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cecedownbad · 5 months

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Hold On

Summary: A missing child's case resurfaced so many memories you wished to keep buried. Sure enough, seeking comfort from the heavy feelings came by as a form of a person. [Spencer Reid X Fem!Reader] Part 2.

Warning: Child abduction, death of a child, angst, no Y/N, made up last name: Cyrus, made up case, light fluff, hurt/ comfort, not too romance-y but alluding to it, not proof read, I don't think the mystery/crime aspect is good but let me hear thoughts guys. Something extra in tags, read after the story.

Word Count: 4.1k

Part 1

I'm so sorry this took so long, my exams, mental health, projects, assignments allll just rolled in the past months, and I've been doing everything to stay on top of writing. It's rushed towards the end but with all that's going on I hope it's okay. If anyone is up for part 3, I'm all for it .

Enjoy

"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."

-George Santayana

'Okay, let's see, Conrad Miller, 16 years old, went missing on June 12th, 2007. Last seen by the local church with one of the volunteers, she was questioned once but was never linked as she had a solid alibi, her name was Grace Cyrus.' Tara paused. 'So she took Conrad, no she definitely didn't just take him, poor kid is definitely not okay.'

'Right now Stephen is our priority, the anniversary of Steven's disappearance is in 4 days, so what does she want with him now?' You pace in the room, spinning a pen you grabbed in your hand. 'I think that's something only you can answer, what happened 4 days prior to Steven's disappearance?' Tara pondered, she sat down, looking at you, intent on finding answers. '4 days prior…that was the day my dad— Daniel had come to visit, they, Grace and him got into a fight and Stevie, Steven tried to "protect" Daniel in his own way, he thought Mom was going to hurt him…'

Was it then that this all weighed down on you? Words long lost had started pouring through the cracks of memories locked away. You were never in that station in that moment, no, now you were back there.

'Stevie, get back here! We can't stop them!'

'No! No let go! I don't want Dad to go, Mom's going to send him away!'

'Steven!'

No matter how hard you tried, he slipped from your tensed grasp, landing right between two enraged adults.

Pacing the floor helped gather your thoughts, a little better.

'What was the very last thing she said to you when you left?'

The thought of how it all ended passed through your minds, each time much like a bullet to the brain but you push it all down, now wasn't the right time for you. 'everything okay there?' Tara asked you, it's only been a few minutes since you and Tara confronted the idea that Grace might have done more than anyone could have put together.

'Yeah just a lot going on in my head, I think I need a breather.'

'Hold that thought, JJ and Luke are back with Daniel,'

Your hand now wrapped around the empty coffee mug, a dad you haven't spoken to for the last two decades, what would you have to say? or better yet, what would he say to you? This isn't an official reunion, it's an interrogation and who knows what will spill out of your mouth if you see the very first man in your life that disappointed you, taught you that having a person in your life was enough to make you fall apart.

'JJ and I will go in first, you sit tight.' Tara patted your shoulder giving it a good squeeze before heading out the conference room.

It was soon after that Rossi, Reid and Emily came back in, all three harnessing disappointment with their stride. 'Hey, what happened?'

'Well, Rosa was not in her home, we searched the house and by the looks of it, she hardly came back there.' Emily sat down with her legs crossed. 'but, her room had keepsakes, maybe from the time you lived with her?'

'What did she have?'

'She had pictures, some old folded drawings, and the weirdest one, an old juice box.' as Emily finished, you sat up from your chair, 'an old juice box? Do you remember what flavour?'

'I think it was Apple? Why? Does it have something to do with Steven?'

'…'

'Cyrus?'

'That, uh, it's nothing, I think sentimental feelings do surface no matter what kind of person you are.' You began fidgeting with your sleeves, your mind now slowly began recalling events that transpired long ago. 'Is there something else? It looks like you aren't sure about something.' Rossi eyed your movements, he knew something was keeping you. 'My mother, she'd never show any sign that she felt remorse, not even as far as I could remember.'

'Okay Reid, stay with her, I'm going to check in with JJ and the rest. Rossi? Do you mind?' soon after, Rossi and Emily exited the room, leaving you and Spencer in the conference room. 'Could you tell me what kind of person your mother is?' Spencer sat down right before you, urging you to take a seat right next to him and you did.

'She was an uptight woman, she loved to be in control of her life that meant being in control of mine too, it's why I left. She loved being seen.'

'Being seen? What do you mean?'

'She was always a respected figure no matter where she went, be it at work or in the neighborhood, she pushed for that at home too. When Steven had disappeared, I would always remember how she would tell me he was in a better place, and that if I do anything to disobey her or question her authority, I would be punished.' your head hung as you remembered more, 'I would study, day and night, that was the only life I knew, if my grades dropped by a mark, she'd lock me in my room, made sure I only had books on my desk.'

'Did Daniel ever drop by after what happened to Steven?' Spencer asked gently, 'No, I never saw him after that, I thought he finally got sick of mom and left, but I see now that wasn't the case.'

'Okay—'

'You know the one thing I can't seem to remember though?' you looked up at Spencer, his eyebrows now furrowed in question. 'My mother would always say how beautiful I am, and…and that I look just like her, her very own reflection but, Spencer, I can't…I can't remember her face.' your voice sounded shattered at what came out of it. You felt the tears fall, but you couldn't turn away or hide them, Spencer saw just how much this hurts you.

'You are your own person, no one can ever take that from you, no matter what, you are you.' He held your hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of your palm, that gave you a sign of comfort and you smiled at him. 'Alright, let's get back to the case.' quickly wiping away your tears and pasting on a smile, which you flash at Spencer, he in turn regained a more unmoving figure. 'When you said Rosa knew that Steven would never come back, what did you mean?'

'I was only a kid but to me it felt like she already knew that Steven had maybe...and all I could remember was a frown anytime I even remotely related to Steven.' You return with an answer. It was then the phone on the table went off.

'What is it Garcia?'

'So I dug into Daniel a bit more, and you aren't going to like this, so he was actually never in Bakersfield until a week ago, before that he was working as a cab driver in Nevada. He was in Nevada for a long time, but he touched base sometime in 2007, in the month of June. Looks like he tried several times to contact his ex wife but she never entertained any of it. What is concerning is that he was reported of stalking a young boy, said he mistook the boy for a boy he knew and he meant no harm but he was fired from his workplace and when was that? A little before coming over to Bakersfield.' Once Garcia had informed both of you, it was then JJ, Emily and Luke walked back in.

'What did the boy look like?' Spencer asked, 'I sent his picture to your phone.'

'Thank you Garcia.' You picked up your cell and scrolled through to find the image.

'No problemo.'

Upon quick inspection, you could tell at a glance the young boy and Steven shared a few similarities, nothing too obvious except hair colour and facial structure, age is the more obvious factor.

JJ walked in, arms crossed, she sighed but began asking what Garcia checked in for, 'Looks like Daniel was fired from his work place prior to coming to Bakersfield a week before Stephen's abduction.' You informed the three.

'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's a trigger for him.' Emily began, 'Yeah, I agree.' and Luke followed suit.

'So he not only gets rejected by his ex-wife, but fired from his work place for stalking a boy that looks like his son, then he goes and kidnaps a boy that Rosa seemingly dotes on? Something doesn't add up.' JJ looked on with confusion. 'How did it go with him?' you asked finally.

'Said he had something vital for the case but he would only discuss it with you.' Emily sat down, her voice already etching with exhaustion. 'He's hiding something and my gut is saying it can't be good.'

'I'll go talk to him.' You were close to leaving the room, but Emily had halted your motions.

'Wait,'

'Yeah?'

'Reid will go with you, Tara might want to step out.' You gave a quick nod to Emily's order.

Every step to the interrogation room, you could hear the pained voices of yours, more precisely, from when you were a child. A young girl, alone in a room with nothing but her thoughts, you swallowed hard as you stood by the entrance of the viewing room. When you entered, you let Spencer call Tara from the interrogation room to the viewing room. 'No matter what, don't give in to his requests, you need to break him down, and if you ever want to leave, you can.' Tara gave you a small nudge and she stayed back in the room.

This was it, you let Spencer lead you into the interrogation room, allowing him to get there before you creeped on behind.

'How many times do I need to tell you people? Can't you bring my daug—you, your—'

'Let me be very clear, you have something vital for this case and I'm willing to hear you out, but say or do anything and you will be escorted out of the door by agents, understood?' the firm voice you let out hid every sorry cry that was wailing in you, having not seen your father for 20 years was a shock but not something that should be seen. 'Look at you, what it's been 15, 20 years, oh my beautiful little angel, I missed you.' honey coated words slipped from his mouth and every cell in you twisted in anger and contempt, 'Mr. Carter, the case.' Spencer stepped in this time.

'Always in such a hurry, well, since you brought my little girl. I know where the kid is being held.' He sat there with no remorse, no care that a child, close to the age of the son he lost years ago, was missing.

'Where might that be?'

'I can take you there, but I'll only go if she goes with me.'

After so long, he cares or at least that's what he's showing but you knew what he was playing at, he thought he could get away light just because his flesh and blood was in the justice system, what a sorry bastard.

'I think we're done here.' Spencer had got up from his chair but you stayed seated, deal or not you wanted to break the man in front of you and that was what was nailing you down to your chair. 'Mr. Carter, what good will it do if I went with you? Was it not enough that you came in here demanding to see your daughter about a case I know damn well you don't care about?' you pressed, choice of words were clearly targeted but your composure remained cool. 'What do you mean, you know what happened to Stevi—'

'Your son that you never bothered to report missing? I don't believe you have a right to bring that up, Sir.'

'Now listen here—'

'In the time Rosa had left you behind, you did nothing but fail to bring yourself together, I have a question for you, what were you doing on June 12th, 2007? Why did you come back to Bakersfield prior to that date?' you swiped through the tablet that Tara handed to you, it contained everything Garcia had found including some case files. 'I don't know why you're asking me that, don't you have the life of a boy to save?' He avoided it with such harshness, you only wanted to pry further but somehow it felt like you knew the answer, but the words never fell into place.

'Answer the question Daniel.' Spencer sat back down now jabbing at him as well. 'I just had someone to meet, is that really so important?'

'Why did you need to meet them? Did you coming back here have anything to do with Rosa Cyrus, your ex-wife?' Your slowly tapped at the desk, it was a timed beat. 'I did visit her once but that—'

'Were you aware that a teenager was reported missing around the same time you arrived here? His name was Conrad Miller, he was 16 years old.'

'W-what? I-I don't know anything about that.'

'Really? Because it says in the case files that Rosa was the last person to have seen Conrad, but you knew that didn't you?' He flinched at the response, at this point he wore a sign that screamed suspicious.

It was then that Daniel remained silent, you believed that any word that came out of him at that point would dig his grave deeper.

You stepped out of the room and walked into the room behind the mirror. 'Now he won't speak,' Rossi now stood there with his arms in his pocket.

'We need to find Rosa and Stephen soon, the man is hiding something and Rosa is the key to finding out why.' Rossi took the words right out of your mouth, looks you both knew what he was playing at.

'I think I can help with that, how much can you guys bet on a gut feeling?' You asked the three of them, weary of their answer, 'At this point? I'll take it.' Rossi let out, the two soon followed. 'Rosa will most likely be at the house we used to live in, which is not in this area, I'm hoping that she's keeping Stephen safe,'

'Safe? How come?' Tara asked you, 'Daniel here, came a week prior to Stephen's abduction, not only did he lose his job before coming here, he needed to have a reason to come here,' you deduce.

'His reason being Rosa? But wouldn't that not trigger Rosa?' Looks like you still needed to elaborate your theory, so you continued. 'It did, Rosa having heard that Daniel came here must have caused her protective instinct to kick in, call me crazy, but I think Rosa is keeping Stephen away from Daniel.' you finally let out a sigh, your palms clammed from sweat but if you were right, the little boy you came here for was safe.

'A mother's protective instinct, I'm guessing that something happened 20 years ago that she didn't agree on, which caused her to completely reject this guy, I'll have Garcia send the address of her prior location.' Rossi curtly exited the room, Tara followed along.

Spencer stood before you in silence, you didn't register any movement from him because all your focus was on the man, sitting on the other side of that glass.

'You can go on ahead, Reid, I need to talk to him.'

'But I can't let you go in alone...'

You huffed, your eyes did what it could but meet his but looking away won't make what you want go away, 'Given the chance, I might punch the daylights out of him—'

'More of a reason for me to stay.'

Spencer interrupted, you returned with a sharp look in your eyes before you relaxed, 'Let me finish, I would want to give him a piece of my mind but I need to know, I just, he's the only one that has got to know something about Steven, maybe I can finally put him to rest.'

It was selfish, that's what you called it, asking for just one more clue when you couldn't do anything before. Maybe now that helpless little girl all those years ago, can see her brother off. 'I need to do this, alone...'

'...'

You stood there, waiting for something, a sound from him in response, anything at all. 'I'll wait here, being short of another agent will not slow down the rest of the team.' He'd finished but his response ticked you, it poked at the idea of a child being monitored by their parents.

'I don't need you watching my every move, Reid.'

'I'm just following orders.'

'Following orders? Do I look like a child to you? Do I need a leash around my neck too? I can handle him, he's one man!' Your voice raised, and you stared up at your fellow colleague with a ray of contempt.

'A man you can't stand being around for long, you sounded just fine in there earlier to anyone that watched, but do you want to know what I saw? I saw that you were holding back, hard enough your hands curled at his answers, your feet apart was enough for me to know that you would have given Emily a reason for you to be dismissed from the case.' He'd stated what was right, but it wasn't right to you, not right now, you don't know when it would be. 'I'll wait here, you can go in alone.'

Your feet put you in place for a good moment, his words tore right through you. He was right, somewhere in your clouded judgement, you understood he was right, but just because you understood doesn't mean you accepted it.

With a second left to pass, you turned from Spencer. All in silence, it was accepted that you had a job to uphold, no matter the personal toll.

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The dial ups in the station, voices of police officers, movement all around you had become void. Nothing, that's what you heard when you left the interrogation room, you couldn't even hear one Agent calling out to you when you had left. Something gathered, something rotten had formed in your stomach. Your body felt hot, your head on a swivel.

You felt the acid burn at your throat, the half conscious part of you managed to drag your feet to a bathroom stall for you to expel the choux pastry you ingested.

Standing before the mirror now, you washed your mouth, feeling the remnants of the expelled food at your throat.

Nothing felt right to you, not right then, not right now. Having no mind to lose any more time, Reid waited in the conference room as you begrudgingly walked yourself back into it. You said nothing.

You dialed in Emily immediately, hoping she hadn't reached the house yet. 'What have you got for me Cyrus?'

'I spoke to Daniel.'

'What did he say?'

'He'd been sending frequent messages and calling my mother, they met once, 2007. There was an argument and Conrad had gotten in-between the two of them, it didn't end well.' you informed her, almost mechanically.

'What did he say about Steven?' JJ chimed in.

'Steven was, he said he was never meant to be hurt and Rosa in the mess of things, covered up for him. He told me where...I know where his body is.' Your voice strained, as it got to harsher details.

Nothing came out though, you tried filling in the rest of the details but your voice was overtaken. A pleading look carried over to Spencer and he took over. 'He said that you have to ask where he's sleeping, Rosa's delusion right at this moment is that Steven would come back.'

'Okay, we'll get back to you as soon as we're done here.' The line cut. If you'd carried a boulder on your shoulders, the weight of it might be the same as your conscience. All that was left was you see a family reunited and you get the closure you've been searching for.

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The team was back, so was the little boy, he was safe. The Turner family could now go home with their son safe and sound in their grasp.

'Nothing beats seeing that.' you stood, satisfied in a way, the others agreed in unison to your words.

'Cyrus, I need to have a word with you.' Emily called you to a secluded corner of the station, but you had no fear built in you, in fact you felt rather empty, exhausted enough to be emotionally drained. 'We found Steven...' she said quietly.

'Where was he?' you met her in the eyes, having nothing left to tie you down. 'Remains were found in the wall of a small bedroom, it looked like he was initially buried but moved there later.' Every word had struck you, the smaller bedroom was your shared one, no doubt. 'Was he, uh, covered?' a crack sounded in your voice.

It took Emily a moment before answering, 'He was...'

The last bit of remorse. You'd promised yourself for 20 years that he was found. Part of you wanted him to be alive, maybe he ran off and just found a better life or he was on the streets, alive at least. But you knew how far-fetched that sounded, hope was the one thing you were aware that could end you. '...Thank you, can I, um, I want to be alone.'

'Of course, take all the time you need, listen, once this is over I need to speak with you, but only when you're ready, okay?' She patted the side of your shoulders, adhering to your request, she left you alone.

You let out a wavered breath, trying to breathe in and out to calm yourself. What you needed now was to mourn, you knew that but having a hard cry at this moment would slow down everyone.

Not long after, Rosa and Daniel had gotten arrested. You couldn't catch a glimpse at her face, or more accurately, you refused to see the face you'd forgotten. That didn't bother you that much, as a mother she never cared to look out for you, there wasn't any good reason to remain adherent to the details.

Bakersfield PD would have no more reason to have you stay, for now at least but before you could leave it all behind, Steven deserved a proper burial.

The Funeral was small, no relatives, just few friends from school and the BAU were attending, with Chief Marks as well to pay respects.

You stood over the coffin, looking at how small it was, how it all came to an end, all in silence. Quietly you watched as the coffin was buried, soil tossed over it but before it was over, you had to have one last goodbye.

'I did what I promised, took you long enough to come back from playing, huh? You must be tired, rest well, Stevie.' The Carnation held in your hand had been placed on the coffin, a mark of innocence now put to rest. Once it was all over, you stood, not waiting or expecting anything but just, letting the weight gradually let go of you. This was what you needed yet, it didn't feel enough, something remained in you.

Footsteps were heard behind you, and you took a peak at the intruder before lifting the corners of your mouth to him. 'He was a handful you know, always wanted my attention no matter what, saying that one day he'd make it to the moon just so he could get me some space rock.' Spencer said nothing to your bouts of reminiscence, 'He told me once, "I'm going to be no.1, so watch me!" I thought he was being silly, Dad left right after and we were alone, it was us against the world.' It all came back, then you knew what you hadn't let go, knew what it was that made you feel utterly at loss.

'Hey, Spencer, you don't have to do this, but, um, I...' You wanted to ask just for a bit, that little comfort that you so desperately pushed away.

Without another word, he lightly turned to face you. Your mind was too caught up on other memories that when you felt his arms wrap around you, you didn't think for that second. All it took was this to let it all go, no longer in silence but in wailing agony.

He didn't need another word, he simply knew. It was like some crazed superpower of his but it's like he's always known.

He couldn't let go.

Tagging:

@treehouse-mouse

#once again Im so sorry about the late update on the fic #the ending was a bit rushed I'm sorry about that but i hope it's okay #i actually wanted to add Matt to this but because of time constraints I couldn't so #here's a little of what happened afterwards for anyone reading tags #matt was away because his wife was expecting but he dropped by after the case #he got worried about you but you were more happy about him and his family #emily asked if you wanted to continue in the bau you said yes but she said you should take time off so you did #you and spencer have this insane slow burn office romance going on after #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #dr spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #criminal minds #cm x you #criminal minds x you #criminal minds x reader #spencer x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader #self insert #kinda #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #penelope garcia #luke alvez #david rossi #jj

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bunny-dr34ms · 9 months

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youth is a storm - bffs!g.suguru g.satoru i.shoko x f!reader

summary. one night you see a picture of your high school friends and you think back to your youth as you reminisce how wonderfully catastrophic it was

w.c. 2985

cw/ tw; fem!reader, angst, underage drinking and smoking, irresponsible students, family issues, neglect, bully kind of,

features; g.satoru, g.suguru, i.shoko

an; i hope you guys enjoy this !! i think the trio in their youth must've been fun <3

You love bad ideas.

And no one knows that better than your 3 best friends who were always part of each reckless plan. That's why the 4 of you are getting wasted on the beach. Tonight's scheme is a last hurrah before you officially say goodbye to your high school days.

"I'm so glad I have you guys with me." You giggled after you took another swig from some fruity beer. "Let's be friends forever!" Suguru chuckled behind you, turning his hand to take a deep inhale of his cigarette. He sat on a plastic chair with you in his lap, his arm hanging lazily behind him. The boy barely fit in the chair with how large he was so he had his legs spread wide and had you lean against him.

"Yeah yeah whatever you say sweet thing." Satoru chimed in waving his hand around, a blunt sticking loosely in his fingers. He was manspreading in a similar chair next to you with dark glasses hanging on the bridge of his nose. The way his blue eyes drooped and the way his words slurred told you he was starting to feel it.

Shoko sat under Satoru and had her head resting against his leg, her hand reaching for the lighter as she lit another cigarette. "The school must be glad to get the lot of you out." All of you couldn't help but laugh as 4 years of memories flooded your minds. It really would be nice to stay friends with all of them.

4 misfits that didn't fit in, even now with each other. Satoru and Suguru were basketball jocks who cared for nothing but themselves. Shoko was one of the smartest people in school, even with her hobby of cigarettes and beers. Then there was you. A ditzy cheerleader that would wreak havoc wherever you went. The sound of ocean waves was soothing in the background and you closed your eyes and began to think back.

You first met them in the first month of freshman year, under the bleachers during late hours in front of the school. You just came back from an away game and didn't want to go home so you took the time to smoke a cigarette. Unfortunately, you realized you finished your pack before the game and sighed in defeat looking at the empty box with save for your hello kitty lighter.

All of a sudden, you hear muttering and loud whispers a couple feet away from you. You walk a little closer, trying to stay in the shadows so you didn't get caught for eavesdropping. "Are the both of you idiots? You bring blunts without a lighter?" "It was Satoru. My job was just getting the goods." "You- Stop blaming it on me like you didn't lose your lighter." "Oh? So where's yours?" "In your fucking mom's hou-" "Wait shut the fuck up- I think someone's here."

It went silent and you become hyperaware of yourself. Unknowingly, you kept moving closer and closer to hear what they were saying. Your hot pink glitter lighter that you pressed against your chest with both hands reflected the light back which got you caught.

"Hey. If you let us borrow your lighter, I'll give you one."

Your upperclassmen stepped out of the shadows. There was three of them and the girl was offering a box of Marlboro Reds that only had one stick left. There was already one in her lips, her expression nonchalant with dark circles under her eyes. You know her as one of the geniuses of the school who's won a couple awards for science.

Behind her were two infamous basketball jocks known for their looks and immense skill. They looked at you with strained expressions. You heard how they weren't fond of people they didn't know. They glance at the lighter clutched in your hand and their expression changes slightly for the better. The boy you know as Satoru leaned forward with a smile and said, "You heard her. Let us use your lighter and you get a free cig!"

You think about and nod gratefully while you hand her the lighter. You would've gave it to them even if they didn't give something back anyway. "Really!? You're a life saver Ieiri!" All you knew about them was their name and somethings about what they did. Shoko was that she was a total science nerd and wanted to be a doctor. Satoru was a rich tease that became has a talent for anything he did. Suguru was a ladies man with brains, brawn, and money. You knew the three of them but you didn't think they'd all be in one group. "How'd you know I smoke though?"

“Under the bleachers was a popular smoke spot for students and teachers alike but it's not like you can tell who smoked what when.”

You watch as the boy pull out blunts from a tin to light up with your lighter. Satoru catches you staring and smirks with the roll between his lips. Embarrassed, you can't help but blush and look away. "Ha! You think you're sneaky when you smoke a couple feet away from me? Plus only cheer girls like you smoke Pianissimo." Shoko laughs as she hands you your lighter so you could light yours up. You almost cough at the bitterness but you choke it down before exhaling out grey.

"What? Red too strong for you?"

"As if."

There was a haughty tone in your voice but rasp contradicted your claim. Now even more embarrassed, you tugged your bow and tousled your hair, feeling your scalp tingle from the release of the tight pony tail. You combed your hair as you looked at the girl next to you who tapped the ashes from the her cigarette. "Sooo..Why are you here at school?"

Shoko shrugged inhaling through the cigarette and exhaling her answer. "Studying." Your tilted head and confused look was enough question for her. "Can't study at home. I can't focus there so I sneak around and stay at school."

You continue to stare at her and nod. You knew how that felt. To not want to go home, or rather the house where only chaos ensued. "I don't wanna go home either." You whispered, not taking your eyes off Shoko. "Umm..if you don't mind me asking. Why do you smoke such strong stuff? It's not like it's cheaper or anything." Red is actually way more expensive and hard to get as a student. Even as you asked your question, you couldn't stop your eyes from wandering to the two boys smoking weed. You thought you had it bad, but these guys are on a whole different level. A sudden wave of sadness sends a sharp ache in your heart. Were they like you? Hiding away in the night to find an escape from what was supposed to be a home? Did they also try to smother every emotion they felt in an attempt to be at least wanted?

The brown haired girl hummed her eyes closing for a second. "Anything not as strong as Red doesn't do anything for me anymore." She finally turns to meet your gaze. To her you look like a barely kept together mess. You hair and make up being pulled together with the tidiness of your cheer uniform. But your eyes, round eyes full of emotion and empathy. Something about your eyes makes her want to say more. "I smoke and drink because it's all my parents ever do. I tried it and I get it now."

"So? What's your deal?" She leans against the pole to her side allowing her to face you. Now you look away. "My mom has a scumbag husband. My dad has a cheating wife." It's not the most tragic story ever but both of your parents are so wrapped up in each other, they forget you exist. Or that you exist as their daughter and not their personal trauma dumpster.

Satoru looks at you from the corners of his eyes. He sees just how lonely you truly are because he can understand. in a way. He can understand how hard it is to be so devastatingly lonely even after working to get attention from everyone but the people you need it from the most. So that's when Satoru decides that you are worthy to be one of them.

He stares and stares until you turn and make eye contact with him. "You know, my parents hardly ever see me. They just tell me to make an appearance once in a while when their friends are over to show me off like I'm some prize they won." Satoru begins to ramble about his parents. He goes on and on about how they're always at work and no matter what he did they'd never spare him a glance. No matter how long he studied or what grades he got, nothing could win them over.

All you could do was sit there stunned and watch as Satoru explained wildly with his hands and expressions. When he comes to a close he looks deep into you and says, "I know what it's like, to be lonely but not alone." The sudden change of tone made your breath catch in your throat.

Suguru sighs and you realize he's been sitting there silently as Satoru went into detail of his life. He must've had to hear it a couple times already. He fixes his hair awkwardly and sighs again, "That's Satoru's way of making you feel better." You nod and you wonder if you're supposed to say thank you or ask if he's alright or tell him he's strong for growing through it all. Suguru cuts through your thoughts before you could say anything.

"I'm a little like that too.. My family is too focused on business to pay attention to me. They think I'm already a lost cause and they put everything else into my older brother. Not that I care much anyway."

A few moments of silence pass, the only sound being the four of you blowing smoke into the night. It was comfortable. Once the sticks burn away to nothing you smile at Shoko, the the two boys.

Has there been anywhere you’ve felt so safe? Or so at ease? Or so at peace with yourself? You turn to the and smile, your arms pressed a little awkwardly into your side.

“Can we..be friends?"

Shoko laughs quietly.

"Shoko. Call me Shoko."

“Hey if you call her Shoko you’d have to call me Satoru!”

“As if she’s calling you Satoru. She’ll call me Suguru before that happens.”

That night ended with a conversation that you so needed. Over cigarettes and blunts, you finally found friends you could cry to without judgement and they’d found someone that truly lightened the weight on their heart.

Ever since then, you and them were inseparable. Classmates whispered and gave the four of you odd glances but no one cared. You didn't need your fake cheer friends anyways. Shoko, Satoru, and Suguru were enough. Suguru held you while you cried. Shoko knew what you smoked and what you drank. Satoru listened as you blabbered on and on about what your mom did or what you dad said. You were enough too. You always went with Shoko on her late night studies and library runs. You always saw through Satoru and made him feel safe to spill whatever he needed to you. You kept Suguru company every time he needed to take hit late at night from stress.

They needed you as much as you needed them

And from then on, it was the four of you against the world. You stared at the picture in your hand with a soft smile. Those really were the times. So many bad decisions and mistakes were made but you were happy. Every night was hectic and you remember crying almost every day. The worst memories you had were fighting with your friends just to make up a couple days later. Underage drinking and smoking definitely caught up to you so you quit in college with just a few drinks here and there. Satoru quit with you actually. The stability of college was hard to adjust to but you worked hard because it was a chance given to you by Satoru and Suguru. There was no chance of getting into such a prestigious college with your record without their help. To be fair, those two were there by your side when you stole from small convenient stores and violated multiple property rules. Shoko was often busy with actually studying so whenever you had a terrible idea to execute, you'd find those two. They'd do anything with you and for you. You had a bit of a crush on the both of them back then and you'd like to think they liked you too. You couldn't help it with how they flirted with you and were so overprotective of you. You'll never admit it but if one of them asked you out now, you'd say yes. Your youth was a tornado of emotions and experiences that you wouldn't trade for the world. It was heartache and joy and liberating in all the ways it counted. It was your friends and your torn apart family. It was going to school late and leaving early. It was cramming to pass and skipping practice. It was lying on rooftops late at night with smoke and booze. It was running in the rain and yelling into thunder and laughing at lightning. Your youth was a storm.

It's been almost 7-8 years since then. Now you're all adults working on your own separate careers. Satoru and Suguru have been handling their own branches of their respective family businesses. Shoko has become one of the best surgeons in the prefecture. There's just you left.

Since then you've always thought about what you really wanted to do. You've wandered and dabbled in everything but nothing seemed to appeal you. Plus, you're not the same girl you were in high school anymore. You can't just run away from things you don't want to face. The world isn't as forgiving or as colorful anymore. Dark, lonely nights like tonight would still seem to glow back then. Not anymore, it seems. As of now, you work a nice modeling job for cosmetics. You were always pretty to look at and once you finally started investing in your face, modeling offers just came to you. You go around and take a few pictures for ads and magazines every once in a while. It pays well and it's comfortable. Parts of you still crave the rush of running around town late at night, drunk or high or both. The other part is grateful for the life you have now. You get to wear expensive clothes and drink expensive champagne in a expensive home. Younger you would look at the you now with stars in her eyes, you think. Leaning against the railing of your balcony in your apartment flat, you stare out into the night. The city below you was still bustling with life and bright colors. You take another sip of the fruity alcohol in your hand. Each sip makes your heart beat a little faster.

And your view of the city is pretty. The doorbell rings and you hear the door click open. "Y/n? You in there?" "Hey let me in first." "Shut up and just hold this." "No- what the fuck why would I hold it?" "Oh my god can both of you shut it? Y/n? You there?" The chorus of fighting and yelling of familiar voices makes your smile widen. You walk to greet them and their arguing takes a pause when they see your expression. They weren't used to your silence or the smile that came it with it. "What's wrong?" Shoko speaks first as she walks to you, her hands reaching for yours. Satoru and Suguru push through the door together and join you with curious and confused faces. It's been a good week or two since you've all gathered like this. Conflicting schedules and just being worn out kept you guys from meeting any sooner but tonight you suddenly texted them asking to see them. Seeing all of them now, worried for you and here for you because you asked made you want to cry. These are the people you grew with. The people who you cried and laughed with. These are the people who are always by your side no matter what happens. They are your home. You can't help but pull them into a hug. Your face was probably red and hot from alcohol. The room felt like it was swaying under your feet as you took a deep breath. Their arms wrapped around you tightly and you closed your eyes. The picture and your drink sat on a small table on your balcony. Your smiling and carefree faces with arms wrapped around each other was immortalized in that photo. You're no longer the girl in that picture and your friends have changed too. But that's okay. You'll continue to grow with these people by your side. It's fine to live in the moment as adults too right? "Y/n?" Satoru calls out your name, pulling you out of your thoughts. You pull away from them and you realize you're teary eyed. Yeah, you're all adults now and your youth is far behind you. It's okay though. Life is different but you still have them. You'll continue to walk through each moment together. You wipe your tears and Suguru rubs your back to comfort you. "Y/n..did something happen? Is that why you called us here today?" You shake you head with a smile and when you look back up at them, you swear for a minute you can see their high school selves stare back at you. Or maybe it was the alcohol. Either way, it was them here. That's all that matters. "It's nothing. I just missed you guys. That's all."

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu geto #jjk shoko #shoko ieiri #geto #suguru #gojo #satoru #jjk x reader #jjk #x reader #jjk drabbles #jjk x you #jjk oneshot

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hesbuckcompton-baby · 4 months

Text

I just HAD to write something for the Ron x Val Medieval AU. We all knew this was coming. They're ingrained in my brain and I'm going absolutely insane. Shout out to @xxluckystrike and @dcyllom for hyping this up, love you guys!!!

The smell of smoke, ale and blood filled the air of the tourney ground, the deafening clang of sword against armour suppressing all other sound, save for the raucous cheers of the crowds, the peasants and nobility alike leaping to their feet to clap and shout for each victory or violent loss. It was near halfway through the third day of the tournament - an ironic way to celebrate the returning troops who now risked their very life and limb in the games, Valerie thought - but her father had always enjoyed marking their victories with indulgence and sport.

Hidden away from the action and excitement, Valerie crouched beside one of the huge barrels of wine, waiting in the dimly lit tent for the returning knights to drink and celebrate, pouring a thin stream of the red liquid into her goblet, tongue drawn between her teeth in concentration. It was likely she had another thirty minutes before the King and Queen noticed her prolonged absence from the festivities and sent someone to find her, and she aimed to make the most of this time. So concentrated was she in pouring herself a glass - balanced on the balls of her feet, eyes level with the spout in the low light - that she did not notice another figure enter the tent behind her.

"Your Highness?" An almost familiar voice spoke, low and smooth, but enough to surprise her, the goblet tumbling onto the grass below.

"Oh, damn it all," She muttered, stretching up to stand, gaze fixed on the wine as it soaked into the dirt until it was gone.

"My apologies," Ronald Speirs, somewhat shrouded in shadow, stepped forward, and Valerie watched as he bent down to retrieve the cup for her, brow furrowed as he momentarily considered refilling it before reaching for a clean one instead. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Her brow furrowed as he pressed the newly filled goblet into her palm. Everyone knew about Ronald Speirs - of his bravery, his reputation as one of the greatest warriors their kingdom had ever seen - and yet here he stood, entirely plainclothed, not so much as a shoulder plate to armour himself.

"You're not competing?" She asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"I'm no tourney knight," He frowned, scoffing, reverential tone almost gone before he seemed to remember who he was talking to. He offered a respectful nod in penance.

Valerie almost laughed. "Uh oh. Is the Great Warrior Ser too good for such things?" Teasing, she took another goblet from the table nearby, pouring a second cup of wine and handing it to him.

"Entirely," Ron smirked, raising the cup to his lips, his gaze never leaving hers. If she had been one of the more sheepish women of the court, Valerie might have blushed. Instead, the self-same smirk mirrored itself in her expression, cheeks creasing in the dim light.

"Well, in that case, you'll just have to come and watch," She shrugged, making her way towards the half-open tent flap.

He let out a huff of laughter, shaking his head. "No, I don't watch."

Valerie looked over at him, raising a brow in scrutiny. "I hope you're not about to make a habit of disobeying your princess," She remarked, a humourous glint in her eye that he could scarcely refuse.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The joust was in full swing, wooden shields exploding into clouds of splinters as lances collided at speed, the crowd whooping and jeering as the occasional knight was flung from his horse into the mud below. In a narrow gap between the huge stands, Valerie watched on, out of sight from the crowds, her official seat as princess notably empty in the royal box. Ron stood a short distance behind her, a presumed attempt to preserve propriety, as the space was barely wide enough for them to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and he didn't like the idea of being caught in such a position.

She laughed as another knight was toppled from his horse, polished armour muddied and scratched as he rolled sideways along the field. "Come here, you can't see it from back there," Val glanced back at Ron, gesturing for him to approach. He stood still for a moment, opening his mouth to protest before she interrupted. "That's an order, Ser. I thought you were usually good at following those."

Shoulders tensed, he awkwardly approached, the pair standing with their backs pressed against opposite walls, a last-ditch attempt at preserving some space between them. As the current round of jousting ended, and the victor was declared, Ron realised she had noticed the scowl that creased his expression as he watched over the proceedings.

"He's a pompous ass," He muttered, gesturing to the winner. "Fathered three bastards whilst we were away, too."

"Really?" Val gasped, a chuckle escaping her throat as he nodded in affirmation. Ron had not struck her as the type to know about his comrade's personal lives, let alone gossip about them. But she had always been enthralled by the scandalous secrets of others, for she had none of her own... yet.

"Oh, yes, on three different women," He continued, awkward restraint ebbing away as she realised he was beginning to enjoy himself, pointing out various knights visible from where they stood. "Today is the first time I've seen that one sober in weeks - terrible drunkard. The one next to him's no better - spent every peaceful night of the campaign in the whorehouse... forgive me, your Highness, that was improper."

"No, no," She grinned, shaking her head. "I'm having a marvellous time."

It was at that moment, across the joust field, that Valerie noticed her mother appear suddenly incensed, gesturing irritably at her daughter's empty seat, sending away a small group of guards, presumably to locate her. "Damn," She uttered.

"What is it?" Ron asked, surveying their surroundings for any possible issue. His eyes widened as she seized his hand, the softness of her palm starkly contrasting his, the rough, calloused skin a result of years of work, a scattering of scars as testament to a youth spent training with a blade. She tugged him from their hidden alcove and out into the maze of tents behind the tourney ground, darting between them as he followed, brow furrowed in confusion.

"My mother's looking for me," Val explained hurriedly, eyes wide as she paused for a moment, the pair shrouded by the canvas canopies. "Quick, you know this place better than I do. Where do I go?"

Ron paused, feeling her hurried heartbeat against his fingertips as they briefly brushed against her wrist. Earlier that morning, she had almost certainly looked immaculate, but now her intricately braided hairstyle was undoing itself, a few loose strands hanging low in her face.

She was almost certainly going to get him in trouble.

He found he didn't care.

"This way."

#band of brothers #ronald speirs #ronald speirs x ofc #ronald speirs x oc #medieval au #ron x val #oc: valerie #band of brothers oc #band of brothers au

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divamazing · 1 year

Note

Thank you for my last request! That was awesome! And I had another idea in my head. Arcane!Viktor x bride!Reader. I would like to see how Viktor will propose to Reader, and what their wedding will be like. Thank you very much!

Arcane Viktor proposing to reader

His feelings for you were kept as a secret for a very long time

You made him feel butterflies, mind filled with curiosity and his lonely, empty heart filled with joy

What is that feeling called? Is that crush, love, something more than love?

You two are in a happy relationship already...but... would you want to take it on another level, Y/N?

Y/N, Will you marry me? - he said while taking an elegant box from his pocket with the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen inside of it. His eyes shining, hands shaking, he starts stuttering

„I mean, I understand if you want to wait a little longer, there's no rush”

You decided to stop the chatter and placed your finger on his lips. I will be your wife, i will marry you

The moment you officially became engaged, it felt like time stopped.

You will be his, you already are, and he is yours

The wedding is entirely up to you.

Unfortunately, he does not know about decorations, cakes, music and the place where the party will be held.

Of course he will advise you.

"Do you prefer to plan everything yourself or hire someone to do it? We can choose wedding rings, a place that will meet expectations, a cake, wedding rings and invitations together”

„Don't worry, we'll pick something. Why don't we go to the cake shop tomorrow to see what wedding cakes they have in the catalog? Or let's design our own!” - you said happily

„We can do that. We'll go there in the morning and I'm sure they'll advise us something. You know, they have a coffee shop there too. Why don't we go there for coffee and cookies after we're done with picking wedding cake?”

„We will also stop by the flower shop so that we can buy you your favorite flowers. Flowers, coffee, cookies, do you like this idea to spend the day?”

Forgive me for skipping the wedding part. I know absolutely nothing about weddings, but i hope this request is done correctly 🤍

#arcane #arcane viktor #viktor x reader #viktor x y/n #arcane viktor x reader #arcane viktor x you #league of legends x reader #league of legends #riot games

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x-xsunlightx-x · 1 year

Note

HII SUNNY HOPE UR HAVING A GREAT DAY/NIGHT<333 can I please make a request after that test came out of the king poet soldier one I got soldier and I can’t help but think of goo being king so can u please make something where goo is a king of a kingdom and he’d have a soldier that is always by his side worrying about him no matter what , if u don’t want to u can just delete or ignore this thank u sunny❤️

Letters ( Goo x reader )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you serious about this?"

You watched as Goo picked up a huge box filled with empty envelopes from under his desk.

"Yup, they will never find out anyway."

"What if they did?" Your reputation as a king will be ruined"

"gasp are you saying its not already is ? "

"..."

When he is not busy obsessing over himself, Goo spends his free time complaining about how he finds the other nobles really annoying, so today he thought he may as well express his true feelings toward them on a little piece of paper and send it anonymously.

" here "

He threw a dip pen at your face.

"Help me write those."

There will be no point in arguing with him. last time you talked back, he started a whole lecture about how you, as his personal knight in shining armor, should be more supportive of his actions, and you wouldn't want to see him fake crying again because that would definitely be a terrible sight.

"What do you want me to write?"

"Maybe something like, Oh, Lady Crystal, that dress you wore yesterday was as terrible as your attitude"

"Isn't that a little too-"

"Or perhaps we should insult her whole family as well."

Goo started walking around the room while thinking of more ways to ruin Lady Crystal's day ,and you on the other hand, couldn't stop worrying about him. This isn't the first time he has done such a reckless thing, and you are scared that he will actually get exposed one day and everything will go downhill.

You were so focused on your thoughts that you didn't notice Goo holding a magnifying glass near your face while writing something in his notebook.

"Have..pretty..eyes"

" huh? What are you doing"

"nothinggg"

"..."

"Don't look at me like that, I was trying to find out the reason why you look so stressed."

"its beacuse-"

"You are worried I will get into trouble?"

" maybe?"

"Don't worry if I ever get caught; you will be the first one I will blame."

Goo expected you to get mad over that, but instead you slowly started to smile.

"That seems like a good idea."

"Ugh, that was not the reaction I wanted."

You started laughing, then all of a sudden, Goo picked up his crown, which he always keeps in his desk because he says it's " heavy " , and put it on the top of your head.

"When I die, you better burn this whole town down to ashes."

"...I'm not going to do that."

"gasp not even after I die?"

"I will think about it."

Goo got up and gave you a little playful slap on the cheek.

" i will go sleep now but we better finish these tomorrow "

" good night "

He left you alone in the study room while his crown is still in your head, and that brought back your worries .

Will he really manage to hold the throne for that long?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

note : heyy ^^ first things first am so sorry for the late reply and two this will officially be my last post here , i just have alot going on rn which why i will be leaving this acc but i wont delete it so other ppl can enjoy my content i guess. it was really fun here and i met a lot of amazing ppl as well!. i hope everyone is having a great day/night/afternoon

( ik there was no point in changing my layout last min but i promised day haha )

byee💜

#lookism #lookism x reader #goo kim #goo x reader #lookism goo #crystal choi

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kringletheelf04 · 1 year

Text

The list and wrapping duty

(Chapter 7 of two souls entwined in the North Pole)

It's been a week since Bernard showed up in the bakery. Dad is officially on thin ice. He showed up at Charlie's soccer game and apparently all the children lined up to sit on his lap. And he let them! I'm driving home from work and as I pull up the delivery man pulls up as well. I get out and go up to the truck.

"S.c?" The delivery man asks.

"My dad. I'll sign for it though." I say, initialing the papers.

"All right, I'll get your packages." The guy says, unloading multiple large boxes.

"Packages?" I ask, scrunching my nose slightly.

"Yes, there's many of them here." The man says.

I quickly go unlock the front door, propping it open so he can set them inside.

After over ten minutes the man finally hands the last package directly to me. I shut the door with my hip and set down the package onto the kitchen table. I get a knife and cut the package open. Inside is a list long enough to wrap around the house.

"What's this?" I mumble.

"The list." I hear a voice behind me call out.

Turning around I see Bernard standing there with several rolls of wrapping paper and a roll of ribbon. He sets them down, leaning them against the wall.

" I can see that. Why's it here?" I gesture to the multiple boxes scattered through the walkway.

"Your dad has to check them. Remember, p for present and c for coal." Bernard nods.

"What's that for?" I ask, pointing to the wrapping paper.

"Training. Remember when I said your part is harder than your dads. Today we will be tackling wrapping." He picks up the now empty box that carried one part of 'the list'.

" Ok, I guess. But let's move to my room. I don't want my dad having a heart attack when he gets home. I don't think he'll believe you're real even if he sees you." I say taking the paper and ushering Bernard up the stairs.

I open my bedroom door and pull Bernard in, shutting and locking it behind me.

"Dad's got no sense of privacy so I'm gonna have to keep the door locked. Otherwise he'd come in and see, well, you, I guess." I explain.

"Has the santafacation process begun yet? It usually only takes three three months to be complete." Bernard asks, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Santafacation? You mean my dad growing a beard that can't be shaved off, his hair turning white, and him gaining 150 pounds? If so than yes." I turn back to him.

"Oh good. I was afraid that the unwillingness would effect it." Bernard sighs.

"So wrapping and ribbon tying?" I ask.

"Yes, two very important parts of Christmas. We will practice until you get it just right." He pulls out tape and scissors and sets them next to the paper.

This is gonna be a long time.

(TIME SKIP BROUGHT TO YOU BY FED EX)

It's been over three hours wrapping. I finally got it just right. I've been fumbling over the ribbon tying though. I can't seem to get it right.

"Christmas Eve I believe it was 1955, Dubuque Iowa. Santa's making his way down a very dusty chimney when, CRASH- BOOM-ZING! A bow catches a rusty nail and rips off. Santa loses his footing and plummets all the way down through the chimney mr gets wedged between brick and cement and can't move. Now we don't want that to happen again do we?" Bernard monologues.

"That might be a little funny seeing my dad fall. But seeing as falling 20 feet instantly kills Santa's, maybe that's a bad idea." I look up at him.

"Is this one good enough yet?" I ask him handing the box to him.

"Exemplary, actually! I knew you could do it (y/n)!" He praises.

My cheeks heat up slightly. Somehow his praise makes me act different than others.

"Now, next time I see you we will work on placing the presents under the tree." Bernard stands.

"We don't have a tree. Mom used to buy us a real one each year, but after she passed we never bought one again." I get up off my knees.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He shakes his head.

"Can you stay? Dad won't be home for a couple hours!" I ask him.

"Well, I don't feel great leaving Curtis in charge for too long." He rubs his arm.

"Please??? Just a little bit longer surly won't hurt!" I practically beg.

He sighs. "I guess half an hour more won't hurt."

I jump up, wrapping him in a tight hug. We nearly fall onto my bed with the amount of force I put into the hug.

" I like you, ya know?" I whisper to him.

"I kinda got that when you kissed me." He whispers back.

I snort and place a kiss on his cheek. Suddenly my ears start to feel like they are on fire.

"Ow!" I say, hand going up to rub my ear.

"What's wrong?" Bernard's face shows concern.

"My ears have been killing me lately. I don't know why though." I sit on my bed, legs crossed.

"I didn't think it'd happen this quickly. I guess I should have warned you." He grimaces, sitting down next to me.

"Warned me what?!" I ask, face full of worry.

"Well, uh, you're ears are changing." He takes my hands into his.

"Changing?" I ask, baffled.

"You know how your dad's changing. You're changing too. Just not as much. You've already got the power to talk to animals, but now your ears are going to become pointed. Your ears are going to hurt until they have fully transformed." Bernard discloses.

"Ugh," I groan. "how long will that take?"

"Actually I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore." Bernard bites his thumb.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"You might want to look in the mirror." Bernard says, like the fox caught in the henhouse.

I rush to my bathroom. Looking in the mirror I can see that my ears are now pointed. How am I gonna be able to walk around like this. Good thing that hat has ear flaps.

I walk out of the bathroom, cheeks red from partial embarrassment. Bernard's got the same look in his eyes when we kissed last.

"I love you." He blurts out, hand quickly covering is mouth and eyes going wide.

"I think I love you too Bernard." I swallow.

I walk over to him, pulling him onto the bed with me. His eyes dart from mine to my lips. I reach up and brush the hair from his face. Even sitting down, he's taller than me. He kisses me, one hand on my back and the other entwined writhing my own hand. This is different from before. More passionate. Our lips clash against each other. Suddenly a knock at my door pulls us away from each other.

"Honey! I'm back from work! I was wondering if you wanted to order pizza for dinner tonight!" My dads voice snaps is out of it.

"We'll talk later. I'm sorry we got interrupted." I whisper into his neck.

"It's fine. We will have plenty of time in ten months or so." He whispers back, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

I get up and walk to the door. I turn around and see Bernard gone.

"Yeah! Pizza sounds awesome! Can we get a veggie lovers one this time though?" I ask, unlocking the door.

I swing the door open and see my dad standing there. It seems like he's gotten bigger if possible. His eyes go to my ears and I subconsciously go to cover them.

"What the hell is this (y/n)? What's up with your ears?" He says pulling on one of them.

"First off, ow. Secondly, it's part of my transformation. Like you gained weight and grew a beard. I grew pointed ears." I explain.

"This is crazy! That was just a dream!" He says, trying to convince himself more than me.

"It wasn't a dream dad!" I argue with him.

"How do you know that?" He asks.

"Because my soulmate has been visiting me when your at work! That's how!" I burst at him without thinking.

"What? Soulmate?!" Dad stands confused.

"Yes! Bernard ended up being my soulmate. That's why I was born with a tattoo! Because it's not a tattoo, but a way of knowing who your soulmate is!" I seeth.

"Why that's wonderful!" Dad squeezes me.

"Too tight dad!" I choke out.

" I guess I knew that that night was real, but logic stopped me from realizing it." He let's me go.

"I love you dad." I hug him.

"I love you too honey." He hugs me back.

#fanfiction #bernard the arch elf #bernard the elf #bernard the head elf #the santa clause #x reader #fanfic #the santa clause two #bernard the elf x reader #reader insert #xreader #bernard #david krumholtz #character x reader #christmas lights #elves #my fanfiction #self indulgence babey #self indulgence time

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farfromstrange · 1 year

Text

Foreigner's God | m.m

Previous Chapter ° Series Masterlist

Chapter Forty-Six: Human

Summary: The court of public opinion is a cruel thing. The press would rather paint her as the villain than the villain itself, but there is no going back now that the Hydra files are out there. She thinks the plea and preliminary hearing are going to be the hardest challenge, but someone comes the way that proves to her that the worst is far from over and Viktor Volkov is the least of her worries.

Warnings: ANGST, SMUT (oral f!receiving, fingering), Multiverse, Doctor Strange Spoilers, bad lawyer talk

A/n: I'm so sorry for the long hiatus, my life is a huge mess right now. This has been sitting in my drafts for two weeks, but I didn't get around to posting it until now. I'm trying my best to finish all my requests, but I'm lacking time and inspiration, so it's gonna take a couple more days until those are finished! As I said, this has been sitting in my drafts for a while because it's been done for a while. I was actually excited about this chapter because I've had the idea of this introduction for quite a bit, and the character that appears here will play a crucial part in how I portray Season 2. I mean, we're already in it, might as well roll with it. Timeline and canon be fucked, I'm gonna do this my way.

Breaking news:

The FBI just announced in an official press conference that they arrested a man named Viktor Volkov who is suspected of leading a sub-group of the terrorist organization Hydra. They first made headlines again in 2014 when it was revealed that Hydra infiltrated SHIELD and burned the organization from the inside out. It was reported that Hydra fell with the destruction of SHIELD. All parties responsible were arrested. He is facing serious murder, espionage, and illegal human experiment charges, among other things.

“Are you sure about this?”

The night was cold and dark, the lights of the city hidden behind the brick wall as they stood over the empty barrel on the roof of Matt Murdock’s apartment.

She grabbed the cardboard box off the ground and flipped it over the barrel, emptying the contents into the abyss. It thudded against the metal. Following the cardboard was a pile of leather clothing. The face mask stayed behind, but the suit and the matching gloves landed with the rest of her belongings on the floor of the barrel.

“Yeah,” she said, taking the bottle of gasoline from his hand, “I’m sure.”

Eliza poured the fluid over everything she had once owned in another life and dropped the lit match into the barrel. Her belongings caught fire, lighting up the night with bright orange flames and a ghastly smell of burned leather and paper.

Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she stared into the flames and he felt the heat on his cold face. “I’m proud of you,” he said.

She ignored his words, leaning into his shoulder in an attempt to escape. Her body filled with dread; it caused her pain. Setting her life on fire had been easy, but she knew that the new life she had was in danger of burning alive, too.

“Things are only going to get worse from here on,” she voiced her horrible thoughts, and it still wasn’t enough.

He squeezed her hip. “I know, but we’re going to stand through it together.”

“You and me against the world?”

“You and me against the world,” he said, pairing his words with a gentle kiss to her temple.

The explosion at the apartment complex of the infamous Avenger Eliza Bennett who long went by the alias The Red Angel was Hydra’s doing, as we have just been told, and all of the crimes she was accused of a couple of weeks ago were actually executed by the men answering to the suspect Viktor Volkov.

In the eye of a hurricane, there is quiet. She watched the news and everything around her went dead silent. The storm was heading straight for her, but there was no sound, only the faint beating of her heart reminding her that she was still alive.

The phone on Karen’s desk was put on speaker and the voice that sounded from the other end was welcome, but it didn’t break the silence. It didn’t break the silence in her head, the emptiness in her chest, or the looming fear that came in the form of a hurricane.

“I’m trying my best to control the damage the publication of that file caused,” Tony spoke from the other end of the line. “I usually cause the damage myself and then find a way to pay myself out of it, but fuck, Nick Fury, that asshole, made it ten times harder for me.”

“I made that choice,” Eliza said, and she was surprised at how stable her own voice sounded.

“I know, kid, and I understand why you did it, but I can’t fix this with money.”

“I know you can’t. I never asked you to.”

“Let me do this for you. I’m going to try my hardest to somehow get the press to shut up. Public court of opinion can fuck with this whole case. Am I right, lawyer brigade? The front line not looking so peachy there, huh?”

We just got word that a huge pile of legal files has been published, laying the crimes of Hydra open and accessible to the public. The base also known as the White Room has been destroyed and the leader Viktor Volkov has been officially charged by the District Attorney.

Matt stood with his hands on his hips, Foggy leaning against the door to his office with the file, and Karen, sympathetic as she was, stood next to the phone with her eyes on Eliza. She was the only one who looked at her. She felt her gaze burning through her skin and she wanted the pity to stop. The world already knew what happened, who she was, and what Viktor had done; Karen wasn’t supposed to treat her differently just because she was a victim, but humans can’t help but show pity when another person has suffered. It is a natural response and she had a whole collection of those.

Adding to Tony’s voice, Happy appeared and it made her nauseous. “It’s bad enough she has to testify,” he prompted.

“The press is doing everything to get details on this case, and most of them are more than willing to destroy Eliza in the process,” said Karen, “because they want to be right about mutants. They want to be right in labeling you as a monster.”

“We won’t let that happen,” Matt said, his voice determined and his hand reached out as he gestured, “Stark will continue doing damage control while we focus on the legal aspects, but no one is giving up.”

Tony hummed, “I like him.”

“The feeling is not mutual.” He pressed the hang-up button.

Foggy glared at him. “Dude!”

“He was pissing me off,” he said.

“He didn’t do anything,” he retorted.

“He was breathing, that’s enough.”

The stakes were high, they were all on edge, but they still somehow managed to work together, even with their differences in mind. However, Eliza was nowhere near mentally present for any of it. She went along, but she only felt numb no matter what she did, and Matt’s gentle loving didn’t manage to pull her out of the dark hole she had fallen into, not this time.

Just in: Hydra files reveal not only the crimes of the newly apprehended Russian spy Viktor Volkov, but they also reveal the many crimes the Avenger Eliza Bennett committed in the name of the said terrorist organization. They go beyond what the former Hydra operative was pardoned for seven years ago. Though reports from the DA’s office state that she has been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony to put Viktor Volkov behind bars. So far, only the FBI and NYPD have gotten involved, but the Department of Damage Control will soon follow.

She needed to forget. The reports only got worse the closer the court date came. The plea hearing didn’t include her, but she would be there, she wanted to be there. Her testimony would only first come important at the preliminary hearing if Viktor truly plead not guilty, and then it was on the prosecution to prove that a trial was absolutely necessary. And after that, the decision, if he went to prison, was on the jury and the jury alone.

Her mind was so full all the time, full of information, full of tasks, full of demands, and she started to lose the air in her lungs. The weight was pushing her underwater and slowly suffocating her from the inside out. Her legs were flapping and she tried to swim to the surface, but the weight kept on dragging her down.

They were laying next to each other in bed. His lips ghosted gentle kisses over her neck and collarbone, a way to distract her from the noise only he could hear, but she could feel it. She could feel everything deep in her bones and it was too much to handle.

His nose brushed over the sensitive spot behind her ear. “You’re not okay, are you?” he asked.

There was no use denying it. She shook her head, tilting her head to find his lips. Her hand tangled in his hair, and she did something she had never done before. She was afraid of asking what she wanted, but this was a necessity. She needed to forget.

She pushed his head, hoping he would get the hint. His lips slipped from hers and toward her breasts. Nope, he didn’t get that. And he knew better than to tease her. Sometimes, he needed a second to understand, especially so late at night.

She pushed a little harder. “Can you just-” she swallowed.

“Eat you out?”

She nodded again. “Like after our date, please.”

It had rendered her mindless then, it would surely work now.

She guided his head down until he reached the hem of her panties. She was wearing nothing but his t-shirt. He didn’t waste time peeling her underwear off. Instead, he shoved it aside and flattened his tongue over her folds.

“Guide me,” he said, “show me how you want it and I’ll give it to you.”

On command, she started rocking her hips against his face. He greedily lapped at her folds, pushing his tongue into her hole and relishing in the way she tasted. With every thrust of her hips, his nose bumped against her clit, and he could smell her now, too. She sent his senses into overdrive and his eyes rolled back as he moaned; she was using him and it was delicious in more ways than one.

Her back arched, letting out the tiniest of whimpers as her hands fisted the sheets. She forced his mouth closer, a little higher until his lips hovered over her clit and he took it as a sign to suck the bundle of nerves into his mouth.

Through a strangled moan, she reached for his arm that lazily rested over her lower stomach, stroking his hand over the skin at the same time he licked and sucked at her slick core.

He hummed in confusion when she practically shoved his hand away. “Fingers,” she stated.

“As you wish,” he purred against her cunt. He covered his middle and index finger in her arousal and shoved them in slowly. She took him almost greedily, grinding on his mouth and forcing him deeper. He only had to curl up ever so slightly to hit the spongy spot inside of her that felt just right.

“Shit,” it was the first curse that came out of her mouth that night and he felt the rough tone of her voice creeping up his spine and into his reddened ears.

The hand that had fisted the sheets moved to the pillow above her head, her back arching dangerously high as the pleasure inside of her abdomen did the same, climbing higher and higher and higher until she stumbled toward the edge of the cliff of absolute euphoria.

Not a single thought was left in her mind, only Matt and his mouth and the orgasm that chased after her. She chose not to run, she chose to submit. She chose to let herself stumble, tumble and then fall.

She came crying out for him, holding onto his hair and the pillow for dear life as the pleasure wrecked her entire body. The white-hot pleasure tore right through her, turning red and her vision black. Her eyes rolled back, thighs shaking next to his head and keeping him locked against her, and he licked up all the cum she gave him. He was starving and she was what he needed to eat.

Her entire body quivered. If it was her state of mind or his mouth that made the orgasm so much more intense, she wasn’t sure, but the relief and the now missing weight on her shoulders allowed her to break the surface and breathe fresh air.

Matt gently pried her thighs from his head. Her knuckles cracked. She was still holding onto the pillow, her eyes screwed shut. He chuckled, making his way up the length of her.

“You okay?” he asked.

She whimpered.

“Not quite there yet, huh?”

She managed to shake her head a little. The aftershocks were nothing like what she usually experienced and only after a few minutes did she manage to loosen her grip on the silk. Her legs shut and she curled into a ball on her side.

His hand gently guided her head to his chest and she latched onto him like a koala. “You’ve never been this spaced out before. You okay?”

“I’ve never-” she shivered. “So intense.”

“It’s okay, you were wound up. Orgasms can feel like explosions when you’ve been stressed for a while.”

“Did I soak the sheets again?”

“Small price to pay,” he said.

She took his hand and intertwined their fingers over his heart. “Stay with me?” she said.

He kissed the top of her head, “Where else would I stay?”

Eliza Bennett has blood on her hands! As we found out earlier, it isn’t even her real name. She is Russian and always will be. She killed in the name of a terrorist organization, stole government secrets, and killed innocent people. Her mutant powers may stem from human experimentation, but that only makes her so much more dangerous. We saw what she could do in the video clip released four weeks ago, and we saw it during the Battle of New York. Her violation of the Sokovia Accords was stricken from the record. Are the District Attorney’s office and the government trying to cover up their involvement, or is she really just that good at manipulating law officials into giving her a second pardon?

Foggy watched the man on the screen with narrowed eyes. “The Daily Bugle really has no shame or respect, huh?” he said.

“He has nothing left over for heroes,” said Karen. “He is a horrible, judgmental man. And his mustache is a fashion disgrace.”

“Hey, do you think I should call them? Just to check in on her.”

She took one of the files from her desk and handed it over to her. “You better prepare to prepare her for the preliminary hearing. They need their privacy.”

“What do you me- oh!”

“Sex is an amazing stress relief.”

“Thank you,” he blinked wildly, turning toward his office, “That is not a picture I needed in my head today.”

Karen’s tired yet amused laugh rang out and filled the otherwise empty office space with some lightness instead of the harsh, painful reality that lay ahead of them.

District Attorney Reyes went on the air again that day, answering a crowd of reporters about what her office revealed. “We strive for justice for the families of the children that were tortured at the command of Viktor Volkov and his organization. We are going to fight for the families of the murder victims that also died at his hand. And we are going to fight for those names to finally be heard, and to bring Hydra’s terrible acts to light,” she said, and it was sorted as her official statement to the accusations against Viktor Volkov. “We need to protect the nation and the people and in the process avenge the lives that were lost. We’re not doing this for publicity, we’re doing this for justice. A man as dangerous as Viktor Volkov needs to be put into special containment, and we are working closely with the DODC to form a viable case.”

Rumor has it that Eliza Bennett is considered a key witness since she is one of Viktor Volkov’s many victims. So far, no more information has been released, but it is said that she might just be the key to getting him behind bars.

“At least they called me a victim this time,” Eliza murmured as she read over the article in the Bulletin.

Matt appeared behind her with a cup of coffee, replacing the paper with the mug. “Stop reading the news,” he berated her.

She poked her tongue out. “I need to know what’s going on. Reyes won’t tell me anything.”

“That’s because we need to protect you from the court of public opinion.”

“There is no protecting me from that,” she said, “and you know that.”

He sighed. He left it uncommented because he couldn’t say anything that wouldn’t have been a lie. She already stated the truth. He couldn’t protect her, not from this.

Instead, he said, “I love you.”

She smiled back at him, tired but it was a smile. “I love you more,” she said.

“Impossible.”

Volkov’s attorneys stated in an official report that the accusations are outrageous and they are going to fight to keep their client out of jail. It is said that the evidence of the defense will cancel out all the prosecution has. They are certain that the case is not viable and they have information that a judge is going to be more than interested in. Information surrounding his arrest and the contents of the file. What it is, they refuse to say, but we are going to see soon.

The date for the plea hearing in the case of the Hydra operative Viktor Volkov has been set and it is as soon as tomorrow. The DA rushed the date due to the case’s urgency, and she told Fox News that she is going to do anything in her power to make sure he stays behind bars. A deal has not been made, and Volkov’s attorneys refused, so it is up to the court now to decide whether or not this case will go to trial.

The big day was closer than ever. They already knew he was going to plead not guilty, but there was still hope for a change of mind on Viktor’s end or at least the possibility that he might change the plea after they turned down the DA’s deal offer. Now that they refused, Reyes was ready to destroy the defense completely, but for that she needed Eliza. Without her, the case was a bust. The media didn’t need a full report of the events to figure that out. Her immunity depended on it.

“I’m curious - Eliza Bennett is an Avenger, she broke the Sokovia Accords, she is a mutant and she still got pardoned? The information she has must be fatal if the DA was so willing to grant her immunity.”

“A person like that poses a danger to society. We should get her off the streets.”

“Eliza Bennett is and will always be a hero. She doesn’t deserve all of this backlash and she should be praised for what she is willing to do to put this criminal behind bars. Her story should be told and people should view her as a human being who suffered a large trauma instead of a dangerous mutant that is out of control. It is simply not true.”

“An Avenger as a key witness. Can we even trust them anymore? Stark has not spoken up and neither has his company. I doubt he is going to play a part in this. He’s always had a way of getting himself out of trouble and letting others do the work for him.”

“Whether or not Eliza Bennett is a danger to society, the DA is positive she will blow this case wide open, and Volkov’s attorneys are scrambling to find a reason to get her testimony thrown out. This is going to be one of the most public court proceedings since OJ Simpson, and we are going to be there to report life on the direction this case is going. Back to you, Janet!”

Eliza slammed the laptop shut. One more day until the plea hearing. One fucking day and she couldn’t even escape the talk about her when she tried to watch something else for a change. Her search always led her to the news, or in this case, a whole collection of News channels that were set out to ruin her.

She was used to being criticized by the public, but the backlash she received was a death sentence to any mutant out there if they lost the case.

She decided to go through the mail to kill time. Matt would be home sometime later, having told her to take the day off, but she was dying of boredom. Her thoughts weren’t any better.

The mail consisted of a pile of bills and advertisements, including the daily paper, and when she saw her name on the front page she groaned in frustration. She shoved it away. She was done reading about herself as an evil spawn. Think what you need to think, she decided. She wasn’t put on this earth to please anyone but herself. And by speaking her truth she had done a good thing, the right thing.

From the pile she was holding, a small contact card soared out and landed on the floor. She bent down, picked it up, and took a look at it.

221 Bleeker Street.

As far as she could remember, the address on the card was in Brooklyn, where Bleeker and Sullivan crossed. It was a long way from Hell’s Kitchen - that was an overstatement. It wasn’t that far.

There was no name on the card, only the address. Suspicious didn’t even cut it close. Eliza should have thrown it away. It could have been the address of a serial killer, for all she knew, but there was a reason it landed in her mail. She felt compelled to check it out, even if it was just to check if a serial killer was after she or the press decided to play a cruel joke on her. She was curious and curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

Matt would once again kill her, but it didn’t matter if a serial killer did it or her boyfriend for being a reckless idiot. She was done pleasing other people for the sake of being liked. She owed them nothing.

Viktor didn’t get to destroy the person she was, and if the media couldn’t see that, at least she could hold onto it.

The hood of her jacket hung low into her face. Curious eyes stared after her, but they weren’t sure if it was truly her. The whispers haunted her and fingers pointed at her. She was an animal in a zoo and everyone was watching her. They didn’t see her as a person, she was more of a spectacle than a human, and they made sure to treat her that way.

Bleeker Street was quiet, thank God, and there were hardly any people who cared about someone with a hoodie walking the street. She crossed, approaching the gigantic doors to what appeared like a fancy brownstone, but she couldn’t quite believe it. The window at the top of the building seemed a little far-fetched, too. Old architecture made it look like someone utterly special was living there. So perhaps this was a trap constructed by the media, after all.

Eliza wouldn’t have been Eliza though if she didn’t go ahead anyway. She lost all of her fucks a couple of days ago. She might as well have some reckless fun if her life was about to be over and her reputation completely destroyed.

As Taylor Swift once said, ‘They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one’, so she might as well fuck around and have some fun. Her reputation was ruined, anyway.

She knocked on the door, but instead of waiting for someone to answer, they opened at her touch. “Creepy,” she muttered to herself.

The corridor was gigantic. She expected a lot, but this wasn’t it. A huge staircase led to the second floor, parting in the middle to allow you to walk on either side. The walls were high and decorated sparsely. The walls themselves looked ancient, made out of wood and stone and the paintings were something to get used to. There was a fireplace, for whatever reason, set into the wall. Why would an entrance hall need a fireplace? The entire building reminded her of an old mansion or an old art museum. The statue next to the stair looked like a pot - whoever lived there was certainly not an interior designer.

She felt the presence of someone behind her and the knife she had already slipped from her sleeve turned out to have been a good choice. Eliza took a deep breath, then turned around and went after whoever snuck up on her with her backhand. The knife cut through thin air. It took her too long to notice what was happening. Fabric reached for her and she flipped her weapon over the invisible arm, trying to injure whoever was hiding behind whatever was attacking her, but she hit the air again. Instead, the red fabric wrapped around her wrist and the other end hit her in the nose. She stumbled with a surprised yelp and hit the ground, her knife sliding to the other end of the room.

Holding her nose, she dared to look up. Did she just—

“Well, now that was just sad to watch,” a male voice sounded from the top of the staircase. Her attacker disappeared and she stared after it, face wiped clean of the anger she had displayed, she was simply confused now.

Her head turned to the stranger descending, the red fabric wrapping around his shoulders as it had never in the first place. His get-up reminded her of a children’s costume, but a cool one.

“Did your cape just attack me?” Eliza asked.

“He’s a cloak, not a cape, and yes, he did attack you.”

“He?”

“Are you going to lecture me for gendering my cloak? ‘Cause I heard that’s what your generation does.”

“This raises so many questions.” She rose back to her feet with a grunt. “Do I need to get my knife back or are you not planning to kill me?”

The knife in question disappeared suddenly, floating toward the man. He shoved it into his back pocket. “No need for sharp weapons,” he said.

“Says the one with the floating cloak that just happens to have serious anger issues.”

She never thought a piece of fabric could look offended until the one on the man’s shoulders lowered its edges.

“No offense,” she added. “No, actually, full offense.”

“I suppose you got my card?”

“Yes, that is why I’m here. Why else would I come?”

“I don’t know, we’ve been having a little trouble with posting lately. Mail that doesn’t reach the person it should go to and vice versa. I’m still waiting for my Amazon package,” he said.

She frowned even deeper. “What?”

“Oh, right, I totally forgot. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Stephen Strange and I asked you here because you have something very valuable in your blood that you don’t seem to understand.”

It sounded as if a beat dropped in the distance. Silence settled in between them, her eyes roaming his face and costume. “Yeah,” she said, “I’m not following.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” He made a distinctive move with his fingers and the necklace he wore around his neck, the one that looked like an eye, opened up. She stared at it. As soon as the metal parted with a rattle, the sharp pain in her frontal cortex reappeared. Her fingers tingled, her eyes glowed, and her veins seemed to burst with power. But most of all did she see the green shards she had dreamed about floating around her head and disappearing into the galaxy.

Her arms shot out, “Woah!”

The green stone was glowing at the same time her hands did. It was subconscious and yet felt so neutral, as if she had been in control all along. The whispers in her ear grew louder, once again speaking a language she didn’t understand. Her forehead screamed and burned and it pulled her toward it, but she refused.

“Where did you get that?” she asked. In her mind, she told herself to calm down and make the glow go away, and it somehow did because when she glanced at her reflection in the stone, the point on her forehead was gone.

Stephen descended the last two steps. “It was given to me by someone who understood the power and importance of the infinity stones, and it is my job to protect it,” he said.

“Okay, I know your outfit makes you seem like some magical wizard who does balloon animals for children’s birthdays, but can you try to be a little less ominous and just flat-out tell me what the fuck is going on?”

She had a problem with authority.

“Ah, you’re everything I thought you’d be.”

“What’s that?”

“Annoying and reckless.”

“So I’ve been told,” she said. “How exactly do you know about me and where I live? Are you planning to kill me? If so, can I have my knife back to even the stakes?”

He chuckled. “I’m not trying to kill you. If I wanted that, I would have shown up at your apartment instead of sending you my card. No,” he said and stepped forward, to which she took a step back, “I asked you here to talk about what’s in your blood, Eliza.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Everyone does. With your face all over the media, it’s really no surprise.”

She pouted, “Touché.”

“Let me introduce myself again so that even your childish brain can understand, I am Doctor Stephen Strange and I am a master of the mystic arts, which, in your simple words, means magic of a higher order. I am the protector of this Sanctum and your reality.”

“Right, right,” she didn’t buy it, “So you’re not just a wizard without a hat, is that what you’re trying to tell me? You’re actually just very schizophrenic and think you’re some sort of superman?”

“I think you understand, you just don’t want to see it,” he said, and at this point, he was getting rougher with his words. “You know better than anyone the concept of reality and how fragile it is, so you must take my words to heart.”

“Do I?” she retorted.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“I always have a choice, and this is not it.”

“Eliza, we need to talk!”

“Talk to your cape,” she said and turned around to head back through the door she came through, but the cape she mentioned wrapped around the handle before she could leave. “I said talk to it not make it stop me from leaving!”

“I can’t let you leave, not before you hear me out.”

She narrowed her eyes at the cape—cloak. “You are a loyal piece of outerwear, aren’t you?” She couldn’t believe she was talking to it.

Perhaps she had completely lost her mind, after all.

Turning around again, Eliza looked Stephen up and down again. Her nostrils flared and she huffed. “What do you want to talk about?”

Stephen nodded in satisfaction. “As I said, I’m in charge of protecting our reality. Part of that is unlimited knowledge. I know you, Eliza. Or should I say, Alina?” he said. “I heard about Hydra, I followed what you did, I knew you almost died. I’m impressed, but I’m also concerned. You need to understand who you are. That’s why I asked you here. You want answers, I’m here to provide them.”

When was he before she talked to Viktor? She could have spared herself quite a lot of pain. Then again, she confronted him and it felt good. She asserted her dominance. She needed that.

If this stranger could give her answers, whoever he was and however important he might be, who was she to turn it down? The cloak wasn’t human, and what the man himself could do wasn’t either. The stone in his necklace called for her. He knew more about the infinity stones than she did. She had to listen to him, he was right, because she was slowly losing herself and if her head continued splitting, she would soon drop dead.

She hesitated, and he noticed.

“You pose a potential threat to the universe. Your powers are raging freely and you have no means of controlling the true extent of them,” he stated. “If you know what’s good for you, you stop arguing and allow me to explain it to you. You don’t have a choice, kid.”

“I’m a risk?” Eliza sneered. “What the fuck does that even mean?”

“You long for answers, I know it. Someone like you isn’t easily satisfied with half of the truth. You have two options: Follow me and let me talk to you, or I will have to restrain you. I really don’t want to have to do this the hard way. You’re not the only one who’s tired.”

“You’re an asshole. I appreciate it.”

“Thank you. I try my best.”

“Clearly. Well, I really don’t have the power to argue, so ten minutes,” she said, “That’s all you got. As long as you tell your loyal piece of outerwear to let go of my hand before I burn it to ashes–“ it turned to her, then let his edges fall again, pointing toward the floor. “Oh, don’t look so offended. You’re fabric. You shouldn’t be able to have feelings.” She rolled her eyes when it started to hang even lower. “I’m sorry,” she couldn’t believe she said, “You’re a nice cape– cloak, I mean cloak.”

It finally let go of her hand, flying back to the shoulders of its owner.

“This entire thing is so fucking weird.”

“Then you’re going to absolutely hate this part. Watch out!” He circled his hands on the hair, bringing them together in the middle. The energy sizzled and when she opened her eyes from blinking, they were standing in what seemed to be a library. The window she saw from the outside was right in front of her, overlooking the skyline.

Eliza wobbled. She caught herself on the bookshelf to her right.

“Woah!” she gasped. “What the- how did you just do that?”

“Magic,” Stephen stated. “Want some tea?”

“I-“

They moved to a table, again with the flick of his wrist, and a tea kettle appeared on the table. Their cups were brewing with the hot liquid, creamer, and honey already stirred inside.

Her mind exploded. She wasn’t sure what she watched, but it was nowhere near natural. She wasn’t either. There was a world beyond hers, one she didn’t have the willpower to understand, but he somehow seemed to believe she did. He acted almost as if this was natural — it wasn’t.

“Sit down,” he pointed to the chair across from him, the one she stood behind, “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“You’re not the type of guy to spare my feelings, are you?” she said.

“No. I prefer the radical approach because I don’t really care what you think.”

“Fair.“ She sipped her tea. It wasn’t poisoned, so that was a start. “So, Doctor Strange, what is it that you have to say about my existence? Make it quick because I have someone waiting for me at home who’s going to raise absolute hell if he’s unable to find me.”

“Yes, Daredevil. I’ve heard about him too.”

She somehow expected this to happen. He didn’t lie when he said he was a sorcerer, magic of the highest order. After an alien attack, a sorcerer wasn’t so far off. Magic wasn’t so far off. The infinity stones supplied her with enough energy to manipulate reality and that was not natural, either. Her mind exploded but her curiosity multiplied.

“I should be offended, but I think someone like you knows how to hide a secret. You’re honest, I feel it. So yes, Daredevil. He almost lost me once, he’s not gonna let that happen again,” she said.

“Lucky for you, I have no intention of keeping you here forever. But the reason you’re here is serious and I need your undivided attention.”

She clinked the spoon against the mug. “You’ve got me tea. I don’t have a choice.”

“Great. The reason I asked you here is that the reality stone has been acting up and therefore has caused your powers to gain a strength that a person should not possess, but it somehow chose you, so it is a part of you now. What’s dangerous is the fact that you can’t control it.”

“No one taught me how to.”

“History calls it the Aether. You might know it as the reality stone. A friend of yours, Thor Odison, mentioned it before.”

“He did.”

“The Dark Elves managed to turn the reality stone into liquid – somehow, after it got trapped in stone, parts of it landed on earth. I don’t know how, but your parents found it. An object this powerful is in a million event,” said Stephen. He sat leaned back in his chair, legs crossed and his elbow propped up on the armrest as if it was the most natural thing.

“They’re energy sources. I suppose that’s how they found it – they were scientists, and analyzing the atmosphere was part of their job description. Eliza, your mother bore the entire force of an infinity stone,” he said, “No human being has ever survived a blast like that. The reality stone makes people sick because it’s too strong for humans to handle. We’re the weaker species. Your mother was bound to die the second she touched that rock. You’re the only human being who ever survived being subjected to the power of an infinity stone. With the reality stone, it’s a slow disease that inevitably kills you. You stayed alive. Your mother got sick, but you didn’t. The stone killed her, not you. You were just a fetus and you survived. It’s not supposed to be possible but it happened.”

She grew more confused by the second. “Just tell me what it means,” she begged.

He put his finger to his lips. Patience, he silently told her. It’s a virtue.

“The reality stone carries the ability to protect itself against potential threats. If you anger it, it tends to hit back. The Aether became one with your blood. That’s why it’s no longer trying to protect itself; it’s trying to protect its keeper, and that’s you. You’re one with the infinity stone and that makes you one of the most powerful beings in the universe.”

“Hold up,” she sat down her tea, “I am what now? No, no,” Eliza said, chuckling, “You’ve got it wrong. I’m nowhere near as strong as you say. I mean, what have I done that could be considered all-powerful? Right, nothing. This is stupid.”

A strange force pulled her back into the chair, trapping her there.

“I’m not done,” Stephen said in his most demanding voice. “You saw what you can do. You didn’t know the power was inside of you at first because the stone was trying to protect you, and that’s exactly why you haven’t been able to control it. Hydra messed your head up good. The experiments on your Amygdala gave you the ability to manipulate emotions, but the Aether inside of you keeps you alive. It is partly responsible for the way your powers manifested. Without it, none of this would’ve worked. But then you almost died and your brain recovered, leaving you with the reality stone.”

She slowly started to piece the puzzle together. “Emotions are basically part of reality. That’s why I could see the story behind their emotions and manipulate it. I changed reality over and over again,” she said.

“Yes. Reality as we know it works a certain way, but there’s a subjective reality, it’s what we see and think of the world. Hydra only made you stronger.”

“God.”

“Now that the reality stone is no longer trying to protect itself but rather you, it doesn’t react as harshly. It reacts when your body reacts. You now know what’s inside of you and what you can do, now all you have to do is learn how to fully control it. You’re messing with powers you don’t understand yet. The Aether may protect you, but it’s still too powerful for any human to handle. So if you don’t learn how to control it and use the powers it’s granting you, you can cause more damage than good. And it’s an infinity stone, the power belongs to the universe – the universe was never meant to cause any harm. The stones were made to protect said universe not destroy it. Although they have the power to do so if they happen to fall into the wrong hands.”

He opened the cage of the green gem again. The shrill frequency went straight to her head and she hissed, holding her throbbing forehead.

“It’s like it’s—“ she searched for the right words, “calling for me. Talking to me,” she said. “Why?”

Stephen was quick to explain, “You’re alike. The stone inside of you communicates with the time stone. It’s normal. While the reality stone is still out there, you’ve become a version of it that’s just as powerful. The time stone knows that it feels drawn to you the way you feel drawn to it. I’m here to protect this stone with my life, I learned how to use it, and you have to do the same. You have to learn how to handle yourself.”

“God, I didn’t sign up for this! Why is it always me? I just wanted a normal life.”

“With great power comes great responsibility,” he said.

“Bullshit!”

“Hear me out. You can’t do it on your own and since I’ve sworn to do everything in my power to prevent threats such as yourself to mess with the universe, I’m here to help you control the power of the stone. Because if you learn to use it the right way, you’re gonna be unstoppable. Your fate could change millions of lives. It’s a good thing, but all good things have a dark side. That’s why you’re here, to make sure that dark side stays in the dark and doesn’t come around to bite you in the ass. If it comes down to it, I won’t hesitate to put the universe before you. And I don’t want to have to do that.”

At least he was honest, but she didn’t like what his honesty entailed. She had to get out. He was messing with her head and the time stone was messing with her bloodstream. Her brain told her to flee and she considered it. If she stood a chance, she wasn’t sure, but the power was astronomical. If she was who he said she was, she stood more than a chance against him.

She swallowed the last sip of tea. “No thank you,” she said then, as civilized as she could. “I’d rather not be shaped into something I am not again.”

He sighed wearily. “Honestly, if you weren’t threatening actual lives, you’d be more of a nuisance, really. But your existence is threatening the universe, your dreams are starting to warn you about what could happen, and you don’t really have a choice but to let me help you,” he told her, “because as the sorcerer supreme, it’s my duty to make sure no one threatens the universe.”

“I’m not a threat. I don’t hurt people, not anymore.”

“You don’t have to do it consciously. You know how fragile you are, don’t play it down.”

“Shut up!”

“I’m getting under your skin. Good, are you starting to see the full picture now or do you need me to portal you to the North Pole?”

“I’m leaving,” she decided. “Thanks for the tea though.”

“She has manners. But manners don’t buy me anything,” Stephen said.

As she got up, he flicked his wrist again and sent her hurdling forward into the library. She landed on her ass.

Eliza groaned, rising back to her feet. The whole portal-ing made her dizzy and nauseous. “Why won’t you just let me leave? I heard you out, but I don’t like what you’re insinuating because it’s simply not true!”

“Your head is splitting.”

“It is, but there has to be another explanation,” she said, already sounding desperate. “There has to be an explanation that doesn’t portray me as a monster.”

“Strength doesn’t make you a monster,” he said.

“You’re making it sound like the universe is gonna die if I don’t let you turn me into whatever it is you want to turn me into.”

“I want to teach you how to control it.” He stood before her now, arms crossed and sighing like a disappointed father. “Would you just let me?” he said.

She ground her teeth. “Why are the stones warning me?” she asked. “And why do I keep seeing broken pictures as I fall through what appears to be a multiverse, which is so far-fetched that I’m starting to think you’ve manipulated me so I’d listen to you.”

His posture stiffened. He didn’t seem to have known that. “Multiverse?” he questioned.

“Or it’s something else, I don’t know. Does it matter?”

His voice dropped, “What did you see?”

“Blue and purple, space and time, memories that weren’t mine but somehow are, things that could happen but never did, and then there was this mirror I fell through—“

“The mirror dimension,” he murmured. His head lifted and he asked, louder this time, “What else did you see?”

“The stones,” she said.

“What else?” Stephen bared his teeth. He seemed more on edge than he had before and she realized that this wasn’t just about her anymore, this was about her dreams that could easily turn into visions.

He was confusing her. If her dreams were as dangerous as he made it out to be and her powers posed a threat, she had to let him teach her, but then again she hadn’t seriously hurt anyone and lately it seemed as if she was in control of the darker parts of her, so he could just have been exaggerating.

With her head already split in two, she wasn’t sure what to believe and her mind instantly categorized Stephen Strange as someone who wanted to trap her like Rapunzel in a tower and make her dance to his beat because he was apparently so much more special than her. She didn’t want to fall for the games of a man like that ever again, not after she was so close to putting Viktor behind bars.

She was her own person and she would find a way to do this with Matt or on her own.

“There was this purple guy, but I only saw him briefly and I couldn’t make out his face,” she told him.

He began to mutter something under his breath. “Now it’s even more important you let me analyze your powers and teach you how to use them in a way that could protect the universe from potential threats,” he said then.

She shook her head. “Not gonna happen.”

“Eliza, you don’t have a choice, and I mean that.”

“I mean it too when I say that I won’t be anyone’s toy anymore. No matter what you say or do, I won’t believe you.”

“These visions you’ve been having… There is a multiverse but it is supposed to be safe, not breaking. The mirror dimension is not supposed to be breaking. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before—“

“Yeah, right. You know, I’m starting to think your entire magic thing is just a fancy trick. There is only one God so there is only one universe, which makes you a liar and me a little more fucked up than I am, but then again I have an infinity stone inside of me, so perhaps I gotta trust where it leads me. Just because you can manipulate time doesn’t make you any more special or better than I am. So if you know what’s good for you, you let me leave, Doctor Stephen Strange.”

Her hands started to glow, but he was the last person to get scared of that. His fists knocked together before he brought them back out, now holding two plate-sized red circles that held runes she had never seen before.

He sighed, “Do you really want to fight me on this?”

She stared at him through her red eyes. Threat, her body screamed. He backed her into a corner, she felt like a bird in a cage all over again, and it terrified her. Her fight-or-flight response was activated, and as soon as that happened, whatever was in her blood was ready to defend her.

“You don’t want to make me angry,” she bellowed.

“You do realize that your powers could either annihilate the universe or yourself, right? This isn’t a joke. This isn’t some childish game that I want to play with you just because it gives me a kick. I asked you here because you not knowing who or what you are, at least not to the full extent you are eventually going to grow to, poses a danger both to the reality I’m trying to protect and to you and everyone you love! Think about your boyfriend–“

Her teeth bared and the color in the palm of her hand grew. “Keep his name out of your mouth,” she said, and while she stayed calm with her voice, the threat in her red eyes became clearer at the mention of him.

“You can twist and turn reality however you choose,” Stephen continued, taking another step toward her. He looked so confident, not at all scared like everyone else, and that made her even angrier.

Her body screamed to run. Her mind reeled and her veins were on fire.

“You can do that and so much more,” he said, “which is precisely what you should beware of. Because a power like that is nothing to be played with, and I am trying to be reasonable with this because I don’t want to hurt or restrain you, but I will if you don’t choose to let me help you out of your own damn will.”

“I don’t answer to you.”

“You see, that is not your choice to make. Not anymore. Not after what you told me and what I’m seeing in your terrified little eyes right now. There is something so strong inside of you, it’s twisting your mind and that is going to be the death of you.“

“Fuck you! You don’t get to decide who I am. I make that decision. I won’t be your prisoner and I am not your test rabbit.”

“Eliza, think this through,” he said. “Only one of us is in full control of their powers, and it sure as hell isn’t you!”

“Oh, Stephen,” Eliza brought her hands up, “I have never been more in control.”

“Okay, let’s do this another way.”

The world around her changed suddenly, it split in two and grew in glass around her. She stood amid endless mirrors, the world outside unreachable.

Threat.

She looked around in panic, the pictures of her dreams returning in her head. She saw herself in the mirrors, her red eyes and hands, and she multiplied wherever she looked. There was no way out. Stephen stepped through the glass and in front of her, that much was real, but the mirrors seemed surreal, like a nightmare come true and she would wake up any second.

Upon the move of his hands, the bookshelf split apart and started spiraling down. That was enough for her to act. She wasn’t sure what compelled her, but she did the same thing that she did when she fell – she broke through the mirrors, her hand pushed out at her side and the red hitting the glass with such a force, it splintered.

Stephen seemed taken aback. Whatever had been done to the bookshelves stopped and the glass soared through the floor. The first set of books flew toward him.

“How is that possible?” he growled, dodging the attack.

Eliza panted when she told him, “Let me go!”

“No can do-”

“Fine!”

At the same time he conjured up the glowing red strings, she channeled her anger into her hands and pushed forward. Both of their powers met in the middle, the same way the alien tech had clashed against hers, but she was stronger than him this time and it only sent him flying back, and Stephen crashed into one of the displays.

She stared at her hands, shocked and partly impressed. He was still breathing, his groans told her as much, but she didn’t have the time to stick around. She needed to get out. She had made him angry and he would trap her if she didn’t run, she was sure of that. The panic drove her down the stairs and toward the exit.

From behind her, his faint voice rang out, “You can’t run from who you really are!”

He obviously had never met her.

How long had she been in the Sanctum? New York had gotten dark outside, the lights of the city offering some guidance on her way toward the more crowded street. Her phone started to vibrate and she pulled it out. Somehow Stephen must have intercepted her service because she had several calls and text messages on her screen, most of them from Matt, but there were also some worried questions coming from Foggy’s end.

She sighed heavily, her hand reaching out to flag down a cab while she deleted the notifications and pulled out her credit card instead. “Hell’s Kitchen,” she told the driver.

His eyes got stuck on her. “Oh, my God, you are-”

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” she said, already having expected that reaction, but the more they waited the closer Stephen would get, “Now drive!”

He hit the gas.

During the thirty-minute drive, Eliza typed in Foggy’s number and waited for him to pick up with a bouncing leg. “C’mon,” she murmured.

Finally, after what felt like forever, his voice rang out, “Liz, where the fuck have you been?”

“Is Matt still at the office?” she asked.

“No, he left about two hours ago. Seriously, we couldn’t reach you for hours. Where are you?”

“I did a very stupid thing,” her breath hitched, “and he is gonna be so mad at me. Did he say he was, y’know, going out to find me?”

“He didn’t say anything, he just said he needed to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed. What do you mean you did a very stupid thing? And don’t ignore my question now.”

“Oh, fuck me! This is not gonna end well. I’m in a cab right now. I can’t answer your question, not right now, so just— I need to get home and talk to Matt. He’s probably gonna kill me, but right now, I don’t really care. Thanks, Foggy. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Liz, wait—“

He was cut off by the line clicking and going dead silent. She hung up on him.

The cab dropped her off a couple of blocks from the apartment. She paid and made her way to what she suspected was her certain death.

She quickly unlocked the door, storming through and locking it back behind her. She closed all possible deadbolts and even then it didn’t seem enough. The light in the apartment was on, to her surprise, but she couldn’t care less about that right now.

Matt jumped from the couch. “Where the fuck have you been?” he asked, the worry clearly written on his face. But most of all, he was angry.

She ignored him, quickly moving onto the windows and pulling all the curtains shut.

“Eliza,” he urged.

“Just hold on a second,” she said. She jumped up the stairs to the rooftop access door and locked that one too. In the bedroom, she closed the window and the curtains. She made sure all entrance points were locked before he forcefully pulled her in front of him and glared at her.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“I did a very bad thing.”

“Oh, what did you do?”

She bit her lip. “Can you let me go?” His fingers dug into her upper arms. “You’re hurting me.”

Matt blinked out of it, instantly letting her go. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to–“

“Would you believe me if I told you that a wizard without a hat but a floating cape is after me?”

“What?”

“Yeah, I reacted the same when I first saw him, but then he continued talking about how he knew me and he knew a lot of things that the media didn’t state, so he seems to really have unlimited knowledge, and he told me that magic is very much real. And he has the time stone, which is– they’re all calling for me, but seeing one in person was, like, so intense,” she said. “And then he continued talking about how the reality stone came to be, how it got into me, and how I should not have survived, which kind of makes me special because the universe chose me, but I also pose a threat to said universe because my powers are so strong and I need to be controlled because he’s supposed to protect the universe and he’d put it before my life if I ever became a threat, so yeah, a wizard just threatened to kill me if I don’t learn how to control this power raging through me and he wanted to keep me there to shape me into whatever he wants me to be, and I said no.”

“Eliza, slow down–“

She wasn’t planning on it; her body was burning brightly with adrenaline.

“And then he kept talking about how my dreams were some sort of vision and that there is a multiverse, which I told him is ridiculous because you said there is only one God and I believed that, so I blamed it on him, which also seems plausible because he sent me a card that led me there and he knew who I was, so I suspect he gave me those visions to make me feel like I’m going crazy and he can use me for whatever perverted purpose he has for my powers or something like that because he is a wizard after all. After aliens, that’s not so far off and that’s not what struck me. I mean, look at me, I’m not human either, so he could have given me visions, definitely. I refused to let him persuade me to follow him because I am done following men the way they want me to, and then we fought, I kind of broke some sort of mirror dimension, which also should not be possible, and then I fought a wizard and his cape and then I ran, so now I’m here. Don’t be mad at me, please, I am very terrified right now and I don’t know how to place my emotions so I am about to break down and I fear that if you don’t hug me, I might fall apart.”

He opened his arms. “C’mere.” Her arms wrapped around him and squeezed tightly, her eyes crowding with tears and then she was crying again, and he held her because he wasn’t sure what else to do.

She sobbed, “I’m scared, Matty.” She never admitted she was scared.

He rubbed her back, lips pressed to her hair. “I know, baby,” he said.

“Don’t let him take me, please.”

“I would never, you’re safe here. I’ve got you. He won’t touch you.”

“I’m so sorry I left.”

“Don’t worry about it. What matters is that you’re safe. I just need— I’m confused too, I need a moment to process what you said, but I got you.”

He held her face and she whimpered. Kissing her tears, Matt tried not to panic. Her words made sense to her, but not to him. He was confused and he was scared that he couldn’t understand. He wasn’t made for this kind of life, and she had told him that once. It had been an emotional reaction, something she didn’t mean because she had endless faith in him, but he started to lose faith in himself and God because this world completely wrecked his brain. It drove a bulldozer over his belief system.

He tried to be strong for her, but it was only getting harder. She was crying and she needed him to hold her, to be strong and make the fear go away, protect her from the ghosts and demons of her past and present, but how could he help her if he didn’t even know what he was helping her with?

Matt set her down on the sofa. She was still shaking violently. He took the comforter from the backrest and wrapped the plaid around her shoulders.

He kissed her forehead. “I’m gonna grab you some water. Sit tight.”

Her eyes focused blankly on the wall before her, the painting that hung there, and the cracks in the stone. She pulled her legs up to her chest. Her head was splitting and she felt the hole in her chest. She felt the power and it ran her dry. She needed more while at the same time, she needed nothing at all. She wanted the spiral to stop.

And she began to think, as she thought back to what she had done to Stephen and what he showed her, perhaps he was right. Perhaps there was something about his true words and she needed help. She knew she needed help, but the kind he had offered was. Or did she?

He handed her the water bottle. “Can you explain it to me again?” he asked. “Slower this time so I can understand.”

“I don’t–“ she swallowed, admitting honestly then, “I don’t understand.”

“Take a deep breath and then tell me exactly what happened. We can go from there.”

Eliza took a deep breath. She could remember what happened, she remembered everything and so she recalled everything that happened at the Sanctum and what Stephen said and did and told Matt every detail. She still didn’t understand what she was talking about, but the story met his ears and he started thinking about it. The more she said, the more the hairs on his arms stood up. Goosebumps covered his skin. His heartbeat was up to his throat.

In the end, she was wracked with sobs again. “I’m so sorry,” she cried, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Viktor’s gonna plead not guilty, which means I have to testify and I have to face him and I really thought that was it. I thought I would never have to worry about being wanted for what’s inside of me ever again. I’m so scared, Matt, and I don’t like being scared because it messes with my head.”

“He called you a threat, but he doesn’t know you as I do,” he said.

“But he’s a wizard, he has the time stone. What if–“ Eliza took a sip of the water, “What if he’s right and I pose a threat to the universe? I can’t possibly understand what I’m facing, what he’s facing, what we’re all facing. He does. So either he’s a master manipulator or he’s right.”

“Baby, I’m gonna be honest with you, I didn’t understand a thing of what you said. All of this– it’s new to me and I’m scared, too. I’m scared that I can’t help you and it’s killing me inside, but I do know one thing, you are not a threat and you are not a monster. He had no right pressuring you like that and you did the right thing running because he doesn’t get to have power over you. No one does. It’s your choice and you said no, which is exactly what you should have done.”

She took in a shaky breath. “Okay,” she nodded slowly. “So I’m just gonna have to sit it out and hope he doesn’t come after me?”

Matt smiled softly. “Yes.”

“How? I mean, he could come back any second. He could haunt me in my dreams. He’s a wizard,” Eliza said. “He can do the weirdest shit, I saw him do it, so coming to get me and chaining me to his little palace for all eternity wouldn’t be so hard.”

“He’s not going to get you. He can come, but he has to go through me and I am going to put up one hell of a fight. I’d rather die than let him get to you,” he said.

She sniffled. “You’re gonna be here to protect me?”

“Always.”

He settled down next to her and pulled her into his chest. His heartbeat calmed her, she focused on that and she focused on his steady breathing. She allowed her heartbeat to align with his, finally relaxing enough to breathe.

Her eyes fluttered close eventually. It was a small nap, probably only fifteen minutes before there was a knock on the door. She shot up, eyes wide. “He’s here,” she breathed.

When she jumped from the couch, Matt reached his arms out in a soothing motion. “No, you’re okay, it’s just Foggy,” he said. He could hear his friend’s familiar heartbeat on the other side.

“Are you sure? Maybe he’s just pretending to be Foggy to fool you into letting him in.”

“No, baby, I’m sure. His heart sounds a certain way and he smells… well, I can’t explain it, but you can’t fool me. In that regard, my heightened senses are foolproof. Just breathe, alright? You’re okay, you’re safe.“

She remained standing, eyes narrowed at the door. He unlocked it, allowing Foggy inside, then locked all the deadbolts as she had before.

Eliza reached for the fruit ball on the dinner table. He opened his mouth to greet her, but instead Foggy was met with an apple straight to his chest. The fruit pearled off of him and he followed the trail, clearly confused. He didn’t fight, he didn’t change forms, he simply stood there, lost and confused.

“Did you just throw an apple at me?” he asked eventually, regaining some of his composure.

Her defensive stance slacked. “Tell me something only you would know,” she said.

Foggy exchanged a confused look with Matt who only nodded, a silent plea for him to indulge her because she was scared, she was sweating and her heartbeat sounded through the roof. He needed her to calm down and if this was what it would take, he had to play along.

He took a second to collect himself. “Matt likes to stuff his sweatpants into his socks because he hates it when the temperature of his ankles and the rest of him are different. It triggers his, uh, super senses? I don’t know what they’re called,” he said. “But he does it every time he wears sweatpants, which doesn’t happen often, he’s always liked to walk around with as little clothing as possible. Now please–“ Foggy pointed at her hand, “would you put the banana down?”

Eliza relaxed, she put the fruit back in the bowl and straightened up. “It’s really you,” she said, sighing a breath of relief. “I thought you were– I’m sorry. I had to make sure you were real.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“My bad decision is coming to bite me in the ass.”

“What exactly did you do?”

“You wouldn’t get it even if I explained.”

“Try me.”

For the second time that night, she gave a recap of what she went through with Stephen Strange, the Doctor who also happened to be a sorcerer.

Foggy looked just as distraught as Matt, and the latter was even more confused upon hearing it a second time. His fist tightened around the tea he had brewed for them. He handed one mug to Foggy, the other to his girlfriend and he held the other to his chest.

Foggy blinked the fog in his eyes away. “So basically you just met a wizard who wanted to force you to stay with him so he could train you because of that stupid infinity stone that’s in your blood?” he said.

She nodded, “Pretty much.”

“Cool. That’s cool. Cool, cool, cool–“

“Something tells me it’s not cool,” she said.

“Because it is not!” He threw his hands up. “A multiverse, are you kidding me? What is this? Scooby Do? The Matrix? Fucking Avatar? What the fuck, Eliza?!”

“Dude, I don’t know!” Eliza retorted. She shrugged so high, her shoulders hurt. “I’m just as confused as you are, except all of this isn’t all that new to me. But I am freaking out and telling you everything doesn’t just make me gain infinite knowledge. I am scared, Foggy! I’m scared and I hate my life. So whether or not we understand doesn’t matter, I just don’t want Stephen Strange to come in here and get me so that he can trap me like he told me he would. I wanted answers, what I got was much worse and now I’m even more confused than I was before!”

She broke down again, head in her hands as she sobbed. Matt instantly wrapped his arms around her, shooting a warning glare in Foggy’s direction.

He sighed. “I’m sorry, you’re right. This wasn’t– I didn’t mean to react like that.”

She waved him off.

“Hey,” said Foggy, “You had every right to get out of there. He’s an asshole. He doesn’t get to tell you who you are. Bad enough Viktor already fucked with your head. No,” he took her hand, “You did the right thing. Fuck him and fuck his floating cape!”

Her chuckle sounded broken but somehow Foggy always managed to lighten the mood. “Thank you,” she said.

“You have more important things to worry about.”

“The hearing.”

Eliza gnawed at the inside of her cheek. She completely pushed it away. “I hate that I have to see him,” she admitted quietly.

Matt sat back down beside her, Foggy settling on the other side. She leaned her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder, her best friend holding her other hand.

Lips pressed to the crown of her head. “We’ve got you,” he murmured. “And once that is done, we focus on the wizard.”

“You think he’ll come after me?”

“I’d like to see him try,” Foggy said.

“If he hasn’t come to get you yet, he’s not going to tomorrow,” Matt told her. “And even if he does, I’ll protect you with my life.”

She was satisfied with that answer. She could worry about him once Viktor was locked away. She could worry about herself once she put the man who ruined her life behind bars.

You pose a threat to the universe.

She scoffed. Stephen Strange could fuck himself.

At 221 Bleeker Street, the mood was lower than usual, but it wasn’t ill intent that laid in the air. Hurt pride cut it the closest.

Stephen Strange got to his feet, snapping his fingers to put the glass cage back together. He had barely brushed the shards off when Wong came sprinting up the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “What happened?”

“Eliza Bennett happened,” Stephen answered through gritted teeth.

“You got her here? Where is she?” Wong looked around, but his friend merely sneered.

“She left.”

He took a moment to eye him closer. “Why do you look like you’ve just been thrown into a wall?”

“She wouldn��t listen, so she left. That’s all you need to know.”

“So, a kid beat you?” he said.

Stephen lifted his finger, his eyes wide and lips pressed into a thin line. “She did not beat me!” he said. “And she’s not a kid, she’s an adult.”

Wong laughed. “She did beat you.”

“That’s a lie. I let her go.”

“If you actually did that, you’re dumber than I thought.”

He sighed in exasperation. “I underestimated her,” he admitted. “Seems like her mind knows what to do. The stone is communicating with her, keeping her in check and in control. And the dreams she’s been having… Wong, if this keeps happening, we might have a bigger problem at our hands than that girl.”

“Then we should get her back,” said Wong. “Right now, we’ll get her and force her to help us.”

Stephen shook his head. He stood at the top of the stairs, turning to his friend before he said while descending, “She’s gonna come back.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because she was simply scared. As soon as she realizes she can’t do this alone, which she will, she’s gonna come back, begging at my feet.”

“Oh, even though she didn’t hesitate to beat you?”

Halfway down, he twirled around. “She did not beat me!” His voice echoed off the high walls, but Wong’s laugh only filled the room once again as he disappeared.

“She totally beat you.”

"Wong!"

#matt murdock #daredevil #foreigner's god #matt murdock smut #matt murdock x ofc #matt murdock fic #matt murdock x female!oc #daredevil fic #matt murdock x oc #matt murdock imagines #human disaster matt murdock #doctor strange #mcu multiverse #mcu spoilers ahead #marvel #matt murdock angst #matt murdock fluff

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kichimiangra · 9 months

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Between Kei and Pipotchi, who has more Pretty Boy Energy? (I'm already incorporating "Pipotchi got tutored by both of them while learning to be a star" into my belief system)

I would say it depends on who you ask. As much as both have that pretty boy swag going, the average Piposaru (aside from Yellow) would probably consider Pipotchi prettier than Kei due to being the same species while finding Kei to be "An adorable human" and vice versa with Humans finding Kei to be the more attractive while finding Pipotchi to be "An Adorable Chimpanzee" I too actually like the "Pipotchi gets tutored by Kei and Yumi" concept. I know I went on a long tirade about how Kei needed more to stand out, but I also wish the twins themselves felt a little more connected to the rest of the Protagonists. Spike and Jake are the o.g.'s, and Jimmy and Pipotchi are connected through both being Spike's cousins AND sharing the Professor and Natalie as his support.

Kei and Yumi though have no personal connection to their predecessors and have their own support in the form of each other and Aki as their Prof. The only connection to the original groups are that when Spike, Jimmy, and the Prof. are out of commission Natalie chooses to call on these new protags for some reason, and that Aki was on the Pipo helmet project with the Prof. and Tomoki.

I like to think that the team protag friend group looks like this:

Where it's more like 2 separate friend groups connected through Spike and Jimmy (and Pipotchi) being cousins. Not that they all don't get along, but that Jimmy and Pipotchi are more part of the twins' Friend group than Spikes. According to what (Un)official sources I can find (the wiki plus other sources plus me just making shit up) Jimmy is possibly a year younger than Spike and so are possibly the twins putting them and Jimmy as the same age... which means nothing in the long run of friendship but I digress.

The idea that the Twins are connected to the friend group through Pipotchi and Jimmy and the idea of them inevitably tutoring Pipotchi feels like a nice solid connection to the overall rest of the team protag.

I never actually thought of why he has the bandaid on his nose outside of "Bumps into doorknobs a lot" but his character design doesn't look right without it. If he does have a scar he probably got it in some mundane way and only cover's it not because he's vain, but because he doesn't want to look intimidating to others.

OR if you want to go the over-the-top K-Drama route of things; it could be a scar he got on his face from being bit by a young scared Pipotchi, and out of fear of what would happen to poor Pipotchi if he had a bite on his record, actively did something to make the wound significantly worse so it didn't look like a bite wound but scarred horribly because of how bad he personally made it and then lied about what happened to his face, claiming he was riding a skateboard or something and at full speed fell off and skidded his face along the curb. But both he and Pipotchi know the truth so Jimmy covers it up so nobody has to think about it recurringly. Or maybe Pipotchi doesn't even remember where Jimmy got the scar, he's always had it to Pipotchi's memory, Spike remembers him going to the hospital to get it stitched up but only knows the story Jimmy chose to tell making Jimmy the only one who knows the truth about the scar. WHO KNOWS?

I have been quoting this non-stop since it entered my ask box because it is actually that funny/snarky.

Pipotchi: Surprsingly thinks Spike's head is more empty than Jimmy's. Also Jimmy punishing a naughty Pipotchi: Jimmy: "Punishment time!" Pipotchi: "DON'T DO IT!" Jimmy thinks: Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma! Naked Grandma!

Pipotchi: D:< "JIMMY NO I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT GRANDMA NAKED STOP!!!!"

Jimmy's Chimp-specific Gaydar activates. You don't need to be smart to have Chimp-Specific Gaydar. When he was building his character sheet god was like "Hey buddy don't you wanna put any of that into like... math or something? I mean putting all your points into detecting homosexuality in other species is a bit niche? When are you ever going to use that specific skill in your upcoming life?" "Ah I dunno god that part is kinda your job. Maybe if you give me a gay monkey brother or something?" "...How the hell am I supposed to arrange the stars to make THAT work?!" "Eh.... I don't need to chew gum and walk at the same time. I think I'll put those points in Chimp-Gaydar too." ".....fml.... this kid...."

He probably wouldn't stop at one and just have a huge collection of them to go with every outfit/costume in his home and work wardrobe, but would prefer his o.g. because he's just used to the weight on his head. Although Specter in MM and other games has seemingly had a variety of helmets so at bare minimum Pipotchi would want more than Specter and the FM5 on principle.

See... that's a good scene. That's badass. That's 3 milimeters from reinacting the death of Baldur and bringing about ape ragnarok!

just thinking of a full protag kidnapping scenario and all of them being given something akin to a rank that determines their permissions on the SARU Station and moon bases only to all check each other's permissions and see that surprisingly of everyone there Jimmy has the most permissions accessible to him pisses everybody off.

#art #ape escape #nannersverse #ape escape specter #ape escape jimmy #ape escape spike #ukki yellow #monkey yellow #yellow monkey #ape escape ukki yellow

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bayisdying · 1 year

Text

Lucky Penny - Chapter 17

A/N: I am so so so sorry that this took so long to get out to you guys. Writers block was so real for this chapter and even once I had it figured out it still wasn't coming as easily as writing usually does for me. I hope you guys enjoy it, and as always feedback back is appreciated!

8 Months Post Mission:

Wedding planning shouldn't be harder than flying a fighter jet but it sure felt that way.

The normally very in sync couple were fighting over everything.

"Can it be a Stars War theme?"

"Absolutely not."

"Can we have Mav officiate?"

"Um I'm sorry, that's a terrible idea!"

But it wasn't just little fights, they were having full on arguments over very important things. Firstly, the guest list. The Garcia clan was massive, Mickey's parents had a total of eleven siblings, and all of those siblings had children, and most of those children had children. Mickey himself was one of five, and all his siblings were married and three of them had kids. Plus he still had all his grandparents, and God knows how many other distant relatives. They could easily account for 150 people which was way more people than Lucky wanted there.

She wanted small, intimate. Their immediate families and their friends. That's it. She didn't have the large family background. The Steele family had never accepted her as one of their own even after William officially adopted her. When she had been five years old she tried calling his parents "Grandma and Grandpa" she had been punished. The two Christmases they had been invited to - there had been no presents under the tree for Baylie while she watched as the cousins she wasn't allowed to play with opened box after box.

So really all she had left was her mother, maternal grandparents, and a handful of assorted family members. And as much as she loved all of the wild Garcia's she couldn't help but feel a little inferior to them. He could pack a whole church with his family, whereas she could count her family on one hand.

Their fighting comes to a head one day when a very stressed out Fanboy snaps when Lucky is contemplating who is going to walk her down the aisle.

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucky asked.

"I know you wish it was William, but he's dead and he wasn't even really your father. It's time to get over it."

He regretted the words as soon as they flew from his mouth, and especially when he saw the hurt in her eyes. She stood up and walked towards the door.

"Wait Bay.."

"Save it. I'm leaving."

And she did just that, grabbing nothing, not even shoes.

It had been only sprinkling when Lucky left the cottage, by the time she made it by foot to the Kazansky household it was a full blown downpour. She was soaking wet from head to toe and she wasn't sure which were tears or raindrops on her cheeks. She usually didn't knock or ring the doorbell, she was welcome in at anytime. But she rang the doorbell, not wanting to interrupt whatever her surrogate parents were doing.

When Ice opened the door, it took him far longer than normal to figure out that the tiny, soaked frame was that of his Lucky.

"What the fuck?" Came Dragon's voice from behind him. "Baby girl come here."

While Dragon led Lucky to the bathroom to get her out of her wet clothes and into a warm shower, Iceman went full on Papa Bear mood.

He started by taking a few deep breaths, and bypassed Fanboys contact to find the group chat he had created with Rooster and Hangman.

-----

The Hard Deck was busy as usual, and sitting in a corner booth were the foursome of Rooster, Hangman, Cinco, and Spicy who was currently on break.

"Oh look it's Mickey." Roo pointed to the bar, where their friend was sitting alone. "wonder where Lucky is?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to go invite him over here." Cin said as she emptied the rest of her beer. "I need a refill anyways."

She made her way to the bar, Penny handing her another beer, before she takes a place next to Mickey who tensed up.

"Hey buddy, where's our girl?"

No response.

"Fanboy? What's up?"

Nothing.

"You want to come join us in the corner?"

"Just leave me alone Cin, okay?" He snapped at her, causing her to recoil. "I'm not in the mood."

"What the hell Miguel?"

He went back to not responding until she got the hint and went back to the table with a dejected look on her face.

"What's his problem?" Jake asked.

Cin just shrugged, still feeling the sting of his rejection.

"He looks really grumpy." Spicy noted.

"I mean him and Lucky are planning the wedding, maybe it's a little stressful?" Rooster added as an observation, forever playing the optimist.

Just as he finished his statement both his and Jake's phones vibrated on the table. They flip them over in unison and read the text.

"Hey girls we will be right back." Rooster stated as him and Jake made a beeline to the bar, leaving their phones behind. The girls shared one look as Spicy reached out for Bradley's phone. Everyone knew his passcode, "1986" (the boy isn't original at all okay?)

Cin scooted closer to her friend, and they read the text from "Uncle Ice"

"Boys, I don't know what happened but Lucky showed up at our doorstep about an hour ago crying. She won't tell us what happened just that Mickey said something awful. Dragon got her to take a shower and now she's laying on the couch still crying. Help."

Spicy set the phone back down and sighed.

"What the hell could he have said to make her that upset?" Cin whispered.

"Something really, really bad."

----

Rooster had finally convinced Fanboy to take a walk with him while Jake paid for another round for him and the girls.

They walked down to the beach in total silence, before Rooster finally asked the burning question. "What happened?"

Fanboy sighed and closed his eyes. "I didn't mean to say it, it just came out man."

"What did you even say?"

"I told her that..William was dead and she needed to get over it."

Rooster took a deep breath, mainly to mask his anger, when he regained his composure his voice was barely above a whisper "why would you say that to her?"

"It's been a stressful few months, we went from not knowing if she was going to survive to planning a wedding where we can't agree on anything. Everything has been a fight."

"Maybe a night away from everything is what you two need."

"She's never going to want me back after I said that, I messed up almost six years with the most amazing woman with one sentence."

Rooster smirked. "Yeah right, that girl is crazy about you, she'll forgive you for this."

Mickey raised an eyebrow.

"She looks at you the way my Mom looked at my Dad, and how she continued to look at his pictures even after he died." Bradley paused. "And you look at her how Dad looked at Mom. Like she's the only person you can see in a room full of people. You smile as soon as she's in eyesight, and when she's not looking you look at her like she hung every star in the sky just for you. You two remind me so much of my parents, and they were an epic love story. This won't tear that kind of love apart."

Mickey just shakes his head, "William was her first knight in shining armor Roo. She carries around the hurt of losing him like a weight on her shoulders. He will always be her first love. I'm just the dumbass who gets to love the woman he raised her to be."

"And that woman knows you never meant to hurt her." Roo pats his buddy on the shoulder. "And that woman loves you so much it's blinding, everyone knows you two are inseparable."

Mickey knew the other shoe was about to drop, he could see the shift in Bradley's eyes, he was going from being his best friend to Lucky's.

"But you hurt her in the worst way, using something so sacred to her. You have no idea what losing a parents does to you, and she watched him die for six months before he actually died. She went to every chemo, every doctor's appointment, and she watched him fade away." Bradley had to stop his voice from rising. "You can't possibly imagine how that is, and this wasn't even the man who shared her DNA. This was the man who stepped up to the plate and raised her when her biological father wouldn't. He didn't run away from Delilah when he realized she had a daughter. Instead he became a damn good father, loved her, cared for her, and did everything for her. That's why she still talks to him after all these years. She has never had to question whether he loved her, because he proved it every single day."

They stood in total silence, the only noise was that of the waves.

-----

Back at the Kazansky house, Dragon had finally gotten Baylie to calm down enough to explain what happened. She covered Lucky with a warm blanket and picked up her phone.

Dragon was only a little upset when Fanboy let her phone call go to his voice-mail. She had wanted to actually talk to him, but this would have to work.

"Listen very carefully Miguel, I know you're both stressed, but what you said was so wrong. Sober up, and come by the house tomorrow to apologize. Just remember one thing, Ice and I would do anything for her. That includes hurting you for hurting her. See you tomorrow."

Fanboy listened to the voice-mail over and over again. Not to hear the bite in her voice when she said his name, or the threat. But because he could hear Baylie crying in the background and that sound was killing him inside.

He knew he had to do something big to win her back, and knowing his girl it was going to take all his romantic prowess.

-----

The next morning Ice had made Lucky pancakes, and watched as she just picked at them. It was breaking his heart seeing her so sad.

"Come on Lucky girl, it will be okay."

Before Lucky can respond they hear something out on the front lawn, they join Dragon who is peering out of a window.

"What the hell is this?" Lucky asked.

"Pretty sure your man is trying to make up to you." Dragon replied and stepped aside so Lucky could see.

Standing next to the Bluetooth boombox Lucky had bought him the last Christmas was Mickey. He was fumbling with his phone, and he has what looks like poster board in his hands.

"Oh my God."

Lucky opened the front door and the trio walked out onto the front porch to watch the show. Mickey put on a serious face noticing his audience. He also noticed how Lucky looked like she had been crying non-stop for hours.

"I wanted to say I'm so sorry cariño. I love you so much so I wanted to show you that."

He clicks a button on his phone, and "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee start playing, resulting in very confused looks.

"Shit shit shit." They could barely hear Mickey over the music. He messed with his phone and the music stopped.

"Wrong song Garcia!" Dragon yelled to cut the tension.

"I know!" He yelled back, clearly stressed.

He frantically scrolled and finally found the right song. The next time the boombox came to life "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias started up causing Lucky to laugh this was the song he would sing to her whenever she was sad.

Fanboy turned the poster board around and she read the words.

"I want to be your hero baby." it was decorated poorly with pictures of them both through the years.

Lucky immediately started to laugh, he may have been cheesy as hell but she loved it.

She finally joined him out on the front lawn, he opened his arms and she ran into them. He wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Cariño..."

"Oh just kiss me Mickey."

He obligated her plea, kissing her hard, making damn sure the kiss said everything he wanted to;

She was his forever girl.

He never wanted to let her go.

He couldn't wait to marry her.

-----

A/N: would it be a chapter of Lucky Penny if there wasn't any angst? 18 actually is way less angsty. That's a promise.

Tagging the Besties: @mtnofgrace @mrsjaderogers @callsign-dragonbaron @callsign-milano @callsignthirsty @callmemana @breadsquash @cycbaby @kloofspeaks @roosterscockpit @notyoursbutlewis

#top gun #top gun maverick #mickey fanboy garcia #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #lucky x fanboy #baylie lucky steele #callsign lucky #lucky penny #fanboy x lucky #mickey fanboy garcia x oc #mickey fanboy garcia fic #bayisdying

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papa-evershed · 7 months

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I just read your fic and it's ace! Love the Daniel fantasy of a kitchen fuck.

So, your before I read your fic, I'd actually just finished one of my own based on your idea of him needing a bit of self-release. I haven't really written anything like this before and I just did it in bits and pieces throughout the day on my phone, but I wanted to share it with you anyway because of the Daniel love.

It's set around episode two of the series and mentions some stuff from it. Cameo from The Coat, the cat, and a blep.

I don't have AO3 or anything, so feel free to share it with your followers on here. I don't have any that aren't bots because I'm a lurker 😂 And I hope you enjoy it as much as I did yours and all your content ❤️

...

It was another early finish to a disappointing Thursday at the restaurant. Daniel sighed and leaned back against the door of his flat, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers into the sockets, trying to alleviate some of the building tension in his head. He only opened them again when he felt Gordon winding his way between his legs, purring enthusiastically.

Daniel had adopted the ginger stray about a year ago when he found the cat mooching around behind the restaurant. After feeding him scraps and telling him his worries for a couple of months, he finally popped the cat in a box, had him checked over by a vet, and officially become his owner. As much as anyone can really own a cat. He had to admit, it was nice to come home to something other than an empty flat and a stack of overdue bills.

Shrugging out of his heavy coat, he followed the cat through to the kitchen. Sitting on the counter, next to a half drank bottle of red wine, was the bill of service for his father's funeral. The cremation they never planned that was interrupted with the news that his father's sudden death might be murder. He picked up the piece of paper and shut it in a drawer with other pieces of paper he couldn't quite face tonight. Gordon meowed loudly and jumped on the counter demanding attention. Daniel scratched the cat behind the ears before grabbing his bowl from the drying rack and a pouch of wet food from the cupboard. With a flourish he set the food down before Gordon, as though presenting a dish he'd cooked to a customer at his restaurant.

"And for sir, the cooked chicken with green beans." Gordon attacked the meal hungrily.

With a slight smile Daniel stood back and reached for the bottle of red. He picked it up before changing his mind and heading for the fridge. He wanted a hot shower to try and scrub away the day and his problems with it, and a bottle of beer was better suited for the job of shower drinking. He took a long draft of beer on the way to the bathroom, he wanted nothing more than to relax and forget for just a short while.

The bathroom light threw him into sharp relief. All angles and dark undereyes. Hair grey where it had been dark, lines where they hadn't been a few years ago. He felt weary, like all the fight had left him. The fight for the restaurant, the fight to settle his father's will, the fight against Glen - his shady creditor and sister's ex - and, the fight to find out who might have murdered his father. He flung on the shower and turned it to hot. Another long pull on the beer and Daniel kicked his trainers off. He dragged his jumper and t-shirt over his head together, then tossed them into the corner of the bathroom, before stepping out of his jeans, socks, and boxers and discarding them the same. Grapping the beer for another slug, he stepped into the steaming shower, and placed it on a high shelf out of the stream of water.

He closed his eyes and let the water run over his body. It was a moment of quiet relief amidst the chaos of his life. He ran his hands through his hair, which thankfully he hadn't lost yet unlike a lot of his mates, and then made quick work of washing the kitchen smell away with a coconut shampoo. He'd had a partner once who used the brand, and even though they'd moved on, the shampoo had stayed, like so many pieces of personalities acquired through relationships. The coconut and shea butter shower gel hadn't been a relationship hangover, that was all him. He liked the smell, a reminder of holidays to places with warm breezes and boozy nights. As he lathered the soap against his body his mind drifted - to how he used to be firmer in places he was turning soft, to how he used to shave his chest because "manscaping" was the thing, to how long it had been since someone else had touched him. Without realising it his hand settled between his legs, first meandering around washing away the day, then lingering, cupping at his balls, and running up and down his length until it began to stiffen.

His mind continued to wander, this time to how easy it had all been when he was younger, all the wait staff that came and went from the various restaurants he'd worked at, easy fun for a night or two. But that was before he was the boss, the owner, before the responsibilities. Even then he'd found some fun, getting his cock sucked by his ex after a successful opening night, pushed back against the walk in fridge, moaning in pleasure after all the customers had gone. No matter what though, it always came back to the restaurant, the debt, Glen, his father, his sisters...

He leaned his forehead against the cool tile letting the water cascade down his back. He tried to forget it all. Everything. Nothing. He focused on his cock. His hand. The rising pleasure and the short relief it would bring. Gripping his balls tightly he stroked at the sensitive skin leading to his arse. He liked having it licked, teased at, having a tongue work all its way back between his buttocks and then forwards again all the way to his tip. His hand found its way back to his cock, pulling the foreskin back from the head he rolled his thumb over the head. With an increasing grip to match his growing erection, he began to work his hand up and down. He made long, slow strokes from root to tip, rolling his palm over the head. He didn't want to take his time over this because he knew his mind would inevitably wander back to the million things outside the shower, but he allowed this moment to linger, feeling himself grow thick and heavy and his palm, the bead of pre-cum forming and being washed away by spray from the shower.

Daniel groaned as he quickened his pace. He watched his hand swiftly moving up and down, intent and focused. He pressed his other palm against the wall, breathing through his mouth as he continued to chase this moment of release. His tongue wet his lips. His cock strained in his palm, inching towards the finish. He furrowed his brow and moved to quick, short strokes towards the head with his thumb and forefingers. As his breathing became shallower he felt the pleasure building inside of him, a wave heading towards the shore. He knew from within it was ready to break. He came with a silent grunt, an open mouth, a look of pleasure and release, and a warm spilling from his cock.

Daniel lay his forehead back against the tile next to his hand. He took long, deep breaths and closed his eyes. As his breathing was returning to normal he stepped back, washing the remaining cum from himself. He scrubbed his hand up his body, mussing the dark hair that spread from his chest to his crotch. He felt better in that instant, but it wasn't to last. As he drained the remains of his beer and turned off the shower other thoughts began to creep back in. The 25k he owed, the father he hadn't really known, a life amounting to nothing much at all.

He grabbed a towel from the rail and ran it over his body. He was tired, but his mind was racing again, the moment of relief already gone. Pacing to the bedroom he pulled on a pair of pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt before heading back to the sparsely decorated living room. Gordon was already sitting on the sofa giving himself a post-dinner bath, and Daniel sunk down next to him. He half-heartedly turned on the TV and began scrolling through the listings before settling on a rerun of a baking show he wouldn't really watch. As he let his tired body melt into the sofa he realised what he really needed was a drink.

He turned to Gordon, "Get us a beer, mate". The cat blinked and in reply, began to lick its crotch.

Ahhh! Thank you for the kind words and I enjoyed yours too! It was steamy but I also enjoyed the bits about his kitty. 😸 An excellent steamy combination of fanon and canon, well done. 🤓

Also, I know you said you didn't have an A03 account but definitely consider it. We need more stories under The Inheritance tag and this one is already written and ready to go. 👀 No pressure though!

#i apologize for the late reply #i've been slacking lately 🫠

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emberaie · 8 months

Text

LILIAN TRUE ❤

True Stories Legacy Challenge | Gen 01 - The Runaway -

Hi! I'm very excited to introduce you to my legacy founder, Lilian True! She will be my generation one heir for my challenge, the true stories legacy challenge! I will be sharing her story here on tumblr for a more story-driven playthrough, and on youtube for a classic lets-play playthrough. I hope you enjoy the LOVELY Lili & my challenge! 😊

True Stories Legacy Challenge => here

Generation One : - The Runaway - “Criminal falls in love & changes their heart”

(inspired by MissLollypop’s legacy stories challenge so it might sound very similar!! I really liked how they started their challenge :) Credit to MissLollypop for the story idea!! https://misslollypopsims.tumblr.com/post/663620963346333696/mls-legacy-stories-challenge

Story - 💕

When you were a child, you were often forgotten and left to fend for yourself. Your parents had no intention of raising you or even loving you. So, you grew up quite independent and angry. When you got old enough you realized that you had no intention of maintaining a relationship with your family… or even having one of your own.

So, when you aged up to a teenager, you decided you’ve had enough. You would look around at your fellow classmates who have these large families with money and you couldn’t help but resent them. After falling in with the wrong crowd, you earned a disdain for education and being in high school at all. So, you decided to leave it all behind. You didn’t really have anyone you cared about in your old life so it would be easy, right? Living life as a runaway teen wasn’t the life you originally wanted. But, if you were being honest, it was much better than your life at home. Scavenging in dumpsters and being a petty thief became your usual day to day, the only thing that made your “life” worth something was working out. Punching a boxing bag or jogging down the pier made you feel alive.

But, after a while of living on your own and rummaging to survive, you realize you needed something more. Maybe some nice food? Without a highschool education it became pretty difficult to find a job. Eventually, you meet a well-known drug dealer who took pity on you and decided to train you in their business, officially starting your life as a criminal. Surprisingly, you were pretty successful. Your lack of emotions and loner lifestyle made you perfect for the career of a drug dealer. After successfully making a pretty good life for yourself by flying through the ranks and becoming well respected in the business, for some reason, you felt unsatisfied. Your life felt empty, without meaning. Now, being an adult you started to feel regret for the choices you made in high school, wishing more than anything you could go back and change your decisions.

Soon enough, you meet someone that makes you rethink everything. You fall in love. Your life feels like it was turned upside down, everything you once thought was wrong and now you want a different life. Your partner encourages you to be yourself, the person you were before all the resentment and anger. They understand how difficult your life was and accept you, for you. It makes you feel loved for the first time in your life. You started to imagine what it would be like to have a family of your own with your partner, to feel loved and to love others. You decide to quit your job as a drug dealer and become a stay-at-home parent and do whatever you can to be a super parent to your kids. You decide to give your kids the life you wanted, the life you deserved. Soon, you found true meaning to your life and realized all along, it was family.

Oh, how love could change a heart.

Mod Requirements - Basemental Drugs

Traits :

Teen - Kleptomaniac, Hot-Headed Young Adult / Adult - Kleptomaniac, Hot-Headed & Mean // Hot-Headed, Family-Oriented, Romantic

Aspiration :

Teen - Public Enemy Young Adult / Adult - Public Enemy // Super Parent

Career :

Young Adult / Adult- Criminal Career // Stay-at-Home Parent

–

Style : Alternative / Casual

Rules :

Teenager -

Move into an empty lot or empty trailer or shack for realism w/ $0. (Either way, your starting from nothing)

Earn money by dumpster diving & stealing from people.

Build a shabby home for yourself using the furniture & money you collect.

Don’t go to school.

Be an F student.

Add the simple living lot challenge.

–

Young Adult / Adult / Elder -

Become a drug dealer using the basemental mod.

< Skip this step & continue to step 6 if playing w/ no mods. >

Join the criminal career.

Master fitness skill lvl. 10.

Reach mischief lvl. 5.

Complete the Public Enemy aspiration.

– (After Completed) –

Meet a partner w/ the Good trait.

After reaching 50% romance w/ partner, change traits.

Kleptomaniac -> Family-Oriented // Mean -> Romantic

Re-select your aspiration to be a super-parent.

Have a private wedding at home.

Quit your job as a criminal & become a stay-at-home parent.

Have more than 2 children.

Have all toddlers receive the Happy Toddler reward trait.

Have all children complete their aspiration.

Master parenting skill lvl. 10.

Master wellness skill lvl. 10.

Complete the Super Parent aspiration.

Take your toddlers/children to the park every week.

Help with your children’s school projects every time.

Knit clothes & toys for your children/grandchildren.

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brainrattlers · 1 year

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Play It Cool - Tyson Jost (39/n)

Pairing: Tyson Jost x OFC (AJ)

Word Count 4272

Need to start from the beginning? Here's where it all began! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza

Want to catch up on last chapter? Check it out here https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-38n/0i8kcvjvk4vq

Warnings: Language, Tyson being cute (you know, same ol' same ol'.) Author's notes: Hey all, sorry about the lack of update last week. Apparently when the Sabres have a bye week, I took it off too. (Real talk, stupid stuff like work and some personal crap came up and I'm still dealing with that. I had half the chapter written for last week and then battled some burnout for a bit. Took a breather to find some motivation.) Tyson's still on the road after AJ's roadie, but she's back in Buffalo, getting the apartment unpacked.

Waking up in Winnipeg, Tyson was conflicted. He had a little extra pep in his step at practice (or strides, as the case may be on the ice) as AJ was his last two games, but he couldn’t help but still wish she was going to be at the game the next night. He was glad she was safe on the ground in Buffalo though, probably up to some sort of shenanigans. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

AJ was dragging. She made it back to Buffalo in one piece after leaving a blizzard in St. Louis, and making her connecting flight just in time to head back. Her ride from the airport actually dropped her off at the hotel one last time, where she piled the few remaining items in their tiny space into Tyson’s Grand Cherokee, did one last sweep of the room, and checked out at the front desk.

The hotel was officially no longer home.

Parking the Jeep next to her own car in the building’s garage in their parking spots, AJ inhaled deeply. Contemplating a nap in Tyson’s vehicle crossed her mind, as her body was exhausted from the stress of the flights earlier. Finally though, AJ got the motivation to get out and start unloading the vehicle, and getting it all upstairs. After four trips up and down and up again, the vehicle was empty, and everything Tyson and AJ had was in the apartment. In boxes strewn everywhere, but in the apartment.

Grabbing her suitcase, she headed for the bedroom pulling out her ziploc bag of toiletries from the flights, and found the box that had the towels in it. Peeling out of her clothes, the hot water of the shower melted away the grime she always felt after a travel day, leaving her feeling loose and, well, still exhausted. Throwing on a pair of joggers and a hoodie, current time AJ was so happy that past AJ put sheets on the bed before she left for the roadie. Pulling back the sheets, she climbed into bed, melting into the feeling that was Tyson’s bed from Minneapolis, from Denver. It felt familiar, it felt right, other than it was missing Tyson.

With a quick snap of a selfie snuggled into the pillows and blankets, AJ sent it to Tyson.

AJ: Home, can’t wait for you to get here. <1 attachment>

Tyson: I will be dreaming of that tonight, and every night until I’m back.

The smile didn’t fade from AJ’s face as she fell asleep, hugging Tyson’s pillow close to her.

After snagging dinner with a few of the guys, Tyson headed back to his own hotel room, coming up with a few ideas of his own in regards to the new place. Just like the last place in Minneapolis, Tyson was letting AJ come up with how to arrange things - she had more of an eye for it than he did. But there were a few things that he wanted to make happen if he could. Trying to recall how AJ had her space set up as far as her computer gear goes previously, the gears started turning in his head as he pulled up the floorplan AJ had originally sent him when she first toured the building. Eyelids getting heavy, he opened a new note on his phone, jotting a few ideas down before giving up for the night.

Fluffing up the extra pillows on the bed next to him, Tyson curled up with them in the hopes it would feel like AJ back home.

“Just a few more nights…” Tyson whispered to himself as he drifted off, dreaming of coming home to AJ after this roadie.

Sunlight streamed in the windows on the east side of the apartment as AJ hadn’t yet hung curtains yet, and it woke her up. Looking at the clock on her phone that was sitting on a box next to the bed, she figured out she literally just slept thirteen hours. Considering her day previously started with an hour and a half of sleep and a ride to the airport at 3:15AM, she didn’t feel bad about it. Rubbing her eyes, there were a lot of boxes to go through in front of her. AJ detoured to get a quick breakfast at the E Cafe around the corner, and was now fueled to take on the morning.

First on the docket was setting up some tech so that the internet worked throughout the rooms. Plus, AJ was tired of listening to music on the tiny speaker of her phone. Within a few minutes, she had set up the modem and router, plugging everything in with a chuckle.

“LET THERE BE WIFI!” AJ boomed, seeing her phone pick up the signal.

Next up was getting a few speakers throughout so music could be heard in all rooms as she traveled around unpacking. With tunes playing, AJ stared at the living room trying to decide which wall the television should be. As she moved the TV stand, the bookcases followed to flank it. Struggling slightly getting the television onto the stand, the cables were hidden, and she turned it on to make sure everything was still working.

In doing so, a lightbulb clicked on in AJ’s head.

Heading to the guest room, AJ pulled a large object from the bed, and placed it on the papasan chair. From behind it in the kitchen, a photo was snapped. Looking at her watch, Tyson should have been awake and probably heading to the arena.

AJ: Well SOMEONE made himself at home. <1 attachment>

Tyson was grabbing a coffee at the hotel before hopping on the bus when his phone buzzed in his suit pocket. Opening up the message, he found Maple the Bear sitting in the chair, clearly not helping unpack boxes.

Removing Maple from the chair, AJ brought him back to the guest room, setting him down next to the giant panda bear that AJ had won for Tyson at the Minnesota State Fair. This gave her an idea for later, but for now, she had to unpack more.

Tackling closets and bathrooms, and finding homes for all of the kitchen gadgets the two amassed took up most of the day. A few texts were shared back and forth, giving Tyson updates on what all AJ was accomplishing, and asking for input. More ideas were coming into his mind, but again, would have to wait until he was back in town. One thing though, he could pull off that night.

AJ’s phone buzzed with a message that wasn’t from Tyson, and it wasn’t from Jess or Nate.

Hi, this is Kevin with Instacart, I have a delivery downstairs for you from Tyson.

Shaking her head, AJ threw her hair back in a messy ponytail and put on some shoes to get downstairs. Kevin was in the lobby, holding a couple bags awkwardly. She dug her wallet out to give the poor soul a tip for having to carry it all inside. Balancing all the bags in her hands, AJ took the elevator back upstairs and down the hall. Once inside, the bags were set on the counter.

Produce, vegetables, meats, boxes of pasta, milk, frozen meals, eggs, cheese… and beer. A six-pack of Blue Moon, to be exact. That made AJ smile, because she could definitely use one this evening with all the unpacking she’d been working on. As food made its way into their new homes on shelves in the pantry, or in the fridge and freezer, she contemplated what she was going to make for dinner, but honestly, really didn’t want to despite the sweet gesture of Tyson sending groceries to her. In fact, she hadn’t quite unpacked all the pots and pans yet, but was getting ready to as it was going to be nice not having to use the same kettle and pan over and over again like they did for months at the hotel.

Just as she was finally coming to terms with it needing to be done, the sound of AJ’s phone vibrating against the kitchen counter snapped her back into reality.

This is Tina with DoorDash, I’m in the lobby with something from Tyson for you.

“What did he do this time?” AJ stared at her phone, smirking as she headed for the door again.

The elevator whooshed down to the main floor, doors opening to let AJ see Tina standing near the desk with a large pizza box. Trading the box for a couple dollar tip, she saw that Tyson had Gino & Joe’s delivered. It smelled delicious as she made her way back up to the twelfth floor again. Opening the box lid, she gasped and giggled.

The pepperoni were in the shape of a heart, filled in with mushrooms. Upon further inspection, a note was scribbled inside the lid.

Hi Eggo, no need to cook tonight, you’ve been working hard. Love you, see you soon. <;3, Tyson

It was nearly 7:00PM, the day went by so fast. Tyson would be getting ready for the game against Winnipeg.

AJ: Tyson Jost, what am I going to do with you? I mean other than love you forever. Thanks for sending everything, especially dinner.

Tyson: I can think of a few things you can do when I get home (winking emoji) Love you

AJ: Kick some ass tonight, I’ll be cheering you on from the sofa with Maple!

Tyson was envisioning AJ sprawled out on the overstuffed gray sofa, box of pizza and a Blue Moon on the coffee table. All the snapshots she’d sent through the day put together a pretty good idea of how things were situated. During his warmup doing a little jogging before getting his gear on, he daydreamed of the next steps in his plan.

Back in Buffalo, AJ settled in with the pizza that she put in the oven to keep warm. Pre-game coverage played on the television. She’d forgotten how comfortable it was to have space, to sprawl out, and to have the big screen TV again - they’d become accustomed to the significantly smaller TV and sofa. Remembering the lamps were set up with wifi plugs, she asked Alexa to turn them off. The glow of the screen illuminated the pretty much set up living room, leaving her to enjoy the pizza and game.

In Winnipeg, Tyson was trying to find the back of the net with six shots on the night, but nothing made it in. Was a solid game for him though, and another W for the team as the points are starting to get important, being on the edge of a wildcard spot for the playoffs.

Between the physical exhaustion from unpacking all day, as well as having a couple beers, AJ’s eyes weren’t staying open. Putting the remaining pizza in the fridge, AJ found her way to her sink in the bathroom (she claimed it anyway, Tyson would just have to deal with using the other one.). After washing her face and taking out her contacts, she grimaced as her stomach wasn’t feeling quite right, although it was a similar feeling that she’d been having the last few weeks, chalking it up to stress and all the crud going around. Popping a few antacids in her mouth, she curled up in bed trying to get comfortable.

A game of Sudoku was interrupted with a notification on her phone from Tyson.

Tyson: One more stop, and I’ll be home. Miss you so much, can’t wait to see what the apartment looks like!

Seeing the words made AJ relax a little bit, her stomach unknotting some.

AJ: Can’t wait to have you back here, it’s lonely in this big space all by myself. Thank you again for dinner, and all the groceries. You’re way too good to me. (heart emoji) Sweet dreams babe, and safe travels in the morning in case I’m not awake yet (sleeping emoji)

Finishing up her game of Sudoku, AJ put her phone down on the box next to the bed, and slept off and on all night, eventually getting up around 6am. Digging her headphones out of her backpack still packed from her flight, AJ headed to the gym downstairs. Her stomach still didn’t feel right, but she powered through a few miles on the elliptical.

Water and crackers seemed to be what was on the menu for breakfast after she got back upstairs and took a shower. Food just didn’t sound good. Sitting at the breakfast bar, AJ scrolled through a few things on her phone - Twitter, Instagram, Reddit. It was too early to text Jess to ask about her thoughts with her stomach, so instead she looked up a few doctor offices in the area. It was time to be an adult and get whatever this is checked out. Once 8AM hit, she started calling a few offices to see if she could find a doc accepting new patients. Somehow she lucked into getting an appointment later that morning as someone canceled at a decently rated doctor in the neighborhood.

In the meantime, AJ looked around at the boxes in the kitchen still, so she started putting in new shelf paper in the cabinets and putting dishes and cooking utensils away. The empty bins started stacking up in the corner, and more floor space was found. And the alarm on her phone let her know when she needed to head off to the doctor’s office.

Halfway across the country, Tyson was landing in Minnesota, and the team made its way to the Xcel Energy Center to have a practice. It was a weird feeling for him being back after the way things ended. No awkward interactions happened though as the Wild were practicing at TRIA Rink that day. A few players asked Tyson for recommendations on places to eat, which he provided, but he wasn’t joining for the night. He had plans with a couple of his former teammates before things would get heated the next day.

It was nice to get caught up on what all had happened in the last couple months, swapping stories. Some of them may not have been Tyson’s teammates very long, but they were still friends all the same. Before he knew it, it was already 9PM, and he had wanted to check in with AJ before she went to bed. He had checked his phone, already seeing a note from her.

AJ: Hey babe, I’m exhausted and going to bed. Hope you’re having a good night, say hey to the guys for me!

Doing the math, she had gone to bed way earlier than the normal late hours he was accustomed to her keeping. Not wanting to wake her up though, he just let it go even though he really had wanted to talk before bed. But figuring unpacking was taking its toll, he pushed down any concern that may have been growing. He sulked a little bit still as he fell asleep in the hotel room bed in a city they used to live in months before.

AJ grumbled at the light shining in the bedroom as the sun crept up in the sky. Still laying in bed, she grabbed her phone, pulling up Target’s website looking at the selection of curtains. Her few plants would love the light from the east side windows, but she needed to be able to sleep a little later in the mornings than the sun was allowing her. As she scrolled through room-darkening curtains, she was interrupted by Tyson wanting to facetime. Before she answered, she scrambled to get her hair down and in relative place and a lopsided smile graced her face.

“Hey babe, how's St. Paul?” AJ was trying to sound chipper despite feeling off still.

Tyson squinted before smiling again, taking in a very tired looking face, “It’s good, hoping to have some good luck tonight. Are you okay? You went to bed early for you last night. I wanted to tell you to have good dreams of me.” He pouted, then smiled trying to keep the feeling light.

“Yeah, I think the last week and change is just catching up with me, I…” AJ didn’t want to worry Tyson, and decided to keep her doctor’s appointment to herself, “I think I just need to get caught up on sleep. But to do that I think I’m going to have to venture out to Target soon and get some curtains. This place has so many windows! So bright in the bedroom…”

An idea hit Tyson’s mind, but he kept up with the conversation. AJ got out of bed and showed some of the spaces she’d unpacked items in, giving an idea of how things were going. He was looking more and more forward to getting home, the place that she was working so hard to create for them to feel comfortable in.

“You know I’ll help when we get back tomorrow, leave some work for me!” Tyson was trying to delegate some of the unpacking duties to himself to allow AJ some rest.

While she tried to hide her bedhead, AJ forgot that the dark circles were still under her eyes. They were a little worrisome to Tyson. But knowing he was going to have to leave soon for a short practice, he encouraged AJ to go back to bed and hide under the covers. He was more than happy to come home and take care of whatever boxes were left in the next few days. Tyson had to make a compromise that he’d allow her to supervise at least.

With a sleepy smile and a kiss blown at the screen, AJ agreed, and closed out the call, finding her way to the kitchen to take some meds and then found solace in the sheets and blankets of their bed. Within minutes, she was sound asleep - it was the best sleep she’d had in days.

The bright light of day was definitely dimmed by the time AJ woke up, unsure of what time it actually was. Frantically searching for her phone that got buried under the blankets that cocooned her, she found it was late afternoon. Her nap lasted almost a full night’s worth of sleep. The bedroom was still out of sorts, so her task for the remainder of the afternoon was at least to get nightstands set up and unpack some clothes into their closet and her dresser. The thought of putting Tyson’s clothes away crossed her mind, but she figured she’d let him put things where he wanted. With most of the bedroom under control, it occurred to her that she had yet to set up her computer rig, which bothered her a bit. Normally this would have been one of the first things she’d set up, but she just wasn’t feeling it. She wasn’t feeling a lot of the things she was normally interested in lately.

Instead of ignoring it longer though, AJ pulled her desk around in the office, and started setting up monitor arms to mount the multiple displays for her computer. Her cameras and mic were set up. Finally, all of the cables were in place, and her computer was plugged in. Sitting down in her chair, something clicked and things felt right in those moments. Firing up some Fortnite, she lost a few hours, and didn’t realize it until Tyson was texting after the game.

Thankfully, she didn’t miss much. And honestly, not watching the game may have done more good for her mentally than she realized. Had she watched the game, she probably would have just gotten angry at the coaching staff again - the whole idea of “getting better, not bitter” was something she was still working on. Tyson wasn’t even upset at her lack of watching, it was a quiet night, and a loss in a shutout. No one was particularly thrilled with how the game played out. The only thing on Tyson’s mind though was getting home the next morning. A fresh start was something he was craving, and those grand ideas he had for the apartment and AJ just kept getting bigger.

It had been a long, emotional day for Tyson, playing back in St. Paul and all, and honestly he was ready for bed. And despite sleeping most of the day, AJ was yawning as well. Both called it a night, excited that with just one more sleep, Tyson would be on his way back to Buffalo.

While he was up early, AJ slept in again, as it was a bit of a dreary day along Lake Erie. Pulling herself out of bed, she made her way to the kitchen to take her meds again, and started picking up a few things around the place. Boxes were shifted around so that there was more of a walkway between rooms. Her Snow Queen pothos was a little dry, so she watered it a bit. Fidgeting, AJ took a shower and put on some clothes, realizing she’d been in pajamas for almost two days. The text she’d been waiting for finally came in.

Tyson: I’m at the airport, come pick me up?

Hopping in her black Soul, AJ floored it heading to the airport. It’d only been a couple days since she saw Tyson in St. Louis, but it’d been a week since they literally were sharing the same space. Navigating the maze of the airport pickup area, Tyson stood with a tired smile, backpack and Normtec bag in hand. Popping the trunk, he tossed his things in before climbing into the front passenger seat.

With a quick kiss, the two were off, heading back downtown. Making up for all the longing and lack of touch, Tyson’s hand never left the top of AJ’s as she held onto the gearshift. He noticed she didn’t look as tired as she had, a good sign. Pulling back into her spot in the garage of their building, AJ carried Tyson’s backpack, while he carried the few remaining items he had with him as they headed back up to the twelfth floor. Key in the slot, the door unlocked.

“Welcome home, Tyson.”

That glint of mischief in Tyson’s eyes was bright as can be as he set his bag down in the hall and picked AJ up, carrying her into their new space. She squealed, pleading with him to put her down. After finally doing so, he grabbed his bags and put them near the door, taking in everything that AJ had set up. Sort of keeping her promise, there were still a few boxes in the living room as well as the bedroom that needed to be put away.

After giving a mini tour, AJ flopped onto the sofa, watching Tyson still exploring the rooms. Her eyes closed briefly, until the sound of Tyson’s voice, laced with concern, brought her back.

“Hey Eggo? What is this?”

Taking a look at what Tyson was talking about, AJ saw him standing next to the breakfast bar in the kitchen, holding a bottle of prescription pills. The look on his face was definitely one of concern.

So much for trying to keep a secret.

Instead of covering it up further, AJ decided to just put it all out on the table.

“First, this isn’t your doing, this is me. Do not blame yourself when I tell you this,” AJ was worried about what Tyson was going to say, so she was stalling as much as she could. “But a few years back, I had some issues. Nothing BAD, but… you know how this past summer was hard on you? I had a period like that too in college. But where you handled it healthily, I… did not. My roommate found me on the floor of our dorm room crying, room completely flipped upside down. I couldn’t find stamps to mail something, and… yeah. I’m not proud of it. But my roommate and some friends convinced me to see a doc, and I got on anti-depressants. I was on them for a while and was doing pretty well, so I was able to get off of them. But the past few weeks, and again, this isn’t anything you did, but some similar feelings were creeping in, so I decided to go to the doctor about it, before it got to that point again.”

Unsure of what to say, Tyson just listened to AJ talk. When she was finished, he thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I didn’t even know you were depressed,” Tyson felt crappy. He couldn't even tell his fiancee was not feeling right. “Is there anything I can do? Or anything I should know?”

As she was owning up to things, AJ continued.

“As far as the depression goes, not too much. The meds will hopefully help get me out of this funk I’ve been in. It takes a couple weeks for them to kick in though. Mainly, just sometimes I want a hug, or maybe need to vent and someone to listen. Pretty much the same ol’ things I normally ask for. But I do have to tell you that there are a few other things going on too. Since I’ve been so tired, and not just from this ridiculous roadie I went on with y’all, but like exhausted tired - I’m having some labwork done to see if anything else is going on that needs to be checked into.”

Tyson nodded, realizing that he wasn’t imagining that AJ had seemed to be more tired lately. And to be honest, he was relieved she was being an adult and getting it checked out. The two talked some more about what she’d been feeling, and what the doctor said in advance of the blood work she had done. It was just going to be a waiting game until Monday when her labs would be completed and maybe would have some answers.

Apologizing for darkening the mood with all the mental and physical health talk, AJ tried to change the subject a little with some talk about some things she wanted to do eventually for the apartment. The smirk came across Tyson’s face as she showed him some ideas she’d found online. He made mental notes of what he was being shown. Those gears in his head kept turning.

Interrupting everyone's thoughts though was the sound of AJ’s stomach growling. She hadn’t eaten much and clearly it was trying to make that fact well known. Excited to do so, the couple finished putting away Tyson’s travel items, and headed to the kitchen to whip up a late lunch together. AJ had to show him where some of the pots and pans were, but he was picking up fast. Tyson made some chicken and vegetables as AJ made a simple sauce to go with it all poured over some brown rice. The two had ample space to move about the kitchen. AJ even had Alexa turn on some music so the two could have their first dance in their new home while the food heated up.

With Tyson holding onto AJ’s hips, and her hands resting behind his neck, the two just swayed and smiled, locking eyes until AJ rested her head into the crook of Tyson’s neck and shoulder. The feeling of his fuzzy cheek against her forehead made everything negative on her mind disappear as they lost themselves for a few minutes and a couple of songs. The sound of Alexa’s timer burst the bubble, but AJ was okay with it as the food smelled amazing as she grabbed the plates from a cabinet, and dished up some for both of them.

Lunch wasn’t eaten in silence, as the conversation led to them talking about the next few weeks. One more game at home, and then it would be the All-Star Game break. A lot of teams had their bye week before the weekend of the game. Instead, the Sabres’ bye week was after. A few of Tyson’s teammates were heading to the Bahamas. He’d been invited, but with all the commotion of moving, he decided against it. AJ thought he’d probably head back to Edmonton to see the family. Instead, he surprised even AJ.

“I was thinking, what about a staycation?”

Looking for Chapter 40? LET'S GOOOOO https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-40n/rn7wesgrzqa7

#Tyson Jost #Josty #Play It Cool #TysonTuesday #Buffalo Sabres #Colorado Avalanche #Tyson Jost x OFC

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