#one day i’ll (hopefully) be someone’s doctor

[mypoisonedvine]

𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒 || eddie munson x reader

𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎 || sometimes, the best things happen when you're a little late.

𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 || 2.7k

𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 || implied smut/established relationship (18+), unplanned pregnancy, reader's parents are controlling, no descriptions of pregnancy/childbirth, dad!eddie, implied preppy/rich reader but it's not discussed much

this is just a short and sweet little fic based on a random idea I had, totally different from what I normally do but I hope y'all like it!!

“Hey pumpkin,” he purred as you sat on his desk, resting one of those beautiful ringed hands on your thigh.  You had been practicing how you were going to say this all weekend and now you felt like you’d forgotten it somehow; he had that effect on you.

Taking a deep breath, you saw his eyes narrow for a second and his head tilt— he knew something was up, but he didn’t have to ask what before you blurted it out: “I’m late.”

He frowned and looked at the clock on the classroom wall; “It’s still three minutes until class?” he observed.

“Eddie…” you whispered, feeling so— something.  This crazy feeling you’d had for days now; this weird, nervous, insecure kind of feeling.  This oh my god is this happening to me feeling.  

He looked at you, waiting for more context, and you chewed your lip as you looked away.  Then he seemed to get it, and his chest sunk.  “O-oh, fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“I— okay,” he breathed, leaning in closer to you.  “Like… how late?”

“Four days?”

“Shit,” he hissed, glancing out the window and back at you— like there was gonna be someone standing outside holding up a sign for him that would tell him what to say.  But there wasn’t, and he obviously had no fucking idea what to say.  “Shit,” he said again.

“Yeah,” you also said again.

He stood up from his desk, lowering his voice and standing closer to you so (hopefully) only you could hear; thankfully nobody else seemed to be paying either of you much attention, just trying to get ready for class.  You wished you could think about class right now.  “What do we— I mean, how do we— I— when will you know?  Like, for sure?”

Even with all this fear (and nausea) swirling inside you, you still almost swooned at those big brown eyes, looking at you like this.  You could tell he was terrified, just as much as you, but he couldn’t hide the small edge of excitement— as much as this is supposed to be every young guy’s worst nightmare, you knew a part of him was thrilled at the chance of it.

You were too, though you were too embarrassed to admit that even to yourself.  It was horribly misguided; your parents didn’t even know you’d been seeing Eddie, because you’d figured they would have a heart attack if they knew.  This was going to be armageddon— if it was really going to happen.  You were still hoping it was just an unpredictable period and a whole lot of wasted emotion.

“I won’t know for sure until I go to a doctor,” you answered, “but I can’t really do that without tipping off my parents…”

“I’ll drive you,” he decided.

“And… if it’s…?” you dared to mumble, nervously glancing down, preparing for him to answer that he would drive you to a different doctor…

Instead, he opened his mouth and the bell rang.  “We’ll talk about that later,” he decided.  

“Okay,” you breathed.  “I— yeah, we’ll talk about it.  We’ll… figure something out.”

He pulled you in for a kiss suddenly, and it soothed you a bit as you melted into his arms.  The teacher cleared her throat; “I’d oblige you to return to your own classroom, Miss?” she instructed.

Eddie didn’t let you go quite yet, though, holding your face and looking at you closely.  “It’s gonna be okay,” he promised.  “No matter what happens, it’s gonna be okay.  Okay?”

“Okay.”

He kissed your forehead one more time as he hugged you, and then you took your leave, back to your class, where you had no hope of focusing.

~

“If you do— I mean, if it is—” he kept stopping and starting over— “and if it’s mine—”

“Eddie!” you frowned, smacking him on the arm.

“Sorry, sorry— I know you’re not— sorry,” he mumbled, “I just mean… that’s my baby.  Our baby.”

You bit your lip.

“I-if it is, you know, there, I mean,” he mitigated.

“Okay, so if it is— if I am… what do you want me to do?” you asked.

“Whatever you need to do,” he nodded.  “Whatever’s right for you.  I mean, I know your parents…”

He trailed off, and you raised your brows as you nodded.  “Yeah…”

“So if you have to… I understand,” he insisted.

“But what do you want me to do?” you asked again.

He chewed his lip.  “It’s your choice.”

“I know,” you groaned, “but if you could choose what I was going to do for me—”

“Which I would never do,” he announced proudly.

“What would you hypothetically want me to do if it was up to you?” you pressed.  “And don’t say I should do what’s best for me,” you warned, causing him to shut his mouth which he’d just opened.

“I… uh, well, I guess…” he stalled, looking down; but you could tell he already knew what he wanted, he was just trying to find the courage to say it.  Getting a serious look on his face, he finally admitted it: “I’d want you to keep it.  I’d want us to… have it, raise it.”

You sighed, smiling with relief— you felt the same way, but didn’t want to say it first, in case it pressured him into feeling like he had to be involved.  And the last thing you wanted was to raise a baby with someone only there out of obligation.

“I know we’re young, and it’s sooner than either one of us wanted this to happen,” he continued, “but I don’t… I don’t want you to think of our baby as a mistake.  Not planned, sure, a little unexpected… but if we do this, it’s not a mistake.  It’s two people who love each other starting a family together.”

He stepped closer to you, holding your hands tightly as you smiled.

“But that’s just if I was in charge of everything, which I’m not,” he laughed.  

“No, that’s what I want, too,” you admitted.  “But, if that’s gonna happen, I have to tell my parents first.”

Eddie blew out a long breath that inflated his cheeks.  “Yeah.  Good luck with that.”

You raised an eyebrow, and he coughed.

“Uh, I mean— I’ll come with you, if you want, obviously.  Your dad doesn’t own any guns, right?”

You laughed a little, leaning forward to rest your head on his chest with a sigh.  “He won’t literally kill you, Ed— but I think I should do it myself, just so they have a chance to meet you when things are less… emotional, I guess.”

“Yeah,” he breathed, kissing the top of your head and petting your hair as you leaned on him.  “S’gonna be okay, pumpking, even if they get mad at first.”

You nodded, replying “I know,” but you didn’t really know.  You had this sick feeling in your stomach, terrified of how they would react— especially considering you’d already been formally banned from seeing Eddie anymore.

You waited, of course, to tell them until you were late enough that something had to be said— actually, they nearly figured it out once the sudden bouts of nausea began.  If either of you had known what would happen after they found out, you would’ve cherished that time before more carefully.

one year later…

It took about half a second for Wayne to figure it out, seeing you on his doorstep with a baby on your hip.

His nephew had been listless ever since you left, and it took him a while to even say what was going on— but after a few times of innocently asking if that girl’s ever gonna come around again, Wayne finally assumed that you’d dumped him.  But apparently, it was far worse than that; when he had a few beers in him, Eddie told the whole story about how a broken condom led to a missed period and about a dozen positive at-home tests.  And that, apparently, wasn’t the issue— he admitted he’d wanted to go through with it, offered to marry you, got excited about having a child even if he felt totally overwhelmed at the idea of becoming a father.

I figured I could do it better than mine, Eddie told his uncle, a little somber smile on his face, and that made me feel better.  Kind of a low bar, but still.  I’d’ve done anything for that baby… for our baby…

But that was when he got choked up and struggled to say much more, until Wayne eventually pulled it out of him.  Her parents, man, they hate me— guess I can understand why, ‘cept they never even met me.  She told ‘em and they just went ballistic.  And they… she’s gone.

‘Gone’ as in, shipped off to live with extended family in another state and, presumably, have the pregnancy quietly ‘taken care of’.  You’d told him from the start that’s probably what they’d do, or at least make you give it up for adoption.  They told their country club and cotillion friends you were studying abroad, to save the shame of admitting their daughter was knocked up by a trailer park freak.

Well, apparently Eddie had been slightly wrong about what happened to the baby after you disappeared, and now, here you were.  And Wayne was staring at you, with that sweet-but-slightly-terrified look in your eyes.

“Is Eddie here?” you asked meekly; because what else would you ask?

Wayne sighed.  “No, he’s at work— he’ll be back in an hour.”

Your eyes lit up a little, even through all that fear you had on your face.  “He has a job?”

“Yeah, at the oil change place on Main,” Wayne nodded.  “You can wait for him here, if you don’t mind.”

You smiled a little; “F’course I don’t,” you assured, “and… well, I figured you might wanna meet her, too.”

Wayne smiled back, feeling like he was finally allowed to address the adorable, chubby-cheeked elephant in the room.  

“Say hi to Uncle Wayne,” you instructed the baby sweetly, and she smiled but tucked her face into your shoulder.

“Hi, beautiful,” he smiled at her, waving with just the tips of his fingers.  “Wow, got your daddy’s eyes, don’tcha?”

You felt your face warm as he noticed it— of course, it wasn’t like there was much chance this was anybody else’s baby, but knowing that Wayne knew made you slightly nervous he would judge you somehow (since everyone else had).  Instead, he brought you both inside and started making tea.

~

When Eddie’s van pulled up outside the trailer, you glanced at Wayne nervously.  He nodded towards the door, adding, “I’ll watch her— just go.”

Your legs were a little shaky as you stood up off the couch, but you did your best to breathe normally as you opened the door and stepped out onto the lawn.

Eddie was getting groceries out of the back of his van, and your heart rate picked up even more as you waited for him to see you; you worried he wouldn’t want to, after you disappeared on him.  You’d never had a chance to say goodbye, to explain what was going on or why you were leaving… he could hate you, if he wanted, for abandoning him.

But when he did see you, and you shyly shrugged a little as you waited for a reaction, he dropped the grocery bags on the ground and ran to you.

“Oh my god!” he laughed excitedly, pulling you into a tight bear hug.  “Pumpkin, I thought I might never see you again…”

You hugged him back, wanting to think of something to say but getting too caught up in holding him again, in burying your face in his soft shirt and smelling his cologne; this was all you’d been thinking about for most of the last year.

“I missed you so much,” Eddie began as he let you go for a moment, looking at you like he wanted to be sure you were really here, “and I wanted to call, or write or something, but I couldn’t— I guess you couldn’t either— and I barely got out of bed for a week after you left, just ask Wayne— how long have you been waiting?  Are your boobs bigger?”

You started to laugh, covering your face with your hands and Eddie’s laughed thinly as his face tinted pink.

“Sorry, I didn’t wanna say anything,” he mumbled, “but like, they’re bigger, right?”

You nodded.  “Yeah— it’s ‘cause I’m breastfeeding…”

He blinked quickly, and you bit your lip as you waited for a reaction.  “I thought— I figured your parents had made you— I— pumpkin,” he breathed, and your heart twisted.  “Is this really…?  I mean, I’m not dreaming, am I?”

You shook your head.  “I’m sorry I couldn’t visit before— I wanted you to meet her so bad, I just—”

“Her?” he repeated, and you only started to choke up when you saw the tears in his eyes; you nodded.  “I— oh my god, I love you,” he said simply, wiping a tear off his cheek before hugging you again— not as tight as before but somehow warmer and sweeter.

“I love you too,” you whispered, “I’m sorry I left, I’m sorry I couldn’t call, I swear I wanted to but—”

“Don’t be sorry for anything, okay?” he interrupted you, kissing the top of your head as he began to rock you side to side in the hug.  “I’m just so happy you’re here…”

“Sh-she’s here too,” you blurted out, making him freeze and look down at you.  “She’s inside, with Wayne, if you wanna…?”

He sniffled as he wiped another tear away; “Y-yeah, of course… of course I do, wow, yeah.  Okay.”

“I-it’s okay if you’re not ready yet,” you assured, but he laughed.

“Are you kidding?  I’ve been waiting for this since… I don’t even know how long— since you sat on my desk in Science class…”

You beamed and hugged him again before you walked together into the trailer.

When you and Eddie stepped inside, Wayne was bouncing her on his knee— she was reaching up to grab his face, a new favorite hobby of hers, and he scrunched up his nose and closed one eye as her little hands explored his rough, stubbly features.  Eddie already looked overcome with emotion just watching the scene before him, staring forward at her with a slack mouth and shiny eyes, and he hadn’t even seen her face yet; when you shut the door, the sound made her turn her head to look back at you.  He was still speechless, walking forward slowly and kneeling down in front of Wayne’s feet.  Wayne turned her to face him better, and Eddie wordlessly reached up towards her; she grabbed hold of one of his fingers, and he smiled and sniffled as he looked at her tiny fist and back up to her face.  “Hi there,” he greeted quietly.

“Eddie… this is Emily,” you introduced them quietly, and Eddie beamed as he glanced at you for a second before looking at her again.

“Hello, Emily,” he said, “I’m Eddie— I mean, dad.  I’m Daddy.  Nice to meet you.”

You snorted at how formal it was, but still had to wipe a tear from your eye.

“Can I hold her?” he asked quietly, nervously.

“Of course,” you breathed, almost heartbroken that he could ever imagine not being allowed to hold her— but then again, he never got to see her, or even know she existed, until now.

Wayne handed her off to Eddie, who put his hands under her arms— she was still so small, his grasp almost covered her whole body.  Standing up and taking her with him, Eddie stared at her for a moment with the most amazed smile on his face; she reached for that very face, and he laughed as she held on tight to his nose.

You were wondering if you’d have to guide him in how to hold her, but as he pulled her into a hug, he impressed you with how experienced he already looked— he looked like a dad, and he’d only been doing it for less than a minute.  It made your heart so full, finally seeing them together, finally seeing your baby in her father’s arms, finally feeling like your family was complete.

He bounced her in his arms, kissing her head and face, tears still striping his cheeks.  Hi baby, hi beautiful, hi gorgeous, hi Emily, he kept whispering to her.  Daddy loves you so much.  Daddy missed you.  

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x you

[peachesofteal]

I need the next part of the disco baby trap hospital drabble🥺 Simon and Johnny take Darling and Bee home, maybe their apartment where they can better keep an eye on them, but it’s so tense because Darling is worried they’re going to try to take Bee from her, is still feeling the sting of betrayal, maybe is afraid they’re trying to trap her again

🍄

🩵

18+ / Takes place after this / baby trap au

“Alright, alright.” Johnny murmurs, walking a pattern back and forth in the kitchen, arms slightly bouncing an unhappy Bee to try to settle her. “I know, ‘m not mum. I know.” He can’t help the anxiety that flickers through him, eyes casting quickly to the closed bedroom door, where he can just barely hear the low hum of Simon’s voice, vibrating underneath the echo of your coughing.

He paces in the between the countertops and the fridge, working a pattern, stepping in time to a melody that he’s barely whispering to his daughter, something old, a forgotten tune his mother used to lull him to sleep with. At first, it doesn’t do much to settle Bee, and a wash of emotions threaten to pull frustrated tears to his eyes.

Why should it? He’s but a stranger to her, after all. She does not know either of them, and there’s no one to carry the blame of it except for him, and Simon. She was miserable in the hospital, and neither of them could soothe her, the only thing that succeeds in calming her was to be placed in your bed, by your side, even though you were too weak and too sick to even hold her.

“Let’s get ye some food, eh?” He fidgets with the jar lid, and Bee’s brows furrows with indignation as she glares upwards. This attitude reminds him so much of you, from before, when things were good, and you were happy, safe and secure, confident. Bee fusses at him, but when he goes to put her in her high chair so she can eat, she wails in protest, like something new is upsetting her. “What is it?” He strokes a finger across her cheek and then up to her forehead, checking for warm skin, and breathing a sigh of relief when it feels normal. Her fever broke in hospital three days ago, and your doctor finally agreed to allow the two of you to go home yesterday, even though you were still incredibly weak and exhausted from the pneumonia.

“I’d feel better releasing you both if you could assure me there will be someone to support you at home.” Your doctor sighs, while she thumbs through a tablet at your bedside. Bee sleeps in the bassinet next to your bed, laying between where they sit on the other side of the room, and you. “You’re still running a low fever, and the shortness of breath is going to persist for a while.” Your lower lip trembles, and a tear forms on your waterline, spilling over onto your check when you try to take a deep breath as you quickly wipe it away.

“We can help.” Simon says, keeping his voice soft. The doctor glances at him, before looking back at you. “If you’ll let us.”

“We’d love to be there, for you and Bee.” Johnny adds, hopefully, rubbing a palm against the back of his neck. He’s having a hard time standing still, and Simon knows it, tries to calm him by pressing the outside of his thigh to Johnny’s.

“I’ll let you three talk it out.” The doctor says, before putting the tablet away and patting the bed. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Bee cries aloud, and he holds her against his chest, patting her back gently, swaying side to side. “Okay baby girl, you’re okay.” He kisses her softly on the top of her head, trying to shush her gently. Your voice crests from the bedroom, a sob that fades into a cough, and he tenses, worry thrumming through him. Bee settles a little, her face going blissfully sleepy, and he picks the lullaby back up, eager to rock her into her dreams.

“You need more sleep.” Simon tries to ease you into closing your eyes from where he sits on the bed, halfway down the mattress, far enough away that you’re comfortable, but close enough that he feels like he can get you to focus. You’ve been in a fog, head cloudy and a little off kilter, the low grade fever still running through your system and the cough wrecking havoc on your rest. He doesn’t think he’s seen you sleep for more than a few hours at a time, and your body is weak as a result.

He’s trying to be gentle, to be soft, to let you choose and decide. He’s determined not to overstep, not to make you feel like you’re backed into a corner, or that they’re here for nefarious reasons. He knows, you don’t want them here. He knows you reluctantly agreed because you’re doctor practically demanded it.

He also knows you know, that you’re too sick and run down to take care of Bee right now. The realization is a difficult one to swallow because you’ve been so strong, so resilient all this time.

He’s in awe of it, of you. Of how incredible of a mum you’ve been to Bee, all the sacrifices you’ve made to give her an opportunity to flourish, how you’ve taken care of her, given her the best of everything you could find. It doesn’t escape him, the toll it’s taken on you, the way you’ve neglected yourself for her, the way you’ve put yourself dead last in every aspect to make sure she’s well and happy.

Their darling girl, so brave. So strong for your daughter, but never for yourself.

But at the same time, it makes him hate himself even more. Hates what he’s done, hates how he let himself get out of control and do something so hideous to the person he loves. Hates how because of him, you’ve suffered so greatly. Hates that he let his most selfish urges cloud his judgement, hates how he ruined everything for you, and Johnny. How he ruined your happiness, Johnny’s happiness, his own. He tries not to think about how it felt to see the fear in your eyes, how it was when you were convinced they were there to take Bee away from you, like he was a wretched monster.

Like he was a man as wicked as his father.

“No.” You shake your head, trying to reach towards where Bee is cradled in Johnny’s arms. “I wa-want Bee. Give her to me.” You cry, and push away from Simon, stumbling before careening towards the ground. He catches you, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“Darling, we’re at the hospital. We need to go inside.”

“No, no. I won’t… I won’t let you take her.” He grits his teeth, jaw tightening as he turns your face towards his.

“Look at me.” You try to twist away but he holds you still. “Shhh, darling. Look at me. It’s okay, everything is okay.” Your breath is ragged, wet and heavy, and he can feel how hot your skin is beneath his touch. “We’re not here to take Bee. We’re going to see a doctor okay? Bee needs a doctor, right? That’s why we’re here.”

Your hand curls into a fist by your side, and he beats back his urge to reach for it, to try to comfort you, even though he knows you’d recoil from him. He wants to soothe you, pull you into his chest, ease your worries and fear. He wants to take control and fix this, to do what he knows to do best, but he can’t.

You’ll never trust him again.

You cough, hunching forward, and he grabs the glass of water from the bedside table, pointing the straw towards your mouth. Your features soften when you sip, and once he’s satisfied you’ve had enough, he pulls away. You sag where you’re propped up against the pillows, practically wilting and he wants to scream in frustration, in fear. He has half a mind to take you back to the hospital, and almost did this morning, but stood down after talking to your doctor on the phone.

“Do you think you can sleep?” He asks, and you blink at him, lips parted, like you’re processing his words but unable to answer.

“I don’t know.” You moan, miserably, and his heart breaks a little bit while tears web in your lashes. You’re so sick, and uncomfortable, and he wants to help you but no matter what he does, nothing comforts you. “Where’s Bee?”

“Johnny was going to give her a bit of lunch. In the kitchen.” His fingers spread wide on the bed, desperately seeking you, like they’re moving on their own accord, pulling him closer and closer.

“I want to-“ your words are choked off by another cough and he grimaces. “I want to see her.” You cry, the tears that were gathering in your eyes spilling freely down your cheeks, and you gasp a sob. “I want Bee.”

“Okay, okay.” He tries to console you, and his hand moves closer, now resting against the outside of your knee. “You were resting, darling. He only took her to the kitchen.” He explains, and you shake your head before slumping farther into the bed, your body now overcome with sobs.

“Please.” You moan, and then cough between your tearful breaths. “Simon.” You cry his name, eyes half closed. Something shifts above the sheets, and then warm fingers are brushing against his.

His heart stops in his chest before he realizes it wasn’t intentional, that you were just moving. Still, he can hope.

He says your name, and you cry harder, head heavy, your lungs fighting for each breath, the combination of your distress and the pneumonia choking off your air. “Hey, hey. It’s-“

“Si-Simon.” You gasp, and then your eyes are widening in a haze of fear. “I ca- can’t… can’t breathe.” You’re panicking, you’re scared, and he can’t fight himself well enough to keep his hands for reaching for you.

To his shock, you don’t fight him. He moves slowly, painstakingly so while your body shakes with sobs, but you don’t tense or flinch away.

“Darling,” he whispers. “Can I hold you?” He wouldn’t dare try to without your say so, not when he’s hurt you so badly, betrayed your trust beyond a level of comprehension. If you don’t want him to, he won’t.

But you’re also free falling into a panic attack. Your body is trembling, and he’s scared, holding his breath while you answer with a nod.

It’s enough, enough for him to move forward and pull you into his arms, wrapping you up without holding you too tight, settling his palm on the back of your neck to gently squeeze you there. He runs his other hand up and down your back and you cry into his chest.

“I want Bee.” Your plea is interrupted by another coughing fit, and he leans you back slightly and tilts your face upwards to try to help you breathe.

“Shhh. It’s alright. She’s just outside, Johnny will bring her in. You’re okay. Everything’s okay.”

“It’s n-ot.” You wheeze as he coos above your ear.

The bedroom door creaks open, revealing a hesitant Johnny with a very sleepy baby in his arms, who stops dead in his tracks when he sees what’s happening the bed. The image of you, cradled against Simon, letting yourself be held, letting yourself be touched. He blinks in surprise, and Simon gives him a look. Do not make a big deal.

“She’s right here.” Johnny calls to you, crossing the distance and then sitting hesitantly beside Simon. “Bee’s right here. We didn’t go far, just to the kitchen. Promise.” Your shaking hands reach for her, but you don’t try to hold her, you just place your palm on her chest while you rest against Simon. Your breathing evens out slowly, matching his own, and Bee’s, and your cries quiet to occasional sniffles while your lungs rasp. Minutes pass, and yet you still don’t pull away, instead staying tucked into Simon, body relaxing slowly. His thumb rubs circles into your neck, and Johnny watches with wide eyes.

“Everything’s alright.” Simon murmurs into your hair. “It’s okay. Bee’s here.” You nod, eyes starting to slip shut, body and mind wrung out with exhaustion.

As you drift, Bee does too, until you’re both asleep, with Simon and Johnny holding their breath collectively, eyes flicking from you, to Bee, to one another every other second, like they can’t believe what they’re seeing.

#🍄 anon #peaches asks #peaches writes #soap x reader #soap x ghost x reader #ghost x reader x soap

[fluentmoviequoter]

hi! could i make a tim bradford x shy!reader request where shy!reader is pregnant, and she decides to visit tim at the station since she’s on maternity leave. but while she’s visiting tim at the station, all of a sudden her water breaks, so her and tim both start to panic and rush to the hospital. luckily, they make it in time to the hospital, and then eventually she gives birth to a baby girl.

hopefully that makes sense!🤍

It absolutely makes sense! Thanks for the shy!reader request, I love it so much!! This could probably act as a part 2 for the firefighter fic or any of the other pregnant!reader x Tim stories, too!

Warnings: pregnancy and labor, teasing, fluff!! 2.0k+ words

Is it My Turn to Panic?

Standing in the new nursery and organizing the freshly washed baby clothes, you’re happier than you anticipated. People warned you that the last month or two of your pregnancy could be agony, always hot or tired, or worse, on bed rest. But you feel good – great, even. You know that’s because of Tim, though. He’s been by your side for every mood swing, weird craving, and uncomfortable moment. Glancing down at your stomach when you feel a kick, you think your baby is probably thinking about Tim, too.

Once the clothes are folded, you put them in the dresser Tim assembled last night while you took a hot bath. He asked you not to do anything, to take it easy, but you get bored and lonely when he’s not home. As the pile on the dresser dwindles, you sit in the rocking chair by the window, enjoying being in your home, the one you share with your husband and soon your child.

When you pick up your phone, smiling at the picture of Tim on your lock screen, you get an idea.

“Want to visit your dad?” you whisper, rubbing your hand over your bump.

You laugh when you feel another kick as you rise out of the rocking chair. Your phone rings, and you pause, answering it quickly.

“Hello,” you greet.

“Hi, gorgeous.”

You’re glad Tim can’t see you because you duck your chin shyly even though he’s miles away.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“I was putting the clothes away,” you answer softly.

Tim chuckles before reminding you, “I said I’d do that.”

“I got bored.”

“And lonely?”

You huff, a half-sigh, half-whine that makes Tim know he’s right.

“How are the contractions?”

“They’re okay.”

As you say it, another contraction hits, and you slide your hand under your bump as it passes.

“Yeah, they sound okay,” Tim says.

“’S just Braxton Hicks, I’ll be fine.”

“Oh, I know you will be. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

You don’t say anything, walking into your bedroom to get shoes. Tim sighs before telling you he has to go.

“I love you,” you say, holding the phone to your ear with your shoulder as you gather your things.

“I love you, both of you,” Tim replies. “I’ll see you tonight.”

The call ends, and you put your phone in your bag before locking the front door behind you. You miss Tim, and he’s right, you’re bored and lonely, so you’re going to visit him. He has been upset that he’s missing so much of your pregnancy and when the contractions started a few weeks ago. So, you’re doing it for him, too.

Once you’re in the car, another contraction seizes you, and you furrow your brows in pain. It’s the most intense you’ve had, but you soon forget about it. The doctor assured you everything was okay, and your baby was healthy at your last visit, that the contractions would continue until you went into labor and would just be an inconvenience.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Bradford!” Wade yells. He turns to you and smiles, lowering his voice to ask, “How are you feeling?”

“Big. Tired,” you answer quietly.

Wade laughs and pats your shoulder before stepping away while Tim hugs you. You wrap your arms around him, smiling against his chest as your baby kicks excitedly.

“Someone missed you,” you mumble.

“I know you did.”

You push your face further into Tim’s uniform before he eases your shoulders back gently.

“Been kicking like that all day?” he asks, smoothing his hand over your cheek.

Humming, you don’t notice Tim looking down at you.

“Soccer player,” he adds softly.

“Of course you’d pick a unisex sport.”

Tim smiles as you raise your head to look at him. “You’re the one who wanted to be surprised by the gender.”

“So did you!”

Tim drops his chin as he laughs, and you shake your head before backing away from him.

“No,” he grumbles, grabbing your hand and pulling you to his side. “Are you here for a while?”

“Sure,” you answer, moving your free hand to hold Tim’s wrist. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. That’s why I keep calling.”

“Is this the new normal until we have a baby at home?”

“It is.”

Tim leads you into his office and closes the door, and when his hands land on your hips, you’re not sure if you like the privacy or wish you were back outside where he wouldn’t engage in such affection.

“Are you…” Tim begins, trailing off when you lean against the corner of his desk, gripping the edge in pain.

Tim’s hands hover beside you, watching you until you relax, slumping forward slightly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tim asks softly.

Nodding, you say, “They’re going to get worse the closer I get.”

“I’m sorry,” Tim murmurs, cupping your face as he kisses your forehead. “Do you need anything?”

Your shoulders move with a silent chuckle, and Tim steps back, offering a hand. Every time you leave him to use the restroom, Tim acts like it’s some form of treachery, alternating between blaming you and the baby pushing on your bladder.

“I won’t miss this part,” he says as you enter the hallway.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim says your name, cracking the door open.

“Tim,” you reply, unsure what else to say.

The door squeaks as it opens, closing softly as Tim’s footsteps echo in the empty stalls. When you see his feet stop in front of the door you’re behind, you sigh.

“Let me in,” he demands.

Opening the door, you wipe your hands on your pants.

“What happened?”

Tim takes your face in his hands, searching your face and then your navel for any sign of a problem.

“My water just broke,” you whisper.

While you clench your jaw against another contraction, Tim’s eyes widen as he realizes what this means. He takes both of your hands, walking backward as he leads you out of the stall. Laying an arm around your shoulders, he takes you to his office to grab his wallet. You wait in the doorway, and Tim looks around frantically.

“Tim, calm down, handsome,” you say. “I’m not having this baby now, just take a breath.”

Shaking his head, Tim finds his wallet on the floor and squats to get it, arguing, “I’m supposed to be comforting you.”

“I’m right behind you,” you whisper. “We’ll take turns. Can I panic now?”

Tim takes your purse, putting it over his shoulder as he leads you back toward the bullpen.

“Bradford,” Smitty says, “I have a question.”

“Ask someone else,” Bradford replies, his voice strained as you stop suddenly.

“Are you in labor?” Wade asks, rushing out of his office.

Tim nods, holding both of your shoulders as he stands before you.

“Do you need an ambulance?”

You shake your head, sniffing softly before nodding at Tim. Wade goes to the door, holding it open and yelling for people to get out of the way as Tim leads you to his truck.

“Can- I’m going to pick you up,” Tim says.

“No,” you argue.

“No for a real reason or because you’re still really shy?”

You don’t answer, and Tim chuckles as he lifts you into the passenger seat. You’re glad to see him calm down briefly, even at your expense.

“Tim!” Angela calls, walking out of the station. “Care for an escort?”

You shake your head vehemently, but Tim agrees, climbing into the driver’s seat as Angela pulls a shop out to drive before him.

“This is ridiculous, Tim,” you whine.

“Hey, you’re having my baby, we’re pulling out all the stops,” he replies.

When you look over at him, his jaw is tight, and his knuckles are white from his grip on the steering wheel. You want to say something but then decide not to distract him.

“Did you bring the hospital bag?” Tim asks suddenly.

“No,” you say quickly, breathing through a sudden contraction.

“Where is it? Still in the closet at home? We don’t have time to go get it, but-“

“Tim, Angela or someone can get it later,” you remind him. “You really need to calm down. We’re going to be fine.”

Tim nods, but his demeanor doesn’t change, even as he ignores your protest and carries you inside to meet the wheelchair.

“Contractions are nothing compared to that,” Angela muses, standing beside you while Tim negotiates to get you a private room.

“I thought he was going to need the hospital more than me.”

“It gets better after the first kid.”

“I can’t survive this again,” you mumble, spinning your wedding ring on your finger.

“I’m going to go get your stuff, so he doesn’t yell at me again,” Angela adds. “But I’ll be right back. Try not to let him get away with anything, okay?”

“Tim,” you say, and he immediately turns around, his shoulders dropping when he sees your smile.

“I’d apologize,” he begins, squatting to look in your eyes, “but I’m not really sorry.”

“Rarely are.”

“You’re getting a private room in just a few minutes.” Tim squeezes your knee as he says, “We got this. You said so, and you’re always right.”

You close your eyes, and Tim isn’t sure if it’s because of him or his baby.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Hey, you’re alright,” Tim soothes, brushing your hair off your forehead. “You can do this.”

You shake your head, your throat tight, and tears brimming in your eyes.

“I thought I was the only one allowed to panic,” Tim teases.

“It’s my turn,” you whimper.

“Alright, Bradfords, it’s time to push,” your doctor says kindly.

Tim offers his hand, and you take it, gripping the bedrail on the other side. This is the first time in your relationship that you haven’t considered getting shy; the intensity of the contractions, the focus it takes to have a baby, and the number of people in your room distract you.

“One more,” the doctor urges. “You’re almost there.”

Tim lays his hand on your shoulder, uncaring that you’re stronger than you look, and his hand is bending at the pressure of your grip. The moment you relax, hearing the hospital room fill with healthy cries, you look over at him.

Tim is already smiling at you, his eyes glassy as he turns to watch the doctor. Several nurses help you move, adjusting the bed and prepping you quickly. When you take your baby into your arms, you whisper a hello, looking over at Tim as he stands beside you.

“It’s a girl, healthy and happy,” the doctor says quietly, smiling at you and Tim before exiting the room.

A nurse takes her away from you, promising to bring her right back. When you’re alone in the room, you look at Tim and are surprised to see tears streaming down his face.

“Tim?”

He smiles, laughing as he bends over the bed to hug you. “We have a daughter,” he says against your shoulder.

“Move,” you demand before sliding over in the bed and welcoming him to your side.

His arm wraps over your shoulder, and you kiss his hand before the nurse returns, giving Tim a turn to hold his daughter.

You somehow fall more in love with Tim when you see him: calloused hands holding a tiny baby against his chest as he smiles through the tears, whispering about how much he loves her.

“There’s an Angela Lopez here to see you,” someone says at the door.

Tim turns toward you, kissing your forehead and his new daughter’s before going out to get Angela. She’s quiet when she enters, pouting at the sight of you.

“She looks like Tim,” she coos, extending a finger as she pats your shoulder.

“Thank you for everything,” you tell her, moving one arm to give her half a hug.

“You really think she looks like me?” Tim asks, setting your bag in the corner.

“Absolutely,” you and Angela say together.

“I guess we’ll have to try again then,” Tim sighs.

“Why?” you inquire.

“I wanted a mini-you, someone else to make shy,” he answers with a smile.

His smile grows when you and your daughter tuck your chins, almost in sync.

“Or maybe not,” Angela says.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Tim adds, sitting beside you again as you look at your daughter together.

“What’s her name?” Angela asks, and you and Tim look at each other with wide eyes.

“I knew we were forgetting something.”

#tim bradford x reader #tim bradford x fem!reader #tim bradford fluff #tim bradford imagine #tim bradford the rookie #tim bradford #the rookie #shy!reader #team shy! #tw pregnancy

[thezombieprostitute]

Dream Come True - Part 1

Summary: The “Garbage Men” are the guys in the mob who get the dirt on others and clean up after the higher ups. They have many different ways of gathering intel by running legitimate businesses. One such business is Jefferson/Jensen’s cyber cafe where you regularly go to work. You’ve actually become good friends with Jefferson’s daughter and Jensen’s niece. You even volunteered as their after-school tutor. One day, there’s a robbery attempt where you get hurt protecting the girls. This is how you are introduced to Curtis Everett, the guy in charge of the “Garbage Men”.

A/N: Reader is plus sized, femme. No other descriptors used.

Warnings: Shooting mentioned, not written. American healthcare system. Bullying with an emphasis on fat shaming. Please let me know if I miss any!

Part 2

Series Masterlist

Curtis stormed into the manor. Normally he didn’t care for visiting the higher ups, surrounded by their opulence but this wasn’t normal circumstances. He headed straight for Steve and Bucky’s office, the folder Jake compiled for him under his arm. As much as Curtis wanted to act on this he knew he had to get permission first, as Mace kept reminding him. 

As soon as he entered the office, the Bosses greeted him. 

“The nieces are okay?”

“Yes,” Curtis replied. “We did a priority background search on the would-be thief. Found no connections to other families so he was likely just an idiot trying to get some quick cash.”

“And the guy who took the bullet,” Bucky asked.

“She is currently in the hospital,” Curtis felt his fists tighten, thinking about her situation. “It wasn’t life threatening, just a quick surgery but she’s not gonna be allowed to walk for a few weeks.”

The bosses nodded their heads, “you made sure Beck is her doctor?”

“Yup. But there’s a hitch that I need permission to fix,” Curtis took the folder out from under his arm. “She got fired for missing some big meeting. First person she called was her boss, to explain what happened, and the asshole fired her over the phone. Now she’s trying to leave the hospital way too early because she’s scared of not being able to afford the care.”

Steve and Bucky looked astonished at this information. “Who the hell fires someone for that? Especially when she has the proof to back her story,” Bucky huffed. “You got that information, right?”

“We got it months ago when she first started tutoring the nieces,” Curtis affirmed. “Had to make sure she wasn’t someone playing the long game.” He handed the folder to Bucky who opened it. The men took a few seconds to find her boss’s name. Curtis was pleased to see Steve’s eyes go steely with anger. 

Steve looked at Curtis, “I’ll make sure he gets handled.”

Bucky cut in, “for now, work with Huffman to get the paperwork settled. Officially, she’s been employed by us, as a tutor, for months. We’ll make sure the backpay gets added to her account. Beck and Jensen can work to make sure her insurance goes back as well.”

Curtis nodded his thanks and left to go back to the hospital. Hopefully she hadn’t succeeded in leaving.

“Please,” you plead through tears, “please just let me go home.”

Dr. Beck shook his head, “that would be wildly irresponsible of me. You have no emergency contacts, which tells me you have no one to help you out at home. You need to stay off of your leg for at least a week and you need help to do that. If that means keeping you here for that week, so be it.”

“I can’t af-” 

Dr. Beck interrupts, “I’ve been in touch with some people, namely the family of those two girls you rescued. You’re not paying for anything and they insist you get your full rest here.”

“I…” you’re flabbergasted at the news. Jake and Jefferson had always been kind but you never got the impression they were so well off they could cover someone else’s medical bills. You can’t stop crying. It’s been a tumultuous day.

There was a knock outside the privacy curtain and a deep voice asking, “is it okay to come in?”

“Yeah, come on in,” Dr. Beck replied. “Been expecting you.” He turns to the source of the voice. Walking to your bed is a tall, muscular man with a buzz cut, beard and the most piercing blue eyes you’ve ever seen. You blink back tears and try to compose yourself. Crying around medical staff is one thing. Crying around strangers who might not be used to tears is something else.

“I’m Curtis,” he holds out his hand to you.

“Hi,” you shake his hand, confusion written all over your face.

“I’m here to inform you that you do, in fact, have medical insurance. You also have backpay.” Curtis starts putting paperwork on the patient table in front of you. “You’ve been tutoring my nieces for several months. The least we could do is make sure you’re being paid for your time, complete with benefits. Just need you to sign a few things.”

“What?” Far from answering your questions, you find yourself even more in the dark. “I…I don’t understand…”

“You helped my family,” Curtis replied. “Not only did you offer your time and patience, you’ve given your health and well-being. The least me and mine can do is take care of you.”

“I, uh,” you hesitate, trying not to insult, “are you sure you can afford this?”

“Yes.” There was no room for argument in Curtis’s tone. His face was stern and you discerned no cracks indicating he was lying in any way.

“I don’t know what to say,” you whisper.

“Don’t say anything,” Curtis tells you. “Just sign here, here and here.”

With a look to Dr. Beck, who gives you a reassuring smile and nod, you take the proffered pen and shakily sign where Curtis tells you to.

“And, with that,” Curtis gently smiles, “you were officially hired by us three months ago as a private tutor for two of our nieces. When you’ve recovered, you will return to your work and we may have more for you to do.”

Ransom was having a great day. His ugly assistant missed a big meeting and he finally had grounds to fire her. She'd been hired by his grandfather so he couldn't just get rid of her without a reason. He even encouraged her remote work so he wouldn't have to look at her. Now he could hire an assistant on his own and actually pick someone easy on the eyes.

It's not like the job was difficult. He needed someone who could research stuff he needed to know for his writing. Anyone could do that. He could, too, but he didn't want to and could afford to hire someone else to do it for him.

He was in the middle of writing up the job ad when the door to his office slammed open, making him jump. Steve Rogers was glaring at him as he strode into the room.

“Rogers,” Ransom smiled. “To what do I owe the honor?”

“Did you hear what happened to the nieces today?”

“Jake and Jefferson's girls? No.” Ransom was genuinely concerned. Those girls were spoiled by everyone in the families but they still managed to be the sweetest people he knew.

“There was an attempted robbery at the shop,” Steve continued, walking closer and closer to Ransom. “They were nearly shot by the idiot. Thankfully, they were rescued and someone else took the bullet.”

As Steve sat down on the desk Ransom started putting some pieces together. He wasn't an idiot. The nieces almost being shot and his assistant actually being shot? It would also explain the rage emanating from Rogers.

“The woman who took the bullet requires a lot of medical care. But, of course, she can't afford it since her asshole of a boss fired her.”

Ransom gulped, “I can hire her back. Say it was a moment of anger, a mistake that never should've happened.”

Steve stood and pulled up Ransom by the front of his sweater, forcing him to stand on his toes. “Do you remember,” Steve growled, “why we had to send Lloyd into exile?”

“Too many casualties?”

“Close. He viewed people as expendable. This family got started by helping others. Helping the Unions. Supporting the communities. So when you treat someone like that, you disrespect all of us.”

Steve let go of Ransom’s sweater, setting him on his feet. Without warning, he punched Ransom in the stomach so hard he doubled over.

“You are on notice,” Steve told him. “You've been straddling the line for some time now. But one more slip, and you're gone. Understood?”

Ransom coughed, “yeah, I get it.”

“And you don't have to hire her back. We got her a much better boss.”

Part 2

Tagging @alicedopey because I promised I would.

@dontbescaredtosingalong

@icefrozendeadlyqueen

@texmexdarling

@veltana

@winter-soldier-101

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

#curtis everett x reader #mafia!curtis everett #mafia au #curtis everett x plus sized!reader #plus size!reader #mob!curtis everett

[ametrictonofaudacity]

Gaps

Platonic Yandere Batfam x Mentally Ill/Forgetful Reader

Warning: This work is a yandere work, hopefully part of a series, as as such will contain themes of manipulation, abuse, violence and obsession. Stay safe, and enjoy!!

Your ID was missing.

You stand in the middle of your room, every drawer open and rifled through. You had gone through every bag, every purse, every wallet it might have been it. You had moved the bed, moved the couch, moved every piece of furniture that it might have fallen behind. Nothing had worked.

“Fuck..” You groan, sinking onto your couch. “Fuck, this cannot be happening. I’m so screwed.”

You had a doctors appointment coming up, to get your anxiety meds refilled, and you were already starting to run low. You had been hoping to manage, but with your ID missing and no way to find it, you were shit out of luck.

Your phone rings, and you glance down, staring at the caller ID. It was Dick.

“Hey.” You greet, trying to force the appropriate amount of cheer into your voice. The older man was nice, pleasant to talk to and attentive, but he had the irritating habit of picking up on your moods eerily well, even over the phone. That would lead to him fussing, and while you appreciated the thought, you were an adult and would prefer to be treated like one.

“Hey! Everything alright? You sound stressed, kiddo.”

“I’m fine.” You huff, putting the phone on speaker. You, for whatever reason, despised things touching your face, even phones.

“Uh-huh. What’s going on? You’re never this quiet.” Dick presses, and you press your lips together into a fine line, starting to put up your stuff. It wouldn’t do to have someone come over when you had torn apart your apartment. You may live in Gotham, but you refused to have your apartment look half as bad on the inside as it did on the outside.

“My ID is missing. Don’t have a damn clue what happened to it.” You hear Dick suck in a breath, and you curl your shoulders in, wanting to sink into the floor and die. Dick was always so nice that any time you upset or disappointed him, it was like a punch to the gut.

“(Y/N)…” He starts, and your shoulders twitch up higher, and you dig your nails into your forearms.

“I know! I can’t find it anywhere, but I know it’s in the apartment because I literally had it last night.”

“Hey, it’s alright. Me and Dami will come over, we’ll help you look, alright.”

You groan. You didn’t want them coming over, especially not both him and Damian, and seeing you so freaked out and panicked. While Damian was, you knew, extremely mature for being 14, he was also judgemental as all hell and had the very annoying habit of implying that you shouldn’t be living alone. Which wouldn’t bother you all that much, he was a kid, but Dick seemed to be of the same opinion and it drive you absolutely insane some days.

“You guys don’t have to bother, really. I’ll find it, and if I don’t find it, I’ll set something up at the DMV to get a new one.”

“Just let us come over, (Y/N). Maybe we can help you find it.” Dick wasn’t asking now, and you huff, crossing your arms.

“Fine. Just let yourselves in when y’all get here, I guess.”

You hear Dick snicker, probably at your use of the word “y’all” and roll your eyes. For someone who was nearly a decade older than you, he sure had a childish sense of humor sometimes.

“Alright. We’ll see you than.” The phone beeps when he hangs up. You set it down, an ugly knot in your chest.

“Damn it.” You had been trying, so hard, to distance yourself from the Wayne family. They were nice enough, always willing to help even if they were always busy at some point or another, but they had the irritating habit of inserting themselves into anything you did. If you went out shopping, they were somehow there. Doctor’s appointment? They somehow met you outside the office. On a date? They were at the same restaurant. You weren’t sure if it was intentional or accidental but anytime you tried thinking about it you would nearly spiral so badly you had to stop.

“Fuck.” Your chest was tight, and you snarl, frustrated at the way your heart rate was starting to pick up and your hands were starting to shake. You knew, well and good, that the likelihood of it being anything nefarious was low, the Wayne’s were reknowned for being good people, from a multitude of backgrounds. That didn’t stop the way your mind latched onto the possibility though. You tried to ignore it. Your meds had been getting less and less effective, lately.

The doorbell rings. You get up off your couch, ignore the mess, and open the door.

“Hey.” Dick ruffles your hair, and you scowl. He doesn’t seem all that put off, but you suppose he wouldn’t with Jason and Damian as his brothers.

“Hey. You know I said to just let yourself in, right? I gave you a key for a reason.” This had been early on, in knowing the Wayne’s when you hadn’t realized that giving Dick a key meant surprise visits without a call and very little warning.

“Yeah, I know. I left it at the manor, though, I was using one of Bruce’s cars and don’t have my keys.” He explains, and steps inside, not even waiting for you to open the door further. Damian follows silently, and you mentally curse the fact the kid was 14 and already your height. He was going to be so damn tall, it was almost insulting.

“Cool. As you can see, I’ve been looking for it, and..” Your hand motions uselessly. Surprisingly, Dick nods, his face sympathetic. You had expected more scolding.

“Why don’t you just go and sit down, yeah? Me and Damian can search. Did you take your meds today? Set your alarm and everything?”

“I took my meds, Dick. All of them.”

“Including the Methylphenidate?”

“Dick, if I didn’t remember to take that, I wouldn’t remember to take anything else. I took all my meds today, and not only did I take my meds, I actually went to therapy this week instead of forgetting.”

“Good. You need it.” Damian hums, rooting through the couch cushion. You begin to get up to help him, and he sends you a sharp look. You sit back down.

“When do you need your meds refilled? Did you have it in the house?” Dick asks.

“It was in the house. And I need them refilled soon. I can probably try and stretch them out-“

“Don’t. We can get you your meds if we need to, just keep taking them on schedule.” Dick rebukes, and you cringe. You didn’t doubt they could, but you didn’t like feeling like a charity case

“Dick, y’all really don’t have to do that.”

“Relax.” He huffs, standing and squinting at the drawer angrily. “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. ‘Sides, you’ve helped me out more than a few times.”

“Yeah, by covering a shift not by buying your psych meds. These are not at all the same.” You laugh. You and Dick had met working at the YMCA in Bludhaven, and when you had moved to Gotham due to the extraordinarily cheap rent, you both had stayed in contact.

“May as well be.” Dick shrugs. “You cooking anything tonight?”

“Was gonna put some meat out to thaw.” You admit, flushing. The judgemental look Damian sends you says more than enough.

“Why don’t you come on over to the Manor to eat? I know Alfred has missed you helping him wrangle everyone together.” Dick offers, and you want to protest. What about your ID, which he had offered to help find? Wasn’t it late at night?

“Sure.” You say instead, reaching for your keys even as Dick cheers, and Damian smiles.

You can’t shake the feeling something is wrong even as you close your front door, locking it behind you, and let Dick lead you to the car.

#yandere platonic Batfam #yandere x reader #yandere platonic x reader #yandere dc #yandere batfam

[pulisicsgirl]

dad to the rescue - christian pulisic

summary: when Y/N and Christian's daughter is frightened of the doctor, Christian comes to the rescue to calm her fears

pairing: Christian Pulisic x reader

word count: 2.0k

warnings/tags: descriptions of a doctor's office, needles/injections, anxiety, lots and lots of fluff

requested: no

notes: Hey y'all! I've been feeling pretty uninspired recently, but I have more time to right now that school is out. So I decided to rewrite this old fic that I wrote several years ago for another fandom to try to get the creativity flowing! So if you read a fic similar to this for someone else years ago, no you didn't. It's definitely not my favorite thing that I've written, but hopefully, it'll get the ball rolling!

“Mommy, I don’t like the doctor. It’s scary,” Lily whimpered as you helped her climb out of her car seat and onto the pavement.

You glanced nervously over at Christian, pleading silently for his help. You were naturally a nervous person—a trait that was dialed up to 11 when it came to your daughter. You were just as terrified, if not more so, than your daughter for this visit. Knowing that she was scheduled to receive an injection, you had convinced Christian to take the day to leave training early and accompany the two of you to the appointment—he always knew how to help in these situations.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart. You’ve got Mommy and Daddy here with you, and…” He trailed off, squatting down so that he was on her level, and he loudly whispered, “I hear they have toys in the waiting room!”

Lily’s face brightened instantly at his words. “D’you want to go find out?” he asked her excitedly, and Lily nodded her head quickly. Christian sprung to his feet, and the two of them raced to the door, hand-in-hand, squealing giddily as I watched them with a huge smile spreading across my face.

Christian pulled open one of the doors, letting Layla speed through and waiting behind to hold it open for me to walk through. He gestured for you to pass, muttering a short, “m’lady,” as you walked through, causing you to giggle and roll your eyes at him.

Lily was inside, trying her hardest to pull open the second set of doors, but it was too heavy for her small self. You reached forward, pulling lightly on the door, and she gasped, thinking she had finally gotten the door to budge on her own, before racing through and straight into the waiting room.

Christian followed in behind you, placing a gentle hand on your lower back. You spun around, pulling him toward you with a firm grip on his shirt and planted a long, firm kiss on his lips. When you pulled away, he had a massive grin on his face.

“What was that for?” he asked, still smirking down at you.

“No reason in particular,” you shrugged, holding back a grin of your own.

“Well, whatever I did, I should do it more often,” he leaned down, pecking your lips once again.

You swatted his chest, gently pushing him away. “You have a daughter in there that has been promised toys and playtime, so you better join her. I’ll sign her in,” you said, pointing to the door of the waiting room.

“Yes ma’am,” he retorted with a short salute, and you punched his shoulder. “Okay, okay, I’m going!” He grinned from ear to ear as he quickly joined Lily in the waiting room.

You turned around, heading to the front desk to sign in and receiving a clipboard with paperwork to fill out.

You sat in the waiting room, occupying your time by filling out the papers and occasionally glancing up to watch your husband and daughter playing enthusiastically with the toy cars. You couldn't help but smile as Christian made motor noises and loud honking sounds with his mouth as he wheeled the cars across the playmat toward Lily.

Before long, a nurse came to the door, sweetly calling out, “Lilian Pulisic?” even though the three of you were the only ones there.

“That’s us!” Christian smiled, standing from the floor and taking Lily’s hand, sensing that her nerves had quickly returned with the appearance of the nurse. As he led her over to the nurse, the fear was back on her face as she clung tightly to his arm, but she seemed to be slightly more confident as she walked with him.

The nurse weighed her and measured her height. Lily jumped up and down when the nurse told her that she’d grown 3 inches in the last year. After taking a few more measurements, the nurse led your little family into a small exam room and let you know that the doctor would be there soon.

You and Christian sat down in the chairs as you watched Lily wander the room, pointing out the various animals painted along the walls of the room. You pulled Christian’s hand into your lap, intertwining your fingers with his and gripping it tightly. Your worry for your daughter had quickly returned as you sat down in the hard, plastic chairs, and Christian sensed this, beginning to run his thumb over the back of your hand in an effort to soothe you.

A few minutes later, a young female doctor walked in, stethoscope hanging around her neck and computer in hand. Christian lifted Lily to sit on the exam table before settling back into his seat next to you.

“Hello there! You must be Lilian!” the doctor greeted warmly. “Do you go by Lilian?”

Lily remained silent, glancing nervously over at you with wide eyes.

“Go on, it’s okay,” Christian encouraged her softly.

She looked back at the doctor, replying with a quiet, “My name’s Lily.”

“Oh wow! Your name is so beautiful!” the doctor said excitedly, and a small smile appeared on Lily’s face. “Well, my name is Dr. Jones, but you can call me Anna.” Lily giggled and you could tell that she was already warming up to the doctor.

The appointment continued normally and Lily grew confident enough to answer most of the questions on her own, which caused your heart to swell with pride. Anna only turned to you and Christian to get more precise answers about Lily’s eating and sleeping habits.

Anna listened to her heart, took her blood pressure, and checked over every part of Lily’s body, from her head to her toes. Lily laughed especially hard when Anna looked in her ears (she told you between giggles that it tickles) and when she used the mallet on Lily’s leg to check her reflexes.

“Alright, we’ve just got one more thing to do and then you can go home!” Anna said as the appointment seemed to be coming to its end. “I see we’re scheduled for a vaccine today?” she asked, glancing at you and Christian for confirmation.

“Alright, so what we’re gonna do, is we’re gonna give you a little shot right here,” she explained, drawing a small circle on Lily’s left arm. “I know that sounds really scary, but it’ll feel like a little pinch, and then it’ll be over, okay?” Lily seemed a little uncertain, but otherwise fine. Anna left, but not before explaining that the nurse from before would be back in shortly and giving Lily a high five on her way out the door.

Just moments later, the nurse returned, carrying a tray with some alcohol swabs and a needle on it. The moment Lily laid eyes on the tray, she began to panic.

“Mommy, I don’t want a shot,” she cried, the tears quickly welling up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. You jumped up from your chair as she reached out for you, rushing to her side and hugging her tightly as she cried.

It hurt you to see her this scared. You swallowed the lump in your throat, doing your best to speak softly and calmly to her. “Shh, baby, it’s okay. You heard Dr. Jones! It’s just a small pinch and then it’s over. You can do this!”

Your words seemed to do nothing to calm Lily nerves, and she whimpered, pulling you closer by the fabric of your shirt.

You felt Christian’s hand on your back, telling you that he was standing just behind you. He placed a quick kiss on your cheek, whispering in your ear, “Here, let me.”

You stepped back, watching as Christian sat on the table next to Lily, holding your shaking daughter as she clung tightly to him. He shrugged the jacket he was wearing from his shoulders, pulling the short sleeve of his T-shirt up and over his left shoulder.

“Hey, look here,” he spoke soothingly to Lily, holding out his tattooed arm for her to look at. She slowly looked away from the nurse, who was preparing for the shot. “Tell me all of the things you see on my arm.”

Lily sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve, but her crying seemed to be slowing down now. She ran her small hand along his arm, trying to find something.

“There’s a tiger,” she spoke slowly. Christian turned his arm so that she could see the face of the tiger more clearly.

“Very good!” Christian exclaimed, and a small smile appeared on Lily’s face. “Now try to find something else.” He glanced at you as she continued looking, shooting you a quick smile before returning his attention back to his little girl.

Lily jumped as the nurse wiped her arm with the cold alcohol swab, her focus leaving Christian’s arm as the fear in her eyes returned.

“It’s okay. She’s just cleaning your arm,” Christian explained sweetly. “Keep looking.”

“S-some letters,” she stuttered, pointing at Christian’s wrist. He nodded with a short “mhm.” Her fingers trailed up to Christian’s shoulder. “A bird.” She brushed her fingers across his skin, down the inside of his arm. “And that’s Mike.” A short giggle fell from her lips as she reached the tattoo of the one-eyed, green monster from Monsters Inc., a movie that she had watched many times with her father.

Christian noticed the nurse uncapping the needle, and he moved to point out something else so Lily would remain distracted. He flipped his arm over, pointing to the chess piece on his forearm. “And this here is a chess piece. It’s called the queen.” Lily tapped the inked game piece with her fingers, clueless to the movements of the nurse next to her.

As the nurse put the needle in her arm, Lily whimpered quietly. She gripped Christian’s arm tightly in her small fingers, clamping her eyes shut as she let out a small cry.

But the shot was over as quickly as it had started.

“It’s over,” Christian spoke to her, kissing the top of her head while she still held tightly to his arm. Lily looked up at his face, and Christian's heart tightened a little as he wiped the tear streaks away with his thumb. “You’re okay, sweetie. We’re all done.”

The nurse put a bandage on Lily’s shoulder as Christian slipped his arms back into his jacket.

Soon enough, we were dismissed from the room, and Lily reached out for Christian to pick her up. She lifted her arms into the air toward him, wiggling her fingers with droopy eyes—clearly exhausted from the whole ordeal. She was barely awake enough in his arms to pick out a sticker before dropping her head onto his shoulder as you signed her out.

The three of you walked out the front doors of the office and to the car. Christian carefully shuffled the small girl out of his arms and into her car seat as you held the door open. Lily had managed to fall fast asleep in the time it took to reach the car.

You closed the door gently, attempting to keep from waking her up. You softly pushed Christian into the side of the car, resting your hands on both of his cheeks as you planted a firm kiss to his lips.

When you pulled back, Christian had a confused but pleased grin on his face.

“You’re incredible. You know that?” you asked as you felt his arms snake around your waist, pulling you further into his body.

“You really think so?”

You nodded in response. “You have such a way with her. I would’ve absolutely been freaking out along with her.”

He quickly kissed you again, a mischievous smile on his lips. “You know,” he started slowly, his smile only growing as he spoke. “We could always have another one.”

“Now you’re getting ahead of yourself, Pulisic,” you laughed, pulling away from him and beginning to walk around the car to get in on the passenger side. He reached to try to slap your butt as you walked away, but you jumped out of the way, dodging his hand and causing both of you to giggle as you ran around the car.

You heard him call from the other side of the vehicle. “You didn’t say no!”

tag list: @masonspulisic @chelseagirl98 @thoseboysinblue @lovelynikol16 @swimmingismywholelife @masonsrem @bracedes @neverinadream @notsoattractivearenti

#christian pulisic #christian pulisic x reader #christian pulisic imagines #christian pulisic imagine #christian pulisic fics #footballer fic #footballer fics #footballer imagine #footballer imagines #christian pulisic fluff #christian pulisic fanfic #christian pulisic one shot #christian pulisic blurb

[spectres-n-soap]

To Live is to Love. To Grieve is to Love - Soap x You x Ghost

Content Warnings - afab reader, fem reader, depression symptoms, angst as always with some bittersweet comfort at the end. MW3 spoilers and MW3 is canon

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Simon keeps looking at you, he can’t help it. You’ve barely spoken a word, only looked at him with empty eyes. Simon knows you hate hospitals, you fidget and are ridged the entire time. “Hopefully we’ll be out by tonight.” Simon says, trying to spark a conversation. Hell, he’d take you screaming at him again instead of this. 

You shrug and put a hand over your stomach. It's the only movement you’ve been doing. Constantly checking on the baby, watching with a hawks gaze whenever the ultrasound machine wheels in. “They’re looking healthy.” The nurse declares. Simon stares at the ultrasound, the heartbeat of the baby regular and healthy is the only sound that fills the room. Simon takes in the image, the baby is sucking their thumb and he can see their feet. 

He pulls the nurse to the side and asks for a few pictures from the ultrasound. She smiles and nods, “Sure Dad.” His breath catches in his throat at the name. He tries not to think about you holding a baby with your hair and his eyes.

The doctor comes in later with a few pages of paperwork to release you from the hospital into his care. You stare at the dotted line and he waits, his stomach twisting itself into knots until you blink and write your name down. The doctor goes over a few rules that need to be followed but his eyes aren’t on the doctor, they’re on you. Watching for any hint of your spitfire personality when the doctor says that you shouldn’t be bending over or do much of anything due to the position of the baby. You nod and Simon hands you an outfit he had grabbed from your apartment.

Simon helps you into his truck and the drive is silent. Suffocatingly silent. He never minded silence until now, you didn’t turn on the radio and just looked out the window. “Are you hungry?” He asks and nearly slams his head into his steering wheel when you shrug. 

The flat is a mess. The door had been replaced; one of the things he had time to do while you slept in the hospital. The sage green and soft yellow decorations still littered the flat, the bags of gifts still on and surrounding the table. You walk through the flat and into your room, softly shutting it behind you. Simon lets out a sigh when he doesn’t hear it lock. He stands in the dim flat as his mind fills with worries.

Simon’s gaze flickers to your bedroom door, she’s hurting, check on her, let her have some space, what if it happens again, he’s standing in front of the door now. He doesn’t remember taking the long strides to get to this point. His hand hovers over the doorknob for just a second before turning on his heel and plopping his ass down on the couch, burying his head in his hands.

“Do ye think ye wid ever settle down?” Soap asked, his voice echoing in the one room safehouse. Ghost stayed quiet and hoped that Soap would just wear himself out with all his talkin’. Normally, Ghost didn’t mind Soap’s conversation but laying on the floor in the bum fuck of no where with a minimum of two days until someone can extract them; he’d rather rip his ears off. “I’d lik' tae one day, have a guidwife 'n' a bairn. Hell, as many as ah kin carry at once. What about you?”

“Never.” Ghost’s answer was short and gruff as he stared up at the tin ceiling. He wasn’t lying, never saw that kind of life for himself even before Roba. He was an uncle, he was happy with that. Ghost was happy with that life but that life was gone now.

“Never? Well if ah ever settle doon 'n' git that life, I’ll just force ye tae come wi' me. Can’t be a soldier forever.” Soap teased.

“Go to sleep sergeant.”

“Yes sir.”

Rain patters against the windows of the quiet flat. Simon finds himself standing in front of your bedroom door again. Truthfully, he hadn’t slept a wink and just languished in his memories. You should have done more. You could have saved him. Should have just let Johnny shoot that fucker. Simon slowly turns the knob and opens the door. You’re laying uncovered on your bed, soft snores leaving your mouth as you hold your pregnancy pillow close. Simon sinks down to his knees and brushes a few stray hairs from your face. His nerves settle if only just. You shift in your sleep, eyes blinking open with the haze of sleep clouding your mind.

“Simon?” You mutter, reaching a hand out for him. He glances between your face and your outstretched hand. A small whine escapes your throat and Simon holds your hand, rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles while a pleased hum comes from you.

“I’m right here.” Simon mutters as your eyelids flutter closed. “I’ll be right here for as long as you need me.” He sits down on the floor and leans his head against the mattress.

In the morning he’s woken by your movement. “Why are you here?” You ask, voice thick with disuse.

“You wanted me here.” Simon replies, stretching his long limbs from spending the night on the floor. You glare at him but there's something missing. Probably actual anger or annoyance. “Are you hungry?”

Silence takes over the room before you sigh, “Yeah. I’m hungry.”

“Johnny?”

“Yeah lass?”

“Don’t leave me.” You whispered, holding him close to your naked form. “Be careful.”

Soap smiled down at you as he pushed some hair from your face before he brought you up to kiss him. “I wid ne'er even dream o' goin away. I’ll be back again 'n' again.”  You make a noise of protest when he tries to pull away.

“I don’t think you’ve kissed me enough.” You mumbled against his lips with a fake pout.

“Guess I’ll just hae tae keep kissin’ ye. How terrible.” His chest rumbled with laughter before he brought you in for another longer kiss. His hands grip your hips and bring you close. “I'll kiss ye everyday if you’ll let me.”

“Even when you’re away?”

“Just keep an eye oot fur mah kisses in th' wind.”

tag list - @pepsicolacoochie @http-paprika @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @snoopyee

#john soap mactavish #john soap mctavish x reader #john soap mctavish x you #soap #call of duty #cod #ghost x reader #mw3 spoilers #simon ghost riley #thyh #simon riley #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #ghost x soap x reader #ghost x you #ghost x soap #soap x ghost #soap x reader #soap mw3 #ghost mw3 #soap x you #soap x y/n #johnny soap mctavish x you #johnny soap mctavish x reader #johnny soap mactavish #cod mw3

[nburkhardt]

March 27th 1986, if you ask Eddie Munson, sucks. It blows, the worst of the worst (it’s technically the day he ‘died’.)

It will always be known around Hawkins that Eddie Munson died. That a few days before he supposedly killed Chrissy Cunningham, that he ran from her body because he didn’t know what else to do. So to Hawkins, March 27th is a day that cult leader, murderer Eddie Munson died. 

March 27th, 1986

Everything hurts, he can feel so many fangs biting into him. He’s pretty sure he’s screaming but his body is buzzing from the pain and his eyes are tightly shut. Hopefully his death is worth it, that him being demo-bat bait is enough time for the rest to defeat Vecna. It’s one of his only thoughts in his head, the other? He’s thinking about how disappointed he is that he didn’t get to make Harrington flush a pretty red down his chest, it’s not important but he saw the man’s face when ‘Big Boy’ came out of his mouth.

He doesn’t know how long the bats attack him, doesn’t know when the pain stopped. Doesn’t know if he passed out or actually died. All he knows currently is pain.

“-st keep it quiet in here, ok? We do have other patients in the rooms next door. Now, visiting hours is until seven and only one person can spend the night here.” A woman’s voice wakes him up and he doesn’t know who it is, “I’ll be back later to check vitals, please remember to keep it down”

There’s a few quiet ‘sorry ma’am’s and ‘won’t happen again’s and a door closing before he’s listening to voices get louder and definitely bickering. Then someone saying ‘shh’ over and over, “come on shithead, my head hurts and the doctors said Eddie needs rest and your voice is so annoying”

He wants to laugh, thinks he makes some sort of sound because the room falls silent.

“Eddie? Are you- are you awake?”

His eyes feel heavy but he manages to blink them open. Vision is blurry and he groans, blinking more and then the room is more in focus. The first thing he notices is the fact that he’s in a hospital room. There’s a beeping he didn’t notice, there’s an IV hooked to his arm and he doesn’t have to see to know everyone in the room is staring at him. The first person he notices is undoubtedly his Uncle Wayne, who’s tearing up and moves closer to the bed. “Ed, ya really scared me”

“I’m sorry, Wayne” he mumbles out immediately tearing up, he didn’t mean to upset his uncle. Just wanted to help, to make up for not saving Chrissy. Can’t get those words out, they’re stuck in his throat and he accepts the hug from Wayne within seconds. “Didn’t mean too, swear.”

Wayne huffs a laugh and tightens his arm, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

The moment doesn’t last long and next thing he knows, there’s Henderson looking both guilty and pissed off. “Dude! You didn’t need to do that!”

Eddie rolls his eyes and doesn’t answer him, doesn’t even pretend to think about anything to reply back, instead he looks around the room and notices Wheeler, Buckley and then his eyes find Harrington siting next to him. He’s actually the only one sitting down, looking exhausted and in pain.

Now’s not the time but hey, he almost died and a little high from the drugs and the fact that he’s fucking alive right now. He’s shooting his shot.

“Hey, Steve, wasn’t planning on asking you, but it appeared to me that life is short. Will you marry me?”

The rest of the room goes silent and he doesn’t care, not much anyway. He just found out that Hell is real and underneath him, he’s allowed to ask another man to marry him. Doesn’t want to miss his chance now, because life is short and Harrington- Steve is someone he’d like to marry, even if they haven’t had many conversations. (He’s blaming his crush for this, he’s high okay?)

Steve looks like a deer in headlights, wide eyed with his mouth open and much to Eddie’s delight, a very nice blush is making its way up his face.

Minutes go by, and the silence is starting to get to him. He’s about ready to take it back but right as he opens his mouth, Steve is moving. Shifting the chair to face him better and closer, then a hand is sliding under his own and squeezes. His gaze flickers to the now entwined hands before looking at Steve, his face is a beautiful shade of red now.

“Let’s do dinner first?”

His smile is wide, he doesn’t even hear the immediate confusion and surprise from everyone else in the room. His focus is all on Steve and sees a smile bloom, “Hell yeah, beautiful”

~~~~

March 27th, 1987

While Hawkins celebrates a “death” there’s a small group of family and friends in a backyard listening to vows being traded. Smiles, tears and laughter is heard all around.

In front of everyone is Eddie and Steve, both wearing matching suits, sunflowers pinned on their jackets. Holding hands and smiling, eyes staring to water from words of protection and laughter, happiness and love.

Cheers start when the rings are traded and lips pressed together in a kiss to seal the deal.

Maybe someday in the future they can do this officially. For now, they’re happy with this. The matching rings sit on their fingers and a promise to love each other is all they need.

March 27th, 1987, if you ask Eddie Munson, is amazing, his favorite day. The best of the best and a beautiful day. He’ll forever remember it as the day he got to marry Steve Harrington. (And if he cries in their new bedroom a few weeks later when Steve shows him paper work of a name change, well, that’s between him and his husband)

~~~~

I wanted to write something with Eddie asking Steve to marry him. Had to include the date of course lol. I’m not going to explain any specifics on why Hawkins believes Eddie’s dead but it’s fine, they move away anyway. Eddie eventually makes it big with Corroded Coffin and Steve eventually becomes a teacher 🥰

#steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington x eddie munson #Eddie Munson fic #stranger things fic #nburkhardt writes #Steve definitely changes his name to Steven Munson #and they do make it official in the future 😌 ALSO on March 27th #btw if you see any mistakes…no you don’t

[intothegenshinworld]

How do you think people would react to a partially paralyzed reader who can only walk for limited amounts of time before their legs just become numb and unable to move? They tend to like RPGs, especially open world, for this very reason because they get to do whatever they want and go wherever they please. Genshin Impact became their favorite. Little do they know, the entirety of Teyvat awaited them to arrive for an adventure where the acolytes will be there to protect them piously as theytravel

Note: I am not a doctor nor am I partially paralyzed. Parts about this might be inaccurate but I tried my best to focus on a reader with limited movement time before they are unable to walk. Hopefully, this is still okay!

A few months ago you had been isekai-ed into Tevyat. All the playable characters and npc’s seemed to know about you. Apparently, as you played the game behind the screen they had gotten to know you. You too, of course, know them inside out as well. You played the game every day as an escape, getting to know the world Tevyat and its inhabitants.

Sadly you bumped into some problems when first arriving here, but do not worry! Everyone is happy to help in any possible way. With your limited movement time, you move from room to room. For bigger distances they create a wheelchair or someone will accompany you in case you needed to be carried when you couldn’t walk anymore.

Everyone is really understanding about the situation and while it still sucks, with the help of everyone you’re able to visit the places you’d only see behind the screen. For once in your life, you feel like a real adventurer.

Some small scenarios:

Diluc, the first one to actually carry you. He is extremely alert and notices your fatigue and weak legs before you can collapse. He’s a gentleman, asking permission if he can continue to carry you. Overall he’s very strong and isn’t bothered at all by your weight. If you ever happen to take a stroll around Mondstad you should take this guy with you. He is yearning for someone to spend time with, and because he carries his claymore everywhere it isn’t a problem when he has to carry you for longer distances either. ‘Don’t worry. I’m used to the weight of my claymores. Don’t think of this as a bother. I do fear I might be less capable of keeping you entertained.’

I can see Noelle lifting you up like its nothing. No matter how big or tall you are, she will pick you up bridal style and carry you somewhere safe and comfortable. ‘You seem tired. Would you like some tea? I'll brew you some. Do you take sugar? One cube, or two?’

Everyone knows how strong Itto is. He is a bit too excited when you ask him if he can carry you for the remaining distance to Inazuma city but it excites you as well. Just cling to Itto! He will make sure that you’re safe! ‘Oh and don’t worry majesty! I can run really fast if you wanna get home quickly. What’s that? You want me to walk slowly. I see, I see. Everyone wants to hang out with the great Arataki Itto, after all.’

Xiao is pushing the wheelchair around the roads of Wangshu inn after you came to eat almond tofu with the adepti. He might not express it visibly but the fact that he takes time off his duties to take a walk with you ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS!! Assures you that he enjoys it just as much as you do. ‘Hmm. What’s so special about the birds? …cute, you say?’

Just know that Venti will create wind steams for you or take Dvalin as your personal airplane to go literally anywhere. ‘Ah! Your Grace! Looking for a flight somewhere? I’ll gladly follow you around every nation in Tevyat!’

The Kamisato siblings pushing you on your wheelchair around the busy streets of Inazuma city. Nobody looks at you weirdly, instead they greet the three of you with lots of warmth and free delicacies. In the end Thoma ends up joining you and brings the latest news about the Inazuman citizens. ‘Are you willing to try hotpot with us later? Of course, we won’t put the special ingredients in this time.’

Benny’s adventure team taking you with them. Everyone knows how dangerous that misfortune can be so one of the Knight’s ends up tagging along. If it’s Kaeya you better still be prepared for chaos. ‘You want to join us? Maybe with the creator we'll find the most valuable treasure in the whole world!’

The ex-archon Zhongli keeps you company for hours. He doesn’t do much now that he’s retired so be prepared for a bunch of tea and hours of Liyue history. Its literally free personalised ASMR. ‘Boats are made for transferring commodities back and forth, and those that come across Liyue tend-‘

#genshin sagau #genshin impact sagau #sagau x reader #sagau #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin isekai #genshin #sagau isekai #genshin xiao #genshin zhongli #genshin ayaka #genshin ayato #genshin thoma #genshin itto #genshin noelle #genshin venti #genshin diluc #diluc x reader #xiao x reader #zhongli x reader #itto x reader #noelle x reader #kamisato ayato #kamisato ayaka #ask

[thmles]

| Self Love.

- He don't love himself, tryna love me.

[pairing: miguel o'hara x gwen stacy!reader]

[warnings: mention of death, sweet to angst, marriage, miguel being a player, barely proofread]

[a/n: so i was listening to self love from the across the spider-verse album/soundtrack and i kept on listening to it while playing ranked so i ended up writing this while playing and really ran with it! gwen's dialogue really pushed me to write this. it would've been longer if it were an actual fic but i hope you enjoy 🫶🏻]

Miguel considered himself a player back in college. Infamous for swooning over girls to try and get them in his bed. At least, that was the rumors. He targeted almost every girl in their major, from freshmen to graduating. His favorite target was you, Gwen Stacy.

You were an only child trying to keep up the appearance that your parents raised a perfect young lady. You rarely went out and only ever had one boyfriend. You were finishing your undergraduate degree in hopes of pursuing a PhD in Biology and to hopefully work for Alchemax, one of Nueva York’s biggest chemical corporations.

It was finals and truthfully, you were cramming almost everything. You had a paper due in a couple of hours and you had to review all of the syllabus word for word if you want to ace your exams. So here you were, in your quiet university library trying to finally finish your undergraduate degree when a certain someone decided to disturb you. You were looking at the screen of your laptop while taking notes with your tablet. A few strands of your hair managed to get itself on the side of your face. You raised your hand to tuck it back in when a hand beat you to it. You looked at your left to see the most annoying and smug face you have seen. Ever.

“Hey. Gwen Stacy, right? Daughter of Chief of Police, Chief George Stacy and Doctor Helen Stacy?” Miguel asked with a smirk. You raised an eyebrow at him before looking back at your laptop to continue reading the slideshow. He chuckled and sat on the long table beside your bag.

“Hard to get, Miss Stacy?” He asked again with another smirk. You looked at him and narrowed your eyes. “Very.”

Miguel let out a chuckle and ran a hand through his hair. “Care for a coffee date?” He asks again. You rolled your eyes in annoyance. What did this human turd want? You just wanted to finish university and get your PhD and start working. He’s just a bother. “No.” You answered sternly before going back to your notes.

“C’mon. It’ll be my treat.”

“...”

“Please?”

“...”

When Miguel realized you weren’t going to reply, he slammed your laptop shut. “Hey!” You exclaimed in annoyance. He laughed and crossed his arms. “Will you answer me now?”

“No.”

“Please with a cherry on top?” He asked again with hopeful eyes.

“Look, Miguel is it?” You stood up and looked at him. “I said no, already didn’t I? We all know about your very colorful affairs and I am not going to be one of them.” You were yelling by now and the rest of the students in the library were looking over at the pair of you. You glared at Miguel and you could see a hint of hurt in his eyes. You quickly stuffed your laptop and tablet in your bag, leaving him by himself as you left the library to study at your house.

-

The very next day, you were woken up by your dad knocking on your door. “Honey, someone wants to see you.” His voice muffled by the door. You groaned and sat up, rubbing your eyes as it adjusted to the lighting. “Who?” You asked tiredly, slipping on your fuzzy slippers your friend had gifted you. “A guy named Miguel.” As soon as you heard those words, it was as if cold water was poured over your head. “Uh, I’ll be right there, dad!” You replied and sauntered over to your bathroom to make yourself decent. No way were you letting that human turd see you as a mess.

After a while, you headed downstairs and saw your father and Miguel conversing in the dining room. A maid placed a plate for Miguel to which he accepted gratefully. Your dad seemed pleased with Miguel. “What exactly are you doing in my house on a Tuesday morning, O’hara?” You spat out rudely. Miguel smiled as you entered the room and sat across from him.

“Gwen.” Your dad warned you. You crossed your arms as the maid from earlier put a plate in front of you as well as a cup. She poured orange juice in the cup as you glared at the man across from you.

“Dad, Miguel and I aren’t even close. We aren’t even friends!” You exclaimed as you tried to decipher why your father decided to let him in. “Well, if you aren’t friends, why did he just ask me if he could court you?”

That morning was eventful. Miguel and your father had been bonding and had even approved of Miguel courting you. Hell, Miguel brought flowers for you and your mom. You don’t know how he even knew your favorite flowers when you never conversed before. You had to pull him aside and asked him what the hell was he doing to which he answered: “I’ve liked you for years, I just want to shoot my shot.”

Somehow, you don’t know how, you warmed up to him. He went with you to Alchemax and was very supportive of your choices. Miguel bought you your favorite chocolates every week, and surprised you with romantic dinners. A few months into him courting you, you made it abundantly clear that you wouldn’t sleep with him until after a year you started dating. He also became your boyfriend that day. Miguel respected your choice and made an effort to give you a secure relationship.

Even after years, when Miguel managed to get his DNA spliced with that of a spider’s, you stood by him. You left Alchemax to work for a pharmaceutical company as you could never forgive what happened with Miguel. You supported Miguel in being Nueva York’s ‘Spider-man.’ You gave him massages, left food for him to eat, waited for him to come home. He was very much grateful for you. He knew he wanted to marry you the moment he laid eyes on you at an orientation of a class you took together freshman year. Miguel only proposed one night after a brutal fight with the Vulture.

-

Miguel stumbled in through the unlocked window of your shared bedroom. He was badly bruised and his whole body ached. The commotion caught your attention from the kitchen and was quick to run in the room. Miguel tugged off his mask and threw it on the bed. When you saw Miguel’s bruised face, you let out a gasp and helped him sit on the bed.

“I told you to not get hurt, didn’t I?” You exclaimed as you ran to the kitchen to get a pack of frozen corn to help soothe Miguel’s swollen face. He let out a chuckle and only looked at you as you held the pack to his cheek. “Jesus, what am I going to do with you, hm?” You asked softly as your fingers brushed over his other swollen cheek. You sniffed as you felt yourself becoming teary-eyed at Miguel’s state. He was badly bruised and you knew he would do it all over again to keep the city safe. To keep you safe. “You should marry me.” Miguel replied softly with a smile. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He shuffled to his nightstand and with a few grunts and groans he held out a small velvet box. You dropped the pack of frozen corn beside him and looked into his eyes.

“Marry me, Gwen Stacy. You’re the love of my life. I knew I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you in Professor Jacob’s class. You gave me a chance to love you. You stayed with me throughout everything that happened at Alchemax and sacrificed the career you built there for me. I can’t see myself with anyone else besides you. Will you marry me?”

Needless to say the wedding was grand. Almost the whole police department of Nueva York showed up to ensure that the wedding was secure. Your batch mates who were genuinely surprised at the pair you and Miguel had even showed up. And after a week long honeymoon in Switzerland, you were ecstatic. But good things come to an end, right?

-

When an anomaly from another dimension managed to severely injure you, Miguel was set on figuring out how to travel the multiverse. And when he did, he recruited every Spider-Men, Spider-Women, hell even a Spider-Car to ensure that anomalies are dealt with accordingly so they couldn’t do the damage they did to you.

As you were recovering from your injuries, Miguel was quick to discover that for every Spider-Man that had a Gwen Stacy, she always dies. It led him to spiral into keeping you safe and he almost always made sure that you call him when you leave the house and get home.

However, despite the best of his abilities, he was unable to save you as the Green Goblin threw you off a clock tower. Miguel managed to wrap his makeshift webs around you but it was too late. Your head hit the ground and you were gone.

Miguel tried his best to move on, focusing on his work and the Spider Society. As he looks at the picture of you in your wedding dress smiling at the camera, in Miles’ world, Gwen was looking at Miles as they sat upside down.

“In every other universe, Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man,” She paused to look into Miles’ eyes before gazing out at the city. “And in every other universe, it doesn’t end well.”

#spiderman: across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara angst #miles morales #miles morales x reader #into the spider verse

[vodika-vibes]

Vodika, my love, I answered my own question and decided to come back for more.

Can I get "Squeezing their hand reassuringly and holding their hand throughout an intense social situation" with Fives?

Except, instead of a social situation, can it be a scary doctor appointment? I recently had to go to the doctor to get a mysterious lump checked out, and I was terrified. I wanted someone to be there with me so badly, but alas, I am a single pringle.

Please and thank you 💚 (maybe one more)

@the-bad-batch-baroness

Stressful Appointments

Summary: When you have to attend a scary doctor's appointment, Fives promises to be there, no matter what.

Pairing: ARC Trooper Fives x Reader

Word Count: 606

Warning: Medical stuff...but there's no details

Tagging: @trixie2023

A/N: I can't even imagine. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in the middle of covid when I was living in Europe, she had to tell me over facebook messenger, and I broke down and cried for like 15 minutes after I got off the phone with her. So this one's a little short, because it hits a little too close to home, sorry.

Divider by Saradika

“You need to relax, cyare.” Fives says quietly, as he tugs you against his side, and pulls your head to his shoulder, “You’re spiraling, lovely.”

“I know, I know.” You nervously twist you comm between your fingers, over and over again, “Fives, what if-”

“Hey, hey. No.” He lightly taps your chin with one finger, and you turn to look up at him, “We’re not doing any what-ifs, cyare.”

“But-”

“No buts,” He smiles soothingly and lightly tugs on a strand of your hair., “There is no point in wondering what-ifs when we haven’t even spoken to your doctor yet.”

You worry your lower lip, and Fives sighs and rubs his thumb across your lip, to stop you, “I know you’re worried, love.” He says softly, “But you’re just going to make yourself sick if you don’t relax, just a little.”

His hand moves to cup your cheek, and you close your eyes and lean into his touch. And for a moment, you’re able to forget that you’re sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. 

“There we go,” Fives’ voice is low and soothing, “I’m here, cyare. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Even if it’s bad news?” You ask, your voice slightly shaky. 

“Especially then.” He continues lightly smoothing his thumb across your cheek, “Will you look at me, cyare?”

You open your eyes and look up at him. His smile is warm and soft and so very loving, that for a moment you want to cry. 

“I love you,” Fives whispers, as though his words are for you and you alone.

You sniffle, “I love you too.” You rub your eyes roughly, trying to force the moisture away, “I’m just scared.”

“I know, cyare. But I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right there next to you, regardless of what the doctor says.” Fives promises.

A shaky smile crosses your face, “I don’t deserve you,” You whisper, as you reach up and cup his face.

“Tough, because I chose you, and I’m going to keep choosing you.” Fives leans in and chastely kisses your nose, “Besides, you were right there with me when I got my chip removed, how could I offer you anything less than what you gave me?”

“That was different-” You say quietly.

“Not to me.” He kisses your cheek and then your temple, “And when we get out of here, I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

You lean heavily against him, “Can we get lunch instead? We can make a day out of it.”

“Mm. That sounds fun.” Fives agrees as he brushes some of your hair out of your face, “We can hit up that cafe you like so much.”

“The one with the fancy bread?”

“That’s the one,” He replies with a small smile.

You tilt your head, “And then we can get ice cream?” You ask hopefully.

He laughs, “Yes, you spoiled thing, then we can get ice cream.” He leans in and kisses you gently, and you sigh into the kiss. Though, when your name is called by the nurse, you tense again. 

Fives takes your hand, and squeezes your fingers, “Come on, cyare. Let’s get this over with, hm?”

You look up at him, and nod slowly. “Yeah. Okay.” Yet let him pull you to your feet, and you smile up at him as he kisses your joined fingers. “You’re staying, right?” You ask, just to make sure.

“Oh, cyare. Count Dooku himself couldn’t make me leave.” Fives promises with a sharp grin. And all of the tension drains from your body once more. If Fives says so, than it’s true, as simple as that.

#star wars #tcw #arc trooper fives x reader #fives x reader #x reader fanfiction #star wars fanfiction

[mrsbuckybarnes1917]

FINDING YOU Chapter 12

Summary: You're in a relationship with Steve Rogers, but his best friend just always seems to be around!

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: smut ... eventually, I promise

MASTERLIST

CHAPTER 12

Bucky spent another week in the hospital but it didn’t take long before the nurses were refusing to enter his room. The surgeons were skittish when they came to deliver the news of his progress. The only people he was civil with were you and Steve, but barely.

"Bucky, your dressing is stained. Why wasn't it changed this morning?"

Bucky shrugged. “They don’t really come in here much.”

“Why?”

Bucky held up his arm. “They probably know who I am.”

“What? Why should that matter?”

You were outraged, how dare the staff not treat Bucky because of his past. “I’m going to go and sort this out.” You started walking towards the door.

“Ace!” Bucky called after you to stop. “Wait! Don’t do that.”

“Why? This isn’t acceptable.”

“It’s not their fault. I didn’t want them to do it.”

“What do you mean, Buck? Why not?”

“It doesn't matter, it will heal,” he answered dismally.

“It will scar!”

“I have plenty already, another one doesn't make much difference.”

“Bucky, you have to take care of yourself! What’s going on?”

“They keep wanting to do tests and they won’t say why. You said you’d be here.”

“Oh Buck.” Your heart clenched at what he was telling you. Surgeons had never been very communicative when it came to explaining medical procedures, their usual attitude was very commanding. Naturally Bucky wouldn’t have responded very well to this, he must be scared of being used by another organization in the same way he was used by HYDRA, and to some extent even the US Army. “I’m sorry. Why didn’t you tell me when I called you?”

“You were busy.”

“And yet you’re mad at me because I didn’t come to see you.”

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t deny your observation.

“I’m sorry. I left the kids for five days after the explosion. There’s a lot going on with them. I’ve been at the Academy all day and half the night for the last few days. I feel like I haven’t slept in years. Sorry.”

“You should sit.”

“No, someone needs to change this dressing. And did they empty your chest drain today?”

“I assume that’s the big ass tube sticking out of my chest?”

“Yeah, this container on the floor here. Did someone empty that today?”

“I don’t think so.”

“It means that it needs to be taken out,” you sighed. “Fucking surgeons!”

“Hey, it’s ok, calm down.”

You hated how emotionally out of control you felt in that moment, the exhaustion was starting to take its toll. Bucky had known you long enough that he could tell what you were feeling.

“Are you patronizing me?” you asked with a trembling lip.

“I would never!” Bucky couldn’t quite hide his smile.

“Jerk!” you gave him a watery chuckle. “Bucky, I-”

“It’s alright.”

“I wanted to be here.” Who’s guilt were you trying to assuage?

“I know.”

“I’m going to get someone to-”

“Do you have to? Why can’t you do it?”

“Buck, I’m not your doctor.”

“I know, but you know how. And I trust you.”

“Because Buck, I’m too tired to be doing any kind of medical procedure. How about I get them, but I’ll be right here and talk you through it? How’s that?”

“Fine.”

“Once we get that out, hopefully we can get you out of this dump. And by dump, I mean it’s actually an incredible facility.”

You were able to get the attention of a resident and nurse who were able and brave enough to enter Bucky’s room. You explained to Bucky that his chest drain was inserted because he had a punctured lung which had collapsed. In order to relieve the pressure and reinflate the lung, he needed the drain. Now that there was no fluid draining, it was ready to be removed. It was a relatively simple act of pulling out the tube and throwing in a stitch to close the incision made to insert the tube. You wrapped your fingers around his as they started, he squeezed your hand slightly as they physically removed the tube and pushed his skin back together.

“There you go,” the resident said, patching a dressing over the fresh wound. “You might have a small scar, but nothing quite as gnarly as those.” He motioned to the scars surrounding Bucky’s vibranium arm.

Bucky scowled, his fist clenched. He looked ready to punch the junior resident.

“Thank you doctor. Why don’t you go and start arranging Sergeant Barnes discharge papers?”

“Oh, I don’t think he is ready-” the resident started, before you interrupted him.

“Could you speak with your attending please? I’m sure that they would very much appreciate the bed space.” The resident stared at you blankly. “Go, now, please?”

“Thank you!" you called after him as he left.

"I think you scared him," Bucky grinned at you. 

"I shouldn't have done that," you sighed heavily, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Your eyelids were feeling more and more heavy.

Bucky shuffled over on the bed to make some space for you to sit more comfortably.

"Ace, you look exhausted. I know I was a bit of an idiot about you not coming to visit but you should probably go home and sleep."

"Is that your way of saying I look like crap?"

"I think you always look beautiful."

You blushed, not quite knowing how to respond. Kiss him, your brain screamed at you. Why couldn't your brain carry out one simple executive function? Instead you decided to change the subject 

"Bucky, we have to talk about how you go home."

"What's the problem?"

"You don't even have a bed in your apartment!"

"I'll just sleep on the floor. It will be fine!"

"With a broken leg?"

"I've had worse injuries and survived just fine."

"Buck, that's not funny."

"Hey, I fell out of a train and into a frozen ravine. Only lost one limb."

"Well I'd rather you didn't lose another."

"Don't worry about me."

"Of course I worry about you. Especially when you go and do dumb things like letting a building fall on you!"

"Hey, come on. Sit down for a minute. Stop trying to look after everyone."

He was the only person who called you out for helping others. He was the only one who got you to slow down, to take time to take care of yourself. He took care of you. And you loved him for it. You loved him.

Bucky patted the bed. "Sit!"

Instead of perching on the side, you kicked off your shoes and squeezed yourself in beside him, shoulder to shoulder. You heaved a sigh of relief, the weight of your own body had more of a burden than you thought. 

"Better?" he asked. He was always so gentle with you.

"It's always better when I'm with you, Buck."

You laid your head on his shoulder, eyelids feeling heavy. The pillow was surprisingly comfortable, as was Bucky's shoulder. It would be alright if you rested with him for a few moments before you headed home. 

However, the draw of slumber was too much for you. You'd spent many a night in a hospital bed in the past but never had you felt so comfortable in the company of another person in such close proximity. It wasn't long before your head was buried in the crook of Bucky's neck with you snoring softly, lost to Morpheus's beckoning. Even the knock on the door wasn't enough to free you from his clutches.

"Hey Buck. I know it's late but-" Steve stopped short as he noticed your presence and Bucky's shushing gestures.

He chuckled softly at Bucky's gestures.

"She's been burning the candle at both ends."

"Yeah," Bucky sighed. He had started to feel guilty about his surly behavior. 

"Want me to take her home?"

"I guess she'll be more comfortable there." It was a disappointing conclusion. 

As if to voice your objection, you rolled over, still fast asleep, wrapping your arm around Bucky's and nestled your face further into his shoulder.

"Looks like she disagrees," Steve smiled at you fondly. 

"Do you mind pulling up the rail? Just in case."

Steve obliged with Bucky's request. He also grabbed an extra blanket from the shelf and covered you with it, taking special care to cover your feet. 

"She gets cold," Steve explained. "Take care of her."

Bucky was taken aback by the tenderness in Steve's voice.

"Hey pal?"

"Yeah Buck?"

Bucky wondered if Steve still loved you. In fact he feared it. What if he was hurting his best friend? He was so close to a happiness he hadn't felt in years, so close that he was afraid of breathing and blowing it all away. But he owed it to Steve to ask.

"Are you alright?" 

"Yeah. I'm sure the two of you will be happy together. I couldn't ask for anything more." He smiled sadly at his friend. "Just don’t blow it like I did."

“Steve…”

“You deserve to be happy, Bucky. You both do.”

“Thank you.” 

“You should get some sleep too. Night.”

Steve left you fast asleep by Bucky’s side. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Bucky allowed himself a moment to relax, to savor what he had rather than mourning what he had lost. He relished the way your hand was wrapped around his bicep, how you held him close to your chest. Even though Steve had all but confirmed that you reciprocate his feelings, he knew better than to rejoice until he heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. But he allowed himself the hope.

For the briefest of moments his impatience had him considering shaking you awake but dare he ask such a direct question? No. Instead he reclined the bed slowly in an attempt to sleep. The motion made you stir, but instead of waking, Bucky felt you move your arm so that it was wrapped around his torso. He closed his eyes and let the darkness surround him.

You woke in the early hours of the morning, having slept for almost twelve hours. When you opened your eyes, the first thing you saw was Bucky's bearded face. It was a breathtaking sight. As you gathered your senses, you realized, not only were you an inch from his face, but you were staring. And was your arm really where you thought it was? It was so intimate for someone who you'd never discussed intimacy with.

As gently as you could, you took your arm off his chest, fingers lingering for the briefest of moments over the dressing where his chest drain had been removed. You checked his face to look for signs of waking before you sat up. You turned away to try and untangle yourself from the blanket that was stuck between your legs and the bed rail when you felt a warm hand around your forearm.

“Bucky!” you whispered with surprise and a hint of panic. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

“Don't go.”

His voice was low, so low that you weren’t quite sure you heard him.

“What?”

“Don't go.” He repeated.

“Bucky, I-”

“Stay.”

He tugged on your arm and you conceded, resting back on your elbow.

“I want you to stay.”

“I’m here, Buck.”

He took your free hand and guided it to his chest, coming to rest over his heart. “Here,” he whispered, not once taking his eyes off you.

The way his eyes shone in the darkness drew you closer to him and you leaned over him. It was now or never. You moved down towards him, your lips brushed over his, noses rubbing together, you heard Bucky’s breath hitch slightly. For a second you thought about pulling back, but his hands were around your waist, holding you close and he raised his head keeping your lips pressed together.

It wasn’t like any other first kiss you’d ever had. The longing you felt from Bucky was unlike anything you’d experienced and you didn’t want it to end.

The scientists who had administered the supersoldier serum to Bucky in 1943 had been extremely talented. The rate at which he was healing was downright miraculous. The surgeons removed the Ilizarov frame from his broken leg and the only thing that kept Bucky from jumping off the bed was your hands on his chest. These frames were often in place for 6 months, he had only had it on for 6 days but his x-rays were showing solid callus formation on the healing bone.

“We suggest you avoid weight bearing for at least another week.” The surgeon had advised Bucky’s scowling face. “But there is no reason you need to remain in the hospital any longer.”

He reluctantly took the crutches handed to him but used them under your watchful supervision. Steve was ready to drive Bucky home and he dropped both of you off at his apartment.

“Thanks Ace. I got this from here,” Bucky said, his hand on the door knob.

“Oh.” You felt confused. “Buck, is this because of the file thing?” you asked sorrowfully.

“No.” He propped his crutch up against the wall and cupped your face in his hand. “It’s not. I… it’s stupid. I know you’ve already been inside. It’s just not very … well furnished.”

“I remember. So don’t be mad, but-”

“What did you do?”

“You don’t have anywhere to sleep. It’s not good for your leg. So I asked Steve and Sam to bring my couch here for you. It’s a pull out, so you can sleep on it. I hope that’s ok?”

“I guess it'll be better than the floor.” He conceded. He turned back to the door and opened it, nodding at you to follow.

The boys had done well, having expanded the couch and made up a bed in the living room in front of the TV.

“I would have bought you a bed, but well…”

“That’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think, Ace?” He had a hint of a smirk and the tiniest flutter of a wink.

Was he flirting with you?

You blushed under the intensity of his gaze. You felt a surge of blood course through your body, a rush of fluid between your legs. It wasn’t that you hadn’t considered it before, it was that you’d never considered it was possible. Now here you were, alone with him and you felt afraid. Not afraid of him, but of the world it would open, the vulnerability and the potential of pain that came with it.

“Ace?”

“Yeah?” His voice snapped you out of your train of thought.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah. Why don’t you go sit down. I’m going to see what food you have so we can have some lunch.”

“I’m not sure you’re going to find much in there, other than takeout menus.”

You sighed and shook your head, peering into the empty fridge. “Right, takeout it is!"

"Ace, you know you don't have to do all this."

"Seriously, Buck?" 

"Yeah." He looked a little taken aback by your incredulity.

"This is coming from the guy who sulked because I didn't visit him for two days!"

"I wasn't sulking." Sullenness written all over his face.

"Yeah, just like you're not sulking now," you teased.

His lower lip protruded slightly as you teased him. You took the menus and sat down on the arm of the couch right next to Bucky. You twisted your legs over so your feet rested on the other side of his lap.

"It's a good thing you look cute when you pout like that. I don't know how any of the nurses managed to control themselves."

It took a moment for him to process your words and it was satisfying watching his features light up.

"You think I'm cute?"

"It's a strong possibility." You tried your hardest to convey an air of nonchalance.

Without warning Bucky wrapped his hand around your ankles and gave them a good tug, sending you flying off the arm of the couch straight into his lap with a loud squeal.

"Careful, flattery will get you everywhere with me."

"Bucky, what the hell! Your leg!" You tried to scramble out of his lap, worried about your weight on his broken limb.

You didn't get far, Bucky was holding you far too close for you to escape. "Hey, stop, it's okay."

When you succumbed to his embrace you realized just how close you were. Your breath was faster than it should have been and it wasn't because of the struggle. The thumping of your heart in your chest was palpable and you knew Bucky could hear it too. There was something inside your chest that seemed to want to get out, an urge deep inside you which you'd felt ever since you'd found him lying lifeless under the building. Tentatively, you reached up, fingertips grazing the rough stubble sprouting across his beautifully sculpted jawline.

"I don't want to hurt you," you whispered.

He reached up, tucking the stray strands of your hair behind your ear. "I know you wouldn't hurt me, Ace."

You'd been treating him like he was made of glass, that he would break at the slightest touch, but the Bucky you'd come to know, the Bucky you'd come to love, he was anything but fragile. Your Bucky was strong, he was resilient, he was loyal and most importantly he was yours.

"How can you be so sure?" you asked, not taking your eyes off his soft gaze.

He was barely an inch from your face, you could feel his breath against your lips and it was intoxicating. It would be so easy to fall onto his lips but something in his eyes stopped you. It felt like he was gazing so deep into your soul that you had no secrets left to keep from him. The icy fire in his winter blue eyes seemed to burn brighter than anything you'd ever seen, filled with so much passion and desire that you felt yourself clench with anticipation.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" 

"What?"

"Use your abilities, check for yourself."

You felt slightly disappointed, he wasn't after something more intimate. He let you climb off his lap and you felt a cold shiver where his warm arms had enveloped you. Crawling to the end of the couch, you came to rest in a kneel at his feet.

"Go on, Ace," he smirked.

Was he flirting again?

Slowly you put your hands on his leg, fingertips at first, reaching out with your senses. It was almost like you could feel the vibrations coming from the molecules and atoms which gave Bucky his very essence. And if you closed your eyes and felt deeper, it was as though the electrons buzzed happily at you. You wondered if this is what it had been like to fall into the quantum realm.

Instead of vibing with the electrons, you pulled yourself back, giving you a bigger picture of what was happening inside him. Your palms now rested against his shin and fingers now wrapped around his muscular calf as you explored the sinew and bone beneath his flesh. Your senses crept between the muscle fibers and down to his bone. You could feel the cracks that had already started to heal, the calluses that had formed holding the pieces together with surprising strength.

You smiled, looking up at Bucky with excitement about his speed of healing, but you were shocked to see him leaning back against the sofa, eyes closed, mouth parted slightly and his hands pressed against the cushioned mattress.

You took your hands off his flesh like you'd been burned. "What happened? What's wrong?" you asked, panicking. 

Bucky opened his eyes to look at you. "Nothing’s wrong, Ace. You gotta chill." He held out his hand and beckoned you to come closer.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No."

"It felt… warm." He paused, trying to find the right words for the sensation he had experienced. "It's like… when the doctors inject stuff into you, and you can feel it rushing through your veins."

The comparison made your heart sink, that your powers reminded him of how he was treated by HYDRA. Bucky noticed the change in your features immediately. 

"It wasn't always a bad thing, you know. Usually it came with the welcome relief of sleep. The bad things all went away. When I felt that I knew it came with some peace." He reassured you with a squeeze or his hand. "You can keep going, you know."

"You like it?" you asked with a slight waver in your voice.

"Sweetheart, I love it."

The twinkle in his eyes and the half smirk he offered you made you blush profusely and sent a rush of arousal through you. The way he called you sweetheart made you dizzy with delight and he knew it. Bucky had always been able to read you like a book, your highs and your lows and now you would start a new chapter together. 

You'd crept closer to him, hands on each of his thighs, pushing down with your fingertips, your powers weaving down through each layer of skin, muscle and bone. Slowly you moved your hands up towards his body, watching his face intently. He never took his eyes off you as you edged closer and closer, hand slipping under the material of the shorts he had on. You were mere inches away when his eyes finally fluttered slightly, giving in to the pleasure he felt. The pleasure you gave him. The thought thrilled you.

He moaned, putting his hands on yours to stop your ascent. "Maybe we should take our time? I-"

"Of course, Buck." You smiled. The last thing you wanted was to make him uncomfortable and ruin things by getting carried away.

"I think you should finishing making sure that I'm fit for duty. Complete physical examination. Isn't that right?"

"Are you telling the doctor how to do her job?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"I might need to get a little closer, we need to start from the top."

Obligingly Bucky dropped his legs so you could straddle them, letting you perch on his thighs. Your core ached for attention but you needed to show restraint having agreed to take things at his pace. Instead you put your hands on his face, palms cupping the sides, as your thumbs caressed his cheekbones.

"I think you should come even closer." His tongue flitted out over his lips, before he raked his teeth over them.

"Yeah?" you asked.

Bucky’s hands left your hips and moved up to the back of your neck, pulling you forwards into a kiss. The moment his lips met yours, your mind was reeling. You had a vague idea from Steve that Bucky had very much been a charmer but you hadn't thought about it much further, but now you knew with certainty that he had the skills to back his bravado. There was a suaveness to the way he slipped his tongue into your mouth. It made you wonder what other wonders it could manage and that thought made you moan.

Bucky broke the kiss. "You like that?"

You felt giddy and oh so aroused. Eager to regain that feeling you lent back towards him but he held you back, hands on your shoulders.

"What do you say about moving on a little?"

You nodded.

"What else were they worried about in the hospital?"

"There were a few lacerations on your arm," you said, taking his right hand between both yours.

You worked your way up to his shoulder, both of you reveling in the way it made you feel. Your fingers danced over his right clavicle, then over to his left, eyes never straying from each other. You edged closer to his left side and for a moment you considered moving down his torso, but the vibranium was a part of him and you wanted him to know you accepted that part of him, loved that part of him equally. As you reached out to the cool metal, everything changed. You are in awe of the complexity of the mechanics that made the prosthetic work. There was a beauty in the way the gears moved, simultaneously, in conjunction with each other to initiate the smallest of movements. You smiled, fascinated by the novel technology.

"You seem to be enjoying that," Bucky brought your attention back to him.

"Can you feel this?" you asked.

He shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. But maybe we can focus on something else now?" He cocked his head to one side.

"Right away, Sergeant." You placed both palms on his chest. "I think we can progress better without the shirt, what do you think?"

"I hope you aren't taking advantage of me" He pulled off his fitted black t-shirt.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Buck," you said as you raked your eyes over his well defined abs.

"Come now, let's not get distracted."

You brought your eyes back to his, face flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry."

"Not to worry, it happens to the best of us. Now, tell me what's going on here," he held your hands against his chest.

The synchronicity of his healing ribs expanding as he took a breath and inflated his lungs was exquisite. You checked in, making sure that the sensations weren't too overwhelming. 

"Lungs seem to be in order," you declared.

"What else?"

You didn't need powers to feel how hard his heart was beating in his chest. "May I?"

He nodded.

You needed to be careful, the smallest of nudges could lead to an arrhythmia or a stunned pericardium. Bucky mistook your caution as hesitation. 

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Have to be careful, don't want to create any new problems."

"I trust you." His eyes told you he spoke the truth.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes, reaching into his chest. You could feel the way his heart contracted and relaxed, like clockwork, bounded yet infinite, leaping from beat to beat. It reminded you of a repeating musical frequency, the same notes repeating and rejoining in a Fibonacci sequence. You had never felt so close to another human being as you did in that moment and the beauty brought tears to your eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's perfect."

Bucky chuckled, wiping away the tear that slipped down your cheek. "I think you're stealing my lines! Can't have you using my best material."

"How do you propose to stop me?"

"That one's easy." He looked at you mischievously before he slipped his hands behind your thighs and pulled you right up against his chest.

You barely had time to gasp before his lips were back on yours. Hungrier than before, craving the intimacy he had finally had the permission to have. As your tongues danced together, you could feel his arousal pressed against yours. The thin material of your leggings and his shorts didn't leave much to the imagination. Reflexively you pushed your hips forwards against his, eliciting the most carnal moan you'd heard.

His hands had been stroking your back over the baggy shirt but they were seeking the feel of your flesh. Bucky tugged at the hem of your shirt, lifting it over your torso. You raised your arms, breaking the kiss briefly to allow him to pull the shirt over your head, knocking your glasses askew in the process.

"Sorry," he straightened them before pulling you back into the kiss.

Your hands explored each other's bodies, getting to know each other in a new way. Bucky flicked off the clasps of your bra with so much ease that you wondered if you had even fastened it correctly that morning. He took care to be gentle as he slipped off the straps, over your shoulders, around your elbows and off your wrists. He tossed the undergarment over the back of the couch.

"Don't think we'll need that anymore."

You laughed and your unclad breasts danced as your chest moved. Bucky's eyes were transfixed. The undivided attention was making you feel self conscious and you crossed your arms in an attempt to feel less exposed.

"You don't have to hide from me, Ace." He tucked away the hair which covered your face, making sure he could see your eyes. 

Slowly you lower your arms, letting him take his fill of you, just as he had let you see his.

"May I?" He requested permission to touch you. 

"Please."

His eagerness was seductive. As was the way he pinched and rubbed your hardened nipples. Your underwear was already soaked and it was sure to extend through your leggings if he kept this up. 

"Hey, Ace?"

"Hmmm, Buck?"

"I think the ladies might be feeling a bit left out. You think I can give them a bit more attention?"

"What kind of attention?"

He licked his lips in the most seductive manner.

"By all means,” you swallowed hard. “I'm sure they would be thrilled."

It only felt like seconds before his mouth was latched on your nipple, nibbling, sucking until you were writhing in his lap. Letting go only when he was afraid he might accidentally fall from the edge as you bucked against his hips.

"Bucky, please." 

"Please, what?”

“Don’t be like that.”

Bucky laughed in a low and lascivious way. This time when he kissed you, there was no holding back. He swept his hands under your thighs, hooking them in and pulling you as close as he could. You held his face, pushing your hands through his hair and cupping the nape of his neck.

Without warning you felt Bucky lean forwards, still holding you tightly to him, his erection pushing hard against you. He rocked up onto his knees and lowered you down onto the bed. Only when you're flat on your back that he loosened his grip on your legs and immediately slipped his fingers into the hem of your leggings, trying to tug them down. You could see his mental struggle between gaining access to your core and having to take the pressure off his own. At this point, desperation had you fumbling with his shorts and neither of you seemed to be getting anywhere. 

"Buck, just… stop for… a second," you panted between his open mouthed kisses.

Bucky froze in surprise.

"Just take them off… quickly!" your voice was pressured.

Bucky snorted at your urgency, feeling slightly relieved that you didn't want to stop completely. He pushed down his shorts and boxers while you did the same with your clothing. As you tossed aside the offending items your eyes went back to him, lingering on the sizable swelling he was sporting. His eyes met yours in apprehension.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" you demanded.

He couldn't stop smiling as he put his mouth back on yours. His body weight pressed down on you, his erection rubbed against your lips. Without you realizing Bucky slipped his hand down and you gasped when cold metal pressed down on your clit. 

He gave you a few gentle strokes before plunging his fingers between your folds, collecting the slickness that had accumulated between your legs. You held your breath as you watched him smear it across his throbbing length, mixing it with the precum that was already flowing from his tip. His right hand remained firmly pressed against yours, his thick fingers interlaced between your dainty digits.

Bucky gave himself a few rough strokes before looking for your entrance. He pushed your legs apart with his knees and lined himself up. Bucky looked at you for permission before slipping between your folds, teasing you with his tip.

“Fuck Bucky, just get in me!”

He grinned and it made you feel delirious. You felt dizzy as he stretched you inch by inch, every movement elicited an exquisite wave of pleasure as he filled you completely. Bucky leaned forwards, letting go of your hand and supporting himself with his elbows just above your shoulders. He lay still for a moment while he waited for you to adjust. Your eyes met and he rubbed his nose against yours.

"You good?" he breathed.

"Great!"

He didn't need further encouragement, he pulled out slowly and thrusted back into you with a bit more speed and force than before. You moaned, yearning for more. Your hands found the small of his back, fingers digging into his skin desperately trying to bring him closer.

Bucky pushed his knees out, spreading your legs further and you hooked your knees over his thighs, using them as an anchor to thrust back. Your hands found purchase on his ass, as you tried to get him to move faster. The only thing that interrupted the sounds of his skin slapping against yours was the insatiable moans from your mouths.

The bucking of his hips had gotten more and more erratic and you knew he was close. You had a fleeting thought that he may finish before you, but Bucky seemed to know just what to do. He twisted his hips and you cried out ecstatically as he found that special place that would have you unraveling in mere moments. 

"Buck," you muttered his name breathlessly between moans. "Faster, I'm-"

He can only growl in response, holding you closer, tighter, fucking you harder and harder until you saw stars. Your orgasm coursed through your body, it spread through you like lightning, permeating every fiber of your being.

Your walls fluttered around him pushing him to the brink of ecstasy. His thrusts became more and more erratic as you tightened around him. 

"Bucky!" you gasped.

The sound of his name from your lips in euphoria was what made him pulse inside you. Arching his back, Bucky spilled his hot milky load into you. He panted heavily, mouth still on yours as he recovered his composure.

He rolled over to his side, pulling on your leg so you rolled with him, remaining inside you. Your head rested on his arm and he ran his vibranium fingers through your hair. You caressed his chin lovingly. Everything in that moment felt perfect.

​​

#bucky barnes x reader #buckybarnes x you #bucky barnes fan fiction #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes smut #finding you

[kcchameleon17]

The Case of the Missing Coat - DoctorRose Bingo

Prompt: "Take My Jacket"

“I’m heading back to the flat. Joining me?” Rose asked. He could hear her voice grow closer as she spoke. Moving his chin toward his chest to take a peek, he could see her sneaker-clad feet standing close to his outstretched legs from where he worked under the console.  

“Mm, no. The old girl’s still showing-”  

“Yes, yes, save the technical talk. I know an excuse when I hear one,” she said, backing away from him and the console with an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll see ya in a bit, then. Unless you decide to grace Mum and me with your presence earlier than that.”  

“I’ll be by at some point. Someone’s gotta pry you from Jackie’s grip or we’d never leave twenty-first London again,” he replied, listening as she moved toward the door. “Take a jacket,” he muttered, remembering the snow drizzling outside—real, honest snow for once.  

“Now you sound like Mum,” she taunted. Stilling the sound of her steps for a second to presumably, hopefully, pick up one of her coats or sweaters she’d left tossed over a coral at one point or another recently.  

“You doing it?” he asked, cringing as he realized he was only further feeding the comparison. But he really didn’t want her to catch a cold.  

“Yes, snug as could be now,” she answered. “Bye.” And with a squeak of the door hinges she was gone.  

He resumed his tinkering and tried to get lost in the activity. But it wasn’t too long after that that he found his right leg start to shift about in impatience. He was becoming bored, painfully so. But it was more than that. There was a stillness in the Tardis without the soft sounds that come with having another person around. The comfort that was the faint smell of Rose’s perfume as she passed by him on her way to make tea or model a new outfit she’d discovered in the wardrobe was missing. He was itching to get up and head straight to the flat. He’d put up with any nagging or questions from Jackie just to keep close to Rose.  

He really should try to fight it. Create a little distance between them. He was a proper addict. A Rose Tyler addict. He never knew what to do with himself if she wasn’t with him. It had been getting bad before the regeneration, but now it was on a whole new level. Which wasn’t exactly surprising— he’d regenerated to save her and had been reformed with her as the first thing on his mind.  

Sighing, he slid out from his spot and stood up. Although he should be resisting, working to build up a tolerance to his inability to be without the presence of Rose for more than a few minutes, he wasn’t about to start that daunting journey today. Plus Jackie was probably making tea.  

He was almost out the door when the cold air hit him, making him remember his worrying over Rose. Turning to the side, he grabbed for his coat but found himself palming an empty coral. He always kept it right there by the door. He turned back towards the rest of the console room, still not seeing it.  

He tried to remember the last time he had had it on. They hadn’t left the Tardis much in the last few days. It hadn’t been long since Mickey had chosen to stay in that parallel world and Rose had found that she needed a bit of downtime to process that. They’d been back in London quite often recently, mostly because of that. Rose had felt even more guilty about telling Jackie about Mickey. She’d leaned on Mickey the last year more than Rose herself ever had.   

He’d tried his best to make her understand that it was Mickey who had decided to stay. But Rose still blamed herself for making him feel like there was nothing left for him here. That he’d be better off in a whole other universe than stay in the same one with her in it.  

The Doctor felt just as responsible on that front. Although he didn’t believe that Rose was responsible for Mickey or owed it to him to hang around London, he knew that he’d somewhat taken Mickey’s place in Rose’s life. Not that he could find it anywhere in himself to regret doing so.  

Coming back to the matter at hand, he thought back through their recent trips. The last place they had been was a beach. Not exactly a coat-wearing day.  

He found himself wandering through the rooms he visited on a frequent basis: the kitchen, galley, the library, his room, and Rose’s. He peeked into the wardrobe room and couldn’t spot it on any of the levels. Ultimately, he wrapped himself in his long-forgotten favorite— that chunky, colorful scarf he once wouldn’t have been caught dead without. Now he hated to be seen in it. He might have still been the same man, but fashion sense varied drastically throughout regenerations.  

Making his way back through the Tardis and back to the door, he made quick work of locking the door and shuffling quickly to Rose’s building. Once inside the main doors, he was ready for that nice hot cup of tea more than ever.  

When he arrived at the flat, he made quick work of rapping on the wooden door. He was close to peeking in the cat door when the door finally opened. Then he was face to face with Jackie.  

“Accessorizing for once in your life, I see,” she snorted, stepping aside to let him come in.  

“Have a laugh. I wouldn’t be wearing this if my coat, a gift from the Janis Joplin hadn’t mysteriously disappeared,” he huffed. “Please tell me you’ve made tea?”  

“Fresh pot in the kitchen,” she answered, a smirk on her lips as she watched him shiver. “Didn’t have a single other coat in that big box of yours?”  

“None that go with this outfit,” he deadpanned.  

“You really shouldn’t be running around like that, as skinny as you are. You’ll get sick,” he heard her continue as he made his way through the doorway.  

He just hadn’t wanted to take any more time to find one for the short trek. He missed Rose. Who he hoped was in the kitchen he was heading toward to pour himself a cuppa.  

He found that she was. And so was his missing coat. Rose was sitting in front of the table, nursing a cup of her own and typing on her mobile. “Mum, Shareen might run over a mo to show me her-” she stopped as she realized she wasn’t talking to Jackie. She gave him a smile, tugging his coat closer around her as she did so, unconsciously. She looked so cozy buried in his coat. In one of his favorite articles of clothing.  

“Sooner than I expected you to give in,” she smirked, leaning back in her chair. “Lost without me.”  

“You're in my coat,” he found himself stupidly stating.  

“Yes, I am,” she grinned. Then she looked him over. He was glad he’d abandoned the scarf on the hook by the door. “You look cold.”  

“Well, someone did steal my coat,” he pointed out.  

“I did not! You told me to take it! You went on and on. ‘Take my jacket, Rose. It’s so cold out there.’ ” she mimicked.  

“I told you to take a jacket, not my jacket. And that-that,” he pointed toward her, “Is not a jacket. That is a coat!”  

“Same thing,” she shrugged as he shook his head fondly. “So do you want it back? Because I’m rather comfy to tell you the truth. Like getting a never-ending hug from you,” she said, huddling deeper into the coat, all while giving him a cheeky grin that made him swallow. She knew how to play him. How to do him in.  

“You don’t play fair,” he said, pointing again as Jackie made her way back into the room.  

“She never has,” she murmured, smiling to herself as she poured the Doctor a cup of the tea he’d forgotten about the second he’d laid eyes on Rose. She seemed to always lead to him losing track of his mind.  

With his new cup of tea, he sat down next to Rose, watching her as she spoke about Shareen and Keisha and then stories from their recent adventures. He watched her walk around the flat in his coat and then watched her drag the back of it through the snow when they eventually made their way back to the Tardis— him shivering in his silly scarf and her toasty in his big brown coat.  

And if he leaned into her just a little more than strictly necessary on the walk back, wrapping an arm around her waist and shoving a hand into one of the pockets, then that was simply to try and stay warm as well.

AO3 account: kcchameleon

AO3 story link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54042067

#doctorrosebingor2 #@doctorrosebingo #fanfiction #doctor who #doctor who fanfiction #writing prompt #doctor x rose #tenrose #tenrose fanfic #tenth doctor #rose tyler

[new-eyes-extra-colors]

Sunlight

Fandom: Pokémon Omega Ruby

Rating: General Audiences

Characters: May, Maxie, Groudon, Steven Stone

Summary: "Frenemies" is a weird relationship to have with someone, but if May hopes to partner with Groudon, she's going to have to make it work.

A/N: The only excuse I have for this is that I dearly love both of these characters and think they should be friends. Two things to note: May is 24 here, and there is an on-screen panic attack about two-thirds of the way through.

A Groudon-sized heap of thanks to my friend @slam-dunkrai for beta reading for me!

[read on AO3]

Something was beeping.

May opened her eyes blearily, then squeezed them shut again at the brightness around her and frowned. Where was she? She peeked again and her head throbbed. The ceiling was white and tiled; not the popcorn ceiling of her room in Littleroot, and definitely not the supports of her tent. Her back was on something soft, her head supported by pillows. Her left arm itched fiercely, and something was tight across her chest, making it difficult to breathe. There was a sharp pain in her left side, like she had a stitch from exerting herself too much.

She rolled her head to the side, looking down the length of her arm to see what was making her skin protest so much. A long clear tube ran from her wrist to… she followed it up to a bag dangling off to the side of the bed, far above her head.

Oh. Right. That made sense. Hospital, got it. They’d tucked her in a little tightly. The last thing she remembered was… running? She’d been headed down into the Cave of Origin to deal with Groudon, Maxie’s voice in her ear and half her team left behind on the surface to help with the evacuation. How had she…

…No, that wasn’t right. The last thing she remembered was leaving the Cave of Origin, after Groudon. With Groudon.

Using her right hand so she didn’t disturb the IV, she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. The beeping increased in tempo. It must be a heart rate monitor. Okay. Hopefully everybody assumed the ultra ball she had with her was one of her pokémon and not, you know, the horrifyingly eldritch walking natural disaster that had been well on their way to starting the literal apocalypse. Who would suspect that?

Her increased heart rate summoned a nurse seemingly out of thin air.

“Ah, you’re awake,” the woman said, sweeping into the room, a smile on her face. “How are we feeling this morning?”

“Fine, thanks,” May said. She tried to sit up and dizziness washed over her; she laid back down, head thumping against the pillows heavily. The pain in her side was back in force. “Where’s my team?”

“At the center next door,” the nurse replied, fiddling with one of the machines. “You’ll be able to see them once you’re discharged.”

“I’m good to go now,” May said. “I feel great.”

The nurse eyed her critically. “You are dehydrated and have three cracked ribs.”

Oh. Maybe the blankets weren’t tight after all.

“Just cracked?” May asked. “Not broken?”

The nurse leveled a forceful stare at her.

Okay, but she’d just fought a world-ending monster to a standstill, what, a day ago? How long had she been out? Whatever, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t intimidated. May leveraged herself up with her right arm, ignoring her protesting ribs. “Seriously, I’m good to go. I need to check on my pokémon.”

The nurse sighed. “I’ll send the doctor in to assess you, and you can discuss your situation with her. But I don’t recommend leaving unless she gives you the all clear.”

“Sure, gotcha,” May said. “I’ll be sure to drink lots of water and avoid any strenuous activities. I don’t need to be in a hospital to do that.”

*

The doctor protested as well, and no doubt May’s friends would once they found out, but she signed a release and wrote a letter stating why she was leaving before the doctor’s recommendation, and was discharged a few hours later. She brushed her teeth, got changed—somewhat gingerly due to the cracked ribs—secured the one pokéball she had on her person, gathered her bag and her cell phone—someone had kindly plugged it in to charge while she’d been unconscious—and checked her messages. Six missed calls, five from the professor and one from her mother, and two texts from Flannery and one from Brendan. Guiltily, she tucked the phone away. She could get back to them later.

She was going to get an earful from Steven for sure, provided he knew about her condition—if anyone did, he would—but given the circumstances, her health could wait a little while. She had more pressing concerns.

She couldn’t get over the fact that she caught Groudon.

Was that even allowed? Maxie had been going to do it, before everything got shot to hell, and he was probably a better trainer than she was. On the other hand, there must’ve been something wrong with his method, because instead of partnering with him, Groudon rampaged. There was no guarantee they wouldn’t do the same thing the moment she let them out of their ball, but at least now she could return them. Right? Pokéballs weren’t foolproof, even the expensive one she’d used, but it didn’t seem like Groudon had broken out yet, so they still had to be in it.

Wherever it was...

“May I see your trainer’s card, please?” the receptionist asked. May already had it in hand and passed it over the desk to her. “Okay, let’s see… May Maple. It looks like we only have one of your pokémon under our care currently. An aggron. He’s in the large pokémon wing, down this hallway to my left at the very end. You’re welcome to visit him at any time.”

Wait, what? “Aggron?”

“Yes, that’s what his intake paperwork says.” The receptionist looked up at her, faintly confused. “Is that incorrect?”

When had Brutus evolved? “No, no that’s right.” Surely she’d be able to recognize him regardless. Right? She was that good a trainer at least. He’d recognize her, definitely. “You don’t have any others?”

The receptionist shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”

Crap. Okay. She’d have to check with Steven, then; he would know what happened. “Okay, no worries,” May said, making sure to sound lighthearted. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

“Just one thing. What’s my aggron in for?”

The receptionist looked over her computer screen. “He’s being tested for stress fractures after being… caught in a cave collapse, and also for exertion after a suspected spontaneous evolution.” She looked up at May, a question in her eyes, but didn’t say anything else.

“Okay, thank you. I think that’s all I need. You said the left hallway, right?”

“That’s right. Have a good day.”

“You too.”

May took off past the receptionist’s desk, power walking to keep from breaking into a sprint. A cave collapse and a spontaneous evolution. That’s why she had been running, right? She’d caught Groudon, but the earthquakes hadn’t stopped; she’d had to run to get out. She dropped Brutus’ pokéball sometime during the fight, so he was beside her during their escape. If the ceiling started to come down, he must’ve evolved to protect her. Vaguely, she remembered being pinned to the ground facedown with something impossibly heavy bearing down on her back, only saved by the sturdy construction of the suit, and then that weight being lifted marginally. The earth had been rumbling and air had been hissing in her ears. She must’ve passed out not long after.

May was pretty sure that was one mystery solved. Spontaneous evolution happened for a lot of reasons, but defensive evolution was more common than other types. To know that he’d somehow mustered the energy to save her after being so exhausted from combating Groudon, to know she was loved that much by her pokémon was…

She wiped at her welling tears with the back of her hand. Now wasn’t the time.

She pushed open the double doors at the end of the hallway and spotted Brutus immediately. A hulking mass of white steel and rocky flesh stretched out across the floor, taking up a surprising amount of space. The attending nurse glanced at her as she entered, and the aggron lifted his head and looked at her with clear blueish green eyes.

May burst into tears at the sight, and ran the distance to drop to her knees and throw her arms around his neck, not minding at all the hard skin or cold metal armor or pain in her ribs. The nurse stepped aside and let her have her moment.

“Wow, you got big, huh?” May asked, pulling back to peer into crystal eyes and scrubbing the tears from her own. Brutus looked back at her, silent and stoic. “How am I gonna feed you now?”

“Biggest aggron I’ve ever seen,” the nurse said. “Course we don’t get many of them out here on our little island. But he’s an impressive specimen for sure.”

She turned to look up at him. “Is he okay? The receptionist said he was being looked at for stress fractures.”

“Yeah, he’s checked out so far,” the nurse replied, glancing at his clipboard. “The only trouble he’s in is due to exhaustion and overexertion.”

“Spontaneous evolution,” May said.

“Yeah, you know. Pokémon are tough customers, especially this one, but even they can get the wind knocked out of them.” He smiled kindly. “I wouldn’t worry about him though. He’s recovering well, and I have no doubt he’ll be ready to leave in a few days. Really, it’s just a precaution that we’re still monitoring him.”

May sighed with relief. Alright. So she just had to arrange to stay a few nights at the Center—she had things to do, and people to talk to, and a giant eldritch lava monster to find, and hopefully everyone else would be sticking around in Sootopolis for a while too.

She spent the next hour cooing over Brutus, running her hands down his armored face and holding his massive paw in her lap. He seemed to be himself, just tired. Eventually, reluctantly, she patted his nose and stood. She needed to get a room here and then go figure out what had happened to Groudon.

When she did so, the receptionist said, “Oh—it looks like you’re already in our system for the rest of the week.”

May frowned. “Um, okay. Can I ask whose card is on file?”

The receptionist clicked her mouse. “It says here the credit card authorization was signed by a Steven Stone. Wait. The Steven Stone?”

Oh, but that made sense. Of course Steven would be footing her bill. Again. It had to have been him who brought Brutus to the Pokémon Center in the first place, and probably the one who recommended treatment for spontaneous evolution. He was the steel-type expert after all.

“Yeah, that’s him,” May said. “Can I pick up my keys now?”

*

She ran it over in her head during the walk back to the Cave of Origin. She went in with Brutus and Comet—one was in the infirmary and one still in a ball, clipped to her hip. Ivy was with Steven and Alluria was with Archie, and that’s where they both still were, according to what Steven had said on the phone when she’d called him after picking up her keycards at the Pokémon Center. But where was Groudon?

The worst-case scenario was that their ball had been lost in the cave-in, but Steven and Wallace were working on getting that sorted right now. When she’d spoken with Steven he’d mentioned that, as both a landmark and a place of importance to not just the Sootopolitans but Hoenn as a whole—and since there had been no major injuries during the short-lived state of emergency—one of their first priorities in the wake of this disaster was clearing the cave out. That was good, right? All she had to do was wait, in that case, and she had to do that anyway while Brutus recovered.

The cave entrance was so much less intimidating in the daylight—well, the natural daylight, not the light of Groudon’s summoned sun that had blared overhead in the dead of the night. Now, past the massive carved doors, it looked like any other cave she’d dove into during the last two years, except for the construction crew coming and going out of it.

Nobody seemed to notice her as she slipped inside and followed the wide passageway deeper into the earth. She had no idea how close she’d been to the entrance when the ceiling collapsed, but she was going to find out.

It turned out to be pretty far. She found Steven after the fourth turn, who knew how many feet underground, his metagross and a constellation of beldum floating ominously beside him.

He turned when she called out to him. “There you are,” he said, smiling. “You really should be wearing a hard hat in here, you know.”

“Eh, this cave already tried to crack my skull open once and didn’t manage it,” she said, knocking on her head with her right fist, and Steven chuckled.

“Be that as it may, May, safety is not a joke. Why don’t we go outside?”

“This’ll just take a second,” she said. “I know you’re busy.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

“First of all—Ivy.”

“Yes,” he replied, unclipping a blue and red ball from his belt. “She performed admirably, you should know. She’s exceptionally well trained.”

Hopefully he couldn’t see the blush that crept up her cheeks at that. “Thank you,” she said, returning the sceptile’s ball to her own belt. “You don’t know what that means to me. Um, second of all is a little more complicated.” Steven’s brow creased in concern as she continued. “So, um, I think I lost one of my team members when the cave collapsed.”

“I’m sorry, May, that’s very serious,” Steven said gravely.

“Yeah, I—I know.” She took a deep breath; hopefully if he thought she was overwhelmed with worry he wouldn’t ask too many questions. Like what pokémon is it and where did you catch it and hold on, I thought you only had four partners.

“They’re in an ultra ball,” she said. “So, um, if you find one, will you please let me know?”

He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “May, of course I will,” he said. “I’ll let the rest of our crew know as well. As soon as we find them, I’ll give you a call.”

“Thank you,” she said, with genuine gratitude. He held his arms out and she started in for a quick hug, but then backed off. “Uh, my ribs are cracked.” Dang it.

“Oh! I’m sorry, it had completely slipped my mind.” He held out a hand for her to shake. “Apologies for the formality, then.”

She shook it, smiling. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ve made it up to me already. Thank you for booking my stay at the Pokémon Center, and for looking after Ivy and Brutus. At this point I think I owe you one.”

Steven looked at her. “May, we all owe you.”

Right. Saving the world and all that. “Eh,” she said, trying not to sound flippant. “All in a day’s work. Actually,” she said, “I do have one more question.”

Steven nodded.

“So, I know the cave collapsed, I know Brutus evolved to protect me,” she started. “But who dug me out? I’m assuming it was you and Diligence.”

“It was a group effort,” he replied. “I believe Mister Asher reached you first.”

That made sense; Maxie had been the one operating the other end of the radio, so he had been right there at the mouth of the cave. Not that it had been much help; they’d lost the signal almost immediately. Wasn’t his fault.

“After that, I arrived with Wallace, and then Mister Caspian, Mister Jeong, and Ms Khouri-LeRoux.”

Archie, Tabitha, and Shelly. She was planning on talking to all of them at some point. “Right, okay,” she said. “Just making a list of who all I need to thank.” Among other things. Definitely not who all she had to ask about her—her missing pokémon.

Stars above, Groudon was hers, weren’t they? Her responsibility. Reality settled like a weighted blanket around her shoulders, making her stomach churn with anxiety. She had to pick up the pace.

*

After thanking Steven again she showed herself out, and stepping back into the clear sunlight was a relief. She still had no idea how long she’d been trapped in the cave, but she considered it fortunate that she didn’t remember it. Being buried alive was… well, it didn’t merit thinking about. Not now.

Next on her list: Maximilian Asher. Wherever he was. It was a little funny—after all this time knowing each other, they’d never traded phone numbers. She just happened to run into him. A lot. Which, of course, had been according to his plans all but the first two times, and that time in Lilycove when she caught him out shopping. But he hadn’t left her any hints about where to find him now.

He’d been such a frequent presence in her life the last two years and now it felt like an eternity since they’d spoken, even though it had been the day before yesterday. The last time was over the radio, right before Groudon erupted from the magma deep in the cave…

Right, she wasn’t thinking about that right now. She had at least one person from Team Magma she could contact. It was fortunate he’d opted to give her his number after the incident at the Weather Institute all those months ago. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts, all the way down to the Ts, and then dialed.

It only rang twice. “Hello?” said a voice on the other end of the line.

“Hey, Tabitha,” May said. “It’s me. Is your boss around?”

“Maple?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “Yeah, he’s right here. Why?”

“I need to talk to him. Well—I need to talk to both of you, technically. It’s nothing bad. Where are you guys at?”

“North side, down by the lake.” Not far, then. “There’s a little café on the east side of the gym. We’re on the patio.”

“Gotcha, thank you. I’ll be there in a sec.”

*

It was a short walk to the waterfront. The winding path led downwards, past a myriad of shops and clusters of apartments, and under hanging ivy and colorful banners before opening up in front of the lake. It reminded her of Olivine, on the far side of this same ocean, so close and so far. She passed in front of the Sootopolis Gym and its official League signage, following Tabitha’s directions, and soon spotted the people she was looking for.

They were sitting at an outdoor table under a bright yellow umbrella, and were both out of uniform. Tabitha looked sharp and professional in slacks and a button down, and Maxie looked surprisingly casual in slacks and a turtleneck. The bright red coat really did a lot for his silhouette, May realized. He looked smaller out of it.

Both men looked up at her as she approached, though Maxie’s gaze quickly fell away to the tabletop. May waved, a little awkwardly, and moved to stand a few feet away from them.

“Uh, hi,” she said. Her anxiety flared again. Might as well accept it—this was going to be a weird one, but she could still be polite. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

Maxie and Tabitha shared a look—she definitely was interrupting something, and given the events of the last few days, it was probably better not to speculate.

“We were just finishing up, actually,” Tabitha said. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Right, sitting down was probably less weird than standing here.

“How are you feeling?” Tabitha asked as May pulled out a chair and sat down between them. “Last time I saw you, you were being carted off to the hospital.”

“I feel fine,” May said. “The cavern got it worse than I did.”

Tabitha cocked an eyebrow at her, but if he knew anything to the contrary, he didn’t call her out on it. “Okay, well, that’s good. Glad to have you up and around. So how we can help you?”

“Well, I think you already have,” May said. “And um, that’s really the only thing I needed to talk about.” She took a deep breath and looked at them both in turn. Tabitha was leaned back in his chair, casual as could be, and Maxie was sitting with impeccable posture as always and still refusing to meet her eyeline.

“Steven told me what happened after the cave-in,” she said. “He said you both helped dig me out, and I wanted to say thank you for that. So, thank you.”

“It was the least I could do,” Maxie said quietly.

“You saved all our sorry hides,” Tabitha pointed out.

“People keep saying that,” May said.

“Probably because it’s true,” Tabitha said. “But regardless, you’re welcome, Maple.”

She nodded at him, and then Maxie cleared his throat.

“Ms Maple,” he said, finally meeting her eyes, “would you be comfortable speaking with me in private?”

That… could be about a few different things. “Uh, yeah, that’s fine.” She glanced between them again. “Uh…”

Tabitha scooted his chair back and stood. “Courtney called earlier and I need to get back to her,” he said, “so I’ll leave you two to it.” He nodded at May. “If I don’t see you again, Maple, take care.”

“You too,” she replied warmly.

He pushed the chair in and then turned and walked away, pulling out his cell phone as he went. May fiddled with her bracelets.

“Are—” she started, just as Maxie said, “I—”

They both stopped, and Maxie ducked his head. “Go on.”

May hesitated. “Are… how are you?”

“I’m fine, Ms Maple.”

Yeah, right. Who would be fine after all of that? He had the air of a kicked dog, and it was a feeling she was familiar with. However he was doing, whatever was going through his head, it sure as hell wasn’t fine.

“Okay,” she said, because what else could she say to that? Not to be rude, but I don’t believe you, sorry. It wasn’t the sort of thing you called someone on, so she let it go.

Maxie took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I owe you an apology. More than one, I expect, but I will try to be concise. I can only imagine how much you must hate me, but—”

May flinched. “What?” How could he think that? She must’ve screwed up somehow, just like she always did, if he could think it was even possible for her to—when had she even been angry with him? Sure, she’d once cornered him on the fourth floor of a department store in Lilycove, feeling like an idiot with a stuffed animal tucked under her arm, and grilled him for hints about where his base was, but that was a far cry from angry. Annoyed that he was winning their little game of cat and mouse, maybe. And she enjoyed their battles; he was a good trainer.

Hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she felt her face flush and throat tighten. “I don’t—I don’t hate you.” Stars above, if she screwed up this badly, did she misinterpret their entire relationship? She twisted her hands in her lap. “Um—do you hate me?”

“No, no, of course not,” he said quickly. “No, I didn’t mean—ugh.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I apologize, Ms Maple, I’m finding this more difficult than I imagined. I misspoke. Permit me to start again?”

She wiped at her nascent tears with the back of one hand. “Uh, yeah. Go ahead.”

He nodded. “Thank you. Now: please understand I’m not asking your forgiveness. But my error in judgement never should have fallen on you to fix. The monumental task of dealing with Groudon never should have been your responsibility, and for the fact that I was unable to rectify my own mistake, I am truly sorry. You should not have been involved.”

She waited a heartbeat, and then two, and then said, “Okay, but I involved myself.” He opened his mouth to reply but she held up a hand. “I’m a trainer, Maxie, so it was my responsibility, actually. And I mean, you were there. Nobody else had the team for it.”

“Regardless—”

“No, there’s nothing else. I’m sorry, but like, it wasn’t something that you alone could have fixed. And everything turned out fine—the earthquake damage was minimal. Hell, I caused more trouble for everybody by collapsing the cave. Nobody was hurt. I really don’t think this is my place to say, but you seem to, so… apology accepted.” She shrugged and immediately regretted the motion as the pain in her ribs flared again. “You’re forgiven.”

He closed his eyes. “Just like that,” he said flatly.

“Yeah. I mean… yeah.”

He shook his head. “Just when I begin to think I understand you, you do or say something like that.”

May resisted the urge to shrug again. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

She nodded. “You know, I wouldn’t’ve chased you across the entire country if I hated you. I would have just like, told Steven where to catch you.”

“I see,” he said unconvincingly.

She waited a beat, but he didn’t continue. “So, um, are we okay now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean our… relationship, or whatever. Back to normal, right?”

He studied her for a moment. “I’m very interested to hear what you think normal is for the two of us.”

She huffed a laugh. “Well I didn’t think you were going to ask me to define it.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Okay, okay. Um. Rivals? Friendly ones? Who don’t hate each other?”

“You tell me, Ms Maple. You’re the one with a laundry list of things you have every right to be aggrieved about.”

“I already said you were forgiven.”

He sighed. “You did.” He leaned back in his chair. “Very well. I suppose rivals is… fitting.”

“Great. …Um, not to change the subject, but there is one more thing,” she said slowly. “I had an ultra ball with me when the cavern collapsed. Did anyone find it, or…?”

His demeanor changed subtly—back straightening, eyes narrowing—and in that instant she knew that he knew.

Oh, stars above.

Of all people… of course it was him.

“Yes,” he said coolly. “I was wondering when you were going to broach that topic.” He reached down and unclipped something from his belt, and then placed the slightly melty black and yellow pokéball in the center of the table. “I did, as it happens.”

“Oh. Uh. Thank you.” She didn’t reach for it.

“I have been trying to decide what to say to you regarding your chosen solution,” he said, tapping one finger on the tabletop, “but I find that words simply escape me.” He took a deep breath. “Ms Maple, I’m well aware I have no right to tell you how to handle this—”

“So don’t.”

“—but I cannot overstate the danger of attempting to—”

“You were going to do this.”

“I was wrong.” He leaned forward in the ensuing silence. “You’re so quick to forgive me, but I was wrong. Do you understand that?”

“You weren’t down there,” she snapped, and he leaned away at the heat in her voice. Guilt bit into her instantly. “I’m sorry. But the one time that you weren’t there—” Stars above, stop. She wasn’t admitting that to him, at least not yet. She shook her head. “Look. I’m not going to try to justify myself to you, but I don’t think I had a choice. The cavern was coming down and I couldn’t just—leave them.”

He laughed and she frowned. This wasn’t the giddy schoolboy laughter of their encounter on Pyre or the triumphant, borderline maniacal laughter of Groudon’s cavern. He sounded…  tired.

“Ms Maple, I am not trying to lecture you. And I’m certainly not implying that you’re incapable of handling her. Obviously, you’ve done that once already.” He sighed. “But I think you should seriously consider not following in my footsteps.”

“I really think we’re past that point. They’re already awake, now.”

“And you think that’ll make a difference.”

“I mean, yeah? They haven’t broken out of their ball, yet. I’m sure they could.”

Maxie tapped one finger on the tabletop. “I suppose that’s fair. What exactly is it you plan to do?”

“Take them somewhere they can’t hurt anybody if they decide to have a temper tantrum, let them out, and just… talk to them.” She held up her hands, forestalling any argument. “I mean, they’re a pokémon, right? And they have partnered with people in the past, right? You weren’t wrong about that.”

“Perhaps,” he said slowly, like he was conceding a point he didn’t really believe in. “But to be frank, Ms Maple, is your team in any shape to handle her a second time if she proves to be less than tractable?”

“Yes,” she shot back. “Ivy and Alluria are good to go. That’s two type advantages. More than what I had last time, and they weren’t tractable at all then, believe me.”

“I do,” he replied. “Regardless, I don’t think you should be undertaking such an endeavor on your own.”

May stared at him. “Who am I gonna ask to help with this?”

“I don’t have an answer for that.”

She had one, but he wasn’t going to like it very much. She’d probably have to work her way around to it. She picked an angle and dove in. “I mean, the obvious answer is the League.”

He hesitated, then shrugged and folded his hands primly on the tabletop.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She sat forward. “Turning Groudon over to the League is basically like handing them to the Devon Corporation. Look, I want you to know that I know that. Just because I’m friends with Steven…” She shook her head. “I’m not blind to his flaws, is what I’m saying.

“But if not him, then who? Because I can’t let them rot in a ball forever and I can’t let them rampage, so at some point I’m going to have to deal with them and like you said, it’s better not to do it alone.”

“I’m sorry, Ms Maple, but I don’t have a solution to offer you.” At least he had the good grace not to suggest her father, gym leader or not. “I wish that I did.”

With a sigh, she sat back in her seat. Groudon’s pokéball sat between them on the table, an odd, faintly ugly centerpiece. She had to play this smartly if she was going to get what she wanted.

“Maxie, listen,” she started, and he nodded. “I appreciate the suggestion, I really do. But I already thought about it and I already have someone in mind.”

“Well, good, then,” he said.

“He’s an expert on Hoennic mythology.”

He opened his mouth to reply, and then squinted at her. “No.”

“Why not?”

He set his jaw. “Ms Maple. Far be it from me to understand your… earnestness in attempting to ignore how singularly I have already failed in that endeavor. But recent events have made it abundantly clear that some quality of mine rendered me incapable of succeeding in this particular effort and it would behoove you to acknowledge that.”

“You’re literally the best man for the job.”

“I’m literally the worst man for the job.”

“You know you want to.”

“Yes, I do, and that’s precisely the problem,” he snapped.

May sighed. Plucked the ball from the center of the table and turned it over in her hands. Made a show of it. “Fine,” she said, trying her best to sound defeated. “If you’re not comfortable, I won’t try to force you. I’ll just do it alone again, which is not, you know, dangerous at all. Or,” she said as he opened his mouth to reply, “maybe I’ll just ask Archie for help.”

Maxie narrowed his eyes at her. May held his gaze.

“He’s a sweet guy,” she continued, maintaining eye contact. “Seems pretty knowledgeable about this kind of thing, too. I bet he’d be happy to give me a hand. And I do have to talk to him today anyway, since I have to get my milotic back from him.”

Maxie folded his hands in his lap. Inhaled and then exhaled. “You,” he said, voice low and measured, “are trying to get a rise out of me, and it isn’t going to work.”

Oh, now all of a sudden he was unbothered by that. “I’m trying to ask for your help,” May shot back. “Except you’re more bull-headed than your own camerupt, apparently. I had to sit through your big speech about your incomparable partner—”

“Yes, and we saw how well that went.”

“Well we wouldn’t be doing that again,” she said. “No expectations, no grand intentions, no inscrutable magical artifacts. Just two people, and one pokémon. That could work.”

He hesitated, and she could practically see the gears turning in his mind. “I should be talking you down from this.”

“I can’t just let them sit in a ball forever, Maxie.”

“I know, I know. Gods.” He pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut. He sat like that for a long moment, and May leaned forward, trying not to grin. She had him.

“If I don’t help you, you’re going to do this anyway, aren’t you.”

“Yep.”

He sighed heavily, and then leaned back, put his glasses back on, and looked at her squarely. “You’ll need space,” he said. “A lot of it.”

“Somewhere secluded, ideally,” she added.

He nodded once. “Do you have someplace in mind?”

“Yeah, I think so. It’s about an hour’s flight from here, if I’m remembering right.”

Maxie hesitated. “Flight?”

“Yeah, unless you want to swim. That’d probably take longer.” She squinted at him. “Can you swim?”

“Very well, thank you,” he said haughtily.

“Well, pick your poison. How does your swampert do in saltwater?”

“It’s a euryhaline species.”

“So, fine. So between her and my milotic…”

“I think I would prefer to fly,” he said. “If it’s all the same to you.”

May smiled. “I think that’ll work fine. Are you available tomorrow?”

“You want to wait?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s almost dark and I just realized I haven’t eaten anything at all today.”

He gave her a withering look. “Ms Maple.”

“I had things to do, okay?”

“Stars preserve me,” he muttered. “Well, conveniently we’re at a café, so why don’t you go in and order something now?” He waved one hand. “On me.”

She balked. “Are you offering to buy me dinner?”

“Yes, if only to ensure you eat a proper meal. I’m unfortunately aware of your proclivity towards instant noodles and energy drinks.”

She made a face halfway between a smile and a cringe. “Yeah, forgot you knew about that.”

*

The roof of a Pokémon Center—at least most of the others she’d been to—was usually as busy as its interior, with trainers relaxing, sparring, or simply taking in the sights. But this early, May was the only one out here, and she was grateful as always for the solitude. She had to admit, the East Lakeside Pokémon Center had a wonderful view. She could see all the way across the lake from here, to the local gym and to the Center on the opposite shore. The sky was rapidly lightening, but the city, in the depths of its crater, was still awash with darkness. Pinpricks of lights—streetlamps and windows and trolleys—stood out on the far side of the lake.

She was just cinching the final strap on Comet’s saddle when she heard the door to the roof open. She glanced over, only half expecting Maxie even though she knew he was punctual, and tossed him a little smile and wave when she saw it was him before getting back to her preparations. She wasn’t used to flying with passengers; typically it was just her and Comet and she forewent the saddle a not-insignificant portion of the time. But today, safety was the name of the game.

“That’s a latios,” Maxie said from somewhere off to her left. She looked up and over Comet’s back at him. He was back in his red coat, looking like his normal, faintly imposing self. That was probably a good thing.

“Good morning to you too. His name’s Comet,” May replied, finishing up with the buckle and scratching behind her dragon’s feathery ears.

Maxie mouthed the name with a frown. “Your fourth pokémon is a latios?”

She wasn’t surprised that he remembered their names, though she couldn’t recall mentioning Comet in front of him. Comet apparently took exception to Maxie’s tone, and snapped his jaws, arched his neck, fluffed up his feathers, and tipped his head to side-eye Maxie, who took a step backwards.

“He’s not trying to be critical,” May said to the dragon, smoothing the feathers on his neck back down with one hand. “I think he’s just surprised.”

“Yes, though at this point I’m not sure why.” Maxie shook his head. “Every time I start to think you couldn’t possibly impress me more…”

May ducked her head and bit back a smile. “The, uh, attitude is just because he doesn’t know you. He gets a little flighty around strangers.” To Comet, she said, “Please be nice. I told you we’d have a passenger today.”

She kept smoothing feathers, doing her best to reassure him. That seemed to settle him somewhat, and the sharp angle he held his neck at relaxed. He stretched out toward Maxie curiously, sniffing the air.

“You can pet him now if you want,” May said. “I promise he’s friendly.”

Maxie hesitated, but then held out a hand for Comet to inspect. The dragon arched his neck again, but not as severely this time; then, slowly, pressed his nose into Maxie’s palm.

“Scratch behind his ears; he loves that.”

Maxie did so, a faint smile tugging at his lips, and Comet trilled. “A latios,” Maxie repeated. “You’ve had him since before Pyre, yes? Why didn’t you ever use him in battle?”

“He doesn’t like fighting,” May replied.

“Can he understand what we’re saying?”

“I think so? He seems to pick up tone pretty well, and intent if he knows you. I just talk to him like he’s a person and that seems to work fine.”

“Fascinating,” Maxie murmured.

“We’re still working on the sight-sharing thing,” May said, “but it’s pretty taxing having someone’s entire sensory experience dumped into your head, especially when they see in the UV spectrum and have psychic powers and an extra set of limbs compared to you. The first time we tried it I got a horrible migraine-and-nosebleed combo. Spent the rest of the day curled up in my tent with a pillow over my head, trying to ignore the phantom limb sensation from briefly thinking I had wings.”

Maxie leaned to the side to give her a critical look past Comet’s neck. “And this is something you regularly subject yourself to.” It wasn’t a question.

“It’s not that bad now,” May said defensively. “We’ve been practicing. Uh, are you ready to go, then?”

He sighed. “Yes, we’d best get going.”

May patted Comet’s shoulder twice, and he lowered himself into a laying position on the ground, tucking his forelegs underneath himself and spreading his wings. She showed Maxie how to buckle the belts that would keep the two of them secure on Comet’s back while flying, waited for him to get settled into the second seat of the saddle, and then double-checked his work.

“Sorry for that, but I don’t want to lose you to a mistake,” she said. “Uh, not that you have anything to worry about; Comet and I have practiced mid-air catches before. He’s pretty good at it.”

“Dare I ask how?”

May winced. “Uh, probably in exactly the way you’re thinking.”

He sighed and leveled that forceful stare of his at her. “Ms Maple, at some point you and I are going to have a serious talk about that reckless streak of yours.”

She broke eye contact quickly; she could unpack any implications there at a different time. “Sure.” She hopped into the front seat and did up her own buckles. “We’re not doing any fancy flying today, though, are we bud?” she asked, leaning forward to pat Comet’s neck. He warbled.

May looked over her shoulder. She would have twisted, but her ribs were already protesting from lifting the saddle earlier and she didn’t want to injure herself further. “Okay, have you ever flown before?”

“In a plane,” Maxie said dryly.

“Well, then, dragon riding 101—basically just do what I do. Lean when I lean in the direction I lean. If you’re not sure what to do, just lean forward. There’s a strap right behind my seat—” she reached back to pat it, “—you can hold onto that. Please don’t grab me.” That was less a rule and more the preference of someone with three cracked ribs, but he didn’t need to know that. He’d just blame himself for getting her hurt, even though it wasn’t really his fault.

“Also—you probably want to put your glasses somewhere safe. Which reminds me, I have a pair of goggles for you.”

Maxie removed his glasses and tucked them into an interior pocket of his coat as May dug around in her pack for a moment before producing a second set of flygon-brille goggles, the twin of the ones perched on her own forehead.

“Interesting choice,” he said. “Very… traditionally Hoennic.”

“I like that they don’t scuff in the sand,” she replied. “I got them in Lavaridge.”

Maxie made an approving noise, but didn’t say anything else. She half expected him to brag; he was from Lavaridge—it wasn’t a coincidence that his sister was the gym leader there.

May pulled on her own goggles, and once Maxie was situated, she patted Comet again to signal they were ready to go. The dragon stood slowly so as not to jostle his passengers. May hunched forward as much as her aching side allowed. Behind her, Maxie hissed a breath.

“Don’t forget to lean forward,” she said, and felt Comet’s stance shift as Maxie did so. “And don’t forget to hold on.”

“Believe me, I have that covered,” he said, sounding grave.

May tried not to smile at that as Comet took two bounding steps forward before leaping off the roof. He flared his wings almost immediately to catch the wind, arcing upwards in a neat parabola before flapping hard to gain more altitude. Cool air rushed past and May almost laughed aloud as they soared in a skyward spiral over the lake, now sparkling and golden in the light of the early morning sun. When she could see the ocean past the white crater walls of the city, she let go of the saddle.

“Okay, hold on!” she called over her shoulder, over the wind, and then lifted her right arm and key stone bracelet high in the air, and—

—blinding white light burst from the mega stone on Comet’s collar as he transformed, massive wings stretching wider as his feathers rippled, changing from blue to lavender. If they’d been flying solo, this was the part where he’d flip them over into a triumphant loop, but he remembered what she’d asked him about gentle flying today and instead only trilled and beat his wings harder to increase his speed.

May whooped as they shot upwards into the wide blue sky, despite the throbbing ache in her ribs, despite the monumental task waiting before her, despite what she was going to have to deal with back in Littleroot, eventually. There was no feeling on the planet like this. With one hand on a dragon’s neck and the wind in her hair, for a little while, at least, she was free.

They leveled out at cruising altitude about a half mile above the city, and May tugged at the thread of psychic energy connecting her mind and Comet’s to ask him to turn southwards, roughly in the direction of that old tower that loomed on the horizon. He bobbed his head, dipped a wing, and banked.

Finally, she turned to look at their passenger. Maxie was still clinging to the saddle, but his posture seemed somewhat relaxed, and he was taking the opportunity to peer over Comet’s side down at the city and the long line of black basalt Groudon had left in their wake as they had traveled to the Cave of Origin from their cavern beneath the sea.

“You doing okay back there?” May asked.

“Fine,” he said, somewhat stiffly, pulling his gaze away from the scenery to meet her eyes. “If this is your usual means of travel, I think it’s very telling.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I meant it as one.”

May nodded, grinning to herself. “Okay,” she said over her shoulder, “we’ve got about an hour, maybe a little less since it seems like the wind’s in our favor. Should be a pretty smooth ride.”

“Thank the gods,” Maxie muttered.

They settled into what May felt was companionable silence. The only noises were the rush of the wind, the occasional beat of Comet’s wings, and the cries of seabirds. Far below, the ocean sparkled in the sunlight, a vast blue diamond-studded quilt covering the world.

The sun shone brightly high in the sky, warm and heavy on May’s bare arms. They were really doing this, she realized. Less than an hour and, for the second time in two days, she’d be facing down a monster so powerful as to bring the whole world to its knees. She’d barely beaten them the first time.

Anxiety coiled in her gut, and she took a deep breath. Stars above, but she hoped this wouldn’t get them both killed.

*

May’s estimation on their flight time turned out to be slightly off; Comet touched down about an hour and a half later. It wasn’t a large island they landed on—only a few hundred yards across, mostly covered in sand and scrub grass, with the ocean lapping sedately at the shores.

May was already unbuckled and sliding off Comet’s back as he folded his wings, and she helped Maxie down a moment later, holding his arm as he steadied himself. He really wasn’t used to flying.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked, smiling.

Maxie sighed as he put his glasses back on. “I imagine it must be an acquired taste.”

May chuckled as he began combing his hair back into place with his fingers, looking as disheveled as she’d ever seen him. She bit back a smile and turned her back to him to pet Comet. She didn’t want him to think she was making fun—it was just that he was kind of cute when he was out of sorts.

“How is it that you’re familiar with this place?” Maxie asked. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Well, we’re not exactly nowhere,” she said. “Pacifidlog is another three hours or so in…” She turned to orient herself, and pointed. “…that direction. Far side of the archipelago.”

“I suspect our respective definitions of nowhere may be significantly different, and you didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh—how am I familiar. We do a lot of flying around. I like exploring, and there are a lot of little uncharted islands out here. Never know what you’re going to find. Plus, it’s kind of peaceful, you know?”

“I see. You don’t worry about getting lost?”

“Not with Comet around. I don’t know for sure but I think he can sense the planet’s electromagnetic field. He’s an excellent navigator, anyway. Besides, in this area, you can orient yourself off that tower.”

Maxie frowned. “What tower?”

“That one, on the horizon.” May dug in her bag to retrieve her field binoculars and passed them to him, pointing. “See?”

“N—ah, yes, I do.”

“Not sure what’s going on over there, but there’s a nasty downdraft around the exterior—we tried flying to the top and Comet almost got knocked out of the air. And the front door’s locked.” She squinted at him. “I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

He lowered the binoculars and arched an eyebrow at her. “Why are you asking me?”

“You’re the mythology expert.”

“Hmph. I suppose I am.” He hummed. “If I had to venture a guess, I would say it sounds like the Sky Pillar. It’s a place of great importance to the Draconids.”

“The dragon tamers who live in the Falls,” she said. Not unlike her mother’s side of the family, across the ocean in Blackthorn. She’d met a few on her journey, and had simultaneously felt awe and jealousy that they were so connected to their culture, in exactly the way she wasn’t. “Like the old ruins on Pyre and in Granite Cave on Dewford, right?”

He looked faintly pleased as he passed the binoculars back. “Yes, exactly. They’re one of the oldest cultures in Hoenn. The Sky Pillar is supposedly a point of contact with their god, Rayquaza.”

“A dragon, I’m assuming.”

“A great one, allegedly. One that’s supposed to… keep the planet in balance.” He frowned again. “A serpent eating its own tail.”

“What?”

“Ah—nothing. I’m just suddenly doubtful of its existence, recent events being what they are. Were.”

“What do you mean?”

“Groudon isn’t the only one of her ilk,” he said, and everything crashed into May at once: Groudon. They were out here for a reason; she wasn’t just sightseeing with her new best friend. They had to deal with Groudon.

“Not the only giant scary world-ending monster,” she said shakily. “Okay.”

Maxie frowned and held a hand out halfway to her arm, like he was about to touch her but thought better of it. “Ms Maple, are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” She waved a hand dismissively. “What were you saying?”

He narrowed his eyes like he didn’t believe her, but continued anyway. “I was saying Groudon has a counterpart. Her equal and opposite, the incarnation of the sea itself, Kyogre. Rayquaza is supposed to keep the two of them in balance. I didn’t think of it at the time since we had other more pressing concerns, but I wonder why Groudon’s rampage didn’t attract Rayquaza’s attention. By all accounts it should have.”

May fiddled with her bracelets, running her thumb over the cool polished surface of her key stone. “Lugia’s the incarnation of the sea,” she said.

“Wh—oh. Yes, I suppose you would think that.”

“It’s true.”

“I have no rebuttal,” he said. “My expertise is in Hoennic mythology, not Johtoni. Though I will say, given recent experiences, your gods seem more… benevolent than ours.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” It had been all over the news, about a year before her family had moved to Hoenn: Lugia had appeared in the Whirl Islands, just off the coast near Olivine, to partner with that boy from New Bark who bested Team Rocket for what was hopefully the final time. May had compared herself to that boy a lot over the course of the last two years, but never did she expect she’d also be dealing with a partnered legendary. All things considered, she would trade Groudon for Lugia in a heartbeat.

That was a mean thought. Groudon was her responsibility now, no matter how scared she was, and whether she liked it or not—and if she wanted this to work, she needed to like it.

“What’s Kyogre like?”

“Much like Groudon, I suspect.”

“Hm.”

A beat of silence passed, and then Maxie asked, “Is this why you were so upset on Pyre?”

“Huh?”

“You’re Johtoni. I’m sorry to say it just occurred to me. You cremate your dead, yes? Mount Pyre must have been… shocking.”

“Oh. Yeah. I mean. Among other things, like how it’s super haunted and all.” And like him ignoring her about the data she and Tabitha had retrieved from the Weather Institute, but he didn’t need to hear that.

He hesitated, and she realized he must be thinking of that too, and probably regretting it. “Right.”

Another moment of silence passed between them. The waves crashed down on the shore, seabirds called, and Comet yawned and curled in on himself, settling down in the grass for a nap.

“Are, um. Are we stalling?” May asked in a small voice.

Maxie smiled ruefully. “Perhaps we are. Shall we, er, get to it, then?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you propose we prepare for this?”

Gods, what could they even do? Maxie had planned this for at least two years and things still went awry for him—and they were essentially winging it, now. At least they weren’t in the middle of a city this time, but other than trying to minimize potential casualties—

“Pokémon out, or no?” Maxie clarified, cutting into the downward spiral of her thoughts with a direct tone.

“Oh.” Good question. “I don’t want to come across as intimidating.”

“I don’t believe you need to worry about that.”

She shot him a glare and he shook his head at her.

“You’re only proving my point,” he said.

“Since when do you have a sense of humor? I don’t want to come across as threatening then. Like, I want to telegraph ‘I would like to be your friend,’ not ‘I am going to have my milotic hydro pump you into submission.’” Not that she was convinced she could actually do that, two type advantages or not, but—

“I think backup would be reasonable, all things considered,” Maxie said diplomatically.

Right. Right. May fished around for a compromise. “Maybe we could leave them a ways away? I don’t want to crowd them.”

He nodded. “That works for me.”

May unclipped Alluria’s ball from her belt and released her near the shore. White light spilled upward into the elegant shape of the milotic’s long neck, barbels, and fanned tail before coalescing into cream, pink, and teal scales. She settled heavily into the sand, draping her coils over each other, and looked at her trainer with large dark eyes.

May stepped forward and ran her hands down the smooth scales of Alluria’s neck. A few yards away, Maxie was gently patting his swampert’s wide snout, and she was waggling her external gills happily.

“Just stay here for a little while, okay?” May said to Alluria. “I’m going to shout if I need you.”

Alluria crooned a low note in acknowledgement. She was slow out of the water and only getting slower as she grew, but she had range, which would hopefully be an advantage if Groudon proved to be less than tractable, as Maxie had put it. Worst case scenario, they could retreat into the ocean.

“Are you ready?” Maxie called.

Her heart thudded in her chest and she drew in a sharp breath. No, no she wasn’t. How was she supposed to be ready for this? The first time she’d been coasting on a sense of unreality; her life had spiraled out of the real world into a monster movie, to the point that nearly being blasted out of the sky by Groudon’s solarbeam on the flight back to Sootopolis had barely registered. Now? Now she’d be facing them down on foot, injured and with no suit, without her strongest pokémon—

“Ms Maple?” Maxie materialized at her side, peering at her with something like concern written on his face. “Did you hear me?”

“Uh—yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.” She flashed him a smile and rubbed her hands together so he couldn’t see how they were shaking. “Are you?”

He gave her another look like he didn’t believe her. “Yes, I am. Shall we?” he asked, then turned and marched off toward the center of the island without waiting for her response, his shoes crunching in the sand.

May took a deep breath that did nothing to steady her fraying nerves. Okay. He believed in her, didn’t he? He wouldn’t be out here if he didn’t believe in her—hell, he had the opportunity to do what he wanted with Groudon and he didn’t take it. That meant something.

And she had beaten them once already, while they were presumably much more powerful. She had Alluria and Ivy and Maxie’s swampert waiting in the wings in case something went wrong, and Comet too if they needed to make a quick getaway. They were far enough away from Sootopolis that they could call for backup and have it arrive long before Groudon reached the city again—or any populated area, for that matter. But what if all of that wasn’t enough?

And what if they took that as a threat? How would she feel, being quite literally out of her element and surrounded by potential enemies? There was no way to judge how Groudon was going to react, if they were going to be open to a partnership or if they’d try to fight. May would be scared, just like she was now, and scared pokémon reacted poorly—she still had the bite mark scars on her arm from that poochyena she’d scraped up off the road in Rustboro to prove that. But what else could she do?

She couldn’t just run away—but gods above, was she good at running away. What else had the last two years been if not a grand disappearing act? She’d dipped out of Littleroot, she’d been shirking her responsibilities with Birch Labs, she didn’t remember the last time she talked to her father, and worse, she liked it that way. But she’d ran straight into this, a problem she couldn’t run from, or hide from, or fight, or ignore, or—

Suddenly Comet pushed his face up to hers, warbling in alarm, and sun-warm feathers brushed the back of her arms as he wrapped a wing around her and clutched at her right hand with both of his. She squeezed back instinctively. Her throat felt tight and her head pounded.

“Ms Maple?” Maxie appeared a moment later, frowning in concern and half-reaching out to her again. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” May gasped. “I think—I think I’m having a panic attack.”

“That is definitionally not fine,” he said sternly. He stepped forward and placed a hand firmly on her back between her shoulder blades. “Sit down.”

She did so shakily, knees hitting the sandy grass hard. She took a ragged breath in and her ribs twinged. Maxie knelt beside her, hand still on her back.

“Just breathe,” he said gently.

She tried. Every breath scraped its way down her throat and her head throbbed and blood rushed in her ears, but she tried. Her chest was tight and the pain in her left side was so sharp it made her want to cry and she just couldn’t get enough air in to soothe her aching lungs, but she tried.            

Inhale.

Minutes passed. She could hear herself breathing tremulously but the world felt zoomed out, like she was a bystander watching herself from outside her own body. Somewhere far away, Comet’s warm hands clung to hers and Maxie rubbed soothing circles on her back. None of this could possibly be real. Any moment now, she’d wake to see the canvas of her tent above her head—just another night on the road.

Exhale.

The world came back into focus slowly, beginning with the pain in her knees where her weight pressed them into the sand. Her bare shins itched, her arms felt leaden, her head pulsed with a nascent headache. The sensation of swimming through a dream passed as she settled back into her body. She was here, and she was with friends.

And she was probably about to get them all killed.

Maybe don’t think like that.

Inhale.

“Can you speak?” Maxie asked quietly.

May sniffled. “Yeah.”

“Alright. What’s the matter?”

“Um. Like, aside from everything?”

He hesitated. “I would appreciate something specific to address.”

That made her laugh for some reason. “Sure. Uh, just for you.” She wiped a fingertip under each of her eyes to clear her tears, being careful not to smear her makeup, and took as deep a breath as she could.

“This is a mistake,” she said. “Like—I barely stopped them the first time. And if you couldn’t get them to work with you, I don’t have a chance. So we’re probably just going to piss them off or scare them, which is going to lead to them rampaging again, and if they do that I don’t know if recalling them will work, and we’ll be back in the same situation we were in.”

Maxie shifted his weight. His hand was warm on her back.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but that’s objectively untrue,” he said slowly.

May looked up at him sharply. “What?”

“To begin with,” he said, “you stopped her when she was more powerful than she is even capable of becoming right now, and while at a disadvantage too, might I add. Additionally, the Red Orb is still in Sootopolis and we’re far from the Cave of Origin, so there’s no risk of her undergoing primal reversion a second time. Finally, comparing yourself to me is ridiculous. You’ve already accomplished more than I did by catching her.”

“But there’s no guarantee they’ll decide to partner with one of us,” she shot back. “What are we supposed to do then?”

Maxie leaned away slightly and gave her a long look.

“What?” May asked.

“What is actually the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head. “You were so confident about this yesterday. You aren’t given to being unreasonable so it’s clear something else is bothering you. What is it?”

May looked away. How did she even begin to explain this, especially to someone like him? He didn’t lack for confidence in himself in the slightest, to the point that it was almost a flaw. How could she describe the bone-deep dread of knowing that her best was never good enough, that every endeavor was doomed to fall just short of success, that she could always, always be better, but never enough as she was?

She wasn’t that boy from New Bark. She never would be. She couldn’t be.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “But you still could.”

“Absolutely not,” he said vehemently.

“Why not?”

“She has no reason to listen to me. You’re the one challenged and caught her. And you didn’t answer my question.”

May took a deep breath. Closed her eyes. “I’m not—I’m not a good enough trainer to do this. They don’t have any reason to listen to me either. I can’t do this.”

Maxie paused. “I’m unsure how you came to feel this way,” he said carefully, “but you should be aware that you are again, objectively, incorrect.”

“I—”

“Stop,” he said. “Just listen. You’re an outstanding trainer, and your pokémon agree. Look at Comet—can you not tell how much he cares for you? To say nothing of Brutus. Do you truly believe he doesn’t love you, after pushing himself so hard to help you? What is it that matters more than that? If anyone can handle this, Ms Maple, it’s you.”

Comet nosed at her cheek gently, as if agreeing with him.

“What’s going on with you?” she asked. “Yesterday it seemed like you thought this was a bad idea.”

“I did. You convinced me otherwise. Consider something for me, if you don’t mind.”

“What?”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

She pulled her eyes away from Comet to stare at Maxie instead. “I already told you.”

“And we established that you’re quite capable of handling her in a battle, and that primal reversion isn’t a concern. Try again.”

Stars above, it would be so easy to push him over into the sand. She was half tempted to do it. “We could die. That’s pretty bad, Maxie.”

“That’s fair, I suppose. Was Groudon aggressive towards you at all during your initial battle with her?”

May frowned. “Uh, no. They seemed not to notice me.”

“Then she hasn’t displayed behavior like that before,” he said curtly. “There’s no reason to think that will change. Groudon’s not a mindless monster; she’s a pokémon, and one that had a good reputation among humans in the past. You were right, yesterday—this could work, and it’s something worth doing. Your worst-case scenario may possibly happen if we do nothing, as well. It’s better to be sure.”

“I—” May grit her teeth. “You’re really frustrating sometimes.”

“So I’m told.” His voice softened. “Will you be alright?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m—I’m fine. I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. If you weren’t… anxious about this at the least, I’d be concerned.”

She laughed shakily. “Not really how I wanted to be validated today.”

“Your worry can be valid,” he shot back. “But you were catastrophizing. That isn’t the same thing. Keep your worry within the realm of reason.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re never worried about anything.”

“I’m worried about you right now.”

She didn’t have anything to say to that. Her arms felt limp and her head pounded. Of course he was worried about her. This must seem out of character to him. For two years she managed to keep it together around him only to fumble at the last second, when it mattered most.

“I’m sorry,” May said. “That was disingenuous of me to say.”

“Apology accepted.” He paused. “On that note, I believe we may also need to have a conversation about your self-esteem, or apparent lack thereof. As I said before, I’m unsure why you feel this way, but it would be unconscionable for me to let this state of mind persist unaddressed. Now,” he said, standing and brushing the sand off his slacks, “shall we?”

He held out a hand to her.

May stared at it. Comet had ahold of her right hand, and she could barely lift her left due to her ribs, and she didn’t want to ignore him because he was being kind and they were doing so well…

What the hell, how bad could it be? She lifted her left hand, ignoring the twinge in her ribs, and—

“Are you trying to injure yourself further?” he asked archly. “Other hand, please.”

May cringed as she pulled her right hand away from Comet. “No, I just, um, didn’t think you’d know about that.”

He looked offended as she placed her hand in his. “You really thought I wouldn’t check in on you?”

“No, I—why would you?”

He pulled her to her feet, then dropped her hand and placed both of his on her shoulders.

May froze. He was looking at her intently, like a hawk might eye a rabbit. Her heart pounded in her chest.

“Ms Maple,” he said firmly, “I’m unsure what sort of company you’ve been keeping that has led you to believe the contrary, but you deserve people in your life who care about you.” His grip tightened incrementally. “Do I make myself clear?”

Her tongue felt glued to the roof of her mouth. She nodded.

“Good.” His hands fell away from her shoulders, and he folded them behind his back, standing up straight. “Now,” he said. “Let’s get to it.”

He turned and marched away for the second time, leaving May standing there feeling like she’d just run a marathon. Stars above, she’d forgotten how intense he could be.

She exhaled. Well—this was it, wasn’t it? She didn’t get to stall anymore, and if she wasn’t brave enough to do this now, she probably wouldn’t ever be. She just had to… leap in.

Comet shuffled up beside her and rested his head on her shoulder, chirruping softly. May reached over to run her hand down his face as she leaned in to press her cheek against his.

“I’ll be alright,” she said. “I think. Just hang out with Alluria for a few minutes, okay? I’ll shout if I need you.”

He made a sound halfway between a growl and a warble, but did as she asked, settling in the sand beside the milotic. He folded his wings, but stayed upright and alert.

Okay. May took a deep breath and started forward, heart still racing as she power walked to catch up with Maxie, who was standing several yards away, waiting for her. They could do this—she could do this. She stepped up beside Maxie and looked over at him.

“Do you suppose this is far enough inland?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

“Uh, sure. It’s as good a spot as any,” she replied.

He nodded. “In that case,” he said, stepping backwards and making a sweeping gesture, “I believe the rest of this is up to you, Ms Maple. I’m right here if you require support.”

Dread settled like a weighted blanket around her shoulders. It would be easier, in some ways, to decide this wasn’t worth it, actually, and to turn tail and run back to Sootopolis, drop the ball in the PC, and never think about it again. But she couldn’t stomach that.

Okay. This was easy. She’d let pokémon out of balls before, obviously, and that’s all this was. Right? The first step was letting them out to see what they’d do. She could manage that.

She unclipped the ball from her belt. It felt strange in her hand—rough and malformed from the overwhelming heat of the Cave of Origin warping it. For some reason she expected it to feel heavy, too, but it didn’t—it was the same almost-nothing weight of any pokéball. She could’ve mistaken it for any of her other team members.  

Deep breath in. The gentle breeze tossed her hair around her ears, carrying the soft sound and salty smell of the water with it. Maxie was probably waiting on her again.

May exhaled. Just go through the motions.

She raised her arm slowly, as if she was moving through deep water. Her head swam. With her thumb, she pressed the release button, and the clasp disengaged with a soft click.

Immediately, white light poured from the ball to pool at her feet in a shape that grew larger at an alarming pace. It was close—far too close. May’s heart thudded against her aching ribs and she took a step backwards—directly into Maxie.

He caught her by the upper arms. “Steady,” he said. “You can do this.”

His hands fell away and her throat was tight as she rasped a breath. The light towered above her as it rapidly faded into red and black scales. Groudon was hunched over on all fours, heavy head nearly touching the ground—if May reached out, her fingertips would almost brush their nose. Far, far too close—

Their jaws parted, revealing long fangs and black gums, and they hissed like a fumarole as grey smoke spilled from the corners of their mouth. Their hot breath stank of sulfur. May’s eyes watered and her limbs trembled—she had to run, she had to run right now—

And then they stood, pushing off the ground with their forelimbs and stretching up to their full height. The ground quaked as they shifted their weight. Creatures that large shouldn’t move that fast—but that didn’t stop them. They swung their head back and forth as they looked around urgently, and hissed again.   

The sunlight flared, brighter and hotter in an instant, feeling like a weight on May’s bare skin. She squinted, holding a hand up to block the worst of it, palms tingling, but it was still so intense. Oh, hell—

“Get her attention,” Maxie said from right behind her. “I’d wager this is an instinctive response. Let her know she’s not in danger.”

Right—right. She could feel her hands shaking as she raised her voice:

“Groudon!”

Their head jerked at the sound, then deliberately tipped toward her. They fixed her with one bright yellow eye, and May sucked in a breath. Did they know their name, or were they just reacting to the noise?

She didn’t have time to think about it. The thought dissipated as fast as it had come under the overwhelming intensity of Groudon’s full attention. They were looking at her.

Oh, gods, this wasn’t going to work. They were a deity, and she was just—herself. Not that boy from New Bark, and not Maxie Asher. Just—

They growled, and the whole island quivered beneath May’s feet as the very earth responded to their call. You couldn’t tame a power like that—couldn’t bind it to your will. My incomparable partner, Maxie had said. But what had she done to earn their respect?

They snarled and May quailed, her tense muscles screaming at her to run, but she was pinned to the spot by Groudon’s white-hot gaze. And then—

Maxie put a bracing hand on her shoulder. “No rival of mine is going to be intimidated by an oversized reptile,” he said right beside her ear. “Talk to her.”

This time he left his hand where it was, and something about the connection was grounding. My incomparable partner…

May stood up straight and balled her fists at her sides. “I don’t want to fight you again,” she called up to them. “I’d rather be your friend!”

They opened their mouth again, showing teeth, but didn’t make a sound. If they were a lairon, she’d interpret that as a threat display—back off, or get bitten. But it could also be a challenge.  

“If it’s really a battle you want, you should know I won’t back down,” she said.

Groudon snapped their jaws, and their eye flicked briefly past her, but they didn’t otherwise move.  

“But if you’d rather not,” May continued, “will you please hear me out?”

A heartbeat passed, and then two, as Groudon blinked slowly. She was being judged, May realized. She swallowed thickly. She was a fraud. Everything about her—the bravado, the compassion, the competence—it was all a façade that dissolved under scrutiny and somehow, they’d know it.

And then Groudon snorted. Smoke roiled from their nostrils. They looked at her, and she at them.

They were listening.

“Incredible,” Maxie breathed.

May exhaled. That had worked? She fished around for her next words. She had a hard enough time talking to other humans; what was she supposed to say to a god?

“You must be so overwhelmed,” she said, realizing it even as it left her mouth. No wonder they hadn’t responded to Maxie. The Red Orb, the Cave of Origin, and being woken up suddenly after who knew how many years…

Groudon eyed her, expression inscrutable, the same way Brutus had done when she first met him. May shifted her weight, leaning back on her heel. She shouldn’t think of them like that—they weren’t her beloved aggron. But they were still a pokémon.

“I want to help you, if I can,” she continued. “My name’s May. I’m a pokémon trainer. I travel all over Hoenn with my partners. You met one of them before—do you remember?”

They hissed.

“I’m really sorry, but I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself or someone else. But I hope that we’re past that. I don’t want to fight you again.” She took a deep breath. “I’d—I’d like you to be my partner, too.”

They didn’t react.

“If not, that’s okay. I’ll take you wherever you want to go and release you. But if you want to see the land you created… then I want to help you do that. We humans aren’t perfect, but we’re trying to make things better—for everyone. There’s so much to see.” She hesitated. “You probably haven’t had a partner in a long time, huh?”

They tilted their head, and exhaled. Slowly, they lowered themself back down onto all fours, and this time May managed to clamp down on the thrumming energy in her legs that told her to run. Groudon kept their head cocked to one side to watch her with a single eye, and it occurred to her that they probably couldn’t see very well in front of their nose—like Brutus.

They were close enough to touch, now. May reached out a hand; watched as their vast yellow iris contracted as they inspected it. Then their gaze moved upwards, to her face.

The sunlight suddenly dimmed, easing the heat on her skin. They weren’t going to fight her.

“Is this a yes?” she whispered.

They closed their eyes and huffed, sounding almost exactly like Brutus. Maybe—maybe the two of them weren’t that different, after all. Carefully, amazed at her own bravery, May laid her hand against their snout.

Their bright scales felt like smooth, sun-warm stone against her skin. They leaned into the touch, and so May brought up her other hand to sweep under their jaw. They rumbled contentedly.

She’d—done it?

May laughed tremulously, and Groudon cracked an eyelid to look at her briefly before closing it again. She’d done it. They weren’t going to rampage, they weren’t going to hurt anyone, they weren’t going to plunge Hoenn into an endless drought.

She felt herself tear up. Was this how that boy from New Bark felt, when Lugia dipped their graceful neck to be touched like an equal? That flood of relief—that you weren’t being judged, that you weren’t found wanting, that you were worthy… Wasn’t that the whole point of partnership—to be loved?

May leaned forward and squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her forehead against Groudon’s snout. For a moment, she could hear nothing but the sound of her own breathing as the tension in her chest unspooled.

She took a deep breath and straightened. “Hey, do you—” she started, and then realized Maxie’s hand wasn’t on her shoulder anymore.

She turned. He was standing a few yards behind her—when had he moved? His hands were behind his back, his chin lifted slightly, and he looked unbearably smug: the perfect picture of himself. And then he smiled at her. Tight and quick, but still.

May smiled back. “Do you wanna come over here?” she asked.

His smile faded. “What?”

“I don’t think they’ll mind.”

He blinked at her. “I…” He suddenly looked lost. She’d never seen him speechless before—she hadn’t even been sure it was possible. But here they were.

She felt a sudden crash of empathy. Of course he probably thought that, after what he’d done, he didn’t deserve the opportunity—and maybe he didn’t. But she didn’t care about what he deserved. Whatever his plans had been, she believed his apology was sincere, and she had meant it when she said she forgave him. And he was still a trainer—a good one at that. He wasn’t the heartless monster running Team Rocket back in Johto, who treated pokémon like tools to be used and discarded. He would’ve treated Groudon well.

May moved to stand beside Maxie and looped her arm through his. He hesitated when she stepped toward Groudon, but followed when she tugged at his arm.

This was going to be another weird one. But—hell. The last two days had contained the strangest experiences of her life. This was easy.

“Go ahead,” she said.

“Hello,” Maxie said, sounding almost—sheepish? That couldn’t be right. “I believe I owe you an apology for disturbing you.”

With their head still low to the ground, Groudon snorted a gout of smoke and blinked slowly.

May reached out and patted them between the nostrils. “I think that means you’re all good.”

“Huh,” he said, uncharacteristically subdued. “I will defer to your judgement on that.”

May smiled again, letting go of his arm so she could pet Groudon with both hands. They closed their eyes fully and settled down into the sand, rumbling softly, just like a lairon would.

Maxie started to raise a hand, and then turned to look at her intently. “Do you think she would mind if I…?”

“Go ahead,” May said again.

He began to reach for them, hesitated, and then tried again, as if he had to convince himself of the action. But his fingertips brushed their nose, and then he was laying a hand fully against the ridge above Groudon’s eye.

“I was expecting…” He leaned to the side, leaving his hand where it was as he inspected the rest of them, all scales and spines. “Absolutely fascinating,” he murmured.

He turned back to her suddenly. “Ms Maple,” he said, and then paused, and she realized that whatever he was about to say next wasn’t rehearsed. “I want to thank you for… quite a lot, actually, but also for this specific moment.” He ducked his head. “I don’t believe I deserve it.”

“Well, to be honest, I think you do,” she replied. “I couldn’t have done this without you. You’re pretty great.”

He flinched like she’d struck him. “Hm,” he said, suddenly refusing once again to meet her eyes. “I will… bear that in mind.”

May smiled ruefully to herself. That would have to do for now.

Maxie cleared his throat. “I would also like to add,” he said, “that I cannot possibly overstate how proud of you I am.”

It was May’s turn to look away in embarrassment and squeak out a “Thanks.” Maxie didn’t say anything else; just nodded.

The waves crashed; the seabirds called. After a long moment, May asked, “Now what?”

“Hm. I suppose we return to Sootopolis,” Maxie said. “I’m sure there is still more to be done there.” He looked at her over Groudon’s snout. “Eventually, more people than the two of us will know about this.”

That would have to be alright. Whatever else was going to happen, May suddenly felt that things were going to be okay. This was an end, but it was a beginning, too—a new and surprising chapter she never could’ve anticipated. But it looked like she wouldn’t be alone for it. Not this time. Littleroot still loomed somewhere on the horizon, but for now, it was a distant shadow, and she was standing in the sunlight.

#trainer may #magma leader maxie #groudon #pokemon omega ruby #pokemon oras #pokemon #autumn.fic #fic: sunlight

[sequinsmile-x]

Stained Glass Windows - Chapter Sixty Three

Life was complicated, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

-x-

Hi besties <3

As ever, thank you for your love for this version of them, it means the absolute world.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, as ever let me know what you think!

-x-

Words: 2.5k

A full list of warnings for the fic can be found on the Series Master List.

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily adjusts Lily on her hip and smiles at her, tickling the little girl's belly to drag a giggle out of her, one of her favourite sounds in the world. 

“You excited to see Daddy, baby?” She says, looking at the floor number on the elevator as it climbs to the floor that held the BAU, “Mommy has a meeting, so you’ll get to spend some time with him and then I’ll take you home.” 

Lily babbles, a tiny spit bubble forming on her lip as she tangles her fingers in her mother’s hair. Emily chuckles and loosens Lily’s surprisingly strong grip as the elevator comes to a stop and she steps out of it. 

She hadn’t been to the office since the day she’d stood on the bomb that could have killed her. She’d been off for a couple of months now, making the most out of spending her time with Lily and Jack when he was with them, and she was waiting for the outcome of the investigation into her Unit Chief before she returned to work. Strauss had called her a few hours ago and asked her to come in, so she assumed there was an update, that her time at home with her kids was coming to a close. She had mixed feelings about it. She was desperate to return to work, something that had always given her purpose in her life, but she also knew she’d miss the extra time with Lily and Jack and the different sense of purpose that gave her. It always felt like she was walking the line between being a good mother and good at her job like it was a tightrope, trying to keep her balance right so she didn’t fall and fail at either one of them. 

She couldn’t help but wonder how she’d feel when she and Aaron had another baby at some point in the future, when there was someone else to consider in all of this too, but she pushed the thought away. It was something she didn’t have to worry about quite yet. There were still three months to go until Lily turned one, and that was when Emily’s doctor said it was an okay time for them to start trying again. Worrying about what she would do when their family hopefully got bigger was a bridge she could cross when she came to it, its very foundations relying on her ability to get pregnant and stay pregnant, the miscarriage she’d had a few months ago always in the back of her mind. 

As soon as she steps into the bullpen she’s met by Dave who walks over to them, his smile wide as he pulls her into a hug. 

“Hi Emily,” he says as he steps back, turning his attention to Lily, “Hi Lily.” 

Emily looks at Lily and lifts her hand to encourage her to wave at Dave, “You want to say hi to Uncle Dave?” 

“She really does look more like you every day,” Dave says, smiling back when Lily smiles at him, her forehead resting against her mother’s neck as she snuggles closer, “Right down to that mischievous smile.” 

“You should see her when she frowns,” Emily says, turning her head to kiss her daughter’s hair, “She’s 100% Aaron then.”

Dave’s smile gets wider, his happiness for his friends shining out of every pore as his smile turns into a smirk, “So, what are you two doing here? Getting her started in the family business early?”

She rolls her eyes at him, “No, I have a meeting with Strauss and I didn’t want to take Lily to daycare for just an hour or so,” she explains, and she lifts her wrist to check her watch, “I don’t want to be late so I’m going to take her up to Aaron.” 

Dave nods and pats Emily’s shoulder, “Good luck with Strauss, try and drop in a sarcastic ‘ma’am’ for me.” 

She chuckles and nods, “I’m sure I can manage that.” 

She hums along to Lily’s babbles as she walks up the stairs, replying as if the noises the little girl was making made sense. She smiles softly as she walks into her husband’s office, knocking lightly on the door to announce her presence. 

“Sweetheart, hi,” he says as he stands up, immediately walking over to greet her. He presses a quick kiss to her lips and then Lily’s head, “Hi Lily-Pad.” 

Lily immediately reaches out for her father, the babbling they both knew meant ‘Dada’ escaping her as she clasps her hands at him. Emily lovingly shakes her head and passes her over. 

“Why is it you’re everyone in our family’s favourite person,” she complains playfully, both of them aware that she loves to watch them together. That it set off something deep in her gut that almost made her want to ignore her doctor’s recommendation and get pregnant as soon as possible so she could have another baby with him. 

“I think we both know you’re her favourite, Em,” he says, resting Lily on his hip, and he winks at her, “You’re my favourite too, “ he adds, and she smiles widely and reaches out to run her fingers through Lily’s dark hair. The longest pieces were already starting to curl ever so slightly. Aaron knew that playing with Lily’s hair as she lay against her was a nervous habit Emily had picked up over the last few months as it grew. “Are you okay?” 

She snaps out of her trance, her hand falling to her side as she realises what she is doing and she smiles slightly sheepishly at him, “I’m okay,” she says, shrugging slightly as she blows out a slow breath, “A little nervous about my meeting with Strauss.” 

He reaches out for her with the hand not securing Lily to his side and he links his fingers through Emily’s, squeezing tightly so she looks back up at him. He smiles reassuringly at her and runs his thumb back and forth over the heel of her hand, “You did nothing wrong, Em. You were just doing your job. He’s the one who put you in danger.” 

She nods, swallowing thickly as she forces a smile, “I know, I do know that. It’s just…”

She trails off, unsure how to phrase it, so he finishes her sentence for her, always on the same wavelength, “It’s just not that simple.” 

She sighs, “Yeah, it’s not that simple,” she squeezes his hand before she leans in to kiss him, “I should get going so I’m not late,” she says, kissing him once more before she turns to kiss Lily’s forehead, cupping the back of her head softly, “Love you, Lils. Be good for Daddy.” 

“She’s always good for me,” Aaron says as Emily steps away and she smiles gratefully at him before she steps out of the room, a determination in her walk as soon as she’s visible to the others, her vulnerability something she would only ever show him. Lily makes a noise to get his attention and he laughs to himself as he looks at her, “The moment you actually start speaking you’re going to demand all our attention, huh?” He says, leaning in to kiss her forehead before he walks back to his chair, settling Lily in his lap as he sits down, his right hand anchoring her to him, “Want to help me with my paperwork?” 

Lily promptly spits up on him and after a moment of shocked silence, he laughs and shakes his head. He reaches out for the muslin he’d got out earlier to prepare for her arrival and starts to clean up.

“Don’t worry princess, your mother feels the exact same way about paperwork.” 

___

She’s nothing short of relieved to spend time alone with him that evening. She settles into his side on the couch, leaning into him as he wraps his arm around her. 

“Hopefully she stays asleep,” Aaron says, kissing the side of Emily’s head. Her only response is a hum, her focus on the baby monitor on the table in front of them, nestled in between the two glasses of wine he’d poured as she settled Lily for bed. He runs his hand up and down her arm and kisses the side of her head again before he turns towards her so he can see her face properly, “Are you okay, sweetheart?” 

She sighs and turns to look at him, her head resting against the back of the couch as she shrugs nonchalantly, “I think so,” she says, smiling softly when he places his hand on her thigh, the familiar heavy, warm weight of it a comfort she couldn’t live without, “I can’t stop thinking about my meeting with Strauss.” 

He frowns as he gently squeezes her thigh, running his thumb back and forth in comforting circles, “I thought you said it went well? Carson’s been fired.” 

She nods and places her hand over his, pressing her lips together as she desperately tries to find the words to explain how she feels. 

The first thing she’d felt when Strauss told her the outcome of the committee’s investigation was relief. She was glad it was over, that the couple months she’d had simply waiting to find out what was going to happen were now behind her. She could go back to work, get back to normal, find her feet again after the day when she almost lost her life. That had faded almost immediately after she’d picked Lily up from Aaron’s office. The baby girl had fallen asleep on the journey home, leaving Emily alone with her swirling thoughts. Her mind going round and round in circles all afternoon as she waited for Aaron to come home. 

“It did go well,” she says, biting her lower lip as she looks at him, “And it’s the outcome we both wanted but…”

She drifts off, fading into silence as she avoids his eye contact, her focus instead on a loose thread on the back of the couch. She picks at it with the hand that’s not linked with his on her thigh. He waits her out for a few seconds, wondering if she’ll finish her sentence, but when she remains silent he cups her chin and tilts her head to look at him.

“You can tell me anything,” he says, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, “You know that,” he smiles softly, “If you don’t I’m failing as a husband.” 

She narrows her eyes at him, his self-depreciation enough to pull her out of her thoughts, “Never. You’re an amazing husband,” she lifts their joint hands to her lips and stamps a kiss against his knuckles. Their hands drop back down to her lap and she sighs, blowing out a slow breath, “I’m just worried about going back to work. About being the reason the boss is gone.” 

“He’s the reason he lost his job, sweetheart,” he says, repeating his assurance from that morning. He grits his teeth as anger briefly overtakes him. He’d give anything for five minutes alone with the man whose carelessness had almost led to him losing the love of his life, “You did nothing wrong.” 

“I know,” she says, smiling at him fleetingly, “But I’m still relatively new to the team, I’ve already been involved in all this…drama.” She sighs and bites the inside of her cheek, “I just feel like I did when I was a kid and moved all the time, you know?” She looks up at him, and the sadness reflecting in her eyes makes him ache, “I was perpetually the new kid and I thought I’d eventually grow out of that feeling but apparently not.” 

She hated that she could still feel like this, that the fallout of the way she was raised still rippling outwards to this day. She knew she’d made the decision to change jobs, to start afresh, but that was in itself a result of her own difficult relationship with her mother. She wanted to be there for her daughter, to ensure that Lily never doubted how important she was to her, that her little girl grew up knowing exactly how loved she was. 

“If the team give you any grief-”

“I know, honey. I can report it. I’ll be okay I think the thought of going back is worse than actually going back will be,” she says, smiling softly at him. He nods and leans in to stamp a kiss against her lips, smiling when she sighs into it. 

“You know, no matter what, you’ll always have me. And Lily and Jack,” he says, kissing her again before he pulls back, “And whoever else might come along.” 

She smiles and runs her fingers through his hair, “Right back at you,” she kisses him before she settles back into his side, “I never asked you how the rest of your day was.” 

He’s grateful that she’s not looking at him, because he knows she would have seen the worry that flashed across his face immediately, the brief second of a reaction he hadn’t been able to control as he prepares to tell her the very thing he’d been figuring out how to tell her all evening. 

“The deputy director came to see me today,” he says casually, and she hums curiously, tilting her head to look at him.

“What earned you that honour? She asks teasingly, but her smile fades into a frown when she sees how serious he is, the slight tension in his jaw. She sits up properly, “What’s wrong?” She asks and he sighs, and she only feels more concern flooding her chest, making her heart clench. She reaches out for him and cups his cheek, “You can tell me anything, you know that,” she says, smiling softly as she runs her thumb back and forth over his jaw, “If you don’t I’ve failed as a wife.” 

He chuckles humourlessly at her repetition of his earlier words and he turns his head to kiss her hand, his lips catching her wedding ring, “Never,” he assures her, “Never.”

His seriousness scares her, the flowers of her concern blooming, making it almost difficult to breathe, “Aaron, honey, you’re scaring me. Just tell me.” 

He nods, placing his hand over hers on his cheek, “He wants me to head up an investigative task force.” 

She nods and clears her throat, her eyes searching his, “Okay,” she says, chuckling nervously, “But that’s good right? If he’s asking you that personally, that’s good?” 

He presses his lips together and sighs, “The job is in Pakistan.” 

-x-

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[523rdrebel]

Chapter 3 -

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Summary: AU/Canon Divergent - Set after the rescue of Crosshair, Omega, and Tech from Mount Tantis. The Batch settles down on Pabu and are, for the moment, able to hide from the Empire. Crosshair, with much grumbling, is convinced to see one of the local doctors to monitor his recovery. Unfortunately for Crosshair, Dr. Isabella Ramót is a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air - and totally capable of handling his harsh, rough demeanor.

Trigger Warnings - Mention/Allusion to grief and loss. SFW, but mature themes explored. Minors DNI.

Chapter 3:

Hunter observes the scene from afar, his heightened senses zeroing in as his brother’s erratic heart rate slowly begins to calm and regulate alongside Izzy’s steady presence. Well that’s new, he thinks.

“She’s really something special, isn’t she?” Desi, Izzy’s friend, someone Hunter was only tentatively acquainted with, stood a few steps away observing the scene as well.

Hunter chuckles, “My brother is remarkably stubborn. He doesn’t open up easily-” He pauses, reconsidering his words, then sighs, “Izzy seems to have a way with him that I haven’t seen before. Think she’ll teach me?”

“I’m afraid that’s just a part of who she is. Not sure it’s a teachable skill.” Desi laughs, glancing affectionately across the grassy area to where her friend was still sitting.

“You’ve known her for a long time then?”

“Five or six years now. We’ve been together through a lot… After the Empire–” “Well, I’ll just say she’s no stranger to pain and loss.”

“I imagine there aren’t many of us who are anymore.”

A few moments later, Izzy motions for Hunter to assist her getting Crosshair home. It takes some time, in part because of Crosshair’s weakened state and in part because of the surprising height difference between the two of them. Once they arrived at Crosshair’s lodging, a one room flat, with minimal furnishings and a small ‘fresher, they help Crosshair to a plush, if well-used, chair. He tries to hide his wince as he lowers himself down into the seat. Hunter quietly chastises his brother for scaring the kriff out of him and assures him that he’ll assign a watch cycle if he does anything like this again. Crosshair’s only response is to scowl and roll his eyes. Hunter eventually sighs, checking the time on the chrono and saying his goodbyes. He nods his thanks to Izzy before exiting with promises to check in tomorrow.

Crosshair leans back into the chair, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. The sounds of rummaging in his tiny kitchenette draw his attention and he opens his eyes slightly, “What are you doing?”

Bells continues to rummage through his sparse cabinets and refrigeration unit, “Finding something remotely edible, hopefully.”

He was feeling particularly vulnerable after the cliff. She had seen him at his weakest moment, she had sat with him and waited for him to come back, out of the darkness. He could not understand how she seemed so capable of drawing him out of the darkness of his own mind. It irked and irritated, but it also soothed. She burned like a sun - all soothing warmth and burning heat. He was a thunderstorm, rain and wind charged with electricity. “You’ve done enough. Get out.” His voice is gruff and tired, having lost some of its usual bite. 

“Tsk- Not a chance.” She smiles, that dangerous brightness, as she places her findings onto the small counter space.  “I’m not leaving until you’ve had something acceptable to eat and had enough liquid for your body to process the hydration tablets.” She holds up a small foil packet, gesturing with it as she speaks.

“I’m not a child. I can take care of myself–”

“And on a normal day that would be true. But today, I’m providing you with free room service. Complaints will be noted and promptly ignored.”

“Ugh–You’re worse than Wrecker…”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It wasn’t,” His voice is deadpan.

Bells responds in kind, a small amused smirk on her lips, “I know.”

She makes a simple meal, a brothy soup with some vegetables and a mild meat and brings him some. He glares at her, but the smell makes his stomach rumble and he cannot deny his hunger any longer. “What? You just going watch me eat?” “No,” she looks away, eyes darting here and there around the room before staring down at the floor. “I didn’t figure you’d appreciate it if I wandered around, snooping.”

“Hmph…” He tries to ignore her presence, tries to ignore the warmth she seemed to radiate. He says flatly, “How nice.”

After a time of mostly comfortable silence, Crosshair finishes his meal and an acceptable amount of liquid. Isabella fishes a few items from her pack and quickly checks his vitals. “The next time you get like that…call me, call someone. Just– you don’t have to be alone with it.”

“You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean, Bells.”

“Tsk- You know I do mean it.”

“Stupid.” He snaps.  “You don’t know- You don’t understand. You can’t understand.” He tried to cover the pain behind his words with more anger. Anger was simpler, more familiar. “It’s better that I’m alone.”

“You’re right.” Her brows furrow and she shakes her head, “I don’t understand…I don’t fully know what you’ve been through, and I’m not going to ask you– I don’t need to know, and it doesn’t really matter. All I know is that what happened to you was wrong and I want to be here to help you throw up your middle fingers at the Empire– by living.”

He bristles at her words, they were accurate and he didn’t appreciate how easily she seemed to read him, “I’m not your project, Bells.” 

“I know. But you are my patient. And I'm still holding out hope that one day we'll be friends.” After a moment, she hands him the packet of hydration tables which he accepts, rolling his eyes.

He scoffs dismissively, “Don’t hold your breath. Or do.” 

Her eyes scan the room, landing briefly on an object in the far corner, her brain sparks an idea that could potentially solve two problems- increasing Crosshair’s motivation to improve and keeping him from isolating himself completely. Despite the short time she’s known him, she finds that she knows he’s worth the risk. She glances sidelong at Crosshair, “How about we change up your exercises a bit?”

“...What did you have in mind?” He drew out the syllables, squinting at her with that suspicious glare.

She crosses the room to stand beside the footlocker that had been nestled into the corner gathering dust. She flashes her bright smile and gestures towards it and arches an eyebrow, “Teach me.”

Crosshair's face goes blank, anger flashing in his eyes, "No."

His anger revealed his hand, exposing the queen - Check. Isabella is patient, almost to a fault, but perhaps it is not time for waiting… perhaps now is the time for a push. She simply crosses her arms and lifts her chin up, she locks eyes with him daring him to deny her.

“You’re not laying a finger on my rifle!” He snarls, leveraging himself out of the chair, despite his lingering weakness and exhaustion. His legs shake, but he ignores them and steps menacingly towards her. There is a battle within him, two sides opposing, pushing against each other but neither gaining ground. His fingers itch to hold his rifle again, to feel the confidence and strength, to feel whole again. But there is a gnawing coldness that eats away at him, that he can’t, that he’s no longer capable, no longer worthy. 

Bell’s voice breaks through the storm in his mind, a sunshower in a hurricane, “Think about it, Crosshair-- It will be a way to ease you back into it. You’ll get to work up that muscle memory, and as long as you stay on top of your physical therapy, you’ll be back in the shooting range before you know it!” She crosses her arms, an insufferably confident smirk plastered on her face, “And I‘ll have been taught by the best.”

He snorts, feeling his broken pride like a pool of acid in his gut. He grinds the word with his teeth, “No.”

Not one to be easily deterred, and certain of her path to help her patient, she continues, “I’m not unfamiliar with blasters. I know how to handle a standard rifle, but sniper rifles are more specialized and much less accessible–” 

“I said No.” He leans forward into her space, glaring down at her and once again struck by her seemingly endless cheer, “You’re not a soldier. You don’t need to learn.” Adding a little more emphasis attempting finality, “No.”

Instead of backing away, She takes a step forward angling her chin upward, eyes softening slightly, “You need something familiar. Something that is a comfort to you– and your skill with a rifle is as close to an identity as you’ve had until now.”

Her gentle glance sears into him and he takes a step backward, he’s losing ground. He shakes his head,  “A rifle is not a toy– it’s not a hobby–”

Her voice is lower, taking on a heavier tone, “I know.” Bells’s face flashes with guilt, anger, and fear, then finally fierce determination. “You’ve seen what’s out there. And so have I. I know what happens to places like Pabu– to people like me when the Empire finds them. If they come here, I won’t go down without a fight.”

He watches the emotions playing across her face. Guilt and anger, now those are emotions he knows what to do with. They are as familiar to him as close friends and he feels a tugging pull in his chest, a connection. Before his mind has caught up to him, he's already spoken, a low growled “Fine–”

“Really!?” She’s staring at him with a bright expression- victory.

He panics, once again thrown off balance by his own acquiescence to her. He scrambles for a way out, "I'll do it on one condition."

She rolls her eyes and snarks playfully, "Of course– Can’t make things easy, it might kill you."

"Stop interrupting-” He watches as she mimes locking her lips and lets out an exasperated sigh, “You have to convince me you can handle a blaster. I'm not going to waste my time if you don't know the first thing about them. If you're good enough- I'll teach you."

"Ah, but how do I know you won't just say I'm trash, so you don't have to keep your end of the bargain?" 

Crosshair smiled again, it was his turn to push forward, taking ground, “Afraid you're not good enough?" He clicks his tongue, "If you're not up to the challenge–"

"Fine. It's a deal."

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