#Jack was smiling while the Flash Family had a shocked face

[nelkcats]

New Speedster

Everyone was aware that Jack Fenton was a wanton driver. It was one of the reasons there was a segment on the news for every time he hit the road. Or when he tried to teach his family the "art of driving"

While the Justice League was investigating Amity Park and its strange events, they came across Lance Thunder's segment, which warned them about the scientist and his bad driving habits, but they didn't take it very seriously thinking it was a personal grudge. This was clearly a mistake.

Months later, when the Flash family visualized the GAV inside the Speedforce they were speechless. Jack seemed to be waving happily before continuing on his way. Wally was left with many doubts in his head and his mouth open. What the hell was going on?

For his part, Jack was excited to have entered a new part of the 'Ghost Zone', even though there were so few ghosts to investigate. He simply considered his GAV to be magical.

#dpxdc #Jack is a speedster #or at least his GAV is #who knows #I just think is funny that he drived fastest than light and entered the Speedforce #dp x dc #dc x dp #Jack was smiling while the Flash Family had a shocked face #maybe Jack have powers after all #he is just bad at using them #or prefers to be a scientist #oh look #the first speedster that destroyed reality before unlocking his powers #with the ghost portal and all #maybe the JL needs to check that

[janeykath318]

A Time Of Need (Shieldshock)

Meeting one’s soulmate was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of a person’s life, and yet, Darcy had spent her life dreading hers because of the words on her right hand.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

What kind of cruel joke was the universe going to play on her? Was she going to meet her soulmate at a funeral?

“You have a sick sense of humor, Universe!” She’d muttered multiple times, while looking at her words with disgust. She’d complained to Jane plenty of times. Her friend was sympathetic, but did her best to put a less depressing spin on it.

“I know it’s not fun circumstances, but I think it’s more common than we think. It just doesn’t get talked about. Hopefully, your soulmate will support you through your future grief. If they don’t, rest assured I will portal their ass to outer space.”

Darcy had chuckled and then sighed.

“Well I appreciate your attempts to cheer me up about it, i just wanted a cheesy meet cute. Was that too much to ask?” she grumbled. “Heck, I’d take a terrible pick up line at this point.”

Fortunately, for Darcy’s wish, funerals were few and far between for her during the busy years interning with Jane, then briefly wrangling Avengers before the world turned upside down.

She was a little surprised that she didn’t meet her soulmate after the snap, but it seemed it wasn’t yet time, because despite the myriad of memorials, no awkward soulmate meeting occurred.

Two years after Thanos, the unthinkable happened.

Why did it have to be Jane? Why? After all the unthinkably crazy stuff she’d lived through, she was taken out by cancer and Darcy was left reeling.

She sat by Thor at the memorial service, doing her best to be supportive even as she felt numbed by the grief herself. She stared at Jane’s picture while Eric eulogized her in long-winded form.

“I am not dying for six college credits!” Memories flashed through her mind from New Mexico, Norway, and London. From Jack-booted thugs and killer robots to Dark elves and visitors from Asgard, they’d had a good run. It would have made a killer memoir if most of it wasn’t classified.

After the service ended, she quietly chatted with Jane’s family for a little bit and shared some funny anecdotes of science mishaps that brought teary smiles to their faces.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thor talking to a tall blonde dude who looked eerily familiar.

Curious, she approached her friend, who turned to her with one of his excited puppy expressions. Her heart melted. She hadn’t seen that look in months. Clearly, Thor’s friend had brought him some comfort.

“Darcy!” He exclaimed. “My shieldbrother Steven came to pay his respects. Have you met him?”

Darcy mutely shook her head, stunned at seeing Steve Rogers in person. He was wearing a dark suit and looked very different from the Captain America she’d seen on the news. It was a good difference, though. He looked like he’d just walked out of a GQ ad.

Thor took it upon himself to introduce her and soon she was shaking the very large hand of the former Captain America.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Dr. Lewis.”

Darcy gaped. There it was. Her Words. The Dreaded moment. She considered fleeing, but the sincerely empathetic way Steve was looking at her held her still. After a few moments of silent panicking, she found her voice and blurted out “I thought you were on the moon or something.”

Steve looked shocked for a second, then he slowly grinned, which sent Darcy back to speechlessness.

“Darcy? Are you okay? I have never known you to go so long without speech,” Thor questioned worriedly.

In answer, she mutely held up her hand, showing them her words. Thor’s eyes widened and he excused himself after patting them both on the back and congratulating them in hearty Thor fashion. Steve nodded and looked at her with another one of those caring looks. She swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances, but I am very happy to meet you,” he said softly. “My words are right here, in case you’re wondering.” He gestured to his left side.

She knew he was ripped under that nice black suit and let a little smirk appear.

“On top of your six pack, I hope?”

“Not quite,” Steve chuckled. “As to your first statement, I am retired and mostly off the grid right now, but I don’t know how the secret base on the moon rumors got started. I suspect Sam and Bucky.”

“A reasonable assumption,” Darcy agreed. “Your friends are goofy like that. Gosh, I can’t believe this. I bet Jane is laughing so hard at me in Valhalla. She tried to set me up with you once upon a time.”

“Oh?” Steve queried, one eyebrow quirking up in interested amusement.

“Yep,” Darcy admitted. “I’d just been dumped and wasn’t ready to try again. But fate prevailed, I see.”

“Yeah, it did. Natasha would have loved this. She talked about you a lot and said you were totally my type.”

“What? A feisty brunette who punches douchebags and has no filter? You’re in for a treat, then, Steve-o.”

She winked at him saucily.

“I think I am.” he agreed.

As she left the funeral home on Steve’s arm, she smiled affectionately at Jane’s picture.

You were right, Janey. Thank You.

Meanwhile In The Afterlife:

“Finally!” Jane crowed triumphantly, pumping her fist and doing the happy dance she’d used to do when celebrating a scientific breakthrough.

“Yes. If only the stubborn mule had listened to me. I could have helped plan their wedding,” sighed Natasha ruefully. “Maybe I’ll finally get a little namesake. I have never forgotten Nathaniel’s betrayal.”

“Hopefully, we’ll both get namesakes,” Jane agreed. “Those kids will have fantastic genes.”

She mimed fanning herself and made Natasha laugh again.

#shieldshock #soulmate au #angsty with a hopeful ending #rip jane foster #darcy lewis #steve rogers #take this canon and shove it

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 8 Ep. 27: Reflections on Romance

The Story of a Family Told in Web Comic Format

---------------------------------------------

Grandpa Chance had warmed up the grill while Peachy was at work, and was the first to meet Jack as the pair of detectives carried bags of ingredients from the kitchen to the yard. Chance took care of introducing their guest around as Peachy happily filled the area with the enticing aroma of grilled food.

After most friends and relatives had come by to collect the fruits of his labor, Peachy brought a plate of kabobs over to Jack to check in on how the boys were treating him. Paul had the whole table discussing the fast-approaching Love Day outing he and Peachy had planned.

They laughed as Jack teased Peachy with a flirty compliment on the plan, surprising him not only with his words, but also the unexpected feelings they stirred inside him.

---------------------------------------------

After extricating himself from family and friends, Peachy sought out the quiet attic balcony to steady his racing mind.

While he’d never thought too much about relationships, he’d never been attracted to any of his male friends and assumed that he’d date female sims when the time came. Jack’s flirty teasing had sparked more interest inside him than Kassandra’s and suddenly upended his expectations.

Maybe it had all just been a misunderstanding between bros. surely Jack didn’t “like” like him… and surely he wasn’t into guys, right?

---------------------------------------------

He’d only been sitting there a few moments when the door opened and he recognized his father’s familiar scent settling down beside him. Steven had seen the look of panic on his son’s face as he’d passed by and come to check on his boy.

For a moment Peachy was tempted to brush his dad off but decided to go in the completely opposite direction. If anyone could help him with this, surely it was a sim who had spent a lifetime in love with love. When a popular romance blogger comes by, you don’t waste the opportunity.

When Peachy outlined a little of his confusion, Steven could offer not just general advice, but quite specific sympathy. Love had taken him by surprise when Peachy’s mom had shocked him at Uncle Spencer’s “Bro Bar Bash”, and she had been just as surprised to find herself interested in a boy.

---------------------------------------------

Steven’s words made Peachy feel much better about wherever his relationship with Jack wound up, although he also began feeling guilty about leaving his friend alone so long among sims who were no doubt being welcoming, but who were also near absolute strangers.

As he returned to the ground floor with his father and got a big comforting hug before they parted, the idea that love often came in surprising forms and the discomfort of meeting strangers were both reinforced by the curious stare of his cousin Toni’s goofy looking island boyfriend.

---------------------------------------------

He found Jack still hanging out with Paul and August, at a table being visited by more friends and family, all passing around August’s art supplies as they took turns adding to the decorations on Paul’s cast. There was now almost no space on Pauls’ protective plaster free of doodles or well wishes.

His friend flashed him a warm smile from the crowd of Peachy’s favorite sims, and the way he seemed to so naturally fit in with the rest made the young man sure that the older detective was the best thing about his new career, even if it meant a little anxiety about their relationship status.

When everyone was finished with the impromptu art session, Peachy invited the whole group inside to catch his favorite late night TV talk show before they all headed back to their various hometowns and houses. It had been lovely to catch up with everyone again.

---------------------------------------------

Late that night, after the last of the guests said their goodbyes, Peachy was pondering the surprises of the day before he turned in for bed. His research after Kassandra’s unexpected flirting had given him lots of labels for various preferences, but he had not been sure which applied to him.

Jack’s flirtation had been confusing and new, but the feelings it triggered felt as real and permanent as his appreciation for girls always had. He was still happy with the freedom of being single, but he was now confident he’d like the freedom to not be single one day too.

---------------------------------------------

Want To See More? View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

#sims 4 #sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 nsb

[lovexjoe]

FLASHING LIGHTS PART 2

Jack’s POV

Since the moment I watched her first interview I’ve had a crush on this women. She’s absolutely beautiful in every single way and just seeing her in front of me just confirms it all. I stood there in shock that she said no, but I understood why. She has a daughter. She’s new to the fame and she doesn’t want to get caught up in it. I’m in the same boat. Since Whats Poppin and Industry Baby came out my numbers have blown through the roof. I’m just trying to keep myself above water, before I drown in these flashing lights. I sighed as I headed back to my seats to watch the rest of the award show. The two seats to the left of Nas was suppose to be for Y/N and her daughter but Nas told me she left early.

“She’s a family girl, fam. She rarely parties! All about her daughter and I love that.” Nas admires and informs me as he notices Im searching for her. I’m crushing bad. Nas picks it up.

“She’s beautiful I know, I’m going to help you! Just don’t go breaking my best friend’s heart.” I put my hands up in defense. She’s not the type I would make sign an NDA. I want shit to be genuine. Slowly get to know each other. Y/N had won for Best New Artist. I was honored to even be nominated in the same category as her. She FaceTimed and they put her on the big screen.

“Thank you guys so so much! I’m so sorry to have left early but the princess was tired.” She shows Elena knocked out sleeping in their bed. She’s such a great mom. After the award show ended I passed on the after party and went home. I had a photo shoot in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N POV

I can’t believe I won Best New Artist. This means the world to me. There was a photo shoot today with me and another upcoming artist. They refused to tell who it was cause it’s a little raunchy from what my manager told me. Elena was with the babysitter/ my best friend for the day. I gave her a kiss goodbye and headed out to the shoot. As soon as I step foot on set, they take me into the dressing room to do hair and makeup. I enjoyed this SOMETIMES. Other times I’m annoyed with so many people in my face trying to make me look presentable.

“Jack Harlow is on set!” I heard in the distance and my heart does a flip. Fuck. I can’t dodge this man at all. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to say yes yesterday but I just can’t risk getting hurt again. My makeup artist told me to strip down completely nude and they wrapped a white sheet around me. It’s one these those photo shoots……..

I make my way to the main setup and there he was in a white button up and grey dress pants. It doesn’t help with him being handsome. Those eyes could swallow me up right now. He gulps as I walk over to him. He clears his throat and smiles.

“Hey Y/N”

I make him nervous……

Might as well tease him……

~~~~~

The photographer explains that this idea hasn’t been presented in a while. He wanted them to be comfortable and in love as possible. Y/N mentally smirks because she knows she’s gonna tease him as much as possible. Jack mentally cursed because he’s not trying to be bricked up during the photo shoot. She’s so beautiful. Everything like a goddess. He wish she would say yes. Maybe he could convince her.

He gets on the floor as instructed, then Y/N lays against his chest. They both look at the camera all sultry and the photographer was milking it. Gushing that they look amazing together. Y/N places her left arm over his left shoulder to play with the hairs on the back of his neck. His right arm pulls her closer to him.

He whispers in her ear

“I know exactly what you’re doing. You’re playing with fire.” She bites her lip in response. They stand up, Jack unexpectedly lifts her up and she laughs. His manager laughing in the background because all their photos are coming out perfect. Nas pops in a few minutes later and Y/N felt a relief.

“Alright give my baby a break cause her bestie is here!” Nas gives her a hug. Everyone agreed to a lunch break. Jack figured Nas was here to help him and he was. Y/N left to grab a robe.

“I’m not going to lie you two look great together.” He sips on a soda that was complementary.

“Bro Im trying not to be bricked up. She’s purposely teasing me” Jack blushes. Nas informs him that she’s very flirtatious so now is the best time to make her say yes. She comes back with a banana in her mouth. Both of them looking at her insane.

“Fuck you guys. I’m on a diet until Saturday.” She pouts. Y/N was very strict about her figure. It had to do with the post partum depression after having Elena. Her ex constantly told her, her body wasn’t the same as before without realizing she sacrificed her body to birth a child. Nas does an awkward cough and excuses himself with a “phone call”

Jack turns to her

“Go out with me. Listen just as friends. I really want to get to know you.” He keeps eye contact. Fuck.

Y/N POV

THIS is his thing. The eye contact. Staring into someone’s soul. I’m melting already and before I could refuse my mouth was already saying yes.

“Fine. Don’t! Get any ideas” I pointed my finger to him and he promised that it was genuine. We headed back to the set to finish up. The photographer pulled me aside to ask me if I was okay with this one last picture. A kiss?

I shouldn’t……

I should.

His manager gave the thumbs up to surprise him. These pictures are gonna blow the internet up. Fuck it. I walked over to him as he was seated in a black chair. I climbed onto his lap, his hands immediately on my waist.

“You’re so handsome” I said softly. Truly admiring his face. His cheeks turn red and I felt his legs shuffle slightly under me. How do I have an effect on him like this? No one’s ever acted like this with me. Without much thought I pulled him in for a kiss.

~~~~

Nas came back in time and everyone was cheering. It was his idea after all and this was for sure going to be a fan favorite. The two kissed slow and sensual as if they didn’t want the moment to be over. Jack couldn’t believe it was happening but he wasn’t going to stop. Her lips were so soft. She couldn’t deny how much she liked that kiss. As they pull away they look into each other’s eyes for a minute. Y/N snaps herself out of it. She quickly thanks everyone and heads over to her dressing room.

She hasn’t felt butterflies in a while. It felt sinful. She didn’t want to give in. As she gets dressed she convinced herself that sneaking out through the back door was the best option. This was just for business and that’s it. She gets in her car and drives off.

(Hope you guys like it🦋)

#jack harlow #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow smut #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow blurb

[stratiotis-nth]

The few times Cas spoke about his true form, Dean had always imagined some terrifying robed creature with a bazillion heads and rotating rings and fifty giant wings from different animals. He imagined mighty beings that embodied the idea of God’s warriors. Cas once said his true form was size of the Chrysler building, and Dean had had to hide just how impressive the angel was despite looking and acting like a total dork. Cas as Cas was intimidating enough, but Castiel—the Chrysler-sized warrior of divinity—sounded terrifying and majestic all at the same time.

But apparently, Cas had omitted a few details. He had neglected to tell Dean that little bits of his true form lingered with him while he was in human form, some additions that couldn’t be seen but existed with him in another plane of reality.

So imagine Dean’s shock when he’s on a case and accidentally uses the holy fire glasses in his insurance company disguise. He didn’t even realize the difference until Cas joined him and Sam to help.

They were dealing with a Shifter who had been killing old people in a wealthy neighborhood in upstate New York. Cas, a fully functioning angel again, had offered to help when Sam and Dean realized they were up against a Shifter duo instead of a loner.

Sam was out getting grub when Cas appeared in the motel room with a whoosh of wings. Dean knew how much Cas had missed flying, and even he had missed hearing him announce his presence with that characteristic whoosh.

“Hey Cas.” Dean greeted without looking up from the laptop.

“Hello, Dean.” Was the usual response. He flicked his gaze up to Cas briefly, peering over the rim of the glasses he hadn’t bothered taking off. Dean did a double take when he caught a flash of black within the glasses’ lens. Frowning, he pushed the frames up his nose until he could squint through them properly. A sharp intake of breath caught in his throat.

“Dean?”

Cas’ voice floated through his mind but he couldn’t process it. He stared at the Castiel revealed through the lens, abso-fucking-lutely floored.

A pair of black wings, ones Dean had only ever seen the shadow or scorched remains of before, were folded neatly against Cas’ back. As the afternoon sunlight hit the feathers, Dean could see them shimmering and reflecting all the colors of the rainbow subtly. The feathers looked spun of night sky and stardust, light as clouds but dense and powerful was cooling lava. Dean had a really, really strong urge to run his fingers through them. They looked like they’d make his fingers tingle with lightning.

Alongside the wings, the other newly revealed part of Cas was his halo. He had never mentioned one before, so Dean had just assumed halos were just another one of those things crazy Christians made up. But apparently, angels did had halos, because there was a thin ring of glowing light surrounding Cas’ head like a circlet, hovering above his ears and just a few inches away from his hair and forehead. It gleamed an ethereal pale gold, almost white, light. As he looked at it closer, he noticed a few gaps in the ring, like jagged cracks where pieces had fallen away. Were they supposed to be like that?

Dean was so shocked that he wondered how the hell he was even seeing these parts of Cas now. It took him a moment for his sluggish brain to piece together that he must had accidentally taken the holy fire glasses instead of another fake pair.

“Dean? Are you alright?”

He blinked, still taking in the halo and wings, and cleared his throat. Cas was frowning at him in concern, his head tilted adorably to the side. The halo drifted and followed a half second behind his movement.

“Uh—“ a strangled noise escapes Dean’s throat. His fingers itched to dig themselves into those feathers, to trace that halo and try to feel the warmth of light. He swallowed thickly, his throat clicking. The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Are there supposed to be cracks in that thing?”

Cas blinked at him, thoroughly confused. A split second later, his face both flushed and paled at the same time. Dean worried the sudden blood flow would make him pass out, but then he remembered Cas was an angel.

“Those glasses have been burned in holy fire, haven’t they?” He asked, his wings tucking more firmly against his back like he was trying to hide them.

“Uh, uh yeah.” He stammered, wondering if he should say something to ease Cas’ obvious insecurity. “Grabbed ‘em by accident.”

Cas shuffled his feet awkwardly, the light of his halo dimming shyly. He obviously wasn’t going to offer any information unless Dean pressed a little more.

“So?” He managed to sound somewhat casual, even though his heart was beating loudly in his ears. “What’s with the missing pieces?”

“Ah.” Cas rumbled in his low voice. He avoided Dean’s eyes, his chipped halo floating after every movement of his head. “Well, to angels, the halo represents purity and devotion to God. It is the manifestation of each angel’s divinity. When Lucifer rebelled against Heaven, his halo was shattered as a sign of disgrace and he was banished to Hell. Other angels like Gabriel and Anna had a chip broken off because they rejected Heaven and their loyalties were to their own well-being. Angels cannot exist fully if their halos are damaged, but because Gabriel was an archangel and Anna became human, they were exceptions.”

Dean frowned. But Cas had way more than one piece missing and he was still alive and still an angel.

“So how come you’re still around?” He asked, waving a hand at Cas’ cracked halo.

“Because I was created already broken.” The words, delivered in a flat, emotionless tone, still cut through Dean’s heart. That wasn’t true. Cas wasn’t broken. He was just Cas. Perfectly fine the way he was. “As you have heard from many angels and Chuck himself, I came off the line with a crack in my chassis. I was created to be flawed.”

“Cas…” Dean began, trying to find the words to tell him that it wasn’t true, that everything Naomi and Chuck had told him was a lie.

“It’s alright, Dean.” Cas said gently, glancing at him for the first time since the conversation started. “When Jack restored me to my full power I asked to keep the cracks I bear. Not as an punishment.” he added, somehow interpreting the frown flashing across Dean’s face. “but as proof that angels can exist with their flaws and still do good things. That they can still protect humanity, as was their reason for existence.”

Well, when he put it that way, Dean really couldn’t protest. It was very Cas-like of him to not give a single fuck about being perfect and defying everything anyone has ever known by doing it his way.

“But I am sorry.”

That made Dean snap his head up sharply, looking at Cas in surprise.

“For what?” He asked incredulously.

“For forcing you to see me like this.” Cas’ wings spread out momentarily before being tucked tightly against his back again, hiding their magnificence from Dean. He hated that. He hated that Cas thought Dean wouldn’t want to see him like this, one step closer to his true form, to the real Castiel. “I understand it was undoubtedly shocking and unsettling, but if I could hide these parts of myself from those glasses, I would for your sake.”

“No.” Dean snapped vehemently, jumping to his feet and jabbing a finger at Cas. He hated that Cas believed the things he was saying. How could he not be awestruck by him, by his beautiful wings and perfectly flawed halo? “Shut the fuck up, Cas.”

Cas’ face fell even further than before, the corners of his mouth ticking down and his eyes falling downcast. He looked so…rejected. It cut right through Dean’s heart again, and he scrambled to fix it before they fell victim to miscommunication again.

“Cas.” Dean said firmly, ducking down to catch his gaze. Like a moth to light, that piercing blue gaze fixed on green and followed them up. “I ain’t unsettled. Shocked, but in a really good way.”

Cas looked frowned, confused. Dean plowed on.

“Dude, don’t be ashamed of who you are. Your wings and halo…they look awesome, man. Seriously. You look badass.”

Cas’ lips parted in shock. Dean nervously fidgeted with a pen he had forgotten was in his hands, tapping it against his palm as he struggled to find the right words.

“You ain’t broken or flawed—you’re just Cas. My—“

Best friend didn’t cut it anymore. They had gone through too much together to be best friends. Brothers didn’t sit right either. Dean didn’t feel the same things for Cas as he did Sam (it made him shudder in disgust just thinking about his little brother like that). Dean knew what it was like to lose Cas and Sam—Sam, he had lost his family, his blood. Cas, Dean had lost a part of his soul.

“—you’re my—“

Dean wanted—needed—to say the words. But nothing fit, nothing felt right. No word could describe just what Cas was to him.

“—you’re my angel, Cas. And I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

Cas just stared at him with another one of those soul searching gazes. Even when he was human, Dean felt he could still see straight through him, searching for deception or lies and every time never finding one.

There was a small, awed smile on Cas’ face, and before Dean could register what was happening, Cas gently cupped the back of his neck and pulled Dean down. Soft, chapped lips pressed briefly against his forehead, warm and sweet and grateful. They were gone a moment later, and so was Cas’ hand.

“Thank you, Dean.” He said softly after a while. “I appreciate it.”

Dean blinked and nodded stiffly. His entire body was shaking, aching to feel that warmth again. “Don’t…yeah, don’t mention it, Cas. I just…you gotta know the truth.”

Cas’ wings were fluffed up a bit, and they twitched against his back like they were itching to spread out. His halo was glowing much brighter than before, matching his smile.

“I have always been honored to be by your side, Dean, but it is nice to hear that you consider me yours.”

There was a lump in his throat that muted his voice. He nodded, shivering when he felt the cool, electrified tingling brush of a feather run down his arm and the warmth of light as Cas’ halo grew brighter.

“Always have. Cas.” He murmured, staring down at the pen clutched between his trembling fingers. He could feel Cas’ smile grow, and the primary feather of his wings brushed against his arm with a little more intent.

“As have I.” His response was so quiet that Dean almost didn’t hear it. But a shiver ran down his spine nonetheless. There was something different in the air, now that there were these confessions in the open. It wasn’t quite like a straightforward declaration that Dean was Cas’ and Cas was Dean’s, but it was pretty damn close. It was just a soft, gentle confirmation of how they had felt about each other since Cas pulled Dean from Hell all those years ago.

The quiet, peaceful moment between them was effectively shattered when they both heard the motel door open and Sam come barging through. They both jumped apart. They might have confessed…something between them…but that didn’t mean they were at all comfortable letting Sam see them in such an intimate moment.

“Uhhh…” Sam came to an abrupt halt as he took in Dean and Cas all but throwing themselves in opposite directions. “did I…?”

“No.” both Dean and Cas said quickly. They faltered and fell silent. Sam glanced between them hesitantly, like they were a bomb about to go off. Dean peeked over at Cas, noticing how his wings were fluffed up almost twice their size, his cheeks burning when he noticed Dean had noticed.

“Riiiight.” Sam said. “Well…there’s uh…been another body. I was gonna grab you and go…?”

“Yeah.” Dean said immediately, straightening up. “Let’s go.”

Cas looked like he wanted to protest—or force Sam to leave so they could deal with twelve years of tension—but Dean pointedly sent a prayer his way.

Tonight. Promise.

Cas’ wings fluffed up even more, his halo’s light shone so brightly it poked Dean’s eyes, and his face was redder than a tomato.

Dean grinned before grabbing his keys.

“See ya at the crime scene, angel.” He said before ducking out of the motel room.

“Is Cas okay?” Sam asked when they were in Baby.

“Oh yeah.” Dean grinned smugly, already looking forward to tonight. “He’s definitely okay.”

He’s got a chipped halo and beautiful wings that had once been burned to bone.

He’s Dean’s angel. He’s perfect.

#this was a lot longer than i thought it would be #but i’m a sucker for cas with a halo and wings #dean would be so floored to see cas like that #supernatural #cas #castiel #destiel #spn #casdean #dean is bi #dean winchester #deancas #love confessions #destiel confession #destiel fandom #destiel fanfic

[zackcrazyvalentine]

can i request malleus and reader’s future child time travelling to meet their parents when they still go to nrc pls 🙏 i just really think this is cute eeeEE

Heehee~ This prompt is always a fun one to see in fandoms

-- -- --

A bright light, the sensation of falling, a scream being torn from their throat, and finally, landing.

"U-U… U'cl Lilia..? P-Papa..?" They sniffled, hugging their trusty dragon plush close. "I-I don kno…" Tears stung their big round eyes.

The small one took some shaky breaths, wiping away the tears with their sleeves. This was somewhere unknown, somewhere outside of Valley of Thorns, so they should not let their guard down to cry.

Little feet began to walk, mesmerized by the seven looming figures surrounding them. "Ah! Gweat Wi'ch!" Their pace quickened once the horned figure crossed their line of sight.

Innocent to the onlookers' eyes, the toddler babbled words and letters engraved on the statue's pedestal.

"What is a child doing here?" Ace asked.

"Since when do kids visit this school? Aren't they too young to be on a school trip?" Jack threw the tiny figure a sideways glance.

Deuce was somewhat unsettled, "Are they lost? Didn't they wipe away tears?"

Ace snickered, "Say, Deuce, don't ya wanna be a policeman? They help lost kids~... Why don't you practice for the future?"

The blue haired glared at his friend, but before a retort could be said, Jack parted from the group.

"O-Oi, what do you think you're doing?!" Ace exclaimed in surprise.

However, their whole motions were stopped when a certain pistachio haired boy entered the scene.

"Just what do you think you're doing, child?! Show more respect to the great Witch of Thorns!" Sebek speedwalk directly to where the (now scared) kid stood.

"What are you doing touching her statue with dirty hands?! And reading her accomplishments in disarray?! Were you not taught proper manners, to respect the Great Seven?!" As Zigvolt droned on with his scolding, the child's eyes filled with tears once more.

"U'cl Sebe doodoo head!" They wailed, letting their tears roll.

"What was that?!?!" The irritated first year yelled.

Jack resumed his stride, but stopped a few steps away due to the high pitched cries bothering his sensitive ears. Ace, Deuce and Epel stood in shock at the scene. "U’cl? ...Uncle?"

Running steps interrupted the scene “Sebek, what is wrong with you? Screaming at a small child?!” [Name] rushed in, standing between the kid and Zigvolt.

“M-Mo…! Mo!!” The young one immediately hugged the legs of who was standing in front of them.

“But I simply-!” “Oh, hush now! Stop yelling, lest you wanna upset the kid more.” They quickly interrupted whatever the exalted first year wanted to say.

The [hair color] bent down to lift the toddler, “Uh… Hello there, little one! Are you lost? Did you come here with someone?” They spoke gently after helping wipe the tears away.

“N-No… no lost, Moddy wid me naw. U’cl Lilia…” At the mention of Diasomnia’s vice leader, everyone had wide eyes.

“Lilia? You came with...for Lilia?” They tried to coax more information out, but the little one only leaned onto their shoulder and wrapped the unoccupied arm around the student’s neck.

As if on cue (and spooking all grown ups in the process), Vanrouge appeared. “Mentioned my name?”

Immediately, the infant turned to look at the bat. “U’cl Lilia! Upu upu!” They made grabby hands and, of course, Lilia complied.

“What an adorable whippersnapper! You have such wonderful green eyes! That look awfully familiar…” The fae stopped his tickling to recall where he had seen those bright eyes. A sudden flash of baby Malleus with big tears in his eyes crossed the old bat’s mind.

“Master Lilia, what matters do you have with a child?” Sebek questioned.

“Ah, huh… I’m about to find out.” He answered, turning to walk away, but was stopped by displeased groans. “Mo! M-Moddy!” A sob accompanied the kid’s cries, arms outstretched towards [Name].

Tiny hand wrapped around bigger fingers as the one they called out came closer. Lilia understood, “[Name], can you be a dear and follow me? Seems like our visitor here doesn’t want to let you go.”

They snapped out of it, “O-Oh! Certainly.” There was something about holding that small hand that brought forth warmth in their heart.

Before they tailed the 3rd year, they stopped and whispered to Jack, “Inform the Headmaster. Whoever this child is needs to go back home securely and quickly.” The 1st year nodded.

As they made their way towards wherever Lilia led them, child and [1st/2nd/3rd] year student bonded. Playing hide and seek, singing lullabies, asking questions about the kid’s trusty dragon companion, anything to make sure they were distracted and wouldn’t get scared by anyone or anything around them (especially once arriving at the dark Diasomia dorm).

“Old Man… [Name]-san, and a child..?” Silver greeted the group, perplexed at the scene.

The fae smiled as if there was nothing unusual, "Evening, Silver hair! Do you happen to know where Malleus is?"

"Uh-..huh… I believe he’s in his room." He decided not to ask questions, although his face told of his clear confusion.

"Wonderful! Let us go to our destination, then. [Name], do come with."

"As you say. Keep leading the way, please."

“Shi’va, ba-by~!” Tiny hands waved at the boy who slowly returned the gesture. “What is going on? They knew..my name?”

Once standing in front of Malleus' chamber, Vanrouge knocked on the door. A click of the door unlocking and opening was the only answer. This gesture made the toddler perk up.

"Malleus! How many more times have I need to tell you to signal the visitor they have permission to enter? Don't just open the door with magic." Lilia let himself in, "Apologies for his manners, [Name]. This is the one antic I couldn't drive out of him."

Draconia rolled his eyes as he continued tending to his virtual pet.

"Papa!" Again, small arms stretched towards the figure before him.

The dragon prince became curious at the youthful voice and looked towards the door. He was met with the sight of Lilia carrying a child while [Name] stood beside them.

"Tell me you didn't steal this one, Lilia. I don't want history to repeat itself--"

"Silence, you… No, this one was wandering NRC until Sebek and his friends found them." Pout turned into a smile as the bat took Gao Gao-kun from Malleus' hands and replaced it with the child, "Now I think I've deciphered what happened."

"Papa, papa! Gao!" The little one said, placing their toy on Malleus' face.

He only duck away from the plush, "Papa? No child, I believe you're mistaken."

"Oh no, they're absolutely not mistaken~!" Lilia giggled, "It appears our visitor here is accidentally a time traveler. Probably got in the way of a spell and ended up here."

"Time traveler?" The other two occupants of the room said, startled in their own levels.

"Indeed. Want to know the interesting part of this?" The younger students looked at each other in slight confusion, nodding at last.

"This child… has vibrant green eyes, a head of [texture] [color] hair, and if you touch their crown, you can distinctly feel two little hard bumps…" While the bat described the little one's appearance, [Name] moved to stand close to Malleus and the kid.

"In case that rings no bells," Vanrouge continued, "I shall uncover the truth… Dear [Name], Malleus… I believe with all my mythical intuition that this is a whippersnapper of your own."

“Of our own…?” Draconia echoed.

“Our kid?” [Eye color] looked into two pairs of lime green.

“Papa, moddy! Gao!” As if sensing the mood, giggles escaped their mouth after their parents reunited.

Sparks and butterflies ignited two hearts after hearing their beloved (future) child giggle so merrily.

“I-! I- ugh… ahaha~ Well, would you look at that?” A blush erupted on the [1st/2nd/3rd] year’s face, “Ahem… looks like we’re more than highschool sweethearts, huh?”

The crown prince could only bring his child closer, embracing him tenderly in his warmth. “If… Only if you allow us to be more than that. The future can always be changed.” Malleus looked at them, both of them, with fondness.

“How do you expect me to change opinions when you’re both so darn cute, ya big lizard?!” [Name] internally squealed and aww’d at their future family. Emotions so colorful, they went over and joined the hug.

Lilia smiled brightly at the small family, “My Queen, My King… I know both of you surely are proud of your son, wherever you may be now.” A melancholic sigh left him, “I shall take my leave. Time travel issues can be resolved later, let them bask in happiness.”

[END♡]

-- -- --

OMG HOPE THIS WASN’T SUPER CONFUSING TO KNOW WHEN I REFERRED TO READER AND TO THE KID AAAAA Sorry if many “the child/kid/[X] year student” were used! Was the only way I could think of working around this

Thank you for the request! We all know Silver, Sebek and Lilia will definitely be part Malleus’ kids’ family, so of course the baby here knows their name :b

(lol sorry for the terrible baby talk too, idk with what sounds do kids struggle with the most when learning to talk) (ALSO!!! supposedly “moddy” is a gender neutral term for parents, a mix of “mommy” & “daddy”)

#march 2021 special #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #malleus draconia #malleus draconia x reader #zack writes #soul cuddle #request pavilion

[dccomicsimagines]

Study Help - Tim Drake x Reader - Part Two

Warning - Adult Content Ahead -NSFW

Part One

Requested by @sannevd5​ - Can there be a Study Help Tim Drake x Reader part 2 where they get revenge on Damian

***

You glanced over at Tim who was fast asleep in the passenger seat. Your hands gripped the steering wheel and you focused on the road. You widened your eyes to keep them open. Exhaustion weighed on you. Finally, the manor came into view. “We’re here,” you whispered, nudging Tim with your elbow.

Tim jerked awake. “What? Is it the baby?” He glanced around in a panic, wiping the drool off his chin. You snorted and peeked back at the sleeping baby in the backseat. 

“He’s fine, Timmy. Sleeping like his daddy.” You laughed. Baby Jack was fast asleep, probably tired from crying the night away last night.

“Are you okay?” Tim said, touching your arm. He had that protective look on his face again. 

“I’m fine.” You smiled at him and opened your window to type in the code once you pulled up to the gate. “You were the one who was up with Jack all night.”

Tim rubbed his eyes. “I was up anyway though, and you didn’t actually sleep, you were with me the whole time.” 

You shrugged, pulling up the driveway once the gate opened. “Still, I’m fine, Tim.” Tim squeezed your hand tightly. You wondered if he would ever stop being overprotective of you. Apparently, being kidnapped by Ra’s al Ghul for two months during your pregnancy was enough to keep Tim on edge permanently. You parked the car. 

Tim rushed out of the car and ran to your side to open the door. You smiled, rolling your eyes. “What? It’s the least I could do since you drove,” Tim said. You opened the back door to gather up Jack while Tim grabbed the bags. 

“Master Tim, Miss (Y/N), welcome.” Alfred opened the front door.

“Hello, Alfred.” You hurried up the stairs and hugged him with one arm. Jack was smashed between you, but he didn’t even stir. 

Alfred laughed, hugging you back before pulling away to get a good look at Jack. “Well, look at Master Jack. He’s grown so much.” 

“Well, it’s been one month,” you said, handing Jack over to Alfred. “He was up all night like he is every night, so he’s sleeping like a log.” 

Tim struggled with the bags. You turned to help him. “Oh, so it looks like Master Jack is a night owl like the rest of the family.” Alfred beamed, looking very much like a proud grandfather. 

“Unfortunately, he got that from Tim.” You and Tim headed inside. 

“Har, har.” Tim kissed your cheek. “I’ll run our bags to our room.” You and Tim were staying for the weekend at Bruce’s insistence. 

“Where’s everyone?” You closed the door once Alfred was in. He rocked Jack, who was kicking one foot in his sleep. 

Alfred hummed. “Master Bruce is downstairs.” You smiled, knowing Alfred meant he was in the Batcave. “Master Damian and his friend are in his room.”

You froze. “His friend?” You smirked. “Is this the one who we think they are dating, but Damian keeps denying it?” 

“Yes.” Alfred shook his head. He wrinkled his nose and shifted Jack in his arms. “It feels like Master Jack needs a changing.” 

“Oh, I’ll do it.” You took Jack back, realizing Tim took the diaper bag upstairs with him. “I’ll be back, Alfred.” You headed up the stairs. Outside of Damian’s door, you paused. You swore you heard the moans inside. Glee filled you. Was this the time? Would you finally get your revenge?

You hurried to the bedroom. Tim looked up as you entered, confused by the grin on your face. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing’s wrong.” You handed Jack to Tim. “Change him for me and meet me in Damian’s room.” 

“Why?” Tim frowned. “(Y/N), are you planning something?”

“Timmy, there comes a time where opportunity rings and we have to answer.” You kissed his lips passionately before pulling away. 

“(Y/N).” Tim gasped, glancing down at Jack who woke up fussing. 

You grinned at him. “Just meet me there in a few minutes.” You left the room and hurried back down to Damian’s room. The moans were still there, louder and more intense than before. You smirked, knocking on the door. “Damian, I just wanted to say hi.” 

You opened the door without warning. A laugh threatened to escape you, but you swallowed it to play this straight. Damian and his friend flipped around under the covers in a similar way Tim always did when Damian interrupted you. The shoe really was on the other foot.

“Oh, you must be Damian’s friend. I heard so much about you.” You came over to stand next to the bed. The friend’s face was flushed and they hid their face under the covers. “A little shy? That’s okay. I’m Damian’s sister-in-law.” You grinned at Damian who was death glaring at you. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N) Drake.” 

“We were busy.” Damian snarled. 

“Were you?” You blinked innocently, but you could see Damian’s eyes flash. He didn’t buy it and knew exactly what you were doing. 

Tim wandered inside, eyes widening when he took in Damian and his friend in the bed with you standing beside him. Jack gurgled in his arms.  “(Y/N), did you just...” 

“Hi baby.” You took Jack from Tim, ignoring Tim’s protest. Kissing the top of Jack’s head, you glanced between Damian and his friend. “You two should be careful, having fun has consequences.” A dangerous smirk came to your lips. “You might get kidnapped by Ra’s or...” You glanced down at Jack. 

Damian lunged for you, but Tim stepped in front of you and quickly ushered you out of the room. “Okay, enough now. It was nice meeting you,” Tim said, blushing redder than his Red Robin suit. He pulled you back to his old bedroom. “What the hell was that about, (Y/N)?”

You laughed, sitting down on the bed with Jack nuzzling against your chest. “Revenge is sweet, Timmy. So sweet.” 

“Revenge? What kind of revenge involves walking in on Damian while he and his friend...” Tim choked, traumatized. 

“Oh stop it. You didn’t see anything.” You closed your eyes and rested your head against the headboard. “He interrupted us so many times. Using Bruce, Dick, Steph, even Jason to ruin our moments. It was only fair I would do it to him.” 

Tim took a breath. You opened your eyes to see him struggling not to laugh. “Still, now he’s probably going to stab you.” 

You smiled. “He wouldn’t dare with you around.” Tim’s shoulders straightened as you stoked his ego. He came around the bed and crawled in next to you. You leaned into him, ignoring Jack’s drool soaking into your shirt. 

Your eyes grew heavy. “Take a nap. You need your rest,” Tim whispered in your ear. His arm cradled yours to support Jack as you fell fast asleep.

***

“Look how much he’s grown,” Bruce said. You handed Jack off to him before taking a seat at the dining room table.

“I know. Sometimes it’s like he grows an inch every day.” You smiled when Tim came over to pour your drink. Alfred came out of the kitchen with dinner.

Bruce rocked Jack. Jack gurgled at him, waving his arm around wildly. Damian stalked into the room. His glare darker than death. You just smiled sweetly at him. 

“Master Damian, where is your friend? Are they not joining us?” Alfred asked.

“No, they went home. They couldn’t face this monstrosity again.” He pointed at you. 

Tim tensed, setting down the pitcher and leaning in front of you. You wanted to laugh, but you held it in. It would just set Damian off and Tim would have to defend you. 

“Damian,” Bruce snapped sharply, narrowing his eyes at his son. “That is uncalled for.”

“Uncalled for?!” Damian threw his arms up in the air. “That harlot ruined...” He stopped, blushing slightly when he realized what he was about to admit. A snicker escaped you. Damian’s eyes flashed and he lunged for you. Tim blocked him, pushing him back.

“Knock it off, Damian. It’s not like you haven’t done it to us.” Tim’s shoulders straightened into a defensive pose. “And that’s my wife you’re talking about. Don’t ever call her that again.” 

You got to your feet to take Jack back from Bruce when he started to fuss at the raised voices. “I think someone’s hungry. I’ll go feed him. You can start dinner without me,” you said calmly and quickly leaving the room. Tim was right behind you.

Entering the kitchen, you fed Jack, sitting at one of the stools by the counter. Tim hovered in full overprotective mode. “I told you he would explode like that.” 

“Of course, he doesn’t like it when others get revenge on him,” you said, smiling down at Jack as he ate. “He’s always been entitled.” 

Tim hummed in agreement. He sat on the stool next to you. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “Can you believe he almost admitted to having sex in front of Bruce and Alfred?” 

“I know.” You laughed. “I almost lost it there, but I knew he would just go off the deep end.” 

Alfred came into the kitchen with two full plates. “I figured you two should eat while it’s hot. Besides, I think some distance would be good.” He set them on the counter. 

“I’m sorry for causing trouble, Alfred.” You looked at him with genuine apology.

“It is alright, Miss (Y/N). After all, he did ask for it.” Alfred smiled somewhat mischievously before leaving.  

“I think you are Alfred’s favorite.” Tim took a bite of his food first. He moaned before feeding you a bite. 

The food melted in your mouth. “Maybe or he’s just happy we stopped Damian from having unprotected sex.” 

Tim almost spit out his food. “How did you know that?”

“Please. There’s a reason they went really red when I mentioned consequences.” You ate with your free hand since Tim was still in a state of shock. “It’s not like anyone gave him the sex talk. I mean you knew nothing.” 

Tim blushed. “True.” He cleared his throat. “But you knew.”

“Also true, but that doesn’t mean that Damian’s friend knows.” You put Jack to your shoulder to burp him. He spit up a little. You wrinkled your nose when you felt it slide down your back. “Tim, if you could grab a napkin please.”

Tim blinked. “Oh.” He grabbed a napkin and stood to clean up your back as Jack started to fuss. You bounced him, calming him down. Tim sat back down and went back to eating.

“You know, there is another way we could add to our revenge.” You smirked and kissed Jack’s head. “Can we call Dick after dinner?”

Tim’s jaw dropped. “Now that’s too mean.” Tim shook his head. “We couldn’t. Damian would really stab you after that.” 

You shrugged. “He can try.” You got to your feet to walk Jack around the kitchen so he would fall back to sleep. “Besides, this is a good thing. We don’t need Damian to get into the kind of trouble we got into.”

“The trouble you’re currently holding?” Tim took the last bite of his food. He got up and offered to take Jack from you. “Go back to eating, sweetheart.”

You smiled, kissing Tim’s cheek. “I love you.” Jack went over to his father calmly and you sat down to eat your cool food. You watched Tim walk around with his son. Your heart melted into a pile of goo and you couldn’t imagine loving them both more.

***

“What are you doing up?” Bruce asked, poking his head into the den. You flinched in surprise, causing Jack to start screaming again. 

“Oh, my son’s colic triggered again.” You got up to walk him around the room with your eyes closed. Bruce’s presence stayed by the door as you walked the path you memorized hours before. 

“Tim should be up in a few minutes.” Bruce’s warm, strong hand rested on your shoulder, stopping you. “Go to bed, I’ll take care of Jack.” 

Your eyes snapped open and you spun to look at Bruce in compete shock. “What? You’ll take care of Jack?”

Bruce chuckled. “I do know how to take care of a baby. Besides, at this point, I wouldn’t be able to sleep worrying about you walking around with your eyes closed.”

“I guess I am pretty tired.” You handed Jack over, but you couldn’t leave the room. “Am I a bad parent? I can’t leave him.”

“No, you’re not, but it’s okay to accept help once and a while. He’ll be safe with me and I promise if I need anything, I’ll get Alfred.” Bruce pushed you toward the door where Tim stood watching the exchange with the same surprise you had moments before. “Tim, take her to bed before she falls down.” 

You stared back at Jack as Tim wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you out of the room. “He’ll be fine. Come on,” Tim whispered in your ear. 

“Okay, okay.” Tears filled your eyes. “I’m a bad parent, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not.” Tim squeezed your hip. “But you need a break. We both need a break.” Tim kissed your cheek. You stumbled on the stairs, but Tim caught you and scooped you up into his arms. “Woah, there.” Your head fell limply on Tim’s shoulder.

“Sorry.” You mumbled, opening your eyes to see Damian watching you and Tim from the bottom of the stairs. His expression bewildered and confused. “Hi, Damian. How was patrol?” 

Tim tensed, turning around to face Damian himself. You had to roll your head to keep him in your eyesight. “TT.” He frowned at you and Tim.

“Sorry about embarrassing your friend, Damian, but it was nice for the shoe to be on the other foot for once,” you mumbled.

“Hush.” Tim bounced you slightly in his arms. “Don’t piss him off now.” 

“He won’t get mad. I apologized.” You waved at Damian, focusing on Tim. “Can we go back to Jack now? I’m a bad parent for leaving him.” 

Tim sighed. “No, we’re going to bed, sweetheart. You’re not thinking straight.” Tim turned to head up the stairs with you. Damian watched the two of you go with a blank expression. 

You let your head rest on Tim’s shoulder as he bumped the bedroom door open with his hip. He laid you down on the bed. You melted into it. “Tim, why can’t we have fun anymore?” 

“We have fun.” Tim kissed your forehead. You sighed, hearing him pull away to move around the room. 

“No, we don’t. We just sleep all the time and take care of Jack.” You kept your eyes closed. Your body limp as Tim crawled into bed next to you and pulled you into his arms.

Tim kissed the corner of your mouth. “We will someday. This is just one of the hard parts, but that’s why we came to the manor, so we can get some help.”

You opened your eyes to look at him. “Wait, I thought Bruce invited us over?”

“He did after I asked for help.” Tim tightened his arms around you. “I’m worried about you. You’re a great mother and you give it your all, but you’re so tired.” He kissed your nose. “We need some rest.”

“You always need rest,” you said, closing your eyes and sighing in relief. Tim was right, you weren’t a failure as a parent. You just needed help and a break.

Tim chuckled. “True. Good night, sweetheart.” 

You hummed, feeling yourself slipping into the nothingness of sleep. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” You almost didn’t hear him as you let yourself relax for the first time in a long time.

***

Sun blinded you, pulling you from the deep, dreamless sleep. You opened your eyes to find yourself still in Tim’s old bedroom at the manor. Tim was spooned into your back. You smiled when you felt a certain part of him poking you from behind. 

“Tim.” You turned in his arms to face him. He opened his eyes, yawning.

“Morning, beautiful.” He kissed your lips. You slid your hand down his chest and under the waistband of his boxers. Tim jumped, blushing. “What?” 

“You really can’t tell. You were poking me.” A smirk pulled at your lips when Tim moaned at your touch.

“Well, I was having a good dream.” Tim closed his eyes, shivering. “You and I were at that hotel in Vegas, and you were in that outfit with the littlest...”

Cutting him off with a kiss, your thumb circled his tip and made him tremble. “Let me take care of you,” you whispered softly. 

“I should be taking care of you.” Tim cleared his throat. “We haven’t since Jack was born.” Tim’s hand slipped under your shirt, but you grabbed his wrist with your free hand.

“I’m not ready for that.” You looked him in the eye. “Not all the way.” 

Tim leaned forward to kiss your lips, rubbing his foot against yours. “How about we just touch? Like you’re doing to me now.” You traced a vein on his cock. Tim shivered. His hand flexed against your bare stomach. Your face burned, thinking of the baby weight you still carried. 

“Fine. Only touch.” You leaned over to bury your face into his neck. Your hand let go of Tim’s wrist to allowed his hand to find his way up your chest. His other hand played with the waistband of your pajamas, tugging them down. 

His long, strong fingers found your clit. You hissed and tightened your hand around Tim. Tim choked. “Careful, sweetheart.”

“It’s okay. I won’t break your T-Rex.” You giggled breathlessly. Tim’s fingers were rough with calluses, the friction making your body tense, skin tingle. You stroked his cock with just your fingertips. 

Tim panted. You gripped him and slid your hand up and down the length of him. Tim’s fingers stopped playing with you. “You’re distracting me.” 

“Right.” You kissed his jawline, working him harder than before. Tim tensed. “Are you close, sweetheart?” 

“I am.” Tim choked, looking you in the eye. 

“Then let go.” You smiled at him sweetly and sealed a kiss to his lips. Tim shivered and spilled into your hand. Most of the mess was caught inside his boxers. You pulled your hand out, wiping your hand on his boxers.

Tim closed his eyes, panting against your lips as you kissed the corner of his mouth. His fingers circled your clit again. You gasped. “Now I take care of you.” Tim whispered, one hand went under your shirt again and cupped your breast.

You relaxed. Your skin tingled again, feeling the flutter of your heart as Tim squeezed your breast gently. His lips tickled your skin, kissing down your neck. “It’s only fair that I leave you a mess too.” 

You wrinkled your nose, giggling as your body tensed. One of Tim’s thin fingers entered you. You jumped in surprise. “Oh.” Your hand rested on his wrist. “Careful.”

“I’m careful.” Tim hummed. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

“It’s okay.” You closed your eyes, taking a slow breath. “I love you.” 

“I love you too. More than anything.” Tim’s head went under your shirt to kiss his way up your stomach. You rested your hands on his shoulders. 

You felt that familiar tension building up inside of you. Your nails dug into Tim’s shoulders. Tim groaned against your stomach. “Close, huh?”

“Yeah.” You lost your breath. Tim’s finger curled inside of you and you were suddenly among the stars. “Wow.” 

A knock suddenly came from the door. Tim jerked away from you, quickly pulling the blankets up and around the two of you. “Yes?” he asked. You giggled, panting as you came down from the high. You smirked when you felt Tim’s hand was still on your breast. 

Damian entered with Jack gurgling in his arms. He looked slightly disappointed. “Take care of your offspring.” He handed Jack to you. 

“Hi Jackie.” You showered his little face with kisses. He touched your cheek with his tiny, perfect hand, enjoying the attention.

“How did you get him?” Tim asked. Damian’s eyes went to your chest and Tim quickly pull his hand away. A blush dusted his cheeks. 

“Pennyworth asked me to watch him.” He crossed his arms. “You invited Grayson over?”

Tim looked at you. “Yes, I did.” You smiled at Damian sweetly. “And if we call a truce, I won’t tell him to give you the sex talk.” 

Damian’s eyes widened slightly. “TT.” He glared at you. “What kind of a truce?”

“Well, if you quit interrupting us, we won’t interrupt you.” You handed Jack to Tim, looking Damian the eye. 

Damian hummed. He rubbed his chin, biting his lip. “Fine, I agree.” He spun on his heel. “But if Grayson tries to talk to me, I will break this truce.” 

“Fair.” You smiled, relaxing against the pillows. Damian closed the door securely behind him. Tim stared at you with his jaw dropped. You took Jack back from him when he started to whine. “What?” You reached up to close his jaw.

“Did you just get Damian to promise not to bother us? He just came in here disappointed that he didn’t catch us in the act.” Tim pointed at the door, eyes wild. 

“Well, it’s only fair. Damian was always about revenge.” You smiled at Jack, cooing at him in a soft voice. “But now we’ll be good and maybe we can give Jack siblings.”

The blood drained out of Tim’s face. “More kids? When did you decide that?” 

You snorted, patting Tim’s cheek with your free hand. “Not now, Timmy. Later, when Jack’s like four or something.” 

Tim glanced at Jack. A dopey smile grew onto his lips. “I suppose that’s fine. I mean if we can handle Jack, we can handle another one.” 

You leaned over to kiss his cheek. “That’s what I was thinking.” Tim turned to catch your lips with his. Jack fell asleep in your arms and you couldn’t be happier.

#tim drake #tim drake x reader #tim drake imagine #red robin #red robin x reader #red robin imagine #dc comics imagines #dc reader insert #batfamily imagine #batfamily x reader

[aubreyprc]

when I cheated it did

46 - are they really just a friend

summary - during hotch and haley’s separation, he has a thing with Emily. Haley pulls him up about it when he comes to her about the divorce papers and one confession later, he lands right back at emilys door once again.

word count - 2.6k - the way this was just supposed to be the hotch / haley scene and now it’s ?? this is just an example of how unwell i am in my head <33

She always told herself that no matter what she did, who she slept with or who she became she would never be the other woman never be the reason a child never saw their father, never be the reason why a child should grow up the same way she had to, never be part of an affair, yet when she finds herself sleeping with her married boss, she tells herself its okay because he's separated, that its not an affair if his wife left him, that she isn't the other woman if the wife is out of the picture, even if the couple still wear the rings on their fingers, even if they're still legally married.

She tells herself its fine because he and Haley are separated, she tells herself its different because Hotch still see's his son, she tells herself she isn't like the woman her father married after leaving her and her mother because she would never allow Hotch to abandon his family, she tells herself its not an affair, that its not the same, because otherwise the guilt would eat her alive, she tells herself its different because she can't end it, and the minute she allows herself to register that, separated or not, he is married she would have to.

"You okay?" he asks as he steps into the bathroom. He stands behind her, placing soft kisses on her neck as he wraps her in his arms, his hand locking over her abdomen as she smirks at him through the mirror, tilting her head to the side as he began to undo her robe with a playful smirk of his own. Laughing, she leans her back into him, resting against his chest safely as he places a kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah," she sighs contently, lacing her fingers through his own with a raised eyebrow, stopping him from pulling the robe open. He walks them backwards, a smile on his lips as he presses them into her neck, only to be interrupted by his phone and he curses his under breath as he digs through his pockets to find it, still keeping her wrapped up in him with one arm over her waist.

"Hotchner," he answers, winking at her when their eyes catch in the mirror. "Of course, we will be right in." he says, ending the call as quickly as he answered it. "We have a case." he tells her, kissing her cheek before exiting the bathroom, and she simply watches him go, a small smile on her face as her cheek burns from the touch of his lips, has to force herself to remember that this is casual, that they can't that they never will be anything more than what they are now, reminds herself that he will go back to Haley, and reminds herself that if she gets attached, she will get hurt, and pushes down her feelings, refusing to acknowledge the ache in her chest at the thought of this... them being over.

They, of course, spend their nights together in the hotel. He makes sure to get a room at the end of the hall, away from prying eyes and ears and in different cities he can take her hand in the hotel bar when the team have left, he can kiss her softly in the streets in the dark when he sneaks them both out in the dead of night, in different cities when the team isn't around he can pretend their not a secret, she can pretend there are no consequence's and they can pretend its just them.

They make plans to go to her place, the two of them denying drinks with the team for different reasons with a sneaky look to each other that no one notices and they're halfway out of the door when he's served with the papers, and suddenly nothing about them feels the way it had over the last three months and she can only watch him go as the knot in her stomach tightens, can only creep past the team and rush into the bathroom and breathe, leaning her head against the door as she tries to calm down, her heart hammering in her chest while she closes her eyes, taking deep breaths in hope that it will get rid of her nausea. Her mind spins, memories of them flashing in front of her eyes and she wants to scream, unsure of where this leaves them... leaves her.

-

Hotch all but storms out of the office and towards his car, slamming the door behind him as he throws the papers onto the passenger seat, embarrassment igniting in his body at what just happened. He’s their boss and now his personal life will be spreading like wild fire around the office, something he never wanted. He drives with fury, his whole body running on fumes as he thinks back to the look of pity written on all their faces. Yet, that embarrassment changes to something he can’t quite describe, an ache in his gut, as his mind lands on Emily. He curses to himself as he realises he left without so much as a glance in her direction, already hating how he knows exactly what she is thinking, about how fragile her trust is, especially in him, in them, the unsurety of their... situation something that lingers between them whenever they are together, even if it does go ignored.

He wonders for half a moment, why in the same hour he was handed divorce papers, he is far more concerned with Emily, about how she is, about how they are, but the moment ends as he pulls up outside his old home; he grabs the papers, the anger and embarrassment swooping right back in, taking over.

He knocks on the door of the house that just four months ago, used to be his own and waits, taking a breath as the lock clicks.

“What are you doing here?” Haley asks as she opens the door. “Jack’s asleep.”

“You didn’t think to call me before you had divorce papers sent to the office?” he asks, holding up the papers. “Do you know how humiliating that is?”

“I didn’t know where else to send them.” she explains.

“You could have called. I would-"

“I could have called?” she laughs, “Aaron, I don’t even know if you’re in the city half the time. I knew if I sent them to the office, at least you’d find them.”

“You’re unbelievable,” he says, shaking his head, “Not only do you not even talk to me about separating in the first place, but you throw these in my face as well?”

“Will you stop shouting?” she hisses, pulling him inside with his sleeves. “You’re doing to attract the neighbours.”

“I don’t care about the neighbours,” he mutters, throwing the papers into the glass table and turning to face her. “You should have called me.”

“Why?” she questions, “I’ve given you months, to try and fix this, to do something that shows you still care but I’ve had nothing from you, not unless it’s about Jack.” she sighs, “I don’t have anymore time to give you, Aaron.”

“Would it have changed anything? If I’d have tried harder?” he questions.

When she looks to the ground, he has his answer, and all of a sudden he doesn’t feel that guilty about Emily anymore.

“Then I guess it’s a good job I didn’t waste my time trying.” he tells her and she scoffs, shaking her head.

“God you,” she stops, looking at him, “You really don’t get it do you?”

“Get what?”

“That I didn’t just wait three months for you, Aaron. I feel like I've been waiting for you ever since you made Unit Chief three years ago.” she tells him, “It’s like we were never enough for you, you always had to be somewhere else.”

“I was doing my job-"

“Yeah,” she says, “I know. I’m not having this argument with you again.” Haley tells him, “I’m sorry I didn’t call you about the papers, I should have warned you I was filing for divorce.”

It almost seems then that there’s nothing left to say, that if almost ten years of marriage has come down to an argument in the living room of a house he no longer lives in when she speaks again.

“You don’t feel you have anything to apologise for?” Haley questions, and his head snaps up to look at her.

“What?” he says, “Of course I do, I have a lot to apologise for but..”

“But?” she laughs.

“But I’m not going to stand here and take the blame for the fall out of our marriage when we know full well you stepped out months before you walked out.” he tells her and she stares at him with shock.

“You don’t get to throw that in my face,” She hisses at him, “You don’t get to act like you haven’t been— I may have made some mistakes but do not stand there and tell me you hadn't thought about doing the same thing.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Emily..” she shouts, “are they really just a friend?” she asks him, “You must think I’m stupid. And don’t stand here and tell me the two of you aren’t something, I’ve seen the two of you, don’t make me out to be the cheater here.”

“You slept with someone else, Haley. While we were together. This is not the same."

“I needed someone, Aaron. And you weren’t here.” she shouts, “You were never here.”

“So that makes it okay?” he shouts back.

“No.” she sighs, anger boiling beneath her skin, “but how many times do I have to tell that when I cheated it didn’t mean anything?” she asks him loudly. He turns to face her, seeing complete red as they come to blows for the first time since she walked out.

“Well then that’s a waste, because when I cheated it did.” he says back to her, before taking a breath, watching as she nods her head slowly and wipes her tears. "I—"

"I guess you were right then," she says softly, "its certainly not the same..."

"Haley—"

"Don't," she tells him, "do you love her?" she asks, and he drops his head to the floor because he didn't have an answer, he didn't know. The only word he can think being maybe.

"Then there's nothing left to say," she says quietly, "we can't come back from this, Aaron. We were over the moment she joined the team... we were over the moment we both found comfort with someone else." she walks over to him, places her hand in his as they look at each other. “Sign the papers, Aaron. Set us free." she whispers, before smiling sadly and walking away, he simply watches, before grabbing the papers and walking out of the door, drives mindlessly with no destination in mind while he replays the moment his marriage ended once and for all.

When I had cheated it didn't mean anything.

When I cheated it did.

-

He finds himself parking in front of her apartment, as if he had driven there unconsciously and he sighs, closing his eyes as he leans his head against the back of the seat. With a deep breath he composes himself, looks at the papers and gets out of the car, heading into her building with the hope that she would at least just talk to him.

-

She’s in her own little bubble, wrapped up in an old sweatshirt as she stares out of the window, blowing the smoke from her mouth when three knocks at her door spook her out of her trance. She flicks the cigarette out of the window and stands, pulling the jumper down over her shorts as she heads towards the door, looking through the peep hole she sighs as he sees him, leaning her head on the door before she opens it, resting against the frame as he stands in front of her.

“Hi,” she says softly, “you okay?”

“Yeah,” he replies in such a delicate tone she swears she’s never heard from him before. “I was hoping we could talk?”

“What’s there to talk about?” she asks, dropping the side of her head onto the door frame as she wraps an arm around her front.

“Us...” he says hesitatingly, knowing putting a name on them at this stage is risky.

“Aaron...” she sighs, looking to the floor. “Us, is a string of late night hook up’s in hotels across the country, a hand full in my apartment, behind closed doors...” she tells him, “We’re casual sex at best. You have a family, a son, a wife.”

“A wife who’s filing for divorce.” he reminds her, “Please, can we just talk?”

She looks at him, opening the door wider and stepping aside as he walks through.

“Have you been smoking?” he asks as she follows him through the hall.

“I’m not nineteen anymore,” she smirks, “you can’t tell my mother.”

“I never did.” he says with a playful smile of his own, “You were just lousy at hiding it.”

“Yes well, it seems I was lousy about hiding a lot of things.” she jokes, “Do you want a drink?”

“Sure,” he says, taking the beer from her with a smile. “I thought you quit?” he asks her, tilting his head towards the open window.

“I did,” She says, “For a little while.” there’s almost a sadness in her voice, one that makes him stare just that little bit longer at her, noticing that she almost can’t meet his eye. “I guess I’m a sucker for bad habits." she mumbles, meeting his eye finally and he simply smiles.

"What are you doing here, Aaron?" she sighs, "I can't kept doing this dance with you, I—" she stops, shaking her head, "what do you want from me?"

"Nothing," he tells her, "I just wanted you to know that there is an us, that this isn't just casual anymore... that we are something, that we can be something." he adds, looking at her as she stares back at him, hesitance written all over her face. "Give me time, let me get Jack through the transition... and I will come back to you. We can try, properly." he tells her, smiling when she lets out a laugh, her own smile growing on her face. "I'm signing the papers. Not for you. Not for us. But for me. For Haley. For Jack." he tells her, "my marriage was over long before you were became part of the picture. It's time." he says, standing right in front of her and he smiles. "Maybe in a few months I can take you on that date I promised..." he whispers and she smirks.

"You never promised to take me on a date." she tells him softly, and he places a finger under her chin, leaning forward slightly.

"I have now." he whispers, before kissing her. "Give me thirty days." he tells her as they separate, and she laughs.

"Okay." she accepts, "I only eat in fancy restaurants." she tells him as he heads for the door and he turns, smiling at her.

"Noted." he winks, before leaving her apartment, hope building in both of their chests for a future together they can now work for, rather than ignore. 

#hotchniss #hotchley #hotchley fic #hotchniss fic #aaron hotchner #emily prentiss #haley hotchner #criminal minds

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Sex Tape

Pairings: Johnny Depp x Reader

Request: “ If you take requests, would you consider doing johnny reaction to like theirs sex tape getting leaked? Reader may also be a celebrity or not. Whatever you prefer “ - @fanficshitandother 

Warnings: Mentions of sex but no actual smut

Word Count: 1800

A/N: Sorry this one is so short. I was having a harder time writing it than I thought I would. I hope you enjoy!

__________________________________

Shit. 

You knew this was a bad idea when he suggested it but no. He just had to have this video “for when he was away filming.” It always ended like this, though, right? It always started out as fun and games until bam! Celebrity sex tape leaked! 

The gossip talk show video that your best friend had sent you was still playing on your phone and you watched in silent horror as the red haired woman talked about your sex life to her male counterpart as if she had any actual right to have an opinion. In the top corner was a picture of you and Johnny at the red carpet for the premier of the Crimes of Grindelwald, his arm around your waist and both of you smiling for the paparazzi pictures. “Okay, guys. You are going to want to hear this,” She started, clasping her absurdly long acrylic-clad fingers together and holding onto her knees, “So there has been yet another sex tape leaked and I want you to guess who’s it is.” She looked over to her co-host. He had a push broom mustache that was bleached blonde to match his hair. 

The man hummed before waving his hand, which also donned long yellow acrylics, “I swear, Laurel, if this is another Kardashian or Paris Hilton tape, I’m gonna scream. That’s such old news.” 

“Actually, it’s someone that I certainly didn’t expect. Johnny Depp and his wife, Y/N L/N.” She dropped the news and the co-star’s mouth dropped. 

“Are you serious? Like Jack Sparrow, Sweeney Todd, Willy Wonka, Johnny Depp?” He asked in total shock, “I didn’t expect that either! But you know what? I feel like he’d be really good in bed.” 

He and Laurel both laughed, “You’re so bad!” She squealed, hitting him with the paper notes in her hand, “But, between you and me,” She leaned in, as if she was telling an actual secret that wasn’t being broadcast on the internet, “I did see it.” 

“And?” 

“It was pretty hot, I can’t lie. That Y/N is a very lucky girl indeed.” The pair giggled like a pair of school girls. 

You were absolutely mortified. How did this happen? How many people had seen it? Who had seen it? Oh God… all you could imagine was your family stumbling across the video or, debatably worse, Johnny’s kids. This had to be one of the worst moments of your life. 

You turned off the video and quickly dialed your husband. “Hello, love.” He greeted cheerily on the other end. The faint sound of cars passing in the background told you he was probably driving home from the meeting he had been at. 

“Did you see it? Did you hear it?” You asked frantically. 

“What?” He asked, confused.

“The video! The video got leaked!” You ran your fingers through your hair messily, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. 

“What video?” He questioned, not sounding like he fully understood what had happened, but then you could almost feel the weight of realization falling on him, “Wait, our video?” 

“Yes! Our video!” You were yelling at this point, not at him but at the situation and thankfully he understood that. 

“Okay, okay. We’ll- Hang on my manager is calling. Probably to tell me about it. I’ll be home in five minutes. I love you.” He signed off your call quickly before hanging up without giving you the chance to respond. 

While you waited for him to get there, you spiraled down the rabbit hole that was the tabloids and social media. Your phone buzzed off the charts as everyone from your sister to Helena Bonham Carter called you to ask if you were okay. Of course, you weren’t. But it was one phone call from a former college roommate, Sheila, had really gotten your blood boiling. 

“It’s okay! If anything, this is just going to make you more famous! Look at all the other celebs who’ve had their sex tapes leaked. They’re like, super famous.” Sheila sounded more excited than she should have, which certainly made you question her motives behind calling you in the first place. Since marrying Johnny, you’d had the unfortunate displeasure of having to cut a few people off from your past who had randomly called you up after years of little to no contact, asking more favors in the movie industry, money, or even just for the clout of saying they knew you. There really was such a downside to this whole marrying famous person thing that nobody ever really talked about - not that you would take it back, though, of course. You loved Johnny more than anything. 

Still, when the words left her mouth, you felt a flash of anger swell up, “Contrary to what a lot of people might believe, being famous actually kind of sucks,” You spat angrily, “And call me crazy, but I don’t exactly feel thrilled at knowing the whole world as access to a video of my naked ass!” 

“At least it’s a good naked ass, though! Your boobs are looking pretty good too. Did you get them done?” She asked bluntly, still not a care to be heard in her voice. You swore you could almost detect a fake valley girl accent too. 

Your mouth dropped open in disbelief at the words coming from her voice, “I can’t believe you.” Without giving her a chance to respond, you clicked the off button before flipping her off through the screen, though you knew she couldn’t see it. The audacity of some people. 

The front door swung open, drawing your attention as Johnny hurried into the house, setting his bag down by the front door. “How bad is it?” You asked, knowing his manager must have told him the full extent. 

“Do you want the truth?” Johnny saw as panic and humiliation swept across your face, knowing that perhaps that wasn’t the best way to break it to you that it was pretty bad. He stepped forward and wrapped you in his arms, “I told Harrison to take ‘em down. Whenever he found one, he said he’d get it deleted. 

You sighed defeatedly, “That doesn’t stop the fact that a bunch of people already saw it.” Your arms wrapped around Johnny’s torso and you allowed your head to fall against his chest, trying to calm yourself with his scent- exotic spicy cologne and old books. 

His large hand came to stroke through your hair, “That is true,” He conceded with a heavy breath, “But, it also means that fewer and fewer people will continue to see it.” There was a pause in which neither of you said anything, only took a few minutes to hold onto each other while you thought about the future now, “Y’know, I can’t help but feel like this is partly my fault. I shouldn’t have asked to make the video. I’m sorry, Y/N.” 

You shook your head in disagreement, “I agreed to do it too. It’s on both of us. In retrospect, we should have put it on an actual VHS tape or something that would be more difficult to get into the tabloid’s hands.” 

You were tired of this - of this constant running from the vultures that prayed off your every misstep just to turn them against you and create headlining stories. You felt like you couldn’t even breathe without a scandal unless the media allowed it. You were just grateful that you happened to marry one of the most private actors in Hollywood, knowing that whatever pressure you felt, more public figures like Angelina Jolie had it much worse. Still, something inside you stirred, a decision that you’d stop living in fear. 

Johnny pulled back and gave you that infamous cocked eyebrow look of wonder, one that you’d mostly seen him use as Jack Sparrow. Little did everyone know, it was a gesture he’d picked up on doing in real life as well. “Do we even have a VHS player anymore?” 

You chuckled and buried your head back into his white shirt, “I don’t even know. I feel like there must be one laying around somewhere. And if not, I’ll go down to a pawn shop and pick one up just for you to use while filming.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean,” You leaned back, pulling on his shirt to bring him down closer to your level, “That if we’re going to be making you another one of these videos, it’s gonna be on something that stays only between us.” 

Your husband nearly choked on air, “Another one? After what just happened?” 

“Only if you want to and only if it stays on something physical like a CD or VHS that we can mutually agree to burn and destroy if anything happens.” You giggled and Johnny joined in with a low chuckle as well, “But… the video was leaked. We knew that was a risk when we made it. But, y’know what? I’m tired of living in fear of the paparazzi and public. They’ve already seen us fuck. There’s not much else we’ve got to lose.” 

His dark eyes flashed with mischief before he took off in a light jog down the hall without a word. You followed him, “Where are you going?” You giggled, turning the corner to find him digging through your little Harry Potter closet under the stairs. 

When he stood up, he shook his long hair out of his eyes messily and held up an old tape recorder that had to be at least twenty years old. Johnny swayed towards you, jokingly flirtatious as he spoke, “Well, Mrs. Depp, it would seem that you’re in luck because your husband likes to hoard old shit.” 

The grey and black machine seemed to stare at you and some hesitation set in again but then you remembered what you’d said: I’m tired of living in fear… there’s not much else we’ve got to lose. 

Johnny flicked open the side compartment and his eyes opened in surprise to find a tape still in there. He lifted it from the slide and looked it over, shocked to see that it appeared to be an unused blank tape, “Well, well, looks like we’re in luck.” 

Biting your lip, you looked up at him with those eyes before grabbing his hand and running upstairs to your bedroom, dragging him along. “The world thinks they’ve seen us fuck. They only got a preview.” 

“Only a preview? I thought we went pretty hard last time?” He countered with a low challenging laugh.

You turned around at the top of the stairs, one hand on the banister as you turned to face him. His body collided with yours, his hand reaching around the small of your back to steady the two of you and you arched your body into his, being sure to brush your body against his groin, “Oh, Johnny… we’re both throwing our backs out tonight.” 

#Johnny Depp #johnny depp fanfic #John Shelby #johnny depp imagine #johnny depp imagines

[masterwords]

Lonely Two Leg Creatures

Notes: Well, guys, this is pure unadulterated fluff. I needed it and I don't know what else to say about that. Found family to the max. (Title comes from The Origin of Love from Hedwig and the Angry Inch)

Summary: After the Replicator case resolves, the team is in desperate need of some rest and relaxation. Hotch, while flying high on morphine, has a great plan. Tooth ache inducing found family fluff follows.

Pairing: Do I even need to say it? Hotch/Morgan. There.

Words: Somewhere in the ballpark of 5200...it was a lot longer but I cut it back.

**

Surgery really wasn't that bad.

He'd been dreading it, of course, limping around the house making sure everything was in order for days prior – meals in the freezer that Derek and Jack could make themselves with little effort, laundry done and put away, little sorting jobs he'd been putting off for months complete, his office in order for his inevitable itch to work from home. All in all, when his alarm buzzed him awake at 4am, he wasn't too bad off, just a little lump in the pit of his stomach telling him he had no more time to prepare, nothing to do but be cut open. His knee was more painful that morning than it had been in days, a sign that he was making the right call, not putting it off.

“The antibacterial soap is on the counter,” Derek mumbled face down in his pillow. “No shaving creams or lotions...don't swallow any water...” he rambled off the list of no no items from the pre-op form, having memorized the entire thing. Aaron smiled and pushed himself upright, hissing involuntarily and waiting out the immediate shock of pain from putting weight on his leg. His bum knee was always worst in the morning, stiff, unbending and hurt so bad he saw stars.

“Got it,” Aaron replied, limping slowly to the bathroom. It was more for comfort than cleanliness, he needed the water, the steam, the heat. He also needed coffee but that couldn't be helped, not until after. The shower would just have to pull double duty. Derek knew him well enough to also know that he hadn't slept, not really, not enough so he let Aaron take care of the shower on his own. He could give him this last stand, the final few minutes of privacy and capability before he needed assistance with every mundane task of his existence. That would be the hardest part for both of them, Aaron's lack of autonomy for the near future. Derek soaked in the silence, the last few minutes he had where he wasn't needed, where he could selfishly bury his face in the pillow and plead for five more minutes of sleep before having to do anything.

Closing his eyes, pressing his face into Aaron's pillow, he saw the flash of light, the helicopter crash into the ground and he waited for flames to erupt in the still black night. They never came and for that he was thankful. There was so much smoke, steam hissing from what he thought was the ruined engine, blades still moving slowly in the wind, clinging to the last vestiges of life. Hard landing, they'd called it later, but to his eyes it was as much a crash as it was anything else. Not meant to kill, just a dangerous show. Derek tore through the door like ripping the lid off of a can of sardines, heard JJ ask where Blake was, he tried to focus on what they were doing and not Aaron. He held the canister, asked what it was a little too rough, his fear coming out as frustration. Aaron blinked stupidly, he needed help, he needed a soft place to land and Derek only provided harsh tones, anger. He didn't mean it. It was just that the sight of their helicopter wreckage, the fucking abysmal day they'd already had, Rossi's gun aimed right at him in the office and now this...he couldn't get there fast enough, his legs weren't capable of pushing at a higher speed and he was already preparing himself for the worst. These were the times that made it hard to do what they did, stupid for them to have made this choice to love each other and know they couldn't always be together, they were the team's leaders and they had to separate and trust that they'd find their way back to one another when it was all done. Spencer was in the back seat already unbuckling, rubbing at his head, Hotch in the front doing the same. They were okay, they were all okay. Blake was missing, they'd all been unconscious and they had a long, hard night ahead of them but for the time being...prayers, desperate pleas into the darkness were answered. Shaken up by some idiot playing with lives like a child with a remote control toy, ultimately fine. It wasn't until they had gone home that night that Aaron said his knee was sore, that he'd felt it pop when he braced himself for impact in the crash. He and Spencer and Blake were treated for concussion, tested for chemicals in their system not knowing what was in the canister but ultimately they were all okay, cleared at the site to head home. So he walked with a limp in the mornings, found it hard to put weight on his leg or bend it after sitting at his desk too long, had the strange sensation that it was going to go out from under him when he went down stairs. It took a week of his knee getting steadily worse to admit he might need to be seen though Derek, no stranger to knee injuries, had been pushing him daily.

He did like the sight of Aaron in a hospital gown. Something about the dull white and splashes of color where normally there was only black or occasionally gray, the way the fabric was always just a little too soft after going through industrial washers a few times too many made him melt. It made him smile, fingers dancing across Aaron's shoulder blades and playing with the string hanging loose against his skin, making inappropriate comments about easy access to lighten the mood. Aaron had given his name and birth date more times than either of them could count, indicated the surgical site to everyone that asked, abated his anxiousness by closing his eyes and letting them poke and prod, hook him up to IVs and monitors. The more that was prepared, the further Derek was pushed until he was on the outskirts, finally feeling the nerves himself. Working helped, so he pulled out his laptop and went over a few consults in the waiting area while he sipped a can of soda and munched his way through two candy bars and a bag of chips. It was so easy to fall into bad habits when he was nervous. Not even 7am and he was assaulting his body with garbage. There was a rush of serotonin, a feeling of calm and then he would see a doctor come flying down the hall and into the OR and imagine something awful happening – was something wrong? A reaction to anesthesia? Would they bring in the crash carts? Logically he knew there were several other surgeries happening at the same time, this was a big hospital. It wasn't until he saw Aaron's surgeon come out, pulling his hat off with a smile on his face that he stood and dumped the carnage of his thousand calorie junk fest into the trash can beside him.

“He's in recovery now, everything went smoothly, the damage was fairly minimal and we expect he will make a full recovery,” the same old song and dance. It made Derek smile, it was comforting, he could have recited the entire speech from memory. “Give my team about twenty minutes with him and then you can come back and see him, get him ready to head home.”

The things that came out of Aaron's mouth when he was high on morphine were Derek's favorite. He stood beside him while they checked him over, watched the way everything he did was slow, methodical. Fingers twitching against the filmy blankets he watched while they worked him over, checking vitals, asking him questions, peering at his feet to make sure there was no undue swelling in his extremities. Standard procedure, he was no stranger to any of it. The sight of his feet in the little hospital socks, grippers on the bottom like he was a child, gave him pause. Aaron's eyes drooped, he blinked so slowly that his eyes stayed shut longer than they were open, like his lids weighed a ton.

“How do you feel?” Derek asked, because it was customary. That was just what you did. Aaron smiled, let out a frighteningly low chuckle and his head lolled to the side.

“Like my leg just got...cut open...” he swallowed thickly, licking his dry lips. "Hope it was the right one." A smirk. That devilish little smirk, the languid twinkle in his amber eyes. Derek played with the little yellow bracelet on Aaron's wrist, listened to it crinkle beneath his fingertips. Fall risk. He liked it, the way it called him out. Asked them to leave it on even after discharge and they were happy to oblige. “Derek...”

He leaned close, a look of seriousness flashing over his languid features. He usually looked so severe but the edges were softened, blurred beneath the heavy feeling of fleeing anesthesia, the nerve block, the pain meds coursing thick through his veins. “We should take the team to the beach house.” There was the faintest twang detected in his voice, the depth of his southern charm escaping his carefully guarded walls. The words slurred together, his voice subdued, delicate. This was always Derek's favorite part, when he said wild childlike things, when he said sweet things, when his accent dripped out slow like molasses.

“What?” Derek asked, because of course he'd heard what Aaron said but he wanted to make him repeat it. The sound of it was just a little too absurd. Aaron smiled and let his head fall back into the pillow heavily, silence falling for just a little too long. “Aaron?”

“Mmmm?” His eyes stayed closed, chest gently rising and falling beneath the worn gown. He shivered, the room was cold, he didn't seem to mind it though, didn't complain. Mostly he didn't complain because it would mean they would watch him closer, maybe keep him longer so he cooperated and stayed quiet and smiled a lot so they would let him go. That too polite southern charm, his desperation not to be a burden even to people being paid to take care of him.

“You said you wanted to take the team to the beach house? Your family's beach house?”

“Good idea...” he murmured and Derek rolled his eyes. He'd always known this was going to be a long day but now he was wondering if he could convince them to keep Aaron over night just so he could have one more night of peace. Between cleaning up dribble from the grape popsicle on Aaron's chin to reminding him over and over that he couldn't walk or take a shower or do anything other than lay in bed and snuggle, it was going to be a very long day.

Travel was frowned upon post-op, but not forbidden and Aaron had continued to insist even after the anesthesia had worn off that they should invite the team to his family's beach house. They'd all been through a lot over the last few weeks, the loss of Chief Strauss weighing heavily on each of them in their own ways. Blake was dealing with the ordeal quietly, privately. Rossi was grieving and trying to help her family out in any way he could, and on top of all of it Aaron was doing his best to help Sean with his new legal troubles from hundreds of miles away. He could feel the pull of the pain in his chest, the anxiety, the weight of everything crushing him and while It wasn't exactly like him to want to invite the team (or anyone, really) into his own personal space he knew they simply...needed him to do something, to mend what was broken. He couldn't ignore this. It would ease his own suffering if he could help them too.

“You can still back out,” Derek muttered, slamming the trunk of their SUV and rapping his knuckles on Jack's window playfully, forcing him to scoot over to the other side so Aaron's seat could be moved back and reclined at will. This was going to be a nightmare, traveling 3 hours with Aaron high on pain medication only two days post-op. The idea that he let himself be talked into it at all was absurd, but then again, they didn't get many opportunities to get time off as a group and there was a certain sense of urgency to it. At least for he and the rest of the team, Aaron had plenty of time off on the horizon. Aaron stood, propped up by his crutches, in the driveway firing off a few last minute texts with directions and gate codes. It made him uneasy, he did his best to hide it, the way he was inviting them all into some private corner of his life. He didn't say it, he let Derek say it, but he agreed. It was a lot for him to handle.

“It's happening,” he said softly, waiting for Derek to help him into the vehicle. He hadn't had a real shower in days, not since the morning of his surgery, and he was in the most pain he'd experienced thus far but somehow still in good spirits. The team accepted the invitation and the days off without hesitation, and he never said it, but Aaron could tell that Dave was looking forward to not being the host for once. He knew about Aaron's family, he happily played along with the ruse that he was the wealthy crackpot of the team but it pleased him to know that soon they would all bear witness to the truth. Jack was excited to show Henry the house, play on the beach, and Aaron was just happy knowing that the team were going to have a few days to relax without having to do or think about anything other than what fun thing they wanted to do with their time. The hardest decision any of them would make would be what to eat or drink.

They were going up a full day early, Aaron was still Aaron and he didn't want them to see him like this. Crutches he could handle, but getting in and out of the car, unpacking, settling in, the dressing changes, the first post-op shower he wanted all on his own. He couldn't be upright long, he was tired and sluggish, it took him so lon to move from space to space and he needed to carefully plan his routes through the house, maybe even practice them a few times to make sure he didn't falter in front of anyone. He needed time to look through the family relics, the photo albums, to sit with the ghosts that lived in that house and settle his own nerves.

He thought of Sean, of entire days spent on the beach building not just sand castles but sand kingdoms, battle fields, pulling out their toy soldiers and reenacting great wars throughout history. The age difference didn't matter when their hands worked the sand – Sean supplied the toys and the imagination, Aaron provided the information, the facts, the battle plans. They would bathe in the bay, slip in the sand and splash in the deep blue water while crabs scuttled over their feet and fish slid along their sunburned shins. The entire family would take turns using the house, one group after another but the children somehow managed to spend most of their summer up there like vagrants with squatters rights, large groups of feral cousins to be collected as the last dredges of summer faded to fall and school loomed on the horizon.

This house was a place his father couldn't touch, he could walk through the door and he could lull them all into comfort with his easy smile and his flamboyant generosity but this was his mother's family and they kept a close watch on him, they all knew without really knowing. No one talked but they all watched, and they kept Aaron, provided him some semblance of security and peace as long as they could without ever saying that's what they were doing. He knew. Never wanted them to talk about it, for better or worse his life was his own, he just wanted to be at the beach and for life to be simple for a while, even if it couldn't last. He could be a kid at his beach, and now Jack could do the same. When he was four he'd been digging a hole and found one of Sean's tiny green Army figurines deep in the wet sand, kept it in his pocket for the entire week they were at the house like he'd found buried treasure. At Christmas he'd given it to Sean, and Aaron thought he saw the faintest hint of a tear in his brother's eye as he turned it over in his calloused fingers.

“What's going on in that head of yours?” Derek asked, clicking through radio stations. Why he didn't just turn on a CD or pull out his phone Aaron would never understand, it was just one of Derek's little things. He liked the radio, he liked to complain about how bad the stations were and how irritating the Djs could be, but there was nothing like the high he felt when he stumbled on a great song and cranked the volume as high as he could.

“Thinking about Sean,” Aaron replied softly, his hand resting against the swollen mass of ace bandages wrapping his leg. “I need to call his lawyer this afternoon and get some updates.”

By the time the team began showing up, Aaron thought he was ready. He and Derek had pulled off his dressing, cleaned the incisions and gotten themselves on a pretty easy schedule of icing and care. It was already becoming second nature except the soreness in his arms when he had to use the crutches, that was going to take some getting used to. They'd prepared everyone's rooms and Jack spent the morning staring out the window watching for Henry's car to show up knowing they'd be the first to arrive. He could barely contain himself, the moment he saw his friend step out of the car he was bounding down the steps and flying toward them. One by one Derek helped the team inside with their bags, showed them to their rooms, got them drinks and sat them in the front room with Aaron who was dealing rather well with the fact that he was, essentially, useless. They made small talk, asked him how surgery went, how he was managing, made comments about how beautiful the house was while he sat with his leg propped up and covered in ice. Honestly they just couldn't get over it, being invited into Aaron's life like this, into this place that held memories of his family that pre-dated even him. The house has been in his mother's family for generations, it had been torn down and rebuilt numerous times, years of wear and tear and inclement weather taking their toll. This iteration was built the year Aaron was born and found itself marked with all of the kitschy little bits of 60s and 70s architecture, popular nooks and crannies, lazy susans taking up undue cupboard space. It had been redecorated many times over, bore very little resemblance to the house Aaron remembered as a child, the shag carpet had given way to tile floors when his grandmother found it too challenging to vacuum such a large home and they weren't yet willing to shell out the money for a cleaning service. Once she passed, that was the first thing his mother and her sisters did was to hire a cleaning company so they didn't have to do it themselves between visitors.

“I can't believe I'm missing this!” Emily yelled into Penelope's phone and Aaron winced at the shrill sound coming through the tinny speaker. She was holding a huge glass of wine, nose almost smashed against her phone's screen as she shouted at him. “You have this much fucking money in your family and you're just NOW telling anyone about it?! You wait until I'm gone?!” She was happy for them, obviously, but seething with jealousy as Penelope and Spencer walked her through the house (that was really more of a mansion than a house), showing her every little thing they could find. They nosed around with her, opened cupboards and drawers, left no room closed, nothing unexplored. If he'd hidden anything, they probably found it. They opened photo albums, zoomed in on family pictures with Aaron and his missing baby teeth, ended out on the dock staring at the boathouse after exhausting everything they could inside. She asked him about the surgery, how he was doing, made pleasant for a minute before returning to her indignant refusal to accept his apology at not having invited her as if she would just hop on a plane and fly across the ocean for two days at his family's beach home on his drug induced whim. After some badgering he promised he'd have her up the next time he was able and it seemed to placate her.

It was early in the day when everyone settled in and started itching to start enjoying themselves now that the initial shock of the situation had worn off. Dave settled in the fastest with a bottle of scotch and one highball glass, an Adirondack chair and the beach. He reclined, feet kicked up, with his scotch while the kids played beside him in the sand. It was all he wanted for his entire day and Aaron couldn't blame him, he had his own plan and it looked pretty similar but with less sand because he simply couldn't manage that terrain yet. It took some doing, he couldn't stand for long and he couldn't move his heavily bandaged and painful leg on his own but eventually he made it up onto the boardwalk and out to the end of the dock. Derek followed close behind with a cooler full of beer and a crab trap, their chairs already set up and waiting thanks to Will who had tossed them into place before diving off of the end of the dock into the chilly blue water.

By the time Penelope and JJ were in swimsuits ready to splash in the icy bay with Will and the kids, Derek and Aaron were set up. Their crab trap was in the water, rope dangling over the edge of the dock and secured tight. Derek was on his third beer, Aaron nursing a sparkling water and a painkiller high, leg propped up on the top of the cooler. Alex and her husband prepared to take the canoe out on the water, eager for some time to themselves.

“Dad! Dad watch!” Jack called before he jumped off of the edge of the floating dock, doing a flip before crashing into the water. Aaron smiled, Derek hooted and hollered. Always Jack's biggest fan, cheering him on from the sidelines. Aaron couldn't believe how fortunate he was that Derek loved them. Derek had already been in the water, diving in silently and swimming beneath the dock, grabbing Penelope around the legs and scaring the shit out of her by pulling her all the way under. She was still seething, her makeup running down her face and Derek had had to dive to find her glasses on the bottom of the bay. She held his head under a few extra seconds before letting him come up for air. Aaron remembered his cousin Alan doing that to him, pulling him under, holding him there until he panicked, thrashed around, and he thought Derek handled it much better than he ever had. He'd punched Alan in the mouth, watched his lip bleed into the water and spent the rest of the day grounded in his room while Alan was coddled, got an extra bowl of ice cream from their grandmother. Derek just wrapped Penelope in a big wet hug and begged for a truce.

There was a part of Aaron that wished he could join them all in the water, wished he could play with Jack on the beach, take Spencer out on the sailboat and teach him how to do it, but he really was content to sit back and watch the way the tension melted away from all of them. The way Spencer had drug a chair up beside Dave and the two of them sat and read books and Spencer even drank a glass of scotch very very slowly while Dave told him stories about Strauss back in the old days. The way he and Aaron and Gideon had made her life hell, the way she turned around and did the same to them. The sun hid behind the clouds, made him shiver and he folded his arms over his chest, feeling the dull ache in his leg intensifying. As if on cue, Derek approached with a handful of pills in his wet hand, extending it with a smile.

“You good?” he asked, watching Aaron dry swallow the horse pills and cringing. He hated the way Aaron did that, it made him feel queasy.

“Good,” Aaron replied, nodding. Derek wrapped his cold wet arms around Aaron, not helping at all with his chill. “It's about time to pull up these pots.”

With Will's help they pulled up enough blue crab for the entire team to have dinner, and Will was excited to get the opportunity to make one of his favorite meals for everyone. Dave was glad not to have the cooking fall square on his shoulders, in fact, he was in awe at how very little was actually expected of him the entire day. He wasn't used to such luxury when it came to team gatherings. They all watched while Jack showed them how to kill and clean crabs, Henry excitedly joining in while Penelope made a stink about how barbaric and awful it was to watch. Spencer agreed with her and joined her inside for a glass of wine, excitedly pulling out a pile of family photo albums. There were tons of pictures of Aaron as a kid that made them giggle, he'd been so scrawny, gangly, small. Photos of Sean, of Haley and Jessica and Roy and Jack and in the newest album they even found photos of Derek and couldn't believe he'd been there before without telling any of them. Not just recently, either. There were years of photos of him in there. Further back there were photos of Aaron''s parents as teenagers, Aaron as a baby, he and Sean and their cousins. Penelope's favorites were of Sean, he ran around wild and free, feral, often shedding his diaper and she thought she could hear his Tarzan yells from where she sat. Spencer's favorite was a photo of Aaron somewhere around the age of twelve standing waist deep in the water while reading a book, his cousins splashing all around him. He wondered what book it was, bet that Aaron would remember it exactly if he asked. The look of utter contentment on his face, like he wasn't missing out on any fun at all, made Spencer smile. He could related entirely. They didn't need to know that the photos had been carefully scrubbed by his mother, they were all happy, and Aaron was glad to let everyone think he had an idyllic childhood. Not that any of them did, not really, they were all profilers and they'd taken all of the classes. They knew. But they would never bring it up, especially not now.

It was slow moving getting Aaron inside, his crutches useless on the sand between the boardwalk and the steps up to the deck. They paused often to let him catch his bearings, enjoy the feel of the sand beneath his feet, rest his cheek against Derek's shoulder and listen to the sound of their team happily chatting and laughing over the way Will and Dave argued in the kitchen over the best way to cook crab.

After the kids were in bed, they all made their way out to the hot tub with a cooler of drinks and glasses. The waves lapped at the shore, little fires were lit down the beach at the neighboring houses and the stars blazed overhead. Aaron sat on the edge of the hot tub, his bandaged leg propped up to his side, his other leg languidly draped over Derek's shoulder as he sat in the bubbling water. The hydros softened his edges, relaxed him, he smiled easily and let his deeply southern roots be exposed just a little without furiously trying to bury them. They asked him to tell stories and while he did share some, he asked them questions, kept them talking instead. No one brought up work, no one asked him about Sean's troubles, if they talked about Strauss it was fondly. Everyone in the hot tub was warm, relaxed, laughing and Aaron sat on the outside huddled in a sweatshirt, his wool blanket pulled tight around his shoulders while the cool breeze blew past. Derek's wet, sweaty cheek rested soft against his thigh, fingers playing with Aaron's toes beneath the water in spite of the protest. JJ found the control for the party lights, soon the tub filled with pulsing blues and greens and reds while Penelope slid up to the edge, too hot in the water, needing a break. She joined Aaron in the chilly night air, goosebumps prickling their skin and she leaned close, thanked him in a sweet whisper for doing this, for letting them in when she knew how awfully private he was and making it all better.

“So,” she announced, raising her voice a little, turning to face her friends triumphantly. “Reid and I were looking at some family albums before dinner and did you guys know that Derek has been here before?!” Everyone stared hard at Derek, and he raised an eyebrow, not really sure why everyone seemed to shocked. Of course he had. “Not just like...this year but like...he's in pictures from at least the last three years...”

“Maybe more,” Spencer added with a grin.

There it was. Secrets and lies, but there was a playfulness in her voice that made him smile, shake his head incredulously. Aaron avoided eye contact with everyone, instead turning his face toward the sky. He would let Derek handle this one, didn't think he could manage it in the swirl of pain medication and sudden shock at being put on the spot. His neck flushed beneath his blanket, Derek squeezed his calf playfully and grinned like the Cheshire Cat. He didn't mind being put on the spot, not over something like this. So he'd been there before? So maybe he and Aaron had been together a lot longer than any of them had realized? Didn't bother him any. He might have to soften the blow later, fix Aaron a bowl of mint chip ice cream to drown himself in, but for now it was fine. He didn't mind the intrusion, the chance to show off something really, really good. That was the point of this whole weekend excursion, right?

“Listen, you people know too damn much as it is,” he replied, shrugging. “A man's gotta keep some things to himself. Now pour me another glass of wine, woman, and get your fine ass back in this tub.”

#criminal minds #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #penelope garcia #david rossi #emily prentiss #jennifer jj jareau #will lamontagne #jack hotchner #soft hotch whump #mortch #hotchgan #found family #alex blake

[smutty-ki113r]

🎥It’s been so long 🎥||

Comfort one-shot reader x creepy pastas (Slenderman, Jeff, Toby, E.J, BEN, Sally, Masky, Hoodie, Jane and L.J.) ((Beauty and the beast spoilers))

Inspired by: The living tombstone

The following morning you got ready to go to Hollywood studios. It was pretty chilly so you wore a jacket, bunched up in the car with everyone else. On the way there BEN wouldn’t stop talking about the new Star Wars exhibits.

Parking in one of the spots you all rode the tram to bring you to the entrance. All of the creeps stood in awe at the decorations at the entrance. Slender had to shoo them to disperse before they could hold up the other people coming in. Jeff looked irritated, probably cause he left his knife at the hotel as instructed.

A lot of people were dressed as people from the 50’s and such for Halloween weekend. Some of them gave strange looks at your groups’ costumes, but there was definitely compliments too. At least L.J was happy because there were less annoying children.

First up was the tower of terror, which you guys had a hard time finding since it was to the farther side of the park. BEN kept whining that he wanted to go to the Star Wars rides, but Jeff and you were pretty headstrong on wanting to go on this one.

The line was long too, about an hour in the hot Florida sun. Thankfully it was windy, and you sat on the ledges for the wait. Hoodie and Sally opted out since she was too short and he had a slight fear of heights. Slender could actually fit this time so he was pretty excited.

Jeff was pretty restless the whole time, fiddling with his hands in his hoodie pocket. BEN sat next to you on the ledge with his head on your shoulder, he seemed tired. Probably because he brought his Nintendo and played it all night even though you advised him not to.

Eventually you all made it inside where you looked at the “spooky” decorations. If slender had a face he would have one of disgust at the cobwebs. There was no comparison to his mansion, not creepy at all -in his opinion.

“Spooky does not mean unclean” he kept muttering to you guys telepathically.

Jeff rolled his eyes and Masky nodded his head, his arms crossed as you guys moved along. Then you were moved in to a separate room to watch some recording giving a backstory to the hotel. You were really focused on the video, there was even ominous music in the background.

There was this annoying whirr in your ear, you had to swat off the wind blowing on it. If the place really was haunted you were the victim. You felt a pair of hands grab your waist and you jolted, looking behind to find a cackling BEN.

“YOU SHIT” You slapped his arm- obviously- he deserved it.

He kept trying to fend you off until Masky gave both of you a really dangerous look. At least you didn’t need to be scared of ghosts anymore, Masky was the scariest thing there. Plus, BEN wasn’t exactly a terrifying ghost with those cute ears of his.

Finally it was time to get on the ride, slender looked really excited in his own way. He had his hands over his lap, the seatbelt buckled securely. You sat on the end with Jeff next to you and BEN next to him and then Toby after.

LJ was on the row behind you with Masky and EJ, you gave them a look as the cart moved. Then the doors opened and there was a stiff in the movement. Abruptly it shot upward, staying still for a second. You got to look at the beautiful view of the whole park before it dropped.

You felt your stomach drop as you clenched your hands on the handles, screaming along with LJ in the back. Glancing at him you saw the feathers on his shoulders fly up at the fall, Slender had his arms up, it was adorable. Toby was CRYING, holding onto the handles for dear life just like you.

After a few times of rising and going down Jeff started yelling at BEN, “STOP TAMPERING WITH THE CONTROLS”

“I’M NOT” he screached, holding onto his hat and trying to shake off a clingy Jeff. The outdoor daylight flashing onto his face, making his wide smiling face illuminate.

“STOP IT BEN” he kept repeating until there was one last drop. He gave a sigh of relief.

The people on the opposite rows looked mortified, scooting past you as you checked the pictures. They were absolutely hilarious, Jeff was gripping on for dear life to BEN, with Slender blocking the family in the back row and there was an open mouth shot of you.

It was a bit dizzying, so you held onto BEN until you regained your balance. He was a bit shocked too, a look of terror displayed at how Jeff yelled at him 50 feet in the air. Toby was pretty petrified too, his ticking increased and you had to rub him on the back to calm him down.

“I liked it” E.J said, shrugging at the picture and moving to the exit. Masky agreed with him, going to find his buddy Brian outside.

Toby needed something to take his mind off of the ride, so you took him and Sally to the Beauty and the Beast show. E.J tagged along too, which was pretty bizarre but hey maybe he liked theatre. The others went to the guitar ride while you waited for the next show to start.

The four of you sat in a back row to have the whole view of the stage. Needless to say that Toby and Sally really enjoyed themselves listening to the actors sing. When the conflict started Sally got anxious and you had to hold her in your lap.

Jack was quieter than usual watching the show, occasionally shushing Toby’s whimpers so he could concentrate. Gaston got on stage and started singing about killing the beast. You looked over at EJ who had his fists balled up in rage, he was really getting into it.

Giving a snarl when Gaston killed the beast but a huff of approval when he turned out to be okay. He didn’t say it but he kinned the beast, and he secretly wanted the happy ending. When the show ended you could have sworn there was tar rolling down his mask, you have him a little pat of affection.

He smiled at you under his blue mask and stood up, excusing himself for a moment. You shrugged as he went behind the stage, probably to get a snack. Leaving the gaston actor with one less kidney than when he started the show.

Then you pushed him out of there with the other two creeps, going across the road to find the rest of the group at the guitar ride. Slender was outside waiting with Hoodie and Jane, Sally ran up to give him a hug.

“They’re in the line for another round” he sighed, “go join them” he called to you and E.J.

You swerved through the other people, excusing yourself because you had to find your group. They told you all about how exciting it was, in the dark and super fast. Jeff was ranting, impatient once again. When you got inside BEN played with the marbles on the door, Masky was shooting him a disapproving look.

Jeff and BEN went in the cart in front of you, you went with L.J who wouldnt stop grinning. It would have been creepy if you weren’t used to it, but the lady making sure you were buckled seemed pretty terrified. Masky and E.J were behind you.

The car took off with a blast, music bursting in your ears as it climbed the tracks. You were overwhelmed with glowing decorations and unplanned curves, taking loopdy loops and hearing BEN and Jeff scream in delight.

You had to give heavy pants when it finished, catching your breath from all your screaming. You laughed along with L.J, whose hair was messed up. Reaching over to make it neater as the cart reached the exit point. The pictures made you cackle, especially since Masky and E.J on the same row had the same void expression.

After that you all headed to the toy story world. Admiring the green army soldiers and amazing childish scenery on the buildings. There were giant abc building blocks and gears making it seem like you had really shrunk.

Upon seeing the Toy Story mania BEN was teething. For some reason Jane too.

Finding out soon enough when she made you ride with her. Basically it was you and Jane in one cart with Jeff and BEN in the next.

She ignored the objective of the game and instead focused on shooting Jeff with the lasers. You kept telling her she had to shoot them at the targets but she shoved you off.

“I need to shoot this fucker” Jane kept muttering.

“You’ll never get me Jane!” Jeff yelled back.

Jeff aimed his cart towards you guys and started fighting back with the light filled lasers. You and BEN looked at each other like 😐, it was useless to break them up.

So you tried to win as much points as you cold but eventually BEN got more, he probably cheated. He did a little victory dance as you exited, you would definitely hold that against him later.

Slender wanted to go on the movie ride, which Jeff protested against but he wasn’t given much of a choice. Slender really liked the infographics and the interactives. Appreciating the realistic scenarios from the Indiana Jones movie and the Wild West.

Jeff did have a laughing fit when he saw the Alien from the Alien movie, saying it looked just as bald as slender. You were sure to give him a smack at that too. Overall though, you all enjoyed it, even Masky did too.

Next was the muppet show, so you all headed that way. While you all waited for the next viewing to start Toby was playing with the 3-D glasses. He kept walking with his arms out and pretending to be dizzy. Then he started “accidentally” bumping into Masky, poor Masky.

Thankfully for him, the doors opened and he sat as far as possible from Toby. You were sandwiched in between him and BEN. You guys lightly chattered until the lights dimmed and you had to put on your glasses.

L.J was having a laughing attack during the show, joined by Sally who actually really liked it. Then there was a part where the little muppet started spitting water, landing onto the audience. Now here was the part where a certain someone started screeching like a little girl, and it wasn’t Sally.

Benny was shivering in fear trying to cower on the floor, your ears rung as you tried to calm him down. You had to assure him like 20 times for him to come back, drying his seat so he could go back. Jeff was laughing but you quickly shut him up.

“It’s gonna be ok BEN, the show’s almost over” you said, giving him your jacket to warm up.

To compensate for BEN’s panic attack you convinced Slender to go to the Star Wars world next. At least BEN was pretty excited for that one, so you managed to diverge his attention to that instead.

His eyes widened and he started jumping up and down when you guys got there. Since there were so many rides you guys started just by walking around. It was pretty incredible, like straight out of the movies.

The architecture was amazing, with rusted technological buildings and the makeshift rocky terrain. The roofs of each buildings were domes, most of them were circular and extraterrestrial.

The stone was so realistic, some the walls were painted with a light aquamarine and some buildings with a yellow. The roofs were made up of a chipped bronze.

Even the ship which stood at the center was unbelievable, Slender made you and BEN take a picture together. You could see the grin of a lifetime on his face follow as you waited in line for the live action ride.

It was so fun! Even slender loved it, he knew he intimidated the storm troopers and if he could grin it would be a smug one. The design of the ride was amazing, the inside was like the real ships.

After you bought BEN a green milk and got a Blue one for yourself. It was sweet on your tongue, cold like a slushee too. You let BEN try yours after he gulped his own down and then he nagged you until you let him have the rest of it.

The next ride was the interactive one, this time you went with Masky and Hoodie. He had been quiet most of the time but this really fired him up. It was a three person ride, the mission was to get to a certain planet in the galaxy while escaping an evil ship.

Masky took all the control on this one, he was the pilot. He put Hoodie as the repair guy and you were the ammo man. He was solely concentrated on maneuvering that ship, swerving left and right like a pro. When the other ship started attacking he began commanding you too.

“SHOOT” he yelled back at you. He sure was bossy sometimes. “ARE YOU SHOOTING?”

“I AM” you said, pushing the button a million miles a minute to see the red laser shoot out on the screen.

Your wrist hurt from how hard you pushed it time and time again. “SHOOT THE GODDAMN SHIP” he said before you landed a good shot and got it out of the way, giving a sigh of relief that he would stop telling you what to do.

Hoodie was on repair duty so he just made sure you guys stayed a flight, silent and concentrated on his task.

Coming out of the Star Wars world you guys moved on to the Indiana Jones show, leaving Toby and Sally at the Frozen sing along with L.J as a chaperone. He was in literal hell, with so many little kids. He did like any reasonable adult and left, leaving the irresponsible person and Sally alone.

The Indiana Jones was one of the evening showings, probably the last one of the day before the main event. The whole thing was really thrilling, full of action and suspense. It was very exciting, and Jeff got a little too hyper.

He saw the weapons and started bouncing his legs on the floor. You eyed him suspiciously for a bit, he got so pumped he started raging. Luckily you covered his mouth before he could start yelling.

The smiling killer gave you a deadly look as he took his illegal knife out if his pocket. The very knife he promised he left at the hotel. You wondered how he snuck it in, probably his pants this time.

“You fucker” you deadpanned, moving out of his knife range. This was all while Indiana Jones was rolling over makeshift buildings with that dramatic music in the background. Thank goodness for the music, or else people would start calling security.

“BEN, E.J, HELP ME” you whisper yelled at them. They took Jeff by the arms and made him calm down, through your hand he gave muffled remarks.

His lidless eyes only widened as swords came into view, he simped over those blades like no other. Pulling and fighting for you to let him go, he wanted to cause rampage with his knife.

“I COULD BEAT THE SHIT” he paused to lick your palm which you made a squirmy face at but refused to let him go “OUT OF THOSE GUYS” you took his knife at this point.

You had to keep him restrained until the show ended, meeting up with the other half of your group then as you were walking to the restroom your group was encountered by a double line of storm troopers.

They stopped to make a round, approaching Masky and E.J, since they had masks. First was E.J, where they interrogated him with questions about if he with the first order cause or not.

“Are you part of the resistance” the trooper asked in a filtered voice.

“No” he said calmly.

“How can we know for sure?” the man in the white suit asked.

“I’m not one of the good guys, trust me” he said with a light chuckle. You laughed a little too and they moved to near Masky.

“Trooper get back in line” they said. You almost levitated, it was so funny you had to take a picture. Side by side his mask kind of resembled the storm troopers’.

“I’m not one of you” he said, boiling with anger as a few other troopers marched their way over to him.

“So you’re a Jedi in disguise then?” Another asked, face inches away from Masky.

“No” he said, the boy was about to burst with rage, too serious to take this as a game and gripping his fanny pack in anger to refrain from punching the guy.

The commander in a black mask passed by and spoke “Cleared”, the troopers dispersed, leaving a less distressed Masky behind.

Jeff was laughing at least, and L.J too, who appeared behind you mysteriously. Slender towered over him and asked where Sally was, the monochromed clown just gave a toothy smile and told him he dropped them off at the little mermaid show.

When that was over you guys got good seats at the fantastmic show, with the exception of BEN who feared water and was still having flashbacks from earlier. He gave rounds on the guitar ride with Jeff who opted to skip out with him, its not like he could sit still any longer too.

You hoped they didn’t kill anyone (they probably did), while the show went on. It was a beautiful display of lights in the water. There was a story told on the mountain and then the dancers came out. You smiled at the sight, it was another heartwarming day spent with the creeps. Holding Sally in your lap as she squealed at the pretty lights you were happy and at peace.

#slenderman #creepypasta #ben drowned #jeff the killer x you #jeff the killer x reader #jeff the killer #slenderverse #ben drowned x reader #masky x reader #creepypasta masky #brian thomas #eyeless jack x you #eyeless jack x reader #eyeless jack #ticci toby #jane the killer #sally williams #creepy

[aminiatureworld]

Steadfast

Characters: Childe, gn!reader

Word Count: 3,241

Warnings: Swearing, Angst

Premise: He’d always assured you that he wouldn’t change, that he was still the man he was before. And yet how different things were, and how much it hurt to see what had come to pass.

In which the reader sees the changes in Childe

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for this request anon! Really from the bottom of my heart thank you. I really liked the concept of this prompt, I feel like it really gave me an opportunity to focus on how relationships change and grow, rather than always writing about new couples, or people just beginning to fall in love, although there is of course that involved. It’s interesting to see how people grow and change, even if it can be a little sad sometimes. Writing this was kind of depressing, I hope that this wasn’t too sad, considering you requested hurt comfort. I might’ve gotten a bit carried away…

Funny story, I actually hate one of the people Childe shares a name with. Look what you did to Cassandra Ajax the Lesser, look what you did… So to make up for this unfortunate coincidence I pronounce the names differently in my mind. Ajax the Lesser is pronounce “A-jack-s” and Childe’s name is pronounced “Ai-axe”.

I decided not to bullet point this, as I feel like it works better in a more “traditional format”, that being said if bullet points are easier to read I can go back and fix that.

When you’d first fallen in love with Ajax it had been before the change.

Back then everything with him had seemed so exciting, like stepping into the sea for the first time. You were a bit afraid, worried that you might be swept away all at once, but another part of you wanted to run straight ahead, to immerse yourself in this new and exciting experience. Wanted to keep going and never look back.

 You’d known Ajax since before you could remember. The two of you had grown up in the same small village, where one could hardly take five steps without bumping into someone, and being close in age had made you automatic playmates. Ajax was a brash child, not always easy to get along with, but impossible to pull away from. Even when he knocked you to the ground, or sat on you so you couldn’t move, declaring himself the winner of whatever you’d been playing, you’d still run to meet him the next day, the tears you’d shed utterly forgotten. Childhood friends might’ve been a cliché, but it was truly then that Ajax as a person had begun to stick in your mind.

This only continued throughout the course of your adolescence. Attending the same schools you two were nearly inseparable, causing you merciless teasing from the rest of your classmates. Ajax apparently got the same treatment, resulting in him decking a kid who declared you two were going to get married when you grew up. He’d been suspended for a few days, but never seemed to regret it, and when you’d gone over to his house to ask about it he’d grinned as usual, proclaiming he’d gladly do it again.

Growing up was a difficult process, so many snags and pitfalls, new anxieties, and old ones that you’d never truly worried about before. But it was all perfectly fine with Ajax there. He was always ready to pick you up, and flash you a smile to go along with his help. No wonder you found yourself hopelessly infatuated him, years of trust and affection building up to the newfound feeling of love.

 And then Ajax went missing.

You still remembered the terror that shocked your system when his mother visited, tone unnervingly light, asking if you and Ajax weren’t playing some type of game. You’d bolted outside when she’d revealed Ajax had gone missing, running towards the woods that was the only exit to the village where you lived. The adults had quickly caught up to you, but your fears had already grabbed hold, and you found yourself confronted with all you felt for him. You loved Ajax. How did this happen? Love was still so foreign, a word you could throw around but never truly catch. And yet you loved him, you loved him very much. And now he was gone.

They didn’t let you see him initially, saying he was tired, he needed rest, he’d be alright in a few days. Your imagination had run wild, your mind spinning a terrible story. Perhaps he’d been mortally wounded, perhaps he could no longer see, made blind from the snow and the cold. Perhaps he wasn’t really back, and they were simply lying to make you happy. These thoughts chased you, and it was only when you saw him again that your heart settled, even if a part of you whispered that Ajax was altogether changed.

He’d begun to leave the village. Though no one quite knew where he was you certainly knew a lot of brawling was involved. He’d sometimes sneak into your house, in a last ditch effort to keep his parents and the rest of his family from finding out how much he’d truly changed. You’d cried sometimes, seeing him with black eyes and bruising, slashes of red marring his hands, his arms, his face. He didn’t like to see you cry, would start scolding you, as if it was some fault of yours to feel worried, to care for someone who already was growing into a stranger. He always realized his fault though, and after a little while he’d pat the spot next to him. You’d sit down, head sometimes on his shoulder, listening as he spun his tales of greatness into the night, as if he were a knight fighting a great dragon and its army, rather than a troubled new adult with nowhere to turn to in terms of understanding.

 When he’d ask you to be his partner you thought you’d never feel unhappy again. You felt like you were on air, kept grounded only by his arms around you, his heart beating steadily against your ear as you nestled against his chest. You could tell he was happy too, and though it amazed you slightly that he should be as in love with you as you were with him, you could only thank the Tsaritsa and every other archon under the stars, thank them for being so generous as to give you all you ever wanted.

It seemed such a funny thought in retrospect, when it was the Tsaritsa herself who was now tearing him away from you.

 “Ajax, how could you?!” Your voice felt odd to your ears, somehow too thin, distant, as if someone else was saying it. “You knew, you knew that you’d have to join the Fatui. So why, why in the name of the Seven did you start that fight!”

“They were asking for it!” Ajax’s voice was just as raw, frustration mixed with something unknown. Entitlement perhaps, fear otherwise. “You should’ve heard the things they said about me, about my family. How they’d raised a good for nothing thief, a shithead who knew nothing more than how to swing a sword, and who would one day meet someone bigger than him, and die in the street, given to the rats, utterly forgotten. I had to prove them wrong! It was a matter of honor!”

“It was a matter of ego!” You cried, feeling the ground spin slightly underneath you. “How could you let them goad you like that Ajax, goad you when you knew exactly what was going to happen.” Sitting down you put your head in your hands. The world was shattering around you, and there was no one to blame for it except the one you loved the most.

“My darling, please, I don’t want to fight.” Ajax knelt down in front of you, taking your hands in his as you raised your head to face him.

“You always want to fight…” you replied, voice hoarse, pitched barely above a whisper. “And now you’re leaving, leaving to be part of an organization of cowardliness and deceit. What happened to the adventures you were going to have? What happened to the dragons you were going to slay?”

“I’ll get them yet.” There was amusement in Ajax’s voice, but it was clearly forced, and soon forgotten about. “I promise it’ll be alright, my darling I would never do anything to knowingly hurt you.”

And yet you have, you thought. You’ve run a dagger through my heart, and now your talking to me as if I’m not being destroyed by it. It hurts, it hurts so damn much.

“You’re going away.” You finally replied. “You’re going away to a place that will only destroy you more. And now things will never be the same again. Haven’t you wondered about what will happen to you there? If you’ll ever be allowed to return home? Haven’t you wondered whether or not you’ll ever see your family again? Things will never be the same again Ajax, never. You’ve crossed the chasm, and now you cannot return.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Ajax placed a hand on your cheek. “I promise nothing will change. I will always be myself my darling. This is only a stepping stone, a piece of my journey. I promise, I promise I will always remain as I am. And I’ll never forget about you, nor my family, nor this village. Nothing is going to change. I’ll make sure it won’t. So stop crying my darling; tears never looked good on you anyways.”

And yet, how things have already changed. Still, you said nothing, instead wiping your eyes and pressing your forehead against Ajax’s. His familiar presence was reassuring, and you thought of the years ahead of you, perhaps the eternity ahead of you, when you could no longer rely on him being there. Your eyes welled with tears again, and this time you made no move to stop them. You let yourself cry. If there was anything in the world worth crying about, surely this was one of those things.

 There was a new name signed in Ajax’s letters. “Childe” was the first name, “Tartaglia” was the second. They seemed to mar the page somewhat, written in Ajax’s – no, Childe’s – bold, slashing script. You hated the names, hated the memories they stirred up, reminders of all you’d lost in such a small amount of time.

The day you’d found out Childe was to become a Harbinger you’d raged as you’d never raged before. Locking yourself in the small apartment you’d managed to find – having moved out of Morepesok once the memories had become too oppressive – you’d spent most of your time reading the letter over and over and over.

He’d wanted you to attended, writing you were basically his family at this point, and besides, he wanted to show you to the Tsaritsa. Though the line about family filled your heart with no little affection, you’d refused flat out. It would’ve been too painful, seeing the crux of his transformation; the death of Ajax, the birth of Tartaglia. Childe had said nothing to your refusal, but he was clearly worried, and for a while afterwards the letters were more frequent. But even that stopped after a while, and now you savored what little information you could get, the torn pages of last month’s note a testimony to how much you reread them.

You wished that you could somehow end this purgatory you’d found yourself in. Though you’d begun your own career by now, pushing yourself to your limits as you were sure Childe was doing in his, nothing seemed so important as the drama that had comprised your entire life. How long had you known Childe? You could no longer remember. Long ago, so very long ago. Back when the world was simpler, comprised only of candy from one of the big cities, and fighting over the best fishing rod. Tears were shed over particularly brutal games of tag, then forgotten the next day. How odd that world seemed now, something you could never go back to.

 Every once in a while you’d be met not by a letter, but by a visit. Those were the best days. The days where you could set all your worries and your unease away. When you could once more press your ear against Childe’s chest and feel the steady beating of his heart. As long as you could do that, maybe it’d be alright.

“How’s my darling?” Childe’s voice carried down the hall of your apartment. You’d dropped the letter you’d been reading, his letter, and ran towards the entrance. Throwing yourself in his arms you wept tears of joy. Childe returned the embrace just as enthusiastically, though his eyes were dry. They’d changed, his eyes, or perhaps you’d just learned to notice the hardness that resided in them. “I’m home.” Childe murmured, eyes closed, expression one of perfect bliss. “Don’t worry beloved, I’m home.”

His presence never left yours the days he came to visit. Always there was an arm slung around your waist, or a chin resting on your shoulder or your head. His presence was as comforting as ever, and you soaked it in gladly. He’d changed. Not that you were surprised by that, of course he’d changed. His confidence was much more calculated, his words now slicked with flattery and deceit. He easily persuaded the fishmonger to give you a discount, and some sweet talk with the waiter at a café you frequented earned you a free lemon loaf. You took it, knowing that he just wanted to treat you, but the sugary confection stuck to the roof of your mouth, which had somehow developed a bitter taste.

You said nothing about it. There was no longer any point in arguing. You two were tied together by all sorts of strings. History, location, youth, love. And yet you’d gone your own separate ways. No more were the dreams of adventuring together. The real world had come along and stolen it away. The Tsaritsa had ripped that future from your grasp, and with it went your happiness.

“Are you happy, my love?” Childe asked late one evening. You were cuddled on the small couch in what comprised your living room. You nestled against Childe, breathing him in. Were you happy? No. But in that moment you weren’t unhappy either. In that moment you could forget it all.

“Do you think that sailors feel lonely?” You asked instead, drawing circles absentmindedly on the palms of Childe’s hands. He wore gloves now, expensive ones, not like the mittens that were popular in Snezhnaya. It was so odd to watch him put them on each morning. How things had changed. “They must be lonely,” you continued now, “for there’s nothing but the ship, the water, and the stars above.”

Childe paused, staring off into the distance. He did that a lot recently. You didn’t begrudge him it. Sometimes, when he was in a frank sort of mood, he admitted that he didn’t like the Fatui’s underhanded nature. Better to fight something head on than attack from the shadows. He’d quickly added on that it was the Tsaritsa’s wish, and surely she must know better than him. But it must’ve been difficult, following a path so different than the one you were born to. Betraying your nature, every day of your life.

“It must be lonely sometimes.” He finally replied, glancing back at you. “But I don’t think they’re lonely, no. The stars may be far away, but they’re steadfast, unchanging. And sailors will always be able to rely on them.” You were silent, considering his views.

“Still... stars are so very cold.”

“Perhaps, but they’re also beautiful, are they not? And like I said, who ever heard of a star changing?” A pause, as it seemed Childe was steadying himself, dipping into unpleasant territory. “I hope I will always be your star, my love. I hope you will always be able to rely on me.”

“I will.” You promised, giving Childe a quick kiss. You meant it, even if you weren’t sure that the metaphor was apt. Childe was forever changing; his mannerisms, his name, his location, his words. Sometimes it seemed as if there was nothing left of Ajax, nothing but a small sliver of light, shivering in the darkness that was fate.

“And I will always remained steadfast in my love for you.” Childe promised in return. “For there is nothing more important to me than family, and you are my family. You are that which I hold closest to my heart, and I’ll never stop loving you. I promise.”

His words were smoother than they had been before, polished by the need to be appealing to those who heard it. But you knew they were true. All throughout your life, throughout the pain, the hardship, the feeling of slowly falling off a cliff, all throughout that the one thing that remained was the love between you and Childe. Even if you had nothing, at least you had that.

“Childe?” He grimaced at the word and you paused. “Ajax,” you began again, “are you happy?”

Childe didn’t reply, instead leaning over to kiss you. You reciprocated it gladly, not truly wanting an answer to your question, although a part of you desperately needed it. Was Childe happy? You couldn’t tell. But despite your newfound hatred for the Tsaritsa, your disdain for the gods which had grown in the years of your hardship, your long abandoned faith, you still prayed to the Seven that Childe was happy. Because he deserved it. Because you loved him.

 You tried not to cry when he left, wanting to see him off with a smile and a wave, the way noble men and women would wave to the knights who were on their way to save the kingdom. But always your voice betrayed you, cracking and shaking, trembling violently against the knowledge that you wouldn’t see your loved one again, not for a very long time.

“Be careful.” You whispered, giving Childe one last hug.

“I will.” He assured you, kissing your forehead. “You be careful as well my love, I couldn’t stand it something were to happen to you. If anything happens, think of me, I’ll rush to your side immediately.”

“Don’t forget to write,” you replied, switching the subject so you didn’t have to think about the implications of Childe abandoning the Fatui, what might happen to him if he tried, “your letters are all I have.”

“I hope that’s not true!” Childe said, tone full of false mirth. “I hope you’re happy beloved, I hope you find happiness when I’m gone. Your life ought not to be spent waiting for me.”

“But you’re all I have.” You replied, staring down at the ground. “Everything has changed. My home, my work, my future. Even you’ve changed, you just keep changing and changing, running farther and farther away. But you’re still all I have. And I have to hold on to you, no matter what.”

Childe brought his hand to your cheek, raising your gaze up.

“I’m not changing my darling. No matter what I do, no matter where I go, I’m still Ajax. I’m still the man who wants to spend his life with you, who wants to travel the world with you, fighting monsters, sleeping under the stars at night. I’m still the man who wants to wake up with you every night and go to bed with you every morning. I’ll never run ahead of you, I’ll never leave you behind. Because if I’m all you have then you are what keeps me myself. You are why I can still be Ajax. And that will never change. So don’t despair, and don’t let yourself be swallowed up while I’m gone. Live your life to the fullest, I promise I’ll always be there, waiting for when you need me.”

 Childe waved from the ship he’d boarded until it disappeared over the horizon. You waved back, even as your arm ached and your hand fell asleep. “Goodbye.” You whispered to the wind. There was no reply, but then again you weren’t looking for one.

Childe, Ajax, Tartaglia. These names all belonged to the one you loved. He was a whirlwind, a rogue current which had knocked you off your feet, carrying you into uncertainty. And yet you welcomed him, longed for him, loved him with all your soul.

Even if things kept changing, even if the Fatui’s hold on him only grew stronger, you’d still believe in him. He was your star, guiding you through a desolate ocean. Even if he sometimes disappeared behind the clouds, he’d always be there. You had to believe that, had to trust him.

He was your star after all.

Your Childe.

Your Ajax.

#If you really want to feel down look up the lyrics to “Dear You” and have it on as you read #For some reason the Higurashi soundtrack really fits this fic #I realize there’s a lot of crying in this I hope it’s not too much #childe #childe x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfiction #oneshot #my writing

[dcbutinamrev]

*bonk* i’m also sending you a few prompts for a lams shot :)

26, 28, & 34 perhaps?

Of course bestie!!!

Modern au with of course, their historical appearances. (I'll add 28 and 34 tomorrow- )

26: "I've been in love with you for an embarrassingly long time."

~~~

Nineteen year old high school student and football star and your typical Prince Charming type, whoops and hollers along with his friends who have been with him since Freshman: Richard Kidder Meade, Tench Tilghman, Robert Hanson Harrison, John Fitzgerald along with Benjamin Tallmadge bursts through the Washington Cafe in downtown Manhattan on a clear Friday afternoon.

Eighteen year old Alexander Hamilton sits on a stool behind the counter, waiting for customers to approach to take their orders. He huffs out a breath, glancing around the non-busy cafe, watching customers doing work on their laptops, taking occasional sips of their drinks or munching on their pastries, listening to distant conversation. His foster father, who also happens to be his teacher as well, George Washington would work in the back where the Manager Office is but he's currently finishing up some documentation and paper work at the school, his older foster brother Gilbert Marquis de Lafayette works in the kitchen and takes the orders to the right customers, while Hamilton sits by himself, alone, at the cashier with a violet apron around his black short-sleeved shirt and black jeans. Hamilton's striking dark red hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail, a few curls falling in front of his ears and bouncing slightly on his forehead.

"Anything?" Lafayette asks as he pokes his head through the cracked door to the kitchen.

Hamilton shakes his head, resting his cheek in his palm as he turns to gaze out the windows. "Notta."

"Hm," is all Lafayette says before he slams the door shut and continues working.

Hamilton sighs again, shaking his head before finally, out of mere boredom, pulls out his phone from his back pocket, scrolling lazily through his socials.

"Uh...excuse me?" a distinctly southern voice says, snapping Hamilton out of his distant, far off look.

Hamilton yelps with surprise, whipping his head back and forth before finally landing on, let's be honest here, his crush since Freshman--John Laurens--stands before him. Hamilton tenses when he sees the beautiful, angelic man before him. He breathes in slowly, holding his breath when his violet-indigo blue eyes lands on bright summer blue ones.

Is it hot in here or is that just me? Hamilton thinks, furrowing his brows slightly.

"Yes...?" Hamilton asks after a few moments of silence, clicking his phone off before sliding it back into his pocket and turning to face the blonde man before him. Hamilton stares at the man's hair. It's bright, rich in color and looks like silk. Smooth and flowy, almost the color of honey. Hamilton suddenly wishes to touch the boy's hair.

Laurens glances at his friends behind him, who nod encouragingly with unusually bright smiles. Laurens clears his throat, turning back towards Hamilton who now has his arms crossed over his chest and his head tipped back, an eyebrow raised challengingly and expectantly at the same time.

Laurens presses his lips together and scratches the back of his neck. "I um..." He clears his throat. "I um...can I talk with you...for a moment?"

Hamilton hesitates, glancing over his shoulder where he sees Lafayette in the small rectangular window, hissing out a curse in French. Hamilton grimaces when he hears something clatter onto the floor before turning back to Laurens.

"I don't talk to strangers," Hamilton says.

Laurens chuckles. "Cheeky. You know I'm not a stranger, Alexander. I've known you since Freshman. And we're both in the same classes together." A pause. "English--with Mr. Washington--Biology, Calculus, Theatre, Band--"

"I know, John," Hamilton giggles.

"Then why--?"

"You know how my brother is," Hamilton interrupts, leaning forward with his arms crossed over his chest. "Especially with people like you. Even if he knows who you are."

Laurens ticks his eyes at the kitchen door behind Hamilton's shoulders before turning back towards Hamilton, nodding reassuringly. "It'll be quick. I promise."

Hamilton sets his mouth and sets his jaw, giving Laurens a look.

Laurens tosses both hands up. "Just...five minutes. That's all..."

Hamilton glances over his shoulder a second--or third--time before huffing out a breath and nodding, sliding off the stool and following Laurens towards the male's bathroom nonetheless.

Hamilton furrows his brows as he follows Laurens, his brows furrowing together and tensing when he sees Laurens swings open the bathroom door. He's noticed things like this in movies. In his peripheral, he can see Laurens's friends nodding eagerly and flashing him bright smiles with thumbs up.

Laurens slams the door shut after shoving Hamilton into the bathroom. Hamilton stands just a few feet behind Laurens, watching him carefully with his arms crossed still over his chest, an eyebrow raised as he tenses at Laurens's every move.

"Relax, it's not Hollywood," Laurens says, mirroring Hamilton's position and leaning against the white sink. Hamilton simply gives him an untrusting look. Laurens sighs, defeated. "I...I wanted to talk to you. Privately. For a reason."

"And that is...what...to murder me?" Hamilton whispers, taking another step back.

Laurens shakes his head. "No! I told you, Ginger, this isn't Hollywood!"

"Then why else would you have--"

"If you would just shut up, Ginger, and listen to me then perhaps you'll find out yourself," Laurens snaps, raising an eyebrow.

Hamilton rightfully clicks his mouth shut. Laurens nods curtly once.

"Good," Laurens says. "Anyways, I brought you here so I won't make a fool of myself in front of the boys."

Hamilton just simply gapes at him confusedly and suspiciously,

"I um..." Laurens clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck. He pulls something from the back of his pocket, causing Hamilton to stiffen. Hamilton relaxes instantly when he sees the boy hand him a simple sheet of paper. "...Happy birthday, Alex..."

Hamilton's birthday was last week, Janurary 11. Hamilton eyes the paper before snatching it from Laurens's hands. He unfolds the crinkling paper and his eyes widen instantly. Laurens smiles as Hamilton holds a small box now and lifts the lid, revealing a necklace.

"It was my mother's..." Laurens says, breaking the silence between them.

Hamilton whips his head sharply at Laurens's direction, his eyes wide as his fingers fiddle with the silver chain, the small silver heart resting in his palm.

"She uh...she told me...that if..." Laurens clears his throat, taking a step closer to Hamilton. "She told me that...that if I...if I had found true love...then...this is theirs."

Hamilton's breath hitches in his throat, making Laurens's small smile grow wider as he nods with confirmation.

"Alexander...Alex...we've been friends for months, years even and...well...since you've walked onto those steps at the school... I uh...I've just been...I don't know...I just--"

Laurens's words are suddenly cut off when he feels soft lips against his. He stiffens, unsure what to do, his shoulders up to his ears and his hands hover in the air by Hamilton's elbows. He stares down at Hamilton wide-eyed, shocked by the sudden action, but melts into his embrace after a few minutes.

Laurens shifts around so both of his hands now rest on Hamilton's hips, shifting around again so he's even more taller than he was before, dipping his head down and at an angle to capture those beautiful soft, pink lips of this unique redheaded boy from the depths of the Caribbean.

Laurens grins when he hears Hamilton sigh lightly as they slowly pull apart, breathing sharply, their foreheads touch, chest nearly touching. Hamilton scoffs out a laugh, tipping his head back up to meet Laurens once more, brushing a loose strand of honey blonde hair behind his ear, resting his hand under Laurens's jaw.

"John--"

"Jack," Laurens says.

"What?" Hamilton gasps, eyebrows high and deep violet eyes dilated.

"Jack," Laurens says again. "My family calls me Jack."

Hamilton feels the corner of his lips quirk up. "Am I family?"

Laurens smiles wide, tucking a loose strand of red hair behind Hamilton's ear. "You...you are something more...than family."

A pause.

"Jack...I...I've been in love with you for an embarrassingly long time..." Hamilton confesses, a shy smile on his face.

Laurens grins, leaning down to steal a kiss.

"So have I."

*Bonus under the cut!*

A few weeks later...

"Uh...John?" Hamilton says as he sits with Laurens and the boys at a table, discussing random things like class work or homework or football or crushes or gamers. Hamilton now sits upon Laurens's lap, Laurens's arms around his waist.

"Hm?" Laurens questions, raising an eyebrow as he rests his chin on the back of Hamilton's shoulder.

"Um...how am I...how are we going to tell Gil about us...?"

"Uh...we won't," Laurens says. "Not unless you're ready, my dear boy."

Hamilton hums, giggling softly before pressing a kiss to Laurens's lips.

Hamilton doesn't know how long it's been since they've began kissing but Hamilton knows they're now almost to the point of making out against the booth, the others groaning, complaining and shielding their eyes, when he hears a sharp shriek.

Hamilton tenses and pulls off, fixing the collar of his shirt before whipping his head over his shoulder to find his brother standing behind him. Hamilton and Laurens both pale.

"JOHN FUCKING LAURENS! Get the fuck off my baby brother right now!" Lafayette barks.

"I'm dead aren't I...?" Laurens whispers into Hamilton's ear.

Hamilton nods, never taking his eyes off of Lafayette's. "You are so dead, babe."

"BABE?!" Lafayette shrieks.

"Well, I'll uh...I'll see you after school, yeah?" Laurens whispers.

Hamilton nods. "Yeah..."

"Keep the change," Laurens says, slapping a twenty into Lafayette's palm before patting his shoulder before bolting out of the door.

Lafayette turns his sharp, intimidating gaze before turning to face Hamilton, who shrinks and grimaces.

"Uh...I can explain?"

Lafayette simply stares at Hamilton, his protective instincts getting the best of him as he mumbles something incoherently under his breath in French before stomping out of the room.

Hamilton let's out a sharp breath.

He has never felt that terrified around his brother before.

Ever.

After a few minutes of silence, Meade breaks it.

"Well...that escalated quickly."

#asks #ask liz #liz writes #prompts #writing promts #historical lams #lams #lams fic #ficlet #fluff #alexander hamilton #john laurens #washington's aides #marquis de lafayette #protective lafayette is yes #bedtime now #i am so exhausted #lee!

[openheart12]

Mask of Death

A/N: I’ve been working on this fic for months so I hope you all enjoy I was so nervous to post lol

Thank you as always to @rigatonireid for pre-reading!! ❤️

Summary: Reader is kidnapped and of course, Spencer is there to save the day.

Warnings: mention of blood, kidnapping, implied torture, yk normal CM stuff lol

Word Count: 2,087

You had been working at the BAU for the past four years and since starting there, you had made lifelong friends. Emily, Aaron, David, Penelope, Derek and JJ were the best friends you could’ve asked for. Then there was Spencer. Spencer Reid who had become your closest friend and who you had caught feelings for almost immediately. Always wondering if he felt the same way as you did for him, but that was wishful thinking and you knew it.

The rare freetime that the team got was mostly spent together like having dinner at Rossi’s or going to the park with Henry and Jack. You and Spencer would always be glued to each other's sides and it didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the team. They would make jokes to which you and Spencer would just blush while trying to change the topic away from you two.

When you had finally worked up enough courage to tell Spencer how you felt, you were shocked and relieved to find out he felt the same way. Your relationship could’ve been a liability so together, the two of you told Aaron who was behind ecstatic for you. You figured it had something to do with him losing his own wife, but you hadn’t been at the BAU for that.

Flash forward to the present, the team had been called to Rock Springs, Wyoming after a series of murders had taken place over the course of a month. The unsub held them captive for three days, torturing them before dumping their bodies into the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

“Wheels up in thirty,” you heard Hotch say after he finished the debriefing, bringing you out of your thoughts.

It was a pretty standard unsub, traumatic childhood, white male in his early twenties or thirties, but as the case went on, it was anything but standard.

Of course you and Spencer sat next to each other on the plane, your hands interlaced throughout the whole flight. He was reading a new book you had gotten him from Christmas while you and Emily were talking about her and JJ’s upcoming wedding plans. The two had been dating for a couple years before Emily asked the big question.

You and Spencer went to check out the last known address of Walter Williams after landing in Wyoming. It wasn’t often that the two of you were teamed up together.

Arriving at a house in the middle of nowhere, you and Spencer walked up to the front door and knocked with no answer. You checked the back door while Spencer went to check a barn in the backyard. It was only for a minute and the next thing you know you woke up in a basement with your arms tied behind your back and your legs tied to a chair. You felt liquid trickle down the side of your head and assumed it was blood. You winced from the lights and they were dim so you probably had a concussion.

Your thoughts quickly wandered over to Spencer wondering if he was okay or not because you didn’t know what had happened, but before you could think of anything else, a man with sandy blonde hair and was about average height, walking into the room, a gun in hand.

“Y/N…” he smiled wickedly at you and the fact that he knew your name, sent a shiver down your spine. Something was definitely not right. “How is Spencer doing? Your four year anniversary is coming up, isn’t it?” He smirked at seeing your fear, you tried to keep your face straight, but miserably failed. “Cat got your tongue? Oh sorry, I forgot you’re allergic to them.”

“Who are you?” You finally managed to ask.

“You don’t remember me?” You shook your head no so he continued, “you probably remember my daughter, Anna, who was murdered the year before last. You promised me you would find her killer and I’ve been following you and not once did you ever look into her case again.”

Suddenly, you remembered the little girl, the one who still haunts your dreams from the brutality of her murder. You had looked into her case afterwards, but there were other little girls out there who needed you and the team. It was a hard decision, but you had to move on at the time.

“Mr. Williams...I promise you we tried everything we could, followed up on every lead we had, but we didn’t have any evidence and those are the hardest cases to solve.” You thought maybe reasoning with him would help, but it only angered him further.

“So that’s all she was to you? Just another case to be solved?” He scoffed, “that was my baby and I lost her and you didn’t do a damn thing.” He took a step closer to you, “well, you know what this means for you, don’t you?” He gave you a smile that made goosebumps erupt across your body. You in fact, know what this meant for you. If he stuck to his patterns that was.

“Revenge isn’t going to bring Anna back.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” You watched as he put his gun in the holster on his hip and traded it for a knife. You could tell he enjoyed the fear he provoked from you and it only edged him on. He ever so lightly ran the knife down your cheek to your neck and back up. “You know, this is the exact thing my Anna went through that night.”

You thought back to the details of the recent strings of murders that had the same M.O. as his daughters and didn’t know how you couldn’t piece it together. You tried to push the images of Anna out of your head all the time, Hotch had even brought up the idea of therapy to you afterwards and you took it.

“They’re going to find me,” you said confidently to which he just laughed. “She’s better off without you,” you shot back causing him to stop laughing and then everything went black.

You awoke some time later, you had no idea how long you were out. Minutes, hours, it all felt the same. Something in front of you had caught your eye, there was a video recorder with the red light blinking meaning it was on and you had no idea who was watching.

“Spence…” you called out softly. No answer. Your head was pounding now and the lights were making it worse. You jumped after hearing the door open and Walter walking back in.

“If you say shit like that again, it’ll be the last thing you do,” he warned and you weakly nodded your head. “Now where were we?” He glanced back at the camera and grinned. “Enjoy the show, Spencer Reid.” That caught your attention and your eyes widened in horror.

“Please, don’t do this,” you pleaded, but he got his knife out and went straight to you. After he was done, he left you in a bloody mess. The amount of blood you were losing wasn’t good and you began to feel lightheaded. You hoped, prayed that they would find you soon because your body was quickly beginning to give up. Walter repeated the process every hour, making you lose more and more blood. You had to stay strong for Spencer and your friends.

“FBI!” You heard and you felt hopeful for a split second, but that quickly vanished when you felt the cool metal of a gun pressed against your temple. The agents and officers poured into the dimly lit room, your eyes immediately going to Spencer’s. His eyes were full of fear...and something more that you couldn’t decipher. You tore your eyes away from him, taking in the faces of Hotch, Prentiss, Rossi, Jareau and Morgan. A flash of pink through the door caught your eye and you couldn’t help the small smile that passed over your face. Garcia had stayed back in Quantico as usual, but the news of your kidnapping had brought her to Wyoming. It warmed your heart to know that your friends cared so much about you and if you were to die, at least you would be surrounded by the people you loved the most.

“Let her go and we can help you,” you heard Hotch’s voice, but Walter’s grip on you tightened. You tried to meet Hotch’s eyes, to try to tell him that your life wasn’t more important than the other two girls who were still missing. They had family waiting for them and Spencer would be fine without you...right?

Hotch lowered his gun, the other agents following suit. “You don’t want to do this, let her go and we can talk. We can tell them you cooperated with us or make a deal with you, but in order for that to happen, you have to let her go,” he said in a calm, unwavering voice.

“Tell them where the other girls are and you can do whatever you want to me,” you said loud enough for only him to hear you.

“I’ll take you up on that offer, Pretty Girl,” he whispered in your ear causing you to shiver at the nickname that only Spencer or Derek would call you.

Hotch took a slow, tentative step forward making Walter return his attention back to him. “Step any closer and that’s it,” he harshly pulled you back, a whimper leaving your lips at the force. You saw Spencer’s eyes that had considerably darkened and in the three years you two had dated, you had never seen him this angry. He was always able to compose himself, but when it came to you? The man lost his ability to think straight and not to mention, that this was your first time being held hostage.

“Let her go.” Spencer tried this time.

“Wouldn’t you like that, Pretty Boy?” You could tell that was when Spencer realized who he was.

“You’re Anna’s father,” he stated. Spencer knew how much her case had affected you. “She wouldn’t want you to do this, Walter. She was nine years old and what happened to her was a tragedy, but you are torturing her closest friends right now merely for the fact that they’re alive and she’s not. Y/N, she worked tirelessly on your daughter’s case day after day and I know this because I was helping her. We hadn’t given up, but we were stuck and there were other cases that needed our attention. So I’m asking, for the sake of your daughter’s memory, let Y/N go and we can talk this out.”

You felt his grip on you loosen enough that you were able to get free and ran straight into Spencer’s arms. A shot rang out and you didn’t know where it came from. Spencer grasped your face with his hands, gently, to avoid hurting you further. “Are you okay?”

“B-better now,” you gave him a small smile, but you slowly felt yourself losing consciousness.

“I need an ambulance!” Spencer shouted out, cradling your bloodied body in his arms as he gently lowered you to the ground.

The soft murmuring of the hospital machines was enough to make you stir. Your entire body ached and your head was pounding and there was a weight on your stomach. When you opened your eyes, you saw Spencer with his head on your stomach with his eyes closed. A smile made its way onto your mouth and you softly ran your fingers through his hair, ignoring the pain it caused. You were just glad to be here with him without a gun pointed to your head. The gesture was enough to wake him up and he quickly moved off of you.

“Y/N…” you saw tears pricking his eyes and you felt your own start to water.

“Spence, I’m right here,” you patted the space next to you and as carefully as he could, he got into the bed with you and wrapped an arm around you protectively.

“God, I love you. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I love you so much.” Time passed and eventually the doctor came to check on you and was letting you go home as long as you had someone to be there for you and you did, you would always have Spencer in your corner no matter what.

“Come on, let’s go home,” he smiled at you and you matched it.

“Let’s go home,” you repeated.

#criminal minds fanfic #spencer x y/n #spencer x reader #spencer reid x reader #Spencer Reid #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid fanfiction

[dp-marvel94]

Fractured

For the Phic Phight 2021.

Prompt by @blueoatmeal. Fracture: At his creation, he was a fusion of two mismatched halves. Now, the Dark Phantom is split into two pieces again.

Word Count: 4828

Also on A03 and Fanfiction.net

Warnings for suicide mention, mention of blood, general TUE timeline awefullness

This took me so long to finish but I'm done. I've actually really wanted to write something like this for a while. It's also inspired this post, a conversation with @all-out-disney based on a prompt by @danphanwritingprompts.

When he had first been created, it was painful. The combination of two mismatched parts, two fractured pieces that never should have come together to form a whole. In the beginning, Phantom and Plasmius had fought against each other. Everything had been confusion and pain. So much information, so many memories and sensations clashing together. The two had nearly fallen apart at the start. But the thing holding them together? Anger.

Kill it! Kill the brat!

No! No! The new being’s hands held their head while it screamed.

Weak! It was his fault! In his head, one voice screamed. His fault they’re gone.

His fault? The other voice asked, the words echoing in their head.

An enraged hiss. His fault! His fault! 

They’re gone.

Gone! He threw us away! 

A fresh memory. Being ripped out of his body, his souls being pulled apart. Oozing, bleeding. A pain in his inmost being.

He threw us away...But...

In front of the lanky, blue skinned ghost, a blue-eyed boy trembled. Danny’s human half whimpered. “Please! Stay away!”

Quick! Do it now! In the air, the new ghost twitched, hunched over in pain.

But...I don’t want to-

He didn’t want us. Didn’t want us. Pain. Pain. His fault.

That licked at their anger. He didn’t want me. A growl. This was supposed to fix things, supposed to make the pain go away.

It’s his fault.

The human pressed up against the wall, his breath quickening. “No. This is wrong. This is wrong.”

“This is your fault.” The new being hissed, his voice a sick, twisted echo of the human’s.

Danny shook, eyes widening. “No. I didn’t...I didn’t want this.”

I didn’t want this. One voice echoed the human’s words.

Kill him! Before he destroys us!

Shakily, one hand lit with an ectoblast. Their eyes widened with terror even as a wicked grin stretched across their face.

No! I don’t-

The being shot the blast anyway. Danny screamed as the energy burned him. He scrambled to get away, his hands reaching for something to protect himself with. He grabbed a green and silver device and jabbed it at the ghost.

The flaming-haired figure growled in pain. It hurt. Everything hurt. It wasn’t supposed to hurt anymore.

Make the pain go away. Destroy the weakness.

Weakness. The part of them that was, that had been Phantom, remembered. Pain. Too weak, too slow, too stupid to save them. Curled on his bed, crying until he couldn’t breath. Wishing he could just die. There’ll be no pain if he’s dead.

Die then. The part that was Plasmuis, remembered. His phone dropped out of his numb gripp. He never got his revenge, never got Maddie as his bride. Listening to Daniel weep, the boy broken, withering away. Pathetic, weak.

Anger surged at the sight in front of them, worsened by the pain of the attack. The new ghost lunged, red hot rage coalescing the battling thoughts into a single line, a single drive.

Make the pain go away.

The human Danny never had a chance.

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

The new ghost settled, smoothing out into something like one being. He grew in power and ability. He didn’t worry about things like names. Everyone who really knew where he’d come from was dead. As was his past. His past didn’t matter. (But it did. It did. It still hurt so much. He still missed his parents. His dear Maddie, the oaf Jack. Sam and Tucker. Daniel’s little friends. His sister. Jasmine.)

No, that didn’t matter. None of it mattered. None. All there was, all that matter was his work. He had important work to do. He needed to amass more power so he could take what he wanted, do what he wanted. And what he wanted? For the pain to go away, at a global, no, a universal scale. No one would hurt if they all were dead.

He was never supposed to exist. Really all things considered, he shouldn’t. He was two fragments clinging to each other. (But...that gap, that hole it was still there. It was still there. He shouldn’t have killed Danny Fenton. He missed...he missed Danny. He missed being Danny). He was better without those weak human halves (Lie.) He was never supposed to exist  and yet...here he was. And he would do what he needed to.

Years passed. The new ghost, called The Dark Phantom or just Phantom by his enemies and victims, (The name sickened him.) raged. He killed and maimed and destroyed. Ghosts were warped by his hand. Blood was spilled. The world was ravaged. He tried to destroy humanity but they were resilient. (He should stop. He needed to stop. He didn’t want this.)

He started collecting objects of power. The crown of fire. The ring of rage. He destroyed the Ghost King. The Infinite Realms were under his thumb. 

And then...he discovered the Reality Gauntlet.

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

The Dark Phantom floated over the ravaged battlefield. Builds crumbled around him, the smell of smoke and fresh spilled blood filling his nose. He grinned wickedly, clutching his prize in his hands. The humans had fought to keep it from them, they really had. Those idiotic GIW had hid it deep underground years before, their only intelligent action before he’d overpowered them. They’d destroyed all physical and digital records of it.

But he’d found it. He’d found the Reality Gauntlet anyway, killing and destroying anyone and anything in his path. Even now, his greatest human enemy, Valerie Gray the Ghost Slayer, laid dead at his feet. Even she’d fallen in the futile attempt to keep ultimate power out of his hands.But she’d failed. They all had failed. And now he held the glove in his gasp.

The ghost laughed evilly. And now he could have anything, anything at all he wanted. He floated higher, looking towards something at the horizon at the green glow of a ghost shield. Within that barrier laid Amity Park, the last resistance, humanities’ last stronghold. And now he could destroy it. One thought and he could destroy everything.

The ghost flew closer, coming to stop at a hill overlooking the city. It was a rare bare area, free of the usual twisted metal and broken concrete of apocalyptic landscape. Instead, there was just knee length grass. He landed and slid the glove onto his right hand.

Now, how did he want to do this? How did he want to destroy this thorn in his side? Fire? Nuclear explosion? Maybe he should freeze it solid? Not that was stupid. Asteroid impact? Suck it into a black hole? Maybe he should just suck the whole planet into a black hole. The ghost tapped his chin. He had always wondered what that would be like. What did a black hole actually look like in person? What would it be like to fall into one? What would it feel like? Would you really sit at the event horizon and watch all of time for the rest of the universe pass in the eternal moment before you were ripped apart?

The Dark Phantom shivered. There was the space nerdiness again. It did love to rear its head at the strangest moments. He shook his head. He needed to focus on how he would destroy his hometown. The place where he’d grown up, where he’d learned to ride a bike and meet his friends. Where he’d watched the stars and gone to high school and where he’d died the first time. Where his friends and family had died. 

The images flashed in his mind and the ghost pinched his eyes closed. A fiery explosion, concrete and metal, his pounding heart as he stood intangible in the middle of the wreckage. (He should have died with them.) Numb, sitting with the paramedics. Shock, they said. It was weeks before he spoke again. Standing in the rain, the two half ghosts together. Danny hadn’t even had the energy to flinch away when Vlad had put his hand on his shoulder, smuggly smiling down at the boy. Staring at the grave. Graves that were on the other side of the shield.

The ghost shivered, pushing the images away. No, stop that. Stop that. He would destroy them. He’d destroy the graves and the city. The plants that Sam loved so much, all the technology that Tucker tinkered with. Every single last book that his sister, Jasmine, studied. Every, single damn blasted ghost that his parents, his dear friends, were obsessed with. He’d destroy all of it, all of it damn it. He pressed the Gaunlet’s gems in sequence. He’d never have to look at their graves, remember any painful memory ever again.

The Dark Phantom pressed his will into the gems. With his eyes closed, his fractured soul poured its deepest desire into the glove. Power surged out of the Gauntlet, the smell of ozone burning the air. The ghost braced himself. It would happen any second now, the one thing he wanted. It would be his and all of this would be over. But...there was nothing. No heat, no cold, no explosion, no screaming, no crying. Nothing.

Instead, there were five soft thumps in front of him and one behind him. The ghost didn’t dare look yet. Then finally, after what felt like forever, there was a gasp. The ghost opened his eyes and his jaw dropped. There in front of him were five people. Each was sitting on the ground, rubbing their heads. None were looking at him yet. But his eyes flickered between the figures.

This couldn’t….this couldn’t be. It couldn’t...He knew...No...He didn’t….he didn’t. They couldn’t be...these weren’t….but….

Sam? Tucker? He wanted to ask, but the words choked him. He glanced between the two. Sam, who was staring angrily at the ruined environment. Tucker, who was taking his glasses on and off, as if that would change what he was seeing. 

But the image didn’t change, no matter how many times the ghost blinked. Here they were. They were really here, right in front of him. His (Daniel’s little) best friends. These two who’d been with him through it all. Through tests and projects and long days at the arcade and the waterpark. Through the accident. Through the power malfunctions and the late night ghost fighting. (No, he’s been alone. His friends had left him in that hospital to rot.)  Through injuries and secrets and- 

“Madds? Where are we?” Dad’s (Jack’s) cut through. 

The ghost’s eyes widened. It was his Dad. His Dad! The man who read him bedtime stories and chased away the ‘ghosts’ in the closet and hugged him close when he was scared. (That oaf always ate all the food he’d bought from himself! He made a mess of the dormroom.) 

The ghost whined, clenching his head. It ached with the contradictions. Happiness, relief, pure joy, the love of a child for their parents. Dad had taught him how to tie a tie and had driven him to the movies and took him stargazing. Anger, Hatred, The Longing for vengeance. (He stole the love of his life! He couldn’t obey the most basic laboratory safety!)

“I don’t know.” Mom’s (Maddie’s) voice cut through. She rapidly looked side to side, eyes widening with fear. “How did we get here?”

His Mom, his core sang. His mom. The woman who’d kissed his bo-bos and made him cookies and taught him self defense and took him out for milkshakes. (The most beautiful woman he’d ever laid his eyes on.)

Head throbbing, the ghost doubled over, feeling sick. No. NO! That was wrong. This was wrong. No.

“Ghost!” Dad (the oaf) suddenly yelled.

The sound of feet stomping towards him. “You! Do you bring us here, ghost?”

The ghost looked up, shakingly meeting the woman’s (beautiful) purple eyes. “Yes...no...I..I..” His insides churned, painfully as he shrunk back from her angry glare. This was his mom. She was supposed to be happy to see him. He’d brought her back. Now he could finally steal her from Jack. The ghost growled. “Shut up.”

“What did you say to me?!” Mom glared, pulling an ectogun from her holster.

“Mo-addie.” The ghost cried, his quickly fragmenting mind switching between the two names. He stumbled backwards as Sam and Tucker finally seemed to notice the adults. 

“Mrs. F!” Tucker exclaimed. 

“Mr. Fenton!” Sam shakily stood up, rushing to the man.

“Sam. Tuck.” The ghost whispered. He was shaking, his knees knocking together. It hurt. His insides hurt. This was...he was wrong. This wasn’t...he wasn’t...this didn’t….

Mom...Maddie...Mom continued pointing the gun at him. “Where are we?”

He groaned, falling to his knees. The flame of his hair flickered erratically.

In front of him, Jack...Dad...Jack...had run to the still unconscious Jazz. He shook her roughly and the girl groaned. Sam and Tucker found the pair, helping the older teen sit up. 

“Who are you?” Mom spat out.

Who? Who...he didn’t….

Jazz blinked, taking in her surroundings. She then turned to the side, her eyes falling on his. Her gaze flickered to the emblem on his chest. Her mouth feels open. “Danny?” She whispered.

His mind stopped. Danny? That was (not) his name. Or it had been. (No it wasn’t). It had been his name. No. He...he missed...he missed that name. (That brat, that fool, pathetic). The ghost whined, his insides revolting. His eyes flickered. Red. Green. Red. Green. The black and white on his suit swirled, shifted.

“Danny.” Jazz repeated, more certain.

The ghost nodded. Then he shook his head. Yes. No. Both. Neither. Both….Yes...No...

“What...what’s happening to him?” Tucker asked fearfully.

What was happening?! What was happening?! He wrapped his arms around his middle as if that could hold him together. Maybe….no…

“Never mind that!” Sam hissed. “What happened to us? How did we get here?”

“The last thing I remember is….” Jazz’s eyes widened with shock and pain. “We...we..all of us, we….”

“You all died.” A voice, a new voice behind him, whispered. 

The ghost tensed, stiffening. He shook torn between wanting desperately to look and being terrified (disgusted) with what he’d see because-

“You all...you all died.” The young male voice choked out again.

That voice, it was so familiar. It was...it was...Rapidly, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker looked between the ghost and the figure standing behind him.

Shakily, Jazz stood, her eyes focusing on the speaker behind the ghost. "Danny?" Her eyes flickered to Dark Phantom (?) again. "You're both…. How are you…?" She stuttered, unable to ask the vital question.

But the ghost knew what she was asking. He knew who was behind him but-

"Jazz." Feet shuffled towards him. "You're...you're alive. You're all alive." A whisper. "I'm...I'm alive."

The ghost felt a sensation, so similar, almost like a heart skipping a beat. Shakily, he started to turn. 

It made sense, in a strange way, for him to have brought back his friends and family (but why would he care about Daniel's little friends or that oaf?) A shake of the head. No, stop that. It did make sense. It did. But bringing HIM back?

Another foot step sounded behind, to his left. The ghost's eyes finally met the speaker's eyes, familiar blue eyes.

Danny, Danny Fenton, identical to the the day he died, stood in front of him. The boy stared at him with a complicated expression. Fear, shock, confusion, awe. It was all there. He blinked, lip twitching. "You….you brought me back." 

His core squeezed and pulsed, his form rippling as pain shot through him. Danny Fenton. He'd brought Danny Fenton (himself, his human half; the insolent brat) back to life. Back to life. Because he never should have killed him in the first place. (Why shouldn't he have?) No! He shouldn't have! That was a mistake! A mistake! The pain was supposed to go away when he destroyed his humanity but it did, it didn't! 

His whole body was smoking, cracks forming along his skin. The ache had just grown, gap yawning wider. Instead of being whole, complete, he...they...were two fragments clinging together for stability, for survival. He wasn't supposed to exist like this.

Questions, demands were buzzing around him but there was no registering the words. In front of him, Danny was rapidly backing away, eyes widening with fear.

Danny. Daniel. An arrogant hiss. He missed Danny, he missed being Danny. He missed being alive. No he didn't, that was ridiculous.

"No!" A roar, two voices screaming at once.

The being writhed, hastily made connection tearing. They weren't supposed to exist like this. So they didn't.

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

Phantom and Plasmius broke apart, flying in opposite directions. The younger ghost skidded across the grass before careening to a stop. He curled in on himself, shaking and whining. 

Around him, alarmed and confused questions rose in volume but he couldn't hear over the brief sound of someone cackling and the sound of his sobs.

Wait, sobs? When had he started crying? He sniffled, a tear falling down his face. Yep, crying. He was crying. He shook, great emotion overcoming him. Horror, sorrow, grief, guilt. He...he remembered everything, all the horrible things he'd done with Plasmius.

"Danny! Danny! Get away from the ghost!" Mom was yelling.

Sneakered feet approached, a lithe figure falling to his knees in front of Phantom. Warm, peach colored hands reached out, grabbing his arms and pulling him into a seated position. 

The emotions intensified, hitting the ghost like a brick wall. A double memory. Killing his human half. Being killed by his ghost half. The first murder of his reign of terror. His botched yet successful suicide. It was excruciating, tearing his soul from both sides.

"I..I…" Phantom gasped, finally meeting the blue eyes through the tears. 

"You and Plasmius...you killed me." Fenton said without accusation.

"I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Phantom begged. The words didn't cover it at all, the width and depth of his iniquity, of the travesties he'd committed in his insanity.

"I asked you to." Fenton whispered, looking down guiltily. "I wanted to die." He shifted, pulling Phantom towards him. "Oh god. I shouldn't have split us. I shouldn't have done that."

The ghost didn't resist as Fenton wrapped his arms around him. Instead, he clung to the human as if he would disappear. "I shouldn't...I shouldn't have joined Plasmius. I shouldn't have killed you." His core spasmed, again threatening to fracture under the strain. "I shouldn't...oh god I...I destroyed everything." 

He could barely comprehend what he and Plasmius had done, all he'd been through. And the guilt wared with other feelings at the edge of his perception. Part of him wanted to be hopeful, happy even if it was so abominably selfish. He'd missed being human, being alive. He missed being Danny Fenton. But…. Danny Fenton was in front of him, his still living soul and body pressed up against his chest. He'd brought himself back to life.

And his friends and family. They were behind him. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were holding his parents back and offering them cursory explanations. For a brief moment, Phantom wondered; how did Jazz know his secret? 

But then the greater issue reared its head. His loved ones didn't know what was going on here. They didn't know the world he'd dragged them into. And now, they didn't need two broken, inconsolable pieces. They needed all of him. They needed Danny.

Phantom breathed, pulling this human self closer as he felt Fenton's agreement. He relaxed, feeling his body become tingling and numb. He let go of tangibly, becoming nothing more than a cloud. He was fog being burned away by the morning light. No, he was a cup of water poured back into the lake he'd come from. He was liquid, spreading out, diffusing into a larger body of water, the newly added molecules indistinguishable from the old. Phantom dissolved.

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

There was a flash of light. Danny Fenton-Phantom remained frozen on his knees. His arms wrapped around himself as he cried. 

This didn't feel like the last time, with the ghost catcher. Then, when he'd finally come back to himself, there had been relief, the feeling of coming home after a long, tiring day. But now, it still hurt. He was home but he didn't belong here, didn't deserve this. He looked up, heart throbbing with love for his family and friends. He didn't deserve them but they needed him.

Shakily, with great effort, Danny pushed himself to his feet. He met his sister's eyes and she ran to him. Finally the two hugged.

"Jazz." He sniffed.

"Little brother." The girl squeezed him.

"I love you so much." He vowed.

The rest approached, his eyes flickering among each person one at a time. "Sam. Tucker." A pause. Finally. "Mom. Dad."

"Danny." Mom's voice rang with a dozen emotions as she joined the hug. "My baby boy."

"I love you. I love you so much. " Danny repeated as his loved ones surrounded him in an embrace. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I love you. I love you guys. I'm sorry. "

The others muttered much the same, assurances of love and apologies. Danny never wanted it to end but it did as the group pulled apart.

His loved ones looked around, faces pale with worry. Finally Tucker asked. "Dude, what happened here?" 

"Was it the ghosts?" Dad asked, alarmed.

Danny flinched at the words. Guilty, he looked down.

Sam bit her lip. "Was it Plasmius?"

Somehow, the boy curled in on himself even more. "It was me." He muttered.

Danny paled, bracing himself. He expected horror and disgust. Accusation. Hateful sneers. And he would deserve it, all of it. But instead, the group stared at him in disbelief.

"Dude, there's no way." Tucker started.

"You couldn't have done this." Sam denied, perfectly confident.

"I did. It was me." Danny whined. "You all were gone and I was all alone. And I just...I was so angry." He gnawed on his lip. "And I just wanted to stop hurting but it didn't work and I thought…." He trailed off. 

Thinking back, the rationale didn't make sense. He couldn't grasp it, couldn't understand what his, his and Plasmius' motivation had been. The thoughts  seemed to slip through his fingers, refusing to stay in his brain. Danny wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing.

"It couldn't have been just you." Jazz softly said, drawing him out of his thoughts. Her hand gently wrapped around his arm. "We saw what happened with that blue skinned ghost." She whispered, as if this was a tightly kept secret.

Nervously, Danny’s eyes flickered to his parents who looked confused and deeply troubled. It was actually surprising that they hadn’t pointed the ectogun at him again, not after they apparently saw his ghost and human halves fuse back together. Obviously, his sister or friends explained that to them and they somehow believed it, or were too overwhelmed to really process. But the bigger problem? Everyone saw the fusion of Phantom and Plasmius fall apart. Again, he shivered at the memory of being even a part of that monster.

“So you and Plasmius….” Sam trailed off, nose wrinkling in disgust.

That disgust was justified, the very idea repulsive. But he’d been angry and desperate after the split. He, the Phantom part, had wanted to be stronger. Because if he had been, then maybe everyone wouldn’t have died. He’d been so angry at the older half ghost, for all the shit Vlad had put him through. And he’d been in so much pain. Vlad was so cold, so unfeeling. If he could be like that, if he could just be numb and selfish for once-

Danny couldn’t bear to say any of that, instead changing the subject. “Plasmius, where did he go?” He looked around, seeing no trace of the other ghost. His brow wrinkled in sudden alarm. “And where’s the Gauntlet?”

“Gauntlet?” His mom blinked, brow furrowing at the question.

Jazz frowned. “That glove thing? Plasmius took it, when he flew off.”

Danny’s heart skipped a beat. He flew off. With the Gauntlet. And he hadn’t noticed until now. No one had said anything either. And….the other ghost could do anything with the reality altering item.

Shakily, the half ghost pulled away from his loved ones. “I need to go after him.” With a thought, he summoned the rings around his waist. His parents’ eyes both widened in alarm while the others looked concerned. He ignored the looks, transforming and floating off the ground.

Danny took an unneeded breath, looking around for any sign of Plasmius in the distance. Which direction would he have gone? The boy frowned, considering. But he didn’t know. He’d just have to set off in one direction and hope he could find him and get the Gauntlet back. He looked around, flinching at the destruction. He’d used it to bring his loved ones back but he still needed it to-

Something blue and white appeared on the horizon, rapidly approaching. The half ghost flinched, recognizing the figure. He shifted in the air, floating to stand between his friends and family and the approaching ghost. Taking a fighting stance, Danny balled his fists and lit them with ectoenergy.

Moments later, Plasmius materialized in front of him. “Daniel.” He looked down at the boy distastefully. “I see you’ve managed to pull yourself back together.”

The boy frowned. “Yes.” He warily eyed the Gauntlet clenched in the other ghost’s hands. “What are you gonna do with that?”

The vampiric ghost scowled. He silently floated for a moment, before his form seemed to glitch, flickering like a broken TV.  His face briefly scrunched up in pain, nose wrinkling. Then his expression smoothed out, turning into something forcefully neutral. He heavily dropped the glove at Danny’s feet. “Fix this.”

The boy stared down at the Gauntlet, blinking in confusion. He bent down and grabbed it, tightly holding the object in his hand.

Behind him, Tucker asked. “Why didn’t he just use it? Ow! Sam!” Obviously, the girl had elbowed him.

Plasmius said nothing, still scowling while Danny considered. Why didn’t the man use it himself? The other ghost’s image flickered again, causing him to let out a low hiss of pain.

“You can’t.” Danny finally said, realization hitting him. “You’re too unstable.” 

It was the other reason their dark version stayed together. Both halves would have faded away, destabilizing into ectoplasm within minutes. And there would have been no solution. Phantom had killed his other half. And Plasmius’ was somewhere in Wisconsin, too far away to be of any help now.

“Fix this.” The other ghost growled again, looking at something in the distance.

This time, there was a greater weight to the words. It wasn’t just a request to be stabilized. It was a demand for more. To clean up the rest of the mess they’d made together.

Danny slipped on the glove. Looking down, he pressed the gems in sequence. Fix this. He needed to fix this. He could fix the damage, heal the people he’d hurt, bring back those who were gone. But…. he remembered his loved ones’ haunted expressions. The horror with which they looked around the destitute environment. 

The halfa closed his eyes, knowing what he needed to do. He took a breath and pushed his desire into gems. The world went white.

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

Danny Fenton woke up in his bed, the remnants of a long nightmare in his mind. The boy groaned, burying his face in his pillow. 

“Danny!” His mom called through the door. “Get up.”

The boy didn’t respond, groaning again. 

At that, the woman opened the door. “Danny. You have to get up. You’re taking the CAT today.”

CAT? His brow furrowed at the information. He was taking the CAT. Slowly, the half ghost sat up. 

“Good.” His mother nodded. “Breakfast is ready downstairs. Go ahead and get dressed.”

After she closed the door, Danny stood. He started getting dressed as she said. His brow still furrowed with confusion. His dream. He’d been dreaming about? He couldn’t quite remember, except it had been horrible. A sense of dread overcame him. And...he needed to fix something. He had to fix something.

Danny pulled on his shirt. He then turned, grabbing his bookbag. It fell open, revealing a manila envelope. Guilt squeezed his heart. The CAT test answers. He picked up the sheet, stuffing it back inside his bag. 

Dread passed through him again, his stomach flopping. He still needed to fix something. But it couldn’t just be about his cheating, right? There was something else.

“Danny! Your father’s going to eat all the bacon if you don’t hurry up.” Mom called.

Danny frowned. Whatever it was, he would figure it out and everything would be okay. Right?

#Danny Phantom #Phic Phight #Phic Phight 2021 #team human #Dan Phantom #TUE #Dark Danny #my fic

[the-modernmary]

my best habit || aaron hotchner x reader (ch. 8)

Chapter summary: When Aaron gets stuck at work late and Jess has to go help out her dad, Aaron has nobody else to turn to but you to watch Jack. The only problem? Up until now, Aaron has been keeping his home life completely separate from you, and you have no clue how this will effect your already precarious relationship with Aaron.

Warnings: N/A

A/N: This was not part of the original plan at all for this story, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.

masterlist || read on ao3

In between What I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine Love is so confusing, there's no peace of mind If I fear I'm losing you it's just no good You teasing like you do - Blondie, “Heart of Glass”

~~~~~~~ 

You were on your couch doing homework when you got the call from Aaron, and you frowned in confusion when you saw his name flash across your cell phone screen. Aaron never called you while he was working, and you especially didn’t expect a call from him today. He was doing a custodial interview with an inmate sentenced to death somewhere in Virginia, and you figured prison didn’t have the greatest cell service.

 “Hey there, jailbird,” you greeted. “Are you inviting me to the dance?”

“Very cute, Elvis,” Aaron joked, but it was half hearted. You could hear the exhaustion in his voice. “I need to ask you for a favor, and I want you to know that I wouldn’t be asking you if I had any other options.”

“Mhm, I love being the last choice,” you mused sarcastically. “You really know how to make a girl feel special, Aaron.”

  Aaron elected to ignore your last comment. “The prison just went on lockdown, so I’m going to be stuck here for at least a few more hours,” he explained, and there was an unnatural nervousness to his voice. “And Jessica has to go deal with an emergency with her father.”

You frowned to yourself, unsure of where Aaron was going with his explanation, and even more unsure of who this Jessica person was. A pang of jealousy shot through you, but you quickly bottled that feeling. 

 Aaron took a moment to compose himself before continuing. “Would you be willing to watch Jack for a few hours? I know it’s not ideal, but it would just be for a little while until either I get out of here or somebody else from the BAU gets off of work. I would even be willing to compensate you for your time.”

Oh.

OH.

Silence crackled through the phone as you took in his request, and you could practically feel Aaron’s nervousness. It shouldn’t have been as big of a deal as it was. It had been two months since you’ve been with Aaron, you slept over at his house enough, and you worked in the same building as him. It was pretty inevitable that of course you were going to meet Jack at some point, but you always figured it would be with Aaron there to mediate. You had pictured that it would probably be accidental, maybe Jack would wake up early and would catch you sneaking out of Aaron’s house. Or you would be invited to one of Rossi’s famous dinners and the kids would be there and then there would be no questions asked. You definitely didn’t expect to babysit.

“Yeah, of course, I can watch him,” you said finally, and you heard Aaron let out a sigh of relief. “And you don’t have to pay me… or worry about finding a replacement. He can hang out with me for as long as you need.”

“Thank you,” Aaron told you, still sounding completely drained. “I will send your address to Jessica, and she will drop Jack off at your place in about half an hour. I really owe you, Y/N. I have to go talk to the warden now, but please call me if you need anything, okay? Bye.” Before you could even answer, Aaron hung up.

You took a deep breath as dread settled in the pit of your stomach. How hard would babysitting be, really? You’ve babysat before - Aly had a little brother who basically became your little brother. However, a weird part of you was nervous that Jack wouldn’t like you, which was ridiculous. It didn’t matter whether or not Jack liked you.

Right?

Deciding that you couldn’t just sit there and panic, you chose to use the time to tidy up your apartment, just to make it extra presentable. The organized mess that was your homework space was quickly arranged so that all of your notebooks and papers were in a neat pile. You took down the half empty tequila bottle from forever ago that was sitting on the top of your fridge and shoved it into a cabinet somewhere. The throw blanket that you had been wrapped up in was refolded and placed on the arm of your couch. You wanted to at least give the illusion that you were prepared to babysit Aaron’s son, and not completely freaking out inside.

Right on schedule, knocking came from your door, and you rushed to open it. You were greeted by a blonde woman, probably a few years younger than Aaron, who you assumed to be Jessica. Next to her was the elusive Jack, with his blonde hair and missing front tooth. You had seen a few photos of Jack in passing, hanging up around Aaron’s house and whatnot, but you never got a good look at the photos.

“Y/N?” Jessica asked cautiously, and you nodded slowly. “Hi, I’m Jessica, Jack’s aunt.”

Jack’s aunt. A million emotions hit you at once. Oh god, she was Haley’s sister. Your stomach started to feel queasy, and it took you a second to realize that it was guilt, although you weren’t quite sure what you felt guilty about. 

Logically, you knew Aaron had a life outside of you. Hell, you had slowly become part of that outside life now that you were friends with his coworkers, but you really tried to avoid thinking about Aaron’s home life. When he wasn’t with you, it was out of sight, out of mind. He was his own individual entity.

Now you were face-to-face with just how insignificant you were in the grand scheme of Aaron’s life. The fact was that you were probably no more than a side storyline in his life, a character created just for Aaron’s own development. He had a life and a family that you barely knew about. There was evidence of his home life everywhere - the bins of toys at his house, drawings on his fridge, family photos in matching frames in the hallway, even a small jewelry box on his dresser that looked like it had been collecting dust for a few years - but you had gotten good at averting your eyes.

“Hi, yes, that’s me,” you replied, shaking Jessica’s hand. Then you bent down so you were closer to Jack’s height. “Hey dude, I’m Y/N,” you introduced, giving him a small wave.

Jessica took the backpack she was carrying and helped Jack slip it onto his shoulders. “Thank you again for doing this on such short notice. Aaron should have sent over my phone number if you need anything, but Jack’s a good kid. He just has some homework that he needs to get done,” she explained.

“It’s no problem,” you told her, giving her your best reassuring smile. “He’s in good hands here.”

Jessica smiled gratefully at you before kneeling down to say goodbye to Jack. You stood in the doorway awkwardly as you watched the interaction curiously. It was as normal as it could get, Jessica telling Jack to behave and that she loves him, but it also fascinated you, like you were watching a movie and all of the characters had popped out of the screen.

Jack gave his aunt a hug before she left, and the two of you stepped into your apartment. That same nervousness came back in full force. What kind of games did he like to play? You didn’t have any toys for him. What if you couldn’t help him with his homework? Do kids his age learn fractions yet, because you did not remember fractions. What if-

“Woah!” came Jack’s voice, breaking you out of your spiraling. “Can I please sit on the bean bag chair?”

Well, Jack certainly wasn’t nervous, which offered you more relief than you thought it would. “Yeah, of course, you can. It’s my favorite place to do my homework.” 

Jack flopped onto the bean bag chair, his tiny frame almost completely consumed by it. You could see the confusion growing on Jack’s face. “You have to do homework?” Jack asked.

“Yup,” you told him. “And I know you do, too, so we can do homework together.”

Jack jutted out his bottom lip in a pout. “Will I have to still do homework when I’m old?”

At that, you let out a genuine laugh, even if you were a little shocked. The kid had personality, you had to admit. “I’m not that old,” you halfheartedly protested, “And maybe. It depends on what you want to be when you grow up.”

“I want to be a superhero,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “Like Spiderman.”

You nodded, the movement playfully exaggerated. “Oh, well Spiderman is really smart. I’m sure he does a lot of homework, so you better get to work. Let me know if you need any help, okay?” You chuckled again at Jack’s increased pout, obviously disappointed in the fact that even superheroes had to focus on school. 

Jack reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil and a brightly colored folder with papers sticking out of it every which way. He started on his worksheets, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration, and it hit you just how much he looked like Aaron. The blonde hair threw you off, but you had seen that exact look on Aaron’s face many times, eyebrows together and lips pursed ever so slightly. Like father, like son. You had to resist the urge to audibly coo at the sight. You were only human, after all.

You tore your eyes away from the boy and glanced over at your laptop, which was sitting open on your coffee table, the cursor blinking back at you teasingly, reminding you that you also had to get to work. You had essays to write and practice contracts to draft up. The two of you did your work in comfortable silence for a while, Jack occasionally asking you to help him read the instructions of his worksheet.

“Done!” Jack exclaimed proudly after a while, holding his packet of papers high in the air.

Just in time, too, because if you had to do any more criminal tax litigation work, you were going to pull out your hair from boredom. There was only so much corporate fraud you could read about in one sitting.

“With all of your homework?” you clarified, and he nodded so fast that he looked like a full-on bobblehead. “Good job, dude!”

“Did you finish your homework so that we can play?” he asked you.

“Yup, I’m all done,” you lied. Your paper wasn’t due for another week, anyway. “So what do you want to play?”

Jack tapped his finger on his chin as he thought about it. You were aware that you didn’t have much in the way of kid’s toys, but you had stuff to color or paint or play board games, and you were confident enough in your imagination to come up with a game if it came down to that. Jack looked around and suddenly his eyes got wide and he pointed to your Switch.

“Do you have Mario Kart?” he asked hopefully. “Can we play that?”

“That sounds like fun, let’s do that,” you told him, making your way to set up the console. “I’ll even let you be player one.”

  Jack was practically bouncing up and down in his seat now. “I’m really good at this game. I can even beat my uncle Dave!”

You laughed as the two of you picked your characters. Jack chose Yoshi, a solid choice, and you went with Toad. “You can beat your Uncle Dave? Wow, that’s impressive. I have to warn you, though, I’m also very good at this game. Do you think you can beat me?” you teased.

“Definitely,” Jack challenged, and the game began.

The two of you played for a little while, and Jack’s mind was blown when you told him about the shortcuts on each track. After about three cups and you telling him where every shortcut you knew was, the 7-year-old was starting to get antsy just sitting, so you decided to switch gears.

You brought out some leftover paints and canvases you had from a paint night with your friends, and you and Jack laid on the floor and did some painting, although you were not prepared for how messy it would get. Somehow, Jack ended up with his fingertips covered in blue paint, and you had a streak of green on your cheek from where you mindlessly brushed hair from out of your face. As you placed the artwork to the side to dry, Jack had already decided on the next game - the floor is lava.

Before you even realized it, three hours had passed and it was time to make dinner. Jack chose pizza, which you luckily already had in your freezer. The game was still going, but you and Jack agreed that the kitchen was the only safe place without lava, considering there were too many dangerous things in that vicinity.

Babysitting Jack was easier than you expected, and much more fun. Even in his more playful moments, Aaron was always a little bit guarded and on edge, so you had a hard time imagining what his child would be like. A weird part of you almost imagined a mini adult in a child-sized suit and a briefcase full of fruit snacks and crackers, as ridiculous as it sounded. But Jack was just like any other 7-year-old - goofy, a little loud, and excited about the world.

You wondered if Aaron was like that as a kid, or if that part of Jack’s personality came from his mom. Maybe Jack was a mini version of his mom. Now that you had gotten the tiniest taste of Aaron’s home life, you found yourself craving to know more, to see Aaron in dad-mode.

Selfishly, you also wanted Aaron to watch you interact with Jack, just to see his reaction. It was a gamble and you realized it. Best case scenario, Aaron would be able to breathe a little bit easier. There wouldn’t be that half second of awkward silence between the two of you every time he mentioned Jack’s name. That stupid guilt you felt so often would dissipate because, hey, you met Jack and now that was out of the way.

On the other hand, everything could come crashing down. Aaron could walk in, see you with Jack, and immediately regret his decision and regret you. It would solidify in both of your minds that you were no more than somebody he could call and fuck when he felt himself on the verge of breaking down. Any self-imposed importance you had placed on yourself in Aaron’s life, no matter how small it was (and it was pretty small), would be a lie. He had a shorter temper now than before, and maybe this would be the exact thing that would set him off.

You didn’t want that, of course, but you really did want to know what would happen, to see where you stood with him. Call it morbid curiosity.

You were pulling the pizza out of the oven when you heard the knock on the door. “Coming!” you called.

“Don’t touch the lava!” Jack reminded you from his spot on the coffee table, just as you were about to leave the kitchen. Your method of movement to and from the kitchen was the rolling chair from your desk and a broom so that you could push yourself where you needed to go, which you had to justify to Jack as being a lava boat.

You “rowed” yourself over the door and looked in the peephole. Aaron was on the other side, nervously rubbing his thumb over the rest of his fingers. It took some work, but you were able to open the door without falling off the chair.

“Hey, I know you,” you greeted Aaron, but your smile fell when you took in his appearance. His whole body was tensed up, like a rubberband about to snap. He didn’t have his tie or blazer on, and the cuffs of his shirt were undone. 

“Dad!” Jack shouted, waving excitedly.

“Hi, buddy.” Aaron smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was scanning the room, studying the scene in front of him. Aaron’s expression slowly shifted to confusion as Jack bounded across your furniture to get closer to his dad. “Jack, what are you doing on the table?” Aaron’s eyes shifted to where you were, noticing for the first time that you were kneeling on a rolling chair, holding onto the broom like a trident. “And why do you two have paint on you?”

“The floor is lava,” you explained nonchalantly.

“And you’re going to get burned!” Jack pointed out.

You chuckled and swiveled your chair so that you could get a better look at Jack. “How about we give your dad a minute to find a spot, okay dude?” You turned back to Aaron, lowering your voice. “The kitchen is a safe zone, if you don’t want to have to crawl around on furniture.”

Aaron frowned, and you could see the wheels turning in his brain. “No, I should take Jack home anyways,” he finally said. “You’ve helped enough today and I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing,” you insisted. “Besides, we just made a pizza that I’m not going to be able to eat by myself. Come in, have dinner. You look like you need it.”

He really did. You were certain that he hadn’t eaten anything the entire time he was at the jail. He looked exhausted, too, and it was taking every bit of his energy to keep his usual stoic and stony composure.

Aaron wanted to argue, but instead, let out a resigned sigh. “Thank you. You, uh, said that the kitchen was a safe zone?”

“Mhm, and you might want to hurry because Jack is in it to win. Already tried to sabotage my chair boat.”

While Aaron’s face remained emotionless, his gaze softened as he stepped into your apartment. “Jack, did you have fun with Y/N?” he asked, making his way to the kitchen.

Jack hopped from the coffee table to the couch and onto a trail of pillows he had made. “Yeah! She taught me how to cheat in Mario Kart!” 

You rolled your way back to the kitchen, chuckling sheepishly. “Shortcuts aren’t cheating, it’s playing smart,” you defended. 

Jack just giggled and continued to animatedly tell Aaron about his day at school as you each started to dig into dinner. Well, Jack and you dug into the pizza, while Aaron took all off two bites and pushed his plate to the side. You had originally thought that it was the interview that caused Aaron’s tenseness, but you realized with a start that Aaron was completely focused on you. He was watching you curiously, like you had subtly changed your appearance and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was different.

He was just intrigued by your interaction with Jack as you had been with Jack and Jessica’s interactions. You had thought that he was going to make a snap judgment and decide if he was ever going to want to see you again the second he saw you with Jack, but he was taking his time. He was profiling you.

“Hey Jack,” you interjected once he finished eating. “Your dad and I are going to do dishes, but I need you to do me a big favor. I can’t win Bowser’s Castle no matter how hard I try. Do you think you could do that race for me while we clean up?”

Aaron looked at you in confusion, but you kept your eyes on Jack, who was all too happy to have an excuse to get out of cleaning and go back to playing video games. He practically bounced back into the living room, leaving you and Aaron alone.

“Do you want something to drink?” you offered. Aaron was watching your every movement, studying you carefully. “I have tea, coffee… Irish coffee, if it’s that kind of night.” You added the last part as an afterthought, only partially joking.

The corner of Aaron’s mouth twitched upwards so subtly that if you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t have even noticed. “No thank you,” he answered formally.

You mindlessly traced circles on the tabletop with your finger, keeping your eyes downcast. You knew you couldn’t just outright ask what was on his mind, he’d never answer truthfully. “Do I want to know what that creep did to be put on death row?” you asked, keeping your voice as indifferent as possible..

Aaron shook his head. “I wouldn’t tell you even if you did,” he admitted and the two of you fell into silence again. It was the answer you had pretty much come to expect from him.

Despite the fact that, as a lawyer, you’d have to hear about all these awful things and see the evidence, Aaron tried to shield you from his work. He didn’t talk about cases, didn’t glamorize the work he did the way some younger agents would. In all the time you’ve known him, you could count the number of criminals you knew he took down on your fingers, and some of those were only because you learned about them in class. 

That was fine. You didn’t want Aaron to have to bring that to your bed, not when you were supposed to be his distraction from all that mess. And what a fun distraction you were.

Aaron looked at his watch, effectively ending the conversation. “We should go, it’s getting late. Thank you for watching Jack. And for dinner.”

You paused, debating your next move. “It’s no problem,” you said sincerely. “And if you need anything else from me… I’ll be awake for a while.” You let your offer hang in the air for a few moments, watching as Aaron seemed to be weighing options in his head, you just didn’t know what those options were.

You were just about to rescind your offer when he opened his mouth to speak. “Are you sure you don’t want any compensation?”

You waved off his offer. “I’m positive.”

Aaron shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “Then let me buy you dinner sometime this week. It’s the least I can do.”

You paused, trying to keep your expression as neutral as possible. Aaron had never made an offer like this before, never took steps towards anything that could push this into something even remotely considered a relationship. It was easy to explain the constant sex. You could even justify the lingering morning-afters or the nights spent hunched over your textbooks while Aaron wordlessly refilled your coffee cup without you having to even ask by claiming that it all happened organically. It’s not like the two of you planned to stay up and debate the lost history of the term “beyond a reasonable doubt”. It just sort of happened, and who were you to turn down free coffee?

Anything more would complicate the carefully curated system, and neither of you had the time or energy for complicated.

Despite every logical bone in your body screaming at you to walk away and leave while you were ahead, you couldn’t help the soft “Yeah, I’d really like that,” that slipped past your lips.

You could have sworn Aaron smiled at your answer, but he didn’t say anything more.

The two of you walked back to your living room in silence. “Alright buddy,” Aaron called, ruffling Jack’s hair. “It’s time for us to head home. Say thank you to Y/N.”

Jack pouted as he exited the game. “Can Y/N watch me again soon? Please? It was fun!”

“We’ll have to see, she might be busy,” Aaron mused, looking at you so that he could gauge your reaction. It was enough of an answer to not crush Jack’s hopes, but vague enough that it gave you room to deny the offer. He was letting you choose how much you wanted to be around Jack, if you wanted to be around him at all.

You grinned down at Jack and held out your hand for a high five, which he took as an invitation to try and slap your hand as hard as he could. How could you say no to him? “Of course I can watch you again. I’ll even have Legos next time.”

For the first time that night, Aaron gave you a real smile, one that you could actually see. It was small, but it was genuine. “Thank you again. Goodnight, Y/N,” he told you and Jack echoed the sentiment, waving at you as they walked out the door. 

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x y/n #jack hotchner #my writing #my best habit