesturing with your one hand while the other cupped your drink. The red and yellow lights strobed against your face, highlighting it past all the people passing by to get drinks or dance on the other side of the room. You felt Tom’s eyes glued to you, making you stare back at him and give him a playful wink.

“Yeah. We’re... dating now.” Tom admitted, glancing down at the table and drawing slow circles with his index finger on the polished wood.

Tom’s dad smiled, “Yeah well, you always had a crush on her. Glad to know you guys are still close. She was always a nice kid and… from what you told me, she was good with Summer.”

Every time Summer’s name was brought up, it struck Tom’s nerve and it made his face heat up. The more he talked about her, the more upset he got about what was going on complied with the other things going on in his life. Tom clenched his jaw, not able to reply and his dad could see he was upset. Even though Tom was growing older and he was his own man, his father could always tell when something was wrong. As much as Tom didn’t think anyone could figure him out, his dad could read him like the back of his hand.

“Is something else going on? Other than me just showing up?” His dad tilted his head to try to look at Tom.

As Tom’s pride fought his ego, he didn’t want to feel like he was suddenly giving into his father now that he was sitting in front of him. The idea of talking to his dad made him upset and brought back cruel memories, but now that he was venting and talking about things he thought he would be angry about, this seemed like a better time than any other to explain what was really going on.

Tom picked at his nail, trying to find the first words to say to how he felt without it feeling like a corny, emotional sitcom moment.

His face heated up, “I… I sort of found out that I’m… not Summer’s biological father.” Tom pinned his lips, tears developing by the corners of his eyes saying it out loud.

Tom’s father was shocked, not showing it on his face, but he gulped, “Are you sure?”

“A hundred percent. I took a DNA test at the doctor’s and… it sort of just… Well, I trust it enough to take it one time. The girl who’s her mom took her away, probably just for the child support, but I can’t figure out what to do… It’s been a month without her and I can’t sleep anymore, Dad. I raised her and I never doubted she was my daughter until now.” Tom choked up, a dryness in his throat making it hard to take a deep breath. He ran his hand over the top of his hair, weaving his fingers through the fluffy brown curls and pushing it away from his forehead.

His dad took a few seconds to contain his thoughts, wanting to truly think before he spoke and knew how much Summer meant to Tom.

“And on top of that, this asshole threw a punch at me at the bar last week and that’s how I got this.” Tom gestured to his eye, “And now I’m trying to get a settlement, but I don’t think I can afford the lawyer, and… everything is falling apart.” Tom trailed, finally looking right into his dad’s eyes who’s were similar to his.

Tom lowered his head, trying to hold his tears back at the sudden release of everything on his mind.

“I know you raised that little girl so well and I’ve always admired you for that.” His dad started.

Tom ran his hands down his face, sniffling as the whites of his eyes turned a light red. He couldn’t look at him as his father started to talk, worrying it was going to be a backhanded compliment and it was the wrong decision to do this.

“But, it’s gonna be hard to get her back if she’s not yours… but, if you find out more about how the mother feels about Summer and the whole situation, I can get in contact with a good lawyer or steer you in the direction of one.” His dad offered, but Tom nodded his head in response.

“Dad, I can’t do that.”

“I’m your father and I’m not gonna leave you hanging like this… I know you love Summer and you raised her. I’m not gonna let you drown yourself in a settlement on top of that, okay?”

“I’m not a kid anymore. I can take care of this-”

“You’re not, I know that! You’re a grown adult who’s just needing some help and that’s fine.” His dad emphasized, understanding how hard-headed his own son could be.

Tom nodded, “I want it to be a loan. I can pay you back for however long it takes.”

“No, no. Let me help you out… as your dad. I’m not a bank, I’m not… anyone else. I’m your father and I know that if you were taken away from like Summer was to you, I’d want everything to be as smooth as possible.” His dad explained, trying to show how much he truly cared about his son despite the cold, bitter tension between them for the past year and a half.

The two of them sat there with the noise of the people’s conversations around to fill the silence, but Tom came to his decision and he nodded, “Okay. It’s a deal.”

They didn’t even shake hands, let alone hug, but the thankfulness was implied. Tom’s dad grinned at his son, the one who was just a little kid he wishes he truly gave the world to instead of sitting here thinking he had a lot to make up for. 

“Other than all of that, have things been good otherwise?” His dad asked, glancing up at him.

Tom chuckled, “Just this and not much else. It’s been pretty boring without Summer around. But, Y/N has made it better.”

“Is she a keeper?” His dad grinned.

“She’s more than that. She’s really great and I could… see her in my life forever.”

His dad smiled, “I remember when she broke her arm and you just went on and on about dropping her homework at her house. I had to… call the school and get the parent contact information and then you were all jittery and nervous in the car. Even gelled your hair that day.” He recalled, smiling at the memory.

Tom blushed, “I wasn’t that nervous.”

“She really is a sweet girl. I’m happy for you.” His dad appreciated him, nice to see a smile finally on his face.

“Thanks, Dad.” Tom’s smile curled up, patches on red painting his cheeks at the thought of you even if you were sitting a few feet away.

“Well, it looks busy here so, maybe we can reschedule for an actual dinner. One that I don’t have to tip you for.” His dad jokes as they both stand up from their seats.

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. Definitely.” Tom nodded, running his sweaty palms down the front of his pants.

“It was really nice to see you. Don’t be a stranger.” His dad stood in front of him, staring at the mature and put-together man his son had become in the blink of an eye. It was a bittersweet feeling that maybe their time apart was leading up to this moment.

“I won’t.” Tom grinned, leaning in and wrapping his one arm around his dad.

His dad linked his arm around him as well, his hand meeting Tom’s back and giving it a few rubs before they pulled apart.

“I’ll keep in touch with you about the lawyer.”

“Thanks again.” Tom nodded.

You glanced over your shoulder, watching them go their own ways and his dad gave a quick wave to you. When your eyes shifted to Tom, he had a glow on his face, wanting to hide his smile by sealing his lips. You couldn’t help but grin, swiveling the barstool around to face him and you reached out for his hand.

“How did it go?” You simply asked, placing your hand on top of your knee.

Tom nodded, “It was fine, we can talk about it more when I get home.”

“No, tell me now.” You giggled, not wanting to put a damper on his news.

He half-smiled, “Just know that everything is going in the right direction. My dad said he’d help me a little bit with the settlement stuff and that way I can focus on Summer and what we’re gonna do.”

You ran your thumb over the top of his hand, “I’m really proud of you, you know that?”

“It was nothing-”

“It was something.” You retorted with a sweet smile, giving a light squeeze to his hand, “C’mhere.”

You placed your hand on his cheek, pulling him in to press a soft kiss on his lips. Deep down, he knew it wasn’t easy, but he didn’t want to take pride in something that seemed silly after it had happened. Luckily, he had you to remind him that he was taking the steps he needed to get Summer back. It was the first time you could see the light inside him even if he didn’t want to show it. Just from the difference in his smile, there was that gleam of hope.

As you pulled away, you sealed your lips and grinned at him. Your nose scrunched up as you both giggled, suddenly overwhelmed by the happiness filling yours and Tom’s hearts. You brushed your nose against his, your foreheads pressing together before he gave you another light kiss.

“Okay, I gotta work. You should go home, get some rest.”

“Well, I kind of wanna stay. It’s nice here and you’re just someone cute to look at.” You tilted your head.

“Why don’t you order something, on me, relax for a while and I’ll try to get off work early. Maybe, we can pick up ice cream on the way home to celebrate.” 

“Celebrate? Must have been really great news that I can’t wait to hear in detail.” You jeered and he planted a light kiss on your forehead before rounding behind the bar. He grabbed his rag, shoving it in his back pocket and you turned around toward him.

“What would you like to drink tonight, ma’am?” Tom said jokingly, placing a cocktail napkin on the bar in front of you.

Your lips to the side, “A rum and coke and make it dirty, Mr. Barkeep.”

He chuckled as he pulled a glass off the bottom shelf, beginning to make your drink in swift moves. He looked so natural behind the bar as he poured the bottles in intricate ways, finishing off the beverage with two cherries.

“Let me know if you need anything.” He smiled followed by a wink.

“Nothing I can say in public.” You teased before taking a sip of your drink.

Tom smirked at you before moving down the bar, tending to other customers with a natural smile on his lips. You tilted your head with your drink in your hand, almost in awe of him and how handsome he was.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

The night was getting louder while the crowd was growing, some people passing by bumping your shoulder even though you were still sat at the bar. You saw a few friends and struck up conversations with them to catch up, not completely bored while Tom was working, but you were worried about him. You hoped that he wouldn’t oddly hurt himself, having to take him to the ER and give him a good “I told you so” talk on the way there.

As you worked on your second drink, your phone vibrated in your purse and the screen lit up. You furrowed your eyebrow at the unknown number but still decided to take it in case it was important. You asked your friend to save your seat as you took your purse, moving through the crowd to get outside. The rain was pouring still, but you stood underneath the awning of the bar as people ran under it, drying themselves off before entering.

“Hello? This is Y/N.”

“Y/N? It’s Summer.” She whimpered, her voice at a whisper.

She stole Maggie’s phone that she left on the charger in her room, sneaking it away and using the emergency numbers written on the tag of her backpack. Tom didn’t answer first, making her worried so she decided to call you and hoped to hear your voice she missed so much.

Your heart dropped, “Summer? Are you okay?”

“No, the lady is mean. She makes me go to bed early with no bedtime stories like Daddy said she would. She-she’s not fun and she leaves me with a strange lady next door.” She sniffled, curled up behind her bedroom door.

“Wh-What strange lady?”

“She’s old and mean too. I don’t wanna be here anymore. I wanna be with you and daddy.” Summer continued to cry at a low volume, muffling her whimpers to not let Maggie hear in the next door.

You felt your heart breaking, not sure what to say since she wasn’t your kid but, in a way, she was. You pinched your nose bridge and the heavy rain making it hard to have a clear mind.

“Um, um, have you talked to your dad? Are you safe?” You asked, frantic as her.

“N-no, Daddy didn’t answer. Please come pick me up. I hate it here.” She wept, her voice shakey as she begged.

You nodded, not able to take it anymore, “You wait there, we’re gonna come to get you.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

The time was almost midnight, but a loud knock echoed against Maggie’s door. She groaned, getting herself out of bed and thinking it was a drunk at the wrong apartment or someone playing a prank. As she approached the door, Maggie put her hair into a bun to clear her vision when she approached the door in the dark. After flicking on the light switch for the warm light above her, she opened the door and saw Tom dripping wet.

“Tom?... It’s almost midnight. I told you not to come here again.”

Tom sighed, “Y/N got a call from Summer and she was upset.”

Maggie rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe she took my phone. Jesus, what did you teach her? Because she’s been acting out in school, whenever I’m at work, I can’t take her anywhere!” She complained, her arm slapping against her side as the other held the door open.

“I didn’t teach her that. You’re the one who doesn’t know her and I know you’re not treating her right.”

“Oh, how do you know?”

“You leave her with some strange woman when you’re not here?”

“It’s my mother, Tom. I work, I have an actual job, okay? Not some side gig at a crappy bar where I can live on my tips.” She retorted, but it made Tom’s anger quickly grow.

Tom ran his hand through his wet hair, almost defeated by how defensive she was.

“Why are you doing this? She’s upset and she wants to see me.”

“Well, Summer is just a kid, she’ll get over it. Not getting her way is a part of life, Tom. God! You babied her so much that she just comes crying to you.” Maggie hissed at him, ready to slam the door in his face.

“She is a baby! She’s a kid, Maggie. She called Y/N because she can’t stand you. Do you think that’s good for her? Being here?” Tom yelled back, his jaw clenched and his face heating up.

“You know, I’m getting really sick of you saying what Y/N thinks is good for Summer like she’s her stepmother or something.”

“And where were you being mom of the year? Huh? Why do you have such a problem with her, Maggie? She’s the one who helped me throughout raising Summer, not you because you were never here!”

Maggie crossed her arms, her only defense since she didn’t have any words.

“Where were you when she took her first steps? Her first words? When she got her first A in kindergarten? Did you take her to the hospital when you thought she had a peanut allergy or when she fell ice skating? Who was there for her, Maggie?!” Tom persisted, his eyes filling with tears at how angry he felt.

Maggie couldn’t look Tom in the eyes because it was all true, she knew it this whole time, but hearing it out loud made her even feel a bit guilty.

“So, why do you suddenly want her now? Is it money? Or do you really want her to be in your life? I can arrange it any way you want if you really do what her back in your life, but I don’t think it’s fair that you just swoop up and take her away when she’s my kid too. A kid that I raised since you left her on my doorstep six years ago.”

Maggie chuckled out of spite, “You’d never get it.”

“Then tell me! Tell me so I understand. It’s just us right now. Y/N isn’t here and all I want is Summer back home so, what is the reason, Maggie?” Tom asked, his voice a bit more calm, but still frustrated that he hadn’t gotten a straight answer the entire time they had been standing there, “I know there’s a reason why you didn’t tell me all these years that she wasn’t mine. You know it and I know it… I just want you to be honest with me. Okay?” Tom retorted.

She sighed, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. As she rubbed her hands down her face, her breath was shaky as the truth was trying to inch out of your mouth.

“I… Summer’s dad and I were dating and I told him about her and he was… upset. Like, he thought I was just a bad mom and he said he’d leave me if I didn’t just take care of her.” She huffed, shrugging at how stupid it sounded coming out.

Tom was baffled, but he let her explain herself without interrupting.

“H-He left to Vegas or San Diego or wherever. He left me again and now I just… I wanted to prove myself!” She whined, gritting her teeth as a tear trailed down her cheek, “But, she hates me and I don’t blame her, but I know I’m not a mom. I never… wanted a kid, okay? I just… I wanted him back.”

All Tom thought was that she was selfish. He could yell and scream all he wanted, taking Summer away from her in the next few seconds, but nevertheless, he controlled his breathing and tried to hear her out.

“Anything else?” He asked looking down at his feet, his arms crossed and feeling a chill from the AC.

Her eyes were teary, but she nodded, “Don’t hate me, please. Please.” She begged at a whisper.

“I don’t… Just, do the right thing now and let her come back home.” Tom sighed, his voice broken as well.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

Your body felt on fire from how anxious you felt, your foot tapping against the floor of Tom’s car. You waited, thinking your heart was going to burst in your chest if you had to wait any longer. A few minutes went by, concentrating on the time on the radio, but the heavy rain made the car windows look like stained glass. You hated biting at your nails, but you couldn’t help it after hearing Summer’s scared voice.

You curled up in the passenger seat, pulling on the seatbelt. You couldn’t just sit there anymore and do nothing, but stare at the dashboard and listen to the rain hitting the windshield. Your eyes began to tear up, wiping them quickly with the sleeves of your shirt, but you turned your head when you heard the back door open.

Tom was soaked from head to toe by this point, but Summer was curled around him before he set her on the seats. She had her backpack on, her hair damp and she was in her matching pajamas. Rain dripped off her noise and she wiped her wet forehead with the back of her hand.

“You get buckled in, just buckle in, okay?” Tom told her, still standing in the rain as he gave her the buckle of the seatbelt.

She nodded, guiding it across her body and pushing it in the lock until she heard the click.

“There you go.” He nodded, shutting the door and walking around the front of the car.

You sealed your lips as tears ran down your cheeks, tasting how salty your tears were. When Tom sat down, practically throwing himself into the car, your eyes met and you smiled at him. There was a sense of relief back in your lives at this moment, possibly a perfect one. As you glanced over your shoulder, Summer’s head was against the door and her eyes were heavy, but you reached your hand back to meet hers, holding it so tight that you never could think to let go again.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜

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