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thesunisatangerine · 8 months

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against all odds (to wait for you is all i can do) – part two

alexia putellas x photojournalist!reader

warnings: implied sexual content

(a/n in the tags) [parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve]

word count: 2.5k

You weren’t sure what woke you at first but when you opened your eyes, you found the brilliant, early morning light that streamed through a crack in the curtains. Groaning, you rubbed the sleep from your eyes, not missing the unmistakable rustling of clothes somewhere at the foot of the bed.

Peeking over the sheets to the source of the sound, you found Ale working to put her pants back on, her bare back to you. You propped yourself against the headboard as you watched on, biting your lip at how Ale’s tattoos deliciously shifted over her rippling muscles. She picked something up from the floor before she turned towards the bed and you caught sight of the darkening marks on her neck and chest. When she saw you looking at her, she smiled, a little bashful, which you returned in kind.

“What time is it?” You cringed at how you croaked out the words.

“Early. You should go back to sleep.” Ale said, putting her bra on as she kept your gaze.

You hummed. “I could say the same for you.”

Ignoring what she said you sat up on the bed, allowing the sheets to slide down and settle by your waist as you stretched. Ale’s eyes wandered to your chest which, you supposed, bore the same marks you could see on hers, and you relished the attention. Once she found your eyes again, you sent her a knowing smirk before you left the bed, headed to the closet where you grabbed the nearest fresh shirt you had, and tossed it to Ale.

Without even looking at the shirt, she caught it with ease. You raised your brow, both in question and in wonder. In response, Ale just smiled innocently at you. Ale pulled the shirt over her head, hiding the marks from view, then she moved towards you, her eyes dark and shining with intent.

Your body remembered last night’s endeavours before you did: every nerve in your skin lit up in anticipation for Ale’s touch, a fuse waiting for a spark. She laced an arm around your waist and pulled you flush to her front with a strength that left you breathless, her clothed body firm against your bare flesh. Without your heels she almost towered over you that you had to stand on your toes to wrap your arms around her neck. You closed your eyes when you felt the words she spoke against your temple.

“As much as I’d love to stay, I have to go.”

You sighed, unable to hide your disappointment. But what did you expect? You knew what you were getting into last night–you knew this was meant to only be a one-time thing. Besides, you were never one for relationships anyway; all your dalliances were brief and fleeting, ending before they ever got serious. Still, something about Ale pulled you to her, a force that compelled a desire to get to know her. The logical part of you already accepted the fact that you’d probably never see her again after this, but a small part of you wanted to rebel and resist that fate.

Unsurprisingly, logic won out.

“I shouldn’t keep you, then,” you whispered against her collarbone. Ale shivered and that made you smile: it’s good to know you weren’t the only one still feeling the effects from the previous night.

“You’re not making this easy,” she whined and you laughed.

“Alright, alright. I guess it’s time for me to let you go.”

There was a moment of silence but not an uncomfortable one. You looked at her, soaked in how her features caught the morning light, how her fair hazel eyes almost appeared like twin golden suns. You were tempted to kiss her lips then but you settled for a chaste one on her cheek instead. “Keep the shirt, to remember me by and… a thank you for last night. It was wonderful.”

“I had a good time, too,” she hummed, a small smile on her lips.

You returned her smile, and then you gently pushed her away as you took a step back. “Go, Ale.”

Ale stood there for a moment more, took one last look at you, gave you one last smile and she was out of the bedroom. When you heard the front door shut, you sighed again as something akin to regret settled in your bones. Maybe you should’ve at least asked for her number…

“So… did you have fun?” A deep voice filtered through the speaker before you saw the familiar mop of blonde hair and blue eyes on your screen. You rolled your eyes at his dry tone but you smiled nonetheless.

“Oh hi, Derek, I’m doing fine! Thank you for asking!”

Derek gave you an unimpressed look. “Come on. I need details cause that club was exclusive for a reason. So, did you hook up with someone?”

“Dude, stop! That’s so–” you shook your head, a palm over your face. You swore if he wasn’t family you would’ve… you breathed through your nose. “Thank you for the pass and everything but I’m not obligated to tell you shit.”

“Fine, I see how it is. Just ‘cause I’m not there you’re keeping secrets from me now, huh?” He raised an exaggerated eyebrow.

“Then maybe you should’ve come here with me,” you retorted with faux annoyance. “What’s the point of you owning a house in Barcelona if you’re not going to use it? It’s literally rotting here! The fact that you haven’t even put any personal things in here is criminal!”

“And let this agency burn down to the ground while both of us are away? Pfft, yeah, right!” Derek scoffed. “You know it’s either you or me who can keep watch around here. Besides, the house can wait and you’re using it now, right? So, a win-win in my book.”

He was right but you weren’t about to tell him that so you opted to change the topic. “How are things on your end anyway?”

“Chaotic, as usual. And it doesn’t help we’re now down two–actually, three including you–of our best in the Spot News department.”

At that, you sat up from the couch, alarm and dread filled your body and you brought the phone closer to you. “Oh my god, did something happen?”

Derek sighed heavily, his demeanour clouded over as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “It was Jones and Gilda–they’re stable, don’t worry!–they got caught in a flash flood on the way to the base at their area. Sick with some minor injuries, Jones more so than Gilda, but thankfully they’re both okay.”

At that, you breathed out in relief. You were well acquainted with the dangers that came with your job but you could never get used to how quickly a situation could get from bad to worse. The mere thought was enough to turn your hands cold.

“When did this happen?”

“Early morning today in our timezone.”

“Oh, fuck. Derek, why didn’t you call me?!”

“Dude, you’re on leave. And it’s not that I didn’t want to let you know, I just wasn’t about to wake you up in the middle of the night to give you this headache. I’m just about done with the paperworks anyway.” A moment silence, then Derek sighed. “You really chose the worst time to go on leave. You know, I had to send Jersey to start covering Spot.”

“Not my fault you authorised it. I was happy to wait another month, remember? Wait, so if Jersey is doing Spot, who’s doing Sports?”

“I know, I know, don’t remind me ‘cause I’m already regretting it. And no one’s doing it. Spot coverage is more important but–”

“–we get a decent sum from Sports, too,” you finished for him. You did some quick estimation in your head: a month or two without Sports could prove costly, too great of a sum to let go. You hummed, rubbing your chin, but it didn’t take you long to realise that you could help out, your mind immediately fleeted to your conversation with Ale and her suggestion.

“I’ll cover it, Derek.”

“No. You’re supposed to be enjoying your leave–”

“Derek.” You fixed a stern gaze at him, the one you knew that he knew meant your mind was made up. Then you proceeded to reassure him that it was fine, and then you told him about your plan. “Alright, then, I’ll leave the press passes to you.”

“I’ll e-mail them to you once I get ‘em, most likely by tonight your time. I–”

“Derek, you got to see–” Another voice filtered through the speaker while you watched as Derek turned his head to the side and held his hand up to whoever it was before returning his focus back to you.

“Okay, as much as I’d love to keep talking to you, Robert just brought me a huge stack of paper so I’m going to bail.”

“Alright. Have fun, you. Talk to you later.”

“Ha ha, very funny. But seriously, thank you.”

“No worries. Kiss Mom for me when you see her.”

“I will. Love you, sis.”

“I love you, too.”

After calling Jones and Gilda to ask about their condition and to send them your well wishes, you decided to spend the rest of your day at the nearby square and the beach. A day as good as this wasn’t meant to be wasted by staying inside so you grabbed several rolls of film and your beloved Leica camera before heading out.

It was already late afternoon when you found yourself trudging along the shoreline of one of Barcelona’s beaches, appreciating the orange-tinged skies and how the gulls called from above. When you looked to the horizon, you found a mother and her little daughter paddle-boarding just a hundred meters from the shore. You could see almost no details in the shadows of their silhouette but the large setting sun framed them in such a way that you felt to take a shot of the moment. So you adjusted your aperture accordingly, pressed the viewfinder against your brow, lined up your shot, and pressed the shutter.

“I thought you looked familiar… And I was right.”

Your thumb froze over the advance lever when you heard someone speak from somewhere behind you. That voice… could it be?

You whipped your head over your shoulder and found none other than Ale standing there. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts, a white opened blouse that put her toned abs and Nike sports bra on display, loose hair slightly damp, with a leash in one hand that lead to a small, fluffy dog. She also had on a pair of black wraparound sunglasses that she moved to the top of her head, revealing her hazel eyes that captivated your gaze immediately.

You could hardly believe your eyes and your luck; you already accepted her fleeting presence in your life but to meet her again in a city as big as Barcelona without any means of contact… that surely was nothing short of a miracle.

“Ale, hi! I–I never thought I’d see you again,” you said after you finally found your voice but as soon as the words left your mouth, your cheeks warmed. What were you supposed to say to a one night stand in this situation, especially when you clearly wanted it to happen again?

“Me neither. I should thank Nala for dragging me out here.” Ale grinned as she glanced down at her dog by her feet. You crooned as you bent down, then you offered your hand first and only after Nala licked your knuckles did you proceed to pet her.

“Thank you, Nala, for taking your owner for a walk.” At that, a hearty laugh came from Ale which caused Nala, who seemed to be overjoyed by the sound of her owner’s delight, to yip and wag her tail. And just as quickly as she had, she seemed to get bored and began to bound forward, urging Ale to move as well so you stood up, brushed the sand from your palms, and fell in step with her.

For a moment, the space between you was filled by the sound of the waves, the sound of the shifting sand beneath your feet, and the ever-bustling noise from the city. Then you recalled your conversation with Derek this morning.

“I thought about what you said, about covering women’s football. I’m going to be given a press pass for a match, not sure which one they’ll give me, though. But do you know of any big matches coming up?”

“Really? That’s great! Do you have any particular team in mind or…?”

“Research is still on my to-do list so no, not really. I’m all ears for suggestions, though.”

“I see. Well, there is this match coming up: Real Madrid and Barcelona. Since you don’t know, there’s rivalry between the two teams so any match between them tends to get crowded. You should come watch.”

“That sounds like a good one. I hope that’s what they’ll get me into. Will you be there?”

“I hope so, too. And yes, I’ll be there.” As she said this, her eyes shone with a glint not dissimilar to what you saw in them the night you met. Her lips tilted to the side, closed but quirked at the corners like she was holding in a laugh. If it weren’t already clear that night, it was now–you were definitely missing something here.

“What?” You asked, confused. What was she not telling you? But at the question, Ale only let out a small giggle, grinning as she did so.

“Nothing, nothing,” she said, shaking her head. You didn’t believe her but you let it slide one more time and the fact that she looked so distracting didn’t help either.

She had her head turned to you, her loose hair framed her face and strands fluttered in the cool, ocean breeze. You had to tilt your head up slightly to meet her eyes and, without any bidding, memories from that night and the morning after filtered through your mind: the way she held you against her, the way you wanted her to stay… maybe you should ask her if she was free tonight.

“–what do you have in mind?”

You blinked. “What?”

Ale threw her head back, letting out another hearty laugh before she looked at you and you saw amusement swimming in her eyes. Then, she continued with a smirk, “you asked if I was free tonight. I said yes. Or… was I not meant to hear that?”

Your ears and cheeks burnt while you internally cursed your slippery tongue. That was smooth. Real smooth. “Ummm…”

You woke the next morning with a delicious soreness between your thighs, a pleasant reminder of the way Ale ravished you last night. Similar to the first morning after, you heard the rustling of clothes being put on. But before you could fully open your eyes, warmth from Ale’s lips branded the skin on your shoulder.

“I have to go. See you next time?” Ale murmured softly. You shifted slightly to the side and you saw how the sunlight behind her gilded her hair with an amber halo and made her eyes appear like molten gold.

Brushing a loose strand behind her ear, you hummed in confirmation and pressed your forehead sleepily against the sharp line of her jaw, closing your eyes as you did so and you whispered, “you know where to find me.”

#ap11 #not proofread #mine #my writing #a/n: introduced some fictional characters here for plot purposes and there'll be more later on (i hope that wont put off some people)#i tried not to info-dump but not really sure if i succeeded lol #also i find it difficult to write smut and its even harder without talking about feelings so nothing yet folks im so sorry #and idk when the next part will come out cause its one of the parts that arent fleshed out but ill try to finish it by next week #just a reminder: im tweaking minor details as i go so the most accurate copy of all the parts will be on my ao3 (@thesunisatangerine)#apologies for any grammar and spelling mistakes ill work on em later #woso x reader #alexia putellas x reader

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jtl-fics · 9 months

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Fluent Freshman - 38

If it weren’t for the fact that he and Riko had stumbled across a truly traumatizing video of his birth that they had watched secretly in Tetsuji’s office when he was away on a business trip one weekend Kevin would believe that he was born with an Exy racquet in his hand. But the image that is seared into his retinas to this day has proven that he came into this world empty handed.

That doesn’t change the fact that Kevin has spent the majority of his life utterly and completely submersed in Exy. He was trained as a Raven, he was court, he was a champion as both a Raven as a Fox and if he had his way he’d leave college with more Championships under the orange and white than the black and red.

Exy was everything in the world to him.

He could overlook many personality defects if someone brought something to the Court.

Apathetic five foot nothing who was more likely to stab him than shake his hand? Well, he’s the best goalie that Kevin had ever seen in his entire life (and that was saying something).

Tight ass who has anger management issues and will not shut the fuck up about his girlfriend now that he’s not even allowed to have? Well, he is a very solid backliner who has excellent ball handling skills (even if Aaron keeps telling him to stop saying it like that or why he keeps yelling that he’s straight).

Overly touchy, too emotional, will not shut the fuck up about his fiancé in Germany? Well, he is a very solid backliner who is great at rebounds (Kevin doesn’t get why Nicky gets mad when he says that or why he brings up Erik).

Guy who actively dislikes him and is dying for any chance to punch him and also being overly attached to his friends? He’s a great enforcer on the court and had the stamina to play far longer than the other two backliners (Why Dan always said “yeah he does” whenever Kevin commented on Matt’s stamina he will never understand, and he also doesn’t want to.)

Suspicious kid from Millport with a mouth that could strip paint and a past so shrouded in mystery that it even had Andrew perking up in interest? Well, he’s the fastest Striker in the game and the only person that has ever kept up with Kevin’s obsession with the sport. (There was the minor downside that he was the son of the Butcher and almost died before the championships, but Neil pulled through.)

He tolerated all of them and now they’re his best friends.

There are some who he does find personally objectionable but so long as Jack and Sheena manage to continue to be good on the court he doesn’t care about the many many faults in their personalities. They’re his teammates, they aren’t his friends.

He accepted that he might not like any of the others that came onto the team. For the most part he had never given a shit about before the Foxes, content with his brotherhood with Riko even if it wasn’t…perfect. Then he became friends with FF and FF had done him a truly large favor and Kevin wanted to pay that back the best way he knew how. Through his truly infallible health advice and through perfectly crafted smoothies.

Then Daniel appeared with the truth that FF truly met all requirements to be a Fox and Kevin tasted his own smoothie for the first time.

He considered both revelations to be equally upsetting.

Still…

FF was one of the best dealers Kevin had ever had the pleasure to be on Court with. The man knew his position well and interrupted offensives with an enviable ease that made Kevin wish to possibly strap some sort of device onto him and figure out how he did certain things.

It wasn’t that far off to believe that a man raised in the same environment as FF could possibly have similar talents and since Lisa fucked off back to some small town cult they really did need a good sub. Sheena was a good offensive dealer but they had games coming up where defense would be imperative and FF did not have the stamina for a full game and likely would not for quite some time considering he’d be recovering from being stabbed.

So, he’d defended Daniel’s right to try out.

At first, he had felt vindicated. Daniel kept up quite well during the initial warm-ups. Kept pace with Jack, Sheena, Aaron, Andrew, and Nicky. Kevin had been bringing up the rear mostly to make sure that Andrew didn’t stab the guy during warm-ups.

Then it was time for the first precision drill.

The other thing about how Kevin was raised is that he was raised surrounded only by the best of the best. The Ravens were at the top of the Collegiate hierarchy. The National Court used their stadium for practice.

The worst Exy that Kevin had ever seen in his entire life up until the moment that Daniel took hold of an Exy racquet was still only the worst team in Collegiate Division 1 Exy.

Then Kevin watched the ball go so wide that the entire court went silent.

All of the drills that followed were as bad, if not worse.

Kevin felt himself start to vibrate with anger the longer it went on. He started to shout corrections at Daniel but the younger man merely rolled his eyes, “I think I know what I’m doing.” He would say before pointedly proving that he did not.

Kevin only realized nearly an hour in that he had wasted his entire practice shouting himself hoarse at the actual waste of human life that was Daniel Stanton.

Kevin could accept being bad at Exy and having an inoffensive personality. Kevin could accept being good at Exy and having a bad personality.

Kevin could not accept being bad at Exy and having a bad personality.

Coach Wymack called the practice to an end and Kevin thought that he’d manage to keep his anger mostly inside (he is ignoring the near hour of practice he spent screaming directions) when Daniel decided to deliver the Coup de Grace.

Sweat soaking his bangs, panting, and without a single thing done correctly (even the way he was currently holding his borrowed Exy racquet set Kevin’s teeth on edge) the man had the gall, the gumption, and the absolute AUDACITY to come up to the coach.

“So, where do I sign?” he asks.

Kevin sees red and unleashes hell.

***

This was the most fun Andrew has had at a practice since he started having to come to them.

The look of embarrassment on Daniel’s face as Kevin accurately tore into everything he did wrong on the Court and every personal failing that Kevin could home in on. His attention shifted away to FF sitting in the stands near the University official who was shaking her head at the obvious poor showing. The University may have wanted Daniel around to spruce up the Fox’s marketability but even they couldn’t let someone so obviously awful onto one of their few Division 1 teams.

FF was sat sipping one of Kevin’s god awful smoothies looking completely unshocked by Daniel’s showing.

Kevin turned his attention to FF, “You said he was good!” Kevin points at the freshman as he continues to sip the drink.

Andrew interrupts, “He never said he was good.” He remembers the conversation so exactly and there are few things he loves more than having the opportunity to rub it in Kevin’s face when the man is wrong, “He said ‘Daniel has always been athletic’ never anything about him being good.” Andrew reminds.

Kevin whips back around to Daniel, “Have you ever even played Exy?” Kevin demands.

“I didn’t think it’d be hard to pick up.” Daniel argues crossing his arms defensively.

It sets Kevin off on another furious rant.

Andrew had thought that FF didn’t have a mean bone in his body and he’s quite pleased to have been proven wrong. The thought that FF had let Daniel get all the way into embarrassing himself in such a way?

Andrew had to give him props.

“How does it feel getting to watch this idiot crash and burn?” he asks coming to the glass.

“Really thought he could manage it if I could.” FF says with a shrug that has Aaron bark out a laugh.

“You really figured?” Aaron asks coming to stand next to Andrew.

FF just shrugs again, “I mean I also started not knowing how to play and now I’m on a pretty good team.” He says as if FF starting as a child not knowing how to play is the same as someone walking in demanding a spot on a college team.

Nicky lets out a laugh.

“Oh, Smithy I could kiss you.” Nicky laughs and makes his way towards the Court entrance to likely do exactly that moving past a Daniel who was so red in the face with embarrassment and anger that he looked as if he was about to turn purple.

Andrew tuned in.

“…small pond. The only reason you ever felt like you were worth anything is that Smiths was too nice to put you in your place before now!” Kevin was probably talking about medium-sized fish in a small pond but Andrew didn’t really care to know.

“Are you going to let him talk to me like this?!” Daniel finally turned to Wymack.

“Kevin, you shouldn’t talk to the public like that.” Wymack says without a hint of chastisement in his voice.

Kevin still straightened at the reminder, “You’re right. Sorry coach.” Kevin sneered at Daniel, “Get off the court before you taint it.” He hisses.

“You’re really not going to sign me?!” Daniel demands.

“Why would I?” Wymack asks with a raised brow.

“You took a chance on John!” Daniel points towards FF.

Andrew watches as Wymack’s face does something he’d rarely seen it do, it goes utterly and completely cold. “I don’t take chances with my kids.” He spat, “I give my kids a second chance. Get the hell off of my court.” He hisses.

Daniel’s face purples further before he stomped off of the Court.

“Don’t you dare walk off with that racquet! It’s worth more than you!” Kevin shouts after him and Andrew in that moment realizes that Daniel is going to do something stupid.

And FF is on the other side of the Plexiglass with only Nicky at his side.

It’s like watching a train crash.

Daniel might say something, but Andrew doesn’t know. He sees Neil rushing as well, his sense of danger always well-honed but Neil had been in Captain mode in the moments before walking some of the sophomore and freshmen through what they had done wrong.

Neither of them will make it in time.

Daniel throws his racquet, and he throws it right at FF barely 5 feet away in the stands.

The Racquet blows past FF’s head and Andrew lets out a breath.

Then before it could crash into the seats behind him and break FF’s hand wrapped around the shaft of the stick and stopped it’s trajectory.

“Your aim really isn’t getting any better by not listening to Kevin’s advice.” Smith says as he twirls the racquet in his hand so that the net was on the ground. “Also, don’t break the equipment, like Kevin said it’s pretty expensive.” He says.

Daniel let out a primal scream but where Andrew had stalled out to watch the miraculous catch Matt Boyd had not. Daniel was tackled to the ground by the backliner, “Absolutely not.” Matt said with a scowl.

“Smithy are you okay?” Andrew hears Nicky ask.

“Yeah, why?” FF asks as if he hadn’t just been attacked but considering everything that Andrew had seen it wouldn’t shock him if Daniel’s attacks were just par for the course back home for FF. “The racquet looks okay too.” He adds.

“Coach Wymack,” The University representative made their way down looking flustered at the outburst of violence.

Obviously not someone who regularly watched Exy or paid attention to their team.

“This is why I wanted absolute control over who does and who doesn’t get a shot here.” Wymack hisses pointing at Daniel as he struggled under Matt.

“You have our sincere apologies for this.” She says looking at Daniel, “He didn’t… we thought he’d be good for the team’s culture but it seems like we may have misjudged-“

“That guy just tried to take Smithy out!” Nicky interrupts.

“I told you he was dangerous.” Neil adds.

“Can someone call campus security?” Matt asks from the ground, “This jackass keeps aiming for kidney punches and I would like to not be pissing blood during winter break.” Matt requests.

“O-of course!” the University representative says fumbling for her cell phone.

Andrew looked at Matt and figured that the backliner had a handle on that particular mess at the moment.

He made his way over to FF and Nicky who was checking over the freshman.

“Nice catch.” He says.

FF shrugs, “It’s my racquet he was borrowing.” He says, “I didn’t want to get a new one.” He adds.

***

FF watches as campus security took custody of Daniel as he continued to spit and scream. There are talks about pressing charges, but FF just wants Daniel off of the campus and away from him. It’s Jack of all people who says that getting a restraining order is a great way to make sure Daniel stays the hell away from him and FF nods consideringly.

Honestly, he’s still mostly in shock he managed to catch his racquet the way he had. His reflexes weren’t quite up to snuff since he’d been trying to catch the netting, but his hand only closed around the shaft.

Embarrassing.

He really hopes no one teases him about his slower reflexes.

“He needs to be charged for assault at least.” Kevin hisses as they watch the security officers take Daniel away.

“It’d be attempted assault.” Aaron corrects.

“He assaulted my eyes with his Exy.” Kevin insists.

“If that counted as assault, don’t you think I would have pressed charges for all the times I have had to see you dance at Eden’s?” Neil asks. “Also, you’re the one that insisted he try-out.” He reminds.

“Smiths told me he was good!” Kevin screeches.

“No, we’ve been over this Day. Smithy said he was athletic.” Nicky reminds. “Are you going to do what Jack suggested?” he asks turning to FF.

“I’d like to see significantly less of Daniel.” FF admits.

“You know he did actually commit assault, if I pee blood I’m making Kevin go buy me pads.” Matt says.

“Whatever.” Kevin says as they continued to make their way back to the dorm to get ready for the day.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

#Fluent Freshman AU #Up next is the Winter banquet and Winter break #looking forward to that as well #I'd like to thank Snow for their help with some decisions made in this chap #and declunkifying some of my phrasing #I would also like to thank the new Jujutsu Kaisen OP for being a banger #also Unfathomed Force from Trails to Azure OST for continuing to be a banger #Grandma Smith is heading home in the next part which makes me sad even if she hasn't featured a lot in the drafts since the hospital #Daniel absolutely ends up punching a security guard #And ending up in like a holding cell at a real police station #He has one call #And he calls Smith's number demanding he come and help him get out #too bad the only number he has is a phone sitting in Wymack's desk #Guess someone else is gonna have to come and pay bail and help Daniel outta there #also my apologies for putting Daniel on u Elle Woods but it's for the meme #Also also I would like to give a shoutout to Matt Boyd who made the 'save of the day'#Its an award usually for goalies but u da real MVP today #AFTG #AFTG OC #AFTG AU #FF - 38

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liquidstar · 2 months

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a friend who'd wait :)

#im posting this very late because i was sort of weary of how it came out and ended up messing w it until it was like 4am oops.#and i have plans tmrw so... oh well! i did my best and ill put it out while i can!#and i tried to make the scene match barnard's colors lol #finn's ocs #finn's art #i know i said id do more sillay stuff with the simpler screentone only style but i had a couple more of these in me #and this is the first piece im making thats like an actual part of the story too rather than just setting stuff for fun #i wanna write something to go with it too but for now ill just sort of briefly explain the context in the tags here:#barnard has a pretty bad case of OCD and his compulsions have made it difficult to make friends in the past #he was never outright bullied or anything but people just didnt really have the patience to deal with it #he has compulsions that include stuff like walking through doors until it feels right and needing things to be perfectly aligned #which in group settings has lead to people having to wait for him to finish his rituals and join them #they might find it tolerable at first but eventually they grow impatient and hes just... not invited to stuff anymore #but juno is a newer member of the guild who ends up frequenting the same library. hes also kinda a little weird #and they dont become fast friends or anything but just sort of naturally spend time in the same place #though they never plan meetups they eventually fall into a routine. around the same time theyd just both be at the library #and read next to each other. and maybe talk a bit. and eventually they end up walking back to the guildhall together #since theyre going to the same place after all. and juno always waits for barnard outside the door #eventually barnard asks if this bothers him. juno kinda just tells him 'of course it does' without any malice or anything. just a statement #barnard is surprised and apologizes and juno says not to. but the next day juno doesnt show up at the usual time.#barnard assumes hes committed somekinda more by bringing it up. he ends up staying there late reading to get his mind off it & not ruminate #but when he leaves juno is in fact still waiting for him down the hall (see pic) having collected a bunch of books literally abt ocd #he fell asleep bc barnard stayed later than expected. and hes an eepy guy generally. and also one very bad at expressing himself #but now barnard gets that juno's 'of course it [bothers me]' had the implication of 'but its worth it' which no friend has previously done.#and from the interaction juno was also able to understand that this isn't something barnard just does for the hell of it so. he studies.#and checks a bunch of stuff out because he thinks it could help his friend too (theres ocd workbooks and such- i remember working w them)#and thats the point where they became more ''friends'' than ''pleasant library acquaintances''#from there on they also do get into juno's problems. whole other bag of worms. but this specific scene is more about bernard from his pov #sorry about when i said briefly explain. i lied </3 #but compared to the whole sequence im picturing its brief so shhh

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blairswldorfs · 2 months

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one of the main things that I feel like 9-1-1 doesn't do right/could do better is related to how quickly they resolve any issues with the characters, like I'm on season 3 right now and I feel like the conflict with buck vs the 118 squad (just to take a specific example) could've been dragged out a little more to give it time to actually explore everyone's feelings and reactions and also the consequences

#gi watches 9-1-1 #I LOVED when eddie suddenly suddenly exploded against buck #it was actually the part that was better done in regards to this specific conflict for me #but i also think it would've been even stronger if they had built it up more AND if they follow it through more (which they still #might tbh I haven't watched the next episode yet but they usually resolve stuff very quickly)#I just want them to let conflicts/narratives/plot stuff develop more #again with this example I want to see more of how bobby feels the betrayal how buck struggles with his decission to do it how bobby decides #it's okay for him to come back (is he still mad? will they talk about it?)#instead I feel like it was just 'oh okay buck apologized everything's fine now'#but did anyone try to see it from buck's perspective? are they just going back to normal? can they still trust him just as easily even #*though he 'betrayed' them (mainly bobby but still)#9-1-1 #9 1 1 #911 #911 fox #911 abc #tv shows

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zahroreadsthings · 1 year

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Hitching a ride...

Check notes for previous instalments

You nod and pass him some money. You climb into the wagon and squeeze yourself between two other passengers. It’s nice to rest your back against the side of the wagon and stretch your legs. The passenger to your right begins sharpening their knife. Maybe you should have kept walking.

The wagon jolts and you hear a scrape against its bottom. You wince.

‘Not great, is it?’ the woman next to you says. ‘We don’t have trolls up here for maintenance and the witch of the roads is poorly. What brings you up here, anyway, dear?’

You tell her you want to apprentice yourself to the witch of the northwest, but you can’t remember which road to take to reach her. You’re too tired to feel shocked when she tells you there are multiple witches with different specialities.

‘Well, what you want to do is hop off at Ringle and strike up a conversation with anyone in the busiest tavern. They’ll be able to point you to where to go next.’

You pick up your bag as the wagon approaches a sign saying <- To Ringle. You shake your new friend’s hand and thank her for her help. It’s now late afternoon and the air is growing colder. You shiver - your clothes from the south were not made for this weather. You head straight for the busiest tavern.

#polls #cyoa #deltora quest dragons nest readers i swear ringle isnt foreshadowing im not planning on ending this now #anyway obligatory fantasy tavern time!#the knife sharpener is based on a scene from my real life where a guy who was sitting next to me on the train #pulled out a knife and started sharpening it right after chugging part of a 3L carton of milk #also issuing a formal apology for not adding (A/N: If you dont know who he is get da hell out of here!) after namedropping viggo yesterday

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the-diary-of-a-moody-teenager · 2 years

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POV: You just watched umbrella academy season 3 which absolutely butchers Allison's character development from both season 1 and season 2 erasing all the bonds she made with her siblings as she spends most of the season making horrible life decisions.

#I get that you are grieving girl #but the shit she pulled with Luther was absolutely unforgivable #I kinda hate that we just brush past that #i was really sad because i really loved Allison and Viktor's bond .#Klaus Viktor and Allison just chilling together was one of the best parts of season 2 to me #i really hope they do something better with her next season #I also hope Luther gets a proper apology not that it would solve anything but still #Emmy was as amazing as always though #netflix #the umbrella academy #tua #season 3 #spoilers #tua s3 #tua s3 spoilers #allison hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #luther hargreeves

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alpinelogy · 3 days

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you’re watching hockey 👀 tell us about it!

Sort of?? ajsjdkd

Idk what you mean by tell us about it I think everyone knows hockey o7. But I’ve gotten a ton of Canadiens propaganda from my mutuals (Kay) since like November and I resisted, but now I’ve been seeing the iihf everywhere so I watched the quarterfinals against the US and yeah. Propaganda successful I guess 😂😭

#ask #anonymous #I was already on the cusp of watching nhl next year cause san explained it to me #and now i got invested in hockey in general i guess #mind you I’m czech. I couldn’t watch the sports news as a little kid without hearing about jágr. hockey here is a thing #also as part of the iihf propaganda a certain mutual (kay) kept posting about dosty so now im mildly emotionally attached to him #also my apologies to my canadian mutuals cause i do intend on watching the final o7 #WAIT I just realized the swiss beat the canadians?? nevermind no sorry to canadian mutuals

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gay-victorian-astronomer · 20 days

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i would loveeee to hear ur kimnapping fic idea….

It's really not a super fleshed out idea— the most I have actually pinned down is 1) Kim (& maybe also Harry) gets kidnapped 2) some amount of whump occurs which involves 3) Kim Survivor's Guilt Kitsuragi being a self-sacrificial little shit and 4) mutual unrequited pining that the kidnapping situation forces them to resolve. Basically all of the details are up in the air— this makes great "think about at bedtime" material because I don't need to care about those. If I were to turn it into an actual fic I would need to actually iron those out.

Honestly the biggest plot hole is that I can't figure out who is kidnapping him and why— there's the old standby of Oh Shit It's the Moralintern, but that's also kind of already been done. It could be the Madre or one of the other besmerties— but I still need to figure out why. I like the idea of it being related to something in Harry's past— it plays nicely into the self-sacrificial themes I'd like to include if it's Kim getting caught in the crossfire of something, or the kidnappers using him as bait to get at Harry somehow... things I'd need to flesh out.

The only other little thing I want to make sure I include is somehow using Kim's notebook against him— I see that working well with the unrequited pining situation, especially if he's written stuff about having feelings for Harry in the notebook and the kidnapper reads it...

#answered asks #if this is vague I apologize- like I said a lot of the details are straight up Not There right now #and I also get very very nervous talking about whump-related subjects #it's not entirely rational- it's a relatively normal thing to like in fandom (I think)#but there don't seem to be very many fellow whump enjoyers in the DE fandom so there's a part of me that's scared people will be like #'liking that is Weird and Bad. you're Weird and Bad. you can't be part of this fandom anymore.'#and I would really like for that to not happen- which tbh is also a reason why this might just continue to be bedtime story material #but if all goes to plan I will be publishing a whump-adjacent fic next month so. maybe that'll let me test the waters a bit #anyways I also apologize if this is incomprehensible finals season is turning my brain into soup

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thelunarbar · 2 years

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So Few Come And Don’t Go

:Patience series part four:

In which: they receive their second placement and hard conversations are had.

Word count: 3506(it’s a long one)

TW: illusions to abuse. I can’t think of any others but if you see any let me know and I’ll be sure to tag them.

A/N: this came out way longer than expected. Also I feel like I’m lying to y’all bc I said this wasn’t gonna be super angsty and legit every part has been angsty. I don’t know where all the angst came from, but the story refuses to get as fluffy as I wanted it to. And the other parts I’ve got planned are also pretty angsty. Sorry. As always no beta we die like goose. And a fun fact for y’all I almost always misspell naval as navel which are in fact two very different things.

-/-/-/-

Ice is sitting at the table, hands folded, phone laying before him. He hasn’t been able to breathe properly since the call. The second his eyes meet Mav’s he deflates. Ice doesn’t know what Mav sees in his eyes, but he doesn’t seem to like it.

“Are you ok? You look like you might pass out.” Mav drops his keys on the table and steps around so he can place both hands on Ice’s cheeks. Ice grabs one of them and squeezes gently.

“They have another placement for us.” Ice finally tells him.

“Oh.”

“Her name’s Natasha. She’s fifteen and pregnant. No one will take her in. Not since she found out she was pregnant.”

“We will.” Mav says, voice firm. His heart breaks at the knowledge that no one wants to help this poor girl. Ice smiles at him.

“We will.” Ice agrees. “She’ll be here by dinner.”

“We need to go shopping!” Mav’s eyes light up and Ice gets that puddly feeling he’s come to associate with loving Mav. Mav tugs him from his chair, grabs his keys and pulls him toward the door.

“I love you.” Ice says. Mav stops to turn and look at him, study his face.

“I love you too.”

-/-/-/-

Mav goes a little crazy with the shopping, but Ice has no plans to stop him. They buy things for Natasha and a few things for her baby with plans of buying more.

The bedroom is still decorated from when they were expecting Josie so they take some time to adjust it for an older girl. The picture books and easy readers are carefully placed in boxes and shoved into the hall closet for a later date. They fill the shelves instead with some classics and a few of the current popular books for kids Natasha’s age as well Mav’s old record player and bin of vinyl.

They also purchased a selection of toiletries for her and a duffel bag, which was something that only occurred to them after Bob showed up with the saddest excuse of duffel bag either of them had ever seen.

Mav wishes he could do more to customize to Natasha’s likes, but that will have to wait until they get to know her.

At ten to five Ice starts prepping dinner, just a casserole and rolls, nothing fancy, but it’s still a homecooked meal.

Natasha and her social worker show up at five thirty. Natasha is carrying a black trash bag, holding it like she’s afraid they’ll take it from her. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail that does nothing to hide how matted it is. Her clothes are dirty, full of small holes and threadbare around the edges and her shirt is small enough that it does nothing to hide her small baby bump. She refuses to make eye contact with either of them.

Her social worker, Mira, smiles apologetically as she encourages Natasha to walk inside.

“Natasha these are the Kazanskys.” Mira says, resting her hand on Natasha’s shoulder. Mav doesn’t miss the way Natasha flinches at the contact.

“You can call me Tom.” Ice smiles and starts to offer her his hand, but stops when she doesn’t do more than glance up.

“I’m Pete.” Mav introduces himself. Natasha doesn’t say anything. “Why don’t I show you where you’ll be sleeping?” Mav suggests, smiling at her even though she has yet to look at him. She nods though and follows him up the stairs.

-/-/-/-

“Thank you so much for taking her in on such short notice. No one will take her now for fear she’ll be a bad influence in their kids and none of the in between houses have any space available.” Mira says, there are dark circles under her eyes.

“Of course.” Ice says giving her a smile. Mira starts rifling through the bag hanging off her arm. She pulls out a manila folder and offers it to him.

“That should have all the information you need, including all the info for her doctor.” Ice nods, flipping it open and scanning the first page.

“Thank you.” He tells her. She smiles, tired and sad.

“Mm. My number is in there. Feel free to call any time if you questions or . . . anything. I’ll check in in a few days.” With another tired smile she leaves.

-/-/-/-

Upstairs Natasha stands in the doorway to her bedroom, taking in all the details.

“Are-are you sure?” She asks, voice soft and tinged with fear. Mav understands and smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring way.

“Absolutely. We’ll take you clothes shopping at some point in the next couple days. And there’s a gift for you on the desk.” He nods at the large pastel gift bag covered in zoo animals and emblazoned with the words Oh Baby! Hesitantly Natasha steps into the room, trash bag still clutched in her hand. She shuffles over to the desk and carefully peers down into the gift bag. She gasps and let’s her bag drop to the floor beside her. She begins examining things from the bag, mostly neutral colored baby clothes, but there’s also a package of diapers, a soft yellow blanket and couple packages of gender neutral pacifiers.

“Wh-why?” She asks, turning to Mav, blanket held to her chest.

“Well, we figured you probably didn’t have anything for your baby, so we thought we’d at least help you get a start.” Her eyes are glassy with tears and Mav wants so badly to pull her into a hug, but he won’t initiate physical contact until she does.

“You-you didn’t have to do this.” She says, glancing back at the gift bag, guilt is written across her features and Mav hates it. “And you don’t need to take me clothes shopping.”

“We want to.” He promises. “We’re here to take care of you.” She holds the blanket a little tighter, “and that means helping you take care of your baby too.”

-/-/-/-

Natasha wants so desperately to believe him, but she’s not foolish enough to actually do it. A large part of her refuses to believe it isn’t some trick, that they won’t take it back later. It wouldn’t be the first time a foster family had done that to her.

She’ll hide it all later, when he leaves. It’s all she has for her baby and she needs it. It may very well be all she ever has and she can’t afford to have it taken away.

Pete shows her where the bathroom is and the linen closet and tells her she can take a shower before dinner if she wants. The idea of a shower does sound nice. She’s not sure when she had one last. Pete even offers her a clean t-shirt and a pair of sweats. He tells her to put her dirty clothes outside the door and he’ll wash them for her.

She takes a short, tepid, shower (afraid she’ll get in trouble for using hot water without permission) and gets dressed in the soft blue t-shirt that’s several sizes too big and slips off one shoulder, and the grey sweats that actually fit pretty well all things considered. There’s a comb on the counter and she hesitates for a minute before deciding there’s no way they could find out if she uses it so long as she cleans her hair out of it, and sets about trying to detangle her hair. When the comb’s teeth snap as she’s tugging at a particularly large knot she wants to cry. She collects up the broken teeth and the comb and leaves the bathroom.

In the hall she bumps into a small boy with dark hair and glasses. They stare at each other in silence, sizing each other up. He glances down at the broken comb clutched in her hand. She moves her hand behind her back and walks past him.

She knows from experience that punishment is likely to be less severe if she comes clean immediately. And if she comes clean herself before the boy says something.

She finds Pete and Tom in the kitchen. Tom is mixing a collection of things in a casserole pan and Pete is sitting on the counter, swinging his legs a little and and eating shredded cheese straight from the bag.

“Hey!” Pete smiles at her, “get the shower figured out? It can be kind of temperamental.” She nods and then holds out the broken comb. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t meet his eyes. “Oh. Don’t worry about. We have more. They’re pretty cheap.” Pete looks at Tom. “We really should by a couple nicer combs. And a hairbrush.” Tom hums in agreement and throws the spoon he’d been using into the sink.

“You’re-you’re not mad?” She asks, so soft they barely catch it.

“Of course not. It’s a comb.” Tom says.

“But I used it without permission and then I broke it.” She says, finally making eye contact with Pete. Pete slides off the counter and steps closer to her, but still stays arms length away.

“I know how other people have reacted in situations like this, but I promise we will never be those people.” The sincerity in his eyes makes Natasha choke up. She blames it on her pregnancy. Stupid hormones.

-/-/-/-

Dinner is an unassuming affair for the most part. Natasha doesn’t move to fill her own plate and Mav doubts she will so he serves her and fills her glass. She looks afraid to touch it, like she thinks it’s all a trick.

“You should eat that while it’s still warm.” He tells her. She glances at him and then at her food before picking up her fork. After the first bite she shovels the food in faster than Mav or Ice would’ve expected. When her plate is clean she stares at the casserole dish longingly.

“Would you like more?” Ice asks, moving to grab the serving spoon. She nods hesitantly and slides her plate closer to him. While she resumes eating like it’ll be her last meal Ice turns worried eyes on Mav. Mav just mouths later.

Ice and Mav try to make conversation with her, but when it becomes clear she doesn’t want to talk they move to talking about school with Bob.

After dinner is consumed and the dishes clean Ice settles in his overstuffed brown leather rocker/recliner and Mav drops into his lap. Mav picks up their battered copy of East of Eden and starts to read. Bob sits on one end of the couch and begins working a beginner model plane. Natasha sits on the other end of the couch, arms wrapped around herself and listens until she eventually falls asleep.

Ice gingerly carries her up to bed and tucks her while Mav gets Bob settled then the two of them meet in their bedroom.

-/-/-/-

Mav wakes around two am. A nightmare this time, and he pads downstairs to make himself a cup of tea.

He’s sitting at the table, hands wrapped around his mug, waiting for his tea to steep when Natasha rounds the corner. She stops, eyes wide, looking very much akin to a deer in the headlights.

“I-I just wanted a glass of water.” She says.

“Oh. Yeah, sure. D’you want some hot chocolate?” She looks uncertain, but nods after several seconds. Mav smiles and stands to make her a cup of hot chocolate. And Mav makes real hot chocolate. None of that prepackaged crap that barely tastes like chocolate.

He places the mug on the table across from his own before sitting down. She joins him, placing her glass of water beside her mug. They sit in silence for a few minutes, until Mav decides to break the ice.

“My dad died when I was seven.” He starts. She looks up at him, confusion written across her features, “And my mom died less than a year later. I spent the next eight and a half years bouncing around foster homes until I landed with the Bradshaws. I lived with them until I joined the Navy. They were so good to me. Better than any other foster family I had. It was the first time that the word family actually meant something to me.” He’s getting sentimental as he gets older. Just mentioning the Bradshaws makes him get misty eyed. Memories of Nick flood his mind. He sips his tea and watches as Natasha tentatively lifted her mug a took a sip, eyes going wide as she tips the mug a little more. She licks her lips and gazes down into the mug. “Tom and I want to be those people for kids like you and Bob. Whether you’re here for a week or a year. We want to be a family you remember fondly. I know how often foster families are unkind and downright mean. We want to take care of you, Natasha. While you’re staying with us we want to love you like you’re our daughter.”

Natasha doesn’t say anything, just keeps her gaze on her mug. She sniffs and wipes her nose on the back of her hand.

“I promise,” Mav says, holding her gaze so she can see how serious he is, “while you’re in our care no one is going to hurt you. And if anyone tries Ice and I will kick their asses for you.”

“Ice?” She asks. Not what Mav was expecting. He smiles.

“Short for Iceman. It’s his callsign.” When she still looks confused he continues. “We’re naval aviators.” She nods slowly before taking another long drink of her hot chocolate. “And whenever you need someone to listen or a shoulder to cry on I’m always here. And so is Ice. He doesn’t understand quite the way I do, but he’ll listen and try his best to help.”

-/-/-/-

“Can I make a phonecall?” She asks the next morning. Ice has just left to take Bob to school so it’s only her and Mav.

“Of course.” He hands her the landline. She watches him as she walks toward the living room and when he doesn’t stop her disappears down the hall. When she comes back it’s obvious she’s been crying and she proceeds to spend the rest of the day in her room.

-/-/-/-

The next morning she sleeps in which Mav thinks will probably do her some good. He has errands to run, but Ice has taken Bob to school and Mav doesn’t want to leave her alone without telling her.

He putters. Does some housework, writes out a grocery list and a list for the hardware store. The phone rings and if he’s honest he doesn’t know who he’s expecting, but certainly not the automated female voice on the other end,

“Will you accept a collect call from Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility?”

Curiosity gets the better of him and he accepts.

“Nat? Sweetheart?” It’s a man voice, an older man if Mav’s guess is correct, “I’m sorry. Really I am.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, Natasha can’t come to the phone right now.” He replies.

“The fuck are you?” The man asks.

“I’m her foster father.” The man hums, but doesn’t say anything. “Who am I speaking to?”

“Nat’s father. Just tell her I’m sorry. And I’d really like to talk to her again.” There’s a click and the line goes dead. Mav’s head is reeling. How the hell did Natasha’s dad get their home phone number? As soon as the question forms the rational side of his brain reminds him that she made a call the day before. The second question he has remains unanswered, what did her dad do that wind up in prison? Mav hates mysteries.

-/-/-/-

It takes her about a week to settle into their routine. She still doesn’t really speak unless it’s absolutely unavoidable, but she’s willing to make eye contact with Mav and that’s a good first step.

And then after dinner Friday night things get . . . interesting. Bradley shows up for the first time since Ice kicked him out. Ice is the one to answer the door and he almost doesn’t let Bradley in the house. But Mav grabs his arm gently and tells him it’s ok. Ice narrows his eyes at Bradley, but nods and let’s him in. Mav can’t help but roll his eyes at Ice’s antics.

“Give us a minute?” Mav asks. Ice looks ready to protest, but a stern look from Mav has him heading up the stairs. It’s clear Bradley has been drinking, he’s swaying and his eyes are a bit glassy.

“Mav, I-shit. Don’t even know what to say.” Bradley has the decency to look embarrassed. “‘M sorry. For all the shit I said to you the last time was here. Was uncalled for and I-you didn’t deserve that. You always try to do what’s best and sometimes you fuck up, but you try and that’s gotta matter more, right?” His speech is a little slurred, but Mav is fairly certain he isn’t actually drunk, just tipsy. “I’ve, uh, I’ve been trying to get my shit together and I think I’ve had some sense knocked into me,” he grimaces and Mav has a sneaking suspicion he’s talking about his conversation with Ice, “‘m still kinda pissed you pulled my papers, but I think I understand more why you did it and ‘m trying really hard to move past it. ‘M sorry I pushed you away and I-I’ve missed you Mav. I can’t stand feeling like this anymore. I hate who’ve been while holding this grudge against you and I can’t-I don’t-”

Mav pulls him into a hug, holding him as tight as he can. Bradley begins to cry and Mav has to blink back tears of his own.

“God, I’ve missed you too, kid.” Mav tells him, one hand pressed the back his head, the other rubbing circles on his back.

They end up on the couch, talking, apologizing, crying(not that they’d ever admit it) and finding the foundation to rebuild their relationship.

It’s late by the time they’re conversation turns to more mundane and boring topics and Bradley is starting to yawn consistently. Mav invites him to stay the night and goes to find a pillow and some blankets. It doesn’t even occur to him that he’d head up what used be the guest room, until he hears Natasha scream, followed Bradley yelping and a door slamming.

Mav runs up the stairs, well, walks as fast as he can. Bradley is staring at Natasha’s door while rubbing his chest. There’s a large hard back book on the floor at his feet.

“Sorry, rooms are all taken. You’re gonna have to bunk on the couch.” Mav shoves the pillow and blankets into his hands.

“The fuck’s goin’ on out here?” Ice asks, voice heavy with sleep, hair flattened on one side.

“Nothing, baby, go back to bed. I’ll be there soon.” Ice stares at him, eyes narrows for several seconds before turning and shuffling back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Mav sends Bradley back downstairs and then knocks gently on Natasha’s door.

“Natasha?” He says, just loud enough he knows she can hear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he’d come up here.” The door opens a crack and she peers out at him, terrified eyes looking up at him.

“Who was that?” She asks softly, voice trembling. Mav feels awful that Bradley scared her so bad.

“Bradley. My godson. He’s spending the night. He’s not used the guest rooms being occupied. He didn’t know you were in there.” Mav tells her. “Did you throw a book at him?” He asks, picking up the copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

“Didn’t know who it was.” She glances down and can’t be certain because of how dim the hallway is, but he thinks she’s blushing. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no, none of that. You have every right to defend yourself against strange men coming into your space. And he won’t hold it against you. In fact I promise he’s gonna feel really awful about this in the morning.” Mav smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring way. “If you feel unsafe you can always lock the door if you want.” She nods. “Are you ok?”

“Mmhm. Gonna go back to bed now.”

“Sure. Night, Tasha.” She nods and meets his eyes for a second before closing the door. Baby steps.

Mav runs back down to check on Bradley and is unsurprised to find him conked out on the couch, snoring like a freight train. Mav smiles and shakes his head before flicking off the living room light and going to bed himself.

His life certainly isn’t boring, even if he is retired. In fact it’s probably good he is retired. If he was dealing with the excitement of being active duty as well as taking care of all the kids he’s pretty sure he’d have an aneurysm. He misses flying, but for this? For his kids? Totally worth it.

-/-/-/-

Taglist! Lmk if you’d liked to be added for future updates.

@pollyna

#top gun #top gun maverick #pete maverick mitchell #bradley rooster bradshaw #tom iceman kazansky #robert bob floyd #natasha phoenix trace #angst #mine mine mine #rie writes #patience series #anyone wanna make any guesses who’ll show up next???#also I apologize I don’t think I did real well with Mav and Bradley reconciling but idk #I might do some editing later and clean it up a bit #maybe #we’ll see #icemav #this was actually the first part of this series I wrote #so it’s been sitting in my drafts unfinished for awhile now

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runawaycatwalker · 1 year

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Part 18. Who You Know (Veritruce, part C)

<<First | <Previous | Next>

Description below the cut

Ladybug flies up through the sky.

Ladybug (internally): I can't believe he... No. Focus. Plan first.

Ladybug flies up towards a cloud, headed towards a darker opening within the cloud.

Ladybug (internally): I don't have my yo-yo, but I can still... wait, is that a hole inside this cloud?

From inside the cloud, Ladybug sees a cloud doodle of Rena Furtive above the words “Detransformation Safe Zone”.

Ladybug (internally): I didn't even realize she was out tonight. Thanks, Rena.

Ladybug (aloud): Spots off!

Cut to Mayura pointing her fan up towards Catwalker threateningly.

Mayura: So now it is only you and me, Catwalker. You may not know Chat Noir's identity, but you clearly are not unfamiliar with keeping secrets. Talk.

Catwalker, still stuck in the upper cone, looks down in annoyance.

Catwalker: Just because I told Ladybug about Adrien, that doesn't mean I'll tell you all about Chat Noir. You almost killed him.

Mayura: And I regret that.

Catwalker leans against the cone and points an accusatory finger.

Catwalker: If you truly regretted your actions, you wouldn't be trying to hunt him down. Or is what you regret that you failed to kill him?

Mayura raises her hands in exasperation.

Mayura: I don't want Chat Noir dead! I am trying to make up for the harm I've caused him!

Catwalker: If you actually wanted to absolve yourself, you would have revealed Shadowmoth's identity to us.

Close-up of Mayura wringing her fan in her hands.

Mayura: Protecting Shadowmoth and Chat Noir is the decision my conscience can live with.

Catwalker: You have another decision: Walk away. Whatever Shadowmoth's goal is can't be worth it.

Mayura: Even if he'd wish for something that Chat Noir desperately wants?

Catwalker leans back and raises a contemptuous hand.

Catwalker: You don't know Chat Noir very well if you think he'd be swayed so easily.

Mayura: I know him better than you think.

Catwalker: That still doesn't mean you actually care about him as a person.

Mayura: I literally cannot lie to you about this!

Catwalker hits his fist against the barrier wall.

Catwalker: Sure you can! You control the amok. You could have ordered Veritruce to not react to your lies. And even if you didn't do that, it only detects your belief in what you say. Beliefs can be wrong. So whatever you claim about caring about Chat Noir, your lie detector can't prove that you're speaking the objective truth.

Mayura: Then perhaps I can provide you external evidence?

Close-up of Mayura in profile. There is also the image of Marinette blushing as she holds up the charm bracelet she gave Adrien, as well as the scarf she made for him behind her.

Mayura: Ask your kwami to verify this: A girl Chat Noir knows well likes to give him gifts. A charm bracelet he carries with him at all times. A birthday present she made for him that was misattributed to another. Opportunities too, she will advocate on his behalf so that he can enjoy freedoms he might not have otherwise. She admires him greatly and Chat Noir, in turn, considers her a most precious friend.

Catwalker stares ahead in shock.

Mayura: Will that suffice for now?

Catwalker: How do you know all that?

Mayura: Because I know him. He's someone I would protect with my dying breath if need be.

Catwalker: And you think you'll protect him by making sure that I'm the one endangering myself to fight Shadowmoth.

Mayura bows her head and looks away.

Mayura: I won't try to kill you. But we still need the wish. And if you are our adversary, the inevitable fallout will be better than if Chat Noir were still involved. Will you agree to keep him out of this?

Catwalker looks down. His earpiece is visible in his ear.

Catwalker: If Chat chooses to involve himself, that's his decision. But I won't give up my miraculous to anyone besides Ladybug.

Mayura: That should be enough. Thank you.

The point of the bottom conic barrier hits the top barrier with a clack. Veritruce looks up in surprise.

Catwalker (internally): Mayura said these barriers were reinforced by truths. With every truth we've said, they've grown thicker, and now they're close enough to touch.

A close-up of Catwalker glancing upwards. There is also the image of Ladybug falling down through the sky.

Catwalker (internally): And Ladybug is almost back—she'll need my help, so I'd better activate my...

A close-up of Catwalker’s hand as his ring charges with destructive energy.

Catwalker (aloud): Cataclysm!

A close-up of Mayura’s shocked face.

Mayura: What??

Mayura (internally): When did he recharge his miraculous?

Cut to a flashback when Catwalker was the one flying upwards through the sky. Alya answers her phone while looking out on her balcony. Catwalker places a finger in his ear to activate his earpiece to make a call.

Alya: Hello?

Catwalker: Rena, I need somewhere safe to detransform.

Alya: Catwalker? Did you steal my phone number from my flute?

Catwalker: Don't make me answer that, there's a lie-detecting sentimonster here.

Alya: Okay, but where's 'here'?

Catwalker: Can you see the speck flying above the Agreste mansion? That's me.

Alya: I'll get you some cloud cover. Trixx, let's pounce!

Cut back to the present as Ladybug falls downward from the sky, her yo-yo in hand.

Ladybug (internally): I've got my yo-yo back, but Catwalker's still trapped and powerless, so I can't rely on him. But that barrier now has holes I can still use to my advantage... If I aim...

Ladybug, still falling, throws her yo-yo through one of the holes in the lower conical barrier. In the cone above, Catwalker places his hand against its barrier.

Ladybug (internally): ...just... right...

Both barriers begin to disintegrate.

Catwalker: Cataclysm!

Mayura: What??

Ladybug’s eyes widen.

Ladybug (internally): He destroyed the barriers? Oh no... He's falling right towards—

Ladybug’s yo-yo catches on Catwalker’s arm right above Mayura’s face, snagging him away before he can catch her.

Catwalker: Ngh!

Ladybug (internally): My yo-yo.

Mayura and Veritruce flee off the rooftop, while in the background Ladybug tries to disentangle Catwalker from her yo-yo.

Ladybug: Let me untangle—

Catwalker: Don't worry about me! We can't let Mayura get away!