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sillyrabbit81 · 2 years

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The Fallen Wolves Brotherhood - Part Eleven

Series Summary: Lori "Babycakes" Tate swore she would never date a biker but when her life is in danger, she is put under the protection of a small club known as The Fallen Wolves Brotherhood. She suddenly finds herself attracted to not one, but five bikers.

A reverse harem, biker AU.

Part Eleven Summary: Lori asks Marshall for some assistance.

Pairing: Captain Syverson x OFC, Walter Marshall x OFC, Mike x OFC, Geralt x OFC, August Walker x OFC

Word Count: Approx. 3.6k

Warnings:

Series Warnings: Reverse harem, age gap (OFC 23, ages range from 23 to mid 40s), oral sex (male and female receiving), unprotected p in v sex, anal sex, group sex, masturbation, praise kink, mentions of body fluids, drug use, recreational drinking, sex work, criminal activities, mention of death, violence, use of weapons, mentions of war, mentions of abuse, angst, fluff, probably a lot more that I will add as they come up.

Part Eleven Warnings: masturbation (female), drug use, angst, fluff

Authors Note: Thanks as always to my lovely BBFs (Best Beta's forever) @henryobsessed and @nashibirne .

Sorry its a little late, its Thursday for me, but I think its still Wednesday for most of you!

Divider made by me. Edited by me, there will be errors. (Probably a lot in this chapter, I apologise)

Masterlist

Parts Masterlist

Part Ten Part Twelve

Lori

I sat on the ground next to Mike’s bike, watching the oil leak slowly into the drip pan and I felt safe for the first time since seeing Jake that morning. I could still feel Mike’s kiss on my lips and his soft, hesitant caress of my cheek.

We sat for another few minutes, until Mike cleared his throat, “Got to change the filter.”

I hummed and felt his lips on the top of my head. A heady rush of warmth coiled its way through my body and I bit my lip. Shit, it was easy with Mike, so comfortable, I felt like I’ve known him for years.

I moved out of his way, leaning against a bench to watch him work. I’m not going to lie and say that it wasn’t also so I could get a better look at him. That boy was damn easy on the eyes as well as cute and mischievous. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, nor the tantalising slither of the tattoo that peaked above the neckline of his shirt.

I was still perving on Mike when Marshall came in to take me to my room. He led me across the yard to the main building, insisting on carrying my bag and helmet for me. The clubhouse itself was much larger than you’d think it needed to be for just five guys. It was at least as big as my brothers, but much more understated. The halls could have been corridors in a simple office building, they were so bland and non-descript. The common room was clean and homey though which made me both happy and sadly nostalgic.

Marshall stopped at a door that looked no different to the six or seven doors that lined the hallway. He opened the door and silently gestured for me to go in.

The room was large but basic and furnished the same way a motel would be with a queen bed, a small dining table with two chairs, a tv on the wall and a sofa with a coffee table. Marshall pointed out a small bathroom, and closet, although I had next to no clothes to wear, and I pointed that out.

“Give Walker a list in the morning and he will see that you get what you need,” Marshall said.

“I can’t choose the stuff myself?”

Marshall crossed his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow he sighed, “I can ask him if he will let you use a computer to order things yourself.”

“I’m not going to be able to leave the Clubhouse at all, am I?”

“No sweetheart,” Walter said, his tone indicating that while there was no room for argument, he was empathetic to my situation.

While I wasn’t entirely happy, I couldn’t exactly argue with the logic of staying hidden, especially after seeing Jake.

“Well, in the meantime, do you have a laundry room I can use?” I asked.

Marshall nodded and I grabbed my bag and followed him down the hall, past a large kitchen and pantry to a room with two large machines and dryers.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Marshall said leaning his shoulder into the door frame.

I nodded but he didn’t go, instead cocked his head as he stared at me and continued speaking.

“Sy’s room is to the left of yours and my room is opposite his door. If you need anything during the night, you can come to me.”

I looked into his eyes and saw the desire in them that he was trying to hide beneath his gruff exterior. The vast dark blue of his iris seemed to draw me in so deep and I found it hard to concentrate. I turned away, before I got lost. Jesus, Sy’s barely gone, Mike just kissed me and now Marshall…

I forced my attention to my bag and opened it. I gasped in shock at the faded black Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt on top of the clothes. I checked the bag quickly, thinking I must have gotten Sy’s by mistake. I dug through the clothes and was confused when the rest of the bag was full of my stuff.

A sob threatened to hurtle up my throat, but I suppressed it as I ran my fingers over the soft cotton shirt. Had Sy left it for me? Had he given me the shirt I had worn in bed with him last night? When had he done that? Why had he done that? It was such a simple gesture, and yet, it meant more to me than I ever thought it would.

Marshall was in front of me, taking hold of the bag as I pulled the shirt out.

“Don’t let Noah fool you,” Marshall said softly. “He can be a sentimental bastard when he wants to be.”

“Noah?” I asked.

Marshall chuckled. “Syverson. His name is Noah.”

Noah. Noah Syverson. A good name. I liked it. “He didn’t tell me that.”

“Well, you didn’t hear it from me,” Marshall grinned. It made me smile back, he so rarely smiles.

“What’s your name?” I asked, gripping the shirt tight to my chest.

“Walter.”

My jaw went a little slack. It wasn’t a name I would have associated with him, thinking it would be something cooler, like Evan or Ryan. Marshall’s mouth was tight, as if unsure what I would think of his name, almost like he expected me to hate it.

“Walter Marshall,” I said, letting myself get used to the name. Walter took a small step closer, and I asked, “You ever go by Wally or…?”

Walter scowled, and I laughed but the sob I was suppressing fell out as well. I tried to hold it back, sucking in deep gulps of air but I couldn’t stop. He had me in his arms, rubbing big circles on my back as I burrowed my face into his chest. I felt ridiculous, crying again, this time over a freaking t-shirt.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered into Walter’s shirt. “I don’t know why I keep crying.”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“I don’t want to cry about it.”

I tried to shake off, to ignore all the reasons I had to cry. I wanted to be hard, to be strong, to be my mother’s daughter and handle this life and all the bullshit that went with it. But I wasn’t. I can’t handle it. I just want to go home and be with normal people again. The problem was I don’t know any; even Jake isn’t who I thought he was.

Everything just felt like it was too much, too heavy, too much of a burden. I wanted to be free, even for a few moments, I needed to breathe. Walter lifted my chin to look at him. His look was almost pitiful.

“It’s late,” Walter said. “Leave this for tomorrow and get a good night’s rest, okay?”

As if his words were a trigger, I felt a weariness crash over me. I had one pair of clean underwear left and Sy’s t-shirt, I supposed the washing could wait until the morning. I nodded.

“Good girl.” Walter lowered my head and his lips pressed softly against my forehead. He slung my bag over his shoulder and with an arm wrapped around my waist he guided me back to my room.

I leaned my head on Walter’s shoulder, his warmth was comforting. His fingers were light, but every so often he would tug me tighter as we walked. He must have shortened his stride, because each step he took was as small as mine, and I wondered if he was impatient with my short, tired gait.

When we got to my room, he didn’t let me go, he dropped my bag on the bed and brought his other arm around me.

“Do you need anything before I go?” Walter asked.

I shook my head.

“Remember where my room is?”

“Across the hall, opposite Sy’s.”

He hummed and stepped away. “Make sure you come get me if you need anything, anything at all, okay sweetheart?”

I nodded and he closed my door. I looked around my bare room, it was so impersonal, worse than a hotel room; at least in a hotel they have art on the walls, something to look at. Even the bedspread was an uninteresting beige.

I stripped off and showered, the water once again became my personal masseuse, warming my aching bones and muscles. I put on Sy’s shirt and my last clean pair of panties and slid into bed. I felt cold, and lonely, and although dead tired, my mind was a whirl. I replayed in my head over and over the events that led me to this night. My parents murder, my brothers drug use, being at the clubhouse again, and Jake. I wracked my brain, trying to understand how he could possibly fit into the mess.

Though I yawned, I just wasn’t able to shut my thoughts off. My hand slid between my legs, and I tried to hold onto thoughts of Sy. Memories of his body pressed against mine, of his lips on my skin, the hardness of his muscles, the softness of his touch. My breathing grew hard as my fingers started to slide over me, my sticky arousal coming fast. I thought of Sy’s words, his filthy mutterings and as I climbed closer to my peak, I remembered another voice low in my ear.

Good girl, Walter’s voice echoed in my head. I couldn’t stop the thought of both of their hands on me, each man kissing, exploring, seeking and giving me pleasure. Then there were more hands, Mike’s eager tongue on my neck, Geralt’s long silvery locks tickling my thighs and Walker’s cruel lips wrapped around my nipple. My orgasm hit me hard, crashing over me with the force of a tsunami, and I covered my mouth to muffle my shout.

Like it sometimes does, as the warmth of my climax left me, I felt shame. What kind of person is attracted to five men? What kind of person wants to be taken by five men at once? It’s not normal. Sure, group sex was a thing, a lot of people fantasise about that, but that’s not what this was. I wanted them all, I wanted each of them both alone and together. They were all so different, but I found myself attracted to them equally.

Sleep was even more elusive now. I kept thinking about the things Sy had said to me about the Brothers; that they all cared about me like he did, and he knew I felt the same way about them. Why was he telling me that? What did it mean? Why was he giving me tacit approval to be with them? What kind of man wanted to share me with other men? And not just in a random threesome, but with the men he was closest to. Did I mean nothing to him? I didn’t believe that. Especially not after he left me his shirt, like he wanted me to remember him while he wasn’t there.

After maybe another hour of trying to sleep, I was starting to get desperate. I thought about the joint I had in my bedside table at home, and I cursed myself for not picking it up and slipping it into my bag. I hadn’t because I didn’t know how these guys felt about drugs. Sy, for all his tattoos and rough exterior, didn’t strike me as a pothead. I was 99% sure Mike would indulge, at least occasionally, but I couldn’t go to his room. Not after that kiss. I thought maybe Walter and Geralt might be my best options. August looked like he’d never touched a drug in his life, probably didn’t even drink very often, he seemed to like being in control too much.

I tossed and turned a little longer before I got out of bed and went to Walter’s room, and I knocked on his door. This was a bad idea. He’s probably asleep. I had no phone, no watch, no real way of knowing what the time was.

I couldn’t hear anything from inside. He was probably asleep. I turned to walk away when the door finally opened. Walter was in a pair of low hanging grey sweats, leaving very little to the imagination.

My eyes moved over his body taking in the small gages in his ears, the three red roses on his neck, the colourful Japanese style koi fish on his hairy, veiny forearms that went into a full sleeve ending in a half circle at his shoulders in the traditional style. His broad chest with well-defined pecs and the unmistakable bulge of his heavy cock hidden beneath his grey sweats. His body was a little softer than Sy, his belly was flat but had none of the definition of Sy’s. He looked like he had the perfect body to snuggle with, like he would be so warm.

My cheeks burned, my body hummed with nervous tension, and I could barely breathe as my eyes met his. Walter’s eyes were red rimmed and darkened on the delicate skin below. I immediately felt bad that I had interrupted his sleep.

This was a really bad idea.

“Sweetheart? You okay?” Walter asked.

“I uh…”

Walters' lips pulled into a tight line. “Come in,” he said a little impatiently.

I regretted this so much.

I walked into his room and looked around. His room was almost as bare as mine. There were barely any personal items anywhere except for a bookshelf and a record player. A few records were scattered on a desk, Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, The Beatles, David Bowie. I guess you could take the man out of Britain, but you couldn’t take the British out of the man.

“Can’t sleep?” Walter asked, letting out a tired groan as he laid on his bed. I shook my head. “It’s a common problem around here.”

“What do you do?” I asked.

“Listen to ambient sounds or music, sometimes that helps. Other times, I read.”

I looked at his bookshelf. It was almost a carbon copy of my own. Crime novels by Michael Connelly, James Patterson, P.D. James, and others filled his shelf.

“You can take one if you like.”

I chuckled. “Unfortunately, I’ve read most of these.”

“Do you read a lot?”

“I do, now that I’m not studying anymore.” My eyes were caught by a small photo of a much younger looking Walter sans beard in a police uniform. Jesus, he almost looked like Mike; just as handsome, but none of the mischievous glint in his eye that Mike had. It seems Walter had always been a serious guy. I picked it up. “You were a cop?”

Walter raised both his eyebrows, smirked, and tilted his head in what could look like agreement.

“A detective. Up north.”

I was floored. “How does one go from a cop to a Biker?”

“A long story, for another night,” Walter said with a hint of a smile.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“You do that,” Walter chuckled, then he yawned.

I should go. I should ask him for what I want and leave. Let the poor guy get some sleep. I opened my mouth to speak, but my eyes went back to the cop photo and it made me pause. What if he still had some prejudices against drugs from those days? I glanced back at Walter, he definitely didn’t look like any cop I’ve ever seen.

“Was there something you wanted?” Walter prompted.

Get this over with.

“Do you have any pot?” I asked in a rush. Walter raised an eyebrow. “Oh, come on, it’s not like coke or anything.”

“It’s not that. I didn’t realise you smoked.”

“I don’t,” I said. “Not really… I just want to sleep, and I can’t.”

Marshall considered me for a long time. His eyes slowly moved down my body and I was suddenly aware of how I was dressed. Sy’s shirt was big on me, but still barely covered my ass, and I wondered if he could see my panties. I bit my lip and resisted the overwhelming urge to pull on the hem of the shirt down.

Sighing, he stood up. “Wait here,” he said.

I nodded. As soon as he left, I pulled the shirt down only to realise it then made my nipples very noticeable. I felt like such a tease. What the fuck was Marshall thinking of me right now, coming into his room in the middle of the night, barely dressed and asking for drugs? I was no better than the stupid women who threw themselves at my brother.

I thought about leaving, but that would make me look like a dumbass as well. So, I waited nervously for Marshall to come back, staring at the walls and hating myself. He came back in a few minutes with a spliff in his hand.

“Mike,” he said by way of explanation.

Marshall got back on the bed, sat cross legged with his back against the headboard. He pulled out a lighter and an ashtray from his bedside and jerked his head, motioning for me to sit with him.

“I was just going to take it back to my room,” I said.

“I thought we could share it,” Marshall said, putting the joint between his lips.

He patted the bed next to him and with a sigh of resignation, I climbed onto the bed next to him, mirroring his position.

He lit the joint and took a deep breath before passing it to me and he released his held breath slowly. I took a hit, letting the smoke fill my lungs until they almost burned, and held it in for a few moments, passing the rollie back to Marshall before slowly letting it out.

After a few back and forth’s I started to feel my muscles relax and although my mind felt sluggish, the negative thoughts melted away.

“Good?” Marshall asked.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Just what I needed.”

Marshall chuckled.

“You laughing at me?”

“No sweetheart. Never,” he was grinning, but it was probably from the pot more than anything about me.

My head felt heavy, and I leaned it on Marshall’s shoulder.

“Hang on,” he said, passing me the ashtray.

Marshall got off the bed and walked around to his record player. He flicked through his vinyl’s with purpose until he found the one he was looking for. When the music started, I smiled and soon the unmistakable voice of Thom Yorke filled the room. He turned the lights off, leaving just the soft light of his bedside lamp. He got back on the bed and laid on his back, his head on the pillows.

Taking the ashtray out of my hands he motioned for me to join him. Feeling tired, I followed his lead sliding down the bed until my head was level with his. He laid the ashtray on his chest and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I put my head on his shoulder and passed him what remained of the spliff.

“Good.”

“I like your music,” I said.

“You like this old stuff?” he asked after taking a hit. He looked like he wasn’t sure if he believed me, raising his eyebrow and smirking.

“I like most stuff. New, old, rock, metal, indie. As long as it’s good.”

“Country?”

“Does Johnny Cash count?” I laughed.

“Yeah, of course he does.”

“Then yes.”

Marshall took another hit, inspected the roach and frowning he stubbed it out and put the ashtray on his bedside. I rolled on my side to look at Marshall better, laying my hand on the middle of his chest and lifting my leg onto him. He gave me a strange look but didn’t say anything.

It seemed as though the pot had done its job. My eyelids were heavy, and I didn’t feel so nervous or wrong for being here with Marshall. It felt natural, easy, and comforting. He kept looking at me, and I stared back, taking in his features.

God, he was attractive, his features stern, even when he smiled, and that unruly mop on the top of his head… I’d bet it was really soft.

“Can I touch your hair?” I asked.

Yeah the pot definitely worked. Inhibitions, gone.

“Can I touch yours?”

I grinned and reached up, letting my hand sink into his curls. He closed his eyes and I felt his hand stroke the top of my head.

“That’s nice,” I said softly.

Marshall hummed.

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

He cracked an eye and looked at me. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he rolled over and put a hand to my cheek. His eyes were heavy, pupils slightly dilated and a little redder than before. He seemed so tired.

“I’d like that,” he whispered.

He reached down and pulled the covers up over us and turned off his lamp, plunging the room into darkness. He left the music going, I’m not sure if it was to help us sleep or if he couldn’t be bothered to get up. I didn’t mind either way, Radiohead was an easy band to sleep to.

I closed my eyes and Marshall pressed the pad of his thumb between my brows and made slow circular movements. My eyes widened as I felt the touch of the man I could sense but couldn't see. My breathing became steady, I felt like liquid as the sensation of his gentle touch further eased my already quiet mind and after a time, I drifted to sleep.

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weirdo-twins · 2 years

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How Vol 2 Should have Ended

A re-write of the st4 finale, to address the narrative issues and especially the rampant homophobia, racism, and sexism. There’s a lot here so, as the kids say, buckle up and obviously spoilers below.

Surfer Boys + El (part 1)

First of all, let’s put the cali gang actually in or near Hawkins. El could still do the piggyback because short of her actually getting into the Upsidedown, that seems like the best strategy anyway, but the four of them careening into a situation they don’t fully understand without anyone else knowing they’re on the board now too would have added a lot of tension and raised the stakes for that group to be on level with the other groups. It’s an easy enough timeline or location fix. (We could also nix that weird stoner POC motif?)

Next, this is subtle, but important. During the Pineapple pizza scene, El should be struggling to find the words to end her and Mike’s romantic relationship. It would be best if we got some hints during her time away that she was beginning to realize their relationship was unhealthy. But anyway, we should see in her facial expression, tone, body language, that while she did miss Mike, she is not planning on ‘making up’ with him and is trying to figure out how to let him down.

Mike should pick up on this vibe and panic. This should be due to his intense compulsory heteronormativity. Instead of framing him fumbling with the ILY as Mike attempting to overcome his own insecurities, we should see it more obviously as a last-ditch attempt to stop the impending end. Again, subtle, maybe no actual scripted changes, but a change in body language, tone, framing.

The Sinclairs

We’ll come back to them, but now we need to delete that whole scene with Jason and his cronies attacking the Sinclairs because the racial/power dynamic is very fucked up. Jason may still need to walk in on Lucas and Max and step on the walkman, and it would be nice to get Lucas rejecting everything Jason stands for, but we don’t need a young black kid being threatened at gun point like that.

Instead of Erica getting caught and pinned down, she escapes and runs to get help. I don’t think the murder house is supposed to be right next to the trailer park, but we’re going to say that it is, so that Erica can reach Dustin and Eddie or they can hear her yelling. Which brings us to...

Eddie + Jason

We do need a death this season. We get one every season, and Eddie is, unfortunately, the red shirt. But it should be done much differently. It shouldn’t just be a red shirt death for the sake of keeping the tension alive, it should allow Eddie his real hero moment and mean something. (And yes, the outcast dying is sad, but most of these characters are outcasts in one way or another, it’s their Thing, so I don’t think Eddie dying sends the message that outcasts don’t get happy endings if the rest of the outcasts are ok)

So, the bat scene goes as it does in canon. But Eddie follows Dustin through the gate instead of - I don’t even know what he thought he would accomplish exactly. Enter Erica - Eddie and Dustin rejoin the Murder House group and Eddie and Jason get their destined meet-up. Jason’s been looking for him all season, here we go.

Eddie gets his hero moment facing off against Jason. He doesn’t run from him anymore. And he dies directly saving either Lucas or Dustin’s life. Maybe by getting Jason away from all of them. Dustin still has his dramatic scene with him as he’s dying. He gets to be a real hero whose actions had bigger impacts than killing a few bats out of thousands.

Plus, with our main emotional death happening outside the Upsidedown, caused by an angry white kid with a gun and not a supernatural monster, we get the commentary that ordinary violence is as real and terrifying as these scary monsters. (Ala Buffy season 6 anyone?) Also Jason’s villain arc comes to a head. I think it’s also important to show how dangerous guns are in a show like this and that they’re not just cool monster fighting toys.

Jason does not simply die quietly off in the background. We frame him as the dangerous monster that he is and give Eddie some vindication by having him arrested (maybe even blamed for the other murders as well, thereby clearing Eddie’s name). The is revealed later via the news reel. In the moment, either they manage to subdue him or he just runs after the reality of killing someone sets in.

Mad Max

Ok, now about Max. We are not turning her story into one where she loses to the monster (depression) just as she is starting to heal and get help. This doesn’t work specifically because Max’s ending in canon really undercuts the powerful scene in episode 4 where she chooses to fight for her own life and wins because her friends love her. It undercuts all the progress she’s made coming back from that trauma and it sends a pretty shitty message about mental health and to anyone who identifies with her.

Instead, we amp up her fight scene a little so that her happy memories are actually used in a way that explores her character and continues her arc of healing. As she runs and distracts Vecna, we see her coming back to her true self, remembering who she is and what she has to live for.

It still gets pretty dicey. El shows up and we proceed as in canon for awhile. Max has found her core and puts up a good fight, but the music, her doorway out, is gone. She levitates, Lucas (and us) are terrified, her arm breaks, we’re all freaking out here.

But Max is stronger now and she holds onto that core of who she is and keeps pushing him away. She has El and Lucas and Erica and she’s not an easy target.

Surfer Boys + El (part 2)

Meanwhile, while El is struggling, it is not just hearing her boyfriend’s voice that gives her strength. Instead of just telling Mike to monologue, Will starts talking to El himself. It’s a clambering combination of Mike and Will and Jonathan (and even Argyle) telling her to fight, telling her she’s strong with and without her powers, telling her they’re with her. Maybe we even get a Jonathan Byers pep talk for El, a little window into how he’s adjusted to being her big brother too these last few months. It’s all of them together that help El fight, help her find her own inner strength.

And Mike still says he loves her. He gets caught up in the moment, rambling, doing his best to hang on to their relationship because he wants to be straight and he wants to be in love with her and he doesn’t want to lose her. And he still says that Thing about how his life started the day they found her. And this all gets Vecna’s attention.

He can hear them. And he recognizes Will. He can sense him now, a radiating presence in Hawkins, right by El, rife with pain and doubt and isolation. Someone Vecna already knows inside and out, has a bond with. And this is his opening. He gives up on Max and switches to Will.

In the restaurant (maybe Benny’s), Will has gone still and quiet. They don’t notice right away because they’re focused on El. But Will hears the chiming of the clock, and suddenly Will is there, in the ruins of the house with Max and El, and Vecna starts in on him.

Max, no longer in his thrall, wakes up in Lucas’s arms. She has a broken arm, but otherwise is ok. But she tells him she thinks Will is in real trouble.

Meanwhile, Vecna overwhelms Will. It’s easy. He plays Will’s own words about being a mistake back to him. El tries to help him. She tells him to think of something happy. She blasts Vecna. In the restaurant, she’s screaming Will’s name, and they’ve noticed. Jonathan is frantically trying to wake Will up (parallel to Joyce in S2)

Will

Will thinks about his friends, but Vecna corrupts that with memories of his friends ignoring him, his own isolation. He thinks about Jonathan. The words Jonathan just said to him. But Vecna drowns it out, with all the fears and doubts a gay kid in the 80′s would have. That a lot of gay kids today still have. And then he plays Mike’s line back to him. He tells him Mike will never love him. No one will ever love him. He shows him every painful scene Will and Mike have ever had. Will levitates to the restaurant ceiling. His bones start snapping.

El does her best to stop him. They fight. She says something like HE IS MY BROTHER. NO. Eventually, as in cannon, they stop him. The combined efforts of the Russia crew and the monster fighters in the Upsidedown take him out.

Will falls. Jonathan breaks his fall, has him in his arms. El comes out of her trance and she and Mike crowd in close. Will is like Max in canon. Not completely vecnaed, but in very bad shape. Paralleling Joyce in season one, Jonathan is holding him and telling him to breathe and that he loves him and he’s going to be okay. (The song that played in s1 when Will was ‘dying’ and also played while Max was dying plays over Will again)

The bell tolls, the earthquake happens. Max and her group know Will or El must have died. El has the same reaction, saying that Will cannot die and pumps his heart for him with her powers while Argyle is getting an ambulance there. Will has Max’s fate of being comatose.

Why this works for Will when it didn’t for Max: Will’s arc has been entirely repressing and hiding his trauma. All of it, not just the gay stuff. He hasn’t confronted or processed anything, so this is round one that will force him to confront it. He hasn’t started healing and then gone backwards. There’s a more concrete promise that this is not the end.

It also plays into sooooo many parallels that Max’s situation doesn’t. One of Will’s central functions is being missing. Him being physically present but mentally gone is a nice symmetrical flip to what we had in s1 and will bring up old tensions in a new way. Joyce was gone when this happened. Jonathan was in charge when this happened, etc. S1 ends with Will in the hospital waking up and everyone being happy. S4 ending with him in the hospital and not waking up drives home that point that ‘this time it won’t all work out’ with even more poignancy than Max’s.

This also gives new meaning to ‘running up that hill’ as Will has essentially swapped places with Max. And it serves as a plot twist right when we need one. We were worried about Max, but she’s not the one we should’ve been worrying about.

It sets up s5 so well. Joyce will be back on her ‘my son is not dead’ juice, which is peak Joyce. Fighting to save her kids’ lives. Insisting on things that sound crazy (although hopefully they all just believe her this time when she’s like I can hear him etc.) It will give Mike the time, space, and motivation to sort out his own feelings as he remembers what losing Will felt like and how much he needs him in his life. He’ll probably feel a lot of guilt for pushing Will away and saying that thing he said. He and Max could bond over those feelings. It will also set us up for an entire season of Will fighting his demons and then finally finally gaining the agency he has never had in this show from day one.

The show started with his vanishing. It would be poetic to end on his reappearance. On him beating the thing that has haunted him. Bring things full circle.

Anyway, this is how I would’ve done it and no I’m not taking notes.

#stranger things #st4 #vol 2 #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #el hopper #jonathan byers #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eddie munson #dustin henderson #joyce byers #argyle

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mlchaelwheeler · 2 years

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With the Angela situation-- yeah i think it is bad that that situation is treated like some girlboss moment but what is weirder is that El literally previously has been shown to break another bully's arm (Troy) on the show and made him pee himself too. The narrative didnt treat it as some sort of a bad situation. It was actually meant to be a well deserved comeback and ''cool'' scene. So it makes you ask why it's different now when El hits Angela? Troy being pushed or being his arm broken because he was being homophobic was a good and satisfying scene but Angela getting a similar treatment is supposed to be not? Is it because El hit her without using her powers? I am sorry but I am not getting it lol. We've seen this girl did similar things on the show before so why the treatment is different now when she does the same thing?

I mean if Will did smack Angela and if the narrative treated it as some sort of a shocking moment I would have understood because Will never uses violance or stands up to bullies. But El has done the same thing all the time previously on the show so it aint making sense when the show seems to portray two different narrative choices here when the both scenes are pretty much the same.

yes, the way el interacted with both troy and angela are relatively similar. with troy, she saw that mike and dustin were in danger (and she saved mike from death), so she quick jumped to action by breaking troy's arm. with angela, el obviously didn't have her powers, so she did the next-best thing she could think of and smacked her in the face.

i think that the difference (for me at least) is that when she physically hurt troy, it was because he would've caused mike to die (and may have physically cut dustin with the knife as well). also at this point, el had been in the normal world for what.. 2 days? however when she physically hurt angela, it was because she got bullied in front of a ton of people. el physically attacked angela even though she hadn't been physically attacked herself; it wasn't a life-or-death situation like with troy. with troy, she broke his arm to quickly stop the situation from getting worse, especially since he was still holding the knife. with angela, she wasn't in any "danger" per say but still smacked her in front of the entire roller rink. also at that point, she had been in the normal world for over a year and should've realized that was going to have some major consequences.

el does have a problem with violence in the show. yes, it is due to her upbringing in the lab where she was encouraged (and forced) to use violence against her "siblings." at some point though, she does need to learn that not all situations can be solved by smacking someone in the face, especially when they're not life-or-death situations.

also, the bullies in s4 were really stereotypical and 2d imo. angela was bullying el why? because of her clothes? because of the way she speaks? angela didn't really have a motivation to be a big "menace" to el, which made the bullying seem overly stupid imo compared to what the party went through in s1. with troy and james, they were blatently homophobic, racist, and ableist. troy forced mike to nearly commit suicide and said it was better off will was dead because he was gay. this imo is far more.. (not meaningful (i can't think of the word)).. but real in a sense because these are situations where death is appreciated because of someone's sexuality. that is a much bigger deal than pouring a milkshake over someone's head at a roller rink. just my opinion though, i'm not trying to start an argument.

#not sure if this answered your questions but these are my thoughts #sorry if they're all over the place #el hopper #ask sarah #anon tag

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the-rawr-ster · 3 years

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Words for Proheroes, UA staff, and All For One

Warning: lots of cursing, minor spoilers, mentions of abuse, harsh words, and lots of yelling, and also mentions of suicide, depression, ptsd, ect.

Any of the characters I mention, I say I hate but I don’t and understand they’re human so they make mistakes. I also know they already know that I’m right and probably feel super shitty. I still want to put my two sense in.

So I made a post and some comments on tik tok about hero society in MHA. I didn’t get everything I wanted to say so here’s just a ranting dump about several characters and groups.

The only heroes actually can respect are Miruko Hawks. Let me explain why. Hawks literally called out the heros on their BS speeches. Which I really admire. He’s blunt, which is an extremely respectable trait to me in most cases. And he’s very passionate about the work he does. He cares about people but unfortunately because of how he was brought up (manga spoilers here stop before you spoil it for yourselves). Just like many of 1-A, but also very different, he was quite literally raised to be a tool used by the military for their bullshit. And I think this might have changed based on who saved him. As many of you might know, Hawks grew up in an extremely toxic environment, I won’t get into the nitty gritty deets. The one that got him out of that was Endeavor, his favorite hero. He was his favorite hero growing up. But that only goes so far. Hawks respect for Endeavor (like many of his fans) was because he wasn’t fake, he didn’t pretend to like people, he didn’t pretend to smile. Endeavor was very different from many of the other heroes (horrible father and husband though (an okay hero though, which I think is part of why Stain hadn’t killed Endeavor even though he had plenty of opportunities)). Now we haven’t seen much of Miruko as far as I know, but just from her couple of minutes on screen in the anime, we can already guess that she respected Hawks. She likes how Hawks rolls. He’s confident, laid back, and he’s not a bullshitter. And just for that I can respect her. I also think Bakugō should be the number one hero but that’s a story for another time. I also have respect for Sir Night Eye and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why because you can figure it out.

Now let’s get down to why I fucking hate hero society. Let’s just start off with the fact that it’s almost identical to how it would be if superpowers existed. There would be quirk discrimination, there would be people that abused their powers, ect. Ect. But most of all, heros get away with anything (much like cops irl). They use violence to stop violence, which goes completely against what heroes say. And we see this with All might a lot. Heros with flashy powers get noticed more than others. YOU SENT CHILDREN TO WAR!!!! THAT IS IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM OKAY!!! THOSE CHILDREN ARE FOREVER GOING TO BE TRAUMATIZED BY THAT SHIT! And I understand that at some point they’d have experienced something, but when they chose to be heroes it was a time of piece, but then for whatever reason everything went south. Regardless, these kids brains are still developing, idk how but this will definitely change the way their brain develops. Honestly I’d be surprised if none of them ended up commiting. I don’t want them to but in their mental state they’d at least be thinking about it. I actually wrote a fic about a pro-hero commiting. I could write an essay on why heroes suck balls, but that’ll be done another time).

As much as I’d like to talk about each individual hero, I really want to talk about UA students and Staff, and why the staff sucks potato juice.

Let’s start with the obvious one, Nezu. HOW DO DOZENS OF VILLAINS INFILTRATE ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOLS? THAT DOESNT MAKE SENSE, obviously your security system fucking sucks. NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU ONLY HIRED ALL MIGHT BECAUSE OF HIS STATUS AS A HERO!!!! HES A HORRIBLE TEACHER!!!! AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU ALLOWED ALL OF YOUR STUDENTS TO BE PUT ON BLAST FOR MILLIONS TO SEE, talkin bout some “We HaVe SoMe Of ThE bEsT heRoeS.” THATS bullshit because y’all lost an entire child to a lizard, a magician that puts people in marbles, and a musty old man with blue flames. If y’all produce the best heroes, y’all wouldn’t have lost Bakugō in the first place. AND WHY DO YOU LET MIDNIGHT WALK AROUND WITH SEX TOYS????! And you put all of your students in one place for all the LoV to have access to them. Yes there’s security, BUT SERIOUSLY? WILL YOU EVER LEARN?????

Next, is Present Mike, I love you man but HOW DID YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE TELLING EVERYBODY AND THEY MAMA THE NAMES AND QUIRKS OF THE STUDENTS???!!!! Like Nezu may have enabled it but you could have chosen to not do it.

Aizawa, OH SIR DO I HAVE WORDS FOR YOU. I’m sure you might already know this, but you should know I know. You’re one of the worst teachers, coming to a close second to last place on my list of horrible UA staff. First of all, you hardly taught your students proper combat training. That’s one of the most basic skills every hero needs. You’re slacking dawg (sorry for the disrespect Hound dog). Secondly, HOW DO YOU CONSISTENTLY LOSE YOUR STUDENTS? HOW DO THEY ALWAYS END UP OUT OF YOUR SIGHT? Like you’re really good at hero’s stuff but you’re slacking as a teacher. And why? Why haven’t you punished Mineta yet? It’s literally as clear as a sunny day that he’s a pervert. He is consistently making inappropriate comments and sexually harassed/assaulted several of your other students, and this is outside the LoV attacks, while you were on duty. Oh and let’s not forget about you emotionally manipulating your students!!! YOUR STUDENTS!!!!!! Needless to say I have a hate love relationship because I know he cares for his students and is not prone to favoring, unlike some *cough cough* all might.

MIDNIGHT, I respect your drip and your feminism. I just hate how you were written. YOU LITERALLY WALK AROUND WITH SEX TOYS!!! What do you even do? Like what’s your job at UA? I see you so often but like, what is your purpose? I love you though, and I wish you’d step on me.

ALL MIGHT, OMG I HATE YOU ALMOST AS MUCH AS I HATE ENDEAVOR!! FAVORITISM FAVORITISM FAVORITISM!!!! OMG IT IS SO PREVELANT IN YOUR “teaching.” You treat Deku so differently from the way you treat Bakugō. And I understand that they’re different so they have to be taught differently, by HOLY HELL! You borderline cheered for Deku when he fought with Bakugō. AND YOURE A SHITTY HERO FOR THE WAY YOU TALKED TO DEKU WHEN YOU FIRST MET HIM!! What if he didn’t grab onto you? What if he did what Bakugō said and jumped? You’d be responsible for that in a sense, because you made him feel worse than he already did. I respect you for being upfront with him, and that’s not what the issue here is. Deku was clearly emotionally unstable!!! You didn’t even teach him how to use his quirk, HES BARELY EVEN 16, how does that make sense to you? Anyways moving on to my biggest pet peeve with you, YOU PUT MY BOY IN CHAINS AND A MUZZLE KNOWING DAMN WELL THAT HE WAS FUCKING TRAUMATIZE, WAY TO GOT MR.NO.1 HERO!!! WAY TO FUCKING GO!!! AND THEN EVERYONE JUST SAT THERE AND WATCHED!!!! YOU COULD HAVE HANDLED THE SITUATION BETTER!!!!! HE WAS CLEARLY NOT OKAY WITH IT!!!! DO BETTER! YOU HUMILIATED HIM IN FRONT OF MILLIONS OF VIEWERS!!! THE LoV treated him better and they didn’t even know about his trauma!!!! I have so much to say about all might, and some of them are positive too but I’ll probably do a post on that next Wednesday, but for now we’ll be critiquing. HOW DID YOU EVEN BECOME A TEACHER? I feel like there should be more qualifications than being a good hero. BUT ANYWAYS, YAK my whole deal with this man.

Those are all the UA staff I really have beef with, but I also love their characters and how they were written. Now onto my beef with some of these parents.

Mistuki: You’re really the only parent I hate. I understand Bakugō tried to hit you, but where the fuck do you think he got it from? He didn’t become violent and aggressive out of the blue. He got that shit from you. And will you please get your son some hearing aides, my ears bleed every time I have to listen to him scream. And you should’ve been more reluctant to let Bakugō stay in the dorms. And your yelling is not helping Bakugō. Ask yourself why he hates being around you? I understand that you care about him, but punishing your child by hitting them is not okay, period, wether it’s just a slap or not.

I ko: I LOVE YOU TO PIECES! I can’t hate you. I have so much respect for you, but you shouldn’t have let Deku stay in the dorms. I know you wanted him to be able to experience his dreams, and that you felt so guilty about him growing up without a quirk, but Inko, it’s not worth losing your baby over. You were right to be upset with All Might, PERIOD.

ALL FOR ONE!! I HATE YOU WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING!!!! YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF SHIGIRAKI IN A VULNERABLY STATE AND GROOMED HIM TO BE A VILLAIN!!! AND YOU KILLED HIS GRANDMA!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!! HE WAS A CHILD!!! HE WAS GRIEVING!!!! HE WAS UNSTABLE AND YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT!!! YOU DISGUST ME!!!!

And a big Fuck you to hero society for turning children into soldiers. A big fuck you for letting these children experience traum on that scale! A big fuck you for not saving Shigiraki! A big fuck you for being so full of shit!!!! A big fuck you for making people feel less than for being without a quirk! A big fuck your for being an overall piece of shit society!!

If you’ve made it this far, I apologize for yelling and cursing. Thank you for reading.

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duker42 · 4 years

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*****WARNING*****NSFW

💜The Dinner💜

“ERWIN SMITH! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMNED MIND!!!!!!”

Levi smirked as the outraged bellow could be heard throughout the halls of the officer’s quarters. He fastened his cufflinks, and picked up his cravat as he continued getting dressed.

The high ranking officers of the Survey Corps had been invited, or politely ordered, to attend a dinner at Lord Byron’s estate. The invitation had arrived at the remote Headquarters, along with several lavishly ribboned boxes containing specific dresses for the female officers to wear.

Levi had thought it odd that the Lord be so peculiar about what dresses were seen in attendance, but dismissed the issue as it didn’t concern him. He had no interest in the dealings of the interior nobles and their piggish ways. Now with the racket coming from Y/N’s quarters, his interest was piqued.

Slipping on the well tailored suit jacket, he brushed himself off and walked out of his own quarters, heading towards the continued sounds of amplified anger.

“What the fuck kind of dinner is this!!!! I’m not going to whore myself out for your precious budget! You will just have to cut Levi’s tea order!”

Levi’s smirk disappeared as he heard Y/N’s statement. That wasn’t happening, she would wear the damn dress and just shut up before he would allow Erwin to do that. He walked into the opened door to Y/N’s quarters and stopped dead, eyes widening as he took in the scene.

The dress was...........tiny. It could barely be considered decent. That was what Lord Byron had sent for the officers to wear to a formal dinner? Now he understood why she was so outraged. He had never seen anything like it. Skin tight, the red material clung to every dip and curve of her body. It was low cut, the swells and deep valley between her breasts were prominently on display, practically spilling out of the top. The only cover on her shoulders was a tiny strap on one shoulder, the other creamy expanse of skin was completely bare. And short, By the Walls was it short. Stopping barely beneath the curve of her ass, Y/N’s legs seemed to go on for miles as the smooth lengths were available for viewing.

“Y/N, please. Lord Byron assured me that there was nothing untoward happening tonight. He just requested we dine with him and these dresses be worn. If we do this, he will personally fund the next year’s expedition budget.” Erwin pleaded with his officer, still not dressed himself.

Leaning against the door frame, Levi had an internal debate with himself. On the one hand, he despised everything about the nobles and would take the opposing side just for spite. On the other, he would get to see Y/N in this dress for the evening. It was such a tough decision, but in the end, his libido won.

“Y/N, quit bitching and just wear the damn thing. Erwin, can you please get your giant ass out of my girlfriend’s quarters?” He had to push down a laugh at the way Y/N jumped at the sound of his dry voice and quickly turned towards him.

“This is bullshit!!! You get to wear normal clothes!” Y/N whined.

Levi quirked an eyebrow at the situation. “I hope the Lord doesn’t want me in that dress. I don’t have the chest for it” He snickered.

Erwin’s relieved expression was evident as he used the opportunity to move away from his disgruntled squad leader and make his exit. “Y/N, you are wearing the dress. That’s an order. Levi will kill anyone who tries to touch you anyway.”

Levi did laugh quietly when his little spitfire perked up at the mention of violence. He moved over to her, trailing a single finger up her arm and over the bare shoulder, enjoying the slight shudder she made.

“I think I like this Lord Byron. Even if it’s only for this dress.” His voice was low, seductive.

While he hadn’t been looking forward to a boring dinner with equal boring nobles for company, he couldn’t wait to get the evening started. So he could come back to his quarters and peel this dress off Y/N.

“You won’t like him if he tries something.” She countered, trying to think as his hands glided over the exposed flesh.

His steely grey eyes flashed dangerously as he growled out. “He would be stupid to try and touch what is mine.”

Y/N tittered as she stepped closer to the Captain, placing a warm hand on his chest. “So I’m yours now?”

“Yes.” His answer was short and to the point as he curled elegant fingers around her waist, drawing her against him. Skimming his lips over hers, he hears her sharp intake of breath. He loves knowing she is affected by him the same way she twists his insides around.

As he moves to deepen the connection of their mouths, Hanji bursts through the open door.

“Come on you two, the carriages are waiting!” In a blur of long limbs and flying hair, the energetic woman is off.

“Four Eyes isn’t letting the tiny dress upset her, so let’s go. Move that ass.” He pulls away and holds his arm out for her, containing a smirk at the grumbling he hears from her.

He decided he liked the heels she was wearing to accompany the dress as he got a fantastic view of her ass as she climbed gingerly into the carriage.

Sitting across from her, he got the chance to study her overall appearance. She looked amazing. Her hair was curled and swept to the side, exposing that long neck and drawing attention to vast expanse of skin. Kohl lined eyes gave her a seductive look, finished off with lips stained the same color as her dress. Her only jewelry was the delicate earrings that were her grandmothers. He felt a burst of lust and pride looking at the woman he loved.

Arriving at Lord Byron’s estate shortly after his perusal, Levi froze when Y/N uncrossed her legs to prepare to exit the carriage. He could have sworn he saw a flash of skin. Shaking his head slightly, he exited after Mike and Nanaba, turning to help Y/N down. Holding his hand out to her, he watches carefully as she slides closer to the door and moves to step out, flashing the pale pink skin of her sex briefly.

Levi fights to retain his composure. Y/N is sans underwear. There is nothing under that dress but perfume and skin. His body goes slightly numb as he realizes he now had to sit through a boring dinner with this newfound knowledge. As she flashes a grateful smile to him, his pulse is beating a swift tattoo beneath his chest.

Making their way into the large house, Y/N finds all the female guests are similarly attired. Feeling somewhat better at her lack of cover, she begins to relax. Accepting a glass of wine from a server, she begins to chat with Nanaba and Hanji as Mike, Erwin and Levi are pulled away by the host to discuss some important issue. Most likely an excuse to bar themselves in a room and drink expensive scotch.

Dinner is announced as the men rejoin the ladies. Taking her arm, Levi leads Y/N into the large opulent dining room, making sure to sit on her left side. The first course is served and Levi watches Y/N observe the conversations around her. He had already noticed that the females here were from the military and all were wearing that same small dress in different colors. It seemed the Lord Byron was a bit of a lecher, and used his influence to provide his optical entertainment for the evening.

After wiping his mouth, he returned the napkin to his lap and made the first move. Slowly sliding his hand over, he set his palm lightly on Y/N’s smooth thigh. He felt her tense for a moment before she relaxed, looking at him gratefully as she took a sip of her wine. She had thought he was reassuring her, and he fought to keep the grin from coming to his lips.

Gently, he started tracing random pattern’s in her skin, keeping the touch feather light. Running from her knee to the hem of her dress, he stroked her skin, paying special attention to her sensitive inner thigh. She tightened her thighs around his hand in warning, and received a light pinch in return.

He removed his hand as the staff came to remove their plates and serve the next course. Y/N breathed a small sigh of relief. Levi was distracting her with those skilled hands of his. He had to have known what he was doing to her, and it had surprised her for him to do it in such a public setting. He was always very protective of their relationship, preferring to keep their affections behind closed doors.

As she proceeded to take a bite of the delicate beef of the main course, his warm hand returned to her leg, fingers hooking up underneath the tight dress. Calling attention to herself, Y/N chokes on the food, coughing as she tries to breath properly.

“Alright, brat?” A raised eyebrows meets her glare as she see the amusement swimming in his grey orbs. “Don’t die from pleasure.” His low, wry comment made her bite back a growl.

The smug bastard was enjoying her discomfort as he toyed with the hem. Y/N squirmed, trying to avoid his touch as his fingers worked closer to their goal. A slight moan escaped her as the first contact of his warm fingers made their way to her lips. She cursed her traitorous body as she responded to his touch.

“Good isn’t it?” The older man to her right startled her as he lean over to speak. At her obviously confused expression, he motioned to the food on her plate. “You seem to be really enjoying dinner.”

Levi raised his wine glass to his lips, taking a sip to hide the smirk that fought to make it’s way onto his face.

“Um, yeah. It’s really good.” Y/N flushed, embarrassed her reactions had caught someone’s attention.

She went back to studying her plate diligently as the fingers under her dress continues to slowly stroke the folds of her center. The conversation flowed around her as she used all of her willpower to not move or make a sound.

Desert was complete torture for Y/N. After the plate had been set before her, Levi had pushed one slender finger inside her. Gasping, she could only give a pleasured expression as she went to lift the fork to her mouth. The others around her nodded, thinking her reaction was from the sweet confection, rather than the stimulations of her lover’s hand beneath the table cloth.

Finally, the plates were taken up as Levi removed his hand from her lap, leaving her on the edge of a orgasm in a room full of people. She didn’t know if she should sigh in relief or beg him to finish her off. With a wicked grin, she watched as he slowly brought the glistening digit up and carefully cleaned it with his mouth, eyes dark with lust focused on her.

“Delicious.” He declared, his face rearranging itself into it’s normal passive expression as he turned back to the conversation on his left.

When they finally thanked the host and made their excuses, Y/N practically raced to the waiting carriages. Levi stood behind her, mindful of keeping her from exposing herself to anyone but him. Climbing up behind her, he turned to Mike and Nanaba.

“Ride with Erwin and Hanji.” And closed the carriage door.

Nanaba looked shocked, while Mike had a knowing grin on his face. He knew exactly what had been going on under the table. And he had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen on the ride back to Headquarters. Pulling his alluring date over to the other carriage, he shrugged his shoulders at her.

“The dinner must have gotten to her.”

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malumsmermaid · 4 years

Text

Snitches and Talkers

Part Two to Kiss and Sell!!

Spy!Michael x OC

Word Count: 8.2k

Warnings: violence, broken bone, language

His eyebrows knitted together, leaning forward and opening the glass separating them from the drivers. “Hey, guys, you just passed the exit for the airport,” the blonde spy questioned, gasping as the passenger side driver turned around to face him.

“Oh we know, Agent M, we know.” he said, punching the spy back before crawling through the small opening, holding the blonde back and glaring at Jay as he restrained the blonde, pulling blindfolds from his pocket.

***********

Michael woke up, head fuzzy as he processed that the world was still dark, but no longer seemed to be moving. He let out a groan, shoulders stiff and sore, processing the cotton stuffed in his mouth and tied behind his head. He stretched his arms, finding those restrained too, as he was about to test his feet a voice fuzzily entered his head from the surrounding room. “It looks like our guests are finally waking up, remove the sacks.”

Michael’s eyes squeezed shut as the bag was removed from his face, the room bright around him. He turned his head to look over at his girlfriend, her hair disheveled from the bag being removed. She looked like she had put up a fight against their captors, the drivers not having the element of surprise to get a jump on her like they had with Michael.

He took in the room further around him, noticing the two drivers on either side of them, the smaller one who had crawled through the window next to him, the larger one who had been actually driving next to Jay. He gave her his best smile from around the gag in his mouth, they’d clearly learned who was the bigger threat. But he also knew that they were underestimating him, having been able to surprise him in the car so he couldn’t fight back. He didn’t mind though, he was used to it as the tech guy. He still managed to surprise Calum and Ashton from time to time in the gym when they were back at home base.

Finally he remembered the man who had first spoken as he and Jay woke up, bringing his slowly sharpening gaze over to the center of the room. He squinted as he took in the man’s face, recognizing it from some of the posters on the wall at hq, searching the fog that was his mind for his name.

“Take out their gags, men, want to hear their thoughts.” He ordered, lazily approaching the couple from his spot at the front of the room.

“But she--” the smaller henchman by Michael started, only to be cut off by a wave of the boss’ hand.

Begrudgingly, both henchmen removed the gags from the two spies’ mouths. “There, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” He stated, less than ten feet away now. “Agent M, I’ve been waiting so long to meet you, as the man who’s been compiling so much information on me for your bosses. And with the fine Agent J at your side as well. I’m sure that comes as no surprise though, I’ve heard that the two of you are hard to separate when she’s at headquarters.”

Michael’s ears heated, the idea of a mole somewhere within the organization starting a fire in his chest. He slowly began minutely wiggling his hands, trying to tighten the zip tie holding his arms back so he could attempt to snap it so he could free his hands while their captor continued his spiel.

“I wanted to bring you in, obviously Agent M, since you’ve collected so much intel on me, but I needed someone to bring with you to make sure that you actually would do what I ask. So once my informants tipped me off to your relationship with the lovely lady next to you, I knew I had to make a move the second that the two of you were out together.

“You two are a bucket of charm you know? Showed myself on that video camera to force Agent A out, since I’d already met him earlier on in my planning stages, decided he wouldn’t be useful to me in getting you to do what I want and went back to the drawing board. Then I got intel that you were looking into Belaggio and I set myself up with him, and made sure that it would be you paired with Agent J at the gala, see the way you two interact in person.”

Michael continued to work to free himself, attempting now to try and snap the zip tie around his wrist. He focused his anger about their current predicament, minutely shifting his arms to bang his wrists against the chair. He felt the zip tie snap after the fourth attempt, maintaining a neutral expression and keeping his hands locked behind him, waiting for an opening as the man he had only known as Aaron, but looked nothing like the kindly, bald, body guard, continued with his villainous monologue.

“Now, what I need from you, Agent M, is to clear everything about me from your database, most importantly. After that I want you and sweet Agent J’s real names, as well as the names of the rest of your team, and finally, the location of your headquarters, none of my contacts were willing to hand over that final piece of information to me. However, with your beautiful girlfriend here, I’m sure we can manage to get you to give it up for me, hmm M?”

Michael gritted his teeth, jaw aching as he watched ‘Aaron’ step closer to Jay, leaning down in front of her and gently lifting her chin. “I really can’t wait to learn your true name, Agent J, what could it be? Jennifer? Jessica? Jasmine?”

He ran his pointer finger over Jay’s lower lip as he listed names and she leaned forward, taking the finger into her mouth and biting down, hard. The villain gasped as she released his finger, holding it to his chest as he backed away, anger bubbling across his face. “Try that again and you’ll be short a finger.” she spat, sitting back in her chair.

“We tried to warn you boss,” the henchman by Michael squeaked, “she bites.”

“Well, I’m sure I can take care of that,” he stated, dropping his hand from where he’d been staring at the bite mark and approaching Jay again, shoulders squared as he towered over her.

She just stared back at him defiantly, Michael watching to see what he was going to do. His legs tensed as he watched their captor raise his hand, anger finally taking over at the image, the two halves of the plastic ties dropping to the floor as he sprung from the chair. He had caught the henchmen off guard, their boss’ focus completely on Jay, so he froze in surprise as Michael’s legs wrapped around him from behind, his arms going around the larger man’s throat. “Don’t even fucking think about it.” The spy snarled as he squeezed.

Jay grinned up at her boyfriend, standing from the chair, her hands still bound as the two henchmen got over their surprise, moving in. She kicked back the henchman nearest to her, running through the spacious room, arms still behind her back while Michael fought to keep his hold on the spluttering leader. He thrashed beneath the lanky spy, the man Jay had kicked back recovering and coming to his boss’ aid. He prised Michael’s arms from around the man’s throat, Michael loosening his legs’ grip on his waist and dropping to the floor. He sprang to his feet, feeling slightly satisfied as his captor dropped to his own knees, coughing as his lungs tried to bring in air again.

He looked at his new opponent, the larger henchman, and took a step back, guard up as he analyzed the situation. He could hear Jay fighting behind him, trying to pinpoint the sounds as they echoed through the large hall, but also not taking his eyes off the approaching man. He feinted to his left, ducking the punch that came at him before pushing in closer, one, two, three, quick jabs to the larger man’s muscular torso before backing up quickly again.

He kept up this pattern, doing his best to get closer to his girlfriend each time. Unfortunately, on his final backup he misstepped, shoes slipping on the polished marble floor, and going out from under him, leaving him sprawled on his back. He could see the henchman advancing on him and pushed backward with his elbows and feet, trying to slink away. The man towered over Michael’s body and the spy began kicking upward desperately, but he heard a thud to his right, a muffled cry that sounded like Jay’s voice and his wide-eyed gaze went her direction, freezing as he saw the small henchman crouched over her, holding a cloth to her nose. The small moment of distraction gave his opponent an opening, the large man crouching over Michael and before he knew it there was cloth covering his mouth and nose too. Just before his world faded to black again, Michael heard his captor’s strained voice, yelling at the henchmen, “I told you two not to underestimate him!”

********

“Somethings wrong.” Ashton stated as he looked up from his watch for the upteenth time in the twenty minutes since they’d arrived at the airfield.

“No shit.” Luke replied, hunched over one of Michael’s laptops, using the live satellite app Michael wrote to track the path their van should’ve been on. “There wasn’t any traffic and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of a crash anywhere on their route between the safehouse and here, they should’ve beat us.”

Ashton nodded, continuing pacing around where Luke was sitting on the tarmac. Calum walked over from where he’d been talking to their drivers, hand running over his shaved head, “Nelson says that the two guys that were driving Mike and Jay were different, told him that our other drivers for this mission had come down with something and that they were covering for them.”

“Shit!” Luke exclaimed, hand smacking against the asphalt.

Ashton grimaced, exchanging a glance with Calum. “Lu, you need to get back to HQ, give them the intel from the mission and then tell them that Cal and I are tracking down Mike and Jay, to send backup.”

The young blonde looked up at Ashton, blue eyes blazing. “I’m not leaving without any of you! I don’t want to sit at HQ not knowing what’s happened!”

Ashton chewed his lip, this was a hard call to make, he knew, but someone had to be the one to split off. “Look, Luke, the longer we sit here the further away they get. I’ll have my tracker on, we don’t know who has Michael and Jay, so we’re going to need someone to get word to the brass to send help while also making sure that they get the information we were in the field for in the first place. You’re the best man for that job. You can come right back out here as soon as you do that. But we need to move now.”

Luke sighed in defeat, handing over the computer to Calum as he got to his feet, watching as Ashton fiddled with the dial of his watch, turning on the tracker. Nelson handed the car keys over to Ashton, nodding to him and Calum before following Luke and the other driver up the steps of the jet, all of the gear already loaded on.

They both ran over to the car, Calum awkwardly climbing into the passenger seat while still cradling the computer as Ashton punched the ignition. Ashton sped away from the runway, heading for the interstate as Calum typed in the plate for the car their teammates had been in. It may have been a phony plate, but the traffic cameras wouldn’t know the difference and that was all that mattered in the moment. “They’re still on the same interstate, we’ve got ‘em, let’s go.”

Ashton nodded as he punched the gas.

He sped down the highway, Calum keeping tabs on the SUV they were tracking, eyes staring unblinkingly at the computer screen. The car changed lanes but never got off the highway until….”They didn’t come out of the tunnel,” Calum stated, brows furrowing.

Ashton cursed, hand striking the top of the steering wheel. “There any high vis vests or hard hats in this car?”

Calum nodded, scrambling to dig through the center console and the glove box before climbing into the backseat and then into the trunk. He procured the items and slowly clambered back to the passenger seat. He set the hats and vests on the dash, pulling the seat belt back across his body before grabbing the computer again, double checking that the car had in fact disappeared in the tunnel.

Twenty minutes later Ashton pulled into a gravel parking lot alongside the highway, meant for turning around semis with a clearance higher than the tunnel that hadn’t used the last exit, as well as for maintenance staff. They put on the hard hats and vests before climbing out of the car, flashing badges quickly at the other staff as they continued to stride towards the maintenance path of the tunnel. They weren’t questioned as they continued down the walkway, eyes scanning the wall for any sign of mechanism that would allow the other car to vanish.

As they walked along Ashton let out a thought he’d been having since entering the tunnel, “I just don’t understand how they’d be able to make a sharp 90 degree turn in here if the entrance is somewhere in the wall.”

Calum hummed before holding a hand out to stop Ashton, pointing at a spot on the road, “Because they don’t, c’mon, let’s figure out how to get that to open.”

Ashton nodded, scanning around before spotting an antenna sticking up on the railing, “Here.” he called, walking over to the piece of metal.

Calum jogged after him, flicking through settings on his watch. “Just gotta find the right frequency to set it off. Then we can see how long it takes to lower and raise and then head back to the car.”

Ashton turned, hazel eyes wide as he stared at Calum. “Why don’t we just hop down there as soon as it opens? We don’t know who has them or what they want, why waste time walking all the way back to the car?”

Calum furrowed his dark eyebrows, taking a moment before responding, “We don’t know where this tunnel comes out, Ash. It could be a thirty mile walk for all we know, in which case it would be faster to go back for the car and drive there than just go ahead and start walking down there as soon as I find the right frequency to set it off.”

Ashton anxiously chewed his lip before agreeing, nodding at Calum. Calum gave him a quick smile before turning back to his watch, dialling it in before they heard a small beep from the antennae. They watched as the section of road angled downwards, revealing a tighter tunnel below the roadway. Fortunately, traffic was nonexistent right now, so there weren’t any cars at risk of unexpectedly driving into the new tunnel. Once it was open it stayed that way for ten seconds before raising back up to hide the other tunnel once more.

The two spies grinned at each other, nodding and beginning to speed walk back to the surface and their car. They shrugged off the vests as they climbed into the dark SUV and tossed them in the backseat with the hardhats, Ashton throwing the car in drive and speeding out of the gravel lot and onto the highway, staying in the right lane as Calum stared intently at the railings, waiting to see the antennae, knowing they’d be on it much quicker than when they were looking for it on foot. As soon as he saw it he hit the button on the side of his watch, setting off the hydraulics that would lower the road to a ramp. Ashton slowed as they started driving downwards, shoulders stiff as they entered the new tunnel. “Now we just gotta hope that us opening that thing didn’t set anything off.” Ashton joked, nervous chuckle passing his lips as he moved one hand from the wheel to toss his curls.

Calum licked his lips, nodding along as his fingers tapped in his lap as Ashton continued to drive, switching the topic to what they were going to do once they made it to where Michael and Jay had been taken, if they would wait for Luke and backup before going in or if they’d head straight inside.

*******

Michael woke again, head pounding even more than the first time. His body ached as he moved to sit up, finding a mattress beneath him. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was better than the cold floor. He ran his hand over his face, wincing slightly at the slight pressure. He knew he hadn’t escaped the fight earlier without a hit, the adrenaline blocking any pain from the contact, but what he could feel now felt worse than what he anticipated.

He sat on the edge of the bed, taking slow, deep breaths, trying to turn the pain into background noise for a moment. He grunted as he got to his feet, arm around his stomach as he took in his surroundings. There was a large, tri-monitored computer in the corner across from his bed, an open door leading into a bathroom between the two furniture pieces and two of the walls of the small room were glass. One glass wall looked out into the hallway, and the other looked into another room like the one he was in, sans computer.

Michael gasped as he saw his girlfriend curled up on the mattress in the other room. He strode over to the wall, placing his hand on the cool, thick glass. “Jay,” he whispered, green eyes watering as he looked her over from across the room, her body barely stirring, her chest moving up and down slightly as she breathed. “I’m gonna get us out of this.”

Slowly he forced himself to turn away, deciding to go into the bathroom and check himself out further. He flicked the lightswitch on as he peeled off his shirt, coming to stand in front of the large mirror behind the sink. His eyes scanned the dark bruises on his pale torso, sighing before leaning in closer to look at his face. He hummed as he spotted a bruise hiding beneath his growing beard and another under his eye. He traced over the two spots before taking in his bruised knuckles, carefully flexing his fingers.

He turned away from the mirror, eyes lighting up when they fell on a duffle bag in the corner. He unzipped it, looking for his toiletries, sighing when he recognized Luke’s pink silk button down as he dug through. He hummed, grabbing the smaller bag, he wasn’t going to complain too much, knowing he could have just as easily not been given any change of clothes. He grabbed Luke’s shampoo and bodywash, setting them in the shower before taking off his jeans and boxers, starting the water as he found Luke’s sweatpants, setting them on the counter before checking the water.

He grinned at the feeling of warm water, quickly stepping under the stream, body relaxing as the water hit his body, soothing his aching muscles. He only stood under the water for a minute, quickly moving to wash himself, wanting to save hot water for when Jay woke up. He got out, drying off slowly, stretching his limbs as he did. He pulled on the sweatpants he’d gotten out, looking at himself in the mirror one last time before stepping out of the bathroom.

He grinned when he saw Jay sitting up on her bed, rushing over to the wall. “Hey there sleepyhead,” he said, the relief clear in his voice.

“You say that like I had a choice in being asleep,” Jay said back, the gentle smile on her lips taking away any possible bite, “what time is it?”

Michael sighed, shaking his head. “No idea. Saved you some hot water if you want to get a shower or anything. Hopefully they gave you the right bag, I’ve got prince charming’s clothes.”

Jay laughed softly, slowly getting to her feet and hobbling over, wincing every other step. Michael frowned immediately, watching as she came to stand right in front of him. She cooed softly as she looked him over, her hand touching his through the glass. Michael shook his head at her, “I’m fine, love, nothing a hot shower can’t fix, you need to get off that foot until you can get looked at. I’ve got a plan forming.”

Jay was about to respond, before she dropped her head, nodding. “I’m gonna go freshen up, be back.”

Michael gave her an encouraging smile, watching as she carefully made her way into the bathroom, turning and going to sit on his bed, pulling his legs to his chest as he began to think. After what he figured was about thirty minutes of staring at the ends of his bangs and trying to pull the well worn sweatpants further down toward his ankles, clearly Luke had had some trying times with his washing machine and these pants, he saw Jay emerge from her cell’s bathroom.

Her face was a pale green as she hobbled over to the bed, dressed in Michael’s basketball shorts and hoodie. She sat on the bed, head drooping from the effort of crossing the room and Michael frowned, getting to his feet and approaching the wall. He placed his hand on the glass, concern crossing his brow as he spotted the makeshift splint on his girlfriend’s ankle.

She read his expression easily, giving him a pained smile as she said, “I think I broke it. Whole thing is purple.” Michael’s face filled with rage towards their captor, tension filling his shoulders as he tried to collect himself. He took a deep breath, slowly letting the air out of his lungs before saying, “I wish I could come over there and help you, love. Neither of us know how long we’ve been here, but I believe help is on its way, we’ll be out soon. We’re gonna be ok, Jay.”

“Glad to see you two are finally up and about, good morning.”

Michael’s anger surged again at the sound of their captor’s voice, wheeling around and leaping towards the other wall, fist striking against the glass perfectly in line with the other man’s head. He yawned, boredly rolling his eyes as the tempered glass protecting him from the spy shook as a result.

“It’s cute, how much hope and faith you have in your team, Agent,” he continued as though nothing had happened, Michael’s body shaking as his green eyes stayed trained on patronizing blue. “How’re they supposed to know where we’ve brought you when they don’t even know it’s me that has you? Your only ticket out is helping me, Agent M. I highly suggest that you get started.”

Michael was still shaking, jaw tense as he stared through the glass. “I can get started.” he gritted out, “Problem is, your guys took the car with the clothes, not the equipment, it’s going to take me a while to get through the security system before I can even get to the files you want.”

“Get started then. Or else your sweetheart over there is going to have more than an ankle to worry about.”

Michael was about to snarl a reply when he caught sight of two men outside of Jay’s room, heart dropping to the pit of his stomach and shoulders drooping. “Mi-my love,” Jay caught herself, her brown eyes on the two men outside her cell too, “It’s going to be ok, please…”

Michael closed his eyes, nodding in the direction of the boss, slowly making his way to the computer, reaching under the desk and hitting the power button. Each monitor flashed the loading screen and he heard, “Good choice. I’ll send someone by in a couple hours to make sure you’re still working. Maybe we’ll bring some food too.”

Michael ignored him, just bowing his head and pinching the bridge of his nose as a homescreen appeared in front of him. He heard three sets of receding footsteps and a heavy door slamming.

A minute later, Jay spoke, “you don’t have to do anything, babe, I can take it.” Jay’s voice was weak and Michael licked his lip, swallowing the lump in his throat before spinning in the chair to respond.

“I do, Jay. You’re not getting hurt if I can stop it. Besides, I have a plan, I just need to stall a little. Alek Turner is not getting away with this.”

He turned back to the computer, opening one of the apps he recognized and slowly began his work. He carefully picked through lines and lines of code, someone checking in at some point, but nodding satisfactorily when he saw Michael still typing and disappearing back down the hall again, returning with food and some tylenol for Jay. She scooted off the bed and pushed her body across the smooth floor toward the plate and medicine, trying to keep off her injured leg. She opened the bottle first, smiling at the tamper seal, removing the paper before giving the bottle a cursory sniff before taking out two pills, taking them with her food. As she sat there eating, she heard Michael’s typing pick up. “That doesn’t sound like stalling, love.” She teased.

Michael just hummed in response, blazing through the familiarity of his own lines of code, “Part of my plan, sweets. If people in the lab didn’t know it was me trying to get in before, they will now.”

Jay smiled, nodding to herself from where she was sitting and Michael continued with his work, hitting every possible alarm bell he had put into his own protective layer. He began adding in a new line of code, smirking at the idea he had just gotten to announce himself to the lab, slipping through and finding the lab’s speakers, putting on a Peppa Pig song and punching the volume. While that was playing he kept typing, making up a chat box before bringing down the volume on the song, hitting enter on his message:

M: Whose attention have I got? M here if you couldn’t tell.

S: M! It’s S, where are you?

Michael sighed in relief at the information that it was his mentor on the other side of the screen. The man was beyond loyal to their organization and he knew he could trust whatever he was told.

M: Alek Turner has me and J. She’s hurt. He wants his info erased, our team’s real IDs and the location of HQ.

S: We sent out an X team for you two in the afternoon after L was dbed and he told the brass why the rest of the team weren’t there. A & C were tracking you two and we have a pin on them. It’s about 2am here now.

Michael sighed, nodding at the computer and rubbing his head, the ache from everything that had happened previously making timezone math more difficult than usual, plus he wasn’t sure if he was still in the same one, all he knew was that it was probably dark out and he should be in bed, not staring at a screen.

M: Cool. Gonna keep stalling and hope for the best. Oh, we have moles, Turner brought that up when he was giving his whole monologue. Can’t wait to find their sorry asses when we come in later.

S: Noted. Best of luck.

Michael smiled to himself before closing out the chat window, continuing to work through the security code until his previous work was no longer on the screen. He rose from the chair, stretching his limbs. He met Jay’s questioning gaze, giving her a smile and thumbs up before turning towards the bathroom. He picked up his clothes from the floor, finding one of Luke’s shirts and pulling it on over his bruised torso. He splashed some cold water on his face before walking out, rubbing at his eyes.

He did a few more stretches, approaching the wall that separated him from Jay. “Just wondering, love, do you actually have my bag, or are those clothes you stole? Would be nice to know where my glasses and a fresh pair of contacts are, in case.”

Jay laughed softly before answering, “It’s your bag alright.”

Michael smiled, nodding at her, “Did you refold and put away things after you made your splint?” “Of course you mess.” she teased lightly, but understanding of what he was trying to signal to her showed on her face and he nodded once more before returning to the desk.

*******

Calum and Ashton had made it to the underwater compound, a fact made clear by the glass dome that covered the entire complex. The pair of spies had parked their car in a lot of identical black SUVs, taking an empty space before crawling into the back cargo space. They’d agreed to give Luke and any team he could procure about nine hours before they’d move on their own. Knowing that they wouldn’t get much chance for sleep once they’d broken in, they decided to sleep in shifts, Calum taking the first four hours to rest while Ashton kept watch.

Eight maddeningly quiet hours later the pair were readying themselves to carry out their solo plan, just in case the next hour was just as quiet. Ashton was carefully looping a grappling hook to his belt when they heard a familiar knocking sequence on the bottom of the car. Both men grinned, pausing in silence as they waited for the sound to repeat itself. Once the sequence had been knocked through a second time Calum scooted back, finding the button that opened up the floor beneath them.

Luke’s blonde head poked up through the opening, smile on his face as he recognized that his two friends that had gone ahead were still in the car, a breath of relief passing his lips. “Ready to go get our friends?” He asked, holding his bare arms out to help Calum and Ashton down into the passage they’d discovered.

Once the three highly experienced team members were in the tunnel with the rest of the extraction team, the trio got changed, pulling on black clothes, masks, and gloves, leaving only their eyes exposed from the clothing. As they all crouched in the cool, damp tunnel, Luke pulled out a tablet, showing the images on the screen to Ashton and Calum. “So, based off of your location we were able to use some satellite images to get a rough schematic of this place. We think that they’d be holding Mike and Jay about here,” Luke explained, scrolling through the different layers and plans he’d written up on the fly. “So the three of us and Simon are going to go and get them, and the other four, are gonna see if they can get visuals on who took them in the first place. If they’re not injured, we’ve got diving equipment to get out, if they are injured though, we’ll take them back here to the car and drive back the way you guys came.”

Calum and Ashton nodded at Luke’s plan, the team splitting to go their separate ways, slowly creeping through the tunnels, hoping they’d find what they were looking for where they expected to. There were spots where the tunnel sloped down, the final slope ended in a T, Luke and Calum went to the left, Ashton and Simon to the right. They kept crawling a little further until they reached what looked like a bathroom vent. Ashton looked through the slats, spotting a familiar bag on the bathroom floor, nodding excitedly to the other spy before carefully removing the vent. Both men carefully lowered down, landing lightly on the toilet lid before hopping to the ground. They slowly made their way to the bathroom door, pausing on the inside of the door, waiting a moment. The sound of Michael’s voice reached their ears, “Did you refold and put away things after you made your splint?”

“Of course, you mess,” came Jay’s teasing response, the volume of her voice softer to them than Michael’s, but it, along with the lack of things scattered around the bathroom, gave Ashton the information he was waiting for, Michael knew they were coming.

He felt a lightness in his chest from his friends’ faith in their team, smile crossing his face as he heard Michael acknowledge someone else, muttering something about code and security measures. Ashton held back Simon, waiting a moment for whoever Michael had spoken to to go away, some sort of guard probably. He peeked out the doorway, spotting Calum doing the same across the way. He nodded at his friend, holding up his hand and counting down from five.

As soon as he put down his last finger, they stepped out into the room, four spies moving quickly and quietly towards the two that had been captured. Michael spun in his chair, having seen two figures moving towards Jay’s bed in the reflection of one of the computer screens. His guard was up as he approached Simon, pulling back a fist. Ashton quickly pulled back his mask and hood, “Hey, hey, it’s us, we’re here for you,” he waved quickly over at Luke and Calum, both of them doing the same as Ashton.

Michael sighed with relief, letting Ashton wrap him in his arms, “Sorry, just...stressed.”

“It’s ok, we’ve got you, we’re here.” Ashton whispered, rubbing Michael’s shoulders.

“Jay thinks she broke her ankle,” Michael said as he pulled away, looking to the glass wall that Ashton could now see separated the couple.

Ashton nodded, quickly pulling a tool from his belt, cutting a hole in the glass. Michael gasped, running through it immediately, leaning down to give Jay a kiss. “Get her out, please, Alek Turner is the one who took us, wants names, we have to try to bring him in. He has people on the inside, need to find out more.”

Ashton, Calum and Luke nodded, understanding. Calum carefully took Jay in his arms, heading for her bathroom. Ashton ran over, grabbing Michael’s bag from his bathroom handing it to Luke before grabbing Michael’s arm, making him move. Michael looked at the computer he’d been working on, pulling against Ashton to go for the computer, “Need to get out of our system before we leave.”

Ashton stared for a moment, Simon already getting the glass into the hallway cut. “Is the only thing on that computer hacking software, nothing we can use against Turner?”

“Yeah, but--”

Ashton shot at the CPU three times, Michael staring slack jawed as the screens slowly flickered off, “There, they can’t use any of your hard work getting started to figure out how to get in from there.”

Michael nodded slowly, letting Ashton lead him out into the hallway. Ashton pulled his hood and mask back over his head, nodding towards Simon. They took off for the doors, Ashton smacking the guard with the butt of his pistol, knocking him to the ground. They’d run up a few flights of stairs when Michael realized something. He grabbed Ashton’s shoulder as they paused on a landing, “Fletch, he knows you.”

Ashton’s hazel eyes widened as he processed what Michael was saying, “No fucking way.” he whispered.

Michael just nodded, pausing at the door out of the stairwell. He listened quietly for a moment before pushing out into the hallway, waiting for the other two to follow him. The sound of fighting came from down the hall. Luke had clearly alerted the other team’s leader that they needed to go after Turner now. Michael took off down the hall, Ashton following right behind him. The two dove into the fray, bobbing and weaving through the fighting spies and henchmen, landing hits when necessary. They’d lost track of Simon, but figured he’d be elsewhere helping their teammates.

Michael caught sight of Turner trying to slip away, his silken pajamas rumpled. He leapt in the larger man’s direction, tackling him to the ground and struggling to gain control. He ended up on top of the other man’s chest, satisfied smile on his pink lips as he recognized the purple bruise around Alek’s throat from their tangle earlier in the day. He gripped the collar of the pajama shirt, lifting Turner just slightly as he leaned in, growling “I’m gonna be so happy to lock you up. This, is for my girlfriend,” he paused, landing a punch to Alek’s nose, “and this, is for all those slimeball snitches you’re going to tell us about, you bastard.” He punctuated the second statement with another punch, this time to Turner’s cheek, before twisting slightly to look at Ashton. “Care to do the honors, Fletch?”

Ashton nodded, stepping forward, cuffs already in hand. He restrained Turner while Michael turned him to his stomach, face squished against the marble floor. “C’mon Fletch,” Alek started, using the sweet, innocent voice he had spoken with as Aaron, “we were friends, take it easy, yeah?”

Ashton snorted, tightening the first cuff, “Fletch was friends with Aaron, if I’d known who I was talking with at the time I’d have knocked you in the head with my trowel first chance I got, no questions asked.”

Michael smiled, though he knew Ashton with any makeshift weapon was dangerous, the image of his friend with his bright red hair standing over the large blonde they were taking in, dressed in overalls and weilding a trowel tickled him just a bit. He was about to make a joke about it when he heard the clicking of a revolver. He turned, locking eyes with Simon, his mask and hood removed as he stood over Michael, Ashton, and Alek. He glanced around, the four other members of the extraction team were all staring, standing in a sea of unconscious and subdued henchmen, shocked that one of their own was pointing a gun at the spy they’d come to rescue.

“I suggest you think about what you’re doing, Si.” Ashton warned lowly, “You’re outnumbered, plus if you even try to think about shooting me or Agent M, you’re going to be risking shooting your boss here, and you don’t want to do that, do you?”

Michael nodded, green eyes meeting brown, “Yeah, just put the gun down, Simon, maybe the brass will consider leniency since you helped me escape, but only if you cooperate now, otherwise...who knows?”

Simon lowered the gun slightly, still not dropping it to the ground. Michael took a heavy breath, glancing towards Ashton. He nodded, shifting on top of Turner. Michael moved quickly, barrelling into Simon before he knew what was happening. The gun went off, bullet grazing Michael’s arm before embedding itself in a wall. Michael yelped, but wrestled the revolver out of Simon’s grasp, pinning him in his arms before looking to another agent. “Kay, help us to bring him in?”

“With pleasure,” they responded, Michael easily handing over the mole to them, watching as Ashton stood with Turner, nodding to the team leader and they all walked out the door.

Kay put Simon in the car with Alek while Ashton stood under the liftgate, looking over Michael. “M’just bruised and sore Fletch,” Michael stated, aware that there still could be listening ears, even with Alek Turner in their custody.

Ashton sighed, nodding and letting Michael get to his feet, lowering the trunk as Kay came around the side, “They’re secured, gonna head out with the rest of the team. Meet you guys at the rendezvous point.”

Michael thanked them, giving them a quick hug before he got in the passenger seat next to Ashton. The drive through the narrow tunnel was quiet, Michael listening to the calming playlist that Ashton had on. He smiled as he sat there, car slowly moving upwards. Ashton stopped ten feet back from what appeared to be a dead end, putting the car in park as he fiddled with his watch. Michael stared wide eyed as a ramp lowered down, Ashton punching the gas and driving up it, the car coming into a wider tunnel. Michael’s mouth hung open and Ashton turned to look at him, confused, “Did you not see any of this when they brought you down?”

“No, I got knocked out as soon as I asked why we had passed the airport.”

Ashton nodded slowly, continuing to drive out of the tunnel, heading for the surface. Once they were full out of the tunnel and back on the highway they could see the sunrise over the bay. Michael hummed, taking in the orange and pink reflected in the water, “Haven’t seen one of those in a while.”

Ashton laughed heartily, smiling as he continued the drive to where they were supposed to meet up with Luke, Calum, and the rest of the team. Once they arrived at the airport Michael scrambled out of the car, running for where he could see Luke and Calum waiting at the bottom of the plane stairs. He wrapped both men in his arms, pressing to their chests. “This is a total 180 from you almost punching Simon’s face when we came in.” Calum joked, eyes sparkling until he saw Ashton holding a cuffed Simon.

“Shoulda punched his lights out when I thought you guys were henchmen taking Jay somewhere because I wasn’t working fast enough. Fucking mole.” Michael grunted, noticing the shock both men held. He shook his head as Ashton walked Simon up the stairs, followed by another team member with Turner. “Anyway, how’s my girl?”

Luke nodded, leading Michael onto the plane with everyone else, Michael quickly strode over to where he saw his girlfriend, laying on a couch, her foot propped up on a pile of pillows. He smiled, crouching next to her, holding her hand as another few people walked past, carrying the go bags from the back of the car, Turner’s henchmen having just grabbed two when they brought the spies in that afternoon. Michael hummed, content to just sit on the floor in front of his girlfriend as the plane took off for HQ.

~~~~~

Michael had dozed off at some point during the flight, body content to finally knock out of its own volition, giving him two hours of proper sleep before Calum was shaking him awake on the approach. Once they landed they all filed off the plane, Michael cradling Jay in his arms as he followed everyone to the three cars waiting on the tarmac. Luke, Ashton, and Calum clambered into the third row seats, Michael ducking his head as he buckled his girlfriend into her seat before he ran to the other side of the car. Alek Turner and Simon were put in their own car, being taken straight to HQ for processing while the entire extraction team were taken to their doctors to get checked out.

Michael was cleared quickly, and he walked over to Jay’s room, waiting patiently for her to come back from having x rays taken. The nurse who wheeled her back in simply nodded and left the room, and he rose from his chair, rushing over to give Jay a long kiss, holding her gently. “After everything we’ve been through today, I don’t fucking care what they do to us for this, so long as I still get to have you.”

Jay smiled, running her fingers through his hair. He carefully lifted her from the chair, going to sit on the exam table, holding Jay sideways in his lap. Before the doctor came back in with the x rays, Luke, Ashton, and Calum had all joined them in the small room, finding various spots to sit and wait for the update on their teammate. He sighed when he finally came in, shaking his head slightly before putting up the images on the light board, showing the injury Jay had sustained when the henchman she’d been fighting had caught her mid-kick, twisting her foot before dropping her to the floor.

Michael grimaced at the memory of the sound of Jay yelling before a thunk, right before they’d both been knocked out for the second time in one day. Jay squeezed his hand gently and he turned his head, giving her a smile as the doctor explained that she was going to have to be in a cast for about a month and a half, confined to desk duty for that time period.

As soon as Jay’s leg was wrapped in a clunky purple cast they were cleared to go. Calum carried Jay’s new crutches while Michael opted to carry her to their meeting with the brass, the team of five standing strong together as they entered the office. They looked up at the five leaders of the organization, their identities concealed even to their own employees. The one standing in the middle spoke first, looking down at the five spies in front of them. “So, first, glad to have you two back safe and sound, agents. Good job thinking to apprehend Turner before escaping to safety, Agent M, who knows how long we would’ve been searching for him again had you not insisted that that was the priority.”

Michael bowed his head at the praise, waiting for the shoe to drop. “However,” spoke up another member, “This is exactly why none of you are supposed to be in a relationship with another team member. What would’ve happened if no one came to get you?”

He cleared his throat quietly, waiting a beat to see if any of the other leaders would chime in or if he was to answer. He licked his lips before nodding, “I was already stalling for time when my team members came in to get me. I had set off alarms in the lab, getting a conversation in with my mentor, Agent S. If I’d been informed that no one was coming at that time I would’ve continued to stall and try to get him more information. Turner would not have gotten anything from me unless I had absolutely nowhere else to turn.

However, Turner was sloppy, he took us when we were expected to be somewhere, left behind people who would do anything to make sure that Jay and I came back safe. Plus, as you can see, we didn’t go down easy either, we were both knocked out twice within a single day. I think the more important question here is how did Turner get access to agents and turn them to his side to give him any information at all, regardless of the fact that they all refused to tell him where this building is. We need to get him to tell us how many informants he had and who they were, all we have right now is Simon and that’s solely because he pulled a gun on us while we were restraining Turner. How much loyalty do the other moles feel for him if Simon was willing to point a gun at people who have trained and worked alongside him for years?”

There were murmurs from the leaders, the five of them talking to each other while the team waited patiently. Finally, the head of their entire organization rose, at the far end, her gaze falling on the couple before turning to the rest of the team as well. “There’s no way that we can stop the two of you right now. We will question Simon and Alek Turner thoroughly to discover who else answered to Turner and bring them all to justice. All five of you are to take leave for the next week before returning to work. Get some rest, you’ve all done well.”

All five team members nodded, quietly exiting the room. Once they were out and had gathered all their things they smiled at each other. “Breakfast? I’m starving, I haven’t eaten since we left the safehouse.” Michael said, grinning.

They all nodded, making their ways to their respective cars once they agreed on a place. Michael got Jay buckled in before accepting the crutches from Calum, laying them in the backseat before getting in himself. “You should wear clothes like Luke’s more often, looks nice, probably be better without the sweats.”

Michael chuckled as he started the car, slowly backing out of his spot before responding. “Probably would be. The pink is definitely starting to grow on me.”

Jay hummed as Michael pulled out onto the street. “Got a whole week at home together, then you get me sitting in the lab with you for like a whole month, that’s gonna be nice.”

“Sure is sweetheart, I can’t wait.” Michael smiled, leaning over to give his girlfriend a kiss at the stoplight, Luke and Ashton hooting on either side of his car. He shook his head, “So long as we get a good amount of time away from them,” he joked, smile on both their faces as they continued their drive to the restaurant, looking forward to their freetime, together.

Tag List: @irwinkitten @calpops @goth5sos @wildflowergrae @empathycth

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

For months now, President Trump has carefully planted the seed that he might not leave the office of the presidency willingly if he loses.

Whether it’s tweeting that the election should be delayed as it “will be the most inaccurate and fraudulent election in history” or that there will be widespread voter fraud because of the expected uptick in mail ballots due to the coronavirus, Trump seems intent on undermining the electoral process.

This, in turn, raises a rather thorny and unprecedented question: What happens if Trump won’t go? The answer is bleak. Experts tell me that the president actually has a lot of power at his discretion to contest the election, and some of the scenarios that could bring us to the edge of a crisis are actually very plausible.

Consider this one: It’s late on Election Day, and hundreds of thousands of votes in key battleground states still have to be counted due to the increased use of mail and absentee voting because of the pandemic. As a result, media outlets have largely avoided calling the race, but based on the votes that have been counted, Trump leads in enough states to reach at least 270 electoral votes, which would be enough to win the election if his election-night lead holds. Trump claims victory, but because Democrats were much more likely to vote by mail than Republicans, Joe Biden eventually pulls ahead because of the Democratic lean of the remaining votes — a phenomenon known as the “blue shift.”

That’s just one of the many scenarios the Transition Integrity Project, a bipartisan collection of over 100 experts, explored this summer while researching how a possible election crisis could unfold.

Rosa Brooks, a professor at Georgetown University Law School who co-founded the Transition Integrity Project, told me she and her colleagues weren’t interested in predicting the likelihood of any one scenario they looked at, but more so in understanding the range of possibilities. Ultimately, they don’t know to what extent this year’s election result will be contested — would Trump deploy federal agents from the Department of Justice to secure vote counting sites or would he just take to Twitter to bemoan the results? — but Brooks told me they do think the election will be contested at least on some level. So the question they’re asking is: How much?

One big takeaway from the Transition Integrity Project’s simulations was just how much power Trump has at his disposal should he choose to contest the election. “You have just a tremendous differential between the president of the United States of America, who has just awesome coercive powers at his disposal, and a challenger who really has no power whatsoever in our system,” said Brooks. “Joe Biden can call a press conference; Donald Trump could call on the 82nd Airborne.”

This, of course, would be a doomsday scenario, and one reason why so much of this is hard to fathom. A cornerstone of American elections has been the peaceful transition of power, but as research from the Transition Integrity Project and others underscores, there are multiple ways to contest an election. And it’s not limited to just Trump either. It’s very possible were Trump to win in the Electoral College, where he has an advantage, but lose the popular vote to Biden, that Democrats would dismiss the election as unfair.

We, of course, do not have to look too far back in our electoral history to know that Americans have survived a disputed election before — see the 2000 presidential race. But experts I talked to were worried, given Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric around the election and his own track record of openly flouting democratic norms, that the country wouldn’t be able to handle another full-throttle election dispute. Take how low the public’s trust in the election already is. Last week, an NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll found that 59 percent of Americans were not too confident or not confident at all that the election would be conducted in a free and equal way, in line with its polling since early August on this question.

It might be hard to remember now, but in the 2000 presidential election, Florida’s GOP-controlled state legislature was on the verge of appointing a new slate of electors to vote for George W. Bush had a court-ordered manual recount imposed by the Florida Supreme Court dragged on. Of course, it ultimately didn’t come to that because the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in and halted Florida’s recount, famously deciding in a 5-4 decision that the state Supreme Court had overstepped its bounds and that a recount could not be held in time to meet the federal deadline for the selection of presidential electors.

Edward Foley of Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law thinks something similar could happen this year if the president and his backers contest the results in the Electoral College.

In Foley’s scenario, Trump leads in the tipping-point state of Pennsylvania on election night, but because of Democratic gains in ballots counted in the following days, Biden pulls ahead by a few thousand votes. What happens next quickly devolves into a partisan dispute. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signs Pennsylvania’s certificate of ascertainment, confirming Biden’s victory by listing the Democratic electors as the state’s official slate for the Electoral College, while the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature appoints a different set of electors at Trump’s behest as he has claimed there was widespread election fraud.

This, were it to happen, would likely be met immediately with legal challenges in state and federal court, perhaps followed by another intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. But the significance is that even if a court ruled against the validity of one set of electors, Congress still has the power to consider both sets of electors as long as they have in hand the certificate naming them.

The Electoral Count Act of 1887, which governs the electoral vote counting process, was designed to help Congress decide how to handle such a situation. But it is especially ambiguous on what would happen if the Senate and House disagree on which set of electors should count, which could happen if the GOP retains control of the Senate and Democrats keep the House.

In Foley’s scenario, Vice President Mike Pence — as president of the Senate, he would oversee the count in Congress — follows one interpretation of the law, arguing that neither set of electors should count because they conflict. That removes Pennsylvania’s votes from the total number of electors and gives Trump a majority based on the remaining 518 electoral votes.1 Democrats, however, counter, claiming the certificate bearing the governor’s seal, which supports Biden, is given preference by the law.

Ultimately, though, neither side finds a compromise and we find ourselves in the midst of a full-blown constitutional crisis. In this scenario, the Supreme Court could become involved if, for instance, Democrats seek an injunction to stop Pence from not counting Pennsylvania’s votes. But it’s also possible the court would try to avoid making a ruling on the counting dispute, in keeping with a dissent from Bush v. Gore that argued neither the Constitution nor the Electoral Count Act provided a role for the judiciary in this process.

Under the 20th Amendment, we know someone must take office on Jan. 20 as president, yet the amendment is curiously silent on how to deal with a dispute over whether someone has actually qualified to take office. “The thing that we know for sure is the current term ends,” said Foley, but he added that doesn’t mean it would be straightforward to figure out who should take office next if there’s a disagreement.

In fact, it’s possible that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could claim that under the Presidential Succession Act, she is next in line to become president and that she would be willing to resign her House seat to serve as president until Biden is ruled the election winner. But if Republicans claimed Trump had won reelection, they very well might object to Pelosi being sworn in. Given a crisis on this scale, it’s hard to unpack what exactly might happen, but it’s very likely things would spiral out of control, and the resulting uncertainty could spark unrest and protests that could very well lead to violence.

Gaming out these different scenarios demonstrates that, should Trump dispute the result, a key factor will be the extent to which leading Republican officials at the federal and state level cooperate with him. Brooks pointed out that while Trump has significant power to contest the results as president, he can ultimately only go so far if supporters don’t follow his lead.

For instance, in one of its simulations, the Transition Integrity Project found that GOP leaders might support some of Trump’s claims of fraud or maneuvers to manipulate the vote count, but that didn’t mean they’d go along with every move he tried. For instance, it found many Republicans might oppose an attempt to federalize and deploy the National Guard. And in Foley’s scenario, much hinged on what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans — including Pence — chose to do when it came to deciding which Pennsylvania electors should count.

The relative closeness of the election is a factor here, too. In a different simulation the Transition Integrity Project looked at that put Biden in a stronger position on election night, Trump attracted less support from Republican leaders and Biden’s campaign was able to get some degree of bipartisan cooperation so that the country didn’t slide into a full-blown electoral crisis. Still, throughout its different scenarios, the project found it likely that the Trump campaign would try to raise enough doubts about the vote so as to undermine what might even seem like a clear result. Considering Trump claimed millions of people illegally voted when he won in 2016, it doesn’t take much to imagine he’d do the same this year if he thought it would improve his chances of winning a contested election. That’s one reason researchers at the Transition Integrity Project rank Trump’s allegations of voter fraud among the most dangerous threats currently facing the election.

Of course, considering how high the existential stakes seem to be in this election, it’s not out of the question that Biden might be the one who disputes the result. Tellingly, in another simulation the Transition Integrity Project played out, a crisis unfolded after Trump won in the Electoral College but lost the national popular vote by 5 points. Trump claimed it was fraud that explained Biden’s popular vote edge, but Biden retracted an election night concession and pushed Democratic governors in Michigan and Wisconsin to send appointed slates of electors to Congress, in conflict with the elected ones backing Trump. In his work, Foley also explored an alternate scenario in which Arizona was the tipping-point state and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey refused to certify the results to give Biden the state’s electors. During Congress’s counting, congressional Democrats argued that Arizona’s electors should be disqualified to give Biden the victory — the same argument Pence made in the Pennsylvania scenario to claim Trump had won.

The scenarios laid out by the Transition Integrity Project and Foley shouldn’t be taken as definite outcomes, but they do make clear that the rickety apparatus governing our electoral process could collapse if key actors decide to push against it.

Worryingly, the public may be especially vulnerable to attempts to delegitimize the election, too. Faith in the Electoral College is already shaky because of the possibility of a popular vote-electoral vote split like in 2000 and 2016, and worse yet, support for the Electoral College is increasingly polarized by party. A conflict over which electors should count would only exacerbate those concerns. And because many Americans still expect to know who won on election night, this could create a situation where much of the public isn’t ready for — or is ready to reject — sizable shifts in the vote after Election Day, which could make it easier to cast doubt on the outcome.

But even if the worst scenarios don’t come to pass, the fact that we lack a neutral electoral arbiter is surely a ticking time bomb for our democracy. Such an institution may sound difficult to create, but many individual states have used judicial panels to successfully sort through close elections, and other democratic nations have far better laws to adjudicate contested elections. For now, though, in the absence of such measures, the peaceful transfer of power hinges on the expectation that that is how American elections work, but that may be increasingly hanging in the balance, as anyone living in this incredibly polarized era of U.S. politics will tell you.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Geoffrey Skelley

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windless-hurricane · 4 years

Text

She's the One

Chapter 3: Eleven

A Billy x Reader x Steve Fanfic

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

SUMMARY: You're One, one of the many kids experimented on in Hawkins lab. Eleven's sister. You were found and now, you're here to stay.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry for the long hiatus, but I'm finally back and here to finish this series! I hope you enjoy!

WARNINGS: Language, violence, and graphic scenes involving blood and/or death.

WORD COUNT: 3.2k

TAGLIST: @cherrym4rk @acidrain707 @torntaltos @evelynfreakinaddams @bun-dpdbny @qtmeryr @art-flirt @5sosxgrethan @kayln97 @uwu-bucky @thecornerstoreoftheuniverse @book--butterfly @laurmillen @gabyer0309 @colourado @supernaturalvikingwhore @gothackedalready @xxalice98xxblog @bhad-disposition @loveofmonstersandroses

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SHE'S THE ONE MASTERLIST

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You two stared at each other for what felt like hours. Hours and nothing less. That’s what it felt like to you at least. However, in reality, those hours were really seconds.

She didn't recognize you completely, but who could blame her? It had been five years since you were put away in that tank. Of course she wouldn't recognize you right off that bat. However, all you needed, at least for the moment, was to feel that sense of remembrance within her. A feeling that told you she remembered you, but couldn't quite remember how. That...connection. And to your relief, you felt it. That would be enough for now. Right now, someone else had to talk to her more and that was Mike. You could feel it off of him.

Without hesitation, Eleven turned to him. Her eyes glossed over and lips trembling as she smiled. It was sad yet full of relief, and his smile only matched hers once they met in the center of the room.

“I never gave up on you,” he confessed and the tone of his voice was so raw and adoring, it surprised you. The love you already knew he felt for her was so real and powerful, it was amazing. “I called you every night - every night for-”

“353 days. I heard,” she finished and you couldn’t help but smirk. They even finished each other’s sentences. It was adorable, but 353 days was still a long time.

“Why didn’t tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her,” Hopper interrupted and everyone’s eyes quickly darted toward him. They were mostly confused as they watched him with wide eyes. Mike, however, scowled at him.

“The hell is this,” he questioned harshly before turning back to Eleven. “Where have you been?” But seeing as she had no answer, he faced Hopper again, shouting at him angrily. “You’ve been hiding her! You’ve been hiding her this whole time!”

“Hey,” Hopper shouted back, “Lets talk.” And just like that, Hopper grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into another room. While the kids worried for Mike, you worried for Hopper. You could sense the amount of regret he had toward the situation, but it was something that had to be done and Mike had to understand that. Even if it did hurt him.

“Hey,” someone called out, and you were quickly brought back to reality. You turned and met the brown-eyed gaze of Eleven once again. She was a lot closer now and for some reason, it made you incredibly anxious. You didn’t know why, but you were eventually able to place it on your fear. Your fear of her not actually remembering you, even if you did feel it. What if it had just been in your head? You were hoping that that wasn’t the case. That’s why you had to know-

“Do you remember me?”

You gazed at her intently, waiting for her answer. To you, everything depended on her answer. If she didn’t remember you, then everyone would believe that you just spouted lies to them about being Eleven’s sister. So not only would you lose their trust. but you would also lose the only family you had left. So please, Eleven. Say yes.

Then, her warm hand gripped your wrist and you gaped at her uneasily. Her grip was loose and gentle as she turned your wrist over, exposing and examining your tattoo at the same time.

“One,” she let out quietly and you almost gasped.

“Yes,” you asked and she gazed back at you with glossy eyes.

“You're my…”

“Sister,” you finished. “You probably...don't remember me… You were still so little...but I was the one…”

“Who saved them,” she confirmed.

“Yeah… how did you-”

“I remember.” Your eyes widened in surprise. “And Kali told me too.”

“Kali...Eight?” She nodded. So, it was really was Eight that you heard Eleven with before you woke up.

“Is she okay?” She nodded again. “That's good to hear,” you muttered, but you still felt a bit guilty. “Listen, Eleven… I'm-I'm sorry that I wasn't able to-”

“It's okay,” she interrupted.

“It is?”

“Yeah.” She chuckled slightly and you couldn't help the smile that made its way onto your face as well. Both your eyes began to well up with tears.

“It's been so long,” you noted and you both pulled each other into a long awaited, but much needed hug. You missed this and you probably always would - the warmth of another person, especially...someone you cared about.

You glanced up and spotted Lucas and Dustin right behind her. As much as you needed this hug, like with Mike, they needed a moment with her too. They were her best friends after all.

“I won't hog you anymore,” you whispered into her hair. “They need a hug too.” She nodded before pulling away and walking over to them. Your smile only grew as you watched their faces light up with happiness. That's what you wanted to feel. Not pain, but happiness. After you all dealt with the gate, you knew you definitely could. Everyone could.

__________________________________________

“I can do it,” Eleven responded confidently and you stared at her in awe.

“No, you're not hearing me,” Hopper explained. “It's not like before. It's grown...a lot. And even if we do get in there, the lab is crawling with those dogs-”

“Demodogs,” Dustin bluntly corrected and Hopper only shot him a glare.

“That's not the point. The point is is that it'll be nearly impossible to get in there with those things.”

“I can do it,” Eleven repeated, sterner than before. You smirked slightly before Mike spoke up.

“Even if El can, there's another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies.” You furrowed your eyebrows as you pieced it together.

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max questioned.

“It is, but if we're really right - if she closes the gate and it kills the mind flayer’s army-”

“Then, Will goes too,” you concluded, causing Mike to nod.

“Closing the gate will kill him.”

A silence befell on everyone as they processed this. It'll kill Will, so what can you do to keep it from happening?

“He likes it cold,” Joyce mumbled, almost inaudibly.

“What,” Hopper irked.

“He likes it cold. Will told me that and we just-we just keep giving it what it wants.”

“If this is a virus,” Nancy began. “And Will’s the host…”

“We need to make the host uninhabitable,” Jonathan finished.

“You need to burn it out of him,” you told them, before glancing up at them. “You have to do it somewhere it doesn't know this time - somewhere far away.” So, Hopper suggested it be his house and they agreed easily. Jonathan, Nancy, and Joyce were on their way there now while Hopper took you to another room to speak with you.

“Do you think you can come with us,” he asked softly and you gazed at him in surprise before shaking your head.

“I can...but it’s not my choice,” you answered and he sighed deeply. “It's Eleven’s. I know…she can close the gate by herself...that's for sure. I can help...but I have a feeling she wants to do it by herself. It's her...mission.”

“Her mission?”

“She was the one...who awakened the monster. So...it's her mission.”

“It is my mission,” Eleven confirmed and you and Hopper both shot her a look.

“Are you sure about this,” Hopper asked and she nodded, looking at you now.

“Can you...keep them safe,” she asked and you smiled gently.

“Of course.” Like you said before, you would help in any way you could. Even if it meant staying behind. “Just promise to be safe.”

“Promise,” she smiled.

__________________________________________

It had been ten minutes since you were left with Steve and the kids and things weren't going well so far. You both had very different opinions on what should be done while everyone else was out. Steve was very against what you and the kids suggested. "This is not happening! I promised to keep you shitheads safe and (Y/N) did too, so I don't know why you’re condoning this.”

“Yeah, I agreed to protect them, which I will. But I think we could do more than just sit here too,” you argued, almost pouting. If you weren't in the situation, Steve would've thought it was cute. But you were in this situation.

“No,” he exclaimed. “We're staying here, on the bench, and letting the starting team do their job. Does everyone understand that?” His gaze flickered between you and the kids, but you felt like the question was mainly for you.

“This isn't a sports game,” Mike retorted.

“Does everyone understand?! I need a yes!” Before anyone could answer though, a large roar was heard outside and you immediately jumped to your feet, preparing for an attack from what you presumed was another demodog.

“Was that-”

“No,” Max let out panickily before running to the window and throwing up the curtain. She spun back around with fear flooding her eyes. “It's my brother.”

Brother? You didn't know she had one. No, you probably just didn't remember she had one. You had to have heard his voice before, but now wasn't the time to remember. The kids, especially Max, were starting to freak out.

“He can't know I'm here,” she emphasized. “He’ll kill me. No, he'll kill us.” Your eyes widened almost immediately as she said that. He'll kill us? Her own brother? That didn't seem right. How could her own family - Then an image of Doctor Brenner flashed in your head. You took that back. He definitely could and you weren't going to let that to happen.

“No, he won't,” you stated strongly. “Not while I'm here.” The kids seemed reassured by your response and you were about to make your way to the door until a hand clamped over your shoulder, stopping you. You glanced up to the owner of that hand confusedly. “Steve?”

“I'll handle this.”

“Now’s not the time to be cool, Harrington,” Dustin yelled. “Just let the girl with the mind powers handle him.”

“I got this,” Steve repeated once more before heading out the door and slamming it behind him.

While you could have stopped him, you could feel that he had it out for this guy - like this was something that he always wanted to do it. So, you decided not to interfere for the time being.

Once he stepped out, the kids immediately leapt onto the couch and gathered around the open curtain. You tensed, hoping her brother wouldn't see them, but your curiosity ended up getting the best of you as well. You ended up joining them right on the couch.

You saw Steve. He was still on the porch and you could faintly hear him.

“What's he saying,” Dustin asked quietly.

“I can read minds, not hear through walls,” you muttered.

“Then, what's he thinking?”

“I want to beat this guy’s...ass?”

“What's Billy thinking?” This time it was Max asking. You had been so focused on Steve, you forgot the reason why he was out there in the first place.

You looked past Steve and caught the sight of Billy for the first time, and he was not what you expected to say the least. From where you were, he looked like he was about Steve’s height. Yet his body was completely different. He was broader, more muscular, and he knew it too. His hair was kempt, longer than Steve’s, but tuft and curly. He took care of it. While you expected a monster, you didn't expect such a pretty one. Then, that monster met your eyes.

“Shit,” Dustin exclaimed, and that was your que to all duck behind the couch. “Did he see us?”

“Pretty sure he did,” you answered, moving away from the couch along with everyone else.

“Can't you make us disappear or something?!”

“What?”

“You said you can make people see what you want them to see, right?! So can't you make it seem like we're not here?!”

“He already saw us, there's no-”

Then, the door exploded open and you looked to the door in shock. There he was. He was prettier up close, but looked a lot meaner. You subconsciously moved in front of the kids as he inched closer to the five of you. You frowned. What were you supposed to do against a person without hurting them too much?

“Well, well, well, if it isn't Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise,” he scoffed, looking straight past you. Honestly if that didn't make you mad, then his condescending tone did. You were right there. It wasn't until you stepped in front of Lucas that he decided to acknowledge you. “And who might you be, sweetheart?” Sweetheart?

“The real question is who are you, breaking into someone’s house like that,” you sneered and he seemed taken aback by your response, but rather than show it, he simply laughed and shook his head.

“Well, whoever you are, doll, I came for my sister. The redhead behind you.”

“She's not going anywhere with you.” This had him seething, his face nearly as red as Max’s hair.

“Now, listen, you bi-”

“Billy, just go home,” Max yelled.

“You know what happens when you disobey me, Max,” he tried taking a step forward, but you stopped him in his place. The action left your head aching, but you ignored it as he attempted to push forward again. Confusion overwhelmed his face, but that soon contorted into anger. "I swear, Max, when we get home, you're dead! You're so dead!” You flinched at his yelling and released your hold until-

“No, you are.”

Steve twisted him around and punched him square in the jaw. You jumped back in surprise and watched as Billy quickly recovered, wiping his bloody nose.

“You got some fire in your after all, huh? I've been waiting to meet this ‘King Steve’ they tell me so much about.” This was a challenge. Billy wanted to fight. You peered at Steve and he held your eyes for a moment before darting back to Billy. He poked into his chest and pushed him back slightly-

“Get out.” While it wasn't what you expected, avoiding a fight was the best option. Billy wasn't impressed though because in a brief moment, Billy took a swing for him. And in a few more, an all out fist fight broke out between them.

You moved the kids out of the way, but they seemed to focus on the fight to even notice. They were cheering Steve's name, which meant he was winning...but for how long?

Your question was answered the moment you saw Billy grab ahold of something and break it over Steve’s head. “Steve!”

The floor beneath you cracked as you called out his name. It was something you didn’t mean to do, but it still happened nonetheless. Later you would wonder why Steve getting hurt invoked such a powerful reaction in you, but right now, all you could think about was stopping Billy from hurting him further.

You took a step forward, not knowing that the others already moved away from you, waiting for you next move.

“Hey,” you shouted, but Billy didn’t move from his current position on top of Steve. He only continued to pound on him harder. Your grew angrier and you felt your veins begin to burn. You shouted louder. “Get off him!” You jerked your head to the side in the process and his body went flying.

“Shit,” Dustin exclaimed. Shit indeed. You didn't know what you were going to do, but you certainly didn't mean to do that. Luckily, he didn't go flying too far - just into the wall beside you. So, he should be fine...hopefully.

Before you could continue to scold yourself, Steve let out a deep groan and spoke exasperatedly.

“You couldn’t do that sooner?” Your face flushed in embarrassment as you paced toward him and knelt down beside him.

“You said you could handle it,” you responded, scanning over his face. You frowned as you took in the sight. His eyes were rimmed with darkness, his cheekbone and lips were swollen, and there was a rather large bump forming on his head. You could feel just how much pain he was in and now you were starting to feel guilty. “Steve...your face.” You subconsciously reached for his cheek and placed your hand on it gently. He hissed at your sudden contact, but not because it hurt, but because of how cold your hand was. It was a sharp contrast to his awfully warm skin. However, he couldn't lie and say that the coldness didn't help sooth his wounds. He also couldn’t lie and say that he didn’t like the feel of your hand against him.

His vision began to blur, but he could still make out the red. "(Y/N)…your nose." You realized that it was bleeding, but wiped it clean.

“It’s fine,” you insisted. "Come on." As you were about to help him up, a strangled groan cut you off. You could only recognize it as Billy and glared once you saw him attempting to get up from where he land

“What the hell-what the hell did you do to me,” he huffed, still on his knees. He rubbed his head in annoyance, moving his hair out of the way and making eye contact with you. It was now that you got a good view of his eyes, even if he was glaring at you just as much as you were glaring at him. They were blue and furious, but it still made you question how something as pretty as blue could hold such hatred. Especially towards you.

“What did you do,” he asked once again, but seeing as you weren’t going to answer, he scowled at you. “Damn, bitch.” And just as he was about to get up, something unexpected happen. A needle went shooting into his neck. Everyone’s eyes went wide with shock, excluding Max, who was the one doing the stabbing. That must’ve been the extra syringe they took from the lab earlier.

He stumbled back in a daze as he looked to his younger sister. He almost didn't seem to know what was going on, even as he pulled the syringe out of his neck.

“The hell is this,” he asked, before dropping it to the floor. Then, after stumbling around some more, his body dropped to the floor as well. He was starting to lose consciousness, but Max wasn’t letting him go that easily. She picked up Steve’s bat and stood above him, holding it over her shoulder.

“Max,” you warned.

“From here on out,” she started. “You're going to leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?”

“Screw...you,” he slurred and moments later, she swung.

“Max,” you exclaimed before jumping at the sound of the bat hitting the floorboard. You sighed in relief as she raised the bat again.

“Say you understand! Say it,” she yelled.

“I...understand,” he mumbled.

“I couldn't hear you!”

“I understand,” he responded clearly before passing out. She started to dig into his pocket for something as you flipped your attention back to Steve. His head was in your lap and you didn't expect him to be passed out as well. You ruffled his hair softly as you heard keys jangle. You looked up at Max as she smirked.

“Let's get outta here.”

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judgement-free-sideblog · 4 years

Text

Blood, tears and sea breeze

Warnings: ANGST, mental health issues, graphic depictions of violence, blood, cursing, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of sex, substance abuse.

Also I'm sure Elaine Jenkinson was not gay on the series, and that Tracey Childs the actress who portrays her was not gay either, but I got this inspiration for the character and I needed to follow it, I'm sorry in advance if this upset you in any way.

Summary: The not so peaceful town of Broadchurch face dead again, while Alec Hardy continues his journey to redemption will this school teacher be the key to solve the mystery or just another victim of the ever watching evilness that seems to reside in the town.

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Chapter 15: Home

The alarm clock marked 5:30 a.m. and behind the curtains of Elaine Jenkinson the sun still hadn't rise. She was not surprised, since the news of the new case she had been waking up early, and since last night meeting she was more anxious about how to proceed on Jonathan's Norbury murder investigation.

The Chief Superintendent of broadchurch police shake away her concerns and got out of bed, she make herself a cup of tea and took it back to her room while she got ready, careful to not wake up her wife, she loved that woman more than life, but she had many opinions on why she shouldn't bring food to the room.

She reflected once again on how last night events have occurred, trying to feel less as a backstabber, but she was sure Ellie Miller will forgive her. Marry someone who does something different than you for a living she thought, while Martha's calm breath was calling her back to bed.

She always believed that had been the secret on why they had been together for that long, and on why Alec and Miller didn't, she knew the man, and as much as she respected his strengths and capacities, he often let his job got the best of him, and now it may actually became a problem.

This was not like Sandbrook, she was sure, but she was not entirely convinced to gave him the benefit of the doubt again. She adjusted her tie and make sure her hair was on site before finishing her tea cup.

"You better get that back in the kitchen" Martha said softly, opening her beautiful brown eyes, how a strict librarian could have that sweet beautiful look she would never know.

"I was about to do so" Elaine said with a grin. "I have to go early, we have a briefing today and I'm a bit anxious" She could always speak her mind outloud to her, and even when they have completely opposite views on life she would always listen.

"And you are afraid you have to take Hardy out of the case" She pointed out when Elaine kept playing with her tie.

"Is not like he is sleeping with the witness, is just that all this circumstances seem odd, is not like him, and I know Miller defended him, but then is this whole Becca situation" she sited back in bed deflated, begging for her wife to hold her back in, but she was wiser to not doing so, and just gave her the advice she needed.

"Hardy may be the most obnoxious, temperamental and stoic man I have met, but he is professional, I understand your concern about what Becca had to say, but honestly that woman is not exactly a trustworthy source, I think you should listen to him before taking action" Elaine smiled and was about to give her a kiss because god this woman always bring sense to his life "And bring your bloody mug back in the kitchen" she add with a cheeky smile and turn around to sleep some more knowing well what could happen if she didn't, she could make up for it at night.

On the other side of the city, with the morning wind stroking his windows Alec Hardy was putting together every last piece of evidence, they had people on the street making interviews, and the honey trap they put on Mike Bolzano was way over budget so, they might had to defend their need for resources from the Chief Superintendent, although he had confidence that Jenkinson would be reasonable.

"Coffee? Tea? A toast??" Daze said peaking from the partially open door, and he let her come inside.

"I'll have breakfast at the station, are you sure you are okay by yourself?" He said picking his papers and putting the rest of his investigation in a locked drawer.

"Do you mean if I'm okay here with a murder suspect who you totally have a crush on?" She said with a grin that only received an stoic look as a response "Relax, I'm joking, I'll go out to do some shopping for Beth's party, I asume I will see you and Miller there" She said brushing aside the awkward situation.

"Sure, I'll try to be there." He said and was ready to leave avoiding by all means to look at his room.

"Can I bring your prisoner? She says she is friends with the Latimer's."

"I don't know if that's a good idea" He said, and Dasy didn't miss the fact that he didn't gave her a flat no.

"Well I see you later dad, have a great day" She gave him a hug, a weird thing to do from her, but welcomed in the situation, and he exited the house; he couldn't resist giving one last glance back once he was leaving and he catch a friendly waving from Y/N on his livingroom, he almost smiled but he stop himself, like he had been doing this last days since he realized the nature of his feelings for her.

He drove by the station and saw Ellie getting down of Brian's car, and another strange gut feeling make him ... Angry? Jealous? She looked happy next to him, maybe he was mad to himself because she was not smiling like that when she was with him.

"Morning" Chief Elaine said once they were all reunited in the center of the station, after the normative report of the other departments and some advances on some small drug selling business it was his turn to address the officers.

"This is our time line of events so far" He started and pointed to the whiteboard. "Jonathan Norbury was found dead on Sunday, April 21, by his fiance on her beach cottage around 6:30 pm, since she suffers from a mental condition she had a anxiety crisis that lead to her wandering on the street so we were notified, and we discovered the body a couple hours later."

Miller was next to him waiting for his turn to speak thinking about how she would bring the news to him, Sir I'm moving in with my boyfriend also the chief wants you out of the case because you are in love with that woman... No, the Sir was too formal. Dear Alec? No, she was not writing a letter, maybe just the truth.

The chief invited Brian to dinner after they had a nice match of tennis last week and she went with him, she expressed some concerns about Hardy and the case and Miller tried to put her mind at ease, but even she was not entirely convinced that his interests on the case were just professional, and she would be lying if she didn't admit that she felt a tiny bit jealous about the way Alec cared for the teacher.

"On the development of the investigation we uncovered an allegation of sexual assault committed against miss Y/L/N, on the night of April 6th, wich lead to her fiance to break his affair to an unknown woman whose DNA was found in some sex toys and underwear on the victim's house, also this was a pivotal point to exacerbate Y/L/N's mental breakdowns, wich we believe was used by the murder to fabricate incriminating evidence against her"

"So you don't believe the girl did it?" One of the officers asked talking notes on a small notepad.

"We haven't end that line of investigation, but the forensics report indicates that the victim was strangled and it would have required an enormous amount of force to do so, also the fiance was outside with a friend at the time the coroner estimates he died." Miller said, and the fact that evidence supported her innocence calmed her mind about Hardy being naive towards her.

"How come she went out if she had just been raped?" Another officer, and old man asked and she could feel Hardy getting tense and angry behind her, but strangely Harford took the lead before any of them could react.

"The victim was not aware this had happened, she was drugged with Rohypnol, and we had gotten ten new accusations against the BC Dreamland" She said and pinned a couple of the pictures of the new victims at the board. "And the attack was confirmed by the teacher's friend, who add nor she or her fiance wanted to report it to spare her the trouble of going trough this kind of bullshit questions Gordon" She add savagely and the guy only look aside embarrassed.

"We also found matching DNA in the victim's car where the attack happened, and on Y/L/N's engagement ring, which was partially destroyed and left on the victim, it belongs to a male but it has not being identified, and we believe this person who also was captured in a surveillance tape driving the victim's car and picking her at the school on the day the body was found might be the killer" Miller said and showed them the captures from the school system.

They took on some more questions and even though she feel like she had an overwhelming amount of evidence in the end there was not enough to follow any line.

But something about the crushed ring hadn't stop resonating on Harford's mind, and after they were dismissed she picked up her phone and called someone she had promise herself she wouldn't.

"Hey darling, are you ready to give me an interview?" Ollie's overconfident voice said on the phone and she sighed knowing already this was a bad idea.

"Call me darling again and I'm hanging up" she said dryly.

"Fine, fine. What can I do for you, officer Harford?" He said with pretend reverence, wich she didn't prefer to his exaggerate flirting.

"I might have an exclusive for you, but you have to do me a favor" She said and he dropped his act immediately because he knew she meant business.

After the call ended and once again she decline his invitation to dinner she called agent Ramos, it was overtime but this way they might found something.

Meanwhile CS Jenkinson was trying to bring the subject to Hardy as practically as she could, she had seen Miller concerned face when she ask her to leave them alone, and she suspect that she hadn't had the chance to tell him they had dinner the night before.

"I had an interesting conversation with Becca fisher on Wednesday" She started, and he looked surprised. "She said to me that you visited the Trader's with one of the witnesses last Monday"

"I did, but don't make it sound that way" he said understanding where the conversation was heading "I interviewed Y/N..." Damn it Hardy get it together "Miss Y/L/N friend Ashley to know more about her knowledge on the attack and the bar owner, but it was a dead end" he said honestly.

"Also your partner is concerned about how you have handled the living situation of the victim's fiance" She said and for the first time he looked surprised, and maybe a little sad and disappointed.

"Miller said that?" He asked quietly, and she was now sure that she haven't talk to him about last night.

"Not exactly, but we have a chat recently and I think she might be worried about you getting too close to the case, although I don't think she would doubt of your professionalism" She said trying to don't throw her under de bus. "Is there anything I should be worried about Alec?" She used his first name trying to invite him to be open about the situation.

"Absolutely not" he lied maybe too quickly "I mean, Y/N is living in my house to prevent her from getting another attack and if I had any evidence that suggests she is guilty I would follow it, you have no reason to doubt that" he said calmly "Nor Miller" he add with sad eyes again. "Am I getting out of the case?"

"Not yet, and your words are a relief to hear, but I'll be looking into this closely, now you can leave" She said and he stand up, but before he reached the door she add "If it wasn't murder... well I would understand, you wouldn't be the first detective in broadchurch to get personal with a subject" She smiled briefly.

"Really? Have you done something so unprofessional?" He asked turning around.

"Oh definitely, long time ago, not a murder case obviously but I got too close to this woman who reported a vandalism act on her workplace, I was a detective then" She said with a bright smile and even when he may already know the answer he asked anyway.

"Too close? What did you do?"

"I married her" she said and he gave her a side smile before exiting the office.

The rest of the morning was a nightmare, he avoid spending more than five minutes alone with Miller, he wasn't mad, just ashamed that this childish feelings were interfering with his job, and on the other hand he was angry to realize that once she was not around his job was not exactly enjoyable anymore, nor like it was before, but with the Sandbrook case he had a sense of responsibility to fill, and with Danny Latimer he needed to prove to himself he was still capable, now he knew he was capable but even when he had solved every new case for the past five years at the end of the day he was coming back to an empty house, and now with Miller about to start a new life with Brian, and Daze in Uni, he was not sure if his job was going to be enough.

A small ridiculous voice in his head told him that Y/N might still be there when this was over, but he knew how ridiculous and unrealistic that was, but at the same time he desperately want it to be truth.

"Ready sir?" Ellie said, and there was a caution in her voice that he hated, she didn't have to be afraid of his reaction, if anything she was right he was getting to damn close to the case, and he deserved to be told on to the chief.

"Sure, let's go" he said and followed her to his car.

"Alec... I have to tell you...I don't know how to start" she was revolving on the driver seat while they go to the Latimer's.

"Jenkinson told me" He said trying to spare her the trouble "Remember me to never doubt on your threats again" he said with what could almost be a playful tone.

"Well you better stop making me worry about this girls around you then" She said relieved he didn't hate her "I'm joking, I know for sure you wouldn't do anything so monumentally stupid, is just that this case gets weirder at every turn and I don't know, maybe is time for me to take a step back" She said and his worst fear of having to keep doing his work alone materialize in front of him. "But who would avoid Katie to kill you when you are being an arse? No we better finish this one and get back to normal don't you think?" She laughed off the situation but they both knew that when this situation was over their relationship won't be the same.

And as a way of the universe to prove her point the very reason of this separating was standing on Beth Latimer's living room, young and beautiful, and with the smile of a woman who hadn't been married to a psychopath, and didn't have to sneak around from her children to shag her boyfriend.

And she almost started laughing when the realization hit her, she was jealous, like a silly child she was jealous that he might found another woman on his life, murderer or not, it was the idea of him dating anyone what had her in that state, it could be another dumb blond girl from tinder or even an old woman from town, it could be anyone, it was the fact that he would smile and look at someone else the way he had once look at her what upset her, and then she felt guilty since he might have felt the same about Brian, and her selfishness make her sick, he had his right to fall for any woman he wanted, and she was being ridiculous.

And she silently prayed that this girl whose smile now she could see was sad because she lost the love of her life, and that was apart from everyone since they all look at her like an animal in a zoo, was innocent, so she could make him happy the way he deserved, and the way she had simply not being able to do.

Miller disappeared to the backyard to say hi to Mark and Hardy went on to check on Daze, apparently she and Chloe were now good again, and every couple minutes his eyes meet with Y/N, who was laughing next to Paul and Beth, he wanted to say You look beautiful like that, and when the dinner was served and she sited across the table from him he wanted to be the one pulling out the chair for her instead of Paul.

He wanted to be the one that make her laugh, he wanted to be the one who would dance with her in the back yard once the kids went to sleep and the adults were trying to finish all the wine bottles in the house.

Mark gave his wife a loud kiss that was greeted with howls from the guests, and Alec drank the rest of his wine to avoid his mind wandering on how her lips would feel, the sober shade of lipstick on her was stained with the apple juice she had been drinking to avoid alcohol and she looked too adorable.

"Do you need a bucket?" Beth said once he was helping her pick up the dishes while the girls left with Chloe's boyfriend to watch a movie and be apart from the old ones, and Miller left a few moments later.

"What?"

"You are drooling DI Hardy" She said and he felt embarrassed. "It's okay, I won't think less of you, and I really don't think she is guilty, but you should be quick, Paul seem to be very interested on her too" She wink at him and she went on to kiss Mark again, and he understood the wine might be the reason she was so blunt with him. But she was right, Paul was being too polite around her, and he felt the desperate need to do something about it.

"Is getting late isn't it?" He said to her and he took her by her elbow, she was surprised by the authority in his voice but not at all upset.

"Totally, I was telling Paul that I don't think Daze will be back soon, we might as well wait for her at home...I mean at your house detective" She said and his brain stop functioning with that simple little word.

"I'm actually going to stay a little longer to help Mark with some issues on his computer, I can bring her home when she is back" Paul said ruining the moment but saving him from smile like an idiot. "You should go get some rest" he said to her and she nodded.

"Then shall we?" She said to him and he nodded, and he couldn't help to feel a juvenile pride, father Coats might have been dancing around her the whole night but he was the one taking her home.

"Fine, let's go" he said and gave Beth a nod as goodbye, to wich she gave him a naughty wink, indicating that maybe she was as drunk as he thought.

"It was a good cake" She said once they were on his car, she sounded so casual and he felt like they had been doing this forever, and maybe it was that glass of wine, but for the rest of the ride he decided to ignore that part of his brain that used to tell him this wasn't real.

"Really good, really good meal too"

"Is nice that she can laugh now, and she and Mark they look so cute together don't they?" She said with a naive smile. "I just hope after all that wine they don't try to get Lizzie a brother" she said with a chuckle and he joined her distracted.

"Oh that would be too much chaos for them"

"Was Dasy a troublemaker?"

"Oh she was terrible" He said but he smiled remembering fondly her daughter baby years. "Where you?"

"I don't know, people probably said I was an angel, but it was too long ago to know for sure"

"It was not too long ago, you are practically a child" He said and she look delighted.

"34 is not a child in any way"

"It is compared to 47" he said exposing his biggest fear about them.

"I feel like 80 if it helps" she said the conversation was paused while they entered his place.

She tossed her shoes aside and walked inside, he was used to her dancing barefoot on his floor now, however she looked particularly perfect at the moment.

"That would explain your taste in books" he said and sited on his couch. And for all answer she sited impossibly close to him, close enough for him to smell her perfume, a fresh scent, like the ocean but at the same time peaceful and sweet like a flower field on the spring and he desperately wanted to know how something could capture so perfectly someone essence.

"Is basically the same books you like detective" She said and he couldn't respond since all coherent thinking was lost on her eyes and dies on her mouth.

"Then I might be 80" he said and the last fiber of restraint evaporated when her hand reached for his face

"We can be old together" she said and he was praying for him to read her eyes well, she had been through so much and he would never want to force anything on her, but his pleas were answered at the moment "You even have some gray showing here" she said touching his hair.

And parted her lips smiling and he couldn't resist anymore, he pull her close to him and hold on to her like a dead man holds on to life and finally broke the distance between his and her lips.

Tag list:

@allonsymexgirl @laciesaito @tf18unipups @dazedkrosupreme @timey-wimey-lovi @coffees-and-constellations @ladyaziraphale @acid-gurkerl

#broadchurch #broadchurch fanfiction #alec hardy fanfiction #alec hardy x reader #alec hardy x ellie miller #alec hardy imagine #alec hardy #ellie miller broadchurch #ellie miller #di hardy #ds miller #katie harford #dc katie harford #dc harford #paul coates #beth latimer #mark latimer

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jordanlahey · 5 years

Text

“Wake Up.” (6)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader x Steve Harrington (Platonic!The Party x Reader)

Summary: Y/n woke up in the middle of the road, having no idea where she is. Once she finds out where or more importantly when she is she just wants to go home or at least she did.

Warnings: language, slight violence, angst?

Word Count: 1243

A/N: (y/f/f - your favourite food.)

ST Taglist: @intheendyouwillalwayskneel

WA: @ivana-franz , @helena-way07 , @asfyhcseryg , @kittenthekat1234567890 , @robinismyqueen , @billysgodcomplex , @holy-fucking-shit , @starksweasley , @jessicatheghxstgirl, @slefishpresley, @pissheadoffical, @luckyteenagedirtbag, @shannon124

Series Masterlist.

“Nancy not be rude or anything but how am I supposed to pay for my clothes? I mean I have no money at all.” You asked as you followed Nancy around the mall into different shops, you did look at a few items of clothing but you shied away from them cause of the price and the fact that you had no money.

“Y/n has that been on your mind since we’ve been here?” She asked as you both entered another store, you nodded. “I was going to buy them for you as a treat I don’t mind really, I hardly ever have girl time anymore due to...some stuff.”

“I feel bad if I let you buy my clothes Nance.” You protested but she waved you off.

“Nonsense, now go find clothes.” She laughed nudging you in the direction of the clothes as she looked for her own clothes. You were wearing the clothes you came here; your black denim jacket, red plaid skirt and black top. You didn’t mind the looks you were getting at all cause you felt comfortable in them. You wandered over to the jeans section and saw a nice pair of black ripped denim ‘mom’ jeans and a similar pair in plain denim blue. You picked both jeans up and headed towards the tops and picked a few t-shirts then wandered around looking for Nancy who was by the sweater section. “Oh you found stuff, let’s go pay!”

“You’re not buying anything?” You ask, guilt pouring over you.

“I have enough clothes, we are here for you remember.” She paid and handed you the bag and the both of you left and headed to the food court. She asked you what you wanted to eat and you told her (y/f/f) and in response she told you to find a seat while she waits in line.

You found a seat near the fountain and as you waited for Nancy you found yourself in the comfort of your own thoughts that you didn’t realise the person take a seat in front of you.

“Hey Y/n.” Steve smiled at you but he noticed that you weren’t really listening. “Y/n?” He waved a hand in front of your face and you snapped back into reality.

“Oh sorry Steve.” You smiled apologetically and he smiled back.

“It’s okay, I saw you sitting alone and thought I’d keep you company.” Steve leaned back in his seat.

“Actually I’m here with Nancy who was...was in the line.” You look around for her and then it hit you, she set you up kinda like a date with Steve but not at the same time. “She’s a clever one.”

“Nancy? Yeah she is.”

“Did she put you up to this.” Steve was going to deny it but you were kinda true.

“Kinda, this wasn’t supposed to happen but yet here we are.” He threw his hands in the air, you chuckled at him. “While we are here do you wanna go see a movie?”

“Is this a date?

“How about a friend date thing.” Steve shrugged.

“Sure.” You smile.

*******

Max and Eleven were wandering around the mall while the boys were at the arcade. Max insisted on taking El to the mall since they had so much fun the last time they went.

“No freaking way.” Max breathed, looking directly and you and Steve sitting together at the food court.

“What?” Eleven asked, looking around to see what Max was talking about but she was cut short when Max grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the mall towards the arcade.

“Guys!!” Max shouted at the group of boys waiting outside the arcade.

“What?” they all asked as they waited for max to catch her breath.

“Y/n is on a date!!”

“Why should we care that she is on a date?” Lucas rolled his eyes, not seeing why she is so worked up about you being on a date.

“With STEVE!!”

“What!?” everyone said at the same time then there was another ‘what’ added in except the voice was more deeper and angrier. The kids turn and see Billy, he was practically red in the face and right on cue you and Steve leave the mall, smiling and laughing which angered Billy more.

“Uh-oh.” Dustin mumbled as Billy pushed passed the kids and made a beeline towards you and Steve. You hadn’t noticed Billy until he made himself known by punching Steve in the face.

“BILYY WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!” You scream but like he would hear you. Steve picked himself up and held his hand to his face.

“What the hell!?” Steve narrowed his eyes at Billy and right now you were invisible, the only person that was visible was Billy.

“I told you Harrington to stay away from her!” Billy shouted and Steve shouted something back. You couldn’t hear everything it was all becoming a white noise till you heard something more clearer. You felt dizzy again.

“Guys stop.” You mumbled, you felt sick and having no idea why you felt like this was more worrying. “Guys!” You tried again but this time you felt something hit the back of you and your vision became black.

*Steve’s POV*

“Guys!” I stopped and turned to look at y/n but as I did she fell to the ground. All of us rushed to her.

“Y/n?!” I shouted gently shaking her but she didn’t respond, I checked to see if she was still breathing and luckily she was or this situation could get a lot worse. I lift her head and rest it on my lap as we all begin to talk over each other about what to do.

“Guys, she is mumbling something, listen.” Mike shouts and we all quiet down to listen to Y/n.

“Zero one two zero one two zero one two.”

“What the hell does zero one two mean?” Lucas asked.

“Twelve.” Eleven piped up, all of us looked at her in confusion.

*Your POV*

I woke up against cold tiles, I have no clue where the hell I am though it looks to be a hospital. Thank god. I get up to head down the corridor but the sound of screaming put me off, I just stand there listening to the person scream for help. I know I should help them but at this point my feet are moving on their own accord down the hall passing all these doors till I reach the only door that is open, I peek around the corner and see these people in white lab coats hold down someone to a bed and another man stood to the side, he wore a suit and his hair was white somehow he looked familiar.

“Let me go!” I freeze I know that voice. I know it very well. This surely can’t be real.

“Put her out.” The man in the suit spoke, his voice sends me shivers, I watch as they take a syringe and jab it into the girl she stopped fighting and she laid still. The men in the white coats begin to turn and I move away from the door as they leave, I take the chance and go into the room slowly going near the girl on the bed. The number on her wrist catches my eye.

012.

My eyes follow up her arm and to her face and my blood runs cold.

#stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #billy hargrove x fem!reader #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader x billy hargrove

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samesongxox · 4 years

Text

Savior: Chapter 2 (Falling Fast)

Summary: (Hellboy 2019) AKA Turning a New Leaf AKA Good Samaritans Need Love Too. The B.P.R.D is tasked to infiltrate a black market creature trafficking ring led by a powerful warlock. Hellboy rescues Phyrra who is found being held hostage, a slave for her magic. He must protect her as she is hunted by her master and his gang of monsters. (AU where Broom isn't dead/Abe wasn't found)

It will be rated M, it will include violence, swearing, smuttiness, all the good things in life.

I've just used an LOTR elven translator for Phyrra's language, I wanted her to start off disoriented enough to revert back to her old language and it was the simplest way I could make that happen but I won't use too much of it.

Also, for those wondering, I wrote down Phyrra into a text to speech and the way her name sounded to me was Pier-Rah, I know with phonetics PH makes the F sound, so saying it like Fear-rah, I think could also be correct.

Disclaimer: Hellboy belongs to Dark Horse Comics/Mike Mignola, I don't own anything except the AU and my OC's.

Meanwhile, in a corridor not far away…

Running full tilt down this damp, dark and fucking horrible smelling hallway, Hellboy could think of at least 10 other things he wanted to be doing right now instead. He ran round the corner, stood at the end, and waited for the big bastard who was chasing him to come around it. He had no one to blame but himself, for the situation he was in; the creature stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his target, giving Hellboy the proper momentum to swing his stone hand into the stomach of an ogre.

When dear ol’ dad had said in his usually chastising tone: 'This isn't some simple run and gun mission Hellboy! Our operatives have intelligence that says this ring holds over hundreds of different species and creatures!" He hated when his father looked at him like that, the disapproving glint in his eyes. 'We have no idea what you could find in there, this requires a lighter touch than you're used to.'

The argument had ended the usual way they did, Hellboy stomping away petulantly, ignoring the protects from Ben about his father being right, as always, blah blah blah. Sometimes he wished they never recruited the Major, sure he had chilled out considerably since the whole Nimue debacle, he even accompanied Hellboy and Alice to the local bars on occasion; he never joined in the karaoke, but he gave Hellboy a run for his money in a round of pool.

"You're gonna die today demon!" The ogre gloated, grabbing Hellboy by his jacket. Hellboy grimaced at the stench of its breath, being thrown against the wall was preferable. He crumpled to the floor, shaking off a daze. Charging towards him, Hellboy saw his advantage and swept the creature's legs, bringing it to the ground. Hellboy stood up and brought his arm down on the Ogre's head, rendering it unmobile with efficiency.

It wasn't that he didn't agree with his dad, Hellboy thought, shaking the goop left behind from the head of the Ogre. He knew he dealt better in the aggressive tactics used by B.P.R.D, there was a reason the times they needed to attend some charity function or government funded mixer, Alice accompanied the Professor. She had turned into quite the little agent his Alice Monaghan and Hellboy didn't care for any of that bureaucratic shit anyways. And since the incident, he had been trying his best to see his father's side of things more often.

Hellboy didn't want to admit to anyone he was scared.

He was still had nightmares about it, the sight of his father lying dead had been a shock to his system. For so long he had held so much anger towards the Professor, it coming to a head at the knowledge Lady Hatton had given him. It really sucked to find out your purpose in life was to bring about the apocalypse, and Hellboy was still dealing with the news being something he feared for so long, meanwhile that wasn't even the worse bit.

Still Baba Yaga's curse loomed on his shoulders, he didn't know the details of the curse, he sure as shit didn't want to go back there and ask the witch.

Professor Trevor Bruttenholm was pronounced dead, for 12 whole minutes.

Hellboy thought it was morbid when the agents that rushed in brought a defibrillator, ripping the shirt off of his father's body, placing the charges on his chest. Hellboy protested greatly, bring held back in a surprisingly strong embrace by Ben. So when his father's eyes popped open, to say Hellboy was surprised was a great understatement.

Now things were back to normal, well as normal as there dynamic had been before. Dad always there with a less than kind word with nothing but good intentions towards his 'son'.

The presence of Alice and Ben on the team had cooled them both down considerably, the workload now sectioned off between the four of them, and someone was always there to get in the middle of them and be the voice of reason.

It wasn't like they held interviews for the kind of team that they were, it just kind of happened. Alice was insistent on sticking around with her new found abilities, wishing to hone them, be able to research in the vast codex of ancient knowledge B.P.R.D possessed, but Hellboy knew that what Alice wanted more than anything was somewhere to belong again, and she did at the B.P.R.D.

Major Ben Daimo, after being caught with his curse of the Were-Jaguar, simply realized he was with much better company than M11.

Hellboy, having wiped his arm clean of the gore, took about three steps down the hallway when a "Stop!" Made him growl in exasperation. He turned and was just as surprised when they arrived at this giant fortress like building, this place just kept getting fucking weirder.

Hellboy had never seen a Centaur before, he could check this off the list. The half-man half...appeared to be …. A ram or a bison or something if the horns were any indication.

Hellboy was being charged at again, this time with a much quicker adversary. Hellboy was at a disadvantage of only having two legs as he turned tail, pun intended, and ran once again from a foe.

These were some The Shining level of creepiness hallways, Hellboy deduced, being chased by a Centaur, he called for backup but they had all conveniently split up in the warehouse; but it was hard to hear oneself think in that veritable zoo of mythical creatures. Father was not lying, this Warlock was bad news bears.

The Centaur was rapidly gaining on Hellboy, it was inevitable when he felt himself being lifted by his tail, rude pal, and tossed him into the wall. Hellboy hated being thrown around like some ragdoll, it didn't help that the Centaur obviously had more weight to his throw than the Orge, and Hellboy was left staring at the twinkling lights above him, knowing he was gonna hurt in the morning.

Rhys huffed, adrenaline breaking out into his coat in a thick sheen of sweat. He picked up the currently incapacitated creature and examined him. It seemed to be some sort of demon or other. Rhys was disgusted at the creature to see his shaved forehead where horns should be, Rhys prided himself on his own, and considered any creature that would try and hide his features like that weak and embarrassed at his own lineage.

He threw the impostor creature onto his back and took off in hurried clomps to Elias' office, needing to let his master know about this invasion. Where did this thing come from? Rhys called for Mordecai begrudgingly, but was left with a true silence that meant he was not hiding in some corner somewhere. He was most definitely already with Elias.

His suspicions were correct as he entered the masters domain, seeing the two figures speaking in a quick, long dead language Rhys didn't understand. He hated when the two of them did that, he knew he was out of the loop for a lot of things, but it wasn't like they had to rub his face in it, he was a powerful creature, stronger than both of them combined. He couldn't think like that though, even in his darkest thoughts; he was owned by Elias for the rest of his life, nothing could be done to change that.

What was worse was that Elias didn't even acknowledge Rhys had stepped in the room, or that he had dropped an intruder at the front of his desk. Almost as if he already knew.

"There are intruders in our home Rhys. Go with Mordecai to holdings and deal with them accordingly, leave this with me."

Those were the only words spoken to him, Rhys nodded gravely trotting out the door, knowing at once he had messed up allowing whoever these people were to break so easily into the property.

Elias' eyes trailed down to the pathetic looking creature at his feet, he was having the most awful deja vu. Taking in the tail, shaven horns and red skin, Elias knew who was breaking into his home. B.P.R.D. This had to be the Cambion known as Hellboy.

Elias growled, this meant serious trouble. How did he have such rotten luck, his dejected attitude continued as the beast stirred on his floor. He had to get ahold of this situation.

Hellboy regained consciousness quickly, one minute he was in a haze of pain, the next he flew up from the floor so quickly he thought he'd blackout. Hissing in a deep breath, Hellboy touched his stomach gingerly, diagnosing himself a cracked rib. Standing in front of another mythical nutcase no doubt, Hellboy took in the room.

This dude was seriously fucked in the head. He thought the Osiris Club was bad enough mounting giant heads on their walls, but this room had that one beat clean. Wall to wall the heads of creatures were hung, along with various ferocious animals were on proud display. Dead fairies and pixies beside butterflies and beetles pinned in glass coffins. He realized he was standing on the fur of a Cerberus, Hellboy gasped, stepping ungracefully away from the awful sight. Hellboy glanced at a bowl filled with what looked like mints, and gagged to see that they were teeth.

"Goblin Teeth. A little hobby of mine. As you can see, I am an extensive collector." Hellboy hated him already. The smooth, calm voice, the power he emanated even behind the desk, this was the warlock, no doubt. The owner of this little auction house.

"A demon, how quaint." Elias scoffed in the most condisenting fashion, looking the epitome of ease, fiddling with the golden staff adorned with amethyst from the dwarven royalty. A present for dealing with their little dragon problem so long ago, when species of all kinds were allowed to walk on earth. A time he sorely missed.

"Half-demon, buddy. Get your facts right." Raising his arm to bust the desk, Hellboy was unsuspecting of the staff being more than just for show, he was proven quite mistaken.

A blast of magic so focused hit him, Hellboy was thrown out the room. The magic was a tidal wave of white-hot wind that blasted multiple doors opened in the hallway, tearing wallpaper from the walls. Hellboy was stopped only by the brick at the end of the hallway. Living an indent of his body, Hellboy groaned and peeling himself off the wall. He was bleeding from his head, he realized swiping at the blood that dripped into his eye. Probably concussed.

At the door to his office stood Elias, arms crossed with the staff perched on his shoulder, he didn't have a care in the world. This demon was nothing compared to a being of magic such as himself, and it was laughable the demon got back up, as if he had a chance from this distance.

"Are you as dumb as you are strong, demon? My name is Elias, this is my home and you have most aggressively broken into it. I plan on taking the necessary steps to protect my property."

Hellboy collapsed in half real agony, gritting his teeth, listen to this asshole posture on like some sort of movie villan. Hellboy tried to shake the pain, biting his cheek to focus himself, distracting the warlock enough to grab for his weapon. He took a deep breath and with a reserve of strength he had, pulled and shot off all 6 rounds in the chamber, a special design by the eggheads in the labs, with barbed edges that exploded on contact, shredding the flesh of whatever unfortunate being was on the receiving end of his little gift.

One bullet would of incapacitated him, maybe all 6 of them was an overkill, if the gruesome sight of the warlock gasping wetly from a pile of guts. Better safe than sorry Hellboy always said. Elias attempted to speak, choking on the mess in his mouth, and his eyes slipped closed. An odd, peaceful aura enveloped the area around him, the half-demon went to investigate.

He heard the sound of agents arriving on the scene, there voices calling for him from afar. Obviously brought by the sound of his gun going off.

Hellboy just seemed to keep getting distracting in this place however, for no sooner had he begun to walk towards the body, when a lump on the floor of one of the rooms caught Hellboy's attention.

It was a girl. With a towel haphazardly wrapped around her. Hellboy turned away sharply as his eyes automatically glanced at the slight curve of her breasts peeking from the top with her slow breathing. He didn't mean to do that, it just happened, but Hellboy was left surprisingly winded. Embarrassed.

"Uh.. Alice? You out there?" He called desperately out to the woman in the hallway, distracting himself by looking at the room. It was simple, compared to the rest of the place; stone walls and wooden furniture, a large four poster bed with white sheets. Nothing caught his eye of any interest, and he felt his eyes pulling towards the girl on the floor. Aw Crap. He reasoned he just felt bad if she was injured to just keep her in this position. He gave one last attempt at an "Alice!" Before he turned completely back to the girl.

She was young, that was his first thought. She was petite but she wasn't a little girl, her body, small but obvious curves were any indication. Hellboy felt his stomach clench in horror as the towel slipped further as he came forward, as if it had a mind of its own and was torturing him for looking. Awkwardly one-handed, he knotted the front of the towel more securely as carefully as he could, if his knuckles brushed her skin, he didn't think about it.

Finally finished his difficult task, Hellboy glanced at her head, noticing the long upward slopes of the tips of her ears peeking out from her hair, an elf. She also had some of the strangest markings Hellboy had ever seen, gold swirl like tattoos covered her body, on her face all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes, in an intricate, almost tribal fashion.

Hellboy glanced up to see a large robe hanging from a hook and shot up like a rocket, grabbing for it grateful for his find; he felt very guilty for continuing to just crouch here and look at her, he felt like a real pervert.

It also occurred to him he never even tried to wake her up. Well he had to deal with the towel falling off, he reasoned with himself, he knew in her position he would be very unhappy to wake up like that. It was much easier to get the robe on her, the distraction of the towel dealt with, and Hellboy felt a kind of accomplishment tying the sash at her waist; He had never had to play caretaker to someone. The whole time she did not awaken, left in some sort of unconscious state, Hellboy gently gathered her up in his arms easily and checked the back of head, pulling the long tawny strands apart, vaguely thinking about their softness, but mostly looking for blood.

Jostling her caused the elf to groan, Hellboy was taken aback when he pushed her away to see her eyes opened. They were very pretty, Hellboy thought stupidly as she glanced around blind in his clutch, before locking her gaze on the one who held her up.

"Cin're hi na rad-nin?" Her voice was a light questioning tone, her breaths quick and pained. Hellboy didn't know how to reply to her, he was struck dumber by her being awake than when he could move about her without that icy gaze focused on him it seemed.

"Uhh...Whatever you say, sweetheart." Hellboy blatantly realized the endearment he mumbled out, but didn't give it much thought, after all it seemed they were speaking two different languages, literally. He really needed to get her out of here, if not to get her checked for a possible concussion but just because this room was creeping him out, it was too clean, to… Much like a prison cell if he was being honest with himself.

"Mui mellon Binx?" At least she wasn't freaking out in his hold, cause she's still weak from the blast, he chided himself. He stood up and was about to cross the threshold with the elf in his arms, she kept saying something: blinks? When he heard Alice down the hall, her voice getting rapidly closer.

"Were you callin' me HB? I thought I could hear-Oh!" Hellboy felt himself flustered as the medium appeared in the doorway, the girl quicker than Hellboy could react to, jumped out of his arms, only to cower behind him, further placing Hellboy in one of the most awkward situations he could recall.

The girl was obviously hurt however, as no sooner had she hid herself behind Hellboy that her clutch had weakened and Hellboy could see her going down again, barely managing to catch her by her waist, again thanking his thinking in getting her into the robe as he pulled her once again into his arms.

Alice watched the whole interaction with a little surprise and much glee, tickled positively pink by Hellboy playing prince charming it seemed, saving this damsel. Alice thanked her internal romantically inclined side, one that she rarely showed, it was hard being the only female on the team at times. She tried to have a friendship with some of the agents, but the women in the B.P.R.D were professionals through and through, not a whole lot of interest in the fun times she could get into with HB, sometimes even Ben, or Major Stick up his Arse, as Alice sometimes called him, always with affection.

"Who's this then?"

"I don't know. I was dealing with Stinky, Hairy and Moe out there and then I just found her. She's an elf." He finished lamely,

Swift as a hummingbird, a creature the same size flew into the room. The ball of light honed onto Hellboy's face, making contact with his cheek. Hellboy stumbled back and looked at the attacker. A Pixie.

Between the Ogre, the Centaur and the Warlock, he was grateful for the size of this one. The thing was speaking a quick lilting pixie speak that Hellboy never understood, they had a textbook of Fae languages back at headquarters, he just never got around to reading it.

The Pixie seemed to know the Elf, she slowly took stock of the girl before pillowing herself on the chest of the unconscious girl, glancing up at Hellboy in a wary gaze.

"I found the little thing down the hall, think she knows her?" Alice chuckled.

"Let's get her to the helicopter. None of the others were put into rooms like this, she must be important." Alice was already at the doorway when she turned around, a typical cheeky Alice expression on her face. "You handle carrying her hero?"

Hellboy snorted derisively at the comment, turning away from Alice with her intense gaze. He ignored the curious gaze of the Agents and met up with Ben in the hallway, the Major raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Don't ask." Hellboy said simply, not wishing to explain the whole crazy turn of events that transpired since they arrived here.

"You guys get that warehouse cleared out?"

"Yes they're loaded into the trucks, on there way to headquarters. It's gonna take weeks to catalogue all these species. Hope you're ready for some paperwork." Hellboy knew Ben was joking, even to the outside it seemed like no humour was coming from the man. You just had to know him enough.

"How dare you touch her!" Hellboy jumped at the screech that came from the puddle that was Elias in position on the floor of his office, he thought for sure he had died. "Unhand her demon, she is not yours!"

Hellboy didn't scare easily, but he would be lying if he said the way Elias was looking at him wasn't causing goosebumps to break out on his arm. It was half crazed, desperate. Very different from the cool, assured master he was not 10 minutes ago.

"Phyrra wake up!" That must of been her name, Phyrra. It suited her, sweet, gentle and exotic, her name sounded like the purr of a cat, Hellboy always liked cats. He didn't like the way Elias was saying it though, the ownership plain, like he was commanding her to wake up.

"So I guess I was right, eh? She important to you? Well you won't mind if we just take her for awhile do ya? Thanks mate," Alice took the warlocks sudden invalent state as an opportunity to tease.

Phyrra also took the moment as a great opportunity to wake back up, as if even in her injured state, she was conditioned to listen to Elias' demands. She glanced around in even more confusion than the first time Hellboy watched her wake up. The warlock brightened at the sight of Phyrra awake, his voice quickly turning into butter, Hellboy cringed at the way he spoke to her.

"Phyrra, pet. Come and help me."She seemed to understand her name, if nothing else. She fixed her gaze on Elias as if she didn't know him from any other stranger currently in the room. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to make some kind of decision, why none of them could really gather, but they didn't have to wait long for a response.

Phyrra didn't listen, what she did instead was wrap her arms around Hellboy's neck and bury herself in the crook of where his neck met shoulder, refusing to look at anything else; Hellboy was left with an elven woman clinging to him. The Pixie flew displeased at losing the perch on her elf.

"Tul-nin awaui o hi near." Hellboy involuntarily shivered at the obvious plea was whispered delicately in his ear. He didn't know what she was saying, but he wanted nothing more than to get her away from Elias fiery gaze, which was getting darker by the second.

"Binx! Don't you let them take her! I'll rip your fucking wings off myself!" Everyone looked on as the Pixie flew over to the warlock, and Hellboy couldn't stop the bark of laughter as the tiny creature, now Hellboy realized what Phyrra had been saying back in her room. Binx threw herself into Elias' forehead, he grunted at the contact, then glared at the tiny thing spitting no doubt terrible insults in its language.

Elias gasped in hysteria as Hellboy began to walk away from him. Getting out a last: "You're going to regret this you devil!" Before Ben did him a service of tasing him, silencing the man before his head popped clean off in his fury.

At that moment, Rhys and about a group of 20 creatures: Goblins and Ogres mostly, crowded into the space, some climbing over the backs of others to fit into the room.

Chaos broke. Fires were shot from the various machines carried by the Agents, tearing through the creatures scrambling to reach them.

"HB, the window!" The gazes of the three main team members individually sought out the broken window to their left, Alice shooting off a quick round from her pistol, cleaning the rest of the glass from the opening, before jumping off confidently. Even in the moment, Hellboy recognized he would have to tell her how badass she'd been in that moment. Before jumping himself out the four story window.

He broke his fall with his body, hoping this was the last time he was going to hit a hard surface today, he didn't know if he could take another one. Hellboy quickly checked to make sure he also broke Phyrra fall, it would be a shame to go through all this to end up squishing her himself. The trio ran towards the helicopter, the blades whorrling signaling its readiness for take-off.

Ben was clipping off the goblins crawling out of the window they just vacated as Alice and Hellboy dealt with the new cargo. Ben jumped in the last minute, yelled to the pilot to get them the fuck out of there and into the air they ascended.

Safely in the chopper, Hellboy's arms felt rather empty after Phyrra was placed carefully into the seat beside him, Alice taking over and strapping the girl in as her head lolled in delirium, she seemed to be coming to again, but only got those glacier depths of her eyes opened before the slumped again. Alice sandwiched her in between the two of them, placing Phyrra's head against Hellboy's arm and he looked at his friend in question.

"What? You won't mind watching to make sure her head doesn't move too much, would you?"

Alice snickered in delight at the cautioning way HB looked at her in the moment, as if begging her to stop teasing him so, which only spurred her on even more he had to realize.

They didn't know anything about this girl, but Hellboy was obviously taken with her.

Alice had been with the B.P.R.D for almost a year now, she'd never seen Hellboy act this way before. Hellboy was a badass motherfucker, he drank hard and fought even harder. It wasn't irony one of his arms was made out of stone, he was tough, inside and out.

That didn't mean Alice wasn't aware of his sensitive side, he saved her as a baby, she owed HB her life. The fact he was a loyal friend was just a bonus. He loved the Professor, Alice could see that plain as day, they were father and son to her, actual parentage didn't matter. Even then, he wasn't exactly the kind of friend you had long soul searching conversations with, except those times one of them got too into their feelings, and too into a bottle of tequila.

So Alice knew HB had the capacity to love, that she was certain. But as far as she knew, Hellboy had never even attempted to go out on a date before, she saw how the female agents of B.P.R.D looked at him, he was a pure specimen of a man. Muscle and stoicism, half-demon be damned.

Alice had asked Lloyd one night, who had been working there for ten years, if Hellboy ever dated anyone or anything, she wasn't gonna discriminate. Agent Reese had asked her in reply if they were an item, on their own date of all times! Alice was annoyed and had answered the same way she always did to the inept question. Disgusting! Like if I wanted to fuck my own brother! Which was correct, but she didn't think she'd see Lloyd again. Lately she had her eye on Agent Colter, she liked men of all shapes and sizes, but it was the blondes viking types that made her weak, which Colter fit to a tee.

Alice tried to slow the matchmaker in her head, immediately writing their names together in the notebook of her mind. First the girl had to wake up.

Elias opened his eyes slowly, feeling the pain immediately. His body was twisted in a most uncomfortable position and as he looked down he realized in a daze his leg was broken. On instinct he called out for Phyrra, before the recent events came back to the front of his memory. She left him. He did nothing but care for her, dress her in the finest things, held her to the highest standard above his advisors and this was how she thanked him?

First Lazarus sends him some would be assassin, and now to have lost his most precious trophy? His Phyrra? Elias felt helpless, something he hadn't felt for many centuries, it was maddening. It simply would not do.

So in his awful, disoriented thoughts, he didn't take notice of the Vampire and the Centaur stepping towards him, one expression of dispassion, one of stunned concerns.

"Master, drink from me." Elias wild eyes swung to the undead man, not for the first time Elias was grateful towards Mordecai, his oldest companion. He sucked in the old blood in thick gulps, feeling it buzz through his system, he will heal much quicker than normal, although his old friends blood did speeden his recovery, it was Phyrra who had the most wonderful touch for mending wounds and broken bones. What to do about Phyrra? It was quite simple Elias didn't have to think for a second about it.

He would get her back.

She will learn, he would teach her, as he always did, the hard lesson he had himself long ago been made perfectly aware of, that she was born to be his pet. That her life before him, the loss, the pain, the agonizing loneliness he knew she felt was because his story began the same. He was meant to teach her everything there was to know about life, about love.

Distracted, he heard Mordecai explain the lost of his inventory, but Elias heard none of it.

Elias instead, felt himself seeth at the memory of her in the demons arm. He would take great pleasure in harming it, peeling the skin from its arms for even daring to touch his Phyrra, he wouldn't stop till he got to bone. Yes, the demon, the whole B.P.R.D, were going to pay greatly for playing with him.

fin

Translations:

1)"Cin're hi na rad-nin?" (you're here to find me?)

2)"Mui mellon Binx?" (My friend Binx?)

3) "Tul-nin awaui o hi near." (Bring me away from this place)

#second chapter #fanfiction #hellboy fanfiction #hellboy 2019 #be gentle

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polygon-streams · 5 years

Text

April 30, 2019 - Mortal Kompat Story Mode Part 3

Content warnings: blood, gore, graphic violence, character death

Link to VOD

Summary: Pat plays Mortal Kombat 11 for the third time, making a good amount of progress and learning new things about the characters

Pat has maintenance workers over, has some sink problems. Issue is that water leaks thru his ceiling when his neighbor takes showers

Doesn’t know who he mains on Mortal Kombat anymore

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!!!!!!! (mod MikeAM)

Pat has TWO CANS of drinks tonight (very fizzy)

Does NOT own jorts, “I’m not a jortsman, I’m not allowed to wear jorts” (I think this is a lie), “No jorts allowed, I shall not wear jorts. I wear jants (jean pants).” (This is true)

Pat will NOT install a fart toilet

Drinking a rattler tonight

Babycakesclaire gifted a sub to T-Pain [Watch Clip]

Says people made fun of him for saying “T-Pain” in his Polygon video so many times, says it was a grounding thing to help himself [Watch Clip]

Favorite song by TPain is U Up off of the new album

Says he “has the bad audio”, restarts the stream

Plays as Jax, doesn’t know his combos but figures them out

Asks chat if they would prefer big metal arms or big metal legs; Pat would have legs for The Kick™️

Gives a recap of the plot, says the word “mommy” a lot (that’s just how he is and I accept him)

Likes fight choreo, thinks they hire many professional people to do it

Jacqui is awesome

First Piss clip of the stream

Says “Dad fight dad fight dad fight” as the two versions of Jax fight each other

“I know all my moves, haha!......actually I don’t know any of my moves”

Mains as Jax just to do powerbombs

“This is a stupid looking hat, I’m sorry it’s a dumb looking hat. She deserves a better hat,” at Jacqui’s (sp????) hat.

Someone played Slow Yoshi in the middle of a fight

Jacqui’s dad betrayed her then disappeared. Pat: dads are complicated

Evil lady puts hat on, her power only grows stronger

Chat makes a lot of “I can’t believe you’ve done this” jokes

Pat opens a can of fizzy drink, chat alternates between making “ASMR” and “piss” jokes. Some folley ones too

Game talks about a character “I don’t know who the fuck Kharon is”

Characters descends like spider through the ceiling “oh. Ew.”

Pat makes an “I can’t believe you’ve done this” reference

The two Scropions fight. Pat: “God it’s me but stronger”

Pat wins the first round: “It’s a big fishy”

Gets attacked by other Scorpion w a good combo, wants to learn how to do that

Chat compliments Pat on his Scorpion playing abilities

Pat said he’s going to learn how to main Scorpion and Jax in this MK game. Mained Scorpion in last one

“Be a dude, not a dick”

Scorpion is killed by D’Vorah

“Nobody fuckin believes Scorpion”-- game framed Scorpion to look bad

Pat likes the frog jokes chat is making

“Hey Boy” clip played in a fight against Raiden

Raiden hits Scorpion w a blast as a “truth serum”. Pat calls it a dick move (Chat agrees)

Pat then plays as Raiden, but doesn’t want to because of how shitty he is “Cool. Nunchuck me. I deserve it”

Pat laughs at Piss clip played at a character's dramatic revelation and entrance

Pat: “I’m so confused.” So are we

There are a lot of timelines that explain costume changes

Pat needs to “check in on that toilet update real quick”

Pat as Raiden: “The only solution is that Liu Kang and I must kiss,” asks Faith to make it happen

Evil Lady makes Liu Kang disappear: “Da fuuuuuuqq?”

Chat makes norted memes

Agrees with Faith that the game “feels like fanfic”

Likes the guy who played Liu Kang in the movies; also played a guy named Ricky in another movie

“Yooooo that’s a blood boat”-- a rivaling boat comes up from the middle of the ocean

Praises actions scenes in MK; better than MCU and most action movies in general

Finally goes to check up on the toilet situation, Piss clip plays while he’s gone

Someone checked if there were Liu Kang and Raiden fanfics; apparently, there isn’t

Chat is wondering what happened to Pat’s toilet, “did he poop too hard?”

Pat comes back and asks if everyone was good (probably not)

He thought it was his roomate being a sloppy showerer, roommate asks what was up and Pat said “oh I thought it was you”. Then found water coming from lights on ceiling and got people to fix the problem

We are in the home stretch of MK, according to safetydrew

“Jax is my father”

Jax beats up a bunch of people to ‘make things right’, Pat: “Yes, yes, fuck yes”

Raiden defeats enemy, “caught and compromised” plays perfectly over the scene [Watch Clip]

Liu Kang got norted by himself (absorbed?? Into one body?? I think????)

Liu: “You will have to kill me” Raiden: “I would rather save you” Chat cheers for them to kiss

Raiden and Liu Kang fuse and become a God???? What???????????

Character rips a person’s heart out, Pat: “He just ripped his fucking hort out.” Chat spams “hort”

Super Liu floats in the sky, sends a meteor out and kills a bunch of monsters

Super Liu super punches more monsters

Time starts rewinding, Fire God Liu Kang fights Kitana, then some more people

Lots of fighting in this Mortal Kombat game

During Cetrion fight, Pat: “She just grew a tree just to nail me to it.”

Cetrion gives her soul to Big Evil Lady Mom

MikeAM advises Pat to just do a bunch of flying kicks during the boss battle

“WOW she mean, woofadoof”-- Pat @ the final boss

Pat says he will never fight with honor

Pat fails the fight, Liu Kang gets his head chopped off

Donkey Kong has Died plays as the head rolls (We’ve unlocked the basketball timeline)

Pat thinks about trying the easier mode if he fails a few more times

Hops into the settings to turn on easy mode

Evil Lady (Kronica) turned into Johnny Cage in the middle of the fight??

Fire God Liu Kang and Evil lady go up to spAAACEEEE

Kronica says she’s better than Liu Kang bc he’s a god and she’s a titan?? I thought it went the other way

Pat comments on how it’s weird to have Johnny Cage fight for her at points in the battle

Pat finally wins the match, Kronica gets turned to glass and shattered. The Caught and Compromised clip plays

Now Liu Kang is in charge of watching over the Earth realm, mortal Raiden helps (“Raiden's gonna diiee”)

Game ends just like that, credits roll, Pat: “Oh that’s it, that’s how it ends?!”

Comments on how the next MK can be about literally whatever they want, bc this game set it back to square 1

Cassie apparently has a fatality where she can kick someone in the nuts and have their skeleton pop out “that’s really good”

Pat’s gonna start picking characters to learn moves of and train w them

Pat says apparently there’s three different endings. Not major changes, just is dictated by how long it takes you to defeat the final boss

He got two (2) new maps

Wants to learn the kicking people in the nuts to make their skeleton pop out lmao

“I guess I need to unlock the dick kick”

Does a fatality that involves the character getting ripped in half, then a tomato getting thrown at them

Looked up the Cassie fatality and tries it

Her opponent literally did a piss right before the fight. He really did. Pat lost that fight

Pat messed up the fatality

Decided to try to Krypt before raiding Thomas’ stream

Same actor who played Shang Tsung in the movies played him in the game. Pat geeks out

Pat says this Krypt is better than in other games bc it used to be a dungeon crawl to find things. Now, you just open chests

Pat finds a hammer, uses it to get Koins™

The raid guys should make a MK movie. Apparently the recent John Wick has them fight the raid guys

Pat doesn’t know how much he should drink before going to see the new John Wick. He’s going w Ryan at the Alamo (I assume a theatre)

Pat finds a gong and feels he must hit it with the hammer

Pat says the Krypt changes what loot it has based on what time of day you go to see it

Pat doesn’t know whether or not there’s going to be fights in this area, or if it’s just opening chests

He still thinks he’s going to work w Scorpion and Jax to get good at to learn combos (also probably Jacqui). Wants to do a group play session at some time

Charlie is sneezing!!

Pat’ll be back on Thursday (8 pm EST) with Donk Souls again (if that doesn’t work, he’ll find something else)

Charlie went up on Pat’s lap!!!

Abby streams on Tuesdays at the same time as Pat. He says you should watch both simultaneously

Sent chat to raid Thomas

End of stream

#pat gill #patrick gill #twitch #polygon #mortal kombat 11 #mortal kombat #maddie #mori

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avidfanficwriter · 5 years

Text

Barbie (Chapter 11)

Chris Pine X Reader.

Summary: What started as a simple date ended as a failed romance. Or has it truly failed?

Warnings: Cursing, as per use.

Author’s note: Yes, i know, it’s been a long time. Writer's block hit me hard for this one but thank the gods, my mind sprung an idea!

Masterlist

Tags: @mitaputri0412 @wolflhards

A few years ago

“Why do you think you have these feelings?” The question appears as if you’ve entered a dream sequence or a really lousy drug experience that creates this inability to feel oneself. The room is spinning and your body is spinning at two different speeds, two different directions. It is entirely fucked. It’s a dissociative state, you’re there, your body is but your mind isn’t. You can see but you can’t figure out where you are. Fucked. “Y/N, are you there?”

The question acts as a fishing line, reeling you back to reality but still managing to leave you dangling from the hook on full display. “What?”

“This is the fourth time in the last hour, you’ve been inattentive.” The man says as he checks his watch, his name ceases to come back to you. He’s nameless, his identity hidden beneath the layers of time loss. “Have you taken your medication today?”

“I don’t need medication.” The first real sentence you’ve spoken today.

“From the comprehensive review of your file, I think it would be wise if you did.” You’re lost. Physically and mentally, you don’t know where you are, what you’re doing or why you’re sitting on this scratchy green couch. “Y/N, you’ve suffered a traumatic experience most of which the details are sketchy also the reason you seem to have suffered a mental breakdown. In order to properly help you overcome these issues, I need you to be present.”

Each word seems to hit harder than the last, pulling at your heart and only making it harder to concentrate. “Tell me about that night.”

The tick of the clock is beginning to create a headache, each noise seems to be heighten with the intent to create pain. “Nothing happened.”

There’s a sharp inhale of breath from the other body. “According to the report, you were brought to the emergency room with what resembled a case of domestic violence.” There’s a sound of shuffling paperwork before he speaks again, the voice is male. Definitely male. "The hospital staff noticed who they believed to be the person responsible enter the hospital and then barricaded himself in your hospital room, essentially holding you hostage."

You roll your eyes, it's unbelievable. It's completely false, as if someone was writing a book or playing a game of make-believe. "It sounds worse than it was." Not a denial but not the truth. It's got just enough to possibly satisfy him.

"Hmm... Which part has been an exaggeration? Being locked inside your hospital room with your abusive boyfriend who held a gun to your head or covered in bruises with your refusal to testify against him?" It's the kind of snarky comment that ends with a raised eyebrow and a satisfied look that says one thing: 'Ha, take that.'

"I have to go."

"You have been court ordered to attend a one-hour session that was productive, which you have not been. You are unable to leave until I am satisfied that we have had a conductive session." It's defeat. Complete and utter defeat. “Y/N, I know this is difficult and I don’t wish to make you stay here any longer than you need to be but you have to meet me halfway.” It sounds like a plea. He’s truly trying to work with you. "I know it doesn't seem like it but I'm trying to help you."

“It got out of hand." A partial truth. He doesn't respond. "Is there a such thing as craving the negativity?" The question changes the conversation but he's happy to oblige on the fact that you're finally speaking.

His brow arches as he begins tapping his pen on the cushion of the chair he's sitting in. "There are some people who feel comfortable in a negative environment, no matter how hectic or unsafe, there are those who seek it out. It’s familiar and to them all they know. Is that what you believe you do?"

You swallow hard, "No."

"Is Beau surrounded with negativity?" He ask, immediately making you regret you question.

"At times."

"Mmm... Was he surrounded with negativity when you were at the hospital?"

"Yes."

"If there is a negative aura that he emits, why are you so unwilling to rid yourself of him?" He questions and suddenly you have the urge to slap him. "I'm glad you're aware your in a negative situation but I want you to do something about it. Realizing the danger and hostility you’re in is only step one. Step two is doing something about it."

With every passing minute, you panic, you’re sitting in the living room with your eyes glued to the door. Waiting for him to return, he hasn’t called and it’s been an hour. He should have called by now. You tell yourself. What if he lied? If he just up and left? He could be the one getting rid of his apartment and leaving you instead.

Finally, you’re cell phone rings and his name lights up the screen, “Chris… you were supposed to call an hour ago.” You say quickly into the phone but you’re met with silence. “Chris? …Chris?”

You could have counted the hours before someone spoke and the first sound of someone breathing. “This is Dr. Luke Valdez at Good Samaritan Hospital, I found your number on Mr. Pine’s recent contacts list. There has been an accident.” Your heart stopped and now your body feels light, as if you’ll pass out any second. “Mr. Pine was in a car accident.”

You’re moving on auto-pilot, the pain in your foot is non-existent now as you gather your keys and phone before quickly heading out the door. By the time you make it to the hospital, your eyes are full of tears and your thinking the worst, he’s dead, but they can’t tell you that over the phone. He’s been killed. The fear doesn’t stop when you enter the hospital, the emergency room is full of tears, shouts of pain and panicked doctors shouting colors and ordering more test. It's chaotic and for a brief second you contemplate leaving.

“Can I help you?” A woman in a white coat asks, noticing the panic on your face.

“Ye--yeah, I’m looking for Chris--Christopher Pine. He was brought in a while ago.”

She nods, walking over to the desk and glancing at the computer. “Oh, he’s right here. I’ll take you.” Each step you take feel worse than the last, it’s like an anxiety attack is beginning. You feel your arms slowly getting cold, your extremely aware of your breathing and you can’t focus on one thing. The lines on the floor are to overpowering, the sounds are morphing into one loud sound and suddenly the pain your foot is back with a vengeance.

“He’s right here.” The woman says, pulling the privacy curtain back just enough to allow you entrance and closing.

“Jesus.” The harsh whisper pushes past your lips, involuntarily. Chris is sitting up in the bed, currently getting stitches in his head while a nurse wraps his right hand in a bandage.

“Oh god, I told--” Chris looks at the doctor besides him. “I told you not to call anyone.” he smiles. “I’m fine.”

“Fine? You’re covered in blood.” You say slowly walking towards the end of the bed, trying to reach out to touch only to change your mind.

“It’s looks worse than it is.” he lets out a small groan in pain as the nurse sets his hand down. “But you, you shouldn’t be standing or even walking, come sit down.”

The doctor finishes Chris’ head and explains his injuries and the medication he’s being prescribed for the pain.It’s doctor jumble and rather than listen all you can do is stare at Chris, he looks broken, worse than the night Beau got ahold of him. Covered in dried blood with pain in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” You ask when the doctor leaves. He nods, sucking on his lower lip. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He chuckles. “Come here.” He holds out his uninjured arm for you to sit next to him seeking comfort that will help not only him but you as well.

There’s a slight feeling of fear that runs through your spine as you approach him, you sit next to him, trying to keep most of your weight away from him so he doesn't get hurt but he won't have it. Pain or no pain, he instantly pulls you into him, stifling a groan as he does.

Your eyes are tearing up and all you want to do is curl up into a ball and cry. This was your fault, if you hadn’t of been stubborn and hurt your foot; Chris never would have been on the road, the car never would have hit him and he wouldn’t be here looking like he just survived a round with Mike Tyson.

“What happen?” You finally crack out.

“I was on the way to your place and this car in front of me lost control and hit me head on. I’m lucky I didn’t break my leg. Few stitches in my head, glass in my hand and busted face but I’m fine.”

“God, Chris...” You sigh.

“It’s fine.” He reaches his hands out, gently holding your face, forcing your swollen eyes to face him. “Relax, I’m fine, A little banged up. Just think about it this way, now it’s your turn to play doctor.”

There was no stopping the fit of laughter you both break out into. “What happened to the other driver?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He says, bringing his hands down and rubbing soothing circles on your back. “Poor guy is probably more upset about his car than anything.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Guy had a nice green challenger.” He remarked, shaking his head. “That now has regular black paint on it thanks to my car.”

You shake your head and scoff, “You could have died and you’re talking about a car.”

“It was a nice car.” As Chris lays his head on your shoulder, gently resting his eyes.

You don't know what comes over or why you brain decided this was your next comment. "So, I suppose this is a bad time to ask if you got my stuff?" Chris stifles a chuckle.

"No, the other car prevented me from achieving that goal." He responds in a low whisper, gently kissing your shoulder. "Just don't go to your place, okay? When I get out of here, I'll go. My card is in my wallet, whatever you need just buy it brand new."

There goes your independency, not only were you seeking refugee in his house but now he was giving his credit card to support you. You had jumped fifteen to twenty steps in terms of of your relationship, living together and financial responsibility. If it wasn't for the bruised man besides you, seeking your comfort, you'd probably be one step from freaking out. Too much was going on all at once but right now, it felt normal.

Just as your slumber starts to creep in, the startling realization hits you. 'Nice green Challenger.' A green Challenger hit Chris head on in the middle of the night, a green Challenger like the one Beau owned.

#chris pine #chris pine fanfiction #chris pine fanfic #chris pine fic #christopher pine #christopher whitelaw pine #pinenuts #star trek #star trek beyond #star trek into darkness #captain kirk #captain james tiberius kirk #captain james t. kirk #captain james kirk #steve trevor #wonder woman

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littlefaerose · 5 years

Text

you’ll never walk alone

WHO: Sam Evans and Marley Rose

WHEN: Friday, June 7th, 2019

WHERE: around the NYADA campus

WHAT: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Who better to walk it with than someone who’s done it before?

WARNING(S): Heavy subject matter mentions ahead - depression, death, self harm, eating disorders, drug use, suicidal ideation, blood, violence.

Marley fiddled with the end of her dark braid again, using her free hand to reach out and knock on door #201. It had been a few weeks now since she'd last seen Sam. Since... everything. But while it was easier to lock herself away in her room or root herself in front of Saltus for hours at a time, neither did her any good. Or did anyone else any good either. She could talk from a safe distance but at some point she needed to actually face people. And right then, the safest person to face was Sam. She smoothed out her faded green t-shirt and took a step back when the door before her finally opened. "... hey," she greeted after a beat, deterred for a brief moment by the lurch of something uncomfortable in her chest upon seeing his face. "I don't have a place or path in mind, just... walking. I hope that's okay."

Sam was partially looking forward to getting to see Marley but also slightly apprehensive about what he wanted to say to her. He could see a lot of how she was responding to what happened in himself. He could relate to it even though the situations were so different. Having come from the darkest place imaginable to being where he was now, he hoped he could help her somehow. Hell, he was certain he still had his moments. But if Sam could help her, he would do what he could. When she knocked on the door, he made sure he had his wallet and keys before opening the door. "Hey." He greeted her with a small smile before he closed and locked the door behind him. "Yeah, no problem. Walking is good." He said as he indicated for her to lead the way.

Marley nodded and turned, leaving it at that as she led the way down to the main level of Eurus and out onto campus. It didn’t matter how many times she had walked through campus since the night of the Promenade, it still jarred her to see so much damage inflicted on the buildings around them. It made a fist-sized ball of dread sink into her stomach. But she kept them going at a slow pace, wanting to stretch out the time as best she could. She needed it to keep her from circling right back to staring at the downed trees. “... I think I lost my job,” she finally commented, crossing her arms over her chest as they walked. “Temporarily, anyway. So much of JIH Marketplace is under construction now. Did you get any notices in the mail?”

Sam found it difficult lately to go on his morning runs. It made everything that much more noticeable, when no one was awake yet to see the damage, how it looked at night. He couldn't imagine how Marley felt to look at it, especially with the damage to the forest. He kept his steps slow, not wanting to rush anything. It was a way to spend time with a friend, but also give her the time to open up and say anything she needed to. He frowned hearing about the shop. Sam couldn't imagine how that felt and he felt guilty that he even had a place to go still. "I'm sorry to hear that," he spoke honestly. "The art store is still open. Somehow they didn't get damaged much." He wondered how it was possible, maybe just certain areas were affected more. "Maybe you can see if one of the other shops still open can give you a place for now." He suggested.

“Maybe,” Marley murmured, though finding another job was admittedly low on her list of priorities. “Maybe it’s better if I just lay low for a bit though.” She could only imagine the hesitance another business on campus would have to seeing her application. She fell silent again as the rounded the path and Undique Stadium came into view. It hadn’t appeared to sustain too much damage, unlike other areas on campus. She slowed a bit as she caught sight of their reflection in a window, then immediately averted her gaze. “How did you do it?” she asked quietly several paces onward later, almost reluctant to ask as her gaze flickered back over to Sam. “I know we haven’t ever really sat down and talked about it but... how did you get through everything after the Brownstone incident? How did you ever move forward? Because right now I feel like I’m-“ She cut herself off as the words bubbled up her throat and out her mouth, bursting forth before she could censor herself. She could feel her hands shake even as they gripped her arms tighter. “-I feel like I’m drowning. And I don’t know how to come up for air.”

Sam knew how easy it could be to lay low and pretend like the world didn't see you. Having done it for months, closing himself off from everything he knew only made it worse. He was still trying to get back on his feet. He sighed softly, knowing how she felt. "Honestly, that's exactly how I felt. It was like the what ifs constantly kept playing on repeat. I would see the same scene in my head over and over. I didn't handle it well, to be honest." he found himself saying without stopping himself. He needed her to know how bad it could get but that she couldn't go down that road. "Actually two days after it happened and before I met with the Cardines, I...I went for a long walk and I found myself at a bridge. And all I could think of looking down at how high I was, all I could think of was how easy it would be to-" He didn't finish his sentence, shaking his head to prevent himself from going back there. "And I stopped taking care of myself. I wasn't eating. I would get scrapes or cuts and...I would let the pain consume me. I wouldn't heal. I didn't feel like I deserved to heal. That I betrayed my magic and all it stood for. I put myself in a really dark place. I think the one person who saw through it was Blaine. He knew what I was doing and it still took me a while to wake up and see I still had worth. And that doing right by the people I hurt, their families, was better than sitting in a cold, dark room. When I went back to my dorm, it was because I was sick and tired of doing nothing. I couldn't be in that dark place anymore. My dorm, the one I've always had, it has memories that remind me that there is still good and I can have it. I just do have to remember who I'm doing it for." He turned his gaze to her. "The one thing I do know is that being alone, it pretty much killed my relationships with people. Tina, Mike, Elliott, you. It killed me how my behavior affected the way I acted with everyone. It was like I let the self hatred consume me. And eventually I realized I couldn't do that anymore. I needed to be strong, not just for myself, but for the ones I owed it to. So I could make amends and do better by their community." He knew how heavy it was to talk about it, but they hadn't before and it was, unfortunately, the one way he knew that he hoped she could glean some insight from.

They were already moving slow, but Marley's pace petered off that much more as Sam began to open up about everything. Frankly, it scared her to think that he'd existed in such a dark place for so long without anyone noticing. Scared her to see so much of herself in what he was saying. It rocked her enough that at first, she couldn't find the words to say. What could she say? She couldn't take back the way she'd treated him or ignored him through all of it. The tough reality of the words just seeped into her skin, settling uncomfortably inside her. Flashes of moments across her brain leave her feeling dizzy - staring at a freshly picked belladonna leaf, waking up on the floor of her room willingly poisoned, her own blood spurting onto the floor of the Sanctuary room… she reached for his hand and grabbed on tight as the feeling in her chest overwhelmed her, pausing their walk for the moment. "I thought I was going to die," she admitted, unable to look at him as she did. It hadn't gotten any easier each time she told someone. If anything, in this case, it made her feel shame the instant the words left her lips. "I lived for years thinking that night was the night I would die, and... and after... I can't even number the times I've thought to myself since then that I wish I would've. That I had let myself bleed to death and the earth swallow me up as the earthquake rolled in." She pursed her lips against the sting in her eyes as one admission brought with it a bubbling up of so much more. "I'm trying to.... I'm trying to not shut down, to not shut people out again, but the whole world is in chaos right now, things have become infinitely worse for LN, I've effectively pissed off everyone, Olivia is missing, and I can't even face my own girlfriend because every time she says she loves me and that we're going to have a future outside of all of this someday, I just want to crawl out of my skin because how - how can she look at me and all of the choices I've made and all that's become of this and still think I'm worth it? I don't even think I'm worth it!"

Sam held onto her hand, squeezing it gently but also firmly, wanting to give her some ground to hold onto. He could see she was drowning, just as much as he had been at one point. While he knew this situation was different, one difference was he was there for her. She may not have been able to be there for him, and he understood completely, he was going to be there for her. "Hey, I get it, okay? I'm here for you." He put one hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it while the other still held her hand. "It's hard when the whole world is against you. Or at least it feels that way. But you have support even if you don't think you deserve it. Because the truth is, you do. And that girlfriend of yours does not give up on someone if they mess up big time. She was literally there for me when I thought for sure I didn't deserve it. Because she still saw something in me that I didn't see. That I didn't want to see because of all of the mistakes I made. And she is doing the same for you because she loves you and she cares about you. And I still see my friend Marley in there. Because deep down you still want to make things better. Did things get royally messed up? Yeah, they did. But the hard part now is figuring out what to do next. You can do that with the people who love you and want you to be okay. That can start with Dani and I, if you want." His stomach dropped at the mention of Olivia, thinking of his own friend who had gone missing so long ago. Aether, how long had it been now? "I know you don't feel like it but I am so glad you survived. Because now you can show them that you are worth something and that you can make things right. I know right now it might be hard to know what that is. Trust me, it took me months to finally figure out what I needed to do. But at that time, I had only myself. You are a step ahead of me because you got me. Dani. You have us. We're not going anywhere."

Marley looked up when Sam grabbed her shoulder. Though it was hard to hear - hard to accept when everything in her head screamed the opposite - she couldn't discount what he said. He'd been there and back. He'd survived. And if she knew nothing else about Sam, it was that he was loyal. Even going through hell, he still stood by his friends. By what mattered most. If he could survive... if they had all survived this, then she had no other choice. She had to at least try. Or try harder, in this case. "I do want to make them better," she nodded, reaching up with her free hand to wipe away at the moisture on her cheek. "I just don't know how to yet. There's so much... there's so much wrong to be fixed." And not enough of her to fix it all at once like she wanted to.

Sam understood where she was coming from. It was hard to see what to do next when there was too much that needed to be done. "Sometimes the easiest thing to do is start small." He thought of the monthly donations he still made, how they never wavered from going to their recipients. "And just work your way up. But the first step is to take care of yourself and not pull away. The answer will come eventually. And you'll know what the right thing is."

It was hard to see what the right thing could be at that point - or that anyone would want anything from her at that point - but Marley could do small. She could take baby steps, however futile or frustrating they might feel. She could start at home. She could starting by going home. “Thank you,” she murmured and squeezed his hand again. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see how low you’d gotten. I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this, almost got you killed.”

Sam shook his head gently, "Hey, it's okay. You had every right to feel how you did back then. I don't blame you at all for not seeing it. I didn't want anyone to see it. I felt like I deserved it. Just...having you here now, that's more important to me. And now I can be here for you." He wrapped her up in a hug, wishing he could help more. "It's alright, Marley. It's over and done with. It's just time to move forward now. That's all we can do."

#paras #you'll never walk alone #aquaevans #tw: death #tw: depression #tw: self harm #tw: drug use #tw: violence #tw: blood #tw: eating disorders #tw: suicidal thoughts

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