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sylvies-chen · 3 years

Text

Test Runs

Summary: Matt agrees to help Sylvie babysit a 5-month-old Brian Cruz for the night to help Chloe and Joe out, and gets a glimpse at a life with Sylvie he thought he could only ever dream of.

Words: ~5.5K

Warnings: None?? It’s just pure baby fever and heart eyes and canon-compliant established Brettsey

Tagging: @fighterkimburgess Cíara, this one’s for you. I hope you enjoy your much anticipated gift— and some very long, plot-less tooth rotting fluff :)

A/N: I don't know what this is and I'm pretty sure I zoned out while writing this so let me know what you think of this because this is the least edited thing I've ever written lol

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

Matt’s in the locker room at the end of a tiringly long shift when he hears Sylvie’s voice coming from behind him.

Their shift has been filled with an endless amount of intense calls. House fires, a harrowing ambo call according to Sylvie, car crashes galore. He’s more than ready to go home and enjoy his next few days off. He and Sylvie had even agreed to make tonight a date night, staying in with a bottle of wine and watching a movie (or, in their case, not watching a movie). It makes him even happier to be done with this shift. Just a regular, normal, peaceful night.

That’s what it’s supposed to be, at least. Only he hears his girlfriend’s voice and, instead of its usual soothing effect on him, is filled with something tense and nervous. He turns around and lo and behold, Sylvie’s standing in front of him with a perpetual wince.

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“I may or may not have told Joe and Chloe I’d babysit Brian for them tonight,” she explains nervously, her palms stretched out flat against each other. “Which means I’m going to have to take a raincheck on that date night we’d planned.”

Matt instantly finds it hilarious that she’d been so worried to tell him about it. “Sylvie, it’s fine,” he assures her. “Date night can be any night, we’ll just postpone it for another day.”

“Really? You’re not bummed out?” “I’m extremely bummed out,” he corrects her, his hands flying to her arms and rubbing circles on them gently with his thumbs. “But I’m not mad. I just wanted to spend time with you after a long shift, that’s all.”

“I know,” she sighs. “I’m sorry. Joe just kept going on and on about how he and Chloe haven’t had a minute to themselves since the baby was born and I just remember thinking how, if that were you and I, it’d make me really sad not getting to have a night off with you.”

Matt swears his heart melts right then and there. Sylvie’s compassion is pretty much endless but when she mixes it with that adorably longing look in her eye, and with words like that? Yeah, Matt’s a total goner.

Things between him and Sylvie have been going so great. They’re going on six months and not a single day goes by where he doesn’t feel like the happiest guy in the world. He knows tonight is one of their only nights off between shifts and he’d prefer not to have to share her quite yet during those nights but Joe and Chloe are their friends, Sylvie was right to offer them a kind gesture.

So an idea forms.

Matt’s always been good with kids, he’ll never complain at getting the chance to look after one. Especially not when it’s with the woman he loves. Besides, he sort of loves the idea of spending the night watching Sylvie gush over Brian Cruz. She was sort of adorable with Amelia, he can only assume it will be the same with Brian.

So much for a normal, peaceful night. (Although frankly, Matt thinks normal is overrated.)

“What if I came with you?”

“What?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “What if I looked after him with you? I’m sure Joe and Chloe wouldn’t mind, I’d be more than willing to give you an extra set of hands.”

She gives him a puzzled, slightly skeptical look. “So you mean to tell me,” she starts, “that you want to spend one of your few nights off in between shifts babysitting a screaming, crying, spitting five-month-old baby, just… because I am?”

“That’s sort of the idea, yeah,” he chuckles. “I’m good with kids, I can handle a little spit-up. Besides, I’ll take any time I can get with you.”

Ok. So maybe that was a little cheesy. It still rings true nonetheless. Spending time with her in any capacity is good enough for him-- and he has a feeling this will be a lot of fun.

She seems to think the same thing too, and smiles sweetly at him. “How did I get so lucky?”

“You just are,” he shrugs amusedly and leans in to kiss her soundly, sinking into it for a minute before he realizes he shouldn’t get carried away when they’re in the locker room. He’ll save the PDA for Stella and Severide. When he pulls away, she moves to pick up her bag and shut her locker, the two of them ready to leave. “So I’ll pick you up then? What time did they want you there?”

“5:00. But I should warn you,” Sylvie warns teasingly with a pointed index finger. “I will be singing a lot of Wiggles songs. It will not be sexy.”

He lets out a chuckle from deep in his chest and Sylvie returns the laugh as she heads out of the locker room and to her car. Even when she’s gone, Matt can still feel himself smiling like an idiot.

Like he said: Sylvie Brett makes him feel like the happiest guy in the world.

“Hey. You’re in a good mood.” Matt’s about to get his own bag and leave when he turns around to see Severide coming into the locker room.

“Yeah, well, I’m on babysitting duty tonight,” he explains. “With Sylvie. Joe and Chloe needed some time off so she volunteered and I thought I’d tag along.”

“Uh-oh,” Kelly teases. “I sense a little baby fever coming on.”

“What? No, Sylvie’s not baby-crazy, it’s not like that.”

“I’m not talking about her,” Severide explains. “I’m talking about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. You’re a sucker for kids, man. You’ve wanted them for as long as I’ve known you. You’re going to have that little pipe dream back in your head by the end of the night, I’m telling you,” he warns, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I’ll be fine,” Matt grumbles in response. “I think I can handle one night of babysitting. Besides, we’re just helping Cruz. Kids are something for down the line. Way down the line.”

“So you have thought about it,” Kelly replies victoriously, raising a single, cocky eyebrow.

“What about you and Kidd, huh?” Matt knows deflecting won’t work forever, but he’s not ready to admit to himself that he has thought about it, nevermind Severide. So switching the subject back onto his best friend seems like the safe option. “You’re the ones who are married now. You two haven’t thought about having kids?”

Kelly bites his tongue, blushes slightly. It’s a rare occurrence for him, but one reserved uniquely for all matters related to Stella. “Maybe,” Severide shrugs. “But we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you.” Matt huffs, picking up his bag and shutting his own locker. “I can handle myself. I was just giving you a heads up in case you wondered why I wasn’t at the loft. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Matt heads out after that making a beeline for his truck before anyone else can question him about this.

Severide doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He and Sylvie are enjoying their time together right now, taking things at their own pace. Matt’s not about to ruin that for some fantasy he had that’s slowly dissipated. After all, what’s the point in wanting kids if you don’t have someone you want to have them with? After Gabby, he’d given up on that until what was once a pipe dream became something completely irrelevant and blurry in the back of his mind. Besides, six months of dating is a little soon to be thinking about that. There’s about a million steps they have to go through first, a million milestones before kids would be in the question. So yeah. He and Sylvie are not in any rush. For now, Matt is perfectly happy to be able to wake up to her for as many mornings as he can. Just him and her. That’s always going to be enough for him, no matter what. His small fantasies are a thing of the past.

At least, that’s what he tells himself as he drives home to the loft and gets ready to pick Sylvie up. He repeats it over and over until eventually, it doesn’t feel like a lie anymore.

********

When Sylvie hops into his truck, she’s wearing jeans and an old graphic t-shirt. She figures it’s best to wear something she won’t mind dirtying a little. She explains this to Matt when they’re in his truck and he nods thoughtfully at her smart thinking. He even leans over to kiss her on the cheek while waiting for one of the traffic lights to turn red. Only then does it truly register in Sylvie’s head about what they’re doing tonight.

They’re really, truly, spending an entire night together with their friend’s adorable baby.

She really hadn’t expected Matt to offer his help tonight. She doesn’t need the help-- Sylvie knows her way around a five-month-old, after all-- but he’d offered it anyway which somehow makes it even sweeter. Joe and Chloe had been more than okay with it. There’s no one more decent and reliable than Matt Casey, after all. Together, Brian Cruz is guaranteed to spend the whole night being showered with love. She’s sure of that, so she’d obviously been thrilled to have him tag along for babysitting. Until the weight of it all sinks in, that is.

Things between them have been going so great. It’d taken them longer than she’d hoped to sort out their feelings but it’d made the release all the more satisfying. They’re here now, together. And even though they’re only six months into this relationship, she knows that she’s never backing out. This is it; for both of them. It adds an extra layer to her happiness, knowing that everything she does with him will be her last firsts. It’s wonderful and beautiful in all the best ways. They’re still fairly early on in their relationship though. She doesn’t have an exact plan for the future-- it’s the only thing she can’t plan out thoroughly, unfortunately-- but she knows six months is still fresh in the grand scheme of things. And whereas she thinks a kid or two might be nice, it’s still too early to have a conversation that’s that detailed with him. Up until now, she’d been perfectly fine avoiding that talk. Now though, it’s going to be the big, plus elephant in the room. They’re getting a glimpse at what it would be like to have a kid together. It seems silly, but she’s almost scared to let her mind wander.

She goes over it in her head quietly in the car. It’s not a big deal, she reminds herself. They’ll just look after Brian, have some fun, and put him to bed at a reasonable hour. And most importantly, under no circumstances will daydreaming about their future be allowed. Ever.

They reach Joe and Chloe’s house and Matt takes her hands as they reach the front door. She’s been quiet the rest of the car ride, ever since he kissed her on the cheek. She’d gotten so preoccupied reminding herself not to get ahead of herself tonight that it’d picked up his attention, but she gives his hand a gentle squeeze as they wait for Joe and Chloe to answer the door and he smiles, thinking nothing of her quiet mood.

“Hey,” Joe greets them when the front door finally opens. His face is beaming, and it really dawns on Sylvie how excited he must be for tonight. He and Chloe haven’t been out of the house for weeks, never spending more than five minutes alone without baby Brian Cruz. “Come on in.”

Sylvie flashes a friendly smile and lets go of Matt’s hand to step inside, looking around the place. Chloe’s putting her earrings on in the mirror, preparing the finishing touches of her date night outfit. Which, in Sylvie’s opinion, is gorgeous. Saying her friend looks amazing is almost an understatement. “Don’t you look fancy,” Sylvie teases from behind Chloe. “Sylvie! We’re so glad you two were able to make it,” Chloe cheers, leaning in to give Sylvie a tender hug and then doing the same for Matt. “Thank you so much for this. We owe you one.” “Don’t worry about it,” she hears Matt speak. “I think we’re both just happy to lend a helping hand, right?”

He looks to Sylvie with raised eyebrows, and she nods in agreement. “Yes, we really are. You two seriously deserve some time off.”

“You’re right about that,” Joe nods. “I thought being a firefighter would mess with my sleep schedule but it’s nothing compared to this kid.”

“Where is Brian anyway?” She asks.

“He’s in his crib right now, hang on,” Chloe tells her, stepping into the room next to them and pulling Brian out of his crib. The little boy sits perfectly against his mother’s chest, his feet dangling slightly. He’s wearing a onesie too, the light blue fabric covered with little robots. It’s quite possibly the cutest thing Sylvie’s ever seen and she has to fight back the urge to coo at him.

“Say hi to Auntie Sylvie and Uncle Matt, sweet cheeks!” Chloe coos to her son, grabbing his tiny hand and waving it at Sylvie and Matt for him. He can’t talk yet but he flashes a smile at them and it melts Sylvie’s heart. Man. Tonight is going to be amazing and yet so tough to get through. “So there’s fresh formula in the fridge but we just fed him so he should be fine for the night. His toys are all laid out on the floor if he needs tummy time and we normally put him to bed at 7:00. If there’s anything you guys need or any questions, just call us. We’re bringing our phones with us and the number for the pediatrician is on the counter just in case,” Joe explains to them.

“Got it,” Sylvie nods.

“Ok,” Chloe nods to herself, handing Brian over to Sylvie. The small boy fits just as nicely against Sylvie’s chest but he tries to turn his head as soon as she holds him, urgently looking for his mom. Chloe stands back, staring at Brian nervously. “I gotta go now, buddy. I’ll see you later.”

“It’s harder than you expected, isn’t it?” Sylvie asks her, already well aware of the answer. Leaving your kid with a sitter is tough, she imagines, especially when it’s your first kid.

“Yes,” Chloe admits, slightly pained. “I know it’s only a few hours but we’re going to miss him.”

“We’ll take good care of him, we promise,” Matt assures them, already moving closer to Sylvie to see Brian and let his tiny hand wrap around his thumb. “Thanks again you guys,” Joe nods appreciatively.

“Of course, anytime. Now go on, have fun, you crazy kids,” Sylvie teases.

“Alright, bye!” Chloe keeps waving until their front door is fully shut, leaving Matt and Sylvie in total silence.

Matt glances at Sylvie up and down, taking in the sight of her with baby Brian, and something in his eye lights up. It sends a warm tingling down Sylvie’s spine, but he just nods at her. “He really is a cute baby.”

“I know,” she raves instantly. “Look at how small his little hands are!”

“You’re just so tiny, aren’t you, little buddy?” Matt talks to Brian, wiggling his hand.

Brian giggles, his arms wiggling amusedly at Matt’s gesture. He looks over at the front door though, waits expectantly for Chloe and Joe to come back in. A few seconds pass where Matt and Sylvie watch as Brian stares at the door. It’s almost as if everything that happens next happens in slow motion. They watch as his face turns back to Sylvie, his twinkling eyes turning sad as his face sours. The wail comes next, matched with flailing arms as Sylvie feels his body shaking in her arms.

He’s not hungry, Joe said he and Chloe just fed him. And he can’t be tired since they haven’t done anything with him yet. So really, he just misses his parents. It’s not all that abnormal for a kid his age but it still hurts Sylvie’s heart, watching this little guy wail in her arms.

“Oh no,” she blurts out, slightly panicked. “Shh, it’s okay! We’re right here. I know you miss your mommy and daddy but they’ll be back soon, I promise.”

He continues to wail, sticking his hand out and wiggling to try and get to the front door. “Who am I kidding, you don’t understand what that means,” she mumbles under her breath, beginning to bounce him.

His wailing isn’t as shrill after the bouncing starts but he’s still crying at a volume comparable to 61’s sirens. She tries her best to calm him down but it seems unsuccessful. Dammit. Sylvie and Matt aren’t five minutes into this night and Brian’s already crying.

The reminder that Matt’s there is enough to snap her out of it. Only she turns to where he was not five seconds ago and he’s gone. “Matt?”

“I’m in here, just a second,” he calls from the family room. Sylvie moves down the hallway away from the entrance to find him. When she does, he’s hovering over a small, wooden chest and rifling through it. Brian’s still crying as she pats his back and offers soothing hushes.

“I think we just broke Cruz and Chloe’s baby,” Sylvie tries teasing, her face still making a worried wince. “Shh, it’s okay Brian. You’re okay, it’s okay.” Matt grabs something out of the chest, moving to close the space between him, Sylvie and Brian. “Here,” he tells her, revealing the little, plush blue and green robot in his hand. “I figured a toy might distract him.”

“Right, good idea,” she nods, turning to meet baby Brian’s eye again as he grabs a fistful of her hair. “Uncle Matt has some of your toys, you want to play with them?”

Sylvie turns him so he can see Matt, who extends the soft plush robot and wiggles it playfully.

“I bet you like that one, huh? He even matches your pyjamas,” Matt points out.

Brian instantly becomes mesmerized with the toy, his eyes sparkling as they follow it’s trail as it moves in the air. His cheeks are still glossy with tears but he sticks out a hand to clumsily grab at the toy. The shift from upset beyond consolation to pure fascination with something so simple as a toy robot is enough to astound Sylvie-- and, admittedly, send relief washing through her body.

As soon as her shoulders relax, she feels Brian relax in her arms too. He even smiles as she wipes his cheeks clean of the tears, pointing towards the toy and cooing incoherently. Matt keeps wiggling the toy and bobbing his head along with the toy, eventually handing it to Brian and letting him play with it on his own. He squishes the robot’s rectangular head, then mimics Matt’s movements with it and moves it around in the air. Sylvie watches in happy surprise. She’s about to move her head to send a bewildered yet appreciative look at Matt but when her eyes look up, he’s already looking at her. There’s a slight twinkle in his eye, similar to the one Brian had when he saw the robot. It’s nothing but pure wonder, and her heart skips a beat.

Up until now, she’d been trying to keep herself from getting ahead of herself. Apart from the logical reasons of it being really early and soon on in their relationship, Sylvie also just doesn’t want to freak him out with baby fever. But he’s staring at her as she coddles Brian, a smile dancing over his face, and it seems pointless.

Maybe she’s not the only one picturing them doing this with a kid of their own.

Maybe, he’s just as much of a daydreamer as she is.

********

Matt’s not trying to give himself away too much. He swears he isn’t.

But damn. If Sylvie with this little Cruz baby isn’t the most adorable thing he’s ever seen, he doesn’t know what is. It’s been an hour since they arrived at the Cruz residence. An hour since they’d walked in and immediately had to deal with a screaming, crying baby Brian. Thankfully, they mellow out pretty quickly after that. Matt and Sylvie pull out as many toys as they can and try to distract him. His tears dissipate as they play around, keeping the young child preoccupied.

Sylvie, as promised, even starts dancing and singing Wiggles songs. Matt started out singing and dancing with her but Brian had tried crawling away while they were both up so he’s now sitting next to Brian, who’s on his stomach on his mat in the family room propping himself up to watch the show as Sylvie keeps dancing and singing.

“The Big Red Car rolls along the street

And to all the people that we meet, we like to say hello

Say hello! To the people that we meet!”

Sylvie sings, spins around, and does comically dramatic gestures as Matt claps along with Brian, making a few sound effects himself to help out with the number. The songs are too catchy not to sing along, so he does. That just seems to make the baby giggle even more, and he tries crawling over closer towards Sylvie.

She finishes the song and does small but amusing jazz hands, practically out of breath. “That was exhausting,” she exhales heavily. “How’s that for entertainment, little guy?”

He coos and waves his arms around in the air, trying to cheer for her. Matt chuckles and claps along himself, keeping an expectant eye on Brian.

The baby keeps wagging his arms though, and when they realize he’s asking for an encore Sylvie leans over with her hands on her knees in exhaustion. “You want more of this?” She addresses Brian, not expecting a response. “We’ve been at this for nearly an hour, I’m getting more of a workout from this than from Foster’s infamous spin classes. How is he not more exhausted?”

“Different sleep schedule, I guess,” Matt shrugs. “Don’t worry, you can tap out and I’ll take over.”

“More romantic words have never been spoken,” she replies teasingly with a relieved groan. She wipes at her brow and moves to find space on the mat but instead of the encore, Brian turns to her.

“Oh,” Matt says. “Looks like he doesn’t want more singing and dancing after all.”

The young boy starts reaching for Sylvie’s hair, grasping at the blonde strands that fall just above her shoulders. He manages to find a fistful but Sylvie pulls him in closer so he can grab her hair without yanking it. “I think he likes you,” Matt points out with a grin. “Good, my plan is working,” she teases, resting her head ever so lightly on Brian’s head. “I’m hoping to work my way up to his favourite aunt by the time he’s two. I’m going to be your favourite, aren’t I, little man?”

Brian coos in her lap, smiling wide at Sylvie. But he looks over at Matt and reaches out from Sylvie’s hold to grab at Matt’s hand too. Matt’s heart melts.

“He seems to like you too,” Sylvie adds.

“Yeah, I’ve never met a baby with so much trust in people,” Matt replies. “And so many robot toys too. What’s up with that?” He gestures at the spread of robot toys they arranged in a row on Brian’s mat.

“I think Joe was hoping he’d get him interested in tech stuff like Otis was,” Sylvie explains, a wistful sigh falling over her. Matt gets serious too-- not a day goes by where he doesn’t think of their dear, fallen friend. Thinking of where Brian Cruz gets his name from is always a sharp reminder of Otis, and this new piece of information doesn’t make it any better.

Matt throws Sylvie a sympathetic look, which is returned. There’s nothing much to say to that, nothing but to let there be a gentle and solemn moment of silence as Brian wiggles in Sylvie’s criss-crossed legs on the floor.

The silence is broken when he crawls out of Sylvie’s lap, slowly finding his way to Matt. Somehow, some way, he can sense Matt’s heavy heart and reaches to grab his hand. Brian doesn’t try to lift it, just puts one hand around Matt’s thumb and one around his pinky. He looks up at Matt, his eyes twinkling energetically.

“I bet your mom and dad tell you all sorts of stories about Uncle Otis, don’t they?” Matt asks as he lifts Brian into the air. He giggles, waving his arms and toes in his little onesie. Matt knows the kid can’t talk yet but he takes that as a yes. When Matt brings him back down from the air, he presses a kiss to the kid’s forehead and pulls back with the small smack of his lips. It makes Brian laugh even more.

Man. He really is a cute kid. Maybe Severide was right, maybe Matt’s already feeling that little pipe dream of his coming back. Because he’s sitting there with this tiny little kid in his arms, having the time of his life as Sylvie watches them amusedly, and it feels like he’s getting a glimpse at their future. The idea of a family, one with someone he loves as much as Sylvie, feels so right. It’s enough to send a warm and electric feeling throughout his body.

“This is fun,” Matt admits to her, meeting her eye with a hesitant but hopeful gaze.

Sylvie pulls her lip in between her teeth, fighting a smile. “Yeah, it is,” she nods. “It’s nice, I’m glad you offered to tag along. It’s like a little test run.”

“Test run?” Her eyes widen slightly and her cheeks heat up ever so slightly, to the point where Matt thinks he imagined it for a second. “I-- I mean, for babysitting,” she backtracks, shaking her head. “You know, if Joe and Chloe decide somewhere down the line that they need more nights out.”

Matt’s heart skips a beat.

Sylvie’s a terrible liar. She knows it, he knows it, all of 51 knows it. He can tell when she’s fibbing. She gets all flustered, fumbles her words just like she is now. Only now, he can see right through it and it excites him beyond comparison. He can see it in her eyes: she’s been thinking about kids just as much as he has.

“Right,” Matt chuckles lightly, going along with it. “For babysitting.”

She knows he can see right through him and sucks in a sharp breath. She looks more hesitant than he does now. “I don’t know, a kid or two might be nice somewhere down the line,” she admits nervously. “Right?”

“It would,” he replies softly with a smile. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it once or twice tonight.”

“Really?” When Matt nods, she smiles and her shoulders relax.

“Well Severide said I should probably keep that to myself but I don’t care.”

“I don’t want you to keep it to yourself,” she tells him firmly but kindly. “You, Matt Casey, are always allowed to share what you see in our future with me. Okay?”

“Okay,” he nods happily. “I guess this test run isn’t so bad then, is it? If we’re on the same page about things.”

“No, it isn’t.” Her eyes light up and it’s all the confirmation Matt needs that he’s not alone in his baby fever. Their eyes stay fixed on each other, a soft and exciting tension washing over them.

The moment, however, is interrupted by Brian. He’s still in Matt’s arms but Matt suddenly hears what is probably the quietest, cutest yawn he’s ever heard come from Brian’s mouth.

“It’s getting late,” Sylvie realizes.

“Yeah, his bedtime was…” Matt checks the clock and his eyebrows immediately shoot up. “Twenty minutes ago?”

Sylvie looks at the baby in Matt’s arms, surprised. “You really had a lot of energy tonight, didn’t you? You were dancing past your bedtime, little buddy!” “Well I don’t blame him, your performance was very entertaining,” Matt muses. “Maybe a little too good,” she realizes with a giggle. “Come on, let's put him in the crib.”

“Aw come on,” Matt pleads. “Just a few more minutes? I don’t think he wants to move.”

“You are a bad influence, Matt Casey.” Sylvie shakes her head amusedly. She soaks in the sight though and can’t resist. Brian is draped over Matt's chest, his head now resting on his shoulder as his eyes flutter tiredly. Matt’s hand covers the little boy’s entire back, rubbing circles on it gently as he stabilizes the boy. Sylvie bites her lip for the second time that night and Matt knows she’s going to concede. “He does seem to be comfortable there though,” she counters reluctantly.

“Very comfortable,” he corrects her. What can he say? He just wants to sit in this little fantasy of his for a little longer. He so rarely lets himself hope like this that it feels almost necessary to extend this for as long as possible. Besides, Brian Cruz is adorable, it’d be crazy if he didn’t think of a kid of his own-- at least a little-- while he’s here. “I, however, am not.”

“Well here, come up to the couch. That’ll be more comfortable for the both of you,” she tells him, her voice now hushed and soothing so as to calm Brian down and not interrupt his process of slowly falling asleep.

Matt carefully gets up and shifts onto the couch, Brian still in his arms. He leans back and lets Brian sprawl out against his chest. The boy is light, no more than 15 pounds, but it’s still enough to put a light pressure on Matt’s chest.

He doesn’t mind. In fact, it’s the opposite. He loves it.

Sylvie stands up too, clearing the toys off the floor as Matt watches Brian’s breathing, the rise and fall of the small boy’s chest against his. It’s weirdly soothing and he soon feels his breathing match Brian’s, his eyes fighting to stay open. The singing and dancing and playing around really took the energy out of both of them.

When she’s done, she looks down at the two fatigued boys, smiling gently at the sight before curling up next to Matt on the couch. She holds Brian’s hand with her index and her thumb, and runs a soft hand over his head, before Matt’s arm wraps around her shoulder and she tucks her head in the nape of his neck.

“That’s better,” Matt beams, a tired smile on his face. He moves to press a kiss to Sylvie’s forehead.

“Much better,” she agrees quietly. “But we shouldn’t stay like this forever. He’ll need to go to his crib soon.”

“We’ll put him there soon,” he tells her. “Just five more minutes, babe…”

********

Wake up.

She feels those words ring through her body like an alarm. It sends the lights in her brain slowly turning back on as she eases into consciousness.

The first thing she sees, just barely and surrounded by a tired blur in her vision, is Matt. Brian’s still on his chest, both of them sleeping soundly. She smiles to herself, noting how peaceful her boyfriend looks in this position. Everything feels so warm. She’s cuddled up next to him, he’s lying with the baby. It all seems so picture perfect. She revels in it, if only for a moment.

She looks up and realizes it’s been twenty minutes since they’d fallen asleep— and Matt had promised only five. For a minute, she considers waking him up and telling him to bring Brian to his crib. She decides against it though, choosing instead to cuddle back into him and relax.

Joe and Chloe are going to be back any minute now. But she’ll be damned if she doesn’t soak every minute of this moment in. Before they’d figured things out and gotten together, Sylvie had scarcely allowed herself to feel things for him, nevermind daydream about the life they could have. But she looks at them, sees how truly good and comfortable Matt is with Brian, and can’t stop now. It’s addicting, dreaming about her future with Matt Casey. She intends to chase that feeling like it’s her only fix, especially since now she knows he’s thought about it too. Her dreams are his; theirs.

To Sylvie, that makes for a pretty good test run.

She falls back into Matt’s embrace, the three of them dozing off. They don’t wake up again until Joe and Chloe come back.

It’s the first night Brian Cruz gets a full night’s worth of sleep.

#CÍARA I DID IT I finished it haha #cíara tag #abby writes #brettsey #sylvie brett #matt casey

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elldell1204 · 4 years

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Silence the Green-Eyed Monster - Matt Casey x Reader

Anonymous: hey love! you absolutely smashed the last fic! can I request another casey x reader? could imagine they’re in a relationship and keep it a secret. somehow someone gets jealous and they can’t hide it anymore? thanks love x

Thank you so much, you’re too kind! ❤️ Ugh, I can’t explain how much I love the ‘secret relationship’ fics, so thank you for requesting this. I kinda went off on a tangent but it’s all Casey fluff so I’m not sorry 😝 Also went a little more protective Casey for the big reveal but there’s still some jealousy in there. Enjoy this long ass fic! 😊

Warning: Mention of and reference to smut, nothing particularly detailed.

wc - 6,257

You took a deep breath as you awoke, the warmth of the room from the sun shining through the gap in the curtains mixing with the smell of fresh sheets was a moment you treasured each morning. It’s what kept you grateful. You knew in your line of work that all it took was a bad call to have your future ripped away from you. That you knew from personal experience. Only this morning, along with the previous few, there was a different scent swirling into the mix. It was a cosy combination of something very musky and woody, with a hint of smoke.

Taking a moment to cherish how lucky you were before you fluttered your eyes open, you remembered the events of last night, which brought a light blush to your cheeks, as you became aware of how you were both completely naked. Matt had his chest flush to your back, an arm draped around your waist and hugging you softly and his breath was ever so slightly tickling your neck.

That’s when a smile grew on your face, one of those grins that were impossible to hold back, not that you wanted to. For the past three days, Sylvie Brett, your best friend, partner and roommate, had gone back home to Fowlerton to face her parents for the first time since she broke off her engagement with the Chaplain. She had spoken to them over the phone, of course, but as soon as the chatter died down in her hometown about her antics and she had worked up the nerve to show her face again, she decided to take a few days off and visit them.

And while you were going to miss your best friend, even if it was just for five days, you were excited to finally be able to spend a couple of nights with your boyfriend. You and Matt didn’t get to do this often (unless you booked a hotel room, which was becoming an expensive endeavour), and it wasn’t just about the sex. You loved the domesticity of it all, cooking dinner together, laughing, talking, listening to music, cuddling on the couch whilst watching a movie. You felt complete when you were with Matt, and it was something you were never going to get tired of, and neither was he, if your relationship continued in the direction it was going in.

When you and Matt first started seeing each other, it was just over a year after Gabby left. You had replaced her on Ambo, quickly becoming a part of the 51 family with little to no grievances towards you. You were pretty sure Matt actually wasn’t a fan of you at first, seeing as you technically took someone’s place who he didn’t want to be gone, but he soon got past it, and you both actually became good friends. You had the same sense of humour, a similar taste in music and you both liked the same movies, so you had a lot to bond over. And you fell hard.

At first you were angry at yourself. How on earth could you fall in love with a colleague - a superior - let alone one who was still grieving from his divorce? Only, however hard you tried to stop yourself, you just ended up making it worse. For example, if you tried not to meet his topaz blue eyes as he smiled, you became more aware of how gorgeous his laugh sounded and decided immediately you didn’t get to hear it enough. See the problem?

But one night at Molly’s changed everything. It was Christmas time last year, and after saying a last goodbye and happy holidays to everyone before you went back to your hometown, you left the bar just as Casey was entering.

You were practically beaming from ear to ear as you approached the door. Herrmann had a loop of classic Christmas hits on throughout the evening, and you were still feeling the rush from when Casey dragged you into his little office back at the station earlier to exchange gifts with you. You argued that you weren’t technically allowed to open it yet, seeing as Christmas wasn’t for a couple more days, but Matt had persuaded you by telling you how much he wanted to see your face when you opened it. Of course you couldn’t say no to such a sweet admission, especially from Matt. It was totally worth it when you excitedly ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a photo album full of memories from the past year and a half. It brought a tear to your eye and a smile that lit up your face, as did the expression that Matt wore. He was so elated that you loved it, enjoying how he got to see the smile he adored so much.

So you said a last goodbye and then swung open the gorgeous wooden door, stepping out into the freezing Chicago night. That’s when you ended up being so close to Matt Casey that you could feel the warmth of his breath before it got cooled down by the air.

“Oh, sorry, Matt.” You laughed slightly awkwardly as you took a step back.

“No, it was my fault. I was in a bit of daydream.” He smiled.

“Well, I, er, was just heading out. Wanted to say goodbye before I make my way home tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, okay, well, have a good Christmas, Y/N.”

“You too, Matt.” You smiled back, raising your eyes away from his face (because your heart was telling you to just lean forward and do what you’ve wanted to for months) to look up in hopes to catch a glimpse of the stars. Only, you didn’t see them, you saw the little bunch of green leaves adorned by white berries, and your eyes widened.

Matt was confused by your expression, so he followed your eyeline, being met with the same thing; mistletoe. When he looked back down once again at your face, you were biting your lip, your eyes flickering between his mouth and his eyes dangerously. You’d never know how desperately he wanted to use his thumb to free your bottom lip from your teeth, but the thought soon disappeared when you leaned in.

He met you halfway, lips brushing against one another’s in uncertainty before you pushed forward, pressing a not-so-chaste kiss to his mouth, something which he didn’t expect but wasn’t mad about. It quickly became heated, all the pent-up sexual tension you both harboured for months being poured into the kiss, the way your hands wrapped around his neck, how his found your waist and then your ass when you pressed him against the wall behind him.

Breathless, you pulled away, painfully aware of how you were still in the doorway of Molly’s, letting out a little laugh. “We should probably get out of here, before someone finds us.” You smirked. All Matt could do was nod, wearing that boyish grin of his with a hint of lust in his eyes, before he pulled you quickly to his truck to make a quick getaway.

One thing led to another, and after finally admitting your feelings for each other that night, you became a ‘thing’ that had now been going strong for about six months. ‘Thing’ is the only way you felt right describing it, seeing as you two were exclusive but no one knew about it yet, apart from both of your families.

That had been Matt’s idea, to keep your relationship secret. He felt worried that the house might have a bit of a problem with it, seeing as the wound from Gabby leaving is still a little tender for some of them. And though you didn’t share the same concern, you understood and therefore agreed. Plus, it was going to be fun sneaking around for a while, possibly even sexy.

Little kisses being trailed along your shoulder are what informed you Matt was coming out of his slumber.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” You smiled even though he couldn’t see it.

“Morning, babe.” He mumbled against your shoulder, still half dazed, before letting out an almighty yawn.

“Still tired?” You chuckled, gently turning over to face him.

“Do you blame me? We were at it like rabbits last night.” He grinned wide at the way your cheeks flushed.

“Well, too bad we have to get up for shift, otherwise you could’ve given me a reminder.” You winked before sitting up, pulling the sheets with you to cover your chest.

“We could always take a shower.” Matt teased, reaching out a hand to draw shapes on your thigh.

Though the motion cause goosebumps to raise on your skin, you shook your head lightly, biting your lip in his direction before standing up and pulling on one of your oversized t-shirts.

“No time. I need to drop you off home, remember? How about I make some quick breakfast whilst you get dressed and then I’ll drive you.” You offered.

“Sounds lovely.” He said, finally moving to get ready whilst you slipped away to the kitchen.

You were halfway into making some French toast when you heard the keys in the door. At first you thought you imagined it, blaming it on the fact you were still a little drowsy. But you knew you couldn’t imagine Sylvie standing right in front of you.

“Something smells good.” She exclaimed, which really woke you up.

“Sylvie!” You practically shouted, both out of shock and as a way to alert Matt about your unexpected company. “I thought you weren’t coming back for a couple more days?”

“Wasn’t planning on it, but I knew as soon as I got there that five days was gonna be too long, especially when everything there was reminding me of being with Kyle.” She visibly shuddered, taking a seat at one of the stools at the breakfast bar. “I just felt trapped, you know? My parents understood and were fine with me coming back early. I called Boden last night to let him know I’d be available for shift today, and I also called you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“Sorry, I didn’t even realise, I was a little busy.”

“I can tell.” She smirked. You raised an eyebrow at her. “Whoever you were getting busy with has left his shoes at the door.”

Your eyes went wide in shock as she chuckled. ‘Shit’ you thought.

“Would you like me to go hide in my room whilst you get mystery man out of here?” She smiled. God, you love this woman.

“Yes please.” You replied sheepishly.

She slid off the stool and went to pick up her bag by the door. On her way past you she stopped, smiled over at you and said, calmly, “Oh, and say hi to Casey for me.” whilst pointing nonchalantly at the CFD captain’s jacket hung on the coat rack before practically skipping to her room.

You were absolutely gobsmacked. You quickly served up the French toast before going back into your room to find Casey sat on the edge of the bed with an amused look on his face.

“Did you…?” You asked, gesturing with your thumb to the kitchen.

“Yeah, I did.” He chuckled.

You shook your head, the shock finally wearing off as you went to pull on a pair of sweats from your drawer. “I swear she should’ve become a detective.”

***

You and Brett along with Truck 81 and Engine 51 were making your way to a vehicle accident just five minutes after your shift started. You hadn’t had a chance to speak to Brett yet about this morning, so you saw the drive there as the perfect opportunity.

“Listen, I owe you an explanation.”

“No you don’t.” Brett smiled sincerely, flickering her eyes over to me to show she was being genuine before looking back to the road.

“Well, I want to. It wasn’t just last night, me and Casey. We’ve been seeing each other for nearly six months now, and I really wanted to tell you, I did, but Matt asked me to keep it a secret, just for a bit, so I did, and…I’m sorry.”

“I know, Y/N. I figured it out a little while ago. I’ve seen the way you look at each other and have your little hushed conversations and comfort each other discreetly after a tough call. It’s okay, it’s none of my business, and I’m not mad.” She chuckled, and I let out a deep breath in relief. I figured she wouldn’t be, but I wasn’t sure. “By the way, I think you’re really good together.”

“Thanks.” You smiled at her as you pulled up to the scene of the accident.

You pulled up just after Truck, surveying the scene as you slowed to a stop. A car had collided with a parked van, its engine letting off a lot of smoke. You and Brett hopped out, grabbing the jump bags and then making your way over to the car where Casey had already begun talking to the patient.

Herrmann came over with a halligan to pry open the driver’s door while Casey went around to the passenger side, smashing the window and climbing inside. You thanked Herrmann before peering in, seeing that the guy had his leg pinned in, which is why Casey had climbed in.

With gloves on, you examined the laceration the guy had on his forehead, most likely from slamming it on the wheel on impact.

“How’s he doing?” Brett called from behind you.

“He’s alert. Laceration to the face, left leg is pinned.” You replied, looking over to Casey who shifted in his seat to get a better angle before jamming his halligan into the footwell to free the driver. Meanwhile, you put a c-collar on him, noticing his rapid breathing at the same time and so you tried to calm him down by making small talk.

“How is it you managed to crash into a parked vehicle?”

“I looked down to change the radio station. It was an emergency; they were playing Justin Bieber.” He let out a strained laugh.

“Say no more.” You chuckled.

“I knew you’d understand.” He managed to get out in panting breaths before he focused on you. “Your eyes are incredible by the way.”

You were a little taken aback by his last sentence, seeing as he was struggling to focus on keeping calm, let alone your face. You glanced over to Casey, still working diligently as he spared a look your way, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“I think you must’ve hit your head.” You smiled, just as the hood of the car burst into flames.

You ducked away, painfully aware that Casey was stuck inside the car. You trusted your colleagues in putting out the fire before it could harm anyone, but still your heart worried for any unexpected turns this could take, putting the driver and Casey in danger.

He managed to free the driver’s leg, shouting to the rest of Truck for a backboard. They safely extracted the driver, and almost immediately after, Casey swan dived out of the car, just as a fireball exploded from the car.

Stood by the gurney, you gazed over, your heart in your stomach as you waited to see if he was okay. A few seconds later, Casey was up on his feet on the other side of the car, and you let out the breath you didn’t realise you were holding. He looked over, trying to meet your eyes, and when he succeeded, he gave a little nod to tell you he was okay. And that’s all you needed to be focused once more, ready for the patient to be delivered to you by the firefighters.

***

It was a few hours later, just as you were finishing up restocking the ambo, when Casey emerged from the common room doors looking for you. You had sent Brett inside a few minutes earlier so she could get something to eat, offering to finish up on your own.

You smiled over at Casey as you ticked off the last box on your checklist, jumping down from your rig. He was making his way over to you when you heard, “Hey, there she is!” from a familiar voice behind you. “It’s the miracle worker with the big y/e/c eyes.”

You turned, being met by the guy you saved from the crash earlier today holding a bunch of yellow lilies and wearing a smile from ear to ear.

“Oh, hi…erm…”

“Mason.” He said, offering you the flowers.

“Yes, Mason, of course. Thank you so much, these are gorgeous, but you didn’t have to bring me anything.” You smiled at him, conscious of Matt standing a few feet away near the truck to make it less awkward. “How’s your leg?”

“Oh, they did an MRI, just a muscle tear, it’s no biggie. I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of me.” He explained. His voice seemed smooth, seductive even, but you thought you were just reading too much into it, so you just smiled a little wider and tilted your head sincerely.

“Ah, well, just doing my job.” You said, and it came out a little more awkward than you would have liked, but he didn’t seem to notice.

It was then you felt extremely lucky as a call came over the intercom for ambo, so you took a deep breath before walking past him and moving to get into the rig. “Well, I gotta go, but thank you for the flowers.”

“I never got your name.” He followed you, looking through the window as you sat in your seat.

“Oh, um, Y/N.” You offered a small smile, but you desperately wanted to get out of there. You turned to your right to place the flowers down in the space in the console before turning back to him, only he was leaning his forearms on the windowsill and offering you a business card.

“Well, Y/N, I would be over the moon if you let me buy you lunch sometime.” His grin was a little creepier now he was so close, and you could smell the bitter coffee on his breath.

You took the card to be polite, but as soon as Sylvie jumped into the passenger seat, you sped off, looking in the wing mirror to see Casey leaned against Truck with his jaw tense and fists stuffed into his jacket pockets.

***

When you returned from Med after the call, Casey was nowhere to be found. You looked all over: the common room, Boden’s office, his own office, restroom, locker room. Nowhere. And you couldn’t ask around, in fear of being suspicious, although you could have lied and said you borrowed a book or were requesting some furlough, but you didn’t want to be caught out on that later.

In the end, you decided to go stand out on the apron for some fresh air and a good think. You were worried that he was upset about Mason coming and speaking to you earlier or about you taking the card, although you would be majorly surprised if he would be annoyed over that, seeing as he is one of the most understanding people you have ever met. What did surprise you, though, was when you looked up and saw him sitting on the roof of the firehouse in a fold-out chair.

“Jesus Christ, Casey, what are you doing up there?!”

“Just taking a moment.” He replied, and you finally noticed the ladder he had used to get up there propped up against the building. You started walking toward it to join him when you heard him stand up and walk over to it, his footsteps on the metal ringing out above your head. He slid down it skilfully, impressing you in the process.

“I would have come up there, you didn’t have to come down.” You shrugged, smirking at him slightly.

“With your fear of heights? No chance.” He chuckled.

You smiled at him. He didn’t seem annoyed. Just a little…off.

“I can see the cogs turning, Y/N. What’s up?” He said as he slyly hooked his little finger into yours. You both did this often when you wanted to show affection to one another at the firehouse but had to be discreet, just in case someone was watching.

“Are you okay?” You said, your voice a little higher than usual and brows slightly furrowed.

Matt raised an eyebrow at you. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“That…um…just with that Mason guy coming round earlier. I only took his card to seem polite, I have no intention of-“

“Y/N.” Matt interrupted, an amused twinkle in his eye, which made you relax slightly. “I know. I trust you, always have and always will. I love you.”

“I love you too.” You sighed contently. “And you have no idea how much I want to throw my arms around you and kiss you right now.”

He chuckled. “Me too, but Gallo’s coming this way and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to give him a show.”

You drew your hand back slowly, just in time for when Gallo emerged from the door.

“Lieutenant, Y/L/N, food’s almost done.”

“Thanks, Gallo.” You turned his way and shot him a genuine smile before following him in, Matt hot on your heels.

***

You thanked whoever was looking down on you for those minutes of peace within the firehouse, where no one was out on a call and you all got to relax, play cards, talk, read a book. The latter was one of your personal favourites, seeing as you were always engrossed in one novel or another. Talking with your friends was also another. You loved to hear about Herrmann’s kids, Gallo’s sad excuse for a love life, Severide and Kidd’s weekend getaway (although you weren’t too fond of the details, but luckily they usually skipped past those with merely a wink at each other). Right now, you and Brett were talking about the upcoming wedding of one of a previous mutual partner.

“Have you got your dress yet?” You asked her.

“Yep, got it last weekend. It’s a gorgeous blush pink maxi dress, and its so comfy. What about you?”

“Mine’s about knee length, a dark green silky material. I can’t wait to go, plus Maddison is going to look gorgeous.”

“She really is!” Brett gushed, looking over your shoulder at Matt, who was sitting three seats down at the end of the table. She lowered her voice, “Are you taking Matt as your date?”

Your eyes got a little sadder and you looked down at your fingers. “I’m not sure. I’d love to, and I probably could get away with if we said we were just going as friends, but I don’t know if we’d be able to keep it up or if they’d get suspicious.” You murmured. “I need to talk to Matt first, because it’s his call. Whatever he wants to do, I’m up for.”

She nodded gently, offering you a small smile before sitting up straighter and opening her mouth to speak, but before she could, Capp shouted from the doorway.

“Hey, Y/L/N, there’s someone outside to see you. Says his names Mason?”

You rolled your eyes, inhaling deeply before casting a glance over to Matt carefully. You got up from your chair slowly, with all eyes on you, and made your way out onto the apparatus floor.

“Hey, Y/N, how are you?” Mason beamed, making his way over to you with his arms wide open, as if he was coming for a hug.

You stayed still, arms crossed, showing him you didn’t accept the hug, and he stopped just short of you, smile a little weaker but barely altered.

“Hi Mason. What’re you doing here?” You tried to smile politely.

“Well, I wanted to ask you something. You see, I think you’re really pretty and you were so kind to me that I knew I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity on asking you out on a date. So, how does this Friday at seven sound?”

Your eyes almost shot out of your head, and you heard someone choke on their own laughter over at the squad table. ‘Glad someone’s enjoying the show.’ You thought.

“I…erm… that’s, um, very kind of you, Mason. And I really appreciate the offer, but I’m so sorry, I’m going to have to say no.” You answered, trying to convey how apologetic you felt on your face. You glanced around you, mainly at the squad table to see how they were all trying to act like they weren’t listening.

He didn’t seem to back down though, which furthered your observation of him being a little creepy. “Oh, come on, Y/N, just one date, you won’t regret it, I promise.”

Before you could reply, Severide shouted, “Hey, buddy, she said no, now get lost.” He was walking over to you to back you up, which you were extremely thankful for as you had no idea how to handle this situation to stop it getting out of control. Usually, you were pretty good at standing up for yourself and speaking your mind, but that doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate the back up from your friends when offered.

“This doesn’t concern you, pretty boy.” Mason snarled, and Severide squared his shoulders.

“What’s going on?” Matt called, coming through the common room doors to stand beside you. ‘Oh god, this could get messy.’ You thought, and you knew you had to diffuse it, and fast.

“Nothing, Casey. Mason here was just leaving, weren’t you?” You answered.

Mason seemed to soften up when you spoke. “Yeah, I was. Well, call me later, Y/N, and we can confirm that date.” He gave a toothy smile and a wink which sent a shiver down your spine, then left through the open door.

Once he was out of sight, you turned to Severide. “Thanks, Kelly, I owe you.”

“No problem, Y/N, but be careful with that guy. Something’s off about him.” He patted your shoulder as you nodded in reply, then went back over to sit at the squad table.

Casey didn’t say a word before walking through the double doors, but instead of going straight on to the common room, he took a right, walking down the corridor towards the bunk room. You waited for a moment before following him, slightly concerned. At this moment, you didn’t care if you raised anyone’s suspicions; you had a gut feeling something was off, and you needed to make sure Matt was okay.

You walked cautiously down the same route as Matt, entering the bunk room and looking straight towards his office. He was sat down at his desk, pen in hand and head rested on his fist, his brows knitted in either concentration or frustration, and you were pretty sure it was the latter. After a quick survey of the bunk room and being satisfied you were alone, you advanced towards his office, gently rapping your knuckles against the door to let him know you were there. He looked up, a blank expression on his face, and gestured for you to come in before looking back down at his incident report.

You opened the door but didn’t walk in, deciding to lean against the door frame and gauge the atmosphere first.

“Hey, you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He said a little snappily, not tearing his eyes away from his report for a second.

You bit the inside of your cheek in thought, then went and perched on the end of his bed, closing the door softly behind you. He made no effort to acknowledge your company, but he also didn’t object.

“Matt, baby, what’s wrong?” You almost whispered, despite no one being in earshot but your boyfriend.

“Nothing, like I said, I’m fine.”

“Well it doesn’t seem like it.” You said, and although the words could have been interpreted as snarky, you didn’t intend for them to be, and so you internally winced. “I didn’t mean it like that. You can talk to me, Matt, I want to listen.”

He stopped writing, and you were hopeful that he would explain, but a few minutes passed and still no words left his mouth. He turned around in his chair to face you, his eyes showing you that he was sorry, but his jaw was clenched and his left hand was still in a tight fist.

So you thought, you thought really hard as to what he was feeling and why he would be feeling like this. Had you forgotten something important? No, your anniversary wasn’t for a few more months and neither was his birthday. Had you forgotten to do the dishes? No, you both did them together last night after your meal.

And then it hit you.

He was jealous. Matthew Casey was jealous. And you smiled. A beaming smile that shone brighter than a lighthouse, because although it was annoying for him, you found it pretty funny and also very cute.

“Matt Casey…” You teased, standing up slowly and stalking towards him with your arms crossed and a tilted head. “Are you jealous?”

“What? No.” He splutters, trying to be convincing but it doesn’t work in the slightest.

You smirk at him. “Aww…Matt…”

“Fine, I guess I am a bit. It’s just…that guy, the way he was looking at you like you were his next meal, it just…it made my blood boil.”

“I know. Me too. It’s fair enough that you’re angry but you have nothing at all to be jealous of, I love you and only you.” You offer a smile, which he returns, before you check out of the window.

Seeing nobody, you placed your palms down on each arm of his chair, leaning down so you were inches away from his face.

He squinted his eyes playfully at you, smirking. “Risky.” He teased.

“Shut up.” You laughed, then locked your lips with his, giving him a searing hot kiss, your tongues meeting and fighting a battle for dominance, which he won. You explored each other’s mouths, not worrying for a second if someone would see because you wanted him, needed him, and he needed you. He bit your lip, causing you to moan into his mouth, and his lips tugged upwards into a smile.

You pulled away, breathless, and smiled, catching your bottom lip between your teeth as you dared to look into his eyes. It was a dangerous move, as his irises had turned a sinful shade of blue and all you desired was to pull him over to his bed and draw the blinds. Actually, fuck that, his chair would do.

But you managed to stand upright, clearing your throat as you felt your cheeks reddening. You regained enough composure to look back into his eyes, and he seemed more relaxed, barring the bulge that was now evident in his pants, which you were proud of causing.

“By the way, I love you too. And you didn’t have to prove it, I already know, not that I’m complaining about getting that kiss out of it.”

“Yeah, well, you’re gonna get a lot more than that tonight, seeing as you’re extremely hot when you’re jealous.” You teased, taking pleasure out of the way his eyes grew wider.

You winked at him before turning and leaving his office, swaying your hips a little more than usual, chuckling when you heard the curse he let out under his breath.

***

It was next shift, and thankfully you hadn’t heard any more from Mason, mainly because you hadn’t called him or been at the firehouse, so you were a little on edge as you turned up this morning. But it was after lunch, now, and you were convinced that he had finally come to his senses and moved on.

You were reading your book, sat at the long table facing the rest of the common room with Matt one chair away, once again sat at the head of the table. You felt his foot tracing patterns on your ankle, and when you looked up from your page and over to him, he was looking through his eyelashes at you as he read over his reports from last shift. He had a devilish smirk on his face, and he knew I was thinking of the other evening, when he pulled me into the showers to fulfil my promise, trailing hot, wet kisses along my jawline, down my neck and over my collarbone, slowly working his way down until he was on his knees in front of me, unbuckling my belt as I stood in a blissful daze, my heart racing and my breathing rapid.

In fact, I could feel it picking up again, and I knew what he was doing. It was unbelievably arousing how the risk of being caught felt, something we discovered after that event in the showers. And now Matt had begun playing a game, and so had I. A squeeze of my ass when I was folding laundry later on that day was what started it, but I got him back when I trailed my fingertips up his thigh at dinner, cupping his clothed member in my hand, which caused him to almost choke on his bite of food.

We were enjoying it, and after talking the other day back at my apartment, he told me how he didn’t mind if the others found out, but at the moment it was still fun sneaking around, which I agreed with.

“Y/L/N?”

Severide’s voice from the door startled me, but I didn’t jump, thank goodness, before I turned to look at him.

“That Mason guy is back again. Want me to kick his ass out?”

You smiled at Kelly, shaking your head gently. “Yes, but politely please, Severide.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

He nodded and left, and you went back to ‘reading your book’. That was until you heard shouts coming from the apparatus floor moments later, followed by the sound of someone bursting through the double doors.

“Hey! You can’t go in there!”

“Y/N?!”

‘Oh, for crying out loud’ You complained internally, rolling your eyes before looking over to the door to see a very frantic Mason.

“There you are, Y/N. That moron was trying to stop me coming inside.”

“Yes, Mason, that’s because I asked him to.” You explained, softly, standing up and circling around the table to stand in front of him. “C’mon, lets go talk out in the corridor so we don’t disturb anyone.”

“No! I want everyone to hear this. Y/N, just give me a chance. I’m a nice guy, I’m funny, I’m smart, I’m good looking. Just say yes, you won’t regret it.”

You had to stop yourself from groaning. This guy was ridiculously desperate, and you couldn’t understand how he didn’t get the message. It was actually starting to annoy you now.

“Mason, I’m sorry, it’s a no, it’s always going to be a no. Now please, leave, before you get dragged out of here.”

“Please, Y/N, just one date, that’s all. I don’t know why you won’t agree to it.” He was walking closer and closer, but you stood your ground, despite the nervousness starting to grow within you.

“Hey! She said no.” Casey said sternly, on the verge of shouting, as he got up from his chair and came to stand beside you, wrapping his arm tightly around your waist and bringing you closer to him. “She’s said it about five times now. You’ve got your answer, now get the hell out of here before I knock your ass out.”

Mason just stood there, dumbfounded, his eyes darting between your face, Casey’s and his arm around you. “oh, man, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise she was…I…I guess I’ll…er…” He stuttered, turning and leaving so fast you were surprised he didn’t leave scorch marks.

You exhaled deeply, scratching your forehead before turning towards Matt.

“You okay?” He asked sincerely, searching your eyes for any unease.

“Yeah, thank you.” You smiled, leaning your head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent to comfort yourself. He brought his other hand around to draw soothing circles on your back, and your heartrate began to slow back down to normal.

And then it dawned on you that you had an audience.

You heard someone clear their throat, so you straightened up slowly, leaving Matt’s embrace almost fully as you look around the room. Brett and Kidd are struggling to stifle a chuckle, Cruz looks like someone’s told him he’s pregnant and Mouch looks more confused than when he was trying to solve that crossword puzzle this morning.

“Did we…er…miss something, or are you guys just putting on a show for that guy?” Herrmann asks, trying to make sense of everything.

You and Casey smile, enjoying the revelation, albeit more prematurely than you both would have preferred.

“No, Hermann, you’ve all just been blind for the past six months.” Casey chuckled.

Herrmann’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “Six months?!”

You both burst out into laughter, then you turned to face Matt once again, leaning up to kiss his cheek, which is tugged upwards into a smile.

Then you both went and sat down where you were before, now only closer and with your hands intertwined upon the table, ready to be bombarded with questions from your family, ready to share your love for each other with the world.

#chicago fire #chicago fire fic #matt casey #matt casey imagine #matt casey x reader #matt casey fluff #matthew casey #matthew casey x reader #matthew casey imagine #matt casey smut

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dopemixtape · 4 years

Note

What are some of your favorite brettsey moments so far?

I have really enjoyed their entire journey, anon! Slow burn friends to lovers is my jam, and I think the pacing has been really good on the show. (Though I am to the point where I’m yelling KISS ALREADY!)

On the surface this pairing, given their previous relationships, seems messy. I described it to a friend and I said, “I know this sounds a little soap opera-y, but hear me out.” I think it works so well because there was NEVER anything besides friendship between them while they were in other relationships. But after Matt got divorced and Sylvie’s relationship with Kyle fell apart, they gradually grew as friends first. I never even considered them as a ship until Gabby left, but once I considered it and the show started teasing it, I fell hook, line, and sinker. The show has been letting the story unfold organically, I think, and it’s been really fun to watch.

Some of my favorite moments (which are basically ALL of them):

Sylvie approaching Matt at Molly’s and saying, “We should be dating!” His face was priceless. Loved the game night and how the woman Sylvie attempted to set Matt up with called her out about how perfect she and Matt would be together. Yes, sis. Sing it!

Matt seeking out Sylvie to change his bandage so she wouldn’t yell at him again, when we all know Captain Casey is perfectly capable of doing that himself. Subtle, Captain. The look they exchanged there was amazing!

Matt’s Oh shit! What have I done? face when Kyle proposed to Sylvie at 51. Dumbass!

Matt’s agonized face and broken I’m sorry to her in the mattress factory fire once he realized she was hurt.

Matt being jealous of Ryan and asking Sylvie about her boyfriend. Then Sylvie snapping back at him. Matt lacks subtlety and I’m so here for it.

Sylvie being a total badass in the field and awesome with kids. Matt’s eyes go heart-shaped every time he sees her with kids, which is a big neon flashing sign for me. Matt then turning around and using Sylvie’s trick in the field, which lead to him buying her a drink at Molly’s and delivering the best line. “My money is on you finding exactly what you want, because that’s what you deserve.” *chef’s kiss* That is the stuff of shipper dreams right there, you know?

Sylvie seeking Matt out to give him an update on victim, knowing he’d want to know because he’s “a little extra that way.” His answering smile made the angels sing, anon! Matt Casey deserves to smile more and Sylvie Brett makes him smile.

Matt Casey spending his free morning helping Sylvie look for a cat and their talk on the steps. Sylvie being so honest and seeking his opinion about the adoption intermediary contacting her. I loved it! Matt’s not used to his opinion being sought out, so I think he was honored that she trusted him with this. I also loved him telling her that he’s always been impressed by her ability to see the good in people, so if anyone can handle this bombshell, it’s her.

Matt not throwing out the envelope when Sylvie asked him to, and then going back to retrieve it even after she watched him toss it in the trash. Also his surprised face when she looped her arm through his.

His “oh boy” when she shows up at his place and tells him she changed her mind. “Are you gonna yell at me again?” I loved that whole scene. How he tries to give her some privacy in his own living room, but Sylvie asks him to stay with her while she opens it. That look at the end...we should have had a hug there, but I digress.

How about the worried looks on Sylvie’s face while Matt was trapped behind that wall of fire before Severide and Cruz could shut it down? And then Matt immediately looking at her once he was safe? That’s a thing that just friends do, right? SURE JAN!

Speaking of looks exchanged during harrowing situations, how about that very pointed one before Matt and Severide rush into that basement apartment? YOU BOTH FAIL AT SUBTLETY!

Matt driving Sylvie to Rockford, even though he knows she can handle it on her own. Being utterly charmed by her Disney Princess story. The worried face he gave her after Scott sent her away.

Matt seeking out Sylvie to talk after he called Severide off the search, telling her he’s having trouble shaking it. Her “talk to me” was perfect and I love that he opened up. Also showing him her baby picture and Matt saying, “Now that’s pretty cute.” kbye!

Matt meeting Julie at Molly’s, then he and Sylvie acting like a married couple springing into action. *tosses keys* “My car’s parked out front.” His FACE when Sylvie feels the baby kicking and he sees her bright smile. THAT’S LOVE, BITCH! Then Julie asking how long they’ve been dating. Bless Sylvie’s heart that she gets all flustered. Julie sees right through you, lady!

Sylvie calling Matt while she’s worried about Julie, and how quickly he rushes to get to the hospital.

Sylvie breaking down in his quarters and Matt comforting her. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched this scene. AN UNHEALTHY amount, anon, okay? The way he touches her hair? Light me on fire! I love the way he touches her hair. “Whatever you decide I’m here. Okay?”

Walking down the aisle together at Cruz’s wedding and THEN sharing looks during the vows. This ship is SO CLOSE to setting sail. I can feel it! I’m bummed that it likely isn’t going to happen this season thanks to RONA cutting the season short. But it is what it is.

This got out of hand and ended up being longer than I expected. But I love them, your honor! I live for this ship!

#asks #brettsey #brett x casey

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years

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Their Hero Academia – Chapter 41: A Mighty Internship Begins!

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!

Earlier chapters can be found here

Might Tower! Once home to All Might, now home to Deku and Lemillion, the Number One and Number Two Heroes (who often traded off positions in the charts). It was also home to two of the most effective Underground Heroes, the Voice and Glamour. There were also countless Sidekicks and an in-house Support Studio headed by Melissa Togata.

The bottom floor included a museum, devoted to All Might’s incredible career (including a gift shop, all proceeds from which went to charitable organizations and efforts). There were floors of phone banks, answering calls mundane and urgent, the staff well-trained to direct the calls to the correct people or bring Hero attention to it. There were floors of offices, handling all the paperwork that came with such a huge organization. There were multiple floors devoted entirely to a Support Studio. And, of course, there was a floor each for Deku and Lemillion, and subterranean levels for the Underground Heroes.

Countless people worked there. It was, in fact, by percentage of employees, the largest employer of the Quirkless in all of Japan.

And it was where Isamu was going to be spending the next week for his Internship. With Deku. The Number One Hero.

A hand clasped on his shoulder. “You have to go inside, Haimawari.”

“Yah!” he let out a gasp, returning to reality. “Sorry, Midoriya. Drifted away there for a second. Just feeling overwhelmed.”

“Relax, man,” Midoriya said. He was interning with Lemillion, but he didn’t seem nervous in the least. Small wonder, when he was the son of the Number One Hero, who had grown up with other Heroes around him like an extended clan of Uncles and Aunts. Lemillion was even his godfather, for crying out loud! He’d probably practically grown up in Might Tower. “You earned this.”

“For what it’s worth,” Kocho said, wings trailing behind her, “I can’t believe I’m here either.” She too was interning with Deku. Or, as she’d explained on the train ride over, “doing a ride along.” The Voice—Shinso’s dad—was also going to be working with her.

The moth-winged General Studies student had been offered a spot in the Hero Course following her Sports Festival performance. If she could get herself up to their level, she’d be able to join them for the Summer Training Camp and then formally join their class for the second semester. It’d be nice, Isamu reflected, having someone else in the class who didn’t come from a Hero-pedigree.

“Well,” Midoriya said, “you earned it too.” He looked both of them over and hesitated only a moment before he spoke again. “Really, you guys can relax. Dad’s one of the easiest going guys around. And Uncle Hitoshi acts kind of grumpy sometimes, but he’s really a softie. You’ll do great!”

Well, one of those statements was definitely true. Isamu had seen Deku interviewed often enough to know that he could shift easily between giving an inspiring speech to suddenly geeking out over a new Hero or one of his friends or even the interviewer’s Quirk. He saw some of that in Midoirya, but he must have gotten a decent dose of good sense from his mom.

“C’mon,” Midoriya said, waving a hand in the direction of the doors. “Let’s go in.”

Isamu grabbed the handle of his rolling luggage and followed suit.

***

Having left Midoriya behind several floors below, Koharu stepped off the elevator with Haimawari and onto the top floor of Might Tower. Passing through the lobby and other floors with Midoriya had been an experience; everyone there seemed to know him. Small surprise, really, given who he was.

She’d been here a few times on school trips and during one special civilian tour (her uncle, who worked the night shift dispatch, had managed to get tickets for the family), but coming into it as a potential Hero was another thing entirely. Maybe she’d walk these halls as a Sidekick someday? It was way too early to think about. She wasn’t even a Hero Course student yet, not really. She’d signed the paperwork, the offer had been extended, but she needed to prove herself first.

A bespectacled secretary told them that Deku was in his office and directed them down the hall.

“Here,” Haimawari said, pulling open the door to the office for her. “Ah, Mister Deku, sir?” he asked.

“They told us you were insiiii….” Koharu trailed off, struck speechless by the sight inside.

The whole office looked like it had been the scene of a terrible battle, the walls cracked and furniture turned over and broken. How had anyone not heard this?

“D-d-d-Deku!” Haimawari shrieked, pointing a long arm. “He’s… he’s… dead!”

She followed his finger and saw Deku on the ground, laying on his stomach in a pool of what looked like blood. His arms and legs were splayed and… were those his intestines? Perhaps it was unheroic of her, but Koharu let out a scream. They had to get someone, get someone to help, how could this have happened without anyone knowing?!

Suddenly, Deku sprang to his feet, somehow looking none the worse for wear. “I’m alive!” he said, a big grin across his face.

This time, both she and Haimawari screamed.

There was the sound of running feet in the hallway and another burst into the room, a young man, maybe in his early twenties, blond, muscular, and wearing a silver and black costume, lined with red, the majority of the chest taken up by a silver shield-shape. “What’s going on…?” He took one look at the room, at Deku, and at Haimawari and her, then slapped a hand to his face. “Dammit, Uncle Izuku, not again!”

No longer able to hold it, Deku let out a long laugh, nearly doubling over. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, finally righting himself. “But you should have seen the look on your faces…!”

Koharu exchanged a look with Haimawari. What the hell was going on?

“Okay, okay,” Deku said, looking to a corner on the room. “You can drop the illusion, Camie.”

There was a strange moment and then the world shifted, the destruction and blood and violence done to the office disappearing and leaving it in its normal state. And there in the corner was blonde woman in a skintight catsuit, the zipper pulled down low to expose her cleavage, and a peaked cap. She was leaning lazily against the wall, scrolling through her phone.

“’sup, fam,” the woman said, giving them a little wave.

“You’re… you’re the Shield!” Haimawari said, pointing at the blond man. “And you’re Glamour! I knew you both worked here, but I didn’t expect to see either of you on the first day!”

Koharu felt her heartrate slowly returning to normal. Haimawari geeking out over the Heroes was relaxing, in its own way. It was such a normal reaction. One she’d have probably echoed if the sight of Deku, dead, wasn’t still trying to burn its way across her memory. The Shield she recognized, one of Deku’s most well-known sidekicks. The woman seemed vaguely familiar, but didn’t strike any major memory chords.

“I’m sorry,” the Shield said. “He does this to all the new Interns and Sidekicks. He did it to me on my first day and I nearly jumped through the roof.”

“Hey!” Deku said. “It’s a time tested method for surprising Interns, passed down to me by Gran Torino himself!”

“You mean the guy whose idea of training was to beat the shit out of me?”

The Number One Hero smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, pointedly ignoring his Sidekick’s question. “Anyway, where are my manners? Kids, this is Tamaki Togata, one of my Sidekicks, and Camie Shinso, one of the Underground Heroes who works here. Tamaki, Camie, these are Isamu Haimawari and Koharu Kocho, my Interns for the week. Koharu here is Kaito down in dispatch’s niece.

“The First and Third Place finishers at the Sports Festival!” Deku finished excitedly.

Koharu felt a smile tug at her lips. Deku’s enthusiasm was positively infectious and for a moment, at least, all her doubts about being here were banished. “Your son finished Third too,” she said.

“Midoriya’s deserved it,” Haimawari agreed. “He got all of us through the first leg with his plan.”

“He’s a good kid,” Deku agreed. “Mirio will take good care of him, I’m sure.”

The Shield nodded. “I saw the Sports Festival. You did good work, both of you. Wish my kid brother had done half as well, but he’s happy tinkering with his toys. Nejire came in third place too, for the Third Years. Hasn’t shut up about it.”

“Shota couldn’t stop talking about it,” Glamour agreed. “Mad lit, kids. And Kaito’s a total star. Keeps the whole ship running at night. Hubs likes him ‘cause he doesn’t get gabby.”

“Thank you,” Koharu said. Her uncle wasn’t the bragging type, but she knew his job was frequently demanding and stressful, so praise from the Heroes who relied on his support was nice to hear.

Deku grinned again. “Okay, Tamaki, you want to show the kids where they can stash their stuff, then show them to the locker rooms, and then meet me down in Training Room Alpha? And Camie, if you’d like Hitoshi know they’re here?”

“Can do,” the Shield said, tossing off a small salute.

“If he’s awake,” Glamour said. “Might have to kick him a few times.”

“Careful,” Deku told her. “He just got a new sleeping bag with extra padding.”

“It’s that a little fast?” Koharu asked, a little surprised. “I mean, I’m here to learn, I know, but I’m so far behind…” Maybe Heroes just did things quickly. She’d studied them plenty, but didn’t have any real idea how this was supposed to go.

There was still so much she had to catch up on. What she’d done to teach herself had gotten her far, but she lacked the foundations and skills the Hero Course students had. She thought she might observe or something first, but to just go for it like that?

“All the better reason to get started now!” Deku beamed.

***

“Oh, that was awesome!” Deku yelled, pumping a fist in the air.

Isamu came to a stop, firing a small burst of power like a retro-rocket. Next to him, Kocho touched down with a flutter of wings. Training Room Alpha turned out to be specifically reserved for Interns, Sidekicks, and Work Study participants, allowing them to hone their Quirks and skills in relatively lower stakes simulated environments, using the latest in holographic technologies. Deku had started them off with a simple obstacle course, throwing various challenges their way (such as catching a falling civilian or avoiding simulated flames) as they made their way across a series of rooftops. The nature of it meant he hadn’t been able to go full throttle, and Kocho had been able to keep up with him that way.

It had probably started as a competition, but it had quickly fallen into something more like cooperation. Which was probably Deku’s intention in the first place. He hadn’t offered any instruction, just letting them go and seeing what they could do. Considering he had a notebook (Actual paper and pen! In this day and age!) open in front of him and was still scribbling, he probably had lots of feedback pending.

He offered the purple and blue haired girl a handshake, which she took. “Good work,” he said. While he was wearing his costume, she wore a U.A. gym uniform, having explained that there hadn’t been time to fabricate a costume before the Internship began.

“Thanks,” she replied. “You too.”

“It was all right.”

The sudden voice snapped Haimawari’s head around, to a figure all dressed in black, a steel-grey cloth wound around his neck like a scarf. “Mi—mi—Mister Aizawa!”

No, wait, that wasn’t right… In fact, he looked pretty much like an older version of Shota Shinso. Right! The Voice!

He wasn’t the only one who recognized him, though. Koharu practically lit up at the sight of him. “You’re Shinso!” she yelled. “You’re a legend!”

The tired looking man shrugged. “That’s my name,” he said. “But I’m no legend.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest, Hitoshi!” Deku said.

“But you, young lady,” Shinso continued, as though Deku hadn’t spoken, “you were very impressive.”

“He’s getting his license so he can take on Interns,” Deku volunteered. “Which is something he’d said he’d never do. Because then he’d have to deal with… extroverts. I’d have asked you anyway, Kocho, but Shinso really wanted me to.”

“Just give it all away, why don’t you, Deku?” Shinso asked, but he sounded more amused than annoyed.

“You’re, um, you’re nothing like your son, Sir,” Isamu said, then instantly slapped both hands over his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But it was true. Shinso the younger was so talkative and energetic, and the Voice was so… not. He was afraid he was going to fall asleep just standing there watching them.

“Heh.” The smallest possible smile he’d ever seen anyone make moved across Shinso’s lips. “He certainly takes after his mother in that regard.”

Isamu decided not to dwell on how a guy like the Voice had managed to marry a woman like Glamour. Some things were best not thought about. Though he supposed you could say the same thing about his own parents, with his easy going, goofy dad, and high strung mother.

The purple-haired Hero’s eyes narrowed, highlighting the bags under them. “Still… Izuku was able to remind me that I do have a lot of wisdom and experience to offer. If somewhat unofficially.”

“Okay, so, before we move on to the next exercise,” Deku said, and Isamu could swear he saw a maniac energy in the man’s eyes, “I have so many questions about your Quirks!”

***

Shinso! The Shiso! The Voice! Only one of the most famous General Education students turned Hero ever! There wasn’t a student in the General Education course who didn’t look up to him. To think, Koharu wasn’t just following in his footsteps, but getting first-hand experience with him!

After giving her and Haimawari time to shower, Deku had taken the gawky boy off with him, leaving her and Shinso. Technically, all they were supposed to be doing was getting breakfast in the cafeteria. But this wasn’t even reading between the lines. The Number One Hero was certainly playing more fast and loose with the rules than she would have thought!

She’d been surprised by the number of food choices available, though, especially the liquid options! She’d been a little worried about that and in fact had a few options packed away in her luggage. The two of them occupied one table, while various Sidekicks and other employees occupied others and left them in peace.

Shinso, as it turned out, also enjoyed pouched food. “So,” he said, “I don’t suppose I can interest you in being an Underground Hero?”

Koharu blinked her large eyes at that, slowly withdrawing her proboscis from the syrupy fruit pouch she was drinking. “I think I’m a little too distinctive for that,” she said.

His shoulder went up in the slightest of shrugs. “Worth a shot,” he said. “But you’re right. The public will love you. You’re flashy and distinctive. Camie says you’re “trending” and “a hashtag.” Whatever that means.”

Koharu decided educating a Pro-Hero on the intricacies of internet terminology was not something she was interested in doing. “I’ve tried not looking too much at what the internet is saying about me,” she said. “But I haven’t been all that successful. A lot of people seem real excited about me. The school, the public, even Deku. Feels like a lot of people are making a big deal out of me. Not sure if I feel like I deserve it.”

There was certainly a subset of the internet that seemed to feel the same, coming up with all kinds of preposterous claims and accusations, saying she was just taking attention away from up and coming Heroes. And then there were the more vicious comments, from those who still held a lot of prejudice towards Mutant-Type Quirks. The former were annoying and chiseled away at her self-confidence. But the latter? Those hurt.

“You don’t,” Shinso said, and Koharu felt her mouth open in shock.

“What?”

“Not because of the Sports Festival win, anyway,” Shinso amended hastily, as though sensing he’d been a bit too blunt. “People make more out of the Sports Festival than it really is. It’s a chance to show off, but it’s not the be-all or end-all of Hero-training. And it’s still horrifically biased, if not quite so bad as the Entrance Exam still is. Though making a good impression is still important.”

He fixed her with an intense stare. “The fact that you impressed Nezu and others in the faculty is what’s significant. You’re being fast-tracked. I had to train for months to just have the chance to try out for the Hero Course and I didn’t get to join until the second year. If they’re putting that out there, it means you have a real shot at doing something great. Of course, I was young and stupid. You’re young, but I don’t think you’re stupid.”

“…Thanks?” she tried.

“Besides,” he added, “you’ve got me in your corner. I know how Aizawa thinks, and I know exactly what you’re going to need to get up to Hero Course standard. And I’ll share it with you, on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“When you’re a famous Pro-hero, you pass the torch, same as I’m doing now.”

***

Isamu was honestly surprised by how approachable Deku was, even if he shouldn’t have been. Between what he’d seen in interviews and how Midoriya had talked about him, it was obvious the Number One Hero was able to switch from “Hero Mode” when dealing with villains or disasters to some kind of “Civilian Mode” when doing practically anything else. As they’d gotten their food and taken a seat in the cafeteria (And Deku was just… eating in the cafeteria. Like he was some Sidekick or paper pusher, not the guy who literally owned the place!), it became rapidly clear that he knew the name of each and every person who worked for him, calling them by name and asking questions about their family or hobbies or other details that he wouldn’t have thought he’d have time or inclination to know.

Isamu took a bite of his breakfast sandwich (What could he say? Convenience store style foods agreed with him.), then a long swig of coffee. Probably more sugar in it than he should have, but he wanted to make sure he was fully awake and alert for the day.

“So,” Deku said, in-between bites of his own breakfast, “can I ask you something, Haimawari? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Well, that was a loaded statement if ever he heard one. Isamu felt his heartrate kick up a notch. What could Deku possibly want to know? “Ah, sure?” he said, wishing he felt more sure of himself, or that it sounded less like a question.

“Maybe I’m overthinking this,” Deku said, “because that’s kind of my thing, but after the Sports Festival, I couldn’t help but think that you reminded me of something I’d read about when I was a kid and for a little while when I was in U.A., and then I went digging into some old files and newspaper archives and everything and…”

Isamu knew, instantly, what Deku was planning on asking. He wanted to run or use his Quirk to slide away, but he felt riveted to his seat, despite Deku’s rambling, unassuming nature.

“Are you connected to the Crawler, who used to be in Naruhata?”

Yep, there it was.

“Mister Deku, sir, I…” he began, tripping over his words.

“You can just call me Deku.”

Isamu swallowed hard, looking down. Mobility-enhancing Quirks were quite common, even Quirks which allowed mobility over various surfaces. The specifics, like his needing three points of contact, varied, but Quirks could easily be traced through family lines. He was an only child of an only child, not exactly hard to figure out where it might have come from if anyone did any digging.

“The Crawler?” he asked instead, hoping to buy a few precious seconds to think.

“A Vigilante who used to operate in Naruhata, starting about twenty-eight years ago. Mostly small scale stuff, just helping people on the street, though he and a couple other Vigilantes did get involved with some pretty big stuff on occasion too. But mostly he was kind of a local figure. A “Nice Guy” who helped watch out for people and kept the neighborhood safe. Not many people even know about him, since the press didn’t like to give a lot of attention to that kind of thing, though a few U.A. teachers worked with them and even Captain Celebrity talked about them in his autobiography…”

U.A. teachers. Right. Like Mister Aizawa and Vice-Principal Midnight. Both of whom had to know about his parents. Dad had mentioned them often enough, when recounting stories of his glory days. Which was something he’d tried very hard not to think about since the start of school.

“And who disappeared about eighteen years ago. Just a couple years before you were born, as a matter of fact.” Deku finished, matter of factly. “Took a while to find the archival footage, but what little bit there is of him in action pretty much lines up exactly with you at the Sports Festival.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised, he reflected for the second time. Deku was well known for his knowledge of Heroes and his analysis of Quirks. And you couldn’t get to being the Number One Hero without being incredibly clever and intelligent on top of that. It’s a wonder he thought it wouldn’t come up.

“That’s, that’s my dad,” he said, quietly. He looked up, pleadingly. “Please don’t tell anyone.” There wasn’t a statute of limitations on Vigilantism charges. If he got his dad in trouble by going to U.A…!

“Relax,” Deku said, holding up both hands in a placating gesture. “I just wanted to know if my theory was right, and I wanted you to know that I know. No judgements. Everything I’ve pieced together says your dad helped a lot of people.”

Isamu let out a puff of breath. “That’s, that’s good,” he said. “Thank you.”

“So,” Deku continued, “tell me about why you want to be a Hero.”

Now that, that was a question he was more prepared to answer. Especially with more cards on the table. “I want the chance to do what Dad couldn’t,” he said. “He spent, still spends, his life helping people. Big ways and small. But he missed his chance to be a Hero. And I think part of him always regretted that. He told me helping people was the best thing a person could do, no matter if they were a Hero or not. But I just figured that if I did become one, I could help a lot of people. In a lot of big ways.”

At that, Deku nodded. “It’s a good reason,” he said. “I’ve certainly heard worse.”

“I, ah,” Isamu began again, “I just want to really thank you, for this opportunity. I didn’t think somebody like you would ever notice somebody like me.”

For the briefest second, he could have sworn he saw some faraway look pass over Deku’s face. Then he remembered that Deku was, somehow, a very late bloomer, who hadn’t manifested his Quirk until he was a teenager. Who’d gone to school with Shoto and Ingenium and Creati, scions of various Hero legacies of their own. Maybe he did understand a bit.

Deku smiled. “Just looking for someone who looked like they could use a shot. You and Kocho both.”

The Number One Hero’s grin got bigger. “So… how’d you like to go on patrol?”

#my hero academia #their hero academia #fan fic #fan fiction #my writing #isamu haimawari #izuku midoriya #hitoshi shinso #camie utsushimi

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thecorteztwins · 4 years

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(Okay, I have never read a single thing with Honey Badger/Gabby Kinney in it. I don’t actually know what she’s like. But this scenario with her and Haven popped in my head last night in the tub, and since I’ve been struggling to write anything, I wrote it down. What’s Gabby’s mission? What’s the place she’s in? Who’s behind it? Why do they have Haven there? I DON’T KNOW THIS IS JUST ALL THE CAME TO ME and I apologize to the Gabby fans following me if she’s totally OOC.) Honey Badger had made it into the hallway, a narrow place covered in glassy tiles uniformly on the walls, ceiling, and floor. There was no place to hide or take cover, which was not ideal, but most missions weren’t ideal. If they were, they wouldn’t require someone with her training. The tech members of her team, Cypher, had already seen to taking down all the security programs from inside, so she didn’t need to worry about surveillance or tripping alarms. Just find the center, as fast as she could. So heedless of staying hidden or making noise, she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her through the twists and turns she needed to take through the crystalline maze in order to-- ”Little girl?” Her latest right turn had revealed to her someone else in the labyrinth. She’d known she would be there, she could smell her as she got closer, but she’d been expecting...not this. Someone in armor, maybe, someone with a gun or powers. Not this...tall woman, with long flowing fairytale-princess pink garments and gold bangles dangling from the wrist of a hand reaching out in Gabby’s direction, her tone of voice confused and concerned, her large dark eyes the same. This was weird. And that meant it might be a trick. So without hesitation, Gabby launched herself in an incredible leap across the full distance between them, landing against the woman’s shoulders and knocking her to the ground. She didn’t get a moment to catch her breath either, as Gabby popped her claws and shoved them just under her chin, not quite touching, not quite. Like Laura and Logan did. She demanded the info she needed----how to get to the center, where the headquarters were, where everything was going down, where the people she REALLY needed to stop were. The shocked woman stammered out a reply, and Gabby could smell she was telling the truth. She also clearly had no defensive or offensive capabilities. It wasn’t just that she was faking or holding back; Gabby was a highly trained assassin and fighter, she could SEE the subtle tensing of when someone was suppressing their own training and skill to seem harmless. This woman wasn’t doing that. She was genuinely helpless, genuinely confused, genuinely scared. She screamed civilian. The hell was she doing here? Just a grunt of another sort? Not a guard but a...scientist, maybe? Assistant? Gabby didn’t have time to wonder. She kept moving, jumping off the woman and tearing her way down the rest of hallw-- ”Wait! Wait, little one!” The woman was calling out to her plaintively, and despite herself, Gabby skidded to halt and turned her head. The woman wasn’t to her feet, but she had turned herself over, pushing herself up with one arm, the other reaching out to Honey Badger once more. Curiosity piqued, but still wary, Gabby turned around fully and walked towards the woman, standing in front of her. “What are you doing here in this place?” the woman asked, looking deeply worried, “Who is making you do this? What did they do to you?” Oh gosh, THAT was what this lady thought? Gabby’s stoic little face broke into a sudden broad smile as she laughed, ”No one’s MAKING me do this, silly! No one gets to make me do anything anymore, not ever again.” ”Child, you must leave! You’ll be hurt! There are dangerous people here!” ”Oh no, I don’t get hurt,” Gabby assured her cheerily, “I’m gonna hurt them!” This didn’t seem to assuage the lady at all though. She looked...sad? Why did she look sad? Were the bad people here her friends? Oh no, was she bad too? Gabby had hoped not, because she seemed so helpless, it’d feel wrong to kill her, but... ”That will hurt you too, little one. Inside. Please, don’t do this to yourself. Whoever hurt you to get you here---you’ll only just be hurting yourself more if you hurt someone else. Please, I can’t help you myself, but if you simply escape, maybe you can find someone who can. Maybe try---” ”Lady?” Gabrielle cut her off, “Lady, I can tell you’re real nice. I was gonna say seem real nice but it’s not seem. I KNOW you’re real nice. I can smell when people lie. I know you’re not lying. You don’t want me to get hurt. Even though I jumped on you. And you’re a stranger. So I don’t want you to get hurt either, okay? That’s why I’m real sorry ‘bout this.” And with a calculated blow to the woman’s neck, Gabby knocked her out. She couldn’t sacrifice more time here, and the woman probably wouldn’t leave her alone if she just tried to run off again, she’d call after her and give away her location. Nice lady, though.

#fic #writing

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dramaplustautology · 4 years

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Happy birthday Ryunn!!!! You’re such a sweet, fun, and caring person, I’m glad we get to be budbuds~~~~~~~ <3

I wrote a small thing about Nico and I hope you’ll enjoy it 👀

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Sitting at the very end of the bar, alone and nervous under the hazy pot lights of the Panacæa, was a sweet little morsel. The quiet Thursday night made their heart flutter, and they waited for the bartender to notice them despite being at the front of the queue.

Nico dragged his tongue over his lips, tasting the acrid cigarette smoke wafting from the booths. Hidden in the fog’s stench was the gentle tang of his prey’s cold sweat melding with the perfume their mother must have sprayed at them on their way out.

The spoiled, sheltered sorts weren’t Nico’s first choices. Though he and his ‘colleagues’ didn’t hunt for the same reasons, neither preferred meat untainted by worry or fear.

But, while this heiress sat on plush couches waiting for stylists to pick out their clothing, their pulse rose for no reason. Nico recalled them telling him once that getting fitted in front of a mirror gave them symptoms resembling a panic.

Gabriel was a child reared under the umbrella of a runaway rich record label and hated every minute of it.

Coming to this bar, even if it made the little lady steep in anxiety, must have been a small revenge against the person that put them in front of the mirror.

That was how it was, at first.

Shifting her eyes from her clasped lap for a moment, the tabloid’s “Shy Gabby” looked up at the spaces between the shelves of spirits. There, she spied a new painting Nico had hung up to replace a copied print.

“I thought a genuine piece would be more interesting.” The bartender enjoyed startling his patrons, and watching how quickly they slid back to ease. His guest stifled a gasp, straightening their back in fright before letting their shoulders relax, though not all the way. The heiress and her heavily concealed eye bags never quite fully relaxed.

Leaning a hand on his countertop, Nico splayed his fingers and regarded the girl’s widened eyes through their bangs. They gazed at the glint of his piercings, quickly matching his green gaze.

In the low lighting, Nico’s slitted pupils were dilated just enough to pass as human. With how threat held an air of allure, the close brush was on purpose.

“You don’t like it.” He smiled easily.

Gabby struggled to reply, going so far as to hide her blushing cheeks behind her hands.

“Um, hi Nico,” She settled on greeting him sheepishly. “It’s uh, not that don’t like it. I’m just getting certain strong feelings.”

True to her polite upbringing, Gabby downplayed how the painting made her want to throttle a child.

The painting itself was reminiscent of a pastoral paradise; a summer’s day in a garden just outside an orchard. Vibrant greens and yellows contrasted the darker ambience of the bar, and if you squinted, you could see the crushed little daises in the grass.

Despite the peaceful scenery, the artwork screamed. Off in the corner of that garden was a white wooden picnic bench where a mother had laid an array of desserts for her baby’s birthday. Most of it was on the ground, and the baby was shrieking so hard that a vessel had burst in their eye. Both mother and child were red in the face, one from stress and the other from temper.

They took up the smallest section of the beautiful canvas yet commanded total attention.

“This is a Degrassi piece,” Nico explained, wanting to smoke a pack just from staring that the thing for too long. “Titled ‘Nightmare,’”

“Really?” Gabby creased her brow. “All because of a little baby?”

“You see a baby, but Degrassi originally named it ‘The Obstacle.’”

Biting her lip, the heiress seemed to want to say something. Whatever it was clearly bothered her but she swallowed her troubles. Nico figures a chaser would eventually help it bubble back to the surface.

“A blue paloma for you?” Nico offered her the usual. “With the spiced rim?”

Glad for a diversion, Gabby nodded eagerly. “Yes please!”

“Unfortunately, it’ll be off the menu very soon,” Nico informed her, watching her smile fall. “I’m slimming down the selection for costs, you see? More of my patrons prefer the original recipe and the syrup for the blue paloma and its sisters are expensive. I have to prioritize what’s important.’

“Oh…” Gabby stifled a sigh as Nico filled a crystal highball with mint leaves and slices of citrus.

“So, don’t go running of anywhere,” He cracked open a brand-new bottle of the Empress Butterfly, and drizzled it over the fruit. “I’ll keep a bottle in house, just for you.”

Gabby couldn’t stop herself from smiling, leaning over the bar to watch him turn the glass sky-blue with the tequila and grapefruit soda.

“Just for me,” Gabby repeated, becoming a flustered pink. Her anxiety slowly gaining on her.

“Like I said, I have to prioritize what’s important.” The heiress’ reaction pleased him, and he let a fang peak out of his smile. He slid the drink towards her, directing her attention there. His tongue swiped away the venom leaking from his aching teeth.

There was no need to overdo, or waste more on that blue bottle. The venom rubbed into the bottom of that glass was close to an overdose for a fragile regular.

Inhaling slowly, Nico watched the drink touch Gabby’s lips, and the bitter tang of his venom sliding over her tongue remained undetected. His poison sunk into her flesh, working fast as the worst of it coursed down her throat.

“I wonder,” The bartender glanced at the painting. “Maybe I should put that thing back in storage if it’s making everyone uncomfortable.”

“No, no,” Gabby shook her head, pushing her platinum hair out of her face. She couldn’t quite focus her eyes on the picture. “Or well, no for me. No as in it doesn’t bother me that way. The way that—” she waved the words away from her face.

“Go on.” Nico encouraged her, nodding at a passing patron heading to the washroom.

“That title, and that baby actually makes me a little laughy,” Gabby touched her numb chin. “Before my parents got married, my dad already had a little boy. Mom never liked my big brother. Not even when he got old enough to take care of me. Once I got a big scholarship, he decided that I could take care of myself, and dropped off the map.”

She paused to reach the bottom of her glass. Flushed almost as brightly as the subjects of the painting, Gabby gaped at her empty drink in confusion.

“Sorry, I don’t usually pound these back so fast.”

“Don’t apologize for a compliment,” Nico smirked, having already prepped a second paloma. As far as he knew, Gabby never smoked. The addictiveness of his venom was hitting her hard. Her chest rose and fell faster but she didn’t notice, reaching for the glass herself. “But for your brother’s disappearance, I’m awfully sorry about that.”

“That’s okay, I really like talking about him,” She glanced at the painting, needing to really screw her eyes to see that annoying little baby. “Mom threw out all of his pictures, so seeing that painting is…” She leaned her cheek on her palm, her words slurring together. “…seeing him again.”

A pair of men got up from their booth and headed for the washroom. Nico watched them carefully, and concluded that didn’t notice Gabby slouching over.

Gabby raised her drink and missed her mouth. The drink sloshed against her chin and dripped on her clothes.

“Wait, wait, I have to thank you,” She gripped the edge of the bar. “You’re keeping that bottle just for me, and talking just to me. What about, what about your other customers?”

“It’s no—” Nico looked up and saw the entire bar empty, save for a man wobbling towards the washroom. “—problem?”

“I should call my driver over just in case,” Gabby dug rummaged through her coat pocket, not quite being able to get a good grip on her phone. “I think I’m floating.”

Nico closed his hand over hers, the cold perspiration of the glass dripping over their fingers. He brushed his knuckles against her cheek and she was far gone enough to lean against them.

“Don’t you remember? You didn’t want your mother to find out how bad you’ve been. Won’t you stay a while longer?” He was closing in on Gabby. She could smell the poison on his breath. A sickly sweetness mingled in his words, masking Nico’s growing annoyance at the spoiled little kid.

After she ‘disappears,’ the real stars would wander in. Her parents, despairing over the loss of both their children, would eventually find their way here, plummeting out of the sky to join shy Gabby.

Unlike his colleagues, Nico didn’t just pluck litter off the ground. He wanted to make the stars fall.

“You’re...” Gabby rubbed her eye, feeling her throat close as her vision blurred. “You’re so nice to me.”

With the bar empty, Nico stood back and let Gabby’s head fall on the counter. It bruised her forehead but he merely regarded her banally.

“Such a waste,” The snake tsked, lifting the half drunken cocktail. Gabby murmured something and Nico lifted a brow. “Still there?” He flicked his tongue out and tasted copper. “I shouldn’t have given you a full dose. There could have been a second catch if I saved.”

He had given her enough venom to kill a full-grown human. Gabby was in her twenties but childish that Nico could argue that she didn’t qualify but, he didn’t expect it to make her bleed.

“Hm.” He rolled her head to check if her nose or eyes were bleeding. Seeing them dry, he pried her mouth open and clean drool dripped out.

Then where was that smell coming from?

Tasting the air, he mulled over his empty bar. Panic stabbed him in the ass the moment he realized no one had left the building.

“Fuck!” He rushed out from behind the bar and down the hall towards the bathrooms. Throwing open the door to the men’s, Nico almost broke the steel handle from the absolute mess those animals made in his business.

Blood was splattered everywhere, because the humans had the foresight to use knives instead of guns.

Three men were flooding the floor on the ground, and a fourth was slouched in the back stall, groaning pitifully.

“H-help me,” They cried, having heard the door open.

“Ssssssshut up.” Nico hissed, stepping away from the spreading blood pond. If he left footprints, the police were going to ask about it.

Of course he’d have to call the cops. Nico would owe every asshole on the street a favor if he tried to hide four bodies by himself.

Gripping his hair, he scanned the washroom to figure out exactly what the hell happened.

The man dying in the stall must have been the first one to to arrive, followed by the two mobsters Nico had repeatedly told not to conduct their deals in his establishment. Obviously not listening to him, the idiots probably began talking without checking for other people in the stalls.

Judging by how close their body was to the first man’s, they noticed him, thought they were being listened in on, killed him, and turned to each other.

‘I got set up,’ The mobsters both thought, and wrestled with each other.

Nico had chosen to have the bathrooms as far as reasonably possible from the bar, asking the renovators to rework the ventilations to guarantee human guests wouldn’t be bothered by smells or noises. So that’s why he didn’t hear a skull smashing on the edge of a sink. The giant pig took an entire corner off the sink.

That was when the fourth person rolled on the scene, drunk out of their mind. The survivor should have told him that they were having a bad dream and turn him around. Too bad he went for flashy and slashed at the jugular, which explains the spray on the ceiling and the body laying against the wall.

“Last man standing, how did you die?” Nico asked the one face down on the drain. There was a clean streak by his shoe and the snake figured he was laying on top of his knife.

Slipped and fell. Classic slapstick.

The body was close enough for Nico to touch without stepping into the blood. He slid on gloves he always kept in the lapel of his coat, and rolled the man over.

Whether his theory as correct or not didn’t matter in the end.

None of this was his doing but when the police come to investigate, they were going to do a sweep for evidence. The uniforms had the tools to detect clues Nico couldn’t, including traces of his venom on the cups, the tables, Gabby……

Retreating from the washroom, Nico dialed his tenant’s number and waited for their sleepy voice. It took three calls for them to pick up.

“I was taking my 1AM nap.” She snapped at him.

“It’s freezing down here, check the thermostat and dial the heat up.”

The line went dead, and Nico could hear her stomping out of her room.

Returning to the bar, he stood over Gabby’s still body. She was in a deep sleep, dreaming without a care in the world.

Grumbling, Nico pulled an antidote from his belt and looked for a syringe behind the counter.

“You’re lucky I can’t handle hiding you and a quadruple homicide at once.” He pierced the vial’s container with the needle, pulling on the plunger with his teeth. “You get one more week.”

Yanking Gabby’s hair out of the way, he stabbed the syringe into her neck.

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Come two in the morning, Nico was watching Gabby wake up. She weakly lifted her head and tried to flex her fingers. The residual effects of the venom made her feel heavy and she collapsed back on to the bar counter. Luckily, Nico’s folded coat was there to cushion her chin.

“Had a few pre-drinks before you went out?’ Nico asked, sitting right next to her. “No judgements. A little offended, I’ll admit, but no judgements.”

“I didn’t,” Gabby rubbed her temple, equal parts humiliated at her behavior and grateful that Nico watched over her. “What happened to me?” She asked herself, eyes blood shot. They snapped wide and her cheeks puffed up.

Slapping a hand over her mouth, Gabby ran for the washroom and Nico watched her go. The anti-venom tended to cause intense nausea and emptied the stomach for whatever reason. Luckily, it would do so in quick fashion and hopefully not turn them inside out in the women’s room.

Either way, it would soon be over.

He went back to his workspace and began prepping a hangover remedy.

Gabby was back surprisingly quickly, only a little pale from her ordeal. She peeked out of the corner of the corridor to watch him crush ginger into a glass.

“Ginger and sugar’s good for hangovers. Come over and tell me if you prefer orange or cranberry,” Nico flashed a relaxed grin at her. “Actually, better idea. Would you like to help? I’ve found that moving around can help with the cricks.”

Silent at first, observing Nico with a bleary gaze, the lure of his voice made her loosen her shoulders. Gabby removed her jacket as she approached the bar.

Nico’s brows rose, seeing something off about her appearance. Was her bust always so modest? Huh, maybe she wore pads in public appearances.

“Sorry for making you look after me like that.” She apologized quietly.

“No worries, I spent the time cleaning the washrooms,” He laughed inwardly at his cheeky remark. “And you’re stalling.”

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Gabby fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. It drew Nico’s attention to how much she looked different from her magazine appearances.

“I’m embarrassed,” Gabby interrupted Nico’s thoughts, coming to stand beside him. “There’s never been a need for me to cook anything. I mean, this isn’t cooking but I haven’t used a knife to even slice an orange.”

“It’s never too late to make a change. Try something new,” He stepped back and motioned Gabby to stand in next to him. “But since it’s a first, let me walk you through it.”

The heiress was being hesitant, staring at Nico’s tie rather than his face. He amused the idea of taking care of his problems the hard way, throwing the possibility of dismemberment on the table, but Gabby stepped into his space.

“You’re right.” She nodded, inhaling sharply at his cold hands laying themselves on her fingers. At second glance, he was wearing plastic gloves. “W-what would you think about a haircut?”

Barely registering the question, Nico pushed a knife handle into here palm and let his face brush against her hair as a distraction. He could practically see the shiver run up her spine.

Disregarding it as Gabby’s way of awkwardly filling the air, Nico replied “You’d look good whichever way but that isn’t for me to decide. I hope the changes you’ll make will convince you to smile at the mirror.”

Her lips twitched, floundering over how to react.

Then, she gripped the knife tight and cut into the fruit.

“Thank you,” She glanced at the snake, truly grateful. “You’ve always listened and taken care of me. Thank you.” Gabby repeated.

And what of it? How hard was it to take note?

Whittling the hour away over small talk and fruit juice, the conversation veered into what Nico used to have on his wall. Cleopatra, the Anti-Christ on Leviathan, and Thor wading through the waters of Aesir. Gabby hoped to travel to where those works were born.

“Let me bring you a piece someday.” Gabby promised on her way out of the bar.

“Do you need a taxi?”

“I don’t think so. Walking might not be so bad.”

“Goodbye then.” Nico said, watching her wave back at him from the door. Her slim frame disappeared from view beyond the shaded class doors. There was no doubt in the snake’s mind that she’d never come back.

Whistling, he removed the blade from the knife handle and returned it to its original holder. Now riddled with Gabby’s fingerprints, with strands of her hair scattered on the bathroom floor, the police would have to focus on the most obvious evidence instead of raiding his entire bar.

Sending in every little bit of evidence they could find to the labs would be too expensive.

They had to prioritize.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, and was about to go toss the knife into the bathroom when the doors swung open once again.

A different woman sauntered through the threshold.

“I see you’ve cranked the heating, Degrassi,” Nico drawled, pointedly bored at her arrival. “It’s a greenhouse in here.”

Eulia, fresh out of her studio, had recognized the stench seeping up from the floorboards. With some sort of insane foresight, her bastard landlord had organized the wide room above the bathrooms.

“Time of death, who the hell knows when the little bugs have a hot party on those corpses,” Eulia pressed her finger to her chin, smiling at the prospect. “I did your dirty work. At least let me take reference photos.”

“Make it quick.” He gestured to the bathrooms.

“Hope you didn’t let Mr. Gabe see your disaster before I did.”

It was a throwaway comment that made the room spin.

“What did you say?” Nico hissed through his fangs, pupils slimming to pinpricks.

Eulia, annoyed that he was stalling her, gripped her hips and hurried the explanation.

“Right, like you would know. Mr. Gabe and I went to the same University before I dropped out. We had to do group projects and he works better with the right pronouns,” Eulia twisted her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Actually, you must have slithered real close if he was comfortable enough to wear a binder around you.”

Backing into a highchair, Nico leaned his elbows on the arm rest and stared at the ceiling. He should be running; tasting the cold night’s wind for any trace of the witness. But what was the point; Gabe must have taken pictures of the scene if he had been so calm this whole time!

The pot lights glared at Nico and they were blinding.

“Wait, did you let him go to the bathroom?” Eulia trilled a truly awful giggle. “Oh big brother, relax! You’re truly loved! By Gabe and the Great Beast himself.”

“I only talked to him.” Nico glared at he, digging his fangs into his lip.

“And that shit stain was only a baby.”

He couldn’t listen to any more of it.

Nico trudged out of his bar to where the bodies lay rotting. Lingering on the knife in his gloved hands, the snake thought on the fool that had turned him into a worm.

Snarling, he threw the knife into the sea of blood, and banked on a miracle.

#Nico #Eulia #Gabe

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ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes · 6 years

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Get To Know You Better Part 22

Summary: Gabrielle has a nine-year-old son who is a huge Captain America fan. He notices one of the actors on the subway and loudly points it out to her. That’s when Gabrielle realizes that actor was the man she had a one-night-stand with the week before.

Chapter Summary: Gabrielle realizes who the father in James’s life really is.

Warnings: None, just some angst

“Hey, sweetheart.” I smiled gently when I saw James walking out of the school.

“Bye James.” A girl with curly black hair and a shy smile walked by him with a few friends. They all giggled as he smiled and nodded back at them.

“Who was that?” I asked as we began to walk back home.

“Katie, my friend.” He answered with a shrug.

“Just a friend?”

“Mom.” He rolled his eyes and tugged me away from the schoolyard. “Don’t embarrass me here.”

“I’m not, I’m not!” I promised and followed him down the sidewalk. "I just want to know whether you had a little girlfriend or not."

“She's not my girlfriend! Just drop it. How’s Stela?” James asked just like he did every day after school.

“Good, I think she’s starting to recognize her name and everyone around her.”

“That’s cool.” He smiled.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about something,” I said and offered to take his backpack from him.

He let me so he didn’t have to carry it the rest of the way home. “Okay.”

“It’s something serious and I want you to be completely honest with me about it.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No, not at all,” I assured him. “I just wanted to check in about your dad.”

“Not Sebastian…”

“No, not Sebastian. Your biological dad.”

“What about him?” Almost instantly, demeanor turned a little frosty and his eyes fixed on the sidewalk.

I swallowed. “I was just wondering if you ever wanted to meet him at any point?”

He stopped in his tracks and looked up at me. “You said you weren’t going to let him see me…you promised.” He accused rapidly in a panic.

“James, I know.” I touched his shoulder. “And it’s totally your choice, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.

He jerked away from me. “Then why would you even bring that up?” He demanded. “He abandoned us!”

“He’s still your father.” I tried to calm him down but I knew talking about it more wouldn’t help anything. “I know what happened but he’ll always be your father, you can’t change that.”

“He’s not my father.” James spat and rushed up the stairs to our apartment door.

I couldn’t catch up to him before he slammed the door on me. I rushed upstairs and found Sebastian standing in the kitchen. He had Stela in one arm and the other was around James as he clung to his legs, sobbing.

He looked a little confused as he tried to comfort James. I swallowed and walked over. I took Stela from Sebastian’s arms so he could go talk to James in his room.

I sat down on the couch and tried not to cry. I tried to focus my attention on Stela as she stirred in her swaddle. She opened her eyes and cooed softly as she saw me.

“Hi, draga mea.” I whispered, “How was your day with daddy?” I brushed her dark hair back and smiled sadly.

A few moments later, Sebastian walked out of James’s room. He came to sit next to me on the couch, not saying anything for a little while.

I swallowed my pride. “Go ahead, tell me you told me so.” I sniffled.

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” He replied quietly.

“Why not? I was horrible to you this morning and I made my son cry.” I couldn’t hold back my tears.

“Gabby…” He sighed and took Stela from my arms. He set her down on the play mat, underneath the mobile to entertain her. He returned to me and wrapped his arms around me. “You were doing what you thought was right.”

“No, I was being selfish and acting out of guilt. I thought he would resent me later if I never let him meet Nick.” I curled up in his arms and cried openly.

“You’re not perfect.” He rubbed my back. “I’m not perfect either. I was angry because I thought I was enough for him. I thought I could be enough of a father.”

“You are…” I hiccupped and buried my face in the crook of his neck. “You’re more than enough you’re perfect to him. You’ve given him everything he ever wanted. I didn’t mean to undermine you but…I’m just so afraid he’s going to hate me later on.”

“He could never hate you, iubi.” He whispered. “He’ll be a teenager, yes, but that’s normal.”

I swallowed and took a deep breath. “I love you more than anything, I’m so sorry. I don’t want to fight with you.”

“We’re going to argue, that’s normal. Just so long as you kiss me and say you love me before we go to bed.” He murmured softly and ran his fingers through my hair.

“I love you,” I said tearfully and kissed him as if my life depended on it.

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“Stela Bella…”

“Use the little toy to get her to look.”

“Stela…look at Elmo!”

“She’s too interested in the squirrels.”

“Chris, grab a squirrel and hold it up for her.”

“Haha, how about you just get your child to look over here?”

It was late fall and I realized I didn’t have a good picture of all four of us together. So I enlisted the help of Chris, who was visiting New York and crashing at our apartment for a few nights. Things had been going so nicely, I wanted to document every little moment with my family.

“If this goes well enough, we can use this as a Christmas card,” I promised.

“Stela, îngeraș, look at Uncle Chris.” Sebastian coaxed.

Stela giggled and shakily stood up. She toddled away from my arms and grabbed onto Sebastian’s cheeks, completely distracted by everything else but the camera. She looked so cute in her little lilac colored dress, but her eyes were always full of mischief. She loved getting herself into trouble. She was walking well before any of expected and always caused chaos wherever she waddled. It didn’t help that she had Sebastian and James wrapped around her tiny little finger. In their eyes, she could do no wrong. If I had to scold her, she looked around for whoever was nearest and burst into tears when they looked over. Sebastian couldn’t say no to her even if his life depended on it.

“Don’t look at daddy, look at Uncle Chris.”

“Dada.”

We all gasped. “Stela, did you say dada?”

Sebastian laughed and hugged his daughter tightly. “You said your first word, draga mea!”

“Oh my God, look at your faces.” Chris laughed and knelt down to show us the picture he took just seconds after Stela spoke her first word. She looked absolutely precious as she smiled at Sebastian, while the rest of us were in complete shock.

“That’s the one.”

“Definitely, that’s a keeper.”

Note: Oh my God imagine Sebastian’s face when his daughter says dada as her first word.

Masterpost

Tag list: @jazzwoman897 @gurveersidhuu @kimmiestrawberrykiwi @take-my-life-not-my-heart @annoyingcolorcycle @kimberlydyan @darkrose97 @spideyhoecoming @jennabenna12 @musicalburrage

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan fic #sebastian stan rpf #rpf #marvel actor rpf #marvel actor #marvel rpf #marvel #chris evans #actor rpf #actors #angst and fluff

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destressjournal · 3 years

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DCOM Rankings #95: How to Build a Better Boy

Okay this movie was really cute! It’s has a couple problems but it was really cute!

So I thought I was really going to be comparing this to pixel perfect, and it turns out these movies are actually pretty different, however, I can just explain their similarities and get that out of the way first. Cuz it’s funnnnn.

Okay. So I think the intention behind the creation of the non-human perfect being is the same in both movies. The main character (who is a literal genius I mean they have to be), has an idea in their head of the perfect boy/girl and tries to create a digital version of that. The difference is that in Pixel perfect, the main dude creates her for a specific purpose and ends up realizing that he was in love with her and that he programmed her with all the things about a girl he thought was perfect. In this movie, Mae just got rejected (by an idiot), and was hurt and started going on and on about her dream date night and got carried away. Didn’t think that she was creating an actual robot.

The second main comparison is what the purpose of the robot/hologram was. For pixel perfect, the main guy created her just to fill in for a singer/dancer in his friend’s band, (but also to create the perfect girl because he always found flaws in every girl he was interested in). For this movie, the original purpose of the robot was an army soldier that could kill in seconds if he wanted to. But was instead created as Mae’s ideal perfect boyfriend that was overloaded with information. (Like, I don’t understand how that didn’t backfire, he still came out totally perfect)

But honestly I really love both concepts in both movies, even if they are slightly different!

But when the movie gets going, it takes a different approach to discussing perfection that I also enjoy. While pixel perfect focuses on living up to impossible expectations via music industry/Hollywood standards, this movie takes a more personal approach from the viewpoint of a middle/high schooler. Like, how fantasies are fantasies for a reason, and how one person can’t be everything all of the time, and no matter how hard you try to bring your vision to life, real life is still going to happen.

The point of both movies is that perfection is unattainable. People are flawed and make mistakes. That’s how real life works. And if you try to look for one person that checks every single one of your giant list of boxes, you’re going to miss out on people that genuinely like you. If anyone is “perfect” they are either lying, a robot solider, or a hologram. Everyone has shit they’re dealing with. EVERYONE!

Okay I’ll stop making the comparisons now!

The story I feel progressed very realistically. Mae and Gabby were best friends until Mae realized she wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with boys, but never told Gabby because gabby was all about keeping the duo together and had a life plan spelled out. And I can tell you from personal experience I KNOW how Mae feels in this situation. She doesn’t want to upset her friend and wants to keep the friend ship but is worried if she starts having interests besides math and science, their friendship would be over.

I’m going through something similar with my friend. Not going into details though but I’m just saying that’s realistic. And even when Mae finds out the boy she created was just a robot, and she didn’t care, at first I was like wtf? But after I thought about it, we are talking about a teenage girl who just fell in love with the dude because he is EXACTLY, as close as the fucking tee will get, the kind of guy Mae wants. There is literally no one else that’s going to top him because he is made specifically for her. And if that’s the best that she can get, then why look for anything else. Love (or in this case, infatuation) will make people do crazy things….

Can I just take a second to be like wtf no kissing again??? I mean come on Disney channel! maybe cloud 9 was the last movie to feature a kiss?? I have no idea what these censors are about man, but it’s really confusing. Haha maybe I’ll make a game out of it for the rest of these movies. It’s weird there are only like 15 left…

Okay back on topic.

I like pretty much all of the characters. And the funny ones like the dad and the brother were actually funny, like they were cringey but just the right amount of cringey that doesn’t take away from the characters. I even laughed out loud at a scene, which that hasn’t happened in a long time.

The villains were the only thing I had an issue with just because I thought they would be a much bigger threat. But nah they were apprehended like 20 minutes before the movie ended. and that was that. Kinda wish they were a bigger deal. But other than that everyone else was great! The popular girl was annoying but not AS annoying as the one in Zapped. That was pretty cringe let me tell you! But the two leads were great together. I do feel that Gabby was pushed off to the side a little bit though, I mean I get that was the whole story was her getting sidelined because of Albert but I feel like she still should have had a little more depth to her character and more of a spotlight. But that’s just me I guess.

Can we talk about mae’s outfits though? Who the hell was her costume designer? And why do the outfits on Disney channel shows/movies have to be so complicated and almost ugly? Like NO ONE wears these kinds of things to school on a regular basis. Gabby’s outfits, maybe, but Mae’s, like she’s a literal alien from another planet wearing these things. Why do people think these outfits look good? Ugh. I remember when people would wear dresses over t-shirts, oh wait, no I don’t!

Rant over. But anyway, I felt pretty invested throughout the whole thing, even toward the end when Mae’s first kiss was set up. I thought that was really clever because it only further illiustrates the fact that these things have to be planned ahead of time and are fabricated. It’s all for show, none of it was real, and deep down Mae knew that which is why she didn’t kiss Albert. But I will admit that scene had me glued to the screen. It has similar kids the girl vibes from little mermaid.

I’m also SO SO SO happy that Mae did the right thing and stayed with her best friend the rest of the night instead of hanging out with the boy that wanted to ask her out the first time. I was so worried that would be the case but nope, she cares about her best friend and many years of friendship more than one boy that she recently met. That’s a lesson for all you young hetero girls and women out there! Friends are always more important than dumb boys. And this movie gets it right. But it was also sweet how gabby was like “sorry for putting pressure on you” and now it feels like Mae can talk to gabby about anything. If a friend is bullying you into doing something you don’t wanna do, you need to set boundaries! And also dump them if it gets worse.

In some ways I think this movie is better than pixel perfect because it gets its characters so right. But the theme in pixel perfect is so much better and deeper and the music is better. Oh my god that ukulele cover of I love you like a love song by Selena Gomez. That was also kind of cringe but I can’t pretend that I never dreamed about my crush serenading me on guitar or uke. So….fuck you disney channel for getting into my 13-14 year old mind and making this movie.

How would this score against pixel perfect though? I think I gave that one a B+. Oh boy…I think this movie might be A range…because the here is nothing I outright hated about this movie. Nothing frustrating, hardly any flaws. Oh man…am I really doing this to pixel perfect…? I think I am. I don’t think I’ll give it a plus though. Just a regular A. I know I wouldn’t wanna watch this all the time.

Wow that was shocking I scored this movie higher, but I guess when it comes to technicalities, this one came out on top. Now for the next movie, it stars the girl from ally….something…oh man I don’t remember the show name but it has Ross lynch in the show. But he’s not in this one. Anyway yeah this one might be a cringe for me just cuz of the title but we’ll see!

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aprilmillerphd-archive · 7 years

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This is a Bias List. Because I am Biased, and also a Follow Forever. For reasons. Mostly that April hit a milestone and that’s friggin’ amazing in my book.

So I have to start with @darcywho who has been my main and exclusive Darcy since... well actually since I took April from the private rpc into the independent rpc something like four or five years ago. I know Mariah IRL (and will soon be living within easy driving distance of her)-- and basically. Mariah is bombtastic. She’s hella smart and funny, and when I’m having a crappy day (or given how the beginning of this year went, a crappy year) -- she texts me incessantly to talk about what Darcy is doing, and what April and Darcy should be doing, and I have so much character history, and Important Events, and developmental experiences just from talking and writing with Mariah, that I honestly don’t think April would be the character she is, without having had Darcy’s mitigating influence. We’ve just done so much that we’ve reached a point in our friendship and writing relationship where I literally feel as if Mariah could write April, and do her justice and vice versa. If y’all don’t follow her already, you should get on that because seriously, she is the absolute best take on Darcy Lewis that I have ever encountered in the Marvel RPC, and I know the PC rp com is going to jump down my throat for ‘making comparisons’-- but again. THis boo is my main and exclusive Darcy Lewis, also I do whut I want. @scarsearned MANGOOOOO. Okay so funfact; this brat used to have a diff url and we chat on dis/cord and it STILL took me like three days to realize on tumblr they were the same person. I FOLLOW YOU ON FOUR BLOGS MANGO. THis is what you signed up for all those years ago. I’m sorry. SO TO THE POINT! Mango has a bevy of blogs she runs, I met her when she wrote almost exclusively on Rummers here, and what I say ‘met her’ I mean I started sending her asks talking about Brock Rumlow, reread her rules and realized she had a password, at which point we were already talking over Skype, and then I sent in her password and she teased me relentlessly for it. (I deserved it, I’m a total goob)-- Mango is right up there with Mariah in terms of IMPORTANT character development shit. Mango writes a CANON DIVERGENT Brock Rumlow, and has put so much time into developing him, I think Marvel should give her a fuckin’ job. She’s also like... insanely smart. I say this as someone who likes to play at being really intelligent. Mango talks and I feel like I’m back in grade school and I want to hide myself away in shame. So obviously it’s no wonder we ended up shipping. (Actually no, I still have literally no idea how or why THAT happened tbqh I’m a fuckin’ potato) -- but Mango and Mariah go hand in hand because I introduced them and now their Brock and Darcy are inextricably linked forevermore as siblings and it’s fuckin’ A Plus. @russkiyuragan YET ANOTHER PERSON I MET BECAUSE OF MANGO. But also hella quality child of canon OC. Like, legit we started talking because Mango dragged us into a group rp and it turned into us mutuall talking about character development and now basically Seamus is one of April’s smols. Even though he really ISN’T one of hers. She’s basically claimed him as a child who needs mothering and dammit she is going to give him all the mothering ever. Even if he doesn’t need or want it. AND BASICALLY THEY ARE A FUCKING SWEETHEART WHO NEEDS ALL THE FUCKING LOVE because they’re really insanely smart and super sweet and friendly and I heart them. @phxtxn PHIL!!! OKAY SO I MET PHIL IN A CLOSED RPC FOR-FUCKING-EVER AGO. And immediately Genis and April butted heads. (He destroyed like half her office, ruined a couple PRICELESS books and then offered to buy her lunch in apology. Suffice to say April was less than impressed) -- except over the years, they’ve gotten really close. Occasionally Phil and I delve into the divergent canon where April and Genis actually end up romantically involved but it always ends in heartache because April is bad at being happy and Genis is bad at... well.. mitigating April’s more extreme bouts of self-loathing. BUT they are exceptional friends and Phil has a fantastic knack for finding the fun and funny in every situation and driving April absolutely UP A WALL. Phil’s also another rp partner I dragged into the collective with Mariah, because I like it when my writing partners all write together because I’m a spoiled princess. Phil’s a total sweetheart though and his Genis Vell is motherfucking spot on. He’s spent a lot of time with the character and it shows, but he also understands pragmatic, human interactions from a writing sense so it’s always a joy when we write together or chat. @askprofessorx NAAAAYYAA -- Naya’s another of those rpers I sort of. Grew on. Like a fungus. I wooed her with poetry first and then introduced her Charl to April and what I consider to be one of my more beautifully painful plot ideas. It involved time travel and the overhanging possibility of April dying. And because April was from the modern era trying desperately to get back, it was that much more painful when she started developing connections. And basically Naya and I plotted everything out over IMs and asks and now we have the most ridiculous tiny person ship in the history of ridiculous ships and Naya’s Charles is like... the cornerstone of my favorite Charles’s. She’s got this beautiful grasp of our fave telepath’s charming flirtatiousness and paired with the very Serious way he views morality and the world, which combined with April’s general cynicism (and it should be noted, our mutant verse involves April being a touch-telepath who can’t actually touch people without destroying their brains because control? what is that)-- and you have an April experiencing her worst fear. Which is not being in-control of herself. It’s beautiful and Naya is beautiful bean. @iremembereveryonethatleaves AHAHAHA Lilo was the first ‘child’ April ever like. Accidentally adopted. And it happened entirely because of my age of aquarius verse, wherein instead of April seeking out Charles Xavier, she looked for Magneto instead. She found him. And his kid. And I literally have no idea WHY OR HOW April ended up becoming surrogate mom to Lilo since there’s no rational reason for Magneto getting along with April who is a cynical, borderline nihilist with Serious Rage Issues. But-- April and Lilo. Mommy and daughter and just. LITERALLY ALL MY HEART AND LOVE FOR THIS PERSON WHO MADE WRITING MUTANT APRIL FUN AND NOT PAINFUL. Until you (you asshole) made it painful. I still go through our tags to read all th angst, and I didn’t do it half so well as you and Tori did so.. @actually-i-prefer-magneto frick me so apparently I did my mutant crew in a triumvirate. The flipside of the age of aquarius verse, where April found Magneto instead and became part of his Brotherhood. Because who wouldn’t have a need for a hyperpolyglot, with genius level intelligence and touch-telepathy? Magneto knew what he was getting out of the bargain, I just don’t think he expected April Miller. TBQH. Nobody ever expects her which is great, and this basically started as an incredibly painful, probably tragic plot that I had (sort of) intended to result in April’s death and it didn’t go that route. Like. At all. probably because these two babes understand that good angst is hard to come by and with the persistent low-hanging threat of April’s head getting blown off, or even worse, her returning to her own time, it meant that every interaction was always charged with a lowkey kind of desperation and tension. Even when Erik and April got that ‘happy’ ending. It took an actual fucking lifetime to get there. And the best thing about Kristy is that she’s smart as fuck, I seem to surround myself with people who make writing look easy, and whose ability to thread together a long arching plot is so absolutely bafflingly amazing I am often struck stupid. @captain-outoftime AaBbbbYyyyYyy. So like- I met Abby through Mariah. Abby is the Steeb to Mariah’s Darcy. They’re hitched. It’s great. April helped Steve propose to Darcy even though April seems to have a PERPETUAL ISSUE with Steve Rogers that defies all explanation. IDK-- it’s probably something to do with the fact that April is a giant pain the ass and a tiny, fight-y blonde? WTF knows. Steve tolerates April. Abby tolerates me. Abby is a goddess. Beautiful, smart, funny as fuck, and like. Constantly busy. How she manages to balance RL shit with rp is beyond the scope of my ability to grasp yo but she’s the bomb-diggity. @americanasitgets MOTHERFUCKIN’ GABBY! My DC babe. Light of my liiife, fire in my loins, (not really but I was on a roll yo) -- I also met Gabby because of Mariah. And Gabby’s Clark. Gabby’s Clark is made of fucking sunshine okay, and the best part is, is that we’ve had like a sustained rp universe where April harasses Clark and doesnt know he’s superman, WHILE TASH-TRALKING SUPERMAN TO CLARK’S FACE. It’s comedy gold. Poor April. But I love Gabby, because she’s smart as shit and fuckin’ hysterical, and will literally snowball crack scenarios over IM into the wee hours of the morning. Even better, I’ve found someone whose as bad at keeping track of threads as me. (I say, as I eyeball our New Krypton thread that’s been in my drafts folder for like. Six months. Oops). @talonscourt D I KNOW THROUGH MY TIM BLOG-- but who I first met on April and then promptly FORGOT ABOUT because I’m a total dipshit. D writes Jason Todd, April surrogate son. This is a recent development. Tim loves Jason, April loves Jason. D is amazing as Jason. D is like... my platonic lover from Narnia. They’re smart as hell, and incredibly sweet even when I’m shit at keeping in contact because my real life is a hot-fuckin-mess and I’m always sick and on the verge of nuclear collapse. I would be TOTALLY LOST WITHOUT YOU. @galaeus Echo. As written by the ever talented Amy who I’ve known since April’s very first incarnation. Which... is a long ass time, Amy’s seen April through several character developments and rewrites, and has legit known April as a character since like. Legit. Post Tim. When April was a baby. Echo is April’s other southern, raised by a pageant queen biffle. They shoot the shit together, Echo is also legit the only person in existence whose allowed to give April nicknames, or turn April into a diminutive. Amy’s basically like... hands down the reason why i never gave up on writing an Indie female OC, and that’s because Amy’s a boss and she also happens to be a spectacular writer, both in the RPC and in real life. @agentharrisonofshield and last but not least, this girl. Right here. April has like... a bevy of Awesome Girl Squad frands. All of whom are infinitely more talented and bad ass than she is, like. Legit. April’s smart. but in a fight? She’s basically cannon fodder by comparison. She just isn’t built for the field. April and Viv became friends because they got locked in a closet together. I’m not sure HOW that happened, but now they get together and chat in other languages and April feeds her, and basically this s the woman April goes to when she wants someone shot. I literally love all the headcanons we’ve put together and that Agent Harrison is invariably the first ‘shield agent’ April casually mentions outside of Echo, in threads of mine. That’s how you know you’ve found an awesome rp partner and friend. When their own characters start casually infiltrating your threads in the form of namedrops.

#bias list #how the fuck did I hit a milestone y'all?#im confused #follow forever

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hmuhussar · 7 years

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Misunderstandings

A/N: I’m sorry if there’s typos, it’s four in the morning and I just had to finish it! I hope y’all enjoy x

Word count: 4953 (looong)

After Zane had received notice that the group of five would have to move out by the end of their lease due partly to the numerous complaints from neighbours about noise and unnecessary disruptions but overall because of the 1,400 pounds of dry ice they had dumped into their pool, Toddy had the genius idea of throwing a celebratory party for all of the good times they'd experienced at their shared residence. The boys were immediately on board and decided to throw the biggest party they've ever thrown before in remembrance of their soon to be ex-home. Invitations were sent out to anyone that'd ever spent time over at their house, and of course their friends as well as friends of friends. There was no doubt that this party was going to be one of the biggest their neighbourhood had ever seen from the vlog squads house yet, and you had the privilege of going.

You were fairly new to the group of friends, as you had only moved to California five months ago and had only just been welcomed into the group four months ago after you Toddy finally asked you out to lunch after bumping into each other at the gym on numerous occasions. At first you thought it was a date, which put you slightly on edge. Todd had taken you to a moderately empty café which looked as if it was created in the image of it being the perfect setting for a couple's first date, and although it was lovely, it only made you feel even more awkward. Yes, Todd was undeniably cute and funny - never failing to make you laugh during work outs, but he wasn't exactly your type. You liked Todd, which is why you agreed to go, but you just didn't like him in that way, believe it or not.

Being alone with him made you feel uneasy, almost as if you were constantly on the edge of your seat; full high alert. You feared that if Todd did bring you out with the intent to date you, you dreaded that you would ultimately have to reject him, which only made you more uncomfortable as you didn't want to ruin your first and only friendship in California. A few had minutes passed and the two of you talked about the expected small talk topics. Such as how you were finding life in LA and whether or not you were settling in, but it wasn't until four unfamiliar faces took up the empty seats at your table that you felt less uneasy, but more confused at the situation.

"Hey guys, I hope you don't mind I brought a friend of mine from the gym to have lunch with us" Todd said in a rather chipper voice.

"Oh sure, yeah, 'Friend'" The older man teased, which made you to laugh, half embarrassed at the unexpected comment. "I'm only kidding, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jason" He said extending a hand out for you to shake it, which you did happily, all the while appreciating his humour and straightforward nature.

As Jason sat down everyone introduced themselves to you. Next was Scotty, you remember admiring the detail and mix of tattoos sprawled across his body, as well as the golden gleam he resonated when he smiled at you. Then it was Zane who you immediately felt welcomed with, because of his warm and inviting personality, it was if everything about him made you smile. You felt home with these people, comfortable. It was like you were all old friends meeting up for the first time in a long time and they all made you feel this way. All except for Heath. Heath was the last person to introduce himself, and when your gaze met his your stomach did a backflip, your prior thoughts melted away into puddles, it was hard to believe you could feel this way by simply introducing themself.

The more you got to know Heath the more you started to like him. He was unquestionably funny and you loved the relationship he and Zane seemed to share. From that day on, whenever you and Toddy met up at the gym, he'd bring you along to lunch with the boys and soon from there, they invited you to come over and hang out. From that point on your friendship's bloomed. You learned more about their vine careers as well as their youtube personalities and came to make even more friends, especially David, and Liza.

The days went by and you all became closer, you couldn't thank Toddy enough for helping you settle into LA and making you feel welcome, although out of all of your new friends, you spent time with Zane and Heath the most. You even had the privilege of being apart of a few of their coffee talks, which you loved being apart of more than anything - they were certainly a lot more enjoyable than David's pranks that's for sure, but if you were honest with yourself, you spent as much time alone with Heath as you could. Even upon first meeting Heath you knew you liked him and the more time you spent with the even stronger your feelings grew, but you tried your hardest to ignore them. It was no secret that Heath had no shame in getting up close and personal with whoever, so whenever it seemed like he was flirting with you or treating you like he saw you as more than just a friend, you ignored it. To you, that was just Heath being Heath, nothing more, nothing less. Of course that little mantra didn't help with the little heart aches you'd feel when the two of you were together.

Even though you were sure that Heath only saw you as a friend, when Scott invited you to their fair well party, Heath kept on asking you if you were going and seemed almost concerned when you teasingly hinted that you wouldn't be even though you were. It was unlike Heath to be this paranoid, he was almost always badgering you about the subject, he would even offer to pick you up and drop you off if that meant you coming to the party would be set in concrete. Every time he offered you'd always decline, assuring him that he had nothing to worry about as 'you wouldn't miss it for the world', then he'd sigh in relief and give you a look as though you had lifted the weight of the world off his heavy shoulders. Whenever he did this you couldn't help but blush, he was so cute you almost wished he wouldn't look at you that way, because it only made you fall harder.

The night of the party came quickly. You arrived a few hours early to help the boys set up their impressive array of food and alcohol choices, as well as hiding anything breakable from Christine. Zane was in charge of setting up the cheap 99c store decorations, Scott was tidying up the house, Todd was cleaning the pool area, Elton was setting up a safe space for Circa and you were in charge of setting up the food. As you continued to work you realised you hadn't seen Heath anywhere. Part of the reason you came to the party was to spend time with him and he wasn't there? Heath spent all that time assuring that you'd be here and he wasn't even here? What game was Heath playing at?

"Hey, Zane?" You questioned sheepishly.

"Yeah, baby girl?" He replied sassily, keeping his focus on the decorations.

"Uh, you haven't seen Heath around have you?"

"Um, I think he's picking up a girl?"

You froze. 'A girl?' you thought to yourself.

"Like, his girlfriend?" You asked, trying to sound calm.

"Maybe?" Zane stated uncertain, continuing to hang up random banners.

"Oh, okay, thanks" You thanked Zane and walked away.

You didn't know how to feel. You congratulated yourself for not getting your hopes up, but that didn't overweigh the feeling of disappointment that had overcome you. Of course Heath had a girlfriend, he probably wanted you to come to the party so he could introduce you to her, nothing more, nothing less. These thoughts swelled inside your head, you almost felt numb. You were supposed to be setting up the confectionaries but you didn't know what to do with yourself. Even though you didn't allow yourself to think that Heath had feelings for you, you always secretly hoped that he did, but now there was no chance of that happening.

"Hey, are you okay?" A familiar voice questioned you.

You snapped out of your daydream, only to look up and see Toddy looking down at you with a worried expression.

"Uh, y-yeah, just got lost in a daydream is all" You laughed and smiled to put Todd at ease.

"Really?" He wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, totally" You continued to smile up at him.

"Okay, it's just you looked a little sad when I walked in and you kinda just stayed in place for a while" Todd smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh - Yeah, nothing to worry about. Just a stupid daydream"

There was a brief moment of silence between the two of you. Todd looked at down at you and his eyes seemed to sparkle when he looked in your direction. His mouth sat sweetly in a charming smile which only caused you to smile in return.

"Well, uh, I'm done outside. Do you need any help here?" He gestured to the numerous unopened boxes of alcohol and snacks in front of you.

"Yeah, I'd like that"

The two of you were opening boxes and bags of drinks and snacks, but most of all you were laughing together. When you and Todd were together, your humour's correlated perfectly. A lot of your jokes were fired quickly to which Todd could fire back just as fast, not to mention you absolutely loved how Todd could keep up with your banter. The two of you spoke for so long you lost track of time and by the time the two of you had finished your set up people started to arrive.

The night started off with a boom. The house was full almost immediately, to the point where some people had to hang out in the drive way of the house. The music was pumping and everyone was having the time of their lives. Todd had helped you get your mind off Heath and when David and Liza showed up, they only made you feel better. David had brought four 26 pound gummy snakes which drove everyone insane and with Gabbie and Liza dancing, everyone followed suit, needless to say you were having the time of your life, all until you spotted Heath.

At first you were excited, you had forgotten what had happened to make you sad, until you saw her. An unfamiliar blonde whom you'd never seen before was standing next to Heath, a little too close for your liking if you were honest. You immediately disliked her, it was petty but it's how you felt, you weren't going to deny that. You stood still in the middle of a room full of raving people. You were the anger in a sea of ecstatic people, but you didn't care.

You then walked up to Zane Toddy and pulled the both of them backwards by their shoulders. You brought them back to the place you were standing, a spot in the middle of the dance floor where you could see Heath and the blonde conversing in the kitchen.

"y/n what hell?" Zane shouted drunkenly over the music.

"Do you guys know who she is?" You shouted back, almost as drunk.

"The blonde?" Todd asked.

"Yeah" you shouted in reply.

"Maybe it's Heath's girlfriend?" Todd replied.

"Yeah, that's what I thought?" Zane commented.

"Haven't they been going out for a while now?" Todd said, looking at Heath jokingly.

You fell silent. Todd must've noticed your mood drop as he immediately shouted back,

"I'm kidding, y/n!" Todd shouted

When you looked over again, Heath and the girl had disappeared. You were glad you didn't have to watch them together anymore, but you were sad Heath was gone.

"Hey-" Zane said, looking down at you sympathetically. "Why don't we go in the kitchen and get shit faced?" He continued, looking rather excited.

"Thanks, Zane" You smiled up at him, happily taking the arm he offered out to you with Toddy linking with your other arm.

It wasn't long after that that the party began to die down and people started to go home. The only people still hanging around were basically the all of those featured in any of the squad's vlogs. You were still in the kitchen with Zane and Todd, although you were now joined by Elijah, David, Liza and Gabbie. Your conversations were quiet but rowdy all the same, with the main theme of conversation being the frat-party vibe you were getting from each other because of the seven of you drinking from red solo cups. It was chill, but you were still having a great time with your friends with your only worry being Christine, since she hadn't done anything destructive all night, you were almost certain there was a storm of chaos brewing.

"So, y/n, have you thought about becoming a vlogger like the rest of us?" Elijah asked, taking another sip of his bear.

"What? no way? no one would watch me anyway" You laughed.

"Oh, shut the hell up, whenever you're in my vlogs there are people down in the comments asking me when you're gonna start your own channel" Zane shouted sassily.

"I'm only gonna admit it this one time but same here" David added, raising his hand in defeat.

You couldn't help but blush at their support. You had thought about making your own channel but weren't sure if you'd just be seen as a copy cat or some LA vlogger cliché.

"Same here" A familiar voice commented from behind David.

With one swift movement, Heath now stood across the space from you, between David and Todd. His eyes scanned the room to see who was occupying the space, and as soon as his eyes laid their sights on you, he stopped.

"Oh my god, y/n, I've been looking for you" Heath's face lit up, but it wasn't enough for you to hold back the bitterness that'd been brewing inside you the entire night.

"Oh you have, have you?" Your words had bite, with the attention to sting the person they were directed at, and by the looks of it, it worked.

Heath's smile faded into a look of confusion, with the entirety of the room looking between the two of you, in absolute awe at the tension that had just built up between you and Heath.

"Uh, y-yeah, I was-" Heath paused, "You look absolutely amazing by the way" He laughed nervously, red tinting his cheeks ever so slightly.

You had planned on given Heath the cold shoulder, but due to his nervous fumbling compliment your mouth scrunched up as you tried to hold back your smile, but to no avail, you just couldn't fight it. In return, Heath's face lit up once more, flashing that million dollar smile that you had been waiting to admire the entire night.

"So, how's it going in here guys-" Before Heath could finish his sentence, Christine came bursting into the kitchen. Pushing past Heath and David and running up to Elijah who was leaning on the counter space next to you. Christine's spontaneous entry startled you, but it was nothing you hadn't witnessed before, you were only worried about what came next.

"ELIJAH, ELIJAH!" Christine shouted urgently, grabbing Elijah by the shoulder.

"What the fuck, Christine? What do you want?" Elijah spat his words at her sourly, but it didn't seem to phase her.

"I have to- I have to show you this cool thing I found" Christine explain, her words slurred. She was now forcefully pulling at Elijah's arm, signaling for him to follow her, but he protested.

"Christine, I'm not interested in whatever 'cool' thing you found at our friends' house" Elijah stated bluntly, trying to keep his ground in the spot he was occupying.

The two of them were now playing tug-of-war with one another, Elijah was at a slight advantage as he wasn't as out of it as Christine was. Everyone in the area began to smile and laugh at the shenanigans now occurring in the tiny kitchen space. Phones were brought out and videos were being recorded, only to be pasted to Instagram and Snapchat seconds later. Needless to say you found Elijah and Christine's relationship amusing, all until Christine finally managed to pull Elijah away from the kitchen, only he had bumped into your arm forcefully in the process. The bump caused your arm to jolt towards you, and the contents of your red solo cup came out with it, covering you in keg grade alcohol. You sat there on the counter, looking down at the mess that had now been sprawled out across some of your best clothing, your mouth gapping open slightly in surprise.

Everyone looked at you concerned and awkward, awaiting your reaction nervously. After a few seconds, you sat up straight and looked forward.

"I'm surprised to say that I never thought I'd be the victim of one of Christine's drunken antics" You sniggered and laughed at everyone's surprised and relieved facials. You could tell everyone was expecting a chaotic reaction but what you delivered is what kept the night alive and well.

"Jesus, I thought you were gonna freak out!" Liza said through laughter.

"I thought the exact same thing, I was actually a little terrified" Zane added, struggling to stop his laughter.

"Ooooh but your cute outfit though" Gabbie commented, jokingly frowning.

"Here," Toddy said removing his shirt from his toned frame, "You can wear my shirt" Todd handed you his shirt and then winked at you flirtatiously, causing gossiping whispers and cheers to break out within the group.

"Uh, thanks, Todd-" You blushed laughing.

"You know I can take you to my room and you can change" Heath interjected seriously, his expression differing from the rest of the group.

"Wait, really?" Heath's offer surprised you more than his expression, as he didn't usually let just anyone in his room.

"Yeah, I mean, you don't wanna wear Toddy's shirt. He's drunk and he's been wearing it all day. I'll open my closet and you can change into whatever" Heath explained trying to sound nonchalant, earning suspiciously smug looks from everyone who heard.

"Sure," You said simply.

"Okay, let's go." Heath said placing his beer on the counter, leading you to his bedroom.

When you got to Heath's room you could hear the muffled music through the walls. The light flickered on slowly, illuminating the room dimly, revealing an unexpectedly well-kept room.

"Sorry about the lighting, I think I gotta buy a new bulb," Heath said, walking over to his mirrored closet.

"It's cool, I don't mind" You said, shooting Heath a warm grin. He looked away, looking slightly flushed.

Heath opens the closet doors dramatically, revealing an array of hung up shirts and jackets.

"Uh, so you can pick our a shirt or a hoodie and I'll see if Kristen has any shorts or pants you can wear." Heath smiled.

When Heath left you could feel yourself heat up. You were alone in his room, and it just felt so right to be there. You like the simplicity of his decoration and the organisation of his wardrobe as you gradually looked through the numerous shirts and hoodies Heath owned. After a few minutes of browsing your choices, you found it. The simple black shirt that Heath always wore. You loved it when he wore this shirt as it hugged him in all the right places and would often, accentuate the bulk of his biceps.

You checked your surroundings to make sure it was safe to remove you clothing - clear. You removed your alcohol soaked clothes and checked to see if it'd left a scent on you, which it had, but it was nothing a little cologne or perfume couldn't fix. You threw on Heath's shirt which draped over you nicely, it filled you with delight when you noticed his shirt stilled smelled of him.

You put on your thigh high boots and began to admire yourself in Heath's mirror. You couldn't help it, this shirt really did look good on you, especially paired with your boots. You began looking at yourself from different angles, completely enthralled by your simple but cute outfit.

"I really do look cute" You complimented yourself.

You were still in front of the mirror when Heath walked in with a pair of black white striped shorts.

"Kristen thought that these might be more-" Heath paused when he looked up at you, his eyes hungrily eating at your image, taking in every inch of you. "-your style." he continued, still stunned.

"Is it too much? I can change into something else or-" You mumbled.

"No, no it's fine just- wow, I never thought I'd have someone else wearing my favourite shirt" Heath laughed.

You were still apprehensive, averting your stare to the floor.

"-and look this good in it" He smirked.

Your head shot up with a jolt, you weren't expecting to hear, let alone from Heath.

"You think so?"

"Hell yeah, baby"

Heath then walked over to you with a sly smirk on his face as his eyes devoured you, getting more and more in-depth visuals with every step he took towards you.

"Here." He said, handing you the shorts.

"Thanks, cowboy" You replied, playfully flicking his cowboy hat.

The shorts were a little bot smaller than your usual size, but they fit nonetheless. You tucked the front of the shirt loosely into the hem of the shorts and your new outfit was complete, and not to be bashful, you looked good, and Heath knew it. You turned to look at him, but he didn't react. He had sat down on the black leather couch across the room, leaning back relaxed, watching the way your body moved. You'd never seen Heath look at you the way he was now. His eyes were drowned in lust as he took in every inch of your figure.

"Heath?" His head shot up, his body following suit. Your voice had pulled him back to reality.

"U-uh, you can keep your clothes here and I can wash 'em for you" He laughed nervously, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Heath" You said just as nervous.

The room filled with an awkward silence as Heath stood on one side of the room with you directly across from him. Your mind raced and your heart pounded, you'd never been alone with Heath in his room before. If anything this was the perfect opportunity for either of you to make a move, but you were hesitant. You weren't sure if Zane and Todd were joking about Heath's mysterious unknown girlfriend or not, so you didn't want to make a move and have the rumour be true, consequently ruining yours and Heath's relationship. As time past the silence became progressively more deafening. You were both lost for words.

"Hey-" Heath spoke, finally breaking the silence, "-I'm really glad you came tonight." Heath said, taking small steps towards you.

"I told you I would be, didn't I?" You responded teasingly, standing your ground, waiting for Heath to come to you.

"You did, I'm just happy you're here, y/n. With me."

You and Heath were now inches apart from each other. Your face was burning hot and you felt as if your feet were cemented in place; you couldn't move even if you're life depended on it. Your heart rate increased rapidly, you could feel it beating in your chest. It was so strong, you feared Heath could hear it.

"What're you doing?" You question, keeping your attention to the floor. You couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"Nothing, just that you wearing my shirt is driving me crazy" He said lowly, slowly raising his hand to your cheek, caressing it tenderly with his thumb.

You held his hand in place and leaned into his touch. His other hand then rested on your hip, pulling you closer into him.

"Heath I-" You were hesitant to confess, even though this was the prime time to do so. You knew what was happening but it all felt like a complete fantasy. You had dreamed of this moment since the day you met Heath, but now that it was happening it all felt so surreal.

"It's okay, baby" Heath whispered.

He ran his through from your cheek to your hair, and you snaked your arms behind his neck and did the same, the both of you pulling one another closer. Your breaths became heavy, your heart beats beating in time, you could stand the suspense, although still apprehensive to make a move of your own. Heath then leaned down to the base of your neck and left a trail of vehement kisses leading up your neck, stopping just below your jaw bone to leave a teasingly passionate hickey. You held back moans, gripping at Heaths hair to control yourself, but he pushed you over the edge; your moan only making him nip at your sensitive skin harder.

After leaving his mark, Heath came up for air. He was breathing heavily and you did the same, it was simple but intense. Passionate. Everything you'd dreamed of and more. As Heath caught his breath, you finally looked into each other's eyes and it was clear what was coming next.

"I've been waiting for this ever since I met you" He breathed.

"Shut up"

You crashed your lips into Heath's, engulfing each other in a drunken haze of passion and lust. As expected, Heath tasted of cigarettes and alcohol and it didn't bother you in the slightest. Your mind was racing and everything melted away. Nothing mattered to you in that moment, not until the question scratched at the back of your mind - Heath's girlfriend.

Even though you didn't want to, you pushed Heath away. He looked at you worried and confused, concerned that he may have done something to hurt you.

"What's wrong? Did I do something-"

"No it's not that just-" You spoke frantically "W-what about your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?!" Heath shouted, seemingly surprised.

At that moment, Heath's lightbulb gave out with a loud pop. The two of you were masked by darkness.

"Oh fuck- it's okay I got it" Heath said fumbling around, feeling for his room lamp.

You knew Heath's room well enough to know where the lamp was yourself, in your awkward state you attempted to find Heath's lamp as well just so you could do something, other than stand there in the night.

Heath found the light a mere second before you did, in the confusion, you bumped into Heath's frame causing the two of you to fumble around, trying to regain your balance's. Heath fell backward onto his bed, pulling you down with him. You landed on top of his chest, coincidentally butting your foreheads together. You groaned in pain and laid your head on Heath's chest. Although it was unnecessary and your intimate connection ended abruptly, you began to laugh, as did Heath as he too understood the stupidity of the situation.

When you calmed down, you lifted your head up to look at Heath, smiling giddily.

"What are we doing?" You laughed, looking down into Heath's mesmerizing eyes.

"We? What're you doing, baby? I don't got no damn girlfriend" Heath laughed.

"But Zane and Toddy were telling me-"

"Ugh, of course it was - fuck!" Heath then sat up, causing you to straddle him in the process, resting your hands on his shoulders with Heath holding your hips for support.

"What're you talking about?"

"Those two knew that I liked you and kept telling me that you liked me. I didn't believe them, so they obviously tried to wingman" Heath looked away embarrassed.

"I swear- Then why weren't you at the house helping us set up?" You looked down at him puzzled.

"I was picking up Meghan, y'know, the one I told you about?"

That name clicked. Heath had talked about you meeting Meghan for weeks, he was so excited whenever he talked about it, he always spoke about how well the two of you would get along and how much he couldn't wait for you to meet her. From those memories, it all fell into place.

"Oooooooh" You blushed, you now understood what was going on.

"Yeeeeeeeeah" Heath dragged.

"So, that blonde you were with, that was-"

"Yep"

"So, you don't have a-"

"Nope" He smiled up at you, adoring how cute you were being.

"Ugh, I feel so stupid" You said, resting your forehead on Heath's.

"Y'know, I don't have a girlfriend but-"

"Yeah" You smiled.

"But, y'know, if you wanted to you could maybe-" He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Uh-huh" You could feel the excitement bubbling inside you.

"Ugh, fuck it, will you go out with me?"

"Very straight forward, baby" You teased.

"Is that a yes" He smiled wide.

"That's a yes" You smiled just as wide.

The two of you embraced in a long awaited kiss, unsure of whether or not the two of you wanted to return to the party, preferring to spend the night alone together for the first time. After all, you’d been waiting this long, might as well take advantage of your ‘last’ night in the old house by spending it with your baby, Heath.

#heath hussar x reader #heath hussar #zane hijazi #david dobrik #thegabbieshow #liza koshy #scotty sire #toddy smithy #jason nash #meghan mccarthy #vlog squad #davids vlogs #elton castee #alex ernst #bignik #durte dom

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hailey-halstead · 7 years

Text

Cookies and Cream

lol i really only had to add one line and then i was finished! guess i was closer to being finished than i thought! anyways, hope you enjoy! it's their first date!!! i don't own anything😊 ps—can you guys guess what my favorite line from this fic is? hint: it made me giggle lol ——————— "I cannot believe you did that." Sylvie couldn't help but blush when Antonio brought up her sampling all the ice cream incident. It was impulsive, she knew that, and it could have possibly ruined the date as it was also slightly catty. But he had found it to be hilarious, so all was well. "I can't believe it either." She admitted with a laugh, taking a bite out of her cookies and cream ice cream. "He just made me mad." She looked up and shrugged her shoulders at her date. Then she self-consciously wondered if she made it seem like she had a bad temper. During their date she has felt comfortable, but like with every first one, you have to have a few nerves. "Well, not mad. More irritated than anything. Like did he ever hear of the word patience?" Antonio didn't seem put off by her comments. "Apparently not." They continued walking down the streets of Chicago, eating their ice cream. They had nowhere in particular to go, just decided to enjoy the nice evening weather. They had actually walked from Sylvie's apartment. They had plans on riding in Antonio's car, but decided to walk to the ice cream shop. "God, that look on that guy's face though....." He shook his head in disbelief, a wide smile on his face. "Completely badass." "Well, I'm flattered that you think so." She took a bite of her ice cream. Cookies and cream was definitely the right choice. "You learn some things when you spend your time with Gabby twenty four seven." "I'm sure you learned some on your own." He tried to give her credit, but Sylvie shook her head as she began to recall when she first moved to Chicago. "God, you should have seen me when I first moved to Chicago." She couldn't help but cringe at the memory of her younger, naive self. "I moved into a bad neighborhood, because the rent was cheap. Should had realized that safety takes priority over cost of an apartment. And that I shouldn't leave my money on the dining table." His eyes widened at that comment. "Anyways, one day I left my door unlocked, and a burglar got in. Honestly, I'm surprised it took that long for someone to get in." "Okay, that is pretty bad." Antonio told her. "But I can't tell you how many situations I've seen over the years like that." "Oh! But I can give myself some credit." She remembered the rest of her story. "Chased him off with a baseball bat." She said proudly. He nudged his shoulder against hers. "I don't think Gabby taught you that in that short amount of time." He complimented her. "That is true." She conceded, fully aware of how close the two of them were walking, their shoulders brushing with every step. With him not complaining, or making any motions to move, she assumed that he was just as fine with it as she was. "I guess I always had it, maybe." She thoughtfully said, wondering why she was having this realization tonight of all nights. "Maybe with me living in the same small town all my life it was hidden...Had to get away to find myself...." She mused. Antonio was quiet next to her, seeming captivated by what she was talking about. Why, she had no clue. "Sorry," She apologized, this was a night for the both of them and she was talking about herself. "I tend to ramble when I'm nervous." "I make you nervous?" He asked, but said so with a tiny smile. Clearly her response had pleased him. Sylvie couldn't help but make a face at him, knowing what he was doing. "Yes, you do." She said, then directed the question right back at him. "What about you?" He stopped walking, turning himself directly towards her. "I don't remember the last time I've been this nervous." He truthfully told her. "And I get shot at for a living." His sincerity sent her into a slight loop, she wasn't expecting such a response. "I wish I could say the same." The words stumbled out, as she tried to regain control of them. He seemed so eloquent compared to her. This thought made their age difference come into mind, something she normally didn't besides herself over but she was in a situation of vulnerability. "But honestly, I've had a gun pointed at me before and that's pretty nerve wracking." She rambled, becoming more flustered by the fact they were standing still and not moving forward. She was looking directly into his eyes, and God were his eyes beautiful, not helping her situation at all. Antonio clutched his chest, acting offended. "You're bruising my ego." He said, but didn't seem to mind at all. Had he stopped smiling at all tonight Sylvie wondered. She reached forward to lightly brush his arm, pretending to comfort him. "I think you'll be okay." It took a rude glance from a passing pedestrian for Sylvie to realize that they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk. "We better keep walking," She said, gesturing for them to go. They began to walk again, strolling through downtown Chicago. And as soon as she threw away her ice cream cup a block later, he took her hand into his. She could get used to this, she thought gleefully to herself. Here she was, 30 years old, but she was acting more giddy than when she was 16. "I don't find myself getting to enjoy the city anymore." Antonio brought up, as he looked around at their surroundings. "It's kind of hard to when you're chasing criminals all the time. Can't really stop and enjoy the view." "I get what you mean." Sylvie agreed with him. "Except the not chasing criminals part. That would be replaced with patching people up and keeping them alive until they get to the hospital." "Much more noble." He complimented her job, causing her to blush. Yes, she loved her job and was extremely proud to be a paramedic, but over the years she has been constantly compared to other medical professions. So it was huge to hear from Antonio that he thought her job was superior to his. He might be just saying it to make her feel better, but it still worked. But she couldn't help but voice her surprise. "Really?" "Absolutely. You and Gabby do amazing work. Yeah, I know being a cop is great and important, and I help people as well. I'm not dogging my profession here," He made sure to let her know. "But having to literally save a life, right in front of you..." "How about we just both agree we work some pretty incredible jobs?" Sylvie offered, squeezing his hand. "So you can stop cutting yourself down." "I'm not cutting myself down," He corrected her. "Just rising you up. Two different things." "What happened to the guy who replied to my magic hands comment with 'I bet'?" She tilted her head at him, feeling victorious at the sight of his cheeks turning red. "Ha! I guess you are human!" She teased. "I can be nervous and also comfortable." He told her with a laugh. "Even though that night was under totally different circumstances." "How so?" She was curious to hear his response. "I was taking a chance approaching you at Molly's. I didn't know what was going to happen." "And so you're confident tonight?" She rose an eyebrow at him. "How are you sure that I am not having the worst time of my life right now?" Antonio took her off to the side, getting out of the way of passing pedestrians. But to her amazement, they had reached her apartment building already. Had they already walked for that long? He leaned forward, his face only inches from her's. "Are you having the worst time of your life right now?" Her eyes couldn't help but look back and forth from his eyes to his mouth. Plus the fact that she could feel his breathing didn't help at all. "You're a jerk." She complained, making a face at him. He, somewhat impossibly, got closer. "I didn't know just asking a simple question makes me a jerk." "If you don't move—" She began to warn him, knowing that if he stayed for another second longer, she wouldn't be able to resist the urge to kiss him. "If I don't move, what's going to hap—" Sylvie cut him off, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his. He eagerly responded, his lips tasting like the chocolate ice cream he was eating minutes prior. They only separated seconds later when she heard an obnoxious catcall, reminding her they were still very much in the public eye. "Well—" "Do you want me to walk you in?" He offered, gesturing to the tall apartment building. Tempting, but she knew she had to decline. "If you walk me up to my door, I think I'm going to end up pulling you inside." She told him seriously, giving him a look. She then took a deep breath, about to become more vulnerable. "I know this is going to contradict what happened a few days ago, but um, at least today, I think we should end here." She then made awkward hand movements, trying to gesture to him that she meant right in front of the building. "I think that's a good idea." He softly agreed. Sylvie couldn't hold back a smile. "Thank you, for today. I had a great time." "I had a great time too." He repeated, and to her surprise, leaned in and kissed her cheek. "See you soon?" She held up her phone, waving it slightly. "You can text or call." She told him, but then wanted him to know that she could as well. "I mean, I can too, I just—" "I get it, Sylvie." He stopped her with a laugh. They parted ways, and after she traveled up to her apartment, she couldn't hold back her glee when her phone vibrated, signaling a text from Antonio. Friday? The text read. She began to smile. I'm free:) She texted back. When he texted back the word perfect, she had to prevent herself from responding, not wanting to seem to eager. But God, was it Friday yet? *** "Well you're in a cheery mood." Stella commented as Sylvie was putting away her clothes in her locker. It was the beginning of their shift, but she was still riding high from last night, this early work time was definitely not getting her down. She shrugged, not wanting to be too gossipy and open. A part of her enjoyed knowing that yesterday's experience was only between her and Antonio. Also they weren't alone. Severide, Mouch, and Herrmann were in the locker room as well. "Any reason?" The female firefighter continued to press when they were leaving the room. But Sylvie refused to budge. "What are you trying to get out of Brett?" Gabby was now approaching them, a confused look on her face. Sylvie then knew she wouldn't be able to keep the secret for much longer. She had to have known about last night. "She's in a really good mood." Stella was getting frustrated, she certainly didn't like to be kept out of the loop. "I'm trying to figure out why." Gabby frowned. Hope soared in Sylvie's heart, maybe her partner wouldn't put the pieces together and she would be able to go through the day without being constantly asked questions. Stella continued talking. "I was about to ask if she got laid or something—" "I didn't get laid—" Sylvie protested. And that was the truth. They had just made out outside of her apartment building. With that, Gabby groaned. "Last night was your date, right?" Sheepishly, Sylvie nodded. This intrigued Stella even more. She began to hit Sylvie's arm in excitement. "What the hell, girl!" She exclaimed. "You had a date! Why is this the first time I'm hearing of it??? Who was he?" She threw tons of questions at her. "It's not a big deal, guys—" Sylvie tried to brush off the importance. But who was she kidding! That date with Antonio was definitely the best one she had ever been on. "Don't you want to hear what he said about it?" Gabby asked with a raised eyebrow. Sylvie immediately turned towards her, with a dropped jaw and widened eyes. "Really? He said something?" She resisted the urge to grab onto her and start begging. "Did he have a good time?" Antonio had said that he enjoyed their date, but he could have been lying to not hurt her feelings! "Do you really think I talked to my brother in the timespan from last night to this morning?" She laughed, as Sylvie realized her friend was only teasing her. Her face turned red. She had acted like a school girl with a crush. "What!? Antonio Dawson!?" Stella yelped. Sylvie's eyes immediately went around the break room, seeing if anyone was listening. At the outburst, a few head's had popped up, but then went back down, showing no interest. "Shouldn't this be talked about over drinks?" She tried to end the conversation. She would feel much better about discussing this at Molly's. "Who can wait that long!" Stella wasn't having it. "Seriously? Antonio freakin' Dawson. How did you snag that piece of—" "Hey! Sister right here." Gabby butted in, a disgusted look on her face, guessing what Stella was about to say. "Please mind your language." Sylvie used Gabby's uncomfortableness to her own advantage. "I don't want to make Gabby feel weird, so—" "Come on! Gabby can handle it." Stella was not giving up. "If she can't, we can for sure go somewhere else to talk—" "Oh, whatever!" Gabby sighed. "Even if it is my brother, a part of me still wants to hear about it! Just don't make it too gross, please." Didn't anyone need an ambulance???? Usually they had an abundance of early calls. "Okay, fine." She conceded. "We went to get ice cream—" "God, that's freakin cute." Stella interrupted. Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Then we just walked around the city, talking and whatever." She tried to make it sound vague, but couldn't hide the big smile appearing on her face. "Anything else?" Stella asked. Gabby was staying silent, but she was intrigued as well. "Um....we held hands...." Stella didn't have much of a reaction to that, it was clear she wanted something more juicy. "...and we made out outside of my apartment building." Sylvie added. Gabby made a face, while Stella waggled her eyebrows. "And then....?" "Please don't go any further!" Gabby moaned, starting to cover her eyes. "Nothing else happened!" Sylvie quickly assured her two friends. "We both agreed that since it was our first date, we shouldn't jump right in, you know?" She explained. "Like how you jumped him the week before?" Gabby dryly said, which made Stella let out a shriek. "Okay, that-that was—" Sylvie stuttered, knowing she had no way of explaining that. "That was a special occasion..." "You going to my brother's apartment on a random Tuesday night to seduce him was not a special occasion." As God specifically was coming to safe her, the alarm went off above them, calling for ambulance 61. She let out a sigh of relief, dashing out to the garage, knowing that Gabby would be more than happy to drop the subject. But she knew that she had to at least acknowledge the whole awkward situation Gabby was in, how her partner slash friend was with her brother. "Sorry that you had to hear all of that." Sylvie apologized as they got into the ambulance. "I know this is weird for you, and I appreciate that you're handling it well." "I can't lie to you, it's really weird. Like really weird." Gabby confessed as she pulled out of the garage and onto the street. "But if you two are happy, then I can't really complain, you know?" Sylvie nodded. She couldn't complain either, about anything really. With her great job, friends, and now a new relationship, things were only looking up for Sylvie Brett.

#my post #brettonio #brettonio fanfiction #brettonio ff #sylvie #antonio #stella #gabby #cookies and cream

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diddlesanddoodles · 7 years

Text

HIDE

100 GT Theme Challenge! Summary: A college freshman witnesses an incident of ‘mythical’ proportions and it totally ruins her night. And a lot of other things too. College is hard, but it wasn’t suppose to be dangerous. Warning: Some cursing and mentions of violence.

Her Psych 101 textbook was laid open on the small coffee table as well as half a ream's worth of printer paper, all of them print outs from various websites from the obligatory Web MD to spiritualists forum posts. Two days worth of study, the knuckle scraping scouring of all available resources available to a student of Bridgewood University and the only thing she had to show for it was a migraine, sleep deprivation, and the one inescapable fact: She was crazy. Well and truly crazy, because there was no other explanation. She considered the idea that perhaps she had been slipped something during the party and had some sort of allergic reaction and then there had been all the alcohol. Though in truth, she had only indulged in a can of hard cider and a single shot of tequila. But she was a light weight and it had been her first real college party. She sighed angrily, tossing away a stack of papers, and fell back against the plush sofa’s pillows to stare helplessly up at the popcorn ceiling. The sorority house was nearly silent at this hour with most of the girls either at class, out and about the town, or sleeping off the prior night’s over indulgences. While she was very grateful for the privacy, she was also aware that perhaps she could do well with a second opinion. But then. Well. How did you explain to someone that you witnessed a murder and when pressed about what the victim or assailants looked like...well. They were tall. Like...really really tall. She’d been too scared, too confused, and...perhaps a little too drunk – tipsy? – to go to the police. Or to tell anyone. She sighed again, grabbing at her hair in frustration. “Stupid. This is stupid. Stuuuuuuupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid pants.” She turned her head to stare at an old portrait of a young women dressed in old fashioned clothes, high collared, proper, prim, and pressed. And free of the burden that was witnessing...well, whatever the hell it was that she witnessed. Somewhere in the swirling confusion that had become her brain, she was aware that she should be angry at Peter. He neglected to show, leaving her alone under the overpass in the cold foggy night. Stood her up. Well screw him. If he didn’t want to hang out with her, then he could have just fucking said no like a man and then she would not have been there when it happened. When they happened. Whatever they – or it – has been. Other than a murder. A steady, hollow tapping broke the silence of the house and startled her badly. After a moment to compose herself, and with a little effort, the girl managed to pull herself from the sofa and make her way to the front door. “Coming,” she called out when there came a second round of knocking. “Just a second.” She turned the cold metal doorknob and pulled the heavy oak door open and as she opened her mouth to greet the visitor, she froze and her mouth hung open in mute horror. “Hi there!” Said the man cheerily, waving his hand. She slammed the door shut and pressed her back against it, heart hammering and mind racing. “Hey – !” Belatedly, she turned her body over to reach up and lock the padlock and slid the chain into place. Stepping back, she watched door warily. There was an expectation that the door would burst open any moment and she went through her mental inventory of possible defense weapons. There were knives in the kitchen and iron pokers near the fireplace and...she paused and looked over at the small decorative side table pressed against the stairwell. A letter opener made to look like a tiny sword sat on top of a small stack of letters. She grabbed it and faced the door again. “I’m just here to talk, kid,” came the muffled voice of the man. The very regular man. The very not monster tall killer man thing she had the other night. How was he small? Smaller. How was he...why was he? How did he find her? Oh gosh. Oh...frick. Fuck. Fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck! “So,” he continued. “Can we talk? Face to face maybe? Kind of suspicious looking to be talking to a door. People might think I’m a little loopy in the head.” Loopy in the head –? Oh he did not just –! “Go away!” She yelled back. “Or I’ll call the cops!” He laughed. “And tell them what, sweetheart?” “Don’t call me sweetheart, jerk face.” “Fine,” he replied lightly. “Say you do call the authorities, Gabby. What exactly are you gonna tell them?” Bristling at the flippant use of her name, she floundered for sort of response. “W-why do you know my name?” “I know lots of things when it’s my business to know.” “Why are you here?” she asked, real despair beginning to color her voice. “You know why,” he replied simply. “You saw.” Gabby was aware that her hands were trembling. “I don’t know what I saw. Please, just go away.” “Believe me, kiddo. You don’t want me to go away,” said the man, his once chipper and light hearted voice turning somber and serious. “You want to hear what I have to say. Maybe not right at this moment, but in a short while you will. And by the time you come to regret your choice not to let me in and here me out, it’ll be too late.” She was quiet and considered his words. “That sounds a lot like a threat, dude.” “That’s because it is, dude.” Despite herself, she laughed, but it died in her throat quickly and she was left staring down at her feet. “Look. Gabby,” the man’s voice was softer, like his face was pressed close to the wood. “If you want this to go as smoothly and with as little to no casualties as possible, let me in. We’ll sit down and we’ll discuss your options.” “Casualties?” Her voice was quiet and squeaked more than she would have liked. “An unfortunate statistic. One I can mitigate, but only with your cooperation.” “Is that a threat too?” “No. It’s a promise.” The weight of it all was heavy on her shoulders and her belly protested, aching with anxiety and oh, how easy it would be to just open her mouth and scream bloody murder until the man went away. The man that was not really a man. Or was he? A man who could also be a monster-thing-giant-person? “Gabby?” She’d been quiet too long and she could sense the man-not-man’s patience thinning. “Gonna need an answer here, kiddo.” “If I let you in and we, uh, talk,” she asked, feeling as though she were in a hostage negotiation. “D-do you promise no one gets hurt?” “No one gets hurt.” “No one?”she pressed. “No one. That includes you too,” he answered. “Cross my heart and hope no one dies.” “You just said –!” “I know, I know! And I mean it, just...I was trying to be clever. Lighten the mood some.” “...please don’t do that.” “Sorry. Gallows humor. Kind of comes with my line of work.” She groaned as she undid the chain and went to turn the deadbolt. Her fingers clasped the knob, but hesitated. Gabby could not help but be aware that she was, in the most literal sense of the phrase, opening a door to a new phase of her life. With a simple turn of the deadbolt, everything was going to change. Even though it already had. She thought of her sorority sisters still sleeping upstairs, the other students, and beyond them she thought of the towns people. The things she saw that night...she was no fool in thinking that they could hurt – or kill – whoever they wanted. Resigned to the tide of fate she had fallen into, Gabby turned the deadbolt and opened the door. The face that greeted her was grinning. Someone might have called the man handsome in his tan denim work jacket and faded gray t-shirt and wranglers. Even small he was still tall, taller than her by a good foot or so and she was not a short person. He looked so normal it weirded her out. He could be anyone. Blonde hair, tan skin, and a rough stubble. His looks were completely disarming and average. Like he had been plucked from the cast of Seventh Heaven and tossed onto the streets of Bridgewood. Had she not known – not seen – him for what he really was, she would think he was just a nice guy, an average working man. She turned away and walked over to the living room, hearing the man’s boots as he crossed the threshold and closed the door behind them. Stiffly, she stood near the sofa and gestured at it for him to sit. The man gave her a nod and sank into the overly plush sea foam green cushions. “Do...do you want something to drink?” she asked inanely. “No need,” he replied. “Hopefully this won’t take long.” Gabby was happy to hear that and took a seat in the Hepplewhite suit chair close to the bay window. If things went south she could always jump out the window. Though the thought made her ill. “So,” she started awkwardly, fiddling with the letter opener. “H-how long have you been a giant?” The man laughed, scratching at his nose. “All my life. But you’re asking the wrong question. You want to know why I’m small.” “Dude, even when you’re small, you’re not small. You’re like six feet tall.” “You say that like it’s impressive,” remarked the man. Giant. Giant-not-man. Small giant-not-man-person-thing. “Because it is. For normal people.” He raise an eyebrow and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “You mean for humans.” Gabby paused at that. “Yeah. For...humans.” She closed her eyes for a moment to let the absurd sentence take hold in her mind. “So. You’re not human? Well, duh, I knew that. Kind of. I didn’t know that. Not because I didn’t know know, it never occurred to me to think you were anything but even though you’re clearly not. Are. Are not. Okay.” She sighed. “So, not human?” “No,” he replied with an amused smirk, gray eyes sparkling. “I’m not, nor have I ever been, a human being.” “So, that makes you…?” He shrugged. “It makes me what I am.” “And that is…?” she pressed again. “The fella trying to save your life,” he replied flatly. “Look, as entertaining as this is, I don’t have time to indulge your curiosity. And the truth is, you don’t either. I’ve bought you some time, but not much. You saw me – as I really am – doing my job. Which is bad. Let’s leave it at that.” “Okay. Bad like...how bad?” “Bad enough that when – not if – when it’s found out you’re a material witness to these events it’s gonna catch the attention of some folks.” “Bad folks?” “Real bad folks,” he echoed in a severe tone and then abruptly lighted and added, “And also some not bad folks who – like me – are just doing their job. Except their job is to neutralize leaks. And with me being one of those leaks, naturally I’m already on their radar. And now because you witnessed that little rendezvous the other night, that includes you. Sadly.” “Oh goody.” “No. Not really. The first group I can handle easily. The other guys are a little more...more.” “That doesn’t make sense.” “Something you’re going to have to come to terms with.” Shaking her head in disbelief, she threw her hands out in an accusatory gesture “So...so what? Y-you pull some...like, mob style hit on some guy-thing-monster-man-dude and now I have to go into some type of witness protection thing? Is that what you’re telling me?” “You’re fast on the uptake, kiddo,” the man said, leaning back into the sofa with his arms crossed, looking pleased. “Bolds well for you. Good indicator of strong self preservation instincts.” “Yeah,” she replied dryly. “I’m kind of allergic to dying. And pain in general.” “Aren’t we all?” he replied lightly and appearing far too at ease to seem appropriate for the current topic. There was a lull in the conversation where she took a moment to study him. After a time, she blurted, “Are you a cop?” He laughed, throwing his head. “No. No, I am most definitely not a cop.” “Then why do you give two shits if...if I’m in trouble because I saw what I saw. Which – by the way – I’m still not entirely sure what it was I saw. I was pretty upset at the time and possibly drunk. Okay, not drunk, I was tipsy. A little. But I was kind of preoccupied with other stuff and whose to say I–” “With what?” She blinked at him. “Huh?” “You said you were preoccupied. With what were you preoccupied?” “Oh...uh. A guy. Peter. He was supposed to meet me under the overpass near where...y’know. All that...stuff went down,” she ungracefully elaborated. “But he was a no show and then you were the show and now we’re here. Talking about the no show that became a show. So...yeah.” He nodded sagely and not for the first time did Gabby resist the urge to stab him with the letter opener. “So,” she said instead, taking a deep breath. “What’s next? I mean...” The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, slightly crumbled, and stained with what looked like coffee. Or possibly dried blood. She decided it was coffee. More for her peace of mind than anything. He held it out to her. “You pack a bag and go to this address. Be ready, alert, open minded, and on time.” Taking the card, she glanced over the address. She did not recognize the street or the zip code despite it saying that it was located in Bridgewood. She glanced up at the man, eyes almost pleading. “What do I tell the school?” “Nothing,” he replied simply. “Huh? Nothing?” she gaped at him. “I have to say something. I can’t just –” “You say nothing,” he stressed, raising a finger. “To no one.” “What about my parents?” she continued, voice becoming desperate as the true depth of reality to her situation was becoming clear. Gesturing to the corner of the room, as though her parents were standing there, she cried, “I have to say something to them, I mean – !” “No one, Gabby,” he stressed, standing. She followed his example, pushing up from the chair. “I can’t just disappear!” “You won’t.” Those words put a pause on her panicking and she took a moment to simply breathe. “No?” “Of course not,” he replied as though it were all so obvious. “We want the folks who want to do you harm to think that harm has already been done to you.” “...why? Why is that what we want them to think?” “Because they can’t kill a corpse.” “Okay, so pretend that I’m an idiot and…” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “If they think you’re dead then they won’t come looking for you. If you just run off, they have plenty of nice folks from all over to pick from to use as collateral to get to you. That’s how extortion works, kiddo.” “All because of what I saw?” “Yep. Sucks, huh?” The room was spinning and she head the clattering of metal before she was aware that the letter opener had fallen from her hand. “Why would they care what I saw? Why do you care that they care? Why? Just –! Why…?” “They have their reasons. None of which will make anything of this more palatable,” he said with a shrug. “As for my reasons, they’re quite simple. Guilt.” “Guilt,” she parroted. “...just guilt?” “Pretty much. I don’t have anything against humans. You’re entertaining when you’re not trying to invade and conquer everything. In small numbers, you little guys are actually quite endearing. Had I done my job properly, you wouldn’t have seen a thing and you’d have just gone home disappointed about being stood up by Peter the jerk face,” With one hand he gestured to the books and papers scattered about the coffee table. “Instead of terrified and questioning your own sanity.” “But I did...and I am. So…?” “So I do my job. Properly.” “And that means faking my death and hiding me...someplace?” He nodded. “Quick on the uptake again, kiddo.” Swimming in her own head, she began to slowly pace the room, not really seeing the space around her, but seeing it as a representation of her own life. Present and at the same moment, slipping away quickly and being taken into someone else’s hands. Trusting someone she did not know based on...based on… She had seen this man, the man standing just over there, change into a tall impossible giant and kill another man. No...not man. The murder victim, the target, had been a grotesque being. Monstrous and tall, not as tall as the giant man, but taller than any human with oddly green molted skin and huge jaws and long teeth like...like a troll. The giant and the troll had wrestled for a bit before the giant got a hold of him proper and...just pulled him. Not apart. There had been no blood. But the troll’s spine had cracked, loudly. Loud enough for her to have heard it snap. And then the troll was still. Unmoving. Dead. She had stayed to stare, but the man – the giant – had seen her. He saw her see him and she had ran. All the way back to the sorority house. A thought came to her then and she turned back to the man. “How did you even find me?” He reached back into his jacket and pulled out a bit of white plastic, holding it out to her. Taking it, she looked down to see her own face staring up at her. It was her fake ID. The one she used to get into the party. She had not even noticed it had been missing. Belatedly, she realized she was crying. “This is just...so...so stupid.” The man did not say anything, only standing and watching her. He seemed to be waiting for an answer. “Where...where would I be going?” she asked, voice small. Hurt. And scared. “Will I ever come back?” “I wish I could answer that.” “Which one?” she asked, a little hopeful. “Both.” The small spark of hope died with an undignified squeak. “You can’t tell me where I’m going?” “It wouldn’t mean anything to you for one. And secondly, I don’t know. That way if by some miracle on the other fellas’ parts I’m nabbed, your safety won’t be compromised.” “So I go to this place and just...hope for the best?” “The people I’m entrusting you to know their business.” “Like you know yours?” she snapped accusingly. “Better,” he retorted. “Which I why I am entrusting them with you.” “And why should I be entrusting me with you? Myself with you. My safety with you?” “Because the alternative is to go on with your life like this is all an unpleasant dream until the day, very soon, they find you and neutralize you. Neutralize being the nice clean professional term for killing you. And anyone else they feel is connected. Rightly so or not. People could get hurt. People could die.” “I feel like you’re just trying to guilt trip me into trusting you,” she grumbled, sniffing miserably, and wanting nothing more than to be anywhere else. Anyone else. “That’s because I am,” he replied. With a tilt of he head, he regarded her curiously. “Is it working?” She glared at him, scrunching her nose up distastefully and in a low guttural growl she replied, “Yes.” The man immediately brightened and clapped his hands together. “Good! Then my work here is done!” He moved around the sofa, heading towards the door with an almost skip to his gate. “Like I said, be at that address tonight. Be on time. Can’t stress it enough. And pack smart.” “Whoa, wait up a moment there, Chuckles!” Gabby ran after him, meeting him as he was already half way out the door. He paused, one hand on the outside doorknob, and waited expectantly. She floundered. She had so many questions and so many thing she would like to say – many of them unkind things and several choice phrases and some elaborate curse words – but instead, all she could manage was a bumbling stammer of, “S-so...what...what do...s-should I pack?” “Comfortable clothes. Stuff you can run in, easy to clean,” he replied and began to consider the matter further. “Nothing electronic. No phone, no laptop, not even a digital watch.” “Why can’t I bring –?” “Just because. Trust me,” he replied shortly. “And whatever...lady things.” She stared. “Lady things?” “Yeah, you humans have weird reproduction habits,” he elaborated with, to her slight amusement, a little red in his cheeks. “You might find...supplies are lacking where you’ll be going. So. Yeah. Lady things.” “I’ll add it to the list,” she replied dryly. “Anything else, Doctor Oz?” “Aluminum!” He replied abruptly as though he had struck mental gold. “...what?” she asked, the odd suggestion throwing her for such a loop that she forgot for a moment hat she was suppose to be freaking out. “Yeah, that’d be good. Bring a couple rolls of aluminum foil.” “...any particular reason why?” “You’ll thank me later.” “How many?” “As many as you can carry.” She stared with abject incredulity. Her fear was quickly being replaced by irritation and she could do nothing but shake her head in disbelief. “And remember,” the man was saying as he began to close the door behind him. “Be on time!” She startled out of her ire and lunged for the doorknob and yanking it back open. The man stood on the porch, open faced and inquisitive. “Wait! Just...what...what’s your name?” He looked taken aback. “What?” “Well, you know my name,” she explained with a half hearted shrug. “And it only seems fair for me to know yours since...you’re trying to help and all.” He turned his body to fully face her. He slipped his hands into his jacket pockets and smiled. “You can call me Elliot.” “I’m guessing that’s not your actual name,” she replied without much surprise. “Huh?” His smile widened and he pointed at her with his finger in the shape of a gun. “So quick on them uptakes.” “I’m just noticing a pattern is all.” “I will say one more thing,” Elliot added. “Names are important. They’re special things. Take care of it and it’ll take care of you. So be careful with who you entrust it to.” “So I need a fake name?” Elliot winked at her. “Any suggestions?” she sighed and leaned against the frame. “One that familiar and that you’ll actually answer to,” replied Elliot. “You’d be surprised at how little thought some folks give to their alternative name.” “Okay,” she replied absently. “Sure.” Elliot paused, hands in his pockets, and stared down at her for a moment. “I think you’ll love it.” She returned the stare. “What’s that now?” “I mean, sure, you’re kinda backed up into a corner and all,” he said. “But in the end I think you’re gonna have some fun too. Just remember to live too. Surviving doesn’t mean much when you forget to live along the way.” “Uh, sure...okay. Uh, thanks for that...bit of advice.” Elliot turned on his heals and walked down the steps of the sorority house, whistling. “Remember,” he called back to her. “On time with an open mind.” She watched him as he sauntered down the sidewalk and out of sight. “Why do I have the feeling the open mind bit is the part I should have asked about?” She sighed once more and pulled herself back into the house, already doing a mental tally of her belongings and where she could get aluminum foil close by.

#100 themes challenge #giants #humans #g/t #gt #storytelling #stories #hide #elliot #Gabby #g/t writing #fantasy #college #witness protection

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geckogirl89 · 7 years

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Silver Screen Surprise

Written for Prompt #74 on @cutiepieprompts: Muse A and Muse B are watching a movie together, when suddenly an unexpected sexy/sexual scene comes on, causing extreme awkwardness between them, as they are crushing on each other but not yet together. (The fic is more “unexpected romantic scene.”)

The movie the group is watching is based on the “Action Husbands” series by @boazpriestly, which you can read more about here. The name of the movie was chosen by a name generator here.

Fandom: Hawaii Five-0 (2010) Pairing: Steve/Danny Rating: T (some light cursing) Word Count: 2585 Notes: Set after 7.10 since events from that episode are mentioned. Also, for the purposes of this story, Steve and Danny are conveniently single.

It was a Friday evening after a long week, and the team planned to watch a movie together. Kono had been telling Lou about how the group watched CHiPs together one time and the hilarious argument Steve and Danny had about which one of them would be Ponch, and Lou had remarked that he had never watched TV with the team at the office. Therefore, the team decided to make a night of it. Steve, Danny, Kono, and Lou were waiting for Chin to come back with a movie that he wanted to rent from Redbox.

Lou had made a bunch of popcorn for everyone, and Danny asked him to serve a portion for two people in a larger bowl. He raised his eyebrows slightly, but he gave Danny a large bowl of popcorn.

Danny and Lou returned to the table, where Kono and Steve were waiting for them. Lou sat down next to Kono and gave her an individual bowl of popcorn and kept the other for himself. Danny put the smaller bowl of popcorn in the empty seat next to him and sat down next to Steve, scooting his chair closer until it was pressed up against Steve. Steve put his arm around the back of Danny's chair, and Danny put the popcorn between them where they could both easily reach it. Danny took a bite of their popcorn and leaned against Steve's side as much as he could while they were sitting in separate chairs.

“What?” Steve asked. He sounded tense, and Danny glanced up at Steve and noted that his face was set in a worried frown.

Danny turned his attention to Kono and Lou, who were staring at them with wide eyes. Kono's shock melted away to be replaced by that amused expression she had sported when she caught Danny touching Steve's lower back in Steve's office. There had been a completely plausible explanation for why Danny had been touching Steve like that, but Kono had not been there for the conversation that would give Danny's actions context. To Kono, it probably looked like Danny had been coming on to Steve.

Which was totally not what this was. Steve and Danny always ended up snuggling or leaning into each other when they watched movies together and had ended up laughing and talking to each other even when they went on that double date with their girlfriends Cath and Gabby. It was just a little quirk of theirs, and it was completely innocent.

At least on Steve's part, because Steve was straight and had no idea that Danny was hopelessly pining away for him. And hopefully he would never know. Danny knew he could never have more with Steve, and he wanted to keep Steve's friendship, free from the drama that might occur if Danny ever revealed his true feelings.

If Danny got an occasional guilty pleasure tingle up his spine from Steve doing things because he lacked companionship that would read differently to most people (like cuddling him during a movie), there was nothing wrong with that.

Danny ignored Kono whispering something to Lou and the amused looks on both of their faces and gestured with the popcorn bowl to Steve. “You want some of this, babe?”

Steve gave him a fond, close-lipped smile and took a handful of popcorn. “Thanks, Danno.”

Chin entered the room and raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw the way Steve and Danny were sitting before he shook off his surprise and turned to the group. “I got the movie, Maximum Justice.”

Danny recognized the title because he had seen some promos for it in the theaters. It looked like an entertaining buddy cop action film starring Vin Diesel and The Rock, but Danny had never actually seen it.

“I was thinking about seeing that, but I never got the chance when it was out in theaters,” Kono said.

“Me neither,” Chin said. “That's why I thought it would be a good one to rent.”

“Samantha told me she saw it with her boyfriend when it came out,” Lou said. “She said that it was... interesting.”

There seemed to be a significant weight to the word Lou used, interesting. But maybe Danny was just being paranoid. It had been a fairly tough week for all of them. Maybe watching this movie would give Danny a chance to relax.

He quickly got absorbed in the storyline and characters, which were well-developed for an action movie. He could kind of relate to the Vin Diesel character, Andy, who had a daughter, Cynthia. Thirty minutes into the movie, the movie revealed that Cynthia was transgender in a low-key way Danny hadn't been expecting.

“Huh, it's nice they added that to the movie,” Chin said.

Danny nodded and glanced around the table. Everyone, including Steve, seemed impressed by that. He rested his head against the back of Steve's arm, which had drifted down slightly from its position on the top of Danny's chair, and continued to watch the movie.

As the movie continued, Danny kept wondering when one of the guys’ girlfriends would show up. In a lot of these buddy cop movies, at least one of the guys would have a wife or girlfriend, even though the focus of the movie was on the partnership and the friendship between the two men.

That friendship was obviously close, if the “bickering like an old married couple jokes” the guys kept getting from other characters were any indication. They did argue somewhat, since The Rock's character, Matt, was more of a risk-taker and Andy was more of a guy who preferred to do things by the book, but they were constantly smiling at each other and giving each other casual touches. In between the action sequences, the film showed the two characters hanging out and doing stuff together outside of work. They had special nicknames for each other and inside jokes, and they generally just seemed thrilled to be in each other's company.

“These guys kind of remind me of Steve and Danny,” Kono said.

This was what his relationship with Steve would be like if he wasn't a pathetic, pining idiot, Danny thought. It's how it appeared to outsiders, anyway. Danny reached his hand forward in the popcorn bowl and stilled when he felt the back of his hand brushing against Steve's. He swore that he could feel static electricity between them, and his heart was racing just from the way Steve's hand was barely touching his.

Steve's hand had frozen in the bowl, and he was gazing down at Danny with an expression Danny couldn't interpret.

Danny withdrew his hand from the bowl and chuckled feebly. “Sorry.”

Steve blinked and took out another handful of popcorn. “Don’t worry about it.”

Steve sagged in his seat and sighed as if he was deeply disappointed about something. Danny couldn't make heads or tails of Steve’s behavior.

The climax of the movie approached, and Matt was pacing as he worked with a team that included the other cops who had been featured in the movie to deal with a situation in which the main villain of the film was holding a group of people hostage. Andy and Cynthia were included in that group.

Steve's hand tightened on Danny's shoulder, and Danny wondered if Steve was thinking about the winter formal, when Danny and Grace had been held hostage at Grace's school. He glanced up at Steve's face to see that he was intensely focused on the movie.

Finally, the team of cops was able to storm the warehouse where the hostages were being kept. Matt immediately sought out Andy and Cynthia. The daughter rushed forward to hug Matt, which reminded Danny of how Grace and Steve had hugged once all of the terrorists were gone at that dance.

Matt stepped over towards Andy, and they embraced each other in a meaningful way. The hug lasted for a really long time, but Danny just chalked it up to the heightened emotions from the situation they had just been in.

“I was so worried,” Matt said. He pulled away slightly, but his hands were still resting on Andy's shoulders.

Andy glanced down at Matt's shoulders, and he released a deep sigh. “When that guy was holding a gun on all of us, it made me think of all the things I wish I had done with my life. My biggest regret was not telling you this...” Andy paused before gazing right into Matt's eyes. “I love you, Matt.”

“Whoa!” Kono exclaimed. “What's happening right now?”

Lou grinned and shook his head. “Just keep watching.”

Matt was stroking Andy's cheek with his hand, and Danny was starting to feel just as confused as Kono was. Matt's grin was lighting up his entire face. “I love you, too.” And then they started... kissing?

Danny's mouth hung open in shock while Lou burst into laughter. Apparently, Lou had been spoiled for this particular twist. Danny thought Kono might react first, but instead it was Steve, who began coughing.

Shit, is he choking?! Danny patted Steve's back roughly. “Are you all right?”

Steve coughed a couple of more times and nodded. “I'm fine.” His voice was hoarse, but, otherwise, he seemed to be okay. “I just picked a really bad time to eat popcorn.”

“Yeah, but I don't think you could have planned to see Vin Diesel and The Rock making out on screen,” Kono said with an enormous smile. "Not that I object at all.”

Danny looked back at the screen to see that the two actors were indeed, still kissing. And really selling it, too. The whole thing looked very passionate and emotional. At least until one of the background characters told Matt and Andy to get a room.

“Man, I hate that guy,” Steve said.

Danny stared at his partner with wide eyes. Was he enjoying seeing the two main characters make out or something?

It's probably not that. Danny watched as Andy suggested that he and Matt go home. The couple left the scene with Andy's daughter.

Lou grinned. “Aww, well that's just cute. Look at them acting like an adorable little family.”

Danny's heart raced in his chest. The couple and the daughter resembled how he and Steve had been after the end of the dance.

The next scene definitely did not resemble him and Steve after the dance. According to a brief title screen, it was the next morning, and the camera did a slow pan to reveal the two characters in bed. Together. And shirtless, with a sheet below their waists, which suggested that the viewer was supposed to assume that they were naked.

All they were doing was kissing, and Danny felt like goosebumps were forming on his arms. He had watched a romantic comedy with Steve before and they had seen The Notebook together on the couch that one Halloween, but this felt different. Both of the couples in those movies had been a man and a woman, but it felt so much more suggestive to have two men kissing on screen while Steve's arm was wrapped around his shoulders. The fact that Danny wanted to do exactly that with Steve had Danny valiantly attempting to hide the blush rising on his cheeks.

He shot another look at Steve to see how he was taking this. Frankly, Danny was surprised that Steve hadn't removed his arm from Danny's shoulders yet. His breath caught when he saw that Steve was staring right at him and especially when his gaze lowered to Danny's lips. Was Danny imagining things?

Chin's thoughtful humming noise distracted Danny from the hypnotic spell Steve was casting with his eyes. “You know, I thought this was just gonna be a typical buddy cop movie. I definitely wouldn't have expected this from what they advertised in theaters.”

“It's supposed to be a twist,” Lou replied. “It looks a lot different when you know what's already going to happen.”

“You could have told us,” Kono teased. “Might have saved Steve from inhaling his popcorn.”

Lou shook his head vehemently. “And miss seeing the way y'all reacted?! Hell nah!”

“Speaking of which, what did you think, Danno?”

During all of their talking, the movie had transitioned to show Andy and Matt having breakfast together with Cynthia. The sequence was very domestic.

Danny breathed in and out deeply. It felt like Steve was asking him about more than just the movie.

“Well, I didn't know what was going to happen like Chin, so for a while, I was wondering when a girlfriend or wife would show up. But then the kiss happened, and the lack of girlfriends made sense. I mean, look at them...” He gestured vaguely at the screen, where Matt served up a plate of pancakes to Cynthia, before he dropped a kiss on Andy's lips and Cynthia giggled. “They look perfect together.”

Kono smiled over at Danny. “Aww, Danny, that was really sweet.”

Steve leaned in to whisper in Danny's ear. “I think they look perfect together, too.”

Danny was starting to think he wasn't imagining things. Maybe Steve had been having the same thoughts he had been having, making the same connections between their lives and the lives of Matt and Andy. Danny felt hope breaking through his typical negative thoughts, and he let himself bask in the sensation.

The movie concluded and Chin walked to the DVD player as the credits rolled. “Well, I guess they didn't need girlfriends.” Chin opened the DVD player and put the DVD back in its case. He smiled serenely at the group, focusing most of his attention on Steve and Danny. “I think they just needed each other.”

Kono laughed. “You have good taste in movies, but that was really lame, cuz.” She yawned and stretched exaggeratedly. “Wow, look at the time! I better get home soon.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, me too.” Lou stood up as well.

Danny rolled his eyes at their poor acting. It wasn't that late. They were obviously just pretending to be tired so that Steve and Danny could have “alone time.”

The door swung behind Chin as he followed Lou and Kono out of the room. For a couple of moments, Steve and Danny sat in an awkward silence until Steve turned his chair at an angle so that he was facing Danny.

“Hey, Danny, just, uh, hypothetically speaking...”

“Of course.” Danny nodded, trying not to grin too hard.

“If we were in a buddy cop movie, do you think the girlfriends would show up at some point?”

Danny shook his head. He started to lean in and let his goofy smile break through. “No. Hypothetically, do you think we would surprise everyone?”

Steve beamed as he leaned in further, and his gaze traveled down to Danny's lips again. “Yeah. Hypothetically.”

Danny closed the small distance between their lips, and the kiss they shared was not hypothetical. It was filled with laughter because Steve was apparently so happy that he couldn't stop smiling, and Danny ended up kissing his teeth. The next one was more tender, because after Danny finally stopped laughing, Steve cradled Danny's face in his hands and kissed him with all of the emotion he had been suppressing (which was a lot since Steve often had trouble expressing his feelings). Most importantly, the kisses were no longer imaginary or on a movie screen. They were very real, and they were very Steve and Danny, happy together as they should be.

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