the way mack’s eyes kept wandering until will’s found him. eky came over, mack said what he wanted to say, and just spun around looking for will again, then will found him. now he can settle. you can see the moment his brain just goes “oh there you are!”
A/N: I posted a part one and part two of Lost and Found in my All Star Community, and they requested for it to be a series. I'm still posting First Down Forever, but I present Chapter 1 of Lost and Found. I hope you love it! xx Elle
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The rain came down in sheets, turning the Chicago park into a blur of grays and greens. Azzi pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders, cursing herself for not checking the weather before she'd left her studio. Her sneakers squelched against the wet pavement, paint still crusted under her fingernails from the canvas she'd abandoned an hour ago.
She should've stayed home. Should've pushed through the creative block instead of wandering out here like some tortured artist cliché. But the walls of her apartment had felt too close, the silence too loud, and she'd needed to move, to breathe, to –
A sound cut through the steady patter of rain.
Crying.
Azzi stopped mid-step, head tilting as she strained to hear over the weather. There it was again – small, hiccupping sobs that made something in her chest tighten.
She followed the sound toward the playground, her pace quickening. The equipment looked abandoned in the dim evening light, swings swaying empty in the wind, the jungle gym slick with rain. But the crying was getting louder, more desperate.
"Hello?" she called out, scanning the area.
The sobs seemed to be coming from the tube slide – a bright yellow tunnel that connected two platforms. Azzi jogged over, her heart picking up speed as she crouched down to peer inside.
A little boy sat curled in the middle of the slide, knees pulled to his chest, face buried in his arms. He couldn't have been more than six or seven, wearing a soaked hoodie that clung to his small frame.
"Hey, sweetheart," Azzi said softly, keeping her voice gentle. "Are you okay?"
The boy's head snapped up, revealing tear-streaked cheeks and wide, frightened eyes. He scrambled backward, pressing himself against the curve of the slide.
"It's okay, it's okay," Azzi soothed, holding up her hands. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just heard you crying and wanted to make sure you're alright. My name's Azzi."
The boy stared at her, lower lip trembling.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"G-Gabe," he whispered.
"Hi, Gabe. That's a really cool name." Azzi smiled, trying to project calm even as worry gnawed at her. Where the hell were this kid's parents? "Are you stuck in there? Do you want to come out?"
Gabe shook his head violently. "I can't find her."
"Who can't you find, honey?"
"Auntie Paige. We were playing hide and seek and I hid really good but then she didn't come find me and it got dark and I don't know where she is." The words tumbled out in a rush, punctuated by fresh sobs.
Azzi's jaw tightened. Hide and seek. In a park. At dusk. In the rain. What kind of irresponsible –
She took a breath, forcing herself to focus on the scared child in front of her. "Okay, that sounds really scary. But you know what? I bet she's looking for you right now. Why don't you come out of there and we can find her together?"
Gabe hesitated, then slowly crawled toward her. When he emerged from the slide, Azzi could see he was shivering, his lips tinged slightly blue. Without thinking, she shrugged out of her jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders.
"There we go. Better?"
He nodded, looking up at her with those big, trusting eyes that made her want to find this Auntie Paige and give her a piece of her mind.
"Do you know your auntie's phone number?" Azzi asked.
Gabe's face brightened slightly. "Uh-huh. Auntie Paige made me memorize it. She said it's 'portant."
"She's right, it is important. Can you tell it to me?"
Gabe rattled off the numbers, stumbling only once before correcting himself. Azzi pulled out her phone, shielding the screen from the rain as she dialed.
It rang three times before someone picked up.
"Yeah?" The voice was female, low and rough around the edges, with a quality that made something flutter unexpectedly in Azzi's stomach. Attractive, even through the obvious irritation.
"Hi, um, I found a little boy in the park – Gabe? He says his Auntie Paige – "
"Where are you?" the voice cut her off.
Azzi blinked at the rudeness. "Excuse me?"
"Where. Are. You." Each word was clipped, impatient.
"Lincoln Park, near the – "
"Which part?"
"The playground off Clark Street. There's a diner across – "
The line went dead.
Azzi stared at her phone in disbelief. "She just hung up on me."
Gabe tugged on her sleeve. "Is Auntie Paige coming?"
"I – yeah, I think so, buddy." Azzi looked down at him, at his soaked clothes and shivering frame, and made a decision. "Come on. Let's get you somewhere warm and dry."
She held out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, Gabe took it, his small fingers cold against her palm.
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The diner was one of those classic Chicago spots that looked like it hadn't changed since the seventies – red vinyl booths, checkered floors, and the perpetual smell of coffee and grease. A bell chimed as Azzi pushed open the door, ushering Gabe inside.
The warmth hit them immediately, and Gabe's shivering intensified as his body registered the temperature change. A waitress looked up from behind the counter, her expression softening when she saw the soaked child.
"Rough night out there, huh?" she said kindly.
"You could say that." Azzi guided Gabe to a booth near the window where she could watch for whoever was coming to get him. "Can we get a coffee and a water, please? And maybe some napkins?"
"Coming right up, hon."
Azzi slid into the booth across from Gabe, who was still wrapped in her jacket, looking small and lost. She grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser and gently dried his face.
"You do it like her," Gabe said quietly.
"Do what?"
He smiled shyly. "Take care of me. Like my mommy."
Something twisted in Azzi's chest. "Thanks, sweetheart. Are you feeling a little better?"
He nodded, but his eyes were still red-rimmed and worried.
The waitress returned with their drinks, and Azzi wrapped Gabe's hands around the water glass. "Small sips, okay?"
"Okay."
Azzi pulled out her phone again, opening a simple game app. "Hey, you want to play something while we wait? It's this really cool puzzle game where you have to match the colors."
Gabe's face lit up. "Really?"
"Really. Here, I'll show you how it works."
She scooted around to his side of the booth, and for the next few minutes, they huddled over her phone, Gabe's giggles gradually replacing his sniffles as he got the hang of the game. Azzi found herself smiling despite the situation, charmed by his concentration and the way he celebrated each completed level.
She was in the middle of showing him a trick for the harder puzzles when the diner door swung open with enough force to make the bell clang violently.
Azzi looked up.
And forgot how to breathe.
The woman who walked in was... there weren't words. Tall – easily five-ten or five-eleven – with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail that somehow looked both casual and severe at the same time. She wore dark slacks and a leather jacket that fit her like it had been tailored, and even from across the diner, Azzi could see the sharp cut of her jawline, the intensity in her eyes as they scanned the room.
She moved like a predator, all controlled power and coiled energy, and when her gaze landed on their booth, Azzi felt it like a physical touch.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no.
This couldn't be –
The woman strode toward them, and Azzi's brain short-circuited. She was gorgeous. Stupidly, unfairly gorgeous, with features that belonged on a runway or a movie screen, and there was something dangerous about her, something that made Azzi's pulse kick up for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.
Get it together, she told herself frantically. You're a grown woman, not a teenager with a crush.
But her body wasn't listening. Her palms were sweating. Her mouth had gone dry. And she was pretty sure she was staring, but she couldn't seem to stop, couldn't seem to do anything but watch as this impossibly attractive woman approached their table with the kind of confidence that suggested she owned every room she walked into.
"Gabe." The woman's voice was the same one from the phone – low, rough, commanding. "Let's go before your mom kills me."
The words snapped Azzi out of her daze, and suddenly the attraction was buried under a wave of protective fury.
"Excuse me?" She stood up, putting herself between the woman and Gabe. "You can't just – who even are you?"
The woman's eyes narrowed. "I'm the person who's taking him home."
"Like hell you are." Azzi crossed her arms, very aware that she was still damp from the rain, probably looked like a drowned rat, and was facing down someone who looked like she could break her in half without breaking a sweat. "I found him alone and terrified in a park. In the rain. In the dark. You think I'm just going to hand him over to some stranger who shows up and – "
"Auntie Paige!"
Gabe's excited shout cut through Azzi's tirade. She turned to see him scrambling out of the booth, her jacket falling off his shoulders as he launched himself at the blonde woman.
Auntie Paige.
Oh.
Oh shit.
The woman – Paige – caught Gabe easily, and the transformation was startling. Her entire face softened, the hard edges melting away as she crouched down to his level, hands running over him like she was checking for injuries.
"You okay, buddy?" Her voice was gentle now, nothing like the sharp tone she'd used with Azzi. "You scared?"
"I couldn't find you," Gabe said, his voice wobbling. "I waited and waited but you didn't come."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Paige pulled him into a hug, and Azzi saw her eyes close briefly, saw something that looked almost like pain flash across her face.
Azzi stood there feeling like an idiot, her righteous anger deflating into embarrassment. "I – I'm sorry. I thought – "
"You thought I was some random person trying to kidnap him." Paige stood, keeping one hand on Gabe's shoulder. Her expression had gone cold again, those blue eyes assessing Azzi with an intensity that made her want to squirm. "Can't blame you for that."
"I just wanted to make sure he was safe."
"He is." Paige's tone made it clear the conversation was over. "Come on, Gabe. We need to get you home."
But she didn't move yet. Instead, she looked at Azzi with something that might have been curiosity, might have been suspicion. "Why'd you even have him anyway?"
The question landed wrong, the implication behind it making Azzi's spine stiffen. "Why did I have him? Are you serious right now?"
"It's a simple question."
"He was alone." Azzi heard her voice rising but couldn't stop it. "He was crying in a tube slide in the middle of a park, in the rain, in the dark, because someone thought it was a good idea to play hide and seek and then apparently forgot about him!"
Paige's jaw tightened. "Watch it."
"Or what?" Azzi stepped forward, anger overriding the part of her brain that recognized this woman was probably dangerous. "You're going to threaten me for pointing out that leaving a little boy alone in a park at night is incredibly irresponsible? He was terrified. He was shaking. He thought you'd abandoned him."
"I didn't – " Paige started, but Azzi was on a roll now.
"Do you have any idea how many things could have gone wrong? He could have been hurt. He could have been taken. He could have – " Her voice cracked slightly. "He was so scared, and he's just a little kid, and whoever was supposed to be watching him clearly wasn't doing their job."
The air between them crackled with tension. Paige's expression had gone completely blank, which was somehow more intimidating than anger would have been.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Paige said quietly.
"I know what I saw."
"You saw the end of something. Not the whole story."
"Then maybe you should tell me the whole story instead of acting like I'm the problem here." Azzi could feel the attitude bleed into her tone, but she was freezing, exhausted, and a little burnt out.
Paige's eyes flashed. For a moment, Azzi thought she might actually respond, might explain. But then her expression shuttered completely, and she turned to Gabe.
"Say thank you to – " She paused, realizing she didn't know Azzi's name.
"Azzi," she supplied, still bristling.
"Say thank you to Azzi for helping you."
"Thank you, Azzi." Gabe looked between them, clearly picking up on the tension. "I liked playing games with you."
Azzi's anger softened immediately. She crouched down to his level, forcing a smile. "I liked playing with you too, buddy. You stay safe, okay?"
"Okay." He hesitated, then darted forward to hug her quickly before retreating back to Paige's side.
Paige's hand settled on his shoulder, protective and possessive. She looked at Azzi one more time, and there was something complicated in her expression – something that might have been gratitude, might have been resentment, might have been a dozen other things Azzi couldn't parse.
"Let's go," Paige said to Gabe, and then they were moving toward the door.
Azzi stood there watching them leave, her heart still pounding, her mind a mess of conflicting emotions. She should feel good about this. She'd helped a scared kid. She'd made sure he got back to his family safely.
So why did she feel so unsettled?
The door swung shut behind them, and through the rain-streaked window, Azzi watched Paige guide Gabe toward a sleek black car parked at the curb. She saw the way Paige opened the back door, the way she made sure Gabe was buckled in before closing it. Saw her pause with her hand on the car door, head bowed like she was gathering herself.
Then Paige looked back at the diner.
Their eyes met through the glass, and Azzi felt that same jolt of attraction mixed with frustration, curiosity mixed with anger. Paige's expression was unreadable, but she held Azzi's gaze for a long moment before sliding into the driver's seat.
The car pulled away, taillights disappearing into the rainy Chicago night.
Azzi sank back into the booth, suddenly exhausted. Her coffee had gone cold. Her clothes were still damp. And she couldn't stop thinking about sharp blue eyes and a voice that had made her stomach flip even while making her blood boil.
"You okay, hon?" The waitress appeared at her elbow, concern evident in her voice.
"Yeah," Azzi said automatically. Then, more honestly, "I don't know."
She picked up her phone, intending to distract herself, but found herself staring at the game she'd been playing with Gabe instead. His last completed level was still on the screen, the bright colors mocking her confusion.
Who was Paige? Why had she seemed so dangerous and so careful all at once? What had happened in that park before Azzi had found Gabe?
And why couldn't Azzi stop thinking about the way Paige had looked at her – like she was trying to figure out a puzzle, like Azzi was something unexpected and potentially problematic?
"Fuck," Azzi muttered, dropping her head into her hands.
She'd lived in Chicago for three years. She'd navigated the art scene, dealt with difficult clients, survived a pandemic and a breakup and a dozen other challenges. She was a grown woman with her life reasonably together.
She was not the kind of person who got flustered by attractive strangers.
Except apparently, she was.
And worse, she had a feeling this wasn't the last time she'd see Paige. Chicago was a big city, but it had a way of making itself small when it wanted to. Connections had a way of surfacing. Paths had a way of crossing.
Azzi pulled out her wallet and left money on the table for the coffee and water, adding a generous tip. As she stood to leave, she caught her reflection in the window – hair a mess, mascara slightly smudged, looking exactly like someone who'd just had a very strange, very charged encounter with a very dangerous woman.
"Get it together," she told her reflection.
But as she stepped back out into the rain, pulling her damp jacket around her shoulders, she couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted. That the universe had just tilted slightly on its axis, and she was going to have to figure out how to navigate this new angle.
The rain soaked through her clothes as she walked, but Azzi barely noticed. Her mind was too busy replaying every moment – the way Paige had moved, the way she'd looked at Gabe with such obvious care, the way her voice had dropped when she'd said "watch it."
The way Azzi's body had responded to all of it, even when her brain was screaming that this woman was trouble.
Especially because this woman was trouble.
By the time Azzi made it back to her apartment, she was drenched and shivering and completely unable to stop thinking about blue eyes and a voice that had made her forget, just for a moment, how to be sensible.
She peeled off her wet clothes, took a hot shower, and tried to convince herself that this was just a weird blip. A strange encounter that would fade into a funny story she'd tell at parties.
But as she lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, she knew she was lying to herself.
Something had happened in that diner. Something that felt significant in a way she couldn't quite name.
And Paige – dangerous, beautiful, complicated Paige – had looked at her like she'd felt it too.
Azzi closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but all she could see was the way Paige had stood in that doorway, commanding and careful and completely magnetic.
Am feral for the pleading sounds Whumpee makes when Whumper is at work on them.
The little huffs from their stomach, soft grunts from their chest, scared mewls in the back of their throats, smothered by a hand, a gag, a look.
They do it because Whumper always responds.
Whether to goad them on. To punish them further. Or to soothe Whumpee for a few blissful moments of relief before Whumper sets to work again.
I need more pleading sounds in whump
