bakerstreet | angst

Shifts without Buck by his side are always a pain in the ass. No one works as smoothly with Eddie as his partner does. And today has just been annoying little call after annoying little call. People doing stupid things, shoddy wiring catching fire, a pet bird somehow getting stuck up a tree. They're just about to sit down to a late lunch at the firehouse when the alarm rings again.

It's a minor car accident, dispatch relays. One car crossing an intersection and another running a red light, hitting the passenger side of the other car. Both drivers are alert, talking, and able to leave their vehicles on their own. This call is technically minor on the scale of things they could get called out to, but is just major enough that they're probably going to be on scene for a while. And Eddie is getting a little hangry.

All thoughts of Bobby's cooking leave him, though, when he steps out of the engine and sees a very familiar Jeep on one side of the road, passenger-side door caved in. It feels like he's been transported back in time a few years as he stumbles towards the car. Dimly, he hears Ravi call out behind him and Bobby tell him to let him go. He rushes around to the driver's side and all the breath leaves him when he sees Buck sitting on the runner with her phone in her hand.

He falls to his knees in front of her, eyes wide and breathing quick as he looks her over, hands hovering over her. Eddie doesn't even notice the fine tremble running through them.

"Oh my god," he breathes out. Protocol has gone flying out the window. It's probably a good thing either Hen or Chim is gonna follow him over here in a second. "Are you okay? Tell me where you're hurt."

This was supposed to be just - a normal day off, running errands she doesn't usually get the chance to do otherwise. Chris had wanted to go to the library, so she dropped him off for a few hours with a promise that they'd pick up takeout on the way home. (The fact that there are groceries in the back seat that are going to be bad by the time anyone arranges to do anything with them is immaterial. Sometimes you just know you won't want to cook.)

She'd just gotten Chris on the line to let him know her ETA and ask what he was in the mood for when the other car plows into her.

She's not unconscious at any point, she doesn't think. It's more like the world recedes for a minute, and then some of the shock fades and Chris is still on the phone, begging her to answer him. "I'm here, bud," she says, vaguely aware that her voice is kind of faint. But there's another car partially inside her car, so she thinks she's entitled. "I'm okay, I promise I'm okay. But there was a little accident, so I need to hang up and call 911, okay? Just stay at the library for now. I love you."

If she were any other victim in a car accident, Buck would have told herself to stay put and wait for the ambulance, but she's not pinned to anything and nothing hurts like it's a severe problem and there's still another car and another driver. So yeah, she gets out and ignores the way her limbs shake and practically her entire body aches to go check on the other driver.

Once she's reported to dispatch that he seems to be okay, too - awake, talking, capable of moving, and apologizing profusely to her though the most she can muster right now is gratefulness that this wasn't so much worse than it is, not so much forgiveness - she returns to her car to wait for the ambulance. She keeps the call open until she sees the emergency vehicles arrive, but she sends some reassuring texts to Chris in the meantime.

It honestly doesn't occur to her until Eddie's running towards her that she's within the 118's area of service, that of course she's going two for two on traumatizing Diazes today. "I'm okay." She takes one of those hands that's wavering about an inch from her arm and threads their fingers together, brings it up so he can feel the pulse in her neck. "I'm okay," she repeats, willing him to stop looking at her like he's seeing Shannon die again. "Everything kinda aches a little, but - could've been a lot worse."

Eddie lets out a little, dry sob and leans in to press a long, relieved kiss to Buck's forehead. The hand in hers holds on with a grip that's probably too tight. He needs something to ground him, though, steady him. Because that was quite possibly one of the worst cases of emotional whiplash he's had since the tsunami.

"Fucking hell," he whispers hoarsely, pressing his forehead to hers for a moment. If he could, he'd wrap her up in his arms, maybe curl every limb around her like an octopus, hold her close until the adrenaline and subsequent crash fade.

But he can't. Not with Chim clearing his throat behind him. "Okay, lovebirds, gotta check her out," he says, voice full of sympathy and understanding. Eddie stands and moves to the side, just enough to give Chim room to work. He doesn't let go of Buck's hand.

Buck smiles at him weakly, most of her energy fading away quickly with the adrenaline crash, now that she's no longer in danger and the 118 is here to take over the job of being the only first responder on scene. Nothing that happens is a surprise, though it's weird to be on the patient side of a car crash. She guesses she actually says that part, because Chim grins at her crookedly and suggests that if she thinks it's weird now, she should try doing it with a piece of rebar through her forehead sometime.

Because she admits to some pain in her neck, along with - as she told Eddie - an ache pretty much everywhere else, Chim puts a c-collar on her and gets her on a gurney for a trip to the ER. They're thinking maybe Grade 1 whiplash and the start of some nasty bruising coming in from her seatbelt and the way the impact had knocked her left arm against the door. If that's all, though, then she still got away lucky.

Buck loses track of Eddie's hand briefly while she's transferred to the gurney, but she grabs it against quickly when she can. "I was supposed to pick up Chris at the library."

Eddie keeps track of what Chim's saying and doing but only because it's habit. His mind is still spinning out, heart beating a little too hard and fast. He climbs into the ambulance with Buck without a second thought. Doesn't matter that he's in the middle of a shift, that's his girlfriend and she was in a car accident. There's nowhere else he can be than right by her side. (Mostly because he doesn't trust himself to drive to Chris right now otherwise that would be the only other option.) Luckily, they've got an amazing captain who understands that, and a team who gets them just as much.

"I can call Pepa," Eddie says quietly. "Have her take Chris home or meet us at the hospital."

Knowing how hospitals operate, he wouldn't be surprised if they're there for a couple hours, even if it is just some whiplash and bruising. There's tests to be done, just in case, and Buck won't be high on the triage list which means a wait for tests and processing... it's gonna be a long day. But, Eddie reminds himself, this time he won't be leaving the hospital with only a bag of effects.

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and presses a kiss to Buck's knuckles.

There was more that she needed to tell him about Chris, but it's getting harder to keep track of what she's said already and what still needs to be said. She's just - tired, probably, and she pushed herself in the immediate aftermath. When she had to hang up on Chris to talk to the other driver.

"Chris was on th' phone," she says, because she thinks that was the other thing she needed to tell Eddie. "You need t'... tell him 'm okay. S'pposed t'get him from the library."

Buck blinks, and then Chim's flashing his penlight in her eyes. "Pupils still equal and reactive," he says out loud, maybe more for Eddie's benefit than anything else. "Hey, Buck, remind me, do you remember hitting your head?"

"No?" The whole thing had happened fast. She'd been talking to Chris, and then there was a car plowing into hers. "I was - on th'phone with Chris."

What she's saying doesn't quite register the first time. As her words are starting to slur and the adrenaline crash hits, Eddie figures she's just squishing two ideas together: calling someone about Chris and picking Chris up from the library. It's not until she answers Chimney's question that he realizes--oh. Oh, no. That is not what Buck is doing at all.

"Wait, you were on the phone with Chris when you got hit?"

Eddie's blood runs cold. He can only imagine what must be going through their kid's head. Who knows how much Buck was able to reassure him before she called 911. And now Chris is all by himself and has no idea what's going on with Buck. Fuck.

He digs around in his pocket with his free hand, grabbing his phone and quickly calling up his son. "Chris? Hey! Hey, buddy. It's alright, I know, I'm with Buck right now. Uh-huh, she's gonna be okay. We're headed to the hospital just to be safe." He gives Buck's hand a little squeeze.

It's a relief when Eddie finally realizes what she's been trying to tell him and she can let go of the responsibility of making sure he understands. Because Chris was scared, and he doesn't need to be scared anymore. Eddie's taking care of it.

In the meantime, Chim leads her through some more concussion checks. Yes, her head hurts some but no, she's not dizzy or nauseous. She dutifully recites her name and the date and where they are. At some point, her eyes drift shut for a moment, and then Chim is tapping her insistently.

"Hey, you can take a nap at the hospital if you want, but for now, I want you to keep those eyes open for me, okay, Buckaroo? Talk to your boyfriend if I'm too boring for you."

She huffs, a bit irritated - she wasn't sleeping - and turns her attention back to Eddie, who's finishing up the call anyway. "'s Chris okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay." Eddie rubs his thumb over her knuckles in reassurance. "Worried about you, but okay. If you're feeling up to it, he wants to see you as soon as possible." Which would mean Pepa driving him to the hospital and then him coming home with them whenever they're free to leave.

... Provided someone can drop one of their cars off at the hospital. Damn is it a pain when one of them gets hurt on-shift.

"Mm-hmm." She definitely does want to see Chris, though it's probably going to be a long and boring day at the hospital and he shouldn't have to wait around the whole time with them. Someone could probably take him home early if it came to that. "Sh'ld stop givin' that kid nightmares s'metime."

"He's a tough kid," Chim offers.

"Yeah." Tougher than she's feeling right now, probably. It's barely been a minute since Chimney last told her to keep her eyes open, and they're already slipping shut. Just for a second, though.

"Hey, eyes open, sweetheart," Eddie says, giving her hand a little shake. He ignores the way his voice gets tight. "I know the adrenaline crash is taking it out of you, but no sleeping until we're at the hospital, okay?"

He knows, logically, that she doesn't actually show any signs of a concussion or other head trauma. That this is probably just a crash hitting her hard. Maybe with a side of her tendency to dissociate rearing its head and making her want to leave the stressful situation even if she's not actually dissociating. But it's really hard not to worry about her brain when she keeps closing her eyes like that.

It feels like someone's somehow put weights on both her eyelids to make forcing them open even more challenging, but she does manage to get them open. Less because she's supposed to and more because she hears the stress in his voice and she doesn't want him to be stressed, even if she's pretty sure nothing bad would happen if she actually did take a nap.

"Ugh, I'm giving this Uber one star out of five," she says because she has to vent her grumpiness at the fact that no one will let her rest somehow. Then, because she wants Eddie's jaw to stop looking quite so tense: "Well, maybe three if I take the eye candy into account."

"I'll have you know, I'm much more than just a pretty face," Chim says promptly, and Buck lets out a startled laugh that gets cut off pretty quickly by a painful complaint in the area of her chest.

He'd tried to warn Buck this might happen. In his defense, he'd tried. When Buck took him in, he did his best to make it clear that he's unstable, has no idea who he is or what could set him off. Buck had shrugged it off, claimed that the worst he could do was mess up the apartment a bit.

Well.

Q had just been trying to make sandwiches for the two of them. Buck was in the shower, cleaning up after a shift, and Q figured it'd be helpful if he made sandwiches, and he slices his thumb by accident while he's cutting chunks off a loaf of italian bread. It's not the pain that sets him off, he doesn't think, it's the sight of the blood and the way some of it smears on the sleeve of the hoodie he's wearing. And it's not exactly a memory he has, just the sense that he's spent a lot of time splattered with blood.

If anything does remember something, it's his body, not his brain. It's his chest, tightening like he's in danger, and his veins flooding with adrenaline that tell him to hide. It's his legs, stumbling and sending him in the direction of the couch because it feels safe, and it's the way his body curls into the side of it, sitting on the floor with the wall creating a comforting barrier at one shoulder and the side of the couch pressing against the other.

Edited 2025-04-14 01:41 (UTC)

Buck is in the shower, cleaning himself up after his shift. Q has been living with him for a couple weeks now, and he hasn't really remembered anything. But Buck doesn't mind, he's a good roommate, doesn't make a mess, and he's pretty cute too. Buck could definitely have done worse.

He wraps a towel around his waist and steps out of the washroom, then peeks over the rail to see what Q is up to. He doesn't see him right away. With a frown, he looks closer and sees him crouched beside the couch, shaking.

"Q?" Buck calls out, already moving down the stairs without bothering to get dressed. "Are you okay?"

It's not that he's scared of Buck. He thinks. Well, he does - maybe his chest hurts and his heart jumps at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Maybe he presses his fingers harder against the side of his face, which isn't helping the situation because he hasn't done anything to stem the blood dripping from his thumb, and now it's smearing on his cheek, too.

But he's not scared of Buck, he thinks. Not when he can see Buck moving in his direction. If anything, if the way he's interpreting his own terror is right, he thinks he might be scared for Buck, like his body remembers being splattered in blood as something that happens when other people are in danger. Who the fuck knows? Maybe they were.

"I'm not, um - I don't, I don't know what's happening."

Even if Q doesn't know what's happening, it's pretty clear to Buck. He's having a panic attack. Buck doesn't know why, or what might have triggered him, but it's clear what's happening. Buck crouches down beside Q and starts talking in a steady, calming voice.

"Hey, hey, you're okay. You're here in LA, in the loft with me. It's okay, Q. You're okay. Can I touch you?" Some people need it to be linked back to the real world. "You're bleeding, can I take a look?"

[ Happy to discuss things as far as topics that may be too dark and the like if they come up! Cast mates or prior CR greatly preferred for the ultimate oomph on the angst, but honestly down to do some establishing cr via trauma bonding thanks to angst too so open to cross-canon, AU stuff, etc. ]

[ I want to be as mean as possible.

My OC happens to share her face with an Agents of SHIELD baddie. Annie is a mostly good girl. Imagine the horror of mistaken identity leading to an almost interrogation and Daisy getting to think on her own past.

Yes/No? I am happy to do a set up too! ]

[ I WAS NOT IGNORING THIS!!! Life just got a little crazy for me and my writing drive kind of tanked, so apologies for that! And yes. It's been...a few years since I watched the season Dove was in but if I recall correctly she wanted to help her or at least try to help her and it was to her horror that one of her teammates killed her in retaliation for something done to them. So, it would be complicated and I LOVE IT. (Also, I am extremely mean to characters, so I get it lmfao.) ]

[ for shipping m/m 20+ but very open to gen! shin's a mindreader but we can use injury or something else (poison side effect? something, though he's got a decent immunity to those) to turn it off if you prefer to work around it. ]

( crosscanon/medium, AUs, assumed CR all loved. )

[ Open to anything! Castmates, cross-canon, and OCs are all welcome. This guy is built for angst. I can take him from early Season 1-3 canon points or later (season 4-5). Been gone for a long time and wouldn't mind getting back into writing.
Here are some prompts that stood out to me:
-On the run
-backrubs/massage
-nightmares
I can write a starter for one of those or we can brainstorm a different prompt. No preferences on m/m or m/f, but he doesn't have much experience with other men, so that's going to take some warming up to on his part. ]

[ sads during those 5 years after the snap, sads after endgame because she lost some friends and while she doesn't leave retirement is giving her a crisis lol, sads after bucky "dies" in the 40s, time shenanigans with her variants so they can have sads together, au where she doesn't get iced but is sad and tired from all the damn wars, au where bucky is cap and she's the girl back home and she's still dying... or anything else you might be able to think of, hahaha! ]

Edited 2025-04-12 21:56 (UTC)

ooc: Crash that helicopter or something with that leak?

[mmmostly trying to avoid knowing too much about any leaks but otherwise flexible!]

When TK hooked up with Buck while he and his dad were in LA, TK hadn't expected Buck to be moving back to Austin with them, and also staying in their house until he finds something. TK gets why Buck wants to make the move, and he's also glad that he can get to see what might happen between himself and the other firefighter, but Owen doesn't know that they're a little more than friends, and it complicates things, just a little, to be working in the same firehouse, and to have bedrooms across the hall from each other.

Still, the good outweighs the bad, and TK finds himself at the airport later that week, waiting for Buck in the arrivals.

It's been a rough time.

Packing up his life and moving to Texas would be hard under the best of circumstances, probably, and these aren't the best of circumstances. Finding out that Bobby was blocking him from returning to the 118? From returning to his chosen family and doing the one thing in this world that makes him feel worth something? Yeah. Not the best of circumstances. Maddie's not exactly thrilled about the move, either, though even she has to admit that packing up and leaving is the Buckley way - the Buck way, even. He thought he'd found a place where he could put down roots, and it turned out he was wrong, so it was time to travel again.

At least Captain Strand is being much nicer than Buck could have anticipated about making this move happen, going so far as to open up his house to Buck for a little while until he finds a place of his own in the area. Buck anticipates this being a bit more awkward than Owen expected given that Buck hooked up with his son, who also lives in that house, but honestly, it could be worse. They're both consenting adults, and Buck likes TK. He's pretty sure sleeping with him isn't him backsliding into Buck 1.0.

His bad leg didn't exactly love the plane trip, and he's limping a little by the time he locates his checked luggage. At least he has a very attractive escort to the Strand's house waiting for him, and he brightens a bit when he spots TK. "Hey."

TK feels a grin cross his face when he sees Buck emerge from the luggage claim. He walks over to him and tugs the larger man into a hug. Their get together in LA was good, and if they can manage to keep things professional at work, TK is sure that they can make temporarily living together work too. He's not sure what Buck is looking for, but TK is tired of being alone. It's been a while since he and Carlos broke up and he's getting pretty lonely out here in Austin.

"Hi," he says, "welcome to Austin. I hope you brought your cowboy hat." He's joking, but he definitely thinks that Buck would look good in one. And nothing else.

"Are you hungry? We can grab something on the way before my dad has you eating health food for the rest of your stay with us." Owen is a notorious health nut, was even before the cancer. Sometimes TK has to sneak out just so that he can eat a burger.

"Your room is across from mine. Hope that works."

"Pretty sure if I need a cowboy hat, I'm better off getting one down here." Also, he hasn't actively owned or worn one since his stint as a ranch hand, so. There's that.

Buck pulls back from the hug with a grin of his own, though it's a bit less bright than TK's. Mostly because he's just Tired(TM) from the move and the plane ride and from anxiously wondering if this was actually a good idea and if the 126 is going to feel like a home to him at all and even if it does, how long is it going to take to fall apart like everything else in his life eventually seems to?

"Yeah, I could eat. Especially if it's my last opportunity."

"We can definitely find you one," TK replies, looking Buck up and down. Maybe cowboy hats are a thing for him now, but he's not bothered by that. Especially if Buck wants to wear one for him.

He reaches out and grabs some of Buck's luggage and starts to lead him out to the truck. He chatters on the way, talking about the 126 and the schedule they usually work on. Once they get into the truck, he turns toward Buck invitingly.

"Don't worry, we can sneak out for burgers." At least that's the only thing TK is going to be sneaking out for. He has a bad track record and the last thing he needs is Owen worrying about him.

“Is your dad really that committed to health food? And what kind of health food are we talking?”

Cause if they’re going to have to sneak out for burgers, then Buck feels he should know what he’s walking into.

While Kingsley was remained friendly enough with the rest of the Mighty Nein, there certainly seemed to be a distance between him and the others. He understood why, especially once he'd left Fjord and Jester's company to set out on his own and saw the others even less.

It was only by chance that he learned that some of them were passing through Darktow Isle, and as the new Plank King he of course would allow them safe passage. But the distance is more palpable than ever, even as both parties remain as cordial as possible.

Caleb was feeling particularly raw as the group was heading through Darktow. Essek's need to be on the run still had thrown a wrench into their blooming relationship. Caleb was tried of traveling and trying to build a new life for himself as a teacher and Archmage. They had come to an impasse that seemed impossible to get by. Then the world had flipped upside down and sideways and Caleb now found himself dealing with Trent again.

He wasn't in the best place to see Kingsley again and he has a hard time looking at him as he thinks of a relationship that never really got a chance to start. He is currently writing in his journal as he works out what the groups next move should be.

Fortunately Jester contacts him often, so he's mostly up to date on what's going on in the others' lives. After catching up with the group, he watches Caleb, letting him work for a while.

Eventually, though, the wizard will find a drink being slid towards him, though Kingsley doesn't say anything. He won't pull the other to talk if he doesn't want to, but the least he can do is make sure he takes a break here and there.

Caleb hears the drink slide over and he sighs as he puts his journal and picks up the mug to take a swig. "Thank you my friend," he says looking over at Kingsley, "it seems even with the world going to shit I forget to take care of myself."

Caleb is feeling horrible given what happened to the Bell's Hells on his watch and now his kindness to Trent may have made things worse. He pulls the sending stone connected to Orym and frowns at it as all he hears is crackling noise. "I wish we had come back to Darktow under better fortunes."

A smile quirks on Kingsley's lips as he shrugs. "The world going to shit might be a good reason to forget taking care of yourself. Fortunately there are at least people to help remind you."

Another shrug. "The end of the world is probably as good a time as any."

Caleb's heart does a little flip flop at the smile and he shakes his head. Now is not the time to let his heart run away again. He had to focus on the matter at hand and worry about relationships later. "True," he admits, "I wish my mentor was not involved with us coming this way though."

“Hmm. Well, I suppose it had to be something. Anything less than urgent business would bring you all in my direction.”

There’s a bit of teasing in his tone, but in all honesty he had never really expected them to come by.

Caleb toys with his mug as he thinks. He knows Kingsley is teasing but he still feels bad that he let things go so long before seeing his friend again.

"Beau often is taking me to task for not visiting everyone more," he admits, "but Veth has her camp...Jester and Fjord are at sea more than land and Cad prefers to remain at the grove."

It's excuses he knows but what else can he says... It's not like he can admit seeing Kingsley hurts.

Kingsley shrugs a little. “It’s fine,” he replies casually. “Besides, you don’t know me as well as the others. Not really worth it to come all the way out here to see a virtual stranger.”

It was just because he’d spent less time around the rest of them, it only made sense. It was the main reason why he didn’t really visit any of them either.

"It still is not...fair," Caleb says, his fingers tapping the table, "I know it has been hard for everyone to get to know you because of...him. But that does not mean we should not try."

He takes another drink. "I should not let the feelings of the past color the chance to get to know you."

Kingsley is quiet for a moment, considering in Caleb’s words. Then, hesitating for just a moment, he asks softly, “Did you? Have feelings for him, I mean.”

Caleb sighs and slides some hair behind his ear. "Yes," he says softly, "I did and I do. Molly...he opened a heart that I was determined to keep closed off and sealed shut."

The wizard chuckles. "But Molly was determined too and he won that particular battle...but we never got the chance to...be more."

Kingsley hums thoughtfully, falling quiet again.

"...I'd always wondered." He wouldn't deny that he found Caleb attractive, and that he had ever since first waking up and meeting the Nein all over again. But a part of him was never sure if those were his own feelings or from the ones who came before him.

Caleb nods. "I assumed," he said, "with what you did when we said goodbye the first time. It felt good to hear you call me magic man." He flushes slightly as he remembers what else Kingsley did that was more Kingsley then Molly...not that Caleb didn't like it. The ass slap was just unexpected.

This soul seemed more like the blend of all Molly and Lucian were that was good and minus the memory loss and need for power. Part of him regretted staying behind on land when Jester, Fjord and King left to sall, but Caleb had had enough of adventuring for the time being and was ready to find a more settled path.

Kingsley laughs a little. "Well, I certainly don't regret that," he says with a grin. But his mood quickly sobers as his tail twitches behind him thoughtfully.

"...it does complicate things a little bit, though, doesn't it?"

"It does," Caleb admits, "you are your own person and yet when I look at you the feelings for Molly remain."He sighs and sips his drink. "And now that I have let Essek go..I am truly alone."

Kingsley frowns, his tail twitching curiously. “Essek? The drow?” He remembers just barely catching sight of him, and they never spoke. But he’d seen the way Caleb had been around him. “What happened?”

"I tried to make it work," Caleb said, "I did...but. I want more out of life now. And the fact he remains on the run is a...problem we cannot get past." He sips his drink. "I want a relationship like Fjord and Jester have. Out in the open....where I can be proud of being with them. I care for Essek I do. But I cannot wait and hope. I need someone else...I want someone else."

He sighs. "You must think me a fool for thinking so. Jester and Veth do."

Kingsley is quiet for a moment, his tail lazily swaying behind him. Then he shrugs.

“Honestly, it all sounds a bit foolish to me,” he says, shrugging his shoulder. “But everyone’s allowed to be foolish for something. And it matters more to you, as a human who doesn’t have as long as others. There isn’t anything wrong with wanting something more sooner.”

"It does," Caleb says softly, "I have this sense that whatever is coming next it will be big and I want....I want to be a part of it not as a professor, but an adventurer again...maybe as a pirate. If Darktow would have me of course."

He then shrugs. "I wouldn't want to get in your way."

Kingsley blinks, a bit surprised by that. But then he grins a little. “Hmm… actually, I think you’d make a pretty good pirate.”

Reaching over, Kingsley plays with Caleb’s ponytail a bit. “We’ll have to get you a better outfit, of course. But the hair and beard can stay.”

Caleb chuckles. "I would happily allow you to dress me my friend as long as there was a coat. I am quite fond of wearing them." He throws Kingsley a wink. "I am told they look very dashing on pirates these days or so my students say."

Kingsley grins. “Well, that’s a given.” He gestures to his own coat. “Jester actually gave me mine, but I’m sure we can find the right one for you.”

His expressions sobers for a moment, and he places a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “You’re sure about this, though? It’s quite a change.”

[I am caught up with DD: Born Again, spoilers possible]

[ I rolled up two that seemed incredibly fitting.

Bruises and Serial Killer. ]

[oof]

Matt just barely made it out the window before the Task Force showed up at Dr Glen's office. Even his stamina was flagging given he fought Muse twice in the space of a few hours and the kid had a strength to him that Matt wasn't expecting. He practically threw himself back into his apartment hearing his breath whistling in his lungs.

"Fuck," he growled, "I think my ribs are broken."

"Bruised. I can hear your breathing from here," his new friend says from across the apartment. Colleen hadn't said anything about being enhanced and for her this is a slip up but she figured he wasn't going to strictly zero in on it right now.

"Okay." She did not expect to find him in uniform. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. It just wasn't something that they talked about partly due to Colleen wanting to protect his identity by not prying too deeply.

There was also the fact that he might get close to her own secrets. Right now he is a bit hurt and he may have cops on his ass.

"Sit. Talk me through what happened, I need to clean you up." It was not a request. She might be having the worst time getting around with her advancing pregnancy but Colleen is still someone who feels in charge.

'I tracked down Muse, that killer the police are looking for," Matt replies, tearing off the helmet and trying to find a part of his apartment that doesn't have something white in it for him to bleed on. "Cornered him in his lair last night and then he went after my ex today when I went back to track his next movements. He's dead."

Matt had wished it was him who struck Muse down to spare Heather from the weight of that pain, but it was what it was. "Fisk's Task Force was arriving as it finished up and I had to dive out a window to avoid them."

Colleen grabs a stack of news paper that she had been planning on putting into the recycling. She takes in what Matt says and wishes she had the heart to be sorry Muse is dead. He was a blight on the city Matt has given his soul to.

"Oh. Of course they show up right at the end." Colleen lays the paper down thinking this will do the trick.

"Sit here. This will work." She smiles faintly about to make a terrible joke.

"I finally get to undress you and it's because I'm checking you for injuries.... You really know how to get my heart all a flutter." A bad joke to distract him from Fisk but hey, she gets to see his shoulders finally. And check everything else too of course.

"Not the weirdest way someone has gotten me to strip," Matt says trying to joke but it's been a rough few days between this and the bank robbery. He settles down onto the newspaper and starts undoing the catches on his armor.

As he pulls it off he winces revealing his heavily scarred body several wounds looking fresh. "This is has been a hell of a reintroduction for Daredevil," he mutters.

"I'll just have to get creative in the future," she half flirts as if it's a reflex.

She checks him as he gets his armor off. She considers what she has on hand that can be used because while she gets away with a little magical healing to speed things up she doesn't want to give away secrets tonight so she'd have to be careful. Matt has enough stress right now.

She does have to touch him anyways while cleaning him up so adding a little magical backup won't totally blow her cover. Colleen is as careful as she can be.

Matt doesn't know what it is about Colleen that makes him trust her easier than someone like Heather who he never felt comfortable with letting fully in. But he'd trusted her from the jump and didn't even mind she wasn't telling him the full truth. He knew the importance of keeping secrets to protect people. "I can't wait to see what creative is for you," he jokes back as he winces.

Colleen can't explain it either. Between the times he has slipped into her life when she needed someone and the time he protected her when she was nearly physically assaulted before she could act as a witness? He has found a way into her life.

"I promise we'll both have fun," she continues to carefully clean him up. She finds the largest of the bruises on him and just stares for a moment.

"You were close to having your ribs shattered. I've been hurt like that before. You need to be in readily careful Matt, that could turn into something worse." She doesn't even hesitate but places both hands on the very sizeable angry looking bruise she can see forming.

"I..." This is a point of truth. "I can make it heal faster. Please don't ask why ...I'm kinda stuck between a rock a hard place with some answers."

Still she can risk it so she pours another bit of Gnosis into him and focuses on the magic and healing. It should do the trick.

"I know about keeping secrets," Matt says, "I won't push unless you need me to or if I have no other choice. I hope it doesn't come to that but right now with Fisk being an asshole I don't know."

He sighs in relief. "I was trying to stay out of it...but Muse took Hector's niece when she found his lair...I had to do something."

Her heart just about drops into her feet hearing that. The girl looked like she was going to grow up to truly be a warrior for the forces of good. If Muse has killed her something truly precious would have been gone.

"That's why you put your costume back on." To save a life.

She kisses his forehead trying to offer Matt comfort. Colleen can't dive into danger with him. Not when her children are preparing to be born. Colleen has to think objectively right now and actually plan.

"Fisk wants to be a hero but is so full of his own sins and the sins of his father. I can't see him making good choices without serious growth as a person...he's a bully and a dickhead. As far as his past criminal activity....My Mother is a professional art thief I have a hard time being totally objective about crime. It's complicated when I know what it takes to get away from that life. I don't think he knows what it really means to become truly honest."

She goes back to checking his injuries. At this point she is tempted to give him a sponge bath. It will help given he should not be in his shower right now.

"Muse. Muse is going to be a catalyst for something. I know he is no longer in play but he started something. My gut says Fisk's task force is going to be a problem. You cockblocked them a bit I think. They're going to be out for blood "

[ m/m. more info ]

angst

STEVE HARRINGTON ⟳ STRANGER THINGS.

63!Evan Buckley | 9-1-1

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Quentin Coldwater; the Magicians

closed starter

no subject

no subject

no subject

daisy johnson | marvel’s agents of shield | ota

no subject

no subject

bruno buccellati | jjba | ota

➜ kraven the hunter ( ota gen, m/f shipping )

katana . suicide squad . ota

shin | sakamoto days

margaery tyrell | game of thrones

Jesse Pinkman | Breaking Bad

Robin Buckley | Stranger Things

steph rogers (r!63) | mcu | ota

MJ Jones | MCU | OTA

Evan Buckley | 9-1-1

Re: Evan Buckley | 9-1-1

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Caleb Widowgast | Critical Role l ota

Trust Issues

Re: Trust Issues

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Matt Murdock | MCU | ota

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Ri!Kusuriuri | Mononoke (2007) | OTA

Erro Mordaurum | Critical Role | ota

Bucky Barnes | MCU l ota