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#“I only gave them my name how’d they get my address” YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED TOM’S TERRORS
coconut530 · 3 months
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👁️Movie Night👁️
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amesstm · 3 years
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The Suspended Cousin
WC: 1332
A/N: Have I hit a writer’s block? Maybe. Also, I’ll be creating a masterlist for this series so keep your eye out for that! I’ll probably edit this to the other parts.
P.S. If you guys want me to start making these longer as compared to short ones on a certain ‘schedule’, tell me!
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A soft knock came from your door. Yuki opened it to show Ushijima, who was slightly sweaty from his run. You had seen him run around the campus before school, only if you woke up early enough though. The only reason you’d willingly get out of bed that early was if you couldn’t sleep or you were really craving some street food as breakfast.  
Maybe once your concussion heals, you should join him. Actually, his long legs would leave you in the dust. Unless you were going to miraculously grow a few inches, keeping up with him wasn’t going to be easy. Given that you were the libero for a reason, growing probably wasn’t going to happen.
Ushijima waited in your doorway, taking up the majority of its frame. Something about his chest heaving and hair clinging to his forehead from his sweat made your heart accelerate. You managed not to stutter, “Ah, good morning Ushijima.” 
Yuki turned to you and winked. No doubt she was going to ask you about this later. You blushed and waved her off, to which she chuckled aloud. “See you two later.” Yuki sang.
You groaned internally, envisioning how you’d smack her later. For now, you put on your sunglasses and walked towards Ushijima. He walked a bit behind you before taking his place by your side. “Do you want me to carry you?”
You chuckled nervously, “No, no, I’m fine. Thank you, though.”
Upon nearing the stairs, nausea overwhelmed you. You always had a hard time with drastic changes in height if you were driving up or down a mountain. Perhaps it was the depth perception? You wouldn’t know, you’re not a doctor.  
To your side, you felt a nudge on your hand. You looked up to see Ushijima, who was sheepishly reaching for your hand. “Yes Ushijima?”
“I thought you’d want to hold hands like yesterday.” He stated, simply blinking at you.
Was he being shy? How cute. You smiled reassuringly, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
After having your consent, his hand clutched yours gently. Of course, his hands were calloused but something about that made his secure hold more comforting. For such a big man that plays rough on the court, he was surprisingly gentle with everything else. No one would’ve thought that the stone-faced ace would be such a big teddy bear.  
“Y/N, you’re red. Do you have a fever?” Ushijima asked, about to touch your forehead with his other hand.
“Nope!” You squeaked, “I’m fine!”
He didn’t ask any more questions – thank goodness. Until he did, “Do I know your cousin?”
You chuckled nervously, “I hope you don’t for your sake. He’s suspended right now.”
Ushijima looked at you with slightly widened eyes, no doubt thinking the worst of your cousin. You immediately went to your cousin’s defense. “N-no! It wasn’t for anything too serious. He just did something stupid to make his principal upset.”
Ushijima nodded, but didn’t look too convinced. “Is he as short as you?”
“Ehhhh?” You whined. “I’m not short! You’re just very tall.”
“That’s a fact,” Ushijima allowed. “But it’s also a fact that you’re short.”
You didn’t reply to that, knowing it was useless by now. But you did say, “Well, my cousin is very short now that I think about it. I am a bit taller than him, though!”
You realized you said the last part too confidently, but Ushijima displayed a small smile. His silence wasn’t awkward. On the contrary, it was comforting.  
“Oh, I guess we’re at class now, aren’t we?” You chuckled. “Thank you, Ushijima. You don’t need to do anything for me the rest of the day.”
“I’ll still do something,” he deadpanned.  
“I don’t doubt that Ushijima,” you said before waving goodbye. Of course, you’d still see him in some of your classes but you weren’t sure you could casually speak to him yet. Then again, Ushijima seemed to do whatever he wanted without much worry. So, there wasn’t much use in arguing with him either.
~
“Tendo, what do I do for Y/N?” Ushijima asked as his red-headed friend joined him for lunch. Despite asking such an out-of-character question, he casually ate his rice without any concern. But for everyone else, it might as well have been the first moon-landing.
“Are you finally making a move?” Semi asked, raising an eyebrow and lifting a small smile.
Ushijima nodded. As Tendo sat down, he drew a thoughtful expression. “I know that she really likes Pocky. If you get her the Cookies & Cream flavor, she’ll definitely fall in love with you.”
Against Ushijima's will, his cheeks blushed profusely. “She’ll love me?”
“Can our ace not understand sarcasm?” Goshiki mockingly asked.  
Imaginary characters floated around Shirabu’s head, as if warning the first-year to tread carefully. The characters seemed to get the message across: Oh, you think you’re so good at picking up social cues? What makes you think you can even compare?
Effectively, Goshiki was silenced by his upperclassman. “A-anyways, how did you finally talk to Y/N-san? All you’ve ever done is stare at her.”
“I gave her a concussion when we practiced together,” Ushijima replied casually. He bit the inside of his cheek, feeling the same guilt from the day before.  
So, I need to get a pretty girlfriend by giving her a concussion, too?! Goshiki internally screamed to himself. The poor first-year wheezed out, an imaginary ghost leaving his body.
Shirabu only blinked at the bowl-cut boy before returning his attention to Ushijima. “And now you’re her servant?”
“It’s not like that,” Ushijima defended, but didn’t portray any anger.  
“I think it’s ‘cause he likes that,” Tendo said with a dirty smirk. Semi and Shirabu groaned, with Goshiki dying once more.
~
“Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you to the café?” Ushijima asked as he walked you to the school gate.  
You nodded with a smile on your face, “I’m sure. Have fun at practice, Ushijima!”
Before he could say anything else, you ran off. He knew you were just meeting up with your cousin, but he wished that he could have some more time with you. Ushijima frowned, clutching the pocky he had bought for you.
Oblivious to the boy you left behind, you journeyed to the café that your cousin said you’d meet at. You entered the restaurant and searched, looking for that familiar spiky hair. Huffing, you didn’t see that he was there yet. You sat down and decided to look at the menu.  
Then, he arrived.  
“Y/N!” You heard your cousin scream.
Although you cringed, you still smiled. The small boy wrapped you in a hug, making you giggle. “How are you, Yu-chan?”
Letting you go, your cousin grinned, with that classic Nishinoya grin from his side of the family. Although you smiled, your brain still throbbed. Perhaps you should’ve moved this to a different day. “Please don’t be so loud.”
“Wait a minute – do you have a concussion?” He asked, frowning with concern. “How’d you get it?”
“I was practicing with...” how should you address Ushijima? “Uhhh, someone.”
Yu sneered and started to make fists and throw jabs, “Well that someone is gonna get beat when I see them.”
Never in a thousand years would you want your family to fight with your crush. However, imagining Yu trying to fit someone literally twice his size made you giggle. “For your sake, don’t.”
“Do I need to remind you that I’m the best libero ever?”
You pursed your lips, not wanting to ensue another rant about his superiority. “No. But, just don’t please.”
He rolled his eyes, “Okay, fine. But I’ll get help from this guy I know if you want.”
Yu might’ve been just talking about some friend he had. Or, in the short time he’s been suspended, he had joined a yakuza. Either way, you knew that this simp would probably create a gang to protect you. If only you knew how that friend group would impact your relationship.
A/N: For clarification, you and Nishinoya are related through your mothers’ side so you can keep your last name lol. Plus, it won’t be too confusing if I need to use both of their last names later on :p
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petri808 · 3 years
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Inukag AU
More and more the déjà vu moments started coming to Kagome, mostly smaller memories, but they were adding up. She’d taken the doctor’s advice and kept a small notebook in her purse in case a new one popped up. For example, she knew Inuyasha’s favorite food was ramen because she’d been told as much, but one day as she shopped in the supermarket and saw one of the brands on the shelf, her hand immediately reached out for it. Kagome placed it in her basket without a second thought until two aisles away it finally hit her— it wasn’t a flavor she liked. Sure enough, when she saw Inuyasha that afternoon he confirmed it was the brand and flavor he always bought.
Speaking of recall, Kagome had met Ms. Tanaka at a small cafe one Saturday and they sat at a table for four hours chatting. Kagome had been nervous about going. What would she say since she couldn’t remember anything about the job or company, but Ms. Tanaka was such a bubbly feisty person those anxieties had melted away within the first few minutes. She was brought up to speed on how the company was doing… along with the gossip or drama one might find in a close knit office like they had. So, and so just started dating, bought a new car, complaining about in-laws, news about children, etc. Kagome recognized the name of one child mentioned from when the coworker had taken maternity leave. It felt weird to now be told the child had started preschool, but she was just happy to have remembered the person at all. It was a good day with more to come because Ms. Tanaka invited her to a birthday party the following week at the office for one of their closest co-workers. Apparently, they were nicknamed the trio at work because they always took their lunches together. Their cubicles were next to each other so day in and day out they’d became each other’s family away from home.
“Hi, everyone.” Kagome smiled and waved even though her nerves were on edge. Ms. Tanaka wanted it to be a surprise, so she had no idea what the reaction would be… and it certainly wasn’t this!
A loud scream came from the other side of the room that left her startled. At first Kagome couldn’t see who or where it had come from over all the cubicles, but the next thing she knew she’d almost been tackled to the ground by a hug. It was the birthday girl, Ms. Fukuda.
“Oh, my Kami you came!” Fukuda pulled back her hands still gripped to Kagome’s shoulders. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were coming??”
“Tanaka wanted it be a surprise,” Kagome squeaked back.
“Well, this is definitely the best birthday gift I could’ve received!— Even if you don’t remember me.”
Kagome flinched a little, her cheeks heating up. “I’m sorry, I don’t, but I’m hoping being here will stimulate something.”
“No need to be sorry,” the woman hugged her again. “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through, but let’s see if we can’t jog those memories!” Ms. Fukuda took Kagome’s hand and started dragging her deeper into the crowd. “Everyone! Look who’s here!”
Kagome stayed close to Tanaka and Fukuda throughout the visit, though the longer she stayed the more comfortable she became. There was tons of food to eat and desserts that left her full. People joked around, teasing Fukuda over a few gag gifts, but all in good fun. Kagome couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard. Everyone was so nice and accommodating, never making her feel bad that she couldn’t remember them. Quite the contrary. The office staff talked and talked, bringing up story after story from the last few years. They seemed determined to play a role in helping Kagome to redeem her lost memories. Most of the staff were there when she’d started and so they had a lot of tales to tell.
“You had such a hard time with the ten-key machine,” Ms. Fukuda laughed. “I remember thinking oh kami, this young girl is gonna give me gray hair!”
Kagome chuckled. “And you weren’t quiet about pointing it out to me. Said I’ll have to cover the cost of hair dye if it did.”
The room full of laughter suddenly went silent as everyone turned to Kagome. Only a few gasps breaking the stillness to leave her utterly concerned. “Did I say something wrong?” Kagome questioned.
Ms. Fukuda broke the silence. “Y-You really remember that?”
“Remember…” Kagome repeated in confusion. All she did was comment— “Oh! Yeah, I guess I did…”
Fukuda squealed as she hugged onto Kagome. “Oh, my Kami! You remembered!”
“I-I remembered!” Tears began to stream down Kagome’s cheeks at how naturally the memories came back to her. “It took me a couple of months, but I got it down.”
“You did,” Ms. Fukuda whose own tears made their way to the scene, and Ms. Tanaka had joined in the hug. “And now you’re faster than me,” she snorted a laugh.
“Y-Yeah,” Kagome hiccupped a laugh too.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as everyone watched the friends sharing in such a beautiful moment. As the trio pulled apart, wiping away their tear stained faces, with the biggest smiles planted on them. Ms. Fukuda took Kagome’s hand a final time before letting go. “This truly was the best birthday gift, and I can’t wait for you come back to work.”
“Me, too.”
The party went on for a couple more hours, and by 4pm that afternoon it was winding down. Some office workers were tidying up, packing up leftovers or cleaning up any messes, while others went back to finishing up any company business that needed to be completed that day. A few core individuals such as the trio stayed chatting quietly around the cubicles. There was more than one conversation taking place, so Kagome ever eager to learn what she could did her best to stay engaged. Listening here and chiming in there. But then a name two cubicles away caught her attention.
‘Yura?’ Kagome wondered, who was this person and why was the name stirring up such a wave of anger and pain inside of her? The conversation she overheard seemed meaningless, just something about they were glad the person wasn’t there anymore. Okay, so that meant Yura was a former employee of the company. One person commented that they’d seen her at a new job in a department store selling makeup and the other responded with a scoffing sound, that it was a good fit for such a two-faced bitch. Well, obviously she wasn’t the only person who’d had an issue with this Yura woman. But who was she to her??
In order to figure it out, Kagome tapped on Ms. Tanaka’s shoulder to gain her attention. She whispered her question. “Who is Yura? Mr. Yoshida and Mr. Miyahira are talking about her.”
“Oh…” Ms. Tanaka looked warily at Ms. Fukuda before addressing Kagome’s question. “Are you sure you want to know? It, um… won’t be a very good memory.”
So, Yura was attached to an unhappy event in her life after all and her friends reaction’s just confirmed the initial feelings she’d felt. Kagome swallowed hard, would it be worth dredging up an unhappy memory or should she leave it buried away. It wasn’t the easiest decision to make, but if the woman’s name had triggered such a strong reaction, it must’ve played a significant role.
“J-Just tell me a little bit about her, maybe about when she’d worked here.”
Ms. Tanaka went first. “Okay. Well, um, she was here for about a year, and no one really liked her because she was rude and thought she was better than everyone else… but, when it came to you, Yura just had a real fixation on making your life miserable.”
“We didn’t know the real reason behind it all until the end,” added Ms. Fukuda. “At first, it was petty, childish things like stealing your lunch from the break room or leaving mean notes on your desk. But then it started to escalate and after several complaints to management, they finally fired her— You basically told the manager if they didn’t then you’d quit.”
“They chose you, and that’s what’s important.” Tanaka finished.
“But what do you mean the real reason behind it? Behind what?” Kagome asked.
Kagome’s question must’ve gave her two friends a real dilemma because they grew silent and hesitant to answer it. “Please? We’ve come this far you might as well just tell me.”
“It turned out that Yura was acting that way towards you because, she’s close friends with Inuyasha’s ex…”
“Oh…” Kagome’s eyes widened. “That’s right…” she sat back as the emotions took control. Kikyo was still a vague concept for her with only the bits and pieces she’d been able to put together, but the mention of the woman in conjunction with Yura brought on a flashback. “The cafe. They’d confronted me at a cafe on my lunch break…” Tears had welled up in Kagome’s eyes, but a sensation of anger was making her body tremble at the memory. “That’s what made me give management an ultimatum because it was just going to far.”
As the tears broke free, Kagome’s friends pulled together into a hug. Don’t cry! It’s okay! It was the past! Oh, please don’t be sad Kagome! She’s gone now, it’s gonna be okay! Once she was able to get the tears under control and convince them she’d be okay, they dropped the subject. But despite cheering Kagome up, the bitter feelings just wouldn’t go away. They sat in her gut stirring and brooding, knowing there was more to the story that she just couldn’t remember and that alone was frustrating. According to her friend’s, this incident happened just eight months before her accident, so it wasn’t ancient history. Had it contributed to the fight? It wasn’t beyond belief to think it had or at least added to the frustrations that led up to it.
When Inuyasha picked Kagome up from her workplace, he tried to make small talk. How’d it go? Did you have fun? She answered them in order, how it started out great and everyone was so nice and supportive, telling her stories and answering questions. Then she told him about blurting out a comment because she’d remembered the event.
“That’s awesome, babe!” Inuyasha squeezed her shoulder. “Your memories are coming back faster now!”
“Yeah, about that…” Kagome quieted as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap. “There was something else that was triggered, a… not so great memory.”
“Oh?” He turned briefly to check on her before returning his eyes to the road. “Are you okay? Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Um… well there was a woman that used to work there that I didn’t get along with…”
“That’s surprising.”
“Yeah, she um— Her name was Yura. But the reason we didn’t get along was because she’s a friend of your ex-girlfriend.”
Kagome instantly saw Inuyasha’s grip tighten on the steering wheel and the whites of his knuckles glaringly apparent. Clearly just the mention of Kikyo was enough to trigger an intense reaction.
She cleared her drying throat. “The company fired Yura about 8 months before the accident after she and Kikyo harassed me at a cafe during my lunch break.”
“You never told me about that. Kagome, why—”Inuyasha stopped mid-sentence as he felt his anger rise. He took a deep breath then lowered his tone. “Why didn’t you tell me about something that bad?”
“I’m not surprised…” she mumbled under her breath. She’d had an inkling that she’d never told him. “I think it was because I didn’t think you’d listen.”
“Of course, I would have listened! They were harassing you!”
“Look, Inuyasha, I don’t remember everything, but clearly there was a reason I didn’t tell you and based on everything you’ve told me yourself you weren���t listening! So, how can you even tell me you would have, when obviously you weren’t back then! You have no right to hold it against me now!”
“Kagome this is different, it affected your job and there were witnesses—”
“Oh?! So, because you’d believe the witnesses you would have believed me?! I don’t remember, but maybe there were other times there were witnesses and you didn’t listen— I DON’T KNOW THAT!”
“That’s not what I meant! I would have listened to you if you’d told me! You should have told me!”
“You know, I really thought you’d be different but if you still can’t admit about what drove me to leave that night, then I… I don’t know anymore…”
“That’s not fair…”
“J-just get me home! I-I just wanna go home Inuyasha! I can’t talk to you right now! There’s so much I can’t remember and since you admitted you hadn’t listened before, there’s nothing more to say.”
“Please Kagome—”
“Just stop. I’m done talking.” She’d had enough.
Her mind was spinning from all the gaps she couldn’t fill and the anger at his words. How could he deny it now when that’s one of the things he’d admitted to from the beginning. The last few minutes of the drive went by in silence and as soon as they reached the Higurashi residence, Kagome got out without a second look. All their months of hard work were now left behind with the slam of a car door and she had no idea how to salvage it.
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wannabemobwife · 3 years
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Guns, Glamour, Goodfellas - Chapter 6
Chapter 6: An Offer He Can’t Refuse
Dad!Mob!Tom Holland x Mom!Mob!Reader
-Pairings: Tom Holland x Reader, Rosie Holland x Henry Osterfield, Parker Holland x Platonic!Henry Osterfield
-Warnings: Language, small smut, always a lot of dialogue, idk if there is anything else.
-Words: 3.2K
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Author note: The driving test thing actually happened to me. I failed twice and then passed 3rd time. Feel free to leave comments or message me directly your feelings while reading the chapter. Always love hearing from you guys.
Chapter 6: An Offer He Can’t Refuse
Words: 3.2K
The Holland household was about to retire for the night. The lights of the rooms had been flipped off and the exit and entrance doors locked. When, SLAM, the sound of the front door shutting echoed through the house. It shook the pictures on the walls and knocked over a vase, spilling the delicate flowers.
Parker couldn’t stay in that house a minute longer, not after what he just learned, what he just overheard. Tom was in his office along with you, contemplating what to do next.
“What the hell was that?” You questioned as you sat on Tom’s lap.
“Sir?” William entered out of breath. “What is it William?” Tom asked, sounding concerned. “Parker just left.” “He what?” You asked. “He walked out of here,” William explained.
“Why the fuck didn’t you stop him.” Tom yelled, steam basically coming out of his ears. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to.” “Tom, come on. We have to go find him” you screamed, rushing out of the room.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Tom said sternly, pointing his finger at William as he fled to get his car keys.
Driving around aimlessly on the streets of London. You were scared for the safety of your son. Parker coming home today with bloody knuckles showed you a glimpse of his future. A life of unapologetic dealings, making him question his morals once in a blue moon. You wanted more for your son. You would be proud of him regardless but, you wanted him to be happy.
Tom, in the past, suffered from nightmares, ever since your kidnapping. He would wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night screaming your name.
“Y/N? Y/N!?! NOOOO,” Tom screamed in his sleep.
“Tom? What’s wrong?”
“Y/N? Y/N! You’re.. you’re—,“ Tom gasped, coming out of his sleep
“Tommy, shh, I’m right here. I’m right here,” you whispered trying to calm him down. “Y/N, thank god you are okay. I thought I lost you,” Tom exasperated, trying to calm down his harsh breathing. “I’m right here, it was just a nightmare.”
“Can I just hold you for a little while?” “Of course, Tommy” you said as Tom started to fall asleep in her arms. You could feel his soft tiny breaths on her neck. And all was right with the world.
That euphoric feeling was associated with being in love. You were happy your son got to experience it for as brief a time. You didn’t know Charlotte all that well, be she made Parker happy. He had to grow up so fast, it wasn’t fair.
“Y/N were not going to find him, we should just go back home.” Tom said to you. “No, we’re gonna keep looking,” you replied, you couldn’t leave your son out in the cold all night.
“Wait, Tom stop the car. STOP THE CAR!” You thundered.
“It’s Parker,” you said, hopping out of the car.
“Parker? What are you doing?” You questioned as he kept his strides, moving away from you.
“Get in the car, let’s go home,” Tom explained.
“No. I’m not going anywhere with you,” Parker yelled, continuing to walk away. “Parker stop fucking around and get in the car!” Tom yelled.
“Fuck you, dad. I’m done. When were you going to tell me that you are the reason. SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” Parker raged, pointing fingers left and right. “Parker get in the car and we can talk this out,” you pleaded. “No, mom. I love you and I’m sorry. Don’t worry about me I’m staying at uncle Haz’s tonight.”
“PARKER GET BACK HERE!” Tom screamed.
“Let him go Tom. He’ll be back, I know he will,” you said, holding Tom back.
In this moment, Tom felt like he lost Parker for good. They had a good relationship but, were growing closer because of the mob. Finally something to bond over.
The night had fallen a few hours later and Parker was walking through the deserted streets of southwest London. Coming up upon a house he had known all too familiar, Henry and Harrison’s abode. After a few knocks, he was surprised anyone answered the door at this ungodly hour.
“Parker? What are you doing here?” Henry answered half asleep. “Can I stay here tonight?” Parker asked directly, not inviting anymore questions.
“Yeah, of course,” Henry agreed. “Henry who the fuck is it?” Harrison yelled, coming down the stairs. “Oh, Parker… Do your parents know you are here?” Harrison asked, surprised to see the boy on his doorstep. “Yeah, I just can’t go back there, not tonight,” Parker explained. “Alright then, you can sleep on the couch,” Harrison said. “Thank you sir,” Parker said. He didn’t sleep well. It wasn’t the couch, the couch was rather comfy, it was all the thoughts running amuck in his mind.
Why the fuck would his family arrange the death of girlfriend? Why would his dad put on a show of pretending to look for her killer? Who the fuck were his parents? Mrs Owens, Charlotte’s mom, was right he and his family are in the business of ending lives and Parker had already gone too deep.
He was woken up by Henry coming down for morning coffee. “Hey. How’d you sleep?” Henry asked lowly. “Shitty,” Parker replied. “Henry I swear to god are you shagging my sister?” Parker screamed, addressing the invisible elephant in the room. “What she told you?” “Maybe. How the fuck could you do that. She’s my sister!” “Mate you got it all wrong. We aren’t shagging, just dating. Ok?” Henry explained.
“Alright, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me though. Also don’t break her heart or I will hurt you,” Parker said only to be returned with chuckles from Henry. “I wouldn’t dream of it, she’s amazing. I think falling in love with her. By the way, that was a shitty threat. You’re a mobster and that’s the best you could come up with,” Henry ridiculed.
“Fuck you. Can I have some coffee?” Parker proposed. “Sure, but you gotta tell me what happened last night. Never in a million years have you ran away from home,” Henry asked, genuinely concerned. “I overheard my dad on the phone, he said “it was Dom who arranged the hit.” I have never met a Dom, never seen him around the house. I don’t think he is the one who pulled the trigger but, if he’s the one who gave up my location he might as well have,” Parker exclaimed. “Jesus, Parker. This is some fucked up shit. It sounds like your dad didn’t have anything to do with it anyway.” Henry mumbled, not to deliberately defend Tom
“I know he did. I’m done talking about this.” Parker asserted and Henry just nodded in response.
“Oh shit! Is today the 23rd?” Parker asked, afraid it was. “Yeah, why?” Henry replied, confused by the look of terror on Parker’s face.
“I have my drivers test today and I can’t believe I have to see my dad. Ugh!” Parker exclaimed.
Parker was doing his best to avoid the estate. He didn’t have a change of clothes or a toothbrush, he’d have to go back at some point. The fact that his driving license exam was today majorly screwed up his plans of ignoring Tom.
He was ready to get his license and had been practicing quite a lot. He stopped after his accident cause it hurt to drive but, getting a license was the first step in becoming an adult and earning more freedom, something he desperately needed.
What he needed the most was to get out. He wasn’t bred for this type of life. Killing, torturing and breaking the law took a loose morality that he didn’t know if he had. Parker was hurting and Tom was responsible. Parker felt like he needed to make Tom pay but, how could he hurt his own father. He couldn’t, he wasn’t some villain in a movie, he was only kid.
Deep down Parker loved Tom but, it was hard to love the person responsible for the bomb that blew up your life. Parker had to hit Tom where it hurts. Parker wouldn’t dream of hurting you but mobsters were brutal. He had heard the stories in the past of mobster’s hurting you to get to Tom. People would think rival mobs would want to come after him and not you. On the contrary, people associated with the mob were heartless, spineless creatures. They loved watching someone beg for their life and someone fall apart, knowing everything has been stripped away from them. Leaving them vulnerable and utterly alone.
The thing Tom loved most in this world, but he would never admit it, was his mob. Being apart of the mob gave Tom purpose. He didn’t know what he would be without it. He was too devious to be a wall street guy and too adventurous to be a stay at home dad. Tom didn’t run the mob for money, it was simply pleasure.
Devising the plan to take Tom down from the inside out required more planning than ever imagined. Parker’s main focus was to find the person that despised Tom the most. Someone who could make Tom’s blood boil at the utterance of his or her name.
Parker had Harrison drive him to the DMV, fully expecting to see you, but his heart stopped when he saw Tom. Barely acknowledging him, only nodding when Tom muttered something. Rosie was there also, taking her test at the same time. She hadn’t practiced as much as Parker but was confident in her driving ability.
Just like the driving license exam, Parker was the first to go. He waited in driver’s seat, in line, on the side of DMV. Trying to not let his nerves get the best of him. The examiner instructed Parker to start the car, do his hand signals and make his way out of the parking lot to begin the test. The entire process was routine. The whole thing only spanning about 20 mins, then it was Rosie’s turn.
Parker came out of the car, thrusting the paper that signified his passing in the air.
“I passed! I passed! You’re looking at the newest driver of the Hollands,” Parker exclaimed, extremely giddy.
“Rosie Holland?” Called out the driving test examiner. Rosie stood up and took a much needed long breath.
She wasn’t one for cracking under the pressure but, did have trouble being judged. As a child Rosie used to participate in gymnastics, she gave it up as she grew more and more self conscious with age. Later switching to a mix of after-school activities celebrating the arts. She very much enjoyed choir and drama, occasionally dance. “I know you’ll do great honey,” Tom reassured her. “Thanks, dad,” Rosie murmured, ready to face her biggest fear, judgment.
The exam was the same as Parkers. The examiner asked for her to show all the buttons in the car, the hand signals and exit the parking lot safely. The test also only took 20 mins, however when they pulled up she wasn’t as ecstatic as Parker was.
“I didn’t pass,” she mumbled, trying to not let tears fall. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry. You can always take the test again. Parker, can you take her to the car while I run to the restroom,” Tom said, bring his daughter into a warm embrace. Parker nodded in return and led the way. Now, it was only Tom making his way into the DMV to give the examiner an offer he can’t refuse.
“I’m sorry sir, I heard that you didn’t pass my daughter but you passed my son. I’d like to hear your reasoning for such a grave error. I don’t understand they are both excellent drivers, I’ve been driving with them for months.” Tom asked, he wasn’t going to let his baby girl cry over something so basic as a driving test.
“She only turned her signal on at 100 feet before the light and not at 150 feet before,” he explained. “That’s complete and utter bullshit and you know it. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to pass my daughter, Rosie Holland, as in Tom Holland. I’m sure you’re not as stupid as I think you are. Am I right?” Tom threatened.
“I’m so sorry, sir, I wasn’t aware of who she… who you are,” pleaded the examiner. “It’s alright, just consider it a warning. Now, should I call my daughter back in here so you can give her her license?” Tom asked as the examiner nodded, almost fearful for his life. Tom’s reputation preceded him everywhere he went. What good was his reputation if it couldn’t put a smile on Rosie’s face?
Tom quickly sent a text to Parker saying “Come inside with Rosie.” In a few minutes they were there and the examiner apologized for the confusion and passed her.
“I can’t believe I passed! Dad can you drop me off at Henry’s? I want to tell him the good news,” Rosie cheered.
“Sure darling. Parker, are you staying there tonight?” Asked Tom. “No, I need new clothes,” Parker mumbled.
“Good. Your mother misses you,” Tom responded. Tom didn’t know how to address everything. Everything had gotten so screwed up. How was he supposed to explain to his son that his grandfather is the reason Charlotte was dead?
Pulling up to Henry’s house, Rosie practically jumped out of the car. She couldn’t contain her excitement to see the person who made life worthwhile. Just looking at his greenish hazel eyes gave her butterflies.
“Henry, I passed! Wanna go for a drive?” Rosie asked, twirling his keys on her fingers. “Sure, let’s get some dinner.”
They went to a nice restaurant in downtown London. Henry had the whole night planned out. Take Rosie to a lovely dinner, go on the London Eye, confess his true feelings and drive back to spend the night with his girl.
Love was new to both of them. Just learning the fact that when you are in love, you become half of a whole. The dinner was lovely, they went to a little Italian restaurant called Casa Nostra and fell in love with the ambiance. Rosie order a shrimp scampi and Henry ordered a pizza. She made fun of him for taking her to such a classy place and only ordering pizza. Not even a luxury pizza with truffles or sausage, just classic pepperoni.
After dinner, they made their way to the London Eye. Rosie and Henry had both been there before, but they enjoyed watching the city from that height. As they reached the top, Henry pulled Rosie close. How did he get this lucky to have her in his arms. He wouldn’t know what he’d do without her.
“Rosie, I have something for you. Hold out your hands,” Henry said, pulling out silver a necklace with a H and a R on it.
“Oh my god, Henry. It’s beautiful,” Rosie exclaimed admiring the dainty jewelry. “You’re beautiful,” he responded, causing Rosie to blush.
After a few moments of silence along with staring deeply into each other’s eyes, Henry chimed in, “Roo, I think I’m falling in love with you.”
“Henry, I know I’m falling in love you.” Smiles both envelop their faces as they pressed into a kiss.
They made their way back to Henry’s house and found comfort on the couch. Rosie and Henry put on a movie but barely paid attention to it as they were both too consumed in each other.
As the movie played in the background, clothes were discarded one after the other. First Rosie’s shirt and Henry’s was soon to follow.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” Henry whispered nuzzling himself between her breasts.
“Henry,” Rosie hummed as his hand traveled to the waistband of her jeans. He started to fiddle with the button and zipper, ready to take this love fest further.
Rosie was not ready for that. God she loved him but Rosie wanted it to be more special. Especially since the last time she almost inadvertently lost her virginity was at that party.
“Henry... stop,” Rosie said, trying to hide her timid tone. He immediately pulled away, halting all movements.
“Roo, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry but I want to wait. Is that ok?”
“Rosie, of course. I never want you to feel pressured. We’ll wait as long as you want,” Henry assured.
“Thank you. Now that that’s out of the way. Can we go back to kissing?” Rosie questioned, missing the taste of his lips.
“Of course, baby.” He chuckled, smiling into the kiss.
Henry placed his hands on her hips and brought her into a loving kiss. She immediately kissed back, opening her mouth wider to allow entrance for his tongue, deepening the kiss. Nothing could get more perfect than this moment.
Meanwhile, Parker was having an awkward dinner with you and Tom. Tom had refused to talk to his son and you were giving Tom the cold shoulder because of it.
“Thanks for dinner. I’m going out,” said Parker as he exited the dining room. “Where are you going?” Tom asked, tired of all his games. “Like I said out,” Parker exclaimed, leaving without a single goodbye.
Parker drove to hotel and casino downtown called Aurelia. He had contacted a fairly new friend for information on Tom’s rival. Jazz, aka Jasmine Ramsey a contract killer, was starting to become quite the informant to Parker. She enjoyed bouncing around even though her allegiance with always be with Tom secondly, after herself. She didn’t become a master assassin by not playing on both teams. The valets parked his car as he walked toward the hotel.
Coming up to concierge to ask “I’m here to see some guy called Wilson.” “Is he expecting you?” asked the concierge. “Doubt it, tell him a Holland needs to talk to him. I’ll wait,” Parker said, really coming into this new role.
“Right this way Mr. Holland,” Parker was escorted to the 11th floor, almost like a penthouse.
“Tommy boy, what’s this concerning? You have some balls showing up. I could have you dead on the spot.” Spoke the mysterious mobster, from his dim office. Parker stood in the doorway, this was his last chance, he could leave right now and not screw over his father. But it was too late.
“It’s not Tom. I hear you hate my old man. Something we have in common. I’m here to offer my services,” Parker said, confidence fading.
Swallowing the lump in his throat and hiding the sweat marks on his face, those were all huge tells of lying. He could be dead in 5 seconds flat if they thought his motives weren’t pure. “What the fuck do you think you have to offer me?” replied the cunning mobster. “I’m Tom Holland’s son, anything. Take your pick Wilson.” Parker concluded.
That was it. There is no going back now. Parker was what they would call a double agent, only if he was a spy. Nope, he is a mobster and he is now a rat. People have been killed in front of their family for far less.
Betrayal is the ultimate crime, having someone you trust just turn their back on them. Whatever Parker just did, changed everything. He could never go back. He started a war and this was just the beginning.
Guns, Glamour and Goodfellas Masterlist
Taglist: @thenoddingbunny-blog @adriannauni @dummiesshort
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babeyvenus · 3 years
Text
The Wolf Among Us
Bigby x OC
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Summary: Sonya Blaze, A.K.A. Hell Rider, is a half fable, half mundy girl who comes to Fabletown to learn more about her side of the folktales. She works alongside Sheriff Bigby Wolf's as his newest partner and together they strive to find out who's behind the unexpected murders in Fabletown.
TW: Mentions of death, gore/blood, alcohol, drugs, sex implications, suicide, guns and ofc language.
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Chapter 3: Rough Night
After the ruckus with the Woodsman, we went back to the Woodlands. “You have a key to your place?”, he asks. I nod, “Yeah”. He looked at me in disbelief. “How’d you manage to get that door open? I couldn’t get in without almost breaking the handle.” I chuckle. “Well, it took a few tries until I lifted the door a little and gave it a little kick. A little.”, I emphasized.
He rubbed behind his neck. “I guess you’re a little gentler than I am.” I smile. “You’ll get there.” We walked up to the entrance of the Woodlands, him holding the door open for me as I walked in. We both paused to hear rustling leaves behind a tree. Bigby crossed his arms. “Don’t make me come over there.”
A woman comes from behind a tree timidly. Bigby lowered his arms. “Beauty.” This is Beauty? From Beauty and The Beast? She’s a lot different than Disney’s version….
“Hello Bigby. And…?”, she greeted, before seeing me. I wave, giving her smile. “Sonya.” She smiles at me. “Its a little late to be out here.”, Bigby says. She stepped off of the grass. “I know it looks a little odd, but I’ve got an explanation for this.” Bigby sighs. “Okay.” She steps away timidly. “Just don’t tell Beast you saw me. Its not what you think it is, I’m just working.”
This late…? “Sure…”, Bigby says. Beauty nodded and slipped out of the entrance. Bigby sighs heavily and walks to the building. I followed behind, taking note of the sleeping doorman. “Very hardworking, Grimble.”, I mutter. Of course he wouldn’t have heard me. We walked to the elevators, ready to get upstairs until another person stopped us.
“Bigby, have you seen my wife? Have you seen Beauty?”, the man asks. That’s Beast!? What’s going on between them….? Bigby shook his head. “We haven’t seen her.” Beast huffs. “Dammit! There’s something going on…”
Bigby quickly pushes the close doors button, making the doors shut and lift the elevator. “I gotta Swineheart to do a check up on you.”, he says. I look at him in confusion. “Why? I’m fine.”
He pokes my side, making me wince and hold my side. “Sure…”, he mutters, crossing his arms again. The elevator opens and he walks out. “Let’s go.” He leads me to my apartment and waits for me. I unlock the door and show him how to open it. I pause. Why am I showing him? I glance at him and he looks at me. “What?”
I shake my head, letting out a soft sigh. “Nothing. Just don’t make fun of my place. I don’t have much. Yet.” I open the door and turn on the lights, the brightness making my eyes squint. He looked around and closed the door. “Huh. Looks no different than my place. Aside from the fact it looks cleaner and smells cleaner.”
I looked at him. “You really do have the smallest apartment, don’t you?” He looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “What, you thought it was a joke?”, he asks, walking over to my couch and sits down.
“I mean...I just think its kinda unfair to give you the smallest apartment since,” I gestured to him. “Y’know…” He leaned up a bit, placing his arms on his knees with an amused expression. “No, I don’t know. Since I’m now intrigued by your concern, what do you mean?”
I narrowed my eyes at him for a bit. “Now, I don’t wanna tell. Aren’t you supposed to be calling this Swineheart guy?” He perked up at that. “I forgot.” He looked around. “You don’t have a phone here?” I walked over to my lamp table and pulled my phone from my bag. “I kinda figured I wouldn’t need it while we were out since you guys don’t use cellphones nor know how they work. Just give me his number.”
Bigby told me his Swineheart’s number and I handed him my phone. He took it and held it to his ear, giving Swineheart my address. Moments later, we heard a knock on my door. Bigby went to answer it and greeted a grey haired man. “This is Dr. Swineheart. He’s Fabletown’s physician.”
I got up to greet him and he gave me a tired smile. “Its nice to meet you. Now, what’s the problem?”I rubbed my side. “We kinda fought the Woodsman and I’m sore.” Bigby rolled his eyes, sitting on my couch. “He broke her ribs. I heard it.”
I frowned at his snitching. Swineheart hummed. “Can I take a look?” I hesitantly lifted my shirt to show him the damage. It was a dark bruise showing, not too big but big enough to catch anyone’s eye. He sighed. “They’re definitely broken.”, Swineheart says, making Bigby huff in satisfaction. I turned to glare at him, but he was facing a window with his chin propped in his palm.
I faced Swineheart, shaking my head as he let out an amused snort. “I can give you a medicinal patch to get rid of the bruise and heal your ribs from the inside since you’re half mundy.” I look at him with curious eyes. “You know?” He nods. “I suspected as much considering there shouldn’t be any mundies here but you survived an attack that would’ve killed you and you have no idea who I am, so it wasn’t all that hard to piece together.”
He reaches into his bag and hands me a patch. I took off the plastic wrap and gently stuck it to my side. “Alright. Now, in a few minutes, you should feel a little tingling and it should be working to heal you.”, Swineheart says. I nodded. “Thanks Doc.” He smiles, gives us both a nod before leaving.
I sigh and turn to Bigby. “What about you? Didn’t you need a check up?” He looks at me. “I called him for you, not me.”, he says and gets up. He places a hand on my shoulder. “Just make sure to get some rest. I’ll check on you later.” With that, he leaves. I take his advice and sway over to my couch. Laying down, I snuggle into the cushions and close my eyes.
Bigby’s POV
After leaving Sonya’s place, I went to mine, ready to just sleep in my chair. Hopefully Colin isn’t in it. I walked in the door and went to the kitchen to clean my face before taking my phone off of the ringer. I need some peace…
I opened a window to get fresh air in the place before walking over to my chair. To my disappointment, I saw the pig in my chair, knocked out. I nudged him awake. He yawns, “Oh, hey, Bigby.” I stared at him with a frown. “I’m in your chair, aren’t I?”, he asks. “Its the only one here.”, I tell him. He waddles out of the chair and sits across from me. I sit in with a huff and pull out my cigarettes, tapping the bottom and popping one in my mouth.
“Got a smoke?”, I hear Colin ask before looking at him. I sighed through my nose and lit the cigarette. Before I got up, I took a drag before blowing it out and handing it to him. I sat back in my seat, sighing out my drag. “Thanks, Bigby. A couple more thousand of these and you’’l be out of debt.”
I rubbed my eyes. “This has to stop. You cannot be sneaking off the Farm like this.”, I say. He didn’t like that. “The fresh air and sunshine pitch they sell you is complete bullshit. I didn’t escape the Homelands just to end up in some prison, okay? Don’t send me back there, Bigby. You don’t know what its like over there.”, Colin says, as I get up to get some bourbon. “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”, I ask, pouring the drink in the cup.
“That for me?”, he asked once I brought the cup to my lips. “Nope.”, I say, walking out of the kitchen. “I’m just saying, the house didn’t blow itself down. Do with that what you will.Now I’m not saying it’s reason enough for me to have definitely been offered a drink, but…uh….it would have helped ease some of the pain you once caused me, yes. It also would have shown everyone how different you are now.”, he says and I take a sip. “I take it all back. This is why everyone hates you.”, he says. I pause and turn to him. “So, everyone hates me?” He smirked. “No, I’m just shittting you.���
I roll my eyes and go back to my chair. “No, hate’s the wrong word. Its more of fear. They fear you more than anything. You did eat a lot of people back in your day.” I shake my head. “I thought we were all supposed to have a fresh start here. I can’t change the past.”
“Well, you can’t change people’s memories either.”, Colin says, as we sit down. I frown at him. “Look, I’m not saying its fair, but its real. People are scared of you. Look at your knuckles.” I looked down to see my knuckles reddened and bruised. “Who’d you get into a fight with? A fable, right? There’s no way you’re punching Mundies.”
“I was actually doing my job, believe it or not.”, I say. Colin frowns in disbelief. “Your job is to beat the shit out of fables?” When they get out of line, yes.
I stayed quiet. “Fuck you.”, Colin muttered. I sighed harshly. “You think my job is easy? You try keeping a bunch of fables from killing each other. How do you think this all works?” Colin rolled his eyes. “I dunno. How?”
I relaxed in my seat. “By being big and being bad.” Colin cringed. “By being biggg and being baddd. Don’t say that shit. Its embarrassing.” I blink at him and take a sip again, trying to tune him out.
“That’s the attitude that gets you in trouble. I’m sure you were shitty to everyone you came across tonight.” said Colin.
“Not everyone.” I mutter with my lips on the cup. This intrigued Colin. “Name one.” I hum. “I’ve got a new partner, she doesn’t seem to hate me. And this other girl we met tonight… I don’t actually know her name.”
“Awesome. Great example.” said Colin, sarcastically. I prop my chin in my hand, now irritated. “Life is easier with friends, Bigby, and we live a long fuckin’ time. This whole lone wolf thing isn’t working, I mean, I’ve seen the way you look at Snow, okay? You’re not fooling me.”
I looked down at my lap. Its true that I do care about Snow but...I think she cares more about her job than anything. I sigh softly. “Colin, seriously, can I just get some time to rest?”
“Well, maybe if my throat wasn’t so parched I wouldn’t have to keep talking.”, Colin replies. I gave him an incredulous look. “That doesn’t make sense-”
“Just give me the drink, please?”, Colin exasperatedly begged. I rubbed my face, “Colin, enough already. I haven’t slept in two days. I went out a second story window and I just wanna get two seconds of shut eye before-”
He gave me the saddest look he could muster up. I looked at my drink then back at him. “Look, if I give you this, will you please let me sleep?” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, alright. Probably.”
I sighed, getting up and handed him the cup. He smiles. “Thanks Bigby.” I say nothing and get back in my seat, laying my head back and closed my eyes.
Sonya’s POV
I woke up abruptly to the sound of loud knocking. I wiped my face and walked up to my door to cuss whoever is here this late. I opened the door, glaring at-
“Snow? What the hell?”, I groaned, rubbing my eyes. “I’m sorry, but you have to come with me.”, she says, looking fidgety. “Alright.”, she takes off and I put my shoes on. I leave my place, closing my door and seeing her and Bigby walk towards me.
He looks at me in confusion. “You slept okay?” I grumble. “I slept dandy.” He shakes his head. “I can tell. Your hair tells it all.”, he says, leaving me to pull out my phone and look at my hair. My cheeks burn as I fix it and catch up to them.
We exited the Woodlands, our eyes catching onto a security guard jacket splayed out on the ground. I frowned at Snow. “Please don’t tell me you brought us out here to show us a small dead animal that you could’ve gotten Grimble to bury. I don’t wanna see that.”
She looked at me with a frown. “Of course not. Its worse.” I crossed my arms. “How bad is it?” Bigby went over to the jacket and pulled up. His eyes widened and glanced at me. “What?”, I asked, walking over to him as he pulled the jacket back to reveal a decapitated head.
My heart dropped to my stomach as I saw the girl from earlier. We just saved her. We just talked to her…. “W-What the hell…?”, I whispered in shock. I gagged a bit, looking at her dead expression. I dropped down next to Bigby as he looked away. “I assume you two know her.”, Snow says.
“Barely caught her name.”, Bigby says. “She’s a working girl.” Snow looked at him in confusion. “I’m a working girl. I don’t,” I look at her with a frown. She looked back at me, realization coming to her face. “Oh…”
I couldn’t help but stare into the girl’s dead eyes. I couldn’t get anything. Last moments...nothing. I let out a shaky breath and covered my face. “We saved her today. The Woodsman was beating on her.”
“Who found her…?”, I asked. Snow responded, “I did.” I brought my hands down and looked at the girl again. “She was just like this. I didn’t touch her. I grabbed Grimble’s jacket to cover her with, then… I came to get you two right away.” Snow explained.
“No one else came?” I asked. She shook her head. “Bigby, Sonya, did one of us…do this?”
“There hasn’t been a murder in Fabletown in a long time…” Bigby says, looking at her. I sighed. “Then we shouldn’t cause a panic yet. We can’t let anyone know. Not yet…”, I say.
I heard Bigby grunt softly as he got up. I look up to see him holding a ribbon. “This was hers.”, he says, frowning and analyzing it. I looked back at her and gently closed her eyes. “We should look for clues.”, I say, walking away. I walked over to the left side of the gate, not seeing anything. Maybe whoever came here came over and dropped her head off.
They’d look crazy to come to the front and drop it off. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to get her face out of my head. I looked over to see Bigby crouching by Snow. I raised an eyebrow, walking over to them. “What’re you doing?”
He looks up at me and shows me a piece of blue fabric. I looked at Snow since she was the only one with blue fabric. She shrugged and I shook my head.
“We should move her. No one else needs to see this.”, I say, walking over to the head and covered her up before picking her up and holding her with care. “You don’t have to do that.”, Bigby says, looking at me with concern.
“Its okay. We need to figure out what happened. I just-”, I shake my head. “I should’ve known something was wrong. Wherever she worked seemed to be treating her horribly. I should’ve asked more questions.”
He walked over to me. “You cannot blame yourself for this. You saw how she barely answered our questions from the beginning.”
He’s right but...how could it even get this bad…? “I’ve gotta tell Crane about this.”, Snow says. “How do you think he’s gonna take this…?”, I asked her. “He may be upset. Since he is Deputy Mayor, this has to be announced to him.”, she says. Bigby grumbled. “I guess it’d be a pain if we kept it from him.”
“Hopefully he won't be too upset.”, I say. Bigby shakes his head. “Don’t hold your breath.”
He turns to me, “Let me take this to Swineheart. You go on in with Snow.” I reluctantly gave him the head and he takes it, giving me a soft smile and nods his head toward Snow. I left him alone with the head, and followed Snow.
As Snow and I walked inside the Woodlands, she smiles at me. “You seem to be getting along with him just fine.” I look at her in confusion. “Was he supposed to be a hard person to get along with?”
She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “He can be a little difficult. And not everyone here gets along with him well because of his past.” I frowned. “I thought the whole point of being here was for everyone to have a fresh start and live among society. Why are they still bugging him?”
She shrugs. “I don’t exactly have an answer for that just yet.” I shake my head and walk to the elevator. “I’ll be back down after I freshen up. I feel gross.”, I say before the elevator doors close and take me to my apartment.
After washing up, I put on my red sleeveless turtleneck and black pants before putting my shoes on and leaving. As I get down to the lobby, I see Bigby talking to someone and I walk up. He notices me and holds the door open. “You’ve gotta be shitting me. I stand here for almost a whole hour and she gets to go in!?”, a black haired man with one blind eye growls.
Bigby looks at him annoyed. “We work here.”, he says, putting his hand on my shoulder and starts to lead me inside. I walk inside, letting him deal with the guy and hear Crane fussing at Snow. “Lord…”, I mutter, rolling my eyes. I knew he wasn’t a good boss.
“And now you’re telling me there’s a killer on the loose while you all titter behind my back!?”, Crane yells. “We didn’t know it was gonna happen! Why’re you fussing!?”, I exclaim.
“Because you two are the ones bringing this to me! The ones who so simply “stumbled” upon this catastrophe on our very doorstep! The last thing I need with Mayor Cole away is a hysteria, do you two understand me!?”, he yells in our face. “Of course, but-”, Snow starts.
“Do not interrupt me, Ms. Snow!”
“The f- you asked us a question!”, I yell in disbelief with his behavior. “Don’t change the subject! You two are to blame for this unpleasantness, Miss Sonya!”, he shouted. I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“We brought you this news as soon as we could!” Snow replies tiredly. “You are trusted to keep things running smoothly here! This is a disaster!” Crane rambles. “Who else is to blame, if not either of you?”
“It isn’t anyone’s fault.” Bigby declares. “Instead of trying to assign blame, maybe we figure out how to catch the fucker who did this.”
“Oh, is that how you see things? Sheriff, you, Ms. Snow and Miss Sonya are the ones in charge of protecting Fabletown. Your failure to do so has cost someone their life and the safety of our community.”, Crane says, walking over to his desk and sits in his chair. How’d someone like him even get a position as Deputy?
I rub my temples. “Tell me you’ve been doing something! Are there any leads? Suspects? Anything? Anything at all? Any shred of evidence you three know what the hell you’re doing?” Crane asked.
Bigby walked up to us and crossed his arms. “Her pimp is a suggestion.” I shrugged. “So is the Woodsman.”
“Her…was she a…?"
"She needed money and we didn’t have enough to give her…”, I say. “Well isn’t that just wonderful. Not only was a Fable killed, but it was a Fable hooker to boot!” Crane said, sarcastically.
“You three need to get a handle on this quickly, and quietly. The last thing we need is all of Fabletown knowing there’s a killer amongst us.” Crane shut his eyes for a bit, then opened them to look at Snow.
“Snow!”
“Yes…sir?” Snow asked. “Call Vivian right this moment and let her know I’m coming in early for my...massage.” Crane demands. I looked at Bigby with slight disgust and confusion. He shakes his head.
“I will.” She complies.
Crane looks around his desk. “Where is the bottle of wine you were to purchase?” Snow looks at him in confusion. “Oh, bother! Forget it! Can’t do anything right.” Crane mutters, walking past me.
I glared at Crane as he walked to the door of the office. “Do your job, Sheriff and Deputy….Or we’ll find someone who can.” He said. Bigby growls lowly, turns around and says. “You know what…”
I give him a pinch. “Stop.”
Crane turns to face us. Snow walks up and gives him a smile. “We’ll get right on it, sir.” Crane turns back and walks out of the office. Bigby sighs with a grumble.
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imagineitup · 4 years
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𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 (𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭) : 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
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𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵: chaotic, clumsy slytherin muggle, meets scorpius, who helps them? i think it'd be so cute ☺️☺️ hope you are well!
𝘢/𝘯: ok hear me out … scorpius coffee shop au 
𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵: when you spill the coffee order all over the attractive customer, you expect him to scream at you.  what you’re not expecting is for him to profusely apologize.  he even asks if you’re alright.  um, what?
- - 
“Double-shot espresso,” you call, raising an eyebrow at the name written on the receipt, “for Scorpius?”
It’s a strange name, that’s for sure.  You’ve seen your share of strange names, even though you go through the entire ordeal of trying to repress the last five years of your life.  You shake your head, trying to clear things out of your mind.  It’s near closing hours, and there’s only a few more minutes until you’ll get to leave.  Yet to your dismay, there are still people inside the coffee shop: students loitering around the dim lamplight and listening to music through tangled headphones, couples quietly holding their lover’s hand, little kids opening and closing the door to hear the whoosh of wind and soft bell clink. 
You let your eyes roam around the coffee shop, trying to guess who this ever elusive Scorpius is.  Maybe it's the older man leaning on his cane, doing his best to regard the different porcelain mugs despite failing eyesight.  It would make sense, considering this Scorpius hasn’t come to get his coffee yet.  Or maybe, even, the little kid yawning and tugging at his mom’s sleeve.  Little kids get all sorts of strange names these days, because apparently the more unique the better. 
“Scorpius?”  
But before you can contemplate any longer, there’s a screech of metal to your right, and you watch in amusement as an older boy your age comes running up to the counter, hopping on one foot in an attempt to regain the balance lost from his rush.  There’s another loud clatter as his chair leg regains its balance against the floor.  “Here, here, hi Scorpius --” he frowns, out of breath.  “Wait … you’re not … I’m Scorpius.”  His cheeks flood pink, and he runs a hand through his disheveled hair.  His eyes sheepishly meet yours.  “Sorry, I promise I haven’t done that in years.  Today’s just been a mess.”
Well.  You never thought this Scorpius would be cute.
But you end up laughing softly at him, shaking your head in amusement.  “I gathered.  You’re drinking a double-shot espresso at closing hours, and I think it’s safe to say I’m just a little concerned.”
“Pssh,” Scorpius says, shrugging bashfully.  “I just needed a jump after the apparating.  I’m exhausted.” 
You let out a screech.  Is he insane?  Your hands drop forward, and you watch in horror as the recycled paper cup you’re holding teeters forward and sloshes all over Scorpius and his nice coat.  The cup rolls against the floor, and you freeze, terrified.  Shit.
“Oh my god.  Oh my god I--”
“Agh,” Scorpius yelps, stepping backward to mournfully look at the coffee staining his wool sweater.  Then he bites back a hiss as he wrings out his hand, his bottom lip clenched in-between his teeth.  “Ouch.”
You’re suddenly all too aware of the other customers watching you with blank, unimpressed stares, some even going to the extent of ignoring you completely due to second-hand embarrassment.  The little kid with his mom finally manages to convince her to walk out the door, and the little bells jangle twice as they exit. 
You turn your attention back to Scorpius.  “I’m so, so sorry --”
Scorpius’s eyes quickly dart back to yours, and you wince, expecting him to yell.  Or at least hit you with a disgusted gaze and demand a refund.  But instead, he panics?  He steps forward again, clearly forgetting about the mess on the floor and the coffee sloshing against his shoes, and he reaches a tentative hand out toward you.  “Are you alright?  I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean to make a mess, can I, can I help?  Fix it, I mean.”
What?
You’re speechless, all your words disappearing.  All you can do is stare in stupored awe, wide-eyed and speechless at the boy who stands across from you.  Here he is, this strange, strange boy, who talks about apparating out loud and apologizes to you for something that was entirely your own fault. 
“What?” Is all you can manage.  “Wh--”
“Are you okay?” Scorpius repeats, gently and clearly concerned.  “It was hot.  I, erm, really hope you didn’t burn yourself.”
“But I spilled it on you?” 
Scorpius shrugs.  “Well, must’ve been a reason, no?” He laughs bemusedly, shrugging good-naturedly.  “And besides, it’ll dry out in seconds.  It’s no big deal.” 
“But your sweater …” 
“I’ll just magic it out.”  
Your mouth drops open.  He didn’t seriously just say that, did he?
Scorpius stuffs his hand over his mouth, and then stammers, “I mean, the washing machine will do wonders.  Like magic.”  He turns, grabbing a handful of napkins from the counter and immediately starts dropping them to the floor, using his foot to seep up the coffee. 
You watch him with wide eyes.  “I’ll do it, you just sit --”
“No, it’s the least I can do --”
“Oh my god, I’ll get a mop.”
You run into the back room, the double doors swinging behind you as you let your face fall into your hands.  After taking in a few breaths, you let your eyes scan around the cabinets and extra bags of coffee grounds, and you shakily reach for the mop in the corner, nearly knocking over a box of glass supplies. 
When you re-emerge from the back room, you watch with bewilderment as Scorpius reaches for something in his jacket pocket, freezing when he sees you.  “Oh, perfect!” 
He cheerfully takes the mop from you, all too eager to help clean up. 
“Hey, wait a minute.  You want anything to eat?” 
Scorpius’ eyes widen, and he sneaks a look at the pastry shelf.  “No, I … I shouldn’t.  Albus didn’t give me that much muggle money,” he sneaks a look at the coins held in his hand, “he only gave me these.  Said it was enough for the espresso?”
Albus?  This Scorpius really ain’t sly. 
But you nod, busying yourself with fixing him another espresso, this time making sure to create it as perfectly as you can and to fill it to the brim.  As soon as you slip the lid atop the cup, you wander over to the patisserie display, reaching for the metal tongs to sneak in two iced gingerbread men and a loaf of banana bread.
“Scorpius?” 
He perks up, leaning against the mop and then stumbling, flushing a bright red.  He quickly places the mop against the side of the wall, and then turns to you as he sees the drink in your hands, pleased.  “Is that my espresso?”
You nod, handing him the cup (carefully this time), and then the parcel of baked goods.  “Here.  It’s the least I can do.  It’s on the house.” 
Scorpius blinks.  He tilts his head slightly to the side, his eyes filling with awe.  “Wow,” he whispers, his lips parting.  Then he gingerly reaches out to take the parcel, his face lighting up as he looks inside.  “You gave me three?”
You smile sheepishly.  “Yeah.” 
Scorpius attempts to slide over the coins he has, but you stop him, placing your hand over his and pushing the coins back to him.  “It’s on the house.”
“On the house?” 
“Free.”
Scorpius’s mouth drops open.  “But --”
“But what?”
“But I can’t accept this.”
“Well, you’re going to.”  You laugh, shrugging.  “Tell Albus Potter to teach you more about muggle etiquette.”
Scorpius grins.  And then he frowns, eyebrows scrunching up.  “Wait, what? Muggle?  What’s that?  I mean, what?  Erm, how do you know that?” 
You laugh, lips twisting up into an easy smirk.  “I’m a Hogwarts drop-out.  Magic wasn’t really my thing, so I decided to come back.  Finish up school and work here on the side.”
“But how’d you know --”
You hold up a finger, “you mentioned apparating,” you hold up another finger, “literally said ‘muggle money’,” and then a third finger, “and then you said Albus.  The Potter’s are practically famous, you know.”
Scorpius flushes pink. 
“And the phrase, ‘on the house’.”
Scorpius looks at his shoes, obviously flustered.  “Oh, I, uh --”
“It’s cute, though.  You should come back, one day.  I’d give you my number, but I don’t think you have a phone.”
Scorpius frowns, then smiles shyly.  “Do you have an owl?” 
You quickly write your address down on a napkin.  “Here.  Owl me one day.”
Scorpius’s fingers fumble as he reaches for it, and the smile that spreads across his face lights up the room.  “Okay.  I’ll come back.  And I’ll write you.  Every day!”
You laugh.  “I’m counting on it.”
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jasontoddshoe · 4 years
Text
Strictly Business // Jason Todd
Chapter 9 - The Gala
Warnings: Swearing, Sexual themes, Violence, Bloodshed, broken bones, kidnapping, guns, bullet wounds, crying, near death experience,
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Your dress took a while to shimmy into a zip up by yourself but you finally managed. It was definitely easier when you had Jason to help you but he was off somewhere else in the house getting himself ready. He was acting like this was prom or something, saying he didn’t want to see you until you were ready. It didn’t really phase you until you started getting dressed, you really wished you’d had some help then.
The gala had technically started already, but you didn’t care enough to make it there on time. The only thing Jason wanted was to just be there in general, so he wasn’t mad about it either. You smiled at the finished product of your makeup, admiring your craftsmanship before cleaning your mess up. You were finished getting ready so you headed down to the living room with your small silver clutch that held your phone.
Jason was sitting on the couch, donning a black suit with a red shirt and black tie. He looked amazing, and you couldn’t deny that. At the sound of your shoes clacking against the marble stairs, he looked up. His eyes met yours, catching you staring at him. He smirked slightly before noticing your figure. His eyes traced your every curve as he took in the lovely sight. He stood up, draping his suit coat over his arm as he walked to meet you at the bottom of the staircase.
“You look amazing (Y/n)” he commented, offering you his hand to help you down the last step. You gave him a small smile, feeling much more shy now that he was there. His eyes never left you, but you couldn’t force yours to leave him either.
“Thanks Jaybird, so do you” you replied quietly. “So, should we make our grand entrance at this shitty thing?” You asked, grabbing his bicep while staring up at his eyes. He nodded, his shaggy hair that he hadn’t styled bouncing slightly as he did so.
“Let’s go fuck some shit up” he answered, a devious smile making its way into his face as you laughed.
***********
You held Jason’s arm tightly as you entered the grand venue the gala was taking place at. You never realized how much influence Roman Sionis had in Gotham until you saw some of the very powerful people indulging in the complimentary champagne. You were no exception to that, holding a glass of your own in the hand that wasn’t lopped through Jason’s arm. Jason wasn’t drinking, he wanted to be able to stay on alert. You however, were just along for the ride.
Jason turned to you at one point with a smirk on his face. He delicately slid your champagne glass out of your hand and placed it on a random table behind him.
“Come on doll, we didn’t practice dancing for nothing” he commented before leading you to the dance floor. You laughed lightly, following him willingly. As soon as he stopped you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him close.
“Sionis is death glaring you right now” you whispered in his ear, glancing at the man behind Jason’s shoulder who looked furious. Jason wrapped his arms around your waist, leaning down to place his lips by your ear.
“Good, I wanted his attention” he responded. “He was looking at you like a piece of meat, I ant him to know you didn’t come alone” he added quietly, spinning the two around around while making it look like he was dancing casually.
“Don’t draw attention to yourself Jay, you don’t want him connecting the dots when Red Hood comes after him later” you reminded, making him nod and shift his gaze to your face. “What’s so important about this specific event?”
“He’s got a deal going down tonight, big one, and I’m not gonna let that happen” he explained shortly, emitting a sigh from your lips.
“What kind of deal? Drugs? Guns?” You followed up, feeling slightly annoyed at his lack of information. He gave you a pointed glance, as if he didn’t want to say. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I know when I tell you it’s gonna piss you off” he muttered, letting go of you and giving you a twirl.
“I’m a big girl Jason, I think I can handle it” you raised both eyebrows at him.
“Drugs, lots of them, they’re going straight to the srteets and he’s aiming for the teenage market” he answered, making you grit your teeth slightly. “I knew it’s piss you off” he commented, eyeing your clenched jaw. “Relax, you have an audience, remember?” He whispered.
“So what’re you gonna do to stop him?” You questioned. He was about answer you, when the song ended and Sionis decided to address his guests.
You grabbed Jason’s wrist and pulled him along with you as you went to get some hors d’oeuvres. One good thing you could say about Roman Sionis was he knew how to feed a crowd, but that was it. While you and Jason were getting yourselves something to eat, you heard that dreadful sound.
“Ah, there she is. Just the girl I was looking for” you let out a breath and spin around to see Roman smiling widely at you. “Who’s your friend?” He asked, looking Jason up and down.
“Derek” you stated, not wanting him to know who Jason was. “I met him here actually” you added.
“Of course, you wouldn’t come with a date” he stated, it sounding more like a command than anything. Jason really had to fight the urge to pop him in the jaw at the sound of that. “Walk with me, we need to have a chat” you gave Jason a look before slowly walking toward Roman. He placed his hand on the small of your back and started leading you away from the crowd. You smacked his wrist so he moved his hand off of you, but kept walking.
He led you into en elevator that took you up to his disgustingly familiar office, and you felt a pit forming in your stomach. The slight heels on your shoes clacked against the marble floors, echoing in the empty room.
“How’d you pay off the debt?” He asked roughly as soon as the door clicked shut and he knew you were alone.
“What?” You asked confusedly.
“A week ago money got wired into my account under your name in the amount you were in debt to me for” he stated. “I’m only asking one more time, where’d you get the money bitch?” He asked, grabbing a handful of hair from the back of your head and harshly pulling it toward him.
“Ow fuck” you grunted. This must’ve been the ‘business’ Jason has to do and redused to tell you about. “I stole it, how else do you think?” You lied, wincing as his grip tightened.
“Bullshit, it would’ve gone public if you stole that fucking much” he growled, pulling your head back so it rested on his shoulder as he stood behind you.
“Well contrary to your belief, sometimes I’m good at my fucking job” you retorted. He shoved you forward, letting his fingers slip from your hair and making you stumble foward toward his desk. “I don’t understand what your problem is, you got your fucking money, now leave me be” you turned around to face him. He grabbed your hair in the same spot again, pulling your head back so you were looking up. “Jesus, what is it with you and the fucking hair?” You growled, taking your heel and stomping it into his foot. He let go with a yelp.
“Fuck” he exclaimed. “Look princess, we’re far from being done” he stated. “Boys!” He yelled. Suddenly a couple men stormed the room, immediately going for you.
“What the fuck” you mumbled to yourself. You slid out of you heels and took a slight deep breath in. “Never done this in a dress before, let’s see how this goes” you muttered, using your shoe to smash some glass figurine on his desk.
You grabbed a large shard and shoved it into one man’s leg. He cried out in pain before falling to the ground. You felt a warm liquid run over your hand but that wasn’t your concern at the moment. Another man grabbed your shoulder. You placed a hand on top of his and whipped around, quickly mustering up most of your strength to flip him into his back, stomping onto his arm. A sickening crack sounded through the room, followed by him yelling in agony.
You fought a few more of them off before you simply became out numbered. Two men carried you out by your arms, and another one held your legs, leaving you powerless at that moment. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Roman slipping on his black mask, and the next thing you saw, was darkness.
*************
You were woken up to a harsh light being shined into you eyes. You scrunched you’re face, trying to pull your head away from the light through your grogginess, you started to realize what was happening. The chains around your wrists and ankles weren’t exactly forgiving as you tied to pull against them.
“What the-“ you muttered quietly, opening your eyes fully as the light went away. You recognized the city line and assumed you were on the roof on his building. “Why the fuck are we on the roof?” You asked, trying once again to pull your feet away from the chair they were chained to.
“You might want to take a look down sweetie” Roman replied. You looked down to see you sitting right on the edge of his near sky scraper height building. “Now, I know that you know I don’t take lying to me very lightly” he started, walking slowly around your chair in a circle. “You didn’t steal that money, and you didn’t use your other option to buy your way out” you crinkled your nose at the mention of that day. He stood behind you, placing his hands on your bare shoulders and giving them a small squeeze. You tried to wiggle around to get him to let go, but he wouldn’t budge. “So now, you’ve got three options. One, tell me where you got the money; Two, my old offer still stands. Sleep with me, and I’ll forget this all happened. Or three, this chair you’re chained to, goes falling down the side of this building” he listed.
“You’re literally old enough to be my dad and the fact that you want to have sex with me so bad is just really fucking creepy” you commented. He growled and grabbed the back of your chair, tilting it forward so you were hanging even more over the edge. “Ok! Ok! I’ll tell you” you stated, leaning all the way back in your chair. He smirked to himself, bringing your chair back down into all four legs. You quietly tried to pull your wrists and ankles from their confines, but the chains were on too tightly.
The only ways out of this were as Sionis listed. You didn’t want to tell him that Jason had wired the money to him, you definitely didn’t want to have sex with him, but you didn’t want to die. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed a flash of red. You sucked in a deep breath and shut your eyes tightly.
“Option three” you said quietly, tucking your face into your shoulder.
“What was that?” He asked, roughly grabbing the chair.
“I pick option three” you spoke up just a little. He sighed, gripping the back of your chair tightly.
“I’ll see you in hell” he growled before roughly shoving you over the edge.
You screamed loudly, hoping to god that Jason was coming to grab you. The chair hit the side of the building and shattered, leaving you without it but still chained up. Tears streamed down your face quickly, the feeling that you were still falling getting to you.
Finally, you felt someone grab your waist tightly. You let out a relieved breath at the familiar feeling of swinging on a grappling hook. You opened your eyes and looked up slightly to see Red Robin was your savior.
“Tim” you breathed happily. He gave you a small smile while safely landing the two of you on a nearby rooftop. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you” you mumbled, enjoying being on solid ground again. “Speaking of which though, I wasn’t exactly expecting you”
“Yeah, Red Hood called me and Robin for back up as soon as Black Mask walked off alone with you” he explained. “I can get these chains off, but it’s gonna hurt a little. Is that ok?” He asked. You nodded shutting your eyes again as you let Tim free you. “I’ve got your suit too, figured I’d grab it on the way out”
“Thanks, where’s Red Hood and Robin?” You asked, taking the small bag with your things from him. You stepped behind the stairwell entrance and quickly changed.
“Both on the roof where you just were. Hood’s going after Black Mask, and I think Robin’s with his goons” he answered, tucking the gadget he’d used to free you back into his belt securely.
“So I’m a little confused, what exactly is the goal here?” You asked, adjusting you’d hair so it was out of the way while walking back toward Tim.
“I think Hood’s just trying to get Black Mask into custody, but he seemed beyond pissed when he went after him” he replied. A sigh left your lips as you shook your head.
“Ok, you wanna go with Robin and I’ll see if I can catch up with Hood?” You asked, taking an earpiece that Tim held out to you. It was pretty easy to put on, but Tim had to help you turn it on.
“I figured that’s how it was gonna go. Me and Robin will finish up with the muscle and meet up with you and Hood when we’re done” he commented. You nodded slightly, letting Tim grapple the both of you back up onto the roof top you’d just gotten pushed off of.
It was pretty easy to weave through the fighting and slip back down stairs into the building. As soon as you made it back into that horrid office you saw Jason and Sionis in a heated fight. Neither one of them seemed to be letting up on any attacks.
Both men were bleeding from some place on their body, but it didn’t seem to deter them. Jason spotted you out of the corner of his eye, and you wish you could tell what he was thinking by the look on his face. His helmet was in the way from telling, so you just decided to help him out. As good as you and Jason were at fighting with each other, nothing compared to what it was like when you teamed up. Sionis held his own for a minute, but against the both of you there was no way he stood a chance.
Jason ripped Sionis’ mask off of him and tossed it to the side. He got a grip on his hair and lifted him off the ground. He tossed his body against the leg of his desk, making the older man groan in pain. He looked up at Jason with a bloodied face and beaten body, breathing labored from taking all of Jason’s blows.
“It’s over Sionis” Jason declared, standing up y’all as he caught his breath. You stood on Jason’s left side, slightly behind him silently looking over his wounds. “You’re gonna rot in a cell, like you deserve”
“Over? If you think this is over, you’re sorely mistaken” Sionis spat shakily. Before either you or Jason could react, you felt a white hot pain sear through your abdomen and the roaring sound of a gunshot. You fell to ground with a gasp, clutching your gut in agony. Your hand immediately was coated in a thick layer of blood, and the last thing you heard was another gunshot and a cry of your name.
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wu-sisyphus-gang · 3 years
Text
Motion Sickness Chapter 33
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"So how'd you know about me and Jaune?" Ruby asked as I wheeled Qrow down one of the rugged streets. They weren't exactly built with wheelchairs in mind but I muddled through.
"The way he looked at you. The way he wanted to talk to you after he killed that guy. Plus when you held up your bee clothes so he could get a look at you."
"I suppose that might give it away," Ruby agreed.
"He wasn't subtle."
"Hey I… tried," I blurted.
"If you hurt her though…" he trailed off. It wasn't so intimidating from the chair. I laughed which made him frown.
"If I hurt her she's more than capable of taking it out of my hide. Plus I'm sure Yang will give me a similar threat. You'll have some competition."
Ruby stammered slightly. "I'm sure Yang will behave."
We both looked at her. Disbelief on both our faces.
"Okay, you don't have to bust me about it," Ruby let out.
"It's fine. Yang'll make her threat because she's gotta, it’s an older sibling thing, and life will go on," I said. "Won't stop me from loving you."
Heat crept up her neck at that. Silver eyes imploring me.
"It's always the fuckin' blondes." Qrow muttered, seeing Ruby's reaction. "Always. We’re here. You can stop staring at each other.”
I wasn’t sure that I could. I wanted to stand there and look into Ruby’s eyes. Luckily, or unluckily as the case may have it, she looked away first and eyed up the Malachites’ bar.
“So this is it?” She asked.
I nodded. “Come on.” I pushed Qrow inside. It was pretty similar to the last two times I’d been inside for all that it was still morning. People were doing drugs in plain sight, and Malachite sat with two different bodyguards though this time she was shuffling a deck of cards and playing with herself. Was that her weapon? I’d heard of stranger huntress weapons but not by much and a little Titania went a long way.
“So, you completed our favors?” She asked from the long side of her table.
I held out the Don’s scroll and passed it to her. “The encryption key is ‘There once was a girl.’” It was also written on a sticky note attached to the device in Weiss’s handsome script.
“You also snagged his scroll? Well done.” She purred. “I’ll honor my end of the arrangement. I already have the prosthetics at my personal surgeon’s office. I’ll get you his address. Then we’ll see about getting Qrow back into fighting shape.”
“How long will he be under for?” Ruby asked.
“I’m not the surgeon, deary,” Malachite said. “He’ll also probably want to stop that.” She gestured to where Qrow had his flask of liquor in his hands. Qrow scowled and put the flask back in his pocket. “There’s a good boy. Anesthesia can have all kinds of bad reactions as it is.”
She snapped her fingers and a legal pad appeared. She picked up a pen and scrawled out an address. “A pleasure doing business with you all.” She handed it over to me.
I just grunted in reply and glanced at the address. I opened my scroll and looked up the location through the maps feature. It was on the middle floors and from the images that came up it looked like a nice place. It had a pebble garden out front and some tall and immaculately trimmed trees in the photos. It looked like a small private hospital which also served as a front for the Malachites’ operations. Any time they needed somebody cut into I imagine they took them here. It was probably also a legitimate business. Better to hide that way.
“Until next time,” Malachite dismissed us from her service and we walked out the way we came in.
“Well that wasn’t so bad.” Ruby said. “She seemed alright, although maybe Torchwick would have seemed that way too. If we’d met under different circumstances.”
“How did you meet Torchwick?” I asked. I hadn’t heard the story.
She explained how they’d tried to rob her in a small dust shop in Vale. She went on about how Torchwick had tried to blow her up with a crystal when she pursued him but she was saved by Goodwitch.
"You know how to use dust, though, don't you Jaune?"
"Just to blow stuff up. Not like Weiss or Ms. Goodwitch with their magic. Or even like you with your bullets."
"But you know how to make explosives."
"I do. It isn't as hard as it sounds. Even a caveman like me can do it. You just need to complete a circuit through the stuff and it goes off. Or throw it hard enough. Either does fine."
She gave a soft hum in thought at that.  
"Please tell me this isn't how the two of you flirt." Qrow muttered. I could tell that his inability to drink was getting on his nerves.
I wondered how much he'd already had to drink. It was only eleven in the morning. He'd probably be fine, though. Hunters were fairly resilient.
I laughed. "It's not. We're just sparring your old man sensibilities by not."
"I'm going to be out of this chair in a bit and you're going to regret every one of those side comments."
"Sure," I drew out the word. "What a way to thank me."
"I mean it. I'm going to hit you and you're going to deserve it."
"Don't you dare," Ruby said. "Play nice, both of you."
I shrugged. Easy enough for me. Qrow grumbled down in the chair as I pushed him all the way to the hospital.
"How much alcohol have you had today, uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked. Some concern in her voice. I was mostly staring at her pink lips.
Later.
"Only a little. It'll be fine. I swear."
"Maybe we should wait…"
"I've waited long enough to get up out of this damn thing."
"We're here," I said. We stood in front of the medical building. It was white leading up to nicely colored dark bricks with several gardens and terraces. It looked pretty enough from the outside.
The door opened automatically as I pushed Qrow forward up to the receptionist. "Name and date of birth?"
I let Qrow answer her. There were also some forms to fill out before the operation. I let Qrow take care of those and he sighed from the chair. Of all the things to get between him and walking again I think he hated bureaucracy the most.
Then we sat in the waiting room until a nurse came to wheel Qrow away.
"Wait uh- we sorta want to watch. To make sure everything goes smoothly." She recovered. She still didn't trust the Malachites.
The orderly nodded. "Yes the Doctor Seward mentioned you might be the sorts of patients who require the one way mirror. You'll be able to watch the surgery from there. Please follow me."
We did. "Right through here please." We entered a small room with chairs like those out in the waiting room all facing a pane of dark glass. On the other side there was an operating room and table. Surgical lights and lines of sanitized chrome medical equipment sat on still more chrome tables.
I left my sword at the door. I couldn't sit down with it on my back. Ruby and I took a seat and she took my hand in hers which I squeezed.
"You know, now we can do all the flirting we want."
"Butt." She called me out but she smiled a little through her worry so it was worth it. I kissed her cheek and brushed her hair back over her ear. She leaned against me and rested her head on my chest. From there she anxiously traced little circles over me.
We watched them bring Qrow into the room wearing only a gown. Two orderlies lifted him onto the operating table and started wiping his legs down with sanitizing wipes and setting up an IV drip. I watched him relax his red aura and let a needle enter his arm at the vein in his elbow.
He gave us a wave through the mirror but it was clear he couldn't see us. He leaned back and tried to relax and Ruby pursed her lips nervously.
"Hey. He'll be fine. We made it this far. How are you after yesterday?"
"There was so much blood," she whispered. "You had to kill again. You were right when you said that you would have to. That couldn't have been easy for you. And those poor girls who got shot… the one who got hit in the stomach probably died."
"Maybe, yeah." I agreed loosley. There was a chance she had survived.
"Was it worth it?"
"Qrow will go on to save lives after today. Innocent lives from the agents of Salem. That's about as good as you can ask for."
"Was it worth it though? All the bloodshed."
"I don't have an answer. I figured you would tell me."
"I'm serious."
"So am I. You've been more than my moral compass, Rubes. I've done some stuff I'm not proud of."
"Like killing all those people?"
"Yeah. Weiss and I talked about it this morning, it's just the two of you who haven't done it at this point."
"And you've done it the most."
"Yeah," I said. It wasn't exactly a bragging point for me. I was a murderer.
We watched the surgeon come in. A male nurse put the surgeon's gloves on for him, he was already wearing a mask and his own robes. Then they wheeled in a set of dark grey legs, cut off at the knees. They looked sleek but they'd have to be inserted where Qrow was injured at the thigh.
"I killed Roman Torchwick." Ruby whispered. She told me about the fight on top of the battleship and how a Gryphon came swooping down and ate him.
We watched as they put him under and set up a tent around his legs. Scalpels came away from this flesh colored red with blood and I felt Ruby tense beside me.
"Rubes…"
"I as good as killed him," her voice was small.
I wasn't going to fight her on it. If she said she killed him then in her mind she did. Besides, if we counted Vernal as using the Grimm as a weapon then didn't what Ruby did count? Maybe. Ruby had it sorted out straighter than I did. So I just put one arm around her.
We watched the surgery and let our thoughts be morbid.
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I was the one Qrow selected for his first sword fight. He was up and walking on those long legs and wanted to give them a test drive. I could hardly blame him. When my weapon changed I trained constantly and his legs were different now.
He might have to change his whole fighting style. That meant decades.
He was wobbly and I knocked him off balance with a grunt. He managed to block but he was still not used to the new legs. His sword arms were still fast and they made his weapon a blur as he descended onto me.  
I parried and riposted with the broadsword fast enough that he had to back off. His balance was straight bad. I capitalized on it with a normal Cross-Slash. It held him in place then flung him back.
Weiss and Ruby watched from the sidelines with Oscar. They were quiet as they watched the elder huntsman fall over and over again. He stood up and shook at the thigh, the new legs were strong, it was where they were grafted on that was weak.
They'd been attached to the femur, longest, strongest bone in the body. The new legs were long with narrow knees. He tried to kick me with them but I blocked by twisting my own leg to the side.
"Ooh." Oscar moaned with empathetic pain at the sound of bone on metal when our shins connected.
I bullied the older huntsman with my shoulder. He stumbled back, arms cartwheeling as he frantically tried to regain his balance. I didn't take any pleasure in it, even as my semblance activated from the amount of damage I had dealt.
I rolled my sword and waited for Qrow to come back at me and he did with a tired sigh.
He swept his sword low and I hovered straight over it. He cursed and was forced to back up when I struck at his face. He ducked and our swords clashed with sparks when they met in the middle height. The angle was awkward for both of us and I retreated as his weapon's form shifted partially into a scythe.
He swept it at me and I blocked and brought my sword down on him in a single massive overhead strike. I let out a cry as I did and he brought up his weapon to block. He bent at the legs from the strike. Straying more at the hips than at the knees.
He growled in absolute frustration when I spent the Limit in a thrust that knocked him halfway across the courtyard in a smooth blue sweep. The motion carried us both and I slammed him back into the ground.
He lay on the ground with his dark red aura flickering. He just lay there and breathed hard and I had to remember he'd done basically no exercise for almost a month. At his age that shit was hard, even as a huntsman.
"Motherfucker," he exhaled.
"I can swap in for Jaune if you want, uncle Qrow?" Ruby called from the side.
"You'd take it too easy on me!" Qrow got to his feet. "The kid fucking gets it. Don't you?"
"You'll die," I murmured. "It's bad."
"I used to be a little shorter, I think." Qrow leaned on the staff of his scythe. "Not sure. Can't quite remember."
I winced for him. It sounded rough. Qrow had been the trooper. He wasn't complaining, just resigned to the hard work. Sure, he'd gotten frustrated in the chair but who wouldn't? Seriously, name a single person. His surgery had only been days ago and he was still frail.
It left me in the precarious position as still one of the best fighters in the group. perhaps even the best swords-person. He was still healing. The surgery was as deep as any wound I had received, including my brushes with death against Tyrion. Even a huntsman's healing factor could only do so much.
Still the deep grafts had the advantage of preserving his transformation. I'd seen his transformation work with little metal bird's feet. His clothes transformed with him too so it wasn’t too much of a surprise, I suppose.
However Ozpin's magic worked the bone deep fixtures seemed to be enough.
"Come on. Let's get some water." I swept inside and picked up two glasses and filled them up. When I came back outside and handed Qrow the glass of water, Oscar and Weiss were sparring in comparative slow motion. She fenced at him with shallow thrusts and he parried with wild swings of the staff. He wasn’t blocking with narrow turns of the wrist as was appropriate against Weiss’s style. She wasn’t riddling him with more stabs than were necessary to teach. Just the occasional throbbing reminder to keep his guard tight.
I watched her dance about him with elegance and stood beside Ruby.
“He’s getting better,” Ruby said. “You have credit for that.”
I grunted. “Only if you have responsibility for me.”
“I thought the guy was supposed to take responsibility, Jaune.”
I laughed. “Responsibility for what, I wonder?”
“I’ll show you later…” She murmured. She gave me a chaste kiss to let the message sink in. The absolute little minx. My face flushed red with all kinds of thoughts. "Thank you for looking after my uncle. I don't know if he's right to push himself so hard but I suppose you know a thing or two about hard work."
"Of course. I'd do anything to you-for you. I meant for you."
It was her turn to blush and stammer. "Y-yeah well thanks regardless. For both."
"You two are killing me," Qrow bemoaned. "That's my little niece."
"Not so little anymore." I looked her up and down and pointedly licked my lips. She watched my tongue and I felt a little satisfied as she exhaled, making a little shuddering noise. She wanted me to really kiss her. I could tell by the look in her eyes and the curvy wolfish smile.
She leaned back slightly showing off her chest to me.
I knew she was thinking of when we got interrupted a few days before. We hadn't had the chance to pick up where we left off and I suppose I wasn't the only one who wanted release.
She'd have to keep waiting, though. She'd started this.
"Did I miss anything." Yang came out. Ren and Nora were behind her.
"Just these two flirting," Qrow breathed, leaning down the wall until he was sitting.
"Score." Nora high-fived Ruby. "You go girl. Get some."
"Anybody up for a match with me?" Yang asked.
"I'll go," Ren agreed.
They stepped out, distinctly separate from where Weiss and Oscar fought, and started fighting. They fought in close range and Ren was using actual bullets to pepper Yang. Then when they got closer Yang's shotguns had the advantage. They alternated again at the length of Ren's blades but it was a short trip from that range to Yang's gauntlets.
He didn't have the long range Crocea Mors offered me to keep her at bay and had to actually engage her fairly close.
It was a bad matchup for him, a bit like he or Ruby were for me but that made it good practice in being smart rather than being good.
It was always possible for a huntsman to run into a bad matchup and die, even if they were good. And right now I was one of the best we had. That was a grim thought. Me.
Maybe I should take it in stride and be flattered by my growth, instead I was worried. If we got into a fight I was going to have to put part of the group on my back and carry it.
I watched Oscar with the cane that seemed a touch too long for him. Maybe that was hypocritical considering the length of my own weapon.
"Roll the wrists Oscar! It's in the wrists!" I shouted when he got stabbed again. Weiss put him on his ass as gently as she could. It was a sort of good practice for her. In control rather than speed or power. Plus she was constantly trying to trick him and had put herself in a corner.
It was good practice all around. I just felt unprepared anyways.
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-WG
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dadzawa-adopt-dabi · 4 years
Text
Secert Baby ch 15
(hey look! a decently timed update!)
Dabi nervously walked into the cafe, drumming his hands on his thighs as he sat down in the little shop that served as a front for Giran’s business. At least he assumed it was a front, he had never asked, maybe girian just like the coffee here?
“Hey, sweetheart.” Girian greets him warmly,standing up from his seat at the table he was at last time.  “No need to look so scared.” Giran must have been waiting for him because he came out from the back right away as he came in the door.
“You said you had a job for me?” he asked as Giran sits back down at his table.
“Yeah. It's just a quick one. I know the guy personally so nothing should go wrong, just has to be done sooner rather than later.” Giran lit his cigar and waved his hand dismissively. He didn’t seem concerned at all. “Ah, sweet thing, did I worry you?” He grinned and it showed off the gap in his teeth. The smell of amusement mixed with smoke and the scent of the older beta.
“When someone tells me something is an emergency I tend to take them seriously.” Dabi said, glaring at Giran but relaxed minutely. The pet names throw him off but Giran didn’t seem to be hitting on him at all.
“Relax. It’s a good thing you came so fast, means I know I can count on you.” Giran leans back in his chair and folds his hands in front of him, he looks like he means business even spread out in the chair, loose limbed and relaxed. When he twitches his fingers at the barista on duty she smiles and brings him coffee with a cup of water for Dabi. “I need you to go to this address.” He slides a napkin over the table. “And tell Yamuto at the desk that Giran sent you. He’ll call out 
Laxus,the big alpha guy, then you’ll tell him that I need the rock shipment pushed off two days to the right. Ya get all that, sweetheart?”
“Go here,” Dabi pockets the napkin, his hands shake slightly but it goes unnoticed. If he wasn’t so tense he would be trembling too badly to take the address. He’s grateful he has scent blockers on otherwise he is sure he would be stinking the place up with the scent of nervous omega. 
“and tell the front guy you sent me. Tell the knothead to move a rock shipment two days to the right. Call him sweetheart.”
Giran coughs out a surprised chuckle. “ You've got sass, kid! Don't call Laxus a knothead and don't call him sweetheart either. He’ll think you've got a crush and start flirting. And you don’t seem the type to mix business and pleasure.” He drawls lazily.
Dabi blanched and dropped his cup of water. “Is he dangerous? You said you knew him and that I would be safe.” He glare intensified. 
“Oh, he’s perfectly safe. He just gets a little overwhelming. Nothing you couldn't handle and you have my full permission to cremate anyone who makes you feel unsafe.” He looked Dabi in the eyes and took a pull on his cigar, expelling a thin cloud of smoke he aimed away from him. “I'm running a business. Does me no good if I've got creeps harassing my employees.”
Dabi nodded hesitantly before standing up. “I was in the middle of something so I’ll just go take care of this now and swing by on my way back to let you know when it's done.” Giran finally broke eye contact, waving him on his way.
“Don’t wave it off if you're uncomfortable, doll. I’m serious.” Giran called after him as Dabi left, stopping in the doorway for a moment before walking off without awknowadling what Girian had said.
He takes the bus partway to the address and walks the rest of the way. Stopping in front of a large office building he scowls deeply. The place is larger than it needs to be, tall and imposing. All shiny glass and spotless steel. He steps into the lobby and he feels like he’s stepped into a cage, the extra space turning his body into a cage. He feels his spine snap ramrod straight with his head tipped slightly towards the floor. So he doesn't look anyone in the eyes,his father had made sure he knew it until it was instinct. He’s tense all over but he walks up to the front desk, shoving memories about training and training to be a hero, and then training to be a wife out of his head, he forces himself to look the receptionist in the eye.
“I’m here for Laxus, Girian sent me.” his voice comes out flat with no room for argument, the result of forcing himself to speak up loud enough to be heard and controling his voice enough that it doesn't shake. He ends up sounding bored more than anything else.
 The secretary, yamuto, looks up when he speaks and frowns when scenting the air reveals nothing. He huffs, telling Dabi to wait. “I’ll go get him. Dress nicer next time, I know Giran doesn't mind all sorts of filth in his little cafe but if you come to a nice business then dress nicer. It's not that hard.”
Thankfully he walks off before Dabi can embarrass himself and apologize, or bite his head off for treating him so rudely. He’s not sure which he would have done. Anger burns hot through him and he expels a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, smoke escapes out his mouth and the secretary is startled when they come back.
“You’re smoking?” the secretary’s voice rises into a high pitch. “ You can’t smoke in here! How much ruder can you be?” The tall alpha behind him is huge and his muscles bulge.
Dabi feels himself wanting to flinch, wanting to fold into himself. He has an apology that he can't help it on the tip of his tongue, he can’t help that his quirk is always two seconds from spiraling out of control. That nothing has ever made it better, not yelling, not beatings, nothing has ever worked to teach him control. He feels a flash of anger and he grabs onto it with everything he has. Uses it and lets it escape like the smoke through his mouth, keeping him standing tall and proud.
“Yea? And what are you going to do about it?” He shows them his empty hands pointedly. “In case you hadn’t noticed my hands are empty. Which means any Idiot can tell it’s my quirk.” he bites out the words, like they can do anything at all to help him win this invisible battle. The secretary jerks back in surprise and the big alpha laughs. Dabi still ducks out of the way when he goes to give him a rough pat on the shoulder. 
“Giran sent me, I'm here on business.” He restates impatiently. He’s eager to get back home to Kiyoko and out of this stupid building. “ I don't have all day so I would appreciate it if we could secure a room and get this done with.” He keeps up the annoyed bored tone the entire time. The alpha looks at him oddly when he ducks out from under his hand but doesn't try and do it again.
“At least you’ve got the sense to request a room.” LaXus says and turns around to lead the way. He only looks back once to make sure Dabi is following him and not snooping around. He leads Dabi back to an office with  ‘interview room’ stamped onto a plaque outside the door. “We can talk in here.”
“You can stay standing if you want, I don't imagine we will be long.” Laxus says as he sits down in a chair across the table and crosses his legs, folding his hands on top of them. He keeps his posture relaxed and he was pumping a calm scent into the room.
“Knock that shit off.” Dabi hisses as he notices, the scent making him more tense and reminding him that he is in a room with a much bigger man than him.
“Sorry.  The last messenger I made uncomfortable gave me quite a shock and stabbed me.” he shows off a scar about 3 inches long on his arm. “ didn’t mean to, just got too close i guess, but they took this small blade, jabbed me hard and ran back to Girian. Got a real earful about it from him.” he hummed, he didn't seem at all upset about the incident despite the scar.
“Good for you, i don't care. Girian wanted me to tell you that the rock shipment has to be moved two days to the right.” Dabi hardly recognizes his own voice. Aloof and disinterested sounding, he’s already decided he likes it.
Laxus looks confused for a moment before his eyes light up in understanding. “Oh yeah he warned me about a newbie hero around here. Makes sense, gotta hand it to Girian he sure knows how to run a business.” He gets up and opens the door for Dabi. “I’m sure you can see yourself out. I’d rather not make you nervous or get stabbed by another messenger, Girian always tells me I'm overwhelming for the newbies.”
Dabi shrugs his shoulders and skirts around him as he ducks out the door. “Thanks” he mutters on his way past. He really does feel better knowing that Laxus wouldn’t be following behind him. Also that Girian apparently really was on his side if he let his messengers stab people and get away with it. He sneered at Yamuto on his way out and mimed blowing smoke at him as he passed, along with flipping him off. No one had the right to tell him how to dress or behave anymore, certainly not some snotty secretary.
 He swaggers into Girians and doesn't bother to sit down this time, feeling lighter and a little proud of himself that his first mission was done. He had gone through with it and even stood up for himself.  “Hey old man, Laxus says you know how to do business and got your message.” he lightly shrugs his shoulders. Hopefully girian didn’t need any other response, he had been too tense to check and now he is too giddy to care. His first mission, done with no issues!
“Cash or to your account again?” Girian puffs on his cigar and his eyes twinkled. “How’d you like Laxus? He respectful?”
“Very, that stabbing must have done him well. Only crowded my space once. Seems cheerful overall, don’t think he realizes how much of a threat he could be” he waved a hand lazily at Girian. “Account this time and cash the next, so it's harder to trace us both. How much are you going to take to repay my loan?”
Girian snickered. “Big lug evidently needed a scar if he was scaring messangers still. Glad to hear he’s gotten personal space through his thick skull. I'm taking 15% to pay off your loan, expect the rest in your account by tomorrow morning. Bit high i know but you're still new.”
“It's less than I expected, that's all I care about.” Dabi shook his head, turning around and walking out the door to head home with a small wave. 
He gets on the bus and sits in the back where it’s mostly empty. The bus pulls away from the stop and he feels the giddiness about his first mission,his first purposeful crime, fade. He lets himself shake and let out all the nerves he hadn't noticed build up. Bouncing his leg to stem some of the nervous energy off. He staggers off the bus a block from his apartment, legs feeling weak and shaky. Then he leans over and empties his stomach. First job, first purposeful crime, done and over with is carrying a different kind of weight now that it’s sunk in a little more. 
It’s over he tells himself. He can relax now. Can go home and cuddle Kiyoko, cuddle his daughter and watch mind numbing cartoons with her until they both fall asleep on the couch. Fuck that sounds nice. Just a night in with his daughter, the entire reason he’s doing any of this. He takes the fastest shower in his life and swallows another pill, unlike the one he took when he left , his scent blocker, this one will bring it back before it would naturally wear off. He grabs Kiyoko from her babysitters with no issues, the babysitter tiredly handing her over without trying to chat him up, just taking her cash and shooing him off.
Kiyoko giggles and reaches for him when she sees him. Bringing her into his arms and rubbing her head against his. She mimics him trying to scent him like he does her. She has yet to get her own scent like him, won't get one until puberty and wont go into heat if she presents as an omega until she’s 18. She reaches out and grabs onto his hair to tug at it as he walks down the hall to their apartment.
“Princess, I’m back! See? Everything went fine and I wasn't even gone that long”  He lets her tug on his hair, it's not like it hurts and it's not long enough to put in her mouth. So he doesn't have to worry about her eating his dyed hair either.
His daughter giggles and reaches for one of his shiny silver hoop earrings, trying her best to grasp it with her chubby fingers before Dabi grabs her hand and puts it back into his hair.
“No tugging my earrings Kiyoko.“ he puts her up higher on his shoulder unlocks the door with his free hand when she catches sight of his keys, shiny and jingling as he unlocks his door, Kiyoko reaches for them, bending herself over backwards and fluttering her wings hard. 
“What are you doing baby girl?” He jostles her upright again and she lets out a peircing giggle. “Let’s put on some studio ghibli and cuddle on the couch.” Kiyoko wide awake smacks him with her little fist and flutters her wings again. It takes several movies for her to fall asleep, when she finally goes down Dabi follows right after. Kiyoko resting on his chest and the TV still on.
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thefallennightmare · 5 years
Text
Therapy
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Parings: Sebastian Stan x Reader.
Words: 5281
Warnings: swearing, mentions of miscarriage so please read at your own risk. implied smut. so much angst that it broke my heart writing it. Will there be a fluffy ending or will your heats break too? Guess you’ll have to read to find out. 😉
Summary: Reader and Sebastian will do anything to work through their problems. Even if it meant bringing up past issues they swore they would never speak of again.
A/N: First off I want to say how thankful I am to everyone that read Home. It means the world to me that so many people loved it so I hope you all love Therapy. As always, feedback/comments are appreciated.
Also, this gif does things to me. Naughty things.
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‘I may be a little late. These interviews are taking a lot longer than I thought.’
I roughly chewed on my bottom lip as I read the text from Sebastian before replying with a curt ‘okay.’ Slamming my phone onto the counter, I took a few deep breaths before sauntering up the stairs of the brownstone towards our bedroom. The room that felt so empty and cold ever since Sebastian returned home.
He had surprised me by coming home a month earlier than I had expected, the movie he was filming wrapping up way ahead of schedule. Believe me, I was ecstatic that we had more time together however all the extra time was poured into him preparing for the next movie or the countless interviews he had promoting Avengers: Endgame. Which led to me only seeing him when he arrived home, sometimes as late as two in the morning.
I never questioned why it was always so late; I trusted him. Yet the lingering thought was always in the back of my mind. Did he find someone else? Am I enough for him?
Shaking my head, I looked at my reflection in the mirror before deciding to keep the outfit I already was wearing; black leggings and one of Sebastian’s sweaters. It was as close as I could get to him lately. He had been home for almost two months now and the only intimacy we shared were good morning/goodnight kisses which were nothing more than quick pecks. It was putting a huge stress on our relationship and the media was not helping.
There were rumors circulating online after I was seen having lunch with Chris, one of Sebastian’s good friends, and all the headlines read were ‘Y/N and Chris Evans seen cuddling at local bar’ or my personal favorite ‘Y/N dating both Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan. The love triangle everyone is talking about.’
Sebastian had seen the article but he swore it didn’t bother him, he trusted me, yet the touches and conversations between us became less and less. Which is what leads us to tonight; couples therapy. I had been the one that suggested it, hoping it would bring the spark back between us. Sebastian agreed wanting to work past our issues but it was hard to believe he wanted this, seeing as he was going to be late tonight.
Unknowingly playing with the band on my left ring finger, I let out a deep groan as I mustered up the courage to call Sebastian. He never liked when I called while he was working but I needed to know exactly how late he was going to be, in case I needed to reschedule.
He answered after the eighth ring.
“Y/N? Everything okay?”
A small smile came to my lips when I could hear the hint of concern in his voice. “Everything’s fine. I was just wondering how late you’re going to be. Should I reschedule our appointment?”
I could hear rustling on his end before an audible sigh came through the speaker.
“I’ll only be a few minutes late. We should be wrapping up the last interview soon. I can take a cab to meet you.”
“Okay. It’s at six o’clock. You have the address right?” I questioned, already knowing the answer.
“Can you send it to me?” I could barely hear the quiet laugh that came from Sebastian.
“Already did. Six o’clock.” I stressed.
“I’ll be there,” Sebastian yelled something before his voice rang in my ears, “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at six.”
“See you later.” I breathed.
We both stayed on the phone for a few more seconds, wondering who would be the first to say it, those three words that hadn't been uttered in months. After realizing that he wouldn’t be the one too, I sighed while hanging up the phone.
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The hands of the clock, slowly ticking away, was the only sound I heard in the small room. Sitting on the edge of the blue couch, I gave another apologetic smile towards the therapist before glancing at my watch. I felt my blood burn when I noticed that Sebastian wasn’t a few minutes late; he was a damn half hour late.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized for what felt like the tenth time, “Maybe we should just reschedule.”
Our therapist opened her mouth to say something but closed it when a flustered Sebastian came through the door, a sheepish smile on his face.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. There were some fans outside and I lost track of time,” Sebastian sat on the couch next to me and laid a soft kiss to the side of my head.
I didn’t show him any signs of emotion, my anger fuming at the realization that he was here on time yet decided to stay back with fans instead of trying to save our relationship.
“Y/N, you seem a little tense,” Our therapist, Megan, noticed. “Why don’t you say what’s on your mind?”
I ran my clammy hands on my legs before letting out a shaky breath. “I mean that should just explain what’s our problem. He was here on time but chose to be with the fans instead of here.”
“Y/N, you know I can’t ignore them,” Sebastian stressed.
“And I’m not telling you too. I just think that maybe for once you think of me first, that’s all.” I defended.
“I always do.”
I scoffed before averting my gaze from the floor to Sebastian’s and couldn’t help but realize how tired he looked. I suppressed the guilt for keeping him here after his long day.
“Really? Are you even going to take this seriously?” I squinted my eyes at him.
“I’ve had a long day. Don’t start with me,” Sebastian said pinching his eyes closed.
“I haven’t heard that before,” I muttered while crossing my arms.
Megan held up her hands before Sebastian could get in the next remark.
“Why don’t we talk about something good? For instance, how’d you two meet?” Megan suggested.
I couldn’t help the small smile that played at my lips when the memory came to mind.
Five Years Ago
“Bucky! Get your ass back here!” I yelled at my pit bull who had gotten loose from his leash and ran into the park across the street. 
I felt my heart in my throat when I watched him run in and out of traffic before making it safely to the park. Looking to my left then to the right, I quickly ran towards the park and found Bucky at the other end of the park, sniffing a mans shoes before slowly lifting his leg.
“DON’T YOU DARE PEE ON HIM, BUCKY!” I bellowed before running faster to my dog.
Thankfully Bucky lowered his leg when he had heard my voice.
“You are so grounded, old man,” I hissed when I approached my dog, who was getting a ton of love from the man sitting on the bench. “I am so sorry. Clearly he’s a friendly dog.” 
The man laughed as Bucky gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and my heart fluttered at the sound. The man then looked away from my dog and I felt the wind get knocked out of me as our eyes locked; his ocean blue eyes boring straight into my soul. I couldn't put my finger on it but something about this man rang familiarity in my mind.
“You don’t have to apologize. He’s adorable.” The man’s deep voice caused my insides to tingle.
“Thank you. He’s such a pain in the ass though,” I snapped my fingers and Bucky reluctantly left the man and came to my side, “I adopted him a month ago so we’re still learning each other.”
“What’s his name?” The man questioned. 
“Bucky.” 
The man broke out in a huge grin; the one where your eyes crinkle at the sides. “Well it’s almost like we were supposed to meet big man.”
Bucky trotted back over to the man and accepted another round of butt scratches. I couldn’t help the confused expression as I watched the two, something suddenly clicking in my mind; the beard, long hair that was pulled into a low bun, and those ice blue eyes.
“Oh my god,” I muttered, “Bucky Barnes!” 
The man broke out into another huge grin. “You can call me Sebastian.”
“I can’t believe my dog, out of all the people in this park, ran up to Sebastian Stan.” I muttered in disbelief.
“Call it fate,” Sebastian snickered.
“I really am sorry he ran up to you. I know how some people can be about Pit Bulls.” I apologize once again.
“You don’t need to apologize. I love every type of dog,” Sebastian cooed while looking into Bucky’s eyes; well eye.
“He used to be a fighting dog. He got rescued from one of New York’s biggest dog fighting rings. He was one of the best, so I’ve been told. But he still lost his eye in one of the fights.” I answered Sebastian’s silent question. 
“It sounds like he had a pretty rough life,” Sebastian sympathized. 
I nodded before taking the empty spot next to him on the bench. “He spent the last two years in the shelter, no one even showing interest in him because of the one eye and cancer.”
“Cancer?” Sebastian questioned while giving Bucky belly rubs. 
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I gave him a quick nod. “It’s terminal which is why I wanted to give him the life he deserves. They gave him two months and that was right after I adopted him.”
Blinking away the tears, I tried to regain my composure but failed as a tear fell down my cheek. Sebastian noticed and gave my hand a tender squeeze and I couldn’t ignore the spark that ran through me.
“I’m sorry,” Sebastian muttered, “I’m sure he’s living his best life with you.” 
Bucky howled at our feet and I giggled, knowing that he agreed with Sebastian. Blowing out a large breath, I stood before motioning towards Bucky. “Alright bud, let’s stop bothering Sebastian and head back home.”
My 80 pound stubborn pit bull didn’t move an inch, staying planted right at Sebastian’s feet.
“I think he likes me,” Sebastian laughed. 
“Bucky, we can’t stay here all afternoon. I’m sure Sebastian has other things he has to get done today than giving you belly rubs,” I snapped my fingers but to no avail, Bucky stayed in his spot. 
“I don’t,” Sebastian's eyes met mine, “I’ve got a free afternoon today.” 
Biting my lip, I motioned over my shoulder to a cafe that was right down the road and was dog friendly. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee then? Since my dog nearly peed on your shoes.”
A lovely laughed erupted from Sebastian, who nodded before standing up, Bucky immediately standing with him. “Deal.”
After clipping Bucky’s leash to his collar, Sebastian and I slowly started walking towards the cafe.
“You know,” Sebastian started, “I never got your name.” 
My face flushed in embarrassment. “Uh..Y/N. My name is Y/N.”
He repeated my names a few times and suddenly I found myself loving the way it sounded coming from his lips.
“And, uh, Bucky lived for another six months before the cancer took him. Sebastian stayed by my side through all of it, even when I had to put Bucky down.” I explained to Megan with a small tear in my eye. 
Sebastian hesitated before placing a hand on my knee and gave it a small squeeze. All these years later and the thought of losing Bucky still punches me in the heart.
“He wanted to make sure you were left in good hands,” Sebastian smiled. 
Mirroring his own, I blew out a shaky breath before looking at Megan. “We don’t fight all the time. It’s only been bad the past couple of months.”
“When did you notice the divide between you?” Megan questioned. 
“About a month before I came back home,” Sebastian answered. “She was seen hanging out with a friend of mine.” 
My eyes snapped over to him. “I thought you said it didn’t bother you that I was hanging with Chris. I even asked you before I met up with him.”
“It didn’t, the first time.” Sebastian shrugged. 
Sucking my lip between my teeth, I avoided his gaze. Chris and I had hung out quite a few times a month before Sebastian came home and I knew I shouldn’t had been seen with him so much. But I was loving the feeling of someone wanting to talk to me and see me. Mine and Sebastian’s communication had ceased to almost nothing that last few weeks of filming and I had just chalked it up to him being busy not thinking that he was upset about Chris and I.
“How long have you guys been married?” Megan questioned. 
A small sigh left my lips. “We’re, uh, not married. We’ve been engaged for four years.”
“Do you have plans too?” 
The tension between Sebastian and I was incredibly thick when none of us wanted to answer the question. We truly didn’t know the answer, us not talking about marriage for quite awhile now.
Megan could tell that neither of us wanted to answer the question but she still pressed on. “Sebastian, let me ask you this. When you talk about Y/N, do you say she’s your fiancé or girlfriend?”
“Fiancé,” Sebastian answered so fast I knew he wasn’t lying. 
“Why do you think you two haven't gotten married yet?” Megan jotted something down on her pad of paper before looking back at Sebastian. 
He ran a hand over his jaw. “I’ve just been busy with filming my last movie and now Endgame is about to be released. I’ve barely had time to even think about the wedding.”
My heart dropped. “So everything that I would send you, you would ignore it?”
“It would always be while I was filming so I couldn’t look at it.” Sebastian defended.
“Why did you even ask me to marry you?” I questioned, my voice breaking. 
“Because I wanted too,” Sebastian admitted. 
“Wanted?” I stammered. 
Sebastian ran his hands through his hair before leaning back into the couch. “I want to marry you, Y/N but you have too wait a little while longer. I told you, we can start planning after Endgame.”
“Bullshit,” I spat, “That’s what you said after The Bronze then you started filming Civil War. Once you were done, you swore after Destroyer then promised me after Infinity War.”
“This time I mean it, Y/N. I don’t have anything planned starting next month. We can start then.” Sebastian stated. 
“Right, was that going to be before or after you told me you’re flying to Paris in a few months to start filming another movie?” I scolded. 
Sebastian gave me a confused look. “How do you know about that?”
“You weren’t even going to tell me?!” I turned my body to face him, my anger emanating off the walls. “The script for 355 came in the mail yesterday.” 
“Does he usually keep things from you?” Megan’s voice spoke.
It was then that I nearly forgot that we were still in therapy. “No. We tell each other everything or I thought we did.’”
“Sebastian, why didn’t you tell Y/N about Paris?” Megan looked over to him. 
He hesitated before answering, not meeting my eyes. “Because I knew she didn’t like one of my co-stars.”
I was quiet for a moment, trying to think who Sebastian was talking about. I never had an issue with any of his co-stars. They were all nice to me when I would meet them at premiers.
“Who?” I asked, truly confused. 
“Jessica,” Sebastian spoke quietly. 
Suddenly, everything made sense. My heart hammered in my chest when I realized the reason why Sebastian didn’t tell me he was going to Paris was because he would be working with the one girl that I felt would have no problem taking him away from me.
Jessica Chastain.
“Oh,” I mumbled, not finding the right words to say. 
“There’s nothing between us, Y/N. She’s married for fuck’s sake,” Sebastian exasperated. 
I remained silent, my insecurity floating to the surface. He knew how afraid I was of losing him and he still was planning on spending months in Paris filming alongside her. Maybe there was something between them?
“Sebastian can I ask you something and give me an honest answer?” Megan asked. When he nodded, she continued, “Do you have any feelings towards Jessica at all? Even a little?”
My eyes locked with Sebastian’s as I waited for his answer.
“No. She’s a good friend of mine, that’s it.” He looked directly into my sad eyes. “You’re the only one for me, Y/N.” 
“Y/N, can you answer this question honestly for me?” Megan directed towards me. “Do you have any feelings towards Chris?” 
At the mention of his friends name, Sebastian placed his arm over the back of the couch and after letting out a deep breath, his eyes glared over to me. I knew it was wrong to insinuate there was something going on between him and Jessica when I was spending a lot of time with Chris.
“Honestly? I think I’m attracted to the fact that Chris makes time for me. He’s there when I need someone to talk too or when Sebastian is gone for work and something breaks in the house, I know Chris will be there to help.”
“How often is he at the house?” Sebastian demanded. “Do you sleep in our bed together?”
“Excuse me?” I scoffed. 
“Do you love him?” Sebastian’s eyebrows rose. 
Licking my dry lips, I nodded. “Yes, as a friend. You know how much he has done for us, for me.”
Sebastian’s eyes softened when he realized exactly what I was talking about.
Megan could see some secret was behind left unsaid so spoke up. “What exactly has Chris done for you, Y/N?”
“I, uh,” I cleared my throat, trying to gain the courage to tell her,  “About two years ago, we found out that I was pregnant. Sebastian was actually home for about six months when we found out so we both we’re incredibly happy.” 
Seb’s fingers trailed over my shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.
“I was almost three months along when one night I was experiencing these terrible cramps. I could barley move from the couch. Sebastian wasn’t home so I tried calling him over and over again.” 
“I was out with my mom shopping to get stuff for the nursery and my phone had died,” Sebastian explained while pulling me into his chest, allowing me to stain his sweater with tears. 
“But I didn’t know that. I knew with the amount of pain I was in that it wasn’t good. Everything I read mentioned only one thing; I was having a miscarriage,” I sobbed. 
Megan gave me a look of sorrow and my lips trembled, remembering all of the blood that ran down my leg.
“Seb still wasn’t answering so I called Chris. On the way to the hospital, he told me where Seb was,” I breathed, “Chris stayed with me while we finally got a hold of Sebastian.”
“I still blame myself for not being there for her. I still resent Chris for being the one to comfort her,” Sebastian admitted.  
“It wasn’t your fault, Seb. I’ve told you that countless times.” I reminded him. 
“That should have been a moment between you and I. Not Chris,” Sebastian ran a hand over his chin. 
I never knew exactly how much it upset Sebastian that Chris was the one there for me that night, not him. He would always say I’m glad someone was there for you or He’s like a brother to me. I’m thankful it was him. 
“You know for the longest time I've wondered why you called Chris? You could have called my mom but you called him.” Seb asked. 
All I could do was shrug. “He was the first one that came to mind. It wasn’t anything to do with my feelings about him.” 
“Feelings?” 
I looked over to Megan and sighed. “Sebastian thinks that I have some underlying feelings for Chris. Like I said before; I love him but as a good friend of ours.” 
“Have you ever thought of Chris in a more intimate way?,” She asked.
I could practically feel Sebastian's eyes drilling into the side of my head, awaiting my answer. “Never.”
Sebastian let out a noticeable breath of relief and ran his hands over his jeans.
“Sebastian, you seem to be relieved at her answer,” Megan noticed, tucking a strand of her grey hair behind her ear. 
“I may not show it all the time but the idea of losing Y/N scares the shit out of me,” Sebastian admitted. 
Our gazes locked together and I gave him a small smile, letting him know he had nothing to worry about.
“Well,” Megan stated, setting her pad of paper on the table next to her, “I think we’ve covered enough for tonight. I’m going to give you two a homework assignment.” 
Sebastian couldn't help but give her a genuine laugh. “I haven’t had homework since high school.”
“I want you two to go home tonight and do something you hadn’t done in a really long time. It can be anything; watch a movie, cook dinner, have sex.” 
My face burned at the last choice and I cleared my throat. “Thank you, Doctor Ramina.”
She nodded. “Same time next week?”
I opened my mouth, ready to tell her that we would have to look at Seb’s schedule but his voice stopped me.
“We’ll be here.” 
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The car ride back home was unbearably silent. While we both agreed that therapy would be good for us, we never expected old issues would have been brought up during the first session. 
Yes, we’ve talked through some of our problems but the big ones still remain; Sebastian didn’t like the idea of Chris and I hanging out alone and I wasn’t too happy that Sebastian had lied to me about Paris. 
Following him into our brownstone, I sighed before nodding towards the stairs mumbling something about getting ready for bed. It was still early in the evening but after our session, I was exhausted. 
“I know you’re tired,” Seb’s voice stopped me on the sixth step, “But would you be up for some takeout and a movie?” 
His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets while he waited for my answer. 
“Don’t you have to work early tomorrow?” I questioned. 
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, “I actually canceled the rest of the interviews I had. I thought we could spend the day together.”
My lips pulled up in a smile as I nodded. “I’d really like that, Sebastian.”
“So is that a no for tonight?” His blue eyes shone with hope. 
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I couldn’t help but give in to his puppy dog eyes. “Fine but I’m not making any promises about staying awake during the movie.” 
Sebastian’s laugh echoed through the apartment and my heart fluttered at the sound of it; it had been ages since I heard that laugh. 
“Why don’t you take a bath while I run and grab some food from our spot?” He suggested. 
“Extra fortune cookies?” I eyed him. 
“Anything for you, love.” 
We both stayed glued to our spots, staring at each other, before Sebastian threw a thumb over his shoulder, saying he would be back as soon as he can. My eyes watched as he left, locking the door behind him, before making my way up the rest of the stairs and towards our bedroom. 
As soon as the water had become cold, I stepped out of the bathtub and quickly dried off before slipping one of Sebastian’s shirts over my head. Walking back into our bedroom, my feet came to a halt at the scene in front of me. 
Candles were lit all throughout the room, the lights completely shut off, and on the nightstand next to my side of the bed were a bouquet of my favorite flowers; Calla Lilies. On the bed sat the bag of take out food with a small yellow post it taped to the front of it. 
Had to take care of one more thing. Choose whatever movie you want.
Immediately recognizing Sebastian’s handwriting, I wondered where he could have went as I started scrolling through Netflix. A few minutes had passed, after finally deciding on some random rom/com movie, and Sebastian came back into our room, dressed in a pair of black sweats and nothing else. 
Biting back a moan at his bare chest, I mentally smacked myself for forgetting how good he looked shirtless. 
“Like what you see?” he smirked while sitting next to me on the bed.
My cheeks burned red, getting caught staring, and I merely shrugged my shoulders. “I just can’t remember the last time I’d seen you without a shirt.” 
Seb’s face fell at the realization that we both hadn’t been intimate since he came back home. 
“I’m sorry I haven’t been home as much as I should be. I feel like I’m going six different directions that I forget my main direction is you,” he gently laid his hand on my knee, rubbing small circles on the skin. 
“It’s partly my fault too. I should be more understanding about your work. You’re promoting one of the biggest movies of the summer. I should have known from the start we wouldn’t be able to spend time together,” I sighed. 
“I could have made more of an effort,” Sebastian admitted. 
“I think we both could have,” I argued. 
He smiled and hesitated before cupping my cheek, his warmth spreading through me. My hand ghosted over his, drinking in the feeling of his touch. Sebastian’s eyes left mine briefly, landing on my lips for a quick second before met my eyes again. 
“You know I trust you, right?” His breath fanned over my lips. 
“Of course,” my voice croaked. 
“You are the only one for me, Y/N. I can’t imagine myself with anyone else. 
Slowly licking my lips, my hands slid around Sebastian’s waist and pulled him closer to me. He reciprocated by lifting me gently and placing me in his lap, his hand running through my damp hair. 
“Nothing ever happened between Chris and I; nothing ever will.” I promised while brushing my nose against his. 
A small whimper left my lips when I felt Sebastian’s body shift, his dick pressing into my bare thigh. 
“I know. I’m sorry I ever doubted that.” Sebastian’s fingers dug into my hips. 
The desire was thick between us, swirling around like a dark cloud. The last time we had sex was almost four months ago, right before he left for filming and that was just a quickie since he was on his way out.
My breath hitched when I felt Sebastian's calloused hands slip underneath my shirt and over my back, pulling me closer to him. I ghosted my lips over his jaw and down his neck, leaving small, barely there, pecks all over. I could feel exactly what Sebastian was thinking, his boner pressing hard into my thigh.  
“Y/N,” He breathed against the crook of my neck, “I’m not sure how much longer I can last like this.” 
I felt a puddle form in my panties at the desire in Sebastian’s voice. He lifted me off of his lap, gently laying me on the bed on my back, and pushed my thighs apart with his knee. His body molded into mine as he brushed his clothed hips against my own. 
My body shuddered when I felt his lips suck and bite the skin of my neck, leaving his mark. I ran my hands up and down his bare back, nails digging into his skin. Sebastian hissed at the familiar feeling, his teeth nipping at my flesh before looking into my eyes. All I could see was want and desire. 
“I was going to tell you about Paris,” he confessed, eyes softening. 
“When?” I questioned. “Before or after you got there?” 
Sebastian knew I was still upset about him hiding it from me so he propped himself up on his elbows, looking directly into my eyes. 
“I should have told you from the start that Jessica wanted me for this movie.” He said. 
I shook my head, cupping his cheek with my hands. “Do not let my insecurity get in the way of your dream. I’m trying to work on them, just like you are.” 
Sebastian hesitated, wanting to say something, but he shut his mouth as soon as he opened it. 
“What?” I asked. 
“It’s nothing,” he said, going back to leaving purple marks on my neck. 
Biting back a moan when he found the familiar sweet spot, I reluctantly pushed him back and made him look into my eyes. “Tell me.”  
Sebastian let out a breath before reaching over to his nightstand, pulling something out of the drawer. He handed me some papers and I sat up in bed to read it over. 
“This is a plane ticket. To Paris,” I muttered. 
“I want you to come with me,” Sebastian begged. 
My eyes darted from the plane ticket to his before looking back at the ticket. Reading it more carefully, I noticed that he had purchased the ticket months ago. 
Had he kept it in the drawer this entire time? 
“I bought two tickets the second I found out I was being casted in 355. It’s been sitting in my drawer for awhile now but I could never find the time to tell you about it,” Sebastian informed, as if he read my mind. 
“Seb,” I sniffled. “You didn’t have to do that. I know how much you hate mixing your work with your personal life.” 
His fingers lifted my jaw to look at him. “It’s about time I start. You’re going to be my wife. I need to start thinking about you.” 
“Oh, Seb,” I praised. 
It was then I noticed a stack of papers that was folded in with the plane ticket. Opening it, my eyes scanned over a whole week’s worth of things that were already booked/planned out during our time in Paris. 
“The first week is work but the last two weeks are just you and me. No one else. I know that the last couple months haven't been easy for the both of us but I thought that we could use this time away to rekindle whatever we lost.”
My eyes watered when I realized that Sebastian had this whole entire trip planned out, even when we were in a low point in our relationship. I thought he hadn’t care when in truth, he cared more than I ever thought he could. 
Sucking in my bottom lip, I placed the ticket on the nightstand before reaching up towards Sebastian, gently covering my lips with his. It was a small, passionate kiss but it felt like it was our first one all over again. 
“Thank you,” I breathed. 
Sebastian gave me another kiss, letting his lips linger a few seconds longer than our last one. 
“I love you.” He mumbled those three words that I had been yearning to hear for months. “Always.” 
“I love you too. Always,” I breathed before pushing him down on the bed, immediately straddling his hips. 
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That Darn Cat | Issue No. 3 | An Unexpected Party
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Warnings | None
Rating | K+
Genres | Friendship, Family, Snark (it’s totally a genre)
Word Count | 1.5K
Summary: In which Selina catches Jim when he comes back from a date and gives him an unfair amount of grief. Cue milk theft, hot tips, and lots of blushing Jim.
"Evening, Detective."
Selina had to work hard to keep her neutral expression from cracking when Gordon jumped, still half-in, half-out of his coat, and whirled towards her. She settled for an unimpressed quirk of her eyebrow.
"Selina." Jim's mouth smiled, but his eyes were flat as untangled himself from his coat and hung it on a hook by the door. "Make yourself at home." His eyes swept over where she sat, cross-legged in the middle of his counter, and landed on the half-empty bottle of milk in her hands.
"Oh, don't worry. I have."
"So I see." He shook his head, dropping his keys on the counter. "Breaking and entering is illegal, Selina."
Selina feigned offense. "Whoa! Listen, I didn't break anything. The window was open."
"The window was not—we're on the fourth floor."
"And…?"
"How do you even know where I live?"
"I followed you." She threw back a gulp of milk.
His eyebrows shot up. "You followed me."
"You got bad ears or somethin'? That's what I said."
"Tonight?"
Selina could have sworn she saw him flush, just a little. Interesting. "Nah, a few nights ago. You work late, man. I always thought detectives were nine-to-fivers"
He flashed a bitter grin. "Yeah. So did I. Why did you follow me?"
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Detective."
He squinted. "What the—what is that supposed to mean?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. Hey." Her head titled as she looked him up and down. "You look different. Spiffy. You have a meeting today, or something?"
Jim shot her a warning look as he loosened his tie.
Oh. Selina's eyes widened as a wicked grin spread across her face. "No. You were on a date."
Jim slung his suit jacket over his shoulder and headed to his room. His ears were definitely redder than they had been a second ago.
"You were, weren't you!"
The door clicked shut. Selina smirked.
He emerged again a few minutes later, minus tie and shoes, and padded to the kitchen without even glancing at her where she was now sprawled on the couch. She wiggled her eyebrows. "So...How'd it go?"
Jim grabbed a glass from the cupboard and placed it on the counter with a clatter before turning to open the fridge. He rooted around for a few seconds before he blinked, straightened, and slowly, deliberately pushed the door shut. His baleful gaze turned to rest on Selina for a long moment as she took another swig of milk.
Selina smothered her gratification and gave her head an innocent shake. "What?"
He sighed and replaced the glass. "Why are you here, Selina?"
"Hey! No changing the subject. I asked you first."
"What?"
She sat up and threw her hands in the air. "How. Was. Your. Date?"
Jim scoffed, shaking his head as he retrieved the glass and filled it with water instead. His ears were positively pink, now. "You're in my house, without permission, sitting on my couch, drinking my milk, and you want to know how my date went?"
"Fair's fair, Detective." She set the milk on the couch's wooden arm and crossed her arms, leaning back into the cushions. "I asked you first."
Jim made a face that Selina decided to refer to the "Really? Very mature" face. She tucked it away for potential future use and enjoyed his exasperated sigh as he ran a hand over his face and leaned back against the counter. His cheeks were pink, now, too. Oh, yes. Selina dug her heels in.
"Listen, man. Homeless kids ain't got TVs. We gotta get our entertainment somewhere." She gave an inward flinch. Bringing up the homelessness was a mistake. Fortunately, Jim seemed sufficiently annoyed by her persistence to ignore that part.
"Fine, fine. It was good."
She waited expectantly.
He didn't continue.
"Seriously? That's it? Details, my dude."
He rolled his eyes and gave a shrug that was probably supposed to look casual. "We had a good time. It was nice."
"Wow. You are really bad at this. I hope you're not this boring on your dates."
"My dates don't show up in my house uninvited and drink my milk."
"So that's what has you all bent outta shape! Look, man, if it's that big of a deal to you, here. Let me—" She grabbed the bottle up and popped the cap back on, holding it out to Jim as she licked away the residual mustache.
She savored the way his nose wrinkled. "No. Please. By all means, just…" He trailed off, waving his hand in dismissal.
"Suit yourself." She popped the cap off again. "So, are you gonna tell me about her? What's she like?"
"No one's taught you it's not polite to pry into other people's affairs, have they?"
"Who cares about polite? What's her name?"
It was Jim's turn to throw up his hands. "You know what? Alright. Fine. Her name is Lee. She's a doctor. She's kind, smart as they come, and has this smile that just...lights up her face."
Selina watched, wide-eyed, as Jim's expression transformed from deadpan to...worshipful. Gross.
"Lights up the whole room, really. She's great. She's nice. We ate pasta and had a nice time, even though I made a mess by leading with work-talk. I think it might actually—" Jim stopped abruptly, frowning as if surprised at his own speech.
"Wow." Selina shook her head. "Wow."
Jim grit his teeth. "What."
"Nothing, nothing. Just...Gotham's golden boy's got it bad."
The water in Jim's glass sloshed as he threw his arms out in exasperation. "This is only the second time we've gone out. I don't even know if it's gonna work, yet."
"Uh-huh. You were practically making heart eyes. I might puke."
"Yeah? The bathroom's that way. And I'm not Gotham's golden boy." He dragged a chair in front of the couch and straddled it, arms resting across the back. "Alright. Like you said—fair is fair. Why are you here?"
Selina pulled a rolled-up newspaper from her jacket and chucked it at him.
He caught it against his chest and unrolled it to read the headline. "Oh."
GOTHAM'S GOLDEN BOY VOWS TO TRACK DOWN ANACONDA KILLER.
"Yeah. Oh." Selina blew a curl out of her eyes. "You know, you really gotta stop doin' that."
Jim looked up from the article. "Doing what?"
"Oh, I don't know—telling serial killers you're after them? Why not just put a sign on your back that says, 'Snake food! Come and get it! Four out of five vets recommend me!'"
"Ah. Well, I appreciate your concern, but you don't need to worry about me. And I don't think you came here just to warn me off."
"Nah. I came here to tell you I know where he's holed up."
The reaction was instant. Jim leaned forward, eyes on her with a focus so intense, it was all she could do not to squirm. "Where is he?"
"Down, boy. Take it easy. There's an old apartment complex on my block. No one's been in it for years 'cause it looks like it'll topple like a Jenga tower if you so much as sneeze. Anywhere else, it would have been torn down ages ago, but—"
"—it's Gotham." Jim was standing now, searching around his desk and coming up with a pen and paper. "Address?"
He pulled out his phone and made a call, letting it ring as he jotted down the address she gave. "Harvey? We got a lead." He sighed, shoulders slumping a little. "I know. No, I know. I know, Harvey, but—Harvey. Harvey?" Jim made a face and flipped the phone closed. He stared down at it for a moment before shaking his head and darting back into his room. He returned less than a minute later, tie back in place, arms full of his holster, jacket, and shoes.
Selina sat up straighter. "Wait—you're going after him now?"
Jim looked at her as if he'd forgotten she was there. "Yeah."
"Even though your partner just told you he wasn't coming." At Jim's look, she continued. "No, I wasn't eavesdropping. It was fairly obvious what went down. So, this is why you always look like you haven't slept in a week. You actually don't sleep. It's all so clear now."
He shrugged into his holster, then his jacket, rolling his shoulders to settle them in place. "How'd you know where he was, anyway?"
"His snake got one of my cats."
Jim looked up from tying his shoes. "You saw it?"
"Ayup."
"You're lucky it didn't get you."
"Yeah, yeah. It's stupid to go in there alone. You should wait for your partner."
"I'll consider it." He waved the address in the air. "Thanks for the tip."
With that, he was out the door and Selina was left to listen to his hurried steps as they echoed down the stairs. She shook her head. Four flights. The fire escape was much faster. Draining the last of the milk, she stood, swung her legs over the windowsill, and leaped out into the Gotham night.
A/N: You’ll never guess what next issue is about!
If you said, “It’s about Jim and Selina going after the Anaconda Killer” you’re exactly right! Good job, you smart cookie.
So, I am currently recovering from typhoid, and my brain was super foggy when I wrote this one. So yeah. If it’s terrible, I blame the typhoid. :P
Follow @thatdarncatchronicles​ and #thatdarncat (no spaces!) to never miss an issue! Next issue up soon. :)
Oh! Also, you are doing great.Yes. You are doing great at life. And if you know you aren’t doing your best--no stress! There’s always tomorrow, and you’re growing and learning just like every other person on the face of the planet. Like me. And my 50 y/o father who told me the other day that he still just feels like he’s pretending to be an adult. He’s really good at it. You will be, too. This is all gibberish, but the point I’m trying to make is that as long as you’re doing just fabulously, and you’re on your way to doing even better. Remember to drink your water today. Hydration is important and makes your skin prettyful. Also, I love you. Peace out, gorgeous soul.
Issue No. 1 | Of Spaghetti and Sneezes:
https://thatdarncatchronicles.tumblr.com/post/620372790294528001/that-darn-cat-issue-no-1-of-spaghetti-and
Issue No. 2 | A Hint of Pesto Aioli:
https://thatdarncatchronicles.tumblr.com/post/620559916396052480/that-darn-cat-issue-no-2-a-hint-of-pesto
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You don’t have a Codeword (Part Five)
Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four
Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader
Words: 2187
Author’s Note: The next part will have the fluff that we all dreamed this would have hahaha. Bear with me <3</i>
The first sight that greeted you and Tony upon entering Stark Industries was Peter Parker sitting on the couch, mask back on and still sporting his suit. Getting closer, you noticed his eyes were closed and there were soft snores emanating from his body. You smiled at the sight, he must have tried to wait up for the two of you. Tony placed his hand on your shoulder, making you turn your head to glance at him.
“You should get some sleep too, we have a big day ahead of us.” He stated lightly before going over to gently remove Peter’s mask and pushing him into a more comfortable position. 
“I’m not tired” You lied, walking closer to them, noticing the growing bags under the Peter’s eyes. You frowned as you left to grab a blanket from the cabinet near the stairs. You came back to your dad placing a pillow below his head. “You know, for a hero whose known for having a sixth sense, he’s a deep sleeper” You softly pointed out to Tony. He quietly chuckled before taking the blanket from your hands and tucking in said hero. You stayed quiet after that. 
After confirming that Peter would sleep peacefully, you and Tony went to the kitchen. He asked you if you wanted a cup of tea as he began boiling the water. You nodded, trying to rub the fatigue out of your eyes. It didn’t work. 
“Come on, I’ll take you to bed.” Tony offered, appearing beside you. You shook your head, but he took your hand anyways and started guiding you along to your room. You didn’t have the energy to fight.
“Can I… Can I sleep with Peter?” You asked slouching over in an attempt to stop the yawn that escaped your lips. Tony glanced at you sideways, with an eyebrow raised. “Not like that!” You stammered, “It’s just that I would feel better if I knew- If I could see the timer.” You finished, avoiding eye contact. He said nothing until you turned back to look at him. He smiled, nudging you slightly with a wink.
“It must be one cute timer” He teased, you smiled slightly before having to yawn once more. He led you back to the room and upon being tucked in to the couch on the other side of Peter, you fell fast asleep.
“Hey! Underoos, wake up!” You heard Tony call to Peter, shaking him slightly. You had woken up half an hour earlier and decided to let the boy rest a little longer. Tony, on the other hand, decided that he shouldn’t be wasting his time sleeping. Peter whined and batted away your father’s hands. Grumbling under his breath, Tony left the room to finish the breakfast that he had begun ten minutes earlier. You moved closer to the boy, leaning over him. 
“Peter, wake up” You mummered, not exactly wanting to wake him. He looked so peaceful and as his numbers continued to dwindle, you weren’t sure if you would be able to see him like this again. 
Peter groaned, eyes opening slightly. He smiled to himself when he saw you over him. Closing his eyes once more, he yawned and stretched his arms out, narrowly missing you. You took a step back, accidentally bumping into the table behind you. He froze mid-yawn and opened his eyes again, widening when they met yours. He jumped up stunned, surprising you in the process. In his daze, he hit his back against the edge of the couch making a loud banging sound. You jumped back as well, hitting the back of your knees on the table again. He didn’t look too affect but you moaned in pain. He quickly looked around the room, remembering the events of yesterday. The smile left his face. Tony’s words popped up in your head, their lives stop being about living and starts being about dying.
“Are you okay?” He asked, arm moving slightly, struggling to not reach out to you. You hummed, nodding your head. His eyes continued to dart around the room.
“Morning” You greeted gently, waking him out of the thoughts that seemed to consume him. He focused his attention onto you and the smile came back. You swiftly gave a smile back, though it felt strange on your lips. You began to feel nervous under his gaze. You didn’t want his eyes to leave you, but they made you feel jittery and flustered. 
“Morning” He greeted back. The two of you stood there looking at each other, not sure what to say but enjoying the silence nonetheless.
“Breakfast is almost ready!” Tony called from the kitchen, breaking the two of you out of your trance. Realization clouded Peter’s eyes.
“Mr. Stark!” He shouted quietly. He looked at you expectantly causing you to tilt your head in confusion. “Last night. How’d it go? What happened? Is he mad?” He rushed out. You tensed up, but only slightly, hoping it would go unnoticed. Peter noticed. He shot a glance towards the kitchen, fidgeting as he looked back at you. You quickly shook your head.
“He’s not mad. He just… has a different viewpoint of things.” You say, not exactly wanting to repeat the words of the night before. He nodded slowly, wondering if he should push it or not, ultimately deciding not to. You appreciated it. “We should change and get ready for the day” You commented before taking a long look at Peter, still in his suit. 
His face flushed as he mumbled something about waiting up last night. A soft laugh escaped your lips as you turned and walked to your room. Before exiting the room, you felt the urge to turn back. Doing so, your eyes met with Peter’s, who had been watching you leave. He swiftly turned to look down and away and you felt your heart quicken its pace as you left for your room. 
You quickly got changed and ready for the day. As you started walking back out, you paused and gave your room a once over, spotting your notebook hidden beneath your pillows. Taking it out, you wrote out the events of the last 14 hours. Every action, every comment, every emotion. Everything you could remember. You weren’t sure how long you spent doing that, because you soon heard Tony’s voice through the intercom.
“(Y/N), I’m not saying that you’re taking a long time but- no that’s exactly what I’m saying. Come down, the food’s getting cold.” You could practically see his annoyed expression as you listened. You put your notebook back and left the room. When you got back to the origin of Tony’s voice, the breakfast- at this point it would be an early lunch- was ready on the table and Tony was in the middle of a conversation with Peter.
You sat quietly with Peter to your left, Tony to your right, and them across from each other. You focused your attention onto Peter, trying to remember everything about him. Tony was talking to Peter about a mission that had occurred with Thor and Dr. Strange, adding bits of humor and trying his best at not addressing the elephant in the room. Peter engaged himself into the conversation, glancing at you every so often. A light pink color filled his face followed by a smile upon realizing that you were openly looking him over. You bit your lip, a smile of your own growing at his reaction. Warmth filled your chest, speeding the beating of your heart. 
You looked away, thinking about the words your father said the night before again, their lives stop being about living and starts being about dying. It’s never occurred to you that the fearful looks that you were so used to receiving may not have been directed at you, but more at the idea of death that you had personified. Looking back at Peter, who had been in the middle of laughing at a joke your dad told, you wondered if he ever thought of you in that way. Lost in thought, you failed to notice Peter’s face looking over at you in concern.
“(Y/N)!” Your dad calling your name brought you back to reality. He gave you a suspicious look before jokingly stating, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer” Tension filled the room as the words hit each of you. A pin dropping could’ve echoed through the room.
“Make sure you get my good side” Peter broke the silence with a failure of a smile. The tension slowly started waning.
“What good side?” Tony joked, pushing out reluctant laughs.
“He’s right, you’re all good side” You tried joining in, before realizing what came out of your mouth. You instinctively smacked your palm to your forehead, hiding your face. Peter turned as red as a strawberry, while Tony turned away and awkwardly laughed.
“Kid, please never let something like that slip out in front of me again.” He said, turning his pained expression back at you. You laughed knowing he was feigning it for levity. Peter laughed with you, eyes glistening when they met yours. The next hour went the same. Joking, teasing, talking. You silently wished that those moments could last forever, but everything has an end and so did this. After clearing the table, the three of you met in the living area.
“What’s next?” Peter asked, not directing the question at you nor Tony. His eyes betrayed the nonchalance of his voice. He had hoped that there was a plan, trusting the Starks to know the way.
“Your charts are completely normal which means it’s probably an outside factor. So…” Tony stated, tensing as he spoke. Peter slowly nodded. “If it’s alright with you, knowing the dangers involved, the next thing we would try would have you…” Tony thought about his next words carefully, “continue ‘talking’ with (Y/N)” Peter widened his eyes in remembrance of the night before, stealing a glance at you. That was the last thing that Tony wanted to do, but yet this is the next step. Is there not as much hope as he thought to getting the time back? Peter thought silently.
“We don’t know what will happen” You chimed in, continuing after Tony. “It could give you your time back or… it could take more away.”
“Take more away?” Peter asked cautiously, “I never asked but how much time did I have… you know, before all of this?” 
You thought carefully about the conversation you had with Tony the night before. This was the third time in the last three hours that you found yourself thinking back to them, their lives stop being about living and starts being about dying. You glanced at Tony. He looked back at you with no expression, giving you no indication of what you should do. It was your choice. Choice. Having this power gave you the idea that people don’t really have choices. Timers are destined from the start, in which case would it even matter whether or not you told him. 
Not that this line of thinking would even have stock if we couldn’t get him his time back. But you believed to the bottom of your heart that he would make it out of this, you had to. Timers never changed. Looking back at Peter’s timer, you thought about how you would feel, if you were able to see your own. Would you hold your breath as each second counted down like you were right now, watching his? 
You see him call your name, but the thoughts have overpowered your ears. You thought about when you were younger. Your mom was the first to know about her timer, confusion clouding her eyes as you repeated the numbers that appeared over her head. You tried to tell your father what he had over his, but he had stopped you before you could get the first number out. He didn’t know what it meant at the time but felt uneasy with you seeing things no one else could. It was then that you thought that seeing the numbers was a bad thing. And when your mom passed, that thought turned into a truth.
Heavy is the head that holds the crown and right now that weight was pulling at your chest while you struggled to form words. Darting your eyes above Peter, you stared at the number that seemed to be glaring down at you. 
0 years, 0 months, 1 day, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 5 seconds. 
You thought about your mom telling you she trusts you. 
4 seconds. 
You thought about your dad telling you that you have a responsibility that you must hold on your shoulders alone. 
3 seconds. 
You thought about the years you spent hiding in your room, away from all the numbers and timers. 
2 seconds. 
You thought about the past 16 hours spent with the boy in front of you. 
1 second. 
Looking at him, seeing the concern in his eyes dedicated to you. You thought about how much time you had left.
 24 hours.
And counting down.
Part Six 
Taglist: @shaydeevee33, @peter-spider-parker-man, @savedbystark, @antisocialprincessxox
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smolbeandrabbles · 5 years
Text
Sure Be Cool If You Did - Ralph Anderson x Reader (The Outsider)
GIF Credit @benmendo
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Author’s Note: Hahahahaha.... I know. I’m incredibly early. I’ve jumped the gun! I’ll reblog it when we actually get the show. But I read the book, so here we are! You can’t stop me writing this! Yes, reader has a last name, it’s my little joke. I’m sorry. Disclaimer: I will never, ever, do justice to Stephen King’s genius - but I tried my best!  / Lyrics, gifs, characters not mine
Set in an AU where Jeannie & Derek don’t exist *gasp* Heresy!
Premise: After working a case together, Ralph figures he’s got a break through - he needs to tell you about it. But arriving at your house doesn’t turn out as he expects...
Words: 3145
Warnings: Potential “The Outsider” spoilers  
_____ Now you're standing in the neon looking like a high I wanna be on Baby it's your call No pressure at all You don't have to keep on smiling that smile that's driving me wild And when the night is almost over Meet me in the middle of a moonlit Chevy bench seat And do a little bit of country song, hanging on You don't have to keep me falling like this But it'd sure be cool if you did You can't shoot me down 'cause you've already knocked me dead Got me falling apart with my heart talking out of my head Let your mind take a little back road just as far as you wanna go Baby, I'll do Whatever you wanna do... --- Ralph Anderson could have just gone home. He should have just gone home, he wasn’t on call, you weren’t on call… It could have waited until the morning. It wasn’t that it was late, just a little unsociable for him to go banging on your door about something he’d thought on from an interview you’d conducted that day, that he thought might be a breakthrough. He drove slowly back home, and took the wrong turn off. Well, no actually he didn’t – he took the correct turn off for what he believed was your address. He felt like you had to know. As his partner you had a right to know. He liked having you around, you were a good wall to just bounce ideas off – you had a similar wavelength, but just diverse enough for you to both interpret things a little differently. Maybe you’d think nothing of it – but he’d never know if he didn’t tell you right now… You were good to have on the team; old enough to be an experienced detective, young enough to still be enthusiastic about every single case you had to work on. Even the ones that had Ralph groaning and wishing he didn’t have to fill paperwork in for. There was just one thing about you though; that had the whole station cracking up. Your last name. It was the same as his. Andersson. You had the extra ‘S’. That made you Anderson & Andersson. And everyone made the same oh, are you together!? joke that was wearing pretty thin pretty quickly on him. Although you’d now come up with a perfectly mysterious counter, with that little smile of yours; “We’re partners, yes.” So here he was, knocking on the door of one Miss.Y/N Andersson. He stood and waited, and when at first there was no answer he wondered why he’d bothered with disturbing you with this… He took a step back to leave, but as he did so the door opened, at first just a crack, and then a little wider. But he wasn’t faced with you, in fact Ralph had to look down to see who he was faced with. Looking up at him with eyes full of curiosity was a little girl who couldn’t have been more than five or six. He was a little taken aback and was thrown into a sudden panic; did he have the wrong address?! Was he about to look like a total idiot? Or maybe this was your house; and he was trying to read too much into this – little sister? Very little sister? Niece? Hell, for all he knew she could just be a kid that you looked after. Ralph realised there was a lengthy awkward silence hanging in the air, and he raised his hand from his pocket; “Uh, Hi?” She didn’t respond, her eyes simply scanned from his face down his body; and widened as they fell on his FCPD badge attached to his belt. Then she was both running and screaming down the corridor he could just about see behind her; “MOMMY!!! MOMMY---!!! THERE’S A DETECTIVE AT THE DOOR---!!” Mommy? Ralph put his hands to his forehead and for a minute felt like the world’s worst detective, world’s worst partner… world’s worst friend? How did I NOT know?! He looked back at the empty corridor and realised he’d only created yet more awkwardness. Well, now you’ve done it Mr.Anderson… He peered around the door; did he walk in? Did he close it and walk away? What if it turned out he was still in the wrong place and the person being called by the girl wasn’t even you-!? As she ran into the kitchen, she paused by you eyes disproportionately wide. You were still flicking through todays paper, as you hadn’t had much of a chance yet, and didn’t really turn to her; “Oh yeah? How’d you know?” As expected, she got her wild imagination from you, and this person could be anyone. “He has a badge like yours... Mommy...!” "Hmmm?" you glanced across to her wide eyes. Clearly she'd just left this Flint City PD member on the front steps too. "... He does!?!" Wait. Did she mean it was a Flint City PD badge...? Or a Flint City... Detectives badge... In which case...“...Alright... What...?”  You crept across to the kitchen door leading into the hallway and poked your head around it. Instantly your face reddened. Oh. CRAP. Of all the men to be standing there, hands on his hips, pushing his jacket back to reveal his shiny FCPD Detective insignia… The door wasn't quite closed on him and luckily he wasn't looking up. Ralph Anderson. You pressed yourself up against the door frame again, and took a deep breath. He knew. He knew. He knew. He knew. You closed your eyes for a minute. Okay. Okay... We can't leave him on the front step if he's here for work reasons. You turned back to your daughter for a moment; “Sweetie, why don’t you go watch TV okay? I’ll go talk to him...” She smiled like only a child could, with no clear understanding of the situation; “Okay!!” and off she ran again. You took another deep breath, and counted to ten. You pushed yourself back around and walked briskly up the corridor, just enough on the side of the door half closing his in face to make sure he didn't see you before you put your hands on it. You bit your lip, gave yourself a nod and then pulled it slowly open again: "Uh. Hi...." Ralph gave you a smile, and you noticed his eyes flick behind you to check if she was still there "Yeah. That's exactly what I said.” You bit your lip again and shrugged gently; “...Uh... This is not a... doorstep conversation, please come in.” “Oh. Thank you...” Ralph stepped inside, but then almost immediately countered your reaction; “It’s no big deal! I can’t believe I didn’t know! I’m kinda sorry I didn’t... I mean-” “Thank you.” You shook your head, if he knew she existed, he might as well know everything “But... She’s not mine.” “Oh...?” Clearly there was more to that story, though. You beckoned him through to your kitchen and ending up fixing him a drink. For a little while you both stood in the kitchen in almost absolute silence, watching your little girl absorbed in her cartoons. Ralph’s eyes flicked between the two of you, still thinking: Maybe she was still a blood relative? But then she’s calling Y/N mommy, so...? “She calls you mommy..? Adopted?” “Kinda. Something like that.” “..Something like that...? Does she know you aren’t?” You tipped your head; “I think she does. Somewhere in the back of her mind. I think she does. But, she’s probably not old enough to understand that. And I’m not sure how I’m meant to explain it just yet...” “So... How’d you come to adopt her?” Here came the unprofessional confession, and after some hesitation you decided it’d be worse if you didn’t tell him and he did the research himself; “...Her parents were murdered... It was horrible and certainly not something I want to remember...” Ralph paused his sip; “...She’s a case kid? Your case?” “Umm hmm...” You nodded and you could see his brain working behind those sharp blue eyes; is that even protocol? “...I don’t know what rules I must have broken. But there was NO WAY anyone in that office was going to tell me otherwise.” “What’s her name?” You smiled gently. Now for the punchline that Ralph had to understand was funny; “Renee.” “Renee?” His face split into a grin and he laughed; “She’s genuinely R.Andersson?!” “Yeah. I know.” Ralph’s chuckle continued as he shook his head; “That’s… that’s just-- really great… Wow… You really are something…” You glanced back across to him watching Renee and wondered if he really meant it. You wouldn’t have thought that Ralph Anderson, of all people, would lie… But you also couldn’t help but feel anxious. It’s not like you were dating, but you’d thought about it before. And recently a lot, what it would be like to have your partner as a… partner. But you’d seen it happen so many times before in the nearly four years you’d had her. How you’d start feeling comfortable with someone, but the second they found out about Renee they’d simply leave, and you’d never hear from them again. You tilted your head, wondering if you should simply just voice the concern. Whether you knew if he liked you like that or not; “Does it bother you?” His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes found yours again; “What? NO. No! Why would you...?!” You didn’t have to answer him with words, your look was significant enough; Well, it’s bothered everyone else. Ralph answered that look; “I’m not everyone else.” And he was going to prove it. Taking another sip, he put the cup down and walked out into your little living room. It was all you could do to watch him go, a look of mild surprise on your face. He sat down and addressed her; “Renee! I’m detective Ralph Anderson... It’s nice to meet you.” She was still staring at him in wonder, and even then her eyes could still go wider, of course it was a name she would recognise, you talked about him often enough. “Ralph!?!” She whipped around on the sofa to face you, and you weren’t sure you’d ever seen her look so happy.  Turning back to him Renee shout-whispered as only kids can, “She talks about you ALL the time.” It was Ralph’s turn to look at least a little surprised; “Oh. Uh huh!?” “Mommy says you’re the BEST detective ever. That you solved an impossible case!!! You are her idol! She says that a lot!” Alright, that might have been true enough, when your little town PD had asked for someone to transfer to Flint City you’d jumped at the chance to get to work with Ralph Anderson, because you’d heard so much. But that didn’t mean she had to tell him that!!! Faint pink crossed his cheeks, and you knew it was also crossing yours; you couldn’t help but cover your face. Oh Gods! Kids! Renee of course was oblivious to what she’d done, and was now looking between two adults at various stages of red. Ralph eventually cleared his throat to relieve the awkward tension, changing the track of the conversation completely; "Oh! Have you ladies had dinner yet...?" He glanced at his watch; "In fact I'm sure we can go catch a movie." You raised an eyebrow at him, unsure if you were quite hearing this right; “…Like a date?!" He gave a little shrug, but he didn’t miss meeting your eyes, he wasn’t going to be shy about this; "Like dinner and a movie.�� Renee apparently didn’t miss a beat, and she gasped; "Mommy! He's asking you on a date!!!" Ralph turned a deeper shade of pink and his eyes flicked between you again, then he gave another shrug and a sweet smile; “I guess a date.” You couldn’t help but give a shy giggle; "I guess I can only say yes... buuut will you let me get changed first!? I gotta look my best if Detective Ralph Anderson is taking me out!" He turned to Renee as you made a move to run to your staircase; “You better be coming too, sweetheart.” You paused at the significance of what he’d just done, and looked back to see her eyes light up. For once, that kid was completely speechless. And so were you. ** If you were truly going to label it a ‘date’ – it was probably one of the best you’d ever been on. Ralph paid you both the adequate amount of attention, and if you hadn’t already fallen for him, you were falling for him now. And there must have been chemistry or something, because you watched the way that even though Ralph gave her attention, when he was talking to you Renee watched you both with a look of awe on her face. Like she was watching something unfold right in front of her.   This wasn’t some kind of courtesy, he wanted to know everything, and was willing to give up just as much information. You knew he was a good man, but watching his interaction with your daughter let you know he was also a great one. How he answered her questions, how he showed interest in what she was telling him, even when sometimes it was little babbled childish nonsense. How he picked her up and carried her, but held his hand out for yours. And the smile on his face when you took it. He was falling for you too… Or simply he was letting you know the feeling was mutual… It was sad to see the credits on the movie roll, and knew that you’d now have to go home. Even though he’d be driving you, those few precious minutes on the car ride home wouldn’t be enough. You knew that. So did Ralph, but he decided not to voice it – he’d get to see you at work. This night wouldn’t be lost on him. “You know you don’t have to carry her, right?” “No no… I want to…” You walked to your car, with a sleepy Renee clinging onto Ralph as he held her; “…Besides, you probably have to do this all the time…” “That’s…. what I have to do for my daughter. That’s not a problem.” “Yeah well, tonight, I’m giving your arms a rest – okay?” You chuckled “You don’t need to, but that is very kind of you.” “Oh don’t worry, I can have you hauling evidence boxes around tomorrow to make up for it.” “Oh, God, you’re too kind!” He laughed; “Oh, I try my hardest!” Renee was asleep by the time you’d both belted yourselves into the front of his car; “Ha…” his laugh was soft as he caught her in his rear-view mirror and turned around “…I wore her out!” You turned too; “…God bless you, Ralph Anderson, it takes me years to do that sometimes.” “Well there you go, if you need help, call me.” You made cute small talk again on the way home; and you loved hearing him laugh at all your little inconsequential remarks about things. Talk turned to ridiculous cases; of course it did, you’d both had your fair share… You both still did. The type where you’d turn up, hear it all out and give each other the same here we go look. “OH-!” His brain clicked, and he suddenly remembered the actual reason he’d even bothered to turn up at your house; “I meant to say, I think I have a clue on this case! Because of your interview work-! That… should have been one of the first things I said.” “…Well, I guess tonight was full of surprises…” Ralph smiled, gently, “I guess… Either way, I’m glad that I had the idea to turn up – and didn’t wait until tomorrow morning.” “I guess it can wait until tomorrow morning though…?” You turned to him with a gentle smile “I’m happy you turned up on my doorstep too, Ralph.” He laughed; “It can wait… But I’m glad I did too… She’s a great kid… You’re a good mom…” “Thank you for inviting her.” “Why wouldn’t I?” “Everyone else just runs…” “Well, they’re clearly missing out…” He gave a shrug, “What is wrong with people…” You couldn’t help but almost laugh, considering your line of work - if even the both of you didn’t know; “Well, isn’t that the one great mystery…” There was nothing more telling than the disappointed sigh that escaped your lips as your house pulled into view. Clearly it was a good evening, he’d try not to get too smug about that, but he was certainly happy. You opened the car door slowly, and again didn’t want to leave.  “…Do you want me to come help with her?” You shook your head; “No… It’s okay… It’s getting late, Detective, and it sounds like tomorrow is going to be busy…” But your smile was beaming “Thank you, for offering – and… Thank you, for the evening… I had a great time, and again I can’t thank you enough for inviting her.” “No trouble… I had a… great time too.” He didn’t quite meet your eyes this time, and the way he bit his lip was shy. Ralph did still walk you to the door though, even if you were carrying your daughter this time. You were surprised, but also glad, that she was still asleep. Your porch light flicked on automatically as you fished your keys from your bag. “Thank you… again, you… didn’t have to do this… you could have just told me about the case and left.” Your sentence was broken as you unlocked your door and pushed it open, turning back to him. “Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you both had a good time… He watched you for a minute in that light, 20 things at once and she’s still on top of it all… Ralph Anderson couldn’t help it, you were the same at work – so he knew this – but it was different here. There was something all together different about what he’d witnessed from you this evening, so how could he not? “Y/N…” “Mm hm?” His smile was back to shy and humble, like he was about to ask you to break his heart; and he was –  “…May I kiss you Goodnight?” About a thousand joyful emotions must have crossed your face at once as you opened your mouth and had to close it again, because you weren’t quite ready. You gave a gentle half-laugh and tried again; “You may.” You were pretty sure you were sharing the same smile as he leaned in and caught your lips with his; the kiss was gentle. But it was still a real kiss. He kept it respectfully short as he pulled away; “Goodnight, Y/N… I’ll see you at work tomorrow…” “Goodnight, Ralph…” You were both shades of pink again “…Thank you for this evening.” “You’re very welcome, hopefully we can do this again?” You nodded “I’d like that… I think we’d both like that.” “Me too…” He gave a smile and turned to leave, but then paused at his car; “You know I was kidding about the heavy lifting at work right!?” You laughed; “We’ll see, Mr.Anderson! We might need to do such things!” “God, I hope not!” He gave a wave, “Sleep well!” “And you…” You watched him reverse from your drive, and on down the road until his tail lights disappeared with a beaming smile on your face. Thank God for case break-throughs… and kids!
--- Thank you for reading! 🙏💕
I think just due to the nature of this one I might keep the #MendoTagSquad out until at least January...!
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ottorocket808 · 4 years
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Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street
I wonder how they coaxed her back to Mikes house it was probably easier than I think because they’re also kids and it’s raining and cold because I’m pretty sure it’s November in Indiana. I’m just gonna say that the lunge clap isn’t the best way to tell if somebody is deaf I’m pretty sure they’re gonna flinch regardless because you lunged at them. 🤣🤣🤣 Modesty don’t exist where she’s from y’all cut her some slack. Wait is that blood? Wait it’s probably from her nose. I don’t even know where the nearest ‘nuthouse’ is why does Lucas? How did Dustin and Lucas both forget that they snuck out the house and therefore telling any adults right now would be a bad idea?
Yo Joyce is talkin about spending $2000-$3000 on missing posters and he’s in a different dimension and this is in 1983 that might as well be $20,000-$30,000 now I know my mom would know my voice anywhere they gotta stop doubting Joyce no matter what interference came down the line.
Hop and these pills are gettin on my nerves you are not House sir sidenote Hops reaction to Jonathan volunteering to go to his dads house felt like dick measuring why wouldn’t he want him to go looking for Will if seeing the cops would mean he runs again which means even longer until he comes home.
Don’t start shit with your little brother when he knows your boyfriend was in your room last night without your parents knowledge or consent Nancy. Sidenote it’ll never not be suspicious to hear your kids say ‘nothing’ together when you ask them a question.
I think Wills been missing for 2 or 3 days at this point where is he getting water? I’m pretty sure this kid is well on his way to dehydration on top of breathing in the toxic atmosphere of The Upside Down Will is a strong little dude.
I think I’ve spotted Els first Eggo that might be why she likes them so much Mike gave her her first one I mean Eggos are good but plain with no syrup no butter and lukewarm and she still likes them more than anything else. El’s hesitation towards telling any adults makes perfect sense after what happened to Benny.
Calling a lady crazy who’s kid just went missing feels a little insensitive I mean what did she do in regular my kid isn’t missing life that would make him say that?
Steve’s hair looks so much better but he’s kind of a dick because he invited Nancy to the ‘party’ not her and Barbara which isn’t really a problem is that he did it in front of her but if you pay attention to his ‘friends’ they aren’t any better in all honesty this is just a double date. Nancy’s little brother hangs out with Jonathan’s little brother all the time you’d think she’d stand up for him just because of that I mean she looks legit guilty listening to the others make fun of him I mean how many times has Jonathan been at her house to pick up Will?
Mike said damn goin to school I have girl who doesn’t think I’m weird at home.
I’m pretty sure this is what older siblings are for sharing music and teaching you the ropes to life and giving advice.
Jonathan also said damn goin to school
Lonnie still hasn’t made an appearance and his youngest son has been seen in 2-3 days he ain’t even called Joyce back and he knows that he’s missing and that there’s been full on search party and he’s been AWOL this whole time.
Where the hell did they find a Pinto? Joyce is kind of a boss she got a phone and a pack of camels for free and two weeks pay in advance.
Am I trippin or did the news call the power company a completely different name? If they did who are The Bad Men supposed to be pretending to be? I wonder why Hop didn’t notice the goop on the wood.
I need to know how them getting 3rd in the science fair was political what was their project? How does she know? It’s almost like she was about to start hyperventilating did she see him in her sleep because as much as the Demogorgon scared her I can’t imagine her looking for him on purpose. Was the baby not strapped into her car seat because Mikes mom got into the house way too fast.
I feel like Hop should be concerned that one of his officers was gullible enough to believe that anybody could survive that drop into cement I mean water.
Man these govt people suck Justice for Benny.
Lonnie doesn’t have a single picture of his kids in that house if he did his girlfriend would know who Jonathan is.
Shout out to Dustin for picking up on keywords like ‘Danger’ and El is racking up favorite character points with the double door slam topped off with the locked door El is in the lead as my favorite 2nd is a three way tie between Joyce Mike and Dustin.
Lonnie won’t be getting father of the year anytime soon but his car is sick 1972 Oldsmobile 442 I ain’t mad at it at all. I don’t know why people in small towns swear that people in the city are more ‘real’ you have bullshitters everywhere Lonnie should know he was fake In Hawkins and the only thing that changed was his address and the car he drives.
Barb wasn’t invited to the ‘party’ (double date) and Nancy knows this Steve said do you wanna come to my house not you guys y’all or any other variation. Nancy begging her to go and using Wills vigil as her suggested excuse says a hell of a lot about her character she knows that it’s only supposed to be the four of them because again this is a double date her making Barb be the 5th wheel so she would feel better sucks.
Mike choking on his milk cause he sees El coming down the stairs followed by Dustin’s ‘spasm is still funny but Nancy using Wills Vigil to sneak to see her boyfriend still rubs me the wrong way.
And that torn piece of El’s gown makes its appearance good eye Mr. Clarke.
The boys use so many words she doesn’t know I wonder how lost in conversation she was in the beginning. Dustin looked so grossed out by the spit swear part and I don’t blame him. El looked super suspicious of what Mike was saying about friends telling each other things that parents don’t know.
Parking 3 blocks away is a little excessive. Barb really should’ve just dropped her off and went home. Nancy should know her best friend well enough to know that parties aren’t her thing. Nancy likes to play stupid but she’s not she should’ve just gone by herself there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend time with the guy that you like but dragging your friend along is unnecessary.
Ew Hop wears tighty whiteys wait who is that lady? So I have the subtitles on and they say her name is Sandra still don’t know who she is but at least we got a name.
El’s powers are crazy strong no wonder they want her back so badly she touches the D&D board closes her eyes for a second and knows which piece is Wills. Dustin is in the drama club? I wonder if he is a lighting and sound guy. You can tell that shit just got real to these kids.
Quick question how close do the Byers live to Steve? I mean for Jonathan to hear Carol scream it’s gotta be pretty close maybe Will had to run way farther than I originally thought. Everything about Barb screams ‘I don’t wanna be here’ shorty still has her coat on she looks extra uncomfortable you can tell this isn’t her thing Barb is a better friend than Nancy deserves. She cut her hand trying to shotgun a beer to make Nancy happy and when she goes inside looking for bandages Nancy doesn’t help she stays outside and plays with her not boyfriend and his ‘friends’ There’s a strong ass lesson about peer pressure wrapped around these five. Jonathan has gotta know that this is creepy I mean he’s hiding behind a bush damn near frantically taking pictures of the popular kids having fun how’d he switch so fast from looking for his brother to this weird shit?
This is the 2nd phone Will burnt up tryna call home man they are $30 a piece man we need a better communication attempt. Ask and ye shall receive sidenote I really do like this song I wanna learn to play the intro where is the dog I know the Demogorgon didn’t eat him but he just disappears. I feel bad for Joyce she’s always alone when the weird shit happens because the Demogorgon coming out the wall like that was some scary shit and nobody but us saw it. That’s how you know she ain’t worried about somebody running off with her whip Joyce has the doors unlocked the windows rolled down with the keys in the visor.
I don’t understand why she begged Barb to go to this thing if she was gonna have sex with Steve anyway and then talking about go home how Nancy she’s supposed to be spending the night at your house to help cover the truth about what’s going on. And Barb being half stubborn half a good friend goes down to the pool to wait for her friend to finish losing her virginity so they can go Barb should’ve gone home and ignored Nancy the next day at school. How did Jonathan not hear The Demogorgon growling or Barb scream and he was what 30 ft from the pool?
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ambersky0319 · 5 years
Text
Blooming Hearts - Chapter One
Chapter One | Chapter Two
Pairings : Romantic Roceit
Summary : In this world, it was nearly unheard of for people to not get with their soulmate. It was looked down upon, because why would you not want to be with the person who was absolutely perfect for you? But what if that soulmate wasn't perfect, wasn't the person for you?
Warnings : Deceit(named Damien), Sympathetic Deceit, cursing, name-calling, Roman angst, please tell me if I missed anything
------
"How did this happen? Why the fuck are you like this?" Lily Fae snapped at her boyfriend of three years, her soulmate. Fire shown in her eyes as she digested his words.
When she had first heard them, she had been stunned. No words had been able to process through her. But now? Now she was only getting started. "You're going to be seen as a freak! An outcast! A fucking idiot who doesnt even seem to have one braincell. And me! God, what would everyone think? Im soulmates with a dumbass!"
Roman flinched at her tone, shrinking into his jacket. He swallowed thickly. "You think I didn't consider all that? We can both just, just keep this on the down low. Neither of our reputations will be ruined, or anything like that." He tried to reason, he really did. But Lily was having none of that.
"Roman, we are both famous! The press is watching our every move, and it's surprising they haven't broken into our- my, apartment by now. They would find out within the hour."
Roman's eyes widened. "Did you say this was your apartment?"
Lily straightened her back, a glare settling in. "Yeah. I did. So pack your shit."
Roman took a shaky breath. "Wait, I won't have anywhere to go-"
"That's the point, now hurry your ass up and leave."
He couldn't argue. He really couldn't. So, as quickly as he could, Roman packed a small suitcase. He wasn't going to bring a lot, he couldn't, if he needed to find somewhere else to stay at such a short notice. He was out of the apartment in ten minutes.
Roman glared at his knuckles as he walked down the busy street, cursing at himself. He should have just endured it all. He had a good life with his soulmate; Lily was... decent. She had a temper, but Roman could usually deal with it. He could have just... just not even met Damien. Never have even said a word to the soulmateless man with a scar.
The man whom he hadn't seen in weeks, only talking through text because of a vacation Damien was on.
Roman sighed, looking around at where he was. He vaguely remembered the area, it was near the park. It was someplace he didn't visit often, but... The park would allow him some alone time. Before people began to actually pay closer attention to the actor walking down the street. No one suspected him in the park.
Tightening his grip on his suitcase, Roman made his way down a few blocks. It didn't take long to get there, but it would have been much faster if he had taken a few shortcuts that were well known. The park was as breathtaking as ever, leaves the colors of reds and oranges and yellows. Some couples were scattered here and there, enjoying the nice weather that would soon disappear for cold.
It was refreshing.
Roman found a bench with no one near and made himself comfortable, pulling his legs up and taking his phone out of his pocket. He wrapped an arm around his knees and unlocked his phone, immediately opening up his messages. It was only now did the realization that he was officially homeless set in.
Roman took in a shaky breath, and exited messages. Instead, he clicked on the phone icon and dialed Damien's number. He listened to it ring twice, before a smooth and gentle and familiar voice greeted him.
"Roman! What do I owe the pleasure of receiving an actual call?"
Roman swallowed, taking a deep breath and trembling as he exhaled. "Dee... You know how I was um, going to break up with Lily?"
Damien hummed knowingly, and Roman could practically see the concerned expression on his face. "Well... I did."
"How'd it go?" The answer was obvious. If Roman was calling Damien, and not, say, Patton, it couldn't have gone well.
"Swimmingly! I'm officially out of a place to stay and I've no doubt she's gonna tell the media, meaning that any future career choices are probably about to sink out of my grasp."
Damien let out a quiet "oof," making Roman smile just a bit. "Well, um, what do you think you're gonna do about it?"
Roman sighed. "No clue..." He muttered, curling further in on himself. "Any chance you'll be back today? Maybe I can crash at your place- if it's askibg of too much, I totally understand! But it was worth asking."
"I'm coming back tomorrow- but my brother is watching Nova while I'm gone. I can give him a call and tell him you'll be staying."
Roman froze slightly. "Wait, you're actually letting me stay?"
Damien hummed. "Don't see anything wrong with it."
Roman laughed quietly, it was nervous bit filled with so much relief. "Thank you, thank you so much."
"No problem. I need to go, feel free to make yourself at home, and I'll see you tomorrow."
Roman nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. Thanks."
He swallowed as they hung up, and he was greeted with a new notification of the address. Roman picked himself up and opened up an app to hopefully get him there correctly. Knowing Roman's luck though, he'd get lost in ten minutes.
--
Damien's house was one to behold; the concrete walls were painted a pale yellow and the house had a black roof. But that wasn't too important; the house seemed huge, too big for someone who typically lived alone. There was a garden leading up to the front door, clearly well-kept and cared for. Flowers of all colors kept catching Roman's eyes and he nearly tripped on the few steps leading to the front door.
Roman was let in by Virgil, a handsome young man with light purple bangs. He wore a simple purple shirt and jeans, currently barefoot, and eyeshadow was smudged underneath his eyes. He smiled warmly at Roman, closing the door behind him.
Around the living space, there seemed to be quite a lot knocked over and moved around. Barking could be heard from one of the rooms upstairs. The walls were covered in paintings and the couches seemed very clean, a dog bed right in front of it. Some of the paintings were of Nova, Roman recognized, others of random people, some Roman knew himself.
"Sorry for the mess- Nova got a bit excited when she heard someone. You're not afraid of dogs, are you?" he asked. Roman shook his head. "Great! I'll let Nova out of the room, then. If you follow me into the kitchen..."
Virgil gave Roman a tour of the entire house. Roman was still in awe at the sheer amount of living space. "You're certain Damien lives here, alone with Nova?" he asked in disbelief.
The other man nodded. "Yeah. He did live here with his soulmate, originally, but um... yeah, things happened." Roman frowned as Virgil quickly changed the subject. "Anyway! I can order a pizza or something while you get settled in. Any particular kind you want?"
Roman shrugged, picking his bag up from the living room floor. "Just pepperoni, if that's alright?" Virgil nodded and picked up his phone, mumbling something to himself. Roman patted Nova's head as he walked to the guest bedroom he had been shown earlier.
It was almost twice as large as his old bedroom, and though these walls were bare, they were painted in pastel reds, oranges, and yellows. The sheets of the bed were a magnificent red; there was a desk against the opposite wall, with a wall light that Roman guessed could be adjusted.
He swallowed and set to work at getting his few things sorted. This, this was going to be an interesting shift in his life.
General Taglist
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fallout4holmes · 5 years
Text
Journal 48
In the morning we ate, smoked, and started back to Diamond City. Cait’s aggressive energy from yesterday had disappeared into a sour depression.
"I don't understand these Minutemen. Why the hell would you bother helpin' a bunch of lowlife farmers and settlers for free?"
"Those lowlife farmers and settlers are people trying to survive. By helping them, the Minutemen hope to make the Commonwealth a better place to live."
She scoffed, "And you're the man in charge o' this do-gooder nonsense."
"I am."
"Ask me to salute and all you'll be seein' is me middle finger."
"I don't ask anyone to salute, but they do anyway." I switched on my Pip-Boy's radio to check both Radio Freedom and the Valentine Agency signal… and found something else entirely.
“This is an emergency broadcast. Our caravan is under attack by hostile robots, and need some serious help. We're just east of Wattz Consumer Electronics. Anyone in the vicinity can come help, now is the time. Ada, loop this message.”
“Yes, sir.”
"Guess we're goin' that way?" Cait sighed as I started running.
"Aren't you always looking for a fight?"
"Fightin’ a robot’s like hittin' a trashcan, but I suppose I'll take it."
We found them northeast of the old electronics warehouse. The caravan was under attack by half a dozen robots the likes of which I'd never seen before. They were all assembled from scrap, an amalgam of parts turned into deadly mobile weapons. Who had built these things?
A modified assaultron fought on the side of the caravan, along with a few other robots. I hurried to assist, even though the bodies lying next to the fallen brahmin told me we were too late. The air was full of smoke and the smell of electricity as lasers fired and unstable engines exploded. When the carnage was over, the only things left standing were myself, Cait, and the caravan's assaultron.
The assaultron approached a man lying in the dirt. "Jackson, someone has answered your distress call. Jackson?" She paused, the reality around her registering. "My friends… did not survive the attack." She turned to me, "Thank you for assisting. I was certain to meet my end here as well."
"We came as fast as we could when we heard your distress call," I said. "Are you alright?"
"Thanks to your timing, my diagnostics show only superficial damage. I wish I could say the same for my late friends."
Cait scoffed, "Looks like it was your lucky day."
"Cait," I scolded.
"An interesting choice of words," the assaultron said. She sounded conflicted.
Cait didn't notice. "What sort of robot are you, anyhow?"
"I am heavily modified, but at my core, I am an assaultron. My name is Ada. This was the third time we'd been attacked by robots like these. Even with the weapon and detection upgrades Jackson gave me, I was unable to defend them."
"The third time?" I asked. "They must be targeting you for a reason."
"Probability is high that I am part of that reason," Ada stated. She gestured to three fallen robots among the caravan, "Besides myself, Jackson also created Turing, Hurtz, and Porter. Our built in modifications would be desired pieces of salvage."
"Who was Jackson?"
"Jackson was the leader of this caravan. He had a great mind for technology. In many ways, he is my creator. He installed all my current upgrades. Unfortunately, they were not enough to protect them from the robots. Perhaps if I had more sentry bot based defenses, I could have successfully defended my friends."
I cut off Cait's response, "Tell me about these robots."
"They roam the Commonwealth and claim to be restoring order. We’ve seen them fighting raiders, but they’ve also attacked innocents. Settlers, merchants, and caravans like ours. We knew we ran the risk of encountering more of these hostile robots if we stayed in the Commonwealth. If only we had made the decision to leave."
Restoring order? They were either horrifically malfunctioning or they were programmed by a psychopath. That aside, "You couldn’t have known something like this would happen."
"The probability of attack was high. I should have forced our departure. In recompense, I will seek justice for my friends and stop these robots from causing further harm. I will uncover the source and confront their leader; the Mechanist."
Cait snorted. The name sounded like a joke, I admit, but it also sounded strangely familiar. "Who’s the Mechanist?"
"The only information I have comes from eyebot broadcasts. The false claims of peace and justice... the only certainty is that these robots bring only death."
I frowned. "Finding and confronting this person will be a dangerous undertaking."
Ada considered me a moment. "For me alone, it certainly is. You have shown willingness to aid others. I ask that you please assist me in stopping this Mechanist. In return, I can give you the schematics to build your own robot workbench, like the one Jackson used to build me, so you have additional resources in this undertaking."
Cait was suspicious, "Didn’t know robots could want revenge."
"I admit my goal is twofold. Stopping the Mechanist both protects the Commonwealth and allows me to avenge my fallen friends. I won't rest until I see this threat dissolved. I owe it to them."
If this Mechanist person was threatening the Commonwealth, then the Minutemen would be called on to address the threat. "I’ll do it."
"I wish I had the proper vocal registry to express my gratitude. Now, we last saw a group of the Mechanist robots at the General Atomics Factory. You may find information there that will lead us to the Mechanist. I will follow and assist with your permission."
"Of course, Ada. My name is Holmes, this is Cait. Would you object to stopping at Diamond City first? There's someone else there who could assist."
"That is reasonable. It is on the way to the factory, and more people assisting will greatly increase the probability for our survival and success."
"Why are we standin' round?" Cait huffed, and we started south.
Diamond City Security is becoming accustomed to me walking through the gates with strange companions. "Oh come on, Mr. Holmes. Ain't enough you got your own robot butler, now you got an assaultron?"
"She's not mine, she's a client."
"Client? Robots can be clients?"
As we passed, a second guard muttered to the first, "He's sleeping with one, why not?"
The first turned on him, "Hey, Nicky ain't a robot, and that's none of our damn business."
Ada was understandably confused. "Excuse me, sir, I did not understand that exchange."
"I'm a detective," I explained, "as well as the General of the Minutemen.”
"He probably ain't even gonna charge you for his help," Cait grumbled.
“As for the rest,” I continued, “it will make sense shortly.”
I stopped at the house first. “Codsworth?”
He soared in from the workshop, “Mr. Holmes, welcome home, sir - Oh! We have a guest.”
“Codsworth, this is Ada. Her caravan was recently destroyed. I’m going to help her find the person responsible.”
“Oh my. I’m sorry for your loss,” he said to her, “but don’t fret. My master is just the man to see justice done to the villain.”
“Thank you,” Ada said. “He seemed most capable in combat, and I have heard positive rumors of the Minutemen he said he leads.”
“Absolutely,” Codsworth confirmed with pride. “Mr. Valentine will no doubt be joining you as well, which puts you in the best hands in the Commonwealth. Ah, he should be at the Agency I believe, Mr. Holmes.”
“Thank you, Codsworth, I’ll find him,” I said. “I’ll ask Ada to wait here with you, if that’s alright?”
“Of course, sir, couldn’t be happier to keep a lady company. It isn’t often I get to talk to a new robot. And, if I may say, madam, I’ve never met an assaultron with such distinct modifications as yours.”
Cait groaned and hurried out the door. I followed. “I don’t think I’ve heard him flirt before,” I mused.
“I would’ve laughed at or decked any guy that tried a line like that on me,” Cait said.
“I can imagine.” I stopped her outside the Agency’s door, “Cait, you don’t have to come with me if you aren’t interested in helping. I’m not doing this for pay, I feel it is a responsibility to stop whoever this madman creating robots is. I know you have no love of the Minutemen philosophy, or robots, or my partner who will be accompanying us.”
She shrugged, "I figure makin’ sure you aren’t killed by robots might be a way to repay you."
"You don’t have to repay me for anything."
"Debt’s debt, and I don’t like owin’. So, we gonna go rip up some more circuits or not?"
I sighed, defeated, and we went inside the Agency.
Valentine was finishing business with a client. Ellie sat at the front desk, a carefully neutral expression on her face. The man paid my partner, said thank you, and left without a word. Everyone relaxed.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Ungrateful asshole,” Ellie grumbled.
“Not the most pleasant of men,” Valentine said, “but he paid and didn’t haggle.”
I frowned. “What happened?” I repeated, serious.
“Relax, partner,” Valentine smiled softly, “nothin’ happened I’m not used to. How’d it go at Starlight Drive-In?”
The client had either been dismissive of Valentine’s humanity or blatantly offensive in reference to his mechanical nature. I ignored my defensive frustration and focused, “The security around the settlement is improved, I expect they’ll be fine for the immediate future, but we have more pressing concerns. There is a client waiting for us at the house.”
“At the house?”
“She’s talking with Codsworth. She’s a modified assaultron.”
“An assaultron?” Ellie exclaimed.
“Those girls pack a punch,” Valentine mused. “What’s one want with some detectives?”
“Her caravan was attacked. She was the only survivor.”
“And she wants to find the folks responsible,” Valentine nodded, somber. Many of his clients come looking for the same thing. I had been one of them.
“We already know that,” Cait said, growing impatient, “we just have to wreck enough robots til we find where the madman’s hidin’ out.”
Valentine was... puzzled. “I trust the lady waiting at the house is going to fill in the details,” he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the desk drawer, “but what’s your interest, Cait?”
“Interest? I got a contract with Holmes to follow him around, so that’s what I’m doin’.” Valentine glanced at me, clearly skeptical. Cait bristled and said to me, "Good thing he wears that coat to tell him from the rest of the scrap metal I'm gonna be shooting at. Find me when you're ready to go." She walked out.
"Explain to me why the hell I'm putting up with this charming new friend of yours," Valentine lit a cigarette. "Better yet, explain why you're letting her run with you in the first place."
“She wants to repay me,” I said.
“For what?” Valentine demanded with a scowl.
"She doesn't seem the type to feel grateful," Ellie added.
I nodded, “She’s brash, selfish, and apparently doesn’t have a compassionate bone in her body, not to mention her opinions of synths... and yet, she insists that she owes a debt to me, and keeping me from being killed seems to be the method of repayment she has deemed appropriate.”
Valentine frowned, “You still haven’t said why she thinks she owes you.”
“I believe it’s because I treat her like a person.”
Valentine was perfectly still for a long moment. Then slowly, his expression softened, his stance shifting as cigarette smoke curled through the gaps in his neck. “Guess I can’t argue with that. How about I meet this client of yours?”
I introduced Valentine to Ada, who remarked on how fascinating it was to meet a mechanical model of synth that wasn't hostile. He took it in stride, and Ada repeated her story. Shaun had brought Nat Wright over, and they listened with full attention. Codsworth made it known he would gladly accompany us, but couldn't abandon his duty to Shaun. As Piper was out of town on unknown business, he also felt responsible for Nat. Ada thanked him and praised his devotion to protecting his family. With a smile, Valentine took that as our cue to head out.
"Let's round up your bodyguard and hit the road," he said. We didn't have to go far; Cait was coming back from Solomon's chem shop next door as I left the house. She wordlessly fell in line alongside us, and together Valentine, Ada, Cait, and I headed east in search of the Mechanist's robots.
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