#sorry for the rant...my thoughts on jax are all over the place | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

la-fille-en-aiguilles · 3 years

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Dog Tags

Billy Russo x Female!Reader

Request by @nebulastarr : Hey! Whenever requests open up again, could you do a Billy Russo x Reader where the reader liked Billy but doesn’t want to tell him because she thinks he won’t feel the same way

A/N: I was going to wait and get down to writing this once I was finished with my series... But this one has simply hit a little too close to home. I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I saw it and I ended up putting a lot of personal stuff in it so I’m sorry if it feels chaotic at times. Thank you for requesting, love, I hope it lives up to your expectations. The Only Living Thing series will be back with its third part next week. The song: Isak Danielson - Power

All you heard was an excited scream, that raised above all of the New York’s past-6-pm commotion, as a slender tall body smashed into you, locking you in a bone-crushing hug. You laughed happily, albeit feeling a little bit uncomfortable in Karen’s strong hold. You knew it didn’t seem that way, but Karen packed a wicked punch in those elegant arms of hers. Those self-defense sessions with Frankie boy that she’s been gushing about over the phone must have been finally paying off.

“Once I am done hugging you, I am so kicking your ass,” she breathed out into your hair as she squeezed you harder, as if reading your thoughts. “You’ve been ghosting me for what, a month now?”

You sighed guiltily as Karen pushed you slightly away, keeping her hands on your shoulders. You watched her as she studied your face, a creeping smile stinging at the corners of her mouth.

Grabbing one of her elbows, you groaned dramatically, pulling her towards the busy road. With your hands locked, you finally admitted:

“I did suck at communicating these past couple of weeks. Work’s been…. hectic”, the lie tasted bitter on your tongue, but this was the best explanation you’ve been able to come up with so far. “Please don’t kill me”.

Trying to keep up with your power walk, Karen let a bubbling laughter leave her lips.

“You’re not the one who should be worried then,” she gave you one of those bright trademark smiles of hers. “Next time I’m going to interview Russo, I’ll…”

You stuttered at her tirade as you walked, and of course it didn’t go by unnoticed. Karen was the best journalist you have ever met during your prominent career. She just sensed that sort of thing.

“I’m getting this ‘I-meant-to-tell-you-Karen-but-I-didn’t-and-now-you’ll-need-to-fight-it-out-of-me’ vibe”, she gave you a scrutinising look. “Want to maybe share whatever it is you’ve been not telling me before I go full interrogation mode on your plump backside?”

You rolled your eyes as you led her to a terrace-ringed Upper East Side high-rise, waving to the doorman through the glass doors. Jackson, a thirty-five year old ex-military with three kids and a labrador, gave you a brilliant smile as he hurried to open them for you.

“Good evening, Mrs Y/L/N!” He bowed his head in a stiff, very army-like manner. “A package arrived this afternoon for you, should I bring it up?”

From the corner of your eye, you caught Karen looking around, confusion written all over her face. You had a lot to catch up on.

“Don’t worry about it, Jax, just give it to me,” you didn’t mean to urge him, but you couldn’t wait to change out of your corporate attire into some comfortable old pyjamas and crack open a bottle of whiskey - that’s right, some habits did die hard. And to think you were a bubbles-kind of girl a year ago when you met him.

You could feel Karen’s blue eyes drill a hole in the back of your head as you took a small, envelope-sized package from Jackson’s hands.

It wasn’t until you both stepped into the elevator that Karen cleared her throat.

“When you said you’d rather have a girls’ night in, I asked Frank to pick me up from Queens, not from…here,” she spoke, her eyes skimming expensive red wood and mirrors. “Did you finally sleep with Russo and moved in with him?”

Whatever it was that Karen expected you to say to that, it definitely didn’t include you spitting out a roaring laugh, as you nearly dropped the package on the floor.

“Quite the opposite, actually,” you informed her after you finally restored your breath. “I left Anvil. And, well, Russo. At the end of last month”.

—

A half-bottle of whiskey for you and a bottle of white wine for Karen later, both of you were sprawled out on the lambskins thrown over the hardwood floor in your living room. Jazz music was seeping out of the speakers by the TV, a couple of Diptyque candles emitting a soft yellow glow.

You stared at the ceiling of your new living quarters, your mind a blur. As you folded your hands on your stomach, you felt Karen twitch as she bent her elbow and leaned her blond head on the palm of her hand, facing you.

“So let me get this straight,” she paused, narrowing her eyes. “After becoming the Forbes’ hottest CSO, concluding what can easily be described as deals of the century - especially the one with Anthony Stark aka Iron Man and his magnificent goatee…”

Involuntary, you giggled at this. This talk brought out some very dear memories that you wouldn’t trade for the world - the way Billy’s dark eyes shimmered in the dim lights of the opera house as he gave you a look that said you did it, ever the perfect team… Or the way he threw his arms around your frame, his long fingers sliding down your back… You knew you looked good in that dress, but the moment Billy saw you wearing it… You felt like the only girl in the world, the way his jaw dropped a tad, his lips opening up in awe…

Oookay, Y/N, can’t go there, your mind screamed at you as you wiped that dreamy smile off your face. Sitting down, you took your whiskey glass, and washed those memories away with a gulp of amber liquid.

Meanwhile, Karen ranted on.

“…you just quit?!”

She jumped to her feet all of the sudden, brushing her blond hair away from her face as she watched you excitedly.

“Jesus Christ, did Billy make a move?! He made a move on you, didn’t he?”

The urge to facepalm was fierce, almost overpowering, but you managed to resist. Slamming your empty glass against the floor harder than you intended, you gave her a bored look.

“No, Karen, why… Why in the world would you think that?” You sounded just a little short of desperate, so you cleared your throat. “I was his second-in-command, that wouldn’t have been appropriate…”

When you were done studying the flame, dancing within the glass walls of one of the nearby candles, you raised your eyes to meet Karen’s. She wore quite possibly the most blatant look of ‘you are shitting me’ on her face.

“So you just quit?” she stared at you in disbelief, unblinking. “No explanations provided?”

“This wasn’t how it happened,” you said, hating the fact that you felt like you had to justify yourself. You brought your knees closer, hugging them tightly. “I…”

—

“…I’m here to see William Russo”.  

With a nonchalant gesture, you unbuttoned your Burberry coat, looking at a red-head secretary behind a desk that screamed power and status with every inch of its epic proportions.

Anvil was certainly new money. With all of those hedge funds injecting their cash into emerging companies, there was no shortage of these - entrepreneurial endeavours that didn’t last long.

You didn’t know that at the time, but you were going to make sure this one would.

“My name is Y/N Y/N/L,” you added, perching your sunglasses on top of your head. “He’s expecting me.”

The red-head gave you a polite smile before checking something on her Mac.

“Welcome, Miss Y/N/L,” she almost seemed shy, as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before standing up. “Mr Russo is indeed waiting for you. If you would like to follow me, please”.

As the redhead led you through the training grounds, packed with fit men and women that looked like they walked straight outta Gym Shark ad, you did notice a couple of vagrant stares in your direction. You couldn’t blame them. You looked slightly out of place; more Vogue than the setting allowed for.

You quit your job as the COO of a global FinTech company just weeks ago, looking for a new challenge. It was an adventure of a lifetime, and while your ex-executive board had literally begged you to stay, once you’d decided something, no promise of a generous promotion could make you change your mind. While you absolutely loved your job, working for one of the most prominent online payment giants in the world, it felt like it was time for you to step down. Due to all the processes and wise investments you’d initiated, the company could make millions of profits without their CEO having so much as to lift a finger.

And you, well, you lived for the hustle. And that’s exactly what you were here for.

You still had your doubts about Anvil’s owner and acting CEO, though. William “Billy” Russo had already become a household name in the financial circles, albeit the company he was spearheading had little to do with the FinTech space. Some said he had the potential to succeed; others badmouthed him for being ruthless and balancing on the very edge of legal limits.

In short, the man had you intrigued. So the very moment he called and invited you to drop by Anvil to talk strategy, you knew you had to meet him.

See the beast for yourself, so to speak.

The first thing you noticed about William Russo as you walked into his office, spacious and entirely transparent, with its glass walls overlooking the training grounds, was experience, for the lack of a better word. It was etched into his every handsome feature, especially into his scruff strong-willed jaw. As he raised his gaze to meet yours upon the red-head’s announcement, his black eyes swallowing you whole, you realized no light reflected on their surface. There was a certain confidence to him as he raised from his chair, his white shirt straining some over his chest, long dark strands of hair falling onto his long eyelashes. This man meant business, as those black impenetrable eyes zeroed in on yours. He almost seemed too flawless - to spotless to be an ex-marine, stained with blood and murder.

All that Hallmark handsomeness was nothing but a cover.

Before William Russo had even got a chance to open his mouth, you were determined to find out what was lurking underneath.

“Mrs Y/L/N”, the hot-shot gave you a polite smile. “Thank you for coming”.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Russo”, you didn’t move an inch. He may have invited you for interview, but he wasn’t the only one with a long set of demands.

You briefly wondered if he knew that.

Before your thoughts could take you further, William Russo made his way to you, composed and calculated. He stopped by your side, albeit for a moment; rolling the sleeves of his shirt further up, he shot the red-head a charming smile (nothing like the one he gave you).

“Olivia, would you please bring a fresh pot of coffee to the conference room? Mrs Y/L/N and I have a lot to discuss”.

When he turned back to face you, you noted unconsciously that he was taller than you expected, the top of your head barely reaching his shoulders. The cool and composed look was back on his face as he motioned towards the doors.

“Would you like to follow me, Mrs…”

“Y/N”, you cut in with a slight raise of your chin. “I’d also prefer to call you William while I tear Anvil’s strategy down”.

His reaction didn’t disappoint. Some tension left his arms, his stung-up body relaxing just enough for a spark of mischief and curiosity flicker its way to his eyes’ surface.

A twinkle of a smile danced across his lips as he bit on the inside of his cheek, nodding ever so slightly in approval.

“It’s Billy”, he said, amusement echoing in his every word. "I don’t expect any leniency, Y/N”.

“Good”, you replied instantly, looking him straight into his eyes. “That’s not what I came here for”.

He nodded again.

And this time, there was liveliness in the quirk of his brow and a touch of insecurity in the corners of his mouth.

Now that was the man you could potentially work with.

—

Working with William Russo was anything but predictable. There were, however, certain patterns to his way of handling things. Whatever the trouble was, Billy was good at seeing the bigger picture - he was usually able to put things into perspective, but there were occasions when he refused to. You dare say that sometimes, you felt like he thought that money didn’t matter - like Anvil’s financial prosperity didn’t matter - as long as his team got not to risk their lives one extra time. You watched him turn down several lucrative deals that you’d busted your ass to put on his table, because it involved sending his men a little too far from home, in a place where he had no strings to pull whatsoever should anything go south. A part of you (the part that wasn’t frustrated as hell) admired him for that - it didn’t, however, stop you from disagreeing with him, time and again.

You may have never been to Iraq, and may have never known the horrors of sleeping with the bombs exploding a mere kilometer away, but you knew a game-changer when you saw it. There were risks involved, there was no arguing about that, but those were calculated, and those kind of deals could make Anvil jump straight to the top of the private military sector overnight.

William and you disagreed.

When William and you disagreed, no voice was raised, no blood was spilt, but Billy usually became distant, cold and just short of snappy when those conversations took place. 

He only crossed the line once.

  You were three months into your job as Anvil’s Chief Strategy Officer when Mayhew happened.

The clock on your desk showed midnight as you paced in your office, on the phone with Rex Mayhew, the U.S. Ambassador in Cairo. A cat-and-mouse game between the Egyptian Armed Forces and the nefarious arms dealer group had become common knowledge since a week or so; the U.S. special forces got involved in the conflict when it’d been discovered that the arms were being transported onto American soil. Rex, an old friend from your Yale days, had let you in on the fact that General Richard Ravelin, in charge of the operation, was looking to reinforce his rangs with private military before “neutralising the threat”. This was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with a potential governmental recognition in play… and Billy wanted to hear nothing of it.

You were exhausted and barely hanging in there; Billy was categorical and stubborn.

You’ve dropped the phone on your table promising Rex you were going to give him an answer in two hours, tops. Taking a deep breath, you walked out of your office, your bare feet thudding on the parquet floors of the corridor. When you reached Billy’s hideout, you found the man leaning against his desk with a glass of whiskey in his unnerved hand.

“Billy…” you spoke firmly, barely stepping through the doorway. “Rex…”

“Can go fuck himself”.

Oh, okay. No sugarcoating this. Alright.

You saw his lips barely touch the amber liquid as he slammed the glass against the surface of his desk.

“I said no, Y/N,” he wasn’t facing you anymore, leaning on his desk with his hands digging into the wood, his back tense. “Please just go home. Have a good night sleep. We will talk about this tomorrow.”

You could have sworn you felt your head starting to fume. This was the third time Billy Russo was shutting you down. For the third time he was making you feel like an incompetent fool when you were trying to do your goddamn job.

Why in hell would he hire you if whatever vision you had for Anvil didn’t match with his own?!

“You could at least say this to my face, Billy,” you spoke a bit harshly before you could stop yourself. “You know, to my tired and disappointed face, with a mouth that you have been shutting up every time it offers you a deal of the century”.

This sounded so much better in your head.

“Why did you hire me?” you asked almost immediately, trying to soften the impact of the words that had already escaped. “If this isn’t the direction in which you want to take your company, maybe I should just…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Y/N, just fucking leave already!” Billy snapped like a branch that’s been holding too much weight, the sound of it dry and final.

…maybe I should just rethink the entire plan.

There was no point in finishing that sentence now, was there?

“I was there long before you came along, so I’d think I know a shitstorm in the making when I see one!” Billy was looking at you alright, brushing his hair back, his eyes black and void.

You had wished It would have been new to you - looking in William Russo’s eyes and not seeing him there. But it wasn’t. He was back to his Hallmark version of a man, but instead of playing a hero, he was now putting on his villain guise.

“Let’s get something straight here,” he leaned back on his desk, crossing his arms on his chest, his black eyes narrowed. “While you were making your way to the top of a rich-ass cookie-cutter FinTech company, I was crawling in the dirt in Iraq under a downpour of the Trident D5LE missiles. While the closest thing you’ve come to havin’ your hands dirty was bribing an investor or two, I was fucking beheadin’ people under the direction of the CIA,” his words were cold, measured and rhythmic, like a round of bullets being fired on a range. “You know nothing of what’s it like to be in the middle of that kind of shit show, princess, so when I fucking say no, you listen. Is that clear?”

Bark. Sit. Roll over.

“Crystal. Sir.”, you finally broke the heavy silence hanging in the air, just barely resisting the urge to salute him. “I’ll see myself out.”

Biting the inside of your cheek like your life depended on it, once you turned your back on him, your first thought was don’t you dare cry on his account, bitch and then almost right away wait at least until you’re home.

You could have sworn you heard William call your name in a stranded voice, but you made sure to slam the door somewhat hard as you left his office so you could pretend you didn’t hear him.

If you were to face him now, with all that power and toughness he exuded… You would never admit it, even to yourself, but you’d just end up on the floor, huddled into a shivering little ball.

—

You were grateful that the next day after the shit went down with Mayhew fell on a Friday. When you stumbled into your apartment in Queens at almost one in the morning, you immediately shot an email to the HR department asking for a day off. Once that’d been done, you dialled Rex to decline his offer to introduce Anvil to general Ravelin, washed the makeup off your face and crawled into bed, hugging the second pillow close to your chest.

You didn’t cry, if that’s what you’re wondering.

As you rolled out of bed in the morning at around 8 am, you took a shower and grabbed a coffee from the kitchen before settling behind your home office desk with a heavy head. When you opened up the Keynote presentation with your strategy outlined for the H1, you couldn’t help but steal a glance at the iPhone you left on your couch last night.

You weren’t going to check if you had any missing calls.

There was nothing you had left to say to each other.

…with your chest hollow, you powered up the screen. There were no missed calls and no new messages.

It all looked like you had another strategy to build now. If Billy Russo thought that calling you a rich-ass princess that knew nothing of the world, all butterflies and rainbows, was going to make you resign, then man, was he in for a surprise.

You once heard one of his men compare you to a military convoy, when the guy thought you weren’t listening.

He had no idea.

You spent the morning refilling you coffee cup and rebuilding your H1 plan from scratch. After about eleven calls with the people you knew could get you a foot in the door of the offices of some government officials, billionaires and generals, after typing, deleting and typing again for 5 hours straight, by 2pm you had a solid game plan. You were pretty sure it would still need some tweaking from Castle, who essentially held the role of the Chief Operating Officer, dispatching men and women on missions and planning operations, and, well, from Billy Russo.

The Badass-ex-Sniper-turned-CEO himself.

You kept the email short and to-the-point, sending the document over to Russo with Castle on copy, saying you’d be in the office to debrief on Monday.   Refusing to check whether your email’d been opened, you slammed your MacBook shut.

The rest of the day rolled on uneventfully. You grabbed a coffee with the People Culture Officer from your previous company, who also happened to be one of your dearest friends; then you picked up your dry cleaners and did some shopping, cracking for a pair of new shoes in Saks Fifth Avenue.

Shoes were, indeed, your weakness.

By the time you got home, the tired sun was yawning, stretching its rays in one last effort before rolling into bed. Humming a Dua Lipa song under your breath, you were putting your new Jimmy Choo’s away when you suddenly heard your phone ring.

You didn’t even have to look at it to know who it was.   You checked the time, however, noticing is was two minutes after the official end of the working day.

“Hi, Y/N”, Billy spoke, clearing his throat. “Are you… Um… Any chance you’re available to meet tonight? I would really appreciate it if you could give me fifteen minutes of your time. Please.”

It sounded like the real Billy Russo was back around. Insecure. Rugged. Imperfect.

“Can you pick me up?” you asked softly, “I’ll text you my address. There’s a pizza place just around the corner, I could use a free slice”, you circled the cold coffee cup you left on the counter with your finger. “Free as in you’re paying, Russo”.

A laugh that came somewhere from within caressed your ear.

“Uh, yes, I’m actually… Yeah, thanks. I’m leaving the office now,” even if he tried to hide it, a shocked surprise still seeped through the cracks in between the vowels.

You chuckled silently at his reaction.

“Just one more thing,” you ventured, placing the cup in the sink and making your way to the balcony - your small piece of heaven with a wooden chair, pillows and lavender. As you stepped outside, you put oyour free hand on the railing, just to feel the coolness of it, the evening air and the gentle flower smell stroking your skin. “What kind of car should I be on the lookout for?”

Billy hesitated, biting his bottom lip, running his nervous fingers through the thick strands of dark hair. The setting sun was hitting him just from the right angle, making his sculpted cheeks look like they were made of marble.

“A Rolls Royce Wraith”, he squirmed, rubbing his forehead, probably realising how lame and pretentious it sounded. “I’ll call you once I’m downstairs”.

“Uh-huh”, you smirked, leaning on the railing with your forearms.

You saw Russo pinch the bridge of his nose, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip again.   Your small balcony provided quite a view, when you really thought about it.

“Don’t take too long”, you couldn’t help it, it really was stronger than you. “I’m starving”.

With a wide grin, you dropped the call and went back into your apartment.

You were planning to make him wait for ten extra minutes when he would finally “arrive”.

Just for the hell of it.

—

“That’s a lot of hot sauce for one pizza”, Billy commented, watching you spray your truffles and cheese generously with the piquant olive oil.

You gave him a mischievous smile.

“What can I say,” you shrugged, leaning back in your chair and licking the tip of your finger after you swept a drop of it from the top of the bottle. “I like them hot”.

That startled a laugh out of Billy as he eyed you with something in his irises looking a lot like awe.

Just when he was about to speak, a servant brought a glass of red wine for him and bottle of sparkling water for you.

You thanked the guy with a sweet smile, while Billy eyed him a bit coldly, obviously waiting for him to leave.

When the waiter had finally made himself scarce, Billy softly called your name.

You raised your eyes to meet him, struggling as hell to keep your stare vacant. (Which was hard to do with some foreign tightness in your throat).

“Before we dig in and I hope spend a nice evening as two friends, getting together on a Friday night”, he didn’t even blink? Was he blinking? You couldn’t tell, his black eyes swallowing you whole, again. “I want to apologise. I was completely out of line… It was unacceptable. You don’t need my validation, of course, but I still want you to know that you are doing a terrific job at Anvil, taking us to the heights I never even thought existed. It’s just… It’s hard for me sometimes to be a good CEO and someone who promised to take care of my men at the same time… Everything is happening so fast, I’m afraid to lose my footing.”

You reached out for his hand across the table before you could stop yourself. You didn’t take it, but your fingers brushed his ever so slightly before you realized what you were just about to do. Your eyes widened as you looked at him, searching for a reaction.   Billy remained perfectly still, not taking his eyes off you.

You grabbed a napkin next to his wrist, pretending this was what you had meant to do all along.   “We’ll get there, Billy”, you said, a small encouraging smile blooming on your lips. “We just need some tweaking”.

You weren’t sure if you were talking about strategy at this point anymore.

—

You had a great time at dinner.

(And a whole-hearted laugh as Billy finished your remainders of the truffle pizza, downing a litre of water to numb down the burning sensation in his throat afterwards).

You talked about your respective lives, your ex-colleagues, your hopes for the future… You dared think this who the real Billy Russo was.

And he was incredible.

After the two of you were done with dinner, you offered him to come upstairs to your place and go through the new strategy together. He didn’t hesitate, although you could swear you’d seen something ambiguous flash in the depths of his dark eyes before he nodded.

(You must have imagined it.)

The two of you ended up sprawled out on your soft faux fur carpet talking game plan, bouncing ideas off each other. You watched Billy frown, as he rubbed his mouth with his long fingers, smile in excitement and shake his head in awe when you voiced your ideas - you felt proud and appreciated, and you wouldn’t trade the sensation for anything in the world.

A couple of hours later the two of you had finally decided that it was enough brainstorming for one night, and you rose to your feet to go and make Billy a coffee before he got behind the wheel. As you pushed the start button on your coffee machine, you heard him speak over the noise.

“You know I’ve done four tours - three in Iraq and one in Afghanistan”, you popped your head up, only to see him play absentmindedly with something on his chest. “And every time I’m considering a mission for Anvil, I find myself back in there again… A part of a death squad.”

You carefully picked up his cup of coffee and made your way back to him. You didn’t say a word as you leaned lower to hand it over to him, encouraging him to go on.   Billy thanked you in a whisper before clearing his throat.

“Every time I have to send them somewhere, especially overseas, I force myself to stop and think… Is this really worth it? Is a fat check really worth putting the lives of my men and women in danger? And most importantly - you may think it’s stupid…” he avoided your gaze, staring into his coffee cup, a miserable smile on his lips. “I think, will it make a difference? If one of them dies on a mission, I have to at least know they made a difference… it’s selfish and it’s more about the peace of my own mind, but it is what it is, you know?”

When he looked up at you, his eyes were full, full to the brim. There was so much emotion in them, hatred, misery, hope, adoration, all whipped in a wild mix that was Billy Russo’s dark, velvet eyes.

“I carry these at all times,” the fingers of his free hand dropped to his chest, as he got a hold of something hanging around his neck. A necklace? “When in doubt, I just look at them - they help me remember where I’ve been and what I’ve done - and I just know if it’s worth it or not. The answer is usually no, by the way”.

He smiled again, the curve of his lips looking less haunted this time, as he sipped on his coffee.

Dog tags. Those were Russo’s dog tags.

“So they’re your reminder that, even being a badass CEO of a private military company”, you couldn’t help but feel some kind of zero gravity settling in your lower stomach as you saw him chuckle at your words. “…you still have a heart”.

“How poetic”, Billy teased you without missing a beat, putting the empty cup on the floor next to him. “But yeah. Sort of, I guess”.

As you fell asleep that night, you dreamed about explosions, piquant olive oil and holding Billy Russo’s dog tags in your hand.

—

The time flew by after that. In 8-month time (after some tweaking) Billy Russo and you became a team. It sometimes felt like nothing could stop you, as long as you were together.

It should not have come as a surprise that the two of you earned yourselves a catchy nickname - at first, it was spoken solely behind your backs, but soon enough it became some kind of a title, more powerful than that of the CEO or the CSO.

Anvil’s men and women (and especially Frank - the fact that he invented the nickname secretly tickled him pink) - were now calling you Bonnie and Clyde. The ultimate partners in crime, against all odds, doing the impossible.

The two of you also settled in an almost homely kind of routine. Ever since that Mayhew fiasco and the day that followed, Friday had become the non-spoken partners in crime day. What it meant in practice was exchanging Friday jokes on Anvil’s internal communications suite…

(Billy once attacked you with a “would you look at this, just found the actual footage of your interview @ Anvil”. Before you even got a chance to answer, he forwarded you a cheesy meme with two old women speaking to each other, one of them saying “We need someone who can do the job of two men”, and the other responding “oh, so it’s only a part-time job then”. When you shot him back a message asking whether he really considered himself an arthritic old woman, that seemed to have shut him up).

…grabbing a beer in a bar nearby…

(you sometimes invited your colleagues to join you, plus it was an unspoken rule that Frank and Karen were to be there as well)

…you making fun of Billy Russo’s eating habits…

(It was honestly a nuisance to have a lunch with him. The list of things he refused to eat went on and on: no asian food, no food chain restaurants (even high-rated), no soups, no cheesecakes… He sure was settling well in that peaceful life he earned after spending all those tours living off canned food).

…and just overall enjoying each other’s company.

By the time the ninth month of your being Anvil’s CSO had rolled in, you couldn’t imagine not seeing Billy Russo every day. Not noticing him rolling his eyes at a smart-ass comment you or Frank made, or his orbs lighting up every time you told him the deal with that or this decision maker had gone through. You simply could not understand how you managed to live day in and day out, and think you were genuinely happy, before you actually met Billy. Everything before him just faded away somehow, your memories lost their colour and spike in comparison to the life you were living now. You kicked ass at your job, your career thrived, but most importantly, you were feeling like this was exactly where you were meant to be, braving the obstacles by Billy Russo’s side, knowing he would catch you should you fall.

He would, wouldn’t he?

It was your usual Friday night outing, the seven of you - Billy, Frank, Karen, Curtis, James from legal, Ashley from mine clearance and yourself - occupying your usual table at Whimsy, the bar that must have made 90% or their revenus off of Anvil’s folk. It was just around the corner from the headquarters, after all.

The overall mood of the evening was rather nostalgic. It’d been four weeks since you’d lost a team member in a crossfire in Falluja, Iraq. After everything was said and done, his loss still hung heavy in the air, and it felt right to get one more drink in Jasper’s honour. The conversation flowed easily, even though the topics you’d spoken about were anything but.

“I remember how I felt when I lost Andy”, Ashley nursed her beer as she stared into the distance. “I just literally had the weight of the entire world on my shoulders, pinning me to the ground, I just couldn’t move on”, she finished her bottle in one go and motioned for the bartender to bring her another one. “Sometimes, I just ask myself, what would have I done if I’d known he was going to die the next day? Would I have stopped him from going? I think I would,” she thanked the bartender as he put the beer in front of her, her eyes a bit foggy. “Yeah, I definitely would have.”

Frank grasped Ashley’s shoulder and squeezed it hard in a comforting gesture; Karen gave her a tender look.

You didn’t know why your mind had gone there, but all of the sudden a memory of Billy sitting in his office chair, laughing his ass off at some offhand comment you’d made flashed before your eyes; it quickly got replaced by the recollection of his hand brushing against yours during the Zoom meeting you’ve had with general Warren Singer; then you remembered him putting his hand on the small of your back, staring daggers at some army brat wanting to join Anvil, eyeing you like a piece of meat (you learned later that day that the man’d been thrown out before having a chance to introduce himself); until finally, your brain stopped dead at the picture of Billy running his nervous fingers through his hair as he called you from his car, telling you he was only leaving the office.

What would you do if you knew he was going to die tomorrow?

Your heart sunk at the thought as you gulped hard, ducking your head and staring at your hands folded in your lap.

A soft touch enveloping your elbow had you facing the man of the hour, his black eyes shimmering with concern.

“Are you okay?” he half-whispered, half-mouthed, not letting go of your hand.

No.

Nothing is okay, Billy.

I’m so happy that I met you, but you’re scaring the hell out of me.

I never wanted any form of eternity until now, I never saw the point…

So stay. Please, stay forever, and feel something for me, too.

“Yes. I’m fine,” you whispered back, staring into his eyes, hypnotised and helpless. You watched him turn away from you as if in slow motion, the warmth of his hand leaving nothing behind but emptiness in your bones.

“Here is to always telling the things that matter to the people who matter”, Billy spoke firmly, raising his beer. “Here’s to never missing a chance to open up to the people we love”.

Well, if this was his way of crossing the t's and putting the dots to the i’s regarding his feelings for you, he couldn’t have been clearer.  

As far as confessions of love went, this one was non-existent.

—

You tried, time and again, to convince yourself you had to go. You learned the hard way that your unrequited feelings were feeding on a sort of inadvertent parasitic relationship where every moment of your day depended on the level of Billy’s unintentional emotional indifference. Your days were spent questioning his every move - every look and every touch; until, the grown-ass woman that you were, you’d commanded yourself to stop second-guessing everything - stop feeling - and decided your best course of action would be… to work yourself into the ground.

If Billy ever noticed anything, he didn’t show it - your were still you, after all, working hard, laughing when he said something funny, calling him out on his bullshit when needed. He didn’t notice slight change in your eyes, when their icy surface cracked at every other compliment he threw in your direction (and there was no shortage of those). He didn’t realize the smile you gave him was different from those tightlipped signs of appreciation you gave to Anvil’s potential clients, he didn’t think twice about the reason for which you glowed around him, your every move softening, your every gesture emanating warmth.

Because Billy hadn’t really known you until you started to have feelings for him.

You knew this couldn’t go on forever. This entire situation was bound to result in some explosion of nuclear proportions, and then all hell would break loose. You needed to get yourself out of this situations, but you just… couldn’t. You couldn’t imagine your life without Billy Russo. You couldn’t leave him.

Even if being friends with him meant tearing yourself apart and suffering in silence.

  Long story short, you waited with fear in your bones for someone to walk into your life and to get you out. You’ve had no fight left in you to do it yourself.

Your salvation came in the form of a phone call on a Friday evening, when Billy was on a recruiting mission in California.

You were typing back a response to his cheeky message when the call cut in half-sentence.

Billy Russo: Please remind me to take you with me instead of Frank next time? He’s driving me insane trying to set me up with the ladies from the Organising Committee. Any ideas on how I can calm him the fuck down?

You: Sorry, Billy, but recruiting is out of my mission scope. As for the calm down part, try bondage maybe? :)

Billy Russo: I’m going to pretend you did not just suggest I engage in sexual practices with Frankie. Karen will have my balls.

Billy Russo: But perhaps you’re right. Taking you with me is probably not a good idea. Wouldn’t want my new recruits’ brains to turn into mush because of how beautiful you are.

You: The flattery will….

“Hello? Y/N speaking”, you brought your phone close to your ear, your cheeks still a lovely shade of pink. If you were going to feel miserable when Billy came back, acting like nothing happened, you were sure going to make the best of that fuzzy feeling in your chest right now.

“Miss Y/N/L”, a smooth deep voice greeted you, and you could have sworn you’d heard it many times before. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”

Frowning in an attempt to remember, you urged:

“No, not at all. How can I help you?” you stared into the screen of your Mac, wheels turning in your head as you silently catalogued all the men you were in discussions with regarding a deal. “I didn’t catch your name…”

“Oh, how rude of me”, the man chuckled but there was no mockery in his voice, more like self-depreciation. “Tony Stark, from Stark Industries”.

Your mind went blank. Did you hear his last words correctly?

“Uh… Mr. Stark”, you quickly got a hold of yourself - well, as quickly as you could. “I appreciate you reaching out to me directly. What can Anvil do for you?”

You did a pretty bang-up job trying to mask your amazement with polite cheerfulness, and Stark had caught on that.

Tony Stark just called your cellphone number. What in the world?…

“We don’t really do alien invasions”.

Ohyourgod, did you just say it out loud?!

His uproarious laughter took you by surprise, reverberating through your entire body. It took every ounce of your self-control not to giggle in response.

“That’s a good one, I love it”, Stark finally said, restoring his breath. “And the better question would be, Y/N - can I call you Y/N? - what you can do for me”.

Before your brain could take you into some naughty direction, freaking Iron Man cleared his throat.

“Okay, this came out wrong,” he admitted with a sense of self-irony. “I um… I’m looking for the Co-Chief Executive Officer for Stark Industries. Well, Virginia Potts is actually looking for a Co-CEO, I’m just her errand boy. And my missions apparently include recruiting…. Anyway,” it was a bit of a challenge to follow Anthony Stark’s train of thought, but you were also still shocked, so that could explain it. “…I think you are the perfect fit for the job”.

You just stared into the screen front of you, your breathing barely audible.

“Mrs Potts and I would love it if you could swing by the A-Tower, let’s say, on Thursday? You’ll be surprised, but I can also whip up a mean cup of coffee…”

Say something.

Fucking hell.

Say something!…

“Thursday sounds great,” you blurted out without thinking. “Let me just shuffle my schedule around… I could stop by after lunch?”   Your hands were slightly shaking as you clicked on your mouse, opening your schedule window.

“Whatever works for you, Y/N”, you could hear Stark smile. “Not to sound like a creep, but I’ve been following your career for quite a while now, and I think that the work you've done in such a short span of time for Anvil is outstanding, even though you still don’t offer protection from alien invasions”.

That made you chuckle, pushing you halfway out of your stupor.

“I’ll put that on the list of things for us to consider”, you promised.

"Tell Mr. Russo I sent my best,” Stark added, and you felt your heart drop to your stomach. “I actually might have some ideas for how we could collaborate. Let's discuss this on Thursday, too, shall we?”

After you said your goodbyes, you fell back in your chair, dropping your iPhone on the table.

You: The flattery will….

...get you nowhere.

You never finished that message, leaving Russo on Read.

—

Starting with that evening, things were moving fast - too fast for you to keep track.

After a three-hour long coffee and the tour of the A-Tower, Virginia Potts, the acting CEO of the Stark Industries, had offered you the job - just like that - and asked you to come back to her executive assistant should you wish to take the job, with your salary expectations and the information about your notice period. You thanked her for her time and promised to get back to her as soon as you made your decision.

Virginia Potts was a brilliant woman; but running a company like Stark Industries while being equipped with a vagina was certainly no walk in the park. Sexism was still very much present within the Boards of the Tech Businesses. You understood perfectly well why she wanted a woman in her corner - it would have been a massive slap in the Board’s face, but it was also about having someone to lean on, who just understood.

In any other circumstances you would have peed your pants in excitement. It was an opportunity to work for Stark Industries - no, scratch that - it was an opportunity to step in as a Stark Industries co-CEO. The idea of it still made you dizzy.

…but as you looked at Virginia’s email sent to your personal address thanking you for stopping by, your eyes were swimming with tears.

You weren’t ready to leave Billy.  You just couldn’t.  You couldn’t leave him.   There was no epic finale to your story. There was no big revelation, no closure, no moment of relief, no acceptance, nothing. Only a fat-ass what if.

And you didn’t know how to let go of a what if with Billy Russo.

And that was exactly why you had to do it.

You heard Billy come in the next Monday earlier than usual. He was positively humming Usher’s Yeah! quietly as he made his way past your office’s doors straight into his own.

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes. You’ve been psyching yourself up during the entire weekend, telling yourself it wasn’t a big deal, we wouldn’t even flinch when you were going to tell him.

You had to tell him.

As you stood up from your chair, straightening you skirt with the palms of your hands, you suddenly heard the footsteps coming back in your direction. You froze in place like a deer in headlights when Billy swung open the door to your office, a box of Pierre Hermé macarons in his hands.

Your goddamn favorite Pierre Hermé macarons.

“You’re here!” Billy’s warm smile illuminated the room. “So much for a surprise, huh?”

He shook the box carefully in the air. You stared at it, dumbfounded, every single thought leaving you.

You couldn’t breathe.

In the hazy morning light seeping through the windows of your office, Billy looked beautiful and dissolute, shirt open at the collar, longer strands of dark hair falling into his eyes.

He was going to be the death of you. It really wasn’t fair.

“Billy, I have to tell you something.”

Was it you who spoke those words? They seemed distant and cold, so uncharacteristically detached.

Blood roared in your ears.

“What’s wrong?”

Billy’s reaction was instant. In three decisive steps he closed the distance that separated you, leaving the macarons on your desk. He stood still just mere inches away, and just like during your very first meeting, you had a fleeting thought cross your mind: you really were tiny next to him, the top of your head barely reaching his shoulders.

You bit the inside of your bottom lip, trying to keep your composure. He stared at you unblinking. He wasn’t touching you, but it felt like his eyes were looking straight into your soul, undressing you, blowing that wall you built around yourself into dust. They were taking you down, piece by piece, determined to see what you’d been keeping from him.   Because, of course, he knew. He should have known something was going on. Hence the surprise this morning.

He had no idea what it was though.

“Maybe you should sit,” you said, making a physical effort to tear your eyes away from him, feigning sudden interest in the buttons of his shirt.

  That chest…

  …was going to be just fine. He didn’t feel the same way you did. He would just find someone else to fill your position. With brilliant women stalking him - in cooperative packs - that would not be a problem.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you”.

You squeezed your eyes shut as soon as his words reached your ears.  Fucking hell, you should have done that by phone. Or with other people around. You should have…

“You’re leaving”, you heard Billy repeat as his voice broke a little. He stepped away, burying his face in his hands as he dragged them down his jaw and neck, staring into the ceiling.

“Billy, listen, I…”

You were the one to close the space between the two of you this time, and before you could think too much into it… You threw your hands around his shoulders, burying your face in his neck.

The sensation struck you like a bolt of lightening when you felt his hands cross behind you back and pull you closer.

He smelled heavenly. Like a forest fire, a hint of smoke with oud and pine. You inhaled deep, deeper still, losing yourself in his comforting touch.

In his arms, just for a second there, you felt home.

“You… The company doesn’t need me anymore”, you nearly choked on words, screaming internally at yourself to keep the waterworks at bay. “It’s thriving, there’s not much else I can give you. My job here is done.”

I need to leave because your indifference is destroying me, and when I think I’m ready to let go, all it takes is one look from you, and I’m back to wanting you, to settling for anything you give me, like a goddamn fool.

“What the hell are you talking about, Y/N?!” Billy exclaimed, his hands grasping your shoulders as he distanced your bodies just enough for him to look into your eyes. “I nee- The company needs you! I was… You know, I was planning to make you the CEO of Anvil in a couple months time,” his smile, as earnest as it was, did not reach his eyes. “Yeah”, noticing your eyes go wide in shock, he let his hands slide down your sides. “You’re so much better at it than I ever was. I was going to join Frank and just manage operations… under you”.

You just stared at him, dumbfounded, not feeling a stray tear escape your eye and rolling down your cheekbone.

“These are the tears of happiness, I hope”, Billy added, and you barely registered his touch as his thumb wiped the salty drop off. “Well, I guess Anvil will have to settle for the little old me. With my best girl going places."

You gave him a strained smile before you carefully wiped your cheeks, just taking a moment to look at him. To try and read him.

Billy Russo was a goddamn ceiling. Plain white, cool and unattainable. In all of your time working for him, you have never seen this Hallmark version of him before. Which one was it?  

Oh wait, you guessed you knew. The happy-for-you friend.

“So where are you going?” Billy asked, his eyes empty. “Who snatched you away from m- Anvil?”

The stutter was so subtle you barely noticed. You were finally tired of reading into shit.

“Stark Industries. I’ll be their co-CEO”.

—

Before you left Anvil you promised yourself you’d get the deal with Stark Industries up and running. There was no one in the world you trusted more in terms of security than Billy.

(The fact that you couldn’t keep your heart safe from him didn’t really count, did it?)

As a matter of fact, Billy and you were going to shake hands with Anthony Stark on the deal on your last night of being Anvil’s CSO. It was happening in The Metropolitan Opera and required both Billy and yourself to dress for the occasion.   He promised to come pick you up at 6pm sharp; you were putting on the Jimmy Choo’s you’d bought a coulee months ago in Saks Fifth Avenue when you heard a low knock on your door.

Straightening up, you threw a quick glance at your reflection in the mirror. You decided to go with a long Marchesa black velvet gown with a rather deep V-line, a pair of long diamond earrings and an elegant half-up half-down hairdo, soft curls in the front framing your face.

“I’m coming”, you yelled out, picking up your leather jacket (because why the hell not) and your purse from the kitchen counter. Sharply opening the entrance door, you realized moments later that you didn’t even take time to prepare yourself for seeing William Russo in a tux.

If you weren’t already half in love with him, the sight before your eyes would have sealed the deal.

God-fucking-damn, like he needed any help being unforgettable.

With a black jacket thrown on a crisp white shirt with a couple of buttons undone and the tie hanging loosely around his neck, Billy was here to make a statement, to leave a mark. His hair was coiffed back in his usual style; honest to God, he looked like he just stepped out of the Man of the Year special GQ edition…

Just when your thoughts were about to switch to the way you must have looked next to him, ridiculous in your simplicity, like you refused to make an effort…

…Your eyes met his.

And the way he looked at you was so intense, his big black eyes with galaxies in them probing into yours, his strong jaw slack. There was beauty and tragedy reflecting in those orbs, but only just for a second - just for a second, he looked at you the way he probably looked at the sky he could never reach. Just for a second, he looked at you the way that made your heart beat twice as fast, like the world could crumble all around him and he still would not have blinked.

Would not have taken his eyes off you.

“Wow, Y/N, you look… You look beautiful”, he finally said. “I just can't spot a part of you that beats the other.”

Something in your chest exploded silently.

“Thank you, Billy,” you smiled at him - a genuine and happy smile, because you felt on top of the world with his adoring eyes on you. “You’re quite a catch yourself”.

Before you could scold yourself for your choice of words, you stepped out of your apartment and locked the door behind you.

“Shall we?” Billy offered his hand to you, without hesitation it seemed.

“We shall”, you replied instantly, slowly sliding your hand into the crook of his elbow.

And, just like always, you were going to enjoy it while it lasted.

—

The crowd in the opera was so posh, the looks all the women had been throwing you first made you question your choice of outfit. It’s after overhearing their conversations that you realized, the reason they stared daggers at you was the man that kept by your side no matter where you went.

Virginia and Anthony welcomed you at the buffet with sun-stained sincere smiles. After a short small talk, Anthony Stark informed you both that he had signed the contract earlier today, thus officially giving Anvil an exclusive security deal with Stark Industries. As of now, Anvil was the only company allowed on the Stark Industries’ premises in the quality of guards and protection officers.

The look Billy and you exchanged spoke volumes; while your eyes were sparkling with excitement though, screaming “we did it!!”, his bottomless black eyes were whispering “thanks to you”.

The four of you then shook hands and went through rounds of gratitude and appreciation; when a pleasant woman’s voice announced the imminent start of Onegin, inviting the guests to go to their seats. Virginia immediately took you hand, leading you straight into the Opera house, saying something about leaving men to finish their drinks. You threw Billy a laughing look over your shoulder, mouthing “come join me” before disappearing out of his sight.

“So on the scale of one to ten, how pissed at me are you, Mr. Russo?”

Billy turned his head sharply to a side, leaning on the high table, and spotted Anthony Stark himself, nursing a glass of whiskey. “For taking your queen away from you? Excuse the chess metaphor, but that woman”, Stark took a sip of his whiskey and savoured it before swallowing it down. “Is a goddamn queen.”

Billy chuckled, straightening up, digging his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

“That, she is,” he whispered, his eyes still piercing the spot in the crowd where your smiling face was mere minutes ago.

—

When the opera ended, both Billy and you couldn’t be more relieved - because both of you hated it with passion.

Exchanging meaningful glances in the dark during the singers’ performances now and then, you had to bite your tongue in order to not just ask Billy if you could maybe sneak out. Russo proved to be more stoic than you, carefully covering your hand with his in what was meant to be a comforting gesture.

You didn’t look at him once after that, afraid to say or do something that would make him remove his hand.

How much more pathetic could you get?

When the performance was over, Billy led you out of the opera house without saying a word, his hand hugging carefully the small of your back.

His silence was unnerving. You didn’t know what to make of it. Should you have shaken his hand off back in the darkness of the concert hall? Or should you have caressed it with your thumb?

Your mind was spinning in circles by the time he opened the door for you and you slid into the front passenger seat of his Rolls goddamn Royce.

When he got in the car and gripped his steering wheel, you reached out and placed your hand on his whitening knuckles.

“Billy,” you spoke softly, barely audibly. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” he whispered back, turning his head to a side to face you. His black eyes stared into yours, looking hypnotised and helpless. “Everything is fine.”

It didn’t take a degree in Psychology to see that he was lying. You could feel his gaze on you as you turned away from him, taking your hand away at the same time.

Billy started the car. The revving engine filled the silence, loaded with the unsaid words.

—

“…he then walked me to my door, we exchanged our goodbyes. And that was it,” you finished lightly, looking back at Karen.

Her eyes were red as she stared at you, unblinking.

“Unbelievable…” she whispered. “So you never told him?…” her lips barely moved.

You sighed.

“Have you ever felt like you’re potentially in love with someone? Like, you don’t actually love him, you know you don’t, but one day you realise that you could? You realise just how easy it would be for you to fall in love with him? With all the teasing and the banter, the play hitting each other, calling each other names, just…. You start to pick up on little things - like if you listen closely, in every shut up, there’s a barely-there ring of I could love you.”  You shifted on the floor a little, and Karen watched your memories transport you somewhere else again. While physically your were here, in your apartment - with your fluttering eye-lashes, uneven breathing and loaded expression - mentally, you were somewhere else.

“….You probably don’t notice it at first, but your body is drawn to him. Every accidental or absentminded touch…” you continued quietly. “And there’s that twinkle in his eyes when he looks at you and it messes you up, because - what’s going on with you? What the hell does it even mean? Are you imagining shit? You’re trying to make sense.”  

Karen didn’t interrupt, still staring at you as if she were seeing you for the first time

“I mean, he didn’t ask for any of it, you know?” you finally raised your foggy stare at Karen, as if searching for confirmation. “Maybe he just did something dumb one day, smiled at you or said something that seemed important and then all of the sudden you’re full on Looney Tunes, seeing stuff that isn’t there?”

Your words barely audible, you swallowed hard, before continuing.  “…I just kept looking at him with what ifs, and could haves, seeing all that goddamn potential. It’s so fucking twisted. Over-analyzing everything? Waiting for a sign?…” you chuckled bitterly all of the sudden. “…I was so fucking scared of reading too much into it, of crossing that line, because… It would be so easy!… Falling in love with him would have been so easy.”

Oh sweetheart, Karen’s eyes glowed with comfort as she reached out for your hand and squeezed it softly. But you already are in love with him.   

A loaded silence ripped through the air in your living room. The sound of an engine revving somewhere close squeezed its way through the slit of an opened window, and it seemed to break the trance.

Both Karen and you shuddered, and as you took in the realisation Karen’s eyes just bestowed upon you, you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“It’s pretty late,” Karen spoke up, reading you like an open book. She knew it was her cue to leave the stage. You needed time to process. “Frank is in a bar nearby with Curtis, let me just give him a call, okay, sweetheart?” she gave your hand one last reassuring squeeze. “You know where to find me when you need me”.

“Yes”, you responded, blinking tiredly. “Thank you so much for coming, Karen. I didn’t mean to unload on you like that…”

“Shut the hell up,” the blonde advised, raising her eyebrows. “But honestly, Y/N, please call me once you… come to terms with things, okay?”

You nodded.

When Karen left, leaving the sweet and pleasant smell of her perfume behind, you closed the door behind her and turned around, leaning on the cold wood and metal with your eyes closed.

It’s been a month. This was supposed to pass by now. Billy was supposed to stop inviting himself into your dreams. You were supposed to heal.

You may have just realized you were in love with the man instead.

Letting out half a moan, half a groan, you peeled yourself from the door slowly, and brushed your hair back, wanting nothing more than to fall face-first into bed.

After you at least cleaned up a bit and put out the Dyptique candles, that is.

As your eyes scanned your living room in an attempt to asses the size of the job at hand, you stopped mid-way, zeroing in on the box Jax gave you earlier in the evening. It rested silently on the kitchen table.

Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you made your way to the kitchen area. Grabbing the package, you turned it around, looking for any indication of the sender.

The package wasn’t even stamped.

Curiosity getting the best of you, you took a moment to grab a knife from one of the drawers, and carefully swished it between the two cardboard sheets.

Flipping over the envelop, you heard something fall out of it before you could actually see it. A small sheet of paper floated in the air before falling on the surface, partially covering whatever fell out of the package.

Your heart squeezed the second your brain identified the object, attached to a worn silver chain.

With trembling fingers, you slid two metal pieces from under the paper, covering your mouth.

Finding their home in the palm of your hand, Billy’s dog tags shimmered in the dim candlelight.

Squeezing them in between your fingers, you grabbed the paper with your free hand, your eyes staring at one single sentence scribbled on its surface.

“You took my heart with you”.

#billy russo x you #billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo angst #billy russo fanfic #billy russo story #the punisher imagine #billy russo imagine #the punisher story #billy russo request

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mythiccheroacademia · 4 years

Text

“Say cheese, take a picture. Strike a pose, make a scene, take a picture.”

—Say Cheese | KiDi

Word Count: 1.3k Pairing: Todoroki Shouto X Reader Context: Soulmate!AU, Reader doesn’t live in Japan Warnings: hints of explicit content, explicit language

All characters are 18+

A/N: Welcome to the third installment of the 2.5k celebration! This wasn’t difficult but tedious? I rewrote the entire thing twice LMAO. Anyways, I think this is currently my favorite song on the list. KiDi is the man fr 🇬🇭 This is one of his newer songs and I hope I did it justice. I was thinking a fun long-distance relationship with a hint of “will you like what’s actually on the other side of screen?” No (real) angst this time! Enjoy <3

Todoroki Shouto | Say Cheese

Midoriya nearly winced as he watched his friend stab into his steak a little too harshly to be considered normal.

“Everything alright, Todoroki?”

This time, he actually winced when the icy-hot hero’s eyes flickered up to meet his own with a dirty glare.

“Right. Stupid question.”

Shouto merely grunted. Izuku sighed.

He had hoped taking Todoroki to his favorite restaurant would lift his spirits a bit after recent events. However, Midoriya should’ve known better when Todoroki got the steak instead of soba.

The green hero grimaced when he plunged the fork into the filet.

Izuku carefully chose his next words.

“You know…this doesn’t mean you’re out of the game.”

“Easy for you to say. Your soulmate didn’t ‘curve your ass like a grade’,” Shouto sourly huffed.

Izuku placed his hands against his mouth in a prayer like fashion in an attempt to hide his laugh.

What happened between you and Shouto had been a…surprise to everyone.

During a mission that required help from international heroes, Shouto had found you. His soulmate. One look at your matching birthmark and he was quick to approach you.

You two hit it off right away.

Your hero agency was only needed for a week, but Shouto had taken every opportunity he could to know you. From the way your nose twitched when you got annoyed to the silent flutter of your lashes when he softly kissed the skin beneath your collarbone. The moment he saw your smile, he adored all that was you.

The icy-hot hero had always been a bit skeptical over the concept of soulmates, yet he was ready to share his life with someone he hadn’t believed existed all but seven days ago.

When you left Japan, it was difficult.

However, you two kept in constant contact. Despite the time differences and the unconventional schedules that came with being a hero, you made it work.

Facetime calls were a must. Shouto wanted—needed—to see your face at least once a day. Whether it was to say a quick good morning or to end the night with heavy rants about hero politics, he wanted it. Even if it was just to observe you get ready for work, he’d quietly take in your beauty. He won’t admit to his secret album of screenshots.

If he couldn’t call you, he texted. Sometimes it’d be long conversations centered over food. Other times, it’d be random pics of things that reminded you of each other. He especially liked the ones he’d get late at night where the clothes you wore left little to the imagination and he’d quickly lock his office door so he could visually discover what was left behind the tiny strip of underwear.

The first “I love you’s” were exchanged over the phone and, afterwards, Todoroki had stared at your picture on his screensaver for half an hour.

Six months went by of calls, texts, pictures, and grandiose anniversary gifts, before you were able to meet again due to another mission.

When he offered to pick you up, you oddly declined. Shouto hadn’t thought anything of it.

When you finally met, you curved him.

At least, that’s how Bakugo put it.

He hugged you, you were stiff. He tried to kiss you, he caught your cheek instead. And for the rest of the day, you actively avoided him. He immediately confronted you about it and you said you were tired. That’s how you played it off for the last few days.

At first, Shouto was outright depressed. Then he was angry for a day. Now he was just bitter.

Everything was perfectly fine up until your arrival. Did he do something wrong? Were you two fighting? He didn’t understand it and it was driving him crazy thinking about it.

Izuku watched with concern as Shouto coldly rubbed the mark on his shoulder. He sighed as the temperature of the room seemed to drop.

“Don’t forget that you’re meant to be together, Todoroki. Just talk to them,” he reminded.

“How?”

“Remember how Momo’s having that pool party tomorrow?”

“Yeah…”

[Next Day]

“So, you gonna ignore your soulmate today too?” your friend, Jax, nonchalantly asked as he gathered silverware.

You miserably sighed and put your head in your hands.

“I’m the biggest dick of the century.”

“No kidding.”

“Now, now,” Momo softly chided. “You said so yourself. You were overwhelmed.”

Ochako, who stacked the food cartons, nodded in agreement. “You met your soulmate for a week and had to continue 99% of the relationship over long-distance. I can understand why you’d be scared to physically meet Todoroki again. It’s different. Especially after how serious you two got.”

“Still doesn’t abstract from your lack of communication skills,” Kai reminded. “You hurt the poor man’s feelings.”

Iida nodded. “Todoroki is…confused to say the least.”

You nervously looked up at them. “Be honest. How mad is he?”

Your friends remembered how Bakugo and Kaminari’s teasing made the usually mild-tempered hero burst into angry flames.

They looked to each other before collectively staring at you in silence.

You dramatically groaned.

“It’s not like I don’t like him anymore. I love him. I do. It’s just…I was nervous! When I saw him, I panicked!”

Unbeknownst to you, the kitchen door opened.

Iida motioned behind you. “L/N, I believe there is—”

“Shh, they’re having a moment,” Ochako quieted, oblivious.

“He’s just such a beautiful person. He’s so kind and thoughtful and he has so much good to offer the world. It blows my mind that someone like him exists. For me. It’s so easy to be my best self behind a screen. I’m just afraid he won’t like what he sees in real life…”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

The soft sound of your soulmate’s voice made you freeze. You slowly turned to see him stare at you with an unreadable expression.

“We’ll be outside,” Jax said before your friends filed out.

You gulped beneath the intensity of Todoroki’s stare. Not only were you embarrassed, but you were hyperaware that you were in a swimsuit. It didn’t help your nerves as you took in his well-defined muscles and the happy trail disappearing underneath his shorts.

Why does he have to be so damn fine?

Todoroki’s thoughts weren’t far behind yours as he took in your physique, but he had things to address.

“Y/N, sweetheart, please talk to me.”

“Shouto,” your fear was clear in your whisper. “I’m sorry.”

He moved closer to you and you both felt the warmth from your birthmark when his hands found solace on your hips.

“You know I love you, right? Everything about you.”

“Everything I let you see,” you gently corrected, eyes to the ground.

The shame and insecurity in your chest made your eyes burn, but you couldn’t blink the tears away before Todoroki tilted your chin to meet your gaze.

“Then, show me the rest, Y/N,” he said, voice deep and genuine. You gasped as he kissed your birthmark. “I want the good and the bad. I want you. All of you, my love.”

You closed your eyes and sighed into his embrace, letting yourself finally feel his physical presence. It was like his words melted away your doubts.

He wanted you.

Why were you trying to convince yourself otherwise?

“Okay,” you whispered, laughing through your nose.

The red and white hero pulled away to soak in your features before diving in to capture your lips. It had been six months. Six full months since you two had tasted the other and damn if it wasn’t worth the wait.

With each passing kiss, he seemed to sink deeper into you. Soon enough, you didn’t know where your mouths started or ended. All you concentrated on was how his tongue massaged your own as his hands tried to memorize every curve of your body.

Todoroki impatiently groaned as he attached his lips to the sweet spot on your neck.

“Oh! Shouto wait—”

“I meant it when I said I want you,” he growled before his hands traveled downwards and squeezed your ass.

You quickly figured out you would also be seeing more sides of your soulmate as well.

#todoroki shouto #todoroki x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #mha x y/n #bnha x y/n #honorable mentions:#iida #ochacko #momo #midoriya who tried his hardest #and fucking bakugo and his mouth lmao #2.5k follower event and celebration!

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curvynerdfan · 4 years

Text

Bookkeeper and the Biker

Thank you @xx—day-dreamer—xx for requesting and being patient! This piece was a lot of fun to write but took forever, sorry about that. I hope you like it! 💕

Also sorry for the overload of samcro gifs lol! I just love when you find gifs that fit the storyline

Jax x Reader

Y/N felt like her heart was gonna jump out of her chest. She was headed home. Well, her hometown, she hadn’t been “home” in over ten years. Her dad was killed on a run when she was sixteen and her mom used the opportunity to get her out of Charming. Not that Y/N wanted to leave. She always saw the club as her family but her mom despised SAMCRO after her dad passed. Y/N thought her mom blamed the MC for her dad’s death.

Y/N had flourished in her time away from Charming but still felt like something was missing. So she was going back. Over the past ten years, Y/N had grown her skills and felt confident in her decision to come back.

She loved growing up in Charming. She could remember running around the autoshop with Jax and Opie, driving Gemma insane because it wasn’t exactly safe. The clubhouse took hide-n-seek to a whole nother level and family dinners were her favorite club activity.

She called Gemma about a year ago and the mama bear of the club was ecstatic. At that point Y/N had no plans to move back. She just missed the rest of her family. They reminisced and caught up on each other’s lives. Gemma let her know how the club was doing and Y/N kept her second mom up-to-date on her life.

At some point, Y/N mentioned that her dream life consisted of running her own eclectic bookshop and living above it. She never thought her dream would become reality but Gemma had other plans. A two story shop in downtown Charming popped up on the market and momma Gemma called Y/N before a sign was outside the building. Once Gemma sent her all of the pictures and told her the price, Y/N snatched it up. While she had some savings, the purchase price was being covered by money her dad had left her in his will.Plus, her association with the clube convinced the owner to lower the asking price. She was given access to the fund when she turned 25 and she couldn't think of a better way to spend her money than to pursue her dreams. She even had money left over to purchase books and some furniture for her new place without dipping into her own savings.

Gemma told her she could stay in a clubhouse dorm until her apartment was set up. She pulled into the lot of Teller-Morrow and parked her car. Y/N felt the anxiety build and took a few deep breaths to settle her nerves.

“There is no reason to be nervous. It isn’t like you abandoned Jax or Ope. Hell, they may not even remember me, no biggie, no pressure”, she mumbled to herself, “Gemma invited you. No one goes against Gemma, right? And it’ll be nice to see my SAMCRO family. It’ll be great!” Y/N said, but she didn’t feel as confident as she sounded.

She opened the door and quickly stepped out before she could change her mind. Once completely out of the truck, she stretched her arm up high and arched her back. She grabbed her backpack and her duffle bag and locked up her truck before heading to the office to look for Gemma.

“Can I help you lassie?” A dark-haired Scotsman asked.

“Umm, yes please. I’m looking for Gemma.” she said.

“Ah, is she expecting you?” he questioned.

“Yes, you can just tell her Y/N is here.”, she clarified.

The Scotsman disappeared around the corner and Y/N took the time to take in her surroundings. Very little had changed. The Teller-Morrow signage was rusted and worn in some places, there was newer equipment It also looked there were members in SAMCRO than before based on the number of bikes parked in front of the clubhouse.

“Y/N! There you are baby!”, Gemma shouted as soon as she walked into the office.

Y/N couldn’t help but squeal when she launched herself at Gemma. They had always been close as she was growing up. Gemma taught Y/N how being a nerdy, tomboy didn’t mean that she wasn’t a beautiful badass too.

“Hey, momma.” she said when Gemma squeezed her tight.

Gemma leaned back to look her over and then kissed her cheeks in greeting before pulling Y/N out of the office and across the parking lot, ranting and raving about how great it will be to have a powerful woman back in Charming. Y/N just giggled and let herself be dragged around.

The momma bear had cleaned up a dorm for Y/N to have for however long she needed. While it still looked like a typical clubhouse dorm, there weren’t any posters of naked women or trash scattered around the room. There was also a gift basket of goodies on the bed for her.

Y/N hugged Gemma, “Thank you for going through all this trouble for me. I am happy to be home.”

“Not any trouble at all sweetheart. You’re not the only one happy that you’re back in Charming.I know Jax has been asking about you for a while!” Gemma said, nudging Y/N with an eyebrow raise.

Y/N’s face flushed, “Don’t start with that Gem! Neither one of us should get our hopes up.”, she mumbled.

Y/N has always been close to Jax and Opie but Jackson never fall into the brotherly category. She didn’t want to get excited about the idea of a relationship with Jax and possibly ruin the amazing friendship they have. Plus, she didn’t think she was his type. Gemma said he dated Tara for several years and was really hung up on her when she left. From what Y/N remembered, Tara was always snooty, looked down on the club, and had no desire to live a small town life.

“Baby, you know me, I wouldn’t lie to you. Jax has been head over heels for you from the get go. He kept asking if you remembered him, how you were doing, how he can help you find your place here. Hell, he stocked that top drawer over there with Reaper and SAMCRO shirts so anyone new knows you are important to us. I would wear one of those tonight if I were you!”, Gemma suggested, “Give him a chance before you close yourself off again”

Y/N nodded and decided not to argue when Gemma gave her that all knowing look. Gemma helped her unpack your bags before leaving the dorm. Y/N used the hours before the party to lay on the bed and order more materials for her shop. When she had about an hour before the party’s start time she decided to take a shower and get dolled up before joining the excitement.

After her shower, she rummaged through the drawer that was handpicked by Jax. Y/N ended up grabbing a black “fear the reaper” t-shirt, a pair of her ripped jeans and some old sneakers. Y/N knew better than to wear nice shoes to a SAMCRO party. Y/N decided to tie the t-shirt up so it showed a little bit of her mid-riff and enhanced her natural curves. She dried her hair and applied basic makeup before heading to the party.

Y/N weaved her way in and out of the crowd of club members, their old lady’s, croweaters, and wannabe bikers. She made it to the bar and ordered a double before making her way to Gemma. She was starving and knew the momma bear could direct her to the food.

“Damn babygirl! You are just trying to give these boys a run for their money huh?”, Gemma said approvingly, “Atta girl!”

Gemma fixed her up with a full plate and got her settled in with Tig and Piney. Y/N caught up with the guys and dug in on the delicious food Gemma cooked. All of the sudden to mammoth arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her into the air.

“What in the world!”, Y/N squealed.

A hefty laugh was the only response she received before she was dropped back down onto her feet. She spun around quickly and then gasped.

“Opie!” her shout pierced his ears and he flinched.

“Damn, you still have pipes!”Ope exclaimed as he wrapped Y/N up in a hug.

Y/N and Opie spent the next thirty minutes talking about life and joking around. Opie knew she was moving back so it wasn’t a surprise, but it was finally true now that she was in front of him. He was going to get married soon and wanted her to be there on his special day. Y/N and Opie had always agreed on the simpler things in life. They wanted to find their person, fall in love, get married, have kids, and live in Charming surrounded by friends and family.

Y/N gave Opie a hug and promised to visit more. The noise was getting to her though, after such a long drive the party wasn’t really her scene. She made a quick stop at the ladies room before getting a refill at the bar.

Jax made his way through the party, greeting members and partygoers as he made his way to Opie. His friend had a massive grin on his face and Jax couldn’t help but laugh. It was rare for the giant man he thought of as a brother to look like a silly puppy.

“What has you smiling so big, brother?” he asked, looking over.

“Y/N” was Opie’s one word response.

“Where?”, Jax couldn’t hold back his excitement.

Opie laughed and reached out to physically turn Jax around. His best friend laughed even harder when Jax’s jaw dropped. She was stunning. Y/N was still the beautiful girl he grew up with but he could tell she was more confident and her curves had developed even more. She was wearing one of the shirts he had picked out for him. That caused an odd sense of satisfaction. Y/N got her drink from the bartender and made her way down the hall and away from the party, more importantly away from him.

Opie slapped his back, “What are you waiting for man? Go get your girl!”

Jax felt his cheek warm and shook his head before swaggering after her. At some point she drifted out of his sight. Jax wracked his brain for where she could have snuck off too. After checking her dorm and finding it empty, he realized where she was. He climbed the stairs but paused before opening the hatch to the roof. What was he going to say to her? He hadn’t seen her in almost ten years. His mom assured him that she would reciprocate his feelings but how do you tell your childhood friend you want to be more.

Y/N jumped when the hatch creeped behind her. She didn’t think anyone would find her up here, but if anyone could it would be Jax or Opie. To her surprise, it was Jax. ‘Dear lordy, he is even hotter now,ah and that clenched jaw oof’, Y/N shook her head to clear her mind.

“Jax, you found me.” She whispered in awe.

It was real now, she was really in front of him “Y/N… of course I found you.”, he said with a sigh.

“Wow! I mean, you look really good, umm, not that you have ever looked bad. Well i guess you look bad in the baddass biker MC VP kinda way, congrats by the way. You don’t look bad ugly, not that you have ever looked ugly, you still take my breath away. I am not some flustered sixteen year old anymore and,” Y/N paused awkwardly, “ Oh my god, that is not how I wanted this to go. It’s been such a long time.I’ve missed you and your mom said you missed me to but now I’m not sure because all you’ve done is stare at me so far, so maybe your mom was wron-” Y/N paused when lips were on hers.

She could feel Jax’s lips smirking against hers, “I missed you too”, he whispered before kissing her again.

Y/N hummed, pulling away from him, “That is the best way anyone has ever made me shut up”

She leaned against his chest before looking up at him again, “What does this mean, Jax?”

“Are you really staying this time?”, he asked.

Y/N nodded, smiling at the sheepish look on his face.

“Then, I want to make you my old lady someday. For now, we can just see how things go. I always pictured us ending up together, but I don’t want to force anything. Biker and a bookkeeper, who would’ve thought?” He smiled.

“I did”, Y/N grinned.

She pulled on Jax and had him join her on ‘their ledge’. He chuckled gently in her ear as he wrapped an arm around her. He couldn’t wait to see where this was going to go. The idea of the bookkeeper and the biker felt good.

Taglist: @justahopelessssromantic

#sons of anarchy imagine #request #jax teller #jackson teller #gemma teller #chibs telford #tig trager #opie winston #samcro #sons of anarchy #samcro imagine #sons of anarchy request #jax x reader #jax oneshot #momma gemma #big brother opie vibes #bookkeeper and the biker #my work

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rebel-without-cause-x · 4 years

Text

Leave Him

Jax Teller x Reader

I just can’t help myself, I said I was gonna take a break from writing for a couple of days then got the idea for this 😂😂😂 anyways enjoy.

“Sorry lass this is a private bar, I’m gonna have to get you to leave” A Scottish voice boomed through the empty club, a voice that you missed.

A small smirked played on your lips as you spun around on the chair.

“Oh I know” you winked “don’t worry”

“Fucking hell” Chibs shouted “when did you get back into town”

“Couple hours ago” you smiled as you gave him a hug. “And we are moving back to charming”

“We?” He asked raising his eyebrow.

“Yeah me and my fiancée” you smiled shoving your hand in his face.

“Does Jackie know you are engaged?” He quizzed making your sigh.

“Don’t see how it’s any of his business to be fair Telford. He chose her over me so I moved on” you nodded. “I didn’t come back for Jax Teller, I came back because this is my home”

“Okay okay” he chuckled holding his hands up in defensive. “Now do we get to meet the guy that plans on marrying you”

“What you gonna do Chibs scare him off” you laughed leaning against the bar.

“Nah more like warn him” he winked

You had been back in charming for about a month and to say the guys didn’t like your fiancée was an understatement. You saw the look in there eyes when you was together, you knew exactly what they was thinking. How did someone with your record and temper end up with someone that worked in an office.

You had also noticed the change in Luke’s behaviour, he was always staying late at work, there was tension between the two of you and he hardly touched you anymore. Yet outside of the four walls of your house he was the perfect fiancée. You knew he hated who you rolled with even before moving back home but that was becoming more apparent as you quickly slipped back into the club life.

Hearing the front door slam shut you knew he was in a mood, sighing as you finished lacing your boots up.

“Where do you think you are going?” He snapped.

“To The club” you said standing up “it’s Friday night”

“Here we go yet again spending time with them fucking biker guys” he hissed.

“Well if you was actually around more then maybe I wouldn’t spend as much time with them” you shouted standing your ground.

“You’ve changed” he laughed.

“I’ve changed” you scoffed “new flash darling this is who I am, this is who I was and this is who I will always be. Them ‘fucking biker guys’ are my family. Ever since we moved here it’s you that’s changed. It was your idea to move here”

“Because it’s your home” he glared.

“So you don’t get to make comments about my family” you snapped grabbing your keys “don’t bother waiting up”

Jax took a long drag of his smoke, leaning his head back.

“I don’t like how he treats her” he sighed.

“Nothing you can do about it brother” Tig nodded “you made you decision when you chose Tara over her”

“Yeah worst decision of my life” he huffed.

“I mean I don’t like the guy” Happy shrugged “but if he makes her happy then what can we do about it”

“Thing is I don’t think he does make her happy. Maybe he once did but I’ve seen the look in eyes when he constantly rings her when she’s here.” Jax said “and in all honestly I think he is cheating on her”

“You can’t make accusations like that” Tig said.

“I can when I’ve seen him hooking up with a bird that wasn’t Y/N in an alley” Jax sighed as he heard the roar of your engine pulling into the lot.

Slamming your car door shut you stormed over to the bar, jumping up and leaving a cross it, you snatched a bottle of JD before making your way over to where the guys sat.

“Rough day?” Jax asked

“Summing like that” you grunted bringing the bottle to your lips. “I just want to get shitfaced”

The night went on but you had mentally checked out, your heart wasn’t in partying tonight but drinking was a distraction at least. You thought you had finally got the perfect life but obviously not.

“Leave him” Jax said nudging your shoulder.

“Huh?” You mumbled as you declined Luke’s 20th call of the night.

“Come on Y/N, don’t think about telling me what you always say, that you are alright and everything is fine” Jax whispered “I can see it in your eyes you aren’t happy so leave him”

You couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth right now.

“I am not having this conversation, not with you anyway” you snapped standing up “Have you forgotten you are the one that chose her over me? Or how you broke my heart?”

“Y/N wait” Jax said placing his hand on your arm. “We both know what they say is true. He runs around, he ain't good to you and it's so hard to watch how he breaks your heart”

“Oh fuck off Teller” you said shrugging his hand off your arm.

Deep down you knew he was right, Luke wasn’t good to you and you had a feeling he was seeing other women. At the end of the day Charming was a small town. But you wasn’t going to admit that to Jax.

“You look like you are about to punch something lass, you okay?” Chibs said offering you a smoke, which you gratefully took.

“Or someone” you muttered placing the smoke between your lips. “Why can’t my life be easy Chibs”

“I’m guessing Jax said something then” he nodded.

“Yeah, he told me I should leave Luke” you laughed “I mean who gives him the right to tell me to leave my fiancée. Whether I’m happy or not, he doesn’t get to project his feelings on to me like that, not any more”

Chibs just left you to rant, he knew if he interrupted you’d bite his head off.

“I mean it wasn’t even my idea to come back here, it was because of Luke’s work. I wish I never moved back” you huffed sitting on top of the bench as you lit another smoke.

“You still love him don’t you?” Chibs asked softly placing a hand on your back.

“Chibs I’ve told you I’ve moved on” you said not looking him in the eyes.

“Then why you getting all worked up over this?”

“Because” you paused trying to think of an excuse “I don’t fucking know Telford. Can’t I just be happy for once in my pissing life”

Without giving him a chance to respond you stormed off and headed to the one place you could be alone. The roof. Checking you phone you saw 20 missed calls from Luke alongside half a dozen texts.

Why couldn’t life just be simple for once.

Chibs had hit the nail on the head, you was getting so worked up about this because deep down you knew you still loved Jax. As much as you didn’t want to you still did.

“Thought I’d find you up here” Jax said softly as he sat next to you. “I know you don’t want to talk right now but just hear me out please”

“Fine” you mumbled looking down at your shoes.

“I just want you to be happy Y/N, that’s why I said to leave him because I can see that your heart don’t believe him when he tells you he loves you” Jax sighed. “I know it wasn't right w hen I let you down and let you go that night. But I'm not giving up on us this time”

“Jax you need to understand something, I gave up on us years ago and there’s no coming back from that” you said with tears in your eyes as you left him sat on the roof alone.

#jax teller fanfiction #jax x reader #jax teller one shot #jax teller imagine #jax teller x reader #jax teller #soa x reader #soa #soa imagine #sons of anarchy one shot #sons of anarchy x reader #sons of anarchy imagine #sons of anarchy

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 3 years

Text

Pissed

A little Au-ish in where Lisa also joined the Legends. Might be OC like but then again they are in private...? Idk but I felt like some Snart siblings fluff is needed so here it is.

It had been two months since Lisa had join the Legends and admittedly Leonard had been rather pleased to have his sister by his side again.

He would never tell anyone but he had worried about her back in Central while he was traveling around and he was more than relieved that the ever hanging threat of the villain of the week threatening her was gone.

Now, he was remembering how hard it was working with her. For whatever reason, she woke up in a bad mood and when she was in a bad mood, she showed it. And brought it to everyone around her.

Now with Rouges it had been okay because let's face it after a fist fight it was generally over and during heists it wasn't like anything would go exactly as planned so her bad mood didn't affect them.

But during this mission with the Legends, Lisa was just uncooperative, talked back to Rip, didn't listen to anyone and did her own thing, stealing the Hope Diamond with Mick.

Rip had been furious, sure no one got killed (that they knew of), but he didn't like things going so off kilter especially since Mick was getting a partner in crime and hell knows how much energy it took making sure he didn't torch the Empire State Building's Lobby, he didn't want to deal with the Statue of Liberty having a gold crown.

Rip had been about to go to the training room to lecture her but he had stopped him, and offered to talk to her instead.

He knew after years of dealing with her awful temper that she was looking for a fight and if Rip lectured her, she would yell or more likely punch him, there would be a fight, punishment and her mood would get even worse and she would make things happened. Things that Leonard would rather forget.

As Leonard walked into the training room he encountered Lisa beating up a punching bag. "Hey," Leonard announced his arrival and Lisa stopped and scowled "What do you want?" Lisa hissed.

"Rip wanted to grill you about your attitude today."

"If he didn't like it, he should deal with it," Lisa replied with a roundhouse kick.

Leonard tried to go over the situation with his mind, he wasn't used to these kinds of "We must work as a team" pep talks.

"Well, Lisa it.. It's just that this matters, it's important to follow the plan in order to succeed."

"The plan should be more flexible." "You still should cooperate." "I'll decide on that."

Leonard rolled his eyes. These moods were really annoying and worse, she didn't listen to reason until she got over them. She didn't usually listen to reason in a good mood but during these time she was all out deaf.

"No, you work at the mission and then you can get your little pissed child routine to your room."

"You cannot be serious Leonard. Why don't you go read Kafka or something old man." She hit his shoulder hard.

"Once you actually start acting like an adult I might," Leonard growled back. Leonard had a strange sense of déjà vu. The whole thing reminded him of when he used to take care of her. When she was a eleven or nine, she would come to his apartment angry and hit him whenever she got annoyed by him. He just had to make her smile at something, anything and then it would be gone.

He looked at her, a thirty something woman, glaring at him like he was Hitler or Lewis. She was more or less the same, definitely had the same course vocabulary. Leonard shook his head. How did he make her smile, he wasn't one to carry around 5001 Snart jokes book.

Then he remembered. It was stupid and incredible childish but damn the results would be hilarious and bodily harm, guaranteed.

"Shut up," Lisa tried to hit him again. Leonard caught her arm and put her in a lock.

"Remember what you use to get if you tried hitting me?” Leonard smirked.

"I don't remember what I got, but YOU got your ass kicked," Lisa flipped him over.

"Like you could beat me after all your my baby sister." Leonard teased.

She charged at him and he used her anger to his advantage. A few swift moves later, she was pinned and he straddled her legs.

"Get off of me,” she grunted. "Make me," Leonard challenged. "You have a heavy beer gut." That was a low blow even for her.

"Enough with the piss, smile it will make you feel better." Leonard commanded.

"Says who?" "Says science," Leonard shot back. "I'm not in the fucking mood."

"I figured." He trailed his fingers down her legs "Now do you remember what would happen when you tried to hit me?" She glared.

"You get a visit from the you-know-who." He squeezed her knee caps to no success. She rolled her eyes.

"You got to be kidding me," she mumbled, "This is stupid and childish. I'm too old for this crap. You are way too ancient for this crap. And Len I'm not some kid anymore, I freeze people in gold and seduce speedster's engineer. We're serious people, Lenny. We are hardened criminals. Besides I'm not even..." Lisa stopped her rant and squirmed as his hand shot into her armpit.

"What was that? I think you still are" he smirked as he lightly traced circles. "Just smile and I'll stop.”

Lisa squirmed, pushed, bucked to no avail "No. I'm not ticklish." She stammered as she used her one free hand to futile pull his hand away from her.

"I think you are. You can't hold it in forever." He could tell that she wanted to break, it was laughingly obvious. Her grinding her teeth and biting her lip was almost akin to constipation.

"Smile Lisa. As your big brother I just want to make you happy and not in such a shitty mood all day" Leonard taunted as he used his left hand to squeeze her stomach.

She was being stubborn about it. He could just see it, her mouth was twitched up but she wouldn't break out into a smirk or half-smile.

She just squirmed and hid her face in her hair or against the floor. "I didn't think you would be this difficult. Fine you wanna play, we're gonna play."

Lisa eyes widened as she felt his fingers tap up her ribcage, "If I remember correctly, your ribs were your worst spot. Hmm?"

"Len, no I'm no..t" She stopped. "If you're so not, you can finish the sentence." Silence.

"I'm giving you one chance. Smile voluntarily and I'll let you go" He waited a couple of seconds before deciding the silence was a definite no. And he proceeded to emit the most surprising sounds out of the younger Snart.

Leonard almost started laughing himself. The girly, bubbly, giggly laugh didn't fit at all with the image of a villainous, leather clad woman who thought nothing of killing a man for the money. He swore that if he closed his eyes he would have thought it was coming from some vapid model especially as it went higher a few pitches when he climbed up her ribs like a piano.

Though the squeals were followed by more Lisa-like obscenities on how he would die a horrible death by fire.

She was spending way too much time with Mick.

What Leonard was most surprised was how much fun he was having. He felt like some dumb kid, and the whole situation felt normal. Nothing of Lewis' abuse or juvie or the next big heist sorta like a normal childhood activity in a regular family.

He stopped every once and awhile to allow her to breath in air and a chance for mercy.

"Are you done with your attitude?" He asked as she gulped a breath of air.

"No." Then with a battle cry she tackled him, pinned him down and dug her fingers into his shirt. He blinked.

"Stupid parka!" She cursed and tried to take it off.

Ohhh. He realized she was trying to turn on the tables on him. He calmly pushed her down and resumed position. "Sorry sis, but I'm not ticklish. There's more than one reason why my name's Cold."

He bend down to blow on her ribs and her laugh went up almost three octaves. Honestly, he thought Lisa looked adorable right now.

She looked so carefree and happy, and there were freakin dimples coming out. The laugh was just icing on the cake. Too often he just saw her as the little girl in the hospital getting stitches, refusing to talk about Lewis or a girl having nothing going on in life except the next big thrill. No dreams. No big ambitions.

"Lisa, if you want me to stop you have to start fighting." Leonard drawled as Lisa tried to squirm and bang her fists against him.

"LENHEHaNo!" Lisa screeched when he managed to get his hand under her shirt, scratching at her ribs with his nails.

"This is the third rib right? Or is it the fourth? I should count them don't you think?"

"NOHAHANOFUCHAHADON'THAHATHE TEASING MAKES IT WORSE!" She managed to screech out.

It went on like that for awhile. But eventually she bended over into curled ball, banging the ground.

"YOU WIAHAHAHAHAN YOUHIHAIHAHAHAHIAHAHIHIHAHAH" "And you'll stop your shitty mood?" Leonard asked as she unfurled herself, panting heavily.

"Yes, for the love of whatever God, yes" Lisa answered, nodding her head eagerly.

"Good," Leonard scrambled off her legs and helped her up.

"So we're good" Leonard asked cautiously. He knew it would work but he didn't think she would be so so calm afterwards. Maybe she didn't take enough air in.

"I guess. But know this" Lisa placed a hand firmly on his shoulder "I will get you back. You're not the only one with a good memory. And anytime as soon as you take off your shoes and parka. I will get my revenge. In public, in private, in front of the team it doesn't matter. I will do it.”

Leonard would have laugh if he didn't know how serious that threat was.

"So, any reason why you were pissed?" Leonard asked.

Lisa froze and then frowned "I heard Mick and Jax talking. How you took me because you were worried that some villain was going to hurt me.”

"Yeah so?"

"I don't want to be chosen just because I need protection. I can do stuff, Lenny. I don't want to follow the Team around so you could keep an eye on me. Like how you and Mick were a package deal. What am I? The back order?” "Lisa, if we had only chosen you so we could protect you Stein's wife would be here. Sara's dad would be here. Jax's dad would be here. Rip's family would be here. We chose you not just because of that but because you would actually be useful to the mission. You know how to work a crime scene, you know how to plan a mission, you know how to fight. You can do something with the Team, you can help. That's why you're here."

Lisa stared at him, disbelievingly "No bullshit?" "No bullshit."

A few nights later, Leonard was in the kitchen putting away his late night drink when he got tackled with a vicious screech.

The rest of the Legends woke up and ran to the room to see the two Snart siblings rolling around the floor, laughing, growling and almost knocking over the table.

"What the hell?" Sara asked.

"Just walk away slowly and maybe they'll stop" Jax muttered.

They took his advice, slightly worried for the next day and still wondering what the hell was going on.

"Admit it!" Lisa yelled. "NOAHA" Leonard croaked.

#lisa snart #leonard snart #snart siblings #dc’s legends of tomorrow #au #my fanfic #my fanfiction #pissed

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freelancerfeels · 3 years

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Damn, an original post? On this blog? Is this real life?? Thoughts on Zero below, there are some spoilers so be warned. This was meant to be my attempt at a critique but honestly it just turned into a long winded rant full of stuff other people have probably complained about already. I apologize in advance for the overall negative tone, but after watching the first 2 episodes twice I’m a little disheartened at the moment.

Alright, so I guess the good things first? The warthog racing scene aside, the visuals are pretty good! The fight scenes, especially involving the villains look impressive. The characters movements are smooth, the physics don’t seem too wild (depending on how you feel about teleportation); so overall I like it. It’s good to see Wash and Lina again, it seems like the former made a full recovery despite his injuries which I’m a big fan of. Shotgun wielding Carolina in Ep 1 is certified BDE, and my boy copped a sweet promotion to Major in the offseason. So far I’m enjoying our antagonists; they look fuggin sweet, the dynamic between Phase and Diesel is amusing, and Zero gives off a mysterious leader vibe I can get behind. I’m sorry to say that’s about where it ends for me though. I have a laundry list of complaints so if you’re not interested in that I would stop reading here.

I’m fairly indifferent towards Shatter Squad. The rivalry between East and One just feels like Carolina and Tex all over again, only with less animosity. Axel is the cliche team dad, Raymond is the awkward yet-to-prove-himself rookie, and West is the gritty, battle hardened team leader who doesn’t take any lip but cares deep down blah blah blah. It honestly feels like the writers have forgotten what made RvB so good in the first place. The first five seasons were literally just some idiots fucking around in a canyon with the occasionally plot line thrown in. It wasn’t the most visually impressive thing, but the characters were endearing and that made up for it. The new cast just feels kind of cheesy and stereotypical, maybe that’s just me though.

Some of things I really hate? How about Wash immediately getting fucked up, tortured, and kidnapped. The poor dude literally just got over a TBI from the last season and they’re already using his suffering to advance the plot again. I’m really worried that we’re going to see either him or Lina get killed off and that would just wreck me. How about the complete absence of the Reds and Blues? I understand that some of the VA’s are gone and the others are busy running the company, but at least mention them. They’re the reason the show has made it this far; to just completely ignore them, especially after the character development Donut went through in S17, is mind boggling. There’s also not even a single whisper about Locus, Kimball, Dylan Andrews, Jax, or the cosmic powers we’ve just spent multiple seasons getting to know. They had so many options to bring back characters people really liked and they just dropped the ball. Like where the fuck is Huggins???

Another thing that bothers me is the seemingly complete departure from the Halo universe. Have we just completely forgotten about the UNSC? You know, that one organization that PFL and Charon Industries were specifically shown as having ties to for like 11 seasons. What the fuck is AOD? At what point were Wash and Lina recruited into this new super secret squirrel program? There’s no continuity from previous seasons, which is fine if you want to take the show in a new direction, but then why use 2 characters who have been around for the past 12 and 9 seasons respectively? There’s armor, monsters, and weapons that have never existed in the Halo universe suddenly appearing from thin air. For some reason Agent East is able to move at inhuman speeds, not from armor enhancements like Carolina, but due to some unspecified experiments performed on her by some unmentioned till now organization only known as Starlight Laboratories. The disregard for previously established canon details is just aggravating, and the way they just dumped these new things on us without any explanation feels cheap.

My last gripe for today is about the appearance and movements of the characters when they’re not fighting. The head movements when speaking are stilted and jerky, which didn’t seem to be an issue in previous seasons. One would think that with the fluidity of the fight scenes two characters simply chatting wouldn’t look so stiff and unnatural. The shadows and saturation in some scenes (warthog race) just look awful as well. Not to mention the appearance of the regular “soldiers” in the first episode. ACU-esque digital camouflages were out of style in the 2000′s, let alone the 2500′s.The voice acting also doesn’t really do it for me either, especially for Shatter Squad. In their defense, even Shannon and Jen seem a little off this season. The only characters I’ve enjoyed listening to so far have been Phase and Zero, the rest just don’t seem to mesh with their characters.

To close this massive bitchfest I guess I’d just like to say it doesn’t feel like RvB anymore. Maybe it’s because RT has grown into such a giant soulless shell of what it once was. Maybe it’s because the people in charge of the show have forgotten where it’s come from and what we as fans enjoyed about it. Maybe it’s because all good things must eventually come to an end. Or maybe it’s just because I’m jaded. What I do know is that I miss the Reds and Blues, I miss the dynamics that have been established over the past 17 seasons, and I miss how Wash and Lina had become members of their fucked up little family. Part of me wishes they had just pulled the plug and given all of them a happy ending in S17. I’d like to believe that the issue here is just me being cynical about the show going a direction I don’t agree with and that things will get better. At the end of the day, I’m just one salty person behind a keyboard and I hope that you guys are enjoying this season more than I am.

Also, I still miss CT.

#rvb0 #rvb critical #rvb spoilers #im really sad about this season and venting

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singledarkshade · 4 years

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Rip Hunter Bingo Challenge

The RBACL Rip Hunter Bingo Challenge gave me the below Bingo Card:

I couldn’t get five in a row but I did managed 5 fics from the above prompts.

Enjoy

1. Rip’s Coat

“Miranda,” Rip called as he searched the closet, “Where is my duster?”

“Where you left it,” his wife called back.

Sighing annoyed, Rip headed to check the other wardrobe. It was a long brown coat, and the house was not that big. Why couldn’t he find it?

“Miranda…”

“I don’t know where it is,” she said from behind him making him jump. She chuckled, “I fear for the timeline with your observational skills.”

Rip frowned at her, “Rather than mocking me, can you help me find it? I have to leave in the next ten minutes or Druce will start asking questions.”

“Well there’s two of us and one of it,” she grinned, stretching up to kiss him, “Let’s divide and conquer. Check the hall cupboard.”

Rip nodded and did as ordered, sighing that he still couldn’t find it. He knew he didn’t need the coat to do his job, it was not the uniform he was meant to wear, but to be honest he liked having it.

It gave him confidence to do all the things he needed to do.

“Rip,” Miranda called suddenly, “Come see this.”

Turning he saw her standing at the door to Jonas’ room. Moving to her side, Rip stalled to see their four-year-old son on his bed wearing Rip’s coat pretending to fly a timeship.

“I told you,” Miranda murmured, leaning against him, “You’re his hero.”

Rip smiled, pressing a quick kiss to his wife before he stepped into the room.

“Hey, Little Man,” Rip crouched in front of his son, “What are you doing?”

Jonas grinned at him, “Flying your ship, Daddy.”

Rip nodded, “Oh, I bet you’re a very good pilot.”

“Gid’on said I could fly to the moon,” Jonas reminded him.

“I know,” Rip stroked his son’s hair, “And I promise when I get back, we will go flying but I have to go to work now. And I need my coat.”

A small pout touched Jonas’ face, but he slid off the bed and out the duster. Rip pulled it on before he lifted Jonas into his arms.

“I don’t want to leave you and your mum,” Rip reminded his son, “But the work I do is to protect people. And I miss you every moment I’m away.”

Jonas tucked himself against Rip’s shoulder, holding on tightly while Rip gently rubbed circles on his back.

“Jonas,” Miranda joined them, “Daddy has to go now. Can you give him a big hug bye?”

Two sad blue eyes looked up at him before Jonas hugged him tightly, “Love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too,” Rip murmured, “And I’ll be home before you know it.”

Miranda touched his arm and Rip passed their son to her. Giving her a quick kiss, Rip then kissed the top of Jonas’ head and headed out to the Waverider.

He’d be home soon.

2. Young Rip

Michael was sitting on his bed, arms crossed over his chest, anger radiating from him when Mary opened the door, after knocking as per their agreement.

“I see you’re sulking,” Mary noted as she stepped into the room, “Michael, I’m disappointed in you.”

Turning to her, Michael replied, “I didn’t fail the test. It was rigged.”

“I know, Michael,” she said gently, “It’s meant to be.”

He turned to her sharply, “What?”

“The test is designed so that you can’t pass it,” she explained gently.

Michael snapped, “That’s not fair.”

“I know,” she sympathised.

Mary tried not to smile at annoyance that crossed her son’s face. It was now two years since he’d come to her and he was in many ways so different from the feral child who had been placed in her care, but in others he wasn’t.

“Michael,” she rested her hand on his shoulder, “Are you coming for dinner?”

The annoyed look on his face answered her question. She had told Druce that the boy wasn’t ready for the no-win scenario. Michael was one of the smartest children she’d ever had at the Refuge. He had a way at looking at problems where he found answers in a way no one else thought of.

But he was still just a child, and one who took everything to heart.

“Alright, you know the rules if you don’t have dinner with the rest of us,” Mary told him, “There will be a sandwich in the fridge for you when you decide to eat. I’ll leave you to brood.” Leaning over she kissed the top of his head, “Try not to dwell on it, Michael.”

Leaving him alone for now, Mary let out an annoyed sigh.

Michael had made great strides since he had joined the Refuge two years ago, he no longer carried the penknife on him at all times It was now left under his pillow. He still had nightmares and having the knife made him feel safe.

He had managed to socialise with the other children and looked out for the younger children, while he devoured every piece of information Mary or Druce gave him.

She knew Michael wasn’t ready for the test but Druce had been adamant. And now she worried that this setback had knocked what little confidence he had gained.

Forcing it out of her mind, Mary focussed on making sure the other children in her care were fed.

As they started their meal a creak on the floorboard outside the dining room made her look up and she saw Michael standing there uncertainly.

“Oliver, Tara,” Mary said softly, “Move up and make room for Michael.”

As he slid into his seat, Mary smiled that the boy had come down.

He really had come a long way.

3. Magical Mishaps

“This isn’t my fault,” John protested.

Wiping the slime off his face, Rip frowned, “I disagree.”

“I agree with Rip,” Sara noted, grimacing at the green goo in her blonde hair, “Do you think this will stain?”

Looking at his once white shirt and his precious duster, Rip sighed, “I hope not.”

“This still wasn’t my fault,” John told them.

Rip rolled his eyes, “And I quote ‘This is a simple spell.’”

“‘Nothing will go wrong’,” Sara added.

Rolling his eyes, John hunted his pockets for a cigarette, “I really hate when the two of you agree.”

“Does your communicator work?” Sara asked Rip, ignoring John’s complaints.

Rip frowned and tried to contact Gideon before sighing, “No.”

They turned to John questioningly.

“Not my fault,” John snapped.

Rip pulled out the mobile phone he’d modified for tracking the demon and checked it.

“Your spell created an EMP,” Rip told him, “Which means the courier isn’t going to work.”

Sara turned on John, “We’re miles from the ship and have no car.”

“We should start moving,” Rip said, “Gideon will send someone to check on us if she hasn’t heard anything soon.”

“Really?” Sara demanded, “Since when?”

Rip sighed, “Since day one. Why?” he asked, “She doesn’t do that to you?”

Sara shook her head, “Nope.”

“Lucky you.”

She chuckled before sighing, “Do you know which way the ship is?”

Rip looked around and grimaced, “I think there’s a pub a few streets behind us.”

“I’m in,” Sara said, she glanced at herself then the two men, “Assuming they let us in.”

John sighed as the other two started walking, “This is not my fault.”

4. Someone Gets Tied Up

“Ow.”

“Sorry,” Rip said, “But I need to use the nail to cut through the ropes since someone lost my knife.”

Ray winced, “I’m sorry.”

“I know, Ray,” Rip sighed, “You didn’t mean to get captured, lose my knife or let the bad guys know we were here.”

Noise outside the cell made Rip look up and wince.

“Are the others coming?” Ray asked at the sound of yelling.

“I truly hope so,” Rip replied with a grimace.

After several more minutes of trying to cut the rope with the nail, Rip gave in and tossed it away.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said, glancing out the door before he slipped out into the corridors.

It was supposed to be a nice easy mission, but then they were usually the ones that went to hell in a handbasket the fastest. Creeping along the corridor, he grabbed the guard in a choke hold and held on until the man dropped to the ground unconscious. Checking the man, Rip glared annoyed finding that he had Rip’s favourite knife. Retrieving the knife, Rip also grabbed the keys before dragging the body into one of the empty cells.

Creeping back to the cell Ray was sitting in, Rip cut the bonds before sliding the knife back into his boot.

“Let’s go,” Rip ordered, opening the door slowly he heard the sound of bodies hitting the ground. He turned to Ray, “The team are here.”

Ray grinned in relief, “Good.”

“Follow me,” Rip started along the corridor.

“Gideon can heal rope burns, right?”

5. Broken Time Drive

Rip frowned as he stared at the mess in front of him. That was the last time he let Ray fly the ship.

“That does not look good,” Jax said from his side.

“No, it does not,” Rip agreed, glancing up he called, “Gideon.”

“Yes, Captain Hunter?”

He pulled out his tools, “What’s the ETA on repairs?”

“It will take seven hours to repair the engines,” Gideon replied, “But the self-repair systems will not be able to fix the time drive. You and Mr Jackson will need to do that yourself.”

“Any idea how long that will take?” Jax asked.

“Forty-Eight hours,” Gideon replied, “Assuming that you follow my schedule.”

Jax frowned confused, “Schedule?”

“To ensure we eat and sleep,” Rip replied, with a long-suffering sigh, “Gideon, put the schedule up.”

Jax stared at the screen in surprise, “That is detailed.”

“Gideon, I do not need five minutes to rant about the state of the components scheduled,” Rip grimaced.

“I have witnessed it many times, Captain,” Gideon retorted, “And five minutes is on the lower end of the scale. It was a full fifteen the last time.”

Ignoring Jax’s amused smirk, Rip asked, “How’s Miss Lance?”

“Awake,” Gideon replied, “I have her on pain medication for her headache. She has no injuries other than that and the now healed broken arm.”

Rip sighed in relief, “That’s good. Alright make sure she rests while Jax and I get to work.”

Removing the cover to get to the internal components Rip suddenly heard Jax cry.

“Why am I scheduled to go to the medbay in three hours?”

#RBACL QCC #Rip Bingo #fic #legends of tomorrow #rip hunter #miranda coburn #jonas hunter #mary xavier #john constantine #sara lance #ray palmer #gideon #jax

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crystalwillow · 3 years

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Bonding, Part One

Pairing: Gaius Augustine x Amy (MC)

===================

A/N: For the purpose of this fiction I have given the MC (Amy) the last name Suzano. But if you’ve already given then a last name, then feel free to replace my chosen last name 🙂

*knock knock knock* “Come in!” Amy called out as she furiously typed on the computer in front of her as she answered the phone, “Amy I brou-“ Gaius started to speak. “No I don’t want you to ship us that! I want what Adr- .... Mr.Raines, always ordered!! What is so hard about that to understand!? ... Well, I don’t care if it’s out of f***ing stock! Fix it and get it shipped to our head quarters, ASAP!” She shouted into the phone before slamming it back onto the receiver and turning back to the spreadsheet on the computer, typing furiously once more. “1 order! That’s all they have to fill. 1 gods forsaken order and they can’t even get. It. RIGHT!” She rages as she picks up the keyboard and smashes it to a thousand pieces on the table. Gaius placed her coffee and sandwich on the coffee table and backed out of the room, quietly shitting the door behind him. Amy slumped into the chair as hot tears stung her eyes threatening to spill out. It had been 7 months since the incident where she lost 4 of the most important people in her life. Her thoughts were crowded with visions of them everyday. As she sat in Adrian’s office chair, she found herself curling into a ball and hugging one of his many identical grey blazers. Breathing in the scent he had left behind on it. Finally she started sobbing as echos of his laughter entered her mind. Memories of the happy moments they shared. Like cooking together in the kitchen. Or playing water tag around the rooftop of Raines Corporation. He always appeared cold and distant around others but when they were alone it was like he was no longer afraid of judgement, and just let go. She chuckled quietly to herself through the tears as she remembered the time he greeted her wearing a giraffe suit as he jumped around the living area with an apple between his teeth before stopping to ask if her “curiosity of what a jumping giraffe would look like” had been cured.

- - - present day - - -

“Amy.... Amy! ... AMY!!” Gaius shouted as he shook her awake “Adrian! NO!” She screamed as she sat up and clutched something closer to her chest, panting as she sweat profusely and fresh tears stained her face. As she came to her senses, she took in her surroundings. She was in the same cold, abandoned warehouse, her and Gaius had been hiding out in since that awful day 7 months earlier. “A-Ad-Adria-aa-aannnn” she sobbed, as tears rolled down her cheeks. Gaius still didn’t know what to do or how to act. He was still getting used to having his own feelings back. He didn’t understand much. But he did know he felt numb for himself and sympathy for Amy. She had barely come to terms with her bloodkeeper abilities before she was turned into a vampire. Now the man she loved, who had turned her, was gone. She had sat in the same corner, a fragile shell of her former self for months. She would move to eat food, feed for blood or use the bathroom. Gaius would bring her blood packets and do his best to bring her, her favourite foods... but she’d just push it all away. The only reason she was okay was because when she slept and her mouth opened Gaius would make sure he safely poured some blood down her throat.

The past couple of years had been rough for her. Every time he looked at her now, he felt a pang of sorrow and regret. “Another nightmare?” He asked softly. Amy nodded. There it was. That pang he felt. Amy sniffled and hugged Adrian blazer tighter “it’s not fair.” She whispered as she stared into the dark abyss. “Years. He loved for years. Fought with dignity, earned respect. Took on responsibility like the amazing man he was. And now he’s gone. And why? ... because my stupid ass couldn’t walk away when he tol-“ she started to rant again about how it was her fault. But Gaius cut her off by doing the unexpected. He pressed a kiss to her lips. Shock coursed through Amy for a moment before she pulled away. Gaius was equally as shocked at his movements. They sat for a long moment, staring at each other. Finally Gaius spoke up, “It’s what he would have done right?” He asked. She studied his features for a moment, before giving a small nod, “yeah.” She croaked quietly, averting her gaze to the floor beside her. “Then he’d take your hand. Tell you what he always did. ‘Don’t worry my little hedgehog. You’ll be okay’ before wrapping you in his arms, close to his chest and-“ he spoke carefully, not wanting to upset her “-and letting me listen to his heartbeat and rainfall sounds to fall asleep so I’d wake up to the smell of pancakes, feeling better.” She finished the sentence. “Yeah... he would. How did you know?” She continued on to ask. He smiled a genuine smile, “you were talking in your sleep the other night. About a journal. I... I went to find it because I couldn’t sleep, and, well...” he shrugged and presented it to her, “he wrote about it in there.” He explained, facing away from her.

The next few hours were silent, but comfortable as Amy sat reading through Adrian’s journal. Until finally, Gaius opened the door as he came back. Amy closed the journal and placed it under her pillow. Curling up and hugging Adrians blazer once more. “Hungry?” Gaius asked Amy, expecting no answer. “Not very hungry. No” She answered with a shrug. “Here” he said, passing her a small blood packet. She took it, squishing the blood inside about. There was a strange feeling in the air between them. “Look. I’m sorry about earlier” they said to each other at the same time. Then shared a small chuckled. “You first.” Gaius said and let Amy speak. “I’m sorry for being such a mess. I’ve not been very good company. I’m surprised you’re even here” she said. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I don’t understand what came over me. I just got this overwhelming urge to-“ he stopped trying to find the right words “shut me up?” Amy asked, as she suggested words. “I wouldn’t use those words. But in a way. Yes.” He spoke as he tugged at his sleeves. “What time and day is it?” Amy asked as she perked up a little. “It’s November 6th 2020. The time is... night time.” He replied. Amy’s eyes lit up in a way they hadn’t since Adrian passed away. Rightfully, Gaius got scared. “Oh no.” He said tonelessly... “I’ve never seen this look of yours before. What’s happening?” He continued, his voice picking up panic. Amy giggled “I just have an idea... you don’t need to worry. I was just thinking, let’s do a style swap.” She suggested “A... A what?” He asked. “A style swap. You find an outfit for me if the style you wear and I do the same for you. We then bring the bags to each other. Go to separate rooms and change then reveal ourselves to each other. I done it with Lily all the time” she explained, then her spirits dropped at the mention of Lily’s name and as she remembers later Jax and Kamilah played with them at one point too. Tears welled up in her eyes again, Gaius quickly moving closer with tissues as he watched her face fall. All of a sudden the tears stopped building as a single tear rolled onto her cheek, Gaius softly wiped it away before it could fall any further. “Let’s go late night shopping, hey?” He asked softly. Amy nodded in response as she stood and out Adrian’s blazer on. Wrapping it around her. “Thanks” she spoke, as her voice cracked. “We’re all we’ve got now. I have to be willing to learn some new things if we’re to eventually feel better” he replied with a soft smile, which Amy returned as they stepped out into the night.

As they entered the mall Amy squinted at the bright lights “ow my eyes” she whispered “here” Gaius said as he slipped sunglasses onto her face. She smiled and adjusted them before moving on. “Okay. So I guess you’re hitting the more antique clothing stores, right?” She asked as she looked up at Gaius “That would be correct.” He answered. “Okay then. Let’s meet at the elevators on this floor in 1 hour 30 minutes” she said and set off towards the more trendy stores. “Wait... there’s a time limit?!” Gaius shouted after her “Get moving Mr.Mcoldie pants!” She shouted back “Mr.Mcol- oh it’s so on Suzano!” He called out. Amy just laughed loudly, running towards where she was going to shop.

- - - 1 hour 30 minutes later - - -

Amy sits on a bench by the elevators waiting for Gaius to return from shopping. Soon he turns up, red faced and out of breath. “I... got ev- everything.” He declares and he leans over to catch his breath, dumping his bags on the floor. “What did you get?” Amy asks looking at him skeptically, with a raised brow. “Everything. Dress. Shoes. A cover up thing. And more.... personal items” he explains, Amy nods “okay... well, I hope I can do the style justice” she smiles, looking distant. “I’m sure you will. Little hedgehog” Gaius says softly as he smiles at her comfortingly, offering his arm. She takes it and together they take the bags and head back to the warehouse they’ve been staying in.

A few moments later Amy’s sitting on a couch in the corner, reading through the latest version of a gossip magazine she picked up whilst waiting for Gaius to reappear from changing. “I don’t like this!” She hear Gaius shout just before he strolls round the corner. “This is absolutely ridiculous. You new younger folk are always complaining of being cold. I can see why. Your clothing is ridiculously thin!” He rambles as he stands in front of Amy, who’s smiling at him widely, but genuinely. “What?” He asks “Nothing. Twirl please” she said, twirling her finger in a circular motion. Gaius rolled his eyes and twirled, as he did Amy took a sip of water. He stopped to show her the back but all she could do was stare at his glutes. “Nice ass.” She whispered just a bit too loud. She didn’t notice till Gaius had turned around chuckling softly that she had said it a but too loud.

#choices stories you play #playchoices #pixelberry studios #pb bloodbound #gaius augustine #gaius x mc #bloodbound amy #bloodbound fanfiction

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delphinusbae · 5 years

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Jealous (Kamilah x MC)

Pairing: Kamilah x MC (Amy)

Author’s note: After a million years, I’m finally back to writing lol. Prompt taken from this post (angry kisses). If you want to see any other kiss, check out the post and request! :D

Summary: Kamilah comes to terms with her emotions when she notices Amy spending a lot of time with Lily.

Honestly, Kamilah didn’t consider herself as an emotional person. After so many years, she had learned to keep her feelings in line and as every day went by, she simply found it pointless to keep trying.

That’s why she felt so... weird right now.

Amy just came through Adrian’s conference room one day and changed her world in a second. Somehow and slowly, she managed to break down the walls that took her years to build and stole Kamilah’s heart.

So that’s why being in a relationship after so long was certainly interesting. Amy woke a ton of things inside her, and even if her girlfriend knew Kamilah wasn’t really the affectionate type, the vampire did her best to show Amy how much she meant to her.

Kamilah was new to all of this, to be honest. And among the bunch of things Amy awakened, Kamilah noticed one feeling she never thought she’d experience again.

Jealousy.

It started the day after they celebrated Jax becoming a member of the council. Things seemed back to normal and as much as Kamilah wanted to stay the rest of the day with Amy, there were a lot of matters to attend and put order to. So each of them went to work and agreed to meet at Kamilah’s place at night.

Between all the work at Ahmanet Finantial and the first council meeting with Jax as a new member (along hearing the Baron’s rants and Priya’s attempts at seducing the leader of the clanless) she was SO glad the day was over. She returned home and waited for Amy to arrive.

She waited and waited, a little annoyed at the tardiness, but seeing as her girlfriend was late, Kamilah decided to occupy herself with work. It wasn’t long before she heard the bell ringing, standing up to open, Amy greeted her with a dashing smile. “Hey”. The blonde leaned up, kissing Kamilah. “Sorry for the delay”.

Kamilah stood aside, waiting for Amy to enter before closing the door. “How was your day?”.

“Aside the fact I had to hear Priya try to get into Jax’s pants for two hours, you could consider it was good”. Kamilah offered a small smile, raising a brow when she noticed Amy’s leather jacket. “New clothes?”.

Amy looked down at herself. “This? Oh no. I finished work a little early and Lily swung by. We stayed chatting for a while but I completely missed the time so that’s why I’m late”. She gave an apologetic smile. “I forgot my jacket here so she gave me hers, you know, vampires don’t feel cold and those things”. Amy chuckled.

Kamilah nodded, dismissing the strange feeling building in her stomach at her girlfriend being late because of Lily.

The second time they were at Amy’s place. They spent the night at Kamilah’s apartment and had only stopped by to get some of Amy’s clothes when somehow, the blonde had convinced her to watch ‘Twilight’. It’ll be ironic! A real vampire watching twilight!.

They weren’t watching much though, Amy was too occupied kissing Kamilah after almost a week without seeing each other when they heard the door opening.

“Hey! Fancy seeing you here!”. Lily greeted.

“Hi!”. “Hello Lily”. They said at the same time.

“What ya watching?”. Lily asked, hopping on the sofa closely beside her best friend. They watched the rest of the movie together, the vampire not really comfortable as it seemed like the three were cuddling.

Noticing the CEO was awfully stiff, Amy reached gently and kissed her chin, earning the tiniest smile from her girlfriend. After a minute, Amy took out a very small bottle and applied some of it to her lips. Lily looked up. “Is that lip balm?”. Amy nodded. “Give me some”.

Amy finished putting balm on her lips and handed the bottle over. Lily tried to do the same. “Damn, there’s nothing left”.

Amy looked quickly side eye to Kamilah. “Don’t worry. I think I put too much”. She rubbed her lips with two fingers and applied the rest to Lily’s mouth.

Kamilah watched the exchange silently, frowning at the sense of deja vú as she was having the same sensation from the day her girlfriend was late. She was feeling even more, more annoyed by Lily’s presence. Was that a thing between best friends? Because Adrian and her would definitely never do that. Kamilah shook her head. Feeling like that was ridiculous, what was she, a teenager?.

The third and final time happened when Adrian, Jax, Lily and them had a little outing at night. They were drinking and having fun, talking about many things when Lily said something that did the trick. “You know Amy? I really like our friendship, especially when we make out”. But what made her explode was her girlfriend’s response. “Shh! It‘s supposed to be a secret!”.

Everyone was startled at the sound of broken glass. Turning their attention to the vampire queen, Kamilah’s hand was soaked in wine and in the floor, laid the pieces that seconds ago were a cup.

Of course she trusted Amy, she knew it was a joke, she knew Lily and her girlfriend’s relationship was like that. But maybe she had reached her limit, maybe it was time to admit it to herself.

Yes, she was jealous.

So fucking jealous.

She didn’t need to look into a mirror to know her eyes were blood red. She needed to talk with Amy. Now.

“I’m- gonna look for a towel to clean that”. Amy said, walking to the other side of the room. Kamilah followed a few steps behind, waiting for them to round the corner.

The blonde turned around. “Are y-“. Without any warning, Kamilah shoved Amy against the wall, pinning her hands on both sides of her head as she slid her knee between the blonde’s legs, trapping her in place before closing the distance left in a hard, heated kiss.

Amy seemed surprised at first but responded almost immediately. Kamilah rocked her hips against her girlfriend’s, earning a moan from the younger woman. The vampire let go of Amy’s hands, sliding her hands across the younger’s sides until she reached her hips, fingers digging into them. Kamilah bit Amy’s lower lip, the blonde’s hands holding onto dear life as the vampire suddenly lifted her from the ground, Amy’s legs coming around her hips instantly.

“Kamilah- ah~“.

The younger said breathlessly as Kamilah moved to her neck, sucking and kissing until she was satisfied with the purple mark on Amy’s neck. It wasn’t even a second before their mouths were back together, Kamilah pulling Amy tighter against her, leading to a moan that gave her tongue access to a deeper kiss.

Kamilah parted, slowing down the rhythm as their desire slowly melted away, turning into brushes of lips between shaking breaths. The vampire let down Amy carefully, leaning her forehead against the younger’s while Amy cupped her face, caressing her lips gently with her thumb.

Red eyes were visible once again when Kamilah opened her eyes. Few seconds passed with them just holding onto each other before Amy decided to break the silence. “You’re jealous aren’t you?”. She smirked.

“So what if I am?”.

“I kind of suspected it”. Amy confessed. “After I was late the other night, you were serious for a while. I wanted to find out if my suspicions were true”.

Kamilah chuckled. “So you provoked me?”.

“I had to ask for help. Please don’t kill Lily”. Amy smiled apologetic, a hint of worry in her voice.

“You’ve been a bad girl, darling. Don’t you think you deserve to be punished?”. Kamilah smirked.

“Absolutely. But seeing you all riled up was totally worth it”.

“I’ll make sure you remember one thing then”. Kamilah kissed Amy slowly.

“And what would that be?”.

“You’re mine”.

#playchoices #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #mc x kamilah #lea writes #choices stories you play #so... its 6:22 am here

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tiggys-bitch · 6 years

Text

Chapter Six - Do You Smell Smoke?

We’re back with another chapter! Things are starting to get dramatic for our girls.. Keep reading because shit is about to kick off ;) @papa-chibs

Just wanna say thankyou to those of you who’re reading it! It means a lot to us! We love you guys! <3

tagging list: @dirty-daryl-dixon @isayweallgetdrunk @hissom1933 @guiltyissues

Xoxo

Babydoll and Lassie.

It was 12pm and Rissa had been cleaning from the moment she woke up until now. She didn't mind it though, it actually took her mind off of the Scottish male and what had happened between them the day before. Her head was so frazzled with all of the events that had taken place this week. Rissa couldn't believe all the things she had done since being in charming.. First nearly sleeping with Jax and then the whole shower situation with Chibs! It was so out of her character.. Especially considering she had only slept with one man in all the 27 years of her life... Elliot. Oh god, Elliot, she thought. He hadn't really crossed her mind much since she got here but now he had she felt uneasy. As much as she hated him for all of the abuse and manipulation she suffered with for years, she still loved him.. Rissa wished that her feelings for him would disappear so she could be free from him for good. But it wasn't that easy. That's what made him so dangerous. Chuckie placed a steamy hot cup of coffee on to the bar, ripping her out of her thoughts. "Oh, thanks, Chuck." Rissa said with a smile. He sat down beside her and stared at her in confusion. "Are you okay Rita?" Chuckie asked, making Rissa roll her eyes but laugh. Why couldn't he get her name right? It wasn't that hard, surely? "Rissa. And not really. I'm just a bit... Homesick, kinda." She told him, picking up her coffee and taking a couple sips of it. "I guess, reality has just hit me y'know? I've been in a bubble these past few days... And it seems to have suddenly popped." Chuckie listened to Rissa, nodding and taking in all of the information. He didn't really know much about her, or why she was here, he just knew the basics. That she ran away from home with Roxxie and was now seeking shelter here. "Sorry, i'm rambling.." Rissa let out an awkward laugh. "Thanks for the coffee. It's just what i needed." Chuckie gave the girl a smile before standing up and walked away. He thought it was best to leave her alone to relax for a bit. Rissa sat in silence, frozen and fragile. Being alone with her thoughts was the last thing she needed. And then just like that, the door opened and in walked Roxxie. It was a bit weird how she always showed up when Rissa needed her the most. "Man, it's hot out there today! We should be lyin' on a beach in our bikinis." Roxxie told her friend, taking off her sunglasses and bag and putting them down on the bar. She reached over and grabbed a half empty bottle of vodka and two glasses and then sat down beside Rissa. She poured two drinks of vodka and passed one down to her friend. "Cheers." Roxxie said, holding up her glass. Rissa just stared straight ahead, ignoring Roxxie. "Ris? What's goin' on? Are you okay?" Rissa let out a huge sigh, grabbed her drink and downed the vodka. The alcohol sent a burning sensation down her throat and she pulled a face at the taste. "I don't know." Was all she said. The red head girl leant closer and looked Rissa dead in the eye. "Talk to me." She told her friend. And so, Rissa explained everything on her mind. She talked about Elliot, her mom, Chibs, Jax, her life. She just ranted and ranted until she had nothing else to say. Roxxie listened to her friend and couldn't help but feel like it was all her fault. She knew that Elliot was dangerous, from working in his club, and she didn't bother to warn Rissa. Sure the pair were childhood sweethearts, but Roxxie should've told her friend about the man he really is. Rissa didn't, or still doesn't, know that Roxxie worked at his club. You see, Elliot is the owner of a famous nightclub in Redding called Ecstasy, that's all Rissa knew. But the thing was, Elliot had a secret club in the basement to Ecstasy where he sold drugs and weapons and had women stripping and prostituting themselves. Occasionally he would sell women who're illegal immigrants to his business partners but it was mainly the drugs and prostituting that he did. Roxxie became a stripper at age 17 because she didn't have enough money to survive on and Elliot 'kindly' welcomed her into his club. It was a better option than stealing and getting caught. The girl felt awful that Rissa had no idea about Elliot's secret criminal life as well as her own, but it was for her safety... But then again, look where it got them. "I'm sorry for being weak." Rissa's voice brought Roxxie out of her daze. "I just.. I don't know. I guess i just needed to get everything off my chest." She gave her friend a sympathetic smile. Roxxie wrapped her arms around Rissa, hugging her tight. "You aren't weak. You're stronger than anyone i know." She said, holding back her tears. "I love you so much, okay?" "I love you more, Rox." -- The girls had been talking for what felt like hours, they literally spoke about anything and everything. The bottle of vodka they were drinking was now empty and it was fair to say that they were pretty damn drunk. "More Alcohol princess?" Roxxie asked with a smirk. "The answer to that question is always yes." Rissa gave her bestfriend a huge grin before running around behind the bar and searching for a new bottle. She grabbed a fresh bottle of vodka and sat back down. "Right, this is how you correctly pour vodka... According to Chuckie." Rissa popped the lid off and poured the liquid into the two glasses. "Man, I've missed this... Just me and you. Nearing the wedding, we had no time together, it was like Elliot didn't want you to see me." The red head said with a sigh. Rissa looked down at her glass. "He didn't, he hated that we were friends..." Rissa was about to go on speaking but a voice interupted her. Somehow the drunken girls hadn't noticed the four males in the room. Tig's voice was the one that interupted her of course. "Fuck sake, Princess and Psycho are having a pussy power party, how cute." He rolled his eyes. "Come on lads, lets leave the girls to it." Chibs said as he was about to walk out the door. "NO. No no!" Roxxie shouted, patting the seat next to her. "The party is just getting started, join us." "Party? It's like four in the afternoon" Jax added with a chuckle. Rissa rolled her eyes. "Don't be a party pooper blondie, DRINK!" A drunk Rissa slurred. "Me the party pooper? Think that was Roxxie the other night hey darlin?" Jax winked at the brunette and her cheeks suddenly heated up. Thankfully Tig spoke up, changing the subject before things got weird. "You heard the girls." He took a seat next to Roxxie with a smirk on his face. The tall bearded male shook his head. "I'm gonna head home, Lyla is waiting. Enjoy guys." Everyone said bye to Opie as he left. Just as Jax was about to take the seat next to Rissa, she jumped up and walked over to her favorite memeber. "Hey Chibs, glad to see you with clothes on." She joked. "You sure about that Lassie? You wasn't complaining yesterday.." He smirked before walking behind the bar to get a drink. "Where is Kozik?" Roxxie asked in her drunken state, this angered Tig but he sure as hell didn't know why. "Hopefully dead." Tig said with a serious voice that everyone chose to ignore. The 5 of them spent a couple more hours drinking and chatting before the girls had to go nap off the alcohol. -- The sound of sirens made the people in the room turn their heads towards the windows and door. Clay looked over to Juice who stood up from the bar when seeing several cop cars and a fire engine pull up on their surveillance cameras. "We got company.." Juice announced. Rissa woke up with a jump when hearing the sirens. She nudged Roxxie to wake her up and the girls cluelessly looked around the room. The SAMCRO men stood up and crowded around the entrance, muttering and exchanging looks to each other. Roxxie grabbed hold of Rissa's hand and the girls gulped. Could this be for them? Suddenly in walked the new Sherrif, Eli Roosevelt, and a bunch of cops and firemen. "What brings you here?" Clay asked, placing his hands on his hips as he glared at the men. The new sherrif smirked and pushed past him, taking a look around the room. "We were just passing by. Doing our duties. And then we smelt smoke." The Sherrif turned to look back at Clay. "So we came to make sure you all were safe." It was obvious that that was not the reason for them to be here. Not only because they would've noticed if there was smoke, but it was well known that Sherrif Roosevelt had it out for SAMCRO. The man turned back around and stood in front of the wall of mugshots and let out a chuckle. He was impressed by the biker's confidence. "You made your point." Clay's voice was low and gruff. "Now it's time for you and the campfire girls to get out." He took a couple steps towards the Sherrif. Roxxie looked over at Tig who was stood with his hands balled into fists. He was ready to defend his Club if it came down to it. Roxxie gripped Rissa's hand, nervous as to what was about to happen. "Just do what you gotta do." Clay growled, sighing in annoyance. As much as he would love to beat the shit out of that man, he knew it would only make things worse. The Sherrif then walked over to the big wooden doors where SAMCRO would hold meetings in and put his hand on the wall. "Oh.. This, this feels warm." He said, looking over his shoulder at the men. "Might be electrical." He said giving the firemen a nod before taking an axe out of one of the men's hand. Roxxie's eyes widened, were they just gonna let them do that?! Oh hell no! "Hey, excuse me? What do you think you're doing?!" Roxxie let go of Rissa's hand and stomped over to the Sherrif. "My job." He replied, and then he swung the axe back and buried it into the wall of mugshots, making the pictureframes smash and crash to the ground. SAMCRO flinched as if they were the ones getting hurt and you could see that it took all of their strength in them not to fight back. Roxxie felt angry that they were acting like a bunch of pussies and decided to defend them instead. "HEY!" Roxxie yelled, running at the Sherrif and grabbing hold of the axe. "LET GO!" She screamed, yanking the axe towards her, trying to make the Sherrif lose his grip. But man, was he strong! "ROXXIE!" Clay's voice echoed throughout the Clubhouse, grabbing hold of her waist and trying to pull her away from the Sherrif. The Sherrif kicked Roxxie in her stomach, making her let go of the axe instantly and fall back against Clay. Roxxie grunted and groaned in pain, clutching her stomach. Clay steadied his niece and moved her out of the way to safety and then suddenly Tig started charging at the Sherrif and sending him flying back with an uppercut to his chin. And then shit kicked off. As soon as Tig started fighting the Sherrif, the cops started tackling the bikers and everyone in the room to the floor. SAMCRO fought back and soon enough a full on fist fight took place. Rissa was grabbed and thrown to the floor forcefully even though she was just standing and watching the scene. Chibs heard Rissa yelp and came running over. "Don't fuckin touch her, you bastard!" Chibs shouted, punching the cop straight in his nose, making him stagger backwards. He then crouched down and helped Rissa up off the ground. "I got you, lassie." He told her, bringing her into his arms and out of the way. "Rox, are you alright?!" Rissa asked her friend who had blood around her lips. Roxxie gave her friend a thumbs up. "I've been through worse." The red head replied, coughing up blood into her hands. The Sherrif managed to break away from the fight. "Alright, ALRIGHT! Enough!" The man yelled, making the fighting stop to look over at him. "We're done here. But you sons of bitches better watch your backs cus the next time i come here? I'm draggin' your asses back to Stockton." He warned, pointing directly at Clay. And then just like that, the cops and firemen exited the Clubhouse, leaving the place smashed and the people injured.

After the cops had left, a puzzled Chuckie walked into the trashed Clubhouse. "Sorry to bother you all.. But someone is on the phone for you Rita, they kept saying Rissa but I think they are confused." He told the brunette who was stood beside Chibs. Rissa rolled her eyes, she was really getting sick of being called Rita. "Okay thanks Chuck." She was confused as hell. Who could be ringing for her? Then she remembered she had gave the Teller-Morrow contact number to a girl she met at the store the other day. Once she got into the mechanic office she picked up the phone. "Hello?" All she heard on the other end was heavy breathing, until..."I know where you are Clarissa." It was him. It was Elliot.

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robininthelabyrinth · 7 years

Note

I know you've already got a pile of prompts, but I had this idea pop in my head the other day and I thought I'd send it to you. What if Oculus!Len, when he comes back, returns as a sort of time vampire? Basically instead of needing blood to feed on, he feeds on the temporal energy that surrounds time travelers... Can you imagine Eobard's surprise should he try and recruit that Len? Or the Legends when they find out?

I’ve started a new ‘tumblr fills’ entry on Ao3 so that I can start to fill a bunch of my prompts again at last, so if you’ve sent me a prompt in the last…forever…keep an eye out, you never know. This one is short and not quite the prompt, but I hope you like it, anon!

ao3 link

————–

It wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened.

It’s pretty bad, yes, but it’s not the worst possible thing.

He could be dead.

Technically, Len reflects wryly, he is dead.

He’s just also a leech.

A leech currently swimming through the whole goddamn time stream trying to find his particular group of time travelers, but a leech nonetheless.

Len hadn’t known that creatures that fed on temporal energy – all sorts, regular people and time travelers and speedsters and sometimes timepieces - even existed, much less that he could turn into one of them if he got 'frozen’ in a massive outpouring of temporal energy.

Frozen, because technically Len’s body is still back there, frozen in that eternal moment of exploding.

Center of a black hole, baby.

A singularity that sucks in even time.

That singularity sucked in Len and the rest of the Time Masters, and a lot of that structure, and it dumped them in the Topsy-Turvy.

Well, that’s what Len’s been calling it, anyway. It’s not quite another universe, not quite a reflection, but boy does Len feel like he went through the looking glass to get there.

The Topsy-Turvy is built on more dimensions than just four, for one thing. Len tries not to think about it too hard, or his head will explode.

Quite literally, as most of the Time Masters found out.

Len had been too busy having a panic attack about what the fuck stupid thing he just did to really pay attention to what was going on, which gave the Creatures enough time to convert him into the leech he is now.

The process had taken only seconds. Len was (is?) now unmoored from his frozen body stuck back in the Topsy-Turvy, able to swim through the time stream like some sort of demented spawning salmon (the Creatures thought Len’s comparisons were hilarious), but condemned to feed off the temporal processes of the living.

If he tried to feed off normal people, they got old.

Sometimes they stayed where they were, sometimes time itself went by and they woke up a good five months or twenty years later, but either way, they lost some of their life.

Luckily, time travelers and speedsters gave off temporal energy like crazy people - more than enough for a leech like him to feed on for a good long while without harming anyone.

Of course, most Creatures from the Topsy-Turvy didn’t really understand the whole concept of consent, and that’s why they were commonly mistaken for monsters. Or, at times, fairies.

Len’s about 90% sure that Rip van Wrinkle was some poor sod who had the misfortune to be some Creature’s first feeding before he figured out which way was up.

He’s somewhat worried that Creature might’ve been him.

It’d taken a while for him to regain his footing.

Luckily, he’s not doing that to anyone else. He steals little bits of time, snacks and bites barely large enough to keep him full; he’s been advised by those with some experience in the matter to just find himself a group of time-travelers to fix things and keep a proper meal with him at all times, but he doesn’t want to just find any group, he wants to find his specific group of time-travelers.

He misses them.

Okay, he’s not going to lie, he mostly misses Mick. And Lisa, though Lisa he managed to catch up with due to her being smart enough to stay in one time and place; Mick, on the other hand, Mick kept up with the time-traveling bucket of bozos for some reason (Len thinks he knows the reason, and feels guilty), and now Len can’t find him.

At least he’s in decent company, Len figures. Jax actually cared about Mick, even when everyone had thought Len had killed him; Sara’s pretty good at cards and has a low-key, friendly way about her – just as long as she’s never put in charge of anything other than tactical strikes, because major strategic decisions make her stress level go through the roof, see example a: Russian gulag; and Ray Palmer keeps trying to be Mick’s buddy.

Len’s sure they’re taking good care of Mick. Mick needs the care – he’s more fragile than people think, softness hiding underneath his thick tough hide, and he likes being able to rely on people he trusts to guide him; that’s usually Len’s job, but Len’s still struggling with this whole 'not a human’ thing and it’ll be good to have some support.

The crew – they call themselves ‘Legends’ or something, which sounds more like a Fall Out Boy song than a proper team name – will be taking good care of Mick.

And, well, if they’re not, he can always eat them.

Len will figure it out once he finds them.

Which is taking longer than expected.

For one thing, all of time and space is a pretty damn big haystack to find a needle.

For another, Len’s still not a hundred percent on this whole 'Creature in the regular world’ business.

The Creatures are pretty good about taking care of him whenever he flees the usual universe to take refuge in the Topsy-Turvy, which he did pretty often at first and still every once in a while now when he just gets plain overwhelmed, but they didn’t really understand humans. Ninth-dimensional possibly Lovecraftian beings just didn’t have the life experience to connect with people like Len.

Len’s lonely.

And worse, he’s pretty sure Mick still thinks he’s dead.

Besides, of the whole slew of people who ended up dragged into the singularity with him, most are dead (see: head blowing up) and only about half a dozen survived the conversion process.

The Creatures encouragingly say that their 2% survival rate is the best they’ve had in millennia.

Of course, the Creatures also then pitted them against each other in death matches and bet on it - forget math, gambling is universal - which narrowed the numbers a bit further.

Basically, Len and some guy named Booster are the only ones left, and they cordially detest each other in a way that only two people frantically clinging to each other because they’re the only two things that remember what being human is like while being stuck in a world full of mathematically improbable monsters can.

For one thing, Booster reminds Len of some awful conglomeration of Ray Palmer and Rip Hunter.

For another, they’ve been literally sharing the one human-style bed the Creatures managed to create for them for nearly a year. It’s a narrow single and they’re both grown men.

Len would categorize them as friends, but friends that would be deeply, deeply relieved if they never had to spend more than ten minutes in each other’s presence ever again.

They work much better communicating long-distance.

And, of course, speak of the devil and he appears -

“You found them yet?” Booster asks. His voice just appears in Len’s ear, just like having one of Rip’s high-end communication devices in if you forget the fact that A, they’re in different times and places and B, there is no communication device.

Stupid fifth-dimensional communication.

“If you don’t have a lead for me, we’re still not talking,” Len tells him.

“I said sorry already! Also, I think I have a lead for you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Aruba.”

“I’m not listening.”

“No, wait - I’m serious! This isn’t a sneaky attempt to make you go on vacation!”

“Unlike the last seven times?”

“Not my fault you work too hard. You don’t even have a job, I don’t know why you -”

“Booster.”

“- right, rant over. Anyway. Aruba. 2017. I’m sending pictures now.”

Len reaches into his pocket and pulls out the photographs, carefully not thinking about how they weren’t there a minute ago.

It’s -

It’s them.

They’re in stupid beachwear, and Mick is in the king of stupid beachwear, involving two layers of shirt (one tourist Hawaiian print) and a sarong.

He looks just like he always has, the big goober.

Len’s throat feels tight, and for once it’s not because he forgot to steal people’s coffee break time ('where did the time go?’ they bitch as they head back into the office, 'I feel like I just got out here’).

“Be careful,” Booster warns. “There’s been a lot of weird stuff going on in this period.”

Len nods. “Thanks for the tip,” he says, and then he leaps into the time stream, eeling through green swirls that he breathes in like air, inhuman and leech-like. He hopes Mick doesn’t mind.

And then he’s there.

Aruba. 2017.

Mick.

A set of time travelers that Len can stick with and drain slow, or - if they piss off Len and his newfound claustrophobia - visit occasionally while he uses the Flash’s endless collection of speedsters as his main source of substance.

Mick.

Len isn’t entirely how to explain what’s happened and how he turned into a temporal leech-thing (time vampire, Booster calls them) without going into eighth-dimensional mathematical concepts, but he can’t wait to give it a try.

Mick Rory, here I come.

#dccoldwave #tumblr fills #mick rory #leonard snart #booster gold #my fic

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firesoulstuff · 6 years

Note

30: “ So that’s it? It’s over?” for Captain Canary. Cause I LOVE ANGST.

I had a few ideas for this one, I hope you like the one I eventually went with!

Read on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378978/chapters/29308881

“So that’s it?” Ray asksexasperatedly, pacing around what’s been their campsite for the past few hours.“It’s over?”

The faces of the rest of the creware hardly reassuring. Everyone, Ray himself included, is sporting the longlook of hopeless faces.

“Looks like it,” Sara all butmutters, her chin resting on her hand as she gazes into the fire. “The TimeBureau reclaimed the Waverider and stranded us all here, in a time where evenwe can’t screw history too badly.” She recounts, gesturing around at all thetrees surrounding them.

They aren’t exactly sure when theyare, all Agent Sharp would tell them was that they were being left somewherenot even their unique brand of stupidity could cause any damage to history.They’ve managed to narrow it down, thanks to the combined efforts of Ray andNate. They’re some time after the dinosaurs, long after, so that’s good.They’ve also determined that they’re somewhere in North America, most likelythe Midwest according to Nate. As far as they can tell no one is around formiles and miles on end, so as of right now Nate is saying that they’re probablyin the early 1800’s. Sara thinks that for the most part he might be right,although she believes they might be a little further into the century than he’sassuming. After all, the wild west era is considered to have started during the1860’s, and what better time to is there to strand a team of time travelers whobreak everything they touch than a time where everything is broken to beginwith?

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Zarispeaks up from where she’s seated just in front of Ray. “If it weren’t for usMallus never would’ve gotten out, a lot of people wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“But we’re also the only ones whoknow how to put Mallus back where he belongs,” Ray argues,

“The Time Bureau will figure it outRay.” Jax butts in, his voice frustrated. “Let’s face it, all we do is makeeverything worse.”

Ray opens his mouth to protestagain, but he doesn’t get the chance.

“You can’t be serious.”

The unmistakable deadpan drawl comesfrom the trees and all the Legends, or former Legends maybe, turn theirattention with wide, disbelieving eyes to watch as a figure emerges from thewoods. He’s tall, dressed in dark jeans, a dark sweater, and an even darkerjacket. He looks exhausted, the cut above his left eye trailing dried blood,and his boots are covered in mud.

“Because I know that I didn’t fightmy way out of some futuristic hospital, search three computers for yourcoordinates, steal the Waverider, and then hike six miles following Mick’sgarbage trail just to hear that you’re throwing in the towel.”

He finishes his rant, but nobodysays anything. They’re all too busy staring at him, eyes wide and jaws dropped.Finally, unsurprisingly, Ray get’s over his surprise first.

“Snart!” The man-child exclaims,barreling all but two steps over to his previously thought dead teammate andtackling him in a hug.

Snart grunts in annoyance while hestaggers back to keep his balance, but even he can’t hide the smile on his faceand soon returns the embrace. Letting Ray go he’s faced with the rest of theLegends, including an approaching Sara.

To the others her face isunreadable. It’s firm, set in an almost angry glare but there’s no heat to it.Len can see the twinge of fear residing in her eyes and he gulps, wondering forthe first time since he woke up less than two hours ago how long it’s beensince the Oculus.

Since their kiss.

“Is it you?” She asks in almost awhisper, standing less than an inch away from him.

He doesn’t like the crack that he canhear in her voice, like a part of her truly believes that he isn’t here; thathe’s an imposter.

“It’s me,” he manages with a stupidnod, and then realizes she needs more. Any timeline trick could say thosewords; she needs something that only he would say. “Assassin.”

He doesn’t know if the nicknamewill work, and he suspects it’s more in the way he says it that convinces her,but convince her it does because barely a second after he gets the word out herhands are curled in tight fists around the lapels of his jacket and she’s yankedhim down to her level, crashing her mouth against his in a desperate kiss. He’saware the others are watching, but he doesn’t care. He places his hands on herhips without even thinking about it, pulling her closer and trying to pour howsorry he his for abandoning her for however long he has into the kiss.

When they finally break apart forair some of their friends have had the decency to look away, and by someLeonard means one dark haired woman with red necklace whom he’s never seenbefore. In fact, there are two more people here who he’s never met. Not tomention the professor, the hawks, and even Hunter are all missing. However longhe’s been gone, it’s been long enough for the team to change.

But he can ask about all thatlater, right now they have a job to do.

A few hours later the battle withMallus is over; they’ve won.

He’s trapped, imprisoned in some ancientbottle that required a call to Kendra to explain how to use it. Mick explainedto Len that he’s been missing for almost two years now; they all thought hedied in the Oculus. They figured out during the battle that the “hospital” hebroke out of had actually been the medical wing of the Time Bureau’sheadquarters. Turns out they found his body when they were cleaning up LA andupon discovering he had a pulse they brought him back to headquarters.Apparently they didn’t ever see any reason to inform any of the Legends, Saragave both Agent Sharp and Director Bennett a good smack in the face for that andpromised that if she ever gets her hands on Rip the damage will be far worse.

Anyway, with all that settled andthe Waverider returned to them The Legends are docked in the present for a fewdays of R&R while they think about what they want to do next. With Mallusdefeated and the anachronisms all fixed they actually have some options in whatcomes next.

Len finds Sara in her room, herdoor open as she packs her bag for a weekend of visiting her mother, followedby a few day with her father, and he smiles at the sight.

“So…” He drawls, “You’re theCaptain now?”

“For now,” she corrects with asmirk, zipping her backpack closed and loading it onto her shoulder, “Dependsif anyone gets back on this ship at the end of the week.”

His face falls a bit at that “Sothat’s it?” He asks in disbelief, unaware that he’s echoing Ray’s exact wordsfrom before he showed up last night. “It’s over?”

The sight of her smirk growingreassures him as she walks closer, and she stops beside him instead of leaving.“I don’t think so,” she says, a hand on his bicep to keep herself balanced asshe rises up on her toes and plants a kiss on his cheek. She pulls back afteronly a second, a coy smile on her face as she looks up at him through her longlashes. “I think we’re just getting started.”

She leaves him there and he watchesher go, putting a little extra sway to her hips just to drive him crazy, and asmile pulls at his lips.

It sure feels good to be back.

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apositivelifeaffirmingway · 7 years

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I keep thinking back to my younger years, when I was in the thick of multiple American soaps, dipping in and out as the storylines went good or bad (Frankie and Eve, Days; Todd and Blair and Patrick, OLTL; Luke and Laura returning to GH; Austin and Carrie, Days; Luis and Sheridan, Passions; Karen and Jagger, Robin and Stone, GH; Lucky and Elizabeth, GH; Joey and Dorian (yes I went there), OLTL; Bo and Hope, Days; Jax and Brenda, GH; Shawn and Belle, Days; Robin and Patrick, GH; and SO MANY MORE!). The common thread for 99% of these soap couples I was hard-core invested in (shipped, I guess, a term I didn’t know until like 10 years ago, ha), was that none of them who stayed on their respective shows ended up together (with a few exceptions of note: Robin and Patrick, (Blair and Todd, I think? I didn’t watch the end of OLTL really)).

It was easier back then, for me, to quit when it sucked and come back when it improved. My sources were the soap mags at the grocery store. Choosing the longest line so I could peruse the various mags for the different spoiler tidbits and the ‘VCR Alerts’. I could gauge when I thought I wanted to check back in on my favorites.

It’s a lot harder now, to turn it off (“it” being my emotional connection, and the show itself). This place and you all make me want to keep going. Everyone is so smart and nice and talented (and I wish I could talk to more of you but I’m SHY and SCARED so sorry...). It’s just harder now to just QUIT. But the show is making it easier and easier for me to disconnect emotionally and …not care. I’m not sure that’s what they wanted to happen but that’s what they’re getting…

I guess I just wanted to reflect on this world of soap television. The genre is, inherently, beholden to no one. It’s goal is to simply tell continual and ongoing stories forever and ever with characters that come and go and change constantly. Just like I cannot go back to watching GH or Days (or OLTL if it were still on air) again, I probably at some point will leave Emmerdale behind as well. Robron will always be in my heart, but Emmerdale will simply cease to matter to me.

I love Robert and just like most everyone else who loves him, I’m frustrated by his lack of development and growth by the show…but then I’m reminded of how GH constantly treated Robin over her years on the show, making her the proverbial punching bag for Carly, and making her seemingly ‘holier than thou’ and self-righteous ALL THE TIME. And don’t get me wrong, Robin is my ultimate favorite always and forever - but when a truth needed telling, out came Robin to do it, usually to ranting and berating by Carly and everyone else. And when AJ came back (ILU Billy Warlock, and you too Sean Kanan), the same thing happened. No matter how much he tried to be better, he was constantly pushed back down to the benefit of Saint Jason and Sonny (I hate them both, sorry NOT SORRY). Never was AJ allowed to be more than someone Jason and Sonny could torture and blackmail and ruin and it was disgusting to me because goodness did AJ really, truly try (before he was killed off sigh - I do not begrudge Sean Kanan the choice he made to leave because that show was never going to let AJ do anything more than be a drunk.). My point here is I get the same feeling now, from Emmerdale, regarding how they want to write Robert. They’ve let him develop some the last year (but only bc of Aaron), but even with all that he’s still just a plot device character and it’s exhausting to watch. He’s better then before (again only bc of Aaron), but if they need to throw a wrench into Robron, it’s gonna be because Robert messes up (see current “storyline”). Maybe it’s all true to the character they’ve always thought Robert was, but it’s also exhausting. And boring. And lazy. Robert can change and should change and should be given more to do. (I know this Is nothing new, and other people have discussed Robert’s plot-device existence better than me, I just had to mention it).

Emmerdale, in the ~18 months I’ve been watching, has done issue-based storytelling rather well (considering the format of the show). But their relationship-based stories are as cliched and full of soap tropes as anything on American soaps. I guess it was my own fault for forgetting that, and being lulled into a false sense of security because last year was 90% ‘safe’ for my favorites. Though I also blame the show for ‘baiting’ fans with unreal expectations for Robron as a couple, and Robert specifically as a character. The show did not and still do not represent themselves well, or in a trusting manner. They took extreme advantage, which is perhaps the cruelest part of what’s happening now?

Joke’s on me, apparently.

I’ll still be here, but I’m hanging on by a thread - just waiting to see what’s actually going on (because nothing makes sense with regards to Robert and Aaron right now), but I’ve detached A LOT and the magic has faded significantly at the moment (is gone? Maybe? I’m not sure yet). But....I keep coming back so I guess time will tell!

so….Rambling done. Check y'all later.

#blah blah blah me #I have thoughts and rambles #just....stuff I guess #this just goes everywhere but I've been thinking on so much of this for weeks and weeks now.#I wanted to post this earlier but work got crazy busy.#so I guess I'll post it now when there's no one around oh wellll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111 #ME YELLING INTO THE VOID

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agentmarymargaretskitz · 7 years

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Flashforward

So @dirty-half-dozen posted a Captain Canary Imagine that referenced Flashforward, a show I remember hearing about years ago when it premiered but never got a chance to see (although now I really want to). But it got the gears turning in my head as I watched the end scene, and not just because of that awesome final soundtrack of the building going boom.

So I’ve decided to let the muse run wild by using this as a way to save Leonard, although I’ll divert a little from the imagine. Thank you to @thecrooktomyassasin for letting me rant a little about this.

AO3

The last time all of them thought they’d see Leonard Snart was when they dropped the past version of him off on New Year’s Day of 2016, just a few days after he had been recruited by the Legion of Doom. It had been hard for the team, especially Sara and Mick, to have to erase his memory of time travel and bring him back to his present day time. They thought he had miraculously survived only to discover that he was just from the past. They had to say goodbye to him all over again.

Within a week, a miracle happened. The Waverider had been in the temporal zone when they stumbled across something extraordinary. It was the Oculus, or what was left of it. It was still intact for the most part, save for some large fragments. In the middle of all of it was a man in a blue leather jacket. There was no doubt about it that this was the Leonard Snart who had sacrificed himself to destroy the Oculus.

Once Gideon confirmed it, the team decided to stage a rescue. Ray’s ATOM suit could withstand the temporal zone, something they’d figured out when Nate was first getting used to his new abilities. He could fly out and retrieve Leonard and bring him back on board. From there, they could determine whether or not he was still alive. If he was, that was the best case scenario. If he wasn’t, then at least they could finally lay him to rest.

The entire crew of the Waverider gathered in the cargo bay to watch Ray go out into the temporal zone. As the Atom flew toward the man who they had believed to be gone, everyone waited in anticipation to see what was going to happen. Ray appeared to have some difficulty pulling Leonard’s hand away from the wreckage, as if it was still gripping something. Eventually, he was freed when Ray broke away the part of the Oculus his hand was wrapped around. Once he was no longer connected to it, Ray flew the both of them back to the time ship, where the others awaited.

He didn’t realize that Leonard still had a piece of the Oculus in his hand.

As soon as Ray was back inside, the cargo door was shut and Leonard was brought to the med bay. He was somewhat conscious when they got him there, which was a relief to everyone. After they had him on the bed and started monitoring his vitals, his hand went limp. The piece of the Oculus that he had been holding fell from his grip.

As soon as it hit the floor, a bright green flash flared quickly, followed by a pulse that filled the Waverider. The entire team was hit by it and immediately dropped to the floor, unconscious.

No one moved for two minutes, yet they all experienced something. A flash of their futures.

Martin

Martin couldn’t explain what was happening. One minute, something had flashed beside Mr. Snart, and then next he was with Clarissa.

They seemed to be in a sort of doctor’s office. Both of them were seated in chairs in front of a desk. The nameplate on it in front of them read for a Dr. E. Peters. Clarissa was anxious, he could tell by her body language. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but he was starting to get a bad feeling about it. Martin found himself placing his hand on hers, giving it a comforting squeeze.

The door opened, and a middle-aged woman entered with a file in hand.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she apologized.

Before anything else could happen, the office faded and his eyes reopened.

Rip

Rip wasn’t sure what was happening, but he was running through low brush away from something. His gun was in his hand, and he was sprinting like his life depended on it. There was a pouch grasped in his free hand. He had no idea what was in it, but he sensed it was something valuable.

Up ahead of him, he saw Jonah Hex. The man was on a horse, with another beside him. As he caught sight of Rip, he drew his own gun and fired. Rip could practically hear the bullets whiz past him and pained grunts from who Jonah had hit with them. He slowed down to get on the horse, ready to get away from wherever he was.

As soon as he was about to mount the horse, Rip woke up.

Jax

A camera flashed in front of him unexpectedly. Jax groaned and blinked, waiting for the spots to clear from his vision. When they did, he recognized the Hudson University campus around him. He was wearing graduation robes, a tassel swinging in front of his eyes. His whole family was around him, smiling proudly, and he could see his uncle holding the camera that he went everywhere with.

Jax was engulfed in a huge family hug, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Behind them, he could see another group of people. The members of Team Flash, a few people from Team Arrow, and every Legend he knew. There were some unfamiliar faces mingled in there too, but he was surrounded by friends and family.

He received congratulations from his family and they told him how proud they were of him. Jax felt so proud as he heard it before excusing himself to go see his other family.

As he took a step forward, everything faded and he realized he was on the floor in the med bay.

Ray

Ray had been working on the ATOM suit in STAR Labs. He didn’t even hear the woman come up behind him. Only when she made a remark that he’s miscalculated did he notice her. When he tried to protest that his math was fine, she’d smirked and taken another marker and corrected his current calculations on the board in front of him.

“Wow,” he muttered.

The brunette shrugged. “Well, at least now you won’t cause damage to the circuitry the next time you shrink.”

He didn’t even know her name, but somehow, he felt like he was falling for her.

“I’m Ray, by the way,” he told her, holding out his hand.

She smiled and took it. “I’m-”

He didn’t get to hear her name. Before she could say it, he jolted awake.

Amaya

The cargo door felt like it was opening slower than normal. When it did, she found herself looking out at the clearing she knew was close to the JSA headquarters. She could see the building in the distance, and it just felt like 1942 again. After all her adventures on the Waverider, she had arrived home.

It was the end of a journey for her. She would have loved to stay on board with everyone, but she had her own life to pursue. Besides, history needed her to return at some point, and so did the JSA. She could prevent the mission that had caused everyone except Todd to go missing.

As Amaya stepped off the Waverider, she took someone’s hand. When she turned her head to see who it was, she was awake again.

Nate

Nate typed away furiously at the laptop. A pile of journals, one of them opened, was to his left side, and a cup of tea was at his right. Reading off the screen, he saw that he was typing about the adventures that he had been on as a member of the Legends. The names were fake (probably to protect his friends), but the story he was writing was real. It was about the adventures in feudal Japan.

He kept typing about his own experiences when he first landed there before stopping when he reached the Yamishiro household. Then he dug through the journals before pulling out a something that looked like a futuristic tape recorder. There was a piece of tape on it that had Ray Palmer scrawled in Sharpie.

The moment he hit play on it, his eyes snapped open, taking him away from the laptop to staring at the ceiling of the med bay.

Mick

Leonard was staring at him. He knew this was the real deal and not a hallucination. The two of them were in Mick’s room, sitting across from each other. His best friend looked saddened.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked slowly after a long moment.

Mick nodded. “Gave it a lot of thought, and I am.”

“Lisa’s going to ask where you are, just like she asked you about me,” Leonard said.

“So tell her the truth,” he shrugged before adding. “And tell her she was the closest thing I had to little sister. I’ll miss her. And you.”

He stood up at the same time that Leonard rose from his own seat.

“I’ll miss you too,” he told him, looking even sadder.

“If you ever need me, or her, we’re just a time jump away.”

Leonard seemed like he was going to say something else, but Mick didn’t get to find out what. The vision ended too soon.

Sara

Sara stared down at the ring around her finger, studying the design. Turning to her right, she saw Leonard seated beside her. They were on the bridge of the Waverider, the whole team around them. Even Barry and Kendra was back somehow, but Carter was nowhere in sight. Rip was in the captain’s seat, piloting them through the temporal zone.

She didn’t know what made her do it, but she released her right hand from gripping the harness. Leonard noticed the action, and grasped it. He gave it a squeeze, and she returned it.

As the ship started to accelerate, Sara could feel her stomach start to churn. The bridge and the sick feeling vanished as she woke up and sat up by the door to the med bay, watching everyone else around her get up in equal confusion.

Leonard

He didn’t know how long been seeing the flashes of different timelines. Ever since Leonard had given himself up at the Oculus to die, he had been experiencing them. At first, he’d been surprised that he was still alive and even a little relieved. But the more timeline fragments he saw, the more and more he wished that the explosion had just killed him. Hell had to be better than this.

Then, it had ended suddenly. He was in the temporal zone, the Oculus wreckage scattered around him. Raymond was holding onto him, flying both of them away from the mess. Leonard was barely able to keep his eyes open as he was brought inside the Waverider, and then up to the med bay. They put him on one of the beds as he realized that he was still holding onto something. He let it go, hearing it drop to the floor. Then there had been the green flash, and he found himself no longer in the med bay.

Of all the timelines he had witnessed, this was something he had never seen before. He was waking up in a bed in a room that did not belong to the Waverider with Sara curled close beside him. Her blonde hair was splayed all across her face. She seemed relaxed and calmer than he had ever seen her before. Leonard didn’t understand how, but he felt the same way. Sara suddenly shifted and blinked her eyes open, a sleepy smile visible through the strands of hair obscuring her face.

Everything faded away before he could do anything else, and he realized his eyes were closed. He reopened them, and he found himself back in the Waverider’s medbay. Everyone else on the team was waking up too and getting back up on their feet.

No one had any clue what had happened. When they replayed the security footage in the med bay, it took the second time around for Amaya to point out the piece of the Oculus impacting the floor of the Waverider as the source of the green flash and pulse. They also learned that they had all been unconscious for two minutes before all waking up again.

“Gideon,” Rip asked as the footage ended the second time. “How did this happen?”

“And what exactly was I seeing?” Jax asked.

“It appears that residual energy of the temporal zone affected the Oculus piece Mr. Snart brought on board,” the AI announced. “The collision of the piece with the floor allowed the Oculus’s power to affect you temporarily.”

Sara frowned. “Which means...”

“You all experienced a part of your personal futures,” Gideon explained. “What you saw is what is in store for you on the ship, or even off of it.”

Everyone was quiet.

“Would dropping the piece again create the same effect?” Ray asked quietly. “Would we see the same thing? Or would it be different?”

“I detect no temporal energy radiating from the piece. Dropping the Oculus piece again would not produce the same result you experienced previously.”

There were a variety of expressions on everyone’s faces. Ray looked disappointed. Rip, Nate, and Jax seemed to be the calmest, while Martin appeared to be rattled and concerned. Amaya had her arms crossed, her eyes flicking over towards Mick, who had a conflicted look on his face. Sara looked toward Leonard, who met her eyes.

After a long silent spell, Rip sighed. “Whatever you wish to do regarding what you saw, you’re welcome to it. I had Gideon prevent you from looking into your personal timelines anyway, so we don’t have to worry about those being damaged.”

With that, he left the med bay, probably to go back to his quarters. Ray exited shortly after him. Soon, everyone dispersed save for Sara and Mick and Leonard, who was still to be held in the med bay for the night.

“Glad you’re back,” the arsonist said to the thief with a nod before leaving Sara and Leonard.

Leonard watched him go before turning back to Sara. The assassin studied his vitals on the screen momentarily.

“If you’re worried about the future, then don’t,” Leonard broke the silence. “After all, Rip said Ray was supposed to die at the Oculus, and look what happened instead.”

“Are you worried about what you saw?” Sara asked, looking back at him.

He shook his head. “I’m hoping it comes true.”

She snorted softly. “I think I know the feeling.”

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