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theywontletmebeprincipal · 3 years

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can you give me drowsy headcanons, ramble, or anything please, i am so deprived. do not be afraid to make it super long, the more the better, i just love drowsy chaperone and love to hear other people (plus you’re one of the only people i’ve seen who knows a lot abt it)

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIEVE

I’ll divide this into a few different parts, going from least to most excruciatingly sad :)

1. general headcanons

2. in canon things i noticed and think about daily

3. a full analysis of man in chair’s connections with the drowsy chaperone as an in universe show (trigger warning for abuse ment, alcoholism ment, suicide ment)

SECTION ONE: HEADCANONS

- okay the chaperone is trans I don’t make the rules

- also her name is ambrosia :) she forsook her last name :)

- she’s about 12 years older than janet and kinda hung with janet’s family after leaving her own for a while . essentially she’s a big sister to janet

- aldolpho has some lines where he asks if the bride is big and/or burly and while in canon this is supposed to show he’s kind of a womanizer I like to believe it’s because he was fully prepared to fight her if needed

- speaking of which Of Course janet is ripped she does gymnastics

- my batshit crazy headcanon for this show is that dee dee allen from the prom is a descendant of roman bartelli no I will not elaborate

- is aldolpho one of those bitches with pets that definitely shouldn’t be legal? yessir

- post show kitty becomes a star okay I just want her to be happy

- the “pastry chefs” do discover a love of baking post show and now run a shop along with performing in feldzeig’s follies which might maybe be a front for some crime too

- TRIX DROWSY AND ALDOLPHO WORLD TRAVELING POLYCULE CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE

- underling’s name is james I will not elaborate on this either

- show never says what trix does so I’ve decided she’s an explorer. she charts maps and punches colonialists and drags her stupid friends along with her, the only bitch in the show with a braincell

- drowsy was a former vaudeville child star pre transition - she left the business but was a mentor to janet

- I do have a headcanon for mic’s name but in the spirit of every actor who’s ever played him I won’t fucking tell

SECTION TWO: SHIT I NOTICED

- robert refers to himself by full name a lot of the time which is v interesting given he’s named after the writer, bob martin (whose wife is also named janet van de graaf). the real bob martin is like five feet away at all times playing mic

- idk how to describe it but the dynamic kitty and feldzeig (VICTOR felgzeig. we have a name from one (1) line) have when talking to each other is so snappy and funny and good

- aldolpho’s lines in spanish are mostly romantic bullshit but his first one hints that he has/had a wife who, if we’re taking the translation literally, refused to touch him. yeah I’ll bring this up in analysis

- the “pastry chefs” provide liquor for the wedding even though it has absolutely no relevance to their mission of stopping it :)

- drowsy is like. SUPER endearing towards janet and despite her bad social skills it’s super clear she cares a lot about her

- robert speaks fluent french apparently

- everyone says “ew” after aldolpho reveals his affair with drowsy despite her being a certified milf

- the body language of drowsy in the end of the show where she takes mic’s hands and breaks the barrier between reality and fiction is just so good. she was iconic the whole show but I honestly think this final bit is what won beth leavel the Tony in the end

SECTION THREE: OH NO

before diving into the way the drowsy chaperone affects his character, we need to understand what exactly it’s playing off of. to fully understand mic’s attachment to the drowsy chaperone, we need to outline what led him to isolating himself and living in fiction to the extent that he does.

mic’s father left his family at an early age and his semi estranged alcoholic mother was the one who began his love for theatre. mic grew up in a broken household and eventually moved on to land in a one sided marriage, which lasted a few months until he slipped up and expressed his discomfort with the situation, after which he and his wife split. nowadays, he lives alone in his apartment surrounded by records he uses to escape to a better life - his favorite of which being the one his mother gave him, the drowsy chaperone.

symbolism in the drowsy chaperone regarding mic’s life can be split into two main categories - mommy issues and internalized homophobia. there isn’t nearly as much mom symbolism as there is the latter, so I’ll cover that first.

drowsy covers both bases, but she definitely has some undeniable mom symbolism going on. drowsy marries aldolpho and mom dreams of being swept off her feet by a latin lover, both feel they’ve wasted their chances at love, both drink to forget, etc. this is where the idea of the drowsy chaperone being mic’s ideal way for things to work out, a positive parallel, comes into play. given that we don’t hear too much about mic’s mom other than her connections to major life events and the record itself, we can assume they grew apart in one way or another. the key difference is that drowsy finds a happy relationship for herself and retains her bond with janet, unlike what we’re led to assume mom was like.

further elaborating on the drowsy chaperone representing mic’s ideal fantasy version of events is the wedding the drowsy chaperone’s plot centers around. here’s a list of the things that didn’t stop that damn wedding:

- a minister not showing up

- the groom cheating on the bride with the bride

- the bride having a complete mental breakdown

- indirect mafia interference

- direct mafia interference

on the flip side, what little mic says about his wedding indicates it sucked absolute ass. he spent the entire ceremony in internal distress as he went through with a life changing event he, at that point, knew at least a bit that he didn’t want. I think he also implies he had severe diarrhea on the wedding day? it gets worse when you realize mic’s relationship before the wedding wasn’t any good for him either - he was playing along the whole time because it would be cruel not to, right?

throughout the show, mic is pretty clearly shown as an extremely repressed gay man. there are five specific instances that point at romantic and/or sexual attraction to men directly and another moment outside of his commentary that pretty much confirms it if you look a little bit deeper. thus, here is what I propose - to mic, the drowsy chaperone’s wedding plot represents a world where he was able to ignore that part of himself and have a happy marriage with his wife despite all the overwhelming obstacles thrown at him. however, bits and pieces of that internalized homophobia manage to show themselves throughout the drowsy chaperone anyway despite its happy ending. here’s a rundown on a few significant instances:

- by the end of the show, the “pastry chefs”, who had literally been planning to kill feldzeig, have left their life of crime to perform with him. this symbolizes how in mic’s ideal world he would have been able to turn away from what he perceived at the time as living wrongly - his homosexuality

- at the same time, the “pastry chefs” have this line, spoken in regards to janet: “if she gets married and leaves the show... there ain’t no show.” this is a take on mic’s subconscious concern that he might lose himself if he goes on with his marriage pretending everything is alright - of course, as we already know, he doesn’t listen

- “cold feets” is a pretty obvious instance of mic’s hesitation

- aldolpho’s line in spanish regarding the wife who won’t touch him flips to reflect on mic’s treatment of his own ex wife - she was alien to him as a lover, just as aldolpho was to this woman

- janet recalls her meeting robert at a point in the show and states “we spooned, briefly, then he proposed.” though mic’s relationship pre marriage was much longer than that, it must have felt that way to him - just as quick and nonsensical as janet describes

- just as janet is caught in showbiz but has a toxic love for it, so does mic with his own repressed life

- janet has a line in “show off” that alludes to her experiencing harassment/assault: “I don’t wanna be cheered no more/ praised no more/ grabbed no more/ touched no more/ loved no more” , which I believe represents the way mic perceived his intimacy with his wife - labeled as love yet unenjoyable for him

- “I look into his eyes... I get all woozy. and that’s... love, isn’t it?” is another very clear nod to mic’s misconception of love based off the only thing he’s ever experienced, relationships with women he’s had to fake

- this is the part where I tell you the lyrics to toledo surprise are a metaphor for actively suppressing gay thoughts. I’ll just leave you with “if it tries to rise; don’t let it”. these lyrics are not comprehensive enough to make a dish - trust me, I have tried. it’s also notable that they serve a double entendre as instructions on how to beat the shit out of someone, but several lyrics are also directed towards the singer/audience. for example: “it’s a snap/ try it folks/ whip your whites/ split your yolks” is an easy metaphor for the unhealthy mental gymnastics required to repress oneself so wholeheartedly

it’s also worth noting the obvious just for the sake of it - mic copes with all this by isolating himself in a safe spot where he can use musicals to escape and live his ideal fantasy, even if it’s only for a short time. there are plenty of nods to this throughout the drowsy chaperone as well. in “as we stumble along” drowsy notes that “the best that we can do is hope a bluebird/ will sing a song/ as we stumble along” - to mic, musicals are his bluebird. while mic mostly indulges in these fantasies, he knows to a certain extent the sheer amount of time he’s spending in them is unhealthy. the first line of the show is “I hate theatre” and I think that to an extent? he does. obviously mic loves theatre as a concept, that can’t be denied. what he hates is the way he’s allowed it to confine him.

with all that out of the way, let’s move on to the most important moment of the show. if you’ve ever seen the show, you’ll know exactly which scene I’m talking about immediately. I’m referring to, of course, the infamous “l-ve while you can” scene. as janet stands at the alter she asks drowsy for one final word of advice, which is partially obscured by aldolpho dropping his cane. “l-ve while you can.” it’s a simple moment, but mic reveals to us that he’s been agonizing over it for years - did drowsy say “live” or “leave”? it occurs to everyone eventually, whether a couple days after the show like with me, or years after like with bob martin’s replacement on broadway that the most likely answer is that she had said “love while you can”. it’s this moment, when you realize why mic had never seen that as an option, that the drowsy chaperone’s status as a musical within a comedy within a tragedy is solidified. mic had no love in his life - his parents hated each other and he was forcing himself into relationships in which he felt nothing. to him, living and leaving were options, but loving never was. so he locked himself away.

as the final note on the record is playing, all power in mic’s apartment shuts down and the fantasy is ruined. the superintendent arrives and further invades his space, breaking the private sanctity he had built up for so long. she fixes the power and before mic can stop it from happening, the final note of the record plays. and the super recognizes it as a musical. she makes a remark about how much her wife loves musicals and leaves, completely unaware of what she’s just done.

mic sits in silence for a while. and then he begins to sing. gradually, the cast members begin to echo their songs, dancing around him but never touching him. then drowsy appears and sings harmony to mic. and she takes his hands. the show ends with the entire cast, including mic, taking off on trix’s airplane as the curtain falls, drowsy handing mic his record as the plane takes off.

some people interpret the ending as mic committing suicide, finally deciding between live and leave. I don’t personally believe that and neither does writer and original mic bob martin, but it’s still a valid interpretation. the drowsy chaperone’s ending is ambiguous, yes, but not to that extent. no matter what you believe the ending means, it was brought on not by the interruption of the fantasy, but by whatever realization the super’s remark about her wife triggered. as I see it, there are two main options here.

option one - mic realizes he still has time to live and to love. when he was younger the prospect of living as himself was unthinkable to him, yet now he sees that while he was spending countless years alone the world grew. drowsy offers mic her hand, an invitation to finally become what he had admired in her - someone who isn’t anywhere near perfect, but is damn well trying and living life without regret. he accepts.

option two - mic realizes that while he spent years alone the world moved on without him and he’s isolated himself so much from social interaction that he’d no longer be able to make a meaningful connection with anyone outside. so he stays inside instead, never trying, always trapped between live and leave. drowsy offers mic her hand - at least he’ll have a tune to carry with him.

I really want to believe we got option one. I think option one is the intended, really, given mic ends the show with a joyful goodbye to the audience. but the way that the ending is still left open for interpretation makes it so that we can never really know - we as the audience only get to be privy to a small part of mic’s life, and we don’t get the answers we want because at the end of the day they’re irrelevant to us - all we can do is make our own choice.

#the drowsy chaperone #musical theatre #musicals #broadway #musical meta #man in chair

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keanureevesisbae · 4 years

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Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Epilogue

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 4.1k

A/N: This will be Vanessa’s pov

Masterlist // Previous chapter //

9 years later

Name: Vanessa Tran-Cavill

Subject: English

Teacher: Mrs. Allen

Grade: 100/100 — Vanessa, you are such a talented writer. You raised the bar for every other essay I’m going to read in my entire career left as an English teacher. You have such a wonderful role model in your life. Please cherish your family for the rest of your life!

The one who taught me everything - an essay about Olivia Tran-Cavill, the greatest inspiration for me.

I was raised by the toughest woman alive. I know that a lot of kids say that about their mom, but allow me to explain why Olivia Tran-Cavill is the toughest woman I know in my life.

Her boyfriend left her when she told him she was pregnant with me, her own family (meaning her parents and her two brothers) practically disowned her, and on top of that she just started a job as a freshly minted veterinarian.

If I were in her shoes, I’d be terrified, struck by multiple breakdowns on a daily basis, but not my mom. She raised me all by herself, barely having a break or a moment of her own. I was her number one priority. She told me to be kind, to be honest and polite: personality traits that provide me with the best today and for all the days to come in the future.

There was only one thing that I desperately wanted and that was a family. I wanted a dad like the kids in my class. I wanted grandparents. I wanted aunts and uncles. I wanted to have little siblings, because I knew that I would be a great big sister.

Unfortunately that wasn’t in the stars for me and my mom told me that. It takes a brave woman to say to her young child: ‘Your real dad doesn’t want you. Your grandparents kicked me out the second they found out I was pregnant with you. Your uncles never spoke to me again.’

It hurt obviously. There were people walking around here that shared DNA with me, that were family, but they made it pretty clear that they didn’t want me nor my mother. To this day they still haven’t reached out and they honestly don’t know what they are missing out on. At least, that is what my mom always tells me.

But my mom always told me that family wasn’t all about sharing DNA, it was about finding people that you want in your life. You can choose who your family is.

Despite that wonderful piece of advice that I definitely took to heart, I continued to make her a drawing every single day. My mom and I inside our house and outside there is a man with a dog, waiting to be allowed into our life.

Waiting to become a dad.

My dad.

One day my mom was on call and had to go to the clinic at night. She took me with her and that’s the day we met Henry and his dog Kal. Little did we all know that at that exact moment, our lives drastically changed.

Henry was more of a dad in the first hour that I had met him, then my real dad was in my entire life. For the first time in life, I had a dad figure. A man who cared not only about me, but also about my mom.

Being with Henry never drastically changed my mom. She was still the bad ass mom I always had, but it did softened her up. It made her relaxed. Henry gave her what she deserved all those years of raising me by herself. Letting someone take care of her too. There is only so much a six year old could give back to a powerhouse like her mom, but there is so much more a man like Henry Cavill can give her.

He provided us with a family. A grandma, a granddad and four lovely uncles.

And for that I have to thank my mom. She allowed Henry into her life, thus into my life and gave us six amazing Cavill family members, who cared about us and loved us up to this day.

Now, I admire her every single day. The way she takes care of not only me, but also my three sisters, is something I feel like I can never live up to. Whenever some of us walk into the room, her face lights up and she drops everything to give us her full attention.

And for that I am so incredibly thankful. She taught me so much. How to love, how to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and she taught me that it is okay to be scared, but that it should never stop you from pursuing what you want to achieve.

I know my mom was scared when she got pregnant and was dropped by all the people she thought she could trust and rely on, but it never stopped her from pursuing what she wanted: to be a great mother and an excellent veterinarian. Knowing that, I’m going to try to be the best version of myself, though I know damn well that I can never be as amazing as her.

For me, my mom is the most influential person in my life and I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world.

≫≫≪≪

With my freshly graded essay, I walk towards my locker. This is such a great way to end the week. I worked my ass off on this essay and the fact that mrs. Allen gave me the full hundred out of hundred points is unbelievable. She never gives people higher than ninety points probably. I feel like I’m the first student in her entire career to score the highest grade possible.

‘There she is.’ I look up to see Trey walking up to me, already undoing his tie. He always tells me that he hates that thing with a passion and while I suggest he uses a clip on tie (like half the school does), he keeps on wearing the regular one. I think it’s so he can continue to bitch about it. ‘You’re going to Jimmy’s party tonight, right?’

I shake my head. ‘I’m sorry, Trey, I can’t. I have plans with my family.’

‘The entire family?’ he asks, as he leans against the row of lockers besides mine.

‘Yes, the entire family.’

‘And there is absolutely no change at all that you can ditch them?’

I can’t stop my chuckle. Usually I go out on Friday, especially if Trey invites me, but right now I really can’t go. ‘It’s important,’ I say to him. I see him fake pouting, causing me to roll my eyes. ‘Come on, don’t pout. Jimmy has parties every two weeks. I’ll be at the next one.’

Trey grins. ‘I’ll hold you to that, V. Tell your mom I said hi and also say that to your dad, because I’m afraid he’ll kick my ass next time he sees me. Oh, and say hi to your sisters, will you?’

A few weeks ago Trey came over to my place, because we were going to do algebra homework together (and because we wanted to spend time together). Dad was ready to embarrass the shit out of me (I think he has been waiting for this moment since he adopted me to be honest—he seemed to well prepared), but mom swooped right in and Trey felt instantly at ease. Ever since then, he asks me how she is doing when I see him at school.

I know it’s tough for Trey. He wasn’t raised with a mother, since she passed away during his birth, but her three brothers raised him. He loves them dearly and because of that, he can handle my dad’s antics just fine. However it’s nice for him to have a motherly figure in his life, since his uncles never dated (they would get along well with my uncles) and my mom is the right person for that.

After that algebra homework moment we had, he has been coming over a lot more often and just a few days ago, I saw him giving my mom a hug. When I asked her about it, she told me that he always likes it when he is here and it turns out, that he told her all about growing up with only his uncles and how she feels like a mom figure to him. I like how he is welcomed into my family. My sisters are absolutely smitten with him and they love it when I bring him over, since they wished I was a boy, so they could have a brother.

It’s always nice to know that your sisters love you for who you are.

‘You know, you can come over too,’ I say, not wanting Trey to leave. ‘If you want to of course.’

‘Are you sure?’ he asks, but he already has a telling smile on his face. ‘I just don’t want to intrude an important event.’

‘You won’t,’ I laugh. ‘It’s been ten years since my dad officially adopted me. We’re going to celebrate at my grandparents’ place. My uncles will be there, my aunt, nephews and my sisters.’

Trey smiles. ‘Well, if you invite me.’

I close my locker and say: ‘We are going to celebrate this whole weekend, but you can only stay today if you want to, so you won’t miss Jimmy’s party.’

‘I don’t really care about Jimmy’s party,’ Trey admits. ‘I only wanted to spend time with you.’

It’s obvious that we have a crush on each other, it’s just that I’m afraid of committing. He doesn’t seem to mind though, that pull my hand back when he wants to hold it and that we haven’t kissed, though we’ve been on a few dates.

‘So,’ Trey says as we walk out of the school, ‘your dad adopted you ten years ago.’

I nod. ‘Yeah, he made me an official Cavill from that day. If I’m being completely honest, I never thought I’d have a dad. I always thought that it was going to be me, my mom and my pleads for a dad. For such a long time I thought it was enough, though deep down I wanted a dad, but sometimes it’s just not meant for everyone, right?’

Trey nods. ‘Right.’

‘I still remember the day we met him and Kal,’ I say. ‘And I just knew that I wanted that man as my father. I was six and though I need saw my mom with a man, I just knew that they were meant for each other, you know. We were standing around the examination table, because Kal was sick and I thought to myself that this was the man that not only I wanted in my life, but my mom needed as well.’

Trey’s fingers brush against mine and I hold onto his hand, for the first time in the weeks that we are circling around each other.

I think back to the times where it was just my mom and I. She was so strong for all those years of raising me, telling me the painful truth about my biological dad, my grandparents and uncles from her side of the family, arranging all different sorts of shifts at the animal clinic and bringing me to work when necessary.

I admire my mother and the way she carefully picked out a man that was worthy of becoming my dad, of adopting me and giving me his last name. I had been Vanessa Tran for so many years, but becoming Vanessa Tran-Cavill, had been such a blessing and for the first time in seven years, I had a dad, someone who cared about me.

Someone who loved me.

And right now, I have seen how much he loved my mom, me and my sisters. I admired the way dad took care of us, while still having an acting career. He played in seven movies since I met him and five of those were being filmed here in the UK, since he didn’t want to leave us for too long.

He posts about us on Instagram sometimes, but always disables the comments. A lot of people know that I’m his daughter, but they mostly find out when we’ve known each other for a while.

Trey and I get out of the bus, but I stop him, before we walk off to my grandparents’ house. ‘I just want to prepare you. I have four nosey uncles and a granddad who just starts to talk, not knowing when to stop.’

‘It’s nothing I can’t handle,’ he laughs. ‘Remember, I grew up with three uncles and their friends. This will be peanuts.’

I smile. ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ I squeeze his hand. ‘Trey, before we go into the backyard, I have to admit something.’

‘I like you too,’ he says. ‘And I don’t mind taking it slow.’

My eyes widen. ‘How did you know I was going to say that?’

‘You’re predictable, Tran.’ Trey smiles and I roll my eyes. ‘It’s honestly no big deal. I really like you and your family and though I feel comfortable enough to go at my pace, I don’t want to force you into stuff.’ He gives me a squeeze back in my hand. ‘Your pace and no one else’s.’ He pulls me to him and wraps me up in a tight hug. I feel his chin on top of my head and I let out a sigh, before I close my eyes, nuzzling my face in his chest. This feels nice, I could get used to this.

I pull back a little, to carefully press a kiss on his jaw. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ I say, pulling him with me to the gate at the back of the yard. Together we walk into the backyard and I see everyone is already there. Uncles Piers, Niki and Charlie are standing near the barbecue, as my nine year old sister Elodie is poking Charlie in his sides. Belle has wrapped her arms around uncle Simon’s neck, giving him tons of kisses. Belle’s two year old son Hugh is trying to kick the ball, but he misses and falls flat on his bum. He waddles over to Belle, who is currently expecting another boy in four months.

My five year old sisters Chloe and Heather are the first to notice me. ‘Vanessa!’ they scream in unison, rushing towards me and wrapping their arms around my waist. ‘We missed you.’

‘I missed you guys too,’ I chuckle.

‘And you brought Trey!’ Chloe notices, jumping in his arms. ‘You are staying here for the barbecue?’

‘Of course,’ Trey says with a smile. ‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world, munchkin.’

Everyone looks up and gives me hugs and introduce themselves to Trey if they haven’t met him already. Grandpa Colin gives me a big hug and slips fifty pounds not only in my hand, but also in Trey’s hand. ‘So you can take her out on a date, young man,’ he tells Trey.

When we walk over to my parents, Trey says: ‘Damn, I get fifty pounds for showing up here. Should I tell your grandad when my birthday is?’

‘Don’t,’ I say sternly, pinching his side.

Kal licks my hand and I scratch him on top of his head. He is not fat anymore (as if my mother would allow that). He is also not as active as he used to be when I met him, but he is still the most loyal and biggest sweetheart in the world, always taking care of me and my sisters.

My mom holds out her arms and Trey doesn’t hesitate for a minute to be engulfed in her arms. Dad wraps his arms around my waist and bumps his nose against my cheek. Elodie, Chloe and Heather often wonder why we do that, but it’s our thing and it’ll always be our thing. ‘There you are, sunshine,’ he says.

‘It’s a special day today,’ I say. ‘You have any regrets?’

He scoffs. ‘Are you kidding me? As if I could have regrets.’

‘You still have the receipt?’

He laughs. ‘Like I would ever use that.’ He gives me a kiss on my cheek and says: ‘You brought your boyfriend with you, I see.’

Normally I’d protest against his antics, but now… I actually don’t mind. I quite like it actually. I like the idea of Trey being my boyfriend. ‘Well, yeah.’

Dad gives me a big kiss, before he places me on my feet again. Trey wipes his hands clean on his jeans, before he extends his hand to my dad. I don’t quite know what happens after that, because mom pulls me into a hug. Though I’m seventeen now and my mom is reaching the forty already, she barely aged.

It’s admirable, really. After she gave birth to Elodie and she lost that much blood, it was the scariest experience in my life. I thought, with the way everyone was looking at each other when dad called, my mom would die. It took her six months to recover and I helped out the best I could, but I knew that asking for another sibling too soon, wouldn’t help. Four years after she had Elodie, she became pregnant with twins and after that she did not want more kids. Ideally she wanted three, I remember her saying that to dad, but now she had four and though she loved it, it was enough.

‘How was school?’ mom asks.

‘It was great. I got my English essay back.’

‘Oh really? How did you do?’

‘I’ll tell you in a minute.’

Mom tilts her head when she looks at Henry and Trey, who seem to hit it off actually. ‘You chose a good one,’ she tells me. ‘So proud of you, sweetheart.’ Mom wraps her arm around my waist and gives me a kiss. ‘Oh no, mom!’ she yells to grandma Marianne. ‘Wait, don’t carry everything.’ Mom rushes off to the kitchen and I can’t hide my smile.

I’m happy that all these people are my family. From the looks of Trey, he actually is a bit nervous. I walk up to him and my dad and wrap my arm around his hips. He is tense, but wraps his arm around my shoulders. ‘You’re not bugging him, are you, dad?’

‘No, of course not,’ he says, but I cock my eyebrow, causing him to say: ‘Just asking him what he will do with that fifty pound your grandpa gave him.’

Of course my dad noticed that.

He excuses himself, walking up to the barbecue, lifting up Elodie in the process. I look up at Trey and I ask: ‘I thought you said this would be peanuts?’

‘It will be peanuts,’ he tells me. ‘Just have to warm up a bit.’ He smiles, pearly white teeth framed by his full lips. ‘This definitely helps.’

‘Okay, love birds,’ uncle Niki yells, ‘come on. We’re getting ready to eat.’

I feel a blush creep up on my cheeks, but despite that, I still chuckle. He laces his fingers through mine, as we walk to the big table in the backyard under the parasol. ‘I just want to say one thing,’ grandma Marianne says, ‘and that is that I want to thank my son for overfeeding his dog, so he met the greatest veterinarian of all times, who—together with her oldest daughter—brought so much joy and happiness into the family.’

‘Mom, it has been ten years!’ dad says. ‘Please, let it go. I’m not overfeeding Kal anymore.’

It has been an ongoing joke, every time my dad gives Kal a little snack, at least one of the entire Cavill Clan says something along the lines of that we have to hide the other snacks.

‘But anyways,’ grandma says, ‘I am so happy that now we are this big and happy family. It’s all I really wanted.’

Everyone takes a deep breath, because we all realize that it could’ve gone so differently. I clear my throat and say: ‘I got my English essay back and got myself a hundred out of a hundred points.’

‘Shut up!’ uncle Piers says. ‘You got a perfect score? When was the last time something like that happened with us?’

‘None of you boys ever got a perfect score,’ grandpa Colin says. He sometimes can’t remember how to use the remote, what my sisters or my name is, but this he knows.

‘Anyways,’ I say, ‘it does have something to do with what happened ten years ago. I mean, becoming officially a Cavill has been the greatest thing ever. I watched my life do a complete one eighty and though I have to thank my dad for that, there is one woman who absolutely changed my life and is such a wonderful role model for not only me, but also my sisters, that I decided to write my essay about my mom.’

Mom’s eyes widen, before she scrunches up her nose. ‘Why?’

This is such a typical reaction from her, so I cannot stop my laugh. ‘Because mom, you are amazing. Everything that I have, started with you. Everything I understand, I do, I think about, is because of the way you took care of me and raised me. I know that I tell you this a lot, but mom, I love you so so much and everything you did for me, it’s so admirable. I owe so much to you.’

Mom clears her throat. ‘Oh sweetie,’ she mumbles. ‘You don’t owe me anything.’

‘You did so well, mom,’ I whisper. ‘I’m so lucky to have been raised by you.’

She grabs my hand and gives me a loving squeeze. ‘Sweetheart, could you come with me for a second?’

The two of us walk inside of the house, as we hear conversation strike up behind us. The second we are out of sight, she wraps her arms around me. This is what she always does, not wanting to cry in front of the other Cavills, always going to a secluded place. ‘I love you, Vanessa,’ she whispers. ‘I think I’ve done a pretty good job with you.’

I can’t help but laugh. ‘You did an excellent job, mom. You are honestly the biggest power house I’ve ever met.’

‘Could you imagine what would’ve happened if Belle was able to baby sit you?’ mom asks. ‘Because you, my love, charmed yourself a way into your father’s heart.’

I chuckle. ‘I kinda did, didn’t I?’

Mom smiles, as she holds tightly onto my hands. ‘I know you always thank me for giving you the family you always wanted, but remember: if you weren’t so instantly in love with your dad, I don’t know if I had given it a shot to be honest.’

That is such a weird thought, I think to myself. I always stop myself when I want to think about the ‘what ifs’ and my entire family never really brought it up. Maybe when I was younger, but never with me. But what if indeed I were to stay over at Belle’s place, I would’ve never known that Henry was there probably. Imagine the life that we would’ve had. Maybe I had given my biological father Wesley a chance and then I didn’t have my three wonderful sisters.

‘What are you two doing here? Poor Trey is being questioned by Niki, Charlie and grandpa and the old man is not holding back.’ My dad walks in and though he has reached the ripe age of forty eight, he is still the tall and bulked up man that I met in the examination room. He is still the man that loved me like I was his own.

‘Just thanking my daughter for being such a lovely girl, who charmed her way into your heart.’

‘Oh, you sure did,’ dad says with a smile. ‘My lovely sunshine, I love you so much and I can’t believe it’s been more than ten years since I met you and your mom.’ He wraps his arms around us and says: ‘Though I still feel the fear of Kal vomiting on the carpet with blood, I am so grateful that you picked up and the other clinics didn’t.’ He presses a kiss on my mom’s forehead.

‘Dad, when did you realize you were in love with mom?’

‘Well, I told myself that I shouldn’t have a crush on someone that I barely knew,’ dad says, ‘but I can tell you that deep down in my heart I knew that this beautiful woman stole my heart the second she said the seven words that I’ll never forget. Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat.’

≫≫≪≪

Bonus instagram posts:

Elodie and Vanessa

Elodie with Olivia

Pregnant with twins!

Pre teen Vanessa showing Henry that he is an actual boomer

Chloe and Heather

Vanessa as a teenager

Elodie as a teenager

Chloe and Heather as teenagers

A/N: soooo this is the end of this wonderful story, though I wish this would go on forever. Thank you so much to all the people who have been reading this, leaving lovely comments. Thanks to this story I gained so many new followers. I never expected it to blow up like this haha. Not to self promote but will do anyway, but please check out my other works if you haven’t already (and if you want to of course, I’m not going to force you to read my other fics) and of course I’ll be back with other fun projects, that I obviously will announce like usual 🤗

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x oc #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fandom #mister cavill your dog is kinda fat #henry cavill x Olivia Tran

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thejolexgroupchat · 3 years

Text

the one where they met in med school - part seven

Jo’s first day at Seattle Grace

Be sure to check out our Master List for parts 1-6

You guys really have no idea how much Nat, @iamtrebleclefstories and @doc-pickles love writing this story.

(July 2007)

"You ready?" Alex asked as he looked at Jo in the passenger seat and Lexie in the back. They were sitting in the hospital parking lot, Jo and Lexie taking in the fact that today was the first day of their intern year. "You don't want to be late on your first day. Trust me, you want to hear Webber's speech. And I don't want to be late to meet my interns."

"Do you guys already know who you have?" Lexie asked. She wasn't originally supposed to come to Seattle. She had a top tier surgical residency waiting for her at Mass Gen, but when her mom died about a month ago, she got rematched at Seattle Grace to be closer to her father. On top of that, Lexie had just found out that she had an older sister who was working in this very hospital.

"No, we find out when you do," Alex shared. "Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Meredith? She's a good person. A bit emotionally stunted, but she's a good friend."

"No, Alex it's fine," Lexie shook her head. "I think she should hear it from me."

"Okay. I'm going to go inside. I'll see you guys later. Maybe if you're lucky you'll be on my service," he leaned over to the passenger seat and gave Jo a peck on the lips before getting out of the car. "Don't forget to lock the door."

About an hour later, Jo and Lexie were in the locker room, waiting for Webber to share which resident they would be working under. He went through the list of residents and called out interns.

“Alright everyone listen up. I am going to assign you to a resident. When I call your name, you will go find your resident in the hallway and await instructions. Trimble, Franklin, Morales, and Bozniack you’re with Stevens. Harrison, Allen, O’Malley, Johnson, and Phillips with Grey. Lawrence, Crowley, Vega, Brown, and Grey you’re with Yang. Last but not least, Hernandez, Jenkins, Davis, and Wilson, you’re with Karev.”

Jo and Lexie exchanged a glance. Jo knew that being on Alex’s service was always a possibility, however, she never thought it would actually happen. That would make things much more difficult than she’d anticipated. Prior to starting, Jo and Alex had agreed to keep their relationship private. Aside from Lexie, no one would know that the two of them were together, so that if Jo got to scrub in on a surgery or was handed a case, it was because she was good and not because she was dating a resident. But what was once a possibility, quickly became a reality, and they were going to have to learn how to deal with this situation if they wanted to keep their relationship private.

Soon after Webber assigned the interns to their residents, they all left the room, leaving only Jo and the other three residents there.

Jo was organizing her locker when she heard the others gossiping about Alex.

“Ughh, what was I even expecting from this? I have the worst luck ever. Of course I was going to end up with the douchiest resident. You guys heard about him, right?” Jenkins complained, Jo’s eyes glued to the objects in front of her.

“Yeah. His reputation around this place is not the best. I heard he is really good, though. Not everything is lost yet. Let’s wait and see,” Hernandez tried to be positive.

“I heard that too. Looks like he is really talented and hardworking, but I heard that if you’re not one of them, he will treat you like trash no matter what. One of the residents in his class, that is,” Davis added, making Jo’s heart sink a little.

If only they knew a bit more about him, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge. She knew that her boyfriend wasn’t the easiest person to deal with and he still had a lot of growing and learning to do, but he had the biggest heart. Hearing the other residents talk about him made Jo sigh.

“What about you, Wilson? Things aren’t looking good for him already. Dude is already late. First thing he does is make us wait for him. Ever heard anything about the guy?” Jenkins asked Jo, forcing her to pull her head out of the locker and interact with them.

“Not really, to be honest. Maybe he’s not that bad. I’m not the biggest fan of judging people before actually knowing them. Maybe the three of you can give it a shot? Soothes the soul a bit,” Jo gave them a sarcastic smile after closing the locker aggressively. She knew she shouldn’t be doing that. Getting into arguments with the people she was going to spend the next five years of her life glued to. Especially not that early into the thing, but she wasn’t about to let them say bad things about her boyfriend without giving him a chance. And she wasn’t wrong. They really shouldn’t judge him before knowing nothing but his name.

“You find him hot, don’t you?” Hernandez smiled at her. "You saw him earlier when Webber was giving us the tour and you thought he was hot."

Jo didn’t want to blatantly lie to them, so she was more than thankful for the moment Alex interrupted and entered the room.

“Hernandez, Wilson, Jenkins and Davis, come,” he ushered them to get ready.

Alex guided the four interns to the hall before glancing at his girlfriend, who was supporting a poker face like he had never seen before. Still, he could see through it with ease. His face twitched into a crooked half-smile, causing Jo to roll her eyes ever so slightly.

Although he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t excited about having her closer to him, he was worried that their original plan was going to be even harder than they had thought it would be. Knowing that she was going to be so close in proximity to him after a year of being an entire country apart, was going to severely push his restraint.

“So, I’m Dr. Alex Karev and I’ll be your resident. I have five rules, and you’ll have to use your underdeveloped brains to memorize them,” he started walking after noticing Jo was trying hard not to laugh at the things he was saying, but still keeping a straight face.

“Rule number one: don’t even think about kissing my ass. It won’t work. I already hate you, and that’s not gonna change. Rule number two: run! Trauma protocol, phone list, pagers, nurses will page you. You will answer every single page at a run. Your first shift starts now. I have no idea how long it will last. It’s not my problem. You should know that. You’re interns, grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain. You run labs, write orders, work until you drop and don’t complain. I am not going to raise whiny babies,” he stopped in front of a door and eyed the four people in front of him before opening it and walking inside the room. “On call rooms. Attendings hog them to sleep or do other things. You will sleep when you can, where you can, and I don’t want to have to

find any of you doing the nasty anywhere, understand? Rule number three: if I’m sleeping, do not wake me, unless the patient is dying. Four: the dying patient better not be dead when I get there.”

Jo’s eyes shined teasingly as she raised her hand, “You said five rules. That was only four.”

Alex tried not to smirk as his pager went off, “Rule number five: when I move, you move. Let’s go.”

***

Jo’s first shift ended after thirty-six hours. She was completely and utterly exhausted, every muscle in her body protesting as she walked the two blocks from the hospital to her apartment. When she finally made it in the house, Alex was waiting for her with a beer and pizza in hand. He guided her to the couch and helped her sit down.

Jo groaned as her body sank down into the cushions, “I feel like I want to just curl up into a ball on this couch and sleep forever.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Alex chuckled. “I know you’re exhausted, but I need you to eat before you pass out, so take the pizza and beer.”

“I thought you said you hate your interns and that’s not gonna change,” Jo raised her eyebrows. “You’re being awfully nice to me, Dr. Karev. I hope you don’t think that this means I’ll sleep with you. Because even if I wanted to, I think I’m too tired to do anything.”

“Shut up,” Alex rolled his eyes. He looked at her suggestively. “And, you know I don’t mind doing all the work. It might be good for you, ya know? Like a stress reliever. All it will cost you is making sure you get some food in your system.”

“Are you offering to service me?” Jo laughed. This was reason one hundred fifty-seven of why she loved this man. “Is this something you do for all your interns, Dr. Karev?”

“Only the ones I’m in love with,” Alex leaned across the couch for a kiss. “Trust me when I say, I am very eager to please you.”

“You’re so dirty!” Jo giggled and pushed his shoulder lightly. “But, I may have to take you up on that offer.”

The pair talked and laughed while they shared their meal. It was nice being able to spend time together again and finally be on the same page. Agreeing to finish their food, they sat there in silence for a while before Jo spoke up again, “Are you sure this isn’t a conflict of interest? Me being your intern?”

“It might be,” Alex sighed. “I have a hard time telling you no, or when to stop because I respect you and I love you. But I also know that going easy on you would only be a disservice to your career, so I’m going to do my best to let you know when you’re in need of improvement.”

“Thank you,” Jo brought her hand up to his face. “I’m really happy that I’m here.”

“So am I,” Alex grinned. “So, what do you say we go to the room and I’ll… help you relax.”

“Three and a half years in and you still have a one track mind,” Jo shook her head, an amused look on her face.

“What can I say?” Alex shrugged. “I have a super hot girlfriend and can’t get enough of her.”

#jolex #jolex fanfic #the one where they met in med school #alex karev #jo wilson #jo karev #jo x alex #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy fanfic #lexie grey #jolex au #richard webber #greys anatomy #residency #first day on the job #fluff #secret relationship #med school

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a-simple-complexity · 3 years

Text

Things about the creepypasta improv thing my close friend and I have been doing since 4th or 5th grade (maybe longer):

- My character doesn't really have a cp name yet but has been around for 401 years

- My character, when not at the mansion, is roomies with JTK (and he steals cheese its)

- Vivian's (the close friend) character is close to Slenderman and has a older sister bond with Sally

- Aside from the Jeff The Cheeze Itz Snatcher gag we have more running gags

- Such as Masky locking Toby in the closet when he's annoying only to turn around and see Toby standing there.... MENACINGLY (lol)

- LJ punts Mr Widemouth across the mansion weekly

- EJ is no longer allowed to cook for others after the barbeque of 2017. We miss you, Butler Bill

- Tuesdays and Thursdays Viv's character takes pets and children out the mansion for a playdate while everyone else has some fun

- Viv's Hidden Stash of Tuna TM

- My Hidden Stash of Vodka and Rum TM

- My character might have a problem but then again immortals aren't really affected by alcohol like most mortals are

- Speaking about my character: Holy. Pets.

- They have a bunch of guard dogs (despite them all being guard dogs they are pampered like you wouldn't believe)

- Pastas respect COVID stuff. Slender ordered everyone to scatter until it's mellowed out alot. Slender caught it at some point. They say get the vaccine and wear ya damn mask.

- There's a "Community Garden". It's just a few pitcher plants, some Butterworts, a killer cow plant (courtesy of Ben pulling some strings), a small patch of wither roses (courtesy of Herobrine), and a oran berry plant (courtesy of a few poke-pastas), rose bushes, etc

- Holidays are fun too

- Christmas time is filled with my character and Viv's taking Sally, Jane, Clockwork, and Nina out for a "girls" night

- Granted Nina only gets taken along bc despite the love-hate relationship between my character and Jeff, Jeff deserves time away from Nina during the holidays at least

- Also despite Jeff hating Nina he appreciates the knives she gives him (and return he gives her some sort of card)

- Due to staying in the vents constantly and stalking everyone my character gets everyone what they think they like would like

- Christmas lights everywhere. Splendor always gets Offender to put the star on top the comically large tree just bc

- Despite it not being Christmas music, everyone listens to Hotel California by The Eagles

- and watches Christmas movies (what was that Christmas movie with Tim Allen?)

- Everyone plays in the snow. Jeff decides to start a snowball fight and Sally makes a snow man.

- Everyone wears something festive and it's normally an ugly sweater thanks to Trender

- Spiked nog anyone?

- Thanksgiving includes everyone gathering together and having fun

- A small hunting trip is planned instead of a football game (the hunt takes place the day prior bc no one wanna miss the parade)

- Sally's favorite float is the Charlie brown float

- You know how the president pardons a turkey? Slender pardons a victim (and has been doing it since meeting Viv's character bc of a joke Viv made)

- My character makes mashed potatoes or some sort of really outdated dish from the 1700's

- The Slender Bros, Viv's character, Sally, Toby, Smile Dog, Jeff, and Nina all watch the dog show after the parade

- Nina is kinda allergic to dogs and doesn't really like them but bc of her lingering obsession with Jeff she puts up with it

- Offender and Trender argue over what dog they think should have won (funny to watch to grown immortal-ass men argue over this)

- Slender carves the turkey

- The pardoned victim is allowed to stay for dinner granted a majority of memories get changed (not really erased, just changed)

- My character, Jeff, and Ben all walk through the woods before dinner and get fucking plastered (and think no one notices....everyone notices)

- the week of Thanksgiving the tree gets put up (acceptable if it's the week of Thanksgiving, any other time then it's just weird)

- My characters mom, (considered the co-founder of Hell) pops in, steals a couple slices of pie, and leaves

- Halloween is celebrated kind of like Thanksgiving and Christmas

- My character decorates the mansion with various bones

- 31 Days of Horror Movies (at some point it's decided to watch Earnest Scared Stupid and some of the serious dog lovers opt out)

- The Slender Brothers dress up as the three musketeers. Splendor is Porthos, Offender is Athos, Slender is D'artagnan and, Trender is Aramis

- Jeff and my character do a duel costume by dressing of as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer from Cats (musical not movie, duh) alternatively they dress as Rum Tum Tugger and Mr. Mistoffelees.

- Sally dresses as Carrie or a fairy princess

- Jane, Clockwork, Nina, Viv's Character dress up as four of the five muses from Hercules (Viv changes last minute to a cat due to her character having cat ears and a cat tail)

- Toby, Masky, and Hoodie originally wanted to dress as the three musketeers but after slender took that idea they decide to dress up as separate things. Toby dresses as Masky. Masky dresses as the phantom of the opera and Hoodie is a ghost.

- Smile dog dresses as a hot dog :P

- A small hunting trip is planned and Jane and Clockwork take Sally trick or treating

- Everyone finishes the month with A Night are Before Christmas (a classic)

- Not many celebrate Valentine's day

- It's really only the Slender Bros, Viv's character, My character, Nina, Toby, Masky & Hoodie, and Sally

- and by Sally I mean she just leaves candy from the candy bowl everywhere

- Masky and Hoodie make a day of it since Slender gives them holidays off. They eat cheesecake in the woods and just spend the day together.

- Toby spends the day alone but still celebrates in his own way. Eating waffles.

- Offender (in our improv thing he's not....yeah....he's just a hopeless romantic that does consensual hook ups) and my character spend his their leaving roses out at restaurants and going to bars for hookups. They have a bunch of stuff worked out.

- Viv and Slender spend the day in bed or lounging in the living room watching some cheesy comedy.

- Trender spends the day as a self care day seeing as he's alone at the moment. Every day is self care for him but it's even more on Valentine's Day. He goes all out and even treats himself to a fancy restaurant.

- Splendor likes going to neighborhoods and leaving cute little poems on people's doors then heading to the zoo for personal time.

- Nina harasses Jeff who, in return, leaves the mansion and heads to the apartment him and my character share.

- New Years is something everyone celebrates. While some have resolutions others have new quotas they're trying to meet.

- Sally tries to stay up and watch the ball drop (she's only seen it drop twice before falling asleep)

- My character and Viv's character get shit faced

- Jeff normally sits there with a beer in one hand and Smile Dog beside him

- that's really all that consists of New Years

More about our two characters:

My character:

- a 401 year old demon thing

- in our universe hell is ran by the 7 devil's as well as my characters mother. Hells more of a city than a pit.

- Has lived with Jeff as a roommate since late 2018

- Use to be with Herobrine but broke it off with him for unknown reasons.....they're civil and still good friends. He's one of those people that could make a good boyfriend but is best as a close friend

- On their 400th birthday a crackening happened in Hell that enhanced their powers and they were hunted by Zalgo. Luckily a truce was established.

- Has been by Viv's character side since her characters soul was first created. More in Viv's Character's section

- Y'know those dogs that were talked about in the beginning? They primarily stay at their mothers mansion in Hell.

- Also all cats go to hell but they don't get hurt. They like to watch. Sometimes if you're lucky you might get a celebrity's cat. That's how my character got their lovely (and kinda douchy cat) Delilah. She likes to pee all over people's suits just bc she's like that.

- They were born in 1620 but are progressive

- Still liked fashion through the ages

- Maybe not the health damaging ones

- Is able to fly and teleport but due to back pain and migraines prefers to stay grounded and rarely use teleportation

- Doesn't actually kill much but has had souls sold to them (job as a demon....doesn't really need one though....is Crossroads Demon)

- Had a one night stand with Trender about 240ish years ago

- Does have proxies....it's those souls they take and barter around for

- Souls in hell can be used for currency depending on whether or not they sold their soul

- Anyways, was at some point known for having an obsession with chainsaws and hoodies...still has a bunch of hoodies and a chainsaw but doesn't really use them much (is more of a flannel and gun person now)

Viv's Character:

- her character managed to get everyone's favorite dwarfed rag doll cat from the internet

- Her character use to be with Entity 303 and ended up Slenderman

- that makes two of us who were with a Minecraft pasta and ended up with a slender brother lol

- I think her character is called Kat or KC so for now imma call her character Kat

- Kat has an addiction to tuna and milk

- Also has cat ears and a cat tail which are both very sensitive

- when Kat's soul was created my character was created. Even though Kat has been through many many reincarnations my character has always been alongside her. Even though my character doesn't die they act as a guardian towards Kat.

- Has a tendency to sit up in the cat walks and within the walls of the mansion alongside my character

- Gets lost in the forest from time to time and needs help getting out

- Despite being with Slender she has her own room to store her weapons and stash her plans.

- If I'm not mistaken Kat also was with Toby for a short while but doesn't talk about it much. Imagine dating your ex-lovers boss lol

- Disappears for up to a week sometimes without saying where she's going and when she comes back she acts as if nothing happened

- When both Kat and my character started living in the mansion they shared a room for about a year.

- Kat had a personal garden that was completely wiped out by Zalgo before a treaty was established and she still hasn't forgave him

- The garden mostly had marigolds and a few small plants. The only one that really mattered was Audrey the Venus fly trap.

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fandom-necromancer · 4 years

Text

1420. I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose you.

This was prompted by an amazing anon! I hope you enjoy, I certainly had fun writing it!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Allen60

[Prequel] [Part 2]

I have a partner now.

Joseph sat on a bench outside the precinct enjoying his break in the last sun before it would disappear behind clouds for most of the winter. He held his phone loosely in hand, texting with his mother. He had initially thought he would just settle a few things about her birthday and get back inside, but them she had asked about whether there was something new going on. It had been the first thing coming to his mind that didn't involve him telling her about his latest gruesome case. And he couldn't have expected her response to be so, well... lengthy.

>Oh, Josey, I'm so happy for you! Finally you found someone! Told you love would find a way! >Who is the lucky woman? >Or man, you know I don't mind! >Oh, you have to bring them with you when you come over! >You know I always wanted to see my boy happy before I leave this earth! Ah, I'm rambling again, but I'm really happy for you! >I will let you get back to work now! See you next week! >Don't you dare come without your partner! >Love you, sweety! Stay save!

Well... That certainly would be a problem.

'Hey, Sixty', he addressed the android as he walked back into the office. 'Would you be up for another err... undercover mission?' 'Sure’, the incredible workaholic android was quick to answer. ‘What gang hideout is our target this time? Or do we crash a weapon handover?' 'Yeah, kind of', Allen trailed off amused. 'Err... the target is my mother's house and we are indeed likely to crash her birthday.'

Sixty just looked at him. Allen would be damned how much emotion the android could put into a complete and utterly neutral face. He just sighed, sitting down on Sixty’s table and threw him the phone with the open chat. ‘Knock yourself out.’ The android still stared at him, phone in hand, shook his head and began reading. 'How the hell did she think you meant... romantic partners?', he finally asked as he had read the short conversation.

Allen shrugged. ‘Guess she understood what she wanted to hear.’ ‘Wanted to hear?’ ‘Hey, I never exactly managed to stay in a relationship, okay? With my work being dangerous and me spending so much time away from home… It isn’t easy. I think the longest relationship I had been in had been for four years and I really thought it would stick. But then it didn’t and well… I gave up on that. Doesn’t mean I still want it, but I learned to stay alone. It’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I mean it can get lonely from time to time, but you get over it. Also spares you the heartbreak.’ Sixty still just stared at him, his face not showing if he had put any thought into what Allen had said or if he even listened. ‘And how is that important?’ ‘Listen, my mother was always one to think you can only be happy in a relationship and that I am suffering terribly staying single. She just wants to see me with someone, you know? She means well, though. So, when I tell her the word “partner”, the first connection isn’t colleague. Should have known to word it better.’ ‘And why should I accompany you to your mother’s birthday?’ Allen sighed. ‘Well, for one I’m tired of having to explain to her why I still didn’t find someone and listening to her ramble on that I’ve missed the chance to have a family and all that. And second, I guess it would make her happy. She isn’t the youngest anymore and even if it is just pretence, maybe she won’t worry as much. I know it’s shitty to ask you for it, but it would only be a few days and just a role to play, I assure you. I mean you can say no, if you want, I can make up something.’ ‘You won’t have to’, Sixty declared then, handing the phone back. ‘I’ll play along.’

So, they found themselves sitting in Allen’s car parked in front of his parent’s home. It was a small house with a big garden at Whitmore Lake, roughly an hour’s drive from Detroit. Allen found himself hesitating. It was Sixty, who made him jerk out of it, as he excited the car and got the flowers from the backseat. Allen sighed, taking his mother’s favourite chocolate and a gift card from his side. ‘Here goes nothing…’

They rung the bell and his mother opened almost instantly, laughing at him and hugging him for a greeting. ‘Ah, you are early! Nice to see you arrived safely!’ She released him only for his eyes to fall on Sixty. ‘Oh! You didn’t tell me he was an android!’ She stopped herself only to go pale. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean you any offense, I was just surprised!’ Knowing how Sixty handled criminals who gave him special treatment because of his identity, Allen watched him warily. But the android surprised him by smiling at her, handing over the flowers and politely shaking her hand. ‘Most people are surprised, I’m used to it’, he brushed it off. ‘I’m Sixty.’ ‘Oh, it’s such a pleasure to meet you Sixty, please come in! Just excuse me for a moment, will you?’ As soon as she turned and waddled down the hallway, Sixty gave Allen a pointed stare, pushing his shoes off. It changed promptly to bewilderment, as the prior to this polite and gentle elderly woman managed to shout in a commanding tone that left no space for arguments: ‘Wallace! Get your old ass in the car and look for something an android can eat! I’m not leaving my guests hungry!’ Sixty just watched as a tiny man jogged past them, got in the car and drove off. Allen just laughed shrugging. ‘I think now you got to know my mom.’

It was all in all a pleasant day. Sixty was a master at faking their “relationship”, engaging in conversation eagerly and telling his mother how Allen and he met each other. He kept it simple. Met at work, had a few cases together, liked each other’s company. It was so convincing, Allen would have believed it. The android had slapped his back a few times companionable and they had hugged to make it more believable. Thankfully, the one time, Sixty had been brave enough to quickly kiss him on the cheek, Allen had flushed so red, his mother had just taken it as embarrassment because they watched, not because he had been kissed by someone who very much wasn’t his romantic partner in any way. She had then made it into a monologue as to why he didn’t have to hide anything long enough for Allen to compose himself without any attention.

It stopped being a pleasant day as his mother led them to his old room as evening came. His old room they hadn’t changed much. His old room that was still outfitted with only one bed. ‘Err… I hope this isn’t a problem? We don’t have another mattress unfortunately, but you could always-‘ ‘No, no, Mrs. Allen, not a problem at all! Joseph likes to cuddle.’ Thankfully, Allen was the one turned to the room, not his mother, because again, he was red as a tomato. Sixty was right, he liked to cuddle, but not with- His mother laughed loudly at that, patting Sixty on the back. ‘Have a good night you two!’

As soon as the door was closed, Allen fixed a grinning Sixty. ‘God, don’t tell me you are fucking enjoying this!’ ‘Come on, it is quite amusing!’, the android pointed out. ‘Besides, I can always just enter stasis standing.’ ‘So that my mom wakes us tomorrow morning and finds your mannequin-ass standing in the corner? Why couldn’t you take the couch?’ ‘Because that wouldn’t be convincing! Also, you do like to cuddle.’ ‘That was one time and only because I fell asleep and thought you were-‘ ‘Come on now. There’s nothing wrong sleeping in one bed with a friend. It’s just one night.’ ‘Fine.’

They got to bed, dressed in pyjamas they had taken along. Allen lay on his side, back to Sixty’s, carefully trying not to touch him. ‘Captain, if you are tense like this you will never fall asleep. Just relax, I won’t tell anyone.’ Reluctantly, Allen obeyed, relaxing but cringing at the touch all the same. This brought up memories he didn’t want to think back to. Yes, he liked to cuddle with someone. Yes, he had always wanted a relationship. No, this would never work, and no, this was just Sixty playing his part! Could his overactive imagination please fuck off? He finally fell asleep later, but maybe he should have just faced another birthday of his mother listening to her scolding him for not having a partner.

The next morning, he woke up slowly. His mother had not woken him up and in fact, the moment he came back to consciousness he thought he was at home in his own bed at first. He had his arms around a warm body, his own pulled flush and he smiled at the thought, nuzzling deeper into the other’s neck. Until he froze as there was no smell. No smell at all, that body in front of him wasn’t human and this wasn’t his home. He was at his parent’s house with Sixty. He had hugged Sixty in his sleep. Shit.

Only then he noticed that the android likely was still in stasis. Otherwise he would have done something about his inappropriate behaviour. So maybe, he could enjoy this for a little while longer? He relaxed, but it was a stupid thought to have. They just played a role here. Still, when was the last time he had something like this? And Sixty was in stasis, he wouldn’t notice.

Except that he did. Allen was truly mortified, as he heard the android whisper: ‘I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose you.’ Sixty had been awake the whole time? Allen panicked, trying to get his arms away, but the android grabbed his wrists to gently hold them in place. ‘Please. I had been awake since you first hugged me two hours ago’, he said. ‘This feels nice. Can we stay like this for a while?’ This had to be a dream of some sorts, Allen was sure of it. ‘Wh-What do you mean?’, he stumbled, rigid and overwhelmed. ‘I know this is fake, but I feel like I don’t want this to end. I never thought to like or even need this and being an android on top of that, chances of having this are very slim. Especially with a human. I knew I admired you before, but I didn’t even know something like this is possible. I know when we leave this place it will be over, you said yourself you accepted being alone. I would like to keep this moment a little longer.’ Allen just lied there unable to find words. He had never thought this was how their whole charade would end. He had never thought Sixty would like to stay like this… ‘Who said it has to be over when we leave’, Allen said, regretting it already. Surely Sixty would turn around every moment laughing at him like the idiot he was believing him. But no, Sixty’s grip on his wrists hardened for a split second, before the android turned around to face him surprised. ‘I thought you didn’t want another relationship’, he wondered. ‘I don’t want another heartbreak’, Allen disagreed. ‘But I’m willing to try it with you. At least you won’t leave me because I spend too much time at work.’ ‘No, I wouldn’t… You are really willing to try this?’ ‘Sixty, I already said I am. And with you I would even think it could work.’ He smirked at the android. Now that they were on equal terms, he actually liked the idea a lot. ‘As long as you want to try it with me.’ ‘I would love to.’

[> next part]

#detroit become human #dbh #Allen60 #Captain Allen #Sixty #RK800-60 #Did I mention I'm a sucker for people finding love in unexpected places #and sixty being badass until it comes to feelings #and the there is only one bed trope #well now I have #also RIP wallace the npc

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lady-divine-writes · 5 years

Text

Insecure

When gaggles of women start flooding his shop on their lunch hours just to gawk at his sexy husband, Aziraphale begins to succumb to the new doubts and fears that come as a result of going native.

Luckily, Crowley has a cure for that. (2260 words)

(AO3)

Aziraphale has noticed a disturbing trend in the customers who come into his shop lately. No longer do they seem to be interested in purchasing one of his many immaculate and prized first editions (thank God), but, instead, they come to gawk at his husband, who spends a great deal of his time draped over a chair in the corner reading. Or pretending to read. He’s mostly there to annoy Aziraphale – make suggestive remarks when the angel bends over, persuade him take long lunches and close up early, rearrange the books by random indicators like whether there’s an animal featured on the cover or not, the author’s hair color, or their perceived sexual orientation. Since Aziraphale can’t afford to waste miracles, that means he has to spend all day reorganizing his shelves.

Or leave them as is, which is Crowley’s aim really.

But the gaggle of teenaged girls who come in before and after school, and the business women who stop by on their lunch hour, annoy him more.

He’s tried to juggle his times of operation to avoid them – open later, close earlier, take off Mondays. But they don’t seem to mind being late to where they’re going just to catch a glimpse of his demon.

And it’s beginning to wear on him.

Crowley doesn’t seem to notice the attention. Aziraphale brought it up to him once over lunch, asking how it felt to be objectified by the female clientele that his presence has been attracting day after day after day (in part because he was irritated and in part because he was genuinely curious), to which Crowley said, “You’ve been getting customers? When was that? Last week?”

Since Aziraphale can usually tell when Crowley is lying, and he wasn’t this time around, that was the end of that discussion.

But this influx of admirers has begun to spotlight certain doubts in Aziraphale’s mind that have been hiding there for some time.

Do they belong together? Are they really a match?

He’s not even talking about the angel/demon dynamic. A lot of people would say that opposites attract and well, you can’t get much more opposite than good and evil.

Then again, they’ve come to discover that Crowley isn’t completely evil, and Aziraphale isn’t necessarily 100% good.

And that’s part of the point.

So many things have changed for Aziraphale lately, ever since he and his demon became husbands. Changes in life, changes in his shop … changes in him. Inadequacies, doubts, fears, no longer simply about himself or his job efficiency as an angel, but about this relationship – a relationship that had been a constant in his existence, one he didn’t have to think too hard on or worry too much about. Perhaps it’s a side-effect of going native, but being married to a sexy demon on a planet that values youth and beauty over wit and intelligence makes him question a lot of things, things he hadn’t thought to question for all the years they’d been friends.

If Aziraphale has begun to notice these things, will Crowley begin to notice them, too?

Will they become important to him?

Crowley is a demon, bound (for the most part) by demonic rules. When one takes into account the seven deadly sins - a page straight out of the demon playbook - technically, they already should be.

The door to the shop opens and a new wave of women walks through. Aziraphale rolls his eyes mentally but confronts them with a smile. He walks straight up to them, effectively blocking their way further than the counter unless they admit to wanting a book, which, at this point, he may just be willing to sell them if it means they leave without the requisite drooling over his husband.

“Good morning! May I help you young ladies?”

The three of them do their best to get around him, but with the only entrance into the belly of the shop being the narrow aisle behind him, it would be impossible to do without shoving him to the side.

Which one lady in a houndstooth jacket and blonde bob looks fully prepared to do.

They try to peek over him but to no avail as the chair his husband lounges on has been moved out of sight of the door. All three women deflate when they realize their trip to this otherwise dull and dusty little shop has all been for naught, and they sigh in unison.

“Uh … no. No, we’re … okay,” one of them says, and they turn and leave the shop, grumbling about the pudgy old troll popping out from under his bridge to ruin their fun.

The door slams shut and Aziraphale sighs, returning to his task of restocking the shelves.

“Now what was all that about?” Crowley asks, coming up behind his angel, having caught the final few seconds of that unfortunate interaction.

“Nothing,” Aziraphale replies, doing his best to try and smile as he tosses books onto shelves, barely paying mind to where they belong.

“Is that so?” Crowley rescues the next book, which had missed the shelf, before it lands on the floor. “The way you’re abusing these poor books, it doesn’t seem like nothing. What has …” He glances at the cover of the one he’s holding before sliding it into its place on the shelf “… Allen Ginsberg ever done to you?”

Aziraphale stops. Full stops. Stops stocking the shelves, stops smiling, stops trying to pretend. In the grand scheme of the universe and God’s ineffable plan, Aziraphale’s problems seem shallow and petty. But they are his problems, and right now, they’re bowing his back, weighing his shoulders down.

“Why did you ask me to marry you, Crowley?” he asks, staring down at his husband’s snakeskin shoes and hugging the remaining three books to his chest.

Crowley smirks since he knows full well his husband can’t see. “Well, it was about flippin’ time, wasn’t it?”

Aziraphale’s head snaps up, his eyes, full of angelic fire, meeting Crowley’s behind his dark glasses. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

But Crowley doesn’t fear that fire. He welcomes it.

“It means I’ve loved you forever, Aziraphale. And the second I got my head out of my arse and figured it out, I wanted to make it official.”

Aziraphale nods and goes back to the task of examining his husband’s shoes. Crowley takes the books out of Aziraphale’s hands and places them on the shelf so he can wrap his husband up in his arms.

“Tell me. What’s this really all about, hmm? Does it have anything to do with that wench that called you a troll?”

“Don’t say that. I’m sure she’s a perfectly nice young woman, all things considered,” Aziraphale murmurs, not sounding all that convincing.

“Well, she’s a perfectly nice young woman who just dropped her lunch, missed her bus connection, and now has a huge runner in her stockings, so hopefully that makes your day a little bit better.”

Aziraphale smiles softly into the fabric of his husband’s shirt. “No. But I thank you for the effort.”

“What do you care what these mortals think of you?” Crowley squeezes his husband tight, hoping for a giggle. “You’re an angel! You’re Mr. Holier-than-thou! You perform miracles! You fight for the greater good! You’re not concerned with those things, right?”

“No.” Aziraphale clears his throat and straightens his back in an attempt to pull himself up from his bog of self-pity. “Not at all. At least … I wasn’t. I don’t know. This new life of ours … it’s doing things to me.”

“Well, I should hope so,” Crowley growls.

This time, Aziraphale does giggle. “That’s not what I mean.”

“Look …” Crowley leans back a few inches to look into his angel’s eyes “… you chose your human form, right?”

Aziraphale’s head bobs left to right, giving that some thought. “More or less. There were parameters.”

“And if there was something you didn’t like about it, you could change it?”

“I guess.”

“So, why haven’t you? I’ll tell you why. Because deep down inside, you like yourself just the way you are. You like your face because it’s kind. And you don’t mind the shape of your body because you feel your favorite clothes suit you. You’ve never had a single negative thought about yourself that wasn’t put into your head by someone else. You love yourself. And so do I. Because you’re not your body, Aziraphale. You’re your heart and your soul and your mind. You also happen to be one hell of a, as they say, bad ass.”

“Really?” Aziraphale says with a bitter little hiccup. “And how do you figure that?”

“Aziraphale! You wield a flaming sword! You stood in front of Satan himself, ready to defend the world! Humans who walk into this shop every day should genuflect and worship you.”

“That would fall under the category of false idols, so that’s a no-no.”

“Plus - and this is a huge plus - you’re the only being I know who’s looked Beelzebub in the face and asked for a rubber duck! Do you think there’s anyone else on this measly little planet that even compares to you? Because, to be honest, if there were, that would be terrifying!”

Aziraphale rests his head against his husband’s chest, melting into his words of praise. He’d never considered any of that, which proves how native he’s actually become. Humans, he’s noticed, do the same thing. What do degrees and accolades and charitable works matter so long as you’re aesthetically pleasing to any and all sexes? But he can’t allow his husband to lead him into the sin of pride. He knows Crowley isn’t trying to tempt him. He’s being supportive.

But as a demon, leading Aziraphale astray would fall under the umbrella of an occupational hazard.

“Would it make you feel better if I made a few alterations to my form?” Crowley asks. “Give myself a bit of a pooch? Perhaps a double chin?”

“No! I know how much you like the form you’re in. I know that you’re afraid to lose it. I don’t want you to go changing yourself for me.”

“Now that’s funny, because I feel exactly the same way about you.”

The clock on the wall strikes the hour and Crowley looks up. Through the window, he sees another wave of women heading for the shop, huddled together as if they’re embarking on a secret quest. “Do you really want to stop those women from coming in here all the time?”

“Not that I’m purposefully trying to drive away business …”

“Of course not.”

“… but it would be nice.”

Crowley pinches his angel’s chin and gives him a wink. “I’ll handle it.”

The bell over the door tinkles as it swings open. This time, instead of the shop’s portly proprietor greeting its customers, the tall, slender man they’ve been coming to see – the one who fills out a tight fitting shirt and black jeans like no one else in the world - does, and they’re instantly delighted. Their collective eyes brighten when they see that the object of their lustful gazes has finally risen out of his chair, and is now standing in front of them to see.

“Hello, ladies,” Crowley says to the obnoxious tittering of all, and Aziraphale shakes his head. How this is supposed to keep the birds out of the roost, he had no idea. This will probably make them stop by more.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

“We didn’t realize you worked here,” one woman says, her eyes glowing with the possibilities.

“Ah, yes, yes. Alas, I do. Is there anything you ladies need? Something to tickle your literary taste buds?” Crowley meets them glasses to eyes, flashing the most charming smile he can conjure. “Some Shakespeare, a little Whitman … some Wilde, perhaps?”

“Why, yes,” one brave woman dares, taking Crowley in from head to toe, not even being subtle about it when her whole head moves, which makes the smiling brood beside her titter even more. “As a matter of fact, there is.”

“Well, well, well. One second and my husband will help you.”

It takes a moment for those words to hit, but the fallout is precious.

First comes the silence, then the confusion, followed by the disbelief.

“Husband?” Aziraphale hears one of the women say before Crowley grabs him around the waist, pulls him against him, and kisses him hard.

The gasp from their lips is positively delicious. Aziraphale would guffaw if not for his husband’s mouth on his, his serpent tongue slipping between his lips and giving him the most inappropriate things to think about in public. By the time Crowley lets his husband come up for air, the women are gone – vanished as if in a puff of smoke since Aziraphale never heard the bells over the door ring to announce their departure.

Of course, that could be because of the thoughts his husband had been projecting into his mind using a soupçon of his demonic power.

His sexy serpent has one vivid imagination.

“So, that’s the solution you came up with?” Aziraphale fixes his vest, tugging at the hem, pretending to act scandalized by the whole process even though the smile he can’t suppress begs to differ.

“Yup. I’d say it worked a treat, too. Besides, the best part about it is …” He slaps his husband playfully on the ass before he finishes “… we get to do that again for every lot that comes in.”

#Good Omens #Good Omens Fanfic #ineffable husbands #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #Frankie writes

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dgmagines · 5 years

Text

Main cast’s first date with Min

I think it was Friday non who asked for an imagine about the main cast being on a first date with min and umm *nervously pushes this onto the blog* i hope you enjoy nonny!!! ; v ;

Also min wrote this on the basis that min has been friends with them for some time and that min would be? The one to plan? the dates? Because that’s how dates go right? /laughs nervously/

Allen

* Aquarium date!!! Drag!! Him!!! Min loves loves loves loves aquariums and has always wanted to go so why not go with this excitable child, yeah? ; v ;

* Afterwards, when we’re both hungry, it’ll be time for food hunting and nothing gets min more excited than trying out new places to eat!! Min is gonna steal his food because “Allen let me taste that!! Sharing is caring, you ass!!”

* Then we’ll just hang out either at the restaurant/café/wherever it is we’re eating or at a nearby park and talk until it gets late before we both go home; min would offer to see him home first before going home myself and he’d probably? Do the same?

* Maybe we won’t stop at just one food establishment >:3c maybe we’ll explore the whole mall and sample all their food >:3c min is a broke bitch tho so min can only dream

Lavi

* I wanna take this child hiking; I think he’d make a good hiking partner given his teasing nature and would also be a good motivator for when you’re too tired to climb

* Ooohhh!! Maybe a hike to the hill min went to the other day since they had a lot of picturesque places to take photos! And a lot of places to sit that are well shaded! So we’ll be able to talk and spend some time up there alone before the sun gets too hot and we have to tumble our way back down the hill fsdvghdsg

* Then we can pop by the rabbit farm because min just wants to watch him gush over animals uwu

* Maybe a little library/bookstore date after because min will probably be tired after the whole hike thing- would be nice to just get to talk about books or anything in whispers and try to contain our laughter as much as we can without making other people mad pft-

Kanda

* Gonna drag his ass to the nearest hill in our area so I can hike with him; either that or we start the day off by jogging or something physically active- I think he’d like that ; v ;

* We’ll part after the morning activity and meet back in the noon for lunch? Then after, Min will drag him to an arcade and then a movie to end the day

* I think arcades would be fun with Kanda because he seems like a competitive type ; v ; and also min wants to try and crush him at something so why not in min’s “natural” element? /laughs

* I swear to god if Kanda picks out a scary movie for us to watch, Min will throw popcorn into his hair because screw you, you know I’m terrified of these things

Lenalee

* lets be real- min’s first date with Lena would probably be because min needs help picking something? And it turns into an accidental date? Because min is dumb??? like that??? Gbfdhjdfgshsg

* On the off-chance that min is planning the date, Min’ll drag her to a festival or one of those fairs if they happen to be setting up shop there at the time!! It’d be nice to try all the rides with her and try to impress her with min’s non-existent game skill fbhfjdgs

* Start us of with the horror house/rides because it’d be!!! Fun!! and end the date with a rollercoaster ride!! Because!! min is slightly afraid of ferris wheels due to min’s mom scaring us as children gbfdhsjgsdg

* Min is gonna try and win some stuff for Lena because memories but if that doesn’t work out, min is always open to treating her to food for the rest of the night uwu uwu

Additionally : Min will send all of them stupid memes instead of a normal “I had fun today,” once they get back to their respective homes safely because min has no social skills at all fdhsjf rip min

#anon #headcanon #headcanons #about min #dsgbhsdf cries as i sacrifice my whole heart in hopes that this isn't cringey-#also about the lenalee thing-#min is like-#really #REALLY hella dumb when it comes to taking hints fbgdhjgsg #apparently min has had 5 friends who had crushes on min while we were close friends and min #did not #suspect #a n y t h i n g #DO YOU KNOW HOW FLUSTERED I GOT WHEN THEY SAID THAT IN OUR CLEAR HEART SESSIONS IM CRY???#and yes min does clear heart sessions with friends because fbdhd screw supressing hate amiright #min and min's best friends fight a lot on the daily because we know there's no bite behind the words fbhdshgsf #MIN WENT OFF ON A TANGENT AND FORGOT THE TAGS #should i... even tag these...?#i'm gonna tag them #fnjsdhgdfhg #allen walker #lavi bookman jr #lavi bookman jr.#kanda yuu #yuu kanda #lenalee lee #dgm #d gray man #d.gray man #d. gray man

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ill-skillsgard · 5 years

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Sweet Demons, Part 6 FINALE - Zeitgeist/Axel Cluney

Title: Sweet Demons

Description: It's the weekend of Friday the Thirteenth, the biggest motorcycle rally and festival in the Western Hemisphere but nothing is more enticingly chaotic to her than the mysterious new member of the famous Motor City Sweet Demons.

Warning: 18+ Mentions of drugs/alcohol/violence, eventual smut/various kinks

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Max demanded that I went into the house and left Axel alone but how could I have possibly ignored what I saw? From the living room window, I peered out so I could continue to watch what was happening. Bradley had helped Axel up on his feet and took him to the clubhouse while my dad hauled the garden hose out from the backyard to start spraying away the peculiar black vomit that had come up from Axel's throat. Confusion set in followed swiftly by anxiety. Nothing about what had happened made sense and the longer I watched my dad pointing a jet-stream of water at the place Axel had thrown up the more I realized that whatever ungodly liquid had come out of that man was leaving a nice deep blemish in the concrete. I paced around the house for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. Nothing had prepared me for what had happened outside. My head pounded and a sick swirling of guilt twisted my gut until it became difficult to breathe. I wanted to go to Axel just to see if he was okay although I was brimming with unanswered questions that wanted to explode forth. The way he had glared at me and told me to get away from him was playing on a loop in my head. Holding my hand to my chest, I tried to breathe in deeply and rationalize what I witnessed but there was nothing I could draw from. The pitch black liquid that seemingly burned through concrete was the last thing I had ever expected to witness. "Angel? Where are you? I need some bandages in here!" I heard my dad yell from the garage. I found a first aid kit under the sink in the downstairs bathroom and brought it to the garage where Braun was sitting on an old white plastic lawn chair with a balled up rag held to his right eye. The rag was not only caked in oil but also soaked in blood. "Get that shit off of his face, you're going to get it infected!" I yelled, shoving the first aid box into my dad's arms. "Why do you care?" Braun spat. "Hey now. You better fuckin' cool it, kid." Dad admonished in a way that was completely sincere and not at all bordering on the edge of a joke. "I've had about enough out of all yous." "I'll go get you some ice... Your eye is swelling like a balloon." Braun shot up from the chair and yelled, "why don't you go try to take care of Axel? Stop pretending like you give a fuck, 'cause it's not cute!" I stood up straight, offended and threw up my hands in defeat. "Fine! Fuck you too then! Fuck everyone!" When I went back into the house I was even more upset than before. I had fucked up so royally that everybody was at each other's throats. Then Max finally came down from the clubhouse to find my father in the garage taking care of Braun's deep cut and his ruptured eye. From the kitchen, it was easy to eavesdrop on anything that was being said in the garage, that I knew so I held my breath and listened hard to maybe try to gather some answers without having to go digging myself. "He all right?" Dad asked as Max entered the garage from the back door, sighing in frustration. "He'll be fine. More just pissed off about the Widow-Maker I think." "I tried to have a look at it but... Something's wrong with the fuel tank." "So weird. He was riding last night... How could something go bust overnight?" "Ah, who fucking knows. Might have to open her up to have a look." "Fuck, Al... I don't know. We have to hit the road like two hours ago. The rest of them are antsy to get going... I don't know what to do." The rusty squeal of the back door rang and a familiar gait thumped through the garage. I swallowed down the breath I was clenching in my lungs and took in another. If anyone came in through the kitchen entrance it would have been obvious that I was listening in but at that point, I didn't much care. "Just go. I'll meet you guys at the next stop once I get her going. Don't let me hold you up." Max Sweet lamented, "fuck Axe... I don't want to leave you behind." "Janet can tail. I'm not leaving here without the Widow-Maker." "Axe... You sure?" "I'm positive. You guys hit the road. I'll see what's up with her and get her going again then I'll meet you up North." "Shit," said Max. "I guess so." "Bring her on up. We'll have a look at her," Dad said. "Thanks, Al. And again... I'll cover the cost of filling the hole in the driveway." "Ah, fuck it. I got a guy who owes me a favor. I'll get it fixed. Don't worry about it." "I'm a little worried about it." "I'd rather you puke your fuckin'... Whatever unholy shit that was on the driveway and not on someone's face." "Where is she?" I heard Axel ask quietly after a few seconds of silence between the three. "She's in the house," Dad replied. "But you best focus on the task at hand." "Yeah, we have to get going," Max agreed. I went up to my bedroom and watched out the window as the Motor City Sweet Demons all got on their bikes and took off without Axel. I felt guilt rip at my throat like a rabid dog and I longed to go to the garage to speak to him even though I was at a loss for what to say. From the second floor, I watched Axel in the driveway, scratching the back of his head, staring at the Demons as they set off. Once he was left alone he circled his bike again, frowning, looking genuinely hurt. It felt terrible to me and all at once I wished I could disappear off the face of the Earth. He kicked up the stand and pushed the Widow-Maker up the driveway, disappearing from sight into the garage to begin work on it. I gave it a couple of hours before I decided to snake my way down into the garage to see him. Even though I had gone over what to say in my head a hundred times I was still afraid of what he would say to me. When I entered the kitchen to get to the garage door I heard the clanging of metal on metal. The sounds of Axel taking apart his bike were loud and I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts before opening the door. He looked up at me when I opened the door but quickly dropped his gaze back to what he was doing when he realized it was me. The seat of his motorcycle had been taken off and the bolts were on the ground right beside it in a metal dish. I wasn't exactly sure what he was doing but it looked like he was working on taking the gas tank off the bike. Grinding the toe of my sandal into the ground, I cleared my throat but he either didn't hear me over the sound of the Allen wrench or simply chose to ignore me. The latter made my heart sink and I immediately felt like Axel wanted nothing more to do with me. I approached the bike, grimacing and trying to lock eyes with Axel but he wouldn't pull himself away from dismantling his bike for a second. "Are you um... Are you okay?" I piped up. With lips clamped shut in concentration he shrugged. "I don't know. Does it look like I'm okay?" "I just wanted to make sure you were... Feeling all right?" "I'll be all right once I'm on the fuckin' road." Blinded by his words, I took one step back incredulously, "I'm sorry... I didn't know you were so eager to leave." "My gang's on the road right now without me. Of course, I'm eager to leave." "Well, you don't have to shut me out. I mean... I think you owe me an explanation after all that." Axel dropped the screwdriver that he was using to unscrew bolts and clapped his hand on the fuel tank that was half off. "I don't owe you anything, okay? I told you that I don't catch feelings at the beginning of the weekend and I wasn't just saying it to be cute. You and I had a good time but right now, I'm about to put my fist through a window and I need you to leave me alone." I stammered when I realized that what he said hurt worse than it should. The icy glare he gave me before picking up a wrench from my dad's toolbox was as forbidding as it was repelling. "Fine. I can see that it meant nothing to you at all. No romance. No nothing. That's fine by me. So when you come back here again, don't look for me." Axel pretended not to hear what I said and the longer I stayed there and watched him ignore me the angrier I got. "Fuck you! What the fuck is your problem?" "You, clearly." "No! You are the problem! How dare you try to tell me you don't catch feelings when you spent the whole weekend with me. You had full intentions of coming back for me before all this. Why are you suddenly acting like you're too good for me now?" He only raised his eyebrows before hunching over and reaching underneath the gas tank to disconnect the fuel lines. "Axel!" I yelled at him. He punched the fuel tank and stood up, the lines of his face deepening with anger. His eyes smoldered and he came in my direction. I hardly had a moment to flinch before his hand was squeezing my face, his immensity over me backing me up until I was pressed up against a steel standing tool chest. "What do I have to do to show you that I am not the kind of guy you want to spend your time with? You saw what happened. I'm. Not. Normal. I'm a walking fucking nightmare... An accident waiting to happen." I remembered the day I first saw him and thought the very same thing that he had just growled at me. He was an accident waiting to happen. Nobody with tattoos like that could have any kind of notion of normalcy. Although I hated Axel for being exactly the thing he told me he was, I hated myself more because I was just as bad. No matter how hard I tried to go a different way in my life I knew that I would always end up a selfish, self-indulgent delinquent and there I was, in his grip and at his mercy. He released my face but did not recoil an inch. He kept me backed up against the chest. "Angel... You are one fine piece of ass but us together... It would be too much. I have to get some fucking answers before I can pledge myself to anything. You don't seem to understand me when I say that I cannot get close to anybody. Even if I really, really want to. Try to get it through your head. You and me... It's got 'bad idea' written all over it. So, please... Don't make this shit harder than it already is." I held in all of the emotion that wanted to burst from my mouth. Nodding my head simply to pull myself back from the edge of crying, I blinked and blinked away the tears. I knew he was right but I wished that he wasn't. I loathed that I couldn't manage to turn him over to me. No matter how badly I wanted him he wouldn't have me. I was just another stop on his journey. "Okay... I understand." "Thanks," he said shortly and then stepped back from me. He looked me up and down once and then turned back to his motorcycle; the only thing to him that really mattered. Biting my lip to keep from spilling anything more, I let my body relax a little. He went back to work as though I wasn't there and I stood still, hands clasped behind my back, aching to explode and tell him everything inside of me that was gouging to get out. The back door opened and a fan of light came in from the sun as well as my dad. He paused and looked between the both of us almost like he could smell the tension in the room. "You kids all right?" He asked us. "Yeah, Dad. Fine." "Gettin' there," said Axel. "How far along have you gotten on that bike, Axe?" Axel squinted as he reached under to pull off the last line. "Well, Going to take the tank apart. See what's going on." "Fuck, kid, you gotta get on the road," Dad reminded him. "I got plenty of working bikes out back, you're welcome to any of them." Scoffing in disbelief, Axel ran his greasy fingers through his hair looking taken aback by my dad's offer. "Al... I couldn't. I can't... I can't leave my bike here. I won't ride anything else." "I know, I know. Figured I'd offer, is all." "I really appreciate it, Al. I should have this taken care of by tonight then I'll be out of your hair for good." Dad looked at me and noticed that I had been exceptionally quiet during their conversation. Although, he chose not to draw attention to it. My dad knew how to read a situation and act accordingly. I was glad he didn't point out how I had been standing there like a statue with a wild animal of a disclosure clawing at my insides, gnawing on my ribs like the bars of a cage. It almost made me feel sick. The garage door was wide open so I turned and started walking towards the end of the driveway, ignoring the shallow pothole that Axel had created in it. Nobody called after me and I was glad because once I got to walking I didn't want to stop. Not until I made my way down the street, walked along with the curve of the bridge that bounded over the highway and through the main street to the beach. Because it was Monday, there weren't a lot of families on the beach enjoying the sun and swimming in the water. There were no groups of girls laid side by side sun-bathing in their bikinis and no kids running around in the shallow, lapping water playing with Frisbees and splashing each other. I didn't much care for the beach in my town usually. There were so many better ones nearby but on that day it was a relief to sit in the sand and look out at the same water that I had been looking out on for years. I wanted to tell Axel about what I did and I knew if I did that meant I would have to apologize to Braun too. My selfish impulse had hurt a lot more people than I intended. I felt cowardly as I took off my flipflop sandals and buried my toes in the sand so the feeling of the untouched under layer would cool my feet. For the first time in a long time, I decided to go swimming. I left my sandals where I had sat down and made my way to the edge of the water. The wet sand sucked in my footsteps and the water splashed up my ankles to my shins and then to my knees. With no regard for the temperature, I walked right in until I was deep enough to dive over the curl of a wave, swimming out further and further until I was far enough for the shore to shrink. There I floated, relaxing in the silence and letting my body get carried back with each gentle undulation. I skimmed the water all around my head with my fingers to make sure nobody that could potentially see me floating out there in my tank top and denim shorts thought I was a dead body. I probably looked strange but I didn't really care. It felt good to just close my eyes and pretend like I was no longer alive. The sun beat down and dried my face quickly so I took a long dunk under the water and resurfaced to breathe. When I turned away from the beach all I could see was the water meet the sky and for a moment I forgot what was plaguing me. I spent the brightest hours of the day reliving the tourist experience. I bought an ice cream cone from the shop that we always used to go to and ate it in the park on a wooden memorial bench beside a fountain that never had any coins in it because people would always fish them out. I walked through the shops and said hello to the store owners that used to hire me for Summertime jobs as a teen. Then I went to the pond and skipped rocks. It felt good to do those things again. By the time I made it back to the beach the sun was just beginning to set. Judging by the bluish cast in the air I assumed it to be almost nine o'clock. Just about the time that the bars lit up only it was the first Monday after the Thirteenth and nobody would be hitting the bars except maybe a few old-timers that never missed a night. The town was calm and so was I. Until I heard a motorcycle coming down the main street. I looked back and saw a black and green chopper with Axel on it, a black bandanna tied over half of his face and a pair of sunglasses obstructing anyone from seeing what he looked like. I tried to make it appear as though I hadn't spotted him but he had spotted me and pulled up loudly, slowing to a steady chug just before the blockades. I didn't watch as he set his feet down on the ground, clutching the bars to maintain the weight of the machine between his legs. He revved the engine a couple of times in an attempt to get my attention but I didn't want to just whip around and go to him like some kind of pansy little girl with no backbone, even if that's exactly what I wanted to do. The engine roared again and I threw up my hands before turning around to face him. I shrugged at him and turned away again. Maybe it was immature of me but maybe I didn't care. He killed the engine and it wasn't long before I heard the shuffling of sand behind me. "Angel," he called to me. "Axel," I mumbled. "Hey! I'm talking to you. Don't ignore me," he commanded. Then it was time to whip around only to shoot a hateful look in his direction. He had pulled down his facemask and hooked the arm of his sunglasses onto the collar of his shirt so they were neatly tucked away beneath his leather jacket. He had even removed his riding gloves, opting to shove them in the back pocket of his jeans as he approached. "Oh! But it's okay for you to ignore me? Why don't you go get fucked." "Angel, please. I'm sorry." Struck by his apology, I shook my head in disbelief. He noticed my shocked reaction and smiled at me. He looked so menacing in his green boots, black jeans, and leather jacket but as soon as a hint of a smile cracked over his lips it threw off the entire illusion. "Sorry for what?" "For everything. I should have kept my hands to myself. You and I should have never gotten involved at all." "Okay, you sound like an asshole again." "I AM an asshole. That's what I have been trying to say! I am a constant source of disappointment to everyone I come across. There's nothing good about me at all." To hear him say those things about himself cut me inside. I frowned at him and reached for his hand. Turning his palm over, I stared at his rings and brushed the pad of my thumb over a=the skull-shaped one on his middle finger. I sighed heavily and let go of his hand and in response, he took a step toward me. "You are right though. I do owe you an explanation." Digging my toes into the sand, I waited for him to ready himself to speak again. He sighed and looked out over the water and then back at me. It was getting darker and the streetlights came on but the light didn't quite reach where we stood on the beach. "Obviously you saw what happened," he began with a heavy sigh. "Yes." "I'm still trying to figure it out. There's something wrong inside of me... There's something there that's rotten." "What is it?" "I don't know yet. All I know is that at any given moment, anyone around me is in danger." "Can't you control it?" I inquired. Axel scratched the back of his head then hooked his finger under his bandanna and pulled on it. "For the most part, yes. But... It gets harder to control when I'm pissed or... I don't know, excited?" "I understand why you don't like kissing now." Axel took one more step closer to me and closed the short gap between us. With my feet in the sand, he seemed extra tall and I tipped my head back to look at his face. "It's not that I don't like it. It's that... I don't want to hurt somebody and when I met you I knew that I had to be careful. If I did something to you... To Big Al's daughter... I'd be done." "So... You're sick? I still don't understand." "I don't understand it either. I've been searching for answers for a long time. I've been looking for somebody that can help me or at least explain why this affliction chose to manifest inside me." "I hope you find the answers you're looking for." "Me too." Axel wrapped his leather-clad arms around me and I returned the embrace, pressing my cheek to the left side of his chest and inhaling his scent quite possibly for the last time. "Axel..." "Yeah?" "I'm sorry for what I did to your bike. I just... I didn't want you to go. I wanted answers too. I know I'm a huge fucking selfish brat and I fucked up huge." "You did fuck up huge. Big time. But... So did I. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you." "I wanted it. I wanted you," I admitted. "Fuck, honey... I want you too. and it scares the Hell outta me for so many reasons." Squeezing him tighter, I tried to fight back the tears that were burning their way up from my throat to my eyes. He kissed the top of my head and held me harder still. "I don't want you to go," I whispered. "I don't want to be alone again." "I'm going to come back. I will. As soon as I can, I'll run to you. I just can't be with you right now. Not today... Not like this." "But you said you can control it." "Sometimes! I am not taking the risk that one day I might lose control. I lost control today, you saw! That could have been someone's face. I could have killed Braun. I could kill you just as easily." "Let me come with you!" I pleaded. "No! You're not coming with me. You wouldn't last a fucking week on the road." "I have it in me! I can do it." "Your father would have every biker in the country looking for me if I let you come with me. Don't be stupid... I know you're not." I finally broke and let out a sob. "I am stupid. So fucking stupid. I'm sorry!" "You're not stupid!" He held me by the arms and gave me a shake, my head wobbling lamely as I battled myself not to cry. It was a battle lost though and Axel pulled me back in. "You're just... A product of your environment. You're a spoiled brat with a father who let you do whatever you wanted because that's the motto he lives by." Axel started to giggle, holding me at an arm's length again so he could watch me cry. "Look at you. You're such a fucking brat! I can't handle it." "Shut up!" I sniffled. "Listen to me," his voice got lower. "It's not that I don't want you to come with me. It's just... You know you can't come without a bike. I'm following the Demons and you know damn well you can't ride with us unless you know your shit." "I can learn fast." "Yeah, you will. You're Al's daughter. You have a permanent fucking seat with us for life. There's a throne with your name on it, Angel. You just have to embrace it." "I'll learn, I promise." "I know you will," Axel told me. He leaned in and kissed me full and hard on the lips for a split second before pulling away again. "And you know I'm gonna be here every Thirteenth until the day I die, right?" Axel stroked my hair and pulled me into him again. His leather started to feel sticky on my skin so I pushed his jacket open and wrapped my arms around his waist, tucking my fingers under the hem of his shirt just to feel his skin again. I knew his time to depart was drawing nearer but I just couldn't force myself to let go of him. His natural fragrance and his black leather was the most exhilarating combination of smells and I craved them. "Come on, walk to my bike with me," he whispered. I didn't say anything and I hardly looked up as he released me from his embrace, causing me to give him up. My arms hung loosely at my sides until he took my hand and pulled me along. Once we reached the blockades he let go of me and went into his throwover bag. I watched as he rummaged around and pulled out the acid-stained rag of a shirt that I hated as much as I loved. "Here. I wore this shirt for like five years straight when I was a teenager so it should stink like me forever," he passed the shirt to me and I accepted it. Then he went back to the jet black leather saddlebag and pulled out a stolen pair of my panties. I opened my mouth but nothing would come out. I could only watch as he rose them to his mouth and inhaled them, letting his lashes flutter, a demonic smirk darkening over his face. I held his shirt close to me and looked up at him with no words. He tucked my pink panties back into his bag and approached me, wrapping me up in his arms again. He placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. I winced at the feeling of his mustache prickling my skin but welcomed it at the same time. Then he kissed my lips once, two times and then again for much longer. Relaxing, I melted into him and accepted any of his kiss I could get. He whimpered very slightly and I knew it was because he didn't want to stop. "I wasn't lying when I told you I'm coming back for that pussy," he whispered next to my ear. "I know." "Good." "I'll send you postcards." "Dirty ones?" "Are there any other kind?" We both laughed and it dawned like a great bell between us that it was time for him to get on his bike and leave. I drew a deep breath in through my nose and tried to cleanse myself of all of the emotion that had been shared. It was bittersweet to watch him straighten his back and stretch out before getting on his bike. With the toe of his boot, he kicked up the stand and mounted the Acid Bath Widow-Maker. He turned the ignition and she roared to life, lights blindingly sending a beam over the sand. Axel revved the engine before using his left hand to pull his facemask to his chin. "See you later, Zeitgeist." "See you later... Angelica," he called before yanking the black material up to cover his mouth and nose. Digging the soles of his boots into the ground, he walked the bike back, turned to me once more, winked then turned back toward the road. With a smooth peel out, Axel drove away and I watched him until he was out of sight. Shuddering out the remnants of my sadness, I started on my way home once the sound of the Widow Maker faded into the newly rising fog. My dad and Braun noticed me from the lit garage as I came up our street. I walked the length of the driveway and didn't stop until I was five feet away from them. I stared at my dad and then at Braun and then looked to the back of the garage where there was a bike covered by a thick black tarp. It had been shielded beneath the tarp for years, never moving. "Dad..." I said. "What's up, sweetheart?" "I wanna ride my bike."

FIN

#zeitgeist fanfiction #axel cluney fanfiction #bill skarsgård fanfiction #bill skarsgard fanfiction #bill skarsgård smut #fanfiction

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ofmorninglory · 5 years

Note

im not well versed in crossover AU's in general but go off about them anyway lay it on me

//screams// Guys, Tea is a Literal Blessing™ and I absolutely don’t deserve all this validation but I will soak up on it.

So, the other day I was going through my Ao3 and I realized literally everything I do, ever, is a crossover, so I guess that’s kind of my thing now. Room Enough AU, however, is literally The Crossover™, you know? I have to admit I’ve been working on plotting it for way too many years (I think it was 2016; I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a hot minute) so it’s so much bigger in my head than what I actually have written. Some of the info I’ve managed to actually jot down somewhere is in this little tag right here, but I’m here to provide the basics on what Room Enough AU is and why it’s so important to me.

Under the cut, to keep your dashes clean, my lovelies!

Room Enough for All of Us is a crossover AU between Marvel and DC (because who didn’t see that coming, right?). While most of the crossovers for these franchises I’ve seen and read all start with Bruce and Clark meeting Steve and Tony (who, arguably, are each other’s counterparts) and while I absolutely adore the idea of billionaire Bruce Wayne becoming friends with billionaire Tony Stark, and Clark and Steve bonding over, you know, being seen as literal beings of perfection, Room Enough AU (which we’ll shorten as REAU from now on, although that’s a name I’ve never used for it, but there’s always a first for everything, you know?) actually starts with Tony Stark, betrayed and broken after IM, meeting (or rather, meeting again) one very problematic and highly-skilled pilot, Harold Jordan.

After the events of IM and Tony being betrayed by one of the people he trusted most in the world, Stark Industries starts undergoing heavy restructuring (am I using the right word? Google Translate says so) and among all of these shifts and changes, Pepper insists that he gets a new pilot for his private plane. He goes to Ferris Air, of course, because it’s in California and he’s had contracts with them for years, and when he gets there, there’s this one roudy pilot who manages to not only evade all of the Stark Training Drones in the air, but actually destroys all of them in the process. Tony wants this pilot. He does. He recognizes under-paid talent when he sees it.

Hal has absolutely zero idea of what is happening when Tony offers him the position as his private pilot. Jordan is not all that enthusiastic about being some rich kid’s pilot-for-hire, but after the stunt he’s just pulled? He really should think about getting a new job. Hal doesn’t say yes outright, of course not, he’s got more dignity than that, but Tony just won’t let up.

Not only is Tony Stark some rich billionaire he doesn’t want to be working for either, he’s also one of Hal’s one-night-stands from two years ago. Is Tony fazed at all by this? He is not! Tony Stark is stubborn and he doesn’t care about anything other than getting this man a better salary.

Tony spends about 300 weeks trying to get Hal to actually agree to the job, it’s ridiculous. His gifts are expensive, and they get more extravagant the more time goes on. He even gets Hal Captain rank back for him (if that allowed? I do not know, I have yet to research on this, this is actually a very new development born in the REAU discord chat). Hal draws the line when a Rolex ends up at his home (one of the fancy, classic ones, too, with the green cover) and Jordan calls Tony to tell him to back off.

Twenty minutes later, Hal is agreeing to working for Stark. Carol fired his ass after that whole fiasco with the drones (”They were due for an upgrade, anyways! They’re old and I could do so much better, Ferris! It’s not a big deal.”) so he has to find a way to pay the goddamn bills or move in with Barry, and he doesn’t want to intrude on his best friend like that.

Plus, he loves the sky. Maybe this job isn’t so bad.

Against all odds, and with a lot of difficulties and obstacles, Tony and Hal actually start bonding. Except, whoops, Tony is dying from palladium poisoning, and just as our favorite green boy is warming up to the idea of not only being Tony’s pilot but also his friend, Stark suddenly does a 180 on him and completely backs away.

(It doesn’t help Hal’s confusion that Tony spent the first few weeks of his employment literally changing everything about his life. He gives his company away to Pepper Potts, starts a mentor-apprentice program in which he is the mentor and this girl from Mexico is the apprentice, and just generally starts becoming a Good Man™, in Hal’s eyes.)

Long story short (to wrap this one up, because I could go on for years) Hal finds out Tony is dying with a little help from Natasha (who Hal decidedly stops liking when he finds out she’s been lying to Tony, but who he’ll warm up to again, eventually, and because she loves Barry a whole lot and keeps his boyfriend safe and happy) and then it’s a race against time to save Stark’s life.

And because there is no one smarter (or faster) that Hal Jordan knows, he calls his good buddy The Flash into Tony’s Malibu home and tells Stark that Barry will help him or “so help me god, Anthony Edward Stark, I will find a way to bring your back from death to kill you myself”. When Tony is saved and Barry and him have managed to destroy his entire home, Hal feels like he can breathe again, and Allen smiles at him this sort of way when he catches his shoulders lose all the tension. (”wHAT? WHAT IS IT BARRY?” “You wanted to keep him safe” “He pays my salary, of course I wanted to keep him alive” “Harold” “Bartholomew”)

So, Tony and Hal? They’re really, really good friends. Hal would probably die for Tony, and Tony would absolutely lay down on the wire to let Hal pass (take that, Steve). From the outside, they’re an unlikely pai, except when you look at it closer, they’re literally the only way universes could collide. Barry actually saw it coming from a mile away, but Hal refused to let Tony into his life (Hal is used to everyone leaving; Barry is the exception, of course he is, but that’s Barry there’s no one purer, nicer, or kinder in this whole wide world).

After that, it’s just a lot of JL/Avengers shenanigans, mostly around Barry, Hal, Tony and Steve, once he comes along (and he and Barry aren’t at each other’s throats anymore). It follows losely through IM2, Avengers, probably IM3 (because Harvey Keener) and CA:WS (Barry and Steve bonding!), only to diverge somewhere between that and Age of Ultron (that doesn’t exist, to be all that much honest). I’ve plotted some of the things I want to happen, but since I’m messy and don’t have enough attention span to STAY FOCUSED, I’m still trying to figure out a lot of things.

I’m probably going into Avengers Assemble at some point and work with that. There are some DC storylines I think would fit nicely in there, but I have big gaps in my comic knowledge, so I really have to search for the right things to put.

The funny thing about REAU, however, is how much it has intoxicated every single of my other aus. All of the works that you can find in my Ao3 (right over here) are different iterations of this crossover, brought into different scenarios.

We have Coffee Shop AU, my first non-powered baby whom I love and cherish very much and hopefully will finish one day. We have Hotel AU which is so weird and I have no idea where it came from, but it’s there and it’s some very sweet Clintasha. There’s Prom AU/Childhood Friends AU! That’s sweet and fluffy and features sticker stars and red crayons. We have dumb diner au! The newest published addition to the line of non-powered aus! They’re all great, they’re mostly always the same characters, the same groups of friends (in most non-powered AUs, Steve and Barry don’t hate each other. In fact, usually they know each other from a very long time, along with Bucky, and Steve protects Barry with every ounce of whoop-ass he is) and there’s always some cute-meet that ends up in halbarry ending up together (because yes, they’re all mostly halbarry with a side of stony bcs I’m trash) I’m currently writing blubarry au for halbarry week (which I miscalculated) and it’s actually turned into Paramedic/Blubarry AU and it has absolutely gotten out of control (I’ve finished what could be a first instalment at 13k) and there’s aladdin au for stony that’s still in process and is also a crossover.

Aaaaaaand that’s mostly it, jsjsjsjsj I’m sorry this was so long! I’m so passionate about REAU and all my non-powered aus that it’s overwhelming some times!

Also, that post you did about Natasha? I felt that. My favorite Natasha is the Natasha who gets to be dorky, and cute, and who laughs at and with her friends. My favorite Natasha takes one look at Barry and goes “this one is mine now and if you hurt him I’ll make sure you pay dire consequences”. My favorite Natasha is Natasha painting Tony’s nails on girl’s night (that Tony always crashes, but he also sponsors the whole thing, so it’s alright). My favorite Natasha laughs like a hyenna when Clint makes a dent into their wall because he’s an idiot. My favorite Natasha is Dinah’s best woman, standing right by her, and wiping tears from her eyes without anyone seeing because she still wants to look at least a little bit tough. My favorite Natasha is so beloved by everyone who meets her and I’m !!!!! crying !!!!!

#;ask the author #au;room enough for all of us #i'M ACTUALLY CRYING YOU LET ME WRITE ALL THIS DOWN #Hal Jordan #tony stark #teatitty

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blackbleedingrose · 6 years

Text

I’m Done (Peter Parker)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: (Y/N) has had enough of waiting to be noticed by her longtime best friend/crush, Peter Parker. She’s tired of being second best and is through having her heart dragged around.

Warnings: Mild language, angst, anger, bitterness, and overall doneness. There may be some triggers regarding situations - such as having to deal with lack of money, lack of food, lack of necessities, self-hate.

Words: 5978

(Y/N): Your Name

(L/N): Last Name

(E/C): Eye Color

(H/C): Hair Color

(Country): Country of your choice

(Y/A/N): Your Aunt’s Name

I'm Done - Joelle

A/N: I’m writing this because I read a Peter Parker imagine where Peter rejects the reader and picks Liz. It made me think of making one myself, but with a twist. Instead of the story ending with the reader having a broken heart, she will also realize that she deserves better. And that's exactly what she's going to get.

A/N (2): RE-EDTIED.

A/N (3): I have the second part to this written, but it will take a while for me to type, edit, and put on Tumblr. Especially since I will be busy this week with college homework, so please bare with me.

You lead, I follow

(Y/N) watches as her childhood best friend and crush, Peter Parker, eyes the popular Liz Allen with longing and desire. Him and Ned whispered quietly to each other about Midtown's prom queen.

You hurt me, sorrow

For years (Y/N) has had strong feelings for her nerdy best friend. She's tried countless times to confess how she felt, but he was either never home, busy, or had the Stark Internship. The (e/c) eyed girl could feel her heart becoming heavy as she watched Peter sigh lovingly at Liz.

You don't want to lose control

Did he even understand how much he meant to her? Did he have any idea how bad she was hurting? No. He was too busy with that stupid Stark Internship and drooling over Liz. Stark, Liz, Stark, Liz, Stark, Liz. That's all she ever hears these days.

Never her.

Nothing about her.

You shut off, still care

Even when Peter ditched her to do the internship, ignored her calls, or stood her up, she still waited. She waited for the day he would have time for her. She waited for the day he would notice her feelings for him.

She waited and she waited.

After all, she loved him.

Time passes, still there

During their time in middle school, Peter would jump at the chance to hang out with the (h/c)ette. She had been his only female friend. However, things changed once high school hit.

He started paying attention to Liz Allen and would cancel their meet ups to help Tony Stark with whatever. Sometimes he wouldn’t even call her to let her know he wasn’t going to show. That didn't stop her though. She still remained his loyal friend.

So, she waited.

At one point she even decided to change her clothes and appearance. (Y/N) didn’t have the money to buy new clothes, so she asked one of her friends back in (country) to send her girly clothes and makeup. She started doing her hair, changed her makeup, her personality.

She did everything Liz did.

She thought he would have to notice then and he did. . . for about five seconds.

Right before he could comment on her attire, here comes the great Liz Allen in a completely new outfit.

A much cuter one.

The only person who seemed to pay attention and care about this sudden change in (Y/N) was Michelle. She and (Y/N) had only known each other for about a year, but they clicked like that.

You're angry, you haven't let it go

Now back to the present.

Michelle eyed the girl in front of her. She quickly noticed the tense aura between (Y/N) and Peter, and knew she exactly why.

Last night (Y/N) and Peter were supposed to hang out. They did every year around this time. That was the day the two had became friends. The day (Y/N) beat up the bully that was picking on Peter.

The two set a time and place, the same place they went to every year. (Y/N) had gotten dressed up, and even went early to their meeting place.

Peter never showed.

You try to convince me that you're done

Peter apologized and apologized, claiming that Stark really needed him. Of course, in her mind, (Y/N) called bullshit.

Stark and Liz.

He was never there when she needed him. However, being her, she forgave him and the two agreed to meet up after school the next day.

(Y/N) would be lying if she said things were not a little rocky between her and Peter. Ever since his Uncle Ben died, Peter had been distant. Of course, (Y/N) understood that losing Uncle Ben had been a huge blow on both Peter and May. Hell, (Y/N) had cried herself to sleep that night.

But every time she tried to comfort or be there for Peter, he would just push her away or change the subject.

A first, she didn’t let this behavior bother her. He had been through a lot. Though, after awhile of being blown off, ignored, and watching him drool over Liz - (Y/N) was starting to get impatient.

Peter and her were best friends, or they were suppose to be. So you can imagine how hurt she was when he would brushed her off like it was nothing.

She thought he just hurting and needed time, which she was more than willing to give him.

So when she saw him hanging out with Ned outside of school at the local arcade, after he told her he had been grounded or had a lot of work to finish - or when she saw him try to talk to Liz after school when they were suppose to study or hang out - or when he would have May lie to her about him not being home when he was, she felt betrayed.

Though, what had really hurt her was when he ghosted her the entire summer going into their sophomore year.

(Y/N) panicked thinking he might hurt, really sick, or in some kind of trouble. She tried to get ahold of May, but she was either never home or ignored her calls. It wasn’t until she was hanging out with Ned one day, when she discovered that Peter had been in fucking Germany with Tony fucking Stark.

No, she was not upset that he was in Germany. She was upset that he couldn’t even be bothered to tell her. He couldn’t even let her know. Here she was worrying her ass off over his well being and assuming the worst, and the entire time he was in Germany, ghosting her and ignoring her calls and texts.

When he came back, Ned told her right away. She immediately stopped whatever she was going and went to Peter’s amd May’s apartment. May hugged her, let her in, and called Peter into the dining room.

She saw him as he entered the room. (Y/N) played it cool and welcomed him back. She wasn’t going to go off on him, not in front of his aunt.

She was shocked when Peter brought her into a hug and started telling her how much he had missed her.

Like some kind of dumb magic, all of her anger vanished into thin air and her heart melted. She completely feel under his spell once again.

After that they were cool - for like a second.

(Y/N) thought since Peter told her how much he had missed her while he was away, then they could start hanging out again. That things could go back to how they were. That they could reconnect.

Six times.

Six times in that month.

Six times in that month had she been stood up by Peter.

No calls, no texts, nothing.

After the sixth time, (Y/N) decided to go to his apartment. She knew damn well that was where he was. Using the spare key she had, she let herself in. She knew May wasn’t going to be here, she had to work late tonight. She then made her way to Peter’s room, and that’s when it started.

(Y/N) felt deep anger and hurt brewing inside of her as she saw Peter on his computer. She had waited all damn night for him and here he was. At home. On his computer. In a sweatshirt and pajama pants.

She took a deep breath before allowing herself to speak, “Peter”.

The brunette took his eyes off of his computer screen for a moment and glanced at her.

“Hey”.

That was all he said to her before putting his attention back on his computer.

“’Hey’? That’s all you have say to me?” (Y/N) could feel herself about to explode.

“Uh. Hey, (Y/N). Is that better?” Peter said boredly.

She could not believe his dismissiveness, “No, it’s not better. Where the hell were you tonight?”.

Peter looked her confused, “What do you mean?”.

“I’ve been waiting at the pizza parlor for hours - waiting for you. You know, like we agreed?” (Y/N) swore she saw a light bulb go off in his head.

“Oh, right. Sorry. I got busy,” Peter said.

“Well, you could have called me,” (Y/N) said annoyed.

“Yeah, but I needed to get some things done for Mr.Stark - look it’s not that big of deal,” Peter said tired before going back to his computer.

(Y/N) scoffed in disbelief, threw her bag to floor, and walked up to his desk.

She grabbed ahold of his chair and jerked it around so it would be facing her.

So he would be facing her.

“Not a big deal? You left me hanging, waiting on you. You didn’t even have the decency to call me and let me know that you weren’t coming. So, yeah, it’s pretty big deal,” she spat.

Annyoance flashed in Peter’s brown eyes, “What is your problem? You know I’ve been really busy lately. So, sorry that I didn’t show up. Why are you so upset?”.

“Because Peter, you promised me that you would show! I waited there for four hours! Do you realize how embarrassing that was?! And for what?! Stark?! You don’t always need to be at his beck and call!”.

Suddenly Peter sprung out of his seat, startling the (h/c)ette.

“I’m not as his beck and call! Mr.Stark just needs me, that’s part of the internship!”.

“Yeah, I know. But like how you manage to make time to hang out with Ned outside of school - don’t lie, I’ve seen you. Like how you make time for Ned, I would appericate it if you could do the same for me. I miss you, I want to spend more time with you and it hurts me when you keep BLOWING ME OFF!”

Peter glared at her and scoffed, “God, you’re so selfish!”.

(Y/N) was taken back, “What?!”.

Peter continued to glare at her, “Get it through your head that not everything is about you. My life doesn’t revolve around you. I have more important things to worry about then your constant need for attention”.

She was shocked by his harsh words. She felt her heart breaking. When she got home that night, she cried herself to sleep.

The next week at school, she saw Peter. He acted like nothing had happened and talked to her like her normally did. This gave (Y/N) some kind of stupid hope. Maybe he hadn’t meant what he said. He was probably just tired and stressed. So, like always, she forgave him.

After all, she loved him.

Then you see me and come undone

On Peter's end, he remained blissfully ignorant. He couldn't understand why (Y/N) wasn't sitting with him and Ned. They always sat together at lunch, but he was busy giving Liz goo goo eyes to pull the (h/c)ette over.

He was guilty that he had stood her up, but the city needed him. Besides you never know when the world needs saving again. One night wasn't going to kill her.

If you fail, then I'll catch your fall

What Peter didn't realize, was that it wasn't just one night. It was days, weeks, months. He had left her standing so many times her knees were starting to ache. The bad thing about it was that he didn’t even have a clue. He had no recollection of all the times he left her hanging and alone.

Yet, she waited, and waited, and waited. She just kept reminding herself that he was her friend and silent love; and, if he were to suddenly fall, she would be there to catch and hold him.

Not Liz Allen.

But not anymore, I'm not gonna do it I'm done

As the bell rang for the end of the day, (Y/N) quickly packed her things. Her and Peter agreed to meet up at the front gates. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she hurried out of the classroom and walked down the hall. Oh, she couldn't wait to finally spend time with Peter.

However, what she saw as she exited the building completely shattered what was left of her already broken and fragile heart. She saw Peter leaving the grounds with fucking Liz Allen.

I don't want half of you anymore

Quickly she pulled out her phone and called Peter. There was no answer. She did this three times. No answer. Finally, she called Ned. He would know something.

"Yello?" Ned answered.

"Hey Ned" (Y/N) said sickly sweet.

"Oh, hey (Y/N). What's up?".

"Nothing much. Just wanted to know why the hell Peter is ditching me for Liz, that's all,” she said sarcastically.

"What-. . .Oh. . . Oh! Shit!".

"What?".

"Liz asked Peter if he wanted to get a bite to eat after school during last period. He was so shocked and excited that he said yes. Don't worry. I'll call him-".

"No!" (Y/N) cut him off.

" . . .No?".

"Please don't. It's not worth it".

"You sure?".

"Yeah. Let him have this. I'll see you later".

"Okay. See ya later".

When they both hung up (Y/N) scoffed, " That's it. That's it. I'm done. I can't anymore".

(Y/N) turned back and walked into the school building. This was it. She’s had enough. After all of the bullshit she had to go through, after everything, she was done.

After all the times she let him play with her emotions, this was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. Walking through the halls, (Y/N) made her way to the principal's office.

“Ms.(L/N)? What are you still doing here? School ended,” Prinipal Morita said looking at the sophomore who entered his office.

“I want to transfer,” (Y/N) said getting straight to the point.

Morita was taken back, “A-A transfer? In the middle of the year?”.

(Y/N) sighed, “I know it’s sudden - but I just - I need to transfer. Out of here, out of New York”.

Morita observed the (h/c)ette. He was aware of the some of the things she was dealing with in school. Her aunt had been the one to call him after video chatting her niece one night.

She was worried for her niece and noticed changes in her as well as her grades. Morita knew (Y/A/N) well, they had been friends back in college.

He had been the one to recommend (Y/N) to Midtown. He knew she was extremely intelligent and had a lot of potential. He also knew she had been dealing with a lot lately.

(Y/A/N) had asked him to watch over her, which he did. He saw everything that had been going on in her life at school.

He promised (Y/A/N) that if (Y/N) ever needed anything, he would help her. So, that’s exactly what he was going to do.

“All right. I’ll put in a transfer as well as a recommendation to whatever school in whatever country you want transfer to,” Morita said.

(Y/N)’s mouth dropped, she hadn’t expceted him say that. She honestly thought she would have to debate with him to even get a transfer, let alone a recommendation.

Morita saw her reaction and addressed it, “(Y/N). I know the kind of person you are, the kind of person you really are. I know how smart you are. Which is why I know you haven’t been yourself lately. I promised your aunt I would help you in anyway I could if you ever needed it. So, if that’s by accepting your request for a transfer - I’ll do it. You are one of the brightest students I have ever seen in this school, and I’ll be sad to see you go, but if this is what you need then so be it. Even if that means giving you one heck of a recommendation”.

(Y/N) smiled at the man who she knew to be her aunt’s friend. She felt like she was going to start crying, “Thank you so much. I promise you I will not let this be for nothing”.

Morita smiled, “I know you won’t. So, why we start on that transfer?”.

I would rather have none of you at all

After filing her transfer papers with Morita, (Y/N) went home.

As soon as she got into her one room apartment, after passing her sleazy landlord, she ran to her room and begin packing.

Now it may seem that she’s over exaggerating. Leaving because of some guy? That's only part of the problem.

(Y/N) hadn't felt happy during her high school year in New York. Her and her moved from (country) to New York when she first started junior high. (Y/A/N) had wanted her niece to experience life in America and see the place she had grown up. However, when (Y/N) was about to start high school, (Y/A/N) had to go back to (country) for work.

She was going to take (Y/N) with her, she did not want to leave her niece by herself. So, when Morita recommended (Y/N) go to Midtown and that he would keep an eye on her, and after (Y/N) begging her to let her stay, (Y/A/N) gave in.

It was great a first. (Y/N) would be going to the top science school in New York. She would get to stay with Peter and Ned. Everything was perfect.

That’s when the pressure started to build.

(Y/N) didn’t tell anyone about her apartment situation. No one knew how much of douchebag her landlord was. Not even her aunt. They did not know that he had been laundering money for quite some time. Why he felt he needed more from a teenager, was beyond her. They were unaware of the fact that (Y/N) barely had enough money for rent, food, and other necessities.

Each month her landlord would get greedier and raise the interest rate of her rent. There were days where she would go without meals because she needed the money for rent and she did not have enough money to get a better apartment. When she really needed food, she would go down to the local food storages.

The apartment complex she lived at had washing machines and dryers, but to use them you needed to pay extra. Since she couldn’t afford that, she would scrounge for loose quarters and do her laundry at the local laundry mat.

Luckily she didn’t have to worry about tuition. Her aunt is the one who paid for it. Though, it didn’t really change anything.

She never told anyone, she didn’t want them to get involved. She didn’t want them to think she was weak and couldn’t handle it. She especially didn't want Peter to think of her as weak.

However, money and rent was not the only thing putting her under a lot of stress. Peer pressure was another one, and it was the second worst one.

Back in (country) she had a group of great friends. Over here, she only had three. When she started to dress and act differently, people started paying more attention to her. However, it was all in vain.

None of them wanted to get to know her. On top of that, her grades were starting to slip. Focusing on her appearance and status, she stopped trying in school and tried to fit in with the popular crowd.

Because of that, she started to pay attention to every little flaw she thought she had. She was too fat, she was too pail, her clothes weren’t trendy enough, she needed more makeup.

She needed to look more like Liz.

She had to act more like Liz.

She had to be like Liz.

Your head and heart can debate

Going into her small bathroom, (Y/N) undid her hair and wiped off all of her makeup. As she looked in the bathroom mirror, she saw how dead she looked, how thin she actually was.

Being here was toxic and it was slowly killing her.

She had to escape.

She was done.

Grabbing her bathroom items, she threw them in all in a bag and moved to the kitchen.

But I'm not gonna sit and wait

While she was packing up in the kitchen, she opened one of drawers and saw an old photo. It was of her and Peter during the field trip to Oscorp. Not even taking a second glance, she crumbled it up in her hand, and threw it the trash. In a fit of anger, (Y/N) kicked the trash can, knocking it over.

She had enough of never being enough. What did she have to do for him to notice her? What did she have to do for him to realize she had been with him through thick and thin?

No more. That was it. He didn't even care.

So, now he was going to regret it.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

Once everything was packed, (Y/N) took a quick shower and pulled out some clothes. She was tired of wearing skirts, dresses, flats, heels. That wasn't her, it never was. Without delay, she threw on a pair of ripped black jeans, a gray skull tank top, a dark blue flannel, and some sneakers. (Y/N) sighed in content, it felt so good to be wearing her clothes again.

This was the real her.

Like it or not.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

(Y/N) called an Uber and specifically requested a large vehicle to pick her up and take her to the airport. Better than foolishly hauling down a cab.

Once she paid off her rent and tarnished her lease, she may have had to threaten her landlord to let her leave or else she would go to the police and expose him for money laundering, she left. She didn’t even say goodbye to any of her neighbors, she just wanted to get out of there.

She was glad that her apartment was nowhere near Peter's. It made this a lot easier. As the Uber arrived, (Y/N) helped them with her stuff. She didn’t have a lot, only a few bags. All the furniture that was in the apartment didn't belong to her. It came with the apartment.

When she got into the car, the driver immediately drove away.

You're scared now, one life

She greeted the driver before pulling out her phone. Checking the time, she saw that it was 12:45 in the morning. Her friends were most likely asleep. Unlocking her phone, (Y/N) dialed Michelle's first.

Must let go, survive

"Hello?" a somewhat tired voice answered.

"Hey Michelle,” (Y/N) said.

"(Y/N)? What the hell? It's almost one in the morning".

"I know. I just wanted to say goodbye".

"Goodbye?".

"I can't do this anymore. With school, Peter, everything. I'm slowly losing myself".

" . . .".

"I'm tired of being something I never was. And for what? A boy? A boy that is too busy waiting for Stark to call him and Liz to talk to him. I'm done. I've had enough".

" . . . I'm going to be honest. I had a feeling this would happen".

"Me leaving?".

"Not exactly. I had a feeling everything would hit you at once and you would realize that you deserved better".

(Y/N) let out an airy laugh, "You really know me, huh?".

"Ha. I guess. So, you going back home?".

"Yeah. That's the only place where I feel like I belong. It's where I can be me. I already requested for a transfer and it’s already been sent in to (school of your choice)”.

" Well, if this is it. . . I'm gonna miss you. I guess".

(Y/N) smiled for a moment, "I'm gonna miss you too. I'll talk to you later. I still have to call Ned and. . . him".

" Kay. I'll see you when I see you, loser".

"Love you too, loser".

Time heals all, how is this still strong?

ring ring _ _

_" H-Hewo. . ." _an almost inaudible voice said.

"Hey Ned" (Y/N) said.

"Oh. Hey yawn (Y/N)".

"Sorry to wake you".

"Oh. It's no problem. What's up?".

"I just wanted to say goodbye".

"Goodbye? Where are you going?".

"Home, Ned. I. . .I can't be here anymore. Not in Midtown. Not in New York".

" . . .What about Peter?".

(Y/N) scoffed, “What about him? You think he was thinking about me or how I felt all those times he ditched me. I'm through waiting, Ned. It's killing me inside. Especially when he's all over Liz".

". . . I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way".

(Y/N) sighed, "It's fine. It had nothing to do with you".

"You gonna call him?".

"I have to. I at least owe him that much".

"If it counts for anything, I always thought you were better than Liz".

(Y/N) smiled, "Aw. Thanks Ned"

"See ya, (N/N)".

"Bye, Ned".

You push me, I pull you

Now for the moment of truth. Taking a deep breath, (Y/N) dialed the last number.

*ring* *ring* *ring* *ring*

-Hey. This is Peter. Sorry I can't get to you right now. But I'll get to you as soon as I can. Bye.-

(Y/N) scoffed, she should have known. As soon as she heard the beep, she went for it.

"Hey Peter. Of course, I get your voicemail. What else would I get? You answering? Yeah, that's a laugh. Listen, not sure if you're gonna care enough to hear this, but I need to say it. I'm leaving, Peter. I'm going home. I-I've had enough of this. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. What, Peter? What do I have to do? If I were to look like Liz, then would you notice? Tch. Of course, you wouldn't. Because I'm not your beautiful, amazing Liz Allen.

Oh, and by the way thanks for ditching me again. Hope you had a great time with Liz. It's bad enough that I have to deal with you standing me up for that stupid internship, but to be ditched for another girl? Yeah. That fucking stings. What is it gonna take for you to get it through your thick skull, that I love you. Yeah. Yeah, I said it. I fucking love you, Peter Parker. But that doesn't matter, does it? Because I'm not fucking Liz Allen. I'm never gonna be good enough for you, am I? Yeah, I don't think so. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you? How long I've put up with your shit? Who was the one who has always been there for you? Who was there when Uncle Ben died? When you were sad and hurt? When all those bullies tried picking on you? Cause I can guarantee you, it wasn't Liz or Stark.

You've really hurt me, Peter. . . But not anymore. I'm done. I-I can't do this anymore. This is getting me nowhere. I've been with you through thick and thin, yet you can't seem to do the same for me. But you know what, that's okay. I'm through wasting my time on you. I'm through constantly crying over you. I'm through waiting for the day when you finally realize how much you mean to me. I'm done. I'm so done. Don't try to call me, I won't answer. This is the last phone call you will ever receive from me. I’ll be getting a new phone and number too. I'm done with you and whatever 'this' was. Have a nice life, Peter. Goodbye".

You leave now, I come to denying

"Bad day, huh?" the driver asked from up front.

(Y/N) scoffed, "You could say that".

The driver nodded, "If it makes you feel any better, you're doing the right thing. It's unhealthy to stay in a toxic relationship".

(Y/N) nodded, "Yeah. It's not worth wasting my life on".

The driver made a left before replying, "So, where you heading?".

"(Country). That's where I was born,” (Y/N) answered.

The river hmmed, "Interesting. Well, I hope find what you're looking for".

(Y/N) nodded, "Me too. I need to be in a place where I can be myself. Where there's a better future for me".

Stopping in front of the airport, the driver helped (Y/N) with her bags. Giving the driver a thank you, (Y/N) grabbed her bags.

From the driver's seat, the driver called out to her, "You're one of the only girls where she knows she deserves better. Most girls I drive come crying and complaining about their boyfriends, yet they stay. Despite the pain, they stay".

(Y/N) bit her lip, " I'm done waiting for someone who I know would never wait for me".

How is this still on?

"Thanks Mr. Stark,” Peter said putting his suit inside his bag.

"No problem, kid. They suit just needed some upgrading. Better head home before your hot aunt freaks out,” Tony said.

"Okay. See you, Mr. Stark,” Peter waved goodbye.

Leaving the building, Peter starts walking home. The time he had spent with Liz that afternoon was like a fairy tale, it was magical.

Yet, when he was with Liz, something didn't feel right. Like he was forgetting something. He just brushed it off, after all, he was eating with Liz Allen!

Crossing the street, Peter pulled out his phone to check the time. There was a voicemail. Maybe it was from Aunt May wondering where he was. Opening his phone, he went to his voicemail.

Only it wasn't May that was on the other end.

"Hey Peter".

(Y/N)?

"Of course, I get your voicemail. What else would I get? You answering? Yeah, that's a laugh. Listen, not sure if you're gonna care enough to hear this, but I need to say it. I'm leaving, Peter. I'm going home. I-I've had enough of this. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. What, Peter? What do I have to do? If I were to look like Liz, then would you notice? Tch. Of course, you wouldn't. Because I'm not your beautiful, amazing Liz Allen”.

What was going on?

“Oh, and by the way thanks for ditching me again. Hope you had a great time with Liz. It's bad enough that I have to deal with you standing me up for that stupid internship, but to be ditched for another girl? Yeah. That fucking stings. What is it gonna take for you to get it through your thick skull, that I love you. Yeah. Yeah, I said it. I fucking love you, Peter Parker. But that doesn't matter, does it? Because I'm not fucking Liz Allen. I'm never gonna be good enough for you, am I? Yeah, I don't think so. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you? How long I've put up with your shit? Who was the one who has always been there for you? Who was there when Uncle Ben died? When you were sad and hurt? When all those bullies tried picking on you? Cause I can guarantee you, it wasn't Liz or Stark”.

What was this? She loved him? She was leaving?

So, you try to convince me that you're done

Then you see me and come undone

If you fail, I'll catch your fall

But not anymore, I'm not gonna do it I'm done

I don't want half of you anymore

I would rather have none of you at all

Fear seeped into Peter's heart.

No, no. This wasn't happening.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Without a second thought, the boy ran down the street.

No, it wasn't true. She's still here. She's still here!

Your head, and heart can debate

But I'm not gonna sit and wait

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

Running past people that were still on the street, Peter could see (Y/N)'s apartment in the distance.

Picking up the pace, he ran towards the building.

Who knew after so long

Running inside, Peter made his way up to (Y/N)'s floor.

Grabbing the spare key, she had given him, from his bag, he turned the lock and swung the door open.

I had the power all along

Walking inside Peter felt a chill go down his spine. It felt so empty. He looked everywhere, the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom - everywhere.

The apartment was completely empty. Aside from the furniture, nothing was left.

There was nothing left of her.

Nothing.

She was gone.

Caught under your spell

What did he do? Did he really hurt her so bad, that she would just up and leave? Where was he when she needed him? Where was he all the times she patiently waited for him, only for him to never show? How could he let this happen?

When she said she loved him, he couldn't believe it. Her big (e/c) eyes, her smile, her laugh - they all plagued his mind. A sudden warmth filled his heart and cheeks.

Why didn't she say anything before?

I know it all too well

Looking into the kitchen, Peter noticed that the trash can had fallen over. What caught his eye was the crumbled-up photo on the floor. Walking over, he picked it up.

It was of him and (Y/N). It was the day they went to Oscorp. They day he got bitten. When he turned it over, he saw (Y/N)'s handwriting on the back.

'Oscorp trip with Peter. He looks so cute. God, I love him so much'.

You coulda made this work, but you've won

Tears coated his brown eyes, slightly blurring his vision.

How didn't he see it before? If only he would have paid more attention.

If only he had listened. If only he had stopped trying to make it seem like the world needed him every few seconds.

If only he had looked away from Liz.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

I’m done

Pulling out his phone, Peter called (Y/N). Maybe there was still time. Time to make things right.

He'll tell her he was wrong. How much she meant to him. That he was Spiderman. That he didn't need Liz. He only needed and wanted her. . .

Though. . . not everything goes the way we want it to.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

I don't want half of you anymore

I would rather have none of you at all

Your head and heart can debate

But I'm not gonna sit and wait

Sitting down in her seat on the plane, (Y/N) shut off her phone and put it in her bag. Pulling out her iPod, she put in her headphones and watched as everything outside her window passed by.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

No. No

*ring* *ring* *ring* *ring*

-Hey it's (Y/N). Sorry can't come to the phone at the moment. I'll get to you as soon as I am able. Bye!-

It was too late. The damage was done. She was gone.

And it was his fault.

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

I'm done, I'm done

I'm not gonna do it. I'm done

I'm not gonna do it, I'm done

#angst #anger #reedited #imagine #peterparker #peterparkerimagine #peterparkerxreader #peter #joelle #imdone

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heyheyohsorry · 6 years

Text

WestVibe

1: Who spends almost all their money on the other?

Iris learns early on that giving gifts is Lisa’s love language. Which makes it a slight problem that as much as Lisa is spot on about Iris’s taste in shoes, Iris’s morals insist that Lisa return the items to their rightful owners. But there are times when Lisa gets it just right, and despite the price tag, Iris keeps those.

2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap?

Iris huffs when you call her chipmunk, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks, which only makes you laugh harder. Iris knows you didn’t mean it as insult. But it’s the best analogy to describe the way Iris hoards the covers and curls her body into yours. Her bottom more on your lap than the couch.

3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells at them to put on some clothes?

Iris is completely fine with nudity. She even modeled for an art class her sophomore year of college, that’s how fine she is. There’s also the fact that Lisa has an amazing body. like aamaazing. Her years of ballet and ice skating are evident in her strong thighs and the six pack Iris only dreams about having. So when she gets mad at her girlfriend for strutting around naked, it isn’t because she dislikes nudity. What she does dislike is Lisa using nudity to purposely make Barry uncomfortable.

“Hello Allen, didn’t know you were here.” Lisa says as she struts into the kitchen fully nude. Barry quickly adverts his eyes, turning bright red. Iris wants to be stern with Lisa because there’s nothing accidental about it when Iris has Barry over for musical night every Wednesday.

4: Which one tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all night anyway?

Staying up all night is how they met. Iris’s college ID still grants her access to the campus library. Lisa Snart attending night classes.

5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns it all by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them both cookies?

Lisa smells the smoke from down the hall. When she enters the apartment, Iris is standing on a chair desperately fanning the smoke alarm. “Babe! The stove must be broken?” Lisa tries to hide her smile at her girlfriend’s denial. “I’ve already order pizza.”

7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes?

Lisa’s sitting on the edge of the bed when Iris comes back into the bedroom. The leather corset perfectly shaping her body, and Lisa’s favorite leather choker around her neck. Iris West is beautiful. But when Lisa dresses Iris in her from her own leather, it’s sinful.

16: Which one gives the other their jacket?

It’s the fourth time Lisa Snart sits with you late at night in the library. You’ve already finished the article that you came to work on, but you don’t want your time with Lisa to end yet. “Would you like to come back to mine?” you ask, it’s hard not to blush at your obvious come on. But Lisa doesn’t call you out for it, just smiles and says “Lead the way.”

It’s cold outside, and the long sleeve shirt you wore isn’t any protection. So youre shivering until you feel the weight of a leather jacket over your shoulder, and together you stroll back through the night.

19: How good would your OTP be at parenting?

Iris’s belly is getting to a comical size. She sits on the couch as she tries to read instruction for the crib, but Lisa swears that breaking into a E10 security safe is easier than this. Suddenly it hits her that if she can’t even build a crib for her future daughter, then what kind of Mom is she supposed to be. And the panic courses through quickly, her heart racing until Lisa feels Iris’s hand soft on her cheek. Then Iris softly tilts Lisa’s chin back to look up at her. It’s as though Iris can read her mind, “You will be a wonderful mother.”

22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile every time the other makes a pun?

You thought you had left this behind when you moved out from Len. Yet here is Iris Ann West, laughing so hard there are tears, over her own joke. “Get it--”, Iris gets out after spurts of laughter, “the golden rule”

25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which one does the overzealous cheering?

“Iris, please--” Barry says. He has a slight limp as he walks into S.T.A.R labs, “--try not to be so happy your girlfriend kicked my ass.”

A couple flakes of gold still reflect off his Flash suit from where Lisa hit him with her gold gun, “and especially not over the comms.”

26: Who takes a selfie when the other one falls asleep on their shoulder?

The hardest part about dating a notorious criminal is the inability to post gorgeous photos of her girlfriend all over insta. That doesn’t mean she stops taking photos. Lisa rolls her eyes every time Iris whips out a phone for a selfie. The only time she doesn’t complain, is when she’s already asleep, resting her head on Iris’s shoulder. Those photos are iris’s favorite

30: If your OTP went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do?

There’s no longer the option to take the vacation to Ibiza. Standing on the porch, a bottle of wine, praying that Joe takes kind to his daughter’s new partner.

Meeting Joe West could either be a great idea or a horrible mistake. But that’s been their entire relationship, and things have been pretty fucking-fantastic so far.

Iris squeezes her hand, smiles up at her. Lisa knocks on the West household door.

#the flash #iris allen #lisa snart #iris x lisa #goldenwest

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darlingpetao3 · 6 years

Text

Meet Your Doom (EoWells x Reader)

Rating: T

Summary: What happens when you find out your seemingly perfect boyfriend turns out to be the psychotic evil Speedster Team Flash has been hunting this whole time? The prequel to Out of This (Doom)World.

A/N: I may have altered the timeline of the final episodes of Season 1 a bit in order to fit my vision for this story. Hope it worked out!

Life was perfect.

You have the job. The friends. The boyfriend. And sure, you tend to have these pesky visions that sometimes bring on headaches in varying degrees of pain, but other than that, life was perfect.

With a pep in your step, you arrive at S.T.A.R. Labs, the workplace of your love, Doctor Harrison Wells. How did you ever get so lucky?

Your heels clack on the floor as you enter the Cortex where Team Flash relaxes after a hard day's work of metahuman ass-kicking. Harrison had let you in on the secret of him leading the superhero group devoted to saving the city and helping Barry to run faster. How your man juggles so many philanthropic projects at once is awe-inspiring to you.

“There's my favourite journalist.” Harrison is the first to spot you. He always is. He always has his lovely baby blues glued to you. “You look exceptionally beautiful today,” he says adjusting his glasses. He makes your heart skip a beat.

“And you look especially sexy today.” You bend down to give Harrison a kiss hello and he returns it with a passion you're not used to seeing outside of the bedroom and certainly not in front of his colleagues. It catches you by surprise.

“Doctor Wells, do you and the Mrs. have to do this every time?” asks Cisco.

“Apologies, Cisco,” Harrison replies. “And (Y/N) isn't my Mrs. Not yet, anyway.” He flashes you a very aware smile and takes your hand to hold.

You rest a hand on his shoulder. “Ready to leave, babe?”

“I believe I am.”

“May I?” you ask, gesturing to his chair.

“Please do.”

You sit yourself down on his lap and Harrison drives his chair out of the Cortex. Even when he turns the corner, you can still hear Cisco's voice, “See, why can't I have something like that? Something beautiful and gross.”

That evening, you cook for Harrison. You wanted to do something special for your two year anniversary with him and what better way to spend it than a quiet, intimate night in, just the two of you?

The night is filled with deep conversation and loving gazes, which also follows you to your shared bed, where you celebrate your love of each other in a whole other way....

But oddly enough, you didn't sleep well afterwards. Your body tosses and turns in the middle of the night as a vision cruelly interrupts your sleep cycle. It pounds your brain with an urgent intensity. Your visions have never disturbed you in your sleep before.

In the vision, you see a man standing with his back to you. Harrison's motorized chair rests behind the figure, and when the man turns to show his face, you feel like screaming bloody murder.

It's Harrison. The love of your life.

But his eyes glow an evil red as if possessed.

Red lightning emits from his body and in a split second, he's gone.

You wake up with sweat on your forehead and feeling out of breath. What you just saw scares you to your very core. If this vision is true (and why wouldn't it be?), you needed to alert Team Flash. All your lives were in danger.

Harrison Wells is the man in yellow.

You try not to wake your more-than-likely-evil boyfriend by pulling back the covers.

“(Y/N),” comes Harrison's sleepy voice, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm just going to get a glass of water,” you lie. “Be back soon.” Reaching for your phone on the nightstand, you get up and attempt to casually leave the room without looking back. Out in the living room, your fingers attempt to type out a text message to Barry, the only person who has the ability to help you in this moment, and quickly.

I don't think Harrison is who he

says he is. I need help. NOW.

Before you can hit send, a voice sends a chilling shiver down your spine:

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.”

What's strange is that you've heard this voice for the past two years and never once has it brought this kind of fear out of you.

“I knew your visions would eventually cause problems for me,” Harrison continues, moving bit by bit closer to you. He knows. It's difficult for you to wrap your head around him walking after all this time. “But hey, it's the price I pay for loving you.”

You feel sick.

“You're him. You're the Reverse-Flash.” He's been under your nose this whole time. Almost every night you'd ask Harrison how Team Flash was faring with the hunt for the man in yellow and every time he'd say they were making progress. Lies. All lies. How could you have missed this?

“Please, call me Eobard, my dear.”

“Eobard?” The name doesn't sound right in your ears, but it could be just that you're used to saying Harrison when speaking to the man with this face.

“Yes, and it sounds so good to hear it from your lips. Say it for me again, would you?”

“I wouldn't want to give you the satisfaction.”

Harris- no, Eobard, is closing in on your personal space. You have your phone grasped tightly behind your back. If I could just press send...

Done!

The villain shakes his head. “It's a shame it has to come to this.”

“C-Come to what?” Eobard is faster than you had anticipated, as he whisks you out of the house and passes buildings and vehicles in a total blur. You tumble to the cold, hard ground of some dark and unknown underground location.

“So what? You're going to leave me in this hole to rot all alone?”

Eobard laughs.

“Well, you won't be alone,” he says. “Isn't that right, Eddie?” A weary grunt comes from over in the corner. CCPD Detective Eddie Thawne sits limp and tied to a chair. He looks dreadful. Weak. How long has he been down here? Wherever here is?

“I don't know what kind of sick, twisted plan you have going on, but you won’t succeed.” It takes everything for you to not let your voice waver. To not let him hear your broken heart through your words. “Barry will stop you.”

“Au contraire, my dear,” Eobard says with an evil smile that seems to fit him. “Mr. Allen will be helping me. Whether he likes it or not.” You have no idea what this means. Eobard uses his super-speed to carry and tie you up to another chair like Eddie's in the blink of an eye. The rope scratches at your wrists.

“You know, if we were alone, this could be fun,” the Speedster's breath is warm in your ear. “Very reminiscent of your birthday last year.”

Your stomach churns.

“Shut up.”

“Aw, come on, (Y/N). You know I love you? I'm doing this for us. Soon we will be out this archaic time and the world will be ours. I have a plan.”

We? Plan?

“I don't want any part of this. Leave me out of it.”

“I'm afraid that's not an option.” Eobard steals a kiss from you. There's no other word for it other than steals. “I'll be back for you. Sit tight.”

“Ha ha.” The underground area becomes quiet once your psycho boyfriend leaves, save for the detective's noises of discomfort. Well, one thing's for sure...

No one has had a worse anniversary than you.

Hours pass. You're sure of it. What you are unsure of, is whether Barry or anyone from Team Flash for that matter has received your hasty text for help. Your multiple attempts to talk with Eddie about the current situation are futile. He's so out of it. You wonder how long it will take until you become this way, too.

But then, you hear the sound of a hatch opening from above. A man and a woman's voice echo down to the depths of where you're being held.

It's Joe and Iris West.

“(Y/N)! Eddie!” Iris cuts away your binds while Joe takes care of Eddie's.

“Thank God you're alive!” she says. “We've been looking everywhere-”

“Iris,” you tell your work friend, “It’s Harrison. He's the Reverse-Flash!”

“His name is Eobard.” Eddie's voice is scratchy. How does he know this? “He said that we're family. He's a Thawne. My descendant.”

You are so confused. Joe must see this on your face.

“Come on,” he says. “Let's meet up with the rest of team... And get you both some clean clothes.” You look at Eddie, whose suit is dingy from however long he's been down here, and then to yourself, still clad in your nightgown. You're too tired and shaken to feel any kind of embarrassment.

“Good idea.”

You end up sleeping for almost an entire day and a half. While Team Flash works out a way to deal with Eobard, you sleep the stress and heartache away in a back room of S.T.A.R. Labs. You wish you could be more help, but you don't have the energy right now. Besides, Team Flash knows what they're doing. Right?

On and off during this time of mental recuperation, a recurring image of a dark hole in the sky flickers in your mind. Sometimes you see it for longer periods of time, others shorter. It's unclear what this means, or when this phenomenon will take place, but nonetheless, it frightens you even while sleep.

A knock on the door wakes you. Your eyes flutter open to see Caitlin standing in the doorway, peeking in. She looks upset.

You sit up. “Caitlin?”

“(Y/N), I have terrible news.”

“What? What is it?”

She takes a breath. “Doctor Wells... Thawne is getting ready to return to his time.”

“Isn't this good news?”

“He... He threatened us. Saying if you didn't go with him to the future, he'd kill us all.” This statement cuts at you like a knife. Like hell if you were going with Eobard!

But if you don't, your friends will suffer.

I have to go. For their sakes.

“Take me to him.”

Eobard, the man you thought you knew, holds his arms out and open to you as if welcoming you back into his presence.

Where is Barry? And why is he not jumping in to save the day?

You suppose you're the one saving the day, in a sense, going with this man to keep your friends from being killed. Eobard is handsy with you and very firm when ushers you towards a glass bubble-like machine. Dressed in his infamous yellow and black suit, he has you sit down beside him in the chair within. The door closes on you both and he smiles to himself. Eobard is getting his way. Like he's planned for since the beginning. As he punches a button on the control panel, the futuristic machine begins to hover off the ground. There’s a far-off look in his eye.

“Home,” he whispers.

It may be his home, but it will never be yours.

Then, a torpedoing red streak hurtles its way directly at you both. The Flash. Barry smashes the glass machine, shattering it into a million shards and broken pieces, while also managing to cradle and shield you from the collision. Eobard starts yelling furiously at Barry.

“Get back,” Barry instructs you, staying in between you and the villain. It doesn't take long for the two Speedsters to begin fighting all around the courtyard to the death. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Eddie, who has come to help you out of the situation safely. He offers you his hand.

“Go. Get away from here, quickly.” But Eddie doesn't seem to be coming with you.

“What about you?”

“Don't worry about me.” The detective looks sad as he says this, but you hurry off to join Joe and Cisco far away from the violent battle. The moment you reach them though, a deafening gun-shot blast rings out in the air. Joe rushes to his partner, now collapsing to the ground, a seeping, bloody wound forming at his chest.

You can't breathe.

“Eddie is Eobard's ancestor,” Cisco explains in shock. “If Eddie dies, he'll never be born and- he's being erased from existence!”

You can't take your eyes off of Eobard. The face of Harrison, the face you loved, the face you've kissed an immeasurable amount of times, transforms before your very eyes. The shape of his jaw, his eyes, his hair. He's turning into a completely different looking person.

But he's still the same man who betrayed you on the inside.

Eobard keeps his focus on you witnessing his change. It's almost hard to watch with the amount of tears welling up in your eyes.

“Oh, (Y/N), we could have changed the world together...”

“You've changed my world enough for one lifetime.” Cracks of light emit from his body slowly, then all at once. Eobard lets out a painful holler as he disintegrates into the air, then and there.

Eviscerated from time.

Harrison is gone. Eobard is gone. All that's left of what once was is you toppling to the ground, with your head in your hands, unleashing everything you've been feeling since finding out his secret through an uncontrollable series of silent sobs.

It takes you a while to fully realize the entirety of Team Flash is huddling around you, trying to force you back into the Labs and away from the pull of the wormhole in the sky.

My vision.

“(Y/N)! You gotta get up!” Barry shouts. “We can't lose you! Not like this!”

Before you can yell back “what's the point?!” Barry says one final thing:

“You are a part of this team as much as anyone! Team Flash doesn't abandon one of their own!”

His words are the driving force you needed to bring you to your feet. You stare up at the daunting, spiralling wormhole hovering above and wipe the streaks of tears from your face with your sleeve.

“Okay, Team. Let's save the world.”

Anonymous Request: OK I know this is an odd request but can you do a sequel/prequel or mid-equal to out of this doomworld - like I love how you wrote the relationship and want more ? but only if you're cool with it. Thanks! ×

#reader insert #anon request #harrison wells x reader #harrison wells imagine #harrison wells fanfiction #eowells x reader #eowells imagine #eobard thawne x reader #eobard thawne imagine #eobard thawne fanfiction #the flash imagine #the flash fanfiction

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robininthelabyrinth · 7 years

Text

Fic: The Swiftest Course (Ao3) (Chapter 3/8)

Fandom: Flash, DC’s Legends Pairing: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Mick Rory, Eddie Thawne/Iris West Summary:

Barry of Allen is on his way to the capital of Tortall for the final part of his knight training, hiding a secret that could threaten his career there. He’s determined to keep his head down and not get into trouble.

He isn’t expecting to meet Len, Corus’ Rogue, or his right-hand man, Mick. Or meet Princess Iris and his new friends, Cisco and Caitlin.

He certainly wasn’t expecting to be roped into adventure.

(It’s the Gods’ fault, really.)

A/N: For joyous-lee, who purchased one of my stories for the FandomTrumpsHate event. She requested a Tortall AU, with Barry as Alanna. Thank you so much for your patience, and I hope you enjoy it!

——————————————————————————————–

"So you put the bastard in his place?" Len asks.

"Yeah! It was great," Barry replies, trying to flip Len over his hip.

It's cute that he thinks that'll work.

Len swipes Barry's legs out from under him and pins him. "Congrats. That must've been satisfying."

"You have no idea," Barry says effusively even as he struggles to escape. "Seeing Tony Woodward slink away after kicking his ass three times in a row - brilliant. He avoids us now. Which is good, since the trip's coming up next week."

He gives up and taps out. Len rolls off of him with a smirk and offers him a hand up, which Barry accepts.

"One more for me," Len tells Mick, who's keeping score in a little red book.

"I don't know why you guys keep count," Barry complains. "I'm never going to beat you."

"Hope is important," Len says. "Also, I'm teaching you all about the noble art of rubbing someone's face in it."

Barry snickers.

"What trip?" Mick asks.

"We're going to the rainforest," Barry says, unable to keep a rueful smile off his face.

"Ah, yes, the rainforest," Len says gleefully. "Old Queen Tallesin's folly."

"It true that she was trying to fix things?" Mick asks. He doesn't always know Tortall legends, being as he is from the middle of nowhere.

"Yep," Barry says. "She was trying to create a new stable ecology for the region or something like that, I think she was saying, but at any rate, she meant to do it by abusing the Dominion Jewel which, uh, didn't work. Legend has it that the Jewel went nuts, created the rainforest and the new southern ridge of mountains, and then leapt by itself into the Mouth of the Salamander."

"Which hadn't even existed before then," Len puts in. "She gave us our first active volcano, like losing the Dominion Jewel wasn't enough."

"And you're going there?" Mick asks Barry. He's got a strange look on his face.

"Yeah, it's the annual trip. We were going to go to the desert, but there's murmurs of unrest, so we're going to the rainforest instead. They're using all the hostels in the desert to host real knights, you see, and mages, too."

"Unrest?"

"Someone swears they've found the remnants of the crystal sword."

"The one that got, uh, eaten when some mage tried a spell to pull it out of the Corus Gate some hundred years ago? That's absurd,” Len scoffs. “Why in the world would it be in the desert?"

"Well, you know, the crystal sword was originally found in the desert.”

“Yeah, but the Lioness' Lightning was found in Olau, according to the legend, and you don’t get much further from the desert than Olau.”

“Well, yeah. But someone said something and then people started fighting - you know how people are about legends."

"True," Len concedes. "Sounds like a fun trip. Have fun."

"We're going," Mick says.

"We're what?" Len yelps. He knows Mick's serious tone. "No, we're not."

"Yes, we are." Mick's voice is pleasant, level, and utterly final.

"I'm the Rogue - I can't just leave Corus at the drop of a hat -"

"Barry's not leaving till next week," Mick points out. "It'll be a good test for your lieutenants. A much needed one. Hartley, Mardon and Shawna all need some independence to see how they'll do."

"Well, I guess..."

"Wait, are you guys serious?" Barry asks, brightening. "That's fantastic!"

He leaps straight at Len, enveloping him in an utterly unexpected hug, making Len topple backwards with a yelp.

"I'm counting that one as one of Barry's," Mick says, smirking.

Len makes a rude gesture in his direction.

Barry does him one better, though, scrambling up from where he's pinning Len to leap at Mick.

"I'm the score-keeper," Mick yelps. "No fair attacking the score-keeper!"

"It's affection, you dumbasses, not attacks!"

"Help, Len! He's got his paws all over me!" Mick wails melodramatically even as he wraps his arms back around Barry for a great bear hug. "Assault! Assault! Summon the Lord Provost! Rogue, I petition you! Help!"

Len is laughing way too hard to say anything snarky.

"I'm the one being assaulted!" Barry laughs. "Mithros, but you're strong."

"You should see me with fire," Mick says, putting Barry back down. "Now get you back to the court adjacent; Len and I need to pack and figure out travel plans."

"Sad but true," Len says, shaking his head as if it can clear the grin on his face. "We'll meet you there. You lot are staying in Castle Perilous, right?"

"It's so badly named," Barry replies, nodding. "That's a way to make someone feel safe, isn't it? Castle Perilous."

"I heard," Mick says solemnly, "that it got that name because it was built on a swamp."

"It was?"

"Oh, yes," Mick says. "See, the first version sank into the swamp. But that didn't stop them - they built a second, stronger one. Which also sank into the swamp. The third one burned down. Fourth one also sank. But the fifth one stayed up!"

Barry gapes at him. "That's awful!"

Mick starts laughing.

"Is any of that true?!" Barry exclaims.

"Given that we heard it in a comedic minstrel performance last week," Len says, biting his lip, "I'm going to say that I doubt it."

"You guys are assholes," Barry tells them, still smiling. "I'll go tell the others; they'll be delighted to hear. See you - huh, I guess if the trip's next week and you're coming, I guess I'll see you there."

"Guess you will," Len says.

----

He waits until Barry's gone and down the street to turn to Mick. "Well?"

"What?"

"Why are we really going? You don't ask for pleasure trips, not like that."

Mick frowns. "You won't believe me."

That, in turn, makes Len frown. "Mick. You're my partner. Of course I believe you."

"I saw an image of a city hidden in the rainforest," Mick says. "In the fire."

"What fire? Mithros' fires, by his temple? One of the other gods?" Len hadn't known Mick even went to those. By and large, Mick is remarkably disdainful of the gods, even though by all accounts he'd grown up in the general religion. He doesn't even have Len's excuse of being born and raised a follower of Mother Flame, She and She Alone, a group that acknowledges the existence of the gods but maintains that they are mere children of the Mother and therefore to worship them is idolatrous. Not that they have anything against the gods – they’d certainly say hello if they met them in the street or something – but they wouldn’t worship them.

Though Len concedes he hasn't always been the best adherent. That restriction against pork - not to mention stealing...

There's a reason Len considers it worthwhile to swing by to greet the Trickster in his sacred spaces, even though he makes certain not to actually pray or anything. Friendly hello to an equal-born child of Mother Flame, albeit one that has the power to destroy Len in a heartbeat.

"No," Mick says, reluctant. "Just - that fire. Last week."

Len searches his memory for any religious fires, tinted with vervain for foresight, but come up empty. And then it hits him. "Wait," he says. "The gambling den arson? The one you ended up in a fit over?"

"Yeah," Mick says guiltily. "Still sorry about that."

"I'm telling you, it's fine," Len says, not for the first time. "I know you've got a case of the firebug fits; s'why I always make sure you got company when you go debt-collecting with torches and why I make sure you always got something to burn. But - you saw something?"

"I saw a city," Mick says. "In the rainforest. We need to be there, or else something bad'll happen."

"That ever happen before?"

"Twice," Mick says. He'd never mentioned that before. "Once before I came to Corus - it's why I came. I saw a new home here. S'why I walked all that way."

"And the second time? What'd you see then?"

"Faithful," Mick says, nodding at his rat, curled up happily in the little pen Len had built for him. "I knew just where to go to find him."

"Well," Len says after a long minute.

"They could be hallucinations," Mick adds hastily. "I know that that's a symptom of firebug fits sometimes, and I've got them before -"

"Only when you were very sick or depressed," Len points out. "Neither of which you are now. No, if you say you saw something, I guess you saw something. Guess we're going to the rainforest."

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

It’s official.

Barry of Allen is the only person in all of Tortall that does not like Thawne Eobard.

No matter how many times Eobard smiles – greasily, in Barry’s opinion – or how everyone swears up and down that he’s really nice, Barry does not like him.

This puzzles the living daylights out of all of his friends.

Being forced to ride in formation, stuck right next to Eobard’s horse, all the way down to the rainforest only made it worse.

Especially since Eobard spends the entire time talking with Iris about some sort of “hidden city” legend in the rainforest, talking about how exciting the concept is - how dangerous - how Good King Jonathan took on the Black City when he was far younger –

(Which he wasn’t, being very nearly a full knight and all, but everyone ignored it when Barry pointed it out. Also, is it just Barry, or is it weird to refer to Good King Jonathan in the singular? It’s always Good-King-Jonathan-and-Queen-Thayet. They ignore Barry about that, too.)

"Unfortunately," Eobard drawls in his nasal voice, far more jarring to Barry's ears than Len's more musical one. "It does seem that heroism of that sort is a thing of the past."

Barry sees Iris' eyes shining in excitement. "Maybe not," she says, sounding far too thoughtful.

"Maybe that's because individualistic heroism has been replaced with individuals committed to upholding institutional justice," Barry says, only slightly sourly.

"How's that?" Caitlin asks, blinking. She's been strangely dazed during much of the trip, as had Cisco; Barry guesses they're not used to traveling like this.

"Individual heroism as in the days of Good King Jonathan and Queen Thayet – and the Lioness, of course - was all well and good if your goal was making a name for yourself and yourself alone," Barry points out. "But permitting justice to be dispensed by individuals and effectively only permitting training for the higher end nobility and nomads, since no one else could afford to lose a child's help in the days prior to the institution of mandatory childhood education, essentially created a system in which entire communities were at the mercy of their local knight's biases and whims. Which is why Good King Jonathan and Queen Thayet worked so hard to develop the current system where any goodman’s child can enter their local training for knighthood, with their families subsidized for the loss of their labor if they’re not landowners. That’s why we call them the ‘Good’ King and Queen, after all."

Iris is nodding eagerly, since this is one of her pet peeves. "Not to mention the utter failure of that system to encourage investigation into issues of structural inequality," she says. "We had knights; now we have enforcers of the law which are themselves subject to the law they enforce."

Thawne Eobard looks annoyed, albeit subtly. "I suppose so," he says. "But there is still a lack of great deeds now, wouldn't you say?"

He aims that question at Iris, who falters.

"Not to mention," he adds smoothly, "you can't overlook the great deeds they did accomplish individually - Jonathan and the Banishment of the Black City, for instance, could not have happened with an army -"

"I personally think that Judge Samor in the 7th District counts as an individual hero," Barry chimes in, noticing with disgust how Iris, Caitlin and Cisco all turn to listen to Eobard adoringly whenever he speaks. He’s not that impressive. "She's been working for the rights of bastard children for fifty years. She fought her way up from nothing to become one of the most respected judges in all of Tortall, which is nearly as helpful in getting rid of the stigma that bastards are useless as her active efforts. And look at how she led the way in equalizing the inheritance laws!"

"I thought her recent ideas about funding unwed mothers were a bit much," Caitlin objects. "Doesn't that undercut the institution of marriage at all?"

"That depends on the benefit of the institution," Cisco points out. "If we really wanted to strengthen marriage above all else, we'd eliminate divorce and trap people in them, but we don't do that because it's not our highest value -"

"Feeding children is more important," Iris adds, nodding.

"I may just be contrary here, but it seems to me that it's not just -" Caitlin starts.

The debate kicks into high gear after that.

Barry's pretty sure he's the only one noticing Eobard's lips twisting in annoyance.

He still manages to bring up the stupid Black City legend three more times, despite Barry's best efforts to derail him.

There’s a lovely welcome feast by Julian Albert, the master of Castle Perilous, in which Albert talks at length about the local legends of gorillas in the rainforest, rumors of them having formed some sort of enclave, and the dangers of going in alone given their territoriality, but Barry goes to bed that evening still feeling unaccountably annoyed. He's not sure why he's so annoyed, he just knows that he is.

He takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"Okay," he mutters into his pillow. "Let's talk it out like Mom and Dad are always saying. Why does it bug me that he's talking about it all the time? So he likes legends; it's not a crime."

Still, doesn't Eobard realize how impulsive Iris can be? If he keeps goading her on like this, she'll do something -

Barry sits bolt upright in bed.

"Stupid," he hisses, and flashes into his clothing and down the stairs.

Even with the aid of the magic he'd sworn never to use, he barely makes it to the gate before Iris.

"Are you nuts?" he asks her.

Iris tosses the hood of her waterproof cloak back, scowling at him. "How'd you know I'd be here?" she asks.

"After Eobard practically dared you to go to into the rainforest looking for a hidden city by comparing you to Good King Jonathan and Queen Thayet? Seemed obvious," Barry says, then amends it to, "Mostly obvious. I just figured it out."

"He didn't dare me," Iris says, rolling her eyes. "But he's not wrong - there's a great deed here, just waiting to happen!"

"No one has ever found a hidden city in the rainforest, Iris. It’s not like the Black City, which was actually visible.”

“I know!” she says, beaming. “But I’ve figured it out.”

Barry pauses. “You’ve figured out…what?”

“It’s the gorillas! Everyone has been everywhere in the rainforest except where it’s marked out as gorilla territory, because they’re so violent against intruders. That must be where the hidden city is!”

Barry gapes at her. “So your idea is to go straight to the place with the violent territorial gorillas? Really?”

Iris crosses her arms. “You can come with me or not, Barry, but I’m going.”

Barry bits his lip. Iris seems dead-set on the idea, and he knows her well enough by now to know that nothing he says will change her mind. She’s going to go into that rainforest, with him or without him, and she won’t let him go back and get anyone from the Castle –

Huh. That’s an idea.

“Okay,” he says. “I’m coming. But can we make a detour?”

She scowls at him, suspecting a trick.

“No, no,” Barry says. “We’re definitely going into the rainforest. It’s just – we have to pass through the city proper before we get to the gates, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“I promised I’d meet Len and Mick –” Tomorrow or the day after, technically, but they did tell him where they’d be staying. “– so we should swing by in case they get annoyed about me ditching them after they came all this way to hang out with us here.”

Iris frowns. “Fine,” she says. “But if you try to get them to stop me, I’ll never forgive you.”

Damnit.

They steal into the city proper and head down to the Monkey’s Paw, which is a disreputable-looking tavern in the poorer part of town, and which is surrounded by plenty of big, angry-looking people eying Barry and Iris’ expensive cloaks.

“Uh,” Barry says. “I’m here to see the Rogue?”

The thugs exchange glances, but finally one of them gets up and gestures for Barry and Iris to follow.

Len and Mick are seated in the middle of a positive sea of shining criminal faces, Len weaving one of his ridiculous-yet-true stories about heists he’s run with Mick interjecting additional details, some of which might even be true.

“Rogue,” the thug grunts. “Guests.”

Len looks up. “Barry,” he says warmly. “And you brought your friend, too. Do you have news for me?”

Barry blinks, not sure what Len means, but Iris steps up right away, saying, “News from the Castle, Rogue, and the special information you wanted.”

“You’re planning to job old Perilous?” one of the local thieves asks, sounding impressed.

Len shrugs. “I ain’t committing to nothing till I got all the intel I need,” he says archly. “Sorry, boys; gonna have to continue this story later. Need to talk to my, ah, friends from the Castle.”

There are murmurs of agreement and approval, and the crowd splits to let Len and Mick walk through to Barry and Iris, catching them easily by the arm and leading them to another room.

“Mick?” Len says.

Mick holds up a secret-sphere, activating it with a click. “It’ll muffle the sound, but not for long,” he warns.

“Being a Rogue spy in the Castle is a dream come true,” Iris says.

Barry sighs. “Was that necessary?” He does think it’s pretty cool, though, so he’s maybe not managing "put upon" as well as he could.

“This ain't Corus,” Len replies dryly. “Been a while since these people have seen - or had to respect- the Rogue. Enough of that, though. What’s up? You’re early.”

“Iris wants to go hunting for the hidden city in the rainforest,” Barry says. “Tonight. Alone.”

Len and Mick exchange a look. “City in the forest, huh?” Len says. “Okay, we’re in.”

“What?!” Barry yelps.

“Yes!” Iris cheers.

“Do you know where it is?” Len asks.

“I have my suspicions,” Iris says, and grins. “And a map.”

“You have a map?” Barry asks. She didn’t mention a map.

“Yep,” she says. “Got it from Julian Albert myself. He’s really into the whole gorilla thing.”

“So we’re really going,” Barry says.

“We’re really going,” Iris says.

“At least we’ve made a decision,” Len says dryly.

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

"It's official," Barry mutters. "I hate the jungle."

"Rainforest, Barry," Len replies, though he seems equally displeased by trudging through miles and miles of identical forest in the dark, their way lit only by the mage-light of their lanterns.

"What's the difference?"

"Rainforest has a thick canopy of trees, blocks the light," Mick grunts. "Jungle's thick on ground vegetation."

"I didn't know that," Iris observes. "Where'd you pick it up?"

"Mick knows everything," Len drawls, but he sounds pleased. Barry knows Len well enough to know that it's from Iris not having expressed surprise at Mick having brains as well as brawn. "He's - what's that word again? Starts with an o, means know-it-all?"

Iris blinks, baffled, and exchanges glances with Barry.

O word, o word, know-it-all, all-knowing...

"Wait," Barry says. "Omniscient?"

"That's the one," Len says cheerfully. "He's a bit slow to get to it sometimes, but ask him a question and he knows the answer."

"You have great faith in your friend," Iris says. The smile is evident in her voice. "To which I owe the life of my own friend, so I suppose I must believe you."

Len chuckles. "And how has Eddie been treating you?"

"He hasn't been 'treating' me anyhow; we're just friends -"

"Friends don't make out in Sweetheart Lane," Len shoots back with a smirk.

"Iris!" Barry exclaims, delighted.

"Gimme a break!" Iris shoots back, grinning shamelessly. “He's adorable!”

"Yes, adorable - and new to the city, too, which means you took him to Sweetheart Lane," Barry says, smirking. “For shame, Iris. Corrupting nice young men like that.”

"I remind you, Barry, that I am also your princess."

"Not in the rainforest you're not," Mick says. “Nobody to enforce your rules.”

"I'll tease you later," Barry tells Iris, earning a laugh. "All the time. Endlessly. You'll beg me to stop."

"I'll live," she replies. "Now, Len, tell us what you mean by Mick being omniscient. You mean he's terribly clever and people don't realize it, right?"

Mick snorts and Len laughs. "If I meant that," he says, "I would say it."

"Then what do you mean? You can't mean that he actually knows everything."

"Well, no. But he can answer any question he puts his mind to," Len explains, no trace of doubt in his voice. "It just takes time, that's all. I asked him a question once and he answered me near on two years later; he's lucky I even remembered what he was talking about."

"So he can answer anything, but slow? What if I asked about the meaning of life?" Iris teases.

"I could tell you," Mick says, and he sounds amused. "But sadly by the time I got the answer, you'd already be dead - and have your answer."

Iris laughs. "Well, that’s convenient. Wouldn't you say, Barry?"

"A little," Barry says, smiling. "Hardly the strangest thing I've ever heard of. Is it always slow?"

"Nah, sometimes it's quick as a wink," Len says. "Not often, though; I prefer the slow approach, myself."

"Of course you do." Barry rolls his eyes.

"Try him!"

"And if he doesn't answer, wait a few years?"

"Well, don't ask him anything too complex, then."

"But that's all the fun," Iris says, shaking her head.

"Oh, I've got one," Barry says. "Mick."

Mick raises his eyebrows.

"Where should I go to find what I'm looking for?"

Barry's quite pleased with his question; it's abstract enough for a good answer, but it sounds to him, at least, like an excellent request for directions to the hidden city, which they could then trace on the map that Iris has been consulting regularly but hasn't shown around. They can use that as a test.

Mick blinks. "Oh, that," he says dismissively. "That's easy."

"It is?" Barry replies, blinking a little.

"It's in the base of that big tree down that hill," Mick says. “It'll put you on the right path to what you’re looking for."

Len squints down the hill, enhancing his mage-light. "I don't think I see a tree, Mick," he says. "The hill cuts off in a cliff-face or something like -" He abruptly goes silent.

"Len?" Barry asks.

"That’s a tree," Len says.

Barry steps forward and looks. "Oh, wow," he says. The tree is gigantic, old and gnarled, with its branches twining up into the canopy, but its base is frankly massive. You could fit a house inside that trunk.

Barry steps forward again, eager to get a better look, and that's when the ground gives way beneath him and suddenly he's sliding down the hill.

"Barry!" he hears his friend shout as he bumps and rolls his way down the hill, instinctively throwing his arms up to protect his face and focusing on letting his body be limp and soft, falling the way you're supposed to fall.

Thank the Goddess for knight lessons, he supposes.

It's probably due to that that he makes it to the bottom of the hill without anything more than a few bruises and scrapes.

The bottom of the hill –

The tree is just as massive as Barry thought, but it's only up close that he sees the intricate carvings on it.

"Oh, wow," he breathes again, ignoring the sound of his friends edging down the hill in his direction.

He'd thought you could fit a house in here, and it looks like someone had had the same thought, decorating the place all over.

And more importantly, these aren't just carvings.

"It's a door!" Barry calls, and presses his palm against what looked like the door handle. "Guys, it's a -"

The wall creaks open, pulling back with an ancient groan and taking Barry, who'd been unwisely leaning forward, toppling inside.

The floor is some distance further down than he would've thought it'd be. It's definitely lower than the ground outside, at any rate.

"Barry!" he hears Len shouting.

"Ouch," Barry says, sitting. He turns on his mage-light – which had turned off in his tumble, since he was no longer holding the activation rune against his skin - and sees...

Treasure.

Not treasure as one would regularly think it, but gorgeous carvings of all sorts, pictures, sculptures. Violent figures everywhere, holding up their swords and shields and spears as if in defense.

Barry would have thought it a place of worship, but there's no altar, no religious imagery, no signs of dedication to any god. Just warriors, ready to fight.

Also, Barry is sitting on something that's poking him in the ass.

He fishes it out from under him, only to blink stupidly at it.

It’s a sword. He can’t quite make out the details of it – mage-light is dim, better for seeing distances than details - but it is definitely a sword. And a scabbard and sword belt, for that matter, which is good because if Barry fell straight on a sword he'd be a lot less curious and a lot more bloody.

Why is there a sword lying in the middle of this place?

"Hey, Barry," he hears Len drawl. "You feel you need more time in there, or you ready to come out?"

Barry looks up sheepishly. "I found a sword," he calls.

"A sword," Len says flatly. "How nice. I'm sure when I recover from the heart attack you gave me, I might even care."

"Oh, hush," Iris says, though Barry can tell from her voice that she's also relieved. "You know, Alanna the Lioness found her first sword on a quest like this."

"She found it amongst ruins," Len shoots back, unimpressed. “In Olau. Hardly the middle of a rainforest.”

"These look like ruins! Or, well, they're ancient-looking, anyway..."

Mick appears behind the bickering duo with a length of vine, likely from a nearby tree. He tosses it down to Barry, who shoves the sword under his arm and climbs out.

"Thanks, Mick," he says when he gets up to the ground again, "for as usual being the only practical one of the whole lot of us."

Mick grunts in amusement as both Len and Iris immediately protest that they were going to get rope, really, in just a moment.

"So you found a sword," Iris finally says when she realizes it's hopeless. "Like Lady Alanna's Lightning! Oh, this is even more like the Quest of the Black City than I'd hoped!"

"I can't believe we're on a quest," Len grumbles, but his eyes are shining. He might not admit it, but the Rogue of Corus is as much of a storytelling fiend as Iris is; no wonder he agreed to this trip so easily.

Barry shrugs and buckles the sword on. It feels right. "Well, I am going to be a knight," he points out. "So a sword obtained on a quest is definitely a step in the right direction. Thanks for the directions, Mick."

"I still don't believe it," Iris announces. "Pure coincidence, I say."

"You don't have to believe it," Len retorts.

"Which way, Iris?" Barry interrupts before they start arguing again.

Iris checks her map. "Oh, this way. Follow me. So, Barry, what are you naming it?"

“The sword?”

"You should name it ‘Pours’," Len says immediately.

"What?"

"You know - when it rains-forest, it pours."

"That was awful,” Iris declares.

Mick nods, but he's quietly snickering. Barry is only snickering quietly because he has his hand over his mouth. "What?" he says when Iris gives him a long-suffering look. "It's funny!"

"Don't encourage him. Draw the sword, Barry; let’s see what it looks like.”

Barry does so. It’s lightweight and easy to hold, with a different metal of some sort running up the middle. “I like it,” he says.

“I think you should call it Lightning,” Iris declares.

"Like Lady Alanna?"

"Exactly!"

"I don't know. Seems like a name with a lot of weight..."

"Call it whatever you like," Len says. "It's only a pointy stick in the end."

That, of course, sets Iris off on a rant on the importance of swords and sword-bonding in the history of heroes, Len needling her every time she shows signs of flagging.

Mick nudges Barry a little. Barry looks at him. "Name it whatever you like," Mick says. "Don't worry about the weight of history; it's not as heavy as you might think."

This, Barry thinks to himself, unable to keep from smiling, from a man who named his pet rat Faithful.

Well, he supposes Mick knows best, then.

"Lightning it is," Barry decides, sheathing it once more. He feels a bit better with a proper sword, since he had only been able to bring knives out with him on this trip - as trainee knights, they travelled armed, but put the swords away when visiting at a castle.

Mick nods in approval. Barry feels warm inside.

"So, another question," Barry says to Mick, grinning to show he was joking. "You think we'll find the hidden city?"

"Sooner than we'd like," Mick says, but he's not looking at Barry.

Barry turns his head to look, and -

"Is that a giant statue of a gorilla?" he asks, amazed.

"It is!" Iris exclaims. "But what can it mean?"

"It means," a deep voice - inhumanly deep - says from behind them, "that you are trespassing."

They all spin around.

From the darkness outside the circle of their magelight, an enormous figure, larger and broader than any man, steps forward.

It's a gorilla.

No, not just a gorilla. It's a gorilla, standing like a man, its yellow eyes bright with intelligence, and it’s wearing armor. Filigreed silver armor, of a make and style Barry has never seen before.

It bares its fangs.

"Welcome," it says, "to Gorilla City."

#coldflashwave #dccoldwave #leonard snart #barry allen #mick rory #iris west #my fic

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coldtomyflash · 7 years

Note

What is your take on Barry and Joe's relationship before the Flash powers? We know Joe loves him, but the issue of Barry's father's innocence looks like it had been a sore spot between them for a while. Do you think Joe resented any of his efforts to find the real killer (he made a comment about Barry making people think he raised a weirdo or something in the first episode)? He's also called Barry son, but he doesn't seem at the same level as Iris or Wally, like losing them would be worse.

Oh man I forgot I never responded to this. This ask is actually what spawned me thinking about Barry’s characterization / narrative arc recently.

Man, their relationship is complicated, IMO. And I’ve gotta preface this with saying: I love Joe West. He’s one of my favorite characters on the show. He’s one of my favorite characters to write. People say I make him a sort of villain in some of my fics but if I do, it’s not from a place of dislike but from a place of recognizing that Joe West is a goddamn realist who’ll do anything for his kids but damn if he isn’t also just human.

So that being said... YES. I think there was resentment and exhaustion from both sides for a long time. I’ll lay out my headcanons on this, with some tangential canon evidence.

First off, you’ve got Joe bringing home his daughter’s bff who is now traumatized. Probably a knee-jerk decision but he sees that kid on the crime scene and he knows him, knows this family, and he doesn’t know what else to do because he’s seen a lot of shit, and he’s tired, and he’s a single dad and shit’s piling up but this? Things like this aren’t supposed to happen. Not in his neighborhood with people he knows and a kid he’s probably had over for supper more than once. Not with Dr. Allen and his wife.

He knows that’s not how the world works, and that evil doesn’t stop at an invisible line between his home and anywhere else in the world, but even for him, this case was rough.

So he takes in this traumatized kid, and he does his goddamn level best to be patient with him. He gets that the kid is going through hell. He gets that he needs to process, and that denial is a natural part of grief and loss. So if he’s in denial about what happened, and made up a story that makes it easier for him to cope, Joe’s gonna accept that and just help him out. Accept that Barry’s going to do things like run to Iron Heights and scare him half to death because he misses his dad and he’s still in denial and he’s just a kid. He lost his mom and his dad that night, just in a different way, and Joe gets it.

So he gives Barry a talking to and establishes firm boundaries but he starts to allow the kid visitation access to his dad because maybe it’ll help him come to terms with things. His dad can’t hurt him from prison, after all. Joe knows how dangerous manipulation can be, but he keeps an eye on their visits and it seems okay. He hates Henry Allen for putting him, Barry, all of them through this, for being such a damn snake in the grass, but he accepts that Barry needs to see this man if he’s going to move on, and is going to keep running away if Joe doesn’t let him do this.

He makes concessions. He tries. He raises Barry like he’s his own, and loves him like he’s his own.

But years are starting to pass and Barry’s not really processing it any better than he was at 11. He’s still holding to the fabricated story about lightning that he made up, and people are starting to look at him weird when he talks about things. The kid’s been bullied enough and lost so many friends after what happened, got branded in a way that ain’t fair, and he’s kept a stiff upper lip through so much of it, as much as a kid can.

But after those first few psych visits in the first months which Joe let go by the wayside because Barry was adjusting to life in his home and back at school, if sullen and angrier than he used to be, Joe’s starting to wonder if they should’ve kept it up. Barry’s getting in fights at school and defending his father still and has a trigger temper.

So Joe sends him back to a psychologist. And then another. And probably another. The social worker on Barry’s case thinks Joe is doing great, but Barry hates every counsellor and therapist he sees and starts to clam up and hide things more again. He actually leaves town under false pretences and pretends he’s on a school trip for his AP science class when he’s actually tracking down a lead on an ‘impossible’ thing. Joe doesn’t even know it was all a lie until he gets a call from the school, and then of course it’s a matter of panicking and finding Barry and finding out what the hell he was doing leaving down and why.

Barry agrees to stop his behavior. He stops talking about his dad being innocent, agrees to stop doing crazy things and just altogether stops talking about his dad aside from his monthly visit. He barters for an end to the psychologists if he can keep his behavior up, and Joe agrees.

Barry learns to hide more, especially hiding his anger behind smiles. It works so well he sometimes forgets just how much anger he ever had, and his moods vacillate between sullen and chipper, but it’s an ‘improvement.’

Joe finds a scrapbook under his bed one day and it’s full of newspaper clippings and ‘evidence’ for things related to his father’s case and to other strange and unexplainable occurrences. Thankfully, no bus tickets tucked between the pages, so Joe debates even bringing it up -- he was just cleaning Barry’s room because it stunk, he wasn’t actively trying to snoop -- but eventually has to when Barry has one of his moods.

They really have it out. Iris hates seeing them like this. Barry tries to run away again but Iris stops him at the bus station, in tears, and Barry feels like an ass. She shouldn’t have to be the peacekeeper between them. He caves first, then, and Joe tears up when they hug and make up. Joe feels like such an ass, but he’s drowning and doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know how else to help this traumatized kid.

Barry’s grades are top notch. He uses them as leverage for Joe to let him leave town to track down a lead properly. Joe knows he’s still going after that stuff, and he hates it a little, but Barry’s a good kid. Doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, barely has any friends. He gets Barry a flip phone and makes him check in almost hourly, but he lets him go to Opal City for the weekend, and a few months later, all the way to Coast City. No way he’s letting his kid go to Gotham or Bludhaven though.

He’s got another issue at home, which is that Iris is pointing out how damn unfair it is that Barry gets to go on adventures alone and he gets her a cellphone to even the pot but he knows it’s not enough. He’s told her under no uncertain terms that she’s not allowed to become a cop, and Barry’s talking about maybe being a CSI one day. It’s a playing field he can’t level. He loves Barry but he’d never ever forgive himself if anything happened to Iris. Barry has always been a stubborn little brat who pushed himself outside the orbit that Joe could protect him in, and suffered more before he came into Joe’s house than Joe suspects he’ll ever suffer again (Joe would be wrong about that, but he can’t yet imagine how). He can still protect Iris, so he comes to terms with the fact he treats them differently, and waits for them to as well.

He starts to call Barry ‘son’ long before he even realizes he’s doing it. He has been for years, by this point. Barry’s never called him ‘dad’ or anything close to it, but when he realizes he’s calling Barry ‘son’, he notices the way it makes the kid’s heart swell, so he keeps doing it, and neither of them ever comment on it.

Barry goes off to college with a ton of scholarships and a bit of leftover cash from his father’s house. Criminals don’t lose everything, even in jail. Henry, via some lawyers, sold the old place and had a lot to pay in taxes and legal fees, but what he didn’t lose went to taking care of Barry and putting away a nest egg for his college fees.

Joe almost wonders, sometimes, if Barry could be right about him. Not about his crazy vision of a man in lightning, but of the fact that Henry wasn’t the one who killed Nora. But there was no one else, no other evidence, and no motive for anyone besides Henry. It was an open-shut case, and he has to believe in the hard truths of reality. It he let himself think like Barry, he’d never make a half-decent cop, let alone have made detective as young as he did.

Barry’s sunshine smile is brighter all the time, and so is Iris’s. It wasn’t all bad. Mostly good. Mostly family dinners and fun games nights and taking the kids out to a movie, having a son to teach how to shave and how to drive and how to throw a football. It was mostly good, even if it was hard, sometimes.

But it’s still exhausting when Barry’s spending his college weekends traipsing across the country to track down Big Foot instead of coming home for a family meal. It’s still tiresome to hear him talk, more candid again and Joe’s trying not to crush that, about this blog that he started and how he’s meeting people ‘online’ who think like he does. He doesn’t approve, especially not of people validating Barry’s very warped perception of reality, and has to be the asshole who reminds him he’ll never make it into the force as a CSI if he keeps on with shit like that.

Barry doesn’t stop, but he does get quieter about it. Joe notices he’s filled out that scrapbook about his dad’s case a lot more when he visits his college dorm. He doesn’t comment. Barry moved out so fast, as soon as he started college, whereas Iris was happy to save money and avoid the dorms. She took a year off to work and figure out what she wanted, to enjoy life and do a bit of travelling now that she was old enough that Joe would let her, and found her own legs and path in a different way. He couldn’t be prouder. He worries, but knows he doesn’t have to worry with her, not in the same way.

Barry eventually graduates, does the grad school work required to be a CSI, and does it all fast, really. He’s on the fast track for sure, completely dedicated. Joe knows his motives. They piss him off. Being a CSI should be about helping people, not just helping his father. And Barry says that, he does, but Joe’s seen his murder scrapbook and that stubborn, fervent look he gets in his eye whenever Henry Allen comes up in conversation. Joe’s taken to trying to stamp it out again, not because he wants to see Barry hurt, but because he doesn’t. Barry can’t talk and think like that in a police precinct. He’ll be eaten alive, and he’s already gonna be the youngest one there and an outcast just because.

And maybe... maybe Joe resents it, a bit. How the man who murdered his mother still gets to have the role and title of ‘dad’ for Barry despite everything, and how Joe’s raised him now for longer than Henry did, really, and doesn’t get that. He thinks it’s petty of himself. As a parent, as someone who sees himself as Barry’s dad, he won’t ever let it interfere with doing what’s best for Barry. He loves that kid more than life itself. But as a person... it smarts. And he’s tired of it, eleven years later. He wonders what he did wrong, that Barry’s view of events became so entrenched. He wonders what he could have differently. Should he have been firmer, harsher? Pushed the therapy more? Kept him away from Henry more staunchly?

It’s not worth thinking about, really. His murder scrapbook has become a murder board hiding behind papers in his lab. Yes, ‘his’, because he doesn’t play nice with the other CSIs. Joe had to snort when he noticed. Barry had his smiles down pat but that sullen resentful attitude was still there and it wasn’t long before the tension caused him to look for a new workspace. The Captain was already exhausted by the kid, and Joe was catching heat for it, something creating tension between him and Barry too. He was damn good at his job but not the most reliable and not the easiest to share a space with.

The Captain gave in and Barry rewarded with him with one of those blinding smiles and Joe threw his hands in the air in defeat. He wasn’t the only one to cave to Barry, at least. The kid got to retrofit a filing storage room with a leaky ceiling into a new lab. It was an old lab really, just no one had used it in over 10 years. But he moved all the boxes to the basement and helped the girls down there organize them and cleaned it out and made it his own.

And yeah, they still had arguments. Barry ran off to goddamn Starling City on one of his ‘impossible’ stories and damn if the kid didn’t lie his way on to an investigation. Joe was ready to kill him for that. The Captain was liable to suspend him. He didn’t, but it was a near miss. For such a good kid, Barry sure had a problem with authority.

But then he got struck by a bolt of lightning and everything changed.

Joe’s whole world stopped. His kid, his son--

He was already grieving Chyre, his partner, when he got the news. His partner and his son in one night-- was there really no God? Not one who loved Joe West, he was suddenly certain.

Hope felt painful. So much was suddenly put in perspective. He knew he loved Barry as a song but this, losing a child...

Except he wasn’t dead.

He didn’t trust Harrison Wells for a second, the man who caused this, but he let the man take his son because it felt like the only option and Joe spent months grieving what happened. He knew he shouldn’t blame himself but he was supposed to protect his kids. Protect that kid-- the stubborn little fool who always needed it so much more than he’d ever admit. The one Joe let get away with so much more because he’d suffered enough to earn it, and it couldn’t be worse than what he’d already--

Losing nine months was bad. Barry waking up and acting as if nothing had happened was a blessing and a curse. He didn’t understand how much had changed, or what Iris and Joe had been through, the long hours, the despair and exhaustion. He was right as rain and bright and whole and Joe prayed again for the first time in 40 weeks, to give thanks.

But he felt responsible, too. A renewed sense that he had to protect Barry, both from the world, the impossible that came in the form of lightning strikes, and from himself. His own delusions about this father, still cropping up, maybe more than ever.

Except.

Except then he saw his son chase off after a tornado in a streak of lightning and the world literally tilted on its axis.

And it took an argument, about powers, about Joe’s role in Barry’s life, and some apologies and hugs on both sides, in their own way, but Joe came around to realizing that...

That the only mistake he’d really made was not believing Barry for all those years before now. It keeps him up at night. There’s nothing he can do about it now, but the world isn’t simple and it maybe never was. And now there’s nothing left to do but try his damn best to protect his kid who’s a superhero, to keep his other kid safe and as far as this mess as possible, and to stop the man who killed Barry’s mother. He owes his son that much, alongside all the unconditional love he has for him.

And their relationship improves dramatically, once they’re on the same page. Barry’s resentment for him, which he knew was there all those years, between the psych visits and the running away and the way Joe always had to be the bad guy... it falls away. Just melts, like it was never there. All it took was telling Barry he believed him. And that smarts, stings a little, really, but he lets it go, too. His son the superhero, who still needs him anyway. That’s gotta be enough.

#joe west #characterization #headcanons #analysis #commentary #i don't touch on his relationship with wally here #just his one with barry and a bit of iris #west family feels #the west family #long post #long post for ts #ahhh this was fun but long to write out whoops #Anonymous #replies

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