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#if the park is okay with it which the one ive visited in the past was
dwntwn-strnlo · 7 months
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HELIX matt sturniolo
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎, dwntwn-strnlo.
↳ 𝐀/𝐍. this request is from july HELP
↳ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆. matthew sturniolo x reader
↳ 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘. piercing date 🤭
↳ 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃? yes! . . . reader is best friends with the triplets (and has a soft spot for Matt), they are recording a video and then they talk about things they wanna do, like visiting a certain country, just some rambles. Reader then talks about how she always wanted to get a piercing but is afraid about it and never had the courage to do it. So the next day Matt takes her on a surprise date to a piercing studio where she gets it done. Just some fluffy stuff where he holds her hand and tries to encourage her to do what she always wanted to do. ( @hedgehogperalta )
"okay, okay, here's one." you say, finding a good question. "'what's on the top of your bucket list?'"
"scuba diving for sure," nick answers almost immediately. then trailing on while chris counters with his bucket list.
after the two of them finish, matt turns around in his seat, meeting your eyes. "what about you, y/n?" he smiles lightly, visibly interested in what you would like to do.
"oh," you huff, scanning your brain. you were so invested in nick and chris' rebuttal that you didnt think of your answer. "ive always wanted to get a tattoo or a piercing, but ive always been too scared to do it."
"ooh ive always wanted a helix," nick adds.
matt smiles, "y/n you would look really cool with a helix."
you return the smile, a light blush creeping on your cheeks. "would I really?"
"or just a straight up nose ring," chris encourages.
"right," nick laughs, "you need to go get a piercing for sure."
you smile. ego definitely boosted from all of this encouragement.
. . .
"can i-"
"no." matt huffs, cutting you off. you've asked him the same question over and over, 'where are we going?' 'can I know what we're doing?' and so on.
"well are we at least close?" you ask, looking out the window beside you. watching as the buildings and cars flash past.
matt hesitates, taking a left turn, "just like four more minutes."
you turn to the radio, turning the music down. trying to figure out why in the world matt randomly texted you that he has a surprise for you. but nothing crosses your mind.
"and. . . here we are!" matt says, lightly biting his lip in excitement.
you look out the windshield to find yourself parked in front of a piercing studio.
"matt, holy shit-"
"you were talking about how you wanted a piercing last night and so I figured might as well." he smiles at you, pulling the keys out of the ignition.
suddenly you felt small. nervous butterflies erupting in your stomach. "I dont know if I can do this, matt." you awkwardly chuckle.
"sure you can," he assures, leaning over to meet your eyes. "this is wear nick gets his piercings, it's safe, and they're all kind. I promise."
you look at him with an untrusting look in your eye. still not sure about going through with this.
matt reaches out and grabs your hand, "I can hold your hand while they do it." he says, knitting his brows with an assuring smile.
looking down to you hand intertwined with his, your breath hitches. "well- I can't aff-"
"my treat." he rubs his thumb against the back of your hand, "i wouldn't have drove you all the way out here just to make you pay."
"matt-"
"y/n." he giggles. "quit stalling, kid."
releasing a shaky breath, you nod. "okay." you mumble, nodding your head again before getting out of the van.
matt gets out and meets you at the door. then asking if your ready and opening the door. he lets you walk in first, and then following you in. "appointment for sturniolo." he says, walking up to the front desk.
the lady at the front nods, leading the two of you to a room. "which one of you is it today?" she asks, pulling two gloves on over her hands.
matt gestures to you before sitting down in the chair next to you, "she is."
"awesome," the lady smiles. "you can sit here. and what are you getting?"
"oh- uhm a helix?" you say.
she nods before spinning slightly in her chair to set everything up.
you meet matt's eyes, your face clearly washed with panic.
"you're alright," he whispers soothingly. he picks up your hand you holds it in both of his. gently rubbing your knuckles. "you'll be fine and you'll come out of it looking badass." he laughs lightly.
amusedly rolling your eyes, you smile, "sure."
"okay, you ready?" the lady asks, turning around with her things.
you look at matt and he smiles, silently assuring you again. "yeah, I am." you nervously laugh, squeezing matt's hand tightly.
shutting your eyes, you try focusing on the unintentional rhythm of the way matts thumb slides across your skin. doing your best to completely ignore the quick sting in your ear.
"all done." the lady says.
you open your eyes, looking around confused. "I didn't even notice."
matt smiles, "see, I told you it would be okay."
"thank you, matt."
"of course," he says, his cheeks going a light pink at your praise.
TAGLIST
@thetriplets3 @stxrniqlo @ifilwtmfc @iha8you @oneirophobic @20nugs @gracietaylorsversions @fenoy7 @mlimmm @prettysturniolo @ssturniolo @gabbylovesreading @oh-toseewithoutmy-eyes @matthewmurdockswife
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cicidarkarts · 11 months
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Hospice - 5: Reckoning (Finale)
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Ominis adored nothing more than getting his mother her favorite snack from the vending machine. The payout from their last few bets had been immense, leaving Ominis and Sebastian rich as poor kids could be. While he pocketed most of the money to use for a rainy day, he siphoned some into the simple pleasures of life. It was worth the pleasant silence with his mum, rather than that oppressive mess that his meals usually entailed—always waiting for his mother's venomous fangs to clamp down on him. Ominis wished his cheese Danish and lemonade mother could be his always mother.
But Ominis also adored time spent with Sebastian and Anne. While Anne was sometimes too ill to leave her bed, he and Sebastian would enjoy time together in the playroom or out at the park.
"Can you read that guy's mind?" Sebastian asked as they sat in the sunshine, nibbling on ice creams. "Which guy?" "That dude jogging—quick, before he passes!"
Ominis honed in on the sound of running steps and probed into the shallow parts of the man's mind. 
"Music lyrics," said Ominis. "Must have earbuds in." "That is so cool," Sebastian gushed. "Did you ever think of doing something with that power? Something great?" "Not really. Before all this, I pretended that I couldn't do it at all. I just want to be normal." "Normal is boring! Look at me, I'm normal and I practically put myself to sleep." Ominis giggled. "You're not boring." "Neither are you. If there's one good thing that came out of being in hospice, it's that I got to meet you. We'll stay friends after this, right? Whether you get out first or Anne and I do, we'll keep being friends, won't we?" "I wouldn't have it any other way."
“I’m just waiting for my name to pop up here!” said Tony during their Sunday death bet. “You joking?” asked Sebastian. “We can’t bet on you unless we wanna lose.” “Take a chance, kid!” said Phil.
Ominis took his opportunity while a nurse scolded Marcus for pulling his IV out for being “damn itchy”. Between telling off her patient and being overworked, it was difficult to squeeze into her deeper thoughts. He passed by a ‘I’d rather be working with the children’, to her regretting saying that. After all, as she well knew, having to watch children die was a horrid part of being a pediatric nurse.
‘Norice loves the children so much, but I couldn’t imagine being her. She gets so attached to them. I hated hearing her cry last night over that sweet new girl, Anne.’ Ominis’ heart skipped a beat as he continued listening, hearing Norice’s voice through the nurse’s memory. ‘I can’t believe how bad she’s gotten over the past week!’ sobbed Norice. ‘She’s so sweet, she doesn’t deserve this. I don’t think she’s gonna make it to next week and I don’t know how to tell her brother!’
Ominis stopped immediately. He couldn’t bear to hear the distress and fear in Norice’s voice, and he heard Sebastian in his mind crying the same way. Ominis’ stomach churned violently and he felt a burning and tingling creep up his throat.
He hurried out of the room and into the bathroom. Hunching over the toilet, nothing actually happened. But sick sat atop his stomach, threatening to come up.
“Ominis?” came Sebastian’s voice. “Are you okay?” Ominis swallowed, and spoke as calmly as he could. “Yeah. I’m—” He swallowed again as his stomach flipped. “—okay.” Sebastian’s footsteps stopped outside of Ominis’ stall. “You don’t sound okay. You looked like you were gonna barf.” “I think it’s something I ate.” “Need me to get a nurse?” “No, I… I’ll be all right.” "Okay, if you're sure."
While it shocked Sebastian that Ominis didn't want to put a death bet down, he didn't press it. Ominis took every chance he could that week to visit Anne. She couldn't get out of bed, so he and Sebastian would play games with her on the blankets. During a rousing game of checkers, she shouted, "Look, a distraction!", before he heard the gentle clinking of illegal moves.
"Made you look." "Anne, I'm blind." "And I'm the winner so what's your point?"
They all had a grand laugh at this. Ominis held onto his tears. Such intense emotions from his joyous laughter nearly brought them out.
One day in the cafeteria, he and Sebastian got Anne's favorite foods. Ominis kept quiet all week about Anne's supposed doom, and perhaps that was best given it was Saturday evening and Anne was still around. Maybe the pediatrician had catastrophized, and maybe he would be wrong. Sebastian, wonderfully oblivious to it all and ever the optimist, kept up with the latest gossip and relayed it to Ominis on their way back.
"Did you hear? Tony coded last night. I overheard one of the nurses say so. He barely made it. Isn't that crazy? I didn't think that old geezer was actually mortal." "Maybe we should've bet on him."
Despite Sebastian’s laughter, Ominis regretted saying that the moment the words left his lips. He didn't think he should be encouraging these death bets. With all the mind-reading and horrible vicarious memories that came with it, he wasn't so sure how much longer he could continue.
"Sebastian. Maybe we should stop with these death bets." "Stop? Why?" "I really don't like reading other people's thoughts. It's invasive and horrible." "But Ominis, we should be honing your skills, not running away from them!" "I get that, I really do. But here, in the hospital… I've heard things I was never supposed to hear."
Sebastian stopped walking. Silence overtook them, leaving only the ambience of the hospital. Beeping. Scraping. Low chatter. Gentle sobs.
"What did you hear?" Sebastian asked. "All kinds of things—" "You're hiding something from me. What did you hear?" Sebastian repeated, forceful and desperate. Ominis heard the deep frown in his friend's voice. "Sebastian, I… I'm sorry. I heard from one of the nurses that… Anne isn't doing well." "Not doing well?" he demanded. "What do you mean 'not doing well'?" "Please, don't make me say it."
A sudden harsh shove made Ominis stagger back. His heart pounded and he braced himself for another push, or worse.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" Sebastian said. "I could've known this whole week, I could've been there for Anne, but you just kept it a secret!?" "I'm so sorry, Sebastian, I didn't know what to say." "I'm sick of people treating me like some fragile little kid! I thought you of all people would understand that, but you kept me in the dark just as much as everyone else!" Sebastian sighed hard. "I gotta go. I gotta be with Anne."
He stormed off. Ominis wasn't sure if he should follow, and decided to eat his food in the cafeteria.
Sunday morning, Ominis awoke to an utter ruckus down the hall. He shot up out of bed, snatched his cane, and hurried toward the noise. Nurses and doctors rushed around, shouting orders and information as a machine beeped loudly and continuously in the background.
"Continue chest compressions! Get that IV on there!" "Anne, no!" Sebastian cried. "Get the kid out of here!" "C'mon, sweetie—" "Let go! I need to be with my sister!"
Ominis stayed back, unsure of navigating the absolute chaos before him. His palms grew slick on his cane as he listened to Anne's monitor and its long, horrid beep.
"Please don't die, Anne!" Sebastian begged. “Sebastian!” Solomon shouted.
It sounded like Sebastian was being dragged away as his cries and distressed straining came closer to Ominis.
“Ominis!” Sebastian called before he collapsed against him.
He sobbed and trembled in Ominis’ arms. The shock of it all stole Ominis’ voice.
The dead silence of the hospital bore into him. He and Sebastian sat around Anne’s body. The monitor plug had been pulled after an hour of unsuccessful resuscitation. Sebastian’s keening had faded. All that was left was a ringing in his ears.
Ominis didn't understand how it was fair. How could someone as young and full of life as Anne die while his bitter mother continued living? How could someone so innocent be consigned to such a cruel fate while nasty people such as his mother walk freely? He grit his teeth and gripped his cane. If self-control hadn't been ingrained in him at a young age, he would've gladly given into his temptation to smash everything in his grasp. He pulled his knees up to his face and sobbed in the cold darkness of the lifeless room, choking on the faint scent of sweets.
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finallyfreetobemee · 6 months
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So I've recently escaped from a very controlling and abusive relationship. I kicked him out almost 2 months ago. We have a 6 month old son. At the beginning of our 2 and a half year relationship I purchased a miniature pinscher Chihuahua puppy, Mylo, who soon became my ESA as I struggle with some mental health and PTSD from past abusive relationships. Its been my whole life since 14 years old, every relationship had some sort of abuse, control, jealousy. Well this one was REALLY BAD. By far, top of the list, #1 the most TOXIC, CONTROLLING, all around WORST relationship, even now at 39 years old. I have a 14 year old daughter with someone else, and our 6 month old son. Since I've kicked him out, he has not once called to see how the baby is doing. Up until 4-5 days ago, I was still allowing him to come to my home, take Mylo (my dog) for a walk or a few hours , but all for a price. He now denies the baby, wants a paternity test (by all means, go right ahead. Please do) Not once did I ever cheat on this man. I couldn't go downstairs and outside for a cigarette by myself because he thought I was messing around with the neighbour boy. I DONT EVEN KNOW THE KIDS NAME!! but I couldn't go out for a cigarette let alone find the time to go make a baby with someone else. (Mind you, I have since switched to a vape and quit smoking cigarettes lol) Anyhow, I have 26 voicemails of screaming yelling and threats for visitation for the DOG, not the baby, the DOG. Family and Children's Services has been contacted and he is not allowed access to the baby unsupervised or in my home. So, I was still allowing him to come by and take the dog, but I was still being physically, verbally, mentally abused, up until 4 days ago when he grabbed my cell phone and left my building with it, came back yelling at my bathroom window a few minutes later and threw it at me at the window. I went downstairs and outside to try and find my phone and he seen me in the parking lot and he came after me pushing me around, scrapping my arms and legs up, wrestling me to try and find my phone first which I DID find on the roof where I had to climb out my bathroom window and retrieve. But my whole reason for this brief but kinda thorough explanation is because I've never had a blog but I LOVE to write. So I'm not sure what I'm supposed to write about or even what really I'm supposed to do with a blog. So Ive decided to maybe start with some things (poems, short journal entries) that I have previously written and I thought I would give a quick briefing on the situation and what exactly I'm writing and talking about so then if someone does end up reading my blog (which mind you I don't have to high expectations of cuz like I said I'm not even really sure if I'm doing this right or if anyone is even interested in anything I have to say) anyways, which is okay if there's not, I just enjoy writing and it's my stress outlet and just being able to write is satisfying enough for me) then they know what I'm talking about. But anyways. If anyone IS reading this right now, thanks for taking the time to listen to a very VERY small piece of my very VERY long journey of relationship experience. Really, thank you.
Brooke
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» 3rd September, 2022
okay so whatever the hell, i forgot about the account and here i am now so imma just say my sins are forgiven and all that and chill here & now
actually what’s presently on my mind is the friend i mentioned before bc look, she’s busy and all that and actually has many friends and a life n stuff so i don’t wanna bother her rn especially cause she just started school again..but i visited her last month (a rare event bc we live so far apart) and some stuff happened plus i noticed things and i’m bothered, yk?
because the way i grew up, it was normal that we’d save all the leftovers and keep things past their expiration dates and if it was moldy we’d just scrape that off n maybe heat it up and so on
at my aunt/grandmother’s place the mark-down oatmeal frequently had bugs in it (usually dead happily) and me n my sisters just had to pick them out or eat them anyway
which kinda seems maybe weird looking back on it but oh well, it just lead to me being the hoarder type bc who knows if you need it later???
cardboard box i got from the mail i can use that
empty takeout container hell yea
somebody dropped this hair elastic in a parking lot, not to worry ill just boil it and tada
and i guess that’s all fine and good except that technically, my ‘family’ (and i use that word very loosely) was actually really well off
we could afford to buy full-price food and new clothes and i get why we didn’t at the same time that i don’t bc,, sure i learned life lessons but could i not have done that in an environment with, say, half or 3/4 as much saving and stinginess??
because i dont have much sense of style, what i do ive learned within the past few years, i dont have a lot of taste in much anything honestly (and if i do it’s a recent appearance), and yet another thing that is still related to all the saving is that i was homeschooled so voila
what friends, my peoples?
not that i’m mad 90% of them are fandom dumbasses (like me) or gaybes (also like me) but going to see that irl friend who i barely see ever and is 1 out of perhaps 4 irl friends i have? yea just expose my social naivety and complete inability why don’t you
1 my social battery is heckin low at all times
2 i cannot small talk
3 i dont know how to pose for pictures
4 i cant smile
5 how does one play off things like theyre no big problem???
6 i wish to apologize for everything and also never make any choices for the group
in conclusion, i am Not Fun and that is all
which i kinda knew just did not need to be proven so suddenly damn
okay im tired rn so ill write part 2 of this later, i havent even gotten to my point yet loool
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wolferine · 3 years
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Heart Skips a Beat - Part 2
Natasha Romanoff x Reader
Summary: Natasha faces her worst nightmare when a rescue mission goes wrong…
Warnings: Violence, blood
Word Count: 1837
Part 1
Tags: @blkmxrvel @blackxwidowsxwife @marvelwomen-simp
When Natasha sees your eyes close, she finally comes back to her senses. She squirms away from Steve, crawling under an ambulance and making her way towards you. She ignores Steve telling her to stay put and doesn’t hear Clint telling police officers the direction the bullets came from. All she can think about is bringing you to safety.
The ambulance engine is still running, causing its underside to reach temperatures that make Natasha feel like she is hiding in a furnace. She holds her breath from the fumes as she crawls to the front of the vehicle, throwing her arm out and reaching for your hand.
“Y/N!” she screams. “I’m right here! Hold on!” Her fingertips brush yours and she grabs onto your wrist tightly. You’re bigger and heavier than her, but the adrenaline gives her strength. With a massive heave, she drags you under the ambulance. You smear through the puddle of your own blood and it soaks through the back of your shirt. 
There isn’t even enough room for her to lift her head, but she grabs onto both your arms, digging her elbows into the ground and crawling backwards. “I got you, Y/N. I got you,” she pants. But the lack of space and your deadweight make it impossible for her to pull you all the way through, so she backs out from under the ambulance. “Steve, help me!” she shouts.
“Move!” Steve says to her, although his shoulders are too broad to fit in the narrow gap. However, his arms are long enough to reach both of your hands, and all it takes is one big tug for you to come sliding out from the ambulance. 
Your eyes fly open suddenly, awakened by the agonizing pain coursing through your shoulder like a lightning bolt. You scream, and as much as it makes Natasha’s heart hurt, she’s glad to see that you’re still alive. 
“You guys need to get out of here right now!” Clint yells. “Take the ambulance!”
Steve pulls you into a standing position and wraps his arms around your waist, lifting you onto his shoulders effortlessly. You flop over him like a ragdoll, pain pulsing in your stomach when you bump against his chest.
BOOM.
A bullet shatters the sideview mirror of the ambulance.
“Go, go!” Natasha urges, putting herself between the danger and you and Steve. Steve runs with you to the back of the ambulance and flings the door open. There is no gurney, so Natasha helps him lay you on the floor and climbs in after you.
“Stay with Y/N. I’ll drive,” Steve offers, going around to the front. “Clint, we’re taking Y/N to the Quinjet! Hold the scene down!”
“Copy that!” Clint is just as concerned for your safety, but he knows you’re in good hands. Steve jumps into the driver’s seat and throws the ambulance in reverse.
BOOM.
The windshield explodes.
“Let’s go!” Natasha screams, ducking her head.
“Hold on!” Steve backs into a sharp U-turn. The tires screech as they find traction on the road to accelerate forward.
Natasha practically lays on top of you to prevent you from rolling around. From a shelf, she grabs a handful of gauze packets, tearing them open with her teeth. She rips your shirt open and presses the gauze first to your shoulder, then another to the side of your stomach. You’re completely soaked in blood and it continues to pump out of you with each heartbeat. Your face has faded to a sickly pale. 
“N-Nat,” you whisper, trying to move but pinned down by the pain. “N-Nat—”
“Shh, it’s okay,” she comforts. “Just keep your eyes open for me, okay?”
You see the blood smeared on her face, her neck, and her hands, too delirious to remember that it’s yours. “A-Are you h-hurt?” you stammer.
Natasha wants to laugh and cry at the same time. You’re so in love with her that even in the face of death you don’t even think about yourself. “No, I’m fine,” she says, grabbing onto your hand and interlocking your fingers. She looks over at Steve, veering through parked cars and roadblocks. “Can we hurry it up a little?” she asks in panic, even though she knows he’s driving as fast as he can.
“I’m trying!” Steve swerves around a fire hydrant and the sudden movement jolts everyone in the ambulance. Natasha presses down on you too hard and you grunt in pain.
“I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “We’re almost there. We’re almost there.”
Your vision fades into fuzzy shapes and blurred colors. Even breathing seems to be too much of a task for you. Steve parks behind the Quinjet and comes around to help carry you in.
“Do you need me to go with you?” Steve asks as he lays you across the back seats of the Quinjet.
“No.” Natasha shakes her head. “Stay and help Barton.”
Steve doesn’t even try to argue. “We’ll find who did this, Nat. I promise.” He goes to the controls at the front and presses a few buttons. “The coordinates for the Tower are set. You’ll autopilot all the way there. Just make sure to update the medical team on Y/N’s condition.”
“Thanks, Steve.”
“Everything will be okay.” He places his hand on Natasha’s shoulder for a moment before jogging back to the ambulance. As soon as he’s off the Quinjet, the door raises shut and the engines blast on. You’re several states away from New York, but at the speeds the plane can travel, you should be there in minutes. You just have to hang on until then.
Natasha leaves your side only to grab more gauze, pressing it against your bullet wounds to slow the bleeding. She rolls you to your side so there’s no pressure on your front or back, but grimaces when she sees that your back looks as bad as your front.
“N-Nat,” you try whispering again, but she is quick to shush you.
“Not now, okay? Just stay awake for me, Y/N.”
You’ve never felt so weak before. It feels like you were hit by a bus and ground up by its tires. Your mind processes in slow-motion—probably a side effect of the blood loss—and you already forgot how you got into the Quinjet. But the physical pain isn’t your greatest concern anymore. You just don’t want to lose your fight and leave her.
Natasha fits an oxygen mask around your face and the cool air is comforting, but you know your time is ticking away. You don’t notice the Quinjet hiss to a landing or acknowledge the team of doctors suddenly hovering over you.
“We’ll do the surgery in room six!”
“Prep a blood transfusion!”
“Two gunshot wounds from a large-caliber gun!”
The doctors move you to a gurney and wheel you off the Quinjet. Natasha holds onto your hand as they take you to the surgery room, but a doctor stops her from entering with you.
“No, Romanoff. You gotta stay out here. We’ll take it from here.”
Natasha doesn’t fight back, letting your fingers slip through hers as you disappear behind the doors.
***********************************************************************
“Any updates?” Clint and Steve finally arrive a few hours later, but you’re still in surgery.
“Not yet.” Natasha paces the kitchen anxiously. Although she found the time to wash your blood off her hands and face, she hasn’t changed out of her uniform yet.
“Nat, you should get cleaned up. Y/N isn’t going anywhere,” Clint says.
“I know, I just…I want to be there when—” She can’t finish her sentence, falling into Clint’s arms and crying into his shoulder.
“Y/N is a fighter, remember?” Clint says, rubbing her back.
“But the amount of blood—”
“Super soldiers don’t go down easy,” Steve reminds her. “Y/N will pull through. And besides, you’ll be there to help with the recovery.”
Natasha nods, pulling away from Clint and wiping her face. “I’m sorry I froze when I saw Y/N get shot—”
“What are you apologizing for?” Clint asks.
“I don’t know—I put you all in danger because I couldn’t get myself out of the way—” she hiccups. 
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Steve assures. “In fact, you were the one who dragged Y/N to safety, remember? I couldn’t fit under the ambulance and Clint was just sitting around like a duck—”
“Excuse you,” Clint interrupts, and Natasha smiles thinly.  
“So, did you find who did this?” she asks.
“Uh—” Clint and Steve look at each other awkwardly. “Natasha, we—”
“Did you find them?” Natasha repeats with more force. Clint motions for Steve to explain.
“That’s the thing,” Steve says. “We don’t know who did this. We scoped out the whole area with the police. We went out more than a mile, but we couldn’t find anything. No shell casings, nothing.”
“Oh, so you’re telling me a ghost shot and tried to kill Y/N?” Natasha scoffs.
“No, we…” Steve tries to find the right words. “We think it was a setup, maybe like a hired assassin or something.”
“Who would want to kill Y/N?” Natasha asks.
“That’s what we need to figure out.”
Natasha knows you have a lot of baggage from your past, particularly when you were forced into illegal covert operations by the government. But it’s been a long time since then. You became your own person and changed your life for the better. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the side of you that Natasha and the Avengers do.
When Clint and Steve leave to shower and change, Natasha finally does the same. She dresses in clean clothes and curls up on your shared bed, inhaling your scent through the pillow and blankets.
Sometime later, Clint visits and knocks on the door. “Hey, Nat? Y/N just got out of surgery—” He doesn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence and is almost run over by Natasha as she hurries over to the medical bay. She doesn’t know which specific room they’re keeping you in, but it’s like she’s drawn to your very presence and finds the correct one instantly.
You lie upright in the bed, propped forward with pillows so there’s less pressure on your back. Your right arm is in a sling and your entire torso is wrapped in bandages. An IV drip leads into the veins on your hand, while a blood pouch sends blood into the vein inside of your elbow. You have an oxygen tube up your nose and looped around your ears.
“I heard the doctor went a little overboard on the anesthesia,” Clint says from behind Natasha, startling her. “You know, with the super soldier serum and everything. Y/N will probably be out of it for a while.” Natasha walks to your side and kneels, gently taking your hand. Your skin is clammy and colder than normal, but your pulse beats strongly.
“I’ll be here as long as it takes.” Natasha raises your hand, mindful of the wires around your wrist, and kisses your fingers.
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Click here for Part 3!
AN: Thanks for the amazing support from everyone! Definitely didn’t think I’d get that kind of response, but I’m extremely grateful for you all. The next part will reveal the identity of the shooter, so I hope you’ll stick around for that. :) Peace out!
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marktuansvevo · 3 years
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got7 reacts to something theyve never experienced before in a relationship
warning(s); slight cursing, sexual content in bam’s part
mark; being jealous
mark understood why his past partners could be jealous of him in his line of work. as long as it didn’t get out of hand, he thought it was cute. he was never the jealous one in the relationship. he didn’t even know what jealousy felt like....
....until tonight.
you were mark’s entire world. you excited him, you built him up like no other. never before could he see himself spending his life with someone before you came along. you made the world brighter to him.
but now he was only seeing red. 
you had been a trainee and never debuted, which you weren’t too upset about, you had a boyfriend you loved and a career with less physical and time demands than being in the entertainment industry. this meant that you knew a lot of other bands, stray kids being one of them. chan was, quite frankly, your best friend during your trainee days, so when you saw him at this afterparty you were attending with mark, you threw yourself into his arms.
mark just watched you from afar.
and his blood boiled.
chan spun you around in his arms, the biggest smile on his stupid, handsome face. “yah!! y/n! mark didn’t say you’d be here.”
you giggled, trying to keep your tears at bay. you put your hands on his face, poking his dimples. mark scoffed at the blush that was forming on his friend’s face. “god, chan i missed you so much.”
“bro, you look constipated,” bam snuck up behind him. “dude, your face is so red right now.”
mark rolled his eyes. “these parties are so annoying.” he didn’t take his eyes off of you as you caught up with chan, who still had his hand around your waist.
bam followed his line of vision. “shit, you’re not constipated, you’re jealous. yugyeom, come look at him!”
mark walked away from his intoxicated friends and up to you. you smiled at him before returning to your conversation with chan. 
“y/n, we have to go,” mark said lowly, smiling a sickly fake smile at chan, who immediately dropped his hand from your waist. 
“why, baby, we just got here? are you not feeling good?” you asked. he wanted to feel bad, your voice was laced with concern.
“something like that. see you, chan.”
as you got in the car, you smiled at him, poking his cheek. “somebody’s jealous, huh?”
“huh? of chan? i don’t know what you’re talking about,” he clenched his jaw, not making eye contact with you as he steered his car out of the parking lot. you were giggling now.
“you’re cute when you’re jealous. maybe i should make more time for chan.”
“y/n!!!”
jaebeom; wearing disguises in public
jaebeom never thought he would have to dress up in a disguise to go out in public. and jae would never want to put you in such a position. it was draining, and you, as his girlfriend knew that he despised it.
but you wanted to go to a concert with him.
and you wanted to stand in the pit with him and be part of it. don’t get you wrong, you loved when he bought you suite seats or could watch his shows from backstage, but you wanted to sway to ariana grande in th pit with your boyfriend.
“cmon, jae, i think everyone is going to be paying attention to ari. we can skip the opening act?” you suggested.
“y/n, i don’t want to take a chance...im sorry,” he pouted at you. you sighed, trying to figure out what to do.
“what about disguises?” he said. “like, we could wear our halloween costumes?” you were giggling to yourself, but your boyfriend seemed like the idea.
“i could wear my jesus wig and you could paint a beard on me?” he said with serious eyes.
“jae, you hate going out in disguises.”
“true...but, babe, this will be fun. you could wear your sailor mars wig, it’d be cute,”
okay, this was a really cute idea and you were warming up to it...if it made your boyfriend more comfortable to be out in a crowd of so many people, you were down to try it out.
“this really feels like halloween in july,” you giggled as you used mascara to draw a beard on his chin.
“do I look like jesus??” he asked childishly.
“well, you don’t look like im jaebeom of got7, that’s for sure,”
“you look like an egirl,” he laughed at himself. “don’t hate, you know you love it,” you said. “we look so cute, let’s take a mirror selfie and post in later,”
“no, then people will be on to us,” your boyfriend sent a pout in your direction as he looked at his makeshift beard in the mirror. “I look sexy as fuck in a beard,”
“super sexy aegyo please?”
the two of you arrived at the arena, not be noticed by anyone, but jae was still on edge, so you held his hand tight as you made your way into the pit.
“im so excited!!” you shouted over the noise. he shook his head before leaning in to kiss you. the two of you danced the whole night away to arianas crooning, his arms around you as you swayed to her pretty, soothing voice. the two of you let the world fade away while ariana sang honeymoon ave in the background.
jackson; his significant other saying ily first.
it was no secret that jackson was stock full of love and kindness. he had had other partners before you, all with him ending up getting too attached, or scaring them away when he said “I love you” too early.
he did not want to scare you away, and honestly, he had known he loved you two months into dating, but he didn’t want to scare you away, so he never outwardly said those three little words to you.
he wasn’t expecting you to say it, first though.
you had invited him over for dinner and a movie, just wanting a chill night in with your boyfriend. he brought the wine and promised to give you a back massage, so really, what more could you want on this chilly thursday night?
“what’s been going on, honey? you know you can tell me anything,” jackson whispered into your ear as he helped you out of your clothes.
“I feel like I deserve to oversee my department at work. i have the most education of all of them, more experience than them, and generally, I am more optimistic than my superiors….,” you sighed, letting him rub just under your shoulder blades, which had been itching all week.
“mmm?”
“i think they might be scared of powerful women who like to wear hot pink fendi suits to work,” you smiled, knowing he would be offended at your joke. you could almost feel him pouting.
“so the reason you can’t get the job is because your superiors don’t like the suits your boyfriend buys you? wow, what a way to hurt a guy’s pride…,” he followed your lead on the joke, trying to make you laugh because he knew this was really getting to you. “baby, I think you should go to their boss and see if you can get a promotion…tell them everything you told me, okay? i know you’re not only the best woman for the job, but the best person for the job…period,” he said, making you feel so overwhelmed with emotion. none of your previous partners had ever revered you the way jackson had. you felt so incredibly blessed and in love, you couldn’t help yourself.
“god, jackson, I love you so much,” you whispered.
the movement of his soft hands on your back stopped abruptly at your words. ‘oh god, was it too early to say that?’
“j-jackson…im sorry-“
“ive been waiting to say that to you,” he breathed against your lips, closing the distance that was between them.
“jackson wang….you love me?” you could feel the tears building. the man of your dreams was in love with you, too.
“i love you,” he whispered reverently.
“say it again,” you begged. he said it like a mantra.
“i love you, i love you….i love you..”
jinyoung; moving in together
jinyoung thought you were so cute. you were ecstatic to move with jinyoung. you had been living in your shared apartment with your mom your whole life and we’re excited to start a new chapter of your life. jinyoung didn’t think you were taking in the fact that moving is one of the most stressful things a person can go through.
he didn’t want to rain on your parade, though.
the two of you got settled into your new apartment after a long day of unpacking. jinyoung kissed you as you laid onto your new king sized bed. “im gonna grab takeout, you want your usual?” he asked sweetly, squeezing your hand. you just nodded, squeezing his hand back.
you watched as jinyoung walked out of your shared bedroom. that’s when the dam broke. you were so overwhelmed. you didn’t know how to make warm water happen in your shower, you didn’t have your wifi set up, and you forgot your favorite teddy bear at your moms. you missed teddy and your wifi and your mom.
“hey, i ordered you two egg rolls and they gave us three - hey, baby, are you crying?”
“no,” you replied lamely. “I miss teddy,” you wailed miserably.
“teddy...the...stuffed bear?” he asked.
“i slept with him every night for the past 20 something years.”
“baby...we can get your bear in the morning...,”
“we don’t have netflix set up so how am i supposed to sleep tonight?”
“y/n...,” he chuckled. you frowned harder now that he was laughing at you. “moving isn’t as exciting as it looks. tomorrow, we will fix the wifi, okay? and we can visit your mom and rescue teddy.”
“okay...okay. im sorry, im just a bit overwhelmed,” you confessed.
“its gonna be okay, honey. it’s a lot to take in, i know. but you can hold me instead of teddy, and ill sing you to sleep,” he whispered, the takeout now long forgotten. before you could fall asleep, he pulled his iphone out of his back pocket and pulled you into his chest to take a selfie. “there. now we have a picture of us in our bed for the first time.”
“i love you, you sap.”
even though you called him the sap, the next day you went to the pharmacy to get the photo printed and frame it. when jinyoung came home from the market that day, he eyed the frame on your bed stand, smirking at you.
“oh, so im the sap, hmm?”
youngjae; picking up the tab
it was the first date the two of you had been on since youngjae had been on tour. he told you to get dressed up and that the two of you would go out for a fancy dinner and catch up on everything. this is why you loved him, because while you wanted to hear all about his stories of life and tour abroad, he always wanted to hear about everything that was going at home, to see if you were alright.
youngjae looked dazzling in a black checked suit, while you matched him with a little black dress that made him groan when you stepped out of the bathroom. “can we skip dinner?” he’d ask cheekily. you rolled your eyes at him before kissing him on the cheek. “we aren’t skipping dinner, and we definitely won’t be skipping dessert,” you winked before leading him to the car.
the two of you ate dinner together, him holding your hand and looking at you with stars in his eyes as you told him stories that had happened while he was away. you ordered appetizers, drinks, shared an entrée, and youngjae even ordered you a slice of apple pie for the two of you to share.
“baby, I’m going to go use the restroom,” youngjae said before kissing your hand. “’kay, don’t get mugged, please,” you teased him. he shook his head at your playfulness. you watched as he left before frantically waving your arms at your waitress. she ran over to you, checking if you were alright.
“I just wanted to wonder if I can pick up the cheque really quick? I wanted to pick it up for my boyfriend as a surprise,” you spoke in a hushed tone, making the waitress giggle. she nodded her head before handing it to her. you handed her your credit card, thanking her before your boyfriend had any suspicions of what you were up to.
youngjae came out of the bathroom as soon as the waitress set the cheque down. you were applying your lipstick so you couldn’t snatch it in time. you watched as his pretty brown eyes scanned the receipt, looking confused as ever. “is this a joke? what kind of waitress lets the girlfriend pay?”
“jae,” you giggled. “you don’t always have to pay for dinner. I wanted to treat you…I missed you so much,” you confided, watching his expression from anger into warmth.
“oh, thank you honey, you are so sweet and thoughtful, I love you so much,” you let him wrap his suit jacket around your arms before planting a kiss to your forehead. “but that will be the last time you ever do that.”
“shut up, i like doing nice things for you,” you pouted.
“since you paid for dinner tonight, i have to put out, right?”
he ran to the car before you could slap him in the chest.
bam; his s/o borrowing his clothes
remember how joey never shared his food? well that’s how bam was with his wardrobe. he was very particular about his clothing, not letting people borrow them at all. yugyeom used to steal his clothes just to be petty and piss his best friend off. he had never let past partners borrow his clothes, and nothing was going to change, it wasn’t his fault, it was an obsession. if you were sure of one thing, it was to not steal your boyfriends clothes.
but one day, while he was gone from work, you thought you would take pictures of yourself in only one of his blazers to tease him.
you weren’t expecting him to walk through the door while you were trying to take self timer pictures of yourself.
“baby? what are you doing?” bam asked, laughing as you let out a squeal of surprise.
“i..i wanted to surprise you...,” he tsked, pulling away to look at his blazer. “i know you don’t like me wearing your things..,” you stammered as he circled you.
“you have such pretty things, though, bam,”
“you look so sexy in this,” he purred. “you were trying to get me worked up while im trying to work?”
“u...uhhh,” you couldn’t think coherently with you boyfriend acting so domineering. you gasped as he slid his hand up to your cunt, rubbing your clit in little circles. “bam...please...,” you groaned. 
“keep the blazer on,” he said as you writhed in his grip.
“its gonna get all sweaty though and then you’ll yell at me,” you teased him as you followed him to the bed. 
bam just groaned. “baby, im sorry I haven’t let you borrow my clothes before but you look better in them than me. now, let me fuck you and i promise you can have anything you want in that closet.”
he knew exactly how to shut you up.
yugyeom; his s/o buying him flowers
yugyeom was always so stressed during comeback season. you always scolded him when he forgot to eat, or wasn’t staying hydrated enough, but you were so proud of him. seeing the smile on his face and the way he walked a little taller was so worth it.
he was still busy during comeback season, coming home late after all the videos he had to shoot for publicity.
one night, yugyeom had gotten home around midnight to a bouquet of pink roses and a handwritten note from you. it read; “I am so proud of you, my love. congrats on breath… I can always feel your love,” he blushed and giggled to himself, thinking, “isn’t the guy supposed to buy the girlfriend the flowers?” he wandered into your shared bedroom to see you sprawled into his side, with your book in your hands, a soft snore leaving your lips. he nudged you, not intending to wake you up, he could thank you in the morning. but he did accidentally. “yeom?” you whispered. 
“shh, baby go back to sleep,” he shushed, changing into his pjs. 
“did you like the flowers?” you asked, suddenly awake now. 
“theyre really pretty, baby, but aren’t I supposed to buy you the flowers?” 
you narrowed your eyes at him. “not my boyfriend being a sexist,” 
“yah! y/n stop it, I didn’t mean it that way!! I love them, you remembered I said I love roses,” he was pouting now, pulling you into his chest to spoon you. his voice got quieter now. “no one’s ever remembered my favorite flowers…much less bought them for me,” he paused, kissing the back of your neck before closing his eyes and falling fast asleep.
he was whipped.
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uwumessenger · 3 years
Text
random headcanons i have for each om! character teehee
hi it's been a while since ive posted some hcs bc uni has been kicking my a$$! luckily i only have a few papers to tidy up and im done. here r some hcs for each obey me character that ive accumulated over the past few months wink wonk
most are random but some constants you'll find are what i think they smell like, languages they can speak (other than their native (demon/angel) and eng/jp), and music tastes !
lucifer
i have a strong feeling that he showers twice a day: in the morning after waking up and at night before going to bed
his cologne is probably the type that will last in an elevator for like a week after he uses it once. i dont think this mf ever smells like anything other than his cologne
has a secret folder on his phone of semi-nudes and other scandalous pics from when he felt sexy at the time omg
aside from demon language/eng/jp he can speak french and knows latin
listens to classical stuff yea but he also listens to diavolos mixtapes (re: diavolo's section)
not a fan of sweets but will eat sweet things when craving
really bland sense of humor...borderline cringey 😭✋🏻
mammon
has gone to google images and searched for "inspirational quotes tumblr" "gold aesthetic tumblr" & "relatable crush post tumblr" then reposts it onto his socials or just taps thru them and giggles bc he relates
his cologne doesnt last as long as lucifers and probably smells common. he has to reapply a lot but it's a people pleasing smell. it's cheaper hence the constant reapplying
he probably does have an expensive bottle but is the type to totally overspray...eek
he is canonically a car guy 🥲 and probably tells the one in his room good morning & good night + kisses the hood every once in a while. has tons of car magazines
he doesnt really speak other languages but has attempted to learn spanish before
listens to whatever is on the radio. doesnt rly stan anyone but he eventually will listen to mc's playlist and mc's playlist ONLY
levi
lurks on mc's socials ALL THE TIMEEEE like he will rewatch ur stories and scroll thru ur feed and overanalyze ur tweets/rts or blog posts. if ur mc isnt the type to use sns much he still googles ur name all the damn time just to find any sites u might be on fjdjdjdjskks
probably streams on whatever youtube or twitch devildom site equivalent there is, but only has like 40 or so followers. which he is okay with!
until he sees someone else who gets more attention than him. then the envy starts kicking in bad. especially if they suck 🧍🏻‍♀️
classic gamer boy smell. you know, sweat, tears, must, and (sometimes) axe deodorant. lucifer has to do a scent check before he goes out to any event & lets him use his cologne. how sweet!
kpop stan!! more girl groups than anything and his ults are probably GIRLS GENERATION, wonder girls, twice, loona, & red velvet
cried when ioi disbanded and refused to leave his room. the only thing u could hear was downpour on loop at full blast
can also speak korean & communicate in echolocation like dolphins 😏
satan
listens to country music you cant change my mind
smells like whatever environment he is in. he doesnt really have a designated smell just throws some deodorant on and goes about his day.
he's sooooo bad at driving...gets road rage way too often so his license has been REVOKED
but hes totally a backseat driver. needs to be sedated on long trips
do not let him watch finding nemo when luke asks to watch it. it's not worth it. he will cause mass destruction.
if he was a human or lived long term in the human world he totally has the ability to be a doctor
is studying as many languages as possible, but he mostly knows latin & french & german etc etc. wants to learn all the dead languages out of curiousity
asmo
dont think this mf has ever held down a relationship. ever
he doesnt compromise much & is not willing to change his lifestyle to fit an s/o into it. you keep up with how he lives or it just isnt meant to be (but dont worry! he'll eventually learn...maybe,,,,)
has the hardest time out of everyone when it comes to breaking bad habits
his smell varies bc he uses a variety of perfumes (whatever is the most popular at the time) but he probably sticks to floral and fresh scents. he never uses generic people pleaser scents like mammon
listens to electropop, mainstream pop, & some alternative rock
as for languages he too knows french, spanish, italian, etc. in general, if it's a romance language he knows it!
opposite of lucifer in the sense where he loves sweets and will refrain from eating too many bitter things
i think we all know that asmo is the biggest rockstar of the group! he's probably been in a boy band at least once, but now he makes his own music
has tried to teach mammon how to sing once. ended up in a broken piano and bleeding ears...
beel
i feel like he is SO SHY
like unless ur close to him he will not start conversations or anything
i think he listens to r&b a lot ! and jazz 😎 maybe rock as well
smells like ur typical athlete with undertones of wet wipes. he carries them around bc he likes to clean his hands before he eats & is prepared for when theres no sink nearby
he can drive and he drives really well. no rough turns, parallel parks perfectly, and never has problems with merging
driving with beel is probably really soothing. left hand is steering the other is gripping ur thigh 😫
dont think hes really fluent in any other language but hes probably semi fluent in korean because levi wanted beel to help him out
definitely know how to order food in practically every language tho HAHAHA
belphie
he reminds me of randall from monsters inc
smells kinda musty IM SORRY but not the way levi does hes more like the kind of musty u feel or smell when it's a shitty morning
but that's only because hes so lazy, when he cleans up hes like satan
has definitely murdered multiple people before. mc is not the first 😐✋🏻
with that being said belphie has been put into prison at least twice when visiting the human world, the mf had such a strong hatred for humans theres no way he never got into trouble before
lucifer probably broke him out and they used the pen thingies from men in black to erase everyones memory of that 🙄
dont think he listens to anything other than music that'll put him to sleep. really likes lazy song by bruno mars but thinks that bruno mars put too much effort into the song. should have been one acapella verse and then finish
similar to beel hes only semi fluent in one language, probably french bc of lucifer. doesnt remember much but knows a couple of lullabies and bedtime stories
the sandman used to be his bff until they drifted. they do, however, like and comment on each other's sns posts.
diavolo
once he found out who nicki minaj was he became her #1 stan
def an ariana grande stan too 😌
choreographs dances when hes stressed...idk just seems like a diavolo thing to do
also makes rly bad soundcloud rap music sometimes. turns to poetry when hes feeling emo but only lucifer knows this. barbatos is suspicious of him but doesnt have enough evidence to confirm.
his dad is like hudson abadeer from adventure time aka marceline's dad? something must have influenced him to want to unite the 3 realms + he would need the approval to do so, so his dad must be more chill than all the others before him 🧍🏻‍♀️ IDK ok anyway
currently going through his hamilton phase bc of mc. whether mc's intent was to get him hooked onto it or just to explain it bc of something he saw online, he tells everyone that he found out abt it bc of mc!
this man cannot drive his skills are only second to jumin han
not too fond of many languages but knows the widely spoken ones like spanish, mandarin, etc. if it's taught in high school he knows it
smells like a las vegas casino. not sure why but i feel like he does. but there's also an interesting & nice smell to him if he embraces you. it's a smell you cant quite identify. but it smells nostalgic, it's mysterious, and it's tempting.
barbatos
very calm demeanor but underneath hes WILD hes probably done everything at least once oof
he just has a lot of control and stability over himself (must be nice!)
on a more angsty note i feel like he might have had his heartbroken sO BAD IDK he is hurting and maybe that's why hes so willing to obey diavolo and not abuse his time lord power thingies bc he learned his lesson the hard way
mans is so smart he knows every language you could switch languages mid conversation with him and he wouldnt be thrown off. he'd probably start speaking it too.
BUT HE SPEAKS VIET P E R F E C T L Y
listens to the same stuff as lucifer but also likes eminem. likes the movie 8 mile but criticized it heavily
have you ever been to a chinese herb shop? naturally, he smells like that. his room probably smells like it too. he doesnt really have a significant smell like some of the others
when he bakes he smells like whatever hes baking tho
one of the few out of everyone listed to have been able to travel to literally everywhere
solomon
was probably on kitchen nightmares once, but only to get feedback from chef gordon ramsay. then he used his magic to prevent the episode from airing...
was in an orchestra, one of the best times of his life. played the violin. asmo watched him in the audience once, but didnt approach him until well after that performance.
he CANNOT sing. he can, however, rap.
doesnt listen to music. he listens to podcasts! but every now and then he turns on background music, but prefers it to be instrumental stuff
never wears sunglasses. also does not have a driver's license. cannot drive a regular car. could maybe fly an airplane.
due to his immortality he has learned almost every language to exist, but finds himself speaking mandarin the most. knows most dialects too
similar smell to barbatos but u can also smell some sunscreen on him too. like, generic beach day suncreen
he has a lot of pact marks, so he once had the idea to match foundation to his skin. it took him two weeks but he eventually perfected a combination. yes he will help u find ur perfect shade if u ask him to
simeon
another country music man. has also made a tiktok or two to that one song that goes "he cant even bait a hook." they are private tho
angel country music exists and simeon invented it
if he visits the human world and wears more causal clothing he probably tucks his shirt into his pants
wears a speedo at the beach i tell u, speedo at the beach
he can speak german...i can feel it
uses his pointer finger to type and holds the phone like 2 inches away from his face so sometimes his nose will push a key hence all his typos
has no signature smell. he simply smells like your favorite scent all the time. if multiple people are around him at once, everyone smells a different smell. it's pretty rad
"what does he smell like to himself?" u may be asking. hmm...a church? 💀
luke
his first pet was a goldfish and a few months before the exchange program happened, he was given a koi pond!
secretly likes hanging out with levi sometimes just to play with henry. makes him miss his pet fish back home
so his favorite movie is probably finding nemo and he threw a fit when nemo touched the butt
luke is probably learning german bc of simeon, though he'd like to learn more of the dead languages just for fun
i dont think he listens to music often or has any preferences, he just listens to whatever is playing on the radio
but he finds himself listening to the music mc listens to
smells like freshly baked goods all the time. or fresh laundry. but like, not combined. just depends on the day
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writingsfromhome · 3 years
Text
Bad Timing IV
A/N: To all the soft hearted crybabies requesting it: here’s part 4 to dry your tears from part 3. Thanks for all the interaction with this series, you guys are the best! <3<3<3<3
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4
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I take my coffee to the little patio in the backyard of my childhood home, breathing deeply. It was a couple weeks since the traumatic incident at the bank, the one where I nearly died and found a way to live again. The higher ups practically begged me to take paid leave, I had a feeling they just didn’t want me to take anything to court. I’d told them I would take the month, and knew I would hand in my resignation thereafter. I enjoyed my job as much as the next person but it was too much for me. It felt like closing a door on a chapter of my life that I wanted to move on from.
And now, I could truly relax, I wasn’t running away from anything for the first time in my life. After everything that happened in that small restroom at the back of the bank, Harry and I came to a peace. And I’d only moved on from there.
“You’re up early,” my dad comes into view, a cup of tea in hand. “Your flight doesn’t leave until tonight right?”
“Yeah, just thought I would appreciate the views before I go back to a city,” I move my feet off the chair so he could sit.
“You can come here anytime.”
“I know,” I wrap my hands around my mug. “Coming here it just...reminds me of mum. And it’s hard...”
“This is how I stay connected to her,” he pats the table between us. “She loved this place, her garden and those darn birds she fed all the time.”
“You feed them now,” I look to the birdfeeder filled lovingly to the brim with seeds.
“I do it because...” he says quietly. “It’s what she would want.”
I think about my mum, what she would want. It hurt when I thought about how she left me, married and happy in love. And then how much hurt I went through, always wishing she was there. In some way I know she knew--wherever she was. But I wish I could hear her, I wish I could have a love like she had.
“So, when do I get to meet this new boy of yours?” My dad asks.
“Dad, you know his name’s Alec.”
“I would if I met him, put a face to the name.”
I roll my eyes, my dad was a bit overprotective after everything that’s happened in my life. I think he felt guilty in a small way, him and Harry always got on--we teased them about their bromance. He was just as blindsided as me. But I’d told my dad everything that happened the first night I came over. He hadn’t judged, just listened, hugged me tightly, and left to make me a cup of tea. That was the most expressive my dad got.
After Alec took me back from from the hospital, I asked him to stay. And he had stayed since, making it official from casual to dating. It was scary but life was too short to hold back I had learned. I had to hold onto a good thing when I had one.
As for Harry, he hadn’t called me since that day he visited me. I’d left him a couple texts--when I was discharged home, and again to ask him how he was doing a week later. He’d sent a thumbs up and that was it. I thought we were okay, but he blew me off even when I tried to call him. It hurt a little, but I’d been so busy packing and getting on, that I let him be for now. I would wait until after visiting my sister to find out where his head was at.
H’s POV
It’s been nearly a month since I walked out of Y/N’s hospital room, and we’d just about tied all the lose ends from the case. The only thing about it all that lingered on my mind was Y/N. I missed her more than I had all these years apart, but I sat in the ache of wanting. It was time I catch up to the consequences of my past actions. I turned to writing, starting again after years of thinking I no longer had a passion for it. It felt freeing.
She’d texted me, called me too. I tried not to respond even though everything in me wanted to pick up the phone and ask her out to dinner, invite her over for a movie, ask her if she wanted to take my car and drive out somewhere like we used to after exams in uni. But I let her be, imagining that she was happy somewhere. With Alec, or whoever she wanted to be with.
The last thing I expect, is for her to be standing outside my station late Thursday night.
“Y/N?” I almost don’t recognise her. Gone was her stern bun and smart suit. Strands of her hair frame her face, like a piece of art on display. She has on a loose jumper and tights, a bum bag strapped across her chest that she roots through for something.
“Harry!” she drops her hands. “I’ve only been waiting here for...20 minutes, when your receptionist said your shift ended?”
“I had to finish up some paperwork. Why didn’t you call me?.”
“It’s not like you would’ve answered.” her hands on her hips, attitude dripping from every inch of her. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“You look different,” I dodge the topic.
“I know,” she zips up her bag. “I had the month off, officially resigned today. I have absolutely nowhere to be. So I’m looking the part.”
“It looks good,” I say truthfully. She looked relaxed, like the Y/N I used to know. “You quit your job?”
“I had enough of that bank,” she shrugs. “I went to see my dad for a bit, and visited my sister. She’s doing well.”
“Ah,” I was glad she’d taken a break. She was glowing. “Seriously Y/N, you look really good.”
“You,” she points her finger at me. “Are not allowed to say things like that after ghosting me. I thought we...came to an understanding. You left me again.”
I open my mouth to say something, but her words hit me. She was right, I’d left her again. Fuck.
“Yeah,” she crosses her arms when I go speechless. “You admitted to your mistakes, apologized, and then left me. How do you think that’s made me feel?”
“I thought it was best if I left you alone,” I walk out of the way from the entrance and she follows me to my car, parked in the lot. “I just wanted to give you space--a chance at being happy.”
She scoffs, leaning against the driver’s side door. “Thought it was best for who, Harry? Who are you to define my happiness? It would’ve been nice just to hear you were doing okay!”
“I’m sorry!” I stumble for another excuse but I come up with none. “The truth is, seeing you with Alec that day I...it was hard for me. I couldn’t be around you like that.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I...” I look at her, looking at me expectantly. She was a woman with an agenda, she had come here looking for answers and wasn’t going to leave until I gave them to her. “I want you to be happy, all that shite. You can’t do that with me around. And it’s hard for me seeing you with someone else...I can’t stand to be in your life like that. Where I’m just...your ex.”
“So you’re saying, it took me nearly dying for you to realize?” Her eyebrow quirks up.
“In a way,” I huff. “It just, took me being around you to remember what I left, when we ended things. It also made me realize the mess I left behind-”
“Don’t you dare feel sorry for yourself,” she calls me out like nobody else could. It makes me laugh nervously and she takes it the wrong way. “Don’t laugh, I’m serious! I’ve felt sorry enough for the both of us for years. And maybe Y/N from a month ago would’ve wanted you to suffer a little bit, but not anymore. This last month...I’ve just felt so free and happy Harry. I get what you mean now, I get it. And I’m alright.”
“That’s great, I’m happy for you Y/N.”
“Yeah, I mean I get it, but you did go about it in the worst possible way-”
“I know.”
“I’m not done,” she pushes my shoulder. “Anyway, just because you did some shitty stuff, you don’t deserve to suffer okay? Move on. Onward. Not backwards.”
I’m taken aback again when she pushes herself off my car and wraps her arms around my shoulders. I slowly envelop her into me, savoring the feel of holding her even if it’s just for a moment.
“You deserve happiness,” she says in my ear. “If that means ghosting me, I won’t fight it. You just...have to let me know.”
“That’s not called ghosting,” I say as she separates herself from me. I want to pull her back but I stuff my hands in my pockets.
“Potato potato,” she waves her hand. “I should go. Just...take care of yourself Harry.”
Y POV (1 year later):
“That’s wonderful news,” I smile at my client who gathers their materials back into their portfolio. “I’ll have my assistant forward the contract over tonight. I look forward to working with your team.”
I shake hands and watch them leave the room before collapsing into my chair. I knew starting your own business was hard, but this last year was a bumpy road. I’d started my own consultation business, and only had two clients. This was my first big-deal contract I’d signed; I was promised two whole years with this team!
I reach for my phone to tell Alec, but I remember we weren’t talking. Well, I wasn’t speaking to him--he’d told me last night before my big meeting that he’d been offered a promotion at work. But the catch was it was in the Edinburgh offices “which works out perfectly for us! Your sister lives there, we can visit them often...what do you think?”
I’d been so angry then. Firstly, he’d sprung the news on me the night before a big day, and second he’d already made the decision for us. I was so angry I’d just gone quiet, and told him I had a big meeting the next morning.
My fingers itch though, to tell someone. My fingers hover over Harry’s name.
Every since I confronted him last year at work, he disappeared again but not completely. He texted me a few times, once on my birthday, another during a heat wave in the city asking me if I wanted to grab drinks. I wasn’t available and he hadn’t really texted me since. I knew he was a phone call away, and he knew the same of me. Yet neither of us ever picked up the phone to call each other. I wasn’t sure why, but we were still giving each other space.
Well fuck it, I think. I call him and he picks up on the fourth ring.
“Y/N?”
“Hey, are you busy?”
“Uh no--hold up, wait. Not you...Sorry Y/N give me a second.”
I bite my lip, he could be at work, I should’ve texted him.
“Hey,” Harry’s tone is different now, softer and the background noises quiet to almost nothing. “Sorry it was so loud in there, we’re celebrating a birthday--Serena, the receptionist you remember?”
“Oh yeah,” I have a vague picture of her in my head. “Don’t let me keep you from the festivities-”
“Why did you call? S’no big deal, I’m not a big cake person anyway.”
“Ooh, cake? Eat a slice for me, I don’t get enough sweets living with a health nut...” I trail off realizing who I was talking to.
“I’ll save you one if you swing by?” Harry suggests after a beat of awkward silence. Another second passes as I consider what he’s asking: he wanted to see me.
“Uh, okay! You don’t have to ask me twice,” I grin, a strange bubble of excitement making it’s way through me. “My office is actually not too far from your station. I’ll walk it.”
“Your office? Where are you these days?” Harry asks as I slip my bag over my body and head out the door. I was exactly an 8 minute walk from his station--I’d mapped it when I found the place cheap online.
“I’m renting a whole office! It’s all very professional--I mean it’s like, one and a half rooms..oh and I have to share the toilets with the whole floor-”
“That’s good, so there’s no way you’ll be caught dead in there if you’re sharing it with the floor,” I hear the laugh in his voice.
“That’s a very insensitive thing to say,” I scold him.
“It’s been a year, c’mon Y/N.”
“We almost died!”
“We weren’t going to die. You’re alive right now!”
“Thanks to a really bad detective and a toilet seat,” I say and relish at the sound of Harry’s laugh on the other end of the line.
“That’s not how you thank someone who saved your life,” Harry finally says when he’s done laughing.
“You didn’t save my life, I was never going to die in the first place remember?”
“Touche,” he laughs. “Get over here faster, I want to see your face.”
“I’m trying!” I speed up. The background noise grows louder on his side again and he apologises. “S’alright. Anyway I just called cuz I had good news and nobody to share it with immediately.”
“Tell me.”
“Long story short, I started my own consulting firm! Finance advice--stuff like that, and I signed my first long-term contract! With an actual client not just for like, a project! I’m-” I squeal, I couldn’t help it. “It’s such a big deal for me I’ve been struggling just breaking ever since I started up.”
“Y/N I’m getting you the whole bloody cake for that,” Harry says. I finally turn the corner to his station, nearly jogging at this point.
“Only if Serena doesn’t mind.” I joke.
“In that dress, who would mind,” he says. I pause on the street, he could see me. I squint but he’s nowhere in sight. And then there, he steps out from the steps and waves. I don’t bother taming the smile on my face and neither does he.
“I see you Detective,” I shout.
“I saw you first!” He shouts.
In an instant we’re rushing towards each other, bodies crashing as I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze hard. It felt like a reunion.
“How did we go this long without seeing each other,” I say when we pull apart. “I’ve actually missed you.” With the closure between us and no baggage weighing our memories down, I’d actually begun to feel nostalgic about Harry every time I thought about us--usually the friendship, not quite the marriage.
“I don’t know,” Harry pulls me close to him again. “I think we gave each other too much space this time around. We’ve got to find a better middleground.”
“I think we’re standing on it.” I joke.
“Hey, Styles!” A voice calls from the entrance. “Stop snogging your girl and come back in here. Serena’s wondering why you’re running away from her big day.”
“I’m not snogging anybody,” Harry calls back. “And I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Bring her with ya, we’ve got plenty of cake!”
Harry looks down at me and I raise an eyebrow. “You think they’ll let me have more than a slice?”
“I’m their commanding officer, I can tell them to let you have as many as you want.”
“Lead the way,” I grin, half excited to see Harry and half excited for the baked goods. Harry grabs my hand and leads me in. Unfortunately, enough people recognize me from the bank heist that Harry has to explain we’ve known each other for a while. Fortunately, enough people remember me to ply me with sweets to make up for Harry screwing up my case. I have zero complaints and celebrate the day with free cake.
H’s POV
My phone vibrates with Y/N’s text, she was here for lunch. Ever since she called me a couple weeks ago and we decided we couldn’t live without staying in contact, we tried to pop over for lunch whenever we could. It felt like old times. Being Y/N’s friend again was what I was missing out on. I was finally living the version of my life that felt right. I had a bounce in my step, I felt happy when I woke up. Even my officers teased me, trying to allude that I was getting some until I threatened them with paperwork. But I was brighter at work too.
I text Y/N that I would be a few minutes more, and when I finally go into the lobby to meet her she’s having a conversation with Serena.
“Man of the hour,” Serena says as I walk up. “Your girl’s here.”
“I can see that, thank you.” Serena insisted on calling Y/N that despite telling her multiple times we weren’t together.
“Serena was just telling me all the wild things she got up to for her sixty-fifth,” Y/N winks at Serena. I didn’t want to be part of that conversation so I drag her by the arm out of the station.
We walk in silence towards a small sandwich shop around the corner from us. I grab her swinging hand to catch her attention, and she gives me a small smile before turning away. But she keeps her hand in mine.
She’s unusually quiet, and I wait until after we’ve ordered to broach the subject. Before I could, she blurts out: “Alec's got to give his final answer today.” I nearly choke on my sandwich. She’s told me her predicament last week when I noticed she looked upset and wouldn’t let her be until she told me. I was gutted, but it didn’t seem like she wanted to go.
“I...that means, hm.” I gather my thoughts--and all my emotions too. “Have you decided if you’re...moving with him?”
“I dunno, this is an amazing job offer. I could be closer to my sister too but...I just don’t know. My life’s in London, my new practice too. How can I leave it all?”
“That’s tricky,” I say even though deep inside I was relieved it sounded like she wasn’t going. “Couldn’t you just move your practice there? Travel to London when you had meetings? You could always stay with me if you needed.”
She huffs, there was more she wanted to say but she keeps it in. I push her to open up. “It’s just, he sprang this on me a couple weeks ago and he just expected me to follow him. I love him, I do. But that’s asking a lot! It’s only been a year or so, and it’s nice to know he’s serious enough about me to want me to go with him. I just...”
“And we only just reconnected again,” I try to sound lighthearted but when she looks at me I can tell she knows I feel more than I’m letting on.
“Can you imagine?” She raises her eyebrow. “If I told him I’m staying because I just reconnected again with my ex...”
“Ex-husband makes us sound older than we are.”
“We are old,” she puts her sandwich down and sighs. “You wear orthopedic shoes Harry.”
“I won’t take offense to that,” I look down at my shoes. They were comfortable on the job. “So...I’m not factored into your decision at all? Whether you want to stay or not?”
I see the emotion in her eyes; she was conflicted. “I dunno,” she finally says.
“Don’t let me hold you back,” I say even though I wanted to beg her to stay. “You love him right? Maybe you should...”
She stares ahead, her face falling. I knew Y/N’s face before a cry, so I reach my hand out and clasp hers over the table. She squeezes my hand once before removing it, I felt like I did something wrong.
“Anyway,” her face brightens up again, though the look in her eyes stays. “I watched that new movie you recommended and it was awful...”
She changes the subject swiftly, and I don’t object. I didn’t know how to tell her to stay without being selfish, and I didn’t know how to tell her it was okay to go and act like I was telling her the truth.
But near the end of my shift, the evening receptionist buzzes me she was letting my girlfriend through. I don’t bother correcting her.
“Hey Y/N!” one of my officers calls out to her when she walks into the floor. “We’re all planning on throwing you a party.”
“For what?” She stops by his desk. I notice Detective Cole eyeing her, before joining in.
“He actually has a life now, he’s usually a lot more bossy with us.”
Y/N turns to me, eyebrow raised. “I’m afraid the party’s a little premature. But I’d never say no to cake.”
My heart sinks, she was going. I watch her walk towards me and she notices my expression, the smile is gone from her face by the time she reaches me.
“I told Alec I would try it out, 6 months. See how it goes...I can see my sister more often, help her out with my niece...” It sounds like she’s coming up with excuses to justify herself to me.
“That’s...” my words get stuck in my throat, the lie was too big to get out. “Your sister will love that.” I settle with. I take her hand and walk her out to a more private hallway. “When do you leave.”
“Two weeks,” she bites her lip. “I-I’m gonna miss you Harry. We just got into a flow and-”
“We’ll still talk.” I pull her in, I couldn’t bear to watch her face fall apart in front of me. And I didn’t want her to see my own face crumbling. I tuck her under my chin, “We’ve got phones, and you’ll be in London sometimes for work right? We won’t be like before, we’ll still talk.”
I know she can feel my heart racing, and I want her to know what she was doing to me because my mouth can’t seem to tell her. I hold her for a little longer, and when she goes, I know my unit won’t be throwing any parties for her in a while.
Three Months Later:
I’m in bum mode by 8pm that Friday. I’d had a long week, a tough case with no breaks and finally had an evening off so I changed into sweats the second I got home, taken a hot shower and washed the week off.
The knock on the door surprises me. The peephole doesn’t distinguish who’s outside, a hood covering their face. I decide to open the door, to find a teary Y/N hundreds of miles from home.
“Y/N-”
“I wanted you to tell me to stay.” she says to me immediately. Her tears continue dripping onto her cheeks. I stare in confusion, wondering for a moment if my lack of sleep had caused me to hallucinate her.
“Wha-”
“When I told you about the move...you told me I should go. I wanted you to tell me to stay Harry! I thought you would’ve told me to stay.”
I move aside silently, so we weren’t having a conversation where my neighbours could hear.
“How was I supposed to know that?”
“I don’t know!” she throws her bag, coat, and phone down on the floor in a heap. “You just were! I thought when I told you, you would say-”
“I didn’t want to tell you what to do with your life based on what I wanted! I thought I already established that!” Suddenly we’re arguing.
“You never had an issue before!”
“Well look where it lead us,” I move away from the door and back to where I was previously relaxing on the couch.
“A country apart!” She’s hot on my heels. “Didn’t you want me to stay?”
Some part of me is still completely confused what was going on, but Y/N’s fiery frustration overflows into my cup and an invisible force pours it down my throat.
“Yes. Yeah! Of course I wanted you to stay!”
“So why didn’t you say that?” She cries.
“I was trying not to be selfish!”
“Well you just pick the worst times to be selfish!”
“I never said I was good with my timing.” I mumble.
“Don’t treat me like-like some fragile porcelain Harry!” Y/N gets right into my face. “I’m not! I’m different, I’ve grown from that fragile place. I don’t need you walking on eggshells around me, I just want you to be honest!”
“When am I not honest?” I shout back.
“You haven’t been honest with me for months! Just say what you feel Harry, stop bloody holding back all the time! I just want the real you!”
“Fine!” I explode. “I love you Y/N! I love you so much it physically hurts me to be near you and not be able to hold you. I want to be able to kiss you like I used to, I want to go back in time and warn myself to get it right! I want to tell you how amazing you are and how sorry I am every day. I can’t! We’ve both got our own lives! I’m not being dishonest I just don’t want to fuck with your life again! I’ve accepted that I’m nothing more than an ex and your best friend!”
That stops her in her tracks. Her chest heaves as she swipes at her cheeks, and then she pushes her hands into my chest. I stumble but catch myself. She pushes me again, big tears rolling down her cheeks, and I stumble onto the couch. She turns and paces to the door and back.
“What are you even doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Edinburgh?” I finally ask the question I should’ve asked the second I saw her.
“Sure,” she throws herself onto the seat next to me and buries her face in her hands. “I...I didn’t want to be there. I just had to leave, and I couldn’t stand my sister going on about what a catch Alec was. How I should feel lucky. I had to get away. I never should’ve left London...I just thought maybe Alec was my chance at a fresh happy future, and you told me to go so I thought you didn’t want me to stay. But I fucked up there too, and I just had to go. And I came here with nowhere else--I can’t even live in my own home for three more months...”
She trails off. It was a lot of information to process. I don’t know how long we stay on the couch like that, a foot apart in silence.
“Everyone I know will probably think I’m just an idiot for coming here of all places, but this was the only place that made sense because I--Harry I think I...” She glances at me. “I...”
“I know,” I say after she struggles to say what she wanted to say. But I knew.
“But I feel so guilty, I’m doing to him what you did to me...it’s not fair.”
I didn’t think about it like that, I realise. But this situation was more complicated than that, I tell her. We had history, she’d moved to a whole new country for him, he must know somewhere Y/N didn’t actually want to move. But the parallels between her situation and ours are clear as day. I don’t know what to say.
“Stay the night,” I put a hand on her thigh. She doesn’t move it off. “Get some sleep, when you wake up tomorrow, make your decision. You know how I feel...and you know how you feel.”
“You’re right,” she lays her hand on top of mine. I thread my fingers through hers and hold on. Her puppy eyes tear me apart, I want to gather her in my arms and kiss her misery away. But I don’t want to add to her guilt.
“Let me get you something to eat, you’re probably hungry.” holding her hand was getting painful. I leave her alone in the living room, so she could collect herself. If someone told Harry three years ago this was where I would end up, he would’ve laughed in their face.
Y POV:
I couldn’t believe I did that, I think as I sit on the 5 hour ride back to Edinburgh. I felt untethered yesterday, after arguing with Alec all week because I was just miserable when I wasn’t in London. My sister’s pressure to be happy with what I had, I felt like I had no one to turn to who would understand me. And that had driven me into Harry’s arms, the train ride there fueling my frustration and anger. It had accidentally exploded in Harry’s direction when I got to his place but I was glad for it. He’d told me how he felt. And it was complicated as hell for me but somewhere deep inside, I knew where this was leading.
When I get back home to a worried Alec, we sit down and have a hard conversation. It breaks my heart leaving him, but after one last night together I pack most of my things and head to my sisters. The irony isn’t lost of me, hers was exactly where I went to when Harry and I split.
My sister tries to be supportive but I by the time the three months are over, I feel suffocated with her overprotective nature, and the full house she lived in.
“You’re just going to do what you want to do aren’t you?” She asks the day she drops me back off to the station. I’d spent the rest of the three months at hers--I couldn’t go back home to my house anyway and something about going back to London for another man felt wrong. I’d seen Alec a few times in those months. The last time was last night, we’d shared a few drinks and maybe some kisses. But it was a final goodbye last night, heavy but final.
“I don’t want to be a bad person,” I say. “I just don’t want to feel stuck somewhere because I feel bad.”
“You’re not a bad person,” my sister brushes my hair behind my shoulder as she hugs me tight. “I love you. Mum would be so proud of you for following your heart, you always did play it too safe.”
“I guess my rebellious phase just came a little late.”
“Ever since you met that Harry guy, you quit your stable job and haven’t been the same since,” she wags her finger at me like a stern maternal figure. She breaks character when she laughs and hugs me again. “M’gonna miss having you here. The kids loved having their aunt around.”
“I’m sure they’re happier having their play room back.” I joke to cover up how sad I felt leaving them too. Even though most days felt like we were walking all over each other, it felt like growing up in our small childhood home again; a nice reset before I headed back to London.
The train ride goes by quickly, and I settle back into my home over the weekend, getting my furniture out of storage and cleaning up after the last tenants. I’d been gone only 6 months but the second I walked through the door, I knew I was home again.
Letting Harry know I was back makes me nervous so I put it off for the week. I show up at his flat the following Saturday, wringing my hands as I wait for him to answer. I didn’t even know if he was home.
“Y/N,” a shocked voice says as I turn to walk away. Harry studies me as I stand awkwardly in his hall. “You’re back.”
I hear what he doesn’t say: you never called me after you showed up three months ago. and what happened to you?
“Hey,” I brush past him into his flat, fiddling with my jacket as he locks the door. “I’m back in London.”
“I can see that.” He eyes me. “Alone?” He asks, and again I hear the words he doesn’t say.
“Alone,” I smile. “I just needed...time to figure things out. I’ve been staying with my sister.”
“Full house?” He says, knowing it before I had to say it.
“So full,” I laugh, and just like that everything is okay. He takes my jacket from me and hangs it in his closet, like he knew I was going to stay a while. “There were too many mornings when I woke up to my niece just staring at me, waiting for me to wake.”
“Aw, they must miss you now.”
“Yeah,” I follow him through to his living room. I remember the last time I was here, sort of embarrassing looking back. “I was missing London though. And...you.”
He looks up. “Are you-”
“Harry,” I swallow what I need to say. His gaze is laser-sharp and it’s slightly intimidating to admit something like this. I’d given my heart to him before, and here I was giving it again after I’d spent years healing from what he did to it. It felt right, but also foolish. I guess love would always feel a little foolish.
“Y/N,” he says after I don’t say anything.
“So,” I walk up to where he stands near the window, the afternoon sun illuminates his handsome face. I reach up to touch it, no longer able to keep my hands to myself when he was so close. My breath catches as he closes his eyes against my palm, his lashes casting shadows on his cheeks.
“Y/N,” he keeps his eyes closed, like I would disappear if he opened them.
“I’m finally home,” I tell him, feeling the familiar lump in my throat as my eyes tear up. He opens his eyes then, they’re also pooling with unshed tears. It makes me laugh; he arches a brow. “We’re both here, in each other’s arms finally and...we’re crying.”
“We’re not a very typical pair, are we?”
“Nothing typical about us.” I say and he chuckles, kissing my wrist. My heart stutters in my chest.
“You’re either crazy or just incredibly forgiving, giving me a second chance at this.” Harry says outright.
“It’s us I’m giving a second chance to,” I slide my hands up, locking them around his neck.
“D’you think we’ll get the timing right this time?” He whispers as he lowers his face.
“We better,” I keep my eyes on his mouth, the one I’ve thought about kissing for the last three months. And then, finally, his lips are on mine and I nearly cry out of relief having him in my arms. Harry, being my Harry again.
His hands clench the fabric around my waist as he pulls me closer to him, his lips leave mine and he kisses my cheek, my jaw, my temple, before he crushes me to him.
“Harry I-” I couldn’t breathe, but my strained voice gives that away and he lets me go. I’m surprised to see the tears now trailing down his face. “You’re crying,” I swipe at the fallen tears.
“I’m just so happy,” he takes my hands off his cheeks and clasps them against his chest. “Y/N I’ve only dreamed of this, I didn’t think the universe cared enough about me to let me have this reality.”
“You and your poetry,” I smile.
“I guess you’re my muse,” He pulls me back to him, this time in a sweeter kiss that lingers. Tears pool in my own eyes as my heart tries to process the enormity of emotions I was feeling. “C’mere, I just want to hold you.”
He leads me to the couch and I lay down next to him. We take in each other, face to face, the grins reflected on both of us is impossible to wipe off.
“I love you Y/N, to the sun and back.”
“Isn’t it the moon and back?” I ask.
“Sun’s further out,” he smiles like he was expecting the question. I laugh, he kisses the tip of my nose and pulls my leg over his, his arm snaking around my waist so I’m snug against him.
“What am I gonna do with you Styles,” I brush one of his curls back.
“You’ve got forever to figure that out,” he says simply. My heart races at the thought. We’d bungled the first round we spent together, but after all these years apart I had a feeling that we really would have forever this time around.
With all the emotions fluttering inside of me, all the baggage unpacked and out of sight, and Harry’s loving expression looking back at me; I believed in us.
1.5 Years Later (H’s POV):
The house is quiet when I get in--it was half past 11 and I knew Y/N was probably asleep. I texted her a couple hours ago I would be home soon but time had slipped away as I worked. I hoped she wasn’t upset.
I move stealthily through the hall, eventually making my way to our bedroom where she lays sleeping. She’d left the lamp on beside her, and I move around to her side so I can close it. I notice the open book beside her--she fell asleep while reading it again. I set it down on the drawers and tuck her hand into the covers, the subtle diamonds on her finger glows yellow under the soft lamp light. Just looking at the engagement ring sparks a rush of love for the woman before me.
Y/N had surprised me a couple months ago when she proposed to me. We’d were dating again for almost a year and a half--this time it really felt like we’d gotten the timing right on our relationship. We were happier and more in love than we’d ever been. During a candlelit dinner one night, she had pulled a chair up beside me and presented me with the ring and an ultimatum.
Apparently she’d noticed that I was always on edge--like I was waiting for her to realize that she didn’t actually forgive me for all the awful things I put her through. And she was right, but it wasn’t until she said it out loud that I realized it was an anxiety I had. I was waiting for her to realize she could do better than me--leave me the way I left her. But she proposed to show me she wasn’t going anywhere, and she showed me her own ring her father gave her--her mum’s ring. 
I was blown away by her observant love, again, how she knew me better than I knew myself. I reassured her I wasn’t going anywhere either, not now or ever. And we decided we didn’t want to set any dates, we were taking it slow. Being engaged was a promise and that was all for now. I wanted to live up to Y/N’s standard, give her and her family a reason to trust me again--not only would they kill me if I ever did anything to her, but I’m pretty sure my own family would kill me too. They were over the moon when they found out we were giving it another go.
“Harry?” Y/N mumbles as I slip under the covers a little while later.
“Sorry for coming home so late,” I whisper. “I got a bit carried away with the case.”
“What’s new,” she shifts to face me, the moonlight from the windows barely illuminating her face. “M’just glad you’re home.”
“Me too,” I pull her towards me. Home, it was this house we’d moved into last year. But mostly, it was this beautiful woman in my arms who opened her heart to me despite everything. I don’t know how I got so lucky. I tell her that.
“S’not luck,” she mumbles. “The universe--our stars are finally aligned.”
“My star was pretty dim, I’m surprised yours found it.” I tuck her hair behind her ear and kiss her temple. “You found it by luck.”
“No. Your star’s always burned the brightest in my universe,” she tucks her face into my neck. “Even when I didn’t want it to be, it was still noticeable.”
“You outshine me in every way in mine,” I lean away so I can hold her face close, resting my forehead on hers. “I love you so much.”
She smiles in the dark, and leaves a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “I love you, and I’d love you more if you came home on time.”
I chuckle, “I’ll try. Tomorrow.”
“Mhm,” she says sleepily. I’d let her sleep, I think as I pull her leg over mine and hold her against my chest. Even though I hated coming home by the time she was asleep, finding her in our little safe space, and being able to hold her close as we fell asleep was my favourite part of the day.
***
The day is nearly over but the paperwork on my desk says otherwise. I sigh and slump in my chair, this was the worst part of my job.
I begin filling it out, and I’m not even halfway through when the phone rings. Serena’s on the other line, “Styles, your patient fiancee is here for you. I don’t think she’s staying patient for long though.”
I tell her I’d be out, smiling as I put down the phone. Y/N was making sure I kept my word from last night, and I would. For her, I would get in extra early tomorrow just to be sure I had the evening with her tonight.
“So when do I get the invitation to the wedding?” I hear Serena say as I walk out to the lobby. She’s putting on her coat to leave and Y/N’s bundled up herself. “And then when do I get to see the mini Styles’? I better be around to see them!”
Not many would, but I notice the slight tension in Y/N’s shoulders at the sensitive topic. I step in.
“You’re worse than my mum,” I tell her. “And she’s actually going to be the grandmother.”
“We just want to see our babies’ babies before we bite the bullet!” Serena shrugs, walking out from behind the counter. “I’ll see you tomorrow Harry, Y/N it was lovely seeing you as always.”
We wave her off, and then I wrap my arm around Y/N and we walk out to my car.
“That’s the first question everyone continues to ask me,” Y/N says as we walk. “When the date is.”
“Does that bother you?” I check in.
“A little, but only because it leads to even more questions when I say we haven’t set a date.”
We get into the car, and I ask her the other question I wanted to know: “And the baby thing? Does that...bother you?”
She turns her body to look at me, tilting her head as she tries to read me. “It doesn’t...does it bother you?”
“No,” I say honestly. “I’m happy where we are. All that stuff can...come after. I’m just-I’m happy with you.”
“Good talk then,” she grins. I can’t help but lean over for a kiss then.
“Well I don’t mind the baby making part,” I tell her. “But I think the actual babies can wait.”
She pushes me away as her cheeks flush like we hadn’t been dating and married and dating again for over ten years. “Sometimes I think you’ve just got one thing on your mind.”
“Yeah,” I say as I start the car. “That’s you.”
“Is that what distracted you so bad when you were working on my case? Because you were totally distracted and we almost died-”
“We were never going to die!” I say over her--this was a common topic of conversation between us.
“I was going to bleed out and die!” She tries to speak over me.
“Oh now you were going to bleed out? You were never dying!” I shout even louder. And we keep going for most of the way home until Y/N catches sight of a dog at a crosswalk and begins to coo at it through the window.
“Maybe we should get a dog,” she starts on another of our reoccurring topics. I sigh, ready to launch into why we should wait. And that’s how the rest of the ride home goes. Not that I minded, I could discuss the same topics with her over and over for eternity.
“You’re just threatened by a dog,” Y/N continues as we park and head up to our front door. “Because then my love would be split between both of you.”
“Yeah sure, that’s it.” I roll my eyes at her silly reasoning. But I still grab her hand in mine and kiss it as we walk in. My stomach flutters when she gazes at me as the door closes behind her.
“I’m going to wear you down soon,” she says as she takes my coat from me. I take them both out of her hands and leave them in a heap on the staircase, kissing her so she stops talking. She smiles against my lips, knowing that she was wearing me down, and I’d give her anything she asked for. Anything to make her happy. I loved her infinitely.
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writing-essence · 4 years
Text
Daddy Issues - Carlisle Cullen
Pairing: Carlisle Cullen x (female) reader
Warnings: Abuse, age gap, language, very cliche
Summary: Reader is Bella’s friend and she starts falling for a certain doctor. 
Author’s Note: I know this isn’t what anyone wanted but I wrote it anyway. -Kelsie
Word Count: 2,489
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Spending the night in the hospital wasn’t how you thought your Friday night would go, yet there you were. How did you end up in this situation in the first place?
After school let out, Bella invited you to go with her and Edward to the hospital to visit his father. Once arriving at the hospital the doctor was very busy so the three of you busied yourselves with homework in the waiting room. You couldn’t remember quite why Edward needed to see his dad, but you didn’t mind waiting. Anything was better than going home.
You three spent a few hours in the quiet waiting room doing homework, and by the time you finished you felt pretty good- despite your pounding headache of course. You rubbed the sides of your head in an attempt to make the pain go away, but it didn’t work. Bella mumbled something under her breath about how you never drank enough water but you ignored her.
Edward decided that he wouldn’t keep you and Bella waiting any longer in the hospital so he stood up quickly, offering to drive you both home. It was getting dark outside already so you decided it would be a good idea. You must have stood up a little too quickly though, because the next thing you knew you were laying in a hospital bed looking up at Dr. Cullen above you.
“You’re awake,” He stated cheerfully, grabbing the clipboard at the end of your hospital bed.
“What happened?” You asked, sitting up.
“You fainted,” He said, flipping through your paperwork, “Dehydration. Luckily Edward was there to catch you or you might have ended up with a concussion as well,”
Bella was right.
“I hope you don’t mind,” He continued, “I sent him and Bella home, it was getting late,”
Late? How late? You looked over to the clock on the wall that read 10:30pm.
“Oh shit,” You gasped, throwing the wool blanket off of you, “I have to get home, it’s past curfew,”
“Slow down,” Dr. Cullen rushed to your side quickly, placing a strong hand on your shoulder, keeping you seated on the bed.
“My dad’s gonna kill me,” You said, looking up at him, “I need to leave,”
“You can,” He smiled down at you charmingly and your stomach flipped, “At least let me take the IV out of your arm first,”
He held your arm with one hand and slowly took out the IV with the other. His skin was ice cold against yours. Nonetheless, you couldn’t help but enjoy the skin-on-skin contact.
“Thank you,” You mumbled as he helped you out of the bed.
“My shift is over,” He said, watching you as you put your shoes on, “if you need a ride home?”
You glanced up at him confused. It seemed a bit inappropriate seeing as he was your doctor. It wouldn’t be too weird though, right? He was Edwards dad just trying to do you a favor. As long as you didn’t think too much about your little schoolgirl crush on him, it would be fine. You were 18 anyway.
“That’d be nice,” You smiled, trying to hide your blush.
You followed him out of the hospital and into the crowded parking lot to his car. He helped you in- which seemed a bit unnecessary to you, but you let him anyway.
“I really appreciate this,” You said as he got into the drivers side.
“Of course,” He smiled at you- once again causing your stomach to flip, “A friend of Edwards is a friend of mine,”
The ride to your house was rather quiet, but not awkward. Once he pulled up in front, you glanced nervously at the clock.
11:00
He must have sensed your hesitation.
“Everything okay?” He asked, leaning toward you a tad.
“Yea,” You nodded quickly, “I’m fine, I just…” You didn’t finish as you stared at your front door, worried.
“If you feel faint again, don’t hesitate to call me,”
You turned to see him quickly writing his number down on a scrap of paper.
“Thank you,” You took the paper from him and shoved it in your pocket quickly, “Thanks again for the ride,”
You quickly grabbed your bag and stepped out of the warm car into the cold night of the pacific northwest. He waited until you were at your front door before driving off, which you appreciated.
You smiled softly to yourself before opening your front door. To your relief, your parents were both asleep on the couch. You snuck quietly over to your room and closed the door quickly behind you. Pulling out the slip of paper with his number on it, you admired his neat handwriting for a moment before setting it on your dresser.
-
The next few days passed smoothly- your parents didn’t seem to notice that you missed curfew Friday night. You spent Sunday at a farmer’s market with Bella and Edward. Edward was dropped off by his father at the entrance, who ushered for you to come over. You leaned into the passenger’s side window once Edward was out and talking with Bella by the gate.
“Dr. Cullen,” You couldn’t help but let your eyes trail over his face and to his smooth hair that seemed to always stay in place.
“Please,” He laughed slightly, “Call me Carlisle,”
“Okay,” You breathed, trying not to lean in more toward him, “Carlisle, I’ve been feeling a lot better,”
“Good!” He smiled, and your breath hitched in your throat as he took off his dark sunglasses to look at you, “You’ve been drinking a lot of water?”
“Yes sir,”
He smirked before looking away.
“Anyway,” He said, clearing his throat, “You guys enjoy yourselves,”
“Thanks!” You backed up from his car, “Have a good Sunday!”
He smiled again before driving off.
“What was that?”
You turned to see Bella next to you with a confused expression.
“What was what?” You asked, also confused.
“You were flirting with him,”
“Was not,”
“You were,” Edward added, stepping forward, “You like him,”
“I have daddy issues,” You scoffed, “I like every older man I meet,”
You walked off quickly toward the market, hoping they would just take it as a joke, but the both of them sent each other awkward glances once you turned your back.
-
That night once you got home, your father was leaning against the wall in the living room.
“Hi Dad,” You closed the door behind you slowly, “How’s your Sunday been?”
“Where were you?” He asked, ignoring your question.
“Farmers market,” You answered simply, setting your bag down.
“Why did a boy drop you off?”
“Who? Edward?” You asked, “He’s Bella’s boyfriend, Dad,”
“I don’t care,”
Your stomach dropped as he stepped toward you. You could smell the liquor on him. Who knows how many drinks he had before you came home.
“It won’t happen again,” You mumbled, looking down, “I’m sorry,”
“You’re right,” He said, lighting a cigar once he was standing directly in front of you, “It won’t happen again,”
He blew the smoke directly in your face and you tried hiding your quiet cough.
“What’d I say about boys?”
“I can’t hang out with them,” You glanced over at your mom who was sitting on the couch  for some sort of help, but she kept her eyes down on the magazine in front of her.
“That’s right,” He said, grabbing your wrist, “How am I supposed to trust you when you break my rules?”
His grip on your wrist tightened when you tried pulling away.
“I’m sorry,” You said again, “I promise it won’t happen again,”
Your reasoning seemed to be going right through him tonight, you couldn’t even make eye contact with him he was so drunk.
“Daddy please,” You whispered as you tried pulling your wrist away again. His grip tightened again and you held in a whimper.
“I’m getting real tired of your bullshit,” He slurred, coughing slightly from the smoke that was now filling the small living room.
“I’m sorry,”
He coughed some more before slamming the lit end of his cigar suddenly down onto your open palm. You let out a loud whimper as he finally let go of your wrist and walked away to his bedroom.
“Run it under some cold water,” Your mom mumbled before following him.
Once you were left alone in the living room you fell to your knees and cried silently. Your father had never gone this far before. You held your bruised wrist gently before grabbing your bag and quickly going into your bedroom and locking the door behind you.
Following your mother's instructions, you tried to run your hand under some cold water in your bathroom, but it hurt too much. You pulled away in defeat as more tears silently streamed down your face.
You glanced over at the slip of paper sitting on your dresser with Dr. Cullen’s number on it. You couldn’t bother him. It’s too late. How would you even explain what happened to him?
You tried to run your hand under the water again but couldn’t bear the pain enough to clean the wound.
Defeated, you grabbed the paper and quickly typed the number into your phone. It rang a few times before he finally picked up.
“Hello?”
Your breath caught in your throat. You had just seen him that morning- yet you were happy to hear his voice again so soon.
“Carlisle?” You mumbled, trying to hold back more tears, “Um, it’s y/n,”
“y/n,” His voice perked up a bit, “is everything okay?”
“I um,” You sniffed a bit and looked down at your visibly bruised wrist, “I seemed to have hurt myself a little bit,” You laughed slightly, trying to make it seem like not that big of a deal, “I just, uhm, I need your help,”
“Of course,” he sounded worried but you tried to ignore it, “I’ll be over as quick as I can,”
“Can you pick me up at the end of the street?” You whispered, glancing toward your bedroom door.
“...sure,” He hesitated, “I’m on my way,”
You mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ before hanging up and grabbing your bag, throwing it out of your bedroom window. You climbed-with great difficulty- out of the window as well and closed it quietly behind you. Then, you walked up the street toward the end of the road. About fifteen minutes passed before his familiar car pulled up next to you.
You quickly got inside, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that you had been crying. He instantly reached over to your arm that you were cradling and pulled it toward him so he could look at it.
“I thought you said you hurt yourself,” He mumbled, pulling your sleeve up to look at your bruises.
“I’m sure I did something to condone it,” You whispered, looking away. You were surprised how comfortable you felt around him.
“y/n,” He whispered, running his cold hand over your bruised arm softly, “Nothing condones this,”
He set your arm back in your lap before starting the car up and quickly driving out of your neighborhood.
“Where are we going?” You asked, looking over at his frustrated expression. He was going 20 over the speed limit and you began to grow nervous.
“I’m taking you to my house,” He said, eyes glued to the road, “My equipment is there,”
“I’m sorry,” You sniffed, looking down.
“Don’t ever apologize to me,” He sounded angry, “Does Bella know?”
“Know what?” You asked, watching your surroundings speed by quickly outside the window.
“About your father,”
“Oh,” You mumbled, looking down again, “No… she’d probably tell Charlie,”
“As she should,”
You looked over at him quickly,  “Please don’t tell him, my dad can’t get in trouble. He's the only person that can take care of my mom,”
He looked at you and in the passing of the street lights you could see the anger in his eyes clearly now.
“I’m sure you can find someone else,”
“Carlisle,” You were basically begging at this point, “ Please don’t tell anyone,”
He realized how much this meant to you and turned his attention back toward the road without saying anything. The rest of the ride was silent. You pulled up next to his large house after about ten minutes and he quickly helped you out of the low car and into the house. You would’ve been more in awe of the glamorous house but your attention stayed on your pained arm and Carlisle’s hand pressed against your lower back. He was leading you quickly through the house and the two of you finally reached an office with medical equipment in it.
He silently sat you down in the desk chair and pulled your sleeve up so he could once again see your arm. His cold hands trailed down the bruises and to your hand which he opened, exposing the cigar burn on your palm.
You had to admit, his movements were distracting you from the pain very well.
He left quickly to grab a wet towel before kneeling down in front of you and pressing it down on your palm firmly. You gasped, grabbing his thigh with your free hand and closing your eyes in pain.
“I’m sorry,” He mumbled, continuing to rub your palm with the soaked towel. Then he took a burn ointment and rubbed it over the wound quickly.
“Holy shit,” You gasped, trying to catch your breath. It was the most pain you had ever been in.
Carlisle looked up at you with worried eyes and you realized your hand was still on his thigh.
“Sorry,” You mumbled, pulling it away quickly.
“It’s alright,” He said, still looking up at you, “This’ll take a while to heal, but the bruises shouldn't take as long,”
He grabbed a bag of ice and placed it on the worst parts of the bruises on your arm before wrapping it quickly with bandages.
“Thank you,” You mumbled, looking down.
He helped you up from the chair so you were standing directly in front of him. You were close enough to smell his cologne and you nervously looked up at him.
“I hope it’s not too much to ask,” He whispered, busying himself with the bandage around your arm, “that you stay the night,”
Your breath caught in your throat and you just stared up at him in awe.
“I don’t feel very comfortable sending you back there,” He explained further, “Our guest bed here has no sheets on it currently, so you can use mine,”
“Your sheets?” You asked, confused.
“My bed,”
Your mouth dropped open in protest but he stopped you quickly, “It’s no big deal, I promise,”
“I can’t,” You stumbled over your words, “I mean, you’ve already helped me so much- I can’t take your bed,”
“It’s no big deal,” He said again.
It seemed like you didn’t have much of a choice.
a/n: yo wtf this is the most cliche thing I've ever written but whateva 🤩 part 2 soon?
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penguintransporter · 3 years
Text
Daisies (a short “anyone you want it to be with” story) Part III
part I | part II | my masterlist
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Third part of this mini series. Things seem to be going for the better @avenirdelight​ ;) Thanks or all the lovely comments I have gotten, and I hope you will enjoy this one as well. Please, like it, reblog it (this is very important, not only to me but to other writers as well) and tell me what you think (anons you are always welcome.) 🌼
No matter how many memories one person creates in their life, only a handful of them stick to one’s brain like no other, building a colourful storybook of scenes that we love and cherish, and to which we go back to when we are happy or sad, scared or lonely or as we lay in our beds – alone with the universe in the silence of the night. 
Every page and every section of the particular storybook has its deeper meaning to each individual; it carries a certain weight or a message, and we can label them with a year, a month and a day; sometimes even time.
In his own storybook, somewhere between the memories of his first kiss and the first goal he had scored as a professional footballer, there is a page – crumpled and ruffled around the edges. Read many times – over and over again.
A rainy Tuesday in October.
Cold, whistling wind, miserable sky, and with rain bathed umbrellas.
Soaked socks in fashionable trainers. People walking faster than usual along the streets, hopping over puddles – arms hugging the coats and jackets tighter.
Monochrome painted clouds, like a paper soaked in watercolours. With condensation smudged windshield screen.
The memory of meeting her for the first time – crystal clear and omnipresent like a rerun of the movie he had watched many times before, but is never able to get enough from the story line.
He remembers being happy to get away from the weather and the rain that was washing away all the dirt from the streets, and although it took him just five quick steps from where he had parked his car to his teammate’s doors, as he stepped under the covered porch, his shoulders were soaked and he had few droplets of rain sliding down from the tip of his nose.
Vivid.
Every movement and every sound; the amount of shoes in the corner of the hallway when he opened the doors to let himself in, as he did many times before. The smell of coffee and food, rich and hearty at the same time, wrapping its arms around his nostrils as he shrugged of his parka.
The loud sound of the doors as they closed by itself; his name being called above the loud chatter and music. The banter that kept going as he walked in on a group of familiar and unfamiliar faces, shapes and silhouettes.
A lazy scratch of his hand along the back and the head of his mate’s dog.
First glance towards her.
Dressed in a thick jumper, black jeans and daises-patterned socks, she was leaning against the kitchen island that divided the two equally modern rooms – a wooden spoon in her hand.
Smile on her face as she looked back at him after saying something to one of the unfamiliar faces.
Did he expect a different reaction? Yes. Did he expect her to shy away as many girls have before when they realised who he was? As vain it sounded, yes.
She didn’t.
“Come,” she said with a smile, beckoning him over, “I want you to taste something.”
Confused, he remembers racking his brain for something – a name to put together with a picture; a voice.
“Do we know each other? Are you…?”
“No, and probably not,” she grinned, stepping behind the sleek stovetop, “it’s a bit sad that we don’t know each other, but that’s good, because I need someone neutral here.” She took a clean spoon from the container before passing it out to him, and he mimicked her moves, looking down at the red liquid that simmered in the large pot in front of them. “Try, and tell me if something’s missing. Salt? Acidity? Something else? You dress like you know what you’re doing, so I trust you more than I trust that bellend in that ridiculous Gucci labelled shirt,” she spoke louder, looking at his teammate with a silly smirk.
He glanced at her face as she rambled away before looking down in the pot again – the red sauce looking as inviting as it smelled, and with a shrug, he scooped some of it before trying it.
Savoury and a bit sour and with just a hint of something he couldn’t put his finger on. It tasted like knowledge, patience, love, and above all, it tasted like home.
Word by word, laughter after laughter.
Another scoop, another bite, a grind of pepper above his plate before she sat next to him at the long dining table.
Breadcrumbs on his lap.
“Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you,” said Mark Lawrence, and whenever he finds himself going back to that rainy Tuesday in October, he cuts himself on the edge of the memory over and over again, and the realisation of his actions hurts him more than the relieved moment.
That day, he should have fallen in love with her.
**
He was known to be a talkative man, but this time he was an observer.
As he quietly sits in front of his laptop, he feels the knot in his throat tighten ever so slightly with every passing second of a video-call to which he was invited to, just a week prior.
A sleepless week filled with either thinking, wondering or regretting yet another night he spent sleeping with a girl that liked roses more than she liked daisies.
Smiles, happy nods, and laughter.
A gasp, with disbelief laced ‘what’s’, and a string of ‘my God’s’; shake of the head.
He wants to speak, wants to engage in the conversation, and to show that he cares, that he misses her more than he thought he ever would; so much that he it scares him sometimes. As he wipes his sweaty palms against his trousers, he wonders when did something that usually came natural to him became more difficult than anything else.
Because he feels guilty for not answering her calls and messages for the past few weeks? Because he knows that once the call is over, the melancholy will knock on the doors to keep the company to the sadness of knowing that she is miles away? 
He doesn’t know the answer, but he feels it.
So he stays quiet and listens to her as she talks, watches her move her hands around as she speaks about her new home, the nature and the weather, her noisy neighbours, and the new bicycle she has bought at the local market. 
He stays quiet, like a passerby, insignificant and tucked away in some kind of a daydream as she shows them painting she has found in the basement of the house she is renting, and he stays quiet when she expresses a wish to get herself a cat.
She seems happy.
Happier than when she still was around him.
Relaxed and liberated. 
Healed.
Away from the heartbreak he had caused.
Once again, he finds himself wiping his hands against his trousers, and without looking away from the screen, he reaches out to take a sip of his coffee. The burn on his tongue stops his train of thoughts and he slams the mug against the desk – liquid slushing over the lip of the container and drips down on the wooden surface, creating a small pool of brown liquid.
A profanity that leaves his mouth stops the happy chatter – he never liked swearing out loud, and as soon as it happens, all eyes are on him. He feels naked, stripped of everything; uneasy and anxious – as if he was running for the goal during an important match.
“You okay?” she asks, but he doesn’t know what to say. Her voice is soft, filled with compassion.
He looks at her, and for the first time since she left, he lets himself believe that he still had the chance; that there was something; one single ember that refuses to die down.
But he knows he needs to say something.
Was this the most important match in his life?
Was he running for the opponents goal or is he about to auto-goal himself?
“When can I visit?” he asks as he puts a smile on his face, leaning back in his chair.
The silence; thick, knife-cutting silence.
His friends look at him, confusion and surprise written all over their faces.
But not hers.
She’s smiling at him, and he feels his heart fill with hope.
__
“Whenever you want.”
__
Part IV
tags: @rosie7703, @emwritesfootball, @avenirdelight, @alexajanecollins, @afootballimagines, @footballcloud , @englishfairylights @footballerimaginess , @footballxwrites, @just-imagines, @emwritesfootball, @macybeckham7, @hnrfc
if i forgot someone, let me know, or if you want to be tagged, also let me know... 
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cutieodonoghue · 3 years
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dark gray (15/17)
summary: Killian Jones operates a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere, preferring a life of isolation, until one day a woman and a baby wash up on his little island and change his life forever.
read it on: ao3, ff.net
and also catch up on Tumblr!
///
Fifteen
Two Weeks Later
The media had finally decided the story was over just a few days before Christmas, probably because they’d rather spend their holiday with their own families rather than staring at the Nolan house all day with no updates to her story.
And somehow, after that, it’s normal again. Well, as normal as it can be.
It’s not easy to play the part she’d once performed so easily just a few months ago. For better or worse, the time she’d spent on the island has changed her.
Without any phone calls or messages sent from across the ocean, Emma feels stagnant. If she went back for him, there would be no guarantees of leads or direction. Leaving might even make it harder for Killian to find her.
Ruby and Belle, two of her closest friends, come to the house one morning and practically drag her out the front door to take her Christmas present shopping.
“So when will you tell us about what happened?” Ruby wonders, peering over at her from the driver's seat of Emma’s beat up VW Bug.
Emma rolls her eyes. “I’ve already told you guys everything. I fell into the ocean and washed up on the shore of a tiny island somewhere.”
“Yeah, and there was a hot lighthouse keeper. What’s he like? Killian Jones.”
Belle gasps from the backseat. “Ruby! Be kind.” The librarian turns, “Sorry, Emma. How about we talk about something else?”
Their favorite place to shop for odds and ends is on Main Street, so that’s where they find themselves, baskets in their arms while they stroll through the aisles chatting and laughing.
It’s easier to forget the sadness she feels in the back of her mind while instead thinking about what gifts make sense for her parents, or while she’s trying to keep track of the latest Ruby drama.
“Oh, Emma, Belle has a boyfriend.” Ruby suddenly announces, shaking her head in surprise. “I totally forgot to tell you.”
Emma looks at Belle, smirking slightly. “You do?”
Belle wears a bright red blush, covering her face with the mittens that she holds in her hands. “I do.”
She and Ruby share a laugh at Belle’s shyness over the fact that she’s in a relationship.
Emma reaches out to touch Belle’s arm, gently assuring her that she cares. “Who is it?”
Belle hesitates, looking between Ruby and Emma. She lowers her voice slightly, as if she’s going to be overheard. “Will. You can’t tell anyone. It’s so new, Emma.”
She has to laugh again. “Will Scarlet?”
Belle gasps. “Don’t laugh! I wouldn’t laugh if one of you were seeing someone.”
“The brooding sailor and the hopeless romantic librarian.” Ruby sighs wistfully. She plucks something off of a nearby shelf to add to her basket. “They’re really cute, though, Em. After Christmas, we should get together for dinner so we can interrogate him.”
Emma nods. “Sure.”
“I don’t see why you’d need to,” Belle rolls her eyes. “You both know him.”
“But we have to. It's our job!”
It always happens like this. In the middle of mundane conversation, a pit sinks to the pit of her stomach and she loses all of the joy she may or may not have had before.
Belle must notice, because she holds Emma’s arm, pressing her hand and chin against Emma’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”
Emma manages a smile. “I’m fine… I just think I should get going.”
“Emma…”
“No, Emma, stay.” Ruby begs, pouting her lower lip. “We can talk about literally anything else. Like, okay,” She exchanges a wide-eyed look with Belle. “Last week I was with my Granny and she said there’s no reason for us to keep making the apple crisp? What’s that about?” Her voice lowers, “People still order apple crisp.”
Belle’s gaze follows Emma, a small worried frown on her lips. “Why don’t we look for something to give Killian for Christmas?”
Somehow, the thought doesn’t hit her as hard as it could. In fact, she thinks it would be good to buy him a present.
“Okay.”
Belle thoughtfully turns to the shelves nearby. “How does he feel about candy canes? This store seems to have an endless supply.”
They all laugh briefly. Emma tucks her hair behind her ears, thoughtful. “Let’s see if they have any journals.”
/
He’s started thinking about fleeing the hospital in the middle of the night.
Everyday, it’s the same thing. He sleeps, he eats, a nurse comes and chastises him for trying to stand on his own. Rinse and repeat.
His doctor says he has to stay put for another week, but the newspaper Smee brings him claims that it’s almost Christmas, and he can’t possibly spend Christmas wearing a paper-thin gown and a pair of socks from the lost and found.
Not when he could be with Emma. Not when she’s out there wondering if he’s even alive.
“Smee, I need to get out of here.”
It isn’t the first time he’s suggested an escape, so Smee just glances at him briefly while he fiddles with the remote to the television that hangs on the wall ahead of them.
“Will you give me my clothes at least? This hospital gown is starting to chafe.”
Smee sighs, frustrated with the remote control, and drops it on the table. He looks at Killian again. “What?”
Killian groans. “If I could hit you, I would. You’re useless.”
His only friend pivots his chair toward him and folds his hands together. “How about we have a chat?”
“About what?”
Smee shrugs. “Do you think you’ll go live in America with Emma once you’re out of the hospital?”
“That’s the hope.”
Smee hums thoughtfully. “I think it would be worth looking for her online… maybe we could see if we can find a friend…”
“Smee, I need to get to her in person.” Killian interrupts Smee’s train of thought. “I can’t… I’m exhausted of this. I need to be with her.”
Smee thoughtfully stares at him. Then, he reaches for his bag, digging into it to remove a slip of paper. 
“I know it isn’t much, but a friend of mine found an address online. It might be Emma’s...”
Sitting upright, Killian’s brow dips as his eyes narrow. “Hold on. You’ve had an address this whole time?”
Smee stares at him blankly. “You’ve been bedridden.”
He thinks about his options very, very briefly, before he determinedly pushes back the sheets and forces himself to sit on the edge of the bed. 
Killian grits his teeth. It’s never easy getting out of bed merely to visit the restroom, but he can’t force himself to stay another minute with Smee suffocating him to death with his crossword puzzles and mid-afternoon variety shows.
With teeth still gritted, he yanks the IV out of his arm, much to Smee’s alarm. “Oh! Please, don’t do what I think you’re doing. Please stay in bed. Please.”
His stocking feet hit the cold floor with a grimace. He extends an arm to Smee. “Hand me my clothes.”
Smee stares at him, not moving. Killian stares back, lifting a daring eyebrow. 
“Now, Smee.”
The man jostles into action, grabbing his folded clothes from the bag he’d kept at his side. Killian sheds the hospital gown and takes each article as quickly as Smee passes them over.
It’s not easy getting into the shirt, which really should be a warning sign that pulling on pants will be impossible, but he dives into the task headfirst anyway.
He does it for Emma. He does it for Henry. He does it for sake of his own sanity.
After he dresses, he finds his breathing labored and he aches in ways he shouldn’t, but he looks at Smee again anyway. “The address.”
Smee comes closer to him, paper in hand. He hesitates. “I can’t give it to you.”
Killian begins to cradle the pain in his ribs, but refuses to slow down. “Smee. I’m not asking.”
He glares at the man until Smee caves, slouching his shoulders as he passes him the paper. “How are you going to get there? Look at you. You don’t even have any shoes!”
“Then thank you for offering yours. Bloody kind of you.”
Smee gives him a weary look, but kicks off his own boots to offer them to Killian. For someone trying to keep him from leaving, Smee isn’t exactly doing a good job.
Holding his head up high, Killian knows the only way he’ll be able to get past the nurses and doctors is if he does so quickly and with a level head. 
He takes a deep breath and takes one step forward, already regretting the decision to wear a size of shoe too small for his feet. 
“I’m only going to ask you once more to stay. Please. You can’t make the trip like this alone.”
Killian stares at Smee. Smee stares back at him. 
Almost as if Smee reads Killian’s mind, his shoulders fall and he sighs. “I’ll collect my things.”
/
It has been four weeks. Four weeks since she’d last seen Killian. Four weeks since she’d last kissed him. Four weeks since she asked him to come back to her.
There was a voice in her mind that whispered darkly to her sometimes. Maybe he stayed on purpose. Maybe he didn’t actually want to leave. Maybe he hadn’t actually changed.
Maybe everything she thought she’d experienced on a mysterious island in the middle of the ocean was in her head.
Emma does her best to shed these thoughts, but sometimes, she clings to them.
She drives to the diner, where she’d told Mary Margaret they could meet for lunch, and sits parked in front of the building for far too long.
Her phone buzzes twice.
Mom: Henry and I are at the diner!
Mom: Come whenever you’re ready (smiling emoji)
Deciding she should go inside, Emma sighs deeply and unbuckles her seatbelt. Making life normal again felt wrong without Killian here.
She sits beside her mother at the diner, leaving room for David to join opposite them in a little while. Henry happily bounces in Mary Margaret’s arms, giggling when Emma leans in and kisses his cheek. “Hi, baby.”
Her mother smiles at her. “I think he’s going to start standing on his own soon.”
“Yeah?” Emma asks, excited. Henry squirms from Mary Margaret and into Emma’s arms. She sighs happily, pressing her cheek into his baby soft curls. “I’ll miss him being this small, though.”
Mary Margaret chuckles. “We all will.”
All too easily, Emma’s delight with being with her family fades and she finds herself taking a breath just to hold it.
“If we knew where he was, I would tell you to go find him.” Mary Margaret says, seeming to know exactly where her mind went.
Emma nods. “Yeah.”
She pauses, a pest of a thought gnawing at her, begging to be shared. Emma fights with that impulse for a few seconds. Mary Margaret didn’t need to know the very worst of her inner thoughts.
And yet, the thought gnaws. Emma peers at her mother, the ever kind and compassionate source of hope and love in her life.
“What’s on your mind, honey?” Her voice is without meaning harm or pity. It hardly ever is.
Hesitating just a few seconds more, Emma adjusts herself in the booth so she can face her mother more.
“Up until the last few days, he still wanted to stay on the island, and I don’t know if he really meant what he said. How am I supposed to know for sure? I mean, it isn’t like we’d known each other for a long time.”
Her mother frowns. “Emma, you can’t think like this.”
“It’s just being honest.” She sighs. “If he deep down had any doubts… maybe he took the easy out where he could and that’s why we haven’t heard from him.”
Her mother, who has always been filled to the brim with fairytales and happy endings, reaches for Emma’s hand and shakes her head.
“You have to have hope, Emma. Without it, there’s no chance for a happy ending. Do you think we ever gave up hope we’d find you?”
Guilt hits her in a hard pang. She swallows thickly. “No. Of course not.”
Her mother tilts her head to the side, smiling gently. “Then why should you give up on Killian?”
Abruptly, Emma’s phone buzzes on the table and her eyes widen in surprise. “Oh, shoot. I have to take this outside. It’s the doctor.”
Doctors visits had become a weekly routine. Between herself and Henry, the tests and exams seemed endless, although necessary to make sure they were alright after everything they’d been through.
Her mom takes Henry as Emma answers the phone, “Hello?”
“Hi, Emma, it’s Doctor Whale’s office. I’m Nurse Bell calling about your blood test results.”
Emma hums as she steps out the diner’s front door, the bell tinkling in her wake. Taking the steps down to the snowy patio quickly, she isn’t paying any attention when she runs straight into another person.
“Oh!”
Her phone almost falls from her hand when she staggers after the impact. Before her stands her father, who laughs, apologetic. He steadies her with his hands on each of her arms.
“Oh, geez. Sorry, Sweetie.”
She laughs in response, using his shoulder as a balance while she pulls herself back together. “It’s okay. I should’ve been watching where I was going.”
He gently reaches up to adjust her hat on her head. “There you go.”
Emma smiles in thanks, softening a little at the gentleness of the interaction. “Mom and Henry are in our favorite booth.” She holds up her phone. “I have to take this. Be right in.”
David nods in understanding and Emma quickly pulls her phone back to her ear. “So sorry about that. I just... had a run-in with someone.”
The nurse laughs. “I heard. Do you want to hear your results over the phone or would you rather come into the office?”
Emma shakes her head. There’s no need to visit the doctor again if it was just a routine blood test. “I’ll take them now, if that’s possible.”
Nurse Bell pauses. “Okay, well… everything looks good. Um… well, except…”
Her heart skips an anxious beat. “What is it?”
“Well, congratulations are in order, Emma,” the nurse says with a smile she can hear even on the phone, “you’re pregnant.”
All of the blood completely drains from her face and she finds herself standing so still, so quiet, that she almost forgets that she’s on the phone.
Her voice breaks when she finally squeaks out, “What?”
The nurse rattles off a bunch of information, but Emma isn’t listening.
Pregnant.
How the hell did this happen?
Of course, she knows how. She just doesn’t... know how.
Somehow, she ends the call and finds the will within herself to lift her feet, though her mind races with thoughts of Killian.
His eyes, so blue. Would their child have blue eyes too?
Once she stands inside Granny’s Diner, she casts her gaze onto her parents and Henry.
Henry is going to be a big brother.
She’s going to have a baby.
And Killian is still missing.
Every excuse she’d made up for not going to look for him now seems so insignificant. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that they were meant to be together, but now she actually felt it in her bones.
She shouldn’t have waited for so long to go… maybe she shouldn’t have even left so quickly after reuniting with her parents. But staying here now, with the knowledge that both of her children could be without their father… it felt wrong in the worst way.
Guilt floods her mind, squashing the darkness that had been bothering her all day with a bitter flavor. She almost allows it to overwhelm her, to anchor her to the premise it feeds her, but somewhere deep down, hope stirs within.
Hope that this is only a hiccup, that she would find him, and they would be together again. No matter where, or when, or how, Emma would see Killian again.
When she comes back to the table in the back corner of the diner, she sits beside her mom, who immediately turns to her with worry knitting her brow.
“What’s wrong?”
Emma’s mouth opens, words refusing to form on her tongue. She shakes her head slowly. “I’m going to find Killian. I should get on a plane tonight.”
Mary Margaret looks across the table at David, as if she needs help wrangling Emma in, but her father nods, a kind smile on his face.
“Whatever you need to do. Let’s go. I’m with you, Emma.”
26 notes · View notes
euphoriahrs · 3 years
Text
bittersweet | jjk [i.may]
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» pairing: manhwa artist!jeongguk x oc
» genre: roommate au
» synopsis: it’s easier to act indifferent than to show vulnerability.
» word count: 2.2k
» disclaimer: contains strong language, but very little
» rated pg 13
*lowercase is intended*
[series mlist]
chapters: i. | ii. | iii. | iv. | v. | vi. | vii. | viii. | ix. | x. | xi. | xii.
© euphoriahrs (please do not steal or copy in any form)
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a/n: this is my first book, so don’t forget to reblog and let me know what you think about it!
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 late spring heat welcomed haewon’s skin as she exited the apartment building with a satisfied smirk and made her way to the park.
the town that she lived in was not that far from the city but close enough so she could go anytime she wanted. it was more peaceful in this town whereas, in the city, there was commotion all day and night.
since she was little, she loved being alone with her thoughts in silence. during her school years, she was okay with being a loner. sure she had friends she would hang out with from time to time, but she preferred having time to herself. now that was something that she rarely had the privilege of having since she moved into her apartment and got a job.
the complex that she stayed in was well kept, not the best of the best, but good enough. the rent was manageable since she shared the apartment with a roommate that she had gotten to know during the past couple of months. the roommate in question was a special case, one that she either enjoyed or despised, but mostly despised.
her legs unconsciously strolled past the numerous buildings on the streets, though one, in particular, caught her eye, one that she hadn’t noticed before. letting curiosity take over, she decided to take a detour and have a peek at the building.
when she got closer it turned out to be an ice cream parlor. the building had a cute but simple modern style to it.
a bell rang as she walked in alarming the worker that there was a customer. she looked around, noticing the green and white modern furniture.
“hello! welcome to rocky’s road!” the girl greeted in a bored state.
haewon glanced at the girl, she was quite pretty, she had a cute girl next door appearance. she was average height, maybe shorter, with honey skin, straight black hair, brown doe eyes, and cute round lips.
haewon, who had slightly sharper features and a slightly darker skin tone, with dark hair that was dyed with ash purple highlights that was always kept in a ponytail, gave her a more mature appearance compared to the girl.
“hi,” haewon approached the register with a small smile. enjoying the smell of fresh waffle cones. “what can i get you today?” the girl asked.
haewon glanced at her name tag, yujin, then directed her attention to the menu on the wall. feeling slightly overwhelmed as there were so many different flavors and combinations to choose from, she continued to stare at the possibilities.
yujin noticed her struggle. “i recommend our special the rocky mountains, which is three scoops of our homemade rocky road in a waffle bowl with drizzled chocolate syrup on the bottom two scoops, marshmallow sauce drizzled on all three and chocolate chips sprinkled all over!” she excitedly explained.
haewon rubbed her chin contemplating whether she should get the treat or not.
after a couple of seconds, she grinned, “sure, i’ll take one of those.”
“that’ll be $4.74. you won’t regret it!” yujin chimed. haewon half smiled, “i hope i won’t,” she paused and adds, “has this place always been here?” still wondering why she hasn’t noticed it before.
“no, we just opened a couple of days ago. there used to be another restaurant here, i don’t remember what it was, but I do know that they ran out of business after drunken fights repeatedly happened and it ruined their image, so no one wanted to dine in,” yujin replied preparing the ice cream.
haewon let out a soft ‘oh’ and walked away to one of the chairs close by. she looked around to get more familiar with her surroundings and pulled out her phone to play a game to help pass time.
suddenly it felt like all of the air was pushed out of her lungs when she remembered what the building used to be. this building used to be the pizzeria that she had been wanting to visit since she moved to this area but never had the time to due to the schedule of her job.
she let out a heavy sigh and turned off her phone not being in the mood to play her game anymore. she dropped her head onto the table to cope with the pain. yujin shot her head up to make sure her customer was okay before focusing back on work.
“i was hoping that i’ll get a chance to eat there soon,” haewon internally groaned. that was the only place that seemed to have decent pizza in this town. she groaned again when another wave of sadness and regret washed over her as she grieved.
a few minutes passed and yujin brings out her finished ice cream and smiled cheerfully, “here’s your order,” she paused, “earlier it seemed as if you were upset about that restaurant not being here anymore. i’m sorry for that, but now you have the parlor that you can come to anytime you like,” she smiled cheekily, “so your next order will be on the house,” trying to cheer the girl up.
haewon was about to object the offer but yujin continued to speak, “i’m actually new to this town and haven’t had the chance to meet anyone yet because i’ve been busy working and organizing my apartment… so would you like to possibly hang out sometime?” she perked with puppy eyes.
haewon froze for a second thinking yujin was coming off a little too strong but thought about how she needed new friends as well. she lost contact with her old friends from high school after they all graduated. she was the only one to lose contact with them, they on the other hand, were all still great friends and went to the same college. but due to her habits of not wanting to talk to anyone, she didn’t try to keep in touch with her friends even if she felt that she should’ve.
haewon nodded at yujin’s request not wanting her to be upset if she didn’t give her an answer in a few seconds.
yujin squealed, “i’m sure that you know my name already, but it’s yujin.”
haewon answered, “and i’m haewon.”
the two chatted for a little longer before haewon remembered that she wanted to go to the park, so they said their goodbyes and she was on her way.
she ate her ice cream on the way enjoying the peaceful outdoors around her, the calm before the storm she thought . her smile transformed into a smirk when she thought about what she did earlier that morning.
when the park was in sight, her thoughts quickly went away, excited to finally be able to reach her destination.
she skipped her way to the park, weaving through running kids to get to the abandoned set of swings that she found on a whim when she first moved into the area.
☽ ⋆ ☾
it was a brighter night than usual with the light of the full moon shining down. haewon thought that it was the perfect night to explore the new area, so she grabbed her phone and left the apartment that her residing roommate was currently knocked out in.
she casually strolled through the streets enjoying the quiet night and being in her thoughts when a playground across the street caught her interest. quickening her pace to cross the road, her feet made contact with the sidewalk and continued towards the playground.
she was looking around reminiscing to when she was a kid playing on the slides, chasing and tormenting other kids with bugs and worms when she noticed a silhouette in a wooded area not too far away from where she was. she headed deeper into the area, stepping on sticks and dead leaves on the way to search for what the object was.
carefully, she stepped closer until it was in view. it was a swing set. that had been left to rust and be forgotten, to spend the rest of its time falling apart until it was completely in shambles.
she was walking towards the set when she froze in place. there was a shuffling noise coming out of the bushes close by. her eyes widened and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood up.
“it’s close to midnight, who would be out at- oh yeah, me.” she quivered. trying to calm down, she blindly tried to search the area but wasn’t very effective because the trees blocked most of the moonlight. so she waited a few seconds to see if the noise was going to reoccur before continuing to walk to the swings.
she didn’t even get to take five steps before there was another shuffle coming from the bushes.
she jumped in surprise and failed to land on her feet with a thud, mumbling a stream of explicit words as she got up. then she remembered that she took taekwondo and silently thanked the gods that her dad forced her to take those lessons back in middle school.
“i’ll have to thank dad later,” she pondered. feeling somewhat prepared, she stood up, dusted the back of her pants off, and got in position ready for anything that could come out of that bush.
a figure slowly started to creep out causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up even further than before, if that was possible.
her nervous thoughts rapidly shot through her mind. trying as hard as she could to block them out, she quietly hummed a random melody that she thought of on the spot.
her eyes locked onto where the target currently was. the small amount of moonlight allowed her to at least see the silhouette of the figure.
after a few moments, the figure finally sprinted out. quickly gathering up her courage, haewon dashed right towards the figure but stopped midway letting out the breath that she didn’t know she was holding in.
“a cat?” she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in agitation.
“a cat got me that scared? a fucking cat?!” she exasperated. a few moments passed in silence so she could gather her thoughts. her whole life flashed before her eyes just because of a cat?
“boo!” she quickly spun in the direction of the voice only to find an older man that looked to be in his fifties standing proudly with his coat opened in his hands.
“wha-” she screamed with terror after she realized what she was witnessing while covering her not so virgin eyes.
in a split second, she ran at full speed towards the man. who once had a sly grin, now was shocked in place as she lunged her knee at his exposed balls and scurried her way back to the apartment.
☽ ⋆ ☾
she spotted the woods and ran for the swings.
while eating the rest of her ice cream, she listened to the late morning conversations of the birds along with the trees rustling in the background, shifting the sun’s rays. butterflies, dragonflies, and other little insects flew through the empty spaces filled with the sun’s rays, weaving through trees and other bugs. occasionally, she would see a butterfly or two become a bird’s lunch. the moving sun rays gently radiated off her skin as she looked at the ladybug that was chilling on the seat beside her. she enjoyed the relaxing ambiance before it was to be interrupted.
haewon got off of the swing and headed to the recycling bin for plastic to dump her empty ice cream bowl away. as she walked back to the swings suddenly a song from her favorite band the rose interrupted the conversations that took place around her.
a toothy grin appeared on her face. she looked at the time on her small wristwatch. it was about time that her roommate would decide to wake up since it was the weekend.
she grabbed her phone from her back pocket, her grin turning into the one the cheshire cat possesses and accepted the call. but before she could answer, a husky livid voice boomed through the speaker, “haewon! what the fuck is wrong with you?!”
her smirk not faltering one bit “what’s wrong?” she asked with her voice laced in fake concern and chuckling to herself, “this isn’t funny haewon! you’re as good as dead when you come back,” the voice shouted with irritation. haewon burst into laughter. her boisterous laugh combined with the booming voice coming from her phone occupied the area around her.
“don’t- don’t act like your the innocent one here,” she tried to say in between laughs still imagining how he must look being upset over such a harmless prank.
a few moments later and she’s hunched over with tears stained on her face. she heard her name being said on the other side of the phone. “see ya” she breathed heavily and hung up feeling too tired to talk to them anymore.
after she caught her breath and cleared her mind, she stood back up and wiped her face before making a beeline to the apartment ready to embrace the storm or maybe just a squall that she had awakened.
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7 notes · View notes
spicysoftsweet · 4 years
Text
A Very Important Episode starring Hisoka
Or the one where Hisoka learns Bungee Gum is not a food group.
A/N: We all know that Hisoka likes candy and Bungee Gum but we would like to encourage Hisoka to make healthier choices and prevent diabetes complications. There will possibly be a part 2. I hope this is educational.
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---
This time Hisoka had actually done it. He’d actually managed to fuck up his entire body beyond what he could repair with Bungee Gum or Machi’s services - which she was charging higher and higher for - and now he was somewhere almost unthinkable - an emergency room.
“Illumi~~~~” he half-sang, half-whined now that he was finally lucid, after undergoing an exploratory laparotomy to stabilize his profuse internal bleeding - the surgeons had been in awe of just how much of his body had been purely synthetic due to Texture Surprise exclaiming that he’d be an incredible case to write up - and being amped up full of pain meds. He probably didn’t need the pain meds, but it was fun to go in and out of consciousness; he couldn’t remember the last time he had an actual night of sleep.
His unwilling friend sat at the side of his hospital bed, legs crossed and focusing his jarringly large, black eyes at the fluid and blood that was being transfused into him by IV drip. A small part of him was surprised that Hisoka could be transfused with regular looking blood and regular looking fluid. He was almost sure that he was made up purely of nonsense and Bungee Gum.
“Illumi~” Hisoka moaned dramatically a second time. His gaze slid now to him, with lips pressed into a flat line of distaste.
“Don’t ever use my name as your emergency contact again.”
Illumi had to hide the fact that he was impressed Hisoka could spell clearly enough to make out the letters of his name and had actually retained his phone number. He had been surprised to get a call, but made his way over as soon as he had finished gutting an enemy and stringing them up for display as requested in his latest contract. The idea of Hisoka being dead was incredibly alarming, for he did enjoy his health and company, but also sparked a morbid curiosity in him. Could Hisoka actually die?
“But you came, didn’t you?” Hisoka teased, with a shit-eating grin.
He had him there.
There was a soft knocking on the door, and a young woman in a white coat, followed by a taller man wearing a pair of scrubs came in. The young woman glanced at Hisoka and then Illumi, visibly wincing at the hard stare of the latter in the semi-dark room, then raised her badge to introduce herself. 
“H-hello, I’m Dr. Rhgyl, I-” her eyes flickered to Illumi briefly, unsettled by the fact that he hadn’t yet blinked in the past two minutes, then shifted back to Hisoka, whose devilish smile was almost more unsettling. “I was one of your surgeons and am here to answer any questions you have.”
She turned to Illumi, and gave a nervous nod of the head. “And who is in the room with you, Mr. Morow?”
“My husband,” he said, in a sickly-sweet voice. Illumi gave him a glare, then crossed his arms.
“Sure,” was all he said.
Sure, what? What is sure? Just answer the damn question... The poor young doctor’s face fell as she already knew this was something she’d have to spend unnecessary minutes during her already excessively long call night clarifying in her documentation. She turned to her nurse behind her, who gave her a small shrug. 
“So uh, Mr. Morow, how is your pain?”
“It’s wonderful!”
The doctor again tried to conceal her internal screaming, and continued to keep her professional smile plastered on her face. “In that case, please let us know if you have any more pain, and your nurse will take care of it.”
“We do have one other issue, however, “ she added, making sure to communicate this next part as clearly and effectively as possible. Hisoka perked up in surprise, and Illumi continued to sit perfectly still, as still as a statue. “Your blood sugar. Your blood sugar was extremely elevated, and we were concerned about a diagnosis of prediabetes or diabetes.”
“Diabetes?”
“We expect you to make a fast recovery… surprisingly fast in fact, but we would still like you to follow up with a primary care doctor about your blood sugar. We’ll draw a lab test to check how your sugars were for the past 3 months, called a Hemoglobin A1c test, and then we’ll have your primary care doctor follow up the results and help you with strategies to have better control.”
Illumi turned to Hisoka, who he could tell that whatever the medical team was telling him was going in one ear and out the other, and he was now only thinking about either his next fight or Bungee Gum based on the elated smile on his face.
Bungee Gum.
Bungee Gum was the fucking problem. 
As the doctor and the nurse finally exited out of the room and Hisoka went back to telling Illumi battle stories, Illumi started to clear his schedule in his head, to figure out when he could best drag Hisoka to his follow-up appointments, which he would have to make for him. Someone had to be the adult in this relationship. 
---
Hisoka’s new primary care doctor, another similarly young woman, but less easily intimidated as the tired one from the hospital sat at a computer, pulling up his chart to review his lab results from his hospitalization.
Illumi and Hisoka noticed how she visibly paled as she scrolled, then turned to Hisoka and gave him a reassuring smile, that looked to reassure her more than them. 
“What is it? Am I dead?” Hisoka asked. Illumi gave him a look to quiet down.
“Well, you’re diabetic, all right... Your A1c is 14%.”
“Is that bad?”
She swiveled in her chair to face him, hands in her lap. 
“Well, diabetes is diagnosed at an A1c of 7%. So... unfortunately,  yes.”
Hisoka started counting on his fingers and Illumi forcefully put his hand down.
“Hisoka, listen to the doctor. Diabetes is serious. My great-grandaunt was diabetic.” Illumi said in an even, impassive voice.
“Oh, how old was she when she was diagnosed?” The doctor asked, attempting to build rapport with the patient and the patient’s loved ones.
Without skipping a beat, he replied, “206, exactly. She loved nothing more than to unwind with Mountain Dew after her assassination missions. She ended up on dialysis.” 
The doctor seemed to be at a loss of words briefly, so she turned back to Hisoka, pulling out a pen and a notepad to focus on rather than lose her cool. 
“So, uh… let’s start by talking a little about what you usually eat,” she began. “What do you eat in a typical day?”
“Hm... “ Hisoka didn’t usually keep track of what he ate, so it took him some time to come up with an account. “Ah! Okay, so in the morning, I usually skip breakfast, but sometimes I’ll have some Bungee Gum.”
Odd choice, the physician thought, but she nodded and wrote that down, allowing the floor to Hisoka to speak.
“For lunch, I try not to eat too much, but I also have a couple pieces or ten of Bungee Gum.”
Hm…
“Oh and for dinner, I have a bowl of gummy candy if I’m feeling particularly peckish and also Bungee Gum.”
She looked up from her pad and paper to see Hisoka looking blissfully unaware that he had just revealed that he subsists solely on sweets. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to pull at her hair repeatedly. This would be a ton of education, and she still wasn’t exactly sure what exactly Bungee Gum was.
---
Illumi parked his custom Ferrari minivan, purchased entirely for this shopping trip, outside the Costco Wholesale, and gave Hisoka, a long, hard look. 
“Do you have the list?” Illumi asked, hand outstretched as Hisoka handed over a partially crumpled sheet of paper, outlining the basics of a balanced, carbohydrate-controlled diet for people with diabetes.
Hisoka looked outside to the large building, then looked back at Illumi. “Isn’t this for families? I thought we were shopping for me only, and sometimes you when you come over.”
“I don’t know, the butlers told me that they come here to stock the kitchens. It seems from the website that this store provides high quality bulk goods for very competitive prices so this will be an appropriate next stop.”
This was just one out of countless stops today - Hisoka had spent the earlier part of the day searching frantically for sugar-free Bungee Gum in every supermarket in a 25-mile radius unsuccessfully, and demanding to see the manager every time, only to kill them when they told him they didn’t have his particular brand. Illumi warned him that there would be no such shenanigans any longer.
They stepped out of the car and walked right past the door greeter who was waiting eagerly for them to present their membership card only to recoil once they both turned to look at him in unison with intent to kill. 
The first things Hisoka noticed as he walked in were the multiple little free sample kiosks at the aisles every so often and curiously wandered over to them. 
“Make sure to avoid anything glazed or with a sauce,” Illumi called after him, poring through the list as he wandered over to the produce aisle. He didn’t understand the draw of free samples; if he wanted to try something, he would simply buy it.
Hisoka made his way to Illumi and Illumi’s overfilled grocery cart about a half-hour later after wandering the entire store, arms filled with small paper cups and tasting spoons. It was clear that he had sampled literally everything, possibly twice or thrice. Illumi let out a sigh and moved to the front of the store to check out. 
Keeping Hisoka’s blood sugar low would be a daunting task, but he was determined that by the next visit to his PCP, he’d have some improvement in his A1c. Texture Surprise can only replace so many amputated limbs at once. He’d just have to buy every supermarket’s supply of Bungee Gum and possibly halt every single production chain devoted to it or something similar. A pain, but it was worth it. Hisoka was annoying as all hell, but still, he was worth it.
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brelione · 4 years
Text
Field Trip With A Rich Bitch lll
Part One  Part Two
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Warnings:Swearing,Ward Cameron,very boring/dumb.
“We both hate Ward and he doesn't want me around pogues.What if we fake date?I can get you into my house and into his office and we can mess him up,ruin him from the inside out.”He spoke in a voice right above a whisper.You blinked,your eyes hurting. “You want to fake date?”You asked.He nodded. “Think about it,you can come around and we’ll pretend like you've never heard of him and you don't know what he did.We can eventually get him to confess and get a recording of it and then get him put in prison.”He ran his fingers through your hair,not really thinking about it.You gulped,eyes still locked on him. “He’ll know who I am when he hears my name.”You sighed.He smirked. “Right,but we dont let him know that you know.It’ll all work out.”He mumbled,rubbing the material of your shirt between his fingers. “That’s a terrible idea.”You laughed.He frowned. “I think it's a great idea.”He mumbled,a bit offended.
 “Well,you’ve never been the smartest.”You smiled,twirling a chain between your pointer finger and thumb. “But I don't have a better idea.You’re the easiest way in the house,I guess.You really think we can get him to confess?”You asked.A smile tugged at his lips. “I've heard you’re the queen of manipulation,why don't you prove it?”He challenged you.You let go of him,looking to the gravestones.Four of your dead families members six feet under the ground,probably listening to this conversation.You hoped they were listening to your conversation at least,it didn't matter if they approved what you were doing or not.It just made you feel better to think that maybe they were all vibing in the afterlife.You lifted your knees up to prevent yourself from sinking all the way into the mud.He had given you his phone so you could create a new contact,typing your phone number in.He followed you back to the garage.
He was a lot more calm on the way back,knowing where all the branches and large roots were on the path.He had swatted away a butterfly which caused you to turn and laugh at him. “Dude,chill,it's just a butterfly.”You giggled.He frowned. “Okay well you didn't have it flying at your face.”He argued.You grinned,biting your lip slightly. “Fuckin pussy.”You mumbled,turning your feet so you could slide down the dirt hill.He had a more difficult time,nearly falling on his ass as he held on to tree branches to help himself out.He jumped,grabbing onto your arm when he saw a small snake. “DOnt act like you’ve never seen a garden snake before.”You grinned,watching the small reptilian creature as it twirled its body around a twig.He shook his head. “You’ve never seen a garden snake?Damn,rich bitch,you really are a pussy.”You laughed,dragging him along.You used a key to unlock the garage door,pulling the door back up and ducking under the door.You went to your table,grabbing a piece of gum and folding it into your mouth.He stood by his bike,watching you while you fixed the hole in the seat. “It's done.Pay up,rich bitch.”You sighed quietly,rubbing the leather seat with your thumb.
He pulled out his thick brown wallet,handing over two hundred dollar bills.You took them,looking into his blue eyes. “Twenty dollars too much.”You told him.He put his wallet back in his pocket,shrugging his shoulders. “My dad murdered your parents,you deserve a little extra.”He smiled.You nodded,folding the money and placing the bills into your pocket. “I’ll text you later.”HE mumbled.You nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”You replied. “You know you should wear a helmet,right?”You asked.He rolled his eyes. “I know,I know.”He replied,grabbing the handle bars and walking out from the garage.He swung his leg over the seat,gripping the handle bars before driving off,leaving a cloud of dirt in his path.You chewed your gum,watching as he left.You restarted your work on another car that was covered in dents,scratches and missing half of a window.
Rafe zoomed out of The Cut,not wanting any witnesses that could possibly tell his dad that he was driving around the area.He pulled up to his house,seeing Sarah swatting away seagulls with a giant leaf.He parked his bike,leaning it on his kickstand and swinging his leg off and standing up straight.He let out a few shaky breaths,preparing himself to deal with his father’s interrogation.He placed a hand on the door handle,inhaling again to calm his nerves before opening the door and stepping into the cool,air conditioned mansion. “Where were you?”Ward asked,holding a cup of water and taking a sip from it. “I was with a friend.”He replied.Ward’s eyes narrowed. “What friend?”Ward asked,knuckles turning white as he squeezed the glass in his hand. “New friend.”Rafe squeaked out,avoiding his father's gaze. “Come here.”Ward demanded.Rafe gulped,looking up at him. “Rafe.Come.Here.”Ward repeated,reaching a hand into his pocket and taking out a small flashlight.
Rafe slowly stepped forward,avoiding Ward’s gaze.He set his glass down on the table,flicking his flashlight on.He raised his hand,gripping Rafe’s jaw to keep his attention,lifting the flashlight up to Rafe’s face and pointing it directly over his eye.Rafe blinked,trying to pull his head away.Ward squeezed his jaw,keeping the light on his pupils. “What’s this guy's name?”Ward asked,letting go of his son's jaw.Rafe cleared his throat. “She.”He mumbled.Ward furrowed his eyebrows. “Where does she live?”Ward asked.Rafe shrugged. “Far away.”He replied.Ward shook his head. “What’s her name?”Ward asked. “(Y/N).”Rafe replied,backing away a few steps from his father.He didn't miss the way that Ward’s face paled,his eyes getting a bit wide as his nose wrinkled. “How do I know you were really with her?”Ward asked.Rafe sighed. “You want me to call her or something?”Rafe asked,exasperated. “Call her,do it.”Ward demanded.
Rafe bit his tongue,taking out his phone.Ward watched him like a hawk as he scrambled through his contacts,eventually finding your name.He pressed it,choosing audio call.He lifted his phone to his ear,waiting for you to answer. “Put it on speaker phone.”Ward told him.Rafe glared down at the older man,pulling the phone away and changing it to speaker so he could hear the ringing loudly. “Dude-it literally has not even been an hour since ive seen you.What the fuck do you want?”Your voice spoke,the screeching of metal on metal in the background.Rafe smiled. “(Y/N) you're on speaker phone,my dad is also in the room.”He held back a laugh as he listened to the absolute silence on your end. “So did you want something?”You asked.Ward cleared his throat. “Can you confirm that you were with Rafe all of this afternoon?”He asked.You let out a loud sigh. “Yeah.”You replied,the annoyance clear in your voice even over the phone. “What were you guys doing?”Ward asked,staring at Rafe. 
“He visited me at work and brought me food.What were you doing while he was gone?”You asked.Ward frowned as a smirk spread across Rafe’s face. “I was waiting for him to get home.How long have you and Rafe been friends?”Ward continued his questions.You sighed. “A while,I dont know.Rafe,I gotta go, I'm still at work.I’ll talk to you later.”You spoke quickly.Rafe took you off speaker phone,pressing the phone back to his ear. “Alright,Love you.”He grinned before hanging up.He watched his father’s expressions,the way his face sunk when he realized he had been defeated.It was a far too wonderful sight.Rafe couldn't imagine the expression that would go across the man's face when he was busted for a double homicide. “She’s your girlfriend?”Ward asked.Rafe nodded,twisting the ring on his finger and waiting for this conversation to be over. “Yeah.”Rafe replied,his voice low and angry.Ward nodded. “You should invite her to have dinner with us tomorrow night.”He suggested.Rafe rolled his eyes,jogging up the stairs. “You’ve got a girlfriend?”Wheezie asked,coming out of her room.Rafe sighed,walking past her and into his room,locking the door behind him and flopping down onto his bed.
It was seven.You knew cause you had set a timer.You grabbed your backpack that you kept on a hook,changing your clothes behind a truck.You now wore a bikini with denim shorts that were tight against your thighs.You stuffed your overalls into your bag along with your yellow shirt.You put you container of sugar in with the gum that you had left,half a bag of doritos and the other lemons you had into your backpack,forcing it to zip shut.Your phone dinged in your pocket.You huffed,betting in your mind that it was Rafe Cameron.You were correct,a text from a random phone number coming across your screen.My Dad wanted me to ask you to come over for dinner tomorrow night.You wanna come?You stared down at the text,considering leaving him on delivered.You were not exactly sure you were ready to face the homicidal liar that was Ward Cameron.But then again it was free expensive food in a huge mansion.It wasn't like Ward could kill you in front of his wife and children.Sure.You replied,watching as the three dots blinked as he typed a response.I’ll pick you up tomorrow.Text me your address.You read the message before turning your phone off.You locked up the garage,stretching your arms.
You spent your evening swaying back and forth in John.B’s hammock while you played a tune from a ukelele that John.B had laying around his house. “How was work today?”JJ had asked you,laying down next to you in the hammock.You sighed dramatically. “Shitty.”You replied,dragging your fingernail along the cords.He nodded,running his fingers through your hair.JJ was one of your closest friends,one that Rafe had beaten before.He was one of three boys that weren't terrified of you,that didn't bow down to you like you were their queen.You were the Pogue Princess.Of course Kiara was a Pogue Princess but you...you were the Pogue Princess.The other two boys were Pope and John.B.They knew your friendly,bubbly side that joked about death and baked lemon muffins.They also knew your bitchy side,the one everyone else knew.JJ always loved how easily you could switch between the two and how you could steal things so easily.It was kind of just your job in life. “Oof.”JJ had replied. “Are you hanging out with us tomorrow?”Kiara asked.You sighed. “Unfortunately I have plans after work so I cannot.”You replied.JJ’s eyebrows furrowed. “Plans without us?Who are you?”He asked.
You yawned. “I’ve got other friends,you know.”You grinned,letting the ukulele rest against the bark of the tree. “I should probably head home soon and shower.I’ll see you guys this weekend though.”You smiled,getting out of the hammock and grabbing your backpack.They booed you and you flipped them off as you walked around John.B’s house and down the road.Your house was only a ten minute walk so you didnt really care or ask anyone to walk you home.When you got to your house you tossed your backpack on the floor,hearing the doritos crunch.Your phone rang.You looked down at it.Rafe was trying to facetime you.You accepted the call. “What?”You asked.He laughed. “Wow...I cant just call you to call you?”He asked.You sighed,waiting for him to get to the point. “You never texted me your address.”He explained himself.You set your phone down on the counter top. “Correct.I’ll just walk to your house.”You yawned,pouring yourself a cup of water and mixing cinnamon into it.He frowned.
 “But like...you live over a mile away.That’s just dumb.”He grumbled.You rolled your eyes,chugging the spicy liquid. “What do I even wear?We gotta make this bullshit believable.”You pulled your hair up into a bun.He smiled,only half of his face visible across your phone screen. “It doesnt really matter what you wear.You’ll look cute no matter what.”His face turned red as he waited for your response. “Whatever you say,pussy.”You replied,glancing at your phone screen. “I’ll text you my address in the morning,ive got work until three.”you told him,sitting on your counter with your phone now in your hand.He nodded. “We have dinner at like five so that works.”He grinned. “Cool.Im gonna go cause ive got shit to do.See you tomorrow,rich bitch.”You hung up before he could respond.You took a cold shower,pulling on an old t shirt and clean underwear.You looked through your dresser,finding a dark green shirt and light pants.That would work.Now all you had to do was fake date Rafe Cameron without letting your friends know while simultaneously destroying Ward Cameron psychologically until he admitted to murder.That sounded simple enough.
@gabbismith​
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jinmukangwrites · 3 years
Text
Whumptober day 13
Chemical Pneumonia | Oxygen Mask
Ao3
Warnings: hospitals, coughing, vomiting, near death experiences,
-o-o-o-o-
Even now, Jason's not really sure how it all went wrong. It was supposed to be a simple look-see and bail. Just watch the newest batch of criminals with their newest batch of illegal weapons, then take note of what their plans are, and then plan accordingly to take them down at a later date.
But here's the deal. Things more often go wrong than go right when it comes to Gotham. Things get complicated and sometimes someone is smart enough to look up. Sometimes, Jason has to duck just in time to not get shot in the skull. Sometimes, Red Hood has to make a quick escape while a small army of armed thugs chase him out of the warehouse, armed with the fun calibers like .223 or 9mm.
Sometimes, you make the dumb idea to team up on these kinds of missions, and sometimes you're forced to watch Nightwing take a lungful of some mysterious gas that definitely doesn't look friendly.
Sometimes, life just sucks ass, doesn't it?
"Wing!" Jason calls, slamming the back of his glock across some random bad-guy's jaw. He watches Dick stumble back, throwing the inside of his arm across his nose and coughing so hard he doubles over.
Jason doesn't have the mental headspace to deal with this kind of crap today. So, instead of trying to grab Dick's attention, he fires his gun into the leg of the closest thug, runs into the diffusing cloud of yellowing gas, then he grabs Dick around his thinner waist. He doesn't squander a single second grabbing Dick's grapple from his hips and firing up towards the warehouse ceiling windows.
He just manages to keep a grasp on Dick as they fly up and crash through the glass. Jason comes to a rolling halt on the slanted roof, but immediately rolls the other direction as a bullet whizzes through the rusting metal just to the left of his chest.
Escape after that is easy. Dick's blinking like an idiot and looking pale, but he's able to at least hold on to Jason while Jason uses the grapple to swing about a block away to where he parked his bike.
The moment Jason lands by his bike, he shoves Dick from him, rips off his helmet, and hopes his glare underneath is scary.
"What. The. Hell ."
Dick at least has the decency to look ashamed. "Sorry? I wasn't expecting the guy to just whip out a gas capsule like that."
Jason growls and runs his gunpowder covered gloves through his hair. He takes a deep breath. Tries to calm down. He gets so angry so easily .
He inhales. Exhales. Looks back at Dick. "What did it do?"
Dick shrugs. "It smelled badly? Seriously, Jay, I think I'm fine. It must have been a fluke."
"You saw the same guns in there that I did, right?" Jason folds his arms and gives an unimpressed look. "They were more advanced than the rifles in the military . You think they'd have a gas bomb that was a fluke?"
"Lucky me?"
Jason glares. "I hate you."
Dick shoots finger guns.
With a sigh, Jason stuffs the helmet back onto his head. He jumps on his bike. "Just, at least get it checked on? I don't want the entirety of the family wanting my head on a stick because you died teaming up with me."
"Yeah, yeah," Dick replies, waving his hand. Dick clears his throat. "I think you're being-" he clears his throat again- "a little-"
Dick clears his throat, louder this time. Jason frowns. "Wing?"
Dick shakes his head, clears his throat one final time before a single cough bursts from his throat. Suddenly, Jason's watching as Dick dissolves into a fit of coughs, his arms wrapping around his chest as he bends over forwards.
"Dick?" Jason jumps off his bike and approaches Dick with a spike of concern sprouting in his chest. Dick takes a gasping breath, spits out a disgusting lob of phlegm, then looks up at Jason with wide eyes behind his mask.
Jason stops in his tracks. Dick's lips are blue.
"Shit," Dick rasps, then his legs give out below him.
-o-o-o-o-
For the better part of an hour, Jason's been sitting inside the medbay of the cave, watching as Dick sat forward in the cot over a bucket. He's vomited in it a few times, but that was a little while ago. The bucket has since been washed by Alfred and returned so Dick can cough and cough and cough into it, spitting out pink tinged phlegm. Dick's eyes were puffy, the skin around his cheeks and eyebrows red from what's probably the beginning of a rash caused by irritated skin.
Jason originally didn't have plans to sit in the cave and watch Dick be sick, but because the chemical doing a number inside Dick's lungs was unknown, Jason didn't really have a choice. He walked into that cloud of gas, and while his helmet came with a filter, it didn't necessarily rule him out from being completely and totally at little risk of catching the same problems Dick's currently suffering through.
So, Jason's been confined to the medbay while Dick continues to hack into the bucket until he's choking and gasping. Bruce and Alfred work on finding a cure to the chemically induced pneumonia. Damian and Tim—who just happened to be visiting—were banished to the manor while this all went down.
Tim, because without his spleen there's no telling what could happen if the gas happened to be contagious somehow. Damian, because the kid really didn't need to be down here anyway.
Dick coughs wetly and makes a horrible sounding gag. Jason sighs and leans back in his chair, incredibly bored out of his mind and thankful that not the symptoms that appeared were not much more than coughing, small rashes, and blue tinged lips.
The door to the medbay opens, and in walks Alfred. Alfred frowns as Dick continues to cough and choke out bloody chunks of mucus. They've tried multiple times to get Dick to wear an oxygen mask, but the guy keeps having to cough and spit, which results in him tugging the mask off a couple seconds after it was pulled on.
"Any news?" Jason asks, ignoring Dick continuing to cough.
Alfred's shoulders fall ever so slightly. "I'm afraid not. How is master Dick fairing?"
Dick makes a half-hearted thumbs up and Jason rolls his eyes. "I'd tell him to shut up, but I don't think he can."
"Hmm." Alfred walks forward with a frown matching the downward tilt of his brow. He walks towards Dick and checks him over, pressing on what must be aching ribs and checking his temperature. He carefully inspects the rashes on Dick's face, and Dick just manages to hold in his coughing for the few minutes that it takes. However, the moment Alfred let's his face go, Dick returns to the bucket. Gagging.
Jason wrinkles his nose.
"Try to get him on the oxygen mask," Alfred says, turning towards Jason. "Miss Thompkins is still on her way with the breathing tubes and a solution for the IV."
"Traffic that bad?" Jason asks and Alfred hums.
"Apparently, there was a seven car pile up on the bridge. Traffic is being sent on rather long detours out and into the island."
Seven cars huh? "Jesus. Gotta love Gotham."
"Indeed," Alfred replies with a bit of a smirk. But then Dick //coughs and the tense reality of the current situation settles back over them like a sopping wet blanket. "Watch his rashes as well, grab me if anything changes."
"Will do, Alf."
They both exchange a smile before Alfred leaves; abandoning Jason to listen to Dick suffer alone.
Jason sighs and tries not to let his brain travel down dark paths. Like what kind of damage is really going on in Dick's lungs. Like if suggesting a team up tonight really was a bad idea. Like if this is all Jason's fault for being spotted in the first place.
Instead, he stands up and grabs the oxygen mask and shoves it over Dick’s face.
Dick tugs it off not two seconds later to spit more mucus into the tank.
“You’re disgusting,” Jason snorts.
Dick doesn't respond because he’s too busy hacking out a lung, but Jason catches a small smile.
Dick's coughing soon becomes white noise.
-o-o-o-o-
Jason knows immediately that something is very wrong when Dick goes silent. Then, he knows something is tremendously wrong when Dick chokes with cut off, painful sounding whimpers. He shoots his eyes up from where he’s been twiddling his fingers and then immediately jumps to his feet.
Dick is shaking almost like he's having a seizure, except Jason knows it's really his lungs struggling to take in air. Jason almost runs forward to help, but thinks better about it when he realizes he has no idea how he'll be able to help in the first place.
Instead, he turns tail towards the bay doors.
He's about to tear the door open, but he finds himself stumbling back as it opens on its own.
In runs one of the only people Jason truly respects and fears. Leslie Thompkins rushes past Jason towards Dick without even sparing a glance. Immediately, she's checking him over. Trying to get his attention. Listing to his gurgling that can hardly be called breathing. Bruce and Alfred enter as well, looking distressed.
Leslie doesn't take long to look up and glare at every single person in the room.
"He needs a hospital."
And no one argues. Alfred quickly leaves the room to call an ambulance while Jason and Bruce rush forward to undress Dick from his Nightwing suit. Leslie presses an oxygen mask to his mouth and keeps it firmly in place even though Dick begins to try and struggle, his eyes dazed and panicked.
Leslie snarls Bruce's ears off, something about her not knowing it was this bad and how he should have gone straight to the hospital, but Jason can only focus on getting Dick into normal civilian clothes so the hospital doesn't ask anything.
By the time they rush Dick upstairs and through the manor doors to where an ambulance made it over in record time—the perks of being rich, Jason supposes—Dick's hardly responding to anything. Hardly breathing.
The ambulance rushes away and Jason's left with Damian and Tim watching with matching looks of fear.
And for a single, strange second, Jason wants to tell them that it'll all be okay.
But he can't find it in himself to speak and possibly lie.
Dick will be okay. He has to be.
He has to be.
-o-o-o-o-
He will be okay, Jason thinks as he settles in Dick's private room. He's unconscious, hooked onto a crazy looking ventilator, trussed up to all kinds of tubes and wires. The doctors say they got most of the gas out from his lungs, but the damage left as a result is severe.
Severe enough for Dick to completely stop breathing on his own.
But he will be okay.
Even if it takes months for Dick to recover. Even if he'll be plagued by respiratory issues for the rest of his life.
He'll be okay.
Bruce's hand lands on Jason's shoulder. He looks so tired. So worn. Jason wonders if he looked like this when Jason died, or if he looked worse. He doesn't wonder for too long, he's not sure if his stomach could take it.
"He'll be okay," Bruce says. To Jason. To himself. To Dick. To nothing and no one at all.
Jason nods.
He'll be okay.
Because Jason's pretty sure no one in this quilted family of mismatch textiles could go on for long without him.
He'll be okay, because he has to be.
Dick continues to remain completely unconscious to the world, a machine breathing for him.
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coolgirl · 4 years
Note
Hey what's Jason's relationship with nocturna? It's the first time I've heard of her😣 and nothing on her wikia mentioned anything about Jason. She seems interesting character and I would like to know more about her.
okay I went. A little insane. Here's a retelling of her pre crisis arc, long as hell  
(this part covers Batman #529 / Detective Comics #363 / Batman #530) ok for some context: it’s pre crisis, meaning this Jason was also a circus boy. He has recently lost his parents, and was taken by Bruce, but isn’t dealing with the loss well, finding himself missing his past life. PLUS Bruce isn’t allowing him to be his partner, and that has him sad as well. 
SO he wants to go back to the circus, since hes lonely and directionless etc.
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NOW. ENTER NATALIA KNIGHT! Shes a villain, think.. Catwoman meets Poison Ivy? She’s a thief, but seduces men to do the stealing mostly. 
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Her backstory is basically that she was an orphan living in the streets, and met who will then become his adoptive parent Charles Knight when she was 12. When she’s already an adult, Charles gets killed, and she finds out he had big money bags bc he was a criminal. and she said. awn man i like being rich. well. time to do crimes.
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she’s rlly into the night and the stars (she was the head of the observatory, which Bruce was funding through his company or w/e)
anyways. she gets away, Jason helps bruce find her (but! bruce wouldnt le him help which rlly hurt jason), and as her and her partner anton are getting away (again) batman catches up to them, but only manages to bring anton to justice, while Nocturna escapes in like. one of those giant balloons idk whats the name
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the issue ends with Nocturna/Natalia sending Bruce money for the maintenance of the observatory and with Jason deciding to leave
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NOW onto the next part. So in this issue we have Jason escaping home, Bruce going to court against Natalia’s partner Anton, and Natalia just vibing around, and she happens to find Jason running away from home, and they have a conversation in which she tries to convince him to go back home.
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but Jason. well.
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So Bruce gets back home and Alfred tells him about Jason running away, and bruce, in real bruce fashion, is all like ughg i shouldve listened to him.. well lets go get him. and alfred is like. sir. do i have to remind u u arent his legal guardian yet. u have no right to decide where he stays.
so bruce is like ugh fine. i’ll go patrol then. which he does, and turns out Nocturna was trying to help Anton escape, and well it fails, and she gets captured too. 
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and that’s that for Natalia… for now ;)
NOW. this isn’t relevant for Natalia & Jason but again some context. Covers um  covers fuck a bunch of issues. SO. what happens in this time
jason goes back to the circus but is deeply unhappy
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he’s still doing detective work. hasnt seen bruce or alfred in a while
alfred visits
case stuff case stuff case stuff it was the clown all along
Jason ends up helping Bruce, since they were both working the same case separately, and they make up
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NOW. a lot of shit happens not relevant to nocturna. Jason isnt robin for a while, then he uses Dicks costume, then bruce gets mad at him for that bc its not his costume, so jason uses his own costume, then dick gives him the robin costume, so jason becomes robin. um stuff stuff happens and all it matters is the panel below.
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NOW! BACK TO NOCTURNA! 
her comeback arc kinda starts in batman #374, where this lady is like hold on.. bruce wayne isnt jasons legal guardian wtf, is he even fit to have a kid?
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so she starts digging around, asking questions 
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and shes like yea this is real fishy, give me that kid
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so bruce and jason try to behave like uh yes no robin and batman business. let that kid be a kid.
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but welp.
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and so.. Jason is taken away :( and both of them are heartbroken :( 
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but u know what! bruce wayne is one stubborn fucker! and he will fight to have the legal guardianship!
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and even if they’re not living together anyomre they’re still the dynamic duo in a way, which like. lol. this lady took this kid away bc she was worried about him but he still ran away.. tch tch tch.
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they’re both rlly depressed about the situation
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AND THATS WHAT U MISSED ON GLEE!!
NOW. SHES BACK. look at this epic cover
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shes now parterning w a dude named nightshade or smth, and he like. rlly wants to hit that, but shes like um pause ⏸️✋my love is the night. the dude, like every other man, is like so im not getting anything from this? fuck u, and leaves. shes like whatevers, ugh how annoying i dont have a partner again & anton is still in prison… &  while shes again chilling she finds out about Bruce trying to legally adopt jason & recognizes jason from the time they talked
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& goes to visit him
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and theres also this dude, whos not rlly relevant for now, will try to stop bruce from adopting jason which will be relevant later hehe (there's a whole subplot with him and bullock but like it's not rlly relevant to Jason n Natalia) (shrug emoji)
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and so. Bruce finds out..
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and so the cover becomes a reality, Bruce and Natalia WILL fight in a chuck n cheese parking lot to become Jason’s parent.. and Natalia may try to pull a reverse card on Bruce
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and well. Bruce rlly has no chance now does he? and turns out Jason wants this to happen since hes convinced he can unreveal Natalia’s secrets from the inside
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and a lil sweet moment between father & son
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and then a moment with Amanda, who, in my opinion, did nothing wrong ever
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meanwhile Anton comes back, tells Nocturna he killed the dude that was bothering her, and she gets PISSSSEDD OFF shes like u TARNISHED the night by SPILLING BLOOD, u absolute BEAST, Bruce gets there, some weird stuff happens that aged rlly poorly, then Nocturna stabs Anton to save Bruce, turns out she knows hes batman, again shes like marry me to have our son (Jason) and hes like no! and leaves. While Bruce tries to find Anton, Jason is like ive HAD IT i wanna go out, but Natalia stops him
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then the next morning Amanda gets her head straight and talks to Jason
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but well Jason is hellbent on exposing Natalia from the inside or w/e, and eventually she gets the custody, even if Amanda tries to convince him and the judge Bruce is a better choice (since she noticed Jason clearly favors him and was in pain when he wasnt at the wayne manor)
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and everyone is coddling Bruce which im adding bc its cute and i miss this relationship Bruce had with Vicki and Julia 
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MEANWHILE, at the knight house. mad hatter is a a weird creepy rat bastard n tries to get control of Natalia & get the information of her brain or smth. Batman gets there & we get a Batman vs Controlled nocturna fight and then Robin also arrives and its Batman & Robin vs Nocturna, but B tells Jason to focus on getting Mad Hatter, which he does and then gets Nocturna back to normal whatever, and she again asks Bruce to marry her, which hes again like no thank u! the issue ends with this page which is rlly sweet imo
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next up Anton is back but it doesnt matter rlly. a woman is tending to him, n because shes blind hes like. im batman. yeah. and she believes it. 
AND then Jason is formally adopted by Natalia
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Jason is still trying to find proof that shes evil, and they share a moment. 
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but jason is like. gotta fight crime! and so Natalia is like well i tried. wanna go be robin a bit?
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Batman & Robin go after mad hatter, and then Nocturna joins them bc shes epic
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and takes jay home bc its a school night smh
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Natalia & Jason spend some time together but Jason still doesn’t warm up to Natalia which like. makes sense since shes a villain and all that, but she tries nevertheless
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and then everyones most hated bitch comes back (Yes, anton) n he attacks Natalia, and then Jason when he hears the ruckus and goes to help
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but gets a chop
but! Bruce was just on his way to visit them so 
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fight fight bruce gets shot in the head n gets amnesia and thinks the dude anton shot & killed was him
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Anton swaps their costumes n makes Bruce believe that Anton is batman not him? or smth
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afterwards Jason blames himself
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and him & Natalia team up to find Bruce which includes.. carrying a corpse around
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for three days (well. nights) anton just runs around stealing n shit dressed as batman, n bruce is. literally chilling on a rooftop. alfred is losing his mind bc !? jason hasnt contacted him!? about what happened!? but Julia comes home and comforts him
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gotham is a lil in chaos with gordon vicki vale n bullock being suspicious, and the girl who was helping anton finds the stuff he stole and realizes hes not batman.
on the fourth night Jason n Natalia find Anton
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n they fight him
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but Anton gets the upper hand w Nocturna so Jason jumps in to defend her
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and then Nocturna defends Jason bc thats his baby
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but Anton doesnt get like. killed w that ofc, and hes like fuck u i’ll kill u one day but when the kid isnt here and after batman has fallen, bye (throws jason from building)
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and Natalia reagroup n well.. some things are said
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bc like even if Nocturna is helping shes a villain.. right? (thinking emoji)
meanwhile Bruce finally got his mind back. not important. who cares. the lady who was helping Anton goes to the police to tell them about Anton/fake batman dun dun dun. but Anton finds out and knocks out the policeman who went w the girl (Tina!) to check for proof n shit.
and guess whos back! amanda!
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back to new dynamic duo
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so Jason the little rascal (can i say hes a rascal when hes doing the hero thing n trying to expose a criminal?) goes looking for proof that Natalia is Nocturna n stuff, and finds some stolen things
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1. singsonging.. hes such a little shit lmaoo, 2. she was worried… pause…
anyways. they have a confrontation 
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in which Natalia swears shes reformed, but Jason doesnt buy it, and is like. im gonna get gordon! and Natalia is like.. do what u think is best
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but. he can’t do it..
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n hes like. well shes not bad anymore.. i wish i could go back to bruce without sending her to prison which… please development..  n natalia DOES want his love..
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AND THEN! BRUCE IS BACK! and he teams up with Nocturna to find Anton, but its just their luck Amanda sees them
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they do sm stuff not relevant and then Bruce is like go back to ur son now, and Natalia is like.. OUR son :)
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well whatever whatever they get Anton, Bruce goes back to being Batman, they clear his reputation, Jason goes back to the manor since Amanda saw Natalia, etc
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(he munches he crunches) also im gonna add this that isnt relevant bc its just so funny, buenos dias alfred
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anyways stuff hapens, like idk 14 issues without nocturna, the most important bit that happened is that selina is back. which she was gone. yeah. but shes back and around.
ANYWAYS! 15 issues later! shes back! some dudes entered her old observatory n were vandalizing and she was like hold up
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meanwhile we have Jason calling amanda bc he well.. misses his mom and as much as he loves bruce and hes his dad its not the same for some reason
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jason in every universe: i miss my mom i want my mom :(
at school Jason overheards some kids talking about Natalia in the observatory
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Jason goes looking for Natalia n turns out Bullock was also trying to see what was happening in the observatory, so they kinda team up for two whole panels to find her
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but Jason is like im not telling u shit.. n goes w Natalia on his own
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google always taking pics
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n they share a moment ;_____;
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n theyre reunited.. now ur gonna have to excuse me bc i didnt download the high quality of the next tec issues n all the download links are sadly broken
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but… what about natalia?
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then bullock finds them
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well bullock lets her go n while retelling the stuff to gordon he has.. a theory
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meanwhile Nocturna.. well Nocturna is back at it again, taking charge of a band of thieves.. sigh. 
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anyways, they talk, theres something weird happening w the sky that may mean the world is ending or smth, and they make up AND make out
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n they have a talk thats basically like. what now? should we be together? well depends if ur still gonna steal. i need funds to get the observatory back in track (HELLO BRUCE IS RICH HE COULD PAY IT..) and hes like oh so ur gonna be a thief again.. and shes like well havent u noticed im only stealing from corrupt rich politicians!? (QUEEN) n theres this gorgeous shot
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n then they go their separate ways bc its fucking batman
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anyways. Selina was also investigating the group of thieves (that were like black masks old gang but he was sent to prison so Nocturna took over etc) and she sees Nocturna leaving and follows her to the Observatory but.. Jason is there too
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Selina wants her GOOOONE she needs to clear her name but Jason is like. over my dead body
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n well ……. the girls are fightinggggggggggggggggggggggggg
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but Bruce intercepts
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n now Batman n Catwoman fight and its like the girls are fightingggggg… 2! but doesnt matter look at them
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and then Selina gets struck by lightning
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n then theres a earthquake bc god what a damn comic, and the observatory collapses, and Natalia is trapped inside
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anyways Selina is in the hospital, Anton is still killing people and knows where she is and is trying to get to her, and this little scene happens with Jason n B
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n while Bruce stays with Selina Jason goes to find Natalia which is so funny like. she went to Natalia, his mom, when Bruce told him to go home and well– we al know that story.
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n now its a race to get to Natalia before Anton gets to her
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n its rlly sad bc like Natalia is ready to die
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but both Bruce n Jason are trying to reach her
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and here comes Jason!
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AND LIKE. the fact she wants to live after all bc of Jason rlly makes me emotional not gonna lie! not gonna lie!
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and no offense but a mother’s love………………………………….. no thoughts head empty
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first of all i hate anton so fucking much. secondly here comes batdad..
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n Jason tries to help Natalia escape and then get back to Bruce who is getting his ass kinda kicked
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guess whos coming in that helicopter.. selina freaking kyle.. the legend.. and she helps Bruce with Anton. 
I REALLY DONT GET THIS TBH LIKE. he puts her into the giant balloon so she can get away but like shes hurt buddy shes gonna die up there.. 
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and. shes gone.
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n Jason is absolutely devastated
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n like. Bruce. as always. is like ok champ i see u got it in control, lmk when u wanna go home
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LIKE HES SO SAD.. OF COURSE HES SAD THAT WAS HIS MOM....
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And thats. pretty much it. Natalia is gone. 
However Jason still grieves her, and when Bruce and Selina are trying to get back together and... hes not a big fan of their relationship.. at all. But bruce tries to pair them up so they can become at least friends, since he loves them both and doesnt want to like. pick between his son and his lover
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and they make a fine team, even if Jason grieving Natalia and how Selina doesnt want to take her place is brought up a couple times :(
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and it gives it a bittersweet ending to the arc
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and well. thats it. thats the Jason and Natalia dynamic.
Natalia reappers later post crisis but well w/o her connection to Jason.. and i really dont wanna talk about the version of her that appears in batwoman comics LOL.  
conclusion: natalia was a bad lady, who at first wanted to use jason to get money from bruce, but then she had a change of heart, and development and became a kind of anti hero? well not antihero just.. she was trying her best man. i wish she hadnt disappeared like she couldve stayed relevant to jasons story without having to be romantically with bruce? bc if u read her comics u can see that she was killed off/voided for batcat to comeback which... typical batcat! anyways. i think she genuinely loved and cared for jason and that jason loved her and cared for her right back :( 
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