#it is only the concern over missing emergency sirens that stops me from breaking the law

[5percentkira]

the urge to slap on a pair of headphones while driving is unreal. how peaceful would it be, silently separated from the world by this machine of metal while passing everything by with hands on the wheel, wind swirling through open windows with music in the ears

#sure there's the car radio or sound system #but nothing quite like the isolating sensation of headphones #it is only the concern over missing emergency sirens that stops me from breaking the law #for now lol #p

[moonbaby26]

Title: Escape

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Notes: Actual pairing interaction starts in the second section after the Reader character gets out of the elevator, feel free to skip down to that if you like. Reader thinks about Peter in the first section, but it is more setting up how they got so separated from the others, plus a Wolvie cameo. I wanted Peter x Reader to be able to have more interaction away from the group.

Summary: Continuation of previous chapter. Set during X-Men: Age of Apocalypse. You and the others have been taken to Stryker’s base and must survive to find your way out together.

Warnings: Wolverine cameo advisory with a 100% chance of stabby stab. Mild language.

Chapters: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Taglist: @drikawinchester , @n0obmaster69 , @alexloveskili , @what-a-silver-lining , @bluesprings18 , @weakmoony-stuff , @slytherinsi-mp

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

——————————

“The day of reckoning is here.”

Your eyes opened at once, that unmistakeable voice now reverberating through your mind as fluorescent lights passed one after another above you.

“Professor?” You breathed aloud, immediately trying to sit up on the moving gurney.

But the restraints were drawn too tightly as your head only rebounded backward just as quickly when your torso didn’t rise in tandem.

“Shit!” the guard to your left cursed, his hand drawing back from the gurney rail at your sudden movement.

You turned your head towards him, confused, even as the professor’s words continued in your mind.

Yet Xavier’s voice sounded strange, forced. And you didn’t understand the context. Was it a warning? A threat to someone?

It didn’t really seem to fit the current circumstances to say it was directed at you or your captors. But he only kept speaking.

“The dawn of a new era will emerge. For there is nothing you can do...to stop what is coming.”

The two guards were looking around too then, reacting in sync with the telepathic message leaving you no doubt that they could hear it as well.

But why would Xavier be in their heads too? Did he already know where you were?

One guard chided the other, as if the two of them didn’t both have the same frightened expression. “Damn stun pulse is wearing off it is all, just hurry up and finish this transport. Colonel Stryker wants it taken to the lower testing bay,”

“Don’t tell me you aren’t hearing that voice?” The other guard retorted, “What the hell is that?”

Did they just call you an ‘it’? What was this place? Not a hospital surely. But you could barely dwell on the implications of the guard’s words ‘lower testing bay’, and the impending threat that represented as your last memories finally began to bubble up.

The X-Mansion in rubble, the helicopters swooping in over the trees, the students and staff unconscious in the grass, that soldier cracking your ribs, and-

Peter.

He was a stranger to you still, but he’d been right there against you. Surely you had drawn more attention to him just because your powers had let you resist a few moments longer than the others. Because you’d been so stubborn, not going down until you’d been forced to.

If these men had hurt any of your friends, you would be furious. But if Peter, who had also saved so many of your friends was now in more severe danger because of your actions, you wouldn’t forgive yourself.

“Where did you take the others!?” You arched against the restraints abruptly, your palms opening to face upward, trying to summon any bit of your energy at all. A wisp, an orb, anything that could have helped you right now. You had to find your friends.

But nothing came. Not even a glow or flicker of what you truly were as you now had both guards’ full attention.

“Freak! Just shut up!” One of them shoved the gurney in retaliation to your outburst, the caster wheels rattling across the concrete floor before the bed rail hit against one of the walls, jarring you painfully.

“Those with the greatest power. Protect those without. That's my message to the world.”

Xavier concluded his words then. And somehow, that sounded more like himself than any of the rest of it. The real meaning still eluded you, but hearing him in that tone at least meant he was okay. He was somewhere urging the rest of you on. At least this part you knew was true as you took a calming breath, realizing panic and anger would serve you nothing right now.

Something was blocking your powers. That much was obvious. It would be unrealistic to think that the effects of any stun weapon would be this long lasting though.

On the other hand, you knew chemicals existed that could also temporarily block mutations. Hank used one almost medicinally whenever he didn’t wish to be in his true “Beast” form. But it had to be injected direct into the veins to have any real effect.

You could feel that they hadn’t removed any of your clothing, nor had they rolled up the long sleeves you were wearing. You doubted they would risk a chemical like that wearing off at an inopportune time and likely would have started an IV if they possessed anything of that nature.

There were no tubes or lines attached to you that you could tell, only the restraints now holding you to this bed. Leather straps across your body, metal cuffs on your ankles and wrists-

But wait, you were able to move your head as you’d already discovered. You shifted it again, trying to get a better feel of what was around your neck. Metal as well, but loose as you could still lift your head up enough to see it just a bit. It and its dull, red status light.

Inhibitor collar, you realized with an all new dread sinking in. You had heard of these of course, but it was the kind of thing that students sheltered at Xavier’s school would never have to dream of really. Something you never thought you’d have to experience personally.

How naive.

But you still couldn’t give up. Your mind was racing as you tried to come up with any strategies now. Your options were so limited, but they couldn’t keep you tied down forever. Surely they’d have to move you to a more permanent containment at some point, untie you if even for a moment.

Yet, there were guns as well. You hadn’t missed that detail, but you considered it more fully now as you glanced to the long barrells swaying behind each guard’s back as they pushed you along.

They were slowing now though. You raised your head enough again to see elevator doors nearing. The lower testing bay, you remembered them saying.

But just as one guard had started to reach for the keypad beside the doors, an alarm blared, all three of you startling at the sound.

Orange lights lit up along the walls, spinning in time with the sirens.

“Weapon X is loose. I repeat, Weapon X is loose!” A man’s unnerved voice sounded over speakers you couldn’t see, echoing down the corridors.

You could only watch as both guards spun around on their heels at that, guns immediately drawn. The one thing you could be absolutely sure of then, was that you were now the very least of their concerns.

Before you could consider how to use this surprise in your favor though, screams and the echo of gunfire erupted seemingly on top of you all.

The guards were terrified. This could be your only chance.

“Take this collar off of me, please! I can help you!” You weren’t begging as much as you were truly trying to reason with them. “Look, this is serious right!?”

More men were screaming just around the corner. Only feet away now. Clearly their time to consider had run out.

You saw one of the guards glance down at you, weighing your offer if just for that moment. The other was still staring straight ahead, gun braced, body rigid.

“FIRE!” The one not looking at you screamed, and that was it. It was too late.

You flinched as the gunfire rang deafening in your ears, the muzzle flashes just above you while empty bullet shells rained onto the floor.

You didn’t know how many bullets their gun magazines could hold, but the barrage seemed to just go on and on until an inhuman snarl rose even above the pounding gunshots.

Like a blur he was upon them. One guard was immediately thrown against a nearby wall, as if he were made of paper. His gun didn’t even faze the attacker.

You were frozen as you had to watch him die in front of you. Metal blades impaled the guard, blood splatter running down the wall as his body fell. You wished the other guard would have just turned and ran, but that probably would have been fruitless now too if you were being honest.

The attacker had turned immediately back around, one slash knocking the gun away from the remaining guard, and the second taking out his throat.

You were too in shock to do anything but close your eyes in the moment you felt some of the blood hit you. It was warm was all you could really process, before you opened your eyes again to now see the killer standing over you.

His breath was fast, eyes black, no emotion evident but rage. He had no clothing on him above the waist, just muscular and bloodied with metal cords coming out of his body and attaching to some sort of helmet.

You heard the random sound of more bits of metal hitting the ground, and thought you saw a few bullets working out in reverse from his flesh.

He was one of you then, a mutant.

But you were afraid to speak. Anything could set him off again.

He was looking down at you, through you really. You thought you saw his eyes go to your throat. The collar? Or maybe you just imagined it. Everything was happening in just seconds.

His arm swung suddenly, those blades were part of him you realized, attached to his fists as they came for you. At least it would be a quick death.

You felt a burning, heard ripping and even the metal of the bed breaking as he struck more than once.

“He’s here!” Someone else screamed from back down the hallway and the gunfire started all over again.

You moved at the sound, why you didn’t know, it should have been all over regardless. But in your amazement, you realized you could move. His claws had broken through the restraints, broken the bolts that held you to the bed. You were bleeding, but only from cuts as he’d grazed you.

He’d freed you.

The gurney tumbled over with a clatter as you jumped from it. But bullets were hitting all around you as the guards continued to fire at him. You still had the inhibitor collar on, so you couldn’t defend from that. You weren’t bulletproof like him.

And he was already charging them again, but there were so many this time. A bullet grazed your arm, and you knew you had to get out of there now.

You turned, hitting the elevator keypad. You had no choice as you wouldn’t make it out of this hallway otherwise. You ducked inside as soon as the doors opened, trying to stay against the sides even as bullets were now hitting the back of the elevator. The only way was down, and you took it.

As the doors closed, and the elevator finally sank below the firing line, you allowed yourself some real breaths.

To think, just hours ago your main concern had only been whether or not you were ready for Hank’s organic chemistry final. You’d laugh if you weren’t still trembling a little, clothes torn and blood all over, most of it not even your own.

Now it was time to find the others and a way out.

—————————

“(Y/N)?” You heard in your mind, pausing in the abandoned hallway you were now wandering down. You’d left the elevator behind some time ago, but hadn’t yet found any other way back off this level.

“Jean?” You answered aloud, both surprised and relieved. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. We are now. I saw them take you too, but where are you?”

Talking to a telepath was always a bit strange. You could feel her own stress and anxiety as she began to fill your mind. She wanted to see what you were seeing.

You looked around you to oblige her, but from what you could tell every corridor only looked like more of the same in this labyrinth.

“I got into an elevator when all the shooting started, when that man-“

“Logan. We met him too. He’s escaped now, he-” She paused, your recent memories now visible to her. “He helped you.”

“He did.” You felt she both was and wasn’t surprised at this.

“Anyway,” She continued as if something was distracting her, like she was physically talking to someone else, while mentally talking to you. “The Professor needs us. We’re sending Peter to find you. He’ll bring you to us and then we’re leaving together.”

“Okay,” Was all you could answer, as you felt Jean leave your mind abruptly at that. You remembered Xavier’s odd speech earlier, something you really hadn’t had time to deconstruct any further with everything else that had happened immediately after. You supposed they would fill you in when you were all reunited.

But you did feel a significant weight leave your shoulders at the mention of Peter’s name, even though it sounded like this horrific day was still far from over. He was okay too then at least. You hadn’t screwed up enough to get him hurt in a way you couldn’t take back.

Yet how long would it take for him to find you? Should you just stay in place, or go back to the elevator now? You hadn’t found any stairwells or other-

“(Y/N)?”

You’d be lying to say you didn’t almost fall over in surprise as a tiny gust of air was the only other thing that announced him as Peter was suddenly standing beside you.

“You’re as bad as Kurt!” You gasped, before you could stop yourself. You clenched one fist at your side, at least having the self control not to punch him right in the arm as you might have done with some of the boys at school if they had given you that kind of scare.

“That’s the blue kid with the tail right? Not to be confused with the big blue hairy guy, he’s the one that told me your name by the way, or the blue famous chick from TV?” He shook his head, but his eyes were amused. “You guys have some kind of quota on the color blue or what?”

You stared at him. He did like to talk didn’t he?

When you didn’t respond right away, you saw his eyes wander down, then back up. “Red said you’d be a bit of a mess, but you sure you’re okay?”

Your shirt was torn from well, now you knew him as Logan...that man’s claws. Those cuts were still bleeding a bit, but the guard’s blood was on you as well. The metal shackles were also still on your wrists and ankles, though their chains had been broken, and the inhibitor collar was around your neck. Yes, you must look quite a sight.

“You mean Jean,” you corrected. She must have given him some warning at least before sending him. “Yeah, I’m fine. So you found another way out of here, we should-”

But he didn’t seem to be listening, either that or you weren’t very convincing on the being okay sentiment.

He looked quite serious all of the sudden. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you when Colonel douchebag was trying to work you over.”

You blinked. What was he talking about?

“Stryker I guess they said his name was, the guy that kicked you back at the house.” He just continued. “That piece of shit bailed already.”

“How did you know about that?” You asked honestly. Peter had been unconscious as far as you’d known.

“I mean I was in and out,” He answered, seemingly understanding your confusion now. “But uh...” He hesitated, kind of an awkward smirk building then. “I definitely remember you laying on me. The impact wasn’t that great, but afterward was pretty nice.”

Your felt a heat rising to your face immediately. The absurdity of being physically embarrassed at his implication and tone, as you stood here literally bleeding in the belly of some mutant torturing black ops lab was not lost on you.

“Look, I...” You didn’t even know what to say, but you knew if you didn’t start talking now you were never going to recover control here. “I’m really glad they didn’t hurt you, and I’m sorry too if I got you involved deeper in all of this. And I want to thank you for pulling everyone out of the mansion this morning. We owe you so much. I just-” Oh man, where were you even going with this? You looked to him still feeling like you were just digging yourself deeper, “You can stop me anytime now you know?”

He was now outright grinning. “You’re welcome, babe.”

Not helping. AT ALL.

You were staring at him again. “They’re going to be waiting on us, you know,” You felt you were going to be pleading with him in a moment.

“I know, places to be, worlds to save...” He just moved closer and you tensed a little bit. He noticed, but stood his ground. “I have to brace you or you’re just going to be hurt even more when I run you back to them.”

“So is that how you do it, then? You’re just that fast?” You asked honestly. His actual mutation wasn’t something there’d been any chance to discuss. You could infer only so many ways he would have been able to evacuate those in the mansion almost instantaneously. But you knew teleporters too, even people who could move through reality on other planes. There was always more than one way to do something.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” He chuckled, smirking enough for you to know he was still just picking with you as one of his hands went behind your head and the other to your ribs to brace you. He really did know where you’d been hit then.

His hands were warm, and you could smell that damn cologne again now as you tried to ready yourself for whatever was about to happen.

You didn’t know what you had expected. You knew how it felt to take off in a jet, or slam the gas pedal down in one of the Professor’s expensive cars, or ride on a really intense roller coaster. But this wasn’t that. There wasn’t even any time for your brain to register the acceleration. It felt like just a single heartbeat before you were standing back in front of those elevator doors with him.

It was the deceleration that hit you. By the time your body knew it was moving, it had already stopped again, your organs lurching and your equilibrium completely thrown off as vertigo took over. You leaned forward immediately, trying not to dry heave as puking seemed almost imminent.

He took one of your hands, his other hand moving down from your ribs to your waist as he helped support you still.

“It’ll pass. It happens to everyone the first time,” He spoke, probably the softest tone you’d heard from him to this point.

“You’re telling me there are people who have been-” You swallowed, fighting that nausea back down. “have been with you multiple times?” You meant to say multiple times like that. People who needed to be rescued this way multiple times. You stood up, still queasy as you tried to face him and correct this blunder immediately. Why did this guy have you so flustered!?

“I’m not normally like this,” you stammered, waiting for some great retort from him as you’d just left yourself wide open with that slip.

It was only then that you realized he still had one hand on your waist, and you were now facing him, just inches apart. And the silence was worse. It was much worse while he was just looking back at you.

“No,” He finally said, “I uh...I don’t have anyone that’s stayed around long enough for that.”

He wasn’t joking at all now and you knew it.

“I didn’t mean...” You started, but stopped again when you didn’t know how to finish.

But the vulnerability was gone just as soon as it’d come. His smirk returned as he let go of you, moving forward to hit the keypad for the elevator. “I did look for stairwells by the way, if you were wondering. It only took me as long as it did to find you down here because this damn elevator is slow as hell.”

You actually were a little relieved to finally be focusing back to the task at hand. But you still felt an unspoken conversation lingering that would need to be continued later. You wanted him to know who you really were.

And honestly...you now wanted to know who he really was.

The harsh buzz from the keypad brought you back to attention as Peter hit it again.

A tiny screen blinked “CODE ERROR” in red as he groaned. “It didn’t need a damn code to come down, that makes no sense!”

You responded in a few moments, realizing the likely truth fairly quickly. “But it would make sense if you were more concerned about things getting out of the lab than you were of things getting in.” The same would be true for the lack of entry and exit points. They surely weren’t concerned with fire safety or anything else but keeping their specimens captive when they built this place.

“Ugh, that’s dark,” He answered, glancing at you and then back to the keypad. “You’re almost making me not feel so bad for all the guys that looked like swiss cheese on the way down here. But lucky for you, you’ve got me, and these five hombres.” He waved his fingers at you before immediately beginning to punch in multiple codes in faster succession than of course would have been possible for anyone else.

“Peter, I don’t think-” You started, already having a good suspicion of how this might play out, before the keypad abruptly quit accepting inputs, the tiny screen then blinking LOCKOUT. The only thing that did surprise you was a new even thicker door suddenly closing over the original elevator doors.

And you couldn’t help it then. You laughed. A real laugh. It was just the dumbest icing on the cake. “Okay, Han Solo. I think that will do.” You didn’t care if he would understand the reference or not. You needed that laugh right now.

But he didn’t let you down. Not even for a moment. “Okay then Leia, then you show me how we’re getting past here to save the ugly little ewoks.”

You were still snickering a little, but you shook your head. “I can’t,” You motioned to the inhibitor collar still around your neck. “Not with this on. It’s blocking my powers.” You had hoped once you were all back topside that Hank would be able to disarm the thing. It was probably radio controlled or something like that. “We’ll have to wait on Jean and the others to realize we’re taking too long, they’ll come for us.”

“I don’t wait,” Peter retorted. “Besides, like I said, I showed you mine. Time to show me yours.” He tilted his head, eyeing you. “Really, I’ve been dying to know.”

“Sure you have,” You were skeptical, but it was actually hard to read him right now. Was he actually that curious about you? “And I’ve already tried to take it off, it doesn’t budge.”

“Again, babe. You didn’t have me before.” The smug tone was back, as he evidently had some plan you didn’t know if you were going to like or not.

“You realize, this thing is nearly against my jugular veins, right? What are you going to do?” You had every right to be hesitant you thought. Especially after the keypad failure.

“Just be still. I’m going to vibrate it apart.” He answered confidently.

Okay, now you really didn’t like this. “Again, head, throat, things I need to stay in one piece. What if it has some self destruct thing and explodes?”

“I can pull you away from that before it even burns you. How do you think your friends lived when your house blew up this morning?”

You could have mentioned Alex’s fate then, but that would have been needlessly cruel. Alex must have already been gone before Peter even entered the building. He did save everyone else you thought.

“Trust me,” Peter looked you in the eyes and you could feel yourself relenting.

You really did believe him it seemed. Hopefully that faith was not misplaced. “Please be careful,” You closed your eyes, going stock still.

“For you? Of course.”

You heard his jacket move, which told you he was raising his arms. Internally you tensed-

And then all you heard were pieces of metal and circuitry skittering across the floor in every direction. You were still standing exactly as you had been as you opened your eyes to a too pleased with himself Peter.

“Some shrapnel did try to go into your face, but I moved the pieces. No kaboom though.” His expression changed then to happily expectant, “So come on, I’ve helped three times now, the stage is now yours,” He made an exagerrated motion to the big metal door now blocking the elevator. “What’s your poison?”

Poison? An interesting way to put it, but you knew what he meant. All mutant abilities were both a gift and a curse. Yet even after all these years of meeting people of your own kind, it was still very personal to show someone your real self for the very first time.

Especially when you evidently cared what he thought of you as you realized your nerves were suddenly about much more than just being able to get open a door or not. How would he react?

You took a breath, still extremely aware of his eyes on you as you turned your palms upward. It was always easiest to start with your hands. But you’d need to bring the energy all the way through you to get the kind of power it was going to take to pull this door out.

There was a slight relief in you as your hands began to glow white after a moment. At least you knew you were no longer defenseless, that these people hadn’t taken your abilities permanently.

In your peripheral vision you could see Peter shift, but you didn’t look to him, trying to concentrate as the energy spread up your arms and you closed your eyes. It always felt so warm, like being in the sun on a clear day. It spread to your chest, legs, up your shoulders and over your face. Even through your hair as you willed the energy to lift you up, now completely enveloped until you were a silhouette of a person. Glowing in soft white light and levitating about a foot off the floor.

You opened your eyes again, feeling you had things in control enough now to speak to him. The tone of your voice changed slightly in this form though. There was a hum to it, the energy moving across your vocal chords like every other part of you.

“I’m going to try and pull the door out of the way and into the hall. Please be ready to move as I won’t have a lot of control over it once it gives. My effort is going to all be on breaking it.”

You looked to him after a moment though when he didn’t respond. You knew he was fast enough to keep himself safe obviously, but you had to be sure he was ready. Was he really just staring at you? “Peter?”

He blinked. “Yeah, uh. That’s...” He stepped back from the door, but never took his eyes off you, this weird expression on his face. “That’s cool.”

“Please mind the door,” You reiterated gently, not quite sure what to make of his reaction to your powers.

“Sure, sure thing.” He sounded more like himself then. “Do your deal.”

Your deal as he put it, involved willing this same energy now in a field around the door as you rose your hand up to control it. Once you were sure you had it solidly, you began pulling your hand back, trying to pull the door out of its railing.

It gradually started to creak, but like you’d thought, this was going to take some real doing. You pulled harder and harder, the metal just groaning louder. “Come on,” You spoke, not really sure if you were talking more to yourself or the door.

Your arm was starting to really ache with the effort. But just when you thought you might have to try something else after all, you finally felt the door give. And when it gave, it did so spectacularly. This massive chunk of metal collapsed, exploding out of its rail as it rocketed down the hallway. You just moved to the side to avoid it, the smaller pieces hitting you harmlessly in this form.

To your eyes it only looked like Peter disappeared and then reappeared as he also easily missed all the debris.

Once that obstacle was out of the way, you glided down, back to the normal elevator doors. They were slightly damaged from the removal of the larger door. But now it only took minimum effort to force them open.

You entered the elevator, the inner keypad was also blinking that same “LOCKOUT” error from earlier. So the elevator itself was going nowhere. But this was now no longer an issue for you.

“I can carry us up,” You looked to Peter, though unsure how comfortable he would be with this new idea.

He was standing at the entrance of the elevator already, watching you still. You could see the wheels in his head turning. And then he finally asked. “So, you’re glowing...and flying. Is this like radioactive glow, or I just need some sunscreen kind of glow?”

“It’s just light energy in the visible spectrum.” You answered reflexively. “But not even UV, the wavelength itself doesn’t cause any damage. It’s only when I make it solid or make it unstable that I can do anything harmful with it.”

You could see he may have skipped the lessons on long and short wave energy and radiation in science class as he just kept staring.

“You’re fine, it’s safe” You smiled. Certainly not the first time you had heard such questions. “The Professor and Hank had me tested from the very beginning, I never would have been allowed so close to other students without more precautions if I was that dangerous.”

“So you’re...close to some other students?” He asked almost tauntingly, one eyebrow raised, and it took you a moment before you realized he may be getting back at you for your comments from before.

It was probably just the fact that you were in your energy form now, but you felt confident enough to respond just as quickly, “It’s more like the Brady Bunch than what you’re thinking. Like having a whole house of little brothers and sisters.”

You had already opened up the ceiling of the elevator while the two of you talked, looking up now to the empty shaft and elevator cables. It’d be much easier to move the two of you rather than to try and lift the whole elevator. You reached a hand out to Peter. “I can lift us up the shaft to the floor that the others are on and open the doors, then you can take us to them. Deal?”

You had trusted him to bring you here, as well as to remove that collar from you. Would he now trust you to bring him up several floors without dropping him?

He was looking at your hand. “I probably could just run up the walls you know.”

You paused, realizing you hadn’t considered that. You didn’t really know what all he was capable of truly. But just as you started to lower your hand, he surprised you by grabbing and holding it.

“Yet how many guys can say they flew with you, huh?”

“Practically none,” You admitted. “I don’t make a habit of picking up my friends.”

“You aren’t quite building confidence here.”

“I’m sure that door weighed more than you.”

“And look how it ended up. Again, not comforting.”

This guy was truly something else. “Come here, we take much longer and they really are going to be sending a search party for us.”

You extended the energy from your hand across his body gently. He was obviously much lighter than the door, and the closer you kept him, the easier it would be to move the both of you.

You tried not to make eye contact with him again as you levitated the two of you through the top of the elevator and up through the shaft. Even though you knew you were fully capable of doing this, you still didn’t want to lose focus.

But his voice didn’t sound frightened at all as he spoke up to let you know how high to go. “They’re on the top floor, we’re stealing a jet to get out of here.”

“Wow, but okay. Got it,” You sped up a little at that, no longer worried about passing your landing point as you went straight to the top.

When you reached the highest doors, you were able to force them open with a turn of your free hand, bringing you and Peter safely through and back onto solid ground.

You powered down immediately as your feet met the floor, the light fading back into your body until you were just standing there in your torn, bloody clothes once more. “Okay, I’m ready to get nauseous again, let’s go.”

He actually squeezed your hand before he let go of it in order to brace your head and ribs again. “For the record that felt pretty good. You’re really warm. Zero g’s was cool too. Thanks.”

“Um...you’re welcome?” You answered, a little flustered all over again to your own dismay, and really not knowing what else to say before he whisked you away in an instant.

It really was going to be the longest day ever.

——————————

(Continued in next chapter here)

#quicksilver x reader #quicksilver #peter maximoff #peter maximoff x oc #peter maximoff x you #peter maximoff x y/n #peter maximoff x reader #peter maximof x reader #x men apocalypse #quicksilver x y/n #quicksilver x you #x men fanfiction #x men

[marvelobsessedteenager]

All The Hurt - Chapter 1

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!reader

Warnings: ANGST, Peter was an ass, reader is a hurt and petty bitch, fluff to make up for the angst, curse words, lots of “coincidences”, description of an explosion and blood.

Summary: Peter Parker. What a dick. It wasn’t always like this, but once he just got up and gladly left you for an unknown reason, you decided to bring hell down on him by publicly ridiculing him whenever you got the chance. However, when you accidentally find out what he's been hiding, conflicted feelings begin emerging, causing you to wonder if you could ever forgive him — especially when he saves your life.

Word Count: 2.6k

A/n: this came to me in a fucking dream so you bet I had to wake up and write this. It’s already completed hehe. I’m going to be posting the parts every day so stay tuned :D

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Never in your entire life would you have thought that there’d be a time when you’d willingly side with Flash. When you’d join him in bullying Peter, your best friend that you’d known since the both of you were shitting yourselves in diapers. Not a night goes by in which you don’t ask yourself why.

Why did he decide to break you?

The day he told you he didn’t want to be friends with you anymore was a day worse than finding out your father had cheated on your mother, prompting her to abruptly exit both your and your father’s lives when you were eleven. In all honesty, it felt like Peter took notes about suddenly leaving when you cried to him about your mother disappearing and used them to his advantage the summer before freshman year.

It was a pain like no other, a wound so hurtful your tear tank was constantly emptied every time you were alone in your room. There were too many nights where you’d lie awake with an ache in your chest - like someone dropped an avalanche on your heart and left it there to crush it.

Friendship breakups hurt like hell.

The days seemed to move slow and the nights even slower. You didn’t know how much time had passed when you’d blankly stare at your collection of photos of the two of you with tear stricken cheeks.

You constantly wondered if he regretted it.

And if he did, you told yourself you’d forgive him. You’d go back to him, because you were sure he didn’t mean it. Excuses began piling up in your mind, each one not having enough evidence to be proven true; maybe he was going through something he didn’t want to talk about. Maybe someone in his life died, like when Uncle Ben suddenly passed away. He didn’t speak to you for a week and didn’t show up to school, and when you went over to check on him, he broke down in your arms as he apologized for ignoring you, but you understood.

You always did.

So, you waited, and waited, and waited. Waited for a call, a text, something. But nothing ever came. No phone calls — he ignored yours — no apologies, no explanation, nothing but radio silence. It was almost like you never existed in the first place.

Day by day your hope slowly faded, and by the 56th day, all of it was gone. You didn’t know how to feel. You were furious at him for abandoning you. You were heartbroken. You told yourself you were being overdramatic — it wasn’t like you were in a relationship together, no matter how much you wanted to be.

All he ever saw you as was a friend. But that was before it all happened. Now he probably didn’t see you as anything but a stranger.

A stranger with memories and secrets revolving him.

Hot anger was quick to take control of your mind, and soon you stopped your crying and tore down years worth of captured memories and pinned birthday cards he made you - all reminders of how much you loved him - and threw them into a box. You shoved it to the back of your closet, along with your dignity and love for him.

Four months after your ‘breakup', you came back different. Newfound confidence shone out of you with every step you made down Midtown’s hallways. Your smile radiated happiness as you felt everyone’s eyes lay upon you. You were able to fool yourself and others around you that nothing happened. Your heart knew better, but soon it’d turn to stone.

And you convinced yourself that you preferred it that way.

You moved on, found friendship in others, and although they never lived up to him, they were enough to fill part of the gaping hole in your heart.

Flash making amends with you was probably the most surprising and unexpected thing to have ever happened in the school. You two got along well, almost too well, and about halfway into the school year, you became good friends. You two weren’t as close as you and Peter once were, but you bonded over your absent parents in ways you didn’t know were possible.

You felt understood, and he the same.

Still, that didn’t stop you from seeing Peter in the hallways. You made it a point to walk past him like you didn’t know him — because apparently, you didn’t.

You kept watching him from a distance.

You watched him make goo-goo eyes at Liz while rolling your own.

You watched him dart out of school at exactly two forty-five every day. You saw the anxiousness in the way he bounced his leg during class, the tapping of his pencil on the desk, the constant glances he threw at the clock with every minute that passed. You wanted to ask, but you didn’t.

On a particular day, the same day you overheard him and Ned making plans to meet up at his house to build Legos, you decided to go to Delmar’s to grab a bite. You hadn’t been there since the breakup, as you were always too nervous in case Peter ended up going there at the same time, and now that there was a clearing, you took it. Even if he was there, you didn't care.

You don’t.

When you stepped into the store, you were immediately welcomed by the one and only Mr. Delmar. He looked good — happy and content, and that’s why you absolutely adored him. It wasn’t fair that you cut off ties with him because of Peter, but he didn’t seem to take it personally. He went on and on about how much taller you’ve gotten and reminisced about how little you were when you and Peter got your first flattened number five sandwiches with pickles.

He must’ve seen your smile falter at the mention of Peter, because his eyebrows furrowed in concern not a moment later, “Did something happen to you kids? I never see him come with you anymore.”

So he’s been coming without you.

Ouch. That’s another stab to the heart.

Your palms began to feel slick as you rubbed them on your jeans with a strained smile and a shaky voice, feeling as if the walls were closing in on you, “Uh-we-“

But you never got to finish. Mr. Delmar’s eyes widened at something behind you, and in a split second, he yelled, “Get down!” followed by a string of Spanish curse words.

A scream left your mouth as a purple wave of something ripped through the bodega, nearly missing you by a strand of hair as you ducked. Shattered glass scattered everywhere, digging into the skin of your arms in a multitude of places. You hissed at the burn you felt below your eye, feeling a heavy liquid (which you assumed was blood) trail down your cheek and neck. You felt intense heat near your legs and your vision became blurred, ears ringing as all other noises besides your breathing became muffled. You coughed and coughed, feeling like your lungs were closing in on themselves from the fire that surrounded you.

The light above you flickered as you attempted to shout Mr. Delmar’s name, praying that he was all right.

But your voice never left your throat.

Your legs were trapped below two giant shelves that collapsed on them, and you weren’t strong enough to move them no matter how many times you tried to. The fire slithered like a snake as it began climbing to where your legs were being held below the rubble.

“Help.” You weakly whispered in between your coughs. The air around you felt heavy and limited, and it was starting to feel like you were choking on the fumes. You didn’t know how much longer your lungs could take.

It was hot. So fucking hot.

Your eyes shut and your head fell back on the ground, chest heaving in fast paces as you felt your body give up already, a burning sensation spreading all over you, like your insides were set on fire.

Your face trickled with sweat that dripped down to your cheeks, mixing with your tears.

Just when all hope was gone, just when you thought you were done for, you felt the weight lift off of your legs in one sudden movement, and an arm slide beneath your knees and on your back, holding you tightly.

You looked up at your savior, and who else could it have been other than Spider-Man, New York’s knight in shining armor, and apparently yours, too. You heard part of what he seemed to be saying as he looked down at you: “…got…I…you” and you could’ve sworn you heard your name.

But then again, you were on the brink of death, so you were no doubt hearing things.

You laid your tired head on his chest, wheezing into his smooth suit as he ran and jumped away from the fire until he reached the outside. He gingerly placed you on the ground and made you lean back against a parked car, and you breathed in the cool night air as he crouched down to rub your back while you practically choked.

In front of Spider-Man.

How embarrassing.

You felt your head heavily fall back as you clutched your arm in pain, the distant sound of police sirens audible now. Your eyes landed upon his covered face that turned away when you looked at him - like he was staring at you until you caught him. You could see that he wanted to go somewhere in the way that his spidey-eyes were expanding and shrinking at the destroyed bank across the street. You moved to touch your legs, and by some miracle, they were just a little sore. You could manage on your own.

“Go,” you breathily said, making Spider-Man look down at you, “I’m okay.”

He hesitated for a moment and pivoted his head to your legs. You breathed out half a laugh, coughing again, “Dude,” you placed a hand on his shoulder and jutted towards your legs as you began moving them, “they’re fine. I’m fine. I know you wanna go somewhere. Just go after it.”

He stayed. For a long minute, just watching you breathe and tilt your head at him. You wondered what was going on in that brain of his, wondered how old he was, wondered where he went to school - if he even went to school. You were trying to formulate a way to thank him for saving you, but you didn’t get the chance to. He nodded and quickly he sprung away, making way for the paramedics and cops to inspect the scene.

You didn’t go to school for a whole week after the incident, as you were too busy reflecting on what had happened. You went over multiple scenarios and “what if’s” and tried not to dwell on the fact that you had to have your driver pick you up from the hospital, not your father. He was probably out of the country, like he always was.

When you finally returned to school, you had stitched up three areas, including one below your eye, and were bombarded with questions and a large group hug from your friends. Your phone was no doubt a goner, so they had no way of contacting you. Even when they tried to come over, your housekeeper, Jane, always the responsible adult, told them the doctor needed you to rest alone.

She knew you couldn’t handle people, and needed to recharge on your own. She was like the mother you never had. Even when Peter left, she stayed by your side and tried to cheer you up. She knew how strong your feelings were for Peter, but she didn’t question you, instead allowing you to grieve the way you wanted to - alone.

Your friends asked you about what happened, and their eyes sparkled when you told them the Spider-Man came to your rescue, their excitement cutting short once the bell rang. They all left to go to their classes after wishing you a quick recovery. All but one.

Flash stood in front of you, nibbling on his lower lip with a wobbling chin and glassy eyes.

“Are you..crying?” you squinted at him, lips twitching into a smirk.

“Shut up,” he mumbled, wiping the stray tears before attacking you with a tight hug. You sighed deeply, feeling a nostalgic warmth spread through your chest as you placed your chin on his shoulder, arms circulating him and squeezing in a way that said "I’m here."

In class, you felt hardcore stares — stares that came from one person and one person only. You saw them from the corner of your eye, tracing the scar on your face. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think they were laced with worry. But perhaps you hit your head too hard.

During gym class, the last class of the day, you were excused from exercises due to your near-death experience, so you watched and cheered Flash as he climbed the ropes, attempting to break his own record.

“48 seconds.” You stated, pausing the timer as he jumped to the ground and planted his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

He looked up at you with a deep frown, “Seriously? How did I get slower?”

You shrugged, “Maybe you should change your nickname, Eugene.” You smirked, taunting him with the name you knew he hated.

He breathed out a laugh as he shook his head. He was about to say something when Ned’s voice overpowered everyone else’s with one sentence: “Peter knows Spider-Man!”

Everybody went so silent you’d think the queen of England had just walked in.

The sound of balls being dropped and shoes squeaking echoed through the gym as all heads turned to Peter Parker, who nervously looked around and quickly stood up, “Uh, no! No, I don’t. I-I mean..”

He clumsily made his way over to Liz (go figure), whose face remained expressionless.

“They’re friends,” Ned said as a matter of factly.

“Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends,” Flash said, making a couple of people laugh, including you.

“I’ve met him, yeah, a-a couple of times. But it’s um, through the...Stark...Internship. I’m not really supposed to talk about it.” He gritted through his teeth as he threw daggers at Ned with wide eyes.

“Well, that’s awesome!” You piped in, your loud sarcasm breaking the silence that settled over the gym, "He’s a pretty cool guy, I’m sure Liz would love to meet him. Hey, maybe you should invite him to her party.”

“Yeah, I’m having people over tonight, you’re more than welcome to come.” Liz sweetly admitted, almost like she wanted him to come.

Ew.

“You’re having a party?” Peter said breathlessly, as if that wasn’t what you just said.

Flash gave Peter a snarling smile, “Yeah, it’s gonna be dope. You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man.” He suggested, derision oozing out of his words.

“Um-“ Peter stammered, helpless eyes searching for assistance in your own. But you wouldn’t give him any sympathy. Not anymore. You stared back, cold as ice, and you knew he saw that. You merely gave him a raised eyebrow, challenging him to say something.

“It’s okay,” Liz said, breaking you and Peter’s eye contact, “I know Peter’s way too busy for parties anyways so..”

“Oh, come on, he’ll be there. Parker wouldn’t ditch.” You said, voice dripping with venom as you maintained eye contact with him and walked past Flash until you reached him. You stopped at his side, just enough to give him a deadly stare, “Right?”

You watched his Adam’s apple bob and eyes dart across the ground as his fingers tangled with one another to conceal his shaking left hand. You studied his face, ignoring something that looked like a fading bruise on his jaw. The school bell rang, and with that, Flash walked to you, raising his hand for a fist pump. You bumped yours with his with a smirk and walked out the gym doors, ready to call Peter out on his bullshit once more tonight.

Next Chapter All The Hurt Masterlist Main Masterlist

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker fluff #peter parker angst #peter parker x y/n #y/n #marvel #tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fanfic #tom holland x reader #tom holland angst #spiderman #spiderman x reader

[btsmosphere]

Across the Tracks | KTH

~summary: Don’t cross the tracks. Never once did you question what you had been told your whole life – at least not until a certain boy makes that a bit more difficult...

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | drabble

~pairing: taehyung x reader (she/her) ~word count: 7.1k ~dystopian au, strangers to lovers, angst, fluff, inspired by lady and the tramp ~rating: pg15 ~warnings: adoption, dystopia, violence, breaking and entering, arrest, electric shocks, burns, scars, swearing, probable overuse of the nickname ‘pidge’ oop

~a/n: hi guys, and thank you to everyone being so kind about the first part!! Again, cr to the wonderful, amazing @un2-verse​ for the initial idea, ilyy! Now, to everyone, enjoy the fic and don’t hesitate to come chat with me about it🥰

You weren’t exactly aware of moving. The moment you came to your senses was the same that your thick plastic bracelet connected with the back of a skull.

Still staring in shock at the figure that crumpled to all fours before you, you didn’t spare a moment to see as the other assailant was thrown off. The man was weakly moving, but the remnants of your fear mingling with the horror of your situation left a nasty taste in your mouth.

Meanwhile, your rescuer had turned their attention to you.

“Hey,” the familiarity of the voice was still lost on you, “hey, pidge?”

A hand landing on your shoulder finally forced your eyes to drift away from the man on the floor, currently stirring and groaning. When you faced Taehyung, it was to find soft, dark eyes watching you with a hint of concern.

Glancing back at the two men on the ground, Taehyung showed you his side profile for a second.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?” his voice remained low, cautious.

He waited for you to go first, so you carefully stepped around the men, staying as far away from them as possible. Back in the connecting alley, you had to wait for Taehyung to reach your side to know where to go.

“What are you doing out here, huh, pidge?” he eyed you as you set off beside him.

Since you had started moving again, your hand had naturally gravitated over your shocker again, and you glanced down at it now.

“I… got lost,” your voice was small.

“You don’t strike me as the type to be anywhere near here, cub,” he spoke, deep voice cutting off for a moment as he peered around a corner before leading you down it, “so how’d you get lost?”

“I, um…” trailing off, you turned your eyes to the ground. How to tell him that you had run off like a child?

But he was alerted by your silence, looking back down at you.

“Pidge?”

“I- it was my fault-“ you started, throwing your hands out in defeat.

Taehyung stopped in his tracks beside you, startling you to halt as well. Though his hand began to reach out, slowly, he seemed to think twice and dropped it. Either way, you realised what he had noticed, the cause for his shock.

“They didn’t…” his head shook almost imperceptibly.

But you had already drawn back, pulling your handicapped wrist firmly into your chest, somehow self conscious under his sad stare.

Barely a blink, however, and the agonising stinging was shooting through you again. Involuntary cry leaving your lips, your knees seemed to give up as the electricity burned you.

But instead of meeting the stony ground, your body fell against another, two hands hurriedly pulling you against him by your upper arms. As the shock subsided, the ground returning to your feet, you pulled away. Your form still shook.

Gulping back the tears that had been startled to your eyes, you avoided his captivating gaze.

“You were right,” you sniffed

In the corner of your eye, you saw his hand lift. One finger brushed gently up your cheek, clearing back the hair that had fallen across it.

“I didn’t want to be, pidge,” his deep voice was like velvet, coating something so sad. “Let me see?”

Patiently, he waited until you eased the arm away from your chest. As you held it out, his fingers ghosted against your skin, just to hold the hand in place. Training his eyes intently on the device, he rotated your wrist.

At the same moment as him, you spotted the crack running up the plastic. A short laugh escaping as he looked up at you, Taehyung’s breath blew onto your skin, raising goosebumps in their wake.

“You did good, little cub,” he chuckled, “his head’s gonna hurt. But we gotta get this off.”

“Do you know how?”

Tilting his head, he seemed to give it some thought. Chewing the inside of his cheek, he looked down the alleyway, although when you followed his gaze you saw nothing.

“…yeah, I might have an idea,” he eventually nodded.

In a flash, a grin lit up his face, erasing the seriousness of before. Setting off again, your eyes widened as his hand slipped down from your wrist to grip your own.

Swallowing, you hurried after him, trying not to think too much about it.

In the end, you were quite glad for his touch. The neighbourhood he led you through made you uneasy; even more delapidated houses lined the streets, water splashing at each corner where the pipes were invariably broken, more graffiti littering the brickwork.

So although your eyes couldn’t help but wander, peering down every turn and darting to any small sound, you stuck close to his grounding presence.

Winding further through this unknown part of the city, the drizzle never ceased. Thankful for the brisk pace you were travelling at, you tried to control your shivering, clamping your jaw shut to stop your teeth chattering. Your blouse was all that protected you from the air, and it was being plastered against your skin.

However, Tae’s eyes missed nothing. Between checking the streets around you, he periodically looked back to you at his side.

When his hand first pulled away from yours, your fingers chased desperately after his, not wanting to lose a fraction of warmth.

“Hey,” he laughed, “don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

Instead, he shook his arms from his black coat. Not waiting for you to take it, he dropped it directly onto your shoulders. As you shoved your arms inside, the warmth made you sigh.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” he grinned, hand landing on your shoulder as he turned to look ahead. “We’re here.”

In front of you stood an enormous building. Large chimneys rose from its roof towards the sky. The dark of the walls seemed even blacker than the night, floodlights positioned periodically along its large perimeter fence doing little to illuminate the place.

“Exciting, isn’t it?” Tae stood in front of you, throwing his arms out, inviting you to admire the place.

But you only eyed the man in front of you, his midnight hair dripping a little onto his black clothes. Not that he seemed to care, equally dark eyes glittering as he grabbed your hand again and practically jogged onwards.

“What are we doing?” you hissed.

Tracking his way along the fence, he suddenly stopped in front of you, not bothering to answer.

“After you.”

The way he bowed, twirling his hands, made him seem like a butler. However, there was no fancy entrance to match; he was ushering you through a narrow hole in the fence, raw ends of wire snaking inwards.

You looked back and forth at the boy, those eyes watching you hopefully, and the tear in the fence.

Sighing, you slipped through, only catching the hem of your trousers before safely emerging.

“Where are we?” you whispered as Tae joined your side.

“This is the car factory,” he said, “it’s going to get that shocker off.”

“Oh,” you frowned stepping forwards-

Only to have a hand stop you.

“Stay close to the fence,” he warned, easing you back so you walked between him and the perimeter.

Although your feet trailed after him, your heartbeat near enough doubled when you noticed his secrecy. This was not something you should be doing.

“We’re- we’re breaking in?!” you exclaimed, wary of your volume.

A smirk met you as Tae looked over his shoulder.

“Why, does that scare you, pidge?”

But as you spluttered for a response, another jolt of electricity shot down your arm.

Yelping, you clutched at the fence beside you. When you opened your eyes, all traces of playfulness had disappeared from Taehyung’s face – instead, he was closer, hands reaching for you as he lowered to your eye level, searching for your gaze.

Finding you staring back, his eyes darted down to the heavy shocker on your arm.

“You wanna get that off, don’t you?”

A shaky breath left you.

“Yes…”

“Then follow me.”

Taehyung had promised to be back.

Still nestled in his coat, your fingers fidgeted as you kept your eyes on the patch of darkness he had faded into. Maybe he’s going to leave you, your mind spun in circles, he’ll steal something and leave you to take the blame.

Your heart knocked steadily against your ribs, no sound louder than your breathing and the light spatter of drizzle.

You already knew he had a history with the controllers, and this didn’t look good for you. But, glancing nervously behind you at the gaping blackness that lay down every alley, you knew you would fare no better if you left either.

Teeth trapping your lower lip, you hunched your shoulders and kept waiting.

It wasn’t too long untill a loud wail cut through the night. Practically leaping with fright, you whipped around, trying to identify what was happening.

The moment you turned back, Taehyung was right in front of you-

And getting closer still.

“Run!” he called over the siren.

With no time to ask questions, you quickly spurred your feet into action, racing away from the building Tae had just come from.

“Did you get caught?” you panted.

“No,” somehow he managed to send you a grin, “that’s not where we were aiming for.”

Bewildered, you opened your mouth again, but a shout rung out. Across the yard, nearer to the factory, several figures were running towards the source of the alarm.

Luckily the far edge of the factory was finally drawing near, and with aching limbs you pushed forwards, falling against the bricks the moment you rounded out of sight. Taehyung was right beside you, exhilirated grin still fixed in place even as his chest heaved.

“What now?” you breathed.

“In here.”

Shoving himself away from the wall, Tae moved to the base of a long window. Bars ran the whole way up, slicing your view of the factory inside.

As you watched on with alarm, he reached for the lowest bar and used one small hop to boost himself up. Eyeing him as he clung onto the bars and looked down to you, you shook your head.

“This is crazy.”

For some reason that only seemed to make him smile wider.

“Come on then cub, what are you waiting for?”

“We’ll- we’ll get caught..” you punctuated your unease with a glance behind you.

“Not if we’re quick.”

Chewing at your lip, you reminded yourself of the weight on your wrist, the uncomfortable burn still lingering there. You were just about ready to give in when he spoke again, those big eyes fixing themselves on yours once again.

“You can trust me, pidge.”

With only a small huff, you stepped forwards and hoisted yourself up behind him.

Maybe you were a little crazy, too, to be doing this. But despite the slight slick of drizzle on the cold metal, the climbing wasn’t too hard, more like climbing a ladder. You were well practiced in maneuvering your way up trees in the park, so you made quick work of the window.

At the top, you were met with another window, this time without bars. Presumably they didn’t expect anyone to reach it, as there was no lock apart from a latch that broke with enough force from Taehyung.

With his hands off the bars and shoving the pane up to let you in, however, your heart leapt once again to your mouth, this time spurring you on rather than causing hesitation.

Ducking inside, you quickly dropped onto wooden floor. The window scraped shut behind you, Tae’s hand finding yours again and pulling you to the right. Your footsteps fell softly within the shadows that climbed the walls, the dust drifting within slivers of moonlight that filtered through the windows.

Rows upon rows of abandoned workbenches stretched through the long, thin space. The next room was the same, though with more bits of machinery you couldn’t recognise also lined up on the countertops.

Slowing, Taehyung observed every one as you went past, but quickly tsked and sped up again, onto the next room.

“Aha!” he breathed in elation.

Though you could barely see a difference between this room and the last, you obliged as he led you, squeezing between benches, towards a machine that was bolted to the wall. Letting your hand fall from his, he investigated, closely examining every edge of the metal until he found a button.

As he pressed it down, a rumbling, though quiet, seemed to blare through the space.

Tae glanced back, but not at you, his eyes travelling to the doorways first.

“Come here,” he beckoned you.

Catching your wrist as you moved closer, he lifted it and placed it at the edge of a metal plate in the centre of the thing, illuminated by a dull yellow light that had flickered into life.

“What are you-“

“Stay still.”

Another button and the grating of metal made you both wince. At the firm grip on your wrist, you realised your hand had jolted from its place.

A metal column was steadily descending. Heading resolutely for your arm.

Just as your eyes widened in slight panic, Tae piped up-

“You know they use these things to shape the doors and stuff? This whole room, just for car doors! They use steel, it’s easy to mould-“

A gasp left your lips as you felt a small but definite tug on your arm. The metal had met with your bracelet, avoiding your wrist. Its pace barely slowed as it ploughed through the plastic as if it was butter, soon falling uselessly away from your wrist.

A gasp of joy left you as you were finally free to carress the irritated skin.

Cradling it, you rubbed gently to loosen your silver bracelet that had imprinted onto your skin when it was clamped underneath the shocker.

“Shit-“

You saw it at the same moment as Taehyung. A blazing red line was etched on your skin, winding around your wrist like another piece of jewellery.

“What’s this?” he was asking, fingers easing the gifted bracelet away from your skin.

“My parents gave it to me,” your eyes didn’t leave it, “when my papers came.”

“It’s silver.”

Blinking, you finally looked up at him.

“I think so.”

He drew his lip between his teeth.

But before either of you could speak again, a muffled shout broke you apart. Stepping in front of you, Taehyung moved forwards until he could see down from the window, jaw set.

With a curse, he spun around and grabbed your unharmed wrist, kicking the remnants of the shocker away under a bench.

“We need to go.”

Instantly alerted, your feet were already heading back the way you came, to the window, but you barely made it one stride before Taehyung was pulling you back. Eyes fixed ahead, he never returned your questioning stare as you flew through more doorways, past rows and rows until you were dizzy.

Somewhere below, a heavy clunk sounded as the main door to the building was opened.

And beyond the doorways you had passed through, at the other end of the building, footsteps could be heard echoing throught the space.

Shooting a look back in alarm, you thankfully found no one on your tail yet. The moment you looked forwards again, Tae was leading you down a rickety metal staircase, not caring about the din as you tore down it.

Feet landing on the ground floor, your eyes searched fruitlessly for a door.

“Tae, how do we-?”

The question froze in your throat as you turned around to him wrenching a grill off the wall.

“Quick, pidge,” he ushered you urgently forwards, “this vent comes out at the back, go!”

Both above and on this floor, footsteps were getting closer as you stared into the dark vent.

“What-“

“Just go, quick!” his hands pushed you gently forwards, but you could sense their jitteriness and took a deep breath, diving in headfirst.

There was enough room to get on your hands and knees, so you shuffled forwards as fast as you could, rounding a bend almost straight away. At the scraping of metal, you looked back to assure yourself Tae was behind you.

Only you were met with empty space.

Gaping, your mouth opened and closed in panic, knowing it unwise to speak up. Desperation was clawing at you however, the heavy footfalls of the guards audible even within the vent.

“Evening, gentlemen,” Taehyung’s voice floated through the grate, tone easy.

You gulped nonetheless.

“Lovely night we’re having,” he continued, oblivious to the way your heart was squeezing its way up your throat.

A bang rattled the metal covering just around the corner, Tae’s body slamming against it as you jumped away, hand flying to clamp over your mouth.

“What are you doing in here?” a voice you didn’t recognise snarled.

“Ah, well you see“ – how Tae was so calm you had no idea – “I was walking my dog and he saw this rabbit and chased it through the fence! I didn’t see where he went, I thought it might have been here, but as you can see, he’s not-“

“You think you’re funny, huh?” a new, equally unfriendly voice, interrupted.

“Well, I wouldn’t-“

Tae’s words were once again cut off with a harsh clatter of metal against brick. Jostling and scuffling was all you could hear for a moment, retreating further down the dark vent until the sounds grew fainter.

Eventually, near silence returned.

Sucking in a steadying breath, you inched back towards the grate, peering through a gap.

Taehyung was nowhere to be seen.

He was probably among the small gaggle of people walking away from you, but you couldn’t see well. Chest suddenly feeling tighter, you shrank back.

Glancing down the vent Tae had sent you into, it looked a lot smaller now. It felt like forever that you hesitated, the people in the factory disappearing completely from view while you grappled with the obvious conclusion.

If you were to follow Tae, nothing good could come of it except that two of you would be in trouble rather than one.

As much as you wanted him, it was perhaps a selfish part of you that knew you never wanted to cross paths with the controllers. It would surely destroy your conscience, your reputation.

So, with Tae’s words echoing in your head, you turned away.

This vent should come out at the back… okay, getting out shouldn’t be too hard. If you just got to the other side of the fence… but then, what would you do? You barely knew left from right in this area, how would you ever find your way back?

What if more people found you, tried to catch you like they had before?

A small voice reminded you that Taehyung wasn’t exactly a model citizen either, but at least he had helped you.

Not long later, you came face to face with another metal grate. Though it took you minute to shimmy it open, the metal rusty and screeching all the while, no one seemed to be alerted by the time you clambered out.

Fixing it back in place, you came to a stop.

The fence was only feet away from you, unlit as this was the back of the property. Beyond, you couldn’t make out much more than sparse bushes in the darkness.

Even the drizzle was dying now, forcing you to wallow in complete quiet as you remained frozen. The burning skin around your wrist still tingled, not allowing your pain to be forgotten.

You swallowed hard.

If you had felt alone before, you felt much more deserted now with the absence of Taehyung.

Wringing your hands, you glanced left as if it would bring you answers. With a sigh, you looked the other way down the building – only to jump out of your skin.

As you choked on a gasp, Taehyung’s grin only grew on his face, laughing at your fright.

“Taehyung! When did you get there? How did you-?”

“Didn’t think I’d leave you alone, did you, pidge?”

Still reeling in your shock, you merely blinked, prompting another deep laugh from him. Slinging an arm around your shoulder, he strode towards the fence, tilting his head to look down at you.

“Now, let’s get out of here, yeah? There’s a lot more to do.”

“But- Tae, what happened to you? How did you get away?”

Slipping through the fence first, you squinted at a cut on his head. It certainly hadn’t been there before.

“Plenty of practise, pidge,” he said, returning to your side. He offered up nothing more than a smile, but there was nothing behind it this time.

Sighing, you dropped the matter and fell into step beside him. Where his feet steered, you would follow, still none the wiser about exactly where you were. Though your fingers hovered over your wounded wrist, they dared not even skim the tender skin there.

After the fourth time it slipped down, making you wince, you quietly slipped your bracelet off and into your pocket.

“You hungry, pidge?” Tae nudged you after a few more minutes.

“I- I guess…” you shrugged, “I don’t want to trouble you-“

Tae actually laughed out loud then, throwing his head back. His arm landed across your shoulders, squeezing lightly.

“You’re no trouble, pidge. Never think that.”

“O-okay,” you returned, perplexed as he fixed you with a stare.

“First stop,” he announced then.

On reaching a run-down door, not even as tall as his shoulders, he clicked his heels, hands behind his back. When you laughed at him, he seemed satisfied and reached forward to rap on the door.

For a few moments, nothing happened, your eyes sliding between Tae and the door as he stood epectantly.

Eventually, the door – which was more like a plank – squeaked open, revealing a platinum-haired man. Poking his head out, a gummy grin lit up his face.

“Tae!”

“Hey Yoongi,” he greeted, stepping back so that you were visible, “I was hoping we could see Joon?”

Shuffling your feet, you watched Yoongi’s face darken slightly, casting his eyes over you.

“Yeah, sure,” he nodded, though his eyes never left you.

Melting away into the darkness inside, Yoongi was soon replaced by a taller man who hit his head on the doorframe as he came to meet you.

“Hi, I’m Namjoon,” he smiled at you, still rubbing his crown, “Tae, what can I do for you?”

“This is Y/N, she’s had a rough night,” Tae ushered you forward, “do you have anything for burns?”

Carefullly, he raised your wrist to Namjoon. Pushing his glasses onto his head, Joon leant forwards, squinting at the damage with a low hiss.

“Yeah, I should have something,” he stood back, “how did that happen?”

“Shocker. Silver bracelet,” was all Tae offered in explanation.

“Gods, those disciplinariums ought to be shut down,” Joon shook his head, then, “I’ll be right back.”

It wasn’t long before he returned with the promised treatment, helping you apply a cream that instantly soothed your skin.

“Okay, we’d better be off,” Tae rubbed a hand over your back as he said farewell.

Thanking Namjoon, you nervously took the small tub of cream he pressed into your hand. Waving as you walked away, you found the shabby door had already closed.

“Did we pay him?” you muttered.

“Don’t you worry about that, pidge,” he just grinned.

“B-but mother and father told me-“

“Things are different here, cub,” he explained, “if you have the money for something, great. But this side of the tracks, dunno if you can tell, but we’re not exactly well-off.”

“Did we- did we steal?” you whispered, scandalised

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he chuckled. You only gaped.

“Stealing is wrong!”

“Some people on your side of the tracks ought to be told that, pidge,” he quirked his head, bitterness creeping onto his face, “they take everything from us, and then pretend to make it better by stealing our children too.”

Stunned into silence, you merely blinked up at him. His mouth was set in a grim line as he turned to you.

“I’m sorry, pidge, but you gotta understand. You’re from round here too, when it comes down to it. It’s not ‘lucky’ that you got picked up by some rich couple, it’s a damn shame you have to be on the other side to have a shot at a decent life.”

“I- I think I understand,” you swallowed, “but don’t the people here work? Like father does? Then you shouldn’t have to steal.”

Tae chewed on his lip as he led you into a small alley, still moving slowly.

“It’s a bit different for us, pidge,” he spoke, “we make stuff in the factories, it gets sold on the other side. We work for them, and they don’t pay us enough to buy the stuff we’re making.”

Letting his words sink in, turning them over in your mind as you tried to make sense of them, you broke the silence as you came towards the end of the alley. Your voice was quiet, uncertain. Tae made everything you had been taught seem… unfair.

“Is there… is there really no way? No way out?”

As Tae seemed to chew on his words, his steps slowed. You had come around the corner, warm light seeping into the darkness from the back window of the nearest building. Instead of a cramped alley, this space opened up into a small yard.

A single breath in had your mouth watering – a rich scent was emanating through a vent at the back.

Just as you took another, a shout.

“Hey, looks who’s here!”

The door was thrown open. Tae’s chuckle reverberated in your ears as you startled, stumbling back into his chest.

“Here’s dinner,” he smirked.

“My favourite tramp!” a man greeted as he hurried out, an apron swishing around his knees, “it’s been a while, Tae.”

“Hey, Jimin,” they exchanged a brief hug before Jimin’s eyes fell on you.

Under his keen gaze, you shrank back.

“Who’s this?” he tilted his head towards you, but addressed the question to Taehyung.

“This is Y/N,” Tae fell back to your side, arm falling over your shoulders once again. “We’re kind of hungry.”

“You could at least pretend you want to see me,” Jimin scoffed, but broke into a smile, “but fine, food it is.”

Though Jimin fixed Tae with a stare and a quirked eyebrow, he said nothing else before whipping back inside.

“Hey pidge,” Tae started, “come with me.”

Hand gliding back into place, to intertwine his fingers with yours, he gently pulled you forwards. Reaching the back window of what you now presumed to be a restaurant, a small alcove revealed a narrow set of steps.

“Careful now, pidge,” he warned.

Schooling the curious frown off your face, you obliged, climbing ahead of him.

As you reached the precipice, all the breath was stolen from your lungs.

The stairs opened onto a small roof terrace; nothing to see in itself, a derelict rail running around the edge and a small table perched to the side. But the view…

Never before had you seen your city like this. Sprawled out, vast even in the night that hid away the corners of it, and dotted with flecks of light. Head slowly turning, trying to take it all in, you let your mouth hang open. Behind every prick of light was another family, another life you may never cross over.

It was as if the constellations had landed, just for you.

“Pretty good, right?”

Though you were reluctant to tear you eyes from the city, you were rewarded for your efforts with Tae’s dazzling smile. Perfectly at ease, he basked in the timid glow of night.

When his eyes turned to you, the world stopped moving.

You thought maybe you could forgo all the sparkle of the lights for the burning dark of his eyes.

“Having fun, lovebirds?”

Jumping back from Taehyung at Jimin’s voice, you noticed just how close you had gotten.

Either way, a grateful smile made its way to your lips at the steaming plates of food he bore, carrying with them that heavenly scent from the yard down below. Pausing for a moment before he handed the food over, you saw Jimin’s eyes flick between the two of you.

But as Jimin retreated, Tae pulled out a chair for you, once again bowing as if this was a five star hotel rather than an old roof terrace.

If you were honest, you were a bit uneasy about the chair being able to hold you, but it dutifully remained intact, allowing you to enjoy your meal.

And enjoy it you did.

Senses overwhelmed, you weren’t sure where to look. The awe-inspiring city lay right there, but an equally handsome man was opposite you, the lights sparkling in his eyes even as he slurped at his pasta.

Perhaps it was the fact you were starving hungry, but the meal was just as heavenly as the view, tastebuds gorging on the delicious sauce. Though you longed to dig in as Tae was, your table manners were firmly drilled in, so you persevered with your fork, twirling the spaghetti neatly around.

Somewhere along the way, your manners did devolve. As Tae leant back, stretching with a satisfied sigh, you were scooping the stuff into your mouth.

It wasn’t until you found him staring at you, soft smile curving his lips, that you froze.

“Sorry-“ you mumbled, hastening to wipe at your mouth.

“Hey, it’s alright,” he chuckled, then cleared his throat. “I was – ahem – just wondering if you wouldn’t miss a couple forkfuls of that.”

Ah, so he was making heart eyes at the food. You could hardly blame him and simply nodded, allowing him to take a scoop.

Laughing at his somewhat guilty eyes, you shovelled another mouthful for yourself, still slurping at the pasta in a way mother would surely scold you for, if she could see.

To your alarm, however, you found yourself yanked sideways as you did so. Eyes widening, you found your lips pressed awkwardly to Tae’s, one strand of spaghetti holding you there. It took you a second to react, hurriedly biting down and pulling away the moment you came to your senses. Nervous laughter was startled from you as you averted your gaze, heat rising rapidly in your cheeks.

But Tae’s eyes never dropped.

The barest hint of a smirk still graced his lips, gently sliding away into nothing as he watched you. Eyes lingering, he swallowed.

When you looked up, his lips were parted slightly as he stared at you. If you blinked, you might well have missed it, though, as he hastily pulled his mouth back into a smile. Then he turned away, forcing his gaze back to the city before you.

“It’s a beautiful night.”

His voice was low and raspy, taking him by surprise. Clearing his throat, a short glance at you instilled his hope that you hadn’t noticed.

Each of you obligingly let silence settle, leaving the leftover spaghetti untouched.

Instead, you sat back, content in letting the cool air wrap itself around you. Playing dot-to-dot with the spots of light, you didn’t mind the barest breeze that teased stray strands of your hair. All the while you were aware of the warmth coming from Taehyung at your side.

A deep sigh left him, joining the course of the air as it brushed past you.

“You see that pidge?” his eyes stayed on the city as he sighed. “There’s a world beyond that. Not everywhere is like this. They don’t have this side of the tracks and that side.”

Pulled from your reverie, you gave into his magnetism, finally fixing your gaze on him again. Gesturing at nothing in particular, he continued.

“We could run away… let this place break itself apart and- and just go where we please.”

The sparkle in his eyes was almost enough to spark something in your heart too. But down there among the dark, was your home. Your brother.

“But Tae, my family…” you whispered. As soon as the words left your lips, your teeth clamped around your tongue, some faint wish of having never said those words.

Taehyung shook his head, gaze falling to his hands where they rested in his lap.

“When you aren’t tied down… when you aren’t tied down then you can think these things. They can’t keep you forever, you know. True chidren move out, become people… you shouldn’t have to stay and look pretty on the shelf for them, pidge. Your dreams don’t have to live where you close your eyes.”

He turned to you then. You couldn’t have breathed if you wanted to.

Again, it seemed you had fallen into this man’s magnetic pull, somehow closer than you remembered getting. His eyes were too powerful for you to pull away from, somehow wide and shining while something dark flickered beneath those irises.

It was a slow surge as he moved forwards, his breath falling onto your cheek, your lips.

The darkness of the night, the city, the terrace, blurred at the corners of your vision, unable to look away from the entrancing boy – every fleck of gold in his eyes, each eyelash, sloping down, and now dropping shut-

There was no impact as his lips met yours, feather-soft as they pressed together.

You moved together with ease, slotting into place perfectly as your lips brushed. That was all it took. The moment you confirmed what he was silently asking, he was pressing into your mouth, lips much more than a phantom and very, very real.

Fingers that were resting lightly at your jaw now fervently tugged you closer.

Your head was spinning by the time both his hands were on you. Moulding to his touch, you indulged in his mouth as he pulled you onto his lap, hand gliding over your back. Craving more of him, you eagerly pushed closer, leaving no space for the breeze to weave between your bodies.

Breath fell hot between you as the kiss broke at last, but you found you had been robbed of all words.

“Just stay with me for tonight, pidge.” Tae’s voice was breathy, casting itself to the wind inches from his lips. A hopeful grin spread onto his face. “What’s life without a little adventure?”

Exhaling, you nestled into him once again, casting your eyes back out to the glimmering lights of the city. And he seemed happy with that, arms curling securely around you while they still could.

That night, you both dreamed of running away.

Fingers were trailing winding paths through your hair, rousing you from sleep. It was only slow, the world piecing itself together inch by inch around you, but now you blinked blearily, light filtering through your lashes.

When the hand withdrew from your head, you pried your eyes further open, twisting around.

Taehyung was already looking at you. Soft smile playing on his lips, he ran his hand once more over your head at your pout.

“Sorry, cub, didn’t mean to wake you,” he chuckled.

“No, no,” you shook your head, fidgeting to an upright position as a yawn forced its way out, “wh-what time is it?”

Only a shrug answered, a vague wave towards the sky. Turning, you found the city sprawled out ahead of you, but this time bathed in light as a glow pierced the horizon.

Gnawing at your lip, you kept in your words. It was morning, and you had never been away from home this long, even if it wasn’t your parents waiting for you there. You already missed this moment, knowing you would have to go.

Tae pulled you to his chest again, arms snaking their way around your middle, the ghost of his lips on your neck-

Sighing heavily, you turned back to him, though you didn’t meet his eyes.

“Tae I- thank you, but, I should go home now.”

A moment of silence elapsed, Tae’s arms not budging from where they circled you.

Then, he deflated. Releasing you from his lap, he nodded, more to himself than anything.

“Alright, pidge. Let’s get you home.”

Descending from the terrace, you let the view fade from sight without looking back. The walk was steady, but it seemed to stretch on for hours with the torture of walking beside Tae, unable to give in to your urge to reach out for his hand.

But you couldn’t allow yourself to do that.

Idly observing as the houses you passed became freshly painted, weeds between the paving slabs turning to freshly mown lawns, you tried to reason with yourself. What would Jin and Hoseok think? Not only had you crossed the tracks, but you had broken into a building with the notorious Taehyung.

And then eaten delicious spaghetti with him.

And kissed him.

Resolving never to speak of it again, you cast your eyes down. Why was your common sense betraying you now? Don’t associate with the other side, that was unspoken rule number one. You were better off here, you were lucky to have mother and father.

But that wasn’t what Tae had told you.

And something in you believed him. After your whole life being shooed away from the true children, watching them go to school and learn and do all the things you couldn’t, you wondered why they had taken you in after all.

“What flowers do you like, pidge?”

Double-taking, you were ripped from your thoughts to find Tae calling from behind you.

“I- I don’t know…” you frowned, eyes travelling to the property he had stopped beside.

“Okay pidge, wait here,” he grinned, “gonna need something to remember me by, right?”

He jumped. He jumped, vaulting over the short front wall before you could even utter a sound of warning. Dashing forwards, you watched with wide eyes as you saw him tramp through the garden like it was his own.

“Tae! What are you-?”

Stopping in front of a pristine flower bed, Taehyung’s hands fell on his hips.

“You gotta have a little fun, pidge! It’s harmless, don’t worry! Now do you like yellow or purple best?”

“Uh, um, purple,” you quickly decided, hoping to hurry him along.

Glancing over your shoulder, you scanned the road for anyone watching, bouncing on the balls of your feet as your fingers tapped impatiently on the wall. Finding nothing, you looked back to find Tae focussed intently on the flowers in his fingers, twisting the stems together with his tongue poking out.

Against your better sense, a smile fought its way to the surface.

Then, to your left, voices. Whipping your head around, you searched for the source, which revealed itself as two men emerging around the corner.

Head to toe in black, they sported a small orange stripe on the shoulder of their uniform.

Your heart rocketed in your chest, feet instantly backpedalling, but the controllers already had their eyes on you.

“Tae!” you caught his attention.

As if in slow motion, you watched him find the controllers standing at the corner, watched them locate him, and watched them each start running.

Feet slamming onto the concrete beside you, Tae was already gripping your hand.

“Now’s where we get going,” he panted.

Not hesitating for a second, both of you sped off immediately. Still fairly close to the tracks, despite being on your side, Tae seemed much more familiar with the streets than you. At some point your hands broke apart as he threw himself into a narrow path between houses.

Skidding around the corner after him, you did your best to keep up. The heavy boots thudding close behind were certainly good motivation.

Another turn and a fence stood resolutely in your way. Unfazed, Tae barely slowed down as he hopped over it with ease.

Scrambling after him, your foot slipped, scraping your calf against the wood. Still, you jumped again, struggling to reach the other side. The barrier was nearly as tall as you, only letting you snatch a glimpse of Taehyung disappearing through another garden.

Your eyes stayed on him as a bruising grip pulled your shoulder.

You didn’t struggle as your arms were yanked behind your back, manhandling you against the wall with barely enough time to turn away. Harsh brick scratched at your face while metal dug into your wrists for the second time.

Shoving you forward roughly, your feet nearly lost the ground, but you caught yourself, watery eyes staying on the ground while the hands on your arms marched you away. All you could do was hold in the gasps that constricted your throat.

You couldn’t even look back.

It had been a minute or so since Taehyung last heard the footsteps. Allowing his legs to drag him to a stop, his back fell against a wall, chest heaving. Nonetheless, a wide smile lit up his face with exhilaration.

“You alright, pidge?” he turned, one shoulder staying on the wall as he rolled around to see you.

The street was empty.

Upright in an instant, Tae’s smile vanished in a second.

“Pidge?”

He was already half-yelling but couldn’t bring himself to care when everywhere he looked showed him a distinct lack of you. Spinning in circles, his eyes roamed desperately to no avail.

Breath falling in choppy pants, he set his body in motion again, driving himself to the last corner he turned, then the one before that and the next one… at every empty space, his heart dropped agonisingly.

No no no, he had lost you! He was supposed to be getting you back home, safe and sound.

As much as he didn’t want you to go, this was never in the plan.

Forced to give up, though he must have been running for some time, he dropped his gaze to the flowers still held loosely in his hand.

Petals collided with concrete as Taehyung turned away.

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[lunaserenade]

Entangled

Gif by @dornish-queen

Masterlist

Part Eleven of the Meet Me at Sunrise Series

Previous Chapter: Haunted

Next Chapter: Exposed

Author’s Note: Thank you to @icanbeyourjedi , @reddead-trash and @sugarontherims for tolerating me while I overthought everything I wrote for this chapter.

Beta reading dream team: @violentcosmicsymphony and @briefgalaxycat <3

Paring: Marcus Pike x FBI Agent!Reader

Words: 2k

Warnings: Swearing, violence, mentions of blood.

Summary: The team rallies together after a traumatic incident.

“I have an officer down, I need paramedics immediately.” Your voice shook as you rattled off your address to the 911 operator. Snatching a blanket from the couch you reapplied pressure to Marcus' wound, the pain bringing him back to consciousness with a yelp. You gave him a weak smile “Marcus I need you to stay awake. Paramedics are on the way. I-... I'm sorry, I should have disarmed him, I thought I had and I-”

“Baby, I'm okay.” Marcus let out a whine as he tried to sit up and gingerly reached to touch the back of his head, a faint smear of blood from when Pearce slammed him onto the floor. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“Says the man bleeding in our living room.” You let out a slightly hysteric laugh at his lack of concern to his own wellbeing. The seven minutes it took for the paramedics to arrive were easily the longest minutes of your life, and you clung to Marcus' hand as they went to work. Once he was loaded on the stretcher, and you had waved off the medics who were trying to tend to your cut cheek, you followed them downstairs and into the ambulance.

“See honey? I'm going to be fine.” Marcus gave you a weak smile. “It was only a light stabbing.”

“... I'm going to let that slide on account of the blood loss.” You gave his hand a squeeze and pressed your lips to his knuckles, the sound of the ambulance siren ringing in your ears as it raced toward the hospital.

-------

Standing in the ER waiting room you knew you must look like something out of a horror film: hair wild, a shallow cut across your cheekbone, and your hands still covered in Marcus' blood. You could feel yourself trembling as you awaited Regina and Maddox's arrival, they had been your first call after Marcus' father. You had promised to keep him updated but it did look like Marcus would be fine as he had insisted the entire ride to the hospital. You heard your name, turning to see Regina, her wife Amber, and Maddox at the Emergency Room entrance. Regina was at your side in an instant, it wasn't until she wrapped her arms around you that the true gravity of the evening hit you, your chest heaving with sobs. You barely registered Amber attempting to clean the blood off your hands with wet wipes from her purse as Regina whispered soft reassurances into your hair.

“Mads, go see about getting us back there to see Pike. Flash your badge if you have to.” Regina said to the younger agent as she surveyed your face, the cut across your cheek had finally stopped bleeding. “Hon, what happened?”

“Ioan Pearce. He was waiting in our apartment when we got home. He must have been following us this week... I should've known... This is my fault, I brought Marcus undercover with me. If it wasn't fo-” You felt yourself spiraling quickly.

“No. You need to stop. This is Laurent and Pearce's fault, no one else's. Tonight, we make sure Marcus is alright. Tomorrow we tie up these loose ends and get Pearce in cuffs.” Regina reassured you.

“Cuffs... body bag, same difference.” You muttered.

“And that's why you probably shouldn't be joining us.” Regina laughed as a nurse came out calling for the group of you, you could finally see Marcus.

“I'd love to see you try and stop me.” You said with a smile, although your words were deadly serious.

-----

Marcus was sitting up on the edge of the bed in the ER, freshly stitched up, and he looked instantly relieved when his eyes met yours. You immediately rushed into his arms, silent tears streaming down your cheeks as you saw the bandage on his abdomen and buried your face in his shoulder.

“-‘s my fault. It’s my fault you’re hurt. I can’t live without you.” You whispered against his neck and felt him shake his head.

“Sweetheart, I’m alright. They’re even going to discharge me soon.” Marcus looked up, noticing the rest of the crew for the first time and gave them a smile. “Ten stitches, nothing vital hit, and a bump on the head. All I really need is a change of clothes and sleep.”

Needing to see for yourself you peaked at his torso, your fingers ghosting over the dressing covering his stitches. Marcus pressed a reassuring kiss to your forehead, his hands drifting to your waist.

“We’re glad you’re alright, boss. We’ll catch this psychopath.” Maddox said from beside Amber and Regina, handing Marcus a fresh shirt to change into.

“I reached out to the office, let them know what happened. They posted officers outside your apartment, I told them they’d have to wait until tomorrow for a full statement. Tonight, the two of you need to rest.” Regina said, squeezing her wife’s hand, relieved to see Marcus relatively unharmed.

“Gina, thank you. For everything.” Marcus said sincerely.

“We’re family, we always take care of our own.” She said with a fond smile.

-----

The search for Ioan Pearce was on, and undeterred by push back from the higher ups you and Marcus insisted on being involved. Pouring over CCTV footage and any new leads on Pearce’s whereabouts. It'd been a week since the break in and though he wasn't fully healed yet Marcus was relentless in his pursuit, but they were getting close. Maddox and Regina had been staking out a location that was a possible safe house for Pearce and his associates, they were sure he would surface any day now. You were camped out on Marcus' office couch with Regina, Maddox was dozing off at his desk but none of you had the heart to wake him. The effort he was putting in tailing Pearce's associates was admirable, and he seemed to have a natural knack for going unnoticed while trailing a suspect.

“I think he'll finally give in and end up at that safe house any time now. He's assuming we've lost any trace of him and he's starting to get cocky. He'll let his guard down and that's when we'll strike. I've got people watching the safe house twenty-four hours a day now, so I think we should all be prepared to move as soon as he's spotted.” Marcus said from his desk, giving a small stretch and wincing lightly as it tugged at his stitches.

“I agree, I think Pearce is getting impatient. That’ll be his downfall.” Regina said, buried in Ioan Pearce’s file trying to see if there was anything she missed that could finally end this.

“I'm just ready to put this bastard behind bars like Laurent.” You said with a small huff as a half-asleep Maddox poked his head into the office.

“My CI just called. Pearce should be going to the safe house in the morning.” Maddox said as he rubbed at his eyes.

“Fantastic! Then I want everyone to head home and get some rest. We take this guy in, come morning.” Marcus said with a smile.

As everyone packed up and headed out for the night Marcus wrapped his arm around your waist. You stood on your tip toes to press a few soft kisses to his jaw. Finally, this nightmare was almost over.

—-

The early morning sun was beginning to creep across the sky as you prepared for the raid on Ioan Pearce’s safe house. Considering how deeply personal this mission had gotten for you and Marcus you both agreed to take a back seat and cover the back door. Regina, Maddox, and a small team would breach the front door to apprehend Pearce; You and Marcus would cover the back door in case he tried to make a break for it.

“I won’t lie, I’m a little disappointed I won’t get to lay hands on this creep.” You gave Marcus a small smile as you adjusted your earpiece.

“As long as we finally get this guy in cuffs, I'm happy.” Marcus said as he adjusted the Velcro straps of your bulletproof vest.

“Breaching door in 10 – 9 – 8” Regina counted down over the earpiece as she prepared to break into the front of the house. You planted your feet and held your gun loosely in your hand, Marcus at your side as you covered the rear entrance. The shouts and sound of the front door breaking echoed loudly in the otherwise silent neighborhood. You could hear scuffles coming from inside the house when suddenly Maddox's voice came through your earpiece.

“He's heading for the back! He's running!” Maddox shouted.

Ioan Pearce burst through the back door and putting your full body weight behind your shoulder you slammed into him, knocking him off balance and to the ground roughly. In an instant Marcus had him flipped onto his front, handcuffing him while reading him his rights. Marcus looked up at you and smiled. It was done, this insane case was conclusively solved and everyone involved in custody. Maybe now the two of you could finally relax.

------

That evening after an early celebratory dinner and drinks with the rest of the team you walked hand in hand with Marcus down the path alongside the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. The stress of the last few months with this case hanging over both your heads was settled and maybe the two of you could relax, if only for a little while. You would have never thought you would be where you were today when Marcus had finally asked you out nine months ago, in this very spot no less. He was particularly contemplative tonight, but it was a comfortable kind of silence. Just happy to be in each other's company as the pair of you strolled quietly, the purples and pinks of the sunset streaked across the sky behind the Washington Monument as you reached the end of the Reflecting Pool. Tugging Marcus close, you snaked your arms around him and tucked your head against his chest. Marcus smiled down at you and pressed his lips to your hair, but his nerves were starting to get the better of him.

“Mmm I can't wait to get home. We can curl up on the couch with a movie.” You pulled back to look up at him and smile. “Maybe have a glass of wine and an early night.” Giving him a suggestive eyebrow wiggle you captured his lips in a lingering kiss.

“That sounds like a perfect night in.” Marcus said and paused for a second. “Before we head home, there is something I need to ask you.”

“Of course honey, anything.” You replied with an adoring smile.

“I know we haven't been together for a long time, but I do know that my life is better with you in it. I love you and I can't see a future without you next to me.” Marcus took a deep breath, reached into his pocket, and dropped to one knee. “Sweetheart, mi corazón, will you marry me?” He gently took your left hand and held out a simple but beautiful cushion cut engagement ring with a thin platinum band. Your heart was pounding, eyes welling up as you grinned down at Marcus. It was never a question; your heart truly was his and had been from the moment the pair of you had sat here that early morning watching the sunrise.

“Oh Marcus, yes! I can't think of anything I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you.” Your hand trembled slightly from excitement as he slid the ring onto your finger. Marcus stood up quickly and kissed you deeply, holding you tight to his chest.

“I love you. I love you so much.” He said reverently between kisses, you could feel his smile against your lips. You had both been through so much recently and now? Now a new and amazing chapter of your lives was about to begin, and you couldn't wait to see where it would take you.

tagged: @diva-1992, @yespolkadotkitty, @sarahjkl82-blog, @seasonschange-butpeopledont, @mrsparknuts, @disgruntledspacedad, @mrschiltoncat, @giselatropicana, @sugarontherims, @cynic-spirit, @supernaturalgirl, @farfromjustordinary , @keeper0fthestars​

Let me know if you'd like to be added to my tags.

#marcus pike #Meet Me at Sunrise #Pedro pascal #pedro pascal fluff #the mentalist #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x ofc #fic #narcos #the mandalorian #Din Djarin #fluff #fanfic #writing

[pearl-blue-musings]

Never Been Kissed: Hizashi Yamada

HI I’M ON A ROLL

so this combines NYE and Valentine’s Day soooo yeah

Pairing: Hizashi Yamada x fem!reader

~~~~~~~~~~

Conflicting schedules had always been a problem in your relationship, but it never stopped either of you. Sure you had made plans with your boyfriend for your first Valentine’s together, but plans always change.

Your work hours got shifted around again.

He had to work extra hours at the radio station because someone else requested time off. It was always something.

But that’s how the two of you worked.

You knew being in a relationship with the radio hero and teacher Present Mic would me taxing, whether emotionally or mentally. It was hard dealing with his early mornings and late nights, but you persevered. You just thought that maybe you’d be able to spend time with him on a day that meant a lot to him. You weren’t too surprised that he really and truly loved this day. With how loud he shows his emotions, you figured this holiday was perfect for him.

But his softs were always the most serene softs you’d ever experienced. Everyone knew Present Mic, but few knew Hizashi Yamada. And you were one of the lucky few to know him. You knew him not just as a person and hero, you knew him intimately. I mean, of course you did, you’ve been together for over a year! Like the cheesy man you know him to be, he had planned it out all perfectly during a New Years Eve show. You had been on a few dates but nothing had been official, so you were surprised he had invited you to see him do his show. He had wanted to spend the holiday with you but had to work so he thought, why not both?

The night was going swimmingly, filled with laughter and nostalgia as he recounted events that had happened all the while playing incredible music tied with great stories either from him or his little listeners. You were in awe, seeing him in his element and thriving; it was a sight to behold. Hizashi was like a siren and you were the unsuspecting victim and it was honestly a sensation you wanted to happen more and more.

Midnight was a second away and he had begun the count down be saying various quotes and well wishes for the new year. You were simply enjoying yourself when it was down to the final 30 seconds and he spoke up.

“Alright little listeners the time has come! Just under 20 seconds until the new year! Grab your sweetheart, your best friend, your pet, and give em a smooch at the count of zero! And don’t worry,” he looks over to you at the 10 second mark and announces, you think, only to you. “I’ve got my girlfriend here to kiss so no kisses from you all to me, ya dig?”

He leaves his desk, clicking the right settings to mute himself so he can whisper to you. “What do you say? Be my girlfriend?”

You’re stunned and just nod frantically, unsure of what to do as you saw zero approach on the clock. Hizashi unmutes his mic and safely yells, “Happy New Year!” before quickly muting and bringing you into sweet kiss. He tasted like mint chocolate and the thought sent shivers down your spine.

It was weird to you that this year was going to be your first Valentine’s Day together, despite being in a relationship for a year. The previous year he had to work and you had a family emergency, so he knew to not push it onto you. But this year Hizashi wanted to spoil you like the queen he knows you are.

But Present Mic always had his late night Valentine’s show that was a hit and he couldn’t miss it.

When he told you, you smiled nicely and told him it was okay. And it really was! You weren’t too big on the holiday yourself but you knew he was. On the day, you woke up to an array of flowers and cute little love notes left all over your room. You giggled to yourself as you walked into the kitchen, knowing he was already at U.A., and you see something boxed up on the counter.

Hey baby girl!

I made your favorite early this morning, but I’m sad I can’t eat it with you! I can’t wait to see you tonight my songbird!

Your Hizashi

If it was possible to love this man more than you already do, then this might’ve been the tipping point. You were overjoyed at his little acts of love that he showed you, knowing he won’t be coming in until practically midnight and it made your heart flutter.

At the end of your work day, you had already gotten a few text messages and calls from him reminding you that he loves you so much. And when you got to your newly shared apartment, you were greeted by a gigantic teddy bear with balloons and another card.

Sweet baby,

I didn’t mean to check your browser history but I know this little, well big, guy has been on your mind for a bit. But check what he has in his paw! I’ll see you later tonight baby!

Your Hizashi

You’re relieved no one saw the happy and flustered dance you did outside your apartment door as you shuffle in all the items your doting boyfriend bought you. Once your shoes are off and you’re more adjusted, you open the envelope. “What!?” You yelled to no one.

He had gotten you tickets to a spa and hot springs for a whole weekend?! And it’s the one you’ve been dying to go to? You quickly dial his number.

“My favorite listener!”

“You’re gonna kill me Hizashi! I-I mean, the spa, the food, everything! God, I love you.”

You hear him sigh and hum contentedly. “Anything for my lovebird! And there’s one more surprise, but you have to be listening to the show at exactly 8:55 okay?”

You nod into the phone and tell him you love him again before hanging up. You were positive you had all the ingredients for his favorite meal and dessert and you couldn’t wait to make it for him and have it ready for when he comes home. The first time you had made dinner for him after a late night radio show was one of the softest and happiest you had seen him. And in turn when you’ve had late shifts he’s done the same for you.

You had decided to wait until later to make his food, so you watched a couple movies and ate some leftovers to tide you over before making your special meal. You knew it would take about an hour for everything to be ready and since he comes home around 9:30 these nights you began your meal prep around 8:30.

25 minutes later you tuned into his show while taking a break to change your clothes and put on a robe. While you were changing you heard his voice coming in loud and clear.

“Listeners, it’s almost time for me to go but I have a quick story, okay? Over a year ago, I asked my beautiful wonderful girlfriend to be mine and she said yes! We even had our first New Years Kiss then! We’ve been together ever since, but this is our first Valentine’s together. And you all know how much I love this holiday!

“Her father had passed away the week before so we didn’t do anything. I was honestly afraid to express how much I love this day but she constantly reassured me that it was okay. And so I waited, ya dig?”

You almost dropped whatever was in your hands at hearing him through your speaker. What, just what is he doing?

“So this year, I’ve gone all out! But everything I did, I kept her and her family in mind! I sent her mom and grandmother everything I had given her today! My girlfriend didn’t know that but now she does! She’s really the best, you know? She’s even supporting me working today and everyday! I couldn’t have asked for a better gift than her. And I know today is hard for her, but that’s why I gotta pump it up for her!

“I love you, sweetie, and I can’t wait to see you when I get home.”

Hizashi was more than eager to make it back to his apartment where he knew the love of his life was waiting. His show was more tiring than usual but he knew he could endure it for you. He had already washed his hair and changed clothes at the station before coming home. Before entering, he could already smell the food you had made and his mouth began to salivate.

He presses his way into the apartment, and was thrown off. You weren’t in the kitchen. The table was set with candles and the food but where were you? He hopes you’re not upset over what he did or worse yet, crying because of your father. “Baby girl?” He asks the air, but is relieved when he hears you respond from your bedroom. “I didn’t see you in the kitchen or at the table so I got concerned because I-“

Rarely is Present Mic left speechless.

Rarely is Hizashi Yamada left speechless.

But here he is, stunned into silence at seeing you, donned in what he dubs the sexiest lingerie he’s ever seen. Sitting on your bed, no kneeling, so he can see all of your body covered in lace.

You whisper out while your own hands roam your body. “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.

“Come unwrap your gift.”

~~~~~~~~~

@cupcake-rogue @spicy-spooder

#hizashi yamada #hizashi yamada x reader #yamada hizashi #yamada hizashi x reader #present mic x reader #present mic #present mic x you #i did the thing #my writing #never been kissed #female reader #fem!reader #present mic x fem!reader

[a-fluffer-nutter]

Succubi

A/N - Here is a spicy Hamilton fic. Probably the best technical writing I have done in a long time. It does get a bit spicy, so if you aren’t into that, don’t read. Viewers discretion is advised for those under the age of 18 or whatever. I hope you enjoy. 

  Word Count: 1,500

  The muffled laughter in the other room was not too unusual of a sound, though the infrequent thuds definitely lead to some concern. Once it became too hard to think over various sounds emerging from the other room, Alexander Hamilton dropped his quill and pinched the bridge of his nose. Leaning back to the sound of another burst of laughter and two short thuds, Alexander leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head and popping his spine with a sigh. 

     “What the hell is going on?” Alexander announced his presence as he swung open the door to his office and stared out into the main room of his house.

     Sitting upon his favorite couch, his two favorite people had his four favorite hands on his two favorite figures. A heated, rosy glow blanketed his face, tips of his ears burning in the same way. 

     “Oh, hi honey,” Eliza’s hair was mildly unkempt, unusual for her. She slowly pulled her arms away from her sister’s torso, her fingers still curled.

     “Alexander,” Angelica smiled with a small wave. “How is the writing going?”

     “Well,” Alexander all but stammered, glancing back and forth between the two women. “What’s going on?”

     The women exchanged looks, Angelica suddenly realizing the location of her hands, withdrew from her sister’s torso. With a bite of his lip and a twitch of his nose, Alexander stepped further into the room. Plopping down onto the armchair adjacent to the couch, Alexander hoped one of the sisters would speak first. 

     “Do you really want to know what we’re doing?” Angelica spoke first, reaching out to squeeze her sister’s hand when Eliza motioned to speak first, stopping her with knowing glance. Alexander didn’t see child-like twinkle in her eyes, though Eliza definitely did. Softly pressing her lips together, Eliza gave her sister a slight nod then looked over at her husband. 

     “Of course I do,” Alexander’s brows furrowed. “You two were being so loud, you made me lose focus on my work.”

     “Quelle cauchemar,” Eliza mumbled to her sister with a roll of the eyes, eliciting a laugh from the older sister. 

     “Well, if we were being too loud, I guess we’ll have to show you what we were doing,” Angelica’s voice dripped with sass. She rose first, Eliza following suit while maintaining eye contact with her husband. Alexander shuddered as they stepped forward, one on each side. The sirens gave him venomous looks, lashes batting and lips curled into sultry smiles. 

     “What can you possibly show me?” A shiver creeped down his spine resonating through his body, even in places he didn’t want to admit. He racked his brain, thinking of what potential things they could show him that could possibly cause such a racket. What could two adult sisters do to cause such a commotion to snap him out of his work flow, and most of all, why were they doing it? 

     “Are you sure you want to know?” Angelica purred, slipping onto the arm of the chair and twisted so she faced him, knee touching his. A wisp of curled hair bobbed just above her nose, her eyes glistening into his. 

     Overwhelmed, Alexander thought he would receive some kind of release from his wife, though he should have known better. In a similar position, all of Eliza’s features radiated a sexual, yet terrifying glow that entranced the poor man. Eliza reached out and grabbed a longer lock of his hair, twirling it around her nimble fingers. Her scent enveloped him, poisoning his mind and body as it did the first time they ever embraced, ever kissed, ever touched. His eyes were locked onto hers, shackled by their beauty. He felt a soft breath against the nape of his neck, defined bumps coating his skin as he was sickened by lust for one he could never have, and love for the one that he did. 

     “You ready?” Eliza whispered into his ear, lips grazing the lobe. Lips parting, Alexander gave the slightest of nods, the venom of the two succubi drowning out and emptying his mind. 

      “Yes,” The word was short, quiet. Rosy cheeks and the most beautiful smile, Eliza leaned her body into his, gently resting her forehead against his. Barely touching his skin, Eliza’s fingers traced down his forearms, each hair beneath her touch shooting skyward. Fingers entangled, Eliza pulled his arms up to her chest, the beat of her heart playing a melody for his quivering hands. 

      “Now,” Her voice was louder, speaking not to him, but to her sister, as her plump lips brushed his. 

      A jolt of electricity shot through him, a different type of shiver, one not as pleasant as the last. A gasp of air exploded from his mouth, a choked noise following suit. Ten fingers danced beneath his arms, each finger executing a different performance. The attempt to pull both arms down was futile, Eliza had his hands trapped against her chest, the melody of her heart hitting a crescendo. 

      “Shit,” Laughter bellowed from the deepest bowels of his lungs, producing a symphony of carefree happiness and heart wrenching bliss. Tears nearly filled Eliza’s eyes from the sudden eruption of his laughter, a sound she had missed, a sound she had rarely heard before the children were born, rarely heard after the war. 

     “Oh good,” Angelica’s smile resonated through her voice. “And you thought he wasn’t ticklish anymore.”

     “No,” Eliza shot back through Alexander’s laughter, her voice barely heard over it. “I didn’t think he could laugh anymore. I knew he was still ticklish, I just thought he would squirm and hide, not this.”

     “Well, I’m just happy all this work he’s been doing didn’t break him entirely.”

     “Me too,” Eliza said softly, heard by no one. 

     Alexander squirmed and cackled, though tried his best not to hurt her. At first, he had managed to keep their foreheads pressed together, though he knew if Angelica kept up for too long, he ran the risk of headbutting his wife, which was a very bad idea. Instead, he wiggled away as much as he could, managing to fall onto her shoulder. His laughter rose, his body squirming from each electric touch. One hand attacked his stomach, occasionally slowing to trace the circumference of his navel. The other furiously raked down his ribs, nails teasing each bone. 

     “He hasn’t said anything for a while,” Angelica chimed in after a few minutes, Alexander’s laughter the only sound in the room for quite some time. 

     “You should probably stop,” Eliza replied, letting go of Alexander’s hands, letting them flop down to his sides. “Don’t want to kill him.”

     As the fingers slowed and retreated, Eliza stroked her husband’s hair, twisting short corkscrews around her fingers. Laughter finally out of his system, Alexander felt his head being raised from the chin, fingers soft against his skin. Guiding his head back into its original position, Eliza rested her forehead against Alexander’s, the tips of their noses touching. 

     “I had the real you back,” Eliza muttered so her sister couldn’t hear, but her husband definitely could. Opening his eyes, she could see that the stern and tired film that normally coated his eyes had vanished. These were the eyes of a loving young man, a loving husband who adored life and cherished all in it. These were the eyes she had fallen in love with, the eyes she married. The eyes her sister had also subsequently fallen in love with. 

     “I’m here,” Alexander smiled. A real smile. Nothing forced. Nothing provoked as it had been minutes before. His real smile had finally found its way back, and it seemed like it wanted to stay. 

     “Gross,” Angelica let out a laugh, pushing Alexander closer to Eliza, causing the couple to blush and laugh. “Looks like I need to leave you two love birds alone.”

     “No,” Alexander paused, his eyes reading Eliza’s face. “I should probably go back to work.”

     “Take a break,” Angelica stated, seeing her sister’s posture slump. 

     “I just did,” Alexander shot back, turning around to look at Angelica. “And you tried to kill me.”

     “Fair,” Angelica shrugged, standing up. 

     “However,” He turned back around, cupping Eliza’s chin into the palms of his hand. “I’ll take the rest of the day off. For you.”

     Eyes lighting up, Eliza beamed as she threw her arms around Alexander. 

      “Where’s my hug?” Angelica rolled her eyes with a laugh. “I’m the one that tickled him better.”

      Eliza looked up at her sister, sticking her tongue out. Angelica let out a huff, then laughed with a shake of the head.

     “Well, after all that work, I’m famished. I’ll see you both later,” Angelica walked out of the room, a knowing smile painted on her face. 

     Gentle fingers running down the side of her face, Eliza stared lovingly at her husband, truly happy for the first time in forever. With the lovingest smile, Eliza leaned in closer, and pressed her lips against his. 

      “I love you.”

      “I love you too.”

#Hamilton #tickle fic #ticklish!hamilton

[sarah-writes-marvel]

Without A Scratch: Avengers x gn!Reader

S.S.: Hello, heres another fic. I know Im very inconsistent with writing but Im working on it! Thanks to everyone who likes my posts I really appreciate it!! Hope you like this one!

Warnings: Car crash!!, police officers, medical staff, panic attacks... idk what else, let me know if I missed something!

Word Count: 1,834

* I know it says Avengers x Reader, but it only features Tony, Nat and Bucky.... :)

** Mx: gender neutral for Mrs., Miss, or Mr. jsut an fyi for anybody who doesnt know! 

MASTERLIST

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

There was a distant ringing in my ears. The sound of honking horns and brakes screeching to a stop and sirens seemed muffled. The sun seemed brighter than it had been. My body was buzzing with adrenaline and the feeling in my fingers was gone.There was debris amongst the road, pedestrians standing along the road or with one foot out of their car looking over their opened doors.

“Oh my god, are you alright?” a grey-haired woman stopped my wandering, her hands placed on my shoulders. Others stood next to her, barely within my vision through my helmet.

“I think so.” I mumbled, turning around to the wreck that I had just barely escaped with my life. My motorcycle laid in pieces off to the side of the intersection. The car that had run through the red light was wrecked, the front slightly crumpled from impact.

Police cars surround the area, immediately blocking off the road and encouraging pedestrians and drivers to detour. Emergency medical staff jumped from the ambulances, two coming towards where I stood with the older woman, and two to the man who looked unconscious in the front seat.

“Mx, my name is Alex Khan and this is my partner Trey Alpin. Do you know your name?” His voice was urgent and demanding, but not aggressive.

“My name is Y/f/n Y/l/n.” My voice wavered and shock began to overwhelm my senses. My hands grasped at my helmet, struggling to pull it off.

“Hold on, let me help you. We don't want to add insult to injury.” his partner insisted his hands hooking under my helmet and carefully pulling it off of my head. 

“Alright Ms. Moon. Can you walk?” and despite it sounding like the dumbest question considering I was standing right in front of them, my knees gave out before giving them an answer. “We’ve got you.”

I turned to the older woman who still stood there with her hand covering her mouth and tears welling in her eyes. “Thank you.”  she replied with a simple nod and a reassuring smile before the two paramedics helped me to the back of one of the ambulances at the scene.

“Is the driver alright?” I asked after they sat me on the end of the truck, a shock blanket wrapped around my shoulders.

“Lets focus on you first then we’ll get an update on him for you.” Alex smiled. 

Trey stood to the next to him jotting down notes, before setting it to the side as Alex moved to the other ambulance.

“Stare at my finger for me.” he said, holding his index finger in front of my face before shining a light into my eyes, checking for the pupil's reaction. “Good, no concussion.” He said with a reassuring smile.

He wrote it down amongst the other notes on the clipboard before turning back. “Do you mind taking off your gear so I can check for breaks or sprains?” I nodded quietly, shrugging off the shock blanket and tugging at the zipper of the leather jacket covering my top.

“Also do you have someone that you can call?” He asked, filling the silence as I winced pulling my arms from the sleeves.

“I do but my phone was in my bike’s hideaway compartment. So I highly doubt it's functional anymore.” I said, giving a small smile.

“No worries, you can borrow a phone from any of us after I check you over for injuries.”

 His hands were cold compared to my burning skin as he ran them down my arms, moving my wrists careful of the road rash across my knuckles that wore through my gloves. “Does that hurt?” I shook my head no as he repeated the same motions on my other arm receiving the same response.

His hands moved to the back of my neck squeezing along the sides of my spine, eliciting a slight wince from me. “Did that hurt?”

“Just a little.” 

“Sorry” he pressed his lips together and his eyebrows furrowed. He stepped to the side continuing down my back with one hand without any other trouble. “Just some slight whiplash, nothing major, just be cautious with activities.”

He moved back in front of me, his hands settling on my highest rib, slowly trailing down my sides before I grimaced at the gentle touch he was using. “Sorry” he muttered before continuing.

“So that might be a break or just a crack but you'll have to take a ride with us to get that x-rayed.”

“Uhm, can I actually make my call while you continue to check me over?” I asked quietly, my mind still a little muddled with the fact that I was sitting in the back of an ambulance with a fractured rib being my worst injury.

“Of course.” He pulled his phone from his uniform pocket, unlocking the screen and opening the keypad. “Here you go. I'm just going to run over your legs and then wrap your hands.” I only nod in confirmation as I begin typing in the number.

After a few rings, the line clicked. “Tony Stark who is this and why are you calling me?”

“Tony…” My voice cracked trying to hold back the tears that had begun to form in my eyes.

“Y/n/n? What happened? Friday get a read on the call.” he called to the A.I. frantically.

“I got into a wreck.” I said my voice wavering as tears threatened to spill over “Im at 42nd and 11th.”

“On it.” And with that the call ended, and the panic set in.

“Thanks. Can I get oxygen or something? I- I cant breath.” I say handing Trey his phone back, my hands shaking and my breathing become erratic.

“Yea, of course one second.” He agreed hopping into the truck grabbing a tank and mask, setting up and bringing it back to me. I held the mask over my nose doing my best to take calming breaths as he brought the blanket back over my shoulders.

Commotion amongst the street caused me to open my eyes back up to see Tony in his Ironman suit landing next to the street blocked signs. A black lamborghini pulled up behind him, Bucky and Nat stepping out. It was amusing to watch the police hold their hands out, trying to block the trio from entering into the restricted area, but with a flip of a badge from Nat and a scolding from Tony, they stepped aside. 

The trio took a minute analyzing the damage, noting the obliterated bike that belonged to their second youngest Avenger. The plastic and metal spread across the street casting shadows from the flashing red and blue lights. The car that was stopped in the middle of the intersection with the hood crumpled. 

“Oh my god, Y/n/n.” Nat was the first to wrap me carefully into a hug. “Are you ok? What happened?” Bucky and Tony stood behind her both with rage in their eyes.

“Some guy ran a red light. I’m ok.” I said casting my gaze to the other ambulance where it seemed that the driver was still unresponsive.

“The only points of concern are thier minor whiplash, the road burns and fractured ribs 5-7 on the left side. I suggest getting an xray to make sure they are only fractures and nothing more and a CT scan for any other internal injuries that I can't diagnose here. I would offer a ride to the hospital but I realize that you will have better medical technology at the Avengers Tower.” Trey listed, smiling at the three Avengers standing there.

“Thank you very much for taking care of her. Apply at Stark Industries, I’ll find a place for you on the medical staff.” Tony smiled.

“Let's get you home.” Bucky spoke quietly, and I agreed adamantly.

“They’ll have to report to one of the police officers before leaving the scene.” Trey reminded us as I grabbed my jacket and helmet.

“Thank you.” Nat said, helping me from my spot. “Can you walk?” I nodded. Setting down the oxygen and dropping the blanket from my shoulders. I gripped onto her hand and pushed against the ambulance bed with the other to get onto my feet.

I took a minute to find my balance, hanging onto Nat for support. Her arm was wrapped around my waist as she helped me walk over to one of the police officers.

“Are you the motorbike rider?”

“Yes sir.” I replied, releasing my grip on Nat, noting that Bucky and Stark were standing closely behind on guard.

“I just have some routine questions for you quickly.” I nodded my head and he began asking the questions.

After the officer finished his follow up he thanked me before Nat began to pull me away from the scene.

“Wait. I asked about the driver of the car. I haven't heard anything.” I stopped turning around to see paramedics surrounding the bed of the other ambulance.

“Honey, don't worry about him. Come on let's get you home.” Nat insisted. I pulled away from her grip stumbling slightly.

“Just because he ran a red light and hit me doesn't make him any less important. I just want to check to make sure he’ll recover.” I argued before making my way over to the commotion.

The paramedics and a few police officers were congregated near the end of the ambulance as I approached. I could hear the orders for medical equipment being called out as I grew closer.

“Excuse me.” I tapped on someone's shoulder. 

“Y/n? Why are you still here?” Trey asked once he had turned to see me.

“I asked earlier about the driver. Will he make a recovery?” I asked peaking over his shoulder to watch paramedics lifting the stretcher into the back.

“He’ll make a full recovery. He'll be spending a few years in prison for this though. If you're worried about insurance coverage dont worry. Officers will get that sorted when he's responsive.” Trey explained.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that. I just wanted to make sure he’ll make a recovery. Thank you.” I smiled before turning back to the three Avengers waiting at the police barricade.

“Ready to go?” Bucky asked as I joined them. I simply nodded my head as Nat wrapped her arm around me again leading me to the car.

“Let’s go get you healed up. I heard Cho is working on something with broken bones. Maybe you can be a guinea pig!” Tony exclaimed with a smile.

“As intriguing as that sounds I doubt that I’m stable enough to endure whatever it may be.” I replied as I settled into the front seat of the car.

“Fair enough.” Tony smiled. “Im proud of you ya know. For that little thing you just did. For understanding that his life is still important.”

“I learned from the best.” I looked at the three of them, each having a proud smile across their face.

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

S.S: Hope you all liked it!! Again dont be afraid to request. I also realize that alot of my fics seem to have a little (or lot) of angst. Ill try and make some more fluffy fics soon! Thanks for reading!

#avengers #tony stark #bucky barnes #natasha romanov #readerinsert #avengersxgn!reader #marvel #ironman #wintersoldier #blackwidow #mcu #marvelfanfic #mcufanfic #avengersfanfic #angst #fluff #gnreader

[halpertstuna]

motorbikes and mazes - jj maybank

request:

A/N: thank you for requesting! i hope this is what you meant, enjoy <3

and i’ve already said this before but PLEASE, don’t hesitate to send me requests, questions, messages whatever you want. i would love to make friends and mutuals on this platform plus i love feedback and would really like to hear your opinions(:

-> prompt list <-

summary: motorcycle accidents aren’t that rare, you just never thought you’d get into one, especially not with your boyfriend.

pairing: jj x reader

word count: 2,426

warnings: cursing, blood, mentions of injuries (nothing too graphic), a bath(? idk if that’s a warning lmao i’m sorry), angst, fluff, platonic John B., Pope, Kie and Sarah.

oh and probably typos cause i suck😎 and i’m too lazy to go over this again 😔🕶🤏🏻

-> masterlist <-

(gif credit: @ptersparkers )

—

The sense of mortality.

When riding a motorcycle you truly are aware of your mortality, your life is in your hands and if you act carelessly, it could be over.

JJ was fully aware of that, which was why each time you were sat on the back of his motorbike, gripping tightly onto his torso, he was extra careful.

He knew motorcycles scared you quite a bit, ever since you were a child your mum told you how dangerous they were, and as a result you were mildly intimidated by them.

You trusted JJ more than anything in the world and you knew he would never put you at risk, he cared far too much.

And as true as that is, some things are just out of his hands.

It was mid December, the wind outside howled, causing the tree near your bedroom window to rapidly tap the glass.

You laid in bed, drawing, as you awaited a text from your boyfriend, JJ, telling you he was outside.

Like every thursday, the pogues made plans to meet at the chateau for movie night. It was your turn to pick a movie and you were thrilled, you wanted to watch the maze runner series again, so you saw this was a great opportunity.

Just as you were adding final touches to the sunflower you drew, the screen of your phone lit up and with the corner of your eye you caught a glimpse of JJ’s contact name.

You swiftly got off the bed and slid into your beat up vans. You made your way down the stairs and slung your, more accurately JJ’s, jacket over your shoulders, slipping your arms through the sleeves as you shut the door behind you. You skipped down the porch steps, approaching your favorite blond boy, whose hair was rumpled from both his helmet and the wind.

You ran your hand through his golden locks, gently tugging, as your lips met the warm skin of his exposed neck, greeting him with intimacy. He smiled at your antics, kissing your temple sloppily, then handed you your helmet and put his back on.

As soon as you placed it on top of your head, you hoped onto the pillion seat and wrapped your arms around him, resting your head on his build back. You placed a soft kiss on his shoulder blade, missing the grin he gave you.

He turned the key in the ignition, starting the bike and the two of you rode off.

The wind whispered through your hair when all of the sudden you felt droplets of rain fall onto the exposed skin of the nape of your neck.

Neither of you thought too much of it, as you were already half way there and it was just a couple of drops. But not long after, the rain got violent, and the road got slippery.

JJ knew it was dangerous to ride a motorbike in such weather conditions and so he searched for a place with shelter, in which you could wait until the rain came to a halt.

“Hold tight” he shouted and you obeyed, tightening your grip and holding onto dear life. “JJ we have to stop it’s getting dangerous” you affirmed, voice laced with fear. “I know, I’m looking for a place where we can wait out the storm” he explained.

The pouring rain was bucketing down harshly and the drops covered JJ’s visor almost completely, blocking his sight.

As a result he didn’t see the puddle you were heading straight to.

Lifting up your head, you peeped over JJ’s shoulder, noticing the puddle.

“JJ! LOOK OUT!” You alarmed him, but before either of you could process anything, he lost control over the bike.

The wheels slid, you reluctantly took a wild left turn, losing balance and hitting a tree, causing the bike to flip over to the side.

JJ lunched forward, slamming his ribs onto the twist-grip, then hitting the ground, his shoulder breaking his fall, delivering all of his weight to it causing him to whimper in pain.

You on the other hand, weren’t so fortunate.

You spent your entire life frightened by mishaps like this one, certain that if you were ever to be in a vehicle accident, nevertheless a motorcycle, the only thing you would be able to focus on would be the pain.

But to your surprise, it wasn’t.

To be honest you couldn’t focus on anything, because the second you tried moving, you felt a dull pain wash over you, and your eyelids suddenly felt like they weighed 800 tons.

The pain traveled through your body, and you could feel it in your bones, it completely drained you of any power you had left from the adrenaline. You blinked slowly and heavily.

JJ rushed to you and placed your head on his lap, taking off your helmet and brushing the strands of your disheveled hair out of your face. He noticed there was blood on your forehead, caused by a tree branch after your visor was torn off. It made him absolutely hysterical.

You couldn’t move, you couldn’t speak, all you wanted to do in that moment was sleep. He immediately called 911, waiting for an ambulance as he brushed your hair ever so lightly, terrified of hurting you more than he already had.

The sight of your delicate, weak figure shattered his heart, he kept telling himself this could have been prevented. If only he listened to you, if only he had accepted back then that motorcycles are dangerous. You looked so fragile, vulnerable, and worst of all, in pain. He couldn’t stand the thought of him being the reason.

He noticed you started closing your eyes for longer periods of time and it caused him to freak out even more, if possible. “Y/N?” You tried responding but the tiredness just wouldn’t let you. “Hey! Don’t close your eyes- don’t you dare close your fucking eyes!” He seethed, furious at himself for putting you in this situation.

The last thing you remember was the faint sound of sirens and a sharp pain in your arm, then your vision went black.

The next thing you knew you were on a small, lumpy bed, you shifted uncomfortably, the smell of cleaners enveloped you and you were woken up by the sound of someone shutting a door, audible sounds of chatter came from the other side of the wall. The bright recessed light coming from the ceiling blinded you and you squinted your eyes, feeling an indistinct ache in your head.

You felt giddy and let out a frustrated groan farrowing your eyebrows causing a sharp pain above them. You hissed in pain, then touched your forehead, where you felt a thread, figuring out they stitched up a deep wound.

You casually moved your hand to scratch the odd itch on your elbow, but your fingertips were met with solid plaster instead of soft skin.

You looked down at your right arm and noticed it was in a cast, and your ankle swathed in a bandage, which got stuck under the engine, fracturing it when the bike flipped over.

“Well that’s just fucking great” you muttered under your breath sighing in exasperation.

“Shit! JJ!” you squealed, panicking as you scanned the room. You were so distracted by your pain that for a second you forgot he was there with you.

Five seconds barely passed by and the door was swang open revealing a worried JJ.

You sat up, relief washing over you as he rushed towards your bed and cradled your head tenderly in his arms, squeezing you ever so slightly, as if you were made of china and he was scared that if he added any more pressure, you’d break.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, his voice mellow, calming you down.

“Well, my head kinda hurts and i feel a bit nauseous but pretty numb overall” he stroked your hair as you spoke. “It’s because of the medication” a doctor chimed in as she entered the room “you’re on quite a lot of pain killers”.

“Oh, well, thank you so much for helping us” you trailed off, “but we really should get going”, not wanting to stay there any longer than you had to since hospitals gave you the creeps.

“Actually, I’d prefer you stay here overnight for supervision, both of you” mentioned the doctor before leaving you and JJ alone in the room.

“Well, you heard the lady, guess we’re sleeping here tonight” JJ noted plopping down on a chair beside your hospital cot. “Na-uh” you scoffed, struggling to get off the bed “there is no way in hell i’m spending the night in a hospital”.

JJ gave you a concerned look “but the doctor ordered-“ “no no no, she recommended, see the difference?” you cut him off, motioning with your hand that you need help standing up.

JJ felt so bad he didn’t even argue, and you knew he would be able to take care of you if anything happened during the night.

The two of you started walking, well, he walked, you limped, clutching onto his bicep for support, as you searched for the exit for what felt like forever, all of the corridors looked the same and you were worn out.

“Dang, I just wanted to watch the maze runner, not be in it” you whined and he chuckled at your despair filled tone.

Eventually you found your way out, recognising the VW you’d grown to love so much, parked in front of you. The doors opened and four frames of what you made out to be your friends came running straight towards you and JJ, clasping you in their arms, careful not to hurt either of you.

“What are you guys doing here??” You asked, giggling at the intense feeling of your heart swell.

“I’m JJ’s emergency contact. The second we got a call from the hospital saying you two got in a motorcycle accident, we rushed here” John B. explained, “We were really worried” Sarah added as you made your way towards the van.

“I’m just glad you two are okay” Kie admitted helping JJ lift you into the van. “Yeah, both of you got really lucky” Pope pointed out, “I’m surprised the doctor didn’t ask you to stay overnight”

“Oh she did, I just really didn’t want to” you confirmed, eating the piece of chocolate Sarah handed you knowing it’s your favorite, as John B. started driving towards the chateau.

“Are you crazy?! What if you have a concussion??” Pope yelled panicking, astound by your stupidity, not a surprise “You know they ask you to stay overnight for a reason! The adrenaline your body releases after an accident can mask symptoms of an injury!” He revealed.

“Well that’s why we keep you around, Dr. Spock” JJ joked causing you all to laugh.

When you arrived at the chateau, you and JJ went to the spare room, both desperate for a shower. He helped you with your cast, sealing it with a trash bag and assisted you in stripping out of your clothes. He washed your body for you, and felt horrible knowing you won’t be able to do it normally by yourself for a while.

When you got out of the shower JJ wrapped a towel around his hips then helped you wrap one around your torso. When you turned to him you noticed he had a huge bruise on his abdomen.

You grazed your fingers over the the dark purple swollen skin, brushing it gently, then let your fingers skim over JJ’s wounded shoulder travelling down to the palm of his hand, linking his fingers with yours.

You averted your gaze to his eyes only to find them already on you, filled with awe and remorse as a single tear escaped one of them.

You immediately opened your arms pulling him to you, as close as you possibly could. He buried his face in the crook of your neck sobbing, littering your clean skin with his salty tears.

“I’m so sorry, this is all my fault” he apologised, he could never describe the feeling of guilt he had, knowing he hurt the one person he loves most in this world, the one person he never wanted to see in pain, let alone be the reason for it.

“J, this isn’t-“ “no this is! If only I’d listened- y-you wouldn’t be hurting, and we wouldn’t have bumped into that stupid tree in the first place-“ he started swallowing his words “I don’t know what I’d do to myself if I ever lost you- I-“ he choked on his own tears.

You knew nothing you said mattered cause he wouldn’t listen, he was far too convinced this was all on him. So you just held him tightly for as long as you could, you tried soothing him by placing tender, lingering kisses to his nose, cheeks and forehead speaking only in a hush tone, reassuring him “it’s okay, I’m okay. I’m not going anywhere”. You stayed with him like that until he calmed down.

The two of you got dressed and headed towards the living room where you were met by the others spread across the couch. ”Aren’t you two tired?” Kie asked signaling you to sit. JJ plopped down on the couch beside you, letting you lean your head on his unharmed shoulder.

“Oh sweetheart, in the last five hours I managed to get in a motorcycle accident, go to the hospital, get drugged by so many pain killers, which by the way are still affecting, I managed to escape the labyrinth I was in and get to the chateau alive with a broken arm, fractured ankle, not to mention my stitched forehead and now, I will watch the maze runner. And all of you are going to sit your asses down and enjoy the goddamn movie with me, because I fucking deserve it, thank you very much” you finished your rant of breath.

They all looked at you with wide eyes and parted lips, slightly scared. “Yes ma’am” John B. agreed and turned on the tv. One movie turned into two and eventually you watched all three movies until the sun came up. By the end of the last one, you were all in tears. You fell asleep on the pullout couch on top of each other.

Maybe you were in physical pain, but being surrounded and cared for by your favorite people made you forget all about it, they made you feel whole.

—

A/N: by the way i decided to make a taglist!

feel free to add yourself <3

#obx #outer banks #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #rudy pankow #rudy pankow x reader #jj maybank imagine #rudy pankow imagine #request #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfiction #imagine #imagines #jj x reader #outer banks jj #obx jj #obx jj maybank #jj maybank angst #jj maybank fluff #ashley’s writing

[aqua-murphys-law]

when it rains

Rating: K+ Warnings: panic attacks, breakdowns, self-depreciating thoughts Summary:

i’m only honest when it rains if i time it right, the thunder breaks when i open my mouth i wanna tell you but i don’t know how

~*~

With a life like Milo’s, it’s only a matter of time before he can’t just grin and bear it anymore. Some times are less convenient than others.

A/N: This started out as a purely self-indulgent “let Milo get angry and upset” whump fic, but hooooo boy there’s a lot to unpack now. My headcanons just will not give me a break. But hey, y’all get a +6k word fic out of the deal, so enjoy!

Check replies for a link to read on A03 for full tags, cause Tumblr hates links apparently! - Aqua

~*~

Of all the ways Milo Murphy has traveled to school, clinging to the top of a runaway ice cream stand that’s surfing a massive wave of pistachios is certainly one of the more palatable ones.

Hah, palatable- he almost makes the joke out loud, but between Zack’s screaming and Melissa’s shrieking laughter and the roar of wind and veering traffic in their ears, they probably won’t hear him. He files that pun away for later and turns his focus to their inevitable stopping; there’s a fountain up ahead that’s about the right height.

Adjusting his grip, Milo climbs over to the side of the stand, throwing its weight to the left. That changes its trajectory just enough to crash right into the fountain, tipping them and all the stand’s contents over into the small ocean of pistachios below. It’s like falling into a ball pit- if the balls in ball pits were tiny green nuts with miscellaneous ice cream sundae ingredients scattered about. Either way, it’s a soft enough landing, and the momentum carries them further down the road before the ground flattens out and they finally roll to a stop.

As fate would have it, the tidal wave of debris has carried them right to the school crosswalk, minutes before first bell. There’s a small group of their classmates waiting to cross, gaping at the wreckage. Milo picks himself out of the mess and dusts his knees off before helping Zack to his feet.

“Watch out for the banana peels,” Milo cautions. “They’re just as slippery in real life as they are in cartoons.”

Zack catches his breath. “Dude, that was kinda awesome.”

Milo’s heart swells happily, and he grins. “I’d say that’s one of our most palatable adventures yet.”

Zack’s eyes light up as he catches on, nudging Milo with his elbow. “It sherbet was!”

“No puns this early in the morning,” Melissa groans, picking pistachios out of her hair.

Milo digs a brush out of his backpack and hands it to her. “Sorry, Melissa,” he says good-naturedly.

“Yeah, sorry,” Zack says, “we know you don’t… cone-done that behavior.”

Milo hides a laugh behind his hand while Melissa lightly punches Zack’s arm before continuing to brush out the pistachios. Then he takes a second to look over the damage again, double-checking no one got caught in the crossfire. It’s a good thing the stand hadn’t been open yet when that freighter full of pistachios exploded-

“Stop! Milo.”

Milo looks over at the familiar voice, smiling. “Hi, Elliot.”

As always, the crossing guard is brandishing his stop sign at them. His attention seems to be split between staring at Milo and staring at the heap of food in the street.

Melissa rolls her eyes. “We’re already stopped,” she points out, passing the brush back to Milo. “You know, just a group of middle school kids, waiting for the crossing guard to help them cross the street?”

“Yeah,” Zack adds, “your job?”

Elliot makes a disbelieving sound. “What, the giant mountain of walnuts hasn’t stopped traffic enough as it is?”

“Actually, they’re pistachios,” Milo says helpfully, tucking the brush away. “And sure, but it’s really best to wait for authorized personnel to formally halt the flow of traffic using proper signage instead of taking your chances.”

“I know that!” Elliot protests, sounding irritable. He holds the stop sign out, gesturing with his other hand for them all to cross. “Alright, move it along, people…”

Milo is happy to do so, leaving Elliot’s grumbling behind. It’s always a good morning when he actually makes it to school, and on time. Walking beside him, Melissa’s already whipped her phone out to share the pictures she took during all the excitement, snickering at the way Zack’s eyes widen. Milo chuckles to himself; how she manages to get such incredible shots, he’ll never know.

They reach the sidewalk on the other side without incident. He can hear the echoes of sirens from responding emergency vehicles starting up across town and knows they’ll be at the scene in a couple minutes. That makes him feel better about heading inside before they arrive, though he laments the fact that he won’t get to thank them personally-

“You know, Murphy, these catastrophes would be a lot more bearable if you took them seriously.”

Milo pauses, tilting his head. Melissa and Zack are already frowning at Elliot, but he wants to make sure he’s accurately identified the disdain in Elliot’s voice and isn’t just missing sarcasm again.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

Elliot folds his arms with a huff, his stop sign sticking out at an angle. “I mean, you walk around with that grin on your face, brushing everything off like it’s no big deal.” He scowls at Milo over his glasses. “Do you even care about all the chaos you leave in your wake?”

Milo blinks, his smile faltering. Is that the impression people get from him?

Zack steps forward. “Hey man, back off,” he snaps at Elliot.

“Yeah,” Melissa chimes in, folding her arms, “you’re just bitter because people keep assuming you’re in your thirties.” She jerks her chin over at the doors. “Come on, Milo.”

Milo manages to smile again, but it feels strained. “Elliot, I can assure you that I understand the severity of Murphy’s Law,” he says carefully, moving to follow Melissa up the rest of the stairs.

“Well, you certainly don’t act like it,” Elliot gripes after them, a parting jab.

Milo should let it go, he knows he should. This is just how Elliot is; there’s no way somebody so pathologically obsessed with safety would ever see Milo as anything more than a hazard. But this is more than simply placing blame on him for Murphy’s Law. That, he’s used to. He can handle that.

What he can’t stand for is the implication that he doesn’t care when people get hurt. Not when he works so hard to avoid it- often at the expense of his own wellbeing. If he only worried about himself, Murphy’s Law would be exponentially easier to deal with. Most people don’t realize that.

He stops walking, turning to look Elliot dead in the eye. “What’s the alternative?” he asks, his face blank and voice held carefully neutral.

Elliot’s clearly surprised at the question. He hesitates, shooting a wary look at Melissa and Zack, before he manages a shrug. “I don’t know, just some indication that you’re actually sorry for everything going wrong all the time?”

Milo’s grip on his backpack goes white-knuckled. “You think I should feel sorry?” he asks quietly.

Elliot flounders for a second. “I, uh… well, yes?”

It’s one thing for Milo to impulsively feel responsible for any destruction caused by Murphy’s Law, before he can remind himself that it’s not his fault. But it’s another thing entirely for someone to tell him that he should feel that way, all the time.

“What would you like me to do?” he presses. “Walk around with my head hung low, overcome with guilt every time Murphy’s Law happens? Apologize constantly when the majority of the people in my life have been dealing with it for years? Or- or beat myself up over something I can’t change or control?”

Elliot’s eyes widen, his brows shooting up to his hairline. “Now listen, that’s not exactly what I said-”

“But it’s what you meant, right?” Milo asks in a voice he doesn’t recognize. It’s white-hot with anger, and he can feel the glare that’s drawing his eyebrows down into a point, the way it’s narrowing his eyes. It’s an unfamiliar expression.

Oh, this is dangerous territory. Anger isn’t safe; it clouds the mind and fosters rash decisions, preventing one from thinking clearly. He can’t afford to have his judgement skewed, his reaction time hampered by the distraction of wrestling emotions under control. Not here, when there’s so many people around who could get hurt by his inability to act if something were to happen.

Melissa tugs Milo by the arm, trying to pull him away. “Milo, come on, he’s not worth it,” she says, her voice low and urgent.

The concern in her voice pricks at him. He’s aware, to some degree, that they’ve attracted an audience; the other kids that crossed with them are lingering, whispering to each other. He’s aware that his heart is starting to race and his skin feels flushed, the unpleasant physical effects of anger. And he’s especially aware of Zack’s gaze on him, what he must be thinking of the whole situation.

But Milo abruptly finds that he doesn’t care. Maybe that should concern him, too.

Elliot holds up his hands, something akin to panic flashing across his face. “Hey, look, I didn’t-”

“If I let myself feel bad every time Murphy’s Law happened, I’d never stop,” Milo says sharply. “Do you realize that? You’re only exposed to Murphy’s Law in the brief moments I’m around you. But for me, it never ends. It doesn’t have a weekly schedule, it doesn’t take days off. It doesn’t even stop when I’m asleep. And I will be dealing with it for the rest of my life.”

A horrible silence follows, even Elliot seeming lost for words.

Chills erupt across Milo’s skin. The fiery anger inside him suddenly extinguishes, leaving him cold and hollow. He’s struck with the realization that in his lashing out, he’s only just upset himself more. Because he doesn’t like to think about the future, about how everything he’s experienced so far in his short life is just the tip of the iceberg, and there he goes, now he’s thinking about it-

Something wet runs down his cheek.

Instinctively, Milo looks up to find the source. But there aren’t any clouds in the sky threatening a sudden downpour, no leaky pipes or anything else to drip water on him. Brows knitting in confusion, he absently reaches a hand up to his face.

Then his eyes start to sting as his vision blurs, and it hits him.

He’s crying.

… he’s crying?

A sound gets choked in his throat, something that sounds suspiciously like a whimper. Horror sweeps through him but it’s rapidly being outdone by the overwhelming hysteria.

Oh no. No, no, no, he can’t be crying, not here. He stumbles away from Elliot, his backpack hitting the stair railing with a soft thud, and presses the heels of his palms against his burning eyes. Stop, stop, stop! Colors bloom behind his closed lids, intensifying as he increases the pressure until it’s almost painful, desperately willing the tears to go away.

He’s not supposed to be crying at school. If there’s anything more distracting than anger, it’s crying. There are too many people around him, something could go wrong at any second and he won’t be able to protect them like this- something could be going wrong right now and he won’t notice because he’s too busy falling to pieces.

Panic kicks in, and the harsh echo in his ears tells him he’s hyperventilating. That’s definitely not helping, but the part of him that realizes this is remarkably absent, like he’s become disconnected from his own body.

The rest of him is pretty sure he’s about to die. And not in the way he’s familiar with.

Two hands circle his wrists, pulling them down from his eyes in a grip that’s gentle yet firm. Melissa’s face swims into focus.

~*~

Melissa searches Milo’s face, her heart sinking.

“Milo?” she tries. “You okay?”

Milo doesn’t respond, but he squeezes his eyes shut, sending a few more tears streaking down his face. She can feel his pulse jumping under the scarred skin of his wrists. His heartbeat, normally so steady, is running fast and erratic.

Something is very wrong.

“Woah, uh, is he okay?” Elliot asks, alarmed.

“You don’t get to talk,” Melissa hisses at him before turning back to Milo. It’s incredibly hard to push her anger down, but she has to, for his sake. “Milo,” she says, softer, “it’s me. You’re alright. We’re gonna go somewhere else, okay?”

Milo still doesn’t respond, but he curls a little closer to her. Melissa takes a second to shoot a warning look at the other kids gathered around. “Give us some space,” she orders them. And then, “Zack, you’re with me.”

They must hear the barely restrained fury in her voice, because the doors are cleared in record time. Zack unfreezes and swiftly places himself on the other side of Milo, his hands fidgeting like he isn’t sure what to do with them.

Gently, Melissa starts leading Milo up the stairs, into the school. Thankfully, he follows. He seems to be in a daze, too focused on his internal panic to take notice of what’s going on around him. Melissa is suddenly very grateful that she and Zack are here, because if Milo were alone in such a state, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself from any Murphy’s Law incidents.

Speaking of Zack, the other boy has moved slightly in front of them, paving a way through the various students still lingering in the halls before class.

“Where to?” he asks over his shoulder, voice tight with worry.

“Somewhere quiet and out of the way.”

“Under the stairwell?”

Melissa follows Zack’s gaze to the stairwell before nodding swiftly. They make a beeline for it, swerving only to avoid a ceiling tile that drops out of its frame above them. She catches the edge of it with her shoe and sends it skidding along the floor, out of the way. Serves it right.

She ducks under the stairwell, careful to pull Milo down after her so he doesn’t hit his head. The little alcove is a bit dusty, but it’s quiet and away from prying eyes, so it’ll do. She shrugs her backpack off and sits against the wall, taking Milo’s weight.

He leans on her heavily, like he doesn’t have the energy to hold himself upright. She’s tempted to slip off his backpack as well, since that’s probably accounting for a third of his weight right now, but she knows that would only make him panic further.

He’s still breathing way too fast for her liking, blinking rapidly to try and fight back tears. The glassy look in his eyes is so unlike him, it makes her heart clench painfully.

Zack’s voice hovers anxiously somewhere above her. “Has this happened before?”

“Not in public,” Melissa answers shortly. Then she swallows hard and forces her voice to come out calm and gentle. “Hey Milo, you with me?”

It takes a second for Milo to find her eyes, trembling all the while.

Melissa holds his gaze, pouring as much reassurance into it as she can. “Good, that’s good. Zack’s here with us. Is that alright?”

Milo doesn’t look over at Zack, but he manages a nod.

“Okay,” Melissa murmurs. She takes a quick look to make sure no one’s wandering by the stairwell before turning back to Milo. “We’re alone now, just us three. We’re safe.” She takes a deep breath. “Go ahead.”

Milo’s face crumples. “Melissa-”

He finally breaks, burying his face in her shoulder. His sobs are partially muffled by her jacket- which is quickly becoming damp- but she can feel the force of each one, the way his chest heaves for breath. He holds her arms like his life depends on it, pressing close to her as if he’s trying to hide away from the world.

Even though she’s preparing herself for it, hearing him cry brings a fresh wave of tears to her own eyes. Stubbornly, she stares up at the ceiling until they recede. She can’t break down right now. Milo needs her.

Think about something else, something funny. Like how great it’s going to feel to get Elliot back for this. There’s a petting zoo service nearby that rents out ducks. If she places an order soon, she could probably get them before Monday. How many ducks is too many, she wonders?

“So hey, uh, what’s going on?” Zack’s low murmur brings her out of the daydream. He’s looking at Milo with a stricken expression. “Is he going to be okay?”

Melissa exhales, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face. “He will be,” she says softly. “He’s just overwhelmed.”

Zack runs a hand through his hair. “Is- is there anything I can do?” he asks helplessly.

There isn’t much, but she can tell just from looking at him that his anxiety is skyrocketing right now, on the verge of his own panic attack. Giving him something, anything else to focus on might help.

“Keep people off us, and watch for any trouble,” Melissa decides.

It’s strange to think that she’s only known this boy for a few months, yet she’d trust him with hers and Milo’s wellbeing. But Zack’s proven he can handle Murphy’s Law, and she knows he’ll protect them with everything he’s got.

She’s proven right when Zack’s expression hardens, and he nods. Turning around, he goes to stand at the mouth of the alcove, blocking her and Milo from view of the hallway. His hands twitch at his sides, ready to act. Just like that.

Not for the first time, Melissa is thankful that Zack became their friend. Milo chose well.

And speaking of Milo, the panic seems to have finally ebbed. Now it’s just regular crying, without the hyperventilating and shaking. The knot in her stomach loosens, but only slightly- they aren’t out of the woods yet.

Gently, she drums her fingers along his spine, beating a soothing rhythm against the body armor he wears under his clothes. The muffled thuds are too light for him to feel; it’s really just so he has a sound to focus on. She’s found that helps, in the past.

But she doesn’t try to shush him. Now that he’s actually crying, he needs to get it all out. She tries to imagine that her arms around Milo are a safety net, allowing him to be vulnerable without fear. She hopes he can pick up on it.

The next several minutes pass in relative calm- if holding your friend while he has a breakdown can be considered calm. A couple times, Melissa catches wind of something going on in the hallway, some likely improbable object coming their way. But thanks to Zack’s vigilance, nothing comes close, letting her focus all her attention on Milo.

It’s not long after second bell when Milo starts to come back to himself. His grip on her arms tightens and then immediately slackens, and the next breath he takes is a deep one, though it shudders on the exhale.

There are a couple moments where Milo is still and quiet, just the occasional sniffle as his breathing evens out. Then he pulls back enough to look at Melissa, his eyes red and teary but no longer vacant.

“Melissa?” he breathes, his voice small.

Melissa lets out a sigh of relief, managing a tired smile. “There you are.”

“Hey, buddy.” As relieved as Melissa feels, Zack sounds about a hundred times more so. He kneels down next to them, his hand once again awkwardly hovering over Milo’s shoulder before retreating. “How you feeling?”

Milo glances around, taking in their surroundings. Melissa can almost see the moment realization hits; his mouth presses into a tight line before he looks away, wiping at his eyes. “Guys, I- I am so sorry-”

“Don’t you dare,” Melissa cuts him off sternly.

Milo swallows hard, tucking his knees to his chest. “But it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have lost my cool back there,” he mumbles guiltily. “It was just Elliot being, y- you know, Elliot, and I got-”

“Rightfully upset,” Melissa finishes for him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, dude, you’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Zack agrees.

Milo’s smile is thin, but his eyes are thoughtful. Melissa hopes they’ve gotten through to him. She isn’t going to push it any more, though, not right now.

“Now, c’mon, let’s get off the floor,” she says, straightening up. “My legs are falling asleep.”

Milo accepts the hand she offers him, letting her pull him up and out from under the stairwell. He looks a little shaky on his feet, his face still paler than normal, but he jolts when he notices the clock.

“Oh no, we’re late for first period. We’d better-”

“Nuh uh.” Melissa holds fast to his arm. “After a bout like that, you need to go home and rest.”

Milo hesitates. “I miss so much school already…”

Melissa shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter. Mental health days are included under excused absences, you know. We’ll let the teachers know and grab your homework for you.”

“Seriously, it’s alright,” Zack says softly.

Milo studies them both before nodding. “Okay,” he relents. “Thanks.”

Melissa whips out her phone to text his mom. As she does so, she notices Milo is starting to lean against Zack for support. The other boy doesn’t seem to mind, his arm automatically shifting around Milo’s shoulders. It seems his earlier reservations are gone, now that Milo’s sought out the contact. It’s a cute sight.

“Alright,” Melissa tucks her phone away, “your mom’s on her way over. I asked her to meet us in the back lot, just in case the jerk-who-shall-not-be-named is still skulking around.”

Milo nods slightly, giving her a grateful smile before his gaze lowers again.

Now that he’s given up on toughing out the day, he’s starting to withdraw. He doesn’t always go nonverbal after a crying spell, but the panic attack has to have done a number on him.

They aren’t common for Milo, panic attacks. Melissa knows his stress response is… highly abnormal. Even before she met him, he’d been living in a constant state of stress for years. She’s not sure if he’s learned to tune it out, or if his body has just stopped responding to common stressors by this point. But she knows he rarely gets a physical reaction to danger, that ‘fight or flight’ response that spikes you up with adrenaline.

This is clearly a different ball game. The only time she can recall anything remotely similar to this happening was the first time she got seriously hurt by Murphy’s Law. And it didn’t even happen on the spot; he hadn’t broken down until visiting her in the hospital after the fact.

That was a long time ago, but it left quite the impression. The hyperventilating and shaking, she remembers. And that distant, glassy expression. It was something she hoped she’d never have to witness again, but of course, life has other plans.

Not that she blames Milo for it. After all, however difficult this is for her, it’s much, much worse for him. Losing control of his emotions hits him hard, because his life is already so out of control as it is. The one thing he should always have control over is himself, but he doesn’t.

And even though she’s long since made peace with the idea that life isn’t fair, this feels particularly, especially unfair. With all the danger Murphy’s Law brings, Milo shouldn’t have to deal with guilt, judgmental crossing guards, or a misplaced sense of responsibility so severe that he feels like he isn’t even allowed to cry.

Her expression must be troubled, because Milo lightly bumps against her arm. By the time she looks over, he’s already averted his gaze again- eye contact is probably a bit much for him right now- but she appreciates the gesture anyways.

‘Don’t worry,’ he seems to be saying.

Well… she can try not to, for his sake.

~*~

Zack can’t help stealing glances at Milo as they make their way down the hall.

He knows he shouldn’t be staring, because Milo doesn’t seem too keen on eye contact at the moment. It’s just hard to resist the urge to check up on him. Most of Zack’s focus was on keeping Murphy’s Law at bay, so he couldn’t really keep tabs on how the situation was going.

He can’t shake how jarring it was to see Milo like that. It’s a very good thing Melissa was there to snap him into action, because if she hadn’t, he probably would’ve just stood there frozen like a complete idiot, not helping the situation at all.

And how sad is that? Milo saves Zack over and over again, every time disaster strikes, but the one time Milo really needs him, Zack’s totally useless.

He should’ve seen that the conversation was going south and shut it down. He should’ve stood up for Milo more, or tried to get him out of the situation. He should’ve-

There’s a slight tug at the hem of his shirt. When he turns his head, he finds Milo’s hand gripping there. Not pulling, or trying to get his attention- Milo’s facing straight ahead, eyes downcast. Just, holding. Whether it’s an attempt to give comfort or receive it, Zack’s not sure.

But it does give him something else to focus on, aside from the spiraling thoughts in his head, and he smiles softly. Just in case Milo can see it out of the corner of his eye.

It’s a good reminder; there’s no point in dwelling on the past. He needs to keep moving forward, like Milo does.

They reach the back doors without issue, and are greeted by an empty parking lot. Fortunately, there aren’t any late stragglers- aside from them, of course. It’s a nice day, not too cold, so Zack doesn’t mind waiting a few minutes. Maybe the fresh air will help Milo. It’s certainly helping Zack.

He lets out a deep breath, feeling a little better for it. Milo settles further against his side while they wait, his cheek pressed against Zack’s shoulder. That steals the breath Zack just got back, but that’s the least of his concerns right now.

He’s not sure if he’s relieved or disappointed when Mrs. Murphy’s car pulls into the lot. Milo perks up a bit, though still remains silent as his mother exits the car. She takes in Milo’s current state with no comment, just a sad, knowing look in her eyes, and Zack wonders if this is more common than he realized.

“You ready to go, honey?” she asks kindly.

Milo hesitates for a second, then turns and abruptly gives a hug to the both of them. It’s a quick thing, but Zack feels his face heat up immediately; Milo’s never hugged him before. And that thought is followed by his heart swelling almost painfully, because Milo’s never hugged him before. With that context, it’s a deeply touching gesture.

After stepping away, Milo darts over to his mom, hiding his face in her side. She smooths a hand over his hair, murmuring something too low for Zack to hear, before smiling at them gratefully. “Thanks, you two.”

“No problem, Mrs. Murphy,” Melissa replies. “Feel better soon, Milo.”

“Yeah, take it easy,” Zack calls after them.

The car pulls away, and Zack can see Diogee clambering into Milo’s lap before they’re out of view. That makes him feel a little better. Still, he sends a quick prayer to the universe that the car ride goes smoothly, without any Murphy’s Law incidents. Milo really deserves a break.

Next to him, Melissa stands motionless, watching the car leave. Zack clears his throat. “Well, we should probably head back…”

Melissa shakes her head, sitting down on the steps. “First period’s already half-over by now, no point in going.” She shrugs. “Plus, we need to talk this out, or it’ll turn into one of those weird unspoken things.”

“Oh.” Hesitantly, Zack sits down next to her. If Melissa is willing to play hooky, it must be important. “Alright, then.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, listening to the sounds of distant traffic. He’d been expecting Melissa to start the conversation, but she seems to be waiting for him, instead. Waiting to see what his reaction is.

It hadn’t taken long for Melissa to go from ‘Milo’s only other friend’ to ‘Milo and Zack’s friend.’ Once she warmed up to him, she’d moved right along to acting like they’d known each other for years. But they certainly haven’t had any deep, serious discussions before. He’s not quite sure how to proceed.

Zack rubs the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “So, uh… that happened.”

“Yep.” Melissa exhales heavily, but her expression is sympathetic. “I’m sorry you weren’t more prepared, it’s just that he tries to handle these things privately.”

Zack frowns. “These things? What do you mean?”

Melissa stares out over the parking lot, her brows knit together. “Milo breaks bones on a monthly basis. He comes away with some kind of injury on a near-daily basis. And the constant threat of danger plus the massive amount of effort required to deal with it would be enough to drive anyone to tears.”

“And…?” Zack prompts, confused.

Melissa glances at him out of the side of her eye. “Before now, have you ever seen him cry?”

Zack opens his mouth to reply, ‘Of course I have!’ because surely it would’ve happened at some point. He knows Milo gets hurt frequently, he’s watched it happen. But as he thinks about it, he can’t actually recall a time when tears were involved. Not even for broken bones.

“I… woah, you’re right,” Zack realizes, his stomach dropping.

Melissa nods grimly. “He doesn’t like crying. Says it messes with his ability to react to Murphy’s Law. So he just… doesn’t let himself cry, most of the time, no matter how hurt he gets. It’s been like that for as long as I’ve known him.”

It takes a second for the full implications to hit Zack. “Wait, didn’t you guys meet when you were six?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” Zack swallows. They might be old enough now that crying isn’t as common, but Milo’s been like this since he was six, possibly younger. Zack himself was a bit of a crybaby at that age, even a skinned knee sending him into hysterics.

And sure, maybe it’s embarrassing to look back on, but that’s normal for little kids.

Milo didn’t get to have that.

“That’s… kinda sad,” Zack murmurs.

“I know,” Melissa sighs. “Of course, he can’t bottle it up forever. And crying is an important chemical release, it’s healthy. So he just puts it off until he’s safe at home, usually on a weekend. That way, he’s got his family there to look out for him, and he doesn’t have to worry about anyone else getting caught up in Murphy’s Law. I’ve only been there for a handful of them, but he probably goes for months in between. It’s… a lot of buildup.”

The pieces are starting to fall into place. Zack inhales sharply. “So, when he does finally let himself cry…”

Melissa gives him a thin smile. “Well, you know what they say. When it rains, it pours.” She wraps her arms around herself. “But this time was worse than normal, because he was having a panic attack on top of it. He really didn’t want to break down at school.”

Zack nods slowly, brows furrowing. “Wow. I had no idea.”

Melissa makes a noncommittal noise. “It’s not your fault, he doesn’t like people to know.”

Alarm shoots through Zack. This is a deeply personal aspect of Milo’s life. What if he wasn’t ready for Zack to see it? What if Zack’s intruding?

Melissa must have noticed the panic on his face, because she waves him off. “Don’t worry, him letting you stay was giving permission for me to tell you this. Just, people, in general. He puts a lot of work into staying upbeat all the time, and he doesn’t want that ruined by something like this.”

Zack chews on his lip, only slightly relieved. Quite a few people saw the beginning of the whole thing. “Is he gonna be okay? I know it was just some kids from class, but…”

“I think he will be,” Melissa says thoughtfully. “He’s been branching out a lot more this year, in terms of making friends.” She smiles faintly at him. “We’ve got you to thank for that.”

The sudden diverge throws Zack for a loop. “What do you mean?”

Melissa leans back on her elbows, contemplative. “I mean, if Milo and I started a band last year, Mort wouldn’t have dreamed of joining. If we’d been crazy enough to have a birthday party, no one would’ve come. For as long as all of us here can remember, Milo’s just had me. But seeing you give him a chance… I don’t know, I think it’s helped them realize they don’t have to stay so far away.”

Zack’s stunned. “I… guess I hadn’t thought about it.”

That’s an understatement. Zack found his place so readily within this new school that he hadn’t stopped to consider what things had been like before. He knows Milo didn’t have any close friends aside from Melissa, but had the other kids in class always been nothing more than scant acquaintances? Was it new for them to engage Milo in conversation or willingly be around him?

Then Zack thinks back to the day they met, at the bus stop. The way the other kids there had immediately scrambled away from Milo, expressions full of fear. And he’s pretty sure he knows the answer.

Melissa hums. “Yep. You’re a trendsetter.”

Zack rubs his arm, embarrassed. He really doesn’t deserve accolades just for giving Milo a chance. “So… do you cry often?” he ventures, changing the subject.

Melissa rolls her eyes at him. “I’d say a normal amount, for someone in my circumstances. Whenever I’m seriously hurt, you can bet I’m crying about it. Not everyone can just block out that kind of pain.” Her expression sobers. “But even on the emotional side of things, if there’s ever a particularly rough day, then yeah, I’ll go home and cry it out. It’s a good release.”

“Huh.” Zack scratches his head. “Gotta say, I’m a little surprised. You seem to handle Murphy’s Law so well, you know?”

Melissa snorts. “Yeah, only because I let myself cry every now and them. No one can deal with all that disaster and destruction without it getting to them. Not even Milo.”

“Fair point,” Zack amends.

“So, what about you?” Melissa elbows him. “C’mon, don’t be a hypocrite.”

Zack flushes. “I mean, yeah, sometimes,” he admits. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to be friends with Milo, but Murphy’s Law can be… stressful.” Particularly on top of his normal anxiety, but she doesn’t need to know that.

Melissa nods approvingly. “Good. Own it. Being part of a Murphy’s life has its ups and down. It also has its own set of rules.”

“Like what?” Zack asks, tilting his head.

“You need to make sure you relieve stress on a regular basis, whether that’s through crying or something else. And you need to relax on a regular basis, too. Not necessarily in that order,” she adds, as an afterthought.

Zack raises his eyebrows. “Oh, okay. Anything else I should be aware of?”

Melissa counts them off on her fingers. “Stay hydrated, get regular sleep, have a good amount of protein in the diet…”

“That just sounds like normal self-care stuff,” Zack points out flatly.

Melissa squints at him. “Touché.” Then she snaps her fingers. “Gargling salt water can help your throat recover from over-screaming. Oh, and Murphys are legally protected from being discriminated against by an accord written in the early 1900’s, so don’t be afraid to cite it. Also, Milo craves physical affection from those he’s close to, but he doesn’t feel he has the right to ask for it.”

Zack blinks. “Figure all this out yourself?”

“Nah, Mrs. Murphy had some tips.” Melissa’s humor fades. “Seriously though, I noticed your hesitation back there. That’s a good instinct, since plenty of people don’t like to be touched during panic attacks. But you don’t need to worry about it with Milo, that’s one of the few times he actually seeks out comfort.”

Zack jolts with surprise. He hadn’t though Melissa would pick up on that- at the time, he was hardly aware of what he was doing, himself. “Oh, alright then.”

“And just for the record,” Melissa’s expression turns mischievous, “if you were a little more forthcoming with physical affection on a day-to-day basis, I don’t think Milo would mind.”

Zack jumps to his feet like he’s been electrocuted, choking on air. “O- oh, sure, of course. Being close to Milo, I don’t have a problem with that, why would I have a problem with that?” he babbles, feeling his face heat up. “I mean, I don’t not have a problem with it, I mean, not more than the normal amount for two friends-” Okay, Zack, time to shut up now.

Melissa just snickers at him, standing up and dusting off her skirt. “C’mon, it’s about time to head in. Ready for a completely average, boring, uneventful day?”

Zack sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets with a rueful grin. “If we must.”

Maybe it’s not so bad to have a little time to process things, considering how much he has to process.

~*~

Milo’s only been curled up on the couch for a couple hours when his phone buzzes.

It’s a selfie from Melissa, in science class. She’s angled the phone to get Zack in the background of the shot; he’s clearly dozing, eyelids drooping as he rests his chin in his hand. Melissa’s giving the camera a knowing look, and the caption reads, ‘Someone’s missing you!’

Milo’s heart skips a beat. He quickly attributes it to surprise that Melissa is actually texting in class- though he knows she’s just checking in with him. It’s a thoughtful gesture, and he sends a couple emojis back. Words, even in text form, are still hard right now. But he knows she’ll understand, because she and Zack are the best friends a Murphy could ask for.

He’s lucky like that, to not have to weather this storm alone.

~*~

#milo murphy's law #mml #my writing

[marvelship-oneshots]

EMERGENCY WEDDING 1 (WINTERIRON)

PART 1 OF 2 AU where Tony and Bucky get married in order not to be forced t testify against each other in court (part 1 of 2) [2.5k words]

Bucky's brain was numb. He was walking in the rain, with no destination, looking at the blood being washed from his hands by the rain. How could something like that happen? How could they think he could do something like that? He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his best friend was gone and never coming back. The thought of having literally his blood all over his body made his sick to his stomach, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to react. He saw his body laying in a puddle of his own blood on the floor of his apartment and he didn't scream, he didn't cry, his brain just shut down. He had no memories of what he did from that moment to the moment he heard the sirens coming for him. Then, he ran until he was far enough from the city. Now, he didn't know where he was, but the police was not following him anymore, that was good. Eventually, he stopped running and started walking along the desert highway, despite the rain falling down on him. Bucky had no idea of what he would do after, nor of where he was going.

Tony needed a break. His life in the city was becoming overwhelming and he just needed to pull the plug for a while. So he hopped in his car and started driving without a destination. AC/DC was playing in the car at full blast while Tony drove down the highway. His mind was focused only on the song, the road was silent and empty. Somehow, driving in the rain, singing whatever song was blasting, in the dark of the night, had always relaxed him. He could barely see the road in front of him and he knew that he should pay more attention to what he was doing, but against his better judgment, he kept focusing on his own thoughts. It couldn't do any good, and he knew it. He was not looking at the road when something, or rather someone, crossed right i front of his car. He didn't see it coming and he didn't stop, basically running over it. He thought it was some kind of wild animal, a deer maybe, but he never would expect to find a full grown man laying on the street. Bucky didn't know why he crossed the road as soon as he heard a car passing by. He just did it. No wonder why he car ran over him. Sony stopped the car and ran out, hoping he ran over a animal and not a person. Bucky was laying on the road, bruised and exhausted. He thought he could die right there, after all, no one would have missed him, every single police officer thought he was a serial killer. Maybe, that was the only way to get out of that situation. Tony kneeled by Bucky's side, bending over him to check if he was still breathing. He was. However, he was covered in blood. "C'mon buddy, wake up, don't die on me" Tony shook him, trying to wake him up. Bucky finally opened his eyes and let out a growl. Tony sighed in relief. "C'mon let me take you to the hospital" said Tony, helping the strange man getting up. He was massive compared to Tony, he wasn't more than two inches taller than him, but he had very board shoulders that made him looked like a giant compared to Tony's figure. Tony helped him getting in the car. "No, no hospital, literally anywhere else, possibly out of the state" Tony sighed, sitting behind the wheel and turning the music back on. They drove in silence, well, Bucky was silent, Tony was humming along the songs, and stopped only when they found a motel. Tony booked a room for the two of them, he didn't want to leave him alone, he was possibly injured. Little did they know, that was the beginning of an amazingly crazy adventure. Bucky settled in the room and went to take a shower. Tony went out to grab something to eat and medical supplies. If Bucky didn't want to go to the hospital, he would bring the hospital to him. Bucky let his t-shirt fall on the ground. His whole body as covered in dry blood. He honestly didn't know if it was his or Steve's. He couldn't stare at himself in the mirror. Bucky slowly walked into the shower and let the shower run over him, washing away the blood. He leaned against the wall, letting himself fall on the floor. He took his hand into his head and finally let himself go. The only reason he knew he was crying was the salty taste of the tears falling in his mouth.

When Tony came back, Bucky was sitting on the bed, blankly looking at the wall in front of him. "Hey man, I bought you a cheeseburger" Tony said, sitting down next to him and handing him a burger. Bucky nodded and started to slowly unwrap it.  "By the way, I'm Tony" he introduced himself, reaching out for him. "James, but friends call me Bucky" Steve was the one to give him his nickname. He smiled at the memory and a single tear fell on his face. "I'm...uhm I'm sorry I ran over you" Bucky shook his shoulders. "I crossed the road, jumping in front of your car" "Are you hurt? I saw a lot of blood" Tony asked concerned. "No, I'm fine" Tony scoffed and turned n the TV. The news were on. Tony looked at the TV then at Bucky and then back at the TV. "Uhm, Bucky, why is your face on the news?"  "What?" Bucky turned towards Tony, took the remote and turned the volume up. "Shit shit shit fuck" On the screen there was Bucky's picture with a gigantic red WANTED written under it. "Care to explain what that is about?" "It's not what it looks like, I swear" "Oh I see, so you're face is not on the national TV and you are not wanted for murder" "No" Tony raised his eyebrow "Well yes, but also no" "Are you going to kill me?" "What? NO!" Tony let out a loud sigh. "Ok, now that I can relax, explain" "I've been framed for a series of murders, including my best friend's" Bucky sat on Tony's bed and Tony scooted closer to him, putting a hand on his thigh. "I'm immensely sorry" Bucky looked at Tony with a mall smile. "It's ok" "What's gonna happen now?" Tony asked "I mean, you are running from the police and I helped you, so this makes me an accessory to the crime. What's gonna happen now? Are we going to live on the run?" Bucky chuckled. "I'm sorry I put you in this position. And I don't know how we're going to get out of this" Tony lightly smiled and walked out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with a bottle of whiskey. He poured some in two glasses and passed one to Bucky. "Ok, first thing first, gimme your credit card and SIM card. We'll leave here here, from now on only cash. we're going to move every couple of days, with disguises." Bucky sipped on his whiskey, looking at Tony in awe. "Then, we have to understand who is trying to frame you. Suspects, leads whatever pops in your mind, you write them here" Tony said slapping a pack of sticky notes on the table. "Questions?" "Yes" Bucky smiled "Why do you have sticky notes laying around?" Tony laughed, tucking himself into the bed. "Seriously though, thank you, you don't have to do this. No one knows that you helped me" "Oh please stop it, we're in this together. Now go to sleep, we're leaving early tomorrow" Bucky chuckled. "Yessir" _____________________________________________________________________ "Ok, so we have a bunch of suspects that are totally unchained from each other. This means we have no lead" Bucky nodded, looking at the binder full of colourful sticky notes he and Tony had composed in the past weeks. Bucky threw himself on the bed, covering his face with his hands. "We're screwed" The TV was on on the news, now next to Bucky's face there was Tony's. "Every single piece of evidence they have is against me and once they get to us they will offer you plea deal to turn on me because let's admit it, I dragged you into this and you have no reason at all" Bucky caved into his pillow. "Then I'll be double screwed" Tony rolled his eyes and walked over to Bucky's bed, sitting next to him and started stroking his hair. "Buck, I might have an idea" Bucky looked up. "We're in this mess together and together we're getting out. See, I have a little bit of law training and there is this thing that will ensure that we're not forced to turn on each other" "And why didn't you say it sooner?" Bucky asked sitting up. "Yeah right. It's called spouse privilege. Essentially, if we're married, no one can force me to turn on you and vice versa" Bucky jumped up and started pacing up and down the room, in silence, with his hands in is hair. He slowly walked over to Tony and kneeled in front

of him. "Tony, will you marry me?" he asked taking one of his hands. Tony started laughing."Yes, yes I will Buckaroo" Bucky sat on the bed ad let himself fall on his back. Tony laid next to him . "Are we really doing this?" Bucky asked. "You'll have to break up with me, because now I am your fiancé" The two laughed. "You would have liked him" said Bucky after a moment of silence. Tony turned his head to look at Bucky. "Steve. You would have liked Steve" Tony nodded. "He was my best friend in the whole world, how could they think I've killed him? Why would I have killed my best friend?" Bucky started sobbing loudly in Tony's chest. Tony gently stroke his long hair until Bucky fell asleep, snuggled against him.

Bucky and Tony pulled out their best clothes - jeans and a white shirt- and pulled up at the docks. There the officiant who was supposed to marry them was waiting for them in front of his boat. Tony had found him on the internet the night before and had booked a wedding. Tony squeezed Bucky's hand before walking up to the man, giving him a reassuring glaze. "Do you, James Buchanan Barnes, take Anthony Edward Stark as your lawfully wedded husband?" Bucky looked at Tony in the eyes. Tony nodded. "I do" he said, moving Tony's ring from his index to his ring finger. "Do you, Anthony Edward Stark, take James Buchanan Barnes as your lawfully wedded husband?" "I do" he said smiling, putting the ring on Bucky's finger. "By the power vested in me by the State of Missouri, I now pronounce you husband and husband" Tony took Bucky's hand, gently squeezing it as the officiant handed then the marriage certificate. Tony left the man the cash they agreed on and the newly weds ran to their car. Tony started driving, smiling at the road. "Are you ok?" he asked Bucky. "This is weird, right? We barely know each other and we got married" Tony chuckled. "It's like you've never heard of an arranged marriage" Bucky gently hit Tony's shoulder. "This is nothing like an arranged marriage and you know it"

They had been driving for the whole morning, making hypothesis on new leads, unfortunately running in circles. "If we turn ourselves in, or let them find us, maybe we'll be able to have more resources and actually get something done" "You want them to catch us?" Tony nodded. "You're out of your mind. I would be risking death row here" Tony shook his head. "No you wouldn't. You supposedly committed the crimes in New York, we will be judged there, so no death penalty for you." "Are you sure? It can go extremely wrong, at least now we're...free" Tony pulled over by the side of the road. "We don't have the resources here to sort this out, if they catch us, maybe we can have a shot" "What if we don't?" Tony shook his head and made a hand gesture meaning that it was not the time to be pessimistic. "It's prison Tony" "Buck, you're my husband now, you're basically a Stark. My father's name still holds a certain power" Bucky looked at him. "Ok, we're doing this" Tony took out his phone, put in the sim card he had been saving and dialed Pepper's number. "Tony...WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Pepper screamed as soon as sh picked up. Bucky could hear her even if she wasn't on speaker. "Pep, I'm in a huge fucking mess" "Yeah, I know. You have some explaining to do" "Yes, I know, but now is not the time. Get the lawyers ready" A few minutes after Tony closed the call, they heard the police sirens behind them. Tony and Bucky looked at each other, smiling. Tony pressed on the gas pedal, exceeding the speed limit. "You know the phrase forget and it will go away? Well, it does NOT apply to being chased by police cars, trust me on this one" Tony said laughing, turning he volume up. Tony looked at Bucky. He looked scared. Tony held his hand, bringing it to his mouth ad leaving a small kiss on the top of it. "I'm on the highway to hell" Tony started singing along the AC/DC song that was blasting. "On the highway to hell" Bucky started singing along. When the song was over, Tony and Bucky looked at each other and Tony pulled over. The police cars stopped behind them. "Come out of the car, hands where I can see them" Tony and Bucky opened the door, slowly stepping out of the car, with their hands behind their heads. "You're under arrest, You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time." the officers declared, while closing the handcuffs around Tony and Bucky's wrists. The officers pushed them into the car ad drove them to the closest police station, waiting to be escorted to New York. Tony took Bucky's hand. "It's going to be ok, i promise"

#buckytony #bucky barnes #tony stark #tonybucky #tony x bucky #bucky x tony #winteriron #starkbucks

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Partners {4}***

OA Zidan/Zeeko Zaki x Reader

Warning: Cursing, LOTS OF WORDS, NSFW, SMUT, ALL The FEELS, ALL STARS on The NSFW Meter

Words: 5.8k

Summary: You’re a damn good FBI agent in your own right. It is definitely partly to do with how well you’ve been trained and partly to do with you not letting anything or anyone distract you. You have a six-year plan that you’re fast-tracking for four. After being transferred from your office in Tampa, you’ve been sent to New York, which you’ve labeled the “big leagues.” Your first day there, after being introduced to your new partner OA Zidan you realized you’ve moved out of the frying pan right into the pot of distraction. A year later and your growing attraction for your partner still hasn’t been snuffed out.

 Note: If you’re thirsty and you know it clap your hands. Clap-Clap. If you’re thirsty and you know it clap your hands. Clap-Clap. I have no shame. This is a first for me writing about a TV show and interjecting into it. Let’s see how this goes. I hope you guys enjoy this mini-series.

 ***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Interactive***

~~~~~~~~~~~

The ringing in your ears was deafening; it was all you could hear. Slowly you opened your eyes. They hurt. Everything was blurry for quite a while. You blinked, trying to get rid of the feeling of gravel in your eyes. Slowly your head stopped spinning enough for you to come to a sitting position. Holding your head, you tried to focus on what you were seeing. All around you rubble and debris was scattered on the ground as well as several bodies.

 On your first attempt to stand, you stumbled back to the ground pushing out your hands looking for something to steady yourself. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed you.

 “OA?” When you looked before you, it was Jubal, not OA. His lips moved, but you heard nothing but incoherent mumbles. You trailed your fingertips to your ears and saw bright red blood on them. Your eardrums must have ruptured from the force of the explosion. Jubal nodded and wrapped one arm around you, walking you through the thick, suffocating cloud of soot that filled the air.

 “OA,” you repeated. Jubal brought his lips close to your ear.

 “We’re looking. We’ve got a lot of damage here.”

 With an ambulance in sight, Jubal dropped you off for them to examine before he motioned for you to wait and stay there before he walked off. The paramedics tended to your ears and the cuts and scrapes you had. From looking around, you could tell you were one of the few lucky ones.

 Your only thought was OA. He was the closest to the bomber. He would have gotten the brunt of the blast. Your head was spinning thinking of all the possibilities. He could be injured among the rubble; he could be buried underneath it, he could be dead. The paramedics had to keep pushing you back to sit down every few minutes when your thoughts became too much. It was one of those things, and you were eager to get up and join the search for any injured and for him.

Almost ten minutes later, you’d had enough of the medical intervention. “Enough! I’m fine. Thanks.” You walked toward the cloud of dust, but before you could disappear in it, Kristen approached.

 “Are you okay? Jubal told me you were in the blast zone.”

 “I’m fine. Have we found OA?”

 “No. We’re looking, though. Are you sure you’re okay?”

 Shrugging off her concern, you began walking again, determined to find him.

 “Y/N, we have people for this. They’re already searching.”

 “Okay, I’m going to help. Kristen, you can’t stop me. It’s OA. You know he’d do the same for us, without question.”

 Kristen nodded, and the two of you began searching. It was chaos. Slowly your hearing came back, and you could hear all the screaming, crying, and emergency vehicle sirens. There was so much destruction around that at times you became so overwhelmed. Gradually the dust settled and gave you more of an ability to see. You looked underneath what rocks you could find, making your way to the building. When you got there, you found the front of the buildings were gone. It was now completely open.

 An hour passed, then two, and three. No one could find him. He was listed as missing, and there was no trail or trace of him. That was insane to you. You were exhausted, but you refused to stop. No matter how many times someone came to you and tried to get you to leave, you didn’t. Until he was found you couldn’t imagine leaving. Unfortunately, your body caught up with you, and your stubbornness wasn’t enough of a reason to allow you to stay. You were now a liability and ordered to go home. You felt like you were giving up on him like you were letting him down, and you hated it.

Once you were at home, the first thing you did was shower. You hoped it would do the trick with relaxing you, plus you were filthy and a little sore. In the shower, your fearful thoughts continued; only this time, you ran through what you should have said to him—what you wanted to say. You regretted biting your tongue, regretted second guessing yourself yet again.

 After your crying fit in the shower, you paced your apartment countless times. You couldn’t stop thinking worst-case scenario, and you couldn’t stop blaming yourself. Maybe if you had stayed with him instead of splitting up you could have dragged his ass out of there. Perhaps you could have prevented him from being right there at that time. All he had to do was get out. There would be no casualties. If the explosion would have gone off as planned, maybe they wouldn’t have had to go to plan b. In between your thoughts of what if and could it have gone differently, you couldn’t stop checking your phone every five minutes even though it didn’t go off.

 You were getting hopeless and frazzled when there was a knock at your door a little after one in the morning. You quickly jumped up from the couch and scurried to the door. Once you flung it open, there stood a battered, bruised, and bloodied OA. You were instantly weak in the knees and overcome with so many emotions—relief, gratefulness, and happiness.

 “Oh my god.” You could barely get the words out before you had to touch him to make sure he was really there. Once your hands touched his solid chest, you had to get closer. Your hands made their way to his neck and your forehead to his chest. You couldn’t breathe properly.

 “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m here,” OA assured. Your tears were flowing.

 “How—how—how are you here? Are you okay?” You touched his face and scanned the laceration on his forehead held together with white stitched bandages, the scrapes across his face and neck.

 “I got blown like fifteen feet away. I don’t know how I’m alive. Someone found me and got me to the hospital. I shouldn’t be alive. I thought I was gone, thought it was over—thought I’d never see you again, touch you.” His voice was shaking.

 The sounds of your cries increased, and you couldn’t hold back the tears even if you tried. His scent was a mixture of rubbing alcohol, latex, earth, sweat, blood, and a smell all unique to him. To some, it would have been disgusting, but to you, it was the most welcoming scent. It was him. It meant you hadn’t lost your chance; he wasn’t taken from you.

 “I was so scared,” you whispered. OA’s hand was at your waist sinking in his fingertips. It felt good.

 “Me too. I’m sorry, so sorry.”

 Your head quickly darted up off of his chest to look at him. “Shh-shh.” You placed your finger over his lips, stopping him from saying whatever else he thought to say. It wasn’t necessary.

“You're here. Let's not waste it."

 You crashed your lips to his pulling him into a passionate kiss that you hoped spoke of everything you’d felt over the last few hours; your fears, regrets, hopes, needs, and wants. You hoped he understood, hoped he could hear you. OA’s lips moved across yours with the same enthusiasm that yours did. His tongue delved into your mouth and teased yours, beckoning it to finally let go and live a little.

 You backed into your apartment, taking OA with you ensuring not to break the kiss. You wanted him close, and there was no way you wanted to let him out of your sight, not after tonight. OA painfully groaned against your lips, making you pull away to look at him again. He was hurt.

 “You’re hurt.”

 “I’m fine. The hospital patched me up. It’s just some cuts and scrapes,” he whispered back before his lips were again on yours. This time he took control of the kiss. The feel of his beard against your face was a comforting feeling, one that you’d imagined tens of times but never got right. The feeling was divine.

 Without warning, OA lifted you off the ground into his arms. You wrapped your legs around his waist as if you’d been doing it for years. You moaned against him and fought him for control. The two of you stood there in the hallway of your apartment, making out like you hadn’t seen each other in months. When you felt the wall against your back, OA pressed his washboard abs into you. The hardness of those abs had you moaning and even more ready to get him as close as humanly possible. You squeezed your thighs around him, forcing another pained groan from him. Again, you pulled back.

 “Are you okay?”

 His face spoke of pain, but he nodded that he was fine.

 “Do you want to stop?” His child-like grin sent butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

 “It’s up to you. Since the day I met you, I’ve been under your spell, and since the day I watched you flip a man that was twice your height and size over your head, I knew I was at your mercy. Tell me how far we go; I’ll listen. Tell me how high to jump, I’ll jump. Aikhtar.” As he spoke, his eyes remained focused on your eyes, but his hands explored every inch of your face. He caressed your cheek, traced your nose, your jawline, and looked utterly awestruck by you. It made you break out in goosebumps and fall even more in love with him. You wondered if now was the time to say the words.

 Crashing your lips to his, you used your body to speak what you were too scared to. You began to unbutton his tattered shirt, deftly fighting with the buttons. You needed to feel his skin on yours. It had been too long of a wait. Your eyes fluttered open to find OA already looking at you. Before your hands were rushing, but now they slowed, savoring the moment. You bit your bottom lip, which sent OA’s eyes to your lips. You watched as he licked his in the most delectable way, a way that made you want to taste them again. Kissing him once, twice, and a third time you helped peel his shirt off his body. OA grimaced as he moved, giving you the third sighting of his bare chest.

 The first time you’d seen him shirtless was a call in the Bronx where the two of you had chased a perp all the way down Bronx Park East toward Pelham. Just as OA was closing in, he came across kids playing in an opened hydrant, a hydrant he had to run through. He got soaked, but he caught the perp. Afterward, he got teased by the neighborhood kids, which made him strip off his shirt to play with them. You nearly forgot what your job was staring at him. Seeing him now, he looked just as good, bruised and cut up but still gorgeous.

 “My God--,” you trailed off as you gently felt across his skin, nearing his wounds.

 “I’m fine. I promise.” He held you firmly against him and the wall, and the way he did, you could feel his hard muscles pressed against you. Even in his injured state, he was still strong as hell.

 You began unbuttoning the pajama shirt you wore all the while holding his gaze. Your nerves were definitely picking up, but it wasn’t overwhelming the desire you had for him. After a few moments, you allowed it to fall to the floor, leaving you in your lace sleep bra. OA’s eyes slowly leave yours and dip down to take in the first sight of you in this intimate way. Using the back of his hand, he traced along your skin, beginning at your belly. Slowly he moved from there up your ribs and between your breasts to your collar then to your neck. Once at your chin, he used his thumb to tease your bottom lip by gently pulling it down just enough to allow you to bite his finger.

 Wasting no time, you crushed your lips to his and kissed him. It had never been like this with your previous boyfriends. No one had kissed you like this; no one had touched you like this, and no one had ever made you feel the way he was making you feel right now just from kisses and touching. Your moans and his melded together, and those were the only sounds in your apartment.

 Through your fevered kisses, you mumbled instruction to him, “Take it off me.”

 Slowly OA pulled back from your lips and locked eyes with you. It was as if he were asking if you were sure. You were more than sure. This was long overdue. One of his hands came around to your back and trailed a tantalizing path up your spine to where the clasps of your bra were. Using one hand, he began unhooking it. The contraption obeyed him, and in seconds, you were free. As it slid off your shoulders, you allowed it to fall away from you to give him the first look of your bare skin.

 Instead of looking immediately, he kept his eyes on yours and brought his hand to your cheek to cup it and trace his thumb across your cheekbone.

 “You’re beautiful, Y/N.” You smiled softly. His words were working to calm your increasing nervousness. OA dipped his eyes down your body and stared at your breasts. You wanted to know what he was thinking. Were you to his liking? Were you too small, too big? When he looked back to you, you saw a heat in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He claimed your lips again this time, teasing them with nibbles to then suck your bottom lip into his mouth. The teasing was becoming a lot at this point. You needed more, and you kissed him to show it.

 You pushed yourself off the wall, hopefully sending the message for him to find your bed. As if reading your mind, OA began walking as the two of you frantically kissed as if the secret to immortal life lay in each other’s mouths. You didn’t know if he knew where he was going, he’d been to your apartment two handfuls of times, but never past the living room.

 When you felt a cold surface underneath you, it had you at a different height. Before you were just above his head now, you were a little lower and perfectly lined with his crotch. OA’s lips momentarily broke from yours to trail soft kisses along your jaw and down to your neck. Arching your head backward, you whimpered when he found the sensitive part of your neck. Wrapping your legs around him tighter, you felt the evident proof of how much he wanted you. Overcome with pleasure, and without thought, you clawed his back. OA groaned loudly and sucked your skin more forcefully. It felt as if he were branding you as his own, and you were all for it. You wanted to be his.

 The urgency of your desires took over, and your hands dropped to his pants. With your eyes clamped shut from the pleasure, you began undoing his belt and then his pants. When you opened them and looked down, you saw his injuries, which made you stop.

 “My god, OA.”

 “It looks worse than it is.” You didn’t believe him. It looked awful.

 You hesitated touching him again. You didn’t want to hurt him. When you looked at him, you kissed him quickly before you hopped down to your feet. Once standing, you tipped onto your toes and kissed him again and again before ending with a sultry teasing one. You then led him through the remainder of your apartment to your bedroom. Once inside, you walked into your attached bathroom and to the glass-enclosed shower. After turning it on, you moved over to the free sitting tub and began filling it.

You could feel his eyes on you. You had his undivided attention. When you turned to him, the look on his face was an unreadable one. His eyes were darker than usual, his jaw slack, and his bottom lip hooked with his top teeth. He looked at you as if you were the prey, and he intended to hunt you down. Excitement filled you; you didn’t mind being the prey as long as you had the right hunter.

 Bringing your hands to the waistband of your pajama bottoms, you slowly pulled them down and allowed them to fall to the tiled floor. He never took his eyes off you and followed the path of your pajamas. With the fabric around your feet, you kicked it to the side and hooked your thumbs in the waist of your lace underwear. One of OA’s eyebrows were now shot up as he licked his lips. Slowly you walked to him and pinched his beard between your thumb and pointer and held on. Teasingly and softly, you yanked it dropping his mouth open. You leaned into him as if you were going to kiss him but didn’t. You could tell he wanted it.

 Instead, you trailed your hand down his chest to his abs and felt every overtly defined ab muscle down to his mouthwatering oblique indentations. He was so fine, and you knew he knew it. Your hand stopped at his half undone pants, where you could see his need straining against his pants. Your mouth literally watered, thinking about just what he hid in those pants. OA pulled you to him and kissed you as only he could kiss you. You both moaned against each other. His hand softly caressed your back and dipped down to your ass, where he cupped you, squeezing firmly, showing you only a fraction of his strength.

 He felt too good, and you knew you were seconds away from just saying fuck it, bend me over the sink. Pulling away, you bit your bottom lip and stepped back enough so he could get a good view of you. OA looked like he was at your mercy. You pulled off your underwear and kicked it to the side to join your pants then backed to the shower. Once inside, you allowed the water to pour down your head across your body. From across the bathroom, you heard OA suck in a sharp breath.

When you looked at him again, he was just before you outside the shower. You watched OA pull off his pants and underwear, and once he sprang free, you gaped at him. He looked like a God, bronzed skin, muscles galore, and perfect sprays of black hair. He was beautiful. Once he stepped in the shower, you were in his arms with your lips once again where they were meant to be—on his.

 The way he teased you only increased how much you wanted him. OA nibbled your bottom lip and sucked your tongue as his fingers explored your skin. He began at the nape of your back and slowly moved up your spine to the back of your neck where he cupped your skull and kissed you more fervently. When OA’s hand crept down to your ass to cup it more firmly than anyone had before, your leg instinctively lifted to wrap around the back of his muscular thigh.

 The new angle gave you a more intimate feel of his appendage, and the anticipation was killing you. It was then OA lifted you by your hips, so you wrapped both legs behind him. The full thickness of his need pressed along your ass, making you poke your ass out even more just to rub against it. OA’s moan vibrated against your lips. When he turned so he was under the waterfall of the showerhead with his back pressed against the subway tiles, he palmed your breasts for the first time. You felt small in his hands. He was able to engulf your breast fully.

 As you thought it, he brought his lips down to your hardened nipple and teased the bud. He licked it like an ice cream cone, then wrapped his lips around it and suckled.

 “Oh my—yes,” OA responded in kind with moans and an increase of pressure in his suck. You hugged his head to you and savored the feel of his lips on you and the sinful way his tongue moved on your skin.

 In no time at all, a familiar feeling washed over you, a feeling of a cumulation of all the pleasure and anticipation you were feeling. You couldn’t believe you were about to come just from his mouth on your breast. OA tore his lips away and mirrored his actions to your other breast while using his fingers and the water to roll your free nipple. Nothing could stop the moans from falling from your mouth one after the other. Every time you called his name, he pinched your nipple harder, and every time he did that, you squeezed your thighs around him tighter. The throbbing against your ass told you just what you wanted to know—he was verging on the edge of his need just like you were.

 Reaching out for your loofah, you took it; the stretch had your breast falling from his mouth with a loud “pop.” When OA’s eyes met yours, you smirked as you poured your body wash onto it. Lowering one leg to the floor, OA released your other so you slid down his body. As you did, your wet core slid across the heat of his dick, making you both groan and shiver. Standing before him again, the height difference of his six-five frame and yours was so evident. Softly you rubbed the lather across his collar and shoulders then down his arm. You took your time and marveled at just how gorgeous he was.

 Moving lower, you brought the loofah around his wounds careful not to saturate them with soap. When your loofah got to his abs, you got lost swirling it around each and every one of them, all eight of them. OA leaned to you and kissed you once, then trailed kisses to your ear. You slinked away to walk behind him to soap his back and admire his perfectly toned ass. He didn’t tense when you brought the loofah over it or pressed your body against his back. OA turned and looked into your eyes.

 “Are you teasing me?” A soft smile spread across his face, one that you mirrored.

 “No. If I were teasing you, I’d be doing something else.”

 OA smiled and licked his bottom lip before he bit it.

 “Oh yeah? Like what?”

 Your hand snuck down his abs and wrapped your hand around his length. OA groaned and rolled his eyes closed as you used the lather of the soap to ease your glide. He was so thick your hand couldn’t wrap around all the way. Every time you twisted your hand along his shaft to the tip, he released a shudder that had his breath hitching in his throat. As you watched him, you couldn’t help but smile. It was empowering to know you had this effect on him.

 You sped your movements and watched, mesmerized with how he looked in your hand. Your mouth watered; you’d never wanted something in your mouth so badly. While you were lost watching yourself please him, it came as a shock when OA quickly pushed you against the wall and pinned both your hands at the wrist against the wall. He used his free hand to take the loofah and soap your body beginning with your breast. He moved slowly while watching as his hand squeezed the suds out. He watched it slowly race down to where your thighs were crossed together.

 “You drive me crazy, Y/N.” He moved his hand lower down your abdomen to your hip, then he squeezed. Groaning, you squeezed his hand and tried to move, but he wasn’t having it.

 “You’re not the only one who knows how to tease.” Your breath caught, fully catching his intention. When OA’s hand crept between your crossed thighs, you threw your head back, knocking it into the wall in the process.

 “Fuck.” Closing your eyes, you focused on enjoying what he was doing to you. his thick fingers circled your aching clit ever so slowly. Your body rocked back and forth against his fingers, hoping to encourage him to speed up. You desperately wanted a release. He didn’t speed up though. Every buck of your hips only had him going slower. You whimpered in protest, opening your eyes to see him smirking at you.

 Seeing how smug he looked made, you want to raise the stakes. You lifted your leg and wrapped it around his back, giving him even more access. He didn’t disappoint either. One of OA’s thick digits slipped to your opening and circled. He released a breathy sigh just as you groaned. He was good at teasing, you thought. You’d never wanted anyone this much. You crushed your lips to his and kissed him. Your tongues fought for dominance while OA continued to circle your clit. You were getting so carried away you were ready to turn around and poke it out for him, but you had a better idea.

 Using your body, you managed to rub against his cock while biting his bottom lip, which had him loosening his grip on your wrists—using that you pulled your hands free and gently pushed him back to slump against the glass door of the shower. You arched underneath the falling water and washed clean using your hands to rub across your body. You never took your eyes off of him, and he never looked away. Turning your back to him, you gave him a good view of your ass then bent over, pretending you needed to rub your legs. You heard OA suck in a breath behind you, and that feeling of power came back.

 When you looked at him again, you walked out of the shower and to the tub. You were thankful it came with a water level indicator, so it shut off before it overflowed. You filled the tub with your essential bath products, some rose water, sweet almond oil, lavender, eucalyptus oil bath salts, and dried flower petals. It was your go-to concoction, and you knew it would help with his soreness. 

When you looked to him, you nudged your head beckoning him closer. As he walked to you, you drank him in. The dull light in the bathroom loved him and only made him look even more majestic. He was a king of kings.

 “Get in.” Without argument or objection, OA climbed into the tub with the groans of a man in pain. As he sunk into the water, he sighed out and unfurled like a flower at the first drop of dew. He looked like he belonged in your tub, you always knew he’d look good there. You’d worked overtime trying to keep him as far from it as possible. Now, all you wanted was this.

 You climbed in after him standing with both your feet outside of his massive thighs. OA leaned back, lulling his head back and raked his gaze over your body, beginning at your legs and up to your face.

 “Not even a dream could get this right. You’re so beautiful.” You smiled; he always knew the right thing to say. Drinking it up, you lowered yourself toward him and his protruding length. Just before you made contact, you stopped. Your nerves got the better of you.

 OA must have seen your hesitation. He lifted your chin so you looked at him. “We can stop. We don’t have to do this.” As always, he was putting you before him. You knew he needed this; you could see how badly he did. Reaching out to him, you felt his cheek down to his bearded chin. You continued your decent, and the first touch of his thick tip, you gasped and lowered yourself onto his length. OA’s hand automatically clamped onto your hips as he sucked in a breath. His groan was the invitation to take more than the tip. 

Using his shoulders to brace yourself, you sank lower taking more of him. Your gasp triggered OA’s moans. When you felt his cock jump inside you, you flung your head back and sank lower. You knew he would be big from looking at his height and size, but now you knew just how big.

 After a few inches more, your grip on his shoulders was so firm your nails were digging into him. Your pants increased as did OA’s groans. You hadn’t even taken all of him, and you felt as if you were filled to capacity. Slowly you rose up to slide back down. OA’s hands never left your hips, and his mouth never closed. When you began making small circles with your hips, OA lifted his hips, sending another inch or two further into you.

 “Fuck!”

 Just like that, any apprehension you held faded, and you were finally able to lower onto your knees. You rocked back and forth against him and slowly got lost in the pleasure. As your body moved, the water in the tub sloshed around in the direction your body moved. You went back and forth; it went back and forth. You went in circles; the water sloshed over the edges of the tub onto the tiled floor. You bounced; it created a small cyclone.

OA’s moans and groans were music to your ears. To know he felt what you felt, and you were in control of what he felt. The power was intoxicating. OA lifted his hips again, nudging himself deeper. The action sent your forehead to his shoulder.

 “Oh my—ahh!” Your squeal rang out in the bathroom. OA held your hips and guided you down to take all of him. Both of you yelped out in unison. Your first orgasm ripped through you and had you biting down onto his shoulder to stifle the scream that came from your very soul. You could feel OA shaking underneath you. One of his hands cupped your skull and moved your face to his. With your forehead pressed to his the both of you panted through the euphoria you both felt. OA held you close with his free hand. When your eyes met, you could see everything he felt as plain as day, and it shook you.

 “Aikhtar!”

 It was Arabic; you were sure of it. As you opened your mouth to speak, OA rocked you against him, and any thought of speech was gone. You flung your head back and held onto him while he took control of your body. OA sucked in another breath and grunted loudly as he commanded your body to do as he willed. Right now, his will was gospel, and you obeyed. In seconds goosebumps beaded your skin, and butterflies filled your belly. You were close. Holding his shoulders for leverage, you rocked your body against him. With each moan and whisper of your name, you moved faster and faster until OA pulled you to him and lifted his legs changing the angle once again.

 “Mmm. I was scared I’d lost you,” OA whispered. You looked at him and saw his vulnerability. Your body stilled, then you touched his cheek.

 “I was scared I’d lost you. I don’t ever want to lose you, OA.”

 OA cupped your cheek and traced his thumb across your cheekbone before he spoke, “Omar.”

 Both of you knew the significance of him requesting you call him his given name rather than his nickname. The moment was heavy, with so much emotion. Tears sprang to your eyes, and you found yourself wanting to say the words despite your fear. You clenched around him, which had his eyes rolling to the back of his head for a few moments before he looked at you again.

 “Let me do all the work, Omar.”

 You began rocking against him again while adding small circles of your hips. OA pulled you into a kiss and acted as if your lips were the water he needed for sustenance. You were his lifeline. The intensity of the moment only made you want to please him even more. You slowly bounced on him while he leaned back and watched every move. His moans only increased in volume, and you knew your neighbors could probably hear the two of you through the walls. You didn’t care.

 The more you moved on him, the more you got lost in the pleasure. Your bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. You didn’t need any help knowing just what to do to make him lose his mind. You knew just what to do as he knew just how to touch you and kiss you. Somehow the two of you moved together as if you’d been doing this for years. Every time you clenched around him, OA’s head would drop back as he whispered your name along with an Arabic word or phrase followed by an English praise. Either he told you how beautiful you were or how much you meant to him, or how perfect and incredible you were.

 All of his words only increased what you felt for him and increased your pleasure. OA held your hips, so you were in the air, and he stroked into you while rotating his hips. The shock had you coming again. While you were distracted with your pleasure, OA used it to drill into you, prolonging your orgasm. It was so intense you found yourself shaking. Your control was gone, and you intended to bring him right where you were. You began bouncing on him again; only you didn’t go slow. You had a goal, and he was at your mercy. OA grunted several times, and the look on his face said he was close. Winding your hips, you clenched around him and changed your movements every few seconds so he never got accustomed to one sensation.

 “Uuuugh, Y/N!” His whimpers were so damn sexy. You realized that while bringing him over his edge, it was bringing you closer to yours. OA latched his lips to your breast and nibbled your nipple, increasing the pressure the closer he got. He pulled his mouth away and replaced it with his hand as he groaned.

 “Uuuugh!” You felt his release with a strong spurt that filled you, and just like that, you were gone. Your body shook from the force of your release, and you slumped against him, riding the wave of pleasure.

 OA held you tightly as he tried to bury himself deeper and deeper inside you. His groans began to turn into moans and his moans to whimpers as he held you against him. His lips were right beside your ear, and he peppered kisses along it before sucking your lobe into his mouth.

 “Eshq,” OA whispered as he held you to his body. Neither of you had any intention of moving. This was where both of you wanted to be all along.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***If you want to be tagged please SEND AN ASK SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF. Thank you for reading!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: 

@titty-teetee @bamakakechick @bellaamor88 @theblulife @sonjashuterbugjohnson @toniilaney @lo-cheu @chaneajoyyy @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @ajspencer1892 @dangerouslovefanfic @alyxkbrl @melaninhawtie  @simplyyamberr @ashanti-notthesinger @afraiddreamingandloving  @wakanda-inspired @chillavesss @drsunshine97 @cleothegoldfish @builtalongthewayside @theunsweetenedtruth @geeksareunique @aykanna @hanasamara @profilia @ollieveracity @autumn242 @missyperle @sup3rn0va13 @chaneajoyyy @forbeautyandlife @kreolemami @designerwriterchic @theskullgoddess @maxcullen @disaster-rose @bugngiz @winchwm @jovanaprime @disneysdarlingdiva @90sinspiredgirl @evemej @areubeingserved @caramara3 @give-me-a-million-dollars-pls @surmya1907 @minton131 @detectiveinchicago @momobaby227 @thevelvetseries

#partners fic #partners mini series #zeeko zaki #oa zidan #Zeeko zaki fanfiction #oa zidan fanfiction #zeeko zaki x reader #zeeko zaki x you #zeeko zaki x black reader #oa zidan x reader #oa zidan x you #oa zidan x black reader #zeeko zaki smut #oa zidan smut #black fanfiction #angst fanfic #slow burn fanfic #FBI fanfiction

[dreamcatcherfication]

Breathing, Screaming, Choking

I find it kind of ironic that I wrote this while an ambulance kept driving by my house. 

Hello! Here I am with another one-shot request, because I’m trash and will literally write almost anything you ask me to. Anon requested Anne getting stabbed (among other things) and I said “Why the heck not,” because like I said - I’m trash. So here’s my mediocre attempt at fulfilling that request, and I hope you all enjoy it! Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, Wonu Ogunfowora is accusing me of being a murderer.

Writing Masterpost

If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!

Prompts | More Prompts | The Trifecta of Prompts | Original Prompts

Trigger Warnings: Lots and lots of blood, stabbing, descriptions of beheading, anxiety attacks

It was supposed to be a normal, unassuming day. The beheaded cousins had just finished a matinee performance with the other queens, and they were off for the evening. It was Anne’s idea to go get ice cream, and it seemed innocent enough to Kat. She loved ice cream, and there was a great parlor about twenty minutes from the theatre. There was no reason to be concerned or worried because of how normal and domestic the situation was. Both cousins were blissfully unaware of the dark shadow that was hanging above them. The type of shadow trying to warn them that they were marked for trouble. 

The parlor was pretty far for walking, but Anne and Kat didn’t have the car, nor was there a bus scheduled to pass by the parlor anytime soon. So they gave up and chose to walk, accepting that they had enough time on their hands. “D’you know what?” Anne piped up as she and Kat walked side by side.

“What?”

Squinting one of her eyes Anne started looking around. “I think there’s an alleyway up on the next street that cuts through to the parlor.”

Kat didn’t believe Anne, rolling her eyes. “Sure, there’s some mysterious alley we’ve never seen before that just so happens to take us directly where we want to go? Come on Anne, if you want to trick me you’re going to have to do better than that.” 

“No, I’m serious,” Anne pushed. “I’ve used it before, I just don’t remember which street it was on. D’you wanna try the next one?”

Mulling it over, Kat agreed, “Alright, but only because we have the time. If there actually is a passageway, we can use it to confuse the others the next time we get ice cream.”

“That’s my cousin!” Anne cheered, wrapping an arm around Kat’s shoulders. They crossed the street together, stopping in front of the alleyway that Anne had pointed out. “This is it,” Anne confirmed.

A small bit of apprehension came over Kat as she started fidgeting with her jacket collar. “It’s a long alleyway Anne, are you sure -”

“I’m sure, come on,” Anne pulled Kat forward and into the alley. For such a bright day out, the alley had a startling amount of shadows cast around the walls. There were forgotten boxes lying about and trash scattered by the wind, dirtying the concrete ground. Being in the small walkway felt like walking into an entirely different world, blocked off from the busy streets behind them.

There was a rustling behind the two of them, and Kat whipped her head around, ready to run at the sight of danger. But nothing was there except for the fading light of the street they had left. “There’s nothing there Kat,” Anne elbowed her cousin. 

“Right,” Kat muttered, raising her guard. She turned around and stopped in her tracks. Anne was frozen too, staring at the figure in front of them. It was a tired man, probably in his thirties with an unshaven beard. That wasn’t what caused them to freeze however. It was the knife in his hand and the unhinged glint in his eyes that terrified the cousins. 

As he took a step forward, the cousins took a step back, unwilling to get any closer. “Give me your fucking money. All of it,” the man hissed, sticking his knife out at them.

Immediately, Kat was fumbling for her wallet. She didn’t want the situation to escalate, and if getting rid of him quicker meant throwing away her wallet, she would do it. Kat didn’t have a lot of money, but she tossed it to the man without hesitation. She wasn’t getting stabbed today.

Anne had another idea. The woman pulled out her wallet and slowly approached the mugger. He still held his knife out, but his eyes were on her cheap wallet. “You want it?” Anne asked.

Unconsciously, the man nodded, his eyes not even blinking. Right as she handed the man her wallet, Anne brought her leg up and kneed the mugger right in the groin. He doubled over, wheezing from the impact. In a split second of retaliation, the mugger stabbed his knife downwards, impaling Anne’s leg. Anne screamed, falling backwards onto the ground when they knife cut into her leg. Seeing his opportunity, the mugger ripped the knife out of Anne’s leg, grabbed their wallets and sprinted away.

“Annie!” Kat cried, falling to the ground next to her cousin. She had to resist the urge to gag at the sight of blood and all the memories it brought back. Clearly Anne wasn’t doing much better. Kat’s cousin was shaking on the floor, her hands trying to cover the wound as her body shook in pain and fear. “You’re going to be okay,” Kat tried to say, her hands hovering over Anne as she panicked.

Choking on her words, Anne’s eyes started to glaze over. “It hurts Kat, it h - h... hu,” she couldn’t finish her sentence. “Please.” The wound wasn’t bad enough to kill Anne, (Kat didn’t think at least) but it was dragging up a lot of memories to the forefront of the girls’ minds. Kat was frozen, unable to help as her mind conjured up images of the past. She pictured Anne, lying dead at her feet with blood pooled around her lifeless body. Kat’s chest burned in pain as she realized she had been neglecting to breathe while the images passed through her mind.

Anne was similarly trapped in her mind. She kept seeing a sword come down, and then red, endless red. She saw her body from an angle she had never seen before as her head rolled away. She kept watching until hot, sticky redness covered her eyes and glued them shut. Until blood filled her nose and mouth as she screamed for help, for mercy.

Breaking out of her memories, Kat inhaled deeply. She couldn’t let herself be consumed by this terrible shadow of doubt. She had to be strong and she had to help her cousin. Yanking off her jacket, Kat pressed the pink fabric against Anne’s leg and held it there tightly. Anne yelped when the cloth was held against her bleeding leg, initially trying to push it away, but Kat held fast. This was the best she could do before they could get help.

Reminding herself that they needed help, Kat frantically searched her pockets for her phone. When she found it, she dialed 999 and anxiously waited for someone to pick up. “999, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked, their voice muffled by the static of the phone.

“My cousin’s been stabbed by a mugger!” Kat gasped, her hands shaking as she continued to press her jacket against Anne’s wound. The occasional groans from Anne only heightened Kat’s worry as reality faded in and out. Sometimes, Anne was wearing jeans, other times she was in a lacy dress with a sword poised above her. At this point, Kat could hardly distinguish what was real and what wasn’t.

The operator spoke as if this had happened a hundred times before. “Alright Miss, where are you? I can send an ambulance your way.”

“Um,” Kat stuttered, her mind suddenly blank of all street names. “I - I can’t remember. We’re in an alleyway that’s supposed to lead to this ice cream parlor, Bitsy’s Ice Cream? And - and the street has this big pothole off to the side but I don’t know what it’s called. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, is Anne going to die?”

“Miss, please calm down,” the operator spoke levelly, “I think you’re talking about the alleyway by Albatross Way, but I can’t be sure. Can you confirm that for me?”

Frantically whipping her head up in search of any street signs, Kat noticed the graffiti of a bird against the wall. Under it there was a small placard, the words reading -atros Way. “Yes! Yes that’s the street, please send an ambulance.”

“Okay, I’m sending one right now, you should receive help in the next seven minutes. Stay safe.” The operator hung up and Kat dropped her phone onto the floor. Her hands were trembling so badly that she couldn’t hold the phone in her hands for fear she would throw it against the wall.

Still on the floor, Anne was pale, her breathing slowing down. She wasn’t dead, Kat could tell, but Anne was in shock. Her eyes were completely glazed over as she stared at something invisible, her leg spasming periodically. Kat refused to lift her jacket from Anne’s leg, only increasing the pressure when Anne grunted in pain.

It felt like an eternity before sirens began to sound in the distance. They got louder and louder until Kat had to let go of Anne’s leg to cover her ears. A handful of EMTs came running down the alleyway with a stretcher in their hands. Without acknowledging Kat, they started to load Anne on to the stretcher, blocking her from Kat’s view. Leaning against the wall of the alley, Kat started to choke on her breathing. They would save Anne, her cousin would be fine. She had to be fine. She had to be.

An EMT approached Kat, kneeling down next to her. “Are you the person who called 999?” He asked, his tone light and inviting. Kat nodded, but didn’t say anything. Her breathing was coming out quicker as she came close to hyperventilating. “I’m Derek,” he explained, leaning next to Kat. “I’m an EMT, and I’m going to ask you to breathe with me. Can you do that?”

Of course Kat could breath, of course she could - of course… 

Everything around Kat was growing blurry, the world fading in and out. “Hey,” Derek calmly cut into Kat’s spiraling mind, “Your cousin is going to be fine. So will you, but you have to try to breathe with me.”

At his words, Kat gained a new resolve. She listened to each of his inhales and tried to match it, no matter how badly her chest burned. Kat had to do this. For Anne. It took longer than she liked, but soon Kat was breathing on her own. “Can I ride with her? To the hospital?” Kat asked, peering around Derek in hopes of spotting her cousin.

“Yes, you can,” Derek agreed, helping Kat off the ground. “I have to go help the others, but you find your cousin and tell them I sent you, okay?”

Kat nodded, and then Derek was gone, off to assist his fellow EMTs. Glancing down at the ground, Kat noticed her bloody jacket. It was soaked with Anne’s blood, the pink now a dark red. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but Kat picked up the jacket and put it on. As disgusting as it was, the jacket made her feel closer to Anne. And that was something she needed more than anything right now.

Approaching the ambulance, Kat went to the back where they were loading Anne in. “I’m her cousin, Derek said I could ride with her,” Kat mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the female EMT.

Her only response was herding Kat into the back of the vehicle next to her cousin, and then the EMT was back to doing her job. Reaching out, Kat grabbed Anne’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “I’m here Annie. You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

The ambulance sirens turned on, the loud wailing echoing through the streets of London.

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

Tag List: 

@radcowboyalmondtree@boleynhowards@annabanana2401@babeebobo@dont-lose-your-queerhead@everything-insanity@mindless-pidgeon@i-wanna-dance-and-sing-six@thedemidisaster@its-totes-gods-will

#six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fic #six fanfiction #six fanfic #sixfic #anne boleyn #katherine howard #beheaded cousins #tw: blood #and a lot of it #tw: anxiety attacks #sorry anon but i went DARK #i made up the street name #and the ice cream parlor #because i don't actually know things #i cant believe i focused long enough to actually write this #usually i get distracted but no #i did this in one sitting #very impressive

[sceptilemasterr]

MW Act 3, Scene 6 - Airport Battle

Title: Most Wanted: The Hollywood Killer (A CIU Screenplay)

Main Pairings: Dave x Sam

Other Pairings: N/A

Genre: Full Rewrite

Rating: PG-13 for violence, blood, swearing, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: A hostage situation turns deadly as Tull and his accomplice attempt to escape the city.

Previous Scene: Street Pursuit

Masterlist: Link

EXT. LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - NIGHT

Dave’s cruiser approaches the gates of LAX, which have already been cordoned off. Sam slows to a stop as she and Dave approach the two officers stationed at the gates. Dave sticks his head out of the passenger-side window to wave to the officers.

DAVE: Barton, Sanchez! Did everyone get the message?

SANCHEZ: Sure did! Between you two, McKenzie, and the analysis team, the whole damn station knows now. We’re all on high alert.

BARTON: Beckham’s furious, by the way. Just warnin’ you.

DAVE: About us, the Hayley situation, Tull...?

BARTON (shrugs): All of ‘em at once, I’d say.

SAM: We have reason to suspect Hayley’s on her way here right now. Better be ready.

SANCHEZ: Doesn’t surprise me. McKenzie says Tull’s headed straight this way too.

Sam spares an impressed glance in Dave’s direction.

SAM: Nice hunch.

DAVE: Thanks. Nice driving.

SAM (blushing): Right. Anyway... (coughs awkwardly) Look, they’ve gotta both be planning to fly outta here. I’m guessin’ Hayley’s got her own private jet?

DAVE (sighs): Of course she does. This is Hollywood.

SAM: Figures. Can we get in there and block it off?

BARTON: Beckham’s on her way here now with a whole SWAT team. When they get here, we’ll--

The sound of screeching tires makes all of them turn and look out at the road, where Hayley’s car is barreling straight toward the gate!

SAM: It’s her!

SANCHEZ: Stop her!

All four of them draw their weapons and point them at Hayley’s car, but the pop star only accelerates, ducking beneath the dashboard as the officers open fire.

DAVE: MOVE!

At the last possible second, they dive out of the way and the car slams straight into Dave’s police cruiser and through the gate! The driver-side door swings open and falls off of its hinges, and a coughing, bruised Hayley stumbles out of the car. Sam and Dave pull themselves to their feet and approach her, weapons raised.

SAM: Alright, Miss Two-Faced. Hands up. It’s over.

HAYLEY: Ugh! Why won’t you all leave us alone?

She walks unsteadily through the destroyed gate and into the airport. Sam cocks her weapon.

DAVE: This is your last chance. Turn around, hands above your head.

HAYLEY: NO!

She suddenly breaks into an open sprint into the airport, as behind Sam and Dave, an armored SUV barrels straight toward the gate at maximum speed!

SAM: You seriously gotta be shittin’ me!

DAVE: It’s Tull! Where’s the damn backup?!

Just behind Tull’s stolen vehicle, a SWAT van and three police cruisers pull into view, sirens blaring. Tull shows no signs of slowing down as he approaches the wrecked cars in front of the gate, and Barton and Sanchez hastily scramble out of the way as Sam and Dave open fire on Tull.

DAVE: Does this Servis cult hate my police car? Is that their problem? Do they just HATE my car?!

SAM (shrugs): At this point, who the hell knows?

As they continue firing, Tull swings open the driver-side door of his vehicle while hanging onto the door, firing a wide burst from his shotgun in Sam and Dave’s direction! The pair duck for cover, but part of the burst hits Sam in the shoulder.

SAM: Gah!

Tull leaps from his vehicle, dragging a bound and gagged Rhea along with him, right before the vehicle crashes into what is left of Dave’s cruiser and Hayley’s car. Dave looks over at Sam, concern etched on his face, as the officers and SWAT team emerge from their vehicles, weapons ready, with Beckham at the head of the group. 

DAVE: You alright?

SAM: Yeah, I’m--

She stops talking when she spots Tull sprinting past them into the airport, dragging Rhea bodily behind him. Sam immediately stands up and lunges after Tull.

DAVE: Wait, Sam, no!

A second later, he sprints after her. Sam catches up to Tull and bodily tackles him into the pavement, forcing him to let go of Rhea.

TULL: Stupid cops! Get offa me!

SAM (furious): Not lettin’ you get away this time, you son of a bitch.

Dave catches up to Rhea and starts undoing the gag on her mouth as Tull and Sam grapple for Tull’s weapon. Sam finally wrests it away from him and smacks him in the face with the butt of the shotgun.

SAM: That was for Bill, you--

Tull snarls and kicks her in the stomach, forcing her to drop the gun as she doubles over in pain! He turns and fires in Dave’s direction, forcing him to dodge out of the way as Tull rushes toward his hostage, grabbing her again and holding his gun to her head.

TULL: Alright, then. Cops, Swat, whatever the hell y’all call yourselves. Nobody moves, or Girlie here gets her pretty little head splattered all over the ground.

Dave hesitates before reluctantly lowering his gun and stepping back slowly. The SWAT team and the rest of the police force stop in their tracks when they see Tull’s hostage. Hayley runs up behind her father, a grenade launcher clutched in her hands.

HAYLEY: Plane’s ready. Let’s get out of here, Daddy!

TULL: Good. Let’s give these piggies a nice goodbye gift, huh?

Hayley flashes a sinister smirk as she hefts the grenade launcher. Tull drags Rhea back toward the tarmac, where a small private jet idles at the runway.

HAYLEY: This is what you get for getting in our way! Creeps!

She fires straight at the middle of the three destroyed vehicles in the center of the gate! Everyone scrambles for safety as Hayley makes a mocking “peace sign” gesture before rushing after her father. The grenade hits the cars, detonating in a massive explosion that sends several SWAT officers flying. As the rest of the team recovers from the explosion’s aftermath, Rebecca runs toward Sam and Dave.

REBECCA (panting heavily): Where’d they go?! Where’s Rhea?

DAVE: They took her. That plane--

He points toward the plane, where Tull is shoving Rhea through the passenger entrance. Hayley slows to a light jog as she approaches the plane.

REBECCA: What are we waiting for? C’mon, after them!

She pulls Dave, then Sam to their feet, and the three of them head straight for the plane. Hayley climbs up the stairs and rushes inside, shutting the door behind her. The plane begins to taxi down the runway, straight toward Dave, Sam, and Rebecca!

SAM: Dave, Rebecca, we’ve gotta get on that plane!

REBECCA: The landing gear! That should work!

SAM: Seriously?

DAVE: She definitely knows more about planes than either of us. I say we go for it.

REBECCA: After how many times my brother and I snuck aboard planes this way when we were little? Trust me. It works.

The plane approaches them, and the three of them tense, knowing they only have one chance at this.

SAM: You better be right about this, McKenzie!

REBECCA: I know I’m right!

DAVE: Three... two... one... NOW!

At Dave’s signal, Sam leaps onto the landing gear as he and Rebecca race to keep up with the accelerating plane. She clambers up higher and pulls Dave up, who then pulls Rebecca up in turn. The three of them climb into the dark recesses of the plane, holding on with white-knuckled grips, as the plane lifts off into the air...

_______________________

Next: The Warrior, The Pilot, The Steadfast, The Perceptive

CIU Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @endlesshero1122 @bbaba-yagaa @acidsugar0

MW Tag List: @griselda1121

#most wanted the hollywood killer #choices most wanted #choices stories you play #csyp #most wanted rewrite #ciu project #choices interconnected universe #fanfic #dave reyes #sam massey #rebecca mckenzie #rhea sarkar #john tull #hayley rose #officer barton (ciu) #officer sanchez (ciu) #captain beckham #yes that was a reference to jake there #don't forget it's all connected! #things are getting intense now

[forlorn-kumquat]

Read here on AO3

----------

Piper paced the length of the attic, arms wrapped around her stomach. The attic was silent, save for the sounds of her footsteps, and Prue quietly turning the pages of the Book of Shadows. With only the two of them, it was too quiet. It was unnerving.

"Are you sure this spell is going to work?" Piper asked, her voice breaking the silence.

Prue glanced over at Piper from where she was poring over the Book. "No," she answered, honestly, "but I can't think of a better way to find Phoebe, can you?"

"We could always try scrying, again," Piper suggested, but she was hesitant, because she knew it wasn't likely to work. Not after they'd already scryed for their missing sister for over an hour with absolutely nothing to show for it.

"Won't work," Prue said, shortly. "Just like the blood to blood spell didn't work, and Leo's not answering our calls..." She glared up at the ceiling, like she could pull the Whitelighter into the attic with nothing more than the sheer force of her anger.

"It's just-" Piper cut herself off, looking conflicted. "Prue, this could be a really dangerous spell," she finally argued. "Even Grams thinks so, or she wouldn't have kept flipping past the page when you first found it."

"Piper, I don't care if it's dangerous," Prue shot back. "And I don't see that we have any other choice, do you?" She turned her frosty glare on her younger sister, almost daring her to say anything.

Piper joined her sister at the Book, stabbing her finger down on the page. "The last witch who used the soul walking spell couldn't get back into her own body, and she died," she protested.

Prue shot her a dark look, opening her mouth to say something, but then her shoulders slumped, and her anger seemed to rush out of her. "That's a risk I'm willing to take for Phoebe," she said, softly. "Aren't you?"

"Great," Piper grumbled. "Use guilt."

"If it works," Prue replied. "You ready to do this?"

"No," Piper muttered, but she took Prue's place in front of the Book while Prue took a seat on the couch. "Last chance to try something slightly less suicidal," she warned.

"Just say the spell," Prue told her.

Piper sighed, looking down at the spell that Prue had hastily altered on a piece of paper. The original spell just separated the soul from the body; Prue had changed the last line, adding a part that was supposed to take her to wherever Phoebe was.

Piper still wasn't sure if they were doing the right thing. The spell was dangerous enough in its original form; with Prue's changes, who knew what could happen? But Prue was looking at her, expectantly, and she dutifully recited the spell.

"Unbound by life's chains, And free to roam. Release soul from body, To bring our sister home."

On the couch, Prue slumped over, completely boneless. Piper was about to walk over to where she lay when Prue sat up, suddenly, choking on a panicked gasp. Her eyes were wide with panic.

"Where the hell am I?" she demanded, hoarsely. Eyes lighting on Piper, she shot to her feet. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the attic," Piper told her, as Prue looked around in confusion. "Prue, you were gone for less than a second. Did the spell backfire?"

"Spell?" Prue echoed, staring at her. "What spell? And who's Prue?"

"You are," Piper said, watching as Prue moved slowly around the attic, staring at the room like she'd never even seen it before. Prue looked at her like she was crazy.

"Look, lady, my name isn't Prue," she protested. "It's Paige. Paige Matthews."

-----------

Phoebe didn't know what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered, she'd been fighting a demon with her sisters, only for the demon to grab her by the arms and drag her through a portal to emerge in some strange, cold cavern with him. He'd had her chained to a rock and was ranting and raving when the world had started spinning. Everything had gone black, and now…

Phoebe groaned as she forced her eyes open, only to shut them a second later when a bright light sent a spike of pain through her skull. She tried to push herself to a sitting position, but she was lying at a strange angle and her arms shook from the effort. When she tried again, a hand pushed gently on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.

"Stay down," an unfamiliar male voice said. "There's an ambulance on the way."

"What-" Phoebe started, but she didn't recognize the sound of her own voice. She coughed to clear her throat, trying again. "What happened?" Nope. She still didn't sound like herself.

"You passed out," the man told her. "Hit your head pretty hard on the stairs."

Phoebe shifted, feeling a hard edge under shoulders. If she was lying on the stairs, that would explain why she felt unbalanced. She braced herself again, determinedly pushing herself to a sitting position.

"I don't need-" Phoebe trailed off as she opened her eyes and the world spun in circles around her. "I don't need an ambulance," she protested, weakly.

The man crouched in front of her laughed out loud. "Try that one again when you've stopped bleeding and your eyes aren't spinning in separate orbits. You're going to the hospital, Paige. End of discussion."

When the man told her she was bleeding, Phoebe put a hand to her head, pulling away fingers sticky with blood. Then his last sentence registered.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Did you just call me Paige?" Taking a closer look at the man, she added, "Who are you?"

The man blinked in surprise. "Robert Cowan," he prompted her. "Your boss?" Before she could say anything, he added, "Don't tell me you gave yourself brain damage."

"I, uh-" Phoebe trailed off in horror, because there was a window next to the stairs where she was sitting, and she'd just caught sight of her reflection. And she was staring at someone else's face. "Maybe I should go to the hospital," she finished, weakly.

The ambulance showed up about a minute later, and Phoebe was bustled into the back after a cursory examination. She had to admit, the ride to the hospital was kind of exciting, speeding through the streets with the sirens blaring. She just wished that she hadn't had to crack her head open – crack someone else's head open – to experience it.

At the hospital, the techs got her into a curtained-off room, but then they got another call and they left her alone. And they hadn't had time to admit her to the ER, which meant that it was surprisingly easy to slip out of the busy area and outside. Her head still hurt, but she kept going. The bleeding had mostly stopped in the ambulance, and Leo could heal the rest of the damage later. And she'd make her apologies later to whoever's body she was currently occupying.

She needed to get back home to her sisters and figure out what was going on.

----------

As she listened to Piper recite the soul walking spell, Prue felt her eyes growing heavy. The world went black for the briefest second, and then she opened her eyes.

She'd expected to feel disjointed, confused as she adjusted to no longer being in her body. She hadn't expected pain. She hadn't expected the feel of rock digging into her back, of cold chains wrapped around her body. She hadn't expected to see the demon they'd been fighting earlier, the one who'd taken Phoebe, to be pacing restlessly in front of her.

And he was…monologuing?

"-have been the Source's loyal lapdog, but no more!" he ranted at her. "I will be the ultimate power in the Underworld; I've been building my power base for centuries! Nothing can stop me!" He spun on his heel, glaring fiercely at her. "Not even you witches."

"Don't count on that," Prue snapped, automatically, and then she froze. Phoebe's voice had just come out of her mouth.

Prue tucked her chin into her chest as she tried to lean forward, but the chains stopped her from moving more than an inch. Rolling her eyes down, she saw the shirt that Phoebe had been wearing when she'd been taken. Her legs were free, and she stomped her right foot on the ground. Pain shot up her leg from her ankle, exactly the way Phoebe's would after she'd stumbled on the stairs and twisted her ankle that morning.

She was in Phoebe's body.

Piper had warned her that the spell could backfire, especially since Prue had made her own alterations to it. But she hadn't imagined body swapping. And now she couldn't get back to Piper to tell her where Phoebe was being held.

Prue could have smacked herself a second later. If she'd swapped bodies with Phoebe, then she didn't have to worry about telling Piper where she was, because Phoebe could do it herself. And Phoebe being in her body meant that the two sisters with active powers were still at the Manor, and could come rescue her. And Phoebe already knew how to access her telekinesis, from the last time they'd swapped powers…

'This isn't how I imagined the spell playing out,' Prue thought, 'but I think it can work.'

Leveling a glare of her own at the demon, she told him, "We are so going to vanquish your sorry ass."

"Nothing can vanquish me!" the demon roared at her, spittle flying from his mouth. Prue rubbed her cheek against her shoulder to get rid of the stuff that had hit her.

'Don't count on that,' Prue thought, rolling her eyes as the demon started pacing and ranting, again. 'My sisters and I are going to take you down.'

----------

Paige stared numbly at her reflection in the small, handheld mirror. A stranger's face stared back at her.

"You okay?" The woman who'd introduced herself as Piper Halliwell was sitting at the opposite end of the couch, a concerned look on her face. "Believe me, I know how overwhelming this stuff can be, when you first find out about it."

"Overwhelming," Paige echoed, faintly. "That's not exactly the word I would have used."

She couldn't hold back a shudder when she heard her words in the strange woman's voice. Piper noticed, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sure Prue will be home any second now," she said, trying for reassuring and failing miserably. "Once she realizes that she's in your body, she'll head straight here, and we can undo the spell. Magic can be kind of whacky, sometimes," she finished, apologetically.

"Magic," Paige repeated, feeling faint as the word left her lips.

When she woke up that morning, she could never have imagined that things like magic and body swapping would become a part of her life. She just wanted things to go back to normal.

"I just don't understand how the spell could have backfired this badly," Piper went on, obviously babbling to fill the awkward silence that filled the attic. "I mean, if Prue was going to swap bodies with anyone, it should have been Phoebe, because the spell specified sisters. And you're certainly not our sister," she added, with a weak laugh. "No offense."

"None taken," Paige replied. Shifting in her seat, she glanced over at the big book that Piper had said was the cause of her current predicament. "Um, are you sure that you can reverse this spell with that thing?"

"Oh, yeah," Piper said, quickly. "It'll work. We just need Prue back here to make sure your souls go back to the proper bodies."

Paige stared at her in disbelief. "Proper bodies?" she demanded, feeling like all she was doing was echoing everything Piper told her. "What do you mean, go back to the proper bodies?"

"Well," Piper blushed deep crimson, "there's a teeny, tiny chance that the reversal spell could backfire again, and you could wind up in my body, or permanently stuck in Prue's." Seeing the panic that must have flashed across her face, Piper added, hastily, "It's a minuscule chance. Practically nonexistent."

"You do realize," Paige said slowly, "that the only reason I haven't run screaming out of here is because I'm inside a stranger's body. The least you could do is not do anything to make that impulse stronger."

"Sorry," Piper muttered. "Um, can I get you coffee, or-"

"I'm fine," Paige interrupted her, quickly. "I really just want to get back into my own body, and get back to work. I just got this job, and I really don't want to lose it." She laughed, hearing herself. "My soul is in another person's body, and I'm worried about my job."

"That's normal," Piper told her, with a small smile. "Believe me, it helps, sometimes, focusing on the normal stuff when the world is going crazy around you."

"Like whether I forgot to turn off the stove?" Paige asked, wryly.

"Exactly," Piper replied. "Sometimes, my sisters and I will be fighting a demon, and we'll start arguing about what we're having for dinner."

Paige blinked, sure she'd just heard wrong. She prayed she'd just heard wrong. "Did you just say demon?" she asked.

A guilty look flashed across Piper's face. "Did I forget to mention that part?"

"Yeah, kinda." Paige dropped her head into her hands. "I just want to go home," she muttered, hearing a hint of a whine in her voice, but she didn't care enough to stop it.

"We're going to fix this, I promise," Piper told her. "We – Leo!"

Paige looked up at the excited tone in Piper's voice, eyes widening as a bright light filled the attic. She looked to Piper to gauge what her reaction should be, but the other woman looked happy, like she knew what was going on.

"Leo, thank god, you aren't going to believe everything that's happened," Piper blurted out in a rush, but then she stopped when the light cleared. "You're not Leo," she said, a suspicious tone in her voice, and when she took a step back, Paige could see another person standing in front of them.

"No," she said, finally feeling on slightly firmer ground. "That's me."

Piper looked back and forth between Paige and whoever was inside her body. "That's you?" she asked, and Paige nodded in confirmation. Piper turned her attention back to Paige's body. "Prue, you in there?"

"No, it's Phoebe," the other woman said, as she looked around the attic. "Um, how did I get here?" Gesturing to the body she was borrowing, she added, emphatically, "And how did I get in here?"

"Prue cast a backfired spell, and you orbed," Piper told her. "You orbed," she repeated in an awestruck tone, and then the two of them turned to stare at Paige in astonishment.

"You're a Whitelighter?" Piper demanded, sounding confused.

Paige shook her head, frantically. "No!" she insisted. "I don't even know what a Whitelighter is!"

Piper turned back to stare at Phoebe in shock. "Then, what are you?" she asked, quietly.

----------

Piper watched Paige's eyes go wide, a shocked, hurt look coming over her face. She'd known that the words were a mistake as soon as she'd said them, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. Paige took a shuddering breath, her hands clenching into fists.

"What am I?" she repeated, slowly. "What the hell-"

"Paige, no, I'm sorry," Piper said, quickly, cutting the other woman off before she could finish. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded, I'm sorry."

"I don't know what she just did with my body," Paige said, pointing a shaking hand at Phoebe, "but I couldn't do that this morning."

"It's called orbing," Piper told her. "It's a power that Whitelighters have."

"I don't know what that is!" Paige's voice was tinged with hysteria, and she looked like she was about to fall apart. Piper didn't blame her. Hard enough to learn that magic existed; even harder to have it completely uproot your life in one fell swoop.

"A Whitelighter is a kind of guardian angel," Piper replied, getting a frosty look in return.

"Don't you think I'd know if I was some kind of angel?" she snapped.

"Maybe not a Whitelighter," Phoebe spoke up, musingly. "Maybe just half." She shrugged when Piper shot her a curious look. "What? When we went to the future, you and Leo had a daughter. She's going to be half-Whitelighter, so we know it's possible."

"Yeah, but it's still forbidden," Piper argued. "Leo and I still aren't allowed to be together, and I doubt a lot of other witches and Whitelighters are chomping at the bit to break that rule. I mean, the only other ones who-" She trailed off as realization dawned. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Phoebe's eyes went wide. "You don't think?" she asked, nodding significantly at Paige.

"Yeah," Piper said, flatly. "Yeah, I'm starting to think-"

"Cut the cryptic crap." Paige's no-nonsense tone cut through their conversation.

She stalked over, arms crossed over her chest, rivaling Prue at her most intimidating. If Piper had needed any further proof that this woman was family, she had it in spades.

"Look," Paige went on, fixing both of them with an implacable stare, "I may not be a witch like the two of you, and I may not fight demons, but your screwed-up spell hit me, too. I'm in this thing just as much as you are. That means you're going to stop talking around me like I'm not even here, and you're going to tell me what's going on. Now."

Piper sighed. "About a week ago," she told Paige, "we found out that our mom had an affair with her Whitelighter. It's against the rules, and they had to keep their relationship a secret from everyone. We thought it was just because of the whole 'forbidden love' aspect, but now-"

"Now you're starting to think that it was more because of the forbidden baby," Paige finished for her. "Me."

"At least we know why the spell hit you, now," Piper offered, getting a small smile from the other woman.

"My parents never told me anything about my biological family," Paige said, quietly. "There was never anything to tell. I was left at a church, and some nun named Sister Anges found me. She turned me over to Social Services, and my parents adopted me a few months later." She shook her head, ruefully. "I didn't even know I was adopted until I was ten."

"Mom's Whitelighter was Sam Wilder," Phoebe prompted, but Paige shook her head.

"I don't know that name," she said. Sighing, she added, "I can't believe this is happening."

Piper glanced over at Paige. "You okay with all this?" she asked, worriedly.

"You mean magic, angels, and long-lost sisters all in one day?" Paige asked. "Oh, yeah, I'm just peachy." She scrubbed a hand over her face. "Not to break up this tender family moment, but we still have to find your – our – sister and reverse this body swap thing."

Piper nodded. "Right. Pheebs, where'd the demon take you after he grabbed you?"

"Some random cavern," Phoebe replied. "I don't know if it was a cave, or maybe even in the Underworld."

"Can humans even go to the Underworld?" Piper asked. "I thought only demons came from there."

"I don't know," Phoebe said. "I don't even know how we're going to find Prue."

"Maybe you can use one of Paige's other Whitelighter powers," Piper suggested. "Leo can sense his charges, like he did with Daisy. Maybe you can sense Prue."

"Piper, I don't even know how I orbed here," Phoebe protested. "One second I was on the sidewalk, and I wanted to be home, and then I was. What am I supposed to do, just wish to find Prue-"

Her voice trailed off as she disappeared in a bright, white light. Piper's jaw dropped, and she turned to see Paige staring at the spot where Phoebe had been standing, an incredulous expression on her face.

"Did she just-" she demanded.

"Orb out of here without us?" Piper finished for her. "Yeah. Just think, once you guys are all back in your right bodies, it can be you who orbs out on us without warning."

Paige stared at her, and then unexpectedly burst into a giggling fit. "Is this going to be my life, now?" she asked, shaking her head. "Magic and crazy sisters?"

Piper grinned. "You'll learn to love us," she teased. "Come on, we should get you up to speed on Prue's power. Phoebe and Prue are probably going to be followed home by a really pissed off demon, and you and I need to be ready."

----------

Orbing, Phoebe decided, was the coolest thing ever. She loved her premonitions, but she'd always wanted an active power, and the ability to go anywhere in the blink of an eye was pretty damn fun.

She'd appeared in the middle of a rocky cavern. It looked like the same place she'd wound up when the demon had first grabbed her, but then she imagined that if she was in the Underworld, a lot of places looked exactly the same. She heard a noise from behind her, and when she turned around, she had the disorienting sensation of seeing her own body chained to a rock, chin tucked down to her chest.

"Prue?" she ventured, hesitantly. She really hoped it was her sister in there; the last thing they needed was a brand-new wrinkle to the whole body swapping thing. Cautiously moving closer, she gingerly shook her shoulder. "Prue, wake up."

Her head jerked upright, and then Phoebe was staring into her own eyes. It was like looking into a really creepy mirror.

"Please tell me you're not a demon." Even weirder hearing her own voice. "Hey, can you get me out of here?"

"Prue?" Phoebe tried, again, and suspicion crossed the other woman's face. "Prue," she said, hastily, "it's me. Phoebe."

"Phoebe?" Prue echoed, incredulously. "That's not my body."

"Yeah, your body swapping backfire backfired even more than you thought," Phoebe told her. Kneeling down, she started to work on the chains securing Prue to the rock, using the bobby pin in Paige's hair. "It's a really long story, and Piper and I will tell you everything, but we need to get out of here, first."

"I wish you'd gotten zapped into my body," Prue said, as Phoebe struggled with the chains that stubbornly refused to unlock. "Then you could just use my power to get these damn things off. Who is that, anyway?"

"That's-" Phoebe hesitated, wondering exactly how much to tell Prue. "That's part of that long story," she finally finished. "Ha, got it!" she crowed in triumph, when the lock on the chains clicked open.

"I never thought I'd be grateful for your lock picking skills," Prue said, stepping out of the chains. "Okay, how are we getting back home?"

"That's the fun part," Phoebe said, happily. Winding her arm around Prue's, she closed her eyes and focused on the Manor.

Opening her eyes a second later, she realized that nothing had happened. They were still in that cavern. Prue was looking hopefully at her.

"When's the fun going to start?" she asked.

"Right now," Phoebe promised. "We're going home right now."

But, they didn't move, and Phoebe was starting to get frustrated. Orbing hadn't been this hard the other two times she'd done it. And she was doing the same thing that had worked before. She really, really wanted to go home.

"Home," Phoebe said, ignoring the strange look she got from Prue. "I want to go home. Come on, home!"

Nothing happened. They didn't even move an inch.

"What are you doing?" Prue asked.

"I kind of landed in a Whitelighter's body," Phoebe fudged, deciding on a partial truth.

"So, orb us out of here," Prue said.

"I'm trying," Phoebe said, biting back her impatience. "It's not working; I don't know why."

"Well, try harder," Prue snapped, an odd note in her voice. Phoebe looked up to see the demon standing in the entrance to the cavern. "Because we've got company."

----------

For the first time since she'd wound up in the Underworld, in Phoebe's body, Prue was starting to think that she'd made a mistake with her spell. Because neither she nor Phoebe was in their right bodies, and they didn't have any active powers to defend themselves with, and an angry demon was bearing down on them.

They were kind of screwed.

"Are you sure you can't orb us out of here?" Prue asked, gripping Phoebe's shoulder and pulling her backward, away from the demon.

"I'm trying," Phoebe protested, gritting the words through clenched teeth. "It's not as easy as Leo makes it look, you know."

A second later, the world disappeared in white, and when Prue could see again, they were standing in the middle of the attic.

"Must be easier than you thought," she remarked, but Phoebe looked just as surprised as she was.

"Actually, Sunshine, that was us," Piper's cheerful voice rang out from behind them, and Prue turned around to see her sister standing beside the Book.

Beside her, Prue saw herself, and she hoped that it was the Whitelighter that Phoebe was borrowing. Three body swaps among them was more than enough.

"We found a spell to call a lost witch," Piper went on, gesturing to the woman standing beside her. "Used it to bring you two back here."

"Thanks," Prue said. "How'd you know we were going to need the lift?"

"I kind of figured," Piper replied. "Phoebe didn't exactly have orbing under control when she took off and stranded us up here." She shot her younger sister a cheeky grin.

"I didn't mean to do it," Phoebe muttered, sheepishly.

"Hey," the other woman spoke up, "you still have better control over my powers than I do. Powers. I can't believe I have powers." She looked utterly baffled by the words coming out of her mouth.

"I thought you said she was a Whitelighter," Prue said, confused, to Phoebe. Her confusion only grew when both Piper and the stranger looked at Phoebe, as well.

"Well, you're kind of a Whitelighter," Phoebe protested. "Prue, this is Paige. She's, um-" She cast Piper a look that Prue could only describe as pleading.

"She's half Whitelighter," Piper cut in, smoothly. "And she's our sister." She shot Prue a look that was almost a glare, practically daring her to comment. Beside her, Paige had a nervous look on her face, like she was waiting for the axe to fall.

Any reply Prue would have made was cut off by the arrival of the demon in their midst. He already had an energy ball in his hand, and Prue instinctively jerked her hand toward him, expecting the demon to go flying back into the wall. Nothing happened.

"Remember what I said about getting angry?" Piper hissed at Paige, who waved her hand at the demon. He stumbled back maybe a step, and Paige grimaced.

"Not angry enough?" she muttered.

"Not nearly," Prue snapped, hearing her.

At the sound of her voice, the demon turned to face her, and the next thing Prue knew, she and Phoebe were flying through the air. Her shoulder was on fire from where the energy ball had hit it. Prue struggled to her feet in time to see Piper get knocked backwards, slamming into the wall to slump to the floor.

"Son of a bitch!" Paige roared, and the demon was blasted backward, leaving a dent in the wall when he hit.

"That's angry enough," Prue told the surprised woman, who was staring at her outstretched hand like she'd just discovered she was holding a live grenade. "Power of Three spell," she ordered, as she pulled Phoebe to her feet and they went over to a still-groggy Piper. "Paige, you might want to duck, or something. We've never used this spell around bystanders."

"It's not going to work," Piper interjected, keeping a wary eye on the demon climbing to his feet at the other end of the attic. "Wrong bodies, remember?"

"We need Paige for the spell," Phoebe realized, "and I'll be the one hiding behind the couch."

"Yeah, but our souls-" Prue argued, and then she swore when the demon hefted another energy ball, a murderous expression on his face. "Oh, screw it! All four of us, on three!"

"The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free-"

The demon exploded with a pained scream, and Prue dropped her sisters' hands with a sigh of relief. She looked around, worried, but none of them seemed hurt. Paige was staring at the spot where the demon had been standing, a blank look on her face.

"We're reversing this body swap, right now," Paige declared, into the silence that had fallen over the attic. "I have to get back to work before I lose my job."

"About that," Phoebe spoke up, a sheepish tone in her voice. "Um, your boss kind of thinks that you've been at the ER this whole time."

Paige spun around and stared at her in disbelief. "What did you do to my head?" she cried, eyes drawn to the dark spot on her hairline.

Phoebe instinctively went to move away when Paige tried to prod at the wound, and then held still. Paige's fingers came away with flecks of dried blood, and she scowled.

"When the spell hit, you blacked out and hit your head on the stairs," Phoebe told her. "And then I woke up in your body, and didn't know what was going on, and they called an ambulance before I could stop them."

"Fantastic," Paige grumbled. "Now I have to go get stitches. Can we do this, please?" There was a tense note in her voice, and when Prue looked closer, she saw Paige standing rigidly, still staring at the same spot on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked, quietly, and Paige shook her head.

"You said that we would have to fight a demon," she said, quietly. "You didn't say anything about having to kill a demon."

"Paige-" Piper started, but the other woman cut her off.

"Look, I know I said that I was all right, earlier, but, I just-" She trailed off, dragging a hand through her hair in frustration. "I need some time to think about all of this."

"Okay," Piper said.

She pulled a reversal spell out from somewhere (Prue was fairly certain that she was going to be thanking Piper for a long, long time for cleaning up her ill-thought-out mess), and a few seconds later, everyone was back where they belonged. Prue bit back a smirk at Phoebe, who was running her hands over her arms and legs like she'd never seen them before.

"Relax, would you?" Prue teased her. "I didn't let the demon chop any pieces off."

She glanced over at Paige, ready to ask how the other woman was doing, in time to see the back of her head disappear out of the attic. Piper watched her leave, her lips pressed into a tight line.

"This was not our finest hour," she informed her sisters, bluntly.

"Do you think Paige is going to be okay?" Phoebe asked, quietly, getting a shrug from Piper.

"We were," Prue spoke up.

"We had each other to lean on," Piper pointed out.

"And she'll have us," Prue said, firmly. "When Paige comes back – and she will, because she's family – we'll be here for her."

"Prue Halliwell, everyone," Phoebe quipped. "Master of the motivational one-liner."

"Shut up," Prue said, without heat. "Come on. Let's go downstairs and you can tell me what you know about our new sister."

----------

Storming out of the Halliwell house with no clear idea of where she was hadn't been Paige's finest moment. But she was almost a block away from the house before it occurred to her. Her head was pounding, and adrenaline had made the wound start bleeding again, sluggishly. She could feel the blood trickling slowly down the side of her face.

Glancing up at a street sign, Paige grimaced. She was all the way across town, stranded without her car.

'Maybe I can do what Phoebe did,' Paige thought.

That little teleporting trick she'd pulled off earlier could be useful. How did Phoebe make it work? She'd wanted to be somewhere, and then she was.

'Well, I want to be back at work,' Paige thought. 'Back where things make sense, and I know what's going on.'

Looking around quickly to make sure she was alone, Paige screwed her eyes shut and focused on her car. The driver's seat with the lump in the back and the loose spring in the seat that she never remembered to fix. She'd owned that car since she'd graduated college, saved up for two years to buy it. It was safe, familiar. If she was going to teleport anywhere, it was there.

But she didn't move from her position on the sidewalk. Paige glared down at the cracked pavement under her feet like it was personally responsible for her current predicament.

Maybe her powers had a limit, maybe her body needed to recharge before she could do it again. Maybe her power was broken. Maybe it was only good for two uses to begin with, and Phoebe had burned it out.

Whatever the reason, she was stuck on her own two feet, and that meant walking. Paige sighed as she started trudging down the street.

Five minutes into her walk, her phone began to ring. Paige pulled it out of her pocket, surprised. She didn't remember having it on her earlier, but so much had happened since then, it wasn't surprising that she'd forgotten.

"Hello?"

"Paige?" Crap. It was her new boss. And she was nowhere near where she was supposed to be. "Matthews, are you still at the hospital?"

"Um-" Paige tried to think of a convincing lie, but her mind had gone completely blank.

"You left the hospital, didn't you?" Cowan demanded, without waiting for her to answer. "You have a head injury, Paige. You need to be at the hospital."

"It's honestly not that bad," Paige protested. "The bleeding's stopped - okay, mostly stopped - and I don't need to be at the hospital. I hate the hospital!" She could hear herself getting worked up, and took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. "I just want to go home," she finished, quietly.

"Fine," Cowan conceded. "Go home for the rest of the day. But I don't want to see you in the office tomorrow, got it? You're taking a sick day, tomorrow, and don't even bother arguing with me."

"Got it, boss," Paige replied.

"Get some rest," Cowan told her, and then he hung up. Paige sighed as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She had what was likely a long walk ahead of her, and she wanted to be home before it got dark.

For once, Lady Luck seemed to be on her side; not only did she get home just before sunset, but her spare key was still taped to the inside of the mail slot on her door - the first time all week that it hadn't fallen off. She nearly dislocated a finger getting the key, but she gritted her teeth through the pain, taped her fingers together in the kitchen, slapped a quick dressing on her forehead, and headed for her bed. Dropping onto the messy covers without even bothering to take her shoes off, Paige flicked a hand out and dragged the blanket over her head, blocking out the last dying rays of sunlight coming in through the window.

She was asleep within seconds.

Paige didn't know what woke her up, but when she dragged her head out from under the blanket, she wasn't alone in the apartment. A woman not much older than she was sitting at the tiny table in the kitchen, watching her.

When she leaned forward, a strand of long, light brown hair fell into her face, and she lifted her hand to brush it away. That was when Paige realized that she could still see the woman's face through her hand. And she could see the rest of her apartment through the woman.

Her intruder was completely transparent.

Paige blinked, rubbing at her eyes to dispel the hallucination. Didn't work. When she opened her eyes again, the woman – ghost? – was still sitting there, patiently watching her with a small smile on her face.

"Um," Paige started, and then she trailed off, at a loss as to how to even start the conversation that clearly needed to happen.

"Hello, Paige." The woman's smile widened as she looked at Paige. "I've waited so long to see you, again." A rueful tone colored her voice as she added, "Of course, I kind of imagined that I'd still be alive at this meeting-"

"You're Piper's mother," Paige said, as realization struck. "And Prue's, and Phoebe's-"

"And your's," the woman interrupted her, gently. "My beautiful girl. I always dreamed that you'd come home to us, one day."

"Right," Paige said, slowly. She climbed out of bed and headed for the battered coffee pot on the counter, adding water and grounds before flicking the machine on. "No offense, but I'm not nearly awake enough for this, right now."

The woman – her birth mother – nodded calmly, waiting in patient silence while the coffee brewed. When it was done, Paige almost reflexively offered the other woman a cup before it hit her that ghosts didn't drink. To buy herself time before they started talking, she poured herself a cup and took a huge gulp of the hot liquid, burning her tongue in the process. Finally, when she couldn't keep stalling any longer, she sat down beside the woman.

"Patty Halliwell," the woman said, before Paige could start. "I can't very well ask you to call me Mom the very first time we meet."

"What are you doing here?" Paige asked, bluntly.

"Checking up on you," Patty replied. "I saw you with your sisters and I wanted to meet you. I haven't seen you in over twenty years, after all."

"You were watching us through that whole body swap thing?" Paige asked.

"Well, there's not a whole lot to do Up There when you're dead," Patty deadpanned. More serious, she added, "I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with any of my daughters. I like to keep an eye on all of you when I can. It makes the distance easier."

"So you saw the fight with that demon?" Paige asked, quietly. Patty gave her a sympathetic look.

"The first time I vanquished a demon," she said, "I was sick for hours afterward. I was nineteen, and I'd seen demon vanquishes before, I couldn't avoid it around my mother, but this was the first demon I'd gone up against on my own. I couldn't stop crying – this demon had tried to kill me, would have killed me if I hadn't stopped him, and I was crying because he was dead and I was still alive. I thought I was losing my mind."

"How did you get over it?" Paige asked, hesitantly.

"My Whitelighter, Sam – your biological father – he told me that being upset just meant that I was still human, that I could still feel. He said that the time to worry was when I stopped feeling anything at all." A fond smile tugged at her lips. "He also told me that if he could, he'd take the burden from me in a heartbeat. I think that was when I first fell in love with him. Not that I did anything about it," she added. "It was forbidden; I didn't dare."

"Obviously that didn't stop you later," Paige muttered, and from Patty's chuckle, she'd been overheard.

"Later, the rules seemed less important," she replied. "And I've never regretted breaking them. Even when we had to give you up-" Before Paige could ask the obvious question, Patty went on, "I wish we'd had a choice. I wish there'd been some other way to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" Paige asked.

"The Elders, mostly," Patty told her. She didn't elaborate on the name, but from the vicious glare she shot the ceiling, Paige wondered if Patty had encountered them as a ghost. "Sam and I were breaking one of their most important rules, and if they'd known, they would have been furious. They would have taken you away, and we probably would have never seen you again. At least, giving you to someone else to raise, to love, we hoped you'd have a happy life."

"I did," Paige said, glancing at the framed picture of her parents on the wall behind her bed. "My parents and I, we were really, really happy. I don't think I would have traded that for anything."

"I'm glad," Patty said, sounding like she meant it. "I do wish we could have kept you with us-"

"I'm here, now," Paige pointed out.

"You are," Patty agreed. Smiling fondly at Paige, she added, "Paige, I love you-"

The sound of a blaring alarm jerked Paige out of a sound sleep and she shot upright in bed, looking around the room in shock. She was alone in the apartment, no ghost sitting at her table, no coffee cooling in the pot on the counter. It had all been just a dream.

Or maybe not.

Getting out of bed after she silenced her alarm clock, Paige padded across the room to find a piece of paper sitting on the table, one that hadn't been there when she'd left for work yesterday morning. 'I love you, darling' was written in delicate, loopy handwriting, and Paige smiled as she folded up the note and tucked it into the frame of her parents' picture.

Then, she headed for the coffee pot to make herself some coffee for real, this time. Her unexpected day off work meant that she had some time to track down her sisters.

-----------

Focused on the packing slip from her latest shipment of alcohol, Piper didn’t bother looking up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. “We’re not open until tonight,” she called out, instead.

“Oh, well I can come back,” a familiar voice said, and Piper popped up from behind the bar to see Paige heading back toward the front door.

“Paige, wait!” she called out, and her youngest sister froze, mid-step. “I didn’t know it was you,” Piper explained as she hurried out onto the floor.

“I gotta say,” Piper said, as she led Paige over to her favorite seating alcove. “We weren’t entirely sure if we were going to see you, again.”

“I wasn’t too sure that I was coming back,” Paige admitted, dropping onto the couch next to Piper. “I’ve had a lot to think about overnight.”

“Magic can be a lot to take in,” Piper replied.

“Magic, demons, long-lost sisters-” Paige trailed off, shaking her head in amazement. “I still don’t know if I’m okay with all this,” she finished, quietly.

“You must be okay with some of it,” Piper pointed out, “if you’re here.”

“Yeah, some of it,” Paige said, with a small smile. “Mostly the sister stuff.”

“Well, that’s the most important part,” Piper said, making Paige laugh. “Seriously, though,” Piper continued, “you know that Prue, Phoebe, and I are always here for you. If you want to talk about anything, we’re here.”

“Thank you,” Paige told her. “That means a lot.”

“In fact,” Piper added, suddenly inspired, “why don’t you come to dinner, tomorrow night? We’ll sit down, we’ll talk, you can grill us about anything - magic, Mom and her Whitelighter, whatever you want to know about.”

“I think I’d like that,” Paige replied. “I think I’d like that, a lot.”

#Charmed #kumquat writes

[oncerpotter2018]

DAY 4 - YOU BEFORE ME // Collapsed Building

The search for mutants wasn't over despite having more than enough student fill the halls of the school. Charles had insisted that Erik help him find more just to be on the safe sides of the large amount of mutants still out there who needs a home.

"I don't know Charles, I don't think there's enough room left in the dorms for more students" Erik mocked as he grinned his usual shark smile at his Charles. Charles laughed knowing that Erik was always the mocking type.

"Very funny Erik but seriously, the more mutants we help, the better chances of them getting a better chance at life" Charles said taking Erik's hand and kissing it softly. Charles looked up from where he sat and Erik walked beside him. Erik had known Charles since the day they met and despite their differences their end goal in life has somewhat have been always the same. To find love with each other no matter what happens. They found every reason to be alone, to be able to find a way places to hide, to make out and kiss when they wanted to. Aftet only a few mouths of this secret activity that they were so desperate to hide, they whole school soon found out. It wasn't long before they were caught kissing in one of this class rooms but Charles ignored the staring, the gasps of his students as they came in for their first lesson. Those are always the best days, days when they would rather get caught then be further apart.

They held each other's hand as they reached the school's underpath where Cerebro was hidden from praying eyes. Charles placed the looked up at Erik once more as their eyes met, Charles smiled the same way he did when he first kissed Erik.

"You know I love you right?" said Charles trying his hardest to convince Erik to kiss him once more, his blue eyes glistening in the bright light that illuminates the metal room. Charles Xavier being the man he was pulled at Erik's sleave, pulling his boyfriend down for another kiss.

"What was that for?" asked Erik, mocking angeted tone.

"You were too slow to respond" said Charles grinning as he licked his lips. Erik loved it when his Charles did, the way his lips were as red as the cherries growing in the backyard. Erik knelt down, his eyes level with Charles' as he kissed his nose.

"I love you" he whispers as stood up and carried on walking. Charles smiled back as he raced to be beside his Erik. As they arrived nearer to Cerebro, Charles with careful hands placed the helmat on his head and waited for the responses to arrive. The wait wasn't long as the lights died red and the different figures standing in their red outlines of young mutants moved around them, doing the same times, being themselves and Charles just beamed a little smile that warmed Erik's hear every time he does that. Erik loved seeing the smile on Charles' face as he found the mutants he was looking for. He laughed along side Charles when he laughed, grinned when Charles did the same. He just knew whatever Charles was thinking, he was lucky to guess it was about him.

"Found any one that takes your fancy?" asked Erik staring at the small and large figures that floated around them. Charles shook his head.

"Nothing so far" he replied, after a few minutes in focus and concentration Charles screamed with glee; the scream gave Erik quite the scare.

"What is it?" asked Erik taking his stance beside his lover, his eyes daring around to see what dangers that laid before them but in a few moments a tugging feeling was felt at his sleeve of his leather jacket.

Charles kept tugging until Erik noticed him.

"Erik, I found some... Oh its wonderful news, that would mean we will have new students for next term" said Charles, his face beaming with pure happiness after find more mutants to join the school. Erik had always admired Charles for his passion and love for mutants.

"I'm glad to hear that, now you can tell me about that after you come back to our room and take a well deserved break" Erik said taking Charles' hand and kissing it. Charles laughed at the kiss. Charles nodded his head and immediately took off the helmet that weighed down on his head.

"You know, I always wondered why I'm so lucky to have you, and then I realised that you were a blessing" Charles said taking his hand and kissed it once more. The words that came from Charles' mouth was a something that Erik needed to hear and without any other second thoughts, Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and stayed there for what felt like a lifetime. They stayed that way until the sound of creaking echoed the walls and the ceiling above them.

"What was that?" asked Erik, leaning back his eyes and ears picking up the sound that the room made.

"I don't know?" relied Charles with the same curiosity as Erik. He wheeled himself back to Cerebro before a sudden blaring noise screeched around them. The emergency sirens howled around them notifying the two mutants down below. Charles could feel the panic voices from the student and staff, the school shook violently as pieces of plaster, plastic and metal gave way to another shake.

Erik and Charles braced themselves for the impact as Erik help steady Charles. Charles held tightly onto Erik for dear life before the shaking got worst. Soon, Charles hears a panic scream coming from upstairs, shouts and desperation to flee as the sirans continued.

"Oh gosh... RAVEN!" screamed Charles, his mind hurting from the pain of his own sister's panic. Charles cried, his voice hitching up. Erik tried to calm him down only for debris to fall down onto them.

"It's okay, it's okay" reassured Erik as he squeezed Charles tighter. But the terrified screams still ran around his mind. The shaking continues forward as the building fell to pieces. Soon the doors of Cerebro opened and there as tried as they were was Raven and Hank. Breathless and slightly bruised from fallen debris, they came out unharmed. Hank gestured forward and laid his hands on Charles' wheelchair.

"What is happening?" asked Charles concerned, his eyes darting back and forth. Erik held Charles' hand tightly hoping this would soon be over.

"There's no time to explain, we need to get out of here now!" screamed Hank as more debris from the ceiling fell from above. Charles loled at Erik.

"Come on, we can still make it" he said as he watched Erik look up. The concentrated look menacing something was wrong.

"Hank, take Charles with you. Protect the children and teachers first. Find the others. Leave now!" he ordered and with that Hank took Charles with him but Charles didn't want I leave Erik behind.

"Erik, what's going on?" he said stopping Hank in his tracks.

"There's no time.. Leave..."

"No! You have to tell me!" shouted Charles. Erik sighed.

"This building is about to collapse. The violent shaking has loosen the support beams and the whole frame is weaken. I can hold it enough for you and the children to get out of here... So do as I say and leave" said Erik as his predictions were right as a large debris of plaster and mental broke from the ceiling. Erik held the metal but the plaster was a direct hit, fortunately it missed him by inches.

Raven, still standing my the doors expressed her concern.

"come on, let's get out of here" she said, waving at Hank to get Charles. Charles had no choice and did as Erik said. Hank ran back to Raven with Charles by their side and the last thing Charles saw was a large piece of metal adn plaster fall where Erik stood as the the place began to fall. Charles tells himself that everything was okay, that Erik was fine as they searched for more children and teachers. By the time they gotten out onto the field, the gasp and the exhausted students and adults watched as the last piece of the school fell to the ground. Broken glass and brick was all was left of their home, their school.

"What happened?" asked an older student, her body still shaking, her arms were occupied with a smaller boy.

"We don't know. But we'll get to. The bottom of this" said Hank trying to calm everyone down. Charles looked on, his eyes darting everywhere. His heart beating twice as fast he frantically looked for when Erik was going to come out, when his had hoped for him to be alive. His heart dropped however when a student who's mutation allows him to examine objects through terminal engery sees something or a someone.

"There's someone still in there" said the boy pointing to the rubble.

"Where Leslie?" replied Hank looking at the direction of where the boy was pointing. Leslie showed Hank where the body was and with the information Hank became Beast and rummaged through the rumble, pulling out piece of debris before choking back a cry. Leslie tried to look but Raven who came along pulled him back noticing the body too.

Charles Xavier knew what happened that day. A mutant who had betrayed their kind sent a high level shock way through the ground. It could have killed someone but in the horrific truth, it did. Charles had to bury Erik that day. He had to watch as the whole school was rebuilt, by the entrance, a small memorial stood guard new and old students, those who witnessed the tragedy that day, sets a reminder to those all of what Erik did that day. His warning saved them all. He saved their lives. If only others could see that way. Charles wheeled himseld down to the newly built Cerebro. He looked up, the walls exactly the same before let out a loud cry, his screams bouncing off the walls.

"You saved us. You knew it didn't you? You knew you weren't going to make it and I love you for that. If you are listening then I just want you to know that I'm grateful and proud. Proud that you did waht you did. You put others before yourself. You made a sacrifice... Oh Erik I miss you" cried Charles, placing Erik's leather jacket around his shoulders keeping him away from the cold. It was the only thing that Erik left behind apart from his love that never truely died with him.

#whumptober2020 #no. 4 #Collapsed building #cherik #Fanfiction #tw: major character death #tw: mention of injury #tw : crushed to death #Angst #Fluffy beginning #Sad ending