#lineman

The surprised look on your baby brother, Jake is priceless. You wonder if it's just your presence or something else entirely knowing him.

"Noona! What are you doing here??"

You just shrugged innocently, "I'm visiting? Mom sent her regards though. What's with your face? Don't like I'm here? I can just leave." You already turned on your back.

Panicked, he quickly circle you, "No, no, no, no! I didn't say that. Come, come. I'll show you around. It's been so long. How are you?" Having you sulking is the least thing be wanna do. Besides Big Deal, it's you who he cherish the most especially for putting up with his flaws. It's only fair he do the same.

Jake's character is still as smooth as ever, but since you did technically raise the kid you know what's behind them. While getting lost to the area, Jake spot his closest men coming this way. The moment Jerry's eyes met Jake's, Jake jerked his head towards you couple time without you noticing.

Jerry froze. "(Name) noona is here-" "Who is here-" Using his built to shield Brad, Jason, Lineman, Jerry squeezed the trio together like a sandwich, "Jake's older sister is here."

The three of them froze. Lips tight even. You're here. Then that's mean it's business. Well business to them. Not you handling business, you are simply visiting because you almost never come here. Which makes it business! To leave a good impression on you!

The four of them did a 180 degree angle with their body, preparing to not mess your day up. Or something like that. They didn't know. They just heard a lot about you. And you're real, you're here-

"Oi!"

"Jake!" All of them straighten their postures in unison. Jake face-palmed, "Just relax." And they did just that by loosening their shoulders.

Jake turned back to you, "Noona, these are my brothers in arms. You remember Brad, Jason and of course Jerry. You haven't meet Lineman."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, (Name) noona." They bow. Again with the synchronized. It almost freaks you out. And Jake notices immediately. Oh how could he not? He knows how to read you better than anyone else because HE pissed you off your entire life.

He instantly act. Pulling that sheepish smile he clasped his hands, "Are you hungry? What you wanna eat? I know a place. My treat of course."

.

Something's wrong. You're so quiet. Did he do something wrong? Is it the food? The company? The place? 'Can read his own sister' my ass, he still suck at this. A lot has been in his kind, he nearly forgot you exist. Just not in the line of danger which he didn't need to worry about.

"Hey." He rest a hand on yours. "Did I do something wrong?"

Your raised your head from the food. "No. Why?"

"You been awfully quiet. I know I hardly text you. And believe me, I admit I'm in the wrong and you have every right to be mad at me."

You sighed through your nose. "Actually."

"I was gonna ask the same thing."

He blinked, "What?" You continue, "That maybe I do something wrong that makes your drift away from me. Hell I know what you do these days and I didn't stop you. It didn't make me stop worrying of course but I've put my trust on you."

His chest tightened. You thought he's mad at you? For what reason?

"Mom couldn't care less. She gave up long ago and I don't wanna be like her. It scares me to not care. To forget. Knowing by the end of the day you'd be gone with the same reason dad..." You didn't finish that sentence. But it's obvious what the next word is. Same bloodline, same fate, same consequences.

"You haven't reach out much so I thought you hate me or something..." Your eyes lowered with guilt. His then mimicked yours.

"I've just been busy." He nearly scoff at himself. It sound like the same ol excuse. "There's a bigger threat coming and I can't keep losing people. So me, including Big Deal and other allies I've managed to team up with, we've been preparing ourselves."

"For the war." He finished.

You just stare. You might not be in his life or the things involve around it but you know what's going on out there. The bloodshed, the brutality. The thought makes your stomach churn hence you rather be excluded or turned on a blind eye.

"Should I know what or who the bigger threat it?" You test the water, waiting if he will keep you in the dark again. On one hand you're curious, the other wants tells you that you might as well ignore this one too. Because it's nothing new.

Right?

"I..." Words stuck in Jake's throat. He didn't know if he can bring himself to tell you. How can he tell you that the very enemy they're about to face is his own blood? Make it yours too. But you're not ignorant just because you didn't witness it himself. He should trust you too.

"His name is..."

.

You and Jake walked together to sightsee the ocean. You nodded along as he finished explaining. "I see. So Jinrang. The King of Busan trained you ever since?"

"Yes. It makes sense, you know? To have his own student teaching the son." He gestured himself "I thought it's ironic. He hardly have the damn time for us." You chuckled, "Yeah, and then he had everyone else close to him pass shit on you. God, he's the worse."

Jake grinned, "The worse." He turned, "Oh." halting in his steps, "Just so you know. Lineman is totally single."

You scoffed in disbelief, "You caught me looking. How dare you, Jake Kim."

"Hey, I got smarter. I learn from the best." He smirked. You raised a brow. He added, "You."

Glaring, you attacked him with your fist which he quickly dodge but was caught off guard. "Woah! Actually, impressive."

You pant softly, "Is it? I'm so stiff. I've been self training." He usher you closer with his hand, "It's okay, we can work on that. Let me show you."

He did a stance for you to copy. While you're in position, he walked your side to fix your posture while adding the points to his advice. He showed you how to throw punches then praised you despite your self esteem.

"I remember when noona would scold us when we get dirty during playtime." Jerry uttered from afar standing with the trio. "She would patch me and Jake up. She's the most caring person I've met."

Brad nodded, "I remember when she said we're such a bad influence to Jake. You remember that, Jason?" "Yeah." "You also said she's hot." "Shut your trap."

"I'm being left out." Lineman sighed.

"Lineman! Grab up water bottle, please?" Jake waved. Lineman's face lit up, "Yes!" And leave. Then come back shortly after. "Here, Jake."

"Thank you." Jake accepted it. You did too, "Yeah, thank you. Lineman." Your fingers lightly brushed against his as you received the bottle. He felt electric. You and Jake continue to do your training.

"She said my name." Lineman quivered.

Jason deadpanned, "Happened to most of us, bud."

★ summary: lineman boldly asks him to mind his little sister.

★ details: fluff, no reader, jerry appears! - spoiler free.

★ wc: 830

★ A/N: couldn't get reluctant babysitter jake out of my head so i had to improvise! also, lineman having a little sister feels so canon to me. idk why?

jake isn’t sure how it’s come to this.

out of all people lineman could have asked, why him? as if he didn't have to do…literally anything else. one fight with some movie extras and he suddenly has all the world's confidence.

“she’s super easy to handle!” he had said, shoving a bag of snacks and a tablet into jake’s hands before bolting out the door. “i’ll only be gone for a few hours! you’re the best, boss!”

he already feels like drowning.

lineman’s little sister, maybe six years old, sits cross-legged on the floor, staring up at him curiously. she doesn’t say much, just hugs her stuffed bunny tightly and tilts her head every time he moves.

“so…what do you wanna do?” jake asks, trying to sound somewhat approachable.

“can you fight monsters?”

he thinks for a second. “sure”

“you look really tall. can you touch the ceiling?”

jake glances up and sighs. “no”

she frowns, clearly unimpressed, and jake wonders how this somehow feels worse than any fight he’s been in.

by the time she gets bored of interrogating, she’s bouncing around the cramped apartment. lineman was clearly lying about the "easy to handle" part.

“don’t climb that!” he exclaims, but she’s already halfway up on the chair near the shelf.

“i just want the cookies!” she protests, standing on tiptoes as it wobbles beneath.

jake moves before he can think, catching her mid-fall as the chair tips over. she clings to his neck like a scared cat, her tiny hands gripping on to him.

“you okay?” his tone is gentle now.

“yes…” she mumbles. “…sorry”

jake exhales, setting her back on her feet. “you scared me, kid. don’t do that again, alright?”

she nods, looking genuinely remorseful, and he finds it surprisingly hard to stay annoyed. she sticks close to him after, holding onto him whenever he moves around.

eventually, jake pulls out his phone and calls the only person he can.

“boss?” jerry answers on the first ring, as per usual.

“jerry, i need backup” he says flatly.

there’s a pause. “…what kind of backup?”

“i'm looking after lineman's sister” jake glances at the little girl, who’s now absentmindedly colouring at the table. “but she’s a menace”

“a little kid? you can’t handle a little kid, boss?”

“do you want a promotion or not, jerry?” he says dryly.

jerry hesitates, confused. “…but i’m already number two”

“well…don't let the others know, but i’m working on creating a top-secret position” his voice turns serious. “it’s between number two and number one. you interested?”

jerry pauses for a moment, and he can practically hear him thinking it over. “…are you serious, jake?”

jake smirks, shaking his head. “totally”

his tone is now oddly determined. “alright, i’m on my way!”

when jerry shows up, lineman’s sister immediately zeroes in on him.

“are you jerry?” she asks, squinting up.

“yes, ma’am” he politely crouches slightly so he’s closer to her height. “what’s up?”

“can you touch the ceiling?”

jerry grins, straightening to his full height. “wanna see?”

she nods enthusiastically, and jerry being the giant he is, reaches up to touch the ceiling with ease. she claps in delight, and jake can't help but snort at how proud he looks.

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by the time lineman comes back, his sister is dozing off on the couch, clutching her stuffed bunny.

“thanks, jake” he says sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “i owe you big time!”

“damn right you do” he mutters, grabbing his jacket. “don’t make a habit of this”

as he and jerry head out, the child suddenly stirs and runs to catch them at the door.

“wait! i made this for you” she says shyly, holding out a sheet of paper.

he unfolds it, revealing a crayon drawing of himself. in the picture, he’s taller than the buildings in the background, with a superhero cape and the words “JAKE, THE UNCLE WHO SAVED ME” scrawled beneath.

he stares at it, something warm settling in his chest.

“thank you, kiddo” he smiles, ruffling her hair gently.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎

on the way back, jerry glances at him. “you gonna frame that?”

“shut up jerry” but he carefully folds the drawing and tucks it into his pocket, somewhere it won’t get bent.

for a moment, his thoughts wander. he never thinks about kids. ever. why would he? definitely not with the life he leads right now.

jake clenches his jaw, his mind flashing to memories of his own father: a man who had chosen selfish indulgences over responsibility. looking after everyone, but his own family.

if life ever brings him to that point - if he ever had a child looking up at him, trusting him like that - he wouldn’t be like his father. he couldn’t. he’d be the kind of person they could count on, no matter what.

for the first time, jake wonders what it would be like. would he be capable of it?

maybe he wouldn’t be so bad at parenthood after all.

Thanks so much for the tags @all-or-nothing-baby and @greyhavenisback

I got really excited for a moment because I thought it was Sunday today - and then I realised that it is actually Monday. But that was okay because I got two AMAZING snippets to read regardless! (Seriously go read them! They're fab!)

So I'm trying to get back to writing after a few insane weeks so you can have something I wrote earlier.

For context, this is from Lineman, a sterek glacial burn, post-apocalyptic au where Stiles has a pirate radio station and Derek is the one responsible for the communication network. As always, Stiles is creating pure chaos and making it Derek's problem.

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"I didn't do anything," Boyd says automatically.

"I know," Derek growls, shouldering past him and reaching to adjust the capacitor. It does nothing.

The strange noises and singing build to a rhythmic crescendo. Derek flinches, wondering if some kind of creature is going to appear out of his radio. It sounds like someone trying to summon an old god.

"I can't turn it down either," Boyd yells, the noise just getting louder the more Derek tries to interfere.

"No shit," Derek bites back, having already turned the volume as low as it can go.

"Whatever it is it's playing around the whole town," Boyd shouts, sticking his head outside to where the same awful sound is playing from Erica's bar. Derek can hear a few people shrieking inside and he can't tell if it's with laughter or agony. Or maybe both.

"Then fucking help me," he growls, yanking the housing off the radio, exposing the copper coils, the capacitor and the diodes. He stares at it blankly then reaches up to adjust the antenna before his mind catches up with his body and he can take a long hard look at what the hell he's doing.

The radio waves are already transmitting. And he's been trying to stop them. Like an idiot. All he can do is stop them being received. But he can't turn off every radio in the town. Or can he?

He leans down to carefully disconnect the speaker but is startled by the buzzing as a message comes through on Boyd's field radio.

Boyd picks up the receiver only to have Derek snatch it out of his hand.

"We're handling it," he growls into the mic before slamming it back into it's cradle. He shares a look with Boyd. Whatever this noise is, it's playing on all channels and as far over as Novac.

"We're not handling it, are we?" Boyd asks, staring at Derek's wild eyes and heaving chest. At his feet Muttley is still howling loud enough to wake the dead and all Derek can do is collapse into the chair, completely and utterly defeated.

Around him the noise intensifies until the strange twanging noise finally slows to a stop, only to be replaced by a slow clatter that sounds like someone has dropped a sheet of metal.

It sounds horrendous.

Then, nothing.

Into the silence Derek breathes heavily, glaring at Boyd as if he has any more answers than he does.

The silence stretches between them for a long, long moment before it is shattered by a now familiar, all too excitable voice.

"Didn't that just blow your gourd? YES! Yes it did. Gentle folk of the post apocalypse, allow me to introduce you to Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets.

Jazz hands! Jazz hands, baby."

There is a burst of sound as Stiles cackles madly and Derek winces, wishing he knew where Stiles was so that he could cut off his fucking jazz hands.

"Oh my god! Music!

Guys, gals and everything in between - we have music!

Yes, you heard me correctly! Please, do not adjust your sets. It wouldn't help you even if you did.

Hah! I have music now! Music!

Oh, it is all SO over for you!"

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