#second dose done! kinda hope i feel sick so i can call out of work tmw but also

[obae-me]

A Taste Of His Own Medicine- Full Revised Masterpost

No one asked for it, but I wanted it, so here it is! I was going through some of my old stuff, particularly this series because it was a personal favorite of mine. And boy oh boy did I feel like it was outdated. Partially because of nightbringer, but also because my writing style has changed a bit over the last few years. So, I figured I'd go through it all, edit a few things, take out a few bits I didn't agree with character wise, and add some details here and there to make it all flow a little better! Lucifer's chapter especially got a chunky overhaul (yeesh that one made me cringe). The changes aren't enormous, but just enough to make a difference I think. And now I get to put them all in one nice little post! I'll still be keeping my older versions on my masterlist. It'll be kinda neat to have both there for comparison's sake. Plus I added a little bonus scene at the end that's... a teaser of things I have planned. See if you can guess what it is. Oh, and if you're new here, hi! Enjoy a silly fic I made!

Anyways, enjoy!

Warnings: Sickness, fainting, blood mention, gagging, fighting, medication use, brief taking of double doses. General sickfic things.

It spread as a rumor first. The halls of RAD were always abuzz with the latest news; the newest trend, an upcoming event, what Diavolo was having for lunch. However, lately the only thing everyone seemed to be talking about was a new airborne virus. Students clustered less frequently in the halls, sharing hushed whispers on who had been most recently afflicted. You had been assured that humans should be immune to this particular strain but to still err on the side of caution. Take the proper steps to keep yourself in good health. Waves of sickness like this always came closer to the wintertime, much like the human realm. And while the air in the Devildom carried a general sense of anxiety, no one in the House of Lamentation seemed worried in the least.

“We’re technically fallen angels, not demons.”

“Psh, you think a little virus is enough to affect us? No chance!”

“There’s no way any of us will get sick. Don’t worry.”

Pride was rampant throughout the House. So…perhaps it was only fitting that Lucifer was the first in the household to catch it.

He had shown symptoms a few days before, beginning with not having the energy to scold Mammon. Then it snowballed from there. Almost losing his balance while going up the stairs, putting too much sweetener in his coffee, failing to focus over relatively mindless things, it concerned you. Everyone else didn’t seem to notice…or perhaps they were pretending not to, taking advantage of Lucifer’s odd state and doing whatever their sinful little hearts desired. No one thought it could be that serious, otherwise they might’ve done something about it. Kept a closer eye on him… But this was Lucifer after all. He got like this sometimes, they all claimed. He was simply working himself too hard again. But…even so…you knew something was off. This was more than just your typical burnout.

Did you dare risk damaging his pride to ask? You weighed the outcomes in your mind, deciding in the end to go check on what was wrong that night. Hoping to appeal to him, you had even made some of his favorite tea. You’d even prepared a second cup for you, secretly wanting to maybe share a moment of time together… Stepping slowly to ensure you didn’t spill a single drop, you went straight to his bedroom, knocking on his door exactly twice in even beats. No answer. His study then, perhaps. So you headed there, passing the shelves of dusty tomes to see that the bookshelf which served as his secret entrance was wide open.

“Lucifer?” you called, holding yourself back on worried feet. Waltzing in unannounced did not always grant you the warmest of receptions. He preferred to have some sort of warning. Although, this time there was no response to your announcement. “Lucifer?” you asked again, your voice slightly louder. Still nothing. You couldn’t hear any music… and he wasn’t often known to wear headphones. Just a peek couldn’t hurt, could it? Just to make sure he wasn’t inside. You stepped forward and poked your head through the doorway.

At first glance, the office appeared empty, his overly grandiose chair devoid of its demon. However, after a better look, you noticed that he was inside, just not how you expected him to be. The Prideful Lucifer was crumpled on the ground, surrounded by what should’ve been a stack of papers, but now was just a scattered mess on the floor.

The heart in your chest nearly stopped, your mind jumping to various grisly conclusions. Somehow you managed to put the teacups aside without dropping them like one might do in a dramatic soap opera episode. The musical sting was audible in your mind. You rushed to him, moving him with a strained grunt so he was flat on his back. You shouted his name in an attempt to wake him, checking for wounds. “Lucifer!” He didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Burning crimson cheeks flushed brightly on skin as white as a sheet. You checked his breathing. Constant, luckily, but shaky. There was a faint tremble throughout his body. Your hand drifted down to his cheek as you caressed his face. To say he looked terrible was an understatement.

You fumbled for your D.D.D. desperately hoping that someone would pick up quickly. But who to call? Your mind ran through everyone you knew. Mammon? Barbatos? Diavolo? Perhaps Beel was your best bet. He was dependable. You didn’t want to risk anyone else taking advantage of him like this. Besides there was no way you could drag Lucifer up to bed alone, and Beel was easily as strong as three of you.

You dialed Gluttony, doing your best to not bite your knuckles in worry. Each echoing ring felt far too long… Pick up… Pick up! “Oh, MC, you called at a good time.” The breath that came out of you was almost a gasp. “I’m getting ready to order food since the kitchen is empty. What do you want? I’ll get it for you?” Beel sounded like he was still in the middle of chewing, which probably meant he just now emptied out the kitchen. Now wasn’t the time to worry about that though.

“Beel- Beel! I… I came into the office and… Please come down to Lucifer’s study, I- I need your help! Lucifer- Lucifer he’s…not well.” Your voice shook, doing your best to form comprehensive words aside from the panic. You’d hid the fact that he collapsed to save some of his pride. Even though it would be fairly obvious once Beel got here…

Beelzebub’s tone went more serious. He swallowed whatever food he had left before speaking again. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up.

Now that Beel was coming to help, you felt a bit more relaxed, but not by much. You put your D.D.D. back into your pocket and knelt beside Lucifer’s body. His head was lifted up with your shaking hands, letting him use your lap as a pillow. You brushed away the hair that was now starting to stick to his skin. You’d never seen him like this before, and you were certain that Lucifer would rather die than be discovered like this. Nevertheless you couldn’t help but pet his head.

It wasn’t too long before Beel came in, messy crumbs all over his shirt as he left in a haste. Once he saw the state Lucifer was in, he scanned back over his shoulder. “Mammon is busy arguing with Levi, Belphie is taking a nap, Asmo’s out, and I’m hoping Satan is in his room. Let’s get Lucifer to bed quickly.” He came over and quickly lifted his elder brother up off the floor. It didn’t matter how long you had been around him, any time Beel was able to show of just how strong he was, it left you in awe. “Why don’t you go ahead of us and meet me in his room?” Beel asked. For a second, you blinked in a stupor before you quickly nodded, bolting as fast as your feet would take you up the stairs towards the second floor to his grand master bedroom.

Careful of potential eyes, you looked around for anyone before opening the door. As Beel said, you could hear Mammon and Levi going at it, but they were a few rooms away. You invited yourself inside, leaving the entrance open just a crack so Beel could easily come right in. Now to prep Lucifer’s bed. It was extremely large, entirely unnecessary for one person, but a perfect fit for the Demon of Pride. You took one corner of the silky sheets and folded them aside. Then you waited. And waited. And waited. After what seemed like eternity- but was realistically only a few minutes- both brothers entered the room. You got up and quietly shut the door behind them while Beel placed Lucifer on the bed.

“What do we do now?” you asked. “Should we call a doctor?”

Beel’s mouth tightened. It was obvious he was worried, but he shook his head. “We… can’t. We leave him alone and he’ll probably call someone when he wakes up.”

You stood there, jaw open, not able to fully process the words. “’We can’t?’ W-What do you mean, ‘we can’t’?”

“It’s sort of an unspoken rule… If Lucifer ever gets sick we have to leave him alone. Even just the fact that we brought him up here might get us in trouble.” Beel looked a bit downtrodden.

You stammered over your words. “I- but- we can’t- That’s the most ridiculous and hypocritical rule I’ve ever heard! If it were someone else, Lucifer would have everything covered as soon as possible!”

“It’s mostly to keep Satan and Belphie away… and to make sure Diavolo doesn’t find out. He tends to be a worrier.” Beel explained. He shrugged, glancing over at his brother for a moment as he thought. “I’ll go keep watch over this room. Maybe if you take care of him, he won’t be as upset. Please…take care of him MC.” With that he left, however you could still hear him outside the door, already munching on something as he stress ate.

You nervously paced. Taking care of him sounded easy in theory, but in actuality you had no idea how to take care of a demon. Would it be the same as a human? Probably not but that was all you knew how to do, so it had to be better than nothing, right? So you left the room for just a moment to grab a few things. A glass of water so he could stay hydrated and a bowl of cold water with a soft rag to bring down his temperature.

When you returned to the room, you froze. Lucifer was sitting up slightly in bed, looking disoriented. A relived sigh released all the built up tension in your lungs. “Oh, thank Diavolo… Lucifer, are you okay?” His head swung around at you, eyes a bit wide. He didn’t notice you had entered. “MC… what’re you doing in here? I--” He cut himself off in shock as you placed the cup of water in his hands and the bowl on his nightstand. You got the rag damp, wringing out the excess.

“Do you not remember?” you asked him, raising a hand to put the rag against his face. Embarrassed and clearly overwhelmed, he swatted your touch away and forcefully put the glass back in your hands.

“Enough of this fussing! There’s no need for it.” He scowled, but his dry lips were a bit poutier than he intended. “I don’t know what’s gotten you to believe you needed to come in my room, but I don’t remember inviting you. It’s about time you took your leave.” His tone was stern but his words didn’t have the usual sharp impact they normally did when he was upset. They just sounded tired. Strained. You frowned. You couldn’t tell if he was unaware he collapsed or just glancing over the fact he did. Either way he was clearly lying about being alright. You decided not to bring up the study situation for his pride’s sake, but even with your two fully ordinary human eyes you could tell that he needed to be looked after.

You’d defied him before and hadn’t died yet. Sure there had been close calls, but… what was going against him one more time going to do? “I’m not leaving," you told him.

Lucifer disapproved. His eyes went narrow and air around him grew even hotter. A few more red splotches showed up on his face… “Would you like to say that again? I hope for your sake I misheard you.”

“I’m not leaving you right now, Lucifer.” You stood your ground. Sometimes stubbornness needed to be met with more stubbornness. Lucifer clenched his jaw and stood up. Too quickly. He lost his balance and fell to his knees, clutching tightly the only thing keeping him from falling over. You. He had his face buried in your shirt, his breathing now ragged. Seeing him like this was torture… although there was something about seeing Pride be humbled that gave him further access to your heart. He wasn’t some untouchable distant concept. He was a person who got sick sometimes, just like you. Once more, you ran your hand through his hair, tender fingers rubbing at the pressure points on his scalp. Even him just being this close made you hot. He was a burning furnace. “You’re not well, Lucifer… And I know you won’t ever admit it so you don’t have to say anything, you don’t have to ask, I’ll do the begging, just please let me take care of you. You take care of everyone else, so when you can’t even take care of yourself let me take care of you. Please.”

He didn’t respond, just kept his face hidden. For a second, he motioned as if he was going to push you away… but he pulled you closer, his grip on your clothes getting tighter. Acceptance… You bent down to grab one of his arms to help him get to his feet. His throat cleared as he sat on the edge of his bed. It was clear he had a lot to say, but he kept everything to himself. Lucifer’s eyes wandered, looking at everything in his room except for you. Slowly, you reached towards his neck, taking the stuffy tie off of him. Kneeling down, you removed his dress shoes, tucking them aside. He loosened a few of his own buttons, already looking a little better without so many unnecessary layers. Finally, you took both his hands in your own, feeling the curves of his palms before stripping his hands of their gloves. When he got back inside his bed he turned away from you. Sulking and feeling thoroughly defeated probably. Flustered, if you could allow yourself to think so. You tried hard not to smile. He would absolutely kill you if he knew you thought he was being cute.

With a hand on his shoulder, you urged him to lie on his back. Once he begrudgingly did, you pulled the blankets up to his neck and had the rag in hand again. You ran the cool fabric across his cheeks before folding it up and settling it across his forehead. Then you went over to one of his record players, scouring through his large collection until you found the record that he told you was a favorite of his. And not one of his cursed ones. You placed it on the player, making sure the music was loud enough to be heard but not enough to keep him up. It started with a soft piece, something calm and hauntingly beautiful. Hopefully it would help him relax.

Lucifer already had his eyes closed again, the red in his cheeks gone down from cherry to coral- in other words, just a touch. However, it was enough to make you feel less antsy at his condition. You had been so close to contacting Diavolo, but now it seemed as if you didn’t need to. Since you had just had your hands in the water, they were cool to the touch, so you gently brushed them against his cheek again. This time he moved his head to melt into you. A soothed hum left his throat. He grabbed your sleeve, now looking up at you with an expression entirely different than just a few minutes before. “Please…don’t leave tonight.” His voice was soft and hush, almost as if he didn’t want to hear his own words. You rubbed his cheekbone with your thumb. A shiver ran through his body and it was hard to tell if it was from your touch or from the fever.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Sleep now.” He shut his eyes and with a large shuddering sigh, he seemed to drift back to sleep. You took the rag, it already warm, and you touched your forehead to his. “Sweet dreams.” You whispered.

Lucifer recovered fairly quickly. What had left lesser demons bedridden for a week or so only had the eldest brother recovering for a handful of days. Now, he had done his best to keep himself isolated, but once his siblings eventually learned how bad off he had been- despite your best efforts to keep it a secret- they all came in on their own time to check on him. At the end of the day, even if they often had each other by the throat, they cared for each other deeply. You had to wonder if the extra unexpected TLC was part of what got Lucifer back up on his feet so rapidly.

Mammon was in and out of Luci’s room pretty frequently. Despite yours and Pride’s warnings, he was determined to do his duty as second in line and take care of his sibling. So, no one was all too surprised when Greed fell ill not even a single day after Lucifer was symptomless. But, what did catch everyone off guard was that Mammon was not the only one who got suddenly sick. Out of every other brother, Satan was also next to fall ill to the Devil’s Cold. Lucifer commented proudly that Wrath had been excellent in his service, bringing him specially crafted potions to lesson pain and bringing him up special meals to restore his vigor. All was revealed much to Satan’s dismay. Apparently it was meant to be a secret. He tried to twist it into some sort of reverse psychology prank, but everyone knew Satan was acting out of worry. So, a proper deed was returned in kind, Lucifer looking after the both of them to the best of his abilities. Such a doting older sibling through and through. Although, despite the rare opportunity to have Lucifer wait on them hand-and-foot, Mammon and Satan were both acting strangely difficult. Satan’s denial of Lucifer’s fussing made more sense, strained relationship and all, but Mammon’s sudden cold stubbornness was rather uncharacteristic. So, while the eldest was busy finishing the two extra workloads of Student Council business, he asked that you check up on the second-eldest.

You eagerly agreed. For not only was Mammon being reserved towards his siblings, but also towards you… It was a sensation you weren’t used to, him being so close to you and all. This would be a good excuse to see him. Approaching his room, you knocked on his door, pressing your ear against the expensive looking wood only to hear a groan from inside. It wasn’t what you would define as a dismissive groan, so you let yourself in. Overhead completely off, extra light from his displays all dimmed, you were left stumbling around in darkness for the light switch. Once you flicked it on, the pained moan you heard before returned, albeit louder this time. Seemed he was sensitive to light at the moment. You bit your bottom lip and flicked his light back off, opting to use the glow from the screen of your D.D.D. instead.

The faint light gave you enough vision to spot giant lump under the covers of his bed. Not a single part of Mammon’s body was exposed. He was all bundled in a ball. You came over, a nice hot drink in your hands in a shiny golden-colored mug. Lucifer had told you that the concoction was good for demons, and among that one of Mammon’s favorites. To you, it just smelled like cinnamon and milk.

You gently pressed your hand over the bed lump, shaking it slightly as you announced your presence with a soft voice. “Mammon, it’s me… Lucifer sent me. I have something for you.”

The blob of blankets shifted, little chirps of discomfort making their way to your ears. He scuttled away from you at first, the blanket pulled tighter around him. It required several minutes of coaxing for him to come out. The covers fell away as he finally sat up in bed, hair sticking up every which way. His black tank-top was sticking tight to his torso, his face devoid of the normal vibrancy it usually held. Not only that, but it seemed the exhaustion had him stuck halfway between his demon and human form. His body marks were present across his body, but they were very translucent. His horns were absent from his head, but you could see his wings tucked against his back. His nails were the sharpness of talons. Normally, his eyes shined at you, little flecks of gold floating in the seas of blue. Now his color was dulled. But at the sight of you, a bit of him perked up. You were a much needed presence. Even if he talked up a big game over text about ‘not needing to see you’, at the end of the day, having you at his side was what he wanted most of all. You could read from his expression that he regretted not having you come in sooner.

You held out the drink for him, and he reached for it with shaking hands. Worried he’d spill it, you cupped your own hands around his, giving him the added support as he brought the rim of the mug to his lips, taking mini sips while giving himself breaks to breathe in-between. You frowned… He was barely able to hold and consume his own drink. When he was done drinking it, you put the half-empty mug aside on his nightstand.

“Th-ank you, huma-hu… MC,” he croaked, his eyelids fluttered and he fell back onto his bed, his face buried in his pillow. He let his hand dangle over the side of his bed, his fingers almost grazing the floor. Your heart ached seeing him in this position… but you secretly had to admit, he was being awfully cute. His tsundere nature was gone, you only wished he didn’t need to be this far gone to be sweet with you. You ran a hand through his crazed hair. A little greasy. He would need to wash up. You’d let Lucifer handle that one. Mammon turned his head slightly, just enough to see you with one eye cracked open. You saw it glisten with tears for a split second before he turned back into his pillow. Lucifer was probably caring in his own demanding way, but you wanted to bet he’d never been treated like this before.

You shook your head a bit at that thought and went about rummaging though his clothes to find a cleaner outfit for him to wear. Lucifer could help him get changed out of those sweaty things later. You folded up a suitable replacement and placed it on his couch, pushing aside empty shopping bags. Then you sat beside Mammon on the mattress, reaching for the rag Lucifer had brought to him earlier. Mammon must’ve been tossing and turning for a while, seeing as it was at the end of his pillow case, threatening to fall to the floor. You dipped it in the bowl of cool water that was left on the nightstand, feeling the feverish warmth dissolve out of it.

“Mammon…Mammon, turn your head,” you asked. He raised up his dangling arm to reach for the covers…and pulled the fabric over his body with a huff. You had been wrong, apparently. There was still a twinge of tsundere left in him. It was comforting, at least, knowing that he still was the embarrassed little demon with that playful attitude you adored. You covered up a small smile with your hand. “Mammon, please. Pretty please? Pretty please with Grimm on top?” You pleaded with him, leaning on him with your own body till he squirmed under your pressure.

“Oi…” he croaked. “Fine…” He shuffled around under his sheets before showing just the upper part of his head, his gaze plastered on anything other than your face. You tried hard not to chuckle, you really did. He was being so stubborn about this. You placed the cool rag on his forehead and heard him sigh. You used a finger to pull down his blankets so you could see his features. You cupped his chin to move his head and guide his gaze towards yours. You stroked his cheek and watched a twinge of color return to his cheeks as he blushed.

“Do you need anything else, Mammon?” You asked him gently. It was a bold move to ask Greed what he wanted. You could only begin to imagine what he’d ask for. Cold cash? A new pair of shoes? A car? At the moment though, you didn’t care what he asked, you’d get it for him if it was within your power…and your budget.

To your surprise, he frowned at the thought of being pampered, apparently. He licked his cracked lips and shook his head. “N-Nah…you can…go.” Had hell frozen over? Was this why Lucifer had asked you to check on him? Was he so miserable right now, he couldn’t even turn to his sin? Or was there something more to it?

“Mammon… you’re not being greedy by letting me help you. I can grab you whatever you think you need. Hell, I’d go fishing in Lucifer’s wallet if I thought it would make you feel better.”

The second-born tried to laugh a little but just ended up coughing. After he wrestled control over his own lungs, he blinked a little, thinking. “Can I…have some water, maybe?” He talked as if this was a new sensation, as if he had never coveted anything in his life.

“Of course. Anything else?” If you managed to poke and prod a little more of his sin to come out, you’d feel a little better.

“I…don’t know…” Poor Mammon seemed pretty out of it, like he was dangerously close to falling asleep, but being forced awake by the sheer discomfort in his body. If you could help him out, he might stop tossing and turning.

“Okay,” you nodded, a little idea illuminating in the back of your mind. If he couldn’t be greedy, you’d be greedy for him. “I’ll be right back with a few things, okay?” His fingers snagged onto the end of your sleeve, upset at the thought of letting you go, but his hand dropped back to the bed. With an assuring squeeze to his shoulder, you left his room.

A quick text was sent to the other residents of the House, requiring a quick meeting in the common-room. You tried hard not to pace as you waited for each brother to trickle in, a curious look on all their faces. Lucifer showed up last, his arms folded but appearing more concerned than frustrated. “I’m assuming this has to do with Mammon,” the eldest chimed in before anything was said.

“Exactly.” Turning your head, you gave each brother a determined look before setting your plan in action. “We’re all putting together a Get-Well-Basket for Mammon!”

A sleepy voice raised a little. “Huh?… A Get-Well-Basket?”

You nodded. “Yeah, you know, like a little assortment of gifts to show someone you care. It doesn’t have to be much, but just grab things you think would make him feel better! Oh, and he likes words of affirmation, so you all have to write a nice note!” A few of them tried to groan, but you were hearing none of it. “Go on! Right now! The master of your pact demands you! Don’t make me use ‘stay’.” The grumbles turned into quick agreements as the able-bodied set off in their quest to prepare their brother a basket. You hurried off to your own room, grabbing an open Akuzon box off your floor, a set of pens and a stack of sticky-notes off your desk. Then you looked around for something to give your precious demon of Greed. A lot of the things you owned… had been bought by him. You guessed you hadn’t realized till now how much he bought things for you. He deserved some nice things back… Not wanting to leave Mammon waiting too much longer, you snagged a nice pair of socks and a crystal you’d bought at a nearby magic shop. They got thrown in the box as you went back to the common-room.

A few other brothers were already there by the time you returned. Pleased with them, you set the box on a nearby coffee-table and handed each of them a pen and a note. “Now, your little letters. Make them nice or I’ll force you do them again!”

Dramatic huffs and puffs were made for the show of things, but they all seemed to really think about something nice to say. “How’s he doing, by the way?” Beel wondered aloud, speaking as he recently entered the room. Different eyes flickered down to the floor. Seems they all were wondering the same thing but none of them knew how to say it.

“Not the best,” you admitted, taking a few of the brother’s gifts and settling them in the reused box. “Which is why I thought this little pick-me-up would do him some good.” The rest of the demons fell silent, finishing their notes and attaching them to their gifts.

“Tell him- Tell him I said to feel better,” Levi sighed, giving you a little wave before returning to his bedroom.

“Yeah! Tell him that if he misses out going to that party with me next week, I won’t ever forgive him!” Asmo’s eyes narrowed at nothing in particular, kissing his note before putting it with his gift. The other siblings had similar sentiments, their well-wishes eventually compiled into one box. You found yourself smiling. This would help for sure. With the box and the water he originally asked for in hand, you returned to his room.

Mammon was sitting up again when you came back, his knees tucked against his chest, his finger tugging at a loose thread on the hem of his blanket. The soft light coming from a book lamp on his nightstand helped you keep from tripping on the floor. When you walked in through the door, you could’ve sworn you saw him smile. His eyes took turns observing you and the curious box in your arms. “Wha’s that?” he wondered, his words slurred slightly.

“It’s for you.” In a few steps, you were back at his side, giving him the water first for him to drink before settling the Get-Well-Basket at his feet. “From me and all your brothers. To make you feel better.”

It was clear he was confused for a good while. “For…me?” But then, that little glimmer in his eyes returned as he started to rummage through the box. He read a few of the notes, scoffing and tossing most of them aside. Whatever they all had wrote had clearly touched him and made him embarrassed. It seemed as if this idea of yours was a success.

“Is there anything else I can get you?”

The demon of greed had to think deeply again before putting the box of gifts on the ground near his bed. He sighed a little, letting his legs leave his chest and go flat under the covers. Mammon hesitated before holding his hand out. “Y…Yo…” Even if he hadn’t fully said it, it was clear what he wanted in his time of need. You.

Something in your chest squeezed. You took Mammon’s hand and pulled him towards you, embracing him in a hug. His weary head rested on your shoulder, his shoulders relaxing, the tension leaving his body as your hand found it’s way between the joints of his wings. “You didn’t have to ask. I’m here whenever you need me. It’s not selfish to want someone by your side when you don’t feel well. And I want to be here...with you.” You could hear his little gasp as you held him, his breathing eventually becoming slower, calmer. With you at his side, he finally had enough peace of mind to relax. “Get some sleep if you can… everybody is waiting for you to get better…”

Mammon was now well on the mend thanks to your efforts. Sprung up like quite the spring chicken with you doting on him. He got his energy back faster than Lucifer did, but his symptoms lingered longer. It was rather amusing actually. Hard to steal stuff while your sniffles give away your location sneaking through the halls. Although, even with two counts of demon-caretaking under your belt and a self-proclaimed gift of healing, you had yet to check up on Wrath. Not to say you didn’t want to, you just… couldn’t. Banned, in fact. Deterred by Lucifer himself. But you just wanted to help. Lucifer was constantly busy, not to mention that his knowledgeable yet vengeful younger brother was expending all his strength that he should’ve used to recover busting the house to pieces in several fever-fueled rampages. It had seemed like the logical choice, and rarely did Lucifer prevent you from keeping an eye on his brothers. So why now of all times?

“He’s being…unreasonable,” was Lucifer’s answer. Out of all the possible reasons, this seemed among the most pathetic. A rearranged ‘because I said so’ with some vagueness sprinkled in. Disappointing.

“If I remember correctly, you were also pretty unreasonable,” you stated, trying to hold back a smirk steadily curling across your lips. He just scowled, glaring you up and down, trying to decide if he abhorred your backtalk or found it endearing. He leaned back in his cushy seat in his study, placing down his much too expensive pen by the pile of work he needed to finish by tonight. Another lecture on getting better rest tickled the back of your throat, tempting you. Recovered or not, he needed to give his body proper sleep lest he fall into another bout of sickness…

“And if I remember correctly, we agreed it would not be discussed again.” His sharp expression softened just a touch, a light shade of pink gracing his cheeks as he recalled how you took care of him in his weakened state. Before he thought about it too hard, he cleared his throat. Staggering hairs were brushed away from his forehead as he folded his arms in front of his chest. It heaved in a sigh. “His body and mind have been considerably weakened, therefore he has little to no control over his anger. He is Wrath, and I shudder to think what may befall you should you try to talk to him right now.” He peered deep into your eyes, taking note of your unwavering stance and stern composition. “And yet I suspect you’re going to go see him anyway.”

Bingo. Your hobby of thrusting yourself into dangerous situations formed another greying hair on Lucifer’s head. With a look equal parts exhaustion and worry, Pride lifted his hand and snapped his gloved fingers. Something in the house shifted. The magical lock placed on Satan’s room was broken for you. Although, Lucifer had to go over some rules, ensuring that, at the very least, Beel would be just outside should anything happen. You were to be whisked out of there at the first trace of danger.

The demon’s door was right in front of you now, and for a second you hesitated. You took a deep breath, clutching to your chest some medicine and a hardcover book from the human world containing old fables. Knowing him, he’d probably read it already, but it was worth a try. You knocked on the door, glancing a look at Beel before loudly stating your presence to the inhabitant of the room. Pushing the door open, you were pleased to find that so far you were unharmed, which was admittedly a great first step.

However, you quickly found yourself awash in a sea of books. A mess in Satan’s room was pretty normal. But this… was on a new scale. Honestly, you were almost impressed. Books and scrolls were haphazardly stacked, covering the floor, basically everywhere. You couldn’t even see his bed, it was hidden somewhere in this labyrinth of tomes. You held your breath, not even daring to breathe for fear everything around you would come tumbling down. The last thing you wanted was to be crushed to death. If the books didn’t kill you, you had a wary feeling Satan might for disturbing his ‘organized library’. So, you carefully weaved your way through slender passageways in the piles before you found, what you assumed, was Satan’s bed.

The reason you could only ‘assume’ is because at this juncture in time it hardly looked like a bed at all. Just a quick glance and it would’ve blended in with any other heap in this room. It was camouflaged with more books, torn pages, binders, pamphlets, a few cat figures, dioramas, etc.. Self reminder to check to see if there were any shows on demon-hoarders in the Devildom…

A jagged green-tipped tail dangled from beneath the bed-pile. It twitched and flicked, sending some novels skidding across the floor. You inhaled deep through your nose.

“Satan? It’s me.”

Satan’s tail whipped across the space between you and the bed. It struck one of the impossibly high stacks of books, sending it teetering and tottering threateningly before it crashed down. If you hadn’t taken a few steps back, you would’ve been one with that pile… You huffed to yourself. Rude… You wanted to help him and this was how he was treating you?

“Satan, please.” A book whizzed past your head and you winced, the sting of a little paper-cut blooming across your cheek. The air in the room was suddenly noticeably hot. You knew these were demons. You knew they were capable of destroying you in seconds, but that didn’t stop your stubborn nature from feeling absolutely offended. And so, as if you had a death wish, you scolded him. “Satan!” You strutted over, throwing the covers back and sending even more clutter to the floor, but at least you could look at him. But a part of you wished you couldn’t.

Teeth were bared as his mouth formed a menacing scowl. Hair was messy and untamed. His eyes were glowing an unnatural green, a lens behind his irises reflecting back at you like a creature in the shadows. A deep resonant rumble emanated from his chest. He looked absolutely feral, but it wasn’t till he pressed himself into the corner of his bed and the wall, knees close to his chest, that you put your fear beside yourself. Yes, at first glance you may have been entirely convinced he was going to tear your throat out, but then you ran your gaze over him a few times… His face was covered in patches of crimson. He was only wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and stripped boxers covered in kittens wearing top-hats. There was a sheet of paper skewered onto one of his horns, and he now was curled up protectively against the wall in a little ball. He was scared.

“Get out,” he demanded. It would’ve been threatening sounding if his lungs didn’t sound as if he swallowed a squeaky toy. He was wheezing, fingertips shaking, his tail protectively curled up against his legs, the tip of it quivering.

To be honest… you wouldn’t leave this room right now for all the Grimm in the Devildom. “I’ll leave after I’m done helping you out a bit,” you assured him, but he didn’t want that answer.

“Get out! Out, out, out!” He clutched another book in his hand and chucked it in your direction with a shout, this time missing you by a mile. You blinked. Was he…having a meltdown?

“Satan, throwing stuff at me isn’t going to make me leave any faster, so cooperate and I’ll be out of here as soon as possible.” You smiled softly at him. Wrath had no retort nor nearby ammo left, so he tucked his face into his knees, letting you get to work. It would take you hours to clean the room, but you did what you could for the moment, tidying up at least the chaos surrounding his bed. How he would’ve slept with that mess on him was beyond your understanding. Or maybe that was one of the reasons why he was being so cranky. Books aren’t exactly great nest material.

You shook off his blankets, puffed up his pillow, and then took a hesitant scan at the medicine you’d put on his nightstand. Lucifer had told you where to get it. Supposedly a powerful medication that tasted as bad as the one taking it felt. It was also administered as a liquid, because for all their power, demons hadn’t made capsules a widespread thing yet. You had no idea how you were going to get Satan to take it.

Maybe being sweet first. “Satan,” you cooed, sitting yourself beside him on the bed while he remained curled up in a tight angry ball. “I have some medicin-“

“No.”

Figures, you were reaching with that one. Maybe begging? “Satan, please, please, please, pleaaaaase take-“

“Bite me.”

You scoffed aloud. He was absolutely, without a doubt, being a brat. On par with Belphie right now. You took a moment to recall how you convinced Lucifer and Mammon. Lucifer was only won over when you stood your ground and told him what to do for a change, challenging his pride. Mammon, you went out of your way to get him things, stoking his greed. With wrath…did you? Time to indulge in a little more sin.

“Satan, I swear to the Father above and Diavolo below, if you don’t quit fighting against me when I’m trying to help you, I’m going to shove this entire freaking thing down your throat till it’s the only thing you can taste for decades!” You raised your voice, shouting at him with a fury in your chest you’d never used before, ever. Especially not against Satan. But, against all odds, you were alive, and instead of smoke coming out of his ears, Satan looked up at you from behind messy bangs. Shocked beyond belief, his mouth slightly ajar, he uncurled himself from his position and sat up slowly, his head looking down.

“Tch.” He puffed air through his teeth, giving in finally. Your attempt, while perhaps mediocre without any demonic snarling and mysterious fog, was successful. You hummed to yourself in glee, taking the cap off the bottle and pouring in the medicine. It smelled God-awful, and you felt sympathy for him, but if it was going to make him feel better, he needed it. You held it up to his lips. He growled in frustration but then parted his mouth to let you pour in the foul mixture.

Already pale skin turned even ashier as the glop slid down past the lump in his throat. He looked like he was going to be sick. He slumped his posture and began to release shuddering coughs that nearly turned to gags. You instinctively put a hand on his back, rubbing up and down along the ridge of his spine. Once he was done with the episode, he sat back up, swaying in his seat back and forth until you held onto him, gently bringing him back down onto his pillow. You moved the hair out of his eyes and sighed in relief. Thanks to whatever magic Devildom medicine had, his redness had already gone drastically down, and he looked fairly calm for now. Mellowed out. Some strong stuff…

His eyelids couldn’t decide if they wanted to be open or shut, struggling to fight sleep. “Rest,” you whispered, getting up off his bed, pulling the covers tighter around him, urging him to go to bed. After you helped him, then you would leave him alone, that’s what you promised… even if you desperately wanted to stay. With a little turn, you picked up the book you had brought with you. He grabbed your wrist before you could even attempt to leave. A tilt of the head, and he sleepily read the cover before letting his hand drop back onto the mattress.

“I bought that…for you,” he mumbled. With a grin, you nodded. He had bought it for you during the adventure to London. It was filled with old fairytales and fables, the authentic gruesome kind, not the kind human kids grew up on. Both had their perks in his mind, but Satan seemed particularly fond of the ones that broke free from the stagnant ‘happily ever after’.

“I brought it here for you to read, but you need sleep. Besides you have plenty of other books here…” Your voice trailed off as you reached for his horn that still had the paper stuck to it. You yanked it free with a light chuckle.

“But…” He wanted to argue, but had no energy left to. “Will you…” Satan started, gripping at his own sheets so tight you thought he would rip holes in them. “Read…to me?” Your heart soared so fast you almost went lightheaded. You sat back down on his bed, fussing over him just a bit more, fixing his messy hair. He groaned as you did but let you do it anyway.

“Of course! I’ll read for you whenever, Satan. Whatever makes you feel better.”

“You…” He almost sounded frustrated, like he couldn’t comprehend how you could be so kind especially after the mood he was just in. Then he settled as you flipped the book open to the first page, recounting terribly sad events with a terribly soft voice. Every so often he’d correct you if you fumbled on a word, or correct the inaccuracies of the story itself, but eventually he went to sleep. His eyeballs moved frantically under his eyelids as he slept. His voice would squeak out some incomprehensible word while he dreamt, his fingers twitching in random increments. You noted that his tail that was draped off the side of the bed was now gently curled against your leg. His demonic appendage was rough, sharp in some places, and yet you could hardly feel it with the way he was holding you now. He was comfortable around you.

You used the stray paper that had been on his head as a bookmark, placing the book back on his nightstand for later. “I guess they all get to live happy ever after this time,” you whispered to him in his unconscious state before you pressed the back of your hand against his cheek. Your knuckles tickled his jawline, making his face twitch closer to your hand. “Sweet dreams, Satan. Feel better.”

Lucifer and Mammon were now considered fully healthy and back on their feet with Satan not too far behind them. For a few days, there was hope that the worst was over. It wouldn’t spread any further. The sound of sniffles and the scent of disinfectant wipes would finally dwindle. But, whenever you hope too hard, things always seem to go in the opposite direction. Hopes were dashed when two people were absent from breakfast one morning, and not too long after Satan had finally returned to the table. The twins had never come down from their shared room. For Belphie, this wasn’t something to stop the presses for. Sleeping in and skipping the morning was his whole shtick. His brothers were usually more concerned when Sloth did show up for breakfast. For Beel, however, to miss any sort of meal? Something had to be wrong.

Putting your fork down, you offered to go check on them. After all, morning breakfast was not the same without the two of them. Lucifer was somehow already out of his chair, gently pushing you back to your seat with a single hand on your shoulder. “Please, let me. If they are sick it’s hard telling how they’ll react. They could just as easily be oversleeping.”

You had wanted to protest, but Lucifer was nothing if not the voice of reason. He was right. You had seen Beel’s hunger-driven rampages before. Demonic destruction wasn’t something to sneeze at- no pun intended. Plus, Lucifer was their brother first-and-foremost whilst you were still just some human that had the luxury of living in their home. That fact and the kinder eyes and soft touch Lucifer had given you had won you over to his words. You could trust him to handle this one… He ambled away from the table, and with a few long steps, exited the room.

Asmo was squirming uncomfortably, audibly whining, clearly disturbed. “I was stupid to think this sickness thing was over! With Beel eating everything down to all your leftovers, it’s no wonder he caught your ugly germs! Then he gave it to Belphie, and next you’ll all give it to me!” He pushed his plate away from him, only having a single bite taken out of his meal.

“You don’t know that they’re sick yet,” Mammon rebutted. “And what do you mean my germs are ugly? Everyone’s are!”

“The likelihood that both of them are ill is high.” Satan sighed, putting down his book he had brought with him. After doing his best to tune them out, it just wasn’t working. He still was weaker than he’d like to be, not to mention drained, but a doctor had confirmed that he was no longer contagious and could continue attending his classes at RAD. “The fridge has been abnormally full and I heard plenty of coughing from Belphie the other day.”

An alarming banging sound came from above their heads, little specks of dust from the ceiling floated down, only just visible in the direct light. As if this proved his theory, Satan gestured towards the noise with a raised hand. He held it up for a moment before his arm dropped into his lap. Another loud crash sounded from above, Satan’s eyelid twitching as Lucifer’s booming voice could be heard throughout the house.

This was enough for Asmo to get up from his spot, shaking his head profusely. “I swear if I catch this thing, all of you are absolutely going to have it, you hear me?!” He choked back a sob and went to leave the room, pulling his sleeve down over his hand as he touched the doorknob.

“Oi, where are you going?” Mammon called after him.

“To take a nice hot sanitizing shower!” The demon of lust slammed the door to the dining hall as you watched more dust sprites dance down from the air. They twirled and pirouetted right over Levi. His nose twitched and he raised his elbow to cover his face as he let out a sneeze.

Levi, the only one who had been quiet this far, finally let out a long groan. He glanced down at his hands fearfully, as if they had been covered with blood. “No… No! No, no, no, I’m sick, I knew it! Of course it would be me! I’m gross and miserable and… do you know how long it takes to fully clean a keyboard?!”

Satan rested his head back in his chair, closing his eyes in annoyance. The ruckus upstairs had gotten worse. It was difficult to tell just from audio alone who Lucifer was wrangling. Maybe both Beel and Belphie at once?… Normally, Satan would work on figuring the little mystery out, but it seemed as if he’d met his limit already. People were fist-fighting, two people were having meltdowns, and it was only breakfast. The intellectual usually had no problem going to classes, enjoyed them more than others actually, and yet the look on his face screamed truancy. “Levi, I doubt you’re sick, you never leave your room,” Satan reasoned.

“I told you all, I think he snuck into my room a little while back! One of my figures was moved! I bet Mammon got his sticky fingers over everything! He gave me the cold!”

Add accusations onto the daily list. They all might end up going though their daily atrocities before lunch today. Now the only three brothers left at the table were verbally sparring, one tense word away from physically— You frowned as your food ended up on the far side of the room along with the table. You thought too soon. Unfortunately, this sort of scenario happened often. So, you excused yourself, knowing none of them were listening, expertly dodging a plate as it whirled past. The dish struck against the wall a few inches from you, luckily not shattering. It clattered to the floor as a waffle slowly slid downwards. While you were still unharmed and food-free, you left the dining room. After wandering the halls trying to find a safe and silent place, you sat yourself on the stone steps of the entryway. You’d just wait for the multiple battles to die down. There was screaming downstairs, crashing upstairs, the whole house in chaos once again.

“Demons…” you sighed. --

Lucifer confirmed it. Beel and Belphie…both of them had caught the cold, and the eldest had spent the past hour or so attempting to force them into taking some medicine. He had succeeded naturally, and you shuddered a bit to think about the sort of tactics he employed, but when all was said and done, he had taken the time to seek you out. It was clear to you that even with all his power and prowess…he was exhausted. With Beel’s physical power and Belphie’s cunning, it seems even Pride had broken a bit of a sweat. There was still plenty of Student Council catchup to be done too… and now he had the twin’s work to start on. He needed a helping hand, and while he didn’t express it bluntly, he did ask for your assistance.

Apparently they were calm now, the medicine lulling and sedating them, so you could see them freely without worry of them tearing you or the house apart. Lucifer still addressed you with a bit of concern. “You’ve been on the brunt of all of this.” On one hand, he appreciated the work you had done. On the other… “I’m concerned for your health. Diavolo was fairly confident you couldn’t get infected, but we still don’t know for certain…” His voice drifted, slightly disappointed in himself, feeling like there was more he should be doing. “Regardless, the last thing we need is for you to fall ill as well.” You persuaded him that if you hadn’t gotten sick yet, you were sure you were immune. You’d been in direct contact with nearly all of them and hadn’t so much as sneezed. Lucifer wasn’t entirely convinced, obviously mentally preparing for the worst of outcomes, but he let you do what you needed to do. And that was taking care of the two youngest.

Homemade soup; the medicine for the soul or so people said. Something comforting and filling yet easy for the stomach. With Satan’s assistance, you concocted the most soothing meal you had ever made. Two steaming bowls were settled on an elegant silver tray and brought it up to the twins room. The door to their bedroom had a golden emblem ingrained in the wood. A moon encircling a sun, resembling the same individual symbols above both their beds. You carefully balanced the tray on your hip for just a moment as you softly tapped your knuckles against the smooth wood. Unlike the other brothers you had cared for so far, someone actually opened the door for you for a change.

Beel looked down at you, eyes heavy and slightly reddened. He was wearing a faded orange t-shirt and some black shorts. Heat radiated off of him in nauseating droves. If you had thought the other brothers had burnt up, nothing compared to Beel’s temperature. Even just standing beside him made you dizzy. As if hellfire was roaring through his veins. His shirt stuck to the skin around his torso, sweat beading down his forehead. His abs and muscles were clearly shown through the fabric, but he didn’t seem to mind. He rubbed one of his eyes with a hand, not even focusing on the soup bowls. “MC, what’re you doing here?”

You lifted up the tray with both hands and presented the meal you made with him. The creamy broth with hearty vegetables and noodles would surely make him feel better. “Soup!” You exclaimed quietly, feeling a mite proud of what you’d created. “You never came down for breakfast so…” You must be hungry, you kept the last part to yourself.

He frowned deeply, being rather dismissive. “I’m not hungry, and Belphie’s asleep.” A simple glance past Beel’s body confirmed that there was indeed a lump in Belphie’s bed. Many lumps in fact. There must’ve been plenty new additions to his pillow collection. “I’m sorry you went through the trouble,” Beel sighed, his arm raised to shut the door. Your attention snapped away from Belphie, back to the demon at hand. Was he shutting you out? Really? He had never done that, ever. All of his other brothers, sure, but him? He always had his door and his arms wide open for you at all times. Your leg served as a quick wedge, feeling your knee temporarily painfully pressed between door and frame. As soon as he realized he was hurting you, the door was thrown back open.

“Beel wait, please, you haven’t eaten all day! How are you going to give your body enough strength to heal if you don’t give it any fuel?” You looked up at him expectantly, trying to convey the care and worry you held for him through your eyes. Beel always advocated for taking care of your body. Those words you shared were the ones he had used on you once before. He was somehow always aware of what you had eaten and when. Same for his brothers. Sure, his sin might take over and he might accidentally eat your food, but he still determined to make sure everyone he cared for was well fed. It was about time you returned the favor.

“But the medicine…” He pressed one hand to his gut, his nose wrinkling up at the mention of food. His normally sturdy legs wobbled as he stumbled a bit, gripping the end of the door-frame for balance. The usual glow in his countenance had gone dull. It broke your heart. Beel seemed to always be strong, always be positive, always have a smile on his face when it came to food and family. Now, he just seemed out of it, eager to head back to bed with both you and proper sustenance on the other side of the door. Curse this tray for occupying both of your hands. You wanted to go wrap him up in your arms and make him feel protected and cared for… even if he was much bigger than you were.

“The medicine might be why you feel sick to your stomach in the first place. You didn’t happen to eat anything before Lucifer gave it to you, did you?” Your words brought his eyes up from staring at the floor and back to you. Orange strands of his hair were freed from the skin on his forehead as he shook his head to your question. An answer wasn’t quite necessary anyway, from the fighting you heard and Lucifer’s brief description, the older brother forced the medicine down both the twins throats before they had a chance to protest. You lifted the tray back up near Beel’s face. The contents of the bowls sloshed enough to almost drip over the edge. “You might feel better if you eat. Even just a little? I… made it for both of you.”

It wasn’t often you attempted to employ the puppy-eyed look. However, it seemed necessary in this instance. All these demons were weak to you, and you knew it. You could only hope it was enough this time… Beel was stuck having an intense internal debate. The door in his hand was creaking open and shut while he decided if he wanted to let you in or not. If he wanted to eat or not… Your heart sank as he seemed to come to the conclusion to prevent you from entering, the door almost clicking back into place to leave you in an empty hallway. If this was what he wanted, could you really change his mind? Just as you were about to leave, the door was pulled back wide open, his eyes a little watery as he made it up in his mind that he could never shut you out like that. Your chest swelled as he let you in, shutting the door quietly behind you.

The room was almost consumed in pitch darkness as soon as the entrance closed. The only light source seemed to be coming from Beel’s side of the room emanating from the screen of his D.D.D. on his nightstand. Crossing the room, you waited until the demon climbed back onto his mattress, sitting up while he pulled the covers over his legs. Not wanting to speak as to disturb Belphie, you extended one finger from the tray handle and pointed at his bed as a question. As he nodded, you settled by his hip, placing the tray on his lap. His blankets were soft, and with a stroke of your hand, you smoothed out some of the wrinkles.

The sight of the soup made Beel grimace at first. He was hesitant, but it was clear he was starving. His sin was tearing him up inside. He was only prolonging the pain. “Is my cooking really that bad?” You frowned, embarrassed, unsure if his reaction was towards your talents in the kitchen or the state of his sickly body.

“No, it’s not that. I just…” Gluttony couldn’t quite find the words to describe what he was feeling. But you understood well enough. You’d been sick before in your life. You knew what it was like to feel the hunger pains alongside the nausea. Eating made you feel worse. Not eating made you feel like hell. He must be miserable. This was probably a rare feeling for him.

“Take it slow,” you whispered, your hand coming up to rub his shoulder.

After taking a minute to mentally prepare, he took your advice to heart, starting with a simple spoonful. He blew away the steam and took the smallest bite- or slurp- you’d ever seen him have. He chewed on some of the softened vegetables before swallowing. There was no need to ask how it was. His head raised back up, small tears making their way down his cheeks. He leaned in towards you, his chin almost resting on your shoulder. “It’s…so delicious. May I…eat it?”

You chuckled, grinning with relief as a little bit of color came back to his face, his expression not looking so pained. Sounded like he was already breathing easier too. “Yes, Beel, I made it for you.”

He sat up away from you, the happy glow returned to his eyes as he went to work not only downing the bowl for him, but the bowl for Belphie as well. You made a mental note to come take care of the other twin later. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up sleeping for days on end like he’d been known to do a few times before… With one of the twins looking already worlds better with some warm food in his stomach, you went to go stand up to leave, but two big arms wrapped around your body to hold you in place. The hot skin on Beel’s cheek pressed against your forehead as he sighed in relief.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

You rested your head against his chest as he held you even tighter. “You’re welcome, Beel. I’ll be your personal chef till you feel better.”

With a contented sigh, Beel buried his nose in your hair, his hands gripping your shirt. He leaned back against his headboard, bringing you along with him as you almost laid on top of him. It didn’t seem like he was going to let you go anytime soon. He closed his eyes and with one hand he flipped his D.D.D over so there was nothing but blackness in the room. Relaxed lungs brought in deep even breaths. He was still ridiculously hot, but not unbearably so anymore. His words devolved into sleepy mumbles. “You’re so much better than any food in the world…”

The twins were sick, Lucifer was working himself ragged, and the rest of the brothers were avoiding their siblings like…well…like the plague. You never initially intended to become a nurse, but how could you sit by and do nothing while the demons around you that you had come to care for suffered? And, if you were being honest with yourself, you were thankful that there was something you could do to help around for once. It wasn’t often at all where you were put in a situation where you could be the protector, the helper, the one they relied on. However, as much as you liked that feeling, you hoped this spreading sickness would end with Beel and Belphie. The constant care you were dishing out was starting to leave you more exhausted than normal.

Telling anyone about your state though would most likely end in immediate termination of your new career in demon caretaking. So you kept it to yourself. These brothers were now leaning on you harder than ever, including the ones who had already been sick. Just the thought of all their faces, pale and sick in bed, lighting up at the sight of you entering the room as you pet their heads sent tingles down your spine. You wanted to take care of them…all of them, forever.

You violently shook your own head as you gripped the handle to your bedroom. What am I thinking? Is the Florence Nightingale trope really true? The door gently creaked open as you stepped inside.

Eternal moonlight had it perks, but being able to tell time was never one of them. What hour was it now? Your day had been occupied fulfilling several requests from the many members of the household. The typically hungry demon would now only eat food you made for him, and while you did promise to be his personal chef, it was beginning to overwhelm you. Not only chef, but you’d been hired in several other new ‘departments’. You’d become the new mailman, bringing packages from the front door to the otaku with severe hypochondriac tendencies. The librarian and storyteller for the bookworm who was milking his symptoms for as long as he could, partially because he truly enjoyed your company, but also because he enjoyed his brother’s complaints as he kept you to himself. The beauty product tester and fashion assistant for Asmo who refused to let any of his brothers touch him with a ten foot pole. The lawyer for Mammon who was apparently determined to get himself into trouble more so than not lately. And also Lucifer’s new temp secretary. You had so many reminders set on your phone for things he needed to get done. But the eldest was determined not to let things fall apart just because a few of his brothers were ill.

Should you be getting paid for this?…

Tired feet were dragged across the floor of your bedroom as you made your way towards your bed. It called to you; a sleepy siren’s song. The blankets reminiscent of a sweet melody, the pillows the alluring notes. With the last of your energy, you swiftly kicked off your shoes, letting them roll and settle crookedly on the hardwood floor. You let yourself fall face first onto your bed, the springs bouncing you up and down gently from the sudden impact. A moan escaped your lips, one you never had the intention for, but your body betrayed you. Laying down felt nice… Rain and wind outside started to kick up, the sound brushing and pouring against your window. It was like the night was comforting you, the weather speaking to you softly. It’s okay to get some rest.

Without bothering to change into pajamas, you crawled under your covers, pulling the blanket tightly near your face. Muscles and joints in your body started to ache, and you furrowed your brows as you shut your eyes. Had you really worked all that much? What exactly did you do that forced your body to feel this sore? You let out a sigh and brushed your cheek against your pillow. Already, the back of your mind was buzzing with sleep, and even if you tried to come up with some specific answer explaining why your body hurt in places you didn’t even know existed, you wouldn’t be able to. This would probably been the fastest you fell asleep in a long time, conking out without a second thought. —-

Fire haunted your dreams that night, the heat making you lightheaded. Your subconscious body struggled to navigate the obstacles of this place. The House of Lamentation was on fire, by reasons unknown, as dreams often do. You were frantically looking for the brothers, your mind thoroughly convinced they all still resided inside. Lips moved as you could’ve sworn you were screaming their names, but the roaring sounds of the flames muffled your voice. No matter how hard you squeezed your lungs, no sound came out. You felt yourself collapse to the ground, unable to move. You were hot. Too hot. You-

A low scraping noise shocked your body awake. It took you a moment to reel in reality, to settle yourself back into your senses, the dream drifting far behind you now. A squeak sounded. A harsh squealing grind of two hard surfaces rubbing against each other. It left a strange feeling in your teeth and pumped your mind with adrenaline. You sat up in bed immediately, the alarm for danger blaring on high alert.

It was hard to see through all the darkness. Clouds had covered the moonlight, leaving little to no light to guide your way. The only thing you could see with your adjusting vision was a shadow creeping around your room. It staggered. Drifting around as if searching for something, a deep inhuman growl rumbling through it’s disfigured body. Your fingers trembled as the sound echoed in your mind. How had it gotten in the house? There were no distinct features you could make out, the creature didn’t have any limbs. It was one giant blob, dragging itself across the floor, moving and knocking over the chairs in your room as it did so. That must’ve been the cause of the sound that woke you up. Was it hunting for something?…

A few options for survival bubbled up in your mind. Screaming for help wasn’t a smart decision. One loud noise, and the creature would more than likely beeline it straight for you. Besides, with the demon brother’s sporadic schedules, you weren’t sure anyone would hear you anyway. Your room was all the way down near the kitchen…your roommates blissfully asleep upstairs. You had half a mind to text someone to save you, but if you got caught in the light from your screen, that might also cause an instant game over. However, that did remind you to lean over to put your device on silent. You would not be that stupid survivor in the horror trope that got killed due to a notification. Oh, if only you had given in to Lucifer’s odd request to install some sort of security system. You had denied it. Said it sounded more like a baby monitor than anything else. Now look where it got you.

The intruder seemed distracted and confused, just as blinded as you were in the darkness. Maybe you could make a run for it… it seemed rather sluggish. But assuming things could get you killed. But what other options did you have?… Right now, the thing was finally drifting away from the table and towards the middle of the room, inching ever closer to your bed. The luxury of time was not something you had. It was settled. You’d book it out of here and run to someone else’s room… Just look for an opportunity… The wailing mass was getting closer. Just a few more seconds. Your heart was rattling harder than the wind against your windows. Just a little bit farther! Heat was waving off the creature and onto you, reminding you of your dream. It moaned unnaturally, shuffling slowly, wandering without a purpose. You quietly swung your legs over the end of the bed so you could finally make your dash to freedom. The blood pumping through your head was deafening.

A thud reverberated throughout the room, making you jump, freezing your body in place. The creature had collapsed on your floor. It slowly squirmed, writhing, it’s shape melting away before a humanoid hand poked out of it’s frame.

“O…w…”

The familiar voice washed over you in a refreshing shower of familiarity. You pressed a hand to your chest as you took in a deep relaxing breath. Although you didn’t waste too much time before rushing to the floor, kneeling beside the shape. The shell it had shed felt soft. You grabbed the surface with both of your hands, peeling it back to reveal a confused disoriented demon.

“Belphie…” You nearly went off on him, ready to spend the rest of the night giving him a Lucifer-style lecture. But, too tired to do something like that, you simply wrapped your arms around the seventh brother. Eyes rolled in your head, embarrassed and annoyed by your own paranoia and stupidity. Although that sort of paranoia had let you live in the Devildom thus far. That and a ridiculous amount of luck… Though if the other brothers found out you mistook Belphie and a puffy duvet for some sort of lumbering undead slug-monster, they would never let you live it down. Speaking of which…you suddenly remembered that he’d taken quite a tumble. “Are you okay?” He never answered, but you quickly found the source of his fall. The shoes you had left haphazardly on the floor. You bit your lip in a bit of shame. Before they could claim another victim, you snagged your shoes and tucked them away in a not so trippable place. Then you returned your focus near the lump. “Belphie? What’re you doing here?” You placed a soft hand on his shoulder, although as you did, you nearly reeled back. Sloth was burning up.

“…anna…o…ome…” He mumbled, not focused on you at all, his eyes were even still closed. Chipped nails clawed at your rugs, pushing himself on his arms just to collapse again. Your chest squeezed as you grabbed his arms. Convinced he was still asleep, you tried shaking him, feeling the palms of your hands tingle against his unhealthy and infernal temperature.

“Belphie!”

None of your attempts to wake him up were working, so you turned your attention to the only thing you could do. Bringing his heat down. The blanket you had tried tugging off of him was somehow twisted around his limbs. After turning him on his back, you worked on unraveling him, feeling his hands paw at your body. He was deep in some fever dream, one bad scene away from thrashing… Frantically, you plucked a pillow from off your own bed and tucked it under his head. You brushed sticky strands of hair off his forehead, watching him mumble some more.

“..illith…Beel…”

Might as well have heard your own heart crack right then, but you couldn’t let it get to you. Feeling against the walls, you moved around your room till you found the light switch. Once you could see, you went right to work. Thankfully, due to your efforts before, you now kept extra medicine and supplies in your room. It was actually Satan who suggested it, and while you thought it had been a silly idea, now you were grateful.

When you returned to Belphie’s side with all your items, you almost regretted turning the light on. Panting, his mouth open to try and breathe, lips so dry they were nearly bloody. His skin was covered in splotches of color, sweat dripping from his forehead, yet he couldn’t stop shivering. You placed a bowl of water, rags, medicine, bottles of water, and a glass of only ice beside you on the floor. As soon as you returned to his vicinity, his limbs moved to get up again. You settled a rag in the water then gently pushed him back to the floor with a single hand. He contorted and attempted to roll as you quickly wrung out the rag, pressing it against his forehead, keeping him against the ground using your own body. In only a few seconds, the cloth was completely warm. You dipped it back in, feeling a bit of panic rise in your lungs as Belphie continued to pant.

“Breathe…Belphie, breathe.” You rubbed his chest as you held him down, cooling off his face and neck with the damp cloth. You didn’t know how long you kept up this motion. Comfort, dip, cool. Soothe, wipe, cool. Over and over as the fire in him refused to leave. He needed to wake up to take the medicine, you weren’t sure you could get it down his throat in this condition. You let your hand drift from his chest for just a second to check your D.D.D. It was now four in the morning. A full hour of this, by your estimations. Should you text someone? Were you doing the right thing? Were you just making things worse? You fought with yourself and your emotions for a few more minutes, but then felt your worry assuage. It seemed as if he broke though the worst all in a second. Belphie’s breathing wasn’t as ragged as he no longer gasped for breath. He was still moving a bit though, wearily and weakly.

“Ahh…haah…” He wheezed, and for what felt like the hundredth time, you rubbed his cheeks with the wet fabric, brushing your hand back and forth across his chest. He raised his arms and grabbed your shirt and sleeve, trying to pull you close in his sleep.

“Shh, it’s alright.” His hands were trembling against you, but finally, he seemed to hear your words. The smallest slit of his eyes was visible as he did his best to open them.

“M…C…”

Overjoyed tears stung your eyes. The rag in your hand dropped to the floor as you caressed his face with your hands. He still wasn’t quite awake or aware, but he was attentive enough to try to pull himself up, still clutching tightly onto your clothes. The first thing on your mind was medicine. You filled up the measured cap and brought it to him, tilting his head back with the brace of one of your hands. Thankfully--or perhaps worriedly--he took it without questioning it. He grimaced a little, but the bitter and awful taste of the medicine brought him more into reality.

“Where?” He released your sleeve as he rubbed his eyes.

“That’s not important right now, can you stand? We should get you to bed.” You stroked his head, but he didn’t even seem to notice. He just nodded, and with your assistance, he almost managed to fully stand. To keep from falling over, he leaned his body against you. It was all you could do to keep from collapsing yourself. Fortunately, your bed was right here, and you let him plop into your space. A sigh left his shallow lungs.

With what little energy he had left, he practically clawed himself towards the far side of the bed turning in several agonizing increments to face you. He held out his hands and squeaked out your name. “MC…”

Your emotions hitched in your chest as you watched him beg for you. There was still a mess on the floor… but you left it where it was as long as the universe was done sending demons tumbling through your room. You rushed over to the light switch and turned the brightness off. You slid into the extra space Belphie left for you, taking him into your arms and feeling him immediately get comfortable. At least he was no longer boiling. He was a little too warm, but nothing life threatening.

He curled up by your side, as you pulled up the covers over both of you. With a few sleepy nudges, he had his head tucked under your chin. You could hear air rattle around in his chest, so you reached around his body and rubbed his back, and in return, he squeezed you like one of his many pillows. All at once, the adrenaline and panic left your body, leaving you winded and exhausted. You were unsure if it was Belphie’s Sin or simply your body at it’s breaking point, but you couldn’t keep yourself awake any longer. Before you could make sure he fell asleep first, your eyelids crashed closed as you passed out next to him.

Normalcy slowly began to trickle back into the House of Lamentation. The twins were feeling better, most everyone was returning to classes, routines were falling back into place. Everyone was finally convinced this was all over. Even Lucifer, who liked to account for the worst, was acting rather optimistic lately. Although you yourself, who had loved soaking up every sickly cuddle and embarrassing (and rather blackmailable) favors, was secretly a bit disappointed. It was great that they were all doing better! But…perhaps part of you liked feeling needed.

Lucifer, Mammon, and Satan, were all well past this illness, and with Levi and Asmo doing everything they could to avoid their siblings, it was assumed that this misadventure had burnt itself out with the twins. Although, one person in the household was determined not to let this go. Levi was doing his best to convince everyone that he was extremely ill.

“I searched my symptoms on SpiderWeb MD! If I’m not sick I’ve been cursed and I only have a few days left to live!” he would complain. His siblings were all convinced that Envy had caught nothing but a terrible case of hypochondria. At one point, he’d even sent his last will through the group chat should he perish an untimely demise. A lot of his stuff went to you, which was deeply touching considering he had a hard enough time letting you look at his stuff much less touch it. Music records would go to Lucifer, manga to Satan, cosplay outfits to Asmo, his special snacks to Beel, and his body pillows to Belphie. Nothing was left for Mammon, which caused a small riot in itself.

It had been several days since anyone had seen or heard any trace of Levi. Everything he needed could be ordered on Akuzon, and he’d been taking classes exclusively online. It got to the point where everyone had been certain he’d never leave his room again. Of course, the eldest had checked on his little brother regardless, but he’d been written off with a clean bill of health. After that, Lucifer had been convinced he was just craving attention. Levi would hole himself away over the vaguest sign of symptoms and not come out till he was ready. No one believed him. For a while, they had you convinced as well, assuring you that he hadn’t been sick for centuries. There was nothing to be worried about. However, you still carried that worry with you, that infuriating kind of angelic trust that drove the brothers crazy. But ‘what if’, you wondered, what if he’s sitting in his room right now with no one to help him?

The only semblance of interaction you’d had with Levi in the past week was dropping off his Akuzon packages to the front of his door. You’d knock, be forced to ramble off an impossibly confusing password, and then leave for him to drag his packages inside. The first time you’d done it, you’d waited, only to watch him pop his head meekly out the door. Upon seeing you, he squeaked and promptly slammed the door shut. Now he would wait for you to fully depart before grabbing his loot. But today, you were determined to see him. Sure he was a demon, sure everyone had promised he was fine, but something left you uneasy. You needed to see with your own eyes that he was okay.

Making your way down the hall, continuously shifting your arms to keep things balanced, you approached Levi’s room with several packages in hand. The number of items he purchased was getting larger and more concerning with each delivery. Seeing as your hands were occupied, you gently kicked his door three times with the tip of your shoe. You crouched down low near the floor, placing his items neatly in a pile. Stiffly, you uttered the strange password Levi encouraged you to memorize to confirm the drop-off and assure him there was no one else in sight.

“The water dragon, caretaker of the mystic lakes, looks up to the heavens…” You paused, waiting for his response. A few seconds. Then a minute. You couldn’t help but raise a brow as a little jolt went through your chest with worry. Typically by now, Levi would be in the middle of his segment of the password. This all was routine. Taking a few steps forward, you pressed your ears to the cold wood of his door. All was silent. From the top? You walked a few steps away just to round the door again, making your footsteps heavier, louder. Then you attempted the entire process again. Using your fist this time, you knocked loudly against the entrance to his fortress of solitude. Uttering the incantation once more, you found yourself almost shouting the code phrase. There was still no response.

Throwing caution to the wind, you gave yourself access into his room. You winced once the light from inside hit your face, expecting some sort of curse or hex to flood your body. Air soothed your lungs when you discovered you were relatively unharmed. It didn’t require any amount of searching to locate the demon. Curled up, in demon form…at the bottom of his fish tank. Of course, you knew these people were not quite people, but that didn’t stop your stomach from flipping and your human brain to somersault over itself in panic. That wasn’t normal! You stammered over your words, dashing forward to press your palms against the glass.

“Levi! What the-” You cut yourself off as you looked around for anything that could assist you with this…emergency. Underwater! He was underwater!

How many times have you been scolded for acting before thinking? Too many to count, especially down here where the wrong misstep could kill you easily. Did you still end up jumping into the fish tank? Yes. Yes, you did. Using Levi’s desk and shelves, you climbed up, throwing your body into the water. It wasn’t as cold as you expected it to be based on how chilly Levi kept his room. It was a bit nippy, but nothing terrible. You sunk down, grabbing the horns sticking from Levi’s head. God, how were you going to pull him out of here? This tank was the size of his wall! As soon as you began to tug on the horns, Levi’s eyes snapped open. His tail wrapped around your waist once he recognized your face. You ended up getting flung out of the tank, dangling in the air a few inches above the ground as the chill of the oxygen on your wet skin formed goosebumps all over your body. Levi gripped the edge of the glass.

“What?! I-I- that was totally- MC! I can’t believe-” He settled you to the ground as he climbed his way out of the water, almost slipping and falling from the tank. A large pool formed on the floor beneath your feet. As he tried to find his words, gasping in shock at finding you in Henry 2.0’s tank, he started coughing. He bowled over, his arm covering his mouth as his lungs squeaked and wheezed as he seemed to cough uncontrollably. Levi’s chest began convulsing so painfully, tears started speckling from his eyes, only to get swept up into the moisture already streaming down his face. His tail, still around your body, clutched to you tighter, like an involuntary form of comfort for him.

“Levi…” You approached the demon of Envy, both of you dripping wet, and you pressed your forehead to his. Despite having soaked in water for however long he had been in there, he was burning. His little gasp at your form of contact drove him further into his coughing fit. You apologetically rubbed his back, helping him catch his breath while you scrambled around to get dry clothes, nearly losing your footing on the wet tile.

“Don’t!” He pleaded with you as you pulled open his drawers.

“You need dry clothes, you’ll get even sicker if you’re soaking!” His face started to flush as some color came to his cheeks. He had yet to relinquish his tail from around your person, wrapping around you tightly like the firm squeeze of a hug, following you around like a drenched puppy. “Why in the world were you in the fish tank anyway?!” A proper scolding was in order. After all, how ridiculous had that been? “I was worried you’d drowned…” You muttered that last part to yourself as you plucked out a t-shirt with the decal on the front from some anime you couldn’t recall. A random pair of shorts was added to the mix, throwing the dry outfit to him alongside a much needed towel. Clutching the articles of clothing to his chest, he blushed even harder. The muscles of his tail forced you to turn with your face to the wall as you felt the soft scales finally slink away. You could hear him stumble around as he struggled to get himself dressed. He wasn’t acting like normal.

At that moment, all the guilt that had been building up these past few days washed over you. He really had been sick after all. How long had he been here alone, taking care of himself because no one would believe him enough to take care of him? But Lucifer had said he’d been checked… Did he get sick after that? Or was there something someone missed? Although, the when didn’t quite matter now. No chance fretting too much over something you couldn’t change. You had the chance to help him now.

“I was hot…” Levi answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Then next time hop in the bath! Don’t go scuba diving in a fish tank! A fish tank, Levi!”

It was as if you could feel him wincing at your firm words. It wasn’t often you raised your voice at them. Envy wasn’t taking the tone too well, shuddering as he inhaled broken quivering breaths. He didn’t have an answer for you on why he made the decision he did. Rationalization probably went out of his mind once the fever set in. Had he really been that hell-bent on not leaving his room? “You can…look now.” Turning away from the wall, you found yourself tutting. Levi had put the clothes over his wet form, the towel simply lying on top of his head, the horns holding it comically up away from his body.

“…I should’ve been here to help you.” You placed your hands over the dry cloth, getting it away from his branching horns, gently rubbing into his skin. Too weak to shoo you away or say anything about it, he simply covered his face with his hands as you used the towel to dry him off. “But I’m here now…and you don’t have to worry as long as I’m here. I’ll take care of you.” You started with his hair, working your way down to his arms. Your gentle motions, your soft tone, your overall comfort, it was enough to weaken his walls of anxiety. A few steps and he was right next to you. He slumped, letting his head fall into the crook of your neck. Your skin was still cool from the water, and he sighed as his forehead came into contact with it. His tail ended up curling around you once more, clutching your torso tightly as he gripped onto your clothes. “Come on,” you urged him, leading him over to his bedding. It was better than the fish tank only by a small margin, containing a ton of pillows and several plush blankets to act as a cushion inside. At least it was dry…

“Sorry…” Levi gasped, as he lifted himself into his nest. The tickle of his word turned into more harsh coughs. You leaned over the porcelain walls of the tub to pet his head. He nearly melted into your hands. He curled up, nestling further into the cushions as you pulled a blanket partially over him.

“Don’t be sorry. I should be sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you, I should’ve been by your side by square one. That’s what people who care about you do…” You gave him a sweet smile as he teared up a little, pulling a body pillow close to his chest as he covered his face. He simply gave you a hum in response. “I’ll go get some medicine and bring in those packages for you, and then I’ll be right back.” Taking a step back, you felt the tail wrapped around your body gripping you tighter. “Levi,” you cooed, petting the smooth scales with your hand. “I’ll be right back, let me go.” He reluctantly complied, silently pulling his tail into the tub with him, curling around his own body for support. Running your fingers through your still wet hair, you went back out to the hall, dragging Levi’s packages into his room before setting off to grab some medicine. A quick sneeze shuttered your body, leaving you lightheaded as you leaned against the wall to keep yourself upright. A chill ran through your spine. Shaking your head, you picked up the pace to your bedroom to change into warm and dry clothes.

As soon as you were no longer dripping, you grabbed the medicine bottle from off the table in your room. Collectively, the household had almost gone through the entire container, leaving only a few servings left. You bit your lip and then briskly headed back to Levi. In the short amount of time you’d been gone, it seemed as if he already drifted off to sleep. You shut the door behind you as softly as you could manage, then came over to the sleeping otaku. All these demons, you recalled, claimed to be so scary and intimidating, yet all of them managed to look something like this. Levi was clutching his tail, his forehead pressed against the coolness of the side of the tub. It felt like a crime to wake him, but you brushed your hand against his cheek anyway.

“Levi… Levi?” You called, watching his eyelids flitter as they slowly opened. “Here, take this, it’ll help you feel better.” You held a capful of the remedy to his lips. A flicker of stubbornness and defiance flashed in his eyes, but he knew he couldn’t say no to you, especially with how nicely you were treating him. He’d take it with a smile if you had asked him too. Placing the medicine aside, you turned down the lights in his room, watching the reflection of the water dance across the ceiling. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Levi?”

You heard him squeak before he spoke. “You cuddled with each of my brothers…”

Stifling a chuckle, you merely blinked at him. “You want me to cuddle with you?”

He used his arm to cover his eyes. “Y-you said it, not me!”

“Move over then,” you grinned, lifting your leg over the lid of the tub to make your way in. It was a bit awkward, being a bathtub and all. There wasn’t as much space as you expected. The sloped sides guided you into Levi’s body, where you could feel every muscle inside him tense. “Alright, here we go, sleep will make you feel better.” You rested your head right next to his, noses almost touching. His lip twitched in embarrassment, but once more he pressed his forehead against your neck, exhaling deeply as he allowed his body to relax. “There you go…” You rubbed his back as he got in close. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Time as Levi’s nurse passed fairly quickly. Apparently regular doses of constant attention was the best kind of medicine for a touch-starved demon. He was still weaker than anyone would enjoy, but he was back in front of his screens in no time. Although, every so often he’d give you a side glance and rattle his body with a loud cough. Sometimes he would do this and cause the other previous afflicted to do the same. You’d even caught Lucifer clearing his throat in your vicinity once. They were all milking this to the last drop. Aside from the pseudo-symptoms, at last, it was all over. Surely, tonight you’d finally let your sore exhausted body get some rest with the relief in knowing that whatever demon illness had been plaguing the brothers was finally gone… Even cases in the Devildom were dropping. The whispers at RAD were returning to normal discussions. The worst was over.

That was… until everyone in the House of Lamentation was awoken one night to a blood-curdling scream. You awoke in a sweat, hair on your arms standing up on end. Before you could comprehend anything, you dashed out to the hallway, apparently the last to join the stunned members of the household. Mammon was still attempting to find balance on his feet, cursing about one of his legs being asleep. Levi rubbed his eyes, and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was supposed to be regaining his strength. Satan looked more intrigued than anything. Beel was ready for action, but, surprisingly enough, Belphie looked more awake than anyone before you. These were his hours, you supposed. Lucifer was a strange combination of furious due to having his rest be interrupted--he barely gets enough as it is--and concerned.

“MC…” The eldest instinctively took a step towards you. “Oh, thank Diavolo,” he sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead, quelling the stress headache, thankful you weren’t the cause of the haunting wail. “We’ve got…” He began the head check, ushering his brothers closer to him much like a teacher making sure the whole class was there for the field trip. The realization hit you at the same moment it hit him. “Asmo.” No one hesitated in dashing to his room, the adrenaline pumping in you more as the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood reached your ears. Worry clamped your throat shut, forgetting how to properly breathe as the group sprinted down the halls.

Mammon was the first to reach the door, throwing all caution to the wind as he immediately kicked the wood in. The entrance hit the floor with a loud bang, coming clean off it’s hinges, and you attempted to peer in. A firm hand grabbed you by the back of the collar and yanked you back. Lucifer pulled you behind his body. Just in time too, for just at that moment, an entire dresser launched itself from the bedroom, smacking against Mammon, pinning him against the back wall of the hallway. Every square inch of you was desperate to scream, to run to Greed, but the demon of pride had you held tightly against his body. Mammon got up off the floor, shaking his head. There were no visible injuries, in fact, he was barely even bothered, just frustrated.

“For the love of... Asmo!” The second brother growled, and another shriek echoed through the halls, shaking the windows. You brought your hands up to cover your ears, and Lucifer quickly handed you off to Levi.

“What’s happening?” The strength of your legs began to waver, and, for a split second, the eldest’s eyes grew wide at your distress. Of course you wouldn’t know, how could you? Sometimes he forgets you’re only a human.

Placing a gentle hand on your head, he let out another sleep-deprived groan, pinching the bridge of his nose whilst his siblings dashed into the chaos. “It’s what we all feared. Asmo has fallen ill. It happens once every few centuries, and every time it happens, it gets—“ Something else broke to pieces, shrapnel embedding itself in the door-frame. A mess. “Stay with Levi. We’ll work on calming him down.” With that, he turned and swiftly joined the fray. A swirl of blue magic surrounded the door, lifting it from it’s position, settling back against the frame to shield you out while shouts and bangs rattled the ground. All you could do was blink in frightful awe and flinch at every awful sound.

“C-come on, it’s best if we go…N-now. Like, right now,” Levi breathed, his voice shaking with terror. You raised an eyebrow, trying to piece together why he sounded as if he was in danger.

You didn’t have the time to question why. The wall separating the room from the hallway nearly crumbled, bricks and rubble coating the floor. Peachy eyes glowed harshly against the dark of night. “Levi…” The figure growled maliciously as the dust settled. “You did this to me…you all did this to me!” Ah, right. Of course the blame would lie with the most recently infected. And now you were standing right next to the target.

“Oi!”

In a swirl of motion, demons rushed to tackle him down, but not before the person behind the destruction began to lunge in yours and Levi’s direction. The third-born twisted his body, beginning to pull you behind him to shield you, but your body moved almost on its own. Tugging yourself out of Levi’s grip, you moved forward with an outstretched arm. “Asmo!” The palm of your hand came into contact with his chest. You felt the frantic beating of his heart. Everything seemed to stop all at once. The rampage put itself at pause as Asmo looked at you with wide eyes, his hands still raised, razor sharp claws atoms away from brushing against your skin. With your hand on his chest, you could tell that he’d stopped breathing. You took this moment to observe his face. Nose red, eyes puffy from angry tears, overall looking drained, missing vibrancy. The glimmer you so often associated with Asmo was gone.

The demon of lust took one last moment to recollect his thoughts, gathering back his composure before giving a loud horrified gasp of a breath before his knees gave out, his body collapsing to the floor.

--

“Absolutely, positively, one of the worst decisions you’ve ever made!” You’d beg to differ, there was a list of misadventures you could bring to the table, but now was definitely not the time for that. “Did you even think?!” You tried to open your mouth but were cut short. “Don’t answer that.” Good call. Lucifer looked beyond frazzled, and as you watched him pace back and forth in front of you, you wondered if those were new grey strands in the fringes of his hair or if it was simply your imagination. He’d been stepping back and forth for so long, you’d almost gotten dizzy from the motion. Perfectly on beat. A living pendulum.

But Lucifer wasn’t the only one here to…critique your…survival response--or questionable lack thereof. “What do you do when you see an angry demon? Hm?” Real rich coming from Wrath. Satan’s eyebrow was twitching, but he was doing his utmost best to stay calm unlike his older brothers.

You lowered your head. “You run.”

“What do we not do?”

“…Confront them.” The blonde nodded, leaving it at that for the time being. With a quick scan around the room, he tilted his head and sat in a chair, biting back one of his usual retorts. Typically, he wouldn’t hesitate to be snippy, especially considering his sibling’s current behaviors, but he didn’t have the heart for it. Not right now when he was focusing hard on suppressing the bubbling rage of what he’d just observed. Levi was a dazed mess, sulking at his failed job as a bodyguard, slung over Beel’s shoulder, muttering endlessly. The demon of gluttony himself had yet to peel his sight from you since you’d been dragged back to your room. Had he even blinked? It was as if he was wary that, should he look away, even for a moment, you’d do something reckless again. To be fair, logically, what you’d done had been a rather idiotic move. In your defense, it was also dipping well past the early hours of the morning. It all still felt like a dream. They couldn’t hold it against you for not being at your peak… But, they were right. Had Asmo not been able to stop himself, who knows what the outcome would’ve been. You still weren’t quite sure of everything that had happened, but something had moved you, convinced you that if you just…reached out to him…

Turning your head to the side, you brushed your hand over the bump in the blankets where his arm was. As soon as he’d collapsed, both you and Asmo were briskly brought to your room. You’d been able to assist in tucking him under your covers for only a moment before being scolded six different ways. Belphie placed a fresh cold rag over Asmo’s forehead, meeting your eyes for just a second before snapping his head to look away from you with the slightest hint of a disappointed pout in his lips. Even the bratty youngest sibling was chastising you. And Mammon…Mammon was…dead silent, still as a stone, back turned to you as he pressed his face against the wall. If anything, that upset you the most.

Speaking loudly as to regain their attention, you apologized. “I’m sorry! I know it was dumb of me, but…” Asmo’s eyebrows scrunched, a painful moan rumbling in his throat. You adjusted your seated spot on the bed, sitting closer to his body, settled by his thigh. Placing your hand over the comforter covering his chest, you stroked up and down in a slow soothing rhythm. His head moved to find a cooler, more comfortable spot on the pillow, and with the comforting motion against his body, he went still with rest again. “He sounded heartbroken.”

The room fell silent, Lucifer stopped his pacing. Everyone’s shoulders slumped, and then finally Mammon spoke up. “Heartbroken?! That scream meant nothin’! He’s just being dramatic over his dumb face! Losing control like that…almost hurting you because he doesn’t look photo-ready… Nothing’s worth getting yourself killed over! Nothing!” Mammon’s words… sunk in the deepest. Or his tone did at least. He was truly upset with you. Lucifer raised his arm a bit towards Mammon, signaling to settle down. Mammon scoffed and turned again, letting it go.

“Okay… I get it… but enough worrying about me, you should be worried for your brother.” The fire of conflict was quickly snuffed out by your shining eyes and Asmo’s little whimpers.

Lucifer rolled his head around his shoulders and then rubbed away the little pang behind his temples. “I’ll go let Diavolo know of the situation. I’m sure after the last few weeks he won’t be surprised…” He grumbled something under his breath one last time before he left the room, D.D.D. in hand.

“I suppose I can do my best to help clean Asmo’s room. He might recover quicker in a familiar environment.” Satan got to his feet, stretching, cracking an eye open to look at Mammon before grabbing him by the back of his shirt. “And you’re going to help me.”

“O-oi! Why me?! Hold on! I haven’t said everything I needed to yet!” But his cries were ignored as the demon of wrath dragged him down the hallway.

Now you were left with the afflicted, the twins, and a still sorrowful Levi. They might not listen to you at the moment, but you had to try. “Beel, can you please take Levi to his room? And Belphie can you please make sure he goes to sleep?” The fiery-haired sibling nodded, shifting his older brother to his other shoulder. Belphie still had his head turned away from you. Your heart fell a bit. “Pretty please?”

He made the mistake of getting a quick peek of your pleading face. “You have to come with us.”

“But, we can’t just leave him.” You brushed the back of your hand against Asmo’s cheek, reeling back as the heat from him almost burnt you. Demonic bodies could reach some serious temperatures.

This only convinced Belphie to squint harder. “He’s dangerous.”

“You’re all dangerous and yet apparently it doesn’t seem to phase me anymore.” At times like these, you found standing your ground and just being stubborn was enough to win you plenty of debates with these eternal beings. Although you didn’t want to push your luck too much. They could physically remove you from the room if they so desired. Luckily, Belphie was much too tired to continue bickering.

“Fine, but you owe me.”

You beamed, coaxing a touch of pink in his cheeks. “Thank you!” He slinked away, his twin following after him with Levi in tow.

A frown stretched over your face. With the added noise gone, Asmo’s shallow wheezing breaths were all too apparent. You got to your feet, flipping the rag draped across his head to the other side, then padded over to the cupboard settled against the far side of the room. It opened with a slight squeak, causing you to wince as you glanced back over your shoulder to make sure your patient was still sleeping. Luckily, he didn’t stir, although for this to work, he might have to. You gripped the medicine bottle in your hand, giving it a slight shake. There was enough for perhaps one or two more administrations. Before you dealt with that issue, you quickly went to turn off the overhead light in your room, simply turning on a side lamp, a soft glow illuminating what you needed it to. Your eyes thanked you for the lessened strain. As you turned on the pads of your feet, you noticed Asmo was now on his side, facing away from you. With a few quiet steps, you were back at the bedside. “Asmo?”

Your fingers outstretched, reaching for his shoulder, but he would not let you near him. “Don’t look at me!” The voice was strong enough to push you back, falling back onto the floor. A high pitched noise caught your attention. The glass in your hand as well as your mirror on the other side of the room had a new thin crack in it.

The heart in your chest was pounding, but you tried to shake out of it. “Asmo, fighting me is taking up your strength.” Cradling the medicine bottle against your chest, you got back to your feet.

Asmo pulled the covers up over his head. “Don’t look at me, don’t look at me, don’t look at me!” You’d shifted your stance beforehand to keep your balance, the wave of magic wobbling you, but not knocking you over. The lights flickered, and with it, you caught an idea.

“What if I turn the lights off? I won’t look at you, okay? I just want to help you feel better.” Keeping your sight on him, you walked backwards. As your hip met the furniture, you swiveled to turn the lamp off. It just so happened to be cloudy tonight, the dark clouds coating the moon, again, much like the night Belphie had sleepwalked into your room, only now you were the one stumbling towards the figure in the bed. You walked forward slowly until your knees came into contact with the mattress. Even here you could feel the rolling waves of heat come off of him. “I can’t see a single thing, I swear. Not even my own hand in front of my face,” you whispered to him, your arm waving in the air till you found his body. He was letting you touch him, that was a good sign. It took a moment before you found his shoulder, gently guiding him to lay on his back. You trailed your touch up to his neck before coming up to lightly touch his face. Hot moisture coated your fingertips. For a second, you thought it was sweat, but then you heard the demon take a shaky inhale as his body hitched. Panic struck your body all the sudden, your thumb brushing just under his eyes. “Are you crying? Asmo, no… No, no, no, it’s okay.”

He whimpered, leaning into your touch. “I- I- I- I’m sick and- and unsightly--”

“Hey, hey,” you cooed. “Take a deep breath.” He followed your advice, his chest shuddering. “I’m sorry you’re sick…but we can’t change that now. We just have to focus on getting you well again.” Reaching around to support the back of his head, you helped him up into a slouched position. Although, you struggled to find his hand. When you did, his fingers instinctively went to curl around yours. You hated to disappoint him by replacing your grasp with the medicine bottle. “This should help. I’d, uh, take about half of it.” He took it away from you, and you assumed that he’d brought it to his lips. It was a few seconds before the smooth glass touched your skin again. Taking it back in your possession, you discovered it was a lot lighter than you expected. Moving it around in your hand, you felt no liquid slosh inside. “I said half, Asmo!”

“There was hardly anything in there and I need what I can to go back to my beautiful self!”

“That’s not how--” You sighed, letting the empty bottle settle on the floor. “No one is pretty when they’re sick, but that’s okay. It’s alright to be unsightly sometimes.” The mattress bobbed as Asmo laid back down, getting as close as he could against your body. “But even so, you’re pretty all the same.”

His hand smacked against your knee as he tried to find you, his touch searching for yours. “I can’t be both…am I beautiful or ugly?” He really couldn’t understand what you were trying to say. Maybe one day you’d be able to convey your thoughts properly.

As soon as you touched his wrist, he slid his fingers up to weave through yours. “You’re always beautiful, Asmo. Always. A little sickness won't stop you. But for now, your beautiful body needs some beauty sleep.” You squeezed his hand. “I’ll be right by your side.” The medicine seemed to already be working. Double the dose meant double the drowsiness, and you pinned it in the back of your mind to tell Lucifer about his mishap later. He curled into a tighter ball, snuggling up against your legs.

“It’s not…fair,” he whined, voice almost slurring with sleep. “I don’t…deserve this…I wish I was…as beautiful…as you.” Your chest tightened, but you kept your mouth closed. His grip had already slackened, and you could hear the deeper slower breaths as you came to the conclusion that he had fallen back asleep.

Feel better, Asmo. I’ll be here till you do.

“I tried warning them fallen angels or not, they were still in the demographic to get sick.” Solomon sighed wistfully, but the whole time he never lost his smile. As you recounted your encounters over the last few weeks, the sorcerer giggled. “What I wouldn’t give to see some of those scenes.”

The angel across the little table from you had to agree, although he looked a lot more sympathetic to the brother’s plight than the human did. “I’m really glad they’re all feeling better though. I bet you’re enjoying your newfound freedom, aren’t you, MC?”

You settled down the mug against the tabletop, sitting back in your chair, basking in the ambiance of Purgatory Hall. The House of Lamentation really had been come to feel like your home, but a change of pace was so refreshing at times. The angel’s dorm was so much brighter, quieter. No shouting, no nagging, no chaos. You could sip on a warm beverage in peace. “It’s nice knowing they all feel better,” you stated, having to admit to yourself that your termination of demon-nurse was doing you some good. Retirement life was nice. “No more worries.”

Both men agreed, Simeon pleasantly humming to himself. “Still, you could’ve asked us to help out. I bet it was difficult looking after all of them.”

“Can’t be much different than usual, can it?” Solomon interjected, laughing to himself.

They both were right. But, it’s not like you had hated it. You all felt…closer now. They had allowed you to see a part of themselves no one else got to see. That made you feel special. But being able to kick your feet up and get some much needed sleep was what your doctor ordered. You picked your mug back up and finished the last of your drink. The warmth of it spread throughout your body, seeping down to your toes and fingertips.

When Simeon noticed your cup was empty, he stood, holding his hand out. “Here I can take that for you.” You didn’t really want to impose, but you were the guest, and it did feel nice being taken care of today. They’d pampered you nicely. Taking your jacket at the door, leading you to the living room where you were given sweets and treats handmade by Luke and Simeon. You got more comfortable on the couch and gave the angel a thankful nod. Simeon turned away from you and Solomon, his steps halted as a high-pitched squeak filled the room. “Oh, sorry.”

Your head tilted a bit. “Sorry for what?” Had he stepped on a loose floorboard?

Solomon held himself back a bit before clapping in a bit of glee. He seemed endlessly entertained. “Doesn’t Simeon have the most petite sneeze? Bless you.”

Simeon looked back over his shoulder, actually looking a bit embarrassed over it. “It’s quite a normal sneeze thank you…” He shot his roommate a little look before leaving the room. You watched him go, a sensation of familiarity bubbling up to your mind. This felt… no, it couldn’t be. You were over-thinking things. There was absolutely no way it was happening again. Nope. You would refuse fate itself. Simeon took good care of himself. You couldn’t assume every sneeze was a sign of illness.

There was no one left to get sick. The story was over! The series had come to an end! All wrapped up in a pretty bow and everything!

No one else needed a taste of medicine.

Or did they?…

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #sickfic

[rinsuniverse]

hi dear! i saw your writing about being sick and not telling woozi, and i was wondering if you could do a shua version?😭i kinda have a cold rn and this was so comforting i loved it, it’s totally okay if it’s too much and you don’t wanna write it!<3 have a nice day, take care!

sick with joshua! ✧˖°.

i'm 110% convinced he would take care of you the absolute best whenever you're sick!!

he'll have gradual red flags the way that jihoon does as you go about your day without telling him

the first red flag was in the morning when he realized you're energy seems off

he wakes up before you and plays with your hair until you wake up

he notices you're breaking out in a cold sweat and his sighs, wiping your forehead with his sleeve

when your eyes flutter open, he smiles at you

"good morning, beautiful," he grins

"morning..," you groan, breaking out into a cough after your voice comes out raspy

"are you alright? should i get you some cold medicine?"

"no, i'm good. my allergies have just been acting up," you say

he sees this tiredness in your eyes, and it makes him feel sorry for you

he continues to brush through your hair and whispers to you since your voice doesn't get very loud

"hey, let's call in and say we'll come in late today. you seem tired, honey," he says quietly

"no, i'm okay, i'll get up now," and the moment is over

as you both get ready, he stops to get you some allergy medicine for the day, setting a reminder in his phone for when he should remind you to take the second dose

he puts a small thing of tissues in your handbag and tea packets and then showers you with kisses before leaving, telling you that he hopes his kisses give you energy

and that's when he is able to brush away most of his worry for you

as you go about your day with your energy drained and being able to kind of breathe because of the meds he gives, you text shua every so often to thank him and continue to convince him that you're okay

you: hey, shua, i hope you're doing well

you: thanks for the meds! i can breathe well now

shua: of course, anything for you 🤍

shua: i'm doing great

shua: still tired?

you: just a little

shua: i packed you some tea in your handbag

you: what? when?

shua: boil some water in your breakroom and see if there's some honey to put in it if you don't like the taste

shua: i packed the one that's best to clear your sinuses

you: shua wth 😭

you: i love you

shua: i love you more

and he doesn't worry about you until he knows you're done with work and he wants to call

and that's when the next red flag comes up

"hey, y/n/n, i missed you-"

and then you start coughing and it's the most outrageous, disgusting, crackily sounding cough anyone has ever heard

you swear you can hear the side eye he's giving you as he says, "did you not drink the tea i packed?"

"i did! i just- still have some phlegm in my throat from the allergies."

he does NOT completely believe you

at all

but it's fine, he brushes it off because obviously you don't want to make a big deal out of it

"get home safely, okay, beautiful?"

"okay, i'll see you at home in a bit."

he calls out of work early

he knows you have that attitude where you don't want him to worry about you

so he already prepared for this

he stopped by the store to get you your favorite cake and a balloon

his plan was to disguise this work absensce as a surprise for you 😭

he also bought extra meds, tissues, and teas for you at the store as well

when he got home and he was holding a cake and balloons in his hands, you kind of stare at him from the couch under lots of tissues

you can't even comprehend that he's home and that you need to somehow make the tissues disappear because he's home early!

but that's when he pretty much knew 110% that you were sick

"shua, what the? why are you home so early? and why do you have all that?" you say, gathering the tissues and throwing them away quickly

"surprise! i saw this cake was on sale at the store during my lunch break, and i know it's your favorite. so i decided to call off early and surprise you at home."

"honey, you really didn't have to! work is important."

"and taking care of my lover is important, too. don't even pretend you're not sick. you should tell me these things."

"it's allergies-"

he places his palm on your forehead and tsks at you

"you have a fever, love. let's have an early dinner and then eat some cake, okay? don't make me worry more."

"okay, fine..."

he makes you a nice, elaborate dinner that'll warm you up and offers you some of his share of the food in case you're extra hungry

when you shamefully say you don't feel very hungry, he tells you that it's okay and that he'll pack the leftovers for another day

he has the other seventeen members send you words of love and determination so that you'll feel better and get well soon!

and you feel like crying as he reads them out to you

after he shares a slice of cake with you, he offers to carry you to bed, and even though you say no, he finds a way to either carry you or support you on your way to the room

he chooses some of your clothes (his sweatshirt and your yoga pants) for you to change into and helps you wash your face and prepare for bed (with meds ofc!)

and you both lay in bed together

he sings to you as he rubs your back and always hands you a tissue even before you need to ask

"why didn't you let me take care of you for all of today, jagi?" he asks softly

you sigh as you say, "i really just didn't want you to worry or feel inconvenienced. i'm sorry..."

"don't be sorry. let me be here for you whenever you're not feeling well, please. i want you to depend on me sometimes. don't you want me to depend on you sometimes, too?"

"yeah, but that's different..."

"i don't think so. let me take care of you the way you take care of me, okay, gorgeous?"

"okay, shua. i love you so much."

"i love you so much."

"i think i'm getting a fever again."

"i'll go get a wet rag to put on your head, okay? thank you for telling me."

and he cares for you all night. he takes care of you and showers you with kisses.

he doesn't regret it at all, even when he gets sick, too.

you both nurse each other back to good health!

thank you so much for the request, and i hope you feel better soon, anon! i hope you enjoyed the charming and loving shua. feel free to request more things from me! ✧( ु•⌄• )◞◟( •⌄• ू )✧

(p.s. requests are still open! you can request literally anything for any member of svt since i don't have any guidelines set yet. i do specialize in woozi, though! have a great day! ς(>‿<.))

#seventeen #hybe #hong jisoo #pledis seventeen #seventeentumblr #svtcreations #hybe family #svt #seventeen joshua #svt joshua #joshua #joshua hong #hong joshua #joshua x y/n #joshua x reader #joshua x you #seventeen jisoo #jisoo #svt jisoo #seventeen x reader #svt imagines #svt x reader #seventeen x y/n #seventeen x you #svt x y/n #svt x you #seventeen imagines #joshua drabble #joshua fluff #seventeen drabbles

[silasplaskett]

VAXXED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#second dose done! kinda hope i feel sick so i can call out of work tmw but also #don’t want to bc they’ll ask my coworker to stay longer and i need to ask him a favor soon.... #bea.txt

[superhero--imagines]

Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here!

A/N: not superhero themed. I just read midnight sun and had this idea and I don’t feel like making another blog so.... hope you like twilight lol

There will be a part two, and just a reminder, I’m still looking for beta readers so DM if you’re interested!

* It probably starts with you reading midnight sun, you remember reading the books/watching the movies when you were younger.

* Man, you really forgot how bad this book was. The writing itself is good, but the plot...

* It’s like everything revolves around Bella, everything is created for her.

* You almost feel bad for the other characters

* Well, whatever, you’ll finish the rest of the book tomorrow and never think about that awful franchise again.

* When you wake up you feel an ache in your head. But you didn’t drink last night, maybe you’re dehydrated

* You shift, noting the smooth silk of the covers. Now you’re alarmed.

* You don’t have silk sheets

* You see a mirror in the corner of the room, and rush over

* The face that looks back at you is different then yours

* It’s the same in some ways, but different all the same

* The curve of your nose is slightly off, your lips are thinner, eyes a little closer together.

* The memories begin to flood in, in this world you were on a graduation trip with your parents, you got an all inclusive package. Three days of sightseeing in Volterra.

* You got sick on the last day, when you were signed for a tour of the castle, your parents went without you

* That was the last you saw of them

* You dumbly followed, asking question where you shouldn’t. And ended up at the volturi’s door

* Aro had grasped your hand to see how much you knew, only too see nothing. Likewise Jane’s powers did not work as well

* They were astounded by this, it appears this was several years before Bella was introduced to the story

* And so, you became a prisoner of the tower

* Your soul must have been in this body for quite some time, but you’ve only remembered now, that’s the only explanation for why their powers didn’t work on you. Your consciousness is not of this world.

* There’s a short knock on your door

* “Are you decent?”

* You call back and Alec pops his head in.

* “Ready to go to the library?”

* He looks so kind. The boyish grin that stretched across his face as you shook your head.

* It was in direct contrast to the sadistic personality you had become accustomed to in the books

* “I need a few more minutes”

* You half expect him to lash out at you for being slow. By he only nods, closing the door and waiting outside for you to finish.

* He was you friend. You realized

* He IS your friend

* You think back as you turn on the faucet. He didn’t like you at first, being assigned to guard a human was insulting

* But he started to warm up to you once he heard you play the piano

* This body was quite used to the ivory keys. And so you charmed him as best you could, half for your survival, because the happier you kept him the less likely he was to kill you.

* And half because- you were so lonely, the Loneliness echoed in this body like an ache. Suddenly an orphan, in a continent where you knew no one. All you had was this boy.

* How long have you been here? You kept a talley at one point, but abandoned it after the thirtieth day. What was the point? You would either die or become one of them

* A shiver erupts through at the thought, in your past life you were a vegetarian, you didn’t relish in the idea of killing something alive and moving.

* You pull on a sweatshirt, ripping of the chanel tag. They bought you the nicest things money could buy, the most lavish food you could have.

* They did the same thing with the tourists they lured, keeping them happy and well fed, the same way the cows that became wagyu beef might be cared for. That way when it came time to slaughter, the meal was that much more delicious.

* You suspected this was similar, that should you be an unnecessary addition, you would make a meal suitable for their palette

* Alec basically talks your ear off the entire way to the Volturi library, mostly about literature

* “What are your thoughts on Anna Kerenina?”

* “That the patriarchy needs to be burned to the ground.”

* “That is.... valid”

* He even talks when you’re at the library, much to the annoyance of a few of the other patrons

* “Which book are you looking for now?”

* You stop mid motion on the ladder and turn to look at him. His ruby eyes glowing, he looks bloated. Like he’s fed too much.

* “Alec, why are we friends?”

* You really should keep your mouth shut. Alec was the only real ally you had, you shouldn’t say anything that might put him off

* And yet, it unnerved you, because the Alec in front of you was a very different character then the one you had come to see.

* He looks at you like you hung the moon,

* “Because you’re the most interesting human in the world”

* You burst out laughing, earning several glares.

* “I-I’m sorry Alec, but I’m not, I’m just the most interesting human you KNOW, there’s way more people who are more interesting than me.”

* You expect to see him offended, and he does, but there’s a twinkle in his eyes

* “I’m not so sure about that”

* The days creep by, reading books, eating snacks, it’s nice

* You learn, that Alec hasn’t talked to a human in a very long time. Outside of the screams he heard after devouring one.

* He hasn’t been outside the castle walls in many years, possibly a century.

* “What’s the best part of the human world?” He asked you once

* It’s the 90’s, so smartphones haven’t been invented yet.

* “One tree hill and friends”

* “Well you have a friend right here”

* “No friends the show”

* “The what?”

* And that’s how you got Alec hooked onto cable television

* Who knew the cure to vampire- sadism was a healthy dose of Jennifer Aniston fumbling about on screen

* “Is this what life is like?”

* You shrug, it was what college had been like for you in your past life.

* “It’s kinda what schools like, but i never got to be on my own”

* This body was only 18 after all.

* Alec doesn’t say anything, but his expression falters

* Alec’s only now starting to understand the life you will be denied once Aro decides when to turn you

* Jane joins later

* One day when you and Alec are lazing around the library when she appears, she says nothing, just sits down next to Alec and reads a book

* You’re sure they hear the uneven thumping of your heart as you turn back to your book. Her power doesn’t work on you, you remind yourself

* Not that she even needs it, she could snap you apart like a Kit Kat bar

* And if it came down to it, you’re sure Alec would let her, he might like you but his loyalty’s always remained with his sister

* “So... you watch human television together?” Her bright red eyes flickered from Alec to you.

* You nodded, never sure what exactly it was that would set Jane off

* You had seen enough in the books to know her moods were compatible at best.

* “I would...like to join” she awkwardly looking away, and you were sure if she could, she would be blushing.

* Honestly it’s kind of cute.

* “Sure, the more the merrier”

* And that’s how you basically adopted the sadist twins

* It’s a little harder to get Jane to open up, but once you make a comment about how Phoebe was the best character in friends, she starts to open up

* “Humans are cruel, even when they’re kind it’s only because they want something from you.”

* “Is that what you think about me? That I’m only nice to you because I want something?” she meets your eyes for a few minutes before turning away

* “I’m not sure”

* You understand very gradually why they’re so twisted

* They’d been treated terribly during their human life, in every kind act lingered a dark shadow, in even minor misunderstanding the image of a monster

* Their centuries in the Volturi didn’t help. Under Aro’s ruthless tutelage, and Caius’s sadistic tendencies, They had no one they could trust but each other.

* They were only surviving just as you were

* “Sometimes I wonder how much of my loyalty is real, and how much of it is Chelsea.” She whispers one day, so quietly you barley hear it

* You rest your hand on hers, it’s the only comfort you could think to offer

* When Jane grasps your hand in hers, she breaks every bone in your hand

* She doesn’t understand the pained screams or your mangled hand fit a second, and then she realizes what she did

* Alarmed she carries you halfway around the castle screeching for someone to help

* You pass out from the pain, when you come to you’re in your bed, a very cold hand holding your own

* “How are you feeling?” You don’t recognize this vampire, but you don’t really know anyone outside of Alec and Jane.

* You feel light headed, a warm feeling washing over you, you must be on some strong drugs

* “My body’s still grieving, but my mind is sharp.”

* It’s incoherent at best, but there’s truth to it, your body is still grieving for your parents and the life you’ve lost, but your otherworldly mind is ten steps ahead, cross referencing every action.

* The man offers a short chuckle

* “You really did a number on your hand. I’ve done what I can but...”

* You look down to your hand, half surprised by the bright yellow cast encasing it

* You had figured you would wake up to be a vampire, it just made sense, these were unfamiliar human aches to them after all and vampirism was a simple and effective cure

* They must want something from you, if they’re keeping you human

* You suspect it’s something along the lines of how they waited until Jane and Alec were burning at the stake to save them, so their power would be that much more potent

* Maybe they’re doing the opposite with you, trying to make you as happy as possible to see what effect it has on your ability

* It’s too bad you don’t have one

* “Thank you for your hard work.” You mumble, being human for a little bit longer is well worth the pain.

* “How did you break your hand?”

* “I held Janes’ hand”

* Your doctor let’s out a short laugh

* “That sounds about right”

* You smile, it does sound right, of course you would break your hand that way

* The conversation flows naturally after that, you talk about all sorts of things

* “You think vampires have souls?” He quirks an eyebrow

* “I’m of the opinion that a soul is something you create through hardship and struggle, being able to live longer means that you have more opportunities to have the experiences that result in a soul”

* “That’s an intriguing notion, I wish I had brought my son with me.”

* You’re about to ask about his son, when you’re interrupted by the door swimming open

* “I heard you were awake, are you alright?” Alec rushes in, his eyes frantic

* “Yeah these drugs are top notch” you press the button that releases the pain killers and let out a giggle

* “Is that alright? Humans are awfully sensitive.” Jane pipes up from behind Alec, you hadn’t noticed her in your haze.

* Your doctor chuckles

* “I’m aware,” he’s smiling but it’s strained

* “What’s wrong?” You ask, he was so calm until a second ago, he doesn’t answer you

* “I’ll give you three a moment.”

* You only register he’s gone when you hear the door close

* The twins rush over to you, Jane is kneeled by your side, while Alec hovers over you

* “I-I’m sorry I hurt you, I forgot-I didn’t remember.” You we’re sure Jane would be crying if she could

* “It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean it.” You raise your cast encased hand and give her a gentle pat on the head. “From now on, physical signs of affection will just be one sided.” You joke, which makes Jane grin

* “I’ll practice with some animals before I try touching you again”

* The three of you chat for a bit, they’re both surprised by your cast and ask several questions about its “primary function”

* “I didn’t know there was a doctor here” you murmur, feeling drowsy

* “Carlisle’s not with the Volturi, he’s from another coven in the new world.”

* Your drowsiness flies away in a second

* “That was Carlisle?”

* Jane looks somewhat confused but nods.

* A flutter of hope erupts in your chest, it’s so strong even your grief stricken body feels it

* You might have a chance. It’s slim, Carlisle has a family he loves and needs to protect. But still, they were strangers once too. No different than you.

* It’s a way out of here

* The next few days follow in a drugged haze, Alec and Jane visit every so often, and Carlisle engages you in occasional conversation while checking progress on your hand

* “Why are your eyes gold?” You know, but well, you need him to believe the lie

* “It’s a bit of a long story” he says with a wary smile.

* “I’m not going anywhere”

* He sighs, a genuine smile encompassing his face as he recounts the tale.

* Even though you’ve already heard it all before, it still makes you cry

* Even in the haze, you know something’s.... off

* There’s something about the way Alec won’t meet your eyes when he talks to you, and the uneasy weight that lingers in the air whenever someone else is in the room

* On the third day, it’s Aro who visits you, Alec and Carlisle in tow behind him.

* “Oh my, all that internal bleeding, how awful”

* Even you can feel the insincerity, but it’s the first you heard about internal bleeding

* So that explains it, the drugs and the aches all along your body, it wasn’t just your hand, you were dying

* “Don’t worry, we’ll save you” Aro’s smile is cruel “won’t we Alec?”

* Alec looks afraid, almost pained, but he nods

* Ah, so this was punishment for Alec too. Until that moment, when Jane broke your hand, Aro must have been ignorant to how close the three of you had gotten.

* You close your eyes, you knew this would happen eventually. There were only two ending to this story, and it seemed one had finally been picked

* You feel a pinch on your neck, right above your collar bone, no worse than a flue shot.

* You wait for the pain, the vivid screams you remember from the books and movies, but it never comes.

* Instead it’s just a warm numbness that spreads across your neck and left shoulder.

* “It doesn’t hurt” you murmur, you feel a cold hand rest against your forehead, Alex’s hand.

* It’s so gentle, he must have practiced on some animals first, you think.

* “No the pain comes later.”

* And so you drift into inky black unconsciousness, the last sleep of your human life in this world.

* You dream that you’re sitting at the bottom of a tree, a fig tree, like the one Sylvia Plath wrote about

* Each fig a different path, half of them have already fallen off, dark, as they rot at your feet

* “How do you do it?”

* You look to your side and find the person who’s face you see in the mirror, they’re hugging their knees to their chest, dark circles under their eyes

* “How do I do what?” You ask, they bite their lip

* “How can you be so strong when you’ve just lost everything?”

* You see their eyes brim with tears, and you look away, to the tree that looks over you both

* “I don’t know” It’s the truth, you have an unfair advantage in this world, because you know all the secrets each person carries, while yours remain shrouded in darkness. And yet... it’s not why you persevere

* “All I do know, is that I want to give them hell”

* Your counterpart grins at that, and to your surprise, you feel a smile stretch out across your face

* Yeah, it’s not about power, you just want raise some hell in this backwards misogynistic world.

* “I guess that’s the one you’re picking then huh?” Your counterpart points to a fig, it’s on the tallest branch of the tree, so far out of reach it almost seems unobtainable

* But you only nod

* “Yeah, I think that’s the way I’m going to go”

* They look at you and smile.

* “If you ever get the chance, I hope you punch that jerk Aro right in the face”

* You laugh.

* When you finally awake, you’re still laughing. A smile etched onto your face.

* Everyone’s there, all looking at you with concerned glances.

* Yeah, you’re going to have a lot of fun in this world.

#twilight #twilight saga #twilight imagine #twilight headcanon #Volturi headcanon #Alec imagine #edward cullen imagine #carlisle cullen #superhero--imagines

[courtofcravings]

Another you (1)

Context: In which you get stuck on a planet and have to save kirk, whichhe admits feelings for you and ya both land in the Med Bay.

Warning: Some blood, needles, minor injuries. mild choking

Feb 2nd/21

I always find it funny that my go-to thing is to have the reader afraid of needles, but I myself am actually trained to give vaccines and take blood.

This was also my first Kirk x reader in a long time// It’s hard to write flirty confident characters because it is the exact opposite of who I am, yet it’s the personality i love in my men and women so xoxo

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

Dr. McCoy was again trying to coerce you down to the Med Bay; he really thought offering to get the Captain involved would change anything. “I’m telling you right now, Y/N, you can’t go on your away mission without your immunizations for this planet. Have you have heard of the Quazulu VIII Virus, no? That’s because there is a vaccine for it!”  

“Dr. McCoy, It will be a quick up and down to the planet to grab some specimens; I won’t stay for diplomatic reasons like the rest of the party is.” You justified to him. You had almost finished packing everything you needed from the research ward before your ship’s chief medical examiner ambushed you.

“As a scientist, I’d figure you would be one of the most appreciative of vaccines.” He replied, helping you collect tubes from the drawer beside him. “Ah contrary, as a scientist, I am well aware of how dirty hospitals and MedBays are.” The doctors face contorted,

“You do realize you are going on an away mission, on a un sterile planet. There is a risk of injury; are you just not going to receive first aid if something goes wrong on the planet?” He’s not wrong, and you knew it. You just hated needles. They grossed you out.

“I won’t get hurt then,” You confidently stated, which earned a scoff from the young doctor.

“What if I bring the vaccines to your research lab? And gave them to you here?” You admitted that wasn’t a bad compromise. The Med Bay gave you more of a bad feeling than needles do. You always found that most people you had to bring to the Medbay or hospital didn’t always come out. You just couldn’t shake the feeling of dread when you go in.

“Fine.”

“You remind me so much of Jim.” He said while pulling out the vaccines. He had the vaccines here!? He already knew I wouldn’t agree to go to the Med Bay and thought ahead. You really have left an impression on the doctor.

“Who? And you really knew I’d say yes?” Referring to the cooler filled with the vaccinations. “Ah, you see, they are not just for you,” He said. Taking one of the two doses you needed into one of his hands and pinch “Done.”

Oh, that wasn’t horrible.

The doors swooshed opened behind you, but you couldn’t open your eyes, knowing there was another needle coming. “Bones, you called me here?” Immediately recognizing that voice as Captain Kirk

“You Actually Told The Captain On Me!?” You stood up to look accusingly at Dr. McCoy. He only shrugged his shoulders, looking between the two of you. “You need to get your inoculations, Jim; why don’t you explain to Y/N here how important it is to get them before an away trip,” He said while getting another dose ready. “You do have a lot of experience of finding out the hard way.”

You met the captain’s eyes, so blue. “Captain,” You correctly addressed him, “Y/N, will you be coming tonight?” He asked, his voice so alluring. 

“I will, sir,” He smiled at you, taking a seat. “So, Bones here is giving you trouble?” He grabbed your backpack, taking a glance inside at what you were going to bring. It reminded you of a kid who couldn’t sit still.

“Bones?”

“Do not call me that,” Dr. McCoy said fast. pinch “Ouch, I wasn’t ready for that one!” You growled, rubbing your arm, earning a small laugh from the captain sitting across from you. You watched Dr. McCoy draw up his last dose for you and started to feel sick to your stomach.

“Captain, I believe you were explaining to Y/N how important the vaccines are,” He asked the Captain. Funny, it’s not often that Dr. McCoy will address the Captain formally like that. You think Captain Kirk noticed as well as he looked caught off guard.

“Well, as your Captain, I have to inform you that it is mandatory, and Starfleet regulations to get your vaccines before the away mission. Otherwise, you can compromise the health of my crew,” He said professionally. Looking at bones with a thumbs up.

You couldn’t help but get distracted by his deep blue eyes while he talked more about it. You were not really paying much attention to his words. “All done,” Dr. McCoy said, cleaning up his tray of discarded utensils. You were so distracted by the captain you didn’t feel that last pinch.

You pulled your blue shirt back down to entirely go over your arm, “Well, if that is everything, I should be preparing for the away mission,” The captain said, dismissing himself.

“No, No, No, Jim.” Dr. McCoy stood up fast, grabbing the Captain by his arm before he could get out of his chair. “You just lectured Y/N on the importance of inoculations; I do believe it is your turn,” You figured that was why the doctor brought those extra doses. This was his plan all along.

“For the well being of the crew and all,” You spoke up, paraphrasing his own words. Dr. McCoy let out an agreeable laugh, while the captain just sat there, defeated.

“Alright, alright, just make it fast,” The captain lifted his shirt enough to sneak his left arm out. Your first instinct, of course, was to look around the room at literally anything else.

“I was just telling Y/N how alike you both are; I mean, she’s basically another you,” Dr. McCoy said. You couldn’t help but scoff at this, you and the captain having something in common? Sure, but you being basically like him? Definitely not.

“What gave it away? Was it the height? We are pretty close in height,” The captain responded, a playful smile on his handsome face.

“Maybe, It is our common interest in specialties on the ship? You know, being captain and being a biomedical engineer are very similar jobs.” You asked, teasing the doctor. He only responded with a sigh and poked the Captain with the needle, making him jolt.

“You know Y/N; I think he might be right. I am certain he was referring to our matching taste in clothing.” The Starfleet uniform being all match except for the colours. Where scientists wore grey or blue, the captains wore gold. Gold was definitely his colour.

“Nope, he is definitely talking about our boobs; they are just so alike,” You said, a giggle ripped from the captain, making him move back slightly.

“Dammit, Jim, stay still.” He said, giving the last dose to the Captain, then turning back to look at you, “You know you’re both just proving my point,”

“Well, then that’s just double the fun for you, Bones,” The captain said. He was taking his leave before the Doctor comes up with more to poke him with. After two years on this ship, bugging Dr. McCoy never got old.

“I couldn’t imagine being stuck on an away trip with the two of you,” Dr. McCoy said while grabbing his bag. “Hey, Bones, that’s kinda hurtful,” You responded, using the nickname the Captain used with him.

“Dammit, Jim,” Bones muttered under his breath, leaving to go track down more officers before the away trip.

-----

The trip mission for you was supposed to be simple: collect some plant samples with specific regenerative properties. This would help in your designs of tissue regeneration equipment you worked on in the lab aboard the enterprise with Dr. McCoy.

Unfortunately for you, It seemed something went wrong, you’re assuming with the diplomatic party that came down with you. You only took fifth-teen minutes to gather enough samples to fill your small bag, but when you used your comm to contact the ship, no one responded.

As a matter-of-fact, no one on the mission on the planet was answering either. You hoped they hadn’t forgotten you on this planet and left, unlikely, but still a thought. You didn’t remember where exactly the other group got transported to, and it was still a debate whether you should leave the last known location they had of you, but it was getting dark.

You needed shelter and possibly a fire. It was far too cold on this planet for you to stay extended out in the elements. So you started walking, with no means to defend yourself and no map of the jungle-like terrain. You couldn’t help but think bones may have been right about laughing at you confidently declaring nothing will go wrong.

“Y/N to enterprise,” You repeated every few seconds, waiting for any response as you trudged through the thicker bushes. Soon it was dark and cold. You could barely see anything, and it was getting too dangerous to walk around.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the faintest light. Maybe it was your crew? You thought about following it, but you also thought of that fish that used a light on its head to lure its prey back on earth. Maybe you are about to be angler fish food; You don’t think they make vaccines to prevent that.

Maybe it is called “not being stupid and walking toward the scary lingering light.”

But where else was there to go. So, against your better instinct, you started walking towards it. Although, the closer you got, you figured out it was a fire and not some carnivorous fish. Picking up the speed and getting closer, you could clearly hear voices. Thank goodness

You have always been told you had two left feet for a reason, so of course, before you could enter the camp, you tripped and ate dirt. Getting up on your knees, you backed up slowly. You seemed to have cut your arm open on something, possibly a branch, when you fell. Great, now you’d have to admit to bones he was right.

Captain Kirk and the rest of the diplomatic crew were tied up, surrounded by another species. It seemed someone- a woman was attempting to speak to them in their language.

They didn’t seem to be responding to her in the same kind tone. Every so often, she’d stop and talk to the captain, translating for him, you figured. Maybe some sort of negotiations or clearing up a misunderstanding, but it did not seem to be going in our favor.

You lowered yourself deeper in the bushes and looked around the camp. There didn’t seem to be any device blocking the signal you could spot, so why wouldn’t the comms work, you wondered. You did, however, find Starfleet-issued phasers, more phasers than you had men. You suppose this meant you guys were not the only Starfleet officers caught by this group.

You watched as the conversation turned sour, and one of the species took what looked like a long fork and put it through the captain’s leg. Yup, This is definitely not good. The same one who stabbed the captain untied the translator and the two other men, walking them out into the forest in the other direction, to where you had no idea. This left Captain Kirk alone, guarded by two others.

You ever so slowly made your way around the camp to the phasers, laying on a flat table with other confiscated items. Your arm was not letting up pain-wise or blood wise, but you knew it wouldn’t matter much if you couldn’t make it off the planet. Grabbing one phaser at a time, you managed four.

Although taking a look at them, you realized you were way in way over your head. Too far in over your head. Getting stranded on a planet with a lacerated arm was fine; watching your crewmates get tied up and minorly stabbed was fine because you could have helped. There was a solution in sight, but now?

Looking down at the phaser, you had no recognition on how to use it; you were now too far in over your head. Starfleet trained you on a basic low power phaser; the highest setting was three. This phaser had so many buttons, far too many than necessary, you thought.

Taking a deep breath, you put two phasers in your bag and slowly made your way behind to where Captain Kirk was tied up and bleeding. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to untie the Captain, you watched the two guards pace around the camp, talking. You needed a distraction, but what could you possibly do?

You snuck up to the Captain silently, but you knew there wasn’t enough time to do too much before they’d glance in your direction. Grabbing the Captain on the shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t make a sound,” The last thing you wanted was for him to be surprised by you sneaking upon him and startle the guards. “I have no idea how to use this, so I really hope you can move and are not completely out of it from blood loss!” You whispered urgently, putting a phaser in his still tied up hands.

“Y/N?” The captain whispered, “Don’t do anything stupid,” You loved his esteemed confidence in you.

“I don’t have enough time to finish untying this knot,” It was so close to coming undone, but you heard one of the guards pacing this way, so you left. You watched the captain look around, but you were hiding in the bushes already. He started to loosen his hands subtly.

Now time for your distraction. You walked around the campsite again, furthering yourself from the captain. “Hey!” You screamed at the guards, hopefully taking the guard’s attention of the captain. “Hey!” You shouted again at them, waving your arms in the air with one phaser in your hand. The guards started slowly approaching you; however, you hadn’t really thought this far.

“Okay, I know you can’t understand me,” You pointed the phaser directly at them, “But I know you understand this, and I...I don’t want to hurt you! So don’t come any farther!” You yelled pointlessly as they kept on approaching you, towering over you. Up close, in front of the light from their fire, you could clearly see their leathery skin, their large muscular frames, and very large weapons in hand.

“Hey, I mean it!” You said, waving the phaser at the one to your left. They were approaching faster with no sign of stopping until they were in front of you. One put their hands on your throat, your feet dangling in the air as he started to choke you. You knew they could crush your throat in a second if they chose to but instead decided to apply pressure slowly.

A loud sound echoed in your ears; It definitely belonged to a phaser. The guard let you go, both of you falling to the ground. And you couldn’t stop the intense coughing fit that erupted from you, your body trying to get as much air in as it could. Distantly you heard the second guard fall to the ground. A hand was on your back as you coughed, “Are you okay?” It was the captain.

After catching your breath, you stood up, looking at the captain. He was standing beside you, phaser in hand, with blood rushing down his leg. “You’re the one with the stab wound,” You responded hoarsely, slightly concerned. “This is nothing,” You reached under his arm so he could support his weight more onto you, “Let me help, sit down over here and let’s tie something around your leg,” He let his weight fall on you slightly. To be honest, you probably would not be able to carry all his weight, especially since your arm was starting to throb.

Sitting him down, you reached into your bag, looking for anything you could use as a makeshift tourniquet. Thankfully, you packed a mini first aid kit. Yes, it was extremely small, holding only a few items; you knew it had a small roll of gauze in it. He let out a laugh when he saw you pull out the little red box. “Laugh all you want, but this could potentially help save your life,” You said seriously.

“That’s not why I am laughing,” You looked up at him curiously, waiting for him to continue his explanation. “I’m sorry, but.” You wrapped a long strand of gauze around his leg, pulling and twisting, as you were taught. “I have this deep, stab wound, and you pull out the smallest first aid kit that I have ever seen in my life,” You took an alcohol swab and wiped his wound gently, cleaning it as well as you could.

“I find it extremely funny that when I looked into your bag this morning and saw it, I thought it was cute, you would bring it,” You looked around to see what dressing you had, not a lot. “I thought it was cute you’d bring a small little first aid kit when we have an on-hand medic come with us.” You ripped his pants just slightly so you start dressing it, “And now you are providing first aid to me with it, in the field, I don’t know I just find that funny” He finished looking down at what you were doing before deciding maybe watching isn’t the best idea.

“I don’t know if I should pack dressing around… this fork thing, or if I should take out the object and dress you properly.” You leaned back on your legs and looked up at him.

“Leaving it in would be safest because I can’t be sure if it hit an artery or not, and you’d bleed out.” You paused, letting him take in the information, “On the other side if I don’t take it out and we have to move fast, it could potentially do more damage.”

“Take it out; we need to get moving to find Uhura, Sulu, and Montgomery.” You were slightly nervous about doing this; killing your captain does not look good on a resume. You opened the dressing packages, ready to work fast. The tourniquet should have stopped any bleeding; you should be safe to pull it, you hoped.

And with one fluid motion and no warning for the Captain, you pulled it out, throwing it to the ground. You placed one hand on the wound to keep pressure and reached for the dressings. The groans of pain were agonizing to hear come from him; however, you knew you had to keep going and get the wound bandaged up. You had wished the small kit had medication or pain relievers of any kind to help him, something you’d need to remind yourself to add for next time.

“I am so sorry; I know that must have been pretty painful for you.” You said sincerely. It was over, but he was still breathing hard, reeling over the pain. He reached toward you, leaning forward, and rested his head on your shoulder. You put a hand on his head and brushed his hair with your fingers, staying like that for a few minutes, peacefully.

“Your arm, there is blood on the sleeve,” He said, grabbing your arm to inspect it; however, you pulled it away, “I scratched it on a branch, it hurts but it’s not bleeding anymore. Besides, I used all the dressing on you- being the more urgent injury.”

“We need to move; they might have heard me.” You helped him stand, and he continued to use you for support. “It’s so dark. I have no idea how or where we’d find everyone.” He reached into his pocket and grabbed a phaser, “They went to their nest. It should be north; there is a map of the terrain on the phaser we can follow,” And with that, he pressed a button of the phaser, which also turned on a flashlight. “Captain, do you think you are in any shape to fight? I was surprised you were able to stand up long enough to take down those two guards.”

“I am fine. I can fight, don’t worry about me.”

“Which, by the way, thank you for saving me back there,” You had never been that close to dying before. “Y/N, it is me who should be thanking you. Without you, I am fairly sure I would have bled to death tied up at that camp.”

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

Part 2

I enjoyed writing it so I hope yall liked it

#jim kirk #jim kirk x reader #jim kirk imagines #james kirk #jim kirk imagine #james kirk x reader #james kirk imagines #star trek #james kirk imagine #star trek imagines #star trek imagine #captain kirk x reader #startrek x reader #startrek #star trek fanfiction #kirk x reader

[cpd5021]

Under the Weather

Sorry for the delay guys!! Happy Wednesday! (Thursday 🤦🏼‍♀️) Also, this is being posted from my phone because that’s what I’m working with at the moment. I’ll edit it’s appearance later when I can get on my computer.

Under the Weather

“Hailey…”

Jay’s singsong voice reaches my ears, seconds before a gentle hand grips my shoulder, giving it a soft nudge. I groan in response, feeling slightly disoriented as to why I’m seemingly half asleep and Jay is waking me up. I open my eyes and manage to pick my head up off the table I was laying against. A quick glance around the room tells me I’m in the break room, a half drank cup of coffee sits before me and I briefly remember making it. I look up at Jay who’s wearing a concerned look on his face as he sits down in the chair next to me, his hand still on my shoulder.

“Hey…”

I mumble weakly, my voice coming out hoarse from the sore throat that’s been developing all morning.

“Hey. I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you look awful.”

He sends me an apologetic look as I scoff at his words. I rub my hands across my face, trying to relieve some of the pressure I can feel building in my sinuses. My face feels hot and I’m not sure if it's from the short nap I just had or if I’m getting a fever.

“I kinda feel awful.”

I reply, groaning again when my throat protests an attempt at swallowing. I pick up the mug of coffee and take a sip, grimacing when the now cold liquid touches my lips. Jay takes the mug from my hand and stands to refill it with some fresh coffee. I send him a grateful smile as I carefully sip at the hot beverage.

“You should go home, get some rest.”

His voice sounds worried and honestly, it’s kind of cute.

“I’ll be fine. I can survive the rest of the day and then I’ll pass out tonight.”

I smirk at him, hoping he’ll buy my fake chipper attitude. He doesn’t, of course.

“Hailey...you already did pass out, in the break room.”

He half teased, but I could tell I wasn’t going to win this argument. I nodded solemnly and pushed myself away from the table.

“You’re probably right.”

I stood from my seat, setting my half drank coffee in the sink and turning to leave the room. Jay followed behind me with a smug look on his face. I turned to raise an eyebrow in question, only making his smirk deepen.

“You must be sick, Hailey Upton just said I was right!”

He teased and playfully bumped into my shoulder as we walked through the doorway.

“Shut up.”

I chuckled, shaking my head at his antics as I headed towards the locker room to grab my things. Once at my locker, I sat on the bench in front of it and let my head rest in my hands. I was feeling worse by the minute and at this point I wasn’t even sure I wanted to drive home. I reached up and shut my locker door and then laid back on the bench, pulling my jacket across my chest and over my face in a makeshift blanket. Just as I was about to welcome sleep, I heard the locker room door open. I peaked my head out from under my coat and was met with Jay’s disapproving stare.

“I’ll drive you home.”

He informed me, stepping closer to pull the coat off of me and then reaching a hand down to pull me back up. Once standing, he helped me slide the coat onto my arms and we headed back out into the bullpen.

“Woah girl, didn’t know The Walking Dead was casting in Chicago.”

Kevin teased after taking one look at my sullen appearance. Kim gave me a sympathetic look, annoyed by his teasing and Vanessa gave me a small wave from her desk, looking apologetic that she was stuck on the phone. Adam simply gave an “oof” as I walked by, earning him an eye roll on my part. We headed down the steps, hoping to avoid any other pleasantries from anyone taking in my appearance, but Platt didn’t let anything slip by her.

“What’s the matter goldie locks, can’t find the right bed?”

I simply raised my hand in a halfhearted wave, pursing my lips as we walked by. Once in Jay’s truck, I let my head slump back against the seat, already feeling sleep coming my way.

“Do you need to grab anything before you go home?”

Jay asked, starting the truck and pulling us out of the lot.

“No, I’m all set. Thanks though.”

I gave him a weak smile, keeping my eyes closed as I felt him accelerate.

“Soup? Medicine?”

He pushed, sounding worried once again.

“I just want my bed.”

I mumbled, eager to climb in between my sheets and sleep this illness away. The drive to my place seemed short, but that was probably because I may have passed out again on the way. Jay pulled into my driveway and hoped out from his seat. I watched his head come around the front of the truck and then he was pulling my door open and helping me down. He followed me up the steps, apparently not trusting me to not just fall asleep on my front porch and stood behind me as I fumbled with the keys. In my hazy state I managed to drop them onto the ground below. Before my body could respond, Jay was swooping down to get them and then using them to unlock my door, pushing it open and motioning for me to step inside.

“My hero…”

I mumbled teasingly, noting a slight blush creep onto his cheeks.

“Can you make it up the stairs?”

He nodded towards the staircase leading up to my bedroom and I smiled at the thought of him having to help me up the stairs. Maybe he could tuck me into bed or stay and lend me some extra body heat since I was suddenly freezing. But that wasn’t the sort of thing friends did and that’s what we were, friends. Before I could get myself in any trouble, I shook my head no to his question.

“I’m all set Jay, thanks for bringing me home.”

I sent him a smile which he quickly returned.

“If you need anything, let me know. Text when you wake up so I know you’re still alive.”

He made his way back out my door as he spoke, grabbing the handle to pull it shut.

“Har har.”

I replied, chuckling at his concern. He shut my door and I kicked my shoes off before clambering up the steps and padding down the hall to my bedroom. Once inside, I didn’t even bother to change out of my work clothes before I was collapsing onto the mattress and pulling the covers over me.

***********

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I fell instantly asleep earlier, but I awoke in total darkness and to the sound of my phone buzzing in the distance. At some point I must have laid it on the bed beside me. I flipped it over, cringing at the assault of light it brought, but smiled when I saw Jay’s name across the screen.

“Hey..”

I answered, cringing again at the sound of my voice.

“You sound better.”

He lied, causing me to laugh slightly.

“I feel a little better. I totally should have taken you up on the medicine and soup offer though.”

I shifted in the bed, moving to sit up against my head board with the blankets still pulled over my lap.

“I can bring you some.”

He replied, bringing another smile to my face at his kind gesture.

“You don’t have to do that, I’ll just order something or ravage the kitchen.”

He chuckled on the other end of the phone, almost sounding nervous when he spoke again.

“Too late, I already grabbed you some stuff.”

I smiled again, he really was the best friend a girl could have. Although, if I was being honest, I thought of him as more than just a friend.

“That’s awesome. Just ring the doorbell when you’re here and I’ll come let you in. I’m not sure if V’s home yet.”

I was totally out of touch and wasn’t even sure what time it was.

“She’s not, she went to Molly’s. Said she didn’t want to wake you and figured you could use the extra sleep.”

He answered confidently. I nodded into the empty room, thankful for my roommate's consideration. We ended our call and no sooner had I set my phone on the coffee table did someone ring my doorbell. I laughed out loud, realizing that Jay had been outside the entire time but hadn’t said anything and climbed out of bed, making my way downstairs. I pulled open my front door with a smile, receiving one from him in return as he held up two bags from the local grocery store. He stepped inside and I motioned for him to set the goods on the counter while I went upstairs to change into some sweatpants real quick. When I came back down I couldn’t help but be surprised at the spread on my counter. Jay had brought me two huge containers of soup, complete with my favorite crackers. A bag of cough drops and a bottle of cold medicine. A box of popsicles sat beside it all and I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, he really had thought of everything. I pulled a bowl out of my cupboard and went to grab some of the soup while it was still hot, eagerly adding the crackers as I went. Jay watched from his spot against the other counter as I devoured the meal he had brought me. Once done with that, I moved over to the box of popsicles and pulled out one for each of us, earning an eye raise from him as he took the treat. I put the box in the freezer and then padded into the living room with Jay in tow.

“You don’t have to stay. I don’t want to get you sick.”

I offered, honestly hoping he wouldn’t leave.

“And miss the opportunity to eat popsicles and watch crappy tv? No way!”

He scoffed, eating the frozen treat. We fell into a silence as The Office theme song played across my living room. We watched a few episodes before I felt my exhaustion start to creep back in. My body also shivered slightly and I was sure I had a fever. Jay hopped up from the couch and went to get the cold medicine from my counter. I choked the dose down and then smiled when I saw him grab a blanket from my basket and lay it over me. I snuggled into the warm fabric, watching as Jay settled back onto his side of the couch. The blanket was warm but it still wasn’t enough to keep me from shivering. Jay noticed and gave me a hesitant look before he scooted over on the couch next to me. I didn’t say a word as he moved me forward and crawled into the space behind me, wrapping his arms around my torso and pulling me back against him. He tucked the blanket around us and I melted into the heat he was providing. Any other time, neither one of us would have been this close, but right now I was thankful for his presence. I snuggled in closer to him, throwing all caution to the wind as the scent of his light cologne reached my nose. I could feel the medicine starting to take effect and between that and the exhaustion I couldn’t help but lose myself in the moment.

“My hero.”

I muttered again, repeating my earlier words as my eyes fluttered closed and my body finally stopped shivering. I let out a sigh as I let myself succumb to the sleep that I so desperately needed.

#chicago pd #hailey upton #jay halstead #upstead #halstead and upton #halstead #upton #jay x hailey #chicago pd fanfiction

[bokunowritingacademia]

Original Character Corner: Lilith, Samael + Dad

@humanransome-note: Okay so I actually made a little OC family, and I’m not all that active in BNHA at the moment but I still love them. Five whole pages

-

First there’s the dad. Dishonorably discharged and court martialed, former US Army officer. He’s 36, and was SUPER OP when he was younger. His quirk was basically alchemy from FMA mixed with the fluidity of bending from ATLA. Contact with whatever he was moving was how it worked, but he figured out how to transfer his quirk through /atoms in the air/ so he was just hoping around bending the physical world to his will. (Like I said, super op.)

He can’t do much of that anymore though, because after the army used him, and a few others, to test out a long term low dose quirk enhancement drug, that he was told were vitamins, he accidentally OD on them. 

He wasn’t taking them everyday, and he thought “whatever their vitamins” he never thought it was weird that they’d get their pills counted out every month. But, ya know, hindsight. 

So when he realized inspection was coming around and he had too many pills, he just popped them all, expecting an upset stomach at worst. 

He nearly leveled the equivalent of about 10 city blocks, he was giggly, a bit high on power, and suffering from delirium caused by heat sickness. One side effect of overusing his quirk was his body overheating because (something something, physics, something something transfer of energy produces heat)

It took getting smacked by a live power line to put him down. He’s got a chunk of flesh missing from his left shoulder, and some gnarly Lindinburg figures projecting out from it. His left hand is considerably weaker and he’s blind in his left eye. 

He came to, in a public hospital. Some paperwork issue or something prevented him from being transferred back to base. 

(He doesn’t know this, but one of docs’ quirks was being able to tell the chemical composition of anything he tasted, a bit of a biohazard, but useful in a pinch. He threw up after getting just a small lick of blood, so they ran some tests, and found an unidentified chemical cocktail. They intentionally stalled to get the results and to see if he knew what he was taking)

After finding out that he was being used as a guinea pig for something that messed with his quirk (he tries not to see a person’s quirk as a judgement of their value, but a huge portion of his self esteem rested on his own quirk) he threw a fit, demanded to see his CO and promptly punched said commanding officer as hard as he could in the nads.

On paper, he was court martialed for assaulting a commanding officer, but in truth it was an excuse to discredit him so anything he said would be met with skepticism. 

That didn’t entirely work though, the amount of damage done to himself and the areas around him after having a squeaky clean record made a bunch of people think something was up. 

They were right. 

So that left him with two options:

keep fighting tooth and nail to blow the whistle on this thing, ruin his life, publicly and financially, and probably not have anything happen. Because something this dangerous and unethical had to be approved from pretty high up the food chain. 

Sign an indefinite NDA, get secretly subsidized by the US government and live out the rest of his life wherever he can find himself in relative peace. -also work as an on call black coat operative, his quirk may be jacked but he can still get some damage in from close range, and he’s pretty handy with a handgun-

He spends the first few months or so, just losing himself in drugs and alcohol. They had left him alone with his morphine drip, he got addicted and switched to opioids but quit when he found out he was pregnant. (Did I mention? My mans is trans!)

He didn’t want kids, but he couldn’t get a procedure in his current state, (both the actual state and coming down from a probably days long bender) and by the time he’d cleaned up he was ready to pop. 

So he had the kids. Yep, twins. A girl and a blob. Literally, the one he’d start calling his son when the little goo ball got a concept of gender was born with his quirk. Shapeshifting, down to the cellular level (with enough practice) unfortunately little dude had to know what he wanted to change it and having no experience besides swimming in embryonic fluid, and wiggle to irritate sister he was just kinda there. 

That was fun, 13 hours of labor, followed by the panic of a room full of doctors freaking out because they realized that thing was not the afterbirth but in fact another child. 

The doctors freaking out made him realize he’d do anything for those kids, so that’s when he decided to keep them.

The first few months were a lot. He spent more time in the hospital than at home, they had to put the kid in what was basically a sensory deprivation tank that was set up to be a pseudo womb. 

He couldn’t name them yet. The little girl got a name, Lilith, but he was scared that if he’d name them, something would happen, and they’d be filling out a death certificate immediately after the birth. He knew it wasn’t rational, but it made him feel better. 

Speaking of Lilith, either she was born with her quirk as well, or it came in a few months after being born. 

He was curled up with her, against the tank, when suddenly alarms started going off. 

He looked inside and saw her, and for a fleeting, terrifying, exhausting moment he thought he had a teleporting infant on his hands. But she was still in his arms. 

Puppeteer is what he called her quirk after things settled and some more testing could be done. Controlling people via contact through skin, (or conductive material, apparently)

And since all she knew how to do was be herself, she’d inadvertently made her brother a clone. 

It took a lot of talking with specialists and pediatric Quirk scientists to approve, under intense supervision, that Lilith use her quirk on her brother and hopefully teach him to inadvertently stay human shaped and functional.  

Almost their first birthday to the day was the first time that he stayed human shaped, on his own, for a whole day!

Baby blob’s first birthday present was a name, Samael (Sam or Sammy for short), and going home for the first time.

(are these OC’s named after biblical figures, both of which said fuck this, gave god the finger, and did their own shit? Yes, I’ve got a personal philosophy about names and that showed up here)

The first roughly three years, he’d been on call for some super shady shit before he realized that a lot of the places he was called to were pretty far from East Asia.

So with minimal planning, a favor, and a phone call to a friend they made working black coat, they had passports, plane tickets, and a decent apartment in the Mufastsu prefecture of Japan.

Elementary school was okay, Lilith (no you don’t get to call her Lily, you don’t have the friend privileges) and Sam (just Sam, maybe Sammy if he likes you) had the novelty of being from America to outweigh any bullying that may have been thrown at them because of their Quirks.

That would come later.

Middle school was bad, kids saw the two of them as scapegoats because of their “villainous Quirks” 

“It wasn’t me! Sam did it while looking like me!”

“Lilith made me do it!”

Samael turned inward and started getting into tech, robotics, and support equipment, theoretically, you need permits for that.

Lilith got violent, only in instances of defense, but still violent. The two of them went to a different middle school for every year of it. Their second to last year they actually went to the same school as Midoriya and Bakugo.

Sam had a bit of a crush on Midoriya, and Lilith was ready to throw down with Bakugo the second she got the opportunity, this isn’t some tsundere thing, she just wants to see him eat dirt. 

Their last year of middle school was pretty okay, considering the first two, and Lilith redirected her anger into helping Sam with his tech. Herself finding an interest in it as well.

They both applied for UA’s support course, (“You just wanna go cause Midoriya wanted to.” “I do not-”)

Lilith got in by the skin of her teeth, her record of fighting put her on a six month probation and prevented her from participating in the sports festival that year. She was devastated when she learned she lost an opportunity to make Bakugo do the chicken dance.

#humanransome note #oc corner #bnha #mha #oc lilith #oc samael #i would tag mr dad but he is Unnamed #tw drugs #tw drug use #notwriting #pls see my reblog for commentary because this is GOLD I LOVE THIS FAMILY #submission

[shireness-says]

If I Could See Your Face Once More (2/6)

Summary: This time, there’s no celebration at Granny’s when the latest crisis has been resolved. Instead, they’re left to deal with the body of Killian Jones. A 5B canon divergence where Killian dies in Camelot, never becoming a Dark One. Rated T for language. Also on AO3. ~3.9K. Chapter 1

A/N: And here’s my second @csmarchmadness contribution! Thanks again to @xemmaloveskillianx for organizing the event, as well as @snidgetsafan for her excellent beta services (and generally being an awesome person). 

On top of that, an extra thanks to all of you who read the first part! The fantastic response to this absolutely warms my heart. The next chapter of this will be posted on the 24th, and then after that we’ll get a bit more loosey-goosey. I’m almost done writing this thing, guys - just need to get through half of two chapters!

Tagging: @thejollyroger-writer, @profdanglaisstuff, @captainsjedi, @ultraluckycatnd, @superchocovian, @snowbellewells, @killianjones4ever82, @wellhellotragic. Shoot me a message if you want to be added to the list!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

“I’m about sixteen weeks along,” she tells him, sitting next to him on the master bed, staring at the comforter. He had barely allowed her to clean off the rest of the blood and wrestle him into clean clothes before dragging her down next to him. Bandages and stitches and ice packs can wait. “Second trimester, though barely, but chance of miscarriage goes down substantially so we don’t have to worry about that.”

She’s making it all sound so clinical, like she’s trying not to force him to form emotions about the situation. But… bloody hell, Emma’s expecting. A child. His child. He knows she’s used to people not sticking around, but it’s impossible for him not to fall in love with the little one, now that he knows they exist. It’s hard to put that into words though, so he just slips his arm around her waist and pull her closer into him. “How long have you known?” he asks quietly.

“About two months.” She pauses. “Regina and I found a spell that we thought would send the Camelot folks back – didn’t work, by the way, they’re still hanging around and causing trouble – and I know I wasn’t getting nearly enough sleep but I guess I must not have eaten that day either because I passed out. I can’t really use my magic right now, it turns out, at least not in large doses, or it’ll completely exhaust me; my magic is all tied up with the baby right now, or… something. I don’t fully understand it. Anyway, Regina brought me back around, but insisted I go get checked out at the hospital. They ran some tests, and that’s how I found out about the bean.”

He grins, even if it aggravates his black eye. “The bean?”

She blushes. “Uh… yeah. Well, I felt kinda bad thinking about the kiddo as an it, and ‘little bean’ kinda stuck.”

“Well I think it’s very cute.” Suddenly, the other part of that story sinks in. “So Regina knows?”

Emma nods.

“Who else?”

“Just Regina. I needed a bit of time to come around to the idea, but by the time I was ready to start telling people, Henry was deep into his research and determined to get you back, and I just thought… if I was going to start telling people, if at all possible, I wanted the next person to be you. Thankfully, Henry had found a way down here by the time I started showing, so it’s just been a lot of oversized sweaters for the last two weeks. At least it’s January in Maine, so it doesn’t really look unusual.”

“Are you doing ok? Feeling alright?”

“Yeah, the morning sickness has mostly gone away, though it wasn’t as bad as with Henry. Cravings are starting to kick in. Emotions are all over the place, which has been… fun.”

He smirks into her hair as he presses a kiss to the side of her head. “Thought I saw you tearing up back there, in the cavern.”

“Shut up,” she mumbles back.

“And the little one – the bean’s alright?”

She smiles back at him and pulls his hand over to her stomach and its barely-there bump. “Yeah. The bean’s great. Good strong heartbeat. Can’t feel movement yet, but I should be able to in another few weeks. I’ve got the sonogram picture in my phone, I’ll show it to you later if I find where I set it down.”

After the day he’s had (hell, the weeks and months he’s had), the life-changing information he’s been given, it’s his turn to tear up as he pulls Emma down with him to lay across the bed. “Thank you”, he barely manages to whisper – whether for saving him, for coming for him in the first place, or for this miraculous and unexpected gift, he can’t honestly say, but Emma seems to understand anyways. She nods into his shoulder and snuggles in as close as she can manage with his injuries as they both doze off.

And Killian Jones finds the best sleep he’s ever had in the Victorian house that has never quite been a home until this night.

------

They attempt to tell Emma’s – their family the next morning, but as it turns out, no one is really surprised. Snow had apparently put the pieces together several weeks ago, and true to form, couldn’t resist telling apparently everyone who would listen. Frankly, Killian is shocked that Emma hadn’t realized everyone knew sooner – the town of Storybrooke isn’t known for its subtlety.

(She does grumble out an “I guess that’s why Granny’s been trying to force vegetables down my throat”, much to his amusement.)

Snow is thrilled, Henry excited, and Dave seemingly stuck at something resembling the denial stage of grief (“Oh, he’ll come around,” Snow tries to reassure Killian. “He just doesn’t want to accept that you and Emma… you know.”). In the end, it seems like Liam is the only one caught off guard.

And boy, is he ever off guard.

Killian couldn’t help but notice a weird tension between Emma and his brother when they initially retrieved him, but he originally wrote it off as Liam feeling uncomfortable with finding his place in the strange new family his little brother had collected. That doesn’t seem to be the case though; he damn near sweeps Belle and the lady Snow off their feet with elaborate bows and kisses over their hands, is getting along with Dave just as well as Killian always feared (no, that funny feeling is not jealousy, thank you very much), and seems tickled pink that Henry calls him “Uncle Liam”.

But Emma…

Well, it becomes painfully, capital letter obvious that Liam Jones, beloved brother and friend to all, Does Not Like Emma Swan.

After several uncomfortable days of Emma trying to avoid Liam at all costs, Liam ignoring Swan whenever possible, and Regina developing a habit of viciously glaring at the elder Jones whenever he tries to act friendly towards the former Evil Queen, it all comes to a head when Killian enters the office of his house where both Emma and his brother have found themselves holed up just to find Emma leaving, nearly in tears.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he stops her. “What’s the matter?”

She tries to smile, even if she looks like she might fall apart at any moment. “Nothing to worry about. Just… upset that we haven’t found a way out of here yet.”

Now, Killian may not have his Swan’s lie detector, but she’s enough of an open book that he can see she’s not telling him everything. “Are you sure?”

She nods. “Yep. Perfectly fine. I’ll be upstairs.” And if her brisk tone wasn’t already enough of a red flag, she practically flees the room like some kind of hellhound is chasing her.

He immediately turns back to Liam, who’s been watching the entire exchange with a look Killian doesn’t want to place. “What have you done?”

Liam sputters and tries to deflect. “Excuse me? Why would you assume I had anything to do with that little display?”

“Well, when the mother of my child comes out of this room after having spent time with you, about to cry, I tend to put two and two together. So what happened?”

“Sure it isn’t just hormones? Pregnant women cry a lot, as I understand.” “Not this one, not where others can see. I’m only going to ask one more time – what the hell did you do?”

Liam sighs, and Killian already knows he isn’t going to like whatever his brother has to say. “Well, Miss Swan asked why I didn’t like her. I simply answered her question.”

“Stop beating around the bush, Liam, what did you tell her to leave her so upset?”

Liam at least has the decency to act hesitant to respond. “I simply told her it wasn’t a personal dislike, she just wasn’t nearly good enough for you. And I struggled to see how she had tricked not only yourself, but your friends into thinking so.”

Killian loves his brother, but were it anyone else saying those vile words, he’d sock them in the face. “Why the hell would you say that?” he shoots back, starting to raise his voice.

“Oh, please, Killy, I’ve been watching the Captain’s log - not to mention, you told me the story yourself. She’s left you for dead to be eaten by a giant, imprisoned you enough times I lost count, seems to have been incredibly cold to you even after you started courting her. Must I justify this?”

“Must I remind you where I was before her? I was living for some twisted idea of vengeance! I was ready to die for that! And she saved me!”

“I have trouble believing you were that bad in the first place, but even if you were, she’s not the saint you seem to think she is. Or have you forgotten she’s a thief?”

“Was a thief. And what of all the things we had to do to survive, Liam, the snatches of food we’d swipe to not starve to death? She’s been abandoned, Liam, never had anyone, had to bite and scratch her way through life and do whatever she had to in order to survive.”

“But some of that was by choice, wasn’t it? How do you even know she won’t give up this child too? Henry filled me in about how she let him go, some nonsense about ‘best chances’. How can you be with a woman who abandoned her son, after what Father did to us?”

That’s the final straw, really. Killian knows his voice is raised far higher that it should be, but he can’t bring himself to care. “Oh, so you heard that whole story then? About how she was in jail because the man she loved set her up for his crime – oh, and that’s not just me saying that, the bastard admitted to it - told me himself. Now, Emma likes to tell people she was eighteen when she had the lad, but I can tell you, when we celebrated her 31st birthday a few months ago, Henry had already been 13 for several weeks. So she was only 17 bloody years old, in jail, chained to a hospital bed in case she tried to stage some wild escape in the middle of labor, I suppose. Hadn’t finished her education, so no chance of securing employment upon her release. No family to take the babe. Never had anyone to selflessly love her, let alone any parents, so didn’t even know where to start with being a mother. But yes, I can see where you might think it was a crock of shit that she gave him up for adoption so he might have his best chance, or at least a damn better chance than she got.”

That outburst, at least, seems to shut Liam up for the moment.

“Now, I’ve got an amazing woman with spectacular trust and abandonment and self-worth issues, who you just told wasn’t possibly good enough for me, waiting upstairs. I trust you can see yourself out.”

He can’t even find it within himself to wait and see if his brother leaves.

------

He finds Emma upstairs in the nursery, appropriately enough, with tears running down her face, and he knows immediately that she’s heard every word.

“I’m sorry I made you fight with your brother,” she whispers.

He shakes his head. “He’s being an arse. I should be the one apologizing to you, for not noticing earlier how he was treating you. And that you had to hear what was just said.”

She pauses, apparently fighting back tears. “I… I know I probably don’t deserve you and how much you love me, and if you decide you’d rather move on with Liam I’ll have to be okay with that, but… I spent three months without you, Killian. And I was miserable. I’d deal if I had to, but I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

Killian pulls her to him with those words, closer than he ever thought possible, to try and make his words have the greatest impact. “Oh love, I’ll never leave you again if I can possibly help it.”

(He only hopes that’s a promise he can finally keep.)

------

Regina decides the next day that he’s healed enough to attempt to split Emma’s heart. It warrants a lot of protesting on his part, worries not only about Emma’s safety but the bean’s too, but Emma’s sheer confidence that this will work finally wins him over. After all, when that means she believes them to be true love, who is he to argue?

So he lets Regina reach into Emma’s chest, all for him, only for her to be blasted back.

It’s not going to work.

------

Of course, it’s not simply a matter of them not being True Love – the verdict is still out on that – it’s something far worse. It’s, instead, a matter of Hades carving Emma’s and Regina’s and Snow’s names onto headstones, trapping them in the Underworld and getting his revenge for their steady work of sending souls to a better place (because of course this group of heroes has been up to their old redemptive tricks, even down here).

However, the Charmings have never been accused of being quitters, and a new plan is concocted quickly. Henry already has the pen in his possession, thanks to the machinations of the house; there’s no reason there shouldn’t be a storybook down here too, and if they can find it, perhaps Henry can use his author powers to write them a way out of the Underworld. Even Liam admits that the plan has merit, citing rumors circulating of a book with the power to defeat Hades, once and for all.

Killian can’t help but feel guilty about the whole thing. After all, none of them would be here, now cursed to remain so, if they hadn’t come to rescue him - hell, if he hadn’t gotten in the way of Arthur’s sword in the first place.

“This is all my fault,” he laments to Emma. “You should never have come after me. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Hey, none of that,” Emma tries to soothe. “You’re not the one responsible for our names. Hades did that. And we all came of our own choice, even Henry. Especially Henry. You know that. He threatened to find his own way here if we didn’t take him with us.”

“That doesn’t erase the fact that you’re here - that you, and Henry, and the baby, and all the rest of our family are in danger, all because you’re trying to save me. That doesn’t keep it from lying heavy on my conscience.”

“Would you do the same thing for us?”

Killian stares at her like she’s grown a second head. What kind of absurd question is that? “Would I — of course I would, Emma. In a heartbeat.”

“Okay, well, that’s exactly what we’re doing here.” Emma softens suddenly, reaching up to smooth a gentle hand along his cheek. “I know you think you’re the most expendable, Killian, but not to us. We’re here because we don’t want to experience life without you any longer, and at a certain point you’re going to have to loosen your grip on the wheel and accept it, Captain. None of this is your fault.”

The doubt and guilt still niggle at the back of Killian’s mind, but it’s so much more pleasant to embrace Emma’s words instead, so he gives into the temptation and drops a gentle kiss of silent thanks on her lips.

Apart from all that, Liam has been acting distant all day, and on a certain level, Killian understands. He and Liam were never the type of brothers to fight much, circumstances bringing them much closer than most. He’s uncomfortable too, through the sharp anger he still feels, and doesn’t relish being around Liam right now either. But when he joins the rest of the group at the sorcerer’s mansion after checking on the bar, Liam is acting even stranger. Killian can’t help but wonder what’s happened, or if his brother is just feeling guilty about the things he said about Emma, but there’s no time to address the issue right now. The mansion is positively filled with books, and each one must be checked to make sure it’s not what they’re looking for.

He gets truly suspicious when Liam, of all people, finds the book, only for Henry to discover that it’s missing crucial pages. As Liam excuses himself, supposedly to continue the search, Killian follows him, only to discover Liam tossing something that looks suspiciously like paper into a well.

Before Killian can even muster up an accusation, Liam turns around with an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Killian, but I promise this is necessary.”

And then everything goes black.

------

He comes to, propped against the stone wall of a cave, with Liam watching over him. Killian forces himself back to his feet as soon as he’s fully awake, determined to find a way out.

“What the hell Liam? What did you do with the pages, and what the hell are we doing here?”

“I had to, Killian!” Liam protests. “It was the only way.”

“The only way for what?”

The look on Liam’s face now is undeniably panic, as he starts pacing back and forth.

“I made a deal with Hades.”

“You did what?”

“It was the only way, Killian! He’s locking things down here, not letting anyone move on. If I got rid of the pages, he’d let us move on, no opposition.”

If Killian was angry before, he’s furious now. “I don’t want to go, Liam! I thought I made that clear, did it not sink into that thick skull?”

“Killian, please, this is for the best. I’m just looking out for you.”

He loves Liam, but it’s like centuries of frustration boil over in a moment. “You’re always telling me what’s best for me, Liam, don’t I get a say in my own life? I managed nearly three hundred years without you, and you still don’t trust me to make my own decisions. You’ve never really trusted me though, have you? I’m sure I gave you reasons not to over the years, with the drinking and the gambling and generally being the younger brother, but Gods, Liam, it still hurts that you trusted your bloody monarch over your own brother, and died because of it. I am begging you – believe me, just this once, when I say that I know what is best for me. Even if their wild plans don’t succeed, I will do anything to spend longer with Emma and Henry and my child. And that’s what’s best for me right now.”

It hurts, walking away from his brother in a rage for the second time in as many days. Killian only hopes Liam doesn’t choose this moment to cross over, leaving him in anger and without any resolution. But on this matter, Killian has to draw a line in the sand. It’s time he stops viewing Liam as a god-like figure who can do no wrong, stop letting Liam control his life and his shadow guilt Killian even from beyond the grave.

He’s got a family to get back to.

------

When he finds Emma again, back at their house, she’s in a full-scale panic that Hades had imprisoned him again, or worse, that he had left for the Great Beyond without saying goodbye. Killian can feel her physically relax as he gathers her in his arms, planting a kiss on her forehead and murmuring “I’m not going anywhere, love.”

Liam slinks back some hours later, apologies on his lips, as if that will make it all better. Unfortunately for him, Killian’s not yet ready to talk, to forgive. That will come later; he still loves his brother unconditionally, but it’s stopped being a blind love, one in which he refuses to see any flaws, and has turned into something more painful, if ultimately more healthy: seeing his brother as a human being that makes mistakes, rather than some god on a pedestal.

Liam is less understanding about the matter, resulting in something of a spat between the two brothers, the elder Jones seemingly not understanding that this issue isn’t something to be glossed over and easily resolved.

“I already apologized, Killian,” he snaps. “What more do you want from me?”

“I don’t know,” Killian replies quietly, calmly, coldly. “But right now, I just want you to leave.”

It’s easily the harshest fight they’ve ever had, and Liam leaves without another word, stalking to the front door and all but slamming it. Killian isn’t comfortable with the way they’re leaving things, per se, but he’s not ready to just let bygones be bygones either, so this is perhaps the best he can hope for.

Killian may have displayed his anger earlier, but it’s later that night, in bed with Emma, that he finally lets the sorrow and disappointment reign.

“I don’t understand,” he laments, head resting just below her breasts. “How could he do that? How could he even think it?

“I don’t know, babe,” Emma soothes as best she can. Her hand slips through his hair, scratching along his scalp and calming Killian more than her words do.

“He was always my hero, you know?” He says. “Liam always knew best, was always so sure of himself, always in charge, and I accepted that. He’s my brother. But gods, it’s been almost three hundred years. I’ve learned what’s best for me, how to make my own decisions. I’ve been grateful to have this extra time with him, but… Gods above, how could he think that abandoning any hope of resurrection, abandoning you and Henry and the babe, could be what was best for me? What happened to him?”

“He’s been down here a really long time. Who knows what that can do to a person. But maybe,” she suggests gently, “maybe you’ve just grown up. So to speak. I know Liam is your hero, but he’s also just a man. Which usually means he’s not as perfect as you remember. Maybe… maybe after everything you’ve been through since you last saw him , you’ve both changed. Now it’s easier to see him without the haze. Rose colored glasses? Is that the term?”

Killian manages a watery chuckle against her stomach before stretching up to drop a kiss on the underside of Emma’s jaw. “Aye, that’s the term. You’re probably right,” he admits as he curls back around her side, stretching his arm across her abdomen where their little one grows.

“I’m sorry you had to take them off,” Emma whispers into the darkness.

Killian swallows heavily, forcing the fresh emotion back down. “So am I.”

He’s still here, Killian reminds himself as he holds Emma closer within his arms. Despite it all, he’s still here, and he has no intention of letting go.

#cs march madness #captain swan #cs ff #cs canon divergence #cs angst #my writing #If I Could See Your Face Once More #Chapter 2 #oh look its more angst

[ralfstrashcan]

3x16 Reaction / Commentary

Alec “Proud Puppy” Lightwood

THAT FACE HAHA. Also crêpes man I'm jealous.

Rude man, don't rip him away from his hard earned waffles.

This is so hilarious to me, okay, this prompting hand flick Alec does (which you can't see here because I can't gif, only screenshot ahahaha) man I love it. Sadly I didn't find a gif of this yet, so I can't put one :( I can't even put into words why it's so hilarious to me. And Magnus's sceptical gaze hahaha.

Edit: I FOUND ONE

HAHAHA HELL YEAH

I mean we all knew this was fake, not least because it implies Magnus is wearing the same outfit two days in a row and obviously this would NEVER happen, but also because in no universe does Alec have smooth dance moves. It's a law of nature.

lol is this an innuendo or something because I don't get it, pls help

Tiny waist touch is spotted and highly appreciated.

That scene transition was brilliant and there is nothing else to say about it. I lost count of how many times I've rewatched it because it's awesome. The way Alec's voice sounds slighty off, the way Magnus gets heavier in his arms, the way everything spins out of focus, and Alec's last “Stay with me” sounds almost hard with urgency.

When I first saw this I was legit yelling at the screen why the hell Alec is just shaking him instead of, idk, doing CPR but I did him a grave injustice there because he actually does and I really appreciate that. (Though, if he learned first aid I wonder all the more about 3x12 (or was it 3x13, I lost count lol) where he just lets Sentry Guy die without even trying to save him.)

That being said, I'm really happy we got to see the immediate aftershocks of it because I was half afraid this episode would just start with Magnus in the infirmary bed. Still, I have a question. Who called Catarina? Izzy? Because why is she then so shocked when she learns Magnus is not breathing? When she presumably first entered the room to receive the instruction to call Catarina, did she not... wonder why Alec was cpr-ing him? Or did Magnus not immediately stop breathing after collapsing but just, faded slowly while Alec had already told Izzy to call Catarina? I kinda wanna know the mechanics here.

I mean, no surprise there if you keep killing them?? Ahahaha.

My fangirl brain: What, General Amaya from the Dragon Prince is gonna appear? Sign me the hell up!!!! My rest-brain catching up: No this is not a crossover and no, r is not y and just, no. My fangirl brain: :<

........ignoring the fact that summoning her is super stupid, there's also the tiny detail that they don't have leverage why would she help them are they just gonna say “pretty please”?? I can't believe them.

lol Bohemian if you see this, this panel is only for you to haunt your dreams XD hehehe sorry sorry but I just couldn't resist XD

Wtf I can't believe those words just came out of his mouth. Jace, you're gonna start with a pep talk? You were possessed and forced to do things against your will, you should know better than this. Honestly.

The way his voice goes up, just kill me now.

THIS DETAIL OH MY GOD

I absolutely loved this scene, in terms of acting it was perfect and it was painfully in character for Alec to blame himself for everything that's not going alright with someone he loves. The problem I have however (because come on, there's always a problem with me) is that they genuinely want to tell me that Alec didn't realize Magnus was faking it? Magnus loses his magic and he “doesn't think twice”? I mean, that's either really really insensitive or really really stupid. And Alec might be insensitive sometimes, but not like that and he surely isn't that stupid. So, uh, I don't really like that bit. Again, if he was secretly happy that Magnus's immortality is gone that's one more thing to feel intensely shitty about, I get that, but being secretly glad how things turned out and not realizing the other person is suffering from how things turned out are two entirely different things. And just, tf Alec. He can't possibly be that dense, can he, that he genuinely thought Magnus was okay with this. Even if he thought this was something Magnus could get used to in the long run, he didn't expect him to need some kind of settling-in period? Really??

HELL YEAH I STAN CAT SO HARD IN THIS SCENE. And I'm so glad she's the voice of reason in this.... after deigning to appear at long effing last ahahaha sorry not sorry for that dig XD Look it's not her fault, it's the screen writers'.

I got a soft spot for Simon calling her Fray. Also, high-key loving how they're all sitting there waiting for news and finally acknowledging that something's up with Magnus.

LOL CLARY TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL. Kidding. It was the Evil Rune at work again, even though she's nowhere near fire. Maybe it was the hypnotic neon lights? In any case, this is becoming a real problem lol. (No, tbh I found that outbreak totally hilarious XD)

.............................*sigh* I mean, your fierce determination doesn't change the fact that this plan is doomed to fail and you still don't have any leverage over Lilith, but sure. Go off.

YEAH BECAUSE AS SHE PROVED SHE HAS COMMON SENSE. Though I really hope she also told Alec about this dumb-ass request by his dumb-ass parabatai so he can intervene. But, tbh I don't really expect that to happen. *sigh*

Kill herself and then revive herself, hoping a short moment of death is enough to severe the connection? Or maybe, uh, try to use her rune power to cancel her Evil Rune instead of summoning Lilith??? Just for starters.

WTF I CAN'T BELIEVE I'D SEE THE DAY WHERE  J A C E  IS THE VOICE OF REASON WTF COLOR ME IMPRESSED I LOVE IT

“See, I infused it with a strong dose of Plot Convenience, so that shouldn't be an issue.”

THE PORTRAIT IN THE BACKGROUND HAHAHAHAHAHA

“Why? Why do you hate him so much?” “It's simple. All my life I've had to sit by and watch...”

Thanks for 100% confirming my headcanon, I do love that :)

BAM!!!

I really like the detail that he's so out of breath from the magic, it shows that it was probably more harmful that just a shove back? Oh the questions I want to ask.....

Bitch you're 484 don't round down so much hahaha

Is Lorenzo actually gonna be swayed by this????????????????????? uh

Edit: Ahahaha we later learn he actually is and obviously I had to write a ficlet about it, so uuuuh whatever I'll put it at the end with all my other shameless self promo I'll include in this thing XD

OH YEAH I remember the “Different outfits for different occasions” comment from 2x19 I wonder what she'll wear? The same, or even older??? Btw why does she share a smile with Meliorn as if this is a private joke? Because, like, it isn't.

I mean that's touching and all, but that doesn't change the fact that Lilith loves you and seeing you dead would absolutely tear her apart, thus making this a fitting revenge. Wtf Jonathan this is no sound counterargument.

Hm. Tbh I liked her youngest self best? But she's still cast very well. And I recognize that her talking face to face with Jonathan would have been a little ridic if she only reached his navel XD

Ugh, Bohemian, can you see me rolling my eyes?

lol at least this was funny

OMG Luke could you be any more dramatic, are you actually kidding me. I'm gonna be sick soon if you don't cut the bs.

Wow the first sign of Sizzy that didn't suck, yay! XD this was actually pretty sweet.

Oh you mean that time that Raphael was feeding on her and they were indulging in mutual addiction? Because as soon as Izzy was clean she steered clear of Raphael.

..............................................what happened to “scumbag ex”? Why am I even asking?

?? Yeah? What happened to “While Saia lasted it was the best thing ever?” Then again that was what, three episodes ago? Can't hold him accountable for something that happened so long ago, right.

Hahaha okay that was cute.

1) LOL how hilarious would it be if they summon Lilith and just get her corpse plus Jonathan holding the sword still sticking out of her chest. 2) Jonathan is a true sadist, making her wear those heels. 3) Who's that wheelchair for? I mean, Lilith designed this apartment for her disciples, right?

.................which she doesn't need, since she's no warlock and her powers come from her angel blood, not ley lines. So, points for trying, show, but please don't mix up your races. Makes you look so unprofessional. (Except if this is a hint that shadowhunters also run on ley line energy, have ley line magic flowing through them etc. but honestly I'm not even entertaining the thought because then I'd have a conniption.)

Wtf it's literally standing twenty seconds of intense mindnumbing pain, why the hell would you need a coach for that? Just hold it together and endure it. Also, if they attempt it, 20 bucks say he'll die for some dramatic Sizzy “Oh shit you could really have died, too” moment.

Awww you can really see the love in that touch. <--- sarcasm.

Awww you can really see the love in that touch. <--- no sarcasm.

Honestly, Magnus's touch is natural and familiar (btw love the uncoordinated grabbing) while Alec turns Magnus's chin as if he's trying to make as little physical contact as humanly possible. Is a hand on his cheek really too much to ask for? *sigh*

lol you'd think he'd start with that immediately after Magnus wakes up instead of taking risks (it's what I would have done) but whatever.

He's.... actually there to help? For free? Or is Alec gonna have to hand over the Institute's keys to him when the job is done? Lol. (Also that suit jacket could be straight out of Magnus's closet.)

Oh my God Alec just say he could die. Why sugarcoat it? Say it how it is, and Magnus might listen to you.

.........yeah. This is so relatable and I love how he delivers this line. The desperation is clear, but he's also determined about it. Also, quick question, why didn't Alec get Catarina to be there when Magnus wakes up instead of Lorenzo? I'm not saying it would have changed the outcome but it might just have made Magnus feel less shitty about being exposed to his nemesis in this weak state. Then again I get it, Alec is running on panic and instinct, so consideration is the last thing on his mind.

This scene was amazing. Or, lol, this part of the scene. Magnus's performance is stellar and FYI the next thing he says, the “Look at me! Can you honestly say you like this?” was improvised and that's just ugh so good. Coincidentally this is also where my issues with this scene begin. They're not about how the characters act, I found that part very very fitting; it's meta.

The issue Magnus is having isn't about some fear that Alec won't love him anymore now that he doesn't have his magic anymore. Magnus is projecting. His issue lies within himself. He feels differently about himself, he can't say he likes this, and it's only in conclusion that he assumes it must be the same for Alec. But Alec isn't the root of this issue. But of course it's easier to pretend it's about Alec than to openly admit his severe self-image issues, so that's what Magnus does. Perfectly ic to me. The problem I have here is that if we take what Magnus says at face value it appears that Magnus only wants his magic back so Alec will keep loving him (sidenote: even more if you cross out Harry's addition and just focus on the “You fell in love with the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Can you honestly say you don't feel differently about me?”) and the solution to that is clear: Alec drops some wedding vows, problem solved.

But that's not the problem here. Magnus would literally rather be dead than without his magic and no amount of Alec waxing poetry about him is going to change that. And honestly, I'm so grateful for Harry's addition because that made it abundantly clear to me that Magnus is projecting. His bewildered “Can you honestly say you like this?” is an admittance of “I see what I am now and I can't bear it, so how could you?” If that scene had been about Alec, that would have been so uncalled for.

And also loooool but uuuuuuhhh I found Alec's speech less than impressive? I'm sorry, I know he tried but it just didn't work for me? I felt like it really wasn't up to his usual par. Lol I honestly rolled my eyes when he started about the spark that lights up the room XD It felt impersonal, kinda. It's hard to describe. Of course I can cut him some slack on that, because he was emotionally severely overchallenged in that moment and had to make it up on the fly, but uh. Yeah.

Anyway what I really didn't like was his closing line because it kinda sounded as if he was making that decision for Magnus and that's not his place. It might be dangerous and stupid and “not worth the risk” but Magnus isn't in a place where he should have his authority revoked, so. Kept from gambling with his life, yes. With sound arguments and empathy, yes. With dictation, no. So that didn't go over too well with me. Anyway I channeled that into a ficlet already, too, which I'm also advertising at the end.

......has she just been sitting there for six episodes? Btw I wonder, if Jonathan is happily manipulating Lilith by faking positive emotions towards her I don't get why he totally fell for it every time Clary did the exact same thing to him.

THAT MALICIOUS SMILE HAHAHA THE LITTLE (S)ASS

1) SO SHE'S LITERALLY BEEN SITTING THERE FOR SIX EPISODES?!?!!?!?!

2) Why hello there Plot Point XD srsly why tf would Asmodeus use Magnus's magic instead of his own if, need I remind you, his own demonic magic is stronger than Magnus's, Magnus's wasn't even enough to destroy her demonic possession on Jace.... so why would Magnus's magic be enough to bind Lilith, the mother of that possession, to a room? Uh, lemme guess... Plot Convenience? So when, theory time!, Lilith is slayed he has no need for it anymore and can return it to Magnus?

“...to kill you while you were weakened.”

WOW WHAT A DELIVERY AMAZING

........I gotta be honest, I was really confused at his submissive behavior but then I realized... they have a 10 year history of these mechanisms, and slipping back into the pattern of things must be so easy. Also, I mean, that paints a really wonderful and peaceful image of his formative years, right?

Jimon Shipper Moment <3 ;) Look I don't even ship it, but their bickering is high-key amusing to me.

Instead of just standing between them from the get go? Why?

?????? I guess the incest runs in the family, pun not intended?????? Btw Jonathan's weird incest-y obsession makes so much sense now. If this is literally the only way he ever learned how “familial love” (Lilith Greater Demon Edition) is expressed I have no questions anymore. Seriously, he's so screwed over by everyone and it's just unfair. (On that note, glad we never had to see him make out with Valentine. Some things are just too terrible to envision. Damn, why did I say that, I should just shut up for all of our sakes.) Anyway, back to our favorite tortured soul here, I'm honestly not even sure if I can hold the incest thing against him any longer. His entire life consisted of being raised by Valentine, who kept him in a hut in the woods where he never got to see anyone but him, and then Edom where there was Lilith and demons. It makes a horrifying amount of sense that normal human norms mean nothing to him. He's never lived them, he's never witnessed them and maybe he doesn't even know them. So yeah. I guess I'll just add the incest thing on the long long list of things that are due to the stellar parenting he enjoyed, and not entirely his fault.

Damn so close to see my prognosis come true. Then again, I guess this was just the perfect timing because who knows if Lilith won't even help them now kill Jonathan because betrayal bla bla.

1) No need to twist the knife, then again this is Lorenzo so what am I even expecting.

2) WTF ARE THEY REALLY NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS SOME MORE?!?!?!??!?!

3) If it's like a transplanted organ being rejected by the body, just, idk, look for a different warlock whose magic fits Magnus better? There must be tests for that kind of thing? And even if there isn't, if you go slow and don't immediately portal all over the world plus end an encanto-coma you should be able to tell the magic doesn't fit pretty quickly without going into cardiac arrest. Magnus only got some nosebleed at first, remember, and it got worse only because he didn't slow down. I'm just saying, there would be Ways.

Wow I never realized before that he's actually got an undercut. Makes his hairstyle look even stupider.

Wow I believe this even less now than I did in 3x12.

“Let's hug in these trying times, but please make sure your face doesn't touch mine, otherwise people might draw the absurd and outrageous conclusion that we're in a relationship or something.”

Honestly. Their portrayal of casual intimacy is abysmal and I hate it.

1) The infirmary is very weird and open space for a place that should be easily closable if you need to contain, idk, sick people and their viruses and keep it sanitary. 2) I've been wondering since the start of the episode, did Lorenzo's pony tail get shorter? Wasn't it longer before? 3) At least Malec managed to make their feet intersect minimally, so yay for small mercies.

“One dose of Plot Convenience, coming right up.”

They're just.... gonna torture her? Really? I don't even have words for this. Oh no, I do:

Seriously. It's as if morality isn't a thing, and torturing a sentient being isn't always and under all circumstances a Wrong and Bad thing to do. Because clearly if the person receiving torture is just Evil Enough then it's okay. Thanks for standing by and doing nothing Simon, this is exactly the reason I hate your inconsistent streak on this matter. I don't even expect better from the born shadowhunters, and Clary is way to un-reflected to even twitch but. Ugh. Why am I even wasting my breath (my typing capacity?) on this. It's pointless.

Wow this is pointless, too. I mean, why is Izzy not interfering? She literally just fell down. She shouldn't be out of comission by this. Ugh.

Also ugh to Izzy slinging her whip around his hand instead of, idk, his whole upper body and his arms.

Also ugh to Simon waiting to attack Jonathan until the last second as a heroic saving move to save Izzy which, ugh.

But this here

#AwkwardGrownUpSquad

I'm honestly lol'ing so hard right now. Hahahaha this is just hilarious to me. Then again, who knows, maybe now they'll team up with Jonathan to kill Lilith and I'll get my hopes up again for a redemption arc XD

......................HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Btw I bet you she copied that move from Doctor Strange.

lol another thing I didn't see coming.

1) Hello Hannibal lol 2) Who went in there and put restraints on him? 3) Who's gonna pay that Seelie actress now??

This scene was actually nice? I know, I'm surprised myself.

How convenient. I mean, good thing he didn't say “Glorious” otherwise Izzy might have thought he was asking for that one ESC song to be played at his funeral.

Please, Maryse, don't flatter yourself, all you had to do was scratch Elliot's corpse from the floor boards, the rest was already completely furnished.

..................................................................................................................bye

Look, while part of me is undeniably thrilled at the prospect – because while I was totally rooting for a Malec Wedding I was pretty sure it was an unachievable dream, just like hoping for Sheith – this is exactly what I mean with taking things at face value. Alec takes Magnus at his words (that he has doubts Alec will still love him now that he lost his powers) and so he thinks that a grand gesture of commitment will fix it.

But it won't, because that's not the problem. Or at least I hope it's not the problem, I mean if I lost my arm my main worry would be “Holy shit how am I gonna cope without my trusty appendage” not “What are the neighbors gonna think? Will I still be able to rock my favorite outfit without that limb?”

Anyway. I don't think this'll go over too well at this point in time. And honestly, Alec just realized at the beginning of this episode that he was fooled by Magnus's coping facade and tricked into thinking Magnus would be fine without his magic. And now Magnus has lost is magic again and Alec just... makes the same mistake again, blindly believing the words coming out of Magnus's mouth instead of taking a look for himself and seeing how Magnus is faring? Did he learn nothing from this? Alec. Why are you like this.

Anyway, conclusion time: This episode was way more reasonably paced than the last, the shit decision making was kept to a minimum (except for the part where they, y'know, summon Lilith back to earth) and Jace gets a diligence starlet for displaying common sense.

And now, self advertisement time! I wrote three ficlets: a) a continuation of the scene with Alec and Lorenzo b) a gap-bridging Malec scene set after the “I won't lose you” line and finally c) a what-I'd-like-to-see-happen-in-3x17-fic where Alec tells Izzy about his proposal plans.

I'd be thrilled if you checked one of them out. Until next time XD

(Gif Source)

#shadowhunters #3x16 #alec lightwood #jace wayland #magnus bane #clary fray #isabelle lightwood #simon lewis #jonathan morgenstern #lorenzo rey #lilith #luke garroway #maryse lightwood #malec #reaction

[writingkeepsmewhole]

Don’t Tempt Me.

This is part 6 of Betrayal. Dean wrestle with what he should do him deciding to go see Scarlet thinking maybe she can help.

Dean Winchester x OC Scarlet

Warnings: None?

Taglist: @thewinchesterchronicles 

Part 1  part 5

Dean’s POV

Hearing my alarm go off I sighed. I've been up for hours unable to sleep. Between Rebecca’s addiction and Scarlet’s guilt I didn’t know what to do.

I get out of bed turning off my alarm and walking to the bathroom. Rebecca was still sleeping from whatever Scarlet gave her but she was still breathing I didn’t see the point in waking her. If I was honest I didn’t want to wake her. She was like a stranger to me. She act like herself sometimes I wonder if the woman I married was all in my head.

I got in the shower it cold to clear my head. I wanted to help Rebecca but it made me angry seeing her that way. She wouldn’t try to make herself better. It made me even more angry to see Scarlet struggling but she didn’t complain once. She lost her job and hasn't brought it up.

By the time I got out of the shower I had my mind made up to go see Scarlet at lunch.

I was getting dressed when I heard the bed move, arms wrapped around my bear chest and lips pressed into my shoulder.

“Where are you going?”

“Work.” I say turning to face Rebecca. I step away from her making her arms drop.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Becca I gotta go.” I say pulling on a T-shirt.

“Your seeing someone else aren't you?” She says getting angry.

The only problem was I didn’t feel like I was in the wrong. I knew what I done was wrong but I didn’t feel bad for it.

“No I’m not. But if I was why would it matter? You haven't touched me in months. The only thing you care about is your next hit.” I say turning to get my jacket seeing it sprinkling outside.

“Don’t leave!” She says grabbing my arm.

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

I stay silent not knowing what to say.

“We can go on a date and just be like old times.”

“I don’t want it be like old times. I made a promise to take care of you in sickness and I plan on it. As soon as your clean I’m done.”

“But…”

“I’m sorry but I can’t do this. I gotta go.” I say pulling away from her.

I sat in the office at the shop going over papers when the door opened.

“Hey man, what's up?” Asks Sam.

I look up at him and shrugs.

“Nothing, working.” I say leaning back into the chair.

“What about you?”

“Ah nothing I need to talk to you about something.” He says sitting down.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Rebecca she called me.”

I close my eyes and pinch my nose.

“What did she say?”

“Something tells me you already know.”

“She thinks I’m cheating on her.” I say.

“Are you?”

“No. Rebecca is coming off something and she's going nuts. She attacked her sister yesterday. I had to pull her off Scarlet.”

“Damn I didn’t know it was that bad. You need to get her some help.”

“How? Lock her up in the nuthouse?”

“No just make sure she can’t get to anything.”

“Sammy I didn’t know what to do. I've never been thru this.”

“But you have.”

“Not like this…”

“What does Scarlet say about everything?”

“She’s angry at her sister and guilty for being angry.”

“Well you two need to stick together your the only ones who can get Rebecca back.”

“What if I don’t want her back?”

“You want a divorce?”

“I don’t know… I promised I would protect and take care of her but she’s not her anymore. Rebecca is gone. Even if I get her clean I can’t forget all the things she's done.”

“Do you want to forget them? Are you just looking for a way out?”

“What are you talking about Sammy?” I ask meeting his eyes.

He opens his mouth but closet it and takes a breath his forehead wrinkled.

“Nothing I’m just saying you should make up your mind. Before someone gets hurt.”

Closing my eyes I sigh.

“I know Sammy.”

“Talk to Scarlet maybe she can help you. You said she went threw this once before.”

“Yeah but she was sixteen. I’m afraid she is just going to get up and leave this time.”

“Why would you think that? She loves her sister.”

“Yeah but… It’s complicated Sam.”

“Well fix it. You've lost enough you deserve to be happy man.” He says standing up.

“Sam.” I say right before he walks out. Him stopping and looking at me.

“What if I’m not happy with her anymore?”

“Then be with the one that makes you happy.” He says smiling and walking out.

I stay at work for a while. Throwing myself in papers and fixing cars. Something about being under one relaxing me. It like second nature. It giving me time to think.

Sam clearly knew something but wasn't telling me. I had a feeling I didn’t want to know what he knew. Then Rebecca worried me. I didn’t want to see her hurt but I also didn’t want her to hurt someone else.

No matter what I did or thought about my mind always found its way back to Scarlet. Her smile and bubbly laugh making me smile.

She felt guilty for what we done and we made a promise to never do it again but we already crossed that bridge. We were closer now. In just a short time I felt closer to Scarlet then I did Rebecca. I knew it was partly because of everything that was going on but there was something else.

I felt truly happy around her. I smiled when I thought about her. When she looked at me I felt normal, loved, wanted. Something that I don’t think I ever felt from Rebecca. I think she always saw me as fling. It was no secret that she almost skipped out on the wedding. I forgave her that but now it makes me wonder if it was because of what Scarlet said to her.

I could feel my heart pound as I walked down hall in the church. I was meant to be getting married now but my bride wasn’t there. I turned the corner ready to knock on the room the women were using to get dressed. I didn’t know what I would say. If I would be angry or upset. I wouldn’t beg. If she didn’t love me I wouldn’t make her love me.

I stopped when I heard voices the door opened just a crack. It letting me see the only two people in there.

“Becca don’t be ridiculous.” Scarlet says bending down to hold her sisters hands.

“Dean is and amazing man. He’s loyal and kind and anyone would be happy to have him.”

“But what if it doesn't work.”

“It won't if you don’t try. You have to work for happiness.”

“I’m scared.”

“Why?”

“Because how do I know I love him? Like really love him.”

“You know you love someone when you only want what’s best for them. You want them to be happy. You love them because you want them to feel loved. Dean is worth loving. He works hard and would do anything for you.”

“What should I do?”

“Walk down that aisle and take the leap. Besides if it doesn't work out at least you know you tired.”

“Thank you.” Rebecca says pulling her sister into a hug. When she dose Scarlets eyes meet mine threw the cracked door.

She blushes and smiles at me. I take a breath feeling my heart flutter for just a second. I smile back and quickly return to the altar now hoping I’m making the right choice.

It was around four when I left work. Rebecca wouldn't notice I was gone but either way I didn’t get home till seven it giving me a few hours. I spent one driving around. My head was still full of thoughts. I finally pulled into the neighborhood I was circling knowing I had to talk to Scarlet. I also just wanted to see her. Her the only thing that seemed to make me happy anymore.

I pull in front of her apartment and shut the car off. I take a breath just sitting in the car. Before I could talk myself out of it I got out of the car and walked to the door.

Knocking I quickly looked myself over kinda mad at myself for not trying to clean up first. But I didn’t want her to think I was here to do anything. We were friends I needed to remember that and forget the way she made me felt both inside and out.

Scarlet’s POV

Hearing a knock on the door I wrapped the towel around myself. I walked to the front door and without looking opened it. When I met green eyes and kind smile I felt my heart skip.

“Oh it’s you.” I say smiling.

“Expecting someone else?” He asks looking me up and down making me blush.

“Yeah me and Ruby are going out tonight.” I say leaving the door open and walking back towards me room.

“Come on in I’ll go get dressed.”

I hear the front door shut as I go into my bedroom. I picked up the red dress off my bed and pulled it on. Pulling my hair into my clip I tired to zip it up but sighed when it got stuck. I was just about to try and get out of it when a knock on the wall made me jump.

“Need some help?” Dean asks making me look back at him.

“Please?”

I feel him behind me as one hand lands on my hip and other starts to pull at the small zipper. I shiver as his hot breath brushes across my neck. He must noticed because his grip on my hip tightens for a second but he lets go and steps away from me.

“All done.”

“Thank you.” I say turning to face him.

“So what do you think?” I ask spinning around.

“You look nice.” He says clearing his throat.

I blush realizing that I was having an effect on him.

“So what brought you to see me?” I ask trying to act normal as I walk to my closet.

“I wanted to talk to you?”

“Oh, about what?” I ask trying to think too much. My mind going to a few different things at once.

He was leaving town, he was leaving Rebecca, he never wanted to talk to me. All of them made my heart hurt.

“I think…. Rebecca thinks I’m cheating on her.”

“What did you say?” I ask turning to face him holding a pair of shoes.

“That I wasn’t. I mean I’m not. We are friends.”

“Right. So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to help her get clean I guess.” He says moving to sit on my bed.

I watch him slouch over and hold his head in his hands.

“Dean…” I say moving to sit next to him and hugging him from behind.

“Your not alone. I’m going to help you.”

“I don’t know what to do. After Lisa I fell to the bottle and Sam and Bobby got me back on track. But I don’t think it’s going to help Rebecca.”

“How did they help?” I ask moving to sit beside him.

Somehow my leg halfway laying over his.

“Tough love. Bobby as a panic room, did you know that?”

“I didn’t. But that doesn't surprise me.” I say us both laughing.

Dean lays back him pulling me with him. I lay my head on the pillow beside his and get myself comfortable.

“What do we do?” I ask.

“Fight. Keep her away from everything.”

“How do you plan on doing that?”

“Take off work keep an eye on her until she is clean.”

“You know it’s mostly in her head. After a week everything is out of her system but she will still think she needs it. You seen her yesterday.”

“I know. How are you by the way?” He asks turning to face me his finger gently running over my cheek.

“I’m okay. Sad and angry I guess. It makes me mad seeing her do this to herself but it also makes me sad because-.”

“What we did?” He asks finishing my thought.

I nod looking down.

“I promise it won’t happen again. I don’t want you mad at yourself or to feel guilty.”

“I don’t that’s the problem.” I say honestly.

“What?”

“I don’t feel guilty. I feel bad because you are with my sister and I want to be with you. I know that’s wrong and what we did was wrong but I don’t feel guilty. Not anymore.”

“What changed your mind?”

“You, Ruby. I’ve been dealing with this side of my sister since I was sixteen. She’s done this to herself. Why should I have to pay for it?”

Closing his eyes Dean lays his forehead on mine.

“I know me too.” I say softly.

“Your gonna be mine one of these days.”

“Let’s fix everything first.”

He nods and pulls away from me. Meeting his eyes I blush his eyes falling to my lips then back to my face.

“Don't.” I sat blushing and sitting up.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t tempt me. We need to both be good for the sake of Rebecca.”

“Alright.” He says chuckling and sitting up.

“Wanna stay until Ruby gets here?” I ask pulling on some black boots.

“I’d love to sweetheart.” He says getting off the bed.

I watch him walk over to the closet and come back with a small jacket.

“What?”

“It’s sprinkling outside.”

“Oh thank you.” I say smiling and taking it from him pulling it on.

We were sitting in my living room when someone knocked on the door.

“It’s open.” I say not moving from my spot.

I was facing Dean my knees tucked under me. Dean was facing me as well his ankle tucked under his knee.

When the door open and Ruby walked in followed by Sam I felt my heart jump and Dean tense up.

“Hey what are you doing here?” Sam asks Dean not sounding angry just curious.

“I came to talk to Scar about her sister.”

“Oh I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. We are figuring it out.” I say looking at Dean us smiling at the same time.

“Well I think we should get going.” Ruby says clapping her hands.

“Dean you coming?”

“I should probably get home.” He says setting his coffee down and standing up.

“No you should come. Relax clear your head. It might help you with Rebecca.” Sam says smacking Dean’s back gently then looking at Ruby.

“It’s settled then. Lets go. Dean your driving.”

“Why me?” He asks looking as confused as I felt.

“Because you have the best car.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

I stand up and follow them outside. I stop Ruby before she can keep walking keeping her next to me as I lock my door.

“What’s going on?” I whisper.

“Why are you with Sam?”

“He called me asking about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I think he has an idea about what’s going on.”

“Did you tell him?”

“Of course not.”

“So why is he here?”

“Because I asked him to come?”

“What? Why?”

“I told you to go after your Winchester I’m going after mine.” She says winking and strutting to the car.

She pulls Sam in the backseat with her leaving me up front with Dean.

He winks at me as he pulls off. I’m hoping it seemed playful but to me it sent a heat wave threw my body.

When we get to the bar (everyone deciding to be more relaxed tonight) I feel my heart stop. Tonight was meant to be about me getting drunk and forget Dean Winchester. Not me getting drunk with Dean Winchester.

When he gets out of the car he walks around and opens the door for me. I smile at him and get out wondering how this was gonna play out. I knew I was playing with temptation as we walked inside but maybe this would be for the best. Just get everything out in the air. But I would be lying if I didn’t like how things were. Me and Dean was only hurting ourselves no one else.

When Dean’s hand landed on my back I look at him trying not to blush. My only thought being that I was tempting fate.

Bending down since we were behind Sam I didn’t freak out to much.

“I’ll be good if you will.” He says kissing me temple then pulls away from me.

“I’m gonna go get us some drinks.” He say moving to the bar leaving me a mess of hormones.

Tonight was gonna be hard very hard but I was willing to give it a try for the sake of my sanity.

#dean x OC #dean x you #dean x reader #dean x y/n #dean fanfiction #dean fanfic #dean fic #dean imagine #dean winchester fan #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fic #dean winchester #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x oc #dean winchester x y/n #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfiction #Supernatural fanfic #supernatural imagine #spn imagine #spn fanfiction #spn fic #spn fanfic #spn #supernatural #betrayal #don't tempt me

[hockeytrashgoblin]

Guess the song bb

Okie dokie friendos. I have been gone for a while because health is important apparently?? Who woulda guessed it. Anyway I was sick and sad but nOW I’M BACK BBS. William Nylander doing the keke challenge or whatever the fuck it’s called. Also was inspired by Jenna and Julien podcast games sooooo here is the result. Hope you enjoy. Or don’t. Up to you really but I like the way it turned out so rad *Finger guns at you*

“Hey babe?” William asked coming into the room and sitting beside me on the counter where I was baking some peanut butter cookies.

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something? You can feel free to say no but it could be fun.”

“What is it Willy?” he had peaked my interest with this. You could never tell what he would ask, it was always a surprise.

“Weeeell you know the Leaf Nation website?”

“Yeah of course. What does that have to do with me though?”

“The producers thought it would be a fun idea to bring our girls for a show.”

“What kind of show?”

“Ours specifically would be a game seeing if I can guess your favourite songs. All of them would be games like that but ours is music because you like it a lot and honestly I think they think I’m going to be bad at it.” he said laughing at the end.

“I would love to do that baby, it sounds fun.”

“Okay good because I kinda already said we would do it.” he had a sheepish smile and I just hit his arm with a dish towel.

“You knew I’d say yes.” I stood in between his legs and hugged him. “I can never say no to you.”

“I know, it’s cute.” he said giving me a chaste kiss before jumping down from the counter. “Now you should maaaybe make a song list because we film this thing on Tuesday.”

“William! It’s Monday today!”

“Well I mean you’ve got all evening and tomorrow morning.”

“How long does this list have to be?”

“Probably about 50 songs roughly?”

“Oh my god..okay. I’ll do it after my cookies are done.”

The next day William woke me up much too early for my liking. To be fair I asked him to so I could make myself look presentable for this shoot. I was in the bathroom sitting on the floor curling my hair when he poked his head in, leaning on the door frame.

“Why are you doing all of this?”

“I don’t want to embarass you by looking like a bridge troll for all the fans.”

“You don’t ever look like a bridge troll. You’re beautiful always.”

“Shut up.” I said quietly rolling my eyes.

“It’s true babes. I’m going to make breakfast while you get ready.”

“Okay sounds good bean.” a little while after William left I had finally finished curling my hair. Or so I had thought. It had completely fallen straight again because I forgot to put hairspray in. I took a deep breath and put the curling iron down. I was really frustrated and pouty. It was still early, I could pout if I wanted to. I made my way downstairs to the kitchen and shoved my face into Willy’s back making him laugh.

“Hi there.”

“Hi.” I said mumbling into his back.

“What’s the matter (Y/N)?”

“Look at my dumb hair.” he turned around to see the half straight hair and the hair that was currently straightening itself.

“Oh baby, you forgot to put in hairspray in between layers didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” I said pouting again.

“No need to pout darling.”

“I just want to look pretty and not embarrass you but nothing is working out this morning.”

“You don’t ever embarrass me. Never. You could go in a big sweater with the hood up and leggings and you’d still look beautiful.”

“I might just have to be cozy today..” he came over and grabbed my face with his hands.

“I love when you dress cozy. You always look so damn cute.” he gave me a little kiss and I smiled into it. “Now go get dressed while I finish your breakfast you cutiepie.”

“Okay.” I kissed him again and went upstairs to find my favourite leggings. I quickly found them and put them on. I then went through the closet to try to find a big sweater. Mine were all dirty so I took one of William’s Leafs long sleeve shirts. It was huge on me but it looked cute and I was cozy so I didn’t care much. I put on a beanie and ran back downstairs.

“Wooooooow! Cutest lady I’ve ever seen.”

“Noo be quiet.” I said covering my smile with my sweater paws making him smile wider as he brought the food to the table.

After breakfast we lounged around for a little bit before we started driving to the ACC. We got there about 30 minutes before we started shooting and just hung out again for a little while. I put lavs on me and William while we were just waiting around and got them synced to the camera. William and Kasperi were teasing me for knowing how to do it all, but the cameraman who was running late appreciated the heck out of me. A few minutes later I was sitting across a small table from William.

“Okay so Will, you’re going to introduce yourself and (y/n) and say what we’re doing in this video. (y/n) can jump in if she wants but we just want you guys to interact like you normally do.”

“Alright.” he said.

“No problem.” I said smiling to him. And then we were being counted in.

“Hi guys I’m William Nylander and this is my beautiful girl (y/f/n). We’re going to be playing a game today right babe?”

“Yeah! It’s a fun game where we find out just how much attention Willy pays to what’s going on around him. I’ve made a list of my favourite songs and he has to guess them from bits and pieces of the songs.”

“Okay but do I just have to get the song?”

“Nah boi, you need the artist too.”

“Are you actually joking?” he asked smile dropping.

“No bb. You gotta get them both.”

“Pfft that’s fine.”

“Yeah okay.” I said sarcastically rolling my eyes at him. I pulled my legs up on the chair and got ready to start the game. “Are you ready to start ya big baby?”

“I guuuess.” he said sighing.

“Okay. Just a heads up none of the artists repeat, and they’re songs I’ve liked since the 10th grade until last week.”

“I hate it here.”

“Loooove yooou.” I say blowing him a kiss.

“Alright whatever let’s just start this game.” he said laughing.

“Are you ready?”

“Um yeah I’m gonna crush it.”

“We’ll see I guess. Here’s the first song. If you don’t get it I’m going to be personally insulted.” I put on the part of Fergalicious when Fergie is doing her fast rap part. He listened carefully for a few seconds.

“That’s Fergalicious by Fergie. Predictable to say the least.”

“Yeah you got it!”

“You made me learn it so you wouldn’t have to sing all parts by yourself there was no way I wouldn’t have gotten that one.” he said laughing and smiling sweetly at you.

“Okay next song!” I put on dancing in the street by David Bowie and Mick Jagger. I stopped it after a few seconds. “Alright cutie, what’s the song?”

“That’s all I get?!”

“That’s plenty!”

“Oh god.” he said putting his face in his hands. “Um...is it..is it David Bowie?”

“He’s one of the people in it. Who’s the other and what’s the song?”

“I honestly have no clue (y/n).”

“Disappointing. Dancing in the streets by Mick Jagger and David Bowie.”

“Whatever, next.” he said brushing it off.

“Okay baby what’s this one?”

“Sos from mama mia. It’s Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan.” he said after the opening half a second of piano.

“Yeah!”

“I knew there would be a mama mia one on here. You’re obsessed.”

“Nooo I just love it. Anyway next song.” I put on a part of this song where there was no lyrics at all just instrumentals and William sighed.

“I know that’s Halsey but I don’t know which one.”

“Take a guess.”

“Which one is the strange one? Strange love?”

“Yes you go babe!”

“Yes! Alright let’s go.” he reached over for a high five and I hit his hand with me shirt covered hand making him giggle. “You’re so cute.”

“Shut uuuuup.” I played the next song and William just looked confused.

“I think this is beach boys. You like them a lot.”

“You’re right it is the beach boys but which one?” he looked more confused as he thought. “William Nylander you can’t be serious. Come on babe you have to know this..”

“Surfing USA?”

“Oh. My. God.” I said resting my hand over my eyes. “Willy. I first heard this song on baby muppets the day my brother was born.”

“OH! Kokomo!”

“Yes. You don’t get the point though. That was pitiful.”

“Boo you.” he said pouting and I stuck my tongue out putting on the next few songs. He had gotten 10 in a row wrong and he was getting annoyed and I was laughing so hard I was crying.

“Okay baby let me give you an easy one.”

“You said that about the last 3.” I put the song on and he listened carefully.

“Come on I’ve been listening to this song for like a week straight on repeat.”

“It’s do it with you but I don’t know his name..is it Andrew something?”

“Yeah it’s Andrew Hyatt. I’ll give you that one. Good job lemur.”

“Thank you lemur.”

“Here’s another easy one.”

“You literally got that song from me. Take it or leave it by great good fine ok.”

“You got it! I didn’t think you would since you didn’t get how I want ya and I got that from you too.”

“You be quiet little missy.” he said winking at me.

“Okay next.” I went to the song and pushed play. “If you don’t get this we’re getting a divorce.”

“We aren’t even married!” he said laughing super hard. The song started and he started singing along to the la’s in crocodile rock. I did too, but I had been singing along to all of them. “That’s the crocodile rock by Elton John.”

“Yeah bb!”

“Yay no divorce.”

“Silly Willy we aren’t even married. Dummy.” he laughed again and he cried a little from laughing so hard. “Okay next.”

“No fair. This isn’t even in English (y/n).”

“So what’s the name of the song?”

“I have absolutely no idea. I don’t understand one word of this to even guess.”

“Do you know who sings it?”

“I think Nicky Jam.”

“Yes! It’s X. Solarte’s walk up song.”

“Baseball?” I nodded smiling. “Classic. I’m not shocked about that at all honestly.”

“Here’s the next one.” I put it on and started dancing to it dramatically making William laugh.

“That’s Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. Baby’s favourite MJ song.”

“Truuuuue. Okay here try this one.”

“Okay this song is a lie. You absolutely do NOT beg for attention in small doses. You want to literally overdose on attention.”

“Um wow spilling the tea all over me. Rude.”

“It’s loverboy by you me at six.”

“Yes.” I said shortly putting on the next song.

“This is 100% loveshack.”

“Are you kidding? Are you actually dumb?”

“No come on this is definitely loveshack by the b-52’s.”

“It’s the B-52’s but it isn’t loveshack.” I said laughing really hard. “Holy shit I’m crying.”

“Okay then what song is it smarty pants?”

“Rock Lobster. It’s rock lobster.”

“Fake news.”

“You can’t just claim fake news on facts!” I said laughing harder.

“Rock lobsters are fake news.” I started hiccuping in my laughter and then he knew he messed up. “Oh shit she’s in a mood now. Should we stop filming until she calms down?” the crew shook their heads. William shrugged and turned back to me making me erupt into giggles again. After about 20 minutes of me annoying everyone on the set I finally got myself calmed down enough to continue.

“Um okay here’s the next one..” I said brushing tears out of my eyes. I pushed play and waited for Willy to guess it.

“Oooh that’s yeah by my man Usher.”

“Yup you got it.”

“I know my Usher.”

“I know you do hun.” I said with a small smile. “Here guess this one.”

“Oooooo it’s Brittany bitch! Toxic by Brittany Spears?”

“Yeah boi.” I said chuckling quietly. We went through quite a few more pretty quickly. William got a mix of right and wrong. “Okay last one Willy.”

“I’m so ready babe.”

“Saved the best for last.”

“Now I’m worried.” he said while I pushed play and bit my thumb with a big smile waiting for it. “Oh my god I hate you.” he said putting his head in his hands.

“Do you know it?”

“You’re a shit.” he said with a smile.

“Do you know it?”

“Yes I know it. Unfortunately.” I giggled a little bit. “It’s Mr. Flaming hot cheeto head. Lil Yachty. And by the complex words I’m going to guess it’s called Good day.”

“You’s right lemuuur!”

“Good now turn this off before everyone’s ears start bleeding.”

“Oh my god it happened one time William.” I said crossing my arms and standing up wakling over to him.

“One time too many.” he said pulling me to sit on one of his thighs.

“I stopped listening to it that loud and it never happened again. I already apologized to Kapi like 9 million times.”

“I know baby. I love you.”

“Love you.” I said putting my head on his shoulder.

“Okay guys this has been a lot of fun. I think (y/n) now knows that I do pay attention.”

“Like half attention.”

“Well how am I supposed to pay full attention to music when I want to pay full attention to you singing and dancing?”

“Oh my gooooood. William that’s so cute it’s gross.” I said giggling again.

“Okay well bye guys.”

“Bye thank you for having me.” I say smiling to the camera.

#leafs #maple leafs #hockey imagines #william nylander #cute #nobodyaskedforthis

[blckchariot-blog]

—black miasma.

                                      “may you escape this WRETCHED world.”

[ tw: drowning, blood, violence mention, guns, death ]

     there’s water in his lungs.

    his body reacts faster than his brain, limbs scrambling to claw their way to the surface. he sure as hell didn’t get enough air in him before being plunged into the lake, not that he’s surprised anymore. they know he can’t technically drown, and watching him panic and choke was just part of their sick entertainment. 

    of all of the ways to abuse virtual reality.

    chariot coughs out droplets of water, dry heaving as air finally finds its way back into his lungs. he would’ve felt thankful if not for the bullet that whizzes past his head right after. 

    “fuc—” he doesn’t get to finish before his teammate yanks him back down into the lake by the foot. he’s aware enough of his surroundings now, though, that he swims after the three already making their way across the shoreline. out of the corner of his eye, he spots the man that had saved him, and spares a small nod of thanks.

    a rain of bullets comes down just behind him, and he doesn’t even entertain the thought of what would’ve happened if he had stayed. 

    “—ou’re kidding me, right?” is the first thing chariot hears when he surfaces. the girl frowns at him when he makes his presence known. “you! you almost got us all killed!”

    “i—” chariot doesn’t get time to reply, one of the other candidates hissing out a loud shush.

    a searchlight shines through the reeds just up the hill, and the group fall into silence. 

    it’s only when darkness settles upon them that someone speaks up.

    “we all heard the rules, right?” one of the older-looking candidates (chariot vaguely remembers his name being d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞) mumbles solemnly. “we’re all here because we volunteered so i don’t want to hear any complaints.”

    “i didn’t know it was going to be like this!” the girl from early pipes up, holding her fists clenched up against her side. “i just wanted some easy points! i didn’t know it was going to end up like this—”

    “b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢, shush!” the only other girl whispers harshly. she’s shorter than all of them, but chariot knows well enough to not underestimate the small ones.

    “this wasn’t what you told me, h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸,” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ growls back, taking a step closer to the girl. “you said this was going to be an easy mission. we already almost failed because of—” she turns to glare at chariot. “—that guy. i fucking hate newbies.”

    h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸ doesn’t reply, instead letting out a sigh and ignoring chariot altogether. 

    “hey, mister—you have a plan right? since you acted so leader-y about it,” she addresses d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞ with a tone of mockery in her voice. 

    d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞ sighs and shakes his head. “no. i just wanted you whiny brats to shut the fuck up.”

    “what the fuck did you call—” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ starts off, but h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸ holds her back.

    “so who has a plan, then? considering we only have seven hours to pull this off,” h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸ grumbles in annoyance. 

    a blanket of silence falls upon them and after a few very long seconds, chariot opens his mouth to speak up, but a foreign voice interrupts him.

    “i have an idea,” the source comes from behind him, and a quick look tells chariot that this is the man that had saved him earlier. “but i need to know everyone’s weapons first.”

    “who the fuck even are you?” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ scowls, striding up to the lanky man. “i didn’t even notice you back in the simulation room. talk about having no presence.”

    the man doesn’t flinch, but instead brushes a wet strand of hair off his forehead. “you can call me wolf,” he answers, but now with an expectant look on his face. 

    “oh, i...erm,” chariot starts off upon realizing what wolf was waiting for. “i have a gun—a rifle, to be more precise. it turns into a long-ranged one in my second state. like a sniper.”

    wolf gives him a nod, and turns to the others.

    “i have brass knuckles,” d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞ is the next to answer. “yeah, i realize how dumb it is that my weapon isn’t a dagger. move on.”

    b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ snickers in the background.

    “they turn into claws. i also have quite a bit of combat experience,” d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞ adds on. chariot isn’t at all surprised—the man’s built like a tank.

    “i have some kinda wire,” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ looks unimpressed with herself. “lights up with electricity when i do that god mode thing.”

    “and i have hammers that get heavier when i go into second state,” h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸ finishes off. “i don’t do well in it, thought.”

    “that’s fine,” wolf mumbles out, looking deep in thought. “we’re a bit low on mid-range, but i can work around that.”

    “ah, what’s your weapon, then?” chariot frowns, though intrigued by the man. 

    “bombs.”

    well, that certainly doesn’t bring up any good memories.

    “what...what kind of bombs?” chariot forces himself to not overreact. 

    wolf gives him a pointed look, as if annoyed at his disturbance. “smoke, poison, frag— also flashbangs if need be.”

    “oh, that’s useful,” chariot replies. he wants to ask about his god mode, but wolf is clearly not interested in talking anymore. 

    what a mess he’s gotten himself into.

    chariot lets out a sigh as he squats down by the lake, attempting to peek through the reeds to spot out the camp. to no avail, though, as they had swam quite a ways.

    “well? what’s the plan then, smartass?” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ makes a scene of her impatience, rolling her eyes with arms crossed. “we don’t have all night.”

    wolf stays silent, deep in thought.

    “urgh,” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ instead turns her attention to chariot. “how new are you, even? what faction? haven’t seen you around.”

    “i arrived a little over a month ago...” chariot frowns at her queries. “and i’m from cerulean.”

    “hah. makes sense then,” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ snorts, turning to h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸. “typical cerulean, amirite?”

    h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸ nods.

    part of chariot wants to argue back, but he reminds himself that this isn’t the time or place. 

    “ah, got it,” wolf finally speaks up again (to chariot’s relief). “there’s a way to do this with the best chance of success we can get. especially with one of us injured.”

    it takes a moment for chariot to process his words.

    “i’m fine,” d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞ grunts, holding a hand over his upper thigh. chariot finally notices it’s sticky with blood. “nothing i haven’t gone through before.”

    “still, it’s a detriment,” wolf states matter-of-factly. “we have to account for everything.”

    “just get on with the plan! the geezer said he’s fine,” b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ grumbles, running her hand through her (ironically) brown hair.

    “yeah,” wolf hums in agreement. “you all will have to trust me on this, though, or it’s not going to work.”

    everyone takes turns nodding, though some more hesitant than the others. chariot wastes no time, but as expected, the girls both take their sweet time. he’s long since noticed b̶̶͢͡͞l̛͝҉o̢̨̕͞͞n̨͟d̡̧͘͢ì̛͏̸e̕͢͢ listens to h̨̢́͟ȩ҉a͘͘͠͡ŕt͏̸, even if she pretends to be the one in charge. d͏̷̛̕a̷͜͜͡͡g҉̴͡҉g͜͠e̴҉̸͢r͘͞ had been distracted with binding up his wound with the sleeve to his shirt. he’s done this before, chariot notes. must’ve been that training he talked about.

watch out for that one.

    once satisfied with the turnout, wolf starts speaking again—

    but the thing is, chariot doesn’t have the best memory. 

    that, or something stops him from remembering. he thinks it might’ve been the drugs, but maybe, just maybe, he’s forgetting on purpose. 

    but just what is he forgetting? why is he so S̵̡̨͢͠Ć̨͠A̶̕R̷̡Ȩ̶͡҉D̷̴͘͜͟?

    the next thing chariot knows, he’s ducking behind a shipping crate with bullets bouncing off the thick metal, ringing loud in his ears. how did they spot him? he was supposed to...

    what was he supposed to do again?

    “go!” he hears the others call out from behind him and he barely gets a word it before they sprint off into all directions, drawing fire away from him.

    well, he can put the pieces together, at least. 

    a quick activation of god mode helps him scale the first level of containers all while sneaking around using the second as cover. he finds an unlit spot and blends into the shadows, only the golden glint of his gun visible as he turns the corner to fire.

    one, two, three down. chariot controls his breathing the best he can as he blows the head off the fourth. it’s getting harder now, the guards hidden behind cover and his teammates out of sight. all he can do now is relocate and wait for their signal.

    he hopes he can recognize it when it happens.

    his head Ḩ̵͠Ú̶̸̷͠R̢T̡̛͏̕Ş͜͟.

    chariot collapses against a tree, clutching desperately at his hair as if tugging on the strands would somehow relieve it. he’s near the extraction point, somehow having crawled there through blood and guts even with his brain feeling like it’s about to explode. did they somehow mess up the dose? calibrated his VR set wrong? he feels the floor tremble beneath him, and it takes him a few seconds more to realize that it had come from the campsite. 

    everything is in flames.

    the shockwave sends the flora around him flying, waving wildly in the wind as he holds a hand up to his face in reaction. what the hell just happened.

    “you coming?” comes a familiar voice from just down the road, and chariot swings around, gun poised and ready to shoot.

    “what did you do?” he finds the smell of gunpowder overwhelming.

    wolf simply stares at him, a squint in his eyes. “what does it matter?” he holds the case up and flourishes it for chariot to see. “i got the diamonds. let’s go.”

    “but...” chariot lowers his gun the slightest, looking around. “where are the others?”

    “i blew them up with the rest of the guards.”

    “what?!” 

    wolf lowers his hand and turns away from him, walking down the path to the rendezvous point. “it’s just a simulation, anyway. they’ll understand.”

    chariot struggles not to panic. “but they still feel the sensation of dying—did they know?”

    “of course not. who in the right mind would agree to dying?”

    “then—”

    “oh, you don’t get to complain,” wolf seems to finally snap. “you were in on the plan, weren’t you?”

    fuck this HEADACHE.

( "hey͜,́ ͟c͏hario͡t́.͟"́ ͜"̛yea̶h?"̢ ̶ "t͟h̸ere'͏s̷ ǹo͞ way ͝w̶e're̸ g͘oi̧n͞g̛ ̨t̷o ͜ge͠t out͢ ҉óf̨ t͜here͟ ͘al̸i͠v̡e with ҉j̷u̸st us f͡iv̧ę.͝ ̴th̷er̶ę's ̧too m͡a̧ny̕ ͝gu̢a͞rd̶s.̧" ̢"h͢u̴h̨? t̷he̴n—͜"̷ ̸"̕i'͟m̀ goi͜ng ̶t̀o͏ c҉au͝s͡e̶ a d̛is̕t͠r͝act̀io̕n̢.͡"͞ ͟"o͝kay...͠b̸ųt how̡?" "͠well—͡.͜.̧.̢" )

    it’s just a simulation. just a simulation. he isn’t guilty. he hasn’t killed anybody. he hasn’t betrayed anybody, let them die, watched them die. he hasn’t done anything.

    it’s the only thing keeping him from going insane.

( but what happens when it all becomes REAL?) 

< CONGRATULATIONS_ON_SURVIVING_! >

[ b-level mission: collection — complete ]

#blcktmpl ; softexclusive #(solo. ) #( +350LP ) #( wc: 1855 ) #( this is actually terrible ) #( pour one out for em )

[iguessthatthisisitfornow]

Med log Day 3(? I think it's 3)

Today, has been a day. I am very very sleepy writing this, but we hope for the best. I choose to look at this day positively though. Instead of 3 hours of sleep like last night, i got 4! I'm super duper hopeful tonight i will get at least 5 hours, since tomorrow is the first class for my new fancy zero hour class and I really want to do well in it.

So anyways, back on topic. Took my meds when I woke up and drank milk with it. Did laundry and more school work, which went well for two hours and then I started getting spacey. Stopped doing work around 4-5 hours after i started as I was sick of it and I had to help clean for guests. By the time we finished it was time for my second dose, and oh boi, i was not expecting how sleepy it would make me. If the sleeping problems don't work themselves out by day 7 or 8 I'll call my doctor. After a, sadly, brief nap our guests showed up. Noticed that i was significantly not as anxious as i normally am when they come visit, though the kid still gets on my nerves but i managed my rage haha. I couldn't contribute much to conversation as most of what they talked about was stuff i know nothing about, as old dudes and sports bros do.

We went out for lunch, and the food was really good! But i could hardly eat any of it, which was kinda awkward. Food was already Weird, and now that i have no sustainable appetite it's Extra Weird. It was during this i realized I probably wouldn't get anything productive done for the rest of the day and gave in and had a soda, which I've decided to avoid when taking my meds. We went back home and played games and then they left. I was the dealer and passed around cards and helped explain the rules. I didn't feel like i did anything special, but after they left my uncle told me that i did good and that he was proud and that makes me happy and a lil bit teary eyed lol.

I don't think i have any other symptom updates. Still horrible at memory recall and had some strange struggles counting cards on sight. Oh, but i did have some pressure in my head when I first took the pills, but quickly faded. I don't seem to be nauseous or have a major headache again though.

In other news, my cousin will potentially be home soon and I'm getting progressively more worried about her reaction to the new meds. Should I have told her? I know, logically, that she loves me and just wants the best for me, but i just keep thinking back to how badly she reacted when I tried bringing it up. But there's nothing I can do, it's not something I can control. I can only control how i let it affect me. Doesn't mean it doesn't duck though. But i think that my uncle will have my back if it does become a problem, and i appreciate that. I've also been making really good strides in self advocacy, though i haven't tried it on these meds yet haha. Anyways, just gotta stay hopeful and determined.

Overall: Sleepy, and more importantly, loved

Edit; forgot to add tags haha

#adhd meds #tw medication #cw medication

[kinetic-elaboration]

April 7: Vaccine!

I’m tired but still riding this vaccination high lol. I don’t think it really hit me until this afternoon. It’s not so much being vaccinated itself--I mean that has no meaning for me currently--it’s that I’m so used to there never being excitement in my life, and when there is excitement it’s usually bad, that I’m just all riled up from this enrichment that I’ve been provided. Someone threw something new and interesting into my enclosure!

I was feeling kind of down about the possibility of getting a vaccine, not because I haven’t had opportunities, but none of them worked for me. I didn’t think this one would either, because I got the email at around 11, when I was at home, basically saying there were vaccination slots available at the welcome center but anyone who wanted one had to sign up immediately and get over there. But I was just about to go to work, and I wasn’t sure if my ride could really afford to swing me over there, so I figured I couldn’t go.

But the email had been blasted to everyone, even people who had already been vaccinated, because there wasn’t time to sort recipients, so my supervisor had seen it and she volunteered to drive me over if I wanted to get one.There seemed to still be spots--the email made it clear that reserving a vaccine was more important than the particular time--so I figured I might as well try.

I have to say that I was very pleased by the whole process overall. It felt very organized and everyone was very nice. There wasn’t too much of a crowd, and a ton of volunteers around to direct people at all points along the way. One guy outside gave me a questionnaire asking if I had COVID symptoms or exposure, then I went to one of those temperature checks that you stand in front of (a year of COVID and this is the first time I’ve done that!), all outside in this covered walkway/entrance area. Inside, I was directed to a sign in desk--no line at all, there were several open--where I struggled to find my ID like a dumbass. (Good thing I wasn’t voting lmao.) The woman couldn’t find me in the system, understandably since I’d just signed up like 5 minutes earlier. She obviously wasn’t surprised, though, and showed me to the help desk.

I admit I did not really get where the health desk was (right in front of me lol, but there was a lot going on!!). A volunteer tried to helpfully bring me to a vaccination area and I was like “help desk though???” and he basically just directed me to turn around because it was right behind me. That was the longest line I was in: 1 person at the desk, 1 in front of me. A couple additional people had to get in line behind me, which was a little awkward because of the 6 feet distancing, but again the volunteers explained how the line worked so it wasn’t ambiguous. The person at the help desk signed me in and gave me a little piece of paper explaining the interval between the vaccines and that I wouldn’t be scheduling my second appointment today. Then she sent me to the volunteers with the flags (hard to miss!) to be directed to a vaccine station.

There were basically two sets of rows of vaccine tables: one that I was initially almost sent to, labeled by letter, and another set of rows labeled by number in the main part of the center. I was table 15. Each table had 2 people administering vaccines at it. I only had to wait in line a few moments, while the vaccine administrating person finished with the guy ahead of me. Then it was my turn!

Funnily, the guy getting vaccinated on the other side of the table knew the person administering the vaccine, which imo must be weird but kinda nice! the vaccine person was explaining how they had to scramble to get people if they had extra vaccines: sending out mass emails like the one I got, calling people, etc. But a lot of people obviously can’t just drop work at a moment’s notice at noon on a Wednesday, so it’s difficult. So it’s just a free for all.

The vaccination obviously didn’t take any time at all, and I got a little card from the CDC with my name on it and the date I got the vaccine and what it was (Moderna) and the earliest date I can get dose 2. I couldn’t actually make an appointment; they said they’d contact me about 48 hours before to schedule one. I’m really hoping I can take it on Wed because that would be the most convenient but somehow I shall make it work.

Then I had to sit in a waiting area for 15 minutes. That was very odd. I got a little slip of paper with the vaccine time on it and then I went into this large area with rows of chairs placed 6 feet apart from each other, and a big screen showing the exact time so we’d know when to leave. The guy watching over the area called it “detention,” which I thought was funny. The clock stopped literally one second before I was allowed to go--suspiciously precise--but my phone said I’d waited 16 minutes so I just left. No one stopped me or verified anything.

My arm felt sore right away, the whole way down, but other than that, I was fine. Even that soreness went away after about an hour or so. I still have soreness at the injection site that I can feel sometimes.

I went back to work and did the rest of my day, left at 5, finished the coffee I’d barely touched while watching some tv, and then had a nap.

This week has been so strange. I’m... not really keen on the next two days of remote work lol. At least if I feel bad tomorrow I can blame it on the vaccine and maybe even take some sick leave lmao.

#the year 2021 #2021: rl #coronvirus tag

[queseraone]

Maybe One Day - Part 2

A collection of one-shots of Jay Halstead as a dad. Because we all need that in our lives. Co-written with @halsteadpd

When canon gives you lemons, you make fluff…

Part 1

“And Jay, please call if you need me! I’ll be on the first plane back.”

“Babe, I’ll be fine. I can handle it. I’ve looked after him alone before.” Jay happily bounced his first born, Benjamin Henry Halstead, in his arms to prove his point. “See look, he’s happy.”

“Yeah, I know but—”

“No buts. You better get on that plane before it leaves you behind. We’ll be fine.” He adjusted Ben in his arms so Erin could kiss the baby’s forehead, then bent down to press his lips against hers, “I love you. We love you.” The two Halstead boys watched Erin walk through the security doors before turning away and heading back out to the car; the January snow was piled up everywhere and their warm breaths evaporated into the air.

Jay strapped his son into his car seat, snowsuit and all, before gently running his finger across Ben’s cheek. Ben gave his father a gummy smile and babbled excitedly before Jay turned away and closed the door. “Ready for guys weekend, bud?” He asked as he sat down in the driver’s seat. Ben’s squeal of excitement at hearing his Daddy’s voice brought a smile to Jay’s face as he pulled out of his parking space.

By the time they’d arrived home, Ben had fallen asleep, so Jay carefully lifted him out of the car seat. He settled the baby in his arms, watching him stir a little bit before getting comfortable and resting his chin on Jay’s shoulder. Inside, Jay removed Ben’s snowsuit and clothes and dressed him in a more comfortable onesie, all while the baby slept peacefully. He gently placed him in the crib that was kept on his side of the bed and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for himself.

It had only been half an hour before Jay heard wails coming from the bedroom. Ben’s face was bright red and all scrunched up as tears flowed freely from his eyes. “Hey, it’s okay buddy,” Jay picked Ben up, holding him close to his chest and swaying back and forth. “It’s okay, Daddy’s here.” Jay’s concern grew when the baby didn’t quiet in the comfort and security of his arms; that had always worked before.

“I bet you’re hungry, aren’t you? Let’s get you a bottle.”

On the way back to the kitchen, they stopped by the nursery for a diaper change. Ben’s crying hadn’t stopped or even weakened; it only seemed to intensify when Jay put him down on the change table. “Don’t worry buddy, Daddy’s still here.” He kept a hand on Ben’s upper body as he reached over for a clean diaper. “Okay, let’s get this diaper off. You’ll be much happier soon.” Ben fidgeted as Jay removed the diaper and cleaned him off with a baby wipe. “How does someone so cute make such a big mess, huh?” He cooed down to the baby that was still fussing and squirming.

After a clean diaper was wrapped around the baby’s bottom, and Jay’s hands were washed, the two Halstead men made their way to the kitchen—all while Ben screamed in Jay’s ear. “What’s got you so upset today? Do you miss Mommy?” Jay’s words were soft as he spoke to his little boy, a look of concern on his face; it absolutely killed Jay to see Ben so distressed. “Can you keep a secret little bud?” He pressed his lips to the baby’s forehead. “I miss her too.”

He bounced the baby around as he prepared a bottle. When it was ready, Jay adjusted Ben into the crook of his left arm and quickly plopped it into his mouth. The cries instantly quieted. One of Ben’s little hands came up to rest on Jay’s hand that supported the bottle while his fresh, teary eyes watched his father’s face. He sucked hungrily, as if he only had a specific amount of time to finish. “Slow down little man, you’ll get sick.”

As if on cue, the baby was in a coughing fit. Jay took the bottle and placed it on the countertop before adjusting Ben so that they were chest-to-chest. He patted the baby’s back gently, helping to relieve his gas and the formula that went down the wrong way. Instead of hearing a burp, Jay heard a gurgle and felt something warm along his backside. When he looked over to his left shoulder, he noticed his son lips still had some residue of his spit up, though most of it was now running down the back of Jay’s t-shirt.

He wiped his son’s mouth clean with his index finger before he let him finish off the bottle. Once he was done, Jay took him back into the bedroom so he could grab a new shirt. He made sure to burp Ben first; there was no point changing if Ben was just going to spit more formula on him.

The baby seemed quiet and content as his blue eyes followed Jay around the room from his vantage point on his parents’ bed; Jay had nestled Ben between a few pillows while he changed his shirt. When Jay returned, a smile was etched on Ben’s face.

“Feeling better now?” As Jay picked him up, Ben snuggled his face into the crook of Jay’s neck; he sighed contentedly as made himself comfortable. “How about watching the Blackhawks game before I feed you something and put you to bed? Mommy says you need to try eating some peas tonight.” He knew he wouldn’t get a coherent answer from his son, but Jay’s heart swelled when the baby giggled and looked towards him.

Jay grabbed a beer and set it on the coffee table before going back to retrieve his dinner. Had he not been holding Ben, the two trips wouldn’t have been necessary. They settled on the couch and turned the TV on to the game. Jay looked down at Ben and grinned; he had dressed his son in a Blackhawks onesie from Ruzek just for the game.

Ben wasn’t exactly interested in the hockey game, instead observing his surroundings—the team had joked that Erin and Jay had a junior detective on their hands, he was always taking it all in—and occasionally wanting his father’s attention.

Jay had reclined himself across the couch with Ben resting in the middle of his chest. He watched his son’s eyelids droop as he ran his hand over his back. He could faintly feel Ben’s pulse against him; it was racing compared to his usual slow and steady beat. When Jay was sure he was asleep, he lifted his hand to run through Ben’s mess of dark hair, inhaling that wonderful baby smell.

At the end of the second period, Ben started to fuss again. Jay rose from the couch and tried to gently rock him back to sleep, but that only seemed to aggravate the baby. “What’s wrong, buddy? Not feeling too well?” Jay lifted the back of his hand to feel Ben’s forehead. He frowned noticing that it was warmer than usual. “It looks like you’ve got a little fever. Don’t worry, Daddy will make it all better.”

Jay moved into the kitchen and opened the cabinet where they kept the medicine. He grabbed the box of Baby Tylenol and turned away to place Ben down on the counter. He let Ben recline against his abdomen, but his cries got louder as he felt Jay’s hands move away from him.

“Just one second, bud. I just need to get the medicine ready.” He filled up the small syringe with the required dose before turning his attention back to Ben, turning the baby around and placing him back into his feeding position.

“Okay, I’m so sorry buddy, but this will taste kinda yucky.” Ben continued fussing, even when Jay made funny faces to try to get him to open his mouth and laugh. After a few minutes with no success, he realized the baby wouldn’t be laughing any time soon. So Jay got creative and tried a different method, setting Ben back down on the counter with his back resting against Jay’s abdomen. He bent down to see the baby’s face and pinched his chubby little cheeks together, holding the baby’s mouth open. He quickly squirted the medicine in and closed his mouth, letting the medicine make its way down to his stomach. Jay placed the syringe on the counter and picked up Ben in an effort to soothe him.

He rocked gently, hoping for Ben to fall asleep. When Jay finally heard his breathing even out and grow deeper, he looked down to see his little boy’s eyes shut. Relief washed over him. Jay didn’t want to move around too much in fear that he would again wake his baby, so he walked around the living room and watched the game on mute.

In the middle of the third period, despite Jay’s attempts of being gentle and quiet, Ben woke. He fussed a little before throwing up all over the front of Jay’s shirt, then erupting into wild cries once again.

Jay was frantic. He had never seen Ben so miserable. He wanted to call Erin, but he knew she was busy with a case in New York. He also figured she would never leave him alone again with Ben. The baby seemed to grow even more agitated as the seconds ticked on. Jay couldn’t bear to see him in so much pain. He finally picked up his cell phone and pressed a number on his speed dial.

“Hey, I need you.”

Jay was waiting by the door, pulling it open quickly the second he heard a knock.

“Sorry, I came as fast as—what the hell are you doing?” Will Halstead was greeted by the sight of his very cranky nephew clad in only a diaper and his younger brother who was shirtless in the doorway with his son pressed up against his chest.

“He’s so warm, Will. I remember reading online that skin-to-skin can help soothe a baby.”

“Did it work?”

“I don’t know! He just won’t stop crying and he threw up and Erin’s not here and she’ll never trust me again—” Jay was panicking.

“Dude, relax. Go lay him down on the bed, let me take a look at him.”

When Jay set Ben down in the middle of the bed, his cries just intensified. He reached his arms towards his father, basically demanding to be picked up. “I know buddy, I can’t right now. Uncle Will needs to check you out.”

Will entered the room and placed his medical bag beside Ben on the bed. First, he took out his stethoscope and listened to the baby’s lungs and heart, counting the respirations and pulse rate. “Pulse is good, so is his breathing. He’s a bit stuffy though.” Next, he retrieved a small tongue depressor and his penlight and tried to check his nephew’s throat. It was difficult with the baby thrashing around, desperate to be held. “Jay, could you just try to hold his head straight? He keeps moving.” Jay did as instructed and even that small amount of contact seemed to calm Ben, at least a little bit.

“Everything looks fine.” Will grabbed Ben’s little fists in his larger hands and picked them up from the bed before dropping his arms gently. He did the same with his legs.

“Will, you can play with him later. Fix him!” Jay hissed at his brother, annoyed that he wasn’t doing anything to help his sick little boy.

“Relax, Jay. You’re overreacting. I’m just checking his strength.”

“Well you better fucking fix him or Erin will have my head. And when she does, I’ll have yours.”

Will gave Jay a pointed look before speaking. “You know, you shouldn’t swear in front of your son. And maybe put on a shirt or something?” He stopped his teasing when he saw the anger in Jay’s eyes. Reluctantly, Jay moved toward his dresser to get his third shirt of the night.

By the time he returned to the bedside, Ben’s fussing had started to weaken; he was growing tired. Jay watched as Will reached into his kit again and pulled something out that Jay had never seen before. “What are you doing?!” Jay asked, his voice laced with concern. Will was aiming this weird bulbous device towards his son’s face.

“It’s a snot sucker. Ben is congested. I’m going to clear his nose out so he can breathe easier.”

Oh, so that’s what it is.

Jay was immediately pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Ben screech at the top of his lungs as his brother squeezed the bulb. “What the hell man?! You’re hurting him!”

“It’s not hurting him Jay, I know what I’m doing. He’s uncomfortable and it just feels weird to him.”

“Well hurry up, you’re upsetting him.”

Will rolled his eyes at his brother’s outburst before moving the bulb over to his nephew’s other nostril. He repeated the process and could feel Jay cringe at the sounds Ben was making. “Okay, all done. He’s just got a bug, probably from being out in the cold. Did you give him some Baby Tylenol?” Jay nodded in response. “Give him some more at the proper time, other than that, he’s just going to be fussy, there’s not really anything you can do about it. Just try to get him to sleep.”

“Yeah, definitely. Thanks Will.”

“Anything for my nephew,” Will grinned, affectionately grabbing hold of Ben’s little foot. “Hey, did you see the final score of the game? I missed it when I rushed over here.”

“Hawks lost 3-2, OT.”

“Damn. Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you two soon. Take good care of my nephew.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.”

Jay picked Ben up off of the bed. The baby was just whimpering; he was obviously exhausted. The three Halstead men walked to the front door and said their goodbyes before Jay collapsed back on the couch with Ben on his chest. The baby nuzzled his face into Jay’s neck, something Ben liked to do with Erin. Jay smiled and started rubbing circles along the small of Ben’s bare back, hoping to lull him to sleep.  

“You know, you’re my best buddy.” Jay said, placing a soft kiss against Ben’s hair. He pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over his son’s fevered body, waiting for Ben to fall asleep before he followed. Father and son slept peacefully nestled together on the couch.

We have a list of ideas already, but if there is anything specific you would like to see, please let us know and we’ll add it to the list! We will be jumping all over time writing these little snippets of Jay Halstead as a father.

Let us know if you would like to be tagged when we post updates :)

#writing: maybe one day #linstead fanfiction #linstead #linstead au #chicago pd #cpd fanfiction #erin x jay #jay x erin #jay halstead #erin lindsay #will halstead #halsteadx2 #maybe one day #halsteadpd #mine #ours #fluff #daddy jay #my writing

[thejokersenigma]

Christmas Fan Fiction 2017 - Day 10 - Christmas Scenes at the Sirens’

So this is a bit of a random one - there isn’t really a story as such, just a bunch of scenes that are a bit odd and maybe out of character but this non-stop writing it taking a bit of a toll on me I think! haha

Hope you enjoy anyway

MASTERLIST

“Remind me again, why we’re baking gingerbread – whilst Harls, who actually wants these bloody things - is nowhere in sight?” Demanded Selina, angrily flicking dough off her fingers.

“Because last time I agreed to let her do it, she almost burnt the house down.” Muttered Pamela, tossing yet another bowl into the sink.

“Why didn’t we just use pre-made dough?” Selina groaned, spooning up a mixture which was still far too runny.

“Harl would know.” Ivy sighed in exasperation. “Trust me, we wouldn’t hear the end of it.”

Just then the girl in question rushed into the room carrying a very disgruntled cat. “Selina. Can I dress Isis?!” She asked excitedly.

“No!” Explained Selina

“Aww, come on…! It’s so cute!” She squealed, holding up the offending outfit which appeared to be a reindeer costume.

“You are not dressing my cat in a reindeer costume Harley!” Selina hissed firmly.

Harley’s face dropped. “Red…” She tried.

“Drop it Harls.” Ivy said. “Why not dress up Bud or Lou?”

Harley let Isis down, not noticing she was seconds from being bitten. The black cat was quick to make the most of its freedom, turning tail and running from the room, probably aiming to hide under Selina’s bed. Harley reached for a small pot of marshmallows on the side. “I tried!” She protested, popping a small handful of the marshmallows into her mouth. “But they’re a bit too excitable and they ended up ripping the outfits to pieces.” She explained, pouting sadly. “I had to just settle on the tinsel collars!”

The two other women exchanged glances with each other as they continued to roll out the cookie dough and cut out little men shapes. Harley continued to pick at the little marshmallows, favouring the pink ones, as she stared absently out the window into the grey Gotham afternoon.

“’ow much longer till the gingerbread is ready?” Harley asked through a mouthful.

“Stop eating all the marshmallows, Harl!” Ivy demanded as Harley shovelled another handful towards her mouth. “The cookies need baking, then you can do whatever the hell you want with them!”

Harley clapped her hands, jumping on the stop excitedly. “Ooo yay!” She beamed. Then stopped suddenly, something outside catching her eye. “Look guys, it’s snowing!” She exclaimed. “Can we go out in it?!”

The two others glanced out the window, “It’s only just started.” Selina muttered, “There’s no point in going out.”

Harley’s face fell again, but soon her smile was back. “But when it settles we go out, right?!” She demanded eagerly.

Ivy sighed heavily, not bothering to look up from her work of cutting out the gingerbread shapes. “Sure, Harls.” She muttered, her tone completely uncaring.

“Yeeee!” Was all she heard, Harley running from the room, clearly having another idea to entertain herself.

“I hate Christmas…” Selina grumbled next to Pamela as she picked the cookie dough out from under her nails.

“Uh huh.” Ivy agreed.

 “You’re cuter when you’re freezing, Harls.” Ivy teased as the Harley walked through the front door, teeth chattering, and her arms wrapped tightly around her chest.

“Yeah, well, someone,” Harley shot dagger eyes at Selina who walked in casually behind her, “took the snowball fight a bit too seriously.”

“You’re just a sore loser.” Selina grumbled, wandering past the frozen girl and heading to her room to change out of her damp clothes.

“Stamp your feet!” Ivy ordered at Harley as she began to follow. Harley scowled, sulking and stomping her feet in the entrance way, huge clumps of melting snow falling away from her boots.

Ivy nodded at her that she could stop and Harley moodily trudged into the living room.

“Can we put a fire on, Red?” Ivy heard Harley call from the living room.

“No fires!” She called back.

“But Reeeedddd…!” Harley whined, appearing in the doorway. “I’m gonna freeze to death otherwise!”

Ivy rolled her eyes at the theatrics. “Fine. But I’m not leaving you alone in that room.” She told her, heading into the room. However, she was brought to a halt by a plant suddenly falling in front of her face. “What on Earth?!”

She looked at thin, round ended leaves and the small circular pure white berries. Mistletoe. Why was there mistletoe in the house?! “Harley! What is this?” She demanded.

“It’s mistletoe!” She explained happily.

“I can see that, but why is it in front of my face.” Ivy asked with a frown.

“I thought it added to the Christmas decorations.”

Ivy surveyed the mistletoe carefully, realising it was just a branch. “You cut it?!” She demanded. Harley face dropped, suddenly realising who she was talking to.

“Uh – only a few bits – I didn’t kill it!” She insisted sheepishly.

Ivy shot daggers at her. “You’re lucky that mistletoe is so resilient.” She growled. “Poor baby.” She murmured, stroking the leaves of the plant above her before pulling it down, refusing to let it hang like a trophy.

 “Is the ginger bread cool yet?” Harley suddenly pipped up from her pile of blankets.

Ivy looked up from where she was giving a bit of TLC to one of her young potted orchids, she’d moved them into the warmth of the room – making sure they were on the other side of the room to the fire – and they seemed to appreciate the increase in heat. “Probably.” She muttered.

Harley giggled excitedly and untangled herself from her nest, skipping towards the kitchen. “Selina!” Ivy heard her call, “We’re going to have a frosting contest!” Ivy rolled her eyes at this – she knew Selina’s reaction to that.

There was low grumbling mutter, which must have been Selina’s unenthusiastic response, and then Harleys loud voice. “Aww come on, kitty, get into the festive spirit!”

Ivy got up and headed to the kitchen, knowing she’d have to stop a fight before it broke out. Stopping suddenly when yet another piece of mistletoe fell in her face. She clenched her jaw as she pulled down this piece as well and carried on into the kitchen.

“Don’t call me that.” Snarled Selina where she sat at the kitchen table, Isis curled up on her lap as the catwoman filed her nails.

Harley looked over to Ivy as she entered, not noticing the plant in her hand. “You wanna join, Red? We’re gonna have a gingerbread frosting competition!”

Ivy raised any eyebrow at her which should have provided a good enough answer, but Harley’s eyes were large and pleading.

Ivy sighed dramatically. “Fine. Hand me some of those men and we’ll just see what I do to them.” She said with a sinister seductive smile. Harley beamed at the look of sin on Ivy’s face and raced to get the biscuits.

“Tah dah!” Harley exclaimed a few hours later, stepping back from the gingerbread house they had put together, and the tray of gingerbread men that had been propped up next to it.

“The gingerbread house is kinda…” Harley began, searching for the best word, pursing her lips as she assessed it.

“Sad?” Suggested Selina, her arms crossed as she leant - bored and sick of being festive - on one of the kitchen counters bored and tired of being festive.

Harley frowned at the suggestion. “Not saaaddd,” She protested, “just… Not quite right.”

“Not quite right, Harls?” Repeated Ivy, “It’s leaning more than Penguin does on his umbrella after he’s had a few too many!” Exclaimed Ivy. “Plus 3 of the gingerbread are bigger than the house, and most of them look like their eyeballs are bleeding!”

There was a moment of silence as everyone considered the bakes before them, then, suddenly, Selina burst into a fit of laughter behind them.  Both of the other girls turned to stare at the crazed woman in bewilderment – she hadn’t done anything but moan all day, now all of a sudden, she was in hysterics – if Harley didn’t know better she would have thought Selina had taken a dose of her puddin’s laughing gas. Ivy raised an eyebrow at her in question. “You alright, hun?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Selina was practically in tears now, doubled over in laughter. “Leaning more than Ossie – that’s a good one!” She managed to choke out between laughs.

Ivy glanced over at Harley who was beginning to laugh herself. “Did someone spike your eggnog?” Ivy asked, beginning to grin at the scenario herself.

Soon they were all laughing together at the ridiculousness of the gingerbread, everyone feeling far more relaxed thanks to their failure - the pressure of the holiday and the need to do ‘festive things’ that they hadn’t even realised they had felt, now suddenly lifted off them. The day didn’t need to be perfect - there wasn’t a need of a list of things to do or check off - they just needed to have fun doing whatever they wanted.

And right now, they wanted to fall into each other with laughter.

Later that night they were all settled with a cup of hot chocolate and a chunk of gingerbread – after deciding that the best and most satisfying thing to do with the cookie house was to smash it. Selina was curled up, stroking Isis who had made himself comfortable on her lap, Ivy was absently stroking a tendril of plant that had wound its way onto her shoulder, and Harley was curled back under her pile of blankets, her eyes resting on the pile of presents that sat under one of Ivy’s Latin named plants – as they hadn’t been allowed a Christmas tree in the house.

“Can I open a present yet?” Harley suddenly asked out of the blue, breaking the peaceful silence that had fallen over them.

Ivy looked over to her and followed her gaze to the pile. “No Harl, you wanted to do Christmas, you’ve got to do it properly. You’ve waited this long you can wait another 24 hours.”

Harley sighed dramatically, still gazing longingly at the corner.

Ivy got up, finishing her drink, and heading towards the greenhouse to check her plants out there before she headed to bed. Just as she was about to walk out the backdoor, yet another piece of mistletoe fell in front of her face, swinging slightly in the cold air.

“If I bump into one more bloody piece of mistletoe, Harl’, I’ll burn your bloody presents!” She yelled back into the house behind her. Selina smirked over at Harley as the girl blushed bright red and sheepishly curled deeper her blankets.

“What a Merry Christmas.” Observed Selina, as Isis purred contently on her lap.

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