#too late as in season 3 came out at least a month ago or something like that lmao. i sketched this out at like 2am today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

schismusic · 4 months

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Æon Flux and the end of all things

I don't remember the first time I heard of Æon Flux but I sure as hell remember the first time I watched it, and it wasn't too long ago which would technically not warrant the level of obsession I have for that shit, but here we are anyway.

I was knocked the fuck out on painkillers, two of my wisdom teeth freshly removed, not even remotely worried about the exam that I had coming up in like two days from then. So I was barely moving away from my swivel chair and sleeping on a whole ass armored pillow to prevent from tossing and turning and shit felt so surreal to me. It was like the eating chair from the last Cronenberg movie. So I delved into Æon Flux essentially blind and bingewatched the shit out of it. Twice. Ended up downloading the whole thing from some sketchy ass 1080p remastered torrent, rewatched it again, and spread it around personally in a more cauterized Google Drive folder (so if you guys got a nasty ass virtual STD from it, my bad I guess), not even a month after watching the series. Shit was fucked, in short, and every rewatch just fueled this obsession even further.

(image taken from Episode 1, Season 1)

One thing about me: when I obsess over stuff I want to draw something at the very least inspired by it. Happens to me a lot with Autechre, who are actually one of maybe three bands I would not hesitate to call my favourite based on an absolutely objective principle which is absolutely not up for discussion and which might be the object of a future post at this point. But the point is fucking Æon Flux is essentially impossible to replicate because Peter Chung's character designs are so recognizable that you start seeing them in literally every other movie that came out in the late '90s/early 2000s - and for reference, Æon Flux was brought to an end in 1995. Consequently, all attempts at drawing Æon Flux-inspired stuff end up either feeling very derivative or looking like fucking trash. Artistry is a weird thing because sometimes it inspires other people, other times it just inspires man-slaughtering rage.

Somewhat many of my friends are or have at one point tried to be accomplished visual artists. Some have made it to professional/teaching level, some others have an art school diploma or degree - and I'll be using this space to shout out @coto-letta aka V., who has recently rejoined Tumblr after years of absence. We met on here, when her handle was much different, and I mistook her for an ex of mine (whom, surprisingly, we are still on relatively good - if quiet - terms with) so I slid into her DMs as you do, and she was like "yeah actually I have no clue who the fuck you are I just think your blog is neat and dropped a follow" which was quite a fundamental moment in understanding that while my life was written like a dodgy soap-opera, that didn't mean I was the centre of the entire world. Anyway, the reason I'm shouting her out is because sometimes something deeper and older than you remember has a way of finding you again when you least expect it and that's what happened when in January 2023 (after V. had left Tumblr for at that point about two years and we had exchanged Instagram accounts) I somehow ended up on her Insta and found out she had been tagged in a picture taken somewhere that looked suspiciously like my university's conference hall and I could not fucking believe she was in my city. I slid into her DMs again, as you do, and found out that no, that wasn't my uni's aula magna, but yes, she was in fact relocating in my city for her master's. So we met up after maybe seven years of on-and-off Internet friendship. It's a neat story, sure, but how the fuck do we tie it into Æon Flux?

(image taken from Episode 3, Season 2: Leisure)

Not trying to be overly dramatic here, but Æon Flux to me is just about a condensation of everything that "art" can mean. Not just visual flare or style, not just deep meaning or interesting ways of putting across one or more questions and never a definitive answer to any of them (more often than not, it's sets of possible answers - usually two, neither of which ends up covering the whole array of possibilities, both of which actually leave a lot to be desired in a number of different ways), not just this insane fucking music that toys with everything you expect from animation courtesy of Drew Neumann who may just rank as one of the best soundtrack artists ever in virtue of this single work. It's the whole package. You would think it'd work taken in pieces, and it does, no objection to that: but it works even better as a whole package. If the moral questioning (and the philosophical musings of season 3, which is unjustly underrated because "it's too normal" by hipster wannabe critic dilettantes who like to think that they could do better than that. Everybody else on the other hand is generally able to stop pull their head out their own ass and recognize, at the very least, the excellent craftsmanship and talent that went into the ten long episodes) wasn't accompanied by the weird fetishistic sex it'd be somewhat less impactful, almost like a cauterized Tenshi no tamago made into a series for mainstream late-night TV audiences. The twist was that MTV's executives, at the time, "didn't understand [the double entendres], they didn't even notice them. So, we were okay", in producer Japhet Asher's own words in the short documentary Investigation: The History of Æon Flux. The network was, in fact, trying to break into the mainstream - they simply couldn't keep their creatives at bay. No wonder they turned to Jersey Shore as they went along.

(image taken from Episode 5, Season 3: The Demiurge)

Even just the main characters' purported edginess, clearly something "of its time", is never played entirely straight. Both leads are way too complex, and very clearly presented as such, to be just summed up by "Æon Flux is an anarchist/Trevor Goodchild is a dictator". Both of which are true, by the way, they're just one part of a full picture. Even within the context of its necessary linearity - this is still an animated short and as such moves only in one direction, even though a number of episodes (specifically Mirror and Chronophasia) deliberately fuck with the viewer's perception of times on varying degrees of diegesis and extradiegesis - the series could be perceived as, indeed, a sandbox: consequently, the viewer could set sail and explore it. This is further encouraged by the series's active weirdness to whoever would want to try and make sense of the world's story. There is no history, there is just the story at hand: an eternal present which you can't understand ("un eterno presente che capire non sai": Ferretti knew his shit, regardless of how it went after CCCP) and which Æon and Trevor are not interested in even trying to contextualize. Not a surprise then that they'd be into each other: their closeness in body and heart doesn't exist at the mind's level, and the whole thing falls apart miserably every time it looks like they could be finally let their weapons down. But as Æon completely understands, and as Trevor seems to actively try to ignore, the fight is already the whole point: star-cross'd as they may be, the entire act of playfully hunting each other for sport both in the bedroom and on the battlefield is what Trevor Goodchild and Æon Flux thrive on. Trevor wants stability but an Æon who doesn't fight back is simply not Æon; Æon does not want the stability, but she definitely likes Trevor to an extent and finds more in common with him that she would probably be willing to admit (I would like to thank Tumblr user @brw on thons very good analysis of the episode A Last Time for Everything, which heavily inspired this section of the post!). In short: if Trevor seems to embody Pier Paolo Pasolini's idea that "there is nothing more anarchistic than power" ("non c'è nulla di più anarchico del potere") then Æon flips the statement on its head: "there is nothing more powerful than anarchism". That is, of course, until we once again confront my signature ad-hoc elephant in the room that this statement just summoned.

(Image taken from Episode 1, Season 1)

No spoilers intended, but if you so much as google the name of the series you will easily find out that Æon Flux dies a whole lot throughout the series*. Season 1 and all the shorts from season 2 end with her dying ungrateful deaths and a couple of the long episodes leave much to be desired in the way of positive closure, with Ether Drift Theory representing a peak in bleakness for season 3. Most of the shorts where Æon dies imply that either absolutely nothing changes in the world around when she's lost or that Trevor Goodchild literally just succeeds in all of his goals (see Season 1's finale), and one could make a case that even if she did carry her missions through there would be absolutely nothing to show for it: somebody goes up the chain of power, everything is restored, there is one more tyrant to murder. Not to be that one guy who quotes Nietzsche about everything, but the eternal recurrence of the same is the first thing that comes to mind when watching Æon Flux, especially exemplified and even literalized by the episode War, possibly the best of the short ones: it's the same fucking story four times over a five-minute run time and nothing ever gets better for anyone. The body count in the episode is unquantifiably large - every one of the fallen a potential new Æon Flux or Trevor Goodchild. But this, in a way, implies that Æon keeps being reborn, and one could argue that the act of capturing a fly with her venus-fly-trap eye could simply be her coming back to life, as it were; stopping the most evident sign of decay, turning her eyes outward yet again, to face the eternal return of the same again and again and again…

(Image taken from Episode 8, Season 3: Ether Drift Theory)

You can find Æon Flux for free on the Internet Archive.

*as I was discussing the final draft of this post with my friend @oldshittydog we had a pretty interesting discussion which I thought should be added here for an even clearer, fuller picture:

#schismusic #animation #tv series #aeon flux #aeon flux 1991 #aeon flux 1995 #peter chung #japhet asher #mtv #liquid television #pier paolo pasolini #giovanni lindo ferretti #a lot of random bullshit #i guess i had fun with this

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logically-asexual · 8 months

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Whatever it takes

summary:

Gabriel notices that Nathalie is hesitating about continuing supporting him, so he misuses his powers to take advantage of her feelings for him and convince her to stay on his side. (could happen at some point during season 4, i guess?)

notes:

it's my first time posting fanfic for this show! i only discovered it a couple months ago and i'm already obsessed, mostly with this ship. leave a comment if you want just no season 5 spoilers pls. i've only seen half of it. <3<3<3

warnings: Emotional Manipulation, Unrequited Love, Toxic Relationship, Gabriel Agreste at the very least is an asshole

Read on AO3

word count: 2,234

Gabriel made his way back through the house after another failure. He felt exhausted, but did his best to stay hopeful, picturing Emilie walking by his side to their room, holding on to his arm as he guided her to a new, happier life. One day the walk in return from her resting place would be like that, with her and not without.

His daydream was interrupted by a foreign sensation on his chest. The jewel had sensed something, which was a familiar occurrence, but it was fleeting, gone as quickly as it came, and he didn’t have time to unravel it; that was the strange part.

He stopped walking to look around him, and found himself standing by his assistant’s bedroom door. He wondered if the spark of emotion had come from her, which would explain its unfamiliarity. Despite their constant proximity, Nathalie was normally one of the most difficult people to read, even with the magical power of the brooch. She had always been good at keeping a straight face and behaving only in the most professional manner, and she knew about the gift he now had, which meant she probably took action to counter it.

Gabriel was aware of the void her heart presented him with, and thought it was an unnecessary effort on her part. He knew her. What could she hide from him, when her actions spoke louder than any words she could say or thoughts he could feel? He knew about her affection for him and his son, her fear to show it and risk her employment, and her loyalty that convinced him to trust her with his most guarded secrets. He didn’t need to search for more.

Or at least that was what he had thought until this moment. Now he was curious.

He stepped closer to the door, searching for something, anything, but the emptiness felt even heavier than the burdens of any of the random citizens he had evaluated that day. Unfortunately, once an idea got into his head it was hard to let go of it, and once Gabriel Agreste decided he wanted something, he would get it.

“Duusu,” he called.

The small blue creature flew out of its hiding spot to float at his eye level.

“Please go check on Nathalie, make sure she’s alright.”

His apparent concern seemed to please the kwami, who wouldn’t pass on an opportunity to talk to its last owner ever since Gabriel began using the fixed miraculous himself.

“Yes, sir!”

He didn’t have time to correct the title used (he was the creatures’ Master, not anything less) before Duusu flew through the door and into the room. He stayed where he stood, waiting. He could hear the kwami’s muffled voice, but Nathalie’s responses were too quiet to understand. It didn’t matter, he just needed to pay attention to the jewel.

It was late, but Nathalie was still working. She sat on her bed, not yet under the covers, typing on her laptop. She was looking for clues on Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identities, rereading older news articles and her notes on the other miraculous users. Something must have slipped her sight, and she would find it.

As she saw the headline of an article about their defeat on Heroes’ Day, she remembered the disappointment she felt then. Maybe it was hopeless to keep trying, but Hawk Moth would never stop. Perhaps if she wanted to avoid dying of exhaustion she would have to give up on Gabriel, but that seemed just as impossible. She took a deep breath and continued reading.

She was once again distracted when Duusu flew into the room and sat on her keyboard, immediately making excited comments on the colorful pictures on the screen. Nathalie assumed Gabriel must have gone to sleep and the kwami took the chance to visit her. Duusu did that quite often, for some reason.

She tried to shush her, worrying she might wake up someone in the adjacent rooms, but the little bird didn’t listen. Normally she would let her be, but Nathalie was getting a headache.

“Ladybug is so pretty, don’t you think? Her hair is always shiny and perfect. Have you ever thought about wearing pigtails? How about a ponytail?” She got dangerously close to Nathalie’s hair, but she was quick to react and grabbed her before she would mess up her bun.

She held the kwami in front of her face and shushed her once more. “No. Now get out of here, I have work to do.”

Duusu stayed on her open palm and pouted. “Is something wrong, Miss Nathalie?”

“I’m fine, I just need silence to focus.”

Duusu’s expression lit up. “Does that mean I can at least brush your hair if I do it super quietly?”

Nathalie glared at her, but her smile didn’t falter. She finally sighed and gave in, to the kwami’s delight.

Duusu carefully took out the pins holding Nathalie’s hair up, and as it unwinded, she felt herself relax with it. A yawn escaped her, but she kept reading.

“You know,” Duusu said with an uncharacteristic whisper, “you can tell me anything, Miss Nathalie. I promise I won’t tell Mr. Gabriel!”

Nathalie just didn’t like getting distracted with irrelevant conversations, she wasn’t even thinking of that possibility. It wasn’t a solid argument, anyway. The proposal was so foolish she couldn’t help but refute it.

“He’s your owner now, he could force you to speak about anything. And you’re not good at keeping secrets anyway.”

“So there is a secret!” the creature yelled with glee, making Nathalie flinch at the volume. “I mean, in addition to the one about you being in lo—“

Once again she was quick to grab the kwami behind her head and covered her mouth. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

Duusu mumbled something unintelligibly, but her wide eyes communicated her regret and fear clearly enough. Nathalie let go of her and sighed. The little thing was just trying to help, after all. But what could she do? What could anyone do?

Every day was another disappointment, and as Gabriel became more desperate, he was also getting consumed by his anger and his obsession. He wasn’t the same man she admired. She was captivated by the way he would do anything for love, for Emilie. But now his motivations shifted, and it seemed it was only his hate for the young heroes that was pushing him forward.

“Besides,” she said, choosing to trust Duusu, “I am not sure that’s true anymore.”

On the other side of the wall, Gabriel gasped as another wave of emotion reached him. It was quick, but more certain than the first one, just enough for this time to be able to decipher it.

“I feel,” he said to himself, “a heart that’s torn between two alternatives, between giving up and protecting itself, or maintaining faith.” He frowned, turning towards the door. Nathalie was doubting him. That couldn’t happen. He couldn’t lose her. Without her ideas and her support he would never be able to succeed.

“Master?” Noooo peeked from inside his jacket, “What are you doing?”

“I need to take drastic measures.”

He waved his hand, pushing the kwami back, and knocked on the door.

Inside, Nathalie rushed to close her laptop and moved to sit under the covers. She signaled for Duusu to go away before she answered the knock.

Gabriel walked inside, directly to sit on the bed, a little too close for comfort.

“Do you need something, sir?”

“I… just wanted to ask how you were doing.”

He wouldn’t break eye contact, which was making Nathalie a little nervous, but as usual she made sure to keep her face neutral and breathing steady. “I should be the one to worry about you. You stayed up late as Shadow Moth and didn’t even have dinner.”

He looked down at his hands. “I was about to go to sleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking about something.”

Nathalie leaned forward slightly. “Is there a problem? Do you want to talk about it?”

Gabriel kept staring down, fidgeting with his ring. “I was just wondering… What if things don’t turn out as I imagined them? What if I’ve been focusing on the wrong thing all along?” Then he looked up into Nathalie’s eyes again.

She didn’t know what to interpret from that. She held his gaze and waited for him to continue.

“Nathalie, I…” He rested his hand on top of hers, and felt a pang of nervousness coming from her, before the emptiness was back. “You mean so much to me, you know that, right?”

She nodded.

“Good. Because I don’t know what I would do without you. I’ve been feeling conflicted about many things, but right now I know that my main priority is for you to get better, before it’s too late.” He leaned forwards and put his arms around her. He was hugging her.

The position was awkward and she wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. Nathalie didn’t know how to react.

“I am going to save you,” he whispered in her ear, as if answering her thoughts. “I promise I will. With your help I know we can do it.” He held her tighter, and she finally hugged him back.

“It’s okay,” she smiled. “I know we will figure it out.”

She felt safe, protected from the world and anything it may throw at her. She was about to close her eyes and rest her head on his shoulder when he pulled back, just enough to face her again. She ignored her slight disappointment at the loss of contact, but she noted his hands were still on her arms.

Although not unwelcome, his sudden affection was strange. Nathalie tried to convince herself to not read into it, since he was probably just upset about another defeat, and still focused on Emilie.

Gabriel felt it again, the conflict in her heart. He couldn’t let her continue hesitating.

“You mean so much to me,” he repeated, brushing her hair away from her face, only now noticing it was loose. It looked nice, but distracting. “I don’t care about anything else but you, Nathalie. Together, you and I will succeed.”

He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. The doubt weakened. He leaned in closer. He felt hope begin to replace it. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and softly kissed the corner of her mouth.

To Nathalie it was almost painful how gentle he was. She wanted to turn her head enough to kiss him properly, but she knew that he was going through so much, and she had to be patient with him. She didn’t move a muscle until he pulled back and she lifted a hand to hold his face. He held her wrist and put her hand back down.

“I’m sorry about everything,” he said, “I promise I’ll fix it.”

With that last statement he stood up and walked out of the room, just as swiftly as he entered.

Duusu came out of her hiding spot and soared across the room, cheering loudly. Nathalie ducked her head and covered it with her arms, hoping the flashes of blue wouldn’t come crashing into her.

“Okay, Duusu, that’s enough. We don’t want to wake Adrien.”

The kwami landed on her lap and looked up at her with her big pink eyes. Her expression fell when she saw that Nathalie’s own were holding unshed tears.

“Oh, no, Miss Nathalie! Are you alright? I thought what happened was good!” She flew up in front of Nathalie’s face.

“To be honest, Duusu, I’m not sure what just happened,” she said through shaky breaths. “I’m not sure what will happen now.”

“But— But he likes you!”

Nathalie felt a blush rise to her cheeks, but tried her best to stay collected. She bit her lip as she stared at the door, “I don’t know…”

“I do know that in fairy tales a true love kiss is all it takes for everything to be well!”

Nathalie scoffed at the bird’s naïveté. “Real life is more complicated than that.” She had no idea what Gabriel was thinking.

Duusu was still looking at her, waiting for… something. Maybe for a scene where Nathalie gets up and runs to find Gabriel in the hallway, where he catches her in his arms and they both openly declare love to each other, before walking off together into the night. She knew the kind of fictional stories Dusuu liked to hear about.

Displays like that would stay in romantic novels, where they belonged. She shook her head to get rid of the image. “I think I’ll just go to sleep, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

This effectively quieted the kwami, since it was hard enough for her to convince Nathalie to rest usually.

As she rested her head on the pillow, Duusu laid on her shoulder, giving her a tiny hug. “Everything will be alright,” she reassured her.

Nathalie didn’t stop looking at the door through which Gabriel had left. For once her mind stopped racing and allowed her to doze off comfortably. “Yeah… Maybe it will.”

After leaving his assistant’s bedroom, Gabriel had made his way back to his office. He stood in front of Emilie’s portrait for a while, silently apologizing to her, reassuring her that he only did what he had to, to make sure he could continue his quest and fulfill his goal.

Nooroo once again floated next to him, but was looking at the floor. “I don’t think you should take advantage of people’s feelings like that, Master.”

Gabriel frowned, annoyed by the creature’s voice. “Don’t lecture me, kwami. I’m only using the power that you gave me.” He turned back to Emilie’s face “And I’ll do whatever it takes.”

#miraculous ladybug #mlb #nathalie sancoeur #gabriel agreste #gabenath #lunas writing

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sammyboyimagines · 2 years

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Road Trip Pt. 1

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: Steve came to you asking if you would help him with something. He would have asked anyone else, you were his last resort. You both have an interesting time on a road trip. Will your hatred for each other change as you figure out how to sink Hawkins Lab? Words: 1.5k

This is loosely based on the plot of season 2 with Nancy and Jonathan!! A lot of changes to it though!!

Warnings: angst. angst. language, more angst. Steve and the reader are kinda mean but deep inside they are just hurt. SLOW BURN!!

//ahhhh multi-chapter fic, I'm thinking like 4-5 maybe? Let me know what y'all would prefer. More than five or around 4-5

"Steve, what the hell?!" the heavy banging on the door made you swing it open in frustration. His wet hair was causing drops of rain to drip down his face as he waited for you to let him in. As much as you wanted to let him in, you remembered your complicated past with Steve Harrington.

"Why weren't you answering? I knocked for like 3 minutes!" his annoyed expression fell flat against your own. "Well, let me think...Maybe because it's three in the morning! Why are you at my house?" his voice was unfamiliar to you as you looked at his anxious face. You weren't sure exactly when the last time you'd talked to him was. But all your tired brain could remember was your sophomore year when you helped him, Nancy, and Jonathan fight some tall creature with a gaping mouth full of teeth. Back then, you hadn't cared about danger. You were too in love with Steve to even care what the future held.

But that was a year ago. Now, you held a hatred for the man. After all, while he was proabably hanging out with his popular friends, you suffered through the rough recovery alone. Apart from the broken bones, you had felt extremely stressed and lonely after the traumatic event. Because lets face it, you came out nearly unscathed, but your view on Hawkins was forever changed. Your childhood home was no longer the perfect small town to grow up in. It was a dangerous hazard to any person involved with the cursed town. But even if Steve left you for whatever he deemed a good reason, you didn't hate him...that much.

When Steve called had you late at night begging you, his best friend, to come over to the Byers' house to help fight, you showed up without question. You were in love with the man. Wherever he was, you were there too. Some of your friends teased you about it, but miraculously, you were sure Steve didn't know. Whether Steve knew it or not, you were his ride or die. Whenever he asked, you'd be there. Unfortunately, Steve showed no interest...at least to your knowledge. And after the big fight, Will was back from the Upside Down. He stopped talking to you without a single warning.

A small part of you thought that maybe he got back together with Nancy, which wouldn't be a shock for you. You didn't hate Nancy for it, in fact you welcomed the idea of someone snatching him up so it was easier for you to get over him. But when Steve finally answered his phone after a full two months of no verbal contact, you expected an apology from him. After all, he ignored you in school, never even looked at you. "Got something to say to me, Harrington?" you flinched at your own words, shocked by the accidental harshness.

"No? You've been calling me, so I answered. What do you want?" Steve felt offended that he didn't even get a 'hello' or 'hi'. The truth was, he never went back to Nancy, he was trying to focus on forgetting the terrifying events from about a year ago. He also received a hint from one of his friends, Tommy, that you were planning on leaving him high and dry after using him for his popularity. So naturally, he had to leave the friendship first.

"Are you serious, Steve? I'm trying to figure out what I did to you that made you ignore me for months. Almost a year, Steve!" the pure anger dripping from every word made his brows furrow. He couldn't help but feel the need to defend himself.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I don't want to talk to you, I thought you were smart enough to get the hint. I can't be around you anymore." you couldn't believe what you were hearing. He didn't want to be around you anymore?

"What the fuck do you mean? I just don't understand what you're saying. You can't just stop being friends with someone for no reason!" You felt red hot anger boiling inside your stomach as you gripped the phone tighter. He chuckles quietly. "Watch me." with that, he hung up. In a poor attempt to conceal your anger, you screamed into your pillow. You chose to ignore your mother's concerned questions as you locked your bedroom door and buried yourself under your blanket, hiding from your feelings.

As you recalled that painful night, you felt yourself shudder. It took you several weeks to get over the pain. After that phone call, you never reached out to him again. Steve would never admit this, but he missed his friend. During those long months, he'd stand next to the phone debating on calling you or not. He was always too afraid to try to rekindle the friendship. Because despite Tommy's gossip, he still hoped that you had good intentions. He just couldn't stand to get his heart broken again, so he put up walls and decided to ignore you. So when he showed up on your doorstep, you were completely and utterly shocked.

"Hello? Earth to Y/n.." Steve's hand waved in front of your face. You finally broke out of your nostalgic trance and slapped his hand away. "What do you need, Harrington? If you don't explain in the next five seconds, I'm closing the door." Your warnings fell short of intimidating him, as he just walked in without hesitation. Steve smiled at the familiarity of the cream-colored walls and several random shoes in the small foyer. "I need to ask you a favor. And before you judge, just hear me out!" He walked to the kitchen, grabbing an apple. He looked around as he passed the living room that you had spent many nights studying in.

"I need you to come with me to go to Murray's house to figure out a way to get our revenge against that lab. It'll take us 2 days in total. How does that sound?" he frowned at the light scoff coming out of your mouth.

"Did Nancy bail on you? Is that why you're so desperate?" you sat on the countertop next to Steve's tall figure. "I am not desperate! And no! Nancy and I have been over for a while! What's wrong with you? You're so harsh." it amazed you at how oblivious Steve could be.

"Honestly, I don't believe you. There has to be some reason why you've completely left me in the dark. I struggled with this Steve! I lost sleep because of it!" as much as it hurt Steve to see you upset, he believed Tommy when he had said you were using him. He couldn't find sympathy for you, for his best friend. "Oh shut up! I did too, you don't understand!"

He rolled his eyes as you scoffed. "Oh, that is such bullshit! You will never understand how I feel! I don't believe you, Steve. I bet you and Nancy slept together, maybe that's why you're ignoring me. Found another girl to spend time with!" he threw his hands up in frustration.

"So what? Why does it matter if I slept with her? God, you're so annoying!" He runs his hands down his face, massaging his temples. You grab your coat. "You are too. Now let's go before I change my mind.." his confused face was terribly cute, but you were too mad at him to care. Whether you hated him or not, you would do anything for him if he ever asked.

"What?" he stood by you as you pushed past him. "I hate you, Steve. But I'm not taking up a chance to burn that lab to the ground. Also, who else could keep you sane while we deal with Murray?" a smirk rose onto your face as he smiled at you. "That sounded really badass, sorry. I would ask someone else but everyone is busy." you looked down. Had he really only come to you as a last resort?

"Okay let's go, but no more arguing from you." he points his finger at you, making you clench your jaw. "Fine, but only if you stop acting like an idiot." as you stepped into the passenger side and put on your seatbelt, Steve sighed and turned the car on. "Again, so harsh. Even if I did do something wrong, it's no excuse to act like a child." you couldn't believe what you were hearing.

"Wow, are you fucking serious? Who's the one ignoring their best friend?" his silence told you everything. "Just shut up so I can drive, please." his grip on the steering wheel made his knuckles turn white. Crossing your arms, you looked at the window to see the "leaving Hawkins" sign. You sighed to yourself. You had just agreed to go on a long two-day trip with a man you hated, and the feeling was probably mutual on his side too...

Maybe this wasn't the best idea.

fantastic

//eeeee very excited! thanks for reading!

#steve harrington #steve the hair harrington #stranger things #netflix #stranger things netflix #steve harrington smut #stranger things angst #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #hawkins #stranger things fluff #stranger things smut

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cgetbrmj · 9 months

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What to expect from Cgetbrmj

(besides posting at random times)

Not that I think anyone will really read this or care but I need a lil place to store the scheduled fic ideas and separate them from the scrapped fic ideas

Get ready for a lot of writing that nobody will probably read lol!

THERE'S A LOT OF TALKING IN HERE

the Evolution series - tlou

fic #9 is only just under 1000 words right now and very much still in the planning stage, and every fic AFTER that is currently still sitting in the 13k word doc of planning

There are around 30ish chapters that I had planned out a while ago, give or take, so if any of you like that series, I wouldn't stress about it being ditched lol

Also in tlou were two separate one shots that I had written at the start of the year, when the show's first episode came out and I liked both of them but I feel like they're both too ooc to post so I never bothered editing them but 🤷

I'd also planned another mini series for tlou that had four chapters, all sort of centered around silver lake/aftermath/healing but with a littles are known/classification au to it - which I do still like and plan on fixing up at some stage

The Walking Dead

firstly, covering the fics in the Daryl's acting weird series

Always A Losing Game has 2 chapters left - both with a loose plan but not a lot of actual writing finished for them

There was a one shot that was in the works for a bit - something short and sweet from Michonne's perspective during the night that This takes place that I never finished

After the events of Always A Losing Game I don't have any full fics written for the beginning of the Alexandria era (aka season 5b and season 6) just snippets and ideas and concepts that I'd written down that I need to go and sort through and somehow make sense of

after that weird brief section where I have nothing written for some reason lol, there's 8 fics that are all planned/at least partially written in a coherent fic form and ready to be edited all set between the latter half of season 6-season 9

There's also a bunch of ideas and concepts for fics Post Rick set in this series that I need to also sort through

The Dandelions series... If there is literally anyone out there who liked it, I'm so sorry for posting two fics and then never talking about it again. Still love the concept here!! Even if I hate the writing in the fics!! Trying to get the motivation to actually edit the other fics in the series. There's another 5 fics in the series yet to be posted, all kind of written but not edited. One of those fics includes the fix it version of my OWN FIC lol, with a good ending where Alden lives at the end of it, if anyone's interested. I love Alden so much and I think that that love should override how much I hate my own writing here and convince me to finish what I started lmao

The Stubbornness Series, my beloved. My true underdog I feel. I love this series very passionately for someone that typically doesn't like their own writing after like a month of having it posted.

There's another 4 one shots that need to be edited and a fic that needs to be split into 3 parts, I'm still unsure if they'll be chapters or all standalone - tell me what you like reading more lol

The first 4 are

Daryl staying up late to wait for Rick to come back from watch

season 11 finale/rosita's death

rough/restless night with lots of comfort and cg!Rick and Michonne

Michonne finding Daryl directly after the bridge in season 9

The other is about Daryl finally returning to Alexandria in season 9, with Lydia, Henry, and Connie - where him and Michonne have lots of angst and trauma talk- try and fix their problems and help each other/try and get Daryl to go into headspace-go to the kingdom-heads on pikes- getting back to Alexandria- snowball fight

It has around 6000 words right now, and I'll be honest I was so close to dropping it and trying to rewrite it (it being the first part of the three) It came out SUPER angsty, even for me, and I felt like I couldn't make any of it work, hence why it didn't get posted on my bday, but maybe I was stressed because I was so busy at the time idk. I need to reread it and see what I can do

James Bond

the further down the rabbit hole, the nicher it gets lol

There's around 12 fics I have written that need to be edited before they're posted here, most of them were made last year and are just snippets, but I still like the concepts and want to finish them at some point

Too many concepts to do dot points for plots here, so if anyone really wants more info, which I kinda doubt lol, feel free to ask for more <3

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

WOah, that one came out of nowhere, right? Well what if I told you that I binge watched the 3 captain america movies and this show purely to take notes, and my GOD did I do some serious note taking, last year? The year before, I think? Definitely the year before. So that I could create this story about previous cg!steve L!bucky that was angsty and fun and then turn it gradually into cg!sam?? Would you believe me? Because I honestly don't think I've ever brought it up before lol. Anyway that was something that I did do. And wrote for. And now I have a planned storyline and snippets of writing and absolutely no idea whether or not I should do anything with it

Now the fun miscellaneous fics

There's one rpf (real person fic) that I wrote purely for my own enjoyment and comfort and author projecting needs - written for a show that I can't believe I would ever write agere for but anyway. I loved it, will probably never post it?

There's a couple other misc fics that I'm always on the fence about posting or not so

one of them is also an agere littles are known/classification au of Mission Impossible of all things, since I rewatched the new movie so much and brought back the hyperfixation once again.

There's also another MI fic I wrote that I genuinely really loved and want to post that ISN'T agere??????? What?? From me??

So that's that. Those are the main fics waiting to be edited and fixed up and posted as of right now. These are the ones I plan on not giving up on. If anyone is interested in any of them and want to talk about any of them, I'm always excited to talk about my fics! And always excited to hear if someone likes my fics! Don't be shy!

I know no one will probably read this but this will probably be good for my brain to sort out my shit with these fics and stop confusing myself with the fics that I'm scrapping lol

#fanfiction #age regression #agere #cgetbrmj #fanfic #ao3 #ao3 fic #fandom agere

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wanderingmind867 · 5 months

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A bunch of months ago now, I came up with an idea I'm really proud of now. And since it was Christmas related, let's bring it back for December:

It's an idea for either a tv show or a series of TV Movies released every Christmas. It's about the goings on at a bar/restaurant/lounge every Christmas. I came up with this prompt all on my own after listening to a lot of Christmas music. I did use AI to bounce my ideas off of it, however. Whether it's a TV series or merely a series of TV Movies released every new Christmas season, one thing is clear: the show is only ever set during winter/christmas.

The Bar where the show is set is like a mix of a rustic old ski lodge and of an old cosmopolitan cocktail lounge from the 1940s. It's got a very old timey feel, at any rate.

This idea could be viewed as similar to shows like The Love Boat. An anthology series, but with a few characters connecting all the stories to each other. And all the stories would tend to be heartfelt in some way. Although some of the stories would be comedic too. On the Love Boat, the crew of the ship were the characters who tied everything together. Here, it's the bar's staff who tie all the stories together. At least one staff member shows up during each of the 3-4 stories told in one episode.

Since I just brought them up, let's discuss the bar's staff:

First, there's the bar's owner (I don't have a name for him yet). He's an old man who always seems to know just what to do to boost his patrons spirits during the holiday season. He's also got a bit of an aura of mystery to him, mostly because it's implied he has some sort of history with Santa. Whether they be Best Friends, Distant Relatives or something in between, it's clear he's got some sort of connection to Santa and the North Pole.

I want him to be like Ricardo Montalban on Fantasy Island, this older man with an aura of mystery surrounding him. Personally, I like conclusive answers though. So I'll probably address the mystery at some point (after a season or two, or during the third or fourth special). I'm leaning towards the relatives ideas, personally. I think it's a clever idea for how they might know each other.

Also at the bar is a somewhat washed up old lounge singer (don't have a name for him yet either). 70-75 years old at the beginning of our series, he's been working for this bar since sometime in the late 90s (let's say he joined the staff around 1996 or so). He always wanted to make it big and be a successor to his idols Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, etc. But sadly, this never quite worked out as planned. He was sometimes able to book some small gigs, but he could never afford to play any big venues.

At some point in his 30s, he falls into a deep depression because of this. For almost 9 years, he wouldn't perform his music anymore. It's only because he happened to stop in at this bar for his 46th birthday that he's performing again. He fell in love with the atmosphere at the bar and with the feelings of love and camaraderie displayed there. He loved it so much he asked if he could perform at the bar, acting as a form of In-house entertainment. The bar's owner said he liked the idea a lot, and he's been working here ever since. In fact, his 30th anniversary of working for the bar is slowly approaching.

I have still a lot more to say, so the rest is under the cut:

There's also the bartender, a 56 year old woman named Amanda Snow. Twelve years ago, her and her husband came to the small town where this bar is located for their honeymoon. While they were here, she learned that her husband had actually been cheating on her for the last 3 years of their marriage. When she confronts him, he gets mad and tells her he's leaving without her. He takes storms off and goes to book a new plane ticket back home.

Meanwhile, Amanda ends up stopping in the bar to clear her head from the fight. While there, she meets the people there and falls in love with its charming environment. She asks if she can help by taking orders or busing tables or something (Amanda's always been a lady who likes helping others).

Although the owner says it's fine for tonight, he's impressed by her kind heart and somewhat matronly spirit. He's so impressed he offers her a job, in fact. Amanda's hesitant to accept at first, if course. But after sleeping on it and realizing that her husband offers nothing of value to her anymore (her kids are all grown up, and her husband has been cheating on her for the last three year), she decides to say Screw It! She tells her husband she's not going back home with him, and that she's planning to get a job as a bartender here.

Since that fateful day, she's worked for the bar. She's never bothered to look back for her husband. She still keeps in touch with her kids, of course. In fact, what made her such a good mother is also what makes her such a good bartender: she's very warm-hearted, filled with a tenacious spirit and love for what she does. She's so good that the bar's owner views her as his second-in-command at this point. She's just got a way about interacting with people.

Finally, there's the bar's chefs and wait staff. Only the head chef and two of the waiters serve as main characters. They round out our cast of six here. Although there's definitely more chefs at the bar (and probably a few more waiters), I think it's best not to have too many main characters. Maybe there'll be one or two patrons who we see in nearly every episode, but that's it.

The Head Chef is Bo Jacobson. Bo is a stoic and gruff man who often seems intimidating at first glance. But once you get to know him, you realize that he's actually a very kindhearted soul. He's a great chef, very skilled at what he does. He's head chef at the bar because he's old friends of the owner. I haven't quite figured out how their friendship began yet, but it started long ago when they were both much younger men.

There are lots of chefs under Bo (no bar could survive with one chef) but Bo is the only one of them to be a main character. Maybe occasionally we'll see a glimpse of the other chefs, but none are as important as Bo. Bo's the head chef. He's been head chef pretty much ever since it first opened, and he's very good friends with the owner. So he's got a personal connection to the place.

Then we have the two waiters. First there's Jessica. Jessica is 22 years old, and she's a very energetic girl. She's very personable, and she loves people. She loves a lot of things, honestly. She's a very optimistic person. Jessica started working here because she needed a part time job during her college years, but now she's working here full time.

Jessica has a dream. One day Jessica wants to open her own restaurant. Well, that is if she can't take over this place. If the current owner ever retires, Jessica dreams of taking over the place. She'd get to be around people, caring for them and serving them all that they need. She dreams of that type of thing. She'd just love to be able to care for other people for a job. To her, that's just the ideal world. To her, that would just be the perfect life.

Finally, there's our second waiter (I haven't committed to a name yet. Maybe Damien)? Our second waiter is kind of the exact opposite of Jessica. Whereas Jessica is incredibly extroverted and fond of being around people, he's more fond of sitting near the fire with a good book. He also loves the bar, but for different reasons than Jessica. While Jessica loves it because it lets her work around people, he likes it because the place is small and quiet and all the customers are like family to him at this point. While he still hates being around people because it's so stressful sometimes, he enjoys the job because the patrons are usually always all familiar and friendly to him.

This is how he gets involved in some of the different anthology stories. Whenever a new customer shows up, he gets really stressed out. Sometimes he'll end up retreating into himself, which leads to the customers inquiring as to if he's okay. And the answer there is that he's probably fine, he's just incredibly shy.

Him and Jessica sort of have that Odd Couple/Opposites Attract dynamic. Although they're both so very different from each other, they also both have become friends with each other. They're both been working for the place for roughly the same amount of time as each other, so I suppose it's only natural that they've become some close to each other.

Just like with Bo and the Chefs from earlier, I think it's safe to assume that there's at least one or two other waiters at this bar. But I can't run myself ragged focusing on too many characters. So only Jessica and Our second waiter (I'm still leaning towards Damien for a name) will be main characters. Maybe occasionally we'll focus on one of the other waiters for a storyline or two.

#christmas #christmas time #my ideas #story ideas #ideas #autism #asd #audhd #adhd #I've never seen the love boat #but I think that was the vibe I was going for here #the love boat #autistic #neurodivergent #my thoughts #christmas ideas #writing ideas #I'll probably never do anything with this #But I thought I'd share anyways

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purplesurveys · 2 years

Text

1474

1. Other than the expected things, what is something you’ve done every day for the past month? Clean up and pick up after my dogs.

2. What is one way in which things have improved for you lately? I mean, for one I’ve stopped lying to myself and have started to acknowledge the fact that I don’t find work as enjoyable as I used to. I’ve begun to request my alma mater for my diploma and transcript of records so I can revisit my initial plans to work for either the historical or cultural commission arms of the government. I’d say that’s a good step forward in pursuing where I think I’ll truly feel fulfilled.

3. Do you have any bad habits you aren’t working on changing? If so, do you ever think you’ll try to break them? Yeah - vaping. I’m too reliant on it and I highly doubt I would break the habit any time soon. My parents actually confiscated my original pen about a month ago when they confronted me; obviously that didn’t discourage me in the slightest and I just bought another pen literally the day after.

4. When was the last time someone surprised you with their reaction or behaviors? I had a funny conversation with my associate last Wednesday - it started when I mentioned that I was getting into Stray Kids’ music these days, but I don’t like their fanbase. So anyway Liara probes and she asks why I feel that way, and I share it’s because they’ll usually pick fights with Army and that they can sometimes be awful towards the boys, often crossing the line with death threats and starting terrible rumors. She responds with, “Oh but everyone hates you guys” and the delivery was just so blunt and curt I couldn’t really do anything but freeze LOL. It was a few seconds before I came around and I just told her, “Yeah I know that, but you didn’t have to say it like that” lol.

5. Are you good at committing to things like nanowrimo or inktober? I’m just terrible with commitment-based projects that aren’t related to work.

6. What is your preferred method of expressing yourself? Social media, I guess? I retweet and share stuff and post stories according to what I’m feeling or what I’m interested in at the moment and that’s usually able to provide a better look into my personality.

7. What outfit or clothing item have you been wearing the most lately? This short-sleeved black button-up shirt I technically stole from my sister.

8. What kinds of videos do you like to watch on youtube, if any? Anything BTS or 2 Days 1 Night Season 4, really. YouTube is my best outlet for coping with whatever anxieties I’m currently having. Sometimes I’ll get in a docu-binge and also watch videos from Asian Boss and Vice Asia.

9. Have you had any snow yet? Is this normal for your region? Snow is unheard of here, and it’s not gonna happen any time soon unless, like, global warming becomes a trillion times worse than it already is.

10. How would you describe your sleep schedule? It’s unhealthy, to say the least. I’ve always been a proponent of revenge bedtime procrastination and sleep anywhere between 1-3 AM, then wake up by 7 or 8 to start prepping for work.

11. Have you ever reached out to a crisis center for mental health support? If so, how was the experience? I have not, mostly because I don’t have a lot of trust in the system we have in place for mental health support. I’ve heard a number of horror stories from those who have tried to reach out, and it just put me off from seeking help myself in the past. The closest I got was when I told friends I was going to finally see a therapist to help cope with my then-fresh breakup, and I really was going to because I was already on the brink of doing something dangerous; but after seeking advice from Andi - who told me that a single session would cost me at least a couple thousand pesos - I kind of stopped considering it, again.

12. When was the last time you did something you were afraid to do, and how was the outcome? At work I always dread client servicing, i.e. getting into calls with my clients to align on ongoing campaigns and stuff, just out of the irrational fear of getting scolded or whatever. Of course it’s just something my mind makes me feel and I’ve fortunately never had to deal with an irate client, but it’s never stopped me from feeling scared every time I have to lead a call.

13. What is one positive thing you believe about yourself? That no amount of abuse and personal struggles I’ve faced can harden me and that I instead have used these experiences to understand people better, and in effect be gentler and more patient with everyone I deal with. I very much could have used the past as an excuse to be a piece of shit to people, but I haven’t. I hope I’ll always be able to keep that.

14. What is something you have been through that has made you stronger? Being independent and facing new experiences by myself, whether it’s going out of my way to make new friends or going on a road trip.

15. Other than money, what is something you wish you had more of in your life? Weekends.

16. Is there anything that you tend to ignore for the sake of your sanity? People on the other side of the local political spectrum. Not worth my time and energy. And yes, this includes lessening interactions with my relatives who happen to fall under that camp. My mom is of course bothered by this, but I’ve had enough and I can’t keep associating myself with people who have no regard for the sacrificies made by martial law martyrs and the activists who continue to fight for their countrymen’s rights today.

17. What was the last thing you argued or debated about? Did you eventually agree, or did you have to agree to disagree? The whole Johnny Depp/Amber Heard mess. Everyone in the family is in agreement about being on Johnny’s side, so that conversation was settled fairly quickly.

18. When was the last time you were envious and what caused it? What types of things are you inclined to envy? It’s been a while since I’ve felt envious, and I guess it helps that I’ve learned to be satisfied and happy with who I am, who I’ve got, and what I’ve got. If anything I’ve only felt the least bit of ‘envy’ towards people who got to go to the latest BTS shows hahaha but even then I was mostly happy for them because I trust the fact that I’ll get my turn eventually.

19. What is something you wish was different about your family? Uhm I wish those who are currently rooting for the dictator’s son aren’t rooting for the dictator’s fucking son.

20. Name someone you miss and the last time you talked to them? Do you think you’ll ever talk again? SOFIE. Can you believe she is moving to London?!?!?! Our little Sofiegirl who used to just have dreams of traveling to Europe :’) I last talked to her two weeks ago and yes, we will definitely be talking again - we’ve already made plans to see each other before she flies in September.

21. What is something unusual that irritates you? Is there anything that seems to bother others but doesn’t bother you at all? I do not like it when someone at work sends me a “hi” and proceeds to take a fucking lifetime typing the next message. It’s anxiety-inducing and I wish they would just bunch everything up in one message so that I don’t have to worry about if they’re potentially sending me a work blunder or crisis.

As for the opposite, trypophobia. I have never understood the big deal.

22. What is your main struggle or focus in life right now? Resigning and finding a new job where I can be a step closer to pursuing my true passions and interests.

23. What was the last piece of candy you ate? A piece of peanut brittle.

24. Are you more dramatic or stoic? Stoic. I’m pretty good at keeping stuff in.

25. When was the last time you wished you could take something back? Sometimes I’ll be curt towards Liara without realizing it. It happens just a handful of times in a week but I’ve been actively trying to manage it because the last thing I want to happen is to be known as the person who uses burnout as an excuse to be the office bitch.

26. What was the last thing you mailed? How about received (other than bills and such)? I very rarely send mails unless it’s like, an email lol in which case the last time I sent one had been last Friday. The last thing I received is this shirt I had ordered two weeks ago.

27. What was the last kind thing someone did for you? How about the last thing you did for someone else? My cousin helped me get out of this really really REALLY tight parking spot when we left my grandma’s place this afternoon. The last kind thing I did was order a box of sushi for my family also this afternoon, because I felt bad that I was only ordering for myself.

28. If everything in the world that was happening now was because of something you were doing or thinking, what aspects of yourself would you have to improve to change the world for the better? What a way to stir an existential crisis, lmao. I don’t know...maybe being a more active activist? Like not limiting myself to simply sharing posts that raise awareness and to dedicate more time to march on the streets, joining educational discussions with neglected sectors, etc.

29. What is your favorite thing to dream about? I wish Nacho would visit me sometimes.

30. Are you on medication for anything? If so, do you feel like it helps? Have you ever been afraid to take medication or had a particularly bad experience with it? No, I’m not.

31. Do you prefer having long or short nails? Short.

32. Are you happy when summer ends, or do you wish it would last longer? We don’t really have summer in the Western sense...where I live it’s either sunny or rainy. In any case I do find sunny weather a big irritation but it’s not like I have a choice - we get sun for most of the year.

33. How do you feel about the idea of turning 30? Or, if you already have, did your expectations or worries hold up to the reality? I’m hopeful. I wish I’ve accomplished some bigger life goals by then, like having my own place or having traveled to a different continent.

34. Just as a guess, how old do you think you’ll live to be? I’ve never liked questions like these. How do I know I’m not going to be t-boned and killed by a drunk driver when I get on the highway two hours from now? < This is something I relate to a lot, which is why I don’t spend my time thinking about this. Of course it’d be cool to live to 100, but life could always end up taking a different course. I simply don’t know.

35. What keeps you going lately? The desire for growth.

#survey #surveys #one of the heavier ones i've taken tbh

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impostoradult · 3 years

Text

I finally figured out why it feels like Supernatural murdered a unicorn (AKA why you need to STOP telling me to watch Black Sails)

I’ll start by saying, everything everyone else has been saying CERTAINLY bothers me:

- the queer-baiting - the bury your queers - the undermining of Dean’s character arc - the wasted opportunity for a certain kind of overall narrative closure - the flat out disrespect to Misha Collins and Jensen Ackles

All of that bothers me tremendously.

But there has been something else rather ineffable about this that has left a horrible taste in my mouth that I couldn’t quite pin down until last night. Bear with me, if you will, because this will require some set-up.

*** This is not the first show to ever disappoint me in a spectacular fashion, nor will it be the last, I suspect. And one of the ways I’ve always coped with that disappointment was to remind myself that there will be other stories, other characters, other chances to get it right. (”It” being any number of things from just pure narrative emotional coherence to not burying your queers to not stringing along your queer audience and then yelling fuck you to them on the way out)

But somehow that assurance -- that there will be other stories, other characters, other chances to get it right -- has rung particularly hollow in this instance, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why until yesterday.

I kept asking myself, why do I still have this feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach, like something was lost here that can never be recovered?

Because something was lost here that I am doubtful can ever be recovered, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else talking about this aspect of it at all.

***

A few months ago, TV critic Maureen Ryan did a great interview piece with Mike Schur (of Parks & Rec/The Good Place) discussing the death of long-form TV in the streaming era. They explore how the longer seasons and longer runs of traditional broadcast/cable TV provided an opportunity to tell particular kinds of stories that you simply can’t when seasons are 8-10 episodes and series typically run 2-4 seasons (thanks Netflix).

One key thing we’ve all lost in this new era of highly condensed TV storytelling (and of prestige TV narrative styles)? The traditional (several season’s long) slow-burn/will-they-won’t-they romance. Not only is there simply no longer the time or space to write such romances, it has also come to be seen as hacky, manipulative, cheap, artistically impoverished, low-brow, a embarrassing vestige of the era before TV became art™.

Everybody is trying to be Fleabag now. No one wants to be Frasier. (”It’s really more like a 10 hour movie” they all like to brag)

Obviously TV still has romances, even ‘drawn out’ romances. But ‘drawn out’ in 2020 is like 2-3 seasons, maybe. More commonly it’s like half a season. Take Schitt’s Creek. The number of episodes between when David and Patrick first meet and when they first kiss? Seven. Seven episodes. Half a season. If you watched it live, it took less than 2 months for them to move from introducing that dynamic to consummating it. And I’m not bagging on Schitt’s Creek; I think the David/Patrick’s story is very lovely and well-written.

But Niles & Daphne (Fraiser) had to wait 7 years and over 150 episodes before they finally got there. Josh & Donna (The West Wing) had to wait 6+ years, and 145 episodes. Mulder & Scully (The X-Files) had to wait 7 seasons and 143 episodes. Booth & Bones had to wait...you see where I am going with this.

And my point is (and I can’t believe I never realized this explicitly until now): there has NEVER been a queer slow-burn/will-they-won’t-they romance of that type on TV ever. EVER.

I’m going to say that again, because I think it bares repeating:

There has never been a queer, slow-burn/will-they-won’t-they romance that fits the 100-150 episode paradigm of delayed gratification on TV.

Not ever.

I can’t think of ONE example Not a single, solitary one. And I know queer TV pretty well. Arguably the closest we’ve ever come is Legend of Korra, and that ran 50 episodes, a THIRD of the length of old school will-they-won’t-theys like Booth & Bones or Josh & Donna.

Queer people have had a fair number of canonical romances on TV by now, even fairly long running ones. But we never got a primary/front-and-center romance that you had to root for for 100+ episodes before you got any kind of canonical consummation.

That is a particular kind of TV experience that queer people and queer characters were just 100% shut out of until it was too late. And because of how the TV landscape has changed in the last 10 years, I don’t know that that opportunity will ever come back around in our lifetimes.

***

Dean and Castiel are/were a legacy of an earlier era of TV, an era that still contained the possibility for a will-they-won’t-they of that particular mold. There were other shows that could have also filled this gap at one time - Rizzoli & Isles, OUAT, House MD, etc. But one by one all of them were killed off, their queer romances unrequited, until Supernatural was the only one of its’ generation left standing.

And they should have acknowledged that they were a species about to become extinct.

There are plenty of other valid and compelling reasons Supernatural should have gone full Destiel, don’t get me wrong.

A) It would have been the most emotionally satisfying ending to the series and to those characters (and that would have been reason enough).

B) It would have stopped the manipulative queer-baiting of the (disproportionately queer) fanbase (and that would have been reason enough).

C) It would have been queer representation of middle-aged men, of bi men, of queers who came to their queerness later in life (and any/all of those would have been reason enough).

D) It could have been a glorious subversion of the bury your queers trope, considering how often they’ve died and been resurrected (and that would have been reason enough).

But point E) on this list is the reason this one hurts in a singular way that no one even appears to be acknowledging.

Almost all of the other wrongs and missed opportunities contained in this Supernatural debacle have the possibility of being rectified (at least to a degree) elsewhere. I can and I likely will get more bi male characters from TV as time goes on. I can and likely will get more middle-aged queer characters. I can and likely will get more queer characters coming to their queerness later in life, and starting queer romances later in life. I can and likely will get more queer characters who aren’t killed cheaply and prematurely. I can and likely will get more genre TV shows with sprawling myth arc plots that are resolved in a coherent, satisfying way. I can and likely will get Misha Collins and Jensen Ackles involved in other projects that value their work and their talents.

All of those other things are at the very least POSSIBLE, and many are even likely.

But a queer 100-150 episode slow-burn romance a la Mulder & Scully or Niles & Daphne or Booth & Bones? That is the one baton Supernatural dropped spectacularly that no one else even has the possibility of picking up again for the foreseeable future. (They don’t even write those types of romances for heterosexuals anymore!)

Seriously. It was a TV unicorn. And rather than letting it run wild and free, they stabbed it with a rusty nail.

***

Given the monumental shifts in the TV landscape that have occurred in the last decade, I don’t know that TV will ever go back to the slow-burn/will-they-won’t-they romance spanning 100-150 episodes. Today it is a miracle if you can get ANY show to last longer than 50 episodes in the first place.

And that is the piece of this that makes it feel (to me) like they murdered a unicorn.

Because queer people have gotten a lot of things from TV, and they will get a lot more as time goes on. But that one? That one could very well be a totally extinct species.

That is the larger missed opportunity here that has left this feeling especially hollow and destructive. That is the thing that makes me balk when people tell me to go watch Black Sails or Pose or whatever other prestige TV show is doing this representation ‘better.’ Because that’s not really the loss I am mourning here. I KNOW there is ‘better’ representation elsewhere.

But the will-they-won’t-they/slow-burn romance is a qualitatively unique thing that queer people literally just never got. Ever. There is no substitute, no alternate, no other show I can turn to with that kind of build-up and pay-off for a queer couple, and there probably won’t be in my lifetime. Not unless the TV industry undergoes another monumental evolution similar to the streaming revolution that shifts the incentives back to telling those types of stories again.

All those shows you want me to displace Supernatural with? None of them can give me the one thing I uniquely wanted (and could have gotten) from Supernatural. THAT ALTERNATE SHOW DOESN’T EXIST. It doesn’t exist. And I have no reason to hope it will ever exist in my lifetime.

So stop telling me to look somewhere else; you don’t understand what made this one a unicorn.

***

Addendum: The only other possible show that could perhaps fill this gap is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (re: Mac/Dennis). But I’m hesitant to say it exactly meets that criteria, for a number of reasons:

1 - It’s far less serialized relative to Supernatural and (except for a handful of stand-alone episodes) very little of the story is grounded specifically in Dennis/Mac’s romantic dynamic (unlike SPN, where it is absolutely central to much of the narrative)

2 - IASIP is fundamentally satirically in nature/tone which makes it much harder to have genuine romantic pathos (not impossible, but harder)

3 - All the characters on IASIP are fundamentally crummy people who you aren’t exactly supposed to root for. Which doesn’t mean a romance between two of them can’t have its value/charm/worth but it’s not the same as when it is between characters who unequivocally deserve nice things/happy endings

#Supernatural #Destiel #queer representation #sorry this is long

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an-angels-blessing · 2 years

Text

Work Husband, Real Husband

Song🐣🎵- N/A

Artist🤸‍♂️🎤- N/A

Warnings 🥵 ⛔- Fluff

Prompt🥺🔥- “I know you’re working, but can I come over because I miss seeing your face?”

Ship😳💍- Rossi x Wife! Reader

Any extra Information📃- In this story Gibbs never fell into his coma in Season 3. This takes place around season 4 and 5.

2nd Person

You are David's 4th wife, the final and his one and only. The two of you met when you were first accepted into the BAU, you were the first to apply who didn't already work with the FBI. To be honest, David and Jason put you through multiple tests to ensure you were qualified for this job. In about a month the 3 of you were best friends. Jason treated you like a sister yet your relationship with David was awkward. You were there at every one of David's weddings, but you had been in love with him for years. There was something about that Italian flair, but you were starting to think that you would have to sit through a 4th wedding, not in white but in the pews. This was until Jason convinced you to confess. In that moment you found out that the two of you had been circling each other's feelings too afraid to try.

Since that day everything ran smoothly, moving in, proposal, marriage, and ultimately 3 kids, two boys and a girl. A set of twins shortly before David retired and one boy after. The moment David found out you were having twins, he knew something had to give. Both of you couldn't be gone, so he decided to retire and focus on his writing. You remained in the BAU but you focused on finding cases, occasionally going out in the field if it called for it, you were the first Communications Liaison.

David had been retired for 2 years when you decided this wasn't going to work. Leaving the state for days at a time with no guarantee when you'll be home. You had looked into multiple options for where you could work, you looked into intelligence... too top secret, linguistics... that also involved random travel with no guarantees. So you looked into moving agency's, until you found the perfect one, and your brother just so happened to work there.

So now that everything was settled, all you had to do was wait for David to get home from his third book signing this month.

1st Person

I was sat on the couch, when David came through the door, he had a late book signing and an interview with a local news article. It was around midnight, the kids had been placed down about 3 hours ago and I was watching reruns of I Love Lucy. When I heard the door shut it didn't take long for my husband to appear in the doorway. "How was it?" A smile graced my lips from the sight of my husband. "Long, what are you still doing up?" He strolls over to the couch, taking a seat beside me and laying an arm across the back of the leather sofa. I lean into his touch, thinking about my answer. "Some late research. I think I want to change agency's." I guess I caught him off guard because he was silent... which is odd for an Italian (or at least him) it really is. "And go where?" It took him a moment to say anything, his voice laced with confusion, wanting to ask why. "NCIS. I know someone who works there and I can't do these long trips anymore. When I came in the house, Angel and Anthony asked me if I was going to leave again. How do I explain to our 4 year olds that I'm not doing this on purpose?" I could feel myself about to cry, and in all honesty Dave was the only one I let see me like this. "I never thought I would miss you this much, I can barely sleep. And I talked to Jason about it, he said that's fine because the BAU is getting more funding." When I look up he had a small smile on his face, he leans in... kissing my forehead before standing up, a hand reached out to me. "Come on Mi amor. I'll make us dinner, get you to bed, and we'll get your transfer papers through tomorrow.” And that is exactly what we did, I don't know what I did in a past life to deserve this but David Rossi is the best thing to ever happen to me.

3rd Person

The short blonde woman stepped into building like she already owned the place. She was dressed head to toe in black, though she gave off everything but depressed vibes. She had a black cable knit sweater on with black dress pants that fit perfectly. While the woman was entering the building, there was a slight discussion going on upstairs.

The team sat in a make shift circle in Abby's lab. All of them were genuinely curious about their new co-worker. 'Them' being Ziva David, Timothy McGee, Anthony Dinozzo, Abby Sciuto, Jimmy Palmer, Donald "Ducky" Mallard, and even Jethro Gibbs decided to join the party after a very convincing (beg) talk from Abby. Gibbs was about to enter the room, when he caught the tail end of the conversation. "So literally no one knows who they are?" Dinozzo was nervous partially because new meant change and that has proven to be a difficult subject. "Nope, I tried to look for their file but I'm not cleared. Ziva tried too, not high enough clearance." McGee was actually happy, someone new on the team meant that Dinozzo would finally leave the teasing alone. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows. "I heard one thing." Everyone turned towards Abby, curious to what she knew. "They got transferred from the FBI. Or at least that's what I heard." This shocked everyone, the FBI hates NCIS so who would actually choose to transfer. "Do you think Gibbs knows who it is?" In that moment Gibbs walked through the door, putting all those facing Tony into an awkward silence. "He's right behind me, isn't he?" All of then nodded, terrified of their boss… well more like a fearful respect than terrifying. Before anyone could say anything, a voice came from behind him, “Don’t you get tired of doing that?” Everyone turned to the woman now standing in the door. No one knew who she was, well… almost everyone didn’t know who she was. “Uh, who are you?” Mcgee broke the silence that filled to room, the woman was still smiling, not looking at anyone but the back of the man in front of her. As she took a step away from the door, Gibbs turned around, recognizing the voice.

1st person

I could see Jethro turn around slowly, our eyes locked and only I could see the smirk that found home on his face. I looked around him to see the confusion still apparent on the other agents faces. "Me? My name is Y/N Fielding. The FBI transfer." If I learned anything from Jethro it was his ability to sneak into a room without being seen or heard. The boys mouths hung open and the girls had two different reactions. The one with pigtails had wide eyes, I guess she wasn't used to being caught. Finally, there was a girl with black hair but it was slightly wavy. She was indifferent to my appearance. I turned back to Jethro soon enough to see him straighten his face, "Who authorized your transfer?" I looked to the left, pretending to recall who signed the paper. "I think that would be Jason Gideon and Jennifer Shepherd." I look up at him, stonewalling for those behind him. I pull my transfer file from behind my back and hand them to him. "I'm you new senior field agent. I look forward to working with you Agent Gibbs." I smile as he opens the file, I know he isn't actually reading it but it is good acting if I didn't know that already. "You." He pointed to me, looking up from the file. "Come with me. The rest of you go back to your desks." With that, he walks away. I turn back to his team, waving slightly before trailing behind him. When we get to the elevator and the doors shut he flicks switch and the lights within the elevator began to flicker. "When were you planning on telling me." I tilt my head side to side slowly, looking towards the ceiling. "Actually, this was the plan. I really thought Jenny would tell you." He lets out a sharp sigh before flicking the switch back on. I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting work environment.

3rd Person

4 years later and well…. Y/N was right. Dinozzo had lost all his senior field agent privileges, he couldn't tell Ziva or McGee to do anything anymore and they were loving it. She was nice, smart, she worked well, and she was never wrong. She was a nicer version of Gibbs, like what isn't to like about this. It had gotten to the point that they were too compatible, the whole team shipped the two together. Even Jenny thought they were dating when they first met. Y/N and Gibbs even walked in on Abby and McGee placing their faces in a future child generator that same day Y/N left work early and Gibbs was in a mood until the case ended.

Despite this strange encounter, Abby continued to call each of them husband and wife. It had gotten to the point she started saying it to their faces, every time they walked in together, she greeted them with the nicknames. This time, when they walked in, their faces were on the screen again, a generated picture of a baby in the center. They saw the photo before Abby could take it away. "I am so sorry.. I was just showing Dinozzo and Ziva…" The two didn't say anything, but a smile was on Y/N's face. Before Y/N could tell her she was fine, or Gibbs could ask about the case, Dinozzo spoke still trying to clear the air. "I mean she would be hot, I'd hit." He was laughing, everyone else was simply staring. Gibbs was glaring at him, which wasn't odd, but the weird thing was the smile on Y/N's face disappeared completely. Gibbs moved to head smack him, but before he could Y/N swept Tony's feet from under him. Before his face hit the floor, he caught himself, yet Y/N still knelt on his back, keeping him unable to get up. "She's cute Abby. Do you think you could age her up a bit. To like 19." The shock on everyones face stuck when Y/N went back to smiling. Abby quickly did what she was told, amazed by the abilities she witnessed. When the picture popped up, Y/N was almost brought to tears. The girl was gorgeous, this wasn't the shocking part though. The shocking part was the expression Gibbs wore, he was actually smiling. A genuine smile. "Hey, Abs. Send this to me okay." The girl nodded, it was aggressive and her hair was flying all over the place. Y/N got up off Dinozzo looking at the screen in closer detail, before turning back to look at Gibbs. They were both thinking the same thing and his eyes shifted to Abby, in that moment Y/N finally understood the attachment he had to Abby.

This simple gesture made everyone even more suspicious about the nature of their relationship. The 4 even started a pool. Dinozzo thought they were sleeping together, Ziva thought Y/N was ex-wife number 4 and they had a child who died, Abby thought they were married with children, McGee simply thought they were dating and she was pregnant. It got to the point that Ducky and Palmer decided to join in. Palmer agreed with Abby while Ducky thought McGee seemed really close to the truth. What they didn't know was that Gibbs and Y/N knew about the pool, in fact they were stood in the door while the discussion was taking place. "What if we're all wrong?" Okay, now that caught Y/N off guard, she didn't expect someone to say they could all be wrong, let alone Abby. "We just get our money back." Now Dinozzo didn't shock Y/N, he was expected. "What if we give the money to Gibbs and Y/N. They tricked all of us so technically they win." At that statement everyone agreed, some more confident than others. The two then walked away, the other 6 unaware of Gibbs and Y/N in the first place.

It has now been two weeks since that conversation, every party has attempted in someway to get Gibbs and Y/N to give up information without telling them exactly. By Gibbs and Y/N, it was just Y/N that got asked. Abby pointed out the ring on Y/N's finger, McGee said she was glowing, Dinozzo pointed out every time she was late or when the two would disappear into the elevator; Ziva was more of a silent stalker, she noticed every time Gibbs and Y/N interacted awkwardly or when a child case was brought up two the two seemed to take this one to heart. No one was willing to give up, everyone thought they were right. This was getting really tiring so everyone decided to stop beating around the bush and just ask…. Y/N that is.

1st Person

Today had been a relatively slow day, the boys were at a sexual harassment seminar so Abby was keeping Ziva and me company. "It has been 2 hours, ours only lasted 30 minutes." I couldn't help but complain, I finished all my paper work and to be frank, no one had turned up dead. "Awww... do you miss Gibbs?" Literally the entire floor could hear Abby's teasing, and they all partake when Jethro isn't listening. "Nope, I miss Tony's terrible innuendos." As soon as I said that I heard the foot steps approaching. "You don't miss me." I could hear the smirk growing on his face as Jethro and Dinozzo walked towards the bullpen. "You mean the same person who made me rewrite an entire report?" I turn in my chair to face Jethro's desk as he takes a seat on the table. "It was sloppy." All I could do was stare at him, knowing damn well that was a lie. "I did not spend 3 years learning calligraphy for you to call my work sloppy. I have the best handwriting on the team. You're just mad it was too small for you to read without squinting." I couldn't help but laugh, and I could tell he wanted to as well by the smirk that turned into a smile. Today marks the first year of David's return to work, and the cold bed was starting to kick in again, but this time it wasn't so lonely anymore. The kids sneak into my room when they can, and David calls every night. I could tell today was going to be a good day, especially when my phone rang and my husband's name popped up. His name remained as David in case my phone was ever stolen, so I could feel the looks from the girls in front of me. They were all close enough to read the name on my phone since it was sat face on the desk.

When I picked up the call, I ignore the looks from the girls and answered as if it was a normal professional call. "Agent Fielding speaking." I could hear him laughing on the other end. "Hey baby, are they that close?" I try not to smile, because now everyone was looking at me. "That sounds about right. I believe more than one actually." I can hear chatter in the background, so I start to assume he's at work. "I know you’re working, but can I come over because I miss seeing your face?" I can't help but smile, ok so maybe the loneliness was more than I could every expect. "You never have to ask." He wasn't speaking but I knew he was smiling on the other end. "I'll be there in about 2 hours." I was so distracted that I forgot about the people around me, that was until I locked eyes with Dinozzo. "Alright." I shake my head back and forth, I can literally see the curiosity in the eyes of the team. "I love you. Mi Amor" His tone was different this time, he was honest and I could tell that the distance was effecting him just as much. "You know I do." And with that he hung up the phone. Everyone was still staring at me, I can tell Tony is about to ask but I prolong this a little longer. "Jethro, do you wanna get coffee?" This was the first I said his name at work, and to be honest it was kind of out of instinct. Yet, all he did was nod his head before following me to the elevator. The team was now beyond shocked, this day is going way better than expected.

3rd person- With the BAU

"So, when do we get to meet her?" As the call cut, an unexpected voice broke the silence that filled David's office. The voice came from Hotchner, Rossi's close friend and boss. "Soon." The response was curt, it's not that David didn't want her to meet them. It's just that when ever they were going to plan something, a case came up on either end. "She works at NCIS right?" The moment that left Aaron's mouth, David knew exactly where this was going. "Yes… yes she does Aaron." The older male was obviously suspicious, so his bosses next words were expecting because he had done it before. "So I think the whole team needs to head down for a case we had a while ago." There was a legitimate smile on Aaron's face, one so genuine that David couldn't even be mad at his friend. "Do you, want to go see my wife?" He spoke slow, saying each and every word with emphasis. The only response he received was an equally as slow and emphasized head nod. "God Aaron. Sure."

"Pack up, we are taking a trip to the NCIS naval base in Quantico." Aarons voice boomed over the bullpen, gaining the attention of his team as well as everyone else sat at their desks. There was a confusion looming over the area, JJ was the first to speak up about it. "I didn't get anything about a case…" "No case, no consultation. This is a friendly visit, we are going to see Agent Y/N Rossi. Consider this the beginning of your weekend." Aaron spoke quieter, a bag in hand, as he neared the group of desks his agents occupied, David trailing behind also carrying his regular to-go bag. "Wait, so we actually get to meet the Mrs. Rossi." David was cautious of the teams reaction, but by Dereks response and the rest of the teams easiness to the situation his nerves calmed on their own. Unconsciously, the couple had the same thought, today is going to be a good day.

There were 3 groups:

David drove; in his car was just Aaron.

Following directly behind him was Derek, in the car with Penelope and Spencer.

In the final car, Emily drove with JJ in the passenger seat.

No one had any complaints, apart from Derek. He had to deal with the excessive knowledge and facts of NCIS and their origins. By the time they arrived, he was ready to kill Spencer, his audio tapes, and the 60 books he carries. The 3 groups connected back together at the entrance of the federal building. "I swear, if I have to hear one more damn page turn. I am going to snap." Everyone laughed at the statement, everyone but Reid. While conversing, they walked through the building with ease, flashing their FBI badges at the very entrance. They were motioned to the 4th floor, apparently that is where the directors office is. When the elevators doors opened, they were met with a bullpen similar to their own.

1st person- 5 minutes ago

Jethro just got back 10 minutes ago, and as soon as we walked out the elevator, Dinozzo began speculating. "How was the coffee?" He was smirking stupidly, leaning onto Ziva's desk. I blink at him a few times before responding, "It was good, would you like to try?" I hold up my coffee cup, a smile plastered on. "Nope, that seems like an intimate thing." "Getting coffee?" Ziva responded to his stupidity before I had the chance, yet for some reason he still thought he was correct. I roll my eyes taking a seat at my desk. "Gibbs, can you look at this for me? The director wants it on his desk by Monday and I don't exactly want to do work over the weekend." For the first time I wasn't playing into their little bet, I was genuine on my motive. He trudged next to me, leaning over to read the words typed on the screen. "Yeah, just put your name on it. You've been doing that forever." I sigh from his words, something so simple could have been very bad if I actually turned it in. I typed my name and he checked it over once again before giving me a nod, heading back to his desk. When I looked back up after sending the email, Ziva, Tony, and McGee were all staring at me. Soon, the elevator doors opened and out walked Ducky, Palmer, and Abby. "Hey, Y/N?" Abby's voice reached my ears soon after the doors closed. "Yes Abs?"

"Are you married?"

"Yes."

That was only half of the conversation, it was cut off by McGee. "You were actually wrong Tony," There was a short laugh and a groan from Tony before Abby continued.

"Do you have children?"

"Mhm."

The next voice to cut Abby off was Tony, "Ha! You were wrong too Probie." He was laughing a lot harder, I guess he's fine he lost money if it doesn't go to Tim. "So Palmer and Abby won?" McGee was cut off by Abby, "Not yet."

"Is Fielding your married name?

"No."

"So it's your maiden name?"

"Yes."

My responses were simple and short, she didn't ask who I was married to so why explain more than I have to. "Now I won." Her smile was too cute to even attempt to crush, I had no intention to… until the elevator doors slid open and out walked agents in formal attire. I was confused until I saw David exit the metal box. The group walked to the small area we had in the bullpen. "Hello, I am Aaron Hotchner. FBI, and we are looking for Agent Y/N Fielding." I could see the team tense up at the mention of my name, they had yet to see me in the corner since Tony was placed in front of me. I stand up slowly, giving them full view of me. David steps forward, and began introducing his team to my own. "This is Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Dr. Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, and I am David Rossi." He pointed to each member of his team as their words left his mouth before pointing to me. "This is Y/N, my-" The boy he called Spencer cut him off before he could state the nature of our relationship. "You are one of the founders of the BAU. You are a legend, the first communications liaison. Though at the time it was known as the Relations Mediator (I just came up with something)" The boy went on to ramble on about random FBI and NCIS fact I honestly didn't know. "Reid, we can talk about this later. Let me introduce my team." I turned to see the confusion on everyone's faces, all except Jethro. "This is Anthony Dinozzo- our senior field agent, Ziva David- a former Mossad agent, Timothy McGee- our technical genius, Ducky Mallard- our medical examiner, Jimmy Palmer- assistant medical examiner, Abby Sciuto- our forensics scientist. Oh and Leroy Jethro Gibbs." I pause when he smacks me on the back of the head for saying his full name, making me laugh slightly. "My brother-in-law and boss. This is David. My husband." There were various greetings from those across from me, but behind me was relatively quiet. " Can you repeat that again?" I turned around at the sound of Ziva's voice, Jethro's arm falling on the top of my head. "This is my husband." "Is this what you would call, the cat inside the bag?" I giggle at her confusion, "It's cat outside of the bag, but yes Ziva."

3rd person

Y/N's team was shocked beyond belief, there were no words to describe the slap in the face they just received. While David's team was nonchalant and happy to meet their friends lover. "Pause, explain." Dinozzo was pissed that he couldn't tell what was happening, he thought he was good at figuring out these things. "Jethro's first wife was my sister. And when you generated what our child would looked like, it looked exactly like my niece." This sentence seemed to catch the attention of someone on David's teams. "You have an offspring generator? That is that accurate?" Garcia was beyond excited and it was obvious by the smile on her face and the inability to sit still. Y/N and Gibbs could see the similarities between Garcia and Abby, the similarities between them and Kelly… if only she was able to grow up like normal.

Y/N took a seat on Dinozzo's desk, staring at the interaction between the two groups. "I think this also means they owe us, don't they Jethro?" There was a smirk on her face and humor in her voice that even David team couldn't help but smile at. "Wait wait… so you knew what we were doing this whole time and you didn't say anything?" All Y/N could so was shrug at Palmer's question. The situation was quickly ignored as everyone brought up different conversations. The teams even started to split and find their look alike on the other team, Spencer and McGee drifted together, the same for Dinozzo and Morgan. Abby and Garcia were practically best friends while Ziva was struggling to keep up with JJ and Prentiss. Aaron actually had something to discuss with Director Vance so headed up to his office, passing David headed towards Y/N and Gibbs.

Surprisingly, the two had never met. Gibbs was unable to go to her wedding because he was newly deployed on his second tour. So Y/N decided it was time for proper introductions. "Real husband, work husband. Work husband, real husband." Her words came out slow as he hand drifted between the two men, she was still sat on Tony's desk. There was hen out of no where the 3 of you start laughing. "I see it." The two spoke at the same time, giving Abby a little peace of mind that her theory on Y/N's husband might not be as far off as she thought.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." His words were random yet directed. "I guess it really does." The couple shared a kiss that was nothing less than passion and affection. Staring into each other's eyes, David and Y/N knew that this was the life they were meant to live, no ex-wives or co-workers was going to change that.

BONUS:

Dinozzo: "So are we going to tell them they won $600?"

Y/N: "I heard that Dinozzo."

Dinozzo: "Sorry boss I mean Y/N, uh… you and your husband are very cute."

Y/N: "I'll pick up my half on Monday."

Masterlist

#Rossi #Criminal minds #David rossi x reader #David rossi #Jethro gibbs #ncis #criminal minds and ncis #crossover #request #prompt #marriage #work husband #husband

253 notes · View notes

venusiangguk · 3 years

Note

may we see the fight tae oc scene pls pls please!!! u can delete later🤔🤔🤔🤔😳😳😳😳 i’m really curious. i mean ofc u don’t have to. still 😧🙃

idealizations concerning real life relations: deleted scene

>>pairing: jungkook x reader / icrlr!couple

>>genre: fwb, angst, rated PG

>>word count: 2.5k

>>warnings: alcohol, implied smut

>>notes: this is a deleted scene from icrlr, that i omitted simply because of the length of the final fic!! feel free to skip or ignore, it doesn't change anything, but since u guys are curious about it, i'll post it as a lil ty for helping me hit that milestone <3 it takes place after the tattoo party scene, and before the lecture scene.

this does NOT provide an alternative ending.

>>summary: taehyung tries to make you see things for what they really are, but it's hard to see through the rose colored glasses.

Winter break has been long awaited and it is finally, finally here. The snow has coated the ground thick, making the town look like a winter wonderland. The air is sharp and cold but not to a miserable extent. Just chilly enough to bundle up, to hold a hand a little tighter and soak up their warmth.

Your favorite season is fall, but the later months are a close second. You love seeing the way everyone’s faces get red when snow flurries come down to kiss their nose and cheeks. Love the way pom poms bounce atop little hats as children play and have snowball fights. Winter is surprisingly one of the warmest, sweetest times of the year. Like the hot coco Jeongguk has been swapping your regular macchiato with lately.

There’s a greatly anticipated party tonight- a mashup of Taehyung’s birthday and New Year’s Eve. Anticipated for the simple fact that said birthday boy has steadily been ignoring you for weeks, and tonight was a night where he couldn’t evade your attempts of reconciliation. He hasn’t returned a single call or even sent a text back. You can’t even be mad at him really, you know it’s justified. You know you fucked up. The coffee date you had with Yoongi last week let you know what you did.

Over an iced coffee, you learned that you had unintentionally skipped out on your best friend's Winter Showcase. The important one that he mentioned multiple times. The one you promised to attend no matter what.

It wasn’t on purpose; you wanted to go, to support him. But you just got caught up. In life, in school, in Jeongguk. It happens.

When Yoongi asked you why you had missed it, when he told you how hurt Taehyung was by your absence, your heart dropped, sank deep within your chest as your mouth fell open before closing, a small pursed frown on your lips. You didn’t have a good excuse. You went to get tattoos with Jeongguk and then to a party where you fucked him, and then home after that? You were too tired to make it? You just simply forgot? Those excuses weren’t good enough for you and you knew they wouldn’t be good enough for Taehyung.

Whereas Yoongi was okay with distance, long periods in between hanging out and talking, Taehyung wasn’t. He was the kind of friend that needed support, reassurance that you cared. He liked quality time and hangs outs that were planned ahead so he could look forward to them. He was looking forward to you being at his showcase.

The party is packed, even more so than usual. Students, drop-outs, alumni, and randoms alike, all congregate to bring in the new year, to celebrate the end of finals, and a certain art majors birthday. Bodies are on bodies, music is loud and deafening. Cups, bottles, and small baggies litter the floor and the smell of weed is nauseating.

Jeongguk’s hand in yours is sweet, though. Enough to ebb the distaste in your mouth as you watch the stereotypical disaster that is a college party.

“I’m going to go find the drinks, okay?” you lie, squeezing Jeongguk’s hand lightly.

He squeezes back, kisses the side of your head as he says, “Bring me one back too?”

You nod, and slip out of his view. Scanning the crowd until you see a familiar face.

Jimin is laughing, red cup in his hand, eyes curled and happy. He’s sitting on the arm of a couch, legs swinging as he laughs with a group of people. He takes a drink from his cup and let’s his eyes roam the room like he’s looking for someone.

The way his face changes when he sees you approaching is like a punch in the gut. It goes from happy, and carefree to stony- only a small, irritated, close-lipped smile on his face. Eyes harsh and cold, no longer holding the mirth they were just seconds ago. He says nothing when you step in front of him, he just looks you over like he’s bored and waiting for you to get on with it so he can be done with it.

You shift on your feet under his scrutiny. “Where’s Tae?” you ask.

Jimin narrows his eyes at you and tilts his head. “Now you want to know where he is? Haven’t been concerned with his whereabouts for months. Definitely weren’t worried about it last week.”

You wince but carry on swiftly. “Listen, I know I fucked up. I’m here to apologize.” You look at him expectantly, but he holds his ground. When he doesn’t falter, you resort to begging, “Please, Jimin. He’s my best friend… I miss him.”

You must look pitiful, because Jimin’s indifferent facade fades, and he clicks his tongue like he’s annoyed at himself for giving into you. “He’s getting us drinks in the kitchen.”

A smile takes over your face as you rush out a ‘thank you’, quickly turning on your heel to head in the opposite direction, before Jimin calls after you.

“Yeah?” you ask, looking over your shoulder at him.

“If he’s your best friend, maybe treat him like it, yeah?”

You continue to the kitchen without replying, and you can’t help the little simmer of annoyance that bubbles in your chest. Taehyung has been your best friend for years. And even though Jimin had a point, who was he to tell you anything about yours and Taehyung’s friendship?

Before the thought can fester, however, you see the boy you came looking for, two bottles of vodka in his hand like he’s trying to decide which to use. You see the little party hat atop his shaggy hair before anything else and your heart aches a little. You really did miss him. He lets out a small annoyed sound, and knowing him, he’s probably trying to figure out which has the highest alcohol percentage. You come up next to him, and say his name gently. He jumps, but when he realizes it’s you, the ghost of a smile curls on his lips like he’s happy to see you.

Until it’s replaced with resentment just as quickly. His sharp eyes squint at you before turning back to the bottles in his hands, scowl still in place.

“So you decided you could pencil me in between getting your heart toyed with and your back blown out?” He gives you a side glance and sees how your jaw drops in surprise. He carries on, unbothered. “Or did this just work out because it coincides with New Year’s and because he was invited? Only because he’s Jimin’s friend might I add.”

“Tae-” you try, doing your best to keep the hurt whine out of your tone.

“Save it, __. I don’t want to hear the excuses you have. Just-” he looks at you again, and you think that maybe he softens when he sees your crestfallen features. He sighs like he’s tired. “Just leave me alone. Just for a bit, okay? I’ll get over it eventually,” he finishes, finally deciding on the vodka he wants.

You know his request isn't unreasonable. But it’s already been so long that the distance in your friendship has been eating away at it, that you’re scared ‘eventually’ might take too long and by the time he comes around, there won’t be much of a friendship left. That the damage done, will be irreparable.

“Tae… It’s already been months, can’t we-”

Like night and day, the softness that you were able to pull out of him is immediately replaced with that resentment and anger you were met with when you first stepped into the kitchen.

“Yeah,” he seethes, strong brows furrowed. “And whose fault is that?”

His words are sharp and the sting from them makes you take a step back. That is, until you feel anger of your own creep up your throat like venom. “You’re one to talk, Taehyung. You could have reached out to me, too. You’re no better than me when you’re in a relationship.”

He groans, gives an exasperated laugh before shrugging. “You know what? Maybe I am just as bad as you, but at least I’m actually in a relationship,” he spits, “You’re just fucking someone that doesn’t give a fuck about you.”

You know he’s hurt because of the distance. That he doesn’t intend to be so mean. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less, and it doesn’t stop the angry tears from pooling in your eyes.

And although you’re angry, almost shaking with rage at the feeling of being cornered and blamed, your heart aches at hearing his words.

Jimin, who started seeing Taehyung after you started seeing Jeongguk, had already made your friend official. Had given him the title, the commitment, the relationship that you had been patiently and understandingly waiting for with Jeongguk. The bitterness that bleeds into your heart makes you feel gross and ugly.

You know what they say; that labels are superficial and don’t mean that much. But when you don’t have them? It makes you wonder. If a label really isn’t that important, like everyone says, why is Jeongguk so reluctant to give one to you?

“Jimin’s your boyfriend?” you whisper.

Taehyung gives you a short nod. “Month and half ago. You would’ve known if you got your head out of Jeongguk’s ass.”

Almost like he was summoned, the topic of debate waltz into the room, coming up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. He nuzzles into your neck.

It’s instinctual now, the way your body responds to him. The way you melt into his chest like second-nature, how your hands settle over his like they are keeping them in place. How immediately in his presence you feel calmer; the panicky, hurt feeling you were experiencing moments ago vanishing as if it were just a fleeting thought and not something that’s always in the back of your head.

Not in a possessive, ‘I need him to be mine’ kind of way, though.

More like, ‘Why won’t he be mine?’

“Hi,” he murmurs into your neck.

“Hi, baby,” you respond softly, out of habit. The room shirks around you whenever he’s near. Makes you feel like you’re in your own bubble with him.

Jeongguk’s about to reply, ask where the drinks are, but then he hears an annoyed scoff sound in front of you both. Jeongguk bristles as he looks up and sees Taehyung taking a big swig from his cup.

“Uh- am I interrupting? Should I go?” he asks hesitantly, looking between you and your friend.

“No-” you say at the same time that Taehyung says, “Yes.”

You cringe, and turn in Jeongguk’s arms, hands resting on his chest. “Just give me a couple more minutes okay? I’ll bring the drinks.”

Jeongguk searches your eyes, before looking at Taehyung one last time before giving you a stern nod and a quick kiss.

You turn back to Taehyung, ready to apologize for Jeongguk’s interruption, when he talks over you.

“You’re pathetic,” he starts, and you roll your eyes with an irritated sigh before he continues, “but I know you love him. And that you can’t help it,” he shrugs. “But as your friend, I have to tell you that it’s not going to end well. You probably don’t even need me to tell you that. You probably already know and are choosing to ignore it for the sake of the delusions you’ve made up in your ‘pretty little head’.”

You pout at him quoting you, and your brows furrow. “He cares about me. And he’s Jimin’s best friend. He’s a good person, you don’t even know him,” you argue defensively. Though you know your arguments make little sense and are flimsy at best.

Taehyung frowns. Pauses like he’s thinking.

“I didn’t say he was a bad person, and maybe he does care about you in his own messed up way. But he doesn’t care about you in the way that you want him to.” His lips are still down turned when he speaks again.

“And the difference between him with you and him with Jimin is astronomical; it shouldn’t even be a comparison, but I will humor you,” he rubs a hand up and down his face like he’s tired. “The dynamic is completely different, for obvious reasons. For one, Jimin is a safe relationship. You are not. Jimin isn’t in love with him, Jimin isn’t sucking his dick, and Jimin doesn’t want things from Jeongguk that Jeongguk cannot give, or does not want to give,” he says with a raised brow as he takes a sip of his drink.

It seems that the anger has died down some between you both, a semi-civil conversation finally being had. You wrinkle your brows in confusion at him. “What are you talking about?”

He rolls his eyes. “Cmon __. Why do you think he hasn’t made you his girlfriend? Why do you think he literally has not been in a serious relationship since high school? Why do you think he never agrees to anything more than 2 months out?” He waits for you to answer but you just purse your lips stubbornly. “He’s scared. Dare I say terrified of commitment, and that’s exactly what you want from him right?”

You stay headstrong and quiet for a moment longer, ignoring his question in favor of asking one of your own when you finally do speak up. “If I’m so scary, why hasn’t he left?”

Taehyung shrugs. “Fuck if I know? Maybe he does care about you like you say he does. I don’t think so, but hey,” He raises his hands in mock surrender, like he is throwing in the figurative towel. “Maybe you’re right and maybe I‘m wrong. Or maybe there’s some fucked up codependency fermenting between you both when you copulate. I genuinely have no clue, and frankly, I don’t care to find out. Don’t text me until you come to your senses. And don’t get mad when I tell you ‘I told you so’.”

And with that, he turns and leaves you to make your own drinks. You hope the smile you give Jeongguk when you find him is believable.

That night when you go back to his place, you voice your concerns to him in between sweet, heated kisses that taste like hot cider. You tell him hesitantly how Taehyung voiced his concerns about Jeongguk not caring about you and Jeongguk got a little irritated, a little miffed as he unlatched his lips from your neck. He asked what Taehyung knew, how he even came to that conclusion when he’s not around you both.

He assured you with gentle touches and tender words that of course he cares about you. He reminded you that he always makes time for you, he always answers your calls and your texts, he takes you out every now and then, too. He asks you what you think and when you contemplate your answer, going over what he said, you can’t really argue with him. Even if an uneasy, dismal feeling settles in the pit of your tummy.

~~~

hellooo!! again, this is just a scene and part of the plot that i chose not to use because i felt like the fic was already so long. i wish that i had ended up including it tho, so i hope you enjoyed even though its nothing special <3 feel free to do the things if you liked it: like, comment, reblog, send an ask~~ love u, ty again for helping me reach that milestone <3

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mutigold · 3 years

Text

∞ teacher’s pet — i.n.

summary: in which the top student fails a test and gets extra help from his favorite professor.

pairing: student!jeongin x teacher!reader

genre: college!au

warning: sub!jeongin, dom!reader, pet play, noona kink, exhibitionism, handjob, ear licking, humiliation, quirofilia, seduction, he still has his braces.

word count: 1.9k

authors note: i really don’t know where this idea came from, but all i know is subby jeongin = 🤤. thank you for supporting me! watching people like my little writings really make my day.. hope y’all enjoy this <3. stream “Going Dumb”!

“would anyone like to explain what it means to be dependent on an organism?”

jeongin’s eyes concentrated on you, as he listened to your voice encompassing the leveled platform. today’s lecture was based on the living organisms in the world and you seemed to be determined for everyone to learn the curriculum.

however, jeongin could not focus on anything except your figure. you were wearing a white skin-tight turtleneck and black formal pants that emphasize your ass. all topped off with a large suit jacket and black louis vuitton heels.

it overall made his heart jump for joy just enjoying the view.

he thought about how those heels would look wrapped around his waist as he pounds into you; screaming his name. or maybe how your tiny hand would slip around his throat as he begs for your come.

“mr. yang?”

jeongin quickly snaps out of his trance to hear you calling his name. and not in the way he wanted.

you looked up at him with sad eyes, upset at him for not paying attention to your favorite lesson. “what’s going through that head yours? is it more important than organisms?”

he quickly fixed his posture, shaking his head rapidly, and responded with, “n—no, i’m sorry noona. i just was thinking too hard about something. i’ll promise to listen from now on.”

you hummed with caution, continuing the biological lecture. the student sighs gratefully for you letting him go off easily and tries to at least take some notes.

“yo, i.n. you okay?” a familiar voice whispered.

jeongin turns to see his two close friends, seungmin and felix, staring down at him in question. “yeah, you seem a little off today.”

confirming he says, “uh. y—yeah; i’m okay.”

“mhmm. okay with staring professor y/n down huh?” felix smirks.

the heat on i.n. 's cheeks becomes noticeable when hearing about his staring. he then tries to ignore the statement by writing his name and the current date in his notebook.

“leave him alone felix. he’s just probably having some problems with the lesson; you should perhaps ask noona for help.” seungmin tries to intervene.

“yeah; i mean, maybe noona can also help you with other problems. if you know what i mean.” felix grins bumping jeongin’s arm.

“f—felix!”

“boys?! care to tell us what is so interesting other than my lesson?” your voice suddenly booms throughout the room. jeongin jumps at your tone and begins to apologize again once making you soften.

“that’s alright, but please pay attention. oh, and jeongin, stay after class for a few minutes to speak with me.”

he didn’t know what to think at that moment; with felix oohing in one of his ears and seungmin trying to shush him in his other or the fact that you wanted to talk to privately.

alone, with no one around, made his mind officially shut down.

“you wanted to speak with me noona?”

you shifted around to see jeongin’s stiff form; then took note of how nervous he looked and gave him a light smile. “hey, kiddo. i just wanted to see how you were doing lately.” you wished to see some type of relief release through him.

but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

he still looked kind of anxious to speak with you, letting you know how intimidating you seemed. “hey it’s all good, you're not in trouble or anything, i promise. i’ve noticed how you’ve been acting recently in my class and how your scores dropped a little,” you reassured.

“ai! i’m so sorry noona!”

you giggle at the student’s consistent apologies. in your mind, you thought how cute he was; like a puppy aching to gain approval from its owner.

maybe you could make him as your puppy and work hard for that admiration.

immediately, you shake your head from the naughty images. ever since the semester started a few months ago, your thoughts almost ran around yang jeongin.

how his pretty smile, concealed by clear braces, shined at your speaking, how his crescent-shaped eyes followed your every move; making you feel sexy, how large and veiny his arms grew over time within the season, etc.

“that’s alright, jeongin. i just want you to feel comfortable in my lectures. how about this, you and i have a session later this evening to cover the material for the next exam. what do you think pup’?” you offering, accidentally calling him by the pet name you gave him.

after catching the tiny nickname, jeongin clumsy drops his possessions while feeling something swell in his pants. he begins to overthink the word. pup’? why did that sound so nice coming out of your mouth? and how was he gonna hide the fact that his dick got hard in the middle of their conversation?

“i–i’m sorry!”

“oh! no worries hun! here; let noona help you out.”

you instantly proceeded over, bent down, and gathered i.n.’s school objects. starting with some of his blue pens, his macbook, and then his green two-subject notebook. “n–noona! i got the notebook, it’s okay.” jeongin stuttered.

it was almost like he was trying hard to hide something in the notebook, and suddenly it all made sense as it opened to the front page.

yang y/n. it was his surname combined with your first name.

it seemed as if time swiftly froze with silence when discovering the secret. however, it didn’t bother you essentially much as jeongin thought it would have had. “aw, pup’, this is cute. yang y/n has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

the air that was in jeongin’s lungs properly stopped working when distinguishing how seductive your tone became. “i–i..”

“relax a lil’ pup’. listen, will you promise to meet me later this eveningfor some tutoring. i think you could really use it. plus if you’re good–”

you shifted closer to the student’s ear lobe and whispered, “–noona could give you a reward.”

jeongin swore he felt some pre-cum drip down from his pants. “y–yes, noona.” he swallowed trying to moist his dry throat, then jumped moaning in pleasure when your small hand gripped around his erection.

“good. see you then, pup’.”

a few hours later, jeongin ends up at the university’s public library, not knowing what to expect. though, he did make sure to be ready for any possible situation. what did you mean by rewarding him? did you feel the same way he did?

you must have since you did touch his swollen cock during your conversation. or maybe it was just his imagination?

jeongin sighs restlessly thinking of the concept while waiting for your arrival. that soon ends as he hears your alluring voice greet out, “hiya pup’! ready for our lesson?”

he peers up from the library’s table to see you wearing informal clothing. a tight crew neck that reveals your smooth arms extending down to red-painted nails and large breasts bouncing with every step you take.

“ah! i hope you weren’t waiting too long, i got held up in traffic.”

“t–that’s okay noona! i just got here.”

you smile at his nervousness, now acknowledging where it came from, and sat down in the hard chair right next to him. “good, we can get started. i hope you’re ready,” you whispered, feeling an urge to dominate.

jeongin gulps recognizing a certain excitement coming from his pants within hearing your tone and replies with, “r–ready?”

“so, what does adaptation consist of?”

jeongin couldn’t comprehend what you were saying being he focused on the way your glossed-up lips looked. the way he could imagine it wrapped around cock or it traveling up and down the side of his neck molding kisses; it worked him to the point where he was solid hard.

“pup’, what is going through that mind of yours?”

“s–sorry. it’s just, i guess this lesson isn’t grasping in my head yet.” he tries to explain not wanting to upset you.

however, instead of upsetting you, your colored eyes just darken. “oh! i have any idea; remember when i said i would reward you if do good–”

jeongin nods excitedly, making you giggle.

“–well, i know you understand the concept of this chapter. so to push you a little more, i’ll ask you a question and if you get it right, that little cock of yours will get to come.”

the student freezes up at your approach, thinking it was a dream too good to be true. “w-wait what?”

“what is the definition of homeostasis?”

“i, uh, i think it's an organism's constant adjustment to maintain stable conditions in itself?”

you reached under the table discreetly and unbuttoned the pants on jeongin grasping his swollen cock. “o-oh my god, noona!”

“shh, pup’. you gotta be quiet for me; now onto the next question. who created the biogenesis theory?”

jeongin’s breath became too much for him to handle feeling the pre-cum drip from his blood-filled tip. “n–noona, please.”

“come on puppy, tell me the answer or i stop.”

his mind starts to rush trying to find the answer before you let him go. it took him a couple of seconds, but once he got it, he hurried to speak. “henry charlton bastain!”

“good puppy.” your tiny hand moves faster, satisfied with the statement. you felt his cock throbbing with every stroke you took. like jeongin, you dreamt of this same exact moment. you wanted to control the poor student every time he walked through your room, when he made eye contact with you, or even when his plump bottom lip was bitten from his teeth.

and finally, it was happening.

“oh, who’s a good puppy for noona?”

“m-me! i am noona.”

“that’s right pup’. next question, what are the five steps to the scientific method?”

i.n.’s vein from his cock popped out sensing the rubbing moving faster than before. “i only know four noona!”

“too bad, i wanted five or i slow down.” you coldly demand.

jeongin began to try to think hard on the five steps letting the sensation run through his body. “o-okay. it’s defining the problem, making a hypothesis, testing it, analyzing the results… then..”

your hand slows at his hesitation. “give me the last one puppy.”

“oh! noona, don’t stop! i–i. is it d–drawing the conclusions?”

“good puppy!”

his cock grows bigger when your finger grips at the base. then, you painted nails lightly scratch at his tight balls. “oh! noonaaa. that feels sooo goood. pleaseee.”

“continue to answer like a good pup’ then i’ll keep going.”

soon after the next few questions, jeongin sits near his breaking point. “nooonnnaaa! please!”

“grab your textbook and hold it up.”

i.n. clutches the hard-covered biology book to cover both you and him from public eyes. suddenly, you lower yourself to his lips, deeply kissing him with tongue, and wander towards his earlobe. “one more question, pup’. what does stimulus mean?”

“uh! noona! please let me come! make your puppy come!” he moans a little too loud.

“shh. answer the question, then i’ll let you come.”

“s-stimulus? it m-means anything an organism responds to.”

you then move your head to spit down to moist his penis. “good puppy! getting your small cock rubbed in front of everyone like a little slut.” you cup the back of his neck feeling the shivers release through him.

“you can come pup’, come for noona.”

jeongin then lets go, coming hard in your hand. “o-oh! thank you, thank you noona!”

after guiding him to his high, you let go of him and licked the white, sticky substance from your hand.

“good puppy. i’m sure you’ll be ready for that next exam.”

#stray kids #skz #skz imagines #skz jeongin #skz smut #skz x reader #skz x stay #skz x y/n #skz x you #smut #sub!idol #sub!skz #sub!jeongin #dom!reader #kpop #kpop smut

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alltooreid · 3 years

Text

Invisible String

Although Spencer Reid and the Reader don’t find themselves in a romance with each other until well into their adulthood, their relationship has been decades in the making. Almost as if something as been pulling them together all these years.

A/N: sorry for such a long wait but i’ve been struggling a lot mentally as of late. i hope you guys enjoy this one shot!! As always requests are open and heavily encouraged!! And of course this is inspired by the taylor swift song of the same name :)) Also keep in mind although the following scenes are heavily inspired by some scenes in Criminal Minds, elements of them have been slightly altered to fit in Y/N as a character.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Type: a cute strangers to lovers fluff fic!

Word Count: 3.9K

Content Warnings: typical criminal minds case discussion, mentions of child trafficking when discussing this case, but no real detail. slight spoilers for season eight (beginning maeve stuff) and tiny spoilers for season fifteen (briefly mentions max but nothing really important to the plot at all)

“Time, curious time Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs Were there clues I didn't see?”

You had met Spencer Reid 3 times before you had really met him.

It was almost silly to think about it now. Now that you and Spencer have been dating for 3 years, it was strange to believe there were so many chances for you two to meet years earlier.

When you were sixteen years old, you got your first part time job. You worked at a self-serve frozen yogurt shop called Iced Dreams. You hated it so much. Your manager was a total creep, your older coworkers were rude and condescending to you, since you were one of the youngest people working there, but most of all you hated the uniforms.

Consisting of a very stupid looking hat, bright pink with randomly embrodiered teal patterns, an outdated bright teal shirt, it had been given to you from a dirty bin in the back, and judging by the sewn in shoulder pads, it had to be at least a couple decades old.

So one day, you didn’t wear the hat.

It wasn’t entirely purposeful. You couldn’t find it, you searched your room, you searched your car, so eventually you had to leave without it to prevent being late. Still, as you clocked it and passed the box of extras in the office something made you decide to leave it alone.

You were about 8 minutes into your shift when your manager approached you. “Y/N? Where’s your hat sweetheart?” You hated this man so much. You had gone to your parents time and time again, recounting his creepy behavior towards you and the other teenage girls who you worked with, but they refused to let you quit.

When you had started working there, he used to enforce this ridiculous rule that all the female workers had to wear skirts as part of their uniform, but you had gathered all the sixteen and seventeen year olds who worked there and all threatened to quit if he didn’t change the policy. So you were no stranger to breaking and defying the rules.

“Yeah I couldn’t find it, sorry.” you shrugged.

He chuckled and reached his hat out to touch your face. You jerked back, you almost wanted to refuse to wear one of the stupid extra hats just so that you could get fired.

“Well, Y/N its policy sweetie. No matter how special you are to me you still need to wear the hat. There’s extras in the office.”

“No way I’m wearing one of those. I bet they have like lice or something.”

He pursed his lips and sighed “Well I suppose that beautiful hair is just too pretty to wear a used hat huh. . . What do you suggest? If you’re working you have to wear it.”

You laughed, “Well you could let me go home.”

He paused, “Why don’t you go sit in the office, I’ll come talk to you in a minute.”

So you did, for about 10 minutes you sat in the office, surrounded by frozen yogurt flavor marking posters and boxes of old uniforms, and each passing minute you feared for the worst. Maybe you were actually getting fired? You really didn’t want to go that far, because, as much as you hated it, you really needed this job.

When your manager finally came to talk to you he held a small salted caramel frozen yogurt, your personal favorite flavor, and a twenty dollar bill. He handed them both to you.

“You seem so stressed Y/N, why don’t you take the day and go get lunch. My treat,” he said, smiling that weird twisted smile that always made your full body shiver.

However you were broke as hell, and no teenager in their right mind would ever pass up free food, so you took it, grabbed your keys and started to leave

Yet as soon as you walked out the back door you dropped your frozen yogurt, cup fully upside down, onto the pavement. You cursed, you hadn’t even taken a bite of it yet, and it looked like he had put coconut flakes on it, and you loved coconut. Still, you had your twenty bucks, and that was a pretty sweet pay out considering you were only clocked in for about 20 minutes.

So you got Chinese food, and spent what was supposed to be your shift in the shopping mall across town, completely and blissfully unaware of the fact the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI was dragging your manager away in handcuffs.

➽───────────────❥

Young Spencer Reid had only joined the FBI about a month ago. Despite being a genius, and providing crucial information to the solving of cases, he was aware of the most obvious. He was only twenty two years old, and he was scrawny as hell.

He felt this intense need to prove himself, especially to make Gideon proud.

So when they got a case about a the kidnapping and sex trafficking of teenage girls, he saw it as something he could really involve himself in. Based on the profile, it wasn’t going to be a large, strong, confident unsub who Morgan needed to tackle. This man would be ugly sure, but he would be a manipulative mastermind. Reid could work with that, he could prove himself.

He surprised everyone with his sheer work ethic and determination to find this man, and through consistently revising and delivering the profile soon enough they got a hit. A young woman in her early twenties called the tipline and reported her own manager. Insisting he fit the profile perfectly, and described how strangely he treated the minors who worked there, and how he almost exclusively hired young girls, treated them great and then switched as soon as they became legal.

So Garcia did her magically digging, and soon enough the FBI was tearing up a frozen yogurt shop, looking for any evidence of pedophilia. Garcia was even brought along, as she was pivotal to discovering any secret files in his computer.

At first, all they could find were strange compilation videos and under employees skirts. Spencer, and the rest of the team, were struggling to connect how he could get so many videos from an angle like this without anyone noticing or reporting him, until Gideon uncovered an old dusty pair of shoes, in which the right one held a small camera at the toe.

Although this was absolutely disgusting, it wasn’t enough to prove he was running the ring or kidnapping the girls, so Garcia kept digging. Meanwhile, Spencer tried to make himself useful by checking out the back of the store.

That’s where he found your clock-out receipt.

“Hey guys, we might want to take a look at this,” he shouted out.

Morgan grabbed the paper from his hand, “Ok, I don’t get it kid, it’s trash.”

Spencer pointed to the details on the slip, “Yeah but it says here she clocked out 18 minutes ago after only working for 23 minutes and 46 seconds. If this guy is our unsub, this girl could be in a lot of trouble.”

“Maybe she’s still here, has anyone checked out the parking lot yet?”

Spencer shook his head, and followed Morgan out the back door. There they discovered some almost completely melted salted caramel frozen yogurt.

Morgan bent down to investigate, “Yeah, we gotta get this to the lab, but I can tell you right now that there’s clearly more than just coconut topping this yogurt. It also means we have another victim.”

Spencer crouched down as well, “Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean kid? We’re missing a teenage girl and we’ve already found illegal evidence on this guy's computer. She’s in trouble.”

“Well judging the shape and inscription of these pills it appears to be some pretty strong rohypnol, almost certainly prescription grade. And ingesting it like this means she probably would have begun to feel its effects fairly early, I would predict 15 minutes. She clocked out 18 minutes ago, so even if she left exactly at that time she would have certainly crashed her car on the way home. The nearest residence is 8 minutes away from here, we’re in a complete shopping district. There’s only two cars out here and neither have a passed out driver, so I would bet she didn’t eat any of it. Also, the only spoon out here is still wrapped in plastic, “ Spencer analyzed.

Morgan sighed, “Well what do we even do then?”

Before Spencer could answer Hotch opened the back door. “We got him.”

Spencer turned to Morgan, “I’m sure her phone number is somewhere inside, I say we call her and make sure she’s ok. She probably doesn’t even know this is happening right now.”

So he did find your phone number, and although he initially pushed the phone to Morgan, he just chuckled and pushed it back.

“No way pretty boy. You’re the know-it-all with all that profiling out there, you can call her,” and before he could protest Morgan left, so Spencer was left to call you.

And strangely, for it being the first time he would ever interact with the love of his life, he thought nothing of it.

And that was the first time you had met Spencer Reid.

➽───────────────❥

The second time was years and years later, when you were waitressing night shifts to make extra money. You had never forgotten meeting Spencer Reid the first time, but this was the first time you would ever see his face.

You were slightly concerned when you got a call from a man, whose name you had now long forgotten, claiming he worked for the FBI. Although you weren’t incredibly surprised to hear your manager committed such heinous crimes against children, you were taken aback by how close you had come to becoming one of his victims.

But that was 9 years ago. In your college days it became a fun story you told at frat parties, but you were 25 now. Sometimes you would think about the incident when you couldn’t sleep, and if you were feeling feisty you would use it as an icebreaker or a “two truths, one lie” statement, but otherwise you didn’t really think about it.

You had plenty of other things to worry about, in fact, that’s exactly why you worked so much. It was so much easier to forget when you were constantly preoccupied with complaining customers and terribly awkward blind dates.

You had just sat this man, incredibly handsome, however it was clear he was on some kind of date. His reservation was for two, and he spent way too much time adjusting his clothes and table setting for him to not be trying to impress someone special. He also brought a gift, which judging by the packaging and shape, seemed to be some kind of wrapped book.

Even though he was 15 minutes early for his own reservation, he still looked really nervous, almost like he already believed she might not show up. You couldn’t help yourself, you had to go talk to him.

“Anyone ever tell you you should model?” you started with.

He looked up “Excuse me?”

“Sorry for being so bold, you just look so familiar,” he weirdly sounded very familiar as well, but you didn’t tell him that. “Are you sure you haven’t modeled? You have excellent bone structure. I bet you could.”

He laughed to himself, “yeah I’m sure.”

“Well your date is very lucky either way. I wish I had a boyfriend as handsome as you. Actually I wish I had a boyfriend period, but that’s a whole other story.”

He chuckled, and although you knew in your heart that you shouldn’t be flirting with him considering he was 15 minutes away from being actively on a date talking to him made you feel something you hadn’t felt in a long time. “What happened with your boyfriend? Do I even dare ask?”

“Well I kind of always knew he wasn’t super interested in me, but I really liked him, so I did my best to ignore his wandering eyes,” you sighed. “That didn’t stop him from leaving me for his coworker though.”

“That’s terrible.”

You smirked, “That’s not even the worst part, he broke up with me over a 27 second phone call. He didn’t even let me respond, he just kind of hung up.”

“I’m sorry, no one deserves that. Especially not you. I’ve only been talking to you for a couple minutes and I can tell that.”

“Oh really? What makes you so sure?”

“I’m pretty good at reading people.”

You smiled, “Well I should probably stop flirting with you now, considering your date hasn’t even started yet. And don’t worry, she’ll show, you’re so handsome she’d be stupid not to.”

He looked confused. “You were flirting with me?”

You laughed, “I thought you were good at reading people?”

He smiled back at you, and it made your heart soar, this silly, pure goofy smile that made you want to replace his date and have dinner with him right then and there.

You walked back to your hostess stand. A couple minutes later you noticed the handsome stranger on the phone. You thought nothing of it until later when a woman came in, clearly nervous, holding a gift bag.

“Can you give this to Spencer Reid for me please?” You recognized the name, the man you were just speaking with had filed his reservation under it.

“Um, yeah sure, aren’t you going to go in? He’s at that table over the-” but before you could finish your sentence the woman was gone. Your heart sank, poor Spencer, how could someone drop their date off a gift but stand them up anyway? That’s just cold.

When you get up to bring the gift to him, he’s already heading out of the restaurant himself.

“Sir? Spencer? Dr. Reid?” he turned his head. “A lady came in and dropped this off for you.”

His face dropped, it almost looked like he was about to cry. “Thank you,” he said as he looked up at you before leaving.

He ran out the door, both gifts in hand and whipped his head around a few times before sighing and speeding off in one direction. Even before you learned what happened after that and leading up to it, you felt terrible for the handsome stranger.

How could you not for someone so clearly distressed? Someone so clearly in love?

➽───────────────❥

7 years and a divorce later you were spending your Saturday in a park, strangely contemplating love itself. Although you barely remember that night all those years ago when you spoke to Spencer, he did. Vividly. In fact, on this Saturday you both were in a public park, contemplating your many failed attempts at true love.

It was your first wedding anniversary without your husband. Although you had only been married for two years, you still were having a hard time navigating life without him.

You started to wonder if you would ever find the true love you had been wishing for since your youth. Was 32 too late? Had you lived out all of your opportunities?

When you were little your mother had told you that all soulmates were attached at the left ring fingers, by small, incredibly thin strands of gold string, invisible to the naked eye. She insisted that these strings were constantly trying to pull you and your soulmate together, and that when life was ready for you two to meet, you would.

Until then, you would have small, mindless interactions. Things you wouldn’t think about, maybe even things that weren’t interactions at all. You would get the same commercial jingle stuck in your head. You would both get an intense craving for the same food. You’d have the same dream.

As a kid you were obsessed with this idea, you thought it was so romantic, and you fully believed everything your mom told you about it. You always asked her for more stories, and at bedtime you refused to sleep unless she would tell you more.

But now you were sure soulmates, true love even, didn’t exist. The invisible pretty gold strings your mother weaved fantastic stories with were completely fabricated. If they weren’t, you would have seen the clues by now.

Right?

➽───────────────❥

Spencer Reid was given an assignment from his therapist. He had to spend his Saturday off trying to interact with a stranger. Making friends with someone other than his colleagues may seem like a simple task for some, but it was something the young genius had almost no experience with.

He understood that it was probably for the best. He wasn’t exactly great with relationships of any kind, but especially not romantic ones. It didn’t take a genius to know that a couple of flirtations, a dead girlfriend he had only seen once, and a long time unrequited (or at least he thought unrequited) infatuation with his best friend and godsons’ mother was not a very great track record.

He, just like you, was also beginning to believe that he was hopeless when it came to love. That 38 was too old, that his time to meet someone and have the children he dreamed of had long passed.

But right as he was about to call JJ, to see if she would invite him in on the case Garcia had started to work on, he saw you.

Unlike you, he remembered your face and your interaction vividly. That almost date with Maeve was one of the biggest defining moments of his life, and what are the chances that the waitress from that very night was now less than 30 feet away from him, reading under the green leaves of a tree.

He wasn’t going to say anything, until he saw the book you were reading.

The Narrative of John Smith.

It must have been a sign, for what he wasn’t exactly sure yet, but it just had to mean something. The universe had to be reaching out to him, he had experienced crazier things.

And just as he was about to walk over to you, to close the gap between the gold strings tied around your ring fingers, a child interrupted his train of thought.

“That’s a strange haircut.”

➽───────────────❥

Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid were finally reuniting after many years. They barely got to see each other these days, but even though he was teaching and working at the BAU, Spencer still was willing to clear his schedule to second Derek suggested they meet up.

Morgan was excited as well, both to see his friend and to hopefully help him get a date. Sure, he had liked what he had heard about Max, but he wasn’t exactly surprised it had only lasted a couple months between her and Spencer. They just seemed too different.

Plus, now he got the chance to play wingman again, and he was ecstatic about that. Spencer not so much.

“I don’t know Morgan, it’s only been a couple months since we broke up. Wouldn’t it be too early to start talking to other people?”

“Pretty boy, you and I both know that the rate in which you’ve had relationships is not even close to the average. You need to balance that out somehow.”

Spencer sighed, he knew Derek was right, but he still felt strange.

“Morgan, have you ever heard of the red string of fate?”

“No, but I’m sure I’m about to hear all about it.”

“It’s an East Asian philosophy, based on the discovery that the ulnar artery connects the heart with the pinky finger, actually that’s where the belief in pinky promises come from. The reason it’s integrated in so many different cultures is that-”

“Kid, you’re losing me here,” Morgan interrupted. “Finish your thing about the string.”

“Oh yeah, sorry. It’s the idea that human relations are predestined by a red string that the gods tie to the pinky fingers of those who find each other in life. Legend has it that the two people connected by this thread will have an important story, regardless of the time, place or circumstances. The red string might get tangled, contracted or stretched, as surely often happens, but it can never break. Essentially, the idea is that although we might not realize it, our lives move in a pre-ordained direction, guided by invisible strings that are woven into the fabric of the Universe itself. And all the while, the red thread connecting us to our distant soulmates is getting shorter.”

“Well it’s an interesting theory kid, but it’s a lot to think about. I mean, we’re in a bar, let loose a little bit. Not every interaction has to be about getting closer to your soulmate. And sure, maybe you’ll meet them one day, maybe even soon. But you’re here now, and just because your one true love may not be, doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to be here.”

Spencer sighed, “You’re right. I don’t even know if I believe in that anyway, maybe I’m just looking for something to explain this all.

Derek patted his friend on the shoulder, “okay pretty ricky, this is how it’s about to go down. I’m going to buy you two drinks. You’re going to take both of them, and go find someone, anyone here to go talk to.”

“Ok, I think I can do that. Who?”

Derek looked around, trying to find who he believed would be the best match for his friend. “How about her?” he asked, pointing at you.

Spencer couldn’t believe it when he looked. There you were, the girl, the one he had met three times before, even if he could only remember two. The woman he knew was some sort of universe sent sign that Saturday he saw you underneath the greenery. The girl he was so close to talking to before he was interrupted by Max’s nephew. The woman who (and he obviously did not know this at the time) he would marry 3 years later. The one who would carefully knit the baby blankets for all of their friends and exes. The one who he would adopt 3 children with. The woman who, he was now sure, was at the other end of his invisible string. The girl he needed to talk to right now.

“Is it just me,” Morgan said, “Or does she look kind of familiar?”

“Yes,” Spencer responded, “yes she does.” He got up quickly and started making strides towards you.

“Wait!” Morgan called, “You forgot your drinks!”

“I don’t need them!” he shouted back. When he sat down next to you, you smiled. It made his heart soar, you had this silly, pure goofy smile that made him want to ask you out right then and there.

Instead he settled on the only conversation starter he could think of.

“Have you ever heard of the invisible string story?”

And you couldn’t help but laugh.

“A string that pulled me Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons One single thread of gold tied me to you”

- Thank you for reading! Please reblog and let me know what you think :))

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfic #reid #Criminal Minds Reid #Criminal Minds Spencer Reid #reid fanfic #reid fanfiction #Criminal Minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fluff #reid x reader #spencerreidxreader #spencer reid taylor swift

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fandomness--randomness · 3 years

Text

Not so Hard Run Ins {Reiner Braun x Reader}

Warnings: none, just fluff and embarrassing stuff lol

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: You just wanted to return a shirt Marco had lended you, instead you found yourself face to face with your longtime crush.... or rather face to chest.

inspired by this tiktok

Anyways - I love Reiner and his hella mommy milkers (I've loved this hoe since season 1, I am the ultimate Reiner simp)

Sasha let out a long groan as she stretched her arms high above her head. Her joints cracked and popped as she did so. “Gah! I’m so hungry!” She whined.

“Please - you’re hungry all the time.” You chuckled softly, landing a light punch across Sasha’s arm. The girl overreacted, splayed herself across the porch banister and placed the back of her hand across her forehead like some kind of damsel in distress.

“Oh woe is me! I have been slain!” She cried out.

Connie, who was walking from the training field with Jean and Marco, quickly joined in on the antics. He laid himself across the banister next to Sasha in a similar fashion and began to lament of their shared demise. Something about how if Sasha, his partner in crime and fellow prankster, died - he too would die of heartbreak and boredom.

Rolling your eyes, you walk into the cafeteria with Marco as Jean attempts to pull them out of their improve scene.

“When those two start acting up, I can’t help but feel old.” You muttered as you snatched a plate of whatever mediocre slop they had been feeding the training corps the last three years and some stale bread.

Marco chuckled. “Come on (Y/N), don’t say that. You’re only a few years older than us. It’s not like you’re some old lady who can barely walk.” He sat down on the bench gently while you plopped down without a care.

Rolling your shoulder, you scoffed. “I sure feel like it with all this hand to hand combat lately. I just want to get back to ODM training already.”

Two more, much taller figures than you and Marco sat down across from you with their own meals.

“Well now, if you’re an old lady does that make Bertholdt and I old men?” Reiner joked before taking a bite of his bread. “We’re the same age after all.” He added, sending you a soft smile.

Clenching your fist under the table, you turned your gaze to your dinner and fought back the oncoming heat to your cheeks. You’re not sure when it happened - but along the path of tough,constant training and awkward teenage development, you found yourself in love with the muscular blond. You didn’t think much of him at first, thinking he was just like the other stupid boys from your village that showed off their muscles in an attempt to woo girls like you and your friends.

But that idea began to crumble when his brotherly nature was revealed and he offered a helping hand to the other cadets when they needed it. The misconception was practically destroyed the day he offered to carry you back to camp after you had rammed right into a tree while using ODM gear. You had originally wanted to curse out Eren for being overly cocky and nearly crashing into you, which caused you to overcorrect and smash into the tree - but the feeling of Reiner’s muscular back against your chest was just too distracting. That night you practically ran to bed in an embarrassed mess.

Tonight would no doubt be the same if Reiner continued to joke around with you.

Shoveling some food into your mouth, you leaned onto the table with your elbows and pointed the old spoon at Reiner. “I’m - what - 3 months older than you? I’ve practically got years of wisdom on you.”

Reiner laughed at your remark just as the rest of your friends joined the table - Sasha and Connie sporting reddened ears and Jean nearly having a vein in his forehead pop.

Smiling at your fellow cadets, you let yourself fall into the flow of conversation. And although you loved and appreciated all your friends, you couldn’t help but let your eyes wander over to Reiner every once in a while.

Thankfully, there was no after dinner training - so the cadets had a few hours of freetime until the lights went out. This gave you the chance to finally get around to cleaning your laundry and refreshing your ODM gear.

While others found doing laundry to be a pain Sasha, you found the rhythmic pattern to be soothing and comfortable. Because of this, more than often, you would do laundry for yourself and few of your friends.

Popping your head into the giant dorm room, you called out to the rest of the girls. “Hey, does anyone need their laundry done? I want to get it done before it gets dark so give it to me now if you want.” Most of the girls shook their head, thanking you for the offer, but some of the others handed off small baskets of clothes and bedsheets.

“Thank you so much (Y/N)!” Christa exclaimed.

You smiled back at her. “It’s no problem. This way they'll be able to dry overnight if need be.”

Walking back outside with a few more baskets of laundry, you set to work. It was the height of summer and the sun was still beating down on the poor training corps. Thankfully, it hadn’t rained in some time so there was no lingering humidity that would prolong the drying process.

It was so hot and dry that your first round of laundry was done drying by the time you finished washing the entire load. Pulling the dry laundry off of the pins, you brought them inside and to their appropriate owners before going to the equipment building to clean and polish your ODM gear.

By the time you returned to the hanging clothes, the sun was starting to set.

You smiled in victory at the realization that all of the laundry had dried. Setting everything in the appropriate baskets, you lugged the now clean clothes and bedsheets inside. The girls who had taken up your offer thanked you again as they readied themselves for bed.

Taking your own basket to your bed (thank god for having the bottom bunk) you began to unload and fold the laundry. All was normal until you came across a large navy blue shirt. It was certainly too big to be yours and you didn’t own anything like this.

Then you remembered. Slapping a hand across your forehead, you let out a long sigh.

The week prior, Sasha had knocked you right into the mud during some after dinner training. Thankfully Marco and Jean were watching the two of you, so being the kind soul he was, Marco rushed into his dorm and grabbed an extra shirt for you to change into quickly.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you glanced out the window. The sun had set, but the torches outside and lights inside the other buildings were still lit.

Turning to Mikasa, you asked, “do you think I have enough time to return this shirt to Marco? Before lights out?”

The ravenette glanced at you, the shirt, outside the window, and then back to you. She nodded lightly. “Yeah, I think it’s safe. The sun set only a few minutes ago. Lights shouldn’t be called for another 30 minutes.”

Letting out a breath of relief, you jogged out the door and called out a thanks to Mikasa for her stable judgment.

It wasn’t uncommon for cadets to go back and forth between the dorms despite their gender. You and Sasha were often found invading Jean and Connie’s space to beg them to play cards with you two and Marco. Eren and Armin always seemed to be calling for Mikasa to come hang out with them too. But that was when the sun was out.

Going to the others’ dormitory building when the sun had already set was sort of...taboo among cadets, even if it was technically allowed.

No one just wanted to walk into the dorms when the chance of walking into the other cadets changing or even bathing were at its peak. But this was just a quick trip in and out. You’d be fine.

Slipping into the boys dormitory hall, you started the familiar trek to the dorm room Marco was in. It was practically ingrained into your head at this point (not to mention that the dorm buildings’ layouts were the exact same). You expected to run in and run out - no issues.

That was until you turned a corner and came face first with a wall. At least that’s what you would’ve thought if the wall didn’t let out a surprised grunt.

Horror flooded through your veins as you realized your cheek was pressed right against someone’s bare chest, the heat of their skin radiating across your face. Glancing up, that horror doubled - no, tripled - in size.

You hadn’t just ran into some random boy. No - you had just ran right into Reiner Braun, who was only clad in a towel around his waist with skin still damp from his shower.

The red blush you had pushed back at dinner came back full force. The two of you stared at each other for a moment in surprise. Reiner’s own blush spread across his cheeks and ears.

“He’s really warm.” You thought. “And a lot more muscular than I thought. Yet his chest is so soft. I feel like I could fall asleep on it.” You stared at his deep hazel eyes. “I really want to run my hands across his chest. Does he have abs too? Oh what I would do to be able to let my hands wander down furth-”

A droplet of water from Reiner’s hair dripped onto your nose.

“THIS IS FOR MARCO PLEASE GIVE IT TO HIM!” You screamed, shoving the now wrinkled shirt into Reiner’s chest.

Not waiting for a response, you turned onto your heel and ran out of the dorm practically screaming - a high pitched whine and curses following your wake. You didn’t stop until you had your face planted into the mattress and body huddled in blankets.

Your entire body was on fire as your friends questioned what had happened. Some were more worried, like Christa; while others immediately thought the worst may have happened like Mikasa and Sasha. Eventually, when you kept shaking your head and refused to come out of your blankets, your friend retired to their beds. All except Sasha, who sat next to you, swinging her legs back and forth as she waited.

Peeking out of the blanket, you looked up at her.

“I did something so embarrassing, Sash.”

#reiner braun x reader #reiner braun #reiner braun imagine #aot oneshots #attack on titan #attack on titan imagine #reiner braun and mommy milkers #I love this man so much #I just wanna hold his hand so badly #and ride his d!ck even more #{🥵 - thirsting}

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brighteststar707 · 2 years

Note

Spring Prompts! I'd love to see 6, with Vandy.

<3, BlueJay

Hi Bluejay! Thank you for the request!! This was such an interesting combination, it took me a little while to figure out what to do with it but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy <3

For a bit of context, in this scenario, this takes place around the end of 707's route and the secret ends and the reader isn't MC/associated with the RFA.

Requests are still open!

#6: Cherry blossoms

The blooming period for cherry blossoms lasts approximately two weeks. You looked it up a few nights ago, squinting against the light of your phone in the dark.

You were getting lonely and it was getting harder to ignore. Especially at nighttime, settling into your empty bed never felt quite right. After getting used to Vanderwood's presence in your home, the whole house felt emptier in his absence.

You were prompted to look up the cherry blossoms that just before you fell asleep, brought on by a forgotten memory. Vanderwood lying opposite you in bed the last time he stayed over. His voice was soft, the way it only is right before he falls asleep. He whispered promises about taking you on proper dates and even seeing the cherry blossoms in the spring. He hated leaving you as much as you hated him leaving.

At any other time of day, you were understanding. Patient, even. You knew what he was - within the limits of how much he was willing to tell you. You could guess at the gaps in his stories. It wasn’t anything good, and there wasn’t a way out. You knew full well that you shouldn’t even know of his existence, but you did. You loved him. And this was part of loving him.

At night, it was harder to fight the frustration. It was easy to become moody, petulant - at least it kept out the fear. If you could direct all your energy into things like hypothetical cherry blossom dates, you didn’t need to think about how long he had actually been gone for. What would happen if he never came back. Maybe that's why you associated his return to the arrival of the cherry blossoms.

As you rolled over in bed that night, trying to get comfortable, bitter disappointment pooled in your stomach. Nowadays, seeing Vanderwoood had been as much an event as seeing those damn flowers. Blink and you miss him. His last stay was painfully short, just one night. He was gone before you woke up the next day. It didn't help that he had been gone for far longer than usual. It had been at least a month since you last heard from him.

The information sticks in your mind over the next few days. Two weeks. Cherry blossom season wasn't too far away. You had unintentionally started a mental countdown that you had no way of stopping. Every day, as you passed the trees on your way to work, you noticed the little buds growing. The promise of something. It can’t be much longer now. He has to come back.

The first day of the season arrives and you’re greeted by trees in full bloom. You’re antsy all day. There's a key hidden that only he knows where to find, and you're half expecting him to be in your house when you came back. Of course, pillow talk isn't really a reliable thing to hold him to. The house is as empty as you had left it. You feel foolish.

You spend the rest of the week trying to keep yourself busy. Every hour it gets harder to ignore that fear that you had spent so long trying to avoid. Another day of him being gone. Another day of silence.

You wake up on the first day of the second week to the sound of your front door closing. There’s rustling, the sound of someone moving around. A bump, and someone swearing under their breath. Him.

You step out of your bedroom and the first thing you notice is that there are cherry blossom petals all across the floor of your living room. It had become impossible lately to go anywhere without getting them on you.

You relish the sight of him, standing in the middle of the room, still halfheartedly rubbing his knee from where he must have bumped it.

“This wasn’t here before.” He says, gesturing to the small table as if to explain his clumsiness. His voice sounds the same as always, if a bit tired. His eyes, however, tell you all you need to know; he looks at you like you’ve jumped out of a dream.

“I got it recently,” you say, willing yourself not to move from your spot in the hall. You take him in, looking for any new scars and bruises. Nothing. He just looks tired, more so than usual.

All your patience dissolves and you cross the room to wrap your arms around his middle. He holds you tight against him and you can hear his heart beating. Finally.

“You’re here,” you whisper against his chest.

“I’m here.” His voice softer than you’ve ever heard before “And I'm not leaving you again.”

You freeze, look up at his face. He knows better than to feed you empty promises.

“What? What about the… the agency?” He winces at your mention of the word.

“It’s gone... I’m free. You’ve seen all that chaos on the news?” In fact, you had. It had been all everyone could talk about. Politicians, CEOs, celebrities were all suddenly scrambling to try and save their public image after a massive data leak.

What happened while he was gone? You would have to ask him later. For now it could wait.

You reach up to dust a stray cherry blossom petal off his shoulder and kiss his cheek. His hands wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

"So, doll, miss me?"

#spring requests #anon #mystic messenger #mystic messenger vanderwood #mary vanderwood 3rd #vanderwood #mysme vanderwood #my writing

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prettywordsyouleft · 2 years

Text

Out Of The Shadows - Part 16

Summary: Singing was the only thing that kept you breathing. To Kihyun, you were too talented to step away from. And by a cruel twist of fate, because of him, you became a singer - except you only sang in the shadows.

Pairing: Yoo Kihyun x female reader

Genre: idol au / angst / drama / romance

Warnings: Y/N has a serious injury, and ongoing implications from it that might trigger some people.

Word count: 2201

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final

“I need you to do this for me.”

Laughing incredulously, you shook your head. “Nina, this is absurd.”

“I really like this song, Y/N,” she said with a whine, holding onto your hand. “So, we’re doing it together.”

“Of course we are,” you said, biting down the sharp pang in your heart that accompanied the thought of your upcoming performance.

You did love the song. It was everything you had hoped for in your first duet. It was as if all those months ago spent in Boah’s studio had led to this moment in time. Your dedication to each other’s voice back then had manifested in this one song in your career that you loved so much that you hated it.

Hated that you wouldn’t sing it on stage by Kihyun’s side.

However, you were grateful that things with Nina were back to how they had been. If anything, she had been too accommodating lately and rather needy.

Like right now.

“I will be backstage, remember? There’s no need for me to be trying on any dresses today.”

Nina rolled her eyes dramatically. “I want you to shine. This is your baby with Kihyun. If I have to be on stage in your place, you should at least look beautiful for the moment too. I won’t have it any other way! I told Melody so, and she reluctantly agreed. Don’t make me lose this edge. Please!”

“It sounds ridiculous, but I’ll humour you.”

“Good because I already prepared you a dress!”

You laughed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“I’m close with the stylists. They were all too happy to fulfil my princess moment.”

“Princess moment?” you echoed, suddenly concerned. “Nina, I don’t know. Maybe I—”

“I requested only the softest of fabric. And it’s fully sleeved. Come on!”

Allowing the redhead to drag you further into the dressing room, you found yourself in a bit of a daze as you took it all in. Outfits for all different types of events and both genders filled every section of the room. Racks upon racks were organised by season, fashion type, and even by the artist. It was a walk-in catalogue of the past and future of Starship idols. And since you had no need to enter here before, you were now out of your depth.

Nina giggled. “I was like you the first time I came in here. But come on! We haven’t got a whole lot of free time, and Susi will need a few days to make any alterations.”

“Huh?” you breathed out, blinking several times.

You hadn’t thought of clothing much since the accident. Hoodies, baggy tees, and leggings were your usual pick. They were comfortable, and the fabric was usually soft enough to endure. Some of the dresses you walked by were dazzling, and yet you could tell the textile would irritate you to no end.

Still, you felt a strange urge to want to play dress up. Even if your skin rebelled afterwards.

After being shoved into a changing cubicle, Nina left you there with the instruction of stripping down to your undergarments. Had you not resolved your issues, you’d be worried about obeying her orders. However, you trusted this wasn’t a moment to showcase any of your weaknesses, and you slowly removed your layers, waiting somewhat vulnerably in the cubicle.

“I’m coming in!” Nina chimed a moment later, pushing open the curtain over the door and carrying something…

“Nina, no.”

“‘Nina, this is absolutely beautiful, and I cannot wait to put it on,’ is what you truly mean, right? Come on, arms up! I’ll help it over your head.”

Stunned, you lifted your arms, and the taller girl helped you into the grey gown. As she promised, the material felt slinky and soft against your skin despite the overlayer of sparkly tulle. You watched the mirror in front of you as Nina did up the back of the dress, her eyes shining brightly in the reflection.

Yours were wet. “I look…”

“Like a beautiful sparkly dark star,” Nina offered, her smile widening. “Fit for someone who should shine even in the shadows.”

“Thank you,” you whispered, blinking several times to steady your emotions as you gripped the hand she thrust towards you for comfort. You then looked at your bag. “I should take a photo so I can send it to—”

“Nuh-uh. This is a secret. Everyone you want to see it can on the performance night.”

You frowned. “How? I’ll be backstage.”

“We’ll take photos together. You don’t even have makeup on.”

You laughed hoarsely. “I suppose that would complete this look.”

“You’re beautiful, Y/N. Don’t let anyone tell you that your worth is only your voice. I’m… I’m sor-”

“You’ve apologised enough. It’s fine, Nina.”

She nodded stiffly before embracing you again. “I cannot wait to perform this song with you now.”

You had to admit you were looking forward to it a little more now too.

It was more chaotic than usual on the day of your duet performance. Nerves were high between staff and performers, and you had barely spent enough time with Nina or Kihyun once you arrived on set. They had been going over the stage setup for the showcase whilst you had been in vocal rehearsal. Now that you were here, you had been pulled this way and that, some staff not knowing who you were and directing you into the wrong departments until you had enough and sourced out Nina and Kihyun yourself.

Terry was present when you found them, and you settled with a soft smile in Kihyun’s direction before hugging Nina quickly as she got her makeup applied.

“How’s your voice?” Terry asked, tone strained. He kept checking between the phone and tablet he held, barely lifting his gaze in your direction.

“I’m prepared.”

“Good. Don’t do much talking until you’re ready to go up.”

Kihyun snorted. “Talking isn’t going to tire out her vocal cords.”

“My singer, my rules,” the producer bit back before lifting his phone to his ear and walking off whilst yelling into the receiver.

You cringed. “He seems pleasant today.”

“There’s been some sort of scandal that he’s been dealing with – unrelated to us – and so he’s been like that all day,” Nina informed with a roll of her eyes. “How long until the showcase starts?”

Kihyun checked his phone. “An hour.”

“Perfect. Y/N, I’ll have plenty of time to help you before I go up on stage.”

“Oh, you don’t—”

“And Kihyun will be a doll and leave us to our girly time until then, right?” Nina continued, surprising both you and your boyfriend with how confident she was acting.

“Do I get a say?” Kihyun edged, giving you a confused look, and you shrugged back at him.

“No. But I promise you’ll be happy that you do as I say,” the youngest announced, and you laughed softly. She truly was coming out of her shell over these last few weeks.

“Okay, I’ll trust in you, so long as the girly time doesn’t eat into your practice of how to let yourself go into that high note. You’re basically perfect but—”

“I’ll get it done. Kiss your girlfriend and be gone, won’t you?” Nina cut in with a clap of her hands, and Kihyun’s eyes were nearly as wide as yours were with surprise. Nina giggled. “This is too much fun!”

“Shouldn’t you be more careful about what you say?” you asked, your nervous gaze shifting to the makeup artist.

The staff member smirked lightly but didn’t answer.

Nina huffed dramatically. “One look at the pair of you, and everyone could figure it out.”

“I suppose I am that obvious,” Kihyun answered with a grin, reaching over to ruffle the ends of Nina’s hair playfully, leaping away before her hand could strike as she shrieked at him.

You grinned. It was nice to see how close they had gotten with their time together practising.

Kihyun moved to take your hand, pulling you over to the far wall to have some privacy. You smiled up at him as he reached to cup your face. “You doing okay?”

“Yep.”

“Are you sure?” he pressed, and you rolled your eyes. “I hate that it’s not how we want this to go.”

“I’m happy with the situation,” you answered truthfully. You had made peace with it earlier in the day and knowing that Nina had messaged you earlier with a picture of your dress bag had you almost forgetting about the fact you wouldn’t be up on stage tonight. At least when Kihyun came backstage, he’d get to see you in the most beautiful dress you’d ever wear.

And that was worth what you had to sacrifice in order to sing together.

“I better go and leave you and Nina to this girly time as she called it.”

“I suppose you should.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Should I be worried?”

“Not at all.” Stretching up to peck his cheek, you then cringed at the taste of his skin.

Kihyun laughed heartily. “I have a pound of stage-ready makeup on.”

“Go before you laugh that pound of makeup off.”

“With my skills, nothing will remove it,” the makeup artist announced proudly from across the room, and you flushed with colour.

Kihyun returned the kiss, laughing at your scrunched expression when he wiped at your cheek playfully. “I’ll see you after we’re done on stage. Hurry up and practice, Nina!”

Once he was gone, you returned to Nina, her eyes glinting with mischief. “He’s so bossy!”

“So are you today. And what’s with that look?”

“It’s time to play dress-up, Y/N!”

“Is this going to be uncomfortable?”

“Not with Viviana and I here. We’re going to make you a showstopper.”

“I doubt that’s what anyone needs me to do today,” you replied, looking between them whilst Viviana pushed you towards the changing room with your dress bag against your chest.

Once in the dress, it was a flurry of arms and tools. Makeup was applied, your hair was styled and at some point, Nina had disappeared altogether. You looked around yourself for her when Viviana was done. “Where did Nina go?”

“Out to practice with Kihyun. Didn’t you hear her say that?”

You cringed softly. “I guess I was a little lost in all of this.”

“You know, you have beautiful skin,” Viviana told you, and you almost laughed at the irony. “You’re not like other idols who have enough skin concerns that I have to work my magic over scarring and blemishes.”

“Isn’t it a good thing that I’m not an idol who has to endure all this makeup often,” you murmured, staring back at yourself in the mirror again.

You weren’t normally vain. Aside from scrutinising your faults, you often refused to take more than a glance in anything that reflected you.

But tonight, you were different. This is how you imagined yourself to look when you stood on stage singing your songs. You were blemish-free, and somehow, with the makeup, hair, and dress, you looked every part of the singers you watched on TV or from backstage.

You wished that tonight the limelight would get to see you like this. Just once.

“Starlet is on in ten,” a stage manager called into the dressing room, and you jumped up, reaching for your microphone case and in-ears.

“Thank you, Viviana,” you said before leaving the room, not quite seeing the way the makeup artist was looking at you as she rushed you out of the door.

You found Melody waiting backstage for you a few minutes later, her eyes wide with concern. You looked down at yourself and laughed awkwardly. “I look ridiculous just to sing back here, I know. But it was Nina—”

“She’s missing.”

“What?!”

“Nina has gone somewhere, and no one can find her. Kihyun’s already up on stage talking with the host for tonight, and the stage will begin in five minutes.”

“We need to find her!”

Melody nodded, though her gaze swept over you again. “Did Nina and you come up with a plan?”

“For?”

“Never mind. Stand here and wait for me to return with her.”

You nodded. Looking around yourself, you started to panic. Perhaps Nina was in the bathroom. Or she was just getting some fresh air. She had been worried about doing this song live for the past couple of days now and was jittery all last night too.

Maybe you should have spent the last hour talking her up instead of being made over.

Or perhaps there was something more happening here. Something that you only clicked onto right before the phone in your hand buzzed to confirm it. Glancing down at the screen, you read over the message Nina had sent you.

And before you could run away or find someone to delay the performance, the staff around you started calling for Starlet to prepare to go up on stage.

I need you to step out there in my place tonight. Out of the shadows, just like the title of the song. Please don’t let me down. This is for you.

You are more than just a voice.

_________________

Final Part

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study-coffee-chicago · 3 years

Text

Seasons of PD: Season 3: Jay’s Missing (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister! Imagine)

As always, I don't own any quotes from the episode that happen to be in here!

Your age: 14

Jay's age: 28

Will's age: 30

"C'mon Jay," you muttered as you called him for the third time in an hour.

It was the one night a month where you and your brother would go out to dinner together and if there was a hockey game on, you'd finish watching it at his apartment. Then, he'd take you home. He was skeptical about doing it tonight since you had end-of-the-year exams next week, but you reassured him that you'd be fine; taking a break for a few hours never hurt anybody. And, you had all Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night after school to study since exams didn't start until Tuesday.

"You've reached Jay Halstead--" You quickly ended the call and began texting Ruzek. Hopefully, he'd cave and tell you what was going on.

But, when the read sign popped up seven minutes later, you knew something was up. If Jay was going to be late, he would've called you, or at least texted.

Since it was late May, the sun was out later than in the winter, which meant that it wouldn't be dark for another couple of hours. So, you grabbed a light sweatshirt and pulled it on, grabbed your phone and a few dollars and put them in your pocket, shouting a "bye Dad" on the way out...not that he cared what you did anyway.

You walked a few blocks to the El train stop, put your dollar in for your ticket, and hopped on. While you were on there, you were sure to have Ruzek's number pulled up on your phone and were ready to hit the call button in case something happened to you.

You looked at the map. The 21st District was just a few stops away. Soon, you'd know why Jay wasn't answering you. Hopefully, he was just out on a raid, handcuffing the bad guys.

***

"Kim," you said as you rushed into the district and saw the officer. "Do you know where my--"

You were cut off by the faint sound of a scream.

"Do I know where who is, Y/N?" she asked, completely ignoring what she had just heard.

"Jay, but that sounded like him screaming!"

You ran up the stairs to Intelligence, tugging on the gate even though you knew it wouldn't open without a member scanning their palm or Platt buzzing you up.

"Was that Jay? Is he there?" you yelled.

"Y/N, we can't let you up there right now," Kim explained.

"Why not? Jay told me we'd go out for dinner tonight and he always calls if he's gonna be late."

You looked up to see Ruzek coming towards the door.

"Would it kill you to answer a text?" you asked.

"Sorry, been busy."

"At least let me upstairs and then you can tell me where Jay is and I'll be out of your hair."

Ruzek sighed and allowed you to go up, Kim following you as well.

"Or Detective Halstead winds up as fertilizer in some cornfield in Indiana. We understand each other, Sergeant?"

"What'd he want?" Antonio asked, everyone totally unaware that you were now in the room.

"Halstead's life for all our CI files."

"H- His life?" you asked, frozen on the top step to the bullpen.

"Shit," Kevin muttered.

"Is he in trouble? Is he dead? Is that why he didn't answer my calls?" Your bottom lip started to tremble.

Antonio took a deep breath. He knew that if Gabby was in trouble that he'd want as much detail about what was happening as possible. "Something uh, something went wrong earlier," he supplied. "And then, because of that, some dealers took your brother."

"They took him? Took him where?"

"We don't know yet, kid," Al said. "But, that's what we're trying to find out."

When you heard that they didn't know where he was, you ran off towards the locker room. Ruzek tried to put his foot between the wall and the door to stop you from closing it and locking yourself in, but you were too fast for him.

You pulled out your phone and dialed a number you knew you probably should've called earlier when you first thought that Jay was in trouble.

"Erin? Jay's missing. You gotta find him. You're his partner."

***

Erin blearily reached for the phone, still trying to get over her hangover from last night--which lasted well into this morning--to go out for another night of non-stop partying, drinking, and drugs. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw your name pop up.

"Hell--"

"Erin? Jay's missing. You gotta find him. You're his partner."

"He's--" She cleared her throat. "He's missing? What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I- I called him because we had a dinner and he didn't pick up, so eventually I just- I came down to the district and I heard someone on the phone say they're going to turn him into fertilizer, Erin."

"Do you know who it was?" she asked as she grabbed her service weapon and slid it into the waistband of her jeans...the same clothes she had been wearing since last night. A call that her boyfriend was missing was definitely curing her hangover fast.

"I don't know. It was- It was some dealer. But, you gotta come here and help them find him. You're his partner. Please." Your voice cracked on the last word.

"Okay, okay, I'll call Will to come pick you up and explain the situation. I'm leaving my apartment right now. I'll be there soon."

"Please don't call Will," you urged. "He's gonna be mad at me."

"Why's he gonna be mad at you?"

"Because I took the El and I'm not supposed to take the El by myself."

"Y/N, you taking the El by yourself is the least of his problems at the moment. Just sit tight and I should be there in about ten minutes."

***

"Y/N, c'mon open this door. Please?" you heard your oldest brother's voice on the other side of the door. "I know you're worried about Jay, but it's not gonna help at all if you just lock yourself in here all night."

You sniffled and then walked over to the door and unlocked it. "Will!" you cried, rushing into his arms. "He's gone, he's gone, he's gone."

"Hey, hey it's okay. You're okay. They're gonna find him and then you can have two dinners with him next month because you missed yours this month."

The number of times Jay had been shot or hurt on the job had caused Will to basically be immune to hearing bad news about his little brother. But, if Jay didn't come back or flatlined, then he'd be freaking out. And, despite Will wanting to scream at all of Intelligence to go find him, he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't lash out right now because it'd only make it worse for you.

Your stomach growled, making Will go into even more protective brother mode. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Lunch," you answered.

"Y/N, it's 7:30. We gotta get some food in you."

"But, but what if he comes back? I wanna see him when he comes back."

"I'm gonna be honest with you. When he comes back, he's probably gonna need to go to the hospital just as a precaution. And, I know you have exams soon and your algebra one is stressing you out. I don't think Jay would want you to fail an exam just because you were worried about him."

"I hate math," you grumbled.

"I know. That's why you need to make sure you study."

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna end up liking it because I have to work on it."

Will didn't know what to say to that because he knew that you were right. So, he reiterated his previous point. "Let's go get you some food."

"Can-Can we just eat at home?" you asked. "I don't wanna not be home and hear bad news about Jay."

Will knew what you were getting at: you didn't want to break down in public.

"Yeah, we can do that. Still got a bunch of mac n cheese at home?"

"A few boxes," you answered, remembering how bare the cupboards were at your and your dad's house.

"We'll just grab something on the way home. C'mon."

"Can Erin come, too?" you asked.

"Go ask her. And, don't take the El by yourself. That's dangerous."

You rolled your eyes and followed him out of the locker room and into the bullpen.

"Erin," you started as you walked up to her desk. She had her head in her hands.

"Hmmm?" she asked looking up.

"Do you wanna come back to my house and eat dinner with me and Will?"

"I don't know if--"

"She'll come," Voight answered before she could finish.

"Hank!"

"Erin, we'll still be here working when you're done with dinner. Lord knows you could use some food in you."

"Fine." She stood up and grabbed her coat. "Not like you're letting me help with the case anyway," she muttered. But, no one heard that part.

Since she had quit Intelligence in Bunny's bar a few weeks ago, Voight was right in having her not work the case...not that she'd admit that. But this was her boyfriend, her partner, that was in trouble and she'd be damned if she didn't help get him out of this mess.

***

"Dad's not home?" Will asked as he let them into the house using the spare key that was hidden under a layer of dirt in the flower pot.

"He never is," you mumbled.

"What? What do you mean he's never home?"

"I mean, he's never home on Friday nights because he always goes out to the bar with some old friends," you told him. That was at least true. He did go out to the bar with some old friends...but it wasn't just Friday nights anymore, it was Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Thursday and Sunday, too. Because of this, he ate out a lot and didn't cook. Therefore, he had no reason to buy a lot of groceries, which was why there wasn't a lot of dinner food left in the cupboard...not that there was a lot of breakfast or lunch food here either, though. There was just enough for you to play it off that your dad just needed to go to the store. There was just enough for your brothers not to worry.

"Okay." Will started to grab the Olive Garden you had ordered out of the bag. You said you weren't hungry--you didn't want to eat when you were this nervous-- and had only wanted to get some minestrone soup. But, Will insisted that you needed more than that so you compromised: minestrone soup and half an order of fettuccine alfredo...plus the breadsticks and the salad that came with the meal obviously.

A while later, Will was almost done with his food and was grabbing another breadstick and Erin was putting more salad onto her plate. You, on the other hand, had barely managed to finish your minestrone.

"Y/N, can you please eat a bit more? How about a breadstick? I know you love those," Will said.

"I'm not that hungry," you said quietly.

Will was about to say something when Erin stepped in. "How about you work on some of your homework? Maybe that'll make your appetite come back since you're using a lot of energy to focus. And, Jay mentioned that you have exams next week."

"He did?" you asked. You didn't think that Jay would mention stuff that you had going on in your life, like exams, to Erin.

"He always says how proud of you he is for working so hard in school...because he says that he was never as good in school as you."

"He really says he's proud of me?"

"He sure does."

"You guys mind if I do it out here? It's a lot easier to write stuff down when I'm writing in my notebook on the table instead of balancing it in my lap on my bed."

"Sure, kiddo," Will said.

You went to your room and grabbed your backpack and then started to work on your homework.

As you were working on it, your brain wandered back to the first time Jay had helped you with your math homework, all the way back in kindergarten, at this very kitchen table, when both of your parents had been working and Will was all the way in New York for his first year of med school.

You were sitting at the kitchen table, trying not to crumple up your math homework sheet and throw it across the room. It was only five subtraction problems, but subtraction was hard! You had only just started understanding addition!

You threw your pencil across the kitchen, where it narrowly missed the wall. It clattered to the floor, causing Jay to look up from where he was reading a book in the living room, the chair he had been sitting in was facing the kitchen, so he could keep an eye on you.

"Did you throw that?" he asked as he walked towards you.

"No," you lied.

He picked up the pencil. "If you lie, you get nine minutes in time out instead of six."

You didn't want to go in time out that long!

"I throwed it," you admitted, looking down at your math homework.

"It's threw, but thank you for being honest. Can you tell me why you threw the pencil?"

That was something his mom always did with him when he was younger: asked him why he did something and then, possibly put him in time out. Sometimes, he just needed to talk it out, and if that was the case, he didn't have to go into time out.

"I don't get sub-trac-shun!" you complained. "It's stupid!"

"Hey, we don't use that word."

"But it's hard."

"I know, but what if I help you? Would that help you to get it?"

"But Will said you not good at math," you pointed out, remembering something your oldest brother had said.

Jay chuckled. "I'm not good at big kid math. This stuff is easy for me."

"It's easy?"

"Oh, yeah. And, I think I might have something that can help you."

He walked over to the cupboard and reached up to the top shelf where he grabbed a bag of chocolate chips. He poured some into a small bowl and then walked back to the table and sat down next to you.

"We gonna eat chocolate?" you asked. "Even though I throwed-- I threw my pencil?"

"This is gonna help you learn subtraction."

"How?"

"Just watch." He paused and looked at the paper in front of you. "So, this one says five minus two."

"I know that," you told him proudly. "I know it says five minus two. I dunno what the an- the answer is though."

"Okay, well, take five chocolate chips out of here."

He held the bag out to you while you took five out, counting each one out loud. "What do I do now?"

"Now, if I eat two--" he popped two in his mouth. "--how many do you have now?"

You looked down at the chocolate chips. "One...Two...Three. I have three choc-chips!"

"That's right! So, five minus two is...?"

You scrunched up your face, trying to piece together what he had done. "I dunno."

"We had five chocolate chips. I ate two. How many did you say we have left?"

"Three!"

"Yeah. Five minus two is the same thing...just without me adding chocolate chips to the end."

"Huh?"

"Here." He took your paper from you and on the first three problems, he wrote chocolate chips after each number. "Five chocolate chips minus two chocolate chips is...?"

"Three!"

"Yeah! Good job! Now, write three down as your answer."

The next problem was three chocolate chips minus one chocolate chip and you did the same thing this time. Except, you got to eat the chocolate instead of Jay. You had two chocolate chips left this time.

Then, when you got to the last two problems that didn't say chocolate chips after the numbers, Jay showed you on your fingers how to figure out the answer.

Then, since you did such a good job, he let you watch Dora and eat some more chocolate chips.

"Y/N? Y/N? You good?" You were snapped out of your thoughts by Will saying your name.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine." You reached over the table to grab your pencil that had rolled towards Will. But, as you were reaching for it, your elbow knocked the two-liter of pop. "No!" you cried out as it spilled. It didn't just spill anywhere though...it spilled right on top of your algebra notebook. "Fuck this! I can't do this!"

You threw your pop-covered and sticky notebook on the ground and sprinted to the bathroom, ignoring Will and Erin's calls for you to come back.

You locked the door and slumped down against it. God, you needed that notebook. That had your entire exam review in it. And, if you didn't finish the exam review, you couldn't take the exam.

You only had 25 more problems left out of the 220 you had to do, hence why the review was given to you a month before you actually had to take the exam, so you had time to do it. And, some kids would wait until the last minute, but you figured you'd start early and do a certain number of problems a day so you didn't have to stress out and had time to ask your teacher questions if you had any.

But now, now you had a matter of days to do all 220 problems...and you had other exams to study for...and your big brother was missing...and...

Shit, here comes the Olive Garden.

You jumped up and lifted the lid of the toilet, quickly emptying the minestrone soup from your stomach.

"Y/N? Y/N! Open this door!" Will yelled as he banged on the door.

You leaned back against the bathtub and took a few deep breaths, willing yourself not to throw up again. You groaned as you felt the liquid rise in your throat and were back above the toilet in a matter of seconds.

You were panting at this point and trying to take a few breaths before more came out. Because you were so focused on making sure you didn't inhale your own vomit (ew) you didn't hear Will pick the lock and enter the bathroom.

When all that was left for you to throw up was bile and you were finished, you closed your eyes and leaned back against the bathtub once more, and took deep breaths.

"So that's why you didn't want to eat any more than you did," Will said.

"Will? How'd you get in here?"

"I picked the lock, Jay's not the only person in this family who knows how to do that, you know."

"I hate this," you mumbled, eyes still closed. "It happened last semester with exams too, but it wasn't this bad."

"Kid, you're stressing yourself out too much. You have to take a chill pill."

"I c-can't!"

"Okay," Will started as he crouched down next to you. "Why can't you relax?"

"I spilled pop all over my notebook!"

"So? You already practiced those problems. You know you don't need to practice them again, so just do the ones you need to practice."

"You don't get it!" You frantically rubbed the heels of your hands over your eyes as tears started to stream from them. "I needed that notebook! If I don't turn in the entire exam review I c-can't take the exam." You sighed and just put your head in your hands. This night seriously could not get any worse at this point. "And, Jay's miss- Jay's missing!"

"Y/N, I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay? Just take one."

"O-Okay." You took a deep, yet shaky breath.

"Now another."

You took another deep, yet shaky breath. And, you continued this cycle until Will deemed your breathing to be back to normal.

"How about you brush your teeth and then we'll figure out what to do for the homework once you do that. Sound good?" You nodded and stood up to go to the sink. "I'll be in the kitchen with Erin."

Then, Will exited the bathroom to go back into the kitchen like he told you.

"How is she?" Erin asked when she saw him come in. She had started cleaning up their take-out containers while Will had been busy trying to calm you down. "Sounded like she was puking."

"Because she was."

"Is she sick?"

"Not in the technical sense. But, she is what I like to call stress sick."

"Stress sick?"

"Exams are stressing her out, so add on top of the fact that Jay's missing, and she got so stressed out that she threw up."

"Poor kid," Erin sympathized. Then, her phone buzzed. "I gotta get back to the district. Tell her to feel better from me."

"Will do." He started to walk Erin towards the door, but stopped when they were almost to it. "And Erin? Bring my little brother back. Even though he's a pain in my ass half the time, I can't lose him. And, I know Y/N would take it really hard."

"Will, he's got the best unit in all of Chicago looking for him. We'll bring him back."

A few minutes after Erin had left, you walked into the kitchen, with clean teeth and the gross taste of vomit now out of your mouth, to see Will sitting at the table, staring at your notebook with a roll of paper towel next to him. "What are you doing?" you asked as you sat down.

"Trying to get the stain out," he replied.

"How? It's like the entire notebook, not just one page."

"You're talking to the king of spilled coffee on homework. And, lucky for you, pop and coffee are both water-based. So, I think I know how to get this out. You're gonna need to rewrite it in a new notebook, though."

"Okay. Need any help?"

"Can you just get me a bowl filled with water?"

"The paper's already wet. Why do you want to make it wetter?"

"Just trust me on this one." You yawned. "After you grab that for me, maybe you should go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Will you stay here?"

"Of course. I can just sleep in my old bedroom...unless Dad did something to it. Speaking of Dad, is he usually out this late? Does he usually leave you home alone this late at night?"

You were filling up a bowl with water and turned to look at Will. You shrugged. "Sometimes. It's okay, though." That was a lie. Most nights he didn't get home until two or three in the morning...but, Will didn't need to know that.

"I'm going to have a chat with Dad about that. He shouldn't be leaving you home alone this late at night."

"Will, it's not even that late. I'm fine." You placed the bowl of water on the table.

"Fine. But if it hits midnight and he's not home yet, then I will be talking with him about this."

You nodded. "Well, I'm gonna go to bed. 'Night Will. Sorry about getting sick."

"You don't have to apologize for that." He stood up and pulled you into a hug. "Goodnight."

You started to walk towards your bedroom when you remembered something and turned back to Will. "Will?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think Jay's okay? He's gotta be okay, right?"

"Y/N, he's got the best unit in the city looking for him."

"And Erin."

"And Erin," he confirmed. "He'll be okay." But, in that moment he didn't know who he was trying to reassure more: you or himself.

***

"You wanna go somewhere today?" Will asked as you were both sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal the next morning.

"I have homework to do...a lot more than I thought I'd have, too. Did Erin give you any updates on Jay?" you asked.

He shook his head. "But, he's gonna be okay. And, you don't have a ton of homework to do. You have a ton of homework to copy."

"What do you mean?"

At this, he placed the notebook on the table. "I told you I knew what I was doing."

You flipped open the notebook to see that Will was right: he did in fact know what he was doing. Even though the pages were all still tinted a light brown from the pop, the writing from you doing all the practice problems was still legible. "How did you...?" you trailed off as you continued to flip through your algebra notebook.

"Like I told you, I spilled coffee on one too many notebooks in college. Now all you need to do is copy the problems down into a clean notebook. Save you some brainpower."

"Thank you."

"Now, I suggest we got to CCU's library so you can get a change of scenery while doing that."

"CCU? Why? And, you're not a student there anymore. How are we gonna get in?"

Will scoffed. "They don't check student IDs when you go in. And, a change in my workspace always helped me to focus when I was studying, so maybe it'll help you."

"Workspace," you mocked. "So professional. But, yeah, let's do that. Can we keep our phones on though in case Erin calls?"

Will nodded. "Of course."

***

Getting into CCU wasn't actually that hard. All Will had to do was pay $10 for a day pass to park and then you walked into the library, no student ID necessary.

"Okay kiddo, where are we sitting?" he asked.

"I don't know. I've never been here before. Where did you normally sit?"

"Second floor. It's generally quieter up there and the tables are big, so I could throw my books all over it. But, I'd come back down here for coffee a lot, too."

"There's a coffee shop?" you asked as you widened your eyes. "In the library?"

"Well, tuition is out of this world. So, at least we get something out of it."

"Can we go? I think I have $5 somewhere in my backpack."

"If prices haven't gone up since I was here when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, then I can get a muffin and a large coffee for $5. I'll have the coffee and you can have the muffin. I'll pay," Will told you.

"Okay, thank you! And, you're not that old, Will."

You got your triple chocolate muffin and Will got his large coffee. Then, you found one of the big tables that he had mentioned and started copying your algebra review into another notebook.

"What are you going to do? Sit here and stare off into space?" you asked your brother. "Wait," you began as you started to rummage around in your backpack for an eraser, "What's this?"

You set a big book on the table. And it's definitely not something you'd read because it was called "How We Learn", which you assumed meant that the book was nonfiction and went into the science of learning.

"I found it in my room. Must've left it there from Christmas last year and I haven't had a chance to read it, so I figured I'd bring it to read now."

"Fair enough."

***

"Did Jay ever want to go to college?" you asked a few hours later. "Or, did he know it just wasn't right for him?"

"I think he always knew he wanted to do something involving being on the front lines and being in all the action," Will answered, dog-earing the page in his book and setting it down. "Why? You don't want to go to college either?"

"No, I do," you said quickly. "It's just- I just want to know things that I've never asked him if we...you know..."

Will nodded. "I know you're worried about him, but if Hank Voight's anything like Jay's told me, he won't let anything happen to one of his own."

"But he let it happen to Jules," you said. What if Jay was the next Jules?

"Jules? Who's Jules?"

"She was Antonio's partner. Antonio's the reason Jay got into Intelligence. And one day, he said we were going to go see a movie. Like, he just randomly picked me up from school and everything. I could tell he was sad after the movie, and it wasn't a sad movie, and he told me that someone he worked with died. A little later, we were walking by the memorial wall by the district and he showed me her name."

"I see," Will said, drawing on his talking-to-patient skills because what else was he going to say?

Luckily, he was saved by his phone ringing.

"Hello? Erin?" Pause. "He's at Med?" Pause. "Okay, yeah, we'll be there in ten minutes."

"He's okay?" you asked as soon as Will ended the call. "Jay's okay? They found him?"

Will nodded. "He's at Med. Erin said he's a little bruised, but he was conscious, so that's good."

You took Will's book and shoved it in your backpack along with your schoolwork. "Let's go."

***

"Nat, really, my ribs don't need to be wrapped. I'm fine," Jay protested as he sat in a treatment room at Chicago Med, Erin standing next to him in some clean clothes that Natalie had let her borrow.

"Jay, your ribs are badly bruised. They need to be wrapped. If you're more comfortable with a guy wrapping them, I can easily call in a male nurse for help," Natalie suggested.

"No, it's not that. I don't care who does it."

"My little brother just doesn't want to bruise his big ego, that's what's going on, Nat," Will said as he entered the treatment room with you by his side.

You jumped when Jay turned and you saw his face and his chest: a black eye that went from the inside corner of his right eye to his right temple, a gash on the top right of his forehead, another gash on the left side of his forehead which was diagonal and above the outside portion of his left eyebrow, a jagged cut that went down his left temple starting at eye level, a split lip, and purple, blue, and red bruises along with some cuts and welts that littered his ribs and chest.

"You're okay?" you asked as your lips pulled into a frown and tears stung your eyes.

"I'm okay. Just a little beat up right now. Nothing to worry about."

Without thinking, you ran to his bed and gave him a hug. He let out a groan as you squeezed a bit too tight, irritating his ribs.

You pulled away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay, my ribs are just gonna be a little sore for a few days."

"I thought you were going to be turned into fertilizer."

"Fertilizer?" Jay furrowed his eyebrows. "Who told you that?"

"When you didn't call me back about dinner, I tried calling Adam, but he didn't pick up either, so I went to the district. I heard some guy on the phone saying he was going to turn you into- into fertilizer. I was so scar- so scared."

Tears rolled down your cheeks faster than you could wipe them away.

Jay stood up with a grimace and walked the few paces over to you, wrapping you in a hug. "Hey, I'm okay now. That's all that matters. And, you did a really good job calling Erin."

"I did?"

"You sure did. She told me all about how you told her that I was gone and that she'd be able to get me out because we're partners." He paused. "She also told me that you took the El by yourself."

"Erin," you whined. "You weren't supposed to tell him that."

"It's okay," Jay said. "I won't tell Dad as long as you don't do it again."

"I won't," you replied. Not like Dad would do anything anyway, you thought to yourself.

"Jay," Will started, "You need to get back into bed."

"It's just bruised ribs, Will. I'm fine," Jay argued.

"It's just bruised ribs, Will. I'm fine," Will mocked. "Yeah, tell me that tomorrow when you can barely walk because of how sore they are. Bed. Now."

"Fine." Jay sat down with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I swear, you're such a child, Halstead," Erin said.

***

You walked out of school a few days later feeling free. Summer was here and you were no longer a middle-schooler. You were now a high schooler.

You started to walk out of campus, the way you took to walk home every day, when you heard the thundering of footsteps behind you, causing you to jump and turn around.

"Jay." You breathed a sigh of relief when you saw it was your brother.

"Hey, figured I'd pick you up. My text must not have gone through."

"Oh, I turned my phone off because of exams. Sorry."

"No problem. C'mon, we're going out to lunch and then we'll stop home to grab your swimsuit."

"Swimsuit? Why?"

"Mom would always take us to Navy Pier on the first day of summer to go swimming. And, since Will's shift ends at 1:00 and I'm on leave because of injury, it's the first year we can actually do this all together."

You nodded, trying to hold back tears at the mention of your mom.

"Hey, let me take your backpack. That thing looks like it's gonna make you topple over." You took it off and handed it to him. "Whoa! What's in here? Rocks?"

You laughed. "Nope, end of the year locker cleanout. Everything that was shoved in my locker is now in there."

"No rotten food I hope," Jay joked.

"No," you laughed. "Why? Did you or Will leave food in your locker?"

"No, we knew better than that. But the kid next to me left a milk carton in there over spring break and that smelled funky when we got back. I started bringing my backpack around with me just so I didn't have to go back to my locker because it smelled so bad."

"We can't do that. Teachers say it's for our safety because of bombs."

Jay opened the door to the backseat and put your backpack in there while you got into the passenger seat. Then, he got in the driver's seat all the while thinking how you knew that that was the reasoning behind that rule. He knew the reasoning because he was a detective. But he thought that most of the time, kids just thought it was some stupid rule.

"How do you know about that?" he asked once he started his truck.

"One of my teachers told us. She was mad at a kid who kept bringing his backpack to class even though she told him not to, so he went off on her and called it a stupid rule and asked why we even had the rule. She told him it was because if there's a bomb threat then she has to check every single backpack. That's why."

"Oh," was all Jay said. He really didn't want to be having this conversation with you, but here he was.

"Is it different?" you asked.

"Is what different?"

"Like, is high school different now than when you were in high school? And how different is middle school from high school?"

"Are you nervous for high school already, kiddo? You just finished eighth grade like fifteen minutes ago!"

You shrugged. "I'm just curious is all." Jay quirked an eyebrow at you while he took his eyes off the road for a split second and then returned them back to the road. "Okay, fine. I'm a little nervous."

"Let's talk about this over brunch, okay?"

"Okay."

***

Of course, Jay knew that you wanted to go to iHOP because breakfast was good at any time of the day. Jay thought differently though and ordered a sandwich instead of breakfast food like you. You had gotten their cinnamon roll pancakes with bacon, sausage, and hashbrowns on the side.

You were waiting for the comment about it being a lot of food, but that never came...which you were thankful for. You didn't know how you were supposed to explain to your very perceptive brother that the reason that you were eating a lot here was that you only had about 3/4 cups of dry cereal this morning before school because you were out of milk. You were out of milk and your dad didn't go grocery shopping. And, it's not like you had enough money to buy groceries or that you knew where your dad kept the money so you could take $20 just to buy food and hide it in your room so that you had something to eat.

"So, what do you want to know about high school?" Jay asked. "Did you get your schedule yet?"

If you were going to Central Chicago High School after going to their middle school, you had the option to schedule your classes the month prior and then you'd see if you'd get those classes. Of course, it might not be possible to get every class with every teacher you want, but it was cool that you got to know right when you finished eighth grade. And, in high school, it was the same thing: on the last day of ninth grade, if you were staying for tenth grade, then you'd get your schedule on the last day of ninth grade. It was sort of weird to you, but you got used to it.

"Is Eva going to be at the beach, too?" you asked. You knew it was her's and Diego's last day of school along with Jordan's and Vanessa's, so you wanted Jordan and Eva to be there when you told everyone your schedule so they could tell you everything they knew about the teachers you had next year.

"I can text Antonio. Why?" Jay asked.

"I just wanted to see if Eva and maybe Jordan would be there because they could tell me everything about the teachers I have."

"I can text Antonio and Kevin. You know what, I'll text Ruz and Burgess too."

"And Mouse."

"And Mouse. Can't forget about him now, can we?"

"What about Erin? Is she coming, too?"

"Uh, I don't know about that. She's had a rough couple of days."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Why?"

"You know how Voight took her in?" You nodded. "Well, after Nadia died, she was backsliding. Badly. And now, she's detoxing and it's kinda hard on a person's body."

"Okay, but seeing you would make her feel better. She's always happy when she's around you. And you always have this big, dopey grin on your face whenever you're around her."

"I do not," Jay protested. You raised your eyebrows at him. "Okay fine, maybe I do that occasionally. I'll text some people and then we can talk about high school."

Jay sent the texts while you continued to eat. He took a few bites of his sandwich and then broached the topic of high school once more by saying, "So, what do you want to know about high school?"

"I dunno. How's it different from when you went to school like twenty years ago."

"Hey! It was not twenty years ago. I'll have you know it was ten years ago!"

"Same thing."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Well, shootings happened, but not as much as they do now." You opened your mouth to ask if Jay had ever responded to one, when he stopped you. "And I know what you're going to ask. No, I didn't respond to one and I wouldn't tell you if I did. What do I always tell you?"

"I'm trying to keep you innocent and sheltered from all the bad stuff in the world," you said verbatim of what he had told you dozens of times when you asked for details of what he was doing at work.

"Word for word. So, we got to carry our backpacks around and it was an open campus."

"It used to be an open campus?" you asked, shocked.

"Yup, we rarely even had to sign out."

"Lucky! I wanna leave school and go to Mcdonald's for lunch!"

"Too bad you weren't born like fifteen years earlier and that could've happened."

"Oh, and we could eat lunch on the roof. There was a way to climb through the ceiling above the indoor track. It's closed now, though."

"Why'd they close it?"

"Yeah, you might want to wait until we're at the beach for me to tell that story since I'm sure everybody else would find it funny."

"Okay..." you trailed off, drawing out the "y". You didn't know why everyone would find a story of a hole in the ceiling being closed funny, but you figured it was best to let Jay have his way...with this one at least. "What's the difference between middle school and high school?"

"Now, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: nobody cares in high school."

"What do you mean?"

"Just ask Eva when we get to the beach."

"She's coming?"

"Her, Diego, Antonio, Kev, Adam, Kim, Jordan, Vanessa, Mouse, Erin, and of course Will are all coming."

***

Luckily, Jay decided to stay in the car while you ran inside your house and changed into a swimsuit, slipping your clothes over top of it so it would be easier when you got to the pier.

"Dawson!" Jay yelled as he walked up the beach, bag in hand filled with his swim trunks, water bottles, and a few bags of chips. Typically, he would've brought beer to the beach, but he had to drive home, with you in the car no less, so no drinking for him.

"Halstead!" Antonio yelled back.

Once you got up close enough, you saw that Gabby was there, too.

"Bring Gabby to be your DD, Antonio?" Jay jokingly asked.

"I mean, I'm sure Ruzek's bringing beer, so I might be able to get away with one."

"Uh uh," Gabby said. "If Kim brings some fruity drinks, you're driving home."

"So, if she brings regular drinks I can have a few beers?"

"Your cap is two, Antonio. You've got these two to take care of." She gestured to Eva and Diego. Diego was already jumping the waves and Eva was laying down on a beach towel starting to get a tan.

"Eva!" Antonio yelled. "Y/N's here!"

"Oh thank God," she said and walked up to you. "Girl, come sit your towel down next to mine and then we can look at your schedule."

"Yeah, I wanna see that, too!" Jay exclaimed.

"Should we wait for Will? And Jordan? Maybe Jordan has some input about the teachers. And, Jay said he has a story to tell about a hole in the ceiling of the high school and he wants to be sure everyone is around to hear it."

Ten minutes later, everyone had arrived and was in their swimming gear. "Okay, what's this story about the ceiling, Jay?" you asked.

"Oh, that story," Will joked.

"Yeah, that one. What other one would there be?"

Will rolled his eyes.

"Okay, before I start, I am going to preface this by saying that I was young and I was very stupid."

"He's stupid every day," Will dramatically leaned over Jay and whispered to Erin.

"Man, would you shut up and let me tell the story?" Will sat in silence for a few seconds. "Thank you.

"We all know about senior pranks. Well, it was my senior year and a few of us from the soccer team decided to pool our money together and buy some live chickens--"

"Did you say chickens? As in chickens with feathers? That squawk?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, real chickens. What other ones would there be?"

"Maybe they were chicken nuggets," Adam suggested.

Jay dramatically sighed. "Antonio, did you miss having me in the unit this week? You and Erin had to put up with these two bozos all by yourself."

"Hey!" Adam and Kevin yelled in unison.

"Anyway, as I was saying, some of us from the soccer team pooled our money together to buy chickens. Real live chickens, not chicken nuggets, Ruz. Then, we chose a Sunday night to get into the school--they always left this one back door unlocked--and we climbed onto the roof from the stairs/hole thingy in the ceiling right above the indoor track.

"Once we got to the roof, we dropped the chickens off of it. But, our stupid lookout got caught and then the cops came."

"You got arrested?" Adam laughed. "This is priceless."

"Didn't get arrested. Just had to do community service to be able to walk at graduation. But, nowadays, yeah, I'd have probably gotten arrested."

"So, that's why they closed it? Because you and your friends decided to drop chickens from the roof?" you asked.

"Exactly."

"Were Mom and Dad mad?" you asked. "I was little. I don't remember."

"They weren't thrilled, I'll tell you that much. I think if I would've gotten arrested it would've been a lot worse."

"He's downplaying it," Will said. "Mom grounded him from everything. Car keys, those crappy Motorola phones we had back then, GameBoy, dates with Allie. He couldn't do anything."

"Does not sound fun. I won't be trying that." You pulled your schedule out of the bag Jay had brought and passed it to your brother first.

"Aw, man, you got Cunningham for history," Jay groaned. "Or should I say Cuntingham."

"Jay!" you yelled.

"That old hag is still teaching? Damn," Will added.

"Okay, what's the issue with her? Eva? Jordan? Anything about this Cunningham lady?"

"She just hates freshman," Eva supplied. "When you become a sophomore it gets better."

"And she hates when you tip back in your chair," Jordan added. "She'll make you pay her 25 cents if she sees you do it in her class."

"Okay, no tipping in chairs, and I have to deal with her for a year, noted." You turned to your brothers. "How do you know of her?"

"I didn't have a problem with her other than the fact that she's a crappy teacher," Will said. "But Jay, on the other hand, he's a different story."

"What'd you do?"

"So, I was a freshman when you were born and Mom went into labor the night before I had a test. And, because everyone hates tests, I went to the hospital with Will that morning and we waited for Mom to you know, be done giving birth to you.

"And, I went to school the next day and this old hag said that because there wasn't a doctor's note that I couldn't take the test--"

"He was this close--" Will pinched his pointer finger and thumb together so that they were almost touching. "--to taking you to school one day just to show you to Cunningham and saying is this a good enough doctor's note for you?"

"But Mom wouldn't let me do that...for obvious reasons. And then, because I couldn't take that one stupid test, I did not do well in that class."

"Just say you're related to me," Will said. "Don't mention Jay's name at all and you'll be fine."

"Got it. I'm gonna go in the water now."

You started to go in the water when you heard Erin and Will trying to convince Jay to go in.

"Dude, I can't roughhouse because of my ribs, you know this!" Jay told Will. "And, I am not going in the water with you again, not after what happened last time."

"Jay, that was twelve years ago, give it rest."

At this, your ears perked up. "What'd Will do?" you asked, walking back up to your brothers and Erin.

"He tried to drown me."

"Did not! I just wanted to see how long you could hold your breath."

"Yeah, see how long it would take me to drown!"

"He tried to drown you?" Erin asked.

"Yeah," Jay answered. "Me and Will were playing in the water. I was like 16 and Will was like 18. Y/N was a little toddler and was playing with her shovel on the beach. Then, Mom had to go to the bathroom, so she left me and Will in charge."

"Bad idea number one," Will said.

"There's more bad ideas. So, Y/N's playing in the sand, me and Will are playing in the water, and then next thing I know, Will's practically on top of me and holding my head underwater."

"And the minute I let you up was the minute Mom came back."

"Yup, perfect timing."

"And then you have Y/N who's sitting on the beach and decided to watch us and was just clapping her hands and chanting again, again!"

"Really?" you asked, as you tried to hold back your laughter. "I did that?" Will nodded and you shrugged. "Sounds pretty accurate to me."

"And then I didn't get ice cream after."

"Yeah, you didn't get ice cream after." Jay took a deep breath. "You almost killed me!"

You rolled your eyes. "I'm going in the water to cool off. Maybe it is best that you guys stay here. But, I mean, Gabby's here and I hope to God Will knows CPR because he's a doctor and that you cops do, too."

Once Will saw that you weren't focused on him and Jay anymore, he turned to his little brother. "Hey, how old was dad when he kinda, you know, clocked out on parenting us?"

"Early high school," Jay answered. "Why are you...oh shit, Y/N."

"Yeah, Y/N," Will reiterated. "And, we had Mom, so it wasn't that bad. But, she doesn't have that."

"She's got us," Jay said. "That's gotta count for something."

A/N: I was going to post this last night, but I almost fell asleep while editing, so it's coming out now. Anyway, not sure how I feel about this one, but I got it done, so that's all that matters. Thank you for reading! Please vlike/reblog and comment and tell me what you think! As always, if you want to be added to the taglist, just comment that you want to be added down below. PS: That story about chickens being dropped into the courtyard at school, yeah my older cousin did that for his senior prank and the lookout got caught and they had to do community service to walk at graduation.

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e

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