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ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years

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Thoughts on B99 season 8 and the finale....

So I must admit, I have been putting off watching the finale as part of being in denial that the show has ended and there are no more new episodes to come. And just like Terry, I was not in denial of being in denial. But I finally pulled the trigger and watched the final two episodes and I do have a lot of thoughts about it and the final season.

Firstly, about season 8 has a whole. I will begrudgingly admit that this might be the weakest season of the show, and a large part of it being due to circumstances surrounding the show. Now weakest does not mean it was a bad season. Weakest seasons of B99 is better than 99% of other shows, pun intended, but I think this season struggled a little dealing with the seriousness of the policing storyline but still trying to find humor, combined with the short episode order, and trying to find appropriate endings for the characters. Its a valiant effort and the season is still enjoyable but I don't think it was completely successful at juggling everything.

The fundamental problem with the policing storyline that it is inherently serious and that clashes with the tone of the show. There was a sense of tonal whiplash throughout the season as a result. It was a bit of a problem when a show as progressive as B99 but also a show that is inherently about good cops trying to do good in their community has to try and appeal to a fanbase that considers policing fundamentally as corrupt. Its a tough line to ride and while the show does try, I can't say it completely worked for me. The premiere was arguably the most uncomfortable episode to watch because of the subject matter and the show was very brave to do that and also later in the season when the show put its lead character as Jake as the person in the wrong in a policing matter. But because of the severity of what is happening in these episodes, its tough to find them very funny even though there are hilarious moments in these episodes. Holt getting huffy was great. But in the end, these aren't episodes that I necessarily feel like revisiting. Also, because the issue of policing is big, it had to be done over the course of the season. Which meant 4 out of 10 episodes were relatively serious. I think Blue Flu is the best episode of the bunch in the storyline as it managed to give us a heartfelt storyline with Jake and Boyle as well as do a good job giving Holt a showcase against McGinley's O'Sullivan, who was an excellent antagonist. I felt the resolution of the storyline was a little too pat and convenient. I know they mentioned that O'Sullivan was re-elected for life but they also made it seem like their proposal could change the NYPD which seems like a very tv thing. I also admittedly rolled my eyes that Amy got promoted from Sergeant of Uniformed officers to being a Chief. No way do I buy that type of promotion. That's like a 5 rank promotion I believe. And if its possible, it kind of felt like uncomfortable favoritism on Holt's part.

The best episodes of the season were the episodes in between the policing storyline, because they were lighthearted and fun and played to the strength of the show. However, the airing schedule also kind of worked against it. The tonal whiplash was very evident because we would get one fairly serious episode coupled with one lighthearted episode back to back and it did feel weird while watching it. I feel like if this was like a 15 episode season and the policing storyline was a bit more spaced out, it wouldn't have felt so weird tonally. I loved Balancing, because of the realistic portrayal of how parenting can be. I also really loved PB&J. I know people have varying opinions on the Pontiac Bandit but I really loved how sweetly sentimental the episode ended up by the end. I also liked that Boyle got to be a part of the episode because I always wanted a Jake, Judy, and Boyle episode. I think the way the season executed the Holt and Kevin storyline was exquisite. I was initially not sure why they went about the route of spitting them up but they did an incredible job at their reunion storyline. The Lake House was a hilarious start. I love that the show came through on the commitment of their vow renewal from like season 2 I believe. Holt and Kevin got the vow renewal, the romantic kiss in the rain. It was wonderful. The season had some strong peraltiago moments, specifically in Balancing and in the finale.

The one episode I was a little meh about was Game of Boyles. I really don't think in a final season which already was so short that we needed an episode about Boyle not being a blood Boyle. It wasn't even a particularly big showcase for Joe and Charles' weird habits. The highlight of the episode was the big Holt and Kevin reunion but the episode was otherwise a bit flat. I think because of the fact that the episode order was so short, a few of the characters seemed genuinely wasted. I believe Stephanie Beatriz was pregnant throughout the shooting. With Covid, maybe it was part of the deal for her to be a more minor role but apart from the premiere and the finale, she really isn't used much despite the premiere kind of pitching her as a driving point of this policing storyline which then pivoted mostly to Holt and Amy. Terry was really completely sidelined all season. He's a hilarious side character in some episodes like The Lake House but he didn't really have a single episode where he got to be front and center. Boyle got a few good moments but, like I said, Game of Boyles wasn't even really a big Charles showcase episode. I think his best episode was Blue Flu. The season really felt more lead centric on Jake, Holt, and Amy. Again, I feel this was mainly because of the fact that the policing story took up half the season and there wasn't really enough room in the rest of the season for the others to be showcased. As a result we didn't get any real detective episodes, no Pimento episode, no Vulture return, no return of Jake and Amy's parents etc... all of which could have been fun.

I feel like I have pointed out the issues I had with the season quite a bit, mainly because the show has set such high standards for seasons past. The episodes are still ranging from decent to really good. I don't think there is any episode that comes as an all time B99 classic in this season, but there isn't any real bad episodes either. So its still a solid season, which brings us to the finale.

The finale was fantastic and I loved every aspect of it barring one specific element. I think the showrunners made the right call by knowing what the show is good at and making a true lighthearted romp as the final two episodes. The heist is just too important a tradition for the show not to happen and it feels appropriate that the show ended on a grand heist. The finale did an incredible job incorporating so many guest stars seamlessly. I also loved that Gina got to come back in a substantial role in the finale. Given how big a part she was in the show, it was only right that she was there at the very end. Almost every key relationship got some great moments. Jake and Amy had some heartfelt moments, Amy and Rosa had a lovely moment, Jake and Charles had a great friendship moment. The only relationship I would have liked another scene with is Jake and Rosa, which is probably my favorite male/female friendship on any show. Loved that Terry gets to be Captain, which he deserves. But in the end, the heart of this show has always been the relationship between Holt and Jake. The final scene between them at the precinct is played completely straight and it absolutely brilliant acting from both Andre Braugher and Andy Samberg. It got me really teary and emotional. But wisely, the show ends on an upbeat note which makes you feel good that these people will always be in each other's lives. I also hope they use the notion of a heist to give us a holiday heist special every once in a while. I would love that.

The one element I don't like is Jake resigning and becoming a stay at home dad. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being a stay at home Dad or Mom. It just doesn't make sense for me for Jake. I think everybody saw hints that he was going to leave the NYPD, and I was ok with that, and I love the fact that the show used Jake's want to be a father as the basis of his departure because that makes sense for him as a character, but I just don't seem him being happy just as a stay at home dad, no matter how sweet that sentiment is. Andy Samberg doesn't get enough praise with how he sells emotional sincerity, but just two episodes prior, Jake was moaning about how he was incredibly bored during his suspension and how he was desperate for interaction to the point of going to the Boyle house for distraction. On top of that, he admitted to being really bummed that he was unable to catch Franzia himself. It just doesn't seem like he would be happy being away from a life without investigations to keep his mind working. Investigating wasn't just something he did just to earn money, he genuinely loved it. I would have felt better if he said he was going to join Rosa as a PI or start his own PI business. Just a one liner saying that he would do something which would continue his passion while still being able to be there for Mac as a parent. It also gave me an uncomfortable callback to my least favorite episode of the show, Casecation, where Jake was mocked when he argued that having a child might compromise their jobs which they both loved and Amy argued that getting promoted would allow her more control over her hours. And now we are at the finale and Jake's argument was completely right and in the end Jake is compromising on his professional career for Amy. There is no doubt in my mind that Jake would have wanted to continue being a detective and a father were it not for the specific circumstances. Jake choosing his family and Amy is no surprise, but I doubt that would have been his preference. On a more practical note, it is not even remotely believable that a couple with a small child living in Brooklyn can survive on a single income, even if Amy is a Chief. I am absolutely certain that the original endgame was for him to join the FBI. They introduced that idea at the beginning of season 7 for a reason. I think it got torpedoed because of the rewrite of the season arc. I like to headcanon that Jake got back to doing investigating on some level because its a shame if he isn't able to use his natural talents to use.

Anyways, the season overall isn't the home run I hoped it would be but given the circumstances, they did a pretty solid job. It isn't necessarily the season I would revisit as much on rewatch but it still delivers the heart and humor that we love from the show. A 7/10 for me. Like Jake said, goodbyes are inherently sad but the show has had a good run and I am glad its getting to go out on its own terms. I will miss this cast together and I really hope they all find success and I can follow them to other films and tv shows. So lets give it up for the cast and crew. One last time, NINE-NINE!

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victorianwestpiano · 3 years

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Holt Farrier and Michael Banks comparassion:

(For the ones who haven’t seen Mary Poppins Returns (2018) or Dumbo (2019), this will have potential spoilers!)

I think is safe to say that Dumbo and Mary Poppins Returns are my favourite live-action Disney movies of this last decade. One a remake and the other a sequel that took 54 years to come out.

Yet, in both films, I found two characters who had more in common than other people had thought: Holt Farrier and Michael Banks.

Since here in my bolg I mostly talk about Holt, now I wanted to talk about Michael as well, ‘cause like Holt, I love him so much!

Let’s start with what these two share in common:

-Both are widowers, and the loss of their wives is something which, through out the films, hurted them a lot.

-They’re both parents. Michael has 3 children (John, Anabelle and Georgie) and Holt has 2 (Milly and Joe).

-They struggle with both the loss of their wives and the jobs they loved. Having to get more unexciting ones. Michael used to be a painter and now works as a teller in the bank where his father used to work. And Holt used to be an equestrian performer in the circus (The Stallion Star), and now his boss Max set him to be an elephant caretaker.

-They’re trying to be strong fathers for their children.

-The two men live in very difficult time periods: Holt in 1919, after WW1 and Michael in the 1930′s London in The Great Depression. This points out that both characters have economic problems.

-Both their perspectives are changed and family bonds became stronger thanks to magical situations. Holt taking care of a flying elephant (Dumbo) and Michael’s childhood comes back to life again thaks to Mary Poppins.

-And both thought that their wives (Annie Farrier and Kate Banks) always had the answers and solutions for the problems. Now that they’re gone, Holt and Michael felt hopless and not knowing what to do correctly.

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There’s more similarities here and there but now I want to talk on how these two deal with their struggles in their own movies.

For the people who watched Dumbo, we see that Holt did not only lost his wife, but he also went to WW1, lost his arm during his service there, he deals with the guilt of not being there for Annie while she was dying and he finds out that his horses for his show were sold.

So, you can say that our one-armed cowboy has a little bit more to complain than Michael.

However, that’s where the difference between them emerges:

Despite that Holt went through more harshness in his life than Banks, he still managed to look forward to the future, not wanting to stay in the past and ignoring his pain. Michael does try to move forward too, but his grief of loosing his wife was so strong that he let that exact grief to took over him in his actions and choices.

Holt wanted right away to return to his show in the circus as a Stallion Star when he came back from the war, even though he was handicapped. Whilst Michael decided to became more practical and leave his artist job, knowing it won’t give him more resources. Like, he just gave up.

Don’t get me wrong, we do see Holt hurting because of all the things that happened to him, but we also see that he’s very headstrong and proud so he couldn’t allow to show his pain, at least, not in public. He does show sadness but he doesn’t cry out, just tearing up, showing how hard he tried to supress his tears.

In Mary Poppins Returns, Michael breaks down in front of his children, feeling the whole pressure of the world on his shoulders.

In that case, Michael is a little bit more vulnerable than Farrier and easly sensitive. Which is ironic since Holt saw horrible things in the war; like death, agony, gunshots, he lost a limb and his wife. Nevertheless, that can depend on the person. Despite of not going to the first war, Michael’s own situation can be as hard as expiriencing fighting in a battlefield. In this case, with himself.

Michael Banks in the beggining it was told he was about to loose his house because he did not have enough money to pay the whole loan of mortgage to the bank (which, for me personally, it was very confusing to follow). Anyway, the thought of also loosing the home where he grew up, shared with Kate and his children was another stressful obstacle for him, even in the movie he said to his sister: “I can’t loose this house, Jane. She’s still here.” Obvioulsly, refearing to his wife.

Other thing to mention is that even though the war affected Holt, he never lost his temper to a point of insanity. I mean, he did get angry once in a while but he always tried to stay in control and being firm.

With Michael, he snaped and screamed not once, not twice but three times at his children. I guess because what his children did in those moments bothered him directly and not in general.

The last thing which is kind of a simple is in the scene when Holt returns home, he puts on his hat he whore on his shows and grabbed his horse saddle in a way like those objects were treasures for him. With a very emotional value. Michael in the other hand he tossed away in the trash the kite he used to love to fly with his family as a kid in the first Mary Poppins movie. Like it was nothing.

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These characters made their movies for me, and what better actors to portray them than Colin Farrell and Ben Whishaw ;-)

#dumbo 2019 #mary poppins returns #holt farrier #michael banks #colin farrell #ben whishaw #Disney #disney live action #mary poppins #dumbo

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writefandoms · 3 years

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YOU ARE SO SWEET! So as for my request Can I have a one-shot with Alucard from Castlevania and Phoenix reader? She was great friends with Belmont family but went into a very deep sleep and then the tria found and awakened her before they went to figgt with Dracula. After that she devoted herself to Alucard and stays with him. It's obvious they have feelings, like they hold hands, kiss each others forehead etc. Then Sumi and Taka comes, she senses somerhing evil from them and tries to warn him mulriple times and then he snaps and breaks her heart so she leaves. At that rime The other two prays for help to her, Alucard understand his mistake and prays for her as well before... you know the scene.

So she chooses Alu and literally comes througg the window with her wings and they fight but she gets terribly hurt especially her wings and they stabbed ger heart. But she comes back to life and tease him like "I don't die, remember?"

Something angst and fluffy would be appreciated. I'm sending you big bear hugs and hope that you will be able to write my request soon, because there is almost no one who writes for my baby! 🥰🤧

This took a long ass time to write lol I changed some things but I really like how it came out! Enjoy❤️❤️

My Angel

Summary: You and Adrian have an disagreement about two new guest residing in the castle.

Word Count: 1.9k

His beauty was almost intimidating. Silky blonde hair, that you love to gently run your fingers through. Golden eyes that have seen so much pain and suffering. His skin was pale and flawless, long faded scar across his chest only adding to his perfection.

Adrian likes to lie and say that your beauty goes beyond his. In his eyes, you’re an earthbound angel sent to him as a gift. Not only just referring to your perfect face or body, but the large wings that sprout from your back.

White wings with light brown roots, that usually lay folded on your back when you aren’t using them. There’s been some embarrassing incidents between you and Adrain, mainly dealing with your feathers. Sometimes they’ll get ruffled and need to be smoothed in a place you can’t reach, leading you to drag yourself to his doorstep, desperately trying to avoid eye contact as you ask him for help.

Choosing to live with Adrian after he was forced to kill his father, you two have been through a lot together. So the switch from constantly moving to a domestic lifestyle was an odd but welcomed change.

Sitting at the kitchen table watching him gracefully move through the kitchen was always so entertaining. His hair fell in soft waves over his shoulder, but never seemed to get in his way.

“You could always help you know.” He spoke with his back to you, as he bent over peeking at the fish in the oven.

“I would only get in your way,” You threw back, a perverse smirking finding its way onto your face. “Besides, the view is much more appealing from over here.”

He snaps upright, casting a playful glare your way. “Go clear the table, and your filthy mind.”

Standing to gather the books you had on the table, you pile them on the counter. The research materials from the Belmont Hold was always so fascinating, you constantly found yourself entranced with the knowledge contained in the pages.

Adrian doesn’t like to admit it, but he’s a bit jealous of your admiration for Trevor Belmont’s Hold rather than the vast scientific knowledge his father has collected. You try not to acknowledge the petty rivalry, but think it’s sort of endearing.

Opening the cabinet to get the plates and silverware. He moves behind you, gently pushing past your wings. His presence stays near you, and you feel his fingers run across the middle of your right wing.

“Adrian!” Letting out a loud giggle as you push yourself further into the counter, trying to escape his attack. He laughs at your wiggling, and the way you unconsciously flap your wings.

He seized his attack, his hands finding their way around your waist. He rests his chin on your neck and pulls you back so your wings are flush against his back. Leaving a soft kiss on your neck, you run your hand down his cheek caressing the soft skin.

Comfortable silence fills the room as you both basking in each other's presence.

—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—

Those twins were up to something, you just had this bad feeling in your gut.

Taka and Sumi were their name, and their story was heartbreaking. And you felt sorry for the suffering that they were forced to go through. It was easy to see that they were extremely desperate, and you know all too well how desperate people can do awful things.

Adrian, on the other hand, welcomed the two into his home with open arms. Cooking for them, training with them, and even brought them into the Belmont Hold.

They constantly asked about moving the castle, making you even more suspicious of their true nature.

Adrian didn’t want to listen to any of your concerns though. “You’re simply overreacting.”

“Overreacting? Adrian you just met these people, you don’t know them!” He rolled his eyes brushing past you.

“I will not listen to you if you’re going to yell.”

Reaching out you grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving, “Please Adrian. I know you feel like this is what your mother would have wanted.”

“I just don’t want you to place your trust into people who will only end up hurting you in the end.” You trail off, eyes searching his for a hint of understanding.

He yanks his arm out of your grasp, “I think I already have.” His words hit you harder than you thought they would.

“What?” Is all you manage to say, his glare hurting you as much as his venomous words.

“I am passing down the knowledge of the world to two people who want to use it to help others.” He pauses, looking away. “If you can’t want to accept that, then maybe you should go.”

The tense silence that fills the room weighs heavily between you two.

An eternity passes and you manage to hold your tears back, straightening your back and put on a strong face.

“Fine.”

Your feet feel heavy as you walk past him, pausing at the door for a moment. You prayed that he would pull you away from the door, tell you how much you mean to him and how he needed you to stay.

When that moment never came, you yanked the door open and left the blonde alone with his thoughts. “Goodbye, Alucard.” He visibly flinched at the use of his other title.

If he wanted to push you away to act like the people’s hero, then so be it.

Packing a small sack of clothing, food, and money that would last you at least a week. But the nearest town was only a three days flight away, so it should be enough. You didn’t know where you were going to go, but you didn’t really think that far. Pride tended to lead you to make rather drastic decisions without thinking.

You couldn’t see Adrian standing by any of the windows, giving you even more initiative to open your wings and take flight, leaving the man alone with his new friends.

—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—

A few hours of flying gave you some time to think and maybe you had overreacted. If he felt he was doing his dead mother justice by helping strangers in need, then who were you to stop him.

He needed some sort of closure after all the trauma he had suffered, and perhaps passing down this knowledge would help him mentally.

‘I really hate my big mouth sometimes.’ You thought mentally slapping yourself for all the awful accusations you made about the twins.

If you turned around right now, you could make it back before the sun rises. Swallow your pride and apologize to Adrian for being awful, and try to help him in any way you can. He’s been through enough and needs someone to help him.

“Shit!” You growled out, wings fluttering to a holt before spinning around and flying back.

It’s been a few months since you’ve flown this long, obvious from the slight ache coming from your wings. But despite your cramping muscles you still pushed through, moving faster through the air.

Two hours of flying south, turned into only an hour back north. It didn’t take much longer til you could see the trail leading up to the castle through the trees. A feeling of dread used to wash over you at its sight, but now filled your heart with joy.

Adrian’s three bedroom windows sat on the top floor, and despite his vampire blood he slept at night. The sun was full set now, meaning that he was most likely in his room. Only a few more minutes flying until you reached the castle.

This was a perfect opportunity for a dramatic entrance. Like something you’ve read in one of those romance novels in the library. Land on his window seal, large wings casting a dark shadow across his room waking him from his slumber. He would rush to open his window and you would collapse into his arms, sorrow filled words as you apologized for your cruelty. He would have one of his witty comebacks and embrace you in return.

Your daydream was ruined when you caught sight of multiple bodies on his bed. Instantly recognizing the two naked bodies as the twins.

Abruptly, you seized your flying choosing to not get any closer. Wings flapping to keep you in the air as you stared in horror at the imagery in front of you. Bodies entwining together with a sheen layer of sweat. The light skin woman moves to the side, exposing the naked pale beauty beneath her.

Your heart pounded in your ears, brain and heart struggling to agree on what to do. Part of you wanted to fly away, continue your journey. But another part of you wanted to throw a fit, scream at the half vampire for hurting you like this.

The pale body made a fast movement, his torso jerking off the bed slightly. But something about it didn’t seem right, the twins were sitting upright looking down at Adrian. The jerks at first appeared to be fits of pleasure, are clearly out of distress.

The twins pulled out daggers, exposing their true motives. Without think you flew towards the window, there was no time to run up to his room. Moving to enter through the window on the left of his bed, you prayed you would be fast enough.

“Adrian!” Your screams were dorwned out by the crashing of bokeh glass. Landing on the burgundy carpet, you groan in pain, thick drops of blood stained the ground around you. Shards of glass fall from your wings, some stuck withing the muscle.

Running over to the bed, the twins no longer sit above the half blood. Instead the two lay flat on there backs, pool of red spilling from their twitching lips. A floating swords with a thin trail of blood leers above the bed.

Despite the pain you staggered over to Adrians still form. His head turned to the side, splatter of blood across his cheek. Blonde hair spills over his eyes blocking his true expression.

“Dear God! Adrian…” There were heavy silver wires wrapped around him that must have been tying him down to the bed.

Loosened drastically by the twins losing control of the magic weapon, you were able to peel them away from the man. Carefully trying to avoid having the silver coming in contact with his skin, but based on the scarred tissue it probably didn’t matter.

“I shouldn’t have left,” your voice wavered at the empty look in his eyes. Hollow like a corpse, a broken doll.

He layed limply, allowing you to move him around. You move onto the bed, feeling him flinch at your close proximity. Moving back slightly, you pull his white sheet over his body. There’s a moment of silence before you hear a soft exhale of breath leave his body. Followed by another, then another. Soon he’s shaking besides you, tears flow freely down his cheeks.

Turning on his side, he reaches out to grip your sleeve bringing your hand closer to his face. As much as you long to hold him, you know he needs time so you allow him to touch you however he's comfortable with. He clutches your hand close to his face, you feel the wetness of his cheeks.

The moon shines down on both of you.

Sobs fill the icy night air, making it clear that God has long since abandoned this castle.

#x reader #alucard #castlevania #alucard x reader #adrian tepes #adrian fahrenheit tepes #adrian tepes x reader #fanfic

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shawnssongs · 4 years

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Better [2]

JJ can’t help but fall for his best friend, but what about the rule? Pogues don’t mack on other pogues. He thinks she deserves better than him anyway...

word count: 3,141 warnings: language, plus it’s unedited... think that’s it.

catch up with PART 1 or check out my masterlist here!

“Why’d you take a shower?” John B asked you as you made your way down to Heywards to pick up Pope. John B said Pope needed to finish up a few chores before his dad would let him come.

“Uh, I mean you were gone and I just felt like it. I’m sorry if I wa-”

John B just laughed at your nerves. “It’s okay, Y/n. You can take one whenever. I was just wondering.”

“Oh, okay.”

John B steered the boat carefully, and you made the mistake of looking at JJ. He was staring right back at you with an amused smirk on his face.

You just roll your eyes and give him a light kick to the calf.

When you made it to the dock, Pope wasn’t outside.

“Pope!” JJ yelled. “C’mon man!”

When he didn’t come out, John B stood up. “I got him. Be right back.”

When John B was out of sight, you turned to JJ.

“So...”

“So what?” He asked just to annoy you. He knew what you wanted to talk about.

“What was that?”

JJ could tell you were being serious, so he stopped joking around. “I think it was two people doing something really fucking stupid.”

Ouch.

“But...” he continued. “I think, no matter how stupid, those two should probably keep doing it.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. JJ hated feeling vulnerable, so he always spoke in code like that to mask his true feelings, but that wasn’t good enough for you right now. He needed to be just a bit vulnerable right now.

“What do you mean, JJ?”

“I mean...” He trailed off, trying to come up with his next words. “I kind of want to redeem myself.”

You just scoff and shake your head.

“Y/n, wait! No. Tha-That’s not what I meant. You know it’s not.”

“Then tell me! What exactly do you want this to be? We’ve been dancing around each other for months, and I’m tired of guessing.”

His blue eyes stare into yours, and he speaks slowly and clearly. “I want you. I want you, and only you.”

You couldn’t help the small smile that started to form on your face. “You do?”

“I do.”

“That wasn’t just a one time thing?”

“I told you. I need to redeem myself.” JJ joked, earning a punch in the arm which had you both laughing. “I’m serious, though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Kiss me.”

JJ obliges, and he kisses you as you feel his hand come up to cup your jaw.

You pull away after a bit, another question on your mind.

“Just between us?”

JJ nodded. “No pogue on pogue macking, right?” You nod. “If the other pogues don’t know, it doesn’t count.”

“Got him!” You hear John B yell, him and Pope walking towards the dock.

“What took so long?” JJ asked, scooting away from you a bit.

“My dad made John B helps us put some stuff away first.”

The four of you just bantered until you made it to your next stop to pick up Kiara. While you’d probably say JJ was your true best friend, Kiara was a close second. You could talk to her about stuff you couldn’t talk to the guys about. Not to mention, the two of you just liked having the company of another girl sometimes. The boys could be a little much...

“Hi guys!” She greeted, cooler in hand as usual.

“You’re a lifesaver, Kie.” You complimented as JJ helped her onto the boat.

“You guys really only like me for my beer, huh?” She asked and you all agreed, joking, of course.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” She asked.

Pope answered for you all. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Water’s too calm to surf,” JJ explained.

“And the fishing’s been shit recently,” John B finished for him.

“Let’s just get out there and swim,” you suggested. “It’s too fucking hot to do anything else.”

The summer sun was beating down on you, and you wanted nothing more than to stick your head in Kie’s cooler. Of course, you could take your shirt off, but none of the guys had even done that yet, and you were not going to be the first.

After a while, you all found a place to anchor the boat. Since you’d already finished your beer, you were the first one to rip off your clothes and jump into the water.

“Oh my god,” you practically moaned. “This feels so nice.”

Soon, everyone had jumped in, and your nice calm swim turned into a wrestling match. Pope was splashing everyone, and JJ kept grabbing you and trying to flip you over him.

After a while, you noticed the five of you had gotten pretty far from the boat, pushed back by the waves.

“Wanna go back?” You asked the group, and they all agreed.

“Let’s race.” Kie suggested.

You were always up for a race. You used to be on the swim team until it had gotten too expensive to be a part of, so you pretty much always won.

“3...” John B started. “2...”

JJ started swimming before he hit one and the rest of you took off. You grabbed JJ’s calf, pulling him backwards and stopping his forward motion.

“Hey!” He complained.

“Cheater!” You yelled back and swam forward. You knew he couldn’t catch you.

As usual, you reached the boat first. John B was next, then Kie, then Pope, and finally JJ. He seemed to have given up and slowed down towards the end.

“That wasn’t fair. Y/n pulled me back.” He pouted.

“You went before one!” Pope argued back.

“Yeah, JJ. You get what you get.”

“It’s okay.” You spoke up. “JJ just felt the need to cheat since we all know he has endurance issues.”

The four of you laughed as JJ’s face blushed red. He sent you a glare, mouthing ‘you’ll pay for that’ while the others were too distracted by their own laughter.

For another couple of hours, thd five of you just hung out on the boat, laying flat on your backs to dry off and soak up the sun, which had gotten a little more tolerable as the day went on.

“So what do you guys want to do with your lives?” Kie asked, a little buzzed from the mix of beer and weed.

“I want to go to school for forens-” Pope started to speak but you all cut him off.

“We know!”

“But I’m serious,” Kie continued. “Y/n, what are you going to do when we’re out of high school?”

“Um,” you thought about it for a second, handing the half smoked joint of to JJ who was right next to you. “I mean I want to go to college. Maybe animal sciences, environmental science. I don’t know.”

“Besides school.” Kie prodded.

“I mean I want to get married. Have kids...”

You didn’t know it, but JJ’s heart was racing next to you.

“John B?” Kie finally moved on, but JJ tuned out.

You wanted to go to college. You wanted a family. He could never give you what you wanted. He couldn’t be what you deserved. You needed someone *better*. But it was okay. You guys were still in high school, right? JJ could be a little selfish if he wanted to, and that’s exactly what he was going to do.

“JJ?” He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his name.

“Huh?”

“What about you?” Kie asked, and JJ swore he could feel your eyes turn to watch him.

“Uh, I don’t know, man. Just living day by day, I guess.” It wasn’t a lie, and it was better than saying it didn’t matter what he wanted because there was no way he was ever getting out of the outer banks. He was stuck here, just like his dad.

“Holt shit!” John B laughed, sitting up from his spot on the boat. “Y/n, did you forget sunscreen?”

The rest of you sit up as well, all eyes on your reddened body.

“Oh my god! No!”

JJ placed a finger on your stomach and you slapped his hand away.

“Shit!” He laughed at the white mark left where his finger had been.

“I put on sunscreen this morning!”

“And then you took a shower...” John B reminded you.

“Ughhh.” You groan, falling back against the boat.

“Guess that means it’s probably time to head home, huh?” Kie suggested, and the rest of you agreed. You were going to have a hell of a time dealing with this sunburn. At least it wasn’t your back.

You dropped Kie off first, as usual, but she promised she’d come to your place tomorrow morning with some aloe for you. You had the cheap gel, but she had access to the real stuff, and you weren’t going to turn that down.

Pope was next, and he made sure to give you a hug before getting off the boat. It was a normal occurrence so you didn’t think anything of it, but just as you felt his skin come into contact with yours and heard the laughing of the three boys, you shrieked and pulled away from him.

“Damn it, Pope! Get out of here!”

“JJ told me to do it.” Pope explained.

“Fuck you!” You yell at your blonde best friend.

“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

You just ignore him, not giving him the satisfaction of a response and turn back to Pope who was now on the dock.

“For such a smart guy, I’m surprised you haven’t learned not to listen to JJ.”

You heard John B and JJ laughing behind you as you watched Pope struggle to come up with a response. He ended up giving up, walking away without another word.

Just as John B pulled away from the dock, you felt a stinging sensation on your stomach, and of course, it was JJ, wrapping just arms around you from behind.

“Fuck off, JJ! This isn’t funny!”

“It’s a little funny.” John B cuts in.

“It actually hurts though.”

While you were talking, JJ decided to light another joint. He knew weed wasn’t a painkiller, obviously, but he was sure it would keep your mind off the burn. Plus, he took every chance he could to smoke, especially with you.

“John B?” You start, taking a hit from the joint before continuing. “Can I borrow some sweats and a long sleeve or something when we get back to your place? I don’t really want to walk back home in the sun.”

“No.”

“What?”

John B chuckled. “I mean yes and no. You can borrow clothes if you want but you don’t have to. I’ll drive you back.”

“What?” You ask. “No, John B. Don’t waste your gas. I can walk home. I do it all the time.”

“I’m driving you back home, Y/n. That’s final.”

You rolled your eyes because the boys always seem to treat you like their little sister, but you were secretly kind of glad they took such good care of you.

When the pogue was successfully docked outside of the Chateau, John B made his way inside, but you and JJ stayed out on the boat to finish the joint. No reason to waste it, right?

“C’mere.” JJ spoke softly before lifting the blunt to his mouth.

You leaned in, sure of what he was about to do.

And just as expected, he held the smoke in, releasing it into your mouth as you pressed your lips together. JJ watched in awe as you let the second hand smoke out in rings, so expertly.

“I love when you do that,” he admitted.

“Yeah?” You smirk at him.

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

Before you could respond, he leaned in for another kiss. You felt his tongue on your lower lip, and you allowed him entrance to your mouth, tangling your tongues together. The kiss grew more and more heated by the second, all until JJ’s hand found your waist and gripped harshly.

“Ow!” You screeched. “JJ!” You push him off of you, looking down at the white mark left on your skin from where his palm covered your burn.

“Oh shit. Fuck, Y/n I-”

“You okay, Y/n?” You hear John B call from the Chateau.

“Yeah!” You yell back to him, deciding to get out of the boat. The longer you stayed out there with JJ, first of all, you were probably getting even more burnt than you already were, but second of all, the more likely you were to get caught. It seemed like John B already had a suspicion, and you weren’t going to make it easy for him to confirm it.

You head into the chateau, your discarded clothes in hand because you really didn’t feel like putting clothes back on over your burn.

“Shit, Y/n. You’re as red as a lobster.”

“Thanks for pointing that out, John B,” you tease, “I had no idea.” To be honest, the color did look even worse now that you were inside. And of course, it was only the front of your body. This burn was going to screw up your tan lines all summer.

“You can grab some clothes from my room if you want ‘em. You know where they are.”

“Thanks, JB. And I’m sorry to ask this, but-”

John B nodded before you even got the chance to ask. “Yes, you can take another shower.”

“Thank you, you’re the best!” You kiss him on the cheek, just as JJ comes through the front door.

When they finally hear the shower start, John B decides to have a little fun with JJ. He could tell something was going on between the two of you, but he knew neither of you would admit it. You just happened to be great at keeping secrets, and sometimes you were an almost scarily good actor. And JJ, he was pretty see through, but like he always said, ‘deny deny deny.’ Even when people could tell something was up with him, he never broke. Though, John B was pretty sure he knew how to get him to admit it this time.

“JJ, can I ask you something?”

“Uh, yeah?” JJ sat down on the couch, trying not to think about what happened there just this morning.

“What do you think about Y/n?” John B sat down next to JJ, looking inquisitive.

“W-what do you mean?” JJ asked, uncomfortable.

“Like, what do you think about her? Would you date her?” John B was trying to hard not to laugh at JJ’s expression.

JJ knew John B would think something was up if he acted awkward about this, so he answered like he figured he probably would have a couple months before.

“I think she’s fuckin’ hot as hell. Confident, funny, smart. Did you know she gets straight A’s?”

“I did.” John B nodded.

“I mean yeah, I’d hookup with her. But pogues don’t mack on pogues, right?” JJ smiled, thinking he’d been pretty convincing.

John B nodded, still acting contemplative. “But you wouldn’t date her?”

JJ struggled to come up with an answer for that one. “I mean, you know I don’t really date... not my thing.”

“But do you think she’s date worthy? Girlfriend material?”

“What are you getting at?” JJ finally asked, annoyed with all of John B’s prodding.

“I want to ask her out.”

Well that wasn’t where JJ was expecting that conversation to go. He choked, but tried to mask it by clearing his throat.

“What?” He turned to face his tanned friend.

“I know the rule but, I mean, she’s kind of perfect.”

“Since when have you been interested in her?” JJ got defensive.

“I don’t know. A while?” John B hadn’t thought that far into the lie. “But what do you think? Should I ask her out?”

No, you shouldn’t, asshole. “I don’t think so, JB. The ru-”

“Fuck the rule!”

“Still no.” JJ answered, and John B knew he was finally getting somewhere. “I don’t think she’d be interested in you.”

“Well, I think she would be. Sends me signals all the time.” John B was lying. You and him were great friends, but you both knew that was it. Nothing more would ever come of it. He saw you like a sister and you saw him like a brother. JJ didn’t need to know that though. “I mean she takes my clothes all the time. She’s always kissing me on the cheek. She always sits next to me when we’re watching movies... leaning into me.”

“Alright, stop, okay?” JJ was fed up. “Y/n wouldn’t date you because she’s seeing someone.”

“What?” John B acted surprised.

JJ just kept going with the lie. “Yeah, she’s keeping it a secret.”

“But she told you?” John B raised his eyebrows.

“Of course she told me. She tells me everything.”

“If she was in a relationship, why would she tell you and not Kie?”

JJ didn’t have an answer for that one. He was right. If you were in a relationship, Kie would be the first person you’d go to. “I don’t know. She just did.”

“Who is it, JJ?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“JJ, just tell me who it is.”

“No!”

“Fine, I’ll go ask her.” John B stormed off to the bathroom door and JJ ran after him.

“Fine!” JJ cracked, gripping John B’s arm which was about to knock. “Get away from the door.”

John B backed up, and JJ released his hand.

“You can’t tell her you know.”

“Know what?” John B wasn’t going to stop until JJ admitted it. He mostly just wanted to see JJ day he was dating someone.

“It’s me. Y/n and I... we’re together.”

John B just smiled and laughed.

“Wh-”

“That took way longer than I expected,” John B admitted.

“You knew?” JJ looked at his friend in disbelief.

“Of course I knew. Been expecting it for months. Then this morning, the sex smell, the shower, Y/n acting so weird. I knew. I just needed you to confirm it.” John B was smiling, extremely proud of himself.

“First of all, you’re an asshole, John B. And second of all, don’t tell anyone.” JJ raised his finger to John B as if he was threatening him.

“I won’t.”

“Not Kie, not Pope, not Y/n. This stays between us, alright?”

John B hit JJ’s hand away from him. “I get it, JJ. You know they’re going to figure it out though, right?”

The water in the bathroom stopped, and they knew you’d be out any second.

“Not a word,” JJ warned, going to sit back down on the couch.

John B put his hands up in surrender and stalked back to his room.

sorry, this was kind of a filler chapter. hopefully you enjoyed! I promise it’ll get better.

Part 3? Please send feedback!

Also if you want to be added to the taglist, let me know :) @tangledinsparkles @treestarrrrrrrr @parkersdarling @eternalharry @sarahsmaybank @mileven-reddie

#jj maybank #jj x reader #jj x y/n #jj x you #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank x you #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank fic #jj maybank fanfic #jj maybank fanfiction #outer banks fic #outer banks fanfic #outer banks fanfiction

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izlaria · 3 years

Text

Someone you like (part 5)

This is the fifth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform.

This and the fourth chapter are also inspired by the “Distance” and “Talk to me” animatics by @suerakocy, so please check that out and give the artist some praise. They deserve it so much, because those pieces are beautiful.

Summary: It takes Lance years to come back to the Garrison but, when he does, his friends are there for him.

We finally get Lance pining hour!

Trigger warning: Talk of PTSD and mention of blood, but no description of violence. The story really just starts right in it.

24 and 22 years old

Lance woke up to a dark, quiet room and for a moment he couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. The air felt stuck in his throat, because as soon as he inhaled the sound of his haggard breathing would break the silence and alert whatever awaited in the shadows.

But there’s nothing there, Lance told himself.

He had dreamt of the war, again. In his nightmare, there was another explosion and Lance hadn’t been quick enough to shield whoever was with him in the room. The darkness that followed was oppressing, dense enough that he’d felt like it was water flooding his lungs.

And then the water had turned into blood.

He sat up in bed, trying to control his shaking. It had taken years and a lot of therapy, but Lance had managed not to fall into panic attacks every time such memories made their way into his dreams. Still, he was glad to have built his own house on the farm grounds. His parents deserved a good night’s rest, especially after what Lance had put them through during his time with Voltron.

He reached for his cellphone with unsteady fingers. After their last battle against the Galra, Lance had learned to leave it on during his sleep, just in case he woke up like this: with adrenaline running through his veins and the vague sensation that something was terribly wrong.

He hesitated over his contact list, before finally scrolling down and pressing call. It didn’t take long for the other person to answer.

“Is anyone hurt?” was Keith’s greeting.

“No.” Lance swallowed once, trying to erase the grit from his voice. “Nightmare.”

There was a second of silence and then the rustle of sheets. “Okay.” He heard Keith exhale harshly, but Lance knew it wasn’t in annoyance. The whole team had gone through this more times than they could count. “Okay.” Keith seemed a little calmer now. “Are you all right?”

“Not really,” Lance confessed. He leaned against the headboard and pulled his knees up. It was easier to concentrate on his breathing when he wasn’t lying down. “It was Sendak’s first attack, again.”

“You’ve been thinking about that one a lot lately.” Keith’s observation made Lance grind his teeth. It was true, but he didn’t need to say it.

“Could you call her?” Lance breathed out. His voice sounded pained and he winced, thankful that only Keith was privy to it.

“Lance, we can’t keep doing this.” His friend’s tone was weighted with his own share of hurt. “If you want to know how she is, then you need to call Pidge.”

“I do call Pidge. Just not…”

“Not when you are feeling vulnerable?” Keith sighed into the phone, sounding more tired than normal.

“You weren’t sleeping, were you?” Lance latched onto this realization. He felt stupid not to have recognized it earlier, with how quickly Keith had answered the call.

“Don’t change the subject.” The reply came harshly and it only served to confirm his suspicions.

“I’m not! We made a deal to call one another if the flashbacks started again.” He lit up the lamp on his nightstand and frowned at the pictures he kept on the opposing wall, as if it could make the real Keith feel his irritation. “Would you have talked to anyone if I hadn’t called?”

“My mom is here with me,” Keith admitted after a moment. “She and Kolivan have kept me company while Xitry is away.”

Lance let relief replace his anger. “Are both Xitry and Acxa on a mission?”

“Yeah… My leg still isn’t completely healed, so I couldn’t join them. Acxa will take another phoeb to come home, but Xitry should be back in a few days.” Keith paused and there was the sound of other muffled voices. “Mom says you should call Pidge.”

“You are a traitor and a hypocrite.” Lance scowled, despite how no one could see him.

Keith scoffed and Lance could feel the mockery in his expression even so many miles away. “I have called my partners every day they’ve been gone. Can you say the same?”

“Pidge is not my partner!” he protested, feeling heat rise up his neck.

“No, she’s just the first person you think about when waking up from a nightmare and then you call me, because if you called Hunk he would just spill it to her first chance he got.” Lance did not appreciate all the sarcasm Keith was giving him.

“I just want to be sure that she’s okay!” He frowned down at his knees, picking at a piece of lint that stuck to his pajama pants.

“Then ask her yourself!” Keith, too, was being too loud for the middle of the night. His vexation almost felt like a victory to Lance. “Pidge is smart, she can tell there’s something strange about my calls.”

“How are you a spy with this kind of acting skills?” Lance chastened.

“I’m no longer a spy, remember? I’m part of a humanitarian organization!” He heard Keith take a deep breath. “This would be much easier if you just told Pidge you’re in love with her.”

The words gave him pause. Lance didn’t yet know how to describe what he felt for Pidge. She was one of his best friends, the person who had stuck around the most after the team went their separate ways. Shiro had his own family to rebuild, and Keith and Hunk had a whole universe to help stabilize.

Pidge and Lance had found their own goals, but staying on Earth allowed them to check in on each other much more often.

“She doesn’t see me like that, Keith.” Lance hadn’t meant to sound so defeated, but it came out that way.

“Yeah, well, neither did Allura, but you wore her out.”

The reminder didn’t bring the same pain it would have a few years earlier.

Lance knew that he would always love Allura, but his feelings had settled into a more comfortable kind of affection. With the privilege of hindsight, Lance was able to see that their relationship didn’t have the same base as his friendship with the other paladins. Even if she had lived, Allura would have left to be queen, too invested in the rebuilding of Altean society.

And Lance would have stayed on Earth. That had never been in question. He had put his family through enough suffering while with Voltron.

He had seen the greatness in Allura when he was only eighteen, but that also meant he would have stepped aside if he thought their relationship was putting a strain in both of them. He didn’t regret the time they’d had together, but her continuous rejections had also taught Lance to value himself.

Keith’s voice snapped Lance out of his thoughts. “I didn’t mean to bring up Allura.”

“No, it’s fine.” Lance rubbed his eyes. “I just… I don’t want Pidge to think of Allura if I ever do ask her out.”

“I can’t promise you that.” He respected Keith’s honesty, even though it did nothing to calm his worries. “But she will never see you as a romantic prospect if you don’t make things clear to her. As far as Pidge knows, you’re still in mourning.”

Again, Keith was right. Lance had been ruminating this notion for quite some time. There were times when he still felt indebted to Allura, like he was the one responsible for maintaining her legacy, but the years had given him enough maturity to understand that was a burden Allura would wish on no one.

It was difficult to take the first steps towards a new future when he’d spent so long wallowing in the darkness of the war. In the middle of it all, Pidge had been a beacon of light, a safe port for him to rest his mind. It was no wonder that he had fallen for her.

“I’m thinking of going back to the Garrison.” He swallowed thickly, the fear of this confession rising up to knot at his throat.

The line went silent for a moment. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Lance chuckled. “I’ve been working with Shiro and Doctor Holt, because the quintessence Allura left in me allows me to interact with Altean technology a little better than most. And since I’ve put my pilot license to good use in my travels, Shiro said the officers are ready to reinstate me.”

“That’s amazing, Lance!” It was weird to hear Keith sound so enthusiastic.

“I think that’s why the memories are coming back again, actually.” His next exhale came out shaky and forced. “I keep thinking of the Garrison and I just – I’m afraid that I’ll get there and it will be too much.”

“The place has changed a lot since the war,” Keith assured him. “Even if something happened, though, Shiro and Pidge are there to help you through. This could be really good for you.”

Lance snickered at his directness. Keith didn’t hide his opinions, didn’t coddle him like so much of his family. “So you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.” His friend’s voice was blunt, without the dramatics that Lance himself would have added to such a statement. “Which is not saying much,” Keith teased.

“Hardy har har.” But Lance felt a smile pull at his mouth. “Does that mean you will call Pidge for me?”

There was a groan from the other side of the line. “Lance, no. I’m putting my foot down.”

“What? Why?” he complained and, with his movement, one of the pillows slipped to the ground. Lance glared at it.

“Because I’m sick of watching two of my closest friends dance circles around each other.” Keith sounded increasingly exasperated. “Talk. To. Her. Pidge is a tough girl, but she has grown a lot. She won’t be mad at you for calling.”

“I know that!” Lance grumbled.

“Then do it!” Before he could disagree, Keith had already hung up the phone.

Lance stared at the screen in discontentment. The display told him it was just before 4 am in Varadero, meaning that it wasn’t even 2 am in Arizona. His talk with Keith had distracted him from the nightmare, but now that Lance was alone with his thoughts images of it had begun to flash in his mind.

Against the dimly lit wall of his bedroom, he could almost see the silhouette of Pidge’s younger self, her body contorted by the force of a blast Lance hadn’t been quick enough to protect her from.

His need to know Pidge was safe overrode his anxiety over disturbing her sleep.

The phone rang more times than it had with Keith, which was a bit nerve-wrecking, but also a relief. Lance hoped she was having a better rest than he was.

“Lance?” The breathiness of her voice made him swallow. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, at a loss of what else to say.

“Nightmares?” From her low volume, Lance could tell that Pidge must have been at her parents’ house. He felt bad for disturbing them.

“You’re okay, right?” His words were jumbled together. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, but– You are safe, aren’t you?”

“I’m safe, Lance.” He closed his eyes, feeling the last of his distress leave him with the sound of her voice. “I’m glad you called, actually.”

He tilted his head back until it hit the headboard. “Were you dreaming of me, Pidgey-Pidge?”

“No,” she cut him off brusquely, “but I imagine you were dreaming of me.”

“Why would you think so?” He grimaced at how strangled his voice sounded.

“Because I know you have had Keith calling me for the past couple months.” Her no-nonsense attitude made Lance feel like a deer-in-headlights.

“I can’t believe he ratted me out!” Once again, Lance directed his glare at a photo of Keith on the wall. “I have some choice words for that half-alien tattletale!”

“Keep your words, he didn’t say anything.” Pidge heaved a sigh. “I just know you two. As soon as he mentioned the explosion Sendak caused, I knew he was acting on your behalf.”

Lance winced, but didn’t protest. He should have realized that Pidge couldn’t be tricked. Not only was she a certified genius, but her loyalty to her friends often translated into being more observant than one might like. She and Hunk had that in common: the uncanny ability to get involved in other people’s business.

“Keith dreams of Shiro or his father. When I do appear in his nightmares, it’s usually about not being able to grab me when we were in Honerva’s mindscape,” she went on. “That dude still harbors a displaced sense of responsibility towards us.” Her tone shifted into accusing. “Which we should not be exploiting.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to do that.” Lance slipped on the sheets until he was lying down again.

“What’s going on, Lance?” Pidge sounded concerned. “Why didn’t you just call me?”

There were many reasons, but none that he felt comfortable sharing. It had been a year since Lance had realized how much of an effect Pidge had on him, how happy he was to hear her voice, how warm his chest felt when she visited the farm. It wasn’t even a new development. He had loved her for as long as he could remember, so he couldn’t really define when it had gone from platonic to romantic.

Maybe the roots of it had always been there, hidden by the flashiness of other infatuations.

A part of him had resisted the urge to call Pidge because, despite how she probably knew him like the charted universe, he had hoped she would see strength in his recovery. Lance still wanted to be perceived as the hero who survived the war with a smile on his face and his psyche intact, no matter how far from the truth that might be.

“Shouldn’t it be easier?” he asked, so low that he hoped Pidge couldn’t hear him. “Shouldn’t I be over it?”

“Lance…” Even the way she sighed his name sent a shiver down his spine. “No. It shouldn’t be easy. We’ve talked about this.”

He had heard this from a number of therapists, as well as every other member of the team, but it was difficult to go against the ideals he’d created in his head.

“But you’re doing good,” Lance argued and his gaze fixed on the ceiling, without really seeing it.

“So are you, most of the time.” When Pidge said it like that, full of confidence, he could almost believe it. “When I feel like the memories are hurting me, I reach out. I come to see my parents, I stop by Shiro’s office.” She paused to take a breath. “I call you.”

Lance turned on his side, sticking the phone between his ear and the pillow. He badly wanted her to be there. They had slept side by side once, though he couldn’t remember the details of it. Even then, what had stuck out the most was the softness of her presence and the calm she provided.

He closed his eyes and focused on Pidge’s voice. “I really miss you.”

“I’m right here, Lance.” Like this, he could pretend she was in bed with him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t believe you put a firewall to keep me out of your virtual diary, Pidge. It’s rude that you would think so low of me.”

Lance stopped short. It wasn’t the content of the conversation that surprised him, but the fact that it was Hunk’s voice, coming from the laboratories. His best friend had been on a diplomatic mission of two months and was supposed to contact Lance when he stopped on Arus to refuel his ship.

“I was clearly right, because you wouldn’t know of it unless you had tried to hack in.” And this was Pidge, sounding more incensed than he’d heard in quite some time. “I learned my lesson during our Garrison days, Hunk!”

“Shouldn’t you be buttering me up? You called me for help on this aircraft, young lady.” Lance almost snorted at this. He could already imagine the indignation on Pidge’s face.

“If I had known you’d be like this, I would have found a way to neutralize drag simply to negate your role here!” she spit back. From behind the glass walls, Lance observed the redness of her complexion and how her freckles disappeared into the color.

He expected Hunk to back down, but the man crossed his arms stubbornly and looked down his nose at Pidge. “You’re only saying that because I’m right.”

Lance knocked against a metallic frame on the door, which had been open.

“Team Punk is back at it?” He raised his hands in mock despair. “I knew I should have stayed home.”

“Lance!” Hunk rushed over to him, engulfing Lance in a hug. Over his shoulder, he saw Pidge hang back, but the anger had melted away from her expression. “Sorry I didn’t call you earlier, man. This little menace caught me on the way back from Firilar and she wanted me at the Garrison ASAP.”

“Yeah, I regret it now,” she retorted with a glare.

Hunk let Lance go in order to direct another exasperated look at Pidge.

“Hey there, Pidgeon.” Lance scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. She didn’t move from her spot on the workbench and he approached almost without thinking. “Long time no see.”

As soon as he was within reach, Pidge pulsed on the balls of her feet and threw her arms around his neck. Lance’s arms were around her with no hesitance, holding her up against his chest.

“Hello,” she muttered into his shoulder. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Cabul complex with Shiro and Curtis?”

Even as she talked, Pidge didn’t give up her grip on him. It made laughter bubble up Lance’s throat. He’d been all around the world, assisting the Garrison centers in completing Earth’s first fully functioning planetary defense system, so it had been months since he’d last seen Pidge in person.

“I flew over once the installation was done. They needed me to activate the shields with quintessence, but then Arizona called.” She slowly slid down back to her feet, putting some space between them. “Something about needing their star pilot to test a new jet.”

He watched as first confusion, then realization dawned on Pidge’s face. To the side, he could see that Hunk was also grinning.

“Are you back? Don’t you lie to me, McClain!” She pushed at his shoulders, but there was excitement in her eyes.

“I’m back. I got the go-ahead earlier today.” He felt awkward under the combined stares of his two best friends. “I do remember telling you I wasn’t ready to retire. Guess my vacation ran a bit long.”

“Oh, man, we’re back together! The last time it was just the three of us in the Garrison we were still cadets.” Hunk jumped in, waving his arms widely. “I still couldn’t go on a simulator without getting motion-sickness! Lance still thought Pidge was a guy!”

“Yeah, I’m not making that mistake again.” Lance gave Pidge a cheeky once-over, making her flush.

She had let her hair grow out again. It was tied back in a long braid, but some strands had already escaped and framed her face in a reddish halo. She looked pretty like this, but Lance thought she was always pretty.

It had taken her some time to find middle ground between the androgyny of her adolescence and the femininity of Katie Holt. Lance hadn’t always been the most tactful during this period, but Pidge had known he meant well and that he was supportive of however she felt like expressing herself. It was nice to see her feel good in her own skin.

Pidge socked him on the arm. “We’ve talked about this, loverboy. No flirting with me unless you want a new bruise.”

“But, Pidgeon,” he put a hand over his heart, “this is how I show my love.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Hunk put a hand on their shoulders. “We don’t want to start a fight right next to the billion-dollar prototype.”

“Fine,” Lance drew out his vowels, making a show of it. “Honestly, though, you two look good.”

He wasn’t just saying this. Coming back to the Garrison allowed him to juxtapose the images of who Pidge and Hunk had been with their current selves.

Hunk hadn’t grown much taller and he had maintained the same robustness from their first meeting, but the anxiety that had followed him as a teenager now gave way to self-assuredness. He didn’t curl into himself anymore when going past other groups of students, nor did he cower in the face of Garrison officers.

They were all still young and maybe a little broken up after Voltron, but it had also taught them a lot about themselves and their worth. It was nice to see.

And then there was Pidge. With her long hair, her high-tech glasses, her unconventional wardrobe. She was nothing like what younger Lance had thought he wanted in a girl, but that didn’t stop her from occupying all of his thoughts.

“You do too!” Hunk exclaimed, clearly a little embarrassed. “I haven’t seen you this excited in years.”

“Yeah.” Lance chuckled, unable to stop himself. “It feels good to be back. We’ll see how things go with the other MFE pilots, but I’m not too worried.” He wiggled his brows at Hunk. “I’m pretty sure I can charm the pants out of them.”

“And if that fails, you can always count on Shiro and I to intimidate people,” Pidge cut in, a teasing smile on her face, but there was a deeper current of truth to her words. They had his back and Lance was grateful for it.

“I’m pretty intimidating myself.” Lance smirked. “We just need Keith and then the gang will be completed: the Garrison bad boys, who stole a prisoner and disappeared into the night!” He made a motion in the air, like a ship cutting through the sky.

“I take it back, I don’t want to be associated with you.” Pidge’s dry comment earned a laugh from Hunk and a pout from Lance.

“Oh, come on, Pidge!” He draped an arm around the girl to pull her closer, but Pidge didn’t react as he’d hoped. She leveled him with unimpressed eyes, making no move to acknowledge their proximity. Lance found himself as the one feeling flustered and hurried to mask his discomfort. “You could at least say you’re happy to have me around.”

“Of course I’m happy, Lance,” she conceded with little fanfare. “That doesn’t mean I feel like contributing to enlarging your already massive ego.”

Pidge was looking at him over the top of her glasses. Uncovered from the greenish tint of the lenses, the honey brown of her eyes appeared strangely expressive. There was an emotion in them that he had seen a lot through the years, when they were on video calls at night, by themselves, but that he hadn’t had the opportunity to see in person yet.

Lance felt his own expression soften as he stared down at Pidge.

Before he could figure out what to say, Hunk, who had been preoccupied with a series of beeps from his communicator, had turned towards them and snapped his fingers. “We have so much to show you, now that you have the clearance!” His smile was even more contagious in person than through a screen. “I don’t know how much Veronica has told you–”

“Told me?” Lance interrupted with a laugh, trying to seem as innocent as possible. “As if my sister would spill transnational secrets.”

Hunk’s mouth twisted disbelievingly. Pidge, too, shook her head.

“I know how it is to have a family in the Garrison, Lance,” she admonished, slipping out of his hold. “Everything is confidential until something slips out in the middle of Sunday lunch.”

“Well…” Lance squinted at the LED lights on the ceiling. “If something did slip out, like the existence of a certain wormhole-jumping craft that is supposed to make teludavs obsolete, then you couldn’t really blame Ronnie.”

“Especially since the only one with a high enough rank to know about that is Shiro.” Pidge groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “A lifetime in the military and he’s still the most trusting person I’ve ever met.”

“It’s not like he’s broadcasting it to the rest of the coalition,” Hunk pointed out good-naturedly. “It’s just Lance.”

Pidge didn’t look appeased. “I’ve seen Lance reveal all our identities because he wanted to impress an alien groupie.”

Lance grimaced at the memory. It had been a little after the war, when the Garrison was still arranging diplomatic meetings with the liberated planets. As a result of his words, he and the other paladins had been mobbed and Coran had to create a diversion to get them back in their ships.

“That was a long time ago,” Lance whined. “Besides, the so-called groupie was a child and you know I can’t resist children!”

Pidge fixed her glasses, her expression a mixture of aggravation and amusement. “If you ever have kids, you’re gonna spoil them rotten.”

Lance had to bite back his immediate response. His mind had come up with an image of what his and Pidge’s children might look like – brown haired and brown skinned and too smart for their own good – and the idea warmed him to the core. He had almost said that his kids would be fine, because of their mother’s genius.

His thoughts must have shown somehow because Lance caught Hunk looking at him with a smile that promised no-good.

Lance cleared his throat. “What were you two fighting about, anyway?”

“Hunk has been trying to access my daily annotations,” Pidge explained, moving to one of the nearby computer monitors.

Over her head, he and Hunk continued to share looks and mouthed words. He couldn’t really tell what his friend was trying to say, but Hunk pointed at Pidge, then at the computer, making exaggerated facial expressions that would have been comedic in any other circumstance.

At their apparent silence, Pidge’s fingers paused over the keyboard and she whipped around to look at them in suspicion.

“She means her diary,” Hunk interjected quickly, only to receive the brunt of her glare. “How am I supposed to know what’s going on over here if you won’t let me read it? I spend half my time out in space!”

“Can’t you just believe the things I tell you? Like, I don’t know,” this Pidge grumbled with a sour look on her face, “a normal person?”

Hunk snorted. “You want to talk to me about being normal?” He glanced at Lance, as if to ask if he had actually heard her correctly. “Pidge, we had to build you a dorm in the Mecatronics Advancement building, because you kept falling asleep in the lab.” Hunk turned back to Lance and pointed a thumb at Pidge. “She would be passed out with the new Rover just constantly knocking against her back.”

“So what?” She crossed her arms and jutted out her chin in defiance. “I like what I do. At least I’m not a busybody!”

Lance could feel a new fight brewing. Or maybe it was fairer to say that it was an old fight, one that every paladin had already had with Pidge.

“Katie.” His use of her given name made Pidge’s attention snap to Lance. “We’ve talked about this. Your therapist has talked about this.” He put a hand on her shoulder, then slid it down until their fingers intertwined. “I know you like feeling useful, but we’re not at war anymore. You can rest.”

“Exactly.” Hunk sighed, thankfully not making a big deal of Lance’s touches. He reached out to ruffle her hair. “We worry, girl.”

Pidge let go of Lance to bat Hunk’s hand away from her braid. The smile she gave them was tight-lipped but fond. “Then just say that, you idiot.”

“Why should I?” Hunk shrugged, sending her a sly look. “You only seem to believe it when it comes from Lance.”

He was saved from Pidge’s cold fury by his communicator going off. It sounded more like an alert than the normal message, filling the lab with high-pitched beeps that could have awoken even Pidge in her days of all-nighters working on the lions.

“Shoot!” Hunk frowned at the device. “I have a meeting on the other side of the complex!” He looked around with wide eyes.

Pidge picked up a folder that rested on her workbench and thrust it into Hunk’s chest.

“I hope you’re late,” she said in a deadpan, making both Lance and Hunk laugh.

“I’ll see you in the taxiway later, right?” Hunk asked, already half-out of the door.

Lance gave his friend a thumbs-up. “And we can go into town after the demonstration!”

When he turned to face Pidge, she was back at the computer, shaking her head at the screen with a smile still on her lips. He leaned against the table and simply stared at her as she worked, knowing full-well that part of her attention was still on him.

“What?” she caved after a few seconds. Lance batted his lashes at her. “Ugh, stop! If you want me to go into town, then I have to finish this calculation.”

“Eight years since we were cadets here and you’re still a stick-in-the-mud.” He watched her roll her eyes. “Please, you gotta come! I don’t know any of the cool spots anymore and Hunk has been off-planet!”

“As if that could stop Hunk from knowing the good restaurants,” Pidge muttered under her breath, frowning at something on the computer. She clicked one final key, before fixing her gaze on Lance. “Also, it’s actually been twelve years since we were cadets. Time might not have gone by for us, but things here certainly did change.”

“Quiznack, don’t even remind me of that!” Lance ran a hand across his face. “Rachel has finally shut up about how we’re the same age now.”

“Did she?” Pidge raised a brow at him, leaning her hip against the workbench in much the same way as Lance had. “Cause she still called me hermanita the last time I visited the farm.”

“Yeah, you ain’t getting rid of that nickname.” He chuckled. “It’s better than mami and pop-pop calling you Palomita, though.”

Machines whirred around them, a distant sort of sound that barely registered in Lance’s mind. His thoughts were stuck in the contentment displayed across Pidge’s features, like talking about their adventures on the farm filled her with as much warmth as it did him.

And maybe it did. The paladins and their families had grown closer during the years following the end of Voltron. They had all needed support in ways that only those who had also gone through the same grief could understand. His mother had talked to Colleen and Krolia multiple times, looking for advice on how to handle his PTSD, and Lance himself had reached out to Matt when he didn’t feel like speaking to his siblings or to the team.

It was odd to look back and remember how lonely he would feel back in Castle of Lions, when there were so many people now who he loved and who had gone to the ends of the universe for him.

“What are you thinking about?” Pidge tilted her head to the side, her eyes glinting with curiosity behind those glasses.

“About the team,” he answered, because it was partially true. “About how long we’ve known each other.”

Pidge nodded, but her gaze had shifted to the ground. Hesitance furrowed the line of her brow.

“Does being here–” She paused, then seemed to gather her courage. “Does being here remind you of Allura?”

The question caught him a little off guard. It was inevitable to think of Allura when looking back at their time as a team, but Lance hadn’t expected Pidge to focus on that. Keith’s words from a few months ago echoed in his mind, that Pidge couldn’t know he had finished mourning for Allura if Lance never told her.

“A little, I guess, but it’s not bad.” He made a humming noise, considering what to say. “It feels strange to realize we’ve been without her for longer than we ever knew her.”

She pushed away from the table, just a little, so that they were facing each other. “Time doesn’t have to limit how significant a person is to us.”

“I know, but no matter how important Allura was to me, I know now that she wasn’t the love of my life.” Lance let Pidge catch his gaze, willing her to recognize that he wasn’t lying. “Because my life goes on.”

“Which is why you’re here?” There was doubt in her tone, as well as something that Lance wished he could call hopefulness.

“Which is why I’m here,” he repeated with more certainty.

#plance #pidgance #lidge #flirtyrobot #cyance #katie holt #pidge gunderson #lance mcclain #vld lance #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #vld fanfiction #vld syl verse

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divineluce · 3 years

Text

Let’s Marvin Gaye and Get These Lizards Out || Rosalyn & Luce

Timing: Backdated to April 21st, 2021

Tagging: @truecolorcollector & @divineluce

Location: Rosalyn’s Apartment

Description: Rosalyn needs help evicting some unexpected roommates, Luce offers a hand. Chaos ensues.

Was Luce the most in touch with nature? Not really. Not in the conventional sense, at least. She hiked, she’d lived in the woods, she felt more comfortable out in her cabin surrounded by the sounds of the forest than she did other places. But she wasn’t a tree hugging hippy or deluded enough into thinking that nature was all sunshine and rainbows. She’d been chased down by too many monsters in the woods to think that. Either way, it didn’t really matter if she was some nature girl or not-- she knew fire salamanders. And more importantly, she was still fireproof. Her flames might have left her, but at least she still had that. Grabbing the hamster cage from her passenger seat, Luce made her way to the apartment building and texted the number to let the woman know she was here. As the door swung open, Luce held up the cage and nodded, “Someone looking for lizard removal?”

Rosalyn had been eating lunch at her small dining room table when she saw something skitter across the floor out of the corner of her eye, nearly making her choke on her sandwich. Her first instinct was to grab her glass of water to chuck it at the creature. Luckily for it, it managed to quickly scramble under a large cardboard box and Rosalyn stopped herself before she could dump water all over her stuff. Then the text came in, as if on queue, and Rosalyn rushed downstairs

“Perfect timing!” Rosalyn said slightly frazzled from running to get the door. “And I’m not being hyperbolic. I actually managed to see where one of them went.” With that, she motioned for Luce to follow and made her way up the steps to her apartment.

The apartment was nice, if a bit cluttered, a good portion of the large living area taken up by an L-shaped work desk and large shelves packed with boxes and other containers. Not to mention several moving boxes still strewn about.

“Sorry, that wasn’t really a proper greeting.” Even as Rosalyn spoke she was scanning the room for signs of any other lizards. “Rosalyn Holt. And you’re Luce?”

A blonde woman who Luce didn’t recognize opened the door and ushered her in quickly. “Oh hey, lucky me.” Luce said as she looked around the apartment, taking in the moving boxes and slight disarray of the space. No wonder she didn’t look familiar-- this lady must have just moved into town. And already her place was infested with fire salamanders? Christ, that sucked. Not everyone had fireproof houses like she did. Looking around, Luce could already spot a few places that Iggy would love if he was here. A bunch of crumpled up packing paper, perfect kindling for a nice warm fire. Some flattened cardboard boxes that would be excellent material to chew on. Setting down the cage, Luce held out a hand, “Yep. Luce Vural, unofficial sa-- specialty lizard wrangler.” She said with a nod. “Seems like White Crest is giving you a nice warm welcome with these guys.”

Surveying the area, she asked, “Do you have a fireplace? Lizards. They like warmth-- starting a fire could draw them out.” Yeah, it’d sure as hell draw them out, they’d want to get it on in the coals. _

As Roslyn shook the woman’s hand she tried not to get distracted by the mirage-like purple shimmer rising off of Luce like heat off of blacktop. In her rush upstairs she hadn’t even noticed until, not until they were standing in the living room with Luce looking around. So this woman was a spellcaster? That was promising.

“Go figure the landlord wouldn’t mention the springtime roommates I’d be getting. And I’ve got-” Rosalyn looked towards her kitchen with a sigh. “An oven. And matches. Not sure if that works for whatever you're planning but I’m not exactly eager to set my fire alarms off if we can avoid it.”

As she finished speaking a rustling sound came from near one of the shelves, close to where she saw the lizard duck under the box. She pointed. “Oh right. Lucky me, one of them decided to get into my supplies. Anything else that draws them out? Food? What do those things even eat?” The rustling grew louder and Rosalyn furrowed her brow. They better not have a taste for jewelry supplies and werewolf fur, otherwise this was about to turn into a much more expensive problem.

“If it makes you feel better, this sorta thing doesn’t happen often. It’s like cicadas. Some springs they’re super active and other times no dice. Guess you just happened to move in during a bad year.” Luce said, not entirely sure if what she was saying was true or not. Iggy was being a little more antsy than normal, trying to get free from his terrarium more than he usually did. But, Bea’s house had wards around it that made the bracelet around her wrist ping when people came or left, so she’d always been able to scoop him back up when he’d scuttled off the property line. “Hm. In the interest of not blowing both our ears out, I think I’ll try something different.” She said, rummaging around in the cage for the paper bag she’d shoved in there.

“I’ve got something that might work. It could lure them out.” Luce said. Iggy, like most growing fire salamanders, shed his scales. And Luce didn’t know much about animals, but hey. Maybe the smell of a fire salamander in the prime of his life would lure out some of the lady salamanders? Who the fuck knew. Worst came to worst, she’d just shake the boxes and try to grab them. But, as luck would have it, before she even had a chance to shake some of the scales out into the cage, Rosalyn had pointed out a rustle of movement. Setting the cage down, Luce began to poke around the boxes, eyes focused on any kind of movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tell-tale glimmer of scales and she darted forward, hand closing around a squirming, scaly body. “Gotcha! Hey! Knock it off!” She gasped as the fire salamander’s scales glowed the color of coals. If she was a normal human, it would have burnt her skin, but all she felt was a light warmth. The fire salamander stared at her as though it was startled she wasn’t hopping up and down in pain. “I’ve got one. Can you grab the cage for me?”

“So just something that I’ll keep having to deal with every couple of years, that sounds lovely.” Rosalyn's tone was joking but she certainly hoped that one lizard extraction was all she would need. As Luce pulled out a paper bag she quirked up an eyebrow, curious. “What’s in there?”

But before she could find out there was more rustling and Luce was off to search the area. The sight of her grabbing the glowing creature in her hands made Rosalyn flinch before she realized that Luce wasn’t smoking or shouting in pain. “So they really are fiery...” I mean, there were clearly signs that they weren’t some normal pest before this, but seeing the unnatural glow up close made it clear. Rosalyn watched the squirming creature curiously. It was rare that she got to see supernatural animals up close.

“Is that thing not as hot as it seems, or do you just have some tricks up your sleeve?” Rosalyn shot Luce a knowing look as she brought the cage over. Well that was one down. Hopefully just one more to go. She didn’t want to think about the idea of any more than two hidden around her place.

“Only if you’re unlucky. These guys don’t usually hang out in this part of town.” Luce said as she kept her hand clamped around the squirming salamander in her hand. She could tell that they weren’t exactly to have their time interrupted. She couldn’t blame the salamander-- she wouldn’t exactly be thrilled if someone barged into her room when she was trying to get it on. But, this was better than Rosalyn accidentally murdering two horny salamanders with a hose. “Fiery? Nah… Just, uh,” Luce looked again at the angry glow of the salamander’s body, the red and orange pulsing like the coals of a fire. “Trick of the light.” She said before gently sticking the salamander into the cage.

Opening up the bag of shed scales, Luce dumped some into her palm before scattering them on the ground. “Scales, from the same kind of lizard. They release a kind of pheromone when they’re trying to hook up, so I figure this might lure the other one out.” She said before glancing over at the other woman and holding up her hands, arms bare in her tank top. “No sleeves and no tricks either.” She said with a neutral tone. “I’m just good with lizards.”

“Do tricks of the light normally smell like burning?” Rosalyn asked with a quirked eyebrow. At least she could trust it wasn’t that hot, or the cage Luce was holding would be having a much worse time. Then again, she knew little about what this creature was capable of, or Luce for that matter.

“So you’ve had your own infestation before?” Rosalyn asked before grimacing as the scales fell against her hardwood floors. She hoped Luce didn’t expect her to pick that up herself. Then again... “Are these creatures rare? Or their scales at least? Just asking since you seem to know a lot about them.” Right now they seemed just like little black specks, but she wondered how easy it would be to get them to glow like the angry one in Luce’s hand had been. But if they were worth something Rosalyn couldn’t imagine a spellcaster just scattering them around for bait.

Well, Rosalyn had a point there. Luce shrugged, knowing when she was caught in a lie. No point trying to pretend like shit wasn’t magical as hell when this lady didn’t seem all that bothered by it. “Touché.” She said as she looked around the house, waiting to see where the next salamander might pop out from. “Nope, never dealt with an infestation before, I have one myself.” Luce said as she nudged some cardboard boxes aside, looking around for the other salamander. At the question of rarity, Luce cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?” They weren’t rare at all-- the salamanders, or their scales, but it was a weird question all the same. All signs were pointing to the fact that this lady was in the know with the supernatural. Which, cool. Good for her. Luce just couldn’t help but wonder what brand of strange she was. She looked human, but pretty much everyone did under the right circumstances.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luce caught sight of some of the boxes rustling and she grinned. Nice, looked like the scales had worked. “Come here little guy,” She said, shifting the boxes out of the way. As she pulled the last one back, Luce blinked as she was face to face with a spitting, sparking salamander, the frill around its throat puffed out and a deep scarlet color, “Ah shit…” She muttered as the salamander burnt a hole straight through the cardboard boxes and began to skitter across the floor in a trail of sparks and sputtering flames.

“So...as a pet?” Rosalyn didn’t like to judge (okay she did sometimes) but a flaming lizard seemed like a less than ideal pet. She was about to answer Luce’s question to her when nearby rustling distracted both of them. While Luce pushed around the boxes Rosalyn picked up a bit of scale from the floor and looked it over. But she barely had time to inspect it before she heard cursing and smelled smoke.

Rosalyn's first instinct was to rush toward the now on fire boxes. Or try to at least. But before she could even move a streak of black and orange rushed across the floor towards her feet. Rosalyn shrieked as she stumbled back, nearly falling as the creature hissed and charged towards the nearby kitchen.

A slew of curses came out of Rosalyn’s mouth as she watched the thing leave singe marks in its wake. But her attention quickly turned back towards the boxes. In any other moment Rosalyn would have been fully aware of how dumb it was to try to kick out the flames. But the moment she smelt burning hair she knew the fire was spreading to the bottom shelf and panic took over. “Fire extinguisher! Under the sink!” She shouted to Luce. Rosalyn would grab it herself if she wasn’t too busy pulling boxes from the shelf before they could catch and stomping on embers. A few burns were worth not losing her entire stock.

As much as Luce would have liked to correct Rosalyn on the fact that no, it wasn’t like a pet at all, she was a bit preoccupied. The fire salamander was hissing and spitting,hell bent on tearing up the apartment as it ran along the floors. Sparks filled the air as the lizard made a break for the kitchen. Staring at the boxes that had caught on fire, Luce’s eyes widened. Shit. She was pretty fireproof, but with her magic being what it was… she didn’t want to risk trying to smother the flames with her hands. Taking a deep breath in, she tried to pull the fire to her will, tried to focus on the magic within her. But, the magical flames lay dormant, unmoving. Cold. Fuck.

“Fire extinguisher, okay!” Luce called out, following the salamander into the kitchen. The creature had climbed up onto the countertop via a dish towel that had been hanging from the oven. The fabric was already in flames and Luce let out a startled yelp as the fire leaped to a nearby roll of paper towels. Jesus fucking christ, was this what normal people dealt with? Shit just bursting into flames? Running to the sink, Luce grabbed the fire extinguisher from underneath. She pulled the pin from the neck and aimed the nozzle at the ball of flaming paper towels before tossing the dish towel on the ground and stomping it out with her foot. The salamander, seeing the flames going out, let out a frightened shriek and its frills shrank back into its neck. “I’m not trying to hurt you! Get back--” Luce said as the salamander made a bee-line back to the living room, towards Rosalyn. Even from here, Luce could smell the acrid scent of burning hair filling the room. Jesus, why the fuck did this lady have hair in the boxes?

Pulling what she could from the lower levels of the shelf was only going to help Rosalyn so much if the fire kept spreading. She turned to shout at Luce to hurry, but as she looked towards the kitchen she could see the woman shooting the fire extinguisher at even more flames. Not even a few weeks into moving to White Crest and was she already going to have her entire apartment burn down?

It was at this point that the fire alarm started blaring above them. Rosalyn wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or curse that this apartment didn’t have built in sprinklers. She kicked the still burning boxes across the floor, away from where all her creature parts and craft items were being stored. As she did she could hear Luce attempting to reason with the creature, and then moments later Rosalyn was again being charged by the fiery monster.

No way in hell she was grabbing that thing the way that Luce had. In panic Rosalyn grabbed one of the shoebox sized plastic containers she kept jewelry pliers and other small tools in and flipped it over onto the creature. She crouched on the floor, putting her weight on the plastic box as she heard the creature hiss and felt it ram itself against the plastic sides. The plastic was partially opaque, but she could still see the glowing orange of the creature inside. And feel the box start to heat up as whiffs of melting plastic started to hit her nose.

“Can’t you just dump water on it!”

A fire witch using a fucking fire extinguisher, Jesus. And, even as she was putting out the last of the flaming dish rag, Luce could hear the fire alarms begin to blare in her ears. Great, more chaos. Looking around the kitchen, Luce saw a glass pitcher of water resting on counter as Rosalyn shouted at her. “Water kills them! I’m not killing him for wanting to get it on!” Luce shouted back at the woman. But… the pitcher. Hm. Grabbing the pitcher, she dumped the water down the sink and raced back into the other room. It looked even more like a disaster zone, with tools flung over the place and boxes still burning. But, she needed to focus on the source of the fire, where was-- her eyes fell on the woman struggling on top of a rapidly melting plastic tub.

“Here,” Luce set the fire extinguisher next to the woman, “For the boxes. Take the tub off him and back up. Don’t. Spray. The salamander. I’m going to stick him in this.” She said, holding up the glass pitcher. “They have a hard time climbing out of glass and it’s not that easy to melt through it. Just let him out and I’ll grab him.”

“He is burning my apartment down!” Yes, Rosalyn would shame this stupid lizard for being horny if it meant her entire livelihood was set ablaze because of it. Not to mention the danger her and Luce were in if this got more out of hand. Luckily Luce seemed to have a plan. For a moment Rosalyn glanced between the pitcher and the plastic container under her, debating whether she trusted Luce to scoop it up in time before the creature ran off to another part of her home to cause chaos. But with a quick nod to Luce she pulled the tub off of the lizard and grabbed the extinguisher instead.

As soon as she did Rosalyn started spraying the boxes, and the bottom shelf for good measure. Did fire extinguisher foam mess with the magic properties of werewolf and bugbear fur? Who fucking knew but it didn’t matter at this point. As the flames were put out Rosalyn glanced back towards the other woman, praying she wouldn’t see her chasing the thing around again.

Rosalyn had a point there. God, was this what being a normal human in White Crest was like? Having to worry about shit like fires burning down your home? But, Luce didn’t have much time to dwell on that because the tub had been pulled off the salamander and suddenly she was face to face with an angry salamander, frills puffed out and a vibrant red. Before he could run away, Luce grabbed the squirming creature in her hand and shoved it into the bottom of the pitcher. Fingers smoking slightly, Luce shook out her hand as she watched the salamander scrabble against the side of the pitcher. But, just like she’d guessed-- because it really was a fucking guess, she wasn’t an expert-- he was unable to get any traction. Exhausted, the salamander slumped in the bottom of the glass, leftover droplets of water sizzling against his scales as he stared angrily at her with beedy, orange eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Luce held up the pitcher. “Got him! Sorry about,” She glanced around at the smoke filled apartment, the fire alarms still blaring, extinguisher foam coating at least a quarter of this woman’s apartment. “All of that. You’re okay though, right?”

Rosalyn let out a sigh of relief when she heard Luce shout that she got him. Placing the used up extinguisher on the ground (great, now she would need to buy a new one) she ran her hands down her face, giving herself a moment to just breathe and not look at the utter mess in front of her.

“I’m fine. I think I might have burned my hands a little but-” Rosalyn could see a few blisters forming along her palm and fingertips. Nothing that wouldn’t heal with time but something that would make picking up everything and crafting a pain in the ass for a while. “I’m fine. But you wouldn’t happen to have-” Healing magic. She wanted to ask about healing magic but she tried to be careful about outing people’s powers on the spot. Then again, they were both past the point of dealing with anything a normal person should be handling.

“Magic. Do you have anything that can heal? Your hands seemed pretty protected and,” Rosalyn waved vaguely at the shimmering purple around Luce that only she could see. “I can tell. Don’t worry, I’m used to spellcasters.”

The salamander continued to skitter up the side of the pitcher, but the sloping sides were too steep and he eventually gave up and curled into glowing ball of orange and red in the bottom of the glass. Luce lowered the pitcher carefully, watching to see how the female salamander in the cage might react. The creature blinked at her with interest, but didn’t show any of the aggression the male had. Good. Turning to Rosalyn, Luce grimaced at the sight of the woman’s hands. “Ouch. Sorry about that.” She said with a shrug as she picked up the cage in her free hand. “Aloe might help. Burn cream too.” That was what people said, right?

But, at the mention of magic, Luce nearly dropped the cage. “Siktir,” She swore quietly, catching the cage before the salamander could break free. “Uh. No. I don’t. And that’s not me pretending that I’m not a witch.” She said, shrugging. “You saw me pick them up. But, no, I don’t have anything that can heal burns.” All her life, her mother had been the one to patch her up, to fix her scrapes and bruises. But she didn’t have that card in her back pocket anymore. At least… She didn’t. This lady, if she knew about spellcasters, she’d probably be alright. Right? And she’d gotten hurt because Luce hadn’t been careful enough. “I know someone who would be able to help you, though. Her name’s Nisa Vural. You might have seen ads about her acupuncture clinic. She does magical healing stuff too. Tell her a friend in silver sent you. And,” Luce said, her voice taking on a more serious tone, “Don’t, don’t tell her that I sent you.

“Mhhm.” If she wanted to lie to Rosalyn about having magic she certainly could. Maybe people in White Crest were a bit more cagey than she was used to back home. Not that the spellcasters she met in the city weren’t, but most wouldn’t try to hide what they were if they were willing to do magical stuff in the same room as her.

“Nisa Vural, a friend in silver, got it.” Rosalyn smiled. “Don’t worry, I'm good with discretion.” Maybe not the best statement to make after calling out the woman’s aura but it was true. She wasn’t one to go around telling others things they didn’t need to know. Not unless there was a good reason for it. If anyone asked, Luce was a normal person who had definitely not told her about possible healing magic.

Rosalyn glanced around at the destruction but quickly stopped herself. If she took stock now she was going to want to pull her hair out and Luce didn’t need to see her freaking out over the state of the apartment. “Thanks for the help. Do you have a plan for what to do with them?” she asked, motioning toward the cage.

“Appreciate it. A little bit of discretion goes a long way in this town.” Luce said with a firm nod. It was true. As often as weird shit happened here, they all had to just go along pretending like White Crest was just a quirky little town. “But yeah. She’ll be able to get you fixed up no problem.” She repeated, though the words made her ache. It had been over six months since she and her sisters had been excommunicated, banished from their coven and blotted out from their own family. And even though she’d seen her mother, had tested the bond of mother and child over duty and oaths to the coven… Luce didn’t want to push it. The less Nisa knew about what was going on in her life, the better.

Seeing how Rosalyn was looking around the apartment, Luce winced. Her place looked like… well, it looked like shit. Burnt boxes, dissolving foam leaving smears of chalky white against the floor, and the alarms still screeching overhead. “I’m going to release them in the woods, I know a place that should be safe for them.” A gully at the end of a creek that ran through the outskirts, a nice damp spot that would be perfect for the lovebugs.

“I’d offer to stick around and help clean up, but I get the feeling you want these guys outta here right now.” She said and shrugged. “Let me know if you ever need help again. I know a thing or two about stuff here, I can lend a hand if you need it.” With that, Luce headed out the door of the apartment, fire salamanders in tow. She couldn’t help but wonder how the woman had clocked her as a witch, but… it didn’t matter right now. The cage in her hand rattled as the female salamander sent a wave of sparks in the air. “If you light my Jeep on fire, you’ll wish I let that lady dump water on you guys.” She warned before sticking the salamanders in her car and speeding off.

#p: rosalyn holt #chatzy #wickedswriting #//this was a lotta fun to write lolololol

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shehath-awakened · 4 years

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Beautiful Deaths: chapter two

note: thank you so much for the support on the first chapter! i honestly did not expect that much attention haha, well here it is chapter two. i hope you enjoy!!

chapter one

summary: Y/N is a detective at the 99th precinct with a secret. Hiding from the avengers is not an easy task.

taglist:

@lozzybowe

@shuri-owns-my-heart

@nowheredreamer

@supergeekfangirl

You felt the familiar twist in your stomach of the teleportation, only this time far worse. You had never taken another person with you before, let alone two; you had an awful feeling this was going to drain you more than usual. It took less than a second to materialise back in the precinct. You could hear the distant chatter of officers and the whirr of printers down the hall. Looking up and down the corridor, you made sure nobody had seen the three of you.

Almost immediately, Charles began frantically asking what had just happened and Jake… well, he looked just like he did that time Amy tricked him into running up to the roof on Halloween. With a swift movement you led a spluttering Charles and a sea-sick Jake into the evidence lock-up, locking the door behind you as to not be overheard.

“okay” you began “let me—”

“what the hell was that Y/N?!” Boyle cut you off. “since when have you been able to do that? And why did you run from the avengers? Are you in trouble?”

“I’m sorry, I promise I’ll explain everything just… not right now. I need you two to trust me. Please.” You looked between them imploringly, hoping they would have your back. Charles held your gaze for a second and broke the silence;

“alright” he gave you a smile and you felt the weight being lifted off your shoulders. You looked to Jake. Like Charles did, he held your gaze with an expression you couldn’t read.

“Y/N of course I trust you. We are all a team. The whole squad will have your b—” he began but stopped abruptly, turning around and throwing up in the closest bin. Despite the interruption, you could tell he meant what he said.

“Oh yeah, sorry that tends to happen when you teleport for the first time. Should wear off in a few minutes” you explained, grimacing. It was strange talking to people about this, you had been keeping it secret for as long as you could remember but now it was about to be out in the open. Well, sort of.

“What do you need us to do?” you were brought back to the moment by Boyle. You looked at the time. Shit, it had already been ten minutes. You needed to act quickly as it wouldn’t take the avengers long to find out where you were, especially with the whole of Stark Industries and Shield at their fingertips.

“I need you to come with me to captain Holt” you addressed Charles “I need the squads help but I have to explain to him first. Jake—” you looked over at the sickly detective “join us when you can. We’ll be in his office. Do not speak to anyone on your way. Got it?”

Leaning over the trash can he smiled weakly holding up a thumb.

“Great” you patted him on the back a couple times as a gesture of sympathy and left with Charles to talk to Holt.

***

Despite your fatigue from the mission, you ran to holt’s office, time was against you and you had to get out of there and somewhere safe quickly.

“(Y/N), Boyle?” You had reached the bullpen, just about to turn into his office when you heard Amy behind you. “when did you get back? I didn’t see you get off the elevator… where’s Peralta?”

Crap. This is the exact kind of run in you were hoping wasn’t going to happen. But you then turned to her, realising she could help.

“Amy, you need to listen to me. Gather the squad and tell them to speak to absolutely no one but each other, even if it’s a family member. Please trust me. I’ll explain everything once I’ve spoken to Holt.”

She looked to Charles who nodded silently. She gave a single nod in response and went straight to Terry, doing as you instructed. Not willing to waste anymore time, you went to Holt who was, thankfully, inside his office. You didn’t bother knocking, it wasn’t the time for formalities.

“Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt. I have to talk with you. It’s urgent” as you walked into the room you closed the blinds. Your friend’s face became laced with concern and he motioned to the chair in front of him.

“what is the matter, detectives?” As you sat down you began to explain what had happened at the mission, how the avengers had turned up, how they let the guy get away causing you to get angry, not completely willing to go into the details despite the gravity of the situation.

“So you yelled at the avengers a bit? I’m sure they get it all the time from officers, it is nothing—” Charles cut him off.

“It’s what happened next, sir” Holt looked between the both of you, his normally stoic expression replaced with unease. Not too sure how to explain, you looked to Holt, telling him everything just as it happened. You then went onto explain why you had kept this a secret, it felt amazing to let go of it all. Not once did Charles or Holt push you, they trusted you completely and it felt surreal.

“So Captain, I need yours and the squads help, I can’t do this on my own” And without hesitation he agreed with a nod. You heard small sniffles coming from next to you and turned to see Boyle tearing up.

“You alright there bud?” you patted his upper arm as he replied between sobs,

“It’s just—so wholesome” before you could react he pulled you into a tight hug and you patted his back some more. He opened up his arm motioning for Holt.

“Captain get in here” he cried and you turned to Holt who wore his deadpan expression once more. With a lurch Boyle grabbed him and drew him into the embrace. You looked sideways to your captain and mumbled,

“Just say the word and I’ll teleport us out of here” as Charles comically sniffled into his shoulder.

***

After the awkwardly long embrace, captain Holt brought in the squad to explain the situation. What you liked most about him is his no-nonsense way about things. There was no beating around the bush with that guy which is exactly what you needed right now.

“So you threw a chair? What’s the big deal? I’ve lost it at them more then once.” Rosa chimed in. You sunk back into the corner of the room not wanting to admit what happened one more time.

“the deal, Rosa” Jake voiced as he walked into holt’s office, still looking a little green. “is that she threw it with her mind, it was awesome.”

Once again, all eyes were on you, some shocked, some looking for confirmation. Instead of verbally confirming what Jake had just said, you took a deep breath and lifted a pen from captain holt’s desk just like you had done with the chair. As you were doing so, the green signature of your abilities wisped around your hand and the object. After a few moments of hovering the pen, you set in back down on the desk.

Without any further explanations you looked back to Rosa and the squad. “I value my freedom. I never told anyone about my past but I have to now. When I was little I was taken because of my mutations. I can’t remember much but I know I was passed around a lot, being… sold, I assume for what I could do. I wish I could remember but I don’t. I got out somehow and made a life for myself. All I knew is that I had these abilities and couldn’t tell anyone. Next thing I knew New York was being attacked by aliens and Shield began rounding up people like me. That’s when some memories started coming back to me, although most of my childhood up to 16 is completely blank.”

You took a moment; the squad gave you the time you needed. You had never said this aloud to anyone before but it didn’t feel therapeutic, it felt damning. You knew this would change everything. You took another deep breath before continuing.

“So I need your help. Shield will be looking for me, I need to hide out for one night where they won’t find me.”

“You can come to mine. No one knows where I live” Diaz offered. You gave her a smile and surprisingly she gave one back. You turned to the rest of the squad,

“I need the rest of you to tell anyone who asks that I ran and that you have no idea where I am. It won’t necessarily be a shield agent or an avenger they send so do not tell anyone what I have told you. I’ll be back tomorrow disguised, I’m not letting this derail all I’ve built up”

“Isn’t that a bit risky? How do you know they won’t tell it’s you?” asked terry, you gave him a small smirk.

“Trust me, they won’t. Rosa, I’ll need to teleport us near yours to avoid being seen. Can you think of a nearby ally?”

“Several.”

“Perfect, no need to tell me I got it”

“Hang on. Did she just--?” terry addressed the group. You looked to him and finished his sentence for him;

“Read her mind? Yes, I did. Oh and before you ask Hitchcock, yes I have been able to do that all this time and you need to begin censoring your thoughts man”

“damn Y/N, what else can you do?” Jake asked looking like an excited puppy.

“Not enough time to explain. Rosa.” You offered the detective your arm to grab a hold of which she did immediately. Before leaving you looked back to the squad and nodded a thank you. You kept the place fixed in your mind and disappeared in a flash of green.

***

Just as you had done in the precinct, you rematerialized only this time in a dank alley near Rosa’s apartment.

“Dope” she said looking at you with an impressed expression, commenting on your skills. “Here, take my jacket, it’ll make you look less like yourself as we’re walking.”

The detective began to take off her leather jacket, and even though you admit it would be helpful you had another idea in mind. As she was handing you the piece of clothing you stopped her.

“Don’t worry I won’t need that. Hey, what does your dog look like?” you asked getting ready. You could have teleported you both straight to the apartment but it would be better if Rosa was seen entering without you.

“Golden lab about this tall, why does that--?” before she could finish there was another flash of green and down at her feet was you, as Arlo. “Holy crap Y/L/N” She said as she took the lead that you had conjured and began to walk you to her apartment.

As you were walking down the busy street, you spotted them and nudged Rosa with your head. Thor and Loki. Despite both being dressed in normal clothes, they could still be spotted from a mile off. They didn’t exactly blend in. You could tell Rosa had also seen them and they were walking to her, clearly about to question her on your whereabouts.

“Excuse me, Lady” Thor addressed Rosa, “My brother and I are here to speak you on behalf of Shield and the Avengers. Would you be able to tell us the whereabouts of one of your colleagues? (Y/N) (Y/L/N)?”

“Can you tell me why you wanna know?” she retorted, avoiding the question.

“I am afraid not, we can tell you she will not be harmed, Shield needs to speak to her about an ongoing confidential matter.”

You looked up at the two brothers in your current form. Thor was looking at Rosa, and she was looking at Thor. But Loki was looking at you. You sat down looking up at the god and cocked your head to the side. He remained silent, examining you until he was brought to the attention of his brother.

“Loki what are you doing?” Thor asked him. You were sure he had figured you out. It was only a matter of seconds, still you sat there waiting for the raven-haired man’s response.

“Oh nothing, it’s only this creature looks just like you brother” he said with a smirk. You were shocked, why did he not say anything? Your train of thought was interrupted by Thor spluttering his defence and you had decided you had spent too much time with the people you were hiding from. You pretended to chase after something, pulling Rosa away by the lead.

“I assume we are done here?” she asked coolly, raising her eyebrow while you still pulled on the lead.

“Yes, thank you for your time. Come on brother” replied the god of thunder and you and Rosa began to walk down the street and enter her apartment.

As soon as the door was closed behind you, you transformed back to yourself, exhausted. This was too much energy being drained in one day.

“that was a close call” noted Diaz, removing her jacket as you slumped on a nearby chair.

“yeah, yeah it was.” You said with a sigh. You stared into space, thinking about what had just happened. Loki knew that was you, you were sure of it. But why didn’t he say anything?

What game is he playing? You thought.

“relax, Y/N.” Rosa said to you handing you a drink, bringing you back to the real world. You weren’t sure what it was but it smelt strong, and you didn’t care. “we did it, you’re safe.”

But a few houses down were Thor and Loki, and unbeknownst to you, as you transformed back, you alerted the trickster to your use of magic, causing him to smirk once more and turn to Thor.

“I think this planet is starting to interest me after all, brother”

#jake peralta x reader #loki x reader #thor #Avengers #avengers x fem!reader #b99 #brooklyn nine nine #rosa diaz #rosa diaz x reader #captain america #raymond holt #terry jeffords #loki #jake peralta

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vampiregirl1797 · 4 years

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When You Have a Breakdown at Work

Jake Peralta x Reader

GIF Not Mine

Word Count: 3,184

Warnings: maybe a little angst, & so much fluff

Click Here For Masterlist

Summary: Y/N’s having a bad day at work. The brother she hasn’t heard from in five years called to ask for bail money, and it brings back a lot of painful memories. More specifically, the memories of her parents turning her away after she removed the presence of her toxic brother from her life. Work isn’t the best place to have a breakdown, but the evidence room offers some privacy as she slowly falls apart, and when her partner finds her, his warm embrace provides some much needed comfort. As Y/N tells him what happened, he finds himself unable to hold his words back and ends up confessing how much she means to him. How will she react?

I took another deep breath and forced myself to gently place my phone back on my desk, instead of throwing it through one of the precinct windows like I wanted to. Now wasn’t the time to express my anger and complete frustration—I was at work. Now was the time to be professional and get on with my job, no matter how unbelievably annoying my brother was.

He’d done it again. Gotten himself arrested for having drugs on his person and in his system evidently. His sentence was going to be higher than it usually was because the high quantity of illegal substances he had on him led the cops who arrested him to believe he had the intent to distribute. Hell, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he had turned to dealing—he couldn’t hold down any other work so why wouldn’t he try and make some money to ensure he could keep up his habit.

I’d really tried with him, he was a year and seven months younger than me, and despite the fact that he towered over me and looked about forty five rather than thirty one, he was my little brother. But I’d disowned him about five years ago, after he’d gone off the rails for the third time, and I’d had to use what little savings I had to bail him out of jail, again. I realised then that I wasn’t family to him. I was a bank that he called up when he needed someone to come and save him because he couldn’t face the repercussions of his actions.

That was the last time I’d saved his ass, and I told him that from that moment, as far as I was concerned, I no longer had a little brother. I was officially an only child. He hadn’t taken it well and my parents had taken it worse—they’d retaliated by disowning me. It had been hard for a while afterwards, but when I got transferred to the 99th precinct in Brooklyn, I found a new family. One that was better than the one I’d had, and I was incredibly grateful to have them all in my life every day.

So, after all of this time, it came as a shock to receive a call from him. He’d gotten himself arrested again and apparently mom and dad couldn’t afford to bail him out this time. I idly wondered exactly how many other time’s they’d had to cough up some bail money for their perfect son, especially if it had gotten to the point of them having nothing left this time. I knew mom and dad had a nice little nest egg they’d put aside for their retirement—had he drained it all? I felt my heart clench at what that meant for them, but I didn’t let myself linger on it—it was their choice to keep him in their lives and ignore his toxic tendencies. I was not responsible for their choices and I was certainly not going to suffer the consequences of their actions.

‘Hey, Y/N did you finish the report for that B and E?’ Jake’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

‘Uh, yeah it’s on Holt’s desk.’ I forced a smile, grabbing some extra files I needed to finish and standing up, ‘I’m gonna go and finish these somewhere else. It’s a little loud in here, I can’t concentrate.’

I fled before Jake could say anything in response—if I gave him the chance to talk he would comment on the fact that the bullpen was quieter than it ever was because him and I were the only ones there. Well, aside from Sarge and the Captain, but both were always quiet because they had their own paperwork to be getting on with. Rosa and Charles were out on a case and Amy was off for the weekend—apparently she was going to see a TED talk on body language…at least I think that’s what she’d said. Gina was out on lunch, but she’d been gone for at least two hours now—I was anyone’s guess if and when she was coming back.

So really, needing quiet was a bogus excuse and Jake would pick up on that and start asking me what was wrong, and I didn’t want to talk about it. At least, not here anyway. Jake already knew about the non-existent relationship I had with my family—he was my partner and the stake outs, undercover missions and late nights filling out paperwork led to a lot of time for bonding. It was safe to say that the hyperactive man knew me better than anyone on the squad, or rather, anyone ever. There was just something about the brown haired, brown-eyed boy that made it impossible not to feel comfortable around him. I didn’t know if it was just a part of his personality, or if he was just the first and only person I’d ever clicked with so fast. Either way, I was lucky to have him in my life, as someone I could tell anything to, as someone I knew I could call at three in the morning because I needed to talk to someone who would listen… as someone I was starting to care for as more than a friend.

I shook my head free of those thoughts and took a seat at the desk in the evidence room. I will only focus on my paperwork. With a determined nod I opened my files and started filling out the relevant information, placing sticky tabs onto the pages I’d need to get Peralta to sign too. It didn’t take as long as I’d thought and in no time, I’d finished the four lots of reports and I was staring blankly at one of the many plain brown boxes piled on the shelves of evidence lock up.

These were times when I’d distract myself, refusing to linger on the pain and abandonment that sprang up inside of me whenever I thought about my family. Usually it worked great, and I got to a point where I could go months without them even crossing my mind. But I guess hearing my brother’s voice earlier was making it more difficult—he’d opened up the wound and I was going to have to wait for the skin to stitch itself back together.

I knew I’d made the right decision for me—my brother was toxic and even though it hadn’t been easy, I’d cut him out of my life, because I just couldn’t be happy while I was constantly waiting for the phone to ring to bail his ass out of whatever problem he’d managed to get himself into. The thought of that isn’t what hurt; what hurt more than anything was how easily and quickly my parents had turned their backs on me. How couldn’t they see how poisonous, how selfish he was? Why couldn’t they understand why I had to do what I did?

I took a deep breath and when it turned into a sob, the tears in my eyes spilled over. I leaned back in my chair, pulling my knees up to my chest and decided to indulge in a good cry. Everyone needed that once and a while, right? I hid my face in my knees and just let the tears, the sobs, all of it out. I’d been holding it in for a long time—while I’d shed a few tears over this predicament over the last five years, I’d never let myself go this much. And while my heart was throbbing painfully and my throat was starting to feel raw, it felt good to purge all of the feelings of abandonment, anger and hurt from my body.

Being so lost in crying I hadn’t heard someone join me in the evidence room and I just about jumped a mile when I felt a hand on my back. I looked up to see Jake, his hands held in front of him defensively and his brown eyes shining with concern. Without much thought I practically leaped into his arms and buried my face in his chest, the sobs and tears continuing to fall from me—I was too far in to stop now, I had to let it run its course. Jake’s arms wound around me and he rested his chin on top of my head, murmuring soothing things to me. Eventually he sat in the chair I’d been on when he’d arrived, pulling me onto his lap and allowing me to nuzzle further into his warmth. He started to rub the bottom of my back comfortingly and I just about melted into him as the tears finally started to subside.

I don’t know how long we were sat there for, but he never once complained or pushed me to talk about what had caused this reaction, even after the tears stopped. He just kept rubbing my back and occasionally placing a chaste kiss to my hair, which made my heart skip in my chest every time. I nuzzled my way up to the crook of his neck, inhaling his cologne and not fighting as my eyes fluttered shut at the comfort and security that intensified around me.

‘Thank you, Jake.’ I murmured, my voice was low but even I could hear how weak it sounded.

‘It’s no problem, Y/N.’ He kissed my hair again and I could sense that he was bracing himself to ask me something that he was worried I wouldn’t want to hear, ‘did something happen?’

The question didn’t make me stiffen defensively like it would have if anyone else had asked. But coming from him, I didn’t mind, and so instead I sighed and melted further into him.

‘My bother called.’ I felt him stiffen momentarily—he knew that couldn’t mean anything good, especially with the state he’d found me in, ‘he was arrested for possession and intent to distribute. Mom and dad couldn’t afford to bail him out this time, apparently I was his last resort.’

‘What did you tell him?’ he asked, a little hesitantly.

‘I told him that I didn’t care and that it was about time he faced some repercussions for his actions. He told me I was a bitch and that I was dead to him. I told him he’d been dead to me for five years, harsh but true.’ I shrugged and Jake’s index finger tilted my chin up so he could study my eyes. I assumed he was trying to figure out if I was actually feeling as casual and dismissive as I was acting over the conversation I’d had with my brother.

He frowned in confusion, ‘you don’t seem upset about that, so what’s bought this on?’

Another sigh fell from me, my eyes fluttering closed as his hand caressed the side of my face, ‘over the past five years I’d gotten good at not thinking about my family, I’d just distract myself whenever a thought about them popped into my head.’ He nodded, but the crease between his brows hinted that his confusion lingered, ‘and I got to a point where they wouldn’t cross my mind for months, but that phone call, hearing his voice just bought it all back. Tore open the wound all over again, and while I honestly don’t care about my brother no longer being in my life�� it still hurts that my mom and dad just disowned me so easily. I still don’t understand why. I get that they were pissed at me for disowning him, but why can’t they understand that with him in my life I was only ever on edge? That I couldn’t be truly happy while I was waiting for the phone to ring with him asking for more money to bail him out of whatever trouble he’d gotten himself into?’

The pain in Jake’s eyes made my eyes tear up all over again, touched that he seemed to care enough that my sadness affected him so deeply. I took a deep breath, determined to get it all out.

‘My anger has stopped me from shedding more than a few tears over the years, I never let it out, never let myself properly grieve for the parents I lost. And for some reason I decided that here in the evidence lock up was the best location for that to happen.’ My tone turned a little light-hearted at the end and Jake acknowledged my effort by smiling a little, but the pain still lingered in his eyes.

‘I’m so sorry, Y/N.’ He said, his words coming out so quickly that I had to concentrate to catch them all, it was as if he’d been holding it in for a long time and now he was rushing to get it all out, ‘I’m sorry that your parents and your brother didn’t realise how lucky they were to have you in their lives. I’m sorry that they just disowned you so easily, without recognising what a loss it would be and how empty their lives must be without you in it. I’m sorry that they hurt you.’ His eyes were shining with such intensity as he spoke and when he paused to take a breath, a softness appeared in them that made my breath catch, ‘I’m sorry they didn’t appreciate how incredible you are when they had the chance, but I’m not sorry that they’re never going to get the chance again. Because they don’t deserve it, they don’t deserve to have you in their lives. They don’t deserve to know the person you are now because they didn’t realise how kind, sweet, caring and loving you were then. They don’t deserve to know all of the achievements you’ve accomplished in your career and your personal life.’ He gently wiped away the tears as they fell down my cheeks, ‘the truth is, Y/N, I don’t understand how anyone could ever turn their back on you, because I cannot imagine my life without you. It would be empty, a lot less fun, I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic to come to work because I wouldn’t have the fact that I would get to see you to motivate me.’

‘Jake,’ I whispered, overwhelmed and I feeling myself fall that little bit more in love with him.

‘I know I’m being a little intense here and I hope that it’s not freaking you out, but I wanted you to know that I and everyone in your life now, would never be able to abandon you like they did. You have a family, you have a home here.’ He kissed my forehead.

His proximity didn’t diminish after, as he rested his forehead against mine, close enough that I could feel his breath mingling with mine, both of us suddenly breathing sporadically. I knew he wouldn’t move close enough to kiss me, he would leave the power in my hands, and if I pushed him away he would immediately get off me and give me space. But I didn’t want space; I wanted to feel his lips moving against mine, I wanted to taste his skin on my tongue. My hands trailed up either side of his neck and moved through his soft brunette hair, Jake’s eyes darkened with lust and I felt my knees go weak—if I’d still been standing I would have crumpled to the floor. I gently pulled him towards me, close enough to close the small gap between us.

The kiss started off tender, his soft lips dancing gently with mine as we tentatively learned how to move together. Once the shyness melted into the heat of our lust, the kiss became more passionate, me shifting in his lap to straddle him, my hands tightening in his hair when he gripped my waist tighter to pull me closer. I felt a moan tumble from me when he flicked his tongue against mine—I’d never had that kind of reaction when kissing anyone before, but no one had ever kissed me so expertly, so effortlessly as if he knew what I wanted when I didn’t. I felt myself melt into him as his tongue dominated mine, another sound of pleasure leaving my throat. I was overwhelmed with the affect he was having on me—my whole body was tingling with electricity, my bones felt like they’d melted and a knot of pleasure was forming in my belly and growing so quickly that I felt like I was going to burst into flames at any moment.

Eventually we reluctantly pulled apart, our bodies needing the oxygen we’d been denying it for too long. My forehead fell to his shoulder as I tried to get my breathing under control, and when I felt like I could speak again a breathy, ‘wow’ was whispered into the skin of his neck.

‘That was the hottest moment of my life.’ His voice was breathy too and I lifted my head to look at him, a teasing smile on my face.

‘Title of your sex tape.’ I winked, laughing with him, though I stopped abruptly when he sat up straighter, his hands tightening on my waist to assure he didn’t drop me.

He gasped, ‘title of our sex tape!’

I threw my head back, a loud laugh tumbling from my throat as I slapped the hand he held up for a high five. He entwined our fingers together and pulled me closer, placing a short but passionate and loving kiss to my lips. His eyes were soft when we pulled apart, and I knew that I was observing him in the same adoring way as my free hand fell to the back of his neck, playing with the longer strands of his soft hair.

‘I’m so lucky to have you in my life, Jake Peralta.’ I murmured, kissing his nose when he bashfully grinned, his eyes softening even more.

‘Not as lucky as I am.’ His hand caressed the side of my face, his eyes tender with adoration and sincerity, and he bought our lips together once again.

As our lips moved together once again, I couldn’t help but thank whatever deity had bought Jake Peralta and the rest of the squad into my life. Because Jake was right, I did have a family here, one that was better and stronger than the relationships I used to have with my mom, dad and brother. But I was especially grateful for Jake. For his kindness, generosity, for caring about me, for loving me. We might not have said it, but I knew he felt it, just as I knew he was sure that I felt the same for him—it was clear in our eyes as we looked at each other and our touch as we held one another.

And as our kiss deepened with fervour, I was certain that I would go through all the pain that came with my parents disowning me a thousand times over, if it meant that I would be blessed with having Jake Peralta in my life when it was done.

#Jake Peralta x reader #Jake Peralta #Jake Peralta x you #Brooklyn 99

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frostedfaves · 4 years

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Reunion

Pairing: Jake Peralta x fem!reader

Summary: Jake and Y/N have been best friends practically since birth, until an argument broke them apart just before she moved away. Now she’s taking Gina’s place at the precinct.

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: none

My fingers shook with excitement (and just a hint of fear) as I rode the elevator up to my new precinct. Not only was it great to be working somewhere I could actually get work done, but I'm so happy to be back home in Brooklyn. I can't believe it took me this long to return.

I stepped out of the elevators immediately into a busy room, recognizing the bullpen as home of the detectives from my last job. However, it was the only thing I recognized, so I was grateful when a female detective with dark and straight hair approached me.

"Hi, I'm Detective Santiago. Can I help you with something?" she smiled kindly at me while clutching a pretty heavy looking binder.

"Yeah, I'm here to meet Captain Holt? I'm the new civilian administrator."

"Oh, right! Follow me." She led me through the bullpen directly to an office door, listening carefully for a second before knocking. "He should be out in a second." She gave me one last smile before going back to work.

Just as promised, Captain Holt appeared a second later from the office, greeting me with just a hint of a smile and a firm handshake. "You must be the new civilian administrator. Lovely to meet you." Before I had a chance to respond, he pulled away and turned to address the rest of the room in a booming voice. "Attention, detectives! I would like to introduce to you, from San Diego, the newest addition of our precinct--"

"Y/N?"

The detectives that had gathered all turned back toward the elevators to reveal the one who spoke, one I recognized very well.

"Jake?" I tried not to smile too wide as he jogged toward me and pulled me into the warmest hug I'd had in a while, hiding my disappointment as he pulled away. "Oh my goodness, how are you? I can't believe I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah, that's kinda my fault." He shook his head, quickly bringing his smile back just as fast as it disappeared. "I'm great, though! Especially now that we get to work together! I wish you could've been here at the same time as Gina."

"I can't believe she told me about her newest hair color and an idea for a Tinder for toddlers, but not that when I took her place, I'd be working with you."

"Then she probably didn't tell you about her daughter, either."

"Sorry, her what?" His eyes widened as he nodded and I laughed a little bit out of disbelief. Not sure what to say next, I looped my fingers through a few loose strands of hair and began to twirl them until we were interrupted by another female detective that didn't seem so impressed with our reunion.

"So are you two gonna continue to eye bone, or can the rest of us meet you?" she asked in a tone that was so blunt, it was basically a statement.

I averted my eyes when they met Jake's again, both of us shying away immediately as I cleared my throat and spoke a little louder, addressing everyone in the room now. "I'm Y/N L/N, and as you probably heard, I'm replacing Gina as civilian administrator. It's really nice to meet you all."

We went around the room as I was introduced to all of the detectives and the sergeant, and Captain opened up the floor for questions anyone had for me.

"What was it like at your last precinct?" Detective Santiago, now identified also as Amy, spoke up first.

"The detectives were nice to me, but kind of arrogant in general. It was really hard to get work done when they were around. And as time went on, the captain made more and more sexual advances at me, saying that I owed him because I worked for him." I noticed Amy seemingly nod in understanding, and I knew I had something to talk with her about later, if she was willing.

"Did you ever go down to LA to meet Nancy Meyers?" Rosa--the moment interrupter--asked with a slight smirk.

"No, but I met her assistant when he almost ran me over, if that counts?"

"Nice. I'll take it."

"What made you transfer precincts so far from home?" The beautifully buff Sergeant Terry Jeffords asked me next.

"To be honest, I would've been happy to transfer to any precinct, but when I found out that the nine-nine in Brooklyn had a spot, I had to take it. I'm originally from here anyway, and I was only supposed to be in San Diego until I finished college, but I was offered the position right before graduation and just stuck with it until the captain got to be too much. I suppose I stayed so long because I didn't think I'd find anything better anytime soon." My gaze floated over to Jake, returning the smile that crept upon his features.

"I have one last question that I'm sure everyone is dying to know the answer to as well," Charles began with a grin that made me a little nervous. "How do you and Jake know each other? Past lovers, perhaps?"

"Oh, um..." I stumbled in response to his question that I must admit took me by surprise at the end, grateful when Jake took over.

"She's my best friend. I mean she was from childhood. She could still be if she wanted to. I-I mean I've known her since birth practically but we lost contact when she left but I'd still like to think of her as my friend and yeah, I'm talking for too much amount of time!" I laughed a little, relieved at the fact that Jake was a little nervous too.

I placed my hand on his upper arm gently. "I still think of you as my best friend too, Jake." We traded smiles again when he noticed my touch, but I carefully removed my hand when I noticed the googly-eyed look Charles was giving us.

Once Holt showed me around the precinct, I'd managed to work without flaws all the way up to mid afternoon, when I decided I was ready for lunch. I walked into the break room and stuck last night's pizza in the microwave, leaning on a nearby counter while playing on my phone as I waited.

"Hey."

I looked up from my phone to see Jake standing a few feet away and smiled. "Hi. What're you gonna eat?"

"Last night's pizza." He showed me the plate, grinning when I took mine from the microwave and revealed it to him. "Noice." He took his turn with the microwave as I sat down with my warm lunch and sat at the table across from me.

"So—"

"I just—"

"Go ahead." We spoke at the same time, searching each other's eyes to see who would go first, almost as if we were challenging each other. I nodded at him and he eventually caved.

"Well, I just wanted to say that seeing you today makes me realize how empty I felt when you were gone. I really missed you." His speech faded out a bit toward the end and he fixed his gaze on the napkin in front of him, fiddling with it in his fingers.

"I missed you too, Jakey," I responded just as quietly, and he looked up with just a hint of shock in his eyes. "My anger from our argument was gone the moment I got to my dorm room and realized I was in a new place alone for the first time ever, and all I wanted to do was run back home to you. I know I should have put my petty thoughts aside and just called you, but I didn't and I've regretted it every day since."

"I'm so sorry," he breathed out, and I could tell by the softer look in his eyes that he meant it. "It's my fault that we fell apart in the first place. I only started the argument because I was upset that for the first time in my eighteen years of living, I was going to be away from you, and I didn't know how to deal with it. It's stupid, I know—"

"No, it's not." I quickly placed a hand over his on the table and he turned his over and grabbed mine instead, causing my heart rate to triple in speed. "It's perfectly normal for a teenager being introduced to a whole new adult world to freak out about it. At least, that's what my dad told me when I freaked out on him the week before." I chuckled a little and he let out one as well.

"Well, thanks for forgiving my stupid teen self, but I'm an adult now according to my birth records and laws so I need to learn how to be better at telling you how I'm feeling." He grabbed my other hand and just stared at them on the table until a voice at the door caused us to jump apart.

"Wow, I can just smell the romance in here!"

"Charles!"

#queue #jake peralta #jake peralta x reader #jake peralta x fem!reader #jake peralta imagine #brooklyn nine nine #brooklyn 99 #brooklyn nine nine imagine #brooklyn nine nine x reader #b99 fic #b99 imagine #b99 x reader #b99 fanfic

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sambergscott · 4 years

Text

Lights Out

Summary: The elevator jolts and the lights flicker, before plunging them into total darkness. There's a Brooklyn-wide power outage, they're stuck in the precinct elevator and Amy is claustrophobic AF. Then her water breaks.

Based on this amazing (!!!) s7 finale theory by @luna-minerva. Thank you so much for letting me turn that into this. I really, really hope you love it.

She has a birth plan written out by her sixth month of pregnancy detailing her preferences for labor — dimmed lights, calming music, an epidural, Jake by her side at all times — laminated in the apartment, her go bag (already pre-packed in their family friendly sedan) and her everyday purse. She sent copies to her doctor, both their parents and Captain Holt, printed one for Jake to keep at work and saved a digital copy in the Notes app on both their phones. Just in case.

(“Single spaced, double sided: Santiago Style,” Jake grins when she hands over the final draft.

“Of course. It’s an important document about the most important moment of our lives. I want everything to go smoothly.”)

And for most of her pregnancy, it does. She sends him out for pierogis, potato pancakes and hot chocolate most nights, cries over every car commercial on TV and waddles around the apartment making sure everything is perfect for when the baby arrives. The doctor assures her that they’re both healthy, but she should take an early maternity leave, given the stresses of her job.

She survives for one day before she’s back at the precinct, prompting several raised eyebrows and whispers from around the bullpen. Ignoring all of them, she hitches her purse onto her shoulder, lifts her head, and marches determinately to her old desk.

“FOMOW?” Jake guesses with an amused smile.

“It’s not FOMOW,” she huffs in annoyance. “I just finished organising the nursery and since I was passing the precinct, I figured I’d come visit my husband, if that’s OK with you.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” he holds his hands up. “I’ve missed having a beautiful lady to look up at when my paperwork gets boring.” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully. “I suppose you’ll do.”

She rolls her eyes, sitting down and trying to make herself as comfortable as possible, a difficult task when you’re as big as a whale and your back has been aching all day.

“Peralta,” Holt’s new assistant barks as he leaves Holt’s office, “you missed some signatures on this report.” He drops it on top of all the other open case files, candy wrappers and clutter on Jake’s desk, a welcome change from the way Gina would turn their work into paper airplanes and fly them across the bullpen. As Jake starts scribbling his name, Holt’s assistant notices Amy. “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“Oh, I’m OK. I work here. Well, I used to work here. I’m on maternity leave.”

“Of course,” he nods, realisation spreading across his face. “You’re Sergeant Santiago. Captain Holt mentions you constantly.”

“He does?” She clutches her heart. “Jake, did you hear that? Holt mentions me.”

He mouths “dork” and she sticks her tongue out at him.

“So when’s the baby due? You look ready to pop any day now.”

“Two weeks,” Jake answers on her behalf, sensing danger. The ‘ready to pop’ comment has been driving her crazy for weeks. She is well aware of her size and does not need perfect strangers reminding her. She’s pregnant, not a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. She’s supposed to be big. He shoves the signed documents into Holt’s assistant’s hands and glances apprehensively back at his wife. “You OK?”

“Mm-hmm.” She plasters on a brave face. “Can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually miss Gina.”

Jake snorts and presses play on CCTV footage of a robbery.

She twists her engagement ring on her finger, braids the ends of her hair and straightens a pile of folders on the desk. She is something of a workaholic and not being able to do anything is torture. “Any cool cases you’re working on?” She asks Jake, because what else are husbands for if not living vicariously through their work while on maternity leave?

“Hipster coffee shop got broken into last night. The owner was devastated that she had to drink Starbucks this morning like the rest of us instead of her fancy $8 million gold infused coffee blend from Outer Mongolia.”

“At least she gets to drink coffee,” Amy responds snarkily.

“Worth it though,” he grins. “And I’ll be your personal in-home barista once this baby is out.”

“Thanks, babe. You’re the sweetest.” She rounds their desks to give him a chaste kiss (she may not be in work but they are still at work), when something catches her eye on the screen. She instructs him to rewind the video, pointing out that the intruder has the same bone structure and blonde hair as the owner behind the counter.

Jake gasps. “It was an inside job!”

A failing business tries to scam the insurance company; it’s a tale as old as time.

He grabs his phone, gun and jacket in a rush to arrest the owner before they skip town.

“Can I come with you?”

“What?”

“I want to come with you. I’m the one who solved the case.”

“You’re pregnant. You can’t.”

“I’ll walk ahead of you, pretend I’m just a normal customer,” she pleads. “You know I’m good at going undercover. Remember Dora?”

“Of course I remember Dora, Johnny loved Dora, but this is different. It’s too dangerous.”

“They own a hipster coffee shop, Jake,” she deadpans. “They’re not going to hurt a pregnant lady. I’m FOMOWing so bad, I just want to be there.”

“Ames-.”

“Please, Jake,” she kicks her persuasion tactics up a few notches, pulling out the doe eyes and pout that she knows he can’t resist.

“Fine,” he concedes before she starts crying and playing the “I’m having your baby” card. “You can come. But if anything dangerous goes down, you have to get out of there straight away. You can’t get involved.”

“Deal.” She shakes his hand firmly (she took a refresher seminar a few months ago) and retrieves her purse from her old desk, following him to the elevator like old times. Peralta and Santiago off to take down bad guys (and look good doin’ it). Of course, there will be no actual taking down of bad guys nine months pregnant, although she could do it if she wanted to, she’s definitely felt the urge to kick Charles in the shin whenever he brings them disgusting foods or tries to kiss her belly.

Just being there is enough for now.

She speeds up, reaching the elevator before him and pressing the down button first. She smirks at him over her shoulder and steps inside when the doors open. Despite being married and expecting a kid together, their competitive edge has never wavered. In the last few months alone, they’ve bet on the sex of the baby, who would cry first when they heard the heartbeat, what fruit or vegetable their baby is that week and who can put a diaper on a football fastest. Bets are the cornerstone of their relationship — the original bet sparking Jake’s realisation that he liked her liked her — and Amy can’t wait for their kids to join in when they’re old enough.

(Kids, plural, because for some reason, even after difficulty conceiving and morning sickness and FOMOW, she would still go through pregnancy all over again. They don’t quite want eight like her parents, but at least one more would be nice).

Rosa’s black boots stop the elevator doors closing and she squeezes through the gap. “Got an early lunch date,” she explains.

“Oh,” Amy says, sharing A Look™️ with Jake. Rosa hasn’t dated anyone since Jocelyn dumped her, choosing to be on her own for a while since she hasn’t really had time alone to process her almost marriage to Pimento, prison and coming out. Repairing her relationship with her parents has been her #1 priority and this is the first Amy’s heard about her seeing someone new. “Is it... serious?” She tries not to push too hard because otherwise Rosa will just close off (it’s pointless asking about names or jobs or appearance), which is hard because she just wants her to be as happy as she is with Jake, but also knows from past experience that Rosa will eventually reveal the information when she’s ready.

“It could be,” she responds vaguely. “I like her, but she’s a doctor so we both work way too much.”

“Well, I hope it works out. You deserve someone really great.”

Rosa pulls her in for a tight, unexpected hug. “Thanks, Santiago,” she murmurs, her voice cracking as if she’s about to cry.

The elevator jolting and lights flickering ruins the moment. After a few terrifying seconds, it stops completely and they are plunged into darkness.

Amy’s blood runs cold, panic filling her lungs. She’s had this nightmare a million times, having suffered with claustrophobia ever since her brothers locked her in a closet as a kid.

She hears Jake’s “cool, cool, cool, cool, cool” and Rosa saying that it’s probably a power cut, but she can’t speak. She can’t do anything but think about how they’re never going to get out and how the squad will have to send them food supplies through the safety hatch in the ceiling and how they’ll have to raise their baby in this tiny metal box, teaching her to count using the buttons to the different precinct floors.

She feels pain, a fun combination of Braxton Hicks that she’s been having for weeks and panic attack. She tries to focus on her breathing and not on the four walls closing in on her. When the breathing techniques fail, she focuses on Jake.

Kind, funny, handsome Jake. Her husband, but more than that, her best friend. She concentrates on the toothpaste stain on the front of his shirt, his unruly curls that she loves so much, the ring on his finger glinting in the light from Rosa’s phone. His own phone is pressed to his ear and she can only hear one side of the conversation but it’s clear that he’s debriefing Holt.

“- Me, Amy, Rosa -"

“- We’re fine, just stuck -"

“- How long? -”

“Shit.” He hangs up, pocketing his phone. “Power’s out everywhere. Our back-up generators haven’t kicked in, something about air in the fuel system. The fire department are busy with the blackout and we’re apparently not an emergency, so. We could be in here a while.”

“Shit,” Rosa echoes his sentiment.

“Yeah. You OK, Ames?” He turns his attention to her.

She shakes her head meekly.

“Claustrophobic?” Rosa guesses, remembering her reaction to being locked in the trunk when she was trying to get her and Gina to face their fears.

She nods.

“We can play Celebrity to distract ourselves. I’ll go first. He’s the greatest actor -.”

“Bruce Willis,” Amy and Rosa say at the same time.

“Thought I’d give you an easy one to start,” he blushes.

Amy almost laughs despite the overwhelming fear. She loves him, Bruce Willis obsession and all. She takes a few seconds to think of someone good. Then, “They’re in - oh - water -.”

“They’re in water?” Rosa repeats, confused. “You mean like Jaws?”

“Or Finding Dory?” Jake adds. He made her watch the movie with him after Pimento’s Memento disease and now wants to buy a fish and call it Dory, even though he famously killed her fish back when they were dating. “Is it Ellen?”

“No, my water.”

Jake and Rosa both look down in horror. She buries her face in her hands. As if this situation could not get any worse.

“At least this classifies us as an emergency now,” Jake quips.

Rosa does Amy a favour and punches him in the arm.

They notify Holt — who in turn notifies the FDNY — and Jake sends a text to both their parents.

Rosa climbs onto Jake’s shoulders and opens the safety hatch so Charles can lower a care package of towels and bottled water into the elevator.

(He also delivers Sour Candies, upon Jake’s request).

Terry tries to pull the doors apart, but even his tree trunk arms are no match for the heavy metal.

Amy breathes through her contractions, stubbornly determined to stick to her birth plan and give birth in the hospital.

Her body, however, has other ideas.

“Four minutes apart now,” Rosa announces. She punches a wall out of frustration. “Where the hell are those firefighters?”

“They’re not going to make it in time,” Jake responds, equally frustrated. “Camila warned me months ago that Santiago babies come early, fast and are always boys.”

“This baby is half-Peralta and a girl. She might be the exception.” Amy takes a sip of water, ignoring the look of disbelief on Jake’s face.

“Diaz, you went to med school, tell my wife that this baby isn’t going to wait.”

Rosa opens her mouth to speak but Amy cuts her off.

“Diaz, tell my husband that the contractions aren’t even that painful and we have time.”

As it turns out, they don’t have time at all.

She’s feels pressure, the urge to push, and not even the glug glug glug of Rosa’s babbling brook sounds can calm her down.

“I do not want to give birth in the precinct elevator,” she cries.

Jake, on back rubbing duty, exchanges nervous glances with Rosa. She’s fully dilated and with the fire department still busy tackling other emergencies, this is happening. Right here. Right now.

“You know, it’s actually kind of perfect, Ames. We first met outside this elevator, right? And I kept the elevator doors open to let you win the Jimmy Jabs because of my massivecrush on you. And then you let me win to save our car. We fell in love in this precinct. It’s where we had our first for realz kiss, where we got engaged, where we got married. It’s kind of fitting that it’s also where our baby is going to be born.”

She tilts her head back to kiss him, ignoring Rosa’s complaints that they’re gross.

She thinks back to her wedding vows. Not everything is in our control, but as long as you’re with the right people you can handle anything. And you, Jake Peralta, are the right person for me. She can handle this with Jake by her side. She can bring their daughter into the world.

“OK... I’m ready.”

“That’s my girl,” Jake says proudly, shuffling into a better position to hold her hand and see the baby when she comes out.

They all disinfect their hands with Purrell from Amy’s purse and Rosa explains what’s going to happen and Jake jokes that he feels like Sandra Oh in Grey’s Anatomy.

Rosa rolls her eyes. “Christina was a heart surgeon, dumb dumb. You’re thinking of Addison. What?” She questions at their surprised expressions. “I like Grey’s Anatomy! It makes me feel things! I’m not totally heartless.”

Amy releases a string of expletives as another contraction starts.

“We’re going to start pushing on the next one,” Rosa instructs, forgetting her favourite medical drama.

Amy nods quickly.

Jake brushes fallen strands of hair away from her sweat-covered skin and takes her hand. “Squeeze as hard as you need to, babe.”

No amount of studying or listening to her mom’s stories could prepare her for the pain of pushing a baby out. It’s worse than the time her brother pushed her off the monkey bars when she was eight and she broke her arm, worse than the time she got shot in the line of duty, worse than the heartbreak of Jake being sentenced to 15 years in prison. It’s worse than anything she’s ever experienced and when it’s over she has so many questions for her mom, including why on Earth did she do this so many times?!

She’s also going to thank Jake for not complaining once and buy Rosa many drinks for her part in all this.

Having her colleague deliver her baby was definitely not part of the birth plan, but out of everyone they work with, she’s glad that it’s Rosa.

Rosa who’s been there for Jake since the Academy.

Rosa who has always had her back, too, who comforted her when Jake was in Florida, helped get her to her Sergeant’s exam on time and encouraged Jake to ask her out.

(And thank God she did).

Labor is exhausting.

It’s painful and emotional and long.

“You’re so close,” Jake cheers her on when she hits a wall.

“He’s right. I can see her head. One more push, Santiago.”

“I can’t-.”

“You can,” Rosa insists. “1,000 push ups.”

“OK,” she whispers. Rosa doesn’t just throw around 1,000 push ups willy nilly. It means something. And if Rosa is so confident that she can do this, then she can do it.

She pushes and pushes and eventually hears a baby’s cry.

It’s the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard.

When Rosa places her in Amy’s arms for immediate skin-to-skin, all four of them are openly weeping.

She’s the most perfect person she’s ever seen.

“I love you both so much,” Jake murmurs, kissing the top of Amy’s head. He leans down to kiss his daughter, too, marvelling over the fact that he gets to say my daughter now.

They cuddle for a while, quietly bickering over who she looks most like. They decide that she has Jake’s hair, nose and mouth and, when she opens her eyes for a second to see what all the fuss is about, he is thrilled to discover that she has the same beautiful eyes as her mom.

They wrap her up in Jake’s favourite blue hoodie to keep her warm and Rosa snaps their first official family portrait and sends it to their parents, Amy’s brothers and the Nine-Nine’s WhatsApp group. She reads out the messages of congratulations that fly in, making Jake and Amy both cry some more.

Finally she interrupts their family time to cut the cord, pulling out her pocket knife and lighter from her leather jacket.

Jake’s eyes go comically wide. “You’re going to use a knife?”

“Do you have any other suggestions?” She snaps.

He falls silent.

“Thought so.” She sterilises the blade (recently sharpened following Brad Leone’s tutorial from the BA Test Kitchen) with her lighter and carefully cuts the umbilical cord.

“Say thank you Tía Rosa,” Amy coos, stroking her daughter’s tiny hand.

“Tía?”

“Mm-hmm,” Amy hums with a tired smile. “We were going to ask you to be her godmother anyway, but I think you have more than earned that role now.”

“I’d be honoured,” she responds.

After another hour and a half stuck in the elevator, the lights come back on, the elevator doors open with a ping and they are suddenly faced with a crowd of concerned police officers, firefighters and paramedics, little Maya Peralta gracing the rest of the world in the most dramatic of fashion.

The firefighters spring into gear, holding the elevator doors shut while others help Amy into an awaiting wheelchair.

Jake hovers next to the paramedics as they check Maya’s vitals. Thankfully, everything is normal, they clean her up and replace Jake’s blood-stained hoodie with a warm blanket.

“She’s perfect,” the female paramedic tells him as she hands Maya back to her dad, confirming what he knew the second he laid eyes on her.

They then turn their attention to Amy, who is fine — more than fine, she’s the happiest she’s ever been — just a little sore. They decide to take them both into hospital as a precautionary measure since Maya is two weeks early (Santiago Style!), packing up their equipment while Jake and Amy introduce the Nine-Nine’s newest recruit to the rest of the squad.

Terry says something about little girls being the best, Hitchcock and Scully claim not to have known Amy was even pregnant and Holt’s stoic façade crumbles when Maya grips his finger with her entire hand.

Charles’ eyes are red and puffy like he’s been crying, but he’s uncharacteristically calm when Jake asks if he wants to hold her. He nods, of course, and is enamoured with her the moment he feels her weight in his arms.

This isn’t how she planned it —none of it is — she wanted the controlled hospital birth and the grandparents to meet the baby first and she really wanted to catch the perp from the coffee shop robbery, but Jake was right. It’s kind of perfect that she was born here, in the Nine-Nine, surrounded by their second family.

She meets her husband’s eye and smiles.

#b99 fics #jake x amy #my writing #I'm really proud of this so I hope you all love it #also the knife thing turned out to.....not be as big of a deal as I expected #but thank you for your advice anyway #let me know what you think!!!!!

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mediaevalmusereads · 3 months

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Did You Hear About Kitty Carr? By Crystal Smith Paul. Henry Holt and Company, 2023.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

Series: N/A

Summary: When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions.

A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could—and between a cheating fiancé and the fallout from a controversial social media post, there are plenty.

The truth behind Kitty's ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed, and debatable crimes that could, with one pull, unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them.

As Elise digs deeper into Kitty's past, she must also turn the lens upon herself, confronting the gifts and burdens of her own choices and the power that the secrets of the dead hold over the living. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine, an insightful and nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race, and gender—and the choices some women make to break free of them.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: rape, racism (including hate crime/murder/lynching and use of the n-word)

OVERVIEW: I came across this book by chance and, after reading the summary, was intrigued. An Old Hollywood setting? A mysterious inheritance? A discussion of race and fame and family? I was in! Unfortunately, I didn't feel like I could give this book more than 3 stars because a lot of Paul's writing seemed stiff and relied on telling over showing. On top of that, the present-day story just wasn't as interesting as I hoped, so while there were things I liked about this book, it was ultimately a middling read for me.

WRITING: Paul's writing had a number of features that I just personally didn't find enjoyable. For example, the author has a habit of telling rather than showing, which means a lot of emotions are buried under blunt, straightforward exposition. We're told how Kitty is feeling, for example, and we're told that she loves movies and stories growing up; I would have loved to see more scenes where we could experience these emotions along with the character. Related to this is the feeling that Paul over-explains things that the reader can either infer or could have been replaced by a "showing" scene; I just constantly felt like I was expected to absorb a lot of things but never was trusted to interpret them by just reading the story alone.

Also, the dialogue felt a little stiff, which made for some awkward conversations. There are stretches within a scene when characters will have a lot of back and forth, giving the feeling that they are at an interview or playing 20 questions or something. I would have liked these exchanges to be broken up for an enhanced flow.

Related to these points is the fact that Paul tended to use a lot of filter words and phrases, such as "Kitty wondered" or "Kitty wanted." While not "wrong" or "bad," the overuse of these types of phrases made me feel like I was being kept apart from the characters and not invited to feel with them.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows two timelines: in the present, Black actress Elise St. John is dealing with the publicity of inheriting millions of dollars from Kitty Karr, a White actress who gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. In the past, we see Kitty's life unfold from her childhood in North Carolina to her eventually move to LA during the Jim Crow/segregation era.

The parts of this story I liked best were moments in Kitty's timeline when Kitty grappled with her racial status. We learn pretty early on that Kitty is a mixed race woman who can pass as white, and she struggles with finding her place in a world where neither the white or black communities will fully embrace her. Kitty's struggles were refreshingly honest and shed a light on a lot of complicated feelings, from wanting to be part of the black community to hating how black lives are made more difficult to feeling guilty for being able to access white privilege. The way Kitty sees Jim Crow as both oppressor and tool was also interesting, and her constant fear of being discovered raised the stakes of her story.

I also liked that Kitty was able to build her own little community of people who passed and that they all offered different perspectives on race and racism. Lillian's jealousy, for example, threw a dark shadow over passing and hinted at some internalized racism. Lucy's story was complex in that she used her privilege to help people, but that help often came with strings. It was all very compelling and made me think more about the multitude of experiences people have and how passing is tied to privilege so long as the person denies a huge part of their identity.

But even with all the good, some things didn't quite work for me. One was that Paul had the tendency to just summarize things that would have been great to have "on screen." For example, we're told that Kitty becomes famous, but we don't really experience the rush of fame along with her - we just get a summary. This kind of thing happens multiple times in the book, and I wonder if Paul was just trying to fit too much into her novel or else was focusing on the wrong things.

Also (and I hate to say it), but I just was not interested in Elise's storyline. Every time we were in the present, it felt like there was very little to keep me invested (at least until closer to the end). I didn't much care to know why Elise inherited Kitty's money because it seemed that Elise had a plausible explanation from the get go. Elise was also already famous, so Kitty's inheritance didn't feel that shocking, and we don't really see Elise digging through Kitty's things and piecing together her story. I do appreciate that Paul tries to explore what it means to be a Black celebrity, but personally, I didn't find that meditation compelling enough because it didn't dive as deeply or parallel as closely to Kitty's story to feel meaningful.

CHARACTERS: Kitty, one of our protagonists, is incredibly interesting in that she's a black woman passing as white during the Jim Crow era. Her story shed a lot of light on race and privilege while also grappling with identity and personal fulfillment. The only thing I wish was different was the portrayal of Kitty's worrying and acting; though they are big parts of her life, we don't really get to see Kitty in action or experience the emotions she feels when at her best. I guess part of the book is supposed to be about how black women can be at the upper echelons of society despite white people hindering them, but I wanted to know if it was all about celebrity and power or if there was something special about the movies and stories that resonated with Kitty.

Elise, our present-day protagonist, had a lot of things going for her that could have been interesting. I liked that she had a complex relationship with her family members and often reminded readers that while she was a celebrity, she was also black (and thus subject to racism). But to be honest, I didn't care much about her cheating fiancé or her developing relationship with the photographer. I also think they're just want enough suspense in her storyline, so perhaps I would have liked her better if she had more to do.

Supporting characters were fine, and a lot of them were complex and compelling. I appreciated Hazel (Kitty's mother) and thought her relationship with the Lakes family was interesting. Lilian was also interesting in that her goals and attitudes about passing challenged some of Kitty's. The women of Blair House were admirable and I fully wanted them to succeed. I guess the only criticism I have is that because there is a lot of telling, it can be difficult to feel emotionally invested in the characters even if I would otherwise enjoy them.

TL;DR: Did You Hear About Kitty Karr is a book with a powerful discussion about race and privilege but ultimately fails to resonate due to the writing style. Because the author relies on telling over showing, readers are kept at arm's length from the story, expected to absorb it from a distance rather than being invited to experience it with the characters.

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ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years

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Brooklyn Nine Nine: Season 7 Retrospective

Finally done with season 7. I'm pretty impressed that I managed to finish all episodes before season 8 began. But that also speaks to the bingeability of the show. Season 7 is one of the less eventful seasons of the show in terms of plot. Unlike the previous seasons, there are no plot through lines or sub stories that drive the season. Its a very light and fun season with no major darkness lurking throughout. If I had to pinpoint one arc for the season then that would have to be Jake and Amy trying to have a baby with the season ending with the baby's birth. So the season basically charts them trying and then conceiving and giving birth.

This season does feel a lot faster and that obviously has to do with it being the shortest season. All the episodes this season are enjoyable. The first half of the season deals with a shift in dynamics of the precinct with Holt being a patrol officer. The show has some fun with that, since it gets him actively involved in more frivolous activities like the Jimmy Jab games, having to deal with doing mundane duties and taking orders from Jake and Terry in various episodes. The first half of the season also has Vanessa Bayer as a guest star in a handful of episodes as Debbie and she even has an episode named after her. I know people have a mixed opinion of her but I quite enjoyed her kooky vibe. I think the show missed an opportunity not following up on the dead twin sister idea that was planted in the premiere. That could have been fun. We get returns from Adrian Pimento and Doug Judy. Pimemento is a fun episode.

Like I mentioned before, I enjoy all the episodes. However, the Jimmy Jab games II isn't quite the home run compared to its predecessor in season 2. Its not quite as snappy with the pacing and humor but it gives Rosa and Holt some nice moments as well as show how Jake and Amy have now grown as a couple but haven't changed in essence of who they are. Valloweaster is another strong heist episode and it has some neat twists. Its not quite top tier heist episode but it ranks somewhere in the middle. The show got a fairly big casting coup by getting JK Simmons in the titular role as Dillman. That's a strong Charles episode and a good one for the Jake and Charles dynamic. Its always cool when they flip the dynamic a bit.

There are a few episodes that I really love. Towards the top of the list is Trying which is the most serious of the episodes of the season. And its a very effective one at that. Having experienced my sister close hand through the struggles of conceiving, the episode rang very honest and true and in the end, beautifully bittersweet. I thought the way they handled how exhausting and stressful the process is was very well done and I like that they let the episode end on a bittersweet note. They didn't puncture the drama of the scene but they also showed why Jake and Amy work so well together. They are always there to comfort each other even during difficult times. The only thing about this that doesn't work is no fault of anyone, which is that Melissa Fumero was so obviously pregnant all season. It does make it a little more difficult to buy into it, but I can't hold it against the show. I also thing that for drama purposes, they should have held them actually getting pregnant for a few episodes. I suppose it was tough to do so given how Melissa was showing quite prominently and they couldn't hide it for much longer. Irrespectively, Ding Dong is also one of the funniest episodes of the season. As with every season, there are always a couple of Holt special. This episode is a Holt special. We get both petty Holt and vindictive Holt, with a gloriously reactive Rosa to boot. It also was a sign that the show was starting to wrap up mentally with them killing of Wuntch. I thought they addressed the rivalry and Holt's feeling of her being gone very well. But the episode was a masterclass of Holt insults. Similarly brilliant is Ransom, which puts the Holt, Kevin, and Jake dynamic in the forefront. Adding Cheddar to the mix and there is no way to go wrong. Only Andre Braugher can make you crack up with a fierce delivery of "you took the wrong fluffy boy" and yet have it be completely believable. The action scene with Holt is probably the longest action scene I have seen on the show. Jake's reaction to the whole thing is delightful. Like with the wedding episode, 'Lights Out' also falls into the standard "everything goes wrong during birth of child" episode. But its heartwarming and funny and very true to the characters. Pretty much everyone gets to deliver memorable moments. We get a great Rosa and Amy dynamic with Rosa taking care of Amy while Amy takes charge during a blackout while her water broke, we see Terry and Holt dancing to hip hop, we see Jake and Charles foiling a bank robbery, and we even see Hitchcock and Scully make a birthing suite for Amy at the precinct. Its a very fun way to end the season and it ends ironically with the words "everyone wash your hands".

In many ways season 7 felt like the show finally starting to wrap up. the ending of the Wuntch and Holt rivalry was one sign. Also the show completed the arc for Jake that I always foresaw for the character, where he went from being an irresponsible man child in season 1 to a responsible adult who became a father, without loosing his innate goofball charm. I feel the show successfully completed that arc, which was evident in episode like Admiral Peralta, where you see he is by far the most mature of the Peralta men. As a result, I was not too shocked when they announced the end of the show with season 8. With the events of 2020 and the way the season ended, it felt that the show mostly just needed to close the books on the characters in terms of their professional lives. The season was a fun blast. Its not the level of season 1, 2, and 5. Its better than season 4 and 6. So it lands along with season 3 at a 8.5/10. While its sad to see the show come to an end with season 8, I am happy it gets to go out on its own terms. I am curious to see where the characters land. Will Holt become Commissioner, will Terry become Captain, will they flash forward to Amy becoming Captain. What happens with Rosa and Charles? Captain Kim did open an interesting notion for Jake maybe joining the FBI. That seems like the right sort of career progression for him since he isn't interested in management type of work required in becoming Sergeant or Lieutenant or further. Whatever it is, I'm confident the show will end on a good note.

#b99 #brooklyn nine nine #brooklyn 99 #raymond holt #jake peralta #terry jeffords #amy santiago #rosa diaz #charles boyle #gina linetti #andre braugher #andy samberg #melissa fumero #terry crews #stephanie beatriz #joe lo truglio #chelsea peretti #peraltiago

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peterbishop · 4 years

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there’s no better love

“He’s such a Santiago,” Jake had remarked, watching Leo sit in the baby carrier strapped to his wife’s chest as her pen flitted across a piece of paper.

Amy looked down at her son; his eyelids began to droop. “Sleeping while doing paperwork? I think he’s all yours.”

(or, jake and amy and glimpses into parenthood)

read on ao3

His world grows seven pounds heavier.

Yet, he has never felt lighter.

He looks down at the bundle of his arms and is met with blinking brown eyes, wide, so wide and like Amy's. Jake thinks he might drown, fall into the swirl of emotion that laps at his heart and floods his veins; he almost wouldn’t mind. It’s consuming, how he loves his son in a way that he did not know he could, uncurling in his chest with pleasant warmth.

Five tiny fingers curl around his thumb, and it’s as if they have already come to an agreement: I will never let you go. He brings his lips to his son’s dewy forehead, feels the brush of soft hair brush against his nose, and takes a steady breath. Outside of the room, the world hustles and bustles, the crash of life lived and life began. But in here, they are untouchable, held within their own universe, an orbit that has realigned within the past few hours; two planets become three.

Next to him, his wife gently sleeps. Her hair sprawls across white pillows, and she looks to be smiling, a content curve to her lips. He thinks, she has never looked more beautiful.

“You have the best mom in the world,” Jake whispers, half-wondering aloud. “And I’ll try to be the best dad, but your mom, bud? She’s already perfect.”

He watches Leo sleepily look up, eyelids threatening to slide shut, but the newborn tries to look at Jake. Jake knows the feeling: he’s not sure if he will ever be able to stop staring at his son, learn and remember the pinkness to his cheeks and golden hue to his eyes and the sweet, roundness of his face. He thinks he would never sleep again if it meant looking at his son, figuring out which feature belongs to Jake and which belongs to Amy. Perhaps, Leo’s hair will curl; perhaps, he’ll have his mother’s smile.

“We’ve wanted you for so long,” Jake continues to whisper. “And we couldn’t be happier that you’re here.”

Leo starts to doze off, lulled by his father’s gentle timbre. Jake continues to hold him just as tightly, amazed that he already feels so secure to his son, like a second home. “I can’t wait to teach you about Die Hard and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Only when you’re older though, because your mom will get mad at me if I show them to you when you’re still so little. And I like keeping her happy.”

He says, “And someday, we will go to the precinct. That’s where all your aunts and uncles are. They’re so excited to meet you. You’re already so loved, Leo.”

He hears Amy begin to softly stir. Jake turns to look at her, a quiet smile on his face and a content newborn in his arms, already so natural and at ease. Like it’s meant to be, like it was always supposed to be this way.

“What are you doing?” she murmurs.

He says, “Just talking to my son.”

ii.

The first day that Amy’s maternity leave ends, Jake gets the day off.

And Amy doesn’t mind it—no, in fact she welcomes it, still not truly ready to leave their little one at home with a sitter, even if it is her parents or Karen. She selfishly wants to keep Leo to herself, marvel at how quickly he seems to grow within just days and weeks. They’ve developed a tight-knit schedule, Leo and her, of when he wants to nap or feed or listen to Amy pour over casework that Jake sneaks home to her.

“He’s such a Santiago,” Jake had remarked, watching Leo sit in the baby carrier strapped to his wife’s chest as her pen flitted across a piece of paper.

Amy looked down at her son; his eyelids began to droop. “Sleeping while doing paperwork? I think he’s all yours.”

That morning, she feels tempted to leave Jake a laminated copy of her schedule, but Jake seems to read her mind: “We’re fine, babe. I’ll feed him at nine, put him down for a nap at one, read him a book at three—“

“Make sure you warm the bottle to—“

“98.6 degrees, I know.” His hand covers hers, giving it a light squeeze. “I’ll call you if I need anything. Which I won’t. Because I’m an amazing detective slash genius slash dad.”

Amy smiles at that, reveling in the confidence that Jake now carries when it comes to being a parent. At one point he was concerned, thought the Peralta genes destined him to fatherhood failure. Now, he glows, relishes the moments he gets with his son, and continues to be better and better.

He brushes a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Have a good day at work, honey. The squad missed having you around.”

And she does enjoy the day, falling back into the rhythm of being a sergeant and overseeing her beat cops. Perhaps, Charles fawns over her a bit too much, and Terry can’t stop asking about baby pictures, and even Rosa quietly asks how her godson is doing, but it feels good to put on the uniform again. It’s strange, she considers over lunch, how a mere few years ago, her life aligned solely with her work. Now, her two greatest loves reside in a Brooklyn apartment just a few blocks away.

She can’t help but glance over at the clock every few minutes, yearning for it to be six p.m. so she can gather her stuff and head home. 3:15, then 4:45, then 5:50. She jumps up at 5:55, quickly heading upstairs to grab her coffee mug she left to dry earlier (Jake kindly woke up before her just so he could make her a first day back to work breakfast).

Amy bumps into Holt, his expression unreadable. He says, “Heading out early, Santiago?”

She glances at her phone. 5:56 p.m. It’s so uncharacteristic of her, but she rambles, “It’s Jake’s first time being left alone with Leo, and I want to make sure everything is fine, and of course, they are. Jake is a perfectly competent father, and I trust him implicitly—we have a very modern marriage, Captain, and it’s not like I view Jake as a babysitter, he’s Leo’s dad and—“

Holt smiles. “You miss them.”

Amy slowly nods. “Yes… yes, I do.”

He gives her a look that’s almost fatherly, warm and proud. “Go home, Sergeant. I will see you tomorrow.”

She barely gets out a goodbye before spinning on her heels and heading for the elevator.

And when she gets home, unlocking their front door and kicking off her heels, Amy comes face to face with what she soon decides is her favorite sight: Jake dozed off on the couch with Leo tightly gathered in his father’s arms, tucking his small face into the dip of Jake’s chest. It amazes her how they seem to… fit. How being a father has always been a natural extension of Jake himself.

He likes to be goofy, laugh and make jokes. Place bets and tease his friends and always go for the last punchline.

But then, there’s also this, something serious and protective.

Amy feels it herself: his hand on the small of her back, calling her my wife with his sharp tongue, standing just close enough. She knows it’s futile to say she doesn’t need it; he does it anyway, a sixth sense per se. And when it comes to Leo, he holds on tighter, whispering soft reassurances and speaking of his son. My son, my son, my son.

She loves him for it. With every breath, she loves him.

It’s temping to take a picture of this serene moment, but she tries to remember it instead: Jake in his grey plaid shirt, Leo in his onesie with bear ears that Amy indulgently bought. It is easiness and deep affection, and Amy can’t help but press a kiss to Jake’s forehead. He smiles before he opens his eyes.

“Hey, babe,” he says. “Have a good day?”

“Mhmm.” Her thumb sweeps over Leo’s back. “But it’s even better now.”

“I did it,” he softly grins, nodding towards their son. “I was a good dad.”

“You always are,” she assures.

His eyes are warm, like sunlight on oak, when he looks at her, comforting and the feeling of coming home. “I love you,” he says simply.

“I know,” she smiles back.

To know and to love—how different can they really be?

iii.

They wake up to crying.

Jake mumbles, “It’s your turn.”

Amy elbows him in the side. “No, it’s your turn.”

“I got him last time.”

“I think I remember who got him last time—and it wasn’t me.”

“He’s going to want you to rock him.”

“He’s going to want you to sing to him.”

Jake’s eyes reluctantly open. He flops over to his other side and looks at Amy. “If you get up with me, I’ll massage your feet tomorrow evening.”

“Deal.”

They unceremoniously throw off their covers and pad over to the nursery. In the dark of the night, their alarm clocks softly glow with green numbers: 3:34 a.m. Jake lets out a groan; it doesn’t get any easier.

But when they walk into Leo’s room and look at him lying in his crib with his mused hair and ruddy cheeks, life has never felt clearer. Everything they do now, it goes back to him, their son. It still sometimes hits Jake all over again that they have a son: perfect and whole and the product of their undying love.

“Hey, baby,” Amy says softly, lifting Leo into her arms, “what’s going on?”

Leo’s eyes glaze with tears.

“Don’t you want to sleep, little man?” Jake holds Amy from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder and cupping the back of Leo’s head. “Or do you want daddy to sing a song?”

Amy side-eyes him. “You better not start rapping or that will rile him up.”

“Pssh, what. Rap? Rap? I wasn’t thinking of singing the 90′s classic Baby Got Back at all.”

“Of course not.” She fondly laughs. “You dad’s pretty silly, isn’t he?”

Leo lets out another whimper. Amy says, “It’s why I love him. He makes me laugh.”

Now, Jake’s grinning, adoring warmth settling across his chest. “Your mom’s just being nice, because she definitely wasn’t laughing at my amazing prank yesterday.”

She whisper-yells, looking up at her husband. “You can’t write stuff like that on sticky notes! It’s not my fault it fell out of my binder and Charles found it.”

“But the look on Charles’ face was priceless!”

“He almost had a heart attack, Jake.”

“I think we made his day.”

“He shouldn’t know we do… that.”

“He’s told me way worse things.”

“That’s because he’s Charles!”

They suddenly notice an absence of whimpering and look back down at their son, who has since fallen asleep, softly breathing and his hands curling into tiny fists.

“Did we just bicker our child to sleep?” Amy asks.

Jake laughs into her shoulder. “I think so.”

“Just wait till our friends hear about this.”

“Gina will say, ‘I’ve been falling asleep to your bickering for the past nine years.’”

Amy smiles. “She will.” Then, gazing down at their sleeping son, “I know I should put him down, but I don’t want to.”

“I know.”

“We’re so lucky, Jake.”

“We are.”

“All those months of trying—“

He finishes her sentence: “They were worth it.” He knows her so well; he always has.

Amy lightly presses her lips to Leo’s forehead. “Goodnight, Leo. We love you more than you’ll ever know.”

She gently places him down in his crib. Jake brushes his fingers against Leo’s shock of dark curls, trying to remember every second of this seemingly mundane moment; but it’s never mundane, it’s everything. Amy looks down at Leo, as if she wants to remember it all too. Jake wraps his arms around her waist and leans his chest against her back, pressing his lips into her hair.

And in the early morning hours, they forget to be tired; instead, they watch, they love.

#my writing #jake x amy #b99 #jake and amy are gonna be the cutest parents guys

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