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lolita-lollipop · 3 years

Note

Hizashi and Aizawa kidnapping a young teenage girl, and her bonding and quickly finding comfort with Hizashi, leaving Aizawa to awkwardly attempt at being super soft and all the more gentle to his sensitive little girl, his heart panging with pain every time she flinches or cowers away from him. “You don’t need to be scared of me, kitten.. please”

your little acts of favoritism weren’t necessarily intentional, you hated both of them. they were your brothers teachers, and whoop dee doo, they kidnapped you. but... you liked hizashi more.

it was just something about him that made you believe he was some form of comfort item, probably because he wasnt brooding, and didnt have a mean face, and he was the first human yud ever seen in this place, that all combined into one and he became your rock, your shoulder to cry on. he was just... so nice, although his quirk was loud, somehow he managed to speak softly with you. it was such a bright contrast to at home where two firey blondes always scream at each other, and your father tries to calm it down.

on your first night ever here, you had tried to jump out the window, and were captured by the thick scarves you once admired, hed lectured you, yelled at yiuu even, all you could see were those red eyes of his, and hear his voice. and he scared you, he scared you so much. i guess it justtranslates to now, first impressions are everything, and to you, he looked like a big scary man who would yell at you.

eventually, you stopped caring about how you hated him, or how you wanted to leave, as you clearly never were. so, instead of glaring at them, or crying, you accepted the fact that he was taking care of you. hizashi, hizashi was taking care of you... aizawa though? no way in hell, he was just so... you'd never seen him with a smile, he never tried to talk to you, he just kinda watched you, and it freaked you out, at some point you started believing he was trying to kill you, don't even ask how you came up with that conclusion.

you just couldn't manage to warm up to hi as you'd done so quickly with hizashi, and it showed. you were always tense when alone with him, like he was going to jump out at you any second and stab you, you didnt talk to him , sometimes you felt so anxious around him that you would outright start crying, shaking in some form of fear, or hide yourself under a blanket. although hizashi was proud that you loved him so much, he knew that this was hurting his husband, that his own little girl was scared of him.

so he would always try to coax you into doing things with him, saying things like "can your papa come and help" or "how about we have papa do this with you while I make lunch?", just trying to get him included so you would feel just as comfortable around him as you were with his own self. Sometimes he just left the room to let you have alone time with him. He’d even lectured his husband about how he always looked angry, and that he has to smile form time to time, and not the creepy “I’m gonna kill a villain” smile.

And so Aizawa started trying, not trying to be like hizashi, even that was too much for him, but trying to be nicer, he was a gentle person when he wanted to be, so this came with ease for him, he would tuck you in at night, read you stories, hold you if you cried, feed you, help you bathe (which you usually liked hizashi to do, and in general, inserted himself as a gentle roger in your life. You would expect taht this would work, that because he was so nice to you, because he was so sweet like hizashi, you would accept him as your father.

But nope! Again, first impressions are everything to you, and now, he was written off as the villain of you story, now, you jsut ran off to papa whenever he was around, and didn’t even give him the chance to hang around you, it just made it worse honestly, because now, not only did he look scary, but he also looked fake, which is never good. Every time he would try to if you, you would clutch onto hizashi for dear life, acting like his hand would do nothing but burn you.

Tears would cloud your vision, and he would pulle back, not wanting to cause you any more pain, and jsut stare in. Pure jealousy at his husband, who cooed and gave you a hug.and guess what? You hugged him back, and hid yourself in his chest, willingly, without a fight, without a tear, instead with a smile, most of the times mic wouldn’t interfere, wbatigg ns this to everyone a safe space for you, a place where you should naturally do things, but sometimes, he would give you little bushes int he right direction. Like disappearing completely for my he house so you’ll be forced to talk to Aizawa.

This is one of those times.

Yo been wandering the house for about ten minutes now, waking up form a nap, to find mic absent from his usual place in the rocking chair at your bedside. It was a little after lunchtime, and they’d only given you a small cup of fruit for breakfast (intentional, from mic), you were fairly hungry, and usually he was there to give you food, but you had no idea where he was, you had heard the… other one on the phone in their shared office, but you did not want to talk to him right now.

Aizawa could tell you were awake by the fact that all of the cats were meowing like crazy, and little pattering footsteps had followed his hearing around, mic had left abruptly, probably some little plan of mischief again, he was hizashi after all. He was just waiting for you to either 1: go back to bed, or 2: come to him for help. Mic had specifically told him to follow these rules for after nap time, so he did. And grew progressively more worried as over twenty minutes, trying to read through his students grading work, too distracted by the urge to go find you to accomplish anything.

His worries dissipated though when he saw your little head poking through the door, cat in hand, confused and tired looking, small tears beginning to prick th corners of your eyes, little sniffling sounds left you. His wha specked up form the desk, you’d given up walking around the whole house, your restarting had slowly pent up, you couldn’t manage to find him, and you were so hungry.

“Oh- hey honey, I didn’t know you were up. Do you need something?” He questioned, smiling intently at you, you just inched back into the door frame, breathing heavier by the moment, your hands shook and your head felt like it was going to explode at any point. Youbcontenoajted runnign back to your room and waiting till mic came out where you could hear him, but your stomach grumbled, reminding you how hungry you really are.

“I’m- im looking for daddy. Where is he.” You spoke, a very hushed tone overtook your words, making them almost inaudible for him. His face sunk slowly, he tougher you were actually gonna come for him, but the he remembered taht patience is key, and that he shouldn’t get mad, because it is t your fault taht you’re just a little sensitive, too fragile to handle more than one attachment, he gets it. He jsut at least wanted you to look at him, instead did your little feet, I’m Ayer if you could meet his eyes the. You would see how much he loves you.

“Oh, he left a. Little while ago. Is there something you need from him? Your papa can give him a call if you want, you could even talk to him!” He exclaimed excitedly, plastering that happy smile across his face to seem more inviting, liek mic had told him to do. He stood out of his chair, rounding up the papers and putting them in his file folders.you tried to sink back furthers, almost disappearing behind the doorway, you shook your head aggressively, almost running off, then yet again, your stomach made another noise, and forced you to stay.

“I- no. I’m- im hungry-“ you spluttered, not caring if it was embarrassing that you were stuttering so much, you just wanted food. And calling mic would just get you a lecture on how you could’ve just asked your papa, the same thing would happen whenever you went to uncnecesary lengths to avoid the man, your daddy would make sure you knew that it made him feel bad, while you’d at there bored. Not caring, at all.

“Oh- well you should’ve told me sooner kitten, if I’d known I would be up already. Cmon, let’s go to the kitchen, your daddy made you some food earlier” he spoke, rising from his chair slowly, you cowered slightly as he walked over, clutching the little kitten right to you for comfort, he mewed and snuggled closer, completely asleep. The man sighed when he saw you backing away from his grasp, he knew you were still scared. But he was just so impatient… he was tired of waiting, he wanted to hold you, even if it was jsut foena few minutes. He needed it feel you there with him.

Is he acted quickly, moving in a matter of seconds, he swooped his arm under your leg, and hooked his other around your torso, pulling you straight up into his grasp. Youu huh froze, his hands felt cold as ice on your skin, like they were burning you, immediately after he started walking, it snapped you out of it and you threw a fit. You dig your fingernails into his skin, and kicked and flailed in a panic, still trying to keep the little kitten in your lap safe. A full blown panic washed over you, clogging all your senses.

The dam holding back tears form your eyes crashed, and immediately you were sobbing, biting at his shoulder to let you go, he tried to rub your back to calm you down a bit, but just made it worse, as his hands felt like living anxiety creeping up and down your spine. He didn’t know what to do, let you ride it out, andkk no possibly have you get sick because of how much your crying in an empty stomach? Or let you down and go straight back to square one.

Your veined felt like pure ice had flooded in them, and it felt liek someone was repeatedly jabbing you in the head with tiny needes, fear was jsut so prominent in your sense, it overcame you, and made you whimper and scream.

“Whoah, breath for me alright? I just want to hold you. I’m not going to hurt you okay? I would never hurt you. Kitten… you don’t have to be scared of me” he spoke, trying to keep a proper computers, he wanted to cry with you, he wasn’t a very soft or emotional man but honestly, he was so upset with himself already, this was jsut pushing him for the edge. You cried, and cried, at some point you weren’t even crying and screaming at him, more with him. He held you close, you’d stopped the struggle almost five minutes ago, letting him hold you. It was odd. It almost felt… nice.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m being stupid again” You alien through your remaining little hiccups, shove my your face into his shirt, smelling the woody scent he carried around with him. He cooed, letting you hide yourself from him, savouring this soft moment was of top priorirty in his head… you jsut looked so sweet, so different from those harsh cries that would sound usually whenever he came around.

Who would think, shouts aizawas hand couldn’t feel nice? The same ones that had just been burning you, the ones that made you scream, felt like a breeze on a spring day, he actually felt warm, he felt like happiness, like contentment.

“No hon, it’s not stupid. Your scared. I know that, we all get scared and it’s not a bad thing, I love you, I really, really love you kitten. Just know that” he continued on with his little speech, leaving down to kiss you in the forehead, Jsut to be suprised when you didn’t flinfh, you were too tired to be scared; and too hungry, plus, he was really warm, the cat had pretty much snuggled up to him already, who says you shouldn’t.

“I- um- I love you… to?” You spoke, more of a question than anything, you’d spent so long Harding him that you didn’t know if you even could love him, it didn’t even feel possible, then again, you litterally cling to hizashi like a koala, and your mental state has relaly said “swoopity swoop” and scattered itself everywhere. Maybe having two comfort items was actually better than one… huh.

“Well, let’s go eat then. All taht crying probably made you tired, I’ll let you watch a movie in my office, you can watch pinto again, I know you love taht one. Cmon, let’s go” he spoke, and started walking again, you cuddled closer to him as he did, smiling slightly at the warmth. Hizashi was very extravagant, exiting, and hyper, this man felt very cool, calm, it was such a dark contrast, but it worked so well. You jsut… you Jsut liked it.

Well… now we’ll just have to wait and see who’s the favorite

———————————————————————————————————

Thank you for requesting! It was super fun to write and had me feeling super happy when I finished :)

I’m thinking about doing yandere todoroki family asks, because I’m litterally in love with @i-cant-sing one… so, requests are open for those if you want to put them in (please do I’m begging)

Anywho, have the most wonderful to days today! Goodbye!

#platonic obsession #platonic yandere #soft yandere #yandere my hero academia #yandere platonic #yandere #yandere poly #yandere erasermic #yandere Aizawa #yandere hizashi #yandere hizashi yamada #yandere shouta aizawa #yandere present mic #yandere eraserhead #yandere x reader

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fantastic-bby · 3 years

Text

SKZ as animal hybrid boyfriends

Pairing: Reader x Members

Word count: 2.9k

Genre: Fluff | Headcanon | Animal Hybrid/Shifter AU | Boyfriend AU

Warnings: Very brief mention of spiders

Masterlist

Chan

A husky hybrid

Has the CUTEST pair of gray and white ears that stick out of the top of his head

Also has the most gorgeous pair of pale blue eyes that glow in the dark

He has a fluffy white tail that wags like crazy whenever he’s excited because he doesn’t know how to stop it from showing

He’s also the sweetest boyfriend in. The. WORLD!

Always asks how you’re doing

Makes sure your not missing any meals and that you’re always hydrated

Every morning, he wakes you up with cute good morning texts and he always tries to send you good night texts sometimes forgets because he gets so caught up in work

He makes up for it tho

Sends flowers to your place whenever he forgets uwu

Chan’s the perfect boyfriend

The only problem is that you’re allergic to dogs

He didn’t realise why you always seemed to sneezy and stuffy whenever you would come over to his place

Until you told him

And his reaction makes you feel like you just told him the most horrific thing in the world

To him it is!!!!

Because he’s the reason that you’ve been having allergic reactions around him!!

He starts vacuuming his place more often to keep any fur away and makes sure to keep the area super clean so that you’re clear from anything that could cause a reaction

He also starts lint rolling and vacuuming his clothes before giving them to you so that you don’t take any of his fur home unless you ask him to leave his fur

Chan gets confused whenever you tell him that you don’t want him to vacuum or wash his hoodies before giving them to you

But you like them because every time you see the strands of gray and white fur sticking out of his hoodie, it reminds you of him

So instead,

Chan starts buying a crap ton of allergy meds

Puts them in every corner of his house

In the bathroom

The kitchen

The living room

The bedroom

Literally everywhere just in case you get a super bad reaction

That way he’s always prepared for anything

Minho

A maine coon hybrid

The most luscious fur ever known to man

His cat ears are so fluffy and always well groomed

He has this beautiful fluffy orange tail that he’s gotten pretty good at hiding his feelings with

Usually a hybrid’s animal features would probably give away their emotions, but Minho learned to control his ears and tails really well

It’s just that his ears are really sensitive and they flick around every few seconds whenever he’s in a crowded place

He has a pair of yellow eyes that are constantly in the shape of slits simply because he wants to intimidate everyone around him

Also always has his claws out because they intimidate strangers

Wouldn’t tell anyone, but Minho lets his pupils dilate when he’s alone with you (´∀｀)♡

He also likes to tease you a lot but you know he’s just joking because if he was serious, his tail wouldn’t be so related

You try not to tell him because then he’ll start working harder to hide his tail swishes

Is the most precious yet teasing boyfriend out there

He’ll make a joke about you eating a lot of ice cream whenever you’re sad, but he’ll always have your favourite ice cream in the freezer

If you complain about some kind of muscle pain, Min would call you weak but then also come home with muscle relief patches that he’ll stick to you himself

Minho likes to shift into cat form if you’re stressed because then it means that he wouldn’t really disturb you a lot

His footsteps are way quieter when he’s in cat form as compared to human form

So if you’re stressed or tired and you ask him to give you time

Minho would shift and hide in one of the cat towers he bought for himself until he hears you coming out of the bedroom

The moment he hears the sound of the bedroom door opening, he’ll lift his head and peek out from the top

If you sit on the floor right in front of the tower, Minho will scurry off of the tower to sit in your lap to

But if you don’t even look at the tower and you instead go to the kitchen, he’ll wait a bit longer to give you more time

Changbin

Yk I wanna say he’d be some cursed Dwaekki hybrid the skzoo dwaekki haunts me in my sleep

But I genuinely feel like he’d be something really threatening like a wild animal

So if Chan’s a husky and Minho’s a maine coon

I’m gonna throw Changbin in as a grizzly bear because he’s a tank of a man and I love him for that

His ears are dark brown and rounded, poking out from the top of his head

His eyes are super dark brown and sometimes you can’t even tell if you’re able to see the white in his eyes bcs his pupils are just that big

His hands have these huge black claws that could claw someone apart if he wanted to

Also has a cute brown tail that he often hides underneath his clothes because it’s small enough for him to sit on

He gives THE BEST CUDDLESSSS!!!!!

Sometimes shifts into bear form just to cuddle you because it’s cold and relying on the heater might make it too warm

So Binnie likes to use his own fur to warm you up if he notices you shivering

Also would not hesitate to bear his teeth at anyone who tries to hurt you

Changbin doesn’t really tell anyone this

But one of his proudest bear traits is his ability to vocalise like a bear

Which means that whenever he feels the need to protect you or whoever’s around him

He will growl like a bear

And it’s terrifying

You didn’t even know that Changbin could roar until one night when a stranger wouldn't take your ‘no’ as an answer and your boyfriend almost lost his mind

He pulled you behind him and grabbed the collar of their shirt and just roared at them

The stranger being a hybrid of a smaller bear species immediately scrambled off

But Changbin also immediately switches back into sweet, cuddly boyfriend the moment he turns back to you <3

Hyunjin

A sphynx hybrid

Very dramatic

Very loud

He has pink cat ears sticking out of the top of his head with a little black splotch on his left ear

He also has this naked pink tail that sticks out from underneath his shirt

Every minor inconvenience and Hyunjin’s meowing and whining to you about it and you think it’s funny every time he does

Like the time he misplaced his sock and was crying all over your shared home looking for it until he found it underneath the bed

His claws are retractable, so he usually hides them because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone on accident unlike Minho

He’s VERY cuddly both in human form and cat form

Hyunjin likes to do the ‘kneading the dough’ thing whenever you’re cuddling

And ends up leaving holes in your clothes because his claws would accidentally grab onto the fabric

Would also feel really bad afterwards because now he’s ruined your shirt

You reassure him that it’s fine

But Hyunjin’s dramatic also kinda wants an excuse to go shopping with you

So he cries about it and it leads to him dragging you to the mall so that he can buy you a new one

Ends up getting distracted at a cat cafe because he’s made conversation with one of the cats there

And he’s basically talking to them like he’s a middle aged wine mom talking about their weird husbands

You have to remind him what the goal is

But he’s so immersed in the conversation with the orange tabby that you can only watch in amusement

Hyunjin’s talking to it in English while the cat nods with it’s tail swishing every time he asks it a question, mewling every once in a while as a response

You watch with a smile on your face, chin resting against the palm of your hand as you listen

You can only gather that Hyunjin’s telling the cat about why you’re at the mall

And the cat turns to you with a bored expression on its face before meowing

“She says good luck on finding a new shirt”

You nod and reach out to pet the cat’s head as thanks

You and Hyunjin leave after a while

And soon, the trip to get one shirt turns into a shared shopping spree

Jisung

Kinda obvious but he’s a squirrel hybrid

He has a pair of rounded, light brown ears on the top of his head

A bushy light brown tail that bumps into everything whenever he’s in cramped spaces

And the CUTEST pair of brown eyes EVERRRRR

His squirrel trait is where he gets the habit of stuffing food into his cheeks whenever he eats

Ji’s really good at climbing

So he has this long ass piece of wood that he keeps in the living room of his home so that he can still climb something in squirrel form if he can’t go outside

He also has tiny black claws that he uses mainly for practicality when he's in human form

So stuff like cutting into plastic, through strings and to open mail

He just slides his finger across the top of the envelope and boom

Jisung’s quite clumsy

It doesn’t help that he has this huge, bushy tail behind him

He bumps you with it a lot and he’s always so apologetic over it

But it’s fine because it’s his tail and it’s soft and cute and it’s part of Jisung UwU

There were a couple of times where you would wake up and his tail would be tickling your sides

So you’d wake up giggling

And it would wake him up too

He’d turn around and immediately wrap his arms around your waist to cuddle into you

You love playing with his ears

Jisung’s really responsive whenever you pet his squirrel features

So if you touch his tail in public

He’s jolting forward like AHHH

And you like to gently rub his ears whenever you’re cuddling

Jisung usually ends up cuddling into you more because he really likes it whenever you play with his ears

He has a habit of making those squirrel squeaks whenever he’s uncomfortable

So in public, if he feels like he’s overwhelmed or wants to leave

He’ll cling onto your arm and start squeaking softly so that only you’re able to hear

And it’s an easy way for you to know that he wants to leave without him actually telling you

Felix

Horned owl hybrid

He has two sets of white and brown feathers that poke out from the top of his head and curls to the back

He does, however, have talons at his fingertips that he doesn’t really like because it gets caught on a lot of things

Has feathers running down his arms, but can’t actually fly in human form

His eyes are this beautiful amber colour

He also has a lot of hanging stuff in his house that he likes to fly back and forth to whenever he shifts into owl form

Absolutely loves doing the head spinning trick because you freaked out the first time you saw him do it as a human

Felix also has really light footsteps

So sometimes you don’t even hear him coming into a room and suddenly he’s beside you

Which scares you sometimes

Overall, Felix is just unintentionally scary.

Buuuut

Because he has really good eyesight at night

And because he’s nocturnal

He sleeps in the day

Which means that all of his work is done at night while you’re asleep

His hearing is intense which means that he could hear the smallest pin dropping in the kitchen from the bedroom

So when he hears something strange coming from the kitchen

He’s immediately crawling out of bed and peeking out of the bedroom door

That’s when he sees a spider crawling out from behind the fridge

A huge spider

Now, Felix does NOT like spiders

But he knows that if you wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink, then you’re going to be freaked out by too

But he should be able to toss it out the window in owl form

So Felix pops open one of the windows and shifts

His silent flying and sharp night vision make it a quick mission that’s executed without much hassle

He manages to grab the spider with his talons and just tosses it straight out of the window

By the time Felix has returned to the bedroom

You’ve woken up because you realised he wasn’t beside you anymore

So he climbs back into bed and lets you hold onto him while you fall back asleep

Seungmin

Labrador hybrid

Has a pair of golden ears flopping over the top of his head

Also has a golden tail that he usually hides because if he gets over excited then it’ll wag all over the place and might bump into things

Is a relatively quiet person and is also a quiet dog

He doesn’t say or bark that much

But you’ve come to learn how to read his body language

Because his posture both in human form and dog form speak his thoughts

Like whenever he’s standing tall then you’ll figure that Minnie’s probably uncomfortable or feels threatened

As quiet as he is

He’s extremely attentive to your needs as well

Seungmin’s able to catch your body language way quicker than you are at reading his

Which means that the moment you look uncomfortable, he’s immediately moving to stand beside you with an arm wrapped around you

Think of it as that TikTok trend that’s like ‘using my scary dog privilege’

In this case

Seungmin’s more than happy to be the scary dog that lets you walk around alone

He’d bark and bite at anything or anyone who would try to hurt you

Even in human form, he’d growl as a warning to other animal hybrids that are around you

Whenever you’re out in public, Seungmin tries to stay by your side just in case anything happens

But when he has to part from you to talk to another group of your friends

He keeps you in his line of sight

He’d always angle himself in conversations so that the person he’s talking to has their back facing you so that he’s able to see you

And when a cat hybrid suddenly approaches you

Seungmin’s more on the attentive side but he hasn’t gone into protective mode because you don’t look uncomfortable

But then your frame starts to shrink

He immediately changes his posture

Which scares the people around him because suddenly, Seungmin looks so scary

He waits a moment longer and the moment you start looking around the room for him, he’s shoved his drink into the hands of Hyunjin so that he can make his way over to you

He slings his arm over your shoulder and glares at the cat hybrid who’s now extremely intimidated by the presence of the labrador hybrid

Seungmin leans close to the cat and growls at them until they run off

He stays with you for the rest of the night and the way he stays in protective mode makes you feel safe

Until you get home and Seungmin’s back to this ball of cuddle fluff that you absolutely love (｡♥‿♥｡)

Jeongin

Fennec fox hybrid

Has a big pair of white fluffy ears that poke out of his head

Has a fluffy white tail that blends into a more golden colour that’s long enough to poke out from underneath his shirt

He has super insane hearing

Even if he has headphones in, he can hear the outside world

Bodes well for him because whenever you walk into his apartment, he’ll walk out immediately to greet you

He never actually feels hot or warm because his body heat radiates off of his ears

Is always cold in human form

In fox form, his fur insulates his body instead so he doesn’t feel much of a difference

Has a habit of not drinking for hours because he can get stuck in his fox form

Also has a habit of chewing on your desk plants if he deems them edible

Unfortunately for you, that means you’ll come home to your beautiful plant babies half eaten and munched away because your fox boyfriend wanted a snack

To solve this problem, you filled the fridge with berries and vegetables for whenever he feels like snacking

But sometimes he goes overboard and he pretty much eats everything he can find when he forgets to eat for a while

He’s a fox hybrid that doesn’t know how to shift on command

Usually he has this big urge to shift but he’ll be stuck in one form for a while before being able to switch

He doesn’t know any other fox hybrids

So Jeongin has to learn to control his animalistic instincts with the help of you!

His human partner

Lucky for the both of you

You have a friend who’s a red fox hybrid

She’s not a fennec fox

But she still shares similar instincts to Jeongin because they’re both fox hybrids

So now Jeongin comes to you with the biggest smile on his face whenever he’s accomplished something, gushing about how Fox Noona taught him how to shift on command

He’ll show you

And you watch as he shifts into this tiny little fennec fox with a big smile on his snout (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

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mysticpetals · 3 years

Text

Supermarket runs

Pairing: Jake × mc (Syianne)

Genre: fluff, humor

Words: 2.5k

Summary: Three times Jake ran into Syianne and one time he actually made plans.

Anonymous asked: Hello. If you do still requests, can you do 27 and 40, with Jake and MC from Duskwood from fluff? Sorry I forgot to add that.

Prompts: 27. "Are you blushing?" 40. "Why are you so afraid of loving?"

Notes: here it is! A cute meet up fic with Jake's point of view. I hope you like this one because it's going to be the last thing I'll be posting for a while 😬

Jake had reached his new hideout just a few hours ago.

After evading yet another capture from the government and planting false trails in his wake, he had escaped to a small town, renting an apartment for the time being.

Opening the door to his new house for a few days, he put his cat down, opened his cage and let him explore. Glitch immediately disappeared and Jake put his bags down, sighing tiredly.

He needed to make a quick run to the store nearby, getting some food and other essential items since it was clear that they didn't stock it in the room.

Before he could change his mind, Jake picked up his wallet, locking the door and walked to the store he came across on his way over to the apartment.

It was a medium sized store, probably the one of the few in this small town. Jake browsed the shelves picking up the things he needed along the way. He avoided eye contact with everyone, putting his hood up.

When he was done, he quietly put the few cup noodles and microwaveable dinners on the counter and waited for the cashier to scan his items. Just as he went to pick up the first item, the cashier's phone rang and he glanced at the screen, eyes widening in surprise before his face settled into panic.

"Oh shit, oh shit, I completely forgot," he mumbled to himself frantically and giving Jake an apologetic glance, ran towards the back room.

Well then, it wasn't like he was in any hurry either. He didn't want to go back so soon anyway. He rocked back on his heels, adjusting his mask so that it still covered the lower half of his face and looked around in boredom.

From the backroom, he could hear two voices arguing, one male and other female and just when he thought that maybe it was going to take a while, the cashier ran out of the room, hefting a jacket over his shoulders and looked back.

"I owe you one, Syianne! Thank you so much!"

Jake tilted his head on hearing the familiar name, memories of conversations with his Syianne creeping up.

"You really do, Percy! I better have a three day weekend after this!" The girl shouted back and Jake smiled behind his mask. She even sounded like her.

The cashier yelled back something but he was already out the door to hear properly. The girl came out from the back, wearing her uniform jacket and grumbling about having to do two shifts, but Jake had frozen.

"Sorry about that. My coworker forgot about the date with his girlfriend and had to bolt. Between you and me, she's pretty scary so I'd be running too," she said, already ringing up his few items but Jake couldn't reply. He kept staring at her familiar face, which he had accidentally accessed when going through her chats before.

This was his Syianne.

She glanced at him, probably wondering why he didn't say anything before looking back on the screen. He broke out of his stupor when she told him the total and held up a bag with his items.

His fingers brushed against her and it felt like a lifetime, blood rushing to his cheeks and heart pacing.

"Thank you," he said and got a smile in return.

"You're welcome! Sorry about the delay earlier."

He shook his head rapidly, telling her that it was no trouble and he completely understood. That made her smile widen, her eyes crinkling with happiness.

"Come again soon!"

Oh, he'd be coming back very soon, indeed.

The first thing he did after reaching home was to power on his laptop and search for Syianne's location. Glitch hissed angrily at him for disturbing his slumber atop the chair he was now sitting in but Jake's eyes were fixed on the screen.

The results baffled him, as it showed her living in a completely different country from when he had searched her before, when he had just gotten her number. And then, realisation dawned on him that she might be using a VPN.

He banged his head on the table in frustration but also a little impressed that Syianne had thought of doing something like this to protect her identity.

He was supposed to stay away from all of them, to prevent pulling people into his messes but now one of the most important people in his life literally worked a walk away from his hiding place. He couldn't change places so frequently as it hadn't even been a day and he had to give some time to the police to cool off, before he got on the move again.

He sighed, too wound up to make anything but cup noodles, he got up and went into the kitchen. Glitch trailed behind him, sniping at his heels for his own food and Jake emptied the last can of cat food into Glitch's bowl.

With a jolt, he realised that he would have to go to the supermarket tomorrow again and it brought him equal parts of excitement as well as anxiety at the thought of seeing Syianne again.

———

The next evening, he put the cans of cat food on the counter and was disappointed to find that the guy from yesterday – Percy, if he recalled right – was going to scan his items.

Jake shifted the mask on his face and looked around to see if Syianne was somewhere but to no avail. If Percy noticed him looking around, he didn't say anything. When he grabbed the bag from him, the employee room opened and Syianne came out wearing casual clothes, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow, Percy!"

She came out from behind the counter and her eyes widened in surprise as they fell on him.

"Oh hi! You're the one from yesterday."

Jake cleared his throat and let out a hesitant, "Y-yeah."

Percy snickered, throwing a knowing look at Jake before turning to Syianne.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, idiot. Bring some coffee with you." He handed Jake his bag as he scrambled to bring out his wallet to pay and gave him a wide smile.

"Syianne here works the morning shifts." He winked and Jake was mortified to hear the amusement in his voice, knowing that he had been caught.

"I'm not bringing you anything until I get my three-day weekend. Anyway, nice to see you again…." She trailed off when she turned to Jake and his mind went into overdrive as he thought about whether he should tell her his real name or not.

"Phil." He blurted out, "My name's Phil."

She tilted her head, no doubt thinking about that bartender from Duskwood who was currently locked up in jail.

"Funny, I know a guy named Phil. Not from around here though." She glanced at the door giving him a final smile.

"Because all the customers come in the evening." Percy complained and Syianne only rolled her eyes at his antics.

"Well, come by in the morning if you want to chat. It's pretty chill that time."

"Deal with it. Anyway, see you tomorrow." She waved one last time and walked out, Jake's eyes following her figure until she disappeared around the corner.

"She's sweet and a little too trustful. I better not hear any complaints about you from her Phil or I won't hesitate to throw a punch or two." Percy threatened and Jake flushed before muttering a hasty excuse and practically running out of the store.

She actually talked to him today and hearing her voice, her words just made it harder for him to stay away. But it was okay if he didn't tell her who he was, right? She won't be in any danger then, right?

These thoughts chased him as he walked back to his temporary home, almost tripping over Glitch when he entered and found a disgruntled cat, waiting for his food.

———

The next morning, Jake worked in his room, occasionally shooing away Glitch who was determined to get his daily dose of affection.

"Just a minute, Glitch." He muttered, typing rapidly, his eyes scanning the screen with an eerie quickness.

A loud, disgruntled meow from his cat breaks the silence again and Jake heaved a frustrated sigh, pushing his laptop away and glaring at the culprit.

"Fine, you little devil! I'll give you breakfast first."

He walked out of the room, Glitch trailing behind him, purring in appreciation and hopped on to a chair while Jake took out the instant pancake mixture that he had recently bought. And that reminded him of the fact that Syianne was here, so close and whether he should tell her or not.

Making the pancakes in a daze, he put a plate in front of Glitch who immediately started gobbling it up. Jake huffed out a laugh and made his own plate, sitting across from his cat. The syrup was towards Glitch and when he leaned forward to take it, he was met by Glitch's paw swatting at his hand.

"What the hell? You ate already! Let me eat too!"

Glitch's paw rested on the syrup bottle and edged it towards the end of the table.

Jake froze.

"Glitch, no. Give me the syrup."

The bottle shifted a bit more.

"No, Glitch. Stop that."

The cat looked at him and stopped and Jake gave a sigh of relief, only to throw back his head in exasperation at the next moment as the bottle was finally pushed off the table.

"You little devil! I'm going to—"

The cat sprang up and ran into the other room, leaving Jake in the kitchen alone.

"Why is it always me?"

———

After cleaning up the kitchen and eating pancakes without any syrup, Jake found himself in the supermarket once again, embarrassed about being there everyday for the last three or so days.

When he put his items on the counter, including a syrup in a plastic bottle this time, he found himself facing Syianne who gave her an amused look.

"Having a good day, Phil?"

It took a moment for Jake to understand that she was talking to him and he flushed when he met her gaze.

"Not really. My cat decided to be an asshole today."

Syianne laughed and if Jake could have heard it everyday, he would. When she scanned his bandaids, she raised an eyebrow, and Jake gave her a sheepish smile, showing her his poorly wrapped hand.

"Oh no, that looks bad," she said but Jake only shook his head.

"It's better than it looks, I promise. I'm just bad at wrapping things up."

She didn't smile but only looked behind him. Seeing no more customers, she gestured for him to come to her side of the counter. Confused, he did as she asked and understanding dawned on him when he saw her opening the packet of gauze he had just bought.

"Oh, no, no. It's okay. I can do it at home." He rushed but she didn't listen, silently asking for him to hold his hand forward. When he realised that Syianne wasn't going to take no for an answer, he sighed and put his hand forward, face heating up and he regretted forgetting to wear a face mask that day.

"Are you blushing?" She asked teasingly and his flush only worsened.

"I-I'm not used to other people caring for me."

She hummed.

"That must be lonely."

She carefully unwrapped his hand, winching at the sight of blood and cleaned it with antiseptic wipes, before wrapping a bandage around the cut. Her hands were gentle but firm, as if she knew what she was doing and had done it a hundred times before. Jake was suddenly hit with a weird nostalgia, a feeling of wanting to know who she was, how many siblings she had, what her goals were.

He didn't realise when she had stopped, staring at him, as he was looking at her and only after several minutes had passed, did Syianne dropped her hands, letting him know that she was done.

The thought struck him like lightning and he quickly grabbed his bags, muttering another thank you and getting a simple smile in return. Before he knew, he was out on the streets and on the way to his house, his thoughts a raging turmoil.

"Thank you very much." He spoke softly, quietly, overwhelmed by such a gesture from her. He was essentially a stranger and she had still helped him, not knowing who he was.

She didn't know who he was.

What was he doing? Going to see her like that, finding excuses to go to the supermarket in hopes of seeing her? What did he want to accomplish?

He released a shaky sigh, running his hands through his hair, when he reached the place. Glitch, knowing that it wasn't the time for his shenanigans, only gave a welcoming meow from his place on the couch.

Maybe it was time he started searching again.

Jake opened his laptop but the ping from his phone made him look for it, heart quickening when he saw her name on it.

Syianne [5:00 pm]

Hey Jake!

How are you doing? I hope you're safe

I patched up a guy today who came in at work. He had a cat too!

Anyway, I don't know why I'm still writing but I hope you're safe and nobody got to you

Why are you so afraid of loving?

Sorry, insensitive question. Ignore that

Waiting for when you come back

...I'm still looking forward to that date

Jake's lips quirked at her messages, warmed by her concern. She had messaged him everyday ever since he went into hiding again. He hadn't replied then, being busy because of his relocation, but now….

In a bold move, very uncharacteristic for him, he messaged her back.

Jake [5:03 pm]

What if I told you that the guy you patched up was me?

Syianne [5:04 pm]

What?

His name was Phil

Jake waited as she typed and erased, all of it going on for two minutes before she stopped. Jake had a sudden, terrible feeling that perhaps he had made a mistake but soon enough, she replied.

Syianne [5:06 pm]

You're cute in real life as well <3

Jake laughed, amused by her flirty response and decided that perhaps he'd stay there for a few more days.

Syianne [5:06 pm]

What about that date at the Chinese restaurant you promised me?

Jake [5:07 pm]

Does tomorrow work for you? ;)

#duskwood #duskwood jake #everbyte duskwood #duskwood game #everbyte #jake × mc #duskwood jake × mc #jake × player #duskwood fanfic #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood mc #duskwood phil

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citrinesparkles · 3 years

Text

cat part two.

jason todd, eventually x gender neutral reader. 1,052 words. notes: part one here! (edit: part three here!) jason's having a really long night, okay. kids and crooks are one thing. cats are another. warnings: food is sort of discussed?

honestly? he felt a little stupid thinking anything was strange at this point, given the whole 'been dead done that' thing, but even he had to admit that running around cradling a jacket full of too-thin cat felt a little odd.

he'd walked the kids home, hearing the whole way about how clever and sweet cat was and how it liked tuna and chicken but do not give it turkey because it will walk away without eating and their mom said that onion was bad for cats, so none of that either.

when they made it to their apartment building, jordan ran upstairs and gathered up the last of their tuna leftovers in a little plastic baggie, bringing it back with another 'thank you' and a joke about finding a different park. then he'd scooped jazz up and disappeared back inside. jason caught something about sesame street reruns- which, if he was being honest, sounded pretty good right about then.

he took off with cat wrapped up neatly, tucked carefully against his chest.

and it meowed the entire way up to the convenience store three streets over.

it didn't seem to want to stop meowing inside the store, either, immediately catching the attention of the worker behind the counter.

"do you guys carry- uh," he adjusted cat carefully, "cat food?"

her eyes were bouncing between him and the bundle of yelling, and he was really starting to feel the absurdity of the whole situation.

"uh-"

she was interrupted by a particularly indignant meow that made him groan and hold the jacket out to look the cat in the eye.

"what do you want, huh?" he asked tiredly. "i'm doing my best here."

it meowed again.

"is... that your cat?" the cashier asked quietly.

"no." another meow. "but it is my problem."

"o-kay," she stood up and made her way around the counter, giving jason plenty of space as she passed him. "what kind of cat food?"

"the kind that will get this thing to stop screaming at me."

"have you tried, y'know, not calling it 'it' and 'thing'?"

"listen- i've had a long night, okay?" he pulled cat back to his chest- met with yet another meow- and tucked it into one arm, dropping the other hand to dig into his pocket. he emptied it, glancing down at the contents briefly before putting it on the counter. "i've got twenty five bucks and a wendy's coupon, a cat that somehow became my responsibility and just will not shut up, and- as i'm sure you'll be able to relate to, considering your customer service job- a desperate need for a nap that is growing by the second. will you, please, get me whatever cat stuff you can sell me and let me worry about what to call it?"

she leaned back around the endcap, raising her hands in mock surrender. "whatever, bat guy."

"bat guy?" he repeated incredulously.

she nodded at his chest, making him rolled his eyes. "the name's red hood."

she stared at him for a moment, squinting at his head. "that's not a-"

"i know! i know it's not a hood! why does everyone feel the need to point that out tonight! it's- it's symbolic!"

she scoffed, disappearing back down the row of merchandise. "symbolic of what, your childhood dreams of becoming a racecar driver?"

"you'll forgive me for not giving you my whole tragic backstory in the middle of a corner store at three in the morning while cat is still screaming?"

he heard rustling, and the sound of tin hitting tin. "did you just call it cat?"

he took a deep, slow breath and squinted up at the ceiling tiles. "are you really back to giving me shit about it?"

"yeah. that's not a name."

"it's not my cat, so i don't care. besides, you're one to talk- shouldn't you have a nametag on or something?"

"i used to. it got buried somewhere." she reappeared, arms full of cans. "you're so good at names, why don't you come up with something? cashier has a nice ring to it."

"very clever."

she nodded smugly with a barely noticeable eyeroll, turning towards the back room. "i do that sometimes. look, wait here, okay?

"i don't really have time-"

"i gotta get my manager, okay. trust me on this. two minutes, tops."

she was gone before he could respond, ducking into a back room with the cat food.

he reluctantly decided to give her sixty seconds before he just left and hoped the tuna from jordan would be good enough.

she came back with an older woman in tow about forty five seconds in, which was more frustrating than relieving.

he just wanted to be home.

"you were serious," the older woman muttered incredulously, staring at him before zeroing in on the bundle in jason's arms- which meowed immediately, as though it felt her gaze. "this isn't your cat?"

"no. it is not my cat. can i just get my-"

"do you have a litter box?"

oh, duh. "no."

she nodded thoughtfully. "how much did you say you have?"

"twenty five. look, not to be rude, but can we hurry this up? i have somewhere to be."

"twenty five," she repeated, leaning over the counter. "alright. run and grab a box and some litter for him, and-" she turned back to him- "are you on foot?"

this was getting ridiculous. "how does that-"

"one of those pool bags, too, the one with the long strap."

it took about five minutes for the two women to pack the bag full of a plastic bin, a box of litter, like twenty cans of food, and three different toys, before passing it- and his money- to him.

"you helped tony up the street last week, didn't you?" the manager grinned at his protests. "call it even."

if the money ended up on the counter anyway, that wasn't any of her business, he figured.

"alright, cat," he muttered as he shuffled through the window awkwardly, "we gotta be quiet."

which, obviously, earned a loud meow.

he sighed and slid the window back down with his elbow, balancing cat and the large bag in the other arm.

"so," your sweet, entirely-too-awake, way-too-amused voice called behind him, "your jacket meows now?"

so much for being quiet.

#citrine writes #jason todd #dc #imagines #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #jason todd x y/n #dc imagines #dc imagine #if you saw the draft that got posted #no the devil you did not <3 #thanks :)#i feel like im forgetting tags #oh well

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nugnthopkns · 3 years

Text

dance me to the end of love (v)

word count: 4.6k

warnings: fem!oc, cursing, alcohol consumption, mentions of poor parenting and damaged familial relationships

series masterpost: here

a/n: and just like that we're halfway through!!! it's crazy to think about it. however, lots happens in this chapter so buckle up peeps

Soon Magdalene’s feelings are going to get the better of her.

She knows she’s heading down a dangerous path but she can’t help it. Ryan is like a drug she can’t get enough of even though she knows it will hurt her in the long run. Living with him has opened her up to the laid back, intelligent, incredibly funny man he is and Magdalene doesn’t know how she’s ever going to function in her own space ever again. They complement each other like two peas in a pod, and everyone else is starting to catch on to the shift in their relationship.

“When are you going to fess up to Ryan about your feelings?” Bette asks as the two of them sit on the lawn across from the university library. It’s mid October, but the weather is still warm enough that Magdalene eats her lunch outside. Her best friend decided to join her today, no doubt knowing that she’s feeling a little lonely. The Avalanche are in the middle of their season opening road trip and have been gone for nearly five days. Ryan’s condo feels empty without him in it, and Magdalene misses him an unfathomable amount.

“Never, if I can help it,” she replies casually, taking a bite of the turkey wrap that Bette brought her from Barn Owl.

The blonde scoffs. “Fuck off. You have to. What are you going to do when he gets back from Florida and you tackle him as soon as he steps through the door.”

“Caligula will get there first,” Magdalene shrugs. “Those two are thick as thieves.”

Truthfully, Magdalene wasn’t sure what she was going to do. This is the longest they’ve been separated since she moved in and it’s proving to be a harder adjustment than she thought. Magdalene feels a little silly missing him so much – she went nearly twenty-six years without knowing Ryan but now he’s imprinted on her soul for the rest of eternity. Living without him seems impossible.

Bette drops the conversation then, almost as if she knows Magdalene is in her own world thinking about what to do. She mentions the upcoming home opener and her plans to attend with a couple of the other wives and girlfriends. “We’re going out beforehand and you should join us! I really think you’d like most of them.”

The bell in the clock tower rings, signalling the start of another hour, and Magdalene promises she’ll consider the offer as they pack up the picnic and say goodbye. It’s a short walk back to the building she works in, seeing as they were only across the street, but it takes a while for the elevator to come around. Magdalene could have taken the stairs down to the basement but they scare her a lot more than she’d like to admit. Hopefully June won’t mind her being a few minutes late.

Her boss doesn’t look too pleased when Magdalene strolls through the door almost seven minutes later then she should have, but as soon as she tosses the cookie Bette brought her in June’s direction all is forgiven. They work in near silence all afternoon, background noise provided by the small stereo in the corner and their respective grunts of frustration when an image doesn’t digitize properly. The university has finally decided to undertake the massive project of making all their school records available to the public online, and Magdalene and June are in charge of getting all the files ready before sending them to IT for installation into the website. It’s a huge task and is going to take them the better part of a month and a half to finish. Magdalene spends the rest of her work day finishing up a box of graduation records from the 1870s and leaves smelling of very old paper.

On the drive home she considers the invitation Bette extended to her. Magdalene knows she’ll be attending the game, having promised Ryan before he left that she’d be there, but she doesn’t know how to feel about going out for dinner and drink beforehand – especially with people so involved with the team. She isn’t like them, in nearly every sense of the phrase, and doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea. It wouldn’t be fair to Ryan for people to assume they’re together in case he ever does want to bring someone around, but Magdalene can’t help thinking that the speculation wouldn’t hurt. Perhaps it would be the clue that shows him how she feels.

The invite stays in the back of her brain while she heats up leftovers and eats quickly, knowing that Ryan will call soon. He’s like clockwork with his precise game day routine, and he always calls shortly after four o’clock when out east. Magdalene’s phone buzzes from the spot beside her on the couch and she quickly scoops it up and accepts the call.

“Hey,” she says, a little breathless because she’s so excited to talk to him.

“Hey yourself. How was work?” Magdalene can tell Ryan’s got a smile on his face even though she can’t see him. She indulges the question, telling him all about the stuff she digitized and what’s next. Though she always tries to get out of talking about work, fearing it will bore the daylights out of him, Ryan insists on hearing every detail Magdalene wants to share. He finds it all fascinating and tells her so every chance he gets. During her monologue Caligula wanders over and becomes extremely invested after he hears Ryan laugh at something Magdalene said. The small white cat jumps onto Magdalene’s lap and tries to paw the phone away from her ear.

“Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker. Little boots would like to talk.”

At the sound of Ryan’s greeting, Caligula starts meowing up a storm. It’s as though he’s actually holding a conversation with the man, waiting for Ryan to say something before he continues to make noise. Magdalene laughs through what could barely classify as a conversation until the cat gives her space to talk again.

“So,” she says, drawing out the word in an attempt to make Ryan laugh. “Bette asked me to join her and some of the other girls for drinks before Friday’s game.”

Ryan’s responding before Magdalene has finished uttering the last words. “That’s great! I think you should go.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says sheepishly, “It would be nice for you to know someone other than Bette.”

Magdalene is surprised at the response, but tries her hardest to keep her tone light and teasing. “Why, you plan on keeping me around Mr. Graves?” She can tell Ryan is struggling to come up with an answer because there’s a fair amount of sputtering on the other end of the line.

“I’d be stupid to let you go.”

All the breath in Magdalene’s lungs escapes her. She didn’t expect him to say something like that, and it sends her mind reeling. What does he mean? Unable to process the comment, Magdalene makes up an excuse and hangs up as quickly as possible. She spends the rest of the night wondering if Ryan was trying to make a move and deciding how she should handle his homecoming in a few days.

☼☼☼☼

When Ryan gets home Thursday morning Magdalene is at work. Caligula is happy to see him, practically pouncing on him and purring so loud Ryan’s sure the neighbours heard the cat. For an animal so small, Caligula can make a lot of noise if he wants.

“Hi boy,” Ryan coos, adjusting his grip on the cat so he doesn’t get dropped while the two of them move around the house. “Did your mom talk about me while I was gone? Been thinking about her a lot lately.”

The cat doesn’t respond, of course, but Ryan finds comfort in vocalizing his emotions. Multiple times on the road trip Tyson made fun of him for the silent pining he’s found himself participating in since Magdalene moved in, and hinted that she might have said something to Bette. Neither of them are great at keeping secrets, but Ryan also knows they want him and Magdalene to get together and aren’t above manipulation to achieve their goals. He doesn’t know how Magdalene actually feels, but Ryan isn’t willing to risk losing their friendship. Just a couple of months ago she sat on the deck of the lake house and told him she wasn’t looking for a relationship – he has to assume that’s still her position because if he doesn’t Ryan isn’t quite sure what he’ll unleash. Though the two of them are close, closer than most friends, Magdalene stills keeps a lot of things to herself and Ryan doesn’t want to pry. When, and if, she’s ready he knows she’ll come to him.

Exhausted from the countless hours of travel he’s endured over the past few days and the pains that come along with being a professional athlete, Ryan falls back onto the couch cushions. He hurts in places he didn’t know existed and wants to do nothing but sleep. Caligula settles into his stomach, purring contently, and though he knows he should unpack his gear, Ryan can’t find the energy to move himself or the cat. Everything will still be there when he wakes up, and hopefully Magdalene will be on her way home. She texted Ryan earlier in the morning, no doubt just before she headed out the door, to say that she was taking some holidays to have a long weekend and would be home around noon. Sleep comes easy with Caligula nestled against his body, and Ryan dreams of Magdalene as he frequently does.

☼☼☼☼

Despite Bette telling her countless times she shouldn’t be, Magdalene is nervous. The significant others of the Colorado Avalanche are a tight knit group and are very particular with who they let in. Magdalene is a nothing, has no true connections to the team besides being Tyson’s girlfriend’s best friend, and she’s worried she won’t make the cut. If it wasn’t for Bette picking her up in the morning Magdalene would have found a way to get out of drinks, but the blonde made sure she couldn’t make a run for it.

Sitting in the elevated booth, she not-so-casually sips her glass of wine while Bette tries to calm her down. “They’re going to hate me,” she groans, lowering her head to rest it on the table.

“Shut the fuck up,” Bette counters. “You literally know most of them, and Livy will be here if you get too uncomfortable, but most of them were at EJ’s back in May.”

Magdalene can’t argue with the truth, so she rolls her eyes and finishes her drink. By the time she flags down the waiter for a refill the other girls have arrived. They take turns hugging Bette and shuffling into their seats. Magdalene feels awkward with no one acknowledging her, but she does her best to buck up and deal with it. It means a lot to Bette, and Ryan, that she’s here trying to make friends so she’ll at least make an effort.

A blonde who looks a little older than the rest addresses her first. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Mel. I think we met last season at a game.”

It takes Magdalene a second to recall the face, but then she recognizes Mel as the person who alerted her to the fight Ryan got into to defend Tyson. “Oh yeah,” she chuckles, though it’s still got a nervous quality, “You’re the one who was yelling about Ryan’s fight.”

Everyone looks at her like Magdalene had confessed to seeing a ghost. “What’s the matter?”

“No one ever calls him that,” a petite girl with tight curls explains. “We all just call him Gravy.”

“Oh.”

Magdalene isn’t sure what the comment is supposed to mean, or if it even meant anything at all, but she does her best to push it aside because Livy is trying to catch up with her. The rest of the outing goes well – Magdalene keeps quiet until someone gives an inaccurate analogy about Rome and she has to correct them. It may make her seem stuck up, but she really hates when people spread misinformation. Everyone laughs, and after that it’s hard for Magdalene to stay silent. She talks about work and college, but when someone asks about home she shuts down. Bette notices the shift in her behaviour before Magdalene’s face has even dropped, and shifts the conversation in another direction. Soon it’s a respectable time to head to the arena and they all pay their tabs, Magdalene going first and then ducking out of the bar that became crowded while they were sitting down.

The fresh air feels good against her skin, and she takes the time alone to regulate her thoughts. There’s still several hours until she can return home and cry in the shower over the mention of her family so it’s important to present a calm facade. Bette comes out slightly ahead of the other girls and checks in with her friend, but Magdalene assures her she’s okay. It was a bit of a spook, but the other girls have no idea about how fucked up her familial situation is so Magdalene can’t hold it against them. The arena is a few blocks over, so the group walks towards it at a brisk pace. Magdalene’s mind is still churning from the bar when they step inside, so she peels off from the rest of the group. Warm ups are about to start and she knows that seeing Ryan will help to calm her down, at least until they can go home and she can sequester herself away from the rest of the world.

She finds a space against the glass and strains her eyes for her new favourite number. Ryan hasn’t made it out on the ice yet, but Tyson gives her a big wave when he skates past. It takes a few seconds, though it feels like years, but Ryan eventually steps out, all long limbs and hair and dazzling smile as his teammates give him big hi-fives. Magdalene doesn’t want to intrude but she needs to spend a few moments with him to feel completely present. When he skates by she waves shyly, and Ryan doubles back once he realizes who it is.

“There’s my favourite girl!” he shouts over the crowd, making sure Magdalene can hear.

The phrase brings a smile to her face, which in turn makes Ryan light up more. “Hi Ry,” she yells back. “I just wanted to come and say hi.”

Ryan’s heart warms at her words, but he knows that’s not the only reason. He’s lived with her long enough to know that something is bothering her but he isn’t going to push. There isn’t much time to have a conversation, so Ryan takes the time to make plans for after the game. “You riding home with me?”

Magdalene nods. “Yeah. Bette picked me up this morning so I didn’t drive.”

The loud sound of sticks clapping against the ice startles them both, and it’s Ryan’s teammate’s way of getting him to refocus. Magdalene says goodbye and before Ryan heads back to the bench he flips a puck over the glass for her. She smiles brightly, and watches him skate away. On her way up the stairs she hands it to a little girl wearing a much too big Graves jersey. It makes her night, and Magdalene returns to the private box she’s watching the game from feeling much lighter than when she entered the arena.

☼☼☼☼

Later, much later, after all of Ryan’s post game media and sitting through the traffic of downtown, Magdalene opens up about what was bothering her at the arena. The two of them are curled up in Ryan’s bed buried under a mass of blankets with several pillows strewn about. It’s become a frequent place for them to spend time, and every time they lay down Magdalene rests her head on Ryan’s chest and he keeps her in place with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Magdalene’s clutching his hoodie tighter than usual, her voice small as she speaks into the darkness of the room.

“I didn’t just want to say hi earlier.”

Ryan isn’t surprised by her confession, but wants to know what caused the surprise visit. “No? What was it?”

Magdalene lift head and shifts to face him, propping herself up with an open palm. “It’s kind of stupid,” she mumbles, feeling dumb for even bringing it up. Ryan doesn’t want to know the sob story that is her past life. “But it’s mostly okay now.”

“You don’t have to tell me, and I don’t want to push, but I think getting it off your chest will help,” he whispers, feeling like talking in a normal voice could startle the girl in front of him.

He’s right – Magdalene knows it. Telling someone the truth, as much of the truth as she can share, other than Bette would do her some good. Her therapist once said Magdalene needed to work on letting people in, and she figures there’s no one better than Ryan. “One of the girls asked me about home when we were getting drinks, and it’s just a really sore subject for me. I shut down and just needed to see you to ground myself.” Ryan goes to talk, but Magdalene continues. “No one really knows, but I left for Denver as soon as I graduated high school. My parents weren’t the greatest, and I suffered a lot emotionally at home. When I told them I was leaving, they told me never to come back and we haven’t spoken since. So yeah, that’s pretty much it. And I just needed to see you to remind myself that I’m okay without my family. You’re part of my family now, the one that really matters.”

Ryan is speechless. “Oh bug,” he sighs, heart hurting for all the pain Magdalene has experienced in her life. “I’m so sorry.” He wants to scream for her, maybe even break something, but all his anger dissipates when he looks down and sees her crying. Silently, Ryan wipes away the tears with the pad of his thumb and holds Magdalene until she stops trembling. They lay in silence for a while, sitting with the weight of the confession she just made. At some point Caligula shuffles in and finds a spot at Ryan’s side that isn’t occupied by Magdalene. The three of them feel like a little family, and it’s too good for Magdalene not to do something about.

“Can I kiss you?”

She’s never been so confident while asking a question. Magdalene knows he wants to kiss Ryan, has known for a while, and after baring her soul to him it seems like an appropriate time to take the plunge. They’ve never truly been just friends and everyone around them, including themselves, knows it.

“Mags,” Ryan says in a gentle yet stern voice, “I’m not gonna kiss you. You’ve just been very vulnerable with me, which I appreciate, and though I really really want to fucking kiss you I’m going to take advantage of you like that.”

If it were possible, Magdalene’s heart would expand so much it would be close to bursting. “I promise this is what I want and that I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. So please shut the fuck up and let me kiss you.”

She leans forward to connect their lips, and it feels like a fire has been ignited in her veins. Ryan is soft and gentle with the right amount of grit to make Magdalene weak in the knees. They move in tandem, giving and taking where necessary, and by the time they pull apart for air Magdalene thinks she’ll never be able to kiss anyone other than Ryan. When he looks at her, eyes kind and glimmering with light, Magdalene is certain kissing other people is off the table.

Neither of them make an effort to talk about what just happened or what it means. Instead, Magdalene kisses him again, and again, and keeps going until she’s completely out of breath. There’s no protest from Ryan, and he looks as blissful as Magdalene feels. She rests her head on his chest again and he cards his fingers through her hair as they sit in the comfortable silence that surrounds them.

☼☼☼☼

Magdalene keeps kissing Ryan, and he keeps kissing her. It’s always in the safety of his apartment, oftentimes with Caligula in the way, but wholesome and loving and warm. They haven’t defined their relationship, and truthfully Magdalene is glad. She likes being friends with Ryan and doesn’t know how the added pressures of dating would affect them – though she might like kissing him more than just being friends.

It becomes routine for either of them to reach for a kiss before heading to the door. Magdalene gets one every time she leaves for work, and if she’s there before Ryan has to leave for games he’s pulled into her lips by his tie. It’s fun and it’s new and Magdalene never wants it to end. She keeps the secret for a couple weeks, but eventually it becomes too much to hold in and she tells Bette one Saturday when they meet for brunch at Barn Owl because the boys are away.

“I kissed Ryan.” It’s out of her mouth like a bullet, cutting through the air and ringing out. Bette is shocked, jaw dropping, only to open further when Magdalene corrects herself. “Been kissing Ryan, actually.”

“You’re fucking joking,” Bette laughs, still not one hundred percent sure Magdalene is being serious. When the brunette nods her head, she squeals in what can only be presumed as delight. “Shut up! Tell me everything!”

Magdalene indulges her friend, and spills every detail she’s willing to share. Part of her wants to keep a bit of her life with Ryan a secret so she does, but Bette is more than willing to work with the information given. She listens carefully while Magdalene talks and waits until there’s nothing more to say before diving into a long list of reasons why kissing Ryan is the best thing that’s ever happened to her friend. Magdalene isn’t sure that it’s great because Bette will always have someone to go to games with, but she is in agreement that it is one of the best choices she’s ever made. They spend the rest of the morning giggling like school girls over potential love and Magdalene heads back to Ryan’s place feeling light and airy.

☼☼☼☼

The first thing Ryan does when he comes home is kisses Magdalene. She’s sitting on the couch with Caligula on her lap reading a book, and he doesn’t even bother to drop his bags on the floor before leaning over the worn leather and connecting their lips. It feels heavenly after the days-long absence and Magdalene chases his lips when Ryan pulls away.

“I missed you.”

They’re three words that shouldn’t mean much, but coming from him they send Magdalene spiralling. He missed her? The girl who spends her days geeking out over old documents and talks to her cat? Regardless of how true the statement is she appreciates it, because Magdalene missed Ryan more than she could ever explain.

“How was the flight home?” she asks, twirling a lock of his hair around her index finger and pulling him down for another kiss. Ryan happily obliges, and kisses her until Caligula begins to meow for attention. The cat practically launches himself into Ryan’s arms as he rounds the corner to sit down next to Magdalene, and purrs loudly at being reunited with the tall man.

Ryan laughs at the animal’s antics before wrapping his spare arm around Magdalene and pulling her close. “It was fine. We hit a bit of turbulence that made it hard to sleep but I managed,” he replies, and reaches for the television remote. Magdalene hums in response, resting her head on Ryan’s shoulder and returning her attention to the book in her hands. It’s silent except for the low buzz of the television as Ryan reviews tape, but neither of them mind. Co-existing is enough for both of them, and it’s peaceful and easy. The occasional conversation occurs but they mostly do their own thing, enjoying the feeling of being together again. More than a few kisses are shared, and Magdalene eventually pries herself away from Ryan long enough to make dinner.

They stayed glued to each other until Magdalene falls asleep. Ryan doesn’t even notice when it happens, but eventually he tries to leave the couch to get a glass of water and finds dead weight on top of him in the shape of the girl he just might love. Magdalene’s snoring softly, and he’s positive there is nothing more adorable in the entire world. A glance at the clock on the wall alerts Ryan to the fact that he should go to bed too, and he begins to brainstorm how to get Magdalene into bed without waking her. She’s been exhausted lately, working extended hours, and he knows she needs all the rest she can get.

It takes a few moments to coordinate, but Ryan gets himself upright without Magdalene realizing she’s no longer using him as a pillow. Gently he scoops her into his arms and pads down the hallway, careful not to hit her ankles on the walls or door frames. Once inside her room, Ryan tucks Magdalene into bed and makes sure her phone is on the nightstand just where she likes it. She looks so content in sleep that he can’t help but lean down and press a shirt kiss to her forehead.

“Night Mags,” he whispers into the dark, wondering if she’ll wake and hear all the adoration his voice holds.

Magdalene stirs at the noise, and opens her eyes to see Ryan’s retreating figure. “Night Ry.”

It’s late, approaching two in the morning, when Magdalene’s phone starts ringing off the hook. Though Ryan has told her multiple times that she doesn’t need to turn her sound on before she goes to bed, she can never find it in her to heed his words. What if there’s an emergency somewhere and some hospital has to get a hold of her? Magdalene would never be able to forgive herself if she was too late because she slept through the incoming calls.

Despite her underlying fears of missing something important, Magdalene considers letting it go to voicemail. She’s exhausted, between the high maintenance projects at work and trying her hardest to go to every Avalanche home game she can, and if it’s urgent she’s sure the person will call again if they need her. It rings three more times before Magdalene decides to pick it up – if only to stop the incessant noise.

Not bothering to even see who’s calling at such an ungodly hour, Magdalene speaks in a sleep-laden voice that betrays what she was doing not even a minute prior. “Hello?”

Bette answers her, offering a quick but sincere apology for the time but explaining that it couldn’t wait. Magdalene groans in contempt, thinking that it most certainly could have waited a few more hours. She doesn’t voice her opinion however, instead waiting for her friend to spill whatever news was making her bounce up and down on the other side of the line.

She’s about to hang up when Bette utters a sentence Magdalene’s been waiting for but never thought she’d hear at one fifty-seven am. “I’m getting married!”

☼☼☼☼

taglist: @scrunchmakar @marcoscandellas @toplinetommy @samsteel @lovethepreds @cutiesara23 @hockeyallthetime @stlouisbluesbrat21 @denis-scorianov @danglesnipecelly @c-tangerine @stormingroses @spine-buster @rapidfever @bb-nhlqueen7 (add yourself to the taglist!)

#ryan graves imagine #ryan graves x oc #ryan graves fic #colorado avalanche imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #cwrites #dmtteol

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thepaperpanda · 3 years

Text

The Tarry Gift || Higgs Monaghan x Reader (yet Sam makes a short guest apperance too!)

Summary: it had to be a simple delivery after a longer time of being indisposed. Little did you know that the client was Higgs Monaghan himself

Warnings: none

Words: 2728

Authors: Cass & Bear

A/N: This is a comedy fic. We wrote it accidentally while just playing around with writing a thing for Higgs Monaghan character but it came out so laughably that we decided to share it with you! ENJOY!

You hoped for a lot as for the first delivery since a long time but instead, you’d gotten pizza delivery. A fucking pizza.

You took the box and headed to the destination.

When the terminal beeped, Higgs narrowed his eyes. Quickly a realization came - it could be nothing but pizza!

Oh, how much he hoped to finally meet Sam in his bunker!

How much he craved to see Sam's face when he will realise that Peter Englert was no one else but Higgs himself!

Before putting his hood on, he checked his makeup and smiled at his reflection in a mirror. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the meanest of them all?," He smirked widely to his reflection so the whiteness of his teeth glistened back in a light of lamp and Higgs chuckled.

He checked his outfit for the very last time and walked to open the door.

"Oh, Sam Bridges! Guess you're happy to..... Who the fuck are you?"

"Who the fuck are you?," You asked with a frown, still holding pizza box in your hands.

The last thing you needed now was being insulted by an aspiring beauty guru. "I have your pizza, mr Englert."

"Where's Sam Bridges?," He asked, measuring your features from the bottom to the top.

You shrugged. "He left before I did. Even if he is my friend I don't really know where he is. Why do you ask?"

"Nevermind. Oh, where are my manners? Please, come in, come in," he gestured at you to get inside the bunker.

"Uhm…," You felt confused, most of the time you interacted with holograms and no one ever invited you inside. "Uhm, I don't know if I should."

"Oh, don't bullshit me!," He simply grabbed your forearm and pulled you inside. When he did, the door closed automatically.

Now you felt scared as fuck and the locked door made you scared even more. "Uhm... Your pizza,” you passed the box to the man in the hood.

With his hood still on, Higgs grabbed the pizza box from you and humming happily he went further along the narrow corridor. "Oh, c'mon! Don't stand like an idiot. Get in!"

You swallowed heavily and nodded, following him. You didn't like it but you had no other option.

The corridor led to a huge chamber.

The walls were covered with handwriting, maps and pictures of no one else but Sam Bridges.

Almost in the middle of the room there was a couch and a table. Under the table there were empty pizza boxes.

Man flopped on the couch and opened the box he was holding in hands. He grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite. He hummed. "Delicious. Make yourself at home. Want some?," He asked, offering you pizza. "Salami and ham."

You looked around and felt the shivers moving up your spine. This didn't look good and you wanted to run. "No, thanks… I don't like salami or pizza itself."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say, honeypot," he replied and ate his slice of pizza only to grab another

"Don't call me that. I don't even know you. Why am I here even?!," You growled angrily while rubbing your elbow.

"The name's Higgs, the particle of God that permeates all existence. You brought pizza and you are the friend of Sam Bridges who is my greatest enemy of all time. So technically, you're kidnapped," Higgs claimed.

You blinked, processing what he just said. "Excuse me...? You kidding, right? I wanna go out. Let me out."

"Take a seat and have some pizza. Rest. Make yourself at home. You're not going anywhere."

"I don't like pizza!," You growled. "I want to go home! I have other stuff to do."

"Shhh, shhh, shhh, stop talking, I can't gather my thoughts when you're yapping like a puppy," Higgs finished his pizza and laid on the couch.

"LET ME OUT YOU, PSYCHO!," You yelled and stomped a few times.

He didn't listen. After a long moment he got up and walked to the desk where a laptop was placed. He took it with him and sat back on the couch.

You frowned and moved closer to close the laptop with your palm. "Let me you! Do you understand English?"

"Can you stop yapping, pretty please?," He pulled the hood off his head and furrowed his brows.

"Can you stop being a dick and let me out?!," You growled. "Sam won't just come because I am gone."

"Oh, he'll. I'm mailing him, don't worry, he's going to come for you," Higgs replied. "If I was a dickhead, you'd be tied up and I'd put a rag into your mouth to shut you up. I didn't do anything. I even offered you pizza! Ah, people are so ungrateful these days."

"Says the guy that kidnapped an innocent woman. You want me to be grateful for keeping me here?," You asked in disbelief, crossing arms over your chest.

"Oh-ho, I heard the storm has come! It's better here I think, you're dry and not exposed to BTs. Or... Are you truly safe here?," He smirked wryly and snapped his fingers.

Without a blink of an eye the floor turned into tar and a creature formed out of it. It was a lion BT with a golden snout. It roared at you.

"Holy Beach!," You whimpered and sat on the couch right next to him, pulling knees right under your chin. "Take it away! I am sorry! I will be good!"

The lion tilted its head and shook its mane, roaring and yawning. Next, the creature licked its paw and sat right in front of you.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you unless I order so," Higgs informed as he was writing the email.

You only nodded your head, too scared to even move or breathe.

"If you need a hug, you can just tell me," Higgs chuckled. "I'm a great cuddler."

Lion hit your knee with its paw, roaring.

"I would never touch you, ever. I am scared of this thing," you explained, pointing at the lion and whimpering loudly when it hit your knee.

"Don't you see? He demands being petted," Higgs glared at you. "Go on. Pet him. Like this," he reached out and stroked the mane made of tar.

You nodded and slowly tried to pet the lion how Higgs instructed you.

It resulted in a loud purring that was followed by a tail wiggling, sending some tar on the walls. Soon, the lion laid down, his belly exposed.

You looked at Higgs. "Really? I thought BTs are more scary," you said and bent down to scratch the lion's belly.

Lion's paw started shaking as you hit the very right spot. The puring became louder.

Higgs raised his brow while looking at you. "Ah, right. They are scary, indeed. Just don't try this with others outside because they'll kill ya," he reminded. "Ah! Done! Now we only gotta wait for Sam to come and rescue you from the oppression!"

"You think I am that stupid to pet every BT I see?," You asked with a frown. "I don't think he will come but I at least can pet the lion..."

Lion grabbed your arm with both front paws and pulled you to him more so you fell off the couch.

Higgs chuckled. "I forgot to tell you that he is too demanding sometimes."

"I can see! I will need a shower… Ah, I just took one before I left the facility," You sighed sadly, petting the lion.

Lion opened the snout and trailed its tarry tongue across your face.

You only whimpered and sighed defeatedly.

Soon, the terminal beeped again.

"Your saviour has come apparently!," Higgs informed you excitedly and rubbed his hands together getting off the couch.

He walked to the main door of his bunker and put hood back on. He touched the touchpad on the wall and the door opened. "Ah, Sam Bridges! We can finally meet in person!"

Sam put the case he was holding in his hand down on the stone floor and cocked his brow. "Higgs. We do know each other."

"Yes! But technically you came here to meet Peter Englert. So?," He sent Sam a wide grin.

Sam let out a sigh. "Higgs. I know you're Peter Englert. Now, can I get Y/N back?"

"Yes, please! I'd like to go home, even if I like the lion!," You yelled from the floor while you were still petting the creature. Too bad you couldn't keep it.

Sam narrowed his brows. "Excuse me, is she inside? How? What for?"

"I'll share a secret with you," Higgs put hands to Sam's shoulders and leaned forward to trace the tip of his tongue along Sam's cheek. "I let her in and she enjoyed our common time."

"Get off, man!," Sam pushed Higgs off and wiped his cheek with the top of his gloved palm. "Y/N! Move on!"

You rubbed the lion's snout. "I started to like you. I need to go now, you cute, little thing. Maybe we'll meet again and you won't eat me then!," You said to the creature and got up to quickly run to Sam. "Hi," you give him a smile as soon as you step out of Higgs' bunker.

Sam measured your figure from the bottom to the top with shock written on his face. "Were you fighting BTs? Did he do something to you?," Sam asked, pointing right on Higgs who instantly shook his head for no, raising his hands up.

“He locked me in his safe room and was rude to me but at least he let me pet his BT lion. It's messy as hell but I really loved it," you explained with excitation, looking at Higgs. "Too bad I can't have one."

Higgs sent you a grin and snapped his fingers once again. Within the blink of an eye once again a little puddle of tar appeared at the entrance and a little BT lion cub stepped out of it, meowing loudly.

"Omg, hi, little one!" You laughed and picked the creature gently up. "You are mine now."

"Hola, hola!," Sam raised his tone. "You're not going to take a BT with you. Put it back, now, I am not joking, Y/N. You won't get the BT from this deluded guy."

Higgs crossed arms over his chest. "Let her. This BT belongs to her now, you would have to chop the cord off."

"Exactly. It's mine," you looked at him with an innocent smile, hugging the cub.

The BT lion cub reached its tiny paw towards Sam, but the man immediately took a step back. "This is sick, ridiculous. What are you thinking, Y/N? That we'll get back to Bridges with that BT hidden in your backpack? And you," Sam pointed at Higgs. He was so done with Monaghan's actions and shady plans. "You better get the fuck out of my sigh, I'm so done and believe me - I would kill you but I know it won't affect you in any goddamn way."

Higgs chuckled. "It's good to be a repatriate after all, huh? Y/N, you can keep the BT," he winked at you.

"What's the fucking point of kidnapping her though," Sam pointed at you, "When you simply let her go? What the fuck is going on!"

You pet the cub and shrugged. "He was really disappointed when I came with pizza. So if I understood it correctly, he didn't plan to hurt me and only wanted to get your attention."

You moved a little closer to Sam. "Trust me, he must be a big fan of yours. His walls are decorated with your pictures," you whispered.

Sam cringed at the simple thought of his photos being attached to Higgs' walls.

"I planned on killing you," Higgs claimed openly. "But she came instead of you, and she brought a good pizza. So I rethought my idea and today I won't kill anyone. What a lovely day, isn't it?!"

Higgs approached you and Sam and wrapped his slender arms around you two. "What a lovely day for the encounter!"

You cringed at the hug, knowing that Sam must have felt really uncomfortable with this.

Letting out an awkward laugh you patted Higgs' shoulder. "Yes, yes... It's nice but please, can you let us go?"

Monaghan measured your features with his steel blue eyes. "It's a shame such a beautiful woman is wasting her youth on being a porter though," he touched your cheek with a gloved hand and then leaned down and forward to get on the level of your head. "But due to the fact you were rather a good hostage, I'll let ya go," after these words he licked your cheek. "You taste so good."

Sam cringed harder at the sight and simply yanked you out of Higgs' grasp. "I have enough of you, I mean it," Sam told Monaghan who only chuckled. "What's so funny, Higgs? Maybe it's time to get a life, something?"

Higgs rubbed his bearded chin before replying. "You see, Sam, haunting you and turning your life in a fucking mess became one of the most beloved and fascinating hobbies of mine lately," Higgs concluded with a happy tone. "You're so much fun, aren't you? Especially when you're making all those grimaces of yours when I cause the tar being all over you," Higgs summed up.

Sam closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to cool himself down. "Amelie created a goddamn psychotic monster," he summed up, his hands clenched in fists.

"Sam, let's go, okay? You two can fight some other time. If he lets us go, let's use it," you said, petting the little lion in your arms and starting to walk away. "Thank you for the lion!"

"The pleasure is mine and mine only, Y/N, it's a pleasure to meet you though. Remember, the name's Higgs!"

Sam dragged you down the hill, right to his car. "Are you insane?"

"Hey! He kidnapped me, did you forget? Okay, maybe more like inviting me inside and locked the door but I felt kidnapped!," You stated. "And since when do you touch anyone?!"

"Since you pissed me off with the childish behaviour of yours, Y/N, he could have killed you."

"Like you see he did not! Overall he was even nice to me. He gave me a little lion!"

Sam let go of your hand. "Don't get fooled by his sweet face," Sam raised his finger up, shaking it in front of your eyes. "He might look cute and behave cute but it's his deluded facade. He's a fucking delusional psychopath who gifted you with the fucking BT. It's nothing normal in this."

"But look. It's my BT now, it won't hurt me or anyone. It will be okay," you said and nodded. "I know but look, he didn't hurt me and I am fine."

"So maybe get back to his bunker and you two can live a happy life, how about that?," Sam growled. "Get in. Time to get back to Bridges as you spent more than half a day with the main terrorist of America."

"I was kidnapped! It's not like I could just leave. You also took your sweet time to get there," you let out a sigh and got in, rolling your eyes.

"I was working and getting throughout BTs territory to get your ass saved, Y/N, so don't bullshit me about me being delayed," he instructed as he took a seat at the wheel.

"Okay, sorry.”

"Ah, and put this fucking thing to the trunk, I don't need the upholstery to be covered in tar," added Sam while pointing at BT lion cub that was on your lap.

"It's connected to me. If the cub is going to the trunk then I go there as well," you answered, petting BT head.

"For fuck's sake. If your sweet tar cub will leave a single tar spot inside, I'll cut the cord, understood?," Sam growled

You rolled your eyes and looked away.

"And please, next time refrain from delivering pizza."

"Not my fault that this is what I get to do. You know that it's not my choice," you sighed looking out of the window.

Sam only nodded in silence. "So at least try to verify to whom you are delivering."

#higgs monaghan #sam porter bridges #higgs monaghan x reader #sam porter bridges x higgs monaghan #higgs monaghan x sam porter bridges #sam porter bridges x reader #higgs monaghan fic #sam porter bridges fic #higgs monaghan x sam porter bridges x reader #sam porter bridges x higgs monaghan x reader #higgs monaghan oneshot #higgs monaghan drabble #sam porter bridges drabble #death stranding #death stranding fic #higgs monaghan fanfic #death stranding fiction

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queen-yalo · 3 years

Text

FFVII | Headcanons | Finding a stray kitten

Request: Hi sweetie!! Can I get a scenario for Rufus, Rude, and Tseng where their s/o sneak in a stray kitten they found somewhere random on a rainy day, while the guys are away at work. And the kitty just gets really attached to the guys for some reason. After they accidentally find out about the kitty's existence of course ♥️ Lets face it though hiding a kitty is hard, especially if they are loud lol Enjoy your 3 week vacation by the way!!! [by Anon]

A/N: That three week vacation was in July. Look at me. Not writing stuff for months. Who even am I. :( Hope you enjoy! ♥

Pairing(s): Rude x reader; Rufus Shinra x reader; Tseng x reader

+++

• Everything was perfect. You got the food, the litter box, the scratching post, catnip, a comfortable little bed... your tiny companion should absolutely feel at home. The only problem was... you had no idea how to tell Rude about the small addition to your household. You never talked about getting a pet because actually you never felt the need to. Yes, cats and dogs (or any animal for that matter) were cute, but you never thought about actually adopting one. Plus, how could you decide between those many animals that were looking for a forever home?

• Well, in this case you didn’t have to decide. The kitten decided for you. You heard it crying in the rain, looked at its tiny and soaked frame... and just knew you had to take it home. It felt like it was meant to be. After a quick checkup at the vet you learned that “it” was actually a “he” and “he” was very healthy. Just wet and hungry... but that was something you could fix very easily.

• Which got you into the situation you were in now. Sitting on the couch, the little kitten wrapped in a blanket while you were bottle-feeding it. You knew Rude was due to come home every minute now. And you had still no idea how to break the news to him. But as it turned out... you didn’t have to. The moment your heard the keys in the lock you jumped up, running to the door, ready to sweet talk Rude into letting you keep the kitten. You knew you had to choose your words very carefully. But as soon as you opened your mouth you were interrupted by a high pitched meow.

• The little guy climbed down the couch and followed you into the hallway, running straight into Rude’s direction and climbing up his leg as soon as he reached him. Rude was dumbfounded. There was... something.... crawling up his leg. His first instinct was to kick it off, but when he heard another tiny meow, something inside him told him to freeze.

• At first he wasn't too happy that you just took a stray animal home. But when you told him the whole story and when he realized the little guy was glued to his side, his cold demeanor slowly melted away, making space for a very giddy and very entranced Rude. In mere hours Rude became not only very soft for the little rascal. He also suggested to get another one because "He can't stay home alone all day, can he?"

• "The fact that my hand is on her back means nothing." Rufus glared at you when you came into the living room, looking at him and the kitten on the couch in awe. You quickly left the room again as to not make the tension inside this apartment worse than it already was, ever since Rufus came home. You didn't even try to hide it. As soon as he stepped into the house you proudly showed him the little furball that you found outside.

• At first Rufus was livid. How dare you just pick up a stray animal and take it home - bring it into both your lives like it wasn't a 20-year-commitment? What were you thinking? He told you to get rid of it, which you refused to do. So after a pointless and unnecessary argument you agreed on finding it another loving home. Rufus was fine with that arrangement... or so he thought.

• Now as he was petting the little floofer, he wasn't too sure of that decision anymore. He hated to admit it, but she was tugging at his heart-strings - and he didn’t know if he liked it. He didn’t like it, when something or someone was able to break his cold and aloof facade. You were the first person that was able to do it and that was already more than enough, wasn’t it?! But now, this little fluffy kitten was using him as her personal resting place, as she clumsily climbed onto his lap, and he knew he was a goner - even though he didn’t like it.

• You were wise enough to not say anything when you saw him watching her sleeping on his lap, his eyes soft and full of adoration. It was a rare sight to see Rufus so calm and gentle. But you also knew, that Rufus didn’t like to be called out on that. So instead, you just decided to watch silently and smile to yourself. Of course Rufus noticed you staring. But he too didn’t say a thing. What was he supposed to say? Everything he could say was already known to you. He lost the fight.

• "So...” You started after a few minutes. “Would you happen to know someone who wants to adopt a kitten or do I have to start the search from scratch?” You grinned slightly as Rufus glared at you from the couch, his hand still petting the kitten softly. “No, you don’t.” He mumbled quietly, laying the kitten onto his chest gently as he laid down. “You’ve won. She can stay.”

• You were anxious. Saving and taking home a kitten was one thing. Telling Tseng another. He would freak out for sure. It wasn’t that he didn’t like animals, he did. Just not… inside the house. But that was exactly what was going on right now. You brought a kitten home without asking or telling him. And now as you were shopping for kitten-stuff you were trying to think of a way to tell Tseng. Yet, no matter how much you thought about it… nothing was coming.

• Your heart stopped when you unlocked your door and realized you only had to turn the key once. Someone was already here. No, not someone. Tseng. You checked the time. He wasn’t due to come home for at least another two or three hours. You gulped. Maybe you were lucky and the kitten hid somewhere even Tseng couldn’t find it.

• You weren't lucky. Tseng stood right behind the door, kitten in his head, glaring at you. “Care to explain?” He asked sternly. You bit your lip sheepishly and took the small kitten from him. “I found him in the slums... he was all alone, have some mercy.” You pleaded, cuddling the little fluffer. Tseng rolled his eyes. “I told you times and times before that I don’t want animals inside the house. What’s so hard to understand?!”

• You assured Tseng that it would only be for a little time, until you found another home for him. He agreed reluctantly. But he wasn’t really happy about it. You feared that the next few days would be the longest of your life. The atmosphere at home was more than tense. Until... something changed. You didn’t know how and you didn’t know when... but at one point the kitten purred his way into Tsengs heart.

• He slept on Tseng’s chest at night. He climbed onto Tseng’s shoulder and stayed there whenever he could. At first, Tseng fought it... but withing a few days, he came to enjoy the attention. He even found himself actively bonding with him, playing with him, petting him... it was strange. He never thought that he would enjoy having a pet around. When you told him that you may have found a home for the little floofer, Tseng tensed up before saying the words you never thought you would hear: “No. He belongs to us.”

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy vii headcanons #final fantasy 7 headcanons #rude #rude x reader #rufus shinra #rufus sinra x reader #tseng #tseng x reader #x reader

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mashiraostail · 4 years

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Aizawa gets hit with a quirk during battle and it turns him into a cat, he doesn't know what to do so he goes to his partner's house. His partner sees Catzawa sitting at her doorway and doesn't know it's him, so she basically catnaps him, thinking he's a stray, and takes care of him the rest of the week? uwu

omg this got kinda long but it was really fun to write fdlsk i hope you enjoy! >:3

You’d actually had a sort of late-night, later than you desired anyways, you were excited to just go home and get some rest. As you approached your doorstep you notice a black fuzzy blob on your welcome mat. “Well hello there..” You crouch down to the cat and offer a hand, “and who are we? Huh?” You scratch the back of its neck, laughing at the loud purring it replies with. “You are adorable.” You scoop it up, “if you’ve got an owner the time to run away is now, or else you’re mine. That cool?” The cat just settles into your chest, purring contentedly. “I’m taking that as a yes.” You set your things down but keep the cat in your arms, it doesn’t seem to mind. “What should I name you?” You wonder aloud. “Oh I bet Shouta will have a good idea.” You sit down on the couch with the cat in your lap, taking a photo of it to send along to the aforementioned man, “he loves cats. Maybe I should wait and surprise him with you.” You hesitate to send the photo, “I guess in the meantime I’ll just call you...” You look around for some inspiration, “I guess Eraser is pretty fitting huh? You know now that I mention it you sort of even look like him.” You press your thumb between the cat's eyes, “grumpy.” Its reply is just a meow. Aizawa isn’t too worried honestly, once he figured out what had happened and gets a handle on things he concludes this weird quirk will only be effective for a few hours to a day max. At least his quirk was still effective in cat form, though the cops were probably confused to find a bound up villian and no hero to claim them. He didn’t care much and with that in mind he just mozzies his way over to your place figuring you’ll take care of him, you always do. And he was right, you were happy to let him rest on your chest while you lounged around on the couch, watching TV late into the night, you scratched up his back with your nails and cooed at him every time he nestled closer. He knows it was a villain quirk that hit him but he’s sort of thankful, honestly, this is the life. “Alright.” You sigh and he rises and falls with the breath in your chest, “how’s bed sound Eraser cat?” You’re mildly concerned you haven’t heard from Shouta, normally he let you know when he returned and left for patrols, even if you were asleep. You figured his phone was dead or forgotten, or that Hizashi was accompanying him tonight. He is very content to curl up next to your chest and snooze there peacefully for the whole night. He could sleep for days if anyone asked him, you were warm and nice and sure he wasn’t particularly clingy but he couldn't deny how nice it felt to be coddled on occasion. Your bright laughter and the way you flick water at him and shoo him away when he sneaks into the shower the next morning is also welcome. “I thought cats hated water!” You snort flicking a towel at him, “get out mister, this isn’t for cats, I’ll give you a bath in the sink tonight if you really insist.” Though a few days pass and he’s still a cat, and what’s worse is you’re going crazy with worry. “I’m sorry, no.” He’s watching from his perch on your counter as you shake your head at Nemuri, Hizashi, and Nezu, “He normally calls me at least once a day if we aren’t together but I haven’t even gotten a text let alone seen his face..” You look forlorn, there’s a deep worry line between your eyebrows. “It’s alright. Thanks for the help.” Nemuri squeezes your shoulder, “I’m sure he just got wrapped up in something a little bigger than usual.” Hizashi nods in agreement, “we’ll let you know if we find out anything else, okay?” “Thank you Zash. I’ll call you guys if he turns up around here.” You squeeze his friend's hand, as comforting as he was trying to be you could tell he was equally upset and worried. “We appreciate that.” Nezu nods, “he’s a very capable hero, I’m sure we have nothing to worry about.” “Say, when did you get a cat?” Nemuri takes notice of the feline and you jump. “Oh you guys haven’t met him yet! I think he was a stray..” You scoop him up and bring him back to the trio, “his name is Eraser cat. Well, it was temporary, I was going to ask Shouta to name him but-” Your voice breaks a little, “well...you know.” “He’s very cute.” Nemuri laughs a little but it doesn’t do much to mask how upset she seems as well, “don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine.” She insists and you nod, “I hope so.” When his hero costume and goggles turn up 2 days later you're inconsolable. Aizawa is trying everything he can think of to get you to realize what’s happened. He watches helplessly on the couch as you cry into Hizashi’s shoulder. Nemuri on your other side rubbing your back, though they each look equally heartbroken. You hadn’t been sleeping much at night since their first visit, he was used to you staying up to the sunrise scratching his back, and playing with his ears. But at least you didn’t cry. Now you cried. Even watching you sob into Hizashi’s shirt was enough to make him let out a warbled meow and slink over to your lap. “Oh I’m okay-” You let out a wet laugh, “what a good cat you are..wanna cheer me up?” You hug him, “you’re so cute.” Your voice breaks again, ��Shouta would have just love you-” And as quickly as your tears had stopped warbly cries had begun again. Nemuri and Hizashi don’t leave until it’s dark out. He watches the various people that come in and out the next day, Toshinori comes with some sweets and Aizawa’s class. You supposed it was nice to see them if only a bit painful at first. But after the discomfort in your chest settles they do pretty well at cheering you up, offering you all the funny, sweet, or scary stories about their teacher that they can think up. Sekijiro comes after with Ryo, the pair is happy to sit quietly with you while you cry alternating between who lets you rest on their shoulder and who rubs your back. Kugo and 13 come with some food and finally Emi with plenty of teary-eyed attempts to pull some more laughter out of you. After it’s all over he’s curling up on your chest where you lay on the couch. “Don’t worry.” You murmur, you noticed the cat didn’t seem to like it when you cried, “I think I’m all cried out.” Your eyes are puffy and red as your hands cover his back. “Wanna hear about Shouta?” You ask and the cat’s ears perk up. “Yeah? I could tell you some things about him.” Your voice breaks a little at his name, “he was a good guy, a little grumpy, but..” You sigh, “he was just a softie.” You close your eyes, “and he really liked cats. He would have been so excited to have you. He was really strong too-” You bite back some more tears, “whatever...whatever did this to him I..I have to say I’m a little scared to see what it’ll do next.” The cat stands up and hops away, you laugh a little, “you’re so aloof.” You watch the black furball turn the corner and disappear. When he returns you’re about to doze off, but he jumps onto your stomach, you huff. “Excuse you. Hey!” You sit up, “what’s in your mouth?!” You try to pry his jaw open, “you’re gonna choke!” He spits out an eraser. “oh?” You pick up the pink pencil topper, “did you learn your name?” You perk up, “so cute!” You scoop the cat up to your chest, kissing his face, “you’re so smart-” The cat warbles. “What?” You set it down and it paws at the eraser. “You wanna play?” He hadn't liked playing very much before. He warbles again before hopping away and fleeing. Though he’s back in a few moments. “Now what do you have??” You notice something else hidden in the cat's mouth, he spits it out without a fight though. “Shouta’s keys?” You pick them up, “do you wanna play?” You ask again and jingle them in front of the cat's face. He swats at you. “I’m sorry.” You frown, “not right now okay? I’m really exhausted.” You stand up, “let’s just go to bed?” The cat leaps into bed with you a few minutes after you get under the covers. “Eraser please-” You groan as he kneads your back, “I'm exhausted.” Roll over and he drops something on your chest. It was a picture, one from your bag of you and Shouta, Hizashi took it on new year’s eve two years ago. “Huh?” You look at the cat, “why’d you bring me this?” You remember reading that cats like to bring their owners things as presents sometimes. “That’s very sweet.” You murmur, “I should get it framed or something, it’s a nice picture. He didn’t really like pictures..” You rub the cat's ears, “I didn’t mind before...” You trail off, feeling your eyes get wet, “but wish I had more of us now that he’s-” You take in a deep breath before you can start crying again. You set the photo on your nightstand. “I’m going to sleep.” You turn over, without huddling him into your chest like usual. Aizawa doesn’t know who to thank when he wakes up, suddenly human again. Though he is totally naked. But at least you wouldn’t be so inconsolable anymore. Your alarm starts to blare and you turn over, your hand hits his chest. “Shou.. turn it off..” You mutter, burying your nose in his arm. There’s a moment of reprieve like nothing had ever happened like it was all a weird dream. You did this occasionally, you’d wake up and grumble for him, ‘come closer’ ‘turn the alarm off’ or just a ‘g’monring shou’. In the days prior he’d tried to do what he could, even swatting your alarm off with his paw and curling up in your neck. Though it was never long before you’d realize that Shouta as you knew him wasn’t there and you’d dissolve into a fit. “mhn I got it.” His hand slaps the alarm button and it silences. Your eyes snap open and you scramble up, shrieking. “Shouta!?” You’re patting him down, neck shoulders, and chest, checking for any injuries, or any sign that he’s not really Shouta. But it’s all there, all the scars, and birthmarks, and hair, he’s exactly how you remember. “Where have you been?!” You place two firm hands on his chest, “and why are you naked? Not that I mind now, but have you been walking around naked for over a week? Never mind don’t answer that.” You take his face in your hands, “Oh Shouta, I’ve been so worried.” You shake your head, “we all have. When your costume turned up but you...” Your voice gets quiet, “we thought...well..God. Where have you been?” “I’m sorry to worry you-” He sits up, “i’m okay, seriously, not even a scratch. It’s all sort of complicated but I think what happened was-” “Wait!” You stop him, “I have a surprise for you!” “Well, the thing is-” “Just stay here okay? Put some pants on!” You scramble out of bed, looking hopelessly for Eraser Cat, though the feline is nowhere to be found. You’re standing by the couch when the sight of the eraser and Shouta’s keys discarded there put the dots together for you. “It was you?!” You shriek running back to your bedroom. “I was trying to tell you!” He insists, “like when I kept changing the channel to the news during broadcasts about me, or all of the random stuff that I always brought you!” He doesn’t mind the way your arms fly around his neck, he just pats your back. “So you’ve been okay this whole time?!” “Yeah, I was pretty well taken care of actually.” “I was wondering why he’d only eat leftovers and not the cat food..” You murmur and Shouta laughs. “Sorry, but it smelled really gross.” He lets you clamber into his lap. “Shouta I’m so happy to see you.” You hold his face in your hands, “you have no idea how worried I was-” “I watched the whole thing.” He laughs a little, holding your wrists, “ but it’s alright now. I’m here. I’m fine. We both are.” The kiss is welcome, warm, and familiar. Being a cat for a day would have been fun, but a whole week was sort of pushing it, he’d missed these sorts of sensations, your hands on his chest, arms around his neck, lips against his. “You watched me change like every day!” You hit his stomach and he huffs at the blow, “What happened to missing me? It’s your fault for leaving the door open!” He complains and you jump, “I live alone!!! And you tried to get in the shower with me?! You perv!” “You act like I’ve never seen you naked before!” He fends off your swatting hands. “It’s the principle of the thing!” “We see each other naked all the time! I’m naked right now.” He catches your hands and you stop, flush creeping up your neck. “Oh. Yes..you are...” You settle down a little as he continues, “and I really missed you...”

#aizawa shouta x reader #aizawa x reader #bnha x reader #bnha request #aizawa shouta

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dxncingwithastrxnger · 3 years

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BuckTony Becoming Cat Dads

A/N: Hey there, guys, time for some mid-afternoon headcanons, it seems. I was in the middle of writing Lightning, but then I really just wanted some Bucky and Tony fluff and thought there was no better way than imagining them as cat dads because they definitely would be 😌😌😌 Anyways, so here we go, and I hope you enjoy!!

The decision came randomly one night, when Bucky was out late and Tony was complaining that the house gets way too lonely without Bucky there with him.

Being Bucky’s boyfriend, Tony had gotten used to almost never being alone. Unless, of course, Bucky decided to have a night out with Steve and Sam that Tony apparently wasn’t invited to.

Bucky had chuckled softly and kissed his forehead as he took his jacket off. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Maybe we can just get a little puppy or something, then he can keep you company when I’m not around so that you don’t have to feel so lonely anymore.” There was a sarcastic edge to his tone and he was mostly joking, but it was also something he had been thinking a lot about recently.

Tony stayed quiet for a moment, thinking, before saying. “What if we got a kitten?” Bucky stopped what he was doing as he turned back around to look at Tony, who was turned on the couch to be able to peer back at him. “You mean like...actually get a pet?”

Tony grinned as he heard the barely bit back excitement hidden in Bucky’s voice. Now there was no way he could say no. “I mean, yeah, babe. If you seriously want to.”

He got up and walked over to Bucky, taking his hands in his. “Let’s get a fur baby, baby.” Bucky’s whole face lights up with excitement and he wraps his arms around Tony, pulling him close and kissing all over his face.

“Yes!” He said, and Tony smiled at him fondly, grabbing the back of Bucky’s neck gently and pushing their foreheads together. What they both knew but wouldn’t dare say out loud is that part of the excitement of this moment is that it was another step forward. Another reassurance that they were in this for the long run. If they went through with this, they would be tied together even more so than before, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was about a week later, at a nearby pet store, that they found her.

Bucky and Tony had been to a different store a few days earlier, but none of the little ones really caught their eye, there wasn’t really any connection.

But the both of them had a good feeling about this place. A worker led them back to where all of the kittens were, allowing them to take a look around. A couple of the less shy ones ran up to them and pawed at their legs or rolled onto their back for a tummy rub.

Bucky crouched down and picked up a mouse toy with a feather on the end, waving it in front of one of them and catching their attention as they pounced at the toy. Bucky laughed softly as he played with them. Tony watched, smiling happily at his boyfriend. Then something behind Bucky caught his eye.

Tony turned around and saw that Bucky was keeping his metal arm behind his back. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt any of the kittens with it. But then there was a little all white kitten up on their hind legs, grabbing hold of Bucky’s black and gold hand, trying to chew on the metal fingers.

Bucky looked beside him as he saw Tony kneel down and reach behind him, just now noticing the feel of tiny paws on his back. “Hmm?”

Tony picked up the little kitten and sat down criss-cross, holding the little ball of fur in his lap. Bucky sat beside him, smiling. Tony smiled as the kitten nipped at his fingers playfully and clung to his hand. “This little one was trying to attach themselves to your left arm there, babe.” He told Bucky

The worker who was back there with them walked over and saw the kitten they were with. “That’s Alpine. She’s been with us for a few weeks. She doesn’t really warm up to people like that. She’s social with the other kittens, but doesn’t seem to have much trust with other humans. The ones that dropped her off said that she had been through a lot in her first few months. But it seems like she definitely likes you two.”

Bucky and Tony shared a look as Alpine tried to climb up onto Bucky’s shoulder. “We’ll take her.” They stated at the same time, grinning at each other. Bucky looked down at Alpine and helped her up onto his shoulder and she made a small noise at him, leaning over to lick his cheek. Tony chuckled and reached up to scratch her head gently.

They spent the rest of the afternoon completing the adoption process and spoiling their new little companion. They bought everything she needed. A cat carrier, bowls, litter box, bed, toys, collar, tags, even a leash in case it was ever needed. And then a few extras like a scratching post and a cat tree.

They headed home, Bucky driving as Tony held the carrier she was in, in his lap. About halfway home, Bucky called the vet and set up an appointment to get her a checkup and any needed vaccinations at her current age.

They got home and got everything inside, keeping her in the carrier until they at least had her litter box, bed, and food and water bowls set up. As soon as they took her out and set her down in the middle of the living room, she was running around, exploring her new home.

They followed her around for a little while, just to make sure that everything she shouldn’t get into was out of her reach, before heading back into the living room to get everything else put together or put away.

Tony was getting her tags attached to her collar while Bucky was putting together the cat tree when Alpine was suddenly on Tony’s back, climbing up to his shoulder and nipping at his ear.

Tony smiled and scooped her up into his arms, rubbing under her chin. “Hey there, little one. You’re just in time. I just finished up your collar.” She meowed at him as he looped the collar around her neck and snapped it together, making sure it wasn’t too tight on her.

Alpine shook her head, making the bell and metal tags jingle together, which made her roll over on Tony’s lap as she tried to paw at where the sound was coming from.

Tony and Bucky chuckled and cooed at her, Bucky leaning over to kiss the side of Tony’s head before leaning down and kissing the top of Alpine’s head.

Tony looked over at Bucky as Alpine got down to go play and explore some more and smiled at him, his eyes shining with love and affection and happiness. “I love you so much. You make me so happy.”

Bucky matched the look in his lover’s eyes, tears of joy springing up that he tried to blink away. “The same to you, my love. I never thought I could ever be this happy. Have such an amazing life.” He pressed their foreheads together. “But you proved me wrong. I love you so much.”

Tony grabbed Bucky’s hands and twined their fingers together, leaning forward and kissing his beautiful boyfriend full of love. Bucky returned the loving kiss, squeezing Tony’s hands gently. They pulled back after a moment, foreheads still together, looking into each other’s eyes. Neither of them could stop smiling.

Suddenly their attention was grabbed by a small meow of distress coming from beside them. They turned and laughed as they saw Alpine hanging off the side of the coffee table, trying to climb all the way on top of it but not finding a good grip to do so, so she was instead stuck there, seeming to be too afraid of the half foot drop back to the ground.

Bucky grabbed hold of her and gently pried her paws off of the table, lifting her up and holding her above his head, bringing her back down to rub his nose on hers gently and she made a noise at him and pawed at his face.

Bucky leaned back on the couch and set her down on his chest where she curled up and closed her eyes, purring happily as Tony rested his head on Bucky’s shoulder, Bucky’s arm going across the back of the couch behind Tony. And there they stayed into the evening, now a little family, happier than any of them had ever dreamed they would be.

A/N: How was this, guys?? I loved writing this so much, I literally love these two together with my whole heart. And Alpine, of course. 💜 Let me know what you guys think, all comments and feedback are very much appreciated. What else would you like to see? More headcanons? More Bucky x Tony content? If you have any requests or suggestions for anything at all, one-shots, drabbles, headcanons, just let me know, please!!

#bucky barnes #tony stark #bucky x tony #bucky barnes x tony stark #ironwinter #winteriron #buckony #bucktony #headcanons #fluff #bucky barnes fluff #tony stark fluff #purple_strxnger #purple_strxnger_stories #tonybucky #buckytony

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sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 4 years

Text

Welcome To The Pack: To Wakanda

Summary- 7k. Steve Rogers x You. You have been injected with an unknown substance, going into a coma like state and your wolf is unable to be found by the Alpha. Bruce is also at a loss, but there may be someone who can help. Warnings- Smut, use of needles, implied bad stuff from Brock, etc etc.

A/N- Thank you so much for the love given from everyone for this series. And also being patient with me while my internet is currently being a pain in the ass. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Much Love always.

A/N 2- feedback is welcome, I really do love hearing what you all think, and ways to improve.

Chapter 6 / Pack Masterlist

Tony had a migraine from hell, he was sitting at his desk, his head pounding for some unknown reason.

<You do know though.> The Wolf sauntered to him, licking his jaws and arching his neck in a stretch. <Ross is breathing down your neck, Clint took off with a jet for an unknown reason, and you haven’t run with your mate in over a week. You should go to Pepper, and retire to Central Park for the day. Or leave the city. That would be even better.>

Tony sighed as he leaned back forward, rubbing at his temple as he opened the drawer and pulled out some painkillers for there kind. A headache required more than the human use of pain relievers. Shaking out a couple of tablets, he popped them, and his Wolf sighed as it pushed to a stand, shaking out his sleek fur and retreated further into Tony’s mind.

I know your right… I miss Pepper.

<Well she’s just a few floors down.> The Wolf snarked over his shoulder before leaping further from Tony’s current conscious. Tony pissed him off, he knew that. About to push from his desk to go see his mate, the beast wasn’t wrong in that. Or any of it. It had been too long, just before the went to Steve’s pack, since they redid their bonds, reaffirmed the strength of there mating and the bites, his body ached for hers. Immensely. The migraine resounded in his temples as a reminder.

It was then Friday buzzed online, making an announcement. ‘Boss, A unauthorized jet approaches.’ And Tony growled even louder this time. “Is it Barton with my jet? It better be.”

‘Yes, Sir. I’m patching him through right now.’ There was a moment of silence, then a whoosh sound. “Barton? Why the fuck you take my jet? It better be in one piece.” Tony said loud enough for it to go through, and he could hear Barton chuckle on the other end.

“Nat called me that there was some trouble going down Stark. You out of anyone know that I’m going to go if my Alpha needs me.” Tony snorted, although he knew it was true. Rogers probably didn’t know just how deep his packs loyalties lay for him. Barton’s voice broke through again, following Tony as he left the office and headed up to the top of the tower. “Steve’s with me, as well as Bucky, Natasha, and Y/N. Y/N is in bad shape, Tony. Steve needs your help.”

Tony stalled his strides, just before he approached the elevators, frowning. The Alpha of the Mountain Pack needed help? That had never happened. “Care to repeat that Barton?”

“Tony? It’s Steve.” The Alphas voice came over, and Tony couldn’t lie, it sounded strained. “Y/N was shot with a dart, she was in immense pain, claimed she couldn’t feel her wolf, and now she won’t wake up.” Even Tony’s Wolf came striding back to the more conscious part of his mind, the Alpha pinning his ears back in distress at the other Mans admission. “I don’t know anywhere else that might have the capability to help her.”

Tony punched the button to the elevator, and instead of going up to meet them, he was going to the next level. “Bring her to Bruce’s Lab, Barton and Nat know where it is. I will meet you down there.” Once the doors opened, he stepped on, and the door swiftly shut behind him, descending.

Barton landed the jet, and opened the hatch, shutting off all the switches in quick maneuvers. Steve collected You, pressing you protectively against his chest as he followed Natasha out of the jet, and she got them into the towers once she hit her security code. Steve’s face melded from worried to calm, collected. He was in another Alphas territory, and any sign of stress from him could invite a challenge from another wolf. His fingers though, they pressed into your skin, his heart thudded in his chest, aching with every beat, constantly seeking you, and now that he could feel you against him, his breathing turned to match yours, the way his heart racing started to slow. Even in this state, you were his calm. Now if only he could bring you back to him. His Wolf was still howling for you, an echo constantly in his mind as he sought your Little Wolf. Even without the bond, he still could sense her when they were human. Now the Silver Wolf couldn’t, and it was breaking the Alpha.

Once the doors opened, Tony and Bruce stood there, a hospital stretcher ready, but Steve brushed past it, not wanting to let you go. Bruce was about to say something, but Natasha rested her hand against his arm, giving a slight shake of her head. Steve was already close to snapping, its best not to push him. His words changed, tilting his head to the man. “This way, we have a room set up for her.” Pushing the stretcher to the side, they all followed along with Bruce, and came into a comfortable looking room. A large hospital bed was set up, and Steve was careful to set you down on the pristine white cotton sheets. Bruce waited patiently for Steve to settle next to his mate before he approached. Holding his hands up for the Alpha to see him, lowering his head a bit to show his neck. “I promise not to do any harm to your mate Alpha, but you have to trust me, okay. I have to examine her and that will require me touching her.”

Steve Wolf growled, eyeing the man, and Steve to drew in Bruce’s scent, it was an intermingling of differences that shouldn’t exist in their society. But it did.

Bruce’s condition was well known, why he was loosely tied to Tonys Pack. Tony was one of the only packs that could help Bruce. The Man, he wasn’t an Alpha, gentle to the core, nothing more than a healer and had no drive to really be with a pack. His Wolf though, a Alpha through and through. And not just an Alpha, but a beast unnatural. He had been mutated through an accidental experiment, and it left Bruce almost unable to control him. Tony provided him with space, still in a pack, yet able to work on his own. Steve took all this information into account when he gave a gentle nod, giving him permission to handle you. That nod set Bruce into action, calling forth a nurse, and they worked around Steve, who wouldn’t leave your side, his hands enclosed around yours, keeping contact with yours.

Come back to me Little One.

Bucky gathered the two panther cubs in his arms, the kittens have come around to him during the jet ride. One slept in the crook of one arm, the other perched on the White Wolf’s shoulder, squeaking in excitement at all that was going on. Barton followed him off, and they to enter the Tower, heading straight to Bruce’s lab. Once they exited the elevators, they caught sight of Natasha and Tony, looking through a window into a room, both men could hear Natasha filling Tony in on what had happened that night. Hearing them, Tony looked at gaffed a laugh at the sight.

“Barnes looks like you got some stowaways.” Tony grinned, and Bucky shifted the sleeping kitten to his other arm.

“Pierce, had them locked up, figured maybe you could get them back to there families?” Bucky asked hopefully, knowing that the Black Panthers didn’t typically reside in the northern forests of the eastern part of the states.

“I don’t think that should be a problem,” Tony stated with a nod, his sight catching Pepper coming to join them, and as she approached, he held his arm out to her, and she slid into his side just where she always did, listening as he continued. “King T’Challa had actually contacted me about his missing Panthers a couple of weeks ago. He will be pleased to get back the children taken. Uh… you didn’t happen to see any adult panthers there?”

Bucky gave a sorrowed shake of his head as the awake kitten perched on his shoulder wailed softly, and Pepper immediately crooned to him, holding out her arms for the kitten to leap into the woman’s arms, hiding against her for comfort. Tony cleared his throat, getting his answer.

“These Cubs need to be fed, and allowed to shift back.” Pepper said softly as she stroked the distraught kitten fur. “I can take them to go shift, get a proper meal and rest while you all arrange the flight home for them.” she offered and Bucky nodded, handing the sleeping kitten over. She tilted to kiss Tony’s cheek before retreating with them, speaking softly. “Get to go home soon, how does that sound to you two?” A sounding high pitched meow reached the group’s ears.

Turning to watch Bruce work on You, Bucky wasn’t surprised to see Steve right there, refusing to leave her side. “First off, what the fuck did he shoot Y/N with, and how did that son of a bitch get Panther cubs?”

“That’s what Bruce is trying to find out now, and the panther cubs… I’m guessing someone smuggled them out of the country. Which means I have a King to contact. Natasha, you know this place, whenever Steve is ready, you can show him the live-in quarters, you to Barnes.”

“Thanks, Stark” The White Wolf opened his hand to shake it, which was evenly matched before he turned away. Once they were alone, just Bucky, Clint, and Natasha, Bucky spoke up. “I can’t stay, Rumlow still has Cass. Now that Pierce is dead… I have to find her quickly.”

Barton and Natasha looked at each other, knowing neither one of these Wolves could be left alone.

“How about I come with you, Barnes? We can pick up where the trackers are now. This is what I’m trained to do.” Barton shrugged. “I also got transportation here for us, and Stark cant bitch about me taking it.”

“And I will stay with Steve and Y/N, keep you updated on what is going on.” Natasha offered, knowing Barnes was hard-pressed to leave there Alpha.

“Thank you two…” Barnes said softly, his gaze not breaking from the scene in the next room.

Steve was thrumming his thumb over your pulse, which was so calm, it was like you were sleeping. Bruce had drawn blood, had you hooked to monitors that beeped excessively. They were driving Steve and his Wolf nuts trying to make sense of what the numbers all meant. Luckily the scientist did, as well as the nurse assisting him, but neither said if it was good or bad, just an occasional ‘Hmm’

Patience Beast.

<I’m trying Steve> The Silver Wolf responded with a defeated sigh.

“Alpha?” Bruce started but Steve immediately cut him off.

“Please, its Steve.” He warily smiled, the adrenaline from the night had finally left him, the usually proud Alpha just look beat and tired now, sitting on the bed.

“Steve, we’ve checked her over, and from what we can tell, she is okay. In the Human Sense. Her pressures are good, shes breathing, there is still functions of her brain. I have no fear that her body can’t function. From what I can tell… shes simply shut herself down from the trauma. As far as her Wolf, we can’t find any trace of her in her system. None of the scans picked her up.” It was impossible to miss the whine that came from the Alpha and how his eyes clouded over a moment, but Bruce ignored it, continuing. “I might not be the man for this Steve, but… You said she was injected. I was able to isolate the compound in her bloodwork. Now I can’t be certain, but it seems to be biological. I don’t necessarily know for sure, but there is a plant that might be used for this kind of thing.”

Steve’s head shot up, his eyes wide. “Where is it, and is there a cure Dr.Banner?” The Wolf perked up too, his ears straining to hear Bruce’s next words.

“The plant only originates in one place, Wakanda. And Wakanda has one of the most brilliant scientific minds I know of. Her name is Shuri, the Kings sister. She would know more about the plants capabilities then I can begin to understand. They use it in a few rituals when appointing the new king. It diminishes there powers, sedates there beasts almost into a slumbering state so that they can prove that the person can lead their people as much as the animal.” Bruce witnessed Steve turning back to look at You, his eyes willing you to wake up, but there was no movement from you. “Would to much kill the animal you think Doctor?”

“I really can’t say Steve, I simply don’t know enough about it. It’s not something we have here, and the Wakanda people guard their crops fiercely. I wouldn’t even begin to guess how someone would have gotten there hands on such a plant. Now with how strong Wakandas borders are.”

“I have to talk to Tony about this, but I can’t leave her.” Steve drifted off, even though you were safe, he just couldn’t pry himself from you. Natasha knocked on the door and opened it gently.

“Let me sit with her, I will stay till you can return Steve.” She offered and the even though the Wolf protested, Steve pressed your palm to his mouth, giving a soft affectionate nip before easing your hand back to the mattress. “Thank you, Natasha.”

The Red Head nodded, switching spots. “Shes my packmate to. Bucky is out there, Starks floor is one up, that’s where he will be.”

With a nod, Steve took one last look at you, peaceful and small looking in the oversized bed, quick to exit the door. Wait any longer and his resolve would fold.

Tony was once more at his desk, and the phone was ringing when a message came through from Bruce, giving him a bit of an update. Tony’s brows arched curiously at this new bit of info, that you were possibly injected with a organic matter made for this particular situation. Wonder how many other people were subjected to the same fate. A click drew him back, an accented voice speaking on the other end. “Stark, its good to hear from you.”

“Likewise T’Challa. I might have some good news for you. Two cubs were found by a neighboring pack and brought them to me. They are young, I’m hoping they are your missing children.” Tony could hear the sharp muffle of the phone being covered and the king’s voice talking to someone before he came back. “Yes, two were taken along with there mother. No sign of the female?”

“No… I’m sorry, Pierce might not have taken her if he bought the cubs off a smuggler, or might have already sold her off to another.” Tony didn’t want to share the wall of skins, it was just so horrific to think about.

“Thank You, the two cubs was more then we had hoped to be able to bring home, I will notify my trackers looking through the states of this news, send them to you if you could possibly direct them to where they were found. Maybe they can pick up a trail.”

“Absolutely. I will send the cubs back to you, just as soon as they are looked over and given a bit of proper rest. My Mate is tending to them now, and they seem to be in fairly good health. I also have something else to discuss with you King.”

“What is it?” The Panther said softly, his tone said he was half expecting more bad news.

“The pack that found them, the Alphas Mate was darted, and her Wolf, it’s gone. Dr.Banner isolated an organic compound in her blood that might be the cause. But this is out of his expertise. If the Alpha could bring her over with the cubs, could Shuri try to bring her back? Shes slipped into something like a coma and shows no signs of waking up, although she appears to be healthy.”

T’Challa was silent a moment before there was a rumbling answer, and Tony suspected it was distress about the Alphas Mate, it had unsettled him the same way thinking about what if that had happened to Pepper. “Of course, send the Alpha Wolf and his Mate along, we will do all we can to help them.”

“Thank you King. I will be contacting you soon.”

As he hung up, Steve and Bucky came into the office, and Tony swept a hand to the chairs in front of his desk, waiting till the men settled. “Before you say anything, Steve, it’s already arranged. You will be taking Y/N to Wakanda for Shuri to help her. Now, I heard what Natasha said, but you want to tell me officially. The Council will want to know.”

Steve bared his teeth in agitation but started in on all that had happened. “I sent Bucky and Natasha to check out this pack as you know. They were immediately taken.” Bucky then took over, telling all about how he was collared, how the collar impacted his beast in chains. “It wasn’t anything like the magic of Wanda, but blood magic. Way to much power in it. And then I was to be sold off to Hydra.” Tony stayed silent listening. “Once we managed to escape, we contacted our Alpha.”

“And that was it. I had enough to challenge Pierce. We met him on his turf, called him out. He has a whole underground facility my wolves are sorting through now with Sam in charge. After Y/N was shot, we left to get her here as soon as possible. I’m indebted to you.” Steve said solemnly, and Tony waved it away.

“Don’t, if it was the other way around, I know you would do anything you could for Pepper, Rogers. Besides, I like Y/N, shes good. She would have been a wolf I would have welcomed to my pack should she had come to my borders easily. I will have a cleanup crew go to help Sam, so please let him know beforehand.”

Steve nodded, but now he was anxious to return to You, not that he didn’t trust Natasha, but this wasn’t home. He wasn’t in control here, and he didn’t want to risk leaving you in an unfamiliar place.

“I think we’re settled here, Peppers taking care of the Kits now. I will have it all set up to fly you to Wakanda in the morning Steve.” The Alphas all rose, shaking hands and with that all was said and done.

On the way out, Bucky paused Steve. “Brother, I wish I could go with you. But there’s still Rumlow. I have to find Cassandra. She’s only in this mess cause we’ve been, well I don’t know really what we’ve been doing. But my association has gotten her captured.”

Steve cursed inwardly, the Wolf guiltily laying back his ears. How could they forget Bucky’s own situation. “Of course, please gather any of the pack you need for tracking them.”

Both men stepped once more on the elevator. “Barton is coming with me, and I’m going to ask the twins. Pietro is skilled like Barton is, better then I could ever be, and Wanda is a powerful healer already. I don’t know what condition I will find Cassandra. Natasha, she will be going with you to Wakanda.” Bucky swallowed deeply, and Steve clasped his shoulder.

“What Brock did, it isn’t your fault Buck.”

“Isn’t it though? If I never messed around with her, she wouldn’t be taken from her home, and god knows what he’s done to her. I should have known better, she’s a human, and I’m just an animal. I never had any intention of taking her as my mate, I should have just left after that first night.” Bucky started to confess, and Steve couldn’t help the twinge in his chest at Bucky’s pain. He knew the White Wolf had long ago decided that he wouldn’t take a mate, but the lone wolf still had a desire for a connection, which he had apparently found in this woman. His hand gave Buckys shoulder another squeeze before letting it slide away.

“You will find her and return her home, Buck. As soon as I come back from Wakanda, I will join you. You are not alone in this.”

Bucky turned haunted eyes to his Alpha, his brother, and gave a nod. “Till the end of the line.”

“Till the end of the line” Steve repeated before the door opened.

Steve relieved Natasha and he stretched out next to your unconscious form, and half slept till morning when they were collected and taken to the airport, a more comfortable ride set up for the five of you. The Panthers had shifted back at Peppers urging, and now joining You, Steve and Natasha were two children. A girl looking to be eight or nine, and a boy looking to be much younger, maybe five if Steve had to guess. Both the kids bid farewell to Bucky, hanging off his neck as they hugged him and he embraced them both and gave the young boy a ruffle of hair. “Yall come back to visit me, okay? But like next time we will have some fun. No locks or cages, that I promise.” Natasha nudged Steve with a grin and whispered to him. “He’s a natural.”

Steve had to chuckle watching him. “Yes, he really is. He always had been.” he said softly before Bucky approached them, the man looking between his Alpha and Natasha. “Well, you crazy kids don’t get into any tussles with the Panthers. Means no growling at them, Steve.” He gave a mock warning leaving the Alpha growling at Bucky and Natasha grinning as she stepped forward and hugged Bucky. “Stay safe Buck, I’m not gonna be there to keep you out of trouble.”

Bucky returned the hug with a laugh, kissing her temple. “Well that’s just not exciting then is it.” Turning to Steve the two men shared a hug too, slapping each other on the back. “Bring Y/N home man, we all just got her, not ready to lose her yet.”

“That’s the goal, keep us updated Buck, and like Natasha said, stay safe.” The two men separated and together Natasha and Steve went onto the plane, and the door shut. Bucky turned the opposite way, joined with Barton, the two wolves preparing for the hunt.

The flight was a long one and almost immediately Steve retreated with you, you were laid out, head on his lap as his fingers carded through your hair, his head tilted back with closed eyes, his Wolf was in a semi-relaxed state, only once in a while did the beast raise himself up to pace, using Steves senses to check on you, keep an eye on what was going on around him. Steve felt the Wolf stir, giving a soft growl to alert the man that someone was approaching him when his eyes sprang open to the boy standing in front of him with wide eyes. Steve straightened up a bit and softened his features to smile. “Hello, my name is Steve, what’s yours?” He removed his hand from your hair and held it out to the kid, offering him a peaceful shake. The kid took his hand and turned it, tracing the line of his palm as if studying it before letting go, and he spoke in his native language, which Steve simply shook his head and shrugged not understanding. The girl soon came, looking for her companion. “He said his name is Zane, sorry, my brother can not speak English yet, he was just starting to learn when we were abducted, but he does understand it. My name is Audre.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you two, If I had known, I would have been there sooner for you,” Steve said sincerely, the two children gave a smile and shook their heads, holding no ill will towards the Alpha. “Were glad you came when you did. I had been trying to break the lock, but had no luck. We were being sold soon to some of that man’s friends.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that man any longer. I promise he won’t be coming for anyone, ever again.” Steve’s hand went back to your hair, brushing through it. Zane stepped in closer and his hand went to touch your face, near your temple and tracing over your forehead and down the bridge of your nose. Speaking again, his sister was quick to translate. “He asked why is she sleeping the deep sleep?”

The Wolf paused, twisting his ears.

Steve looked down at you, his own hand cupping the side of your face, and letting his fingers brush along your cheeks. “She was hurt, by the man that kept you two caged. She is my mate, and I miss her very much. I’m hoping your King and his sister can bring her back to me.”

The little boys eyes shined as he turned to his sister, speaking hurriedly. His sister listened and then turned back to Steve.

“He says she feels you, and misses you very much Alpha. That she can hear you but is lost while searching for her Little Wolf. She went deep inside, and is looking for her way back to you. But she can feel you calling her, your touches. She was scared but knows you are keeping her safe. And… “ She turned back to her brother and listened again, nodding as she repeated it. “That it felt good to be held last night, she was worried you would leave her alone.”

“No, never would I leave her alone.” Steve’s other hand was heavy on your hip, keeping a hold on you and the kids smiled, the little boy reaching out to pat Steve’s chest and say something else.

“Zane says your a good Alpha, and that she is lucky to have you. She will return home, and you two will be okay once more.” Audre hugged her brother around his shoulders and looked down at him. “Come brother, The Alpha is tired and needs to rest before we get back home, let him be with his mate.” Leading him away, Steve pondered what they had told him, leaning his forehead down to press against yours, breathing you in deeply. Although your scent wasn’t entirely the same, he was still swept up on the honeysuckle softness that was all yours. “I promise I’m not going anywhere Little One.” Still, nothing, although he was now convinced you heard him.

A short time later Natasha came to find him, sitting down next to the Alpha. This time her familiar scent washed over him, and he didn’t bother to open his eyes to his packmate, but listened closely.

“Were about to land. T’Challa and the King’s Warriors are meeting us to welcome us. They will escort us to Shuri’s quarters and start treating Y/N right away.”

Steve sighed quietly and opened his eyes to smile at Natasha. “Good. Zane and Audre came to see me a bit ago. Told me that she could still hear me, feel me.”

Natasha could feel and see the pain her Alpha was in, and she reached over to drape her arm over his shoulders, sliding in closer to the two of them. “Then you should believe them, I think she knows your with her Steve, you two are connected in far more ways then just the mating bite could provide. Maybe you two are those soul mates actually destined to belong together, and not just making it work.”

Steve still stared down at you and nodded. “Perhaps your right.” Somewhere deep inside his mind, the Wolf howled again, calling for you to return to him. And Steve could have sworn you stirred a bit under his touch.

Natasha was correct. When they came off the plane, there was a full escort accompanying the king. The kids squealed as they ran off the plane, a man rushing forward to gather the two kids into his arms, kissing the two all over there faces with what had to be the happiest tears streaking down his face. All three spoke with such rapidity, that Steve couldn’t even fathom what was being said, but he pressed his mouth to your ear, whispering. “That is the happiest family reunion I’ve ever seen.” His blue eyes squinted in the bright sun, and soon caught sight of T’Challa approaching him and Natasha, the man had a easy way about him, calm. His language was that of a lazy cat, strolling as if all belonged to him. He clasped Steves shoulders and the two men bowed there heads to each other out of respect and T’Challa did a similar motion to Natasha before looking at you in Steve’s arms.

“Let us get her quick to Shuri, eh? The sooner we can return your queen to you, the sooner we can celebrate her and the cubs return to the Clans.” Looking over his shoulder, he gave an order, and his warriors brought forth a carrier to bring them all back. Steve and Natasha stepped up, and their eyes traveled the ranks, surprised it was nothing but female warriors.

“Ah, the Womans Clan is the fiercest amongst us. You ladies will fight harder than any male, correct?” T’Challa smiled at Natasha, who grinned in agreement. “Hear that Steve looks like I’m more badass then you.”

The Alpha snorted and shook his head. “Hell if I would ever deny that. You could kick my ass any day if you wanted to.”

T’Challa laughed deeply and Natasha gave a fist pump in victory, Steve still holding you close, praying you knew he meant every word. For him you were far stronger then he could ever be.

Once they arrived at the Kings home in the center of Wakanda, it was all a blur for Steve and Natasha. A young woman immediately took over and T’Challa stepped out of her way. She bent over Steve who retrained the warning growls from his beast as she pried your eyes open, and slid her hands down to your chest, waiting to feel your rhythm. “Shes matching your’s Alpha, good. She’s not to far gone. Get her on the table, quick now.” Steve followed behind the brisk walking Shuri, and once he set her down, she pressed against Steve’s chest to back him up. “I need room to work Alpha.”

“Shuri… you need to explain to him what your doing to his mate.” T’Challa followed along behind, and Steve stepped back, but wasn’t too far. “Mates have a hard time separating. Even ones that haven’t shared the entire bond yet.” The King was far more aware of his situation then Steve had thought he would be.

<Stark, I’m sure he told T’Challa everything with you and Y/N.> The wolf rumbled softly

I think your right, but that’s a good thing. The more they know the better to help Y/N.

That settled the Wolf back down, sure to keep an eye on You. Shuri started attaching wires to your forehead, temples, then tugged your shirt up enough to attach the same wires to your chest and stomach. Grabbing a needle, she put a tourniquet to your arm and tapped at the vein. “I’m monitoring brain waves. Our humans and animals are two different waves, although we are the same. Her Wolf… if its the Heart Herb, it’s not gone Alpha. It’s in hibernation.” She plunged the needle and drew out some blood, filling a tube, before pulling it away and giving a vigorous shake, tossing it to an assistant. “Check for the Heart Herb attachment to her red cells and let me know.” Steves nose wrinkled at the scent of your blood, stirring unease in him, be he pushed it down, Shuri was just as quick in her movements to get you bandaged.

Looking at Steve, the young woman broke out in a grin. “So ease up Alpha, if that’s the case, I can bring the Wolf back and she be good as new.”

“If that’s what it is, can she overdose on it? Because Pierce gave her a whole vial of it at once.” Steve asked, and Suri rolled her eyes. “Of course he did. Brother, I told you that bastard took more than our Panthers.”

“And I told you back then I agreed Sister.” T’Challa retorted as he came up next to Steve. “She could overdose, but it would have to be more than a vial. Right now, IF this is what it is, its simply a deep hibernation. Shuri has the capabilities to bring her back.”

“We just got to get her to wake up her human side first.” Suri watched the monitors and rocked back and forth on her heels. It was like a light had gone off over her head, the way her eyes widened and she was quick to rush over to a cabinet, grabbing a vial and sticking a needle in it, filling it.

“And I got just the way to get her to wake up. Now Alpha, this won’t be immediate, but whew when it happens, be ready.” She lifted your arm and gave you an injection, and Steve arched his brows with concern.

“Be ready? For what?”

Suri just giggled and disposed of the needle, smirking at him. “You will see.”

Steve looked at T’Challa who had a similar grin on his face. “Come, let me show you your rooms, and have Natasha brought to hers.” Some assistants started to unhook you and set you on a stretcher that was powered to float on its own, following the men out of the room. They joined back up with Natasha, and everyone got settled in their rooms for the night. You were laid out, and Steve once more stretched out next to you, sighing deeply as he just talked until sleep finally overtook him. Rolling in his sleep, his arm slung over your hip, his hand pressed against your stomach, keeping you in close to him.

You could feel your mind stirring, heated waves rolling through you. But you were still unable to drag your consciousness forward. You couldn’t find your Little Wolf and was barely aware of Steve beside you. You heard his deep baritone, and a few words, a brush of his touch, but barely. No matter how much you willed yourself to return to him, it just felt like circles. But now, now there was a heat surrounding you, and you were firmly aware of his heavy hand clasped against your stomach, and the feeling of a broad muscled chest against your back, as well as a heavy erection pressing against your backside, a hairy calf pressed between your thighs. Now, if only you could open your eyes, you drew in deep inhales of his scent, and that comforted you, your senses swirling with pines and masculinity, you tried following that, the heat just kept building and you groaned at the familiar ache it caused. You would have sworn it was like going into heat again, but how could you without the Wolf to trigger it?

A bright light started to permeate your senses and you could feel hot breaths against the back of your neck, Steve had his face tucked into your neck, still, sound asleep, and a rumble sounded through him. It was enough to call you forward and your eyes sprang open, searching wildly for him. He was behind you, you could feel him and you twisted in his arms, grasping his lips to yours, he shuddered awake to you kissing him, his arm sweeping around you as you pressed into him, pressing him back to the mattress, your tongue swirling with his, clashing of teeth. You needed him, more then ever before you thought and you crawled up enough to straddle him, panting against his mouth, your eyes closed as you rocked your hips against him, a pleading sound in your voice.

“I need you Alpha, Steve. Now, Please. I need you inside of me.”

<So this is what they meant> The Wolf shuddered awakening with a ferocity for his mate and Steve’s hands fell to your hips, rocking you harder against him till he lifted you to raise on your knees, and you reached for his manhood, pressing it against your center. Hands tightening, he brought you down to sheath himself in your heat, and your head tipped back with a soft cry, bracing your hands against his chest. You were dripping hot and ached so badly for him, that the relief of feeling your Alpha was bliss for you, thrusting yourself to spear him inside of you, it was a quick fury for you two. Steve’s hips slamming upwards to meet your movements holding you tightly at the waist till he released his hold to cup your breasts, teasing the nipples. You to clasp your hands over his, holding him there, panting at the sensations he brought out in you.

“Fuck I thought I would never find you, Steve.” You rushed out while moaning, flexing yourself around him.

“You were so far away, Little One, I kept calling to you.” He rumbled deep in his chest, and loosened his hands, flipping you two so he could give deeper more dominating strokes and you wrapped your legs around his hips, staring up at him.

“I heard you Alpha, I tried, so hard.” You hissed and tipped your head back, Steve immediately started placing soft non claiming bites to your neck, sucking marks on it as you arched your chest to rub against his, rubbing your scent against him. Nails dug into his back, marking him in your own way as they held onto the rolling flexing muscles, speeding the rocking of your hips as you both sought to make the other cum.

“I know you did, I know you wouldn’t leave me willingly.” Steves bites fell back to your lips, dominating your mouth with his, and you held on, feeling him start to swell in you and your cunt flexed, tightened around his cock when he angled himself just right, crying into the kiss, and tears streaming down your face at the intensity of needing to cum, flood him with yourself. He was everywhere, and you scrambled to keep yourself close even though he pounded you into the mattress, cumming just then around him. When you drifted this time it wasn’t into nothingness, but the immense pleasure that had you gasping against his neck, and he slowed down his thrusts, slow and deep while you loosened your hold, sinking back into the pillows, rocking with him, as you nodded.

“Never Steve, I know I belong to you. I’m all yours Alpha, all yours.” softly whispering out.

Steves kiss this time was far gentler but no less as before neediness. Slow strokes of the tongue matched the roll of his hips, nudging himself to claim you full, welding you two together. There couldn’t be another, not one you wanted to hold you still underneath him, one to capture your mind, and love you in the way he does. Not just a physical need, but mental too. His forehead dropped to yours, rolling through with another connecting thrust and you both inhaled each other, the hot heavy scent of your bodies pressing together, the blood, sweat, and tears shared. For you to felt his own hot tears drop and mingle with yours rolling down your face, a quick lap of his tongue against your cheek wiped them away, as you two rocked together.

“And your mine, Little One, you will never be alone.” He cupped your face and kissed you deeply, groaning as you came again, and his seed painted your channel, his pumps stilling as he knotted you, the two of you drifting into a bliss-filled state, tangled around one another, unwilling to separate for some time. Hushed sighs and shared nipping kisses soon enabled you both to drift off to sleep again.

It wasn’t till some time later you woke again and were sprawled against Steve’s chest. Tilting your head, a glass of water caught your sight, and you shifted off him to reach for it, moving to sit on the edge of the bed while you gulped the glass down, parched as you had never been before. Setting the glass down, you looked around the room. And it occurred to you this was nothing like his cabin home. This was a wide-open space, and the air was not crisp and sharp woods and lake. This was almost… tropical. Musty vegetation and promise of heated days filled your senses, that’s when the breeze blew your face and you turned to an opening to a balcony, no doors or windows covering it. Grabbing the sheet, to keep the front of you covered, you wandered out to the deck to gasp softly, just below was a jungle, stretching out far, and beyond that what looked like a savannah, littered with what looked like Zebras and Gazelle, spotting an elephant, rhinos. Loud squawking and bright colors flashed below in all that greenery and a flock of macaws went screaming past, scattering over towards a statue that seemed carved right out of the cliff face, a giant prowling cat, his paw up to strike out at his enemies.

“Were certainly not home anymore.”

Steve stirred when he didn’t feel you next to him and looked around till he saw you, the sheet clutched around you, the wind making it ripple just a bit. Moving to roll out of bed, and to a stand, he approached from behind, sliding his hands along your bare hips under the sheet, and kissed your bare shoulder, growling softly as he took in the view you were currently gasping at.

“Welcome to Wakanda Little One.”

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tallstars-rewrite · 3 years

Text

Chapter 34

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Recovery did come, slow as it was. Some days later, Talltail sat by the big glass window. Jake was curled up pressed against his side, snoring loudly. It still felt a bit strange that the kittypet didn’t have even a small qualm about letting a stranger into his home, and treating him as though they were clanmates their whole lives. Talltail certainly didn’t dislike it. It felt safer than sleeping alone, and even if the water the twoleg put down had an unpleasant metallic tang to it, at least he could be sure it wasn’t going to kill him.

Another oddity he’d found in the den was the twoleg sometimes lit a small fire inside at night, in a little stone cavern in the sitting room, and somehow kept it contained. It was more than a little frightening at first, but also incredibly warm. It was his first sight of real fire. Talltail couldn’t help but be mesmerized at the rare opportunity to closely watch such a dangerous unpredictable thing, feared by all the clans, without having to worry.

But that was about where the benefits stopped.

In the couple days he’d been there, he had also suffered getting slobbered on by a dog multiple times, and the twoleg constantly trying to stroke his fur. Once it had made the mistake of trying to pick him up, but Talltail had quickly made it clear that was not going to fly. He also had to deal with letting it take on and off the uncomfortable soft wraps and smearing his cuts with a foul smelling goo. The twolegs paws where clumsy and shaky. It made him long for Briarpaw’s much more gentle touch. I will never complain of the smell of herbs again, Talltail thought. Not that he’d get the chance either way. But however unpleasant it felt, he suffered captivity with as much dignity as he could manage. And his wounds did feel a bit better.

The twoleg came up behind them and crouched down, making strange high pitched noises at Talltail, a sound he noticed the twoleg only made at cats. Talltail ignored it, tail lashing when it had the nerve to start touching his back. He turned slowly with a searing glare.

“You are an ugly hairless lumbering fool. You smell of fox-dung. I’d rather sleep in the dirt place than breathe in your stench.”

The twoleg made a pleased crooning sound and went on stroking his fur.

Talltail continued, “you have a kits’ senses and wouldn’t be able to find your own stupid ugly nose even though it’s attached to your face. You are lower than a worm, and I despise you and everything you stand for. You are too flea-brained to understand a word I’m saying, aren’t you?”

The twoleg meowed back at him. It sounded like garbled nonsense.

Talltail narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you mocking me?”

The twoleg meowed again.

Talltail bit its paw.

Jake snored himself awake while Talltail still held one of its long digits in his jaws.

“Are you getting along?” he yawned.

Talltail spit out the paw and the twoleg made an amused sound and lumbered away. “We are getting along great,” he said through gritted teeth.

“That’s good. You’ve only bit him five times so far, that’s much better than the last cat he tried to take in,” Jake purred.

“Your twoleg does not take hints very well.” Talltail replied, ears flat in annoyance.

“Well I never claimed he was wise. He’s really very fond of you though.”

“Then he truly isn’t wise at all."

Jake yawned and stretched “How’s your brooding going? Anything go by outside?”

“Nothing more than some birds,” Talltail sighed.

“Oh!” Jake said suddenly. “I forgot to mention...I had an idea about what you can do. My friend Nutmeg has seen lots of strays go through here in the past moons. There’s a chance the cats you're looking for were among them.”

“You forgot to mention that?”

“In my defense, there’s been a lot of other things to think about.”

“In which case,” Talltail stood. “I think I have stayed here long enough. My cuts aren’t bad. I can manage on my own without that terrible goo.

He expected Jake to argue, but instead he nodded. “I’d never expect you to stay in a house like this, even I find it a little cramped sometimes. A promise is a promise. Follow my lead and you can sneak out.”

Jake took a couple paces towards where the twoleg was sitting and let out a very loud yowl.

“Hey! Time to open the door!”

Eventually the twoleg grumbled, stood up slowly on creaking limbs, and shambled over to the side door. He looked down at Talltail and tried to nudge him back with his long hind leg. Talltail let out a small hiss. Who does it think it is, pushing me?

Jake winked at Talltail. “Just be casual. Act like you don’t care.”

Talltail pretended like he was busy grooming his chest fur. As soon as the door was open, Talltail shot out faster than a hare, across the yard, and clammered through a gap in the fence. Jake squeezed after him a heartbeat later. The twoleg made a hooting sound, but Talltail was already out of sight.

He huffed in the fresh air as soon as he set paws on grass. Never had he been so relieved to feel it.

With a contented sigh of relief, he turned to dip his head to Jake. “Thank you for everything. I’ll think of you often for being so kind to me. You’ve more than repaid your debt.”

Jake blinked at him. “It wasn’t just to repay a debt! And I want to go with you.”

Talltail stared. “G-go with me? This could be really dangerous. I may not like your home, but you're safe here. Where I’m going isn’t, and who knows how long it will take. Do you even know how to fight?”

Jake puffed out his chest “I’ve been in a fight! I got into a tussle with an old stray once, sort of by accident, but I held my ground! See this scar on my ear?”

He turned his head to show off the very, very small nick in his right ear.

When Talltail didn’t respond, Jake gave a dramatic sigh of defeat. “Well, all right. I can’t make you take me. But be careful of the neighbor dogs. And the alley cats. And the rude twolegs. And the cars. The paths and alleyways can get really confusing if you don’t follow them all correctly, and you can end up turned around and running nose first into all kinds of danger. You know where to watch out for all of that, right?”

He was giving Talltail a very pointed look as he spoke. Talltail flicked his long tail in annoyance, but couldn't help looking out at the town with unease. This place was unfamiliar and completely strange to him, not anything his warrior training had prepared him for. Obviously, because warriors aren’t supposed to come out this far in the first place.

It was hard to admit to himself after he’d been so determined to do this on his own that weaving through this loud foul smelling town made him nervous, and he didn’t even know where to start.

Jake had an amused glint in his eyes. “I know you’re on a super important mission, but if you want to accept this 'kittypets' help, I'd love to show you around.”

Talltail eventually had no choice but to accept that maybe he did need a guide. For a little while at least.

Jake perked up immediately. “Great! Then I’ll take you to see my friend Nutmeg. You guys seem like you're a similar breed of paranoid, maybe you’ll get along. You can describe those cats to her, and we’ll decide where to go from there.”

Talltail still wasn’t sure about this. He felt deep down that he really did want Jake’s company, remembering a time when it felt like such a relief to go see him. And he didn’t realize until after he left WindClan how empty it would feel to be completely alone for so long. But at least unlike back then, he didn’t have to feel guilty about seeing Jake because it was no longer a simple excuse to get away from his clan duties. But still... I came out this far because I needed to do this on my own, didn’t I? Why should another cat be bogged down with it?

“This could take a while, Jake,” Talltail warned again as they walked. “Are you sure you don’t have anything more important to do?”

Jake’s eyes smiled brightly in the greenleaf sunlight. “I assure you, I have absolutely nothing better to be doing.”

***

Talltail followed Jake, leaping down off the fence into Nutmeg’s yard.

“Wait here, I know how to get her attention,” Jake said, trotting up to a tall glass opening in the nest. He began pawing at the window until a disgruntled looking tortoiseshell poked her head through an opening flap.

Nutmeg pushed her way into the yard and regarded Jake suspiciously. “I haven’t seen you in a couple days. Is that weirdo still in your house?”

“Actually he’s in your garden.” Jake replied.

Nutmeg’s eyes bulged as she had apparently only just noticed Talltail sitting with his tail wrapped tightly around himself, trying not to look awkward.

“Um. Hi.” Talltail said.

The bristling tortoiseshell flicked her gaze from him back to Jake, not hiding her obvious unease. “Ah. I see.”

“I know, I know, you don’t like strangers in your garden, but I promise we’ll be gone quick. We just wanted to ask about the cats you’ve seen.” Jake looked back at Talltail. “Nutmeg keeps tabs on all the cats in the area, she sees everyone that goes by. Spying is like, her main hobby.”

“I am not spying, it’s a matter of safety. When I see dangerous looking strangers, the cats that go outside ought to know.” Nutmeg’s tail lashed and Talltail knew she was clearly still unhappy about him being there. He remembered suddenly, now that he’d caught her scent, that she was almost certainly one of the kittypets he had frightened not long after arriving.

“Right I'm er...sorry for scaring you before, I suppose.” Talltail muttered. Nutmeg simply flicked her tail in vague acknowledgement.

Jake nudged her and she sighed. “Fine, I suppose I'm sorry for calling you weird.” She then added, quieter, “but what exactly am I supposed to think when a big stranger shows up covered in blood and talking to himself?”

“Anyway,” Jake interrupted before Talltail could respond, “his name is Talltail and we’re going on a quest to find a group of strays.”

“‘We’?” Nutmeg stared at Jake. "Why are you going?"

“Yes we, because we’re friends and I’m a good guide.” Jake retorted. Nutmeg looked very doubtful, which made Talltail a bit nervous. He hoped Jake wasn’t exaggerating his navigation knowledge, but it was too late to turn him down now.

“Well…” Nutmeg hesitated, “A lot of strays have passed by here. Who exactly are you looking for?”

Talltail did his best to describe the five cats. “The only one I need to find is the smallest of them, dark brown almost black, sort of long messy fur, one ear tip sliced off. His eyes are two different colors. Looks obnoxiously aloof all the time. It would have been a couple moons ago.”

“A couple moons ago, that’s not encouraging.” Nutmeg said. “But surprisingly, I think I know who you mean. They’d passed by here before. Made themselves very known, weird bunch, too friendly for their own good if you ask me. I remember because it was a little before I met Jake. Before him, they were some of the oddest cats I’d ever seen. And before you I guess. They stopped to talk to Quince, I think they mentioned something about staying in the big wooded park in the center of town. It’s supposed to be a big area with no cars, and there’s lots of food, and apparently housefolk will feed you too if you know the right ones to ask. I overheard them saying were going to stop traveling for a bit, I guess they just had a loss or something. Mind you, that was some moons ago, I don’t know if they’re still there, but that’s what they said last I saw them.”

“Wow you remember all that? You’re positive?” Talltail asked.

Nutmeg sniffed, as if she were offended. “Of course I’m sure! I’m sure of every cat I see, especially weird ones.”

“Alright, alright. Do you know where this park is?” Talltail pressed.

“Um...well no, I have no need to go that far outside my house myself.”

“I think I know!” Jake piped up, “I haven’t been there, but I’ve seen it from a distance. We just have to cut through some alleyways to avoid the cars.”

“If you think it’s safe to do that…” Nutmeg narrowed her eyes, “Not every stray likes you, you know.”

“I’ll be fine. I know exactly where I'm going.” Jake nudged Talltail “See, aren’t you glad you have me?”

“Sure. We should get going though. Thanks for your help. As a reward, I promise never to come into your garden again.”

She snorted. “Actually, as my reward, you can try to keep Jake from doing anything fluff-brained.”

“I never do anything fluff-brained!” Jake purred as he turned with a flick of his tail. “Come on, no time to waste.”

He scampered back up the fence and beckoned Talltail to join him. Jake was far too excited about the grim mission, and Talltail was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable about not giving him all the details. “You’re only going with me a little ways,” Talltail reminded him quickly. “Just to the park. Then I have to continue on my own.”

“Sure, sure, but let's get going! You’ve never seen a town before, I remember how intense it felt the first time I saw it, I’ve got so much to teach you!”

Talltail allowed himself a small purr of amusement. There was still a distance to go. No need to be a drag the entire way when Jake was being so helpful, right? As long as he didn’t slow down.

chapter list / previous / next

#FRU34 #chapter 34

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albino-whumpee · 3 years

Text

The Master´s party

A little teaser for you.

A grin quirked the man´s lips up when he held his chin in a bruising grip. Sann let out a pathetic yelp as the man pulled his face closer to his.

“You´re an awful liar”

(This one´s long, just heads up for that and just so you know what Albus is taking about at the end, read Of secrets and memories )

This is a series, here´s the Masterlist

Taglist: @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @giggly-evil-puppy @cowboysrappin @haro-whumps @burtlederp @neuro-whump @comfortforthepain @whumps-the-word @whole-and-apart-and-between @broken-horn @ashintheairlikesnow @rosesareviolentlyread @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @as-a-matter-of-whump @whumpasaurus101 @grizzlie70 @twistedcaretaker

TW// Dehumanization, slavery, all the box boy jazz, past abuse, shock collars, defiant whumpee, torture, past abuse, conditioning, anxiety, desrealization, humilliation and dissoci@tion.

The invitation came in a golden envelope.

Albus silently waited for Zarai to read it. He didn´t expect her face to turn from taciturn to horror in the split of a second.

“Absolutely not” she shouted, taking her phone and furiously typing a number as she walked to the studio. Albus glanced at Momo who meowed to be fed.

He was petting the cat while it ate, when he saw Zarai steaming from rage and straightened up in instinct, bracing for a hit that never came.

Zarai let out a loud groan before putting her phone back on the table with a slam that made Albus jump. Slowly his muscles relaxed as he watched the woman rub her temples. He waited a second, just to be sure.

“I can’t believe it. They’re nuts!” She shot her hands up suddenly “Uniform etiquette? That’s- I don’t even know where to start on how wrong that is!” She continued before exhaling a loud, long sigh.

Albus extended her coffee and gulped when he saw her drink it in one go. “I-Is there something wrong with mistress Heleba’s party, ma’am?” He ventured, catching her attention and glad it didn´t come off as misbehaving. She had simply let her chin rest on her hand as she stared at the envelope.

“They want pets to attend the party with uniforms”

Albus frowned. Wasn´t that normal?

“Would ma´am prefer me to stay then?” he tried, picking up the cup to clean it. He knew she wasn´t exactly a fan of pets in the first place, but her discomfort was aimed more at their owners, so a party with too many of them around? He could smell her complaints from miles.

Albus was surprised to hear her sigh instead.

“No, I need you there. I wanted you to meet other potential clients and the agencies we will form partnership bonds with in the future. Especially Dune´s executives, but…” she tapped the envelope with bottled anger. His eyes drifted down to the letter.

“Pets are required to use shock collars as uniform etiquette and security measures to our dear guests”

The man at the party´s reception told Zarai as Albus lifted his chin. The man´s partner putting the leather white collar on Zarai´s hand, as the other checked the electrodes against his neck.

Ah, what a familiar sensation, he thought to himself.

“Is it really necessary? He´s not dangerous…” She asked putting the leather collar on her purse with a deep frown on her face.

“Orders from above ma’am” the security guard limited himself to answer.

Zarai whipped her head back at the boy when she heard the buckles click. His hands twitched but he clasped them tightly over his lap, directing a small smile at his owner.

“It´s fine ma´am. Is just a security measure” he said, but a lump formed on his throat when he saw the remote. Squeezing his wrists tight, he held back the impulse to take the collar off himself.

“This button allows you control the intensity and this one is to make it shoot the electricity. Like this” It was already on the lowest voltage so when the man pressed the button, the collar’s box little LED lights turned red for a second as a short wheeze was forced out of Albus.

You forced me to do this 778900. You keep trying to run off somewhere… Don’t be so impatient. Someone will buy you, eventually. This is for your own good.

Zarai yanked the remote from the man “Enough!” He stared at her in confusion as Albus caught his breath. “There was no need for a demonstration” she shot a glare at the man who offered an apologetic smile before she walked away, dragging the boy with her by the arm. “C’mon, Claude will be waiting inside” she whispered, not expecting to not hear a reply. She stopped a few steps away, noticing Albus trembling figure. She looked around the sea of people and dragged both to a small spot besides the pet’s bathroom.

“Can…can you lift your neck Albus?” The boy complied without fighting. Almost robotically. He blinked surprised, however, when he felt her fingers searching for something on his neck. “There” she said with a triumphant click. “They never said anything about it being on” she said, putting the remote into his own hands “I don´t have a use for this. Keep it hidden for me, would you?” she smiled.

Albus eyes softened as he clenched his hand on the remote. “Thank you ma’am”.

Zarai recomposed after giving him a short squeeze on the shoulder “Let´s go. I don´t want to be here more than necessary. Oh, Claude!” she said, calling the doctor talking with some businesswoman and waving at him as Albus hid the remote on his coat´s pocket.

—-

“Mister Serra! I-I didn´t know” some of the guests told him upon seeing the collar on his neck. He was glad none of the people he considered close was there to see him sport the tag he had tried so very hard to keep hidden.

“I apologize for the confusion” he would say in a bow.

“A pet that can read and work, quite unheard of” a man with a funny mustache said reflexively. Albus recognized him from the archives Zarai had made him memorize about the party´s guests. The vice-president of the adjacent company of the many, Rupert Glass owned. “Pretty interesting tactic from Miss Montenegro to keep your status hidden. Never understood her very well… I might try buy one like you. Normal pets are mostly just for show and I want one that can be useful” he said brushing Albus from head to toe. The boy knew better than to keep his eyes at the same level and shyly let down his gaze.

He wished they could go back home soon.

Even if Zarai treated him well, for most of the attendants he was at the same level of importance as the fine glass on their hands.

A luxury they could afford to break.

They only didn´t because it wasn´t theirs. He, wasn´t theirs. It would be rude if they injured or broke someone else´s property. But they didn´t shy from dragging around by a leash their half-naked, bruised pets.

Some of their eyes nailed on him with anger, but quickly lifted up at their owners pull on their necks.

Albus could still feel the glares the other pets shot at him and tilted his head only to catch a glimpse of light brown hair. Sann was wearing a tuxedo with a white rose on his chest. But as soon as he spotted him, Sann disappeared into the sea of people taking Albus´ breath with him. “I…It has been a pleasure to meet you Mister Darcy, but I must attend some…matters. Miss Zarai gives you her greeting and wishes you good health” he said, offering his hand to stretch. The older man only gave it a look before wrinkling his nose.

“I don´t handshake pets” he said. Albus backed his hand slowly.

“Excuse me. Thank you for your time, sir” he bowed as he had learnt back on the facility before he dismissed him with a flick of his hand.

He quickly walked away to scan the crowd, not finding the freckled boy among them. He tried searching by the special drink fountain for pets in the back, next to the bathrooms. It only served water and tasteless crackers. A clear contrast with the tables overflowing with delicious looking pastries and varied choices of drinks for their masters. But he wasn´t there or at tables, laying his head on Robert´s knees either.

The man sat with another man, carding his fingers through a shivering girl´s hair sitting by his knees with a charming smile on. Albus backed away slowly when the girl convulsed forward and the man next to Robert laughed along him.

He thought maybe he had imagined him, when he felt a tug on his neck.

“Hey, this one´s collar´s turned off” a man with a security uniform told his partner. The man tightened his grip around Albus´ wrist

“What? Did it turn it off?” the man harshly made Albus whip his head to a side. A whimper escaped his lungs. “Ugh, delicate pet alert” He slapped him repeatedly “Did you turn off your collar? Thought you could get away with it? Do you want us to tell your owner what you did? Hm?”

“N-No, no sir” Albus heaved as both men laughed like jackals “Please, let me explain-Ah!” The man holding him twisted his arms to his back.

“Stay, boy, stay. Don´t make us hurt you more than necessary” He yanked his head up so his partner had free way to the collar. He heard it click on again “What a good boy” he cooed, wrapping a zip tie around his wrists “We can´t let this slip, though. We got to tell your owner” he said, holding his head down by the neck and forcing him to walk.

The man roughly shoved him to his knees besides the guard station, a few steps away from the entrance. His breathing got shallow as his eyes darted through the crowd trying to find the familiar black long hair and the blue suit of her partner.

He saw the man talking to the microphone to announce him as if he was a lost child on a supermarket. No. It was more similar to the announcement of a lost wallet.

People stared at him with indignation. Pets stared with apologetic looks before they clung to their master´s arms.

He pulled his knees closer to his chest.

It was like he was back at the facility. Being disciplined in front of other trainees because his handlers were getting bored of him. Getting pushed to the front at the smallest inconvenience to make an example out of him to encourage the others to follow every order their handlers gave them through his own tearing screams.

He felt hands on his shoulders and jerked back so hard he banged his head against the wall.

“It´s me Albus, I´m sorry for scaring you” Zarai said, helping him up as a few spots invaded his sight “Didn´t expect this to happen…I´m sorry” she whispered as he felt the release of the zip tie on his wrists. He rubbed his bruising wrists, which infuriated the woman. “What´s the meaning of this?” She yelled at the guards.

One of them sighed “Ma´am, this is just standard procedure. It shouldn´t leave marks. Maybe albinos bruise too easily”

Albus heard those words and his brain turned off.

Everything was below a thick curtain of fog, the sounds were slurred and his limbs moved involuntarily. It was like living a dream. Was he actually awake? He didn´t know.

He felt his legs walk, his mouth speak and his hand write as Zarai talked. But he wasn´t sure if it was real. He wasn´t sure if the people around him were really there.

Their voices sounded as if they were underwater. Unclear and foggy. A fog, thick as a veil covered the world around him as he walked. After a while, he suddenly found himself leaning against a wall. Just hearing the noise of conversations on the distance, when he allowed himself to wrap his arms around his knees on the floor of a balcony.

He tried to pull air into his suddenly too tight chest.

He hated it.

He hated not knowing why exactly those words put him off like that. Having the feeling he hated to hear it in a certain specific voice. He hated the laughter inside his head that filled his senses. He buried his head in his arms.

“Fuck off” he hissed, not expecting to feel a hand on his back.

He jumped up when he saw Sann on his tuxedo, letting out a lame squeak that made the other grin.

The boy stood up “Sorry…” Sann signed with a frown, his hands twitching in front of his chest as if wanting to say something else but not knowing how, he only stared at him.

Albus waited, just in case, before he looked away and set his eyes on the city “Don´t be, you just surprised me” He opened his mouth and then closed it with a sigh “I´m sorry… Just...give me a second” he said, biting his lip when Sann held his hand.

He brushed his thumbs against his pale hand as if saying “It´s ok, just breathe”

Albus made his lips a fine line before letting it out.

“I might always say hello with food, but you always try to hold my hand” he said in a half giggle, squeezing on Sann´s hand slightly tighter. A smile came to his face and somehow, couldn´t shake it away.

“…Can we stay like this for a bit?” he asked, feeling the fog on his head dissipate slowly.

“Yes” Sann signed before curling his fingers around Albus´ hand.

Albus looked above at the night sky feeling the warmth of the boy´s hand leak into his before he took a deep breath. Despite the sound of the party inside where most likely Zarai was searching for him, it melted with the usual sounds of the city and the rumble of the sea in the distance. He let out his breath slowly, calm settling on his chest.

He wondered since when he had started to feel that way around the other boy. The other pet looked at the cars below with a little smile hanging on his lips. His hair was mussed up, pulled back in a way that framed his face and made his features pop. The sleek attire with the rose delicately set on his chest, was a look that couldn´t be ruined even by the shock collar on his neck intermittently lighting up.

“You look stunning” the words rolled out of his mouth and didn´t notice he had said it out loud until Sann turned to him with wide eyes. He pulled his free hand to his chin to sign a thank you with an even wider smile.

“You. Too” Sann signed as the albino felt his cheeks burn and tried to hide it by fixing his glasses. He squinted when he noticed something about his hand.

“What´s this?” he asked, fishing Sann´s hand and inspecting the new pink circles around his knuckles. Cigarette burns, he identified bitterly. “What happened? A punishment?” His tone urgent as he lifted his eyes and found Sann´s smile had ran away from his face.

He shook his head.

“No? Then why…” Albus asked as Sann pulled his hand away to lean on the balcony, watching the traffic below with a lost gaze and hiding the injured hand. Albus joined him a second later “…just because?” Sann nodded with a shrug that pulled a string on his heart. Albus wondered if that was normal treatment for Sann and felt a sting of guilt.

It was a possibility to end up with an owner like that, the handlers had told them as much enough times, but Sann deserved someone better as owner. He deserved to be able to smile without fear of not looking pretty and eager enough to avoid being hurt.

The thoughts raced through his head before being interrupted when Sann looked up at the fireworks popping in the distance, putting that beautiful smile on his face yet again. He turned to him and finding his worried frown, his gray eyes softened.

He moved his hands up to sign, but then had second thoughts and simply smiled with slightly worried eyebrows.

“I´ll be fine” Albus could almost hear him say as he pointed his head at the fireworks.

As Albus watched the show of colors a dread began to grown in his heart. He was to act as a person, but that didn´t change he was a Pet. Just like Sann and the many others inside. They looked at him with envy and resentment, but Sann...Sann didn´t. Despite the scars on his neck and the rest of his body; the sadness behind his eyes, he still would let him hold his hand and smile at fireworks. The pleasant memories of his time with Zarai began to pop into his mind like the blue and yellow and red lights shining in the night sky.

How could he even change that for him if he couldn´t be free from it himself?

Albus felt Sann tap on his shoulder and he turned, only to find him smiling at him holding the rose of his chest and gently put it on him. He blinked perplexed at the rose, now on his chest, before his eyes found him shrugging playfully.

“Gift. For you” Sann signed as he watched Albus take out his small notebook and pen and extend it for him. It took him a second, but Sann pulled it up so Albus could read it.

“My Master can be very explosive, but he´s a man of his word. He promised me he would give me a bouquet of roses if I could stand the burns…“ Albus eyes widened in horror before Sann smiled again and tapped on the note, urging him to continue “I only got one flower, but do you like it?”

Albus was speechless for a long moment that made Sann tense up and shrink into his shoulders. Albus hand gently guided him to look at him again.

“I love it” he said as Sann´s face lit up “But, the best gift you can give me is your smile” at that, Sann´s cheeks flared up. “S-So, please, don´t do something like that for me ever again. Please...” Sann was stunned by his words and only could looked down as Albus let down his hand and Sann noticed the wild blush expanding on the albino´s cheeks, right before he felt a shock on his neck.

Sann wheezed, bent over the balcony, before he felt yet another shock. As he gasped for air, Sann worried if his Master was hidden in the shadows. The terror of it being true made him step forward, a primal fear screaming at him to rush to his side.

“Wait!” Albus caught his wrist before he could run off. Sann stared at him for a second, heart drumming loudly in fear, agitated, so much more than the composure the albino put as front to his worry as he looked up at him could calm him. Ruby eyes full of determination nailed on him through long, white eyelashes. “Before you go, can I give you a kiss?”

Sann was thrown off the loop and glared back inside, darting his eyes through the crowd in fear of another shock, but when he felt Albus hand on his, his heart eased.

He asked.

He asked a toy like him who couldn´t say no.

Sann returned the squeeze and took one step closer. His hands were small and thin, a bit rough around the edges but so soft. Sann looked at his lips and waited for them to seal with his, but to his surprise, Albus pulled his hand and pressed his lips into his knuckles.

It was a light kiss. Soft and soothing, Sann´s heart melted when he didn´t step closer to kiss him somewhere else and instead only saw Albus pull away.

“See you later”

Sann stared at him for a moment, longing for more, but as Albus let go whispering, “Take care” he knew he couldn´t be greedy. He had to hang on to it until there was a chance they could meet again.

His Master glared at him when he came running to kneel besides him and then tugged on his collar, lifting his chin up as he checked his chest pocket and found it empty. He gripped on either side of his cheeks and pressed just enough on his throat with a severe look on his eyes that made Sann recoil before he clipped his leash to his collar and took him outside.

Sann slowed down when they passed through the security line to return the shock collar, but when the man only tugged on it for him to keep walking, he knew the collar would stay on that night.

When the man opened the trunk for him to crawl and sit on, he saw something grim shine on his eyes.

“Where did your rose go?” the man asked, stroking Sann´s cheek. “Did he like it?”

For the split of a second Sann stopped knowing how to breathe, but the next he was leaning into the man´s hand, shaking his head and then tilting it as if he didn´t understand the question.

A grin quirked the man´s lips

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pluto-art · 3 years

Text

Softly - PatB Fan Fiction

Type: Hurt/Comfort Rating: PG Summary: Baby Brain has known little but pain and misery in an unloving world, but when he gets paired up with a new lab student things change in a way he didn’t expect.

This started out as a mini story in a Discord server and got... a little out of hand. What you see here is how much I typed out in the server.

He hadn't been there long. Two... maybe three weeks? The cold metal had finally become familiar beneath his feet, and the strange blocks, though generally tasteless, kept him alive. There wasn't much that made his new living quarters interesting; there was only so much one could do in a pile of aspen shavings day after day. Occasionally, they would hook up to his cage some sort of liquid that wasn't his usual watery fair. He could never decipher or make heads or tails of the words on the sides of the bottles, saying things like D-D-T or S-N-I-P-P-L-E. The only distinguishing feature to him was that sometimes they tasted terrible, sometimes quite flavorful, and sometimes they tasted like nothing at all. Almost all of them turned his stomach. Driven to thirst, however, he'd play their cruel game. Choice was not something that existed in this crisp, sterile world; at least, not from a personal standpoint. When it did exist it meant the difference between a shock and a treat; a yellow light or a red light; a warm room or a cold one. Choice was manufactured.

He still cried almost every night. He tried to quiet the tears, but they didn't always listen. The others heard him. One or two laughed cynically. Most said nothing; they'd shed their own fair share and would again sooner than later. A single kind soul, a mother rat some doors down from him, occasionally whispered to him a lullaby or two when everyone else but them were asleep. They were songs she sang to her own children to quiet their tears, and she had no less compassion for this unfortunate soul, who was even worse off than her own brood -- he didn't even have any parents to nuzzle up to. Had she her way, she would have mutilated every last living human being in the facility. It was bad enough that they were tested on mercilessly as adults. To do so to children was simply insidious. Alas, she was simply a rat, and so could only dream of days when she wasn't.

Not that BR-41N (that's what they called him; no one had real names here) hadn't tried to be friendly with his captures. Aside from a particularly nasty poke from some long, thin, prickly object inserted into his thigh the first day (it had stung; oh, it had stung...) the proceeding couple of days had consisted of simple maze runs and treadmill exercises. Nothing too elaborate. As a child, he'd been used to running around a lot in the field, and sifting through the labyrinths reminded him of the long grass he'd play hide-and-seek in back home, except at the end of them was a tasty prize: a piece of cheese. He liked cheese. In the wild, it was hard to come by, but here they gave it to him generously, provided he finished the courses, which he always did. The fourth day followed in much the same way, but the fifth day brought something different: a sudden shock and a broken tail. That had changed his view of things. Perhaps the harsh awakening wouldn't have been so terrible had it not been followed by other unspeakable things -- poisoned food; friends made that, the next day, would never be seen again; more shocks given as punishment for choosing an incorrect panel; injections that made him see things he'd never seen, monsters and strange colors and other scary things that kept him awake at night; loud noises that came out of nowhere; and often, quite often, the terrifying echo of squeaks, barks, and meows that made up the daily music of Acme Laboratories. He hated it. He hated all of it. More than anything, he wanted to go home. He missed the warmth; the love; the soft whisper of the wind that traveled through his ivory fur. He wanted all of it back. But life? She was a harsh mistress. And no amount of crying, screaming, or pleading, seemed to ever make her turn an ear.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks... months, more than just a tail was broken. Trust was broken. Hope was broken. Spirit... was broken. If there was any love, if there was any future, it wasn't here. Kindness had proved unfruitful, and patience had run its course. He didn't find reason to be willing, nor show charity, towards those who made his life a living hell. What reason was there? What profit was in it? Time had told him, quite bluntly, there wasn't. It had taken him a full month to admit defeat, but admit it he did, and cynical he became, 'til every hand that reached in to grab him was ripe to be bitten, every shot that punctured his stomach was the unwelcome norm, and every newcomer that tried to strike up a friendship was easily ignored. The latter-most was simply wasting their time. He could read the colors on the cages now. He knew that a red mark meant "death". He only wondered why he, as of yet, had never been given one himself. It was as if life itself was laughing at him -- keeping him as witness to the horrors that went on inside the dragon's cave, yet never giving him the satisfaction of death.

And so the third month dawned, chilly and barren, or so the scientists said. Autumn had come. Not that any of the residents within the thick, cemented walls could see it. But the laboratory personnel spoke of it -- gold and crimson leaves, hot chocolate, dried wheat fields. He could almost smell the corn; could almost feel the breeze.... Days passed. For the first time, they gave him a cage mate. E8-WN, they called him. He was kind, but BR-41N had little love left to give. Besides, he had the red tag. It seemed they had only placed him here temporarily due to a lack of space. The next day he was taken to the back. The tiniest shred of pity nipped at BR-41N as he watched the little peach-furred mouse be carried into the surgical room, a curious look on his face. Another emotion was also present within him: jealousy. On the 17th day of September, a new thing happened -- a thing that, for the first time in a while, made the little mouse turn his head.

The school year had started, and, as such, fresh meat was welcomed into the laboratory in the form of fourteen college students looking to continue pursuits in medical science. They were all very quiet during the tour, one or two of them occasionally lifting a hand to ask a question about course materials or contact information. They were each, it seemed, to be given a subject: an animal from the laboratory to study, train, and conduct experiments on. Rats, mice, and hamsters had already been picked out for them, and each was given a black-coated subject or a brown-furred captive to take charge of. Each student's rodent was to be kept in the lab at all times, and specific instructions were given them as to the proper handling of the creatures. At least two experiments were to be conducted on them daily, three if possible. They could spend as much time with their charge as they wished, so long as they got their homework done. Fourteen students. Fourteen rodents. Four months to finish their work. Simple.

As it stood, however, there had been a miscalculation. Fourteen students. Fourteen rodents.... No. Not fourteen. Only thirteen. There'd been an error. They'd forgotten to set aside an extra subject. The unfortunate student without a charge was a college girl named Rachel. All other rodents were going through tests conducted by various personnel in the lab, set aside specifically for said conductions that couldn't currently be tampered with. All except one....

"So, um, Rachel," their teacher said, checking his student list. "You may have to share with... Peterson.... You know what? We might... actually have an extra for you. Hold on. Let me ask...."

And he departed into another room, calling for a "Jackson".

"Jackson! Can she use BR-41N? I don't think he's going through any rigorous testing.... Yeah? Okay. Yeah, that would work out perfectly. Thanks."

He turned back to his brood, many of whom looked quite eager to jump in to these intriguing studies, others looking downright bored.

"Okay. We have one for you. His code name is BR-41N. He's not going through any major testing, and he's generally given the usual works -- labyrinths, shock treatment, all that. But, um... he bites. Really bad. So... you'll have to watch it, all right?"

"Okay," Rachel nodded, looking a little nervous.

"All right. Umm.... Good. Yes. So, let's head back to the main campus, and... we'll start your work tomorrow."

And they left.

BR-41N had only heard part of all this, and had understood none of it. He shivered in his cage, taking a moment to drink some water out of the bottle that hung there. While the arrival of such a large group intrigued him, especially since it consisted of a much younger set than normal, it also made him nervous. Was it a sign of good things to come... or bad? Or just more of the usual fair? One could only wonder. For now, he was simply grateful that the cheese they'd given him today was, for once, not laced with drugs.

She came by on a Tuesday.

It was an hour after a cosmetics test that he heard a knock on the table. His skin still burned. He was cowering in a far corner, and looked back over his shoulder hesitantly.

Rachel stood there, smiling at him.

"Hello, little one." He stared at her, nonplussed. "I guess you're my charge. You gonna say hello?"

And she opened up the door of his cage.

He shuffled back further. He knew all too well by this point that the opening of a door meant one of two things: food or torture. Considering the fact that she didn't smell of food, he had to assume it was the latter.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. Well, hopefully not...."

Although he didn't understand a word of what she said, her tone was calm; soothing. No one in the lab ever talked to him like this. He couldn't help but stare curiously.

She held her hand up to the entrance and made a soft, squeak-like sound with her mouth. He frowned at her. As if that was going to convince him. He turned away.

"No? I don't blame you," she replied, taking a look at his clipboard. "BR-41N. What kind of a freak name is that? Mind if I call you Brain? Or Brian?"

No response.

"We'll go with Brian. Brain sounds kinda weird."

Brian it was.

She kept the door open, and he braced himself. Any moment now, gloved hands would be protruding into his enclosure to wrap themselves firmly about him, not tight enough to choke him, but secure enough that he couldn't escape. But the hand didn't come. If anything, she pulled up a chair, sat down, and rested her arms upon the table on which his cage sat. She was... giving him a choice? He stared at her, unsure how to react.

"Come on, sweet heart," she cooed, rubbing her fingers together encouragingly.

But he wouldn't budge. If this was some new trick, it wasn't going to work. He wished she'd just grab him and get it over with. Sooner or later, she'd have to. It was only a matter of time. And so he waited....

She sat there for a full twenty minutes, trying her best to get him to come over, but he refused to budge, and so she gave up. As expected, she still ran him through a maze, but instead of reaching in to grab him, she found a clear tube and scooped him up in it, covering both ends before depositing him into the run as such. It was... odd, but less invasive than what he was used to. He rather wished the others would do it that way.

Via the same method she returned him to his cage at the end of the test. As usual, he took to the corner, assuming his usual cowardly pose, but he turned to look at her as she spoke.

"Sorry about that. Nice job, though. See you tomorrow."

And so went the next day... and the next, always with the same introduction: She'd open his door, pull up a chair, and offer her hand to him. After twenty minutes of nothing, she'd scoop him up in the tube, deposit him in the maze or whatever other test he was to perform that day, and return him in the same manner. This went on for four whole weeks, always with a kind word, never coupled with a harsh prod or poking of his skin. He came to somewhat look forward to her almost daily visits, not because he trusted her (the one time she had tried touching him [with gloves on, of course], he'd given her a fair warning in the form of a bite), but because it was the only two hours during the day in which he knew he wouldn't be fed poison, given a shot, or made to inhale cigarette smoke. The other students joked with her. By far, she had the unfriendliest mouse out of all of them, and they found her kind advances a waste of time.

"Just pick him up!" a tall boy said.

Most of them had no problem with handling their subjects by the tail; at least, the boys generally didn't. The girls were kinder, but even they didn't take the time to get to know their animals intimately. They also were given the harder tests to conduct on their critters and so tried not to get attached.

Whereas most of the rats, mice, and hamsters given to the students would eventually be killed in some way or other at the end of the semester, via through vivisection, gassing, cancer, or some other method, BR-41N, or... Brian, as Rachel now called him, was not scheduled to be offed anytime soon and so could not undergo such rigorous experiments. As such, she got both the easy job of conducting very simple tests on him, and also the hard job of trying to work with the most hostile mouse in the entire facility.

"He's never gonna warm up to you," one of the other students said.

Rachel took it as a challenge.

"Watch me," she said.

But Brian was proving to be a much tougher can than expected. By the sixth week, he still hadn't even bothered to venture near the cage entrance when she sat near it, even with tasty treats in hand. He simply didn't trust anyone. Not anymore....

October came and went, to be replaced with a frosty November. Whenever Brian saw Rachel now she had a cup of tea in hand, the better to ward off the coming winter chill. Still she tried; still he refused to relent. Until the 9th....

It was late. She hadn't been able to get to the lab until 8:00 PM due to unfortunate series of events that involved a fender bender, two appointments, and a last minute essay. When she got to the lab she was tired... and not at all in the mood to deal with Brian's B.S., and he knew it.

"'Sup?" she asked him wearily, setting down her things in a huff. Only a handful of other people were still in the facility at this hour, none of them students. Fine by her. She preferred the quiet anyway. "We're gonna do something a little different today, bud."

Indeed.... He perked his ears up at her exhausted tone and the fact that, for once, she didn't open the cage door. But she did still slide the chair up to his table.

On the opposite side of the room was a television on a rolling stand. Normally, this was used for surgeries and other experiments. Once in a blue moon, however, someone would use it for recreational purposes -- to watch the local news when there was time to kill. Most fortunately for Rachel, it also came with a VHS player. Into it she popped a tape, before sitting down in the chair and grabbing her hot cup of peppermint tea. Despite himself, Brian took a whiff of the tea, whose scent had wafted into his cage and tickled his nose. It smelled good.

The film began to play. Brian didn't know the name of it, but whatever it was it was made up of very pretty pictures and featured a lot of dogs... and snow (at least at the beginning). It was rather soothing. Still, he didn't move from his spot, save to grab a lab block at one point to munch on, more to pass the time than anything. His stomach was still a little unsettled from earlier. Privately, he was a bit ticked off at the girl. Had she been a bit earlier he might have avoided the shock treatments. Not that they would have withheld them regardless.

It wasn't until the second song that his attention was at last caught.

"La la lu, La la lu, Oh my little star sweeper, I'll sweep the star dust for you...."

Sweetly did the animated woman sing her little song, and Brian, captivated, perked his ears. He looked up at the television. She was still singing. He stepped forward, bit by bit, until he was right up to the closed door, two little paws coming up to grasp at the bars of his cage as he stared, entranced, at the screen.

"La la lu, La la lu, And may love be your keeper, La la lu, La la lu, La la luuuuu."

And so it ended, all within the span of a minute, if that, but something had stirred with him -- a remembrance of home, and warmth, and what it was like to be loved.

He was still clutching at the bars when he noticed that Rachel was smiling at him, and he promptly sped back to his corner, embarrassed.

"Atta boy," she whispered, still grinning softly at him.

He refused to look at her. He wasn't touched by it or anything. He wasn't....

"It's okay. Don't be embarrassed," said the girl. "I like that song, too."

Brian stayed in his corner the rest of the movie, but the song never left his mind.

---

The next day proceeded as normal. Once again, Rachel sat by his cage. Once again, she had brought a treat, albeit one he'd never seen before, nor smelled, for that matter. It was small... and white... and fluffy, and it smelled sugary and sweet. He wanted it. Oh, he wanted it so very badly. But nothing that ever came from the fingers of a scientist, even a soft-spoken one, was innocent. And so he refused, his back turned to her.

"Stubborn butt," said Rachel, and by her tone alone Brian could tell that it was a snide comment. He ignored her.

"Here."

As had occurred many times before, she left the treat in his cage near the entrance, closed the door, and sat to watch him. His eyes shifted towards the treat. It sat there, staring at him, mocking him. Eat me, it said. No, he thought. Oh, but it smelled so good....

Rachel sighed. So did Brian. She rested her head in her arms, exasperated. Maybe it really wasn't worth it....

Brian licked his lips. Perhaps....

He took a step forward. Rachel remained where she was, head in her arms, not looking at him. He moved another step. She was still as a stone. Patter patter patter patter patter... GRAB. He swooped back to his corner as fast as possible, marshmallow in his mouth. Rachel looked up... and chuckled. Brian dug into the treat, enjoying every second of it as teeth sunk into the savory delight. He'd never tasted anything this good before. It was better than mother's milk; much better than lab pellets; better than cheese....

"Silly little thing," Rachel giggled, smiling as he filled his cheeks with pleasantness. "Wait 'til you see what I bring you tomorrow."

Tomorrow, he was to find out, brought a piece of a doughnut, and the day after that a waffle. He'd never been this darn spoiled before. On the fourth occasion, he was, for once, already at the door, waiting to see what she'd bring. Lady and the Tramp and sugar, it turned out, were the keys to his heart, although he still wouldn't let her touch him. If her hand so much as brushed his fur he was back to his corner in a rush, although, this time, he didn't try to bite her first.

Rachel laughed when she saw the two little paws clutching at the gated entrance.

"You like 'em that much, huh? Here ya' go."

He stepped back to allow her access to the gate, and watched carefully as she placed something savory and smelling of salt inside. He sniffed, investigating as she closed the door. He took a tentative bite. Mmmmm. Yes, this was acceptable. Grabbing it, he rushed back to his usual corner and chowed down.

"Good. A fellow bacon appreciator," Rachel nodded, satisfied.

He ate the entire piece, licking his lips and proceeding to clean himself afterwards. That had been a bit messy. Good, but messy. If there was something he still valued, it was cleanliness. He could at least retain some form of dignity. The state of his fur was one of the few things he still had control over. Unlike some of the other unfortunate chaps, he'd never had to endure surgery or a shaved stomach.

Two little pink ears perked up as his cage door was opened yet again. More treats? No. Just Rachel, hand offered to him once more. Brian sighed. She just wouldn't give up, would she?

A second glance made him aware that she did, in fact, have something in her hand -- another marshmallow. Hmph. Sneaky. And yet, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want it....

"It's okay, little one," Rachel cooed, hand still outstretched, that plump marshmallow beckoning ever so tantalizingly. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise."

Brian sighed. He looked down at the floor, then over at her hand.

Rachel's eyes widened a touch, but she otherwise didn't reveal her surprise as Brian moved forward, inch by inch, step by step, towards her hand....

He stopped at the entrance, debating. Dare he...? It was a risk. He'd never willing done this, not since he'd been captured. It was a stupid decision. Stupid. And yet....

Her hand shifted a touch, and Brian shifted nervously with it. Rachel waited with bated breath.

He stepped forward....

In a flash, he'd grabbed the 'mallow from her hand and retreated to the back of his cage, not daring to even think about what he'd just done. It was foolish. It was dangerous. And yet, she hadn't tried to grab him, or even pet him. She'd just... given him a choice. And he'd taken it. Somehow, for some reason, he'd taken it.

Rachel smiled.

"Atta boy."

---

Perhaps it was the mere fact, the tantalizing realization, that he had a choice in the first place, that drew him back, but over the course of the next few weeks, things changed.

It had started slow at first. A light brush of the whiskers here; a sniff of the hand there. But, eventually, Brian, of his own accord, stepped into her hand. And she didn't close her fingers about him harshly, or strangle him, or pick him up by the tail. She simply... let him be. It was kind. It was unobtrusive. It was respectful. And he appreciated it.

No longer did the other students make fun, or joke that she'd never gain his trust. If anything, they questioned her.

"How the heck did you do it?" they'd ask, curious.

Even more confused were the scientists themselves. Not that anyone had tried very hard to gain the little mouse's trust. He was, in their opinion, not worth the time.

But he was to Rachel.

December came, and with it a complete turn-around in Brian's behavior, albeit towards one particular individual.

He eagerly rushed into her hand now. No need for the transportation tube. She could carry him on her shoulder to the maze area and pick him up with her bare hands as she placed him in the labyrinth, although she still made sure to let him take the first step and would, more often than not, simply offer a hand instead of plucking him from her shoulder. He still appreciated this.

Every weekday was now a day to look forward to. Sure, he was still tormented by the main personnel, but for two or three hours, two or three sweet hours, he didn't have to worry about anything. On the days he suffered from a stomach-ache, she'd hold him close to her chest and do her best to rub the pain away, offering him tea to ease his suffering, and if he fell asleep on her shoulder and woke up, shaking, from a bad dream, she'd rock him back and forth, singing "La La Lu" to him until the nightmares went away. On those rare nights, when she could only work late and no one was around, she'd bottle feed him. He'd been hesitant (and a little embarrassed) at first, but any reminder of home was difficult to ignore, and so he ended up embracing each form of love and affection with open paws, clutching tightly to her chest some days, as if this hug would be his last. For all he knew, it could be. He'd gotten used to her visits, but what if she left and never came back? He didn't want that love to leave....

December 14th.

The end of the semester was approaching. Rachel had told him, time and again, that she was leaving soon; that she would miss him; that she'd try to come back for the next semester. Brian understood none of this. He was a mouse, after all. Human language was foreign to him. The most he could understand was the occasional word -- his name, Brian, and various names of foods and tests -- and basic inflections that he knew signified concern, happiness, or contentment. But he didn't understand "leave", or "semester", or "miss". He could tell something was wrong, that she was sad, but as to why, he did not know.

A week from the last day of the semester, she brought a surprise: a movie. It had something to do with a rat, and food. He liked it for those things. He wished he could understand the words. It seemed interesting. He sat on Rachel's shoulder the entire time, at least until the end of the film, during which Rachel offered her hand to him. He accepted. She brought him up to her chest, nuzzling him close.

"I'm going away for a while, but... I'll try to be back next semester."

She petted him gently. He stared up at her, curious and concerned. Why was she so sad?

"I'm going to miss you...," she whispered. And, for the first time, she kissed him on his fuzzy white head. "I love you...."

He didn't understand the words, but he understood what they meant; how they felt.

Slowly, gently, he nuzzled close to her... and licked her fingers. It was the first time he'd shown genuine affection outside of nuzzling since he'd been captured. I love you, too....

He didn't understand it, but... there was something in the air that told him something big was coming. Something new. Something was going to be different....

December 18th came just like any other day. The semester was coming to a close. Many students had already finished their courses and gone home for the holidays. The occasional class still lingered on, including the medical science class. Most all had completed training and experimentation on their subjects for the season and were simply spending the next few days filing reports and filling out last minute essays. Some of the rodents wouldn't live to see the new year. Others had already been subjected to vivisection by their handlers and were far from the lab by this point. Subject BR-41N was one of the few who'd been given the same sheet on their clipboard day after day, week after week: a run of the mill of the usual, simple, non-invasive tests, along with an injection or two. But today was different.

As Rachel stepped up to Brian's cage, sipping at a hot cup of tea and smiling as her charge ran up to the bars to greet her, she frowned as she pulled up the clip board. His tag was yellow. Not the usual blue, but... yellow. She set down her cup, ignoring Brian's squeaky pleas to be let out as she looked over the sheet carefully.

Subject Reserved for Project B.R.A.I.N. // Invasive Study -- Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience Psychology // 4:00 PM - Dec. 20

There was a pause, in which the dip in Rachel's brow furrowed ever deeper, her eyes roaming about the page scrutinizingly, before she slipped the paper out of its holder and headed back out the way she'd came, Brian looking curiously after her.

She marched all the way to a back office, in which sat one of the laboratory heads: Jackson. He looked up over his square-rimmed glasses as she knocked upon the exposed inner door frame.

"Yes?" he asked, sounding bored.

"Hey. Um.... I think you gave my subject the wrong paper."

"BR-41N?"

"Yeah. He got a yellow."

She stretched out her arm, offering the paper as proof, but he didn't take it. Instead, he looked up at her, fingers meeting at their tips, and said:

"No, I gave you the right paper. That's for BR-41N. His procedure is in two days."

His tone was flat and laced with a thin layer of poison, as if her daring to question him was a challenge.

"But... I thought he was just doing mainly labyrinth tests."

"Ms. Field, I thought you were told...?"

"Told what...?"

"He's been scheduled for this procedure for months. We wanted him fresh and so have eschewed more invasive tests until now. Frankly, you've been spending a little too much time with that mouse. He's gotten too friendly. We're not in the business of developing attachment here."

He said all this with a straight face, completely emotionless. Rachel swallowed thickly.

"Sir, I've... been going over this test. It's... very dangerous."

"Yes."

"It could kill him...."

"Yes?"

Rachel simply stared at him, uncertain of what to say next. He wasn't working with her here....

"Look.... What did you expect? You're studying medical science, correct?"

She nodded.

"Okay, well," he continued, a small chuckle of sarcasm escaping his lips as he said it. "Y-You have to realize that... this is a laboratory. We can't keep every subject. And these tests come with a lot of risks."

"Could you possibly do the test on another subject...?" Rachel asked, choosing her words carefully. "Brian is still kind of young, and..."

"Brian?"

Shoot.

"Sorry, I mean... BR-41N."

"You can't start... naming them, Miss Field. That's when you start getting attached. Understand?"

"I know...," Rachel mumbled, cheeks reddening as she looked down at her shoes.

"And the whole point of using him at this age is because his mind is younger. He's fresh."

"But he's just a baby..."

"Yes? And? A lot of the other students are working with infants."

"This one is...," Rachel began, than stopped. Already she'd said too much.

"Miss Field, if you don't prepare him for the procedure, someone else will. Now, you can either do your assignment or lose your credits. It's your choice."

Rachel sighed. Still holding the paper, she let her arm fall dramatically to her side.

"Fine...."

And she turned to walk off. But...

"Miss Field?"

She looked at him.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Yes, Sir," Rachel replied, after a hefty pause, and headed back to her charge.

---

Brian didn't understand why Rachel was so quiet that day, nor why she cuddled him so much. She whispered to him something about "breaking out" and "night", but he didn't understand what those things meant, although he heard the urgency in her voice. As a result, he was a little more uptight the rest of the afternoon.

Before leaving, Rachel kissed the top of his head again, before setting him back down in the cage and hooking the door. Her good-byes were all but gibberish to him, although he recognized the word "tomorrow". So he'd be seeing her tomorrow. That was good. At least he had a time frame. He was naive to the rest....

---

December 19th 9:15 PM

BR-41N cleaned his whiskers, pondering.

She hadn't shown up today. Strange. "Tomorrow". She's said "tomorrow". Today was tomorrow. Why hadn't she come?

To his left, in a far corner of the room, someone sneezed in their cage. Brian frowned sadly. It was that hamster again. Whatever they'd given him had put him into a sneezing fit for an hour. Now and then he relapsed.

He yawned, stretched, and made for the food dispenser, when he suddenly heard a sharp click of a door being opened and abruptly snapped shut. He turned in the direction of the door. A light flicked on. Brian smiled.

Rachel's feet slid across the floor in haste. Instead of her usual student lab coat, she was decked out in her normal clothes, complete with backpack. Her hoodie was up, obscuring her hair, save for a few strands that stuck out here and there, as well as part of her face. She moved with purpose, albeit a little covertly, looking over her shoulder every now and then, as if expecting someone to grab her at any minute.

Set in a wall above the entrance to the room, a camera followed her. Rachel's eyes shifted at the sound as she moved towards Brian's cage. She knew she only had five, maybe ten, minutes at best.

Opening the cage door, she held her hand out for Brian to step onto. He hesitated. Something didn't smell right....

"Come on. We're busting you out of here, dude," Rachel whispered.

Brian cocked his head at her questioningly.

"Listen, they're going to put your through that splicer if we don't get you out of here, so come on."

There was an urgency in her voice that, despite his misgivings, compelled him to move forward. He trusted her too much by this point.

"Atta boy," she praised him, tucking him in her shirt pocket.

He peeked out, paws clutching at the edges of the pocket interestedly.

"Let's go," Rachel whispered, turning back to the door and stopping as she realized that someone was already standing there....

Framed in the metal doorway was a woman, thirty-five... maybe forty-something in age. Her arms were crossed, and the expression on her face seemed as taught and firm as the scrunchie tightening her poofy auburn hair. Her long lab coat was still settling; she must have only just gotten there. Rachel recognized this woman. Lana, her name was -- she was one of the head managers at the facility. Jackson had obviously tipped her off.

"Fancied a night stroll?" she asked, tone dripping with sarcasm.

Rachel remained frozen in place, a hand subconsciously cupping her shirt pocket. The gesture didn't go unnoticed.

"You know you're risking a lot for this. That's all your credits down the drain."

"He's worth it," Rachel answered, resolute.

"He's not. You take him and they'll just get another subject."

"At least I'll have saved this one."

"We'd still rather you not take an asset that's been reserved for months for this procedure," Lana nipped, taking a step forward.

Rachel took a step back. Her eyes shifted to a door to her left. It led to several other testing rooms and then back out into the main hallway. Some of the doors had security locks. It was the long way around, but if she was fast enough....

"Rachel...," Lana spoke, tone threatening as she advanced. "Put him down."

With each step Lana took towards her, Rachel moved two back. She could feel herself starting to perspire. Gosh, this was a stupid idea....

"Rachel...."

With a hand cupped over her shirt pocket, Rachel darted in the direction of the door, opening it up in a flash and slamming it shut behind her. Already she was racing for the opposite end of the room, where another door stood.

Brian jumped as an alarm went off, followed by red lights that flashed all throughout the facility. Rachel was already in the next room, her heart racing. She could hear the panicked footsteps behind her, mimicking her own, and hoped upon hope that she was faster than her pursuer.

Rachel picked up her pace as she entered the next room. This one, she knew, required an employee badge to open. All of the students had been given security badges, of course, primarily for general access to the entrance and main rooms. They worked on some doors in the facility. Some, but not all. She'd never been in these rooms. Privately, she prayed that they'd open for her.

Slamming her badge up against a wall panel, she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet nervously.

"Come on. Come oooon! Take it!!"

It did. The door unlocked, and she swung it open in haste to make for the next locked door, which also granted her entrance.

She was faster than Lana, but it didn't mean the woman wasn't hot on her heels. Brian shut his eyes tightly, huddling against Rachel's chest on the inside of her pocket as she darted about, her hand still cupping him securely. He knew, somehow, that this was about him. His ears rotated this way and that at the duo of clicking feet racing down the linoleum flooring. Who would win? Who was he most valuable to?

It wasn't until the fourth room that Rachel started to panic. Yet again, she'd reached a door asking for proof of access, except this time... her badge was not accepted. She shook the door handle feebly, knowing it wouldn't open; knowing this was the end of the line. Despite himself, Brian peeked out of the shirt pocket, just in time to see Lana as Rachel swiftly turned around to face the woman, who stood at the opposite end of the room, hair askew and chest heaving as she glared at Rachel and her tiny charge.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that," Lana huffed.

"Why do you need him?! Just let me take him and get another subject!" Rachel bit.

"We let you get away with it and you'll set a precedent! You know that!" Lana snapped right back. "And we don't want to waste any more time. We've spent too much money on this project."

"He's just a baby!"

"All of them are meant to be expendable! Hand him over!"

"No!"

Brian's ears flicked. Rachel held her breath. Was it just them, or did they hear... more footsteps?

"You won't have a choice," Lana said flatly, expressionless as she was joined by not one, not two, but five other lab hands, one of the them Jackson, all of them full-time personnel.

"Rachel.... Hand him over," Jackson said, holding out his hand expectantly.

Rachel glared daggers at him, even though she was fully aware of the impossibility of the situation. Like the mouse she was trying so hard to protect, she was trapped, her back against the wall, literally. They were going to take him. They were going to take him and there was nothing she could do about it....

"I told you not to do anything stupid," Jackson continued.

"Please...," Rachel pleaded, breathing heavily. "Please, let me take care of him. I'll train another in his place as compensation, I swear. Just... don't hurt him."

"And then you'll grow attached to that one and try and kidnap it. We've seen it before. You're not the first," Jackson reprimanded.

"Good," said Rachel. "I'm glad I'm not."

Privately, she wondered why she'd ever signed up for this in the first place. She wanted the degree. She wanted it badly. She also loved animals, and knew that following her passion came with sacrifices. What she hadn't counted on was how difficult it would be to accept that. It wasn't feasible, she realized. In fact, it was darn near impossible.

She looked down at the infant trembling in her pocket -- at this little creature that had captured her heart and locked it away, far away from any hopes and dreams of graduating in the medical field of her choosing. "He's not worth it," Lana had said. Was he not? Brian looked up at her, those glossy little eyes staring at her expectantly, trustingly. She smiled sadly at him and, for the last time, cuddled him close, before looking up at the troop across from her.

"If you want him, come and get him," she challenged. They weren't getting him without a fight.

And they rushed at her.

She tried to escape. Oh, she tried... and failed. They grabbed her by the arms as she wrestled against them, cheering Brian on as he somehow managed to escape from her pocket and slip underneath one of the shelving units in the room. But Lana caught him, Brian squeaking as his tail snagged between the beaker and the small metal panel she'd captured him with. He stared at Rachel, his desperate, panicked expression the last thing she saw before being knocked out.

-------

- Two Years Later -

The plan had failed. Rather spectacularly, he might add....

It was the first time in Brain's memory he could ever recall being caught red-handed by any of the personnel at Acme Labs. It was a miracle he and Pinky had managed to escape, but, despite his best attempts, they'd been separated in the process.

He made for a facility some yards away from the main laboratory, sweating as he squeezed under its front door and immediately hid under a cabinet to his right. Lights flashed now and again beyond the windows, desperate voices accompanying them as the scientists searched here and their for the escapees. Brain silently prayed that Pinky had somehow found a suitable hiding spot.

In his position under the cabinet, he backed up against the wall and slid down it, a paw clutching at his chest as he struggled to catch his breath. After a few seconds, he gulped, sniffed, and buried his face in his knees. Stupid. Stupid.... He'd jeopardized their whole mission. What if they'd captured Pinky? What would they do to him? And even if they did escape, where would they go? He'd ruined everything. Everything....

In his haste to remain undetected, he'd neglected to realize that this room... was not entirely devoid of life. It was a small area -- a security office, to be exact. Numerous monitors took up space on a desk, at which someone sat. They slid out of their chair and stepped over to Brain's hiding place. He noticed... and shivered.

Whatever, whomever, it was got down on their knees to peer at him from just outside the dresser.

"Hello...," they said.

It was a woman. Her voice was soft, and kind, but Brain turned his head away from her prying eyes. Typical. In an effort to not get caught he'd inevitably been ratted out. He immediately considered making a run for it, but, for some reason he couldn't explain, he didn't.

"Hey.... Shh. Shh. It's okay, little one. It's okay," cooed the woman. "You wanna come on out...?"

And she held out a hand to him. She didn't try to grab him, or scare him out. She simply... gave him a choice.

But it had been too long. He didn't recognize her, neither she him... until she noticed the tail. Then she knew.

"Brian...?" she breathed, eyes growing wide.

He stared at her, nonplussed, still shivering.

"Brian, it's me. Rachel," she beckoned, her hand still in place. But he didn't move. If anything, he frowned at her. "Brian"?

And she tried everything -- talking to him soothingly; offering him a treat from her pocket. Nothing worked. Brain simply hid his face once more, willing her to go away; to leave him be; to, hopefully, not report him to the authorities if they came to call.

Rachel sighed. She sat up for a moment, thinking, and blinked. Struck with a sudden idea, she rested her hands on her lap... and began to sing....

“La la lu, La la lu, Oh my little star sweeper, I'll sweep the star dust for you...“

Brain blinked... and lifted his head, ever so slowly....

“La la lu, La la lu, Little soft fluffy sleeper, Here comes a pink cloud for you...“

He stood up... and walked forward, right to the edge of the cabinet. She was still singing.

“La la lu, La la lu, Little wandering angel, Fold up your wings, Close your eyes...”

His mouth was fully open now, his round eyes glossy and getting ever shinier. He couldn't pull his gaze away from her face.

“La la lu, La la lu, And may love be your keeper...

La la lu, La la lu, La la lu....”

Rachel stared at him, smiling. He had completely stepped out from under the cabinet by now, his little body trembling slightly.

"Hello, little star sweeper," Rachel whispered to him.

Breath hitching, Brain ran onto her lap, up her shirt, and clutched tightly to her chest, only a second or two going by before he felt those familiar hands hold him gently, securely.

"Oh, Brian...," she choked, kissing his head. He didn't even flinch.

"Why didn't you come back?" he asked, unable to hold back his tears.

"I couldn't," she answered honestly. "But I was able to keep an eye on you from here."

He sniffed and pulled back a little to look around the room. It was, indeed, a security office, and a fairly high end one at that, decked out with all the works.

"I'm an artist now, but in my part time I take the night shift. They at least let me come back for that, probably 'cause Jackson and Lana are gone now," she chuckled softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you this time...."

Brain looked up at her, suddenly understanding. All that time they'd never been caught; never been reported. All those months and years that the camera had simply turned a blind eye to their antics. He thought it was simply negligence. Now he knew why.

"Thank you...," Brain whispered. "And it's... Brain now."

"I know," she smiled. “I still watch tv, ya' know. I just still remember you as my 'Brian'. I'm sorry, Brain."

He couldn't help but smile. All this time....

"Come with me?" Rachel asked him.

"Where?"

"Back to my place. I'll hide you. You can have the guest room, if you'd like."

A sharp knock at the door startled them both, and she quickly ran to her desk, Brain in her hands. She lifted him up and under the desk.

"There's a hidden panel in the roof! Get in it!" she whispered to him urgently.

He found it, albeit with a little difficulty. He pushed at a little area that looked as if it had been cut into... and down shifted a small cubby in which she kept an assortment of odd bits and bobs that were probably not supposed to be in her possession -- special looking keys and badges, among other things. He slipped into it, and Rachel pushed it closed before walking over to answer the door....

Another barrage of bangs thundered at the entrance as Rachel opened it, a hand on her hip as she held the door ajar, doing her best to look as ticked off as possible.

"Sheesh! Gimme a minute to finish pouring my tea! Gosh...."

Outside stood two gentlemen, both in lab coats, looking frantic.

"Have you seen a mouse?" one of them said. He was taller and appeared to be the leader. "White. Large cranium. He was with a companion."

Rachel shrugged.

"Is that what you guys have been looking for?"

"You haven't seen them on your cameras?" the second man asked, panting a little.

Rachel shook her head.

"No, I haven't seen anything."

The men exchanged glances.

"We'd better search the place, just to make sure," the leader said, and without further ado they barged in and began searching every nook, cranny, drawer, and trash can they could. They failed to find the hidden cubby, however. "Can we ask you to roll back the footage?"

"Sure, but you're not gonna find anything," Rachel shrugged again.

They did as permitted, scrutinizing every bit of film captured within the last ten minutes. Although they managed to catch one or two glimpses of the mice leaving the lab, as expected, they couldn't find hair no hide of them on any other roll. Behind their backs, Rachel smirked. Smart little guy. Even on the run, he'd purposely made sure not to walk in the path of the cameras.

After several more minutes of scrutiny, they finally gave up, heading for the door in a huff.

"Sorry for your time. Report to us if you find anything," said the leader.

"No problem," Rachel said, shutting the door with a snap behind them and sighing deeply. Yeah, right..., she thought.

Going back to her desk, she pushed open the hidden cubby. It lowered down and Brain immediately jumped into her hand, breathing rather heavily.

"Sorry, little one," Rachel apologized. I can imagine it's pretty stuffy in there...."

He gave her a look, albeit not a very harsh one. He had no reason to complain.

She raised her hand, allowing him to jump up onto her shoulder.

"They'll be back later to go over more footage," Rachel warned, sitting down at her desk and leaning back in her chair.

"I know," Brain said, licking at his paws and smoothing out his frazzled fur.

Rachel jumped a little and stared at him.

"Heh. I forgot you guys talk now...."

"Is that a problem...?" Brain asked, a little nervously.

Rachel smiled.

"Not at all."

She reached out a hand to scratch at a spot behind his ears.

"What are you...? Ohhhh-ho-ho-ho...," Brain melted, reeling a little at first before giving way to a goofy smile and a thumping foot as he pressed into the touch.

"Still got that little sensitive spot, huh?" Rachel chuckled, her scratches evolving into a head massage.

Brain practically fell off her shoulder, Rachel catching him in her hands and raising him up to eye level, the better to get a good look at him. He cleared his throat, embarrassed. How demoralizing.... But Rachel simply beamed at him.

"You know... I really missed you."

"I... wish I could say the same...," Brain confessed, shuffling a foot. He imagined he had thought of her often, as an infant, but over time the memories simply... faded.

Rachel didn't look upset, though.

"I understand. It's okay. I still love you."

"I...," Brain began, then stopped. No. He couldn't bring himself to say it. Even with Pinky he couldn't ever admit such a thing, and he loved Pinky most of all.

"You don't have to say it. I know you do in your heart," Rachel said, and she kissed him tenderly on the top of his head.

His ears flattened as she did it, and he almost immediately smoothed out the area where she'd kissed him, but he couldn't hide the blush tickling his cheeks and ears. Her behavior was cheesy as all get out, but privately he knew she was right. He did care, even if he'd never admit it.

Just then, something, or... someone, slipped underneath the door. A white-furred, lanky somebody.

"Pinky!!" Brain yelped.

Brain leapt off of Rachel in a flash, landing hard on the floor and limping a little as he ran into Pinky's outstretched arms.

"Brain!!" Pinky shouted right back. "Oh, I thought I'd never see you again!!"

He twirled him around in a circle or two before Brain became aware of what he was doing and promptly pushed himself out of Pinky's grasp, clearing his throat, once again embarrassed.

"Y-Yes, well.... I'm... glad you're safe, Pinky," Brain replied awkwardly, patting his companion on the head.

"Ohhh! Who's this, Brain?" Pinky asked, pointing up at Rachel, who still sat in her computer chair, smiling down at them both.

"Umm.... Pinky, this is Rachel. She's... an old friend."

"Nice to meet you, Pinky! I've heard a lot about you. Well, maybe not heard, but... I've seen you guys on the tv a lot!" Rachel said, beaming.

"You have?!" Pinky gasped, clasping two paws to his face in surprise. "Did you hear that, Brain? We're famous!!"

"Pinky, we've been famous many times, all of them never lasting as long as I'd like...," Brain recollected.

"Well, yes, Brain, but never to a friend!"

Rachel smiled and leaned forward a little.

"I have a proposition for you guys."

"For both of us? Is that legal, Brain?" Pinky whispered to his cage mate, looking concerned, to which Brain facepalmed.

"Proposition, Pinky, not proposal."

"Ohhhhhhhhh. Well, that's different then, isn't it?" Pinky said, nodding eagerly to Rachel.

"How would you guys like to come room at my place? Just for as long as you need until you can get off your feet."

Once again, Pinky gasped excitedly.

"Can we, Brain?!"

"Well...," Brain pondered, hesitating. The offer, though generous, made him feel rather... helpless and awkward, as if he was intruding.

"You're welcome to any of the food and stuff. I've got havarti," she smirked.

Pinky gasped again.

"Oh, please, please, please, please, pleeeeaaaaase, Brain?!?" Pinky pleaded again.

"You're... sure you wouldn't mind?" Brain asked. "I'd hate to intrude...."

"My house is yours," Rachel said genuinely. "And it comes with a pool table," she added, winking at Pinky.

Pinky was doing his utmost to contain a squeal, biting his lip and practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Brain rolled his eyes.

"Oh, all right...," he relented.

"YAAAAAY!!" exclaimed Pinky, jumping into Rachel's outstretched hand, followed by Brain, as she lifted them up onto her shoulder.

"You'll have to hide in my backpack on the way to the car," she said. "The next guy is about to swap out with me."

And she pulled her backpack up from off the floor and plopped it onto the desk, opening it up. Pinky sprung off her shoulder as if it was a diving board, plunging into the depths of the backpack, which, by all accounts, wasn't very deep. Pinky didn't seem to mind, though. He had fun "swimming" around amongst the snacks, car keys, pencils, wallet, and little sketchpad all the same. Brain simply shook his head, unable to keep a smile off his face. What an idiot.

Rachel was as good as her word. They were given the guest bedroom, along with access to the rest of the house, food included. Provided they didn't draw too much attention to themselves, they were allowed to tinker and plan all they liked within the safety of the back room, and lie low they did, for Acme Labs was on the hunt for a good number of weeks before they gave up on finding them entirely.

Pinky was quite fond of the seemingly unlimited amount of cheese available in the fridge, along with the plethora of movies Rachel had at her disposal. He was often to be found in front of the television, and if he wasn't there he was by Brain's side almost constantly. Brain was most grateful for the space in which to concoct experiments and conjure up plans for world domination, although he had to improvise more often than not, seeing as he didn't have all of the lab's equipment at his beck and call anymore. It was something he sorely missed, but he couldn't say he minded the warm bed and good food that came with their new living quarters either. It was... nice.

Once in a blue moon (which ended up being once a month), Pinky would request Lady and the Tramp for movie night, not just because he liked it, but because of Brain's unusual reaction to it. He liked to watch him subconsciously lean up against Rachel as they sat next to her, eventually breaking down into a fit of silent tears as "La La Lu" danced around the room. Sometimes Rachel would pick him up, holding him close and massaging his head as he calmed against her chest. Oftentimes, Pinky would join them, cuddling up next to Brain as they nuzzled together in Rachel's warm hands.

"I love you, Brain," Pinky would mumble sweetly, giving him an extra squeeze.

"I love you, little one," whispered Rachel, petting him softly.

I love you, too, said Brain in his own little way, holding them both just a tiny bit tighter, a smile creeping its way up onto his face. It was nice, being loved....

~ I love you, too. ~

The End

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

The ending of this is meant to be sort of an alternate to Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain. What if they'd ended up there after running away from Acme instead of at Elmyra's?

I didn’t realize until after writing this that it makes no sense for Rachel to be cool with Brain talking one minute, only to be surprised by it the next. It’s a glaring error on my part, but I left it in as a reminder to myself that I need to be more careful. Lol.

Technically, this whole thing is a self-insert, although the name of the girl is not my real name. It’s actually the cognomen of my very first rat. Ha-ha. But the personality of the character is me -- how I talk; act around animals; and most likely what I’d do if put into this situation. The exception is the chase scene. I don’t think I’d act that... panicked? Who knows, though....

This is kind of a way I show compassion for Brain, seeing as I cannot, of course, give him an actual hug. I love Brain more than any other fictional character I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching on screen. It’s not a romantic love or anything. Certainly not. It’s more... maternal. The desire to love and protect is strong. That combination of: individual with a tragic backstory + laboratory setting + main character who happens to be a mouse = the perfect concoction to turn my heart to mush. I owned rats for many years and have a great love for animals, and tend to get attached to certain fictional characters, so here you have the result. He’d be as averse as ever to physical affection, but if I could hold Brain in my hands, plant a kiss on his head, and tell him he’s loved. I would. Thank God for Pinky.

#fan fiction #pinky and the brain

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airesgay · 3 years

Text

Feelings 101

Chapter 22: the one with girl’s night, part 2

Relationship: Jennifer jareau/emily prentiss

Summary: the friends au where they all work at NYU, and Emily and JJ find themselves reconnecting after 17 years. There are also mixtapes.

Chapter summary: Penelope arranges another girls night, at a nightclub, with Emily and Jordan, and JJ and Elle. What could go wrong?

Chapter word count: 10,511

songs:

Inbetween days - the cure

bizarre love triangle - new order

heaven is a place on earth - belinda carlisle

girls just want to have fun - cyndi lauper

wannabe - spice girls

toxic - britney spears

edge of seventeen - stevie nicks

read it on ao3

JJ came storming through the door of their apartment, muttering the same thoughts she’d been relaying to her friends the whole way home.

“I cannot believe this, why would you do that, do you know how embarrassing - ” An exasperated sigh. “You ruined Emily’s night, and Jordan’s, did you see her face?” A hand through her hair. “You got kicked out?!”

This was the last thought she voiced, far louder, as Derek and Penelope trudged inside behind her.

“Sorry,” Derek mumbled, and had least had the decency to look it, head down to the ground.

JJ sighed. She felt liked she’d just dragged her two children home after they’d been trying to have a nice night out, but had been kicked out the cinema for throwing popcorn at people – which was only half a lie.

Minimally satisfied with Derek’s apology, JJ nodded, and turned to Penelope. She wasn’t looking at the ground, but she wasn’t looking at her either. She’d drifted off to the kettle, flicking it on and reaching for a mug. JJ raised her brows.

“Pen?” she said, sterner.

Penelope eventually turned around, looking at her as if nothing was wrong. “Yes?”

JJ shook her head, disbelieving. She really was just going to act like nothing had happened?

“What were you and Derek doing at the cinema?” she demanded, folding her arms.

“Having our monthly date night.”

JJ scoffed. “What?” She looked to Derek but he was doing his best to avoid her gaze.

Penelope shrugged. “Once a month, Derek and I meet up without the rest of you to discuss things.”

JJ arched a brow. “Things?”

“Yeah,” Penelope nodded, “Gossip about all of you, no big deal.”

JJ couldn’t help but let out a laugh. It was no secret Penelope and Derek had a special bond – who was she to say they couldn’t meet up without the rest of them every once in a while? Although the gossiping bit stung a little. Still, it wasn’t what she was concerned with right now.

She came back to herself, facing Penelope with a hard stare yet again.

“So what, you just decided you’d have it at the same time and place I was having my date with Elle. Which, oh yeah, you for some reason organised to clash with Emily’s? What the hell, Pen?”

Penelope just laughed and turned back to making her tea.

“Do you want some?” she asked, casually.

“I cannot believe you!” JJ eventually snapped, tearing her coat off and throwing it across a chair.

“And I can’t believe you,” Penelope replied, dropping a tea bag into a pink unicorn mug.

“Me?! You can’t believe me?!” JJ spluttered, at a loss for what to say.

“Yes,” Penelope said, reaching up to return the box of tea bags to their shelf, “You’re being an idiot.”

With that final word, she turned around to face JJ, whose own jaw was dropped, eyes blinking in astonishment. The two continued to stare at each other. Derek coughed.

“Uh, well,” he said, slowly backing towards the door, “Goodnight!” He gave an awkward wave before racing out the apartment.

JJ and Penelope were left staring each other down, tension hanging in the air with the unsaid words. JJ was starting to deflate with the reality of it, but Penelope was just getting more animated.

“Honestly JJ,” she said, voice louder, “I can’t do this anymore, I can’t watch you ruin this for yourself!”

JJ managed to huff out a bitter laugh as she turned around. She couldn’t deal with this right now.

“Where are you going?!” Penelope demanded, following after her.

“Bed,” JJ sent back.

Penelope laughed. “Oh no, you’re not running away from this conversation again.”

“Stop!”

JJ spun around, eyes blazing. Penelope instantly backed off.

“Just stop it!” JJ screamed again.

Her body was shaking and she had tears in her eyes. Penelope had softened, taking a gentle step forward.

“JJ,” she started, but was immediately cut off.

“You’re making this harder for me,” JJ said, voice lower but still wrought with tension.

Penelope frowned. “What?”

JJ closed her eyes. “Please, Pen, I’m asking you to back off.”

Penelope blinked. “JJ, I’m just trying to help you, you and Emily - ”

“We’re not soulmates okay!” JJ snapped again, eyes wet. “Emily doesn’t like me, and you making out like she does is making this ten times harder for me so please just leave me alone.”

With that she ran off to her room, and Penelope was left staring at the door she’d slammed shut. She let out a breath.

“Oh dear, this is worse than I thought.”

* * *

Emily dropped two painkillers into a hefty glass of water, watching the tablets dissolve. The worst thing about sleep deprivation had to be the headaches. Two hours, is her estimation for how much she got last night.

The date had been a train wreck, putting things lightly. Seeing JJ had completely thrown her. Honestly, of all the places her and Elle could have gone, how was it her luck they ended up right in front of her? Was it God taunting her again? Not having had enough fun torturing her over the years? Then again, maybe the menacing puppet master in this scenario was closer to home, dressed in luminescent pink clothing.

What the hell was Penelope playing at? Did she just find herself void of something to do on a Saturday night? Wanted to shake things up by spying on both of her friends’ dates, decided to pair them together, kill two birds with one stone? And dragging Derek along on top of it all? Emily didn’t know. She just knew she’d made a complete and utter fool of herself. In front of Jordan and JJ.

Jordan was so sweet, and understanding – far more than Emily deserved. She’d been distant all night, mind preoccupied on other things – another person – topping it all off by running out on her before the film had even ended. And Jordan had just continued to ask if she was okay. God, she too nice for her.

Emily had apologised profusely, assuring her she was just feeling sick. Jordan had nodded, accepting the answer even though she sensed there was something else going on – but she didn’t seem to know what, thank god. She offered to walk her home, the cinema not being far from Emily’s apartment. She’d even offered to stop by a pharmacy for her. Emily couldn’t help her smile at that, touched by the sentiment.

She wanted to make it up to Jordan; she owed her that. But she didn’t have the energy to do it that night. She’d thanked her, but said she just needed rest. Jordan had nodded, but couldn’t hide her disappointment. They said their goodbyes, and Emily made to leave– only to turn back at the last minute, and press a soft kiss to Jordan’s cheek. She didn’t stay to see the blush it left.

A loud meow snapped her out of the memory. Sergio had jumped up onto the kitchen counter so that he was right in front of her. He meowed again, more demanding. Emily rolled her eyes.

“Okay, okay, time for breakfast I get it.” She’d only fallen asleep at 5 and then woken up at 7, unable to get back asleep.

“You know this is actually early for a Sunday,” she put to him, as she rummaged in the cupboard for the cat food.

He just sent another insistent meow back, clearly not caring.

“Yeah, yeah okay.”

Once she’d laid out his food, he lumbered over to it. He looked at it for a moment, considering it, before raising his head to look up at Emily. He meowed again.

“Oh no,” Emily laughed, “You’re not getting me again. No more roasted chicken, this will do you just fine.”

When he’d first started refusing food, she thought there was something wrong, that he was sick. But one swift trip to the vet, who ended up laughing at her, told her nothing was wrong with him at all. He was just being a stubborn shit. ‘It’s good, it shows he’s comfortable with you, that he’s settled in.’Ha, yeah lucky me, Emily thought, getting duped by a cat.

She swore Sergio narrowed his eyes at her before grudgingly returning to his food. Emily shook her head, reaching for her own bowl. She switched the radio on her way to open the fridge.

The song that filtered through the apartment had her laughing. God, let me catch a break. She didn’t bother moving to switch stations as she reached for a carton of orange juice. Still, the words rung through her head.

Go on, go on, just walk away.

Go on, go on, your choice is made.

Go on, go on, and disappear.

Go on, go on, away from here.

* * *

Meet me for coffee this afternoon?

JJ stared down at the message on her phone for the fifth time that morning. After the initial shock of hearing from Elle again, she’d all but thrown her phone onto her bed, and resolved to ignore it for the rest of the morning - as if it would disappear eventually. But she kept coming back to it.

She hadn’t been planning on leaving the apartment that day to be honest. She still felt really rough after last night, like a hangover without the drinking, which was just no fun at all.

She had no idea what Elle was going to say to her; did she want to make a point of telling her how much of a fool she’d made of herself last night? To confirm that, no, she did notwant to see her again? Their parting last night had been so quick, JJ desperate to get away – just a ‘That was fun. I’ll message you.’

And now Elle had. Not 24 hours later. Maybe she actually did want to see her again? JJ had no way of knowing. But maybe she owed it to herself to give it a shot.

She waited until Penelope went out for milk to reply.

That would be lovely, where and when?

* * *

“I don’t want to be messed about.”

“Oh.”

JJ had to admit; out of all the things she expected to hear from Elle that afternoon, that wasn’t one of them.

She was about to speak when Elle raised a hand to stop her. JJ fell back in her seat, taken aback. She waited while Elle took a sip from her large mug of coffee, making her wait in suspense. JJ had suggested they meet at a Starbucks across from the gym; she certainly didn’t want to risk running into Jordan, or Rossi. He was sure to spill to Penelope.

“Let’s not waste either of our time here,” Elle finally said, setting her mug down on its saucer.

“Um, okay?”

JJ wasn’t sure whether Elle meant right now, as she was on her lunch break, or just, in general.

Elle was giving her that signature smirk and, honestly, it aggravated her. Even though she was in no position to have the higher ground here. And then she spoke again.

“I think we both know who your eyes were on last night. And it wasn’t me.”

JJ could feel the flush spiking up her neck. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Elle didn’t even bother laughing. She just gave JJ a look, one that said don’t bullshit me.JJ held her resolve for about 10 seconds before breaking. Her head fell into her hands.

“Ok, fine, you’re right,” she said the words muffled through her fingers. She raised her head, looking Elle straight in the eye. “I like Emily.”

It felt good to say it out loud, and outright, so there was no misunderstanding what she was saying. Even if by this point she was pretty certain her feelings went further than just like.

When she peeked through her fingers she saw Elle nodding her head, as if she’d answered a question right on a test.

“Good,” Elle said. “I’m glad we’re on the same page now.”

JJ let her hands fall back down, awaiting the next turn in this unexpected conversation. But all she got was silence, and she realised Elle was waiting for something. She felt the heavy weight of guilt settle in her stomach.

“I’m sorry.”

Elle nodded again, like she’d scored another point on the test, but there was a flicker of disappointment in her eyes too. In that moment JJ felt awful.

“Thank you,” Elle finally said, coming back to herself.

“I didn’t mean to mess you around,” JJ said, words tumbling out now, “I really did like you.”

Elle laughed a little. “Yeah, well, it seems someone beat me to it, huh?”

JJ felt the flush at her neck travel up to her cheeks.

Elle smirked. “I can’t blame you. She’s beautiful.”

Pretty, or cute, was the word people would usually use in these situations. And while Emily was certainly both of those things, and a whole lot more, JJ thought beautiful fit best. She got so caught up in thinking of Emily that she almost forgot who was sitting across from her. When she snapped out of her daydreams Elle just seemed amused.

JJ straightened herself in her seat. “I know it’s stupid,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t even know if she, why would she - ”

It was then that Elle did bark out a laugh. JJ looked up to her, frowning. Elle shook her head, letting the laughter die down.

“You’re worried she doesn’t like you?”

JJ didn’t indulge the question with a response. Elle continued to laugh.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but that’s just funny.”

The heat JJ felt at her cheeks was turning into one of anger. She made to get up.

“I didn’t come here to be mocked,” she bit out.

Elle sighed, reaching out to stop her leave. “Okay, okay I apologise. That was rude. Please sit down?”

JJ looked at her a moment, and then towards the door, and back to her. She sighed and fell back into her seat.

“Thank you,” Elle said, sincerely.

She clasped her hands, setting them on her lap and leaning forward. JJ instinctively did the same.

“I have a proposition.”

JJ raised a brow.

“I want to help you.”

JJ’s brows shot higher. “What do you mean help me?”

Elle shrugged, casually, leaning back in her seat. “I have a bit of experience with this kind of thing. I know two people in need when I see them. I can help you sort this out with Emily. Speed things along, you could say.”

JJ’s brows lowered into a frown. Her head was spinning, mostly with what exactly helping herwould entail. But that wasn’t what she asked.

“Why would you do that?”

Elle gave her a soft smile, maybe the most sincere one she’d seen. “I did like you, that’s true. I would have been with you if that’s what you wanted.”

JJ made to apologise again when Elle raised a hand. “Just because we missed our shot doesn’t mean you and Emily have to.”

JJ felt her heart soften.

“Besides,” Elle said, moving to pick up her mug again, “This can count as my good deed. Get me to the pearly gates.”

JJ couldn’t help but laugh. There was a contemplative silence for a minute.

“So, what exactly would helping me mean?” She couldn’t believe she was entertaining this.

Elle smirked, taking a sip from her coffee. “Well that’s where it gets fun.”

The next twenty minutes flew by in a haze of explanations and details and confirmations. JJ’s head was spinning the whole time. She replayed the conversation in her head that afternoon when she went for a run, trying to flush out all her nervous energy. The song in her headphones flooded through her ears, thumping electronic beats matching her own heartbeat.

Every day my confusion grows.

Why can’t we be ourselves like we were yesterday?

Waiting for that final moment, you say the words that I can’t say.

* * *

The next two weeks passed by in a blur. A whirlwind. Emily had made good on her promise to make things up to Jordan, which the other woman was delighted with. And so Emily had been out with Jordan two nights in the past fortnight and three afternoons for lunch (though she got the feeling Jordan wanted to make that a daily occurrence).

For a woman who was used to falling asleep on her couch as soon as she got in the door, it was a culture shock. Sure, outside of work she saw her friends on a Friday night at Central Perk (Jordan only sometimes working that shift), and on Saturday mornings at the youth centre. But this took a different kind of energy.

Still, it had been her idea. She didn’t have to call Jordan back, she could have let her down easy, told her she just didn’t have it in her to be with someone in that way right now. To be with someone who wasn’t JJ.

Instead she’d called Jordan up two days after their disastrous cinema date and asked her out to dinner – at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. She told herself it wasn’t out of guilt, her need to wine and dine the other woman. In any case, Jordan didn’t seem to mind. She was elated with how things were going. Emily also couldn’t deny it was good to have a distraction.

Because then there was JJ, who had been busy in her own right. With Elle.

Emily knew how hypocritical it was to even thinkabout being jealous. She’d resigned herself to just being JJ’s friend over a month ago, had made peace with it, and promised to be there for her. And then she’d agreed to go out with Jordan. She had no right to feel jealous. But she still did. So every time JJ left their table at lunch to say she was meeting Elle at the gym, or gushed about her when they were all together, Emily just smiled. A tight, crazed, hopefully convincing smile.

It was on a Wednesday afternoon, where Emily was trying to hold that tight smile while JJ raved on about Elle’s new class, when Penelope came running to the rescue. She had a knack for that, deliberate or not.

“Incoming!” she yelled, as if everyone couldn’t see her running up to the table, sporting a bright orange dress and waving her arms about. She held a handful of tickets in them.

Spencer pulled a seat out just in time for her to fall into it, breathing heavy. She grinned at the six expectant faces around the table. Penelope’s excited entrance wasn’t all that unusual; what was unusual was her being 20 minutes late to lunch.

“Pen, where have you been?” JJ asked, concerned. She was trying to get a look at the tickets she’d placed strategically underneath the table.

“You finally give into Kevin?” Derek asked, eyebrows waggling.

Penelope all but gagged, shooting him a glare across the table. “Firstly, EW, and secondly, no.”

Emily had only heard about Kevin briefly last week - apparently one of the new IT guys in Penelope’s department who wasn’t shy about his interest in her. She did notreciprocate. She was too bust pretending she wasn’t interested in Luke.

“So you gonna leave us in suspense all lunch or what?” Tara sent her a pointed look.

Penelope drew it out for a few more seconds before thrusting the tickets up in front of her. Her eyes were sparkling. JJ leaned in, eyes squinting.

“Themyscira?”

Penelope grinned. “It’s a new girl bar in Manhattan.”

JJ blinked. “Oh.”

Emily’s own cheeks flushed.

“They’re having their grand opening Friday night,” Penelope continued, beyond enthused. “Gloria at reception gave me the heads up.”

Derek was leaning across the table, narrowing his eyes at the tickets. “I see six tickets. Does that mean we’re all invited?”

Hotch coughed uncomfortably, straightening his tie.

Penelope cackled. “Ha! Nice try, it’s ladies only.”

Derek deflated, but raised his hands in defeat.

Penelope handed tickets to Tara, Emily and JJ. Both Emily and JJ seemed hesitant, but Tara accepted it with an appraising look. Penelope then handed Emily and JJ an extra ticket each.

“For your dates,” she said with a mischievous smile.

Emily and JJ took the tickets from her, both desperately avoiding eye contact with the other.

“Uh, thank you,” Emily said, quickly stuffing the tickets into her coat pocket.

“No problem,” Penelope replied, still smiling. And then she was back into planning mode. “Gloria said she’s pretty sure she can get us more tickets if any of the others want to join, we should take this opportunity to have a real girls night! Allies are welcome.”

Derek raised a hand. “I’m an ally. And open to new experiences.”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “Sorry honey, but there’s bound to be some bachelorette party crashing the place, thinking it’s a gay bar, and you, with all your You, will just cause chaos.”

Derek smiled at that, all but puffing out his chest.

Penelope turned to Hotch. “Would Haley be interested?”

Hotch nearly choked on his coffee. “Um, I’m sure she’d be flattered to be asked, but considering she’s 6 months pregnant…”

Penelope cackled again, waving him off. “I’m just messing with you, don’t worry.”

Hotch nodded, though still looked uncomfortable.

“God knows I need a night out,” Tara let out a sigh of relief.

“So should we be sat anxiously by the phone Friday night?” Spencer chimed in beside her.

Penelope laughed. “I appreciate you’re concern, sweetie, but we’ll be fine.”

Spencer smiled back. “Well I hope you have a good time.”

“Thank you,” Penelope replied. “Should be a fun night!”

Emily and JJ kept their eyes and their focus on the food in front of them, minds reeling.

* * *

“You good?”

JJ broke her gaze away from the window, turning to face Elle who was sat beside her in the back of the taxi.

“I’m fine,” JJ replied, with an obviously nervous smile.

Elle wasn’t fooled. “This can just be a normal night out,” she said, “No pressure.”

“Right,” JJ nodded.

Elle gave her a moment before speaking again. “Or we can just turn around right now. I can go home, if you want.”

“No, don’t do that,” JJ hurried out, panicked. More by the thought of ditching Elle or leaving her to turn up dateless, she couldn’t say.

Elle smiled. “Well okay then, I’ll stay.”

JJ nodded, relieved. Then she felt Elle’s hand cover her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. She started to panic again.

“Are we going with the plan, or no?”

The plan. The past couple of weeks JJ had been keeping up the pretense that her and Elle were dating: running around all over New York, having romantic dates and spending their evenings at Elle’s apartment. That last part was true. But it was more pizza sat at Elle’s kitchen table than cuddled up on the couch watching romcoms.

Still, JJ found she enjoyed Elle’s company. She was funny, and called things as she saw them. Probably most importantly, JJ felt she could be honest with her. Maybe it was because she didn’t know her that well, wasn’t in her inner circle of friends.

She still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to Elle’s plan – and had made it clear she wouldn’t go along with it for more than a month. Elle had laughed, telling her they wouldn’t need that long. I’ve been watching you both for a week now and it won’t be long before it happens, either way,Elle had said. Before what happens?JJ had asked, dumbly. Elle just smirked. Before one of you breaks.

Up until that night it had all been a lie behind closed doors, everyone just having to go by JJ’s word. But now here they were, about to spend the night together with all eyes on them. Emily’s eyes on them.

JJ’s head was swimming; she felt like she was on a crazed rocking ship that she wanted to jump off of. But she’d chosen to get on it. Wouldn’t jumping now be a waste? Steeling herself, she squeezed back.

“Yes. Let’s do this.”

* * *

What looked like a never ending line of people wound around the corner of the sidewalk as they drew closer: mostly women, dressed in varying fashion from sleek dresses to jeans and t shirts. But there was also the odd man accompanying them, wearing impossibly tight jeans and gelled back hair. Tattoos, piercings, dress pants, heels, frills, suit jackets. It was the greatest amalgamation of people Emily had ever seen congregated in one space.

“I thought Penelope said this was a bar?” Jordan asked from beside her in the back of the cab.

“That’s what she said, yeah,” Emily said, eyes still glued to the crowd.

As they got closer it became ever clearer that this wasn’t a bar. No, the people were too excited, already in the dancing spirit, drinks passing eagerly between them. This wasn’t a bar. It was a club. As if she hadn’t been nervous enough about tonight. Fantastic.

As aggravated as she was with Penelope for being loose on her definition of the place, she was glad she’d got them tickets beforehand. It meant they didn’t have to wait among the ever increasing boisterous group of people queuing up outside. She couldn’t deny the power trip she felt by just walking past them all to the entrance, and flashing two shining pink tickets to the bouncer outside.

He was just as you’d expect a bouncer to look – like he could throw three men twice his weight in an Olympic event and get the gold. Except he had a rainbow tattoo on his left bicep, bulging as he flexed. He gave them an impossibly sweet smile as he stamped their hands, telling them to have a good night.

Emily had already had so many expectations flipped before walking through the door, she didn’t know what to expect.

The door creaked open, and a blinding golden light washed over the sidewalk. Dazed, Emily walked through, following the music thumping from inside. There were stairs descending down, winding towards the light. It was a funny feeling, walking downtowards light. The music got louder, vibrating in Emily’s bones, and she realised that she recognised it. It was only when they reached the bottom of the stairs that the lyrics became apparent.

They say in heaven, love comes first.

We’ll make heaven a place on earth.

The beat dropped, and Emily let the guitar notes flow through her ears as she took in the sight before her: the epicenter of the golden light.

Before them was a vast space, so brightly lit you’d never believe it was underground. A dance floor expanded at their feet, already filled with elated partygoers – matching the demographic of the queue outside; like every Sapphic woman in the world had been beckoned here, dragging along the odd ally.

There were plants hanging from the ceiling, catching the golden light. It was almost like you could feel the life growing from them, like you really were bathed in sunlight down here. It was complimented by the scent in the air: what could only be described as a sea breeze. Blue shutters aligned the walls, beside arching palm trees and pits of sand. It had to be artificial, all of it. But something about it felt so real.

It was all illuminated by the brightest object in the space, a shining golden sign hanging above the bar, reading in neon cursive, Themyscira.

Emily had to admit; if she was going to be tricked into coming to a nightclub, this was a pretty good one.

“You made it!”

Emily snapped her eyes away from the sign, moving back to the dance floor. Pushing her way through the undulating crowd was a very neon pink Penelope. Her cheeks were flush, most likely from dancing and the alcohol that was bound to already be in her system. Tara and Kate were close behind, offering a wave in greeting but lost in the music. They all looked amazing, catching the eye of a number of women around them.

“Bar huh?” Emily replied, moving forward hesitantly onto the dance floor.

Penelope just waved her off. “So I was loose with my meaning, come on!” She threw her arms out, nearly whacking a thankfully jovial girl in the face. “You can’t say this place isn’t amazing!”

Emily laughed, shaking her head. “It’s pretty impressive.”

Penelope grinned in triumph. Her eyes then lit up, fully taking in the sight of her friend – and her date.

“Oh no, this won’t do.”

Before Emily could protest Penelope was pulling the coats off of both her and Jordan. She threw them over her arm, looking back up at the bare armed women.

She smiled. “Much better.”

Emily gave her a half heartened one back, rubbing her arms self-consciously.

She’d tried to put a little effort into her appearance tonight, opting for a sleek silver top similar to the one she’d worn on New Years, and tight black jeans. Not expecting to be in such a hot environment, however, she’d presumed she’d be wearing her jacket over it most of the night. She felt too exposed. Jordan was smiling beside her, in a shiny purple top and blue jeans, absolutely elated with the surprising turn of events.

“Come on, we’ll get these to the cloakroom.”

Emily gave Jordan a small smile back as they followed Penelope through the crowd.

* * *

“Did Pen bribe the DJ?”

JJ had spotted Tara and Kate dancing animatedly in the centre of the crowd after a minute of searching. Elle followed close behind, taking in the atmosphere with a careful eye.

Tara and Kate halted their dancing to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,faces lighting up at the sight of JJ.

“Heeeey!” They shouted in unison.

JJ laughed. She loved this kind of drunk, only a few drinks in when everything was still giddy and fun.

“Heeey to you too,” she greeted back.

Elle gave a polite nod beside her.

“This place is pretty cool,” JJ said, taking another appreciative glance around as if to make her point.

“Right?!” Kate screamed in agreement, body still bouncing. She put a hand to her chest. “Thank you for letting me be your ally tonight.”

JJ laughed. “It’s a pleasure. Hey, where can we put our coats?”

Tara pointed behind them to the left, where a glowing sign read: cloakroom.

“Thanks,” JJ smiled back. She pointed between the two of them. “And I’m getting whatever you’re having when I get back.”

Her friends’ laughter faded behind her as she and Elle made thier way to the cloakroom.

* * *

Emily stopped in her tracks just as they were about to step back out onto the dance floor. It was like all the light in the room had radiated to a singular spot, making everything else obsolete. She was here. Walking right towards her. JJ.

* * *

“Showtime.”

“What?”

JJ had frozen at the sight of Emily, appearing out from the cloakroom with Jordan right next to her. She was still processing the image when Elle grabbed her hand.

“You ready?” she asked, giving her one last chance to back out.

JJ looked back to Emily, how beautiful she looked, with her arms bare, pale and lean, smooth neckline running down to her chest… And Jordan beside her, smiling so brightly, obviously enamored. JJ squeezed Elle’s hand back.

“Okay,” she said.

* * *

Emily hadn’t had this much fun in her life – was what she was thinking when Penelope succeeded in getting her to attempt to sing along to the rap in Wannabe.In actual fact, there wasn’t much thinking going on at all - which was for the best.

All there was was music rattling her bones and lights shining on her face and tequila running through her veins. Let it be known that Emily Prentiss on tequila is perhaps the only Emily Prentiss who will willingly sing along to a Spice Girls’ song in the middle of a packed nightclub.

She was surrounded by friends, trying to dance, sing and laugh all at once. Outside of their little circle was a sea of people; all free to be who they were in this space, on this night. Everything was great – until Emily caught Elle running her hands along JJ’s hips. That was when she decided it was time for more tequila. Needless to say, her trips to the bar had been frequent.

“Be right back!” she shouted to her friends over the music, signaling to the bar.

Tara snorted. “Yeah, maybe you should get a hefty shot of water!”

Emily ignored her and maneuvered her way through the crowd. She could feel Jordan following her. She hadn’t left her side all night. It was sweet, but it made that heavy feeling in her stomach worse.

Emily didn’t even have to give her order when she slid into a seat at the bar. The bartender just smirked, reaching for the large bottle on the shelf behind her.

“I think this should be your last,” she said as Emily handed over her money, giving her a measured look.

Emily just laughed. “Yeah okay.”

She downed her shot in one, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt the burn in her throat. She turned to Jordan, motioning to the bar. “Do you want something?”

Jordan just smiled that small smile. “No I’m fine thanks.”

Emily nodded, still able to see the concern in her date’s face through the tequila haze. She turned back to the bartender.

“Water’s free right?”

The bartender laughed, but also looked relieved. A second later a generous glass of water came sliding down the bar. She caught it just in time. She gave Jordan a ‘are you happy now?’look over the top of her glass, and she visibly relaxed. Even through all the concoctions of emotions swirling in Emily’s stomach at that moment, it was nice, to have someone looking out for her. She passed the water to Jordan when she’d drunk half, but she insisted she finish, getting herself one of her own.

Emily continued to drink, when the song playing shifted. It was a more modern hit, but she knew it – it was Britney, so Penelope already had her well versed in all the hits. With the ear piercing violin in the opening section, she was pretty sure this one had only been released a couple of years ago.

Her eyes fell back on the dance floor, and she was met with an excruciating, but what was by now an expected sight – Elle and JJ dancing closer than anyone else in the club, Elle’s hands firm on JJ’s waist, rocking them both to the music, matching it’s sexy, almost dirty rhythm. JJ flung her head back, golden hair cascading through the air, long tan neck fully exposed. Elle was all but leering at her. Emily downed the rest of her water, resisting the urge to order another shot.

“Looks like you ladies could use some company?”

An alarm bell went off in Emily’s head, and it was like all the alcohol was immediately flushed out of her system. She saw Jordan’s apprehensive look before slowly turning around.

Sat in the seat next to her was a man, a horrific looking man, dressed in some god awful black and purple number with a popped collar, far too much gel in his hair, slicking it back in a way that made her want to gag, and a ridiculous goatee to top it all off. He was smirking at them, and it only made her more on edge. Oh hell no.

“We’re fine, thanks,” she bit out, turning away from him. Please take a hint, god.

“Well, I think someone needs to cut loose a little,” he continued, voice as oily as his hair, “How about some more drinks? On me.”

He was twirling the little pink umbrella that came with all the cocktails. Emily wanted to stab him with it.

“We’ve had enough, thanks,” Jordan answered, looking anxiously between him and Emily. She could see she was about to snap.

“You do know this is a club for women,” Emily said, teeth clenched. “Who are interested in otherwomen.”

The man just smirked. “Why limit ourselves, huh? I’m Viper.”

Emily snorted. “And I’m leaving.”

She got up from her seat, and made for the dance floor, Jordan following after her. But then she heard a yelp from behind. She spun around in a flash. And saw Viperwith a slimy hand on Jordan’s waist. She saw red. It was like her body took over, and she had no control over the woman that was stepping forward, tearing the man’s hand off Jordan, twisting his own behind his back and slamming him against the bar. His head hit it with a thud. He screamed out. She didn’t care.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” she spat out.

He tried to choke out words even as his face was going red. “I was just - ”

Emily pushed harder. “You’re a parasite.”

He didn’t reply. She held him there for a few seconds more, waiting.

“Sorry,” came the pathetic apology.

Emily relented, letting him go, though she still wasn’t satisfied. Viper tried his best on get back on his feet, standing tall like he hadn’t just nearly had his head smashed in. The apology didn’t last long.

“Did you see what she just did?!” he demanded, turning to the bartender.

But she just held up her hands, looking lost. “I didn’t see nothing, was busy serving – sorry.”

She’d seen the whole thing, very clearly, with wide eyes. Emily sent her a small smile as a thank you, and she just nodded back. The bouncer from outside was called in shortly after, all too happy to escort Viper off the premises.

Emily turned to Jordan.

“Are you okay?” she asked, eyes imploring.

Jordan opened and closed her mouth, speechless. “Um, yeah. Emily, are you?”

Emily didn’t answer. Having heard Jordan was okay, she swiftly ran off to the restroom.

* * *

JJ felt like she was flying. The music, and the lights, and the people, the laughter. Even the heavy smell of sweat that was starting to seep through everything. It was all great.

Three drinks down and she’d stopped worrying so much, about how she looked, what the others thought, what Emily thought. She let Elle lead her, swaying their bodies together to the music. She leaned into her, body warm, and breath hot on her cheek. Everything was so hot. For a short time she was back to that woman a few years ago, first encountering Elle and being completely enraptured. Tonight she’d indulged herself, given that woman exactly what she’d wanted for so long. She was drunk on it.

And then she’d seen Emily race past them and it was like a bubble burst. Her eyes landed on Jordan, standing there looking after her, perplexed.

“What’s going on?” JJ asked, voice sharp.

Jordan gestured, unable to find the right words. She mumbled out something to do with a man and Emily fighting him off. JJ didn’t offer Elle an explanation before - for the second time in in her company - she went chasing after Emily.

The restroom wasn’t too crowded, only a few women gathered around the mirror stretching along the wall, checking their makeup and exchanging lipstick. JJ gave them a polite smile before moving forward cautiously. Only three stalls were closed. She felt insane as she stood there, listening for any sign of Emily. She couldn’t say what led her to the stall at the end, but she just knew.

“Emily?” she said, voice soft as she approached the door.

There was a panicked fumble on the other side. JJ took another step forward, checking over her shoulder quickly, but the women had already left.

“Emily, it’s JJ, are you okay?”

She stood back as the door squeaked open. Emily stood opposite her, looking as beautiful as ever, but with mascara smudged around her eyes.

“I just needed to cool down,” she said plainly, moving past her without sparing her a glance. “I’m fine, thanks for checking.”

JJ watched on as Emily washed her hands at the sink, the running water and the pounding music from behind the walls the only sound in the room. JJ passed Emily a paper towel before she could get her own.

“Thanks,” she said, quietly, still avoiding eye contact.

JJ’s eyes softened. “Emily what happened out there?” She couldn’t believe how sober she felt compared to a minute ago.

“Nothing,” Emily mumbled out, tossing the paper into the trash. “Just this asshole bothering me and Jordan.”

JJ frowned. “And you what? Beat him up?”

She was glad to hear Emily laugh, and even more so to see the smile on her face when she turned back around.

“Something like that.”

Emily paused, picking at her nails. It was a habit JJ had noticed she was accustomed to when nervous. She held herself back from stepping forward and covering her hands with her own.

“I got a bit out of control,” Emily admitted.

JJ looked up from her hands, surprised at her candor. Emily still had her head down. She waited to see if she’d say anything else. She didn’t.

“You’re okay now?” she asked. That was all she was concerned with at that moment.

There was a hesitation before Emily nodded her head. In the silence between them, the muffled music through the walls seemed to get louder. Feeling bold, JJ took another step forward.

“You know you can tell me anything,” she said.

They were words she’d most certainly said before, not that long ago in fact. Still, she hoped that maybe if she kept saying them, with just a little more feeling each time, that one day Emily would believe them.

JJ nearly took a step back when Emily raised her head, meeting her gaze. She felt like she’d overstepped. Maybe she should just leave, go back to Elle. And Emily would go back to Jordan, where they were meant to be.

Emily opened her mouth to speak. And then the room plunged into darkness.

JJ instinctively reached out for the sink beside them, grasping it to give her something to ground herself. The lights had cut? What had happened? Was there a power cut?

“Whoa, that gave me a fright,” she said, with a light laugh.

But Emily didn’t reply. The music had cut as well, making it easy to hear the gasping breaths coming from beside her. JJ’s heart lurched. Oh course. God, how could you be so stupid, JJ?

“Emily,” she said, voice steady, calm. “Emily, you’re okay.”

She reached out in the dark but all she was met with was thin air. Keeping her hands on the counter, she moved along, slowly, not wanting to startle her.

“Emily, it’s me, JJ.”

The breathing got louder, and she knew if she took one more step Emily would be right next to her. She stopped.

“Emily.”

“Where are you?! I can’t see you!”

Emily was shouting out for someone, but JJ was pretty sure it wasn’t for her.

“Emily, you’re in the bathroom of a nightclub,” JJ said, keeping her tone calm. “You’re here, with me, JJ.”

“JJ?” Emily’s voice cracked, and she knew even without the use of her name, that she was back with her.

“Yeah, it’s okay, I’m right here.”

Feeling more confident, JJ took one more step to reach her. She held out her hand in the dark, and cold fingers grasped back. She squeezed Emily’s hand tight.

“I’m right here,” she said again. She said it until Emily’s breaths relaxed.

The two of them stood there in the dark, breathing slowly, hands held tight.

* * *

“There you are!” Penelope shouted, hands falling down in exasperation.

She hurried out of the nightclub as fast as her six-inch heels would allow, pausing briefly to look both ways before crossing the road. The club was still generating a substantial queue outside.

Emily and JJ looked up from their spot sat on the sidewalk, smiling when greeted with the comical sight.

“We were worried!” Penelope said, plopping down next to them at the edge of the road.

Tara, Kate, Jordan and Elle all followed, pulling their jackets closer in the cool night air.

“Sorry,” JJ apologised, grimacing, “We just needed some air.”

Penelope looked at her suspiciously, and then to Emily. She had her jacket wrapped tightly around herself, not quite shaking, but not entirely stable either. Despite the smile she gave her, Penelope knew something wasn’t right. Her and JJ were sat so close they were nearly touching. Penelope decided to drop the matter for now.

“Okay,” she said, and both JJ and Emily relaxed.

“You sure you’re okay?” Jordan asked, sitting down next to Emily.

She rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. Emily gave her a weak but thankful smile back.

She was still mortified from what had happened, what she’d let JJ see in her. Once she’d stopped sleeping next to her she’d thought those encounters were behind them. Clearly not. She’d tried to stay calm, level headed. But as soon as the lights cut any sense was gone, and she was right back there. Back in that house. And then JJ was there.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for running out like that,” Emily said, “I just needed some air.”

Jordan shook her head. “No need to apologise, as long as you’re okay.”

Emily nodded, and put her hand on Jordan’s knee as a way of apology. JJ’s eyes tore away from them. Both Penelope and Elle shared a knowing look.

“Shame about that power cut huh?” Elle said, looking down to JJ.

She snapped herself out of her head. “Uh, yeah. Did they fix it?”

“I think so, still, mood killer.”

Tara let out a loud bark of a laugh. “You can say that again! I’d just struck up a lovely conversation with a woman named Luisa.”

Kate snorted beside her, folding her arm. “Conversation?”

Tara shoved her in jest. “Well it was very stimulatingin any case.”

They both burst out into fits of giggles, the alcohol clearly still fogging their brains.

“I’m sorry guys,” JJ said, “You go back in, it’s okay.”

Tara shook her head adamantly. “Nah, as I said, mood killer. Besides, we can’t leave you guys out here on your lonesome!”

Both JJ and Emily smiled at that.

“Hey, why don’t we walk for a bit? Sober up,” Kate suggested, still clearly intoxicated, but not incapable of rational thought. “Maybe we can find somewhere a bit more chill?”

“Sounds good to me,” Penelope agreed. She looked to Emily. “What d’you say Prentiss?”

Emily smiled, feeling immense gratitude for her friends in that moment. “That sounds perfect.”

She took Jordan’s hand when she offered it, helping her to stand up. She tried not to glance back at JJ who took Elle’s hand at the same time.

* * *

“Pay up!”

JJ held out her hand, waiting for the group of disgruntled middle-aged men to hand over their money. She grinned.

“Thank you!”

She was in her element, hustling a bunch of ignorant men at darts. One by one they handed over their money, grumbling under their breath. All the while she just smiled up at them.

Tara whistled when she fell back into her seat at the bar. “Wowie, haven’t you been busy.”

“Next round’s on me,” JJ declared proudly.

Tara raised her glass of whiskey. “Cheers to that.”

Elle gave her a coy smile from the other side. “Aren’t you full of secrets.”

JJ blushed a little before catching the attention of the bartender.

They’d ended up at a quaint little bar tucked in an alley – not as dodgy as it sounds. It was actually lovely. Most of the punters were regulars, and while the opposite demographic to those at Themyscira, still pleasant enough. Most importantly, it was quiet, not too crowded, with the low din of Irish folk music providing a calming atmosphere. It was just what Emily needed.

She looked over to the other end of the bar when she handed over the money for their next round. Emily was sat there with Jordan, the two talking amicably. JJ pushed down the sinking feeling in her gut. She was still happy to see a smile on Emily’s face again.

Penelope and Kate bounced up to them, having made another trip to the bathroom – a testament to how much they’d drank.

“Just in time,” JJ said, handing over her top up.

She knew how much Penelope could handle, and would cut her off when she deemed appropriate. Thankfully they hadn’t reached that point yet.

Penelope’s eyes sparkled. “JJ, I love you and your unexpected dart skills.”

JJ laughed. “I know.”

She glanced over her shoulder to Emily and Jordan, still deep in conversation. She plastered on a smile.

“Hey, you guys want a top up?”

They broke away from each other, smiling at the offer.

“That’d be great, thank you!” Jordan enthused.

“Merci beaucoup,” Emily said with a small smile.

Penelope squealed. “Oh I love when she does that!”

Emily laughed. “Speak French? It was hardly a monologue.”

Penelope waved her off. “You know exactly what you do when you do that. In fact.”

She turned to JJ who was looking at her uneasily.

Penelope grinned. “JJ, you love a woman who speaks another language, don’t you?”

JJ’s eyes blew wide, imploring. Maybe Penelopehadhad too much to drink. Penelope just continued smiling, turning to Elle.

“Elle you speak Spanish right?”

JJ rolled her eyes.

Elle smirked. “Si eso es correcto.”

Penelope threw her hands up. “See? Sexy.”

Everyone broke into laughter - Emily too - JJ was pleased to see. She turned back to catch the bartender again when she felt someone walk up behind her.

“That was pretty impressive back there.”

She looked over her shoulder to find a tall man standing there, well over 6 foot, wearing a stained white shirt and an unkempt beard. She rolled her eyes, but offered him a curt thanksbefore turning back. But of course he didn’t get the hint. A second later he was leaning over the bar, right between her and Elle. Elle blinked, an amused yet aggravated expression forming, as if to say, wow this dick has balls.

“So,” the man started, “How about I buy you a drink and you give me some tuition.”

He shot her a smile that made her skin crawl. She was sure he thought it was charming, and it had unfortunately maybe even worked before on a few poor girls.

“As lovely as that sounds,” JJ said, trying to hold back a laugh, “I’m actually here with someone.”

The man’s brows shot up in surprise. “Uh…” He looked around, trying to spot the man in question.

Elle finally spoke up. “Behind you dipshit.”

He swerved around to find Elle giving him a sweet smile. She gave a little wave.

The man laughed. “Right. Very funny.” He turned back to JJ. “You don’t have to be rude about it, I was just tryna be nice.”

JJ shook her head. “No joke, she’s my date. So I’d appreciate it if you left us alone.”

The man just continued to laugh. “Darling, don’t try it. I know there’s no way you’re a - ”

He never finished his words. Elle jumped back in surprise as JJ reached forward in a flash, pinching the man’s hand just so.He let out a yelp of pain. JJ smiled, satisfied.

“Message clear now?”

The man nodded, dazed and stumbling away, right out the door.

Elle whistled. “Wow, you really have been holding out on me.”

JJ shrugged, taking a swig from her beer.

“You do know that’s like, my job, taking care of guys like that?” Elle said. “You kinda stepped on my toes there, I feel put out.”

JJ laughed, pushing into her shoulder. She looked up, catching Emily watching them. Her eyes darted away as soon they met JJ’s, focusing back onto Jordan.

“Wonder if they do swatting away fuck boys discounts in this place,” Elle said.

JJ broke her gaze from Emily, and kept laughing, leaning further into Elle’s shoulder.

For the next half hour she felt a lightness that she fully embraced, laughing at Elle’s jokes and basking in her compliments. It was nice, to not be worrying about the other brunette across the bar. She knew the whole thing was a lie, but Elle was great company. She’d enjoyed their time together. Watching her throw back another drink with ease, she thought, maybe this could make me happy. Maybe this could be enough.

These were pretty much the last coherent thoughts she had at the bar. Somewhere along the way, after the third or fourth drink, she’d ended up swaying on top of the bar with Penelope and Kate, helping to hold each other up. Thankfully most of the punters had cleared out by that point. JJ let out a mammoth screech when Tara flicked a song on from the jukebox in the corner.

“This is my jam!” She screamed.

Her friends broke out into floods of laughter. And so JJ, Penelope and Kate precariously danced and sang along to Stevie Nicks on top of a grimy bar somewhere in a back alley.

She remembered blonde hair flying in front of her as she threw her head back and forth, and then her foot catching thin air in front of her. Suddenly she was tumbling off the bar, the haze of alcohol postponing the panic that set in. She hardly had time to feel it when she felt a strong pair of cool arms around her. She threw her head back, finding Emily’s big brown eyes staring back at her.

“Don’t really have the numbers to crowd surf,” she said, smiling.

JJ gave her a bashful smile in return, quick to scramble back to her feet. The fall had sobered her up somewhat.

“I think I need something to eat.”

Emily laughed. “I think we all do.”

Penelope and Kate were still singing out of tune, swaying back and forth dangerously close to the bar. Elle, Jordan and Tara were getting ready to catch them if need be. All the while, the elderly bartender in the back was unphased, getting ready to close up for the night.

JJ nodded. “Let’s go get some food.”

* * *

“You know what, men are really awful aren’t they?”

Kate rambled on as they approached a food truck that was still open at 2am. Bless New York City. They all had their coats back on, wrapped up to stay warm in the bitter chill of a January night.

“Well, yeah,” Tara said, as if it were obvious.

Kate laughed, giving her a light slap, still gleefully tipsy. “I mean really! They are terrible.”

Tara nodded. “No argument here.”

Kate paused, as if she was deep in thought. “You know, I never thought about it before, but when that woman at the club tried giving me her number, I really could have.”

Tara frowned. “But Chris?”

Kate nodded, a dopey smile forming. “I love Chris.”

“Well that’s good, you’re marrying him.”

“I know! I’m lucky.” She blinked, as if remembering her point. “But I think I could have! If Chris wasn’t a thing, if he never existed, which would SUCK, but if he didn’t – I think I could be with a woman.”

Tara let out a whistle and gave her a firm pat on the back. “Way to go Kate!” She called ahead to the others. “Hey, we converted her!”

Penelope grinned back. “Oh yay! Our plan worked!”

They all descended into giggles, finally reaching the glorious beacon that was the food truck. JJ pulled her purse out of her bag, opening it up. But she was met with emptiness.

“Oh fuck.”

“What?” Penelope asked, leaning over.

“I cleared myself out.”

One by one, they all rummaged about in their purses, turning them inside out, flapping them in the air. But the most they could collectively come up with wouldn’t buy them more than one hotdog.

“Will this do? Don’t think I can count them right now.”

Emily stood forward, handing JJ her purse. She blinked, looking down at it. Emily just smiled, still a bit tipsy from the last drink they’d had before leaving the bar. JJ felt like she was taking advantage, but opened up the purse when Emily motioned for her to. Well, this certainly will do,she thought, seeing the wads of cash still present.

She was about to hand them over to the vendor when she noticed the little window on the left hand side of the purse, where people sometimes keep ID cards. Inside it was picture. JJ’s heart leapt. It was a picture of them, her and Emily, the one that they’d taken on Emily’s birthday, the Empire State Building gleaming in the background. Emily had such a big, carefree smile on her face. She loved that picture. And apparently, so did Emily.

She snapped the purse shut as soon as she’d gathered the money, handing it back to Emily with a quick thank you.She tried not to think about why Emily had chosen the picture of only them, and not the one with the whole group together. Maybe she just liked herself better in that one, right? Right.

The vendor accepted the money with a wide grin, promising to get their hotdogs ready in a flash. The other women gawked at Emily, who was absent-mindedly kicking the snow off her shoes.

“You bought a mountain of drinks at the club!” Penelope accused, “How much money did you bring out?”

Emily shrugged. The others dropped the matter quickly, just so relieved to fill their alcohol saturated stomachs. Still, Elle fell into step beside JJ as they continued walking, smirking.

“Your girl’s really loaded huh?” She said in a hushed voice.

JJ rolled her eyes.

“I can see why you like her so much now.”

They continued walking, eager to get their dose of fresh air after such a fun filled night. JJ and Elle walked out front, followed by Emily and Jordan, and Penelope, Tara and Kate trailing behind. They were deep in a very serious conversation.

“So Tara got some action tonight, I consideredit.” Kate looked at Penelope suspiciously. “How come you were so chaste?”

They were all starting to sober up a bit more with each mouthful of hotdog. Penelope looked stricken by the question.

“I wasn’t asked,” she said, focusing on finishing her food.

Kate barked out a laugh. “Yeah, right, I saw about five girls come up to you, and that was only when I was looking. Really, what gives?”

Tara was holding back a smirk, knowing fine well what Penelope’s dilemma was. The blonde remained adamant with keeping her mouth full, unable to answer. There was a glint in Kate’s eye.

“You like someone, don’t you?”

Penelope nearly spat out the remainder of her hot dog. “What? No! That’s ridiculous.” She hesitated, and then, ever so quietly, “What did you hear?”

“Ha!”

Penelope deflated, knowing she’d given herself away – finally. She threw her hands up in frustration.

“I hate it! So many tantalizing prospects tonight, and I couldn’t make myself want any of them!”

Kate drew in a sharp breath. “That’s rough.”

Penelope nodded sadly. Tara threw an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into it.

“Hey, you know what?” She said, a glint of mischievousness in her dark eyes.

Penelope snapped her head up, hanging onto her words. “What?”

Tara grinned. She pointed ahead down the road. “Luke’s apartment is right round that corner.”

Penelope froze, considering her words. The others had all stopped, waiting for her response, some fearful, some excited. When Penelope’s face broke out into a grin JJ knew the night wasn’t over yet.

* * *

“Romeo, oh Romeo! Where art thou Romeo?!” A pause. “What’s the rest?”

Tara shrugged.

Penelope shrugged back, repeating the same words she had been for the past five minutes. She threw another rock up to the fifth floor window, giggling in glee. Kate was assisting, scurrying the snow-covered street for more ammunition for her friend. The other women stood at a safe distance, disbelieving at the sight in front of them, but unable to look away.

“Shouldn’t we stop her?” Jordan asked, looking around with concern.

Elle laughed, shaking her head. “No way.” She proceeded to take out her phone, filming the whole event unfold.

“Poor Luke,” JJ said, head falling into her hands.

“Yeah,” Emily agreed from beside her. “Although at least she’s confessed now. To liking him.”

JJ bit her lip. “Yeah, that’s good.”

Jordan walked over to them, motioning to the window that had become Penelope’s target. “Are we sure that’s Luke’s apartment?”

Emily shrugged. “That’s what Tara said.”

Jordan nodded, not looking any more at ease. “This is insane.”

Emily smiled. “It’s romantic.”

They watched on as Penelope continued to chant Shakespeare, throwing rocks up at varying degrees of success, Kate handing her more as they went. They all burst out into laughter.

“Okay, it’s insane.”

Penelope’s next rock pinged off at an angle as the window was flung open. They all froze, waiting with baited breath.

“What the fuck are you kids doing?!” An old woman, had to be in her 80’s, screeched out.

Penelope and Kate scrambled, pushing each other forward to cross the road.

“Yeah, you better run!”

There was then a concerning sound from the apartment. Penelope’s eyes blew wide.

“Does she have a gun?!”

“I don’t know, just keep running!”

All seven women went running off down the street, leaving a trail of frenzied tracks in the snow. Their heavy breathing soon turned into laughter as they turned a corner.

“I could have sworn that was his apartment,” Tara said, frowning in thought. “Maybe it was 503.”

They’d all decided that now was time to call it a night, getting their phones out to call for a couple of taxi’s home. They sat on the sidewalk, waiting.

The welcome sound of tires crunching snow soon travelled down the street, and Penelope stepped out to greet their presumed taxi. But it wasn’t a taxi. Her face blanched, spinning around and motioning for the others to run.

“What?” JJ asked, confused. Her eyes popped at the sight. “Oh fuck.”

It wasn’t a taxi. It was police car. And when the officer stepped out, JJ cursed again.

It was Will.

#jemily #feelings 101 #criminal minds #Jennifer Jareau #emily prentiss #fanfiction #mine

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