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snowdice · 3 years

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Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 58]

I started writing this fic while editing my Big Bang story, but am going to continue doing it for other things now that Kill Dear is out. I will write and publish 100 words of the story every time I finish doing whatever task I’m doing. If you’d like to block these proceedings, please feel free to block the tag proofread stories. I will reblog this post with the parts of the story I do today. Edited chapters are linked; everything else I’ve done so far is under the cut.

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26

Wow I am tired and have a headache, but also I have to get my grading in by tomorrow so...

If I get too miserable, I may stop abruptly and get up early to finish it in the morning.

Chapter 27

After an, honestly quite aggravating, breakfast full of Virgil’s cognitive distortions about the likelihood of being poisoned, Logan was relieved to finally be able to leave the dining area. In consideration to those serving breakfast, Patton did not lead them through the door in the back of the dining room that went directly to the kitchen, and instead took them out of the room and down the hall to a different entrance. This one had a guard stationed across from it as, despite what Virgil may believe, the castle workers did consider the possibility that someone would want to sneak into the kitchen for nefarious purposes.

Said guard, of course, saw nothing wrong with the prince and the head chef’s son entering the side door even with the bonus stranger. In fact, he may even have known Virgil could be coming through this door if Ms. Heart had mentioned him.

Though Virgil hadn’t managed to catch it, Logan knew enough about Patton’s mother that he’d surmised that she had insisted Patton bring the boy to meet her. It was bound to happen at some point anyway, Logan knew, and he wasn’t particularly worried. After all, this was Patton’s mother. Virgil himself didn’t even seem particularly concerned.

Logan had seen him panic and, while he tugged a bit at the sweater he was wearing, the motion was not particularly fervent, so he was likely just slightly nervous.

Of course, that may be because he did not know Patton’s mother specifically wanted to meet him and just assumed that they were starting the necessary process of introducing him to castle residents with a low risk person.

When they entered the hallway, Logan could already hear the usual noises of the kitchen: the clattering of plates, the bubble of conversation, and the sound of Ms. Heart’s voice calling out instructions.

He did see Virgil hesitate, but Logan couldn’t sus out why and Patton was already ahead of them and opening the door into the kitchen. It was fairly calm for the kitchen considering it was meal hours. Logan imagined that Patton had chosen the time between when the day guards ate breakfast before their shifts and the night guards after their shifts on purpose. There was still a bit of chaos as dishwashers attempted to catch up during the lull and a few orders were still being made, but overall the mood seemed, to Logan at least, to be light as Ms. Heart ordered her kitchen around.

Yet, Virgil clearly did not see the situation the same way that Logan did. He froze when the kitchen door swung open and some of the workers turned to look at them. He took a step back, bumped into Logan, startled violently, realized it was Logan, and then side stepped to hide behind him. Logan looked back at him in confusion, but Virgil said nothing, proceeding to mutely peer over Logan’s shoulder.

Patton had moved over to greet his mother as she wiped her hands off on a rag. She glanced over at Virgil and Logan and Logan saw Virgil shrink back a bit.

Logan could see Ms. Heart’s eyes soften as she tracked his movement. She turned to the woman next to her and said something before moving to remove her apron and hang it up in its designated area. Virgil’s hands clenched in the fabric of Logan’s shirt when she turned back to him.

“It’s fine, Virgil,” Logan told him, but Virgil didn’t seem to believe him. Luckily, Patton had turned back and seemed to realize something was amiss.

He stepped back over to them. “Hey, honey,” he said. A plate clattered in the kitchen and Virgil just about ripped Logan’s shirt.

Patton frowned sympathetically. “Too loud?”

“Virgil,” Logan said. “You are digging your fingernails into my skin.” Patton shot Logan a glare. “What?”

“How about,” Patton’s mom suggested. Virgil’s fingernails dug more into Logan’s skin. “We go to my office.”

“I think that’s a good idea, Mama,” Patton said. “Come here, Virgil.” He reached over to touch one of Virgil’s hands and had to pull a bit to get him to release Logan. “It’s back that way, away from the kitchen,” he said when he managed to twine their fingers. He stepped around Logan, probably so there was still a buffer between Virgil and the kitchen and tugged him in the correct direction.

Ms. Heart shot a glance at Logan and Logan felt irrationally like she was trying to read his thoughts. Logan smoothed his features out and turned to follow Patton and Virgil towards her office.

As head chef, Ms. Heart had a small office where she could plan menus without the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and have meeting with people who needed to discuss dietary needs and restrictions. It was very well organized, but still looked fairly messy because of the numbers of decorations she had in it. She had a tendency to keep everything that Patton made her, thus she had his childhood drawings on the wall and little projects stacked on her desk and on the shelves. A lumpy cat statue acted as a paperweight on a stack of papers on her desk and there was a vase of fake flowers (as it could not actually hold water) sat near the window.

By the time Logan entered the room, Patton was trying to coax Virgil into sitting down on one of the two mismatched chairs, but Virgil was having none of it. He had turned to face the door and was yanking at his sweater in nervousness.

Logan noticed that Ms. Heart did not come far into the room, instead pausing near the door. She did, however close the door to give them privacy, and that seemed to distress Virgil more.

She seemed to contemplate him for a moment. “Hello,” she said, her voice softer than Logan was used to hearing. “You must be Virgil.”

It seemed as though he were willing himself to magically shrink, but he still replied. “Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m Patton’s mom.”

“I know, ma’am.”

“There’s no need to be formal, Virgil.”

He hesitated. “Okay,” he said somehow quieter.

Her eyebrows drew together in concern, and it seemed that she decided to result to her default way of making people more comfortable. “Would you kids like some candy?”

Logan saw Patton’s hand squeeze Virgil’s lightly. “That would be great, Mama.”

She nodded and walked forward towards her desk. Virgil turned so his back was never to her. If she noticed, she didn’t react. She just grabbed a small tin off one of her shelves and took the top off. “How about a peppermint candy?” she asked.

She offered the tin out to them. Virgil stared at it like it was a venomous snake. Logan decided to act, stepping forward and taking three of the pieces of peppermint candy from the dish. He stepped over to Virgil and Patton and held out his hand, offering Virgil first choice out of all three.

He hesitated before glancing between Patton and his mother. He must have decided that Patton’s mom wouldn’t risk poisoning Patton and took one of the pieces. Patton took another one of them and popped it into his mouth. Logan ate the last piece.

“Thanks,” Virgil said to Ms. Heart before placing his piece in his mouth.

Logan watched Virgil’s eyes light up a bit when the flavor registered. His posture didn’t completely relax, but he seemed at least a bit less like he was contemplating jumping through the window. His trust was almost worryingly easy to buy sometimes. All it took was a not poisoned peppermint.

Ms. Heart seemed pleased by his reaction. “I’m actually going to be making some new ones soon and I’m trying to get rid of these. Would you like to take another one for later?” she asked, holding out the tin.

He looked at it warily again, but he still stepped closer slowly and took another piece. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Ms. Heart said, eyes looking over him intensely. “You look like you could do to with a few more sweets every so often.”

Virgil tilted his head in that way he did when he was particularly perplexed.

Patton giggled a bit. “She means your skinny.”

“Oh,” Virgil said. “Logan already gave me a malnutrition potion for that.”

“Did he now?” she asked, her eyes flickering to Logan. Logan winced. He was definitely in trouble for not bringing him directly to her. He was sure he’d hear all about it as soon as she caught him without Virgil in the room.

She turned back to Virgil with a smile, and Logan imagined Virgil had no idea how dead Logan was. “Well, that’s a very good start, but if there was need for a nutrition potion, we should be careful to make sure you get enough calories and nutrients every day going forward.” She sat down at her desk. “Why don’t you and I talk for a bit about making sure you get some good food.”

He still looked cautious but was predictably enticed by the promise of food. He did not sit still, but he did put his hands on the back of one of the chairs and slightly lean on it. “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed.

“Okay,” she said. “Well, I’m going to have a few more specific questions, but let’s just start with what are your favorite foods?”

“I’ll eat anything,” Virgil replied immediately.

“He really likes chicken alfredo,” Patton contributed.

Virgil perked up at the name of the food. “I did like that,” he agreed.

“Alright,” Ms. Heart replied. That’s a start.

Chapter 28

Thomas did not have to be told that something had gotten Helen Heart in a tizzy. He could tell just by the amount of food she had sent up on his dinner tray. She always made and pushed more food when she was stressed, and he couldn’t help but chuckle when he found both a hearty serving of roast beef and a mini chicken pot pie on his plate along with three vegetable side dishes and a side of macaroni and cheese.

He could also guess what had happened to illicit such a response. Thomas had caught up to Jeffers Deknis in his garden and they’d spoken at length about Logan and Patton’s new friend.

There was no way that after said discussion, Jeff had not mentioned Virgil (and more importantly his friendship with Patton) to Helen during their daily gossip sessions. There was also no way that Helen had heard the words “child” and “too small” in a sentence and hadn’t flipped. From there the inevitable sequence of events was clear: Patton went home, Helen talked his ear off until he agreed to bring Virgil to meet her, Helen met him and immediately committed herself to making sure he ate three square meals a day as well as multiple snacks.

Thomas had sussed all of that out before the kitchen worker bringing him his dinner had mentioned what had happened that day.

That in mind, he decided to wait until after dinner should have been cleaned up before walking his own dinner leftovers down to the kitchens.

Thomas was unsurprised to see Jeff already in the kitchen. He was sat at a small table off to the side where kitchen workers usually took their breaks. The only person other than Jeff and Helen left in the kitchen was a dishwasher who was finishing up. Helen usually spent a couple of hours after dinner in her kitchen or her office organizing for the next day and in case anyone needed food on an off hour, and then there was a night cook who would take over so she could go back to her set of rooms.

Helen took the tray of leftovers from Thomas herself and shooed the dishwasher out of the way. “I’ll handle the rest myself,” she told the girl. “You can leave.”

She nodded and started to take her apron off. Helen dumped the tray on the counter without care and turned back around to usher Thomas into one of the kitchen chairs. Thomas went willingly and she turned to fill the tea kettle with water and set it on the stove.

“It take it she met Virgil,” Thomas said to Jeff.

“She’s adopted Virgil,” Jeff replied, taking a bite out of a cookie.

“And what of it?” she asked. “Someone obviously needs to feed the boy. Speaking of, you’re grounding your son by the way.”

Thomas took one of the cookies for himself. “Why am I grounding Logan?” he asked.

“He was worried enough about his health to make him a nutrition potion, but still did not bring him to me,” she harrumphed.

“I see,” Thomas replied.

“In Logan’s defense,” Jeff interrupted. “the boy seems rather timid. He may have worried about you scaring him off.”

Helen slapped him with a dishtowel.

“Actually,” Jeff continued. “From what I’ve gathered he didn’t have contact with anyone since the time I saw him a couple of weeks ago until now.”

“Any adults,” Thomas corrected with a frown. “I’m pretty sure he, Patton, and Logan must have been around each other considering how close they already seem to be.” He paused, “Logan implied he wasn’t particularly… comfortable around adults.”

“I did get that impression, yes,” Helen said, pouring the hot water from the kettle into a tea pot and carrying it and some cups over to the table.

“He was incredibly jumpy,” Jeff confirmed. “I imagine he does not have good experiences with many people, but he seems to have grown attached to Logan and Patton. He defers to them in most things and seemed a bit protective.

“Where did he come from?” Thomas asked.

“I’m not sure,” Jeff said. “I found him hiding in the garden shed a couple of weeks ago.”

“Did he sneak in?” Thomas asked.

“That’s what I would have thought,” Jeff replied, “but when I asked, he said he wasn’t trying to steal anything and that he was supposed to be in the castle. So, I’d assumed that meant he was the child of someone living in the caste.”

“But neither of us could find anyone who knew him,” Helen said. “Of course, we didn’t even know his name until now.” She seemed to decide the tea leaves had sat long enough because she started to pour them each a cup of tea.

Thomas took a sip. “Earl Grey,” he commented. “I guess I’m not sleeping much tonight.” It was her ‘planning tea.’

“We need a plan,” she said, “but we’re going to have to be gentle.”

“At least with Virgil,” Jeff said.

Thomas laughed lightly, “and what do you plan to do with the other two?”

“I have my ways.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “You say that,” she said, “but you’re too soft. The two of them learned to run circles around you and your powers years ago.”

“We should talk to them though,” Thomas said. “Separately from Virgil.”

“We should,” Helen agreed. “I already spoke to Patton a bit yesterday, but I will again. We should see if we can ask around and find out why he’s in the castle. We don’t even know how long he’s lived here. Or who brought him here.” The look on her face told Thomas she wanted to have a talk with his guardians whoever and wherever they were.

Helen took a drink of tea, it seemed to calm herself. “We need to make sure whatever has been happening to him is not happening in these walls,” she said.

Thomas had honestly… not thought about that. He’d assumed whatever made Virgil so skittish was in the past, but it was possible that it was ongoing. The thought made him sick.

“Perhaps you should try to talk to him, Thomas,” Helen suggested.

Thomas winced. “I am not sure that is a good idea...”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have the best track record… I don’t think me being around him would be a good idea.”

“Oh, please, Thomas,” Helen said disbelievingly.

“No, you don’t understand,” Thomas said. “He seems disproportionately afraid of me. I think it’s a mix of me being king and how we met.”

“How did you meet?” Helen asked.

“I… gave him a bit of a fright,” Thomas admitted. “Logan and Patton weren’t in the room and I didn’t know who he was. He… ended up under the bed. Then… the second time I saw him he accidently ran into me. He freaked out again.” The memory still made Thomas feel gross. It also made him think there was a lot more to his backstory than the three of them understood.

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“Perhaps Jeff can try to talk to him then,” Helen said. “It sounds like he was calmest around you. I’ll push Patton towards taking him to the garden more often. I bet fresh air would do him some good anyway.”

Jeff nodded. “I will try to talk to him a bit more.”

“Great,” Helen said, but Thomas already knew the conversation wasn’t over. “Now we need to talk about strategic events to throw over the next few months that Patton and Logan to invite Virgil to. We’ll start slow, but we need to make sure he feels welcome in the castle.”

Thomas met Jeff’s eyes. Yeah, it was going to be a long night.

Chapter 29

Virgil finished eating the breakfast Patton’s mom had sent for him. It had been going on a week since she’d made the menu for him. She sent up little cards with each meal and he was supposed to rate each thing she sent on a scale from 1-5. Logan would read it to him before he ate, and Virgil mark the little box on the card. Usually, he would put a 4 for everything (he had tried to do 5, but Logan had told him 5 was reserved for things like chicken alfredo). Three was for things that he was neutral on, 2 was for things he didn’t like but could tolerate, and 1 was for things he didn’t like. So far, the only 3 was the unseasoned porridge she’d sent one day.

“Finished?” Logan asked.

“Yeah,” Virgil said.

“What would you like to do today?” Logan asked. “Patton is busy until after lunch, and then we thought you might like to go back to the garden again. It’s supposed to drop in temperature over the next few days, so it will be the last good day for it.”

“Sounds good,” Virgil said. “I don’t care what we do today though.”

“Well, there are a few options,” Logan said.

“What do you want to do?” Virgil asked.

Logan made an expression, and Virgil titled his head. “I’m don’t have anything in particular I want to do,” he said.

“You’re lying,” Virgil said immediately.

“You would not be interested in the activity I wish to partake in,” Logan said.

Virgil squinted at him. “I’d be interested in laying on the ground and staring at the ceiling.”

Logan chuckled. “No, truly. The activity I would do if you were not present would involve reading.”

“You can read to me,” Virgil suggested.

“…In Sanskrit.”

Virgil frowned at him. “Isn’t that, like, some sort of dead language?”

“It is,” Logan said. “I taught myself to read it to read a specific book called the Pragilium Text. It’s an encoded book that leads to a magical location that I have been trying to decode for years.”

“That’s fine,” Virgil said. “You can do that.”

“It would be in the library,” Logan said.

“Okay.”

“But…” Logan said. “It would in no way be interesting to you.”

Virgil shrugged. “Like I said. I’m content to lie on the floor for a few hours.”

Logan frowned. “I can’t make you do that.”

“You wouldn’t be making me,” Virgil said. “I want to go. Maybe you can find me an easy book I could try to read?”

“Are you certain?” he asked.

Virgil nodded, decisively.

“Very well, get dressed and I will show you the library.”

Virgil stood to do so and a few minutes later, Logan was leading him out of the royal wing.

Both of the guards greeted him kindly, and Virgil hunched his shoulders in a bit, but said a soft “hi.”

The library didn’t end up being too far away. It was through the small dining hall and to the left where the staircase to the kitchen was to the right.

“This is not the main library,” Logan said. “It is just a smaller one. The royal librarian comes here only about once a week to organize. Some other castle residents might come in too, but it is usually mostly empty.” Virgil could tell just by listening for a few seconds that the place was likely empty (unless someone was lying in wait).

“I’ll look and see if there is something simple for you in case you’d like to read. You can explore a bit if you’d like,” Logan said.

Virgil nodded and stalked off into the shelves to secure the area. There were many books, not that he could quite read any of the spines. The bookcases were mostly cramped into the space. There was the open area where they’d come in with a few comfy chairs and Virgil found a desk near one of the windows. It had stacks of books including one pretty large and old one. He looked at it curiously.

Virgil heard Logan’s footsteps approach from down an aisle. “That’s the Pragilium text,” he said.

“It’s pretty,” Virgil said, looking at the design etched into the cover.

“Yes,” Logan agreed. He reached forward to touch it and opened it carefully. The print was small and didn’t look like the letters Logan had taught him so far. There was a small map on the side that Virgil could at least guess at the meaning of.

“You can read that?” Virgil asked.

“I can,” Logan said. “Very few people can though.”

“Wow, you’re really smart.”

“Thank you,” Logan said with a smile.

“Now,” Logan continued. “I found you a book. I apologize as its subject matter is for younger children, but it has many pictures that can help give you context when you don’t know something. You don’t have to read it if you do not wish to, especially as we haven’t gotten very far in our lessons, but I thought you might like the challenge.

He handed him the book and Virgil took it with a smile. “I’ll try to read it,” he said.

“Well, you have free reign of the library. Feel free to continue to explore and to interrupt me if you need to.”

Virgil nodded and took the book before deciding to finish his sweep of the library. It turned out that appearances were not deceiving, and the library truly was empty. Once he was certain about that, he looked around for a comfortable place to settle down and try to read the book Logan had handed him. He found a sturdy looking bookshelf near where Logan was reading at his desk. He scaled it quickly. It was a little bit dusty at the top, but it wasn’t a bad place. It was close to the ceiling and kept him hidden pretty well, but still gave him enough room to pop up onto his elbows. If he looked left, he could see Logan down bellow with his head in the book, but if he looked right, he could see the entrance to the library.

He pulled the book in front of him and looked at the cover. It was covered in drawings of different colored flowers. One simple white flower was in the center and there were three words on the cover. He squinted at it and silently tried to sound it out based on what Logan had taught him so far. He could guess that the larger word was ‘flowers’ based on context. So, he was pretty sure it read How Flowers Grow.

He flipped open the book. Logan was right, there were many hand drawn beautiful pictures. He could pretty much understand what was happening just from them even if he couldn’t read all of the words.

It was an interesting book even if he couldn’t read it and it was obviously made for small children. Judging by the pictures it seemed to be detailing how plants, or at least, flowers grew through some kid planting and caring for a flower over the course of some amount of time.

Virgil had, of course, known flowers grew from seeds, but it was interesting to see things about how the stem would pop out of the seed in the ground and things about the roots growing.

He more looked through the pictures than read it the first time but had flipped back to the front to try to read the words when he heard the library door open.

Virgil perked up in awareness, but then settled when he recognized Patton’s footsteps. Virgil tilted his head to watch as he walk directly to Logan’s hideaway.

“Hi,” he said, gaining Logan’s attention.

“Hello, Patton,” Logan replied. He glanced at the window and must have seen that time had passed because he closed his book and shuffled his papers.

“The guards said you came here,” Patton said, glancing around. “Where’s Virgil?”

Instead of letting Logan answer that question, Virgil pulled himself forward, with the book in one hand and slid off the bookshelf to land lightly on his feet next to Patton.

Patton screamed before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Logan had placed his hand over his heart. “Where on Earth did you come from?” he asked.

Virgil blinked at him and then pointed to the bookshelf he’d been on top of.

“How long were you up there?” Logan asked.

“Pretty much the whole time,” Virgil answered.

“I…” Logan said. “I didn’t even know.”

Virgil squinted at him. “You need to learn to look up.”

Patton giggled.

Virgil turned on him. “You need to learn to case the area.”

“Oh honey, your shirt is all covered in dust,” Patton said instead of responding to his very valid criticism. Virgil frowned. “Let’s get you changed and then go grab some lunch.”

“Lunch?” Virgil asked.

Patton chuckled and grabbed his hand. “Yes, sweetie, lunch. Then garden.”

“Fine,” Virgil said. “But you do need to learn to be more observant.

“Yes, yes, whatever you say,” Patton said.

Logan just rolled his eyes.

Chapter 30

After lunch, Patton and Logan took Virgil out into the garden to walk around. They let Virgil lead them around wherever he wanted to in the garden. A bunch more flowers had died since the last time they’d been out here, and Patton felt sad despite having never felt very sad about that sort of thing before. But, Virgil seemed to really like the flower he’d found last time, so Patton thought he was probably sad on the boy’s behalf.

Of course, Patton thought, perking up, eventually it would be spring, and Virgil could get to not only see flowers but see all of the flowers grow. Patton couldn’t wait to see him amongst the garden then.

Virgil took them wandering through the orchard for a while, but most of the trees had been stripped of their fruits. They ended up in the food garden after a bit, and Virgil finally seemed to decide on the direction instead of just ambling about.

A few seconds after Patton noticed Virgil seemingly decide on a destination, Patton noticed Mr. Deknis kneeling on the ground a few feet away. Had… had Virgil been looking for him? Patton wondered. That was adorable.

Mr. Deknis looked up as they approached and smiled at them.

“Hello, Mr. Deknis,” Patton said as they came closer.

“Hello you three,” Mr. Deknis said. “Getting into trouble?”

“No,” Virgil said, shaking his head.

Mr. Deknis gave him a flash of a smile. “I know, I’m joking,” he said. “Especially since there isn’t much left in my gardens for certain princes to destroy with experiments.”

“Oh, okay,” Virgil said. He tilted his head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting the last of the acorn squash out,” Mr. Deknis replied. “It’s the last crop to get finished. Good thing too, it’s supposed to start snowing soon.”

Virgil looked down curiously at the dark green squash.

“Would you like to help me pick a couple?” Mr. Deknis asked.

“Sure,” Virgil said, sounding interested. Mr. Deknis patted the ground beside him and Virgil knelt down to watch him.

“They’re not too difficult to harvest,” he said. “You just cut the fruit off the stem. You want to leave about a hand’s width of the stem left over which will help preserve moisture. The earlier harvests, I left in the field to cure in the sun for a couple weeks, but the frost’ll ruin them so we’ll take them inside the green house and let them sit in the sun for a bit there. We also want to keep the leaves. You’ll probably be eating those for dinner tonight since they have to be cooked up within about 24 hours after they’re picked. Patton’s mom makes a good side dish with them and she’ll be making some curry tomorrow, probably. Maybe some stew if there are some leftover.”

“Put the squash in this wheelbarrow and the leaves into this pile, okay?” Virgil nodded and Mr. Deknis handed him the extra pair of gloves and shears he carried with him in case one set broke. “These might be a bit big on your, but they should work for now.”

Mr. Deknis looked up at Patton and Logan. “Would the two of you like to help?” he asked. “I can get some more equipment.”

“I can help out if you want, but you don’t need to stop and get more equipment just for me,” Patton said.

“The same for me,” Logan said.

“Well, if you’d like to help still, you can sort the leave. Give your mother a head start.”

“Sure,” Patton said. He and Logan went to do that while Mr. Deknis and Virgil worked on cutting the squashes from the vine.

“What do you do during the winter?” Virgil asked curiously. “If this is your last crop.”

“Well, at the beginning, I mostly will be working on making sure things are stored correctly along with some of the kitchen staff. There’s some drying to do and some canning. After that’s done, I’ll spend some time organizing and planning. Then, before the spring comes, I’ll start preparing seedlings in the green house.”

“Seedlings?” he asked.

“I let seeds start to grow in the greenhouse that I replant once it gets warm enough.”

“Why don’t you just plant them where they’re going?”

“I do for some,” he said, “but giving some a head start is good for them.”

Patton watched as Virgil continued to ask questions about gardening while working on harvesting the squash. Mr. Deknis continued to answer them in a calm, soft tone that Patton didn’t think he’d ever heard from the often gruff man before.

Patton wasn’t surprised when, after finishing getting most of the squash off of the vine, Mr. Deknis asked if Virgil wanted to help him with canning some pears in a couple of days. Virgil immediately looked over at Logan and Patton as though asking permission.

“Say yes if you want to Virgil,” Logan said.

“Yes,” Virgil said as soon as he was given permission. Mr. Deknis smiled at him softly and started loading the last of the squash into the wheelbarrow. Patton offered to run the squash leaves to the kitchen while Logan and Virgil helped Mr. Deknis take the actual squash to the green house.

He dropped the leaves off to a kitchen worker since Mama was busy and headed back out to the garden. By the time he returned, Logan was already back from the green house and sitting by one of the more decorative trees near the castle.

“He’s exploring,” Logan said, nodding at the large patch of bushes.

Patton chuckled. “I see.” He sat next to Logan. Every so often he’d hear the bushes rustle, but he couldn’t tell if it was actually Virgil or an animal.

“He’s adorable,” Patton commented, keeping an ear out.

Logan hummed.

“I’m glad we kept him.”

“He isn’t a pet, Patton.”

Patton rolled his eyes. “I know, but I’m still glad. I’m glad he’s making friends with Mr. Deknis. Once he knows how to read better, we should get him a book about gardening. He seems interested.”

Logan nodded. “Having a hobby would be good for him. Clearly he has a fascination with the garden.” He nodded to the blur of dark hair that could be seen through the bushes. It seemed Virgil had stopped his exploration and was now laying down in the bushes a few feet away.

“I’m going to go see what he’s doing,” Patton said. “I’ll be right back.”

Logan nodded and Patton got to his feet. The bushes were part of a small maze that was filled with flowers during the spring and summer months but were mostly just green and brown bushes for now. Despite the fact that Patton had been able to see him only a few feet away, it took him a while to wind through the path to where he was. When he finally turned the last corner and he came into view, Patton gasped softly.

“Ghost kitty!” he said, making sure to make his voice as quiet as possible.

Despite how soft he made his voice, two pairs of eyes shot over to him. The completely black kitten was perched on Virgil’s lap like she belonged there. Ghost Kitty hissed slightly, but Virgil reached forward to pet her head gently.

“This is Ghost Kitty?” Virgil asked. “I thought you said she was hard to pet.”

“She is,” Patton said. He lowered himself onto the ground from a few feet away from them. “How did you get her to come to you?”

Virgil glanced down at the cat and shrugged, scratching one of her ears. “She just came over to me and let me pet her.”

“Wow,” Patton said softly. He looked at the cat. “Could I pet you sweetie?” he asked, holding out a hand in her direction. She hissed again.

Virgil frowned down at her. “It’s Patton,” he said as though he expected to understand his words and the exasperation in the tone he said them in.

He pet the cat’s head to soothe her and then reached over to grab Patton’s hand. He pulled and Patton carefully leaned a bit closer until his hand was within sniffing distance. Ghost Kitty sniffed his fingers contemplatively and then bumped her head against it. He barely restrained a squeal, knowing that probably wouldn’t be taken well.

He carefully turned his hand over so he could stroke the top of her head. He gently scratched her ear, not daring to go for under her chin yet since she didn’t know him well. “Hi,” he said softly. After a moment, she started to purr softly. Virgil reached over and scratched under her chin and she purred louder. “Oh, you’re a good girl,” Patton breathed, letting a hand trail gently down her back once and then again. Patton settled himself carefully into a seating position continuing to pet her. After a few more moments of soft petting, she hesitantly stepped her front paws onto Patton’s thigh so she was sitting in both of their laps. Patton laughed softly. “Hi sweetie.” He glanced over at Virgil who had a wide smile on his face as he pet the cat. This. This was adorable. They continued to pet the cat for a very long time.

Chapter 31

Logan waited for a while after Patton left to check on Virgil, but the two never resurfaced. It was odd, Patton would usually remember to come back and get Logan or at least tell them where they were. With a sigh, Logan climbed to his feet to go find them. It took him a while to weave his way through the maze of bushes to them especially because they were suspiciously quiet (Well, suspicious for Patton. Virgil was often unnervingly quiet when alone.) Luckily, he knew the bushes enough after all of these years not to get lost and managed to find the two after a few minutes.

“Ah,” he said, immediately identifying the reason for Patton disappearing.

“Logan!” Patton said, his voice excited, but also quieter than normal. “We found a kitty!”

“I can see that,” Logan responded, taking a step closer. The cat hissed at him in response. The hissing was so intense and wild that he’d suspect the thing was feral if it wasn’t happily on Virgil’s lap having had it’s head in Patton’s lap before Logan had approached.

“No,” Virgil told the animal as though it could understand words. “That’s Logan. Be nice.”

The cat still glared at him and swished it’s tail back and forth threateningly. Virgil pet the top of it’s head and it broke eye contact with Logan to purr.

Patton seemed delighted by the purring, reaching to stroke under the thing’s chin carefully. “We should give her a name!” Patton said.

Virgil frowned. “I thought her name was Ghost Kitty.”

“That is ‘Ghost Kitty’?” Logan asked skeptically. From what Patton had said about that cat, it was terrified of people and no one could ever get near it, even him. Now it was in Virgil’s lap?

“But that was a temporary name,” Patton said, “for before we officially met her. Now we have to give her a real name.”

“Do not give it a name,” Logan said. “You will get attached.”

“How do you name a cat?” Virgil asked.

“Do not name it,” Logan said.

“You give them names based on their personalities, how they look, or even just because it’s a cute name,” Patton explained. “Like, remember Mittens? I named her Mittens because she has white fur and black paws!”

Virgil looked at the cat. “She’s completely black,” he said.

Patton hummed. “So, we could give her a name based on that like Midnight or Shadow.”

“Those are fine,” Virgil said.

“No, no,” Patton said. “I’m just giving you examples. You get to name her yourself.”

“This is a bad idea,” Logan said.

“Just throw out some names,” Patton said. “Anything you can think of.”

“Uh,” Virgil said. “Knife.”

“…Just Knife?” Patton asked.

“Nightmare.” Virgil seemed to think about it. “No, that’s mean.”

“How about things you like?” Patton suggested.

“Alfredo?”

Oh no, Logan thought, he was worse than Patton at cat naming.

“Good start,” Patton said. “Logan, do you have any suggestions.”

“Cat,” Logan said.

“Real suggestions,” Patton scolded.

Logan sighed and thought for a moment. “Aphrodite.”

“Catphrodite!”

Logan glared at him. “Helena.”

“Helenpaw.”

“Claudia.”

“Clawdia.”

“Persephone.”

Patton smiled at him, cheerfully.

“…Damnit!”

Patton turned to Virgil again. “Like that! They don’t even have to be serious. Like, uh, you could name her Madam Fluffywuffykins the Great!”

“Do not name her that,” Logan said, scrunching up his nose.

Logan sat on the ground, the cat eyeing him, but no longer hissing. Logan gently guided them towards more sensible names despite Patton trying his hardest to drag them into stupidity.

Virgil still didn’t quite get it. He mostly tried to name it after foodstuff, and often not even appropriate foodstuff such as “Corn” and “Acorn Squash” and “Sandwich” and occasionally would drop in semi violent ones such as “Razor,” “Nightshade” and “Void.” Patton suggested names like “Fluffers,” “Bobette” and “Darling” as well as some that were puns. Logan tried to direct them towards more sensible ones like “Salem” and even went so low as to suggest the contrary “Snowball.”

It quickly seemed to become less about actually naming the cat and more of a game. Patton had taught Virgil about playing with cats and had even gotten out a ball of yarn he cared around for his crafts. Both Virgil and the cat seemed to find endless entertainment with that. Logan hoped Patton had another ball of yarn that color because, he was never going to get that ball back.

The barrage of names fizzled out into naming things around them like “Leaf” and “Bush” until they stopped suggesting names altogether. Patton and Logan sat back and watched Virgil play with the cat.

Logan watched as they stopped playing suddenly and Virgil and the cat squinted at each other. “Marisol,” Virgil said, pulling the name out of nowhere. “That’s her name.” He said it with a certainty that was surprising considering how he’d treated the naming process with confusion and caution earlier. If Logan did not know better, his tone of voice would indicate that the cat, or Marisol he guessed, had gotten bored of them coming up with stupid names and decided to tell him her actual name herself.

The cat made a sound and batted at Virgil’s face without claws to grab back his attention.

He turned back to it and bopped its face with a finger in kind. It attacked his finger, but in a clearly playful matter as it still did not extend it’s claws and its teeth did not draw blood.

“That’s a great name, Virgil,” Patton said.

“Much more pleasant than any that Patton suggested all afternoon,” Logan said. He received an elbow to the side for his quip.

“A pretty name for a pretty kitty,” Patton said, scooting over to where Virgil was sat and attempting to pet Marisol’s head. Marisol, however, was too keyed up and batted at the hand.

“I love you too!” Patton said.

Logan rolled his eyes, but he had long since resigned himself to watching the two of them play with and coo over the cat for the rest of the day.

Eventually, though, it started to get darker. Even after Logan pointed this out, it still took over an hour for them to relent and leave the bush maze to go to the door. The problem was of course, that the cat had managed to grow very attached to Virgil in the last few hours and she followed them all the way to the door with manipulatively heart breaking mews.

“You’ve got to stay out here,” Virgil said, when they got to the castle door. He pet her ear softly and she shoved her head into his hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t have anywhere to put you.” He sounded horribly sad about that fact and Logan felt himself shift uncomfortably. “I basically live in a closet and Logan doesn’t like cats in his room anyway.”

Logan immediately felt unreasonably guilty, probably more so because Logan did not think Virgil was trying to make him feel guilty. “…Bring the dammed thing inside.”

Virgil blinked up at him. “What?”

“It will get cold soon anyway,” Logan said.

He frowned at Logan from where he was crouched. “But you don’t like fur in your room…”

“I will have to find a potion that works,” he said with a sigh, “and we’ll have to say it’s mine to the guards and Father since it will be staying in my room, but it is yours in every other way. That means you are going to feed it, clean it, and clean up after it.”

Virgil nodded immediately and swooped Marisol up in his arms. The cat went without complaint. “Thank you!” he said. “I love her.”

“I know you do,” Logan said, already regretting it already. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to even consider recanting the offer considering how happy Virgil seemed to be. They had a cat now, he guessed.

Chapter 32

“What are you doing?” Helen asked a few minutes after her son walked into the kitchen and started looking around as though he were trying to find something. It was a few hours into the afternoon, and she and a few workers were already prepping for dinner.

“Uh,” Patton said. “Have you seen Virgil?”

“No,” Helen said. “Why.”

“Er… Logan and I sorta, lost him,” Patton said. He was wringing his hands anxiously. Helen put down the knife in her hand.

“What do you mean you lost him?” she asked.

“Well, see, we were trying to teach him how to play hide and seek, um, but then we didn’t think to tell him that he eventually had to come out if we didn’t find him, and now we haven’t seen him since breakfast.”

“He didn’t know what tag is?” she asked. That was just one more thing to add to the list of why Helen worried about Virgil and where he came from. Every morsel of information she’d managed to wring from Patton despite his evasions made her lists of concerns grow larger, even little things like him not knowing about simple childhood games. Actually, thinking of concerning things having to do with Virgil. “Wait, so he hasn’t eaten lunch.”

“Um, we don’t know that,” Patton’s mouth said while his eyes said ‘no.’

“He needs to be on a consistent diet, especially when he’s still taking the malnutrition potion,” she scolded.

“I know, Mama, I know,” Patton said. “I’m trying to find him. I’d kinda hoped he’d gotten hungry and snuck down here. He probably wouldn’t want to risk being caught stealing food though.”

Helen grimaced. Yet another concerning thing.

“Wait! I have an idea, I’ll be right back.” Patton turned and ran out of the room. Helen frowned at the space he’d been and finished chopping the carrot on the cutting board in front of her. If it had been any other person in the castle missing, Helen wouldn’t have worried, but she had literally never seen Virgil without Patton and/or Logan by his side. Even when he’d gone to help Jeff can some fruit, Logan had reportedly hung around to read a book.

Considering that Logan had never exactly been clingy even with Patton, she imagined that either Virgil asked, or Logan thought he should stay with him for his comfort. So, she was surprised that he was apparently hidden away somewhere in the castle where neither of the other kids could find him.

Still thinking about this, she walked over to the entrance to the cellar below the kitchen where they stored most of the vegetables, planning to grab some more carrots. She was confused for a moment when she heard movement from deeper in the pantry. She reached over and touched the panel near the door that controlled the magic lights.

The newly illuminated figure startled as the lights came on, whipping around to stare at her with wide eyes.

“Virgil?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he said immediately, taking a step back.

“It’s fine,” she said immediately, “but what are you doing here?”

He considered her for a long moment, but apparently, she passed some sort of mental test, because he relaxed, at least as much as he’d ever relaxed in her presence. “Where are we?” he asked.

Her brow knit together. “The cellar under the kitchen,” she said, “You don’t know that?”

He shook his head.

“The only entrance is from the kitchen.” Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him go through the kitchen at any point.

“No, it’s not,” Virgil said. “There’s a tunnel.”

“A-a tunnel?” she asked. Actually, taking a closer look at him, he seemed a bit grimy. He had dust all over his front and dirt on his nose. She thought he might even have a couple of cobwebs in his hair.

“Yep,” he said.

“Where’s the tunnel?” she asked.

“It’s right over here,” he said. He took a couple of steps and pointed to the ground. There was an open square hole there that clearly had been made a long time ago but which she had never noticed in all of her time working here.

“How did you find this?” she asked.

“We were playing hide and seek,” Virgil explained. “Logan said I could hide anywhere inside the castle. I hid on top of a dresser upstairs in some unused sitting room. There was a hole in the wall above it, so I climbed into it. Then, I crawled a little bit and it let out into a hidden passage in the walls. I wandered around in it until I found another hole in one of the walls. I thought it was a way out, so I squeezed into it, but it took me to a different hallway where I found an old room. There was a different hole in that room that had probably been covered by something because it was in the floor but whatever it was had rotted away. I crawled though it into a tunnel and came out here.”

She couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his explanation. “Well, it sounds like you went on an adventure,” she said, “but Patton and Logan have been trying to find you. You missed lunch.”

He tilted his head at her. “I know. I was supposed to hide.”

“Yes,” she explained, “but you are supposed to come out at some point if they can’t find you for things like food.”

“Oh,” he said.

“They probably should have explained,” she said. “For now, why don’t we get you something to eat? You must be hungry.”

Virgil frowned. “But I missed lunch.”

“You can still eat even though it’s not in normal hours,” she said. “You could even if you had made it to lunch.”

“Really?” he asked, he looked tragically confused by this offer.

“Of course, sweetie,” she said. “In fact, I insist you get something good to eat right now. How about I made you a grilled ham and cheese sandwich? Maybe some cookies too!”

Virgil titled his head. “You are Patton’s mother,” he stated.

Helen laughed softly. “He gets its all from me,” she said. “We should probably go find him and tell him you’re okay. He was worried.”

“I didn’t mean to worry him,” Virgil said with a frown.

“I know,” Helen said. “It’s okay. He’ll probably laugh when he figures out where you’ve been, and Logan will interrogate you all about the secret passageways.” He seemed happy about the prospect of seeing his friends. “Come on, let’s go upstairs for a bit,” she said.

Chapter 33

Patton’s mom had already made Virgil sit down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen and had handed him a sandwich by the time Patton barreled into the kitchen, Logan coming after him at a more sedate pace.

“Virgil!” he said, sounding surprised and relieved.

“Patton,” Patton’s mom scolded. “No cats in the kitchen.” Patton had brought Marisol in with him and had let her go as soon as he’d seen Virgil. She immediately plodded over to him and hoped onto the table to sniff at his face in greeting.

“But she’s the princess!” Patton argued.

“No,” Logan said.

“Yes, she is!” Patton said.

“The stupid cat is not a princess.”

“Don’t be mean to your little sister, Logan.”

“I regret every life decision that has led me to this point.”

While Logan and Patton were distracted squabbling and Patton’s mom was distracted watching them squabble, Virgil tore off a bit of the ham in his sandwich and offered it to Marisol. Marisol gracefully took it from his grip and ate it.

“So, this is Logan’s new cat I’ve been hearing about?” Patton’s mom asked.

“Indeed,” Logan said, his lips thinned. He and Marisol were mostly amicable when alone with just them and Virgil, but Patton had a habit of cooing over the kitten and needling Logan into being irritated.

“Mmm, yeah,” Patton’s mom said. She glanced over at Virgil right as Marisol basically slammed her face into his chin in a bid to get pets. “Your cat.” She shook her head. “But Princess Kitten or not, I do not want fur in dinner,” she said.

“Sorry,” Patton said, honestly not sounding sorry at all. Virgil was always a bit surprised when the insolent shrug garnered nothing more that a scowl that did not reach Patton’s mom’s eyes. “I thought she could help me find Virgil, but you already found him.” He turned to Virgil. “Where have you been all day?”

“Found a tunnel,” Virgil said. He had to use one hand to hold Marisol back from his sandwich as he took another bite, but then gave her a bite of cheese.

“You found what?” Logan asked.

“There’s a tunnel under the cellar,” Virgil said. “It goes to an old closed up room and also to a set of secret passageways.” It was a bit of a security risk honestly, though clearly no one had used it in years by how dirty it was. He did plan to go back into it and make sure the sprawling tunnels didn’t go to anywhere more dangerous like the royal wing.

“A closed-up room?” Logan said. He could see a bit of curiosity already building in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Virgil said. “Where the door used to be seemed like it had been bricked over.”

“Really? Can you show me.”

“Sure,” Virgil answered.

“Ah, perhaps we should be a bit more cautious about climbing through random tunnels we don’t know the stability of,” Patton’s mom said.

Logan’s frown edged on a pout.

“Talk to your father,” she said. “I’m sure he can get someone who understands these things so you can safely investigate.”

“It was safe enough for Virgil,” Logan pointed out.

“No, Logan.”

He sighed but seemed to concede. That was another strange thing about living here. By all rights Logan didn’t have to obey anyone except the king, but he often listened to those around him, not just the adults but Patton as well. It was interesting though it sometimes made the hierarchy hard to figure out. Virgil did sometimes stress out about the hypothetical situation where he got conflicting orders from two people, and he wouldn’t know which one to obey. So far it hadn’t been a problem luckily. They always seemed to work it out amongst themselves in some give and take social interaction that was a bit too complex for him to understand.

#not writing #proofread stories

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whereflowersbloom · 4 years

Text

Small moments

With long dissatisfied sigh, Damian pushed back his black blanket and gradually sits up, annoyed. There wasn’t any more to it, he had been rolling around the enormous bed for nearly an hour, he just couldn’t fall back asleep. Fumbling around in the darkness of his room, he found his phone. He squinted down at it and groaned inwardly. Fucking 04:00 am blinking up at him. He shouldn’t be up for another three hours. But despite his exhaustion and attempts to fall back asleep. It’s pointless to just lay here any longer. When he arose from the bed, he felt his back muscles were particularly knotted. Tsk. Perhaps a hot shower would release some accumulated tension on his body.

Might as well begin the day, start being productive with an extra head start, apparently. Damian stretched and dug around for training clothes and toiletries, hurriedly throwing them in his gym bag, before heading down for a long hot shower. At least this morning he doesn’t have to be in any rush. He had plenty of time to go at snail’s pace, he never had the opportunity to enjoy little things. By all means, he enjoyed engaging in different activities with his teammates. He would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he wondered what his life would be like as a regular teenager, attending school, perhaps a girlfriend to take out on dates...Where did multimillionaire heirs take their girlfriends? A romantic dinner at some exclusive hideously expensive restaurant in Paris? That wasn’t exactly his style. He highly doubted Raven liked those places, anyway.

Predictably, he doesn’t pass anyone on the way down, the rest of the team profoundly asleep as he assumed, the showers as expected are absolutely deserted. He stumbled in, gasping under the ice cold water falling on his exposed, muscular figure, rubbing at his eyes as the shock wakes him up completely. Fucking cold water. He turned the knob sharply, and in a moment, hot water streamed down his torso. Without the bothersome presence of a another person like Garfield or Conner, Damian is able to relax under the spray of water. The warmth of the water, focusing on the sound of the water running hard onto the shower floor, his sore and stiff muscles relaxing, easing the discomfort. His now calm and serene mind unconsciously drifted back to his homeland. Nanda Parbat, his mother, grandfather, the league he vowed to protect, work along his grandfather to make the world a better place. Clever lies. Deceived by his own mother.

Without realizing it, Damian began humming. It is a lovely, centuries old tune he heard when he was a child, his mother, Talia used to sing to him whenever he had nightmares as a child, and he grew fond of it. It isn’t long before the hum evolves into mumbling, ancient words in a long unspoken language, and even less time before the mumbling grows in volume and annunciation, and he’s singing lowly, something he wouldn’t dare do normally when anyone could be in the shower. Damian Wayne doesn’t sing, not at least around anyone. He couldn’t imagine what his brothers would say to embarrass him. Especially Drake or Todd.

Damian is a moderately good mood now. There wasn’t anything that could lift the spirit, if only momentarily, like singing. And who else would be up at this hour to hear him? Nobody he had to threaten or assassinate.

Damian let a slight, soft smile slip as he shut off the water of the shower. He dries off, checking his phone. It’s only five, and although he’s shocked at how long of a shower he’s taken, it is still much too early to even properly get dressed or get started with training. He recalled Grayson mentioning a meeting later today. He pulled on a long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans, not up to wearing his uniform at five in the morning.

Damian is suddenly startled when he leaves the showers to see a slender, tiny figure in the common kitchen. It’s only five, who else could possibly be up so early? Not Grayson or Conner he hoped.

The figure turns around, and Raven is looking back at him eyebrows raised near her hairline, mouth opened in surprise. Damian stepped closer to her, taking her in: messy dark hair, even more so being fresh out of bed, pearl-like skin, big violet eyes that resemble amethyst and pink lips curled into a warm smile. At once he feels his breath being swept right out of his chest at that radiant and tender smile. She was wearing a pair of lavender pajama shorts, exposing her thick thighs, a white oversized shirt, hiding her generous curves, she looked devastatingly adorable. God. He had to control his hormones and emotions.

“Good morning, Raven.” He cleared his throat and muttered in his usual neutral voice. What did he have to be embarrassed about? Damian sits at the island and watched attentively Raven make a cup of tea, it smelt like cinnamon and honey, at the stovetop. Damian always found it entertaining, watch her do anything, debating what kind of tea she would have today. He knew she particularly enjoyed Earl Grey, cinnamon and two teaspoons of honey and peppermint. Maybe next time he could take her out to this open-air tea house his brother mentioned last time they spoke. Did Dick mention it to him deliberately? Was he trying to...?

“What are you doing up so early?” Raven asked curiously, drawing his attention back to her, turning her attention pointedly away from Damian and to her brewing cup of tea. Damian watched her back intently, she looked to fragile and tiny in his eyes, he was wondering what could have her worked up, as she nervously reached for the honey.

“I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. Are you always up this early? I don’t think I noticed before.” Damian replies with the truth and observing how routine this all looked to Raven. She was usually up with the rise of the sun but it was a bit early for that and they didn’t have anything to do this early, no scheduled activities or tasks. He studied her body language, she wanted to say something, but she was evidently hesitating. “Everything alright?” He asked eyes fully focused on her, his expression showing concern for her.

“Yes, definitely, it’s just . . .” Raven stopped to bite her lower lip, her small hands playing with the teaspoon on the table, turning so Damian can see her profile, though trying to avoid his alert and bright green eyes. “Did you know you have a really nice voice?” She uttered faintly. Well now he knows she had been listening to him. But what she said was true. He did have a deep p, melodious voice.

“I don’t sing. Damian Wayne doesn’t sing.” Damian denies her question immediately, grabbing the closest thing to his reach, it was an apple and acting as if nothing happened.

Damian’s posture stiffened momentarily as his cheeks flame. Of course out of all the people, why did it have to be Raven? Tsk. Just his damn luck. Conner’s loud and unpleasant laughter or Garfield’s teasing he could deal with, he could always threaten them with a knife or give them his notions characteristic look of warming that they wouldn’t make it unharmed if they messed with him, but Raven was different. He can’t figure out why, but it feels like the worst possible outcome for this situation, at the same time he knew she wouldn’t say anything. She was different... he didn’t want to think why it felt that way with her from the moment they met. He didn’t believe he was ready to have the conversation about his obvious feelings for her yet.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. Not a word will slips out of my sealed lips. I simply thought it was such a nice song.” Raven smiled at him warmly, she touched his arm and he glanced up at her. His heart is thudding in his chest so loudly he was sure Raven must be able to hear it. She didn’t lie. She wasn’t his his mother or grandfather or anyone he knew before. His secrets and trust were safe with Raven.

“It’s an old lullaby from my homeland. Perhaps sometime I can explain the meaning behind it, if you want me to.” He gulped for air, and ran a hand through his still wet hair. His mind running thoughts about how often he imagined himself whispering how much he cared for her, how incredibly beautiful she was, how much she made him feel, like he belonged here with her and everyone else.

“I would love to hear about your home, Damian.” She whispered softly, sincerity and genuine interest in her voice. Her glowing amethyst eyes locked in his emerald eyes, sipping her tea, her warm fingers brushing his hand on the counter, as a sign of affection. She was there for him in all the ways. In that moment he didn’t mind that a raven heard him sing. A small jubilant smile escapes his full lips.

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lovelyirony · 4 years

Note

“Let me help you.” for Clark and Bruce please?

i’m making these rounds of prompts au so i present: new neighbor au (note: i know next to nothing about the bat fam pretty pretty please do not kill me i’m begging)

Bruce Wayne already hated moving into the house, although the house itself wasn’t particularly bad. Jason and Dick were already fighting over who got the corner room (they didn’t know Cass had already started to set up a vanity there) and he had already heard at least one bad crack from a kitchen box.

But it was fine.

This did not explain why there was a strange man in his house, talking to Jason as if this was a regular occurrence.

“Who are you?” Bruce asks bluntly. “And what the hell are you doing in my house?”

“Dad!” Jason hisses. “This is our new neighbor, Clark Kent. Be nice.”

“It’s okay, I technically did come into the house without his knowledge,” newly-named Clark Kent admits. “I’m sorry, I just noticed that your son was struggling with a box labeled ‘dishes’ and figured it’d be better to help than to schedule a trip to the store for more plates.”

He was right. This was the problem.

(This guy was also ripped, had on a pair of thick, black frames that somehow looked good, and looked like he probably ripped logs in half when he was bored.)

“Thank you,” Bruce says curtly. “But I think we have it from here.”

He hears a yell from the yard, and it’s Dick and Tim fighting over a box that got dumped over.

Inside is the office computer, which is now not an office computer but scraps for one of the kids to use for some project that hopefully isn’t world domination.

(It’s not like Bruce can’t replace it, it’s just that...well he doesn’t want to go monitor shopping.)

“Let me help you,” new-neighbor says. He’s too damn earnest.

“I’m fine,” Bruce grits out. “Believe me, I can handle it.”

“You just moved in with more kids than I think I’ve seen, it’s been a long day. At least let me make you dinner.”

“Please?” Duke asks.

Clark gestures as if saying “I was right.”

“Your cooking kind of...sucks.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Jason pokes his head out now to yell for pizza.

Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Dinner is fine. Thank you. It’s not necessary. You will spoil my kids. But thank you.”

“Um...how many are exactly in your family?”

“Shoot for ten, that’s probably good,” Duke says.

To his credit, Clark only blinks once.

“Gotcha,” he says. “Dinner will be ready in two hours, give or take. I have a...store trip.”

Bruce slips him cash.

“Here. I know it’s a pain. You can back out of it or order pizza. If you order pizza, that’d probably work.”

“Pizza sounds good. I’ll get pizza. Any allergies?”

“Don’t put mushrooms on it!” Cass yells out the window. “They suck!”

“No they don’t!” Damian yells back. “You have no taste!”��

Clark grins.

“I think I’m gonna like having you guys as my new neighbors.”

Clark thinks his new neighbors are fun. He can sometimes hear yelling and the boys are chasing each other around the kitchen. They practice what looks to be a game of tag but with consequences in the backyard.

Their father is very interesting. He leaves the house at five each morning for work, and Clark only knows that because he’s on a run every day with Diana, who is also as insane as he is.

“He looks nice,” she says, craning her neck.

“Way to be obvious,” he comments.

“Like you aren’t,” Diana says, laughing. “Catch up to me before I lap you again.”

Clark rolls his eyes. “Fine.”

“When was the last time you dated?”

“You know the last time I dated,” he responds. “I’m fine with not dating.”

“And yet I think you’d actually want to date a man who has what seems to be an infinite supply of children,” Diana responds.

“You make it sound creepy.”

“I can’t keep track of them. I keep seeing new ones.”

Clark tells her all about the kids. How he sometimes talks to Tim about school over the fence, or he’ll bring over dessert since Cass mentioned no one knows how to bake besides Alfred, but Alfred retired.

(Note: find out who Alfred is.)

Who he doesn’t talk much to is Bruce. Which is odd, considering he knows that he’s home quite a bit.

(Windows are clear, you see things through them. That’s his reasoning.)

Bruce is a very interesting man, because he’s always out with the kids throwing around a ball, or taking at least one of them around the neighborhood learning how to drive.

(Clark is scared for Cass to actually have a car she’s run over about seven different mailboxes.)

It’s when he gets his doorbell rung and standing there is Duke and Damian.

“You’re coming to family dinner,” Damian says. “We figure we owe you for always climbing your fence to get the baseballs and for sometimes probably keeping you up until two a.m. because we’re debating on food.”

“I’ve learned much about pineapple on pizza,” Clark says. “What time should I show up? Do you guys want dessert?”

“Dessert would be great, and dinner is at six-thirty,” Duke says, grinning. “Still remember those lemon bars you made. Best things I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll bring some over then,” Clark says, grinning.

Unofficially, the kids have noticed that their dad needs someone.

Well okay he doesn’t but occasionally he looks at their neighbor a second longer.

(Tim did the math.)

So Clark gets invited to dinner. Besides, they’re tired of simply talking over a fence. And Alfred suggested knowing at least one neighbor just in case one of them got in trouble and Bruce was away on business or the like.

Bruce does not know that Clark got invited to dinner.

Or that he can actually casually wear t-shirts.

(He wonders if he tailors his t-shirts.)

“What are you doing here?” He asks.

“Was I...not invited?” Clark asks.

“Oh, you definitely were,” Dick says. “We decided to be neighborly. We followed Alfred’s advice, Dad. You know how good that is.”

Bruce knows he cannot argue against Alfred.

“Welcome,” Bruce says. “I hope they didn’t badger you into bringing another dessert.”

(Oh let it be known Bruce is a liar, he was hoping for a dessert.)

“Duke requested lemon bars, so I had to fill a need,” Clark explains. “Thanks for letting me crash your dinner.”

“It isn’t a problem,” Bruce says. “Tim, go get another chair.”

“Why do I have to get the chair?”

“Damian, go get the chair.”

“I am hated in this family,” Damian declares, getting up from his seat. “But I’ll go get it.”

“I appreciate you!” Clark calls, navigating through the kitchen easily. “Mind if I set the dessert down?”

“Not at all, let me squeeze past you to get the water glasses.”

Okay so maybe Tim scoots his chair back and Bruce is used to just moving out of the way and avoiding getting the back of a chair shoved into his stomach but then he runs into Clark.

“Sorry!” he says.

Bruce is against his back.

“It’s fine,” he says, straightening himself up. “Tim, quit moving your chair at ill-opportune times.”

“Sorry,” Tim says, looking not-sorry-at-all.

Bruce sends him a dirty look.

Damian shows up with the chair, grinning.

“Sorry about the kitchen, tends to be a hard-to-get place with all of us. Anyways, water?”

Bruce hates his kids. They are not slick about anything. Cass cannot look him in the eye without smiling.

Clark is oblivious.

Dinner is...good. Better than good. Clark is surprisingly good with dry humor, and entertains the kids with stories of his greatest journalism feats.

(Bruce is impressed.)

He also handles the sheer volume of kids with a certain amount of grace. He listens carefully when Tim’s talking, even when Jason yells over him for someone to pass the dessert.

After dinner, Clark is invited to the backyard porch to have a drink while the kids play outdoors.

“You do a nice job,” Clark says. “It must get pretty crazy, all by yourself.”

“It can be,” Bruce admits. “Although the kids have grown up enough to know when they need to quit it. Mostly. Sometimes they still fight about things like ice cream.”

“The great flavor debate,” Clark nods. “Your stance on chocolate chip cookie dough.”

“Oh god, you’re that guy?”

“It’s the superior flavor!”

“That is the most boring answer you could’ve given.”

“And what is your answer?”

“Peppermint.”

Clark stares at him.

“What?”

“So you only have ice cream, like, once a year?”

“Sure. Don’t really like any other flavor.”

Clark shakes his head.

“Not mint?”

“Mint is still good, but not the best.”

“And your stance on the lemon bars?” Clark asks.

“I hid some in the fridge so I could get more,” Bruce admits. Clark laughs.

Bruce likes the sound of that. He likes how Clark looks under those stupid fairylights that Duke and Cass had snuck into the cart when he wasn’t looking. (They looked good, he had to admit.)

He looks away for a moment.

“It’s getting dark,” Clark says. “I have an early day tomorrow, I better head home.”

“Feel free to come any time,” Bruce says, nodding. “I mean that.”

“I get the feeling you never say things you don’t mean,” Clark answers.

Bruce smiles slightly.

“How’d it go?” Dick asks.

“Do not ask me.”

(That means it went well.)

Clark comes over to the house a lot more after that, as well as having the Wayne family over to his.

Lois makes fun of him when he has his phone background a picture of him and the family in the backyard for Tim’s birthday.

“You need to marry in,” she says. “Enough of this.”

“We’re just neighbors.”

Lois starts humming music from The Sound of Music and Clark gives her a look.

“You still need to meet your deadline by tonight!” Lois calls back. “I know you can do it!”

He sighs, turning back to his desk.

Tonight was his turn to host dinner, and it was all of them. He still had to leave work early (if he could) and get the makings for the rest of the meal.

Dear Clark, Duke mentioned that you have an upcoming deadline at work. I am aware this could impede your timing for tonight’s dinner. I am going to the store with Cass. What do you need for dinner? From, Bruce Wayne.

Clark snorts. Bruce always texts like that, no matter who it is. He texts his own kids like that, no matter the circumstance.

Thank you, Bruce. I need one more pound of ground beef and some drinks (juice and stuff like that.) I will pay you back when you get back.

Dear Clark, Payment is not necessary. All of my children have subjected you to debates about “pineapple” and “government conspiracy theories.” No problem. From, Bruce Wayne.

“Why I’m attracted to you, I have no idea,” Clark mutters, rolling away from his desk to get another coffee.

“You should get him flowers,” Cass says, looking at the bouquets lined up.

“Why?” Bruce asks.

“People like flowers,” she says. “And they’re used when you like someone.”

Bruce slowly swivels his head.

“Would you like to pretend that I never heard you?”

“Not really. You’re the one grocery shopping for our neighbor that’s your type and refusing payment.”

“How do you know what my type is?”

“When Tim and Jason get bored it gets bad.”

“Remind me to rescind talking privileges in-house.”

“Noted, but disregarded. We need gummy worms.”

“We do not need gummy worms.”

They still get thrown in the cart.

And now Bruce is nervous for a dinner that is literally just a dinner but maybe he should get flowers.

He gets sunflowers. Because Clark is a Kansas boy and roses are overrated anyways.

Clark gets flowers from Bruce,who by all means looks quite flustered.

“They’re wonderful,” he says, smiling. “Cass help you pick these out?”

“Nope, his idea,” Cassie says, digging into her pockets. “I bought gummy worms.”

Clark blinks as she steps off to go see her brothers.

Bruce winces.

“Sorry if that’s a bit...forward. I figured you’d like the sunflowers.”

“Not too forward at all,” Clark says. “In fact, I’d like an after-dinner conversation, if you don’t mind.”

Bruce blinks.

“Um. Yes.”

That is the first time he had ever said “um” in Clark’s presence, so this is a pretty momentous occasion.

Dinner is still nice. Bruce is a bit lost in thought and Clark has to refocus in on the conversation of Dick bitching about his new floor routine and the coach who’s making it impossible to practice.

The kids have enough sense to offer to either a.) go work on homework or b.) do the dishes.

Clark leads Bruce to the backyard, sitting on the patio furniture. They overlook his garden.

“I don’t know why I kept the fence,” Clark says. “Not like anyone’s to the right of me, and your family comes over often enough we don’t really need one. Wanna help me remove it?”

“Is that what your after-dinner conversation consisted of?” Bruce asks.

“No,” Clark says. “But I needed to say something else so I got courage to say what I want to say.” He takes a breath.

“Bruce, you are without a doubt the strangest man I have ever met. You send text messages like you’re sending business emails, yet you always participate with Jason’s internet dances and even, on occasion, help prank other siblings. You pretend like you never know anyone’s interests but you have gotten me my favorite jam at least once and make the kids’ favorite desserts for dinner.

“Furthermore, I think I am incredibly in love with you because you look nice in suits and you got me sunflowers because you know I like them. You are also one of the best people I’ve ever met. So I would like to take you on a date.”

“A real date?”

“As opposed to what, taking you to a meeting with my journalism team?” Clark asks.

Bruce smiles softly.

“I am joking.”

“Nerd.”

“Where is the date going to be?”

“I figured we actually go to that restaurant we always order takeout from instead of ordering enough for twenty people,” Clark teases.

“Sounds good to me,” Bruce says. “We’ll need to not tell the kids or they’ll want to spy on us.”

“Obviously. What day works for you?”

“Wednesday?”

“We both tell them it’s a late night at the offices, start without us,” Clark says, grinning.

“I can’t wait.”

The date goes quite well. The kids are very sad to have missed it, although they make sure everyone knows that they were the ones who set the two up in the first place.

“You have to say it in your wedding vows,” Dick says. “I was the one who planned it.”

“I was the one who pushed my chair!” Tim yells.

Cass rolls her eyes, shares a look with Duke.

Bruce shakes his head.

“You are not getting credit for Clark asking me to go on dates with him, Dick. You get credit for not unloading the dishwasher this morning, however.”

“Ugh.”

Damian snickers from his position on the couch, and gets a flowering look from his older sibling.

“Where’s your date tonight?” Duke asks his dad. “Going somewhere special?”

“Maybe,” Bruce answers. “It’s Clark’s turn to choose. I never know with him.”

(He knows. They’re going to a farmer’s market. Barbara Gordon also knows this and has told Jason, who finds it hilarious that his dad, who usually is very Stern and Serious will be pulled into conversation on different strains of heirloom tomatoes.)

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idreamofplaid · 4 years

Text

Fallen - Chapter 2

Summary: Sam thought he had found happiness, but now his past is back to haunt him. Lucifer has claimed the throne of heaven, and it is his intention that Sam should finally fulfill his destiny as King of Hell.

Characters: Sam x Reader; Dean; Ruby

Word Count: 2621

Warnings: Non Con; Heavy Angst

A/N: This is a series I started some time ago. It has become the first in a project I’ve taken on that I’m calling “Finish the Series”. Each chapter of this one is based on a song. The song for Chapter 2 is “Hallelujah” by Rufus Wainwright.

I’ve heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord

Reader’s POV

The pain you felt was sharp and stunning in its intensity. In this moment, the love you felt for Sam was tearing you apart. You put your hand over your still unchanged stomach and thought about the baby there, the baby you couldn’t feel yet but already loved. You carried a child that, for now, was yours alone.

You moved your fingers lightly over your abdomen trying hard to process what you had just seen. Could you ever forget how Sam looked with another woman’s hand down the front of his pants? Could you forget how he reacted to what she was doing to him?

A wave of nausea came over you; you sat down, leaned your back against a tree, and hoped it would pass.

Well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift

Dean had been silent since Sam and Ruby first emerged from the barn. He had been so quiet, crouched next to you in your hiding place, you’d almost forgotten he was there until he held your hair back from your face when you got sick. It was a few minutes before you sat back against the tree again. Dean pulled a black and white bandana from his back pocket and handed it to you. It felt soft and worn in your hand as you gingerly blotted your mouth with it. When you were done, Dean reached in another pocket and pulled out a wrapped peppermint. He held it out to you.

The plastic crinkled in your fingers when you took the little piece of candy. “Do you always carry these?”

“No. Mint settles your stomach. Thought it might help. Your morning sickness has been pretty bad.”

You opened the mint and slipped it into your mouth. The clean sweetness of the candy was welcome on your tongue. “How do you know what mint does, Dean?”

“Researching ingredients for spells, you learn a lot of things.” Dean worked his bottom lip. “Y/N, I know that looked bad. Really bad.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck. “He just... he wouldn’t turn his back on you. I know it. Sam wouldn’t do that.”

Your eyes glazed over, and your voice came out weak and broken; the sound of the wind blowing through the trees almost drowned out your words. “He did it to you. Because of her.”

Dean covered your hand with his. “That’s different, Y/N. Listen to me. Sam is in love with you. Forever kind of love. I don’t know what that was, but it damn sure wasn’t what it looked like. Sam’s stronger now than he was before. And smarter. There’s nothing she could do to make Sam forget you. Not a damn thing.”

“I wish I could believe that, Dean. Addiction makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do.” You stared hard at the empty candy wrapper in your hand. “I know I threw a fit to come with you, but I don’t want to go in there. I can’t. I can’t see what’s in there.”

Dean let go of your hand. He looked at you, and then dropped his eyes quickly from yours. When he looked back at you, his expression was steady and determined. “I’m going in there to get Sam, and I’m going to kill that bitch...again. So dead, she’s going to stay that way.”

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Sam’s POV

I wanted Ruby to just stop talking. For the past three weeks, she’d gone on and on about me taking over the reins of hell as the new king and how strong I’d be. Every time she talked about me taking over the throne, it was accompanied by her pawing all over me and pumping me full of more demon blood. Her hands on me brought back all kinds of memories I’d kept buried so deep they couldn’t hurt me. I didn’t know if I could deal with them if I let them come to the surface.

I couldn’t push them aside now. The guilt was the worst. I’d started the apocalypse because I believed her lies. I’d needed her. Not out of choice, but because there wasn’t anything else. Everything is different now, but my body doesn’t know that. I got hard, and she loved it. She enjoyed the fact I couldn’t control it, couldn’t stop it from happening.

She was grinding on me now. “Sam, you’re everything I remember, only better. Aren’t you ready to show me just how much better?”

She closed her hand around my cock and started to stroke. There was evil in her eyes. I should have seen it before. Her hand got faster, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I wasn’t going to come. That, I could control. I refused to give her the satisfaction.

Her hand was pistoning on me, and her expression was filled with malice. She was going to try to wring the orgasm out of me. “You can’t fight me forever, Sam. You are going to give in. This is what you’re meant for.” I clenched my teeth hard. “I won’t let my Lord down, Sam. I will make you into who he wants you to be. I will deliver you to Lucifer strong, ruthless, and ready to be a king.”

I felt a resolution inside me sharper than any I’d felt before. “I’ll never be who you want me to be. Don’t you get it? This isn’t me. The part of me that matters is still in that bunker with Y/N. And you can never have it.”

Ruby’s eyes flashed fury before they went black. “That’s it, Sam. I’m done playing nice.” She flung my still hard dick out of her hand, grabbed a syringe filled with demon blood, jabbed it into my arm, and pushed the plunger down.

I thought I had won, but she pushed my open jeans down my hips. My erection was standing out over the top of my boxer briefs. “You’d better start fucking me, Sam, unless you want to find out all the fun things I can use to fuck that little slut of yours.”

I closed my eyes against the battle raging inside me. Your face was stuck in my head, smiling and beautiful the way I remembered. I reached out and grabbed her waist with my hands. Then I let them fall. I couldn’t do it. She wrapped her hand around the base of my dick and squeezed while she rolled my balls in her other hand. I was so hard it hurt. “No. Don’t.”

“Is that your final answer, Sam?”

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I kept my eyes closed. I wasn’t going to look at her. Any second now, she was going to sink down on me. I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m so sorry. “Sammy!”

My eyes flew open. “Dean!?”

Dean was pointing a gun at her, his eyes full of rage. “Make one more move on my brother, you hell whore, and I’ll change my mind about killing you fast.”

Dean had been carving devil’s traps into bullets again. He took one shot at Ruby, and she fell to the floor immobilized. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was Dean sinking the demon blade into her.

Your faith was strong, but you needed proof

Reader’s POV

When you walked into Sam’s room, he was sitting on the side of his bed. His shoulders were slumped, and his forearms were propped on his legs. He sat up when he saw you. His expression was strained and his eyes looked tired. You knew his back between his shoulder blades was filled with knots. You’d loosened them up so many times after a hunt, massaging and rubbing your hands over all the tight places until he melted beneath your touch.

The urge to go to him was strong, but the uncertainty was stronger. Dean had explained to you that Sam wouldn’t start withdrawal from the blood for another few hours, but that wasn’t what scared you the most. Sam started to smile when he saw you, then stopped. He bowed his head, and you watched his hair fall over his cheek.

Sam’s voice was quiet. “Will you come closer?” He looked back at you, and you took a deep breath as you searched his eyes. “I won’t touch you. I just...don’t want...to forget how you smell.” He dropped his head again.

You could feel tears stinging the back of your eyes. You took three steps toward him and stopped. “Sam, I...I don’t know who you are.”

He lifted his head. As he talked, tears filled his eyes. “I won’t hurt you, Y/N. I would never hurt you.”

Tears ran down your cheeks. “You did, Sam. I saw you with her, outside the barn. I saw what she did.”

Sam started shaking his head. He was crying now too. “I was faithful to you, Y/N. She wanted me to cheat; she tried to make me cheat, but I didn’t. I let her do that because she threatened you, and I had to keep you safe.”

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you

You closed the distance between you and stood before him. You brushed the hair back from his face, and Sam looked up at you, tears still in his eyes. “Please believe me, Y/N.”

You’d picked up the habit of wearing layers from Sam and Dean. You slipped out of your over shirt and held it out to Sam. He took it from you, tightening his fingers around it. “I love you, Sam, but until you’re sober; I don’t know what’s true.”

You backed out of the room. Sam watched every step. As soon as the door closed behind you, you collapsed against it.

She tied you to a kitchen chair, she broke your throne, and she cut your hair

It had been going on for two days. You hovered outside the door listening to Sam calling your name. He didn’t sound mad, just alone and in pain. Dean had been careful to put Sam in a room far away from yours while he detoxed, but no distance between you could stop you from hearing Sam’s voice in your head.

You were outside the room now, on the floor with your back against the wall, listening to Sam’s cries. Dean came walking down the hall carrying a bottle of Gatorade and a straw. He stopped when he got to where you were sitting. “You okay?”

“Dean, how long is he gonna be like this?” You could hear Sam moaning on the other side of the door. Dean contemplated the bottle in his hand pulling his bottom lip into his mouth and dragging his teeth across it as he released it. “I can’t take much more, Dean.”

Dean gentled his voice. “He doesn’t have as much blood in him as last time. If.... I don’t know, Y/N. I just don’t know.”

Baby, I’ve been here before; I’ve seen this room, and I’ve this floor

Sam’s POV

My mouth was dry and another cramp was twisting through my stomach. My hands were shaking, but I held onto the shirt you gave me. I pressed it against my face and breathed in. It smelled like vanilla and some kind of flower. You. “Y/N. Y/N!” You wouldn’t hear me. If you could, I’d tell you how sorry I am and beg you to forgive me. I’m a junkie again. Regardless of why I did it, it got me here. Without you. I closed my eyes and curled into a ball holding onto all of you I had, your shirt and my memories.

Love is not a victory march; it’s a cold, and it’s a broken hallelujah

Two Months Earlier

I was pulling at your bottom lip, kissing you, wanting you. The taste of you and the sweet sounds you were making filled me up with wanting you. I pushed my tongue deeper into your mouth; you moved under me, and I felt myself get harder. Your skin against mine was warm, soft. Touching you filled me with the promise and the hope that we’d have this always.

You lifted your hips, and I knew you were ready. I pushed into you a little at a time. Your muscles tightened around me, and my breath caught in my throat. You gave yourself to me, and I lost myself in you. I came that night whispering, “I love you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I opened my eyes to stare at a brick wall in a room that wasn’t mine, in a bed you’d never been in. Your shirt was still in my hands. I brought it to my nose, smelled it again, and closed my eyes willing my dream to be real again.

The Holy Dove was moving too, and every breath we drew was hallelujah

Reader’s POV

You sat in the middle of the bed in Sam’s room with the blankets wrapped around you making a cocoon that was a feeble attempt to block out reality. This room was where you’d known your greatest joy. It was the place where you and Sam had slept in each other’s arms, where you had woken up to his smile, and where he’d first told you he loved you. It was where you had conceived your child.

You ran your hand over his pillow, remembering. It wasn’t hard to picture him there, golden skin against the white sheets. It wasn’t hard to remember the sound of his breathing, steady and peaceful. You saw his hazel eyes every time you closed your own.

A knock at the door pulled you out of your thoughts. You clutched the blankets to your chest, bracing yourself for whatever was about to happen. “Come in.”

Maybe there’s a god above

Dean looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Maybe he hadn’t. “Y/N, I think you should see Sam. He’s too weak now to do anything that could hurt you. We might be losing him.”

“No, Dean, no.” You shook your head, held onto the blankets, and the tears came again.

It’s not a cry you hear at night...it’s a cold, and it’s a broken hallelujah

Nothing could have prepared you for how Sam looked. Helpless wasn’t a word you would have ever used to describe Sam, but that’s how he looked now. You sat down next to him and gently pushed his damp hair off his forehead. His skin was hot to the touch. The fever had made him almost non responsive.

“Y/N?” Sam tried to raise his hand; it fell back down on the bed.

You took his hand in yours. “I’m here, Sam. I’m here.” You stroked your thumb across his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. “Dean, he needs new clothes. Bring me some. Second drawer in his chest on the right side. And bring some water and a washcloth.”

It didn’t take Dean long to return with the things you’d asked for. He helped you undress Sam so you could bathe him. The only sound Sam made was a soft whimper. When he was dressed in fresh clothes, Dean left you alone with him.

You took Sam’s hand in yours again. “Sam, please hear me. Come back to me. I love you, and I need you. We’re going to have a baby, Sam.” You raised his hand to your lips and kissed it. “Come back to us.” You put his hand down by his side, and brushed his hair back from his forehead. One of your tears landed on his cheek. “Sam?”

Everything Forever: @gambitwinchester @princessmisery666 @onethirstyunicorn @peridottea91 @logical-princey @emilyshurley @beenlovingromansincedayoneish @fangirlxwritesx67 @waywardbaby @atc74 @ledzeppelinsbonzo @shaniquacynthia @mariekoukie6661 @tumbler-tidbits @67-chevy-baby @fandom-princess-forevermore @terrarium-jpeg @emoryhemsworth @hella-aj-the-tricksters-son @crashdevlin @heycasbutt @jules-1999 @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @cosicas-cuquis @sammyimpala-67 @queenoftheunderdark @dean-winchesters-bacon @mrs-meghan-winchester @timelordy-fangirl2 @sweetness47 @hobby27 @awesomesusiebstuff @kickingitwithkirk @gh0stgurl @becs-bunker @sandlee44 @supernaturalgrandma @lonewolf471 @sea040561 @dawnie1988 @maddiepants @volleyballer519 @outcastedangel @iknowwheremytowelis @kdfrqqg @lizette50 @daisymoder72 @sorenmarie87 @oldfreakything

Sam/Jared Love: @girl-next-door-writes @stunudo @feelmyroarrrr @theychosefamily @winchesterxfamilybusiness @idabbleincrazy @evansrogerskitten @focusonspn @i-joined-social-media-finally @wingledsam @autumninavonlea @spnxbsessed @durinsbride @deansyahtzee @wendibird @fantasy-shadows @team-free-will-you-idjiot @waywardnerd67 @neii3n @fullmooner @supernatural-took-me-over @julesthequirky

#fallen #sam angst #sam series #sam x reader #pregnant reader #reader insert

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dameronsgalaxygal · 4 years

Text

I’ve Been Waiting For You - Chapter 5: Honey, Honey

series masterlist

Pairing: modern!poe x reader

Warnings: mentions of past abusive relationship, mentions of cancer. FLUFF.

Word Count: 3386

Song Link: Honey, Honey

A/N: I may lag a bit in posting this week, I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow and will most likely be spending the week recovering! I’ll try my best to work on the next chapter though in hopes that it'll distract me from the pain. Don’t forget to listen to the song, per usual! Feedback and comments greatly appreciated, and tag list is open!

Summary: You and Poe go to the beach and Poe talks to you about how he feels.

I’ll pick you up at 11.

That’s so early for just a walk on the beach...

Maybe I have more planned.

You bit your lip to bite back a smile. You thought you would be meeting Poe later in the evening for dinner on the shore and then a walk down the beach, and although you wouldn’t admit it, you were hoping he had planned more. Knowing he had a whole day planned made your stomach flutter.

Is that so?

Maybe

Okay, Dameron. I’ll see you at 11.

You put your phone back in your pocket as you continued to work, organizing books. A group of middle schoolers had come by and basically made a mess of the entire store, leaving books all over the place and putting them on the incorrect shelves. It was your turn to reorganize since Tallie was at the register.

“What are you smiling at?” Leia peeked around the aisle to find you smiling as you dusted off another book, placing it on its appropriate shelf.

You just shook your head, a smile still lingering on your face. “Just thinking”

“About Poe?” She smiled, handing you another book to put away.

Leia could see right through you. She knew how much you liked being around Poe. She would notice your entire face light up every time Poe would visit the store, and she also noticed how much Poe could be himself around you, which was actually quite different from him. He always put on a mask around other girls, but not you. She wouldn’t tell you that, though.

You laughed softly. “Yeah. We have a date tomorrow.”

Leia grinned, “See? I told you that you know what you want.”

With that she walked away, leaving you to continue working with the same smile plastered on your face.

The day of your date, you woke up around 9am to shower and get ready. It was pretty warm outside and hardly a cloud in the sky. You wore a similar outfit to the one you wore to the club a couple weeks ago along with your swimsuit underneath. You weren’t sure if you would go in the water, but you wore it just in case.

Poe texted you around 10:30 as you were still getting ready.

Mornin sunshine. Going to starbucks then i'll head to your place. Whatcha want?

Your date hadn’t even started yet and you were already blushing. The fact that Poe had called you sunshine and was going to pick you up breakfast continued to prove the gentleman he really was. You had no doubt he was so kind, it just took you a few weeks and Leia to knock some sense into you that he was nothing like Kyle.

You don’t have to get me anything!

I know I don’t. But i'm gonna anyway. Quick, i'm next in line.

You chuckled to yourself before responding.

I’ll have a java chip frappe with peppermint :)

Got it. Pick you up soon.

You swore your smile hadn’t left your face since work yesterday.

You finished gathering up your things while you waited for Poe to pick you up. You threw a towel, some sunscreen, a change of clothes, a water bottle and some chapstick in your bag. You looked in your desk drawers for your sunglasses when you came across that matte blue notebook.

Hesitantly, you picked it up. You knew you shouldn’t open it right before going on your date. Your memories of Kyle had already messed up one interaction with Poe, you didn’t want them to mess up another.

The notebook had hundreds of pages full of your emotions towards Kyle. Emotions, feelings and thoughts you had never told anyone before. Thoughts that were holding you back. That kept you holding on to New York.

You heard a honk which let you know that Poe was outside. You grabbed your beach bag and the blue notebook, calling out to Rey and Rose to tell them you were leaving.

As you left, you tossed your notebook into the trash bin that sat right by your front door. You let out a sigh of relief as you got into Poe's car. Good riddance.

“Well hello there.” He chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee before handing your frappuccino. He had beautiful eyes, but boy did he look good wearing sunglasses.

“Hi” You laughed, taking it from him. “Thank you. How much do I owe you?”

“Seriously?” You glanced at him in confusion. “We’re on a date. You don’t owe me anything.” He set his cup in the cupholder and pulled out of the apartment complex.

The fact that you felt nervous was silly. You had been spending a lot of time with Poe since you arrived in Florida. He allowed you to be yourself and he was starting to feel like a best friend. Sure, you would go to lunch or hang out, but it was never labeled as a date like today. Poe was giving you butterflies.

The drive to the beach was comfortable. Poe had put the windows down and turned the radio on, turning it up just enough so that you two could sing karaoke with the music. Your hair flew in front of your face as you looked out the window and you pushed it out of the way, even though it continued the entire ride. Poe frequently glanced over at you as he drove, the corner of his lips turning up to a soft smile.

Thirty minutes later and Poe was pulling into a parking garage right across from Fort Lauderdale beach. “Why didn’t we just go to miami beach?” You asked as you sipped the last of your frappuccino.

He shrugged as he turned off the ignition, smiling at you. “I wanted to try something different.”

You both got out of the car, Poe going to open the trunk to grab what looked like a picnic basket along with a beach umbrella. He handed you another bag that had a blanket, towels, and a change of clothes.

“Making me carry your things, are we?” You teased as he closed the trunk, locking the car.

He smirked and headed out of the parking garage without saying a word. This was going to be a long day, and boy were you excited.

You had eventually found a nice spot on the beach far enough away from the crowds of people, but still close enough so it wasn’t like you had the beach to yourself. You wouldn’t mind if you did, though.

You set down the bags and put up the umbrella while Poe laid out the red and white checkered blanket. You took off your shoes, placing them in your beach bag so they wouldn’t get sand in them.

You sat down beside Poe, his tanned skin gleaming perfectly from the sun directly above the two of you.

“So. What do we have planned today?” You watched him place the picnic basket in his lap and he opened it to reveal a display of foods and drinks.

He began to take out small sandwiches, bags of chips, cups of fruit and cookies. You bit your lip to hold back a smile, the thought that he had put this together by himself made your cheeks heat up.

“Well, I figured we would eat first. Then we could go into the water or tan a bit. Walk the shore. If you aren’t too tired maybe we could watch the sunset.” He handed you a can of soda that you cracked open right away.

You took a sip of your soda before placing it in your lap. “I’m cool with staying to watch the sunset.”

He grinned widely. “Cool.”

You smiled back as he handed you a sandwich.

“Did you make these?” You unwrapped the foil it was covered with before taking a bite.

“Sure did.” He paused as though he felt guilty. “Well, Finn helped me. By helped me I mean that he made them and I wrapped them with foil.”

You covered your mouth as you let out a laugh, trying not to spit out your food.

“Look,” He chuckled, swallowing his bite of the sandwich, “I don’t know how to make sandwiches look...presentable. I wanted them to look nice. Finn has a gift-.”

“In sandwich making?” You took another bite of your sandwich, a smile plastered on your lips.

He rolled his eyes and continued to eat. You admired how Poe was trying so hard. You could care less about how a sandwich looked, especially when you were just having a picnic. But Poe was different. He was going to do everything he could to capture your heart. He was doing a damn good job.

You two talked for what seemed like hours, typical between the two of you. You had only known Poe for about a month and a half, but you felt as though you had known him forever. Even after that incident at the bar and the encounter at the bookstore the next day, you still felt relaxed and comfortable with him. Things weren’t awkward between you two.

About an hour and a half into your conversations, you noticed Poe’s arms starting to redden.

“Did you put sunscreen on?” You asked him concerned. You glared at his bicep, which was only half covered by his t-shirt. You really didn’t know if you were staring at it because it was sunburnt or because it was massive.

He looked at his arms before he swore under his breath, grabbing the sunscreen bottle from his bag.

You let out a small laugh. “That’s gonna leave a wonderful tanline.”

He smirked at you before he pulled off his shirt, tossing it into his bag. You licked your lips unconsciously as you took in the view before you. His chest was toned perfectly and the sun reflected off of it, he looked like a movie star. A silver chain hung from his neck, a ring attached to the end of it.

He ran his hands along his chest and arms to cover himself in sunscreen and you noticed a small tattoo located right above his heart.

“S.B.D?” You asked.

He looked down at the initials carved into his skin before looking back at you. “My mom's initials,” he said, “Shara Bey Dameron”.

Poe had told you about his mom when you went to lunch after you had gotten the job at Solo Reads. You had asked him about his childhood, which brought up the conversation about his parents. His dad had moved away from South Miami after Shara passed. He felt stuck and heartbroken, in need of an escape before it consumed him, a situation similar to yours. Poe decided to stay in Miami to go to flight school and eventually become a commercial airline pilot.

Shara passed away when Poe was eighteen due to breast cancer. From what he had told you, he had been extremely close to her. They nearly seemed inseparable. You weren’t surprised that he had a tattoo in her honor.

“That’s a beautiful name,” you said softly.

“She was a beautiful woman.” He smiled gently at you.

Your eyes shifted from his down to his necklace. He reached up to hold the silver ring between his thumb and index finger, “It was her wedding band. My dad gave it to me after she passed. I didn’t feel like it was doing her justice, so I got the tattoo as well.”

You nodded sadly, looking into your lap. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head, “Let’s not turn this into a pity party. Let’s have some fun. We’re on a date.” He stood up, reaching his hand out for you to take.

You took it and he pulled you up.

“Let’s go in the water.” He smirked.

You pulled your shirt over your head and pulled down your shorts to leave you in your bikini. If you had been with anyone else, you would have been extremely self-conscious. But being around Poe made you feel like yourself. You weren’t as nervous as you had been a week ago. He was making it clear how much he respected you.

He smiled at you in which your cheeks flushed.

“You’re beautiful.”

Your eyes shot up to meet his, your small smile dropping slightly.

“What?” He noticed your demeanor change.

You gulped, “No one has ever called me beautiful before.”

It was true. Kyle was your first boyfriend and he never called you beautiful. He never called you anything, for that matter. Except sexy, and that’s only when he would try to get you in bed. But he would never call you any terms of endearment, nor would he ever make you feel beautiful.

His smile turned to a frown. “Didn’t you have a boyfriend?”

No, no, no. Don’t bring him up. You were able to shrug it off.

He walked toward you, tilting your chin up to look at him. “Well I’ll tell you a million times. You are beautiful.”

You softly smiled. “Thank you.”

You were falling faster than you would have liked to.

Poe smiled back at you before scooping you up and throwing you over his shoulder, a small scream leaving your lips.

“Poe Dameron, put me down!” You laughed. He was careful. If you really wanted to be put down, he would put you down. He didn’t want to mess up again. But he could tell in your tone that you were being playful.

“No, thanks.” He ran down the sand into the water before setting you down.

You yelped at the change in temperature, the cold waves crashing on your legs.

Poe splashed you, causing you to gasp. You shot him a glare, your jaw hanging open slightly, before you splashed him back. “It’s on”.

You and Poe continued to splash each other as if you were a couple of kids until Poe pulled you to him, wrapping his arms around your waist. You were unsure where to place your hands, but you eventually sat them on his biceps, which he purposefully flexed.

He sighed, his goofy smile turning more serious. “I know you said you just got out of a relationship, and that you couldn’t do this right now, but I like you a lot. I feel like I have known you my entire life. You’re so easy to talk to. You laugh at my jokes, which by the way are terrible, so thank you for that.”

You laughed slightly, looking up at him. You knew where he was going with this, but you already knew your answer. He was making you feel again, something you didn’t think that was possible. At least not this fast. You had thrown away your notebook right before you left this morning. You were ready to completely start fresh. That wasn’t to say that you weren’t still hurt, and some things would be extremely sensitive, but you wanted to try this with Poe. Just like Leia said, you know what you want.

“You’re beautiful, funny, sassy,” You blushed and smiled, running your hands up and down his arms. “I know this is only our first date but, I’d like to make you my girlfriend. It doesn’t have to be today, or even tomorrow. But I want you to know that I’ll give you all the time you need.”

He was willing to wait for you.

“Poe.”

“And I don’t know what you went through in New York, but I would never, ever, hurt you.”

“Poe I-” You tried cutting him off.

“Yes, I know. Since I’m a pilot I am gone a lot, but I would never-” You cut him off by placing your lips on top of his. The kiss was soft, different from the kisses you had shared at the club.

He kissed you back and you felt as though you were floating. His lips were soft and warm, heat shooting through your body even though you were still standing in the cold water.

He cupped your cheek, tilting your head slightly to kiss you deeper. Even though it wasn’t the first kiss you two had shared, it had felt like it.

You pulled away, looking up at him. “I came here to start over. I’m tired of holding myself back. You’ve pulled me out of my shell and I admire you so much for it. I’m not perfect, and I might be a lot to handle sometimes, but if you are up for the challenge, then yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

You didn’t think Poes smile could get any wider, but it did. He picked you up and spun you around, and you giggled hysterically.

He sat you down, placing his forehead on top of yours before pecking your lips. “You’re my girlfriend”

You rolled your eyes playfully, walking out of the water.

He chased you, reaching down to grab your hand as you walked back to the blanket. Not even two minutes into being official and the boy was already smitten.

The rest of the date you spent laughing and exchanging occasional kisses. It had seemed as though Poe had so many he was waiting to give you, and he was giving them to you all at once.

Poe had pulled you into his lap, giving soft kisses to your shoulder and cheek and you would giggle and scrunch your face at the tickling sensation.

“Do you have any more food? I’m kind of hungry.” You asked, looking into the picnic basket.

He removed his lips from your shoulder to glance inside. He reached in to pull out a small bag of grapes, handing them to you.

You opened them and popped a few into your mouth before offering some to Poe. He grabbed one, throwing it at a seagull that was a few feet away from where you two had sat.

“Poe!”

“What? It looked hungry.” He raised his shoulders and pointed at the seagull.

“Yeah well now it’s going to alert its fellow seagull buddies and our date is going to have an audience!” You crawled out of his lap as more seagulls landed near your towel.

“Nope, no, I am walking away” You laughed and stood up, trying to walk away from the birds that were now hovering over Poe.

“They just want some food! Here.” Poe threw some more grapes.

You watched as the seagulls got closer to Poe, who was now standing with slight panic on his face. He started to run away from them in hopes that they would eat the grapes and leave, but they only flew after him. You couldn’t help but laugh so hard you nearly cried, Poe running in circles yelling for you to save him.

The birds eventually gave up and flew away, and Poe ran to you, pulling you into him and burying his head in your neck. “They almost killed me”

“You are so overdramatic,” You laughed, pushing him off you gently. “You ready for that walk now?”

He nodded, brushing his hair out of his face. “It’s getting a little chilly, I’m going to change and then we can take our walk down the shore and watch the sunset. It will be very romantic.” He winked.

You giggled again, walking to your bag to grab your clothes. You changed into some sweats and a hoodie, and Poe did the same.

“Ready?” Poe asked, reaching his hand out for you.

You nodded, taking it and intertwining your fingers as you walked along the shore. The water barely caressed your feet as you walked and talked, sharing pecks on the lips every now and then until Poe stopped walking, pulling you to his chest and placing a small kiss on the crown of your head. You rested your head on his chest and let out a tiny sigh.

You were feeling excited, but a part of you was upset with yourself for allowing you to get attached to someone so quickly, let alone hop into another relationship after just getting out of an abusive long-term relationship. You couldn’t help but worry you would end up hurt again, but for now you stood in the arms of Poe, his head on top of yours as you watched a mixture of reds and oranges paint the sky as the sun faded behind the sea.

taglist <open> @twomoonstwosuns @darksideofclarke @damnyoudameron @rewritingstarrs @aidela @softly-sad @fanfiction-trashpile @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol @lanatheawesome @fantasticcopeaglepasta @the-cry-of-youth @yeeintensifies @itsamedeemoney @yougottakeeponkeepinon @cloud-leader @multifandomlife22 @aroseamongthestars

#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron fanfiction #poe x reader #I've been waiting for you poe #modern poe #poe dameron #poe dameron x y/n #poe series

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flowerfan2 · 4 years

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Gray Skies - Epilogue (now complete)

McDanno, 13k, A03 Read from the beginning here

Hi all! Apologies for taking so long to finish this - in my head it was done, but a conversation on the H50 writer’s discord about WIPs reminded me that I had meant to give it an epilogue. So here it is - hope you enjoy it!

Summary: What if Danny misses work because some days, he just can’t manage to come in? What if Danny didn’t move into Steve’s house just because he was worried about Steve, but also about himself? Living with depression doesn’t have to mean living without love.

Epilogue

Six months later

Steve’s in the kitchen, having a philosophical debate with himself over whether trying to find pineapple flavored coffee to tease Danny with is worth the effort, when the man himself comes into the room.

Danny’s looking kind of rough, hair tousled and unshaven. He clearly hasn’t showered yet. Steve’s heart squeezes a little, and he moves towards Danny, arms opening to catch him in a hug.

“Nuh-uh, none of that,” Danny says, stepping back and shaking his head. “I’m fine.”

Steve stops in his tracks. He’s surprised, to say the least. Since when has Danny not wanted a morning hug?

“I didn’t say you weren’t fine,” he responds carefully, searching Danny’s face for a clue to his mood.

“But you assumed.”

Danny’s clearly annoyed, even upset, and Steve can’t fathom why. “No, I just wanted to-”

“Don’t lie. You took one look at me,” Danny waves his hand up and down his rather unkempt self, “and you decided I needed help. Next thing you know you’ll be offering to put on some music and bring me peppermint tea, or build a pillow fort, or give me a back rub.”

“And those are bad things? I was under the impression that you liked it when I did nice things for you.” Now Steve is getting annoyed too. “What’s got into you this morning?”

“Nothing,” Danny says, a little too loudly. “Absolutely nothing. It is an absolutely normal morning.”

“Then why are you acting like this?” Steve can feel his voice rising to meet Danny’s.

“Like what? I haven’t done anything unusual. It’s you who’s being weird – why aren’t you out on a run, huh? Or swimming around the island, or practicing for a decathlon?”

“Oh, that’s mature. And I already went for a run, as you would know if you were having a reasonable conversation with me instead of-”

“So it’s my fault for not being reasonable? Forgive me, I should have gotten up earlier, been prepared to quiz you on your morning activities. Sorry I’m not a mind reader.” Danny scrubs a hand over his face. “Shouldn’t have bothered to get up at all, if I can’t do it right.”

Steve doesn’t understand how this has gotten so out of hand. “Danny, please, tell me what’s going on?”

“For god’s sake, Steve, can’t a person just want to have a lazy morning for once, without his partner jumping all over him to fix everything?”

Steve bites back his immediate reaction, which is to argue some more, and point out that maybe a person who wanted a lazy morning shouldn’t have started it by picking a fight as expertly as Danny just did. But maybe something he’s learned in therapy is actually sticking, because he takes a deep breath instead.

Danny’s hands are tightening into fists as he watches Steve, and he can tell Danny is about to blow. But then, remarkably, Danny takes a deep breath too, and removes himself from the kitchen.

Steve follows him – slowly, respectfully, not like he’s running after Danny to keep arguing, definitely not – and finds Danny staring out at the lanai.

“It’s raining pretty hard,” Steve says. He’s not changing the subject so much as giving them both a chance to regroup, and Danny knows it, squeezing his eyes together hard and taking another deep breath before answering.

“Yeah. Good for the plants, though.”

“Yeah. It’s been dry.”

“Yeah.”

Steve lets another long moment pass, watching Danny’s shoulders relax and his fists unclench. “If I come over there and give you a hug, ‘cause I like you a lot and for no other reason, are you gonna snap at me again?” Steve asks calmly.

“Asshole,” Danny mutters. “Come here.”

Steve wraps his arms around Danny from behind, and Danny leans back against him. They both stare out at the downpour for a few minutes. Steve loves the way he can feel Danny breathing, how he can match his inhales and exhales if he tries.

He presses his nose into Danny’s shoulder, rubs his cheek against the soft t-shirt Danny wears to sleep in, and Danny tilts his head to rest it on Steve’s.

Sometimes Steve wants to worm his way right under Danny’s skin, line them up together and fuse them tight with no space between them. Maybe then he’d understand better what makes Danny tick, when to push and when to give him space. Thing is, Steve hardly ever wants space from Danny anymore, and he thinks Danny feels the same. They’re getting better at this, lifting each other up without either of them faltering as a result, but it takes practice.

“You went for a run in the rain?” Danny asks, as a burst of lightening races across the sky. His voice holds nothing of the accusatory tone from just a few minutes ago, he’s just asking.

“It wasn’t raining as hard before,” Steve says.

“You’re kind of crazy.”

“I know.”

They fall silent again, but it’s more comfortable now. Steve nuzzles against the side of Danny’s head, where his hair is buzzed short, and Danny hums contentedly.

“I don’t feel depressed,” Danny says.

Steve gets that he’s circling back to their earlier conversation, although he’s not sure yet where it’s going. “Okay,” Steve says carefully.

“No, I mean it.” Danny turns in Steve’s arms, gives him a quick peck in the vicinity of his chin, and then steps away, walking over to the couch and flopping down. “I’m okay. I’m so much better than I was, you see that, right?”

“I do,” Steve says, and he means it. They’ve been going to therapy, and are each on slightly different meds, and he thinks it has helped both of them. Sure, there are good days and bad days, and Steve’s nightmares have proved difficult to shake, but overall they’re in a much better place than they were six months ago when Danny finally pushed them to get professional help.

“But I woke up this morning,” Danny continues, “and I just felt, I don’t know, bleh.”

“Bleh?” Steve asks, letting a hint of humor color his tone, and Danny smirks.

“Yeah. Bleh.”

“Okay.”

“Do you get it, though? Not hopeless, not as if I couldn’t bother to get up. Not like there wasn’t any reason I could think of to even move. Just bleh.”

Steve comes over to the couch and sits down next to Danny, twisting so he can see his face. “That’s good, right?”

Danny snorts. “Yeah, I thought so. But then I came downstairs and you looked at me with that concerned face and…”

“You felt like I wasn’t seeing your success.”

Danny sighs and gazes away. “I don’t like the idea that I’m always going to be sick, to you. Someone who needs help. I don’t like feeling weak.”

Steve slides a little closer to Danny and bumps their knees together. “One, you’re not, and I could tell you about a hundred reasons why, although you know them already. And two, I could say the same thing about me.”

Danny looks at him now, his nose wrinkling. “I know. But why do I still worry about it?”

Steve shrugs. “Guess we’re just going to have to be patient.”

Danny laughs half-heartedly and pokes a finger into Steve’s chest. “Ha. Good one. You, patient? We’re doomed.”

“As long as we’re doomed together, we can handle it.” Steve leans his shoulder against Danny and Danny leans back, his hand reaching for Steve’s.

“We’ve been doomed together before.”

“Multiple times,” Steve agrees.

“Remember when we dropped that nuke into the ocean from Kamekona’s helicopter?”

“Not sure I could forget that, Danny.” Steve would love to forget it, it was terrifying, but there’s no chance. “We still made it back in time for Kono’s wedding, though.”

“That we did.” Danny picks up his hand that’s holding Steve’s, and plays with his fingers. Steve watches him, his heart stuttering as Danny brings his hand up to his mouth for a kiss, and then lets out a long sigh.

“You know,” Steve starts out slowly, “I really did intend to have a lazy day today, too. I cut my workout short and everything.”

Danny rolls his eyes at Steve. “You did? What does that even mean? Only two hundred push-ups?”

Steve glances over at the window as another burst of lightning streaks through the clouds. “Thought I’d put on some Norah Jones and make something decadent with bacon. Maybe eat it in a pillow fort.” Steve raises an eyebrow at Danny. “Rainy days are good for pillow forts.”

“Using my words against me,” Danny groans. “I’m gonna kill you.”

“I was thinking about back rubs, too…”

Danny opens his mouth, then closes it again. “If back rubs are a euphemism for something else, I may regret rejecting them as a potential activity for today.”

“Maybe yes, maybe no. Does that mean you’ll reconsider?”

Danny lets a smile dance across his face, then stifles it in mock exasperation. “But no peppermint tea. A guy’s gotta draw the line somewhere.”

Steve beams, and pounces on Danny, who flops back on the couch and grins at him as Steve covers his body with his own. Danny reaches for Steve’s head and pulls him down into a blistering kiss that is entirely out of synch with the whole lazy day aesthetic.

“Sex now, lazy day and pillow forts later?” Steve asks when Danny lets him come up for air.

“Sounds like a plan,” Danny replies, one hand sliding down to give Steve’s butt a squeeze, grinding them both together.

“That’s why I love you so much,” Steve says between kisses, “you have the best plans.”

Danny laughs against Steve’s skin, sending shivers down his spine, and there’s the Danny he knows again, sunshine bright and heart open. “Love you too, babe, love you too.”

#H50 #mcdanno #Hawaii Five-O #H50 fic #Steve McGarrett #Danny Williams

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etraytin · 3 years

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Quarantine, Days 296-298

January 2-4 It is the night of the first day back to school and I have made the discovery that Husband can somehow hear my computer at 10% volume in another room through a closed door, so that is not wonderful. I am not feeling gracious about it, but I try to not be too much of an asshole when people are trying to sleep, so no more video or audio for me tonight, alas. But it does mean that I'm updating this journal, so I guess that is something? We have gotten out to do some shopping this past couple of days, because we were good for weeks based on the promise that we would do a little careful shopping after New Year. MIL and I went to William Sonoma and Soma and Talbot's because they were all next to each other in a great little upscale strip mall. They were almost empty, so that was nice. We got some new sweaters and a giant thing of peppermint bark, and arranged for knife sharpening, and I got a new bra. Well, ordered a new bra, because Soma did not have my size in the style I wanted. It turns out that Soma (a women's intimates store that is very unlike Victoria's Secret style stores in that it sells stuff you would actually want to wear) is using a touchless measuring system now. Instead of wrapping the tape measure around your boobs and abdomen and dividing by some arcane formula to get cup and size, now they give you an iddy-widdy sports bra with a battery pack on the back and sensors run through it and tell you to put it on over your bra. She handed me that thing and I, who am a sizable woman with an at-least proportionate kitten holding shelf, gave her a look that said I thought she was being way too optimistic. The lady insisted though, and by nearly dislocating both arms and discomfiting myself greatly, I did stuff myself into the thing. It got my correct measurements, as far as I can tell, but afterwards I didn't really feel like trying on bras. I just ordered a new copy of the one I already had. Anyway, we did that and then today we really took a wade into deep water and went to Target. Kiddo was desperately in need of pants that fit, and he is too old for the Oshkosh store. Plus the outlet mall would probably be even worse, because it is always crowded and the place is open air, which almost certainly means a bunch of plague rats not wearing masks "outside." At least in Target, we only saw one unmasked adult. Target's fitting rooms are still closed, so kiddo got three new pairs of pants in slightly different sizes, and my sister will help me get a hookup on whatever size works best for additional pants. He also got swim trunks, a new raincoat, a jacket-sweater, and a few new shirts, so he is very set! Nana is very good to him, and is where nearly all his new-new clothes come from. Luckily he is a guy comfortable with thrift store finds as well. On the way out, we even stopped by the Starbucks for frappucinos to drink in the car. We debated stopping by our favorite kitchen store, practically next door, but decided we'd pushed our luck enough. Shopping! So those were our big expeditions. Otherwise we have been staying pretty close to home for our last week here. trying to get things set up for MIL. I've looked up roofing companies for her and I'm trying to help straighten out the last financial stuff from summer. I tried to call an investment company today, first business day of the new year, which was a huge mistake. They are supposed to call me back first thing in the morning, after about an hour in total on hold. (And this was _after_ I did the whole callback number thing!) I am still trying to convince her to get a Life Alert style medical alert system, but it's not going well. She thinks her Apple Watch is enough, even though last time she fell, she wasn't even wearing the damn thing. I have even told her the story about my grandfather, who fell in his basement and fucking lay there for a whole night and didn't make it, a story I can barely stand to think about, much less tell, and it's not getting through. I just don't understand. Anyway, I have been keeping myself entertained here by watching Twitch streams and re-reading old stories from the gaming group I've belonged to for the past twelve years now. It's kind of funny because I realized that my first character for the site, who was a high schooler when I started playing her, will be thirty next year. (The game moves in real time, more or less.) I don't play her much anymore, but it's still pretty remarkable. It makes me want to start playing more than I have been lately, but the problem is that I need to come up with ideas for the characters I have now, not just revisit the ones I had then. I have also learned this past couple months that Twitch has a lot more on it than just gaming streams, so I've been listening to live music shows, watching comedy streams, and yes, even taking in some gaming. It's pretty cool. Tomorrow is grocery day and we are still not braving Walmart, so it's another pickup order! I came very, very close to forgetting to submit the big actual grocery list to supplement the tiny list I used to secure our time slot, and that would've been very bad. As it is, tomorrow afternoon is food day! It's the most wonderful time of the week.

#quarantine #tw: death #shopping #twitch

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heauxplesslydevoted · 4 years

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‘Tis The Season

So I’ve had this sitting in my google docs since December 1st. I thought it was time to get my life in order and post something now that the semester is done beating my ass.

Summary: Ethan and Naomi get ready to celebrate their first Christmas together

Warnings: Rated M. Things get a little steamy, but nothing explicit. It’s mostly fluff.

Tags: @drakewalker04 @canknot @lapisreviewsstuff @akacalliope @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @x-kyne-x @paulfwesley @ramseyandrys @choicesobsessedd @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @sparklinglilac @cream-ray @perriewinklenerdie @barricades-of-fandom @dr-brianna-casey-valentine @doroshi-desu @aworldoffandoms

After a long day of work, there’s nothing Ethan wants more than a drink, a hot shower to knock the December chill out of his body, and to settle into bed with his girlfriend.

But when he crosses the threshold to his condo, he’s met with Eartha Kitt’s version of Santa Baby and the smell of peppermint and pine. Jenner doesn’t greet him at the door like he usually does, and he finds the golden retriever in the living room, chewing on a new toy.

His eyes sweep across the room, noticing it for the first time. There’s a bare Christmas tree in the corner, surrounded by tons of shopping bags. “What on earth is going on here?” Jenner looks up at his owner and trots over, dropping his toy at Ethan’s feet. Ethan bends down and scratches him behind the ears.“Hi boy. What’s this? Did you get a new toy?” Jenner barks excitedly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

It’s uncharacteristically quiet in the apartment. And usually his girlfriend would’ve come out to greet him by now, if she made it home before him. “Where’s Naomi?”

Jenner turns and starts walking towards Ethan and Naomi’s bedroom. Ethan follows him. They end up in the bedroom, where Ethan finds Naomi, wearing a bright red onesie.

“Rookie, what are you doing?”

Naomi looks up and sees Ethan. She jumps out of the bed and rushes to him. “Ethan, you’re home! Finally.”

“Does this have anything to do with why our apartment looks like the North Pole?”

“Maybe.” Naomi kisses Ethan’s cheek before taking his hand and leading him back to the living room. “We’re only 9 days away from Christmas, single digit territory, and since I’m staying in Boston instead of going home for the holiday, I thought this place could use a little Christmas cheer. So I went a little crazy at Target.”

Ethan chuckles at the understatement. “I can tell.”

Naomi eyes Ethan warily. “Are you mad?”

“What?”

“I know I didn’t talk to you about any of this, but I just thought it’d be nice. It’s our first holiday as a couple who’s living together and I wanted it to be a special occasion.”

“I’m not mad,” Ethan says. “A little surprised though. It was a shock to walk in on all of this.”

“Really?” Relief floods Naomi’s features and she smiles brightly.

“Really. It’s your home too, you should feel comfortable decorating it.”

“So does that mean you’ll help me decorate?”

The last thing Ethan wants to do is decorate a Christmas tree, but the smile on Naomi’s face is all it takes for him to cave. He’ll do anything to make her happy, even if it means putting up decorations. He sighs. “Just give me 30 minutes to shower and change, okay?”

“Deal.”

~~V~~~

“I don’t know how I’m the one who got suckered into decorating the tree,” Ethan grumbles lightheartedly. Naomi is in the kitchen and he’s untangling Christmas lights. “This was supposed to be a team effort.”

“I’ll be back there in a second!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

“I will!”

Ethan turns his attention back to the tree. It was fake, but Naomi still managed to get a good one. It was pretty tall–standing at about 7 feet–and it was full. Part of him wishes she would’ve gotten a pre-lit tree so he wouldn’t be stuck untangling lights. After successfully untangling them all and draping them over the tree, Ethan is ready to move on to the next step.

“Where are all of the ornaments?”

“In the bag on the couch.”

Ethan walks over to the bag and rummages through it. Naomi’s aesthetic is perfectly clear, all the ornaments either red, gold, or green. There are also a few gold and red bows.

Before Ethan can tear into the first box of ornaments, Naomi enters the living room, holding two large mugs. “Voila! Naomi Valentine’s world famous hot chocolate.”

Ethan takes a mug. “World famous, huh?”

“Yup. Go on, take a sip.”

Ethan eyes the mug before taking a cautious sip. The familiar sting of alcohol and...mint burns his throat and he coughs. “Why didn’t you tell me this was alcoholic?”

“Because it’d ruin the surprise. I mixed in a bit of peppermint vodka.”

“A bit?”

“A lot,” Naomi corrects. “There’s a lot of vodka in these.”

The corner of Ethan’s mouth quirks up into a slight smirk and he takes another sip. He can’t deny that the drink is good, really good. “I can handle it. Good job, Rookie.”

“Ooh, I get Ethan Ramsey’s seal of approval.”

“Just this once.” Taking another quick sip, Ethan places his mug on top of a coaster. “Now let’s finish with this tree, shall we?”

“I have something I want to show you.” Naomi puts her mug down so she can rummage through the bags. After a bit of digging, she pulls out a tiny ornament and gives it to Ethan. It’s a tiny clipboard and prescription pad. “I know it’s kind of cheesy, but I saw it and couldn’t resist. It’s perfect, since we’re both doctors–”

Ethan cuts Naomi off with a quick kiss. “It’s adorable. I like it.”

“I also ordered these a few weeks back.” Naomi hands Ethan another bag, this time full of personalized Christmas stockings. There’s one for both of them and another one for Jenner, his in the shape of a dog bone.

That manages to get a smile out of him. He can already picture Jenner anxiously anticipating whatever treats and toys Naomi is going to fill his stocking with. “You go all out for the holiday, Valentine.”

“It’s the best time of the year. I can’t help but feel excited.”

The couple finishes decorating their tree, telling stories about their day, and the interesting cases that Ethan encountered.

When they’re done with the tree and other decorations — as if Naomi wasn’t going to put lights, garland, and mini figurines on every other surface of the apartment — they take a step back to admire their handiwork.

“I think we did good, Ramsey,” Naomi says as she looks at the tree, the lights bouncing off of the large floor to ceiling windows.

Ethan looks around and nods. His apartment has never been decorated for the holidays before, and while it’s different, it’s a good difference. “I agree.”

“There’s just one more thing.” Naomi scans the floor which is currently littered in bags and boxes. She finds what she’s looking for, a bright red Santa hat and she plops it on her head.

Ethan can’t contain his snort. “You look ridiculous.”

“Okay first of all, I’m freaking adorable. Second, that’s not a nice thing to say to Santa,” Naomi teases.

“Sorry Santa.”

“Sit down,” Naomi urges, a finger poking at Ethan’s shoulder.

Ethan resists the urge to roll his eyes, but he listens anyway and sits down on their couch. Naomi throws herself down dramatically into his lap.

“So tell me young man, what do you want for Christmas?” Naomi asks, leaning fully into their Santa role play.

“If you’re Santa, why are you sitting on my lap?” Ethan shoots back, an eyebrow slightly raised. “Shouldn’t this be the other way around?”

“Santa needs to switch it up every once in a while,” Naomi says with a shrug.

“You’re a dork sometimes.”

“You love it.”

“I love you.”

Naomi doesn’t verbally answer, opting to instead pull Ethan into a kiss. He responds, one hand going to the small of her back. The other hand attempts to grip her thigh, but it’s met with nothing but bright red fleece. He wants to touch her. Why was she wearing this god forsaken one piece?

His hand digs deeper into her skin, almost willing it to break through the clothing and Naomi moans, a throaty noise which he quickly swallows. The hand on her back pulls her in as close as humanly possible and his arousal presses into the back of her thigh.

Naomi whimpers, quickly losing control of the situation. “Ethan…”

Ethan breaks the kiss, only to leave open mouthed kisses along the column of her neck. “I must’ve been excellent this year to be rewarded with a beautiful girlfriend who makes sounds like that.” Frantically, he tugs at the zipper of her pajamas and yanks it aggressively. His throat goes dry when he’s greeted by nothing but her bare chest. “You never have on a bra.”

“Why would I? I was home alone,” Naomi says, feeling the need to defend herself. “It’s a miracle I’m actually this covered up.”

Ethan reaches out to pull the clothes off of his girlfriend but he settles on zipping it down just enough, pushing it off of her shoulders, kissing the newly exposed flesh.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Naomi asks.

“Please do.”

“I don’t have any underwear on either.”

Ethan’s eyes darken and a low growl escapes him. He reaches for the zipper, only for Naomi to grasp his wrist. “What? What’s wrong?”

“You’re not the one in charge here. I still have the Santa hat on,” Naomi says, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint. She repositions herself, swinging a leg over his hip so she can straddle him. “So tell me, Ethan Jonah Ramsey,” she kisses Ethan again, a hand traveling under his shirt, reveling in the warmth of his skin under her fingers, “have you been naughty or nice this year?”

She kisses along his jaw and Ethan momentarily forgets the English language. “N-nice. I’ve been nice.”

“I happen to agree. Good.” Naomi’s lips capture Ethan’s ear and she grazes it between her teeth. He lets out a shaky breath, trying to keep his composure. “Want to know why that’s good?”

“Yes.”

Naomi rolls her hips against Ethan, smirking as his head slightly falls forward at the friction. She does it again and she hears the older man curse under his breath. “Because Santa likes to reward good boys, with lots and lots of treats.”

Before she can move another muscle, she’s flat on her back, Ethan having flipped them over. She falls into the couch cushions with a soft thud.

“What’re you–” Ethan cuts off the question with another searing kiss, stealing the breath out of her lungs. His tongue parts her lips and she quickly grants him entrance, letting him set the tone for the kiss. It’s deep and deliberate and thank god she’s already on her back because her legs feel like Jell-O. He tastes like a candy cane, a consequence of the hot chocolate they consumed.

After pulling away, Ethan plucks the hat off of Naomi’s head and puts it on his own. “I think I’ve had enough of being teased.” His fingers find Naomi’s zipper and drags it down slowly. He watches as she squirms in impatience. “So...Naomi Marie Valentine, have you been naughty or nice?”

A shiver runs down her spine and Naomi doesn’t know if it’s due to the fact that it’s currently 23 degrees in Boston or the bass in Ethan’s voice as he used her full name. “I’ve been a very good girl this year.”

“No,” Ethan argues. He lazily trails a hand from her waist up the smooth expanse of her stomach. He chuckles lightly at how tense she is, trying not to react to his touch.

His large hand skates past her breast, barely grazing her nipple, but it hardens anyway and she arches into his touch, craving more. But the word Ethan just spoke finally permeates her brain and she looks up at him. “No?”

“No,” he repeats firmly. Finally reaching its destination, his hand settles at her throat, giving it a light squeeze. The hungry look Naomi gives him is confirmation enough. “No, I know you, and I think you’re absolutely naughty.”

Naomi takes the hand wrapped around her throat and puts his thumb in her mouth, sucking it before releasing it with a soft pop. “Well I have one question for you, Santa.”

“Ask away.”

“Are you going to punish me in our bedroom or right under the Christmas tree?”

~~V~~

It’s hours later when Ethan and Naomi are finally able to pull away from each other. They’re still in the living room, somehow on the floor instead of on the couch where it all started, a warm blanket thrown over them.

Ethan’s fingers absentmindedly find their way into Naomi’s hair, messing with the soft curls. He’s deep in his actually, only to be pulled out by a loud screech coming from his television. He looks up and sees Will Ferrell running around. “What on earth are we watching, Rookie?”

“Elf!” Naomi cranes her neck to look up at Ethan, who’s just staring back blankly. “Come on, you’ve never seen Elf before?”

“That has to be a rhetorical question.”

“This movie is 16 years old, it might as well be a classic at this point!”

“Never seen it.”

“Gosh, you’re so uncultured.”

“16 years ago, I was still an undergrad. My head was buried in biology and calculus textbooks.”

“It’s one of my favorite Christmas movies. My mom and I watch it together every year. It’s our tradition.”

“Are there any other Valentine family traditions I should know about?”

“We would have a competition every Christmas Eve to see who makes the best gingerbread houses. Naturally, my brother and I win every year because we’re the best. And if we’re hosting the holiday at our house, all of our family comes over, and my mom and aunts get drunk on wine and do karaoke.”

“What kind of music?”

“Mostly Motown.” Naomi laughs at the memory. “They love to sing The Supremes, and they always fight over who gets to do all of Diana Ross’s parts. Then they eventually tire and pass out in the living room. But it’s hilarious, because none of them can hold a note to save their lives. I’m sure I have videos saved on my computer, and if not, my cousins definitely do.”

“I would pay top dollar to see that.”

“What about you? Did the Ramseys have any fun holiday traditions?”

Ethan thinks back to his childhood. He remembers getting a lot of gifts — mostly picked out by his dad’s secretary — but he didn’t have any fond memories, not like Naomi. “No. My sister and I would open up our gifts, then my dad would lock himself in his study and work. Every once in a while my mom would try to get all four of us to do something, maybe go visit my grandparents in Long Island, but nothing special.”

He goes quiet for a long time and Naomi frowns. She didn’t mean to make him feel bad with her line of questions. She knows his relationship with his family is pretty touchy and she wants to kick herself for even opening up the can of worms.

She turns slightly and kisses his chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you didn’t have the best time growing up. I’m sorry if talking about your past brought up some old feelings.”

“I’m fine,” Ethan insists. “I’m just thinking.”

Naomi rolls over fully and props herself up by her elbows. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“This will be the first time I’ve actually celebrated Christmas since I was 18. I usually spend the holiday at the hospital, working. But with you here, I won’t be doing that.”

“We get to start our own traditions. From here on out, we’ll decorate the condo together every year.”

“And as for the post-decorating activities?”

“Only if you’ve been nice,” Naomi quips.

“We’ll see if that’s amendable.”

“Every year, I’ll buy us a new ornament. One that only an inside thing for the two of us. And on Christmas morning, we can have a nice breakfast together, open gifts, and just laze around.”

“That sounds perfect, Rookie.”

Naomi settles back into Ethan’s arms, deeply sated and surprisingly comfortable on their spot on the floor. His heartbeat is steady against her cheek and she feels herself losing the fight against her sleepiness.

But before she falls asleep, she speaks again, “Hey, Ethan?”

“Yes?”

“You never answered my question earlier,” Naomi replies. “What do you want for Christmas?”

Ethan silently mulls over the question. He doesn't really need or want anything, having reached a point where he could buy whatever he wanted, whenever.

He looks down at Naomi, who’s surely dozing off on top of him, despite her insistence on watching this movie. He kisses the top of her head. “Nothing. Everything I want is right here.”

#choices: stories you play #playchoices #choices: open heart #open heart #dr. ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc

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snowdice · 3 years

Text

Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 57]

I’m going to do this and chill for a bit. Then maybe force myself to do my grading later.

Chapter 27

Logan had seen him panic and, while he tugged a bit at the sweater he was wearing, the motion was not particularly fervent, so he was likely just slightly nervous.

Patton had moved over to greet his mother as she wiped her hands off on a rag. She glanced over at Virgil and Logan and Logan saw Virgil shrink back a bit.

“It’s fine, Virgil,” Logan told him, but Virgil didn’t seem to believe him. Luckily, Patton had turned back and seemed to realize something was amiss.

He stepped back over to them. “Hey, honey,” he said. A plate clattered in the kitchen and Virgil just about ripped Logan’s shirt.

Patton frowned sympathetically. “Too loud?”

“Virgil,” Logan said. “You are digging your fingernails into my skin.” Patton shot Logan a glare. “What?”

“How about,” Patton’s mom suggested. Virgil’s fingernails dug more into Logan’s skin. “We go to my office.”

Ms. Heart shot a glance at Logan and Logan felt irrationally like she was trying to read his thoughts. Logan smoothed his features out and turned to follow Patton and Virgil towards her office.

Logan noticed that Ms. Heart did not come far into the room, instead pausing near the door. She did, however close the door to give them privacy, and that seemed to distress Virgil more.

She seemed to contemplate him for a moment. “Hello,” she said, her voice softer than Logan was used to hearing. “You must be Virgil.”

It seemed as though he were willing himself to magically shrink, but he still replied. “Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m Patton’s mom.”

“I know, ma’am.”

“There’s no need to be formal, Virgil.”

He hesitated. “Okay,” he said somehow quieter.

Her eyebrows drew together in concern, and it seemed that she decided to result to her default way of making people more comfortable. “Would you kids like some candy?”

Logan saw Patton’s hand squeeze Virgil’s lightly. “That would be great, Mama.”

“Thanks,” Virgil said to Ms. Heart before placing his piece in his mouth.

He looked at it warily again, but he still stepped closer slowly and took another piece. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Ms. Heart said, eyes looking over him intensely. “You look like you could do to with a few more sweets every so often.”

Virgil tilted his head in that way he did when he was particularly perplexed.

Patton giggled a bit. “She means your skinny.”

“Oh,” Virgil said. “Logan already gave me a malnutrition potion for that.”

“Okay,” she said. “Well, I’m going to have a few more specific questions, but let’s just start with what are your favorite foods?”

“I’ll eat anything,” Virgil replied immediately.

“He really likes chicken alfredo,” Patton contributed.

Virgil perked up at the name of the food. “I did like that,” he agreed.

“Alright,” Ms. Heart replied. That’s a start.

Chapter 28

He could also guess what had happened to illicit such a response. Thomas had caught up to Jeffers Deknis in his garden and they’d spoken at length about Logan and Patton’s new friend.

Thomas had sussed all of that out before the kitchen worker bringing him his dinner had mentioned what had happened that day.

That in mind, he decided to wait until after dinner should have been cleaned up before walking his own dinner leftovers down to the kitchens.

Helen took the tray of leftovers from Thomas herself and shooed the dishwasher out of the way. “I’ll handle the rest myself,” she told the girl. “You can leave.”

“It take it she met Virgil,” Thomas said to Jeff.

“She’s adopted Virgil,” Jeff replied, taking a bite out of a cookie.

“And what of it?” she asked. “Someone obviously needs to feed the boy. Speaking of, you’re grounding your son by the way.”

Thomas took one of the cookies for himself. “Why am I grounding Logan?” he asked.

“He was worried enough about his health to make him a nutrition potion, but still did not bring him to me,” she harrumphed.

“I see,” Thomas replied.

“In Logan’s defense,” Jeff interrupted. “the boy seems rather timid. He may have worried about you scaring him off.”

Helen slapped him with a dishtowel.

“Actually,” Jeff continued. “From what I’ve gathered he didn’t have contact with anyone since the time I saw him a couple of weeks ago until now.”

“I did get that impression, yes,” Helen said, pouring the hot water from the kettle into a tea pot and carrying it and some cups over to the table.

“Where did he come from?” Thomas asked.

“I’m not sure,” Jeff said. “I found him hiding in the garden shed a couple of weeks ago.”

“Did he sneak in?” Thomas asked.

Thomas took a sip. “Earl Grey,” he commented. “I guess I’m not sleeping much tonight.” It was her ‘planning tea.’

“We need a plan,” she said, “but we’re going to have to be gentle.”

“At least with Virgil,” Jeff said.

Thomas laughed lightly, “and what do you plan to do with the other two?”

“I have my ways.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “You say that,” she said, “but you’re too soft. The two of them learned to run circles around you and your powers years ago.”

“We should talk to them though,” Thomas said. “Separately from Virgil.”

Helen took a drink of tea, it seemed to calm herself. “We need to make sure whatever has been happening to him is not happening in these walls,” she said.

Thomas had honestly… not thought about that. He’d assumed whatever made Virgil so skittish was in the past, but it was possible that it was ongoing. The thought made him sick.

“Perhaps you should try to talk to him, Thomas,” Helen suggested.

Thomas winced. “I am not sure that is a good idea...”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have the best track record… I don’t think me being around him would be a good idea.”

“Oh, please, Thomas,” Helen said disbelievingly.

“No, you don’t understand,” Thomas said. “He seems disproportionately afraid of me. I think it’s a mix of me being king and how we met.”

“How did you meet?” Helen asked.

43410

Jeff nodded. “I will try to talk to him a bit more.”

Thomas met Jeff’s eyes. Yeah, it was going to be a long night.

Chapter 29

“Finished?” Logan asked.

“Yeah,” Virgil said.

“Sounds good,” Virgil said. “I don’t care what we do today though.”

“Well, there are a few options,” Logan said.

“What do you want to do?” Virgil asked.

Logan made an expression, and Virgil titled his head. “I’m don’t have anything in particular I want to do,” he said.

“You’re lying,” Virgil said immediately.

“You would not be interested in the activity I wish to partake in,” Logan said.

Virgil squinted at him. “I’d be interested in laying on the ground and staring at the ceiling.”

Logan chuckled. “No, truly. The activity I would do if you were not present would involve reading.”

“You can read to me,” Virgil suggested.

“…In Sanskrit.”

Virgil frowned at him. “Isn’t that, like, some sort of dead language?”

“That’s fine,” Virgil said. “You can do that.”

“It would be in the library,” Logan said.

“Okay.”

“But…” Logan said. “It would in no way be interesting to you.”

Virgil shrugged. “Like I said. I’m content to lie on the floor for a few hours.”

Logan frowned. “I can’t make you do that.”

“You wouldn’t be making me,” Virgil said. “I want to go. Maybe you can find me an easy book I could try to read?”

“Are you certain?” he asked.

Virgil nodded, decisively.

“Very well, get dressed and I will show you the library.”

Virgil stood to do so and a few minutes later, Logan was leading him out of the royal wing.

Both of the guards greeted him kindly, and Virgil hunched his shoulders in a bit, but said a soft “hi.”

The library didn’t end up being too far away. It was through the small dining hall and to the left where the staircase to the kitchen was to the right.

“I’ll look and see if there is something simple for you in case you’d like to read. You can explore a bit if you’d like,” Logan said.

Virgil heard Logan’s footsteps approach from down an aisle. “That’s the Pragilium text,” he said.

“It’s pretty,” Virgil said, looking at the design etched into the cover.

“You can read that?” Virgil asked.

“I can,” Logan said. “Very few people can though.”

“Wow, you’re really smart.”

“Thank you,” Logan said with a smile.

He handed him the book and Virgil took it with a smile. “I’ll try to read it,” he said.

“Well, you have free reign of the library. Feel free to continue to explore and to interrupt me if you need to.”

Virgil had, of course, known flowers grew from seeds, but it was interesting to see things about how the stem would pop out of the seed in the ground and things about the roots growing.

He more looked through the pictures than read it the first time but had flipped back to the front to try to read the words when he heard the library door open.

Virgil perked up in awareness, but then settled when he recognized Patton’s footsteps. Virgil tilted his head to watch as he walk directly to Logan’s hideaway.

“Hi,” he said, gaining Logan’s attention.

“Hello, Patton,” Logan replied. He glanced at the window and must have seen that time had passed because he closed his book and shuffled his papers.

“The guards said you came here,” Patton said, glancing around. “Where’s Virgil?”

Instead of letting Logan answer that question, Virgil pulled himself forward, with the book in one hand and slid off the bookshelf to land lightly on his feet next to Patton.

Patton screamed before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Logan had placed his hand over his heart. “Where on Earth did you come from?” he asked.

Virgil blinked at him and then pointed to the bookshelf he’d been on top of.

“How long were you up there?” Logan asked.

“Pretty much the whole time,” Virgil answered.

“I…” Logan said. “I didn’t even know.”

Virgil squinted at him. “You need to learn to look up.”

Patton giggled.

Virgil turned on him. “You need to learn to case the area.”

“Oh honey, your shirt is all covered in dust,” Patton said instead of responding to his very valid criticism. Virgil frowned. “Let’s get you changed and then go grab some lunch.”

“Lunch?” Virgil asked.

Patton chuckled and grabbed his hand. “Yes, sweetie, lunch. Then garden.”

“Fine,” Virgil said. “But you do need to learn to be more observant.

“Yes, yes, whatever you say,” Patton said.

Logan just rolled his eyes.

Chapter 30

Mr. Deknis looked up as they approached and smiled at them.

“Hello, Mr. Deknis,” Patton said as they came closer.

“Hello you three,” Mr. Deknis said. “Getting into trouble?”

“No,” Virgil said, shaking his head.

Mr. Deknis gave him a flash of a smile. “I know, I’m joking,” he said. “Especially since there isn’t much left in my gardens for certain princes to destroy with experiments.”

“Oh, okay,” Virgil said. He tilted his head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting the last of the acorn squash out,” Mr. Deknis replied. “It’s the last crop to get finished. Good thing too, it’s supposed to start snowing soon.”

Virgil looked down curiously at the dark green squash.

“Would you like to help me pick a couple?” Mr. Deknis asked.

“Sure,” Virgil said, sounding interested. Mr. Deknis patted the ground beside him and Virgil knelt down to watch him.

Mr. Deknis looked up at Patton and Logan. “Would the two of you like to help?” he asked. “I can get some more equipment.”

“I can help out if you want, but you don’t need to stop and get more equipment just for me,” Patton said.

“The same for me,” Logan said.

“Well, if you’d like to help still, you can sort the leave. Give your mother a head start.”

“Sure,” Patton said. He and Logan went to do that while Mr. Deknis and Virgil worked on cutting the squashes from the vine.

“What do you do during the winter?” Virgil asked curiously. “If this is your last crop.”

“Seedlings?” he asked.

“I let seeds start to grow in the greenhouse that I replant once it gets warm enough.”

“Why don’t you just plant them where they’re going?”

“I do for some,” he said, “but giving some a head start is good for them.”

“Say yes if you want to Virgil,” Logan said.

“He’s exploring,” Logan said, nodding at the large patch of bushes.

Patton chuckled. “I see.” He sat next to Logan. Every so often he’d hear the bushes rustle, but he couldn’t tell if it was actually Virgil or an animal.

“He’s adorable,” Patton commented, keeping an ear out.

Logan hummed.

“I’m glad we kept him.”

“He isn’t a pet, Patton.”

“I’m going to go see what he’s doing,” Patton said. “I’ll be right back.”

“Ghost kitty!” he said, making sure to make his voice as quiet as possible.

“This is Ghost Kitty?” Virgil asked. “I thought you said she was hard to pet.”

“She is,” Patton said. He lowered himself onto the ground from a few feet away from them. “How did you get her to come to you?”

Virgil glanced down at the cat and shrugged, scratching one of her ears. “She just came over to me and let me pet her.”

“Wow,” Patton said softly. He looked at the cat. “Could I pet you sweetie?” he asked, holding out a hand in her direction. She hissed again.

Virgil frowned down at her. “It’s Patton,” he said as though he expected to understand his words and the exasperation in the tone he said them in.

Chapter 31

“Ah,” he said, immediately identifying the reason for Patton disappearing.

“Logan!” Patton said, his voice excited, but also quieter than normal. “We found a kitty!”

“No,” Virgil told the animal as though it could understand words. “That’s Logan. Be nice.”

The cat still glared at him and swished it’s tail back and forth threateningly. Virgil pet the top of it’s head and it broke eye contact with Logan to purr.

Patton seemed delighted by the purring, reaching to stroke under the thing’s chin carefully. “We should give her a name!” Patton said.

Virgil frowned. “I thought her name was Ghost Kitty.”

“But that was a temporary name,” Patton said, “for before we officially met her. Now we have to give her a real name.”

“Do not give it a name,” Logan said. “You will get attached.”

“How do you name a cat?” Virgil asked.

“Do not name it,” Logan said.

Virgil looked at the cat. “She’s completely black,” he said.

Patton hummed. “So, we could give her a name based on that like Midnight or Shadow.”

“Those are fine,” Virgil said.

“No, no,” Patton said. “I’m just giving you examples. You get to name her yourself.”

“This is a bad idea,” Logan said.

“Just throw out some names,” Patton said. “Anything you can think of.”

“Uh,” Virgil said. “Knife.”

“…Just Knife?” Patton asked.

“Nightmare.” Virgil seemed to think about it. “No, that’s mean.”

“How about things you like?” Patton suggested.

“Alfredo?”

Oh no, Logan thought, he was worse than Patton at cat naming.

“Good start,” Patton said. “Logan, do you have any suggestions.”

“Cat,” Logan said.

“Real suggestions,” Patton scolded.

Logan sighed and thought for a moment. “Aphrodite.”

“Catphrodite!”

Logan glared at him. “Helena.”

“Helenpaw.”

“Claudia.”

“Clawdia.”

“Persephone.”

Patton smiled at him, cheerfully.

“…Damnit!”

Patton turned to Virgil again. “Like that! They don’t even have to be serious. Like, uh, you could name her Madam Fluffywuffykins the Great!”

“Do not name her that,” Logan said, scrunching up his nose.

Logan sat on the ground, the cat eyeing him, but no longer hissing. Logan gently guided them towards more sensible names despite Patton trying his hardest to drag them into stupidity.

The cat made a sound and batted at Virgil’s face without claws to grab back his attention.

He turned back to it and bopped its face with a finger in kind. It attacked his finger, but in a clearly playful matter as it still did not extend it’s claws and its teeth did not draw blood.

“That’s a great name, Virgil,” Patton said.

“Much more pleasant than any that Patton suggested all afternoon,” Logan said. He received an elbow to the side for his quip.

“A pretty name for a pretty kitty,” Patton said, scooting over to where Virgil was sat and attempting to pet Marisol’s head. Marisol, however, was too keyed up and batted at the hand.

“I love you too!” Patton said.

Logan rolled his eyes, but he had long since resigned himself to watching the two of them play with and coo over the cat for the rest of the day.

Logan immediately felt unreasonably guilty, probably more so because Logan did not think Virgil was trying to make him feel guilty. “…Bring the dammed thing inside.”

Virgil blinked up at him. “What?”

“It will get cold soon anyway,” Logan said.

He frowned at Logan from where he was crouched. “But you don’t like fur in your room…”

Virgil nodded immediately and swooped Marisol up in his arms. The cat went without complaint. “Thank you!” he said. “I love her.”

Chapter 32

“Uh,” Patton said. “Have you seen Virgil?”

“No,” Helen said. “Why.”

“Er… Logan and I sorta, lost him,” Patton said. He was wringing his hands anxiously. Helen put down the knife in her hand.

“What do you mean you lost him?” she asked.

“Um, we don’t know that,” Patton’s mouth said while his eyes said ‘no.’

“He needs to be on a consistent diet, especially when he’s still taking the malnutrition potion,” she scolded.

Helen grimaced. Yet another concerning thing.

The newly illuminated figure startled as the lights came on, whipping around to stare at her with wide eyes.

“Virgil?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he said immediately, taking a step back.

“It’s fine,” she said immediately, “but what are you doing here?”

He considered her for a long moment, but apparently, she passed some sort of mental test, because he relaxed, at least as much as he’d ever relaxed in her presence. “Where are we?” he asked.

Her brow knit together. “The cellar under the kitchen,” she said, “You don’t know that?”

He shook his head.

“The only entrance is from the kitchen.” Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him go through the kitchen at any point.

“No, it’s not,” Virgil said. “There’s a tunnel.”

“Yep,” he said.

“Where’s the tunnel?” she asked.

“How did you find this?” she asked.

She couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his explanation. “Well, it sounds like you went on an adventure,” she said, “but Patton and Logan have been trying to find you. You missed lunch.”

He tilted his head at her. “I know. I was supposed to hide.”

“Yes,” she explained, “but you are supposed to come out at some point if they can’t find you for things like food.”

“Oh,” he said.

“They probably should have explained,” she said. “For now, why don’t we get you something to eat? You must be hungry.”

Virgil frowned. “But I missed lunch.”

“You can still eat even though it’s not in normal hours,” she said. “You could even if you had made it to lunch.”

“Really?” he asked, he looked tragically confused by this offer.

“Of course, sweetie,” she said. “In fact, I insist you get something good to eat right now. How about I made you a grilled ham and cheese sandwich? Maybe some cookies too!”

Virgil titled his head. ��You are Patton’s mother,” he stated.

Helen laughed softly. “He gets its all from me,” she said. “We should probably go find him and tell him you’re okay. He was worried.”

“I didn’t mean to worry him,” Virgil said with a frown.

#proofread stories #not writing #not pieces fic

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ruthoakenshield · 4 years

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Gary & His Neighbor (chapter 5)

Gary & His Neighbor (chapter 4)

Gary came round the corner and found his sons standing smirking at the door waiting for him. He grinned and said, "What? Did you both forget your keys?" They smirk, "No, just wanted to see if you asked her out and kissed her yet." Trey said grinning mischievously. "And by the looks of it, that would be a yes!" Donnie replies smugly.

"Get in the apartment!" Gary scolds, smiling and pushes their heads towards the door. "So, is she a good kisser, Dad?" Donnie teases seeing his dad's lips are red and a little swollen, and his hair a bit messy in back.

Gary glares at him, "I'm not discussing my dating life or lack there of with you two!" he says with a smirk. Donnie looks at Gary then at Trey and grins. "Trey, I believe that is Dad's way of saying, "Yes, boys she is a great kisser!" he teases.

Gary rolls his eyes and puts the two boys in a headlock. One in each arm. "And now it's time for the two of you to mind your own business and get ready for bed! We have a school day start tomorrow, don't forget. I want you ready before she gets here to pick us up!" he reminds them as he drags them to their rooms. When he lets them out of the headlocks they each give him a hug.

Trey looks up at him and says, "Dad, I'm glad you met her the other day. She is really nice. I like her a lot. Do you think she will stick around?" he asks.

Gary looks down at Trey and puts his hand on Trey's back. "I'm glad I met her too, Trey, and I'm glad you both like her as well. I have no clue if she will stick around, but we'll enjoy our time that we do get to have with her and see where life takes us." he tells his youngest son. "Now get going and get ready for bed." he tells him after giving him a hug.

Trey goes in his room and closes the door. "Night Dad!" Gary hears him say as he walks to his door. "Night boys, sleep well!" he tells them.

Gary goes into his room and closes his bedroom door. He sits down on the bed and sighs happily, remembering how you looked when he kissed you. He grinned remembering you begging for one more kiss before he left and how deep the kiss became. He ached to hold you again and wondered what it would be like being married to you. You were obviously good with his boys and liked them. He was glad they liked you too.

He thought about your disabilities and wondered how you manage now that your firefighter friends are not here to help you. He grinned thinking about all those books you had. He had never seen so many books in a private library before. He wondered how many you had and how fast you read them.

Gary flopped onto the bed and thought more about you. He wondered where you were going to take him and the boys tomorrow and what they were going to be watching. He was curious and came up with all different possibilities. He sighed and then realized he didn't have your phone number. He chuckled and shook his head. "Gary, how could you ask her out on a date and NOT get her phone number!" he chided himself shaking his head and grinning like an idiot.

He got up and headed for his bathroom to get ready for bed. He stripped off his pants, shirt and socks and tossed them in the laundry hamper. He grabbed his pajama pants and slipped them on. Then brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized he looked happier than he had in a long time.

He grinned and headed back into the bedroom. He climbed into bed and flipped off the lights. He fell asleep dreaming about you and what he wanted to do for a date with just the two of you.

Later on that night, around 2 am, Gary woke up. He wasn't sure why at first, then he heard the noise again. He groaned and got up. Walking into the hallway, he checked on Donnie in his room. He was sleeping soundly. Then Gary heard Trey cry out and it woke Donnie up. Donnie startled seeing a figure in his doorway until he realized it was his Dad.

"Trey?" he asked. Gary nodded then moved to open Trey's door. Donnie followed.

They came in and saw Trey curled up in a ball on his bed with his bed sheets all over the place. He was squirming and covering his head, having a flashback to seeing the tornadoes by the church. Gary and Donnie came and sat on opposite sides of the bed from each other. Trey was still in the midst of the nightmare and tossed and turned.

"Trey." Gary said as he shook his son's shoulder. Trey just mumbled something intelligible. "Come on, Trey, wake up! It's just a nightmare." Gary said a little firmer as he shook Trey's shoulder again. Trey still didn't wake up.

Donnie got down on the floor and knelt by Trey's head. He took Trey's face in his hands and said, "Come on Trey, wake up!" in a loud, firm tone. Trey's eyes flew open and he startled. He looked around frantically, his heart racing. "Donnie? Dad?" he asked scared.

"We're here, Trey, you were having another night mare / flashback episode." Gary says as Trey crawls into his arms with tears running down his cheeks. "Why do I keep having these, Dad?" he asks.

"I don't know, Trey. I wish I knew what to tell you to help you." he said as he rubbed Trey's head and back.

"I get them too, sometimes, Trey." Donnie tells him. "I'll wake up feeling trapped like when Kaitlyn and I were in the paper mill. I've never been so scared in my life. I honestly didn't think anyone would find us alive." he told Trey and his Dad.

"Dad?" Trey mumbles into his Dad's chest, "Do you get them? The flashbacks and night mares?" Trey asks.

Gary heaves a sigh, "Yeah. Sometimes, I'll wake up from one. Usually when it's storming outside, or if I've had a stressful day at work." he says quietly.

"Dad, can we go talk to y/n's friends and see if they can help us get rid of these flashbacks and nightmares? She said they helped her out a lot and she seems happy with them. Can we give it a try?" Trey begs.

Gary nods, "If that is something you think would help, we can go and try it. Do you want to try it, Donnie?" Gary asks him. Donnie nods. "I'll try anything to get them to go away." he replies.

Gary sighs, relieved that the boys were willing to try it. "I will ask y/n for the phone number and names of them tomorrow when we go to meet with her for wherever she is taking us." he tells them.

"You boys gonna be ok to sleep in your rooms tonight or do we want to camp out in the living room again?" he asks. The two boys grin and ask to camp out in the living room. Gary gets up and goes to get his phone from his room. He grabs his pillow and the comforter from off the bed. He drags them to the living room where the two boys did the same.

"Everyone remember to set alarms on your phones to get up and get ready?" he asked them. They both nod. He checks to make sure his is set and that it is plugged in to charge some more.

Gary lays down on the floor on his back with a son on either side of him. They look up at your painting and think about the fun camping trip they had in Colorado. "Dad, do you think we could figure out a way to go camping and take y/n with us so she can be comfortable and have fun too?" Trey asks.

Gary chuckles. "Let me think about it, Trey. Maybe I can figure something out." he replies. "For now, go to sleep. Morning will come fast for us and we don't want to make y/n late." he tells his boys. They cuddle against him and everyone falls asleep pretty quickly after that, dreaming about camping in Colorado along the river with the waterfall.

***********

Morning arrives and your alarm is playing "Good Morning" by Mandisa. You wake up chuckling, remembering the nurse who programmed it into your phone. She made you promise to always use that ringtone for your morning alarm to remind yourself that today was another blessing for you to wake up to.

You excitedly got up and got ready. You showered and got dried off. You picked out a pair of blue jean shorts, an army green tank top, your brother's army light weight jacket with your last name on the patch, and picked up your tool to help you get your socks on so you could wear your new tennis shoes today. You got dressed and groaned at the thought of tying your shoes again. You wished you had gotten Gary's cell number or his sons' number so maybe one of them could come tie them for you. You shrugged, and decided to slip into them and see if one of them would tie them for you before you all left. You ran a brush through your hair and pulled it into a pony tail and slid on your brother's army hat.

You went to the kitchen and made a bacon, egg and cheese muffin in the microwave like your nurse friend had shown you as an easy breakfast you could make in a hurry. You made an entire pot of Peppermint tea and poured it into your thermos so you had enough to last you through the day.

You sat down with your breakfast and a glass of orange juice as you checked your e-mails on your phone. You had a message from your counselor reminding you of your appointment tomorrow, and some e-mails from your friends back home wondering how you were faring in your new home. You replied to the e-mails as you ate, telling your friends about Gary and his sons and how much of a blessing they have been to you since you met them.

Your friend, the firefighter who had found you called you and the two of you talked for a bit until you had to leave. You told him about Gary and his sons and how Gary asked you out on a date in the not so distant future. Your friend told you he was happy for you and he hoped your relationship with Gary worked out. He teased, "I want an invite to the wedding!" and you both giggled as you said goodbye.

You picked up your shoes and loosened the laces so you could slide into them and then grabbed your keys, purse and thermos. You headed out the door and down the hallway to Gary's door. You rang the doorbell and looked down at your feet, staring at your unlaced shoes. You looked up when you heard the lock turn and Donnie opened the door.

He grinned and stepped aside to let you in. "Dad, Y/n's here!" he called out. You chuckled.

"I like your outfit!" he said as he looked at your jacket.

"Thanks Donnie, The jacket and hat were my brother's. They were in his duffel bag and when the tornado hit, it flung the bag almost 50 miles away. It landed in a farmer's yard and he saw the name on it and called the Army. They somehow gave him my last known address and he brought it to my hometown. When he learned I was in the hospital from the tornado hitting, he brought the duffel bag up to the hospital and gave it to one of my nurses. She apparently dumped it out and washed all the clothes and linens and put all the important stuff like his id, dog tags, and medals into a bag and kept it in the hospital's safe until I was ready to leave." you explain.

"Wow!!! Cool!" Donnie says. You chuckle. Donnie looks down at your feet and sees your shoes are untied. "Did you need some help tying your shoes, y/n?' he asks. You look down and nod.

"Yeah, I hoped one of you might help me out with that one. I can't reach them to tie them. Usually I just have them loose so I can slip in and out of them, but I got yelled at by my PT for doing that cuz it's hard on the heels of the shoes and it doesn't give my feet the proper support they need." you explain. "I haven't figured out yet what to do for them so I don't have to ask for help every time I want to wear them." you sigh.

Donnie chuckles and kneels down to tie them for you. "Well for now, you can come ask us, at least till school starts." he says. You grin and thank him.

Just then, Gary comes around the corner from his room and sees Donnie kneeling down, tying your shoes for you. He grins and comes over to give you a hug. "Sleep well?" he asks. You nod.

"You?" you ask him. Gary rubs his neck, "Yeah, till around 2am, then Trey had either a flash back or a nightmare about the tornadoes, then we were all up for a while. Ended up camping in the living room again." he sheepishly admitted. "We're all dragging a bit this morning." he informed you.

"It's ok, I allotted enough time so we'd get there early anyway. We can pick up breakfast for you guys on the way if you want." you offer. He grins and thanks you.

"Trey, you almost ready?" Gary asks. "Yeah, I'm coming." Trey replies as he comes walking into the kitchen with a yawn. "Rough night, Trey?" you ask. He nods. "yeah." is all he says.

"Well I think you'll like where we are going and what you'll see." you tell him. Hinting at the day's plans. He looks at you questioningly. You grin.

"Come on, I'll get you all breakfast. Let's get going." you tell them.

"Would you mind if I brought my video camera with, Y/n?" Donnie asks.

"No, you can bring it if you want." You tell him.

Gary chuckles. "Donnie likes to take videos of stuff we do as a family." he explains.

You smile and nod. "Come on then, lets head out." you tell them.

Gary opens the door for you and the four of you head out. Donnie locks the door and you all head to the parking lot. You walk over to your gold 2003 Honda Accord and unlock the doors for them with your key fob. You open the skylight and they all climb in. You laugh as Gary has to slide the front seat back a bit for his long legs. Much to Trey's dismay. "DAD!!! You're squashing my legs!" he teases. Gary just laughs and scoots the seat up one notch.

You chuckle at the two of them. "So what do you guys want for breakfast?" you ask. They decide on a fast food restaurant so you head there and go through the drive through, they place their orders and everyone gets orange juice to drink and Gary also gets a coffee.

"Aren't you gonna eat, y/n?" Trey asks after you pay for the food and hand them the bags of food and the drink trays. You chuckle, "No, Trey, I ate already." you tell them, "You guys go ahead and eat. I have to drive anyway."

They eat and try to figure out where you're taking them. Once you pull into the parking lot, Trey's eyes get huge. "Are you getting your dog today, y/n?" he asks excitedly. Gary looks over at you and you try not to smirk. But the twinkle in your eyes and your grin tell him that is exactly what is going to happen. "You'll just have to come in and see for yourself, Trey." you manage to get out. Gary just chuckles.

You all hop out of your car and head over to the building. You hand Gary your keys and tell him that if the boys get bored, he can take them to go do something else but to leave you his cell number so you can call him when you're done. He grins and looks down at you. "I realized last night, I didn't have your phone number." he chuckles. "Felt kinda dumb, knowing I asked you to go out with me and forgot to get your cell number." he teases.

You giggle. "Here, give me your phone and I'll put mine in yours and you can put yours in for mine." you tell him. The two of you swap phones and enter your phone numbers and names into the cell phones. Donnie and Trey are looking around at all the people and dogs. They see you and their dad messing around on cell phones and come over to see what you two are doing. They both get huge grins when they see the two of you hand the phones back to each other.

Donnie claps and teases his dad, "So ya finally got her number huh? I suppose that means you two are dating?" he pokes his dad's arm with a grin.

Gary blushes and looks at you. You nod and he says, "Yeah, Donnie, we're dating." Donnie grins a huge grin. "Good! So, y/n where is your dog?" he asks looking back to the line of dogs.

You look for the one that looks like a gray wolf but don't see him yet. "I'm not sure. But we are here about 10 minutes early, so he may not be here yet." you tell them. "Let's go find a place for you guys to sit and watch. I need to go check in and let them know I'm here." you tell them.

You all walk over to some seating that has been set up. You introduce yourself and Gary and his kids to the attendant and she instructs Gary and his sons to have a seat on the bleachers or in the chairs on the floor. She tells you to head over to the table to get the paperwork that will need to be filled out and get registered.

You give Gary a hug and then they head over to sit and watch while you go to the table to fill out all the paperwork. You come back over to them after a few minutes with a pile of papers. You sit down and start reading through them. The boys ask you questions and you let each of them read the paperwork after you finish reading and signing them. They hand each one to Gary when they are done reading them and he takes a look at them as well. Once you all have read through everything, you head back over to the table to turn in said paperwork. You are given a number and told to come up to the podium when your number is called and you will be matched up with your dog and it's handler.

You head back to sit with Gary and the kids until your number is called. You all have fun looking at all the different kinds of dogs that people are getting. Some of the people are veterans of war, some are missing limbs, some are civilians who are needing the animal for a variety of reasons. The four of you watch in rapt fascination as you are able to observe the different people learning how to handle their dogs and give them different signals. Some of the ones who are helping people with missing limbs are even able to help them get from the floor to a sitting or standing position, which fascinates Trey.

You are one of the last people called to be trained with your dog. You head over to the arena's podium when some of the other recipients and their dogs head out. Your handler explained why they saved your dog for last.

"Because he was trained to help with your anxiety, flashbacks, and also as a guard dog, we wanted to wait till the other dogs had left the arena." the handler explained. "Your training will be different than the others'." you asked the handler if your boyfriend and his children should also be trained to handle Zeus should something happen to you where you need help. He thought for a minute, then replied, "If you think it would be beneficial and you see this being a long term situation, then yes, they should also be trained to handle him. That way he will consider them part of his 'pack'. " the handler replied.

You went to tell Gary and the boys and they were surprised, but agreed to come and be trained. They followed you back to the arena where Zeus sat patiently with his handler. The handler had you all line up and introduced each of you to Zeus and showed you how to introduce him to people you deem ok. He sniffed each of your hands and then licked them. The handler told you that when he does that he is learning your scent and him licking your hand is his way of learning the taste of your skin and strengthening the scent marker for him. He instructed all of you what to look for when Zeus realizes you are having a panic / anxiety attack, flashback and tells you what to do as far as how to handle him. Donnie asks the handler if he would mind if he video taped the training, so if they have a question or can't remember something, that they can go back and rewatch the video. The trainers nodded and gave him permission.

The trainer shows you all how to put on Zeus' service animal vest for when you are out in public and shows you each patch signifying what all he is trained in. Companion animal, Service animal, scent tracking, and guard dog / body guard. He explains to all of you how to handle the public when they approach you while Zeus is "working" and instructs you all not to let the public pet Zeus when he is working unless you feel it is okay. He reminds you all of the proper way to introduce Zeus to people and has you all practice it.

Then he informs you what businesses can and can not do to both you and Zeus. He tells you to always keep Zeus' paperwork in his holster on his vest so you have it with you all the time. He gives you the information to report a business that violates the laws regarding service animals which you enter into your phone immediately.

He shows you all how to care for Zeus and then starts to teach you all the hand signals / commands for the dog. "We taught him with nonverbal commands so only you and those you choose will be able to command him. He will only respond if it is people in his 'pack' giving him the commands." you all are told. "You may train him with verbal commands as well if you like but use the hand symbols to reinforce the command so he makes the connection between the two." you are instructed.

The trainers and handlers spend the rest of the morning with you all as you learn the commands and practice them with Zeus. The last thing they show you before lunch is how he was trained to protect you. They teach you all what to look for as his warnings when he senses something or someone he deems isn't safe to be around.

They also show you how he is trained to attack, how to give the command for him to attack and how to get him to stop. Trey is fascinated by the trainer in all the padding until he sees the handler give Zeus the command to attack the trainer in all the padding. The dog lurches forward at a run and is snarling and growling and barking as he charges the trainer. He jumps and grabs the trainer's arm which was holding a gun, and the dog brings the trainer to the ground and keeps him from being able to use the gun. Once the command to stop is given the dog immediately stops and backs up, letting another trainer in a police uniform help the trainer up.

Next they show how he attacks if you are attacked by someone from behind. Another trainer in padding comes up behind you with a rubber knife and holds it to your throat. The trainer tells you to give Zeus the command to attack and to just stand still after that.

You do so and Zeus attacks the man's legs and gets him away from you and then goes after the hand with the weapon. When you are instructed to tell Zeus to stop, you do and he stops immediately and backs up between you and the attacker while he waits for the trainer in the police uniform to help the other trainer up.

Finally they show you what to do if you are being mugged by someone who is standing in front of you with a knife. You are instructed to give Zeus the signal to attack and he charges the person in the padding attacking them in the arm first to disarm the knife then when the attacker starts to struggle against the dog, he goes for the groin, making Danny, Gary and Trey cringe and unconsciously cover their crotches. You try not to giggle. Zeus drops the attacker with that move and keeps the trainer pinned to the ground. They tell you to give him the command to stop. You do it and again Zeus backs up to allow the trainer in the cop uniform to help the other trainer up.

They go through a few more pieces of information with you and then emphasize to Gary's boys, that the attack commands are meant for your protection and are ONLY to be used in cases where you are truly in danger. They emphasize to all of you, that Zeus will not attack unless given the signal, but he WILL raise his heckles, growl and act menacingly to try to scare off anyone he senses is a danger to his 'pack' and that you all should never ignore those signals from him.

They recommend you teach him a command to "Go get Gary... Go get Trey... Go get Donnie." once you get home and show him how to get from your apartment to theirs and to show him where the doorbell is for each apartment. They told Gary and his sons, that Zeus will ring the doorbell incessantly until someone answers and that if that happens to tell him to "find y/n" and that they should follow him immediately to wherever he leads. They nod, wide eyed at the dog and Gary looks at you amazed.

They give you all some time to get to know Zeus and they take his "Work vest" off. They tell you all that he knows what is expected of him when he has his vest on, and that he knows that when he has it off, he is allowed to play and be a normal dog, but that he will still do all his training if the need arises.

They let you all play with him in the arena and let him get used to his new 'pack'. He seems to have a particular affinity for you and Trey and repeatedly nuzzles the two of you often. He goes to Gary and Donnie as well, but seems to favor you and Trey more so at the moment.

Gary asks the trainer in the officer's uniform about that. The trainer tells him, "Zeus can sense different things, for some reason, he senses Trey is struggling with something and is trying to give him comfort like he was trained to do."

Gary asks the trainer if the training Zeus received to be a guard dog is any different than what a police dog gets. The trainer chuckles. "Well I'm a K-9 officer here and I help train our dogs for the city's PD. Zeus' training is very similar to what our police dogs go through. The only thing Zeus didn't get trained for is 'search and rescue' and 'drug sniffing'. Otherwise it's pretty much the same training as the K-9's get for the PD. You can rest assured, she is well protected." he tells Gary with a chuckle.

Gary's eyes widen for a moment. "Oh! I was wondering if you were a real officer or if you were dressed like one as part of the training." he replied.

The officer chuckles. "No, I'm a real officer. We get called on every once in a while to do this kind of training for special cases." he explained. "We heard about y/n's story from some friends in the Fire Dept and they asked us if we'd train y/n's service dog to be a guard dog as well since she is new here and has no living family left to help protect her. They wanted to be able to assure their comrades in her hometown that had rescued her from the apartment that she would be kept safe here. So we did the training, free of charge as a favor to them." he explained with a grin.

Gary thanked him. "I just met y/n a few days ago, and we've fallen in love with her. We are from Silverton and realized we had a lot in common with her once we got to talking. We were out in Sillverton when the tornadoes hit last summer. Trey and I were trying to find Donnie when the storms hit our community during graduation. Donnie got trapped in a paper mill that had collapsed on him and his friend. Trey and I ended up traveling with storm chasers to try to get through Silverton and the storms to rescue Donnie. We almost lost him and each other. A few more minutes delay and Donnie would've drowned in the pit they jumped into. It has filled with water by the time we got there and yeah, it was real scary. The boys and I have all battled with the flashbacks and nightmares from it." Gary told the officer.

The officer looked at Gary surprised."Wow. Well I'm glad you all survived. Y/n seems like a great gal and I hope Zeus serves her well. Hopefully he can help you three also when you are with her." he tells Gary. "Don't be afraid to ask for help though, with yours and your boys' flashbacks and nightmares. Even we officers, go to counseling to help us cope with a lot of the shit we see on the beat. It helps immensely to be able to talk about everything and be able to get a fresh perspective on things." he mentions to Gary.

Gary nods. "My youngest had a bad one last night and asked to go and talk to the ones that y/n sees." he informs the officer. The officer puts his hand on Gary's shoulder, "Then I suggest you schedule an appointment soon. Zeus will help him when he's around, but the best thing you can do for your boys is to take them to see the counselors y/n sees. It would also encourage them if you went and participated as well. They have different options. There's sessions you can do as a family, or you can let the boys do individual ones, and so can you if there's things you need to discuss that you don't want your boys hearing about." The officer recommends. "Talk to y/n and have her help you set it up." he suggests.

Gary nods and thanks him. "Any time, Gary, any time."

Zeus comes running up and drops a ball at Gary's feet and sits down and gives him a quiet "wuff". The Officer chuckles. "He wants you to throw the ball." he tells Gary.

Gary squats down and picks up the ball. Zeus nuzzles his hand and licks it as he picks up the ball. "wuff" Zeus says to Gary and Gary chuckles and tosses the ball over by Trey and you.

"Ok, folks, I think that's enough play time for Zeus. Do you have any other questions before I let you leave with your new dog?" the officer asks. No one has any questions so he puts Zeus' vest back on and hands each of you his card. "If you have any problems or questions about Zeus or his behavior, don't hesitate to call me and ask." he tells you all. "I will also put my card in here on Zeus' vest so if you lose your card, or someone needs to know who trained him for the body guard aspect you can show them this card in his vest pocket." the officer tells you.

You nod and thank all the handlers and the trainers. They all wish you luck and let you head out with Zeus. You clip the leash onto his harness and you take your supplies they gave you and Zeus' toys and you head out into the sunshine.

"So what now, y/n?" Trey asks. You think for a minute. "Well, I need to go to the pet store to get him food and supplies. So I guess you're all coming with!" you giggle. Trey and Donnie cheer. "Can he sit in back with us while you're driving?" they ask, making you chuckle.

Well, I don't think your Dad would enjoy having a big dog like Zeus sitting in his lap in the car, so yes, Zeus can sit in back with you two." You tell them.

Gary chuckles when they both cheer. You unlock the car and hit the button for the trunk release. You put the bag of paperwork and Zeus's toys and supplies in the trunk of the car. Then everyone piles in and Zeus hops up next to Trey in the back seat, then Donnie gets in and closes the door.

"Everyone in?" you ask.

"Yup!" Trey replies.

You pull up the closest pet store place and head there. Gary studies your face for a bit while you're driving. You glance over at him and chuckle. "What?" you ask him.

He just grins, "It's nothing." he says and looks back at the two boys with the dog. Zeus is sprawled across both of their laps. His rear on Donnie's lap and his head on Trey's. They're both petting him and looking out the windows.

"I think that's the quietest I've seen them in the car in quite a while." he says quietly.

You grin.

You see the pet store up ahead and pull into the parking lot. You park and look back at the two boys, who are thoroughly enjoying the dog's presence. "Well, we're here. Now to find all the stuff I'm gonna need." you sigh.

I'm gonna have to take one of you shopping with me when I need to get food for him. There's no way I'm gonna be able to pick up those big bags of food!" you tell them. The three of them just grin. "Anytime y/n!" they say and then laugh.

You all get out of the car and Trey holds onto the leash until you walk around the car to join them. "Here, y/n." he tells you holding out the leash. You think for a moment, "How about you hang onto him for me, Trey. I'm gonna need my hands free to push the cart and grab the stuff he will need." you suggest.

Gary smiles when he sees Trey's face light up. "Really? I can walk him for you?" he asks. You give him a grin and nod. He just beams and says, "Come on Zeus, lets go get you some stuff for your new home with y/n!"

Zeus looks up at Trey and says, "Wuff." which makes Donnie giggle.

You all head to the door of the store and Gary grabs a shopping cart. He lets you push it and you ask the employee standing by the door where the section for dogs starts. She points you over to the left side of the store and says, "That whole half of the store is for Dogs. Oh! What a beautiful dog! May I pet him?" she asks

"Thank you, but not right now. He is working and we just got him and are still getting used to him and his mannerisms." you tell her. She nods. "If you have any questions on what you'll need, feel free to ask any of us working here." she tells you. You thank her and the four of you head over to the Dog section with Zeus.

Gary watches Zeus' reactions to everything carefully. He is surprised that Zeus stays right by Trey's side and doesn't try to go wandering around and doesn't try to chew on the toys that are right next to him. Whenever you stop to look at something, Zeus just sits down and watches you, patiently waiting for you to move on with your shopping.

You look at the different dog foods and wonder which one Zeus would eat. "Zeus, which food do you want?" you decide to ask him. He gets up and comes over to you and looks up at you. "Get your food, Zeus." you tell him.

He cocks his head to the side and you repeat yourself to him. He stands and walks over to the food bags and starts to sniff each one looking for the one he is familiar with. Trey follows him holding onto the leash, letting him smell each bag. When Zeus finds the one he wants, he sits down by it and says, "Wuff" then noses the bag.

You look at Gary and Donnie and shrug. "I guess that is the one he was fed by his handler." you reply. "I wonder how much he will be eating?" you ponder. "Let's get two bags and see how long it lasts him." you say.

Donnie walks over and picks up one bag and plops it into the shopping cart, then goes and gets another one and drops it in too. You notice the metal garbage looking cans for storing dog food and point to one of them on the top shelf. "Can one of you guys grab that for me?" you ask. Gary goes over and pulls it down. "I'll just carry it for you, y/n. I don't think it'll fit in that shopping cart." he chuckles.

You nod and thank Gary. You all wander through the aisles, picking out a de-shedding comb, and shampoo and clippers for the toe nails, a dog bed, dog bowl for food and one for water.

"Dad, can we get him a water bowl and some toys to have at our place for when he comes to visit?" Trey asks. Gary shrugs. "If you want to get them you can, Trey. You're earning money with the paper route you do in the mornings." Gary replies.

"y/n, do you mind if I do that?" Trey asks.

You chuckle, "That's fine, Trey, that way I won't have to lug toys and such back and forth. Trey takes Zeus over to the toys and tells him to pick out some toys.

You all watch as the dog sniffs at different toys and noses some of them. He picks out a frizbee, a ball, a big rawhide bone and a squeaky duck. He proudly carries the duck back to you squeaking it repeatedly with a goofy look on his face. You laugh and try to take it to put it in the cart and he tries to "Wuff" with it in his mouth. Trey giggles and tells him. "Zeus..." when the dog looks at Trey, he motions to the dog to 'drop' the toy. Zeus huffs and drops the duck. Trey picks it up and carries it with the other stuff Zeus picked out for toys.

Trey takes Zeus back to where the food and water bowls are and picks out a water bowl for Zeus to have at their place. Then they come back to where the rest of you are at.

"Hey! Look at these!" Donnie says as he grabs something and brings it over to you. "Look, they clip on the leash and it's a little roll of bags you tear off to put his poo in when you take him for walks!" He says as he shows it to you.

You giggle and tell him to toss it in the cart. "Does it have refills?" you ask. He goes back to look and nods. "Better grab a pack of the refills too. I'll need them eventually." you reply.

"Is there anything else we need?" you ponder. You spot an employee and call him over. You explain you just got Zeus and don't know what all you will need. He looks at what all you picked out and asks, do you have a flea and tick collar for him? They need to be replaced every so often. He shows you where they are located and you pick one out. Trey looks to see if he has one on now and he does. "When that one wears out, depending on when it was put on him, just replace it with this one when the time rolls around." the employee tells you.

"You might want to consider getting a tooth brush and tooth paste for him, they are over here and it's really easy to get them to let you brush their teeth. Don't forget treats and I might suggest getting a tag for his collar with his name on one side, and yours and your phone number on the other side. In case something happens and he gets separated from you." the employee suggests. "It makes it much easier for people to return the pet if they can just look on the collar instead of having to take him to a vet to have the microchip read." he informs you. You nod. "Well, he is a working dog, and not just a pet, but I think that is a good idea anyway." you reply. "Thank You!" you tell him.

You grab the toothbrush and paste, and show Zeus a few different packages of treats. "Zeus, which treats do you like?" you ask pointing to the bags. He goes over and sniffs them he picks up one bag and brings it to you. You motion for 'drop' and he drops it then walks back over and sniffs the bags again and picks out another one, bringing it to you and drops it. "Good boy!" you praise him.

Donnie grins and puts the other treat bags back in their spots on the shelf, and grabs another one of the bags of treats that Zeus picked out to keep at their apartment. He tosses it to Trey who grins and catches it and adds it to his pile in his arms. He spots a basket and dumps them all in the basket then picks it up and carries it.

You all head up to the till area and spot the name tag machine. You head over to the machine and Trey and Zeus follow. Gary offers to stay in line with the cart and wait for you with Donnie. You and Trey pick out a fire hydrant tag and you type Hi, I'm Zeus! for the front of the tag, and on the back you type in Y/n and your phone number. Trey watches in fascination as the lazer engraves the information on the tag, flips it over and engraves the name and phone number on the back, then drops it into the grab bin. He reaches in and pulls it out and looks at it.

"Cool!" he exclaims and hands it to you. You head back over to the Cash register and stand in line with Gary and Donnie. You show them the tag and then spot a little medical information booklet that you can keep in your purse and put all of Zeus' info in it. You grab one and toss it in the cart too.

Zeus sits patiently by Trey's legs, careful to keep out of the way of other people and shopping carts. "What a well behaved dog!" a lady behind you says.

You turn and say, "Thank You! We just got him as a service animal for me." You reply.

The lady huffs and looks at you, "Why do you need a service animal?" she says snidely. "You look fine!"

You hear Gary growl under his breath. You put a hand on his back and give it a gentle rub.

"I have spinal and pelvis injuries which required massive surgery and months of rehab after a tornado ripped through my hometown last summer, causing my apartment building to collapse on top of me. I suffer from PTSD and also have difficulty doing some everyday tasks. Zeus here is my service dog to help me with those things that I need help with." you patiently explain. My boyfriend and his two wonderful sons, here offered to help me shop for supplies for my new dog. That is why Trey is holding onto Zeus for me." you tell her.

"Oh." she replies. You turn and move forward when you see the line shift up. You look up at Gary and he is smiling at you. He wraps an arm around your shoulder and kisses the top of your head. You lean into him and wrap your arm around his waist. Once you reach the cashier, Donnie unloads the stuff onto the conveyor belt and you move to pay for the supplies. "Will you let me get these for you this time?" Gary whispers to you as he watches Donnie unloading the supplies. You look up at him surprised. "Why?" you ask quietly.

"Because I'd like to and can afford it, and want to help you out." Gary replies. You shrug. "If you want to, I guess you can." you tell him. He kisses the top of your head again and pulls out his wallet. He hands the cashier his card and pays for the supplies. Trey puts his basket on the belt behind your purchases and the cashier rings them up as Donnie loads the cart back up. Trey pays for his purchases and then you all head out to the car. "Thank you, Gary. You didn't have to do that, you know." you tell him as Trey pushes the cart and you hang onto Zeus' leash.

"I know. But I wanted to." he says, giving you a gentle hug. You smile and give his waist a squeeze as the two of you walk to the car. You pull out your keys and push the button for the trunk. "Think you two can load that stuff into the trunk for me?" you ask. They grin and nod. You unlock the car and you let Zeus in the back seat and motion for him to sit. He does so and waits for Donnie and Trey to get in the car. You and Gary get in the front and hold hands. "So now what do you wish to do for the rest of the afternoon?" he asks.

"I'm hungry. How about we go get some food and ice cream for dessert?" you ask. Gary grins and nods. Trey and Donnie hop into the car and Zeus is excitedly licking their faces. They both start laughing and pull the doors closed.

You start the car and head to your favourite restaurant that serves food and icecream. You all order and the waitress asks if you got a new dog. You tell her yes, and introduces her to Zeus. You explain he is your service dog. She asks if you would mind if she brought your dog a little treat. You nod and tell her that is fine. She heads off to place the orders. She brings you all your beverages and a bowl of water for Zeus. Then she leaves you all to talk and after a while she brings your all your food. She even has a little plate with some steak cut up in bite size pieces for Zeus. He gives her a soft "Wuff" and goes about eating his treat while you all eat. You feel him lie down by your ankle and grin.

The server comes back over and asks how your food is, and takes the empty plate that had Zeus' food on it. You all finish eating and then order ice cream for dessert. They have an ice cream bar where you can pick from different flavors, so you all go over to see what they have. You pick out a mint chocolate chip and a chocolate and marshmallow swirl ice cream. Donnie picks a moose tracks ice cream, Trey picks the superman rainbow swirl ice cream and Gary picks a double chocolate chip ice cream. You ask the server if you could have a small scoop of plain vanilla for your service dog and he smiles and scoops out a small scoop, puts it on a doggie sized ice cream cone and lays it in a bowl for Zeus. He hands you the bowl and smiles.

You all walk back to the table to enjoy your ice cream and you all chuckle and look under the table when you hear Zeus grunting and crunching on the ice cream cone. "I didn't think he'd actually eat the cone!" Donnie said chuckling. "He seems to really like it." Gary said chuckling as Zeus looked up and licked his chops.

"Are you guys ready to head home? I could sure use a nap!" You ask. "Donnie and Trey nod, but you notice Gary looks bummed. "Y/n, could you come over after your nap and watch us play some video games again?" Trey asked. You looked at Gary and he smiled and nodded.

You grinned. "Sure. I just need to get a few things situated with Zeus and then we will be over after my nap." You promise, making Trey grin.

You all stand up, and Zeus backs out from under the table where he was hiding. "Come on Zeus, let's go home." you tell him. His ears perk up at the word 'Home' and he sits patiently for you to get ready to go. You take the leash and start heading for the cashier. You hand her your debit card and pay for everyone's food. Then you all head out and pile back into the car. You listen to the two young men in the back seat talking about the video games they were playing and you glance over at Gary. He is grinning and looking at you. You blush and pat his hand that is resting on the arm rest next to you. He smiles and takes your hand in his and brings it up to his lips and gives it a gentle kiss.

You grin and give his hand a squeeze as his kiss sent butterflies loose in your belly. You are tired from all the activity you aren't used to and sigh contentedly. Gary chuckles and gives your hand another gentle squeeze. Soon enough you all are back at the apartment. You let Zeus and Trey and Donnie have fun exploring around the outside of the apartment. While they are doing so, Gary leans against one of the trees and pulls you close to him.

"Thank you for taking us with you this morning." he tells you. "I think Trey might be hanging out at your apartment a lot in the forseeable future. He always wanted a dog, but his mom was allergic to them and always told him no." he explained.

You grinned. "You and the boys are always welcome at my place, Gary." you remind him and give him a hug. "Thanks for coming with, and helping out with the shopping." you say with a wink. Gary grins and kisses you gently. "Want me to have the boys carry up the bags of food for you?" he asked.

You nodded. "Well I certainly can't lift them!" you chuckle. He smirks.

You hit the button to open the trunk and Gary moves over to take out the can and the bags of dog food. He hands you the bags with your other purchases and the stuff from the Trainers. Gary calls the boys over to carry the bags of Dog food up to your apartment and he takes the metal Can for you. You all head up and you let them go first so you can let Zeus sniff around and get familiarized with the apartment building.

You see the manager of the building and introduce him to Zeus and explain he is your new service dog. The man happily holds out his hand to Zeus who sniffs it and gives it a lick. The manager asks if he can pet Zeus. You tell him he can this time, but normally you aren't going to let people pet him when he is 'working' in his vest. He gives Zeus a scratch on the head behind his ears and you giggle as Zeus' leg starts thumping on the floor as the manager hits an itchy spot. He chuckles and welcomes Zeus to the apartment.

You thank him and head up to the landing where the guys are waiting for you. You tell Zeus that this door is where Gary, Donnie and Trey live and show him the doorbell. Zeus sniffs around the door and the doorbell then sniffs Trey's and Donnie's and Gary's feet. They chuckle and you head down the hall with them until you get to your apartment. You open the door and head in with Zeus. Gary and the boys following.

"Where do you want the can for the food, Y/n?" Gary asks. You think and tell him to put it in the storage room and to have the boys fill it with the two bags." he nods. "Gary, put one of the empty bags between the can and the wall so I remember which bag of food I need to get for him next time and so the can won't scratch the wall.

"Ok, Love." he replies and they go to take care of the dog food. You sit down on the couch and take Zeus' vest and harness off. You let him snoop around and get familiarized with the apartment.

Soon Gary and the boys are standing in the living room watching you interact with Zeus. "We'll head out, Y/n, so you can take a nap and rest up. Come over when you're ready to hang out and watch us play some video games." Gary tells you.

You look up, smile and nod. "Thanks again you guys, for coming with and all your help!" You tell them.

"Bye Zeus," Trey says as he squats down and motions for Zeus to 'come'. Zeus trots over and Trey gives him a good scratch along the collar and smuches his face into the dog's fur. "See you after a while. Be good for y/n now!" he tells the dog. Zeus licks his face and puts his chin on Trey's shoulder like a hug. Trey melts and looks up at his Dad, who just chuckles.

Gary comes over to you and gives you a peck on the cheek and tells you. "See you later, Love. Go to sleep now and get some rest."

You nod and follow them to the door. Zeus follows and you motion for him to 'sit' and 'stay' before you open the door. He does so and the guys step out of your apartment and the two boys head down the hallway. Gary looks over his shoulder and then looks back at you and gives you a steamy, passionate kiss as he pulls you close for a hug. You grin and bring your hands up in to his hair and he lets out a quiet groan and pulls you up against him and nibbles at your lower lip.

His phone starts to ring and he groans, "Brats! They have keys and can get in." he mumbles into the kiss. You giggle and he pulls away. "I will see you in a few hours, Sweetie." you tell him and give him another kiss. Go spend some time with your boys. I'll text you when I'm on my way." you tell him. He sighs and nods. He gives you one more peck on the cheek and turns to leave. He stops at the corner and looks back at you and Zeus standing in the doorway. He gives you his panty melting grin and nods before turning the corner and heads down the hall.

You sigh happily and close the door and lock it.

"Come on, Zeus, let's get your bed set up so I can go take a nap!

@fizzyxcustard @queenofmankind @dumbassunderthemountain @deepestfirefun @thetherianthropydaily @daisy-picking-lady @spookybunny @ellavaneck @emrfangirl @midnight-reader-morning-sleeper

#Into The Storm continuation #Gary Fuller #Trey Fuller #Donnie Fuller #reader #Zeus the service dog #fluff

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team-science-mega-nerds · 5 years

Photo

When Sam was sixteen, pregnant, and terrified, the last thing her mother said to her was find a church and you’ll be alright. For the past ten years, she’d done just that. Town to town, some stable most not so much, the first place Sam always went was a church. Midvale is no different and because she is alone for the first time since Ruby was born, she goes out of her way to involve herself in the day to day activities of her new church.

It’d been tough watching Ruby depart for her summer camp. A month might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but Sam had struggled to make meals for one and her house was so quiet that she had to constantly play music or risk losing her mind. She wasn’t worried or stressed, just lonely in an unfamiliar way, and she suspects that’s what got her into this mess in the first place.

“You’ll love it,” Ms. Williamson tells her grabbing her arm in a way that she supposes is friendly, but it feels more possessive than Sam would like. They’re in the middle of sorting through clothing donations in the sanctuary, boxes, and people everywhere. Sam is on unpacking duty with Ms. Williamson. “Just door to door stuff. And you’ll meet some lovely people.” Then, like a switch, Ms. Williamson grabs Sam’s arm tighter and leans close enough for Sam to smell the peppermint scent of her arthritis cream. “But you stay away from the Danvers Ranch.” If Ms. Williamson knew Sam outside of bible study and the occasional smile they shared on Sunday mornings, she would know that telling Sam not to do something is a sure-fire way to get her to do it.

Sam had only been in town for six months but she’d heard the Danvers family mentioned twice. Apparently, a whole family used to live there, but now it’s just the oldest daughter who runs the ranch on her own. It sounds like hard work. Wyoming is not a forgiving territory and if Sam could be a friendly face, then she was going to be it.

“I think I’ll give it a shot,” Sam says with a shrug. From the look of Ms. Williamson’s face, Sam’s lack of conformity is not something she’s used to.

“She ain’t one of us,” Ms. Williamson mumbles into her styrofoam cup of stale coffee.

“I thought the point was to help people find a way. No matter who they are.” The cold shoulder that Ms. Williamson throws her way doesn’t strike Sam as particularly effective. About an hour into sorting, Sam decides to forgo a late evening snack and a preview of the choir’s Sunday performance in favor of driving into the country.

She likes this drive. She does it every day on the way to work but in the summer the surrounding mountains and luscious green fields make Sam happy. Genuinely. And if Sam hadn’t been so happy - and lonely - then she might not have taken a sharp turn and driven up the long road leading to the Danvers’ ranch. She might not have grabbed her bible. And she certainly wouldn’t have knocked at the door.

It’s the waiting game that unnerves her the most. The ranch itself is beautiful and well taken care of. Sam sees horses grazing out in a fairly large open field that takes up most of the 20 acre lot. There’s the main house and a large barn behind it. Sam wonders how one person could ever take care of all of this alone. She’ll have to figure it out another day because she doesn’t think Alex is home.

“Who’s there?” A shotgun pointed in her direction is exactly the thing that Sam did not need today. She screams. Loud. And then, she reckons with the fact that she’s so far out in the country that no one can hear her. “Oh…” The weapon’s lowered and Sam spots a woman wearing bootcut jeans, blue flannel that’s rolled up to her forearms, and a baseball hat thrown over her hair. If Sam wasn’t so unnerved by the gun, she’d pay more attention to the fact that this woman is a sweaty mess. “You’re wasting your time,” She says nodding toward the bible. “But if you want a glass of water or something, I could use one too.” She doesn’t wait for Sam, as she strides up her front porch and swings the door open.

Everything about this situation has alarm bells and red flags popping up in Sam’s brain but she follows anyway. Stupidly, that’s for sure. When she steps into the house, it appears just as modest and undecorated as she might assume, but the kitchen is quaint and organized. The woman’s back is to her, the shotgun resting against the counter, while she makes coffee. “I told them to stop sending people here-.”

“They didn’t send me. In fact, they seemed mighty eager for me to stay away from you,” Sam explains. The woman turns around and smiles at that comment. She pours Sam a glass of water and sets it on the counter without a word. “Mrs. Danvers-.”

“It’s Alex,” She corrects. “And it’s ‘Ms.’ if that’s all the same to you.” The coffee percolates on the stove and Alex slides into a chair. Sam can visibly see the tension drain from Alex’s shoulders and when Alex takes off her hat, her sweaty hair is finger-combed back into something that isn’t quite presentable but charming nonetheless. “Do you have a name?” Sam stops staring and clears her throat.

“Samantha.” Alex’s eyes find the bible again, she looks a lot less hostile than she had before, but maybe it’s because she’d shed the gun. “Sam.” Somehow, even though Alex is wearing dirt, sweat, and hay on her clothes and tracking mud on the floor, Sam feels self-conscious about what she’s wearing. Her summer dress suddenly feels too short. The way she parted her hair feels too young. Under Alex’s gaze, Sam is uncertain about everything, including what to do next.

“I’m sorry you came all this way-.”

“I’m not…” Sam clears her throat again. She reaches for the water, gulps some down, and starts again. “I’m not like the other people who came here. I’m not here to convert you. This is just…” Sam holds up the bible slightly. “Something that we can turn to if you want.”

Alex stands and heads to her cupboard. She grabs two mugs. “Sit down, then. The last thing I need is someone saying I’m not hospitable.” This seems like a good sign at least. Sam takes a seat at the two-person wooden table and admires a beautiful orchid that’s sitting in a ceramic pot on the table. “My mom bought that for me,” Alex explains, setting a mug in front of Sam. “Every time she visits, she makes sure it’s still alive. That’s her way of checking in.” There’s a bitterness to the comment that feels like a stranger to the warmth and sweet hazelnut flavor of the coffee.

“Where is she?”

“Florida. Retirement has worked wonders for her.” Sam notices Alex’s calloused hands, the farmer’s tan on her arms as she tugs off her flannel and reveals a worn white t-shirt and the way she keeps looking outside to check on the horses. “You’re new here?”

“Hardly. I have a few months under my belt.”

“And before that?”

“Arizona. But I got laid off and somehow someway, ended up here.” Sam shrugs it off. “How are you?”

“Hm.” Alex smiles for the first time but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Funny question to ask someone you don’t even know.”

“I’m trying to get to know you.”

“Okay.” Alex reaches for the bible and flips through it. This isn’t absentminded carelessness. There’s purpose in Alex’s eyes. There’s something familiar about it and that gives Sam hope, though she remains unclear of what exactly she’s hoping for. “I gotta get the horses settled. But…” Alex closes the book gently and slides it back toward Sam. “If you want to come around again, I don’t mind.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Alex stretches her arms and stands up. “I promise not to shoot you if you promise not to push it.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” Alex walks her to her car. The goodbye is unceremonious but clear. Sam will be back the next day, bible in tow, to talk with a woman who seems like she hasn’t wandered off her ranch in years.

Sam keeps an open mind as she was always taught to do but that doesn’t stop the nerves from sneaking up on her the following day. Sure, Alex won’t pull a gun on her, but there was still something different about this woman that Sam didn’t understand. The way she’d moved around the kitchen resembled something like a dance. Sam didn’t know how to participate in it, not yet. “You’ll have to give me a minute!” Alex shouts from out in the field. She’s grooming one of her horses, so Sam leans against the fence and watches.

Alex is well in her element out there. Sam holds her bible close to her chest, awestruck wouldn’t be an overstatement. Thankfully, Alex is finished soon enough, and she joins Sam near the fence. “You might as well leave that in your car.” Today, there’s something playful about Alex and the suggestion. Sam follows Alex into her house again, but she leaves her bible on a table near the door before they go into the living room. “How was your night?” Alex asks. Sam sits on a large couch staring at what seems to be a very happy family photo of the Danvers family. Alex is younger in the picture but most of her features are the same. Now, of course, her hair is much shorter but what little Sam has seen of Alex’s smile is present in the frame.

“Um, nice. Boring,” Sam admits. “You?”

“About the same.” Alex enters the room carrying two mugs of coffee. “I thought about you a lot though.” Sam is almost startled by the admission. Almost, because Alex seems to register exactly how flustered Sam gets at the thought, and she enjoys it.

“Me?”

“Yeah. I wondered what exactly you’d have said to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I told you that I was lost and I wanted to find God again.” Alex sits right beside Sam on the couch. Their legs touch, Alex’s jeans pressing against Sam’s bare knee, and then - as if on purpose - Alex’s arm brushes against Sam’s. “What would you have said?”

“But you didn’t say that, did you?”

“Would you have read to me? Or offered to take me to church with you?”

“Neither.” Sam holds Alex’s gaze. “I would’ve talked to you about my journey. And you would’ve listened.”

“Tell me then.”

“You don’t really care. If this is a game…” Sam starts to stand but Alex grabs her wrist to keep her there.

“It’s not.” Alex nods and leans back on the couch. “I wanna know about you.”

“I was pregnant in high school. I didn’t have anyone to turn to. The first church I went to, they fed me, gave me a place to stay, and got me a job. I know that’s not the same experience for everyone. But when people are good and they have real faith...the world is different.”

“And how many ‘good’ people do you know?”

“Not many.” Sam sets her mug down on a plain block of wood that Alex is using as a coaster. “But a few is enough for me.”

“I always thought it was beautiful.” Sam can only feel Alex’s jeans, brushing against her leg. Every movement is threatening to make her crumble. Being this close to someone, anyone, is bringing up this bashfulness that she doesn’t understand. And it must, of course, have almost everything to do with intimacy. The fact that Alex is a woman has nothing to do with it.

“You always thought ‘what’ was beautiful?”

“Unconditional faith.” Alex spots the bible on the table. She stands, retrieves it, and returns to her spot beside Sam. Only closer this time. “If I asked you to open this book and read me a passage, then I would know you. Fully.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Alex sets the bible down on Sam’s lap. “I always thought that if I asked all those people who came here and judged me before they even knocked at my door to do this very thing, they wouldn’t. They wouldn’t know how to share their faith with me. It’s a lot to ask from you, but it takes a lot for me to listen.”

“Did it occur to you that knowing someone, really knowing them is terrifying?”

“Yes.”

Sam looks down at the bible, her fingertips grazing the frayed edges of the book. She flips it open to a page that’s already dog-eared and reads. “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield.” Sam doesn’t look up from the pages for a long time. She knows Alex is watching her but she stills. Had she given in to something she didn’t understand yet? Or was this a trade, like Alex has suggested?

“You have a beautiful voice.” Sam is astonished by the comment. She’s nothing more than reddened cheeks and eyes that can’t seem to focus, while Alex traces her finger over the word that Sam just read. Sam doesn’t know what to do or say when she realizes that she’s starting to wish that the bible wasn’t in her lap and instead, Alex’s hands were touching her bare skin.

It isn’t a thought that she’s used to, nor understands. She’d never seen a woman and felt this kind of need. “Have I offended you?”

“No, it’s…” Sam closes the bible. She feels ashamed of the way she’s feeling and cornered by her own thoughts. “Would you like to read more? I can leave this here-.”

“It won’t sound as good in my voice. Keep it.”

“Well…” Sam crosses her legs, one over the other, Alex’s eyes follow intently. “I don’t think it’s fair that you know me now but I don’t know you.”

“You can ask me anything.” Alex grins. “I don’t bite.” The tone of the comment makes Sam think that Alex does, in fact, bite.

“Do you get lonely out here?” The surprise shows on Alex’s face.

“How can I get lonely? I’m never alone.” Alex finishes the rest of her coffee. She grabs Sam’s hand and pulls her to her feet. She doesn’t let go until they’re standing in the barn. A large speckled grey horse looms over them. “I wake up at 5 every morning. I have a cigarette at noon and 9 and as long as I have that, then I’m happy.”

“That sounds like an easy life.”

“It is.” Alex pats the horse, they both look very comfortable together. “Sometimes there are distractions. Trouble comes in many forms.”

“Do you have any other family out here?”

“My sister visits more than my mom but besides that? No.”

“What about…?”

“You can just ask you know. If you need to know why everyone whispers about me, then I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t care for gossip,” Sam assures her. “And whatever they’d have to say, I’m certain it wouldn’t be true.”

“It is true.” Something about that fact gives Alex great joy. “I’m not as much of a fucking menace as I used to be.” Sam flinches in a way that she might call childish at the way the swear word comes out of Alex’s mouth. It’s not something she’s used to hearing. “If you ever feel like riding, you know where to find me.” It sounds like the first time Alex has offered something like this. Whereas the invitation to come into her home had been hospitable - ‘the right thing to do’ - there was something far less formal about this. If Sam lingered on it any longer, she might’ve wondered if Alex had any friends at all or if Sam was the first person she could stand to be around.

Sam is clumsy about her intrigue. She purposefully leaves her bible behind. The gesture doesn’t go unnoticed. Even at home, Sam can’t find a way to keep Alex off her mind. Mindless chores feel mindless and without her bible to lean on memory is her wavering guide. She misses Ruby. She misses dinner for two, even though their kitchen gets too hot, and they have to escape to the table outside to eat.

She remembers something that’s always stuck with her. Church isn’t just for worship, it’s a sanctuary. So she drives and drives. Clearing her head and not her heart. She parks and enters the open church and prays.

Now when Sam prays, she doesn’t ask for a lot. Instead, she finds that these are the necessary conversations she needs to get through her long days. At church, she isn’t closer to God, but the ornate stained glass is something beautiful to look at.

Even in the dark.

#danvarias #alex danvers #sam arias #samantha arias #supergirl fic #agentreign #supergirl #there are 3 parts but they aren't super long #also if anyone has a cowboy hat i'd like to borrow it thanks #religion isn't bad and it CAN be wonderful #you know that scene in fleabag when she's sitting in the priests office and she looks at a sexy pic of Jesus and turns to the camera?#yeah that's why i wrote this

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beanfic · 5 years

Text

Birthday Girl

Pairing: Josh Dun x reader

Word count: 1857

Warnings: Fluff!!

Author’s note: (side note: sorry this is so late but I had my concert today!!) I wrote this on a plane to texas! And today IS MY BIRTHDAY!! WOO!!! I hope you enjoy this fic :) <3

“Wake up birthday girl!” Josh sung as he swung open the blinds that were keeping the bright morning sun out of your room. You groaned as you flipped the blanket above your head to protect your eyes from the sudden light.

“I hate birthdays,” you grumbled. You felt the blanket be tugged off your body leaving you exposed to Josh who was staring down at you. He was holding a plate with a waffle on it and you couldn’t help but smile at his attempt at a whipped cream heart on the top. There was also a candle in the middle of the waffle that was unlit.

“Make a wish,” he whispered as he pulled out a lighter from his pocket. The pink striped candle lit and made the whipped cream instantly start to melt. “Hurry!”

“Alright!” You sat up and quickly leaned over to blow out the candle.

“What did you wish for?”

“Joshie, I can’t tell you,” you giggled. He handed you the plate and you instantly started eating the waffle. It was still warm and was delicious. Josh sat down next to you on the bed and wrapped his arm around you.

“You better get dressed,” he whispered into your ear.

“What are we doing today?”

Josh raised his left eyebrow, “It’s a surprise.”

“A surprise? You know I hate those!” you sighed.

“I know,” he planted a kiss to the top of your head. “But today is different!”

“As long as there is no hiking or anything like that.”

“Nope, nothing like that,” he reassured you.

You were excited for the day even though you despised the thought of not knowing what you were doing. You also were wondering where your presents were from Josh, even though you knew it was wrong of you to just expect them but you still got that sinking feeling in your stomach that he didn’t get you anything.

Josh took your empty plate and headed down the hallway to the kitchen. You reluctantly flung yourself out of your warm bed and dragged yourself to the bathroom. You popped a few pimples while the shower was heating behind you. The water woke you up more, and you made sure to not take too long washing your hair or body but you still wanted to feel clean. It is your birthday, after all.

“You almost ready?” Josh knocked on the bathroom door before slowly opening it. You stood there in your towel while blow drying your hair.

“Almost!”

“My beautiful birthday girl,” Josh said quietly. He stood behind you, making sure to avoid the direct heat from the dryer, and wrapped his arms around your waist. His lips planted soft kisses on your neck making you giggle and squirm.

“Joshua Dun! I’m not going to go any quicker if you keep distracting me!”

“Maybe I could give you an early birthday present?” He murmured as his finger slid under the top of your towel.

“Stop it, Josh,” you were now full on laughing.

“Tonight?”

“Tonight,” you stated. Josh left the bathroom so you could focus on finishing getting ready for the day.

Picking an outfit for a day filled with events that you were not aware of ended up being more difficult than you expected. You didn’t want to be too casual, but you also did not want to be too fancy. The weather also played an important role because you didn’t want to be too cool or hot either.

Eventually, you decided on a pair of slim denim jeans topped with a nice black t-shirt and you also were going to bring your Nike sweatshirt to incase you got too cold in wherever you were doing.

“There’s my beautiful birthday gi-”

“Joshua! Stop calling me that! I don’t like my birthday!” you cut him off by slapping your hand on his mouth.

“But I love you and you deserve the best birthday ever,” he said after you removed your hand.

“Thank you, but just lay low on the birthday girl pet name okay?”

“Okay,” Josh chuckled. “I have something for you!” Josh walked over to the table in your entryway and picked up a small white envelope.

“A birthday card?” you guessed.

Josh shook his head, “Just open it!” You grabbed a hold of the envelope and opened it up to reveal another small piece of paper with some writing on it.

I want to shoot my shot

I would hate to miss

Go to the place

Where we had our first kiss.

“A riddle?”

“Can you solve it?” he teased but you just looked at him with a glare.

“Of course, the high school basketball court! Do I drive there?”

Josh nodded as he pulled out his keys to his Tesla. Your eyes widened as you realized he was going to let you drive his expensive car.

“No way,” you whispered.

“Yes, way now let's get going!”

The inside of the Tesla was smooth and you made sure to fix the seat and mirror so you could see out of it. The screen lit up as the engine roared to life. You had driven the Tesla once, and have ridden in it on multiple occasions but the speed always surprised you.

The high school was about forty minutes away on the freeway but Josh kept you entertained by serenading you to this love playlist he had made you for valentines day a few years back.

You pulled into the parking lot and immediately recognized the other car that was parked in the almost empty parking lot.

“What is Tyler doing here?” you asked Josh but all he did was smile as you sarcastically. You groaned and hopped out of the car. Tyler wasn’t in his car so you guessed he was probably inside. You swung open the gym doors to reveal Tyler standing in the middle of the court wearing a birthday party hat and holding a noisemaker in his mouth.

“Happy birthday!” He held his arms open for a hug.

“What’re you doing here, Ty?” you asked him as you pulled away from the hug. You looked over to Josh who continued his smile.

“This is for you,” Tyler spoke as he handed you another envelope.

“Thank you,” you sighed as you opened it up to another riddle.

Bunnies are white

And they like to hop

They must like caffeine

Go to our favorite coffee shop

“Pricilla’s?” you asked turning towards Josh who was now beaming. He nodded excitedly and you rushed towards the door back to the car.

“Thank you, Tyler!” Josh called out before he started to jog after you.

“I can’t believe you had Tyler hang out there just so he could hand me an envelope!”

“You just wait,” Josh sneered.

“Oh boy,” you sighed. The car ride to Pricilla’s was about the same time as before because it is right next to your and Josh’s house. Josh held your hand the entire way there which was comforting because you were starting to get nervous about who or what was going to be at this coffee shop.

You pulled into the parking lot and from what you could notice it was pretty busy. You scanned the lot for any cars you recognized but none popped out to you.

“Let’s go in,” Josh said placing his hand in the small of your back, guiding you towards the shop. He opened the door allowing you to walk in first, and the nostalgic smell of mocha filled your nose.

“Happy birthday!” the coffee shop employees shouted in unison. You stopped dead in your tracks and looked up at Josh who was grinning ear to ear.

“I can’t believe you,” you mumbled under your breath as you headed towards the counter.

“Happy birthday! What can I get for you?” the barista asked. You had recognized her from before.

“Thank you, could I order an iced peppermint mocha, please?”

“Sure thing! Anything for you?” she asked looking towards Josh but he shook his head. You started to get your wallet out but the Barista interrupted you. “It’s on the house, birthday treat.”

You smiled, “Thank you!”

“Having fun today so far?” Josh asked and you nodded.

“Is there another riddle?”

“Just wait!” he chuckled. He brushed your hair behind your ear.

“Y/N?” the barista called out with your finished drink. You headed down and grabbed it, but along with your drink was another envelope.

“Thank you,” you smiled. You quickly handed your drink to Josh as you ripped open the next riddle.

The next place is nice

Filled with sounds of barks

Lots of kids and laughter

It's one of our favorite parks

“The dog park!” you exclaimed. It was the place Josh would always take you when you were feeling down because just seeing the dogs run around filled you with happiness. Fortunately, t was only a five-minute drive away from the coffee shop.

“Yes!” Josh intertwined his fingers with yours as you quickly walked back to the car. Once you arrived at the park you were quick to recognize the golden retriever that came running to your car.

“Jim!” you squatted down and opened your arms to the puppy. Josh had gotten him a month ago but Jordan had been helping training him while Josh had been busy with recording. You missed having that little puppy lick you awake in the morning, but Josh’s kisses are almost just as good.

“Happy birthday Sis!” Jordan called out, holding the leash tight in his hand.

“Thanks, Dunk!” you stood up and gave him a hug.

“I believe this is yours,” Jordan said as he handed another envelope.

“Another one?” you looked back at Josh who nodded. You opened it up to read the next riddle.

The next place isn’t fancy

Nothing like Rome

But its the best

Now go home.

“Well, this one got straight to the point didn’t it?” you giggled. “Bye Jordan! Bye JImothy.” You made sure to give the puppy lots of kisses before heading back to the car to drive back home.

“That was the last one!” Josh stated as he got buckled.

“Really? That was fun!”

Good!” Josh smiled over at you.

“What’s at home?” you asked but Josh shrugged his shoulders and started to whistle.

“You annoy me, Joshua Dun.”

“I know,” he laughed. You pulled into the driveway and followed Josh up the stairs to your front door where he unlocked it.

“Surprise!”

You jumped back as the room filled with people jumping out at you and yelling. Balloons were hung up everywhere along with streamers. There were your family, as well as Jordan and Jim, Tyler and Jenna, and some of your other girlfriends.

“Josh you did all this?” you asked looking up at him. He nodded and all you could do was pull him for a kiss. You couldn’t believe that he had set up a scavenger hunt so then he could surprise you with a party.

“I wanted today to be special for my beautiful birthday girl.”

“Thank you, Josh, I love you so much!”

“I love you too, now you have a party to attend!”

#josh dun x reader #josh dun #twenty one pilots fanfiction #twenty one pilots imagine #Twenty One Pilots #twenty one pilots fanfic #josh dun fanfic #josh dun fanfiction #josh dun imagine #josh dun one shot #top fanfic #top fanfiction

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dogbearinggifts · 5 years

Text

Little Tyrants, Chapter Two: Worth the Whiskey

Rating: Teen and up

Summary: When Vanya was four, Reginald Hargreeves visited her cell. But not to take her powers away. Just to let her know he could. Just to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that her powers were a privilege he could rescind should she ever choose not to fall in line.

Years later, the old man is dead—and the last sibling Vanya wants to see has reappeared in the Academy courtyard.

This work is also available on AO3.

Prologue Chapter One

Author’s note: Sorry this chapter took so long, everyone. I’d hoped to update more frequently, but life intervened and…well, here we are. If you’d like to read the asks that inspired this story, you can find them here and here, as well as under the tags “vanya keeps her powers au” and “five returns as a kid au.”

This chapter title is adapted from Cole Swindell’s song “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey.”

***********

“You okay here?”

“Yeah.”

Luther opened his arms slightly, and Five slid to the floor. Klaus had never considered, in the sixteen years he’d been missing, just how small Five was. Not that the fact itself had eluded him—old pictures resurfaced in tabloids or narrative magazines from time to time, proving they’d all been a hell of a lot shorter back when they were still in Dad’s clutches—but it hadn’t struck him as something worth noticing when he’d stumbled into the courtyard. Now, watching him glance around in bewilderment beside a twin nearly twice his height, Klaus couldn’t think about much else.

“Where’s Mom?” Luther asked. “Thought you were gonna get her.”

“I—” The rest of Diego’s retort collapsed when he saw who was—and wasn’t—in the kitchen. “Shit. Mom!”

They’d lost Allison somewhere between the courtyard and the kitchen, when she’d announced her intent to get some towels. Luther had carried Five in, cradled in his arms lest walking worsen whatever condition led him to collapse in the courtyard. Diego jogged out of the kitchen, retracing their steps through the corridor in search of the one who could provide some guidance. Klaus stood by the sink and racked his brain for something, anything he could say.

Five wasn’t wearing his Academy uniform. Not unexpected—he’d never been fond of those starched collars and plaid sweater vests—but he’d always joked about replacing that uniform with everything from jeans and a T-shirt to a tuxedo paired with evening gloves and a billowing cape. Maybe it was the leftover high or the cognac haze clouding his thoughts, but Klaus couldn’t conjure a single reason why Five might have paired scuffed boots and a heavy jacket with sturdy jeans and a pair of aviator-style goggles around his neck.

“You, uh, you need anything?” Luther asked.

Five shrugged. To say he had always smiled before his disappearance would be a misstatement. He’d frowned. He’d grouched. He’d cried for the minute or two it took to realize he’d been seen, the second or two it took for his face to twist and for him to slink off down the hall. But there had always been a glimmer of mischief behind those eyes, a flicker within his expression. Whether harsh with fury or gentle with laughter, Klaus couldn’t recall a time when that light had gone out.

Until now.

“Klaus, could you get him some water?”

Somewhere toward the back of his mind, a flicker of irritation sparked to life. Luther had come up with the idea. Luther knew what he wanted done. Luther could get the damn water himself. But the annoyance was dim to begin with, and died with another glance at Five dripping rainwater onto the tile. Without a word, Klaus went to the cupboard and retrieved a glass.

Allison brushed past before the glass was completely full; and by the time he turned around, Five was reaching for a towel from the stack Allison carried. She plucked one and shook it out as though to dry him off herself; then, with a small and apologetic smile, she placed it in Five’s hands. Klaus set the glass on the table, fought again for something to say, gave up and snagged a towel instead.

He needed another drink.

He couldn’t carry Five up to his room or calm him with four small words. He couldn’t run a few tests and determine what had happened and what Five needed to recover, and he wasn’t the one headed off to corral the one who could chart a course for the healing process. Getting a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water was about the extent of Klaus’ contributions, and he’d done that already. No one would notice if he headed upstairs and went to town on the liquor cabinet. Allison might say something if he popped a pill or two right then and there, but she wouldn’t cause a scene. It would be expected from him.

The longer he watched Five sip from the glass he’d poured, the more he needed to leave. The longer he watched, the less he wanted to leave.

“Where’s Vanya?”

That was from Luther, naturally. Klaus couldn’t say when or how he’d forgotten Vanya’s feelings toward her family, but maybe the Moon erased memories. “Where do you think she is?”

“I don’t know, Klaus. That’s why I asked.”

Klaus hadn’t seen her separate from their group, wasn’t sure if she’d split off before or after Allison had gone off for towels, but the relative peace in the kitchen should have been enough to let Luther know her absence was not to be questioned. “Well, if we’re lucky, maybe she’ll just stay…wherever the hell she is. Oh! You think we could camp out down here? Roast some marshmallows, sing a couple songs? O Vanya, please stay away from us….”

Impromptu performances like that tended to earn flat looks and rolled eyes from most of his siblings, and threats from Vanya, but he’d hoped it might raise at least a small smile from Five. No dice. Five looked down into his glass, holding it in both hands, without so much as a hint of a smile or a chuckle.

Nice going. Allison didn’t say it. She didn’t need to, with the amount of impatience and contempt she crammed into that one glance. He’d messed up, said exactly the wrong thing at just the wrong time, and there was no recovering, no going back.

Of course, he’d known as much before that look of hers. No need to drive it home with the glare of death.

“Well, fine.” Klaus stepped forward, opening a cupboard. A canister of rolled oats was the first thing he saw, and so a canister of rolled oats was what he grabbed. “If you fine folks don’t appreciate good performance art like an audience with sense, I shall take my leave.”

Giving his coat the most dramatic swish he could manage, Klaus strode out the door.

*********

If liquor preference was a personality trait, then Dad’s taste was one of his few redeeming qualities.

Like most objects in the Academy, Dad’s alcohol supply was less an amassing of ingredients and more of a collection. Port and sherry shared a shelf with more varieties of red wine than Vanya cared to count, more types of white than she wanted to taste. Not that she opposed wine on principle, but the sight of so many bottles and so many shades, each promising a different flavor and composition and all the other things wine junkies raved about, brought a twinge of embarrassment when she remembered the five-gallon box she’d purchased because it was red and she’d bought white last time.

But then, nobody could tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine anyway. She wasn’t unrefined. Just honest.

Vanya turned from the wines and toward those promising a shorter path toward inebriation. A half-empty bottle of tequila and a nearly full bottle of mezcal sat a few inches from peppermint schnapps and two different types of rum. Closer to her sat scotches and bourbons nestled beside the whiskeys.

Every label bore the name of a place she knew. Scotland. Jalisco. Kentucky. Each name conjured up a different image, borrowed from a different mission with a different objective and outcome. Dad had sent her and she’d gone in, done what the situation demanded of her, and left with snatches of scenery she liked and memories she didn’t. Each city had its own personality, but there came a point when they blended into each other, leaving her uncertain whether El Paso or Tucson had the hotel with a mosaic tile entrance, or if it was Paris or Amsterdam with the houses she liked. Glances through the sort of books ordinary people kept on their coffee tables cleared a few things up, but there were better things to do than relive what only Dad would call the glory days.

Behind the Canadian whiskeys, and between those boasting an origin in Tennessee, was a single bottle announcing itself as Wyoming Whiskey in no-nonsense letters. After a moment’s study, Vanya poured herself a glass. If she was going to try and erode unwanted memories old and new, a drink from a place she’d never visited seemed the best way to start.

Footsteps approached sometime after the end of the first drink and the beginning of the second. Vanya downed the rest in a few quick swallows. If it was Diego coming to tell her off for not being there for Five, she’d need to steel herself; if it was Five himself, she’d need to clear her glass for another pour.

Klaus rounded a corner, skirt swishing about his ankles as he came to a halt. It had been some months since she’d seen him, and then out in the open and at a distance. Perhaps that was why he seemed thinner than she remembered, collarbone protruding above his bare chest, feathered cuffs dangling over too-slender wrists. He’d tucked an open canister of rolled oats into the crook of one arm; a few oats slipped from his clenched fist and fluttered to the floor. He let out a laugh when he saw her, as though she’d made a joke. As though he were happy to see her.

Vanya added twice the recommended amount to her glass.

“Well, well, well.” He let his handful of oats fall back into the canister and sauntered forward—she couldn’t tell if he was staggering or not—and set the oats on the counter. “And here I thought I was the only one breaking into Dear Old Dad’s liquor cabinet.”

Vanya sniffed. Klaus’ presence demanded she down the whole glass in one swallow, pain be damned, but she settled for a sip. “I’m not breaking into anything. It’s right out in the open.”

Klaus had a way of moving like a slinky, swaying one direction only to fold himself around a corner and past whatever obstructed his path. In one stride, maybe two, he was behind the bar, hand on a bottle of bourbon. “Amazing there’s anything left.”

“Yeah, with you around.”

Within seconds, Klaus’ glass held more bourbon than it should have. Not quite as much as hers—but if he’d had to cope with someone like him, he’d have ditched the glass and drank straight from the bottle. “Oh, right, ‘cause I’m the one who ran up here to get drunk soon as everybody was in the house.”

“And you were completely sober when I got here.”

There was that laugh again, the infuriating giggle that made her want to send a bottle of vodka crashing onto his head. “You really think I’m gonna do a family reunion without a little help?” He took a swallow of bourbon. “Figured you’d get it.”

Vanya’s fingers tightened on the glass. She wasn’t like him. This world he’d constructed in his head, where she was just a shadow of what he was—it was a fantasy. He spent his days wandering the streets or bouncing from rehab to rehab. She worked, and the money she brought in went toward her apartment, her clothes, her food. She spent her days coaching kids through basic chords, cooking and cleaning, playing in the city’s orchestra. She wouldn’t have earned first chair if she’d devoted what remained of her life to the next fix.

A high, sharp noise commanded her attention. Looking took only a second, but by the time she did, the glass had cracked beneath her fingers, webs of spindly lines spreading out and up. Another side effect of Klaus’ presence.

“I think you should leave now.”

Klaus downed half his liquor in one swallow, planting the glass firmly on the counter. A few drops came close to splashing out, but the counter remained dry. “I think you need another drink, if you’re just gonna get your panties in a twist over everything.”

He was needling her, poking her skin over and over until he found what caused the most pain. For what, she couldn't say. Perhaps he was so enamored with Five’s return that he simply could not comprehend why she hadn’t followed to the kitchen to wait on him hand and foot. Perhaps he was still angry over her last refusal to let him crash at her place. That had been years ago, but Klaus was just the sort to hold a grudge for that long.

She could lash back, with words or force. A few sharp retorts already came to mind, but they might not land the way they should. Klaus’ quest to rid himself of powers Dad had never thought to take from him had apparently robbed him of his faculties, if his incessant giggling was any indication, and there was little point in an insult that slid off like water from a tarp. The Academy had never been a noisy place, but what few sounds there were—air rushing through the vents, the creaking of old boards—already tempted her.

And Klaus remained, with no trace of fear.

“I’ve had kind of a rough day,” she said, setting the cracked glass in the sink slowly and deliberately, so as not to throw it the way she longed to.

Klaus’s mouth formed a round O of mock surprise and he clapped his hands to his cheeks. “Me too! Weird, huh? Us both having the worst day ever at the same time?”

Vanya clenched her teeth. He was like the cockroaches at a place she’d lived, one of the few complexes she was grateful to be blacklisted from. Lay out traps and they’d skirt around them. Stomp on them and they’d avoid your boot. Spray them with Raid and they’d roll onto their backs long enough, only long enough, to make you think you’d won. Long enough to make their swift return all the more infuriating. “I don’t want to break anything worse than a glass, is all I’m saying.”

“Why? Afraid the cops might come? Afraid they might send you to—” He put a hand to his mouth, covering a gasp too melodramatic to be genuine, and looked to left and right before continuing in a stage whisper. “Therapy?”

Vanya felt the cracks in her discarded glass spread and splinter before she ever heard it. She wanted to let it shatter—no, she wanted to make it shatter, send a hundred jagged shards exploding out from the sink to embed themselves in the wall, the counter, Klaus’ skin; to strike other bottles like bullets and send their contents cascading.

“You don’t understand.”

“No! I mean, Sitting on a comfy couch for a whole hour while some lady in an ugly-ass pantsuit listens to your problems?” He shook his head in mock amazement, adding more bourbon to his glass. “It’s a miracle we’re at Dad’s funeral. You should’ve just—”

He blew a raspberry, pointing his thumb to the floor.

Another crack spread through the glass, and another. He didn’t see. Didn’t know the humiliation of walking into that office, week after week. Couldn’t comprehend the misery of hearing mistakes inflated and exaggerated, balled up and thrown back in her face whenever she tried to explain herself. He couldn’t know the recurring sting of walking past her favorite coffee shop—a place that had once pulled her into an embrace of scents both earthy and sweet—knowing that the police would be called if she so much as crossed the street to reminisce from the wrong side of the window. If anyone under the Academy roof spared an ounce of sympathy for her, it should have been him. He, at least, knew what it was to have his faults paraded before police and judges and dismissed with no regard for what it was to be in his shoes.

She should have known that was too much to ask of him.

The glass was all but destroyed now; there was little point in leaving it whole. The sink would absorb most of the damage, and while a few shards would fly out, Klaus had learned to dodge. He knew what he faced if he failed to. He couldn’t call the police without risking his own skin.

Yet a part of her, a small part of her, whispered that he just might be insane enough to try.

The canister flew across the room to smack against a formation of bottles, knocking them over with a crash. Liquor spilled over the counter and onto the floor, sweeping up oats in the flow. Vanya turned on her heel, not giving Klaus the satisfaction of one last grin.

********

“That could’ve gone better.”

“Yeah, you think?” Klaus downed the rest of his bourbon and regarded the bottles still standing. The accidental cocktail Vanya had created with her little tantrum wouldn’t be tasty—especially not with oats floating in it and faint remnants of floor cleaner offering a different kind of intoxication—but all of those liquors together would get him drunk faster than anything he could mix on his own.

Well. Drunker.

Klaus didn’t sway as he straightened and headed for the tequila. He wasn’t quite to that point, though he sensed its approach.

“Seriously?”

“Hey, you try dealing with Vanya sober.” He opened the bottle, raising his voice in a mocking imitation of Vanya’s. “Oh, look at me, I wreck some coffee shop and have to not go to prison, everyone needs to be sad for me.”

“Oh, you mean like my entire life? And afterlife, so far?”

“So far?” Klaus grinned, raising both eyebrows. “What are you not telling me, Ben?”

Ben rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t.” He poured a shot of tequila and tossed it down. “If there’s drunkenness after death, you really need to tell me. This could change everything.”

“You really think I’d tell you something like that?”

“Some brother you are.”

“Said the guy who left Five to come get shitfaced.”

The sting was sharp, as if Ben had slapped him across the cheek. Klaus poured another shot and downed it without breaking eye contact, but when he set the glass down he had to look away. He tried for some remark glib enough to set Ben on a different course, but nothing came to mind in time.

“Bet you can still catch up with him.”

It wasn’t the first time the thought had occurred to Klaus, but he hadn’t allowed it to take root in his mind with this level of clarity. Go back to the kitchen, or track Five to wherever the others had brought him. Apologize for whatever it was he’d said wrong—more than one thing, probably, though he could only think of the one. See if Five wanted to go flip off Dad’s urn for a while. Let Five watch him stagger down the stairs, sway in the door, smell the alcohol on his breath. The others, Diego and Luther and Allison—they might not understand, but they expected it. They’d seen it before.

A part of him whispered that Five would see it sooner or later, that maybe he’d already extrapolated from those moments he’d caught Klaus at the bar when they were kids, those times he’d given Klaus the cover he needed to sneak out for his next fix. It didn’t matter, or wouldn’t matter. Sobriety was little more than a punchline around him, and it was only a matter of time before Five saw the joke.

He straightened, swallowed the last of the tequila in his glass, fished for a cigarette in his pocket and lit it. He took a long drag, closing his eyes as he exhaled. It wasn’t’ the first time he’d smoked in the Academy, not by far, but usually Dad or Pogo would come barreling around the corner seconds after his lighter clicked on. This time, there was only silence. Blissful, smoke-filled silence. He leaned against the island, allowing each breath to carry off more of Vanya’s lingering presence.

He wasn’t sure how long it was before the edge of the counter began digging into his back, before the floor began to press against his feet through the thin soles of his shoes, before the weight of the items in his coat reminded him of where he could be and what he could be getting. A pang of guilt accompanied the last thought, regardless of the facts. He wasn’t needed at the Academy. He’d probably sent Five into a tailspin with whatever it was he’d said. The memorial service seemed to have been forgotten for the time being; even if he were missing when it began, his absence wouldn’t be lamented or questioned too heavily. The more he considered it, the more he itched for what those items would buy him.

He’d be leaving Five again. Leaving him not in the kitchen, but there in the Academy while he was off elsewhere in the city; but Five wouldn’t be alone. Might not even notice he was gone.

“Klaus?”

Five’s voice was too soft, too uncertain, but it still gave Klaus a start and he nearly dropped his cigarette.

“Christ on a cracker,” he breathed, glancing down at the floor. Still a safe enough distance from the spilled alcohol that a lit cigarette wouldn’t send a puddle of flame racing up the cabinets, but closer than he would have liked. He sucked in a breath and turned to Five, plastering on a smile. “What’re you doing up here?”

Five didn’t answer. He’d changed into his pajamas—which were drier than what he’d been wearing, and in better shape, but Klaus could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen any of his siblings wearing pajamas in the middle of the day. In each instance, they’d been sick enough to get out of training, sick enough to remain in their rooms instead of joining the rest of the family for silent meals and Dad’s droning records. Five was still walking on his own two feet, his skin lacking the pallor it had held on those days; but Klaus didn’t recall him being so thin when he’d left.

How long had he stood just out of sight?

“Dad’s not here, is he.”

There were two answers: the tactful one, and the direct one. The tactful one was more up Allison’s alley, requiring more gentle words and roundabout phrasings than Klaus had in his arsenal. It was probably more akin to what Five needed, closer to what he’d like to hear, but Klaus had already stalled long enough.

“Died a little over a week ago.”

Five nodded slowly. If there was any surprise in his expression, Klaus couldn’t see it. “He…he probably would’ve walked out when I showed up, huh?”

And done a lot more than that, Klaus thought, but didn’t say as much. Five must have known he’d have been hauled off to one of those rooms everyone hated, held there until he’d divulged every secret he’d brought back with him, had Dad occupied the Academy. “We can go flip off his urn for a while, if you want.”

Five didn’t smile, or even meet Klaus’ gaze. He’d said the wrong thing again. Made a joke when Five needed something else, something Allison or Luther or even Diego would be better suited to offer. Something Klaus couldn’t muster, not even when it was needed. Especially not when it was needed.

“Where’s Ben?”

If Ben’s remark had been a slap, Five’s question was like a punch to the gut. He had to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t form and he couldn’t muster even an I don’t know or a Why do you ask? He could only struggle, through the fog and the emotions that one question dredged up, to say anything at all.

Five dropped his gaze, biting his lip. He didn’t sink to the floor or look for a place to sit down. He didn’t let out a cry or suck in a breath. Klaus watched him crumple all the same.

“Hey, it—” He started forward, barely remembering to put out his cigarette before Five fell into his arms.

Maybe he should have expected it. Over a decade stood between him and Ben’s death. No one would say he’d used them well, and if pressed he wouldn’t disagree; but he’d still had them. Ten years to let the dust settle and the blood dry. Ten years to accept that Ben’s clothes no longer occupied the closet, that no one would set a place for him whenever they were allowed back into the Academy. Ten years of hearing his voice, watching him roll his eyes and try in vain to block access to his stash, of being the only one to know he would never really go away. For all Five knew, Ben’s face should have been among those who greeted him upon his return.

He returned the hug awkwardly, too awkwardly, running a hand along Five’s back. Tears shook his bony frame, and Klaus wanted to kick himself for not hunting down Allison to answer that question. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.”

“How?”

Ben no longer leaned against the bar. He had a way of doing that, of stepping around while your back was turned to show up in the last place you wanted to see him. This time, though, Klaus didn’t mind the sight of him, the look he got—or the clear instructions it carried.

“I mean, it’s not like he’s gone.”

Five pulled away, and the hope in his eyes made Klaus want to shrivel up and disappear.

Ben smiled a bit, raising a hand in greeting. “Hey, Five.”

“He says hi.”

*******

Vanya should have brought the whiskey along.

Her anger hadn’t quite burned away when she reached the top of the stairs, but it had calmed enough for her thoughts to turn to things other than Klaus’ exaggerated smiles and mocking words; and they turned to that bottle on the counter. She should have grabbed it before storming off—or if not that bottle specifically, then another close to it. Something strong, something she could keep all to herself. Something that would get her to the memorial service in one piece.

If her siblings still planned on holding a service.

She found her old bedroom less by intent and more by muscle memory, and it hadn’t changed much from the day she’d left. The furniture was gone, shuttled off to her first apartment and then the next; as were her clothes, which had been added to over the years. It would have been an empty room, devoid of the personality she’d lent it, but there were small signs, little memories here and there. A length of blue ribbon she’d once worn to a press briefing snaked across the floor. The green hair tie she’d thought had been lost in the move lay in one corner, grey with dust. Along the wall adjacent to her window Vanya could just make out little patches where the drywall was ever so slightly uneven, marking the places where, in retaliation for being sent to her room, she’d driven holes into her wall to spell out an obscene message. Dad had barged in before she’d finished the first word.

She ran a hand along the windowsill, catching dust on her fingertips. It wasn’t surprising that Dad’s memorial service had stalled—in the back of her mind, she’d expected Diego or Klaus to delay it somehow, though she hadn’t written off Allison as a potential culprit—but she hadn’t thought it would stall indefinitely. Yet here she was, waiting for her siblings to stop doting on Five long enough to put their dead father to rest.

Vanya looked to the wall again. For a moment she considered finishing the word, leaving it as a parting gift for whenever she was allowed to walk out of the Academy without Dad’s unread will hanging over her head. But then, it would’ve been just like Dad to turn something about willful destruction of childhood bedroom into a condition.

She closed the door behind her and stepped into the hall, seeing no one, but Five’s room stood open. Maybe someone had been there in minutes past; maybe Mom had left it open for whatever reason. Vanya couldn’t say and couldn’t bring herself to care. He’d be moving back into it soon—but then, once the memorial service was over and done with, she’d be back in her own apartment, away from that room and its occupant.

A short walk took her back down to the entryway and then the common room, but that wasn’t where the voices led her. One she recognized as Klaus, the other as Five—but the cheer in Klaus’ voice seemed more genuine now, the simmering resentment she’d caught now missing.

“So I’m just there in my book fort, minding my own business, and the librarian walks over and she’s all ‘Sir, you need to put these on a cart.’ And I’m all ‘Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to just build a new one instead of putting this whole thing on a cart?’”

“Maybe she just wanted you to put the books away?”

“That’s what Ben said, but I dunno. That fort was awesome.”

Ben. Her breath caught. Asking her to name a favorite sibling was like asking her to name a favorite toothache, but some toothaches hurt less than others. Some could be almost pleasant, when they wanted to be.

And some left a different sort of pain when they went away.

“What books did you use?”

“What books did I—Five. I built a fort. Out of books. Had turrets, a moat and everything. That’s all you need to know.”

Rather than pressing Klaus for more details, Five turned his gaze to the armchair. “What’d he use, Ben? You remember?”

Klaus rolled his eyes and began listing off titles, but Vanya barely heard them past the pounding of her own heart. Ben wasn’t there—or at least, he wasn’t where Klaus could see him, and that was by design. The ghosts he alone could see, the ghosts he alone could command, were evidently far more frightening than the poisons he forced into his system and the people and laws he trampled to get them. The substances he favored were still there. His powers were gone—and here he was, playing the medium. Speaking for the dead when the dead no longer spoke to him. Using Ben as a prop to tell an asinine story about himself.

“Don’t.”

Allison’s voice was soft, but Vanya stopped in her tracks. Her sister sat on the stairs, just out of the light cast from the sitting room.

“Are you hearing this?”

Allison bowed her head for a few seconds. When she raised it, there was sorrow in her eyes—but also a glint of steel Vanya had rarely seen outside of particularly nasty missions.

“Don’t take this from him.”

“Take what? A lie?”

Allison stood, mouth tight. She took a few steps forward, but didn’t come close to bridging the gap between them.

“I don’t care what it is.” Her voice had grown softer, scarcely rising above a whisper, but no less stern for it. “You’re going to let him have this.”

A stab of fear went through her. Allison hadn’t referenced those four words, but the threat was there, carried on a tone addressing her as a child. A child who needed to be put in her place. “Or what?”

She didn’t answer, but the glare she leveled on her way into the common room was enough.

************

Chapter One

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy fanfic #tua fanfic #vanya keeps her powers au #five returns as a kid au #little tyrants #vanya hargreeves #five hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #alcoholism #implied/referenced alcohol abuse #implied/referenced drug abuse

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admiralty-xfd · 5 years

Text

Culmination

This is chapter 19. To start at the beginning please click here.

Mulder and Scully find their way home.

RECONCILIATION

SCULLY

(Familiar)

It’s been a rough week. Any time she encounters the death of a child, be it inside the walls of the hospital or on a case with the FBI, it’s difficult for Scully. It would be difficult for anyone.

She can’t help but think of William. She thinks of him every day, but today it’s harder, and Mulder must feel it too. Ever since they discovered the identity and location of their long-lost son, they’ve begun to finally open up to each other bit by bit, sharing the pain they’ve been unable to for years.

Everything between she and Mulder finally feels so good, so familiar. It’s almost as if they’re themselves again; they just aren’t really talking about it. She’s reminded of how it was the first time, when everything felt so good, so right, but they were both holding back how they truly felt about each other. It feels like that again now, the only difference is that she knows they love each other. She knows he loves her, and she knows she loves him. So what’s holding her back?

She can hardly believe it, but it seems that in the eternity they spent apart Mulder has grown. He’s traded in his obsession for what feels like a genuine desire to have a life, with her. All those years ago when he promised her he’d make her happy and did the very best he could, he’d seemed to lose himself along with that promise. That was never what she wanted. It’s never what she asked him for. But it happened all the same.

He’s finding himself again, and she’s seeing him do it every day. She doesn’t think of it in a condescending way, but a hopeful way. He’s not changing; he’s just remembering who he is.

He is the man she fell in love with, once again.

She knew it when he offered to take Daggoo for her without a second thought. She knew it when he’d made her grilled cheese by candlelight. She knew it that night on assignment, in that pull-out sofa bed, when their bodies fit together in that perfect way they did all those years ago. She knew it the night they’d met Reggie in the parking garage; it was their first official “date” and he’d worn the suit he married her in. Maybe he didn’t think she’d noticed, but she had.

She wants him back now, too. She wants him in the same way she did all those years ago, the same way she knows deep down she has since the day she left him. She knows she does, she just doesn't know why she can't tell him. It seems like everything has finally fallen into place, but she still can't tell him. Technically, they’re still married, and they’re living in the same house again. They’re back together, but they aren’t, not really. It’s starting to feel inevitable, but at the same time unfinished. She still feels bound by unfinished business. She wishes she knew exactly what that business was.

After what felt like an hour long shower, she’s exhausted but relieved to have washed that case off her, for now. She gets into her sweatpants, puts on one of Mulder’s T-shirts and goes downstairs to sit on the couch.

Their couch.

Regardless of what their relationship status is, she may as well consider herself a permanent resident of their home again. She hadn’t even asked Mulder if she could move back in; after the fireplace exploded in her rented condo they both knew what would come next. It feels unfair that circumstance keeps pushing them forward rather than their own choices, but she supposes that’s what happens when she delays like this.

He’s holding two mugs and walking towards her. “Feel better?” he asks her.

“Much. What have you got there?”

“Just some tea, I thought you could use some.”

She’s grateful for the gesture. “Thanks, I could.”

He sinks down onto the couch beside her. She sips the tea. It’s peppermint. She smiles because this is her favorite, not his. Over the past few days he’s stocked the kitchen with everything she liked when they lived together. He’d always been pretty thoughtful when they were a couple, as far as men go, but she appreciates it even more now.

He gestures at her. “You’re wearing my shirt.”

“Is that okay? I like how soft it is.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just something… the old you would do.”

She’s taken aback. “The old me? What do you mean?”

He sighs and leans back into the couch, his arm across the back. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I just miss… this. That’s all. I miss us.”

He’s been so honest with her over the past few weeks. It’s been refreshing, she has to admit. He was never so open about his feelings before. He certainly didn’t hold back when he wanted to get something important across, but he still had his guard up at times. The guard posted at the Gates of Mulder seems to have retreated a long time ago, and she’s been so distracted and frustrated she’s hardly noticed.

“I am right here, you know,” she says quietly.

He turns to look at her. His eyes are soft, welcoming, calm. It’s such a nice feeling she’s almost ready to give in to him completely. But then, his eyes change, and lock into hers.

“What the hell are we doing, Scully?” he asks, softly.

She lets his words sink in. She really wishes she knew. She wants to scream because she doesn’t know what it is she’s waiting for. Instead, she leans her head against the back of the couch against his hand and closes her eyes.

“I don’t know, Mulder.”

“Okay.” He plays with her hair a bit. “Scully.”

She turns to look at him.

“I want you back,” he says simply. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

She’s looking at him, her eyes filling with tears. His loyalty to her has never wavered, not even when she gave up on him. At times it almost leaves her breathless. At times she doesn’t even feel worthy of it. She thinks of him in so many moments when he’s shown her the love and support she’d almost taken for granted, moments she knew he’d be there, and it breaks her heart to know how much she hurt him.

She has to say what’s on her mind, she has to. He’s being so open with her, she knows he deserves every bit of honesty she can give him.

“Mulder, did I ruin your only chance to be a father?”

He looks stunned, stops messing with her hair. He wasn’t expecting this at all.

“What?”

It’s a question she’s wanted to ask him for years but was too afraid to hear the answer. She sits up, faces him. “When I gave up our son for adoption. Please, please be honest with me. It’s been killing me inside.” No matter how she tries, she can’t stop the tears from falling. “It’s been eating away at me. It’s breaking my heart.”

She thinks of the little boy in the woods, the tiny yellow slicker and rain boots lying on the cold forest floor, an innocent life cut short. Those little paper hearts, one after another after another. The tiny, malformed infant tossed into a mud puddle in Home, Pennsylvania. Poor Emily and all her pain and suffering.

Then, the sight of Mulder, holding their baby in her bedroom and smiling at her as if their world had only just begun.

The images flood her mind with grief and terror and hopelessness and before she even realizes it he’s holding her in his arms and she is sobbing, sobbing uncontrollably.

Imagine all a mother’s hopes and dreams for her child, then nature turn so cruel. What must a mother go through?

What, indeed?

“Sweetheart…” he’s stroking her hair and holding her tightly. It’s not a nickname he uses for her. She’s not sure where it’s coming from but she can hear the raw emotion, his voice breaking as he starts to cry, too.

“No, never. I’ve never thought that, ever. Please don’t cry, Scully.”

She can’t remember the last time she cried like this in front of him. Maybe she never has. Seventeen years of grief and doubt and sadness come pouring out of her in the presence of the only other person on the planet who could possibly understand. Her pain leaving her body and flowing into his, like osmosis. Her fingernails digging into his back as she clings to him desperately.

“For so long I was afraid you resented me for it. I hated how that made me feel. I didn’t know what else to do,” she sobs. “I was so lost, I was so terrified, I missed you so much. I needed you and I’d sent you away. I didn’t know what to do, Mulder.”

She then tells him what she’s feared for years, what she’s been too afraid to face herself.

“I’m so certain every single day I made a terrible mistake and ruined everything. That your depression, our breakup, everything was my fault. It was all because of me and what I did.”

He’s quiet for a moment, just holding her. She’s shaking and she knows he has to feel it. They’ve never talked about this, ever. Finally, he speaks.

“You don’t deserve to feel this way. You told me back when it happened you were afraid I’d never forgive you, Scully. I should have told you then there was nothing to forgive. I should have told you whenever you needed to hear it. I should have told you every day I’d be there for you no matter what. I didn’t, and for that I’m more sorry than I can say.”

She can’t even understand what’s happening. She’s begging for his forgiveness and he’s apologizing to her… for what?

“I should have been there for you, and I wasn’t,” he continues. “I was so stupid, I was so stupid.”

“You weren’t stupid, you only did what I asked you to do, and then you never even had a choice about what happened to our son.”

“I was stupid, Scully. I cared too much about things that just didn’t matter. The way I behaved… when it should have been you I cared about most. It should have been you above everything else.”

He holds her face with both hands and kisses her forehead. “I should have known how much this would weigh on you all these years. You’d gone through so much already and you had to give up your chance to be a parent.”

“But I gave up your only chance too, and you stayed with me, you stayed even though I could never give you another chance. Why? Why would you do that, Mulder? How could you not be angry with me? How can you not hate me for what I did?”

He takes her face in his hands and looks at her.

“How can you not know why, Scully? I am in this with you. You. I am in it forever, no matter what you may do, or say, or feel. This is never going to be over for me, ever. And as for giving up a chance to be a father? I could never be one without you.”

She looks into his eyes through her tears. She’s needed to hear all of this so much. “I feel like I made that decision for you. It hurts me to know that.”

“Remember when you asked what would happen if I met someone else who wanted to have kids?”

She nods, remembering that night and everything it had meant. That night that brought them here, together now.

“I didn’t tell you at the time, because I thought it was obvious. But maybe I do need to tell you. Scully. That will never happen. It was always you. It’s always going to be you. And hey, if that means no kids? Look at me.” She can’t stop crying. “Your experience is my experience. Your loss is my loss. Your burden is my burden. That’s the way it’s always going to be.”

The knowledge that he’s never felt the need to forgive her for anything, has never resented her for this, has her so relieved. How much time she spent needlessly suffering, when she should have just told him how she felt when she felt it. They’ve sacrificed so many things to external forces, but they never counted on the sacrifices they’d make because of their own inability to communicate.

She wants to kiss him and let him wipe the tears from her eyes and tell him she loves him and she can’t live another minute in this limbo. But something is holding her back. She still can’t understand what’s holding her back.

He continues. “If this is what’s upsetting you, if this is why you can’t let me in again, please let yourself off the hook, Scully. You have to forgive yourself. For you, for me… for everything.”

He looks her square in the face, both their eyes glistening with tears.

“And please... don’t feel guilty for making the decision about William alone. You were never alone. I was always right there with you. No matter what choice you made, it would have been the right one. Because I trust you. I will always trust in you.”

She falls into him, trying to control her breathing. The emptiness William left them both permeates the air for a moment and they just hold each other and cry.

She needed this. He needed this. They needed this together.

She shudders, her tears starting to subside. “I wish we’d had this conversation years ago.” She’s so tired of regret, so tired of allowing the past to control her. She wants to move forward, desperately.

“Scully…” he whispers. It’s only one word, but she somehow understands everything he means to convey.

After a few minutes she takes a deep breath, and they both lean back into the couch, his arms still around her, their faces side by side.

“Why did this have to happen, Mulder? Why do these things have to happen to us?”

He bites his lip. “I don’t know. The darkness always seems to find us, Scully. I don’t know how to stop it. I want to stop it, for you. I wish I knew how. I wish that was something I could search for.”

They’re still for a moment. “I do know that we’re here now, together. And we’re alive. That’s something,” he points out.

“I understand now,” she says suddenly. “After all these years I really understand what you went through when Samantha disappeared. Not knowing where William was, if he was even alive. If he was happy. I never knew.”

“We still don’t, not really.”

She closes her eyes.

“He was our miracle. Yours and mine. I always believed we’d somehow see him again. I always hoped…” she trails off.

“I believed we would, too.”

“I want to let him go. I need to let him go, Mulder.”

Mulder sighs. “Maybe we just aren’t meant to be parents, Scully. Maybe these identities we’ve taken on are meaningless. As much as I’d like to find him again, maybe it’s just not meant to be. Letting him go might be all we can do.”

“Do you feel like a father?” It’s a question she’s never had the courage to ask him but she’s dying to know.

He pauses, considering. “Yes. In the same way I feel like a brother. In the same way I’m still a son.”

She wonders if that’s the place she needs to get to. She wonders if she will ever get there.

All she can do is close her eyes and sit here with him, this man she knows she loves more than anything in the whole world. This man she still can’t seem to let in completely, when she knows how much she needs him. He’s done everything she could have possibly asked of him, and she never even asked him to do it. He did it all on his own. The Mulder she fell in love with so many years ago… here he is, right next to her. On their couch. In their home.

He’s returned to her.

Suddenly she is physically and emotionally drained. All she wants to do is sleep. “Thank you for talking to me, Mulder. I think I want to go to bed now.”

He nods as she stands. She sees a hint of disappointment in his eyes, as if he thought something official might finally happen tonight. She wants it to, but her emotions are in a whirlwind and she just needs to rest.

“Are you coming?” she asks.

He’s been sleeping on the couch most nights since she’s moved back in out of courtesy, but not every night. He looks pleased tonight will be one of those nights. “Yeah, I’ll be right there. Just gonna clean this up.” He picks up their mugs and heads into the kitchen and Scully ascends the stairs.

Just now she starts to realize something. The problem isn’t Mulder. It hasn’t been for a long time. The problem is her. She’s been choosing loneliness, again. Nothing is holding her back but herself.

When Mulder joins her in their bed, he wraps his arms around her and kisses her forehead. “You gonna be okay?”

It’s the only thing that feels right, makes anything okay, being in his arms. She wonders how she’s managed these past few years without it; how she fooled herself into thinking she’d ever have an existence that wasn’t intimately tied to this man in every way.

He’s been so patient with her, so loving. She feels overwhelmed.

“Yeah, I think I am.”

He’s right. It’s time to let go, time to move forward. She’s ready.

MULDER

(Nothing Lasts Forever)

He’s been waiting so patiently. He will wait as long as she needs him to. He knows, he’s always known, that he’d never want to be anywhere other than by her side.

She’s never asked him for a divorce. The word has never come up between them. They are still married, legally and under the eyes of the God she believes in. Knowing this has always kept a flame of hope alive in his heart for all these years.

She’d asked him to pick her up after church, but he’s arrived early. He doesn’t believe in any of this, but she does, and he loves her more than he does his own cynicism. He approves of anything in this dark world that can bring the woman he loves so dearly some comfort.

"Are we together?"

Her words hang in the air. It’s the first time she’s asked him outright just what exactly is going on since they’d begun to reconcile.

“I believed I could protect our son, and I failed. I believed you and I could live together, and I fled.” She looks down, ashamed. “I gave up on that, too.”

Mulder looks at her with tenderness, and maybe a little regret. He thinks of the moment they shared in their office, when she stopped his back rub and gently took his hand and for the first time showed him a little of her own regret. He knows she wants to say something, that she's trying to say something, but isn't.

“If only you’d fled earlier,” he says. She searches his face for his meaning. “Do you know how many times I’ve envisioned that scenario? Where you left that basement office long ago? You’d have your health. Your dog.. your sister... you’d be Kersh’s boss, and be married to some brain surgeon and have a bunch of kids you wouldn't have to give up.”

He’s hinted at this regret before, but now is the time for transparency. If only she knew how much he just wants her to be happy, that even if it meant being without him, he’d take that deal, because her happiness is all that matters to him anymore.

“Mulder, I don’t begrudge you any of those things,” she tells him gently. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Finally, he decides it’s time to stop dancing around this. He loves her, and she loves him, and why are they doing this? What are they waiting for? Why is she holding back? Why doesn’t she realize that every second they spend wading around in ambivalence is another precious second gone, spent, discarded forever? He wants to stop time, like they did all those years ago on their very first case together, but he can't. If only he could make her see, they don't have forever, this won't last forever. Nothing will.

They’ve wasted too much time being afraid. He’s done living without her. He’s done with this state of uncertainty. He just wants it to end.

“Then what are you talking about, Scully? Because I don’t know if any God is listening but I am standing right here and I am listening. Right beside you.”

He needs her to hear him, he needs her to know he will always be right here. He wants her to tell him it’s okay to love her again.

“I’m all ears. That’s my choice,” he finishes.

She looks into his eyes, like she’s done a million times, and at last he sees it. He sees what he’s been waiting for. He sees what she showed him the night they first made love in his apartment, the rain pounding outside, when all their walls came down. He sees the love that was in her eyes the night she named William, and they told each other the truth they’d been holding back for so long. He sees the same face that looked at him ten years ago when they stood in that courthouse and declared themselves each other’s for eternity.

He knows, he finally knows that she can’t wait anymore, either.

She leans in close and whispers into his ear:

“For better or for worse. As long as we both shall live.”

He looks into her eyes and understands.

“That’s not my four-year-old self praying for a miracle,” she says. “That’s my leap of faith forward, and I’d like to do it together.”

He nods. Their vows.

“I always wondered how this was gonna end,” he says, relieved that the ambiguity of their situation has finally been resolved.

He lights one of the prayer candles, and takes her hand in his. “This one’s for you and me, and a new beginning.”

She leans against him and they just live in the moment, surrounded by dozens of candles representing so many hopes and dreams.

“Let’s get out of here, Mulder.”

He squeezes her hand and they start down the steps towards the aisle, towards the exit of the church. He thinks of the hundreds of couples who have walked down this very aisle together after declaring themselves forever joined. Scully had never suggested getting married in a church, probably because she knew it wasn’t something he would have wanted, but part of him feels that somehow this is right, that they are here right now. That they declared themselves to each other once again on her terms, on her turf, so to speak.

Once they walk through the doors and out into the spring morning air, he turns to her.

“I’m gonna get handsy with you now, Scully.”

She laughs and he gently but firmly backs her against the wall where his lips finally meet hers in certainty, in reprieve, in release. She reaches around him and pulls him in tighter, her hands at the back of his neck doing that thing he loves.

He feels overjoyed, complete. He feels free. They are finally back where they belong.

“I never stopped believing in you, Scully.” He kisses her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks, while he tells her what he’s wanted to for months. For years. “Even when it felt like you were far away from me you were always there. I knew somehow, someday you’d come back.”

She smiles contentedly, eyes closed. “Thank you for not giving up on me, Mulder.”

She wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his shoulder. He can feel her heart beating against his own.

“My greatest fear has always been failing you,” she admits. “I'm the one who gave up on us when it got difficult. I realized too late that I hadn’t actually failed you until I’d given up on you.”

“But you were in the right, Scully. I was wrong. Even before things got bad and you told me you just wanted me to stay away from the darkness, to just stay with you, I didn’t listen. I didn’t hear you.”

She just holds him tighter. “We were both wrong, Mulder. About so many things.”

He knows they were, and they’ve both been through so much unnecessary loneliness that all he wants to do is take her home and show her how much he loves her, and allow her to do the same.

“If that’s true, we both made the wrong choice for a long time. Let’s make the right one now.”

She smiles and whispers again into his ear.

“Take me home, Mulder.”

Thanks for reading! See you back here tomorrow with the final chapter.

#msr #txf #msr fanfic #fanfiction #nothing lasts forever #familiar #love it when these two finally get to talking

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