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coping-via-clint-eastwood · 3 years

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Bug Men - Gil Grissom x Reader

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(A/N: PSA: Numb is a very good song to listen to while writing. Who knew; the push I needed to finish this was a peaceful sit down at Starbucks, with Numb playing in the background {from my device}, heh. Warning - Gil and Nick eat flies. Also, I am desperately touch-starved in this one.

@addictedtostorytelling thank you for your long-lasting patience 🙏)

"Goodbye, Grissom," Jim bade to the person clocking out.

You smiled at him, "Goodbye." You were a detective assigned to the crime lab's graveyard shift, and the wife of Gil Grissom. As soon as you stepped outside of the police station, you saw Gil. "Hey," you smiled, walking towards him.

"Hi." He was smiling too as he walked to you, which was nice. You let yourself get smothered in his embrace; you smelt of the same corpse anyway, just not as strongly as him. You let out an, "Mmmmmffff..." as you buried your face in his chest, eagerly wrapping your arms around his waist; he placed one arm around your upper back and the other around your waist and tightened their hold, as you liked it, chuckling at your sound. You abruptly broke away from him and dragged him to a recess which you knew nobody would pass, and was in the blind spot of the security camera. (How convenient.) You gripped the collar if his jacket and pulled his upper torso and head down, so that his lips slammed onto yours. He quickly caught hold of your elbows to prevent himself from falling, his eyebrows jumping up in surprise. He ran short of breath almost instantly and forcefully yanked his head back, wheezing. "Antsy," he panted.

"Mm...I've missed you all damn day..." you rumbled, wrapping your arms around his neck, and he snaked his own forelimbs around your waist in turn. You kissed the corner of his mouth since you had to let him breathe.

"But you worked with me all night." He stood still and appreciated your affection.

"No..." You were kissing along his beard up his jaw as you spoke. "I ran around and collected information and brought in suspects for you. You were mostly in the lab." You had reached his ear; you gently kissed the bottommost area of its shell. You had always kissed his ears a lot to reassure him when he was feeling bad about his hearing loss, and even after his surgery it was something that stayed.

He closed his eyes and sighed as he leant into your touch. "I've gotten my breath back..." he murmured, hinting at what he wanted. You brought your face in front of his again and kissed him again, gentler this time. You tried your best to restrain your eagerness. Fortunately, he pulled you closer and increased the pressure of his lips on yours, giving you the go-ahead. You let out a choked gasp when he did that, which was immediately followed by a whimper. You used your whole body to push him, backing him up against the wall. You used your hips to pin his to the wall, so that your hands could roam his torso. He held you and let you do what you wanted, letting himself enjoy the sensations. But he remembered something that was at hand and said softly, "Nick is waiting." The two of you were to go for breakfast with Nick. You let out a soft whine in protest, but gave him one last kiss and reluctantly pulled away.

You tried to smile, and not come off as disappointed as you were. "Hello Nick."

But, he was good as his job. His grin turned playful as he cocked an eyebrow. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes..." you said ruefully, eyes downcast. Gil smiled kindly and petted your back.

"You guys ready to go?" Nick asked.

"Yes," your husband replied, looking at you.

You bobbed your head a few times, still looking down at the floor, eventually letting out a, "Yeah." With that, Gil pushed you to his car (which he had sent you to the station in that night) and opened the driver's seat's door for you. He knew by now that your grumbling noise was a 'thank you'. He got in the front passenger's seat; Nick sat behind his own steering wheel. After everyone wore their seatbelts, Nick and you started driving. Throughout the whole ride, Gil kept nuzzling you, petting your thigh, kissing your cheek, and so on, making you smile.

The ride passed quickly and pleasantly this way. The three of you entered the diner and sat at the long table that was mounted all along the wall. You were on the left, Gil next to you, and Nick on his boss' right. You ordered a chocolate muffin and chocolate to drink, Grissom ordered oatmeal and tea, and Nick ordered porridge and decaffeinated coffee. Nick made most of the small talk, with you occasionally chipping in with a sound of acknowledgment, and Gil remained completely silent unless he was directly spoken to. The food came soon enough. You heartily sank your teeth into the muffin, closing your eyes and humming, savouring its sweetness.

The conversation carried on with relative normalcy (well, as much normalcy - and grace - as was possible with constant refrains for eating) two flies landed and drowned in Nick's and Gil's foods, one in each. "Ugh..." you vocalised. However, the two men just looked at each other and spooned the insects into their mouths. "WHAT!" you exclaimed, flinching. Fortunately, there were no other patrons at the diner that early in the morning, so nobody stared at you; the staff did not care. Still, you remembered to lower your volume. "Ew!" you asserted in a harsh whisper. Your husband grinned mischievously at you. You sighed heavily and looked away, giving in to how adorable he was.

Nick got up from his seat. "I gotta use the bathroom." He left.

You were still looking away, with your chin resting on the crook of your elbow. So you were unaware of anything Gil was doing until you felt his chin rubbing over your shoulder, his face coming towards yours. "A-a-a!" you exclaimed, jerking your head away and putting a hand over his forehead and nose to gently push him away, keeping clear of his mouth. "You aren't allowed to kiss me until after you brush your teeth!"

He chuckled and leant back slightly. "Okay. Can I have a kiss then?" You happily kissed his cheek.

The both of you pulled away just before Nick exited the restroom. He took his seat. Again, he noticed that something had happened. "I see the look on your faces. What did you guys do?" It was true that you both were sort of beaming now.

"I just kissed his cheek. That's all," you answered, looking away; you were facing the wall and smiling stupidly. Gil was, as usual, frozen.

"Really? From the way you two are carrying on, it seems as if more than just that happened."

You turned back to Nick at that. "He's not allowed to kiss me until he brushes his teeth."

Nick chuckled. "That makes sense."

"Yep."

"You know you guys can eat?"

You ducked your noggin and gently bumped your forehead on Gil's shoulder. He was literally jerked out of his swirling mind. His head snapped to look at you. "Eat," you giggled at his dazed expression. He robotically did as you suggested.

Breakfast passed amicably. Nick paid for his own food, while Gil paid for his and yours because you shared earnings. Outside the diner, you hugged Nick, because unlike your husband, you enjoyed hugs irregardless of whether you were in public or privacy. Whereas the said husband just bade Nick goodbye with word of mouth. Once again, Gil had his hand on your elbow as he escorted you to his car, bringing you to the front passenger's door this time. He took the keys out of your pocket, unlocked the doors and opened yours for you. You kissed his cheek in thanks before sitting down. He closed your door and made his way to the driver's seat.

As soon as Gil parked, you jumped out of the car and waited for him to take his kit. "I can't wait to shower," you said.

"We should shower only after we walk Hank, so we'll be relaxed fully."

"But I'm so tired..."

"So am I, but hold on for a little longer."

You pushed opened the door and squatted down to greet a waiting Hank. "Hey boy." You fondled his ears, then stroked his sides. He gave your face gentle licks. Gil squatted next to you and pet Hank as well. The dog barked and routinely turned from one human to another, making sure that he gave them equal affection.

Gil stood up first, so you followed suit. While he went to put his kit away, you brought Hank to the kitchen. You sighed with the effort of squatting again as you set out the dog food. "Okay love, eat up, and then we can go for walkies." Hank gave an enthusiastic bark and ate his food quickly but cleanly.

Not too long a time later, you looked up at the sound of Gil's approaching footsteps over Hank's chewing. "Stand up," he directed as he walked towards you. You did. As soon as he was near enough, he put a hand on the back of your head and kissed the corner of your mouth, his other hand on your lower back, your hands immediately holding his shoulders. You sighed and closed your eyes at the minty scent of the toothpaste. You tried to kiss him properly, but he pushed you back, mocking you, "A-a, if you want more, go and brush your teeth."

You whined. "This is extortion."

"I'm just asking you to brush your teeth. Go," he scolded playfully, pushing you away. You nipped to do as he said and back at an embarrassingly desperate speed. Gil had cleaned and was just putting Hank's bowl away. That was fast," he teased.

"Shut up and kiss me," you grumbled, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him down. He chuckled as his lips crashed onto yours, but gave you what you wanted. He gripped your elbows to prevent himself from toppling over. You pressed your lips hard against his; he had prepared and taken a deep breath this time so he could let you kiss him without having to interrupt you.

In fact it was you who had to pull back for breath first this time. Eyes shut, you leant your forehead against his, cradling the back of his head with one hand, the other still on his shoulder. He rubbed your back delicately. "Satisfied?" he mumbled.

"Yes," you laughed breathily. You slowly moved back from him, letting him go at last. You turned around to see that Hank had removed himself from the area. Gil and you burst out laughing. You turned your heads to see that Hank was resting behind the front door. You raced towards him, with Gil following as fast as he could. "Come on Hank," you chirped as you opened the door. He got onto his paws and padded out behind you, with Gil trailing behind. While you locked the door, the other human went to open the side gate, and shut it once everyone was through, leaving it unlocked.

As usual, Hank picked the path, taking his time and sniffing anything that interested him. Gil strolled along with his hands in his pockets; you put your arm in between one of his and his body, and rested your head on his shoulder. "Still tired?" he asked you.

"Yeah..." you sighed.

"How about we bathe when we get home? You and me in the tub, together." He knew that that would most likely cheer you up.

You smiled. "I'd like that." There was unspoken finality from him.

The old boxer completed one circumference of the housing area. He pushed his way through the gate. Gil went through after him, leaving you to lock the gate. Once in the house, Gil and you made a beeline for the bedroom, leaving Hank to do as he pleased. You took off your clothes and dropped them on top of Gil's in the laundry basket. He plugged he tub snd turned the tap on, then just stood next to the tub, watching the water. You wrapped your arms around his neck from behind, resting the side of your head on his back with your eyes closed. He absentmindedly held and fondled your hands with one of his. A gentle tug on your hands signalled that the tub was filled to a satisfactory level. Gil stepped out of your arms and got in, sitting with his back against the side lengthwise. You sat between his legs, leaning backwards on him. He had his nose and mouth in your hair. "...you smell horrible."

"Speak! For yourself!" you interjected playfully, turning around halfway to look at him. He tittered. He fastened his arms around your waist, holding you tightly against him so that you could not move. You did not protest as you leant into his touch. For a few savoury moments, the two of you just remained still, cuddling like that.

#Youtube #c-v-c-e fic #gil grissom #csi #william petersen #billy petersen #gil grissom x reader

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blueberrypossum · 3 years

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Just in the Nick of Time

Dastardly Danny x Reader

Hiya guys! Did I totally write about Danny saving you on a motorcycle from @bootyyy-shaker9000 and @greaser-wolf posts? Yes. Yes I did. I love writing these kind of scenes and I hope you guys enjoy!!

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️: There are inappropriate words and violence.

(I will be placing your friend’s words in pink so then the reader's words don't get mixed up.)

“Okay, I think that was just a little too easy.”

“Hey, don’t jinx us.”

Your friend held the window to the abandoned factory as you crawled through it, once your feet planted on the dumpster, you took a hold of the window frame and watched as they climbed through.

You’ve both been staking out this place for weeks, following an opposing group of thieves that had recently robbed a bank. One thing that was easy with your job was that you didn’t steal from public places, but from other thieves and criminals, making the criminals run away from the law without an award, and no one suspecting you or your friend of having the prize.

Your friend finally made it through the window and you hopped off the dumpster you both were standing on, your shoes splashing into a puddle as you landed on solid ground. You took in a huge breath, taking in the moist and breezy wind of the Hidden City.

You pulled out your phone and quickly texted Dastardly Danny, saying that you had a wonderful surprise and to meet you a few blocks from here.

You slinged your backpack over your shoulder as you both made your way down the alleyway, the flickering dim lights of the city casted a faint dust of yellow over you. Your fingers barely scraping over the brick wall as you checked to make sure the guards that were posted out front were still there.

Your pocket vibrated and knew it was a text from Danny, but it would have to wait.

You raised your hand to stop your friend as you spotted the two yokai’s; a grey ram and a purple reptile stood still at the front of the warehouse. You brought your black covering closer as you turned to your friend.

“Okay, we’re going to wait until the daily van comes around and distracts them.”

“Ahhhh Y/N…..”

“Shhhh, you know to whisper.”

“Not when they already know we’re here!”

You were so worked up about getting out that you barely noticed the huge shadow that was casted over you, almost like a blanket. You instantly turned to see the huge lion yokai that loomed over you, his yellow and busted up teeth matched the mixed up lights that hung above.

“Haha. Ah shitt RUNNN!” You called out and you both scattered in opposite directions as his golden paws came slamming in the spot you both squatted at mere seconds ago.

You booked it past him, your legs carrying you down the long street as you heard the henchmen scream orders at each other. Your eyes barely caught your friend making it out, their figure disappearing into the night as they headed down twisted alleyways. Your heart prayed that they would be okay and raced away once the thieves gave chase towards you instead.

The backpack gravely weighed you down as you swerved into a tight alleyway, your body and the bag barely fitting as you pushed in between the red walls.

A yelp escaped your lips as a huge hand wrapped itself around your arm and turned to see the glowing eyes of the reptile, his mouth opening to let out a long hiss.

“Let go!” You screamed and your mouth instantly went for his hand, your teeth sinking into his fingers. The yokai grunted and his grip on you eased just enough for you to shake him off and to continue on through the crack, a laugh whistling out of your throat as you made it fully through. As the henchmen chatted about how to get through, your eyes scanned around you to find a way out.

The alleyway leads you to a small, squared area, where the only way out were doors to buildings, the way you came, or a ladder leading up to the rooftops. The yokai’s started to punch and kick the bricks out of its structure and with each pound, fear started to tickle down your spine. Since you didn’t want to see if the doors were unlocked and wake up an upset homeowner, you turned tail to the ladder as the yokai’s started to make their way through the destroyed alleyway.

Of course you didn’t bring any weapons with you on this mission, your friend told you that they were just mindless idiots.

You made your way up the ladder and the chase began with you sprinting across the flat rooftops and the three yokai’s after you. You heard one of them radio in about some van and you could hear the screeching tires of a car coming down the street below you and you let out several curse words as you hopped over another building.

Luckily for you, you weren’t the only one who heard it.

The reptile had caught up to you and his hands seized your backpack and pulled you back, the bag slamming into his chest along with your elbow.

The purple yokai wheezed as you made contact with his stomach again with your elbow and then your heel against his foot. You continued onward once he buckled and you could feel your lungs start give out as you jumped to a lower building, and then lost every ounce of air when the ram landed on your back, sending you both down.

A wheeze escaped your throat as you rolled over and then dodged a punch from his black hoof. Your hands scraped across the concrete roof as you tried to get onto your feet, but the lion yokai lept behind you, his claws digging into the backpack as he threw you through the air like a ragdoll.

You held onto the straps as his claws ripped through the fabric and sent you flying off the roof, your body hopping off a hanging tarp from a crafting store, and rolled out onto the street, your bag barely giving you a soft landing.

You groaned as pain rippled through your body and the street under you started to vibrate. Your eyes opened to see a pair of bright headlights starting to race towards you from a few blocks away, but that wasn’t the thing that made the ground under you move.

You barely had time to roll over as you saw the motorcycle make its way through the alleyway near you and onto the street, the dark colors blazing against the hanging lights as the yokai tipped his large hat up. You watched as Danny extended a hand to you as the van raced closer, the lights illuminating his smirk.

“Hop on, toots!”

You couldn’t help but smile as you took his hand and he lifted you up effortlessly onto his bike, your arms wrapping tightly around him as his foot slammed onto the gas, the warm breath of the van barely touching you as you both took off. Even with the car chasing after you, you took in Danny’s comforting scent as you held on tighter, your fingers digging into his sides. You honestly thought for a second that you wouldn’t make it, and with your bruised ribs and your pounding head, you knew it would be hard to run.

“How are ya holdin up? Where’s yer friend?”

“We got separated, and the empty lungs and busted up chest feels lovely.”

The rat yokai took a hard right, his tires barely being able to handle the friction and an eerie screech echoed through the night. You leaned yourself against him, his coat flying around you as the van continued to follow you throughout the city. A sigh escaped your lips as he ran his hand over yours for a split second before he had to make another quick turn.

“Oh I’m so glad I texted you! After this, we are going to your favorite restaurant, my treat,” you screamed to him, a small gasp followed as the bike did a small bounce over a hill. The rat yokai chuckled as he looked back at you, his eyes narrowed due to the blistering wind, but they gleamed with excitement.

“I should be saving you more often then, doll,” he commented back and then went off road, the dark gravel of dirt and rocks was painted behind you as Danny took you both towards the shipping docks, the van stopping just for a split second and then continued to pursue.

The chunks of earth nicked against your legs and you winced at the small but piercing pain.

“Ah, Danny, sweetheart, you do have a plan to lose them, right?” You asked as the van was dangerously getting closer to the back of the bike, you could almost make out the yokai’s in the van. Your boyfriend’s head looked from left to right and then a double take as a devilish smile crossed his lips.

“Yes I do, hold on, darling!” He hollered as he pushed further into the pedal, his hands working the handles as he led the van into the crowded part of the shipping docks, stacks of metal and work equipment littered the area. You let out a yelp as you lowered yourself into him, your eyes instinctively closing as he raced you both into rows of storage units, the roaring of the van getting closer as you buried yourself into him. The rat’s heart melted as you pressed yourself against him, but it also hardened at the sight of you scared and how bruises had already started to settle against your skin.

Oh yeah, he was going to make these yokai pay.

He moved his motorcycle ever so slightly to the right, his eyes finding the lever he had been seeking out throughout the whole shipping area. As you both passed it, his tail slapped the rod until it switched to its opposite side and Danny looked up to watch as the storage container being helped by a crane was dropped from its holding. The rat pulled his bike back to do a wheelie as the van was crushed beneath the weight of the metal, the cries of the yokai barely being heard as the front wheel of the motorcycle screeched against the sheet metal of the docks.

Danny slowed the bike down until it came to a stop and you opened your eyes, shock spreading over your face as you took in the sight. Your grip on the rat loosened as he steadied the weight of him and the bike on his leg. You both were breathless as you watched the van catch on fire, but no one was running out of the vehicle.

“Phew! Guess you can call that a close call, huh, toots?”

You rolled your eyes as you leaned back onto the bike, your tense muscles slowly started to let go of the stress and you could feel the full amount of pain your body was receiving.

Danny kicked out the kickstand and turned over towards you, a small smile of happiness crossing his stressed and dirty face as his mind finally accepted that you were safe.

He then turned to you and reached out, his thumb barely grazing over your face as you leaned into his touch, your own hands encircling around his wrist.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispered into your face and you both leaned into each other, your face going into his shoulder and his over your head as you both took in each other’s weight.

After several minutes of resting and enjoying each other’s presence, the rat lifted himself off of you.

“So, what exactly did you get from these goons?”

You pulled the backpack off of your shoulders with a hiss and laid it into his lap, your hands leaning onto the bike as you pulled your phone to text your friend that you were safe along with the code you both created so that if one of you were kidnapped after being separated, you with know since you didn’t place the code.

Man your life was weird.

Danny opened the bag and let out a low whistle at the loot you had collected. Stacks of hundred bills were piled onto each other along with golden and silver belongings that yokai’s had placed into their banks. The rat pulled out a diamond about the size of a golf ball as you giggled.

“That’s not even half of it.”

You winced as you touched your bruised eye and didn’t even realize that a trail of blood had traveled down your face from a gash on your head. Your body was sprinkled with dark marks and a slash mark was on your arm from the reptile. But, you’ve never felt more alive, as you took in the soggy smell of the harbor and watched as fog collected around your feet, you genuinely felt like you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.

Danny watched in silence as these emotions crossed over your face, as your nose twitched slightly and your fingers continually twitched due to them being black and red. But he has never seen you so deep in your prime, how these were your golden moments, the excitement, the adventure, the sheer thrill that glowed around your body.

You were a literal heartthrob, and you were worth more than the treasure he held within your hands, you were worth more than any bank vault or rich man’s home.

He planted a kiss on the top of your head as he handed the bag back to you, his body turning to get back onto the motorcycle.

“Alright, love, let’s go home,” he said and you let out a breathless laugh. It had felt like the night had just started, and now it done. But, when you climbed back onto the bike, the fire from the van raging behind you, and with Danny looking at you with pure devotion, you knew that this was just the beginning.

#rottmnt mud dogs #rottmnt #rottmnt mud dogs x reader #tmnt #rottmnt danny x reader #rottmnt dastardly danny x reader #rottmnt dastardly danny #Spotify

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primroseprime2019 · 3 years

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Speed Metal

On a dirt road, a familiar shiny red Aston Martini DBS V12 sports car with white decals was driving down one of the many back roads towards a local hot spot for street racing. The driver had the radio playing. "As metropolitan PD continues to crack down on illegal street racing, citing the danger to both drivers and pedestrians-" the new reporter was cut off as the driver switched off the radio. He was uninterested in listening to more reports of local cops attempting to put a stop to illegal street racing.

Oddly enough, the radio was switched off automatically, not by a person's hand. This car was known other than the Decepticon Doctor, Knockout. He knew that Ember would probably kick his aft to kingdom come if she found out about Knockout's activities. However, Knockout didn't care as the thrill of illegal street racing was too hard to resist.

Up ahead, three other cars were waiting, with the drivers revving the engines. The ref walked out in front of cars as Knockout pulled up. They were all waiting for the right time to start and for everyone to arrive. All the cars were built for speed and had many modifications that were illegal. The Decepticon car intrigued the large muscular, tattooed driver of the muscle car Knockout had pulled up next to.

"Not from around here." The driver commented, referring to the car model. "European design?" He asked curiously, only to get no response from Knockout. The driver didn't like being ignored like that. "Sure is pretty. Too pretty..." The driver said with a grin as he tightened his right hand into a fist. 'This race is for fully grown men, not prissy little boys with pretty cars.' He thought. Using his ring, he scratched the paintwork on the driver's side door.

Knockout used his side view mirror to inspect the damage. Then he turned to the driver, who just shrugged, satisfied with his work, and rolled up his heavily tinted window.

"Big mistake!" Knockout gritted as he changed gears.

The ref held the flashlight above his head and switched it on, signaling for the race begin. All four cars took off, eager to beat their opponents to the finish line. For Knockout, he was eager not only to be the first to cross the finish line, but also to obtain his revenge against the driver who scratched his paintjob. The race was mean and grueling. The driver had the lead. He looked in his rearview mirror and smirked at the other drivers behind him before going even faster. Flames were escaping from the engine through the exhaust pipe as the RPM meter read dangerously close to seven thousand.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of squealing tires. He looked in his rearview mirror once again and saw that Knockout was quickly gaining the upper hand in this race. He rammed himself into the car. It was time to make this human pay for damaging his paintjob.

"HEY!" The driver cried out in protest.

With one single ram as they turned the corner, the driver went over the edge, destroying the guardrail. The car didn't even tumble down the cliff face or see-saw on a particular ledge. It just headed straight to the bottom, upside down, and the sound of the car crashing as music to Knockout's ears.

"Dude..." The driver moaned.

"You scratch my paint, I scratch yours." Knockout sneered dangerously before driving away, intent on reaching the finish line.

◊◊◊◊

Paige walked down the stairs of the school and she looked around before she saw a boy staring at her. She stared back before she walked over to Jack and Arcee who was in her vehicle mode.

"You okay?" He asked. "I just wanna go to the base," she said quietly as she sat down behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Alright, alright," he said softly, reassuringly. He knew she'd be having some bad days where either she'd be quiet and try to hide in the back of the class or she would just start crying and clutching at her head. And this was one of the days.

"Turn on your music okay?" He said gently as he placed her earpods in her ears. She nodded and closed her eyes as she started to listen to the soundtrack from Collateral Beauty.

"Hey! Cherry moped!" Jack glanced at Vince who stood by his car.

"Um, this 'moped' has dual carbs and can go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds," Jack boasted rather proudly before he drove off.

They soon pulled up to a red light. "Uh, Jack, a lady's vital stats are her own business," Arcee reprimanded him quietly. Jack almost rolled his eyes at that.

"Hey! Nick, right?"

He heard another female voice call out to him. He turned to face the corner and saw Sierra standing there with her best friend.

"Actually, it's Jack," he said. "Jack. Sorry. I'm Sierra," she said with a sheepish smile.

"I know," Jack said with a light blush that was concealed by his helmet.

"You once offered to take me for a ride?" Sierra reminded him. "Of course I did," Jack said instantly, "at anytime."

"I'm your guardian, kiddo," Arcee said quietly, "not your wingman." "So? How about now?" Sierra asked him hopefully.

"Uh...," Jack went to answer, but he stopped short when he saw Vince pull up next to him.

"Hey, hey! Small world!" Vince remarked.

"We're having a conversation," Paige spat.

"Cheer captain here might enjoy watching you take on four wheels of muscle car," Vince smirked as he gestured to Sierra and her friend who were standing there gossiping to one another quietly.

"Are you challenging me to a race?" Jack asked in surprise.

"You catch on quick, ponch. What do you say?" Vince asked impatiently.

Jack saw Sierra encouraging him to accept the challenge. He looked at Paige who was frowning at him. Honestly, she was caught in the middle and she thought it was a terrible idea. Optimus had set rules and for good reasons. Reasons like this one.

As soon as the light turned green, Arcee took off at lightning speed, causing Jack and Paige to yell in surprise at the sudden takeoff.

"You didn't let me answer!" Jack exclained. "Nope," Arcee said.

"But Arcee, we can smoke him!" Jack objected.

"Yep," she said, earning a frustrated sigh from her charge. "You just don't get it," he said.

"I don't make the rules, Jack. Optimus does," Arcee said, "and rule number one, in case you guys missed it: never abuse power for personal gain. And that includes horse power."

"Oh come on! I could finally get him to leave Paige alone!" Jack exclaimed. "As much as I would love to kick his tailpipe for messing with Paige, my answer is no," Arcee said firmly as Vince drove up beside them.

"Vince, maybe racing isn't such a good idea," Jack declined, causing Vince to laugh tormentally.

"Figured. You ride around like you're bike's something special. But it's just a chunky, lunky trike! And ugly!" Vince tormented before racing away as soon as the lights turned green.

"That's it! The yahoo's going down!" Arcee proclaimed before racing after Vince at high speeds.

"Whoa! What happened to rule number one?" Jack asked.

"Gets bent. Just this once," Arcee decided, much to Jack's excitement and much to Paige's dismay.

◊◊◊◊

"Yo, girls! Your pals, Darby and Kendrick, they're-."

"Ready when you are, Vinny!"

To Vince's surprise, when he turned his attention away from Sierra and her friend, he saw Jack, Paige and Arcee next to him all revved up and ready to go.

"Dirt road by trucker's ranch. One hour," was Vince's answer.

◊◊◊◊

When the hour had passed, Jack and Vince were on the dirt road at trucker's ranch ready to go. Sierra, Paige and Sierra's friend stood by the edge of the road eager to witness the showdown between muscle car and motorcycle.

"From here to the next mile mark. Ready. GO!" Vince yelled before taking off.

"Well, that was fair," Jack remarked sarcastically as Arcee took off after Vince.

As Vince and Jack rode past, Sierra and her friend had to place their hands on their skirts to stop themselves from flashing what they had underneath.

"That's why I wear pants," Paige said to Sierra and her friend.

"Uh...Arcee," Jack trailed off.

"Winning isn't enough, Jack. You wanna make him CRY," Arcee cut him short. Vince was surprised when he noticed that the motorcycle was no longer visible through his rearview mirror. He heard the sound of an engine next to him. He turned around and was surprised to see Jack and Arcee riding along next to him! Jack waved casually as Arcee pulled a wheelie and swerved past him at impossible speeds.

"Wha?" Vince gasped.

Arcee did a little honk in victory as they drove past the mile marker before Vince. Jack let out a whoop in celebration.

"OUTSTANDING!" Jack cried. "You know, now might be a good time to give Sierra just a quick ride around the block?" He asked hopefully.

"Don't push it," was Arcee's answer and he grumbled.

◊◊◊◊

"Ah, Breakdown, Comet. Has there been any change in Megatron's condition?" Ember asked as she walked into the medbay.

"Only cosmetic," Breakdown answered honestly as he folded the buffer back into his arm.

"Well, I am sure that you and the good doctor have been doing everything in your power. Where is Knockout?" She asked, looking around. As if on cue, the Decepticon medic walked into the medbay.

"Can you believe what some skinjob did to me?" Knockout huffed as he inspected the scratch on his arm.

"Have you been out street racing with humans again?" Ember frowned. "I'm not only an automobile, I'm an automobile enthusiast," Knockout said nonchalantly.

Ember frowned deeply, "we run a tight ship around here Knockout. I strongly suggest that you request permission from me next time you decide to disappear on your little jaunts."

"No worries, Red," Knockout said dismissively. Ember gave a low, warning growl.

"Mistress Ember," Knockout corrected. "The day our master emerges from stasis, I shall gladly relinquish that title," Ember huffed, "but I believe that outcome is unlikely something to do with the quality of medical care around here. So continue buffing as we do want Megatron looking his best for the memorial." With that, she turned and walked out of the medbay.

Knockout groaned, "buff this." Comet gave him a look, "Knockout."

"You hush," the Decepticon medic huffed.

◊◊◊◊

Arcee drove into the base. Jack and Paige dismounted Arcee, allowing the Autobot to transform into her bipedal form.

"Not a word to anyone," she said firmly. "Our little secret," Jack said with a wink. Arcee smiled and she walked away.

"Dude! Vroom vroom vroom! And the winner is...," Miko smirked at the two of them.

"Jack!" Paige finished as she and Miko performed their handshake.

"Miko, who told you?" Jack asked nervously.

"You kidding? It's all over school!" Miko told them.

"You beat the pants off that blowhard bully Vince!" Raf cheered, "And I'm sure he'll leave Paige alone now because of how protective her big brother best friend forever is!"

Raf and Miko let out yells of surprise as Jack and Paige suddenly pulled them into a group huddle.

"You guys have to keep this on the DL. Especially from Optimus," Jack hissed.

"Why?" Miko asked.

"Because that race totally broke rule number one: never abuse power for personal gain," Paige said, "and I'd rather not let the Prime know that I'm the target of bullying."

"What are you four doing?"

Jack, Paige, Miko and Raf jumped and yelled in surprise as they turned around and saw Optimus standing there with a curious expression on his face.

"Uh...nothing," Jack answered with a nervous chuckle.

"Just talking about...stuff at school," Paige shrugged.

"Top secret stuff!" Miko piped in.

"Stuff you don't wanna know," Raf added.

Optimus let out a hum and raised his optic ridge. He knew something was up. Thinking that the four of them would tell him eventually, he left them to their devices. As soon as he was out of earshot, they all let out sighs of relief and slumped against one another.

"That was close," Jack sighed in relief.

"I can't believe we lied to him," Paige moaned.

"I can't believe how robotic we sounded," Miko retorted.

"How did we manage to keep the secret so long?" Raf asked, causing the other three to laugh.

Raf was right. If they had trouble telling a lie to the leader of the Autobots, how did they manage to keep the secret of their existence for as long as they had so far?

◊◊◊◊

At school, Jack walked down the stairs, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Hey. I've been looking for you," Sierra said as she came out of the school with a duffle bag, "The race! How great was that?! I was like, 'Yeah! Go Jack!'"

"It was no big deal," Jack shrugged.

"You got that right!" Vince agreed as he shoved his way past Jack, "If you think you can run with the big boys, The Circuit. 11 PM."

Paige walked towards Jack and she stopped when she saw Vince and Sierra. Jack was staring at Vince before he frowned, "...fine. If I win, you leave Paige alone."

Paige widened her eyes and Sierra smiled. Vince huffed, "deal."

◊◊◊◊

"You agreed to WHAT?!" Arcee demanded as she drove down the road with Jack and Paige.

"It was some kind of secret racing club. I don't know. I had no choice. Sierra was right there!" Jack defended himself.

"You always have a choice Jack," Arcee said sternly, "and what part of 'just this once' did you not understand?"

"I know, I'm sorry," Jack sighed, "but we're on right?"

"We are not on," Arcee said firmly as she drove into the base.

◊◊◊◊

Knockout was driving down the road when Breakdown called. "Knockout, Ember's looking for you. Where did you go?" He asked through the commlink.

"Oh, just out for a little drive," Knockout said, "I just roll from town to town sniffing around until...the next opportunity presents itself. He saw a car race past him and he changed gears to catch up with it.

◊◊◊◊

Back at the base, it was pretty quiet. Everyone was off doing their own little thing...except Raf who remained behind to play video games. He was actually doing well...until Jack distracted him and caused him to crash.

"Raf? Uh...is there any way I can borrow Bumblebee for an hour?" Jack requested nervously, causing Bumblebee to widen his optics in surprise. "Don't involve me in this!"

"Jack," Paige said in a warning tone. "Jack, you know racing's against the rules," Raf said, "what if Optimus found out?" "He'd be mad!" Bee exclaimed, his doorwings twitching with nervousness.

"But Raf, he's gotta get the girl!" Miko exclaimed, "and beat the bully!"

"Jack, I appreciate you protecting me but I don't need you getting into trouble because of me," Paige said.

"This isn't because of you, Paigey," Jack said sternly, "I'm doing this to protect you. And to prove a point."

"Well...," Raf trailed off, still unsure about letting Bumblebee race.

"Come on, Raf. Just this once?" Jack pleaded him sincerely. Raf looked both worried and unsure.

◊◊◊◊

The moon cast a luminous shadow over the circuit. Racers and their girlfriends lingered around the starting line of the track. They were conversing. Talking about how they were going to win the race against some of the best. So they were amazed when they saw a black-and-yellow muscle Camero roll up onto the scene.

But no one was more surprised then Vince as he waited patiently at the starting line for the race to start. He couldn't even HIDE how surprised he was when Jack rolled down the window so they could see eye-to-eye.

"Bike's in the shop," Jack shrugged.

Vince didn't say anything in response. He just turned to the track laid out before him. Suddenly, something beautiful blocked their view. Jack leant back into Bumblebee's seat in surprise at the sight. It was Sierra. She just stood there smiling and waving at him innocently.

"Circuit drivers, are you ready? Make it mean but keep it clean! Fire 'em up in 5...4...3...2...1!"

However, behind them, nobody noticed another car pull up. What was more important was the fact that Jack and Bumblebee didn't notice the new racer. And that is because the new racer is Knockout.

When the countdown had finished, Sierra threw her hands to the ground and crouched low. Then she turned and watched the drivers begin to race around the circuit. They didn't notice Knockout riding along a little too close to them.

"The Autobot they call Bumblebee," Knockout remarked. Knockout decided to make himself known. And to do that, he rammed himself into Vince's car and immediately took the lead from him.

"What's Knockout doing here?" Bumblebee buzzed when he spotted Knockout.

"What was that, Bee?" Jack asked worriedly before glancing in the rearview mirror as Bumblebee continued his concerned bleeps, "Wait. I know that car."

Jack yelled out in surprise as Bumblebee suddenly veered right and began driving along the wall. Knockout immediately copied his actions...with a gun popping out from near his cap for the fuel tank! Immediately, the Decepticon began firing shots at the young Autobot. Bumblebee did his best to avoid Knockout's shots. Vince breathed out his surprise as he saw Jack and Bumblebee drive up the wall and jump off the track. Knockout immediately followed suite.

"Can you lose him, Bee?" Jack asked nevously, earning bleeps in response, "What'd you say? ...I hope that means 'yes.' Cause I'd rather not call base for back-up."

◊◊◊◊

"Anyone seen Jack?" Arcee asked casually, causing Miko and Raf to freeze nervously.

"Not since we last saw him," Miko answered nervously.

"...they're racing, aren't they?" Arcee asked knowingly.

"Just this once," Raf piped in nervously.

"Did you know about this?" Arcee asked Nightwalker, WhiteRain, Bulkhead.

"No...maybe...a little," Nightwalker answered nervously. Bumblebee suddenly called in. "Bumblebee to base. We're being chased by Knockout. Require backup."

"You're being chased by Knockout?!" Raf repeated in disbelief. "Take evasive action?" Bumblebee asked.

"That sounds like a Decepticon," Miko remarked as she stood up with her first clenched.

"Bee, do not engage. Your first priority is to keep Jack safe," Arcee said firmly, "until I get my hands on him." "Arcee, let me come," Paige said.

"Paige, no. I'm not putting you in danger," Arcee said firmly. "Jack is my best friend and my brother," Paige said sternly, "and I want to kick Knockout's tailpipe for shoving me into that museum's glass last week."

"Anyone else scared of her right now?" WhiteRain asked, earning nods from Bulkhead and Nightwalker.

Arcee frowned at Paige before she sighed, "alright." She transformed into her vehicle form and Paige climbed on. Bulkhead, WhiteRain and Nightwalker transformed into their vehicle forms and drove after Arcee.

◊◊◊◊

Bumblebee and Jack continued driving along the road. They had a hard time shaking Knockout off their trail who continued to fire at them. So Bumblebee leaked some oil on the road behind him. The laws of friction didn't agree with rotating tires coming into contact with slick oil. So as the story goes, Knockout lost control of the car.

"Slick," Jack remarked.

Bumblebee drove himself back onto the track in the circuit and backed himself under a bridge. Knockout eventually regained his footing and began driving back towards the circuit. He came to a stop at the beginning of the bridge Bumblebee was hiding under. Sensing Knockout's presence, he shut off his lights and engine. Jack froze, trying not to make a sound or move. His internal sensors read no signs of any Autobot or Decepticon in the area. So he put pedal to the medal and drove right out of there.

"I think we lost him, Bee," Jack whispered. Then Jack was faced with another problem. And that problem was Vince. Vince came to a stop in front of the odd duo. His face was beginning to turn red in pure anger.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Jack groaned.

"Darby," Vince growled as he pounded his fist into his open hand.

Knockout just happened to hear that, having not fully left the facility at this present time. Burnt rubber made its mark on the road as the car suddenly activated its breaks and made a complete stop in the middle of the road. He used his sideview mirrors to look for a sign. ANY sign of his foe. So when he saw the colours of bumper lights, he immediately changed gears and reversed back to the bridge, another advantage of driving on an empty road taken by him.

"Vince! You have to get out of here, OK? You win! Congradulations! Now go!" Jack pleaded.

"No. No. Start and back-up, loser. We're finishing this race! Don't wanna take it to the finishing line? Fine! Then we've got something to settle right here! Right now!" Vince proclaimed.

Vince's rant was suddenly cut off by his own screaming. Jack was surprised and concerned as a giant black hand reached down and scooped up Vince into his palm. And that hand just happened to belong to Knockout. Vince yelled out in surprise as he was thrown into the air while Knock Out transformed into his vehicular mode. Vince landed in Knockout's passenger seat with a grunt. He protested as the sunroof slammed shut above his head and the seatbelt wrapped themselves around his frame tightly, preventing any means of escape for Vince.

"What's going on?" he demanded, afraid of what could happen.

An Energon zapper appeared before Vince's eyes. Energon sparks flew from the prong for his head. As he felt the sparks take their effect on him, Vince moaned and slumped forward into the seat as he passed out. Satisfied with the current state of his captive, Knockout switched on the ignition and drove away, putting pedal to the metal once again. Jack ran up the side hill onto the road in the hopes of stopping Knockout for getting away with the bully. But he was too late. Knockout was gone, disappearing in a cloud of sand and dust as he disappeared into the dark horizon.

◊◊◊◊

"Breakdown, you'll never guess what I'm packing," Knock Out gushed excitedly as he continued down the highway with Vince unconscious and bound in his passenger seat, "Bumblebee's human friend! And when the Autobot attempts to stage a rescue..."

"He has a...breakdown!"

◊◊◊◊

"Bee, he's getting away!" Jack cried as Bumblebee approached him, bleeping his idea to him, "I-I-I can't understand you! Look. I'm not Raf! Can't you just honk once for bad news and honk twice for good news?"

Bumblebee seemed to like that idea. Finally, he found a method of communication Jack would understand. So he honked twice, telling Jack that he had good news indeed. Jack virtually melted in relief at understanding the mute Autobot. Well...he did until he saw Arcee, Nightwalker, WhiteRain and Bulkhead arrive. And Paige was with them and she wasn't happy.

When Paige hopped off of Arcee's vehicle form, she marched over to her best friend/brother and whacked him on the head, making him flinch and rub the back of his head.

"Jack, we need to chat," Arcee said, placing her servo on her hip. "Later, Arcee. Vince got snatched by that slick sports car 'Con!" Jack announced.

"What would Knockout want with that guy?" WhiteRain asked, surprised.

"He probably mistook him for Bumblebee's human friend. I'm not even Bumblebee's human friend," Jack said, "Look. It doesn't matter why they took him! Vince is in trouble!"

"Oh well. Tough break for Vince," Bulkhead shrugged carelessly, making Arcee, WhiteRain, Bumblebee and Nightwalker look at him.

"Bulkhead!" Paige and Jack exclaimed. Bulkhead looked at them, "what? Hear the guy's a jerk. Even more so to Paige."

"Okay, no argument there but the guy's also innocent," Paige huffed, "he doesn't deserve to get hurt- especially by the Cons."

Arcee furrowed her optic ridges before she transformed into her vehicle form, "hop on."

◊◊◊◊

"They should have called by now," Raf said worriedly, "do you think Bumblebee's okay?"

"Don't worry Raf. Bulkhead and WhiteRain won't let anything happen to Jack or Bee," Miko said reassuringly. Then the two heard heavy pedesteps and turned to Optimus walking into the main hangar.

"We should just tell Optimus the truth," Raf whispered. "Absolutely not!" Miko whispered back, "we made a deal! Just act completely normal."

"Raf, Miko, do either of you know where the others have gone?" Optimus asked as he walked up to them.

"Why, no sir," Miko said nonchalantly, "we do not know."

"Miko is correct," Raf said with a nervous smile, "we do not know." "Why would we know?" Miko asked as she and Raf nervously smiled at the Autobot leader.

Optimus only raised an optic ridge at the two.

◊◊◊◊

The chase for Knock Out and Vince continued, despite the fact that it was – by now – the early hours of the morning. But they wouldn't give up. Especially since their secret was at risk. When they heard the sound of a car coming at an intersection, they stopped to allow the car to go through. The red and white car whizzed by. Jack, Paige and Arcee realized that it was Knockout. So they immediately took off after him.

"Bumblebee brought company," Knockout observed.

"On your guard, boys and girls. Could be a trap," Arcee warned.

"And remember. No shooting," Jack reminded the two boys.

"Speaking of safety, Jack, this is where you get off," Arcee said. Paige looked to Jack and flicked her tail.

She and Arcee took off. As they drove around the place, Bumblebee, Nightwalker, WhiteRain and Bulkhead saw a giant hole in the wire fence. Suspecting trouble, they immediately transformed into their bipedal modes and unfolded their blasters. Paige was climbing up the water tower, ready to attack from above in case trouble came.

Knockout turned his front lights on, temporarily blinding Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Then from the wall next to them, Breakdown and Echo broke their way into the fight. Breakdown's hammer hit the road between Bulkhead, Nightwalker, WhiteRain and Bumblebee, causing the two to flip away. Bumblebee stood ready to fight. But Breakdown easily knocked him out of the way. Eventually, he did the same to Bulkhead. Nightwalker and WhiteRain charged at Breakdown and Echo, taking out their weapons.

Vince was still in Knockout's passenger seat unconscious. However, Knockout's didn't care at the moment. His mind was occupied with another quest.

"Where's the two-wheeler and the little half breed?" he asked himself. Arcee and Paige dropped down onto the Decepticon medic's hood.

Arcee started punching at Knockout's hood. "Hey! Watch the paint! It's custom!" He snapped.

"Seriously?" Arcee grinned. Paige, as she was in her lioness form, dug her claws into the hood of Knockout's car.

The tires squealed as Knockout rolled out, with Arcee and Paige riding along on top of him. The fight between Breakdown, Bulkhead and Bumblebee continued, unaware of the situation with Arcee, Paige, Knockout and Vince.

Outside, Jack's attention was captured by the sound of squealing tires. He turned and saw Knockout attempting an escape with Arcee and Paige standing on top of him, trying to maintain balance. Eventually, Arcee and Paige lost their balance and fell off. But Arcee transformed into her vehicular mode and caught Paige before the two chased Knockout into the night.

"That's my girls!" Jack cheered to himself quietly.

◊◊◊◊

"Uh, Breakdown, in case you're looking for me, things got messy. So I hit the road. One scream is enough for today," Knockout said through the commlink.

No sooner then Knockout had said that, Breakdown turned around and found himself smacked in the face with a lamppost, sending him flying through the same wall he broke through before. And that hit was courtesy of Bulkhead.

◊◊◊◊

The chase between Autobot, Galatrian and Decepticon continued. Arcee and Paige were hot on Knockout's tail. So Knockout added more pressure to the accelerator and gained more miles ahead of them, causing Arcee and Paige to groan in frustration at yet another lost chance.

"Eat my dust," Knockout smirked at them. There was a loud truck horn and Optimus drove up beside Knockout. With a gentle nudge from the Prime, Knockout lost control of himself and drove into a ditch.

"Optimus, Knockout has a hostage," Arcee said. Optimus transformed into his bipedal form and he walked over to Knockout.

Optimus picked Knockout up and held him in the air by his rear bumper. Knockout screamed in pain as Optimus riped the driver's side door off of the main frame. Carefully, Optimus reached inside the interior of the car and freed the still-unconscious Vince from his current predicament. With Vince safe in his servo, he simply threw Knockout to the side as he transformed.

"Do you know how hard that is to replace?" Knockout had screeched after observing the damage to his arm. That was when he realized he was outnumbered.

Bulkhead, WhiteRain and Nightwalker aimed their blasters at the Decepticon medic.

'Scrap! If I'm not in trouble with these bots, then I'm in trouble with Ember!' Knockout thought before he transformed into his vehicle form and sped away.

Optimus turned to the others. Bumblebee drove up beside Arcee, Jack inside his vehicle form.

"Optimus... this is my fault," Jack sighed. "We must get this boy to safety. Explanations can come later...from all of you," Optimus said sternly.

Nightwalker lowered his head and WhiteRain's shoulders slumped guiltily.

"We're in trouble," Bumblebee said quietly.

◊◊◊◊

Vince came to hours after he was taken from the circuit by Knockout. Only, he didn't find himself in Knockout's car. He found himself in Bumblebee's passenger seat with Jack driving.

"How did? What happened?" Vince groaned as he sat up.

"Some guys jumped you under the bridge. They tossed you into their trunk. Must have been some kind of initiation," Jack shrugged convincingly.

"Really?" Vince asked, startled. "Yeah. Found you knocked out on the side of the road," Jack said before he stopped next to Vince's car, "Look. I gotta be honest. After what I saw tonight, I think racing isn't really my thing."

"I hear you, Darby. Hard to win a race driving a pedal car!" Vince sneered, causing Bumblebee to put pedal to the metal and drove away.

◊◊◊◊

Knockout walked down the hallway as Echo and Comet walked over to him. "What happened to you?" Echo asked, noticing the damage on his arm.

"Knockout, to the control bridge. Now," Ember announced through the commlink. Knockout lowered his helm and the three walked to the command center.

When the doors opened, Comet walked over to Breakdown and Echo walked over to Soundwave.

Ember turned to Knockout, her optics showing bridled fury. "You were supposed to be tending to Lord Megatron," she said sternly, "instead... you decided to go and defy my orders and pull a careless stunt like this."

Knockout flinched as he lowered his helm, not wanting to meet his leader's optics. Ember was no angle. As the alpha of the Decepticons, she would not hesitate in punishing soldiers. Even if those soldiers were her friends.

Ember looked to Starscream, "Starscream will be the one to give you a lesson you won't seem to forget." She turned back to the screens as Starscream walked towards Knockout.

Comet widened his optics and he stepped forward but Breakdown put his arm in front of the young mech and silently shook his helm.

"Not to worry," Starscream said to Knockout, showing a sharp claw, "your punishment shall be merely... cosmetic."

No! Not the finish! Anything but the finish!" Knockout pleaded before Breakdown, Echo and Comet cringed at the sound of screeching metal and the sounds of Knockout's screams.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

◊◊◊◊

The next day, Jack walked over to Arcee and climbed onto her vehicle form. "Hey, Jack. Do you have time for that ride?" Sierra asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Sierra. I can't right now," Jack apologized regretfully.

"No problem. I guess I'll just see you around," Sierra shrugged sadly before walking away.

"Hop on," Arcee invited as she pulled up next to him.

"Whoa. Really?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Just this once," Arcee emphasized.

◊◊◊◊

Jack smiled as he and Sierra drove down the road, enjoying the sights before them.

#fanfiction #self insert #transformers prime #my ocs #the girl among the gods

5 notes · View notes

codyssfern · 5 years

Text

drinks and confessions

synopsis: you reunite with shawn at a party after being broken up

warnings: lots of swearing, some aggression, and a lil bit of angst

word count: 2k+

ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:

“can’t believe you’re forcing me out the apartment tonight.” you say to your best friend, brian, as you two walk down the hall.

“y/n you’ve been in here for weeks!” he exclaims, “weeks, y/n and frankly me and the boys are worried.”

you roll your eyes, “it’s because one of your boys that i’ve spent the last month in hibernation.”

“shawn won’t be there tonight. he’s recording something with teddy at his place SO,” brian stands in front of you and places his hands on the side of your face, “put on a happy face, grab your purse, make sure there’s rubbers in it, and let’s get drunk baby!”

you burst out laughing. brian has always found a way to make you laugh even when all you wanna do is cry.

“rubbers? god you’ve spent way too much time in the america.” you laugh.

this goes on for about 10 more minutes before one of the boys finally picks you guys up. on the way you couldn’t help but feel like you shouldn’t even be going out in the first place, it was one of those gut feelings you got once in a while. even though brian said shawn was busy, you had a feeling he’d show up at the party anyway. you haven’t seen him in 3 months, almost 4 and you didn’t want to see him tonight.

“this place looks familiar.” you say as you get out of the car.

“it’s geoff’s holiday house.” one of the boys say.

you look at brian in disgust, “why are we at his house? he’s rude.”

“i know, i know but we really didn’t have another place to throw the party and one of the boys hit him up and well he said he had a spare house,” you start laughing not believing geoff actually said he had a ‘spare house’ “shut up. i know he’s ridiculous.”

the place was already packed when you went inside. you knew some people from back in high school and some from your first year at uni which surprised you.

“oh my god… lauren is here!” you whisper to brian as you walk pass her and into the kitchen.

brian shrugs his shoulders, “and?”

“she hates my ass! remember when shawn invited us to her prom and she freaked and ‘accidentally’ spilled punch on me?” you ask as you prepared yourself a drink.

brian was so used to you thinking everyone was conspiring against you all he could do was laugh.

“y/n, you think everyone is out to get to you.” he takes a sip of your now finished drink making you whine, “this drink is delicious by the way.” he smiles.

“you owe me one!” you yell at brian as he walks out the kitchen.

you feel a tap on your shoulder making you jump. when you turn around you’re met with some of the boys from earlier.

“i heard geoff has like 4 hundred worth alcohol in this house.”

you scoff, “what? no way.”

you start going through the kitchen cabinets until you find the one filled with alcohol and grab the first bottle you could lay your hands on.

“the mcallan 64,” you mumbled, “worth…$4,250?!”

geoff was so humble, you thought to yourself.

“if i spend $4k on alcohol, it better kill me.” you say making the boys laugh.

and you hoped it at least had some magical effect on you. you only agreed to go out because you were tired of getting drunk by yourself at home. you took the bottle of whiskey to the living room and sat down on the couch.

“y/n what’s up with you and the mendes dude anyway?” nick, from high school and also the dude who used to put garbage in shawn’s locker, happened to the first one to break the ice.

you sighed, “why? what’d you hear?”

“heard he dumped your ass for that other singer girl!” he laughs taking a sip of his beer.

well you certainly weren’t expecting that.

“sort of like you and kelsey right?” you put your hand on his thigh, “you know when she dumped your ass that one time cause shawn invited her on tour and well you know what happens when shawn invites girls on tour…”

nick’s friends started laughing. “bro you said you dumped her!”

nick shrugs his shoulder, “i did!”

“ONLY AFTER MENDES WAS BALLS DEEP INSIDE HER!”

everything happened so fast you didn’t even see when nick stood up and started beating the shit out the guy. you thought this was the perfect time to leave.

about 4 hours passed and you were already feeling drowsy. you also couldn’t find brian anywhere. you asked around and no one had seen him either, he was probably upstairs getting “busy” you still tried and called him. he probably had like 10 missing calls from you. nevertheless you sent him a text.

to: bri craig.

from: stupid y/n :)

dudeeeee i want 2 leave. i’ll be oytside pleasr hurrtgy!

you didn’t even care about the typos. you still pressed send.

“ugh what the fuck!” you yelled as you put your phone back in your pocket.

“someone’s drunk and cranky.”

geoff.

“go away geoff.” you start walking towards the house.

you hear him chuckle from behind, “baby, cmon! don’t walk away from me.”

“dude if you don’t leave me alone i swear i’ll-”

he grabs your arm, “you’ll what?”

“fuck off!” you try pushing him off of you.

by now people are starting to notice and geoff didn’t like that one bit. you kept tried to shift out of his grip but it only got tighterr.

geoff leans into you and says, “you’re too drunk. you need someone to take care of you.”

“she can take care of herself!”

suddenly your body hit the ground and you felt everything around you starting to spin. you hear people cheering and yelling and it made your head throb. but that voice from before, you recognized it.

“y/n?! y/n are you okay?”

you look up to see see brian, you nodded as he helped you up. thinking it was him who pushed geoff of you, you were confused when you saw geoff a few feet away from you still fighting with another boy.

“who’s that?” you squint your eyes.

brian, still with a arm around your waist to hold you up, says, “that’s fucking shawn!”

you were so confused and your head hurt so bad you felt like you could pass out at any moment. soon enough though, some of the boys finally broke off the fight. brian still didn’t let go off you.

“dude what the fuck was that?” brian asks the tall figure that was now walking towards you.

“he was gonna hurt her.”

brian clicks his tongue, “no i mean you! like where the fuck did you come from?”

“i always drive through geoff’s house on the way home and so i thought i’d stop by.”

you were amused as how to they were having a whole conversation with you standing there almost about to collapse.

“god did you get taller?” you ask patting his shawn’s chest and making him laugh.

brian was struggling to keep you up and shawn noticed.

“here,” shawn places an arm around your waist and the other around your shoulders, “i’ll drive her home.”

brian shakes his head no, “i-i i don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“brian… it’s me.”

“i know but you know you’re not exactly her favorite person right now.”

shawn sighs, “i just got punched in the face and ribs for her. i think she can learn to forgive me.”

“you’re bleeding!” you point to shawn’s lip.

brian chuckles as he lets go off you, leaving you in shawn’s grip. “call me when you get her home yeah?”

“course’“ shawn shakes his hand.

once you two start walking to his car or well once he’s dragging to his car you realize what was happening. you hadn’t fully processed the fact your ex-boyfriend just popped up out of nowhere, beat up a guy for you, and was now taking your drunk ass home.

“you know i think,” you start to shift in shawn’s grip, “i can walk home.”

shawn’s grip around your waist got stronger, “and i think you’re just drunk and can barely walk.”

“i can walk!” you blur out and manage to get out of his grip. he was quick though and he held onto your hand.

shawn groaned, “y/n slow down! that’s not the way home.”

in your head you thought it was but of course your head wasn’t properly functioning.

“can you just,” shawn gets in front of you, “get in the car and i’ll take you home yeah?”

you scoff, “aren’t you here to party? go get drunk! cheat on your new girlfriend while your at it! it’s your specialty after all.”

he places his hand on your lips shushing you, “would you shut up?! you don’t know what you’re saying.”

in a matter of seconds you saw everything upside down. took a minute to realized shawn had picked you up on his shoulder. you didn’t even fight it, you were really tired and frankly wanted to leave. you were surprised at how easily he managed to pick you up given that he was just in a fight and was probably bruised all over.

“put your seatbelt on and drink this.” shawn said once you were in the car. he handed you a bottle of water before starting the car.

you winded your eyes at how serious he sounded. you thought that maybe your comment before made him mad.

“i didn’t cheat on you, y/n.”

you look at him. hands gripping the steering wheel and eyes glued to the road. he seemed tensed.

“i don’t know that,” you take a sip of water, “i’ll never know that for sure.”

shawn was trying to think of ways to explain to you why he did what he did. explain to you that his hands have been tied for the past 3 months and that he’s being forced to lie to his family and friends.

“i’m telling you that i didn’t!” he turns to look at you for just a second, “i would never do that. especially to you! i loved you. hell, i still love you.”

you groan. how could he do this? just pop up out of nowhere and tell you that he loves you after being seen with another girl.

“my head hurts shawn and you keep fucking yelling,” you lean your head against the window, “just take me home. i’m tire-”

he cut you off, “it’s a contract okay? a contract that i was manipulated to sign and now i’m fucked! we’re fucked! i lost you.” his voice cracked.

no way. you thought to yourself. shawn would never sign a contract if he knew it wasn’t good for him.

“a contract? like those publicly stunt ones? or whatever their called.”

he chuckled, “a pr contract, yeah. andrew somehow manipulated me few months ago to sign it, he didn’t even let me read it and now i’m stuck.”

you nod your head as you let your brain process what has just been said. shawn never cheated on you and he couldn’t tell you what was going on because he was contractually compromised.

“you didn’t lose me.” you say under your breath.

shawn hums, “what?”

“me. you didn’t lose me. you never did,” you look at him, “as you can see i’m in car with you, letting you take me home when i’m supposed to be furious at you so no. you haven’t lost me.”

once you arrive at your place you beg him to come in so you could clean the cuts on his face and put ice on his bruises. takes him a while to say yes actually. he’s always given you space when you’re drunk, he used to put you to bed and then proceed to sleep on the couch.

“okay just keep it pressed on there lightly,” you instruct him as you let him hold the ice pack on his bruised ribcage, “don’t be rough or it’ll hurt.” you warn.

as you leave shawn on your bed and go look for disinfectant spray in your bathroom, he starts looking around the familiar place. chuckling as he sees the picture of the two of you at graduation on your nightstand.

“now i’m warning you,” you start as you walk back in the room, “i’m still a bit tipsy but this isn’t the first time i’ve cleaned your cuts while i have alcohol in my system.”

shawn laughs, “i got in a lot of fights back high school didn’t i?”

“thanks to geoff!” you defend, “don’t know why the fuck you even tried to be his friend to be honest.”

shawn groans as you kneel down and pressed down on his bruised thighs. you mumbled a soft “sorry” as you positioned yourself in front of him. you took the ice pack from him and placed it on the nightstand.

“you’re all good.” he smiles and leans in to your touch as you start taking care of his bruised lip.

the cuts weren’t as bad as you thought. the worst one was his lip, it was split and didn’t stop bleeding even when you spent like 2 minutes on it.

“did you mean what you said?” you break the silence.

he raises an eyebrow at you, “where?”

“in the car when you said you still loved me.”

you stood up and made your way to the bathroom.

“of course i did,” he followed behind, “i’ve loved you since i gave you that stupid car on your forehead.”

you shake your head and laugh, “oh no you haven’t!”

“i so have. you can ask literally anybody that knew us back then! ask my mom even.” he says as he sits on the bathroom counter.

you stand there looking at him. not understanding how even with a bruised lip and bruised abs eye he still looked handsome. it was almost annoying.

“are you gonna keep staring or are you gonna come over here and kiss me?”

you slowly made your way to him and placed your arms around his neck. “not sure it’s safe for me to kiss you with that bruised lip.”

“i don’t care.” he whispers before leaning in and leaving a soft yet passionate kiss on your lips. “i’ve missed you.” he admits.

you nod, “i can tell.” he tilts his head back making you laugh, “i’m joking! i’ve missed you too.”

he leans into your touch as you caress the side of his face. you really have missed him.

“let’s go to bed yeah?” you say softly.

he smiles, “let’s.”

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes angst #shawn mendes request #shawn mendes prompts #shawn mendes smut #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes boyfriend #shawn mendes one shot #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn #mendes #mendes army

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cals-sunflower · 4 years

Text

Mine (N.M)

A/n: This was written for Chan’s 700 challenge which is hosted by @temperaryheart ! My first time ever entering a writing challenge and I’m super excited!! It is like 1 am, so please forgive any mistakes. But I’m tired hope you guys enjoy :)

—————————————————————-

You and Nick have been roommates ever since you were looking for a roommate to go half with on an apartment which was about 3 years. Being that the apartments in La were not cheap. At first, you thought that you weren’t going to find a roommate until you crossed paths with Nick. He had overheard you talking about needing a roommate.

“I’m sorry to eavesdrop but I couldn’t help overhearing you need a roommate. Honestly I’m trying to move out of my old apartment, I’d love to be your roommate,” the stranger gave you a small smile.

“Are you serious? Thank goodness! I’m Y/n nice to meet you,” you stuck your hand out waiting for him to introduce himself and shake your hand. He shook your hand and gave you a bigger smile.

“Hi, I’m Nick. It’s nice to meet you too,” and within a month he became your roommate.

“Y/n, come here for a second,” Nick yelled out to you. To which you replied with a quick “coming”. You walked downstairs to the living room finding Nick on the couch with his phone set up. You sat next to him and saw he was on live.

“The people wanna see you ma’am,” you have a wave to the camera and seen that the views went up.

“Nick, they like me more than you loser,” you let out a giggle and crossed your feet on the couch.

“I did not bring you down here just for you to bully me. It doesn’t work like that,” Nick crosses his arms with a pout making you kiss his cheek.

“Whatever you say shark boy,” you began to look at comments which was blowing up at the moment.

“Can they honestly just date already?”

“I’m so glad Nick met you Y/n”

“Aww best friend goals”

You guys stayed on live for an hour before Nick shut off his phone and gave you his full attention. You didn’t want to admit it but you harbored a crush for the boy. He had caught your heart the minute he gave you that signature smile. But you didn’t want to mess up a good friendship and didn’t want to lose him as a roommate either over a dumb crush.

“Ay ma, my family is inviting us to come out for Thanksgiving. You down to come?” Nick had hopeful eyes wanting you to say yes so bad. Truth was he had a crush on you too. The feelings were definitely mutual but neither one knew about the others feelings.

“Yes, I totally am down. I miss your family”, you hugged him and smiled. “Tell your mom I said thank you for inviting me”.

-Few weeks later-

Before you knew it both you and Nick were getting ready to go to the airport. Edwin and Brandon agreed to drop you guys off since it was the least they could do to take the stress off you guys. Knowing that an Uber could take 30 minutes or more to get to you guys and possibly make you both late.

“Is that everything?” Edwin questioned you as you placed your bag in the back. You tiredly nodded your head, being that you got no sleep whatsoever. For some reason you were nervous and didn’t know why.

“Are you okay mamas?” Nick wraps you into a loving embrace. Being in his arms felt so right and you never wanted to let go.

“I’m fine. Just really tired, I didn’t really get sleep last night,” you mumbled into his chest.

“Alright, let’s go lovers you don’t wanna miss your flight”, Brandon went into the driver's seat of the car. Quickly getting in the car, you guys were on your way to the airport. But of course, you fell asleep with your head in Nick’s lap.

“Hey, ma we’re at the airport. Wake up baby,” Nick gently rubbed your arm until you got up. Everyone got out the car and started getting out the bags. Nick held your mini Nike backpack for you and you wheeled your suitcase. Nick also had a suitcase and a small backpack but he wanted to help your tired self as much as he could. You gave Edwin and Brandon hugs before walking over to the checking in machine.

“Yo, please tell her you like her during this trip,” Brandon quietly told Nick. Nick slightly blushed and shook his head.

“Maybe but aye thanks for driving us. We appreciate it,” Nick hugged the two boys and walked over to you who was already at the suitcase check in with two tickets in hand.

“Come on Nick, hurry so we can get snacks before heading on the plane,” you gave him a smile.

Finally, you guys get on the plane and get seated. Luckily it was one of the seats where there’s only two seats and you got the window seat. Nick took out his phone and began a video for his insta story.

“We’re on the plane and mamas here is tired. Say what’s up Y/n,” you gave a small smile and wave. “Imagine looking this cute while being tired,” Nick ended the video right there and decided to take a nap along with you.

-After getting situated into the house-

You were so jet lagged and immediately after saying hi to his family with hugs, you went into the living room with Nick and laid on him.

“Hey guys, me and Y/n are finally in Jersey,” Nick waved to the viewers.

“Hi guys I’m tired. Like jet lag is a bitch,” you cuddled into Nick’s side more and he wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Nick we see that hand sir👀”

“Okay but they’re definitely dating”

“She does look really tired lmao”

“Y’all notice ever since Nick met Y/n, he’s been giving us hella content? Just me? Okay”

“Tell Y/n she looks adorable”

“Y/n, they want you to know that you adorable babygirl,” Nick chuckles because when he leaned down to look at you, he found you were dead asleep.

“Y’all she’s out like a light,” your hair was in your face and your hand gripped his shirt slightly. Nick couldn’t help but to swoon over how you look so good in his arms.

You don’t remember what time you fell asleep but you wake up to the smell of food. You lifted your head to see you were fully on Nick’s lap.

“Hey you’re up, I moved you from my side because it looked uncomfortable,” Nick held his hands at your waist.

“Thank you loser, but I smell food. I love you dearly and imma head out,” you get out of his lap and leave him to go to the kitchen. Chris pulled Nick aside to have a quick conversation.

“Nick, you need to man up and tell her your feelings before it becomes too late,” he said to his younger brother.

“Alright, I’ll do it now,” Nick walked into the kitchen where you were laughing with his mom and Mia. “Y/n, can I talk to you for a second?” You nodded and excused yourself. He leads you up to his old room and closes the door after you.

“I’ve known you for 3 years almost 4 now. You always amaze me with how smart and talented you are. You support me and the boys everyday and I love you for that. Yes, you’re my best friend but I have major feelings for you. And I know-“, you cut Nick off from his rant.

“Nick, I feel the same,” you smiled at him. He immediately picked you up and wrapped your legs around his waist.

“Soo will you officially be my girlfriend mamas?” He bit his lip to contain the smile that was about to grace his face.

“Yes, Nick Mara I will be your girlfriend officially,” you leaned your head down and kissed him.

“Finally, I get to actually kiss you instead of just looking at your lips 24/7,” you let out a laugh at his silliness.

“Wait, what about your fans? They aren’t going to take that Nick Mara is officially not single anymore,” you actually began to wonder what the reaction was going to be.

“That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Everyone swears we’re together, I mean, look at the comments,” Nick pointed out.

“Okay, that definitely makes sense. You right,” you both looked at each other before laughing.

“Wait, we gotta be extra and take a picture in the mirror,” Nick put you down and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. He then grabs your hand and walks to the bathroom. You turn on the light and stand in front of him. He wraps one arm around your shoulders pulling you into his chest. Your hands on top of his arm and you smile. But you smile even bigger when he turns his head to the side to kiss your cheek.

Once he took the different pictures with different poses, he opens Instagram and selects the pictures he wants. Some of which were you guys making funny faces and posted it. The caption being “She said yes to being my baby officially. Y’all I really love this girl to death❤️”.

“Okay babe, let’s finish eating. I’m very hungry,” he didn’t even get a chance to answer before you pulled him down the stairs back to the kitchen. Nick couldn’t help but smile because you really caught his heart 3 years ago and now he gets to call you his officially.

#Chan’s 700 challenge #prettymuch imagines #nick mara #nick mara imagines

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letstalksymphogear · 5 years

Text

Symphogear, EP.7 (Cont.)

“i have not now, nor ever, liked this creepy ass church elevator.”

“kanade please get out of my head, just because im hungry doesnt mean you have to tell me every time i am”

Hibiki finishes getting a full body X-ray. She’s fine.

“that anime protagonist immunity is really kicking in well!”

“by the way, your wife is here! and she’s looking mighty miffed., as opposed to me, mighty milfed.”

“you dont strike me as a mother figure but ill play along for now”

“i just hope miku’s okay...”

“oh, she’ll be fine! see, i’ve seen these kinds of plots before. big secret revealed, another lover is shown, the victim watches as they’re thoroughly cheated on, and they get to lik-”

“please stop breathing”

Genjuro’s wasting away again in Margaritaville. Looking for some daughter to adopt. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THERE’S A, WOOOOMAAAAAN TO BLAAAAAAAAAAME, BUT HE KNOWS

XYLOPHONE RIFF

THAT’S IT’S ALL HIS FAULT

XYLOPHONE RIFF

“i hate it when he gets like this. jimmy buffets not a good look for him.”

“for once you and i agree. seeing the commander sulk like this like a middle aged perma-tourist is genuinely miserable”

“hey homies! im back and i brought some bitches! oh, jesus, why does this place smell like mistakes in miami?”

“its me. im sorry. every time i feel like i failed as a dad, my anti-dad energies manifest. imagine every midlife crisis rolled up into a single ball, smacked into the face for eternity. thats the depth of my pain for failing this girl.”

In a moment of positivity, the friendship between Tsubasa and Hibiki is cemented.

> Tsubasa has joined the party.

“FRIENDSHIP!”

“fweindship.”

“uuuuhhhhh... dadship? yeah thats close enough.”

“WE’RE ALL GOOD FRIENDS!”

“ya tiddies are ringing again, better go get it”

Ryoko also points out that Hibiki’s relic is fusing with herself at an alarming rate. This is important to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, at night.

Miku is posing in the motherly “you done fucked up, where have you been young lady” position. A cold scolding is coming.

“.........................hey miku......”

“you can come in. are you worried im gonna bite? you suplexed a car. that shouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

“miku, i.... i wanted to tell you.... but.... the plot wouldn’t let me, miku....”

“should’ve told the plot to fuck off anyway. now you’re gonna live with that. you’re sleeping... on the bottom bunk.”

“b.... b..... b...... b.... b...... bottom bunk...?”

They slept separately that night. God, this is so stupid. All of this is so goddamned stupid. “I’m so mad at you even though you saved my life.” This is just so. AUGH. THIS IS DUMB. KANEKO WRITE BETTER ANGST THAT MAKES SENSE THAT ISN’T THIS.

Meanwhile, far away from this garbage...

Chris, having been evicted from Fine’s McMansion, wanders the streets of mumblemumble aimlessly. Don’t be fooled by her new fancy dress. Basically, she’s a combat-competent hobo.

“no food. no home. no victories. this sucks. whyd you do it, fine? we coulda been great together. but no. ya fired me. now i look like im prancing the red light district with a highly advanced superweapon around my neck.”

“no... hibiki’s to blame. ever since that genderbent little mac showed up to fight me, it’s been all downhill. fine thought me a laughstock because i couldnt take out her oversized boxing gloves, and now she beat me while i had nehushtan. god... i wish i never met that damn hamster faced chubby cheeked nerd.”

“wait, whats that crying”

Chris spies two kids talking to each other, one of them crying. Chris immediately makes an assumption, believing the big bro is bullying his sis.

“hey! stop nicking her lunch money, twerp”

Chris currently is a firm believer of corporeal punishment.

But the sister deflects the blow. Chris can’t even defeat children right now. Truly, this is a record low for her. You know you blew it when even kids are schooling you on basic morality. She then tells the little girl to stop crying, ironically mirroring her brother.

The infamous double T-Pose maneuver. Chris, you might as well get a shovel and start digging your own grave.

“i keep doing bad things badly, and now im doing good things badly... when fine said i was bad... did she just mean im not talented?”

Chris, finally, does a good thing and helps these kids find their parents.

“yeah. hibiki saved a kid when she got her gear. guess what? bam! im saving two! that’s fifty percent more kid per kid saved. take that, weirdo.”

The kids call her out on Chris singing unconsciously, and Chris gets flustered over it. Dawwwwww.

Chris manages to get them to safety to their Dad...

...while brutally lying about it, making Chris look like a predator. There’s a very crushing irony at play here, given who Chris used to serve.

“ugggggggggggggggghhhhhh hes not even gonna payyyyy meeeeeee why the fuck did i dooooo thiiiiiiissssss”

“hey, you know. you kids have a really nice relationship with one another. care to give me tips on how to be an empathetic human being capable of making friends?”

“maybe we’re born with it”

“maybe its maybeline”

“maybeline...”

Meanwhile...

A cold wind blows through Lydian Apartment 69-L. (I don’t actually know if that’s their room number, I just made it up.)

“jesus take the wheel, because i’m jumping out the passenger seat to save this current wreck of a relationship”

“miku please i saved your life, doesnt that count for anything”

“you already killed me the moment you lied. also im taking the bottom bunk so i dont have to see your face coming down the ladder.”

“miku you cant hide in this depression den forever. i know i hurt you and im sorry for it, but please understand i literally couldnt do it. you saw there were punches and violence and stuff... i didnt want you tied to that...”

“what was that? i cant hear your apologies over my incredibly loud snoring. SNOOOOOOORE. SNOOOOOOOORE. SNOOO- fuck, i just swallowed my spit, fuck”

“i hope this cocoon of displeasure you’ve made for yourself lets you erupt into a butterfly of acceptance so i can fly with you again.”

“......thats not fair. you cant say those beautiful metaphors and get away with it. let me be mad... sniff... let me be mad...”

Sadness wafts in the den of lies Hibiki has been forced into.

No music plays. There is only heartbreak, and woe.

In the midst of this pain...

Ryoko loredumps about how the Symphogears work and are immune to the noise on her blog, ‘hornyonmainforscience.org’, her hybrid science journal slash kink zone. It’s mostly a recap with some pretty good soft techno beats in it.

“i made a custom brew of red bull, five hour energy drink, coffee, and cream. i call it gamer girl piss.”

“damn. that’s some good piss.”

She muses about how Hibiki has managed to break the limitations of her Symphogear, making her a totally unique specimen. Wait, where have we heard this before...?

Hey... Ryoko... let’s just... cool it a bit with the Hibiki pictures... come on...

Ryoko touches upon the Custodians and the Curse of Babel. We ain’t touching that shit until later, because that’s another shitfuck box of crazy just ready to jump us in a dark alleyway to rob us of our wits.

Back to Lydian:

“miku whats the answer to the first three multiple choice questions”

“B. A. D.”

“oh, thanks. huh, BAD.”

“yeah. you are.”

“mmm. taste likes dissapointment. just like my life.”

“hey table for two haha get it cause there’s two chairs and miku for the love of god, please, forgive me”

“ive surgically removed my eyes and drew eyelashes over them with sharpie so i dont have to see your bird bangs.”

“thats very rude to both me and my hair. also, wig.”

Even Hibiki’s meal is judging her. Mainly for not eating it. Fucking look at this. God, that looks amazing. Fuck, why did I write this while I was hungry.

“miku you cant do this forever. i might die and youll end up crying on my tombstone going ‘oh god, why, oh god’, and really, i cant live with myself if that happens. mainly because id already be dead by then”

The Anime Janai crew show up to break some icebergs with a goddamn sledgehammer. As the self-aware Gods of this realm, they got very tired of this poor display of angst, and have decided to directly intervene.

Nevermind. They came for her kneecaps, and they most certainly got them.

PLEASE. I’M BEGGING YOU. END THIS GARBAGE PLOT THREAD.

“look. imma lay down the facts. yall are gay. yall are in love. yall are angry for the wrong reasons. its nobody’s fault here but the writer. so please kiss and make up. pretty please.”

“kaneko... you fool... we all know what the original sin is. its your hack writing making this stupidity in the first place. let the pencil go, asshole!”

They bring up the fact that Hibiki isn’t doing her work and wonder if she has a job on the side, which isn’t allowed by the school. Miku gets annoyed and bails, with Hibiki running after her. Unfortunately, Miku runs faster...

“oh god miku not the rooftop whatever you’re thinking just dont do it! please!”

“no. i came here to angst, since this is the Maximum Angst Zone.”

“i..... okay! okay, that’s fair! rooftops are the perfect place to look sad while getting proper air ventilation, thats fine”

It really would have been better played if it was played off that she felt hurt not because of the lie, but because she felt like she could have helped her better having known the truth, and it being a self-loathing sort of scenario for not being there better for her and not fully understanding the risk at play.

But no, instead, we get this.

youtube

Absolutely obliterated. A heart ripped, shredded, and sent to the Shadow Realm.

The episode ends on that note, but has a post credit scene.

Naked. On an old timey telephone. On a computer. Wearing stockings and long gloves.

The main antagonist of the series, everybody.

She’s talking the best English possible to some random-ass American when suddenly bursting through the scene is none other than:

“I WANT WORKERS COMPENSATION YOU BITCH, BEFORE I UNIONIZE YOUR NAKED ASS”

“AND I WANT A GOOD REFERNECE FOR MY FUTURE EMPLOYER, AND ALSO A SEVERANCE PACKAGE SINCE I’M FUCKING HOMELESS”

“i paint my eyelashes with mascara made from the tar of freshly carbonated corpses manufactured through noise, what on gods green earth compels you to think id give a rats ass about you?”

“so you never cared, huh! you’re just a nasty naked hedonist trying to- trying to- what the fuck are you even trying to do?!”

“i want to live the dream every spicy little fossil like me yearns for.”

“I WANNA FUCK GOD!”

“how- what? what? how do you even- what? are you- do you want to be the pope? is that it? does the pope get to fuck god? are you- is this a larping thing? you’ve really been into larping lately! i don’t like this!”

“youve never read the old testament, have you. ass out, pussy bare, hips up and barefoot. that’s how god’s always liked it.”

“now get lost, punk. you tipped off my hand to genjuro and now you being here is going to ruin everything. if you still feel any semblance of devotion, eat one of your own bullets and call it a day.”

“it’s 2012 bitch, if the mayans dont get you, I WILL”

“what god gives, He takes away, and so do i. i built you from the ground up. your relic, which was good for jack shit on you. the nehushtan, which you failed to do anything with except zap a couple hundred people. stop wars? you’re a walking war, waged by me, for me. and your cartridge has just run out of bullets.”

“uh oh! hand’s acting up again! better bail before i send you back to smacktown where all the bitter little shittalkers like you strut around spending their lives being useless as hell.”

“ah fuck, im not dealing with no manos: the hands of fate bullshit again”

“and guess what else i got on motherfucker”

“i see the union efforts have officially been busted. understandable, have a nice day ma’am”

“LEAVE.”

“I’M GOING, I’M GOING”

#symphogear #symphogear season 1 #anime #recap #comedy

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takadasaiko · 5 years

Text

Second Chances: Chapter Twenty-Three

FFN II AO3

Summary: Peggy lays it out on the table, Tony comes home from the hospital, and goodbyes are said.

Chapter Twenty-Three

There was something beautiful about a successful mission in which everybody came home. Peggy had seen the good and the bad over the years, but a death could make even the most successful mission feel like an utter failure. They had cut it close with Howard's son, and she hadn't been able to do anything but listen to the back and forth on how to restart the ARC reactor and bring him back around.

Steve had held everything together until that night. He'd expected to go to the hospital and find himself on the receiving end of some off-colour joke from his injured friend, but had found Tony still unconscious, and the doctors had reiterated that he needed rest. She hadn't even known how to begin to comfort him as they returned to their flat and he'd sunk into a chair, the soft confession of wondering if he'd done enough leaving his lips.

Tony was alright in the end. A little worn down, but that was to be expected. They'd kept him in the hospital for several days to make sure nothing unforseen cropped up. The entire time, Peggy had looked for an opportunity to finish the conversation she'd tried to start in his workshop before Nick Fury had interrupted them. The timing had never been right, and she'd started to wonder if that was a sign of sort. She'd always been a decisive person, so the fact that it wasn't just her head and her heart that were conflicted, but two very real desires, left her in a difficult position between them. One, to be with the man she loved, and the second to make a difference. She could do that here, and that had been what she'd told herself when she had left. It had made sense, but the way those that knew her name talked about her… Impressive women of this era had looked to her for inspiration, and to choose her own desires over what she felt was her duty was selfishness to a degree that she wasn't sure she could live with.

And that was what left her, once again, steeped in conflict as she moved about the room of the informal gathering at the Stark home that was part a welcome home from the hospital for Tony and, though far less vocalised, part a chance to say goodbye to Howard. He had put his own return off again and again, and unless he chose not to return at all, he would be leaving the next day. Perhaps, if she went, he wouldn't have to. He could stay with his son.

"You look awful distracted, Peg."

Speak of the devil. The thought pulled her lips up at the corners as she looked to her friend. "Hello, Howard."

"Hiya." She knew that look. He wasn't going to let her slide away. "Thinking about how much you're gonna miss me?"

"Oh, are we admitting that you're going now?"

"Gotta start at some point," he answered, his tone not quite as chipper now.

"Have you thought about staying?"

He quirked a dark brow at her. "Peggy Carter, are you of all people trying to tempt me?"

"The problem was always that one of us needed to be there to make sure SHIELD was formed correctly and -"

"That's not the only reason." Howard glanced over, his gaze softening as it landed on Tony who was rolling his eyes at Peter Parker who was showing him something on his phone. "I wanna stay… but I said I wanna do right by him and I meant it. Doing that means making sure he gets some peace here. He's got it in his head that if he's not around the whole damn planet will be destroyed or something like that, even if it's not his timeline to worry about."

"An ego worthy of a Stark."

"Doesn't mean he's wrong."

"I suppose not," she chuckled softly.

"You know… you goin' back's gonna put Cap in a bind, but you gotta tell him."

She whipped back around to look at him, finding a set of clever dark eyes fixed on her and the argument died on her lips. He knew. Of course he knew. "I haven't made up my mind."

"So you didn't know when you came to ask Tony?"

"I was toying with the idea."

"Uh-huh." He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it back and finally met her eyes. "I know you didn't ask for my advice -"

"No I did not."

"- but if you do decide to go, give him some heads up, huh? He crossed time and space for you once."

"He can't come with us, Howard. Look at all of this. I can't ask him to leave it for me."

"Man loves ya, Peg."

"I know, and I love him. More than I can say." She pulled in a steadying breath. "For all I know Tony doesn't have enough to send me with you and there's no decision to make."

Howard snorted a laugh that hardly sounded real and reached out, patting her on the shoulder as he moved by. "If you're worried about me screwing it up, Peg, don't. I got this. All of it."

He left her standing there, sauntering off with a wide grin that was likely only half fake as he approached Morgan, and Peggy shook her head. "Ego worthy of a Stark," she muttered, and started for his son.

______________

Tony was feeling the evening weigh on him. It hadn't been planned, necessarily. Not that anybody would admit to at any rate. The car had pulled in that evening and instead of a quiet house where he could just crash out on the couch before going up to his own bed, there were people. Steve and Peggy hadn't been a surprise. Really Peter hadn't either. Okay neither had Rhodey, and with him had been Hill…. Clint has popped in, saying that he needed to get home but didn't want to miss out. Yeah. Okay. It had been planned.

"You still awake there?"

Tony cracked one eye open from where he'd slouched down on the couch, most everyone with the better sense to give him a few minutes' reprieve. Everyone but Howard. "No."

The other man chuckled, taking a heavy seat next to him. "You talk to Peggy?"

Ah. This was not a social visit to the couch. "I did."

"And?"

Tony finally opened both eyes, turning his gaze on Howard to try to decide how much he knew.

"She's goin' huh?"

"I got the gist of what she wanted when she came until the garage that morning."

"Tony, listen —"

"She's a big girl, Howard. Neither of us are gonna talk her out of this." He nudged him gently in the side at the crestfallen look. "Hey. I… I haven't had a chance to apologize."

"For what?"

"Unleashing on you the other night. I was pissed and I… I let it get to me. You didn't deserve that."

"Probably did, but all the same…. thanks."

Tony's lips quirked at the corner before straightening back out. "I'm gonna miss you. You know that right?"

Silence followed the question and he glanced over to see Howard's gaze fixed on the fireplace in front of them. "I keep telling myself I'll see you again. Get to… to see you born, first steps, first words…" He looked over, a flash of confusion flashing. "Is that the right order? Well, you know what I mean." Tony chuckled and leaned back against the cushions, listing a little to his left, but Howard didn't seem to mind as Tony's shoulder touched his and there was something comforting in it. "I've done the math, and the year, your age… I don't need to know the exact year I croak. I'm already gonna be up there when you're born."

"'Bout as old as I was when Morgan was born," Tony answered, and somewhere he knew he probably shouldn't say that much, but exhaustion was getting the better of him.

"Okay…. Okay. So we get some time?"

"You will."

There was a moment before Howard slowly shifted so that Tony would have had to work to keep from leaning fully into him. "I'm not… good at it," Howard said softly. "At, uh…. I'm not good at telling folks the good things. It always sounds so overblown or nowhere near enough. Guess I just didn't have a baseline. My old man… I never wanted to be him. I wanted to be better."

"Dad?" Tony managed, effectively cutting off the awkward meandering.

"Yeah?"

"Love you too."

It was a jump. Years ago Tony couldn't have pieced it together to make the leap, but even tired as he was, he knew Howard was trying his best.

There was a hard, desperate sounding sniff to his left and a Howard leaned in, pressing an awkward kiss to his hair. "Love you too, kid. Don't forget it? When I'm gone?"

Tony mumbled what he hoped Howard knew was an affirmation and loosed a breath. Strange had talked about being able to repeat moments in time when he had the Time Stone. If Tony could do that, this would be a moment he would choose.

______________

It was always a long drive back from the Stark cabin, but it felt longer with the uncomfortable silence that saturated the vehicle. Something was wrong. That much anybody could tell, and Steve played over every second of information he knew from the impromptu welcome home and goodbye party. He came up with a few possibilities, each one sounding less and less likely, and he couldn't help but remember Howard's advice from so many years before about understanding women. He loosed a frustrated breath and adjusted his grip on the wheel.

"I spent a year mourning you," Peggy said quietly from her seat, her head leaned back against the headrest and her gaze following the passing terrain. "Going down like you did… I played it over and over again, and I thought I'd moved on until you showed up on my doorstep. It was…" He saw a soft smile pull at her lips from the corner of his eye. "I wouldn't trade this time for anything, Steve."

He swallowed hard, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew what she was about to say. "You're going back."

"I am."

"Then I'll go with you."

"Tony knows you well, doesn't he?"

Well that was a change in topics. "What do you mean?"

"I spoke to him this evening. Well, I tried to bring it up a few days ago, but Nick Fury dropped the Stane case in our laps. He must have caught the purpose of the visit though. He had extra Pym Particles prepared for the trip… one for me and one for you."

Steve pulled over for that one. "He did what?"

"He said that he was fairly confident that if I went, you'd be inclined to follow."

He stared at her, his mind racing a hundred miles a minute. Tony was giving him the out he himself had been denied.

"But I'd like to propose an alternative."

"You don't want me to go with you, do you?" he asked softly and it was like he could feel his heart breaking. After so long, after so much…. they'd had their chance and she had decided she didn't want it after all.

"Steve, you're needed here."

He met her gaze and held it. "If you don't want to be with me, if that's your choice, okay-"

"It's not that," she huffed, shaking her head. "You idiot, it could never be that." She reached out to touch his hand that was still gripping the steering wheel even though they'd pulled to the side of the road. "Your team needs you and I… I need to do this." She swallowed hard and her grip tightened. Steve loosed his hold on the wheel and turned his hand over, hers fitting there. "I know it's asking a lot, I do, but it'll only be ten seconds for you, isn't that right?"

His spiraling thoughts slammed to a stop. "Ten seconds? You're coming back?"

"That's the idea."

"You left that part out," he murmured, and she squeezed his hand.

"I don't want to give you up, but I can't throw away a chance to have the kind of impact there that I had here. I'll need a few years to work with Howard on it, but I'll come back to you."

She held his gaze for a long moment like she was waiting for a response and he pulled in a breath. So many things could go wrong on her end. She knew so much that she might try to preemptively fix and find herself on the dangerous side of Hydra all over again. The dangers were infinite, each decision she made upon her return opening up new doors and potential threats.

All of which she was fully capable of facing down. She always had been. That fiery spirit was one of the many traits that had drawn him to her so early on. She didn't need anyone to protect her, not even him. He had to trust her here. Trust her to come back to him. "Okay."

"Okay," she echoed and he put the vehicle back into gear, forcing himself to focus on the road ahead of them.

______________

Howard didn't want to get up. Getting up meant admitting the day had begun and admitting the day had begun meant he had to go. On the flip side, not getting up meant wasting precious moments with the people he could hear already making a ruckus from the kitchen.

Slowly Howard pulled himself out of bed and grabbed for the familiar robe that Tony had finally stopped trying to take back from him. He wrapped it around himself and tied it closed before padding out into the main part of the house to follow the Parker kid's excitable ramblings. He reached the kitchen where the teen was balanced on one of the bar stools. Morgan sat on the kitchen island, swinging her bare feet and watching her daddy put together something for breakfast. Tony looked better. Tired, worn, but better.

"Are you going home today, Howard?" Morgan asked as she swiveled around on her perch, her clever dark gaze on him like she wanted him to know his quiet footsteps weren't fooling her. "Daddy's making sad food."

"You love cinnamon toast!" Tony argued, overexaggerating the feigned hurt expression until Morgan giggled.

"Uh-huh, but I didn't ask. You did."

"I think she thinks you're trying to butter her up," Howard offered as he took the stool next to Parker who was quickly losing the battle not to grin at the early Stark household shenanigans.

"You are no help," his son grumbled and turned back to his breakfast preparations.

Morgan poked Howard in the shoulder. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I am," he answered softly.

She scooted closer to him on the table and suddenly he had a pair of five-year-old arms wrapped around his neck. "Don't be sad. We'll miss you, but the other me will love you too."

Howard blinked hard, pulling back to look the little girl in the face. "What other you?"

"The one, the one where you're gonna be old like Daddy's picture." She pointed up to the glasses on the shelf and Howard followed her line of sight to a framed photo that had been pushed back against the wall so that it wasn't readily visible unless someone was looking for it. Now that he saw it, though, there was no question. It was him. Older and…. very grey, but him.

"How did you…." he started, and she grinned up at him.

Tony chuckled as he put the soon-to-be toast in the oven. "You're too smart for our good, little miss. How long you had us figured out?"

"Forever."

"Wow. Long time."

"Yeah."

"Speaking of photos," Parker cut in, hopping off of his stool and grabbing something off of Tony's holodesk. "Mr Stark - Tony - has a better printer than I'd ever be able to find so he let me use his. I caught a really good candid of you guys on my phone last night." Howard didn't have time to ask what the hell any of that meant as Parker handed him a coloured photo, not bothering to take a breath as he did. "I thought you could take it with you…. So you had a picture of him. You know, since you have to go and everything."

Howard took the photograph from the teen carefully. He and Tony were perfectly framed in it, both mid-laugh over something Morgan had done across the room from them and even with the years' difference between them there was no denying the similarities. The same crinkles around their eyes, the way they dipped their head and the grin took over. Howard brushed his thumb over Tony's smiling face and he felt his own lips tug at the corner as he looked up at Parker who looked as nervous as he sounded. "Thanks, kid."

"Tony got one too," Parker explained. "I thought it'd be cool if you both had one."

"Very cool," Howard managed, not quite trusting his own voice. Thankfully the timer on the oven chimed, breaking through the moment. Morgan chattered and Howard listened, glancing over to see Tony's relaxed smile that had tugged into place. He felt himself echo the expression. Today was the day, no matter how much he wished that it wasn't, but until that very moment when he was hurled back through time, he was determined to enjoy every last second he had where he was.

______________

Emotional responses had never really been his forte. He laughed at all the wrong moments and made inappropriate jokes that were met with stern looks of disapproval. He'd like to think he'd gotten a little better when Morgan was born. Being a father had helped to put things in perspective, and he knew that every move he made, every word he said was being taken in by that clever little mind. Feeling that weight of responsibility had helped him to curb some of his wilder impulses. That day it was just helping him keep up a desperate façade of calm, laughing and joking with the people closest to him like they weren't about to send Howard home. It would let Morgan enjoy the last day with her grandfather at least, even if Tony could see the same underlying stress in Howard's every move that he felt clawing at his own chest. Well, he'd failed miserably at keeping his distance. No way around that now.

The call came in late afternoon. The platform that they had used to send Steve with the stones had been delivered to to SI building that Tony had commandeered for the Avengers, all the equipment with it just waiting for him to make sure everything was working properly.

"I could help, you know," Howard said from off to the side. "Just give me a wrench and I'll -" Tony shot him a look that pulled a grin from his father. "It's not like I didn't have a version that got us here. This is just… better."

"Uh-huh," Tony answered, but a smile was tugging into place despite his best efforts.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from your design though."

Tony took a knee, reaching into the mechanisms to tighten a bolt. "This is actually Bruce's design. You'd have liked him."

There was a long pause. "Is he…?"

"Teaching, from what I hear. He's earned a little downtime."

Howard came to squat down next to where Tony was kneeling. "So have you, you know."

His right hand twinged a little as if it wanted to give him a reminder of the long term price he'd paid for his part in the battle against Thanos. He found the other man watching him carefully and he shook it off. "I'll take it easy, Howard."

"I don't believe that for a second," Howard snorted and he leaned back against the equipment. "Just… watch out for yourself? Maybe let your friends do that too?"

Tony glanced over at him, feeling the bolt lock in like it needed to. "I can do that."

Howard gave a sharp nod, mumbling his acceptance of the promise.

"You know," Tony said against his better judgement, "I could use some help."

Howard lit up at the statement and Tony didn't have to ask twice. The work went quicker with a second set of capable hands and they had it ready by the time the others trickled in.

Pete had stayed out at the cabin so that Pepper could join them in the city without worrying if watching Howard disappear in front of her might be too much for their daughter. Cap and Peggy showed and they both looked stressed. Maybe he'd decided to stay after all. Interesting. Wilson and Barnes showed not too far behind them and Rhodey and Clint were the latecomers.

"How you holding up?" Rhodey asked quietly, pulling Tony's attention from where Howard was talking with Cap's little group.

He shrugged. "It is what it is. We knew he was going back."

"I was referring to the fact that your heart just about stopped on us a few days ago, but I see where your head's at."

Tony turned, thrown by the statement, and found his best friend grinning at him. He rolled his eyes, which only made Rhodey grin wider.

It did start fading when he spoke again, his voice more serious this time. "You guys got close with this. Hell, closer than you were when you were growing up. No one is going to blame you for acknowledging that it sucks."

"It sucks," Tony deadpanned.

"See, there we go."

"Acknowledging it doesn't make it any better though."

Rhodey offered him a thin smile. "I hear Peggy's going back. Cap too?"

"Not sure yet."

"But you're giving him the option?"

"Yeah."

"We need him, Tony. With you out of the field -"

"I know," he snapped, grimacing after he did. "Sorry. I know, but it's his choice."

"Hell of one."

"No kidding."

Tony turned to look over at them just in time to see Cap stick a hand out for Howard and the shorter man reach forward only to drag him into an awakened hug. "Gonna miss ya, Cap, but at least I know you're gonna be alright. Didn't totally fail you."

"You didn't fail me at all," the blond answered.

Howard's grin sobered a little and he motioned to Peggy. "I promise to send her back in one piece."

Well that was interesting. Cap wasn't going, but Peggy was coming back. Look at him finding a way to cut the wire rather than lay down on top of it. Or maybe that was her idea.

"I think we're as ready as we'll ever be," Peggy announced, her voice not nearly as steady as it usually was.

Tony turned to where Pepper was giving Howard a hug goodbye, and the two were speaking quietly. He cleared his throat. "You ready?"

"No, but I guess it's time," he answered sadly.

Tony crossed the space between them and held out the GPS device. "It's pre-set. Destroy the tech once you get back."

"Sure."

"I'm going to pretend I believe you," he murmured.

There was a moment in which Howard just stood there, like he was frozen in front of him. If he was struggling with what to do, how to say goodbye, he couldn't be sure, but Tony broke the awkward moment by pulling him into a hug of his own. "I didn't get to say goodbye before," he said quietly so that only Howard could hear him. "Not gonna make that mistake again."

He felt Howard's arms tighten around him and the other man sniffed hard before releasing him, his eyes a little glassy. "Now or never," he muttered and turned to join Peggy on the platform.

They stood ready, both tapping the housing compartments for the nanosuits as their last act of preparation. Peggy met Steve's eyes. "Ten seconds," she said, the words ringing out like a promise they had already made each other.

"Ten seconds," he agreed.

"You know," Howard said as Tony crossed over to the control panel, and his voice was only slightly more steady than before. "I've done a lot of impressive things and my guess is I'm not done, but… none of it's gonna compare to you. I'm gonna do right by you this time."

The promise rang out for everyone to hear and Tony looked up to meet his gaze. He should argue with him, remind him that that could change everything, but it was pointless. It had already been changed. There was no stopping it now, and, if he were honest, he didn't think he wanted to. "You already have. I love you, Dad."

"You too, Son."

He pulled in a breath, hand shaking as he set the controls into place to send Howard and Peggy back to 1946.

______________

Notes: I was told that I should put a warning on this to let people know that it would cause pain and tears. If it helps, I'm right there too?

Gah... Sorry it took so long to get this written. Honestly, I think my brain just didn't want to write that final scene. I knew from the beginning that I'd have to send him back, but kind of like Tony, I just didn't know it was going to be so damn hard.

The next chapter is the final chapter. Will Peggy make it back? Guess you'll have to wait and see ;)

#Endgame fix it fic #Tony Stark #Howard Stark #Steve Rogers #Peggy Carter #Morgan Stark #James Rhodes #Peter Parker

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seventyfiveapples · 6 years

Text

In Transit - Chapter 6

Previous Chapters: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE

Or: The whole enchilada on AO3

Summary: When Officers Jakoby and Ward are hand-picked by the Magic Task Force to transport a dangerous convicted murderer, they must stay a few steps ahead as various enemies, forces of magic, and mistakes from the past complicate their path.

Notes: This was one of my favorite chapters to write, so I hope people like it. If there is anyone following along with this story, I’d love to hear if there are any questions, etc. (the flashbacks: are they confusing? etc.) Next chapter shall contain smut so get ready...

As Nick drove down the highway, Leigh kept trying to loosen her bracelet without anyone noticing. Agent Kandomere just stared out the window. He was trying to think through the call he’d have to make to his agency once they arrived at the safe house. This really wasn’t going as planned.

After a while, he stole a glance at the orc in the driver’s seat, who seemed to be frowning and gripping the wheel a bit too tightly as he drove.

“Something on your mind, Officer?”

Nick nearly jumped. The elf hadn’t spoken since they’d gotten in the car twenty minutes ago.

“Yes, actually. A lot is on my mind.”

“Is any of it relevant to me or this mission?”

“Agent Kandomere,” Nick started, lowering his voice so that Leigh couldn’t hear, “I don’t believe that this prisoner is guilty.”

“Ah.”

“She doesn’t deserve to be…” He seemed to have a hard time finishing his sentence. “executed for what happened back in L.A. It was an accident.”

“That’s really not your call, Officer. A jury of her peers felt otherwise.”

“I realize that. But if she’s in MTF custody now, can’t you-”

“I can’t. Whatever you are trying to ask me, I can’t. Listen, are you sure you aren’t a bit biased here, because of your history?”

Nick slowly turned to face the elf. He felt color rise in his cheeks. “You… knew about that?”

“Of course. We did our homework. We’ve been following her for years. I picked you two for this mission because of your discretion and professionalism with the wand incident, and because of that same professionalism, I thought you’d be able to set certain things aside. If this was the wrong call, well, it’s a little late now. Was this a mistake?” The agent’s tone made it clear that there was no more room for discussion. Nick missed Daryl: at least when his partner was in a mood, he was funny.

“No.” Nick told him through gritted teeth.

“But… you’re right,” Kandomere continued, speaking as quietly as he could. “She is innocent. That obnoxious elf she studied with - Chad - was recruited by the Inferni to turn Leigh to their cause. I don’t know exactly what happened, but he’s the one who killed all of those people on the bus. He made it look like it was her, like she was unable to control her power. He wanted to isolate her, inflame public fear of magic, and get her to lose confidence in her own abilities. That way, she’d have nowhere to turn but him and the Inferni” He shrugged. “For the most part, it worked.”

Nick was speechless. Not only was she truly innocent, she’d been framed, and the MTF apparently knew about everything.

“So… if you knew, why didn’t you testify, help during her trial?”

“Because eventually, she’s going to lead us straight to the Inferni. Right now, they are going to keep coming after her until we get her to a secure facility, but after that, we have options. Sentences can be commuted. But again, that’s down the road.” He glanced at her through the rear view mirror. “She’s very powerful. Even more than most Brights. They’re going to keep coming for her. By the way,” the agent concluded, unfolding a newspaper to read, “she was never even tempted by anything the Inferni - or Chad - promised. The only thing that worked on her was manipulating the people around her.”

Nick grimaced. It was hard to tell if the agent had meant that as a dig, but Nick felt it as one. He drove on in silence.

[TWO YEARS EARLIER]

Leigh adjusted her grip on the wand. It still vibrated in a way that she doubted she could fully control. Chad stood behind her, brandishing his own wand.

“That’s it, you’re so close. Just-” He breathed in and out loudly, “Just remember to breathe when you say the spell words.”

She tried as he said, but she had no confidence in her magic. The first time she’d lifted a chair at school it had flown through the roof, causing significant enough damage that class was held outside for a few weeks.. After that, she couldn’t get the chair to levitate more than an inch. Her powers seemed to be all or nothing.

She tried to put that all out of her head and stay in the moment. Slowly, the chair lifted off the floor and rose… and kept rising… until it hit the ceiling.

“It didn’t fly through the roof, oh my gods. It’s working,” she whispered with her eyes fixed on the chair.

“Breathe, Leigh. Keep your focus on the spell.”

As she did, she heard Nick’s keys in the front door. He came in, saw the chair on the ceiling, and froze. He knew her magic had been a bit unpredictable, and he didn’t want to distract her.

It was too late.

“Hi, baby! Look, I- oh crap!” When she started talking to him, the chair had begun to rotate slowly. It was now picking up speed, moving faster and faster. She used the spell words again, but she couldn’t stop it.

“Okay, I’ve got you,” said Chad, rushing up behind Leigh and wrapping his hands around hers. Slowly the chair slowed its rotation and sank back to the floor. From behind Leigh, Chad made eye contact with Nick and winked. “Us Brights have to stick together, don’t we?”

Nick glowered at him from the doorway.

“Thank you, Chad,” she told him. “Ugh, we worked hard today- I’m wiped out! I’m gonna grab some water. You guys want any?” The guys shook their heads no and Leigh went to the kitchen.

“I thought you were going to wrap up early today,” said Nick in a chilly tone.

“We were but, well, things were going well. We lost track of time. You know Leigh when she gets excited about something.”

“Yes,” Nick said, stepping closer to the elf without breaking eye contact. “I do know Leigh.”

“What’s wrong?” Chad said, feigning confusion. ‘You’re not jealous, are you? I thought your relationship was rock solid.” He finished with a smirk.

“Our relationship,” Nick growled, “is none of your business. And I think it’s time for you to leave. Magic practice is over. Why don’t you gather your things and get out of here?”

“Nick!” yelled Leigh from the doorway. “Chad, I’m sorry, he didn’t mean-”

“Nah, it’s fine Leigh. I was leaving anyway. See you in class tomorrow.” He grabbed a ratty backpack and headed out the door. Once he was out of earshot, she whipped around and glared at Nick.

“Leigh-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Nick! He came here to help me, on his own time. You’re always awful to him.”

“Leigh, he’s not who you think he is. He’s lying to you. He has some whole plan that includes getting you injured. I told you what he said at your party last month.”

“You did, Nick, and it didn’t make any sense. You must have heard wrong. If he wants to hurt me, why would he go out of his way to help me with my magic?”

“Please just listen-”

“You know what? I’m done listening. It’s always the same shit. I’m going out for a while. Don’t wait up.” The door slammed and Nick just stared, feeling helpless.

She would never believe him. That hurt. Worse, there were people around her who meant her harm… and he didn’t know how to protect her.

[present day]

Per Agent Kandomere’s directions, Nick pulled down a narrow gravel road that had forked off from a pitted asphalt one. He was about to ask if the elf was sure they were heading in the right direction, when around a corner, a large rustic farmhouse came into view. It would have been almost a postcard if it hadn’t been enclosed by an eight-foot barbed wire fence and an imposing mechanical gate.

“Cozy,” remarked Leigh to herself, forgetting that both elves and orcs had much stronger hearing than humans. Nick snickered a little.

“It doesn’t have to be cozy,” replied Kandomere. “It has to be secure. And it is.”

“Remind me about this place if I ever need somewhere to churn some really top secret butter,” Leigh said.

This safehouse, the elf explained, was created as a magic “dead zone,” and was used in various ways by the MTF: for trainings, as a remote office, a venue for high-level meetings. It was one of the most secure facilities owned by the MTF. Kandomere was glad it had been available.

“From here, we’ve only got a six-hour drive tomorrow to the MTF prison facility.”

Leigh fell silent. While they were driving, it felt so far in the future, but now her reality was catching up to her. She felt a heavy weight settle in her gut.

---

The house was tucked away from view faced some hills dotted with scraggly desert trees. After they’d settled in, Nick walked out to the house’s front porch and sat on a wide cushioned bench. After the past two days, his head was spinning and he welcomed the quiet. He wondered what Leigh was feeling. He wondered how he would keep his promise to her. He wondered if he’d made a mistake in their relationship, and how things might be different today if he’d done things another way back then.

Back then. He found himself going back to those memories over and over… He wondered if she was starting to feel the same things he was.

“Hey, tomatoes.” He was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even heard Leigh join him on the porch. The night was a little chilly and she stood wrapped in a fluffy blanket. He startled a little at her voice. “Can I join you?” He nodded and patted the bench next to him.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m tired. Scared. Kinda sad. I’m kind of enjoying being able to stretch my arms, though.” Secure inside the fence’s perimeter, Agent Kandomere had given clearance for her to remove her handcuffs. “And I’m really glad you’re here.” Nick wasn’t sure what to say to that. He stretched one arm along the back of the bench.

“Come here, Leigh,” he said softly. She scooted a little closer to him and leaned into his chest. He let his arm drop down from the back of the bench, pulling her into an embrace. The sturdy shape of him was instantly familiar. How many times had they sat this way when they were together? She closed her eyes and breathed him in. For the briefest moment, everything felt just like it had then.

“Nick- I want to tell you how sorry I am. I mean, about… us. Before. You tried to warn me about Chad so many times, and I just… I never heard you. But you were right. About everything.”

“I wanted to say the same thing. I’m sorry, Leigh. I clearly went about things the wrong way back then. I was trying to help but I just pushed you away. I’m so sorry.”

Leigh took the blanket she was wearing and draped it over both of them before relaxing back into him. She drew her legs up beside her and draped her arm across his waist.

“I really loved you, Nick. I loved you so much.”

He didn’t know what to do in that moment but be there for her, but for whatever it was worth, he was ready to do that. He felt her body relax and her muscles go slack against him.

Just as he was certain she was asleep, he craned his neck down to kiss the top of her head, whispering:

“I never stopped.”

---

“Gods dammit!” Chad yelled. He’d lost the signal again. Sarah rolled her eyes. This guy was an idiot and yet somehow her fate was tied to his.

“Pull over. You’re not going to crash this car with me in it.” she told him.

“They went down a small road - here - and then nothing. I think something’s blocking her signal again.”

“You’re sure it’s this road?” She pointed on the map.

“I’m sure.”

“Well, that’s no problem. It’s a dead end- see? We know this isn’t their final destination. We’ll just go down the road until the last place you saw the signal… and wait.”

Next chapter: https://seventyfiveapples.tumblr.com/post/174613881520/in-transit-chapter-7

tags: @itshidingthere

#bright movie #bright fanfiction #nick jakoby #nick jakoby fanfiction #nick jakoby x oc #daryl ward #kandomere #orc #orcs #elves

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totallyrhettro · 6 years

Text

Another Me, Chapter 16

Word Count: 2240 Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none Summary: This time, Rhett was really going to do it. He had tried maybe a thousand times over the past thirty-odd years to tell Link how he really felt, but this time he was finally going to actually succeed. At least, that was the plan, but when another version of the six-foot seven bearded internetainer appears out of nowhere during their weekend getaway, Rhett’s carefully laid plans are quickly pushed aside. Notes: AU, Present day, Rhett and Link aren’t married

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First Chapter Previous Chapter

Link and Nick spent much of the night talking about what had happened over the past few days, Link catching Nick up on the doings of their mutual friend and Nick telling him about the manhunt happening on this site. Link also told him of his plans to speak with his alternate self and was happy that Nick was fully on-board. They took the first plane out of England back to the US the next morning; there was no time to waste.

‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ Link thought to himself, over and over again. He grew less and less certain that this had been a good idea, but there was no going back now. He was committed and there was no way he wasn’t going to follow through.

On the plane Nick tried to keep Link's mind off whatever was clearly bothering him by asking about the other universe. Link did his best to talk about the three years that were different on his side, but every time he spoke about Rhett and their time together, he felt a growing lump in his throat.

‘This has gotta work,’ he reminded himself. ‘For Rhett’s sake.’

~ ~ ~

“We can’t just wait around for Link to come back,” Rhett was arguing. Ever since he saw his beloved friend vanish before his eyes, he couldn’t stop thinking about where he had ended up, if he was safe. It had been a foolish and rash choice to touch the stone instead of the other Rhett, and now there was no telling if he was going to ever make it back.

“There’s not much else we can do,” his copy countered. “Whatever gateway, or portal, or whatever carries us from one universe to the other, is closed for now. Chances are it’s not gonna open until tomorrow evening.”

“But what if Link didn’t go to your universe?” Rhett pushed, his fear spilling out into his voice. “What if he went to a different one, or ended up on another planet? Or-”

“There would still be nothing we could do about it.” The fact was cold and harsh, but undeniably true. They barely knew how this whole transfer even worked, there was no way they’d be able to use it to their advantage. Until 9:31 pm rolled around once more, or Link popped back into this universe on his own, the two Rhett’s couldn’t do anything but wait, and it was driving them both crazy.

“Goddammit, Link,” Rhett cursed, balling his fist in his hair. He hated the not knowing, the feeling of being absolutely powerless to help the man he loved. The man he was seriously furious with right now. “Why did you have to go and be an idiot?”

“Because he’s Link,” his alternate answered, receiving a sharp look for his comment. “You know what I mean,” he continued with a kind smile. “He’s Link. He does things without thinking. He’s rash and impulsive. But he’s also kind and smart. I’m sure he thought he was doing the right thing.”

“He’s not always right,” Rhett murmured, sitting back on the hotel bed. It was the only place the two Rhett could be alone together, and talk about this stuff, without fans listening in or finding them both together. “He’s clumsy and thick-headed. Stubborn and foolish.”

“And you love him,” the alternate reminded him. Rhett sighed, dropping his face into his hands.

“More than anything.” It was true and always would be. His heart couldn’t stop loving Link if he tried. “Why did he do this? What could he possibly be thinking?” His copy sat down beside him, and from this distance Rhett finally saw the bags under his eyes, the dried tears down his cheeks. He was as distraught as Rhett, but that made sense. They were both Rhett. They both loved Link, either Link. Rhett was Rhett and Link was Link and in any iteration, Rhett would love Link. There was no other way for the universe to unfold, it seemed.

“I don’t know,” the alternate admitted. “Nick has to still be in England. He must be racking his brain trying to figure out where I went. He probably called the police, he’d have to after all this time.”

“But what good would come out of Link going over there? What is there to find?” The questions seemed endless, and all of them without answers. Of course, one of the biggest questions Rhett had he left unsaid, but continued to think it all the same.

‘Why would he leave me?’

~ ~ ~

Link had been working for Belcon for a few years now and while he found it to be somewhat satisfying work, there were days when he dearly missed working back in California, if not because he missed Rhett but because he missed being able to use his more creative side. Those days, when he found himself daydreaming of filming Good Mythical Morning, or any of their other numerous projects, seemed to happen more and more often as time went on. Yet every time he thought about doing the one thing he felt might change his life back to what it was, calling Rhett, he found he was too scared to even pick up the phone. He couldn’t face him, not now, and every day he didn’t it got harder and harder to even try.

So he trudged along, burying himself in his work, hoping to shut out the pain of the past, the thoughts that plagued him in the early hours of the morning, and forget that he ever knew a man named Rhett. Link hoped that by forgetting Rhett he could soothe his soul, move on with what was left of his life. Most days he could convince himself that he had succeeded. Most days.

When he moved back to North Carolina, giving up his nearly decade-long YouTube career, his parents were nothing but supportive, though neither could truly understand. His mother was the most worried, trying to figure out who had broken her baby’s heart, but Link refused to say. How could he? How could he tell anyone that he had run away from a dream job, a dream life, because a man kissed him? No. He resolved to let them believe that he had just grown tired of the show, that he just wanted a simple life again. A simple, old-fashioned southern life. That’s what he tried to portray, at any rate.

He lost track of everyone from California -the crew, his friends out west- but it had been his choice. He knew that many of them would want him to patch things up with Rhett, to not give up on the show, to come back, but he wasn’t willing, ready, or able to do any of those things. He just wanted to shut out anything and anyone from that life, not to be cruel but to protect himself from having to deal with the turmoil he felt inside. He missed all of them, all of the work, the show, the people, all of it, but he couldn’t go back now. There was no going back. There was only his new life in Fuquay, and his desire to make it work, no matter how dull and mind-numbing it got.

In the evenings he would go home, have a plain supper of one cereal or another, then go right to bed. In sleep he could turn off all his thoughts for a few hours until the morning back once again. In dreams he could escape the reality of his existence and not worry about anything. Of course, sometimes even his dreams were against him, sending him visions of the man who had turned his life upside down, more than once. They reminded him of the life he had before and the mistakes that led to this new one. They reminded him of what he had lost, what he had inevitably given up.

Still he trudged on, day by day, week by week, year by year. He had dulled himself to the world and he had caged his heart from emotions, lest it shatter from their weight, and in the end the routine of going to work and little else was somewhat comforting. In the end he relied on routine, on the boring repetitive life he had built for himself and so, when one evening he pulled into his driveway and saw his friend Nick getting out of a car, he didn’t know what to do. He froze, hands clenched on the steering wheel, afraid of what other parts of his old life were soon to return.

Finally, knowing he couldn’t hide in his truck forever, he took a deep breath and stepped out, hoping he was ready to tell Nick that whatever his friend wanted, he wasn’t interested. It wasn’t going to be easy, but he had to, for his own sake.

“Hey, Link,” Nick greeted. His tone was soft and low, like one might use on someone that had lost a family member recently. “How, how are you?” He offered a hand and Link took it, politely but with little enthusiasm.

“Workin’,” he replied, honestly. Neither ‘fine’ or ‘okay’ seemed to fit, as he wasn’t either. Then he cut to the chase. “What are you doing here? You fly all the way across the country to ask me how I am?”

“Not exactly,” Nick shrugged, glancing at his car. Link followed his gaze; there was someone else in the car. Link’s heart stopped, his blood turned to ice. It couldn’t be.

‘Please, no,’ he prayed, while simultaneously praying ‘please, yes.’

“I have someone here who wants to talk to you,” Nick continued, looking more nervous by the second. “And I guarantee, it’s not who you think it is.”

“Nick,” Link managed, his throat threatening to close at any moment. “I don’t want to talk to anyone, right now.” Or ever, really. The passenger side car door opened and Link flinched. His heart began to race now. His mind, too; hundreds of guesses as to whom it might be flooding through like a torrent, and all of them washed aside by the one person he most wanted, the one person he most dreaded.

“Please, Link,” Nick pressed, as the other man got out, facing away from them both. “I think he’s the one person you need to listen to.” The stranger had dark hair, going grey, but Link didn’t recognize the hair cut. Then he turned around.

“Hey, Link,” the stranger greeted. “I’ve come a long walk to talk to ya.” Link didn’t know what to say; his jaw hung loose on his face. Nick almost wanted to laugh from the site of Link seeing another version of himself standing before him, but he understood the gravity of the situation. Besides, it had been an excruciatingly long flight and he was dearly looking forward to a real chair.

“Let’s go inside,” he suggested, motioning towards Link’s house. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

“Wha, but-” Link stumbled, trying to remember how to form words again. “Who? What? Who is that?” The stranger -the other Link- smiled in understanding. He felt strange, being the outsider in this universe. Now he was the alternate version between the two of them.

“I promise,” he began, gently. “I’ll explain everything. Mind if we come in and sit? You might want to sit, too,” he suggested, seeing his other self looking a bit weak in the knees. He definitely could have fainted at any moment from the shock of seeing someone who looked nearly identical to himself.

“But… who are you?” He didn’t have a twin, as far as he knew, and the voice was too similar to be a double. What other explanation could there be?

“It’s a long story but I… I’m Link.” The words didn’t settle, didn’t make sense. Link shook his head in disbelief.

“No. No, I’m Link. I’m Link Neal and you-”

“I’m also Link Neal,” the other Link insisted, trying to make his duplicate stop and listen. “I came here to talk to you about Rhett.” That stuck and the Link from this universe stared at him again.

“Rhett?” His heart stopped. “What about Rhett?”

Next Chapter

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#rhett #link #rhink #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #another me #who is the alternate now?

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in-the-bookish-dark · 4 years

Text

At the Richelieu - RL

His hand slapped my shoulder and I knew what was coming next, “Come on Tommy, let’s grab some pizza.”

“Mona, hey Mona – me and the boy are going out for pizza.”

Noises that sounded like complaints came up from the laundry room in the basement, probably asking what in hell he needed with pizza two hours after pot roast. He tossed the keys to me, “Hey, big boy – go start her up. I’ll be out in a sec.”

I peeled myself out of the armchair and willed myself toward the door. Not my will be done, but his of course, but hey, it worked.

Going down the steps, I could hear my mom’s voice more clearly through the casement windows than up the stairs. Things like “if you think” and “why in hell” and “all the damn day” while laundry baskets and cabinet doors were getting slammed about. She ended with “Answer me!” and feet stomping up the stairs came through the windows. The old man crashed out the door, shrugging into his spotty blue sports coat. Then I understood, like so many times before, we were getting the kind of pizza that required a sports coat.

I’d just settled in behind the wheel of the Olds and cranked the engine up when he rapped on the window. I started to shift across to the passenger side.

“Whoa-whoa, little buddy! You wanna pull her into the street, champ?”

I froze. Crap! The street! I’d backed “her” up to the street before, but never past the curb. It really just involved shifting into neutral and taking the brake off for about two and a half Mississippis. Into the street was more Mississippis and turning – and not crashing! Much more complicated. He looked so eager to offer, I didn’t want to let him down, so I nodded my head and resumed my position at the wheel. He stood by the window. Evidently, he was crazy enough to let an eleven year old drive, but not so damn crazy he’d get in the car with him.

I shifted – twice, just to make sure – popped the emergency brake, and lifted my foot from the brake pedal, keeping it suspended in the air, consciously not committing it to the gas pedal. The other foot stayed locked on the clutch, trying to press it through the floorboards.

I threw a glance over my right shoulder, which lost me the death press on the clutch. We rolled, me and Jesus, with whom I had just started a frantic conversation.

I muttered “turn-turn-turn-turn” to myself over and over, just in case I forgot when the time came. Tires hit the pavement and I realized I didn’t know when the right time actually was, so I whipped the wheel to the right. I got scared immediately, and whipped it hard back left. Then, I did the move I excelled at, stalling the engine and stomping back on the brake, everything but the gas.

He sprinted from driveway to window and waved me to the passenger side. I almost lunged over, then remembered the parking brake. Ten seconds later, we were off, him in control, and telling me, “Hey, didja have fun there, pal? Gotta say, your mom would go apeshit if she found out. Don’t worry, though, just us guys here. Won’t tell your mom.” I was nervous enough during my “maneuver” but more so afterward. Dad was in co-conspirator mode. I was about to pay for his silence with my own.

Sam and Ray's Pizza, a tiny take-out place with two metal chairs for those who were ready before their pizza was.

“Hey, Gina, how’s my girl? Is it ready yet? My man Tommy’s got a powerful appetite, like his old man, y’know. He did that shooting thing with his finger and she blushed. It looked like Gina did know something about his appetites.

She peeled the pizza out of the oven and seemed to slice it in the air, en route to the counter. It was boxed and sitting at the pass-through in ten seconds.

“So, can Tommy, who’s big enough to drive half way here by himself, by the way, park himself here for a couple of minutes while I conduct some business next door?”

Next door was the Richelieu Bar and Grill. It wasn't a grill. Just a bar. Maybe it was a grill ages before, but not any time I'd seen it. It just kept the name.

Gina blinked slow and nodded. Dad dropped the twelve thousand degree pizza on my lap before dashing to the door. “Back in five, Tom.” I think the door stopped rattling before his voice stopped echoing.

Gina’s dad, who I always assumed was Sam, appeared from the back. The conversation between Gina and Sam began with much gesturing on both sides and ended with gesturing on his side and cringing on her side. At one point, I heard “dirty son of a bitch” as he glanced my way. For just a moment, I felt very guilty, then realized he wasn’t talking about me, but about the old man. So, instead of guilty, I felt ashamed. Still, an improvement, I guessed.

There was quiet for a moment and Gina suddenly was next to me, leaning her bosom right into my face. I made myself look into her face, though even at eleven, my attention was decidedly elsewhere.

“Pop says you can’t stay, ‘cause we’re about to close, and he’s not going to want to stick around until your dad’s done … with his business next door. So, I’m gonna walk you over and get you set.” Her voice was gardenias, her bosom a garden of mums, soft and warm and fragrant, her face a bouquet of disappointment.

I nodded. She yanked the pizza box off my lap, and I could swear a layer of skin along with it.

She took me around to the Richelieu and parked me at a small booth near the back end of the bar, making sad, hopeless, gestures at me to the bartender, who’d seen me enough before to know the deal. He glared somewhere off into the back room, then shrugged it off. He slid a coke my way, which Gina took to my table.

“So … coke and pizza – how often do you get to have that for supper!? Lucky kid, you!” Her voice was frowning and her eyes were sad, even as her voice was telling me how great this was. One more gesture of “Whaaaaat?” at the bartender and she was gone.

All the pizza I could eat without throwing up was before me, coupled with what I knew would be an endless supply of coke. I ate. I was full, but I ate, because it was easier to watch the pizza going into my mouth than to make eye contact with the regulars. I did glance up between slices, looking for him – while trying not to appear to be looking for him. Hell, comes down to it, I was trying to look invisible – all other magic was secondary.

Half way into the second slice. I first heard his voice from in back.

That got the imagination going, wondering what he was up to. Pizza, coke, and a loose cannon dad. How often do you get that for supper!? Lucky kid, me.

It was cards, probably poker. All the sounds were right. If I moved to the opposite bench in the booth, I might have been able to see him, or at least the room he was in. But if I did that, everything happening between me and the exit – my escape – would have evaded by notice. I felt better knowing what they were doing. What my old man was doing. I had pretty good idea.

The Richelieu wasn’t the worst place I’d been abandoned in. There was a place out on the old highway that was half hookers and half johns, all covered by a patina of gonorrhea. Of course, I didn’t know any of those terms back then, I just knew there were a lot of things there that a nine year old by didn’t want to touch.

The Richelieu was better. During the day, it was essentially a neighborhood tavern, serving lunches and early dinners. The semi-respectability that soaked in during the day took hours after dark to fully dissipate. It probably wasn’t entirely given over to debauchery (also a word I didn’t know then) until close to midnight. Fortunately for me it was only 9:30, according to my authentic Admiral Byrd chronograph which I had been assured was worth untold treasures, twelve boxtops and thirty-five cents shipping and handling.

I was caught up in my thoughts, eyes down at the stupid watch, view obstructed by the pizza box lid when the bartender came up alongside me.

“Hey kid … uh, what’s your name, kid?”

“Tommy”

“Hey, Tommy, who’s your dad?”

“Ed Keller.” I responded tentatively. Sometimes, like hell or damn or shit, a kid could get into a lot of trouble for such an utterance. This time, it got me the bartender’s sympathy. He cupped a hand onto my shoulder and sighed. “Well, listen, Tommy, I’m sure you’re a good kid despite-“ He stopped himself in the middle of his sentence and in the middle of a shrug in the direction of my dad. “Tell you what, Tom, be a big guy and come sit at the bar with your buddy Nick and we’ll let these nice people have the table while your dad wraps up his business.”

Nick was trying to be a regular guy, which helped out a lot. What I usually heard was “Hey, kid, grownups need a seat. Go sit out of the way, but first go tell your old man its time for him to get you the fuck home.” Sometimes, when I was really young, it made me cry. I hadn’t done it in years, though. I’d gotten a lot better at hearing that stuff.

I guess I took too long soaking in that good feeling because good Nick became ballbuster Nick before I even saw it coming.

He leaned in close and in a voice crafted to reach no further than the nearest drunk’s ear, said “Don’t be a little shit, Tommy. We already got Ed for that. Move your butt to the end of this end of the bar. I’ll grab the pizza.”

I started, scrambling to the edge of the bench.

“Don’t forget your coke, pal.” I hated pal. “Pal” “Buddy” “Sport” – when you’re a kid, they always carry a threat inside the pretty package. Really all it said was “I’m telling you nicely to get it done before I get pissed.” At eleven I was just barely skilled enough in math to approximate the number of times my dad had spoken warmly to me while beating me, or called me a worthless little shit in a voice that floated over the back fence like honeysuckle. It was a big number, and a lot of times, the conversation started with “pal” or its buddies.

As I shifted toward the bar, the curtain to the back area widened and out popped my old man with a blond by the waist.

“Hey, Nick, how about we get some – holy shit. Tommy … Nick, what the fuck …”

Nick stopped him cold, his eyes very clearly warning him off. “Gina brung him. You abandoned your son there five minutes before they closed. It’s on you, buddy – don’t drop your shit on me.”

They stared for a few seconds, then my dad said, “Well, just watch him for five minutes. Can you do that much for christsakes?”

Nick stepped back around the bar. “Time’s comin’, Ed. Almost here. You see me twitch your direction, you best go hide out in Mongolia or Tierra del Fuego for a while.”

Then he fired at me as he turned, “Kid, you’re still here at 11, you’re going into the dumpster.” He caught my big eyed, open mouth stare and turned back. His brow furrowed and he shook his head, trying to wave off my fear.

We all stood there for a moment, suddenly fascinated by my struggle to surmount the barstool.

“Let’s keep this professional, Nick. Bourbon rocks for me and my friend. Tommy, meet Brenda. She’s an old friend from church camp.”

Any uncertainty I had about believing him evaporated when Brenda turned and slapped his shoulder. She could hardly say “don’t lie to your own son” but that’s what the slap said, regardless. She stood there looking aggrieved for a moment, then turned the old man back down the hall. Her giggle announced that, not only were all sins forgotten, they were also forgiven. Time for new ones, evidently.

Once I was back in an agreeable location, Nick was my buddy again. He’d point out guys who’d had too much, women he described as “lookers”, and things like that. He even told me two stories about how his own son who was in little league but he didn’t get to see a lot of games because of his work schedule, but the kid’s mom took good care of him and besides, she was seeing some new guy who seemed pretty stand-up and really liked the kid so that was good. I didn’t know what “stand-up” meant, but from the way he said it, it was clearly a good thing. All that came out in a single flow, a river of words that spilled out from his tongue. It started warm and brisk, but by the end the words came soft and in slow burst as he turned his attention to arranging the liquor bottles on the back counter.

I watched him, but my attention was all directed off my left shoulder. My old man came out twice to go across the hall into the restroom. The girl followed him out both times. The first time she stopped in the hall and waited for him. When he re-emerged, she pressed him against the door to the poker room and kissed him deeply, her hands firm on his cheeks. My cheeks burned. My eyes burned as well. The second time, she followed him into the restroom and it was a good three songs before they came out again. He slapped her butt as they crossed the hall and she wiggled her butt and giggled until the other door closed on them again.

Nick stared at me, picking up my shifted attention. Not knowing anything else to do, I picked up another piece of pizza and took a bite. It was dry and cold and had no flavor to it – and it made me gag. I leapt from the stool, hand over my mouth, and sprinted down the hall. I hesitated at the men’s room door, but my stomach didn’t. Its contents splashed against the door and wall, spattering back on my shoes.

Someone called out “Goddamn, Nick! Now the kid’s puking down the hall!” Nick was already whipping around the corner, bar rags in hand. On the good side, three bursts and I was done, which didn’t take too long to clean up. Nick gave me one rag and told me to go into the men’s room and wash up. I just shook my head, not wanting to stumble into the space still wearing the scents of my dad and Brenda. He insisted and I shook my head again. He insisted one more time, this time by shoving me through the door, which set me bawling. I heard him through the door talking to a guy, “It’s out of order. Use the Ladies’.”

“Ladies’? Hell Nick, I just wanna…”

“Then pee in your boot or out in the alley – I don’t give a shit, Billy. Just get the fuck out of my face or I’ll fucking deck you.”

That was the motivation Billy needed to choose Option B.

After trundling the rags off to the back room, he came back and rapped on the door.

“Hey, uh… Tommy? You ‘bout ready to come out? I’ve got guys who need the room, y’know. I’ll get you some water, but you need to come on out, fella.”

Fella was somewhat better and different from “pal” or “buddy” and the others. Less condescending, somehow – part of a fellowship, not just wearing a diminutive label like a pet.

I followed him out and climbed back on the stool as Nick produced a glass of water. He wasn’t at all subtle with his body language. Though he was trying to look calm and focused, he kept glancing down the hall. He had half a dozen half starts. He wanted to throw my dad out. I’d seen the moves too many times to mistake it for anything else. For the moment, though, he withstood the impulse.

I didn’t see my old man in five minutes, like he promised Nick, but neither of us was surprised. Brenda came out four times, though, with empty glasses and winks for me and Nick. She reached over and ran her fingers through my hair and called me cutie. She said my dad told her to come check on me, which was probably true, if “please check on my son” was code for “hey, get us refills, babe.” Three times, she told me “You’re going to break some girl’s heart someday” as her cloud of stale cigarettes and perfume faded back behind the curtains. Evidently, she had only one script for little boys in bars, which, was probably more than most women. At least, that’s what I’ve always hoped.

On the fourth trip out, there was a crash from the back just as she turned, but before she started her “You’re going to break …” line. She froze and shot looks at the two of us. Nick put his hand to my arm to make sure I didn’t race back. I knew better than that. Around my old man, you didn’t race in to any space that loud noises were coming out of, whether they were shouts or bangs. Guys got smacked for showing up uninvited to a ruckus. Still, though, I watched from my stool, which was at a safe distance.

More banging, chairs and tables being shoved around, I guessed, all coming through the curtain, shrouded in a forest of shouting. I couldn’t make out the actual words, but the tone said plenty. Some surprised accusation followed by an appeal for calm. More accusation, with the hard edge of indignation back. There was a plaintive edge to one of the voices, then they all seemed to shout at once, almost drowning out the sound of a scuffle. My dad popped out the door, fending off arms that couldn’t seem to decide whether to pull him back in or push him completely out.

Brenda squeaked “Eddie” and raced to him. Nick’s hand tightened on my arm. I didn’t want to watch any further, but did anyway. Nick didn’t want me to watch either, and kept trying to get my attention. As soon as she reached my old man, Brenda snaked her body around his and showered his face with kisses. She gave him the once-over to see if he was injured, and kissed his bloody knuckles before setting her head on his shoulder.

I could barely see as they talked back and forth. He must have been replaying the dispute for her. Something made her recoil. Her response turned his face some, and he pushed her back and pressed her against the wall, berating her, angry finger inches from her face. She tried to shield herself, maybe from the accusations, or maybe she’d felt his fists before.

I hadn’t even seen Nick move until he eclipsed dad and Brenda. He rapped his baseball bat on the doorframe where the curtain hung, and the old man stepped back. Over Nick’s shoulder, I saw his face. He was doing the math, figuring the odds between himself and his adrenaline, and Nick and his baseball bat. Evidently, the odds fell in favor of Nick and bat.

Nick told Brenda to go home and she streaked past me, her smoky perfume burning my nostrils as she passed me. Her mascara was already making tracks down her cheeks. I was pretty sure she was actually done for the even.

Nick said, “That’s two strikes, Ed. Next time, I’m swinging for the cheap seats.” He jerked his head over his left shoulder. My dad had no trouble interpreting that gesture. He glared at him as he passed by, but didn’t argue the ruling. We were leaving. Five minutes was finally up, two and a half hours later.

He grabbed the shoulder of my shirt as he passed me. My shirt stretched only so far before it tugged me off the barstool like a heavy duffel bag from a luggage rack. I dropped and trotted to keep up, only then aware of the tears that filled my eyes and the snot that overflowed my nose. A woman at the booth nearest the door tried to hand me napkins for my nose, but he jerked me to the other side as we burst through the door.

He sped up, like he was trying to outrun me, while still dragging me by my shirt. At the car, he slammed me against the front fender and slapped me sharply on both cheeks. “Listen, kid – you want to cry, I’ll give you something to cry about. Stop being a baby, baby.” I was ashamed; I was also angry. At that age, both emotions tended to mean tears, and that’s what I got.

I cried more, he slapped me more, until, finally, he yanked his handkerchief from his pocket and crammed it into my face. “Clean yourself up, for Christ’s sake, and get over it.” He sighed and shoved me around to his door and I scrambled across the seat to the passenger’s side. The drive home was stone cold silent. He was a rock for the first half, brittle as slate, as I got myself under control. The second half, he began to relax. By the time we pulled into our driveway, he spoke again. “Not a word, right? Men keep each others’ secrets, right?”

I nodded.

He grinned, gave me a light punch on my shoulder and said “Come on pal, let’s go see what your mom’s been up to” as he tousled my hair.

It was done. Again. For the moment, anyway.

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itsworn · 7 years

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Beverly Bush’s Dream 1974 Chevy C10 Debuts

If there’s one thing we’ve learned at Classic Trucks it’s that it doesn’t matter which part of the world one is in, it’s possible to find an incredibly perfect example of a customized classic truck, and that means the quality of the work as well as the trick parts that went into creating it.

We found this 1974 Chevy C10 at the 40th Annual Medford Rod & Custom Show held in Medford, Oregon, last April. It was move-in day and the Viper Red shortbed Fleetside square-body sounded badass as it was being staged into its spot for the weekend. The Medford Rod & Custom Show attracts entrants and spectators from much farther around than its Southern Oregon location.

Vehicles roll in from the west coast of Canada and the U.S.; we got a chance to meet all of the artisans responsible for building this C10 while we were at the show.

The story begins: It could be said Beverly Bush was way ahead of the curve when it came to climbing onto the square-body bandwagon. She bought her 1974 Chevy C10 brand new, but it wasn’t until 2002 when she wanted her 1974 C10 to be an over-the-top clean show and goer. That decision took place because her husband, Nick, had just picked up the K5 Blazer he bought brand new and then had Bruce Grieg at T&D Performance in White City, Oregon, customize it from the ground up. Beverly took one look at Nick’s badass K5 and enlisted Grieg to do the same for her truck only better, but as fate would have it not long afterward Beverly received a positive diagnosis for cancer.

Beverly’s fight with cancer, amongst other health challenges, consumed most of her time, but that didn’t keep her from visiting her 1974 C10 and checking on its progress as often as she could. Grieg stated: “The passion in her fight to beat cancer and finish her truck never wavered, but unfortunately God had other plans and took her away from us in May 2011. At that point Beverley’s family was at a crossroads and undecided what to do.”

Sometime after Beverly’s death it was at the last second a T&D Performance customer backed out of loaning his car for T&D’s booth, so Grieg phoned Nick and asked if he could borrow the unfinished 1974 C10 to showoff the shop’s capabilities at a local car show.

The 1974 caught the eye of Harlan McElroy, a loyal patron of T&D Performance, and a deal was struck with Beverly’s family for the truck to change hands. The die was cast for the C10 to be built to an exceptionally high standard from the get-go, and if such a thing was possible in Harlan’s hands the build quality was kicked up yet another notch.

Insane attention to detail began with the frame and continued to body and paint. In the hands of Erik Philpot’s Erik’s Trick Restos of White City, Oregon, every factory drilled hole that wasn’t needed was welded up and smoothed. Erik’s notched the frame in the rear, and welded in tubing to route the rear wiring harness inside the boxed frame. The finishing touch was to shoot the frame Viper Red to match the C10’s exterior. The rear suspension features a Belltech flip-kitted Chevy 12-bolt rearend packing 3.55 Auburn Gears and Strange axles sprung with Posies leaf springs and damped with Pro Shocks and lean controlled with a chromed rear sway bar. A Walker chrome driveshaft connects the 12-bolt to a TCI Automotive TH400 automatic trans.

The rear brakes are polished Aerospace Components calipers with 11-inch rotors and billet hubs. Up front chrome galore includes Belltech 2 1/2-inch drop spindles and Eibach springs. A chrome Classic Performance Products brake booster and master cylinder is actuated via a gun-drilled and chromed stock C10 brake pedal. Steering is handled with a new steering box and CJ’s Rods & Machines steering column topped with a Billet Specialties wheel.

As if a fully smoothed and detailed frame wasn’t enough Erik’s found another area that rarely meets the human eye, the underside of the hood. All of the stamped holes were filled and the underside louvered to draw fresh air from the Goodmark cowl hood. The bed got the extreme treatment too as the entire steel bed floor was cut out, special cross ties were fabricated, and rare Bolivian wood from the Amazon forest was sawed, stained, clear varnished, and custom fitted with blind polished stainless steel bed strips went in its place. The tailgate handle was shaved and a flip kit relocated the handle inside the bed. After many hours of fabrication, bodywork, and prep Erik’s Trick Restos sprayed the C10 in the PPG Viper Red color Beverley insisted on.

Inside the cab is where Randy Kip of Showtime Auto Upholstery of Central Point, Oregon, worked his magic stitching Nutmeg Ultraleather and simulated Ostrich hide throughout. The dashboard, door panels with custom armrests, and Chrysler 300 bucket seats sans headrests feature Nutmeg accented with Ostrich inserts. Randy laid Woolton wool carpeting over foam padding and Dynamat. Full instrumentation comes from an 11 pack of Auto Meter gauges.

The sound system installed by Ben Brown features a Pioneer AVH-X5800 BHS head unit amplified by a Rockford Fosgate R6000-4D amp driving Image Dynamics speakers. Gerry Enck strung the Ron Francis wiring harness, and we can’t forget to mention the contributions made by Jimmy Burton, Chris Williams, or Bryan Marshall.

There were a lot of twists and turns during the 12 years that it took to complete Beverley Bush’s 1974 C10, but it was at the very end where it paid off. Grieg said it all came together, “seeing the look on Beverley’s husband and son’s faces when they saw it finished for the first time was a pretty awesome moment in time.” And of course it should be mentioned Harlan and Kathy McElroy were tickled pink, too.

1974 Chevy C10 | Harlan & Kathy McElroy

CHASSIS Frame: F44 Rearend / Ratio: 12 bolt / 3.55 posi Rear Suspension: Posies flipped Rear Brakes: Aerospace Component / Polished and drilled disc Front Suspension: Bell 2-inch drop spindles / Eibach 2-inch drop coils Front Brakes: Aerospace Component / Polished and drilled disc Front Wheels: Budnik 17×8 Rear Wheels: Budnik 17×10 Front Tires: General G-Max 225/55 R17 Rear Tires: General G-Max 275/55 R17

DRIVETRAIN Engine: 383 by Ken Culver, Mitch Jones Bullet Racing Engines Heads: AFR Valve Covers: Billet Specialties Radiator: Ron Davis Fan: Be Cool Headers: Sanderson Exhaust / Mufflers: Flowmaster Transmission: TCI Shifter: Stock

BODY Style: C10 Fenders: Original Hood: Goodmark cowl induction Grille: Billet By Empire Bed: Wood Paint by: Erik’s Trick Restos Paint Type / Color: PPG DBC / Viper Red Headlights / Taillights: stock

INTERIOR Dashboard: Custom Gauges: Auto Meter Steering Wheel: Billet Specialties Steering Column: CJ’s Machine & Rods Seats: Chrysler 300 Chrome Plating: Ogden Chrome & Bumper Upholstery By: Randy Kip at Showtime Auto Upholstery Material / Color: Naugahyde with Ostrich inserts / Nutmeg Carpet / Color: Woolton wool / Nutmeg Wiring: Ron Francis

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in-the-bookish-dark · 4 years

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At the Richelieu - RL

His hand slapped my shoulder and I knew what was coming next, “Come on Tommy, let’s grab some pizza.”

“Mona, hey Mona – me and the boy are going out for pizza.”

Noises that sounded like complaints came up from the laundry room, probably asking what in hell he needed with pizza two hours after pot roast. He tossed the keys to me, “Hey, big boy – go start her up. I’ll be out in a sec.”

I peeled myself out of the armchair and willed myself toward the door. Not my will be done, but his of course, but hey, it worked.

I’d just settled in behind the wheel of the Olds and cranked the engine up when he rapped on the window. I started to shift across to the passenger side.

“Whoa-whoa, little buddy! You wanna pull her into the street, champ?”

I threw a glance over my right shoulder, which lost me the death press on the clutch. We rolled, me and Jesus, with whom I had just started a frantic conversation.

Sam and Angie’s Pizza, a tiny take-out place with one table for people who got there early, and a bench for those who move on.

She peeled the pizza out of the oven and seemed to slice it in the air, en route to the counter. It was boxed and sitting in the pass-through in ten seconds.

“So, can Tommy, who’s big enough to drive half way here by himself, by the way, park himself on the bench while I conduct some business next door?”

Next door was the Richelieu Bar and Grill.

Gina blinked slow and nodded. Dad dropped the 600 degree pizza on my lap before dashing to the door. “Back in five, Tom.” I think the door stopped rattling before his voice stopped echoing.

There was quiet for a moment and Gina suddenly was next to me, leaning her bosom right into my face. I made myself look into her face, though my attention was decidedly elsewhere.

I nodded. She yanked the pizza box off my lap, and I could swear skin along with it.

Half way into the second slice. I first heard his voice from in back.

That got the imagination going, wondering what he was up to. Pizza, coke, and a loose cannon dad. How often do you get that for supper!? Lucky kid, me.

I was caught up in my thoughts, eyes down at the stupid watch, view obstructed by the pizza box lid when the bartender came up alongside me.

“Hey kid … uh, what’s your name, kid?”

“Tommy”

“Hey, Tommy, who’s your dad?”

I guess I took too long soaking in that good feeling because good Nick became ballbuster Nick before I even saw it coming.

I started, scrambling to the edge of the bench.

As I shifted toward the bar, the curtain to the back area widened and out popped my old man with a blond by the waist.

“Hey, Nick, how about we get some – holy shit. Tommy … Nick, what the fuck …”

They stared for a few seconds, then my dad said, “Well, just watch him for five minutes. Can you do that much for christsakes?”

Nick stepped back around the bar. “Time’s comin’, Ed. Almost here. You see me twitch your direction, you best go hide out in Mongolia or Tierra del Fuego for a while.”

We all stood there for a moment, suddenly fascinated by my struggle to surmount the barstool.

“Let’s keep this professional, Nick. Bourbon rocks for me and my friend. Tommy, meet Brenda. She’s an old friend from church camp.”

“Ladies’? Hell Nick, I just wanna…”

“Then pee in your boot or out in the alley – I don’t give a shit, Billy. Just get the fuck out of my face or I’ll fucking deck you.”

That was the motivation Billy needed to choose Option B.

After trundling the rags off to the back room, he came back and rapped on the door.

“Hey, uh… Tommy? You ‘bout ready to come out? I’ve got guys who need the room, y’know. I’ll get you some water, but you need to come on out, fella.”

Fella was somewhat better and different from “pal” or “buddy” and the others. Less condescending, somehow – part of a fellowship, not just wearing a diminutive label like a pet.

I nodded.

He grinned, gave me a light punch on my shoulder and said “Come on pal, let’s go see what your mom’s been up to” as he tousled my hair.

It was done. Again. For the moment, anyway.

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