#but also. the cramping is so bad. agh.

[redhotarsenic]

I cannot keep taking this much pain medication I am going to poison myself at this rate

#but also. the cramping is so bad. agh. #like. it doesn’t feel like it’s working very well #maybe a little? but not enough for me to walk around comfortably #just gonna make myself some tea and get something to eat and lay down #I’m also simultaneously gaslighting myself into thinking that I’m probably not even hurting that bad and I’m being a big baby rn #which is fun!

[dudadragneel]

And I'm back!

I hope you'll enjoy it!

This fic is based on a TikTok I saw!

THE ONLY HYUNG

Idols tend to receive tons of gifts from fans to the point where the companies issue a statement that they won't be accepting any more. But that also has to do with their safety, you never know what a sasaeng can do.

One day, Chan and Lee Know decided to go live to open some of the gifts they had recently received.

They had managed to get the staff away so they could be a little more carefree during the live, but still paying attention to what they said.

They enjoyed opening up all the presents and fan letters, some even made them tear up.

It was all going well until things unexpectedly took a turn for the worse. Before going live they had lunch and since eating Lee Know was feeling bloated, as if he ate a serving for three people.

As they went on he kept on taking his hand to his stomach and rubbing it in useless attempts to calm it down. But he kept his composure, as much as he could, the last thing he wanted was to get sick live.

Chan had picked up on Lee Know's obvious discomfort and placed a hand on his thighs, trying to comfort him without saying anything.

Lee Know tried his best to focus on his hyung's touch and the presents, but eventually, it got too much. His stomach was churning and his head started to hurt as well.

Before he even noticed he had lowered his head so it was now resting on his hand and Chan immediately stopped everything he was doing and turned his attention to Lee Know.

- hyung...I feel sick...

Chan got closer to him and started massaging his nape. He knew that if Lee Know admitted to feeling unwell, it meant it was really bad.

The staff that was monitoring the live from another room, had gone to the room where they were but before they could get in, Chan glared at them, and a single nod made them leave. He knew Lee Know wouldn't want attention right now.

- Do you want some water?

- No...I feel nauseous...

He said, bringing his hand to his stomach one more time and letting out a sigh. Chan grabbed Lee Know's hand and started rubbing it with his thumb.

- Do you wanna go to the bathroom?

- hm...I want to throw up...

- Let's go. Hyung will help you.

Chan placed his arms under Lee Know's and helped him up, being in a standing position was not something his stomach had agreed to so he lurched forward suppressing a gag with his hand.

- Hang on just a little more, okay?

He embraced his dongsaeng and guided him to the bathroom and into one of the stalls, locking the door behind them.

Usually, Lee Know would rather deal with this on his own but he acted like a dongsaeng when he was with Chan. The difference in how he acts is huge.

Lee Know bent over, hands on the edges for support, and started gagging unproductively.

He kept on rocking back and forth, spitting out saliva and retching, but whatever it was that made him feel like that was not coming up.

Chan was rubbing his back up and down, with the softest expression on his face.

- hyung...

Lee Know whined.

- I know it hurts... it'll be over soon.

Lee Know squeezed his eyes when his stomach cramped badly making him gag unproductively again.

Chan took his chance to help his dongsaeng by gently rubbing his abdomen in a circular motion.

Lee Know retched a few times before a wet burp triggered his sensitive stomach, bringing up partially digested food. Chan could swear he saw chunks of what was Lee Know's lunch from earlier and grimaced at the gross sight.

His stomach did not give him a break and before he could even breathe, it sent up a thicker stream of putrid vomit immediately followed by another making the poor boy go red from the effort and sway forward.

Chan tightened his hold on Lee Know so that the boy wouldn't fall and used his other hand to rub Lee Know's chest, trying to comfort the sick boy.

- Agh...

Lee Know groaned at the discomfort he was feeling before another bout of vomit gushed out with a wet burp, arching his back.

- You're doing good. Get everything out. It must have been the lunch. You'll feel better when it's all out of your system.

Lee Know spat out thick saliva and then his stomach gave him a break. But now his head was throbbing from the ordeal and he felt a little dizzy, like someone was squeezing his head.

- Minho-ah? Do you think you're done?

- Hyung...I need to sit down...

- Are you feeling dizzy?

- hm...

Lee Know just nodded swallowing hard. Chan carefully guided him so he was now sitting down on the floor. Thank God for the ridiculously clean bathrooms of the company.

The younger boy was kind of in a daze with how things went south in a matter of minutes, so Chan stepped up to keep on helping him, getting some toilet paper to wipe Lee Know's mouth.

- Thanks hyung...

- How are you feeling?

Chan asked sitting beside Lee Know who was resting his head on his hand again and kept on rubbing his back reassuringly.

- Sick...my stomach is churning and now my head hurts...

- Do you want to move to the studio?

- No... I feel like I'll throw up again...

- Okay. We'll stay here then. I'll be right here with you.

Chan reassured, grabbing Lee Know's hand and squeezing it.

- Agh..

Lee Know winced again...

- What is it?

- My head is throbbing....Hyung...can I rest my head on your hand?

- Of course.

Chan couldn't deny that he was taken aback by the sudden request, Lee Know being this vulnerable was a rare sight, one that was mostly only shown to Chan.

Lee Know rested his head on his hyung's hand, allowing the whole weight to be held by Chan. The pressure against his forehead miraculously helped with the throbbing pain.

Even so, Chan kept rubbing Lee Know's back, and for a while, the young boy seemed to have calmed down.

- Minho-ah, were you feeling like this before?

- Only after lunch...my stomach felt too full...

- I think it might've been the lunch.

The young boy was still resting his head on his hyung's hand when he started shivering a bit. Chan could feel Lee Know's forehead was starting to feel hot and that was an indicator that this wasn't a case of food not sitting well, it was most likely food poisoning.

- It's cold in here...

- I think you're starting to run a fever, Minho-ah. I'm pretty sure this is food poisoning.

- Great.

Lee Know said, clearly getting mad at the situation. He hated feeling sick, weak, and vulnerable but he felt safe to feel like this when he was with Chan.

The chills just wouldn't stop and his stomach was determined to get everything out.

It cramped badly again making him gag, startling Chan a bit, who was still holding the boy's head.

- Hyung...I'm gonna be sick...

He said weakly gagging again on his hand and failing to contain a bit of liquid that escaped his mouth but thankfully hit the floor and didn't get on his clothes. He already felt too weak so Chan had to help him to the toilet, holding his forehead and keeping the boy's hair away from his eyes.

Lee Know didn't even have time to think before his stomach contracted making more vomit rush up his throat. The thick wave that came out still had chunks of food, given that he had just eaten, and it triggered another wave that was followed by another one leaving him breathless.

- You're really not okay.

Chan said, somewhat impressed by how quickly his symptoms worsened, which meant that Lee Know's immune system was not in good condition.

The older boy kept on rubbing Lee Know's back and then moved to his chest when he choked, the bout that followed made food come out of his nose as well.

Fuck. He cursed inside, today just wasn't his day, and if it was really food poisoning, then this suffering would last a few days.

He straightened his back and took a deep breath in, trying to control his body, but gagged a few times before he was over the toilet one more time retching up what felt like it was yesterday's dinner.

After this bout he was dry heaving, just barely bringing up thick saliva and bile. Chan decided to flush the toilet before the stench and sight triggered Lee Know's stomach again.

- Grab my hand.

Chan offered but he didn't even need to, as Lee Know did that immediately, trying to take deep breaths to control the nausea that persisted.

- Come on, breathe with me, just like what we did that day.

Lee Know was still squeezing Chan's hand as he was guided through the breathing exercise. A few minutes after, he was more calm.

- Better?

- Yeah...

- Do you feel like you're gonna puke again?

- No...not now at least.

- Do you wanna move to the studio?

- Yeah...hyung, can you help me up? I feel dizzy...

- Sure, come on.

Chan placed his arms under Lee Know's again and lifted him, most of the boy's weight being held by his hyung.

- Let's rinse your mouth first.

While Lee Know did that, Chan wiped the sweat off his damp forehead and only then noticed that Lee Know's face was already pretty flushed because of the fever.

And the dancer couldn't deny, his whole body ached because of the fever, even Chan's hold on him hurt.

The oldest carefully guided Lee Know to his studio and lay him on the couch, covering his shivering body with a blanket and leaving a bin nearby.

- Minho-ah, hyung will go tell the manager what happened and see what we'll do okay?

- Yes...

When Chan got to the practice room, he was met with worried eyes, that were clearly asking what happened without saying a word.

- Chan-hyung, where were you?

- You were doing a live with Lee Know hyung, right?

- Yeah. Kids, gather here. Lee Know got sick, he probably has food poisoning. He threw up a couple of times and he's running a fever.

- Where is he?

- I took him to my studio, that's the place where he'd get more privacy.

At that time, their manager came into the room and upon noticing one member missing went straight to the gathered group.

- What happened? Where Lee Know-ssi?

- He got sick during the live. He threw up a few times and he's running a fever. I'm guessing it's food poisoning. Should we take him to the hospital?

- Going to the hospital can be a hassle, especially because of the possibility of encountering fans and god forbid, saesengs. Let's take him home and see if we can make him stay hydrated and fed, if in two days he doesn't manage to keep anything down, well take him.

- Okay.

- Since you have no official schedules, if you want to you can go home as well kids.

- I think Lee Know-hyung would want to keep his privacy for a while. We'll go have lunch and go back home later.

- Okay then.

The manager said, leaving the room to inform the other staff about the situation.

- Kids, can you gather Lee Know's thing for me? I'll go check on him.

- Yes, hyung.

Chan promptly left the room, worried about the sick dongsaeng in his studio. Opening the door, he found Lee Knows hunched over the couch spilling more of his stomach's content into the bin.

He went to his side, sitting on the edge of the couch, repeating the same process from earlier, holding his forehead and rubbing his back, and noticing that the fever had worsened, he could feel the heat through Lee Know's clothes.

- Hyung...it hurts...

- I know... we'll take you home in a few minutes okay?

- Okay.

- Can I dispose of this? Or are you gonna vomit again?

- I feel empty...but the nausea is still here...

- Okay.

Chan went to the bathroom and quickly returned.

- The boys gathered your things, the managed will take us home.

Lee Know stood out his arms so Chan could help him sit up and then waited a few seconds to see if he would throw up again.

- You good?

- Yeah...

- Want me to carry you?

Lee Know's face which was already red due to the fever had gotten even more red.

- Uhm...

He hummed in agreement, head down a little embarrassed. Chan just smiled fondly, even though Lee Know couldn't see.

The leader positioned himself kneeling in front of Lee Know so he could climb on his back, wrapping his arms around his hyun and burying his face.

Chan walked out of his studio and was greeted by their manager holding Lee Know's bag and a big coat which he used to cover Lee Know who was still shivering.

Thankfully their van was parked in the garage so no chance of paparazzi.

Chan settled Minho inside the car and sat beside him, pulling his head so it was resting on his shoulder.

- Manager-nim, do we have a plastic bag?

- I think we do, hold on.

The manager looked inside the glove box and found a plastic bag from one of the many grocery shopping he did with the kids, and handed it to Chan.

- If you feel sick, just let me know okay?

- hmm...

Lee Know just hummed, his fever making him sleepy and dizzy. Chan offered his hand for the sick boy to hold and he did it without hesitation. And again Chan was surprised by how hot he felt, it was high enough to mess with his breathing, and they didn't have a thermometer in the studio so he had no idea how high it was.

A few minutes into the ride home, Lee Know felt increasingly nauseous, burping wetly from time to time. Then he felt something creeping up his chest, a foul taste in his mouth.

He squeezed Chan's hand as he began to swallow convulsively, not wanting to throw up in front of their manager.

- Are you feeling nauseous again?

Lee Know just nodded, swallowing hard and then suppressing a gag, his stomach clearly mad at him for trying to swallow it down.

- Don't hold it in, Minho-ah. He's seen us sick before.

Chan reassured, not letting go of Lee Know's hand and putting the bag under his chin.

The boy helplessly ducked his head closer to the bag just in time for a wet burp to bring up a wave of putrid liquid hitting the bag. Lee Know kept squeezing Chan's hand, that was the only thing keeping him sane and grounded at the moment. Another queasy burp brought up another mouthful of vomit, and by now both he and Chan were thinking he was vomiting everything he ate during the week.

- We're almost there Lee Know-ssi.

Lee Know Just spat out some thick saliva and then just leaned his whole weight on Chan, who was holding the dirty bag, wanting to get rid of it as soon as possible, before the stench filled the car.

When they arrived at the dorms, the manager quickly got out of the car and went to Chan's side to get the bag and dispose of it.

- Minho-ah. We're home.

Chan said softly, caressing the sick boy's arm in an attempt to wake him up. Lee Know was barely conscious but he managed to move so he was sitting on the edge of the car's seat for Chan to pick him up.

- Here we go. Are you okay? Do you feel nauseous?

- No...

- Okay, I'll start moving then.

The manager carried their stuff while Chan carried a flushed face Lee Know, who also looked a little pale.

Entering the dorm, Chan sat Lee Know on the couch and the manager put their things in their bedrooms.

- Call me if you need anything, okay? I'll leave you two alone. Get better soon, Lee Know-ssi.

- Thanks, hyung.

Lee Know said before ducking his head and looking between his knees, he brought a hand to his stomach and sighed. Chan had gone to the bedroom to get Lee Know a fresh set of clothes and a thermometer.

- Let me take your temperature and then I'll help you take a bath, okay?

- yes...

Just as Chan suspected, the fever was really high 38.8°C.

- Minho-ah, we need to cool you down and we need to try to take some medicine, okay?

Just the thought of having to take a pill and most likely taste it was enough to trigger his stomach.

- hyung...

Lee Know called grabbing Chan's arm for dear life.

- bathroom...

He already felt something coming up his throat so he didn't manage to say a proper sentence.

- Come on.

Chan promptly helped his dongsaeng up, grabbed the change of clothes, and rushed to the bathroom with him.

Lee Know went straight to the toilet, vomit spewing out without much control and getting on the edges and the floor.

- Don't worry about that, hyung will clean it up.

Chan reassured placing the clothes on the sink and then going to Lee Know's side to rub his back and his chest for the nth time that day. Chan was scared at how much content was still coming out after the few rounds from earlier, he was getting afraid they'd have to take him to the hospital. As the oldest hyung, he just wanted his dongsaeng's well-being but avoiding the hospital is something everyone wanted.

As Lee Know continued to puke his guts out, Chan prepared his bath.

When he was done, Chan helped him out of his sweaty clothes and helped him into the shower, thankfully they had a bathtub because Lee Know was in no state to keep standing.

- Minho-ah, do you want hyung to wash your hair?

- please...

All this cuteness and vulnerability just showed how awful he was feeling. Chan carefully washed his hair and hoped the bath would help reduce his fever.

- Thanks, hyung

- Don't mention it. I'll let you take your bath now but I'll stay here just in case.

Lee Know slowly washed himself, the water hitting his skin making him wince from how much it stung. What usually would be a means to relax, today was almost a torture session.

When he was done, he surprisingly asked Chan for help getting dressed, and so his hyung did. He was now clean, wearing comfortable clothes and completely drained of his batteries.

- Come on, let's get you to bed. Do you feel like you're vomit again?

- No...not now...I'm tired...

- I know, let's go.

Chan cooed, wrapping his arms around Lee Know and guiding him to his bedroom. Since Lee Know shared a bedroom with another member, Chan thought it would be better for the young boy to sleep in his bedroom. That way he could keep an eye on him, and Lee Know could be more comfortable since he didn't like to show this side to the others.

Lee Know lay down on his hyung's bed and was promptly covered with a blanket by him.

- I will get you an antiemetic first and see how you'll hold up, okay? You need to put something in your stomach, water, a sports drink, soup. I'll be right back.

The poor boy's fever was so high, it was tearing up his eyes, and his head was still throbbing. He just sunk into the pillow and closed his eyes to ease some of the pain until Chan came back.

- Minho-ah. Here take these and let's wait.

- Hyung...my head is still throbbing...

- I'll sim the lights for you. let's see if the antiemetics work, then you'll try to eat something so I can give you painkillers, okay?

- Yes...

Chan stayed with Lee Know in the bedroom and within a few minutes the medication seemed to have worked.

- Do you think you can stomach some soup? Or bread? It might help better than soup actually.

- Bread...

He answered weakly, eyes half open.

Chan came back with a few slices of bread and gave them to Lee Know, who hesitantly took it.

- Just a few bites okay?

The older boy helped Lee Know to sit up on the bed, he was wearing a black hoodie and was half-covered with a blanket. Lee Know was fairly muscular but to Chan, at that moment, he looked so tiny.

He sat at the edge of the bed and stayed with Lee Know while the poor boy took small bites and slowly ate the slices.

- How do you feel? Nauseous?

- No...feels settled...for now.

- That's good.

Chan set the tray aside and placed his hand on Lee Know's forehead.

- It's still high. Let me check it.

The thermometer showed almost the same temperature from earlier, 38.5°C.

- it's still pretty high. Do you think you can stomach some pills?

- Yes...

- Take them with a sports drink, that way you won't feel the taste.

Chan quickly left and came back with the medication and the drinks. Lee Know took them and gagged but managed to swallow it. They waited a few seconds to see if he'd vomit but it didn't happen.

Lee Know was falling asleep even while sitting, so Chan carefully laid him down on the bed, placed an ice pack on his forehead, and covered him before leaving the room to eat something and get a mattress.

Then he was met with the rest of the kids who had just returned home.

- Hyung! How's Lee Know-hyung?

- He threw up again but after taking some medication, he managed to eat something. He was pretty tired so he's asleep now. He'll stay in my room for the time being, okay?

- Okay hyung.

- Let's just keep quiet. I don't want to wake him up.

They all had dinner, took a shower, and then went to do their own stuff but before telling Chan to tell Lee Know they wished he gets better soon.

Chan entered the bedroom and found Lee Know still asleep, his breathing was a bit off but it was due to the fever. He hoped the sick boy would sleep well through the night, but those prayers were not heard.

Chan checked on Lee Know one more time before going to bed himself but was woken up after 1h or so.

Lee Know was sleeping rather peacefully when his stomach decided to remind him he was going through a food poisoning process.

It started churning again, in complete turmoil making Lee Know toss and turn on the bed but no position was comfortable enough. He lay on his back and squeezed his hands in an attempt to control the urge to vomit.

It didn't work, he turned to his side and that must've been the worst decision he made that day. As soon as he turned his stomach jumped shooting up its contents way too fast, Lee Know rushed out of the room, hand covering his mouth so he wouldn't make a mess on the floor, that would be too humiliating.

He got to the bathroom, hurriedly closing the door behind him and bending over the toilet as a stream of bread mixed with stomach juice gushed out, immediately followed by another bout.

The motion of getting up so quickly and being bent over made him feel really dizzy, so before he could actually fall, he managed to sit down next to the toilet. His stomach was cramping badly, sending queasy burps repeatedly but not actually making him vomit, even though he felt like there were still things to come out.

He was starting to feel even more miserable than before, and he was sure his fever spiked again, even his clothes were hurting his skin.

He sat for a few seconds on the floor not sure of what to do, then he noticed his phone inside his hoodie pocket.

- Hyung. Can you come to the bathroom? Just need to know you're here.

Chan was already half awake when he got the message.

- Be right there.

He got up and made his way to the bathroom, but he didn't go in. He respected Lee Know's request of just being close, if the sick boy needed him inside with him, he'd say.

He sat by the door and gently ordered one of the members who had woken up to use the other bathroom, wanting to secure Lee Know's privacy as much as he could.

Chan kept hearing Lee Know retching over the toilet but never heard anything splashing in the water and he thought that maybe Lee Know had nothing else in his stomach.

But a few minutes later, he got another message.

- Hyung...come in, please...

Chan got up and politely knocked on the door, letting Lee Know know he was coming in.

Chan's heart dropped to his stomach when he saw Lee Know's state. His face was bright red from the fever that was obviously higher than before, he was sitting next to the toilet holding his stomach and with a pained expression on his face.

The leader locked the door behind him and walked up to Lee Know, grabbing his hand and feeling the heat of his skin.

- Minho-ah...

- hyung...it hurts...

Lee Know said, tears swelling up in his eyes. Chan immediately pulled him into an embrace, allowing him to break down if he needed to. It was a rare occurrence to see Lee Know cry, so whenever he needed to, Chan was always there to provide him the safe space he so much needed.

Lee Know broke down into sobs from frustration, pain, and embarrassment. Chan tightened his grip around him, gently rocking him from side to side, rubbing his back.

- It's okay. Hyung's got you.

When Lee Know finally calmed down, he kept looking down, still embarrassed by everything that was happening.

- hyung...I've been trying...but nothing's coming up...and it hurts so bad...

- Do you want hyung to help you?

- hmm.

Lee Know nodded shyly, hating to admit he was desperate for a comforting touch.

He leaned over the toilet, his stomach still cramping but only making him dry-heave and nothing came up.

Chan was by his side and rested his hand on Lee Know's abdomen and it felt heavenly for the sick boy. Because of his scar, Lee Know wasn't too comfortable with people touching his abdomen, but right now he really needed that.

- Can I press on it a bit? I think it'll help bring something up.

- please...

Lee Know pleaded, clearly done with how awful he felt, he was accepting every and any help.

Chan first started rubbing circles to soothe some of the pain and gently pressed the middle, earning a wince from Lee Know.

- I'm sorry...but it'll be over soon.

The motion seemed to be working as Lee Know started burping wetly and for a while, gagging unproductively.

Chan proceeded to press on his stomach until Lee Know retched wetly and a thick stream of putrid pale brown liquid hit the toilet water with a sickening sound, followed by another harsher one, leaving Lee Know breathless.

He coughed a few times because something got stuck in his throat, and Chan changed his approach to run his chest again as well as his back providing some comfort in the middle of the ordeal.

Another wet cough brought up small chunks of food mixing with the mess inside the bowl.

Lee Know scooted away from the toilet for a while, allowing Chan to flush it and get rid of the unsettling sight. He grabbed a few napkins to clean Lee Know's mouth and pulled the poor sick boy into his embrace so he could try to relax for a bit.

- I'm sorry hyung...

- You don't need to apologize.

- But I took over your room and now I can't even let you sleep...

- It's not your fault, Minho-yah. You had no idea you'd get food poisoning.

- What about the others?

- I made sure they'd stay away from the bathroom and my room, at least for now. I know you don't like much attention when you're sick.

- Thanks...I feel dizzy...

- It's because of the fever. Let me check your temperature again.

Chan took the thermometer from the cabinet and put it under Lee Know's arm.

- 39.1°C. It spiked.

It was obvious his fever got higher, he was looking red as a tomato, even his breathing felt hot, and despite wearing sweatpants and a hoodie he couldn't stop shivering.

- Minho-yah. Do you wanna take another shower? Or do you think you can stomach a fever reducer? If we don't get your temperature down, we'll have to go to the hospital.

As if on cue, Lee Know's stomach shot up what felt like it was the last of its contents barely giving him time to reach the toilet bowl, thankfully Chan helped him, otherwise he'd soil his clothes. The older boy gave him a glass of water so he could rinse his mouth and helped him brush his teeth.

- Thanks hyung...

- So, what do you wanna do?

- I don't wanna take another shower...my skin hurts every time something touches me.

- Then we'll try the pill again. Let's go back to the bedroom.

Chan offered a hand but Lee Know was far too exhausted to get up on his own, let alone walk.

- Come here, hyung will help you.

He put his arms under Lee Know's and carefully helped him to his feet but his legs almost instantly gave up on him.

- I'll carry you, okay?

- hmm.

Lee Know was in no state to protest, and honestly, he didn't want to. His hyung's presence and touch helped him more than Chan could imagine.

Chan hugged Lee Know and gently lifted him, one arm around his waist and the other around his legs. The image of a father carrying a son, that's how one would describe it.

He walked slowly to the bedroom, being extremely careful to not upset Lee Know's stomach, which seemed to have calmed down for a while.

He settled Lee Know on the bed and looked for a clean shirt and hoodie.

- Let's get you changed up. You sweat too much, your clothes are soaked.

Chan helped Lee know out of his hoodie and shirt and before putting on the clean ones, he wiped Lee Know's upper body, then helped him put on the new set.

- Can we take the medication now?

- Hmm

- Here, take one antiemetic and wait for a bit. Then take the fever reducer and another antiemetic.

Lee Know hesitantly took the pills from Chan's hand and contemplated for a bit, clearly afraid of vomiting again. He didn't want that, his whole body hurt because of the strain and the fever, and his throat was hurting as well, to the point his voice was raspy.

- Trust hyung, okay? You can keep it down, I know you can.

Chan reassured grabbing Lee Know's hand and started rubbing circular patterns.

Just like before, the first sip of water with the pill made him gag, but he managed to take everything.

Both he and Chan stayed sitting on the bed, waiting until Lee Know felt safe enough to lie down.

- How are you feeling? Still nauseous?

- just a bit...

- Do you wanna lay down?

- Yeah.

He lay down and Chan covered him, then lay down on the mattress next to the bed.

- Hyung...

He heard a soft whiny voice coming from above, it was Lee Know standing out his hand, after moving to the edge of the bed.

- What is it?

- Can you hold my hand?

- Of course.

Chan grabbed Lee Know's hand and just held it until he fell asleep. But he didn't let go, he knew Lee Know needed that, so he found a way of sleeping while holding his hand.

Thankfully, the medication seemed to have worked, at least for the night, because Lee Know slept until morning without any other incidents during the night.

When Chan woke up the first thing he did was check Lee Know's temperature.

- 38°C. It went down a bit, thank god.

He said quietly. Since Lee Know was in deep sleep, Chan quietly left the room to get breakfast and see the other kids.

- Good morning, hyung.

- Good morning kinds.

- How's Lee Know-hyung?

- He's still asleep. He managed to keep a few pills down yesterday, so his fever went down a bit, but it's still high.

- And you, hyung? How are you doing?

- I'm okay. He's got food poisoning, so I think we are all in the clear.

- Aren't you tired? We know you. We know you didn't get enough sleep.

- I'm doing good, kids. Don't worry about me. My concern now is getting Lee Know better.

Chan said walking to the kitchen to prepare something for him and a soup or some toast for Lee Know.

When he got back to the bedroom he found Lee Know sitting on the bed but still covered with the blanket, eyes puffy and face still red.

- Good morning.

- Good morning hyung...

Lee Know answered, voice raspy and weak, signs of a rough night.

- How are you feeling?

- Tired...

- And your stomach?

- A little nauseous but not that much...and a bit hungry.

- I made you some food. Wanna give it a try? There's soup and some toast.

- Can I try both?

- Sure, but don't force it. Take as long as you need. Want me to turn on the TV?

- Yeah.

Just like the previous night, Chan stayed in the bedroom with Lee Know as the boy slowly ate his meal. He then took the medications again and sunk into the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Chan left the room one more time and was met with six kids demanding him to rest. They knew Chan always took care of them, no matter what and he wouldn't say anything even if he was too tired.

- Hyung. You need to rest as well. We'll take turns.

- Thanks kids.

Chan said opening his arms to give all of them a big hug.

With that settled, Jisung was the first one to stay with Lee Know, the sick boy accepted cuddles from him and they helped him stay calm and asleep.

And just like they said, everyone took turns to stay with Lee Know and help him whenever he got sick the following days. They were some tiring 5 days for all of them, with Lee Know vomiting a few times during the day and night and his fever refusing to go lower than 37.5°C.

When the ordeal was over, they were all tired but relieved to see their dancer back to full health. Lee Know being one to not show his weak side to many, had to let go of his pride in order to get better, and deep inside he was grateful to all of them, especially his only hyung.

#emeto #sickfic #whump #kpop sickfic #kpop emeto #stray kids emeto #stray kids sickfic #skz emeto #skz fanfic #skz sickfic #lee know emeto #lee know sickfic #lee know x reader #bang chan x reader #felix x reader #hyunjin x reader #changbin x reader #jisung x reader #seungmin x reader #jeongin x reader #skz fluff #skz angst

[chocolaist]

ren/[redacted] x fem!reader

♡ warnings: afab! reader, reader uses she/her pronouns, menstruation, obsession, mentions of violence, one sexual innuendo

!! minors dni !!

you let out a painful groan as you curled up more into your comfy bed, wrapping the grey soft blanket around your body and trying to get yourself comfortable. you were on your period and it didn't help that your cramps felt especially bad today. you wanted nothing more than to just cry for no absolute reason and then stuff your face with whatever you craved, as your emotions were uncontrollable during this time of the month.

"agh.. i- it hurts so much.." you whimpered before biting your bottom lip, trying to endure the pain. you pressed your legs together, rocking yourself back and forth in a pacifying manner. as you were so wrapped up in your own thoughts - you didn't hear the door shut to your apartment or the footsteps coming nearby the bedroom.

you turned yourself over before feeling tears form in your eyes, almost blurring your vision. this wasn't suppose to hurt this much.. so why were you lying down as if you didn't feel like doing anything at all.. or even being awake at this agonizing moment.

"... y/n, y'okay there?"

hearing a familiar voice call out, you turned your head almost immediately to the source. it was your boyfriend, [redacted] leaning onto the doorframe with his arms crossed. his face read of full of concern as he looked at you with a slight frown on his face. seeming to wonder why were you so upset.. what was troubling you? and lastly, did anyone cause you stress? he hated seeing you like this, but he didn't mind at all being with you during ups and downs.. because you matter so much to him.

you let out a quiet sigh of relief knowing he wasn't some random intruder breaking into your apartment - but also bothered by him happening to see you like this.. an unkempt, hot mess.

"shit, y'look like you're on the verge of crying.. did someone bothered you? do i have to hurt someone today?" he questioned, his eyes softening once he noticed the tears in your eyes. you looked so gloomy..

you sat up, rubbing your eyes a bit before shaking your head in response. "no, i- i'm fine.. no one has to get beat up or anything." you stated, narrowing your eyes in disapproval. "and we talked about violence, [redacted]. should i have to literally put you on a leash to keep you from giving someone a black eye?" you said sternly.

you were already aware of his.. overprotective tendencies at times but you didn't like the thought of violence. or anyone getting hurt in the matter. you didn't want him to get in a petty physical fight just because some random was verbally abusive towards you. you didn't want him to get hurt, even though he's capable of protecting you and himself.

he sighed, laughing a bit. "no, no.. y'don't have to put me in a leash.. though, i wouldn't mind if you did."

"[redacted]!" you yelled, feeling your cheeks heat up as he said that last sentence. this caused him to laugh once more before calming himself down.

"alright alright.. i'll stop w'the sexual innuendos considering this isn't really- the time.. anyway, if it's not someone being an asshole t'you then what is it?"

"oh, you know.. time of the month as usual." you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "I- i'll be fine though.." you said before feeling waved of cramps hit you which caused you to grimaced. [redacted] looked at you with sympathy. he didn't quite understand what it was like for you to be on your period, as he was not female himself - but he did know that you were put under quite some pain during it since he grew up with his twin sister. he felt bad that you had to go through that, so he ended up sitting right next to you.

you felt the bed dip as his hand caressed your head, combing through your hair "where does it hurt?" he then asked.

"my tummy.." you replied. you weren't sure what he was going to do, but you just let him lift the blanket. his left hand trailed underneath your tank top which made you shiver. "ah-"

"right here?"

"mmmm.. a little more to the- left." you told him.

"let me know if i'm massaging t'hard okay?" he said, looking at you before you gave him an reassuring nod. he then began massaging your abdominal area which made you let out a sigh of comfort, feeling your pain relieved slight as you lied down on your back.

"ah that feels good.." you said as you rested both of your arms on the pillow, feeling the cold fabric touch your skin as you let him continue massaging. his lips curl into a small smile, seeming to admire your beauty.. his angel simply enjoying herself. it was a pleasant sight.

after a few minutes, the pain would eventually stop. you let out a sigh, almost seeming out if it for a moment because of his touch and comforting voice. "okay, you can stop now.. i feel much, much better now." you said, smiling warmly at him. he stopped massaging as told before tracing a heart on your stomach.

getting up from the bed, you looked at him with a frown "ah, i- didn't say you can leave.. but if you want to.."

he smiled, a faint blush forming on his cheeks. you didn't want him to leave..? you want him to stay? god, you couldn't get any more cuter. "it'll only be a second, just gonna order food. y'favorite right?" he asked.

you nodded, "that's really sweet of you, [redacted].. i'm so glad that you're here with me."

#14 days with you #14dwy #14dwy ren #14dwy redacted #14 days with you x reader #14dwy x reader #ren x reader #redacted x reader #yandere #yandere male #yanderecore #yancore #yandere x reader #x reader #reader insert #📝💗 || chocolaist's writing #💌 || chocolaist

[imill]

Imagine Kaveh just recovered from a diarrhea illness, just to realise he spread it to alhaitham… also slay w ur Kaveh Diarrhea hcs

(anon wanted headcanons, specified in a second ask)

CW scat mention, but the whole thing is about diarrhea, so please no read-y if it makes you uncomfortable!

alhaitham is probably less bothered by getting sick than kaveh, who is. just so fragile man, i wanna hold him.

but yeah, it starts with a dull ache in his stomach that he blames on not eating right, he’s very aware kaveh is sick with something, but since he gets sick from anxiety so often, it doesn’t really cross alhaithams mind that it might be contagious.

but he finds out relatively quickly, later that night when he’s in bed reading, with kaveh trying to fall asleep next to him, still feverish and groaning. his stomach is making lots of noise so alhaitham thinks it’s all just coming from kaveh. some farts too bc he told kaveh he doesn’t care, as long as kaveh feels better. but the pain in his own stomach grows and he starts to feel just… unwell, ill.

he decides to lay down and falls asleep quickly, waking up just as quick, now drenched in sweat and scrambling to get up because it’s not just a stomach ache. curses as he sprints to the bathroom and doesn’t lock the door.

pulls his pants down and immediately something comes out, he rarely gets this sick but it’s bad this time. stomach rumbles loudly and it’s just. splattering into the toilet bowl. he is miserable.

has his head in his hands at first because he’s so tired but the cramps tear him to shreds, so he keeps trying to appease his abdomen and stomach by rubbing it. lots of “agh” “ow” “fuck”, etc. he’s super sweaty from fever too.

when he feels like nothing is coming out anymore, he cleans himself up and takes his temperature. yeah, he’s got a fever and a pretty bad one. spends some time with his eyes closed, holding himself up over the sink and just burping and spitting into it, then when he feels safe enough to go back to bed, he leaves the bathroom.

kaveh is awake and has probably thrown up somewhere, making a mess is his specialty. but he looks at alhaitham very concerned, asking him if he’s alright, he doesn’t look good, etc. alhaitham just goes “hmhm” and lays down again and kaveh waits a bit before whispering “you got it too, huh?” then maybe some sniffles bc he’s obviously a wreck and crying a little “i didnt mean to get you sick, im really sorry..”

#scat mention #illhaitham

[whentherewerebicycles]

I feel so bad/sad/disappointed and I don’t even want to be comforted I just want to scream and scream into the void and then maybe sleep for a month. I am discovering that the great flaw of having an intensely project-oriented personality is that when I encounter things that cannot be made into projects but must simply be endured as Human Experiences I have zero chill and zero serenity and I become incensed about my total inability to exert my will over what’s happening. I need to PLAN I need to be in CONTROL and when I cannot I become a snarling snapping wild creature who is angry at everything and everyone. I feel BAD I feel SAD I feel also FURIOUS with myself for all the stupid hopeful little feelings of the last couple weeks, because we all know that the RULE, the LAW, is that if the universe catches you hoping it will punish you for it—don’t we? don’t we? and NO none of these feelings are ones I want to KEEP but here they are with me in my enclosure aka my head full of its stupid hopeful plans & my cramped miserly little heart. agh!!! in a little while I will fling the doors open and shoo the bad things out—begone BEGONE—but I must hunker down here with them and be miserable for a bit before I can send them away.

#why does this feel so much worse than the negative test #it feels like I am being taught a lesson—it makes me feel small—it is so embarrassing to hope #everything is random #but also if you have a personality forged in the fires of shame #everything is also meant to put you personally in your place #agh okay! venting the feelings then #have to go back to fucking work good god

[smutty-ki113r]

Yo I have been crying a lot today. is...period time. V-V i am super dysphoric (I'm agender btw) and my cramps were awful today. I feel a lot better now tho.

I just wish i had a boyfriend who'd either comfort me (*cough* toby) or fuck me real good when i am on my period(*choking on spit agressively* jeff pls-)

also for any other afab ppl is it weird to not mind having a pussy but hating ur boobs?? Or am i just being a hypocrite?

Anyways I am simping too hard for jeff and toby today like wth. I need to stop-

-🃏

Awww bb, i completely understand. Bein nonbinary and all I tend to feel more masculine yet act more feminine?? When I’m on mine I also get super dysphoric, and YES bro. You are not being a hypocrite in any way, you are so so valid. I also hate hate hate having boobs, man it gets so bad, and even with my binder or two sports bras I get like all bleh. On top of hating the body I was born with god gave me the worst period cramps in the world. I cant eat the first day and I literally feel like Im about to die. So i completely completely get it.

DONT INVALIDATE YOURSELF// also what pronouns do you prefer to go by, so in case i dont mess up.

Side note: y’all ever mess up your own pronouns are just go 😑

Here’s your lil lil for the day:

“IT HURTS SO MUCH” you whined, rolling around on the bed with a heating pad firmly pressed against your stomach. Scrunching up your nose and trying to fight the pain away.

“Do you need me to reh-heat the p-pad? Do you want some water? Are you hungry? Can I get you some medic-“ Toby was rambling, waving his hands around to list the things he thought you might want. You stared at him, tightening up your hands and letting them go to distract.

“Toby I just want you, maybe some cuddle-“ without a second to pass he was by your side, wrapping his arms around your waist to hold the pad for you. Nuzzling your face into his neck you grumbled “that feels better” you told him. Maybe he was a bit cringey, humming the “little Einstein’s” theme song over and over again because he couldn’t think of anything else.. or maybe it was adorable.

You couldn’t hold back a smile, your face brightening even more when Jeff came barging in. “HOW ARE YOU FEELING” he raged, his hands in fists as if he could fight your cramps for you. Toby stopped singing, knowing Jeff would either tease him about it or laugh.

“A little bit bette AGH!” You cried, biting your lip as a wave of hurt washed over you. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck” you chanted “not good”

Jeff was impatient, feeling helpless that he couldn’t do anything. Crawling over to you on the bed to hug you from the opposite side of Toby. Kissing your neck softly as he whispered cute little sayings into your ear…well…some of them were cute. “It’s all gonna be ok” he started “soon you’ll be back on your feet” he continued, “i love you so much, promise I’ll stay”… and then the “uterus if you can hear me I’m going to destroy you” which you were about to tell him wouldn’t really help but you heard Toby start singing- with words this time.

“Pain p-pain go away come a-again another day” rocking you side to side. Jeff deadpanned at him with a sour expression, staring at him with wide lidless eyes.

“No idiot, don’t tell it to come back” he started, engaging in a little bickering where they mocked eachother.

At least it was distracting, but it did get annoying after a while. You just wanted peace and some level of quiet. “GUYS STOP” you said “it hurts enough as it is, don’t kill my ears too”. They both mumbled a sorry and continued to hug you tightly. “I just wish I wasn’t born in this body, at least without a uterus” you whispered in longing.

“Awww babe, you’re real in our eyes” Jeff started.

“Yeah we don’t see you as a girl, or a guy or with any gender” Toby added.

“Gender is shit, who cares about it anyway” Jeff said. “Fuck gender”

“Yeah fuck g-gender” Toby said.

“Fuck meeee” you whimpered.

“I mean…you could have just said that” Jeff said, a new look in his eyes, a bit more…dangerous.

“Guys???” You said, backing up onto the pillows as they approached you like animals in heat. “Guys?!”

#creepypasta #ben drowned #slenderman #creepypasta smut #ticci Toby #jeff the killer #jeff the killer headcanons #jeff the killer x you #jeff the killer x y/n #jeff the killer creepypasta #ticci toby x y/n #ticci toby x reader #ticci toby x you #ticci toby headcannons #🎏 #♣️

[jodfics]

Baby Makes Four - Part 6

Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

Timeline: None / A little AU

Rating: SFW

Prompt: Polyamourus Relationships are great. At least until there’s one too many.

A/N: Angst angst angst!

MasterList | << Part 5 | Final >>

This was his fault.

If he hadn't have left her side, if he hadn't have called Bucky to help, if he hadn't have told her to stay where she was - she wouldn't be in the hospital. Watching her carried away in an ambulance had made him feel sick. He felt a pang of guilt for wanting to turn his back on the threat they were faced with and just run after her.

Instead of standing still, Steve turned on his heel and ran back toward the fighting; the sooner this was under control, the sooner he could be with her. Bucky had already run back in when he had seen the fire on their floor, he was torn in the same way, but he had said he had to save something in their home.

When their work was done, Steve and Bucky 'borrowed' a car and rushed toward the base hospital. Bucky grimaced as he tried to lean forward from the back of the seat; it gave him a little relief but also an unhindered view of Steve's stony face. "It's not your fault."

"I shouldn't have left her unprotected." Steve's voice was flat, his eyes glued to the road as he accelerated way above the limit, ignoring how the engine groaned. "I should have just gotten her out of there."

Bucky clutched the backpack he had rescued to his chest, "The family in 3B would be dead if you hadn't have stepped in."

"I should have been protecting our baby!" The tires screeched as he turned a corner sharply. "If anything happens -"

Bucky didn't say anything; he knew it would be pointless to try and derail Steve's guilt. He was battling his own, wondering how he could have done things differently to change the outcome. The glass shards littering his back, tiny slivers embedded into his skin, reminded him that maybe he should have tried the fire escape after the explosion. He could have taken her down a different hall; he could have split from Steve.

There were no more words as they abandoned the car at the gates, jumping over the checkpoint and ignoring the guards who yelled after them. If they didn't guess, two men jumping over a nine-foot gate and running at inhuman speed were Super Soldiers - then they needed more training. Barging into the room they had been told she'd be in, Steve and Bucky stopped, panting hard as they found Y/N out of bed, pacing the room whilst a nurse tried to get her to sit down. "Y/N!" "Honey!"

Y/N's eyes widened in surprise; they both called her simultaneously and were on either side of her in an instant. "I'm okay... We're okay." Large hands caressed her face, shoulders, arm, waist, hip - anywhere and everywhere as they searched for injuries. Both were hesitant to touch her belly, frightened to hurt the baby inside or to acknowledge the danger they could be in.

"Have you had a scan?" Steve asked, not letting her answer before looking at the nurse, "Has she been seen by a Doctor? Are they okay?"

"Lemme look, Doll," Bucky pushed his way past Steve to carefully pull up the ripped, dirty top she had been sleeping in before the attack. "You okay in there, baby?" His hand hovered over her grazed skin, and his breath shuddered at the forming bruises. "Y/N." Bucky looked up mournfully, his eyes moist as he held back anxious tears, "You need to lay down, please. We need to get you seen by a Doctor or something."

Lips pressed to Y/N's temple, Steve's hand stroking her head, more to soothe himself than her. "Baby's heartbeat is elevated... And so's yours, Honey. I'm sorry." The blonde tugged her into his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared, murmuring over and over again how sorry he was for putting her in danger.

"It's not your fault, Steve." She would have said more if not for the long, painful cramp stabbing into her belly, "Agh! F-fuck! Ow! Ow... oww..." It wasn't much different to a bad period cramp, but this one wasn't tapering off. Holding onto Steve's arm, she doubled over to try and fight it, hoping it would help ease it. "It hurts...!" Feeling her feet leave the floor and a firm mattress beneath her, Y/N tried to curl up onto her side and grabbed whoever it was trying to rub the pain away.

"It's potentially Braxton Hicks," the nurse told the other two before they lost their minds completely. "The midwife and the Doctor are on the way. I'll find out what I can give her for the other aches and pains." The young woman had been told to keep an eye on the other, but now that Steve and Bucky were there - she felt a little intimidated.

As it subsided, Y/N gasped in big breaths and cried that she wanted to go home. Steve looked to Bucky, and the brunette licked his lips nervously before speaking quietly, "It's gone, Doll." He felt her freeze under his hand and looked up at him tearfully, "By the time I got back in, the fire had taken out most of the apartment. I managed to save a few things..."

"We needed another room for a nursery anyway," Steve mumbled finally, rubbing her back as he watched her tense with another cramp.

Seeing her curl up again, hearing her bite down a scream, Bucky headed to the door and looked into the hall for a medic. He saw no one and banged the side of his fist onto the frame, "Dammit! Where the fuck are they?!"

"Buck." The blonde left Y/N's side to pull the other back inside, "You're gonna scare the med staff – I'll go." His voice tightened as he uttered something he should have at the start, "Stay with her."

With a glance back at their girlfriend, Steve tried to calm his nerves and took off down the halls.

He was barely out of sight when Y/N sat up on the bed, grabbing the side rail to steady herself, "Bucky."

"I'm here," he helped her stand when she wanted to, keeping hold of her as she paced, "I really think you should stay in bed."

Y/N shook her head, "I can't… This... this helps...." She stood up straight, holding her breath as if she could stretch the discomfort away. Bucky's hold on her tightened, his concern palpable enough for her to try to give him a brave smile, "We're gonna be fine, Bucky. Baby's just upset. The cramps are probably ju-" Her voice died in her throat, and Bucky had to hold her up as her knees began to buckle. Her whole body was trembling, her hands fisted into Bucky's shirt, and then a tiny whimper escaped her, "Oh God..."

"Y/N?!" He didn't like the way she sounded. The breathy way she uttered those words sent alarm bells ringing in his mind, and his heart jackhammered in his chest, "Talk to me."

"I think I'm bleeding..."

-

Steve sat beside Y/N on her right, her hand enveloped in his, thumb brushing over the back of it. Blue eyes had turned stormy as he observed the monitors, switching his attention between hers and the baby's vitals. He closed them when he felt them water - exhaustion finally catching up on him. He'd spent too much energy and hadn't replaced it with food or water. Both were stable, and he still felt guilt gnawing at him.

It was a few hours since the medical team had rushed her into an emergency room to perform an emergency scan and figure out why Y/N had lost consciousness within minutes of telling Bucky she thought she was bleeding.

She had been correct, but not for the reason they had feared.

In the baby's distress, it had moved and kicked - usually, this wouldn't be all that dangerous. But the scan has revealed that their baby was a little bigger than expected and that the kicks were so strong they damaged one of Y/N's organs. The Doctor said that babies just weren't that strong in or out of the womb; they could only assume it had something to do with the serum.

It could mean a premature birth.

It could mean difficulties that could easily become fatal for one or both of them.

"What do we do?" For the first time in a long time, the blonde didn't have a plan. He didn't have a single coherent thought, and he was being crushed by the weight of the decision they were faced with.

Bucky sat on her left, his arms crossed on the bed as he rested his head on them, physically and mentally exhausted from the recent events and having the glass carefully pulled out of his back. Piece by excruciating piece. "We can't make that decision for her…" came his muffled voice.

"I should have done better." Steve whispered and let his head fall back onto the chair with a thump, "You heard what they said, Buck. At this stage, it's dangerous for the baby." He cast his eyes on the covered bump ad swallowed thickly, " – we could lose our baby."

"We could lose our girl."

The silence that hung heavy in the air was deafening. The implications that they might have to choose one over the other didn't seem like a real option. "I need some air." The Captain let go of her hand and stood, the chair legs scraping on the floor harsh enough that they both winced.

"Don't you dare, Rogers!" Bucky hissed and followed him up, chasing him and gripping the inside of his elbow, his jaw tensing as he tried not to glare. "Don't run away - You don't run from anything, you irresponsible punk!" Bucky didn't want to face her alone.

He couldn't.

Bucky didn't want Y/N waking up to hear them fighting, so he kept his voice low and even. "It wasn't your fault any more than it was mine. So if you gotta blame you, then lay into me too."

Steve recoiled at the offer, a thousand things running through his mind, something cruel to say to get Bucky to back off - it would be so easy - but his lips trembled instead and remained sealed. He could have pulled his arm away at any point, but perhaps he wanted – needed – someone to call him out.

"It's me, Steve." Bucky's fingers softened in their hold, resting on Steve's bicep and turning him to face him, "I'm not dead. I'm not Hydra. I'm a little broken and torn around the edges, but I'm right here." Steve wouldn't look at him, "I've seen you cry, Stevie. I've seen you sick, I've seen you at your best and your worst – I know you want the world to think you're some unbreakable hero, and you gotta keep it together all the time, but you don't have to wear this mask in front of us."

The blonde was shaking his head, trying to take a step away, yet Bucky's light hold felt like a vice and part of him didn't want to find a quiet place to break character. He felt the tight lump that had been stuck in his throat for too long begin to burn, "If I'm not holding it together, then who's…" Steve ducked his head, voice weak and his body suddenly too hot.

"I've always had your back – Then, now, till the end of the line," he drew Steve into a hug, patted his back soothingly when the other sagged, "You're a damn idiot." Steve was never really much of a crybaby; even as a kid, it took some doing to make him cry.

-

Y/N let out a sigh before her eyes opened groggily; the artificial lights in the room made it impossible to tell what time it was, and she noticed the television was on by the far wall. It was muted, and she recognised the foul that had been called. It was a rerun of a football match the boys had taken bets on the week before - which meant they had gotten bored and she'd been asleep for a long while.

Flexing her fingers, she felt the tip of a nose and traced along the bridge, smiling lightly when she found a crease between a pair of eyebrows. Y/N didn't have to look to her side to know Steve was asleep with his head on the bed.

When he was worried, his sleeping face was always a little angry looking.

Turning her head to the opposite side, she saw that Buck was asleep on the floor with nothing but his bag for a pillow and a thin blanket. That wasn't a good sign. She knew he only did that when he was stressed and anxious; he would be withdrawn for days...

Lips brushed against her fingers, and Y/N turned her head back to Steve. He was sitting up now and stretched out his back with a groan, "Hey."

She loved his voice when he just woke up. Loved how deep and warm it sounded - she didn't love his troubled expression though. "Stevie..." Her own voice was a croak, accompanied by her trembling lip and watery eyes as she remembered everything that had happened.

Her home was gone.

And her baby?

"Shh," Steve hushed her tenderly and leaned in to press his forehead to hers, "It's okay. You're okay, and so is our baby." Y/N let out a tiny sob, a noise that seemed to summon the brunette to her side too. Steve straightened up, his hand still cradling her cheek like it was delicate glass, "There's a few... things to discuss, but everyone is safe."

"Jeez," Bucky grumbled, then combed his fingers through his hair before kneeling on the floor, his right hand settling on her swollen belly. "Great way to start a conversation - look what you did." He nodded at the monitors that showed Y/N's heart rate rising and, in turn, the baby's. "Remember the nurse from the first scan? Racheal -"

Y/N would have laughed if she had the strength, "Rena."

"...Probably." Bucky shrugged and continued, "She's gonna go through everything, then we can talk, okay?"

Her attention switched from Bucky to Steve; the blonde looked tired. His hair was dishevelled, and his eyes were tinged red - had he been crying? Why wouldn't he look her in the eye? Looking at Bucky, he was pale, and his steel-blue eyes had lost their shine; he seemed almost numb. Like he would be after a nightmare or when he remembered something from the past.

When Rena arrived, after Y/N had had a check-up on her health, the nurse performed an ultrasound that immediately put the woman at ease. Somehow, it always calmed her to see the image on the screen, see her baby's head, the arms, the legs, and noticed little fingers and toes this time.

"Muscle and bone structure are more advanced than we would see in a six-month fetus. And evidence suggests that your internal bleeding was caused by a kick... if that happens again, it could be fatal for you - it could easily be something less minor next time." Rena stopped the scan and grabbed a clipboard she had brought with her, trying her best not to be put off by the way Bucky stared at her. "At this stage, we could perform a C-section; there's a good chance your baby would be just fine as a premie."

"And If I carry to term?" Y/N asked, no hint of hesitation in her words, "I don't want a 'good chance' - I want an absolute guarantee that a C-section wouldn't be dangerous."

They spent the next hour going through the aftercare, what kind of incubator would be used, the procedures – the risks. It was a lot to take in, and Y/N had cried; she had panicked and changed her mind at least four times before asking to see her baby again. Steve and Bucky hadn't said much; they hadn't interrupted and nor had they hinted to her what they wanted to do.

Whatever she chose, they would stand by her.

"She's going to be a handful," Rena smiled at them when the screen zeroed in - the smile dropped, and the nurse swore under her breath before sending them all an apologetic look. "I'm sorry! I didn't know if you were meant to know or not, but... but you're having a girl."

Bucky made an odd sound in the back of his throat, and when everyone looked at him, he acted like he had just been clearing it. His hand barely covering up the grin threatening to light up his face or the pink tinge making its way to the tips of his ears. Steve rolled his eyes and patted the man's shoulder, "Don't act like you're not ecstatic."

Y/N teased him, then, before Steve could say a thing, she pointed at him, "If you say one word about a dinosaur - I will have Bucky punch you in that smart mouth."

"Yes, ma'am." Steve grinned.

#Bucky Barnes #Steve Rogers #James Buchanan Barnes #Steven Grant Rogers #Marvel #Reader x #BM4 -6 #Original Post #c-section #talk of losing a baby

[angstyaches]

34 and 97 for sick shayne and 50, 56 and 49 for caretakers felix + charlie? 🍄

Shayne / Sickie Dialogue Prompts:

34. *feigning grumpiness* "Why are you laughing at my misery?"

97. "Just let me suffer in peace."

Charlie + Felix / Caretaker Dialogue Prompts:

50. "Is it impossible for you to just take it easy?"

56. "Did you just throw up?"

49. "You need to try to eat something."

___

AGH, this is such a good combo of prompts! Sick Shayne with both Charlie and Felix there to make a fuss over him? Umm, yes, please.

CW: emeto, dry heaving, overwork/over-exertion (?), mention of demon consumption.

___

Charlie and Felix were in the kitchen, decorating gingerbread cookies that Felix had whipped up, claiming that the place still smelled too much like plaster and fresh wood, and that the smell of spiced cookies would make it smell more like a home. Charlie had, of course, jumped at that idea.

Shayne shivered as he carefully descended the stairs, holding the banister to compensate for how wobbly his legs felt. He couldn’t breathe too deeply without causing the nausea to come tumbling back. He should have realised - should have guessed! - that Felix and Charlie would bond over food in some way, since Felix loved to cook, Charlie loved to eat, and there was a brand-new kitchen in Mulberry House that probably surpassed the one at the Aldridges’.

The smell of the cookies was twirling its way through the entire house by now, and Shayne let out a short groan while he was still alone on the stairs. His stomach was a mess - to be expected after a hunt, but it had been two days ago - and he really didn’t want Felix or Charlie to know he felt so bad.

They were having a nice time, and he was sick of ruining nice times for people.

His heart gave a little flutter as Charlie looked up from decorating a cookie with an icing pen, smiling at him from across the room. Shayne took a few steps across the tiles, thinking - maybe - he’d be alright after all.

“Are you okay, lovely?" Charlie asked, still sounding as breezy and relaxed as he had before Shayne had gotten up and left.

As Shayne swallowed, the sensation of his empty stomach trying to force its way up his throat was still way too recent and clear in his memory. As he tried to think of a delicate way to answer, one that wouldn’t derail Charlie’s entire mood, his stomach churned and gave an obnoxiously loud gurgle. He planted a hand over it, knowing that even if Charlie didn’t hear the traitorous sound, Felix and his vampire ears definitely did.

Sure enough, Felix’s head shot up as he was halfway through chewing off a gingerbread person’s head. He blinked, eyes widening, before asking in a low, gentle voice, “Did you just throw up, bud?”

"I'm... fine,” Shayne mumbled, even though Charlie was already up and by his side, sliding one hand over his shoulder. “Nothing much came up anyway."

A sad whimper came from Charlie's throat. Shayne tensed against a dull, slow-building cramp and wrapped his arms around his middle.

"Maybe... you need to try to eat something," Felix said, as though he was Ryan’s advocate while they were out in the countryside and outside of the jurisdiction of her house. “You haven’t eaten very much since recovering from your last hunt.”

Shayne shook his head. He could practically feel his own face turning pale at the thought of food. “I... have to hunt tonight.”

“Again?” Charlie’s body stiffened and his voice dropped a couple of octaves. He tugged Shayne towards a seat at the table, his touch becoming a little rougher. “Is it impossible for you to just take it easy while you’re here?”

Shayne’s heart couldn’t bear the look of desperation in Charlie’s eyes. Couldn’t bear the fact that Charlie didn’t understand that he had... he had a purpose. A use. He glanced at Felix, hoping a vampire might have some helpful perspective, but at the end of the day, Felix also knew the effect that consuming demons had on Shayne’s body.

“I... have to keep you safe,” he murmured, forcing himself to keep his gaze upward, fixed on Charlie’s soft, blue eyes, even as nausea pooled inside of him. “For when I’m not here.”

A gentle smile tugged at the edge of Charlie’s mouth. He crouched down in front of the chair. “I - I appreciate that. I really, really do.”

Shayne nodded weakly and let himself be coaxed into a light embrace, instantly whimpering as he lowered his head against Charlie’s shoulder. His stomach felt like it was wringing itself into a knot, and he was suddenly coughing very weakly as his abdominal muscles spasmed.

“Shit,” he heard Charlie whisper, before an extra hand landed on his shoulder and rubbed very gently.

“Here you go, bud.”

Shayne clutched the edges of the basin that Felix was shoving against his lap, tugging it into place just in time for a mouthful of water and bile to gush into it. He hissed through his teeth before retching again, only vaguely aware of how ashamed he felt to be doing this right in front of both Charlie and Felix. When he felt his stomach settle again, and reluctantly lifted his head to see what was going on, Felix had gone back to the other side of the kitchen - boiling a kettle for tea, it sounded like - and Charlie was still crouched alongside him, trying so hard not to smile that he was visibly biting his lower lip.

“What?” Shayne groaned, although he felt too exhausted and miserable to muster up any form of genuine anger. He dragged the back of his hand across his chin. “Why are you laughing at my misery?”

“I’m not laughing, I just - this must be a nightmare for you, right?” Charlie grinned, running a soothing hand up and down the side of Shayne’s arm. “Having two of us fussing over you?”

Shayne mumbled something incoherent and leaned away from Charlie’s hand, propping an elbow on the table so he could hold his own head. He let his eyes fall shut, grunting quietly in appreciation as he felt Charlie take the bowl from his lap. Those slow-building cramps continued to roll through his belly, making him wince.

“Buddy, which do you think would help more?” came Felix’s meek voice from the other side of the table. “Mint tea, or ginger tea?”

“Fuck,” Shayne whispered, lowering his head to the table. “Can’t you people go back to your cookies, or whatever? And let me suffer in peace?”

“Sorry, Felix, he gets like this.”

“Yes, I know,” Felix sighed, his words punctuated by the sound of a spoon being placed into a mug. “Particularly when he’s feeling ill, huh?”

“Mmhmm. He gets so defensive when his tummy hurts.”

As he felt Charlie’s fingers scratch gently at his scalp through his hair, Shayne was missing the point in time when all Felix and Charlie had to bond over was cookies.

#mushroom anon #🍄 anon #StW Shayne #sickfic #nausea #stomach ache #caretaking #hurt comfort #hurt and comfort

[ackerfics]

what are your thoughts on the other aot boys?

ooooh this sounds like a fun question 🤩 since i love every single character in aot, i'm going to limit this around the 104th ☺️

long post ahead !! woot woot 🥳

let's start with eren. sighs. this man, istg, somebody hated on me a while back for defending him while the final season kicked off. i think behind the facade of this impassive persona he has to portray in season 4, he's still the passionate, determined eren we grew to love since the beginning of aot. at first, i actually didn't like him mainly bc he nearly made me deaf 😭 buuuut i admire him for that tenacity he has in achieving his goal of having a safe place for his family. i think this personality of his will still show in the modern au. i see him as this person who brings out the talkative in you bc he's so comfortable to talk to. as if he knows how to gauge your mood to adjust his responses.

ngl, armin is my little sister's favorite character and she cried at what happened in s3 🥶 armin tho is someone i want to protect, like i know he's stronger and smarter than me but he has this atmosphere where you want to give him all the attention. it's those blue eyes, man, they make me weak in the knees. you can't help but love him at first glance bc he has this childlike wonder whenever he learns new things and that's mainly why i like him as a character. for sure, i'm never going to talk to him in the modern world, he's this amazing student that i probably would look stupid if talk to him, much less sit beside him. yikes. nonetheless, i think if you're friends with him, he'll be your platonic soulmate, where everyone thought you're dating but you're really not.

JEAN. yes in caps. JEAN MF KIRSCHTEIN. he's my first guy crush in aot. the moment i saw him appear on my laptop screen, i was ready to fight for this man 😔 he's so handsome like what the actual fuck ???!! i have been thinking on this for a while — all of the male characters in aot are pretty but the exception lies in the form of jean (cough and erwin cough but we won't talk abt this fine man bc it's jean's time). if you search the term handsome in the dictionary, his face greets you. putting aside my dying crush on this man, he'll be the best guy friend you'll ever get aside from armin. he knows his boundaries and learns not to overstep on the line you created for the sake of your friendship. just imagine him knowing about your period cramps and he comes knocking at your door with your favorite foods. MARRY ME.

ah, connie. there's never a dull day if you're with this guy. every day will be an adventure when i think of connie. i also want him as a best friend bc i need to do stupid yet exhilarating things to spice up my boring life ankdkwj don't come at me but i think that his trio with jean and sasha remains superior. istg, they're so fun if i think about it. i think connie will be the type of person to send you random memes late at night or invite you in a video call, on any platform mind you, whether it's zoom or Facetime, he'll be announcing that you two will be calling — just accept it. he's such a fun character. i will never forget how he made me wheeze while making that eren jaeger joke in s3, that shit made me laugh to this day.

reiner. i had a phase where all i think about is reiner. he's such a teddy bear to my eyes ??? i think that's just me but the moment i saw him in the timeskip, i wanted to bury myself in his chest. and i wanna hug him so bad :((( the guilt he carries and the burden he has to endure while being sent to paradis at such a young age, that shit still hurts me, man. i will never forget one of my facebook friends for hating on him for no reason whatsoever, i was about to defend him in the comments even tho that friend of mine is just a schoolmate but the way that they seem like they're woke makes me so mad. fucking hell, this guy wanted to shoot himself and they're thankful for it. JUST ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT. in short, reiner is a husband material, caring for your worries while being empathetic enough to prioritize mental health in your relationship (no matter what kind it is 🧡). all the hugs won't be enough for me to comfort him. agh, i love him so much tho.

in short: i love all of them and the rest of the boys who i didn't mention 😌

#I WENT OVERBOARD SHIT #NDIWJSJDK THIS IS LONG #AND ITS STILL FIVE CHARACTERS #MIGHT MAKE A PART 2 eep #rorytalks #anons 💌🥰 #🦋✨🦋✨

[valkyrisffvii]

Learning

Setting: Mithra’s apartment in the Shinra Building

POV: 1st person (Mithra) and 3rd person

Summary: Mithra gets her period, and unfortunately for her, Sephiroth isn’t much help.

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

I woke up to a tremendous pain in my lower abdomen and the feeling of something damp between my thighs. I immediately sat up as quietly as possible as to not awaken the sleeping mass next to me, and I looked at my crotch. Surely enough, Mother Nature had blessed me with my monthly surprise, and it had leaked onto my shorts. Thankfully, I had been experiencing PMS for the past few days and had laid a towel on my side of the bed. I got out of bed and waddled to the bathroom to clean myself up, making sure to grab a new set of pants and underwear. I didn’t want to be moving around and all with blood gushing out from me, so I decided to slip back in afterwards to throw the towel into the laundry. I was hopeful that my movements did not wake up my dear Sephiroth.

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

Sephiroth felt the sensation of Mithra getting up from bed. Normally, he’d just dismiss it as her getting a midnight snack, but this time, he heard a small groan of pain. He awoke fully just as he heard the toilet room’s door shut, and he rolled over to look at the empty side of the bed. His eyes widened when he saw the fairly-sized blood stain in the middle of Mithra’s side. Fearing that his girlfriend was injured, Sephiroth got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. He went over to the closed door that led to the toilet and knocked.

“Mithra? Are you alright?”

“W-What? Sephy, why are you up? I’m fine. You can go back to sleep.”

“Why is there blood on your side of the bed? Are you wounded?”

“N-No. I’m perfectly fine- agh!” At this point, Sephiroth thought that Mithra was just trying to shake off her pain and refusing medical attention. He stood outside of the door as Mithra emerged, holding her lower abdomen and hunched over in pain. His panic went through the roof when he saw some blood on her fingers. 

“Mithra, you are bleeding. I’ll take you to the medical ward-”

“No! I’m fine Sephiroth. Don’t worry about me.” She went over to the sinks to wash the blood off of her hands, but Sephiroth was still convinced that she was trying to hide an injury from him. 

“Mithra, you need medical attention. I don’t know where you’re bleeding out of, but I’m sure the doctors will be able to help you.” As he said this, Sephiroth had gently grabbed Mithra’s arm and was trying to get her to follow him out of the bathroom so that he could take her to the hospital wing. 

Mithra, who was already annoyed over her pain, yanked her arm out of his grasp and angrily stared at him.

“No! You are not helping me at all by trying to drag me to get medical attention! I don’t need you hounding over me when I can deal with it myself!” Mithra angrily stormed out of the bathroom and into the living area, slamming the door behind her. Sephiroth knew better than to go after her. He went back into the bedroom and grabbed his phone, calling the only other person he knew who had a girlfriend.

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

“Seph, it’s three in the morning. Why are you calling me?” Zack asked, still half asleep. 

“It’s about Mithra.”

“What, did she have a nightmare and accidentally kick you in the balls?”

“No, it’s worse than that.” This got the spiky-haired Second’s attention. He saw Mithra like a sibling, and he was almost as protective of her as Sephiroth was. 

“What’s happened to her?”

Sephiroth glanced at the towel on Mithra’s side of the bed and the stain that sat on it. He sighed nervously.

“She got up and went to the bathroom sounding like she was in pain. There’s a blood stain on her side of the bed, and it seemed like she was prepared for it because she slept on a towel. When I went into the bathroom to check on her, she came out holding her stomach and hunching over. She also got really mad at me when I suggested taking her to the hospital.” 

Zack could not hear whatever else Sephiroth was saying because he was too busy trying his best not to burst out laughing. He knew that the time would eventually come for Sephiroth to become exposed to “girl things” and was audibly snickering into the phone. 

“Why are you laughing? She could be in danger, and I don’t know what to do.” At this point, Zack had to wipe tears from his eyes.

“I guess you’re not familiar with the female anatomy,” he laughed. Sephiroth’s mind blanked out; it was true. He’d never spent enough time with girls to understand them fully. Everything he knew that was related to the medical field came from his times in the hospital and the labs. 

“What does this have to do with the female anatomy?” he asked, and Zack began to lecture him on the relevant subject, all while remembering the same lecture he received from Aerith a few years before.

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

I laid miserably on the couch in the living room. The intense cramps still wracked through my body, and I would’ve taken painkillers, but I was too afraid to go back into the bathroom and run into Sephiroth, who was probably pissed at me for yelling at him earlier. Speaking of which, I felt bad for snapping at him, and the guilt didn’t make me feel any better. I was fighting back tears of pain and hormonal overactivity, curling up into the couch and burying my face in the cushions. All I wanted at the moment was to sink into the floor and disappear.

I heard a door close and the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor. The presence stopped right next to me, and I could feel his silky hair brush against my shoulder. He knelt down on the floor next to me, tapping me on the shoulder. 

“Mithra? I got your painkillers,” he said tenderly, and I peeked at him to see that he held out two ibuprofen tablets and a glass of water. He had a kind smile on his face, but it turned to a look of concern when he saw my tear-stained cheeks.

“What’s wrong my love?” He placed the glass and pills on the coffee table, and he sat on the couch next to me and wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face into his bare chest, my tears still falling.

“I-I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. My insides feel like they’re trying to kill me,” I stuttered, praying that he’d understand. I felt his large hand stroke my hair, and his thumb came to my face to wipe my tears away.

“I now understand, don’t worry. Zack told me everything.” At this I perked up. Zack told him about periods? I wondered what that conversation was like. 

“Y-You asked Zack?”

“Yes. He was trying really hard not to laugh at my lack of knowledge.” I couldn’t help but crack a smile. I could only imagine Sephiroth’s expression as he was filled in on what having a girlfriend entailed. I then thought about how embarrassed he’d be if he took me to the hospital only to find out that I was just menstruating. 

“I bet you’re glad that you didn’t take me to the medical ward,” I teased, and Sephiroth just rolled his eyes. I popped my pills and laid my head down on his lap, feeling much better than I had felt five minutes ago. There was still residual pain in my lower abdomen, and I pulled my knees up to try and relieve it. 

“Where are you hurting?” Sephiroth held out his hand, which radiated with warmth, exactly what my aching stomach needed. I guided his hand to rest right below my navel, and the pain subsided. He gently massaged the skin and I relaxed, closing my eyes and melting into his touch.

“I should probably tell Angeal that I can’t make it to training today,” I said, knowing very well that I would not be able to listen to him with blood gushing out of me. I was sure he’d be happy to instead deal with Cloud, who was nowhere near as hyperactive as Zack and I.

“I actually don’t have any jobs today, so I can stay here with you,” Sephiroth replied, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I looked up at him and smiled; my emotional support General would be all mine today. 

“I’d like that very much. Remind me to thank Zack when I see him. He saved me a lot of hassle,” I giggled, turning my head to kiss Sephiroth’s palm. He continued to gently caress my lower abdomen, and the pain that had been racking through me all morning was almost nonexistent now. Maybe periods wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

#fanfiction #final fantasy vii #mithra valkyris #sephiroth #mithroth #ooc #zack fair #girl problems #i wonder what zack told him #zack and mithra are friend goals #find yourself a man like sephy #well make sure you educate him first #myriad of mithra

[whattimeisitintokyo]

Somos Familia Ch 39: It Hits the Fan

Chapter 39: It Hits the Fan

Today was the day!

Miguel's birthday!

Héctor chuckled to himself as he finished shaving and wiping off the leftover shaving cream off his face, leaving behind the little tuft of hair that was his goatee. He had often considered shaving it off completely, being too old to have such juvenile facial hair, but at this point in his life it was practically trademarked. All his official photos and even illustrations of him all had it. He was practically stuck with it.

He chuckled again, letting his mind drift over these trivial things that made him smile. Any thoughts that didn't include what this day also was. Yes, he would put items on the ofrenda for his beloved daughter, tell her how much he missed her and loved her. Even give a respectful nod to Ernesto's foto. But other than that his thoughts were only on Miguel's birthday party. All the family would be there, everyone would feast on Miguel's favorite meals, presents, games, laughter and love. If he just concentrated on that then the pain wouldn't be so bad.

He didn't sleep well last night. He never did on the days leading up to Dia de Muertos. He vaguely remembered waking up crying once last night, but he was soon lulled back to sleep by his wife's calming presence and he was fine afterwards. She didn't even say anything when he awoke the next morning, and he was thankful for that. He could pass off the dark circles under his eyes on his age, and no one besides Imelda would notice.

He stepped into his walk-in closet and pushed aside Imelda's beautiful dresses to get to his clothes. He was feeling particularly festive today and pulled out his royal purple suit jacket off the hanger. Thinking about which tie would go well with hit, he looked up and saw something gleaming in between the hanging clothes.

The golden tooth of a grinning skull.

Immediately his mood dropped as he blankly stared at the headstock of his once prized guitar. He didn't feel any pride or joy in looking at it, hadn't even played it for over nine years, but he couldn't bring himself to hate it either. Many times he had considered giving it away or, in his more depressive states, simply throw it into the dumpster where he felt it belonged.

But he never could. Because his beloved wife had given it to him on his birthday, oh so many years ago.

'Y-you… bought this for me?! I don't know what to say…'

'You don't need to say anything Héctor. Feliz Cumpleaños. Now stop saving your money for it and go buy yourself some food, tonto.'

And then she had kissed him for the first time ever. On the cheek, yes, but it had made his whole head burst into flames and his ears buzz. It was the true beginning of their relationship, and this guitar was the key. It was a precious moment in his life: a fond memory. So no, he couldn't get rid of it so easily. But it wasn't going to stay in the closet anymore either. He'd have a talk with Chente later about sending it off to Rivera de La Cruz Records to be put on display to the public if they wanted it. It would still be his, but he wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Picking up a red necktie he pushed a bunch of clothes over the guitar, concealing it again, and walked away.

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

"Facundo! Don't smear icing on your sister's dress! Anselmo! Osvaldo! Stop fighting, you're in front of company, show some respect! Ay, Dahlia hold the baby for me, would you? You're the oldest, you need to help Papá."

Miguel walked into the courtyard with Victoria to absolute mayhem, with Victoria pulling him out of the way just in time before a sticky pastry struck the wall where his head was. Nodding his thanks to his niece he looked out to see Elena and Charlie playing with five other small, very rambunctious children dressed in their best church clothes. Soiled in mud, breakfast foods and sans shoes of course, but there was an effort to get Martín and Rosita's children dressed nicely for the special occasion. Martín was standing over them, trying not to be knocked down by the running, screaming children as he also tried not to drop the baby girl in his arms. Matty was also seated at the table set outside, holding Clara and looking very smug that his own children were behaving themselves properly, and Julio was looking out at the chaos with a thousand-yard stare.

Sitting down after finally passing the baby to his eldest, Martín slumped into a chair with a groan and leaned towards Matty in exhaustion. "Remember the Nazis? How easy it was with them? They were so neat and organized. Precise."

"They blew your leg off, amigo."

"At this point in my life, I wish they blew something else off."

"Papá, Papá!" One of Martín's sons came up to him, pulling on his sleeve and smiling with gapped teeth. "Charlie wants to play horses! Can we, por favor?"

"Ay, all right." Reaching down underneath the table, Martín fumbled around a little with belts and straps before pulling off and giving the child his prosthetic leg. "Don't get it dirty and do not, I repeat, do not… stick forks in it again."

Suddenly Julio sat up with a smile and shouted. "Hey everyone! The birthday boy is here!"

All the little children stopped immediately to look at Miguel standing in the doorway, before screaming again and running into him for hugs. This time Victoria didn't help, and Miguel let out a squawk when he was bombarded with seven sticky children. "Feliz cumpleaños, Miguel!" several little voices yelled out.

"Agh!... Gr-gracias… AHH! You guys are squeezing me to hard!"

"Ah, there you are mijo." Imelda swooped in and managed to pry the little ones off her son, brushing down his hair and giving him a kiss. "Fashionably late to your own party, I see. You look very nice today."

"Gracias, Mamá." Miguel said, pulling down his sleeves to cover up the wristbands that Victoria had made for him. 'I've gotta look nice for my performance tonight.' He said to himself. It wasn't a charro suit that he would have liked to wear, like a professional mariachi, but the bolo tie and shiny new boots were a nice touch.

"Well I hope your hungry." Imelda said. "We've been cooking up a storm all morning in that cramped little kitchen. And Wanda has made a delicious surprise for you."

"Cinnamon rolls!" Wanda said happily, placing a tray of pastries absolutely dripping with icing and candied nuts on the table. "My grandmother's recipe. I really hope you'll like them, but if you're anything like your brother then I know you're going to love them Miguel."

"No, I don't love them." Matty said, already double fisting the freshly glazed rolls with hungry eyes. "I'm damn near addicted to them. I crave them all day every day. But they're considered a Sunday food, and I'm forced to go without all week! It's torture, hermanito, pure torture."

"Which reminds me, since I'm making them on a Friday that means you've had them two times this week. So, we can skip them on Sunday and have them the next week."

"What?!"

"It's actually a little funny." Wanda said as Matty started to hoard as many rolls as he could in front of him. "Rosita's had three so far, but she's been pouring lime juice all over them. Lime juice! Can you believe it? How can you eat something so sour with something so sweet is beyond me!"

The others laughed a little and started to doll out the rest of the pastries to everyone else, with only Matty noticing the way Martín's face had turned pale white and he sunk lowly in his chair. "Lime juice?… Oh, no no no no nooo…"

Matty shook his head with pity, but mostly with exasperation, and ate his cinnamon roll. "Cochino…"

Breakfast was delicious, of course, and the party continued throughout the day. There were party games, cake and ice cream and even more sugary delights that threw all the little children into an even more manic frenzy until they had finally passed out underneath the shade of the tree. The ofrenda had been set up, decorated with flowers and offerings for Imelda's parents, Leti, the late Facundo and even Matty's friend Barto, while the adults shared stories of their dearly departed despite Héctor's best efforts to divert their attention to another party game or business idea he had. Even Chente and his best friend Javier had come to whish him a happy birthday to join the festivities. They always seemed really cool to Miguel, and he also felt like they understood his frustration with the lack of music.

Miguel absently kept checking the clock every so often, time seeming to move achingly slow as it creeped towards seven. He had hidden his guitar underneath the ofrenda table, somewhere he knew his father wouldn't be near that much, so it would be ready to be picked up when he left.

But for now his concentration was on opening the last birthday present, then he could go get his real gift. "Wow, sneakers! Gracias Tío Oscar y Tío Felipe!"

"Not just any sneakers." Felipe said proudly.

"But the new Rivera Freeflyers!"

"The new line of children's shoes-"

"-that goes on the market next year."

"Designed by us of course."

"But you're the first kid to wear them!"

"Feliz cumpleaños!"

Smiling, Miguel set the shoes back in the box. "That's really cool. Thanks again. Is that the last present? Aw man, that's sad. But I guess good things can't last forever. Well, if we're done I have some stuff I-"

"Atata. Not so fast, Miguel." Héctor walked up to him, smiling widely. "Because I also have a present for you."

Sitting back down, glancing at the clock again, Miguel's smile drooped a little in uncertainty. "Okay…"

Clearing his throat theatrically, Héctor stood next to his son in the center of the room spoke loud for all to hear. "Twelve years ago today, Miguel Rivera… beloved nephew, tío, brother and son… was brought into this world. A harrowing, frightful day for the whole family, especially for his dear mother, mi diosa, but one that ultimately ended in triumph. For that tiny baby was able to grow into a healthy little boy, and who has now grown into the fine young man standing before us all today."

"And since you are on the brink of adulthood, it's high time that we start thinking about your future, Miguel. Specifically what you're going to do for a living when you grow up. Now as much as we, and pretty much the whole world, loves your Mamá's shoes I get the feeling that's not where your passions truly lie. But after having a talk with Chente yesterday, we came to the conclusion that maybe your future lies with… Rivera de la Cruz Records."

Miguel noticed the way his father flinched at saying Ernesto's name, like he always did, but that didn't matter at the moment. There was a sudden bubbling of excitement and anticipation welling up inside of him, and he happily looked over at Chente for a confirmation. The former assistant, now CEO of the biggest movie and music production company in Mexico, gave him a silent smile and thumbs up. Turning back to his father with a big smile, Héctor continued.

"So your mother and I talked about it last night, and we both decided the best opportunity for you would be-"

Miguel could see it now: His name in lights, the crowd chanting his name, strumming a guitar just like, no better, than Tío Nesto's. Singing songs that he had written himself, the crowd singing along with him because they were so good, so memorable. Immortalized for all time by doing the one thing he truly loved to do: Playing the guit-

"-to start training you in business, just like your brother! And to start with that, we're going to enroll you in business management classes!"

…..

…..

"… What?"

There was not a sound coming from anyone else in the room. Wanda, Julio and Coco looked at each other in complete disbelief and mild disgust, Matty slowly bringing his hand over his eyes in complete exasperation. The other adults in the room cringed and suddenly became very interested in their plates of leftover food and cake, except for Vicente and Javier. Poor Chente stared at Héctor like he had just condemned the man to his death, eyes wide and mouth agape in horror, while Javier was bent nearly in half in his chair. Shoulders shaking and biting down on his clenched fist, Javier was doing everything he could to not just bust out laughing at the entire fiasco in front of him. Oblivious to everyone's obvious displeasure of his grand announcement, Héctor continued.

"There's a school nearby. In San Benito. They specialize in training children for college. Mateo, you went there, remember?"

Nodding and smiling painfully, Matty said, "Yes, Papá. I remember going… I remember willingly going-"

"Well, you did so well there that we thought Miguel would too! Now, they've got a new program where they include room and boarding, and you can do your regular schooling there."

"Which" Imelda interjected, "I have already vetoed. They still have just the same smaller classes every other weekend that you went to, Mateo. I don't want our little boy to be away from home for so long."

"Right," Héctor said. "I agree with her. You'll still go to school here, so don't worry about that. You won't miss your friends or your family. But I feel like this is a great opportunity for you."

Miguel felt like congratulating himself for how well he was hiding his displeasure from his parents. No, displeasure was too light a word for how he was feeling. He felt like his face was about to break and shatter for how long he was holding the rictus of his earlier smile, and his heart and stomach freefalling down to his boots. He felt like he was slowly dying, and yet his parents were looking at him like they were doing this for his own good. And they were proud of it too!

Maybe it was his own fault: being so secretive about who he truly was and what his interests were. His parents didn't know who he was at all and thought he would be glad that they were practically dooming him to a fate worse than death.

Swallowing painfully, almost as if he felt like he was about to cry, Miguel croaked out. "W-well… That's… a lot to take in."

"It's just an idea, mijo." Héctor said gently, as if finally sensing that his son might not be totally ready for such a radical change in his life. "And you've got plenty of time to decide. We can talk about more in the morning alone."

"It's just that that- uh…" Miguel fumbled a little with his wristbands hidden under his sleeves. "I'm not like Matty was when he was my age. I mean… I'm more like a normal kid, you know. Not a nerd like him."

"…Hey…"

"I mean I not as smart as him. I won't be any good in a school like that."

"Don't worry about that, Miguel." Imelda said softly, placing her head gently on his head and smoothing his hair. "You'll have your family here to guide you. We'll help you every step of the way. You won't be alone."

"And to help you even more, here's another present!" Héctor said. From behind his back he pulled out a small briefcase, made from leather dyed in a brilliant shade of red, and the letters M.R. embedded on the front in solid gold. Placing in the boy's hands, Héctor smiled widely and clapped his hands with pride. "Look at that. Another businessman in the family! You look so professional already! Ha ha!"

Glancing down miserably at the briefcase, as if he were handed a live grenade instead, Miguel nodded and once more looked up at his parents with that same faked, gritting smile. "Gracias Papá… Gracias Mamá…"

"Aw, feliz cumpleaños, my boy!" Héctor said as he hugged his son happily. "And don't just thank me. Thank Chente, since this was also his idea!"

"Ohhh…." Vicente moaned, trying to ignore the way Javiar was applauding loudly next him with that stupid smug grin of his. "Please don't thank me…."

"Better watch out!" Héctor jokingly said. "One day Miguelito here will take your job out from under you!"

"…I'll do that…"

As the adults carried on with their conversation, Miguel kept looking at the briefcase in hands. It really was a beautifully designed briefcase, something that Matty probably carried around all the time and would probably love having himself, but all it did was make Miguel want to cry. This wasn't what he wanted at all. This wasn't him. And the fact that his own parents didn't see that in him, couldn't see that, broke his heart.

He would have started crying then and there until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Victoria standing next to him, giving him a look of sympathy and understanding. But also of defiance. Glancing down at the briefcase in disgust, she said, "Put that thing away and go get your guitar. Wanda and Papá will distract Abuelito and everyone else. It's showtime, Tio."

With a start Miguel looked over at the clock and gasped. All his inner turmoil had made him nearly forget about the contest! And it was in twenty minutes! With Victoria giving him an encouraging smile and a slight shove Miguel took off to the ofrenda room. Ducking underneath the tablecloth he flung the accursed briefcase underneath it and grabbed his prized guitar, feeling so much better now that it was in his hands. Glancing to his late sister's foto, and then to his Tío Nesto's, Miguel gave them a watery smile.

"Wish me luck." He whispered, and then headed out the doorway.

No one noticed he, Victoria, Matty and Coco leave the party at all.

Except for one little girl with a big mouth.

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

Picking up a small, fried grasshopper from the bowl on the side table, he twisted it to and fro for his grandson to see. It was such a lovely surprise: Here he thought there wasn't many chapulines left for the season, and then all of a sudden Julio gifted him with a heaping bowl of the crunchy little things! Then Wanda had come up to him, saying that his grandchildren wanted to spend some time with their grandfather and to tell them stories. He was more than happy too, even if it was odd that he and the children were practically shoved into the kitchen and the door was slammed shut. But for now, with Clara babbling happily in his arm and with Charlie's rapt attention, he continued his story.

"So at the end of the day, there I was: Scratched up by dried alfalfa, bitten all over by every mosquito there ever was, and with a bag of caught grasshoppers slung over my shoulder. I took it to old Señor Perales and he would fry them up for the customers, and for my pay he would give me a handful of them on a stale tortilla. Sometimes that would be the only thing that I would get to eat for the whole day. But I didn't mind much, it was worth it for me. They're good, no?"

"They're salty." Charlie said as he crunched one with a grimace.

"Sí. Salty, crunchy and my favorite snack. And that was the first job I ever had at four years old. Your age, mijo! Grasshopper catcher extraordinaire."

"My friend Timmy likes to pick out earthworms from his Mommy's garden and eats them too, even with dirt on them! Is that the same thing, Grandpa?"

"No, your friend's just odd."

"Oh."

The sound of the door being opened caused the three of them to look, only to see Elena poking her head in. Héctor was immediately worried: His granddaughter looked very troubled, staring at the floor and lip trembling, trying to decide if she should come in or not. Shifting the baby in his arms to free his hand he held it out. "Elena? Is there something wrong?"

Nodding a little, she slowly edged her way in and closed the door. "My tummy hurts…"

"Aww, too much cake and ice cream, huh?" Héctor asked kindly, squeezing her hand when she took it. "I guess it also didn't help that your cousins gave you too much excitement as well. Well, if you want I can walk you home-"

"It's not that, Abuelito." Elena said softly. "My tummy hurts because I feel guilty."

"Guilty? Did you and your sister have a fight? Because if you said or did something to make her upset I'm sure she'll forgive you. That's what a family who loves each other does, mija. We always forgive each other with time."

Eyes widening, Elena looked up at her grandfather with a slight glimmer of hope. "Really? Family forgives each other for anything?. They don't… get really mad and hate them for it?"

"Of course not."

Elena smiled a little at that, looking like she felt a little better. Then her smile faded, and she shook her head. "No, no… Papá says that I should always do what my parents say…"

Blinking in confusion, Héctor nodded in agreement. "Uh, yes… Yes, children should do what their parents say. Your Papá's right."

"Buuuut…"

"…But?"

"But you're Mamá's papá…" Elena said slowly, nervously picking at her fingers and biting her lip hard in agitation. "So, she has to do whatever you say… right?"

Now he was growing concerned. Pulling his granddaughter close to him, Héctor made Elena look at him squarely in the eye. "Elena, if something is wrong with your Mamá you need to tell me, claro? Now, what's going on?"

"….Well…"

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

"Congratulations, Señor Magallanes."

"Oh you too, Mrs. Rivera."

Chuckling and clinking their mugs of coffee, Julio and Wanda sat on the old boarded up well and each took a sip of the hot brew. They watched as the Reyes children ran around the courtyard in a wild frenzy, having woken up from their sugar comas and putting an end to their parents' moment of peace and quiet, and smiled smugly to themselves. Both because they were thankful that their own children were not as wild and rambunctious, and also for a job well done.

"Nice work on getting the fried grasshoppers so late and getting so many. I'm told they're a seasonal…delicacy." Wanda grimaced at the word.

"Gracias. And that was a nice move of giving him your kids. 'Charlie wants to hear all about you when you were his age!'" Julio chuckled at that. "It really was a nice distraction."

Wanda hummed and gave a sultry smile, gazing off into the distance. "Well, Matthew has always said that I am… a master of distraction. In more ways than one"

"…Uh, right…" Taking an uncomfortable gulp from his coffee mug and coughing awkwardly, Julio changed the subject. "So when should they be back?"

"Well Miguel is the first act." Wanda said. "So it'll start at seven, he'll sing his little song, then Matthew and Coco will bring him right back. So I guess they should be back in about half an hour? Plenty of time before anyone notices they're gone. And if they ask we'll just say he went to a friend's house."

"Thirty minutes?" Julio asked, a little downhearted at the thought. "So, he won't get to stay to see if he wins?"

Wanda nodded in sympathy. "Yes, it is a shame. But honestly do you really think he would win? I mean, I know he's very good, but he'd be going up against musicians who have been playing for much longer than he's even been alive. It seems a little unlikely, right?"

"Sí, you're right… It still would be amazing if he did, though."

"Honestly I think the poor boy just wants to be heard. Can you blame him? Especially after that… gift his parents gave him. Ugh…"

"Sí. Let him have some fun for one night." Julio nodded, bring the cup back up to take a sip. "Thirty minutes. Plenty of time. Go out, perform, come back. No one will suspect a thing."

"All will be well." Wanda agreed.

The sudden slamming of a door hitting the wall startled everyone in the courtyard. All the children skidded to a halt, the adults stopped talking immediately, and all eyes turned towards a very livid Héctor Rivera.

"MIGUEL IS GOING TO PLAY THE GUITAR IN THE PLAZA?!"

Clara started to cry in fright in her grandfather's arms, but Héctor paid her no heed as he marched up Julio and Wanda. "Elena just told me that Miguel's playing in the contest! Julio, is that true?!"

Julio stared at his father-in-law, chalk white and looking like he was about to drop dead on the spot. His mouth worked itself up and down, but all that came out was choked squeaks and croaks. "Uh-uh…uh uh…ah…uh."

With a growl, Héctor turned his glare to his daughter-in-law. "Wanda, did you know anything about this?!"

Wanda, also much whiter than usual, managed to give a nervous half smile and shrugged with a weak chuckle. "Uh… No hablo es-pan-ol?..."

"Forget it!" Héctor shouted, placing the now screaming baby in her mother's arms and turning out to the exit. "You all want to go behind my back?! Fine! I'll put a stop to this myself!"

As Héctor left the courtyard in a mad dash, Julio wilted with a moan. "No no no no! This has all gone to hell. We had one job to do and we failed even that! Matty and Coco are going to kill us!"

Wanda shook her head, trying to calm down her poor baby. "No, they won't!"

"You're right. Only Coco is going to kill only me!" Julio cried. "Elena, why did you tell Abuelito?! You promised you wouldn't!"

Elena was sobbing by now. This wasn't supposed to happen: Abuelito had said that he wouldn't be angry, that he wouldn't hate Miguel for what he did. But it was all a lie! "You don't keep secrets from family, Papá! I couldn't stand lying to Abuelito!"

"What is going on here?!"

They all turned to see Imelda, Rosita, Martín and the twins coming out of the ofrenda room, confused as to why everyone was either in shock, scared or crying their eyes out. With a sigh Wanda came up to them. "Oh, Mamá Imelda, you might as well know now. Miguel was going to play the guitar at the music competition in the plaza-"

"What?!"

"- and Papá Héctor just found out. He's going after them to stop him. I've never seen him look so mad! I think he's going to do something-"

"Stupid…" Imelda finished, hitching up her skirts to run as fast as she could in her high heeled boots. "Dios mio, Héctor! Héctor come back!"

"Oh Rosita, could you take the baby?" Wanda asked as she handed Clara to Rosita. "I need to go to! Matthew might need my help! Come on Julio, Coco needs you to!"

"Wait! Coco will need my help as well!" Rosita cried out. "Martín, mi amor, hold the baby and hold down the fort. Oscar, Felipe! Let's go!"

"Wait, what?!" Martín cried out, watching helplessly as all the adults ran out of the Rivera complex, leaving him alone with nine children all under eight years old, screaming and crying with fright. Looking at Clara in one arm and his own crying daughter in the other, Martín growled in frustration. "Oh sure! Leave all the kids with the one guy who can't run away! I see how it is! This is discrimination! I am a war veteran, I deserve some respect and a break!"

"Don't worry, Tío Martín…" Elena sadly said, taking Clara away from her uncle and holding the baby close. "I'll help you with the babies…"

"Ay, gracias Elenita." Martín sighed in relief, patting her head gratefully. "You're a good kid."

Burying her face in her little cousin's blanket, Elena tried to hide as the tears came pouring out again with her sobs. She wasn't good. She didn't deserve the praise. She deserved to be punished, not Miguel. Miguel was going to be kicked out of the family. Abuelito hated him now.

It was all her fault.

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

"I knew it." Miguel moaned as he, his siblings and Victoria made their way to the plaza. Clutching his guitar for dear life, as if he was afraid it would be ripped away from him, he hung is head low while Victoria guided him by his shoulders. "I knew Papá would never even consider letting me play music, he just hates it too much. I'm gonna have to play in secret for the rest of my life."

"Yeah." Victoria sighed with a pout. "I guess I'm going to have to as well. I'll never get to dance in the likes of La Scala or the Royal Opera House. I'd even settle for dancing at a rec center at this point."

"Cheer up, both of you." Matty said. "Miguel, you know Papá doesn't hate music. He just… has some hang-ups about it that is hard for him to overcome. A lot of bad things happened to him, and he attributes it to music. You understand, sí?"

"No, I don't." Miguel said. "And that's easy for you to say. Papá sang and danced with all three of you and let you play instruments. I never had that."

"That's not true, Miguel." Coco said. "Papá used to sing to you all the time, especially when he tucked you into bed. And he played his guitar for you, don't you remember that?"

"No. I was a baby, Coco."

Coco tsked and shook her head in mock sorrow. "Well that is a shame. You should remember stuff like that. I, for one, can remember stuff quite vividly all the way from when I was about two years old. It's a gift I possess."

Breaking out of his current funk, Miguel looked up at his older sister and smirked. "Gee Coco, maybe you should be the one in the talent show instead of me."

Matty barked out a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, you could tell everyone what you had for breakfast in May of 1936."

"Or recite an old shopping list you made ten years ago." Victoria added.

Coco huffed and crossed her arms with pout. "All right, all three of you can go kiss a burro."

"Well we can't do that now, because," Matty said as they rounded the corner, "we have arrived at our destination."

As they all walked into the plaza, Miguel smiled when he saw the gazebo decked out in the familiar decorations for Dia de Muertos: garlands of cempazuchitl flowers, papel picado and, most excitingly, posters for the contest. He also saw several other musicians dressed up in charro suits and practicing on their own instruments. They had probably been practicing for much longer than he ever had and were probably better than him too. But Miguel didn't care if he won or lost the contest, he just wanted to perform in front of people. To show them all that he had what it took to be a musician. And luckily for him there were plenty of people who had come to watch.

A very… large amount of people.

Practically the whole town. Even other kids from his school were there.

Suddenly Miguel felt a nauseous curl in his belly, and his breath seemed to stick in his throat. Without realizing it he took a step backwards, softly bumping into his sister, and flinched in surprise when she knelt down to speak to him.

"Miguel?" Coco asked softly. "If you're nervous you don't have to go up there."

"Wh-what?" Miguel asked, wincing when his voice gave an unexpected squeak and trying to cough it away. "Nervous? I'm not nervous!"

"You're really pale Miguel, and you started sweating bullets in less than five seconds." Victoria pointed out. "It's actually quite impressive."

"Callate!" Miguel grumbled.

"It's alright if you've changed your mind, Miguel." Coco said and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "We can just go right back to the museum, and Papá will have never known you were here."

The very mention of his father, how much he hated music, how he would be forced to play music in secret again if he backed away now, how this might actually be his last chance to perform before he was to go to that stupid business school, steeled something inside of Miguel. Straightening up, jaw clenched tight and his guitar held up like a shield, he shook his head vigorously. "No! No way! I'm gonna play in mariachi plaza if it kills me!"

"That's the spirit!" Matty said. "And good thing too because it looks like you're on now!"

"What?!"

"They're beckoning you over! Knock 'em dead and break a leg, gordito!" With a hearty slap on the back Matty propelled his little brother towards the stage. As they all watched the boy meekly walk to the contest coordinators, Matty leaned into Coco. "He can sing, right?"

Coco nodded. "Of course! He has the voice of an angel, you're going to be blown away."

"Either that or he's going to blow his dinner all over the stage floor." Victoria said.

Miguel took his place next to the steps of the gazebo, turning back to wave at the siblings and niece, who all returned it with a thumbs up. With his back turned to them again Matty sighed wistfully. "Papá would really love this. He would be so proud. If… you know…"

"If he was like he used to be?"

"Si…" Matty nodded. "It just doesn't feel the same without him here. Miguel is so much like how our father was: Filled with a love of music, bursting with creativity. Miguel may look up to Tío Nesto, but I see Papá in him more than any of us."

"You're right." Coco sighed. "I wish Papá were here to see this too."

"SOCORRO! MATEO!"

Coco and Matty immediately felt their hearts stop, blood seize up, insides clench and air leave their lungs as they heard their full names bellowed out from behind. Turning around they saw a sight they had never seen before. Héctor Rivera, normally so jovial and mild-mannered with all he encountered, marching towards them red-faced and glaring holes into their very souls. As he got closer and closer to them, Coco whispered, "Itakeitback, Itakeitback!..."

Placing himself in front of his sister and niece like a shield, Matty leaned causally on his cane and smiled shakily. "H-hola, padre! Qué tal? I d-didn't expect to see you come to the plaza today. They're having a music contest right now so you might want to go back and-"

"Would you both care to explain to me," Héctor said as he reached them, very close to seething like a bull. "why I had to hear from Elena that my son is going to play the guitar, on a stage, in front of an audience?!"

With a loud groan Matty turned to glare at Coco. "You told la Lengua Larga about the plan?!"

"I told you it was a bad idea, Mamá."

"So this was your idea!" Héctor growled as he glared at Coco. Distantly they could hear Imelda calling out as she was making her way to the plaza herself, but they all ignored her for the moment. "You're letting your brother perform? After what nearly happened to you? What did happen to your godfather?!"

Coco glared back. "What happened to Tío Nesto was terrible, but it was an accident that could have happened anywhere! It had nothing to do with music! Why can't you see that?"

"It has everything to do with what happened to him!" Héctor shouted. "And I will not have the same thing happen to my-"

"Put your hands together for our first contestant, Miguel 'De la Cruzito' Rivera!"

As a loud smattering of applause and cheers erupted, the family turned to see Miguel taking the small stage of the gazebo. Smiling nervously and waving at the crowd, he didn't seem to notice the brewing turmoil taking place amongst the audience. Héctor gritted his teeth and was about to make his way towards his son to put an end to this nonsense, when one of the nearby bands decided to strike up some intro music for the young guitarist. After all, the son of the world's greatest songwriter, the patron of Santa Cecilia, deserved a grand entrance for his musical debut.

And they couldn't have picked a worse song.

As the trumpets blasted the upbeat version of Remember Me and the audience clapped along to the beat, Matty and Coco moaned in dread and instantly went into damage control. Coco and Victoria shouted in vain over the crowd to get the musicians to stop, but their voices were lost among the deafening cheers and song. Imelda heard the song playing from the distance, and with a curse tried to run even faster to her husband. Matty grabbed his father by the shoulders and shook him, trying to direct his attention to him. "Papá! Papá, listen to me. Listen to my voice. It's okay. It's just a song. Come with me, we'll get you out of here…"

It had been about a year since he had heard that song last. Not intentionally, of course, but when a song is that popular people are bound to either sing it aloud or try to play it themselves. One such incident occurred when he was out with Elena for a treat of ice cream, when suddenly he had heard it. A quite lovely rendition on a violin by that scarf-wearing kid with the weird facial hair whose named escaped him. But it was enough to do the trick. Several painful minutes of him hunched low to the ground, pressing the heels of his hands into his ears hard, trying to get his breathing under control. His own granddaughter, seven years old at the time, was forced to take action herself: Swatting that kid with her shoe in order to stop him from playing, then sitting with him silently and comfortingly until the panic had finally passed. They had both lost their ice creams on the ground that day, but the two had grown even closer due to the experience.

But those same feelings were rushing back just like that last time: Nothing had changed. Immediately his heart started hammering and it became hard to breathe, his insides squirmed and clenched painfully and those awful visions flashed in his mind again. As the song continued he didn't see his eldest son frantically trying to get his attention, but his youngest daughter wheezing her last breaths in his arms. Of Ernesto walking away from him to the stage, underneath the bell that would eventually turn him into nothing but a smear. And the blood, so much blood. He could smell it, practically taste it.

He was about to try to block out the sounds like he always did and then curl up in a ball, when he happened to glance at the stage again. Ernesto was there, about to perform with the bell perch precariously over his head. But no, that wasn't Ernesto standing there. It was-

"MIGUEL! NO!"

Breaking Matty's grip on his arms he made a run for the gazebo, pushing and shoving others out of the way. He didn't hear their exclaims of alarm and pain as they were roughly shoved aside or to the ground, nor the cries of his family as they begged him to wait, to come back. No, all he heard was that damned song playing loudly in his head, now a ticking timer to the point where, at the end, his boy would be no more.

Miguel didn't notice his father parting through the crowd at breakneck speed, too busy tugging on the emcee's sleeve to tell him to make those musicians stop playing the song 'That's the song I'm going to play.' But it was too late, and as the band played the last triumphant note he turned back to the crowd with an eye roll and hefted his guitar up to begin to play the song everyone had just heard.

Just in time to see his father diving straight for him.

Imelda reached her oldest children just in time to see Héctor tackle Miguel and send them both flying to the back of the gazebo. The incident was so shocking that aside from a large gasp from the crowd, it became so still and quiet. Quiet enough that everyone was able to hear the sickening crunch once the two of them landed in a crumpled heap.

A flash of terror made it's way down Imelda and her children's spines. "No…" she breathed, and then quickly made her way to the gazebo herself, the others following her.

The song was over, put panic was still surging through Héctor as he got up and immediately started checking over his boy. "Miguel! Are you all right?! Sit up, let me see!" He patted his body up and down, trying to see if there were any injuries, thankfully finding none. But the boy seemed shocked, and frantically he cupped the boys face to look in his eyes. "Did you hit your head? Look at me, mijo-"

"Papá…"

Miguel's eyes were widened with shock, but surprisingly the wind was not knocked out of him nor was he scuffed or marked in any way from the surprise tackle. The guitar in his hands, however, was not so lucky. It had taken the brunt of the assault and protected the boy from harm, but it had not survived. Three of the strings had snapped right off and were coiled in bent angles, the body was completely caved in from the center hole and up, and the neck had broken cleanly in half, now only connect by the remaining strings. His beloved guitar was now destroyed. His father had destroyed it.

"What-? Why?... What have you done?" Miguel whispered as he gripped the broken neck and tried in vain to get it to stick back into the position. "It's ruined…"

Héctor looked down at the broken guitar in his son's hands, taking in the cheap gold paint that had been sloppily painted all over it. The crude designs done in brown, and the headstock. That same mocking skull that looked so much like his own, except for the one personal detail that he had made for his older brother: The thin mustache above perfectly white grinning teeth. His worries and concerns over his son instantly vanished. He was fine. Now what came back was more comfortable, easier for him to handle: Rage.

"Where the hell did you learn to play guitar?!"

Miguel's attention snapped back to his father, and he shrunk back at the ferocious anger meekly. Before he was able to squeak out a pitiful answer, he felt eyes on him. Turning slightly he paled when he saw everyone in the crowd looking at him with morbid curiosity. The whole town had watched as his supposed debut had crumbled to ash, his most prized possession had been reduced to kindling, and his father was now bearing down on him about to start a very public fight.

It was all ruined. It was too much for him, and the poor boy broke.

With a choked-out cry of heartbreak Miguel flung what was left of his guitar away, shot up to his feet and fled from the gazebo. The crowd gave him enough room to make his getaway and he was grateful. He didn't want to be held back, didn't want to be touched by anyone. Especially his family. He heard his Papá angrily yelling at him to come back, his Mamá pleading with him to do so as well. But he couldn't even look at anyone right now.

He just ran and ran, broken sobs escaping as he gasped and panted.

He hated his birthday.

#coco #coco pixar #pixar coco #coco fanfic #Hector Rivera #miguel rivera #mama imelda #mama coco #worst #birthday #EVER

[scoobydoominuscoobydoo]

The Meddling Kids in the Car

FF.Net & AO3

-

Darkness.

Silence.

Pain shooting through his leg.

And then he hears grunting, someone struggling to breathe; he can sense tears trying force their way to the front.

Shag realizes that the darkness is being caused by his eyes being shut.

When he does open his eyes he finds that the darkness is barely improved; his world being illuminated by a single car light above him.

It’s that observation that tells him he’s in a car, and after further investigation he can see that he’s cramped up in the back seat. That tells him this isn’t the Mystery Machine or any other form of big car, any small car never has enough leg room for him.

The next observation he makes is that the sounds of struggle from before were coming from the front seat. Shaggy directs his attention towards the front and only needs a moment to spot an orange turtle-neck.

“Velms?”

When he speaks his tongue feels like sand paper and the air is almost damp when he breathes it in.

How long has he been out?

His brunette friend turns to look at him and he sees her face light up, he also notices a large, purple bruise on her temple.

“Shag holy shit! I thought your were dead for a second there.” She says this with a chuckle in her voice and her eyes begin to tear up. She leans back in the driver’s seat and smiles brightly at him, making him worry that he had been out for longer than a couple hours.

Now that his brain is finally orienting itself he takes another crack at examining his surroundings.

“Like sorry to disappoint...” He says softly and earns another chuckle from Velma.

He can definitely confirm that they are in a small car.

And judging by the darkness around the windows it’s late at night.

They must be locked in the car or something because Velma was trying to force open the the driver’s side door. But cars can’t be kept locked from the inside, there should be a way for her to unlock it.

And why was it so damn hot?

Shaggy hadn’t realized it at first but it was definitely sweltering; sweat was dripping from his brow and his breathing had become labored.

Then he took a closer look out the window next to him - his blood went cold.

“Ve- Velma? Whe-Where are we?”

Velma stares somberly at him and takes a deep breath, as if trying to keep her emotions in check, “We’re underground. Buried alive.”

-

Hour One:

“What’s the last thing you remember Shag?”

Her words kinda echo for a second, he keeps trying to pull his body out of a state of panic because in a cramped area like this that could result in death.

How many hours had they been in here?

How many hours did they have left?

“Shaggy!”

He jumps and looks back at her, suddenly remembering that she had asked him something.

He runs a hand through his hair, “I-...I-uh....remember we were at the haunted amusement park looking for Ferdinand the Torture Clown and-”

“That’s not his name.”

“It’s a better name, don’t interrupt me or I’ll forget what I was talking about.” Velma rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, her version of admitting defeat.

“Like, thank you. And.... um Freddie had us split up. You and me plus Scoob - him and Daph?” She nodded and he continued, “So like, you and I were at the employee parking for the clown rental shop just outside of the park. You were on one side and I was on the other.” He looks down at his lap to sigh, he’s been short of breath since he woke up.

“I-.... I remember you calling me over to see something but.... by the time I got to where you were you were passed out and on the ground. Like, I didn’t even get a second to process before I heard a honk and saw bright lights. Th- That’s all I can remember.”

Velms nods, “That matches up with my memories. Somebody came up from behind right after I called for you and then clocked me in the head.” She points up to her lovely bruise, “And then they must’ve sauntered off and waited for you so they could run you over.”

“What?!”

Velms raises an eyebrow at him, “You know? Like with a car?”

“I got run over by a car?!”

“Well dur, did you think that nasty number on your leg was from me?”

Shaggy can’t believe his ears, he follows Velma’s gesture toward his left leg and instantly feels sick. It’s bent unnaturally and on top of the lovely mixture of dirt and blood its got going on, it’s also leaking some sort of pus that is making his stomach churn.

It’s right then that the pain coming from his leg registers, and it must show on his face because Velma steps in, “The adrenaline must’ve been distracting you from the pain...”

He groans, knowing he shouldn’t touch it but desperately wants to do something with it.

“Agh! I-Is is supposed to hurt this much?”

Velma bite her lips for a moment, “I-.....I don’t know. I’ve never been run over by a car.”

He glares at her.

“But it’s probably gonna get worse in these conditions.”

With that, he attempts to move in a more comfortable position, and the pain from the movement causes him to scream.

-

Hour Two:

“How much air do you think we have?”

“Judging by how long we’ve been in here, the size of the car and a couple hours to count the amount of time we were unconscious; I’d say five...maybe six hours at the greatest.”

“Like, fantastic.”

They’re silent for a few moments after that, and Shag finds that the quiet above ground and the quiet below are very different.

He’s hating the below ground one so far because it’s giving him the head-space to count out the minutes till his death.

And whenever Velma feels the need to break the silence, it feels so much louder now.

“Who do you think did this to us Shag?”

He sighs and gestures up toward the sky, however far up it may be, “I don’t fucking know- my best guess is our good friend Ferdinand but this seems like something above his pay-grade.”

A clown skipping around and turning off roller-coasters suddenly burying two teenagers alive seems like a huge leap. Leaps from dangerous pranks to actual life or death situations were rarely made, and Velma couldn’t picture their mask doing this.

“Yeah, I mean clearly this guy is trying to shut down the park because once it’s shut down the land will be at it’s lowest.”

“Like it’s always something with real-estate...”

This quiet is awful.

They can’t even hear bugs chirping.

No sign of life except for them struggling to breathe.

Velma takes another look towards their main problem, breaking the quiet once more, “How’s your leg?”

Shag also sends a glance its way, hating just how bad it looked, “Like it’s doing great, the pus is really coming along.”

Velms frowns at him and he can tell something is on her mind, but it’s something she’s gotta say gently. Otherwise she would’ve already blurted it out. She sighs before speaking, “It’s swelled up a lot in the past hour...”

“Well yeah, it did come face-to-face with a damn tire.” He musters up a grin, because he hopes that’ll help Velma deliver the bad news.

Her mouth is set in a grim line as she stares at his leg for a few more seconds, gulping as she replies, “I just hope it’s not because of infection....”

Shit.

He had forgotten that was a thing.

“And if it is?”

This time it’s Velma trying to summon the smile, her’s is far less convincing, “It’s gonna be a tough few hours.”

At that moment the only thing Shag can think is, ‘Don’t hyperventilate. Don’t hyperventilate.’

Velma can see that all over his face, “Shaggy if you start to panic then we’ll be out of air a lot faster.”

“You think I don’t know that?!” He almost wheezes that statement out, “Not like it matters anyway. We have no clue where we’re buried and there’s no way that Fred and Daphne will know that we’re under the ground!”

Velma bites her lip and looks away from him, wiping sweat from the bridge of her nose.

She’s not used to being the optimist in any situation, but neither is Shaggy. They both find that it’s impossible to put a positive spin on anything, but Shag’s leg isn’t doing too well and if Velma doesn’t bring the mood up he’s gonna start panicking.

She needs to distract him.

“Ou- There’s always the chance that Fred and Daph catch our guy, and if he’s the one who shoved us down here then Fred will get it out of him.”

He rubs his forehead and chuckles, “Yeah... if Daph doesn’t kill him first.”

She closes her eyes and smiles, “Indeed.”

Shaggy follows her lead and shuts his eyes, letting his head lean back against the window.

Pushing his hands into his pockets and letting his fingers trace over every item. He can feel assorted pieces of paper, candy wrappers most likely, his Commander Cool wallet from way back in grade school, that’s definitely a Scooby Snack in his left pocket. For the first time in his life, he’s starving but not in the mood to eat - won’t do much good in a dead body.

He’ll offer it to Velma in a minute.

Pessimistic as she can be, he knows that she has huge faith in Fred and is more convinced than him that their leader will be able to connect all the missing dots.

As smart as Fred and Daphne are, there are too many unpredictable details to make up for.

Suddenly, something pops into his head, he has a cell phone.

He releases his right hand to search his back pocket, relieved to feel the warm plastic at his fingertips. Shaggy grabs it and takes a good look at it; it’s surprisingly not cracked or scratched - at least there are no new cracks or scratches.

He presses the on button and sure enough, the screen lights up, instantly greeting him with Daphne’s bright eyes as Scooby licks her cheek.

She was cackling when the photo was taken, and as loud and extra as Daphne’s laugh could be, Shaggy couldn’t deny how beautiful she looked when she did laugh.

It provides some sort of comfort, in spite of the lack of reception he has.

Those violet eyes seem to relax every nerve in his body, he remembers choosing to make this his lock-screen. He had ran the risks through his head over and over again.

What if anybody sees?

What if Daphne sees?

What are they gonna think?

But, in the end, he lost the battle to those eyes.

Shaggy smiles fondly at the photo, almost forgetting he was in his coffin, but is interrupted by a gasp.

“You’ve had your phone this whole time?!” Velma cries out, forcing Shag to tear his gaze away from Daphne. “Like, calm down Velms, it doesn’t have any sort of signal.”

She stares at him for a moments before saying, “You don’t have the FM radio thing? It comes pre-installed in most phones.”

Shag raises an eyebrow at her, “And then we can do what, listen to the game? Radio and walkie-talkie are two different things.” Frowning, Velma bites her lip - trying to gather her thoughts.

-

Hour Three:

Their breaths are becoming shorter, he can hear just how shallow Velma’s inhales are, and the back of his throat is dry and burning.

Velms has already abandoned her turtle-neck as well as her glasses, which wouldn’t stop fogging up. “Fuck it, I’d rather make the choice to be blind.”

Shaggy had been spending the seconds alternating between looking at the picture of Daphne for sanity’s sake, and then looking down at the state of his leg.

Also for the sake of sanity, but in a different way.

Looking at Daph helped him feel at peace on his “deathbed” while looking at his leg reminded his that he would probably never see her again.

He had cut off the leg of his pants all the way up to the knee with a box-cutter Velma had found in the glove compartment, so as to better see the damage. It was safe to say it wasn’t healing in any way, the swelling had gone up noticeably as well as the pain.

Velms couldn’t really do much about it, just sigh and rub her forehead.

Neither of them saw much purpose in bringing up the bright-side, they had been here for a long time - long enough for reality to set in.

They had seen the last of the world just a few hours ago and now the last thing they were ever going to see was each other.

“Do you take me for granted?”

Velma lets out a soft “hmmm” before saying, “Yeah probably.”

He nods, even though she isn’t looking at him.

“But you can’t hold that against me.”

“And why ever not?”

She chuckles and turns back to squint at him, he knows that doesn’t help any, and says, “Shag, I have known you almost my whole life right?”

He nods again but isn’t sure if she can see that so he says, “At least.”

Velma smirks and continues, “In that time I have found there to be one consistent fact. Nobody thinks less of Shaggy Rogers than Shaggy Rogers.”

The sentence leaves him kind of winded, as if he wasn’t winded enough from the lack of air, and he’s left to ponder it. Velma turns back toward the front, she had said her piece and she had nothing left to throw out. Not like she had to worry about being sensitive with him, the only punishment she’d receive is him ignoring her.

Which works.

Silence being the last thing she remembers, the only peaceful moment in her life.

Shaggy is staring up at the car light, black dots appearing and fading with every blink, left to contemplate so many things and knowing that it won’t do any good.

At this point even the tedious ticking of a clock would be comforting, he was getting tired of listening to his own heavy breathing.

The glaring 57% battery life was mocking him, showing him how much time he had left with Daphne and Scoob before the screen would go dark and he’d never see them again. He heard Velma groan as she turned to look back at him, seeing her slide on her glasses through his periphiral.

“Shag what time is it?”

He didn’t answer, the 57% had just gone down to 56% and now Shaggy was thinking about mortality and how he didn’t have a charger to bring him back to life.

Velma rolled her eyes and leaned forward, yanking Shag’s phone out of his hand.

“Velms! Like what the hell?!” He attempted to grab it back but she was already out of reach, he winced as he leaned a little too far forward and his leg pulsed.

She raises her eyebrows, feeling bad for causing that pain, but keeping her tongue sharp, “I was asking you what time it was, I repeated myself like three fuckin’ times.”

Shaggy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the door, breathing through his nose and waiting for the pain to subside.

It wasn’t.

But it’s not like it mattered anyway.

Velma huffed and turned her attention to the phone, pressing the on button and wishing her skirt had pockets that would have been able to hold her phone. Sucking in a deep breath at the sight of Daphne looking back at her.

Without even looking at the time, Velma brought her gaze to her tall friend.

His eyes were closed as he concentrated on ignoring the pain.

Now Velma knew that a lock screen photo could mean anything, any number of things besides the one thing she’s thinking of.

But as she’s looking at Shaggy right now she can just feel what this picture means to him, why it’s there and why he’s been spending the last hours of their lives looking at it.

Daphne huh?

She can’t help but smile, because she’s learned a thing or two about Shaggy - but she’s also known a thing or two about Daphne.

Velma chooses not to say anything, deciding not to curse Shag with the information that he’s part of a doomed romance.

-

Hour Four:

They’re at the point where labored breathing can be changed to desperate gasps every few minutes, lungs panicking and searching for air before realizing the supply was just low - not gone.

Velma has been mentally counting out the minutes for the past one-hundred or so, resisting the urge to suck in deep breaths.

“Shags.... what is that?”

Her voice is so quiet, they haven’t spoken to each other for nearly forty-five minutes and he had almost forgotten what she sounded like.

“Like, what?”

He just barely wheezes that out.

“W-...What is that?”

She points to the car’s control panel in front of her, the small, grey rectangle resting on top of it to be precise.

“It’s a GPS.”

The earns a gasp as she leans forward in her chair and pops her glasses back on, “Oh my word I am so damn stupid! It’s been here the whole fucking time and I didn’t even notice it!”

Shaggy is surprised she can still summon the energy to shout, or be mad with herself.

He watches as she examines the device, tracing her fingers over each edge - clearly looking for something. She lets out a loud, triumphant laugh as her search merits pleasing results, he assumes as much at least.

“Care to share anything with the class Velms?”

With a grunt and a cackle, Velma crawls over to the passenger side and he hears the pops of the glove compartment being opened.

“This GPS is connected to satellite, real rich shit for sure. And as it just so happens, we have a little green van out there with a spunky navigation system that takes in almost any information sent it’s way.” She groans and slams the compartment shut as she turns her search to the small storage space between the driver’s and passenger’s seats.

“If I can remember the signal our good-for-nothing GPS is on than I could send out our coordinates or something whatever this is only a half plan.” She has yet to even look up at him, searching for he doesn’t even know what.

“Wait.... Velms even if we’re able to send out the longitude and latitude higgledy piggledy, how do we know Fred and Daphne will know it’s us? How are they supposed to know we’re sending this from however many feet beneath the earth’s surface?” Velma doesn’t answer, still not looking up from her goal.

And this makes him angry, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as he clenches his hands into fists.

Without thinking, he reaches forward and grabs onto the collar of Velma’s sweater, tugging her toward him, “Look at me!!! AaGh!”

He immediately withdraws and rubs at his leg, seeing that the redness that originally just surrounded the wound has now traveled up his leg and under his pant-leg. He can see the blood that was clotting now trailing down his calf and onto the seat.

Any form of movement sends Shaggy waves of pain and there’s nothing he can do but try not to scream. All of the pressing pain feels like fire in every place he can think of, this was like nothing else he’d ever felt.

Was this his body finally shutting down?

For now he bites down on his index finger as he feels tears stream down his cheeks.  

His brain repeating over and over again, ‘You’re dying. This is it.’

It’s pushing against his skull with the force of a bullet and more than anything he wants to scream out for it all to stop.

‘I’m not ready!!!!’

That final thought just barely manages to be louder than the rest, not getting a repeat or an echo.

And it’s enough to leave Shag feeling cold; freezing.

“Shaggy... I-”

“I’m nuts about Daphne!” He sobs out, not even bothering to hold it back.

He almost feels like laughing at Velma’s silence, finally she has nothing to say, “I’m over the moon, crazy stupid in love with her.”

Amazingly, she still says nothing.

Shaggy chuckles and wipes the tears from his face, “Like, aaahh.... I love her voice and her laugh - oh my gosh do I love her laugh. And her eyes might as well just be some sort of stun gun for me. Sh-She’s so confident all the time and so smart - Zoinks she’s a genius, and I hate that she lets people talk down to her so much.”

He wonders if she’s staying silent so he can get all of this out, because he’s not really sure when this will stop, if it’ll ever stop.

He’s been holding it in for a long time.

“So-Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night ‘cause I’m completely terrified that she believes all the bad things people say about her.” His profession of love and need to start sobbing have been battling it out in his throat and it’s becoming really hard to even string words together, “Velms she’s so fucking amazing and..... I-I could never be with somebody as awesome as her but....”

The words won’t even come out anymore, just tears and shaky gasps.

Velma bites her lip as she sees the inner-turmoil that’s taking over her best friend.

She leans forward and lightly rests her hand on his uninjured leg, “Shags.... tell me what to do.”

Shaggy locks eyes with her and through his blurry vision he can see that she’s got a somber look on her face, her mouth set in a determined frown.

“I.....”

What does he want her to do?

No.

This is her asking what he wants, right now.

What he needs her to do to help that happen.

“I want to see her again....”

All it takes is that statement and Velma sends him a mischievous grin, clapping her hands together and turning back toward the compartment, “Right! So, as we all know most GPS connected to the car require the actual car to be running, and while the lights are on nothing else in the car seems to be functioning. Lucky for us though, this one is similar to Freddie’s -  meaning it has-”

“A keyhole!” Shag jumps in and Velma snaps and points at him.

“Exactly. Unfortunately, even if we do unlock it - assuming we find the key - we’ll only have a few seconds of time to send out the message before the device shuts off again. These things have shit emergency power and seeing as we’ve been down here for maybe eight hours already it’s safe to say that it’s dead. After that we get zero redos. Got all that Shags?”

Shaggy gulps and nods, “Like no second chances, got it.”

Then a thought pops into his head, “Uh yeah, quick question ma’am. It shouldn’t be hard to find our GPS to send the message to but uh... how are we supposed to know where the hell we are?”

Velma stares at him for a few seconds before smirking, “Ah... that is where you come in my friend.”

“Me?”

She chuckles, “Yes Mr. “I have the nose of a bloodhound.”

“Wha-.. Uh-...I.... Velms, like we’ve been down here for hours and I haven’t smelled anything. Zip. Nada.” Velma simply returns this with another chuckle before replying, “Well you were a depressed loser for a wide percentage of those hours.”

He stares blankly at her before sighing, “Yeah... but- blaming my lack of smelling ability on my mental state has a wide margin for error don’t you think?”

“And do you have a better idea?”

Shag ponders that question for a second and then groans.

Closing his eyes, he tries to concentrate on every little thing his nose has been able to detect thus far. Dirt, sweat, blood, iron, the rubber from the tires; that’s as far out as his senses have been able to travel.

Sighing, he opens his eyes and looks at Velma, “Velms I-”

“Norville Shaggy Rogers, you told me that you - yes you sir, nobody else - wanted to see the love of your life Daphne Blake again. Did you not?” She’s crossing her arms and scowling at him.

Her words send a wave of heat over him and he looks down at his hands, “Like-”

“Yes! That’s exactly what you said! Don’t bullshit me like this, I have seen you pick out every single ingredient in my mom’s vegan lasagna without even tasting it. You were able to help us find a gas station in the middle of Vegas when the van broke down. You’re a freaking X-Man Shags!”

Velma’s eyes are practically glowing as she rants to him, he’s not used to her putting so much faith in him.

And then he’s thinking about Daphne, her perfect eyes being the only thing in the world he needs.

He closes his eyes again and takes as deep a breath as he can.

He’s back at the scent of rubber, weirdly enough, they’re definitely new tires, but he doesn’t think much of it - trying his hardest to grip onto something new. Flames of red and blue and orange dance around under his eyelids, each one something he’s already seen before; no what he needs right now is a new color.

It occurs to him that he probably looks insane to Velma right now, eyes closed and a constant sniffing.

Not like he should be feeling self conscious, he’s just trying to save their lives.

He almost jumps in his seat at the flash of purple appearing just in the corner of his vision. Not wasting another moment gripping onto the color and following it, trying to place what it is.

“Funnel cake.”

He hears Velma gasp, “So we’re still near the park?”

Shag lingers on the shade for a moment longer before nodding, “Yeah, no doubt about it, this is the same stuff from our park.”

Velma nods and bites her lip in thought, recalling that they only had one funnel cake stand in the whole of the park. “D-Do you think you can place how far from the stand we are?”

Shaggy sighs and rubs the back of his neck, “Like, I’ll try Velms...”

Slowly, Shag begins to climb the violet hue, trying his best to avoid getting lost in all the rivaling smells.

It wasn’t helping that the purple was just making him think of Daph and then his mind would start to drift, only being pulled back in by his desire to see the real deal in front of him again.

He’s not quite sure how long he’s been ascending the lavender rope for but it’s definitely been a slow going process because his inhales are shorter and require more effort.

Oddly enough, when he reaches the surface of what he’s assuming is the earth, Shag is completely winded.

And it takes no time for him to be absolutely drowned in a barrage of new colors, all of them trying to get him to look away from the purple. But he keeps his grip firm and tight, noticing that it’s definitely getting brighter and more intense in hue - he has to be close.

Suddenly, all the other colors vanish - being completely drowned in the ferocity of the violet. All Shag can comprehend is purple and he can practically feel Daphne staring into his soul, but this isn’t Daph - this is funnel cake. And it’s right on top of them.

He lets out a gasp and his eyes shoot open, Velma goes from bored and relaxed to alert in a second, “Did you find out where we are?”

Shag nods, still trying to catch his breath, “We-....We’re.....un- underneath.”

Velms raises an eyebrow, “Underneath....the funnel cake stand?”

He nods again, closing his eyes and groaning as he’s overwhelmed by the colors again.

“You mean....directly underneath?”

“L-Like we might be five or six feet below the surface, but we’re definitely underneath the stand.”

Velma is quiet for a second, crossing her arms as she processes the new information, “So....somebody knocks me out, runs you down, somehow takes down the entire stand, and then buries an entire car six feet under, and nobody noticed?”

Shag rubs the back of his neck in thought, “Like, wasn’t there a lot of construction going on? Because the park’s not up to code or something like that? I can’t remember what the lawyer chick said.”

Velms sighed, “Yeaahhh I kinda blacked out whenever she talked, remind me never to go to law school.”

“Noted.”

“Anyway, while you were going on a sniffing adventure, I managed to find the damn key to this stupid GPS. Now I just need to figure out the location of the stand in relationship to the Mystery Machine.” Velma is in super-detective concentration mode right now, meaning she’ll ask a lot of questions out loud but they’re all rhetorical and Shag should not attempt to answer any of them.

That’s Fred’s job, not his.

As he watches the one-woman show play out before him, a question from earlier pops back to the center of his brain.

“Uh... Velms?” She sends him an annoyed look but she stops mumbling to listen, “Again, if Fred and Daph can even get the message and know it’s from us and go to the tent, how are they supposed to know we’re buried under the crust of the earth?”

Velma’s eyebrows furrow and she nods, “Yes, that is an issue...”

She’s silent for several minutes before she snaps her fingers, “Of course!”

Without wasting a second, Velma leans forward and pops open the glove compartment again. Shag can hear her fishing around in there for a few moments before returning back in front of him, holding what looks like a black cord. 

His eyes widen when he realizes what it is.

“Like...is that...”

“Yes it is. A USB hookup. And if I’m right....” Velma reaches over and grabs Shag’s phone from his hand, ignoring his protests, and lines up the plug-in with the phone’s charging port.

“Hah!” She laughs loudly, making Shaggy jump.

“This hookup is compatible with your dumb Android.”

“Okay, like not all of us wanna use a thousand pesos of our parent’s money to buy a phone that’ll break in two months.”

Velma rolls her eyes, “Shag... now is not the time for smartphone feuds. We have our lives on the line.”

“Wh-? You started i-”

“Ah ba ba! More pressing matters... how fast can you type on this keyboard?” Shag’s sighs and leans back against the door, all this action is helping him forget the fact that his leg is starting to look like a zombie’s leg.

“Uuuhhh..... thumbs like lightening. Why?”

“Becaaauuse...” Velma starts as she begins to plug the other end of the cord to the GPS, “I’m gonna need those lightning thumbs to type out some sort of message while I put in our location.”

Shag raised an eyebrow at her, “A GPS is able to send and receive text messages?”

“Shaggy, Fred’s GPS is capable of semi-sentient speech.”

“....Fair enough.”

Without a moment to lose, Velma begins to map out their location in her head, knowing she’ll only have a couple seconds to lock onto the Mystery Machine and then plot out the point toward the funnel cake stand. Meanwhile, Shaggy will have the same amount of time to type out some sort of clue to hint at where they were in the stand.

After maybe ten minutes of psyching up and hoping their thumbs would respond fast enough, Velma slowly inserts the small, plastic key into the keyhole.

Shags hand are shaking but poised to type like the wind.

Carefully, she turns the key until she hears a beep and the screen lights up, giving them a low battery symbol before giving them a map of their location. 

The pressure kicks in as the beeping continues and Velma is suddenly looking for and sort of signal coming from the van, Shag jumps when a keyboard pops up on his screen.

He freezes up for a moment, completely forgetting what he was gonna type, the beeping sending blow after blow at his thought process. 

It takes one particularly deep breath for him to remember his word of choice and to begin typing it.

And then, his screen is black.

Never giving him the chance to finish the word.

“Di-Did you get it?” He asks as he looks up at Velma, she’s panting heavily and gripping either side of the GPS. Her knuckles are white.

“I-....I’m pretty sure I got it, i-it was sent out to the nearest signal I could latch onto. I’m really hoping it was the Mystery Machine.” She says that with a breathless chuckle as she leans back in the driver’s seat, “What about you?”

He gulps and licks his dry lips, “I at least got half of the word....”

Velma chuckles again, this one extremely dry, “What was your word?”

Shag leans against the door again, trying to avoid thinking about how he might have ruined their last chance of survival, “Underneath.”

-

Hour Five:

Shag jolted awake.

He had been fading in and out for the past half an hour at least with each little “power nap” lasting around five minutes.

The last time he had shaken himself awake with a sneeze.

He wasn’t sure that was gonna help any with the oxygen deprivation but at this point Shaggy didn’t even care how much time they had left.

It was narrowed down to either they would be found by the rest of the gang.....

Or they wouldn’t.

Shag pretended that whole unconscious thing was just awful and he was trying his best to avoid it, ignoring all the different stories he’d experience with Daphne when his eyes were shut.

Damn it.

He should’ve stormed up and kissed the living daylights out of her ages ago.

If only the extenuating factor that Daphne may not need - better word - want to be kissed by Shaggy Rogers didn’t take him over.

He certainly understood that.

She could be dating superheros and models and gajillionaires, people born with symmetrical faces and everything.

In his opinion, he wasn’t nearly perfect enough to kiss her, but didn’t change the fact that he wanted to. He so desperately wanted to; lost count of all the times he had been lost in thought and just thinking how easy it would for him to casually blurt out, “Hey I love you. Yes you. In the purple.”

But as easy as it was to say, it was chained down - never to escape his mouth.

Because those damn eyes just terrified him so much when the moment was important to him.

Maybe she’s relieved that he doesn’t love her.

Maybe she really needs him as her friend and nothing else.

He really didn’t want to mess that up.

Groaning, he put those thoughts on the back burner and rubbed his tired eyes that were fighting off the temptations of sleep, and failing. Shag wasn’t sure when but eventually if he let himself fall asleep, he won’t be waking up.

It was at this point he noticed a faint beeping coming from somewhere next to him.

For a split second Shaggy wondered if he had already been rescued and was just hooked up to an IV, safe in a hospital above the ground.

But then, he opened his eyes and indeed confirmed that he was still in the God forsaken car.

The lights had clicked off awhile ago and refused to turn off, making it even harder to resist sleep.

Him and Velma had tried talking back and forth with each other to keep the brain stimulated or whatever. But they soon found it hard to talk and breathe at the same time, so they dropped that.

Luckily, that beeping had yet to stop and was doing a bang-up job of keeping him awake, and annoying the hell out of him.

He heard a shuffle and Velma’s exasperated groan as she sat up and said, “Okay what the hell is that?”

Shag winced as he leaned forward, his leg was completely numb at this point and he was glad the lights were off because otherwise he’d be too afraid to look at it. His eye trained toward where the beeping was coming from, spots of purple blinking in and out around his vision as his eye failed to adjust to the darkness. Gasping as he saw what he believed to be the GPS blinking red in time with the beeps.

A timer set for fifteen minutes in black text stood out over the red screen.

After a couple of seconds Shaggy realized it was counting down.

Down to what, he didn’t know.

Didn’t wanna know.

But for some reason he was still alive to know.

“Like... it’s just one thing after the other isn’t it?”

He said that with a bitter chuckle, leaning back against the door and groaning as he attempted to shift his leg, it hadn’t moved at all.

Velma clears her throat and for the first time in an hour, he saw her face. Well, the silhouette of her face against the blinking, red light. As she’s examining the GPS, her brow furrows and Shag can’t really tell whether she’s confused or troubled. The last thing he needed was for that look to be troubled, his life was already in jeopardy, wasn’t that good enough?

After a few minutes, Velma sighs and leans back into the seat, “This damn thing is connected to basically everything in the car, there’s no way for me to know what this thing is whining about...”

And thus, she begins to think out loud.

Shaggy leans forward some more, with the hopes of preventing sleep - however tempting it may be. Luckily, the consistent beeping in proving rather helpful in that regard.

It was grating to say the least, each beep acting as some sort of needle stabbing into his brain until all he felt was a light stinging. Putting his head in his hands, Shags groans out, “Aaagh why couldn’t this psycho just send us flying off a cliff? Or suffocate us with the damn airbags? But noooo, all our criminals gotta be “quirky” and add sort of fun twist to the horror. God I hate serial killers...”

Velma chuckles and Shaggy brings his gaze up to her, “What? Airbag suffocation is a clever one.” He raises an eyebrow at her before she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, “Whatever, I though it was funny...”

Suddenly, her face lights up, “Airbags!”

Shag sighs and leans back, “Yup, that’s what I said...”

Velma scoffs, “No you dweeb, that’s probably what the damn GPS is counting down to. Once it reaches zero I’ll bet you anything that it’ll activate the explosives in the airbags and blow up the car.”

Shag stares at her, after a beat of silence he says, “I’ll get in on that action, If it blows up and we like, die, then I owe you $50. But if we just suffocate to death due to a lack of oxygen than you owe me $50.”

“Hardy har smartass. The explosives won’t be enough to kill us.... But... they will probably blow a hole in the car, resulting several tons of dirt flooding in and drowning us. That might be a problem.” She leans back into her chair and sighs, Shaggy simply smiles and says, “Hey, so I’ll win the bet either way! Sweet!”

Another beat of silence.

Velma ends it, “Do-... Do you think Fred and Daph have started looking for us yet?” 

She begins to twiddle her thumbs.

“I have no doubt in my mind...” He takes a deep breath, it comes out more like a wheeze, “But, like, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve only got like...”

He leans forward to look at the timer.

“Nine minutes and thirty-four seconds until the white light comes to pick us up.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re gonna die a virgin...” Velma smirks back at him.

He rolls his eyes and smiles, “Yeah poor me, at least I can die admitting I fell in love. I don’t see your phone wallpaper of a certain trapping enthusiast.”

Shaggy wishes the lighting were better in here because he can tell she’s blushing.

“We-Well I.... I would have....i-if that damn clown hadn’t stolen my phone...”

Velma looks down at her lap as she states this and Shag can’t help but grin, “Well... It’s no declaration of love, but it’s close enough.”

She looks up to glare at him.

She opens her mouth to say something but is stopped short by the unbearable *screeeeech* coming from directly above them.

Shag and Velma’s eyes shoot upward towards the sound, then looking back down at one another - eye widened in shock.

“That-” Shag licks his lips, not brave enough to admit that was what he thinks it was.

Velma on the other hand is plenty brave and finishes, “Was something scraping the roof of the car?”

Shaggy’s heartbeat has sped up to far beyond what is healthy, leaving a drumming in his head to meet the constant stabs of the shrill beeping. He feels like he’s about to throw up, or faint, or both at the same time, it’s almost as if he can every little thing and yet can’t make out what any of it is.

Another long, scrape sends his pulse up even more.

Velma only needs to register the noise for a second before she starts banging on the roof, “We’re in here!!!” Shaggy is almost impressed at how fast she was able to act because all he can do listen to the drumming in his head and stare as his shaking hands.

Velma jumps back when then hear a knocking from above, instantly she bangs up again, “Freddie?! Daphne?! This better be you two!!!”

He can hear her voice tremble as she keeps shouting out.

Whoever is over them is shouting back, but their voice is muffled and neither of them can make out a single word. They both stare at each other for a minute and Shaggy can see that she’s crying, something he rarely ever gets to witness. And then he sees her gaze flicker over toward the GPS and his skin goes cold, it only takes a second for him to swallow up all the needles in his throat before he gets on his knees.

Slowly and with a lot of trying not to cry.

Biting his lip he looks over at Velma who has taken off her glasses to better let the tears flow.

With determination, Shaggy pounds his fist as hard as he can against the cushioned roof of this God forsaken car, “Fred, Daphne!!! There’s a bomb down here!! Like you’ve gotta get outta here!!!”

A sob catches in his throat and nearly chokes him, but he forces it back down.

He can hear Velma pounding away as well, but he can’t even really hear what she’s saying.

But he can feel his knuckle getting bruised and the air being all but gone from the car, and his leg is just introducing him to a whole new world of hurt. 

One that he certainly was not a fan of.

After several second of nonstop pounding, they both stopped, trying to contain their deep breaths. It was complete silence up top, no pounds back and no screeches to be heard, just the eerie beeping.

They were alone again.

Collapsing back against the door, Shag reminded himself that deep breaths were a luxury he could not afford right now.

Daphne was safe.

And that was all he needed to know.

Ever since the day he couldn’t look her in the eyes without being frozen in place, the attention toward Daphne’s safety tripled. Even now, while trapped in a car with no air left to breath and a bomb about to go off, all he could care about is the fact that she wouldn’t be caught up in it.

That she wasn’t the one stuck in the car for who knows how long.

The beeping seemed to get louder as everything else around his senses began to fade.

‘You can make it.’

‘She’s right there.’

‘You just have to survive a bomb blast and then you can fumble out the confession you’ve been waiting for.’

‘And then they’ll amputate your leg.’

He smiled as he continued to fight the battle of keeping his eyes open, seeing that Velma was putting up the same fight.

 “H-” His throat was in agony from the sudden barrage of screaming it had to go through just minutes ago.

“How long-”

“Two minutes and fifty-something seconds...”

Well damn she still had her voice.

Normally, Shag’s voice never gave out like this; but after dealing with oxygen deprivation and holding back tears for several hours - it was safe to say he was down for the count.

He simply nodded in response and tried to sit up straighter, hoping that would scare the sleep away.

Two minutes becomes an eternity when you’re just waiting for it to pass.

And then, poof!

Or, maybe a better word would be “boom!”

At the last second, Shag’s eye had popped open and he realized that Velma was sitting right in front of the airbags.

“Vel-” He coughed, groaning as the coughing didn’t stop; leaning forward, he grabbed her arm and tugged toward the backseat. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment, but then her whole face contorted in shock, “Aw shit!” jumping out of the driver’s seat and into the back.

She crashed right on top of his problem leg, but he didn’t even have the strength the talk - much less scream.

“Tuck your head in so you don’t get any shrapnel lodged into your eyes.”

He sighed and leaned forward to put his head between his knees, and not even a second had passed when the whole front of the car went “BOOM!”

Something something hotter than Hell itself slammed against his cheek, and for a few moments he heard sizzling.

One of his favorite sounds was being used for evil.

But it quickly stopped and fell from his face.

Shag felt Velma grab onto his wrist and squeeze, as they listened to the car settle. His ears were ringing and he was coughing up smoke and dust, and the heat around them had become so drastically intense that he could already feel sweat dripping down his face.

He opened his eyes and found that the air was out to sting them.

Groaning at the sight of dirt spilling in from the shattered windshield.

He heard Velma let out a cough before puling on his wrist and moving toward the charred, front of the car.

“Velma what-” The coughing fit interrupted him once again.

Velma turned to look back at him, he saw a small shard of the windshield sticking out of her forehead, “We know that whoever is up there digging us out has reached the top of our car, so all we need to do is dig our asses out and then pass out on the roof.”

Shag looked down to see the the dirt was already burying her knees, if they were gonna do this then they needed to do it now.

-

He immediately regretted that decision as soon as his mouth got filled with hot dirt.

Swimming in earth wasn’t exactly a breeze like swimming around in water.

Now that was something Shag was confident in, he had gone scuba-diving so many times he had lost count. But fighting an upwards battle against relentless dirt that needed to occupy every open space was too much. Especially since there was next to know fight left in his body to begin with, just the promise of daylight to caress him and purple eyes to haunt him.

It was a system.

Push up with all the strength he had and then stop, think about food and Scooby and the criminal that did this to them being thrown into jail.

And Daphne, of course.

And even though he was running on empty, he’d push himself up again - squeezing on Velma’s hand to tell her he wasn’t dead yet. And then she’d squeeze back.

He almost made the stupid mistake of opening his mouth again when his free hand no longer felt dirt, but open air.

It only needed to hang out there for a few seconds before felt someone grip onto it, hard, and begin to pull. Shaggy held on tightly to both Velma and the Savior’s hand as, sure enough, he began rise even faster.

And then all at once, there was the sun again, hanging over their heads and welcoming them back into the land of the living.

Shaggy instantly took a deep breath of air as he fell down onto the roof of the car.

Spitting out every last bit of dirt so he could truly appreciate the air he was taking in.

He could hear Velma coughing up a storm behind her and he left out a relived laugh that she had also survived.

Falling down onto his back, he smiled up at the blue sky and felt hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

And then a shadow loomed over him, not even giving him a second to recognize who it was before the figured began to ravish his face with kisses.

Dog kisses.

“He- Hey Scoob! I’m- I’m okay bud, I’m right here!” He reaches up to scratch behind Scooby’s ears, then moving to cradle the dog’s face in his hands. Squishing up his jowls and smiling at how cute he was, “You’re the best pal a guy can ask for. Did you know that?”

Scooby tilts his head and whines.

Shaggy smiles and fights off the sob in his throat, reaching down to pull that forgotten Scooby Snack out of his pocket. 

The dog quickly begins panting and scoops the treat up from Shag’s hand, backing away as he swallows it whole.

He smiles again, before jumping at the feeling of somebody grabbing onto his now dog slobber covered hand.

His vision blurs for a second as he tries to focus on all that red, searching for those eyes he can lock onto.

They’re full of tears and kinda puffy, but they’re so happy to see him.

And he’s totally breathless once again.

But this lack of air is something he can deal with.

“I swear, nobody knows how to scare the living hell outta me like you do Shags.” She says it with a shaky laugh, but hearing her voice is enough to make him sob.

“I- I’ll choose to take that as a compliment.”

He gasps out before letting himself come undone.

Daphne giggles as she brings her left hand up to his neck, letting it rest on his cheek, he thumb barely grazing the nasty burn he just remembered he has.

It’s then that it all hits him.

He almost died.

Like if he were a few seconds too slow for anything, than he’d be dead.

And Daphne Blake is above him, squeezing the life out of his hand and stroking his cheek.

‘You need to tell her.’

‘Before she almost loses you again.’

Now that he has the chance to breathe as much as he wants, he finds that all he can do is hold his breath.

“Daphne.” He almost chokes out, lifting his right hand up to brush some hair away from her tear-stained cheeks.

“Shaggy.” She leans into his hand.

“I-”

‘Say it’

“I don’t think I can lose you again.” Daphne breathes out.

Before he can even think of anything to top that, she leans down and presses her lips to his. And through their actions alone, they both know.

They’re in love.

And the other finally can see it.

Her hands tangle up in his hair and he rests his hands on either side of her neck for support.

And they probably did that for several minutes but who’s keeping track of time?

It finally takes Freddie tugging on Daph’s shoulder to break them both apart.

“Daphne, the- uh... the paramedics are here...” He looks like he’s trying not to laugh as Daph slowly backs away, both of them out of breath and red and pretending they have no clue what just happened.

They hear Velma hoot from a short distance behind them.

-

As Shag and Velma are checked on the gurneys Fred and Daph give them all the details, details which they both already knew.

“And the dang GPS wouldn’t shut up! So then I figured that it was just malfunctioning or something.”

“Freddie, that thing is always malfunctioning.” Velma says as the medic checks her for a concussion.

“Yeah, like, weren’t we supposed to be visiting your uncle this week? Instead it brings us to a haunted amusement park of death!” Winces as they poke and prod his leg.

He hears Velma groan next to him, “Doc, when can I take th damn oxygen mask off?”

The paramedic clicks off his flashlight before saying, “When I say you can...” And then walking away.

Shag chuckles and then lets out a hiss as they try to move his leg.

Daphne bites her lip as she looks down at it, reaching for his hand and tangling their fingers together.

“Nasty right?” Shag jokes, looking up at her.

She gives him a glare that eventually turns somber.

“Just know that she’ll still love you, even with one leg.” Velma yells out, falling into a fit of giggles.

Daph’s face goes red and she rolls her eyes, “I don’t think she’s gonna stop doing that.”

He grins and gives her hand a squeeze.

Suddenly his eyes widen, “Oh! Oh- um do either of y’all remember the name of that lawyer chick?”

Velma jumps in, “Yeah, Shag and I were hashing it all out and we found out that she’d probably have the most to gain from this whole Ferdinand the Death Clown fiasco.”

Fred chuckles, “Ferdinand? I thought we agreed on Beebo?”

“Freddie that’s a dumb name and you’re dumb.” Shaggy says with a smile.

Everybody laughs for a few seconds, just trying to forget the past few hours and remember right now.

The five of them, still together.

“Wait...” Daphne says, “You two were buried alive for hours, and you both spent that time solving the mystery?”

Shag and Velma locks eyes, both bearing a confused look, “Well yeah...” Shag says as he melts into the pillows.

“What else were we supposed to do?” Velma says, eyebrows furrowed.

Daphne and Fred look at each other in astonishment.

Before Daphne snickers and lifts their joined hands up to her lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles.

“Hey, once a meddling kid, always a meddling kid.” Shag jokes as he ignores the pink, shimmer lip gloss on the back of his hand.

-

A/N:

This legit took me like a month in total to write because work and school and writer’s block are conspiring against me.

This is based off of my favorite episode of the crime drama Bones, the episode is call “The Aliens in the Spaceship” and it’s a masterpiece.

Before Shaggy and Daphne, there was Hodgins and Angela and they are both very similar dynamic wise. What can I say? I have a type.

I’ve have a crime show addiction since I was young and my parents let me watch CSI with them.

And shows like Bones and Castle hold a very special place in my heart.

So I really wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite episodes from a TV show ever.

#scooby doo #shaphne #Shaggy Rogers #daphne blake #shaphne fanfiction #seriously i LOVE hodgins and angela to death #I would die for some hodgela/shaphne #treatment in any scooby incarnation #who do i need to pay to get some shaphne drame

[fruit-teeth]

Phantom Connection

/(AAghgsiwdhwj this is another free-write I wrote and it is ALSO mpreg trash again!! Because of course, it is with me...anyway this one gets a little graphic though so I’m gonna slip it under a ‘read more’ to be safe. Anyway, hope you like!)/

Mission trips were always tedious. While they could be fun, what with getting to see new places and spending time away from the base, these trips were also very time-consuming and even dangerous from time to time. Yet it was one mission that would change the way the mercenaries looked at these responsibilities for a very long time.

Heavy, Demoman and Engineer were all returning from a long mission trip which had been stationed a few states over. They left early in the morning once all had been said and done, and now they were on their way back to the base.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary-- the three were chatting, sharing stories, and Engineer had even put in a music tape to play.

“This is one of my ma's favorite tapes,” he explained, turning up the volume. “I used to listen to it all the time as a kid, and I can even play a few of these on guitar,”

In the passenger seat, Demo listened, and he remarked, “Ah, not bad! Sounds like somethin' my mum would listen to too, but she doesn't listen to tapes much,”

“My mother does not own any music,” Heavy piped up from the backseat. “But maybe I will buy her tapes at Christmas,”

“Good idea!” Engineer agreed, supportive. His hands gripped the steering wheel as his eyes watched the road ahead.

It was then, however, that things began to change a bit. Engineer got very quiet all of the sudden, and whenever Demo or Heavy would say something he would only make grunts or 'hm' sounds in response. Both men in the car noticed immediately, and Demo was the first to take action.

“You all right there, lad?” Tavish wanted to know, concern present in his voice. “Ye need to make a stop?”

Engineer didn't respond for a long moment, trying to focus on the road while he forced down a wince. “What?” he asked after a few seconds of silence, blinking. “O-oh, uh...Nah, I think I'll be okay,”

“You do not look well,” Heavy leaned forward to get a better look at the Texan. “You are too pale, are you sick?”

“Really, fellas,” Engineer sucked in a breath, trying to crack a smile. “I'm okay, I--”

The car nearly swerved down a nearby hill, and when Dell managed to get safely back on the road Demo intervened.

“Lad, you ain't well,” Tavish observed, taking Dell's wrist. “Pull over and let me drive, all right?” Engineer hesitated, and then nodded, slowing the car down and stopping it. “Okay...that's probably a good idea,”

They switched places, with Engineer now in the passenger seat and with Demo driving. Heavy continued to watch Engie from the back, shifting forward to pat his shoulder. “We will be back at the base soon, and Doktor will look at you,”

Engineer blew out a breath, his hands kneading at the armrests. “Yeah...okay,” he gritted his teeth, doubling over a little.

“What is wrong?” Heavy asked finally, watching Engineer's pained expression. “What is hurting you?”

“It's...” Engineer's voice died in his throat, so he simply pointed to his abdomen.

Demo noticed this, and he grimaced, rounding a corner. “Ugh, probably appendicitis,” he glanced at the truck's clock, noting, “We'll be at the base in thirty minutes. Hang in there, lad,”

Dell's only response was a soft groan, his head falling back on the headrest and his eyes pressing shut. He knew it wasn't his appendix since he'd had his appendix removed years ago, and even if that was the case his pain felt more like menstrual cramps. In fact, that's what he thought it was: despite the fact that changes had been made to his hormones and chest years prior, his period still came and went although it had a tendency to be irregular. Unlike his usual cramps, though, these were unbearable, and they made him feel uncomfortably warm and itchy all over. He tugged at his collar, grunting while rocking back and forth in pain.

Demo looked over at him again, and then at the clock. “Lad, we're almost there. We can make a stop if ye want,”

“No, it's okay,” Engie tried to stay calm, but mentally he said 'screw it'. He didn't care if he wasn't alone, so he brought his hands to his abdomen and began massaging where he felt the pain. “Keep drivin', please,”

Demo nodded, focusing back on the road. “Okay, whatever ye say,”

This went on for several minutes, and despite the constant massages Dell just felt worse and worse. The cramps were becoming more intense, and there was less space in between each one. A particularly bad one flashed through his abdomen, and he yelped, gripping the armrests again. “Ah, Lord!” he exclaimed, sweat trickling down his forehead as he tried to even out his breathing.

Heavy reached out from the backseat to rub at Engineer's shoulder. “We will be back home soon,” he watched Engineer try to compose himself, noticing his posture and the sheer amount of sweat shining from his body. Something about this seemed very familiar to Misha, but he didn't know why...

“What does it feel like?” Demo asked, glancing at Engineer with a wince. “Can ye describe it?”

Engineer doubled over again, groaning out, “It's like...agh, it's like somethin' is tryin' to claw it's way out or ripping me apart-- oh!” he gasped, sitting up suddenly.

“What?” Heavy sat up again, watching in concern. His eyes went wide when he noticed a dark, damp stain in the denim of Dell's worn overalls, and the realization came crashing down.

“What the...?” Engineer panted, feeling the spot in confusion, before he let out a yell, gripping his stomach in agony. “Ah!”

Heavy wasn't quite sure how to process the situation at first-- he knew very well what was happening, as he'd witnessed his mother go through it years earlier, but in that case, she knew what she was doing and how to respond to it. Engineer clearly didn't know what was happening, or he did but he was too disoriented to deal with it properly. After a moment, Heavy gathered himself and looked at the clock.

They would be at the base in five minutes, but could Engineer hold on until then? He was hurting very badly, that was evident, but help was only five minutes away. For now, Heavy would have to coach him through it the best he could.

“Engineer,” Heavy got his attention, and he took the Texan's hand in his own and squeezed gently. “Breathe, yes? Try to relax, breathe deep, we will be there soon,”

Engineer nodded, but his brows pinched together with another cramp, and he hissed out in pain. “How soon!? I dunno how much longer I can handle this...”

At this point, Dell knew what was going on, and he could already feel some instinct deep inside himself telling him to push. He tried to ignore it to focus on breathing, but that urge to push was getting stronger and stronger.

Right as they finally pulled up to the base, Engineer could no longer stand it. With shaking hands, he undid his overall straps and shoved them down, trying to adjust himself the best he could.

“What are you doing!?” Demo exclaimed, his voice pitching a bit in shock.

Now that the truck was stopped, Heavy undid his seat belt and opened the door, shouting at Demo, “Get Doktor! Quickly!” before rounding the car to get to the passenger seat. Demo obeyed, leaping from the truck and sprinting to the base in a panic.

Heavy knelt down to get a better look at Engineer, keeping his hand on the smaller man's back. “Is okay,” Heavy comforted, trying to keep his voice quiet. “Body knows what to do, you will be all right,”

Engineer only nodded weakly with an 'uh-huh' before he kicked his overalls and boots off, another groan escaping his throat. This time, he obeyed with the strong urge he felt and pushed hard, his teeth gritting with the exertion. He cried out, and Heavy grabbed his hand to support him as he pushed a second time.

Medic came running out a moment later with a towel thrown over his shoulder as he quickly approached the car, calling, “Herr Engineer, I am coming! Do not worry!”

It was then, though, that Dell pushed a third time, and a loud gasp punched its way out of his throat. “Oh, my God!” his chest heaved, relief sweeping over him but a feeling of shock and panic setting in. He reached between his legs, his eyes wide in disbelief as he brought up a tiny, bluish baby for Medic to see.

Medic paused, assessing the situation mentally before diving in. “All right, all right,” he took the infant from the downright shocked Texan and wrapped it in the towel, rubbing it. “Here we are, now, let's breathe!”

Engineer laid against the seat, panting but already feeling much better. He watched the baby silently, fear forming in his chest. “Please breathe,” he murmured, barely audible, his heart racing.

The baby made a gurgling sound, before the little cry emerged from its throat, the small chest beginning to move naturally.

Medic still cleared the fluid from its airways anyway, cooing, “There we are! This is very unexpected, I had no idea you were coming! What a surprise,”

Engineer finally relaxed, smiling, a laugh making its way out of his throat. “Ha, yeah...you think you're surprised, imagine me!”

They all had a good laugh, and Medic bundled the baby up in the towel before handing her to Dell. “Here she is, I'll need to take a look at her once you're settled, all right?”

Engineer shifted his arms to hold the baby properly, peering into the towel to look at her. “Oh, my goodness,” he marveled, his voice softening as he touched the little cheek. He didn't even know what to say: she was gorgeous. She was small, but her skin was soft and while she didn't have much hair, the hair she did have twisted into sweet little curls on her head. She was perfect...and she'd taken Dell completely by surprise. All that pain he'd gone through felt so far away, now, and it had been replaced by a deep need to care for this little thing he'd just brought into the world.

Heavy patted his shoulder, smiling at him and the baby. “She is beautiful, Engineer,”

“Yeah,” was all Dell could reply with, his voice quiet. He leaned back, watching as Medic tied the cord off and stood up, removing his coat.

“Come, let's get you decent and inside,” Medic instructed, draping his coat over Engineer and taking his arm. He helped the smaller man up, leading him inside.

The other mercenaries had all gathered outside to watch from several feet away, although Scout was trying to get closer.

“Wait, what happened?” he took a step forward as if to run up to Engineer and Medic. “What does Engie have?”

Soldier held Scout back with a strong hand, but he also watched in interest. “It appears to be a sausage!” he confirmed after a moment. “A large one too! With legs!”

Scout wrinkled his nose. “Eww, what? No way!”

Pyro nudged Scout, getting his attention, and then pointed to Engineer before making the universal symbol of rocking a baby with their arms.

Scout's eyes got wide. “Holy shit, he had a kid!?”

“Gentlemen!” Spy's voice sounded oddly strained and more stressed than normal. “Leave him be-- the last thing he needs right is to be stared at by you Neanderthals!”

Everyone went silent, as it wasn't usual for Spy to scold others for being intrusive. Sniper spoke up a moment later, agreeing, “He's right. Come on, let's go back inside, and then we can visit with him later,”

Demo nodded. “Yeah, he was hurtin' pretty bad, he probably wants a break,”

With this, they trickled into the base one by one, until Spy was the only one left behind outside. Scout stopped in the doorway, turning around to look.

“Yo, Spy,” he called out. “You coming in?”

“Mm-hm,” Spy replied quietly, appearing to be lost in thought. He put out his cigarette before heading inside with the others.

Inside, Engineer got settled on a cot while Medic examined the baby. Dell watched, and he asked, “Is she okay, doc?”

“She's a little premature,” Medic replied, making sure she was warm in the towel. “You will need to feed her regularly and keep her warm since she needs to gain as much weight as possible,”

“I can do that,” Engineer sat up when Medic approached, and he held his arms out. “Lemme see my girlie,” a grin spread across his face when she was placed in his arms, and he kissed her forehead sweetly. “There's my angel! You feelin' better now, sweetheart?”

The baby yawned, squeaking a little as her hands curled into tiny fists. Dell relaxed back onto the pillow, sighing. “God, she's so beautiful...”

“What will you name her?” Medic wanted to know, removing his gloves and setting them beside the sink.

“I dunno,” Engineer admitted, stroking his baby's cheek. “I'll think of a name...I gotta get to know her first, you know?”

Medic nodded, understanding. “Of course! I understand completely,” he hung his coat up, heading for the door. “I will leave you two alone, then. Call if you need anything!”

“Yep!” Engineer smiled, and when the door closed he turned his attention back to his little girl, his hand brushing the wisps of hair on her head. “You got so much hair. I wonder if you'll have my ma's hair-- oh, gosh, she's gonna be so happy to hear about you! I'll have to call her, and she can visit so you can meet your granny! That'll be nice,”

The baby's eyes opened, blinking up at Dell, before they fell closed again. Dell felt tears prick at his eyes, and he held his daughter close, his chin coming to gently rest on her head. “I can't believe it...it's like I got a Christmas present in summer,” he rubbed her back, and she made a soft noise at him.

Engineer hardly noticed the door opening once more, but he did notice the smell of cigarette smoke faintly wafting near him, and he realized he wasn't alone.

He opened his eyes, sighing, “I know you're there, Spy...you don't gotta hide,”

Spy uncloaked, sitting on the edge of the cot. His eyes were fixed on the baby, and he said nothing for a long moment. Finally, he cleared his throat.

“Were you...going to tell me at some point?”

Engineer shook his head. “No. I didn't know, I couldn't have told you anyway,”

“I see,” Spy folded his hands over his lap, looking away. After a moment, he looked back. “And you'll be keeping the little one?”

“Of course,” Engineer's arms tightened around his daughter, feeling her shift in his arms. “I'd be a damn fool to give her to that shithole orphanage,”

Spy nodded understandingly. “Mm, yes, of course,” he sighed, focusing on the baby again. “Well...would you like me to be in her life? Because--”

“I do!” Engineer exclaimed, sitting up taller. “Look, I know what happened was a one-time thing, but she needs both her parents,” he looked back down at the baby, and then up at Spy again. “Even if we aren't together,”

Spy fell silent again before his eyes glanced at the floor. “They'll all know then, you know,”

“Is...that okay?” Engineer tilted his head, watching Spy’s face.

A pause. Spy nodded, and he shifted closer. “Perhaps it won't be so bad...she is beautiful,” he reached out, gently brushing the baby's little cheek. She squeaked, and Spy couldn't help but smile. “Salut, mon chéri. Comment allez vous?”

Engineer held his arms out so Spy could get a better look, and he moved closer. “You're gonna spoil her rotten,” he grinned when the infant shifted to look at up at Spy, but then his smile faded. “Oh, God...what about Scout? This is his--”

“Worry about that later, please,” Spy cleared his throat, making it clear he didn't want to bring his son into this just yet. “We have a daughter, let's celebrate her,” he pressed a little kiss to her forehead, humming softly. “Ma petite fleur. Sais-tu comme tu es belle?”

Engineer swallowed, but he felt himself smiling again as he tried to settle into the pillows once more. This wasn't what he imagined a moment like this being like, but he was grateful Spy wasn't going to disappear again.

#writing #my writing #hhhhhhh this is cute #im happy with it i guess??? #if yall like this and want me to continue it i can #just let me know #mpreg #dysphoria tw #tagging just in case #tf2 #tf2 spy #tf2 engineer #tf2 napoleon complex #will i always be trash #the answer is yes #childbirth tw #pregnancy

[birth-fic-lover]

True love’s child comes when you least expect it.

Essie

When I was 14 I was doing my family tree for a school project, that was when I realised that no one in my family had parents who stayed together. That was the moment I knew I wanted to be the first, I decided that I would only have a baby, if it would be with my true love. But how could I tell?

Well it first I tried just not sleeping with anyone, but one night when I was 19 after realizing telling guys I wouldn't put out acturly turned them away. I realized I needed help, so like in a Disney movie I wished on a star. Silly I know but I wasn't religious so it was all I got.

"I wish that I could only get pregnant with my true loves child" I wished.

"Are you sure? True loves child is meant to come went it is least expected" a soft voice high pitched voice explains.

"Yes. Are you my fairy godmother?" I asked amazed.

The women who sat on my bed was stunning and had a huge pregnant belly her, laugh sounded like a tiny bell. "No" she said after a giggle "I always enjoy when people think I'm that".

She then explains she can indeed make it that I can only get pregnant with my true loves child. But that I may regret it if I can't find them and end up childless, but I want it so bad I'm willing to take the risk.

She held my hands and whispered some words to make it so.

I'm now almost 40, I tried for years to find him. The only thing I found was that I am also into girls as well as guys, but women can't knock me up so I don't date them. I even tried IVF but it seems that I shot myself in the foot cause even that doesn't work. I feel like I have cursed myself as I can only get pregnant with a child of my true loves.

Harmony

I was hoping too meet up with some friends tonight, but I don't think they are going to turn up. It's a shame I dressed up and everything, my daughter is at a sleepover so it is one of my few night off and I wanted to make the most of it. I'm about to leave the bar when my handbag knocks over a ladies drink over her lap.

I pick up the glass and start grabbing napkins, "I am so sorry" I applogise.

"It's fine" she says also grabbing napkins, "it was an accident".

"I hope I haven't ruinned your night, is your dress okay?" I ask mopping up the mess.

"I was leaving anyway, it was a silly idea coming here".

I feel terible ruining her night, I end up giving her my jacket and buying her a drink and then another and then I offer to buy her dinner.

I find out that her name is Essie and she was bi, but only dated men so she could one day have a child. But now she's given up and was hoping to meet a women in that bar.

3 hours later we are leaving the restaurant as it's about to close for the night, "I still can't believe you ended up giving birth on stage" Essie exclaims as we walk to the underground station.

But then she tells me about the wish she made when she was 19, "do you think I'm crazy and I've made it up?" She says as we stop outside the station.

I look her in the eyes "no, I believe you. I hope you find true love, and have your child. If I could I'd try and see if I was yours".

She blushes "I was looking for a women tonight, I have given up just looking for a man because they can give me a family. I except that I like women too, maybe it just wasn't meant to be. You used a donor and you seem like you're a kick ass mama, I wish I could do the same. But I am into women and you especially".

"Are you sure your not just drunk and tomorow you'll find me hideous" I joke but to my surprise she kisses me, and it's not a drunk sloppy kiss. I go to kiss her again tentatively at first, but quickly turning desperate as I realized just how much we both needed each other. It's crazy we met hours ago but there's just a magnetic pull, now I've had a taste I couldn't give her up.

"You could always come back to mine for a bit?" She suggests trying to sound casual but I can tell her heart is racing as fast as mine.

I leep at the optunity to spend the night with this georgous women, when we get back everything seems too feel so right and natural. She's never been with a women yet she seems to be ready.

The next morning I rolled over for a snuggle and felt that Essie wasn't there. I opened my eyes properly squinting against the daylight, the early morning sun shone through the curtains. Had she woke and ran off, wait no this was her flat. Where was she? I could her her moving around the flat so I got up and looked for her.

Then I herd her voice "ooooooohhh please make it stop". I pushed her bathroom door open and found her kneeling on the tiled floor next to the toilet, hands wrapped around her belly. Had she drank too much last night or got food poisoning? "No Harmony I don't want you too see me like this" she sobbed.

"You can't help being ill" I said leaving the doorway coming closer too her. But then I see under her dressing gown, she has nothing on and her belly has grown. It looks pregnant! I couldn't see proberly from the doorway that her arms and her hunched up body, were covering a orb like belly.

"I don't understand what's happened but it hurts" she says tears runninh down her face.

I want to hold her tight, I am as confused as she is. "Do you think you'll be sick again?" I ask, she shakes her head. "Then lets get you back to bed".

Together slowly we get her back into the bedroom and back into my arms. She is now curled up in fetal position with her arms wrapped around her midsection, and my arms wrapped around her. We both then froze as we felt moment from within her stomach.

“The pain is getting worse" she whispered unfrezing us, I could tell she was scared. We both knew what it looked like but neither of us could explain it. She reached for my hand and squeezed it, I couldn't tell if it was for confort or because of the pain.

“We should call an ambulance” I said making a decision. I had just found her and I didn't want to loose her, I wanted Essie to be part of my daughters life as well as mine. “You need to see a doctor or a specialist or somthing, whatever is going on you need help.”

"How will I explian it? How can I be sure what it is? They will think I'm crazy or I'm one of those fools from "I didn't know I was pregnant".

With her saying the word pregnant I felt we could talk more freely. "We would explian it togther you're not on your own. Lets rule some stuff out then before we call, I don't think you're constipated.”

“Maybe it's like a tumor, but how could it grow so fast? Maybe it's my appendix? Maybe it's oh I don't know how can I even be pregnant let alone this pregnant?”

"Maybe you found your love 9 months ago and part of the wish was you couldn't look pregnant till it's time" I suggested but the idea made me want to sob.

"No I love you" she said turning to face me. "That's it, I love you. Do you love me?"

It takes me a few seconds but I know the answer, "yes, oh my goodness the baby is ours".

"I found you" she exclaims "your my true love, this wasn't a curse it was a gift. Because of my wish I could have your baby."

"You are having my baby" I sit up feeling dizzy, I found my true love! I'm gonna be a mum again, my little girl is going to have a little brother or sister. "I better see if my daughter can stay at her friends for another night". I make the arrangements and explain there's a family emergancy.

"I'm your family" Essie says with a smile before letting out a long moan. "I don't feel like pushing yet, I think we gave time" she says after the contraction.

I placed my hand on her bump and started rubbing it gently in large circular motions. We both feel the feel of a small stir of tiny limbs stretching, seeking contact reaching for freedom from the cramped space that is my lovers womb. 

“Should we go to the hospital?” I ask

“What do you want? I want is to do this together" she says sitting up next to me.

“No doctors, I don’t want anyone to know about this yet” part of me won't believe this is real till the baby it here. What if it's an alien or somthing else, I want to protect Essie. "Do you think you can give birth without drugs?"

"If you can do it on stage without drugs so can I, but in private" she says rubbing her belly. "I'm feeling a lot of pressure down there I don't think it will be long".

"Your waters haven't broken yet have they?" I ask trying to remember if the bathroom floor was wet when I found her.

"I don't think soooooohhhh." She closed her eyes trying to breath through it as a contraction rippled through her bump.

"That's it try and breath though it" I said trying to be comforting. I felt so helpless as she was becoming more and more uncomfortable. 

I kept timing her contractions as we lined the bed with towels and she laboured in diffrent places around the flat. I googled home birth wanting to make sure her and the baby would be safe.

Each time she contracted she would reach for me and wherever I was I would rush to wrap my arms around her and comfort her and we would breath though it togther "Agh agh aghh" she moaned into my shoulder. "Hee Hee hoo" she then panted.

But this time during her contraction there was a trickle between her legs, she gasped in suprise as we both realised her waters had broke.

"Should I check you?" I asked feeling like her labour had progressed.

"Do you know how to check for dilation?" Essie asked.

"I was checking myself backstage when I gave birth" I said remembering the panic I endured.

"Go ahead" Essie said lying down and widening her legs. Just as I put a couple of fingers in her she tences and I pull them out scared I've hurt her. "Hoooooo contraction." Cece moaned in explanation, lifting her bottom off the bed and scrunching her hands and toes. "AHHH ahhh ohhhhh Ohhhhh Harmony it hurts! It hurts" she almost screams. I want to take the pain away, I have tears in my eyes.

"Please just hold me" Essie begs me lowering her torso once it's over.

I sit behind her and wrap my legs around hers, we grab each other hands and squeeze them tight. Her head rests on my shoulder, I kiss her check. She turns her head and kisses me I the lips, "I'm so glad your here".

We keep panting together and I keep checking her, Essie is doing amazing. When she's ready to push we get off the bed, and she goes into a squat. She holds me tight and I hold her close.

She starts to push taking breaks when we can, "I love you so much" I tell her. We have only know each other a day, but this baby proves Essie is my true love.

"Hooooooo hoooo I know, hooooo hooooo our baby is coming down. Hoooo hoooo I can feel it moving, uuuuuugggggggg heeeeeeeee" Essie reported. "Agh agh agh agh! Is that the head, it's coming out of me."

"It is the head, your about to give birth. You're bulging, but I can see the head" I tell her.

"OHHH Ohhhh!!" Essie moaned. "Harmonyyyyyyy"

"I'm here you amazing women" I said helping her take her dressing gown off. "Blow in and out, in and out" I recommended.

"Hee hee hee hee" Essie tried, and grabbed my hand again.

"Okay give me a big strong push" I told her.

"OHHHHHHH!" Essie moaned as her contraction ended, our baby was bulging slightly more. "I can't do this anymore" she sobbed and got out of the sqwat and closed her legs.

"No no, legs open. I believe in you, breath through the pain. Your legs need to be wider so the baby can fit. Just breath with me" I beg wishing I could take her pain.

"NNNGGGG!" Essie pushed. 

"I'm so proud of you" I told her.

Essie's vaginal lips parted as more of the head emerged into the world, I knew how painful childbirth was.

"Our baby's head is coming, I see a tear drop shape" I told her sitting now between Essie's legs.

"UGGGGGGHHHH!" She groaned and moaned as she pushed.

"You're doing amazing beautiful mama, remember how long you've wanted this" I remind her.

"AGHHH AGHHH! I KNOW BUT IT HURTS IT HURTS SO MUCH" she screams bearing down.

"Deep breath in and push as hard as you can" and she does a huge push. "That's it you've crowned fully" I can she how much she is streched with the entire top of the head between her legs. "I love you my beautiful women, you are so strong".

"I want to get in the bath" Essie begged between contractions. I knew it was too late and the bath wouldn't fill in time but I would try, I ran too her bathroom and turned on both taps fully. It took a while with a few stops to push but we got to the bathroom floor, I don't know how she moved this far into labour.

She gripped the side of the bath and went back into a sqwat, the head was juting out of her.

"Keep pushing" I told her as I rubbed her back, "the head is halfway out" I promised.

"AGHH AGHH AGHHNNNNNNNGGGG NNNGGGGGG" I could see she was pushing with everything she had.

"Keep going! You're doing amazing you have to keep going!" I said holding the head ready for when the baby was born.

"AARRRRRRGGGGGGG HOOOOOOOOOO PPPPLEASE PLEASE GET IT OUT" Essie pleaded.

"It's coming baby" I say trying to reasure her "It's sliding out slowly, do what you need to do".

"AGHHHHH" Essie pushed and screamed as the head popped out after another contraction.

"The heads out" I tell her "just push out the shoulders just a couple more pushes".

"NAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGG" she moaned and the babys shoulders both came out at once. The baby fell into my hands, I helped Essie sit down so she could hold the baby.

We sat in silence for a second listening to the baby's cry before I kissed Essie. She rocked the baby and offer him her breast, "thank you" she said softly.

I worried for a second that now she had her child would she still want me, I did already have a kid. Would that be too much baggage?

"I have a slight concern, will this happen everytime we are intimate? Because I don't think I will be able to spend the rest of my life not able to touch you like that.

I know then that I may have many childen born of true love, but I don't mind at all.

[drunkjaked]

i know i already sent two asks in today (so sorry) but i just wanted to share some good things that's happened to me recently if thats okay ??? if its not please do ignore i just wanted to share with you !!! ( ^^ ) so .. i got more into these two groups recently & they have been bringing me so much happiness & calmness in hard times 💭 on another note T__T its been so-so but i feel happy bcs i get to be free of stress soon!!!!!! i also have been (trying ><) to come in terms with myself and that kinda gives me relief <3 just its been good for the past week nd im hoping it stays good for a long while ~3~ my anxiety is still at peak sometimes but its better than before so it's such an achievement for me ). . ( i just felt to share that with you! u're so homely so i feel safe talking to you???? im sorry its so cringe to say that and i don't mean to make you uncomfortable ☹️ you always manage to make me feel important hhh o_< sorry for dumping that on u but thank you for everything! anyways since i wont be able to send a relatively ... gross ... ask (also please pick between 1-4 so i can decide what ask to send first bcs yes 🤍 i do pre-write before i send the asks to u :( just want the best impression!) until friday ??? please do take care (im sorry i always say this) and make sure to drink plenty of water <33 (i dont know if this will work but when im on my period i drink so so much water and it stops my cramps and sometimes even shortens my period) ++ eat your three meals & rest well 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂 im writing this at night so im going to bed soon but whenever you see this i hope you're doing fine <333333 sweet dreams sax !!!!!! U__U

from: 🐰 <3

p.s ... im sorry for all the () action i just have so much to say but so little brain energy TT also feel like i overshared im sorry if i made or make you uncomfortable please do tell me if i do so i know what better way to say things thank you for listening to me! goodnight really this time 💟

don't apologise u can send me as many asks as u want i love chatting w u, i promise! that's fun to hear, do u mind sharing what groups they are so i could check them out too?

i've been so worried about u since ur last ask so i feel so relieved to hear that you've been feeling better lately, thank u sm 🐰 for the update!! it definitely is an achievement so i hope u do something to celebrate it - it doesn't have to be anything big.. even if u treat urself to a good read or show or smth else u enjoy, just make sure to acknowledge all of these things even if they may seem small in the grand scheme of things <33 im rooting for u always

you feel safe talking to me??? ohhhhh my days that is so so so so kind of you to say and im so glad to hear it because i want that for everyone who interacts w me, i really want this blog to feel like a safe place and for me to feel like a friend so i will work harder in the future to maintain that for u and everyone else <33 agh ur so sweet and i only make u feel important bc u are important!! im always gonna be here for u and u can tell me anything u feel comfortable sharing! i have a twt acc and a discord if u would ever wanna chat w me outside of asks, but only if u feel comfortable doing so! im more than happy to chat w u in asks but just incase u ever want smth more private <3

hmm i pick number 3 bc today the 30th day of the 3rd month! it's so fun that u write ur asks in advance but it makes sense now that u say it, u always write so well and clearly that i can tell u put a lot of time into it ! take ur time sending those there is absolutely no rush on that!!!

im really bad w drinking water but i'll take this advice!! it's my last day today so hopefully it should be alright, i don't normally get such bad cramps idk what was going on this month 😭

sweet dreams right back to u 🐰!! i actually just woke up about an hour ago but i slept very well <3 im sending u all the love in the world and i really hope to chat w u soon!!!!

and dw abt that i love reading ur thoughts in the brackets i tend to thAt a lot so it’s nice seeing ur brain kinda working as u type 😭 and remember u can always tell me anything

from: sax (always ur buddy) 💌🫀

#🐰 anon #saxophonist 💌🫀

[justauthoring]

It Wasn’t Real (part one)

Summary: You’re part of the infamous Loser’s Club, and often asked, what are you afraid of? You reply, nothing, but what your friends don’t know is that your biggest fear is them.

prologue - one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight - nine - ten - eleven - finale

A/N: So literally i was overwhelmed by the amount of love and support I got for this story. Once again THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I’m actually so excited to start this series and I have so many ideas bubbling around in my head, so please enjoy.

There’s something’s i need to make clear before we get started. The rest of the story (except for the first part) will happen four years after the events in IT Chapter One. I know that sounds weird but it will get better I promise! This is also sort of an AU mainly because IT will come back sooner than twenty-seven years, which doesn’t happen in the book. So it’s like based off the original story but isn’t at the same time?? It will all make sense! And there will be an Character x Reader ending, but i’ve closed down the poll as of now until we get further into the story! Right now, Richie is leading!

Anyways… I hope you all enjoy this story! Oh! And Henry hasn’t die in my story, as well as his father. Everything else is the same.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Send me a little comment in the ask section or leave it below on what you thought of this chapter. It doesn’t have to be long, I appreciate every single comment I receive and telling me just helps inspire me to write it more frequently.

Pairing: Loser’s Club x Reader, slight Henry x Reader (you’ll see)

Warnings: force, bullying, depressing and sad tones.

Tag’s List: @chalatea wanna be featured? message me letting me know!

It wasn’t real.

It seemed that maybe it was. When time passes, friends tend to forget each other. It was an unsaid thing. No friendships last forever, no matter hard you tried to make them. But something in you had always told you that when it came to the Loser’s Club that wasn’t true.

You’d been wrong.

Separated from those you called your family, everyone started drifting apart. Some of them still talked, like Eddie and Richie or Bill and Beverly, but in the end, no one really was as close as they use to.

It was almost as if they’d forgotten, stopped believing in what you all experienced. And you couldn’t understand why. Because while everyone was off moving on, forgetting, you only seemed to remember. You tried. Tried and fought and screamed and yelled for them, but it was like you were standing in the back, watching as their back turns. Watching Richie look away, watching Eddie follow or Bill turn and Beverly distance herself. You saw less and less of Mike, Ben never left the library and Stan… Stan wouldn’t even look at you.

Soon it was just you, just like IT had teased, and you were alone.

So, no, Bill, it was real.

Three Years Later…

You let out a breath of relief as the school bell rung, signalling the end of class. English class today in particular had been boring and repetitive, some idiot decided to back talk the teacher so the majority of the class was spent with Ms. Green lecturing you all. It would’ve been fine, had that not meant that your pile of homework had grown significantly larger in size.

Gathering your binder and books, you quickly stuffed them into your bag. Though when you looked up, you noticed that most of the students were already out and sighed. It meant the hallways were going to be cramped with people, and it was the end of the day.

Knowing it was inevitable either way, you slipped your backpack over your shoulders calmly and pulled the straps. “Have a nice weekend, Ms. Green.” You waved at your teacher. She may have just spent an hour yelling at you all and then the last half talking about what you had to catch up on, but she was nice when she wanted to be.

“You as well, Y/N.” She shortly replied, not sparring you a glance. You hesitated a moment, watching the way her eyes didn’t even move to say goodbye before sighing and making her way out the door. The hallway wasn’t as bad as you expected, which was a breath of relief. Quickly, you made your way down the hall, turned a right and low and behold there stood your locker.

Putting in the combination, you begin organizing what you’d need over the weekend and what you wouldn’t. Though, your moment of peace was quickly interrupted when the door of your locker was slammed to the side. You jumped, letting out a bewildered shock and turned to see who had so rudely disturbed you only to find a face you hadn’t wanted to see.

“Hey, babe.” Henry greeted, smiling down at you. Henry Bowers, the same Henry Bowers who use to bully you and your friends back in middle school. Of course, Henry confessed he doesn’t ever remember doing such a thing. I’d remember a pretty face like yours…

Refusing the urge to shiver, you sent a short smile at him; “Jesus, Henry. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” He only shrugged, as if he didn’t care. Smiling through the discomfort, you grabbed your locker door, moving it off of the next one and Henry wasted no time leaning against it.

Henry Bowers had been sent back two years, making him in the exact same grade as you, of course he was eighteen already. Though, that didn’t mean he acted any more mature. 

“So, you coming with us to the pit tonight?” Henry asked, looking lazily over at you. Setting your final textbook in your locker, you shut the door with a soft thud; “us?”

“Belch and me.” He clarified. You hated Belch, all he did was well… belch. And it disgusted you, but it seemed no matter what him and Henry stayed friends. At least some things were the same. “Oh, and I believe Amy will be joining us.” 

“Oh,” you mumbled. “I don’t think I wi-”

“Why not?” Henry interrupted, cutting whatever you’d been about to say off.

You shifted uncomfortably, taking a tentative step back when Henry straightened out. You should probably just go, Henry would back off if you did. But you really did not want to spend the night in some dingy corner of the town with belching Belch and bitchy Amy. “My mom… she wants me home tonight.”

“Your mom?” Henry laughed, as if that was the craziest thing you’d ever said. Leaning down, he didn’t ask when he grabbed your wrist; “your mom never wants you home. Come on, it’ll be fun.” Fun for you, you wanted to say, but knew better. Knowing nothing you could say would allow you to stay home, you let Henry drag you off into the direction of the school doors.

You zoned out whatever he’d been saying, loosing yourself in your mind. At least it was the weekend, you told yourself, after tonight you wouldn’t have to speak to anyone, let alone see anyone. Of course, two days only lasted so long… Weekends use to be filled with adventure back in middle school… of course you were a child then and so was everyone else… but, it had been an adventure.

“Agh…” 

Turning your head, you were pulled from your thoughts as a familiar head walked by. You could almost swear… Time seemed to freeze, as the person’s head floated before you, but then suddenly it was gone. Looking down, you heard the thud as their body smacked against the ground. 

“Watch where you’re going, freak.” Henry laughed, shoving his hand into Belch’s stomach in excitement. You hadn’t even noticed Belch join you…

Looking over at the body, you didn’t move as they slowly moved to their hands and knees. You of course, felt bad, put no part of you wanted to help them. You only stared with a lazy eye, your wrist still in Henry’s grasp. It was only when their head turned up to glare at your boyfriend did you feel an reaction flood through you.

“Eddie…” You whispered, gaining a strange reaction from Henry and Belch. Seeing their gaze, you moved to look away before your eye caught Eddie’s. There laid Eddie, the same Eddie you used to constantly worry over and mother, on his knees, blood pooling from his chin where he’d smacked it against the ground.

His eye met you, but you didn’t do anything. 

Soon he groaned in pain, Henry had kicked him. Henry leaned forward, towering over the boy; “stay down.” And before you knew it, the grasp on your wrist tugged and you were off.

You gripped your jacket sleeves with force, watching as your breath formed before you in the cool evening air. You hated walking home alone, especially at night. It was when you saw things, things that shouldn’t be there but were. But of course, Henry hadn’t wanted to walk you home, so that left only one other option.

You laughed out into the bitter air, when did Henry ever wanna walk you home?

It’d caused many fights before, back when you first started dating. You didn’t want to stay out that later (or go out at all) but of course Henry wanted to, so you did. You’d stay out all night, doing whatever dumb thing him and his friends could think off until the sun had set and you could no longer see past you clearly. You’d beg him to walk you home, but he’d only shove you away and continue hanging with his friends.

Though, you guessed the moment of peace gave you time to think. Think about whatever. It never really was the same.

You let your eyes wander above you, to the night sky, viewing the many stars as you walked the streets of your neighbourhood. You were close, thankfully. It was January, meaning a new year and christmas had just passed. That also meant many houses still had there christmas lights up, too lazy to take them down and you could view the bright colourful lights in peace.

It wasn’t often you saw so much colour in your life nowadays.

Your feet made a crunching noise as you stepped into the snow, a sound you loved very much. There was nothing but colourful lights, empty streets and mindful thoughts.

“Y/N…”

You could see your house now, just before you and that gave you motivation to quicken your step. 

“Y/N.” Gasping, you turned around at the voice. You weren’t sure what you’d expected, but you had expected something. Instead, all you found was nothing. Just the street you’d already walked on a million times and the darkened houses except for the bright christmas lights. Shaking your head, you turned back around. You must’ve been imagining it.

“Y/N.” Okay, that time you hadn’t. You were sure of it.

“Henry?” You called, turning around once again. “Henry is that you?” Of course, nothing. People didn’t really like to reply to you much these days. “Henry, I-I swear to god if this is a prank…” There was nothing there, but you were so sure you’d heard a voice.

“Y/N.” You spun, the voice now much closer behind you. Except when you turned around, there wasn’t anything there.

“Time to play.” You spun again, back around and for a moment you saw what you never thought you’d see again. IT. IT. It’s red fire-y hair and sinister smile. But the next time you blinked, it was gone. “Time to play, Y/N.” You instinctively took a step back as maniacal laughter filled your ears.

Bolting around, you took quick and loud steps to your house, not daring to peer back behind you. You scrambled for your keys, fumbling to get them out of your back but the minute you did, you unlocked your door and swung it open. You wasted no time slamming it behind you, falling to the ground before it as you let out a shaky breaths.

Holding your hand against your chest, you tried to even your breathing. You were never afraid, at least you hadn’t been. Your friends made you stronger and now where were they?

Panting, you let out a little whimper. The second you closed your eyes, IT appeared and you wasted no time in opening your eyes again. Taking a look around your dark and vacant house, you were pulled away from the events that had happened outside and back into reality. “Mom?” You called, “you home?”

You wandered into the kitchen, finding nothing. No note, nothing. She obviously wasn’t home, but it’d be nice if she could at least let you know. Sighing, you dropped your bag on the dining table, taking a seat on one of the chairs. You let your head lean on your hand, staring at the darkened room around you.

“What happened…?”

Part 2?

Let me know what you thought! I hope you all enjoyed!

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