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fanfictionalraven · 1 month

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Dream Warriors Chapter 4

Title: Dream Warriors Chapter 4

Summary: Sam and the reader discuss her dreams. Dean and the reader make some progress on the case and their relationship.

Characters: Reader, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, other original characters

Word Count: 3,700

Warnings: Mentions of miscarriage, angst

Read Chapter 3 here.

You and Sam both continue to stare at your perfectly healed hands. All traces of the burns were now gone. You look up at Sam, tears stinging your eyes.

“You saw that, right?? I’m not going crazy. You saw that too,” you practically beg. He nods his head slowly, trying to process what he’d just witnessed.

“What’s going on, Y/N?” He asks. You shake your head quickly, looking back at your hands.

“I wish I knew,” you mumble. You flex your hands slowly, wiggling your fingers as well. “I’ve been having these dreams. We thought it was just stress from the miscarriage and due date but now…”

“Dreams?” Sam asks, watching you closely. You look up at him and nod.

“It’s all so normal. No monsters. Our families are alive. Dean and I are very clearly in love but I married someone else who’s been cheating on me. You finished school and you’re getting married to Jessica,” you tell him. He frowns a little more and nods. “When I’m there, when I’m in the dreams, all of this is just a dream. A dream I hardly pay attention to. And it all feels real, holding my daughter feels real.”

“The burns?” He asks, cutting his eyes to your hands.

“I went to get a pie from the oven in a rush and forgot potholders,” you explain. He nods again then shrugs his shoulders.

“Okay, ugh…normally, I’d agree that it’s just your subconscious but…” He trails off and you nod. “What are you thinking? A spell? A djinn maybe?” He asks as he makes his way back to his laptop. You frown, pulling your knees into your chest.

“I don’t know what to think, Sam,” you tell him. He nods and starts to type on his computer. You sit in silence for a moment before looking around. “Where’s Dean?”

“Went to talk to the sheriff again,” he says, picking up John’s journal. You roll your eyes, throwing the blankets off of yourself.

“The sheriff isn’t going to talk to him. Why didn’t he wake me?” You ask as you move to your bag. You open it to find that Dean had taken your fed clothes last night and put them away neatly.

“He wanted to let you sleep as much as possible. You really scared him last night,” he says. You stop what you’re doing and look at him, confused. “When you heard that baby crying?”

“That was Ella,” you say. He raises an eyebrow in question and you sigh, looking back into your bag. “My daughter. I mean – the baby in my dreams.” Sam frowns as he watches you.

“Y/N, she isn’t real,” he reminds you. Rolling your eyes, you rise to your feet, clothes in hand.

“I told you, Sam. When I’m in the dreams, she’s the realest thing in the world. I’d give my life for her in a heartbeat,” you tell him. He nods slightly.

“Well try not to do that. Minor injuries may heal but dying?” He asks. You frown and nod, turning for the bathroom. “Want me to call Dean?”

“I’m not gonna tell him,” you inform Sam before closing the door behind you. You hear his chair scrape the floor before he approaches the door.

“What do you mean you aren’t telling him?” He asks. Sighing, you begin to change clothes.

“He’s already worried about me enough. I’m not giving him more reason to,” you call through the door to him.

“Y/N, something is hurting you in your dreams. That’s not something you should hide from him,” he says. You finish buttoning up your shirt and pull the door open again.

“Please. We can figure this out. Me and you,” you plead with him. He shakes his head slightly, conflicted.

“Nothing good ever comes from any of us keeping secrets, Y/N. You tell us that all the time,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. You reach out and place your hands on his arms gently.

“Sam, I’m begging you. Just…one day. Let’s see what we can find in one day and if we don’t get anything or if things get worse tonight, then I’ll tell him,” you say. You bite your lip, waiting for his response. A car door closes from just outside the room and your pleading look turns to panic. “Sam, please.”

“Okay. Fine. One day,” he relents, turning back towards his table in the corner. You let out a sigh as the door to the room opens and Dean steps in. He’s got three cups of coffee and a white bag in his hands. He smiles widely when he sees you.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up,” he teases, setting the breakfast he’d picked up down on the table. Sam takes one of the coffees and looks into the bag.

“Find anything out?” He asks, pulling a glazed donut from the bag. Dean picks up the other two cups and starts towards you.

“Well, they finally got an ID on one of the victims. Monica Lester. Married. From a town about an hour east of here,” he informs you both. He holds one of the cups out to you and you smile a little, taking it. You thank him and he winks at you before sitting on the edge of the bed. “Sheriff Anderson has so graciously agreed to let me do the notification.”

“I’ll go with you,” you tell him before taking a drink from the coffee. He frowns at you and shakes his head.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. The man just lost the woman he loved and their unborn baby, Y/N,” he says. You sigh and nod, walking over to the table.

“And if anyone can understand at least part of that, it’s us,” you tell him as you reach into the bag yourself.

“Yea, just part of it, sure,” Dean mumbles, rising to his feet. You look at him quickly.

“What?” You ask. He smiles a little and shakes his head, walking over as well.

“Sammy, you good to stay back and keep digging?” He asks. Sam glances between the two of you before nodding.

“Yea, I’m fine,” he says. You give him a pointed look and he nods his head once. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

The two of you load into the front seat of the Impala and begin the hour-long drive to the first victim’s house. The ride is quiet, neither of you saying much at all. The invisible wall between you, that you had just started to believe could be torn down, now seemed to be reinforced and even bigger somehow. Dean parks the car on the curb in front of the house and the two of you look over at it.

“You sure about this?” Dean asks. You look over at him.

“Oh, now you’re talking to me again?” You ask. He stares at you for a moment, seemingly stunned. “Yes, I’m sure. Come on.” Pushing the door open a bit too violently, you climb out of the car and slam the door. Dean gets out quickly and rushes around.

“I don’t know why you’re mad at me, but you don’t have to take it out on the car,” he says, fixing his tie. You stop in your tracks halfway across the yard. Dean gets only a few steps ahead of you before stopping and looking back.

“I just wish you’d talk to me,” you tell him. He shakes his head, taking a step towards you.

“Talk to you? Y/N, I try to talk to you all the time. You shut me down,” he huffs, exasperation clear on his face. You stare at him before walking to the front door quickly. “See??”

“We’re on a job, Dean,” you insist, reaching for the doorbell. He grabs your hand before you can make contact with the button, holding on to you tight.

“Y/N,” he pleads. You pull your hand away from his and press the button, hearing the bell ring inside. Footsteps quickly approach the door and Dean straightens up, reaching into his coat pocket as you do the same. The door opens and a man, around the same age as you and Dean, looks between you.

“Chris Lester?” Dean asks. The man nods, panic quickly spreading across his face. “We’re with the FBI. Agents Wayne and Prince. Could we speak with you?”

“Oh God,” he prays, voice trembling. You reach out and place a comforting hand on his arm.

“We should sit down,” you tell him. He nods his head slightly before turning to lead the way. You two follow and Dean pushes the door closed, glancing around the house. Mr. Lester leads the two of you into what seems to be the living room of the house. He sits on the edge of an arm chair as you and Dean take seats on the couch. The man leans forward and wrings his hands nervously.

“Is this about Monica?” He asks. You glance at Dean and he sighs, looking down at his own hands.

“Mr. Lester, we’re sorry to have to inform you but…your wife’s body was found three days ago about an hour from here,” Dean tells him.

Chris’ face falls slowly as each word is processed. You can see the moment his heart breaks in his eyes. He slumps forward with a wail and Dean quickly reaches out, catching him. You allow Mr. Lester a few minutes with his grief before Dean speaks to him again.

“I know it’s hard but we need you to answer a few questions so we can catch whoever did this.” Chris nods and slowly moves himself back into the chair. Dean sits back on the couch and straightens his jacket.

“Can we get you anything?” You ask. Chris shakes his head and wipes at his cheeks.

“No. You, ummm, you have questions?” He asks, voice still thick with tears. You nod and look at Dean.

“Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your wife?” He questions. Chris shakes his head, looking at his hands.

“No one. Monica is…” He stops and swallows back more tears. “She was an amazing woman. Everyone loved her. What happened?” You frown and shake your head.

“We’ll spare you the details for now but it doesn’t appear that she suffered,” you tell him. He nods slightly, running his hands over his face.

“Why would someone do this?” He asks, starting to lose it again. Dean reaches out, placing a comforting hand on Chris’ shoulder.

“It’s not going to make sense. No matter what we find out. Believe me. I know how you feel,” he tells him. Chris looks up at him and you bite your lip, looking down at your hands. “About three months ago, my girlfriend went to the store. Broad daylight in a crowded parking lot, a man stabbed her. She was six months pregnant. I lost them both that day.” You look at Dean quickly, fighting back tears. Chris shakes his head slightly. Before you can say anything, the sound of little feet running causes you all to sit up straight.

“Daddy.” A little girl, about four or five, runs into the room. “Who are you?” She asks, looking between you and Dean. Chris wipes at his eyes before forcing a smile.

“They’re friends,” he tells her. You put on your best smile before rising and walking over to her.

“My name’s Y/N. What’s yours?” You ask, kneeling down in front of her. She smiles back at you widely.

“Claire,” she says. Your smile widens a little.

“I have a friend named Claire,” you tell her. “Could you show me your room?” She nods quickly and takes your hand, pulling on it. She leads you up the stairs and into an adorably decorated princess bedroom where she immediately runs over to her dollhouse.

You take a seat at a little tea table in the corner where you spend the next several minutes being introduced to a number of dolls. This is immediately followed by a Barbie fashion show, Claire showing off all of her outfits. While you smile and laugh at the young girl, you can’t help but think back to what Dean had said. I lost them both that day. It felt like the final nail in the coffin that now held your relationship.

After a few minutes, a gentle knock at the door draws your attention. It opens and Chris steps into the room, a sad smile on his face. He tells you that Dean is outside and you say goodbye to Claire before going downstairs. Stepping out onto the porch, you find Dean in the yard on his phone, presumably with Sam.

“Yea, sounds good. We’ll see you later,” he says before hanging up. He drops his phone back into his coat pocket. “He’s got the names of the other two victims. They’re from the same town the opposite direction so he’s gonna go see their families.” You nod slightly and cross your arms, looking down. “Y/N…”

“I’m not dead, you know,” you cut him off. He scoffs a laugh causing you to look up.

“Yea, I know. Do you?” He asks. You stare at him, stunned. “I tried talking to you in the car and you were practically catatonic. You’re mourning. I get that. I am too. But I’m not the one doing the pushing.” You shake your head slightly.

“I’m not…”

“You are! You flinch away from my touch. You barely speak to me. I want to hold you again. I want to kiss you again. I want to make love to you again. And if you aren’t ready for that yet, that’s fine. I get that. But…tell me what I need to do to fix this,” he pleads. You shake your head again, fighting back a sob, and move to walk past him. He reaches out, catching your elbow. “Y/N, talk to me!” You spin to face him, jerking your arm from his grasp.

“Get mad!!” You snap at him, shoving at his chest. He stumbles a step back. “You never got mad!!”

“I’m mad as hell. If you’d seen what I did to that demon when I found him…” He trails off and you wipe at your eyes quickly.

“Not at the demon, Dean!! Get mad at me!! Blame me!! It was my fault!!” You scream at him through your sobs. He stares at you, wide eyed, and shakes his head. “It was. I was her mother and I should have protected her better.”

“Sweetheart, I could never blame you for that. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me,” he says, reaching out for you.

“No, you’re not!! You weren’t even there!!” You insist as he gently takes your arms in his hands.

“Exactly. If I hadn’t been out on a hunt, if I had been home with you, I could have stopped him and we’d have our baby right now,” he says. You shake your head as you stare at him, bewildered.

“That’s ridiculous. We agreed you’d continue to hunt,” you tell him. He nods slightly, slowly pulling you closer to him.

“What’s even more ridiculous is you thinking I could or should blame you. From the day you found out you were pregnant, you were in full mom-mode. And it was the greatest thing I’d ever seen. You stopped hunting, stopped drinking, stopped eating junk. You were already an amazing mom and she wasn’t even here yet,” he says, his voice soft and calming. His arms hesitantly and slowly wrap around your waist, pulling you into his chest. Your firsts clench at the lapels of his jacket, as though you’re clinging on for dear life. “Let me fix it,” he pleads. A sob breaks through as you bury your face in his chest. Dean’s chin comes to rest on top of your head as he holds you close, rubbing circles into your back.

The two of you stand in that same spot, clinging on to one another, for what feels like forever. Your sobs eventually begin to subside and Dean’s arms loosen enough for you to look up at him. His lips brush your forehead and you feel yourself smile.

“Sam’s out for a little while. What do you say we go back to the room and talk some more?” He asks, looking down at you. You nod, wiping at your cheek.

“I like the sound of that,” you tell him. He smiles a little and leaves one arm around your waist as he pulls you to the waiting Impala. He opens the door for you and you slide in all the way to the middle.

After closing the door, Dean goes around and slips into the driver’s seat. He looks at you and smiles widely as you wrap your arms around his, laying your head on his shoulder. His hands come to rest on your knee, his thumb rubbing back and forth slowly as he sets out for the motel again.

The ride back is quiet again but a different, comfortable silence. You stay tucked into Dean’s side, holding on tight to his arm as he drives. Occasionally, he turns and places a kiss on top of your head. Each time, you respond with a kiss to his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, things actually begin to feel right again.

Back at the motel, you take a seat on the edge of the bed you’re sharing and watch as he makes his way around the room. He removes his suit jacket and lays it across the back of a chair before starting to loosen his tie. You smile as you watch the muscles in his shoulders through the tight dress shirt he’s wearing. You’re on your feet before you have a chance to second guess yourself. Slowly, you wrap your arms around him from behind. He tenses up for only a split second before relaxing in your arms. Standing on your toes, you press a kiss against his shoulder blade.

“I love you,” you whisper into the fabric of his shirt. His fingers ghost over your arms before he turns to face you. You pull your arms in between the two of you now, your hands resting on his firm chest. He caresses your cheek with the back of his fingers before quickly closing the distance between you. Your lips move together in unison as he grips at your hips, pulling you impossibly closer.

************************************************************************

Later in the afternoon, you’re lying on top of Dean, your arms crossed over his bare chest as you watch him. He smiles at you sleepily and you can’t help but laugh.

“Wear you out?” You ask. He shakes his head, his hands running over your exposed back slowly.

“Nah, I’m good,” he says. You smile as you watch him for a moment. He reaches up and pushes your hair behind your ear gently.

“I’m sorry I pushed you away,” you apologize. He smiles a little and shakes his head.

“We’re gonna be okay, Sweetheart,” he assures you. You nod slightly before stretching up and catching his lips with yours once more. He smiles in the kiss and threads his fingers into your hair.

The door opens suddenly and you pull away from Dean with squeak as Sam comes into the room.

“Hey – come on, guys!!” He says, turning his back quickly. Dean smirks at you as you scramble to pull the sheet across your chest. “I asked if you wanted a separate room for a reason.”

“Calm down, Sammy. What ya got?” Dean asks, pushing himself up in the bed. Sam glances over his shoulder slowly to make sure you’re covered before turning to face the two of you again.

“I’ve got a pretty solid lead on the Manananggal,” he says, handing Dean a brochure. You look over his shoulder at it and frown.

“That’s just a Lamaze class, Sam,” you tell him. Dean nods slightly, opening the pamphlet.

“Yea, Y/N and I were looking into some,” he says. Sam nods quickly.

“Exactly. What better place for a monster to find pregnant women than a class for pregnant women? I checked and all the victims attended this class at least once,” he says. Dean hands the pamphlet back to him then leans over the side of the bed, picking his previously discarded jeans up.

“Worth a shot. You coming?” He asks, looking at you as he pulls them back on. You bite your lip before shaking your head.

“I don’t think that would be a good place for me right now,” you tell him. Relief washes over him before he rises from the bed and rushes to the bathroom. You watch him go before looking at Sam. “Did you find anything?” You ask him quietly. He shakes his head, frowning.

“Nothing yet,” he tells you. You frown as well and nod, looking down at your hands. The memories of the burns come back to you. “If you go to sleep, just be careful, okay?”

“Yea,” you say, nodding slightly. Dean comes back out of the bathroom a few minutes later, fully dressed in his usual plaid and jacket combo. He smiles at you before giving you a quick kiss.

“We’ll be back. Get some rest,” he says. You smile your best and nod.

“Just be careful,” you tell him. He kisses you one more time before following Sam out the door and to the car. You fall back onto the mattress with a heavy sigh and run your hands over your face before pulling the blankets up around yourself. Your hands slips down to your stomach and you feel the scar. You know it’s real. The pain and grief. The love you have for Dean. It’s all real.

“This is real,” you repeat to yourself over and over, a steady mantra as you drift off to sleep in the late evening.

“This is real,” you mumble as your eyes open to the darkness of the very early morning. Your hand still on your stomach, you feel the smooth skin before sitting up and looking around Dean’s bedroom. “This is real,” you tell yourself, looking at the bandages on your hands.

Read Chapter 5 here.

Forever Tags: @roseblue373

Jensen Tags: @lostin-jensenseyes

Dream Warriors: @aylacavebear @winharry @djs8891 @suckitands33 @rickgrimeswifeu @deans-spinster-witch @jackles010378 @foxyjwls007 @cutiesarah @urinternetmom @justrealizedimmascifygurl @kr804573 @thej2report @just-levyy @snowayumi @alisyacsa

#fanfic #fanfiction #supernatural #spn #dean winchester #reader insert #dean x y/n #dean x you #dean x reader #supernatural fanfiction #dream warriors

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stargarland · 5 months

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realest thing i’ve ever read

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saetoru · 8 months

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you know when i first watched geto die it was my bday weekend so i canceled my all my plans to mourn. and then when gojo died i was going out with my friends to celebrate their new job but i canceled it to eat twizzlers and rewatch season 1 where he was alive and silly. and if yuuta dies, i’ll just cancel my plans with life ✌🏼

this is the realest thing i’ve ever read u are so valid for this bc if anything happens to yuta or yuji i will just feed myself to sharks

#except i dropped the manga so #will i rly experience that ??#who knows #but anyway yeah ur so real for this anon #i feel u #asks!

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dalekofchaos · 15 days

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Dwayne Johnson is a narcissist and an idiot

So Dwayne's stooge Brian Gewirtz says that Cody Rhodes was supposed to react differently when giving up his WM40 Main Event spot to The Rock:

“The idea was supposed to be, it’s like the Nixon-Kenedy debate a little bit where you read the transcript, you’re like ‘Nixon kicked his ass.’ If you watch the actual footage, ‘Oh, he was a sweaty terrible mess.’

Cody, it was supposed to be, in some form, ‘Yeah, Fuckin A! Go get em Rock! You’re going to get your ass kicked, Roman! Let’s do this!’ and this uplifting promo. Instead, he looked like someone shot his dog in the face in the parking lot. —

That, I don’t think, helped matters. It might not have changed or affected anything. Certainly, on paper, and I don’t blame Cody for that, he’s real and one of the realest people I’ve ever met.”

You fucking idiots.

Isn't it scary how Dwyane and the people are around him are always expecting other people to just react with smiles at anything he does just because he's The Rock.

In what fucking world would a man who won the Rumble react the way you wanted to giving up his spot to the Rock.

Dwayne and Brian are still mad that everyone rejected their dogshit fuckin plan for WrestleMania.

You want me to believe Cody was suppose to be cheesing to give up a spot he won? fuck outta there man Was Gewirtz on his knees when he said this?

Taking accountability is a crime in the wrestling business. Just accept that the idea was shit and be glad that the things went the way they went. Cody would've looked like the biggest idiot on the planet (he still did) if he acted the way Brian is describing here.

The pivot after this by Dwayne and team was some of the best television WWE had produced in a minute. So everybody came out better after the change of plans.

Blaming Cody instead of taking responsibility for shitty booking is certainly a choice…..

Him celebrating Rock taking his place would have made him look pathetic.

Him staring daggers at him worked so much better, because why would he be happy for the Rock swooping in & taking what Cody fought hard for?

Dwayne & Brian, you dumbasses.

#WWE #Cody Rhodes #Dwayne Johnson #The Rock #Roman Reigns

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marcsburnerphone · 4 months

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hi i was gonna comment on pt. 5 of “and they were roomates” but decided to leave my review here instead.

first off, i was very confused when i started reading pt. 5. i didn’t understand why we weren’t waking up in johns arms. and then i realized it. i had a dream.

i had a dream where reader got up the courage to kiss john and they made out n shit n took a nom sexual shower together and fell asleep in her bed cuddling after he got back from his mission. i had a fucking dream about your writing thats how good this is.

ive never had a dream about a piece of literature before, but this has me in a chokehold. it’s phenomenal. overwhelmingly beautiful. dare i say perfect?

secondly, reader wanting to climb john is the realest thing. i want to climb him and kiss his hairy chest so badly.

thirdly, you write their dynamic so beautifully. i dont know if this au will contain smut in the future, but you write the pair so romantically, with an undertone of purity and lust that is so incredibly hard to capture yet you do. Something about it is utterly pure in a way i can only long to experience and i cannot praise enough.

fourthly, when reader said john made her feel alive again and he said it back i nearly cried. because you know what else is alive? romance. they said it was dead but no, these two (or rather you) have brought it back again.

i could go on and on about this fix, but i don’t want to take up too much time so i will stop my ramblings here. also, if its not too much, could i be added to the taglist?

This is the best thing I’ve ever received, grateful and thankful for all the love I’ve received on this series.❕🤍

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titsthedamnseason · 6 months

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this is the realest thing i’ve ever read

#mine

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confessbeatles · 25 days

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I wanna sit on Johns face and ride. That beautiful long long nose would have me lasting less than 30 seconds

I think this is the realest thing I’ve ever read

#the beatles #confessions and theories #john lennon #and his beautiful nose

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wonusite · 5 months

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dk fucks good. i can just tell

this is one of the realest things i’ve ever read. you just know he puts it down so good. like those hips would not stop and his massive cock would hit all the right spots. also he’s def the type to put his partner’s pleasure above his own so 😮‍💨

#whoever sent this is real af #it’s canon atp #nonny #nalani.thotz

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xxsksxxx · 8 months

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Liberating the Mirage

Summary:

When an assignment goes horribly wrong, Mulder has to race against time to find Scully.

But sometimes the line between reality and illusion blurs—and it turns out there’s more than one locked door that needs to be opened.

Notes:

This is my little contribution to Fictober, a yearly event that celebrates writing and reading—and fall. All of which are good things in my world.

Since there’s no way I can come up with a new story every day, I’ve decided to write one fic that includes all prompts from the Fictober 2023 prompt list. They’re all in bold if you want to seek them out specifically. You can find the list here: Fictober 2023

This story is complete, but to keep in the spirit of Fictober, I’m posting one chapter a day.

I hope you’ll have as much fun reading this fic as I had writing it.

AO3 | Start at the Beginning | @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023

Chapter 6: Unexpected Influences

US Steel Corp., Washington D.C. Basement

Mulder stretched out his legs on the cold concrete floor and pressed his back against the cold wall. Scully had fallen asleep shortly after John had left them alone again. He’d checked up on her several times in the last two hours, but she seemed to be fine, and he’d opted to not wake her up until she’d slept off all the drugs in her system.

He’d been alone with his thoughts ever since, and his mind had been trying to come up with a way to get them out of there. They needed a plan. And fast.

Scully stirred on the mattress and started to mumble in her sleep, and Mulder turned his head to watch her. She was shivering and Mulder wished he had something to cover her with. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she stared straight at him with wide eyes. “Mulder?” she asked.

Mulder nodded, waiting to see if she still thought he was a hallucination. She watched him for a moment and slowly sat up against the wall, wincing as if in pain. “Well, there’s no way for me to find evidence of whether you’re real or a figment of my imagination,” she said earnestly while rubbing her temples. “All the questions I could ask you, I’d know the answers to myself, so I could be making them up. I suppose I’ll just have to trust that it’s you.”

Mulder chuckled affectionately. Leave it to his partner to be rational even while drugged. He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Feels pretty real to me,” he said and squeezed.

Scully looked down at their joined hands and then up at his face, narrowing her eyes. “Well, it certainly feels like the realest hallucination I ever had,” she said.

If they weren’t trapped, this would actually be pretty funny, Mulder thought. He reached across her legs and took her other hand in his as well, putting them both on his face. “Feel for yourself then, Dr. Scully.”

Scully stroked her thumb over his cheek, down his nose, and over his lips, her eyes following her fingers. She raised her hands to his hair and brushed through it, letting the strands glide through her fingers.

Mulder chuckled again. “What is it with you touching my hair, Scully? Did they teach that in medical school? Though only my current doctor seems to follow this procedure,” he joked.

Scully’s eyes flew up to his and she blushed furiously. She pulled her hands back immediately and turned away. “Well, it seems to be you,” she said, pretending to be checking her sleeve. “I guess I have no choice but to believe you,” she murmured.

“I guess you have no other choice,” Mulder nodded with a smile. “Especially considering that we’re still trapped,” he said.

Scully looked over to him, then to the door, and furrowed her brow. “What happened? I only remember bits and pieces. Do you know a way out of here?”

Mulder sighed. “Our wonderful host must have had a handcuff key to free himself. I didn’t think to check the desk to which I handcuffed him. Stupid, I know. All I was thinking about was finding you. Either way, he wants me to give him a list of people that are working for the FBI.”

Scully thought back to the handcuffs she’d been restrained with and sighed. “You didn’t tell him any names, did you?” she questioned.

Mulder got up and inspected the little basement window, trying to find a way out of their prison. Just like the last ten times he’d checked, there was none. He sighed and turned back around. “Of course not. But he’s not going to keep us here forever. We need to find a way to lure him into a trap and overpower him.”

“Mulder, are you suggesting that we just attack him? We can’t do this on our own,” Scully said doubtfully, giving him a look. “We’re unarmed and there’s nowhere to hide in here.

“Well, we got to try something! We can’t just give up,” Mulder said determinedly, walking around the room again, trying to find an escape.

Scully watched him wordlessly with a resigned look on her face.

*****

“I visited your mother before coming here,” Mulder said, bumping his shoulder into hers. They were sitting next to each other on the old mattress, their backs against the wall. Mulder had finally given up on checking out the room for possible exits.

Scully turned her head and looked at him. “You did? Why?”

“I wanted to see whether someone had tried to contact her. Maybe tried to get some information from her,” he said, pulling on a piece of lint on his jeans with his thumb and index finger. “She knows that I was looking for you and that she should contact me immediately if she heard anything.”

Scully didn’t say anything, contemplating his words in silence. Her mother would be frantic with worry now, she thought. She just hoped she’d get the chance to explain everything to her. “Does Skinner know that you’re here?”

Mulder snorted. “He’d never have let me go.”

Scully nodded, not surprised. “What did you do, Mulder? Did he suspend you?”

Mulder studied his boots. “No, we came to an… agreement. He’d use official channels to find you, and I would… pursue my own investigation.”

Scully studied his profile. “Mulder…”

Mulder sighed. “To be honest, I lost it a bit while we were discussing how to proceed. Well, we lost it. Skinner wasn’t any less worried about you.” He turned his face towards her, giving her an earnest look.

She shied away from his gaze, uncomfortable with the admission, and absentmindedly took her cross between her fingers, twisting the chain. “What are we going to do,” she asked quietly.

“I think our best bet is to give him those names.”

Scully jerked her head around and Mulder held up his hand. “Not the real names, of course. But maybe we can get him excited enough that he’ll be so focused on the list that I can overpower him.”

Scully gave him a worried look. “That doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

Mulder nodded. “I know. But it’s the best I can come up with.” He grabbed the writing pad from the floor next to him and started to scribble names on it while Scully watched.

With a sigh, he put the list down after he had finished and leaned his head back against the wall. “Now all we can do is wait,” he said tonelessly.

“Just in case this doesn’t work…” Scully started and Mulder turned his head towards her, “I’m sorry I missed him coming out of the building. We wouldn’t be here if I had paid more attention and hadn’t only watched the front door. I should’ve seen him coming from the back.”

Mulder shook his head and lightly touched her arm. “Scully, it wasn’t your fault. We thought we had all the exits covered. None of us thought he’d be so bold and head towards the exit we were coming in through.”

Scully lowered her head, staring at her shoes on the mattress. “He completely surprised me, Mulder. That shouldn’t have happened. I was supposed to watch for him.”

Mulder turned his shoulders fully and put his fingers under her chin, lifting her head, so she had no choice but to look up at him. “Scully look at me,” Mulder said. “For the last time, this wasn’t your fault. He tricked us all. Skinner, the other agents—me included—thought he’d run to the front door. I even ran there myself to look for him when you didn’t report in.”

Scully’s eyes darted across his face, trying to see if he was telling the truth.

Mulder smiled at her, his thumb stroking her cheek. “You’re the smartest person I know, Scully,” he whispered softly. “You did the best you could.”

He moved his hand up and tenderly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You know, if this plan doesn’t work, I may not get another chance to say this,” he repeated her word from earlier, his eyes darting down to her lips and then back to her eyes.

Scully’s eyes widened. She didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence and closed the distance, kissing him softly.

Mulder froze when he felt her lips brush against his. Just as she started to retreat, most likely getting self-conscious at his inaction, did he lean in and kiss her back. He could feel her smile against his lips, and she started to relax again.

The kiss ended as softly as it had started, and Mulder leaned his forehead against Scully’s. “We’re going to get out of here, Scully,” he murmured, softly stroking her neck with his thumbs.

She sighed but didn’t open her eyes, her face slightly flushed. “I hope you’re right, Mulder. I hope you’re right.”

***

Thank you so much for reading. You can also find this fic on AO3.

#xfiles #mulder and scully #xf fanfic #fictober23 #dana scully #fox mulder #msr #the x files #fictober event #fictober 2023 #xffictober #xffictober23 #i wrote this #Liberating the Mirage

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brisquad-unit-4402 · 1 year

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AHHH OMG 4402 I JUST READ THE FIC YOU JUST WROTE AND IT WAS AMAZING ❤️❤️

I’M LITERALLY GONNA RE READ IT EVERYDAY ITS SO GOOD 🥲💕

Also I’m gonna be honest I kinda forgot about the request I made since it’s been awhile but when I saw this omg it was so worth the wait! You’re amazing 4402 <3

-🖋️

ah thanks 🖋! super glad you enjoyed it. it’s been a long time coming i’m sorry it took so long you forgot LMAOOOO

real talk sending asks on anon is so hard. you lose track of what you sent so easily. i almost wish this was a main blog just so i could say hey without inserting my full url at the end like a dork

anyways.

this fic was such a Project with a capital P that there were so many scenes and little bits i thought of writing, but eventually scrapped for brevity even though we all know that’s not my strong suit. here’s a list of some of my notes under the read more because of spoilers, most of them are more recent because they’re fresher in my memory lol.

for clarity’s sake here’s how i hc it when i write about these characters being vtubers: the models on screen are a more polished or stylized lookalike of the person behind the screen, but without some of the details of the real person. so basically while vtuber!ike looks like how we all know him, the ike you interact with during the off-collab also has blue-tipped hair and gold earrings that match his glasses chain, but doesn’t wear the same thing daily, shows a full range of emotion, and has, ya kno, pores and freckles and all that instead of anime skin. they’re identical but in different art styles lol. (obligatory disclaimer that i’ve always written for the characters and not the real people working for nijisanji, and that we do not encourage unhealthy parasocial relationships here)

i wanted to hone in on the friends-to-lovers dynamic as much as possible by establishing friend moments before the actual meat of the romance during the off-collab. same with establishing pen and paper as a common in-universe ship. i’m a believer that including these scenes only strengthens the dynamic between mc and li, even if they aren’t necessarily about them interacting!

in the same way i wanted to establish the comfort of being in love with your best friend just as much as the worry. the outlast scene is really tense but i wanted to write it so the dialogue there could apply to anyone comparing themselves to others. same with the last two scenes. one of the elements i love most in hurt/comfort is that they can be like little affirmations even when the reader is completely different from the insert. reader and ike have a million different insecurities about themselves but they rarely see what the other is so worried about because it’s just another part to love. and when they do see it, they’re still there for each other even if it’s as simple as a weird photo or as big as pining

while we’re at it SHOUT OUT TO AIA, MIKA AND ALBAN FOR BEING THE REALEST MFS EVER i loved writing those three interacting with reader. they’re so funny sometimes. and when they’re not, they also serve as great sober advice. they all have different ways of getting you there—aia is the “soft” one but encourages you to get out of your comfort zone when she sees an easy way in and out, alban is the one that tells it to you straight and gives godly advice because of it, and because she’s close with both you and ike, mika does a lot of work behind the scenes encouraging you both. but at the end of the day no matter what your love life looks like, those three are there asap if you need them, regardless if they’re online or in-person

in the meanwhile vox, nina, and mika serve as ike’s close circle of friends and i think that’s beautiful lmao. i didn’t make those four’s relationship that explicit but i like to think of it as a family dynamic of sorts. vox and nina are the patient parent figures while mika is a younger sister type, and all of them also hype ike up like how aia, mika and alban hype you up

and speaking of vox i wanted to include him referring to ike as his work husband, and maybe a more serious one-on-one advice/shovel talk with reader about ike. this was one of those things that was tricky to place in the order of scenes, so it was eventually scrapped

honestly i think this fic is more about the power of friendship than the power of love lmao. it’s a love letter to friends that would drop everything for you regardless if they see you romantically or not, just as well to friends that want you to get every bit of happiness you deserve

you can probably tell how much of this fic is ruled by close friendships down to the kiss scene. reader is pretty clumsy with their feelings, and ike is even worse (though reader never notices because they’re so worried about themselves). i have this hc that for his first kisses, ike would always ask before he goes in, but if it weren’t for that this would’ve been one of those mutual go-for-it wordless kisses, you know what i mean? where everything feels right and even righter when you realize the other person is also leaning in

ESPECIALLY WHEN READER BUMPS IKE’S GLASSESSSSSSSS one of my favorite things in fic is when it’s not always picture perfect and people mess up! and then roll with it! things happen irl including being clumsy but those things tend to be the parts that make things special. i said what i said about reader and ike always being there for each other even when they’re insecure and i meant it. especially because the happiness is so contagious that reader smiles before kissing back and how they both take a laugh break before kissing even more

ren’s ukulele is also a personal touch. it’s not a very grand feeling to just zone out with your friends while one of them plays music, but it is one that i hope everyone experiences once. it really is comfortable, and if you have a friend that’s a bit of a smartass like ren? it gets funny too

when this fic was in development around early april if i remember correctly, ren did a karaoke stream with iris, which was the moment i realized that was the perfect song to describe the fic. i mention a bunch of other songs but iris is the “theme song”. it’s romantic and pretty and intimate, but with an ukulele and nina casually singing along, it fits the comfortable vibe well

wannabe by the spice girls was chosen for the recognizable goofy factor alone. i mentioned motionless in white, my first story and spiritbox mostly because i’ve heard ike mention them before on stream, but spiritbox gets a special shoutout here because i’m pretty sure they’re one of the only ike band recommendations i actually like (talluh too if you include the two songs i’ve listened to). toxicity gets mentioned because, uh… i was watching gavis bettel’s birthday karaoke when that happened and he was too blasted to do system of a down but that just stuck with me. i also have to admit i never actually listened to the emo holy trinity and only knew one mcr song from guitar hero but luckily it’s recognizable and it’s in a wide enough range that i think most people could sing it. ahhh i wish writing lyrics in fic wasn’t so clunky! i have such a picture in my mind of how reader and ike would sing the breakdown and onward

vox singing george strait is pure self-indulgence and i am begging us all to imagine handsome from the cowboy asmr singing christmas cookies. i have been thinking about this since october 2022

the final bonus scene is a neat bow to explain the important parts of the off-collab as well as ike’s real feelings. after all, the fic was written with limited pov and one of the major sources of tension is that ike’s feelings aren’t explicitly stated until the second confession (and the high-stress q&a stream). i wanted it to be so reflective and fond that it feels like a victory lap, and reaffirm what reader and ike’s relationship actually means to him even though he struggles with articulating it out loud

that final scene also had the most ideas that ended up scrapped. this includes but is not limited to: ike telling chat about the cafe with reader but without admitting it was a date, alban teasing ike in the chat, reader teasing ike in the chat, confirming that uki and ren going cafe-hopping was actually so they could playfully gossip about the sexual tension in this airbnb, actual descriptions of the photos reader took, confirming that ike or reader stole the other’s shirt (ike is a smaller guy so i wanted to keep it ambiguous for any reader body types), redirecting to reader’s stream, ike and alban actually talking about why alban knows so much (and him giving ike a shovel talk), and maybe most tragic of all; a forum-style text post scene where the delulu fans get it right for once and guess that reader and ike are in a secret relationship

i might write the delulu fan forum fic one day for fun but if i do then i’m going to call this little series “the pliskinverse” unironically and im that is not a fate i want to impose upon anyone

the word ~ verisimilitude ~ recently entered my vocabulary from a review of the candle cove creepypasta. it basically means when fiction seems authentic, like how a kind character would have polite manners or how an evil villain would laugh completely different than the hero. you could say an ooc fanfic would lack verisimilitude for example. anyways i bring this up because that creepypasta is formatted like a forum thread with distinct personalities between the posters... just like how i wanted the chatters to come across! i don't think it's subtle but i did write them all with different personalities and interests in mind. maybe for fun you can look through them and figure out what team they all play for, even though i'm awful at coming up with fake usernames

it’s really obvious that one of my favorite tropes is shovel talks isn’t it

#unit 4402 reporting #nice comments #4402 answers #🖋 anon #so many thoughts on this fic ack… i will overexplain anything about it

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