#there was someone on my doctoral committee
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I am one doodle poll away from becoming a supervillain.
#academia#such is life#booking a thesis committee meeting is impossible#I wanna bite someone#the downside of having a thesis committee in different departments#and a doctor who has clinic duty#it took all my self control not to have a glass of wine at 10:30am
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Something Old, Something New
Spencer Reid used to know everything about Y/N Y/L/N. But what happens when ten years after they last saw each other, they just so happen to bump into one another.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader
Word Count: ~2.7k
TW: Brief mentions of domestic violence, the slightest implications of DV, mentions of guns, Spencer hating JJ, colorful language.
Notes: This is my first ever fan fiction and so I’d absolutely love some feedback! I really want to expand this into either a full sized fic, or a series. Would anyone be interested in that ???? This takes place during S7E1 in which the team is on Trial because of their actions with Ian Doyle, Declan Doyle, and the others. One of my fav Reid episodes, and just a good one overall. Side note, it’s barely edited, apologies in advance.
GIF not mine.
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“If you want to punish me for taking a risk, then I encourage you to do that, but do not put the rest of my team on trial for something I suggested.” The words flew out of his mouth. Some might think it was because he wasn’t thinking clearly. But he was. Senator Cramer was not amused. “Calm down Agent.”
“This is calm, and it’s doctor.”
“That’s all then, Doctor Reid.”
“Thank you, Senator.” His chair scraped across the floor as he stood up. Spencer turned around and exited the jury room, door slamming behind him.
The team all stared as he stalked past them, and out towards the bathroom. JJ started to follow him before Derek put his hand up in front of her.
“Derek–”
“Let him go JJ.”
She sighed before turning around and walking the opposite direction. Just then, one of the clerks opened the door to the room and requested that Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia enter next.
As Spencer walked towards the bathroom, his mind was racing a million miles an hour. His anger was surely justified and the Senator was not listening to him, at all. Especially since the only thing the committee really even wants to do is have an excuse to transplant every one of his teammates—
“Shit!”
Spencer had collided with someone. Head on.
“O-oh, I’m..” He quickly bent down to help her pick up the various items now strewn across the floor, due to his negligence to his surroundings.
“I’m so sorry.” He managed to sputter out before actually managing to look up to the person he bumped into, holding out the remaining item on the floor–a small black binder, clearly heavier than it looked.
The woman he had run into smiled quickly, but kindly at him.
“It’s okay—thank you—don’t worry about it. Could’ve had a coffee or something in my hand and then we would have had a serious issue.” She placed the binder back into her bag, somehow already neatly organized despite being completely empty and on the floor a minute before. She laughed a little before smiling at him.
Reid smiled back at her.
“I-I really am sorry about all your….” He tapered off. “Y/N?”
Y/N really looked at him for a moment before her whole face shifted. “Spencer?”
Both stared at one another in the hallway until a voice called over to the two of them “Hey Pretty Boy, we’re getting called in.”
Y/N tilted her head, a small smirk making its way across her lips.
“...Pretty Boy?”
“Yeah—–Well. No. It’s his nickname for me, uh..”
“Reid!”
She smiled at him. “Go Spencer. I’m here all day. Maybe you should look for me downstairs in the library when you’re done testifying in…” she peered around him and looked at where Derek was standing. “Federal Court? Oh Spencer, didn’t know you had become such a rule breaker.”
“A lot’s happened in the past ten years Y/N.” He smiled at her before turning around and walking towards Derek who pushed his lips together, trying not to make a bigger scene than before.
“Are we going to talk about whoever that is?”
“Nope.” Spencer pushed past Derek and into the courtroom.
_________________________________________________________
Once the team, except for Prentiss, was released into the hallway, JJ tried to grab Spencer's hand.
“Spence—”
“Not now Jennifer.” Spencer quickly maneuvered himself away from JJ, and headed towards the double doors at the end of the hall.
“Reid…” JJ tried again, but Spencer just pushed past the doors and walked down the stairs. He walked down two flights before exiting the stairwell. He found himself in front of the library, next to a small local cafe that clearly catered to exhausted lawyers and their incessant clients. Reid walked past the little cafe and entered the library. He realized that he didn’t know what type of Law Y/N practiced so he wouldn’t know where in the library she would be, but it wouldn’t matter since she was sitting at one of the tables next to the windows, trying to soak up as much sun while she withered away in the library. She sat with her back to the doors, maybe because the glare was too blinding on the laptop in front of her, or maybe because she couldn’t stop looking up at the entrance hoping a certain Doctor would enter.
Spencer approached her and stood in front of the empty chair.
“This taken?”
Y/N looked up, smiled, and nodded.
“By you Doctor Reid. Please, have a seat.”
Spencer laughed lightly and sat down.
“I feel like I’m in a client meeting.”
Y/N shook her head and closed her laptop.
“Not unless you have something you need a divorce lawyer for Reid.”
Reid looked at the books scattered in front of her, noting what books she had, and what cases she had opened them to.
“Tough case?” He nodded towards the books that she was busy tidying and shoving off to the side. Y/N sighed and stacked the books on the side of the table near the window.
“Not necessarily anything I can’t deal with, it’s just brutal to see someone be repeatedly assaulted by their husband, and–I’m sorry. That’s so…That’s so grim, I didn’t mean to bring the mood, um, down.” She laughed nervously and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.
“Believe it or not, that is probably a regular topic on a weekly basis for me.” Spencer gave her a sheepish smile.
“Wh-” She smiled and shook her head. A ray of sun was slowly stretched across her face, illuminating her eyes, and captivating Spencer. “Well, Doctor Reid. Tell me what a man like you is doing with three PhDs and multiple Bachelor's degrees these days in which you deal with such graphic topics and have to be on trial in Federal Court?”
Reid smiled at his folded hands. “I’m a–uh–profiler for the FBI’s BAU—Behavioural Analysis Unit. We, uh, look at the way an unsub–unknown subject–behaves, as well as the victims behavior, and create profiles based off of that information to help law enforcement agencies, at every level, across the country.” Spencer finished his ramble by biting his bottom lip, and smiling at her. “As for the trail…my team led an operation that was…not at all by the book.”
Y/n nodded, choosing, for Spencer’s sake, to not prod further into the reason he was at the courthouse.“So can you analyze people just by…looking at them?”
Spencer nodded at her. “Yeah, I mean that’s not all that we do. We make preliminary personality profiles yes, but I’ve also made linguistic profiles and geographical profiles–But, uh, y-yeah I can do that…”
“So profile me then Doctor Reid.”
Reid’s brain short circuited at that moment. “I-uh, you. Um. You want me to….”
“Profile me. Yes.” Y/N bit her lip. “Unless, you’re lying to me Spencer.”
Spencer took a breath before locking eyes with her.
“You’re wearing a tailor made dress for you, which means you have enough money to be able to buy nice clothes, and buy someone’s labor to make them for you. Since the dress is well made and uses an expensive material, the case today is really important to you–from the books I’m assuming a messy divorce involving domestic abuse since that is what all of your books are about, and it involves weapons of some type, most likely guns, because one of those books is dedicated entirely to United States versus Hayes, which deals with convicted domestic abusers not being allowed to purchase guns or have a gun license. When I sat down you also had one of the books open to District of Columbia versus Heller, which deals with an individual’s right to possess a firearm unless they’re a convicted felon or mentally ill. You’re not wearing any makeup which means you’re confident about this case, and your client, regardless of her current physical state. It also means you’re confident in yourself, and don't feel the need to hide your face in any way. You’re wearing shoes that add about three inches to your height so that you’ll appear taller in court to make yourself seem like a bigger presence, as well as assert your previously mentioned confidence in this case and your stance in it. The binder you carry is smaller in size, but heavier than expected meaning you probably have a tablet, maybe an IPad, in there for any paper you don’t actually need a physical copy of, which tells me you’re environmentally conscious, or you’re trying to be. Because you also had a plastic water bottle in your purse which means that you knew you had a long day today, but probably also had a long day and or night yesterday since your prep towards yourself was minimal—shall I keep going?”
Y/N was looking at him with that look he simply could not figure out. “If you want Spencer. I’m quite enjoying it.”
He licked his lips before nodding at the coffee cup on the table. “You’re exhausted. I can tell since you’re no longer wearing your shoes, and your hair is now up. You probably work better with your hair up, which stems from the fact that you danced as a child. Hair up means getting to work. You’re also exhausted since you needed espresso. That cup says you’re drinking four shots of espresso in your latte. But it’s probably because you’ve put a lot of thought and time into this case. Which is good for your clients since they need someone who is compassionate and empathizes—” Spencer stopped short. His realization did not go unnoticed by her.
“Did you figure something out, Doctor Reid?”
“You…..Was it….?”
“No.” She sighed before reaching across the table and putting her hand on top of Reid’s clasped ones. His entire body was immediately filled with static.
“No Spencer. But maybe that’s enough profiling for the day, yeah?”
Spencer nodded before darting his eyes around the library.
“Would you, uh, maybe want to go get lunch, um, with me?”
Y/N smiled at him and nodded. “I would love nothing more, Doctor. Shall we?”
Spencer nodded and stood up, watching as she quickly, yet efficiently packed away her laptop, the binder and the rest of her things. She stood up, grabbed all three of the books, her bag, and her coffee.
“At least let me carry one of those books y/n–”
“Spencer, thank you, but I got this. Remember? Strong, confident woman here.” She teased him before walking over and dropping them off at the librarians desk. Reid followed behind her, still trying to fully decode the woman he once knew everything about.
“Want to take the stairs? I have this irrational fear that I’ll get stuck or die in an elevator, or both.” she mused looking at Spencer.
“As someone who has gotten stuck in an elevator, I have to agree. Did you know that according to the National Elevator Industry, there are approximately 27 recorded elevator-related deaths a year, with over 10,000 related injuries?”
Y/N paused before she opened the door to the stairwell. Spencer thought she was going to cancel the lunch. He had spewed before they even made it out of the building. But instead, she laughed a little bit.
“There’s a National Elevator Industry Company?” Out of all the things to come out of her mouth, that was not what he had expected.
“Well, yes. They’re technically the National Elevator Industry Incorporated, but yeah.”
She made a sound surprise before nodding and heading into the stairwell. “Well I’m glad we’re not volunteering to be victims 28 and 29 then.”
Spencer smiled again, and let out a laugh of agreement.
“I did want to ask you about that sweater vest though. It’s quite....something Spencer...”
______________________________________________________________
By the time the two had reached the main doors to the outside, both were giggling incessantly as Reid recalled the time he got stuck in an elevator with his coworker, Derek. Y/N paused their conversation to say a quick goodbye to the security guards working.
“You know all of their names?” Spencer was slightly astonished, knowing how quick the turnaround was for a job like that, barely even considering the sheer amount of security guards.
“It’s important to thank them since they have to stand there and deal with every single person who comes in or out of the Court. Might as well try to make their day a little better. Besides..” She opened the door for Reid to exit through. “When you’re nice, they’re a little more lenient about…oh I don’t know…plastic water bottles and other things that you’re not technically allowed to bring into a courthouse.”
Spencer smiled at her as they walked down the steps. “And you called me a rule breaker.”
“Well Pretty Boy, I can’t follow all the rules, what fun would that be?” Spencer became flustered as she smiled politely and waved to some of her colleagues as they finished walking down the steps.
“So Mr. Profiler, where are you taking me to lun–”
“Spence!”
Spencer outwardly rolled his eyes, his face steeling up at the sound of the heels coming towards them. Y/n was now profiling him as he excused himself and turned around to face JJ.
“What.”
“Wow–uh—Spence look, I–”
Spencer huffed in annoyance. “Is there something you want Jennifer?”
JJ gave Y/n an apologetic smile before turning towards Spencer. “Hotch and Strauss need us back at the office. We have to, uh, discuss next steps in case of reassignment.”
Y/n watched as Spencer managed to steel himself up tighter than before. “Yeah. Alright. I’ll meet you all there.”
“Well actually we—”
Spencer tried to cut her off again before Derek decided to interrupt, He had been watching the whole interaction. He moved over to the small group. “Reid, we have to leave now.”
Spencer huffed in annoyance and shot him a look but Serek didn’t notice. He had turned towards Y/n at that point, and turned on that classic Derek Morgan Charm. “Didn’t know Pretty Boy could even associate with such a beautiful woman. The name’s Derek.”
He held out his hand for Y/n to take. And she did, shaking it twice before retreating her hand.
Spencer turned to you, with the hint of a devious smile, and nodded in Derek’s direction. “That’s the Derek.”
Y/N’s eyes lit up with amusement, before turning back to Derek. A smile burst across her face. “Oh my god, Spence. This is him?”
Derek looked at Reid, and then back at Y/n, and then back at Reid. “Reid, what is she talking about…”
Spencer just shrugged before turning his back completely to JJ, who seemed more upset by the second at Spencer’s distantness than at Morgan’s blatant attempt to charm his way into Y/n’s heart.
“Yes! Doctor Reid here was just telling me about your adventures on the BAU.”
Derek smiled and nodded at Spencer. “All good things I hope.”
“Oh absolutely. It’s an honor to meet the person who got stuck in an elevator and freaked the fuck out with Spencer all those years ago.”
Derek’s jaw hit the floor, and JJ was pretty speechless herself. Spencer had the smirk of a lifetime written all over his face. Y/n took the opportunity to walk over, and give Spencer a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You still owe me lunch sometime, Doctor Reid.” She winked at him before pulling out her ringing phone, and answering.
Spencer, JJ, and Derek watched her walk away.
“Who the hell was that?” Derek eventually managed out before looking at Reid with a mixture of awe and proudness across his face.
“My former ‘girl next door’.” Spencer smiled, before walking off towards Hotch, Rossi, Garcia, and Emily, ready to head back to the BAU with a newfound determination. The first was to get this god forsaken meeting over with. And the second was to find out everything he could about Y/F/N, Y/L/N.
#spencer reid#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x you#spencer reid x y/n#spencer reid x fem!reader#Spencer reid imagine#Spencer reid oneshot#Spencer reid scenario#Spencer reid hc#spencer reid headcanon#spencer reid fanfiction#spencer reid fic#Spencer reid fanfic#Spencer reid fluff#speaker reid blurb#x reader#criminal minds#Spencer reid recs#spencer reid drabble#Spencer reid drabbles#Spencer reid one-shot#my first fic#ahh!#I hope y'all like it!
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The line "It's not X's fault that your doctor* isn't taking you seriously, it's your doctor's fault." has been said many times before, and not for no reason. However, I've yet to see that reason properly explained, so I'm going to do my best to do that today.
You see, I don't think saying this phrase alone really gets across the message of it. Because sometimes doctors will blame X ("trenders", TikTok, self-diagnosis, whatever) as their reason for not taking you seriously. Which makes this sentiment come across as ignoring the people who have had that happen to them. But the sentiment still applies to those folks, too. Why?
Because if your doctor truly had your best interests in mind, they would still do their best to help you out regardless of their own concerns; they wouldn't just say, "I'm not gonna help you because I think you're just influenced too much by X." Maybe they'd go over the possibility of you being influenced by X, but at the end of the day, the existence of someone else is not a justified reason for your doctor to not give you treatment, because your life is not defined by this nebulous other person, group, or object.
You are your own person. You are an individual patient. Your doctor should be treating you as an individual patient and person, not a mindless mouthpiece for a trend. Outside of whatever influences your doctor may be concerned about, you are still a patient and person, and deserve to be treated well as one. You do not deserve to be treated as incapable of thinking for yourself; you do not deserve to have your concerns dismissed as planted there by whatever scapegoat your doctor has chosen as an excuse not to properly treat you. Being less educated in the matters of health, making an incorrect guess about what's going on with you, or just daring to have a condition that a lot of people are talking about right now are not, in fact, good reasons for a doctor to not perform their job and listen to what's bothering you or going on in your life.
Moreover, a good doctor should acknowledge that even if your concerns are misplaced, there had to be something to build those concerns in the first place. Maybe you don't have ADHD, but you struggle with executive dysfunction and need help with that. Maybe you don't have POTS, but your heart is doing something funky and more testing is needed to figure out what. Even the most extreme of fears come from a nugget of truth, and it's your doctor's job to find that nugget so they can help you with it. It's just unfortunate that many doctors aren't willing to properly search for that nugget.
If I see discourse about "fakers" on this post I'm going back to bed. Stop blaming other people for your doctor's incompetence. Consider reporting on your doctor to their boss or the ethics committee for refusing to properly treat you because a certain condition is becoming more well-known, or whatever their excuse is this time
*Note that "doctor" here is used to refer to any health professional. Psychologist, psychiatrist, dermatologist, whatever. It's just an easy catch-all.
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Yesterday, the board of trustees for the library I work at voted unanimously against banning This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson! This was a huge relief for me (and my fellow staff), and I just wanted to share a few takeaways from this experience.
For context, a library patron had submitted a formal request to have the book removed after seeing it displayed alongside other recent additions to our YA section. He took issue with, of course, the chapter on sex ed and provided pages of out-of-context quotes and straight-up lies to make the book appear "dangerous." Lots of the homophobia and puritanism you'd expect. Per our policies, we formed a committee to address his request, and the committee decided the book was fine where it was. Again per policy, he had the option to appeal to the board of trustees, which he took.
We found out he was doing this 5 days before the next board meeting. And even with that short warning, we had over 150 people show up to a small-town library board meeting that often has few or no public attendees! We couldn't fit everyone in our biggest room! Look at us all!!
Public comments are limited to 3 minutes or less, and that still lasted for more than an hour. People spoke who were parents, teachers, nurses, therapists, voting activists, workers at other libraries, and of course, many queer people. They talked about censorship, freedom of expression, freedom to read, the positive impacts of this book and books like it on youth, their own experiences as queer kids and teens or parents or such, and more--too many perspectives to list here. Every single speaker opposed the book ban. Every. One.
The patron who initiated this challenge was present, but left before public comment was over, without speaking.
So, those takeaways:
This is further evidence that campaigns of censorship and queer erasure are perpetuated by individuals and small groups, and don't represent the common view. You can check out stats on ala.org to back this up, but most people, including most parents, oppose book bans.
This turnout was gathered mainly through texts, email, chats (like Discord), phone calls, and word of mouth. Every town and city has people willing to fight and support those fighting the tides of fascism--keep in touch with your community and your allies, your local friends and trusted acquaintances, and when the time comes for action, they will show up.
Pushback, especially public, visible pushback, demoralizes bad actors. These are often people with little to do except organize and promote their hatred, often people with few material problems demanding their attention. (In this case, a retired eye doctor.) Give them a fight, and they often back down. If they don't back down, see #2 and beat them with numbers and passion.
Even after a victory, stay alert. We're prepping for litigation (not that we think he has a case, but he does have a reputation). We're also keeping a close eye on the smaller libraries in nearby towns and townships. Even if someone like this backs down once, they might try their luck somewhere easier. Keep those contact networks from #2 ready to go.
None of this is comprehensive, and your particular situation may well require different tactics. I'm not an expert, just a chronically online trans woman and librarian who's gotten unexpectedly attached to her current town. It was incredibly heartwarming to see so many people stand up for queer teens where I live, when it usually feels like nobody cares about what's happening to queers in the States. This post has already gone on longer than I expected, I'm just still quite emotional and wanted to talk about it. (Also still mentally drained from the past few days of stress...)
Huge shoutout to everyone who helped make this community action happen. Many of them were more eloquent or piercing in their comments, but here's my 3-minute spiel. It was delivered with none of the eye contact or dramatic reading I'd rehearsed because, holy shit, there were a lot of people there!
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HawksxReader Valentines fic!
a/n - I didn't want to NOT do something for Valentines Day. The Hawks brain rot has been real. My most prevalent self ship and the loml lately.
c/w - None. Just fluff. Enjoy!
Beta read by @the-fishing-basket and @trxshpandax AND she helped me finish it!! Sometimes endings are hard to write. Thank you lovelies for helping me!
w/c - 3533
Your parents had always told you not to use your quirk. Your earliest memories were still of your home, with them and your grandparents. You faintly remember hearing about ‘All For One’ and how unstoppable he is and how he would want a quirk like yours. The only memories that survived from your time with your parents were not happy ones. Constant talks of keeping yourself secret, not using your quirk, hiding you away.
In your young age, you didn’t know what you were doing. The first time you used it, it was second nature to you, like breathing. You had seen a girl at the park with a scraped knee. She was crying. You walked up to her, placing your hands on her. A small glow coming from the space between your hands and her knee as you healed her. Your eyes felt heavy afterwards as your mother rushed towards you, smacking your hands away and scolding you.
After that, your earliest memory was the car ride to the commission. Your parents had essentially told them that your quirk is too strong and they were scared that all for one would come after them. The commission promised to keep you safe. You were told that your new life was to be spent at the facility. You were to be adopted by the president and you were to behave as her child. Your quirk was still to be a secret and you were told to never, under any circumstance, use it without explicit permission from the president.
Your first few months at the facility were lonely. You knew there were others there, but you were on a lockdown, unable to interact with anyone. “It’s for your own good” you were told, “we are trying to keep you safe” but even in your young age, you knew they were just trying to hide you from the others until they knew you would comply. You knew that if you listened and did what they said, you might get to see other people. Someone besides the doctors.
Through all of the experiments and testing, they discovered your quirk worked best in UV rays, specifically the sunlight. Although it drained a bit of your energy, through practice you learned how to expend as little energy as possible, while still getting the most out of your quirk. You were still under explicit instructions to never use it without permission, the president citing that if it was known to the public, a powerful healing quirk like yours, people would scramble to get their hands on it.
You had never expected the first time you’d be allowed to interact with someone, would be another child. A boy, around your age, clutching his Endeavour plushie. Scarlet wings protruding from his back while he watched you with golden eyes, “This is Hawks.” the president told you, introducing you by your name and informing the young boy that you were her daughter. You smiled slightly from behind the president, earning a smile from the boy called Hawks. “You will start helping us record his quirk while he trains.”
A few years had passed. You were being trained as an assistant to the committee and Hawks was being trained as a hero. You spent a lot of time working with Hawks, writing notes about his quirk and how his training was going, and him just training to be a hero. Over time, you noticed how shiny his feathers could be in the light and how his pupils could retract and shrink when he was looking at something dangerous. You noted how his hearing was above human levels and his eyesight could spot something that you could never see. You were making notes on your clipboard, watching the winged hero trainee.
“I will be back soon, please keep taking notes on his control of the feathers individually.” the vice president turned to you, making sure you heard him before you nodded as he was leaving the room.
Hawks was using as much of the space as he could, sending just enough feathers out to dart around the room, hitting targets while he flew, picking up speed. He glanced towards you after hearing the door shut behind the vice president. His eyes lingered a few seconds too long as he didn’t realize the wall was closer than he thought. He brought his left arm in front of his face to stop it from smashing into the wall, the bone cracking from the impact. Hawks cried out as he fell to the floor. The clipboard clattered on the ground as you rushed towards Hawks, reaching him just as he hit the floor. Without even thinking, you grabbed his arm and pushed the sleeve of his shirt up, seeing the bend in his arm. You looked into his eyes, “Sorry!” you squeaked out before setting the bone into the proper position, causing him to swear under his breath. The glow coming from under your hand made his eyes widen as the pain dissipated from his arm.
“How did you do that?” He asked you, breathless.
“No please, don’t tell anyone I did that!” You replied, knowing that you’d never hear the end of it if the commission knew what you did. “Please please keep it a secret. I’m.. I’m not supposed to-”
“Hey, I won't tell them. It's all healed now right? They won't even know it happened.” Hawks looked at you, grabbing your arm to make you look at him. “Hey, I know your secret, so it's only fair?” You looked up at his face where he was smiling wide, “My name is actually Keigo, but don’t tell them I told you that, ok?”
He kept his promise; Hawks never breathed a word of you using your quirk to heal him and you never spoke his real name after he told you. The commission never knowing you healed the boy named Keigo.
As the years passed, you watched Hawks learn how to use his quirk with perfect precision. He lacked brute strength, but made up for it with speed and cunning. You loved watching him train and grow. The winged hero had made a name for himself as one of the best heroes for his age. By the time Hawks had turned 18, the commission set him up with his own agency and his popularity skyrocketed. You watched from the sidelines, as an assistant to the committee. You were present in all his meetings. His eyes always seemed to linger a little longer on yours, his smile a little brighter when he looked at you.
It flustered you, if you were being honest. You knew you had a small crush on him when you were younger, but now, as an adult, you knew you loved him. There was no way he actually felt the same. You knew he had to be doing it to tease you. You had seen the interviews and the fan videos on the streets, he was a flirt with everyone.
What you didn’t realize was his eyes lingered on you because it took everything in him to not stride across the meeting room to kiss you. His eyes watched you, drinking in your curves and committing them to memory before he had to leave and pretend he didn’t want to lift you and fly away from this hellhole. He knew you were both watched very closely by the president and the rest of the commission. He knew there was no way they would let you be in a relationship with him.
“And Hawks, you will infiltrate the League of Villains. Understood? We need as much information as we can get about them.” The president addressed Hawks while you took notes. He just nodded. “Make sure they gain your trust.” It sounded more like a threat than an order.
Hawks turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. “Miss, may I be excused? The meeting is over.” You asked as she just waved her hand in your direction. You walked out of the room, making sure the door clicked shut before turning on your heels. You spotted Hawks talking with a secretary, locking eyes with him. He raised a finger to her in a gesture that he would be back in a moment and strode over to you, pulling you into an unoccupied office, shutting the door behind you. “What do you need Kei-um-Hawks?”
He blushed, “I just had to tell you, in case something happens on this mission” he grabbed your hands, “This is harder than I thought..” he trailed off, turning his head.
“No please, tell me.” you urged him, cupping his cheek with your palm and turning his face to look at you.
“Fuck it.” he whispered out, “I need you to know, I like you. Like, I really like you.” he looked so nervous, it was adorable.
You blinked up at him in response before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling his lips onto yours. You felt him inhale sharply through his nose before pressing his lips harder against you. Grabbing your waist, he pushed you against the back of the office door, pressing his body against yours. Pulling his head back, you leaned your lips forward, trying to keep the connection before opening your eyes. His wings were slightly spread open, the feathers puffed up a little.
“Keigo,” he loved the way his name sounded coming from your lips, “please be safe.” you whispered, pushing on his chest, moving him enough so you could open the door. You took one last look back towards him as he handed you a small feather, barely a baby feather, but still you slipped it into your pocket before leaving the room completely and shutting the door.
Hawks leaned forward, knocking his head against the wall, your voice rattling around in his brain, ‘please be safe’ He smiled foolishly. So you did feel the same way.
As the months passed, the only information the commission had gotten was through encrypted emails. He of course kept up personal appearances when he became the number 2 hero, even helping Endeavour fight a nomu that attacked them during a small meeting. The fight was way more than what you had expected, with Endeavour becoming significantly injured and needing to stay in a hospital. Your only reassurance that Hawks was safe was the constant reminder from the feather he had handed you before the mission. If you were feeling uneasy, you wrapped your fingers around it in your pocket. You knew he could feel your touch and you hoped he knew you missed seeing him.
Soon, word reached the Hero Commission about the LOV attacking Re Destro and the Meta Liberation Army, overpowering them and merging the two organizations to form the Paranormal Liberation Army. Somehow Hawks was able to get sensitive information to Endeavour about when they were planning on attacking hero society. The Commission and Police Force started working together silently to stop them.
The plan was to bring Re Destro to the commission headquarters, under the impression they wanted to work with his company, and arrest him. All this was happening at the same time the Hospital team and the Mountain village team were to be attacking as a joint mission to take down the entire Paranormal Liberation Army. You knew Hawks was risking his life right now, trying to help take them down. The small feather in your pocket gave you hope that everything would be alright.
Re Destro stood up as the President, Vice President and assistants filed into the room. You had your small tablet in your folded arms, looking like you were ready to take notes.
“I apologize for making you wait.” Madame President started.
“Please,” he lifted his hands, “Think nothing of it.”
“We appreciate you pitching such a lucrative proposal to our company” you assumed she was the assistant to Re Destro, “It was an honour to hear from you.” She bowed slightly.
“We are the ones who are grateful. I speak for everyone when I say the Safety Commission would be thrilled to work with Detnerat.” You could feel the tension rise in the air, “You’ve developed so many groundbreaking products. However, as for the proposal,”
The team drew their guns, pointing them directly at Re Destro, “There are some line items I’d like to discuss.”
Heroes and police force members burst through the door and windows as Re Destro’s quirk started to take over. A dark shadow starting on his face and spreading, giving him height and strength.
Your vision was clouded, dust and glass flying everywhere. ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen like this!’ your only thought was getting out alive. Your ears were ringing, the sounds of gunshots distorting your hearing. The floor opened up under you and you fell down to the room below. You were sure the impact had broken your leg, but you were too afraid to use your quirk with so many people around. The last thing you recall seeing before blacking out, was the muddy face of Re Destro, obviously a clone produced by Twice, melting onto the floor above you.
You couldn’t have been out for longer than a few minutes. When you woke up people were still scrambling to save the committee members. Your leg was burning, but when you looked at it, you could see it was a clean break. It would be simple to fix. You crawled to a corner of the room, where you were sure no one would see you and placed your hand over the break. The warm glow emanating while your quirk healed your bone.
You took a moment to catch your breath. You knew the commission wouldn’t let you get out without a fight, but if you took this moment in the chaos, you might be able to get to the police headquarters. Standing, you grabbed your phone which fell out of your pocket, sliding across the food. Not far from it, the small red feather Keigo had handed you was strangely lifeless. You grabbed it between your fingers. A sense of dread crossed your mind when it didn’t have the usual small vibration of life.
You made your way through the crowds in the halls, reaching the back door, pushing it open and trying to walk as quickly and casually as you could towards the police headquarters, trying to avoid stares. The streets weren’t as busy as you were anticipating.
You walked through the door of the headquarters, heads turning towards you, taking in your disheveled look. An assistant ran towards you, “What happened?”
“Madam President is… she's..” tears slipped past your lashes as you threw your hand over your mouth, feeling the need to wretch.
“We got word, please, sit.” All might motioned towards a chair for you to sit down. Your legs felt shaky as you gripped the back of the seat, before sitting. “Take a breath, we got word that Yokimiru survived, along with a few others.”
“Sir, we’re getting word from one of the mountain raid members. Its Tsukiyomi! He says Hawks was badly injured and hes bringing him to the medical tent.” your blood was pounding in your ears. Is that why the feather stopped moving? You gripped the front of your shirt, your heart felt like it was being squeezed.
“Request permission to go to the medical tent” You stood up, still gripping your jacket. Your other hand holding the small feather.
“There’s nothing you can do. It would be better if you stay here, where its safe” one of the officers looked at you.
“No!” you yelled back at them. Your eyes narrowed. You hoped you didn’t sound as desperate as you thought.
All might sighed, glancing at your hand with the small feather, “Someone drive her.”
You thanked him, turning and heading towards the doors. An assistant scrambling to the door to drive you. In the car, you could not stop your leg from bouncing. You had no idea what state Keigo could be in, but if a student had to bring him to the medical area, it couldn’t be good.
In the small compact car, the few minutes it took to get to the medical zone felt like hours. “Can you go any faster?” you snapped.
Your driver snapped their head towards you, “Sorry miss.”
Getting to the medical zone, you spotted Tsukiyomi kneeling on the ground beside someone. It couldn’t be Keigo. His wings were gone. Gauze was covering where you know his wings had come from his back, his entire torso was wrapped.
Before the car could come to a complete stop, you pushed the door open, running towards Keigo. “No no no no, Keigo.” you muttered, your hands hovering above his body, afraid to touch him. You saw one of his eyes open before your tears flooded your vision. “Please be ok, please please be ok.” You didn’t care how desperate you sounded. You didn’t even think when you placed your hands on Keigo’s back, your quirk activating and the soft glow causing him to grunt in response.
You couldn’t see much through your tears, just the blurry outline of Keigo's back when you heard your phone’s notifications going off. You quickly grabbed it, punching in your password and wiping your tears, hoping it was word from the commission about the status of things. What you were not expecting was Dabi on the small screen while his broadcast started. You could hardly hear through the sound of your heart beating in your ears. Something about the number 2 hero killing a fleeing villain. You could make out Keigo’s real name, and a story about how his father was a small-time villain, caught by Endeavour. Your head felt light, like you were going to pass out. You tried to keep yourself upright, using your quirk to heal as much of Keigo’s back as you could before blinking, your head falling forward onto Keigo’s back. Your vision darkened as your eyes slid shut. The only thing you could feel was Keigo's unsteady breath.
Your eyes fluttered open. The sun filtering through the curtains was blinding. Your body was sore and your head was pounding. You looked down and realized you were in a hospital bed. The last thing you remembered was Dabi’s broadcast. Sitting up, you reached for the ice water on the bedside table, a nurse walking in at that moment, “Oh, you’re up. How do you feel?”
“Sore.” your throat was scratchy and dry.
“Well, I can give you some pain killers. But now that you are awake, would you be ok with a visitor?” She asked.
“Who?” you whispered, bringing your hand up to rub your throat.
The door opened and Keigo walked in. His face still wrapped in bandages and a mask on his face. His signature wings missing from his back. You choked back a small sob, finally seeing how bad his injuries were. “Hey dove.” His phone spoke for him.
The nurse glanced back at you before leaving the room.
“Keigo, what happened?” you looked at him, tears dotting your lashes.
Hawks was furiously tapping on his phone, “Dabi knew who I was. He never trusted me from the start. He figured out what was happening." He looked into your eyes, “I also heard about what happened at the meeting with Re Destro. I wish I could have been there.”
You stopped him, “No, no Keigo, you had your mission to deal with.” you coughed, “You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.”
“I tried to help Bubaigawara.” He looked away from your face. “He wouldn’t take it. He felt like he betrayed them. I had to do what I did. Please, don’t hate me for it.”
You stood up, walking towards him and cupping his face with your palm, “Never.” you whispered.
Keigo’s eyes met yours just as Best Jeanist opened the door. You ripped your hand off his face, a blush rushing across your face.
“Am I interrupting?” His hands smoothing out his hair.
Keigo started tapping on his phone again “No. Not at all. Let's head out. Y/n, please, stay here. I will be back later to pick you up. I need to come back for another round of treatment from Recovery girl anyway.”
“Let me help you too.” You grabbed his jacket sleeve before he could turn away, after Jeanist left the room.
“I don’t know. What if people find out? I think Tsukiyomi kept your secret. I haven’t heard anything in a report about me receiving extra treatment.” Keigo looked between your hand and face.
“No, we can keep it between us.” You smirked at him. “I’ll do it from my home. If you want, of course .” your face turning red again.
Hawks eyes closed, his smile wide under the mask, “Yeah, let’s do that then.” He leaned forward, placing his forehead against yours, looking into your eyes. “I’ll pick you up later.”
You watched Keigo leave the room, taking one last look back towards you. “With everything going wrong around you, all it takes is that one person to make it right.”
Taglist - @cryptred @dragons-and-skulls
#Hawks x reader#Keigo x reader#~~mha stuff#hawks fluff#keigo fluff#mha x reader#mha fluff#hawks valentines#keigo valentines#my hero academia#mha#valentines 2023
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Hi (waves excitedly!!!!) do you have any recs where draco's characterisation is basically just "my life's mission to harass harry potter is back on track." Like he is just living his life being chaotic and also embraces muggle things yk
Hi there! Such good food, love me me a chaotic Draco driving Harry up the wall Harry haha peak dynamics! I hope you enjoy these:
What Potter Wants by birdsofshore (E, 3.3k)
Harry definitely didn't want to do that to Malfoy. Not at all. So why did Malfoy keep saying that he did?
The Morning After by birdsofshore and capitu (M, 5k)
This is what happens when you stick your wand in places where it really shouldn't go.
The Antique Bed Frame by lazywonderland (E, 5.4k)
Draco “needs his bed fixed.” Harry offers to help.
Let Me Have You and I'll Let You Save Me by Frayach (M, 6k)
Draco keeps coming back, and Harry keeps letting him. Draco can’t stay away, and Harry can’t live without him.
The Risk of Exposure by marguerite_26 (E, 6.6k)
After Draco discovers something about Harry during a chance meeting, Harry can’t seem to get him out of his head or out of his life.
Good Talk, Potter by loveglowsinthedark (E, 6.7k)
Potter begins to take me apart, each savage, pounding thrust peeling away layer after layer of everything that I am, reaming me open in a way that makes me wonder how I’ll ever be able to let anybody else but him fuck me after this.
Per my last letter (I hope you choke on it) by fluxweeed and lastontheboat
Or: the one where Harry has writer’s block and Malfoy isn’t helping.
Adventures in Truth and Texting by fluxweed (E, 11k)
Former Death Eaters are being targeted with a Veritaserum curse – it’s permanent, and makes victims speak aloud their every thought. Luckily, it’s easier to control when writing – and Hermione is trying to introduce Muggle technology to the wizarding world.
An Act of Kindness for One Harry Potter by a Sympathetic Draco Malfoy by 0idontknow0 (E, 15k)
As Draco leaned on the wall to wait for them to get dressed, he could not help feeling like he had done a very kind thing by disrupting them. Someone should give Potter a better rogering than that sorry sod had. The man had saved the bloody world—okay, mostly Europe—the least someone could do was give him a proper shag.
Stupid Love by The_Sinking_Ship (E, 17k)
Harry Potter, how does Draco Malfoy hate thee? Let me count the ways.
Reparatio by astolat (E, 17k)
Draco snorted. “I’m not reduced to penury. I want something considerably beyond money, and I rather think you’re the only one can give it to me.”
The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by Cibee (T, 19k)
Draco could grab Potter and shove him into a stall before proceeding to suck his soul out of his dick, but secretly, deep down, in the part of Draco that he will never admit to anyone, he is (everyone pauses to shudder) a romantic. Potter is not someone Draco wants a one-off with. Potter is — Draco’s beloved!
IDK My BFF Hermione? by lettered (E, 19k)
Draco's a hot mess. Harry's lovin' it (hell yes).
Breaking All The Rules by Frayach (E, 22k) - AU
Malfoy is slowly wringing the last vestiges of pleasure from Harry’s life with all his rules and committees and agendas and reports. Or is he?
Fearful Trill by Vukovich (E, 29k)
Harry should have come out and met someone when he was younger. He should have seen a doctor about the pain in his hip while youth was still on his side. Now, he's made his peace with dying young, but maybe not with dying alone.
Glory Be by Lomonaaeren (E, 33k)
Draco—Draco Malfoy, skilled assassin, powerful and wealthy Veela, former Death Eater—has always known what to do, where to go, who to kill. And then Harry Potter came along: Harry Potter, Unspeakable, former Auror, the most powerful wizard Draco has ever seen. And Draco catches a glimpse of glory he may be unable to live without.
The Four Ds of Apparition (or: Destination, Determination, Deliberation, and Dicks) by eidheann and firethesound (E, 36k)
After transferring to the Apparition Department, Harry's life becomes one big dick joke. And all his friends are arseholes. So is Malfoy, but what else is new? AKA Harry Potter and the eighteen twenty dicks.
Bite Me, Hate Memes by pir8fancier (E, 44k)
Draco Malfoy is incensed to realize that someone is trying to usurp his position as the premier Harry Potter hater.
Vis-à-Vis-à-Vis by Vukovich (E, 50k)
Harry's assignment was simple. Close out Draco Malfoy's missing persons case so he can be declared dead.
Loverboys by corvuscrowned (E, 84k)
As post-war violence and tensions rise, it seems as if there’s no hope to unify the wizarding world. Except, maybe, a manufactured relationship between resident Saviour Harry Potter and known purveyor of the Dark Arts Draco Malfoy. (The fact that they detest each other is beside the point.)
Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by SquadOfCats (E, 104k)
Eleven years after the war, Draco Malfoy leads a quiet, boring, and perfectly respectable life, thanks very much. Or, at least he does, until a sudden and very unexpected veela awakening causes him to throw soup all over Harry Potter in the middle of the Ministry cafeteria.
What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym (M, 131k)
Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.
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Melina Vostokoff
Posted on AO3 too
To @hereforalltheblackhilli for getting this out of my head...
Maria spends her down time going through files. Despite defeating Thanos, crises never stop coming. She's long overdue for a vacation, but the closest she'll come is a decent night's sleep. It's been a while since she's had one of those too.
Nick is someone she considered a friend. She's not sure what his official role is these days, but she knows he's not taking a vacation either. That's what she tells herself every time her calls go to voicemail.
With a sigh, she sits back and looks over at Natasha, who is fast asleep next to her. Her gaze falls onto the old photo that Natasha carries with her. Natasha has always traveled light, but they had received two photos in their post office box. One from an unknown sender and the other from Clint.
The first is an old family photo. Natasha's family, her Red Room family, but still family. Maria smiles softly at little Natasha with blue hair and her arms around her little sister, Yelena.
The second is a photo of Yelena standing next to Kate Bishop. A new young archer. Maria grins, remembering Clint's email about how he had his hands full with her. Maybe he has a better idea of all the trouble he'd given her and Coulson in the early days.
Her eyes fall back on to the first photograph. There's something familiar there. She has the files open because with every new threat she needs all the help she can get and hopes to find someone with a connection or experience. More often than not, she comes up dry and has to figure it out as she goes. One more thing she has to handle in addition to everything else. She remembers a time when she'd been on the helicarrier and missed being in the field. She'd like to take that back now. It not as easy now, not with how many times she's had to testify before some committee. Her face isn't unknown anymore.
She finds herself flipping through Clint's old files. She curses as the images fly past, stupid Stark and always needing an interactive interface. She misses him and his teasing. That's when she comes across it. That familiar face.
After Natasha was brought in by Clint and started working for them, Maria had things shifted. Natasha had proven her loyalty to SHIELD, but it didn't mean Red Room operatives wouldn't come out of the wood work seeking their revenge. Red Room was all some of them had ever had, having it seemingly destroyed wouldn't sit well so she took measures to keep Natasha safe. Leaning back, she shakes Natasha's leg to get her attention.
"Hmm?"
"When you started working with Clint as partners for good, I had our operations station moved."
"Looking out for me even then?" says Natasha in that voice that always gets to her as her arms go around her neck and leaning against her back.
"I had Clint go through a number of hoops before you two went out again."
"I remember that. Endless medical visits and enough stuff taken from me to make a clone. Why are you bringing this up?"
"Because it looks like Melina kept tabs on you. Made sure you were in good hands with SHIELD." Tapping on an image, she loads an employee's ID photo. Dr Marta Shearing. She can feel Natasha leaning in closer when she switches to another one. She feels her taking a shuddering breath.
"Mama Melina..." she hears Nat murmur.
Clearly the scientist infiltrated SHIELD as a doctor and could have interfered with numerous things, and that's with HYDRA already secretly among them, but that's for another day. Right now, she's letting Natasha know the woman she'd seen as her mom had never forgotten about her. It warms her own heart too, knowing that there are others who cared about her, loved her even, and didn't just use her. With a swipe of her finger she sends it to Natasha's private files.
"Do you know where she is now?" asks Nat.
"A general idea, but I can find out more."
"Not now. Let's sleep for now." That sounds like a good idea. Pushing her tablet aside, she lets Natasha curl into her.
"I love you Nat."
"Love you too, Maria."
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quick personal/school update:
Y'all. I've officially formed my Dissertation Committee (with some absolute rock stars) AND I just sent my chair the draft of my first 3 chapters (the dissertation proposal)!!!
With any luck, I'll be a doctoral candidate in just over a month!
I still have tons to continue working on in the meantime, but I had to share the good news with someone. :)
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Torchwood Rising from the fallout of the War In Heaven: A Surprising Connection
Torchwood Outside the Government Beyond the Police
Protecting the Earth from War now over.
The 21st Century is a ruin and Torchwood is ready
When someone thinks of Torchwood one thinks of a modern who at its darkest. But what most don’t know is with out the War in Heaven the organisation as it is would not exist. Jack would not be a member, nor would he be immortal. Why you ask? Well let us look at the forth Doctor Serial the Talons of Weng Chiang.
This story is the first story to mention the Time Agency. (The Guys Jack worked for before he became a full time con artist) they are mentioned to be after Greel the villain of this story. We don’t find out much about them other than Greel is worried about them and to escape them he had to use a dangerous Time Machine which disfigured him. This story has a direct link to the War in Heaven via Mr Sin a Peeking Homunculi with the aspect of the pig (and part of a pigs Brian) the Peeking Homunculi latter play a roll in Lolita’s (the Masters old TARDIS turned Time Lord) play to conquer Georgian Britain.
But the true link comes in this novel
Emotional Chemistry which shows the founding of the Time Agency in the Wake of Greel’s escape using advance and modified technology based on Greel’s Time Cabinet. The Latter Novel Trading Future reveals that the reason the Time Agency can exist is because the Timne Lord no longer exist to govern History and so Time Travel is being discovered by the “Lesser” Races (aka Humans) which added to the suggest of Faction Paradox that Humanity was always supposed to govern time not the Great Houses (Time Lords) and the War in Heaven was what allowed humanity to reclaim its rulership thus the Time Agency was founded due to the Destruction of the Time Lords in the War in Heaven.
This means the Jack would never have become a Time Agent is Faction Paradox, the War in Heaven and all that had never existed. Hew would thus never have met the Doctor and become immortal. Nor would he have become a member of Torchwood three. The War in Heaven is what Torchwood is built on.
(And this is not getting in to my theories about the Committee-Enemy War which is a whole over post)
Thank you for reading.
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Hedgehog Hodgepodge: A Story of Espionage, Confusion, and an Evil Plan Gone Haywire
Chapter 4: More Unanswered Questions
Shadow was mostly silent as he walked with Aurora to the YH program. Aurora was filling him in on what he’d missed the past several weeks.
“Uncle Tails won an award for his contributions to technology. I think the name of the group was the Division for the Advancement of Technological Achievements, or something like that. Anyway, he asked for a private ceremony including only he and CC, and the members of the award committee. Dad was upset, but you know how things go whenever there’s a big party! The weird thing was that when we saw him later, Uncle Tails confessed that he had never heard of the organization.
“Uncle Knuckles and Aunt Rouge were working in the mine last week. They ran across a strange rock or something that no one’s ever seen before. In fact, I think Aunt Rouge went out of town and had it tested for precious metals. I never saw it, but she said it was smooth and round - something you wouldn’t normally see buried in a mine.
“Sticks is, well, Sticks. She found something recently in the woods outside her house and was convinced someone was watching her. But she pretty much comes up with a similar story at least once a week.
“As you know, mom’s been sick and Dad won’t leave her side. I hope they can find something out that can help her at the doctor’s appointment.
“As for me, I keep having this dream about a small blue hedgehog. I think it’s my dad when he was a kid, but I don’t know what it means. I haven’t told him about it since he has so much on his mind right now.” Aurora stopped and looked at Shadow. “You’re quiet. Will you tell me about your mission?”
“You know I can’t do that,” came his rather short reply. She asked him every time he returned from one of his extended assignments.
Aurora sighed. “Am I ever going to know what you’re up to when you’re away?”
“Not if I can help it,” he said.
“Then I’ll just have to extract the information from you,” she said slyly, knowing Shadow had a hard time resisting her.
She started tugging him off the road in the direction of the little hill where they enjoyed each other’s company on pretty days.
“Wait,” Shadow sputtered. “Don’t you have to be at work?”
“I have a few minutes to spare,” she said.
Shadow steeled himself for whatever was coming. He was well aware that Aurora wanted to wait for marriage before giving herself fully. But there were a lot more ways one could be persuaded.
—-
Aurora practically dragged Shadow to their meeting place. Once there, she made him sit down next to the tree and settled on the ground next to him. “Now,” she began, “why don’t you at least tell me where you traveled on this mission of yours.”
Shadow gave her a smoldering look. “Aurora, I am not going to discuss this with you.”
She leaned in close to him and batted her eyelashes.
“Do you have something in your eye?” Shadow asked, confused.
“I’m fine,” replied Aurora in a seductive voice. “The thing is, there’s something I’ve been wanting to get off my chest…”
Shadow automatically looked down at the aforementioned area, then snapped his gaze back up at Aurora when he realized it. She knew she had him. Reaching somewhere behind her, she started leaning in closer.
“You’re so very…” (closer) “very…” (closer) “very…” (cloooserrrr) “AGGRAVATING WHEN YOU WON’T TELL ME THINGS!” Aurora thrashed him with a magazine from her bag.
“Aurora!” Shadow stammered. He reached out and clasped his hands around her wrists. She gasped in pain when she felt the strength of his grip.
Shadow realized immediately and let go of her. “Aurora - Light - I am so sorry!”
“No,” she replied, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I don’t correctly gauge your reactions.”
There was silence between them for a few seconds, then Shadow spoke softly. “How’s this for a reaction?” he said, gently pulling her to him. He slowly moved his hand under her chin and tilted her face up to a tender kiss. A current of heat shot through Aurora, making her heart skip a beat. But it was short lived, as her reminder alarm went off on her watch.
“Ugh… guess it’s time to head to YH. I’m sorry again.”
“Don’t be,” said Shadow. “One day I’ll be able to tell you about the mission, but it’s too dangerous right now. I would never want to put you in harm’s way.”
Aurora nodded. She didn’t like being kept in the dark, but she understood his concern. She knew he cared very deeply for her. They slowly started walking back towards the road.
“Why don’t you come with me to YH? You could be a guest speaker! The kids will be dying to know more about you.”
Shadow crossed him arms. “I don’t do ‘guest speaking.’ That ranks right up there with fancy parties.”
“But you did go to that fancy party with me,” said Aurora with a mischievous look.
“And you know how that turned out.”
“Yeah, I do.” Aurora hid a smile as she remembered the pillow fort Shadow had made with her dad.
“I have some things to take care of in the village, anyway. So you go ahead and I’ll meet up with you later.”
Aurora couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed. “Alright. Bye, Shadow.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and continued along the path to work.
#sonic the hedgehog#shadora#sonamy#sonic fanfiction#hedgehog hodgepodge#aurora belongs to e-vay#shadow the hedgehog#sonicboom#tails the fox#sticks the badger#knuckles the echidna#rouge the bat
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Welcoming committee (Ben Hargreeves x F reader)
A/n: This isn't one of my best fanfics, but I think it's still good enough to post for y'all so I hope you enjoy it! I might go back and re-write it sometime soon to make it a bit better and repost it later but Happy reading and as usual all likes, comments, follows, and reblogs are appreciated!
Warnings: reader dying, grief, talks of afterlife
Words: 2055
So there I was, laying down on the hospital bed, my breathing ragged, with my mother sitting gripping my hand as if her life depended on it. When in reality it was mine, that depended on it. She was crying, sobbing, as she held my hand between hers with her head bowed as if she was praying. My dad stood behind her glints of teardrops in his eye, but none fell, cause my father never cried, at least not when I was watching, he would let his tears fall once my eyes were closed for the final time, and I was no longer watching him. They would close for the last time, it was inevitable, my fate was sealed in stone. I was doomed to die here in this hospital bed. And I've accepted it, but that's not to say I liked it, I hated it I was too young I was supposed to live a long and happy life, I was supposed to go to college and get married and have kids. But life doesn't always happen the way it's supposed' to, things happen, you get sick and you go to the hospital, and they can't save you. And then you die, that was the next step, and I could feel it was going to be completed very soon. I could feel my heart slowing down, and how it got harder to breathe, I could vaguely hear the heart monitor beside my bed pause for longer and longer between each beep. My mother heard to and this brought on another round of sobs from her, these ones much louder, than the ones before. She gripped my hand tighter, and I turned my head towards her, I squeezed her hand weakly, and smiled slightly.
"I-I l-love-ve yo-ou" I whispered my voice raspy.
"I l-love y-you m-more," My mom said stuttering as she smiled at me.
I sighed contently and closed my eyes, perfect timing... I could still hear everything going on around me, I heard the machine flat line, and my mothers choked sobs as my arm went limp as she grasped it. I heard the doctors and nurses running in to try and save me but their attempts were futile. I wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. I heard one of the doctors shouting clear as they tried to restart my heart. I felt the jolts of electricity but I didn't at the same time. I was aware of everything and nothing at the same time. I heard the doctors apologizing to my mom saying that they couldn't save me. I heard her sobbing louder. But these sounds were distant, and far off, and were fading by the minute.
"Hey, wake up" I heard someone say gently, and I was confused. It was a new voice, one that was unfamiliar to my ears. The weird thing was that this voice sounded closer than all the other voices. "c' mon you just gotta open your eyes" The voice said softly, coaxing me to obey. So I did, I struggled at first but eventually opened my eyes. I blinked a few times to clear my blurry vision and the room cleared. I was still in my hospital room, and my parents were still by my bedside, nothing had changed, my mom was still clutching my hand tightly. And now as I looked towards my father, I finally saw the tears streaming down his cheeks. He was crying. The heart monitor still connected to my arm was a continuous green line on the screen.
"I'm over here" The unfamiliar voice brought me out of my trance and I turned my head towards the direction of the voice. I saw a boy, leaning up against the wall of my hospital room. He had a hood on hiding his face, but I could see just enough of it to tell he was a boy. He straightened up off the wall and walked towards me. I watched him approach me, and surprisingly I wasn't afraid, at least not of him. He stood next to me, and I could see his face fully for the first time. He had a kind face, eyes that looked as if they were smiling even though they had no mouth to smile with, they sparkled with mischief, wit, and humour. But when you looked deeper sorrow, and pain. His face was one that could be easily trusted, and one of a person who was shy, but well-liked by everyone he wished to talk to. He offered his hand to me, I looked at it and reached out to take it. He smiled at me, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, and instead seemed to dull the twinkle I saw in them earlier. I gripped his hand tighter as he helped me sit up. This wasn't unusual, sitting up is a normal thing all people do, except this was unusual because I was sitting up, but my body was laying down. My body was still laying down on the bed with my parents crying over it.
"Your soul has been separated from your body" The boy explained, without me even needing to ask the question.
"So I'm dead," I asked, noticing how my voice was no longer the raspy wheeze it was when I was in the hospital bed, and I let go of his hand.
"Essentially yes," He said lowering his eyes avoiding my gaze.
"Oh, ok" I nodded, handling my death surprisingly well. I glanced at the boy "So are you like... Death.... or like the grim reaper.... or god or someone?" I asked eyeing him up and down. "Have you like to come to collect my soul?" I asked again curiously wondering if I was standing before death himself.
"Oh god no, um, I am um" He hesitated as if deciding whether or not to tell me his name, I'm guessing he decided to tell me because a few seconds later he answered. "I'm Ben, Ben Hargreeves" He introduced himself and offered his hand for me to shake it.
"Nice to meet you, Ben, I'm (Y/n), (y/n)(l/n)" I replied shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you (y/n)" He said letting go of my hand, he glanced at the clock on the wall. "we should get going," He said solemnly, glancing over to my parents who were still crying over my dead body. I followed his gaze and stared sadly at them. "I'll let you say goodbye" He murmured, "God knows I wish I got the chance" He mumbled barely loud enough for me to hear. I glanced at him as a frown crossed my face, but he already had his back turned and was walking through the door, to wait outside. I turned back towards where my parents were still crying, my dad, hugging my mom's sobbing and shaking shoulders, and shedding quite a few tears himself. I walked around the bed and tried to touch my mom's shoulder, but my hand just went right through it. I sighed whispering my last goodbyes, hoping that they heard or felt something. Before walking to the door of the hospital room. I turned back once more to take one last look at them before exiting the room. Ben stood on the outside of the door, waiting for me.
"so why are you here Ben?" I asked curiously as to what he was doing here. "Not that I don't enjoy your company" I added quickly so I didn't offend him.
"Well, I am your welcoming committee" He replied, and I nodded my head in understanding.
"Why?" I asked curious to see why a guy would volunteer to welcome a complete stranger to the afterlife.
"You see when I died, I had no one, literally no one, I never knew my real parents, so I didn't know my grandparents or any of my real family" he explained as we walked out the hospital, and I followed wherever he was leading me. "I didn't want anyone else to experience that so I go to as many places as I can and act as a welcoming committee, to those who have recently died," He said reaching up to rub his hand on the back of his neck shyly. I giggled, this guy was a literal angel, so pure and soft. "Yeah, I know, it's stupid" He mumbled, as I giggled again.
"It's not stupid it's sweet..." I smiled at him and he smiled back
"you really think so?" He asked curiously, hope filling his voice.
"yeah I do, but I just have one question," I said pausing
"alright shoot" He glanced up at a street sign to make sure we were going the right way
"why me?" I asked, genuinely curious about his answer.
"you're like me," He replied pausing before he continued. "You were too young to die, so full of life, and you had so much to live for" He spoke passionately, firmly believing in what he was saying. I chuckled as he sighed, "and well I was the same way, too young and full of life, and had dreams of living forever and growing up and having a family..." He trailed off sniffling a little, I looked at his face which was focused intently on the sidewalk. I put my hand on his shoulder, as an act of sympathy, he smiled and wiped his nose. "plus you're really pretty" He added his face turning red like a tomato, as he avoided looking me in the eyes. My face went up in flames.
"t-thanks" I stuttered, avoiding his eyes as well. We walked on in silence for a few more minutes before he stopped walking, and cleared his throat.
"we're here," He said gesturing towards a big house with two gates in front of the wood doors, the black gates had umbrellas on them which I thought strange. Ben opened the gates as well as the door and led me inside.
"what are we doing here Ben?" I said following him through the main hallway and under a giant chandelier
"We are meeting my brother" He answered
"why? and what is this place?" I asked as we entered a room with animal heads mounted along the walls and the portrait of a boy hanging above the fireplace.
"my brother can talk to the dead, and this was my childhood home," He said grasping my hand and pulling me out of the room when I lingered too long looking at a portrait of a family hanging on another wall. I saw a little boy that kind of looked like Ben in the painting before he pulled me away.
"So your brother can talk to us?" I asked in disbelief as he continued holding my hand while leading me up a big staircase.
"yes" He answered, he led me down a hallway to where I assumed his brother's room was and opened the door peeking inside. He stopped inside the door frame but didn't let go of my hand, and so I saw no need to remove it from his. He was looking at a boy around our age, maybe a little older, sitting on the bed knitting with a ball of yarn on his stomach. He cleared his throat to get the boy on the bed's attention. The boy on the bed looked towards Ben and his face lit up.
"BEN YOU'RE BACK!" He squealed in delight before catching sight of me, he raised his eyebrows before looking down and noticing my hand in Ben's. The boy raised his eyebrows even higher and said "well, well well, Benny brought a GiRl with him" He said in a sing-songy tone.
"Shut up Klaus," Ben said, chuckling a little, still not bothering to remove his hand from mine.
"Does Benny Boo have a little ghostie GIRLFRIEND?" The boy I now knew was named Klaus teased dancing around the room, taunting Ben. Ben looked down at the floor clearly embarrassed.
"I wish" Ben mumbled, making me giggle, I made a split second decision, and leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. His face flared up again and he looked at me with wide eyes. I giggled again.
"Awe Benny has a girlfriend," Klaus said squealing in delight, as Ben continued to blush, and smile a little.
--Fin--
QOTD: What's your favorite Ben and Klaus moment?
Join my discord: https://discord.gg/9bwRmtXCuB
#ben hargreaves x reader#Ben hargreeves#UA#umbrella academy#UA fluff#UA fanfic#Umbrella academy fluff#Ben hargreeves x reader fluff#Klaus hargreeves#Umbrella academy#Ben x reader#ben x reader fluff#ben hargreeves x reader#ben hargreeves x F reader#Ben x F reader
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Tales: SCP-105 x SCP-166 Part 1
The date was 6-1-2013 a surprisingly great time for today's event, the wedding of Agent Iris Thompson, currently 30, and Doctor Meri Clef, currently 32. Nobody expected this despite their love being so obvious, but these two women were finally ready to spend the rest of their immortal lives together. Having deep connections like this was rare within the Foundation, especially since the O5 Council was strongly against it. They were especially against this wedding, but the Ethics Committee was able to shut them up. Of course, once the wedding was over all agents, MTF units, doctors, researchers, and other Foundation staff would have to get back to work right away. But no one was focusing on that right now, instead they were focused on the wedding of the century.
After lots of debate between the two they both decided to be wearing wedding dresses. Dr. Wells was surprisingly ok with it and even agreed to be the one to marry them off. Iris wanted Dr. Wicked to do it, but he refused almost immediately, even when she jokingly begged him to reconsider. She mainly just asked because she heard about how angry he was about marrying Agent Pardy with Dr. Pardy and wanted to annoy him even further. Iris chucked as she remembered how angry Dr. Wicked looked when she asked him to marry them off.
"Hey! Hold still!" Agent Wells giggled as she was preparing Iris dress, making sure to make it fit well but not be too tight.
"Sorry I was just remembering something funny. But also, I'm just so happy... Say what was your wedding like?"
"Nuh-uh, its bad luck to talk about someone else's wedding at your own."
"What? That's not a thing!"
"Ha! Yeah, your right, it was... scary... I mean I don't regret it; I do love him even today but... at the time it was a big decision, so I just wasn't sure if I had the strength for it. But I eventually found it and walked down that carpet and that's when I saw him staring at me with that charming smile of his. That's when I knew that all the fear I had before was so silly and would never again stop me from following my heart." Agent Wells then realized that she was slacking off on fixing Iris's dress. She then looked up to see Iris looking down at her with sparkling eyes, she was clearly touched by Agent Wells story.
"Hey! I'm not the girl your supposed to be admiring today remember?!"
"Ha?! As if! I just think your story was so sweet... But seriously thank you, I really needed to hear that, and yeah, I think I feel the same. I am a little scared but frankly I don't think I'll ever regret today." Suddenly Doctor Pardy and Agent Strutemyer entered the room as well.
"Ok I got the bridal bouquet!"
"And I have your veil right... here... wow, you look amazing." Iris looked at them both with a smile. She was wearing an ivory dress with the bust and waist outlined with golden fabric. The sleeves were sea through and detailed with light blue butterflies that were outlined with ivory silk.
"Thank you, girls. especially you kylie but I don't really need a veil." Agent Strutemyer sighed but she nodded in understanding and put the veil away.
"Say did any of you happen to see the dress that belongs to the love of my life?"
"Nu-uh Iris, it's bad luck to see your significant other before the ceremony."
"Oh, come on! I'm just asking for some minor details!" Agent Wells then grab a hair pin from the table and used it to tie up Agent Thompson's hair.
"All you need to focus on is how you look now, so you'll both look perfect." Iris sighed and looked back to the mirror as Agent Strutemyer fit the veil on her head and Doctor Pardy gave her the flowers.
"I do still find it strange two girls marrying like this." Iris and Agent Strutemyer looked at Doctor Pardy, Iris in confusion and Agent Strutemyer in anger as if she was trying to silently tell her to shut up.
"... BUT, I'll get over it. Besides today isn't about me, it's about you!" Doctor Pardy and Agent Strutemyer both hugged Iris. She then hugged them both back, she hadn't known either of them for very long, but she was grateful for how supportive they were. Only a small portion of the entire Foundation was supportive of this wedding, so it was honestly a blessing.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't ruin her dress! You're going to get it all wrinkled." Doctor Pardy and Agent Strutemyer both smiled playfully as they quickly let go of Iris. Agent Wells growled in anger and started waving your hands over Iris's dress.
"Argh! Hey that's hot!"
"Don't be such a baby, it's just to get rid of the wrinkles. I'll be done in a second." Iris just grunted in disappointment as she tried to stay still and ignore the fact that Agent Wells was practically burning her.
***
Meanwhile in the other room Dr. Clef was in her wedding dress with Dr. Corvio being the one who was getting her dress ready. Meanwhile Dr. Stella and Agent Victoria were watching in anticipation.
"Alright! Done! What do you girls think!" Dr. Corvio stepped out of the way and to allow Agent Victoria to see, her eyes sparkled in excitement. However, Agent Victoria remembered that Dr. Stella couldn't see and quickly went over to her ear and described everything. Meri's dress was a Champagne style dress that was decorated with flowers all over the Sleeves and Silhouette of the dress. Some of which stood out specifically because they were outlined with golden fabric. After Agent Victoria was done describing the dress, Dr. Stella blushed and smiled out of overwhelming joy. She then said in sign language "It couldn't have turned out better, you look beautiful!"
"Thank you!" Meri then twirled around to further show off the dress. Agent Victoria started clapping and Dr. Stella started doing the sign language clap as she could tell what Meri was doing. However, the moment was ruined when an MTF trooper entered the room, which concerned Meri, Dr. Corvio, and Agent Victoria.
"What's wrong?"
"Wha? Oh! Sorry!" The MTF trooper then realized that he didn't have the flower on his vest to show that he was part of the security for the wedding. All three of them groaned in annoyance as they thought he was from outside of the room where the wedding was being held and therefore was going to tell them about an emergency. Dr. Stella was left confused as to why they were so scared one second and angry the next.
"Ahem! Sorry to interrupt but it's almost time to begin."
"Ah! Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I waisted too much time! Come along dear let's get you ready now."
"We'll see you out there!" Dr. Stella then signed, "Don't worry, we're all here for you!" the two of them then hurried out and got to the ceremony. Dr. Corvio was about to escort Meri out, but she then noticed how she was looking at the mirror while smiling. However what Dr. Corvio truly noticed was the Meri's eyes were filled with sadness and longing.
"Meri? Are you ok?"
"... I just wish my dad was here." Dr. Corvio didn't know what to say, so she quickly walked over to Meri and hugged her tightly. Meri grabbed Dr. Corvio's arms and smiled, appreciating Corvio's attempt to make her feel better.
"You existed before The Reset, do you know what my dad was like?"
"Oh uh... well he was... Wild..."
"What?"
"Uh, but! Ahem, if there was one thing to admire it's that, from what I can remember before The Reset, the one thing that was most important to him... was you. He never stopped trying to get back to you." Meri stared at Dr. Corvio with her dice head, Dr. Corvio's head would normally shift to the one-side of the die when she was telling the truth and to the six-side of the die when she was lying. Dr. Clef was able to smile when she saw Dr. Corvio's head shifting to the one-side of the die.
"Thank you, Melissa."
"Anytime my dear, now come on! You can't keep everyone waiting."
***
Iris exited her room and outside there was Dr. Wicked who was looking bored and that he really didn't want to be here. He was actually wearing a tux which was weird for him since he normally only wore plain clothes with his signature lab coat. Iris smiled as she loved annoying Dr. Wicked, like Agent Victoria she liked to think of him as her older brother. Agent Thompson quickly ran to him and hugged his arm while giggling joyfully to both annoy him and show how happy she truly was. Dr. Wicked groaned thought Iris couldn't see him frowning as he was still wearing his signature medical mask.
"... you ready kid?"
"I think it's a little inappropriate to call me a kid, especially today."
"Whatever. But seriously thought, you ready?"
"Not at all... Let's do it." Iris smiled and linked arms with Dr. Wicked, he grunted again while she giggled. The two of them started walking down the carpet and the two MTF troopers in front of them quickly opened the door. A blinding light showered over them thankfully their eyes quickly adjusted to see everyone there in a wide-open field with cherry blossom trees everywhere. There were long rows of seats on both sides each having a person sitting there, all of which quickly rose up to look at Iris as she was escorted by Dr. Wicked. Some were Foundation staff that have become friends with Iris and Meri. Then there were the fellow anomalies, Childhood friends like Agent Victoria, Dr. Stella, Dr. Stefansdottir, Emily Evolution, and Agent Wells. Then others who were just good friends like Dr. Haselhurst who was holding Abby Johnson, Cain, Agent Belitrov, and Agent Miller. Finally there was The Specter who was currently playing the piano. But of course, the cherry for Iris was to see her future wife right there at the wedding arbour. She smiled at her and couldn't help but sigh in longing as thought about how beautiful Meri looked, which she felt she should have expected since in her eyes Meri is always beautiful.
Agent Victoria was actually standing behind Meri as she was the maid of honor and there was Dr. Stella behind her who was the one holding the rings. Then there was Elrin who was the flower girl; as such, she used her anomalous abilities to throw flowers in the air. Agent Thompson wore a broken smile as did everyone else since she was throwing the flowers too high in the air, but she was so happy, so no one had the heart to stop her. Thought there were those that were too scared to since her sister Kasta was there. She was sitting on one of the chairs with her arms crossed looking just as annoyed as Dr. Wicked was. She naturally loved destruction and chaos, so this wedding was unbearable to her, the only reason she came was because her sister was here.
The flowers started flying in the air and landing in random places, it was to the point that it was starting to get annoying. Ironic given the anomalous properties of the pollen within the flowers was supposed to make people happy. To lift the mood again, Dr. Stefansdottir quickly used her anomalous abilities to turn the flowers into butterflies that resembled flowers. Emily was delighted by the sight of this and decided to play along, every flower she managed to touch she transformed into butterflies with wings that shimmered like crystals. Everyone was amazed by the sight of the butterflies and so was Elrin, however she quickly noticed she reached the end of the rug and quickly got out of the way and sat with her sister.
Meanwhile Dr. Wicked still looked annoyed, wanting his part to be over as soon as possible. He then saw Agent Victoria looking at him, she was pointing at her face and smiling, trying to silently tell him to smile. He just grunted in annoyance and pretended to ignore her. However, he then noticed that Agent Pardy was looking at him and covering his mouth and laughing. Dr. Wicked growled in anger and was about to yell at him but Iris quickly slapped him on the back of the head. Dr. Wicked looked back at her but she was still smiling at Dr. Clef, though he knew that she knew he was staring at her. None-the-less he also knows it was stupid to keep being angry, so he let it go after sighing in annoyance.
However, everyone stopped when the music suddenly stopped out of nowhere. Everyone then looked to the piano to see The Specter crying. He was seemingly weeping out of overwhelming joy so he couldn't even focus on playing the piano. However, after crying for a short while he did notice that everyone was staring at him, some in confusion and others in anger.
"Wha- what?! Even justice cries sometimes! I can’t help it because this is such a beautiful and lovely moment! Love is the ally of justice you know! I'm just overwhelmed at how beautiful it is!"
"Just keep playing the piano you idiot!" Iris elbowed Dr. Wicked as she though he was being too harsh, he just glared at her for a second before the two of them started walking again. Not long after The Specter stopped crying and started playing the piano again and continued the wedding theme.
"Ugh, I hate that guy."
"You know he embodies justice, right?"
"Oh really? I hate him more now." Iris then sighed and rolled her eyes, she really wished that Dr. Wicked would loosen up more often. Thought they finally made it to the wedding arbour, where Dr. Wicked let Iris go and she quickly held hands with Meri. Iris was about to thank Dr. Wicked, but he quickly turned away and went to sit in one of the chairs. Iris sighed in disappointment but still managed to smile as she faced Meri who smiled back and shrugged.
"Heh, nice work Doc." Dr. Wicked then punched Agent Pardy in the stomach.
"Shut up Bill." Agent Pardy grunted in pain as he looked at Dr. Wicked in annoyance, he then looked to Starla, gently grabbed her hand and kissed it as the two of them smiled and turned to watch Iris and Meri. Iris and Meri them turned to see Dr. Wells standing there with his wings spreading out and smiling at him both while holding his bible.
Thought Dr. Wells was wearing a pastor outfit, he wasn't a real pastor at all, though technically this wasn't a real wedding so frankly nothing was off the table. None-the-less, Iris and Meri appreciated him doing this for them. Iris still found it weird that they were all such good friends with him despite him being a Christan, Meri being a Catholic, and her being an Atheist. He then opened his bible and started the wedding script.
"Ahem! Friends, Allies, Family, and Loved ones. We are gathered here today in the good graces of God to witness the divine and loving union between these two beautiful souls. Them being the wonderful Meri and the brave Iris." The speech continued and every so often Dr. Wells included heavier Christian wording which deeply bothered Iris. Meri didn't seem to be bothered but Iris knew that Meri was actually really good at pretending to calm when something was bothering her. Though thankfully it didn't last long and finally Dr. wells reached the final part.
"And now Meri and Iris, are you ready to proclaim your everlasting love for one another to each other. With everyone here and god himself as your witness." But of them looked at him and smiled as they both said "yes" at the same time.
"Very well then, Meri do you take Iris to be your lawfully wedded partner? Will you honor and cherish her; love, trust, and commit to her, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?"
"I do."
"And do you Iris vow to do the same for Meri? Will you honor and cherish her; love, trust, and commit to her, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?"
"... Hell yeah!" Iris was expecting everyone to gasp but instead they all either snorted or coughed out of shock and how funny they all thought it was. Even Meri and Dr. Wells had to cover their mouths by how shocked they were though even they thought it was a little funny.
"*snorts* Ah! Ahem, well then! May I please see the rings?" Dr. Stella was actually still trying to collect herself since she still thought it was funny. Thankfully she was able to walk up to them, albeit unsteadily, and gave the rings to Meri and Iris. The two of them took a single one from the pillow and she then quickly went back to where she was standing.
"Now then please hold the rings high in front of your partner." Iris and Meri did exactly as Dr. Wells instructed.
"Now first Iris, please recite the vows."
"Meri, I promise to love you and commit to you my whole life. I promise to be there for you when you need me, to be honest with you, to be faithful to you, and to walk through the journey of life together. May there be nothing that comes between us, and should we ever find troubles, may we face them together." Meri blushed with her eyes sparkling in delight and love, she then held out her hand and Iris put the ring on her finger.
"Now Meri, your vows."
"Iris, I promise to love you and commit to you my whole life. I promise to be there for you when you need me, to be honest with you, to be faithful to you, and to walk through the journey of life together... no matter what happens, no matter what comes our way, no matter who or what tries to get in-between us. I'll be there for you and if I'm not there, then please know that I won't ever stop searching until I find you." Iris was speechless as a single tear left her eye, her heart was beating so fast by how beautiful and touching that final part of the vow was. However, the both of them then noticed that Dr. Wells had a tear falling form his eye as well. He quickly noticed them staring at him, so he wiped it away, the two of them giggled in response and most of the guests in the chairs started chuckling as well. Iris quickly cleared her throat and raised her hand; Meri then placed the ring on her finger.
"Ahem! Then by the powers vested to me, by your love, by god, and by the Foundation, I now pronounce you both lawfully wedded! You may kiss!" Iris and Meri did so and kissed, to which everyone sitting stood up and started clapping and cheering. Dr. Wells was smiling proudly at the sight of his two friends being lovingly married. However, while he was still smiling, he started snapping his fingers at The Specter, since he wasn't playing the piano.
"Oh! Right, sorry!" The Specter started playing the piano again while everyone continued clapping and cheering. Meri and Iris then stopped kissing and waved at everyone, thanking them all for being here. The two then walked down the carpet slowly while continuing to thank and wave at everyone. While everyone was focused on Meri and Iris, Dr. Wicked walked away, seemingly walking into the open field they were in. However, he stopped randomly in the middle of the field, reached out, and touched a computer panel.
As Dr. Wicked, started pressing buttons and adjusting the program the world around everyone started glitching. Some people were confused but others started groaning in disappointment. Agent Bill Pardy in particular was annoyed with Dr. Wicked.
"Come on Doc! What's the rush?" Dr. Wicked just glared back at him and continued to reprogram the holographic projection room they were in.
"Alright, you impatient bastard. Sorry! Everyone, guess we're moving on to the afterparty!" Everyone then got out of the chairs and started going to the door of the room while the infrastructure of the room changed. The chairs, the wedding arbour, the piano, and all the other decorations started fading away. Instead, a dance floor was created with a stage in front of it, with a DJ station and lots of other instruments. Then there was a table where food normally was, but it was completely baren. Instead, several AFA-1's dressed in butlers suits walked into the room all of which were holding different plates and bowls of food. Then there were four of them that walked in while carefully holding the wedding cake.
Everyone clapped when they saw the cake, it was a pure white cake with miniature figures of Iris and Meri on the top. The side of the cake where Iris was decorated with edible blue photos, on the Meri's side of the cake was beautifully decorated with leaves, branches, and edible wildflowers.
"Hahaha! Wow!"
"It's amazing!"
"My compliments to the chef!" SCP-5031 then showed up, following the AFA-1 units holding the cake and as soon as he was visible, he bowed to everyone while they were parsing the cake. He was wearing a collar that allowed him to be visible to them all. Iris and Meri realized that this was a good time and quickly walked away from the crowed, Iris then raised her bridal bouquet. Everyone knew what this meant and formed a crowd on the dance floor, Iris then turned around, and threw her bouquet in the air. Everyone joyfully raised their arms to reach for it, but while in the air it was shot with red lighting and quickly fell to the ground in embers. Everyone stood there shocked then some looked to Kasta who was just standing there still looking annoyed.
"Oh, sorry! Maybe if you were better at throwing and weren't such a loser that wouldn't have happened." Kasta then walked away leaving everyone in an awkward silence. An MTF trooper had an idea to fix this and quickly ran up to the DJ station, inserted a disk, and started playing music. Everyone then started cheering as they got on the dance floor. Some were all talking, dancing, or eating the food but they were all having a good time and so was Iris and Meri. Agent Victory ran to them both and hugged them tightly which nearly broke both their backs.
"Ah! So- Sorry I did- did- didn't mean to do tha- that."
"Haha... Its- Its ok Cindy, I guess you're still getting used to being so strong now."
"Say, is your voice, ok? I hear it glitching."
"A- A- Ah, I uh, don't- don't know I guess I'll need to ask big- big- big brother to look at it la- la- later. I'm still get- get- getting used to tal- tal- talking."
"Don't let Daniel hear you say that he still hates being called brother by Tau-5."
"He- He- He also hates being called Da- Da- Daniel, its better to just say Dr. Wicked. Though, I- I- I don't know why, He- He- He doesn't hate the others but- but- but he still doesn't like- like- like to associate- being with the- the- them."
"Hello young ones." The three of them jumped away from the source of that voice as they turned to see it was Dr. Haselhurst.
"Ah... hi, you're not going to try and cure me... again?"
"Of course not, I found that joy is a surprising benefactor against the pestilence, and I see no shortage of it today. Besides, young lady, you should be well aware of the deal I made with the Foundation. I have no reason to harm anyone when I have plenty or rats to pursue my tests on."
"Right..."
"Of course, today is not the time of science but the second-best thing that being celebration. I personally hope you both enjoy yourselves and that you'll like the gift I have you."
"You brought gifts?"
"Indeed, in fact everyone did, including that psychotic specimen did, what was he called, SCP-076-2?"
"Able, Dr. Haselhurst, his name is Able." Meri then noticed Iris getting visibly upset, Iris hated it when they called each other by their SCP numbers, it wasn't hard to see why.
"Of course, forgive me. Anyways I believe this doctor has taken up enough of your time, thought instead it seems another doctor is only second away from taking my place." Iris, Meri, and Agent Cidney Victoria looked at Dr. Haselhurst in confusion. He then pointed to the stage and the three of them saw Dr. Wicked on there and heading straight for the piano. The three of them were left wide eyed and their jaws dropping as it was obvious why he was up there but the idea of him playing music was definingly unheard of.
Suddenly Dr. Wicked pressed a button on a remote that he was holding, and a large blank screen started coming down on the back of the stage like a curtain. Dr. Wicked then pressed another button and a projector started playing a paused video on the projector curtain. He walked up to the MTF trooper playing as a DJ and signaled him to stop playing music and asked for a microphone.
"Ahem, now as you are all now, I really don't want to be here, and I think this whole thing is a waste of time. I mean if you want to express you love for one another just have sex or something." Everyone started groaning or sighing in embarrassment. Iris in particular started scratching the back of her head in embarrassment while her facial expression made it clear how equally mad, she was. Meri was smiling but it was clear in her eyes that she really wanted Dr. Wicked to stop talking. Then Agent Pardy showed up and got both their attention and to try to comfort them.
"It's ok sweetheart he's just trying to make a joke."
"No, I'm not, Bill. I mean everything I say, now shut up!" Agent Pardy then sighed and remained quiet, just like everyone else he was just hoping whatever Dr. Wicked was doing, it would end quickly.
"Well then, since nothing I could do could stop this stupid wedding I figured might as well do something that will show my appreciation, for which I have none." Dr. Wicked then walked over to the piano got himself ready and placed the microphone in stand close to his face so he could keep speaking.
"Though if it’s of any consideration, this one goes out to Iris, you are very lucky to be with someone like Meri, I wish you have lots of love and happiness in your future with her. You really do deserve it." Iris placed her hands over her heart as she thought what Dr. Wicked said was really touching. Also, the fact that he normally doesn't say stuff like that made it even more touching. Meri then grabbed her shoulders and smiled at her while Agent Pardy playfully nugged her with his elbow and smiled in delight.
"And to Meri... you can do better." Then the moment of warmth was killed, Meri was shocked and confused, Iris was visibly annoyed and enraged, and Agent Pardy quickly backed away from Iris as to not get caught up in her wrath. However, before Iris or anyone else could express their annoyance or wrath, Dr. Wicked started playing the piano. He was playing a beautiful and classical song that Iris didn't recognize but still loved the sound of. Everyone remained silent as Dr. Wicked and kept on playing for about a minute, then he finally stopped. Everyone immediately started clapping and cheering once he was done.
"Shut up you idiots! That was just a warmup!" Everyone immediately stopped clapping and shut their mouths. Iris was quickly getting annoyed again, so Meri kissed her on the cheek and hugged her to comfort her. Iris was still annoyed but she still wrapped her arm around her wife to show her appreciation trying. Then Dr. Wicked grabbed the remote he had earlier and the video on the projector. Iris raised an eyebrow at first while Meri was concerned thinking it was going to be another horrible trick or prank. Perhaps that what this whole thing was, just Dr. Wicked's petty revenge for getting involved in this.
However, they were all proven wrong when Dr. Wicked started playing the piano again as the video on the projector started presenting photos. Some photos showed Iris as a little girl when she first came to the Foundation and others when Meri was first taken in as a baby. Meri and Iris looked at each other as these memories weren't exactly something either of them were fond of. Then more photos of Foundation staff with Meri and others of Foundation staff with Iris, smiling into the camera. Then to everyone's shock Dr. Wicked started singing.
When you were born
Something changed
My heart could not contain
The miracle
Of this world
And all that it creates
Then pictures of young Iris smiling while being held by an annoyed Dr. Wicked who appears the exact same back then as he does now. Now Iris was smiling again as now she was able to see what Dr. Wicked was trying to do. Then there were more pictures, one where Meri, Dr. Wells, and Iris were playing together as kids, one where Iris and Agent Victoria where sloppily putting make up on each other, and finally one where Iris, Meri, Agent Wells, Agent Victoria, Dr. Stefansdottir, and Emily were all together as kids, they were riding Emily's pet SCP-040-1j. Meri started hugging Iris more tightly and let her head rest on the side of Iri's, Iris peaked at her from the corner of her eye and blushed while mentally praising her wife’s beauty. Iris then backed away from her wife and kissed her on the cheek; afterwards she gently rested her head on Meri's head as the two of them continued to watch the presentation and listen to Dr. Wicked playing piano and singing.
With every passing day
The winds might grow stronger
And carry us away
But we will hold on to
Joy to light the way
To keep the reminder
That love does not escape
Now there were photos showing Meri and Iris in their teenage years and together, there was one where Iris was showing her power to Meri to impress her. Iris blushed in embarrassment when a pictured showed where they were both sitting on a ledge watching the sunset together. The next photo showed that it was Dr. Wells and Agent Wells who took the picture and were covering their mouths while chuckling at the sight of Iris and Meri being together. The next photo then showed Dr. Wells using his hand to make one half of a heart and Agent Wells using her hand to make the other half; the camera was angled so that inside the heart was Iris and Meri from a distance. Iris then looked at Meri who was redder than a tomato as she was blushing due to overwhelming embarrassment and joy. Iris chuckled in embarrassment but then saw Dr. Wells and Agent Wells looking at her and waving joyfully at her while playfully laughing. Iris then made a playful angry face at them and quickly laughed in appretiation towards them.
I'm yours forever
There is no end in sight for us
Nothing could measure
The kind of strength inside our hearts
It's all connected
We're all together in this love
Don't you forget it
We're all connected in this love
We're all connected in this love
We're all connected in this love
Now there were pictures of when Iris asking Meri out on a date. Another showing them going on a date in a small town, with Foundation agents guarding them. Then there was a picture of the agents covering their mouths and blushing as they were watching the two of them on their date being loving and kissing. Next there was a picture of Iris and Meri telling their friends that they were dating. The next few photos showed each of their friend's reactions to the news and showing them their joy of the two being together. Iris and Meri loved watching this and held each other more tightly. Meanwhile everyone around them started pointing out times they were there and what they also remembered happening that day.
Beyond the stones and the seas
The sun and the breeze
The stars and the galaxy
Beyond the time that we take
The days that we make
I'm always gonna to be with you
Then finally it showed a more recent picture when Iris proposed to Meri. Suddenly everyone around them started cheering at the sight of the picture. They next few pictures weren't that far apart from one another. The second was just Meri saying yes, the third was them hugging in excitement, and the last was the two of them kissing. Now everyone was cheering at the sight of the picture. The crowd ended up cheering louder when Iris and Meri decided to kiss again. At the same time Dr. Wicked had reached the final course of the song.
I'm yours forever
There is no end in sight for us
Nothing could measure
The kind of strength inside our hearts
It's all connected
We're all together in this love
Don't you forget it
We're all connected in this love
We're all connected in this love
We're all connected in this love
Now the video was over and Dr. Wicked stopped playing, he simply bowed and walked off the stage. Meanwhile the MTF Trooper got back to the DJ station and started playing music for everyone again. Everyone was clapping and cheering Dr. Wicked while he was trying to ignore them all. However, his efforts were in vain as Iris ran up to him and hugged him tightly while tears were in her eyes.
"Thank you, Daniel! That was so beautiful!" Agent Victoria and Agent Pardy were scared for Iris's safety since they all knew that Dr. Wicked hated being called by his first name and often punched people who did so. However, Dr. Wicked just sighed and gently pat her head.
"No problem, Iris. I owed you after all."
"Owe me? For what?"
"Eh, you'll figure it out... eventually." Dr. Wicked then walked off leaving Iris annoyed that he didn't elaborate. However, after separating from Iris Agent Victoria quickly grabbed him and hugged him tightly, actually breaking his spine. Dr. Wicked's spine quickly regenerated, and he started yelling at Agent Victoria in anger, to which she just giggled at him. Meri then ran to Iris, and both hugged her and kissed her joyfully.
"How are you feeling darling?"
"I... feel everything! This is all so amazing and wonderful... like not in a million years would I have thought this was possible... especially after... after The Reset." Meri was now filled with concern as Iris's expression turned to sadness. They both remember what happened to them before the reset, Meri knew it was especially hard on Iris considered what happened to her. However, Meri then used her hand to gently raise her chin and so that the two of them could look each other in the eyes.
"That's over now, we're not monster's anymore, we're a family surrounded by friends. And they'll protect us just as we will now protect each other. You know I got your back, Mrs. Clef." Iris looked at Meri and laughed in joy.
"Hahaha, of course, my lovely Mrs. Clef." Iris then leaned toward Meri and kissed her nose then her cheek. The two married women then started laughing lovingly with each other.
"Mrs. Clef? Not Mrs. Thompson? I thought you would keep the Thompson last name." Iris and Meri then looked up to see Agent Belitrov towering over them which was surprising since he wasn't wearing his armor anymore. Iris couldn't help but smile at him, the fact that he could take off his armor was proof that the Foundation did care about them even if it was only a little bit.
"Oh, we talked, and I decided to take Meri's last name, don't get me wrong I do love my old last name, but I wanted to help Meri continue her family legacy as a tribute to her father."
"I already told her that I was perfectly fine with taking her last name, but she insisted on going with my name instead."
"Hey! I told you that it was ok. You didn't pull my hand at all, I wanted to go with your last name." Meri then sighed thought she was still smiling joyfully, Iris then looked at her deviously and snuck another kiss on her cheek making Meri giggle with joy.
"So, then its Agent Clef now? Good, I'll need to remember that." Agent Beltrov then ruffled both their heads and walked away with a smile on his face. Iris however was annoyed.
"I told him I hate it when he does that."
"You know he likes to rub it in that he's taller than everyone else."
"He could learn too not be so obnoxious about it." Meri laughed at that, and Iris kissed her on the cheek in response. Meri then looked at her with a playful angry face and quicky kissed Iris on the forehead once and the cheek twice. The two of them laughed and smiled lovingly at one another and afterwards went to the dance floor to keep greeting their friends and other guests.
***
After some time had passed Meri stepped out of the simulation room and into the Foundation hallway. She did so to get some fresh air and clear her head, thought that was a little strange to say considering that she was still inside the Site and therefore was getting filtrated air. Then again there's no air fresher in the world than that filtrated by the Foundation ventilations, she thought to herself.
"Having fun, Love?" Meri was shot out of her train of thought to see Dr. Zeek in front of her leaning against wall.
"Oh, hello Harvey. What are you doing out here?"
"Well, I can't stand loud music and being around so many people for a long time, so I stepped out. Just needed to clear my head is all."
"Ah, same here actually, don't get me wrong I love that everyone is here I guess I'm just not used to it."
"Comes with the territory, I guess. Everyone here at the Foundation mostly does their work alone or with few other people, so it's kind of hard to get used to being around so many people at a time."
"I see, didn't even think of that."
"Well better get back in there, it won't be long before the O5 will get on everyone's ass for having this wedding in the first place. You know how those faceless bastards are."
"Of course, I really should get back to Iris but... can I ask you something?"
"... Ask away, Love."
"Right so, I'm not sure when but, when me and Iris have kids-" Dr. Zeek then started coughing as he was seemingly choking on nothing.
"*Cough, cough* ugh, ahem! Whoa there, Love! Slow down yea? You just got married and your already thinking of kids?"
"I said I wasn't sure when! But anyways, that's not my point. I'm just asking for a favor." Dr. Zeek managed to calm down but looked at Meri with skepticism and then gave off a long sigh.
"... Alright, alright. I'm listening."
"Thank you, you're the only one I can trust with this, I know Iris trust's Dr. Wicked but... I don't know why but I can't."
"I honestly don't blame you but from what I heard from Bill he's actually a pretty reliable guy. When he's not being an asshole that is."
"Hm, well anyways I just wanted to ask, when me and Iris have kids, and if they end up being anomalous like us... please don't let the O5 separate them from us." Dr. Zeek stopped relaxing by leaning against the wall, he was now standing straight and looking at Meri in concern.
"I know it sounds selfish; I mean a normal parent would want their kids to be free even if they never got to see them again but... I don't want to be separated from my family, not again." Meri then started crying as she was thinking about her dad and how he had to not only abandon her but sacrifice himself to keep her alive. Dr. Zeek quickly ran up to her and hugged her tightly, she then hugged him back while crying to show her appreciation.
"Don't you worry for a second, Love. If you kids happen to grow horns or jump through pictures, I won't let those faceless bastards one inch close to your babes." Meri smiled, she then let go of Dr. Zeek and faced him as she wiped her tears away.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, Love, thought I gotta ask. What happens if by the off chance they don't become anomalous?"
"Wh- what?"
"Wells there's the working theory that what makes anomalous humans like you, Iris, Agent Miller, the Wells, and Corvio is a lot like a recessive gene. So even if we create an artificial womb and put both your and Iris's DNA into it, there's a high chance that the resulting child will have no anomalous properties. So, what should we do then?"
"... I'll have to ask Iris that."
"Heh, good answer, my mum always said it wasn't wise to hide things form your cook. Especially if that cook is someone like Iris, Love." Meri giggled and smiled warmly at Dr. Zeek, while he gently placed his hand on her cheek.
"Oi, it's going to be alright, Love, ya hear? Both now and in the future. For you, Iris, and whatever Babes come popping out."
"Hahaha, gross!"
"You're the one who brought it up, now stop hanging out with this Old Geezer and go pash ye Sheila, Love!" Meri giggled, kissed Dr. Zeek on the cheek and ran off back into the simulation chamber. Dr. Zeek laughed as he watched her run back in and lovingly hug Iris as soon as she saw her. But then his vision of her was halted when the doors closed, he just stayed out in the hallway while looking at the floor and sighing deeply.
"Your daughter seems to be doing ok." Dr. Zeek then looked back to see Dr. Wicked standing there with his signature bored and emotionless expression and medical mask.
"She ain't my daughter, Bloke."
"Technically your correct, do you ever intend to tell her the truth of her father?"
"... Its better if he stays dead."
"Fair enough. It's not exactly easy to explain given The Reset, now let's stop talking about it before the Red Right Hand comes marching in. What was that she was talking to you about?"
"Sorry, Bloke, made a promise to keep it a secret."
"... So, she asked you to keep help protect her future kids from the O5." Dr. Zeek looked at Dr. Wicked shocked while he himself didn't change his expression at all.
"Wha- How- Wha... HOW?"
"Iris asked me the same thing a minute ago."
"... Ah... ugh, these girls I tell ya. Well, either way I'm going to keep my promise and keep their babes safe."
"Well, I personally don't have a problem since it wouldn't be the first time for me, but it's also because I know I won't die. You on the other hand... are you sure you really want to risk your life like that? We all only got a second chance because of The Reset, and there's no guarantee it will happen again."
"Argh! Piss off with that shit you broody Bloke, you honestly thing I would give up just because it's impossible? We're the foundation, the anomalies don't stop coming so we don't stop fighting remember?"
"... Heh, guess it wouldn't be the first time we had to deal with near impossible odds, and wouldn't be the first time the enemy was the O5 themselves. If it does come to that it's going to be one hell of a battle."
"It's not like it wouldn't be worth it in the end to keep the girls and all the other kids safe."
"Fair enough. Well, I'm out of here, had enough of this sickeningly wholesome party anyways, also need to get Elrin and Kasta back to their rooms before Kasta kills someone." Dr. Wicked waved Dr. Zeek goodbye as he walked off.
"Oi! Nice piano work earlier by the way!"
"Thanks, I used an SCP to steal that song form the future. So, the O5 Council is probably going to kill me later... again." Dr. Zeek was left there speechless as Dr. Wicked walked away, he then smiled again and went back into the simulation room with everyone else as the wedding after-party continued.
.
Part 2 (Coming... eventually)
.
SCP: HMF - Tales Hub
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title: the fall of a sparrow (chap2: the rest is silence)
word count: ~12200
characters: holiday, six, white knight, dr. fell, rex
summary: Six and Holiday were looking for a cure. White Knight was looking for answers.
chap1 link: https://www.tumblr.com/neopuff/721160491946409984/title-the-fall-of-a-sparrow-chap1-what-a
ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48147466/chapters/121413832
“Bleeding hearts. They’ll get us all killed one day.”
Six stared at Dr. Holiday as she stormed out of the room, barely listening to his partner’s muttering. He felt her words echoing in his head and frowned deeply. He’d seen her from afar plenty of times over the last two years, but never heard her voice so clearly. He wondered if she’d been saying things like that for a long time or if this was new.
Dr. Fell rolled his eyes at his assistant’s behavior, but switched to a smile as he turned and acknowledged his guests. “White Knight, Six. Always nice to have someone observing my work.”
“It’s nice to see these monsters get what’s coming to them,” Knight responded, smiling back. “Thought I’d show Six the good work you’re doing in here. Too bad Holiday had to open her mouth and ruin the show.”
“Don’t pay her any mind,” the doctor responded with a shrug. “The committee knows who has the right idea, and she has more than enough incentive to behave herself.”
Knight raised a curious eyebrow at that comment, but decided he didn’t care enough about her to comment further. He turned around to say something to his partner, only to discover the man was walking away. “Where are you going?”
“I need to check something,” was Six’s only answer as he walked off.
Hands in his pockets, Knight tilted his head and frowned. He had a good feeling that Six was going after Dr. Holiday, and though part of him was annoyed…another part was glad to see his friend acting like himself again.
“You’ve never brought your partner here before,” Fell noted, making notes on his computer about the dissection. “Trying to keep him motivated?”
“It’s his birthday,” Knight answered. “Thought a show would be a good enough present. Though it looks like he’s got something else in mind.”
Fell looked up, making eye contact with his coworker, not sure if he understood what the man was saying. After following Knight’s eyeline to Holiday’s station and back again, Fell sighed and rolled his eyes again. “Ah. Yes, there have been several incidents with soldiers interrupting my work to talk to her. It’s extremely agitating.”
“I still don’t see why you keep her around. Seems like more nuisance than help.”
“Hmm…” Dr. Fell took off his glasses, cleaning them with a rag he pulled out of his pocket. “Her credentials are impressive, I suppose. But more importantly, she works for almost nothing.”
“Is that so?” Knight shrugged. “It’s probably still too much.”
Fell smirked at that and put his glasses back on. He was inclined to agree.
x
Six had never planned on speaking to her.
Realistically, he’d never planned on speaking to anyone at Providence other than White Knight. He didn’t want to socialize with people who would probably be dead in a day. He also didn’t want to socialize with people who might try to socialize back.
But talking to Dr. Holiday wasn’t a social call. He was desperately curious about what she’d said to Dr. Fell in the lab earlier.
“Dr. Fell, why aren’t we studying them in a natural setting?”
Though the doctor dismissed her question and Knight seemed to think it was stupid, Six wondered the same thing. Most of the mutants acted like animals, and animals were supposed to be studied alive and naturally. In stable environments with food, water, shelter, medicine. That was how he understood it, at least.
He wasn’t a scientist. But she was. And she clearly had more to say on the subject, but was holding back. Six was sure she didn’t want to lose her job, but he felt like trying to save people instead of just caging or dissecting them was worth the risk.
Six was vaguely familiar with her routine, only because she entered the Petting Zoo every other day by herself. It was curious enough behavior to catch his attention, though he didn’t really know what to make of it other than a noticeable passion for her work. What mattered was that he knew where the science offices were located - just down the northern hall from Fell’s lab. Holiday had probably headed in that direction after storming off, and he intended to catch her while she was alone.
He’d heard the rumors about her talkativeness and hoped they were true, because he really wanted to hear more of what she had to say.
A small gasp reached his ears and Six doubled his footsteps to find the exact woman he was looking for staring down at the floor, clearly annoyed at herself for dropping all of her paperwork. Without making a sound, he walked over and quickly grabbed the clipboard that was splayed out on top of the other papers.
Six scanned the top paper quickly, curious what she’d been working on. It was immediately obvious to him that the work wasn’t related to Dr. Fell, and his eyes landed on the repetitive use of an interesting three-letter acronym.
“EVO?” he asked as she stood up.
Holiday looked annoyed and tugged some hair behind her ear. “Exponentially Variegated Organism. A little more scientific than spoiled meat. That is what you hired guns call them, isn’t it?”
Six didn’t argue as she grabbed her clipboard out of his hands and attempted to walk away. He’d never had such a bad first interaction with a woman before. Maybe he’d lost his charm after so many years of isolation. But he’d have to give it another shot before he let her get away. “It’s Six. And I don’t use guns.”
She stopped walking. That was a good sign. He took a few steps closer to her. “You told Fell we could learn more by keeping them alive. What did you mean?”
Holiday had danced this dance several times already. Probably more than that. She was used to soldiers pretending to be interested in her work just to grab her attention and she was very tired of it. This man, however, was so lacking in any semblance of charm that she wondered if he might be genuine. It was hard to imagine any of the hired guns caring about what she had to say, but…she was nothing if not an optimist. If he wanted her to talk, then she’d talk.
“The nanites are altering our DNA. But with the right type of research, there’s no reason they can’t be reprogrammed to stop or reverse the process.” She took a few steps closer to him, not wanting to speak too loudly. “Imagine a third option to this insane kill or contain protocol,” she added, looking away from the soldier.
He raised an eyebrow curiously. “A third option?”
“A cure,” she said, exasperated. All she’d wanted to do, every single day in the hellhole that was Providence, was work on a way to help her sister. And a cure was the only way to do it.
The alarm interrupted them, agitating Six and making Holiday squeeze her papers tighter against her chest as a group of grunts rushed by. One of them grabbed onto Six’s shoulder and gave him a smile, bragging excitedly about their next kill. He didn’t even acknowledge Holiday’s existence before continuing towards the hangar.
She watched him leave the hallway and glared, recognizing the man as Six’s friend who’d brought him into the lab earlier. If they were friends, then her first instinct about him was right. He was just another soldier trying to get on her good side. Holiday sighed and turned away, not even bothering to give Six another glance. She didn’t want to see his stupid sunglasses again. “Hopeless,” she muttered, headed back to the lab.
Six watched her walk away and frowned. He had a job to do and he knew that, but he was annoyed at the timing. Was a cure really possible? Dr. Fell didn’t seem to even consider it, but Dr. Holiday was clearly very passionate about the option. She must’ve had some reason to think so and he wanted to know more.
He exhaled and pouted, taking a moment to stretch his arms before following Knight. Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long.
x
White Knight had accepted that his partner was interested in Dr. Fell’s annoying, loudmouthed assistant. He’d even been satisfied by the fact for a brief moment, happy that Six was acting a little more like his old self. But all they’d had was one hallway conversation, and suddenly she was the first person he wanted to see after a mission?
He was annoyed. And suspicious. As far as Knight knew, Six had never spoken to her before today. But now he wondered what exactly was going on. And who the hell was the kid? What did he have to do with Holiday?
Knight watched them head towards the lab and glared. Something in his gut was telling him that he was going to have a very bad day.
Six barely acknowledged his partner as he took Rex and walked out of the Petting Zoo. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to the two of them, confident that the kid was some sort of mutant. Er - some sort of EVO. He didn’t look like one, he didn’t act like one, but there was no other explanation for his abilities. The glowing on his hand and the other EVO’s skin…it was clear that whatever had happened to make that man human again - it was all thanks to Rex.
“Where are we going? Why’d you have the monkey locked up? Who was that mean guy?”
Not used to the exuberance of children, Six took a moment to think about his answers. He needed to get to Holiday quickly before anyone else saw what was going on. “To see a doctor about your wrist. Because he’s dangerous. And he's an…associate of mine.”
“Oh, cool. My wrist does kind of sting. Why’s the monkey dangerous?”
Six put a hand on Rex’s back, pushing him in the right direction. “That’s classified,” he said quickly, not wanting to give a real answer.
“Huh?” Rex looked up at the strange man who’d saved his life. “Secret government…monkey business?”
“Exactly.”
Rex chuckled and kept his eyes forward as a white door in front of him suddenly swished open, revealing a scary-looking room full of lab equipment. “Why is everything here all white?”
“Hello? Who’s ther- Oh. Six.”
The doors shut behind them and Six stood there awkwardly with Rex at his side. “Dr. Holiday.”
Rex let out a low whistle as she walked closer to them, and Six furrowed his brow. How old was this kid, exactly?
She either didn’t notice or just ignored it. “Who’s this?”
“You’re the doctor, right? Six here said you’d wrap my wrist for me,” Rex said, pointing up at Six with his good hand.
Holiday smiled awkwardly down at the kid and then briefly glared up at the soldier. “Well. I wouldn’t want to make a liar out of him, now would I? Sit down over here.”
Rex rushed over and hopped onto the table as Six scanned the room. There was usually at least one or two EVOs caged and ready to be tagged for disassembly, and he was happy to see one that he’d wrangled less than a day ago sitting in a cage to the side. He made his way over and leaned against the bars, wondering if this was a good idea.
He wasn’t good at trusting people. Never had been. But Holiday…she seemed to be a very genuine person. He couldn’t see how it would benefit her to preach her theories like she did unless she really believed in them. So as far as Six was concerned, at that moment she was the only person he could trust.
Holiday threw him a few small glares while she wrapped the kid’s wrist, unhappy about their visit. She’d accepted that Six was just another soldier hitting on her, but she didn’t expect him to be so persistent about it. And what was he trying to do by bringing a child around? Show her that he was a good person? He wasn’t even talking to her. Just…standing there and watching. It was unnerving.
She squeezed the kid’s wrist a little too tight and quickly let go as he squirmed, walking away to get back to her work.
“Ow! Ahh! Let me see your medical license!”
Holiday rolled her eyes. She didn’t have an MD and she wondered briefly if Six even realized that about her. He’d seen some of her papers, but only for a few seconds. Either way - she was annoyed at him for wasting her time. If he really wanted her attention, he could just ask her out properly so she could reject him properly. Then she could get back to her work faster. “Six, we have nurses that could’ve easily handled this,” she muttered, not looking back at him.
Instead of responding verbally, Six certainly caught her attention by opening up the cage that was sitting in her lab. She quickly turned around and stared, more confused than she’d been in a long time. “What are you doing? That EVO is scheduled for processing.”
Six brought the EVO closer to the examination table. Holiday stared at him in concern as he brought a dangerous, man-eating mutant closer to a child that was currently in their care. What the hell was going on?
“Show her.”
Holiday watched, speechless, as the kid reached out and touched the EVO. His hand lit up with blue lines that spread into the EVO and then within a few moments…
…a human man fell out of Six’s arms and onto the floor.
She stared at the man - somehow fully clothed and twitching, seemingly asleep. What. What?
“We found it, doctor. The third alternative.”
Holiday couldn’t find her words. She didn’t know what to say. She continued to stare at the man that used to be an EVO, then slowly looked up at the two boys standing patiently on the other side of his twitching body. “What is he…? How…?”
“Meet Rex: the cure.”
Rex gave her a little wave that Holiday couldn’t even acknowledge, she was too dumbstruck. She didn’t know what was happening. There was a lot of information to take in all at once. But…she did know she’d been wrong about Six. More than wrong. Six wasn’t like the other soldiers. He actually listened to her. He cared. And somehow, just hours after their conversation, he’d managed to find exactly the kind of person that Holiday needed.
Exactly who Beverly needed.
Unable to contain her excitement, Holiday rushed over and wrapped her arms around Six’s shoulders. “This changes everything!” she said with a dreamy sigh, feeling more hope than she’d felt in years. Six was certainly more than she’d expected, and Rex was absolutely not what was on her mind when she’d mentioned a cure. But she wasn’t kidding. Rex’s power really did mean everything was different now. Things could finally, finally get better.
Six had forgotten what it felt like to have a woman’s body pressed up against his. That was…sad. He didn’t know what to do with his hands that wouldn’t be either offensive or inappropriate, so he just let them hang at his side. He’d known Dr. Holiday would be happy, but he hadn’t expected such a physical reaction and he’d had to stop himself from instinctively flipping her over his shoulder like an attacker. That probably wouldn’t have gone well.
Holiday felt a tap on her shoulder and turned her head to find Rex staring up at her with an expectant smirk on his face. Normally Holiday would ignore expressions like that, but…he was just a kid. It was kind of cute when he did it. She let go of Six (which seemed to relax him quite a bit, she noticed) and leaned down to give Rex the biggest hug of his life. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close, letting his face fall into her shoulder.
She pretended not to notice as he gave a toothy grin and two thumbs up to Six behind her. Pulling away, she let her hands linger on his shoulders and observed him closer - trying to see any signs of mutation. There was little doubt he was an EVO, but she’d never seen one that still looked so human.
“Rex, would you mind if I did some tests on you? No needles, I promise.”
He looked at her suspiciously, then glanced up at Six, who simply responded with a raised eyebrow. Rex had a feeling he was going to have to get used to that. “Okay. But can you make it fast? I’m so hungry!”
Holiday glanced over at Six and then back to Rex. She needed to talk to him about some important details, like where did this child come from? And where were his parents? “Come on, just lie down and I’ll do a quick scan.”
Rex looked at the giant scanner he’d been sitting next to and pouted, observing it carefully. He looked nervous.
“It’ll only take a minute. I just want to get a look at your nanites.”
He nodded, but in his nervousness he glanced up at Six again. Six was currently moving the recently-cured EVO (aka, unconscious human man) onto a nearby table so he wouldn’t be as unhappy about waking up on a strange floor.
With a deep breath, Rex laid down and closed his eyes. The table moved him into the scanner and the loud noises started immediately, scaring him a little.
“Did you contact his parents yet?” Holiday asked while she typed on her computer screen.
“He doesn’t remember them,” Six answered, walking over to stand next to her. He leaned slightly over her shoulder to take a look at the data as it appeared, though it didn’t take him long to realize he didn’t understand any of it. “I found him in some wreckage without any memories.”
She closed her eyes and slowed her hands down for a moment. “Well. That’s terrifying,” she muttered quietly, hoping Rex couldn’t hear her over the sounds of the scanner. “I’m glad you got him out of there.”
Six stared at the scanner, hands in his pockets. He was glad, too.
“Alright, Rex…” Holiday said louder this time, ending the scan. She just wanted to confirm that he was, in fact, an EVO - and he certainly was! His nanites were just as active as any other. “Thank you for holding still.”
As soon as the table was far enough out of the scanner, he jumped up and stretched his arms and legs. “No problem, Doc! Now…food? Please?”
She smiled and lightly nudged Six next to her. “Aren’t you going to get him something to eat?”
Six pushed up his sunglasses and gave her a suspicious glare. “I…think it’s taco day at the cafeteria. All three of us should go.”
Holiday raised an eyebrow at his response, but the smile never left her face. She was way too happy about Rex to be bothered by anything else. In fact, she was feeling happy about a lot of things. Like the fact that Six was actually quite handsome, when she gave him a good look. She wondered briefly if she’d completely misinterpreted his interest in her work, or if he had any interest in her personally. At that particular moment, she was leaning hopefully towards the latter.
Eh. It wasn’t the time. They could deal with that after Rex cured her sister.
“I don’t really want tacos. Do you think they could make me some burritos?” Rex asked with a big smile. He confidently walked over and grabbed both Six and Holiday’s dangling hands, squeezing them tight.
They glanced down at him, then at each other, and Rex suddenly let go of their hands. He stared at his hands in front of himself and frowned. “I…don’t know why I did that. That was weird. Sorry.”
Holiday stuck her hand back out. “It’s alright, Rex. I’m sure they can make you a burrito.”
He blushed slightly and grabbed her hand, happy that she wasn’t mad at him. “I’m definitely gonna need more than one. At least, like, five or six!”
“We’ll see what we can do,” Six answered, hands back in his pockets. “Cafeteria’s this way.”
The three of them walked down the hallway together - Six took note of seven people that passed by them, five of which noticed Rex, and two of which made comments to each other about him. He didn’t care so much that they assumed he and Holiday had a son together, but he wanted to keep track of anyone who knew about Rex being in the building. To them, he probably just looked like a lost kid that Six and the doctor were babysitting - not the future savior of the world. But one could never be too safe.
The cafeteria wasn’t too crowded when they arrived. Six never spent much time there, opting to grab some fruit or a burger and eat them while walking back to his room. He didn’t like being surrounded by trigger-happy soldiers with guns, no matter how much Knight praised the experience.
“Hi, sorry, um…would you be able to make a beef burrito for him?” Holiday asked one of the cafeteria workers. She flashed a shy, but gorgeous smile his way, and the employee’s cheeks turned red.
“Oh, um…yeah, sure.” The employee glanced between Holiday, Rex, and Six standing awkwardly behind them. “I, uh…didn’t know you had a son,” he said quickly, grabbing a nearby stack of tortillas.
“She’s not my mom!” Rex responded, letting go of her hand to cross his arms over his chest.
She chuckled and put her hands on his shoulders. “Six and I are watching him while we wait for his parents to come pick him up,” she lied, knowing that she didn’t need to give too much information out to random employees. Not until they could do some more tests, at least.
The employee - Holiday wished she could remember his name, but it was just not coming to her - started working on the first burrito and making small talk, which she participated in amiably.
Six observed them curiously. Holiday was surprisingly comfortable lying, and Rex was getting extremely excited by the smell of food. He could see the kid starting to bounce, and hoped that he wasn’t one of those extremely hyper kids that didn’t know how to calm down. Knowing his luck, Six had a feeling Rex would be bouncing off the walls once he was comfortable enough.
“Another!”
“Rex, why don’t you try eating the first three and then see if you’re still hungry?”
“Oh, trust me, Doc, I have never been this hungry in my life! I need more!”
“I’m so sorry. Could you?” she asked the employee quietly. “You can charge me for them if it’s too much.”
Six continued to watch silently as Rex collected a pile of burritos onto his tray, and thought back to the conversation he’d overheard between Knight and Fell earlier in the day. He’d been almost out of earshot, but he could distinctly recall Dr. Fell saying that Holiday barely made any money.
As they walked away to grab something for Rex to drink, Six took a step closer to the counter. Before he could say anything about how he’d be the one paying, if anyone, the employee held up a hand and shook his head.
“Half the soldiers here eat like that every day. It’s fine.”
With a nod, Six followed Rex and Holiday to the table they were occupying alone. He took a seat next to Dr. Holiday, who was staring at the kid while he scarfed down his first burrito as if his life depended on it.
Six frowned, feeling eyes on them. It wasn’t the first time a kid was in the Providence cafeteria, but neither Six nor Holiday spent much time in there. The scene probably stood out to anyone who was paying attention, which meant that there were now at least thirty more people aware of Rex’s presence in the building. He didn’t like that.
“So you only remember that your name is Rex?”
“Mhmm,” the kid answered, a big bite of burrito in his mouth.
“No last name? Parent’s names? Hometown?”
Rex shook his head and took a long sip of grape soda. “Nada!”
Holiday clasped her hands together in front of herself. “Alright. Well, that’s okay. We’ll take a DNA sample and see if we get any matches in one of our databases,” she said out loud, though it seemed more like she was talking to herself than either of them.
Her sleeve slid down just a smidge while she spoke, and Six noticed that her wrist was kind of thin. Thinner than he expected. He thought about how he never saw her in the cafeteria before this moment and frowned. “Have you eaten?”
“Hm?” She looked at him and tilted her head. “Me?”
Six just stared at her.
“Um…yes, I’m sure I ate this morning,” she said, not even registering her lie until it was out of her mouth. She’d started her day with two cups of coffee and hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch because she was visiting her sister again. Now it was after eight and she hadn’t even thought about it.
He frowned at her and Holiday frowned back, turning to look at Rex. She felt awkward under Six’s gaze, especially when he very clearly wanted to argue with her.
Rex just stared at the two of them, trying to figure out what their deal was. It didn’t seem like they knew each other very well. He shrugged and inhaled another burrito, burping loudly. “Could I get another? Maybe another three or four?”
Holiday blinked repeatedly at him. “Why don’t you let the first five settle-”
“Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?!” Rex whined, hands together in front of him. “I’m still soooo hungry, Doc!!”
She sighed and reached over to grab Rex’s tray, but was intercepted by Six. The two of them watched as he stood up and walked back to the cafeteria counter to chat with the same employee from before.
“He doesn’t talk much, does he?” Rex observed, gulping down more of his soda.
“Doesn’t seem like it,” Holiday answered. She hesitated for a moment before leaning closer to Rex. “Now, um. Rex. Since it’s just us, I want to make sure everything you’ve told me is true. Six didn’t, um…” She wasn’t sure how to word her question without sounding paranoid, but she had to ask. All she knew about Six was that he was some sort of contract killer. It didn't exactly leave her confident. “...didn’t tell you what to say to me or anything, right?”
Rex looked confused. “No? Six has been super nice. Is he not usually nice? Should I be worried?”
“No, no,” Holiday shook her head and sighed with relief. “I just don’t know him that well. Wanted to be sure you felt safe.”
“Ooohh.” Rex finished off his drink and stood up to get some more. “No need to worry, Doc! I’ve never felt safer.”
She watched him walk over to the soda fountain and exhaled through her nose. That was good. That was what she’d wanted to hear. But she suddenly felt extremely stressed out. Maybe it was the combination of lack of food and sleep, but she was completely overwhelmed. She wanted to get Rex to The Hole as soon as possible to cure her sister, but Beverly was big and terrifying. She couldn’t subject Rex to that without first making sure he’d be alright. And she definitely needed to do more tests on him before he went around curing all the EVOs, just in case his abilities weren’t limitless.
Her thoughts were cut off by a plastic bag full of wrapped burritos being placed in front of her. She looked up to see that Six had returned, and that he clearly didn’t want to stay in the cafeteria any longer.
“We should go. There’s too many eyes here.”
Holiday shrugged and stood up just as Rex came back. She smiled down at him. “Still hungry?”
“Yes!” Rex grabbed the bag and took a big whiff. “Are we leaving? Can we go somewhere with a TV?”
The adults glanced at each other again. Holiday wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I…think the rooms in Medical have TVs.”
“I don’t want any of the nurses giving him a check-up,” Six said dryly, lightly shoving Rex so they could start moving.
“It’s fine. I’ll just tell them I’ve got it handled,” she answered. “It won’t be a problem.”
Rex glanced between the two adults, once again confused by the way they spoke to each other. The doctor confirmed his earlier suspicions that they barely knew each other, but they also seemed really suspicious of everyone around them. Why would they work for a place that they were so suspicious about? It didn’t make a lot of sense to him.
But, well. The burritos were really good. So Rex decided to leave it alone for the moment and walked where he was directed. He wondered if the TV would get any channels with cartoons or if it’d just be the news.
After a few minutes of walking, Rex felt his stomach grumble. He opened up the bag as Holiday got the number of a free room from some nurse, and glared as Six once again shoved him in the direction he needed to go. This guy was so pushy.
“Room 413 is free. And it’s out of the way,” Holiday said quietly as she walked past the two boys. “Follow me.”
It was a short walk to the room, but Six felt a headache building as Rex talked to him the entire time. He wasn’t used to kids at all. He barely remembered being a kid himself. He was glad that Holiday seemed to have some idea of how to talk to children. Maybe it was a kind of maternal instinct.
“Ugh, who put a salad in here?” Rex said as he finally stuck his hand into the bag. “You’re not trying to make me eat healthy, are you?” he asked, glaring up at Six.
Holiday turned on the light in what was about to be Rex’s room, looking towards the two of them with a raised eyebrow. She watched as Six grabbed the salad out of Rex’s hand and held it out towards her.
“It’s chicken caesar. Guy behind the counter said it was your usual order.”
She stared at the plastic container like it was something foreign and slowly reached out to take it from him. “I, um.” She wondered if her cheeks were turning pink. “Thank you?”
They were both distracted from the little moment between them by Rex jumping on the bed excitedly and starting on his next burrito. Neither of them could comprehend how he could still be hungry after so many, but Six had asked for as many as the cafeteria worker could give him. Rex seemed like the kind of kid who would eat cold leftovers without complaint, so long as he had food.
Once Rex found the remote, he turned on the television and quickly flipped channels until he found one that was loud, bright, and colorful. Six groaned and left the room, wondering if he could find some non-drowsy painkillers for his headache. The darkest sunglasses in the world couldn’t shield his eyes from the saturated colors on that screen.
Holiday stayed nearby, eating her salad and observing Rex as he ate and watched TV and talked. He talked a lot. But she was finding it very comforting. Everything about Rex was so…normal. If he was an EVO, and he was able to pass as a regular human, that meant there were other EVOs in the same situation. She couldn’t wait to take Rex to the Petting Zoo to cure some more of them, and show her findings off to Fell and the other scientists that had dismissed her so many times before. Once they saw what Rex could do, they’d have no choice but to listen to her. And with Six the terrifying, intimidating killer by her side - they’d take her orders with a salute and a smile.
After consuming another ten - ten! - burritos, Rex yawned loudly and fell back onto the pillow.
Holiday grabbed her phone, surprised to see it was already past nine o’clock. She wasn’t sure how old Rex was, but it was getting late enough. He’d had a big day, after all. With a sigh, she turned off the TV and the lights, taking one last look at Rex before closing the door.
He really was going to change everything.
x
Knight was frustrated.
At first he’d thought Six was just trying to enjoy some stupid birthday fling. Then he’d acted strange out in the field, talking about trying to keep one of those monsters alive. Then the kid, and following Holiday around like some lost puppy…
It was getting annoying. His partner was keeping secrets, and Knight didn’t appreciate that. He’d given Six so much leeway at Providence, used his resources and connections to allow Six the privacy that he needed to be comfortable. He gave him an opportunity to use his skills to save the world. And how did he thank him? By treating him like an enemy?
That was not acceptable.
Knight had heard through the grapevine that Six and Holiday were spotted in the cafeteria feeding that child Six had brought in from the field. He’d told the other soldiers that Six was a killing machine, ready to take on anything, and suddenly he was playing house with Fell’s assistant and some random orphan. It wasn’t just bad for Six’s reputation, it made Knight look like a fool. And he was pissed.
Nyquist let him know that he’d seen Six headed to Medical with his new wife and kid, which earned an eye roll and a thanks from Knight as he made the decision to follow. If Six wasn’t going to let him know what was going on, then he would just have to figure it out himself. Even if that meant subjecting himself to the germiest part of Providence - he’d just take a long, hot shower later.
It didn’t take long to find him, though Knight knew he’d have to be especially sneaky to avoid being caught. Six was more observant than most, though with these new people in his life distracting him…who could know?
Holiday exited one of the rooms and Knight glared, leaning back against the wall. She was the catalyst for all this nonsense and he felt fine directing a lot of his anger towards her. He’d never liked women much, not even his ex-wife, but Holiday really took the cake for women who liked to stick their nose where it didn’t belong.
“I can’t wait to see Fell’s face when we show him.”
Knight tilted his head to the side, listening carefully.
“No. Not a word to anyone. Tomorrow we move him to a safe location.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets, curious about Six’s urgent tone. There was no doubt they were discussing that kid from earlier, but he didn’t understand why. What did some annoying little brat have on Six that he was so worried about?
“But…I need to get to work on him straight away!”
“Trust me. Not everyone will feel the same way about working with an EVO. If we time this wrong, it could turn ugly.”
“I hate this war.”
Knight’s fingers twitched, itching to understand what they were talking about. What the hell was an EVO? Was that Holiday’s stupid special scientific term for the mutants? Fell would have a laugh about that, he was sure. And did that mean the human-looking boy was actually a mutant? Why would Six be protecting one of those monsters? He waited patiently as Holiday’s heels clicked down the hallway and Six finally turned around to notice him.
He crossed his arms over his chest, not caring if he came across as possessive. “Hey partner. How’s tricks?”
Six kept his face stoic as ever, ignoring the double meaning of his friend’s question. He already knew what the man thought of Dr. Holiday and didn’t feel the need to get into it with him. “What are you doing in the medical ward? I thought you hated germs.”
“Made an exception today.” Knight stood up straight, taking a step towards Six. “Something I should know?” he asked carefully, hoping that Six would tell him what was going on. Maybe he just wanted to gain Holiday’s trust for a few hours, but now that they were alone, he’d tell Knight everything that was happening.
Instead, Six stared at him for a second before starting to leave. “Just another day at the office.”
Frustrated, Knight reached out and grabbed his arm. “You can trust me,” he said, almost pleading. He didn’t understand what was going on with his partner, but watching him throw away a good career just for some obnoxious woman and a mutant child was not acceptable.
“I know.”
He watched Six walk away from him and frowned deeply, trying to decide on his next move. If Six wasn’t going to talk to him, then he’d have to take matters into his own hands. He glared at the door he’d watched Holiday exit from earlier, knowing that the boy was inside. As tempting as it was to just grab the little mutant and bring him straight to Fell, he figured it would be prudent to confirm everything before taking drastic measures. Just in case they were talking about something else, and the kid was a normal kid.
Knight pressed a finger to his communicator - three quick taps to put him in touch with Providence Employee Information. “I need Dr. Holiday’s room number.”
Within a few seconds he had his answer, and Knight started walking in the right direction, annoyed that he had to go through such drastic measures just to get basic information about what was going on. He didn’t want to trick Holiday into talking to him. He just knew it would be easy. Everyone knew she liked to blab and if he could convince her that Six had already started the conversation, she’d give up everything in less than a second.
Knight knocked on her door, briefly wondering if she’d be asleep already.
She opened it only a moment later, fiddling with the comm in her ear and placing it on the small table by her door. “Um…hi? Do you need something?”
“Holiday,” Knight said with a smile, trying his very best to be charming despite how much he would rather strangle her than have a conversation with her. “I just got a report that the kid you and Six were walking around with is down in the Zoo.”
“What?” Her eyes went wide and she rushed out of her room, leaving her comm behind and barely remembering to close the door. “Is he alright?”
“He’s fine,” Knight answered, following behind her at a leisurely pace. “A special kid like that won’t get hurt so easily.”
She hesitated for a moment in her walk, trying to decipher the meaning behind his words. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond and just kept up the pace, hoping Rex wasn’t getting into any trouble.
Suddenly, White Knight was walking next to her and placing a hand gently against her back. She wanted to punch him, but chose to play nice since he was being helpful.
“Six told me just how special he is, you know,” Knight lied.
Holiday looked at him cautiously. “Oh? He must really trust you, then.”
“Of course he does. We’re partners.” Knight watched as the doors to the Petting Zoo opened up and the two of them headed inside. “The kid is a big deal, after all. He could lead to big changes here.”
She smiled despite her worries about Rex’s safety. So far she wasn’t seeing or hearing anything in the Zoo that seemed out of place. “Curing EV-er, curing mutants back to their normal selves is more than a big change. Finally people can have hope again.”
Knight’s eyebrows flew up, shocked by what she’d said. Curing? The kid was some kind of monster that could turn other monsters back to normal?
He frowned, allowing her to walk in front of him while she shouted the kid’s name. So he could cure mutants? What did that mean for Providence, exactly? That they should put all their funding into this one monstrous child in the hopes that he could save every puppy and kitty that suddenly grew spikes and a third eye?
No. No, it wouldn’t work. A stupid kid couldn’t save all of humanity. But if he really did have powers like that, Dr. Fell would want to study him. Dissect him, disassemble him, look at the data. Maybe Providence could build weapons that would deactivate a mutant’s nanites long enough to subdue them without chance of casualty. It could be very useful.
“I’m not seeing him, Knight,” Holiday said quietly, glaring at the soldier as if she didn’t trust him. Which she really didn’t, even if Six did. “He must’ve left already.”
“I’m sure the monkey saw where he went,” he responded with a casual shrug.
“Monkey?”
“Over here.” Knight motioned towards the cage that the annoying, talking chimp was in, happy to see that he hadn’t moved.
Holiday followed and leaned over to see the current resident sleeping. “He’s asleep.”
“Then we’ll just have to wake him up.”
Before she could even react to that, Knight had opened up the monkey’s cage and swiftly kicked Holiday in the rear, sending her flying forward into the metal box. She gasped and thankfully managed to bring her arms in front of her head just before she smacked into the floor.
“Hey! This one’s occupied!” the monkey shouted, suddenly awake.
Holiday pushed him out of the way as she turned around, only to find that Knight had closed the door again and locked her in a cage with a monkey. “Knight! What the hell?!”
The older man squatted down and leaned his arms on his knees, glaring at her righteously. “I’m not going to let my partner risk his career over some loudmouthed whore and a mutant brat.”
She felt indignant heat rise to her face and Holiday grabbed the bars, shaking them wildly. “How-how dare you?! Get me out of here right now!”
“Have fun in there, Doc,” he said with a smirk, standing up and walking away. “It’ll be nice to spend time with your intellectual equal.”
Holiday reached one arm through the bars, trying to grab hold of him - but he was already too far away. “Don't you dare touch him, Knight!! Come back here and let me out!”
Knight laughed and left the room, satisfied with himself. After all the stupid shit he’d been through that day, the opportunity to mess with Dr. Holiday almost cheered him up. He wasn’t very excited for what was going to happen next, but he needed to fix things so that Six didn’t screw everything up. He quickly called Dr. Fell, letting him know there was need for an immediate, emergency mutant dissection.
The doctor responded that he was still in the office and would patiently await his next subject.
It was a quick walk back to Medical - Knight grabbed the kid, who was a very heavy sleeper, then hoisted him over his shoulder and headed to the lab. Mutants were usually big and heavy. This kid - not kid, this monster, felt like he weighed nothing at all. Almost like a regular kid.
Fell would confirm the kid’s mutation status before they did anything to him, of course. But once they knew for sure - they could really make use of those powers.
x
After his uncomfortable conversation with Knight, Six had trailed back to his room with a singular focus on what he was going to do as soon as he woke up the next day. He and Holiday would need to grab Rex and get him to one of their vehicles - maybe a plane, if they could grab one undetected - then hurry and get him away from Providence.
He’d gotten used to the ways things worked at their organization and he knew how many soldiers and scientists would be against working with someone like Rex. He couldn’t risk them ruining things with their closed-minded pessimism. He needed Rex. He needed to bring Rex to One. He needed to get his master back.
It was his highest priority, above everything else.
Six knew that he should wait before bringing Rex to the island. Let Holiday do some more tests, make sure Rex’s powers would continue to work on every EVO before breaking the oath he’d made: to never bring outsiders to his master’s island. The other Numbers would criticize him for even thinking about it. But thanks to Rex, Six finally had a reason to think things could get better. He just needed to be careful.
Knight’s suspicions were worrisome. Six knew his friend well, after so many years of working together, and knew that when Knight wanted something, he’d do anything to get it. Knight was probably going to keep digging until he learned the truth about the kid, so Six could only hope that the day’s activities were tiring enough to delay his truth-seeking until tomorrow.
Unable to sleep, Six had been training and slicing up the dummies Providence provided for him. The dummies that Knight, specifically, had asked for on Six’s behalf. He felt bad leaving his friend in the dark after all he’d done to make him more comfortable. But his trust in Knight had started wavering the moment he suggested that EVOs were inherently weak.
One was the strongest person alive and Six would stop at nothing to bring him back.
He picked up the gift that Knight had given him earlier in the day. It was a tanto - a shorter weapon than his usual katana, but a useful gift all the same. It was just another reminder of how close he used to be with White Knight. He hadn’t felt close to him in months - despite spending every day together, fighting an endless battle, he’d never felt a greater distance from him. They used to see life so similarly, and now they couldn’t have been more opposite.
The lights started to flash around him - Six recognized the sounds and patterns from the main lab. Curious, he moved towards his room’s intercom which he had connected to Holiday’s as soon as he’d gotten back to his room. He needed to be able to contact her at a moment’s notice, just in case things went wrong.
“Holiday. Is Fell running protocols at night now?”
He waited a few moments, knowing she’d gone back to her room after they’d left the medical ward. She wouldn’t have left without telling him, considering all the plans they had for tomorrow.
“Holiday?”
Something was wrong. He needed to get to the lab fast.
x
No one was officially referring to what had happened as a coup, but the rumor mill went wild.
White Knight was suddenly in charge of everything. Six - now Agent Six - was head of all defense operations. Dr. Fell was fired, and Dr. Holiday had taken his place as Chief Research Officer for the entire Providence Science Division.
There were a lot of changes in a very short amount of time, all thanks to one very special EVO.
“She can’t really fire me, can she?” Fell asked during his private meeting with the new head of Providence.
“Well…no,” White Knight answered, trying to ignore the sounds of construction all around him as the crew of men in hazmat suits worked tirelessly to turn his tomb into a decent-looking office. “But I can.”
“Don’t do this, Knight! You know I’ve been loyal!” Fell stood up, waving his arms in front of him. “I still have so much to offer Providence. You know I do.”
Knight sighed deeply. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He and Fell were friends, or at least they had been. He wasn’t sure if he would be capable of having friends again after the ordeal he’d been through. “It’s got nothing to do with what you can bring us. Having you here is bad optics.”
“Bad-?!” The scientist clenched his fists at his sides. “We were working together! You should shoulder as much blame as I do!”
“I should,” Knight answered matter-of-factly. “But as the only nanite-free human left in the world, the committee wants me around. They don't want you.”
An awkward silence came over the room as Fell glared harder, a new and vicious hatred coming over him. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and scowled. "How lucky for you."
"Lucky. Right." Knight glanced around his future office - currently the room he spent literally all of his time in - and sighed. The design for his new setup included a nanite-free bedroom and bathroom to the side of the main room, but he still felt like he was someone's pet, trapped in a hamster cage. Being nanite-free was amazing and he was happy not to have to worry about turning into some thing and betraying his team. But he was going to miss every other aspect of life.
He didn't feel lucky. But he had to admit, it was nice to be in charge.
"Please reconsider," Dr. Fell said, giving it one last shot. "I can still be of use."
Knight kept his gaze on the wall of his room, not bothering to look at the whiny, begging man on the other side of his screen. It was unbecoming of a man who'd had so much power just a day earlier. "You'd be working under Dr. Holiday, you know. She's in charge of all the science and research departments now."
Fell's frown deepened significantly and he adjusted his glasses once more. "It's completely ridiculous to put a diversity hire in charge of an operation like this. You know that, don't you?"
"It’s not my call."
"Of course not. You're running Providence, but nothing's ever actually up to you, hm?" Fell shoved his hands into the pockets of his white coat. "Politics doesn't suit you, White Knight. You were a perfect soldier out in the field. Now look what they're doing with you!"
Knight crossed his arms over his chest, tapping one arm lightly with his pointer finger. He was definitely going to miss the adrenaline rush of mercenary life more than anything else. He'd spent his entire adult life hunting and killing and suddenly he was going to give it all up to give orders from afar instead.
It didn’t suit him, Fell was right. Deep down, he was always going to be a soldier, no matter what his title was. And he wasn’t going to enjoy being so far from all the action. There were so many monsters that’d need to be captured and killed (and cured) and he wouldn’t get to participate in any of it.
He thought about Six. And Rex. And the way that just two days earlier, the kid’s nanites were bulging giant metal weapons from his flesh and attacking anyone nearby. He was dangerous. All EVOs were dangerous, and Rex was no exception. He could’ve killed all three of them without even trying. It wasn't safe to give him full reign of their organization without taking safety precautions..
Knight thought about how useless it was to bottle up his skills and put them on a shelf. With Six’s feelings clouding his judgment, someone needed to be ready to make the hard choices in case things with the kid went sideways. He leaned forward onto his new desk and considered his next request carefully before speaking.
"Before you go, Fell…" Knight said suddenly, not really acknowledging his ex-friend's last statement. "I have one last project you can do. You'll be paid well enough to cover expenses while you look for a new job."
Fell's back straightened and he raised a curious eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I need you to help me design a suit."
x
"So any food can be passed through this giant magnet and it'll be safe for me to eat?"
"Pretty much. We've tested it on everything you asked for and it's all come out nanite-free," Holiday muttered, checking something off on her clipboard.
Knight glared down at her, unhappy knowing how much they'd be working together for the next indeterminate amount of time. Playing nice was not his forte.
"I've also got a team working on your special water tank. You won't have to worry about getting infected while showering or washing your hands." She still didn't look up, just reading things off of a list. "By the time we're done, you'll have a luxury, nanite-free apartment all to yourself."
"Good."
In preparation for their meeting, Knight had been looking over Holiday's paperwork. He hated to admit it, but she'd been significantly overqualified for her previous job and she was adequately qualified for her new one. She had enough experience leading a team, she'd worked in a well-known nanite research lab, and she'd even done some robotic engineering during one of her PhD programs.
The most interesting note in her file, however, was one he'd heard Fell mention, but he'd never asked for details on. There was a large and very unique contract that spelled out an agreement she'd struck. One that ensured her continued loyalty and cooperation for the life of her sister.
He almost laughed when he read it. That explained why she acted the way she did. It was all for one hopeless wreck of an EVO. Knight wondered if she'd had Rex cure her yet. Would she still be standing there if she had? Definitely not. That meant that Providence had the same power over her that they'd always had.
"Have you talked to any of the doctors yet?" Holiday asked suddenly, moving down her list. "I can't say for sure since no one else on earth has ever survived partial molecular disassembly, but you could potentially have some significant health problems come up. We should get you checked out sooner rather than later."
Health problems. Knight felt like he'd aged ten years in the last two days. Health problems didn't even begin to cover it. "There have been discussions. It'll get it taken care of."
"Alright." She didn't check anything off that time. "Was there anything else you wanted us to get for your room? Exercise equipment, decorations, books?"
Briefly, Knight wondered if the tension between them was as noticeable for her as it was for him. Every word she said felt like it was dripping with hatred. It could've been his imagination, but he was pretty sure she thought he should've been fired with Fell. "There are some things in my old room. I'll send Six to pick them up."
"Fine. I'll make sure they're clean when you get them."
He also wondered if she was expecting a thank you for the work she was doing. Though technically none of it was in her new job description, it was still her job as head of the science division to organize and delegate relevant assignments to her team. He would never thank someone for doing what they were paid to do.
Like a switch had been flicked, Holiday smirked up at him and put a hand on her hip. "Have you thanked Rex yet for saving your life?"
Knight frowned. There was the lack of professionalism he'd heard so much about.
"I mean, if he hadn't taken the time to save you, you'd have dissipated into nothing." She spoke matter-of-factly, but there was a tone of satisfaction in her voice. As if she was happy to remind him that he'd almost died. "It's pretty scary, isn't it?"
If she was going to be so bold, Knight decided that he would do the same. He leaned forward on his desk and glared at her, hoping his gaze held the same terror over a screen that it did in-person. "I would watch your tongue when you talk to me, Dr. Holiday."
Her expression changed rapidly to one of confusion and offense. "Excuse me?"
"In case you were unaware, your agreement with Fell is going to continue just as before." He tried not to be too happy that he'd clearly ruined her good mood. "And he was much nicer than I am."
Holiday squeezed her mouth shut and glared at him, holding her clipboard tight.
"So don't act high and mighty. Providence expects you to cooperate and continue at the same pay rate you'd been offered previously."
She almost gasped, clearly unprepared for the suggestion that she'd be taking on her new position without a raise. If Providence didn't provide food and housing (for a fee taken out of their biweekly paychecks), she would've barely made enough to get by. As an assistant, it didn't come across as all that strange.
But as Chief Research Officer, it was absolutely insane.
"You've got to be kidding," she said finally, unable to think of anything better to say.
Knight smiled. It was nice to have the upper hand. "If you're unhappy with your compensation here, you can always feel free to seek employment somewhere else."
She scoffed and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to find the best way to build her next statement without risking her sister's life.
He interrupted her thoughts with another smart aleck comment. "Think of it this way, doctor. When the public sees how much you make, they'll think you're very altruistic. It'll really convince people that you're just here to help."
Holiday's hand squeezed around the ends of her hair, flicking a group of strands back and forth. "You won't have this over me much longer, Knight. Once Rex cures her, you'll have to treat me like a real employee."
"Then why don't you go cure her?" he suggested nonchalantly. "Then we can allocate those resources onto something important."
She scowled and huffed, clearly very annoyed at the direction their conversation had gone. "With your permission, Sir, I'll get it done as soon as possible."
White rolled his eyes as she headed out the door, not really caring one way or another. If she thought she could negotiate her way to a reasonable salary just because her sister was home free, she'd have another thing coming.
Several hours later, after Knight had endured meeting after meeting after meeting with every single Providence employee who was in charge of something or someone, Holiday came back. She'd found a break in his schedule and marched into the empty room they were using as his guest office space.
Neither of them said anything initially. Knight found himself curious - her hair looked very messed up, there was dirt and what looked to be blood all over her uniform, her nose and eyes were noticeably red, and she wasn't looking up at him. There was one very clear explanation.
Rex couldn't cure her sister.
Holiday tugged some hair behind her ear, unable to make eye contact. She opened her mouth to say something and quickly closed it again.
Knight pouted slightly. He'd expected this to be a possibility. And normally he enjoyed seeing Holiday so upset and out of sorts. But at that particular moment, he couldn't even force a smirk. It was unfortunate to know that the world's only hope wouldn't be able to save everyone.
In a rare act of pity, he said, "You look terrible, doctor. Take off the rest of the night."
She was glaring at the floor, and didn't move or flinch or react in any way to his words. She didn't want to admit defeat, obviously, but there was nothing she could do or say to improve her situation. Providence would continue to have a leash tied around her neck until she could figure out how to save Beverly.
There was no fighting back. Not until she managed to make herself irreplaceable as an employee. For the moment, all she could do was say two simple words.
"Yes, Sir."
x
Every day, Monday through Friday, at exactly 8 am, Agent Six and White Knight would have a meeting. Excluding when Six was in the field or otherwise unavailable.
They'd agreed on this meeting schedule immediately after the committee had made their decisions on Providence's new structure. As White Knight was in charge, he needed to be updated on Rex's progress daily. As Rex's handler and partner, Agent Six would need to submit those updates.
On his second day of being in charge, Knight was not excited to meet with Six. He didn't need to go through any personnel file - knowing it'd be empty - and he didn't need to offer the man more money to guarantee he'd stay. The first meeting was a formality, and a reminder of what had happened between them.
The first priority, of course, was discussing Rex.
"You'll need to keep him in line. No broken machines, no dead EVOs in the Petting Zoo." Knight glared down at his ex-partner, trying to make sure he covered everything that needed to be said.
"Understood," was Six's only response.
"Every minute of every day, I expect you to be training him. Teach him how to behave and how to use his powers safely."
"Understood."
Knight glared. "And I don’t want to hear a word of complaint about it.”
There was a moment of hesitation between them. A moment where Six had an opportunity to stand up for himself, instead of choosing to stand there and be consumed by his guilty conscience. He didn’t have to be there. He could grab Rex and run anytime he wanted, no turning back.
Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and said, once again, “Understood.”
There wasn’t much else to say. Knight knew it, Six knew it. There was no big discussion to be had. Six needed to spend some time with his new protegé and learn everything the kid could do, then they could have a more detailed discussion from there.
A discussion about expectations was a priority, once they knew what Rex was capable of. The committee was immediately on Knight’s ass, trying to find out absolutely everything they could possibly know. They had their own private team working on a related project and wanted updates on Rex as often as possible. They wanted every piece of information they could get.
Which was difficult, considering the memory problems. But Knight knew there was much more to Rex than meets the eye.
He knew Six had found the kid in some wreckage in Mexico, after the giant biomechanical mutant had exploded. He'd just assumed that he'd somehow missed the evacuation call and was lucky to survive long enough to be found.
Seeing him twitch and transform on the lab table under Fell's knife, however, made the truth very clear.
The kid was that giant, world-destroying monster. And if they weren't careful, there was no reason to think he couldn't turn into it again.
Six knew. Knight wasn't sure if he'd known the whole time or if he’d also figured it out during their fight, but he definitely knew. Rex was, undoubtedly, a danger to all of them, all of Providence, and the entire world.
But Knight didn't get to make those calls. He would do as ordered and keep the committee happy, which meant keeping Rex around and gathering as much information about curing EVOs as possible. Thanks to all their new funding, Providence was at the top of the game when it came to finding a cure. Dr. Holiday and White Knight would be the faces of Providence’s cure until Rex was competent enough to be out in public.
The committee wanted Rex’s face and name public as soon as possible. But Knight had spent a total of two minutes with the kid, and he knew that wasn’t going to be easy.
"How's the training?" he asked Six. It was Day Three of being locked in a box, Day Two of being in charge of Providence, and Day One of Six trying to figure out what all Rex could do.
"Slow."
Knight would’ve smirked if he wasn’t so busy fielding calls from members of the committee. He didn’t have time for slow. But it was a little nice to see Six suffer. "Not all you hoped he'd be?"
The agent in green chose not to respond, so Knight decided to talk. He wanted to put everything on the table and make sure Six understood the situation they were in.
"Still. Who would've thought the kinder, gentler approach would do such wonders for our profile. The notion of a cure has gotten Providence funding, and worldwide prestige. The committee's happy.” They were very happy. It wasn’t an exaggeration. But Knight didn’t enjoy working with them so closely. He’d known money while working as a mercenary, but never like those men did. They were so detached from the rest of humanity, it was obscene. “Your new partner may just be the best thing this operation could've asked for.”
Six didn’t respond again, which pissed him off just the slightest. Knight tilted his head and leaned forward onto his hands. Six was going to be cooperative, and he was going to hate every second of it. “Funny, isn't it? Because of you, I can never leave this chamber. I'm now the only pure human left in the world. And the perfect poster boy to run this operation.”
There was a pause before White added a very, very sarcastic, “I suppose I should thank you."
The grunts sitting on either side of Knight’s screen glanced at one another subtly, trying to continue their work without making it clear they were hanging onto every word.
Six didn’t acknowledge anything Knight said, knowing that he had nothing relevant to add. He’d made his choices and Knight had made his. They would just have to make sure Rex was prepared for anything. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and spoke up, thinking back to a conversation he’d had with Rex and Dr. Holiday earlier in the day. "I promised him that we would help uncover his past. Find his family."
"Whatever keeps him on his leash. But if he shows the slightest sign of turning into that thing again, it's all on you,” White said threateningly.
Six knew what that meant. They’d made an agreement. If Rex became a real threat to them and their operation, he had to neutralize him. The grunts around them didn’t need to know the details. Six hoped beyond hope that Dr. Holiday never learned about the agreement, either. But more than anyone, he didn’t want Rex to know.
It was hard to admit, but Six was already starting to like the kid. He needed him to help One - and they’d get there, eventually, when Rex was ready. But he also felt a need to keep him safe.
Knight turned off the screen and Six looked up at Rex and Bobo playing around in the training chamber. Six sighed and ran a hand through his short hair.
This was going to be a lot of work.
x
"Hey there."
Six turned his head to see Dr. Holiday walking his way, a shy smile on her face. They hadn't had much of an opportunity to really talk since everything went off the rails. "Doctor."
Holiday stopped a few feet away from her new coworker, looking him up and down. “I like the new suit. Did you have to get it custom-made?”
Most people were too intimidated by Six to comment on his fashion sense, so her question almost caught him off-guard. He simply responded with a raised eyebrow.
She smirked and shook her head, still testing the waters of how friendly she could be with him. “Nevermind. Sorry.” Holiday looked away, curious about what was going on in the Petting Zoo. Being able to study the EVOs like regular animals was going to have a real impact on her work, she was certain. "It's kind of like an actual petting zoo now, huh? Not just an ironic name anymore."
Six turned his attention towards some EVOs fighting each other. "I wouldn't recommend treating it like a regular petting zoo."
She chuckled and rolled her eyes playfully, as if she'd expected him to say something just like that. "How are things going with Rex?"
"Good. Slow, but…good." Six's hands twitched in his pockets, wondering if there was a reason for her talking to him. He'd been so antisocial for so long that it was difficult to adjust back into the world of smalltalk, but Holiday seemed very well-practiced. "How did his last checkup go?"
"Fine. No changes," she commented, hands clasped behind her back. "It seems like when he cures EVOs, he absorbs their active nanites. I'm worried he might have a limit to how much he can take."
"Then what?" Six asked, suddenly a little anxious. "Does that mean he can only cure so many EVOs before he's done?"
"No, I don't think so." Holiday tilted her head to look at him. "I'll keep a close eye on his levels, but so far it looks like building those machines expels some of the active nanites. Not a lot, though, so we may need to find a way to force them out."
Six didn't really understand the science behind the nanites. He definitely didn't understand EVOs or how they worked, and more than anything he didn't understand how Rex's powers worked. He seemed to be able to talk to machines and tell them what to do, he could absorb active nanites, and he was able to build small machines out of his skin. It was all very unique and interesting, but Six knew it was for everyone's benefit that he leave the science to the professionals. "I'll take your word on that."
She smiled again and Six felt himself stare at her for a brief moment. Prior to finding Rex, he had never, not once, seen a smile on her face. It was…nice. Nice to know he had something to do with it, even if it was mostly because of the kid.
"Should I start limiting the number of EVOs he attempts to cure per day?" Six asked.
"Hmm…probably." Holiday brought a hand to her chin in thought. "I mean, you should take things slow with him in general. This is an entirely new environment and he doesn't seem to have any understanding of his own powers."
He frowned. "I'm making sure not to overwhelm him, but we don't exactly have time to take things slowly. Knight wants Rex out in the field as soon as possible."
Holiday's expression faltered and she moved her hand down to rest underneath her chin. "Of course he does. But you need to remember, he's just a kid. He can't handle the same kind of schedule you and I can."
"He agreed to stay here," Six said sternly. "I won't force anything on him, but if he's going to be a part of Providence then he'll need to be prepared."
She sighed and waved a dismissive hand in his direction. "Alright, alright. I didn't come here to argue."
Six looked out at the Zoo again. "And what did you come here for?"
Holiday stayed silent for a few moments, contemplating. She clearly had a lot on her mind. It seemed like she was a person who was constantly thinking about ten different things at once. But she wasn't scatterbrained, just moved from subject to subject quickly. "I just…I wanted to say, um…"
They fell into a relatively awkward silence as Holiday tried to find her words. Six didn't want to interrupt.
She glanced at him briefly, then turned back to stare down at the Zoo. "I know you're going to shrug this off like it's nothing, but I'm saying it anyway," she started, playing with her hands.
Six only raised an eyebrow, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Thank you, Six. Thank you for finding him. And for trusting me." Holiday laid her arms over her middle, holding onto her elbows. "I know this probably isn't what you wanted for yourself or your, um, friend, but…if it's any consolation, I really do believe Rex is going to change things for the better."
He took a deep breath, head fully turned so he could stare at her properly. Six wasn't always sure what to make of Dr. Holiday, but he knew they'd be spending a lot of time together in the coming months. Maybe even years. He didn't quite know how to respond to her optimism. He wanted to feel as confident as she did, but it was difficult. Rex was a handful and Providence’s militarism wouldn’t mix well with his playfulness. Still, he was all they had.
"Let's hope so, Dr. Holiday."
#generator rex#rex salazar#rebecca holiday#agent six#white knight#dr. fell#promises promises#carrofics#holix#okay its here. thank u to all 3 of my readers i will keep writing til my fingers break off
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doing some pjsk questions I saw
Who is your least favorite character?
I don’t really have one, but in terms of who I think about the least, it would be KAITO
What is your least favorite unit?
None, I love them all.
Comm you hate the most?
Mirai. The mixing did them so dirty, I bought the Akito cover and haven’t looked back since
Cover(s) you hate the most?
I dislike Doctor Funk Beat and Lost One’s Weeping. I use the Len cover for both of those
What’s the ugliest event set?
Run! Sports Festival! Committee Rush
What’s the worst lim hairstyle?
Either the one Akito got for the one with him, Nene, and Len or any of KAITO’s. Sega give him better treatment
What’s the worst lim card?
Honestly, I don’t know. None of the early ones were really bad, it was just the art style, and now they look gorgeous sooo-
Ugliest Birthday card?
Everyone knows which one it is, Akito’s first one.
Ugliest 3 star?
Rui from Nene1. The card looks like someone just gave up on composition
What’s your least favorite chart to play?
GimmexGimme expert, it was horrible to me in my early pjsk days and the hate for it was stuck with me
Is there a ship/pairing you hate?
Not a big fan of romantic Mafuyu/Akito or Tsukasa and Shizuku with any L/n member. However, I’m fine with those pairings if they are platonic
Worst fans? (Of a character)
Tsukasa, Mafuyu, or Mizuki. They get mischaracterized so often it hurts, and people focus on the wrong parts of their development. Also those fans are just rabid.
Card outfit that is ugly?
Emu and Haruka’s outfits from Run! Sports Festival! Committee Rush/Miya Sports 1
Any cards you wished were never made?
….Run! Sports Festival! Committee Rush
Any mixed unit events lineups that you don’t like.
Not that I can think of
Which unit has the worst songs?
None. I will die saying all the units are amazing and people need to stop hating on L/n and MMJ, give the gays a break
Any character that has the worst singing voice?
None of them. Each one has their ups and downs and I love them all.
Give me an unpopular opinion on the game.
Focus on L/n and MMJ. They are amazing and feature the struggles of working towards a dream as high schoolers. With L/n you see how each one is slowly leaving behind the trauma from junior high and growing as people. And with MMJ you see them grow closer and define who they are for themselves and not others. VBS, WxS, and 25ji are amazing, but the lack of love for L/n and MMJ is disheartening. All the characters are amazing, none of them deserve hate. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
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“I’d come for you. No matter what, when you need me, I will be there.” :)
prompt from here! (thank u for enabling me :DD)
seven faintly recalls scrambling herself back up on the ship, right after transporting icheb to the pod. janeway had given her a secure channel to use for emergency communications–and this, the predicament of her son–their son, was one of those.
it doesn’t take a moment for the vice admiral to answer–almost as if she’d been anxious about something too. seven had only told her a day ago that icheb had been taken–and that she would be the one dealing with it–as soon as janeway had given her any official and unofficial communications. they didn’t argue. janeway had sent her off with a kiss on the back of her hand.
the day happens—seven finds icheb, her body chilling with every step she takes inside the borg butcher compound—so many ex-borgs, so many hopes shattered. it made her stomach churn, only the adrenaline keeping her upright. the end comes too quickly—her phaser set to kill—one for the surgeon mercilessly harvesting parts of her soul, and one where a part of her soul asked to be set free.
grief hadn’t consumed her then—in its place had been this overwhelming sense of anger, the one where it sits beneath your skin and where it was utterly familiar in its manifestations. she transports herself and icheb to the ship she ‘borrowed’ (something janeway had gotten from b’elanna and tom). her hand shakes when she attempts to operate the ship—the adrenaline hasn’t come down so she could probably go home—safer outside the seven domes and closer to kathryn.
she sets the ship on autopilot and tends to icheb.
-
seven finds herself awakened to tender touches—like someone is lathering her skin with a hot towel and had cradled her close to their body. how long had been the ride home? there wasn’t much energy left in her to even attempt to process what the borg implants are telling her.
“seven?” the lathering stops, a hand resting on her waist as she feels her chin being lifted gently. the hydrobath had enclosed her in a state of grogginess. the owner of the voice was always the person she’d hoped to see at the end of everything. the way her designation drags out of this woman’s lips has always felt tender.
“kathryn?” it takes a few moments for seven to get accustomed to the low light fixtures in the bath—the first thing she sees is kathryn, of course, but with tears brimming in her eyes.
“i took off as soon as i heard. the ship automatically sent me a signal beacon as soon as you set autopilot home.” kathryn’s voice shook, carrying the uncertainty the beacon must have brought—for all she could’ve known seven had been wounded in an altercation that it had been activated.
seven had forgotten about that subfunction. did kathryn pilot a ship to meet her halfway?
“kathryn, did you…?”
“there was no way i was going to risk you running into others, possibly piloting a spacecraft with half the strength.” kathryn resumes her gentle caressing, making sure not to press too much on the bruises. “you needed me, and regardless of reason, i went. tom did not have half the wit to try to stop me.”
seven almost chuckled at the thought of paris getting into a squabble with a vice admiral in the hallway like a pair of siblings. maybe it had been reckless of her but she was certain she was going to wake up from her nap after….arranging icheb’s belongings.
“kathryn, we have to—icheb—”
“i know—i got him first—the doctor will be coming by in a few hours, we have time with him. you have time to say goodbye to him.”
seven settles in her arms, though sitting upright this time around, eyes contemplating reality. “you know what i’ll have to do.” and silently, in her mind, she apologizes. kathryn
it had been the elephant in the room—the lingering question of what’s next.
“i know….” kathryn takes both of her hands and intertwines it with hers. “….but you…we can grieve him…for now. they will lie low, they know you’re looking. and my committee hasn’t stopped taking asylums—icheb’s work won’t be forgotten.”
there is a certain callous stillness that seven forgets that kathryn carries—that in the passion carried by her tenderness, there was also wrath and anger that seethes. it is uneasy when one is reminded of it. that whatever seven decides from here on out, there would be no moral debates over it—only that it will be done, eventually. the years have corroded kathryn’s generosity—but never her hope and that’s what makes seven breathe easier in the world she came back to.
it was a family affair. even if the family was composed of everyone on voyager who could arrive in bloomington, indiana–at the soonest possible time–to bury icheb, to remember his genius and the lightness he brought with him. this is what he would want. icheb had made her promise on his graduation, that he would always like to be home, where seven would be– safe and sound. this was home.
#janeway/seven#j7#janeway x seven#kathryn janeway#seven of nine#star trek voyager#own musings#ellekathryns#i need to tell u that ive rewritten this for about 3 times.....#i wrote this fic with the thought of icheb being a nepobaby actually and then it got sadder as i kept writing
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[I don’t want to cry and I hate venting but I don’t really know what to do. I don’t have anywhere to go about this and it’s getting to a point that hiding it is becoming too much.
I’ll have it under read more but it involves my grad school and fighting to get permission to start my dissertation. I don’t know if all grad schools are the same but that’s how it is for mine.
What’s weird is I started my thesis without jumping through so many hoops when I got my master’s degree.]
I’ve been having a lot of trouble with my advisor. I am done with classes and my comprehensive exam. However, I can’t get permission to enroll in dissertation credits. My advisor wouldn’t talk to me for months. I tried to reach out so many time and I couldn’t handle it anymore.
I asked to change my advisor which was accepted. However, I have to search for a new one that will want to work with me. After that, the nightmare begins.
I was so close to getting that permission. But now, I have to redo my IRB at the school and hope for approval, but I also have to redo the IRB process at work since my dissertation was related to my work.
I will have to also need to see if the rest of the committee will want to work with me anymore. If they don’t want to work with any new advisor I can find, then they are out and I have to start that step over. That took me almost a year to find everyone who was willing to be in my dissertation committee. Restarting IRB will take at least a few weeks to several months.
This is not counting redoing the plan of study and possible have to start all over with my topic proposal which took a year and a half to work on and it’s not even approved to be presented and formally submitted. That would have been the last step to have that permission number to enroll for my dissertation.
I don’t think I can back out of the advisor change to save the progress. She already left and when she was working with me, she wouldn’t answer me for months. I waited for half a year for any response, only to be told I have to rewrite sections of my proposal, add more to it like policy briefs that she wanted (originally not my idea for my dissertation but I did what she told me to do).
I will say I am not leaving my grad school. I came this far for my PhD and I’m not quitting. That has never been an option.
I have people delay me and some even admit they never believed in me. My former advisor didn’t say that explicitly but how she always had me as an after thought and ignore my emails and calls, I felt that was a message.
Then, she would be unhappy with my progress in my proposal and tell me I need to do it over. It happened four times. I told myself I was being too sensitive to think my former advisor is sabotaging my work. I don’t want to be unfair and assume that . She has a lot going on like her family, work, her own research and travel. Still, that thought hasn’t left my mind since one of my coworkers told me sabotage is happening and I need to do something about it now. She is also a PhD student from another program and school and I explained my situation to her because I felt frustrated but also worried that I wasn’t giving my former advisor the grace she deserves.
I hate rushing people but I don’t have much time left. Once my time runs out, then I am removed from the program. It doesn’t matter if I never got the dissertation. When time is out, then I have to leave. The dissertation plus defense can take about 6-12 months, sometimes longer.
A lot of my cohorts who I studied with already graduated and got their doctorates. I don’t understand why I’m so behind. I got everything I could done but I was still pushed back.
I’m at a loss. All I can do is pick up the pieces and keep advocating for myself. I just need someone to listen and help me get to the final phase of my studies. I will be quiet today because I have to start searching for a new advisor and restart the process in hopes to be a candidate by the fall. This needs to be done in between my projects at work which also needs my attention.
I’m very sorry about this. The advisor change was bound to happen and I knew I may had to redo some things but not everything. Over a year’s work gone. It really hurts and honestly, I feel rejected because of all of this and searching for a new advisor.
#ooc#spam#negative tw#venting about my studies#a lot of that work is gone#and I have at least some of the blame if not all of it#basically over a year’s work blew up
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