#'oh my mom will probably want some semblance of a say in this'

[theforesteldritch]

My mom's going back to university to study to become a therapist and her biopsych textbook is... interesting. It straight up states that XX chromosomes=female and XY=male, no variation or exceptions, forget about the existance of monosomy or trisomy of sex chromosomes I guess let alone AIS, Swyer syndrome or de la chappelle syndrome. Oh but wait it gets worse. It later brings up intersex variations as 'exceptions that prove the rule' of bullshit binary ideas about sex and brings up some case studies, one of which is about a woman with CAIS and then proceeds to invite a debate over if she should be told the truth and that she has CAIS. Im going to fucking rip a wall apart, at least my mom has me as the context to know that that's bullshit, but what about people that just take that at face value? People that want to go on to be psychologists or therapists? They're going to fuck any intersex patients up so bad if they think it's debatable if we should be told the truth about our intersex-ness, and not only that but think its ok to surgically 'treat' us without telling us or giving any semblance of informed consent.

I'm reminded of how I read about how one intersex woman had to break into her doctor's office to steal her medical records, because she knew something was up but even as an adult they refused to tell her. And how intersex people are far more likely to have poor physical and mental health, a good chunk of that probably attributable to the fact that shit like this happens and so we're probably more likely to avoid doctors and mental health professionals and not trust them, for pretty good reason. Some of the things I went through during diagnosis and right after and some of the things they did were traumatic and violating. But at least they fucking told me I have CAIS and gave me a say in my plan for treatment/monitoring when I pushed back. The bar is so low that despite how horrible and traumatic some of that and how I was treated was, to the point where I'm still processing certain things almost 3 years later, by other standards I got incredible care. Because at least they fucking told me. That is the bare fucking minimum. No, that's lower than the minimum, or should be, but we've been mistreated by the medical system so much that telling us we're intersex at all is a step in the direction of progress.

But people, supposedly mental health professionals and doctors, want to debate if we should be granted the basic decency of knowing.

#moth rambles #intersex #intersexism #lgbtq #moth vents

[0cta9on]

Unlikely Duet - 6

length: +7k words

Genre: Fluff

NewJeans Minji x Male Reader (OC)

(Author's Note: I could've taken another day to edit this, but I wanted to upload it asap so here it is :^) Hopefully my writing isn't too garbage and I hope y'all enjoy <3)

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★

Minji’s POV

I could do nothing but pace around my room, anxiety fueling every step. Danielle was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago to drive us to the fair, but on this particular day of all days, she decides to be late. My vice president, the one who I can lean on when I’m overwhelmed with responsibilities and even more of a stickler for rules and punctuality compared to me, is late.

The brunt of my morning was spent avoiding my parents like the plague, staying cooped up in my room and eating my meals as quickly as possible. To them, it probably seems like I’m giving them the silent treatment for what they said last night (which I’m still upset about), but in reality, I was riddled with anxious thoughts and simply avoided speaking in case I accidentally let it slip that I was planning on lying to them. I’ve done it tons of times before, but every single time is nerve wracking. While I hate that it’s gotten to this point, I owe a lot of my sanity to what I’ve been able to get away with by lying. Besides, it’s probably better this way - my parents still believe that I’m their perfect daughter and I still get to have some semblance of a social life.

Like the sonorous tones of a church bell, a resounding ding emits from my phone. They’re here. With shaky hands, I grab my tote bag from my bed and carefully tiptoe down the stairs. Right as I reach the front door, my father calls out to me from the living room.

“Minji? Where are you going?” He asks, a look of curiosity on his face.

“O-oh, uhh, I guess I forgot to tell you this but I was actually planning on going to the library to study with Danielle today.” I grin at him, trying my best to sound convincing. Our eyes lock as he studies my expression for what feels like an eternity. It might just be my stress causing my eyes to play tricks on me, but there seems to be a hint of sadness in his expression, as if he doesn’t want me to go. I shake it off and refocus on the task at hand.

“Well, I better get going-”

“Wait,” he interrupts before leaving the room for a moment. He comes back with a $20 bill in his hands and offers it to me. “Here.”

Panic began to set in. Did he find out I was actually going to the fair? If he did, why would he be giving me money? Shouldn’t he be angry at me for lying to him?

“Um, what’s this for? We’re just going to the library,” I reiterate in hopes that my initial worries were wrong.

“In case you two get hungry after, you should get some snacks. Food fuels the brain.” The relief I felt after he said those words is better than any award I got in my entire academic career up to this point. Normally it would raise red flags for my father to be doing something uncharacteristic like this, but I didn’t care. I’m just glad to almost be free.

“Thanks,” I say as I take the cash. “I’ll see you later then.”

“Don’t stay out too late. Don’t be messing around while studying. And-”

I shut the door behind me before I could hear the rest of his sentence. It was probably some other generic dad advice, like “Don’t talk to strange boys at night” or something like that. The sight of Danielle’s mom’s car parked on the other side of the street was like seeing a boat heading your direction after being stranded on an island for 15 years. Hanni beckoned me from the passenger’s side window, an excited grin painted on her face.

“Hurry up girl, let’s go!!” She shouted. As I open the door to the backseat, Hyein and Haerin wave back at me.

“Hi Minji!”

“Yo.”

“Hi guys, sorry, my dad wanted to talk to me before I left,” I replied as I got in the car. “Danielle, what took you so long, I was pacing around my room for the past 20 minutes anxious out of my mind!”

“I’m sorry, there was something I had to take care of before I could take my mom’s car,” she apologizes as she tampers with the rearview mirror, clearly annoyed with its inability to swivel properly.

Hanni pops her head from the front seat. “Okay y’all, we just need to take a deep breath and calm down. We’re going to the fair to chill out and have fun, let’s not let petty things like this ruin the day before it’s even started, alright?” Haerin and Hyein nod enthusiastically, peering over at me to gauge my reaction. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in order to allow my mind to forget about the stress from my morning. Today is the day that I get to let loose and forget about all the pressures I face in my regular life. Nothing else matters but having fun. As I open my eyes again, I am welcomed by the smiling faces of my four dearest friends (Danielle was especially happy about finally fixing the rearview mirror). My lips curl into a smile as I look back at them.

“Yeah, you’re right, Hanni,” I admit. “Okay, let’s go!!” We all cheer as Danielle steps on the gas. Hanni turns up the radio, blasting a loud pop song that blares out of the windows as we cruise through the neighborhood.

______________________________________________________________

The lights, the sounds, the smells, everything about the fair was overwhelming in the best way possible. Large groups of friends and families meandered along the concrete pathways, talking and laughing as they try their hand at classic carnival games or satiate their hunger with fried food and extravagant sweets. A giant ferris wheel sat in the background, the sunlight peeking through its rotors. A wave of nostalgia washes over me as I’m reminded of old family memories. Before they pressured me into trying to obtain some kind of impossible perfection, I used to be able to exist simply as their daughter, who they loved and played with like any other child.

“Hey Minji, are you okay?” Hyein asks me. I snap out of my thoughts to find the girls looking back at me with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking about something,” I reassure them. “What do you guys wanna do first?”

“I don’t know Ms. President, what do you wanna do?” Hanni asks with a wide grin.

“Well, I guess we can-”

I freeze as I see a familiar face in the distance, intermingled with the crowd. Yuno is here. With the convenience store girl.

______________________________________________________________

Yuno’s POV

“Where the hell did he run off to?” I grumble as I struggle to search for Yujin in the crowd. The fair was more overwhelming than I could’ve imagined - it was difficult navigating through the sea of strangers without accidentally rubbing elbows with them, all while trying to find oxygen through the constant stench of fried foods and sugar wafting through the air. At the very least, the lights were pretty to look at and I would be lying if I said the ferris wheel didn’t pique my interest.

Winter chuckles at my annoyance. “Relax, he’s just getting a corndog. See, he’s on his way over here right now,” she says, gesturing through a gap in the crowd. Lo and behold, Yujin skips towards us with a corndog in hand and a stupid grin on his face.

“Look what I got!” He presents his fried snack to us with the excitement of a child presenting a drawing to their parents. An ungodly amount of ketchup and mustard drips off the corndog, creating a gross glob of orange on the ground.

“Is that healthy?” Winter asks, concern laced in her voice. Her words fall on deaf ears as Yujin chomps off a large piece, covering his mouth in sauce. I chuckle in disbelief, both deeply disturbed and quietly impressed, while Winter hands him a pack of napkins from her purse.

I take the opportunity to look around at my surroundings again. As I gazed out amongst the crowd of smiling faces, I suddenly felt out of place in it all, like I wasn’t allowed to be here. Everything felt so foreign to me, I wasn’t sure if I should feel at ease or on edge. Whether it’s paranoia or just a hunch, I couldn’t get rid of this nagging feeling at the back of my head.

“Hey Yuno?” Winter nudges me.

I turn my attention towards her. “What?”

“Isn’t that the student council president?”

My heart stops for a split second as I look down the other end of her finger. In the heart of the crowd is Minji, huddled around her friends. She’s wearing a simple outfit of a gray collegiate sweater and jeans, yet my eyes were naturally drawn to her like a magnet.

“Y-yeah, that’s her,” I stutter, trying to maintain composure.

“Mm, issa Danielle? Les go shay hi!” Yujin exclaims with a mouth full of food, running toward them before I could stop him.

“God dammit…”

“What’s wrong, do you not wanna say hi?” Winter asks as we follow the trail through the crowd Yujin left behind.

“It’s not that, it’s just… Whatever, let’s just go.” With every step I take, my heart rate begins to accelerate as, once again, fate pulls me towards Minji Kim.

______________________________________________________________

Minji’s POV

He’s coming this way!! Why is he coming this way?? Did he see me? Should I run? No, why would I run? Pull it together, Minji!! Maybe if I pretend I didn’t see him, he’ll just walk past me. Why would I do that?? Agh!!

“Ketchup… and mustard,” Haerin blurts out, drawing puzzled glances from the group. Suddenly, a boy wearing a white eyepatch emerges from the crowd, carrying a corndog smeared with red and yellow condiments.

“Danielle!!” He calls out, waving excitedly. “Hi!”

“Yujin? What are you doing here?” Danielle questions, a hint of surprise present in her voice.

“I’m with my friends!” The boy, Yujin, exclaims as Yuno and the convenience store girl appear behind him, drawing an impish grin from Hanni. I couldn’t help but feel underdressed when compared to convenience store girl’s flowery sundress and cardigan. “I didn’t expect to see you here too! This is great!”

“Uh yeah, I guess it is,” Danielle responds awkwardly before turning to us. “Um, this is Yujin, I’ve been helping him and his grandma out recently.”

“We’re friends!” He adds enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I suppose we are.” 

I couldn’t help but giggle at Danielle’s uncharacteristic awkwardness. Normally, she’s the serious voice of reason that stays calm under pressure, yet here she was, looking like an embarrassed older sister flustered by the antics of her younger sibling.

“It’s nice to meet you, Yujin,” I greet warmly. “I’m Minji, also a friend of Danielle’s.”

“Oh, you must be the student council president!” He replies eagerly. “These are my friends, Yuno and Winter. Yuno might look a little scary, but don’t worry, he only fights bad guys. He helped me and Winter out before! And Winter is really shy, but she’s really nice once you get to know her!”

“H-hello,” Winter stutters with a polite smile, while Yuno offers a simple nod. A flush of warmth colors my cheeks as our eyes briefly meet before we both quickly avert our gazes. Unfortunately, Hanni notices this and stifles a laugh, making my cheeks grow even warmer with embarrassment.

“Hello, I’m Hyein!” Our youngest chimes in. “This is Haerin, and that over there is Hanni! It’s nice to meet you all!”

As the group falls into casual conversation, I can’t help but peer over at Yujin’s eyepatch and be reminded of my conversation with Yuno last night. Despite his injuries, he’s chock full of energy and vibrancy that contrasts with Yuno’s usual solitary and soft-spoken demeanor. The difference in their personalities is cute in a way. Winter, on the other hand, shares many similarities with Yuno. Like him, she’s very soft-spoken and a little awkward, but has an aura of kindness around her despite that. I imagine the two of them got along well because of this - for some reason, this fact irks me.

“Since we’re all here to let loose at the fair, why don’t you guys join us? The more the merrier I always say, isn’t that right, Minj?” Hanni says, nudging my ribs with her elbow. I didn’t even have to look at her to know what kind of face she’s making. 

Coincidentally, my eyes meet Yuno’s once again, and I quickly break away as I think of what to say. I would hate to butt into Yuno’s time with his friends, but a voice in the back of my head was telling me otherwise.

“Yeah, you guys can join us if you want to,” I say as I give into the voices. My lips curl into a smile, but inside, I couldn’t shake the feeling of butterflies in my stomach. Yuno appears taken aback at my answer as a slight pinkish hue grows on his cheeks. The group moves through the crowd looking for what to do first with Yujin leading the way and Yuno trailing close behind. I stay in the back, letting my complicated feelings fester.

“H-hello, Minji.” Winter’s soft voice interrupts my thoughts, and I turn to find her trailing behind the group alongside me. Her simple makeup look is subtle, yet it perfectly accentuated her natural beauty. Pair that with her cute outfit and she could have any guys she wants. A shiver went through my spine at the thought.

“What’s up?” I ask, trying my best to act natural.

“I just wanted to ask if you’re doing okay. I never got the chance to after what happened that night.”

My mind flashes back to when Yuno and Winter had saved me from that drunk man a couple days ago. I was too terrified and too weak to protect myself, yet this timid girl jumped in front of him to protect me. And here I am, feeling all weird because I think she looks prettier than me.

“I’m doing fine now. Thanks again for that, I owe you one,” I express.

She quickly shakes her head at my offer. “Y-you don’t have to do that. If you want, I can give you a can of pepper spray. I have a couple more of them at home.”

A chuckle escapes my lips, and Winter seems to loosen up at this. “I might have to take you up on that offer,” I say, half-jokingly. A wave of shame washes over me as I suddenly felt bad for being jealous of her. Maybe the events of this morning still have their effects on me or maybe I ate something bad earlier, but something feels off with me today and I’m not sure why.

“Guys, look over here!” Yujin shouts excitedly from the front of the group, pointing at a giant Spider-man plush sitting on a prize table for a basketball game. Two basketball hoops stood tall before him, much higher than a regular basketball hoop. “I HAVE to get this for my room!” He quickly pays the game attendant, who places three basketballs on the counter in front of him.

“Alright, the game is simple. All you have to do is make at least one basket and you get a prize,” the worker explains. Yujin takes the first ball and psyches himself up, giving the ball a couple dribbles before throwing it… And completely missing the hoop.

“Aw man,” he groans in disappointment. “Yuno, why don’t you try?”

Yuno accepts the challenge, gripping the second ball with steely determination. I watch with bated breath as the ball leaves his hands. It soars high into the sky… and completely misses the hoop. The ball shoots way over the hoop and ends up knocking a corndog out of someone’s hand. The girls and I struggle to stifle our laughter as Yuno’s cheeks turn a bright red.

“A-ah… Shit…” He curses under his breath. “M-maybe Winter should try…”

Winter steps forward, her hands shaking as she grips the final ball. We all freeze with anticipation as she shoots the ball towards the hoop. Miraculously, it arcs perfectly in the air and lands through the hoop with a satisfying swoosh. A scattered array of claps and cheers erupt from some bystanders that witnessed that moment, but none are as ecstatic as Yujin, who jumps and cheers with the excitement of a kid on his birthday.

“Congratulations, ma’am! Which prize would you like?” The worker asks her.

“T-the Spiderman p-please,” Winter stammers, accepting the toy and handing it to Yujin.

“Ahhh!!! Winter, you’re the best!!!” He screams, drawing a variety of reactions from passersby. Yuno flashes her a quick thumbs up while Hyein, Haerin, and Hanni shower her with compliments, which Winter modestly tries to brush away with a bashful smile. Meanwhile, Danielle is occupied with trying to contain Yujin’s overflowing energy.

“M-my dad really likes basketball, so he made me play w-when I was younger. I-it’s nothing really,” Winter explains. She’s kind, pretty, AND athletic? It’s almost as if God himself created the perfect person and placed them in front of me on a day I decided not to dress up. There’s no wonder I felt jealous of her. But why am I jealous of her?

“Are you okay?” Yuno asks me.

I startle slightly at his sudden appearance. “H-huh? Yeah, why?” I awkwardly chuckle. Yuno’s gentle gaze meets mine with genuine concern, momentarily distracting myself from my swirling thoughts. I found myself wanting to draw closer and get lost in his irises.

What?! Minji, what are you even thinking?! Have you gone insane?!

“You look… upset,” he admits shyly. “I just wanted t-”

Suddenly, a basketball bounces off of the other hoop and hurtles towards Winter. In a flash, Yuno turns and catches the ball right before it hits her in the face, his gentle expression replaced with a stern glare at the person who threw the ball.

“Watch it,” he growls in a calm yet menacing tone as he tosses the ball back. His face immediately softens as he turns back to Winter. “You alright?”

“Y-yeah. Thanks, Yuno,” she answers with an appreciative smile. I felt my heart drop from my chest as I watched their interaction, confusion and envy creating a storm in my mind.

“Sooooooo, you gonna make a move or no?” I jump as Hanni startles me from behind.

“W-what??” I sputter.

“I recognize that face anywhere. You’re jealous~.” 

Heat creeps up my face as I struggle to find the words to explain myself. “Wha- I am not jealous!” I seethe, trying to keep my voice down. “I’m just… impressed by his reaction timing.”

“Mhm,” she hums, raising an eyebrow. “Well, I’m impressed by how close they look. Don’t you think they would make a cute couple, Minj?”

Her words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. “Y-yeah, I’m sure they would,” I reply, unconvincingly. “W-whatever, like I said I’m not jealous.”

“Oh sweet, sweet Minji,” Hanni sighs, shaking her head as she pats my shoulder. She follows the rest of the group as they move on, leaving me to watch Yuno and Winter as they walk side by side. No matter how hard I try, I can't rationalize this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I see them together. I need to do something, but I don’t know why.

______________________________________________________________

We spent the next hour walking around, playing all the fair games, and filing our stomachs with an array of different snacks the fair offers. I tried to enjoy myself, but the pit in my stomach continued to grow and grow until it became unbearable. I even started to consider Hanni’s words, but no amount of inner turmoil would make me go that insane. 

As the sun dipped low, casting an enchanting orange hue over the fairgrounds, it seemed like the perfect time to watch the sunset from atop the ferris wheel. As excited as I am to be able to watch the sunset, I still couldn’t get rid of this weird feeling as I watched Yuno chat with Winter and Yujin at the front of the group. Hanni seemed to notice this too.

“Girl, you look miserable,” she remarks, resting her chin on my shoulder with a sympathetic pout. “You’re supposed to be having fun.”

“I-I am having fun. This is my ‘having fun’ face.” I flash her a forced grin in a feeble attempt to mask my true feelings. Hanni sighs heavily right as we reach the front of the line.

“Each cabin only fits two people, so you’ll have to split into groups of two,” the ride operator explains. Naturally, Hyein and Haerin pair up together, waving excitedly at us as they eagerly step into the first cabin.

“Yuno, do you wanna ride together?” Yujin asks him. Before he could answer, however, Hanni takes matters into her own hands and pushes Danielle into Yujin.

“Hey Yujin, did you know Danielle is really scared of heights? She needs a big strong man protecting her while she’s up there.” Danielle silently curses at her with her eyes as Hanni pushes the duo into the next cabin. My eyes go wide with panic as I suddenly catch onto her plan.

“Winter, I love your dress! Let’s chat about it on the ferris wheel!” Hanni exclaims as she grabs Winter’s hand, pulling her towards the open doors of the cabin. Right before the doors close behind them, I catch a glimpse of Hanni flashing me a thumbs up. My heart threatened to explode from my chest as I found myself left alone with Yuno. 

“S-soooooo… U-um, do you wanna, um, I-I gues-”

“Let’s go,” Yuno utters as walks ahead of me into the cabin. I mentally facepalm, cringing at my sudden inability to formulate a coherent sentence. I step into the cabin and sit across from Yuno. As the doors seal shut, the space suddenly felt a lot smaller and more intimate. I gaze out at the orange glow of the sun to distract myself, both mortified and oddly blissful.

______________________________________________________________

Yuno’s POV

My heart kept chugging like a speeding steam train, I worried that Minji could hear it echo off the walls of the cabin. Throughout the day, I could feel her gaze lingering on me and I don’t know why. Did she wanna talk about yesterday? Was something on her mind? Was there something in my hair? Did I smell? I would’ve showered before I left the house if I knew I was gonna bump into her.

A strange feeling fills my chest as I observe the way the sunlight reflects off of her skin. The same feeling that had been haunting me for the past couple of days. Minji constantly invades my thoughts, stirring emotions I couldn’t comprehend. Everything about her felt new and strange, but I couldn’t deny that being around her made me feel happy. I drop my gaze to the floor as she turns to me, hoping she didn’t catch me staring.

“Sooo…” She began, filling the silence. “Winter seems nice.”

I tilt my head in confusion at her sudden interest in Winter. “Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

“How’d you two meet?” She asks with an odd amount of intrigue

For the most part, Minji is an open book. I never have to guess what she’s thinking or feeling, and unlike her parents, she never seems to be hiding some ulterior motive beneath a gentle exterior - until now. At first, I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but being the open book she is, it became clear as day that Minji was hiding something. But why? Maybe it wasn’t my place to pry, but my instincts told me otherwise.

“We have english together, but we didn’t start being… ‘friends’ until a couple days ago. She and Yujin kinda just… inserted themselves into my life. And now we’re here,” I explain. Minji’s brow furrows in response.

“Wait, you only started talking a couple days ago? I thought you two were dating.” She hurriedly clasps her hand over her mouth as if she didn’t mean to let that out. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“We’re not dating,” I say a little too quickly. “Just friends.”

The cabin falls silent as both of our cheeks turn a light crimson. Minji turns back to the window, and my eyes gravitate towards her face once again as if that’s where they’re meant to be. The light and the shadows dance on her skin creating a work of art right in front of me. She’s beautiful in the most impossible way, defying everything I know about the world just by existing. My heart pumps faster and faster as my mind begins to run wild, imagining the two of us together as more than friends. Going on dates and being close. Just like this. Maybe Minji wanted to know if Winter and I were dating because she’s interested in me. I quickly shot that idea down. Those kinds of thoughts only lead down a bad road.

“My parents used to take my brother and I to the fair when we were younger,” Minji says, snapping me out of my daze. “We would go around and play all the games, trying to win the prizes. The games were always rigged, so we never won any. One time, I got so upset that I couldn’t win a bear toy that I started crying. My dad ended up paying extra just so he could get me the bear.” A gentle smile graces her face as she recounts her memory.

“We would always ride the ferris wheel at the end so we could watch the sunset from the top of the ferris wheel, just like this. I was always too short, so my dad had to hoist me up so I could see through the window.” She chuckles lightly before her smile eventually fades from her lips and her gaze falls to the floor. “Sorry, being here must have made me nostalgic. It’s been awhile since I got to watch the sunset from a ferris wheel.”

“Don’t be sorry. I like hearing you talk.” My eyes grow wide with panic as I realize the implication of my words. “I-I meant I like you. I MEAN YOUR STORY!! I liked your story…” My face falls into my palms in an attempt to hide the deepening blush, and I let out a muffled “Fuck” under my breath. I can hear Minji trying to stifle her laughter, which only makes me feel worse. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself six feet under and stay there for eternity.

“I know what you mea- AHHH!!!”

I jolt my head up right as Minji jumps from her seat and into my lap. Bewilderment, accompanied by a million other emotions, runs through my mind as she wraps her arms around my head and hides her face in the crook of my neck.

“M-Minji, uhh w-what are you-”

“There’s a spider on the seat!” She exclaims, her voice tingling with fear. I maneuver my head around her and see the tiniest spider I’ve ever seen scurrying around the spot where Minji once sat. “Ahhh, I really hate spiders!!”

I try to pry her body off of me, but her grip is tighter than an anaconda. A wave of deja vu washes over me as I suddenly start to feel lightheaded.

“M-Minji… Y-you’re choking m-me…” Right before I feel like I’m about to blackout, Minji releases her grip on my neck and slides off of my lap into the space next to me. The seat is a little cramped, but it’s better than dying in such an embarrassing way.

“I-I’M SO SORRY, YUNO!!” She apologizes, her face a bright tomato red. She flinches as the spider continues to move around on the opposite seat, wincing with each movement. “I-I really, really, really, REALLY hate spiders.”

Even after she almost choked me to death, I couldn’t help but find her cute as she shields her eyes with delicate hands, her face nestled into my shoulder. A grin threatens to grow on my lips as I try to comfort her with a few gentle pats on the head.

“I used to be afraid of spiders when I was a kid,” I began in a calming tone. “Whenever I saw one, I always cried to my parents about it. One day, I found one in the bathroom, so I ran to my mom sobbing and told her to kill it. Instead of killing it, she held me in her arms and carried me to the bathroom where it was. I was just like you, hiding my face on her shoulder because I was too scared to even look at it. In a gentle voice, she told me about how it was alone and probably looking for its family. If I killed it, then its family would be sad. She told me that she would be sad if I was suddenly killed when I was out all alone. From that day on, I was never afraid of spiders. Every time I saw one, I would carry it outside so it could find its family.” 

I chuckle under my breath. “I don’t think it actually works like that, but I don’t kill spiders because of her. Because of my mom.”

As I finish my story, I notice Minji’s eyes watering and her lip quivering as if she’s about to cry. “Ah shit, are you okay?” I ask with great concern.

“S-Sorry, that was just… really sweet,” she sniffles. I bit my lip, trying to suppress my smile as I simultaneously fought the urge to wipe her tears away. As she calms down, we sit together in silence, watching the tiny spider walk around the cabin.

“He’s just a little guy,” Minji utters, a cute grin on her face. “I wonder why I was so scared of you before.”

Just then, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I open up the notification to see a selfie of Yujin and Danielle with the giant Spiderman plush wedged in between them. Despite Danielle’s awful personality, Yujin seems to like her, so I guess it’s alright. If I didn’t know any better, I could’ve easily mistaken them for siblings.

“Aww, that’s cute. We should send one back,” Minji suggests, her eyes lighting up. 

“O-oh, uh, sure. How do I…” After a minute of hopelessly fumbling through the labyrinth of options on the screen, Minji gently takes the phone from me and opens up the camera with a simple tap.

“Do you know how to use a phone, Yuno?” She teases.

“U-uh, no…” I answer, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. Her eyes widened with surprise at my response. “It’s my first phone, and I just got it today so I haven’t really had a chance to properly look through it.”

“O-okay, well just press on this gray square over here if you wanna open up the camera,” she explains in a kind tone, free of any judgment. She raises her arm and I can see the two of us reflected onto the screen. “Scoot a little closer so we can both be in the frame.”

With a gulp, I scoot closer to her in the already cramped space. The flowery scent of her hair wafts through my nostrils, gentle and clean. Hypnotized by the scent, I don’t realize I’m staring at her until she nudges me with her elbow.

“Look at the camera,” she reminds me, a knowing smile playing on her lips. The phone camera manages to catch the redness of my cheeks as I glance back at my reflection. Minji snaps a few shots before reviewing her work.

“They came out pretty well, don’t you think?” She inquires, and I can only nod in agreement, despite my less-than-stellar appearance in the photos. Minji, on the other hand, looks as pretty as ever. Even when she’s not doing much, the camera seems to pick up on all her good sides. She fiddles with my phone for a little bit before handing it back to me.

“Here, I put my number in so you can send me the photos,” she says. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“N-not at all,” I stutter excitedly, my heart soaring in the air. Minji giggles at my elation and we share a laugh in that cramped ferris wheel cabin. In that moment, as the sunset bathes us in its warm glow, everything falls into place. The weird feelings, the incessant thoughts - they all lead to one undeniable truth. I’m in love with Minji Kim.

______________________________________________________________

As I step out of the cabin, I see the rest of our friends waiting for us at the front of the ferris wheel. Instinctively, I reach my hand out towards Minji as she carefully steps out, which she accepts with a small grin adorning her lips. Though the contact is brief, the memory of her delicate hand in mine etches itself into my memory.

“Soooooo, did you two have fun?” Hanni asks us with an unnerving smirk that could only mean trouble. Before I get a chance to answer however, Minji grabs her wrist and leads her away.

“I-I’m going to the bathroom, Hanni you’re coming with me!” Her voice echoes as she drags Hanni away, trailed by the rest of her friends like ducklings following their mother. Perplexed, Winter, Yujin, and I settle onto a nearby bench to rest in the shade.

“The ferris wheel was fun, I took a lot of pictures of the sunset!” Yujin shares, displaying the photos on his phone. Almost his entire gallery was full of sun from slightly varying angles, along with a few selfies with Danielle. Her gentler side she exclusively shows to Yujin is such a stark contrast from her usual coldness, it’s almost unsettling.

“I feel exhausted.” Winter slumps beside me, her head tilting to the side as if she was too tired to even hold it up. “Hanni is really nice, but I felt so drained after talking to her for five minutes. I don’t know where she gets all that energy from.” I quietly snicker to myself. That seems on brand for Hanni.

My mind wanders back to the epiphany I had earlier. “Um, can I ask you two something… odd?” Their heads perk up, looking at me expectantly. “Have you guys ever… ‘dated’ anyone before?”

“I’ve had crushes before, but I was always too scared to confess,” Yujin admits.

“What about you, Winter? Have you ever had a boyfriend?” I ask.

“Um, not exactly…” With a hint of reluctance, she retrieves her phone from her purse, revealing a polaroid tucked in her phone case -  a snapshot of Winter with her arms wrapped around a girl with striking eyes and jet black hair.

Both of our jaws drop, simultaneously shocked and impressed.

“Oh shit…” I mutter before coming to my senses. She’s pretty, but not Minji pretty.

“Wow, that’s your girlfriend, Winter?!” Yujin exclaims. Winter smiles shyly as she puts her phone back in her purse.

“Y-yeah. She’s studying in Japan right now, so I don't get to see her often. I hope she visits soon; I think you guys would get along with her really well.” The look on her face as she thinks of her girlfriend reminds me of my mother’s face in old wedding photos. I don’t understand anything about love or relationships, but that face told me everything I needed to know. “Why did you want to know, Yuno?”

My cheeks suddenly turn warm. “Oh, uh… No reason.”

As if on cue, Minji and the rest of her friends return from the restroom, with Minji looking noticeably flustered and Hanni more excited than ever.

“It’s getting dark, so we were planning on heading back,” Danielle says. “Do you guys need a ride home?”

“O-oh, it’s okay, w-we were gonna take the subway home,” Winter replies.

“WAIT!” Yujin shouts suddenly before turning to her. “Winter, can we ride with them? Pleaseeeeee?” He grabs her sleeve and looks up at her with pleading eyes. 

“I-I guess if it’s okay with them.” “WOOHOO!” Yujin cheers. “I call shotgun!” He dashes toward the parking lot, his Spiderman plush bobbing in his arms.

“Hey, that’s my seat!” Hanni exclaims, running after him. In the midst of commotion, I sneak over to Minji.

“H-hi,” I stutter, brimming with nervous excitement.

“H-hey.” Even with the sun completely set, her smile manages to illuminate everything around us. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but the air felt different compared to the times we’ve talked before. That strange yet euphoric feeling still lingers in my chest, this time I finally know what that feeling is - I think. Maybe it’s love, maybe it’s the fumes of fried food decaying my brain. The only thing I know for sure is that I like being around Minji.

“Are you two going to come with us or no?” Hyein calls out to us while Haerin glares suspiciously in our direction. Flustered, we walk side by side towards the parking lot, following distantly behind the rest of the group. The scattered murmurs of the crowd begin to fade behind us, the chirping of crickets and the subtle crunching of rocks underneath our feet taking their place. An ombre of growing indigo looks down at us from a cloudless sky, dotted with specks of starlight thousands of lightyears away. Despite their distance, they shine brightly against the night sky, almost as bright as the girl walking next to me.

“Yuno,” Minji voice breaks through my daydreams, pulling me back to the present. “You’re staring.”

“Ah… Sorry…” I turn my head away to hide the heat creeping up my face, prompting a soft giggle from her.

“You know, you’re not what I expected at all.”

Curious, I turn my gaze back towards her. “What do you mean?”

Her eyebrows furrow as she thinks about her response, and I bite my lower lip to stifle my smile at her cute expression. “Ever since sophomore year, I’ve always heard whispers about this scary guy that goes around fighting people. I never believed it because I thought it was too cliche to be true,” she begins, shooting me a playful glance I scratch the back of my head, suddenly feeling sheepish. 

“That is, until two years later, when I come face to face with the ‘scary guy’, all bloody and bruised from a fight that happened two seconds ago. When I first met you, I thought you were some jerk who liked hurting others for the fun of it. I was wrong and I’m sorry.” Minji looks up at me, eyes full of remorse. I’ve seen others use this look on the people I’ve hurt, but never on me. To be on the receiving end of it felt disconcerting.

“You don’t have to apolog-”

“You’re kind and caring and you never hesitate to stand up for what’s right even when no one else will. While I don’t agree with your methods, I think the reason why you fight is very admirable, and if people just stopped being scared of you for two seconds, they could see how cute of a person you are.” Her hand shoots up to her mouth while her eyes go wide with panic.

Did I hear her right? Did she just call me… cute??

“I MEANT GOOD!!” She exclaims, correcting herself. “I meant to say you’re a good person…” We stand there, turned away from each other, too embarrassed to fill the growing silence. The chorus of crickets is quickly drowned out by my heartbeat echoing in my ears. My entire body feels both uncomfortably warm and freezing cold at the same time. The sudden honk of a car horn makes us both jump. 

“What are you two still doing? Let’s go!” I turn to see Hanni yell at us from the back seat of an SUV. It seems that Yujin got to the front seat first. Minji and I both trudge towards the car, too embarrassed to even look at each other. Hanni steps out of the car and reclines the seat forward to let us get into the back, where Winter is sitting alone with two empty seats on either side of her. 

As we settle in the back seat, I immediately shut my eyes, hoping that falling asleep would make things better. One final thing stays in my mind as I slip into unconsciousness.

She thinks I’m cute.

______________________________________________________________

A gentle shake rouses me from my slumber.

“Yuno, we’re here,” I hear Winter say as my eyes slowly open, finding my bearings. Outside the window, I see the convenience store where Winter works at.

“Winter said you guys live around here, so I hope you don’t mind,” Danielle explains from the front seat. Minji and Hanni step out of the car, allowing for Winter and I to exit.

“See you guys around,” Hanni says, waving goodbye. My eyes meet Minji’s momentarily before we swiftly break away. Not even a second of eye contact and I can already feel my body temperature rising.

“Thanks for the ride! Byeeeeee!” Yujin exclaims as the car disappears down the street. The three of us say our goodbyes to each other before we go our separate ways.

A flurry of emotions fills my stomach as I look back on the oddly eventful day. What started as an excuse to get out of the house turned into my first time at the fair, with Minji no less. I couldn’t help but feel like I’m in some surreal dream and that I’ll wake up one day to find out that none of this ever happened. As odd as all of this feels, I have to admit that I did enjoy it. The ferris wheel especially was… fun.

As I enter my house, I see my dad sitting on the couch, watching some sitcom on the TV. Right. I completely forgot he’s “different” now.

“Hey, Yuno,” he greets, a bright smile on his face. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve seen his smile. “Did you eat? There’s leftover pizza in the fridge if you’re hungry. I tried to cook dinner, but it didn’t turn out right.” A hearty chuckle leaves his lips, a sound that I vaguely remember hearing years ago. 

“I’m good. Thanks,” I say as I head towards the stairs. As my foot lands on the first step, a sudden impulse arises within me. “Uh, dad?”

“Hm?” His eyebrows perk up as he looks at me expectantly. I had no idea what I was planning on saying to him. Should I tell him about my day? Should I apologize? Should I tell him about my… “crush”? Is that what that is?

“Uh… Nevermind.” I hurry up the stairs, deciding against saying anything. My head was already filled to the brim with confusing emotions, I didn’t need to add more to the pile. I collapse onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling, the events of today playing in my mind like a broken record. I pull my phone out, fidgeting with the shiny piece of metal in my hand. Minji put her number in my phone. I can talk to her whenever I wanted to. And I do want to. My thumbs freeze right above the keyboard as I figure out what to say to her.

Maybe I should keep it simple with “Hey”. No, that’s too boring. How about “How are you feeling?” What am I, her doctor? Uhhh, maybe “I had fun today.” That’s stupid. Come on, think, Yuno, think. Fuck, I’m shit at this.

Is this what having a crush feels like? This sucks.

______________________________________________________________

Minji’s POV

“AGHHHHHHHHH!!!!” I scream into my pillow, hoping I don’t accidentally alert my parents to my “Teenage Angst”.

Minji!!! Why did you call him cute!? I mean, you’re not wrong, the way he got all embarrassed after missing the basketball hoop was kinda cut- WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN THINKING RIGHT NOW!? ARGHHHHHH!!!

I hold onto my bear toy for comfort as I wrestle with the conflicting emotions in my head. Maybe this is just a result of all the stress from prom preparation clouding my judgement and sending me into a whirlwind of confusion. A day that was supposed to be full of leisure and enjoyment was instead full of jealousy and confusion. It wasn’t entirely bad though; riding the ferris wheel with Yuno was… nice. I feel my heart flutter in my chest as I recall that memory. Surely, Hanni’s teasing couldn’t be right… could it? Am I… in love with Yuno Lin?

#newjeans #kim minji #newjeans minji #kpop fanfic #kpop gg #minji x male oc #newjeans minji x male oc #minji x male reader #newjeans minji x male reader #fluff #minji fluff #newjeans minji fluff

[simplykorra]

I think it's easy to forget just exactly what Ava went through. She was SEVEN years old and woke up in strange place, with cranky old nuns, only to find out she was paralyzed and that her mom had died. Not only that, but no other member of her family ever came for her. Nobody was looking for her, nobody wanted her and suddenly she's all alone and dealing with the loss of her mothre and her independence.

You'd think, oh well maybe she has a support system in the orphanage? Nope, they treat her like shit, like the burden she believes she is. As someone who has been in a wheelchair their whole life, let me tell you, feeling like a burden is an everyday thing. You’re not, and having people who remind you that you’re not and make you understand that you’re not is beautiful, but Ava didn’t have that. She had Sister Frances, who went out of her way to tell Ava she was worthless and I doubt anyone else there was much better.

So it's no wonder Ava was a sarcastic, snarky little shit to the nuns in the orphanage - they made her that way. Being bratty to them was the only thing she could do to feel some semblance of control.

Flash forward to Ava's death, where she was literally murdered because nobody cared and there was nowhere for her to go. Ava spent twelve years in a personal hell of being trapped in her own body, was then killed like someone taking out the garbage. Empty, alone and tossed aside.

So when she was revived by the halo, with her legs suddenly working and freedom to do whatever she wanted, of COURSE she wanted to be free.

That's the entirety of Ava's character arc - SHE WANTS TO LIVE! She hasn't been able to for so long she barely remembers how to do it.

It's not that easy, of course, the halo carries a ton of weight and Ava fights it and runs from it and resists it as much as she can, and who can blame her? She finally gets the chance to be alive, to be free and enjoy life and all these strangers (who are everywhere becuase Ava is completely alone in the world) are pushing and pulling her in every direction. She's constantly told that she doesn't deserve the halo. Doesn't deserve this chance.

Despite ALL of that, Ava's heart is strong and her passion for life overshadows all the darkness she's been dealt. She isn't just full of life, but love. She's spent years not having anyone to love her, but more than that, she's never been able to give anyone her love and I think that's very important to her. We see it so much as the show goes on. Her softness with Mother Superion when she finds her halo scar, and the way she connects with Mary, Camila being sweet to her, little things like that.

Then of course there's Bea.

Beatrice, who never sees Ava as someone that needs to be replaced, but as someone who can be taught, trained and shaped into what they need. Who sees that Ava, the human being, has value and that she's worth protecting. They connect and share and for the first time, Ava has someone who actually accepts her as a person. Not a burden or a vessel for the halo, but Ava Silva, the girl inside that's been so alone for so long.

I think that's why Ava is so bouncy with Bea, falls for her so easily, because Beatrice saw Ava's zest for life and her need for love and embraced it. Saw it as something worth fighting for, beyond the halo or duty, Beatrice liked HER. Probably the first person who felt that way since her mother was taken from her (outside of Diego, but he was so young it couldn't have been the same).

Anyway, this long winded post that probably doesn't make any sense is just my way of saying that I love Ava. I love her joy and her humor. I love that she has had so much pain dumped on her and still chooses to smile. Given the way she was treated and the power she was given, Ava could have been a villain. She could have carried a hatred for god or the world and everyone in it who forgot about her but she didn't. Instead, she found the life and love she desperately wanted and gave up everything to protect it.

#ava silva #avatrice #warrior nun #this is my long overdue ava silva appreciation post #sometimes you just find characters that hit different and she's that for me #i'm not sure i'll find one i enjoy more than her #save warrior nun #alba baptista #she deserves all the awards for her performance of ava #she's INCREDIBLE

[ctitan98official]

Anonymous: Can we please get dani getting railed from behind by feral lycan! Reader? Also, how’s your week been?

18+ Minors DNI

*Ahem* So… I might’ve gotten a little carried away. This work is different from most of my other stuff in the fact that Y/N’s genitals are mentioned and they have a penis. However, their gender is never mentioned. I went with a mating/heat cycle type of vibe… And I couldn’t resist throwing in some breeding kink because I’m a degenerate. I hope you like this! If this isn’t your jam no worries. It’s not for everyone, and I wanted you to be aware of what’s in store. Also, my week’s been okay, I hope you’re doing well. Let’s get into it!

You’ve just finished a hunt and something has you… Quite riled up. It feels like every nerve ending in your body is on fire. Maybe it’s the chill in the air signaling the changing season? It could be all of the success you’ve had on your hunt tonight, but… You can’t quite place this jittery feeling.

That is until you look off into the distance and spot the foggy outline of castle Dimitrescu.

Oh, fuck. That’s exactly what it is.

Dani’s back at the castle and… You need your girlfriend. She’s probably lying down on her bed right now, draped in that silky nightgown she loves that covers very little. All alone. Is she thinking about you? Longing for you to touch her and take care of her needs?

You simply have to have Dani. Now.

Your mouth waters as you think of the gorgeous redhead. You two haven’t been dating for very long, but you are both already head over heels in love. You’ve recently claimed her as your mate and you couldn’t be happier. She’s so sensual and always lets you have your way with her. You can’t get the primal desire to just shamelessly rail into her out of your head. Your mind slowly devolves as lust overtakes every thought.

You let out a harsh howl, signaling to all who can hear you to stay the hell out of your way. It’s a blood-curdling sound that echoes behind you as you make your way back to the castle.

With the way you feel right now, you could easily knock entire castle walls down and rip doors right off their hinges just to get to Dani as quickly as possible. But, Alcina would certainly bitch you out immediately. It would suck to get scolded by your girlfriend’s mom while you’re dealing with a raging boner. You’ll have to try to keep some semblance of sanity as you head back.

You decide to focus on the sound of crunching leaves as you run to ground you. It’s actually helping a lot. Perfect.

Okay, you’re at the perimeter of the castle now. You just need to keep-

Wait… You stop dead in your tracks and sniff the air carefully. What was that absolutely… Delicious smell that graced your nose just now. You’ve never smelled anything this intoxicating and yet… It’s still familiar somehow.

Wait, could it be… Dani? It actually smells like her, it’s just… Very sweet and… Strong.

It’s almost as if she’s in… Heat.

Your eyes darken immediately. Oh. Maybe that’s what’s going on with you? Her heat must have stirred up your rut. But, you… Didn’t realize she had a mating cycle. You kind of thought that was just a lycan thing… You feel kind of stupid.

But, either way, you don’t fucking care right now.

You shake your head and follow the yummy scent. You tear up the stairs as fast as you can and when you open Dani’s bedroom door… The image that awaits you will forever be burned into your brain.

Dani’s voluptuous form is writhing erotically on her bed. Completely naked. Two fingers pumping furiously in and out of her pussy.

You begin to drool and make your way over to the bed. “Oh, hi there, pretty girl,” You husk and kiss your way down her neck. “Did you miss me?” You ask, gently taking her face and staring into her gorgeous golden eyes.

Dani mewls at you. “Y-Y/N, baby, I… N-need you! Now! Please!” She whines.

You smile. “I need you too, babe,” You say. Your instincts kick in and you hurriedly begin eating her out. You can hardly control yourself. Your licks are hard and long. Her arousal tastes so good and your eyes roll back as you bask in her presence.

It doesn’t take long for Dani to come, however, it does catch her by surprise. She suddenly shrieks in pleasure as her body responds to your ministrations. Her breathing is ragged as she shakily recovers from one of the most intense orgasms she’s ever had. Silent, but euphoric, tears make their way down her cheeks as she processes what just happened. Look what you do to her without even trying…

“Hey, hey, that was great, Dani. You did so good,” You praise her and place a kiss to her temple, hoping that was able to quell some of the pure lust she was almost immobilized by. “I hope that helped a little,” You smile.

Dani knows how sweet you are. She can see how mind-numbingly horny you are, but all you want to do is take care of her. She feels incredibly lucky to have you, and… She thinks you deserve a reward for being so good to her. She recovers a bit before she looks at you and pulls your face to hers. “Show me what you can really do, lover,” She purrs. She places a searing kiss to your lips and you damn near shove your tongue down her throat.

When you two finally part, you smirk at her and teasingly lower your hand to her glistening sex.

Dani gasps playfully before shaking a finger at you. “Ah, ah, ah, Y/N. I think tonight calls for something a little more special. Don’t you, baby?” She asks.

You quirk an eyebrow at her in confusion, but before you can say anything, Dani leans forward and cups the growing bulge in your pants.

You gasp in pleasure at the warmth of Dani’s hand on your throbbing balls.

“Why don’t I put you to really good use tonight, baby?” Dani giggles coquettishly.

“W-what do you mean, babe?” You ask, trying not to let your eyes roll back into your head as she gently strokes your dick.

Dani looks away for a moment, biting her lip, before her eyes meet yours again. She finally whispers something sinful in your ear. “I want you fuck me. Hard. I… Want this cock inside of me,” She says, tightening her hold on your genitals.

You groan in painful pleasure at her actions.

Wow. This is the first time Dani’s asked you to… Well, fuck her like this. She’s always just wanted you to use your hands or mouth. Then she returns the favor and gives you a handjob or a blowjob. But, she’s… Trusting you with a rather big step up in your sexual intimacy. It means the world that she feels comfortable enough with you to let you do this.

You grin. “I’ve got you, Dani,” You promise.

Dani unconsciously licks her lips as you slowly slide your pants off. Your cock unfurls, hard, throbbing, and ready to satisfy her.

As you lean over her, she begins ripping your shirt off. She needs to see all of you in action.

You gently line yourself up with Dani’s wet and needy entrance. “Are you ready, Dani?” You ask.

Dani bites her lip and throws her head back onto the pillows. “Yes, baby! Fuck me, please!” She begs.

How can you resist that?

——————————————————————————

You rail into Dani relentlessly. Your pace is brutal and only getting faster.

Dani bites her bottom lip and moans in pleasure. After a few moments, she’s about to come again. But this time… She’s feeling a new craving that overtakes her every thought. She’s never shared this deep desire with you, but she would so desperately love to have a baby with you. She’s been too shy to bring it up. But, something about the way her heat is burning through her body right now is making her feel brave. She hopes you won’t be opposed to the idea. “Y/N… Please, baby. I want you to fill me up,” She whispers deliciously.

Your eyes go wide at her words. She wants you to… Come inside? You aren’t wearing any protection… “Uhh… Are you sure, Dani? You’ll probably-”

“Get pregnant? Knocked up? Yes… I want you to put a baby in me, Y/N,” She says breathlessly. “Please, Y/N. I want to have your baby. I’ll be such a good mommy to them, I promise,” She pleads, almost in tears from how much she wants this.

Your mouth goes dry at Dani’s heartfelt request. Whoa… Where did this come from? You’d be lying if you said you didn’t want kids with Dani, but she has never said anything about starting a family before. “Are… You sure?” You ask, now wanting her to say yes more than anything. All you can think about at the moment is knocking her up. It makes your lycan instincts go utterly feral.

“Please, baby. Please…” Dani chants. “I want this.”

You can’t say no to her. “Alright, Dani. I’ll… Do my best,” You grunt, picking up your pace.

Dani’s breasts bounce rhythmically as you pound into her. She suddenly lets out a loud gasp and climaxes hard at your actions, once again surprised by how quickly you brought her to orgasm.

You can’t hold on any longer as you feel her walls squeezing your shaft. You explode right into her fertile and waiting womb, painting her insides white. You take a minute to catch your breath, feeling completely satisfied.

You try to pull out, but Dani holds your hips in place. “No… Stay inside. I want you inside of me,” She begs.

You smile at her adorable eyes as they look up at you. “Okay,” You say quietly and lean down to kiss her.

Dani positions you better on top of her and guides your head to rest on her chest. She begins running her hands through your hair, humming softly. “You did so good, baby. Thank you,” She praises.

You bury your face into her front, smiling bashfully. “Um… How long… Have you wanted to have a baby?” You ask, addressing the elephant in the room.

Dani smiles and giggles. “I’ve always wanted to be a mommy, Y/N,” She says.

You look up at her in shock. “Really?”

Dani nods and kisses you. “I was so happy when I found you, Y/N,” She says and strokes your cheek with her soft fingers. “I love being able to give all of myself to you, Y/N. You and I are soulmates. I want us to have our own baby to share that love with,” She tells you.

You’re touched by her words. “You’d be such a great mommy, Dani,” You tell her. “I wouldn’t mind a little one running around,” You chuckle.

Dani beams at you, feeling totally understood. She is completely at peace… Well, until she remembers that you’re still inside of her… And that insatiable hunger for you suddenly ignites again. She grips your arms tightly. “Y/N…” She whines lusciously.

You look at her with a smirk. Oh, yeah. It’s gonna be a long night… You’re not complaining.

Note: Yeah… I’m gross. Sorry >:)

Masterlist

#re8 #re8 village #resident evil village #daniela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu x reader #daniela dimitrescu x y/n #resident evil 8 #resident evil imagines #resident evil #top!reader #service top #resident evil smut

[magewolf-the-artist]

Domestic K-9: The Worst Pokemon Evolutions Ever

Oh boy, time to explore the ramifications of trauma and how it impacts people!

(Note: I do NOT have trauma or PTSD, although I've done a fuck ton of research on the subject for a different story and am applying the things I learned here. If anybody with any kind of trauma or PTSD spots any inaccuracies, please please PLEASE feel free to let me know. I wish to portray these issues with as much care and respect as possible)

So here I've display the three, I guess, stages of these fuckers. Life, the immediate response to, y'know, everything, and how they're holding up now. Except for Rosemary because I'm kind of an asshole to my blorbos. But obviously with Charles and Susan, they are not in any way "fixed" or even "healed" from their trauma, they moreso stabilized and got used to it. And now let's finally get into it!

SUSAN WOODINGS: So in life, Susan was generally closed off except for a select few amount of people and, while she could be snippy, she was actually pretty chill despite always looking like she wants to murder everybody in the general vicinity. Basically she looks a lot meaner than she actually is.

In death though, that's a completely different story. For the first year or so she had an EXPLOSIVE temper and would blow up over the smallest things, like a powder keg kept near sparklers. If the facility had a swear jar and money, she probably could've funded college for Sophie, Edd, AND Molly. She said many hurtful and cruel things to people she was close to (mostly Charles) that she now deeply regrets. It's all water under the bridge at this point but it still sometimes keeps her up at night.

As of the current point in the timeline, she's since calmed down quite a bit. She's less likely to snap over small shit unless it's Bon, to which she will gladly be just as bitchy as she was. She does have bad days though and is generally much more easily irritated and snippy.

CHARLES BROOK: In life, Charles is the ultimate dad. Easy going, friendly, very jokey, admittedly kinda naive, loves his kid. In death... well...

When they first got to the facility, he was an absolute wreck. He had resisted giving into Bon up until the point where he was starting to fade and, absolutely terrified of the idea of being Thanos snapped out of existence, reluctantly possessed the Boozoo animatronic. But even still he deeply regretted that choice. As well as that, he was extremely distraught about leaving his daughter and wife behind, on Lily's birthday no less, and that he was never found. He spent the first several weeks consumed by the intense misery and grief and was incoherent at best and delusional at worst. As previously mentioned, he got it into his head at some point that if he could just break down the walls, he could escape and constantly flung himself into the solid concrete walls. It didn't help that Susan wasn't terribly understanding and had little patience for this.

After a few weeks passed though, he began to stabilize and was generally able to recover a semblance of his goofy, friendly personality. That's not to say the trauma hasn't impact that though; he has to constantly distract himself or else he'll have a full on breakdown and desperately tries to change the topic whenever his death or his family is brought up. He and Susan have also since smoothed things over and Charles holds no resentment towards her now.

ROSEMARY WALTEN: Everyone's favorite sad mom!

So in life, Rose was generally kind, caring, humble, creative, and introverted, although she had come out of her shell since her younger years and was perfectly capable of being social.

But in death... hooooo boy, buckle up chucklefucks, 'cause this is gonna get SAD

As previously mentioned, Rosemary is a mess. Constantly crying, completely drawing into herself, rarely speaks to anybody but Rocket, and is unable to bring herself to do anything outside of draw, think, or cry. She's kinda just frozen in time, unable to stabilize like Charles and Susan, which is why she has no stage 3. The closest thing to that I can confidently say she's gotten is pouring herself into her art and caring for Rocket, but even still it's not much.

#the walten files #walten files #susan woodings #charles brook #rosemary walten #twf fanart #twf susan #twf rosemary #twf charles #twf #the walten files fanart #Domestic K-9

[herrmannhalsteadproduction]

That Herrmann/Halstead DNA (Chapter Five)

Summary: This is Part Twenty-One of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz/Original Female Character, Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes, Assorted OC Couples

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Assault, Stabbing, Gunshot Wounds, Blood and Injury, Whump, Trauma, Eventual Hopeful Ending

A/N: I received my degree from the medical school of Television Drama which means while things might not (*cough* will not *cough*) be accurate, they will be exciting. *jazz hands*

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Two hours later

***

Al

After leaving Lexi with the gang upstairs, Al made his way down to Bex’s room. He rapped softly on the door and entered when he heard the quiet call to come in.

Seeing Bex in that bed was like a punch in the gut. She’d been in rough shape on the scene, but now that she was cleaned up, the marks on her were that much starker. It was only years of being on the job that allowed him to school his face into a semblance of a smile.

“Hey, champ,” he said, stepping over to her. “How you doing?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Bex said, her voice muffled by the oxygen mask as she blinked at him slowly.

Ah. Drugged up to high heaven then. Probably for the best.

“Me and the crew finished up our shifts and brought a bunch of food,” Al said. “Figured everyone would be starving by now.”

Right on cue, Jay’s stomach growled.

“You’re not wrong,” Chris chuckled. He and Cindy were on a little couch off to the side, her feet up on his lap while he massaged them. Jay and Will were sprawled out in two chairs on one side of the bed while Mouse was tucked in close on the other side of it. He was leaning half off his chair, head propped up on one elbow on the bed, his free hand wrapped around Bex’s arm. All of them looked exhausted despite the good front they were putting up.

“Well, we got burgers and sandwiches and fries and other good stuff,” Al said. “I can bring some down to you or if you want to go up—”

“You should go up,” Bex said. “Check on everyone for me. Please?”

“I can stay,” Mouse offered. “You guys go ahead and I’ll grab a bite later.”

“Maybe see if there’s any updates while we’re up there?” Chris said quietly and Will nodded.

Al knew they were still waiting to hear about Emery, but considering how badly injured she’d been, he figured no news was good news. No news meant they were still working on her and he could keep hoping.

She was a good kid. He was putting a lot of power into those hopes.

“Jay, Jay,” Bex mumbled at him as he stood and he moved closer, leaning in to hear what she had to say.

“Yeah, Bex?”

“Bring me fries.”

Jay barked out a laugh. “You want fries?”

“Yes.” Bex pulled down her mask to nod solemnly at him. “Fries will cure me.”

Al had to smother his own laughter as Jay immediately agreed and Will dragged a hand down his face.

“Seriously, guys?” Will groaned.

“No, Will, trust me,” Bex said to him, eyes wide. “It’s medicine.”

“It’s medicine, Will,” Jay repeated, biting his lip trying to maintain a serious face.

“You can have some fries if you keep your mask on until they arrive,” Will said, pointing a stern finger at Bex who immediately started putting it back in place. Mouse reached up to help her get it set, shaking his head as he smiled at her.

“Thank you,” she said, eyes fluttering as sleep started pulling her back under again.

“Alright, come on.” Chris stood up and reached out to help Cindy to her feet. “Let’s get some medicine and regroup.”

“We’re not calling it—okay, fine, yeah, let’s go,” Will said, rolling his eyes with a little chuckle. He held the door as they all filed out into the hallway.

Al waited until they were closer to the elevator to share the rest of his news. “Voight’s on his way back too. He’s got the detective in charge of the case with him and she’s gonna want to interview everyone.”

“Bex isn’t up for it,” Will said immediately. “Not tonight.”

“That’s what we figured, but maybe you? And Hailey?” They’d had a front row seat to things, so to speak, and getting that info while it was fresh in their minds would be important.

“Yeah,” Jay stepped onto the elevator and jabbed a finger at the button. “Might as well get it over with.”

“It’ll help Bex,” Al said quietly as he came to stand beside him. To them it was a clear-cut case of self defense, but put it in the hands of a scum bag lawyer and anything could happen. The more evidence they had on their side, the better.

“I know.” Jay sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “Whatever’s needed, count me in.”

Al clapped him on the shoulder in thanks. In solidarity. Whatever was needed went both ways.

The elevator dinged and they all shuffled off as the doors opened. The lounge where their crew was set up was only a little ways down the hall.

He gave Lexi a smooch on the head, checking in with her as he went by, but she seemed okay enough with Bex’s friends. She gave him a tiny head shake to let him know they hadn’t heard anything yet.

Still hope, he reminded himself.

Al let the others get Jay and his family settled with food. Platt was sitting off in a corner by herself looking like the last thing she wanted was company.

He made his way over.

“You get something to eat?” he asked as he settled into the chair beside her.

“Not hungry,” she said, shaking her head.

“You know the only way to get through a crisis is with a full stomach. I can grab you a sandwich or a muffin—”

“I said I’m not hungry, Al,” she snapped.

He held up his hands, eyebrows raised. “Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.” Al kept his mouth shut, waiting her out, until—

“I just—I keep going over it,” she said, staring hard at the carpet, tearing at the rim of the empty coffee cup in her hands. “Something should have come through, right? It should have hit my desk or been a phone call—something. So, what did I miss? When did I miss it? If we’d known Ty was out even an hour earlier—”

“Hey, hang on.” Al turned in his seat to face her. “This is not on you.”

“But if I missed—”

“You didn’t miss anything,” Al said. He’d put money on it. “This is—you know what it’s like. Agencies like Victim Services, they got no budget and hardly any staff all trying to cover a mountain of cases. Stuff falls through the cracks. We put the blame where it belongs.”

“I’d like to clock that prick myself,” she muttered.

“Get in line,” Al said. That got the tiniest grin out of her. He’d take it. He leaned back in his seat and stretched out his legs. “Still no word, eh?”

Trudy shook her head, sighing.

“Emery, she’s a good kid,” Al said. “She’s been helping Lexi.”

“Oh, yeah?”

He nodded. “Pretty sure Lexi’s boyfriend is on his way to being the same flavour of shitburger as Ty, but Emery kind of took her under her wing and helped her navigate some stuff.” Helped their whole family navigate some stuff. “Lex went with her mom today and grabbed her stuff from that loft place they were staying at. She’s moving back home.”

For the first time in months, Al felt like he could finally breath again.

Thanks to Emery.

“Yeah, she’s a good kid.”

***

Jay

Jay was digging into a burger, filling Sam in on Al’s news, when Julie showed up.

“Oh, food,” she said, collapsing into the chair on Sam’s other side and swiping a few of his fries. “Thank god.”

“You just got off shift?” Sam asked, handing over half of his sandwich to her.

Julie nodded, humming around her mouthful. “They finally sent someone to take over watch duty,” she said, grimacing. “Really glad to not be around that asshole anymore.”

“Hey!”

They all looked up to see Shay and Brett hurrying into the lounge. Shay bent down to give Julie a kiss while Brett detoured over to see Kev. “Any news?” Shay asked them.

“Nothing yet,” Jay said.

She sighed, pulling out her phone to check the time. “We dropped someone off downstairs and the Chief gave us permission to swing by and see how things were going, but we can’t stay long. We’ve got like, five minutes so talk fast. How’s Bex?”

“In and out.” Jay poked at his fries, making a mental note to swing by the caf for some fresh ones before he went back to her room. “They’ve got her on a lot of pain meds. Tomorrow’ll be worse.” He’d been in Bex’s place before and she did not have a fun road ahead.

“We’ll say hi before we go,” Shay said, munching on a fry she’d stolen from Sam. Jay shot him a commiserating look and shook some of his own onto the poor guy’s plate.

Shay stood up abruptly and Jay noticed everyone else starting to do the same, all of them going quiet. He looked around only to scramble out of his own chair to join Will.

Connor and Dr. Latham were walking down the hall, headed their way.

They both looked exhausted as hell, but beyond that, Jay couldn’t get a sense of whether or not they were coming to give them good news or bad.

Jay took a shaky breath and braced himself for the worst.

***

Will

Will searched Connor’s face as he approached, looking for some kind of clue for how things went, but Connor wouldn’t even meet his eyes.

Maybe that was enough of a clue right there.

Will’s stomach sank.

Fuck.

This—this wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. How was he supposed to go down and tell Bex that…that her friend was dead.

Will honestly didn’t know if he could.

He looked back at Connor wishing he could wrap him up in the hug they both desperately needed when he realized—Connor wasn’t avoiding his eyes. He was searching the crowd.

Looking for Bex.

Will caught the flicker of alarm the passed over his face when he realized she wasn’t there. Then he sought out Will, brows pulled together in a frown.

‘Long story’, Will mouthed at him. ‘Later.’

Connor frowned even further, but nodded…and gave Will the tiniest of grins.

Oh.

Oh.

His brain had barely wrapped around the emotional one-eighty it was going through when Dr. Latham cleared his throat.

“Family of Emery Hughes?”

“Here,” Kira said, voice thick with anxiety as she pushed to the front of the group. “It’s, uh, all of us. We’re her family. Is she—is Emery okay?”

“Ms. Hughes successfully made it through surgery,” Dr. Latham said, pausing while the wave of excitement and relief passed through their little group. “Her injuries and the amount of blood lost were quite severe though and she coded a number of times during her procedure. The next forty-eight hours will be crucial. We’ll be keeping a close eye on her.”

“Are we allowed to see her?” Malia asked.

“Not yet,” Dr. Latham said. “She has some post-op procedures to go through and then she’ll be moved to the ICU. Visitors will be allowed there on a limited basis. Dr. Rhodes can answer any further questions. Thank you.” He nodded at them all before walking away.

There was a moment of calm while everyone took that in and then they all converged on Connor, asking question after question which he answered as best he could. The problem was, in a situation like this, most of the answers were ‘we don’t know’ and ‘we’ll have to wait and see.’

After getting what details they could, it devolved into variations on the same questions which was helping no one.

“Okay, back up, back up,” Will said, wading in to give Connor some space. “We know all we can so far. Sit tight, make sure you get something to eat, and someone will be by to let us know when Emery can have visitors. I’ve got to fill Connor in on…everything else so just…give us a moment. Please.”

Kira and Malia darted in to give Connor hugs and whispered thanks, but then joined the rest of them in taking a seat. Chris and Cindy gave him hugs next. “Make sure you get something to eat too,” Cindy said to him before following Chris back to their spot by Trudy and Al.

He looked over at Will, more than a bit bewildered. “Fill me in on what? Where’s Bex? What happened?”

“Come over here.” Will grabbed his hand and took him over to a quieter corner of the lounge. Jay followed. Between the two of them, they managed to relay the full story of what had gone down leaving Connor even paler than before.

“So, uh, she’s been admitted?” Connor asked, closing his eyes briefly as he rubbed at his forehead. “But she’s okay?”

“She will be.” Will scooched closer to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

“You want to go down and see for yourself?” Jay asked as he stood up.

“Yes,” Connor said, voice cracking. He pressed his face into his hands. “Oh, my god, this day.”

“We’ll go in a bit,” Will whispered to Jay who nodded and backed away. “Hey.” Will leaned in to rest his head against Connor’s. “Let’s go somewhere private?”

Connor nodded and together they ducked down the hall into the thankfully empty nurses’ lounge.

As soon as the door was shut behind him, Connor was pacing the room. “We almost lost her so many times,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “At one point, I thought—I thought we wouldn’t get her back. Latham tried to kick me out and I fought him every time. Hard. Pretty sure I’m getting written up for that, but I couldn’t leave her—I couldn’t—” He stopped suddenly and turned to Will, tears filling his eyes. “I told him she wasn’t family, Will, I said—”

“It was the only way he would’ve let you in there,” Will said, fully understanding Connor’s angst over that. They might not be related by blood, but over the past few months, he and Connor and Bex and Emery had become their own weird little family unit. “You did what you had to, Con. You saved her.”

The tears finally fell then as Connor face-planted into Will’s neck, wrapping his arms around him and Will hugged him back tight.

They stood there like that for a long while as Will let himself have a good cry of his own.

They weren’t okay. Not yet.

But they would be.

***

Connor

Connor pulled away eventually, wiping at his cheeks as he sniffled. “I can’t believe I missed everything with Bex too,” he said. “You said she’s got a pulmonary contusion? How often are they checking her stats? Is the bleed—”

“Babe.” Will took his hands and gave them a squeeze. “We’ve been on top of it, don’t worry. She’s been checked multiple times and Dr. Fahir is keeping a close eye on her.”

Right. They would’ve had to hand her off from the ED staff. Part of Connor hated that they couldn’t be the ones looking after her, but he’d crossed paths with Dr. Fahir a few times and she was excellent. At least Bex was in good hands.

And they could still check in on her.

“Let’s go see her,” he said, swooping in for one more hug from Will. “We can let her know about Emery.”

“It’ll be a big weight off of her mind.” Will held him close, giving him a quick kiss before releasing him. “She asks if there’s any news every time she wakes up.”

They headed back out to the lounge to let everyone know where they were going and Jay hopped up to come with them.

“I want to make sure Mouse goes and gets something to eat,” he said on the way to the elevator. “You guys should too after you’ve seen Bex.”

“What is it you and Bex say?” Will said, waving a hand as he searched for the words. “Okay, Mama Chicken.” He laughed while Jay rolled his eyes.

“Bex is too drugged up to boss anyone around so someone has to do it,” Jay said.

“Too drugged up to boss anyone around?” Will smirked at him. “I seem to recall a demand for fries earlier…”

“Ah, crap.” Jay reached over and hit the button for the caf floor. “Forgot about that.”

“It’s Bex’s medicine,” Will told Connor, managing to hold a serious face for about two seconds before his lips started to twitch.

Connor laughed, leaning into his side. Oh, she was definitely drugged up. An under-the-influence Bex was a snacky Bex.

They got off on Bex’s floor, leaving Jay to his fry mission, and headed for her room. Will knocked quietly before letting them in.

Bex was sleeping and Connor—he was grateful for that. He needed a minute to get himself together. Will and Jay had both been clear about her injuries and he’d seen Emery for himself, but the double whammy of seeing Bex right after all of that…it was a bit overwhelming.

He grabbed Will’s hand, squeezing it as they came over to the bed.

“The doc came by while you guys were away,” Mouse said quietly. “She said Bex’s stats looked pretty good and said she could ditch the mask for this tube-y thing.” He gestured at the nasal cannula.

“That’s good,” Will said. He shot Connor a little smile. “She kept taking it off to talk anyway.”

“Any, uh, any news about Emery?” Mouse asked. “Bex was asking again.”

“Yeah, actually.” Connor grinned at him, happy to be able to share some good news after what they’d all been through. “She’s in recovery right now. Still going to be touch and go for awhile, but I’m hopeful.”

“Wha’s going on?” Bex blinked at them groggily. Her eyes landed on Connor and they widened as she focused on him. “Connor! What’s happening? How’s—ah!” She clutched her side, groaning from the pain of trying to sit up. Mouse beat him and Will to it as he helped ease her back onto her pillow.

Will made space for Connor to move up on the other side of the bed and get closer to her.

“Emery made it through surgery,” Connor told her, getting right to the point so she’d hopefully relax a little bit.

“She did?” Bex asked, voice shaky. She reached out with a bandaged hand to clutch at his. “She’s okay?”

“We need to keep an eye on her,” Connor said. He didn’t want to lie in case things took a turn. He was hoping for the best, but he was also well aware of the risks. “She lost a fair amount of blood, Bex, and the knife hit her lungs and intestine and almost hit her heart. We had to do a lot of repairs. We’ll be watching for infection, further bleeding—the next couple of days will be critical and we’ll be keeping her sedated so she can heal.”

“Oh, god.” Bex’s head fell back against the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “So, she’s—she’s not okay—”

“She’s alive,” Connor said firmly. “We’re doing everything we can to keep her that way and I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but we’re pretty determined around here.”

That got a weak laugh out of her.

Connor gently squeezed her hand. “I’ll be with her as much as I can,” he said. “You focus on resting and getting yourself healed up.”

“Okay.” Bex sniffed. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to heal without fries though.”

“Jay is literally getting them as we speak,” Will exclaimed. “Despite my better judgement, I might add.”

Bex beamed at him before turning back to Connor. “Thank you,” she said, smile still a bit wet. “For saving her. I don’t know what I’d do—I just—” She sighed as she held out her arms. “I just really need a hug now please.”

“Good because I do too.” Connor leaned in for the most careful hug he could possibly give her. “Love you, Bex,” he whispered in her ear.

“Love you too,” she whispered back.

“Knock, knock,” Jay called out as he popped his head through the door.

“Fries!” Bex cheered.

Connor released Bex and cleared out of the way for the treasured snack. “She’s in better spirits than I thought she’d be,” he murmured to Will who raised an eyebrow at him.

“Pretty sure the pain meds and the shock are holding back the worst of it,” Will said quietly. “I think it’s going to hit her hard sooner rather than later.”

“We’ll help her through it,” Connor said. “In the meantime…”

“We have fries,” Will finished for him with a little grin.

***

Bex

Bex didn’t care what Will said. These fries were making her feel at least thirty percent better.

Jay had managed to convince him and Connor to go and take a break and grab a bite to eat. Now he was working on Mouse.

“I’ll stay right here,” Jay said. “It’s been hours since lunch, man. You need to get something.”

“I recommend the fries,” Bex told him.

“Yes,” Mouse said, lips twitching. “A few times now.” His phone beeped and he pulled it out to check the text, frowning down at the screen.

“Everything okay?” Bex asked, mentally crossing her fingers that it was because they really didn’t need anymore disasters today.

“Yeah, uh, Ed’s here,” Mouse said, sounding more than a little surprised by that. “I texted him to let him know what was going on and I guess he wanted to check on us in person?”

“Aw, that’s nice,” Bex said. She liked Ed. “He’s nice. You should go say thank you.”

“You heard the lady,” Jay said, nodding at the door. “Take a little break, Mouse. We’ll be here when you get back.”

Mouse looked torn, glancing between her and Jay and his phone. “I can just text him,” he began and Bex reached out to pat at his arm.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Jay’s here. You should have snacks. Snacks are good.”

“You make a pretty good case for them.” Mouse smiled down at her, brushing her hair back from her forehead before leaning in to give her a kiss. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Take a proper break,” Bex said, trying to make sure he was listening because this was important.

“I’m listening,” Mouse whispered back. He chuckled a bit and oh, jeez—was she talking her thoughts again? “Yeah,” he said. “It’s okay. I like it.” He gave her one more kiss before straightening up and giving Jay one of those back-slappy bro hugs they did. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised.

Jay plopped down into the empty seat on her right once Mouse left, leaning back with one foot up on the edge of the bed. “How are those fries?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Best fries of my life,” she said, nudging the container along the little table in his direction. “Want some?”

“Nah, I grabbed some food upstairs. Thanks though for offering to share the precious.” His laugh turned into a giant yawn. “Oh, man. ‘scuse me.”

Bex tilted her head and took a good look at him. He was putting on a good show with the jokes and the smiles, but his eyes were red, his shoulders were tight, and he looked about two seconds away from passing out in his chair. “You can take a nap on the couch if you want.”

“Hm?” Jay straightened up, shooting her a look. “A nap? No, no, I’m good. Happy to hang out right here.” His eyes passed over here, pausing on all the marks she was sporting. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly.

“You know I’m not going anywhere either,” she blurted out, her filter apparently completely off.

Jay stilled. “I know—”

“I mean, I’m okay—or I’m going to be and you don’t have to worry—”

“Bex.” Jay lowered his foot and sat forward in his chair, catching her gaze in his. “I’m always gonna worry. That’s just how it is.”

A wave of guilt rose up in Bex for what she’d put him through today. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. He opened his mouth and she shook her head before he could argue. “No, just listen,” Bex said. She held out her bandaged hand and he took it carefully, gently squeezing her fingertips. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you today and that you had to hear…everything. I can’t—I’m not sorry for going in because I had to, Jay. I couldn’t leave her alone. I couldn’t—”

“I know,” Jay said quickly. “I get it. I do.”

“I just—I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she said. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You’re sorry—” Jay’s voice caught and he shook his head. “Bex, you did nothing wrong, okay? You were—oh, my god, you were so brave. You saved Emery’s life. I’m sorry. I tried to get there as fast I could, but I’m sorry you were alone with him for so long—”

“No,” Bex cut him off as forcefully as she could. “You were the reason I could fight back. It was your training—you and Hailey—and knowing that you were coming? That—the whole time, that helped keep me going. So, thank you.”

Jay let out a shaky breath and swiped at the tears streaming down his face. “Scared the shit out of me, you know that?”

Bex nodded, tugging on his hand. “C’mere. Hug time.”

He moved in for one, mindful of her injuries, and gave her a little squeeze.

“You know I love you, right?” she whispered.

“Always,” he said. “I love you, too.”

“Don’t tell Will,” Bex said as he pulled away. “But I think the hugs might be working better than the fries.”

“How about both,” Jay laughed as he fell back into his seat. “Both sounds good to me.”

“Jay Halstead.” Bex fished out a fry and saluted him with it. “Certified genius.”

He snatched one up for himself and popped it in his mouth. “Hey.” His eyebrows flew up. “Those are good.” He reached for another one and Bex tried to bat his hand away.

“Noooo, not my medicine.”

***

Jay

“Who in their right mind left the two of you alone in here?” Chris called out over their laughter as he and Cindy came into the room.

“Ooooh,” Bex clutched at her side, heaving a breath. “People need to stop making me laugh.”

Crap. Jay instantly sobered, checking the numbers on her monitor like he knew what the hell he was even looking for. “Are you okay? Should I call someone?”

“I’m fine.” Bex waved him back into his seat. “I’m just sore. And I’d also probably be better if someone stopped stealing my fries.”

“Doctor’s orders were to rest, missy,” Cindy said sternly as she came over to press a kiss onto Bex’s forehead. “I’m heading home to tuck in the kids and grab some sleep, but I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

“Okay,” Bex said. “Thank you for being here.”

“Oh, sweetheart, of course.” Cindy shot a look at Jay and Chris. “Take good care of her while I’m gone.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jay nodded.

Chris and Cindy gave them both hugs; Chris promising to be back after he walked Cindy out to the van. Jay was barely settled back in his chair when Will entered.

“That was a fast meal,” Jay said.

Will shrugged. “Connor wanted to get back up to check on Emery and make sure her post-op is going well. And I wanted to get back to Bex.”

“Awwwwww,” Bex said around a mouthful of fry.

“No idea why,” Will rolled his eyes with a laugh.

Jay’s phone pinged and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Well, you have good timing,” he said as he scanned the message. “Voight’s here with the detective working the case. She wants to talk to us.”

“Me?” Bex asked quietly.

“No, not yet,” Jay said, quick to reassure her. “Your interview can wait a day or two and you’ll have someone with you for it, don’t worry.”

“Go on and see what she has to say,” Will said to him. “I’m good to hang out here.”

Jay couldn’t lie; he wanted to hear what this detective had planned. “If you’re okay with it—”

“Go.” Bex shooed at him. “We’re fine.”

“Okay, okay.” He gave them both hugs and headed for the door, calling over his shoulder. “Let Mouse know when he gets back!”

Voight had taken over a conference room the next floor up so Jay took the stairs, not having the patience to wait for the elevator. Everyone was already gathered there along with a few people he didn’t recognize.

“Jay, c’mere a sec,” Voight waved him over. “This is Detective Medeiros. She’s handling the case.” A dark-haired woman with kind eyes standing beside him offered a hand to Jay.

“Nice to meet you,” Jay said as he shook it.

“Likewise.” She took a step back to look around the room. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.” Detective Medeiros made her way to the front of the group. “First of all, I want to thank the Intelligence Unit for your fast response and for securing the scene. Excellent work all around.”

There were a few solemn nods, but Jay knew they were all dealing with the same lingering feelings he was. Fast, but not fast enough.

“My team and I will be meeting with everyone for interviews,” she continued. “The name of the game here is thoroughness so be prepared for that.” A gritty smile spread across her face. “We’re going to nail this bastard to the wall.”

Jay straightened up from where he’d been leaning against the wall, a matching smile forming on his own face.

Welcome to the team, Detective Medeiros.

***

Sam

The nurse led them over to the ICU and showed them Emery’s room. Kira and Sam had been elected first visitors by their group and Sam was both grateful and terrified.

He wanted to see her. Wanted to be able to reassure himself that she was still here, but—

The way she’d looked the last time he’d seen her.

Feeling her ribs crack under his hands as he tried to force life back into her.

He wasn’t sure if he could if he could see her right know, knowing he’d been a part of the damage she faced.

Kira grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze and giving him no choice as she pulled him forward.

“Come on,” she whispered. “We need to let her know we’re here. Tell her she’s not alone.”

Sam nodded, managing to force his feet to follow Kira into the room because no matter what he was feeling, the last thing he wanted Emery to feel ever again was alone.

***

Will

Will settled into the chair beside Bex, chuckling at the dopey smile she gave him. “What?”

“You’re a good brother,” she said.

Maybe now.

Not always.

“Stop that,” she said. “Stop with the face. And the thinking.” She frowned at him. “You’re awesome. And you help me. And I love you.”

“You’re awesome too,” Will said, reaching out to give her arm a little squeeze. “And you help me.” His throat started to get tight. “And I love you, too.”

He still couldn’t believe they’d almost lost her today.

He didn’t even want to imagine what that would have been like—couldn’t begin to wrap his brain around it.

“Well, that’s good then,” Bex said. “I like that.”

“Me too, Bex.”

They sat quietly like that for a few minutes, Will holding on to her arm, letting himself be sure of the fact that she was there when Bex piped up again.

“Will?”

His lips twitched. He knew that tone. “Yeah, Bex?”

“Will you get me some water? My medicine made me thirsty.”

“Oh, really?” Will laughed. “Your ‘medicine’ made you thirsty. What a shock.”

“Willllllllll.”

“I’m going!” He stood up and grabbed the pitcher from beside her bed. “I’ll even get you some ice from the nurses’ lounge since you like it cold.”

“Yes,” Bex cheered. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Will was pretty sure he was going to be doing anything to put a smile on her face for the foreseeable future.

He was just grateful she was still here to smile at him.

***

Voight

Detective Medeiros had stepped away to take a call, but her raised voice caught his attention.

“Why the hell am I only being told about this now?” she snarled into her phone. “I want additional units sent here—no, you have no way of knowing that. He could already be here. Additional units. Now. We need to cover the entrances and do a sweep. Tell them to report to me as soon as they arrive.”

Voight stepped over to her as she ended the call with a frustrated huff. “Something I should know about?”

Her head snapped up and her lips pressed into a hard line. “Yes, actually,” she said. “You and your people.”

“Twenty-one,” Voight called out, waving them over. “With me.”

Once everyone was gathered, Detective Medeiros took a deep breath before addressing them. “That was the team at Lakeshore,” she said. “Ty Anderson escaped police custody.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Halstead exclaimed. “How—”

“Let her explain and then we’ll figure out a plan,” Voight said, holding up a hand.

“The officer guarding Anderson uncuffed him when he took him to the adjoining washroom,” Detective Medeiros said, ignoring their muttered curses at that bit of news. “Anderson got the jump on him and knocked him out. He stole his uniform, gagged him, and left him cuffed to a support railing. They estimate he’s been in the wind for at least thirty minutes.”

“Fuck,” Halstead muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

“Wait,” Burgess said. “Stole his uniform—does that mean—”

“He also has the officer’s gun, yes,” Medeiros confirmed.

What a friggin’ shitshow.

“You got extra units coming?” Voight asked her and Medeiros made a face.

“I’m working on it,” she said. “The Lakeshore team is pressing for units to go to cover the bus and train stations, but I don’t think he’s running away.”

“He wouldn’t,” Upton spoke up. “He’ll be coming here. For Emery.”

“We can’t afford to wait for the extra units,” Medeiros began.

Voight nodded. “Anything you need,” he said. “My team and I are here to help.”

“Let’s start a co-ordinated sweep and I’ll loop in hospital security,” she said.

His team instantly leapt into action, picking up on the plan and piecing out the floors for the sweep. Voight watched them dive in with grim satisfaction.

That asshole Ty wasn’t going to cause anymore damage.

Not if they had any say in it.

***

Mouse

Mouse sat at a table in the cafeteria with Ed, working his way through a BLT and what was probably his eighth cup of coffee of the day. He’d just finished filling Ed in on the details of everything that’d happened and Ed clearly needed a minute to let it all sink in so Mouse was taking the opportunity to eat.

Turned out he was actually pretty starving.

“Christ, Mouse,” Ed finally spoke. He blinked, shaking his head. “That is—wow, man. I’m glad Bex is going to be okay and I—I really hope her friend makes it. That’s some heavy shit.” Ed put his elbows on the table and leaned in. “How are you?”

That was a loaded question. Mouse slowly chewed his last bite as he thought it over.

“Still freaking out a bit,” he said, trying to be honest. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared. And I—”

“You what,” Ed prompted him.

“I feel stupid,” Mouse confessed.

Ed frowned at him. “Why?”

“I know you guys said all of that stuff about how anything could happen to anyone, but I—I really never thought we’d be here…like this,” he said. “I always thought if anyone would be hurt, it was going to be me somehow. Me putting Bex through that. And now—not that I think Bex is putting me through this, you know—none of this is her fault—I just, I never really thought through being on this side of things and I-I don’t want to screw it up. I want to be there for her and help her and help her through this, but what if I make it worse or—”

“Mouse,” Ed interrupted him. “You’re not going to screw it up, bud. You’re already doing the most important thing. You’re here. That’s what matters most, okay?”

“I hate seeing her hurt,” Mouse said. “Not just in pain, but scared and upset, you know? I wish I could fix it. I know, I know—” He waved off whatever Ed was going to say next. “I know I can’t fix it and I know being here is helping her.” He sighed. “I just—I never want her to hurt.”

“One of the hardest parts of loving someone,” Ed said quietly. “You really are helping her just by being here though. I promise.” He eyed Mouse across the table. “It’s a stressful thing. How are you handling that side of it?”

Meaning, how was his sobriety handling it…

“It’s weird,” Mouse said and Ed gestured for him to go on. “Part of me was also sure something like this would send me spinning back off into, uh, bad habits, you know? But I don’t—the only urge I’m feeling is to be with Bex. Make sure she’s okay.”

“I get that.” Ed nodded. “And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but make sure you get your breaks in. Eat. Sleep. Don’t burn yourself out. If you guys need anything, we’re all happy to help out too. No question.”

“Bex was declaring what a nice guy you were before I came down here,” Mouse told him with a grin.

“Ah. Finally,” Ed said. “A sign of good taste from her.”

“Ha-ha.” Mouse tossed his napkin at him with a half-hearted throw. They didn’t chat for much longer—Mouse was itching to get back to Bex—and as they were leaving the caf, Ed handed over the tote bag he’d been carrying.

“From Lucy,” he explained as Mouse peeked inside. It looked like a bunch of…toiletries? “She thought you and Bex could use some supplies. We weren’t sure how long Bex would be here and you know how grungy you start to feel even after a day. There’s a whole bunch of stuff in there to freshen up or whatever. Socks too because Lucy said it’s always freezing in this place.”

Mouse couldn’t speak for a moment. It was times like this when it hit him how unbelievably lucky he’d been to find these people. “Thank you,” he managed to get out. “I—thank you, Ed. To you and Lucy. All of you.”

“We’re here for you, kid.” Ed patted his back with a gruff nod. “You and Bex.”

They walked out into the hallway and nearly ran into Kim. “Oh, Mouse,” she said, eyes going wide. “I didn’t realize you were down here and not with Bex—”

“What’s going on?” Alarm bells were going off in Mouse’s head. “What’s wrong?”

Kim got halfway through a story about Ty escaping custody and possibly heading their way before Mouse was running for the stairwell, Ed hot on his heels.

A floor away and out of the loop.

Again.

Mouse picked up the pace.

He wasn’t going to let anything stop him from getting to her this time.

***

Bex

The door to her room creaked open and Bex looked up. “Fastest water retrieval ever…” The words died on her lips when it wasn’t Will who came in.

It was Ty.

“What? How—”

“Nice to see you too, Bex,” he said, limping closer to the bed. He grinned ruefully at her. “Maybe not so nice since the last time we saw each other, you gave me this.” He reached up to poke at the bandage on the side of his head and Bex froze.

He had a gun in his hand.

She blinked at him, trying not to move. Now that she looked closer, he was wearing a patrol uniform that clearly didn’t fit him very well. What the hell was going on? How did he get away?

Oh, god, Will was coming back soon. He couldn’t hurt Will.

She had to get rid of him.

“What do you want, Ty?” Bex asked, her voice coming out a thousand times steadier than she felt.

“Emery,” he said, looming over her. “Where is she?”

No, no, no, Bex couldn’t let him anywhere near Emery.

“I—I don’t know—”

“Don’t lie to me, Bex.” Ty reached out, placing a hand where he’d kicked her and slowly pressed down. Hard.

She cried out, but Ty instantly placed his other hand over her mouth. The one holding the gun. Bex flinched back against the cold bite of metal against her lips as Ty shushed her.

“You need to be quiet, sweetheart,” he said, his thumb running through the tears running down her cheek. “We don’t want anyone coming in here and getting in the way.” He pushed at her side again and Bex stifled a scream as she felt something shift. “One more time. Where’s Emery?”

The sharpness of the pain cut through her foggy brain and Bex gathered herself. He was going to have to try and get through her and she’d already shown him she wouldn’t make it easy.

“She’s in the basement,” Bex snapped out. “Go down there and ask for the morgue.”

Ty stared at her before stepping back with a scoff. “Very funny. Try again.”

“Do you see me laughing?” Bex let her eyes fill with more tears which wasn’t hard considering the stabbing pain coming from her side. “You got exactly what you wanted. You killed her.”

Her heart pounded in her chest as Ty stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Interesting,” he said, tilting his head. “I can’t quite tell if this is the truth or if you’re sending me on a wild goose chase. Trying to buy yourself some time so your cop brother can swoop in and save the day again?”

“I’m not lying,” Bex whispered. She kept his stare, letting every ounce of hatred she felt for him show through. “You killed her, you fucking asshole.”

His eyes darkened and he grabbed her un-splinted arm, jerking her upright. “Shut up,” Ty growled when she yelped at the sudden movement. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll go on your little field trip, but you’re coming with me. Insurance for when the cops show up.” He dragged her forward and Bex couldn’t stop the cry that slipped out. “Come on. Get the fuck up.”

“What the hell are you doing?” a second voice rang through the room.

Will.

***

Will

Will’s heart pounded as he took in the scene he’d walked in on. Ty, trying to drag Bex out of her bed, with a gun in his hand.

A gun that was now pointed in Will’s direction.

“Walk away, man,” Ty said.

“Just go, Will,” Bex whispered. “Please, please, go.”

“Sorry,” Will said, carefully setting the water jug down on the nearest chair and then raising his hands in the air. “But I don’t think I can do that.”

“Then you’re going to stay right there while Bex and I walk out that door,” Ty snapped out. He had an iron grip on Bex’s arm and kept jerking her forward, trying to get her on her feet. The leads connected to the monitor were getting pulled and her heart rate was going up. Alarms were going to go off any second sending an unsuspecting nurse their way.

“Where exactly are you two headed?” he asked, trying to wrack his brain for the safest way of getting out of this mess.

He wasn’t coming up with many options.

“Bex is going to show me the morgue,” Ty said. “She says that’s where Emery is. That true, Doc?”

Oh, smart, amazing Bex, thinking on her feet. “Yeah, it’s true,” Will said, frowning at Ty. “She didn’t make it through surgery. But…listen…”

Bex wasn’t the only one who could think on her feet.

“Taking Bex with you,” Will said. “That’s not going to get you to the morgue.” He shook his head, pointing at Bex. “You try dragging a patient down the hall like that, you’re going to get stopped before you get to the elevator.”

“So?” Ty gripped Bex closer. “Only need her for a shield anyway.”

“How about a shield and a cover story?” Will gestured to himself. “No one’s going to ask questions about an officer walking down the hall with a doctor. I can get you there.”

He’d figure out the rest on the way.

“Will,” Bex gasped out. “No.”

“You’ll get me down there,” Ty repeated. Slowly. Maybe his head injury was catching up with him. Will could try and use that in his favour.

“I can,” Will agreed. “On one condition; you don’t hurt Bex.”

Ty thought it over for a few seconds before he released Bex’s arm and shoved her back on the bed. “Deal,” he said. Will didn’t even get to breathe a sigh of relief before Ty was swinging his arm out and bringing the butt of the gun down over Bex’s head.

She slumped against the pillow, unconscious as a trickle of blood flowed down onto the fabric.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt her,” Will lurched forward.

He was stopped in his tracks by Ty leveling the gun at him and clicking off the safety. “Be happy I didn’t kill her,” he said. “Now move.”

Ty stepped towards him, shoving the gun into Will’s side and propelling him toward the door. Will opened it and they moved out into the hallway.

As he’d predicted, no one gave them a second look.

This time of night, there weren’t too many people around anyway, thank goodness. There was the faint sound of voices coming down the hall and Will picked up the pace. He didn’t want anyone else caught up in whatever was about to happen.

The two of them walked quickly down the hall toward the elevators. It was dinging before Will had a chance to touch the call button and the doors opened up—

To reveal Connor inside.

No, no, no.

He smiled when he saw Will; his greeting falling away as he spotted Ty next. Confusion quickly gave way to anger as Connor recognized him. “You—”

No.

“Enough of this shit,” Ty said, pointing the gun at Connor’s head.

Time slowed down for Will.

No. not him. no. no. no—

 His body was moving before his mind could catch up with it and he grabbed Ty’s arm, shoving it down as he threw himself between Connor and the gun.

Hoping, praying he was fast enough.

***

The crack of a gunshot echoed down the hallway.

Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven.

Click here to read That Herrmann/Halstead DNA on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou, @trulylavandedarling

#a herrmann/halstead production #one chicago #chicago fire #chicago pd #chicago med #rebecca 'bex' herrmann #jay halstead #oc character #will halstead #christopher herrmann #greg “mouse” gerwitz x original female character #greg “mouse” gerwitz #greg gerwitz #whump #hurt/comfort #trauma #whump fic #angst

[forever-fixating]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by @onthewaytosomewhere. This week I'm sharing a one-shot I've been working on. I was possessed by the demon that is Nicholas Galitzine who bombarded my poor fangirl heart with both Mary & George and The Idea of You trailer. I haven't been the same since, and I refuse to admit just how many times I've listened to that fucking song. (Spoiler alert: it's a lot.)

Anywho, I was inspired by that kiss in the trailer (Anne, Nick, I am just a simple bisexual person. You can't just DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT and expect me to have a normal response!!!) and the wonderful story Clean Slate by smc_27 on AO3 and of course, my fandom bestie @priincebutt The Story of Us to add my own popstar age-gap AU into the mix. I hope you enjoy this nonsense as much as I enjoy writing it. Should be ready soon. Toodles!

The band joined them twenty minutes later, and Alex announced, “I am starving. Are you ladies hungry?”

Henry stood as the girls giggled and nodded. They followed behind as the group headed outside to a large black SUV. The girls joined June and Nora in the middle section, and Alex grinned, “Guess you’re stuck in the back with me, Uncle Henry.”

Henry rolled his eyes as Cash opened the door for them. “Henry is fine, thanks.”

“Yes, he is.”

Henry’s heart skipped several beats as he climbed inside the SUV. Was this man hitting on him? He suddenly felt flushed and tugged off Pez’s jacket, trying to calm his racing heart and mind. He scooted against the other door for some distance, only for Alex to move to the center of the seat, their knees grazing each other. Henry, grasping for any semblance of control, called out, “Seat belts, girls!”

June and Nora turned to look at him, and June said, “They’re all buckled up. My mom drilled that into me and Alex’s brains growing up.”

“You two look cozy,” Nora said with a smirk.

Henry gave a nervous chuckle and said, “I’m just happy to be somewhere quieter. I don’t know how you all do it night after night.”

“I thrive on it,” Alex replied, leaning back into the plush leather seats. He looked at Henry through eyelashes that didn’t seem real outside of fiction. “Doesn’t matter if it’s ten people or ten thousand…being surrounded by a sea of people all there to see you. It’s out of this world.”

Henry relaxed into his seat as they pulled away from the stadium, Alex’s cologne filling his senses. It was spice, leather, and a hint of something floral—pure intoxication. The girls chattered in front, and Alex asked, turning his body toward Henry, “So what do you do when you’re not busy being the best uncle ever?”

Henry shrugged, looking down at his hands holding the leather jacket. “My life is quite dull. I volunteer at a youth shelter, help my best mate at his art gallery, and write.”

“Oh? Anything I’ve read?”

Henry hesitated. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed by his work. He had it on good authority that, past the smutty allure, his fans genuinely connected with the characters of his books. But the subject matter was decidedly graphic and not something he wanted to discuss around his twelve-year-old nieces. Finally looking at Alex again, he said dismissively, “Probably not. I write for myself and a small but passionate audience.”

Alex was undeterred. “Try me. I read constantly, especially when I’m on tour. If anything, it will give me something new.”

“Fine,” Henry replied, rolling his eyes. “My most popular series is probably Dark Olympus. As a queer teen, I was obsessed with Greek mythology and-”

“Wait,” Alex said suddenly, his eyes widening, “you’re George St. James?”

It was Henry’s turn to be surprised. “Wait, are you seriously saying you read that series?”

“Dude, I’ve read everything you’ve ever written, even the straight stuff! The Beast was part of my bisexual awakening!” Alex exclaimed. He leaned forward, smacking the back of the seat, and said, “Nora, June! This guy is George St. James.”

The two women spun around, June saying, “No way! Oh my God, I just finished rereading Blood on the Tide from your Crimson Sails series. I’m obsessed! Please tell me you’re working on another book soon because I need it like yesterday.”

“Seriously,” Nora seconded, her curls bouncing as she nodded. “We’ll give you whatever you want if you give us advanced copies.”

Henry must be in a coma, and this was some bizarre dream his drug-addled mind conjured before his siblings pulled the plug. How else could he be sitting in an SUV with one of the most popular bands in the country, who are apparently fans of his books? Penelope and Grace turned their heads as well, Grace giggling, “Are you talking about Uncle Henry’s smutty books? Our mum says we aren’t allowed to read them.”

“With good reason,” Henry said sternly, looking at his bemused nieces. He returned his attention to the trio and said, baffled, “I’ll get with my agent? God, this is so bizarre. I can’t believe you’ve read my books.”

“It’s all Alé’s fault,” Nora said, winking at the singer. “When he finds something he likes, his little ADHD brain latches onto it and falls down an obsession rabbit hole.”

“Shut up, Nora,” Alex said through clenched teeth. The calm and confident veneer from earlier was shattered, and Henry marveled at how alarmingly human Alex was then. But, to Henry’s immense frustration, that made him all the more charming and attractive. He needed to get a grip. This was nothing. It wasn’t ever going to be anything. This was just three very kind young popstars sharing a meal with two fans and their awkward-as-dog’s-bullocks uncle, and that was it.

Again: Nicholas Galitzine, this is all your fault.

Cover Art because I'm a nerd and enjoy having art for my stories on here:

#wip wednesday #red white and royal blue fan fiction #nicholas galitzine #the idea of you #popstar!Alex #rwrb #red white and royal blue movie #red white and royal blue #firstprince #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor

[scarletsaphire]

*slams hands on the table* CHALLENGE MODE SAM/EMBER GOOOOO

Sam sat on the sofa, one leg folded under her and the other on the ground. The sofa was uncomfortable, the one that her parent's used for important, stuffy guests they wanted to impress but didn't want hanging around too long. Normally, Sam avoided it, and her parents in general, like the plague, but right now her hard work was finally coming to fruition. She could deal with some minor back pain to watch the fireworks.

"So," Pamela asked, her voice strained and her face frozen in her practiced facsimile of perfection. "How did you and our dear Sammikins meet?"

Ember, who was lounging on the sofa next to Sam with her feet propped up on the expensive coffee table, didn't answer at first. She was busy picking something out of her teeth with her finger. It took Pamela clearing her throat two separate times for Ember to answer her, and that was mostly because Ember had finished getting whatever it was free. Sam was glad her parents had hammered in how to keep a perfectly pure smile on her face from such a young age; Ember was playing her part magnificently, and Sam needed to act none the wiser.

"Oh, I like, mind controlled her whole school. And most everyone else in the town," Ember answered. "Surely you've heard of me. I went through a lot of effort for everyone to remember my name." Ember gestured to the guitar laying across her lap. Sam elbowed her in the side. Despite the fact that it didn't hurt (Sam had seen Ember get thrown through multiple walls before. Sam might have been strong, but she wasn't that strong) Ember made a show of rubbing her side. "Aw, babe, what was that for?"

Sam was looking at Ember, but she kept her focus on her parents out of the corner of her eye. She didn't miss their flinch at the pet name, and she had to fight to keep her genuine glee from showing on her face. "You've been hanging out with Danny too much."

"Yea, well, it's your fault for introducing us," Ember said. "Can't blame me for liking him, kids got good taste. He was chasing after you for a while, after all."

Pamela inhaled sharply through her nose. Jeremy's eye twitched. They were small signs, but Sam knew them well. She was wearing down their nerves at record breaking speeds, and she wasn't about to stop now. Not when the plan was working so well.

"Yes, the...Fenton boy," Jeremy said. "Surely, someone of your...status wouldn't be interested in hanging around his type?"

"Oh, you mean cause I'm a ghost?" Ember said. Sam noted the tightening of his grip on the arm chair. "Nah, I've seen the ghost hunters around. I could blow their asses out of the water any day of the week. Honestly, its kind of rude that you think I couldn't. That's like, rule number one of ghosts, y'know? It's kind of like prison, if prison was cool and came with laser beams. Survival of the fittest and all that jazz."

Pamela opened her mouth to speak. If Sam had to guess, it would probably be asking if Ember had ever been in prison; she wouldn't ask about the ghost stuff where Ember could hear her; not only was her parents still scared of ghosts, they also refused to be considered knowingly rude. At least, to anyone with sway. Ember may be dead, but she was famous, at least around Amity Park. That counted for something in their eyes. Whatever Pamela had to say didn't matter, as Ember swung her feet off of the coffee table and started talking again.

"Speaking of jazz, you got some cool vinyls in here! I'm sure you don't mind if I play some of them? I'm kinda big on music, if you couldn't tell." Ember didn't wait for permission, grabbing one of the records (meticulously hung on the wall to give a semblance of culture and spontaneity to the room. Not that Sam's parents had ever listened to a single one of them; it was all part of posturing.) and slipping it onto the record player.

"Of course." Sam could almost hear the tension in her mom's voice, breaking through her carefully constructed softness. "I'm sure Jeremy will be happy to show you around our collection while I have a word with Sammikins. Out. Side." And there was the teeth clenching fury Sam had been after. She glanced at the grand clock in display on the fireplace mantle. It had barely taken four minutes from Ember's arrival to reach red in the face Pamela. A record by nearly two and a half minutes.

Pamela's fingers locked around Sam's wrist, hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to bruise. Sam struggled, but it was mostly for show. She could break the grip if she wanted to; her mother made it a point to be "feminine" which, to her, meant weak, and Sam was anything but. That wasn't the play here. No, she was following the plan, and the plan had her following. At least for now.

As soon as the door to the formal sitting room was shut behind them, Pamela turned on Sam with all of her carefully hidden fury unmasked. "Just what do you think you're doing, bringing one of those things into our house?" she hissed, not letting go of Sam's wrist.

"First off she's not a thing, mom," Sam replied, slipping venom into her voice. Maybe a bit too much venom, actually. That should be for later. Indignant fury would be better. "And she can hear you. Ghosts have better hearing than we do."

Pamela narrowed her eyes at Sam as if trying to gauge how truthful Sam was being. Finally, she dragged Sam a few doors down. "Do you think it," the pronoun was said with emphasis. "can hear us here?"

"Probably not," Sam lied. "I don't get what the big deal is! You told me that if I was to date someone of my choosing, then they had to be of influence, well known and well liked, and self sufficient! Last I checked, Ember ticked all those boxes."

"I didn't think you would go so far as to coercing with one of those things! Its dangerous and volatile, and dead! I know you are going through the whole spooky dead thing phase, but I thought you'd at least be reasonable enough to draw the line at speaking to one of them. And then you show up saying you're dating one of them?" Pamela dropped Sam's wrist in favor of pacing a small circle in the hallway and wringing her hands together nervously. "It tried to kidnap us! It tried to mind control the whole town! It admitted to it!"

"She," Sam said. Now was the time to add the venom. "is not an it. And how do you know she hasn't changed! It's not like she hurt anyone. It was all just..." One beat, two, three. Just enough to make it seem like she was searching for words. "...ghost fun."

"And what about when it wants to have this 'ghost fun' with you?" Pamela snapped, her voice ever so slightly louder than her normal speaking voice. Perfect. "Please, Sammikins. I'm just trying to look out for you. It isn't safe."

"No, I don't have to listen to this! I love her, mom!" Sam raised her own voice to just barely below a shout. That was the signal. "I love her, and there's nothing you can do about it! I tried to follow all of your dumb rules, and the one person I could find that actually gets me isn't good enough for you!" Sam felt the corners of her eyes prickle. She shifted her focus to meat plants, factory farms, and that one scene from Derrick Disassembled where the android was stripped for melting. The prickle turned to tears. Her mascara would run, but that was the point. It was more dramatic that way. "You can't control who I love, mom! So either let me live my own life without any of these stupid rules, or I'll..." She choked on her words. She needed to make them seem genuine, like this was a difficult decision. Like she wouldn't go back on them. "I'll run away with her! She can take me to the ghost zone, where you won't be able to get between us."

"Samantha Manson!" Pamela practically shrieked. "Think about what you're saying! You'd rather-"

Ember appeared to Sam's side, materializing out of thin air. "I heard yelling," she said, eyes narrowing and flame ponytail burning high enough to singe the ceiling. "Do you wanna get out of here?"

Sam gave one tense nod, before she felt invisibility wash over her. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Sam let her fake sobs turn into real laughter. Ember snickered with her.

"You did good back there! I didn't know ya had it in you!" Ember said after they came to a halt in the airspace above the Manson Mansion.

Sam wiped at the tracks of mascara on her face. "I've had a lot of practice. You did great too. I thought my dad might have an aneurysm."

Ember laughed. "You should've seen him after you left. I was poking around his vases and stuff and dropped one. Didn't break, but I think he was about to."

"Oh yea, that'd do it." Sam grabbed her phone out of her pocket. Already, she had three texts and four missed calls from both of her parents. She turned off the phone. "So, are we calling it a night here, or...?"

"Is there anywhere in this place that does karaoke nights or something?" Ember asked after a moment. "Not that I didn't enjoy this, but I think a proper night out might be nice."

"There's a place I know that does live slam poetry," Sam suggested. "Not quite music, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you brought your guitar up with you."

"Sounds good to me."

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #sam manson #ember mclain #sam manson/ember mclain #ask game #pamela manson #jeremy manson #somber sear

[syekick-powers]

40, 38, 32 for the writer ask meme?

thank u for sending me some Question i always appreciate it

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

honestly at the moment since i've been reading the folk of the air trilogy by holly black to my mom, there's been some lines in the series that have stuck with me intensely. in the wicked king when cardan gets shot at in his bedroom and jude goes to investigate, when she comes back in cardan's like "you know for a moment i wondered if you were the one shooting at me" and jude was like "what made you decide that it wasn't?" and cardan just smiled and said "they missed." just kills me. but also when jude is facing down madoc in the middle of the queen of nothing and he tells her "you would have made a good redcap" absolutely killed me as well.

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

i think probably the weirdest part of how my writing process works is just. the fact that my characters are alive in my head and have some semblance of free will and will not just talk to each other but also talk to me too. and that i will have full conversations with them sometimes in my head. they won't always just do what i tell them to do and will sometimes do shit that i personally don't fucking want them to do. sometimes other writers will be like "why can't you just write it like how you planned to?" like no you don't understand. i am not in conscious control of what's going on here. the protagonist made this choice and i am just the schmuck transcribing the story as they tell it to me.

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

oh you know i'll jump at the chance to share a poem.

this particular poem is an oc poem--that is, it's from the POV of one of my characters, rather than being from my own perspective. specifically, this poem is written from gareth's POV, about aiden.

smoke / fire

Can’t have one without the other. When we were growing up,  we were inseparable— a disaster of pale limbs, sharp edges, and teeth. I was smoke. He was fire. Both of us deadly, toxic things, stuck to each other for better or worse. When I was young, I longed for nothing more than  the bite of his flames, but I was  insubstantial, wisps of noxious plumes  cloying the air, a breath or two  and not much more. But he— even then, he was as luminous as the sun. Even then, his smile was like a bonfire. Even then, the warmth of him was something I desperately craved to feel on my skin. What is smoke without fire? I was not much as a teenager, yet somehow I am even less than I was. A sealed room filled with stale smoke, air that never recirculates, the flavor of nicotine and the bitterness of regret. If I open the windows and let the fresh air in, everything that I am will blow out into the night air,  forgotten. Without his flames to renew me, this is all I will ever be— poisonous, stagnant, and bitter, bitter, bitter. Even to this day, I long to burn. But his fires have long since been extinguished. Where he once was, there isn’t even ashes left, there isn’t even an evidence of a fire at all. He’s gone. His warmth will never rekindle. And I will always be this— old, flat smoke. The fire may be gone, but the smoke remembers the kiss of its heat. The smoke remembers the light it was born from, forever. When I finally blow away on the cold night breeze, even my warmth will be nothing but a memory. But who will remember the smoke when the wildfire is gone? No one. No one. No one.

[razieltwelve]

Babysitter (Final Rose)

“Be careful out there,” Lightning murmured. “Anything that needs your whole team is going to be trouble. If you want, I could...?”

Summer smiled. “We can handle it. Besides, we can’t just dump everything on you and Fang. We’ll be fine.” She nodded to where Ruby and Yang were talking with Diana and Averia. “Just knowing that you’re watching the kids puts our minds at ease.”

“I’ll take care of them like they’re my own.” Lightning nodded crispy. “You’d better get going then. Keep in touch. Don’t be afraid to call for reinforcements if you think you need them.”

Summer said her goodbyes to Ruby and Yang and then vanished through a portals with Raven.

“Okay,” Lightning said. “Who wants lunch?”

X     X     X

It was a testament to the great friendship between Ruby and Diana that the two were able to share cookies without coming to blows. In fact, their friendship was punctuated by all of the different kinds of cookies they’d shared over the years. This particular set was cookies with hazelnuts, chocolate chips, and almonds.

It was delicious.

“Where did you get these from?” Ruby asked as the pair bunkered down in their makeshift pillow fort. “They’re great.”

“Mom made them,” Diana said.

“Really? Where did she get the recipe?” Ruby peeked out of the pillow fort. Yang and Claire ere cackling and brandishing pillows menacingly. She was more worried about Averia. She couldn’t see her, which meant she was probably doing something sneaky.

“I think she used her Semblance to do it.” Diana grinned. “We bought a pack of cookies like this one, and I asked her if she could make some just like them, and she did.”

“Your mom’s Semblance is so cool.” Ruby wished she had a Semblance that could make cookies... and do all the other cool stuff Saviour could do. “Where’s your sister?”

Diana followed Ruby’s gaze. “She’s probably planning something. Whenever we play pillow forts, she’s always planning something. Claire and Yang are just trying to distract us.” Diana handed Ruby a weapon. “Here. You can have this. It’s the Pillow Launcher 2000.”

“Why 2000?”

“Aunt Vanille says you should always add a number to your inventions.”

“Oh. Cool.” Ruby took the weapon. “How does it work?”

“Just point it and pull the trigger. It shoots little pillows.” Diana pointed to the small pile of little pillows beside them. “But you have to reload after every shot. I built one that could hold lots of pillows and shoot them super fast, but after I broke a vase with it, mom said that I had to tone it down since it was making a mess.” She huffed. “I still didn’t win, though. Averia dodged every pillow and whacked me.”

“Your sister has all the big sister sister powers,” Ruby said. “But we’ll get her this time even if it’s two against three.”

“There might be more of them, but we have the fort.” Diana grabbed her own pillow launcher. “We just have to keep our eyes open.”

X     X     X

"Are you going to be okay sleeping in the pillow fort?” Lightning asked.

After a brief skirmish, the five girls had agreed to join forces to defeat the forces of evil. They’d even written a manifesto naming their enemies with particular attention paid to vegetables, homework, and the Grimm.

It was adorable in a way. The girls were so confident in their parents’ ability to protect them from all the troubles of the world that they put Grimm on the same level as vegetables and homework. It was understandable too. Their parents were amongst the most powerful hunters in the world. They could walk into situations that would see the deaths of hundreds of soldiers and walk out without a scratch.

“We’ve got plenty of space,” Yang said. “We even made beds and stuff.”

The fort had steadily grown to consume most of the living room.

“Besides,” Claire said, grinning. “It’s not like Ruby and Diana are very big.”

“Hey!” Ruby stood to her full, not very imposing, height. “I’m not small! I’m...” She trailed off as she realised that she was indeed small next to Claire. In fact, she wasn’t all that much bigger than Diana who was tiny. “I’ll grow!”

“Well, as long as you’re sure.” Lightning peeked into the pillow fort. The girls had done a very good job of constructing it, and the beds they’d put together would be more than comfortable enough for the night. “Just don’t stay up too late.” She glanced at Averia. “Okay?”

“Yes, mom,” Averia replied. She knew, even without Lightning saying it, that she was in charge of making sure that everyone got to sleep at a reasonable time. “We’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Lightning paused. “And if you’re going to tell stories, nothing too scary. I don’t want anyone screaming in the middle of the night.”

Scary stories were all well and good, but there was a time and place for them. She could still remember one sleepover when Yang had decided to tell some stories she’d heard from Qrow. The blonde was absolutely fearless, so the stories hadn’t bothered her. Ruby, however, had spent the entire night clinging onto Yang like a barnacle. Yang had been so regretful, especially when Ruby had insisted that it wasn’t her fault that she’d been so scared.

“All right then.” Lightning nodded at the girls. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“Mommy is coming back home tomorrow, right?” Diana asked.

“Yes,” Lightning replied. “In the afternoon.”

X     X     X

“How are the girls?” Summer asked. She took a quick look at her reflection in her weapon. Good. She hadn’t missed any spots. The mission had gone reasonably well, but the whole team had still ended up covered in mud and gore. They’d decided to spend a few days in the area just to make sure they hadn’t missed anything, but the worst of it should be over. The quick shower she’d managed to squeeze in before calling Lightning had been welcome, but she’d probably have to hop back in to really get all of the grime off. Still, she hadn’t been able to wait any longer before checking in.

“They’re fine.” Lightning pointed her scroll at the front yard. “As you can see.”

Summer bit back a giggle. Ruby was arguing with one of Diana’s raccoon friends whilst Yang seemed to be playing cards against Claire, a squirrel, and a goose. Averia was practicing something with Fang while Diana went over to mediate the dispute between Ruby and her minion.

“They look like they’re having fun.” Summer smiled. “No problems?”

“They’ve been fine.” Lightning shifted the scroll back to her. “What about on your end? Any problems?”

Summer shook her head. “It was messy, but nothing we couldn’t handle. And before you ask, the worst we had to deal with were some bumps and bruises. We were able to locate the Grimm in charge and eliminate it at the start of the mission. There were a lot of others, but without their leader, they were a lot less troublesome. The local militia here aren’t half bad either. We had to clear the way, but they did a good job offering supporting fire and flanking once we’d established position.”

“Good.” Lightning reached back without looking and caught one of the tennis balls that Fang had been throwing at Averia. The girl was blind-folded and blocking them with a stick. She tossed it back to Fang. “How long are you going to be staying the area for?”

“A few more days,” Summer replied. “We think we got them all, but we want to make sure. With Grimm like this, you don’t want any to escape. Sure, they might not learn anything, but there are those that do, and they’ll be tougher to get the next time. The terrain here is pretty rugged too. We want to do a proper mapping run, just in case we missed anything. It wouldn’t hurt to have a more up-to-date map of the area as well. We’ve already noticed a few things that don’t line up.”

Lightning nodded. “It’s the frontier. A lot of the maps we have are decades old. A big storm or some flooding could easily change things. Sure, we’ve got satellite imagery to go by, but in some places the forest is so thick that you can’t really make out the ground.”

“There has been talk of sending out fleets of exploratory and mapping drones, but some of these frontier settlements have expanded faster than our coverage has. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it, maybe send a few lower-level hunter teams to map things out.”

It was a decent way for lower-level teams or even students to gain some experience, and good maps were invaluable on missions.

“Can I talk to the girls?” Summer asked.

“Sure.” Lightning raised her voice. “Ruby, Yang, someone wants to talk to you.”

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

Hunters look after their own. It is standard practice for hunters who are on good terms with each other to watch each other’s children if family is unavailable. In many cases, hunters will even raise each other’s children if the parents are unable to do so. In Lightning and Summer’s case, if something were to happen to Team STRQ, Lightning is next in line to raise Ruby and Yang.

This is just one of many times that Ruby and Yang (and later their siblings) would spent time over at the Yun-Farron household. Not only are Lightning and Summer best friends, but it is quite possibly the safest neighbourhood in the world since Serah and Snow are next door and Lumina and Vanille live down the road with Sephiroth moving in next door (the other side) around this time too and Jihl and Lebreau not being very far either.

#final rose #fanfiction #lightning farron #summer rose #yang xiao long #ruby rose #diana yun farron #averia yun farron #claire villiers

[maybeimamuppet]

picking teams- chapter 6: cady

part two of mean girls day chapters woo

tw for 

discussion of drugging

discussion of assault (physical and sexual)

and as always if i’ve missed any please let me know so i can add it in :)

enjoy!

—————

Cady groans as she wakes up. All her bones feel like lead, and her eyelids feel like they’ve been weighted down. 

She forces them open and tries to stretch. God, what happened to my bed? It used to be way comfier. 

She pauses mid-stretch, arms over her head, and looks around. No wonder she’s so uncomfortable. It’s not her bed. 

“Cady?” a voice asks. 

“Aaron?“ Cady croaks. “What-”

“Oh, uh… do you want me to go?” Aaron asks worriedly. 

“No! No, I just… what happened?” 

Aaron’s face falls. Cady can hear her heart rate picking up on the monitor next to her. What if I’m dying? 

“I’m so sorry, Cady, I should’ve never left you alone,” Aaron says. “Um… you were… you got dosed. Someone drugged you.” 

“Drugged me?!” Cady says frantically. 

“Yeah. Do you remember anything?” 

“I remember… talking to you, even though I couldn’t really hear you over the music… and then you left for a bit, and then… Shane…” 

Aaron nods as she trails off. “Yeah. It was him.”

“Where is he?” Cady asks in fright. “Is he-”

“He’s not here. Probably should be. He got fucked up bad,” Aaron says. “Nobody but a few people know what he did, yet, so nothing’s been done. It’s up to you if you want to try to press charges.” 

“Try to?” 

“I hate to say it, Cades, but… assault is already treated really leniently. Janis stepped in before he could, so all you can really try for is… intent to, and the drugging, I guess,” Aaron says. 

“Janis?” Cady asks. 

“Sarkisian. She’s the one who found you,” Aaron says. “Fought Shane off before he could do anything and called us to help get you here.” 

“Oh,” Cady murmurs. “Is she here?” 

Something flashes in Aaron’s eyes at the question before he shakes his head. “No, she left last night a bit after she brought you here. She wouldn’t let me near you. Which I get, I’m… a football player too. So I figured I’d wait until today to come see how you’re doing.” 

Cady isn’t sure how to respond to that. Her head is still swimming, and the story she’s just been told is… a lot, to put it delicately. 

“Thanks for coming,” she says. “It’s nice of you to come see me.”

“It’s my fault you’re here,” Aaron says sadly. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.” 

“You couldn’t have known this would happen,” Cady says. “I shouldn’t have just… taken a random drink from someone I don’t really know.” 

“You didn’t know who you should trust. You’ve never been to a party, of course you wouldn’t know,” Aaron says. “I’m so sorry, Cady.” 

“I don’t blame you,” Cady says quietly, resting a hand over his. “So don’t blame yourself. I already feel okay, and… I got lucky, so nothing happened. Let’s just agree we both messed up, okay?” 

“Okay,” Aaron says, nodding at her with his adorable smile. “I guess I should let you recover, and stuff. Your parents are just getting lunch, by the way, they said I could stay. They’ll be back soon.”

“Okay. Have a good day,” Cady says. “And thanks again for coming to check on me.” 

“Anytime. Bye Cady. See you soon,” Aaron says, leaving the room. Cady waves and looks around her hospital room. So plain; white and clinical. She finds herself hunching into her itchy sheets for some semblance of comfort. 

Exactly like Aaron said, her parents return a few minutes later, trailed by a doctor. 

“You’re awake!” her dad cheers, running up to give her a hug. Cady grunts a bit, but hugs him back. 

“I’m awake,” she giggles.  

“How are you feeling?” her mom asks, sitting by her bedside and stroking her hair. 

“Tired,” Cady says. “But I feel okay.” 

“Good,” her dad sighs in relief. They both make room for the doctor, who explains she’s just checking her vitals. Cady willingly lets her check her eyes and pulse and blood pressure, about everything she possibly could without being too invasive. 

“Well, she’s not showing any signs of an overdose, or anything else to be concerned about. I’m gonna have you take some charcoal just to help get the drug out of your system, and then you’ll be cleared to go home as long as you can walk on your own,” the doctor explains. 

“Okay. Thank you,” Cady says. The doctor nods, looking at her almost sadly before she leaves. 

“Did your friend tell you what happened?” her mother asks, scooting back in close. She leans in to kiss Cady’s temple now that there’s room for her to do so. 

“Most of it,” Cady says with a nod. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, binti, you… we… we should’ve prepared you more before letting you go to a party,” her dad says. Cady takes his hand, giving a gentle squeeze when she sees how sad his eyes are. She’s never seen her parents like this. 

“I shouldn’t have taken the drink in the first place. No matter how much you prepared me, I should’ve known not to,” she mumbles. 

“We’re just glad you’re… that you’re okay,” her mother says. “But there’ll be no more parties for a good long while.”

“I think that sounds like a good plan,” Cady chuckles. “How much do you guys know about what happened?” 

“As much as they told us,” her dad says. “The hospital called us as soon as you got here to let us know you had been drugged and were unconscious. The girl who brought you here was waiting with you, so she told us who did it.”

“The girl?” Cady asks. 

“She asked us not to tell you her name,” her mother explains. “For whatever reason. But she gave us her information in case you decide to press charges against the boy who did this.” 

Aaron must not have gotten the memo that Janis wanted to stay anonymous. Why wouldn’t she want me to know? 

“Aaron said if I press charges it probably wouldn’t do anything,” Cady mumbles. “I dunno what to do.” 

“It may not do anything in a legal sense, unfortunately. But there’s always a chance he’ll face consequences elsewhere. And it would leave a paper trail in case he tries something like this again, god forbid,” her dad explains. “But it’s your choice. Whatever you choose to do, we’ll support you.” 

“Do I have to decide now?” Cady asks. 

“No,” her mother says immediately. “Soon, but not now. For now you should just be focusing on your recovery.” 

“Okay,” Cady says, sighing heavily. “I’ll decide soon.” 

Her parents both nod, and look up when a nurse walks in with an ominous-looking glass of black liquid. A tray gets moved over Cady’s lap, and she’s instructed to drink it all. 

“This looks like liquid hopelessness,” Cady mumbles under her breath, examining the liquid curiously. Her dad laughs.

“It’s powdered charcoal in water,” he says. “Drink it.” 

Cady shrugs and takes a sip, pulling a face at the flavor of it. “It tastes like when we had that drought back in Kenya and then I face planted into the ground with my mouth open.”

“Look at your teeth,” her mom chuckles, bringing up her phone camera so Cady can see herself. Cady smiles, and her eyes go wide when she sees the black tone they have now. 

“This stuff would be great for Halloween,” she giggles. “I really have to drink all of this?” 

“Unfortunately,” the nurse chuckles. “Can’t let you go until all of it’s down.”

Cady sighs and picks the cup back up to drink the rest. How can something taste dusty and like water at the same time? 

—————

Cady gets discharged that afternoon, with instructions to rest and avoid anything strenuous. She already knows there’s no way in hell her parents will let her go to school on Monday, so she spends it in bed catching up on homework and browsing YouTube for lion videos. 

She takes Tuesday off as well to be safe. Shane is still around. She’s not sure what seeing him so soon after what happened will do to her. Not that a day makes much difference, but it helps a little bit. 

On Wednesday, her bag is packed up and she’s off to school once again. She still doesn’t have quite as much energy as usual, but she’ll be damned if she’s down any longer. 

Cady’s not expecting everyone to stare at her when she walks through the doors. She gets goosebumps feeling everyone’s eyes on her as she walks through the halls towards her first period class. 

Does everyone know? 

—-

The staring continues throughout her history class. Some people just take fleeting glances and look away when Cady looks back, and others are so bold as to keep their eyes on her the whole time. 

Back on the savanna when this happened someone was about to be eaten. Cady can’t tell if this is more or less threatening. 

She pauses outside the door to her homeroom, filling up her water bottle at the fountain just outside. 

Cady does try not to eavesdrop when she hears Janis talking to Ms. Norbury, but she can’t really help it. Her hearing was well honed in Kenya. And it’s not like she’ll do anything with what she overhears. 

“Janis, can I speak with you?”

“Uh… yeah,” Janis says. 

“Your grades are still slipping,” Ms. Norbury says quietly. “You have a month to get them up again, or you’ll be on academic probation.” 

“Shit,” Janis hisses under her breath. “I’ll-I’ll try harder, I’m sorry. I’ve just been so busy with football, and everything-”

“Janis, you don’t have to apologize. It’s like I said, we’re here to help you. I understand you’re busy.” 

“So-”

“So, I think it’s for the best if we get you a tutor. At least for a while. Someone who knows what they’re doing and can help get you back on track,” Ms. Norbury says. “It’ll be on your own time, but you won’t have to pay anything. They’ll be compensated another way.” 

“Do I have to?” Janis asks. 

“If you want to keep your spot on the football team, I think so,” Ms. Norbury says. “I have someone in mind for you, I’ll just have to ask her. Cady Heron?” 

“What?” Cady whispers to herself. 

“What?!” Janis almost yells. “No, please, don’t you have anyone else?” How rude, Cady thinks. I’d be a good tutor. 

“I really think the two of you would be a good fit,” Ms. Norbury replies. “She has a similar schedule to you after school, and she’s bright as a button. I really think she could help you here, Janis. At least give it a shot?” 

“Fine,” Janis grumbles. 

“Excellent. I’ll let her know when I next see her,” Ms. Norbury says. Cady can practically hear the smile on her face. “You can go now. Sorry to keep you.”

“It’s fine,” Janis says. Definitely not fine, by the sounds of her tone. “Thank you.” 

“Anytime.” 

Cady turns around when Janis exits, so she hopefully won’t see her face. Sure enough, Janis stalks past her, sighing and rubbing her eyes with a hand. Cady sneaks into the classroom behind her. 

“Cady, can I speak with you please?”

“Mmhmm!” Cady hums. 

“How are you feeling, first of all? I heard you’ve been in the hospital, I’ve been worried about you,” Ms. Norbury says. Cady grins a bit. It’s nice of her to be concerned. 

“I’m okay. I’m still kinda woozy, but I’m feeling a lot better,” she says. 

“Good, I’m glad to hear you’re well. Now, how would you feel about earning some extra credit?” 

“Um… do I need it?” Cady asks. “I thought I was doing well in your class.”

“You are, you are! You’re my top student,” Ms. Norbury says. “Which is why I think you’d be a great fit for this. The extra credit will just give you a bit of room to breathe in class, and if you choose to go to college, it’ll really help with things of that nature.”

“Oh. Um, okay,” Cady says. “What is it?” She already knows, but Ms. Norbury doesn’t need to know that. 

“I have a student in one of my algebra two classes I’d like you to tutor. You might know her, Janis Sarkisian?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Cady nods. “I mean, I know of her. We have science together, and I see her at my cheer stuff sometimes.”

“I think you’d be a great help to her. She’s a bright one too, she just gets overwhelmed and drifts behind. She’s a strong girl,” Ms. Norbury says. “So what do you think?”

“I’d be happy to,” Cady says. “But, uh… why… me?” 

“Because I’m a pusher,” Ms. Norbury says, a twinkle of something in her eye. “I’ll give you her information so you can set things up. Just fill this out with how much time you spend tutoring her and we’ll figure out your extra credit based on that.”

“Okay! Thanks, Ms. Norbury.”

“Thank you, Cady.” 

—————

“Cady! Oh my god, how are you?! We’ve been so worried,” Gretchen says as Cady sits down at their lunch table. “What happened?”

“I thought everyone knew,” Cady says. “All of them are staring at me.” 

“Nobody knows for real, all everyone’s been saying is that they saw you get carried out of the party on Friday,” Regina says. “By Janis Sarkisian. And nobody’s heard from you since!” 

“Um… I was… I was drugged,” Cady says quietly. “At the party. Janis saved me and took me to the hospital. I was at home recovering.” 

“Oh my god,” Gretchen gasps in horror. “Who was it?” 

“Shane Oman,” Cady mumbles. Her friends all gasp. 

“Really?” Karen says.

“Are you sure?” Regina asks. 

“What?” Cady replies. “Sure I was drugged? I was unconscious for twelve hours! I spent the night in the hospital!”

“No, are you sure it was Shane?” Regina asks. “It doesn’t sound like him.”

“I mean, I’m pretty sure,” Cady says. “I remember talking to him at the party, and Janis and Aaron both said it was Shane who did it.” 

“Hm,” Regina hums. “Alright. Are you coming to practice?” 

“Yeah. I just have to take it a little bit easier for the rest of the week, but I’ll be there,” Cady nods. 

“Good. We’ve missed you,” Karen says with a smile. Cady smiles back. 

“I’ve missed you guys too.” 

“What are you doing?” Gretchen asks when Cady pulls out her planner along with her sandwich.

“Oh, Ms. Norbury asked me to tutor one of her other students for extra credit, I’m trying to see when the best time to do it would be,” Cady explains. 

“She wants you to do tutoring?” Regina scoffs. “Ew.”

“Yeah, just… ‘cause I’m good at math, or something,” Cady says. 

“Who is she making you tutor?” Gretchen asks. Cady isn’t sure this really counts as gossip, but apparently it’s close enough for Gretchen. 

“Janis Sarkisian.” 

“Oh my god, really?” Regina asks. “Not surprising the space dyke is failing, I guess.”

“I don’t think she’s failing, she’s just a bit behind,” Cady says. 

“But why you?” Karen asks. “There’s a lot of people good at math. Division emoji.”

“I dunno. Ms. Norbury says it’s because she’s a pusher.”

“Like… a drug pusher?” Gretchen asks in a horrified whisper. 

What? No, Cady thinks. “Um… maybe. She’s, like, so weird. It wouldn’t be a surprise.” 

“No, I guess not,” Gretchen agrees. Cady gets a sinking feeling in her stomach. 

That’s been happening a lot, lately.

—————

Cady writes a note with her number on it and passes it to Janis during chemistry class. Janis instinctively reaches to pass it to the next person, until Cady motions frantically for her not to. 

Janis raises her eyebrows, but unfolds the note. She reads over it and puts it into her pocket. Cady frowns. Well, at least she has it now. 

-

She’s walking home from cheer practice when her phone pings. She pulls it out of her backpack to see what it wants. 

It turns out to be a text from an unknown number. 

unknown: hey this is janis

Cady adds Janis’ number to her contacts, and taps out a response. 

cadyheron: Hey! 

cadyheron: I dunno if Ms. Norbury told you, but I’m supposed to tutor you 

janiss: yeah she told me 

janiss: my schedules weird bc i have to watch my sister a lot but i can make p much anything work 

cadyheron: Would Saturday work? Around one? 

janiss: yeah that’s perfect 

cadyheron: Great! Do you have somewhere you’d like to meet? 

janiss: ur place would probably be best 

janiss: or we could go to the library but that’s further away 

cadyheron: My place works fine 

janiss: cool. i’ll see you at one on saturday then 

Cady sends Janis her address and a see you then :) before clicking her phone back off and sliding it into her pocket. 

—————

Saturday comes quickly. Cady spends the morning tidying up her room and making sure they have a nice clean place to work. 

She heads downstairs when she hears a knock at the door, looking through the peephole and pulling it open when she sees Janis on the other side. 

“Hey,” she greets. 

“Hi,” Janis says, awkwardly holding onto her backpack strap. Cady doesn’t know that she’s ever seen her wear her backpack over both shoulders. That can’t be good for her back. 

“Come in, we can work in my room, if that’s okay?” Cady says, motioning Janis inside. Janis nods as she unties her boots and leaves them next to the door. “This way.” 

“Your house is cute,” Janis says. Regina said the same thing a while ago, but Cady gets the sense Janis actually means it. 

“Thanks. We like it,” she giggles. “Lot nicer than our old tent, anyway.” 

“You lived in a tent?” Janis asks in shock. “Oh, right, Damian said you lived in Africa.” 

“I forgot you know him. But yeah, I did,” Cady says. She pushes open the door to her bedroom and sits at her desk. “You can put your stuff wherever.” 

Janis looks around for a second. “Nice room.” 

“Thanks,” Cady grins. 

“Is this you?” Janis asks, pointing to a photo on her nightstand. “Riding an elephant?” 

“Oh my god,” Cady says, rushing up to take it from her and slam it facedown on her bed. “That’s so embarrassing.” 

Janis shakes her head. “No, it’s cool. You were cute.”

“You really think so?” Cady asks softly. Janis nods. 

“I do. Not every day you meet someone who grew up riding elephants,” she says with a shrug. “That’s always cool. Sorry for snooping.”

“No, you weren’t,” Cady says. “I’m the one who left it out. Anyway, uh… we can work over here, if you want?” 

“Sure,” Janis nods, sitting on one of the beanbags in the corner and pulling out her textbook. Cady plops down on the other beanbag and tugs her own backpack over. 

“Um… I never got to thank you,” Cady says sheepishly after an awkward beat. “For what you did at the party. I know my parents said you didn’t want me to know it was you, but Aaron told me what you did. I don’t remember what happened, but… thank you. I don’t even want to think about what might’ve happened if you hadn’t gotten involved.” 

“Any decent person would have,” Janis replies quietly. “But it just so happens that North Shore is teeming with assholes.”

“Any decent person would’ve just stepped in. But you did so much,” Cady says. She reaches out and rests her hand on top of Janis’. Her hand is warm, and so, so soft beneath Cady’s. She finds herself really not wanting to let go. “Aaron said you wouldn’t let him be the one to take me to the hospital. And that you stayed with me until my parents came.” 

“You can never know. Aaron might be my teammate, but Shane was too,” Janis shrugs. “I just wanted you to be safe. I wish I could’ve stepped in before it got that bad.”

“We can’t change the past. I’m just… really thankful you were there. I know things like that can’t be easy for you. I’ve seen how they treat you,” Cady says. “I wish I could stop that.” 

“You get used to it,” Janis chuckles sadly. “Regina doesn’t even phase me anymore. I have more important things to focus on.” 

“Like your algebra,” Cady giggles. “We’ve been talking for a while. What are you working on?” 

“…I’m not sure.” 

“Okay then,” Cady hums. “Let me see.” 

Janis opens the cover of the book and pulls out the list Ms. Norbury made of everything she needs to catch up on. She flips to the correct page in her book before she shows Cady. 

“Oh, cross multiplication! This is easy, you’ll get this in no time,” Cady says. She takes the list of problems Ms. Norbury needs done. “Do you have a notebook?” 

Janis nods and pulls one out of her backpack. Cady grins seeing the rainbow painted onto it. 

“Did you paint this?” 

“Yeah,” Janis says sheepishly as she pulls a pencil out too. “Nothing special.”

“I like it,” Cady says with a smile. She flips to a clean page and gently takes Janis’ pencil, copying down one of the problems she’s supposed to solve. “You just have to multiply diagonally, and then simplify. Like this.” 

She draws arrows to show Janis what she’s supposed to be multiplying. Janis takes the pencil and mulls it over for a second, scratching down her thinking on the page. 

“Like that?” she asks, turning it so Cady can see what she did. 

“Yeah, exactly!” Cady nods eagerly. “I told you you’d get it quick. Nicely done.” 

“Thanks,” Janis mumbles sheepishly. 

“Here. Finish these, Norbury wants you to try them,” Cady says, writing down the rest of the problems. Janis nods and takes her notebook back to get to work. Cady takes out an assignment she has to finish for her English class to get some of her own work done in the meantime. 

They work in silence for a while, the only sound being the scratching of their pencils on paper or the sound of the beanbags shifting as they move around. Janis looks up at Cady when she suddenly sighs in frustration. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, sorry,” Cady replies, shyly looking up at her. 

“Crime and Punishment?” Janis asks, looking at the cover of the book she’s reading. “Do you have Mr. Tucker?” 

“Yeah,” Cady sighs. 

“He’s really tough,” Janis says. 

“He is! And I’m already so bad with English,” Cady huffs. “I don’t understand this book at all.” 

“The Russian names are tough,” Janis nods with a chuckle. “I’m… pretty good with English, I could… maybe help you too, if you want?” 

“Really?” Cady asks. “That would be great.”

“Sure,” Janis nods. “Everybody benefits. Can I?” 

Cady nods and hands the book over. Janis looks around, spying some highlighters on Cady’s desk. She gets up and grabs every one before coming back and plopping back into her beanbag. 

“It helps if you give everyone a different highlighter or something like that,” she explains, making a key on the inside cover of Cady’s book. She writes out the characters’ names and descriptions, as well as how they all relate to each other. “There. So now you just highlight these every time they come up. Helps keep the characters separate in your head.” 

“Oh my god, thank you,” Cady says. “You’re a genius, this is amazing.” 

“No problem,” Janis says shyly. “Can you check these?” 

“Yeah,” Cady says. She takes Janis’ notebook and looks over all the work she’s done. “They’re all correct.”

“Wow, really?” Janis laughs. 

“Yep,” Cady says proudly. “You sound surprised.”

“I am,” Janis says. “Math is the part of the triangle I’m missing.”

“The triangle?” Cady asks in confusion. 

“Oh. Um.” Janis stutters, clearly embarrassed. “There’s kind of a joke that gay people can only ever have two out of three things, so it’s called the triangle and you pick which points you have. I have a good relationship with my dad and I can drive, so those are my two. Which means I can’t do math.”

“Oh,” Cady giggles. “Is that true? That’s really interesting.” 

“I think for most gays, yeah,” Janis nods with a chuckle. God, her laugh is beautiful. And those eyes. 

Cady shakes her head a bit to try to snap herself out of it, deciding to move onto the next unit with the bit of time they have left. “Anyway, um… try these.” 

Janis nods with a smile and takes it back. Cady trills her lips in exasperation. She has dimples?! 

She manages to pass it off as being stressed about the book again, somehow. Janis offers to help again, but Cady says she’ll try to figure it out herself first. Janis nods respectfully and turns back to her math.

Cady finds herself reading the same paragraph over and over again, getting continuously distracted by the girl sitting next to her. What is going on? You barely know her, stop staring. 

“Okay, can you help again?” Cady asks when she can’t bring herself to stop. Janis smiles again and nods, scooting closer to her. She’s warm and solid against Cady’s side when she leans into explain the part of the book Cady is confused by. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Janis murmurs. 

—-

“Thanks for your help,” Janis says when it’s time for her to leave. 

“No problem. Thanks for yours,” Cady says with a grin. “And for the company.” 

“No problem,” Janis says, grinning back. 

“Same time next week?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Janis nods. “Bye, Caddy.”

“It’s Cady.” 

“I’m gonna call you Caddy,” Janis says, smirking and walking down Cady’s driveway. 

“Fine. Bye, Janis. See you Monday,” Cady calls with a sigh and a wave. Janis waves back just before Cady closes the door. 

Cady leans back against it and puts her head in her hands. 

What the fuck just happened? 

————-

thanks for reading! have a great day! 

#cadnis #space safari #paint by numbers #cady heron x janis sarkisian #cady x janis #cady heron #janis sarkisian #aaron samuels #regina george #gretchen wieners #karen smith #mean girls #mean girls broadway #mean girls musical #mean girls the musical #mean girls on broadway #picking teams

[soporificsponge]

And nobody knows like me

Once when I was a little kid (maybe in the fourth grade?) I threw a bit of hissy fit on the drive to school because I wanted to cut bangs or dye my hair or do something to my head that my mom vetoed, noting that whatever I wanted to do would probably be unflattering (and let's be honest she was definitely 100% right). I remember saying something under my breath about how "it's my head" and "I should be able to do whatever I want to my own hair" and my muttering made my mom lose what was left of her thinning patience and she screamed behind the wheel "You wanna look like some crazy homeless Korean hooker? GO FOR IT."

That night after both of us regained some semblance of sanity she tried to explain her reasoning behind why I shouldn't abuse my hair with the kiddy safety scissors. I don't remember the entire lecture, but one phrase has stuck with me since and (literally I'm not kidding) I think about this phrase every fucking day:

"You eat with your eyes first."

Okay, so the other day I was listening to Love Grows (objectively a fucking banger) but I have a couple of issues with that stupid song. Actually I only have one issue with it, but it's an issue with a lot of implications. An issue that contains multitudes. Or whatever.

As everyone knows, the song goes (my bitter interpretation of the song is in italics):

She ain't got no money

She's really fucking hot

Her close are kinda funny

I put up with her quirkyness 'cause she's really fucking hot

Her hair is kinda wild and free

But in a hot way

Oh, but love grows where my Rosemary goes

I follow her around 'cause she's hot

and nobody knows like me

Everybody knows that she's hot

...

She's really got a magical spell

She's smoking hot

and it's working so well

She is a fine looking woman

that I just gotta say

hey

So, my issue with the song actually has nothing to do with the song itself. The song itself is probably written with genuine romantic intentions. I just assume that the dude who's singing this song "ate with his eyes first." I don't know why this pisses me off so much. I just kind of wish the song went something like "She's a snaggletoothed crack-eyed bitch with unsightly legs and a lot of acne, but I'm still attracted to her." That'd be true love. Instead for whatever reason I just assume that he's willing to put up with all of these "quirks" (talking lazy, people saying she's crazy, her life being a mystery) because she's hot.

The thing is, I have no fucking right to complain. I do the same thing - I eat with my eyes. I always assume that I can size someone up before I even talk to them. Problematically, my intuition is often accurate, if imprecise (and by that I mean I am typically on point thematically if not exactly e.g. I can tell that someone might be unpleasant to be around, but I'm not immediately conscious of the exact reason). Another dangerous assumption I make (and I am yet to decide whether or not this is valid): that my intuition about people is accurate because people treat other people based on how they look, and how people are treated shapes them. What a fucked up positive feedback loop.

What I mean to say is: ugly people are treated less delicately. They are not savored. I think this treatment affects everyone's outer texture. Ugly people become tough or chewy or sinewy. Beautiful people aren't worn down like that, so sometimes they're more sharp. I don't know if this makes sense.

(A brief aside, I don't really feel like explaining what beautiful and ugly are. You know what they fucking are. Don't even try to say that they're subjective, because that's only true to a certain extent and everyone knows that.)

The phrase "you eat with your eyes first" is particularly acute because relationships born of visual attraction are born to be more like consumption than love. This begs the question -- have I been chewed up and spit out because I'm ugly?

Maybe. I think the fact that I'm not hot doesn't help. But then again I have objectively gorgeous friends who are treated like shit all the time, so obviously whatever profound thing I think I'm getting at here doesn't explain it all.

Ultimately, I have a crush one someone right now that I never found to be extremely physically attractive. On first glance I thought he was somewhat below average, actually. When I first got to know him I found him intolerable. He's objectively weird. I still find him intolerable, but in a way that hurts my chest instead of my head. I think he doesn't hate me. And now I like his face and his weird gangly limbs. His facial features that I once found harsh now seem to carry a strength I couldn't notice before. It's almost like his company sort of eroded whatever bullshit beautiful/ugly dichotomy I drew my whole life. I don't notice the pores on his face anymore. (Another thing about beautiful people - they're like that Seurat painting.) To beat this metaphor into the ground with a baseball bat so that I may never think of it again: I ate with my eyes, but apparently YOU CAN'T TASTE WITH YOUR FUCKING EYEBALLS. QED.

Anyways, I get the song now, and I think I might cut my hair tomorrow.

Because Love grows where my Rosemary goes And nobody knows like me It keeps growing every place she's been And nobody knows like me

… If you've met her, you'll never forget her And nobody knows like me

… La la la- believe it when you've seen it Nobody knows like me

(This guy has a girlfriend, btw. Fuck me.)

[ars0nism]

shoutout to my mom asking why my therapist said i should go on meds but also complaining because im irritable, constantly tired, always in bed etc etc its almost like im depressed

#small vent dw about it #i told her id like to go on meds asap but she INSISTED on talking to the psychiatrist first #which will probably happen without me present. even though im turning 18 in two months. #even though the age at which parents stop having a say is 16. #im gonna be suffering the fucking side effects of starting meds on my birthday and then also the entire final semester so thats nice #i shouldve never asked her for input i couldve started two weeks ago but noooo i had to open my mouth n say #'oh my mom will probably want some semblance of a say in this' #and then it was 'nooo you cant take those meds theyre too heavy i should discuss this with the psych' but she works !! a lot !! #shoutout to my mom guys shes being a great mom /s im so fucking SICK of feeling like this

[howlingday]

tragic backtory (tm) au) the legend of jaune arc grows, slowly bringing more and more people into it, but when his little sister and overdramatic theater kid come for a visit, well apparently jaune's sword is magic now, and he's a master thief. he of course picked this time to learn the aura slash on his own time and now pyrrha is starting to believe there might be more to jaune than even she knew! other stories include, jaune's lost love. his wife via arranged marriage who died tragically (tm) of a broken heart after he left her for his quest for justice. and how he's part of a secret order devoted to protecting the silver eyed warriors Ruby: "of course! that's why he was so nice to me and just walked up to me out of nowhere!" violet: "he's also supposed to marry you to make sure your magic eyes are passed down to the next generation" ... what? a little sister can't rig the game for her favorite ship? ruby's cute and she wants her as a sister in law. besides who ever heard about magic eyes?

Double Trouble

Jaune sat in the lounge while his sisters, Violet and Indigo, sat on either side talking about their trip. Jaune nodded along as they explained their flight, the status of home, and ended by asking how his time at Beacon had been. Before he could answer, however, someone else spoke for him.

Nora: Jaune is the best!

Violet: Ooh! Who is this, Jaune? Your girlfriend?

Nora: Pft! He wishes!

Indigo: Oh, I like you!

Jaune: (Sighs) Nora, these are my sisters, Vi and Indie. Girls, this is Nora. She's on my team here at Beacon.

Nora: (Gasps) Jaune's sisters?! You have to tell me everything!

Jaune: Ugh, please, no...

Indigo: Oh, stop being such a cry-baby, Yawny. Nora, right? We can meet up later for all the juicy details.

Nora: Yes! I'll bring some friends, too!

Indigo: Hey, the more, the merrier, right?

Nora: (Runs off) I gotta get the girls!

Violet: It was nice meeting you! And the reason you two aren't dating is because...?

Jaune: Are you really going to play matchmaker right now?

Violet: The last one worked out just fine, didn't it?

Jaune: Amber literally cried when she found out her "secret admirer" was me. Mom had to get between me and her dad when he found out.

Violet: You were fine! You were young, and her dad was just overprotective.

Jaune: We were twelve, and her Dad just got out of prison.

Violet: Oh, you're exaggerating!

Ruby: (Walking behind them, Hearing everything)

Jaune: I'm not dying just so you can say you guys were right.

Violet: But think of the wedding! Wouldn't you like to be Jaune Oakwood-Arc?

Jaune: No! Especially if that means I'm marrying into a family that doesn't want me!

Ruby: (Gasps, Speeds away)

Indigo: Hm? What was that?

Jaune: (Looks behind) Oh, that was probably Ruby. Her semblance makes rose petals when she uses it.

Violet: Roses? (Gasps) Like the love flowers?! That's so romantic!

Jaune: Oh no...

Indigo: Anyways, while she's planning your wedding, tell me about why Nora wouldn't date you?

Jaune: Aside from it's me, Nora is already with somebody.

Indigo: So? Just because there's a goalie, it doesn't mean you can't score.

Jaune: (Covering his face) For the love of...

Ruby: (Barrels through the dorm room) Guys! We have an emergency!

Weiss: What is it? Torchwick?

Ruby: No! Worse!

Blake: White Fang?!

Ruby: Even worse!

Yang: Well, spit it out!

Ruby: Jaune's getting married!

Weiss: (WBY faceplant, Gets up) You dolt! You said it was an emergency!

Ruby: It is, though! His sisters are here and they're trying to force him to marry someone he doesn't love!

Weiss: A sacrifice I'm sure is for the greater good.

Yang: Hey, come on, Ice Queen, I'm sure whoever Jaune gets with will be one lucky lady.

Blake: Even if it's a Schnee.

Weiss: (Blushing) I would never-!

Blake: But you said his sisters are here? What do they look like?

Ruby: Well, I only saw the backs of their heads, but they were both blonde, and one of them had their hair tied back in a ponytail with a blue bow, and the other one was wearing a headband, also with a blue bow.

Yang: Older, younger?

Ruby: I couldn't tell, but they were talking like they're going to be the ones setting it up.

Blake: Probably older, then. Did you hear who he was marrying?

Ruby: Not really, but I heard them say, "Jaune Oakwood-Arc."

Yang: Wait, Oakwood? Like Chuck Oakwood?

Weiss: You know him?

Yang: Kind of. I remember reading in a motorcycle magazine about him going to jail. He used to harrass and assault people on the road with his gang. They called "The Biker Tyrant." I don't know why they would try to be setting Jaune up with anyone related to him, though.

Blake: Well, what if this girl they're arranging for him is trying to escape her family. If this Chuck is as violent as they say, and she's related to him, it's possible she's trying to live a peaceful life.

Ruby: But why would Jaune say no to helping her?

Weiss: Not to get involved in this game of spinning tales, but maybe he's connected to something higher, and the situation now is too delicate to get involved with now.

Yang: OH! The Biker-Kingdom!

Weiss: ...The what?

Yang: It's an international crime-ring of bikers. They have agents all over Remnant. I bet if Jaune married into one of their gangs, he could rise up to be a head-honcho!

Weiss: (Laughs) Stop! Stop! Do you hear yourself? Arc, the Jaune Arc, becomes a gang-leader of a bunch of bikers! Can you even imagine him, black biker jacket, chains strewn about his shoulders, a helmet under his arms?!

Ruby: (Blushing) I mean, I can...

Jaune: Guys, these are my sisters, Violet and Indigo. You've already met Nora.

Nora: Hi!

Jaune: This is Ren, Nora's partner and also on my team.

Ren: Greetings.

Violet: (Whispers) This must be Nora's man.

Indigo: (Whispering) I can see why.

Jaune: This is Pyrrha, my partner.

Pyrrha: Hello!

Indigo: Wait, isn't she from the cereal box?

Jaune: (Chuckles) Yeah, she is. Apparently, she was a champion over in Mistral.

Indigo: And she got stuck with you?

Jaune: Uh, I wouldnt put it like that-

Indigo: We are so sorry for our brother.

Violet: Really and truly sorry.

Pyrrha: Oh, um, it's okay. (Thinking) These are his sisters? Are all siblings like this?

Jaune: Anyways, this is Team RWBY, our neighbors and close friends... who decided to show up for some reason.

Ruby: We have so many questions!

Yang: Eheh, uh, what she means is that we had to meet you after hearing that Jaune's sisters were here.

Jaune: Right, because I'm such a fascinating subject.

Ruby: You are, though! (Everyone stares at her, She shrinks) Um... Hi, I'm Ruby Rose.

Violet: Oh, so you're the girl from earlier?

Ruby: Huh?

Indigo: Jaune told us about you after you left some petals on the ground.

Ruby: Oh, really? Hehe, my bad.

Violet: Oh, it's no trouble, no trouble! So, tell me, how do you feel about our brother?

Ruby: Huh?

Jaune: Vi! Seriously?!

Violet: What? I'm just trying to help you out here!

Weiss: With what, exactly?

Jaune: Oh, please, no...

Indigo: Our brother's so incompetent with girls, we decide to give him a hand.

Weiss: Such as arranged marriages?

Indigo: We don't go that far.

Violet: (Whispers) Because it never gets that far.

Weiss: Hm. Well, Arc, I think you should listen to your sisters more. Maybe then you would actually have some understanding of how romance works.

Violet: What do you mean?

Weiss: First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Weiss Schnee, and your brother has been obnoxiously trying to get my attention for months now.

Violet: (Turns to Jaune, Wicked smile) Oh?

Indigo: (Turns to Jaune, Evil smile) Really?

Weiss: Asking me out on dates to events with no interest to me, attempting to serenade me with songs that sound like a dying cat, and constantly standing in my way of achieving success!

Violet: Just letting it all out, huh?

Jaune: It's... a bit of a regular thing.

Indigo: Eh, you're better off, anyways.

Weiss: See, Arc? They understand.

Indigo: After all, you're too good for her.

Weiss: Ex-SCUSE ME?!

Jaune: Uh, moving on! Uh, the girl holding back Weiss' murderous intent right now is Yang, Ruby's sister.

Yang: (Holding back the angry Weiss) Hey! Erk! Wassup?

Indigo: (Whistles) Dang, you are stacked!

Yang: Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself.

Jaune: Ugh, please no. Could you not?

Indigo: Don't mind him. He's always had an issue with how I talk to girls.

Yang: Probably because he can't talk to them like you do.

Indigo: That's what I said!

Jaune: Oh, great, there's two of them!

Yang: Relax, lady killer, I'm just teasing you!

Indigo: I'm not.

Jaune: Ugh... And this is Yang's partner, Blake.

Blake: Hello.

Violet: Hm... There's something off about her.

Indigo: Yeah, now that you mention it.

Blake: (Leans away) Uh, is there?

Violet: Yeah, there is. No doubt about it. (Points her index finger at Blake accusingly) You're a pervert, aren't you?!

Indigo: (Taps her palm with her fist) That's what it is!

Blake: (Blushing) WHAT?!

Violet: It's so obvious. Her quiet demeanor.

Indigo: Those intelligent eyes.

Violet: Her tense, impatient posture, as if she's restless to go back to her debauchery.

Indigo: Be careful, Jaune; this kitten has claws.

Blake: (Digs into the couch)

Jaune: Will you two stop! Blake isn't a pervert! Right, Blake?

Blake: R-Right.

Ruby: Unrelated to anything, what would you think about any of us dating your brother? (Everyone stares at her) J-Just hypothetically! A crazy idea!

Violet: ...Well, since you asked-

Indigo: Oh, boy, here we go...

Violet: Based on my expertise in matchmaking, I can tell a lot of you have potential!

Jaune: Indie!

Indigo: Forget it, Jaune. Once Vi starts, she doesn't stop.

Jaune: (Scroll buzzes) Oh, thank goodness! I have to go. You two stop trying to hook me up! (Sprints away)

Vi: I wouldn't have to try if you just manned up! Now, where was I? Oh, yes! Starting with you, Miss Rose...

Ruby: (Blushing, Gulps)

Jaune: Yes, they're fine, Mom. ...No, Mom, they're not sick. ...I really don't want to think about them like that, Mom. ...Fine, Mom, I'll make sure they don't get pregnant, even though half this school is full of guys too young for them. ...Mom, I really don't need to hear that from you. ...They're hanging out with my friends right now. ...They're all girls, Mom. Well, except for Ren, but he's already with Nora. I think. ...Oh, great, so that's where Indie got it from. ...They're fine, Mom. What's the worst that could happen?

Violet: So you think our brother is an orphan, sky-pirate slave, and we're trying to set him up with someone he doesn't love to benefit our status?

Nora: Well, not anymore. I mean, if you're his sisters, then that pretty much debunks the whole thing, huh?

Indigo: Oh, honey, (Places her hand on Nora's knee) there's so much more to it than that.

Everyone Else: HUH?!

Violet: Indie, what are you-?!

Indigo: It's time, Vi. (Looks to Violet, Stealthily winks) They should know the truth about who he really is.

Violet: ...You're right. Now, let's start with the truth. Jaune isn't an orphan. Not anymore anyways. He was adopted by our family, but we never treated him any different. He's still our baby brother.

Indigo: Technically, he's our cousin, but his parents died while he was young. His aunt and uncle, our parents, adopted him, training him in the ways of the sword when he was old enough.

Violet: That sword belonged to our uncle, but when Jaune used it, it revealed his position. (Tears up) We were so scared when the raid began to search for him! We tried to protect him, but they were unstoppable!

Indigo: Shshsh, there, there. (Snickers, Coughs to cover it up) We didn't see him again for years until he returned home one day, with her.

Violet: (Sighs dreamily) Scarlet. She was the sweetest woman you would have ever met. She helped him escape, and the two eloped shortly after. She trained him to fight without aura, and so he did for the longest time.

Indigo: But then illness took her too soon, and she was buried before that winter came. He never moved on from her. He doesn't even like to talk about her. But his heart would always be hers, and hers his.

Ren: Tragic.

Indigo: (Cough) tm (Cough).

Violet: On her final day, she said to him these words...

Scarlet: (Faceless, Dying in bed) Beloved, my dawn, my noon, my sunset, please do not weep for me. Though my body may perish, my soul shall ever be yours. In times of great peril, I will aid the swing of your blade, and you shall be safe, and find love once more.

Nora: (Sobs)

Ruby: (Bawls)

Pyrrha: (Cries)

Weiss: (Tears up)

Yang: (Grimaces)

Blake: So that's his story...

Ren: Truly tragic.

Indigo: (Cough) tm (Cough).

Jaune: I'm back! I hope everything- WOAH! Why is everyone crying?! Indie, what did you do?!

Indigo: Don't look at me, Jaune! They wanted to hear about you, so we told them everything they needed to know.

Jaune: How do you make people cry telling them about me?! You know what, I don't want to know. I'm taking you guys to your hotel room. Good night, guys. (Walks away with Indigo and Violet)

Ruby: He's so brave!

Nora: Such a brave boy!

Pyrrha: (Sniffs) The bravest boy.

Jaune: Hey, listen, I'm really sorry about my sisters. They can kind of be a handful.

Pyrrha: It's no problem at all, Jaune. After all, you can't choose your family.

Jaune: (Sighs) If only that was different.

Pyrrha: What do you mean?

Jaune: I know it's going to sound weird, since you don't have siblings, but, did you ever feel like you didn't belong? Like nobody understood who you were, least of all you?

Pyrrha: Actually, I have felt that way. As far as I can remember, I have felt different from everyone else, and I couldn't tell who I really was. That is, until I came to Beacon.

Jaune: I'm glad things worked out for you, Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: Give it time, and it will for you, too. And your sisters... They mean well. They love you, no matter where you go or where you came from.

Jaune: Thanks, Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: Anytime, Jaune. Now, onto sparring practice!

Jaune: Yeah! (Spars with Pyrrha for ten minutes, Unleashes a sword beam) WOAH!

Pyrrha: (Blocks it) What on Remnant was that?!

Jaune: I-I don't know! I was going through the motions, then I got distracted by that sunset, and all of a sudden, whoosh!

Pyrrha: Sunset? (Gasps)

Jaune: What?! What is it?!

Pyrrha: Oh, uh, we, uh, just have a big test tomorrow, and we should really call it early tonight.

Jaune: Right! The test! Good thinking, Pyr! We better head down!

Pyrrha: Of course, of course! I'm right behind you! (Looks to the sunset) Thank you, Scarlet. I promise to take good care of him.

Cardin: (From the window sill below) Who the hell is Scarlet?

#rwby #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #rwby au #tragic backstory (tm) au #ruby rose #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #pyrrha nikos #lie ren #cardin winchester #violet arc #indigo arc #arc sisters #my answer

[massivedrickhead]

Bechloe Week 2021 - Day 5

July 30th: “You don’t know who I am, do you?”

Read on AO3

This is heavy heavy angst. It’s pretty sad (imo) and also kinda long. So, you know, read at your own risk.

-

With a throbbing in her hip, and a tight pain across her chest, Beca eased herself out of the cab she’d taken, and looked up at the entrance to Barden Nursing Home.

Although she visited several times a week, it seemed like they added more stairs each time she came.

“Can I give you a hand ma’am?”

“Well that depends, Raheem,” Beca said. Her voice wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but anyone who knew her could still detect the bite of sarcasm that filled almost every sentence. “Are you going to call me ma’am again, or are you going to call me Beca?”

Raheem smiled at her from his driver side window.

“Come on Mrs Mitchell, I can’t call you that. What would my grandmother say if she knew I was disrespecting my elders?”

Beca laughed and shook her head. “If you insist.” She held out an arm for him to take, and he left his cab immediately.

Truthfully, she didn’t think she’d make it up on her own anymore.

The doctor had given her a year, give or take, but she knew her own body.

This would be her last visit to Barden Nursing Home.

“Do you want me to wait with the cab?” Raheem asked when they reached the entryway.

“No, no,” Beca said. “The girls are meeting me here, they can drive me home.”

“I’ll see you next week then?”

Probably not. “I’ll give you a call.”

Raheem was Beca’s favourite driver and he happened to be the owner of the cab company, so he always made sure he was the one to drive Beca to her destination.

His mother had been a fan of hers, he’d told her during one of their first journeys, which made her feel older than she was. Or older than she thought she was. It still surprised her when she looked in the mirror and saw an old lady looking back at her.

She didn’t really recognise herself anymore.

Now that her hair was grey, her back slightly hunched, her joints sore and swollen.

They had taken her drivers licence a few years back due to her deteriorating eyesight, and her hearing wasn’t what it was.

And now her lungs were shot. Her liver. Her heart.

Her body was failing her, worsening by the day.

She was in almost constant pain, but she still had her mind. Her mind remained as sharp as it ever was.

For that, she was grateful.

Most of the time, anyway.

Leaning on a cane, with a bunch of flowers in her other hand, she made her way through the reception area.

“Morning Beca,” one of the nurses greeted her warmly. “She’s in her room today, didn’t feel like being social.”

“Thanks hun,” Beca replied. “How is she?”

“One of her better days.”

Good, Beca thought. That’s good.

If today was going to be her last visit, she wanted it to be a good one.

She knocked on door 216, and waited for a response.

“Come in,” came a voice that was both achingly familiar yet totally alien.

“Hi,” Beca said, smiling warmly as she entered the room.

Chloe was sitting in a chair by the window, a blanket over her knees.

Her once red hair was now silver, tied in a neat ponytail. She was still looking outside, but Beca knew her bright blue eyes were now milky and flat. Clouded.

Chloe turned to face her visitor.

“Can I help you?”

Beca felt something hard lodge itself in her chest.

She would never get used to this feeling. She never wanted to get used to this feeling.

She waited for a sign of recognition. A smile or a twinkle, but there was nothing.

Chloe simply looked at her with a patient curiosity.

Well, Beca thought. That’s that, then.

“I was just wondering if you would like some company? I’m new here and I don’t really know anyone.” She placed the flowers in an empty vase of water that she knew the nurses had left there for her, like they did every time she visited.

“Yes, okay. That would be fine,” Chloe said. “I’m Chloe Beale.” She held out her hand for Beca to shake.

Beca shook it, trying not to let the stab of pain show on her face at the sound of Chloe using her maiden name.

“Beca Mitchell,” Beca said, fighting the urge to cover Chloe’s hands with both of her own.

Even after all these years, Beca still wanted nothing more than to pull Chloe into her arms and kiss her.

She couldn’t remember the last time they’d really kissed. The last time they’d lain in bed together while Chloe ran her fingers through Beca’s hair. The last time Chloe had been Chloe.

Chloe’s diagnosis and the progression of her illness had been sudden and devastating and brutally quick.

It was so cruel, Beca thought almost every minute of every day, that she still had Chloe so close yet she couldn’t have been further from her.

“I’m afraid you can’t stay too long,” Chloe said. “My daughters are coming to visit later.”

She remembers the girls, Beca thought. That’s good.

Some days Chloe had no recollection of their daughters. Some days, Chloe had no recollection of any of them.

But once in a while, God, it was so rare now, Chloe would remember Beca and who they’d been together.

“Is that so?” Beca asked. “How old are your daughters?”

“Oh, I don’t know, middle-aged-ish. One’s older than the other,” Chloe said, waving a dismissive hand. “Of an age where they think they’re old but they don’t know they’re actually still very young.”

“Hmm, they must be the same age as my kids. What are their names?”

“Well there’s Blake and, um… shoot. I had it. Begins with a B…”

No it doesn’t.

“No it doesn’t,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “Hayley.”

Riley.

“Riley!”

Beca smiled. If only I could get you to remember me so easily.

“Do you have grandkids?” Beca asked.

“No,” Chloe said with a sigh.

Yes you do. You have four, and they’re beautiful.

“Do you?”

“Yes,” Beca said. “A little too much energy for me to handle these days.”

Chloe seemed to study Beca for a fraction longer.

“You know, you look a lot like my wife. Older, of course, but there’s something about the nose and the smile…”

Beca laughed because if she didn’t she would cry. “Is that right? Well to be honest I wasn’t going to say anything, but you look a lot like my wife.”

“How weird,” Chloe said.

“She was beautiful, just like you,” Beca said, fiddling with the wedding band she still wore.

“Is she still with us?”

Beca looked into Chloe’s eyes, searching for some semblance of the Chloe Beale she had fallen in love with. Searching for a glimmer of recognition. A spark. Anything.

“No,” Beca said. “We lost her a few years ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Chloe said, placing her hand on Beca’s as if that’s where it was meant to be. “How awful for you. You must miss her terribly.”

Beca let out a small laugh and tears filled her eyes.

It was unbearable to mourn someone who was sitting two feet in front of you.

“More than anything. We had,” Beca swallowed hard but her voice still broke when she spoke again, “the best life together. She was my best friend… my everything.”

Chloe squeezed her hand. “How lucky you are to have felt love like that. To have loved so strongly that even after all these years you’re still…” Chloe trailed off and looked out of the window again.

“Did… is your wife still with us?” Beca asked, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

“My… sorry, what did you say?”

“Is your wife still alive?”

“Oh, I don’t have a wife dear,” Chloe said, smiling. “This ginger is single and ready to mingle as my grandkids would say.”

Again, that knife in her heart.

Her grandkids were back, replacing her wife, and with them a spark of the old Chloe.

“Maybe you’ll meet someone here,” Beca said, the sadness taking hold of her now. Settling into her bones in the same way that the damp made her hip throb. “It’s never too late.”

“God, you’re crying, are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine,” Beca said, smiling. “Just thinking about my Chloe has made me go all… well… foolish is probably the best word.”

“Your… Chloe?”

“My wife,” Beca said. “Her name was Chloe.” She swallowed as she looked at the uncomprehending face before her. “She was beautiful. So beautiful. Red hair and bright blue eyes and she was kind, and good, and safe. She was my best my soulmate. And she had a voice like an angel. I’d give…” Beca swallowed again, “I’d give anything to hear her sing again. To hear my Chloe sing again.”

“Beca…”

“Do you know what she said to me the first time we kissed? She promised I would never lose her. We were in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn and she promised I wouldn’t lose her. But that’s the kind of promise only a kid could make. They have no idea, how could they?”

“Beca.”

Chloe’s hand gripped Beca’s and squeezed it. Tight.

“My… Beca?”

And there she was. Back like she’d never gone away.

“Chloe? You… you remember me?”

“Of course I remember you,” Chloe said. Then her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked around her room. “This isn’t our house.”

“No.”

Chloe swallowed and nodded. “I’m… I’m not well, am I?”

Beca sniffed and shook her head.

“Alzheimer’s?”

“Ah ha,” Beca said, fighting to keep her voice steady.

“Like my mom… How long?”

“T-two years,” Beca said. “I tried to take care of you but then I fell and broke my hip and I just… I couldn’t manage on my own anymore. The girls insisted. You’ve been here for about a year. You… you seem happy.”

Beca knew this lucidity wouldn’t last.

Chloe would be gone again, and probably soon.

This was her last chance.

“I love you, Chloe Mitchell, do you hear me? My heart belongs completely to you. And one day… one day soon, I’m not gonna be able to come and visit you anymore. And there may be days where you remember me, but you won’t remember I’m gone, and you’re gonna feel hurt and betrayed. You’re going to think I abandoned you,” Beca squeezed Chloe’s hand again, “but I promise you, if it was up to me, I would never leave your side.”

“So stay,” Chloe said, her voice breaking. “Stay with me.”

Beca gave her a sad smile. “In a few hours, you won’t remember me, baby.”

“How could I ever forget you?”

“Mom?” A voice spoke up from the doorway, and Beca turned to see Blake and Riley standing there. “Is everything-”

“Girls!” Chloe said, brightly. “Come in and meet my new friend Beca.”

No.

Not yet.

Please, not yet.

“Your new friend Beca?”

Beca forced the smile back onto her face, and she stood up.

“Nice to meet you,” Beca said, looking into the faces of her daughters. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She turned to face Chloe.

“You’re leaving?”

“I should let you have some time with your girls,” Beca said. She took Chloe’s hand in hers, and looked at her wife for what would be the last time. “It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Chloe.”

“I’ll see you again I hope?”

Beca smiled. “Of course. You’ll remember what I said?”

Chloe tilted her head, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

“It’s okay,” Beca said. “I know you heard it. It’ll come back to you when you need it.”

“Okay,” Chloe said, still confused. “Do you think… would it be okay if we hugged? You can ask the girls, I’m a hugger.”

She heard a small sniff and she saw Riley quickly leave the room.

“Allergies,” Blake said, quickly.

“Of course we can hug,” Beca said. “I’ve had a wonderful afternoon with you Chloe.”

Chloe stood, her blanket slipping off her lap, and she wrapped her arms around Beca, and Beca hugged back as tight as she dared.

She buried her face in Chloe’s neck and breathed in.

She still smelled like Chloe.

“You know Beca, I think we’re gonna be really fast friends.”

And everything inside of Beca broke.

“Hey, what is it?” Chloe said, softly as Beca clung to her and cried.

“Mom, it’s okay,” Blake said. She stuck her head out of the door and called to her younger sister.

Chloe shot Blake a look of confusion as this apparent stranger sobbed into her shoulder.

“You’re okay,” Chloe said, softly. “Come on, now, you’re okay. I’ve got you.”

“I love you,” Beca whispered into her ear, choking it out between sobs. “Don’t forget that, okay? I love you.”

“Okay, that’s, um, very nice,” Chloe said.

Beca’s chest started feeling tight as she struggled to get air into her lungs.

“Why don’t you sit down? We can call a nurse and-”

“No,” Beca said, quickly, struggling to suck air into her useless lungs. “I just need… in my bag.”

“Here,” Blake said, handing her her inhaler.

“Thank you,” Beca said, taking several deep puffs from it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry, Chloe.”

She looked at Chloe again, and knew with certainty it was for the last time.

She had gotten a couple of minutes with Chloe - the real Chloe - this afternoon and that was more than she could have hoped for.

“It really was lovely to meet you Chloe,” she said.

“Yes, you too,” Chloe replied, although she sounded less than convincing. “See you another time?”

“I look forward to it,” Beca said.

“Riley, why don’t you make sure… Beca, here, gets to where she needs to be,” Blake said, looking between her parents with pain in her eyes.

“Sure,” Riley said.

When they were away from the room, Riley pulled her Mom into a hug.

“That was a rough one, huh?” Riley asked.

“Unbearable,” Beca said. “She was… she was back. I had her back for like, five minutes. And then…”

Riley kissed her on the head. “Come on, I’ll get one of the nurses to get you some tea and when we’re done we can drive you home.”

Beca frowned. “It’s Thursday. Is Blake not doing dinner?”

“No, she is, but you don’t usually feel like company after a bad visit,” Riley said.

Beca waved a hand of dismissal. “I wanna spend some time getting climbed on by my grandkids. Will your new lady be joining us?”

Riley blushed like a teenager, despite being in her forties. “Not tonight, Mom. It’s a bit soon for a family dinner.”

“Oh come on, you’ve been dating for months! I want to meet her, I have so many embarrassing stories to tell!”

“I know you do,” Riley said. “Which is why we’re gonna wait a few more weeks before we scare her off. Don’t worry, there are endless amounts of family dinners ahead of us for you to embarrass me at.”

Beca smiled. “Okay,” she said.

She hadn’t told the girls she was sick. They had enough in their plates with Chloe, and she didn’t want to add to it.

When the time came, yes, she knew they’d be hurt. She knew that hurt didn’t even come close to covering it. They had all but said their goodbyes to Chloe, but they had no idea that Beca would be beating her to the afterlife.

She knew if she asked them, they’d rather she told them.

It was cruel to blindside them, but in a way wasn’t it crueler to have them watch her slowly waste away in a hospital? To leave them saddled with medical bills that their inheritance would only just cover?

Because she knew her girls, they wouldn’t just let her slip away. They’d want her to fight, and Beca was too tired for fighting.

No. She wouldn’t do that to them. She had already written letters for all of them - including Chloe - and she had left instructions with her solicitors that they would get handed out after her death.

In her will, she’d left most of her money to her daughters and Blake’s four kids, along with a lump-sum donation to Barden Nursing Home.

Her affairs were in order.

The girls didn’t need to know.

“Mom? Are you ready?”

Beca smiled as her daughters approached, and she gratefully took Riley’s hand when she offered it.

She was quiet on the drive back to Blake’s house.

“Sure you’re up for dinner, Mom?” Blake asked, glancing at her in the rear view mirror.

Beca smiled and nodded.

That night she basked in the attention of her grandkids.

The two twin boys - Jackson and Christopher, aged seven - kept trying to explain their favourite show to their grandmother.

They kept acting out scenes, speaking in odd voices, shooting each other with fake guns.

Beca tried to follow along but really she just wanted to watch them play.

The youngest - Davey, four - sat comfortably on her lap.

“Gram read it?” He said, holding up a book.

“Again?” Beca asked.

“Please?”

“Okay,” she said.

“Grandma!” Christopher said, pulling her attention back to him. “Grandma! Look! Then the bad guys do this!” He aimed a finger gun at his brother and deepened his voice. “Prepare to die!”

“Ah ha,” Beca said.

“Gram,” Davey tugged at her sleeve and then placed a hand on his book.

“Sorry,” Beca said, picking up where she left off from.

The noise and distraction was welcome.

It kept Beca’s mind from wandering. She needed a few hours where she wasn’t mourning Chloe.

It was working until ten year old Anne walked into the room, looking far too somber for any ten year old.

“Who’s upset you then?” Beca asked. “I might be old but I can still throw a punch.”

Anne smiled, but only just. “Is grandma better yet?”

Beca frowned. “No, honey. I’m sorry.”

Anne had been the apple of Chloe’s eye right up until the moment she started to forget her.

Blake and her husband David had made the decision early on that the kids shouldn’t visit Chloe. It would be too hard for them to see their grandma and have her not recognise them.

“Is she going to get better soon?”

Beca let out a small sigh. “I don’t know,” she said.

Anne’s face fell, and Beca’s heart broke.

She wished she didn’t have to leave these kids behind.

“Listen, your grandma loves you very much. And so do I. And we always will, no matter what.”

Davey started to fuss on Beca’s knee, and she turned her attention back to him.

“If I wrote grandma a letter, would you give it to her?” Anne asked. “I don’t want her to think I’ve forgotten her.”

Tears filled Beca’s eyes, and she smiled. “Of course. But you should give it to your Mom or aunt Riley. They’ll see her before I do.”

Anne nodded, and went off to her room.

The rest of the night continued the same way every Thursday night dinner did.

Blake complained that Beca ate too little and that her husband ate too much.

The twins would devour anything left too close to them, and Anne would pick out any bit of vegetable she found, no matter how small it had been cut up.

Then Beca would attempt to help with the dishes until she was told to cut it out, and Riley would drive her home.

Before she left that night, she hugged and kissed each of her grandkids, and told them all she loved them beyond comprehension.

She kissed Blake’s cheeks - standing on her tiptoes to do so - and briefly cupped her face in her hands. She told her she loved her too.

She patted David on the arm.

“You’re a good man,” she said. “You’ll take care of them.”

“Jeez, Mom, what’s got you so morbid?”

“Just the joys of ageing,” Beca said.

She didn’t know why she was feeling so sentimental that night, but she put it down to the emotion of the day.

In the car, Beca was quiet again.

“Something’s up with you,” Riley said.

“Today was tough,” Beca said, her head on the window. She turned to look at her daughter, and she seemed to transform in front of her eyes and back again. “Has anyone ever told you how much you look like your mom?”

“You, every day since I was born,” Riley said, laughing as she ran a hand through her short, ginger hair.

“This new girlfriend of yours,” Beca said, “is she nice?”

“What? Yes, Mom, of course.”

“She treats you well? She’s kind? She doesn’t blow up at wait staff or lose her temper in traffic?”

“She’s great,” Riley said. “Look, you can meet her soon, okay? She’s just a bit nervous around parents. She… she didn’t get on great with her own. They weren’t cool when she came out.”

Beca let out a sigh. “Poor girl. You’d think my generation would have grown out of that. Apparently not. As long as she makes you happy, and treats you well, then that’s all that matters.”

Riley laughed. “What, are you trying to make sure I’m married off before you kick it?”

Beca laughed too. “No. I just want you to be happy, my girl.”

“I am,” Riley said. “And not because I’m in a relationship, but because I just… am.”

Beca smiled. “Good. I’ve… I’ve had a very good life, Ri. And I don’t think I realised how good it was, how lucky I was, until your Mom got sick. I wish I could go back and just… enjoy it. Savour it. Those moments I spent with your mom where we would just… talk. And be with each other. I wish I could tell myself to appreciate each and every one.” Beca wiped her eyes. “Promise me you’ll do that?”

“Mom, you sound like you’re giving me some goodbye speech.”

Beca smiled and shook her head. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” Riley said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure,” Beca said.

They pulled up outside Beca’s home.

“You want me to walk you in?”

“I’m not that old yet. I love you. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do. I love you too, Mom.”

Beca smiled at her daughter, and leant across the car to kiss her cheek.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Beca said. “I need to pop into town and pick up a prescription.”

“I’ll take you.”

Beca smiled. “You’re a good girl. See you tomorrow.”

Riley waved and watched as her Mom walked into her house and shut the door behind her. She drove to her girlfriend’s, her heart heavy with sadness for her parents.

Maybe tonight she should tell Sarah that she loved her.

It was true, she had always just been too scared to say it.

She wasn’t sure what she was afraid of anymore.

Beca’s house was as quiet as it always was these days.

She made a cup of chamomile tea, and popped open the Thursday PM slot on her pill caddy. She took the handful of pills and swallowed them with a mouthful of tea.

Then she settled herself in her favourite armchair, and turned on some music.

She was tired.

Really tired.

It had been such a long day.

She felt a tightness in her chest, but it wasn’t any worse than usual so she thought nothing of it.

The song changed and the opening notes of Titanium played out.

This was considered an oldie now.

Beca smiled, and closed her eyes as she remembered the first time she sang that song with her wife.

God, what a life they’d had.

She didn’t open her eyes again.

#bechloe #bechloe week #bechloe week 2021 #angst angst and more angst #angst #bechloe angst #old bechloe #bechloe prompt #bechloe fanfiction #bechloe fanfic #bechloe fic #beca #Chloe #beca x chloe #beca mitchell #Chloe Beale #pitch perfect #pitch perfect fanfiction #pitch perfect fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #sad #tearjerker #ijs I definitely cried when I was writing this

[lepusrufus]

Double edged scalpel ch.6

ch.1 ch.2 ch.3 ch.4 ch.5

Summary: It's backstory time!

Mandatory warning since this is not a usual thing on my blog so I think a separate warning would be useful, there will be talk of past abuse and alcohol abuse.

----

"Wakey wakey," came the gruff voice from just outside her bedroom door.

It was slightly muffled but more than enough to make her jolt awake, muscle memory taking over the remnants of sleep. She only had one minute to be out the door. It was more than enough though, her routine perfected over years. Get out of bed. Put socks on. Get shoes. Grab the duffel bag. She slept dressed anyways, ready to go at any time.

Or not?

Where were her clothes?

Nevermind that she had time to put something on. Just grab a shirt and pants from the dresser.

Hurried steps took her over the plush carpet. Wasn't it supposed to be a solid grey? Had her mother swapped it for one of their fancier rugs?

That didn't matter right now. Clothes. She needed clothes. When she got to her dresser she stood there, frowning at the bookshelf that now took its place. She didn't even remember acquiring the tomes in front of her, most of them old and with unfamiliar trinkets surrounding them. That's not how her bedroom was arranged. Why wasn't anything in its place? Was Alex playing a prank on her? No, he wouldn't do that.

Time was almost up and she needed some goddamn clothes and to get out and her head was starting to spin-

"Nicole?"

Her eyes snapped back to the bed she had so hastily vacated, Cassandra looking at her concerned.

From the room's entrance came another familiar voice. Bela. "I only wanted to let you know that Daniela wants to go for a hunt tomorrow." Her eyes were averted and as soon as the words left her lips, she turned and shut the door behind her, not waiting for an answer from her sister.

Confusion mixed in with dizziness, but Nicole let out a quiet oh when she fully realized where she was. Cassandra's bedroom. They came here last night and fell asleep. And she was only wearing underwear.

She went to sit on the edge of the bed, head resting in her hands to try alleviate the fog in her brain. She probably looked like hell, but that was the least of her concerns right now.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Came the uncharacteristically soft voice of Cassandra, who had moved from her spot under the blankets and was gently rubbing her back.

"Uh, nothing," Nicole replied, as if she didn't look ready to puke.

Cassandra only pursed her lips and frowned. "You looked like you simultaneously saw a ghost and were ready to fight a ghost."

She swallowed thickly and forced out a laugh. "Oh are we at "tragic backstory" relationship level now?" It was at best a pathetic attempt to change the subject and at worst annoying.

When she looked back at the brunette she was still frowning, but not in annoyance. Her golden eyes sparked with concern, scrutinizing the redhead's face and body language for any clue as to what was wrong. It sent a pang of guilt through Nicole's chest. She took a deep breath and leaned back into Cassandra's touch, trying to collect her thoughts. Where does one even begin to explain this whole mess?

"Have you ever wondered why I came here? To the village?"

"...Not really," she admitted.

Nicole took another deep breath, pulling the words from her mouth as if she were pulling out teeth with pliers.

"My dad, he…he had a bit of a weird business. We never knew the details of it, he never told any of us and we knew better than to snoop, but I do know it had something to do with drugs and was highly illegal."

Staying in one place proved itself a pesky little task, so Nicole stood up and started to collect her clothes from the floor and started dressing. Cassandra instead remained in the same spot, listening intently.

"With a job like that you make enemies by default. And that made him paranoid beyond belief. When me and Alex, my older brother, were children it wasn't that bad. Worst thing he would do was lock our bedroom doors and refuse to let us attend public school."

She narrowed her eyes at a wall, still not wanting to meet Cassandra's gaze. Now that she said it out loud, not that bad sounded pretty bad too. Whatever.

"It started going downhill when I was around…" She pursed her lips, trying to make her brain put together some semblance of a timeline. "Twelve. Yeah twelve. He came bursting into our bedrooms at 2 a.m. saying that someone with a gun had gotten into our house and wanted to kill us. We were mortified. I remember my mom holding me and Alex in the backseat crying while my dad drove us to his secluded cabin in the woods."

"And that became a habit of his. He'd have us do these drills every once in a while and then scream at us if we didn't do everything in under a minute."

"That's so fucking stupid," Cassandra spat, golden eyes gleaming with anger.

Nicole started pacing back and forth, desperate for a distraction. "Oh I know. And after a few years of this I made sure to tell him exactly how much I thought it was bullshit."

Finally coming to terms with the lack of something to do while she talked, Nicole gave up and went back to the bed. She sat down by Cassandra's side, though still avoiding her eyes.

"Do you know what getting punched in the face feels like?"

Cassandra's expression contorted into a disgusted grimace. With the hand not on Nicole's back rubbing comforting circles, she dug talons into the soft fabric of a blanket. She didn't really have an answer because frankly she didn't know. Her body reacted very differently to physical harm and the few that could hurt her wouldn't go for a stupid punch to the face. Nicole kept on talking though, not really looking for an answer.

"That shut me up for a bit. Key word a bit. When he woke me up on the night before an important test I was pissed. I just thought fuck it and went upstairs to the library. It took him around twenty minutes to find me and when he did… Well, I regretted some life choices."

"I was so done with being there in that house. Though thankfully my parents went on a business trip the next day and Alex was at a friend's for the weekend. I had the whole house to myself and decided to grab one of my mom's vintage wines and just spend the evening on the couch drinking. And that's how I became an alcoholic at the ripe old age of fifteen." She let out a humorless chuckle at the end.

That day was a blur in her mind. The only thing that she vividly remembered was Alex coming home early and finding her blackout drunk on the couch. At the end of the day though, they were both in the same boat. He just grabbed the bottle from her and started to sip away at the remaining wine. Laughing at each other's hangover the next day was the most fun they'd had in ages so it became a habit for the both of them. Every once in a while they'd go into the wine cellar, pick out a bottle and then go drink it in the attic while they pretended their problems didn't exist. It continued well into their college years. Nicole was barely able to recall doing anything during her years in med school that wasn't being drunk or studying.

She groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. That's not where she meant to go with the story. Cassandra placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder brought her enough comfort to try and wrap it up.

"I guess in a sick ironic way my dad was right in the end though," she subconsciously shifted closer to the brunette and she wasted no time in loosely wrapping her arms around Nicole's waist.

"I was three weeks away from completing my residency when I came home from the lab, only to find my mom in a puddle of blood on the living room floor. My brother was in a similar state in his bedroom. My dad was nowhere to be found but I didn't care. It was his fault," she swallowed the lump in her throat and felt tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"I just grabbed my documents and a duffle bag with some clothes and ran. Booked the first flight to Romania to come stay at my grandparents'. Oh except they know what my dad is all about! Told me I had an hour to get some rest and be out of their house as they didn't want any trouble with my dad's people."

"I did grab a fuck ton of my dad's cash though so at least hotels weren't an issue," her words were coming out chocked, occasionally interrupted by sniffles. She rapidly whipped a hand across her face. "Have you ever been to Braşov? Old part of the city is quite lovely."

Cassandra grimaced. She didn't want to interrupt, but seeing Nicole in such a state made something in her unbeating heart ache. She gently wiped the trail of tears from her cheeks and placed a kiss on her temple from where she was sitting half behind Nicole. Then, with the softest voice she could muster, "And how did you meet Duke?"

Nicole's eyes widened slightly, apparently having forgotten that detail.

"Oh I stumbled upon his shop one day. I thought he was selling some neat stuff and he was nice so I kept coming back. One thing led to another and when I found out about a place off the map where no one gets in or out without help I thought it would be the perfect place to hide from the people trying to put a bullet through my head." Then she winced slightly. "I was also mildly tipsy when I made that decision."

Cassandra looked a little incredulous. "And he just brought you here?"

"I paid him."

Cassandra's expression turned to what could only be described as disappointed but not surprised. Then her attention went back on the redhead, glossy eyes fixated on the floor. To say she sucked at comforting others was an understatement. Daniela was far more well versed in the art of making others not feel miserable but she was nothing if not stubborn enough to try.

"Listen," she shifted to sit in front of her, hand placed gently on a wet cheek. "If anyone ever dares come near you with the intention of harming you, I'll make them regret every life choice that led them there. You're safe here." She may not be great with her words, but if Cassandra excelled in anything, it was keeping her loved ones safe. Loved one huh.

Nicole leaned into her touch, finally meeting Cassandra's eyes. There was a gentle kind of determination in her golden gaze, accompanied by a fiery rage that, for once in her life, brought comfort as opposed to terror. It came with the knowledge that it wasn't directed at her but at whoever may want to harm her.

She didn't doubt her words. Instead she shifted closer, face nuzzled in the crook of Cassandra's neck and, barely above a whisper, said: "Thank you."

#unhinged maiden™ my beloved #cassandra dimitrescu x maiden #dimitrescu daughters #resident evil village #fanfic #double edged scalpel