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livesincerely · 3 years

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inevitability

Part 5 of the Domestic AU (found here)

Also on Ao3

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“So, when are you gonna get married?” Tony asks apropos of nothing, looking between him and Davey with keen interest.

Jack barely manages to keep from choking on his cereal. Davey, who’d been in the middle of spreading a bit of lox on a bagel, slowly sets down his knife.

Charlie aims a kick at Tony under the table.

“You’re asking them now?” he hisses. “I thought we were gonna ease them into the idea!”

“There is no easing them into the idea when it comes to Jack and Davey,” Tony says, his expression tight with the exasperation of the long suffering. “You gotta give it to ‘em straight, right from the get go, ‘cause they’ll never figure it out on their own.”

“Hey,” Jack says weakly, but he doesn’t have a leg to stand on and they all know it.

“So, I’m asking,” Tony determinedly continues as if Jack hadn’t said anything. “When are you gettin’ married?”

There’s a long pause where he and Davey just stare at each other, neither of them quite sure how to respond.

He gets this from you, Davey’s expression says, clear as day.

I know he does, Jack says with a commiserating look, holding back a sigh.

“Well?” Tony demands when the silence stretches on for too long.

“It’s a little soon to be thinking about marriage,” Davey eventually says, far more delicately than Jack would’ve managed. “We haven’t talked about it at all yet⁠—”

“Because we only just got together yesterday, Tony,” Jack dryly interjects. “In case you forgot about that little detail.”

“—And we should probably start with the question of if we want to get married before we jump to the when,” Davey concludes.

Tony’s nose scrunches up, obviously dissatisfied with this answer.

“Of course you’re gonna get married,” he says, as if this is plainly obvious. “You’re basically married already, I just wanna know when the wedding’s gonna be.”

“Um.” Davey’s gone faintly pink. “Well, like I said, Jack and I haven’t talked about anything like that yet. We’re comfortable the way we are now, no need to rush into anything⁠—”

“And since we literally only just got together yesterday,” Jack says again, a little more emphatically, just to make sure the point lands, “getting married right off the bat would be all kinds of crazy.”

Tony levels him with the flattest look in all of existence. “You’re crazy if you think you haven’t already been married to Davey for years.”

Jack’s voice catches in his throat, a little blindsided by the frank truth of that statement. Davey’s mouth opens and closes, the rosy flush of his cheeks shading a touch deeper.

“We’re not thinking about gettin’ married just yet,” Jack says once he’s steadied himself, in a tone that brooks no further arguments. “Dave and I will talk about it when the time comes, if⁠,” he stresses clearly, “we decide that’s what we want.”

“But what, exactly, is holding you back?” Tony asks, stubbornly brooking further arguments anyway. “Like, do you have any actual reasons?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s none of your business,” Jack snipes back. “Given that that’ll be a conversation between me and Davey.”

“I just don’t understand what the big deal is,” Tony says, crossing his arms across his chest. “Pretty much nothing would change, except that the next time someone assumes that you two are married, they’d actually be right instead of simply noticing what was so obvious that even complete strangers clue in to it⁠—”

“Tony,” Jack groans.

“—coming to the perfectly reasonable conclusion that you’re together⁠—”

“Tony, that’s enough, we get it,” Jack says.

“—instead of the inexplicable reality of the situation which was that you were, in fact, not together, despite being in love with each other for eight entire years because you’re idiots⁠—”

Jack covers his face with his hands.

“—and given that, like, every aspect of your lives are already tangled together, it’s not really that big of a step for you to just go ahead and make it official.”

Jack sighs so hard he feels it in his bones. “If we promise to talk about this, will you please stop talking about it?”

“Eight years, Jack!” Tony cries, impassioned. “That’s half of my life! That’s more than half of Charlie’s life!”

“Do not bring me into this,” Charlie quickly interjects, “I am a passive witness and nothing more.”

“You’re such a fucking turncoat, Choo-Choo,” Tony mutters with no real heat. “You’re supposed to have my back on this.”

“Maybe if you could ever actually stick to a plan,” Charlie grumbles back.

“We will talk about it,” Jack says loudly, interrupting their bickering before it can gain any ground. “Okay?”

There’s a moment of blessed silence.

Then Tony says, “So, like, right now? Or…?”

“Sure!” Jack says, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Why not? Clearly, I’m not gonna get any fucking peace until this is sorted—

“Finally!” Tony exclaims. “God, was that so hard?”

“—So go away,” Jack finishes.

Tony’s mouth falls open.

“What do you mean, go away?” he protests, looking genuinely shocked. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I’m not gonna let you sit here and fucking… moderate our conversation, dumbass,” Jack sputters. “Get out!”

“But I really feel like this is the kind of conversation that needs moderating,” Tony disagrees. “It’s not like either of you have a great track record for effective communication⁠—”

“Anthony Ethan Higgins,” Jack warns, nearly at the end of his rope.

Tony rolls his eyes so hard his whole body moves with the motion. “I am literally just trying to help, you don’t gotta get all defensive about it⁠—”

“Jesus Christ, Tony,” Jack says, completely and utterly done. “Will you please just⁠— Just go somewhere that isn’t here.”

“But are you gonna talk about it?” Tony insists, really digging in his heels. “Because if you’re just gonna not talk about it the second I leave then I think I should⁠—”

“Tonio, juro por Dios—”

“Tony, honey,” Davey finally steps back into the fray, far calmer than he has any right to be, and somehow, miraculously, Tony’s mulish expression softens into something a little chagrined. Jack gapes, wrong-footed by the sudden change. “I think you’ve made your point and given Jack more than enough heart attacks for one morning, yeah? So why don’t you go ahead and give us a few minutes, and I promise we’ll talk about it.”

Tony deflates. “Yeah, okay.”

“Thank you, baby.”

Tony shuffles away, mollified for now. Davey pauses, then says, “Charlie, that means you too.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Charlie protests. “I’m just sittin’ here, tryin’ to eat.”

He takes an exaggerated bite of his bagel as if to prove his point, eyes extra wide and innocent.

“Charlie.”

“But my food!”

“Take it with you,” Davey suggests, very patiently.

Charlie looks as though that thought hadn’t occurred to him.

“Okay,” he says, scooping up his plate and scurrying after his brother. He hesitates in the doorway, then adds, “My vote is for an autumn wedding, if that counts for anything.”

“Charlie.”

“Going!”

Once he’s sure they’re both gone, Jack heaves another massive sigh.

“They’re such a pair of little shits,” he says, to Davey and the world at large. “Fucking hell.”

Davey takes a drink of his coffee, holding out his other hand to Jack in offering. Jack reaches over and laces their fingers together, most of his irritation slipping away in an instant at the simple contact.

“But he is right, you know,” Davey comments.

“I know he’s right,” Jack grumbles, rubbing his thumb gently over Davey’s knuckles. “Don’t mean he ain’t a little shit.”

“Well, naturally,” Davey agrees. “He was raised by you.”

“Oh, please,” Jack says with a snort. “That little spiel of his was all you. ‘The inexplicable reality of the situation,’' he echoes, shaking his head. “It was like hearin’ your voice comin’ outta Tony’s mouth.”

“And it was a well thought-out argument,” Davey says pertly, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a wry little grin. “His timing could use some work, though.”

“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” Jack says, huffing out a breath. “Didn’t even let us finish eating before he pounced.”

“It has been eight years,” Davey says, and he’s definitely holding back a laugh. “Guess he’s afraid of a repeat performance.”

“Well....” Jack trails off with a shrug, because that part’s hard to argue with. More than half of Charlie’s life, Jesus. “Yeah, but he was talkin’ like he expected us to walk down the aisle this afternoon. I mean, we can’t just get married. You don’t just get married.”

“Most people don’t,” Davey says, tilting his head. “But then, we aren’t really most people, are we, darling?”

It takes a moment for this statement to really register for Jack⁠, and when it finally does, it lands with an earth shattering boom.

“Are you sayin’ you’d marry me?” Jack asks, utterly floored, heart pounding an unsteady rhythm in his chest.

“Are you asking me?” Davey asks, calmly sipping his coffee like he isn’t rocking Jack’s world, right here over breakfast, for the second time in not even two days.

“You want to marry me?”

This makes Davey pause.

“Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?” he asks, a confused little furrow forming between his brows.

“Stop answerin’ all of my questions with questions,” Jack demands, a wealth of feelings bubbling furiously in his chest. “Just— You’re serious? Like, you’d really just— Just like that?”

Davey looks at him, his eyes bright blue and utterly sincere.

“Just like that,” he softly agrees. “If you asked.”

“Well, I’m not askin’,” Jack snaps. His face colors immediately: “No, I didn’t mean it like— It’s just, I don’t want to seem, I don’t want’cha ta think—“

Davey reaches up and gently presses two fingers to Jack’s lips, and Jack’s sputtering slows to a halt.

“Breathe, darling,” Davey says, and the tightness in Jack’s throat eases in the face of Davey’s warm, steady gaze. “What’s got you so worked up about this? I get that it wasn’t what we were expecting to have to talk about this morning, but you seem… upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Jack says.

Davey keeps looking at him.

“...Maybe I’m freaking out a little bit,” Jack allows.

“Talk to me,” Davey prompts, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. “What’s wrong?”

Jack licks his lips, then blurts, “You know that I’m, like, wholly and unshakably in love with you, right?”

Davey blushes, a dash of red pooling high in his cheeks and cutting across the bridge of his nose, his fingers curling even tighter around Jack’s own.

“Perhaps not in those exact words,” Davey murmurs, smiling as he stares down at their joined hands. Even his ears have turned red⁠—it’s kind of wonderful. “But I had something of an inkling, yes.”

“And you know that if it was just about commitment, if it was just about wanting to, I’d marry you in a heartbeat,” Jack continues. “We could go down to the courthouse today, if it was just that. I’ve been ready for you⁠—for us⁠—for years, sweetheart. I love you. You get that, don’tcha?”

Now it’s Davey’s turn to go speechless.

“Oh,” he says. “I… that’s…”

“But it’s not just about wanting to,” Jack says. “It’s not about being ready.”

“Then what’s it about, Jackie?”

“It’s about makin’ sure we do this right,” Jack explains. “‘Bout makin’ sure I do this right.”

Davey’s eyes sweep over his face, searching, then his expression turns tender.

“Jack,” he says, his voice full of affection. “You don’t have anything you need to prove to me. Not a single thing.”

“But I do, cielito,” Jack disagrees. “I need you to know that I don’t take you for granted. That you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. That I’d do anything and everything for you. That I love you.”

He lifts Davey hand to his lips and presses a kiss to the back of it.

“When I propose to you, and I am gonna propose to you one day,” Jack says, intently, holding Davey’s gaze, “It’s gonna be special. It’s gonna be sappy. I’m gonna make sure you understand how absolutely, stupidly in love with you I am. I’m going to sweep you off your fucking feet, because you deserve that, Dave. You deserve all of that and more.”

“Jack,” Davey breathes. “Jackie.”

“So I’m not askin’,” Jack finishes. “Not yet. Not today.”

Davey’s smile is a beautiful thing.

“But one day,” he says, leaning in to press their foreheads together,

“One day,” Jack confirms, and he seals the promise with a gentle kiss. “One day.”

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Tag List: @yahfancyclamwiththepurlinside @corbinthecowboy @stroopwafeldetective @amillionandonefandoms

#newsies #javid #jack kelly #davey jacobs #racetrack higgins #crutchie morris #the domestic au #*editor's note #*the writing desk #*final cut #thank you for your patience!#💕💕💕😊

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prismatica-the-strange · 3 years

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A normal noneventful day at the SGC Full of research and flirting

I love this prompt!

The feeling of lips on your own wake you up, eyes fluttering open to meet familiar blue ones.

"Time to get up," Daniel says softly, stroking the side of your face.

You hum, stretching your arms over your head, your back popping.

"Morning," you lean up and kiss him.

You get up and get dressed, walking out to the kitchen to see him mat the kitchen counter, fixing a cup of coffee.

"That for me?" You ask, hugging him from behind.

"No," he reaches for a different cup, "but this is."

You release him and take the cup with a smile, kissing his cheek, "Thank you."

You both sit at the table with your coffee and cereal.

"Have you seen my wallet?" He asks, flipping up one of the couch cushions.

"Right here!" You call from bedroom, snatching it from the bedside table. You meet him in the living room and toss it to him, "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

♤♤♤

You're not, you're right on time actually.

Jack rolls his eyes when he sees the two of you step out of the elevator, "Love birds," he teases.

Daniel makes a face and you make your way to your robotics lab. When you get there, Daniel gives you a quick kiss, "Lunch?"

"Lunch," you smile, kissing him again.

He pulls away with a groan and gives you a look before heading to his own cluttered lab.

You get working on your current project, headphones on, music blaring.

♤♤♤

You jump and make a noise when you feel a hand pinch your ass. You hook your headphones around your neck and glare at him.

"Dr. Jackson! That is not proper workplace behavior!" You chastise lightly hitting his arm.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Jackson," he grins pulling you toward him by the waist, "Did I upset you?"

"You could at least buy a girl lunch first," you pout.

"I think that could be arranged," he leans in and captures you lips with his. He kisses you like your his oxygen.

"Ahem," you break apart to see Sam standing at the door to your lab. She points at he watch and your eyes go wide.

"That was today?!"

"Yeah, and if we hurry we can still make it," she says.

You look to Daniel, "Sam and I have lunch plans."

He starts to pout.

"Oh no," Sam cuts in, pulling you away from him, "I'm not rescheduling just because you you have Y/n wrapped around your little finger."

"Oh come on Sam!"

"No!" She argues, "You can have your wife back after lunch, okay?"

"I'll see you in a bit!" You call behind you as Sam drags you to the elevator.

♤♤♤

"Mm, I needed this," Sam smiles through mouthful of dessert, "we should do this again."

"Yes," you laugh reaching for your drink you saw something catch her eye.

"Is that what time it is?"

You look at your watch, it had been an hour and a half.

"We should get going," you say, pulling out your wallet and paying your share of the bill.

♤♤♤

"Knock Knock," you announce your presence from the doorway of hislab.

Daniel looks up at you from the papers in front of him momentarily, "Hey, how was lunch?"

"Good," you make your way to his desk and set the plastic bag next to him, "brought you some fries."

"Oh!" He takes a peak before reaching in and grabbing a few.

"So," you say pulling a seat up next to him andooking at the papers, "Whatcha working on?"

"Trying to translate this particular dialect of ancient," he said before eating the French fries.

"Anything I can help with?" You look over his shoulder.

"Actually," He reached for a book and went to hand it to you, but gave you a funny look, "You aren't busy? I thought you had a breakthrough with that project."

"I've had diagnostics running for the past hour or so, I'll get a page when it's done. Now gimme," you made grabby hands at the book.

He laughed and explained what you were looking for.

♤♤♤

Your brow furrows and you stand up, pointing to a passage on the paper he was looking at.

"Punishment of the deceitful and detestable." You translated, setting book in your hands down.

He looked at you with big eyes and an even bigger smile.

"I knew there was a reason I married you!" He grinned, jumping to his feet and kissing you deeply.

"Oh, so you're just using me for my brain?" You laugh as you pull away.

"Well, that and your gorgeous body," he leans in for another kiss, his tongue eagerly exploring your mouth.

You moan against him before quickly pulling away with a burning face.

"We're gonna get caught," you laugh, hiding your face in his chest.

"Then maybe someone should learn to keep quiet," he teases, hugging your shoulders and kissing the top of your head.

"You're a jerk Dr. Jackson."

"I love you too Mrs. Jackso-" He was interrupted by your pager, "Sounds like your diagnostics are done."

"Five more minutes," You sigh against him, making him chuckle.

"You know if Jack finds us like this he'll never let you live it down."

"Jack can go fu-"

"Carefully how you finish that sense Y/n, or I might make you stay here next time we go off world." Jack's voice came from the hallway.

"Colonel O'Neill, what a surprise," you smile as you pull away from your husband.

"A good one, I'm sure," he joked, "I need to talk with Daniel."

You nod before kissing Daniel one last time and go off to your lab.

♤♤♤

"So..." You spin your chair around at the sound of Daniel's voice, "How goes the robots?"

"The robots go good," you say, turning back to your work. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," you can hear him pick up some tool and fiddle with it, "Just thought you might wanna go home at some point."

Your hands freeze over your keyboard. What time was it?

You look up at the clock, 9:00pm.

"Shit." You swivel back to face him, "I lost track of time."

"So did I," he tosses the wrench in his hand back onto your workbench, "But now I'm tired, and hungry, and all I wanna do is go home and curl up with my wife."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

Masterlist

#so yea you're married if that wasn't obvious #i really liked this whole 'a day in the life of' thing #Daniel is still a mega simp even after he's married #I'm not entirely sure if this is what you wanted anon #iff not i ope you liked it anyway #Daniel Jackson #Daniel Jackson x reader #prisma writes #food mention tw

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atlafan · 4 years

Text

My Everything - Part Eighteen

A Take it Slow Sequel

What happens with Harry and Y/N after he proposes? How will the two navigate the engaged life while also continuing to juggle their jobs, friends, and families? Let’s find out.

Warnings: fluff, smut, angst. TW: mentions of past abuse!

Words: 9K

a/n: So, the courtroom stuff is literally like an SVU episode, it’s probably not very accurate. I just wrote what I wanted to happen. If you know more about how courtrooms and prosecutions work, I apologize

Masterpost

“Oh, fuck.”

You were trying to stifle your moans. You and Harry were simply spooning early in the morning, when you innocently adjusted against him. He pressed up against you harder and things just sort of escalated from there. He was fucking you from behind while still in the spooning position. His fingers were rubbing circles into your clit and you had your arm hooked around his head so you could tug at his hair.

You got cleared to have sex a couple of weeks ago, but you hadn’t done anything since Anne had stayed with you to help out. You and Harry had agreed on condoms, not that you were using one now. You didn’t care right this second, it just felt so good.

“Y/N.” Harry groans in the back of your neck.

“I’m so close, don’t stop.” You pant.

You arch back into him as you feel your release coming. Once he knows you’ve ridden it out, he pulls out and pushes you fully onto your stomach. You gasp when you feel his come shoot onto your back and ass. You feel him get off the bed. You look over to the bathroom where he’s going into to grab a rag. He comes back to wipe you clean, even between your folds. Harry leans down and kisses your cheek before bringing the rag back to the bathroom. He gets back on the bed and pulls you to his chest.

“That was incredible.” You breathe. You drape and arm and a leg over him and hold him tight.

“Much needed, that’s for sure.”

“We need to buy some condoms.”

“I got some, I just didn’t wanna kill the vibe by stopping to reach for one.” He chuckles and you look up at him.

“You sound like a teenager.” You laugh. “Although, it was nice to just feel you. Maybe I should just suck it up and get an IUD.” You sigh.

“You don’t need to decide right now.” He kisses your hairline. “I’m really glad Jack’s been staying in his bed, it was nice not being interrupted for a change. As much as I like when he comes in to cuddle, don’t get me wrong.”

“You know what he told me last night? I’m a big boy, Mumma, I’m three now.” You giggle. “He’s been three for three weeks, now he thinks he’s so grown.”

“You know what’s cool? He can form, like, real sentences. Like, I can have a real conversation with him now.”

“It’s great. He’s got a nice personality.”

“Well, he should, we both have great personalities.” He scoffs.

You loved this. Harry could have pillow talk with you and not have to leave for work. You were dreading when he’d start half days at the end of the month. You were being spoiled. He stretches out and groans.

“Alright, I’m gonna get up and make sure the pool’s good to go. You wanna get Jack started?”

“No, I wanna stay snuggled up with you.” You bury your head in his chest.

He rolls you both over so you’re pinned down underneath him. It looks like he’s about to say something, but you hear Jessica cry over the baby monitor. You both sigh heavily.

“Okay, let’s start the day.” You say.

You both put swim suits on and do your morning routines before going to check on the kids. Harry slips downstairs to get the pool ready. You go into Jessica’s room first.

“Good morning, angel.” You coo. “I know, you’re hungry. Don’t worry, after I change you I’m gonna get you your bubby.”

“Mumma?” Jack comes into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Good morning, my love.” You get Jessica on the changing table and undress her. “Could you go put on your swim trunks for me? And then I’ll help you get washed up.”

“We’re going swimming?!” He perks up.

“That’s right. Daddy’s getting the pool all cleaned up as we speak. Of course we’ll need to eat breakfast first and make sure we go potty before we go in.” You look at him. “I don’t want another poopy emergency.”

“Okay!”

He runs back into his room to get changed. You get Jessica in a little onesie and make sure to get plenty of sunscreen on her. You strap her to your chest to so you can walk around easier. You find a little bucket hat to put over her head too. You help Jack brush his teeth and get sunscreen on him as well. When you get downstairs, Harry hands you a bubby for Jessica, and gets Jack a bowl of cereal.

“Is the pool all clean, Daddy?”

“You bet! Nice and warm out there today too.”

“Mumma, you’re gonna swim?”

“I’m going to sit in my pool float with the baby for a bit.”

“You never swim.” He pouts.

“Mummy’s don’t like to swim, Jack. The water’s too cold for ‘em.” Harry smirks at you and you glare at him.

“That’s a dumb stereotype. I swim when we go to the beach.”

“When was the last time we even went?”

“No idea…isn’t that sad?” You think for a moment. “Why don’t we go this weekend? We could see what Sarah and Niall are doing.”

“Won’t it be a lot to bring the baby?”

“Not really.” You shrug. “We have one of those little tents, we’ll keep her in the shade. Jack, would you like to go to the beach this weekend?”

“Yes! We can make a sandcastle!”

“That’s right!”

After waiting for Jack to use the bathroom, you all head outside to the pool. Harry goes in with Jack at first and plays with the various pool toys they had gotten. You get onto your float with Jessica and cradle her to your chest.

“Mumma, look! I can swim to the bottom!” You watch as he dives under the water and then shoots back up. “Did you see?!”

“I did, well done!” You smile.

“Daddy, will you throw me up?”

“Yup.”

“Harry, if you splash me, I swear to god…”

“Cover her head then, he makes a pretty big splash, babe.”

Harry picks Jack up and throws him in the air. He tucks his knees in to almost do a cannon ball when he comes back down. He makes a decent splash, but you manage to keep Jessica dry.

“Again, again!”

“Only once more, I don’t want you getting dizzy.” Harry laughs, and throws him in the air again.

Jessica starts crying a little while later so you take her inside to change and feed her. She fell right back asleep once she burped. You set her up in her stroller outside in the shade. You didn’t need to hold onto her every two seconds, after all.

“Mumma, can Buster come in the pool?”

You look down at your dog, and see he’s perfectly content sitting next to the stroller.

“No, honey, he’s a little too big for this kind of pool. He can really only swim at Uncle Niall and Auntie Sarah’s.”

You climb back into the water and dive in. It felt good to really swim again. You come back up and shake your hair out.

“Good thing I bought that chlorine shampoo.” You get the elastic out of your hair and dunk your head again.

“Yeah, we’ll have to scrub those curls out later, huh, Jack?” Harry says to him.

“No, I hate it!” He pouts.

“That’s a pretty strong word.” You pout back at him. “You could say you don’t like it instead.”

“I don’t like it.” You pick him up and swim him around with you, which makes him smile big. “This is fun, Mumma.” He snuggles close to you. You give his cheek lots of kisses.

“I think it might almost be nap time.” You whisper to Harry and he nods.

Jack falls asleep in your arms and you hand him over to Harry so he can take him out of the pool. You lay a towel down in the shade and make a little outdoor bed for Jack. Harry lays him down and you both smile.

“How cute is that?” He whispers.

“Too cute.” You whisper back. “And look at her, sound asleep.”

“Buster’s pooped too.” Harry chuckles. “Want me to get the grill going for lunch?”

“Great idea. I got us some vegan hot dogs and buns.”

“You’re the best. Do we have any actual hot dogs for him?”

“Mhm, they’re in the fridge.”

You and Harry didn’t feel the need to keep Jack on the same diet as you. When he gets older he can decide on if he wants to eat meat or not. Harry gets the grill going, and Jack wakes up right when everything’s done being made. You sit down with Jessica and feed her while Harry helps Jack with his hot dog.

“Let me burp her, I haven’t held her all day.”

“Alright.” You pass the baby to him.

“Hi, little girl.” He burps her and cradles her in his arms.

“Was that a good hot dog, Jack?” You ask your son.

“Yeah! Daddy’s a good cook.”

“He’s a very good cook.” You wink at Harry. “What about me?”

“I like when you cook too.” He gets up from his seat and crawls into your lap. “I like when you’re home with me, Mumma.”

“Me too, baby.”

“Oi, and what about Daddy?” Harry says, a little offended. “She’s home with you anyways.”

“I like when you’re home too, Daddy!” Jack giggles. “Can we take Buster for walk soon?”

“Sure, go inside and put a shirt and your sneakers on. I’ll help you tie them up.” You reach for your cover up and throw it on. “Come on, Buster.” You whistle at him. “Stay with her, we’ll be back.” You kiss his forehead and hers and, go inside.

After your walk, you return with a surprise.

“Daddy! Mumma let us get ice scream from the ice cream man, here!”

“She did?!” Harry was lounging in a chair, using a scrunchie to keep his hair off his face. Jessica was back in the stroller in the shade. “Thank you very much, Mummy.”

“You’re welcome, Daddy.” You sit down and grab another scrunchie to put Jack’s hair up. “There, now you won’t get your hair all sticky.”

“And I’ll look just like Daddy.” Jack smiles and licks his ice cream pop.

“You didn’t get anything for yourself?” Harry frowns.

“Nah.” You shrug. “Don’t need it.”

“Y/N.”

“It’s fine! I have some low fat treats for myself in the freezer.”

Harry rolls his eyes at you and you start chuckling.

“What?”

“Nothing, just, remember how mad you used to get when I would do that to you?”

“Haven’t you learned by now that everything’s okay when I do it?” He smirks.

“Mumma, can we swim again?”

“You have to wait a little bit. You just had all that ice cream after all.”

“Niall called while you were gone, by the way.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah, wants to know if we can get a sitter tonight to go out to eat with them. There’s a new seafood place they wanna try.”

“Do we need a sitter? Is it not kid friendly?”

“I asked the same thing.” He shrugs.

“I don’t know if I want a sitter with Jessica just yet…as much as I like ours…” You think for a moment. “I could call my mom.” You grab your phone. “I wouldn’t mind an adult night out.” You call your mom. “Hey, mum.”

“Hi honey! How’s the pool treating you?”

“It’s great! How would you like to come use it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…Harry and I got invited out to dinner tonight. We thought you might like to come babysit. Or I could drive them out to you, whatever’s easier.”

“You know, I’m actually free tonight, I could come over there for a bit. It’ll be good for you to get out for a while.”

“Awesome! Could you be here around five?”

“Sure thing!”

“Thanks, love you!” You hang up and pick Jack up to look at you. “Guess who’s coming to visit later.”

“Who?”

“Mimi!”

“Yay! I love Mimi.”

You kiss his forehead and hold him close to you.

“Great, I’ll tell Niall we’re in.”

“Sex, and a night out! It feels like Christmas.” You giggle as you finish doing your makeup.

“I know! They even said they’d drive. Think they wanna get us drunk.”

He walks into the bathroom to talk with you. You were just getting some lipstick on. You had a beautiful red sundress on along with a sleek high ponytail. You looked gorgeous.

“Jesus, might need to have a quickie before we go.”

“You’re funny.” You smack your lips and boop his nose. “Come on, we need to get back downstairs. Mum probably thinks we’re fucking up here as it is.”

“It was cute watching her help put the kids to bed.”

You both walk downstairs just as Niall and Sarah pull up to the front door.

“Thanks again, mummy, we won’t be out too late.”

“Take your time. I brought my overnight bag, so I’m happy to stay if you kids wanna make it a late one.”

“Thanks!”

Harry hooks an arm around your waist and leads you outside. He opens the door for you and gets in on the other side.

“Hey guys.” You say, leaning to give Sarah and Niall each a kiss on the cheek. Harry does the same. “Thanks for inviting us out.”

“Of course! The school year is officially over! We’re celebrating.” Sarah says. “We’ve been dying to go to this place too.”

“It’s gotten really good reviews.” Niall says. “How are the babies?”

“Good, we had a pool day today. Jack got really excited because I actually swam.” You laugh.

About twenty minutes later, you get to the restaurant. It was nice for a seafood place, you were happy you were sort of dressed up. You’re sat at table for four. The tablecloth was a nice baby blue. Waters and a basket of bread are brought over to you to start with.

“How about a bottle of wine for the table, would that work for everyone?” Niall asks.

“Sure!” You say. “After all, we’re celebrating. Another year down, Sarah.”

“I know! I love this school so much. I started tenure this year too, it’s incredible.”

Niall orders a bottle of red wine for the table while you all look over the menu. Harry was being rather quiet, but he seemed fine. His hand was on your knee, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Harry, what are you thinking?”

“Maybe these broiled scallops? That sounded good.”

“Mm, I might do the same. I can’t remember the last time I had those.”

“Y/N, any news on the trial?” Niall asks.

“Next month…I have to go testify.” You sigh. “There’s so much going on. I guess they have a kid, so if he’s not convicted enough to go to prison, she’s at least fighting for full custody. My testimony along with the other women could help either way.”

“You’re so brave, Y/N…” Sarah says. “I don’t think I’d have the guts to go into a courtroom like that.”

“It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it for some justice.”

A waiter comes over with the wine and pours you all a glass. You all order your dishes and clink your glasses together. Harry’s hand was still on your knee.

“So, Harry, you’re home through the end of June?” Sarah asks.

“Through the first week of July, actually. Isaac and Mariah asked if we could close for the fourth.” He shrugs. “I was perfectly fine with it.”

“And everything’s still going well?”

“Yeah, it’s great. Usually businesses struggle within their first five years, but our numbers get better every year. We’re lucky.”

“I think it’s the location too. The convenience of that park across the street must make a difference.” Niall says.

“Plus we sell other things, so people can come in and buy pictures and frames as well. My social media lady helps a lot too.” He looks at you and winks. You kiss him on the cheek, leaving a nice lipstick mark behind.

“We were thinking of going to the beach Saturday, would you guys wanna join?” You ask Sarah and Niall.

“Sure!” Niall says. “That would be Jessica’s first time at the beach, wouldn’t it?”

“Mhm.” You smile. “We haven’t brought Jack in forever either, thought it might be nice.”

“You know what would be cool once they get a little older? Now that Rachel and Mariah have Ricky, and Seth and Isaac have one on the way, we could all, like, rent a vacation house or something and go on a family vacation.” Sarah Says.

“That would be so much fun!”

“We should just do that for your birthday, but without the kids.” Harry smirks.

“Right, because turning thirty-two is sooo exciting.” You scoff. “Besides, I like the idea of all the kids getting to know each other better. Ricky is so cute too, they really lucked out with that adoption.”

“Yeah, I thought Mariah would’ve wanted a baby, but she seems to be doing just as well with a five year old.” Harry says. “She brings him in sometimes when Rachel can’t be home with him. He loves seeing her in action. Plus, he likes playing with Buster.”

“Wait, I like where Harry’s head is at. You birthday is always the perfect excuse to get away for a weekend in the summer.” Niall says.

“I wouldn’t want to leave them for that long.” You say bluntly. “A night here and there is fine, but a long weekend like that…I just don’t see it. I’d want to bring them, and I know that would get annoying for the two of you.”

“No it wouldn’t.” Sarah says. “Just because we didn’t want kids of our own doesn’t mean we don’t love yours unconditionally.”

“But…tonight, you wanted to have dinner without them…”

“Well, yeah. This is a nice place, plus I could just feel that you two needed a break. You’ve been cooped up. It’s officially summer now, and Auntie Sarah is here to help.” She smiles.

You and Harry get home at a reasonable time so your mom didn’t need to spend the night. You sigh as you slip your shoes off, and start to get undressed. You catch Harry taking his shirt off and smile.

“Could you help me with my zipper?”

He hums his response and comes over to you.

“You got some color today, babe.” He says to you.

“I know, my summer tan is in full swing.” You chuckle.

You step out of your dress and get the rest of your clothes off before grabbing one of his t-shirts to throw on. He strips down to his boxers and crawls into bed.

“Tonight was fun.” You look at him and roll over to fully face him.

“Yeah, good little date night.” He puts his hand on your hip and trails up to your back to give you a little rub. “You looked so pretty in your dress.”

“Thank you. I feel like I’m slowly becoming myself again. The treadmill in the basement has been great.”

“Babe.” He sighs. “Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?”

“Turn a compliment into something that makes you insecure? I wasn’t even…” He sucks his teeth. “I just said you looked pretty.”

“I know, and I said I feel like my body is going back to normal. You have no idea how hard it is to look in a mirror and barely recognize yourself.” You look down and then meet his eyes again. “I’m not trying to turn this into anything, but I do feel insecure sometimes. You met me when I looked a lot different. I didn’t have as many stretch marks, my skin wasn’t as loose…ugh and it’s so frustrating because I’d do it all over again.” You flop onto your back and cover your eyes with your forearm. Harry moves on top of you to straddle you.

“You would?”

“Yes.” You groan. He moves your arm away so you’ll look at him.

“How many more times?” You feel his length hardening against you.

“As many as we feel like.” You raise your hips slightly to his and he groans. “Within reason, of course.”

“I know you don’t love the changes your body makes, but you’re so sexy when you’re pregnant. Even now, nearly three months after having Jessica, you’re still glowing.” He leans down to kiss you. “I’d put another one in you right now.” He says into your ear and it sends shiver up your spine. “You’d like that wouldn’t you? To be full of me?”

“Harry.” You breathe and grind your hips up towards his again. “I’m not ready yet, but…maybe soon. I don’t wanna wait another two years like we did with Jack, but we just had her and…”

“I was just trying to, um, say something to get you in the mood, babe.”

“Oh.” You start laughing. “Well, I’m in the mood so go put a condom on.”

“Wow, twice in one day, look at us.” He hops off the bed and rummages through the night stand for the foil packet.

“I know, it’s just like the good old days.”

“I’d still fuck you any second I could if we didn’t have two little roommates to worry about.”

You giggle as he slides the condom on. You lift up slightly to take your shirt off. His hand slides between your legs to make sure that you’re wet. He teases you a little before pushing inside you. Your nails dig into his shoulders. It really was a nice treat having sex twice in one day. When you were younger it would happen all the time, but life got in the way.

“Harry, kiss me.” You pant as he thrusts in and out of you.

His lips meet yours and you grab for his hands. He pins them down by the sides of your head as your fingers intertwine. Your tongues mold together and he swallows every one of your moans.

“Feels so fucking good.” He grunts.

“God, fuck, don’t stop.” He was hitting your g-spot in just the right way. You were close already. “Yes, shit, right there.” You gasp as you come undone under him.

He kisses you before pulling out to flip you over. He pulls your hips up to his so he can slide back in. The sound of his moan is heavenly as he fucks you from behind.

“Y/N.” He pants.

You move your ass back against him to move in sync with his thrusts, and that just about does it for him. He spills into the condom and nearly falls on top of you. He kisses the back of your neck before pulling out. You both use the bathroom to clean up and then get back into bed.

“I feel like we either do it a lot or not at all.” He chuckles, pulling you to his chest.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“But I like having sex with you.” You pout. “I just get so tired.”

“I know, so do I. I like the early morning shags, those are really nice.”

“Mm, yeah, great way to start the day off.” You kiss him one last time before turning over. He turns over with you to hold onto you. It doesn’t take long until you’re both fast asleep.

The day you all went to the beach was absolutely perfect, not a cloud in the sky. Niall helped set up an umbrella to give the kids some shade. Jack fusses when you put sunscreen all over his face, but once it’s done, he’s good to go. He grabs the sand toys and gets to work on his castle. Harry has Jessica nestled to his chest, hat covering her head.

“He has a doctor’s appointment Tuesday.” You tell Harry. “Boosters.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll take him, right?”

“We can’t all go together?”

“No, I’m taking Jessica to visit my dad, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

“Y/N, wanna check out the water with me?” Sarah asks.

“Me too!” Jack perks up.

“Alright.”

You stand up and grab one of Jack’s hands, Sarah grabs the other. Harry and Niall watch as the three of you have fun walking into the water.

“I hate when I have to take them to the doctor.”

“Why?” Niall asks him.

“Because…the nurses always flirt with me, it’s annoying.”

“Oh, boo hoo.” Niall rolls his eyes. “They know you’re married.”

“That’s the annoying part. It’s like they think I would actively cheat on my wife. The receptionist slipped me her number last time I had to take him.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Yeah!” Jessica fiddles for a second, but Harry soothes her. “Yeah.” He says quieter.

“Did you tell, Y/N?”

“No.” He sighs. “We both really like Dr. Philips, and Jack likes her too.”

“Did you say anything to the receptionist?”

“I threw the paper she gave me into the trash right in front of her.”

A few moments later the three of you come back up to your spot.

“Jack, I need to reapply your sunscreen.”

“No! I don’t like it.” He whines.

“You’ll like a sunburn even less, now come here.”

“No! I don’t-“

“Jack.” Harry says sternly. Jack looks at his father and pouts.

“But, Daddy.” He whines.

“I like when mum puts sunscreen on me, why don’t you?” You smile as Harry looks at you. You put some sunscreen in your hands and rub it onto Harry’s face. “See?”

“Okay.” Jack sighs.

Jack lets you put more sunscreen on and then he goes back to his sand toys. You grab a bowl and pour some water into it for Buster.

“There you go, sweetheart.” You pat his head and sit down. “Hand her over.” You grab a bubby from the cooler. Harry passes Jessica over to you so you can feed her.

“Wow, Harry, you really shut that down.” Sarah says.

“He does everything I do if he sees her do it to me, we’ve slowly learned. If I wear a bandana, he has to wear one because he knows she likes when my hair is out of my face. That’s how we got him to eat his veggies too. Total copycat.” He smirks.

“Jack, are you getting hungry?” You ask him as you burp Jessica.

“Yeah!”

He runs over to you and climbs into your lap. You sigh when he gets you all sandy. You look over at Harry.

“I’ll, uh, get his lunch out of the cooler.” He says.

“Thanks.”

“Jack, come sit with me.” Sarah says. “Auntie needs some loving.”

He giggles and goes over to her. Harry hands him his sandwich.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome. Here, honey.” He hands you yours.

“Thank you.” You pucker your lips and he leans down to kiss you.

“Let me hold the baby.” Niall says. You happily hand her over to her uncle.

“Daddy, will you take me swimming?”

“Gotta wait a few minutes after you eat, buddy, but yeah.”

“Think I’m gonna lay out for a bit.” You say and stretch. You lay a towel out and lay on your stomach. “Harry, could you-“

He was already putting sunscreen on you. Jack hops off Sarah and plops down on your bum.

“Oh!”

“Jack.” Harry chuckles. “S’not very nice.” He picks him up off of you. “Let’s go to the loo and then we can go swimming, alright?”

“I’ll come with.” Niall says. He puts Jessica in the shade in her carrier. She was fast asleep. Sarah lays on a towel next to you.

“They certainly keep you both busy, huh?”

“Yeah.” You smile. “But you know me, I like being busy.” You watch them all walk away towards the bathhouse. “You know the other day, we were talking about having another one.”

“Are you serious?! You realize you have an infant right over there.”

“I’m well aware.” You giggle.

“So why would you want to have a third so soon?”

“I’m gonna be thirty-two soon, Sarah. I don’t wanna wait another two years to have another baby. I’m not saying I’m going to get pregnant right now, but soon I think. And then we’ll probably be done.”

“Probably.” She laughs. “You two are wild.”

“He likes it when I’m pregnant.” You grin.

“It does look good on you.” She chuckles. “What do you think the school would say?”

“I’m on the tenure track, they can’t say shit. Also, I’ve been pretty convenient having them both at the end of the spring semester. It’s not like I’ve needed to take extra time off.”

“True. What do you think you’d want to have, another boy or girl?”

“I have no idea, it doesn’t really matter to us. You know what Harry said before Jack was born? He wanted to know the sex of the baby so we could start calling him Jack instead of just Baby Styles, and he said the sex itself didn’t matter because Jack could realize he was supposed to be a girl when he gets older. It was so sweet.”

“God, that’s so progressive. We have some trans students at the prep school. You should see some of the parents that look at these kids when they get dropped off.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s not your kid, don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll never really understand why other people care so much. You are who you are.” You shrug.

Harry and Niall come back with Jack, and take him down to the water.

“That srunchie in his hair is so cute.”

“I know, he loves them too. We have one in every color for him. I’m so glad he has Harry’s hair. It’s beautiful.”

“Did you have to buy a special shampoo for it or anything?”

“Yeah, actually. My mom told me what to get. Never been so thankful that she’s a hairdresser. He loves when she comes over to cut his hair. He likes when she scratches his head.” You laugh.

It was a perfect beach day. Jack knocked out on the car ride home. You were able to give him a quick bath and put him to bed easily. Jessica went right down as well. You and Harry put some comfy clothes on and plop onto the couch with Buster. He throws his arm around you and pulls you in close.

“I like our family.” He says.

“Me too.” You look up at him and kiss him on the cheek.

Tuesday morning, Harry drove Jack to the doctor’s office for his physical.

“Where are we going, Daddy?”

“To see Dr. Philips. She’s gonna see how much you’ve grown from last year.”

“How come?”

“Every year, after your birthday, you have to have a physical. It’s just to make sure you’re in tip top shape.”

“You get one too?”

“I sure do. But I go to the grown up doctor for mine.”

Harry gets Jack up to the office. The receptionist is a little too happy to see him.

“Hi, Mr. Styles.” She beams.

“Checkin’ Jack in.”

“Of course…where’s Mrs. Styles today?”

“Out with our daughter, having a visit with Grandpa.”

“Jessica got to see Grandpa?!” Jack nearly bursts into tears.

“Jack, remember if you’re good you get a lollypop afterwards.” He pouts and goes to sit down. “Sorry ‘bout that.” Harry signs whatever forms there are.

“Happens all the time.”

Harry sits with Jack who was now being grumpy.

“You’re really upset, huh?”

“I like going to Grandpa’s.” He huffs.

“Are you really upset because mummy’s there?” Jack looks up at Harry and nods. “Sorry, mate. We’ll make time to go see Grandpa. You can have a whole day with him without your sister, okay?”

“Jack?” Dr. Philips comes out and smiles. “Ready?”

Harry and Jack stand up and follow her back to the room he’d be examined in. She takes his height and weight.

“He’s right where he’s supposed to be Harry.”

Harry hums his response. He lifts Jack up to put him on the bed. Dr. Philips moves his shorts up a tad so she can see his little thighs.

“This is gonna feel cold, Jack.”

“What are you doing?” He asks, big eyes looking up at her.

“I have to give you some shots so you don’t get sick later on. They’re called vaccines. You get a few when you’re a baby, and you get some now. It’s like your flu shot.”

“Does Daddy get them too?”

“Yes, but his own doctor gives them to him.” She looks at Harry, and he nods at Jack.

You get home with Jessica later that day. You and your dad went out for breakfast before hanging out at his house for a bit. You walk up the basement stairs with her and head into the living room. Jack was curled up in Harry’s arms.

“You.” Harry glares at you.

“Not exactly the greeting I was expecting.” You smirk. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you ever make me do that again.”

“Do what?”

You set Jessica down in the pack and play that was in the living room. Harry gently puts Jack on the couch.

“How come he’s napping with you and not in his bed? How was his physical?” Harry yanks you into the kitchen.

“How was his physical?!” He whisper screams. “Hm, let’s see, I almost strangled Dr. Philips.”

“What?! Why?”

“She gave him three shots!”

“She was supposed to!”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t have to hear him whale out and cry. Then I started crying.” He groans. “I wanted to kill her. He didn’t even want his lollypop after. So, I will not be takin’ anyone for any more shots in the future. That’s all you.” He crosses his arms. You smile slightly. Harry’s accent always got thicker when he was upset, and it was sort of funny.

“You think it would be easier for me?”

“You’re way stronger than I am when it comes to that stuff. He cried for you, by the way.” He huffs and looks away. “This is something mums are supposed to do.”

“How was the rest of it?” You sigh.

“Good. His weight is on track and so is his height. He did great up until the shots.”

“Alright.” You wrap your arms around his neck. “I’ll take them for shots next time.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I did it when he was a baby, and I can tell you I didn’t want to kill the doctor.” You chuckle.

“It was too much.” He leans his forehead against yours.

“Mumma?” Jack comes into the kitchen, baby blanket cuddled to his face, thumb in his mouth.

“Hi, darling.” You let go of Harry and scoop him up. “Daddy told me you were really brave earlier.”

Harry raises an eyebrow at you.

“He did?”

“Mhm, so I think you should have a little treat for being so good. What do you say after dinner tonight we all go out for ice cream?”

“Yeah!” He hugs you close. “I got shots, Mumma.”

“I know, wanna show me your band aids?”

You walk him back out to the couch and sit down with him. Harry picks up Jessica and snuggles her. He sits down next to you.

“Oh, those are nice. She gave you dinosaurs just how you like.”

“How was my baby girl today?” Harry asks.

“Oh, I was fine. We went to a diner for breakfast-“ Harry starts laughing. “What?”

“I meant Jessica.” He smirks.

“She was fine too.” You swallow. “Good snuggles with Grandpa. Jack, would you like to see Grandpa later this week? He wants to come over and swim.”

“Yeah! I love Grandpa.”

“He loves you too.” You kiss the top of his head.

“You make everything better.” Harry says.

“Oh stop it.”

“I mean it. He was a mess earlier, and I was too much of a mess to-“

“He was asleep on you when I got in, you calmed him down plenty. You’re such a good dad, babe.”

“Thanks.” He kisses Jessica’s cheek and it makes her giggle. “We have the cutest kids in the world, I swear to god.”

“We sure do.”

You didn’t get to celebrate your thirty-second birthday because you were called to testify in court. Harry had been working half days, and you knew he was stressed and felt guilty for leaving you at home with the kids, so you didn’t let on about how nervous you were about seeing Jake again.

Sarah and Rachel would come over to see you when they could. Jack really liked playing with Ricky. The girls would often ask you how you were feeling about everything coming up, but you didn’t really want to talk about it.

“You don’t have to come to court with me.” You tell Harry the night before.

“Sure I do. I need to make sure you’ll be alright.”

“But you’ve been craving alone time with the kids, and now you’ll have it.”

“Y/N.” Harry sighs as he gets into bed with you. “I’m going, and so is Niall. Sarah said she could babysit. It’s all taken care of. You’re not going there alone, and that’s final.”

“Apparently after my testimony they think the jury will be able to make a decision. The other women have come in already. I’m a little nervous…I haven’t seen him in years….what if I freak out and I can’t say what the lawyer has been prepping me for?”

“That’s why we’re going. You can just look over at Niall and I.” He cups your cheek and you lean into you. “And then our kids are gonna know how brave their mum is.”

“And once that asshole is convicted I’ll be able to finally feel free from all of this. That trauma is always going to be inside me, and I’ve learned to cope, but he….well, it’s his turn to suffer.”

Harry kisses you and pulls you close to his chest. Tomorrow was going to be really difficult, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t be there for you.

You put on your nicest pant suit and did your hair and makeup early the next morning. You’d need to meet your lawyer before the hearing. Harry got Jack and Jessica good to go before Niall dropped Sarah off to watch them.

“But where’s Mumma?” Jack asked when Sarah walked in.

“Mummy…had a work thing this morning. She’s getting her classes together for fall. She’ll be home a little later. You and your sister get to spend the day with Auntie Sarah, isn’t that nice?” Harry explains.

“Where are you going?”

“Uncle Niall and I have some errands to run. Adult stuff, buddy.”

“Yeah, it’s really boring Jack. We’re going to have way more fun.”

Jack shrugs and plops down in front of the TV. It was too early for him to even think about arguing. Sarah gives Harry a quick hug before he goes out to Niall’s car.

“How come Daddy was all dressed up?” Jack asks Sarah as she sits down next to him.

“He and Uncle Niall have to be dressed up for their errands. Daddy looks nice in his suit, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Jack smiles.

Harry and Niall don’t say much on the way to the courthouse. They were both sweating, and it wasn’t because it was August and they were wearing suits. Harry wished he could see you before going in, but he knew they had you in a private room.

“I just hope the cross examiner isn’t too awful to her.” Harry says. “I mean, she has a way of winning any argument she’s in, but those people can twist your words all over the place.”

“Your lawyer’s been prepping her, I bet she’ll be okay.” Niall gives him a reassuring smile. The two walk in and grab seats before it gets too busy.

People start shuffling in. Everyone rises when the judge comes in. Harry’s leg wouldn’t stop bouncing when they sat back down. Niall puts his hand on his knee and gives him a squeeze.

“It’s gonna be okay, mate.” He whispers. Harry nods at him and gives him a reassuring smile.

“Your honor, we’d like to call another victim to the stand.”

Your name is announced and you’re brought in through a side door. You don’t dare look around you, you just walk in a straight line. It felt weird swearing in on a Bible, but this was how the court system worked. You sit down in the area next to the judge. She was a female, but that didn’t guarantee she’d be sympathetic. You look out and see your lawyer, and Jake’s ex-wife and her lawyer. Your eyes dart over to Jake and his lawyer. You look out and see Harry and Niall, suddenly feeling grateful they were there.

“Dr. Y/L/N, thank you for joining us today.” The lawyer says to you. “Can you tell us who this man is?” She points over to Jake.

“Jake Robinson.”

“And how do you know him?”

“We dated for about a month back in 2018. We went out four times.”

“And what did these dates consist of?”

“Dinners mostly. We went to the movies once as well.”

“What was Mr. Robinson like on these dates?”

“Nice, for the most part. He seemed like a gentleman, that’s why I continued to see him.”

“Why did you two stop seeing each other?”

“He…assaulted me.” Your eyes meet his. You watch him roll his eyes and shake his head.

“Can you further explain this for the jury? Just so we’re all on the same page on what assault means here.”

“Well, he had driven me home from our dinner date, and he came up to my apartment, just for a night cap. We were talking and then we started kissing.”

“So you willingly invited him up to your place?”

“Yes. At this point I thought I knew him well enough to invite him into my home.”

“Where did it start to go wrong?”

“We started kissing, like a lot of people do. It was the first time we had really kissed outside of one of our cars.” You swallow hard and look over at Harry. He nods encouragingly at you. He wished he could hold your hand through the entire thing. “Anyways, he asked if we could move to the bed. I was living in a studio at the time. I just figured he wanted some room to stretch out.”

“So you said yes to moving to the bed?”

“Yes, but that was all I said yes to.”

“What happened next then?”

You squeeze your hands into fists. Your nails start digging into your palms. You take a deep breath and begin.

“It all happened really fast. He got aggressive all of a sudden. Before I knew it my head was being shoved into the pillow and he had…forced himself inside me. It hurt and I was crying.”

“You didn’t want to have sex with him?”

“No.”

“Did you tell him to stop?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I was afraid. If he could flip a switch like that I didn’t know what else he might do to me if I told him to stop or to get off me. It felt like I was paralyzed. I just sort of suffered through it. I didn’t want it.”

“What happened afterwards?”

“He left. He acted like everything was normal. There was a ton of blood on my sheets, and between my legs. I passed out and landed on my floor. When I woke up I put all of my clothes and the sheets into bags.”

“Why did you do this?”

“In case I decided to press charges, I wanted there to be evidence of his DNA or something. I’ve seen enough cop shows to know that’s what you’re supposed to do. I called out of work all week, and barely spoke or ate, or bathed. I was trying to process everything. I ended up seeing a therapist, which I signed a waiver for to free up the documents of our conversations.”

“Yes, we were able to look all of that over, thank you. We were also able to look over the DNA on your things. It was Mr. Robinson’s, just like it had been on the previous women’s things.” She looks at the judge who is making notes. “Did going to therapy help?”

“Yes. I only went a few times, and then took a break. I was suppressing a lot. I went back after a little while because I started having flashes when I started dating my now husband.”

“What are flashes?”

“They’re…like…we’d be doing something and all of a sudden I’d get triggered and get scared like it was Jake on top of me again.”

“Thank you, Dr. Y/L/N. No further questions, your honor.”

Jake’s lawyer stands up to cross examine you.

“Mrs. Styles, -“

“Dr. Y/L/N.” You correct him. Harry and Niall smirk to each other.

“My apologies, Dr. Y/L/N.” He clears his throat. “You mentioned you kept everything as evidence, but you didn’t press charges until a few months ago, why is that?”

“A friend had driven me to the police station about six different times. At the time, I just wanted it all to go away, and a court case terrified me. I was scared of seeing him face to face again. I also hadn’t told many people yet, and I was afraid of a lot of things. I had just turned twenty-three, I was young and didn’t really know how to properly handle things. If I could go back, believe me, I would have gone right to the police.”

“Maybe you didn’t go before because you knew Mr. Robinson didn’t actually assault you. It was just something you made up.”

“No, it was assault, rape, actually. He raped me. I didn’t consent to having sex with him. He didn’t ask me if I wanted to, he didn’t ask me if I was alright, he didn’t even check to see if I was enjoying it.”

“Maybe he just thought you liked it rough.”

“How would he have deduced that from the few dates we had been on? Like I said, he didn’t ask me if I wanted to or if I was enjoying it. He forced himself on me. I’ve consensual sex before, that wasn’t it.”

“You’re married, correct?”

“I am.”

“So every time you have sex with your partner, you both ask to make sure it’s what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We always check in and make sure it’s something we both want in that moment. Every partner I’ve ever had, actually. Even if it was just a hook up back when I was in college, I was always asked if I wanted to, and when I said no, that was respected. I would give that same respect and courtesy back to them as well.” You take a sip of water from the bottle they put out for you. “Are you saying you don’t check in with your partner when you’re getting intimate?”

“No further questions, your honor.”

“Dr. Y/L/N, you’re free to go. Thank you.” She says to you.

You stand up and you’re lead out of the room. The judge announces there will be a brief recess to allow the jury some time to think everything over. Harry and Niall go out in the hallway to meet you and your lawyer. You tear up when you see them, and you run into Harry’s arms. He holds you close to his chest. His eyes were watery as well. Niall rubs your back as you breathe in Harry’s cologne for comfort.

“You did so well, love.” He whispers to you. “I’m so proud of you.” You look up at him and smile.

“Thank you.” You let go of him and hug Niall as well, briefly. “I’m glad you’re both here.”

“You really shut that other lawyer up when you flipped the script on him.” Niall says. “Well done.”

“Do you want to stay, or do you want to leave?” Harry asks.

“No, I wanna hear what the jury has to say. Even if they don’t believe me or the other women, they at least have to agree she should have full custody of their kid.”

The court is called back into session an hour or so later. Everyone rises when the judge comes back in.

“I want to thank the jury for their months of service on this case. I know hearing all of these stories has not been easy. I would also like to thank the brave women who have come forward in support of Mrs. Robinson.” She looks at Jake and then to the jury. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

“Yes, your honor.” A woman stands up. “We find Mr. Jacob Robinson guilty on all counts of rape, including predatory.”

You gasp, but try to keep your composure. Jake’s parents and some of his family were also in the courtroom. You thought they should be ashamed raising someone like that, but you’d keep your thoughts to yourself.

“Mr. Robinson, you showed very little remorse during these last few months. I haven’t been very impressed.” The judge says. “We had three very brave women forward to make sure you wouldn’t hurt anyone else, and you easily could have. There could be others and we may never know. I sentence you to twenty years in prison, no parole. Mrs. Robinson will be granted full custody of the child. No visitation rights granted.” She pounds the gavel. “Court dismissed.” She stands up and exits.

You watch as Jake’s ex-wife hugs her lawyer and then who you presume is her family. You hadn’t even noticed that you had started crying. You stand up and throw your arms around Harry and Niall. It was over, it was finally over. The three of you walk out of the courthouse. There were news vans and reports out there waiting to take statements, as there often were with cases like this.

“Dr. Y/L/N?” You turn around to see Jake’s ex-wife. “We haven’t formally met, I’m Jane.” She shakes your hand. “I just wanted to say thank you, and that I’m so very sorry. I remember you, sort of, from years ago. We bumped into you at the ice rink in the city. You ran out after you saw him.”

“I remember.”

“I almost broke up with him that night, but he convinced me there was nothing to worry about. I was young then too, I didn’t realize he was manipulating me. Thanks to you, and the other women, I can go back to my daughter and tell her she’ll be safe from now on. We’ve been divorced for a couple of years, but he just wouldn’t leave us alone.”

“I’m sorry you had to be put through all of that. If I had-“

“Don’t. The other women all said the same thing. It’s hard, when there’s a history of people not believing women, or the fact that your life could have been destroyed by going through this process…it makes you so tired you don’t even want to try. I understand completely.” She looks over at Harry and Niall as well. “Can I ask you two something?”

“Anything.” Harry says while Niall nods.

“Did you ever see him again? Rough him up a little? The weekend of our wedding he had to wear makeup because he had gotten into some bar fight at his bachelor party.”

“Yeah, that was us…mostly me.” Harry says.

“Another red flag I ignored.” She scoffs. “Well, I just came over to thank you.” She gives your hand a squeeze. “I hope you’re able to live a little more peacefully now.”

“Thanks, same to you.” You smile as she walks away. “Okay, I’m ready to go home. It’s too fucking out to be wearing all these clothes, and I miss my babies.”

The three of you get back to your house and walk in through the front door. No one was inside, Sarah must have the kids out back for some pool time. You go upstairs to go put your suit on. Niall drives home to change. Harry goes upstairs as well. Once you’re both changed you head outside. Buster barks excitedly when he sees the two of you.

“Mumma!” Jack yelps as he swims over to the ladder. It nearly makes Sarah flip out of her pool float.

“Jack, don’t run!” Sarah yells as she gets out of the pool. Jessica was snug in the shade in her stroller.

“Hi my sweet baby.” You scoop Jack up and hold him close to you.

“How were your fancy errands, Daddy?” Jack asks, looking at his now dressed down father.

“Good.” He jostles his hair.

“How’d it go?” Sarah asks, giving you a side hug.

“He’s going away, for a long time.”

“That’s amazing!”

“Who’s going away?” Jack asks.

“No one you ever need to worry about.” You kiss his cheek and set him down. You snatch one of the water guns on the ground and his eyes grow wide with excitement. “Wanna play?”

Jack grabs another loaded water gun and the two of you start running around the yard spraying each other.

“She did amazing. Really kept it together.”

“I’ll bet.” Sarah says. Niall comes into the backyard and wraps his arms around Sarah from behind.

“Have fun with the kiddos?”

“Mhm.” She turns to kiss his cheek. “You two got lucky with such easy babies. She’s just as good as Jack was when he was that small.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool.”

Harry grabs another water gun and joins in on the fun with you and Jack.

“Oh no!” You squeal. “Let’s join forces, Jack!” You both try to get Harry, but you run out of water.

Harry grins at the two of you, and soaks you with the gun. Jack squeals and runs over to Sarah and Niall. Harry gets his hands on you and lifts you.

“Harry, please!” You laugh hysterically as he lifts you higher and throws you into the pool. You emerge, and splash at him.

“Just thought you could cool off, babe.”

“Mhm, yeah.”

“Do it to me, Daddy!” Jack comes running back over so Harry can lift him up. Harry tosses him into the pool so you can catch him. Harry comes into the pool as well to keep having fun.

“They’re a cute little family.” Niall kisses Sarah’s cheek.

“Yeah, they are.” She sighs happily. “I like our little family too, though.”

“Oh, me too. Wouldn’t change a thing with yeh.”

#my everything #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #harry styles imagine #harry styles series #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles y/n #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #dad!harry

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aggressivedean · 4 years

Text

Suptober20 day 25: villain

Cas pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Who did it?” Dean said, more a statement than a question. “I’m not gonna say I’m not mad, ‘cause I am, but it’ll just be better for everyone involved if the guilty party confesses now.”

Cas was sitting at the kitchen table with Sam, and a very mad dean was standing across the table, glaring at them. In the middle of the table sat an empty pie tin.

Dean spoke again. “Who ate the last piece?” He punctuated the end of his sentence with a slap on the table and this time Cas didn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes. There were how many things on their plate right now but Dean was concerned about someone eating the last slice of pie? In all his years of existence, Dean could truly be one of the most insufferable beings he had ever met.

Sam sighed. “Dude. You know I don’t eat any of that sugary stuff. I actually care about my blood sugar.” He gave Dean a patented bitchface. Dean lifted a hand to point at his younger brother.

“That’s a likely excuse, isn’t it? Think I won’t believe you did it since you’re on some health food kick? Everybody has cheat days!” Dean snapped.

“Dean,” Cas interrupted, “you should believe your brother, he-“

Dean quickly swiveled his head to turn his piercing green gaze onto Cas. “Oh, so you’re confessing?”

Cas stared back resolutely. This conversation already made him feel 1000 years older. “No, Dean, you know I don’t need to eat, and if I did I would not choose to eat pie that was a few days past it’s prime.” He leaned back and suppressed a smile at the way Dean’s jaw dropped at the implied insult to the pie.

“Well somebody did it!” Dean threw his arms out in exasperation.

“Somebody did what?”

Cas turned at the new voice and saw Jack at the doorway to the kitchen. He didn’t have the chance to warn Jack to escape Dean’s wrath before the man was already pointing a finger at the boy, literally. Cas could see the evil glint in Dean’s eye at having finally caught his culprit. Hopefully Jack’s punishment wouldn’t be too severe; he was newer to the bunker and most likely to slip up on the absolutely-nobody-touches-Dean’s-pie-unless-you-want-to-lose-a-finger rule. Well, more likely he’d just get a week of cleaning duties. Still, a bit harsh over a few molecules, Cas thought.

Sam and Dean watched as Dean stepped slowly over to the doorway. “You thought you could get away with it huh?” He sounded like a detective finding a serial bank robber. “ Thought you could just eat a man’s pie and not suffer the consequences?” Dean punctuated the end of his sentence with a poke to the poor nephilims’ chest. Jack, much to Cas’ surprise, didn’t even act guilty, if anything he seemed even more confused.

Jack shook his head. “But, Dean, I didn’t eat your pie, you did,” he stated almost cheerfully.

Cas’ eyes widened at this new development, he felt Sam stiffen beside him with renewed interest. Things just got interesting.

Dean took a quick step back once and crossed his arms. “I did what?” he asked, brows furrowed. Cas hid his smile behind Dean’s back. He hoped Jack was right, this could make great blackmail material.

Jack smiled. “You ate it! Here,” he pulled out his phone, “I even have proof.” Everyone in the room leaned forward slightly, beyond eager to see what would prove Dean to be the guilty party here.

Cas heard a whisper from Sam beside him, “This better be good.” He let out a soft huff in agreement.

“See,” Jack began, “I came to the kitchen around midnight to get a bowl of cereal, and I saw you were already in here eating the pie. There was also some alcohol on the table that you informed me was perfect to go with pie.”

“Well,” Dean muttered, eyes low, “everything’s perfect to go with pie.”

Jack continued. “I was sending Castiel “snapchats” of my midnight snack,” he added air quotes for emphasis, “and you asked what I was doing so I told you, and then you made me take a snapchat with you to send to Cas so he could “see what he was missing out on.” I saved the snapchat because I thought it was a nice picture” Jack’s defense ended with him holding the photo in question up on his phone, and Cas and Sam couldn’t get up quick enough to go take a look.

Dean had snagged the phone by the time Cas got close enough to look and sure enough, on the screen he saw a definitely drunk Dean with a dopey smile and an arm around a smiling Jack, a nearly empty pie tray on the table in front of him.

Cas and Sam burst out laughing at the same time. Sam even had to go sit down. Castiel couldn’t wait to check his phone. He tended to ignore any snapchats he got from Jack late at night, just until the next day, because the boy really had a tendency to send an excessive amount of pictures of cereal. He was glad of the habit this time, though.

Cas could see that Dean had gone quite red. “Well,” Cas stated, and put a hand on Dean’s shoulder in mock comfort, “it seems, Dean, that the only villain here.. is yourself.” He couldn’t hide the smile that arose from Dean’s eyes rolling and a faint mutter of “yeah, whatever.” Dean shoved the phone back at Jack and left the room in a huff and Cas and Sam shared a look before starting to laugh all over again, while Jack stood by with a smile.

Blackmail material for sure.

#suptober20 #my writing #my words #tfw2.0 #hehe #I planned to finish this yesterday but homework kicked my butt #here's some silly bunker moment

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chilly-me-softly · 3 years

Text

Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 6

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5

Evelyn runs a hand through her hair that morning as she walks to the kitchen table, her eyes still half closed.

"Good morning!" a bouncy Ben greets her seated at the kitchen table eating those cereal bars he can't live without.

"Hmm" is all he gets, which makes him chuckle.

"I had a dream that mum brought a couple home to adopt the baby" Ben almost chokes on the bar but doesn't give up laughing at her.

"Sis, you really need a rest from that brain. And speaking of which..."

"What did you do?" Evelyn immediately gets defensive, the grin on Ben's face certainly not allowing her not to worry. "Nothing yet"

"Ben"

"I just thought that maybe, you could get out a bit today. You've been staying in for days. And Deb is really in the mood for some wild shopping"

"Ben" the girl starts, but he interrupts her almost immediately.

"Please. Or I'll have to go myself"

"I'll make sure she knows that, you know"

"Nothing I haven't already told her sweetie" he gives her a wink as she shakes her head in amusement.

"That girl is a saint. Alright, I'll go get dressed"

"Great!" Ben tries not to sound too enthusiastic, cheering internally, finishing his juice and smiling as he sees her heading to the room.

"Okay if I don't get out of here right now I'm going to buy the whole shop" Deb stated firmly, putting the little hat away and making Evelyn laugh.

They had been wandering around the huge shop for hours now, they had started in the women's section but the baby section seemed to be more tempting. Deb was actually the one who had wanted to go there, but Evelyn hadn't let her say it twice. Once she'd seen the first onesie, it had been practically impossible to tear themselves away from those shelves.

And her desire to always put some money aside had proved more than worth it in the end. Everything she had was going to her little girl. She'd never been one to spend a lot of money, always spending it on something she really needed. And that day she had been especially happy to shop for her baby, and especially to have someone to do it with.

Once out of the shop, the two girls sit down at a table to freshen up and rest. The bags surrounding them.

"Thanks for all this, I really needed it" Evelyn absentmindedly twists the straw in the juice she had ordered that had recently arrived as Deb smiles at her.

"Anytime. Ben always gets bored and always ends up leaving me alone, so it's good that you came with me"

"Yeah, I know how boring shopping alone can be sometimes" she sighs.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to take your mind off things today"

"Oh no it's fine, really. It's just that you know, sometimes it's just...hard. And I don't want to play the victim because I created this whole situation myself, I knew what I was getting into and I can't even expect everyone to react the same way. But you know, some days are just harder than others"

"Your mother hasn't called yet?"

Evelyn shakes her head, "Dad has though. Twice actually. One was to tell me he's thinking about buying a crib so I can visit them more often"

"Ow cute" Deb comments and a giggle escapes from Evelyn.

"This may sound weird but I can feel I hurt him too, but somehow he found a way to put it all aside and be there for me. As Ben has as well"

"Your mother just needs a little more time Evelyn. Women are always much more thoughtful, but you'll see that everything will work out in the end"

"I hope so. I need her so much for this"

Deb tried to waste as much time as possible, but the little girl didn't like the juice her mum had drunk and was so hyperactive that she tired Evelyn out in no time. She hadn't felt like dragging her feet any longer and had even felt a little guilty. So they had headed back to the car quickly and put an end to the day.

"Let's go inside, Ben will deal with the bags later" the girl states as she gets out of the car and helps Evelyn to do the same.

When she opens the front door, the first thing she hears is a loud commotion coming from the living room. Evelyn immediately looks at Deb with a raised eyebrow, who acts as if she has no idea what's going on.

Sitting in front of the television are Ben and three boys, probably playing a football game, and Evelyn immediately understands what the fuss is about. One of them is sitting on the ground with his legs stretched forward and crossed at the ankles, and he's trying to dodge Ben's hand with his head as he's probably losing and trying to annoy his opponent. Or maybe he's having fun like that, who knows.

"So this is why you wanted me out of the house!" she teases him to get her brother's attention, and suddenly four heads turn towards her. No need for introductions, she knows them all at least by name as she has always followed her brother's career.

"Hey Lyn, Deb! How was your day?" the game is immediately paused as Ben steps over everyone and reaches the two to greet them, not before risking to stumble due to the guy onto the floor.

Evelyn giggles, "It was good"

"Come on I'll introduce you to some friends" Ben walks her up a few steps into the room stopping in front of the couch. "This is James, Marc and Jack. Guys this is my sister Evelyn"

The girl smiles politely at the three, "Just for the record, there's no need for introductions by my side. But nice to meet you guys"

"Um I'm going to go to my room for a minute. I'll be right back" Ben nods as he watches her head towards the room, and can't help but smile in satisfaction as he looks at Deb and nods at her unspoken question.

Evelyn absentmindedly opens the door and when she turns on the light, she's speechless. Next to one of the walls stands a crib. She recognised it, it's the one she had bought some time ago but had never had the courage to take out of the box and put together. She had even scolded herself once, thinking that at this rate the baby would be both nameless and without a place to sleep. But there it is, right in front of her.

She brushes her fingers over the surface, her vision fogged by tears not allowing her to enjoy it fully.

"Do you like it?" her brother's voice spins her towards the door, her feet moving swiftly towards him and nearly colliding against his chest as he chuckles lightly, holding her close.

"You did this for me?" she asks still in disbelief as inevitably tears start to roll down her cheeks, leaving small stains on Ben's sweatshirt.

"Of course I did"

"Thanks, I don't deserve it"

"Shut up" Ben leaves a kiss on her head before pulling her slightly away from him to trap her face in his hands.

"I..." she croaks, "I'm too happy Ben"

"Stop crying then, hey" with his thumbs he wipes her wet cheeks, smiling tenderly as she sobs closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. And he leaves another kiss on her forehead before turning back, letting her compose herself before doing the same.

During the rest of the evening it's like she's walking on clouds. She has thanked everyone so many times for what they have done, but she cannot put into words what she really feels at that moment. She feels euphoric, excited, scared, grateful. She wants to cry until she has consumed all her tears, but laugh with joy at the same time.

She feels as energetic as a child on a sugar high, but after the climax there is always a drop, and inevitably it hits her. It may be the relaxing atmosphere after dinner, or the tiredness of the day finally visiting her, but her eyes close just ten minutes after the beginning of the film they had chosen to watch. A smile on her face and a relaxed expression, hard to find lately.

----

Tag: @emwritesfootball @alexajanecollins

Chapter 7

#every little thing's gonna be alright #original #my writing #football imagine #football imagines #ben chilwell #ben chilwell imagines #ben chilwell imagine #jack grealish #jack grealish imagine #jack grealish imagines #james maddison #marc albrighton

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arrow-guy · 4 years

Text

The Lighthouse (8/??)

Summary: The town is sleepy, the people are nice enough, but life gets turned upsidedown when the God of Thunder literally falls out of the sky.

A/N: I know it won’t be enough, but questions will be fully answered soon enough! But until I can get around to that, please have this! A couple of idiots and more Loki

Pairing: ThorxReader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: None

Part 7

“How did you know where he was?”

I shrug and grab the cereal from the cupboard. “I heard a voice that told me to get up and when to stop driving. Everything else was just a gut feeling.”

“Was it Heimdall?” Thor asks.

“No, he said as much last night. But he heard the voice too.”

Thor sets bowls on the table and moves to get spoons. “Did he feel the same pull?”

“I don’t think so.” I grab the milk and take a seat at the table. “He didn’t seem to feel any compulsion.”

“But he was much further away from Loki’s location than you were.” Thor sits and pours himself a bowl of cereal. “It would make sense that you were the one guided to Loki’s location.”

I laugh. “I don’t know if I’d say I was guided. It was more like being dragged along behind a horse. I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen until the end. Even then, it wasn’t exactly pretty.”

He hums. “You did scare me half to death.”

I nodded. “I know, and I really am sorry about that.”

“I know you are.” He shoots me a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to apologize anymore, (Y/N). I understand why you kept it from me.”

“I know. I just still feel bad about the whole thing.”

“I know.”

We eat in silence and I nearly doze off at one point, but Thor reaches across the table and takes my hand. I shake my head and squeeze his hand before going back to my cereal. Thor finishes before me and waits till I’m done before taking my bowl and doing the dishes.

“When do you think he’ll wake?” Thor muses.

“I’m not sure. It took him weeks to crash land, and even then he showed up weeks after I found you.” I shrug. “I’m not even sure he showed up in the same fashion as you did.”

“Oh?”

“Heimdall and I were talking about why he bounced around so much while we were looking for him. My guess is that, whatever it was that messed with your memories, might’ve knocked him off course when Heimdall sent him away.”

“What does Heimdall think?”

“Heimdall doesn’t really have much to go off either. Everyone that I’m in contact with is just as informed as I am, which is to say, we know jack shit about the situation right now. But, if this is anything like when I found you, then it might be a few days till he starts to wake up. I had you here two before you woke up, but I don’t know how long you were out in those woods before I found you.”

Thor nods. “Then we can only hope that he’ll wake soon.”

“Mhm.”

“Do you have any plans for the day?”

“Just working. New assignments have come in and we slept through most of the day, so I’m getting a late start.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“It’s no big deal, we both needed the rest.” I get up from the table and move across the room to kiss his cheek. “If you’ve got any ideas for dinner, let me know, okay?”

“Of course.” He smiles and gestures for me to go. “I’ll come get you for a break in a few hours.”

I grin and head for the stairs. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Thor quietly slips into my office and slits on the floor beside me. Daisy trails in shortly after and plops down beside him. She huffs when he doesn’t immediately scratch her ears.

“I take it you checked on Loki, then?” I ask, not looking away from my work.

“Yes.”

“Any updates?”

He shakes his head and rests his forehead on my thigh. He sighs when I comb my fingers through his hair. “Nothing so far.”

“I’m sorry.”

“He hasn’t even moved.” His shoulders slump and he leans a little more heavily against me. “It’s only been two days, but I can’t help being impatient.”

“I know. You’re worried about your brother. It’s only natural.”

“It’s strange, though,” he says. “He and I have always been at odds. We’ve fought countless times, but I’ve watched him die twice. I’ve had to mourn his loss twice. I’m not sure that I can go through that a third time.”

I push away from the desk slightly and take his face in my hands. “I’m sure that everything will be fine. He was out there for a long time, and we don’t know what kind of energy he expended.”

“Right.” He covers one of my hands with his. “I’m sure he just needs to rest.”

“He’s strong, Thor. I’m sure he’ll be up before we know it.”

“Thank you, (Y/N).”

“It’s nothing to thank me for.”

“You sell yourself so short,” he says softly. “I’ll make you recognize how wonderful you are one day.”

“Thor…”

He smiles. “But that won’t be today.” He hauls himself up from the floor. “I’ve distracted you for long enough, I’ll let you get back to work.”

“I’ll be done in half an hour. We can talk more then, if you want?”

He stoops down and kisses my forehead. “I’d like that.”

Thor pats his leg to get Daisy’s attention and gestures for her to follow him out of the room. She shoots me a tired look and I laugh as she trots out to the stairs after Thor. I do my best to finish with work, but it takes fifteen minutes longer than I initially expected. When I finally manage to make it downstairs, I collapse on the couch beside Thor.

“I had to talk them out of concussion induced pyrokinesis,” I mutter.

“I have no idea what that means,” Thor says.

I scrub my hands over my face and curl into his side. “Because it’s something that shouldn’t reasonably exist, even in fiction.”

He laughs. “Did you succeed?”

“Eventually. I just have to hope they don’t try to sneak it in somewhere else later on.”

“I’m sure you’ll prevail in the end.”

I shake my head. “I appreciate your optimism.”

He hums and kisses the top of my head. “We should talk.”

“I agree.”

“I don’t want to force anything on you,” he says. “We kissed two nights ago, but that doesn’t have to mean anything.”

“I think it should. After the time we’ve spent together and what we’ve been through, I know that it’s not just some schoolgirl crush. I actually like you. Especially when I get to think for myself about it.” His brow furrows. “Heimdall likes to meddle sometimes. But no one’s had to convince me that I like you.”

He smiles. “It looks like our roles have switched, doesn’t it?”

“It certainly does.” I take his hand. “But I meant what I said that night. My feelings for you are real. I’m not going to be shy about it, especially when I’m this comfortable with you.”

He sighs softly. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

I reach up and brush my fingers over his cheek. “You said I was wonderful earlier, but I don’t get how you can’t see how much light you put out into the world.”

“Maybe it’s just reflected back at me,” he offers.

“If that’s the case, then maybe I need to put you in front of a mirror. Reflect some of that energy directly back into you.” I push myself up from the couch and attempt to drag Thor up with me. “Come on. I’m hungry and I think we’ve still got stroganoff leftovers in the fridge.”

He laughs and allows himself to be led into the kitchen. “Do you always think with your stomach?”

“Not always, but you’re certainly one to talk!” Thor tries to look offended, but only succeeds in making himself laugh harder. “Your appetite is astounding.”

“I am a big man, (Y/N),” he says. “And beyond that, I am a god. Sometimes I need to eat more than a human does.”

“I know,” I dig around in the fridge for the leftovers. “I’m just poking a little fun.”

I glance back and find him leaning against the counter, arms folded, small smile playing at his lips. “I know you are.”

I pull the leftovers from the fridge. “You wanna try this the way my grandfather liked to eat it?”

Walking past Loki’s room a couple of days later, I heard a quiet shuffling. Thor hadn’t mentioned any kind of change in his brother when we talked earlier, so I open the door just a crack and peek inside.

Loki is sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes. I almost step into the room, but I stop myself short, realizing that he doesn’t know me. I don’t want him to panic and not have any way to calm him down.

Instead, I run out to the back yard to let Thor know that Loki is awake.

“What?” he yells back.

“He’s awake!” I holler. “Come inside, I’m gonna need your help!”

He calls out his confirmation and I head back inside. I grab a glass of water for Loki before I go back upstairs and very, very slowly open the door.

He sits with his head in his hands, and I can’t tell if he’s heard me come in. I gently knock on the door to get his attention and his head jerks up at the sound. I wave and step into the room.

“It’s good to see you awake,” I say. “We were starting to think you’d be out forever.”

“What?”

“We found you almost five days ago.” I cross the room to hand him the glass of water. “You didn’t even move until today, I don’t think.”

“Who is ‘we’?” he asks.

“It’s just Thor and I.”

“Thor?” He perks up slightly.

“Yeah, he should be here soon.”

“Where is he?” He shoots up from the bed and I stumble back when he reaches out for me. “Tell me, woman!”

I drop the water and throw my hands up to shield myself. Loki never makes contact, and it takes a moment for me to realize that there’s a semi-visible barrier between us. I stare at my hands, surprised.

“Where is my Brother!” Loki yells.

He pounds against the shield and I stumble over my own feet and fall to the floor. The shield flickers briefly, but I manage to hold it steady. This only serves to further infuriate him and I cringe each time he slams his fists against the shield.

“Heimdall, what do I do?!”

“Hold the shield and wait for Thor.”

“That’s it?!”

“What is it that you expect me to do, (Y/N)?”

“I don’t know, I’m freaking out, here!” I yell for Thor, and hope that he can hear me. “Stop punching the shield, you’re just gonna wind up hurting yourself!”

“Drop the shield, and I’ll show you just what the meaning of hurt is,” Loki hisses.

“You know what, I don’t really like the sound of that.”

He pushes harder, and I can feel the shield straining under my hold. I can faintly hear Thor’s heavy footsteps in the stairwell, and I push all that I can into maintaining the shield. Just as cracks start to spiderweb across the surface,Thor steps into the room. Loki sees him and stops his assault against my magic, relaxing enough that I can let the shield go. I lie back on the floor, one arm flung over my face, taking deep heaving breaths.

“(Y/N), are you alright?” Thor asks.

I nod and point at Loki. “Put him in a bubble till you could get here.”

“You put him in a bubble?!”

“He moved faster than I expected. It was the first thing that popped into my head.”

“Why are you on the floor?”

“He punched the shield and startled me.”

I hear him shift towards his brother. “You tried to attack her?!”

“You say that as if I’m supposed to know who she is or where I am.”

“You shouldn’t have to know someone to know not to attack them.” Thor crouches down beside me and helps me sit up. “I’m sorry, (Y/N).”

“It’s fine, he doesn’t know where he is.” I feel Loki’s eyes on me and I glance up at him. “What?”

Loki snorts and turns his attention to Thor. “Really, brother? Another human?”

“Excuse me? You’re in my house, in my bed. If it weren’t for this human, you’d probably be choking on sand right about now.”

Loki’s brows pull together and he looks to his brother for confirmation. Thor just nods.

He looks at me with an almost pained expression. “Well then. I apologize.”

“Good.”

He nods and immediately frowns when his hand makes contact with his chest. He pinches the fabric between his fingers and pulls it away from his body.

“What in Odin’s name am I wearing?”

“My clothes,” Thor says.

“Your clothes?”

I lift my hand. “I made them smaller. They’re clean, I promise.”

“You?”

“Yeah, the magic was relatively easy compared to what I was doing to track you down.”

He blinks rapidly, looking genuinely surprised. “And how did you learn this magic?”

“It’s a bit convoluted,” I explain. “Heimdall did what he could to help, but I essentially just had to force the magic to do what I wanted.”

"And you've been privy to this training with Heimdall, have you, brother?"

"As much as I can be," Thor says. "I've only been able to speak with Heimdall once since I arrived, and it's solely because (Y/N) acted as a bridge."

Loki scowls, unsatisfied with the answer. "Explain. Now."

Thor obliges and explains everything. I occasionally interject, filling in anything that Thor misses.

“Why would you spend all that energy on finding me, though?”

“(Y/N) believes that you may hold the key to understanding what happened to us,” Thor says. “Our memories were tampered with, and you’re the only person I can think of who wasn’t accounted for.”

“I see...” Loki stroked his chin. “And you truly remember nothing?”

“Have I any reason to lie to you, brother?”

“Of course not.”

“Do you remember anything?” I ask.

“Everything, actually.”

“I-really?”

“Yes. I believe that I can restore Thor’s memories as well, but it won’t be pleasant.”

“Do it,” Thor says. “I need to know what happened.”

“Hold on a moment,” I say. “How do we know you won’t just make things worse?”

“Why would I do that? He’s dumb enough as is. If anything, this would be an improvement.” I glare at him and he lifts his hands in surrender. “I don’t want to make things worse. Just to share the knowledge.”

“Fine.”

Loki shuffles closer to Thor and places his hands on either side of his face. Only when Thor nods does he close his eyes. The familiar hum of magic fills the room, but it's different from when I cast. The sound is concentrated near Loki's hands, and I can only assume that it's because he's far more skilled than I am that the sound doesn't fill the entire room.

The magic courses through Thor's body and I nearly lurch forward when his spine goes rigid. I stop myself halfway when I realize that whatever Loki's doing to restore his memories will most likely drain him of whatever energy he previously had. I sit back and fold my hands in my lap and force myself to just sit and watch. I have to remind myself to stay put when Thor begins to make small pained noises. He wanted to go through with it, and interrupting the spell could be dangerous.

Loki's eyes snap open with a flash of green light before his hands fall away from Thor's face. Thor's shoulders relax momentarily as he slowly remembers where he is, and he recoils and scrambles away from his brother. My first instinct is to move to help him, but when I reach out to him and he flinches away from my touch, I start to worry.

"He's in shock," Loki says. "Barely anything that he saw was happy. In spite of how optimistic he is most of the time, he’s experienced many hardships, as of late."

"Tell me what happened on that ship." He hesitates and I frown. "How am I supposed to help if I don't know what happened?"

"You truly want to help?"

"Of course I do."

"You know what we are. Do you understand the dangers that follow us?"

"I'm well aware of the trouble you get yourselves into."

"I see." He sighs and shifts uncomfortably on the carpet. "I'll tell you what happened, then."

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

Part 9

Okay, concrete answers next chapter, I promise. But hey! Loki’s back and he’s actually awake this time, so that’s progress!

As always, if you liked this chapter, please let me know! LIke, reblog, comment, or shoot me an ask and tell me all about that shit, because I always wanna know what you guys are thinking!

If you’d like to be tagged in future chapter, please let me know!

Tag list:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @creaturefeatures101, @buckysendoftheline, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @breezy1415, @feelmyroarrrr, @darling-loki, @lemonadeorange73, @princess-unicorn124, @hermionie-is-my-queen, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound

This fic:

@chelzwwefan, @claire-of-the-country, @sunflowers-and-swear-words, @heystucky, @annathewitch, @thebdelliumlady, @myfuturisticallysteadycollector, @inumorph, @slitherysneke, @bojabee, @givemethatgold, @shynara51, @lokis-high-priestess/ @bluestaratsunrise

#thor odinsonxreader #readerxthor odinson #thor odinson x reader #reader x thor odinson #thorxreader #readerxthor #thor x reader #reader x thor #thor odinson #thor #the golden boi #reader insert marvel fic

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stories-sometimes · 4 years

Text

Freaky Friday

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky and her hate each other, but maybe switching bodies can help with that.

Warnings: Smut

Word Count: 1865

Masterlist

Her and Bucky hated each other, that was the only fact they could agree on. Everyone at the compound knew the smartest thing to do was to keep them apart unless they wanted to be in the crossfire of a petty fight. Leaving the two of them on their own while the other Avengers were on a mission wasn’t their first choice, but it was the only one they had. Her and Bucky were hit with a mysterious, unknown substance on the previous mission. And until people were confident there were no side effects, Bucky and she were under house arrest, trapped in the compound.

“God, you have no fucking respect for people’s properties.” She screamed, storming into the lounge.

“What are you complaining about now?” Bucky groaned, dragging his eyes away from the late-night movie to look at the angry woman in front of him.

“You put your shirt in with my laundry.”

“Is that really what you’re making a huge deal out of.”

“When you put your red shirt in with my white clothes it is. Now they’re all fucking pink.”

“Oh, you poor thing, how will you possibly cope.” Bucky replied sarcastically.

“You are such an asshole. You can’t even find it in you to say sorry.” Bucky simply rolled his eyes in response. “Oh fuck you.” She shouted, throwing the now pink shirt in his face before walking off. She stormed to her room, stripped down to her tank top and panties. She lay down in her bed and tried to ignore the frustration she felt to try to get some sleep. Meanwhile, Bucky was sat contemplating his actions. He realised he was in the wrong, and should probably apologize. But there was something about the look on her face when she got her way that set off some feeling in the pit of his stomach. A feeling he wanted to forget about. An hour or so later he also made his way back to his bedroom. He removed his metal arm for the night, removed all clothes minus his boxers, and slipped under his covers.

The next morning she awoke to feel oddly heavier. Despite this, one half of her felt much lighter, creepily lighter. She opened her eyes, terrified to see a missing arm. She immediately pushed herself back. When she looked down she saw a hard plane of muscles rather than her usual chest. Her heart began to race faster, thoughts spinning in her head. She rushed to the nearest mirror, letting out a low pitched scream when she saw Bucky’s face staring back at her.

Across the hall, Bucky woke startled. He raised a hand to rub his head without thinking, a few seconds later realising he shouldn’t have that arm. He stared at the hand, a smaller softer limb replaced his. A few moments later Bucky saw a mirror image of himself burst into the room. He instantly jumped to his feet.

“Who the hell are you?” Bucky demanded, putting his hand to his throat when a female voice left his lips.

“It’s me.” The doppelganger replied. “Except your me and-” Bucky glanced down his top. He was definitely in a female body. He ran to the mirror, quickly followed by her.

“We’ve switched bodies.” Bucky said in awe. The two of them stared at their reflections, inspecting new faces carefully. Before long Bucky cupped his breasts, pushing them up and together.

“Get your hands off my boobs.” She demanded.

“Well, technically they’re my boobs.” Bucky said, still not removing his hands.

“I said get off.” She wrenched his hands away, snatching his wrists in one of her hands.

“Oww, what the hell?” Bucky shrieked. Thanks to the super-serum, Bucky’s body was much stronger than her own. And she had no experience or control over this power.

“I’m sorry, you’re a lot stronger than me.”

“It’s fine. We’ve changed.” He responded surprisingly civilly. “I mean I’m a lot hotter now.” He said, turning to admire his ass. She clenched her jaw, moving to her wardrobe to grab the baggiest clothes she owned and pushed them into Bucky’s chest.

“Just put the clothes on and stop talking about my body.” Bucky raised his hands in surrender, reluctantly putting the clothes on. “Can you help me put your arm back on?”

“Yeah sure.” They walked back into Bucky’s room. He found the arm and carefully secured it. “Okay, you need to relax your shoulder. Then slowly begin to move your fingers, then your hand and move up your arm. It might glitch throughout the day cause you’re not used to it but just reset the movements. Fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, full arm.” He explained.

“Thanks.” She said before retreating back to her own room. They avoided each other for the next couple hours, each trying to adjust to their new bodies. All while desperately searching for a cure.

She eventually had to leave her room to get food. In the kitchen, Bucky was sitting on the counter eating a bowl of cereal. She poured herself a bowl and sat opposite him.

“So,” Bucky said, breaking the silence, “I was thinking.”

“That’s new.” Bucky shot her an annoyed look.

“As I was saying. I’ve been thinking that we should have sex.” He said bluntly. She choked on her cereal.

“What the fuck.”

“I’m serious. You’re hot, and I’ve definitely thought about fucking you. Honestly, if you weren’t such bitch I would’ve asked you out ages ago.”

“Wow, you really are great at flirting.”

“Alright, I’m sorry, you’re only a bit of a bitch sometimes.” She scoffed at his comment. “But I do think we should fuck.”

“Why the hell would I want to sleep with you.”

“Oh come on doll. You wanna tell me you’ve never wanted to know what it feels like for a guy. Look me in the eye and say you haven’t touched my dick cause you’re wondering what it’s like.”

“Well, I-, you can’t just -” She stammered.

“It’s fine. I’ve been doing the same. You’re curious about it, I’m sure as hell curious. So why not.” She thought about it for a while. She was curious, and when would there ever be an opportunity like this again.

“Fine.”

“Wait really.” Bucky said, shocked.

“Yeah, why not.”

“Okay, okay. We gotta do the whole shebang, this is probably our only chance.”

“So what are you waiting for.” They quickly made their way to her room. Soon they were quickly stripping out of their clothes, immediately getting to business. Bucky lay back on the bed and she crawled on top of him, caging him in.

“Okay, it’s gonna feel a little weird at first, might be a bit uncomfortable. But I promise it’ll feel good after you get used to it.” She warned him before slowly inserting one finger into Bucky. Bucky gasped, pushing his hips up. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just give me a second.”

“This will help.” She said, flicking her thumb over the clit at just the right angle. Bucky’s discomfort morphed into pleasure.

“How’d you-”

“It’s my body, I know exactly what I like.” Bucky nodded at her response.

“Oh that’s good, more.” Bucky moaned. She complied, adding another finger while darting out her tongue to stripe up the slit. She kept going, upping the pace until she felt Bucky’s cum on her tongue.

“How was that?” She asked cockily, observing Bucky’s blissed-out expression.

“Holy fuck, that was - that was.” He tried to form a sentence, “And you can just go again, straight away?”

“Yeah, I can usually come like three times before I start to get really exhausted.” She confirmed.

“That’s fucking awesome.” Bucky pushed himself up, “And as good as that was doll, I wanna get down to the real action.” He pulled her up, kissing her passionately and grabbing the cock and jacking it off a few times. She let out a loud groan, quickly lining herself up and pushing in. It was strange for the both of them, feeling what the other sex experienced during, well, sex. It was all new to them, she got to feel the warm, tight grip, and Bucky got that perfect mix of pain and pleasure from the stretch. Moans filled the room, not letting up until the two of them came down from their highs.

"Jesus Christ that was amazing." She said between hey heavy breaths.

"Glad we did it?"

"Definitely." She admitted easily.

"So it feels like that every time for you?"Bucky asked.

"Sometimes the guy'll go a little too hard, and it just hurts. But when they get the balance right, it's fucking phenomenal, feel that good." When she went to sit back up the arm jammed. Bucky could tell she was about to get frustrated and soon intervened.

“Remember, fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, full arm.” He reminded her, cupping her hand in his own. “Fingers.” He repeated as she gained some control back, helping her to move them again, “Wrist, elbow, shoulder, full arm.” With his assistance, she got most of the movement back.

“How do you deal with this every day?” She questioned.

“I’m just used to it. Besides what else can I do?” He laughed a little glumly. “It’s not all that bad, definitely not the worse I deal with.”

“Nightmares?” Bucky nodded. “Yeah join the club. Look I know me saying this won’t really make any difference, you gotta accept it yourself. But what you did wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, it’s what everyones been telling me. I just got things to work out first. You know, I’ve read your file, the same goes for you.” He tried to reassure her.

“I was fully aware of what I was doing.”

“You were a kid, you weren’t thinking for yourself, you did what your parents told you to do.”

“So all the people I killed, all the lives I ruined, completely fine.” She scoffed.

“You weren’t in control. When you got old enough to be genuinely aware of what you were doing, you left, cut all ties and turned to fighting against people like that.” She turned away from, sinking into the bed. She heard Bucky sigh behind her. He slid down, deciding he wanted to sleep in her bed tonight. She flipped back over, cuddling into Bucky.

“Thank you.” She mumbled as the two of them fell asleep.

When the next morning rolled around they found themselves back in their own bodies, She felt Bucky shift behind her, going to move out of the bed.

“Leaving already?” She asked.

“Didn’t think you’d want me here much longer.” He replied sheepishly.

“Y’know, I had fun last night.”

“Really.” He brightened up slightly.

“Yeah, you can stay if you want.” Bucky was instantly back in the bed, wrapping his arms around her.

A few hours later the rest of the team returned, all shocked to find Bucky sat on the coach with her resting her head in his lap. Bucky gently runs his fingers through her hair.

“What the hell happened with you two?” Tony asked, sharing the same sheer shock of the rest of the team.

“Guess we learnt to walk in each other’s shoes for a while.”

#Bucky Barnes #bucky #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes smut #marvel

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clumsyclifford · 3 years

Note

bella i’m just SAYING if you felt like writing boyfriend jalex in LA like they are rn why are they there just vibing together why is alex there i’m hella emo just saying i wouldn’t be MAD about it 😘

well PAIGE you may have been ONTO something here. alex is in LA because he loves his boy next question

read it here on ao3

Death By Hug is not a bad way to go, Jack thinks. It certainly beats Death By Loneliness.

The longer he and Alex stand here, the more Jack wonders if they really are going to die here, holding onto each other like Alex is a soldier returning from war and Jack is his lover who's been writing constantly to the front lines. Or something. It's also possible Jack has watched too many war movies lately.

"We gotta move," Alex finally mumbles. They’re at the gate and people are stepping around them.

"We don't have to."

"Well, I can't kiss you with a mask on."

That is a very good point. Jack squeezes Alex one last time and finally steps back.

Los Angeles looks good on Alex.

Supposedly, Alex is here to write. It's not like that's a lie; they are going to take advantage of Alex's presence and log as many studio hours as possible, but that still leaves a lot of early mornings and late nights unaccounted for. Well. For Jack it does. He knows Alex has been dying to get back in the studio, to put words to music in a way that sounds less like a kid messing around on his dad's guitar and more like a professional musician making demos. But if Jack has to pull Alex from the studio by force, he will.

He will do his best. He is definitely not stronger than Alex but he will try.

For now, though, they have the evening to themselves.

Even with a suitcase, Alex looks right at home in Jack's place. "I'm gonna put my stuff in your room," he tells Jack, and Jack just nods.

"I'm gonna have some cereal," he decides, because he's in the mood for cereal and it is his right as a grown-ass man to eat cereal at all hours. Alex just laughs as he heads towards Jack's room, and Jack grins.

He heads for the kitchen and spends a minute deliberating over what cereal to have before yielding to the eternal power of Fruity Pebbles. They’re practically calling his name. Jack’s strong, but not that strong.

As he’s pouring the cereal into a cup, arms snake around his waist, squeezing tight.

“Hello, cereal boy,” says Alex, tucking his chin into Jack’s shoulder. “Mm, Fruity Pebbles for dinner. You’re the master of health.”

“Yes I am,” Jack says. “This is how they do it in L.A., Al.”

“Who exactly is ‘they’?”

“Me and Bree.”

Alex laughs. “Man, L.A. has really changed.”

“Maybe you should spend more time here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Alex says. “Next global pandemic I’ll be sure to quarantine here with you.”

Jack shakes his head, smiling a little. “That’s all I want to hear. Do you want some cereal?”

“I was thinking we could order a pizza.”

“Oh, pizza,” Jack says, hesitating with his cup of cereal in hand. “Pizza sounds good.” He shrugs one shoulder. “I can have both.”

“You’re the weirdest person ever,” Alex says as Jack sets the cup down and turns around, forcing Alex to loosen his grip. The moment hits Jack full-force; it hadn’t really sunk in until now, but Alex is here. Here. In Los Angeles. With Jack.

Alex is here.

“I’m so fucking happy you’re here,” Jack says. Alex’s smile grows, the way it always does following any kind of emotion from Jack. It’s been weeks since Jack has seen that smile in person, weeks since Jack has seen Alex in person, and he’d forgotten how good it feels to be the reason for it.

FaceTime is good, but nothing is as good as the real thing.

“Well, I’m really fucking happy to be here,” Alex says, pulling Jack closer with the hands around his waist. “I’ve missed you.”

“Yes,” Jack says. “Same. Me too. I feel like I’m going to wake up any second.”

“What, and this will all be a dream?”

“Yes,” Jack says emphatically. It could be. He’s had similar dreams. Granted, he’s never eating Fruity Pebbles in any of them, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

“Me being here?” Alex asks, sliding his hands up Jack’s sides and chest to come to rest on his shoulders. “Or the whole pandemic?”

“I wish I could wake up and have the pandemic be a dream,” Jack huffs. “Or nightmare. Worst nightmare of my entire life.” He’s gotten a little bit off-track, but to be fair, Alex is being very distracting, what with the brushing noses and hands under the collar of his shirt and everything. Jack has yet to build up an immunity to Alex Gaskarth. This is something he has in common with the entire rest of the world.

Alex kisses him. Jack stops thinking about whatever it was he was thinking about. The important thing is that Alex is here and it’s not a dream, and Jack has Fruity Pebbles and his boyfriend and potentially pizza on the way and several hours of nothing at all, to occupy themselves however they choose. The possibilities are endless.

“Doesn’t feel like a dream to me,” Alex says sweetly, pulling back.

“You’re so mean,” Jack says. “Are you saying I’m not your dream guy?”

He gets an eyeroll for his troubles, but then Alex agrees to order the pizza, leaving Jack to eat his cereal in peace instead of having to deal with phones and Other People. Normally he’s a fan of Other People, but tonight it’s all Alex.

(As far as Jack is concerned, as long as Alex is here, every night is all Alex.)

The pizza arrives as they’re half an hour into rewatching the first episode of The Mandalorian. This is the first and last time they pause until Alex yawns, and Jack realizes that midnight in L.A. is three in the morning in Maryland.

“Bedtime,” he declares. If Alex weren’t as nocturnal as he is, he probably wouldn’t have even made it to midnight. As it is, he drags his feet every step from the living room couch to Jack’s bedroom, including his detours to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Jack cleans up a little in the meantime, breaking down the pizza box to dispose of it and rinsing all the dishes for easier cleanup in the morning. The responsible thing would be to wash them now, but Jack can’t find any reason to be responsible. It’s his own home. He’ll wash dishes when he chooses.

By the time he’s turned all the apartment lights off and shuffled into his room, Alex is curled up under the blanket. His eyes are closed like he’s asleep but he’s breathing like he’s awake. Jack putters around, quietly putting on his own pajamas and brushing his teeth, before he, too, climbs into bed.

As predicted, Alex turns over. “Wh’time are we waking up?” he slurs.

Jack reaches blindly for his phone, plugged in on the side table. “Dunno. What time are we going to the studio?”

“Ten?”

Jack sets an alarm for nine, though it’s more for Alex’s sake than his own. “Okay. Done.”

“Love you,” Alex mumbles, burrowing into Jack’s chest. Jack smiles — he has his own stupid Alex smile for when Alex is being lovably, adorably, uniquely Alex — and pulls the blankets up over him.

“Love you,” he hums, pressing a kiss into Alex’s hair. The quiet moment swells around them both. Jack falls asleep fast. He’s holding Alex close in his dreams, too, like even his subconscious can’t come up with anything better than this.

It’s hour nine in the studio, and Jack is ready to call it.

They’ve gotten a lot done. It feels good to be back, or as “back” as this is, back in the studio, back to writing music. Alex has obviously been overflowing with ideas from being cooped up at his farm in Baltimore, which has led to an extremely productive studio day. Hardly half an hour has passed without someone picking up a guitar.

For the first eight hours, Jack is totally invested. This is his lifeblood, too, and by now he probably has a hundred separate voice notes of guitar riffs and chord progressions that he hadn’t wanted to forget. Getting those off of his phone and into real recordings is a big sigh of relief.

Also, he and Alex are really good together.

This has been pretty reliably true throughout their career, but somehow it never fails to give Jack a thrill. Watching Alex’s eyes light up as Jack plays through Lead Guitar Part #37; his rapid “waitwaitwait play that again” as he pulls out his phone to scroll through lyrics jotted down in transient moments of thought; the spark that catches when somehow Alex has the perfect line to sing over this four-note riff that’s been echoing around Jack’s empty apartment for weeks. It feels a little like fate every time. Alex can drive a lyrical stake through an elusive melody like no other.

The progress today has been sufficient, so Jack thinks now is a good time to bow out, before they run out of steam. Quit while they’re ahead. There’s always tomorrow and the next day. Nine hours is a respectable studio day, and if today is any indication, they could have a song or two tomorrow at this rate.

It’s just, Jack wants to go home. He’s not going to say it — at least not yet — because Alex is still operating at full capacity. But he’s thinking it. If anyone asks, he won’t hesitate.

When Alex glances over, Jack is pretty sure it’s written all over his face.

“You okay, JB?” Alex says. His eyes soften around the edges when he smiles. It’s completely unfair. Just like Jack to have the most irresistible boyfriend on the planet. Perfect for being in love with, but extremely difficult for saying no to.

“Tired,” Jack says, biting his lip. The guitar he’s holding has been idling on his lap for about twenty minutes, ignored by Jack, who’s been on Instagram instead. Finally he sets it aside. “Just think I’m done for today.” As a compromise, he adds, “If you guys have another half hour, I don’t mind.”

“No, that’s okay,” Alex says. He glances at Zakk, who’s fucking with the levels or something. “Yeah? You think? Good for today?”

“Yeah,” Zakk says. He tilts his head bizarrely to flash a grin at Jack. “Man, it feels good to be back here with you guys.”

“Dude, don’t even start,” Jack says. “I think if I had spent another day alone at my place I would’ve probably, I don’t know, started trying to learn Korean or something.”

“Why fucking Korean?”

“Exactly.” Jack points at him, then at Alex, who jumps out of the rolly chair he’s been occupying and grabs Jack’s finger. Jack shakes his head, smiling, as Alex laces their fingers together and ducks down to kiss his forehead. “Is that a yes, we can call it?”

“I can call it,” Alex says. “Cervini?”

“Yeah,” Zakk says. “Let’s call it.”

And that’s that for the day.

The stupid TikTok they’d made on the way to the studio has, predictably, blown up.

Jack can’t stop watching it; it’s a little bit cringey but that’s the point, and also, Alex looks insanely good in the red flannel and that yellow beanie. Maybe their merch is designed specifically to look good on Alex. Probably. Not that that’s difficult. Basically everything looks good on Alex.

“Stop watching it, oh my God,” Alex says, crawling into bed on top of Jack and flattening him against the mattress. Jack makes varying noises of protest as Alex pries his phone out of his hand, turns it off, and tosses it aside, forcing Jack’s attention instead to Alex’s face.

If he looks good onscreen, it’s nothing compared to real life.

“Lose some weight,” Jack grunts, shifting to tip them both onto their sides. They’re forehead-to-forehead, one of Alex’s arms trapped under Jack’s side and the other slung over his waist. “You’re not twenty-one anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you complaining?” Alex licks Jack’s cheek, and Jack’s protest of Alex, gross! is lost in Alex’s laugh. “Sorry. That was gross. I’ve just missed you.”

“Weird fuckin’ way of showing it,” Jack says, grinning. “I thought we kinda did this yesterday. We spent the entire day together. And I’ve missed you too.” He hesitates. “You could just stay here, you know.”

Except he couldn’t, and they both know that. Alex has a farm to tend to. He’ll be here as long as they’ve got time in the studio but then he’ll be gone, back to Baltimore. Growing up sucks sometimes. It means Jack has to be mature about Alex having a life of his own. If he expects Alex to respect his decision to stay in L.A., then Jack has to respect Alex’s decision to stay in Maryland. Which he does. He does.

But he also misses his boyfriend a hell of a lot. These days it’s worse than ever. They’ve never really been apart this long.

“Come on,” Alex says, smile flickering. “Don’t.��

“I know. I’m sorry,” Jack says. He sighs. “I take it back. I don’t want you to stay anyway. I don’t even want you in L.A. at all. Who invited you here? What are you doing in my house?”

Alex laughs. He extracts his arm from underneath Jack and runs his hand through Jack’s hair, slotting their legs together. “Cheapest listing on Airbnb. I was told there would be free sexual services?”

“Uh, I don’t know about free,” Jack says. He smirks and steals a kiss off Alex’s lips. “You can repay me by doing household chores.”

“Then it’s just fucking prostitution.”

“That,” says Jack, “is true.” Alex scratches lightly against the side of his face, and the kiss he draws Jack into is so sweet that Jack contemplates never ever breaking it. This is all he needs in life, just Alex — anywhere, but especially here. Jack has never found his apartment to be bleak, but now that he knows how vibrant it can be, how warm and lively when inhabited by Alex, he suspects it will feel grim when he’s alone again.

Thinking about the future gets dangerous. He’d much rather stay in the now. Alex is still kissing him, drawing Jack nearer in such a familiar way that when Jack closes his eyes he can almost hear the rumbling of the tour bus and the low murmurs of conversation happening outside their bunk. They’ve found themselves in this position too many times to count over the years, using the excuse of a small bunk to press together like they didn’t do exactly the same in two-person hotel room beds. It’s been too long since Jack has had anyone to cling to in bed. Comfort settles like a talisman in his chest.

They’re not twenty-one anymore, but sometimes it still feels like they could be. It was easier for the years to blur together when they were spent largely chasing their way across the globe. These days, the contrast between then and now feels blindingly stark. It’s nice to sink into something this familiar. Almost like Alex is pulling him back in time, too.

Or maybe like Alex is pulling the past into the present. Jack doesn’t feel twenty-one. He feels thirty-two and still in love with Alex. Eleven years from now, he’ll probably feel just the same. The way that Alex kisses him, holding him close, has nothing to do with how old they are. It’s only familiar because nothing has changed; Alex loved him then and Alex loves him now.

Their love grows, but it never wavers.

Alex doesn’t pull away so much as just tilt his head until they’re not kissing anymore, tucking his face into Jack’s chest. “I’m tired,” he announces. Jack could basically have guessed that. It’s only eleven, but in Maryland time it’s two in the morning.

“I know,” says Jack. “That’s why we’re in bed. To sleep.”

“Really, you want to sleep now?” Alex sounds surprised. “It’s not even midnight.”

“I am capable of having a responsible sleep schedule sometimes, you know.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Jack I know.”

You haven’t been around for a while, Jack doesn’t say. “Shut up, you bully. I take care of myself.” He makes a face. “Also I want to sleep when you do. I don’t think that’s a crime.”

“I’d love that,” Alex says. His words come out muffled. “I love you. Have I told you today that I love you?”

“No,” Jack says, smiling.

“Liar. I’m sure I did. But I’m telling you again. I love you.” Somehow Alex’s grip on Jack becomes even tighter. Prying him off is going to be a difficult task, if Jack can muster up the willpower to do it. It won’t be easy. This is probably Jack’s favorite position to be in, tangled up with Alex. It doesn’t hurt to hear Alex repeating, “I love you, you’re my favorite, I’m so happy I’m here,” quietly, almost as if to himself.

“You need to put on your pajamas,” Jack says.

“I don’t wanna,” Alex whines. “I can sleep like this. Tour life. Too busy for pajamas.”

“So rock ‘n’ roll,” Jack says dryly.

“Yes. Exactly. I’m too cool for school.”

“Yeah. Really badass of you to fall asleep in a flannel.” Jack kisses Alex’s shoulder over the plaid pattern. “Which, may I say, looks very good on you.”

Alex hums contentedly. “See, that’s why I love you. Ego boost.”

“You are the most lead singer to ever lead singer. Jesus Christ.”

“Damn right I am, baby! Own it. I gotta own it.”

“Everything you say just dates you more. You sound so old.”

“You’re exactly as old as I am, old man,” Alex says, trying and failing to kick Jack even though Jack has both of his legs trapped.

“Old men put pajamas on before sleeping,” Jack informs him. “The buttons on this thing will be so uncomfortable to sleep in.”

“Yeah, but consider this,” says Alex, in the tone of someone about to make an extremely good point. “I don’t care and I’m tired.”

Jack sighs. “Seriously, you really wanna sleep in your clothes?”

“Yes,” Alex says. He buries his face in Jack’s neck, softly humming. When he speaks, Jack’s skin buzzes. “Please? Just tonight? I’m sleepy. Being a grown-up is for losers.”

Jack smiles to himself. “You’re such a lazy boy.”

“Yes. I am a lazy boy. This sounds like you agreeing.”

“I can’t stop you, can I?”

“Nope,” Alex says cheerfully. “But you can support me.”

“I support you all the time. I am literally the lead guitarist of your band. How much more supportive can I get.”

Alex laughs. It’s a tired laugh, on the brink of falling asleep, and Jack likes that he’s managed to make it happen at all. “It’s our band.”

“Comrade.”

Alex snorts. “Comrade.” He kisses Jack’s neck. “I’m gonna fall asleep right here, if that’s cool.”

“Get under the covers at least,” Jack says. It takes a little bit of bitching and moaning, but eventually Alex concedes, unsticking himself from Jack like it’s a physical burden to do so and crawling under the blanket with Jack.

“Oh,” Alex says, fishing around on the mattress underneath him. He pulls out Jack’s phone. “This is yours.”

Jack plugs in his phone and sets the same alarm he used yesterday. Loudly announcing that “boy is asleep” cuts out the lights. In the dark and quiet of the room, Jack hugs Alex as close as he possibly can, pressing his nose into Alex’s neck. It’s easy when Alex is making the same effort. Jack wonders if Alex feels the same as he does, like he has to engrave this memory in his mind, the way he’d never gotten a chance to when lockdown first set in. It had never occurred to him, before, that they’d be separated. That there might once come a time when Jack would want to hug Alex and Alex wouldn’t be there to hug.

Now, the threat of knowing that their clock is already ticking down is enough to make him want to burn this sensation forever into his skin and bones.

“Goodnight, my love,” he whispers with a tight squeeze. “Did I tell you today that I love you?”

There’s a sleepy hum in response. “You tell me you love me every second of every day,” Alex murmurs. “But I never get tired of hearing it.”

Jack smiles. He breathes his own I-love-yous, softly enough that it’s almost white noise, and before Alex falls asleep he tilts his head towards Jack. His eyes are closed, so Jack closes the gap and brushes their lips together.

Alex falls asleep soon after. Jack likes that, that neither of them have had the last word. The gentleness of the kiss soaks through his body and he drifts off with a smile, warm and content.

#jack barakat #alex gaskarth #jalex #jalex fic #all time low #atl fic #fic #my fic #i am a DUMB BITCH sorry paige but i have now sorted it out #thank you for re sending this because i am a dumbass!#anyway. so. i hope that this makes you smile #jalex in LA might be the only thing ever tbh #honestly every time i wrote the words maryland or baltimore i was like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#golden retriever brain #i am literally terrified of clicking the wrong button here by accident #tumblr ask box is a threat to my mental health #mukeaf #ask #answered

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writerofshit · 4 years

Note

for the ship asks, 19 (things you said when we were the happiest we ever were) and stream team (treh, myatt, and lil j)?

(So. Maybe not to the heart of the prompt, but the happiest I've ever been was simply existing with people I loved.)

19. things you said when we were the happiest we ever were

“Goddamnit Jeremy!” Matt’s voice rings out through the apartment, loud and vaguely angry. He's in the kitchen, which means he has just stumbled upon what Jeremy has done. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you.”

Jeremy glances at Trevor, sitting beside him on the couch. “Any chance you wanna take the blame for this one?”

“Depends.” Trevor doesn’t take his eyes off of his character on screen. “What did you do?”

Before Jeremy can respond, Matt stomps into the room, empty cereal box in hand. “You knew I was looking forward to this!" On the last word, he gestures aggressively with the box. "Asshole."

"Matt, look-" on screen, Jeremy's character dies, and he tosses the controller onto the coffee table. "In my defense, Trevor did it."

"Oh no no, don't involve me in this." Trevor leans to the side, an apparent effort to make his character do the same. It doesn't work, and he dies too. "Fuck."

"Sounds great, but a little difficult on an empty fucking stomach." Matt says drily, hand on his hip. "You owe me a box of cereal, Jeremy."

"Matt, come here." Jeremy reaches toward him, but he doesn't move. "Matt please." He makes a grabby motion at him. With a heavy sigh, Matt extends his hand and allows himself to be pulled onto the couch. "Listen, why don't the three of us go out to eat, that way you're not eating cereal for dinner like an animal-"

“Well that’s just mean for no reason.”

“And on the way back I will buy you more cereal.” Jeremy finishes as though Matt hadn’t interrupted him.

Matt eyes him suspiciously, as though he’s waiting for the catch. He looks to Trevor as well, who holds up his hands in ‘I don’t know, I’m just here’. Finally, he nods. “Fine. But you’re paying for me.”

“Sure Matt.” Jeremy says with a patient smile. “I’ll buy you dinner too.”

“Hey Jeremy,” Trevor begins, resting his arm on Jeremy’s shoulder. “Since you’re throwing around cash like you have it, remember that time you tried to blame me for eating Matt’s cereal?”

“You mean literally three minutes ago?” Matt says, chuckling.

“You guys are the worst.” Jeremy leans back into the couch, crossing his arms firmly.

“Says the cereal thief.” Matt says with a pointed look at him.

Jeremy tries his best to stare back, to hold an intimidating, or at least neutral expression. He fails after approximately three seconds. He’s got Trevor giggling in one ear and Matt looking annoyed at him. Even the strongest man couldn’t do it, and he is few from strong when it comes to them. He breaks into a grin, and Matt shakes his head.

“Asshole.” But he looks away, and Jeremy knows he’s smiling too. That’s all he can ask for.

---

Matt wakes up to the sound of the bedroom door opening. He has had one arm wrapped around Jeremy’s waist, and he tightens his grip ever so slightly. If someone is here to kill them, he won’t be much of a defense, but it’s still his instinct to try and protect his best friend. He cracks one eye open to find that it is in fact Trevor in the doorway, finally getting home.

“Hey Trevor.” He says quietly, hoping not to wake Jeremy. It doesn’t work, and Jeremy shifts beside him, lifting his head to also peer at the door.

“Hey, you made it.” He mumbles, head falling back to the pillow.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I’m so late.” Matt hears the sound of Trevor dropping his keys and wallet into the dresser, and then the sound of the closet door. “You wouldn’t believe the shit that went down after you guys left.”

“Hmm. Can’t wait to hear this. We’re all ears.” Despite his words, Jeremy turns himself toward Matt, curling into his chest. Matt rolls to his back, bringing Jeremy with him.

Trevor re-emerges from the closet, presumably in pajamas of some sort. He slips into bed beside Jeremy, and Matt makes his best effort to reach an arm toward him. “What happened?”

Trevor's hand finds his in the dark. “Just… remind me who put me in charge of Michael and Gavin?”

“That would be you and Geoff, I think.” Matt squeezes his hand gently. “At least you’re home now.”

“Yeah, barely. You know they somehow got involved in a three hour police chase?”

“Jesus Christ.” It’s not shocking by any means, and they’ve all certainly had worse, but still. The aftermath of Michael and Gavin chaos can be a real shitshow.

“They got away, obviously, but Jack and I are both thinking we lay low for a few days.” Trevor squeezes Matt’s hand one last time before pulling away, opting instead to curl himself around Jeremy.

“Makes sense to me.” Laying low may not be his favorite way to operate, but he trusts Trevor’s judgement. If he and Jack think it’s necessary, it must be. Odds are, it’ll be the three of them holed up in this apartment for a week, the rest of the crew in various homes across the city.

“Wha-“ Jeremy shifts at the touch. “Shit, Trevor, I’m sorry, I missed all of that.”

Trevor only chuckles. “You’re good, man.” Matt feels Trevor’s hand slip between his chest and Jeremy’s. “Go back to sleep.” He hears Trevor press a kiss to Jeremy’s shoulder, followed by a fond, contented sigh.

Maybe laying low won’t be all bad. Boring, sure, but at least they’ll be together.

---

“You know I love you both to death, and I’ll support anything you guys want to do, but if you think that wall is structurally sound, I- I really don’t know how to help you.” Trevor is standing in the middle of the living room, one hand on his hip, pointing at two precariously leaned pillows.

“Alright, it’s not done yet-“ Matt begins, shooting him an exasperated look.

“Yeah, and we’ll thank you not to judge us until our vision is fully realized.” Jeremy says, voice monotone. Immediately, he breaks into a giggle. “God, can you imagine if I talked like that?” he picks up his beer from the coffee table, taking a long sip.

“See, I don’t like that because it really sounded like you were doing an impression of me.” Matt says, kneeling down next to the compromised pillow wall. He tries to adjust it slightly, and it collapses, taking three more pillows with it. “Shit.”

“I don’t wanna say I told you so, but…” Trevor trails off into laughter.

“Alright Mr. Fuckin Engineer,” Matt sits back and gestures broadly at the mess of pillows and blankets surrounding him. “You figure out how to give pillows integrity.”

“Well first off, don’t build walls out of pillows.” Trevor mutters, sitting cross legged beside Matt on the floor.

“Trevor, it’s a pillow fort.” Jeremy emphasizes, waving his beer around. “What are we supposed to use, concrete?”

“No,” Trevor says, squeezing the various pillows that have fallen, searching for the firmest ones. “but also don’t use the softest pillows we own as a base.” He takes the one he’s least satisfied with and chucks it in Jeremy’s direction, hitting him squarely in the chest.

“Trevor!” Jeremy stares at him incredulously, mouth slightly hanging open. “I did nothing to you!”

“Maybe that’s the problem.” Matt deadpans, and now Jeremy whips the pillow back at him.

The entire situation dissolves quickly from there, going from the very ambitious fort plan to an all out pillow war. It’s all obscenities and insults and laughter, pillows flying in all directions. Jeremy claims the couch, yelling something about height advantage and fairness. Trevor full on falls multiple times, trying desperately to jump over projectiles. It absolutely doesn’t work. Matt tries to take shelter under a blanket, which is a poor choice. The other two truce long enough to dogpile on him, and then they’re three idiots wrestling on the floor.

When they’re all tuckered out, they wind up just staying down there, constructing something that’s less pillow fort and more pillow nest. Regardless of what their original plan was, Trevor is inclined to think that this is better. Its nice to just have fun, be a little silly with the two people he loves most. He can’t think of a better way to spend a a Tuesday night.

#This can be summed up with:#Jeremy’s love language is wreaking inconsequential havoc #Matt’s is cuddles and being a supportive ear #and Tevors is getting to be silly with people he loves.#I just… I love the idea that the Happiest Times™ are not some grandiose moment #but simply living a life with people you care about #this was very fun to write #thank you for the request!#i hope you enjoy!#whats their ship name?#im truly blanking... ahh someone let me know #ragehappy #ks writes #ks talks #winkyblinkyandstew

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livesincerely · 3 years

Note

im not feeling the best right now emotionally so i am here presenting you with a free space to ramble about whatever you want because your writing genuinely cheers me up so much

Hello darling!! I’m sorry you’re in a rough mindset, sending all the good feelings and well wishes your way 😘💕✨💗⭐️💕😊✨💗

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about that most recent, how would a proposal/wedding happen in the domestic au? prompt.

It’s so funny, I’d never really thought about a domestic au wedding until I got the ask, but now that the question was put forward, I’m finding that I have a lot of thoughts about it (because of course I do lol.)

I’m not sure yet if this will end up being a whole thing like the holiday fic did, but I definitely have a solid idea for a single moment/one shot that I’m excited about—hoping to get that finished in the next few days!

Here’s a sneak peek at what I have so far! Most of it is stuff you’ve seen before in that original ask but more polished, but there’s some new stuff in there too.... ☺️😉

00000

“So, when are you gonna get married?” Tony asks apropos of nothing, looking between him and Davey with keen interest.

Jack barely manages to keep from choking on his cereal. Davey, who’d been in the middle of spreading a bit of lox on a bagel, slowly sets down his knife.

Charlie aims a kick at Tony under the table.

“You’re asking them now?” he hisses. “I thought we were gonna ease them into the idea!”

“Hey,” Jack says weakly, but he doesn’t have a leg to stand on and they all know it.

“So, I’m asking,” Tony determinedly continues as if Jack hadn’t said anything. “When are you gettin’ married?”

There’s a long pause where he and Davey just stare at each other, neither of them quite sure how to respond.

He gets this from you, Davey’s expression says, clear as day.

I know he does, Jack says with a commiserating look, holding back a sigh.

“Well?” Tony demands when the silence stretches on for too long.

“It’s probably a little soon to be thinking about marriage,” Davey eventually says, far more delicately than Jack would’ve managed. “We haven’t talked about it at all yet⁠—”

“Because we only just got together yesterday, Tony,” Jack dryly interjects. “In case you forgot about that little detail.”

“—And we should probably start with the question of if we want to get married before we jump to the when,” Davey concludes.

Tony’s nose scrunches up, obviously dissatisfied with this answer.

“Of course you’re gonna get married,” he says, as if this is plainly obvious. “You’re basically married already, I just wanna know when the wedding’s gonna be.”

“Um.” Davey’s gone faintly pink. “Well, like I said, Jack and I haven’t talked about anything like that yet. We’re comfortable the way we are now, no need to rush into anything⁠—”

Tony levels him with the flattest look in all of existence. “You’re crazy if you think you haven’t already been married to Davey for years.”

Jack’s voice catches in his throat, a little blindsided by the truth of that statement. Davey’s mouth opens and closes, the rosy flush of his cheeks shading a touch deeper.

“But what, exactly, is holding you back?” Tony asks, stubbornly brooking further arguments anyway. “Like, do you have any actual reasons?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s none of your business,” Jack snipes back. “Given that that’ll be a conversation between me and Davey.”

“Tony,” Jack groans.

“—coming to the perfectly understandable conclusion that you’re together⁠—”

“Tony, that’s enough, we get it,” Jack says.

Jack covers his face with his hands.

“—and given that, like, every aspect of your lives are already tangled together, it’s not really that big of a step for you to just go ahead and make it official.”

Jack sighs so hard he feels it in his bones. “If we promise to talk about this, will you please stop talking about it?”

“Eight years, Jack!” Tony cries, impassioned. “That’s half of my life! That’s more than half of Charlie’s life!”

“Do not bring me into this,” Charlie quickly interjects, “I am a passive witness and nothing more.”

“You’re such a fucking turncoat, Choo-choo,” Tony mutters with no real heat. “You’re supposed to have my back on this.”

“Maybe if you could ever actually stick to a plan,” Charlie grumbles back.

“We’ll talk about it,” Jack says loudly, interrupting their bickering before it can gain any ground. “Okay?”

There’s a moment of blessed silence.

Then Tony says, “So, like, right now? Or…?”

“Sure!” Jack says, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Why not? Clearly, I’m not gonna get any fucking peace until this is sorted—

“Finally!” Tony exclaims. “God, was that so hard?”

“—so go away,” Jack finishes.

Tony’s mouth falls open.

“What do you mean, go away?” he protests, looking genuinely shocked. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I’m not gonna let you sit here and fucking… moderate our conversation, dumbass,” Jack sputters. “Get out!”

“But I really feel like this is the kinda conversation that needs moderating,” Tony disagrees. “It’s not like either of you have a great track record for effective communication⁠—”

“Anthony Ethan Higgins,” Jack warns, nearly at the end of his rope.

Tony rolls his eyes so hard his whole body moves with the motion. “I am literally just trying to help, you don’t gotta get all defensive about it⁠—”

“Jesus Christ, Tony,” Jack says, completely and utterly done. “Will you please just⁠— Just go somewhere that isn’t here.”

“But are you gonna talk about it?” Tony insists, really digging in his heels. “Because if you’re just gonna not talk about it the second I leave then I think I should⁠—”

“Tonio, juro por Dios—”

“Tony, honey,” Davey finally steps back into the fray, far calmer than he has any right to be, and somehow, miraculously, Tony’s mullish expression softens into something a little chagrined. Jack gapes, wrong-footed by the sudden change. “I think you’ve made your point and given Jack more than enough heart attacks for one morning, yeah? So why don’t you go ahead and give us a few minutes, and I promise we’ll talk about it.”

Tony deflates. “Yeah, okay.”

“Thank you, baby.”

Tony shuffles away, mollified for now. Davey pauses, then says, “Charlie, that means you too.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Charlie protests. “I’m just sittin’ here, tryin’ to eat.”

He takes an exaggerated bite of his bagel as if to prove his point, eyes extra wide and innocent.

“Charlie.”

“But my food!”

“Take it with you,” Davey suggests, very patiently.

Charlie looks as though that thought hadn’t occurred to him.

“Okay,” he says, scooping up his plate and scurrying after his brother. He hesitates in the doorway, then adds, “My vote is for an autumn wedding, if that counts for anything.”

“Charlie.”

“Going!”

Once he’s sure they’re both gone, Jack heaves another massive sigh.

“They’re such a pair of little shits,” he says, to Davey and the world at large. “Fucking hell.”

“But he is right, you know,” Davey comments lightly.

“I know he’s right,” Jack grumbles, rubbing his thumb over Davey’s knuckles. “Don’t mean he ain’t a little shit.”

“Well, naturally,” Davey agrees. “He’s related to you.”

“Oh, please,” Jack says with a snort. “That little spiel of his was all you. ‘The inexplicable reality of the situation’,” he mimics, his voice landing in some strange imitation of Tony mixed with Davey, which ends up not really sounding like either of them. “It was like hearin’ your voice comin’ outta Tony’s mouth.”

“And it was a well thought-out argument,” Davey says pertly, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a wry grin. “His timing could use some work, though.”

“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” Jack says, taking a bite of his cereal⁠ and immediately making a face—it’s gone all gross and soggy during the craziness, because of course it has. He pushes the bowl away with a mournful look. “Didn’t even let us finish breakfast before pouncing.”

“Well, it has been eight years,” Davey says, and he’s definitely laughing a little now. “Guess he’s afraid of a repeat performance.”

“Sure,” Jack says with a shrug, because that part had been hard to argue with. More than half of Charlie’s life, Jesus. “But he was talkin’ like he expected us to walk down the aisle this afternoon. I mean, we can’t just get married. You don’t just get married.”

“Most people don’t,” Davey says, tilting his head. “But then, we aren’t really most people, are we, darling?”

It takes a moment for this statement to fully land for Jack⁠, and when it finally does, it lands with a boom.

“Are you sayin’ you’d marry me?” Jack asks, utterly floored, his heart pounding an unsteady rhythm in his chest.

“Are you asking me?” Davey asks, calmly sipping his coffee like he isn’t rocking Jack’s world, right here over breakfast, for the second time in not even two days.

#newsies #javid #*ask #*editor's note #bits & bobs #*the writing desk #the domestic au #i hope this helps a little!#😊✨💕⭐️💗✨💕

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fruity-hub-blog · 3 years

Text

Mystery Meat - dprewatch2021

I promised myself I’d start today so start I shall! Screencaps and reactions will be under the cut, today’s ep is number 1, Mystery Meat!

(sidenote I was too lazy to take apart my computer today so we are dealing with substandard screenshots sorry pham)

Fuck I’m not ready for this I can already hear the musical stings and season one awkwardness there’s a reason I skip to like episode 4

Oh, mood.

“It releases ghosts into our world whether I want it to or not.” Yeah you just summed up the whole show there buddy.

Awe they think they’re traumatized now! Cute!

Side note- Jack canonically lived through a war and was forced to eat horse meat! I don’t know where to file this information :)

Hello Danny my old friend I’ve done this to myself again.

(Theme is still absolutely a bop so that much hasn’t changed)

He just wants some cereal let this poor boy eat.

Maddie says “Two more days, and it’s done!” And when Jack says very loudly “DID YOU SAY IT’S DONE?!” she does NOTHING to tell him otherwise, she just... smiles at him.

Is it any wonder these two have one complete body count between them?

From left to right you have ???, trapezoid, breadstick. I’d say at least there are diverse body types but Maddie is the exception, not the rule.

I will never forgive her for interrupting him when he was going to come clean on season ONE

I mean I get it, the house is a mess, but wrong time to point it out.

I get it, she’s standing up for her brother to diss her parents, we’ve all been there, just learn to read the room.

Everyone in this show but Tucker has parent issues. But also your goth phase is not comparable to your friend literally half dying, stay on task here Sam.

“Your powers make you unique, unique is good, which is how I’m going to turn this back around to talk about me!”

I don’t hate Sam, I hate the writers for making Sam a realistic vegan, okay?

Okay, sidenote, it PISSES me off that they were like, how can we make her seem more EXTRA and they just renamed Vegan to “Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian” She doesn’t eat animals or animal byproducts, she’s a fucking vegan fuck off.

Tucker can tell what Danny ate yesterday just by smelling him. He’s a fucking werewolf. Your AU’s are correct.

FUCK YOU

“Maybe this isn’t the best idea.” She says, about ambushing her own daughter.

I’m sorry but how are these children still in their custody?

“What if we accidentally hurt her?”

*looks into the camera like I’m in the office*

“The all steak buffet” I’m sorry, this is so laughable had BH ever been in a school? The school board might try a new diet for students (if it costed less) but they wouldn’t piss on a teacher if they were on fire.

I kinda prefer this exorcist vibe to the the little small wisp of ghost sense that happens through the rest of the series tbh

I like how this is just chill like, there are adults around but hey beat each other up I guess.

Tucker just deadass rats her out to a ghost, huh?

Hi this is terrifying, why can’t they lean more into this?

Danny: Get behind me!

Sam, sarcastically: Wow, I feel safe.

She has her moments, I’ll give her that.

I always forget he doesn’t have a symbol till season two. It looks weird...

“I... command you to... go away!” Oh Danny, you sweet summer child.

Suddenly I’m reminded of that one phic of the children... was that PoT? I think that was PoT. Pop.

Glowing, translucent, ghost food is canon, just gonna file that one away.

“Hey! It worked!” Oh my god you actual baby

He just slides in like this. My god.

“Repeated loitering by the girl’s locker room” well this aged like a glass of warm milk.

Also Lancer says that Dash made some touchdowns so he’s above the rules. Fuck Lancer.

Hey look, the old Tucker/Danny ship name. I don’t know what the new one was but there’s the old one.

Meat

Trail

Dude has temper issues. Dude shouldn’t be a teacher.

Fuck Lancer.

“How is it I have the ghost powers and you’re the weird kid?”

It’s because they decided his two attributes would be meat and perv. Don’t worry Danny, they’ll retcon you to be a perv along with your symbol.

Danny “I’ll knock your fucking block off” Fenton

God I love how fucked up the powerset in this show is.

When ur friend passes out before you at the sleepover so you just stay up doing nothing because this isn’t your house.

The fact that this doesn’t raise alarm bells again tells me Jack and Maddie really need to not be parents.

Jesus just leave him alone this is such a stupid plot and the boy is about to cry

He transforms like this

And that’s how Danny died the rest of the way.

Danny, falls through the ground in front of his ghost hunting parents: THANKSFORTHETHERMOS

Danny’s patents:

#dprewatch2021 #mun liveblogs

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ghostsray · 4 years

Text

kin assigned fenton pt. 2

(i hope those of you who read my fenton-phantom au fic wanted more because it’s gonna be a multichapter fic now :) this is supposed to be based on @darks-ink‘s phic phight prompt, but while i was writing it i forgot what the original prompt was, so i forgot that they werent supposed to gain each other’s memories...oops. i hope that’s fine)

(ao3)

summary: phantom makes some friends :)

After day 10 of being stuck inside someone else's body, Phantom finally got used to waking up in the human world.

He opened his eyes to be greeted by the now-familiar star-shaped stickers stuck on the roof. He was starting to hate those plastic stars. While he at first appreciated how neatly Danny had placed them in the shapes of constellations, now they only served to remind him that he was still living Danny's life while the real guy's ghost was in who-knows-where.

Phantom sat up in bed and squinted as the rays of sunlight hit his eyes through the window. He had learned in science class that the sun was a star, and Phantom hated it as much as he hated the fake stars on the ceiling. He missed the blissful darkness of the Ghost Zone. Everything was so dang bright in the human world.

Phantom threw back his (really Danny's) covers and got up. After a week and a half of living as a human, he had settled into a morning routine. Get out of bed, ignoring the terrible pull of gravity on your stolen human body. Go to the bathroom, pointedly refusing to look at the mirror to see Danny's face. Do your business without feeling too weird about your nut not being yours, wash your hands and brush your teeth, go back to Danny's room and change clothes. Stop and gaze at the photograph sitting on Danny's desk which you never moved since you found it, showing Danny and his friends, and wonder where Danny's ghost was.

It's been a week and a half since Danny disappeared after their fight with the toilet ghost. The toilet ghost had unsurprisingly reformed in his haunt in the Casper High restroom, which Phantom knew after one startling bathroom break, but he seemed content just to chill without causing trouble. Danny never reappeared. Phantom honestly felt annoyed at Danny for leaving him to handle his life on his own, which felt very awkward when he knew next to nothing about it.

Or maybe not. Phantom hissed and pressed a hand against his temples as an image assaulted his brain. The smell of the wilderness, a dog's fur under his hands, firewood burning while he and the other Fentons sat with their Aunt Alicia around the firelight, the stars shining above them. Phantom pinched his arm and twisted it, and the image disappeared.

He knew a thing or two about human anatomy, and he knew that he currently had Danny's brain--including his memories. The longer he spent in this body, the more memories he gained access to. How much longer until he remembered all of Danny's life? And if he gained Danny's earthly memories, will he lose his own memories of the Ghost Zone? Will he even be able to tell himself apart from Danny?

Phantom tried not to think about it too much.

He went downstairs to the kitchen. Danny's parents (Maddie and Jack, he had learned were their names) were, as usual, tinkering with some anti-ghost weaponry at the table. Phantom focused on anything but those weapons and tried not to feel too threatened by them. They didn't even work on him, not while he was in their son's body.

There had been a few small ghosts that came through the portal since it had opened, but they never lasted long before either Fenton captured them. Phantom didn't know what they did to the ghosts, and he was too scared to peek into the lab to find out. All he knew was that he sometimes imagined hearing echoing screams rise from the basement. He was just glad none of the ghosts had been someone he knew so far.

Jazz didn't seem bothered by the weapons. She was eating her breakfast while simultaneously reading a book about psychology. At first, Phantom had assumed she studied psychology because she still thought he was crazy for believing himself to be an ex-ghost, but he quickly realized that she simply liked learning about the subject.

He sat down, ignoring the tremors that came from being too close to the ghost hunters, and didn't speak as he ate his breakfast--eggs and bacon, which wasn't as sweet as cereal, but not bad. Apparently, Maddie and/or Jack often accidentally got some ectoplasm from their research onto the food they cooked, which gave it the tangy aftertaste of ecto-plasm. That only made Phantom feel more nostalgic for his old afterlife.

Jazz looked up from her book to check the clock in the kitchen, scraped off the remainder of her meal, and stood up. "Ready for school, Danny?" she said.

Phantom tensed his jaw. "Yeah," he said and stood up with Danny's backpack. He tried not to show any discomfort at being called Danny. After all, he had given up trying to convince the Fentons of his true identity after that first day.

Just like the previous ten days, Jazz drove him to school. He watched the scenery that passed by through the window. He used to find it captivating, how different the landscape was from the Zone and how many humans and animals were alive in this world. Now, he just wished once more that he could return home already.

The now-familiar building of Casper High appeared in front of them, and they exited the car after Jazz parked. Phantom let his stolen body go on autopilot as it moved toward class. Honestly, he used to think the Ghost Zone was boring, but the human world was even more mundane. He just went to the same classrooms every day to learn something about the same old subjects.

As he passed by a hallway, he caught a glimpse of a black-clad girl with a black ponytail. He felt his body tense up as he met Sam's violently violet eyes for a brief second. Then they turned away from each other and moved on.

It was awkward, being anywhere near Danny's old friends. Sam and Tucker were the only other humans who really knew about Phantom, and it didn't make things any easier between them. Imagine your best friend was dead and some stranger took his place, which nobody knew about but you...

They didn't talk much.

"Okay, that's it," some girl said next to him. "What is going on between you and your friends?"

Phantom blinked and turned around to look at her. She had blonde hair with a flower pin holding it away from her face, and she was crossing her arms and looking directly at him. It took him a few slow moments before he asked, "Are you talking to me?"

The blonde rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, I'm talking to you, Fenton. You, Manson, and Foley used to be inseparable. Now, it almost seems like you guys are avoiding each other. So what's up?"

Phantom winced and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. How could he possibly describe that the reason they weren't friends anymore was because he was someone else? After failing to come up with a decent explanation, he decided to use the good ol' method popular among ghosts and growled, "None of your business."

The girl blinked, then smirked. "Wow, Danny. You're a lot tougher than I remember."

Phantom clenched his jaw and turned away. Even with him gaining Danny's memories, it was getting harder each day to pretend to be him. He really wished Danny would come back already, if only to give him some pointers on how to live his life.

He barely made it past a row of lockers before a fist suddenly slammed against a locker right in front of him. Phantom jumped back and looked up into the angry blue eyes of one Dash Baxter. He slumped. "Oh. You again."

Dash gritted his teeth and growled, "I've been holding it together for a week, but I really need to take out my anger on someone."

"What is it this time?" Phantom said noncommittally. "A failed test?"

"It's the fucking locker," Dash said, his breath burning in Phantom's face.

"A...locker?"

Dash grabbed Phantom by his shirt and raised him, his blue eyes glaring holes into him. "The fucking locker! Ever since a row of 'em was mysteriously dented, I had to get a new one near the band room. Which, sure, no biggie, right? But god, every Wednesday there's band practice, and those geeks have to come near me with their stupid spittle and annoying loud instruments. And guess what day it is today?"

"Wednesday?" Phantom guessed.

"Fucking Wednesday!" Dash slammed Phantom against the wall of lockers, which made his head vibrate with pain. At least Phantom knew why Sidney hated bullies so much. They really, really sucked.

Dash was about to give Phantom another painful attack, but just then the bell rang, and everyone filed to class. Dash gave Phantom one more shove before letting go and sneering. "Saved by the bell, but not for long. Get ready for a beating later."

Phantom had a sarcastic comment in mind, but he knew from experience that angering someone stronger than you was never a good idea. So he just glared at Dash's back while Dash stalked away. As he did, Phantom thought he saw what looked like a wisp of smoke following after the jock...but when he blinked, it disappeared.

Phantom scratched his head as he glared at the math worksheet on the desk in front of him. Of all the subjects, geometry was the worst. He never thought that it was important for him to know (maybe because shapes continually shifted in the Ghost Zone), so he never bothered learning it. Apparently, Danny's memories didn't do him much good, either.

Tucker sat next to him. When Danny was still around, that seating arrangement was probably awesome--two best friends sitting right next to each other. Now, it was just awkward. He and Tucker did their best to pretend that the other didn't exist...which was why he was surprised when Tucker leaned in and whispered, "Want some help?"

Phantom looked up at him in surprise. He was watching him from behind those thick glasses of his. The human fidgeted and added, "Don't get me wrong, I still think your whole...situation is weird. But no one deserves to be tortured by school material."

Phantom pursed his lips and looked back to his paper. Of the two of Danny's friends, Tucker had always been the more open. Sam, on the other hand...maybe she already wore black daily before Phantom entered the picture, but he couldn't look at her and not think that it looked like funeral attire, worn for the death of her real friend.

"Sam hates me," Phantom whispered.

"She doesn't hate you," Tucker responded. "She just misses Danny. So do I."

Phantom gazed at the printed numbers sadly. "I don't know where he is. The last I saw or heard from him was on the same day you guys last did."

He didn't need to look at Tucker to know that his words disappointed him. There was a tense silence between them for a moment, then Tucker broke it by saying, "You need to find the cosine."

"Huh?"

Tucker tapped his paper and said, "The first question. You need to find the cosine of the triangle to know the missing angle."

"Oh," Phantom said, feeling stupid.

Tucker spent the rest of the period whispering methods to help him solve their geometry problems when the teacher wasn't listening. Phantom kept sneaking glances at the boy. Tucker's eyes were glued to the schoolwork, refusing to look at Phantom, probably to make it easier to pretend that he wasn't inside his best friend's body. Phantom didn't mind. It was more than enough for him that Tucker even considered talking to him.

Class ended, and Phantom and Tucker gathered their things and stood. Phantom waited for Tucker to leave, but he stayed around while everyone else filed out the classroom. Phantom fidgeted.

"Thank you," he said, figuring that was what the human was waiting for him to say. "For, you know. Helping me out."

Tucker pushed his glasses up and scratched his neck. "I figured it wasn't fair for me to judge you for...being you." As in, not being Danny. "From what I gathered, you didn't ask to be in your situation, either."

"Ancients, no," Phantom confirmed. "I hate being alive."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "I thought ghosts generally want to be alive again."

"Why'd you think that?"

Tucker shrugged. "It's what's always shown in horror movies."

Phantom didn't know what sorts of ghost myths were broadcasted in human-made movies. He almost opened his mouth to argue, but he hesitated.

Did he hate being alive? He hated being thrust here from the Ghost Zone against his will, and he hated having to live someone else's life. But not everything in the human world sucked. It was definitely more peaceful than the Zone.

"I think I just hate being alive as someone I'm not," Phantom said.

Tucker softened. Phantom wished he didn't. Ghosts rarely showed sympathy to each other, and the way Tucker looked at him was closer to pity. Phantom averted his eyes and busied himself with Danny's school supplies.

"Well," Tucker said, "I can't imagine what you're going through, but it sounds like a lot. I know you're not Danny...but that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Phantom looked up in surprise and found Tucker smiling at him timidly. He hadn't thought about how lonely he had gotten since getting stuck inside Danny's body. He missed his friends from the Ghost Zone, and Tucker missed Danny. Maybe befriending each other could fill a hole in both their hearts.

Then he saw the doorway behind Tucker and faltered. There stood a girl with a black ponytail wearing black clothes, like funeral attire, and staring between the two with a look bordering on betrayal.

Tucker followed his gaze and froze at the sight of her. "Sam!" he called out, but Sam had turned away and was walking rapidly down the hallway. He glanced back at Phantom, but Phantom had shifted his focus back to Danny's schoolthings. Tucker hesitated for one second before dashing out the classroom after Sam.

Phantom tried not to feel hurt. He knew Sam felt guilty for inadvertently causing the whole switch between him and Danny. He just wished she didn't act like it was his fault. He looked around the classroom and found himself alone...aside from one other student.

As soon as Phantom caught him staring, the redheaded boy quickly looked away and pretended to pack away his things. All he succeeded in doing was drop his pencil, and he cursed and dropped on his knees to pick it up from where it had rolled away on the floor.

Phantom recognized the boy. He was the only other human besides Tucker and Sam who knew about him because he was there during Danny's ghost fight. Wesley, he'd heard the teacher call him. This was not the first time Phantom found Wesley watching him, yet the human never approached him or said anything. It was unnerving.

Phantom walked toward Wesley just in time for the boy to stand up and come face to face with Phantom. Wesley squeaked and jumped back, dropping his pencil again.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone," Phantom said.

Wesley leaned awkwardly against the desk behind him, trying and failing to look casual. "Why? Were you planning to?" he replied.

"No, so you don't have to be scared of me."

"I'm not scared," Wesley said, his voice a little too high. Phantom was unimpressed.

"I'm a ghost."

"You mean Danny is a ghost."

Phantom bit his lip. Right, he wasn't a ghost anymore. One would think he would get used to that idea after spending a week as a human.

He looked at the floor, where the dropped pencil sat. He bent down, picked it up, and offered it to Wesley. Wesley stiffened before warily accepting it from him. Yeah, he was definitely still scared of him.

Phantom held back a sigh and left the classroom, not looking back at Wesley. He wished he had one of his ghost friends to talk to. He turned his head to the side and inwardly groaned when he saw a familiar stocky figure approach...Dash.

Luckily for him, he was not the closest nerd in Dash's path. An unfortunate, scrawny boy with glasses backed away as Dash came near. Dash grabbed him by the arm before he could run, and Phantom winced in expectation of the beating Dash was about to deliver to the poor human.

The beating never came.

"Mikey!" Dash greeted in a--was that a friendly tone? "What are you so scared for? I just wanted to thank you for your help on our chemistry homework."

Phantom could tell from Mikey's befuddled expression that he wasn't the only one who found Dash's behavior odd. "Um...you're welcome?"

Dash grinned and patted Mikey's head. "Anyone ever tell you you're a great guy?"

Mikey was growing outright terrified of Dash's out-of-character action. "Did you hit your head? Aren't you going to stuff me inside a locker? Look, here's an empty locker right here!"

There was a violent twitch in the jock's face at the mention of locker-stuffing, but it quickly reverted to a grin as he said, "Of course not! I've realized my mistake. No more bullying from me."

Mikey still seemed wary, but he started to relax. "Really?"

Dash laughed heartily and slapped Mikey's back, causing the small nerd to stumble. "Oh, just go already. Wouldn't want to miss your next class, would you?"

Mikey sent one last confused look at Dash before fast-walking down the hallway. Everyone who was standing around and heard Dash's conversation was also staring in confusion, but Dash gave them all a bright smile before continuing on his way with an oddly cheery step. As he passed by Phantom, Phantom managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes.

His irises were gray.

Phantom thought that there was something familiar about the way he spoke, and the eyes only confirmed it.

He wondered if desiree had been reading his thoughts...because it looked like his wish just got granted.

Down a hallway, a student was taking out his anger on a vending machine. "Come on," he grumbled, kicking it. "I just want one soda!"

A shadow descended upon him, and he turned around frightfully to be faced with the infamous star quarterback. "D-Dash!" he greeted with wide eyes. Like everyone else in school, he knew Dash's short temper and his tendency to take it out with violence.

But Dash didn't seem angry in that moment. In fact, he was smiling, the expression strange on his usually sour face. "Hey, there, pal. Let me get that for you," he said and walked forward to the vending machine.

To anyone else watching, Dash used some subtle trick to get the machine to spew out a can. But to Phantom, who stood a distance away watching him inconspicuously, it was apparent that "Dash"'s trick was of a ghostly nature.

'Dash' held up the soda can and offered it to the student generously. "Here ya go! One free egg cream."

The teen raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, you okay, Dash? You're acting...weird."

"I'm acting nice," 'Dash' said, still wearing his warm smile. "No longer do you have to fear me as a bully, because I've put that life way behind."

"Wow, really?" he replied and accepted the soft drink tentatively.

"Of course!" 'Dash' spread out his arms eagerly and said to all the students milling around, "In fact, why bother with one drink? Free egg creams for everyone!"

He stuck his hand into the vending machine again and caused several cans to flow out. The move was so obviously ghost-powered, it amazed Phantom how inattentive humans were. All of them were too busy grabbing a soda cheerfully.

"I have no idea what an egg cream is, but thanks, Dash!" one jock said.

"No problem-o," 'Dash' replied with a grin and a wink, then lifted a can to his mouth for a sip.

Phantom decided that enough was enough. He had watched this ghost parade around in Dash's body for several periods, never approaching him because he had no idea what to say--Should he tell him about his situation? Would he even believe him? It didn't matter. If he didn't make a move now, the school day would be over, and the ghost might still stay inside the bully's body.

He made his way through the crowd gathered around the vending machine and walked up to the person wearing Dash's face. Once he got close enough, he whispered, "They don't have drinks like these in the Ghost Zone, do they?"

'Dash' choked on his soda. He hacked and thumped on his chest to expel the soft drink from his lungs. "Stupid human body," Phantom heard him mutter. Then he looked down at Phantom with a scowl that almost made him look like the regular Dash again. "Who are you?"

Phantom eyed the humans around them. They weren't paying any attention to them, but still... "Maybe we should talk somewhere more private," he said in a low voice.

The ghost in Dash's body grabbed him by the arm, then pulled both of them through a wall. Phantom stumbled as he let go. "Really? Using ghost powers in plain sight?"

The ghost waved Dash's hand carelessly. "Please. Even if anyone did see us, most humans don't even believe in ghosts."

"So it is you," Phantom said, "Sidney."

Sidney, because that indeed was him, narrowed Dash's eyes at him. "How do you know me? You can't be a ghost because I don't sense anyone overshadowing you."

"I am a ghost...or, I used to be." Phantom ran a hand through his hair. "Ugh, this is weird to explain, and I don't even know if you'll believe me, but...it's me. Phantom."

"Phantom? What makes you think I believe you?" He was watching him intently, no doubt wondering how a human could know not only his name but also his missing friend's name.

"Remember when you found out I was going to vandalize someone's lair and went after my ass for that because apparently that's bullying, but when you found out it was Aragon, you changed your mind and joined in with me? You specifically wrote "Aragon is a Mickey Mouse" in grafitti before we had to run away when his guards found us."

The gray eyes widened, and Sidney breathed, "Holy Ancients--Phantom?"

The next thing Phantom knew, he was being crushed in Dash's burly arms. Sidney had never been a physically strong ghost, but he sure as hell was possessing a physically strong human body.

"I can't believe it! Where have you been these past few days? No one's heard from you--I thought for sure you were toast!"

Phantom struggled in his bone-crushing embrace. "Human body," he wheezed. "Have to breathe."

Sidney sheepishly let go, and Phantom was able to take in gulps of air.

"But I don't get it," Sidney said, frowning. "How come I didn't sense you in there?"

Phantom bit his lip. "That's the part that's hard to explain. Somehow, I don't have any of my ectoplasm anymore, but I'm, well...stuck? I'm stuck inside this human body because, I guess...his soul sort of...left the same time my soul went in?"

Sidney tilted Dash's head and frowned. "What are you saying?"

Phantom sighed. "I'm saying I'm alive because I accidentally stole a human's body."

"That's..." Sidney threw Dash's arms out with wide eyes and exclaimed, "That's amazing!"

Phantom frowned. "No, it's not! I can't leave!"

"But, Phantom, you're alive! Do you have any idea what I would do to get a chance at being alive again?"

"But I'm living someone else's life!" He bunched the fabric of his shirt in a sweaty fist and said, "It's wrong. And confusing."

Sidney's enthusiasm died down a bit, and he said, "Right. The human world must be strange for someone who doesn't remember his human life."

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "I'm a Zone-born ghost. I didn't have a human life."

"Right," Sidney said again, his eyes darting to the side. Phantom frowned. He was pretty sure that he formed in the Ghost Zone, but the way Sidney acted was almost as if he was hiding something.

Before he could ask anything, Sidney said, "I don't get it, though. How did this happen?"

Phantom decided to file away Sidney's odd behavior to think about at a later time. For now, he answered, "I think it had to do with the portal opening in the exact spot I was in."

"Wait, portal? What portal?"

He could tell from Sidney's (or rather Dash's) surprised expression that this was his first time hearing about the portal, and that confused Phantom. "How did you get here?" Phantom asked.

"Haunted relic," Sidney responded, puffing out Dash's chest. "I left behind a mirror in my lifetime that is apparently still around in this school. I just needed someone to touch it so I can overshadow them." His eyes sparkled, and he added eagerly, "But you're saying someone created a portal? Does that mean I can visit this world in person?"

"No!" Phantom exclaimed. Sidney stared at him. He quickly gulped and said, "I mean...it's being guarded by ghost hunters."

"Ghost hunters?" Sidney laughed. "Come on, those are always fake."

"These ones aren't," Phantom murmured. He absentmindedly rubbed his chest, where the Fenton couple had tried shooting him--only for all of them to discover that their weaponry didn't work on him while he was in Danny's body.

"Then I'll just pass through at night," Sidney replied. "Even ghost hunter humans have to sleep, right?"

That made sense, but Phantom still felt uneasy. Admittedly, it was a little hard to feel calm when the organ inside his chest (his heart) was beating more aggressively than usual. "I don't know. I still think it's a bad idea."

Sidney's gray eyes narrowed at him. "Why don't you want me to come?" He jabbed an accusing finger at Phantom and said, "You decided to make this place your haunt, didn't you?"

"What?" Phantom's eyes widened. "No! You know I don't care about owning a territory. And this school's already haunted, anyway."

"Then why don't you want me coming through?"

"I don't know!" Phantom cried, his heart threatening to burst through. Didn't he know? His head ached as he felt another one of Danny's memories flash before him, which really didn't feel like the right time for this. But he saw what humans thought of ghosts. Danny wasn't the only human afraid of specters. If one suddenly appeared...the humans would freak out. And this was such a calm world.

Sidney's eyes scrutinized him while he clutched his head and winced. Finally, Dash's body relaxed. "Okay," Sidney said. "I won't cross through, but only because you're my friend."

Phantom gave him a grateful smile, which wasn't as pleasant as it could have been without the emotional turmoil. "Thank you."

Sidney seemed disgruntled about his decision, but he straightened Dash's letterman jacket and smirked. "For now, I might as well enjoy my time in the human world while I'm in this Clyde's body."

Phantom had been looking at Sidney, but he shifted his attention to Dash--the body he was overshadowing. His skin had grown pale since that morning. The breaths coming through his nose were slower, or maybe Sidney forgot how to breathe again.

"You can't stay inside him for long," Phantom reminded. "Prolonged overshadowing isn't healthy."

"So?"

That question caught Phantom off guard. "So...if you stay in him for too long, he might die."

Dash's face was pulled into an expression of scorn. "He's a bully. Everyone in school is scared of him. Maybe he deserves to die."

Ba-dump, ba-dump, continued Phantom's heart. He gave a nervous chuckle and ignored the sweat forming on his neck. "You don't mean that, do you?"

But as he studied Sidney/Dash, he realized Sidney did mean it. Why should a ghost care about death? Sidney was already dead, so killing someone wasn't a big deal. And it did put a permanent end to Dash's bullying in this school.

But Phantom had seen grief in humans. He knew how big a deal death really was, at least to their kind.

Phantom gulped. "Get out of his body. You can't let him die."

"Since when do you care what happens to human bullies?"

"Since--" Phantom figured there was only one way to get Sidney to stop. He hated pulling this card with him, but...he pointed at Sidney accusingly and said, "Since hurting him makes you a bully!"

Sidney recoiled. For a second, Phantom thought he would leave then and there, but he recovered with a scowl and said, "This is a special circumstance. It's just like vandalizing Aragon's lair. Some bullies deserve to taste their own medicine."

Phantom threw his arms up. "Then give him a wedgie! No need for anyone to die!"

Sidney was unnervingly quiet for a moment. Then he tilted Dash's head and said, "Being alive has changed you, hasn't it?"

Phantom had no response. He didn't know what to say to that. He didn't have to, because just then someone said, "Dash! There you are!"

He turned his head and saw a group of students in matching letterman jackets approach. One of them patted Sidney/Dash and said, "What are you doing with loser Fenturd?"

"Now, now," Sidney said and wagged Dash's finger. "Fenturd is no loser."

"It's Fenton," Phantom corrected.

Sidney's gray eyes were unreadable as they gazed at Phantom. Then they turned to the group of popular kids, and he grinned widely before saying, "Never mind that! What did you want to tell me? We should go have some fun!"

Sidney did not stop overshadowing Dash. He followed the gang as they went to do whatever Dash's friends normally did for fun besides bully.

As soon as they left, Phantom released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He slid against the wall behind him until he was crouching on the floor. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. He looked at his stolen hands and saw that they were shaking.

He felt scared...of Sidney. Since when did he feel scared of his friends?

The same time he started caring about what happened to human bullies.

Since he became a human.

Phantom guessed there had been a lot of renovating in Casper High since Sidney was alive, but one place stayed the same: Sidney's locker. He followed the path he recognized from Sidney's lair in the Ghost Zone and found the metal cabinet sitting in the same spot as it did in the school's ghostly counterpart.

Since Danny's body was infuriatingly short, Phantom had to stand on tip toes to peek into the top locker through the slits on its door. It was hard to make out anything inside when it was shrouded in darkness, but he managed to see the glint of something reflective. Sidney's mirror. His ghostly relic.

Phantom had considered seeking the toilet ghost's help in stopping Sidney; if the ghost considered the school his haunt, then surely he would consider Sidney an intruder, right? But when he went to the haunted bathroom, he found Sidney--still in Dash's body--chatting him up. Apparently, being both ghosts who died from bullying meant they had a lot of stories to share.

With that solution out of the picture, there was only one option left: getting Sidney's mirror. As his doorway to the human world, he would do anything to keep it intact. Phantom might be able to convince him to leave Dash peacefully if he had it in his hands...if only he could figure out how to do that.

Oh, how much easier this job could have been if he kept his ghost powers in this stupid body. He would just phase his hand through the door and be done. But Phantom did not have his intangibility, and he did not have the key to Dash's locker, which meant he could only gaze at the mirror sadly and plan Dash's obituary in his head. 'Here lies Dash Baxter: died because he failed to follow the school's anti-bullying PSA.'

"What are you doing?" a voice spoke, causing Phantom to jump. He whipped around and saw a familiar redhead. "You again," Phantom said.

Wesley looked at the locker. He was doing a good job of pretending not to be uneased by Phantom. "That's Dash's new locker, right?" the human said.

"Yeah," Phantom confirmed. "Uh, I definitely wasn't doing anything weird, though."

"Did the not-weird thing have anything to do with getting Dash un-possessed?" At seeing Phantom staring, Wesley rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, everyone could tell that Dash has been acting super weird."

"Well...yes. He's overshadowed." Phantom nodded at the locker and explained, "There's an object in there that's connecting the ghost to the human plane. If I could get it, I could stop him from overshadowing Dash, but..." He shrugged. "I don't know how to get it."

Wesley studied the locker. "Could you move out of the way?" he said. Phantom complied. He watched as Wesley pulled out something small from his pocket...a hairclip? A pin?

Phantom couldn't quite see what Wesley was doing over his back, but he was pretty sure he jabbed the pin into the lock and jiggled it around carefully. After a while, the lock fell away, and Wesley stepped back to allow the door to swing forward.

Phantom raised an eyebrow at Wesley. Wesley smiled sheepishly and said, "I get locked out of my house a lot. Single dad isn't always home, and I forget my keys..."

Phantom didn't question him. He looked inside the locker. Behind the messy stacks of books was Sidney's mirror, smooth and shiny in spite of how many decades it had sat in there.

Phantom reached forward and pulled it off the locker wall. Just like in every other mirror, he saw Danny's face stare back at him. Not even a ghostly mirror changed that. Reflection Danny's shoulders slumped.

"So, we break the mirror?" Wesley said.

"What?" Phantom looked up at him. "No! At least, not unless it's as a last resort. I just need to scare Sid--the ghost until he leaves."

"But...it would be easier if you broke it now, right?"

"Well, yes," Phantom admitted. As Sidney's link to the human world, it seemed likely that he would disappear as soon as the link was severed. But he had a feeling breaking something so important would also sever the friendship between him and Sidney--or at least, more harshly than how it would be from him forcing Sidney to quit a human. "But this ghost is my friend. I'm sure I can talk to him."

"So...you're friends with a ghost who possesses people," Wesley said. There it was, the tension in the human's body that signified his wariness of Phantom.

"That--that doesn't mean I'm a fan of possession or anything," Phantom quickly said. "I'm not possessing Danny because I want to."

"I know," Wesley said with a sigh.

Phantom observed Wesley curiously, but the boy's expression was guarded. "Are you Danny's friend?" he asked.

Wesley...blushed? and looked away. "No. We just share a few classes. He probably doesn't even know me."

"Then why are you helping me?"

He shrugged. "My classmate is possessed, of course I would help."

"But everyone hates Dash."

"Then why are you helping him if the ghost is your friend?" Wesley countered.

Phantom turned his eyes away. They landed on the mirror in his hands, and he moved them farther to avoid looking at Danny's face. "None of your business," he uttered.

An awkward silence descended on them, finally broken by Wesley as he said, "If you wanna catch Dash, he's in the basketball team with me. We're practicing in the gym after school."

After school...would Dash still be alive by then? He supposed so. After all, Danny had overshadowed Phantom for almost an entire school day, and he was still (sadly) alive.

"One more question," Wesley said. "What's your name? Your real name, not Danny."

"I go by Phantom--or, uh, I went by Phantom."

Wesley snorted. "Seriously? You're a ghost and your name is Phantom?"

Phantom glared at him and crossed his arms. "I admit, I'm not the most creative with names."

"No shit," Wesley retorted. He was smiling. He...wasn't scared of Phantom?

Wesley cleared his throat and said, "Well, I go by Wes."

"Keen-o," Phantom said, then immediately wanted to ecto-blast himself because Wes was looking at him weird. Fuck Sidney and his infectious 50s slang.

"Yeah, real keen-o," Wes said, and Phantom could tell he was holding back laughter. The bell rang. "Well...I better go. I'll see you in basketball practice, I guess."

Phantom nodded. Wes closed the locker and re-locked it. He hesitated before asking, "Won't the ghost know the mirror's gone?"

Ah. He didn't think about that. "I'll figure something out," Phantom said. Wes nodded and left.

Phantom looked down at the mirror. Again, he saw Danny's face.

Would wes have been as kind to him if he was a ghost? he wondered. Or was he only nice to him because he was Danny? Wes knew he wasn't Danny, but still...

Phantom shook his head. Worry about Danny's relationships later. For now, he had to deal with Sidney's mirror. After a thought, he placed it inside Danny's backpack and carried it with him to class.

If he remembered correctly, his next class was with Tucker. He entered the classroom and found the dark-skinned boy sitting at his desk. Just like in geometry class, he and Tucker sat next to each other--a seating arrangement that was blessed for Danny, cursed for Phantom...but maybe not this time.

Tucker perked up when he saw him approach. "Phantom!" he whispered. "Look, I'm really sorry about ditching you this morning. I meant what I said about becoming friends."

Phantom tried to remain neutral as he sat down, but he couldn't help the twinge of bitterness in his chest. "I thought Sam didn't want you to hang with me."

Tucker winced. "I'm sorry about Sam, but I swear, she doesn't hate you. It's just...it hurts, seeing you in Danny's body and knowing you aren't him."

"Thanks," Phantom muttered.

"No, I mean--there's nothing bad about you, it's just--you know, it's kinda hard wrapping my head around all this, even if it's already been almost two weeks--"

"Tucker, shut up," Phantom said. Tucker shut up. Phantom turned to him and asked, "Do you have a ghost weapon with you?"

"Huh?"

"Danny's parents are ghost hunters, and you're his friends, so do you have a ghost weapon with you?"

Tucker looked guilty. "We don't have anything against ghosts. Heck, Sam normally loves ghosts--before, you know..."

"Just answer the question."

"...I have a lipstick laser. So does Sam."

Tucker was watching him like he expected Phantom to snap. Phantom didn't care. Heck, the weapons won't even work on him so long as he was in Danny's body. Instead of feeling angry, he felt relieved; he pulled out the mirror from his backpack and thrust it to Tucker.

Tucker looked down at the object. "What--"

"That mirror's haunted."

Tucker pushed the mirror away from him as if Phantom just said it was on fire. Phantom barely managed to catch it before it could shatter on the floor. He glared at Tucker and hissed, "What was that for?"

"Why are you giving me a haunted mirror?!"

Phantom shoved it toward Tucker again and said, "I need you to guard it for me until school finishes. If I keep it with me, the ghost will know."

Tucker stared at him in befuddlement. Admittedly, his request was pretty sudden from Tucker's point of view. But there was no time to explain--Sidney/Dash just entered the room.

Phantom quickly hid the mirror under Tucker's textbook. A part of him hoped it wouldn't crack under the textbook's weight (school textbooks were ridiculously heavy) but he doubted a ghost-powered object would be so easy to shatter. As soon as the mirror was out of sight, he sat at his desk, looking casual.

Tucker followed his gaze to Sidney, and understanding clicked. "I knew Dash was possessed," he whispered.

"Overshadowed," Phantom corrected. "But yes."

As Sidney made his way to Dash's desk, his eyes lingered on Phantom. He didn't give any attention to Tucker. That was good.

Phantom's foot tapped below his desk as the teacher droned on about some history subject. He glanced at the clock. There were only a few periods left until school ended and the basketball team's practice session began. All he had to do was wait.

Phantom decided that smell was his least favorite of the human senses. Sure, there were nice smells, like flowers, and freshly-cooked meals. But there is also the horrible reek of sweaty gym locker rooms.

Phantom had to hold his nose to stop himself from gagging. Why did humans need to have such strong olfactory senses?

"Remind me why we're here again?" Tucker said next to him. He must have been used to the smell because he was breathing fine. In one of his hands was Sidney's mirror, and in the other was a Fenton™-brand lipstick.

"Dash has after school practice," Phantom answered. His voice sounded funny with him holding his nose, but he wasn't enthusiastic to let go. He turned to Tucker and added, "You didn't have to come. I can handle the ghost myself."

"Dude, like it or not, you're still in my best friend's body. I don't want to be the one to explain to Danny that you wrecked his body by challenging a ghost on your own."

Phantom ignored the wave of sadness he felt at the mention of Danny. Tucker would only need to explain things if Danny ever returned. Also if Phantom allowed his body to get wrecked. He sighed but did not argue with Tucker.

"There you are," Wes said, approaching Phantom. He was wearing Casper High's red-and-white basketball uniform. Tucker raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tucker, Wes," Phantom introduced. "He knows about me and Danny."

"Aren't you that guy from our gym class?" Tucker said.

"And math class," Wes mumbled.

One of the basketball players in the locker room heard them and came over. "Hey Fenton, Foley, what are you two doing here?" He smirked and added, "You didn't come here for a gay make-out, did you?"

Tucker gagged and said, "God, no, Danny's my best friend. I wouldn't do that to his body."

The basketball player laughed. Wes's expression was...unreadable.

Phantom decided to step forward toward the basketball player. He recognized him as one of the jocks that always hung out with Dash, which must have made him Dash's friend. "Do you--" he began, then remembered this guy was a bully and seemed like he was about to make fun of his funny voice, so he let go of his nose (ignoring the assault on his senses) and said, "Do you know where Dash is?"

"Right here," Dash's voice came from behind, and Phantom turned around to see Sidney/Dash.

Sidney's eyes rove to the mirror in Tucker's hand. His expression darkened.

There was a clap that alerted everyone to the adult human that just entered the room. She was a woman, and Phantom was pretty sure this locker room was for boys, but no one seemed to care. She must have been the coach.

"All right, pansies, enough time getting ready," the coach barked. "Time for practice."

"Yes, Coach Tetslaff," a few boys replied. Most of them followed her command and left the room, but Sidney-as-Dash stayed behind. He went up to her and said, "Actually, coach? I feel kind of sick. Do you think I could sit this one out?" To accentuate his point, he faked a cough.

Tetslaff looked like she was about to argue, but she saw him and paused. The prolonged overshadowing was starting to show its effect on Dash's body. He was pale, sweaty, and had rugged breathing. After a moment's hesitation, Tetslaff grumbled, "Fine. But just this once." She caught Wes standing by the doorway and barked, "What are you waiting for, Weston? You don't look sick to me."

Wes gave Phantom one more glance before he and Tetslaff left the room. That left only Phantom, Tucker, and Sidney-as-Dash inside.

He could tell Sidney was angry at him for taking his relic, but the ghost kept himself calm and raised Dash's hand carefully. "Give me the mirror," he said.

"First, let go of Dash," Phantom ordered. He tried his best to display confidence. Never mind that he didn't have a ghost weapon like Tucker, nor did he know any fight moves that did not include ghost powers he didn't have.

Sidney must have known how powerless he was, but he didn't make a move. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why are you sticking up for someone who bullied you?"

"Actually, he has a point," Tucker said. "Why are we helping Dash?"

Phantom glared at Tucker. Sidney chose that moment to lunge forward, but before he could even go two steps, Tucker uncapped his lipstick and pointed it menacingly at him. "Don't try it, demon," he said.

"He's a ghost," Phantom whispered.

"Shush. I know."

Sidney froze at the sight of Tucker's ecto-weapon. It didn't look very intimidating, but it must have given off some ghostly energy to convince Sidney to stay in place. He glowered at Phantom. "What are you going to do?"

Phantom pressed his lips. "Tucker, give me the mirror," he said. Tucker complied. Phantom held the mirror above his head and warned, "I'll smash it."

"You wouldnt," Sidney growled.

"Wanna find out?" He swung the mirror toward the ground, but before he could let go, Sidney quickly cried, "Stop!"

Phantom held the mirror in place, but it was shaking--actually, his entire arms were shaking. "I don't want to do this," he said in a quavering voice. "I don't know why I'm doing this."

He could feel both other pairs of eyes in the room pierce into him. Sidney's gray eyes scrutinized him. After what felt like an eternity, the ghost calmly said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Tucker repeated, surprised.

Sidney stepped back and held up Dash's arms in surrender. "Okay, I'll leave."

"That's it? I kind of expected a ghost fight," Tucker said almost disappointedly, turning to Phantom. "I didn't even get to use my laser."

Sidney scoffed. "A fight would involve violence, which is bullying. I don't do that."

"Wow," Tucker said. "You seem like a pretty nice ghost, actually."

Phantom and Sidney held each other's gaze, and Phantom could tell they both felt a bit of betrayal at the other's action. "He is," Phantom said. "He just needs to let the human go."

Tucker's jolted and tightened his grip around his lipstick when a cloud of smoke escaped from Dash. The smoke was sucked into the mirror in Phantom's hands. As soon as it left, Dash's now-blue eyes rolled into his skull, and his body crumpled against a row of lockers.

Phantom looked down at the mirror and saw its surface glow green before it settled back into a regular mirror, reflecting Danny's face back at him.

A loud snore pulled his attention to Dash, who was lying on the floor in what looked like an uncomfortable position, mouth open and drooling. He snored again.

Tucker snickered. "At least he's alive."

Phantom turned away from Dash and moved toward the locker room's exit. Tucker followed him. "So that's it?" Tucker asked.

Phantom paid little attention to the basketball team practicing in the gym before he emerged into the hallways again. "That's it," he confirmed. "Dash is alive, and Sidney's back where he belongs."

"I still don't get why you helped Dash," Tucker said. "I would've thought ghosts don't care about life and death."

Phantom slowed in his tracks until he stopped. He hung his head. That's the thing isn't it? he thought. I'm not a ghost anymore.

"Just go home, Tucker," he murmured.

Tucker lingered by his side for a second longer, but he must have been able to sense that Phantom needed some time alone, because he evetually left. His footsteps echoed across the empty hallways as he made his way to the school's exit.

That left Phantom alone with Sidney's mirror. He let his lungs expand--a feeling he was starting to get used to and was strangely calming. Then he walked toward Danny's locker.

There was no way he was placing the mirror back in Dash's locker, of course. It wasn't that he didn't trust Sidney to keep his word, but who knew what Dash might do to the relic in a moment of anger (of which he had plenty). So instead, he opened Danny's locker and hung the mirror inside.

Rather than close the door and leave, he kept it open and gazed at the mirror's surface. With his shadow blocking the locker's interior, and humans' poor ability to see in the dark, he could almost imagine himself staring back instead of Danny.

"I'm sorry, Sidney," he said to the mirror. "I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't let you hurt someone."

The mirror stayed quiet. Phantom sighed and leaned against the locker door he was holding. "Being a human is so confusing. I want to be back at the Ghost Zone, with you and the others. I never asked to be here."

There was another moment of silence, and then the mirror glowed. He watched as a fog appeared on its surface and swirled before solidifying into Sidney's face--small and geeky, way different from the one he overshadowed.

"You really can't leave?" Sidney asked.

Phantom didn't admit how much joy he felt at seeing a familiar face. "If I can leave, I would have done so ten days ago."

Sidney looked remorseful. "Right. I didn't think about how tough it would be for someone to return to the human world without any memories of it."

There he went again. His wording implied that Phantom had been alive before. Phantom frowned. "Why do you keep talking like I'm a death-formed ghost?"

Sidney hesitated. He seemed to pick his next words carefully. "You say you're a Zone-born ghost, but do you even have parents?"

"They moved on."

"Who has a core child unless they plan on sticking around?"

Phantom was starting to get irritated. "I don't know, maybe they finished their business sooner than expected."

"But no one knows your parents, if they really are ghosts. And you know how fast news spread in the Ghost Zone. Any ghost deciding to have a core child would definitely have counted as news."

"So, what? You think I died and forgot about it?"

"It's not unheard of. Ghosts who had especially violent deaths often forget their lives at first." Sidney shrugged and admitted, "Maybe I'm wrong and you really are Zone-born. But I find it a little convenient that you managed to learn human processes quickly enough to keep yourself alive for ten days."

Phantom didn't know how to respond to that. True, sometimes he did things in the human world that felt familiar in a way, but he always assumed it was due to him gaining Danny's memories. "If all that you said is true, why wait to tell me now?"

"You know why," Sidney said, his expression troubled. "Ghosts with violent deaths..."

"...are always violent themselves," Phantom completed. Sidney bit his lip and nodded. Phantom glared at the chemistry book in the locker and said, "But you don't think I could turn out like that, do you?"

"Of course not. That's why I'm telling you now. Because--"

"Because I'm a human now," Phantom murmured.

"...I was going to say it's because I got to know you better."

Phantom's eyes didn't meet the mirror. After a moment, Sidney sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to burden you with more identity crises than you already have. If you ever want to talk, at least I'm here to listen."

Phantom glanced up. "You mean we're still friends?"

Sidney looked almost offended as he said, "Of course we're still friends! What do you take me for?"

Phantom smiled, but his expression turned into uncertainty as he pointed out, "But I touched your relic and drove you out of a human."

Sidney grumbled, "To be frank, I still don't forgive you for that. But at least I understand why you did it."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're a human now."

Before Phantom could know how to react to that, he heard footsteps echo his way. He turned away from the locker to see Wes jogging toward him. When he looked back at the mirror, Sidney's face was gone, dissolved back into mist before it disappeared.

"You did it!" Wes was saying as he approached grinning. "Dash woke up after practice. He doesn't remember anything from the time he was possessed. Everyone is assuming he had a really rough fever that made him delusional." He caught Phantom's somber expression, and his smile fell. "Is everything okay?"

Phantom closed the locker door quietly. "I'm fine," he said, though he didn't feel it. "The ghost is back in the Ghost Zone."

"The Ghost Zone?" Wes echoed. Phantom turned his head to look at him, and any amusement Wes felt at the silly name vanished. He shifted his foot. "Sorry. I guess it must have been tough, facing off your friend."

Phantom's hand was still on the locker door. The metal was cool against his fleshy skin. "It's okay. We talked it out," he said.

Wes fidgeted with his hands. "Well," he began shyly, "if you want any human friends, I'm always free."

The tips of Wes's ears had gone pink. Phantom narrowed his eyes. He was beginning to recognize this human's strange behavior around Phantom. It was the same way Ember sometimes got around Skulker, not that he ever understood her infatuation.

He tilted his head and asked, "You have a crush on Danny, don't you?"

Wes choked. His face turned as red as the accents of his basketball uniform as he stammered, "W-what? A crush? No! That--that's ridiculous!"

Phantom didn't bother focusing on how flustered Wes was. Instead, he said sadly, "You know I'm not him, right?"

Wes calmed down, and he looked down at his feet sorrowfully. "I know."

Phantom turned his face away. Not for the first time, he wished he knew where Danny was. The silence between him and Wes grew heavy.

Phantom cleared his throat. "Well, if you do find Danny attractive, at least I know the body I'm in is hot."

Wes snorted, then dissolved into laughter. Phantom smiled. The mood lifted just a little bit.

Once his laughter died down, Wes rubbed his neck and said, "Want to walk home together? Or...I guess to Danny's home, in your case."

Phantom's smile fell. "You don't have to be close to me just because you like Danny."

"Dude, I've had more conversations with you in one day than I had with Danny in my life," Wes said, then immediately blushed and added, "Not that that means I'm crushing on you or anything...but we're friends, aren't we?"

Phantom felt a flutter of warmth at that, but it was small compared to his overall negative feelings left over from his confrontation with Sidney. "We are," he told Wes, "and thank you...but if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for now."

Wes lingered in the edge of his vision before he finally said, "All right. I'll see you tomorrow, then." He turned and reluctantly walked away.

Phantom was left alone in an empty school. He leaned against a row of lockers and closed his eyes. Today should have been a good day. He met friends, both new and old. So why did he feel less than happy?

"Danny! Where have you been?" Jazz said as soon as he stepped foot indoors. She was crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Phantom ignored her in favor of looking around the otherwise unoccupied living room. "Where are Mom and Dad?" he asked.

"Out for groceries," Jazz answered impatiently. "What about you? If you wanted to stay after school, you could have called me!"

"Oh," Phantom said, feeling guilty for having forgotten about Danny's sister. She was the nicest Fenton to him, even if she didn't believe the truth about his identity. He reached a hand into his pocket and found it empty. "Actually, I think I forgot my phone at home."

Jazz pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered something incomprehensible. "Just--don't make me worry next time, okay? I had to learn from Sam that you were busy with something."

"Sam?" Phantom said, surprised. The two of them still hadn't spoken since the day Danny left. Maybe Tucker told her to tell Jazz.

Jazz shrugged and moved toward her room upstairs. "There's leftovers in the kitchen. You can heat them yourselves."

"Sure," Phantom said, fairly certain he had learned how to use a microwave correctly. Once Jazz left, he made his way to the kitchen. But he didn't have an appetite at the moment.

Sure, he was hungry. But his mind dwelled too much on Sidney and what he had told him, so he doubted he had the energy in him to make himself a meal. Instead, he went to the door in the back that led downstairs--to the Fentons' underground laboratory.

Phantom opened the door and stood at the edge of the stairs. It seemed to lead into nothing but darkness, but he could smell the whiff of sterilized ectoplasm and metal.

He hadn't been down in the lab since he first woke up there in Danny's body. Most of the time, the Fenton couple was there, and they intimidated him too much. But now they were outside.

Phantom gulped and descended the stairs.

The portal was right where he remembered it. He didn't have a chance to get a good look at it last time, having been too busy freaking out over his situation, but he vaguely recalled a glowing green hole in the wall. The hole was now covered by yellow-and-black blast doors, but he was certain it was the same portal.

There were several tables across the lab with various half-assembled and fully-assembled weapons on them. Phantom tried not to freeze up when he passed by them. At least he didn't find any dissected ghost remains.

He walked up to the portal and stopped. On the other side of those doors was his home...his old friends, Sidney included...and maybe even the real Danny. He could step through and be back home, but he knew he wouldn't be able to survive. Ghosts could be a vicious bunch if they needed to be, and he didn't have any ghost powers to defend himself.

He could only hope Danny was faring okay.

Phantom turned to head upstairs, but he paused in his tracks and winced as yet another memory assaulted him. But...something felt different about this one.

He felt someone's hand holding his. It was large, covering his completely--or maybe his hands were small. There was the sharp smell of antiseptic and the steady beating of a heart monitor.

The person lying in the bed in front of him was horrible to look at. His skin was covered with green blisters that almost seemed to glow. He gripped the hand holding his own and hid behind the standing person's body, trying to form a barrier between himself and the hospital bed.

The human holding his hand--a woman, he remembered--said something muddled through his memory and urged him forward to the person in the bed. He didn't want to get close. The bed towered above his small form, but the woman carried him and set him down on the bed next to the prone, blistered body.

The prostrate person--he was hesitant to call him a human--was breathing ruggedly. The green bumps on his skin seemed to glow with every breath he took. His eyes were closed, but as he watched with terror, they opened to reveal completely red, glowing eyes.

The last thing he remembered was crying and attempting to flee--then the memory ended, and Phantom was thrust back into the Fentons' lab.

Phantom gasped and fell onto the ground. Sweat poured out his body, and he shivered. Those red eyes were still lingering in his vision when he heard hurried footsteps descend the stairs.

"Danny? What are you doing down there?" Jazz's voice came.

Her red hair and concerned teal eyes appeared in his sight as she tried to help him up. Phantom weakly slapped her hands away and said, "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Jazz argued.

True, he wasn't fine. But he didn't want to talk about it, least of all with Jazz, and he knew she would prod. He grumbled again, "I'm fine. I don't need your help."

He tried to stand up and immediately fell back down. Jazz raised her eyebrows at him. He sighed and accepted her help.

He leaned against her, shaking all the way, as she carried them up the stairs and back into the kitchen. She kept her mouth shut. Phantom was grateful for that.

She set him down on the nearest chair. He leaned his fists against his lap and breathed.

"Do you--"

"I don't want to talk," Phantom answered before she could finish.

Jazz reluctantly left him alone. He had to admit, Danny's sister wasn't a bad human.

Phantom finally got his breathing down, though his heart still thumped against his chest. What was that? None of Danny's memories he experienced had ever left him so shaken.

He thought back to what Sidney told him. He had been alive before, but he had forgotten all about his life. Now...

Phantom closed his eyes and gulped.

He had experienced a memory, but it wasn't Danny's.

#phic phight #danny phantom #au #fic #fanfiction #danny fenton #wes weston #tucker foley #sam manson #sidney poindexter #writing #fanfic #mine #separate fenton and phantom au #long fic

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