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luminnara · 3 years

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It’s Been a Long, Long Time | Ch 6

Summary: When HYDRA had their prized asset, the Winter Soldier, they did something no one ever thought was possible: they gave super soldier serum to an omega. With the sole purpose of tending to him during his ruts, she spends decades living in HYDRA facilities, denied her humanity and her life. Now, years later, Bucky Barnes has his mind and his own life back...and the last thing he ever expects is to see a familiar omega again. Bucky/OC, a little angsty but mostly smutty/fluffy/romantic!

Part One | ... | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

Tags: @kyrah-williams @oceanmermaidwitch @shawnie--jo @super-cape @ferxaniti @namjoonwatcheshentai @fandomsstolemylife00 @youngblood199456 @nightlygiggless @darlingely @ bluemoon-icecream @kaz11283 @jenjen8675309 @dollfacev8 @witchinpractice @mystical-b3ar @sukeraa

Bucky refused to leave the omega’s side while she stayed in the lab. Bruce had to stop him from trying to crawl onto the bed with her, and after about the third time, he convinced the super soldier to just pull up a chair like a civilized person and hold her hand while she drifted off to sleep again. Now that she was with her alpha, she had settled down for another nap, more interested in resting than answering any more questions so long as Bucky stayed and kept an eye on her.

Steve had to admit, it was endearing. He had never seen his friend so absolutely enraptured like this. Whenever the omega, or Ten, as Bruce was still calling her, shifted in her sleep, Bucky’s eyes were snapping over to make sure that she was okay. Whenever she let out a little whimper, he was purring and stroking her hair. Whenever she seemed like she might wake up again, his attention was completely on her.

“So...sure you don’t remember her?” Steve asked, pulling up a chair. He had left for a few hours to work out, and after a lack of updates from FRIDAY, he headed back down to check on everything. They were exactly as he had left them, which was a good sign. At least nothing was getting out of hand.

Yet.

Bucky shrugged, rubbing the back of the omega’s hand with his thumb. “I dunno. It’s...foggy.”

“Well, it seems to me like you’ve either got a history together, or she’s mistaking you for someone else.” Steve said. “Quite frankly, it’s hard to do the latter.”

“I’ve dreamt of her.” Bucky said quietly.

“...what?”

“It’s not much, but...I’ve seen her face.” Bucky looked down at her. “I think that no matter how many times HYDRA wiped my memory, she’s always been in there. Kinda like the one constant that was always around, the one thing I could always count on being in the base with me.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Steve asked.

“Never knew if she was real or not.” Bucky sighed. “I thought...maybe she was just something my mind made up to fill some of the gaps. But she smells exactly like I remember.”

Steve sat back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his friend. Bucky wasn’t snarling anymore, most of his attention trained on the omega while she slept. Now that he was close to her, he had calmed down significantly, though he still wouldn’t let Steve within five feet of her bed.

“Just got off the phone with Tony,” Bruce announced, walking in. “He and Pepper will be back tonight. Pepper’s having some clothes and personal items delivered for our new omega friend here. They also asked about renovating a more permanent room for her, but I, uh...told them I wasn’t exactly sure what the situation would be.”

“She’s staying with me,” Bucky said immediately.

“Now hang on, hang on,” Steve leaned forward.

“Steve,” Bucky growled. “I want her with me.”

“Buck, you don’t even know her—“

Bucky interrupted him with a loud snarl, the omega in question whining and squirming in her sleep at the sound of it.

He immediately shut up, brushing a thumb over her cheek and shushing her until she was sleeping soundly again. Fuck, he felt so stupid. What was wrong with him? She could have woken up, or been scared, or upset, all because he couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. She needed her rest, and he needed to stay quiet.

Steve almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Oh, Buck,” he shook his head. “You’re in deep.”

—

Amoretta woke feeling well rested, and it wasn’t until she tried to stretch and felt the tug of her IV drip that she remembered where she was. Opening her eyes revealed the bright lights of the lab, and as she started to sit up, a few faces came into view.

“Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,” Bruce said. “How are you feelin’?”

She licked her lips. “Juice box. Now.”

“Way ahead of you. Had this one waiting as soon as you started waking up.” He tossed one to her and was pleased when her hand shot up to catch it. “Reflexes look good. Vitals are all reading normal. I’ll have to run another test to see what’s going on with those suppressants, but I’m willing to bet you’re metabolizing them fairly quickly now. How are you feeling?”

She pulled the little straw off the back of the carton and jammed it into the top. “Nauseous. Like usual.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Side effect of the suppressants?”

“Always has been. Other than that...I feel great, actually.”

“Well, as soon as these wear off, we can figure out something nicer and more modern for you. If you want to use them, I mean.” Bruce shrugged. “Your choice.”

She smiled. “Choice. I like that.”

“Hey, we’re all about independence here,” Steve said happily. He was glad to see she was awake, even though Bucky wasn’t.

The other alpha was still at her side, but, as of about half an hour ago, he was napping. Steve made a mental note to never let him forget the way he slept straight through the one moment he had been waiting for all day.

“What time is it?” She asked. “There’s no windows in this damn place.”

“Just after dinner,” Bruce chuckled. “You slept most of the day. Bucky hasn’t left your side.”

She looked over to her soldier, smiling warmly at the sight of him sleeping. He was even snoring softly. “I haven’t gotten to see this in forty years.”

“Did you two, uh…” Steve cleared his throat. “Spend a lot of time together?”

The omega laughed. “You always this awkward around girls?”

“That’s not—“

“Relax, I’m just giving you a hard time.” She sucked on her straw. “But...yeah, we did.”

“So...you were just kept for his ruts, or…” Steve was so awkward it was almost endearing. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I think.”

“It’s okay. I know my lot in life.” She kept her eyes trained on Bucky as she spoke. “But if I’m going to answer more questions, I want to get out of this bed. And I want real clothes. Then I’ll talk.”

And so, only several minutes later, Bruce was handing her a sweater and some shorts he had grabbed from a little stash of extra clothing, and Bucky was startled awake by Ten stepping past him. She was finally free from all the tubes and cords that had been sticking out of her during her little hospital stay, and she was all too eager now to explore the tower.

She stood on wobbly legs, almost falling onto him when she tried to take a step. Bucky was up in a flash, ready to catch her, and as she fell against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her. Despite just waking up, he felt fully alert, completely ready to tend to his omega’s every need.

His omega...he liked that train of thought.

“We can head up to the common area. It should still be quiet.” Steve said, leading the way out.

Bucky kept an arm around his omega’s waist as they followed, Bruce bringing up the rear. He wanted to be touching her at all times, constantly in contact so that he couldn’t lose track of her. His instincts were roaring to life, demanding that he do everything in his power to make sure that she was safe and in his line of sight. The elevator ride was tense and full of possessive growling, Bucky constantly shoving Ten behind him to keep her in the corner and as far away from Steve as possible, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the doors slid open and they could step out of the cramped space again.

The common area was empty, thankfully, FRIDAY informing them that the other Avengers were all either working out or in their private quarters.

“Good,” Steve said, heading towards the couches. “No interruptions. Got it, FRIDAY?”

“Understood, Captain Rogers.”

“C’mere,” Bucky mumbled, pulling his omega down to sit on one of the couches with him. Part of him was feeling a little sheepish and self conscious of his behavior...but the rest of him didn’t give a shit. The others could stare and shake their heads all they wanted, but he’d be damned if he let Ten slip through his fingers again.

Or whatever her name was.

Steve and Bruce sat across from them, making sure that they left as much space as possible between themselves and the new omega. Neither of them had ever seen Bucky behaving quite like this--he was on guard, hyper aware of everything around him. He made sure that she was pressed up against his side, an arm draped possessively over the back of the couch so that it was unmistakable that she was with him.

Christ, what had gotten into him? He couldn’t remember ever acting this way about an omega before.

“So…” Steve cleared his throat, sitting with his elbows resting on his knees.

Bucky didn’t really like the way his posture made him lean forward towards his omega, but he could deal with it for now. “So.”

“What do you wanna know?” Ten asked, plucking at Bucky’s shirt. She seemed to be even clingier with him than he was with her, perfectly happy to be hanging off him or tucked up against his side. “You met my demands. I guess I’m an open book now.”

“I don’t want to overstep my bounds,” Steve said. “We just need to know as much as you’re willing to share.”

“Then ask a question.”

“...Alright.” he cleared his throat again. “You said HYDRA used you to help with Bucky’s ruts?”

Ten nodded, her expression remaining even and cool.

“Could you tell us more about that?” Steve glanced at Bucky. “Were there ever any other omegas, or anyone we should know about?”

“There were omegas before me.” she answered. “When I first got to the compound, there were a lot of us. They kept us all in big cells, so everyone talked. People said things about how HYDRA was grabbing omegas off the street for their super soldiers, and how the one at our base was the biggest and scariest.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow at her tone. He wasn’t exactly sure what he expected her to sound like while she regaled them with her life story, but he definitely thought there would be a tad bit more apprehension in her voice. She seemed proud of herself, and more matter-of-fact than a lot of omegas would be while talking about their alpha’s previous partners. Or...whatever you called prisoners whose only purpose was to help during ruts.

“And I bet he was,” she sighed, leaning her cheek on Bucky’s chest and looking up at him adoringly.

“Well, I don’t know about that…” Bucky said, an almost shy smile on his lips. And...was he actually blushing?

Steve was going to lose his mind.

“You said the other omegas couldn’t handle it? That’s why you were given the serum?” he prompted, trying to keep them on track before he drowned in the sticky sweetness of her happy pheromones.

“Right.” she turned her attention back to Steve and Bucky let out a quiet huff. “HYDRA didn’t really like to take care of us. And the soldier--I mean, Bucky--would wear them out. So...HYDRA would just kind of let them go. Or put them down, maybe. I never saw it.”

Bucky’s expression dropped. His blush was gone, and he almost looked like he was going to be sick as he listened to her talk.

“But it wasn’t his fault,” she said quickly, glancing between him and Steve. “I don’t think it was ever on purpose, you were just...demanding.”

He gave a groan, leaning his head back against the couch. “You don’t have to sugarcoat it, doll. I’d rather know what I did, at this point.”

She offered a small shrug. “I don’t really remember it being that bad, but I don’t think I ever met you before they gave me the serum.”

“That’s something, at least.” he mumbled, dragging a hand down his face.

“Why you?” Steve asked. “Did you have any prior military experience, any ties to something the others didn’t?”

“No.” she laughed. “I never even got in fights before HYDRA.”

“Then why’d they use such an important resource on you, specifically? Not trying to take a dig at you, it’s just...well, omegas don’t usually…”

“I know,” she said. “Omegas aren’t supposed to be tough, right? That’s why they only ever let alphas become super soldiers.”

“That’s not what I…” Steve trailed off and then sighed. “Sorry.”

“I told you, they gave me the serum so that I would be strong enough to hold my own. It also ensured I would always be around, no matter how many years passed.” Her fingers found Bucky’s free hand and she took it, absentmindedly playing with the smooth vibranium knuckles. “Having me as a constant meant they could stop spending so much time and effort on always having a new omega around for him. Plus…well, I wasn’t really there, but I heard something about it once…”

“What?” Bucky asked.

“They let you choose who was going to become your omega.” She said, looking up at him. “They gave you a bunch of scents, and you chose mine. I guess it was the only reason they didn’t, uh...humanely euthanize me.”

His eyes were wide. The thought of HYDRA killing his omega brought a low growl to his throat, his chest rumbling with the vibrations of it. “No.”

“Well, clearly they didn’t!” She said brightly. “My file said I was a kicker.”

“So they gave you, an already aggressive omega, the serum, but never gave you any trigger words or fished around in your brain?” Bruce shook his head. “Surprisingly sloppy, considering who they are.”

“It’s not like they ever sent me out into the world. I stayed in my cell all day, unless I was needed for a rut. Then I went and stayed in a different cell.” She sighed. “And if they ever needed to, they could just use the alpha to grab me.”

Bucky clearly didn’t like the thought of that. He made a frustrated sound, leaning his head back again. “Great.”

“It was never bad.” She let go of his hand, moving her fingers to cup his jaw. “You never hurt me. You wouldn’t. Sometimes, when I acted up, they would make you go retrieve me, because they knew you were the only one who could do it. If they didn’t send you, they would just knock me out.”

“So...that was it?” Steve asked. “Ruts, serum, cryo?”

“For thirty years!” She chirped. “The last time they froze me, they were freezing him, too. They always tried to keep us in cryo at the same time so that I could be thawed out and ready when he needed me. But...I guess they just...left me there?” She frowned.

“See, that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.” Steve said. “I didn’t see any signs of a struggle at that base. I’d say they left in an orderly fashion, but the fact that they didn’t take you along makes me think they were in more of a hurry than they made it seem.”

“Natasha might have a better idea,” Bruce suggested. “We can talk to her, try to figure out—“

“FRIDAY, open the damn door or so help me God I will rewrite your entire personality.” A voice interrupted from the other side of the door.

“I’m sorry, Tony, but Captain Rogers asked me not to.” The AI said.

“Well, is it an emergency?” The man scoffed.

“No emergency measures have been executed. No security breaches have been identified.”

“Then I’m sorry, but Captain Rogers does not outrank me when it comes to my own robots. Open the door, beautiful.”

She seemed to sigh. “Very well, Mr. Stark.”

Ten perked up, leaning forward slightly. She was watching the door curiously, tilting her head a little when she heard it slide open. Bucky rolled his eyes, grumbling to himself quietly and pulling her up against his side as another alpha strode in.

“Really? Having a party without me?” the man asked, a smooth, casual air about him as he walked in and looked at everyone on the couches. When his eyes landed on the omega cuddled up next to Bucky, he stopped. “Ah, is this our new guest?”

“Go away, Stark.” Bucky growled. He didn’t like how long the other man’s gaze was lingering on his omega, not when there weren’t any scars on her neck to show who she belonged to.

“Always such a charmer, Barnes.” Tony said, flopping down next to Steve. “Lovely to see you, too. Care to introduce me to your friend? ….No, you’d rather just snarl and forget your words? I knew you were old, but I didn’t realize you were actually a caveman.”

“Tony,” Bruce groaned. “Don’t aggravate him. Please.”

“Why not?” Tony leaned back against the cushions, completely at ease and totally happy to be pressing every one of Bucky’s buttons.

“Are you Tony Stark?” Ten asked, wiggling out of Bucky’s grip to sit on the edge of their couch.

Bucky caught her around the waist before she could get very far, though, and dragged her onto his lap. He loomed over her, sneering dangerously at Tony as the other alpha flashed a smile.

“Bingo.” he said.

“I never thought I’d meet a Stark,” she admitted. “I always heard about Stark Industries, but I lived too far away from any big cities to ever get to see any of his exhibitions.”

“Ah. You’re from my father’s time. Of course.” Tony shot a pointed glare in Bucky’s direction. “Seems like Bruce left out a few teensy weensy important details on the phone today.”

“Well, it’s been, uh...an ongoing learning experience.” Bruce said sheepishly.

“Lots of developments, huh?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

“You could say that.” Steve said under his breath. “We came up here so Ten could be more comfortable while we talk.”

“Oh yeah? What’re we talkin’ about?” Tony asked.

“They were asking about my time with HYDRA,” she answered, cutting in before anyone else could. “And with...Bucky.”

Saying his name felt odd. Her tongue wasn’t used to it, and her mind wanted to call him alpha, or Winter Soldier. Bucky just seemed so…casual, such a strange thing to call a deadly super soldier. When she heard herself, though, she decided that she definitely didn’t hate it.

Bucky’s heart gave a little leap at the sound of his name falling from her lips. He wanted her to say it over and over again, in whispers and in screams, for nobody else’s ears but his.

“...Buck?” Steve asked, pulling him away from his thoughts. “You, uh, kinda zoned out there.”

It wasn’t until Bucky looked at Steve that he realized his eyes had been trained on the omega in his lap. “Yeah?”

“...Is this seriously how you’ve spent the past day and a half?” Tony asked. “Steve, I’m sorry, and I’m sure you’re just trying to be as helpful as you can be, like always, but I think you should let these two get a room.”

Steve looked at him incredulously. “Tony, really? I’m trying to get to the bottom of why exactly HYDRA would abandon the omega they pumped full of super soldier serum. They can get a room later—“

“Yeah, uh, wonder boy? I don’t think your pal is gonna last much longer before he tries to rip our heads off.” Tony nodded towards a very disgruntled Bucky. “You can resume your interrogation tomorrow, Cap.”

Steve looked to Bruce for help, but he only offered a small shrug and stood, heading towards the door. “He’s right, Steve. They deserve some alone time.”

“But—hey!” Steve protested as Bucky picked his omega up, striding past the two alphas sitting on the opposite couch.

“Thanks for everything, Steve.” Bucky said over his shoulder.

Ten squirmed, peeking around Bucky’s arm as she was carried away. “Bye, Mr. Stark!”

“Don’t look at him,” Bucky growled as they walked out the door.

“Did his father really make hoverboards? I heard once that Howard was promising hoverboards—“

“No.” He said flatly.

“...oh.” She huffed, slumping against him. “Where are we going?”

“My apartment.” Bucky stepped into the elevator, his grip still tight around her.

The omega perked up. “You have a whole apartment?”

He puffed his chest out a little. “Course I do. Gotta have a nice place for you, don’t I?”

“So I can stay?” Her eyes were bright and happy. “I can stay there, with you, all the time? Not just when you rut?”

He felt a sad little pang in his heart. When he spoke again, his voice was low and soft. “Of course, sweetheart.”

Then, his eyes widened as he realized what he was saying. “I mean, uh...i-if you want to, that is. I know it’s fast and all, and maybe...would you rather have your own room? Or I can stay on the couch—“

“Bucky,” she cut him off with a laugh, a soft hand cupping his jaw. “You’ve been my alpha for seventy years. I’d say we’re actually moving pretty slow.”

His expression relaxed again, lips stretching into a small smile. “Right. Yeah. You’re right.”

They spent the rest of the elevator ride in comfortable silence, Bucky rubbing his scent glands all over her hair. He wanted to make sure that the next time they encountered anyone else, she smelled exactly like him.

Like her alpha.

When the elevator came to a gentle stop at Bucky’s floor, the doors opened, and he stepped out in front of his apartment door. It opened for him, having already scanned his biometrics, revealing a small, but cozy, living room.

He set his omega down on her feet, watching anxiously as she stepped into his quarters. Did she like it? Fuck, was it too small? It was too small. She probably hated it. Fuck, fuck, fuck...he had to salvage this somehow.

“Well, uh…” shit, he sounded too nervous. He wanted her to think he was a strong, capable alpha.

He cleared his throat for another start. “Welcome home, Omega.”

Wait. That wasn’t right. Should he be calling her that? No, probably not, it sounded too possessive, too uncaring. He wished he just knew her fucking name, or something.

“I mean…Ten?”

Shit, he sounded so stupid. He wanted to impress her, not...do whatever this was.

She just laughed, though, turning and looking at him with those eyes that sparkled like starlight. “Amoretta. My name is Amoretta.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x oc #abo #omegaverse #alpha bucky #alpha bucky barnes #it's been a long long time #avengers x reader #avengers x oc

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ma-gic-gay · 3 years

Note

A few hours, two kisses, and one nap later, he begins plotting his escape. It mainly consists of signing a discharge form and then hunting down Cyrus. Then, he'll kill him. Fairly simple, and does provide a good distraction from the chaos his personal life has become. His business/mob life has been fairly normal, no new competitors yet.

"What are you planning?" Carly asks, looking up from the iPad she's probably planning Morgan's return from the dead party on.

"How long until I can get out of here?" Hospital rooms inspire him to run very far away from them. They keep him cooped up, they're boring as all hell, and there's really no choice as to who can walk in at any given time.

"Probably tomorrow," she answers and he groans. "It's not the end of the world, Jason. It's one more night in a hospital bed." Debatable. It's a whole twelve hours, minimum.

"Or I could just sign my discharge form now and break out of here."

"No, you need to stay at least for tonight. Break out tomorrow."

"I don't want to."

"Just let them monitor you. Sleep. You won't be able to do much out there anyways. I'm pretty sure the doctors are going to tell you to relax and take it easy, which means taking a short leave of absence. Brando can handle it for a few more days."

"There could be a takeover-"

"Not without any talk. Come on, if I thought there was any threat, I'd be breaking you out of here myself," she reminds him. "Take a nap."

"I'm not sure that's the best decision." Actually, it's more time that he'd be a suspect in Cyrus's murder (that, rest assured, he will commit) and more time Cyrus gets to breathe the same air as him. "Stop the thoughts about it being unsafe because you're not going to be able to do anything. You're recovering from surgeries and a gunshot wound."

"I'm perfectly capable of doing everything," he responds, fidgeting again with the stupid IV. He'll break that thing out of him if that's what it takes.

"I'm sure you are, but stop pouting. Sleep. Take a nap. Enjoy your break from reality for a day or two and just relax," Carly reasons. You know it's bad when Carly's being the reasonable one.

"This isn't pouting, it's captivity."

"No one's holding you captive."

"I'm being forced to be in a room against my will. This could be a hostage situation," he says dramatically.

"Well, as cute as your pouting is, you're spending the night. Take a nap. Enjoy it," she smiles. "Oh, and by the way, you're not killing Cyrus."

There's a lot to take in there but we'll start with the obvious: "I didn't even say I was planning on it."

She rolls her eyes, "You didn't have to, I can see the plan formulating in your mind. No murder. Cyrus will live for the rest of his miserable life in prison without you sending someone to rough him up or kill him."

Sometimes it's a shame how well she knows him. It genuinely sucks sometimes because she can read him like a book. No matter how successful he is at hiding everything from, well, pretty much everyone else, she just rolls her eyes and lets him know exactly what he's doing. Half the time, she knows before he does. The other half, she's informing him it's normal to express your emotions.

"I don't think he should even be able to walk around," he admits, struggling somewhat to voice the hatred he feels for the other mobster. "I've wanted to kill the guy for years, ever since I laid eyes on him. Going after you, kidnapping and raping you as some sort of sick revenge against me was the last straw."

"It was stupid to go after me and he'll pay. For the rest of his life, he'll be in prison. Solitary, you said. He can't run his business in solitary. Cyrus will never be able to hurt me or anyone else again," Carly says, grasping his hand and squeezing it. "He's a piece of shit. I look forward to the day he's in jail, serving his sentence. But it's probably going to be a few weeks."

"Which provides plenty of opportunity-"

"He lives. You're not going to jail because of him, Jason. Cyrus isn't worth it, alright? I don't care if he dies tomorrow. If you go to jail, I'll have to break you out of there myself and that probably won't go too well," she laughs at that. "So, save us all the paperwork and don't kill him. Besides, I confronted him."

She- confronted- "You did what? Carly, that is a man who could kill you and threatened to! He's very much capable of keeping that threat! Did you want to die?"

What inspired her to go confront her kidnapper/rapist? What made her think that was the sane thing to do while he was unconscious in a hospital bed?! She could've died and he can't have that happening because it'd be his fault. It's also such an ugly thought he can't stand to think of it. Carly cannot die.

"I brought guards, I threatened him, I yelled and screamed, I also cried for a while," she summarizes. "And to answer your question, I don't have a death wish. There's children I have to take care of and I'm not done complicating your life yet. I've got at least ten more years left in me."

"You confronted a man who could kill you."

"With guards, Jason."

"That doesn't make it okay! Carly, you can't act like there wasn't a good chance you could've died! You can't reason with people like Cyrus, you can't go in on your own."

"I. Brought. Guards."

"And they could've died too. He took out a whole group of them once, an entire warehouse of the Novak crew."

"You're acting like I didn't know what I was doing! I knew exactly what I was doing and it was either that or wonder if you'd live to tell me I'm being stupid again, Jason. Which choice would you have made?" Carly asks, tears building up in her eyes. No, he's mad, don't start crying. That'll make him sad. No crying, Carly, please don't. "I'm not so unknowledgeable when it comes to the business, you know."

"No, but you don't know how the business works. Things like that, impulsive things, they get people killed! They're the things that cause people to die and not the type you can come back from. You can't be doing things like that and pulling stunts like threatening Cyrus. He has nothing left to lose, which means he has everything to gain. If he can kill you, which is what he wants to do, that'll be a win for him and a final way to get back at me. That's what he wants and you're playing right into it." Jason exclaims. Emotional outbursts are rare for him, which probably made the point more clear. He hopes so. Losing her-

That's a thought almost too painful to bear thinking of.

"I was worried you would die! Jason, I couldn't spend another hour in this room or getting harassed by Sam. I needed to do something, make some statement," Carly argues and he shakes his head. Does she not get it? She could've died.

"And you couldn't go to work at the Metro Court? You had to go and confront a man who wants you dead almost as much as he wants me dead, Carly! It was stupid. You could've died."

"I was safe-"

"You don't get it! Doing that, no matter how many guards are there, isn't safe. I don't care if you had the place full with guards, he wants you six feet under and he wants me even further. What if he shot you? What if he hurt you? What if he killed you?" Emotions just seem to flow out of him like water does down a river at this point, anger and hurt and worry and sadness all combined into one.

"He didn't-"

"Not this time. Next time, he could. You could've gotten hurt or killed or shot at and I'm not going to be the reason for that."

"Well there won't be a next time."

"How can you be so sure about that, Carly? You don't control him. He's his own person; he does what he wants, exactly when he wants, exactly how he wants. And he could've hurt you."

"Every single time you agrees to one of those meetings with him or left to go, seemingly, anywhere, I thought the same thing. He's tried to get to you a million times. But you didn't die."

"I didn't die because I'm aware of the intricacies of the business! You're not and, as much as I'm grateful you're not, I can't have you running around picking fights with people who want you dead, who want me dead."

"Do you want a fake apology?" Carly snaps. "Do you want me to pretend like I didn't know that? I'm all too aware of the fact that everytime I leave the house, I could get shot at and die or that everytime I see you it might be the last time because of your line of work. I am intimately familiar with the anxieties of waiting in a hospital room to see if you're going to wake up or not from yet another injury. You're acting like it's my first day as someone who cares about people in your line of work and you're wrong. It's not. I knew damn well what I was doing and I know you would've done the same if they'd shot me."

Well. He didn't think of that. Anger sort of half drowns inside of him, flopping but still very much there at her beyond dumb move. "You're right. I would've killed him if he'd shot you or hurt you. But that doesn't make that you get to go out and pick fights with him because you're worried. It means you've got to be careful, stay in groups. It means-"

"Don't tell me what I should've done."

"What would you like me to do, congratulate you? Congratulations, Carly, you could've died! You could've died and if I woke up to that knowledge I don't know what I'd do."

"You'd keep surviving. Probably throw yourself into the business even more, to a point I don't think it'd be healthy." Carly shakily says, clearly having thought about it. "You'd tell Donna all about me when she started to forget I existed."

"You've thought of this?" Jason asks, incredulous. "You've thought about what I'd do if you died?"

"When we thought you were gone, I thought about what you would've done if roles were reversed."

There's a solid 20% chance she's pulling at his heartstrings right now to get sympathy and it's working. 100%. She could be completely playing him and he'd believe it at this point.

He hugs her as best as he can in the hospital bed. "I wasn't dead. You're not dead, thankfully. But you can't take risks with your life, not like that. Your kids need their mom. People need you. I'd miss you."

"How nice, I sobbed myself to sleep for weeks because you were gone and you'd miss me." Tugging at the heart, yet again.

"Oh come on, Carly. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, yeah I do."

It's a strange bond they've got (and a strange life he's got), but at least they can count on one thing: their friendship. Hence why kissing and stuff can't mean anything or complicate things. They've been in each other's lives so long, if they dated or something and it went south, he doesn't know if they could bounce back. And that's a terrifying thought, that they could be,,, not friends.

To be continued after I change my tampon and sleep because I'm fucking tired :)

@ryleighjosephine

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lumosinlove · 5 years

Text

Sweater Weather

part iv

Remus hovered outside James and Lily’s house, waiting for Lily to answer the door and watching his cab drive away. Lily and James lived in one of the nice, private neighborhoods, not too far from Sirius and some of the other guys, but it meant a bit of a cab ride for Remus. He’d splurge though, for Lily.

The door swung open and Lily smiled, even if she did look a little frazzled. “Re.”

Remus raised his eyebrows. “Hi, Lils.”

“Hi, hi. What’s up?” She reached and pulled him into a hug—a tight hug. “Come in?”

“Yeah. Hey, are you alright? I haven’t heard from you in a while. You seem…” Remus struggled to find the right word, but ended up settling for, “James is being weird.”

“Well, hello to you, too, Lupin.” James appeared at the bottom of one half of their twisting, grand staircase. He was in what Remus assumed was most of the guys’ uniform on their days off—sweatshirt, sweatpants, and socks. All Lions labeled.

Lily huffed, but smiled a little at James as he came over to wrap an arm around her.

“Isn’t he always being weird?” She leaned up for a quick kiss. “I want ice cream and I want to watch movies. James, shoo, Remus is mine for the day.”

James feigned offense for only a moment before grinning and giving Remus’ shoulder a little shove on his way to the kitchen. “See you in a bit, Loops.”

“Yeah. Hey, I hope your shoulder’s taped under there.”

“Of course it is,” James said, and crossed his fingers behind his retreating back where Remus could see. Remus laughed as he was tugged away by Lily.

Remus eyed her carefully as she looped their arms together, leaning her head on his shoulder and practically dragging him to her and James’ media viewing room. Something still seemed odd with her. The projector was already on and it looked like its last use went to James watching game tape.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Remus said.

Lily just looked at him, wide-eyed from where she was burrowing down in the many blankets on one of the huge couches, and Remus really knew something was up. First James at the dinner, now this.

“I’ll get the ice cream,” he said, half because he thought they’d need it, and half to give Lily a second.

“Yeah,” she said faintly, then groaned and face planted into the pillows.

James was still in the kitchen when Remus got back upstairs, seemingly fixing himself a sandwich for lunch. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Remus said hello.

“Jesus,” Remus laughed, “you just saw me. What’s up with you two?”

James laughed, but it wasn’t his normal one. He ran a hand through his hair, scrubbed it over his face, and then braced both arms on the kitchen island on either side of his sandwich fixings.

“No, sorry. I don’t know, I guess I was lost in thought. Or something.”

“Right.” Remus stooped to get the ice cream out of the refrigerator. He felt like James and Lily’s house was something like his second home, and there was nothing he was more grateful for than meeting Lily at that first pre-season barbecue. Remus had never really had that many fast friends, but him and Lily had talked all night. Remus thought she was part of the reason he was so close with James and all of the guys, unlike so many others on the Lions’ staff.

“Um” James cleared his throat, “so, what movie are you watching?”

“I don’t know yet.” Remus did look at James this time as he scooped chocolate brownie and mint into two bowls. “Pots.”

James looked up from where he was squirting mustard on his bread. James had his glasses on, the round ones that the boys made fun of on road trips. James wore them rarely, mostly when he needed a break from his contacts.

“Are you okay? Both of you, is everything…”

James swallowed a hard swallow and nodded, just a little. “I’m just gonna let Lils talk to you, alright? Don’t worry.”

Remus paused beside him, hand on the silverware drawer, “How am I suppose to not worry when you give me an answer like that?”

James picked up his plate and waved Remus off. “Your ice cream is melting.”

When Remus came back with his two generously portioned bowls, Lily was sitting back up and took one almost greedily.

“So.” Remus said, pushing his shoes off his feet with his toes and crossing his legs to face her, “Your boyfriend is remaining tight-lipped. What’s up?”

Lily just looked down at her ice cream, hair hanging so far over her face that it took Remus a good minute before he realized that her bottom lip was trembling.

“Lils, hey, hey…” His voice was nearly a coo as he took their bowls and set them just within reach on the table and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “Lils…I’m sorry, I…” but Remus didn’t think it was him. He squeezed her gently, thumb rubbing over her shoulder. “What is it?”

“It’s—” Her voice broke and she sucked in a shaky breath.

Remus’ heart was suddenly in his throat again. Even if James hadn’t said anything, that didn’t mean… “I…Is it—are you and James…”

“No.” Lily gasped, even laughing a little as she wiped at her eyes, “God, no. James is perfect. We’re perfect. Fuck, I feel so stupid for even crying because it’s not actually—actually bad, I’m just—”

Lily looked up at Remus then, green eyes shining and bright. The tear tracks on her face made her many freckles look stark and beautiful. “I’m scared, Re.”

“Scared? What do you mea—” Remus’ breath cut off with his words. He glanced down at Lily’s stomach, noticing now that she had both arms carefully wrapped around it. Remus’ heart picked up and he looked back at Lily, wide-eyed. “You mean…”

“We didn’t—it was an accident, but…but we’re…”

“Happy.” Remus finished for her, feeling a smile start to cross his face.

Lily sniffled and then let out a half-laugh half-sob. “Yeah. Yeah, we are, but…you’re not freaked out? Like, we’re young—Fuck, he’s so focused on the team and he just got back from his concussion last year and he doesn’t need this right now—”

“Lily.”

Lily’s rambling cut off and she blinked at Remus, then groaned and put a large spoon of ice cream in her mouth. “What?”

“What do you want? Not worrying about anyone else. What do you want?”

This was suddenly so close to the conversation he had had with Sirius.

Lily was quiet for a moment. It didn’t seem like she was really thinking about it, exactly, more just taking her time with her words.

“I want this,” she finally said. Then she smiled a little, hand against her stomach, “more than that, I want—I want it with James.”

Remus had only just opened his mouth to respond when there was a sniffle from their right. They both looked, and Lily let out a tearful laugh because James was there, rubbing at his eyes behind his glasses, in the doorway.

“‘m not listening, I promise.” James said hoarsely, but he didn’t move.

“Oh, get over here, you idiot.” Lily said thickly, wiping her cheeks.

James smiled a little sheepishly and crouched in front of the couch between them, hand reaching out to take Lily’s and rub over her knuckles. “Feel better now?”

“Mhm.” Lily said, gazing at him.

Remus suddenly felt like a bit of an intruder on an important moment, but then James said, “Finally told your best friend. I told you it’d help. Remus is happy, isn’t he?”

“So. Extremely.” Remus said, arm still around Lily.

Maybe this special moment included him. By what James said, maybe, just maybe, even this little part of what was about to be a monumental part of their lives, was even about him.

“I think it’s a boy.” Lily suddenly gushed, cheeks pink from smiling. She did look like an entire weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

“I think it’s a little soon to tell…or—how long has it been?” Remus asked.

“About four months,” Lily said. “we’ll be able to tell at my next appointment, that’s what the doctor said.”

James made a little noise and rested his cheek on her knee, grinning up at her. She smiled back, running her hand through his ever-messy dark hair.

“Who else knows?”

“Our parents obviously,” James said, “but from the organization, the team…”

“Just you,” Lily smiled at him.

Remus raised his eyebrows, “not even Sirius?”

James laughed, “he’s next. He’s my Remus to tell.”

Remus smiled. He liked that, the notion that Sirius was to James and he was to Lily. It made him feel more apart of the Lions than ever, left his chest warm.

The first road trip of the season was to New York to play the Rangers and Remus never sat down for more than a few minutes before a road trip. For the boys, on the other hand, everything stayed relatively regular paced. They went to practice, took pre-game naps, and played their heart out. Remus sharpened skates, made sure they had a good number of everyone’s sticks, kept track of the token and the pre-game kick around soccer ball. He brought the med-kits and the extra jerseys, the back up skates, and the back up skates for the back up skates. It was exhausting, which is probably why, when he fell into a chair in the Lions lounge with a coffee that evening, he didn’t register he wasn’t alone until he heard hushed tones coming from behind one of the taller chairs, dark leather and plush. Leo had taken to falling asleep in them, much to the delight of James and Kasey’s habit of taking embarrassing pictures and having them printed out to cover various parts of the lounge.

“Oui, maman, ma cheville…c’est bien,” Sirius said, voice low and somber, like every word was being dragged out of him.

Remus didn’t quite speak French, but he had taken a few courses in college, just to be able to talk to some of the French-Canadian guys on his team, and he registered that Sirius was talking about his ankle, saying it was fine. He registered that Sirius was talking to his mother.

Remus should move. He knew he should move.

“Je ne serai pas violent sans raison,” Sirius continued, then, after a pause, a little harsher, “Ce n’est pas une raison.”

Remus swallowed. Sirius’ mom was asking him to play dirty, to hit someone, maybe. God, Remus couldn’t imagine hearing that from a parent—

“Si ce n’était pas un accident…d’accord. Il est bas. Il est ignoble. Je n’est pas.”

Remus heart was in his throat. They had to be talking about Snape, and Sirius was—he was—

If it wasn’t an accident…okay. It’s a low blow, and he is low, ignoble. I am not.

Remus knew Sirius had it rough, but he was glad he could stand up for himself.

“D'accord, la prochaine fois que vous me verrez, vous pourrez me frapper tout ce que vous voudrez.”

Remus sat up then, gasped a little, and Sirius’ head poked out of his chair to see who it was. His eyes widened a little and he whipped his head back around and out of sight.

“I have to go,” he said in English, and then he was standing, facing Remus and sliding his phone in the pocket of his sweats. “Re.”

“I—I’m sorry,” Remus stuttered. “I didn’t really know anyone was in here, I was on my feet all day, I just was going to have my coffee and go—”

Sirius shook his head, shoving both of his hands into his pockets instead. “Re, I’m not mad. It’s fine.”

Remus didn’t know what to say, too focused on the sad tone of gray Sirius’ eyes.

Sirius just shrugged. “It’s not like it’s a secret.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Remus’ mouth blurted before he could really think twice about it. “Fuck. Sorry, that’s not my place at all.”

Sirius just shook his head again, head low. “I didn’t say it was okay. I—you know, I see Heather about it.”

Remus nodded. Heather, their sports psychologist. “That’s good, Sirius. A lot of guys wouldn’t do that.”

“Someone’s gotta be the example right?” Sirius pulled his hands free and shook them out, rolling his shoulders like he was trying to roll a weight off of them. “Or at least try to.”

Remus stood, too, took a step forward, because he wanted Sirius to listen to this. “You’re an amazing leader.”

Sirius froze up a little again after that. And it was quiet between them, just in the small space. Remus hadn’t exactly meant to get that close but…now Sirius’ eyes were flicking between his, his lips parted.

“Thank you,” Sirius said softly, then he licked his lips, his chest breathed in like he was going to—

“Boys,” Kasey banged on the doorframe a few times, as if he needed to alert his presence. Then again, Remus thought as he caught himself staring at Sirius’ mouth, maybe that was a good idea. “Coach says wheels up at ten AM sharp tomorrow.”

Sirius looked up. They took a step back at the same time and Remus took a long drink from his coffee.

“Sounds good, Kase, thanks.” Sirius said and pulled out his phone again. Remus went to turn, to go, when, “Need a ride, Remus?”

Sirius smiled at him, a slightly nervous, closed lip thing, “Or…veux-tu dîner?”

“Hungry?” Remus blurted, because it came to him faster than the word dinner and Sirius Black had just asked him if he wanted dinner, potentially with him.

A laugh burst out of Sirius, his eyes crinkled. “Oui.”

Remus loved the way Sirius said oui, loved the way all the French-Canadian guys said it—but especially Sirius. This drawn out sound that was almost twangy. It was lazy, confident, like they were sure of their answer, like they had already known the question before it had even been asked. Sirius sounded mostly Canadian when he spoke English, but it felt like that twang kept up in all of his words at least a bit. Sirius swung a little on his feet, hips dipping back and forth while he waited, hands in his pockets still. He tilted his head, puppyish.

Remus swallowed hard. “Yeah. Oui.” It didn’t sound nearly as good as it did in Sirius’ slight accent.

“Okay.” Sirius nodded, grinning. “We’re getting pizza, don’t tell anyone.”

“That’s not on your diet plan.”

Sirius swung around as he lead Remus out of the room, walking backwards, “Shh!”

“You have your first away game tomorrow night!”

Sirius just put his finger to his lips and beckoned him forward and back to the locker room to grab his stuff. “Meet me at the parking lot,” he said before disappearing inside.

Only, waiting at the door the players used gave Remus time to think. To dwell, really. He knew they’d be going to Sid’s for pizza—anyone in Gryffindor went to Sid’s—but he didn’t know anything after that.

“It’s just Sirius,” he mumbled under his breath to himself, then, “Sirius fucking Black, Sirius.”

“What?”

Remus turned sharply on his heel, “What?”

Sirius was standing there with his backpack slung over one shoulder. He pulled the door open and waving Remus through. “I thought you said my name.”

“No.” Remus shook his head, “No, no. So, none of the guys wanted to come?”

Sirius just sort of shrugged and instead of answering asked, “Where do you want to go?”

They looked at each other as they walked side by side. A hint of a smile started to form of Sirius’ face, and then they both nodded a little.

“Sid’s,” they said, and grinned.

“Of course,” Remus laughed, “where else?”

Sirius chirped his car and Remus climbed in, waiting for Sirius to stow his bag in the backseat. He climbed in and started the engine, turning around to back up, his arm going around the back of Remus’ seat. This close, Remus could see the few dark freckles that dotted his neck and the bit of collar bone revealed by the hem of his worn t-shirt. There was one just on the underside of his jaw, too.

Remus looked away, out the window at the fairly empty lot. “Hopefully we’ll get in.”

“Hopefully I don’t get mobbed, you mean.”

“That, too.” Remus conceded.

Sirius withdrew his hand from the seat but kept only one hand on the wheel, relaxed. “Busy day, huh? Excited for New York?”

“Always,” Remus said. “And that busy day is partly your fault.”

Sirius glanced at him for a second, then back at the road. “My fault?”

“You’re the one who needs your left skate to be sharpened first and from back to front. Sort of breaks up the process when you have to think about it.”

Sirius scoffed, but it took him one glance at Remus to realize he was laughing and he gave Remus a little shove in his passenger seat. “Fuck off.”

Remus felt warm from Sirius’ hand, “Your superstitions are ridiculous.”

Sirius flicked his blinker on with a little more flourish than necessary. “Excuse me, my superstitions work, thank you very much.”

“You mean you work. See, that’s the part I’ve never quite understood.”

“What part?”

Remus looked at Sirius—he might as well get an eyeful in while he had to be focused on the road. “Hockey’s so focused on superstitions. But it’s all you guys. You work hard, I watch you work hard everyday.”

Sirius nodded slowly, seemingly mulling it over in his mind. “Yeah,” he said, “but…it’s a little magic, too, don’t you think? The chemistry…the team chemistry, or the relationship to—I don’t know, luck. Lucky stick, lucky order, lucky way of taping. It’s all it is, really. I just—I’m just looking for a bit of luck. A lucky charm.”

“Nothing can be perfect. Not even honey and butter toast at 5:00 o’clock sharp.”

Sirius smiled, rolling his eyes a little, and Remus watched the way his eyes brightened, how he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Maybe. But it feels nice to have something constant when nothing else is.” He looked over at Remus and held his eye for a second. Remus felt a little bit caught. “You know?”

Remus watched Sirius pull his bottom lip between his teeth as he looked back to the road, taking the left for Sid’s parking lot. His chest felt tight.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, alright. I’ll buy that.”

“Some guys wait a lifetime for their lucky charm, you know.”

Remus laughed. “Yeah, I’ve seen Leo and his lucky tennis balls. Yours will probably a lucky—I don’t know, brand of peanut butter. Let me know when you find it, alright?”

“Oh, I will.”

Sirius sent him a look as he pulled the car into park. A big smile and then ducked away, out of the car, and Remus was left staring at an empty seat before he got out, too.

Sid’s was crowded, as they expected, but the guy manning the front desks’ eyes went wide when he saw Sirius and they were ushered to a table in the back before too many Gryffindorians could realize who was among them. Remus was grateful for the privacy and the dim lighting. Now, if he made a fool of himself, no one would be around to watch and Sirius wouldn’t be able to quite catch the way his cheeks flamed.

“I could eat three pepperoni pizzas.” Sirius groaned as they sat down, gazing at the menu.

“I don’t really recommend that, but whatever floats your boat.”

Sirius scrunched his nose. “That will definitely sink my boat tomorrow.”

Remus shrugged, and picked out a small ham and pineapple pizza for himself. Sirius scoffed when he asked what Remus was getting.

“Dégueu.”

“It’s not gross!” Remus protested. “Have you ever actually tried it?”

Sirius sank guiltily in his seat, eyes innocent.

Remus flicked a straw at him from the canister at the table. He didn’t know what made him do it and he regretted it almost instantly. It felt—well, flirty.

Sirius’ eyes, however, lit up. He threw two back. Of course he did.

Once their pizzas arrived, Sid’s was in full swing and they had to lean in close over their food to hear each other. Sirius did the funny thing where he folded his pizza in half to eat it and he now had a little speck of grease below his lip. Remus was still deciding what to do about it.

“The guys really didn’t want to come?” Remus asked, just for something to say.

Sirius paused for a second, mid-chew, then wiped his mouth with his napkin. The small speck of grease was still there. Remus shifted in his seat.

“I guess not. The game tomorrow, maybe. Besides, sometimes small dinners are nice, eh?”

Remus nodded. “No, yeah. Yeah. This is—This is nice.”

Sirius smiled a little. “Good. I’m glad.”

Remus finally gave in. “Um. You have—” he motioned to Sirius’ mouth.

Sirius’ rolled his eyes a little, playfully at himself, and wiped his mouth. “Better?”

“Not quite.” Remus’ hand itched.

“Now?”

“No, um. It’s just—here, I…” He started to reach forward before he could really think about it.

And Sirius jolted back.

They stared at each other, Remus’ hand slowly lowering back to his lap.

Remus didn’t want to think about that, what all of that might mean, and so he touched his own lip instead and said quietly, “here,” then he nodded and looked down at his pizza, busying himself with tearing a new slice, “yeah, you got it.”

“Remus.”

“Hm?”

When Remus looked up Sirius’ eyes were sad, even a little panicked.

“What’s wrong?” Remus asked, trying his best to sound like he couldn’t fathom that anything from the last minute could have upset either of them. It sat heavy in his stomach.

“Just…pictures.” Sirius said, “Not—It’s just that anything can be taken out of context, and…”

Remus nodded. He knew that already. He knew what it could look like, especially with the scrutiny Sirius was constantly under by the public eye. Especially now, at the start of the season.

“Yeah, all good, Pads.”

But Sirius still looked incredibly guilty, his eyes pleading for something that Remus couldn’t name. That Remus thought it wasn’t really fair of Sirius to ask him to be able to name.

When Sirius just kept looking at him, Remus rolled his eyes. “Sirius, it’s fine. I know what you mean. It isn’t a big deal.”

“It’s not?” Sirius asked. His expression had turned careful, questioning.

Remus shook his head and bit into his pizza slice, mostly so he didn’t have to answer. He wished he had never done anything at all. He shouldn’t even have agreed to come to dinner. Remus had feelings, Sirius didn’t. Remus was gay, there were no openly gay players in the NHL, and that was probably because being the first one would be so difficult. Sirius wasn’t, anyway, but even if he was, Remus had taught himself not to hope for anything a long time ago.

The rest of the dinner was a little weird, stilted, maybe, and Remus was reluctant to get out of Sirius’ car, which had just pulled up at his curb, on such a note. Sirius seemed reluctant to let him, and turned his entire body towards Remus.

“Look. I know I keep bringing it up, but, about the—the thing. It’s not that I have a problem with anything like that. I don’t. I really, really don’t. Whoever loves whoever, I’m for it.”

“I didn’t think you did,” Remus replied, trying to steady his breathing. This was getting a little too close for comfort.

“I wouldn’t want you thinking that about me. I’m not my parents.”

Remus looked back at him. His face was lit blue from the dashboard in the dark. His eyes took on the color and looked strange and earnest. Remus wanted to reach out, but he didn’t know when he’d next have the courage—not for a while. “Sirius, I don’t know your parents. I know you. I know you aren’t like that.”

It was true. But Remus still couldn’t bring himself to say more. To say that he would be Sirius’, if he ever, in some universe, this one or otherwise, wanted that.

The car got silent again, but Remus didn’t look away. If there was anything he could give Sirius, if not himself, it was reassurance and friendship.

Sirius let out a long breath, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes. “I’m sorry I ruined dinner.”

“You’d be stupid if you weren’t jumpy about cameras. It sucks but it’s part of who you chose to be. I get it, really. Please don’t worry.” Remus tried to offer him a little smile. “It wasn’t—It wasn’t even like that anyway, so it’s not like you hurt my feelings or anything.”

It was a lie, straight through his fucking teeth, but it had to be said. But, contrary to what he expected, Remus watched as Sirius’ shoulders stiffened.

There was a hanging moment where Remus held his breath, sure Sirius was about to say something—something—

“Ten tomorrow?” Sirius straightened, chewing on his bottom lip. “Do you need a ride?”

Remus felt like there was no air left for him in the car and he cracked the door, slipping out onto the sidewalk. “Moody’s got me.”

Sirius nodded, “Okay.”

“Okay.”

Sirius smiled, tight around the eyes, and Remus had no clue how to fix anything. “Night, Re.”

Sirius drove away slowly, like he was looking back at Remus in his mirror, rather than the road.

“Night,” Remus said to the street.

Remus felt like he was nearly going to fall asleep in the elevator of their New York hotel. It was three in the morning, the Lions had lost 4-0 to the Rangers and Remus had only just finished helping the equipment staff re-load all the Lions gear back into the trucks, ready to be flown out in the morning with the rest of the team. It had been a tough game. They’d had to swap Leo in for Kasey in goal during the first period. It turned out Kasey had hurt his thigh again in practice and he was day-to-day. And Leo, in his first NHL game, had let four goals in while Henrik Lundqvist had gotten a shut out.

Remus had seen Sirius earlier in the locker room talking to him quietly, but tonight was bound to sting for a bit for all of them. After a blinding start to the season, it never felt good to fall so far.

The door dinged, but it took Remus a minute to open his eyes.

“Loops! Asleep in the elevator! Alert! Alert!”

“James—shh! Jesus fucking Christ.”

Remus snapped his eyes open to see James, Kasey, and Sirius standing there, all with what looked like m&ms and potato chips in their hands. James was grinning, Kasey was yawning and favoring his good leg, and Sirius was looking down.

Sirius hadn’t really looked straight at Remus since that night at Sid’s pizza a few days ago.

“What are you guys doing up? It’s three in the fucking morning.”

“Day off tomorrow. Just a plane ride, we can sleep then. Plus…”

James didn’t say it, but Remus nodded, knowing what he meant. It was hard to sleep after a loss. Remus could remember that from college.

“Right, well,” Remus caught the slowly closing door, “get in or take the stairs, I’m exhausted.”

They were all going to the team’s floor and Remus let himself settle against one side of the elevator while the others talked. He looked up and met Sirius’ eyes, who was leaning against the other wall while James and Kasey argued loudly, echoing in the small space. Sirius didn’t look away, but didn’t really smile either. Remus raised an eyebrow, and Sirius tilting his head.

“What?” Remus mouthed silently.

Sirius shrugged one shoulder, then waved one hand, just a little, so the others wouldn’t see.

Remus’ brow furrowed, but he waved back. Then Sirius looked away.

Fuck. Remus just wanted to go to bed.

“Night, boys,” he said when the doors opened and they all stopped at James’ door.

There was a chorus of good nights and Remus was just sliding his key card into the door when there was a hand on his shoulder. He turned into it, and Sirius was there, looming over him.

“I—hi?” Remus said.

“Hi,” Sirius looked back down at the hall where the door to James’ room had just closed behind the others, then back at Remus, “Do you—Do you want company? Or—Or you’re going to bed. You’re going to bed.”

Remus studied Sirius’ face carefully. He had said that, if Sirius needed him, he’d be here, and Remus couldn’t deny that there were few things he wanted more in life than to be there for Sirius, no matter what he had done or assumed. And Sirius obviously needed something, or at least felt like something was unresolved between them. Maybe if Remus let him in, he would finally drop it and they could go back to how it was. A little distant, but friendly. That, at least, was better than this.

Remus motioned him in with a jerk of his chin, “Come on. We’ll watch something, get you wound down. Give me those skittles if I’m going to stay awake.”

Sirius handed them over readily, like they were his ticket inside Remus’ room, and shut the door behind them.

“I’m going to take a quick shower, if you don’t mind,” Remus said, already walking towards the bathroom, “Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thanks,” Sirius said faintly.

Remus shot him a smile that he hoped was comforting before shutting the bathroom door. He let out a long breath and started the water before stripping. Having Sirius Black waiting for him on a bed would get him moving quick enough, not that he took very long showers to begin with. This was like some strange fantasy of his come to life—except, well, they wouldn’t be…

Remus huffed and stepped under the spray, grabbing for the shampoo bottle.

He realized only he was towel drying his hair that he hadn’t thought to bring an extra set of clothes into the bathroom with him and froze mid-rub, looking at himself in the mirror, wide-eyed.

“Fuck,” he said quietly, and turned to stare at the door. He could faintly hear the TV.

He wrapped the towel around his waist, making sure it was secure before opening the door. It wasn’t anything Sirius hadn’t seen before. Naked guys, that is, not Remus naked.

“Hey, sorry, forgot to get clothes before…yeah.”

Sirius had kicked his shoes off and was stretched out on the bed. He’d piled the pillows behind him and his shirt was hitched up on one side. Remus could see his flat, toned stomach. Sirius’ eyes found Remus in the dim room. His face was all soft angles in the flickering light from the TV. Sirius licked his lips, and then looked away. “s’okay.”

He still sounded unbearably sad and as Remus turned away he frowned, mentally planning his words instead of focusing on the fact that he was currently about to drop his towel and reveal his bare ass to Sirius Black, captain of the Gryffindor Lions.

He did it quickly, boxers at the ready, and soon he was in his sweatpants and pulling a sweatshirt over his head. He hesitated at the edge of the bed, and Sirius looked up at him.

“What?” Sirius asked. His voice sounded sleepy and content, much better than it had in the hall, tight and strained.

“Nothing,” Remus cleared his throat, then knelt on the bed, “You’re hogging the pillows.” He reached and tugged two out from Sirius’ mass.

It startled a small laugh out of Sirius, “Oh, sorry.”

Remus arranged the pillows to his liking, careful not to get too close to Sirius. “What are you watching?” he asked with a sigh as he flopped onto his back, “Fuck, that feels good.”

Sirius shrugged, “Just turned it on. You okay?”

“Yeah, just lots of loading and unloading today. My back is tired.”

Sirius hummed. “You guys work hard.”

Remus looked over at him. “So do you, just at different times.”

Sirius was flipping his phone idly in his hand. “Just giving you the credit you deserve.”

Remus smiled a little. “Yeah, I know.”

Sirius missed and dropped his phone on his chest with a little oof and it turned into a heavy sigh.

“Okay?” Remus asked quietly. He didn’t want to push too hard, but…

Sirius sighed. “I should be okay.”

“But you aren’t.”

“It’s one game.” Sirius let his head fall back and stared up at the ceiling. “It’s the beginning of the fucking season everything is fine.”

Sirius turned his head. Part of his cheek was smushed against the pillow and his eyes were somber on Remus. “And I shouldn’t even be dumping this on you. You’re tired, and this isn’t even a real problem, and I’m just—I’m being stupid and I can do better.”

“That’s not how it works.”

Sirius closed his eyes and sighed again. “I know that.”

“You have a team, Sirius.” Remus said gently, “It’s not just you.”

“I know.” Sirius’ voice was even softer this time and, looking at him, eyes closed, brow drawn together…

Remus wanted to kiss him. So much.

“I think you need to get some sleep.”

Sirius’ eyes opened tiredly at Remus’ words, his blinks slow, and he nodded. “I’ll just lay there. I hate just laying there, in the dark.”

Remus’ heart pulled as the words brought to mind a much younger Sirius, with no escape from the pressure, laying in a smaller bed staring up into the dark.

Remus picked up the remote and flipped until he found a cooking show. Mindless, comforting.

“Well watch a bit, eh? Take your mind off of some of it. I’m just warning you, I might fall asleep. But…I’ll be here. If you need me. Just wake me up, I don’t care.” I care too much.

Sirius’ eyebrows were still low and worried, but he was looking at Remus with something like disbelief. “Thanks, Loops.”

Remus nodded and kicked back against the pillows, the bed jostling as Sirius did the same. They ended up with their shoulders brushing despite the size of the bed. Remus didn’t know why, but from this distance he could feel Sirius’ warmth. It wasn’t just another weight in the bed, it was a person, close by. It was Sirius’ even breathing, the sound of him fiddling with the draw strings of his sweatshirt.

Remus wasn’t sure when his eyes closed, but with the soft sound of the TV and Sirius beside him, he’d never fallen asleep faster.

#sweater weather #sirius black #remus lupin #sirius x remus #remus x sirius #hockey!au #hockey player!sirius #the marauders era #sirius/remus #remus/sirius #wolfstar #wolfstar fic #wolfstar fanfiction #lumosinlove #writing #wolfstar fluff #wofstar angst #wolfstar au

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ashsblurbs · 4 years

Text

When you thought you found your happiness

*Not my gif*

“Not many people know or have seen Tony Stark in many years. The old playboy disappeared after his parents died from a car accident when he was only twenty-one. After that, he took over the family business and vanished. Rumors have it he ran off to Malibu and married one of his floozies. Others say he died with his parents and someone else has been covering as him. No one will ever know the truth. Not even the ones closest to him.”

After showing the most recent photo the world could fine of Tony Stark, the screen went black leaving Steve alone in a room full of silence. He and Tony weren’t so much different, he thought. Steve had disappeared without a trace nearly seventy years ago but that wasn’t his choice. Tony chose to run away. Steve had no right to judge Tony. He had never met him or knew him. He did know his father many years ago. All the information Steve had at the palm of his hands were the few videos and some files that director Fury had given to him once he woke up. The files told him nothing like usual. He was on his own in this new modern world. Steve looked over at the clock that was in his room and knew his keepers would come in shortly and bring him to meet his new teammates. Steve took a deep breath and sigh. He was happy to be alive. He really was but sometimes he just wished they would put him back in the ice.

“There was an idea to put together a team of special human beings to protect us against horrors we couldn’t imagine. This is why all of you are here.” Nick Fury walked out of the shadows. Steve remembered him since he was the first person he met once he woke up. He looked around the table trying to put names to faces that he recognized from his many files.

“This is Natasha Romanoff. She is a shield agent and ex-soviet spy. I wouldn’t mess with her if I was you. Next to her is Clint Barton. He is also an agent of shield and is skilled with a bow and arrow. Then we have Bruce Banner. He’s skilled in radiation and is also the Hulk. Lastly, we have Thor. The disgraced prince of Asgard.” Steve stared at the group feeling intimidated, feeling unworthy of being here. He might have super-soldier serum in him, but he was still just a kid from Brooklyn.

“Umm, you forgot two other members of your team.” Steve whipped his head around and found the lost man of the world standing in front of him. TONY STARK. He walked into the room with boldness around him. He commanded the room and all eyes were on him, especially Steve’s. Tony was gorgeous and the photos Steve were given couldn’t compare to what he was seeing right in front of him. He needed to talk to him. He wanted to know everything about him.

“It’s nice for you to join us, Stark.” Fury gestured for Tony to grab a seat but he stayed standing. Instead Tony moved over to one of the computers to analyze it.

“I thought you were dead,” Clint spoke up. This just made Tony laugh. “Nope, just been busy making the world a better place. If everyone here could pretend, I wasn’t here that would be great. I love the outlandish tale of me being missing.”

“Why are you here? You aren’t special.” Natasha said. Tony glared at her but turned back at the group where he finally laid his eyes on Steve’s beautiful blues. Tony sucked in a breath not wanting to lose his composure but the man that was looking back at him was his teenage dream. He was alive which Tony knew that. He was the one that pulled him out of the ice after all.

Steve notice Tony was staring at him. Steve stared back giving him a blank stare not wanting any more attention to be drawn on him. Tony gave him a half-smile and then turned back to look at the whole group. There was a flutter in his chest. For the first time since he woke up, he felt like everything would be okay and hadn’t had a clue why.

“You didn’t answer my question, Tony.” Tony shifted his focus towards Natasha.

“Well, I’m a billionaire so, I am going to fund this team. Welcome to the Avengers.” Tony turned around and left everyone awestruck. Steve jumped up after him wanting to get some answers to the many questions he had. Maybe he just wanted a chance to get up close and personal with the mystery of a man. It turned out Tony was faster than he ever thought.

“Hey, Mr. Stark, do you have some time to talk.” Tony whipped around and found Steve jogging towards him. Tony stopped in his tracks and took in the sights.

“Oh, don’t call me Mr. Stark that was my father which I heard you knew. Just call me Tony.” Tony flashed him a smile and took off his glasses. He doesn’t do this for many people, but Steve was different for some reason. Maybe it was because Steve was Captain America and Captain America was a symbol, he saw all throughout his life. He even had a poster on his wall of him. That made his cheeks turn slightly red. “What do you want to talk about, Cap? We can walk and talk.” Steve nodded and followed along. Tony must be a very busy man Steve thought.

“Where have you been all of these years?” Tony raised an eyebrow at him and pierced his lips.

“I should ask you the same thing, Cap.” Steve paused.

“I was taking a nap for several years but I’m back.” This just made Tony laughed.

“Well, you can say the same about me.” A comfortable silence fell over them as they continued to walk towards the exist. Steve had several more things he wanted to ask like why was he doing this and how was his dad? Before he could an alarm went off making both of them freeze.

“Hey, Captain, we need you on one of the planes now. We found a disturbance in south Germany. This is right up your ally.” Steve ran to join Natasha but paused to turn to Tony.

“Sorry, to cut this short. It was nice to meet you, Tony.”

“It was nice to meet you too Steve. Now go.” Steve ran to suit up and fight whatever threat they were about to run into. When he was suited up, he felt like he was somebody important and not the dead guy they found alive.

“You puny humans will always fail. I just think it's funny that seventy years ago at this exact spot a man stood over you demanding allegiance and now you have another one.” The red skull stood over the crowd.

“Hydra didn’t win the first time and we won’t let you now.” This made him laugh.

“Hydra will rule the world. Hail hydra!”

“Hail this” Steve dropped down from the aircraft leading a swift kick to the jaw of Red Skull.

“Captain America. I thought you died many years ago.”

“I could say the same about you.” Red skull blasted at Steve which he blocked with his shield.

They fought for several minutes each getting equal punches in until Red skull knocked his shield out of his hands leaving him defensive. The Red Skull wrapped an arm around his neck resulting in his airway to be cut off. Right when he was about to find a way to escape, Red skull was blasted releasing Steve. Steve looked up to find a red-figure flying above him. He really thought he had seen everything, but he guessed not. The red robot secured Red skull in cuffs and started to walk him towards the plane.

“Thank you, um.”

“Iron man. I am a friend of Tony Stark’s and is the last avenger. It is nice to meet you Captain America” As they kept walking up the ramp, someone fired a shot, hitting Steve in the back making him collapse on the ground leading him to fall paralyze. “Captain, are you okay.” Iron man released Red skull and bent down to carry Steve in and placed him down on the cot that Natasha pulled out.

“Ha,ha,ha! I will see you again Captain and we can finish this fight once and for all.”

Steve slowly opened his eyes to reveal a glaring light covering the room and a figure standing in the doorway. He blinked a couple more times and he noticed it was Tony. “What are you doing here?”

Tony shrugged and walked in farther into the room. “I heard from a friend of mine that you go hurt. Came to check on you.” Steve smiled weakly.

“Hey, tell your friend thank you. If it wasn’t for him, I probably would have been gone for real this time.” Tony stared at him. He looked so broken with bruises all over his face and IVs coming out of his left arm. He knew he would heal by tomorrow because of his super healing abilities but that didn’t make him not worry. Why did he care, he really didn’t know?

“I will when I see him. Now get better.” Tony turned around to walk away. There was no reason for him to still be there.

“Wait.” Tony stopped and turned around and saw Steve looking so small. “Will you stay? I don’t have anyone else.” Tony grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed.

“I don’t have anyone either. I will stay until you kick me out.” Steve rolled his head over very slowly and looked at Tony. He smiled and then closed his eyes where he fell asleep once again. Tony picked up Steve's hand. He ran his fingers along the bruises on his knuckles. Then he saw a scar that ran up his arm. It was not new because if it was it wouldn't be there. Steve would never have new scars because of the serum. He traced the scar till it disappeared into his sleeve. Who was Steve Rogers before Captain America, Tony thought?

Days and weeks went by. Steve and the rest of the Avengers went on missions fighting bad guys and trying to catch Red Skull after he got away the first time. He went underground and there wasn’t a trace of him since. While Captain America was fighting crime, Steve Rogers was finding a friend in Tony Stark. Every night they would get together and have dinner and maybe watch a movie. It was nice to finally find someone that didn’t look at him as this man out of time but just Steve.

Tony had asked the team to come to stay in his tower. It was supposed to be a base for the team but for Steve, it was a home. Steve was in his room currently drying off from showering. He looked around and found how it fit perfectly for him. It wasn’t too modernizing even though Tony wanted to. He had a photo of the last people that were in his life before he was frozen. One with the Hollowing Commandos, one with Peggy Carter and one with his best friend Bucky Barnes. He picked up the photo, staring at how happy Bucky looked instead of in his nightmares he heard Bucky’s screams. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks missing his brother.

“Hey, Steve.” Steve turned around when he heard the knock on the door. He wiped his face quickly and opened the door to find Tony on the other side looking very, Tony. The real Tony with one of his band shirts on and his grease-stained jeans. Tony froze in the doorway seeing what was placed in front of him. “Is this how you answer the door for everyone?” Steve started to blush. He looked down and he realized he was just standing in his towel.

“Oh, I’m sorry let me just put something on really quick.” He closed the door slowly, but Tony stopped not wanting to lose the view. Tony reached out, placing a gentle hand on Steve’s chest.

“Wait, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to a little diner in Brooklyn.” Steve’s voice was caught in his throat. All he could think about was the heat that was rolling off of Tony’s body and the light touch of his hand sending shivers through his body. Steve grabbed hold of Tony’s hand and pulled him in closer wrapping him into his embrace. Every bad thought went through his head and he wanted to do all of it. “Yeah, I would love too. Say I pick you up around eight.” Steve pushed Tony back out of the room without another word leaving Tony breathless.

Tony leaned against the wall trying to catch his breath. He was trying to be his cool self, his playboy self but Steve brought out something totally different out of him. Tony wanted to be a good guy. Tony wanted to be the man Steve needed and the person he always wanted to be. For the first time, he felt like he could be that guy. Tony turned back to the door to knock on it one more time when the villain alert went off. Steve swung the door open already dressed in his uniform and strapping his shield to his back.

“Oh, Tony, you’re still here?” Steve gave him a perplexed look. What was Tony doing?

“I was just leaving but good luck on your mission. Don’t die.” Tony chuckled but then awkwardness fell between the two. “I will try not to.” Steve ran ahead of him while he made his way down to his lab so he could suit up himself.

“Okay, Iron Man shoot that pipe over there and then I will deflect the water. Hopefully, this will put out the fire. While Thor and Hulk take down those aliens over on third and fourth street. Romanoff and Barton help get the civilians to safety.” Iron man did as told and this allowed them to save thousands of people.

“Nice job, Captain. We make a good team, you and I.” Steve stood next to Ironman taking in the scenery of what they did together. They really were a good team.

“Yeah, we do, but do you think you guys could clean up. I have a date in a few hours. Well it’s not actually a date because the person I’m meeting didn’t say it was a date, but they did say we were going to a diner in my hometown, so it is a date right.” Steve frantically looked around with nervousness boiling up. Oh God, did he just overthink what this night was supposed to be. Iron man clapped a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“I have a feeling that this night might be pretty special. Just don’t overthink it and be yourself.” Steve smiled feeling a little bit better. “Thank you, I really needed that. Well, I got to bounce. Have a goodnight, Iron Man.”

Tony through every item of clothing he owned out onto his floor since he couldn’t find anything that would be worthy for Steve to see him in. Ever since he found out that he could be going on a date with Steve, he just wanted everything to be perfect.

Steve tightened his tie and brushed his bangs to the side. He sprayed some colon on his wrist and grabbed the roses he picked up from the shop across from the tower. His nervousness was making him vibrate with excitement. He hadn’t liked someone this much in a long time and no one had liked him either. Tony was such a wonderful man that made him laugh and understood what was going on in his life. It was hard to find someone that shared the same life experiences and surprisingly him and Tony had.

Tony stared at his reflection of a broken man. Was he really going to do this? He stood with the nicest but also not so fancy outfit he owned on. Just a plain long sleeve black shirt with dark pants but he was Tony Stark after all so he through on a bright red jacket with it. He erased all of the negative thoughts that were popping into his head and just thought about how nervous but excited Steve was when he told a friend of his about his date. Tony looked down and saw that it was ten minutes past eight. Steve was late but then there was a knock at the door. He opened up to find a very handsome looking Steve Rogers staring at him with roses.

“I’m sorry, I’m late. I was fussing with my hair and then I almost forgot mine,” Tony took the roses out of Steve’s hands and placed them on his dresser. He pulled Steve in by the base of his collar and closed the door. Tony pressed a hard kiss to his mouth. The diner could wait another night they had other plans. The two men furiously removed their jackets off of one of another. Steve ran his hands through Tony’s hair, down his shoulder blades, then to the hem of his shirt lifting it over his head and discarding it off to the side. Tony started working on Steve’s belt buckle while he loosened his tie, wrapping it around Tony’s wrist. He pulled them tighter together and walked Tony back where he fell back onto the bed. There was a burning desire flashing over Steve’s eyes and there was a burning desire between Tony’s thighs.

Steve ripped the rest of his own clothing off leaving only his underwear. Tony could see Steve growing harder and he would be lying to himself if he didn’t say he wasn’t either. Steve pulled Tony’s still bound wrist above his head and pulled himself on top of him. Steve slowly started placing gentle kisses along Tony's jaw and down his body until he stopped at the top of his pants. Slowly he undid the buttons which just made Tony want him more. He pulled his pants down gently placing soft kisses on the inside of his thighs until finally, they were both just in their underwear. Steve laced his fingers on the inside of his boxers getting ready to take away the last piece of clothing that would leave Tony not completely naked but then he stopped.

“Do you want this Tony? Because I do” Tony let out a soft moan.

“Do your worst to me, Captain.” That was when all bets were off. Steve ripped Tony’s very expensive boxers off. There was no salvaging them.

Steve pulled Tony in closer loving the feeling of how he fit perfectly in his arms. He looked down and found Tony had fallen asleep. He looked like an angel. Steve ran his fingers through his hair taking in the memories they just shared. He never wanted this to end.

“Hey, Tony, want to go to that diner another night.” Tony stirred in his arms and looked up at him with sleepy eyes.

“Yeah, but I’m still hungry. We could get carried out.” Steve placed a kiss to the top of his head and moved to put some clothes on. “No, come back. I need snuggles.” Steve chuckled and grabbed one of his old shirts, through it over to Tony, and a pair of his shorts.

“Here put these on and follow me. I’m going to cook for you. How does pancakes sound?” Tony jumped up and wrapped his arms around Steve’s waist leaning against him.

“With chocolate chips.” Steve spun him around giving him a kiss. “Yes, chocolate chips. Anything for my baby.”

“My baby?” Steve paused looking at Tony. He was worried he had said something wrong.

“Should I have not called you that.” Tony leaned in closer taking in the warmth and scent of Steve. Steve, the man he would allow to have his whole heart as no one else had ever had before.

“No, I love it. I love being yours. You are mine too.”

Tony was in his lab tinkering away on his new invention. Tony stopped and looked at his phone to see he had a message from Steve saying he would be late tonight, but he promised they could still watch the movie they had planned. Tony replied and the swiped away the notification to look at his screen saver. It was of Steve. He was smiling with ice-cream in hand. This was their fourth or fifth date Tony thought. He really didn’t know.

“You’re going to break his heart, Stark.” Tony looked up to spot Nick Fury standing in his doorway giving him a stern look.

“What are you talking about Nick?” Tony turned off his phone and turned his back away from him.

“You know what I’m talking about. You haven’t told him yet have you.”

“Told who what.”

Nick came closer and slammed his hands down onto his desk. “You know what I’m talking about! You haven’t told Steve you are Iron Man. What’s going to happen when he finds out or worst you die in battle in that suit.” Tony turned around with fiery in his eyes.

“You don’t know what you are talking about. Steve is safer knowing nothing and for your information, tomorrow’s mission will be Iron Man’s last anyways. Steve will never know and then we can start living a normal life.” Nick just laughed.

“For someone that is so smart. You really are stupid Stark.” Nick turn and walked out of the lab leaving Tony feeling hollow. He was doing the right thing. It would kill Steve if he knew the truth. He wouldn’t be focus on the battlefield but be focused on worrying about keeping Tony safe. He knew he was right because that was why tomorrow would be his last mission. It was easier not to be there when Steve took a shot every time or he went down and didn’t get back up right away. He clicked back on his phone to look at Steve’s face once again. It would kill him if he knew he did anything to dim his beautiful smile. Tony laid his head in his hands and let all of his emotions flow. Tears streamed down his face. He was finally happy and why did it feel like it was about to be ripped away from him.

Tony finished suiting up placing his helmet on for his last mission as Iron Man. The last time fighting alongside Captain America. After this, he will be able to come home and be with his Steve as Tony. His hands shook. He closed his eyes and just breathed in. His life was about to change.

The team walked off the plane looking around at the ruble of Sokovia that was leftover. The place was eerie quiet as if there was no one here.

“Iron Man can you do a scan to see if there is anyone here. It seems we might be in the wrong place.” Iron Man did as ask of him, but nothing was detected. “Sorry Captain but no one is here. It’s like everyone has vanished. We may be too late.” He may have spoken too soon when several hydra agents appeared out of thin air. They attacked the Avengers from all angles.

“Hey, Cap, you have incoming from the west. Three of them.” Steve turned around to see them coming to him. He through his shield knocking each one out.

“Captain America we meet again.” Steve whirled around to spot Red Skull holding a Hydra weapon pointing straight at him.

“You are going down this time. You will not succeed with your plan.” Red Skull shot at him and he deflected it which just made Red Skull laugh harder.

“Here’s the thing Captain. I already have. Do you see how this town is left in ruins? Well, I’m going to do the same for your precious home. New York will be laid in shambles and you can’t do anything about it. The bomb will be there in thirty minutes” Steve stood paralyzed by the Red Skull’s words.

“Cap, come in Captain.” Steve turn on the coms to answer Iron Man. “There is a bomb coming towards New York in thirty minutes. What are we going to do?”

“I got this. I will fly it back this way and into the sky. You take care of Red Skull.” Iron Man flew away like a rocket. Steve stared up at the sky watching him go.

“Iron Man that is a one-way ticket.” “I know.” Steve through his shield knocking Red Skull down. Then he kicked and punched with no control. He saw the blood run down his face with each hit. He raised his shield above his head to make the final blow when he heard crackling coming from his earpiece.

“Hey, Captain.” Steve stopped recognizing that voice.

“Tony! What are you doing?”

“Steve, just listen to me. I want to say you were the best thing in my life and you made my life complete. I could never imagine finding the one person that completed me. You make me so happy. From the moments the sun comes up to when the sun goes down. I was so alone for so many years not wanting the world to see the real me but then you came along and changed all of that. You are my one. My only one. I love you and I will always love you, Steve Rogers.” Steve’s heart was pounding in his chest. What was Tony talking about? What was he doing?

“Tony, sweetheart, I love you too but why now. What are you doing?” The comms went dead. “Tony! Tony, answer me!” Steve ripped off his cowl and turned to Red Skull with determination. “What did you do?”

“I did nothing to your precious Tony.”

“Liar!” Out of rage and anger, Steve slammed his shield into his chest causing Red Skull to sputter his breathing and blood leaked out of his mouth. His eyes went glassy. This was the last time they would have to ever deal with Red Skull.

Steve turned back around at the sky to see Iron Man fly the missile in the sky. He disappeared. Steve thought he was gone. Then he looked up and saw a red object falling fast. “Thor catch him. Now!”

Thor laid him down to the ground and Steve ran over to see the light on his chest flicker. It was dim. Steve ran his hand along his chest and then he ripped off the faceplate to find the one face he didn’t want to see.

“Tony” he whispered. Steve lean closer to find he wasn’t breathing. Steve pulled him into his arms rocking him back and forth. “No, Tony, it can’t be you.” Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Get this off of him now,” he screamed. Thor came over and pulled the armor off. Steve picked Tony up in his arms and carried him onto the plane never letting him go. Steve didn’t know the last time he would see Tony was this morning. The last time to talk to him was over the comms. He didn’t even get to say goodbye.

“Steve, you need to place Tony on the stretcher.” Steve held him tighter.

“No! I wasn’t there to protect him and now he is dead. Get away from us!”

Steve carried Tony’s casket slowly down the aisle. He slowly lowered it down in the ground. He through several photos of them along with it. “Goodbye, my sweetheart. Goodbye, my hero.” Steve blew a kiss and walked away.

“We have lost a hero and I lost the love of my life. Tony Stark was a very private man and didn’t share many things to the public eye but the one thing he did share was his courageousness. His bravery and his brains. Tony Stark was Iron Man. They were one and the same. So, please let us remember him of the man he was.”

Steve left the press conference and went to Tony’s gravestone to say his final goodbye. “Hello, darling. I miss you every day. I didn’t get to tell you goodbye. I didn’t get to tell you that you made me feel like me again. I found myself again in a world I wasn’t supposed to belong. You made me happy and you made me laugh. I wanted to live my life with you, and I might not get to, but I get to have the memories. I love you, Tony.” Steve leaned down and kissed the tombstone. Running his fingers along the engravings. He placed his shield in front of it showing Tony he would be there to protect him forever. “Rest in Peace, Iron Man. I will see you forever, Tony.”

#stony #stevetony #superhusbands #ash's blurbs

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losingmymindtonight · 5 years

Text

Trope: Sleepy

There were a lot of perks that came with being a billionaire, but the ones Tony Stark ended up appreciating the most were nearly always the things other people wouldn’t even consider.

Sure, he liked being able to leave large tips on small checks. He liked being able to buy clothes without checking the price tag. He liked knowing that no matter what college Peter chose, the tuition wouldn’t be an issue.

But the thing that he was grateful for now was the fact that since the MedBay was his, and because he employed everyone in it, he got a lot more leeway that he would’ve in a general hospital.

For one, he’d been able to hire the best pediatric dental surgeon in the country to do Peter’s wisdom teeth surgery. He’d also been able to demand that Helen Cho worked beside him. She was partly there to advise him on Peter’s enhancements, and partly there because there were very few people Tony trusted with Peter’s safety, and she was one of them.

He was also allowed to stay right beside Peter as they prepped him for the surgery, and had Helen’s distinct promise that she’d fetch him the second they were done. He could’ve stayed for the whole procedure, even, but Peter had scrunched up his face at the suggestion, murmured a lazy ew, and made Helen promise to kick Tony out before they started.

Now, though, as Cho and the anesthesiologist bustled around his hospital bed, Tony could see that the kid was shamelessly grateful for his steady presence at his side.

“Are you even sure I need the IV?” Peter asked, eyes darting between the elastic tourniquet the anesthesiologist was fastening around his bicep and the needle on the tray beside her. “Can’t you just, I don’t know, wack me over the head?”

Tony snorted. “You’ve got a thick head, kid. Wouldn’t work.”

Cho joined in his amusement, patting Peter’s other arm gently. “It’ll be alright, Peter. I even brought out the numbing cream we usually use with little kids. You don’t feel a thing.”

Peter cringed away when he saw the anesthesiologist prep the needle, and Tony gently tipped his chin up and away, forcing the kid’s gaze onto his face rather than the imminent poke to the back of his hand.

“Why is it,” Peter murmured, “that the older we get, the more pain people think we’re cool to tolerate? Like, shouldn’t everyone get the numbing cream? Is suffering, like, a right of passage or something? I don’t get it.”

“Hm.” Tony entertained the rambling partly because he adored the kid, and partly because it was a fantastic distraction. “You make a solid argument, squirt. Maybe you should grow up and be a doctor like Cho, here.”

“Technically, Tony, I’m a geneticist.”

“You’re also a doctor.”

“In my spare time.”

Peter gave her a lopsided smile, Tony’s hand still pressed against the side of his face. “Well, I think you’re a great doctor.”

Cho smiled back. “That’s just because I stitch you back together again after you’ve done doing something foolhardy.”

“Isn’t that a valid reason?”

“All done!” The anesthesiologist declared, taping down the kid’s cannula. “Everyone ready to get started?”

Peter started twitching nervously. Even when Tony let go of his chin, his eyes stayed locked on his face. “I, uh, this is gonna suck, right?”

“No,” he reassured, keeping his voice calm despite his own nervousness. “You heal quickly, and I made opioids that work on you for a reason. You’ll be fine.”

“It’s a very easy procedure, son.” Tony bristled at the way the dental surgeon (Doctor Rhine, maybe? He hadn’t really been paying much attention during the introductions) addressed the kid, despite knowing that it was all done in kindness. “And you won’t remember a bit of it.”

Tony shifted a little, trying to relieve some of the stress on his back from perching awkwardly on the edge of the kid’s bed. Peter’s IV-free hand shot out and latched around his wrist.

“Wait, don’t go,” he was blushing, but didn’t let go, “not, uh, not yet. Please?”

“Easy, I’m not leaving until you’re too drugged to notice.” He patted the kid’s shoulder gently. “We talked about this, remember?”

Slowly, Peter’s grip eased. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Hey, no apologies. Just relax.”

“Alright,” Cho gave the anesthesiologist a quick nod, “you ready, Tony?”

“Mhm.” He cupped the side of Peter’s neck, firm and steadying. Part of him wanted to crack a joke about filming the kid and uploading it to YouTube later, but he held back. He knew the kid was nervous about the whole thing, and he doubted it’d help. Instead, he just swiped a thumb over his cheek and smiled encouragingly. “Hey, what’d you do on patrol last night?”

“Um, I stopped a robbery on 77th. Then I helped out with a fender bender a few blocks down. On 150th, I think? ‘N then I went to, uh, to, uh... to Delmar’s.” Peter blinked rapidly. “Whoa.”

“Strong, isn’t it?” Cho touched the small of Tony’s back, out of view of Peter. A barely-there reassurance.

“Yeah. Whoa.” The kid’s eyes wandered up to meet his. “Mis’er Stark?”

“Hey, buddy. You’re alright, just let the drugs to their thing.”

He brushed his fingers through the kid’s bangs softly as he dozed off, heart warming at the fact that he never once looked away from Tony’s face, even as his gaze got glassy and unfocused.

“You can go now, Tony.” Cho patted his arm. “He won’t remember any of this.”

“Yeah, of course.” He made sure Peter’s head wouldn’t roll uncomfortably when he relinquished his hold on his face, then rubbed his cheek to catch his admittedly drowsy attention. “Hey, kid. I’m gonna let them do their thing. You alright if I go for a bit? I’ll be right back as soon as they’re done. You won’t even notice I left.”

Peter just let his eyelids droop shut. “M’kay.”

“Good boy.” He didn’t know why the kid’s easy acceptance of him leaving made him feel just the tiniest hint of rejection. After all, the whole point of the drugs were to chill him out. Tony had helped design them with that in mind. But... still. A part of him wanted the kid to ask him to stay. “I’ll see you in a bit, alright?”

He didn’t get a response. Peter's eyes were closed, breaths deep and slow.

“He’ll probably just nap now.” Cho pulled him away and pushed him towards the door. “Go on, Tony. The sooner we can start, the sooner you can help him wake up.”

Back in the waiting room, he found himself envying the kid the drugs. He’d have given just about anything to get to check out during the hour and a bit he spent loitering in the halls. He drank three cups of coffee, ate a bagel, counted every ceiling and floor tile in sight. All the while, he had to force himself to studiously ignore the fact that just a few rooms away, someone was pulling his kid’s teeth out of his skull.

And, okay, logically he knew he was being a drama queen. Peter was fine. Wisdom teeth extractions were, like, the most mundane procedure of all time. Nearly everyone had it. Hell, he had had it, far enough back that Jarvis, the human Jarvis, had been the one taking care of him in the aftermath. He knew that his parents must’ve been alive, but they hadn’t been there. He remembered that, even through the haze of painkillers.

Peter wouldn’t experience that, at least. He’d come back to himself with Tony at his side, and it would only be a few hours before May arrived. Peter had adamantly declared that he’d rather have her see him once he was fully conscious and recovered, and nobody had argued with him.

Tony felt a little touched that the kid had been fine with him seeing him drugged off his ass. Then again, they’d been through this kind of thing before, with countless broken bones and gushing lacerations, courtesy of reckless patrols.

The doors to Peter’s room opened, and Cho and the dental surgeon walked out. Cho was already giving him a thumbs up before she’d fully emerged, aware of his tendency to work himself up during waits.

Bless her.

“All good, Tony.” She smiled, coming to a stop in front of him. “Textbook surgery, not a single complication. Two of them were impacted, which we already knew, but they weren’t difficult to remove once we got in there. He was perfect, too. A real trooper.”

“So he’s alright?” He felt a little ridiculous for needing the extra reassurance, but not ridiculous enough to avoid asking. “You’re sure?”

Doctor Rhine (Tony decided he was sticking with it) glanced at Cho briefly before nodding. “As Doctor Cho said before, Mister Stark, he’s perfectly alright. A little out of it, but nothing you wouldn’t expect after a wisdom tooth extraction.”

“He slept through most of it, which is what I was hoping for,” Cho added. “He woke up a little near the end, when we were inserting the gauze.” She grinned. “He asked for you.”

His heart clenched. “Was he upset I left?”

“No, no. He wasn’t distressed. He just asked where you went, and then said he wanted you to come back.” She nodded behind her, in the general direction of the kid’s room. “And on that note: you’re welcome to go grant him his wish. Just because we’re not sure how his system is going to react to the painkillers you synthesized, I’d like to keep him in there for his first dose. As long as he doesn’t have a reaction to that, we’ll just wait until he’s awake enough to head up to the penthouse. There’s a nurse in with him now, but you’re welcome to take over.”

The idea of Peter asking for him soothed the piece of him that was still chafing over the kid’s easy acceptance of him leaving earlier.

“Yeah, right.” He made a beeline for Peter’s door, barely pausing to turn back. “Thanks, Helen. Thanks, Rhine.”

He hoped he got the man’s name right.

If not, whoops.

The kid was exactly where he’d left him, although someone had removed most of the monitors and other equipment. The IV was still in the back of his hand, probably for easy administration of pain meds later, but nothing was attached to it. He looked asleep, face peaceful and eyelashes brushing his cheeks. A curly-haired nurse was standing at the kid’s shoulder, talking to him gently. She looked up when Tony stepped in, smiling.

“Hey, sweetheart, look. Dad’s here. See? I told you he was on his way.”

He thought about correcting her, then didn’t bother. He kept most of the details about Peter confidential, even from the medical staff, but he knew that they extrapolated, made assumptions. He didn’t even blame them. It was just human nature.

It would take to long to explain the truth at this point. And right now, he just wanted his kid.

“Hey, Pete.” He kept his voice hushed, setting his palm over the kid’s forehead in greeting. “How’re you feeling?”

Peter’s head lolled slightly in his direct, lazy smile forming around the cotton in his mouth even as his eyes stayed shut. “Mis’er S’rk.”

“That’s me.” He glanced up to the nurse, who was watching him with a knowing smile. “How’s he doing?”

“Perfectly.” She matched his quiet volume, and he made a mental note to give her a raise. “He’s been waking up a little these past few minutes. He tried to sit up a few times, which went about as well as you can imagine. He should settle down now that you’re here, though. Most kids do once their parents are in the room.”

Peter opened and closed his mouth around the gauze lazily, eyes cracking open just a sliver. “Di’ you leave me?”

Tony forced himself not to flinch. Man, this kid really knew his soft spot.

“Just for a bit, squirt.” He used his sleeve to wipe a bit of drool off of Peter’s chin, careful not to jostle his jaw. “They had to do the surgery. I was right outside, though.”

Peter’s face scrunched up in thought. “I… I don’ remember that.”

“Good.” It was good, too. He’d been having nightmares about the kid remembering the surgery for weeks. Sure, it wasn’t the same as having a metal reactor screwed into your chest, but Tony’s brain didn’t make the distinction. “You’re not supposed to.”

“W’s I sleepin’?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

Peter hummed in response, turning his face into the palm Tony pressed against his cheek.

The nurse nudged his arm to catch his attention. Man, he’d forgotten she was even there.

“I’ll step out, now. Doctor Cho’ll be back in a bit to check on him and see if he’s ready for some pain relief. Don’t be concerned if he falls back asleep, that’s very normal. Most kids are happy to nap once they realize that they’re with someone they trust.” She paused. “If you need to leave to do anything else, just hit the call button and I can sit with him for you.”

“No, I’ll stay. But thank you.”

“Of course.”

Once they were alone, he hopped up onto the bed, tapping Peter’s ear until he recognized the change of positions and started a series of clumsy attempts at octopusing his way into Tony’s arms. He helped him along, eventually settling the kid against his chest. He rubbed soothing circles over Peter’s back as he grew loose and heavy against him.

He was glad that the bed had already been raised into a semi-reclining position, because he wouldn’t have been able to fumble with the controls and also keep cradling his armful of limp teenager. After a little shifting, he found himself decently comfortable, and settled in for the long haul.

Cho came in about a half an hour later, took one look at his position, and started laughing quietly into her sleeve.

“Yeah, yeah,” he massaged the back of Peter’s neck as an apology for the noise, although the kid slept on, oblivious, “we’re very cute. Just take the picture for blackmail and move on.”

“I would never.” To be fair, he believed her. “Has he been sleeping since you came in?”

“He was awake at first, but then he conked right out on me. Nurse said that was normal.”

“It is. He’s still got the sedation in his system, and his body is probably trying to heal.” She moved to their bedside, checked Peter’s pulse on his wrist. “Do you think you could get him to wake up for me? I want to see how coherent he is, and ask if he’s in any pain.”

“Yeah, sure.” He shook Peter’s shoulder. “Hey, Pete. Wake up, buddy.”

“Hm.” The kid’s brow furrowed in displeasure. “Don’ wanna.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I know. Just for a bit though, squirt. Cho wants to talk to you.”

“Hey there, Peter.” Cho bent to look at his face. “How are you feeling?”

The kid dragged his eyelids open, blinking rapidly to try to orient himself. “Tired.”

“Are you in any pain?”

“Hm. Yeah. Ow.” Peter fumbled up a hand to poke at his cheek, but Tony caught it before he could. “Ow. M’ face hurts.”

Tony’s gaze snapped to Cho, and she was waving off his concern before he could even voice it. “Relax, Tony. The sedation is pretty limited in the analgesic department, and I guessed he’d go through the lidocaine quickly.” She held up a syringe. “I came prepared.”

He let out a genuine sigh of relief. There was nothing he hated more than Peter in pain. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” She injected the painkillers into Peter’s IV port. “The pain should be better in a second, Peter. You just keep cuddling with Tony.”

“Oi,” he glared, “we’re not cuddling.”

“Looks like cuddling to me.”

“Well, it isn’t.”

“What is it, then?”

“It’s... physical reassurance.”

“It’s cuddling.”

“Shut up.”

She laughed, turning her attention back to the kid. “Do you feel better now, Peter?”

“Mhm. Does Mis’er Stark have t’ leave now?”

“No, buddy,” Tony rubbed his back, “Mister Stark’s staying right here.”

“F’r the surgery?”

“You already had the surgery, kiddie. You’re all done.”

“Oh. Di’ I do good?”

“So good. A model patient, I hear.”

Cho walked towards the door with a smile on her lips, waving goodbye before slipping out silently.

“Mis’er Stark?”

Peter blinked up at him heavily, little grin on his face. Some of the gauze had come loose, and Tony pushed it back into place carefully. Once he was done, he smoothed a few curls away from the kid’s forehead, soft grin coming unbidden. “Yes, Mister Parker?”

“D’you... D’you know h’w much I love you?”

His heart stilled. No, seriously, he swore he could feel it falter.

“No, bud.” The words felt numb in his mouth. “I... I guess I don’t.”

Do you love me? He thought. Do you really? Do I even deserve that?

“I... I love you... uh...” He watched Peter struggle for a unit that made sense, and some of his shock was swept away by the wildfire of his own love raging through every inch of his chest. “I love you ‘s far ‘s I c’n reach.”

There were times when Tony was struck by how young Peter was, how much the kid was still very much immersed in childhood, even if he liked to play at being an adult. This was one of those times, and it hit him out of nowhere with the full force of a speeding train.

He hugged him closer, voice rough. “I’m taller than you, kid. I can reach higher.”

“‘S not a... a compe-competi-comp’tition.”

Tony physically held back the laugh that rose at Peter’s absolute butchering of competition. “Of course it’s not,” he soothed.

Peter seemed to ignore his own declaration, trying at another clumsy metaphor before Tony could even finish. “I-I love you ‘s high ‘s Spider-Man c’n climb, Mis’er Stark. ‘S... ‘S really high, y’know.”

Peter’s head slipped forward a little as he spoke, so Tony gently repositioned him so it was resting on his collarbone and brushed the bangs out of the kid’s face. “The suit can go to space, kiddo. Got you there again.”

If he was being honest, he’d expected the kid to have lost his train of thought long before now, but he was determined, it seemed. “I love you to... to...” He blinked slowly. “Love you to... Antarctica. ‘N the North Pole.”

“The South Pole’s in Antarctica, kid.” The whole conversation was ridiculous, and it was making him feel gushy and gross, but in a way that was actually kind of nice. “Santa’s on the other side of the world.”

“‘S... ‘S not.”

He smirked at the kid’s drowsy stubbornness. “Australia’s farther than Antarctica. So I win once again.”

Peter twisted himself so he could slide further down Tony’s chest and gaze up at his face. He rushed to support him.

The kid shot him a dopey grin. “‘M gonna win. I got one.”

Tony ran a finger over his temple, right along the hairline. “Oh?”

“Mhm.” Peter’s eyes closed, then opened. His stubborn determination to finish their little game seemed to be just about the only thing keeping him conscious. “I love you t’ the Kuiper Belt ‘n back.”

If this went on for any longer, Tony was going to end up crying.

“Well,” he swallowed back a wave of emotion, “that is a really long way, huh?”

“Mhm. I win. D’... D’d I win?”

Tony dropped his voice to a whisper, smiled softly. Screw his reputation. It’s not like anyone could see this, anyway. “Yeah, buddy. You won.”

Peter seemed contented by the words, and Tony waited for the kid to relax against him before dropping his forehead against the crown of his head and letting the final layers of his armor shed, leaving him exposed and vulnerable and frighteningly adoring.

“You know, kiddo,” he breathed slowly, fully aware that this was the cheesiest thing he’d ever done and not caring in the slightest, “I love you to the edge of the universe and back. And just for reference, there is no end of the universe.” He shifted his precious bundle closer to his chest. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody.”

Peter stretched, fingers tangling in the hem of his shirt and voice barely audible. “Mm. M’kay. You win.”

He’d expected to be more horrified that the kid had heard him. Instead, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction, like he’d just fulfilled an innate need without even recognizing it.

“You know,” he whispered, “I hope you remember this.”

“‘Course I will,” Peter mumbled back, “‘M... ‘M Spider-Man. Spider-Man ‘members important stuff.”

He chuckled. “Yeah? Well, good. ‘Cause this is very important.”

And so are you, he thought, smiling like the world was in his arms.

(And, in a way, it was.)

#y'll this one is so cheesy that I puked a little in my mouth #it is also incredibly self indulgent #will I apologize? no #enjoy drugged Peter #tw: sedation #tw: wisdom teeth #are wisdom teeth triggers?#i don't know i'm just covering all my bases #fluff #irondad #irondadbingo #tony & peter #tony stark #peter parker #losingmymindtonight writes

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deadbiwrites · 5 years

Note

PROMPTS!! I want a pumpkin picking date with Kara pouting a lot bec Lena said they can’t just casually take the 800lbs pumpkin home. Bonus points if Lena caves and ends up paying some guy enough money to buy it and supergirl flies it back to their apartment to carve it. Maybe it can’t fit through the door?? I’m not sure.

(Oh my WORD, it took forever and a day to get this to post but I did it, dammit! @valkyrieskwad , this one's for you! Cross-posting it on Ao3!!)

"You want to what?"

Kara grins and bounces in place, totally unperturbed by Lena's decided lack of enthusiasm. "Pumpkin picking! There's a patch, like, an hour away. It's so cute, I follow them on Instagram, and everyone looks like they're having so much fun in the pictures! It's almost Halloween, too, so we need to go soon or all the good ones will be gone."

"The good ones…?"

"Pumpkins, Lena! Pumpkins! C'mon, please?"

"Isn't this exactly the sort of thing Alex makes fun of people for? Being basic?"

"Alex doesn't know what fun is if there aren't guns involved, so who cares? Please, babe? Be basic with me!"

Lena arches a brow at her, already caving under the weight of her girlfriend's boundless enthusiasm and the rare (and doubtlessly strategic) use of 'babe'. "Is it a muddy field?" she asks suspiciously.

"Uh… wear boots?" Kara tries, still smiling. "We can take the baby. He'd love it, and we need to work on socializing him, right?"

Lena turns her attention to the little white puppy snoozing on her lap, running a hand over his back absently. "I mean, yes, we do, but a farm?"

Kara's affronted, or at least playing at it. "Uh, I halfway grew up on a farm, thank you."

"And look what's happened because of it."

Kara laughs, shaking her head, somehow charmed even though Lena knows that she's being a brat about this whole thing. "Why do you hate pumpkin picking?"

"I don't like doing things unless I'm already good at them."

Kara scoffs at this. "You can't be bad at picking pumpkins, Lena. It's just like when you were a kid."

The long stretch of silence at this is telling.

"Lena," Kara says slowly, "have- have you ever been to a pumpkin patch?"

"I buy pumpkin at the store in a can, like a regular person. Half the work, half the price."

"But you can't carve a can of pumpkin puree!"

More silence. Krypto wakes up, shakes his whole roly-poly little body, and lays back down for another nap, snuffling as Lena rubs between his ears.

"Lena. Please tell me you've carved a pumpkin."

"I- I've seen people do it, so-"

"Oh my GOD."

"Kara-"

"What- what did you do at Halloween? No pumpkins! That's like half the fun, aside from all the candy and costumes, and…" Horror spreads across her face almost as fast as a creeping red flush spreads over Lena's. "Honey. Sweetie. Baby. Please, please tell me that your childhood included just one iteration of a normal American Halloween…?"

"Define normal..."

Kara jumps up from the couch, fuming. "I'm gonna punch your mom in the boob. Is it Tuesday? They do visits at the prison on Tuesdays, right? Because, like, I know she's in prison, repaying her debt to society, or whatever, but I'm still gonna go punch her in the boob."

Lena grabs Kara's hand, tugging her to a halt. "Alright, first of all, I appreciate and share the sentiment. Second, please never put your hands anywhere near my mother's boobs. Third, we're gonna stop talking about my mother's boobs, forever. Starting now."

"That's just… why does she suck so bad. Like, so, so badly, she sucks as a person. So bad. Badly sucks."

"Okay, yeah, you're doing that thing where you're so mad you make word puzzles, so I need you to sit down and hold this puppy." Lena lifts Krypto (who growls his fiercest growl and bites her fingers for disrupting his 18th nap of the day) and pushes him into Kara's arms, gratified when she instantly melts, just a little. "Better?"

"Yeah." She heaves a sigh and drops onto the couch beside Lena once more. "Look, if you really don't want to, we don't have to. But it is fun, and it is a disgustingly cute couple-y thing to do, which I know you love even if you pretend you don't."

Lena scoffs. "Prove it."

"You drag me into every photobooth you see and have a collection of all the photos in your desk at work."

Lena flushes a little more, knowing that she's been caught. "It's fun?" she asks quietly, spinning her chunky silver ring around and around on her finger.

"So fun. And it's a good excuse to get out of the city for the day." Kara scoots close, tipping her head so it knocks lightly against Lena's. "Instead of beating up your mom, what if we just make sure you get to do all the stuff you missed, like pumpkin patches and carving Jack-o-lanterns, and all that jazz?"

Lena considers this. "So, we're doing this at least partly to spite my mother?"

Kara beams at her. "Yep! You're gonna get all muddy doing something frivolous just because it's fun. She'd hate it."

"When are we going?"

It's a few days later that they're piled into a borrowed pick-up truck and coasting out of the city in the early morning. Lena has relented the wheel, for once, conceding that she hates driving outside the city and she has no idea where they're going. At least Kara was right about one thing- Krypto is already having a blast, trying his best to stick his entire upper body out the window, and yipping in annoyance when Lena continuously pulls him back into the cab.

One benefit, though, is Kara in what she calls her 'farm clothes', a heretofore undiscovered genre that involves a sturdy and well-loved pair of leather boots, what is clearly a men's flannel shirt tucked into a pair of faded jeans secured with a heavy leather belt, and a goddamn trucker hat.

Lena's really annoyed at how much this look is working for Kara.

Totally annoyed. No other emotion. Or like, squirmy feelings about it in general.

None at all.

"... and of course we'll get some breakfast- hot cider and doughnuts sound good to you?"

Lena blinks, realizes that Kara's been chattering this whole time. "What was that?"

"I asked how you feel about getting some breakfast. You okay? You're kinda spacey today."

"Says the girl from space," Lena snarks.

Kara rolls her eyes, amused. "That joke was only funny the first hundred times."

"Still makes me laugh."

"Fine, fine. But you're good? 'Cause I can hear you thinking, over there."

"I'm good, I just… is it stupid that I'm nervous?"

Kara takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. "Not at all. But you don't need to be nervous or anxious, because it's fun. Okay?"

Lena nods. "Okay." She shifts a bit on the old-school bench seat in the truck. "Why did we borrow this thing, again? My cars are a lot more comfortable."

"Well, Frank would yell at me if I got mud all over one of your cars."

Lena snorts. "He would not, he loves you."

"And, this way, we can get a big one." There's an almost manic gleam in Kara's eyes that's distinctly disturbing.

Lena chooses not to ask questions.

It is not a muddy field.

The dirt road they pull onto doesn't look all that promising at first, but the pumpkin patch itself is pretty, in a rustic, outdoorsy sort of way. Even early in the day there's a decent crowd here, and Kara grins at the sight of the picturesque red barn a ways away cheerfully advertising cider and doughnuts inside. "Nice! I hoped they'd still be doing the cider and stuff!" She hops out of the truck and rounds the front to help Lena down- whoever this behemoth belongs to had installed a lift-kit to it, and it's a fair few feet to the ground.

"I thought this was a pumpkin patch?"

"Well, yeah, but there's an orchard next door or something, so they have apples and pumpkins. And pears, apparently. Ha! A-PEAR-ently! I'm funny," Kara cackles, settling her hands on Lena's hips.

"You're lucky you're so cute," Lena snorts and scoops Krypto up, bracing a hand on Kara's shoulder as she's lifted easily out of the truck and onto the ground. "But you being able to just pick me up like that? Always a turn-on."

Kara laughs, loud and surprised as a flush creeps up her neck. "Good to know."

Lena smirks and sets Krypto onto the ground, and their day begins.

"So," Lena drawls, chewing an admittedly delicious cinnamon cider doughnut, "what constitutes a good pumpkin?"

"Well, obviously, you don't want a squishy one."

"Obviously."

"Tiny ones are cute, but it's really hard to carve them."

"Noted."

"Other than that, it's all personal preference. I say go big or go home, Alex likes the really round ones, Eliza likes hers to be smooth, and Jeremiah loved ugly pumpkins."

"Ugly pumpkins...?"

"Oh, yeah, like, the weirder and bumpier the better. He was really good at carving them, so he could do, like, super cool faces and stuff. He made a witch one time that was really creepy."

Lena pushes up onto her toes to plant a kiss on Kara's cheek. "He sounds like a fun dad."

Kara smiles a little sadly. "He was."

Sensing a rapid downshift in mood, Lena resolves to perk the fuck up. "So! We did doughnuts for breakfast- which I strongly suspect was your real motivation for this little venture…"

Kara's mouth drops open in shock, but her eyes are sparkling with humor. "I would never!"

"Sure. So, as long as the pumpkin isn't soft, it's fair game?"

"Yup! Go nuts! I couldn't get a pumpkin last year, because of that guy from Yavin IV, I'm gonna get a big one this year to make up for it."

Lena fixes her with a look. "Not too big, though, right?"

Kara smiles innocently, letting Krypto tug her a pace or two ahead. "Of course not."

Lena sighs.

Kara really is a terrible liar.

"Lena."

Upon seeing what's caught her attention, Lena nearly drops her own perfectly round pumpkin. "No. Under no circumstances are we getting that one."

Kara's starry-eyed as she stares up at the truly gargantuan squash before her. "It's beautiful."

Lena strongly disagrees- this pumpkin is decidedly ugly, misshapen and lumpy and a shade that's not quite orange or green, but a rather sickly combination of both.

But what it lacks in general aesthetic appeal, it more than makes up for in sheer size. It's wider than Lena is tall, likely taller than she is, too, and is, in general, what Winn would call 'a threateningly large vegetable'. It's on a little platform, a plaque proudly boasting that it'd won some award or other at the state fair a week or so ago. And also its weight:

One thousand two hundred eighteen pounds.

Lena tries for reason. "Kara. Darling. Love of my life. This… thing won a prize. They bred it especially to be giant. There is absolutely no way they're going to sell it to two city-slickers."

And then it happens. After almost a year of dating, and several years of friendship, Lena is well aware of Kara's pout, and especially aware of her own susceptibility to it. She can almost sense when it's about to happen, these days, and she senses it coming now, tries to steal herself against it.

But it's no use. Kara, she could maybe handle. Maybe. But when she bends and scoops up their three-month old puppy to help her pout, Lena is powerless against the assault.

"Alright, that was unnecessary," she complains. "No using our son like that. He doesn't even know why he's pouting."

"But is it working?" Kara asks, hiding her face behind Krypto's and talking in the goofy voice she reserves for narrating his thoughts.

Lena groans, because yes, of course it's fucking working. "No. Kara, they worked hard to make that... gourd. Can't you get another one?"

"I mean, I can," she agrees, peeking over Krypto's head so just her eyes show. "But think about how awesome that's gonna look when I carve it."

Lena sighs. "Kara, they're using it as a draw to get people to come here."

"They're making it like a display in a zoo. People just come and point at it! We can give it a loving home!"

Lena arches a brow. "You literally just said that you want to cut it open, scoop out its insides, and carve it.."

"Well, yeah, but like, lovingly."

Lena snorts, knowing she's lost. "Fine! Fine, we can go ask."

Kara cheers, hopping a bit in excitement and darting forward to press her lips to Lena's in a silly, smiley kiss.

As predicted, the farmer is initially reluctant to sell his prize pumpkin. "It's not the money," he clarifies hastily when Lena doubles her offer for the damn stupid pumpkin. "I need the seeds, to plant next year. I won big at the fair this year, and with those I'd have a hell of an advantage next season. You understand?"

"What if we save the seeds and bring them to you?" Kara offers earnestly. "I can drive them out whenever."

The farmer looks skeptical at this, but Kara's offer doesn't waver under his glare, and he sighs, reaching out to shake Lena's hand and seal the deal. "Fine. Only because your girl is cute."

Lena huffs out a laugh, and Kara positively beams at him. "Thanks so much!"

"But Jake has the tractor out in the maze right now, won't be back for an hour or so to move it for ya."

Kara's grin only widens. "Don't worry, I called a friend for help moving it."

The farmer shrugs, and Lena groans, knowing that one spectacle at the pumpkin patch is about to be replaced by another.

Lena hands the farmer his due for his prize pumpkin, and he turns away before she calls out, catching his attention.

"Sorry, I almost forgot, how much for this one?"

He eyes the normal-sized, perfect pumpkin in Lena's arms and his mouth quirks up in a grin. "For you? On the house."

Supergirl makes a very showy entrance, to the delight of most in attendance (the exceptions being a 74-year old man who thinks anyone who flies should have to get a license, and her girlfriend who is rolling her eyes fondly and wrestling to keep their puppy from revealing her secret identity), landing with a flourish. She smiles brightly at the crowd waving and laughing, high-fiving anyone who offers before shouldering the massive gourd. "Sorry, guys, I'm on a very important mission. Support local farms!"

Lena snorts, loudly, and Supergirl takes off into the air as her ears turn a little pink.

The farmer sidles up to Lena at the back of the crowd, looking a little star-struck. "Wow."

Lena grins, dropping a kiss to Krypto's nose and blowing in his face when he nips at her chin. "Yeah," she agrees. "Wow about sums it up."

The truck rides notably lower on the trip back, the massive pumpkin weighing down the truck bed probably more than is entirely safe.

"So, how was your first trip to the pumpkin patch?" Kara asks with a grin.

"I hated it," Lena deadpans, cradling Krypto in one arm and her pumpkin in the other. On the seat between them are three dozen doughnuts, four gallons of cider, and three bottles of hard cider the farmer's wife had slipped into their bags with a wink.

Overall, it's been a very pleasant experience.

"Oh yeah?"

"Absolutely awful. Hated everything."

"What was the worst part?"

Lena reaches over, grabbing Kara's hand and threading their fingers together. "Spending it with you."

Kara clicks her tongue, shakes her head. "Yeah, that sounds awful. I'm a pain in the butt."

"Yeah. You're kinda cute, though, so I guess it's fine."

Kara chuckles, brings their clasped hands to her mouth and kisses Lena's knuckles. "Good news for me."

Lena smiles, turning her attention back to the window and watching as fields fairly fly by, the low sound of Kara singing in the background making this almost unbearably perfect.

Almost.

"Um… so, funny story…"

Lena arches a brow expectantly, and Kara scuffs her red boots on the floor. "Oh?"

"Yeah. So, the thing is, I tried everything, with the pumpkin, and… it won't fit through the door. None of the doors. Or any of the windows…"

Lena bonds at the waist and laughs until she cries.

That year starts a long-running and much beloved tradition, wherein a truly massive and skillfully-carved pumpkin appears in L-Corp's opulent lobby the first weekend of every October. It later years, it's joined by other, smaller ones, dozens, carved by the children of employees, including those of the CEO herself.

It's a family tradition, after all.

#ask me #supercorp #i geeked so hard when I saw this was from one of my very favorite writers #full-on squeaked #prompts!

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thatjusthappned · 5 years

Text

Going Up?

I woke up in the hospital. I have an IV hooked up to me and I feel like I’ve been hit in the head with a frying pan. I began to sit up and I’m looking around. The room is full of windows but the blinds have all been draw shut so there’s not a lot of light. I see a big flower basket in my room that has a note on it. Another thing that I’ve noticed is that I have a one person room. Then it hits me. Holy shit, I was in an elevator with Shawn Mendes. My eyes go wide as I try to remember everything. “What the fuck is my life.” I say out loud to myself, then I look for the call button and not long after a nurse is walking in, leaving the door half way open. Shawn is standing out there, talking to someone I can’t see. He looks in at me, smiles and look back at the person. “Hey sweet heart. I would like you to look at me.” The nurse says so I do “How are you feeling?” I take a second to think “My head just hurts and I’m hungry.” she writes this down “Okay and is that all?” I nod and look back out the door. He’s gone, Shawn is gone.

“Hello Miss Y/N. Just coming to check on you.” The male Doctor says as he walks in closing the door behind him. He’s checks my eyes and looking over the note from the nurse “So Y/N nothing too serous happened just a little hit in the head. You passed out they couldn’t get you to wake up, so Shawn made them bring you to us and we did a whole lot of tests and everything came back perfect.” I nod “What about Shawn? Was he okay?” I ask the Doctor. He smiles “Oh yeah he’s fine, he was very worried about you. He made sure we took good care of you. Even got you those flowers.” He says pointing to them “Now some people are gonna come in and talk to you about how everything that’s happened. You know legal stuff. But Brooke hear will stay in the room with you, so if you need anything let her know. She’ll try and help the best she can.” With that he left.

“Do you want to watch the press conference?” Brooke asked grabbing the remote to the TV. “About the elevator?” “Yes Shawn is talking in it.” I nod with a small smile. She turns the TV on goes to the news channel. Shawn walks on screen and sits down at the table. Andrew his mangers is with him and you can see all the camera flashing, I can’t began to imagine the amount of people that are in that room. “Is this being filmed in the hospital?” I asked looking at the nurse she nods. The reporters are yelling Shawn’s name and he point to one the noise dies down as he speaks “Is it true a fan ran into the elevator to be with you?” reporter one asks. “The person that was in the elevator forgot their bag in the elevator that is why they ran back in and the doors shut before they could leave again. Had nothing to do with me.” Shawn says picking someone else next. “Did you at any point feel like you were in danger in the elevator?” reporter two asks “If you asking if I felt scared of the person stuck in the elevator with me, No. Now when we found out we were stuck we both panicked but we collected ourselves pretty fast after that.” Shawn picked another one, answered that question. Then the crowd go really loud and Shawn held up his hands to quite things down.

I noticed that he didn’t have his zap anymore. Making me look at my own hands where mine has remained. Complete an utter shock is the only way to describe my thoughts. It was a phone number with the words “Text me” under them. Shawn wrote down his number for the zap. What the hell. Then suddenly fear washed over me. Did he see his zap before it was gone? The thought that he could have possibly saw it made me fall into a pit of embarrassment. What was I thinking writing that down in the first place. Plus if he did see it, and didn’t do it that’s just even more embarrassing. Maybe I was dreaming a little too big, or maybe I just wrote it down for the hell of it. What if he wrote his down then saw mine and regretted putting his number down. Great I’m that creepy fan.

Then a question pulled my out of my thoughts “Why won’t the name of the girl be released?” a reporter asks Shawn looks surprised when they said ‘girl’ but Andrew quickly took over “Listen the other person involved is just as much as a victim in this as Shawn. The persons name, age and gender have been kept under wraps for a reason. For their safety it would be great if it could stay that way.” Andrew finishes. He leans into Shawn saying something in his ear then stand up and leaves. So they’re trying to protect me?

( 3 months later.)

It’s been quite some time since the elevator thing happened. Found out Shawn wanted to keep my name out so I could go back to living a normal life, Brooke was telling me how cute it was that he was so protective over me. She told me she’s felt like he liked liked me, but as cool as that might be it couldn’t be. So I didn’t text him but I did save his number in my phone. Then things went back to normal. Well up until 2 weeks after when TMZ released pictures and audio from the elevator. Which let people find out who I was and where I lived and my place of work. Which was hell to say the least. Good thing as that it’s August 3 months have passed since the whole thing. Life is getting back to normal for the most part.

“So Y/N, what are you going to do about Shawn’s birthday party?” My best friend May says jump and landing on my bed as she eats those rainbow sour candies. She’s kicks her feet in the air staring at me. I groan wrapping myself back in my blankets “What!” She dramatically says. Well you see after everything I needed to tell someone about it, that person is May, but when I told May in one of our ‘stay at home, drink wine, maybe get a little high, and watch movies’ nights she grabbed my phone found the contact for Shawn then texted him. I was pissed and yelling at her but then the phone went off seconds later and it was Shawn calling to make sure it was me.

Ever since then we’ve been texting everyday and he wants me to come to his 21st birthday in LA. I told him no I couldn’t because of work, then May told our boss everything that was going on and my boss gave me a week off with pay to go. Still told Shawn I couldn’t make it because I didn’t have the money. Shawn said he already bought my ticket. Then I said I would think about it. Now it’s 2 days away and I still haven’t made up my mind.

“Y/N just go. You have an outfit, you have the time off, you don’t need to worry about how you’re getting there. Plus Shawn really wants you to go, you guys are friends as much as you try to make it not a real thing, it is. He texting everyday even if it’s just one big long text before he goes to bed telling you about his day and asking you about yours. Or if it’s a phone call or facetime every other week maybe. He puts in so much work in your guys friendship. I hate to say it, but you own him.” May was right, and I hated that she was right. I sit up in my bed groan “You suck.” As I got out of the bed, walking into the hall to the bathroom. “So you’re going?” She yells to me and I smile to myself then “slam” the door. “Yes Bitch! I’m packing your bags right now!” She yells out making my laugh. I text Shawn, letting him know I’ll be seeing him in two days.

( Shawns Birthday Party)

I’m sitting on the bed in the hotel room Shawn had got for me and it’s honestly the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. I’ve been scared to touch things. So all I’ve done is change into the same three outfits over and over again, took a nap one or two times. Picking the right outfit to meet a whole bunch of famous people is hard. Like do I go bold, stay casual, or just a little more dressed up than normal? I get up to look at myself again in the mirror one more time but a knock at the door makes me jump. I walk over to the door taking in a deep breath before opening it. “Hey Y/N it’s Brian, Shawn had me come and get you. The Party started just a little bit ago, so we should get going if you’re ready.” He says with a smile. “Um I just have one question.” Brian smiles “Shoot.” I smile back “Do you think this outfit is okay?” I say looking down at the clothes on my body. “Do you feel comfortable?” He says making me look at him “Yeah?” I say kind of awkwardly “Then you look good. Now lets go if we take any longer Shawn’s gonna have someone else drag us both down to the party.” I and grab my room key from the table. “Already.” I say as we walk out the door.

The party was being held in the hotels Ball room, but it looks like it had been turned into a club for the night. Famous people everywhere, I think I just passed by Niall. My eyes we’re looking at everyone, “Does he know all these people?” I yell to Brian over the music. “Some are friends, some are just people he’s meet over the years. This Party is more for business purposes than a party.” I nod then ask myself then why am I here then? Brian takes me to a table where Alessia Cara is sitting.

“Alessia this is Y/N, Y/N this is Alessia.” He introduces us we both extend our hand to each other. “Come sit next to me.” she says tugging my hand lightly. So I do “Shawn talks a lot about you, you’re kinda stealing my best friend you know.” She says sounding a little serious but something told me this was all a joke so I say “Can you take him back?”. Her face goes straight and now I’m thinking I’ve read the situation wrong but then she bust out in laughter. Thank God, “You know that’s the best response I’ve ever gotten from someone.” I smile at her, and laugh a little as well. “You know what, I like you. Want a drink?” She ask and Brian gets a phone call and steps away for a second. “So now that He’s gone, Do you like Shawn?” She asks and I’m shocked and don’t really know how to respond. “Um, Well he’s amazing, so yeah I guess.” she looks at me with squinted eyes “No like do you like him like him?” my eyes widen “Do I have a crush on him?” I ask back, she face palms “Girl you’re just as bad as he is, Yes that’s what I’m asking.” I think for a second “Yes I do.” She smiles and nods “Good.”. Brain comes back “Y/N I’m gonna go get Shawn we’ll be here soon.” He says leaving me with Alessia.

Well soon isn’t soon, soon is 2 am when I’m shit face drunk with Alessia talking about what color of light in the room is the best one. “No the green one is just so pretty though.” Alessia says as her head rest on my shoulder “But look at that purple, It’s just so peaceful.” We giggle to ourselves. “Maybe they’re both the best ones, because all of them are the best ones!” Alessia says sitting up really fast. She almost falls out of her seat be I grab her arm. “Oh, that could have been bad.” We laugh together. “Hello.” I hear Shawn say from behind me and I turn to look at him. He’s smiling “You know soon isn’t 3 hours later right?” I say pointing a finger at him. He smiles and asked “Are you drunk?”

“So what if she is?” Alessia says coming to my defense leaning on me, clearly drunk also. “Nothing wrong with that, I mean it is a party.” Shawn says laughing to himself, taking a seat next to me, he puts his arm around the back of my chair. I can feel his skin touch my back wear the silk tank top hangs low. It send shivers through out my body. I turn to look at him and he’s talking to Alessia, they’re laughing and smiling. He’s not even playing attention to me but I can’t help it. I reach out a touch his cheek. He stops talking and looks over at me “yes?” He smiles “You’re beautiful.” I says rubbing my thumb over his cheekbone. Brian laughs and Shawn blushes.

“Alessia how many drink did you guys have?” Brain asks trying not to let his laugh take over his words. “About 7.” “Oh that’s not too bad” Shawn begins to say “each.” She finishes. Brain and Shawn’s eyes go wide “oh okay.” Shawn says grabbing my hand from his face and holds on to it. I smile to myself. They talk for a little longer, I’m not paying any attention just watching Shawn’s hands play with mine. I’m getting tired now and I yawn. “Let’s get you to your room.” Shawn says standing up still holding my hand helping my off the chair and I still almost fall to my knees. “Whoa! A little more drunk than I thought.” Shawn says putting an arm around my waist. “Actually a lot more.” I say with a giggle placing my hand on his chest for more support. He laughs at me, “Come on lets get you going.” I turn to face Alessia and wave goodbye to her with a big cheesy smile on my face, she does the same back.

We mange to get out without being stopped much. Shawn is still holding on to me, but I’ve gotten better at walking and could walk on my own now. Something tells me Shawn knows this but doesn’t care. We’re walking to the elevator “Hey remember that’s time we got trapped in one of these things.” I say as Shawn presses the floor number. He chuckles to himself “Yes I do remember.” I groan leaning my head on his side “It was horrible!” I say. “I don’t think it was that bad, I got to meet and get to know you.” He says, I know I’m blushing but I look up at him anyways. “You think meeting me was good?” I ask he nods smiling “You’re pretty great.” I blush deepens making my smile. Then the elevator doors open and we step out.

We walk down the hallway to my room, when we get to the door I turn to face him “Did you ever see your zap?” He smiles this tells me he did “You’re Drunk, we can talk about this in the morning.” He laughs trying to avoid this topic. “Oh no, Listen I’m sorry I only wrote it down because... Well I don’t actually know why.” I say feeling my face warm up from embarrassment. So I try to hide it with my hands. Shawn laughs, shakes his head, and places his hands on my shoulders. “Y/N” He starts “You’re right, I’m drunk and I should really get going to bed now.” I say really fast, turning around grabbing the key card from my back pocket. I open the door but stop when Shawn says “You know the rules of the zap game never tells you when we had to do the dare.” I turn to him “I mean that is why you took so long to text me right?” Shit he got me on the one. I still don’t turn around and I begin to push the door over. Hoping to get away from the question, but stop once again.

“I am going to kiss you. Not just because of the Zap thing, but because I want to.” I turn to look at him. He smiles and licks his lips then laughs “So you should get to bed and I’m gonna come down in around noon tomorrow, and we’re gonna go on a date.” He says with confidence but then is falls for a second and he says “If you want to.” I smile “Yes that sounds nice.” Shawn smiles bigger and he nods stepping back. “I’ll see you in the morning.” he says leaning forward to kisses my cheek. Then he steps back again, gives me a thumbs up and walk back to the elevator. I step into the room and smile to myself.

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I plan on doing a part 3 but would you guys want it? If you have any requests send them in, would love to do some. 😁❤️

#shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes #shawnimagin #shawn and reader #shawn #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn peter raul mendes #sm #shawn mendes fan fic #mendes army

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coridallasmultipass · 4 years

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Tmi / personal / endometriosis and menstrual issues / surgery / long post / venting ... I finally had a laparoscopic surgery done yesterday and they were able to confirm for me that i have endometriosis and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted! All my fucking life ive dealt with excruciating cramps and heavy bleeding during menstruation and i just wish i could go back in time and give a big 'fuck you' to everyone who ever told me "cramps are like this for everyone!" Or "just exercise, it helps!" Or "orgasms help with cramping!" Like hooooooh boy I knew it and im so glad to have all the cysts out of me now. I had previously tried numerous birth control options to prevent cramping and bleeding and got excruciating cramps with literally All of them and constant bleeding with the depo shot. (I had a very painful internal ultrasound done, to hopefully diagnose endo by that route, but it was inconclusive - variations in the thickness of the endometrium, which could be endo or it could just be normal...) Most recent birth control was an iud and i had to go to the er the same evening because my body couldnt stand to have it in there causing so much pain, i couldnt stop screaming and it sucked. The iud was a few weeks ago ((and the proceedure to insert it was the worst pain ive ever felt in my life, and the same sharp pain continued through the following days until i got it removed) and i havent been able to sit straight since, i have to keep sitting to one side in order to not feel like having an ice pick jammed in me. Its gotten better since the iud was removed, but i still get a sharp pain when i have to sit on something hard. My doctor recommended me to have a diagnostic laparoscopy with cystectomy ASAP because of the iud problems and all my failed birth control attempts. Everyone in my family freaked out and kept pushing me to not go through with it, but I knew i needed to know what was causing me so much pain, like tbh, as a trans man, id prefer just a straight up hysterectomy, but yknow either way this is a step in that direction anyway. I have an aunt who had to have the same proceedure twice because of complications, and kept telling me her horror story about how painful recovery was and i was like 'trust me its not going to be worse than an iud because i thought i was dying' and she blew me off like 'its going to be wAY worse' like uh no bc an iud was 666/10 on the pain scale for me, i genuinely thought i was dying or would have a heart attack with how bad the pain was; plus ive had surgeries before and was completely fine after... Anyway fuck what my family said i went through with it anyway and it wasnt that bad of a proceedure to wake up from! My first thought was 'oh no, did they hospitalize me? I feel like ive been asleep for weeks!!' But it was just the recovery room. Ive usually done pretty well with recovery, and this was no different. The worst part of the recovery room was the sensation of needing to cough from where they had inserted the breathing tube for anesthesia. (Today my throat is still a bit sore, and my voice hoarse, but warm mint tea has been helping a lot for that.) I was also feeling cramps similar to mild-moderate menstrual cramping, (no where near the sharp shooting pain of the iud, and no where near my normal, unmedicated cramping which has had me doubled over screaming in pain until the medicine kicks in in the past), and of course a bit of soreness from the incision sites and the general soreness of having gas trapped in my body. (They have to pump a bit of gas inside you so its easier to look around, and some of it stays trapped in you after.) Its a pain similar to what ive felt before just from my fibromyalgia in general, so i was very relieved for the most part. I also felt myself bleeding a bit while i was still in the recovery room. (Gross and tmi, but im still having a spot of blood only when i wipe today, so thats a relief after having been bleeding a majority of the days over the past few months trying different BC options.) Strangely, when i got home i didnt feel groggy or in need of a nap like i have for surgeries in the past. I was also warned of having nausea from the anesthesia, but i had none at all!! And i was warned by multiple sources that i wouldnt have an appetite, but boy i ate almost Everything in the kitchen yesterday im pretty sure ive gone through a whole box of protein bars since yesterday too. Multiple sources (including my family member who had the same proceedure) warned of a sudden bad mood drop immediately after the proceedure, And i dont wanna jinx it, but I have been in such a good fucking mood since i got home yesterday, but maybe thats just the painkillers talking, but still I was at a total low point, like, cant-get-any-lower low point in terms of mood, but i just... feel so good (besides the aching and incision site pain lmao) On to the pain now... The worst of it was waking up this morning after the surgery day. I had quite a bit of the trapped gas pain when i first lied down at night (and when i tried to lie on my side) but the feeling doubled when i tried to get up. Im very bloated still. While the bloating itself isnt very painful, it feels like the stretching of my stomach is pulling at the medical tape covering my incisions which is making them hurt. Im not getting the trapped-gas-roaming-my-body feeling As Often, but its obviously still trying to dissipate. I feel it most while trying to take a deep breath like a bubble pressing against my ribs, but easing a deep breath slowly in and out moves it around and makes it less uncomfortable. Light exercise, like slow walking, is supposed to help your body absorb/dissolve/release the trapped gas. So i did 5 minutes on, 5 off for 3 times on the slowest treadmill setting earlier and im going to try again tomorrow for the same. (I feel like it made my bloating worse, so i had to go back to resting after, but ive been getting up and down to get food for my insatiable appetite lmao) Now the actual tmi and gross stuff: It is really fucking hard to pee. Straight up i have to concentrate so hard. Normally i lean over on my arm to help push it all out at once, but i cant do that with the incisions over my belly lmao. Shitting is just as hard, but the Shit Gods have blessed me with the Antibiotic Runs this morning so im all set for today lmao. Im really bummed tho they put a bandage over where my belly piercing is supposed to go, so i couldnt put it back in after the surgery. The whole, not being able to bend over thing, is reminding me of what its like to have a fresh belly piercing, and im groaning bc im gonna have to go thru with it again to get it back.... and i feel like i jUSt got it done... (it was summer last year) ughhhhhh.... oh well, like at least this time it should go in straight i hope? Also, obligatory vent that... having a fucking uterus does not make me a woman i wish doctors and nurses would use gender neutral language... TLDR; had a laparoscopic surgery to diagnose endometriosis and remove the uterine cysts caused by it, having a great recovery so far!! Still waiting on follow up from the doctor for my next step, but im feeling a lot better than when i was suffering cramps from every birth control i tried to get Rid of cramps

#endometriosis #endo #chronic pain #fibromyalgia #menstruation #surgery #tmi #personal #vent #Cori.exe #Post.exe #long post

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abtoddler · 5 years

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Soo, today was totally a day. I woke up for my dr appointment, and it wasnt my doctor but a fill in. I did tell him i needed the tests that i asked for 3 weeks ago, and should have had.

I get home, and take a nap. I wake up, i have some food, and watched a documentary on the us. History, it was neat, do watch.

I am talking with daddy and my head, feels like a bat hit it. Like the entire bottom part of the skull where it meets the neck, is throbbing, burning, a buzzing feeling (the noise of a bee in flight but if that was a sensation)

Anyway ive been sick all day, but turned away at the er essentially saying keep my appointment for next week, and schedule with the apropriate appointment with neurology anyway no meds, no drugs, and with “pupils” as wide as saucers in full fluorescents. Which always fucking happens to me.

It sucks. It feels like water of fire and pain. I want to call it a knot at this place which is what im going to call it. The shit messes with my vision, makes me want to vomit and i feel like my insides are being squeezed so hard i poop firey hell and throw up every last bit of solid food. Ha jokes on my butthole, cause its handy. I fucking hate these things. I got to the er earlier this year. I went to today to get it on the record. These things are happening.

My vision is extremely bad while typing this. The contraction of my stomach is what has made me want to vomit all day, its like making a fist that wont let go. Of the sensory hell of it making everything that much worse. Then when it lets up i can breathe a bit. Now this is where it gets fun, my fingers have decided to join my toes. And so now they burn and twitch, instead of just the pain of the sharp sensation if a papercut was poured alcohol on it to clean the wound. I cant talk right for anything either.

One fun fact a dude did give up the numerological test to see whats up and yeap a bit of facial paralysis thats hapened. Haha so thats at least something new. Sooo much fun i tell ya.

Anyway thats why i ve been quiet cause this twitching, buzzing burny things down my neck, arms, legs, and feet, theres not really anything useful came from today other than the left side isses. Make sense for the side in my right where the buzzying always starts first. This is super scary.

I am super happy though that through my adventure in today. Big brother and daddy was kind, sweet and the helpful to me. I love them sooo much. Its been super wonderful to me, to know they got me, they can do the emergency room trip for me, they move and arrange everything. I know im pretty much on the way to experience this again in my lifetime. It has happened so many times already. Because every single one of the awesome big brothers who took me in when they weren’t much better off. They put up with all my issues, graciously. I am suppppper thrilled tuat they are looking out for me. So no matter what happens i really can rely on them, for my entire life. I love them so much, and when im all drugged up, and cant talk baby talk is fine.

It feels like my body is its own animal and i need to makr sure the petts continue. I am trying for self controls. Moving between areas of the house doing different tasks betwern each place, working this way has helped me keep organized in my routine. This is what i do to be myself. But im also in generally every day just in a diaper, or one of those sensory friendly suits.

So hers where my mind wif all this stuff. Its hard to type, thankies for being with me, i supper appreciate you taking the time to read this little bit of my day. I really appreciate it, and thank you for sitting with it. I know its hard, it’s scary the stuff the day has made occur. Your not alone, im not alone. More over, i think its my views that whth this stuff thers a neat aspect that comes from others just being friends with eachother. We are those hospital kids, that make fun friends only at the dr. But when you leave the hospital you have a pen pal, it lasts for so long. Then off it goes. Into one of the having been stories. But anywys im trsiling off. Sleep tight everyone. Thank you, and I appreciate having a place where i can ramble. It really is nice to have this place into where i can ruminating on this my issues, and ive gotten some wonderful feedback and I’ve been able to make some wonderful new friends Thank you for being with me today and keeping me company :) it was wonderful to have a babysitter while daddy and champ had their own schedules for the day and because of them this time im unable to function, its finally home.

I love it, and them, and being able to be Thankies everyone. Biggest of hugs.

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easilydistractedbyfanfic · 6 years

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Started another Murven fanfic, because apparently that’s my hobby now. Between the two of them and Diyoza, they will not stop talking inside my head. They’re not entirely unwelcome, but I do get less sleep now. This will be a slow burn multi-chapter fic with S6 speculation, aliens and various relationships. You can read it over on AO3 but here’s the beginning. Hope you like it!

Six months after being woken up from a one-hundred-and-twenty-five year nap, Raven Reyes carefully exits her tent and scowls up at the dark sky that’s twinkling with thousands of sparkling stars. Normally it would be the kind of sight she was happy to view, but the lack of sleep she’d been getting lately was definitely taking a toll. She guesses it’s somewhere around two AM, and currently the entire camp is quiet, but in the distance she can see there’s still a campfire burning closer to the edge of the woods. It’s cool enough out that she’s willing to make small talk in exchange for the warmth of the fire, so she decides that’s where she’ll go.

Carrying a small bundle in her arms, Raven meanders through the shadows and takes note of all the obvious signs of work and improvement that’s been happening since they’ve arrived on the surface. They’d been lucky that the Eligius IV had been outfitted with quite a few tents and decent supplies to help them get a new settlement started. Quarters were tight, however, until more shelters could be built, so everyone was expected to share with the growing group of those who had been awakened and treated with the nightblood serum. Most of the tents were for only two people, but since no one really had any belongings to speak of, they had a little more room on the inside to stretch out.

As she moves nearer to the campfire, she can make out only one person sitting around it, and she feels an unexpected thrill of satisfaction when she sees that it’s Murphy. She hadn’t even realized he’d returned from his latest bout of exploring, so he must have only recently gotten back. He’s got a blanket spread out on the ground and he’s using a large log as a backrest, and he looks more relaxed than she’s seen from him since they stepped foot on this new planet. Although it’s not like she’s seen much of him since then for comparison, she frowns. He looks up when he hears her approach and tosses a few more logs on the fire, but he doesn’t seem annoyed that his solitary night is being interrupted, so she nudges him with her boot and tells him to scoot over. With one arm full, she rests her other hand on his shoulder and uses him to steady herself as she awkwardly lowers to the ground.

“Ugh. I hate sitting on the ground, but at least you have a blanket. I’m gonna have to remember one for next time.”

“Isn’t that what you’re carrying?” Murphy asks her. “And what are you doing up so late, anyway?”

She laughs and shifts closer to him so she’s fully on his blanket and off the cold ground, leaning back against the log like he is. It’s definitely much warmer in the light of the fire. “I could ask you the same thing! And no, I’m not walking around in the dead of night just for fun. I’m on Heidi duty.” She pulls a fold of the blanket down and Murphy gets a glimpse of chubby pink cheeks before Raven tucks her back in.

“Oh, your new roommate, you mean? Last I was around, you had a tent to yourself. But now I’m hearing you’ve got some company. How’d you end up with Diyoza and her baby?” He settles himself into a better position since she’s pushed him to the edge of his blanket, but there’s not much room on the narrow cover, so they’re pressed against each other from shoulder to thigh.

“That’s what happens when you’re not in camp for a month or so - you miss all the news. I was by myself, last time you were in camp, anyway. After Bellamy and Echo broke up, and he took over the other half of your tent, it was clear that me and Echo and Emori were going to have to figure out who’d stay with who, and I thought Echo might have an easier time staying with Emori since I’m in that weird spot of being friendly with Clarke too. And she’s in a tent with Madi, so I’m the odd one out.” She pats Heidi’s back absentmindedly, trying to keep the baby happy as she starts to quietly fuss. “Actually it was a good choice for me, being by myself. I liked having space for some of the projects I’m working on. But then Charmaine came down after Heidi was born, and once they made sure the nightblood took with her system, she needed a spot and I was one of the only people she was willing to room with who had space. She’s high on the priority list for one of the first shelters they build though, for Heidi’s sake, so it’s temporary.”

“So now you get less sleep and babysitting duty?” he teases.

Raven grins in response. “It wasn’t so bad at first. She slept really well at night, and she’s pretty cute, too. But this last week has been tough. Charmaine thinks she’s going through a growth spurt or something. Rather than both of us just laying there being kept up, tonight we decided to take turns taking her for a shift outside the tent. If she falls into a good sleep out here, I’ll take her back in.”

“Diyoza’s lucky she got paired with you - not everybody would put in so much effort.” He lightly pokes her in the side with his elbow, and she rolls her eyes at him.

“Don’t tell Charmaine or she’ll just mock me for being a pushover, but I like helping with Heidi and it doesn’t feel like that much work. Except for the being tired part,” she adds.

Murphy laughs. “Raven, I hate to tell you, but considering you’re out here in the middle of the night, taking care of said kid, I think she probably already knows she’s reeled you in.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. She’s not dumb, unfortunately. Speaking of dumb though, why are you up this late? There’s no baby keeping you from sleeping. I didn’t know you were even back - you’ve barely been in camp since we got here.”

He shrugs and she can feel his shoulder rub against hers with the motion. “I haven’t been sleeping that well since we got down. I think it’s just getting used to a new place, maybe. But it doesn’t help that Bellamy snores, so sharing a tent with him when I’m here basically sucks, and he gets really offended when I call him out on it.”

“Which I’m sure you make a point of doing all the time.”

“Of course I do, that’s a given.” He looks over at her and watches as Heidi’s blanket moves as she kicks out her feet. “You know I’ve been scouting this place. So many people are working on building projects or they spend their days getting water, foraging or getting the farm going, and even though I can see the progress since I was last in camp, that’s just not for me. Miller and I started making some maps around this location that we’ve already searched, and so far we’ve covered a decent amount of ground, but it’s nothing compared to how big this planet is. Eventually we run out of supplies or come back for more water, but at least we finally have a better idea of what’s relatively near us. We need to know a lot more about what’s out here though, and we need definitely need more water sources. But yeah, that means I’ve been scarce, I guess.”

She turns her head to look at him, and for a fleeting moment he thinks he sees sadness in her gaze. But then she gives him a tired smile. “It’s strange, isn’t it, how things are so different? We all were together for so long, every day, and now you’re barely ever here, Bellamy is avoiding Echo, Echo’s avoiding Bellamy and she and Emori mostly make themselves vanish or go hunting because things are weird with Octavia and what’s left of Wonkru. I hardly ever see them. Monty and Harper are gone, and things aren’t worked out between everyone and Clarke yet. Abby’s still up on the ship, helping Kane heal and working all the time on more nightblood to wake more people. Jordan’s really busy setting up the farm and helping to test if things are edible… And if I’m not working on building more communication devices or sorting through things I can scrap from the Eligius, then I’m hanging out with Charmaine and this little monster.” She makes a silly face and smiles down at Heidi, missing the concerned frown from Murphy.

He’s surprised at what she says has been occupying her, and doesn’t like the way she’s describing what’s been going on with some of their friends. He thought she would be spending most of her time with Shaw, and part of him wants to ask her about that, wants to know why she didn’t even mention him and what that means. But the question feels stuck in his throat, so he swallows it down and instead forces himself to speak without emotion. “Yeah. It is different.”

Read more here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16274411/chapters/38057117

#murven #murven fanfic #raven reyes #john murphy #my stories #my fanfic

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laurenehan · 6 years

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Best Day of Our Lives

Little did we know, June 29th would be the best day of our lives. Even less did we know that our sweet boy's life would be on the line.

On Thursday, June 28th, we headed to the doctor's office around 11am after I had been awake all night with contractions. They completed a fetal non-stress test to determine the cause. Much to our surprise, they said it seemed I was in labor, but was only a centimeter dilated. They chalked it up to my body practicing for the real-deal, but decided it would be best to do a biophysical screening ultrasound just to be on the safe side.

The ultrasound revealed troubling news; the fluid surrounding our baby was much too plentiful and a section of his bowels were cause for concern. They sent us to a specialist that afternoon for further investigation, but not before asking if anyone in our family has Cystic Fibrosis.

We arrived at the specialist's office and had another ultrasound screening by the technician and then the doctor. He explained that there was a section of our baby's bowel that was not displayed in the screening, meaning there was likely a blockage in his small intestine which was causing the increased fluid levels. He, too, asked if anyone in our family has Cystic Fibrosis. Our hearts dropped when he said our baby is going to need surgery within the first 3 to 4 hours of his life.

How could something so exciting evolve into something so unbelievably terrifying? We have been planning for this for the past 8 months. We've done everything "by the book" and this is the news we get? We picked ourselves up, dried our tears, and asked what we do next.

I stayed hooked up to another monitor for another non-stress test for the next 2 hours as the specialist monitored my contractions. They barely hurt, but continues to come every other minute, lasting a minute each time.

The specialist returned to where we were completing the test. Contrary to his comment prior to hooking me up to the monitor ("You don't appear to be in active labor"), he now stated I was in labor and we need to send you to a place where they have the means to care for this baby after birth." He gave us the option of two hospitals then chose for us because he didn't want my water to break while sitting in traffic on the expressway. He came back about a half hour later and said we were to go to the Labor and Delivery unit and that they would be expecting us.

We drove to the hospital as we called our employer's to let them know we wouldn't be back and called our parents to share the exciting (and terrifying) news.

We arrived at the hospital around 5:30, still not feeling like I was in labor. We found our way to the unit where they quickly hooked me up to IVs and gave a steroid injection for his lung development. The attending physician came into the room about a half hour later. She said she did not plan on delivering this baby this evening; that it could still be a few weeks and that he would be safe ineutero until delivery.

We were not happy with this news. After rushing to the hospital and being told our child would need surgery almost immediately, to being told everything would be fine and we weren't having a baby yet, we were dumbfounded. What do we believe? Hating needles, I started to complain. I would be darned if I was going to sit here after being stuck a few times and not have this baby.

After about 20 minutes of complaining and a change of shift for the nurses around 7pm, I turned to Cameron and said "Either I just peed myself and I am completely embarrassed, or my water broke." We quickly pressed the nurse call button.

In she came, then out she went to get the doctor. They tested the fluid and retracted everything they had said about not being in labor. It was 7:50pm.

Next thing you know, we are talking to the anesthesiologist about epidurals. I got the epidural around 10pm, after 5 different attempts from the anesthesiology team. (Remember I hate needles).

At 10:30, they decided to start Pitocin since I still wasn't dilating past 3cm. Our moms came in the room to visit for a while as we explained the events that had transpired that day. At 11:45, I decided I was going to try to take a nap before gearing up for delivery. At 12, I called the nurse and told her that "I think he's coming now." She decided to check for herself and agreed. She left the room to get the doctor. Around 12:20am, they said I could try to push. The NICU team arrived in the room around 12:30-it was Go-Time.

After 20 minutes of pushing and 6 people's hands pulling him and pushing on me (he was in distress), our baby was born at 12:59am.

Grant Lyons Renehan. 19.5 inches. 5 lbs 2oz.

Full of joy and some relief, we held our breath as we waited for him to cry. He wasn't breathing well. We heard a short, soft cry before they placed him on a CPAP. After about 20 minutes, the nurse placed our baby, wrapped in a blanket, on my chest for a brisk 20 seconds before whisking him away. At 1:27 AM, he was admitted to the NICU. Daddy followed he and the team of doctors upstairs while the doctors cared for me.

He returned and our moms came back in the room to sit with us as we awaited to hear about surgery for our little baby. A doctor returned after a few hours (seemingly a lifetime) and explained the problem just as the specialist had done. They believed the bowel had twisted and inverted upon itself, causing a blockage. He said they were going to complete some tests and he would let us know what they find and the plan of action.

Soon after, I developed a severe headache, high blood pressure, and some other symptoms. The doctor ordered a pain medication intravenously as they drew lab work to test for preeclampsia. She returned a couple hours later and said that I needed to start on a magnesium drip immediately to prevent seizures and that I wouldn't be allowed to leave my bed for 24 hours. I cried. My baby was going to have surgery and I was helpless. But, we did what we had to do.

Still no test results and it was getting to be near noon. Daddy had been up to check on him a few times, as he was permitted to be in the room due to all the testing.

I came off the drip at 1am on 6/30. Eager to see our baby, whom I hadn't seen in 24 hours, Cameron helped get me out of bed and into a wheelchair. It took two hours to be able to sit up and eventually stand. I had to eat before I was allowed to leave the room, so I downed two pretzels and some peanut butter crackers.

Cameron wheeled me upstairs where we sat with Grant at his bedside. We were there only a short time before I had to return to my room due to the pre-eclampsia. We returned to his bedside a few hours later and we finally got to hold him for about a half hour each.

The pediatric surgeon came over to us and explained the possible causes and that surgery was necessary. She said it could be a vulvulus (type of twisted bowel obstruction), but that she wasn't expecting it. Only surgery would be able to tell us for certain.

By 12:50pm, we had signed consent forms to put our 36-hour old baby to sleep while they completed an exploratory surgery. We followed Grant and the anesthesiologists to the OR doors. Again, how could this be happening?

We returned to our room where family took turns visiting to keep us occupied.

At 1:50pm, we received a call stating they were starting.

At 2:50pm, they called again to say they were actually starting to cut and that he was tolerating the anesthesia and was on a ventilator.

At 3:50pm, they called to say he was still undergoing surgery.

At 4:50pm, they called to say everything was going great and they were wrapping up within the hour.

At 5:50pm, the surgeon came to our room and said she had just finished. We tried to absorb everything she said as she drew a diagram of what she had found. They tried laparoscopically, but quickly learned that wouldn't work. The problem was too severe.

She explained that she had found a vulvulus obstruction and that she had to remove 25cm (later learning it was 15cm) of dead small intestine after the blockage. She asked if anyone in our family had Cystic Fibrosis. Again, we said no.

She explained that she had to insert two stomas, as she was not able to resection his bowel at this time. Our baby now has an illeostomy bag.

She said this could be caused by one of three things: Cystic Fibrosis, Hirschprung's disease, or a freak vascular accident ineutero. (I did have a hemorrhage at week 13 and the placenta eventually reattached itself by week 17.) She took some biopsies and we are still awaiting those results. They also sent out blood for his newborn screen and asked that it be expedited. We asked what this meant as far as having our baby home and safe. She told us it would be 3 to 4 weeks minimum until he could come home and at least 6 weeks before they would consider reversing the stomas and putting his bowel back together.

We went up to see him later that evening. Still asleep and still on the ventilator, he looked peaceful. We cried a lot that night and anxiously awaited him to start breathing on his own again.

At 4am on 7/1, he came off the vent. He remained on IVs, and they gained our consent to insert a PICC line since his IVs kept going bad. He also received a blood transfusion after losing 20ml during surgery. We held his hand as much as we could that day after they made several failed attempts to insert the PICC line.

They tried again for the PICC line the next day (7/2) after we got to hold him for 2 hours. Unsuccessful again, they had to call in the surgeon.

Our baby underwent his second surgery which lasted an hour and a half, but the PICC line was in. Pediatric Surgeons are saints who make a fortune.

We sat with him for a little as he recovered-completely zonked out from the pain medication once again-before coming back home.

July 3rd was a great day for all of us. We snuggled him for hours as he stared up at us, wide awake. He sucked on his pacifier, finally beginning to realize hunger. He continued on his TPN and was a champ through a Hep B vaccine (but how could he not be tough at this point?!)

We got to change his diaper several times, take his temperature, and give him a bed bath. Our hearts have never been more full. That day, our baby acted like a healthy baby. There isn't a moment where he hasn't seemed genuinely content.

The surgeon checked on his stomas, which were now producing output. He also continued on his Replogle to suction everything out of his stomach. Once the bile clears in color, we will FINALLY be able to attempt to feed him a small amount (The poor thing has to be starving!)

The nurse practitioner informed us that the results from his genetic screening came back and revealed that he was negative for the top 43 mutations of Cystic Fibrosis, but that his IRT level was still elevated, which could mean he has C.F., but a much rarer form. The only way to know for sure would be done by completing a sweat test, which can't be done until he is 2 to 3 months old and starts producing sweat. So, we will continue to be patient, to pray, and to wait.

Our little boy is a fighter and we will continue to hope for the best life possible for him. He is our greatest Blessing, our most rewarding milestone, and the best thing God could ever give us.

We hope you will continue this journey with us as God continues to Grant Us Strength.

XOXO.

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vampirediariesfiles-blog · 7 years

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Friends to lovers - Kai Parker Imagine

Hey! this is my first time writing smut so it isn’t very good but i tried my best and i am planning to get better at it so i can write a lot more.

Word count: 1285

Warnings - smut

Y/N and Kai had been friends ever since they were little. They basically grew up together since they’re parents were friends due to their similar powers. Y/N always knew that Kai was troubled and was a cast out of his family but she didn’t care, he was her best friend and she wouldn’t leave him. That was until the day he was forced to leave her due to his little outburst which included him killing 4 of his siblings and attempting to kill the other three. His family sent him to a prison world because of this. I only know this because I watched it happen as I was walking to his house for his birthday.

It had been 20 years and Y/N still missed her best friend, Kai, every day. Even though she moved to Mystic Falls, made new friends and made a new life for herself, she still couldn’t get the image of Kai’s face when he realised what his family were doing to him, on his birthday of all days. It was heart-breaking. In spite of all of this, she had moved on with her life. Since then, she hadn’t experienced the loss of a close friend, until the day that two of her best friends died.

Damon was the first person that Y/N had met when she moved to Mystic Falls 19 years ago. Once she had found out about vampires and the perks of being one, she convinced her friend to turn her into one and she loved it. She could move faster than any human, she could never die and she could heal people with her own blood, and if she wanted to, she could turn all of her feelings off with just a button inside of her head. Shortly after she moved, Damon left Mystic Falls and she left with him until they both came back 3 years ago and that is when she met all of her best friends; Stefan, Elena, Caroline, Matt, Tyler and Bonnie.

After Bonnie and Damon had died, she felt exactly like she did when she witnessed Kai become imprisoned in his own world, all by himself. Every since that day, she regrets not telling him her true feelings towards him and she never thought she’d have a chance, not until Damon came back and explained that he had met Kai. Y/N couldn’t believe it when he said that he could bring back Bonnie and her best friend, Kai.

One day, Damon came through the door of his house, shouting for everyone to come into the living room.

“What do you want, i was taking a nap” mumbled Y/N.

“Today is the day that we bring back Bonnie, my dear Y/N. And your weird murderous friend that you never shut up about” Damon exclaimed while rolling his eyes.

‘This is it’ Y/N thought to herself ‘This is the day that i get to tell Kai that i love him’

Kai’s POV:

I missed her so much. No matter how long ive been in here, which is a long time by the way, so long that ive lost count how many days, i still love her. The only thing that has kept me from going crazy in here is the image of her face, her smile and the hurt on her face when she watched my family betray me 20 years ago.

At the minute, im stuck in this terrible prison world with a girl that hates me and no way of getting out anytime soon as she sent all her magic away. If only i didn’t almost kill her. Not being able to talk to someone who actually likes me is boring. I miss Y/N and im going to do anything i have to to get back to her, no matter how long its been for her.

Y/N POV:

Waiting around is my least favourite thing to do although it does give me a bit of time to think of what i’m going to say to Kai when he comes out of that prison world.

After a long wait, Liv and Luke managed to get Damon into the prison world to bring back Bonnie and Kai. Y/N would of went but Damon snapped her neck before she could even walk into eye sight of Liv and Luke.

When Y/N woke up, she noticed a figure in her doorway. After a few seconds of allowing her eyes to adjust, she noticed it was Kai. She ran into his arms and stayed like that for a few minutes before getting down.

“My god i’ve missed you so much Y/N” croaked Kai, struggling to keep the tears in.

And in that second, Y/N looked up at Kai with so much love and finally did the thing she had longed for ever since Kai disappeared from her all those years ago.

“I love you Kai Parker, i’ve never stopped loving you and i never will”

Their lips collided and it felt like heaven for both of them. They both started walking towards Y/N’s bed, their lips never leaving each others.The only time they did, was to take each other’s shirts off and throw them across the room.

Kai slowly lowered Y/N down on to the bed, hovering over her and staring into her eyes.

“I love you too” Kai admitted back to Y/N

Kai smashed his lips back down onto Y/N’s. His hands slowly moving down her body, feeling every inch of it like its never been touched before. Kai then started to kiss down Y/N’s neck making her let out soft moans every now and then. Once he got to the hem of Y/N’s jeans, she suddenly spoke out.

“Kai...I need you” She stuttered out.

Kai took this as an invitation to tear her jeans from her body, leaving Y/N in just her underwear. He bit his lip at the sight of her, begging for him underneath him. Kai then pulled down Y/N’s panties agonisingly slow before diving right down to her core. With every suck from Kai came a moan from Y/N. Kai then plunged two fingers inside of her causing Y/N to immediately attach her hands to Kai’s hair.

Soon, Y/N felt a knot in her stomach and knew what was about to happen. Kai, already knowing this as he could feel her tighten around him.

“Cum for me baby” Kai said in a voice that Y/N had never heard him talk in before and she immediately fell in love it it. It also caused he to release over him.

Kai didn’t even give her a minute to recover before he pulled his boxers down and pushed himself into Y/N, again agonisingly slow.

“M-my god you feel amazing Y/N” Kai said in between moans. He hadn’t felt this good, ever. Yeah he had slept with people before he got trapped but none of them compared to Y/N. The feeling of being inside her made him never want to leave her side again.

Kai’s thrust’s kept getting faster and Y/N’s moans kept getting louder. The pressure was building up once again within Y/N as Kai kept pushing himself in and out of her.

“I’m so close” Y/N moaned out and Kai hummed in agreement. Kai’s thrusts started getting sloppier and Y/N knew he was almost there, just like her. In that second they both reached their highs and breathed out in unison.

Kai pulled out and collapsed next to Y/N, still out of breath.

“Y/N?” Kai questioned.

“Yes?”

“I’m never going to leave you again. No matter what happens i will always be here with you. I love you” Kai replied. He was being truthful because for the first time in forever, he felt home.

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loxare · 7 years

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A Talon By Any Other Name

Chapter 7 - Getting to Know You

“Wonderful. You're awake.” Dick beamed at the dry British voice. Every time he heard it, it was followed by cookies and a general feeling of calmness. In the Court, it had been calm any time he wasn't on an assignment, but it was a tense calm. Like the calm before a storm. Agent A was the calm after the storm, when you knew everything was going to be ok now.

As usual, there was a tray full of cookies in the butler's hands. Unusually, there was a glass and a paper cup full of pills as well. “Here we are.” Hood made a tentative grab for the delicious-smelling treats. He'd always been grabby about food. But Agent A gently slapped his hand away. “None of that now. You must have these first.” He held up the paper cup and a glass of water.

Hood was instantly suspicious, recoiling as far back into his pillow as he could. “What is it?”

“Nutrient pills. We attempted to get you on an IV drip, but you continually pushed the needles out. And your blood work was severely lacking in several essential vitamins and minerals.”

There was something about Agent A that made a person instantly want to obey. Batman had obviously built an immunity, and Red seemed to be well on his way, but luckily, Little Wing was new to the butler's no nonsense demeanor. Demurely, he took the cup and dry swallowed the pills. Dick couldn't really tell, because of the mask, but he was fairly sure Agent A rolled his eyes at the action.

He pushed the glass closer. “And the water young sir. Then you may have your cookies.” Dick had to say, he'd never seen something disappear that fast. Hood had gotten the entire glass drank in one gulp.

Satisfied, Agent A maneuvered the tray so it was sitting on Hood's lap and the Talons dived in. They were still eating, savouring every bite, ten minutes later when the Batmobile pulled into the Batcave. Those were the terms now. As soon as he figured out how, he was hacking into the Batcomputer and changing them there.

Red Wing bounded into the medbay as soon as he was showered and changed, as he had been for the past few days. When he saw Hood, his face covered in crumbs, chocolate chips, and raspberry jam, he broke into a smile. “Hood! You're up!”

“Yup. Not dead yet squirt.” He bit down on the last bite of cookie, ignoring the napkin Agent A was not-so-subtly holding out in his direction, choosing to wipe his face off on the back of his hand instead. “So, how've you been since the last time I tried to kill you?”

“Nice try. You never tried to kill me. You were training me.”

“Ah! Little detective, this one!” Hood grinned, and Dick mirrored the expression. His little brother didn't seem to have any bad side effects from Joker's attacks. No brain damage. That was good.

Red Wing's smile dropped into a serious frown. Dick followed that one too, knowing what Red was going to ask and showing silent support. Even though they were Talons, Red idolized them a bit. Probably because of the no-fatal-attacks thing, but probably something else too. “Why? You had plenty of chances. But you never went for a death blow. Not even a maiming one. Why?”

Hood blew out a breath of air. “Right to the heavy question, huh? Alright. First time I ever saw you, you were talking some druggie woman down from a ledge, saved her and her kid. I checked on her a month later. She'd gotten checked into rehab. Her kid was doing well in school.” He scratched at the back of his head. “Dick tell you how we can get memories back sometimes? Just random, out of the blue ones caused by some trigger or another?”

Red Wing nodded. “He got a memory the first time he saw you.”

Hood's eyebrows flew up. Dick frowned. Had he never told... Nope. He had not. Oops. Giving him a Look, Hood continued. “Well, watching you talk to that lady that night gave me one too. Some blonde woman, maybe my mom. Maybe not. I was reading to her. There were needles everywhere and her eyes were all glazed. But sometimes, she smiled.” His eyes were faraway. Dick was listening intently, and he knew Red was doing the same. Anything Hood could remember was a hint as to who he had been. “You were so kind to that lady on the roof. And I thought, maybe, if my mom had had someone to check her into rehab, if she'd gotten clean, I wouldn't have gone to the streets. I wouldn't have been Talon.”

He snapped back to reality and flicked Red on the forehead. “You kind of sucked though. Any Talon could take you out with both hands behind their back and blindfolded. You had a job to save people and you couldn't do it if you were dead. That's why.”

Rubbing his forehead, Red nodded. “Thank you. I'd been wondering.”

“Well stop it. It'll give you little creases that will never go away.” Intent on being annoying, Hood rubbed his thumb between Red Wing's eyebrows, trying to erase the crease there while Red protested. After a moment, Dick joined in, pulling Red's mouth into a smile. “Frowning is bad for you Red. Lighten up!”

“Let go you guys! Stohahhaap!” The last word was severely distorted by giggles when Hood gave up on the seemingly-permanent crease and started tickling the poor little crime fighter. After a particularly fierce chortle threatened to take one of Dick's fingers off, he moved to tickling too. Fingers were a pain to regrow.

“What's going on in here?”

The sudden, stern, Batman-voice had all of them freezing in place. Slowly, they turned to the door, Red still hiccoughing a few snickers. Dick pressed his mouth into a straight line. “He is much too serious for his age. He has way more growing up to do before he becomes a broody tower of darkness like you.”

Hood nodded. “Small children need to smile Bats.”

Ignoring Red's protest (“I an not a small child! And you're not much older than me!”), Batman just glared at Dick, who glared right back. Probably not a good idea to glare at the guy who had decided yesterday that he wouldn't put them in the little cells the Batcave had for some reason, but it needed to be done. “Now if you'll excuse us, we were in the middle of something important.”

Hood got in first, grabbing a very ticklish spot on Red's knee, producing a startled yelp from the boy. Dick went back to focusing on his sides, Hood on the bottoms of his feet. Dick wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Batman smile, shake his head, and turn to leave.

Red didn't escape until twenty minutes later when Agent A walked back in with a new batch of cookies. That man really had the best timing. “Alright Master Dick, Master Hood. I do believe that Master Red has had enough for now.”

Tim jumped. Master Dick and Master Hood...? But Alfred only ever called people he considered family by that title. People who belonged in the Manor. He caught the butler's eye and received a knowing smile in return. So Alfred saw it too?

It had been a bit slow, but Dick had managed to very much incorporate himself into life in the Cave. Any time he wasn't watching over Hood's bedside, he was helping, teaching Tim new moves, showing Bruce how he could use acrobatics to climb buildings faster than even a grapple, helping Alfred dust the computer. Or sometimes making a nuisance of himself, hopping from stalactite to stalactite and scaring the bats, taking naps on top of the computer screen, hanging from the car's platform to startle Tim when he jumped out at the end of a long night. Hood himself had been awake for less than an hour, and he'd already impressed Alfred with his hearty appetite and willingness to pull the ever-serious vigilantes out of their brooding.

A day or two later, once Alfred let Hood get out of bed officially (and after he'd snuck out at least six times), Hood had managed to work his way past the Bat's very impressive walls. A good majority of it was hiding in the stalactites and jumping out to startle him (which never worked) and spotting things in cases that Bruce and Tim missed. For example, one of Riddler's riddles had involved a classical novel, one Bruce had read, but not often and not for a long while. Hood had the entire relevant passage memorized.

By way of explanation, Hood just waved a hand. “I was sent to pick up a delivery from an Owl's house. I may have made off with a book or six as well.” At Dick's raised eyebrow – because really, how did he manage to get away with that? – he grinned. “They were the dusty ones, in the very back of the library. He probably didn't even notice they were gone. That's where I got most of my books. Deliveries. Read them a hundred times, at least. Never took any from any assassination assignments though...”

Soon after, Tim found himself browsing the bookshelves in the study, trying to find something Hood might like. All four books were finished in two days and piled neatly on Tim's workbench. After a half hour, he looked up to see a pair of teal eyes peeking at him longingly from the far end of the table. With a sigh, he stood and walked up the staircase, pulling off his mask as he went.

Bruce, in his usual paranoid fashion, had installed a fingerprint and retina scan, as well as a vocal key, to the door. To keep the Talons out, he said. Tim just smirked and shook his head. Neither of them had shown any interest in going upstairs, although Dick did start waiting at the bottom of the stairs every time he heard someone open the clock.

The study was empty. So was the rest of the house actually. Bruce had gone to a Wayne Enterprises meeting and Alfred had driven him. So it was just Tim and the secret basement of Talons. And apparently, as he grabbed another book off the shelf, someone else. He heard their breathing beyond the door, but there wasn't any time to hide or react. The door burst open and Tim let out a strangled cry as the assailant tackled him, then another as his head slammed into the desk. Dazed, he could barely follow the intruder's conversation as he spoke into a walkie-talkie.

“Yeah, alone, just like you said. ... Nah, I didn't have any trouble breaking in. ... That code the Court gave you really does work on everything. Easiest kidnapping I've ever been paid for.”

The conversation was cut short when the clock burst open. Thankfully, the kidnapper had his back turned as Hood shouldered his way past the magnetic locks and Dick flipped into the room, landing on the guy's head. He went face first into the same desk that Tim had landed on, going unconscious instantly.

Dick gathered Tim in his arms while Hood hogtied the intruder. Then they raced back down the stairs, pulling the clock closed on Tim's insistence. Before Tim could get his bearings, he was sitting in the medbay, with Hood stitching the cut he didn't even realize was bleeding while Dick tried unsuccessfully to call Bruce on the computer.

“Ok, I got nothing. Hood, you still haven't fixed your shoulder?”

“It's fine. Just dislocated. It'll heal.”

“It'll heal faster if you fix it. Red, how do you work this thing?”

Later, Tim would blame the head injury for this. At the time, it seemed like a spectacular idea. “The passwords are 0527DC1939, 0437DC1940, 0416B1943, 03357B1983, 08436B1989, 08647DC1992, and 09655B2006. Batman can be called on the third icon down.” He faded in and out of consciousness, only hearing brief snatches of conversation as Dick relayed what happened.

It was almost like his brain was taking snapshots instead of video. Click. Dick was by the computer, Hood was leaning close to inspect the stitches. Click. He'd fallen over. Hood was picking him up. Dick was rushing over. Click. They had pushed a bed so it was against the wall. Click. They had sat him up and put themselves on either side of him, to keep him from falling over again. Click. They had both fallen asleep. That sounded like a good idea.

Meetings were long and almost always uneventful. This one was one that Lucius could have taken care of by himself, but the board members insisted on his presence. Of course finances were crucial, but this was beyond him, let alone his facade of idiot billionaire playboy. And it was boring. Fighting crime was simultaneously more interesting and more fulfilling.

No, that wasn't quite right. Wayne Enterprises employed thousands of people. Money was donated to charities which he used to fund the criminals who were more desperate and down on their luck than the hardened thugs he normally encountered.

Bruce truly believed that his charities helped those people. The ones who turned to gangs or petty crime so they could feed their little ones. It was largely in part to the Wayne Foundation. Not to mention his own night time activities, which were not as promiscuous as the board wanted to believe. Of course, he normally had a good sense of which person he encountered was a criminal and which one was just desperate.

His phone rang, jostling him from his not-related-to-finance thoughts. Hiding his relief with a look of annoyance, he gestured to the board to continue. Stepping out, he pressed his phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Ah! I got it to work. Hood, it's working!”

“I can hear that Dickie. Just tell him what happened. Whoa Red, stay upright. I need to bandage this.”

And now Bruce was freaking out a bit. Bandage what? And how had Dick gotten into the computer? “Talk. Now.”

“Right, right. So Red was upstairs getting Hood more books and we heard him scream. Once, and it was probably just him tripping on something. But he screamed twice and we got all worried. So we broke your door and there was a guy and Red was lying on the floor bleeding a bit from his head. I knocked him out and Hood tied him up and now Red is getting stitches and I thought you should know.”

Bruce sighed and rubbed his eyes. “He's alright?” From the sound of things, he was, but Bruce wanted to make sure. He started towards the elevator. He'd give his apology to Lucius tomorrow.

“A little woozy. He probably has a concussion.”

The elevator door closed behind him. Pressing one of his shirt buttons, he temporarily shorted out the camera. And now for the second important question. “Did the intruder see the Cave entrance?”

“Hm? No, he had his back turned when Hood bashed through. Speaking of, Hood, fix your shoulder or I'll fix it for you!”

“Fine!” There was the distinct crack of an arm going back into its shoulder socket.

And the third question. “And you saw the room upstairs? Any notable objects?”

“Oh yeah. There was a desk, and a bunch of decoration stuff!”

“And wall to wall books. Tell him about the books Dick!”

“Hood says there was books.”

“That was the least excited mention of books I have ever heard.”

“That's because it's not exciting.”

Before Hood could reply, Bruce barked, “Focus!” The elevator dinged, and he swept his eyes across the room. Spotting Alfred speaking to the receptionist (a lovely young woman, sir, she wants to go to Yale next year), he waved him over. One last question. “Do you know why the man was there?”

“Yup. Heard him just before we broke in. The Court sent him he was going to kidnap Red.”

“WHAT?”

“No idea why. Maybe we'll find out later? Ah, who am I kidding? You're Bats! You'll figure it out.”

He would have preferred a concrete reason, but this would have to do for now. “Keep an eye on him,” he meant Tim, but he couldn't tell Dick his name, and calling him Red while there was twenty or thirty people in ear shot would be suspicious, “I'll be home in half an hour.” He hung up, and turned to Alfred. “Someone went after Tim today, but whoever it was clearly wasn't expecting our guests to be there. Tim likely has a concussion though.”

Alfred sniffed, holding the door open for Bruce. “Some people have no sense of decorum. Entering a person's house while they're away is the height of poor taste.”

Giving a short laugh, he smiled at his lifelong friend through the mirror. “Indeed it is Alfred. Now let's see how he's doing.”

The ride home was definitely a half hour according to the clock on the dashboard, but it felt like so much longer. As it wore on, Bruce felt something unfamiliar creep up on him. He was trying to shift through every possible culprit who could have gotten past the Manor's security, but his focus kept slipping sideways to Tim. If he was alright, if he was scared or worse, if this was so in the norm for him that he was simply used to it. Maybe making him Red Wing had been a bad idea. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be getting injured on a regular basis. Actually, if he hadn't taken Tim in in the first place, he wouldn't be getting targeted by unknowns. And that wasn't his only failure. He should have kept a better eye on Dick, that day at the circus. Should have gone up and comforted him right away instead of looking for clues as to the murderer's identity. If he had, the Court might not have grabbed him. And Hood had dislocated his shoulder?

“Oh, do stop worrying sir. I'm sure Master Tim is fine.” The curt voice cut through his thoughts.

“I'm not worrying. Am I worrying?” Was he worrying?

Alfred gave him a wry smile. “It appears so Master Bruce. Fret not. It's natural to worry about your children when they're injured.” Children? It made sense for Tim, he supposed. He had adopted the boy after all. But he'd been worrying about Dick and Hood too.

Bruce was saved from having to reply by Alfred pulling up to the front door.

Leaping out, he pushed open the door, already standing ajar, and raced down the hall, to the study. As promised, there was a thug lying on the ground, thoroughly tied up and unconscious. As a precaution, Bruce lifted the man and tossed him into the hall. Alfred could call the police on this one.

He opened the clock, noting the broken magnetic locks, and took the stairs two at a time. He raced through the training room, the main area, and the garage (complete with boat, plane and motorcycles), before he remembered the medbay. Hood had been stitching Tim's head.

And there they were. Sitting on a bed parked longways along the wall, each of them fast asleep. It surprised him a bit when the tight feeling in his chest lessened, not just at the sight of Tim's general health (head wound not withstanding), but also at Dick's and Hood's. Grabbing a blanket from another bed, he covered them and turned to leave, flicking off the lights as he went. He had to speak to Alfred about some guest rooms.

It wasn't until a few hours later that he noticed someone had altered all his equipment records. The “Batmobile”? What?

AN: Another happy chapter! Yay! I don’t know if you noticed, but I am working very hard on getting these out by the end of this week and not forgetting.

#Loxie's fics #Brainwashing #Talking about terrible things in the past #Happiness #Bruce considering serial adoption #He may have a problem.#Dick Grayson #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Bruce Wayne #Alfred Pennyworth #Dickie #Jay #Timmers #Alfie #Bruceman

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gulescamisade · 7 years

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Mega Texas: Day 1

[ Dirk, Nepeta, Sollux, Tavros, Equius, Aradia, Signless, Summoner, Tyrena and Disciple all find themselves blipping suddenly onto the hot, scorching ground. Snapping back to reality and here comes gravity. They find themselves closely scattered in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The cars are here, aren’t they always, only some of these are broken into, which is another common thing. Beside them there is a judgemental moo from cows watching as these weirdos appeared from nowhere and decided to take a nap on the asphalt. Their hair still static-y from the trip, touching one of the abandoned carts seems like a bad idea man. Real bad. ]

DIRK: -DOOF. he lands on his ass.- ... What the fuck?

DIRK: -looks around. wal-mart... fucked up cars...-

DIRK: -a weird looking horse?-

DIRK: -could he be in the fabled land of his birth?-

NEPETA: =TAIL FRIZZES AND HISSES=

EQUIUS: -How dare you. He is in perfect condition. This Wal-Mart, however, is not. Equius stands with a groan.-

NEPETA: =THE CLAWS ARE OUT=

DIRK: -nah, that's a ridiculous conclusion to jump to...-

TYRENA: -drags herself up from the floor-

DIRK: -gets up, surveying the group and takes a head count.- Everyone okay?

TYRENA: -a little bit of a hISS as she does-

TYRENA: 0NLY SUPERF1C1ALLY >:)

TYRENA: -STALKS AND HOBBLES a few steps, bare feet on the hot ground.- TYRENA: BLEH

SIGNLESS: -Ahh, nothing like suddenly APPEARING SOMEWHERE ELSE. First thing to register when his feet hit the ground is that its very hot, but heat he can handle, what he cant handle is trying to guess what just happened.-

SIGNLESS: Would someone.... kindly fill me in on what has just happened. -Squints as he looks around at all the cars and cows.-

EQUIUS: -He's sweating abhorrently, and the heat is making him a little...sluggish-

TYRENA: 1 PR0M1SE NO K1NDNESS

TYRENA: 1T WAS A TRAP

SOLLUX: -just laying face down on the ground.-

ARADIA: -she had a soft landing...but sollux...he needed to fall flat on his face. it was important. so she just waits for him to get up.-

NEPETA: =Scampers around anxiously, scampers over Sollux. Sits on him and kneads=

NEPETA: =With claws=

NEPETA: =Hello=

SOLLUX: 0w.

SOLLUX: guess i'm still alive. c00l.

SOLLUX: -muffled into pavement-

DIRK: ... -hoists him-

DIRK: We're missing most of the crew.

DIRK: -pats himself down... his comm device is still on him. hmm.-

NEPETA: =Doofs off Sollux as he's lift and scampers again before climbing Equius=

SOLLUX: -is hoist- l00ks like nepeta is 0kay.

TYRENA: YES

TYRENA: THEY ARE M1SS1NG YOU, EQUALLY, 1'M SURE

SOLLUX: every0ne stand still and wait f0r me t0 st0p tasting c0ncrete s0 i can figure 0ut wh0's here.

DIRK: I'm gonna try to get ahold of everyone else. Hold up.

ARADIA: im here

SOLLUX: 0h hey AA.

EQUIUS: D --> Are you...okay, Nepeta? Aradia as well. Everyone else

NEPETA: :33 <sure this is grrrrrrrrreat blargh but im fine just furreaked out :'((

ARADIA: hi sollux

ARADIA: hi equius

ARADIA: theres nothing to be freaked out about :D

NEPETA: :33 < this is dumb >:'((

EQUIUS: D --> Stop being weirder than usual, Aradia. I concur with Nepeta

ARADIA: youre weirder than usual

ARADIA: oh wait

ARADIA: thats all the time

EQUIUS: D --> Now is not the time to wa% pitchy. Something severe has happened

ARADIA: its moderate

DIRK: -gets this random urge to kick hal's ass-

TYRENA: 1 APPRECIATE Y0UR UTTER 1ND1FFERENCE AND F1ND 1T REFRESH1NG

TYRENA: H0WEVER, 1T D0ES REVEAL A F0REKN0WLEDGE 0F TH1NGS

TYRENA: SP1LL, P1X1E, 1 KN0W H0W TH1S GAME W0RKS

TYRENA: 1'VE BEEN AT 1T F0R M0ST 0F MY L1FE

DIRK: -blurts out, holding up his comm- Hey. We're in Texas.

TYRENA: 0H

TYRENA: WHAT'S A TEXAS

ARADIA: -she smiles at tyrena- ive been through every way this could possibly go

ARADIA: i know what we have to do to get to our best end result

ARADIA: but in every circumstance that i choose to tell you what to do next

ARADIA: it all ends horrifically

TYRENA: HA

TYRENA: 1F Y0U 1NS1ST

TYRENA: 1 AM N0 HYP0CR1TE, AT LEAST

SOLLUX: welc0me t0 hell.

ARADIA: welcome to hell

SOLLUX: yeah.

DIRK: -looks a little distressed-

DIRK: ... Alright, everybody.

DIRK: I've gathered that the crew's been split up into groups, presumably all around the US. We're going to try to meet up in Minnesota.

DIRK: The kids are still on the ship, but Porrim is looking after them. Think she's got the bots helping her too.

TYRENA: HM

TYRENA: 1 SUPP0SE 1T 1S A PLAN, 1F N0TH1NG ELSE

DIRK: Sollux, come with me. We're gonna try to hot wire some of these cars. -drags him, but also because he wants to talk to him-

ARADIA: -smiles as they go-

SOLLUX: hhff. -is DRAG.- h0w fucking 0ld is this techn0l0gy even g0ing t0 be, this is g0nna suck.

DIRK: We weren't transported back in time, asshole. I'm sure it's fine. -he assumes-

DIRK: ... -quiet for a second after he jimmies a door open- I don't know where Jake and Roxy are.

SOLLUX: -no human technology suuuuucks. whine whine. but also quiets himself after that.- SOLLUX: ... 0kay. uhh.

SOLLUX: fuck.

DIRK: I'm trying not to freak out. Not while I still gotta give everyone direction. -leeeans into the driver's seat and starts fucking around with the car.-

NEPETA: :33 < its purrretty hard to not freak out :((

NEPETA: =crawls in the car and starts to scratch the seat immediately= :33 < where can we even go in texass?

TYRENA: AWAY FR0M TEXAS

DIRK: -SUDDENLY A CAT- ... Yeah, that's the plan, actually.

DIRK: Probably best we lay low too. As much as I'd love to sight see.

SOLLUX: jegus nepeta.

NEPETA: :33 < i can help scout...... =mnng, jumps out and starts to prowl around........= and also get dinner =STARES at cows=

NEPETA: =MEAT=

DIRK: Don't you dare kill that horse.

NEPETA: =tilts head and snorts=

NEPETA: :33 < thats a silly looking horse!!

EQUIUS: D --> It's an udderbeast. A, oh fizzlewinks, what do humans call it again? Oh yes, a cow -And Nepeta better leave it alone-

DIRK: He's just a lil chunky.

ARADIA: -joins the rest of them-

NEPETA: :33 < a chunky hunk of FOOD

EQUIUS: D --> Cease

NEPETA: :33 < im trying to feed the pack :30

SOLLUX: can s0me0ne take a chunky hunk 0f shut the fuck up while i'm trying to blindly help h0twire this scuttlebuggy?

SOLLUX: in case y0u f0rg0t the tech guy was blind.

NEPETA: =leans next to Sollux=

NEPETA: :33 < (is the shut fuck tender and juicy.... like steak?) =mrps softly= i pawlieve in you!

SOLLUX: ggghhhhh.

ARADIA: im assuming youre pretty talented with your scents to know whawt youre doing by now

EQUIUS: -Plucks Nepeta up. Let him work-

SOLLUX: -mocking her- i'm assuming y0u're pretty talented with y0ur dick by n0w t0 blah blah blah my ass.

SOLLUX: -sparks fly as he touches two wires together- 0W FUCK.

ARADIA: i mean yes

ARADIA: i was waiting for that

SOLLUX: Y0U WERE WAITING F0R MY ASS?

ARADIA: for you to get shocked

ARADIA: after saying that

SOLLUX: AA can y0u st0p being super fucking creepy f0r tw0 sec0nds and try being slightly m0re s0cially acceptable? like ask if i'm 0kay 0r s0mething???

ARADIA: are you ok

ARADIA: you are

ARADIA: i can answer that

DIRK: -he's just watching this happen tbh-

SOLLUX: i'm-- g0d damn it.

SOLLUX: -throws hands up-

ARADIA: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SOLLUX: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ARADIA: :D

DIRK: -and with that, he manages to get it to start running- Nice.

DIRK: This wouldn't be possible without the sacrifices you made, babe. I'm so proud of you.

TYRENA: -climbs onto the roof of the car.-

SOLLUX: y0u're WELC0ME, every0ne!

SOLLUX: what the fuck is that.

ARADIA: tyrena

SOLLUX: figures.

DIRK: Important question... Who all knows how to drive a car?

NEPEPTA: :33 < i do!

DIRK: Cool. We're gonna need a few people cuz we ain't all fittin' in one.

DIRK: -moves onto another car to get that one running.-

TYRENA: 1 CAN DR1VE

SOLLUX: Y0U'RE BLIND.

SOLLUX: HA HA.

TYRENA: YES, Y0U ARE

SOLLUX: yeah.

SOLLUX: -SIGHS.-

SOLLUX: -he's more agitated because he misses Terezi already.-

EQUIUS: D --> I can navigate one of these rudimentary vehicles well enough

SOLLUX: kn0wing y0u, y0u'll break the wheel 0r kick a h0le in the fl00rb0ard bef0re y0u get this thing past the ugly h0rse.

DIRK: -keeps an eye on those two... no strangling this time.-

EQUIUS: D --> I could just as easily put a hole in you -This heat is doing wonders for his anger-

NEPETA: =puts her foot on Equius' cheek=

DIRK: Don't make me come over there.

ARADIA: -pats equius's arm- but you wont

SOLLUX: i dunn0 aa i think we have time t0 find 0ut.

DIRK: For fuck's sake, my dude.

SOLLUX: let's just be real ab0ut 0ur handicaps here. i'm blind and he's freakishly hulking.

EQUIUS: -There's a neck vein or three bulging-

ARADIA: hes big

NEPETA: =Puts her foot on the neck veins, mrps=

NEPETA: :33 < if i cant eat the weird horse ill eat mew both fur survival!

SOLLUX: at least i'll be put t0 g00d use.

NEPETA: :33 < purr bones would make a nice broth

ARADIA: -whacks sollux's arm-

EQUIUS: D --> As what? A post dinner tooth picking tool

NEPETA: :33 < no equihiss purr the picking tool fur my teeth! >:00

EQUIUS: D --> You've already e%pended your use, Captor

NEPETA: :33 < BLARRRRRGGHH =ascends the horse and gets on his shoulders, hand over the mouth= shush

DIRK: -okay, he's coming back over.-

SOLLUX: 0W.

SOLLUX: what was that f0r???

[In the not so far distance, a shitty jpeg skateboard gently floats to the ground]

ARADIA: you hit your daily verbal self deprecation limit a long time ago

DIRK: Are we really doing this right now? Because I'm not in the fucking mood to br-- .....................

DIRK: -stares at the skateboard-

SOLLUX: excuse me?? that d0esn't exist.

SOLLUX: .... br.

ARADIA: -just smiles at the skateboard. HAHAHA it's kind of funny this time around-

DIRK: ... -picks up the skateboard-

SOLLUX: br???

SOLLUX: dirk???

DIRK: Bruh.

SOLLUX: 0h 0kay.

[It's just...So shitty. It's UNREAL, how poor the quality of this thing is. It feels like it's going to break apart in his hands. There's no way anyone actually ever rode this thing]

DIRK: ... -captchalogues this-

DIRK: Anyway, I got the other car running so let's split up.

SOLLUX: sure thing gang.

DIRK: Watch me swooce right in. -pushes sollux into the passenger's seat so he can get into the driver's seat.-

SOLLUX: hrrf. -scrunches up his little stick noodle body-

EQUIUS: -Grumbles off to the other with Nep-

NEPETA: =Pats his sweaty face, softly shushing=

DIRK: -BYE BITCH. just kidding. he likes equius but he can't abide anybody flexing threateningly at his husband. sorry bro.-

ARADIA: -she'll stay in here. for reasons. BYE EQUIUS KISS KISS LOVE YA BYE BYE-

EQUIUS: -He'll break everything-

DIRK: -leads the way further north with his gps guiding them. it's gonna be a long night.-

#technetronicTactician #arseniccaudal #twofoldacrimony #adiosTauromachy #caballineTrottage #artifactualAnnihilation #ironInfidelity #arcadianTroubadour #sybillineAutonomy #apostolicChronicler

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