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#''secret womens meeting you always believed happened" is not useful for . to search??? help :(
inkskinned · 1 year
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"it's so embarrassing you like that popular thing" "oh ew that geeky/strange thing is so cringe lol" "oh it's kind of weird you get excited about that harmless shit"
dude i love how ironic and jaded you are and that's so cool and sexy of you. and i am so so glad to tell you - you won!! we all had a meeting and we decided that you won, and we are writing your name on the inside of a burger king crown. the marker smeared, sorry, but we knew any form of real effort is ugly to you. but anyway. congrats! you are officially the coolest, most ironic, most jaded person in-the-world-right-now. we would throw you a party but you would think it was totally boring - and besides, we're weird so we wouldn't have been coming. we would have brought our love of beetles and of baking and of little canapes. we would have brought our artsy videogames and pages of writing. we would have written a poem with you, our hands covered in ink, and spread out a canvas to dance on, the night so lurid and pink.
but do not worry. we will not throw the party. we will just get you a ringlight and that crown i mentioned. it is a nice crown, except for where one of us dropped it.
the vote was a really hard one because we had so many cool ironic people to pick off the shelves. all of you have hands that rot fruit, how strange is that - you can't look at something without destroying it for other people. you like it when you can squeeze a person into a pinpoint - all us small ones scampering our little feet around our ugly joys. the vote was also a hard one because we kept our voices down because you don't like it when we talk too loud. you were on your phone at the time, talking to people other than us. you are a ghoul of every moment - half in, half out, you resent us for being here without shame or embarrassment.
so good news! we have invented an island for people like you. you get to go there and speak into the air things like if you still like watching harmless twitch streamers in 2023 you're fucking boring. you will say things like liveplay podcasts are fucking ugly and it's kind of awkward they try to make everything gay. on the island we made you, all of your words will have weight. they will form in the air like icicles, large white behemoth letters that will crumple in anvils around your feet. maybe we will send someone there once in a while to sweep, but honestly you might be there for a while, alone, waiting. we are busy being outside looking for mushrooms and flapping our hands and humming. we are busy kicking our little heels while we watch cringey tv. we are busy - sorry! as an apology, we have pre-filled the island with every bland, mediocre, unscented thing we could find. the island has the texture of american cheese. the island has an ocean that never gets angry. the island is perfect for you, trust me. you will be so happy there - as happy as you can be, ironically.
we want to say we are sorry for doing harmless things that you find annoying, childish, or unappealing - but we are not sorry. we thought we could help you, because we don't mind laughing at ourselves, but it turns out you are allergic to color and noise and atmosphere, so this is the best that we can do for now. we are all making a big shirt that says i voted in the ironic monarchy. we got you one that is just a fast fashion buttondown. i am so excited for you and this island and the big life you have won. you have a cool jaded grey life and miles of irony to roam. i love you! be well.
now leave us alone.
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wandaromanova · 3 years
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can i request wandanat x r? r wants to propose to wandanat and has been sneaking around to hide her plans of proposal. wandanat thinks r is cheating and maybe leaves her? you decide but angst please and i just love all your work i can't stop re reading them💕
Ruined
Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader x Natasha Romanoff
Warnings: cussing, arguing, very slight violence, cheating allegations
A/N: hi! thank you for your request! im flattered to know that you love and re read my work! i may or may not have intentionally left this on a cliffhanger whoops 🤭 <3
Ruined | Regret
Word Count: 1.8K | masterlist
(gif is not mine)
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You had first met Wanda and Natasha when you were tasked with being the Avengers’ liaison. You were tasked to handpick missions that you believed required the attention of the heroes and assigned team members onto those missions.
You worked very closely with the team, you even lived with them in the compound for convenience. In the time spent working for them, you had grown super close to everyone; most especially Nat and Wanda.
It first started off with the pair going into your office, always asking for missions. You had found it odd considering they never took a break. You didn’t understand why they’d seek out missions when they were clearly exhausted. You figured that maybe they just loved helping people so much that they got excited and anxious for missions, but little did you know what their true intentions were.
They wanted to spend time with you. They wanted to observe you close up and not across a conference table. They wanted to know everything there was to know about you. As creepy as it was, they wanted to get close enough to know what you smelt like. They wanted to know what your lips tasted like. They wanted the relationship with you to surpass professionalism.
Eventually, the two Avengers stopped asking for missions when they came in; they just went to your office for the sake of going there. They’d bring you various lunches every single day and shower you with small compliments.
You’d brushed it off as the women being very good friends that just so happened to be flirts. You were wrong. They were interested in you, in the same way you were in them. You couldn’t help but admire the two beautiful women.
Their green eyes, fit bodies, and kind smiles were a recipe for disaster, in the best way possible. With one look, you’d drop to your knees and do whatever they wanted. They just had to say the word and you would do it, no hesitation. Yeah, it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it’s painfully and embarrassingly true.
Over the course of time, you had grown closer to Wanda and Nat. Your daily lunches turned into daily movie nights and dinners too. You saw them all the time and you didn’t mind it one bit.
They finally asked you out after a year of spending time with and getting closer to you. It was safe to say, you instantly agreed with a smile on your face as you let out an, “of course! fucking finally!”
•❅────────✧❅✦❅✧─────────❅•
Now, you had been dating the two women for five years. Yeah, it’s been a long ass time, but it still wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to spend forever with Wanda and Nat.
You wanted to get an actual house in the suburbs together. Not an apartment in the middle of New York, but a place you could call home. You craved the domesticity of it all.
You wanted to settle down and have kids with them somehow; whether it be by adoption or via surrogate. You just wanted to have a family of your own with the two woman you loved more than anyone or anything in the universe.
So, you’ve been sneaking around trying to keep your secret, well… a secret. You were planning on proposing to your girlfriends. Yes, this was a very huge step in a relationship, but you felt as though it was the right time. You guys had been together for five years! You were practically married to them already!
You would sneak off suddenly during your usual movie nights with Wanda and Nat or before breakfast to go and meet with different jewelers. You didn’t want to go into a store and buy their rings. That was not an option in the slightest. They were special and deserved special rings. They needed rings that were as unique and one of a kind as they were. It’s what Wanda and Nat deserved.
So, you were constantly leaving, whether it be early in the morning or the late hours of the night, on the search for someone who could make your ideas for their rings, a reality. You would hide your phone from Wanda and Nat’s view and even changed your passcode in order to prevent them from finding out. You’d face your phone down whenever you left it in a room with the pair, as well.
Unfortunately, in your excitement of what was to come, you didn’t realize how suspicious your behavior had been. You figured that you were being pretty discreet, coming up with pretty believable excuses. You even had some of the team help you with your lies, since you let them know what you had planned.
However, you forgot you were dating a world class spy and a witch. You were wrong, obviously. As each day passed, your girlfriends worried and assumed the worst. They let their minds spiral and searched for worst case scenarios. The worst one of all seeming the most likely; infidelity. They came to the conclusion that you were cheating on them.
•❅────────✧❅✦❅✧─────────❅•
Natasha and Wanda cried to one another on one of the nights you bolted off and zoomed out of the apartment with a lame excuse.
Wanda sat on the couch as Nat held her in her arms. They both had tears cascading down their faces as their thoughts were plagued by you; by your supposed betrayal.
“How? How could she do this to us? After everything we’ve been through? She’s goes and cheats on us?” Wanda spoke brokenly as she released a sob. Natasha pulled Wanda closer, the Sokovian woman placing her head in the crook of Nat’s neck.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know, Wanda. All I know is, this can’t go on any longer.” Natasha spoke, trying to keep her voice steady, but her voice failed her. She came out shaky as the sadness and hurt seeped in. You had betrayed them, or so they thought.
They sat there in the same position, waiting for your return. Finally, four hours later. You had come back to the apartment.
You were ecstatic as you made your way up to the front door. You finally found a jeweler that could make the perfect rings for Wanda and Nat! You couldn’t wait to get on one knee and present the rings to the two women who would forever hold your heart. You were over the moon excited right now.
However, your joy was quickly wiped away the second you stepped foot into the apartment. You took in the sight of Wanda and Natasha on the couch, staring at you with dried and fresh tears on their faces. You instantly shut the door and tossed your keys onto the counter as you rushed towards your girlfriends worriedly.
“Nat, Wands, what’s wrong loves?” You asked as you approached them, but Natasha abruptly stood up before you could get too close.
“Don’t you take another fucking step!” Nat snapped at you, and you stumbled backwards a little, in total shock. Your concern increased as you looked between the fuming redhead and the heartbroken looking brunette.
“Did something happen? What’s wrong?” You were so confused and desperately wanted to comfort your girlfriends. You don’t recall doing anything that could anger and upset them this much.
“Yeah, something happened. Our girlfriend is a fucking pathetic, cheating ass bitch who can’t keep it in her pants.” Natasha spoke with venom dripping from her tone. You literally let out a gasp, her words physically hurting you.
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m not cheating on you guys! I love you both more than you guys could even imagine!” You raised your voice, getting frustrated with the situation.
Wanda suddenly stood up and stuck beside Nat. She stared at you with anger clouding her sadness now.
“You’re not cheating on us? Then why the hell have you been running off at weird hours of the day? Why have you been hiding your phone from us?” Wanda began to fire a bunch of questions towards you.
You froze in your place. The answers to their questions weren’t what they thought they would be. The true answers were the complete opposite of cheating, you were acting weird because you were planning on proposing! But you couldn’t tell them that!
You stood silently as the two women stared at you, breathing heavily. They took your silence as confirmation of their suspicions.
“We fucking knew it. You’re a fucking joke, Y/N. Were we not enough for you? Was two women not enough for you?” Wanda inched her way towards you, eyes glowing red.
You backed away, not in fear, but in sadness. You really wished you could tell them the real reasons behind your behavior, but you couldn’t without blowing up your surprise.
“Did you really think you could go behind our backs without us noticing?” Wanda continued to stalk towards you, like she was about to murder you.
“I swear to you both, I would never, ever, cheat on you guys. You’re both more than enough for me. You’re my home, I’d never jeopardize that.” You tried to convince your girlfriends to believe you, but they weren’t having it.
“Stop lying to us!” Wanda screamed out as she sent you flying back with a scarlet colored blast as she used her powers on you. Your back connected with the front door as you groaned. That was going to be a huge bruise later, for sure.
“I’m not lying. When have I ever lied to you both, huh? Why the fuck would I start now?” You asked exasperatedly as you stood up slowly. You cringed at the pain radiating from your back.
“And here you go again, more lies coming out of your slutty mouth. The fucking nerve you have, Why don’t you go and fuck whoever you’ve been seeing and leave us alone?” Natasha spoke as she moved forward, placing her hand firmly on Wanda’s waist.
Before you even have the chance to speak, Wanda opened the door with her powers and tossed you out of the apartment. She abruptly slammed the door in your face. Wanda and Nat’s angry, pain-filled faces and scarlet colored magic being the last things you saw before the door blocked your vision with a harsh slam.
You sat on the ground in front of the door in shock. They thought you were cheating on them. They didn’t want anything do with you now. What the fuck were you supposed to do now? What did this mean for your proposal? Should you cancel on the jeweler? Or should you hold out hope and pray that they’ll hear you out eventually?
All you did know was that your proposal had been ruined regardless. Whether you told them about your plans or not, the moment was doomed the minute they began to suspect cheating.
Withholding the information from them, caused them to push you away. But now that you look at it, if you had just told them about the proposal, you’d at least be in their arms right now and not on the floor of your apartment complex hallway with tears streaming down your face.
You were at a loss, and you didn’t know if you could gain back the trust of the women you loved.
───────── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ──────────
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babymetaldoll · 3 years
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DIWK - Chapter nine: “Fuck it, I love you”
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Word count: 8,2K
Summary:  (Y/N) is struggling with her feelings for Spencer, and being just her friend might be harder than she thought. Spencer feels everybody but (Y/N) knows he is in love with her, and for a second, he is sure he will lose her.
Warnings: Cursing, angst frustration, mention of S03E09 (Penelope), usual Criminal Minds content.
A/N:  Hello my dearest friends! hope you are having a great week, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. All feedback is welcome!
Masterlist
Chapter one | Chapter two | Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five | Chapter six | Chapter seven | Chapter eight | Chapter nine | Chapter ten | Chapter eleven | Chapter twelve | Chapter thirteen | Chapter fourteen | Chapter fifteen |
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(Y/N)'s point of view
Since Rossi joined the team, we were as busy as we had been in a long time. We didn't have much free time, and most of the cases took us out of Virginia. But, it was our job, and we all liked it, which is why none of us complained much. No one but JJ, who still tried to keep her relationship with Will a secret.
On the bright side, all that traveling and working with the team got us even closer. Having Rossi there gave us a boost to be better at what we did and be even better friends. We had to spend a lot of time together, and by the look in David's eyes, you could tell he was surprised by how good we all got along. At least most of the time.
We were in Florida trying to find an unsub who kidnapped and mutilated women when it happened. After knowing them for over two years, Garcia and Morgan had a fight. A real fight.
- "Hey, how is it going with Father Marks? Any of the volunteers jumped out at him?"- I asked Morgan when I found him at the station after a long day trying to find a lead that might take us to the unsub or the victims.
- "Not yet"- my cellphone rang that second, and Garcia's voice at the other side of the line gave me more info on the case.
- "I'm still running the particulars of our homicides though vicap. Nothing so far."- she announced.
- "Ok. I just sent you the volunteer search list"- I walked from Morgan and sipped my coffee, feeling there was something off.
- "Ok. And I'm cross-checking the names against mental institution records."
- "Pay attention to individuals who were involuntarily committed in Florida. Rossi is convinced our unsub is the type that likes to stick close to home."
- "Got it. Talk to you later."
- "Wait, PG. You usually call Morgan about these kinds of things. Is everything ok?"- I whispered though I knew Morgan was paying a lot of attention to what I was talking about on the phone with Garcia.
- "God, I hate profilers"- she groaned at the other side of the line.
- "Come on, tell me."
- "Fine. I met this guy in the coffee shop I go to every day. His computer crashed, and I helped him fix it. He flirted, I flirted, and he asked for my number, and somehow I gave it to him 'cos he was incredibly hot and nice, and did I mention he was smoking hot? I didn't think he was going to call, but he did, which was surprising 'cos these things do not happen to me, sweet cheeks, never! But it did! And when I told Derek, he just told me I have to blow him off 'cos it's too weird."
- "What!?"- Penelope spoke so fast she didn't even breathe.
- "Yes! Just because he wouldn't hit on me doesn't mean another hot guy wouldn't! And he made me feel like I don't deserve anyone's attention."
- "I'm gonna kill him,"- I whispered and turned around. Derek wide opened his eyes and shrugged, not getting what was going on.
- "Don't. I'll take care of him when you guys come home."
- "Well, take care in the mid-time, and I'm here if you need to talk."
I hung down and sighed. Morgan looked at me, knowing I knew what happened between the two of them.
- "So?"
- "You fucked it up,"- I whispered and smacked his shoulder.
- "Is she furious?"
- "She's hurt. That's actually worse."- Derek sighed and shook his head.
- "What do I do?"
- "You mean, other than to apologize?"- I walked with him to get Hotch and tell him what Garcia had just informed us- "Think big, 'cos you really fucked it up."
- "What does Reid do when he fucks things up with you?"- Morgan asked, and I could sense the innuendo hidden in his words.
- "He doesn't do a thing, 'cos he never fucks up"- I answered with a pleased smile and turned to Hotch. It was time to catch a killer, not time to argue with Derek.
I always thought Morgan and Garcia were the greatest friends I had ever met. I could envy their relationship, especially 'cos they could be so flirtatious and so adorable, and at the same time, you knew their friendship was sacred.
I envied that. I don't think Penelope felt for Derek the way I felt about Spencer. That's why I was sure I had fucked it up. I didn't have to catch those kinds of feelings for my best friend, and I felt I had to find a way to get rid of them. I had to stop having a crush on Reid.
Those weeks had been challenging and yet amazing. It was awful knowing I had a crush on my best friend, but I was really enjoying all the time we were spending together. We had been sharing rooms for the last two cases, and that meant endless sleepovers with Spencer. After a long day, we would meet in our room and just share candies, ice cream, pizza, movies, whatever we needed to decompress.
If things had been too hard, I would lay with him on his bed and just cuddle for a while before going back to my bed. More than once, I fell asleep with him, feeling his fingers playing with my hair as he read. I always apologized the following day, but Spencer kept saying he didn't bother, that he had slept well and that I could always count on him whenever I felt bad.
Knowing I had never done that with Mikey or Frank more than a handful of times in all the years we had met each other made me feel like the shit. Sure, I could sleep in the same bed with them, but not the way I did with Spencer. This felt intimate. Serious. Real. Waking up in Spencer's arms was the best way to start my day, and each time it happened, it made me feel worst and worst 'cos I didn't want to ruin the best friendship I ever had over a silly, stupid, meaningless crush.
Each time it happened, I promised myself it would be the last one. And each time I did, I ended up falling into his arms again. It never meant anything sexual. It was just sharing a bed, cuddling. Holding each other. It was all the intimacy I always refused to share with other people. And I guess that's what freaked me out the most: how vulnerable I was with Reid and how much I enjoyed it for the very first time. Ever.
- "Hey,"- I heard Spencer whisper when we landed. I was curled up on his chest on the couch on the plane, as usual after a long case. I scratched my eyes, probably messing with my makeup, and smiled at him.
- "Sorry... you must have been awfully uncomfortable."
- "Not really. Besides, you looked like you needed a good nap,"- I chuckled and shook my head, sitting down correctly.
- "Next time I drool on your jacket, please wake me up,"- I collected all my things and took a look around- "What time is it?"
- "Almost midnight,"- he announced and stared at me as he held his go bag and put on his jacket- "Do you want to grab something to eat before you go home?"- and I nodded, thinking that was exactly what I had in mind.
But life had other plans, and this time it had nothing to do with us. We were about to get out of my car to catch a late dinner when I got a call from Hotch telling me Penelope was in the local hospital. Spencer's cell phone rang at the same time, and JJ announced the same. We looked at each other for a moment, scared of the worst, and all we managed to do was to get buckled up and drive to the hospital. We both needed to know Penelope would be ok, but all we knew was that she had been shot, and the doctors were doing all they could to save her life.
As soon as we reached the waiting area, we met Aaron and JJ. They looked as worried as we were.
- "She's in surgery,"- JJ announced, and I hugged her immediately- "There's no word."
- "This is crazy,"- Spencer whispered as I felt JJ's arms tighten around me.
- "I can't believe it! I talked to her before we took off."- I murmured and closed my eyes.
- "What do we know?"- Rossi asked, walking over in a hurry with Prentiss.
- "Police think it's a botched robbery,"- Aaron explained.
- "Where's Morgan?"- Emily asked, looking around the hall.
- "He's not answering his cell,"- JJ replied, and Spencer took his phone right away.
- "I'll call him again."
I looked at him as he walked away and turned to my friends. Emily and JJ were doing their best to stay strong, but it was clear they were fighting the tears back, just as badly as I was doing.
Spencer walked back and shook his head. He couldn't reach Morgan. I walked to him and rested my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. It was unreal. I felt I was in a nightmare, and I couldn't wake up, no matter how much I tried.
- "They can't give me an update,"- JJ walked over to us after half an hour. She had been trying to get more info about Penelope's condition, but nothing.
- "Morgan's phone just keeps going straight to voicemail,"- Spencer added, and Prentiss's angry voice nearly made me jump.
- "Where the hell is he?!"
Nearly two hours later, Spencer finally contacted Derek, and in less than half an hour, he rushed into the hospital and found us still waiting for news about Penelope. He ran over, shocked and confused, and looked at us, waiting for an explanation.
- "She's been in surgery a couple of hours."- JJ whispered as soon as he stood by our side.
- "I was at church. My phone was off,"- he explained and mostly tried to excuse himself for not being there earlier.
- "There is nothing you could have been doing here,"- Reid whispered, trying to make him feel better. Spoiler: it didn't work. Morgan was getting more and more hyperventilated with every second he spent in that hospital.
- "The police got any leads?"
- "I spoke to the lead detective. He doesn't think we'll get anything from the scene."
Hotch spoke in the calmest voice he had. Morgan was about to say something but bit his tongue. Instead of yelling, he walked around the hall for a few minutes until a doctor approached us.
- "Penelope Garcia?"- and we all nearly yelled "Yes" as a desperate reply.
- "The bullet went into her chest and ricocheted into her abdomen. She lost a lot of blood. It was touch-and-go for a while, but we were able to repair the injuries."
- "So what are you saying?"- JJ questioned as we all held our breath.
- "One centimeter over, and it would have torn right through her heart. Instead, she could actually walk out of here in a couple of days. And I'd say that's a minor miracle."
The way we all sighed, relieved at those words, was priceless and unbeatable. The doctor smiled at us and added.
- "She needs her rest. You can see her in the morning."
- "Thank you,"- I smiled at him, and he was gone. I turned around and looked at Reid. He cut me a short smile as Hotch's voice caught our attention.
- "David and I will go to the scene. I think the rest of you should be here when she wakes up. I don't care about protocol. I don't care whether we're working this officially or not. We don't touch any new cases until we find out who did this."
We all nodded right away. No one had other plans. And after those words, Hotch and Rossi were out of the hospital, and we were left waiting for Penelope to come back from surgery.
- "How are you?"- Reid whispered and handed me a new cup of coffee.
- "Scared. You?"
- "Me too"
- "Who could ever want to hurt Penny? She is adorable,"- I murmured and shook my head.
- "We are gonna find whoever did this"- Spencer held my hand and cut me the warmest smile. I nodded and looked at Derek, who stood up from his chair for the hundredth time and walked to Penelope's room to see if she was ok.
- "In case we ever fight, I want you to know I will always forgive you,"- I murmured in Spencer's ear and rested my head on his shoulder.
- "Should I be worried?"- he asked me, and I just shook my head.
- "I just wanted you to know that you will always be my best friend, Spencer Walter Reid. No matter what happens between us."
And I meant every word back then. I had no idea what was coming ahead and how much things would change within a few months.
Spencer's point of view
The attack against Penelope hit us all hard. She had been shot by the same man who had invited her out for dinner. The one she and Derek had had a fight about.
Of course, Morgan was the one who was more affected by the whole situation. I tried to comfort him, and he nearly killed me. I knew Derek didn't mean to be mean. He was just losing it and feeling overwhelmingly guilty about everything going on. He was in hell, and you could tell. I didn't want to think what it would be like to be in his place. If anything ever happened to (Y/N) and I wasn't there to help her, I would go crazy. So I understood how Derek felt and did my best to be supportive.
Those days also made it pretty evident Rossi was still shocked we were such close friends and team members at the same time. I know he was friends with Gideon, but the fact our friendship surprised him so much made me wonder how close they really were.
It didn't get better when we were all asked to stop working on the case after Hotch found an encrypted file in Garcia's system, and she ended up suspended. That's who we found out how the FBI had recruited her.
Morgan and I were at the hospital with Penelope when Hotch gave her the news and heard the story of her hackers days. Something that I bet she didn't really want us to know about her.
- "After my parents died, I... kind of went off the rails for a while. I dropped out of Cal Tech. I lived underground, basically. But I kept teaching myself code. It was like the one thing that kept me together. In the way, the bureau decided to keep an eye on me, I guess... Did you know they keep track of hackers?"
Neither Morgan nor I opened our mouths. We couldn't, 'cos we were processing the whole information.
- "They do, of the ones who have the skill to be either extremely useful or a potential menace."
- "So they offered you a job?"- I asked her, and she simply nodded- "Like Frank Abagnale. The bureau figured if you can't beat 'em, hire 'em."
- "Yeah. Something like that."
- "Garcia, what's on the encrypted file?"- Derek crossed his arms on his chest and stared at her, waiting to hear nothing but the truth.
- "I'm required to keep a record of everything the team does. And after my system got hacked and Elle got shot, I just didn't want anyone else to be able to get at you."
- "We'll talk to the doctor, see if he'll clear you to leave,"- I whispered and left the room, just in time to get JJ's call to announce we were officially off the case. It wasn't good, and it wasn't getting any better at all.
In a way, the fact we were all such good friends wasn't as beneficial to the case as it could be. It all came clear later that night. Penelope was attacked again, this time in her own house. Unfortunately, a cop was killed in the process, and if it weren't for Morgan, who insisted on crashing her couch that night, Penelope would have been dead too.
We were all at her house at three in the morning. We wanted to take her to the BAU and keep her safe, though we all knew it would be hard to explain to the authorities, all things considered. We were all just talking about what had just happened when Garcia started remembering more details about her date with her attacker, and we decided to ask more questions about it in case she could give us more info that might lead us to him.
- "Tell us about the car,"- I told her and sat in front of her.
- "Why?"
- "Just go with him"- Morgan smiled at her and nodded, trying to reassure her everything was ok. It wasn't, not even close.
- "You said it was white, 4-door, American. What else?"- I asked Penelope, but she shook her head, confused.
- "That's it. It was just a car."
- "No, come on, think. Anything. Go back."- Morgan held her hand. We could tell she was trying her best to cooperate, and he was making his best effort to be sweet and calm, considering he was losing it to catch the asshole who hurt her.
- "The seat belt was buckled behind his back. Why does that matter?"- and that was progress.
- "It wasn't a rental. It was for surveillance,"- Derek explained to her.
- "Agents don't wear seat belts. They need to get out in a hurry"- (Y/N) added and was about to add something else when Rossi walked across the room and sat in front of Penelope.
- "All right, let's cut the crap. You need to be straight with us. Right now!"- she wide opened her eyes in shock and turned to Morgan- "Look at me, not them!"- Rossi commanded.
- "I'm not hiding anything,"- Garcia whispered, astonished.
- "You got shot. Most people get shot for a reason,"- she tried to look at Derek again- "Eyes here!"
- "Ease up, Rossi!"- Morgan shouted when David raised his voice, scaring everybody in that room.
- "You got a roomful of people here willing to believe that an FBI agent has tried to kill you. We need to know everything you do on company time that we don't know about!"
Rossi yelled on her face, pushing her to tell the truth, and Garcia nearly started crying.
- "What?"
- "Come on, man!"- I guess we were all waiting for Derek to lose it and punch him.
- "It's nothing bad!"- Penelope yelled, and every eye in the room turned to her.
- "Spit it out!"- David pushed her again.
- "It's... I counsel victims' families, and they know where I work, so sometimes they ask me to look into cases for them."
- "What does that mean?"- Rossi frowned and kept his eyes on hers.
- "It just means that the cases, the unsolved ones, I tag them, so whoever's investigating them knows that the FBI considers them a priority."
- "You're not authorized to do that"- Hotch's voice was as severe as kind, which surprised us all. Rossi the most, I guess, 'cos he stood up and turned around.
- "I know. I was just trying to help."- Garcia whispered, fighting the tears back.
- "But whoever's working those cases thinks you're watching them,"- (Y/N) said in a softer voice, probably to explain to Garcia how the whole situation had ended up with her being shot.
- "I just wanted to put pressure on them so that they don't slide,"- Penelope excused herself.
- "How many cases are we talking about?"- Hotch asked.
- "I don't know. 7, 8 maybe. I need to get into my system."
- "You can't. You're suspended,"- Hotch reminded her, though it sounded more like "you are grounded."
- "Wait a minute,"- Morgan interrupted the conversation- "Garcia, on your date, you said this guy was pressing you to find out if you were working murder cases. Hotch, we gotta look at those files."
Hotch looked at David, who was still as pissed as earlier. I don't think neither of us had ever seen him acting like it.
- "I told you, I'm sick of this jagoff being in front of us,"- Rossi said to him, and Aaron nodded.
- "Dave's right. We'll go back to the BAU. Morgan, Reid, (Y/N), Prentiss, you stay here and make sure no one forgets to log out of the system. Garcia should not have access."
We all stayed in her living room as Garcia walked to her room and hacked her own system. At the other side of the screen, Kevin Lynch, the analyst of another FBI department, was fighting back, trying to protect the files, and losing the fight after a few minutes.
Later on, (Y/N) explained to me that was how they met and finally how they fell in love. I guess everything happens for a reason, after all.
We didn't catch the bad guy that day. Instead, JJ was forced to kill him. It was the very first time she shot anyone, and surprisingly, she wasn't as shook up as we all imagined she might be.
- "You do whatever it takes to protect your family,"- she said when Penelope asked her if she was ok.
And she was right. That's how we all felt for each other at that point. And somehow, we all knew we were going to prove it, sooner or later.
(Y/N)'s point of view
I had been part of the BAU for almost three years already when it happened. And I felt so stupid 'cos we had all had a rough couple of weeks, and the last thing anyone needed was another worry. We had just gotten over the whole Penelope issue; having another member of the team injured was the worst thing that could happen.
But it did.
I got shot.
We were after our unsub. George Flemming. The bastard had killed four women in less than a month, convinced God had sent him to Earth to get rid of sin. We had been after him for two whole weeks until we finally got him. But I was stupid and reckless and didn't wait for backups. I wanted to catch that mother fucker, 'cos the way he had killed those women made me madder than I had ever been with an unsub before. That's too dangerous. You can't lose yourself in a case, 'cos you lose your objectivity. You risk your life every day in this job, but that specific day, I put mine on a silver platter.
We were supposed to wait for backup. I was just checking the perimeter, searching for the unsub. Spencer was with me, but he stayed behind for a second, trying to contact Garcia to run the plate number of a car we found hidden in a barn. I should have waited for him, but I couldn't stay still and do nothing when I heard a woman screaming for help. I had to run and try to save her. I wasn't going to let George kill yet another innocent woman and get away with it. He had to pay.
- "FBI! Freeze!"- I shouted as I walked into the last room of the house and found George holding close and pointing a gun at a woman who was covered in blood and bruises but still very much alive. Which, I must say, was a relief.
- "Stay away!! I'll shoot her!! I swear I'm gonna shoot her!!"
The unsub was sweating cold; he looked sick and weak. He looked like I could definitely take him down in a fight.
- "George! Put down the gun!"- I commanded and didn't move my eyes from him.
- "You put your gun down!"
- "I am sorry, George, but I can't do that!"- I answered- "Now let her go and put the gun down before anyone else gets hurt."
- "I don't have to listen to a whore like you! Who do you think you are? Giving me commands? You are evil!! Evil!"- he shouted, clearly losing control.
- "(Y/N), where the hell are you?!"- I heard Reid asking in the earpiece, and I just shook my head.
- "That's all you've got, George? Hiding women in the back of your house and threatening them with your gun? That makes your God proud?"
- "Shut up!! You bring disgrace to Earth! You should be punished too!!"- I took a step closer slowly and shook my head.
- "You are going to be punished, George. For killing innocent women."
- "Innocent? What makes you think they didn't deserve it?"
- "What makes you think you are the one to judge them?"
I kept my gun pointed at him, but I couldn't take a shot 'cos he grabbed the victim and kept her close to him, like a shield.
- "There's a special place in hell for whores like you!"- he announced, and suddenly, all I could feel was pain. There was a second gunshot, and George was down. I took a look around and saw Morgan still pointing his gun at him from outside the room, as Spencer and Prentiss ran inside, and he moved to me and held me close.
- "Medic!! We need a medic!!"- Reid yelled frantically through the speaker- "(Y/N)! How do you feel?"
- "I'm ok, honey bunny,"- I whispered in the most excruciating pain I had ever felt in my entire life- He just shot my shoulder, nothing important.
But the way Spencer looked at me, I swear that no one has ever looked at me the same until this day.
- "Don't move!"- he commanded, though his voice was soft and gentle. Prentiss took care of checking George's body. He was clearly dead. She liberated his last hostage and helped her to the ambulance while Reid stayed by my side until a doctor appeared.
- "Why didn't you wait for me?"- Spencer asked as they took me to the ambulance.
- "She needed help"- that was all I could say.
- "Please, try not to talk,"- the paramedic commanded and got me into the ambulance, followed closely by Reid.
- "I'm coming with her."
My best friend wasn't asking for permission. He was informing the medical team he wasn't going anywhere else. And by the tone of his voice, it was clear no one was ever going to change his mind.
- "That was so stupid, chipmunk,"- Spencer whispered and held my hand in our way to the nearest hospital. The paramedics kept pressing my shoulder to stop the bleeding, and I just closed my eyes 'cos honestly, it hurt too much to process what was going on.
- "I am so sorry I wasn't there with you, chipmunk."
- "It's ok, honey,"- I mumbled- "You are right. I was stupid. This is my fault."
- "Please, don't talk,"- the paramedic commanded again, and I just shut up 'cos the pain was too much.
Spencer stayed by my side the whole time. After we reached the hospital, the paramedics took me to the ER, where a doctor cleaned my wound and took out the bullet from my shoulder.
It was a clean wound, and luckily, no arteries were hit. I just got some stitches and a sling, plus a few painkillers I really didn't want to take, 'cos after Spencer's experience with drugs, I was scared of painkillers.
- "Thank you,"- I whispered to the nurse who helped me get dressed and walked out of the room to find Spencer filling up the medical forms and Morgan and Prentiss waiting for me
- "How are you feeling, princess?"- Derek asked and caressed my cheek.
- "Like a virgin"- I sang the Madonna song- "Shot for the very first time"- and though Emily chuckled, Spencer didn't think it was funny.
- "I can't believe you think this is something to joke about!"- Reid frowned, upset.
- "Calm down, honey. I'm ok, I'm alive. It was just a shot on the shoulder."
- "Just? Just a shot in the shoulder?"- and Spencer freaked out- "Did you know some of the larger vessels of the human body run through the shoulder? The subclavian artery and vein, which by the way, are the basic blood supply to the upper extremity."
- "I'm sorry, honey bunny. I shouldn't have said that."- I whispered and tried to calm him down, 'cos I knew precisely the kind of man Spencer could be when he was mad and stressed.
- "The brachial plexus is also located in the shoulder, and it's the primary nerve supply to the upper extremity as well,"- he added and didn't take his eyes from the form he was filling.
- "I understand,"- I added, but he didn't stop.
- "You should also know that the shoulder is a very complex spheroid joint, and if it's injured, it can lead to lifelong disability."
I stood in front of Spencer and placed my movable hand on his chest. That forced him to stop writing and look at me.
- "I'm sorry I got hurt. It was a mistake. I didn't mean to make you mad at me or worry. I am ok, I am here, and I promise I won't do something as stupid and reckless as this ever again. Ok?"
Spencer looked at me and sighed. Morgan and Prentiss were still there by our side, and I had the feeling that stopped my friend from saying what was in his mind. Instead, he nodded and cut me a short smile.
- "Good. Can we go home now?"- I asked, and Morgan grabbed my bag immediately.
- "The jet is waiting, pretty girl. Let's go."
The flight back home was too long. It was only a four hours flight from Fargo to Quantico. But it felt eternal. Besides, I kept doing my best to act cool and in zero pain, in a poor attempt not to worry Spencer. Little did I know, no matter what, he would be worried sick anyway.
- "I was on the phone with Frank,"- he announced and sat in front of me with a cup of hot chocolate.
- "Please don't tell me you called to tell him I got shot,"- Spencer stared at me and cut me a short smile. I closed my eyes and groaned- "Did he go nuts?"
- "No, I started by telling him you were alright."
- "Thank you,"- I whispered and sipped the cup he had prepared for me just the way I liked it, even with the little marshmallows.
- "Your mom went bonkers, though."
- "You called my mom?!"- I shouted, and everybody in the team turned around and looked at us- "Why did you do that?"- Spencer looked at me surprised and frowned.
- "You just got shot, chipmunk. Of course, I'm gonna tell your mom!"
- "But she is going to overreact!"
- "She won't! We already talked. She said she'd stop tomorrow by your apartment to have lunch."
- "Tomorrow, I'll be at work for lunch,"- I frowned, and I swear I wanted to cross my arms on my chest, but I couldn't, 'cos... I have been shot.
- "You won't be back to work until next week,"- Aaron announced from his seat, overhearing the conversation.
- "But Hotch! I'm ok!"
- "Spencer is correct. You just got shot. Take the rest of the week,"- I groaned and frowned at my boss.
- "I can still do my paperwork."- I can't believe I was begging not to get days off from work.
- "You do realize most people don't argue when their bosses give them a few days off, right princess?"- Derek took off his headphones and asked, frowning.
- "But I'm not injured,"- I argued, but I knew I was losing that fight.
- "Chipmunk, may I remind you, you just got shot!"- Spencer looked at me, annoyed.
- "But I'm fine! Look at me! I can dance!"- I was about to stand up and do a little dance, but Reid stopped me. He literally grabbed my good arm and kept me on my seat.
- "It's Wednesday. You just have to stay home Thursday and Friday. And I'll be there, making sure you won't do anything stupid."
I looked at Spencer and groaned one more time.
- "There's no way out of this, (Y/N). You are hurt, and I'm gonna take care of you."
- "Will you cook?"- I whispered and pouted, defeated. And Spencer chuckled, blushing.
- "I will definitely call and ask for your favorite food"- I tried not to smile and shook my head.
- "Oh no, no. If you wanna take the lead and take care of me, you will have to do the whole job and cook, Spencer Walter Reid."- I teased him, and his cheeks turned blood red in less than a minute.
- "Fine,"- he whispered, narrowing his eyes.
- "I can give you my carbonara a la Rossi recipe,"- David said to Spencer from his seat- "Guaranteed to heal all wounds, and special to cheer up your girlfriend, kid."
Everybody stayed quiet at the same time. I wide opened my eyes, shocked, and looked at Spencer, whose cheeks were burning red.
- "She... (Y/N) is not my girlfriend,"- Spencer mumbled and avoided looking at me for a few seconds. Rossi chuckled and turned to us.
- "You call each other cute nicknames, you are always together, you argue like I did with my first wife..."
- "No"- I shook my head and did my best to ignore Derek's teasing comments and Emily's laughter.
- "Well, you could have fooled me,"- David smiled at me, and I didn't know what to answer. I frowned and looked at Spencer, who somehow was even more blushed than he had been a moment earlier.
- "I'm driving you, by the way,"- he whispered, and I didn't really have the strength to argue against that, so I just nodded and sighed.
Spencer's point of view
I thought I was going to die when I saw (Y/N) lying on the floor, blood coming from her shoulder. Time passed in slow motion, like a movie cliché. I ran to her, and I didn't know if the perimeter had been secured. I had no idea if the unsub was dead. I would have killed him myself if I hadn't been focused on (Y/N).
Then she smiled and assured me she was ok. But that wasn't enough for me. Her face was so pale, though her smile was shining bright. So I held her and called a medic. She was in pain, and I didn't know what to do to help her.
I held her hand the whole ride to the hospital and stayed by her side in the ER while the doctor cleaned her wound and put some stitches on it. Then I walked with her to the jet, and the whole time I made my best and biggest effort to stay calm. But once we were on the air, on our way back home, I couldn't hold it back anymore. I could feel the tears fighting their way out, no matter how much I tried to keep them inside.
So I did what seemed more logical and locked myself in the backroom. I needed a minute to put myself together again before I had to continue pretending I didn't nearly lose the woman I love that day. So I washed my face and let the water run through my fingers for a few minutes, trying to calm myself down. But I failed, and the tears started falling down my cheeks anyway.
I rested my back against the door and slowly slipped down to the floor until I was sitting, hugging my legs, crying my heart out.
I knew why I was crying. It was a weird mix of fear and relief. I was scared to lose (Y/N), and at the same time, relieved nothing terrible had happened to her. I had to convince myself it was all ok, that she was there on the plane with me, hopefully trying to get some rest.
- "Spence?"- I heard JJ's voice at the other side of the door, and I quickly stood up and washed my face saying, "In a minute." I looked at my reflex. My eyes were puffed, my cheeks were red. There was no way I could ever convince anyone I hadn't been crying.
- "Can you open the door?"
- "There's another bathroom, JJ,"- I said and closed my eyes.
- "I need to talk to you."
- "I'm kind of busy here..."
- "Spence, please"- she begged, and I gave up, only because I knew she wasn't going to leave me alone. No one at the BAU seems to understand the concept of personal space.
I opened the door and let her in. The bathroom was too small for the two of us, and I didn't want to think of all the teasing I would get from Morgan if he saw us locked in there. JJ smiled and handed me a cup of coffee. I just sipped it carefully, 'cos it was very hot, and looked at my hands, avoiding eye contact.
- "Why were you crying?"- she whispered and stood against the wall in front of me.
- "I wasn't,"- I lied, but she just raised an eyebrow, and I knew it was useless to deny it- "It was a hard day, and I needed to decompress somehow."
- "Was it because of (Y/N)?"- she simply asked, and I just nodded- "It wasn't your fault, Spence."
- "I should have been there. But I stayed behind, on the phone with Garcia checking the plate of a car that didn't even matter at the end."
- "You were doing your job, and so was she."
- "But I should have done my job better, 'cos something bad might have happened to her, and I would have never forgiven myself,"- JJ nodded and reached out for one of my hands. I tried not to look at her but failed.
- "Are you going to tell her how you feel?"
- "Telling her I feel guilty she got injured won't stop her from being reckless,"- but JJ shook her head.
- "No, Spence. I'm talking about you telling her you are in love with her."
I widened my eyes and stayed still, shocked, blushed. JJ cut me a short smile and probably tried to soothe me, 'cos I immediately got all defensive.
- "What... what are you talking about? I am not in love with (Y/N),"- I whispered and prayed no one outside that bathroom had heard her.
- "Spencer, there is nothing wrong with being in love. I actually think you two would make a cute couple."
- "No, JJ, no. I am not in love with her."
- "Spence, I'm not a profiler, but you are not that hard to read. I can see the way you look at her."
- "She is my best friend."
- "But you love her,"- JJ sentenced, and I just sighed- "It's not wrong to have feelings for someone, Spence. I am sure she feels the same way too."
- "We are just friends. That's it. Thanks for the coffee,"- I added and opened the door.
I walked out of the bathroom in a rush. To avoid talking with anyone on the plane, I called Frank and told him what had happened. I also asked him for Mrs. (Y/L/N) phone number and explained the facts too. She was so scared it took me a while to calm her down.
- "I'm going to stay with her tonight,"- I said and looked at (Y/N) at the other side of the yet. She hadn't slept at all, and I knew she had to rest.
- "Thank you, Spencer. I'll be in Virginia tomorrow. I'm visiting Phoenix in New York this week."
- "Don't worry, Mrs. (Y/L/N), I'll take care of her."
- "You are the sweetest man she could have met,"- she whispered before hanging down, and I couldn't help but wonder if she knew it too.
Apparently, I wasn't hiding my feelings for (Y/N) very well. If JJ could see it, maybe anyone else could. And after what Rossi said, I didn't know if I was busted or not. I didn't know anything. (Y/N) seemed to be as shocked as I pretended to be, so I guess I felt safe. But I knew I had to watch my back now.
Of course, planning to stay with her that night didn't make it easier for me at all.
- "I'm ok, honey bunny,"- she argued and sat carefully on her couch- "You don't have to stay here with me."
- "I'm sorry, chipmunk, but you were shot. There is nothing on Earth that's gonna make me leave you alone right now."
- "Fine, then help me take a shower,"- she simply said, and I widened my eyes. I know I even held my breath at that. I stared at her from the kitchen door, on my way to make her a cup of tea.
- "Well, in that case, I, I will do... I will do whatever you need to help you,"- I whispered and made my best not to stutter. She shook her head and sighed.
- "I was bluffing, honey. But I mean it, you don't have to stay and take care of me. I'll be fine. Just go home and rest,"- but all I could do was walk to the kitchen and put on the kettle.
- "I'm not going anywhere, so... how do you feel about that carbonara a la Rossi recipe?"
- "Spencer Walter Reid, you don't cook."
- "I do cook! Do you think I've lived on take-outs and coffee all these years?"
- "Hell yeah!"- she said and chuckled. She was right, though. I wasn't the best or more experienced cooker on Earth. But for her, I could try.
- "I tell you what. What if you take a bath and relax, I'll cook you dinner, and then we'll watch a movie? Anything you pick."
- "Anything?"- she raised an eyebrow and stared at me so sweetly and concentrated, I nearly stopped breathing. I didn't trust myself with an answer, so I just nodded and looked at her. Her cheeks were blushing, and that made me feel better. Clearly, she was relaxing at home. The color was coming back to her after being hurt. That was always a good sign.
- "Even my favorite chick flick?"- (Y/N) bit her lips and caught my full attention with that simple movement. I nodded again, not really thinking what she meant with "chick flicks." All I could think of were her lips and how incredibly soft they looked.
- "Even Pride and Prejudice?"- she added, and I nodded again.
- "It's an essential piece of literature. Jane Austen was an incredible writer,"- my voice was muffled, and her eyes were shining- "Did you know In 1802, in her late 20s, Austen briefly accepted a proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither, the younger brother of two of her close friends? She rescinded it the following day."
- "Yes, neither her nor her sister ever married"- (Y/N) added, and her eyes moved from mine, traveling around the room- "She believed that a woman shouldn't get married if she wasn't in love. She once advised her niece Fanny Knight that "anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection."
Somehow, (Y/N)'s eyes were blurry with sadness all of a sudden. Her words stopped. I was tempted to hold her hands that rested on her lap but stopped myself. I was scared to give too much away, and that she suspected how I felt about her. I didn't want her thinking I was in love with her. Don't get me wrong, I was. I am. And I know I will always love her. But that night on that couch, I was afraid of her rejection and scared she might have stopped being my friend if she ever knew how I really felt about her.
- "Maybe you are right, honey,"- (Y/N) whispered and slowly stood up- "I'll take that bath after all."
- "Watch those stitches"- I quickly stood up too and just nodded, looking at her as she started walking towards her room- "I'll cook dinner meanwhile."
- "Thank you, honey bunny,"- she said and turned around just to cut me a small smile before disappearing into her bedroom.
I made my best effort with dinner. I followed Rossi's instructions to the letter. (Y/N) had a lot of food in her fridge. Unlike me, she actually cooked her own meals. She was right about me and the take-outs. I had never been a great cook, and I trusted my local Thai place with most of my dinners. But that night was different.
Pasta carbonara was pretty good, I must say. (Y/N) opened a bottle of wine, though I told her it was a horrible idea mixing drinking with the pain killers she was prescribed.
- "I am actually not taking them,"- she whispered and took a sip of red.
- "You had a major injure on that shoulder (Y/N)."
- "It's just five stitches, honey. I don't need those pills. I actually didn't even get them,"- she replied. I looked at her in awe, thinking she was way stronger than she even gave herself credit for.
- "In that case, you can have two glasses of wine and extra dessert,"- I stated, and she chuckled.
We ate in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I guess the two of us were pretty tired that night. It had been a long day, a long case, and though neither of us wanted to deal with it, we knew things could have easily gone wrong.
After eating, I cleaned the dishes and prepared a tray with a cup of herbal tea for (Y/N), a coffee for me, and two bowls of ice cream, and we cuddled on the couch to watch Pride and Prejudice. She whispered most of the lines and argued against Darcy for half of the movie. But by the end, she snuggled closer to me, and I wrapped an arm around her carefully, trying not to get near her shoulder at all. Her head was resting on my chest, and I could feel her sighing with each word that Darcy spoke.
- "What is it with you and this book?"- I asked her suddenly. She huffed and looked at me with a cut, short smile.
- "I don't know, but I've been obsessing with Darcy and Lizy ever since I first read the story. I guess the classic "fools in love" story is my weakness. How couldn't they see how much they loved each other from day one?"
My mouth fell open, but I didn't say a word. She just smiled and turned to the screen again. That was good. I didn't want her to see how flustered I was.
- "Darcy knew he loved her, but he tried to fall out of love with her, and she was completely blinded by her so-called "hate" towards him to deal with her real feelings."- (Y/N) added- "I know that's not a complex and complete study of the story but in a short version of the whole plot... I guess that's what's so endearing and addictive about it. Everyone has been Darcy or Lizzy."
- "I doubt most people can relate with having four sisters and an obsessive nervous mother who keeps forcing you to get married,"- I joked, and (Y/N) giggled.
- "You'd be surprised, honey,"- she sighed and snuggled closer. My hand played with her hair for a few more minutes until the end of the movie.
- "(Y/N)?"- I whispered when we were already in bed. I wore the pajamas I kept in my go bag and crawled into bed with her as soon as she asked me to sleep with her. Ee had done it before, it wasn't weird, and we were best friends.
There was absolutely nothing friendly with how I felt, though. But I had to put all those feelings in a box and hide them deep inside of me 'cos they were no good for our relationship.
- "What happens, Spencer?"
- "I just wanted to tell you... you scared me today,"- she sighed. We were already hugged, but she snuggled closer and kissed my cheek softly.
- "I'm sorry, Spencer. I'll be more careful, I promise."
It was such a simple promise, and I knew though she meant well, the job was always going to get in the way. Our lives were always on the line working at the BAU. And no matter how much we wanted to take care of ourselves, sometimes things were out of our control.
- "Promise me you'll be careful too,"- she whispered, and I leaned over to kiss the top of her head gently.
- "I promise I'll be careful, chipmunk."
- "Will you always come home to me?"- she whispered and sighed, dozing off.
- "Always. I love you so much, (Y/N)"- that last confession fell from my lips before I could even realize what I was saying.
- "I love you too, honey,"- she answered, her voice muffled against my chest.
I stayed still, trying to burn in my memory every second of that moment, 'cos I knew it was going to be one of my most precious memories until my last day.
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Next update: June 9th, 2021
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quillsanddaydreams · 3 years
Text
false promises
sirius black x reader
—author’s note: this idea was something that came to me before writing a paper and it just struck with me since. Sirius and you have a long history you can never get over. What happens when you finally get an opportunity to leave it all behind?
—warning(s): breakup and angst. gender neutral!reader (pronouns aren’t used).
—word count: 1,702
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The sky was quickly turning black as you watched the streets the bus passed through. Today had been a whirlwind of emotions you weren’t sure you could contain. You had looked through old photographs, happy faces smiling back at you. They seem to make you feel worse, although you knew you had to do what you had planned for the day. Rip the band aid. Taking a deep breath, you stepped out and walked into the restaurant.
Your gaze immediately went over to him, his smile lighting up the room. Sirius. No other name could do him justice. James had an arm around him, enthusiastically telling the company something. Remus noticed you first. He gave a huge grin, waving at you. Forcing yourself to smile back at him, you made your way over to the table.
“Aha there you are!” James exclaimed, his eyes twinkling. “And here we thought you wouldn’t show up to a meeting you called.”
You rolled your eyes playfully while your heart constricted. Delaying worked only for so long. Sitting down beside Remus, you flipped open the menu avoiding everyone’s eyes. Especially the grey ones. He could always read you like an open book.
“So, did you all find anything interesting?” you said, scanning the menu like you had done a hundred times before. The group hummed in response.
Calling in the waitress, you gave your orders. You wondered whether any of them would continue some small talk, holding a glass of water to your lips. How were you even supposed to tell them? Sirius nudged you with his feet, making you look up at him. He raised his eyebrows wordlessly questioning you whether you were alright. Nodding carefully, you tried your best to hold your emotions in. Quiet followed, you could hear the cutlery being kept and people around your table chatting. It was as if everyone was anticipating a shoe to drop. Black spoke first.
“I know you like treating us and all,” he started as others leaned in. “But what’s the occasion for today? You’ve been so secretive about it; you didn’t even tell me.”
Your throat felt dry even though you just had some water. All of a sudden you felt as if you were exposed. Mulling over your next words, you pushed your nails into the palm of your hand. A habit you picked up as a child.
“I got a huge job offer, more of a promotion to be honest,” you began, watching their reactions. “The salary is quite something and the experience would step me up to a much higher position.”
“Whoa, that is so amazing” James said with widened eyes, cutting you off. Remus nodded along.
“And the way you were acting, we were afraid you were going to deliver a death sentence or something.”
“That is so great, congratulations!”
“It’s in Japan,” you whispered but no one seemed to hear you.
“You’ve been working so hard everyday—“
“We have to get ice-cream later!”
“It’s in japan!” you shouted, making the table fall silent again. Remus bit his lip, searching your face as Sirius just stared.
“It’s a five-year program,” you continued. “I talked to my boss and she told me this was a brilliant opportunity and that I should definitely pack up my bags.”
“You seriously aren’t considering to take up on that, are you?” James asked. Your jaw felt heavy. The silence must have been an enough answer, because no one dared to speak. Remus cleared his throat.
“Is this what you want?” he hushed as you felt tears prick your eyes. It wasn’t what you wanted; it was what you needed. You sneaked a glance at Sirius, who was still looking at you, dumbfounded.
You nodded slowly. James fidgeted.
“So this is your way of saying goodbye?” James remarked, a tad bit agitatedly.
“James—”
“Don’t James me!” he said, narrowing his eyes at you. “You’re talented. I know that, you know that. You can do without this program. And it’s in Japan for goodness’ sake! It’s miles away. Miles! Going there for five whole years means not looking back.”
“There are ways to communicate,” you said, your voice small. Even you didn’t believe that. James sat back, his arms folded.
“I hate you so much right now,” Remus said, picking at his napkin. You put your hand over his, squeezing slightly. He sighed. Sirius got up all of a sudden. You flinched. He turned to the group giving a random excuse about some work and left the table. Looking down at your hands, you heard the restaurant door close with a thud. Tears fell down your cheeks and you furiously wiped them off.
The rest of the dinner went in a strange calm. It was obvious to both James and Remus that you were just as much hurt as them. James gave you a small smile and helped brighten the mood at the table. Remus reassured you ever so often. You were grateful.
-♡♡♡-
Sirius didn’t contact you after that night. He was angry. Angry at you, angry for what you planned for yourself. It hurt you, more than you could care to admit. This playing around on your tip toes had been going for far too long. You knew your breakup with Sirius had been mutual, for both your goods but you didn’t have it in you to sit back and watch him fall into arms of people that weren’t you. Not anymore. Not when you still loved him. And you knew Sirius did too, it was how he still went out of his way to make you smile, how he loathed every single person you dated after him unable to realise that none of them could compare to him. None of them could compare to how he made you feel.
It left you to wonder at times whether the breakup was really the right decision. You reminded yourself that it was whenever the thought came up. Both of you wanted different things. Sirius never wanted to settle down and you did. After months of fighting and waiting for the other to give in to the other or come to a compromise, you realised it wasn’t going to work. You sighed. What were you doing reminiscing either way?
You checked all your bags and papers before putting on the coat ready to face the inevitable. Driving to the edge of the lake, you stopped and walked into the old abandoned warehouse. The grey walls didn’t seem haunting anymore, but inviting like an old friend. You smiled seeing a similar figure standing over the old table watching the ceiling.
“How did you find me?” he whispered, not sparing you a glance.
“I just felt the stench of complete and utter disappointment in me and followed it,” you jested but sobered seeing the look on Sirius’s face. You moved towards him slowly, gently placing a hand on his cheek cradling his face.
“Hey,” you whispered. He looked at you, his dark eyes making you lose yourself in them. “Don’t do this Sirius. You know I wouldn’t be able to leave you like this.”
“Then don’t leave,” he said simply. “I know you’re not doing it for yourself. You’re just running away.”
“You’re running away from me,” he hushed. You felt your mouth go dry. So he did know. There was no use beating about the bush, Sirius hated when people twisted up words.
“Well I am.”
“Why?”
“Why? You know why,” you pleaded. “Sirius I’ve been in love with you since I was a child. A child. We’ve been best friends all my life. Then we dated for five whole years. And now we don’t. I can’t be your ex and your friend simultaneously anymore, it’s been torture. Do you know how it feels knowing we’ll never be the same anymore? Just how much it hurts?”
“Do you think I feel good about it?” Sirius raised his voice, frustration from all those months pouring in. “Do you think I feel good about never being able to hold you close and see other men and women do it?”
“So maybe the job will do good to both of us,” you said after a beat.
“I did not say that—”
“Sirius—”
“No I didn’t. I’ll do anything for you. Give me another chance, just don’t go away,” Sirius said and you felt helpless. Sirius took your hands, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles. Tears pricked your eyes. You could remember all the time you spent with him together. Riding his bike to the sunset, singing and dancing nonsensically to songs, him kissing you softly telling you he loved you. The memories flashed before your eyes like a film reel. You could barely see anything through the salty tears welling up.
“That wouldn’t do justice to either of us,” you said after some time, your voice barely audible. “Some things aren’t meant to be. We’ll fight again Sirius, we’ll be angry at each other and we’ll end up hating each other more every day. And I won’t be able to live with myself knowing I spoiled the best relationship I ever had.”
Sirius gulped, breaking into sobs.
“Damn you,” he croaked. “Damn you for going away. Damn you for making me lose you all over again. As if it wasn’t painful enough the first time.”
You laughed through snuffles and squeezed his hand.
“You’ll never lose me. You’ll never get rid of me even if you tried—” you stopped as Sirius crashed his lips into yours, kissing you urgently. You pulled him closer by his shirt, as one of his hands went at your waist and the other held your face. Pulling away in a daze you sniffed and Sirius buried his face in your neck hugging you. Time seemed to pass by as neither of you pulled away.
“I guess I really can’t make you stay, can I?” he said as you shook your head, wrapping your arms around his body. “I’ll miss you. And I’ll show up at your door myself if you don’t answer my letters. Promise me you’ll keep in touch.”
You pulled back, wiping his face with your fingers.
“I promise.”
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—as for the taglist: I don’t make taglists, I have a blog @from-my-quill which is updated whenever I post fanfiction. You could have the notifications on for it and it will work just like me tagging you.
⟨⟨REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK ARE APPRECIATED���⟩
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Note
Ooh request:
Reader and Hotch are together (either in the open or a secret from the team) she finds out she’s pregnant, but they get called on a case so she keeps it to herself. Reader & another team member get taken and she tells the person with her while they are held captive. Eventually rest of team finds them but either reader has to tell Hotch in front of everyone or she is unconscious and the other person does. You decide 😌
Surprise
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Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader
Warnings: none
Keep sending in your requests guys!! The amount of feedback I’ve been receiving is amazing and I really do appreciate all of you 💜
MASTERLIST
———-
“Aaron, you busy?”
Walking in his office I shut the door behind me as he looked up from his computer, smile prominent on his face
“For you, never” sitting down by his desk I fiddled with my fingers, something I do when I’m nervous
Yesterday I had found out that I was pregnant, I had planned on telling him and Jack over dinner but he had to stay late to finish up some work and before I had the chance of doing it this morning he had left for an early meeting with Strauss
“Everything okay?” snapping out of my train of thought I started back at his confused state
“Yeah, yeah, we just need t-“ the sound of his phone ringing filled the quiet office, sighing he excused himself and answered the call
Great, now I’m gonna have to wait to tell him that he’s gonna be a father of two
You could always blurt it out and be like ‘Hey guess what, I’m pregnant!’
Nope, I’m definitely not doing that
“We’ll be there” hanging up the phone he rose from his seat
“We’re are we going?” pushing myself up on my feet I stuffed my hands in my pockets. Aaron walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist
“Texas, you were saying we needed to talk?”
“It could wait, let’s go” I quickly pecked his lips before heading back into the bullpen
Damn you criminals
———-
“Anything?” Spencer asked breathless from our chase on the two unsubs in the dark cornfield
“Nothing” my chest heaved every breath I took, we stood next to each other eyes scanning our surroundings as best as we could considering that it was pitch black
“Maybe we should head back to the others” nodding I turned to face him only to be met with a falling Spencer
“Spence?” dropping to the ground I tried to turn him over but failed as I felt my limbs give away
No, no, no, no this cannot be happening right now
They trapped us and shot us with tranquilizer darts, how fun
“Well would you look at that, we got ourselves two federal agents” my eyes drifted from the starry sky to Spencer who was already staring at me
The rustling of leaves and footsteps were heard as they came closer to where we lay. The older one, Lucas lowered himself and smirked at me, running his fingers through my hair
“We’re going to have a lot of fun” his large hand came around my throat, squeezing hard, thanks to my lack of movement I couldn’t fight back. Tears pricked my eyes as he continued to squeeze harder, coughing and gasping I tried to hold out for as long as I possibly could
Unfortunately for me, that didn’t last long as the darkness took over
———-
“Y/L/N, Reid, do you copy?”
Silence, that’s never happened before
“Y/N, Spencer are you there?” my eyebrows knitted together in confusion as they didn’t respond
“Does anyone have a visual on Y/N and Spencer?”
“Nope”
“No”
“Negative”
Everyone responded with no luck, God this cannot be happening
“Hotch I found their vests, coms and weapons”
———-
“There she is”
Groggily I opened my eyes and the first thing I see is the ceiling above me. Turning my head to the side I saw Spencer chained to a nearby chair. I tried to move my arms but surprise surprise, they’re retrained to the table that I’m on
“Trying to leave already darlin” Lucas trailed his fingers across my cheek, smiling down at me
“Can we skip all the small talk? I’m getting irritated” staring him dead in his eyes I spoke, I’ll be damned if I show this man that I was indeed freaking out
“Feisty, I love it” he started undoing the buttons on my shirt, his cold fingers brushing against my stomach as he went lower
“You really wanna rape a pregnant woman?” he froze his actions
“Are you?”
“Three months today, is this what you really want to do? Harming a mother and her unborn baby?” he grunted before angrily stomping out of the room. Looking over at Spencer I couldn’t miss the huge smile he has on his face
“You’re pregnant”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, chained to our deathbed and this is your takeaway right now?” I couldn’t help but laugh at our predicament
“Does Hotch know?” he stuck his fingers in his back pocket fishing for something as he continued talking
He’s up to something, whatever it is boy genius I hope it works
“No, he doesn’t” I sighed, regret and guilt washing over me as I laid here
“I can’t get to pick this stupid lock” just as he said that the walker brothers walked in
“You trying to leave boy!” they younger one, Liam charged forward and punched Spencer earning a groan in return
“Don’t touch him!” I fought against my restraints which was a complete waste of time and energy
“Shut up!” Lucas smacked me across my face
“Y/N, I could take it”
-------
“Garcia did you manage to get anything else on the twins?” my grip on the steering wheel tightened as I sped down the street
“I did sir, Lucas and Liam grew up on a farm in Driftwood, Texas”
“I thought they were from Dallas” Rossi piped up from the passenger seat
“That is what came up in my inital search, but I did some more digging and found out that their mother, Riley Barnes, isn’t Riley Barnes but Stacey Colt”
“Do we have an address on where she lives?” 
“Uh, sir she’s dead, she took her own life six months ago after years of being abused by her husband”
“That’s around the same time young women started disappearing”
“Garcia I need her last known address, I think they’re holding them there”
“Already on your device” the call disconnected and my foot pressed harder on the gas. Rossi shifted in his seat tugging on his seatbelt
“Uh Aaron, I get that we’re against a clock here to get our people back but we can’t do that if we’re both dead from a car crash”
“Sorry” I eased my foot off the pedal a bit
“They’re strong, she’s strong”
———
“Spencer! Stop hurting him!!!” tears of frustration and anger poured from my eyes as they kept beating on him
“You don’t call the shots sweetheart”
“Spencer!!” he grunted from the blow to his stomach, his face had cuts and nasty bruises that were sure to be there for some days
“FBI!” Morgan’s voice echoed throughout the room as the team rushed in. Lucas whipped out his knife and held it against my throat and I tensed up at the feeling of the steel blade on my skin
“Drop the weapons” Aaron ordered and he laughed
“You come any closer I’ll kill ‘em both!” his hand reached down to mine and undid the shackles. He moved me to my feet and held his blade against my neck using me as a shield
“You guys know exactly how this is going to end so just drop your weapons” Aaron and I stared at each other
“You’re not going to do that” he taunted them nudging me
“Tell them why” my heart rate sped up as he pressed the blade harder on my neck
“Tell them!”
“I’m pregnant”
As the words left my mouth Aaron’s frown deepened and before I knew what was happening two hun shots rang out and Lucas fell to the ground, blood pouring out from the bullet wound in his forehead. Looking over at Reid I noticed the lifeless body of Liam that laid before him
“Spence” the others rushed to his aid while I stood frozen in my spot
“You’re okay” Aaron wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly against his tall frame. I finally let out the breath that I had been holding in as I clung onto him
“We’re gonna have a baby” he kissed my forehead and pulled back so I could see his face
“You weren’t supposed to find out like this”
“Congratulations you two, we’ll celebrate properly when we get back” Dave came over and kissed both of our cheeks, the others followed his lead
“I hope it’s a girl, this team cannot be bringing boys alone into this world” Derek joked and we laughed. Aaron pulled me closer to his side as local P.D. filled the room
“Once the baby’s healthy I’m fine”
EMS came and sat me down on a chair and started looking me over for any injuries while they all gushed about the growing baby inside of me
“There’s no way you’re going to be in the field, you’ll be traveling with us but you’ll only be at the station working through the case files and no, it’s not up for negotiation” Aaron stated in full boss mode not even giving me a chance to argue with him
“Understood” they others chuckled at his sudden change in tone
“Good, our job is done here let’s get going, I believe we were promised a party”
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usakiboi · 3 years
Text
Got a list of fic ideas collecting dust because I suck at writing, if there’s any Sakuhina or Sasuhina fans who are experiencing writers block I got you
Sasuhina 🖤💜
Hinata searches for a reason to die but instead gets a boyfriend in return
After the death of her husband, Hinata Uzumaki is left fending for herself and two children. What’s a single mother to do than get a job, though she may have taken the wrong path
-sugar daddy
-boruto kiddies
-Divorced Sakura and Sasuke
-Sakulee (you can change this if you want)
-Sarada plays soccer
Bonus: “God I should have listened to my parents, this marriage was a lost dream and gave nothing in return...” Sakura groaned
“I wouldn’t say that, I did enjoy your company despite your constant talking....plus something good DID come out of it.” Sasuke held amusement in his voice and pointed towards Sarada
The girl ran across the field like lightning, she slid pass the other girls and as she reached the goal she pulled her leg back “CHA!” the ball flew so fast Sakura could have sworn she saw fire come from it. As the ball made impact with the goal the two parents had the pleasure of seeing their daughters victory dance “Uh-huh! Oh yea! I did that! Uchiha princess, Sarada Uchia BABY!”
“I Hate My Husband”
Hinata and Sasuke are married and she can’t stand him
“26 and Lonely”
Sasuke and Hinata are unexpectedly transferred to modern society to apparently help themselves get together. The only problem is that they’re both losers and seem to hate each other
-Hinata is a game addict, anime fan, and often cosplays
-Sasuke is hella emo and also a game addict, huge nerd
-They both are very different from the past Hinata and Sasuke
-Sasuke wears really nerdy glasses
-Bully Naruto and Sakura
-Hinata slowly picks up the modern day lingo
-26 year old virgin Sasuke
Hinata Hyuuga, pure blue blood, childhood best friend of Sasuke Uchiha, and certified bitch. Cheating, OOC, daddy’s money
Hinata is a spirit medium in training and comes across a spirit that can’t seem to rest until her last wish is fulfilled which leads her to befriending Sasuke Uchiha.
Someone’s been leaving lunch boxes out for Sasuke and he’s determined to figure out who
-Kiddie fic
Sasuke somehow gets magical powers after eating a plum from a strange women, the only problem is that he takes a less than desirable form when he wants to use them
-Magical girl Sasuke
-Yes he becomes a girl
-Hinata has a crush on girl sasuke
Sasuke is prince trapped in a birds body and his need a princess to kiss his damn beak to save him
Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha two of the richest children in Japan attend Konoha High as the school’s top students. One is a known delinquent and the other is a class president..or at least that’s how people see her
-Future Mafia leader! Hinata
-Sasuke is her lackey
-They’re often seen together
-Badass Hinata
-Smiles when she taunts her victims
-Sasuke is lowkey creeped out by her
The Hyuga family known for their tech and booming businesses are one of the richest family in the world, but is that really where they’re getting all their income from. Sasuke Uchiha doesn’t believe so and with the help of his brother and family police business he plans to bring to light the dirty ways of the Hyuuga...you know...if the heiress doesn’t blow his head off first
Sakuhina 💖💜
Sakura is a football player, Ino is her cute cheerleader friend/crush, and Hinata is the new girl who she bullies
-Sakura plays with the boys team
-Wallflower Hinata, wears sweaters and long skirts and glasses
-Mean girl Ino
-Mean girl Karin
-Hinata can fight (it’s what gets Sakura to notice her)
-Set in America
Sakura is a fitness trainer and while Hinata enjoys yoga she wouldn’t mind having the woman spot her once or twice
Hinata is a good mother and a good wife, she just so happens to have a few health problems and she just so happens to only want one doctor to look after her. It wasn’t anything serious
Tired of their husbands absence, Hinata and Sakura confide in each other for consolation
Pissed off by their father’s lack of attention, Boruto and Sarada decided to set up their mothers
Sakura can’t help that she had a crush, Hinata was nice, Naruto didn’t notice the girl and Sasuke rejected her. Neither had a man, it was bound to happen.
Sakura finally understands why she’s fascinated by big boobs (Rated M)
Hinata is a witch and she has a crush on a human girl
Sakura couldn’t believe it. A mermaid. She found a mermaid! A busty mermaid.
Hinata has always had a thing for muscles
Hinata has an amazing body and Sakura gladly reminds her.
Hinata and her husband has a secret. (Crossdresser! Sakura) (Victorian era)
Normally witches have black cats yet Hinata has a pink one
Your Choice
Sarada has anger issues and Sakura and Sasuke take her to a specialist to figure out the root of the cause and see if they can fix it. Luckily the woman is pretty cute.
-Child psychologist Hinata
-Humor/Romance
-Sarada overshares a lot and changes the subject quickly
Team 7 is sent on a mission to protect the Hyuuga Heriesses on their way to a diplomatic meeting
Hinata is the chosen holy priestess yet unfortunately she sucks at what she does
-Twin sisters, Shion and Hinata
-They’ve been locked up for years
-Hanabi loves her sisters when she meets them
-Hiashi redemption?
-Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are left to watch over them
Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara are officially the four great priest of their world after the demise of the previous. Unfortunately they were still in training so they have...a lot to work on
-Water priest Hinata/Wind priest Naruto/Fire priest Sasuke/Earth priest Gaara
-Sakura is a bodyguard for Hinata
-Comedy Rated T
Hinata plays mom for a very sick Team 7
Sakura has a crush on two dark haired beauties
<3
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youwontlikethisblog · 3 years
Text
Picasso's Night
The previous post Adriana Arboleda brings you up to date with the analysis if you would like to go read it before you start reading this one :)
Now this day has been a pretty eventful one. For one: We witnessed Armando show contentment that morning when he saw Betty for the first time that day. Totally absorbed by her existence until Mario cleared his throat.
Armando screwed up big time when he made it seem and acted like spending some alone time with AA was a lot more important than Betty or the company. He yelled at her and said she got on his last nerve and since then Betty has been on a bad mood with Armando, who after Mario told him that Betty was jealous had a moment of realization and has been feeling pretty awful since then.
Interestingly enough as the night progressed and Betty was invited to the exhibition of Picasso's collection, Mario kept insisting that Armando go and speak with Betty since he was leaving to Miami the next day.
Though this time, unlike the last time he traveled, before Panama, Armando was a bit more hesitant to leave. It wasn't merely because of the new collection they were going to launch and it wasn't because of the state of company. Armando looked at Betty to see if he had any reason to stay, looking at his best friend for any excuse to stay.
After Marcela tells Betty to reserve two rooms at the same hotel they stayed last time and Mario agrees to them traveling he then starts to insist that Armando go speak to Betty and apologize for his behavior that day.
The one thing that Betty did begin to screw up on(aside from starting an affair with her hawt boss) is that now emotions begin to play a huge role, not in the personal part of her life but the professional.
Betty has always been good at maintaining a good separation of what is professional and what is personal(although most of the times when she didn't she was following Armando's lead or example) . At the start of their affair, the day after Armando kissed her for the first time, Betty stayed professional. Even afterwards, Betty stayed professional. When it has come to company time Betty has stayed professional except this time she didn't.
Her jealousy, her feelings took control of her, foretelling things to come, less than 24 hours away.
This also pushes Mario with this idea that Betty must be catered to by Armando in order to keep her under control, though Armando knows best and he knows Betty won't betray him, Mario keeps pushing this narrative and when Betty doesn't agree to it or deny she'll do it Mario understands this as her holding it over Armando's head because of what he did that day.
Writing this now has made me realize that that's the reason he wrote the letter to Armando, not as some stupid mistake or for Betty to find it, though that's a pretty good theory, is that he did it for Armando's sake. Here me out!
For one he truthfully believed that Armando would be stupid enough to screw up giving Betty her gifts and that it would ruin the relationship but the cruelty of this letter exceeded even his jokes behind closed doors, that Armando didn't find amusing anymore, even before he slept with Betty the first time. I'll explain this in the post regarding that fateful letter and from the point of view as a writer and why even that sequences of scenes was a bit choppy and had it's mistakes in execution.
Now here when Armando asks her if she will embellish the balance for him for the big board meeting she allows her anger and resentment to come above her labor obligations and she doesn't give him an answer, better yet she finds a way to ignore the subject. Yes you can argue that Betty was always motivated by her secret crush and her secret feelings for Armando to do all the things she did it in the past, like the first time she embellished the balance and while yes that is true. I have pointed out how Betty showed her love for Armando through her work. He had upset her as well in the past and she'd still do it because in the thick of it she couldn't see him fail when she had the "solution" in her hands but this time her feelings-though extremely valid since he did end up hurting her feelings not as his employee but as his girlfriend- come above everything because this time her ego, the one he was helping to build up, was crushed by the man himself and that is a mistake. Especially when it comes to something that doesn't only directly affect Armando but an entire enterprise where her friends happen to work in. This again foreshadows events to occur in less than 24 hours.
Later when he goes into her office to talk to her she tells him that she doesn't do that, but he interrupts her and tells her that he doesn't want to talk about that but that he wants to talk about Adriana and what happened in his office.
Again though Armando contradicts himself a lot when he is with Mario when we see him with Betty we know where the true nature of his worry or concern lies and it isn't the company but their relationship. The evidence in this is how he behaves when Mario brings up the company compared to his relationship with Betty.
After Betty leaves Mario explains why Betty was hurt and that he can't leave with Betty being hurt, angry, and resentful because she's got the company in her hands. Armando looks angry when Mario is explaining what his mistake translated to Betty. He's angry at himself, while Mario talks about the company Armando has his back to him, peaking outside of the blinds and then turns to him.
"What you're doing is throwing away all that work [we] put in the days before. You're practically telling her that the relationship is just a game. That for you the ninety sixties are a lot more important to you." Armando quickly looks at Mario when he says this, again he is maintaining himself composed and controlled with his emotions as his face doesn't give much of a reaction but the quick jerking of his eye sight allows us to know that this part, from all of what he has said, is a lot more important to him than the company, again because he trust Betty with it, and that he is more worried about the way he has offended Betty. "that this is made of paper and let me tell you something; an ugly wounded woman is more worse than a wounded tiger and that wound doesn't heal with pats on the back, no Sir."
This conversations motivates Armando, not to go talk with Betty since he already wanted to do that but to go searching for her so he could fix his mistake and clarify just how important she is to him.
At the exhibition Betty points out his needs with the models to which Armando tells her that she makes him feel like if he were some seggsually deprived man, which is true. This does make the assumption that Armando's conquests or what not where meant to be written as a borderline seggsual addiction behavior type of thing since she doesn't say "your infatuation, your affairs." she clearly says "your needs with the models".
The conversation here is important because it begins to open a can of warms. She tells him that he'd look good with her, that Adriana Arboleda and him would make a good pair. That their attractiveness complements each other.
"I understand asking for privacy for one thing only." We then see a frame of Armando(lol the painting behind him has to be comedic gold!) who glances away from her, lips with a slight frown but not tight or pursed, showing that he isn't mad or frustrated rather he is upset with himself. "You wanted to be alone with her. Besides I'm not asking for you to give me any explanations. At the end of it you are the president and I'm your assistant. Besides this all happened during work hours and since I've worked for you I perfectly know your needs with the models." She glances around and leaves as people get closer to them. Armando then goes after her.
Right now I'm going to admit that I was wrong, well somewhat. I wrote a post once saying that Betty was calling Armando Don instead of Sir as the relationship progressed but I was wrong. Betty uses the title of Sir as a term of respect for Armando. Even here when they've slept together and she's seen and felt the change of Armando towards her and their relationship she still calls him Sir or Don Armando, that doesn't change. However the somewhat mentioned does change when it comes to Armando. So I was wrong but towards who the theory fell upon. @el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle was right and there isn't much of an importance when it comes to Betty and what she calls Armando. HOWEVER let me preference this that the person I was pointing this theory towards was my bad however the theory of changing names or titles is correct.
If you've read my untitled post regarding my OC and her relationship and how that helped me realize how I wasn't sympathizing with Marcela and that not only was A+M relationship toxic but as well as dependent than I gave you some glimpse into my original writing and how that process helped me be able to understand this part of their relationship and now that this is out of the way, let me tell you why these last two paragraphs are here.
My OC has a habit of never remembering peoples names on purpose, she does it as a power move. As if saying "You're not that important for me to remember your name." she does it especially to annoy people. Also because she's distracted half the time judging a person when they're first introducing themselves. Armando does something similar with Betty on her first days or weeks at Eco Moda.
Men tend to ignore women who they aren't attracted to. Armando did this to Betty. On a professional level he didn't ignore her but as a woman he did. We knows this because it was clearly presented this way at the start of the novela. However I really made my self take notice of this when I re-watched the first half of the novela(I haven't seen the ending bc I tend to avoid things that I cannot control or expect).
My OC is introduced to a guy who she can't stand and at first she calls him all sorts of names starting with the letter 'C' until she managed to remember his last name and calls him that for the remaining of the beginning of the story until they become friends, she switches between Caleb and Anderson, often times calling him by his name when they are having friendly conversation. When they become good friends and establish their friendship he no longer is just Anderson to her but Caleb, someone worth remembering. This is a small detail that I thought would allow the reader to determine the change of tonality between these two characters and their relationships and honestly one of my favorite details to write so when I first noticed this, I got too excited and projected it onto Betty when in reality it was Armando.
Now that I've spoiled my own writing(that I'll most likely never publish) let me explain why I bring this up, finally.
Armando called Betty at the start of the novela "Emperatriz". Once they became more familiar and Betty corrected him and told him he could call her Betty, he finally remembered her name. It's important to note this small detail because just like I intended to write it, so did Fernando Gaitan(I'm assuming lol). He did know her name but he didn't care to register it. Marcela called her Beatriz in front of him, Mario called her by her name, everyone did except for him, and she[Marcela] got upset at him when she heard him call her Betty because in her[Morch] eyes that was a cute nick name to have for an employee, especially for an "ugly" secretary. Now the switch between Betty and Beatriz did happen before the affair started, however the switch was a little bit more noticeable as Armando began to blur the lines of personal and impersonal.
In this scene though and the scenes before this, whenever emotions were heavily involved, especially when it was regarding their relationship Armando calls Betty, Beatriz, in fact even when she wasn't present in the room and he'd talk to Mario about his feelings and why he felt guilty(before he'd shut off this part of him bc Mario would start making jokes) Armando referred to Betty as Beatriz and not Betty but when it came to talking about her as an employee and not a woman he'd refer to her as Betty, it happens this day as well. When he gets upset that she won't let him spend alone time with AA and he yells at her and calls her Betty.
Why am I bringing up this small detail in this post? In this scene and the scene in Mario's apartment this is very evident and signifies the growth of his feelings and his conscious commitment to Betty as a woman.
Finally, after a bit of arguing inside the museum they leave together, of course, after sneaking out because Marcela went to the museum trying to catch him.
It's also important to note that when they found out Morch was in the museum that Betty asked Armando if he had anything to drink. It's pretty standard for him to be drinking, tipsy, or even drunk when he goes out with Betty. The one time I can remember him being completely sober was when he had to confess his feelings for her, soberly, the day after he kissed her for the first time. I broke that down in another post :)
Other times while he hasn't been drunk or tipsy he has had a few drinks at the office, however again it's pretty standard for him to drink and she knows this but why is it something that is brought up here?
Betty attributes Armando's behavior, especially when he is this...stubborn in doing things that could expose their relationship when he has been drinking. Not only that but also because the night they first hooked up they both had been heavily drinking, especially Armando and it is important as the continuation of the night leads us to Mario's apartment.
Outside, in his car, Armando finally gets to clarify his actions as he apologizes and tells her that he only wants her to know that she's more important to him than any other woman and he isn't shy to name the woman as he says: "than Adriana Arboleda, than Marcela or any other woman." This sounds a bit rehearsed but not like the previous times where we can even notice in his tone of voice and his micro expressions that he does so for manipulation. A great scene to use as a contrast to this attitude of his in this scene is the one where he makes out with Betty, the night he fights Roman and Co(wrote a post about it too). This lets us know that he really did think about how to apologize to her. While here his tone is rehearsed his micro expressions aren't a show, in reality his behavior is natural and goes along with what he is saying.
Now Betty in a teasing tone replies to him saying "That's not true." (also because she doesn't believe him)and Armando in a very serious tone and even a seductive tone, gazing his eyes down her body and back to her lips tells her that of course it's true and leans in, placing his hand on her face and they start to kiss.
This shows us that Armando once again isn't only feeling his emotional attraction to Betty, which is what moved his physical attraction forward in the past but now he can tell the difference between these two and he is okay with them! This is a huge step for Armando because he no longer is denying these things from himself. In fact he encourages himself and Betty to have these desires for one another and that as the days progress since their first sinful night his desire for Betty only continues to increase.
When they pull away his phone starts to ring, Betty asks if it's Marcela and Armando's facial expression and tone tells us it is as he looks annoyed and pissed that she's calling him.
This reaction is also standard for him because it's the exact same expression he pulls every time Marcela calls him. Especially when he's with Betty. However this small detail we've been given through the past episodes and this night also hold much significance in future episodes when his reaction to her call no longer is standard behavior from him.
While at the start of this phone call his tone is very forced in "lovingly" speaking to Marcela, his micro expressions again show us that he is just pretending. This tone is one we've heard a bunch of times before and it's one that is solely reserved for Marcela. Even on her part she tries to speak "politely" and just as if she were simply calling because she was curious but as this conversation goes both their dances of trying to keep things peaceful and civil subside and they basically start a mosh pit where they become more hostile until Armando implodes on her.
Marcela in a her standard of questionnaire routine asks Armando who he's with, hesitant he admits he's with Betty.
Her reaction to this however isn't standard of just guilt, taking into consideration the events of the day and that even Armando has told her that Marcela stops nagging him when she knows he's with her and because she's also eavesdropped and heard Armando say that Marcela doesn't consider her as a femininely threat, much less a woman, she once again gets hurt.
One could assume Armando did this to cover his tracks in case anyone told Marcela that they saw them leave together. It's also not hard to believe that Armando is stupid and says things without thinking them through in the heat of the moment however what is more obvious is that he probably wanted to take Marcela off his back so he tells her that he's with Betty. The small pause he takes before he says this helps me determine this. It could also be that he did so in case anyone did tell Marcela he left with Betty.
As Armando implodes on Marcela for insinuating that he lied to her i.e that he's going to go off with his mistress, Betty shifts in her seat and then she looks uncomfortable, returning to her guilt.
In this scene Betty experiences first hand this toxic side of Armando, one she has seen as a boss to employee scenario but not as a significant other. She has heard and even been in the middle of their fights in the past and while even then she behaved professionally, and also guilty this time she shows a lot more emotions raging from being uncomfortable to even being upset with Armando. This however is a small taste to what she will experience first hand not as the bystander of this side of his but as the target of his toxic behavior.
Later in the car, as he drives, Betty, with a broken heart tells Armando she believes that he should go on his trip and try to reconcile his relationship with Marcela and reconnect while they're away.
Armando, nervous and scared asks her if that's what she really wants and the hurt that it might be, he asks(really demands) for her to look him in the eyes and tell him this. Which Betty doesn't. In this moment his phone rings.
Why do these small details play such a huge role?
Less than 24 hours away, Betty finds the letter which plays the exact rhythm in which Armando and Mario planned her downfall.
For one: While in the past Betty agreed to embellish the balance for the meeting, this night she did not and because of this Armando went out to look for her at the exhibit and then took her to his best friends bach pad and slept with her all so she would embellish that balance which would keep the board members at peace allowing Armando to continue as the president of Eco Moda.
Two: That Mario called him this night, while they were together, and while Armando "played" it off that Mario wasn't aware of their affair, when she later questioned him about it and he denied it, these conversations begin to makes sense to her.
We know that's not the case. While Mario spoke about the company Armando didn't seem that concerned or even motivated to go searching for her but it wasn't until Mario mentioned how sever it was what that he implied to Betty that AA was more important to him than her[Betty] and what that meant for their relationship and how she was suffering because of it that he was motivated to search for her as he said, a terrible fear was settling in him because of it. While yes, Mario suggested that they hook up so she could be happy again and forgive him and that way the company would still be in their hands and not Nicolas, Armando didn't need any motivation for that.
In fact he hasn't needed any inspiration or motivation sober or drunk to desire Betty, often not being able to stop himself from kissing her and more. Was this based on Mario telling him to do this?
No.
It wasn't because Mario suggested it(At the office). Unlike their first night where Armando kept calling Mario and kept asking for help and advice, this time Armando gets annoyed at Mario for calling him. Even his behavior is different. While before when Mario kept insisting that he slept with Betty to get it over with, Armando showed disgust or being repugnant to doing an atrocity of that magnitude towards Betty, this time his face was poker. He showed no real disgust towards the idea of seducing Betty as in he'd sleep with her, more that Mario yet again was using something he knew was important and special to the both of them[B+A] as a weapon for the "good" of the company.
When he hangs up his phone Betty points out that the direction he's driving isn't towards her house, to which Armando tells her if she really wants to go home.
"I think it's for the best." He turns to stare at her and then pulls to the side of the road.
"That you want me to take you home?" He asks in disbelief. Betty swallows hard, the corner of her mouth look a bit downward and she looks scared. "Damnit!" He hits his steering wheel and though he is angry, his tone is completely different to that of his tone when he is angry at Marcela. "Damnit, Beatriz, all I want is to be with you tonight, I leave tomorrow, remember? I went to the museum, exclusively, to pick you up, to see you, to feel you next to me, to be with you. When we bumped into Marcela I risked my life and I am still risking it to this moment. Everything I've done is to tell you that I adore you, that you're above Adriana Arboleda, that you're above Marcela, of-of all of them!" We can determine he is honest here as he stares at her, exclusively even when she doesn't stare back at him, she looks pained and confused herself. "and the only thing you can tell me is that you want me to go to Palm Beach(I LOVE the way he says Palm Beach it's just ugh so nice) and have a marvelous honeymoon with her so that we can grow closer." He looks down, away from her and then ahead of him. His voice was no longer harsh at the end more so becoming almost a whisper. "That's what you want? Okay! Right now I'll drive you to your house because it's what you're asking from me. I don't deserve this." (BAWHAHAHA ARMANI YES YOU DO, MY BOY).
Now in a non-contextual way one could simply asume that he is doing this all under the bias of manipulation towards Betty, especially that final line of "I don't deserve this." but when you take all the context clues and you look at the bigger picture there's more that plays in here and I'm not saying that Armando isn't manipulating Betty in this exact scene, he is very much doing so, however it isn't like in the past. This time he does so to get what he wants, which is to spend the night with Betty so he guilts her with this final part of "I don't deserve this- because I've risked so much to spend this night with you."
However taking aside that guilt trip manipulation, why does Armando stumble once in his words showing he isn't rehashing this previous speech? and why does he take a breather before he tells Betty that he'll drop her off at her house like she asked?
While the first apology was what he rehearsed with himself, this second time around it took him by surprise to admit that she was above all the other women because this apology wasn't based on a "lets just make up right now." it was an apology based in heart and the self-realization of how true that statement was for him that while yes Betty was above Adriana Arboleda in her significance to him and even Marcela who he's engaged to, she is now also above all women.
How true is this statement?
Well we see a change of behavior of his with women in the future episodes which proves, yet again, that this confession of his wasn't just an apology so Betty could forgive him, but an apology that was sincere and heart felt.
Betty finally gives in and tells him to wait. With tears coating her lashes she stares at him "Sir, forgive me." She speaks solemnly. Armando's entire body relaxes just a bit as he sits back on his seat. "Sir, forgive me. I want you to understand that-that this hasn't been easy for me. [The situation] with Adriana Arboleda and now the conflict with Ms. Marcela; it's killing me, Sir." His anger and hurt begins to simmer down. "I don't know what to do, how to behave. I-I think I'm acting very bad." She looks away from him, touches the side of her face in a worried and embarrassed manor while Armando stares at her and timidly(in his nature) asks her what truly worry's him.
"But do you want to be with me?"
"Yes, of course, of course. It's what I want most." She caresses the side of his face, he leans towards her hand "in the world." and now he looks like he's come back to life. Staring at her with a soft glow and when she pulls her hand down he looks at it and follows it until he stares back at her, feeling the absences of her touch and missing it. "But you leave tomorrow." They both look away from each other but Armando only does so for a micro second before he stares back at her. "and I won't be complete without you, Sir." Again we get a frame of Armando's reaction to this. "Not being by your side will not be any easier for me." As she speaks her tone is soft, timid however not wavering showing that while she is nervous to confess this to him, she isn't scared of doing so.
"Betty." He says so adoringly towards her. "Betty" he whispers and touches her face and honestly I believe his favorite part of Betty's face is the side of her face, by her earlobe cause he's always touching her there. "Nobody said this would be easy. We knew this road was going to be a difficult one but you know what? I am going to be missing you so much. I'm going to miss you a lot."
Again the words here are lost in translation he tells her "Usted me va a hacer muchísima falta." which roughly is saying that there will be a huge lack of her in him, causing him to yarn for her a lot and feeling that absences of hers will make him miss her in a very profound way because he needs her. This separation they're both fearful of is what brings the forgiveness to shore.
Now the post for that specific scene will need an entire post dedicated to it because there's so much! Just so much.
For this episode I had to watch it on the NBC app so maybe there was some scenes missing.
I don't know if anyone noticed how important the story of Picasso and his lovers was for this and how they showed the similarities to Armando and his lovers, specifically how toxic Picasso was(all though if we're being honest that dood sounds more abusive than just toxic bc we all got a lil toxicity in our system but that foo was straight up kidnapping his lovers and locking them up while he had other's on the side? Nah man call a hotline.) towards his lovers. Though I am not saying that Armando is a saint, I don't think he is as bad as Picasso, that dood needed a restraining order against him so he could just stay away from all women.
In all seriousness though the similarity was that though Picasso had lovers he cared for each of them especially his last two lovers, i.e Betty and Marcela and it foreshadowed just how jealous and pathetic Armando would become in the future.
I mean I love Armando, I had to learn to love him bc at first I didn't, but the behavior he displays in the future episodes while yeah one could explain them are not justifiable and I will get into detail on that in the future posts and the post I am still writing regarding his abusive/toxic tendencies.
Overall this episode, which on NBC is episode 68, was pretty straightforward with a lot of small details to look at and not really for the leading on of the scenes in Mario's apartment but overall where the story continues to get pushed.
In this episode, the episode when Armando fights Roman and Co. and her birthday night celebration and the previous night of this episode are nights that Betty goes back to prove that what she reads in that letter are true, especially this night, before they got to the apartment and just how much Armando "risked" to spend that night with her.
While she tries to believe that it's all a joke because she's certain that Armando was honest and heartfelt with her through his actions and not words, she doesn't trust him. I'll explain that a lot more further in that post.
Pushing forward the plot of the story though we see just how these two have truthfully grown close together and not just as friends but as lovers who are exploring their feelings a lot more now and while Betty is learning to open herself up again, Armando is learning to love for the first time.
I say that Betty is learning to open herself up again because it's true. While in the past she asked Armando why he was interested in her, she shared poetic talk about how the moon inspired poets and how guilty she felt when she saw Marcela, she hadn't opened herself up, not until the night at the hotel and that wasn't much, she barely opened up when Armando was asking her about her first time. This night she was a lot more open. She called out Armando's behavior point blank and period, no hesitation, she spoke about her opinion and then she spoke about how she felt, not regarding her insecurity but regarding their relationship and the absences she'd feel from Armando not being there. While before she'd just say "I need you." or "You mean a lot to me." this time she goes on to further explain her feelings to Armando instead of just saying the words, this time she elaborates.
Armando is learning to love for the first time, being humble in realizing his mistakes, his limits and also understanding just how his actions affect others but the most important thing is that he is learning to be at peace with his feelings for Betty. We saw it that morning when he first saw Betty, later in the office when Betty caught him making out with the AA picture and just how guilty and embarrassed he felt because Betty saw him. Unlike with Marcela where he was scared that she'd cause a while scene, this time the problem for him was that Betty wouldn't cause a scene but be hurt and dump him for it, which would be a big deal for him. We saw it later when Betty forgave him after the letter and gift and when he realized the huge mistake he made with AA in the way he treated Betty. All of these behaviors has shown an Armando who has accepted that he cares for Betty, not love, but cares for her deeply and that she is important to him.
Thank you for being patient with me and sorry that I haven't been as active. These past days have been pretty busy and they'll continue being so. I'll probably only be able to post once a week but I hope that the post become better quality that way as well since I'll have more time to really break down the episodes.
Well 'til next time! :)
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arvinsescape · 3 years
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The Princess and the Guard.
A/N: Chapter two is here, this Chapter is a bit of a filler and more will happen in the next Chapter. I hope you all enjoy! I will accept feedback and constructive criticism. 
This series is not historically accurate and is not intended to be so please bare that in mind when you are reading, I am no real expert on how royalty works (even if I am from England).
This series will contain misogynistic language and views, violence, death and nsfw content. I will always put the relevant warnings into each chapter!
Teaser, Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter Three, Chapter four
Warnings: None.
W/C: 2.4K (The chapters are set to get longer starting next week.)
Chapter two:
“You look like you had a good evening your highness.” Annie said as you made your way into your bedroom, your interaction with Tom still had your heart hammering in your chest.
“It did not turn out as badly as I had anticipated.” You answered and Annie smiled as she got to work unpinning your hair, taking the butterfly grip out first and placing it carefully into your jewellery box.
“Did you meet someone?” She asked, almost excitedly.
“No, no one my mother would be happy with.” You almost sighed. “Anyway, tell me, what will you be doing with your day off?” You asked changing the subject, Annie got a day off a week to be able to do as she pleased.
“I was hoping to go to the market and then visit my mother’s grave.” She said and you smiled sadly at her, she was so close to her mother, it saddened you that she lost her so young. “Then I was hoping to attend the bar that most of the staff do.” She said and it piqued your interest.
“Most of the staff? Who else goes?” You asked.
“Well Tuwaine and Sam go often.” She said and you smirked, it was no secret that Annie was attracted to Tuwaine. A blush often creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks when she spoke to him. Sam and Tuwaine were the lead chef’s in the kitchen. “Harry attends when he can.” She said and you smiled.
Harry and Sam where twins and Tom’s younger brother’s. Harry was in charge of training the royal guard to protect the crown and due to this he didn’t often get time off. They had an even younger brother Patrick who was training to be a stable hand, he loved the horses and taking care of them. Tom’s father worked as the groundskeeper, you’d had many conversations with him whilst walking through the grounds. Tom’s mother made most of the dresses you and your mother wore.
It was strange to you, your parents had employed Tom’s for years and you wondered if they would possibly be happy about you and Tom but you knew that was a long shot. Although your mother loved Tom’s family, she was still proper and everything had to be done in a certain way to her.
“Thomas goes.” Annie broke you from your thoughts, you tried to hide the smile that threatened to spread across your face at the mention of Tom’s name. “He’s gets a lot of female attention.” She laughed and your stomach warped with disappointment.
“He does?” You asked.
“Well of course. Not to step out of line but he is a very attractive man. Women are all over him when he comes. He doesn’t often entertain them though.” She laughed.
“He does not?” You asked and she smiled shyly.
“He seems to have a very specific type. I’ve only seen him leave with three women this year and they all have a lot in common.”
“They do?”
“I’m sorry, I am saying too much. It’s not my place, Thomas probably would not appreciate my gossiping.”
“I will not tell him.” You smiled in reassurance and she returned it. She encouraged you to stand as she started working on unlacing your dress.
“Please forget I said anything, I wouldn’t want to start any vicious rumours.” She said and you decided to drop it, she’d asked, so you would. It would be wrong to push her because at some point she wouldn’t be able to deny your request and that was an abuse of your power that you didn’t like.
“How long has it been since you lost your mother?” You asked her, you knew it was the anniversary of her death tomorrow, she’d asked you politely and almost shyly for the second day off this week and of course you had given it to her.
“Ten years.” She said as she slipped your nightgown over your head before moving your ballgown to be cleaned. You moved to your jewellery box and looked through it to find the pearl necklace you’d received a few years ago from a suitor when he’d asked for your hand. You clutched it in your hand as you moved towards Annie and took her hand in yours.
You placed the pearl necklace into her palm and she gasped slightly as she looked at what you had given her.
“I want you to take this and I want you to sell it, it will get you a good price. Buy something nice for your mother’s grave and for yourself.” You smiled and you watched as tears pooled in her eyes.
“Princess, I cannot accept this.” She said as she tried to give it back to you.
“You can. I insist. I would rather this necklace went towards something nice and to a nice person rather than collect dust in that box.” You smiled.
“Thank you, your highness.” She said as she wiped at her eyes and you pulled her into a hug.
“I hope you have a lovely day off tomorrow and get to do what you wanted to do. I will miss you, Jane is lovely but she is not you.” You laughed.
“Thank you. I shall see you when I return.”
**
You didn’t mind Jane, she was a very good maid but she was nowhere near as shy as Annie is. She’s very open about what she wants and isn’t too afraid to give certain opinions. You’d had a pretty uneventful day, the palace had been quiet due to most of the staff being off for the day and your parents had been visiting a Lord not too far away, which meant most of the guard was also gone. Jane was currently unpinning your hair and she was staring at the butterfly grip.
“I always wanted to be a princess.” She said as she put the grip into your jewellery box, not as carefully as Annie would and you had to bite your tongue in order to not shout at her. “I would love to marry a man who could make me rich.” She added and you almost rolled your eyes.
“Life as a rich woman is not as glamourous as one might assume.” You said.
“It has to be better than how it is for us though. You have your pick of the men.” She said and you raised your brows. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”
“I may have my pick of many men but not many of them are nice.”
“But they have so much money. Not to be too inappropriate but that must be a good thing.” She said and you sighed.
“That is inappropriate. I would not like to be married to a man who I cannot stand.”
“What about that Duke? I’ve heard he has taken quite a liking to you.” She asked.
“I do not know him so well so I would not like to pass judgement.” You said as she began to brush your hair.
“I always wanted to marry your brother, he would have made me a princess and your sister.” You did raise your brows at that. “Sorry that was out of line.”
**
Once Jane was finished, you were quick to dismiss her, you did not enjoy her company at all the way you enjoyed Annie’s. You decided to head to the library in search of a romance novel you’d read so many times you’d lost count, after having found it you made your way back towards your room. A pair of voices however, stopped you in your tracks, you knew it was rude to eavesdrop but one of the voices had caught your attention.
“Jane.” You heard Tom’s voice, almost in warning.
“I don’t understand.” You heard Jane huff. “I thought you liked me.” She snapped.
“I’m not sure what gave you that impression.” You heard Tom answer, almost bored.
“We kissed last week.” Jane stated matter of factly and you swear your heart stopped at her words, you knew you shouldn’t have been bothered about it but you couldn’t help it.
“No, I believe you kissed me and I rejected you. I’m sorry Jane but I don’t like you that way.” You heard Tom say and it was like the words forced your heart to start beating again.
“Well I’m sorry that I don’t look like her.” You heard Jane snap. “You need to get a grip Tom, she’ll never like you back.” Your ears perked at that, he liked someone?
“I think you should go.” You heard Tom warn again.
“Unless you get some sudden cash injection and title change you’ll never be able to have her. Don’t make yourself miserable over a woman you can only wish has feelings for you, or even remembers your name.” Jane snapped again and you heard her footsteps as she rushed away from the conversation. Your heart was beating in your chest, your grip on the book was tight. He liked someone? Someone of a higher status?
You spent a few moments collecting yourself before you made your way around the corner and down the corridor, hoping Tom would have moved by now, he hadn’t. You realised that your appearance was less than appropriate, hair down, nightgown on, no shoes on at all. What would he think?
“Princess.” You heard his voice and you almost smiled.
“Tom.” You greeted and he smiled at you.
“Out for a late night walk?”
“No. Well yes. I wanted a book from the library.” You stumbled over your words, it felt foreign to you, you’d never struggled with what to say.
“I don’t think the Princess should be walking alone around the palace.” He almost scalded.
“Really? Who is going to tell me off? You?” You teased and he laughed.
“No. However, I would like to be a gentleman and escort you back to your room.” He said and you blushed.
“What would people think if they saw you escorting me to my bedroom?” You laughed and he smiled.
“They would probably assume I am doing my job.”
“You are Harrison’s guard, not mine.” You reminded him and he smiled.
“Correct, I am. However, Harrison does not need my services tonight and you may. Like I said, I would like to be a gentleman.” He smiled again and your heart fluttered.
“Alright then.” You said as you fell into step next to him, he looked down and smiled.
“You have no shoes on.” He pointed out and you laughed.
“I do not.”
“It looks cute.” He added and you both blushed. “Sorry, I should not have said that.”
“It’s alright, I cannot really get angry at a compliment.” You reassured.
“Please be careful where you step, I would not like you to hurt your feet.” He said nervously and you laughed.
“Tom, I thought we were passed the proper talk.”
“You still speak proper.” He teased and you breathed out a laugh.
“I apologise, I’m not really used to speaking to people that don’t expect it of me.” You said and instantly regretted the words. That sounded awful. “Wait, no. Sorry I didn’t mean-“
“I know what you meant.” He reassured and you relaxed.
“So Tom,” you pried. “Tell me. Do you have a special girl?”
“Something like that.” He answered.
“What is that supposed to mean?” You laughed. “You either do or you don’t.”
“Well I am in love with a woman, yes. But I doubt she sees me in such a way.” He answered.
“I’m sure she would.” You reassured. You were almost back to your room and you found yourself disappointed.
“Even if she did, it would be frowned upon. She is much too good for me.”
“That can’t be true. Tom, you are a lovely man. No one is too good for anyone.” You said.
“That isn’t true, this woman is special, she’s too good for everyone.” He said and you found yourself wanting to know who this woman was immediately.
“Who is it?” You asked as you stood outside your bedroom door.
“If I told you that Princess it would land me in a whole lot of trouble.” He said, there was no one around and you found yourself grateful.
“You can trust me.” You said and he smiled sadly.
“Even if I did tell her, it would change nothing. I’m in love with a woman I cannot have. Even if she did love me back, it would never be allowed. She would never be allowed to marry a guard.” He said and your heart burst in your chest, he was talking about you, that much was obvious and it filled you with a feeling you’d never had before, you couldn’t describe it.
“What if she didn’t care? What if the men she was supposed to marry didn’t interest her.” You said and he smiled.
“It wouldn’t matter, she can do better than me.” He said, you were close and if anyone were around they would deem it inappropriate but you couldn’t find it in you to care.
“What if she didn’t think so.” You said, your faces had somehow gotten closer during the exchange. Your heart beating in your chest.
“Oh Princess, you really are perfect.” He whispered, it almost sounded like he was talking to himself. You found yourself holding your breath in anticipation as he leant even closer to you, your eyes closing. You waited to feel his lips on yours but you never did. Instead you felt his lips on your cheek, the spot he’d kissed was burning as he removed them.
It took you a moment to open your eyes, composing yourself, but once your eyes had opened you were met with nothing, you watched as he made his way down the corridor, around the corner and out of sight. You were left with your heart almost beating out of your chest and the biggest smile on your face you’d ever had.
**
Taglist: @allthisfortommy , @bi-lmg , @bigassnocash , @thoughtfulfireangelpersona , @aidinniram 
If you would like to be added to the taglist, please let me know!! 💕
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spotofimagines · 3 years
Text
Rivals Last ~ Jadon Sancho
A/N: So I had this in my drafts before he signed with man united but that's fine, we move, we adapt. A third piece for the @footballffbarbiex summer challenge. Hope you enjoy it :)
Warnings: none - reader is female
Summary: You love both your brothers dearly, but being in the football world with them can make some things a little complicated.
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gif by @archivesbvb - gif by @ermuellert - gif by @italynt
Being a footballer meant living in a special world. Being in a footballing family meant living in a special world too. Being the younger sister of Lucas and Theo Hernandez meant living in a really special world. But nobody told you just how crazy it would be for all three of those things to apply to you.
You truly love watching your older brothers play football. They teach you something new during every match you see; even though you play as a striker, their movements and handling of the ball always inspire you to play better. After all, it was their defensive skills that helped you become a good goal scorer growing up since they never let a tackle go unchallenged in the park and you had to find out how to manoeuvre around them. A lot easier said than done.
Currently Lucas is signed with Bayern Munich. In his time there so far, he has learnt the heritage, history, and importance of wearing the badge and defending its honour in every match they play, especially derbies. Having supported Lucas, it quickly became easy for you to support Bayern Munich too and celebrate their victories like it was your own team. You'd always managed to do it with the clubs both your brothers played for, letting the atmosphere of the fanbase carry you away.
You have just finished your second season in England with Manchester City women's team. You'd settled in nicely now, having learnt a lot of the English language and culture already. The experience was made so much easier because of the help given by your welcoming teammates and the staff that translated things into French and Spanish during your first months there.
Fans were a little disappointed during the 2019 summer transfer window when it was confirmed all three Hernandez siblings would be leaving Spain to play separately in England, Germany and Italy, joking that no one could know what might happen with you all so far away. However, to you, it made things easier, as Lucas and Theo would stop making so many awful jokes about each other's clubs, only to join forces to diss your club even more afterward. Now the only connection you have to the clubs you all play for is the want for your sibling to win with them. And it is a great feeling. A welcome change of pace.
But no new change to your life felt as good as your blossoming "relationship", situationship, whatevership, you have with Jadon Sancho.
It all started with you flirting back and forth on social media, which turned itself into countless hours of DMs no one else could see. You congratulated his goals and he congratulated your wins. All the light-hearted teasing and the warm-hearted compliments stayed in your own little bubble. The only thing peeking out was your silly inside rule that if you were going to comment on a post, it had to be emojis only, stretching to a few words if you really couldn't help yourself - but it would earn you taunts from the other for the rest of the night.
Some eagle-eyed fans noticed how you'd been liking each other's posts every time they appeared for a while now, but it just added to the fun and thrill you got from flirting with him so much.
You weren't meant to be forming a bond with Jadon. He played for your brother’s rival. He was supposed to be the enemy. Someone you should dislike with a snap of your fingers. Certainly not a boy to fall for like you have.
You couldn't help yourself. Lucas and Theo had helped you since you moved to England by being the steady rocks they always were, cheering you on from afar. Your new teammates had helped you since you moved to England by introducing fun things for you all to do together and taking you under their wings. But Jadon had helped you in a different kind of way. He gave you a new kind of comfort and reassurance when you talked. He became someone to turn to with all your interesting news and your curious problems. He told you the good places to visit around the city that he remembered from his time there and taught you English slang to make your teammates laugh. You spoke three languages to varying degrees now, and you'd managed to pick up more German vicariously through Lucas in two years faster than Jadon had done living in Germany in four years, so you'd clue him into rude German phrases you had asked Lucas about, alongside the French and Spanish swear words he used more often than English ones now when you text. 
Even though a language barrier comes up once in a while, you have both learnt behaviours from each other and crave the contact you share. Jadon was starting to drop everything to send replies to you, a change his teammates have noticed and jokingly mock him for. Little did they know the unknown girl they joke he is smitten over is the sister of their rival.
Theo is the one in your family you usually tell about the boys you go out with; boyfriends and dates have been shared with him since you were 13 and doting on your first crush. He does the same with his girlfriends; asking advice and telling you more than you need to know at times. So, when you all went home for a bit of family time around Christmas, nothing could stop him from noticing the tell-tale signs that you had something going on. He already figured out through persistence that it was another player you were getting involved with, and his insistent questioning hasn't stopped in his search for who the player is.
But you keep it hidden from Lucas, and you don't know when you'll tell him. He has been your protector since you were kids, comforting you on sad nights when no one else was there, teaching you little secrets about how to navigate through the world, he even punched a boy who teased you once at school. The idea of telling him you were chatting romantically to another player would be trouble enough, but telling him it was a Dortmund player might just end up in another schoolground incident. You hadn't wanted Theo to know for fear he'd go dishing your dirt to Lucas, but he discovered it on his own and there was nothing you could do.
Who knows what might become of this thing you have with Jadon, and lord knows your eldest brother owns a hard as nails death stare that just might do Jadon in, but for now you actually quite like having the secret. A little mystery tucked away up your sleeve.
The rush you always get when Lucas calls your phone as you're typing a text to the Englishman,  feeling as though the first words from the other end will be shouts of how he knows everything and he'll never speak to you again for keeping it a secret, fills you with dread at times. But it never is the reason he calls, and it turns out he is just making plans or has something funny to tell you. But the way your heart thumps as you go back to texting Jadon, that is part of the chase you have to admit you enjoy.
Hardcore fans online have noticed the past few months that when you do interviews in English, the odd slang term comes up during jokes - terms you hadn't used before and stem more from London boroughs than northen towns - so speculation of how you'd learnt these things easily coincided with dating rumors.
Lucas had seen the speculation online; seen fans trying to put your interactions with the Dortmund player together through both your instagram stories and comments and the tweets you both had liked about the other. Lucas had even grown suspicious of the little questions you asked him about Germany, German phrases and his lifestyle there, not knowing why you would need nor want to know those things. But Lucas doesn't believe it. He knows that you know better to mix with a Dortmund boy.
Sometimes an older brother just doesn't get it quite right…
Soon, the chance will come to really see if your connection is something you can build on. Jadon's new signing with Manchester United has been confirmed and he will be moving back to England. It is a great opportunity to get to see him more often, rather than the odd rendezvous point or clandestine trip during small breaks in the season. You'll spend more time face to face instead of over the phone. You'll get to wake up in his bed and him in yours, without needing to sneak away from hotel rooms afterwards. You'll maybe even get to go on a proper date, just the two of you, where you can flirt across the table your joined hands rest upon. Hanging out with Jadon won't be the first time you've spent time together in person. However, getting a full day with only the two of you where you won't have to pretend you hardly know who he is, and you won't have to pretend your eyes aren't meeting across the group of people you're in - it fills your stomach with knots and butterflies.
A certain pressure has fallen off you now Jadon has no growing rivalry with Lucas, but not completely. You won't be able to take back the way their teams made the other feel in the past, but the fact there won't be more of it next season comforts you a little. The biggest thing that will hold you back from going public before the new season starts will be the media, but that is an issue you can't even begin to worry about yet. You are too caught up in the excitement of being in the same town as Jadon to care. Rumours are spinning crazier than ever about you two as some of your liked tweets about his move got reposted by sports pages and fan blogs - now joking about him being your rival instead of your brother's - and yet it didn't stop you, no longer all that bothered about keeping a low profile now you both will be living away from Lucas. If he gets mad, all he will be able to do is shout down the phone, and whilst you never want that to happen, you know the time to flourish with Jadon and capitalise on the foundation you have already built is better than ever, brothers be damned.
There are big changes coming for the both of you, yet one thing will remain the same no matter the outcome of your relationship. You can't quite stop being football rivals.
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z3llous · 3 years
Text
Would You Still Love me?
(FTM Reader x Sanji)
Warning: Transphobia. It's gonna get sad before it gets happy, so don’t read if you aren't in the mental state for that.
(Also it starts with she/her pronouns for a reason, just wait and see ok? Don’t worry it’ll get there.)
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    (Aug 16, 2020)
  He was her closest and most trusted friend. They did everything and went everywhere together, but not today.
    Women were what he loved, y/n was a woman, and y/n loved him. So what was the problem? As much as she loved him, she wasn't sure he loved her in the same way. Her love was unconditional, but was his?
    The path trailed off into a darker more mysterious part of town.
    He seemed to "love" all women, but what about her specifically? Was it simply adoration? Would he truly love her if she asked him to, or would he continue to "love" the others as well?
Wandering aimlessly and alone was the plan of the day. It was all in hope of somehow easing the weight of her heavy heart.
She would love him even if he wasn't a him. Regardless of gender Sanji was her everything. Gender meant little to her as long as Sanji was Sanji, but what about him? Would he still care about her if she wasn't a woman anymore?
A dark eerie shop came into view ahead to her left. It somehow gave her a warm welcoming feeling that flooded her lonely soul and begged for a visitor.
Wasn't the person more important than the gender?
As she grew closer she noticed the witch symbol that marked all magic shops.
The thoughts that plagued her mind and heart relentlessly, became lighter as she turned the bone handle and opened the door.
"May I help you?" A sweet fairly young looking witch asked kindly.
Incense filled the small shop with its pleasant aroma bringing some comfort to her weary mind.
"I don't need help at the moment. Would it be a bother if I asked questions about some of the things you're selling?" y/n said politely, eyes trailing across the shelves.
"Not at all, dear. Look around, ask all you like." She answered happily twirling a strand of her soft teal hair.
"Thank you." y/n said before walking around in search of something that might be of use.
The bay leaves caught her eye, since she'd watched Sanji use them in soups before. Unfortunately, the thought of Sanji wasn't welcome at the moment. Her expression unknowingly dropped.
"I'm sorry to pry, but are you alright miss? No one else is here and I won't judge you, dear." The kind witch asked noticing the poor girl's change in mood.
"I- No, I'm not alright..." y/n answered truthfully, since there was no use in hiding it. Her heart couldn't bear to lie to such a kind woman.
"Well what's the matter, dear?" Curiosity and concern filling the witch's voice and face. She knew from experience how harmful holding in emotions could be.
"Well, there's this man I love, but he adores women in general. I'm not sure, even if he truly loved me, that it would be the same way in which I love him. I love him for him, not because he's a man. Would he still care about me if I wasn't a woman?" Y/n admitted feeling relieved that she'd finally said her worries aloud.
"Ah, your worries are deep and valid, dear. It's understandable that you'd feel that way. Would you mind if I read you? Take a closer look at your soul." The teal witch said looking wise beyond her years. She'd thought similarly when she met her wife and soulmate. One often searches deeply inside themselves and the other when soulmates are involved.
"Why not? I'm always open to learn a bit about myself. " She said walking over.
A teal lock of wavy hair dropped from the witch's hand as she released it and held out her palm calmly.
Y/n placed her hand into hers and waited. The witch examined her hands, eyes, and face with her experienced gold eyes.
"I'm certain this isn't your first life. You've been both man and woman in your previous lives." The witch said confidently and patted y/n's hand softly to reassure her.
"That doesn't surprise me..." y/n stated, eyes drifting to the floor.
"You've known it for awhile, hun. Well, I do have something. I wouldn't normally bring it out, but since it fits your situation. So, I'll make an exception." She said pulling out a purple potion with blue flecks swirling about inside in a whirlpool like manner.
The sight of such a thing mesmerized her eyes with its lustrous hypnotic swirl.
"It changes one from female to male. The only way to reverse it is to ingest a male to female potion. Make sure to take it before you climb into bed, because it has sleep inducing qualities." The witch continued as she carefully poured some into a small shot glass sized bottle, sealed it, and marked it with the male symbol, before placing it onto the counter in front of y/n.
"Thank you, so much." y/n said paying her and placing it carefully into her bag.
"Not a problem, dear. Would you like the other one as well? Some grow to miss their old body within a week." The witch said pulling out a red glittering potion.
"....Just in case, yes." She said after a moment of thought. The sweet witch had experience with these things after all.
"Alright, dear." She said cheerfully as she poured another small bottle and marked it with the female symbol. Excited for the poor thing to settle the turmoil that resided within her.
"I can't thank you enough!" y/n exclaimed paying for that one too and putting it into her bag as well.
"I wish the greatest of blessings upon you, dear! I hope that man sees you for you!" The Teal witch happily waved as she watched the girl leave.
---
Robin was the only one who knew of what she was going to do. Robin never failed to keep a secret for her and she certainly wasn't about change that.
Once night had arrived she waltzed into the safety of her own room. Sliding under the cool sheets she couldn't help but fantasize of the best possible outcome. Excitement filled her system and she drank the surprisingly sweet potion. A pleasant feeling swept through her that was soon followed by drowsiness and so she slipped away into unconsciousness.
---
*drєαm*
hє pínnєd ѕαnjí αgαínѕt α wαll αnd ѕlíd híѕ hαndѕ íntσ thє вlσndє'ѕ hαír. hє вєgαn tσ pull hím clσѕє fσr α kíѕѕ-
---
He squinted his eyes from the glaring ray of sun light that peeked past the curtain. Suddenly remembering he raced to the mirror. Amazing, the potion had worked so well. It would take a bit to get used to, but they already had some previously oversized clothes that fit nicely.
Robin, expecting it, casually greeted them as though nothing had changed.
"Morning, Y/n." Robin said as he walked out and sat next to her for their usual morning reading session.
"WAIT Y/N???" Ussop yelled confusedly, nearly dropping the project he was working on.
"Yes, Ussop?" y/n asked normally, turning toward him as he lowered his book.
"WHAT HAPPENED???" he yelled again.
"Oh, I bought a potion from a nice witch lady." Y/n answered casually going back to his book.
"That sounds SUUUUPERRR!" Franky yelled popping into the conversation for a moment.
"Thank you, Franky, it is." Y/n said with a smile.
"Did it hurt?" Chopper asked peaking around the corner, since he was playing hide and seek with Luffy.
"Not at all, it tasted sweet and made me sleepy." Y/n answered calmly as he turned a page.
"I wanna meet the nice witch lady!" Luffy exclaimed as he fell out of an orange tree.
"STAY OUT OF MY ORANGE TREES!" Nami yelled as she ran over and grabbed all the oranges that fell before Luffy could get them.
"I don't think the nice witch lady would appreciate you running all over her shop, Luffy." Y/n said amused, turning another page.
"Aaaaaw no fair!" Luffy whined as he rubbed the new bump on his head.
"Nami-swaaan! Robin-chwaaan! Y/n- Who are you?" Sanji said walking out of the kitchen with a morning snack only to be surprised by a familiar, yet new face.
"A nice witch lady gave y/n a potion!" Chopper said with adorable enthusiasm.
Sanji just froze with a blank stare, Chopper panicked, and Luffy started poking Sanji.
Suddenly it clicked and Sanji quickly placed down the snacks on a nearby table and sped off to the kitchen.
===[edited^]=== ---
Sanji didn't talk to y/n much all day. He seemed... distant.
Evening came around and everyone was having fun on the beach. Robin was comfortably reading a book and laying on a beach towel beneath an umbrella, Nami yelling at Luffy, and the others were messing around with crabs.
"Sanji! Mind if I help?" Y/n walked up happily offering to help him cook the crabs like he always did.
Looking away Sanji held out a ready to be cooked crab and said nothing the entire time. The silence began to bother y/n a little bit.
"Are you alright?" He asked Sanji quietly to avoid drawing attention.
".....why?" Sanji asked looking down.
"Why what?" Y/n said confusedly.
"Why did you take the potion? I- never mind..." He said refusing to look up.
"What? What is it?" y/n stared at him.
"It's nothing." Sanji said glancing at him for second and turning away.
"It clearly isn't nothing."
"I-..."
"I what?!"
"You were better before this!"
"I can't BELIEVE you!" y/n yelled standing up and running off.
Sanji angrily focused on the crab and Luffy looked up at with a frown.
Luffy walked off after y/n.
---
Sobbing echoed from the cave as Luffy walked closer. His frown dropped further when he saw y/n curled in a weeping ball. He sat next to him and gently placed his hat onto his head.
Y/n calmed down a bit and leaned against him before he began to talk.
"Luffy, Sanji doesn't like me for who I am. I love him with everything I am. Why can't he just love me. Does it matter if I'm a woman or not? I want my best friend back. I'm still the same y/n aren't I?" y/n began to cry again.
Luffy looked down quietly for a moment.
"Y/n is y/n no matter what. He's wrong for being upset with you. You'll always be our y/n." Luffy said as he turned to him and smiled.
Y/n hugged Luffy tightly.
"Thank you...thank you so much, Luffy." He said slowly letting go, giving Luffy his hat back as well as a teary eyed smile.
They got up and walked into town, since Luffy agreed to let them stay the night in an inn. He gave Luffy a piece of paper with his room number and the symbol of the inn drawn on it in case they needed to find him. Y/n hugged Luffy once more before he headed back to the rest of the crew.
---
The had nearly set by the time Luffy returned.
"Luffy? Where's y/n?" Ussop and Nami asked when they noticed that he had returned alone.
"In town." he answered with a rare frown.
"What???! Why?!" Both of them yelled confused.
"He isn't coming back tonight." He said turning to Sanji, who was staring at the sand with his hair covering both his eyes.
Everyone turned to Sanji. They all heard what he said to y/n.
"Apologize to y/n." Luffy demanded looking at Sanji seriously.
"I agree. You weren't exactly pleasant to y/n today." Zoro said getting up and standing next to Luffy.
"Cruel more like it." Ussop stated glaring over his shoulder from where he sat.
"...Yeah." Chopper sadly mumbled next to Ussop.
"Captain's right." Robin said not looking up from her book.
"Not Suuuperrr." Franky said lacking passion.
"Horrible..." Nami whispered.
Luffy walked closer and held out the paper in front of Sanji.
"Go find him and apologize. He'll forgive you." Luffy said pushing the paper against him.
Sanji slowly stood up and grabbed the paper. He finally looked up with a hurt expression.
"Are you sure?" Sanji painfully asked holding in tears and gripping the paper.
"He's your best friend isn't he?" Luffy answered placing a hand onto his shoulder.
Sanji nodded.
"Then go." Luffy said smiling.
Immediately Sanji rushed towards town.
---
He desperately looked for the Symbol. One path to another, alley after alley, turn after turn, he was beginning to think he'd loose his precious friend.
Who am I kidding. He's not just my best friend. He's also my love. I was just confused by the change in gender. My feelings never left and I got frustrated and took it out on him. It doesn't matter, y/n is y/n. I need to see him. I have to. I can't loose him.
As he ran around the corner hope rushed back into him at the sight of the inn.
He quickly apologized to poor man at the desk for bothering him at such a late hour. He scoured the place for the number that marked the room of his love.
"13..." he whispered at the sight of it.
Softly he knocked on the door. Anxiety crawled up his back as his worst fear arose from the depths of his mind.
What if he doesn't forgive me? I'll never forgive myself if he leaves because of me.
The door opened and wild disheveled y/n appeared. They looked at him for a second... and closed the door.
He knocked again.
"Please, y/n. Please talk to me. At least listen." He pleaded.
The door opened again and Sanji walked in. Y/n closed the door behind him and turned towards Sanji silently.
Remorse and longing filled his heart from just seeing him. Sanji couldn't help but quickly pull y/n into a needy hug.
Tears soaked into y/n's shirt as he pulled him in as close as possible.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was frustrated with my own feelings and took it out on you. I was wrong. I was so wrong. I'm sorry. Please don't leave. Please, I love you. Don't leave me. You're my best friend and my love. Don't leave." His tears escaped rapidly and his breath grew unsteady.
His shaky hands grasped y/n's shirt.
Y/n wrapped his arms around Sanji and leaned into him. Tears began to escape from him as well.
"I forgive you. I'm sorry I yelled. I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me. I understand. I love you too and I'm not going anywhere. It's gonna be alright. C'mon,  you can stay here with me tonight." Y/n whispered and gently led him to the bed.
Taking off his shoes and vest Sanji crawled under the sheets. Y/n turned the light off and crawled in too.
He pulled Sanji in close so his head rest upon his chest and began to run his hands through the messy blonde hair.
"Shhhhh, rest easy, my precious Prince." y/n whispered softly kissing his forehead.
"I will, my love." Sanji tiredly answered nuzzling further into his chest and placing a soft kiss onto his collar bone.
They slept better than ever before that night.
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fanfic-archive · 3 years
Text
Meeting the Baron (3/7)
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Chapter 3. Riga, Latvia
Summary: Next stop? Riga and Zemo’s Latvian flat. Zemo proves that breaking him out of prison wasn’t an all-bad idea, providing you with invaluable information and leads, but it’s not that surprising that the new Captain America had finally caught up with your ragtag group.
Part 1, Part 2
Word Count: 4695
The search for Karli took the four of you to Riga, Latvia. And, thankfully, Zemo had somewhere there for you all to stay. He really was proving himself useful, if nothing else he had funded everything for the three of you. Clothes, travel, lodging, it certainly made things easier.
Now, Zemo was guiding the there of you through the streets of Riga and towards his place where you would all be staying.
“I heard what became of Sokovia. Cannibalised by its neighbours before the land was even cleared of rubble, erased from the map” Zemo spoke up, making you a little curious. Of course, Sam and Bucky had explained what had happened to Sokovia but this was the first time that he was speaking of it. “I don’t suppose any of you bothered visiting the memorial?” he asked, the question pointed more towards Sam. “Of course not. Why would you?” he continued when Sam didn’t respond, sounding calm but you sensed the underlying annoyance. “We are here” he announced as you arrived outside his property.
“I’m gonna go on a walk” Bucky stopped, making you all turn back to him.
“You good?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, I’ll see you guys in a bit” Bucky just nodded before walking off in the opposite direction.
“I worry about him sometimes” you sighed to yourself.
“Yeah, me too” Sam patted your shoulder before the two of you followed Zemo inside.
Now, this was much closer to what you expected from the Baron when it came to housing. This safehouse, if you could call it that, was much nicer and more spacious than where you had stayed in Madripoor. The room was warmly lit, the sun coming through stain glass windows. The décor was much more of what you expected as well, the style and furniture a mix between traditional and modern. In summary, you liked the space, and if this was a safehouse of his, it was still much nicer than your apartment back home.
The three of you settled in, Sam sitting down to do some research, Zemo disappearing into the bathroom, and you making yourself a drink before falling down onto the couch. Here you were, on the run, tracking down a rebel group, but living in much better conditions.
Taking a sip from your glass, your attention turned to the opening bathroom doors, where Zemo stepped out. You couldn’t help but stare despite your better judgement, he was a sight to take in like this. Blue bathrobe, tied securely but revealing the top of his chest, letting you catch a glimpse of the silver chain that hung around his neck and just the right amount of chest hair.
As your gaze travelled up his body, finally landing on his face, you saw that he was already looking at you. Knowing you had been caught, you placed your glass down and stood up, walking over to Sam to see if he had found any information. Just anything to make it look like you hadn’t been checking him out, but Zemo had noticed. He didn’t say anything, just smirking to himself as he made himself a drink.
Thankfully, Bucky returned from his ‘walk’, closing the door behind him. “Well, the Wakandans are here. They want Zemo. Bought us some more time” Bucky informed you all, just adding another complication into the mess you had all found yourselves in.
“Were you followed?” Sam asked, standing as you both followed Bucky over to the kitchen.
“No” Bucky answered.
“How can you be so sure?” Zemo questioned, joining the four of you in the kitchen.
“Because I know when I’m being followed” Bucky shot him a glare.
“It was sweet of you to defend me at least” Zemo hummed, sipping from his drink.
“Hey, you shut it. No one’s defending you. You killed Nagel” Sam reminded him.
“Do we really have to litigate what may or may not have happened?” Zemo asked as if it meant nothing.
“There’s nothing to litigate. You straight shot the man” Sam couldn’t believe he was having this argument but you just smiled to yourself, knowing that Zemo was just trying to bother him. The Baron just shrugged, moving to stand on the opposite side of the kitchen island from you.
“Sam” Bucky got his attention, and you were about to listen to what he had to say but Zemo got your attention.
“Schatzi” the nickname made you turn to the Baron. You weren’t sure what the word translated to specifically, but you were sure it was a term of endearment of some kind, something that should have bothered you but didn’t even in the slightest.
“What?” you asked, turning your attention to him.
“Turkish Delight?” Zemo offered, completely throwing you off.
“Uh…” you weren’t sure how to answer that, this man repeatedly confused and surprised you. He just found out that the Wakandans were here for him and he was offering you candy?
Even though you didn’t really answer, he handed you one of the wrapped candies, placing it in your palm. “There. Irresistible” he smiled, looking you in the eye as he spoke. You had no idea why, it was just something about the way he said it, about the way that he looked at you, but it made heat rise to your cheeks and you just knew that he noticed. But neither of you commented, you just unwrapped the treat and ate it.
“Y/n” Bucky said your name to get your attention when he realised you hadn’t heard anything they had been talking about.
“Sorry, what?” you asked, looking back at Bucky and Sam.
“Did you hear what we were just talking about” Bucky asked.
“Uh no, I was…eating” you confused, blushing some more but this time from embarrassment.
“Karli bombed a GRC supply depot. There were eleven injured and three dead, and they’re threatening more attacks if their demands aren’t met” Bucky informed you.
“What? They haven’t done anything like that before” your eyes widened in shock.
“She’s getting worse” Zemo commented disapprovingly.
It was becoming even more important that you found Karli. Sam made the point that they would probably be holding a memorial for Donya and that the best way of finding Karli was to get some information on where it was being held.
And so, the four of you got ready and headed back out into Riga. Zemo lead the way, your own personal tour guide, to a refugee camp.
“Shame what’s become of this place” Zemo spoke as you stepped into the camp, looking around with a sense of familiarity but a little distain. “When I was young, we used to come here for fabulous dinners and parties. I knew nothing of the politics of the time, of course, but I remember it being beautiful” he told you, and his words did seem more directed towards you than the men you were with.
“It still has a certain beauty to it” you claimed, and you meant it. You couldn’t picture what it was like all those years ago but if you took away the pain that was happening here, you would find it rather beautiful.
“I envy you, being able to see it with fresh eyes” Zemo looked down at you, and he seemed sincere.
“I’m gonna take a look around upstairs. See what you can find out here” uninterested in the conversation, Sam took a step back from the group. “And keep an eye on him” he ordered the two of you.
“I’ll stay out of your way” Zemo assured Bucky, who just nodded before going to look around and see what he could find. “Liebling, would you mind accompanying me?” the Baron asked you.
“Sure…why?” you nodded, wondering what he was planning.
With a small smile, Zemo placed a hand on your back and led you over to where a group of children were playing. “Children usually have an easier time trusting women” he lent down towards your ear to explain.
Still wondering what he was up to, you walked with him, it was your job to keep an eye on him after all. He removed his hand from your back and pulled a wooden stool out in front of him, sitting down on a bench behind it. On top of the stool, he emptied out wrapped candies from a brown paper bag that he retrieved from a pocket in his coat. That had certainly gained the interest of the children.
“Turkish Delight” he informed the young girl who had stepped closer, “it was always my son’s favourite.”
The comment had made you glance at him, a feeling of sympathy settling in your chest. You knew what had happened to his family, Sam had explained his motives to you when he was explaining who Zemo was, but this was the first time he had spoken of either his son or his wife. He had only just mentioned Sokovia for the first time when you arrive in Riga, but you understood, you couldn’t imagine how painful the subject must be.
The girl came closer and took one of the Turkish Delights, waiting to see what the two of you wanted. “My old friend, Donya, passed away. Did you know her?” Zemo asked and she nodded. “I would like to pay my last respects. Do you know where her funeral will be?” again, she nodded.
Zemo smiled and pointed towards his ear, to which the girl hurried around to his side to whisper to him. Once the girl stepped away again, Zemo looked up at you and nodded, letting you know that he had the location.
“Thank you” you gave the girl a kind smile and gestured for her to take another Turkish Delight, and she did with a smile of her own.
Zemo stood, picking up a handful of sweets. “This is our little secret, okay?” he asked and all of the children nodded. In return, he handed them the remaining sweets for them to divide between themselves. “Liebling?” he offered you his arm and you couldn’t help but smile a little as you took it, letting him guide you back towards Bucky and Sam, who had returned.
Bucky gave you a questioning look as you approached but you just shrugged at him. “Cute kids” Zemo commented as the two of you walked past them.
It wasn’t until you all returned to the safehouse that Zemo revealed what he had learnt. You, Sam and Bucky sat on the couch while Zemo headed for the kitchen.
“That little girl. What did she tell you?” Bucky asked as Zemo approached you all with a tray of tea.
“The funeral is this afternoon” Zemo told you, placing the tray down.
“You know the Dora’s coming for you any minute. In fact, they’re probably lurking outside right now. Keep talking” Bucky reminded him but it sounded more like a threat.
“Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli. I prefer to keep my leverage” while it was irritating to the three of you, Zemo made sense. He was a wanted criminal, why would he give you all the information he had so that you didn’t need him anymore.
Bucky abruptly stood up, rounding the coffee table. He took the glass straight out of Zemo’s hand and threw it at the wall behind him, causing it to shatter. “You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?” he threated, trying to intimidate him.
“Bucky, calm down” you jumped up from your seat and got between the two men, your back to Zemo. “Don’t let him use this against you” you pleaded with Bucky, you knew he was better than threats of physical violence and you didn’t need him beating himself up about this later on.
“She’s right, man” Sam spoke calmly, and Bucky thankfully backed off. “Let me make a phone call” he gave Bucky one last look before leaving the room, and Bucky followed after him.
“Very sweet of you, thank you” Zemo smirked slightly as you turned to face him. You had defended him against your friend, and he suspected multiple motivations behind your actions.
“Don’t mention it” you sighed, shaking your head at him.
“Want some Cherry Blossom tea?” Zemo offered, as if the confrontation just never happened.
“That actually sounds pretty good” you confessed.
He smiled and gestured towards the remaining cups on the tray, you picked one up and took a seat on the couch, letting out a small sigh as you did so. Zemo picked up another cup before sitting beside you.
“I, uh…I’m sorry about your family…and your country, I can’t imagine what you went through” you spoke up after a moment of silence. You contemplated bringing up the subject but decided to give it a shot.
You knew that the others found it hard to sympathise with him after everything he put them through and you understood that, but it felt like something that had to be said. The Baron looked at you before looking back at his drink, and you noticed his hesitation about speaking. It was understandably painful for him and you were ready to drop the subject if needs be.
“Now, why should you apologise? You didn’t even know about it until recently” Zemo asked. It wasn’t the response you had expected but you weren’t too surprised, he had been acting unphased by nearly everything happening, he was just keeping up that act now.
“I…guess I just thought someone should” you admitted, and that answer made him think for a moment. “If you would like to talk about it, I’d listen” you offered, assuming he hadn’t had anyone to confide in for a long time, “or we can pretend I never mentioned it.”
He hesitated but finally spoke. “My father lived outside the city, I thought we would be safe there” Zemo started and instantly all of your attention was on him, you hadn’t really expected him to speak about it but now that he was, all you would do was listen. “My son was excited, he could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife ‘Don’t worry, they’re fighting in the city. We’re miles from harm.’” You couldn’t imagine the guilt is must have felt for that. “When the dust cleared…and the screaming stopped…it took me two days until I found their bodies. My father…still holding my wife and son in his arms” the way he stared at the tea in his hands told you that he was reliving that moment, it was one of those things that just sticks with you. You can’t forget, you can only move forward. “And the Avengers? They went home…I admit, I let vengeance consume me, but my time alone provided plenty of opportunities for insight. Perhaps I have changed to an extent since my arrest, but I still stand by what I believe. Idols, superheroes, they are dangerous.”
You didn’t say anything, there was nothing to be said, so you just reached over and placed your hand on his, stroking your thumb back and forth in a comforting manner. Nothing could change the past, nothing could make it better, and you knew that he didn’t want or need to hear your condolences. You just wanted him to know that he wasn’t alone, he had formed an unlikely alliance here. Zemo looked down at where your hand sat atop his, the gesture was appreciated.
The sound of voices approaching caught your attention, you pulled your hand away from his just as Sam and Bucky came back into the room. Neither of the noticing.
“Ready?” Sam asked, not wanting to miss the memorial. You just nodded as you stood up.
The way you pulled your hand away when your friends entered the room suggested to Zemo that the gesture had meant a little more than simple sympathy. It was something you thought you should hide from your friends, and it made him all the more curious.
Once again, Zemo was leading the three of you through Riga. You were a little distracted, taking a moment to just look around and admire the unfamiliar streets. Cobblestone streets, old fashioned streetlamps, bright flowers decorating windows, it wasn’t what you were used too, and you loved it.
“Hey, Y/n, you with us?” Sam tapped your arm, bringing you back to reality.
“Yeah, sorry…just looking around” you told them honestly, with a small laugh.
“I take it you’re enjoying Riga?” Zemo asked rhetorically, glad that you were enjoying your visit.
“I definitely think I could take a vacation here” you nodded.
“When was the last time you had a vacation?” Bucky asked, knowing that wasn’t really something you had much opportunity for.
“Uh…since I was a child I guess, and I never left the States” you answered.
“Well, I’d be honoured to be your tour guide if we get the chance” Zemo offered with a smile.
“I’d like that” you returned the smile, definitely liking the sound of having Zemo show you more of the country, maybe even more of the world.
“Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit” a loud voice interrupted, making you look ahead to see John Walker approaching.
“How’d you find us now?” Bucky called to him.
“Come on, you think two Avengers can walk around Latvia without drawing attention?” Lemar asked and you couldn’t really argue with that, it wasn’t a miracle that they found you.
“No more keeping us in the dark” Walker told them. “You can start by telling us why you broke him out of prison” he pointed towards Zemo.
“He did that himself, technically” Bucky corrected him.
“This better be an unbelievable explana-” Walker began but was interrupted.
“Hey, take it easy before it gets weird” Sam stepped in when he noticed how agitated John was getting.
“And who’s this?” John asked, pointing towards you this time.
“A friend” you told him simply.
“Of who? Them or him?” he questioned you, gesturing towards Zemo, accusing you of being a partner in crime of the Baron.
“Them…but more him than you” you shrugged, but he didn’t seem pleased with your answer.
“I know where Karli is” Zemo told the soldiers, tired of the conversation, and began to pass John but was stopped by a hand against his chest.
“Where?” John demanded an answer.
“All we know is it’s a memorial” Sam answered when Zemo remained silent.
Seeing something up ahead, Zemo pushed John’s hand away and passed him anyway. “Liebling?” he looked back at you, encouraging you to follow, so you nodded and did.
When John realised that you were both walking away, John placed a hand on your shoulder to halt you. “Look, we’re kinda busy and don’t have time to argue, so get out the way, okay?” you gave him a sarcastic smile as you pushed his hand off of you.
“Do you know who I am? I’m Captain America” John was clearly angry with the way you responded to him, annoyed that you truly didn’t care about who he was.
“You’re a guy in a star-spangled suit, alright? Calm down” you scoffed at his arrogance before pushing past him to catch up with Zemo, missing the look of anger on John’s face.
The other four followed behind the two of you, John and Sam arguing about how to handle the situation with Karli. John planned on fighting no matter what, but Sam wanted to try to talk to Karli, which was the plan you agreed with.
“So, where exactly are we going?” you asked Zemo, ignoring the bickering that was happening behind you.
“My associate is just up ahead” Zemo announced, which seemed to get the attention of the others.  
At the end of the road was the girl from the camp who had given you the location of the funeral. You all approached her, Zemo and you standing in front of the others since she better recognised the two of you.
“Hello, my friend” Zemo greeted her kindly. “This is for your family” he handed her a generous amount of money, making you smile. He didn’t have to offer her so much, but he did. “Can you show us the way?” he asked.
The girl nodded, gesturing for you all to follow her before walking ahead, and so you all did. She took you to where the memorial was being held before disappearing futher into the building, leaving you all to your business.
Once alone, John handcuffed Zemo to a boiler, telling Sam that he had ten minutes before you were doing things ‘his way’. Sam nodded to you and Bucky before following the path that the young girl had gone, going to find Karli, while the rest of you would wait.
Bucky stood in the doorway to prevent John from interfering too early, John sat against the wall looking agitated, Lemar sat on the ground beside him, and you stood by Zemo. All of you just waiting.
“No, no, no. This is a bad idea” John mumbled to himself as he started pacing.
“It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight” Bucky watched him carefully.
“Don’t do that. Don’t patronise me” John snapped.
“He’s not, we all just have to stay calm” you spoke up calmly, trying to talk the man down. Sam knew what he was doing.
“Who even are you?” John’s anger and frustration was peaking now as he walked over to you, beginning to get in your face.
Before John could get too close, Zemo had stepped out and got in between you both, his wrist still attached to the boiler. Looking between you both, John just scoffed, a comment forming on his tongue.
“Sam knows what he’s doing” Bucky assured the two men, getting John’s attention back on him. Instantly, the two men started arguing again.
“What are you thinking?” Zemo asked you quietly, keeping your attention on him.
“He’s antsy…” you commented, squinting at the back of the blonde’s head, “something’s going on with him.”
“What do you think it is?” he wanted to know what you thought.
“…performance issues” you half-joked, earning an eyebrow raise from Zemo. “I mean it, probably feels a little…emasculated. Plus, the pressure is probably getting to him. He thinks he’s Captain America, but he knows he’s not Steve Rogers” you explained yourself.
“Good observation” Zemo nodded in approval.
“Thanks. Do I get a Turkish Delight for my troubles?” you joked, smiling up at him.
“You can have whatever you like” Zemo promised you and it felt like a very real offer. For a moment, you just looked at each other, you trying to figure out exactly what he meant by that and him allowing you to do so.
“Ah, crap” you sighed, the moment ruined when you saw Bucky following John and Lemar further into the building.
“Impatient” Zemo chastised under his breath, equally annoyed about being interrupted.
“Alright, let’s get you out of these” you turned to the handcuffs, examining them.
“You know how to pick locks?” Zemo asked, digging into an inside pocket of his coat before holding a lockpick out for you. “Always prepared” he told you proudly when you gave him a questioning look.
“Of course I know how to pick a lock, who do you think I am?” you answered, taking the pick from him. “Honestly just surprised that you haven’t already picked it” you hummed, using the lockpick he had provided to open the cuffs.
“I was enjoying my time with you” the Baron smiled when you looked up at him, a little surprised by the comment, as the cuffs opened. Was he…flirting with you? So blatantly?
Once again, the moment was cut short by the sound of fighting and gunshots. “Come on” you handed him the lockpick back before the two of you headed further into the building.
You pulled your gun out of your holster, readying it in case you ran into trouble, but Zemo pulled out a gun of his own.
“Again, with the gun?” you looked at him in disbelief, where does he keep getting them from and why is nobody noticing?
“Will you allow me to keep it this time?” Zemo asked.
“Yes, whatever” you nodded, you weren’t going to unarm him in a dangerous situation, you could use the extra gun.
The building was like a maze, you had been following corridor after corridor and you still hadn’t come across anyone. Neither of you knew the building and so took it in turns to decide which turn to take.
The two of you were walking down the next corridor, passing the start of another when a gunshot rang out. Without hesitation, Zemo grabbed you and pulled you both away from the corridor’s entrance, pinning you to the wall beside it by your shoulders.
Your breathing was heavy as you processed what had happened, that Zemo had pulled you out of the way of potentially being shot. Now the two of you stood a little too close, his body shielding yours against the wall, chests falling and rising as your breathing steadied, wide eyes looking up at him.
You couldn’t have been there for long, just looking at each other, before his lips were suddenly on yours, his hands sliding up from your shoulders to cup your face. With an almost embarrassing lack of restraint, you returned the kiss with an equal passion. Your hands gripped his arms, holding each other close as an unspoken tension was slightly released.
It reminded you of that night in Madripoor, of the pull you felt towards him and the spark that he ignited within you. The difference right now was that there was no reason for the two of you two kiss, no act to keep up, nobody to convince, it was simply because you both wanted too.
Another gunshot pulled you both away from each other. Zemo took a step back as you raised your gun, stepping out from behind the corner to shoot the attacker, landing a non-fatal hit to the leg. Aiming to disable but not to kill. Zemo tapped your shoulder before you both hurried down the corridor, not having the time to linger on the moment you both just shared or address what it meant.
The two of you came to a room, your eyes widening when you saw Karli. Zemo didn’t even hesitate before shooting at her, he managed to hit her once but when he shot again, she jumped over a table and took cover.
“Zemo” you warned as he approached, knowing Sam wouldn’t be okay with him killing her.
As the two of you approached the table, he shot at the ground to keep her behind it, but got distracted by multiple small vials of a blue substance that had fallen to the floor.
“Is this what I think it is?” Zemo picked up a vial, examining it. It could only be one thing, the super soldier serum.
You flinched a little at the sound of glass shattering when he started destroying the vials, but you couldn’t say that you completely disagreed with the destruction of them. In the end, it was probably for the best.
While he was distracted, Karli quickly got up and ran for the stairs. You acted as quickly as you could and shot in her direction but missed and she escaped with another one of the Flag Smashers. Next thing you knew, Captain America’s shield was flying in front of your face, hitting Zemo in the side of the head and knocking him unconscious.
“Zemo” you gasped under your breath before kneeling down to check on him.
You carefully took his head in your hands and examined his face, he wasn’t bleeding. You checked his pulse and gently lay his head back down, he seemed alright for the most part. While you were fretting over the Baron, you didn’t see John picking up and pocketing a surviving vial, and then Sam, Bucky, and Lemar were running into the room.
You looked up at Sam and Bucky, and they just looked at you as if to ask ‘what the hell happened?’
Meeting the Baron Taglist:
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winterscaptain · 4 years
Text
dead man’s hand.
Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader
a/n: our 52 pickup ajf episode! i dunno about yall, but i was so excited to get my hands on viper in this universe. he’s ridiculous, and i think he deserves to be absolutely put to shame by aaron “BDE” hotchner. 
a joyful future fic, but requires little context. 
words: 5k warnings: canon-typical misogyny, language, improper comm conduct, emily prentiss: lesbian icon™
summary: your first case back to full duties after your injury at the septarian ranch just had to take you undercover, didn’t it?
masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | requests closed!
You’re happy to be back in your usual plane seat, just to the left of Aaron, with your notes in your lap. With your arm in the sling, you were relegated to the table, in Derek’s usual spot beside Rossi, to discourage you from slouching. It was Hotch who suggested it, of course, but that didn’t help your pride. 
Though your sling is gone and you’re back where you belong, your shoulder still twinges a little from time to time. 
As it happens, a twinge hits you right as Rossi asks, “How does our unsub go from loser of the year to Don Juan?”
While Spencer answers him, Hotch glances over at you. You wave him off. I’m fine, Hotch. 
He sighs and you both tune back in to Spencer. “...Don Juan was an ironic reversal of sex roles and when -” Spencer looks at Hotch, finding something in his face that usually made you laugh, but stops Spencer in his tracks. “Th-That’s about it.” 
You suppress your smile as Hotch refocuses the group. “Something must have happened between the last prostitute and Vanessa Holden, making him change his victimology.” 
“Could the unsub have known Vanessa?” Jordan’s question almost surprises you. She’s still settling in, but you’re learning she doesn’t hesitate to freely share her opinion. 
Hotch hesitates, as if waiting for someone else to answer. You oblige him, leaning around Dave a bit to see her better. “It’s unlikely.” 
Derek picks up your thought. “Yeah, sexual sadists attack anonymously”
“They have to sever a personal connection and see their victims as objects to perpetrate this level of torture.” Spencer softens your quick rebukes with a little closed-mouth smile. 
You spare a glance for Hotch and he raises his eyebrows for a split second before they drop back down. Your elbow makes contact with his arm, and you press into him for a second. Be nice. 
He huffs a light breath through his nose as Prentiss and Rossi bounce off each other. I am being nice. 
Then, as though your silent sidebar never existed, he jumps back in. “The victimology is so different, we’ll treat them as separate unsubs and see what overlaps.” He makes assignments, finally rounding out by assigning Derek, you, Jordan, and himself to the victim’s family. 
+++
Todd’s initiative continues to take you by surprise long after you land. She takes command of the situation at the precinct, and there are a couple of times where you can feel Hotch shift his weight. 
He’s uncomfortable. 
When Jordan leaves the room, you turn to the side and he leans in. “If you’re going to pull her, do it quietly. Something tells me she’s adverse to public criticism.” 
He nods, just a little, and you return to your former posture. 
The house is where things get really sticky. 
“Mrs. Holden,” she says, “we can’t begin to fathom the loss you’ve suffered.” 
You nudge Hotch with your shoulder (ouch) and he uncrosses his arms. Loosen up for a minute, would you?
“No, that’s right. You can’t.” Mrs. Holden’s tone is sharp, and you can’t help but feel for her - the stuff Garcia sent over was awful. A daughter, dead, and forums full of people saying you had it coming. Ugh. 
“But, um…” Jordan steps up, and you narrow your eyes a little. 
What is she doing? 
“I lost my older sister in a car crash.” You can feel Derek’s brow furrow as he checks in with Hotch. Aaron has yet to move and, as usual, his face gives nothing away to anyone except you. Something’s wrong. “And it was really hard on our family because she was the responsible one. She was the one that my mother always counted on to watch over us.” 
Your eyes flicker to Hotch’s profile, and you find his mouth a touch tighter, his eyes infinitesimally narrower.
Uh oh. 
We know that look. 
Again, what is she doing? 
“And when she died, my mother wouldn’t let the police in. If she didn’t let them in, then my sister wasn’t really dead.” Jordan leans in closer, as if her next words are a secret. “This man is a monster,” Aaron straightens with an inhale, and you feel yourself wind tighter and tighter as he does. You have no idea what you’re upset about yet, but you’re sure it's something. “...and we can catch him, but we need your daughter’s help.”
The mother turns on Derek in an outburst of pre-emptive anger. He very kindly de-escalates the situation, ever the voice of reason and empathy. Hotch takes another breath as Mrs. Holden turns to invite you further into the house. Jordan checks in with Derek before following her, almost smug. 
Aaron’s brows are drawn when you look at him again. Derek asks the question you’ve been waiting for. “Did you know that about Jordan?”
“No,” he says. “And neither did she. According to her file, she’s an only child.” Hotch walks away immediately, letting his implicit accusation hang in the air between you. 
You share a look with Derek. 
+++
“The information about Vanessa Holden being the responsible sister, where did you get that?”
You try to stay a little ahead of them, but Derek has no qualms about openly eavesdropping, turning over his shoulder. 
Her tone is matter-of-fact. “Some of it was online, and some of it was just an educated guess based on birth order.”
Still facing forward, you squeeze your eyes shut for a moment, as if bracing yourself for impact. 
“A guess.” Hotch’s question is flat and hardly a question at all. You almost cringe. Derek hops up beside you, much less interested in snooping now. 
Shit. You’re in it now, kid. 
‘Kid.’ Gimme a break she’s like...two years younger than you.
Yeah, but on this team, it’s dog years. The divorce alone had to be at least a decade.
“And in the process, you lied.” 
There it is. 
“That mother was shut down. I needed to salvage some rapport.” The note of defensiveness in Jordan’s tone pulls a sigh from you, and you can almost anticipate Hotch’s response. If pressed, you could recite it verbatim. 
“I don’t know how you did things in counter-terrorism, but we don’t make it a habit to lie to get the job done.” They stop walking, but you don’t, pulling Derek by the sleeve of his Henley before he can hesitate. 
“Let’s wait by the car,” you tell him. He gives you an expression that only says yikes. You reply with one of your own. 
As you approach the back door, you hear, “I got you in the door, didn’t I?” from Jordan.
Oh babe. Put the shovel down. This hole you’re digging for yourself is becoming unmanageable, and we’re all going to have to deal with his grumpy ass for the rest of the afternoon if you don’t quit. 
Derek leans against the door of the car, and you follow his lead, leaning against the back bumper. 
“Not only do you represent the FBI, you represent this team - ”
Ah, so it's the “representing the team with integrity” speech today.
 “ - to the press, the police, and to the families who are struggling with some of the hardest times of their lives. If you get caught in a lie, the trust we depend on to help solve these crimes disappears.” You inhale, sharp. It’s been a minute since you’ve heard that tone. “Do I make myself clear?” 
Yikes. 
Jordan, looking significantly chastised, answers, “It won’t happen again.” 
“No, it won’t.” 
Alright, that one pulls a smile from you and you do your best to bite back your laugh. Derek’s in the same boat. You both hope to recover by the time they get back to the car. A fit of giggles will do you absolutely no good at this point. 
“When we get back, I want you to prepare a press release about the unsub. Do not release it.” His phone rings, and he reaches for it, adding “From now on, everything goes through me.”
He passes you without meeting your eye, talking to Rossi over the phone. Jordan approaches you, and asks, “So how bad did I just screw up?”
You take a breath before answering. “Well, Derek would tell you on a normal scale of one to ten, probably about a six.” 
“I have a feeling that’s not the scale we’re using.”
You shake your head and open the door. “On Hotch’s, that was about an eleven.” 
The three of you slide into the car. You take the seat behind Derek, sparing Aaron from having Jordan in his peripheral vision while he’s trying to focus on not crashing the car. 
+++
“Hotch,” Emily says, getting your attention and Aaron’s. You both turn. “Of the self-described pickup artist classes in the area, there’s only one guy who encourages his students to dress like, uh..” she searches for a word for a second, “space cowboys.” 
A laugh escapes you, but you recover quickly. You glance at Hotch, an apology in your eyes.
Emily’s tone matches your mirth. “Are you ready to meet Viper?”
+++
The four of you lurk at the back of the room, listening to Viper’s sermon while trying not to laugh out loud again. 
“...and women, while they won’t admit it, want to be hunted. They need it.” 
You look up at Hotch. You’ve got to be kidding me. 
He doesn’t look at you, but the twitch of his mouth gives him away. 
You turn your attention back to Viper, who’s assertions are so far gone from reality you can’t even believe people paid for this. He goes on and on about the ideal mate, what women want, etc. etc. etc. 
This guy has never gotten laid in his life. 
Hotch nudges you with his shoulder as if he can hear you thinking, and you drop your eyebrows, setting your mouth in a tight line that could give him a run for his money. 
Emily’s losing it beside you, too. She and Derek have shared more than a few glances, and there’s no hiding the incredulous look on her face. 
“If you are smarter and more interesting, you will be a better predator -”
You keep your face from screwing up in a wince, but only just. Poor choice of words, there. 
“- because this is the jungle, my friends, and your prey wants to be caught.”
Derek doesn’t shift his gaze as he asks, quietly, “Would you listen to that language?”
You lean around Emily, whispering, “He’s training serial killers.” 
“Great,” Emily says. “We’re dealing with a rampant narcissist and misogynist who's turned himself into a snake oil salesman.” 
Yeah, that about sums it up. 
You both look at Hotch, who’s still watching carefully. “Just one more thing he has in common with our unsub.” 
At the end of the lecture you all stay where you are: four dark and intimidating figures irresistible to someone with an ego as big as Viper’s.
When he inevitably advances on you, Aaron introduces the team present and explains the situation in an even, measured tone. He doesn’t have to change a single thing about his presentation for the Viper to size him up and compensate accordingly. He doesn’t even acknowledge you or Emily in his futile effort to make Aaron feel small, counting on his own peacocking to do the job. 
That was your first mistake.
“So you think this - what did you call him - unsub took my class?”
With one hand in his pocket and another on his belt, Aaron replies. “He copied your ‘the camera adds ten pounds’ routine verbatim.” 
Viper has the audacity to look pleased. “Yeah. That’s a good gag.”
“If you could just give us your attendance lists, it might help us find him,” Emily says. 
You nod. “Any information you can provide would be helpful.”
“No.” 
Your eyebrows shoot to your hairline, and Emily beats you to a response, her tone appalled. “No?”
He’s decidedly smug now. You’ve never seen a face so well-suited for a punch. “My clients expect a certain amount of confidentiality. I won’t compromise that.” 
“We can come back with a warrant.” Aaron’s quick, flat rebuttal almost makes you smile. Viper ignores him, shifting his slimy attention to you.
You watch Viper take you in from head to toe, resisting the urge to squirm under his gaze. With a deep breath, you straighten your shoulders and ever so slightly put more weight on your right foot, keying you in to Aaron. When Viper meets your gaze again, he looks more than a little annoyed. 
“Be my guest, but keep in mind, the money I make doesn’t just pay for my fabulous lifestyle,” he turns to Emily again, “it also keeps very expensive lawyers on retainer.”
You redirect, hoping to catch him off guard. “What club did you go to last night?”
It doesn’t work. He eyes you up and down again. It’s disgusting. 
“It’s a legitimate question,” Derek says. “You seem to know a lot about our investigation.”
He turns on Derek, and you settle in for the show. “Two things to learn about me. First, I outwit alpha males like you for fun and sometimes profit.” You snort, but he doesn’t spare a glance at you. “How often do you have to rely on your badge to score, baldy?”
Aaron huffs a laugh, and it’s so quiet you’re almost sure you made it up. 
“Second,” he continues, turning to Emily again. “Last night, I was at Club Aqua and I have a stack of tax-deductible drink receipts to back up my story.” 
She shrugs, unimpressed. 
Emily Prentiss, you are my hero. 
You really tune in when his gaze finds Aaron, still standing a good two or three inches taller than Viper in far more expensive shoes. “Now, you might not want to believe that my style works.” You can tell Aaron’s trying to keep from smiling, his head tilted down at a condescending angle. “And here, in this harsh light, you have the advantage.” 
He has the advantage in every light. 
Shut up. 
It’s true, isn't it?
Viper steps up to you, uncomfortably close, and you do what you can to keep the grimace off your face. “But meet me on my turf…” He laughs a little and turns to Emily. It’s revolting. “The things I could make you do.”
The things Aaron could do on any turf, any time, any light -
Quit! Focus! 
Aaron steps between you and Viper. You gladly take advantage of the distance, moving just off Aaron’s shoulder. “If you have any questions, give us a call.” 
Viper’s eyes don’t move from Emily as he takes Aaron’s card. She sizes him up for a moment before turning around, still completely unimpressed. 
Down the hallway, she keeps pace with Hotch. “Please tell me we’re not giving up on that guy.” 
“We’re just getting started.” 
You can tell he’s irritated and tense, but there’s an air of smug amusement that colors his countenance. The lawyer has tricks up his sleeve, it seems. 
When you leave the building, you turn on Derek. 
“What the fuck was that?”
To everyone’s surprise, Aaron, putting his sunglasses on, answers. “Compensation.”
You try not to dwell on that implication for too long, barking a laugh with Emily.
+++
“Hey, Hotch.” You turn around, exposing your half-unzipped dress and bare upper back. “Can you zip me up?” He crosses the room and zips your dress, doing his best to avoid savoring the warmth of your skin under his fingers as he links the hook-and-eye closed. “Thanks.” You turn and he’s a little closer than you expected, looking at you with a peculiar, unreadable expression in his eyes. 
There’s silence for a moment and neither one of you moves. No matter how often it occurred, close proximity to Aaron always did weird things to your heart rate. You take a deep breath to steady yourself and return to the locker for a set of loud silver bracelets. 
“You’d tell me if you were uncomfortable with this, right?”
You clasp two of the bracelets around your wrist and turn back toward him. A little laugh leaves you. “I’m fine, Hotch.” You wordlessly hold your last two bracelets out, unable to secure them with your non-dominant hand. With a fond sigh, he crosses over to you and takes your wrist.
“Emily told me you’d both be alright and she’s handled people like this before, but this guy…” He trails off with a bit of sigh. 
“I’ve handled worse than him. Guys like Viper were a dime a dozen in college,” You shrug, watching him deftly handle the tiny clasps in his large hands. “Plus, you’ll be in my ear the whole time.” He reaches past you for your necklace and you turn around so he can put it on. He smells incredible and you can't help but close your eyes for a moment. 
“I have a good feeling we’ll be able to get somewhere tonight.”
You turn around again, smiling up at him. “I agree.” Thinking for just a second, you add, “Hotch, did you consider putting Jordan on this?”
“I did,” he says, his fingers reaching for the bridge of his nose. “Emily suggested it as well. I’m just not confident in her ability to complete surveillance in such a high-risk environment.” 
“Because of her mistake today?” You pass him and close the door to the room, ensuring the exclusion of prying eyes and ears. 
He removes his hand from his face and looks at you, playing at exhaustion. Of course.
You let all your breath out through your nose and you carry on as if you were explaining to a child. “She can’t recover if you don’t give her an opportunity.” You lighten up, adding, “Do you remember how many times I screwed up my first couple of months?” A wry smile crosses your face. 
He huffs and crosses his arms. “That’s different.” 
“Why? Because I was a NAT?” 
“No, you -” He takes a second to collect his thoughts, his brow furrowed. He gestures with a sharp, open hand as he speaks. “You made mistakes, but you never misrepresented yourself. I’m concerned about her conduct in the field.” 
“Send her out with us tonight.” Your appeal is casual, easy. “Emily and I will keep an eye on her and make sure she keeps her nose clean.” All things considered, Jordan isn’t much of an issue. She’s just green and (you’re sure) accustomed to a decidedly less-upright unit chief. 
“Are you comfortable with that?”
“Of course. Give her a chance, Hotch. We’ll be fine.” 
He nods, ready to leave the room, but then looks down at your wrist with a small, almost amused, frown. “Is that…?”
“The Dead Man’s Hand? Yeah.” You turn your wrist, revealing a pair of eights and aces - both clubs and spades, with the queen of hearts between them - inlaid in the silver. “I figured it was appropriate, if not entirely tasteless.” 
“Clever.” 
+++
You can tell Jordan’s forgotten about the comm in her ear when she leans over and whispers, “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” You keep your eyes on the crowd, lips barely moving as you keep a demure smile on your face. A guy without a chance in hell catches your eye and you break him with just a quick softening of your eyes and a wider smile. Luckily, he’s so flustered he doesn’t think to approach you.
She takes a fake sip of her drink. “You and Hotch get along really well, and I haven’t managed to get on his good side once since I’ve been here. How do you do it?”
“I have no idea.” There’s a small crackle in your ear, and you know Aaron tuned into your private channel to hear you better and talk to you alone. For his benefit, you add, “I’m not sure he has a good side, if that helps.” 
You hear a scoff and have to hide your laugh in your drink. 
Jordan shakes her head. “You’re kidding, right?”
“What?”
“He definitely has a good side -” 
“Thank you,” Hotch says into your ear. You cough to hide another laugh. 
“- and you’re on it.” 
You open your mouth to reply, but catch the eye of someone who looks unfortunately familiar. “You’ve got to be joking.”
Hotch’s chuckle in your ear warms you, and you hear a crackle as he switches back to the team channel. “20 on Viper,” he says. “Keep an eye out for our unsub.” 
Emily wilts beside you, and you can’t help but laugh. You pull Jordan a little off to the side so you’re able to hear Viper, but he doesn’t feel closed in. “You always want to give guys like this an out - if they’re backed into a corner and feel trapped, they close off and get defensive.” 
A crackle in your ear. “Is that so?”
Jordan nods and you can’t reply to Hotch with any degree of subtlety, so you settle for rolling your eyes. 
“Well.” You hear Viper from over your shoulder. Jordan cringes, and your brow pulls in a question. “Lucky me.”
She answers, narrating through a squint. “He just put his finger in his mouth and pulled it out a little too slow.” 
“Ugh.” You take a fake sip of your drink. “I hate this guy.” 
“I thought you said you could handle him?” Aaron’s voice in your ear almost makes you jump, and you almost turn around to smack him before realizing he’s not even there. 
Bastard. 
Emily sends some sort of wisecrack flying over Viper’s head. She’s so charming, you can’t blame him for immediately falling head-over-dick for her. 
“...So, affection, sex, emotional committment, it’s all just for fun?”
Against your will, your thoughts wander. You’re still listening, tuned in to his linguistic profile - the pattern, the rhetoric, the cadence, sure - but your heart pulls when you hear Emily list those three things. A sigh leaves you and of course you’re thinking of Aaron. 
You’re such a child. Don’t be an idiot. 
“You okay?” 
Of course he’s asking. 
You turn away from Jordan, looking out on the rest of the club so you can answer. “I’m fine.” 
“Need a break?”
You are feeling a little boxed-in, and as long as he’s offering… “Yeah, actually. That would be great. I just need some air.” You turn back to Jordan. “I’ll be right back - stay with Emily.” 
“But wait,” she says, holding your arm with gentle fingers, “we shouldn’t split up.”
“I just need a minute outside, Jordan, I’ll be alright.” You smile at her, small and warm, and escape her grasp. Slipping out one of the side doors, you prop it with a doorstop and lean against the wall. Your eyes fall closed, and you take a minute to breathe in the cold air. 
You hear your name in your ear, and you yank your earwig out. It's still close enough for you to hear the team if anyone needed you, but Aaron’s voice in your ear at this very moment isn’t helping with the whole “take a minute” thing. 
“Hey, I’m talking to you.” 
I thought I took that damn thing out - oh. 
Aaron rounds the corner and leans on the wall beside you. “You okay?”
You nod. “Fine. My shoulder’s just bugging me a little.” 
“Any more lies you want to share before I call you on them?” 
“No.” In fairness, your shoulder was bothering you, but it wasn’t the thing bothering you. That thing, in fact, was standing beside you with his kevlar on, waiting patiently for you to continue. “I’m just out of shape, is all.” You tilt your head a little. “And my shoulder really does hurt.” 
He guides you off the wall so you’re standing in front of him, your back to him. “What have you been doing in PT?”
“Muscle work, mostly. Keeping things loose so it heals without limiting my mobility.” You roll your shoulder, ignoring the flood of pain that zings down your fingertips. 
Warm hands find their way to your shoulder over the fabric of your dress. You picked something long-sleeved and high-necked, figuring the angry scarring from your still-healing gunshot wound would adversely affect your objective. You take deep breaths as he works at the muscle, releasing the little knots that built up through the day. He finds a bit of scar tissue, and a little yelp leaves you before you can stop it. 
His hands soften, but don’t stop. “Hang in there. Just a little more and it’ll take some pressure off the nerve.” He trades his thumbs for the tips of his fingers, walking over the knots with a methodical practicality that pulls at your chest.
You nod, knowing he’s right. Lo and behold, a few seconds later, the knot releases, sending a flood of warmth, followed by pins and needles down your arm. You flex and contract your hand in and out of a fist a couple of times, hoping to rid yourself of the sensation. 
“It’ll stop in a second.” He rubs his hands together, warming them up with the friction before passing over the back of your shoulder with a firm, steady pressure, all the way down your arm to your fingers. The heat of his hands really does help - your nerves calm almost immediately, and you can feel your pinkie for the first time in days. 
A little laugh leaves you. “I dunno why I keep going to PT when you’re right here.” You turn and offer him a soft smile. “Thank you.”
“Feeling better?”
No. 
“Much.” 
He offers you a small smile in return. “Good.” 
+++
You’re changing back into your work clothes with Emily and Jordan, pleased to find them full of laughter. 
“When you asked him if he practices his routine on a sex doll, I almost lost it.” Jordan looks over her shoulder at Emily as she clips her holster back onto her belt. 
“I did lose it, are you kidding?” You laugh. “I can’t believe I missed it!” 
Emily shakes her head, smiling. “You know, as much as I hate what that guy stands for, I still read ‘five ways to get noticed’ in Cosmo magazine.”
“Because it makes sense.” You look at Jordan, waiting for an explanation. She redeemed herself tonight, and you’re actually looking forward to hearing what she has to say. Though she doesn’t explain what she means, she does thank you both for vouching for her. 
“Absolutely.” Emily looks past Jordan, at you, and you nod in agreement. 
“Of course.” 
A knock sounds, and Aaron’s voice shoots around the corner. “I need you all out here, the unsub’s kidnapped another victim.” 
Shit. 
+++
You’re on Aaron’s six, waiting for the go. He calls the first team into position and holds up his hand. When he drops it, you fall into step, just off his right shoulder. Derek breaches first, tackling the unsub to the floor. 
Aaron kicks down the front door, and you breach from the other side of the house. There’s shouting everywhere, but Aaron’s presence centers you, giving you a mission and a focus. 
Keep him safe. 
He releases you with a wave, and you drop down next to Spencer on the floor. You cut the tape holding Austin’s hands together. She falls into Spencer, still terrified and sobbing. He looks at you and you nod, spotting her as he helps her to her feet. 
Tracking back to Aaron, you shadow Rossi as they finish clearing the rest of the house. You hover by the final door as Dave and Aaron reassure the unsub’s mother that she’ll be taken care of as they clear the room for hidden threats. 
In fact, there’s nothing except a sick woman and the machine keeping her alive.
“It’s a dialysis pump...It was issued ten months ago.” Dave looks back at you, and your lips press into a thin line. 
You look at Aaron. “Our secondary trigger.” 
+++
Jordan climbs the stairs to Aaron’s office, and you attempt to hide your interest as she knocks on the door and steps in. Of course, you can’t hear them, but you watch him call her back after she hands in her report. 
You recognize the look on his face - it's an expression you’re rewarded with when you’ve done something right. In fairness, it doesn't look much different from the one you get when you’ve done something wrong, but you’ve learned to pick up on the subtle differences.
Jordan leaves his office with a little smile. When she passes you, you offer her a, “Well done,” as you stand and climb the stairs yourself. 
With a knock on Aaron’s door, he beckons you in without looking. You stand a respectable distance away from his desk, waiting for him to finish whatever he’s working on. He knows it’s you, and has no issue keeping you waiting.
The composition of his desk has changed in the months since the divorce. Haley no longer smiles at him from the frame by his pen cup. That frame sits on the low shelf by his law volumes, the white veil over Haley’s face unable to mask her joy even from across the room. 
There are more pictures of Jack than before, both old and new. 
Eventually, he looks up, and you hand him your report. A smile plays at your lips, and another dances around the corner of his eyes. 
“That was kind of you, Hotch.” 
He shrugs. “You vouched for her work.” 
“Is that all it takes to win your approval, these days? My good word?” Your voice is laden with fond amusement. He rises to it, and if you didn’t know better you’d think he wasn’t smiling. When he answers, his tone is light, almost playful. 
“Yes.”
+++
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knightsimp · 3 years
Text
Recovery (2/2)
Pairing: Percival Graves x Reader
Summery: You were right; that was not Percival Graves. So, what are you going to do about it?
Genre: Angst + fluff (I think it’s a sweet ending :D)
Word Count: 2600+
Date Posted: February 14, 2021 (Happy Valentine’s Day!)
Note: None
Part One: Link
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“How do you think she is doing, Teenie?” Queenie found herself asking as she and Tina made their way to (Y/N)’s apartment. 
“I’m not sure, but I regret not staying with her for a couple of days.” The girls had no idea what (Y/N) was up to; she had not turned up for work, understandably, for the last five days. Now that it was Friday, they were able to check up on her. 
The sisters looked at each other before Tina knocked on (Y/N)’s door. They chose not to apparate to avoid scaring her. 
“It’s open!” (Y/N)’s muffled voice came through the door. When they entered the apartment, they did not expect such a mess.
The kitchen was a mess, first of all. Pots and pans everywhere, and unwashed dishes piled the sink. 
“In here!” (Y/N) called from the room at the end of the corridor: the bedroom. The bedroom was not any better than the kitchen. From what can be seen by just looking through the bedroom door, (Y/N)’s bed was not made and a couple garments were dumped onto it. Miscellaneous things, such as her hairbrush and a few pieces of clothing, were piling onto her bedside table.
Tina and Queenie were not prepared to see a spew of papers near the wall which was facing the bed. Tina had not known about (Y/N)’s investigation at all, but Queenie knew and did not realize it would get this far and this bad. The small patch of papers that were pinned on the wall, which had been connected together with red string, had taken over the square-ish area and had started to crawl onto the ceiling. 
“Oh my god.” Tina mumbled, looking up at one of the moving snippets from The Daily Prophet. 
“Tina! Queenie!” (Y/N) was at the wall where this collection started. “How are you?” It looked as if (Y/N) just rolled out of bed and got to work. And that was exactly what has been happening the last several days.
“We’re doing alright, (Y/N).” Queenie hesitated for a moment. “How are you?” (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders.
“Tired mostly. I haven’t slept in a couple days, but look! I have made so much progress!” Queenie looked around and found two empty mugs which were, no doubt, once filled with coffee. Tina snapped out of her memorization of the ceiling. 
“Progress?” Tina asked, raising an eyebrow. She slowly put the pieces together. “(Y/N),” pause, “are you trying to figure out where Mr. Graves is?” (Y/N) smile dropped for a moment while she averted her gaze downward. Her enthusiastic smile became a sad one as she fiddled with the delicate gold charm that Percival had gifted to her for a birthday. 
“Well, of course.” (Y/N) looked back at them, speaking softly. “What else am I supposed to do?”
“First, you need to go take a shower.” Tina went behind (Y/N) and pushed her shoulders out of the bedroom to the nearby bathroom. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but you really do stink. We can smell you from across the room and it is a long room.” 
“Tina’s right!” Queenie agreed, looking at them. “You need to take care of yourself, (Y/N). You are not going to make much progress when you are unconscious from a lack of sleep and proper food.” Before (Y/N) could say anything, Queenie added, “And yes, regardless of what you think, you do need a little freshening up.” With a little more arguing, (Y/N) agreed to at least take a shower. Queenie handed (Y/N) some clothes to change into before she entered her bathroom.
Tina continued to awe at (Y/N)’s investigating. She knew (Y/N) was a brilliant detective, but this was beyond what she thought. She followed it down from the ceiling to the original wall. In the middle of the wall was where everything was connecting to; a photo of (Y/N) and Percival at the Blind Pig. After being constantly reprimanded by Percival, who was really Grindelwald, when he was around, it surprised her that she did not notice the differences between him and the real Percival sooner. Percival was very intimidating and dominating, yes, but he still cared about his subordinates. Grindelwald could not care less unless it was meddling his involvement in MACUSA.
As Tina looked closer into the snippets of newspaper, she noticed how (Y/N) had been investigating all over the city. No doubt she was going to all of these locations. Once a location was visited, it seemed like (Y/N) would pin or make notes on the snippet. 
“No way.”
“Possible, but not probable”
These were only the very general notes being made. It looked like (Y/N) was also communicating with Theseus Scamander in London to make some inquiries in Europe, but nothing came of that.
Tina did not realize how long she was gawking at (Y/N)’s work until she heard the shower stop.
(Y/N) looked as if she was in deep thought when she exited the bathroom. She definitely looked, and smelled, fresher than before.
“(Y/N)?” Tina tried to call out to her. “Are you okay?”
“(Y/N), are you sure?” Queenie came around the corner, overhearing (Y/N) thoughts. “Is that a likely place?”
“What is a likely place?” (Y/N) looked up at Tina. 
“You know how while you take shower or a bath, it is easy to let your mind wander?” Tina nodded. “I think...” She trailed off, again seemingly trying to make sense of her thoughts.
“You think Mr. Graves is at MACUSA!” Queenie gasped. 
“What?” Tina exclaimed. “Explain!”
“There is nowhere else he can be, Tina!” (Y/N) was right, but also sounded like she was grasping at straws. “I have scavenged the city for signs. I even had someone in London make secret inquiries for me. And it is absolutely something Grindelwald would do. If anyone was going to look for the real Percival, they were not going to search MACUSA, a place swarming with talented aurors. And it makes it easier to get ingredients for the Polyjuice potion. No one is going to question Percival Graves if they spot him walking through the building.”
“That is actually genius.” Tina mumbled before clearing her throat. “But where would he be? Like you said, MACUSA always has aurors in the building.”
“MACUSA is big and has been running for decades! There has to be some abandoned areas that are no longer required for work.”
“We can always check.” Queenie suggested. “All three of us work in that building.”
“Though, depending on how large the search area is, we may need help from Picquery.” (Y/N) bit the inside of her cheek. Might as well.
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The sun was starting to set when the three women arrived at MACUSA.
“You two stay out here.” (Y/N) told the sisters. “I can’t have you two getting in trouble, especially you, Tina; you just got your job back as an auror.”
(Y/N) stormed into President Picquery’s office. She did not mean to, but her adrenaline took over. The President was clearly in the middle of some sort of meeting. She looked peeved, to say the least.
“Miss (L/N),” she started sternly. “I am glad to see you are feeling better, that being said-”
“Madame President-”
“-I am in the middle of something-”
“I may have figured out where Percival Graves is, ma’am.” The room went silent. “The real Percival Graves.” Picquery’s expression turned from annoyed to serious. 
“Gentlemen, we can reschedule, but I must talk with Miss (L/N) this instant.” The two men in suits left and closed the door behind them, leaving (Y/N) to Seraphina’s mercy. “Miss (L/N).” She let a bit of silence go by. “I’m listening.”
“I believe Percival may be in this building.” Seraphina leaned back in her chair and sighed.
“And what is your proof?”
“The lack of any. Madame President, when I tell you that I have scoured the whole city looking for him, I mean it; that is not an exaggeration. I have been making inquiries in Europe and no one has found anything.” Seraphina continued to stare at her. “Please, at least humor me.”
“And where would he be, (Y/N), if he is in fact here?”
“That is the big question, ma’am; that is why I am here in your office.” She purposefully kept Tina and Queenie out of it to avoid any repercussions they may face if she is wrong. “In my investigation into this theory, I wondered if there are any abandoned areas here in MACUSA. A building and organization this old cannot still be using all of it’s floors.” Then, the realization seemed to hit Seraphina.  
“I can’t believe I am saying this, but you may be onto something, (L/N).” She stood up from her chair and went to the front of her desk, leaning against it. “Some of the lowest floors have not been used in a long time. At least five or six floors. No one goes down there anymore; there is no need.” She led (Y/N) to the door. “I am sending five people to each floor immediately. You and the Goldstein's gather two more aurors and start the search.” (Y/N) wanted to ask how she knew the Goldstein sisters were involved, but quickly shut her mouth. “If you’re wrong, this is a waste of a lot of manpower. People are finishing up their shifts and will be very upset to be searching a good portion of our building when they could be going home.”
“Then, let's hope that I’m not wrong.” Seraphina nodded before heading off to the main floor. Tina and Queenie came closer, seeing as the coast was clear. 
“Miss Goldstein-”
“Find two other aurors and we’ll meet you at the elevator.” Queenie glanced at both the president and (Y/N) before leaving Tina with (Y/N). 
“(Y/N)?” Tina put a hand on her shoulder to stop her for a moment. (Y/N) explained the plan as they made their way to the elevator. 
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“We don’t know what or who is down here.” Tina warned, talking to everyone, but keeping her eyes on (Y/N). “Stay alert.” The five of them split up, wands in hand, but stayed close enough to see each other in case of an ambush.
The bottom floor of the building, way under sea level, had definitely been abandoned. The remaining desks down there were dusty and untouched. Whatever else they had down there was the same.
After about half-an-hour, (Y/N) was losing hope; she was hanging on to the thought of finding Percival and it was the only thing keeping her going, but her grip was slipping.
In the relatively silent bottom floor of MACUSA, they could hear the echoing of someone yelling. They can barely make it out, but the words which were projected were very clear: “we found him!”
(Y/N) heart dropped to her stomach. She almost did not believe what she heard. Tina and Queenie caught up to (Y/N) as she ran to the cage elevator, though the elevator was way above where she was, giving her ample space to look up.
“Give me a floor!” (Y/N)’s voice cracked as she yelled up the shaft, trying to get through all of the noise. She got responses for many of the aurors, but she got a general answer: three from the bottom. Percival was supposedly only two floors above where she was. Her breathing was getting a little heavy. 
She looked at the floor before apparating to it. Her team followed. 
“(L/N)!” One of the aurors on the floor called her over. “He’s over here!” (Y/N) almost tripped with how quickly she ran, following the auror. The heels of her shoes made a loud clack every time her feet pummeled onto the floor. 
Her heart was pounding, but it really started hitting hard against her ribs when she saw her first glimpses of him. Her running had come to a halt and she slid on her knees in front of him.
The poor man had been through so much. Whatever skin was showing outside of his torn dress pants and ruffled dress shirt was bruised and his face was home to a black eye. His hair and facial hair had grown way past what he would have tolerated if he was in control of it. He stank of blood, sweat, and dirt.
He was not in a cage or cell; he was, instead, shackled to a support beam by his wrists.
“Percy!” (Y/N) gasped out, holding his almost unconscious face in her shaking hands. It looked like he may have been sleeping to pass the time. “Get medical down here!” A couple of aurors nodded and left to get personal from the medical wing. “Percival, please open your eyes.” 
Slowly, with whatever energy he had, he opened his eyes. He could believe (Y/N) was sitting in front of him, holding his face so gently. The light coming in from behind her made her look oh-so angelic. 
“(Y/N)?” Her name barely passed his lips. 
“Percy! Yes, yes! It’s me!” She could not care less that she was crying; hearing his voice again, the real him, brought her to tears. She let a sob escape. “Oh Merlin, I found you! I finally found you!” In her happiness, she planted tender kisses all over his face. She did not notice when Percival mumbled something to her. 
“Make way!” The healers had arrived with a gurney, ready to take Percival up to the medical wing. (Y/N) was reluctant to let go of him, but did so. She watched as he was taken away from her. 
Queenie, from (Y/N)’s side, gave her a reassuring hug, which the crying auror returned and finally let out her whimpers. 
He was found.
This was the real Percival.
He was alive.
And he was going to be okay.
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It took about a full day for Percival to become coherent. He was so void of nutrients and fluids; the man was on the brink of dying. 
What had happened was clear: once Grindelwald was found out, Percival was no longer needed and he was left down there to die. It was horrifying to think what would have happened if (Y/N) had not had that miscellaneous thought in the shower.
When he awoke, (Y/N) was right there, gently holding onto his bruised hand so as to not hurt him further.
“You’re safe now, Percival,” was the first thing she said to him. “Everything will be alright.” Once again, the light coming from behind her made her look ethereal, as if she was an angel. 
His angel.
“I said, I love you.” Percival got out. (Y/N) blinked, thinking she misheard him.
“Percy?”
“I love you, (Y/N) (L/N). I’m not going to let another day pass where I regret telling you that.” (Y/N) looked away, bashful. 
“You need to rest.”
“I mean it-”
She pressed a sweet kiss on the corner of his lips, ignoring the irritation from his beard, before sitting back in her seat. “I know you do. You are not a very flowery man.” He looked at her, a little confused. She gave him a soft chuckle, knowing what he was thinking. “I’m not going anywhere, Percival. I made that mistake once, and look at what happened. I am staying right here.”
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Text
Truth and Awakenings Ch. 5
Summary: A Jemily rewrite of certain scenes in 14x15-15x03, with a few additional scenes :)
Chapter summary: JJ wakes up and tells Emily she’s in love with her.
Read on AO3
Tagging: @binariesarebullshit @bridget19 @jemilyisms
Emily’s eyes focused on one tiny spot on the white tiled floor. She was crouching forward a little, as she chewed on her thumbnail and impatiently tapped her foot. She felt a little tired after staying at the hospital for almost more than half of the day, but she wanted to stay awake for her friend.
“Emily,” Will called out in the hallway, making her head snap towards his direction. “She’s awake. She wants to see you.”
Emily stood up, wiping her somewhat sweaty palms on her slacks. “Is she ok?”
Will smiled, “Why don’t you go see for yourself? I gotta go pick up the boys.” He saw Emily staring off into space and placed a hand on her arm. “I really think you should go see her, Emily. You’re one of the most important people in her life.”
The woman was taken aback by that statement coming from Will. JJ’s husband. That means nothing, right? Emily is one of JJ’s best friends, of course, he would say that. She hesitantly nodded and Will patted her on the shoulder before leaving.
Emily took a deep breath and shook her head to drive her nerves away. She slowly made her way towards JJ’s hospital room and her eyes searched for the blonde.
JJ saw her and gave a smile. “Hey, you.”
Emily softly smiled back, “Hey.” It faded shortly once she examined JJ’s body resting on the bed. Her eyes were filled with concern, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“JJ…” her boss warned, knowing that she was lying. That response always meant, 'I don't want to talk about right now. I can handle myself.' Emily was very familiar with that phrase.
“Emily, I’m fine. Really,” JJ told her. Emily raised an eyebrow at her, clearly not buying it. “Ok,” the blonde finally said. “I will admit it kinda hurts when I move a little.”
Emily awkwardly pointed at the door. “I should go and let you get some rest.”
“No. No, not yet.” JJ sighed happily, staring up at her with love in her eyes. “I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” The grey-haired woman slightly smiled and her eyes scanned the room as she bit her lip in worry. She lifted a hand before JJ stopped her, knowing she was going to bite her fingernails, and felt the blonde’s hand easily slip into hers.
“I should’ve found you sooner. I shouldn't have made us split up…” Emily started apologizing.
JJ shook her head, “Hey, it’s fine. I just happened to have found Lynch and his daughter when we did. I’m not blaming you for any of this and neither should you.” She knew Emily always put herself down for risking other people’s lives, and would rather put her own life on the line just save them. JJ needed to make Emily understand that she knew the other woman didn’t intend to put her in danger.
Emily blinked and shook her head. She almost didn’t believe her best friend would ever forgive her. “But this is my responsibility and- and you got hurt.”
“Emily-”
“You flatlined for a few seconds. I was there when they-”
“Emily,” JJ cut her off, her face softening afterwards. “Look at me.”
Emily finally put her attention back to the blonde and began to relax her shoulders, brushing her thumb over JJ’s hand. “You could’ve died, if I didn’t make it on time.”
“But you did make it on time.” A smile slowly made its way to JJ’s face, “You saved my life, Emily. You always did.”
Emily shrugged, “I don’t know what I’d do, if I didn’t.”
JJ simply nodded. Even the blonde wouldn’t know what to do with herself, if Emily was hurt on the job, either. JJ understood what Emily meant because she would’ve done the same and risk her own life for her.
Then, she remembered why she told Will she wanted to see Emily alone. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Emily froze for a second, as questions began to run through her head. She’s not quitting, is she? I understand if she does, I mean, she nearly died and-
She felt a gentle tug at her hand and glanced down. JJ had seen Emily lost somewhere in her thoughts again, so she decided to bring her back down to earth, rubbing the older woman’s thumb. Emily brought her comfort earlier, so it was her turn to offer it to her, feeling Emily’s hand squeeze hers.
JJ’s tongue darted out at the corner of her mouth before taking a shaky breath. “Will and I divorced two years ago.”
Emily’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh my god. JJ, I don’t- I’m so sorry. Did something happen?” she stuttered. Part of her hoped that was a sign that she could finally be with JJ, but the other part of her was confused as to why. She had no involvement in destroying their marriage and they didn’t even look like they were having any issues (to her and everyone else, at least), so why was she still freaking out?
“Kind of,” JJ sighed and Emily brought her focus back to her. “I realized that I’ve been in love with you. For a really long time.”
Emily’s body froze again. She’s in love with me? JJ… is in love with me? I don’t understand. Why?
The blonde’s eyes widened in panic. She must’ve misheard her earlier, then. “I’m sorry, Emily. I just thought that-”
“No, no, no, no!” Emily exclaimed too quickly before clearing her throat, cheeks flushing a light pink. “I mean, uh…”
JJ shook her head, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Look, I know you’re with Andrew but-”
“I’m not with him anymore,” she said. “We broke up. It’s over.”
Upon hearing this news, JJ smiled in relief.
“Now, what made you realize you had feelings for me?” Emily grinned, as she dragged a chair nearby to sit next to her, choosing not to leave the room. She rested her chin in her palm and looked at the younger agent with adoration.
JJ let out a genuine laugh, feeling glad that her secret was out. “Well, at first I thought it was this little crush because you were… so strong and amazingly stunning, and confident.” She shrugged with a little head shake, “And because of that, you seemed way out of my league, so, you know, I tried ignoring it for a while.”
Emily was surprised that JJ found her almost hard to get, especially when she was thinking the same about the blonde. “Was I really that intimidating?” she asked with a chuckle.
“Maybe, yeah,” JJ giggled, finding that ridiculous now. “Well, I thought it was kinda hot, so…”
Emily just smiled and let her continue, ignoring the small blush appearing on her cheeks at the compliment.
JJ looked down and interlocked their fingers together. “I guess, after a while, I saw how you tried making me feel like I was important. That I was valid. No one’s ever made me feel that way before. You never forced me to change. You always made it comfortable for me to be myself and never judged me.”
“Then, there was that time I was tortured, and I thought of you coming to my rescue." She shook her head and sighed for a second, "I realized my mind always went to you and nobody else. I should’ve known that sooner, but it took me a while to know about these feelings I had for you.”
It was true. JJ didn’t know she had all these signs right in front of her. All those years, she had dismissed those as little ‘coincidences’ or merely someone just helping a friend out. It was way deeper than that. Emily cared for her in a way no one else in her life had, and was willing to lay down her life to save JJ’s.
JJ glanced back up to meet Emily’s eyes and gave a warm smile. “You’re the first person I’ve ever truly loved. I loved Will, too, but it was never as much as I loved you. I, uh- that’s why we decided to divorce. It gave me time to explore my feelings about you and now, I feel sure that I’m in love with you, Emily.”
“Really?”
JJ nodded, tears forming in her own eyes, “Yes. God, I love you so much, Emily.”
“I love you, too, JJ,” Emily whispered with watery eyes.
The two women smiled at each other, finally feeling the weight lift off their shoulders from professing their love for one another. After almost 14 years of yearning, they were now able to be together.
Emily sighed and pressed a kiss against JJ’s forehead. The blonde frowned, making Emily laugh.
“Why didn’t you kiss me?” JJ pouted even more and tilted her head to the side. Emily thought it was adorable.
“Because I don’t wanna give the medical staff a hard time, if the monitor goes off,” she winked, earning a playful slap on the arm.
JJ rolled her eyes and shook her head at her remark. “What a charmer.”
“Hey, you said you were attracted to my confidence, so you’re gonna have to deal with it,” the grey-haired woman smirked.
“Shut up,” JJ blushed and licked her lips. “Um, Emily. I forgot to tell you, but Will and Spencer actually knew about the whole…” she awkwardly gestured with her hands, “me being in love with you thing.”
Emily needed a moment to register those words. That explains why Will didn’t seem mad at her or anything like that, but wait. “Spence knew about this?”
“Long story,” the blonde answered, placing a hand on Emily’s arm. “I’ll tell you sometime after I get out.”
“Well, Dave knew about me having a thing for you, so…” Emily quietly confessed.
“So, do you think they were waiting for us to get together?” JJ asked, a little amused and surprised.
Emily shrugged, “Probably. For a couple of profilers, we really are blind.”
JJ laughed, and her body was filled with warmth and giddiness when the older woman kissed her hand. Emily frowned at the small object on JJ’s finger. Speaking of profiling… “What about your wedding ring?”
“Oh,” JJ gave a sheepish smile. “I totally forgot about it. Whoops.”
She toyed with the ring, shyly looking at it before waving her hand. “I, um, kept it on because I didn’t want the team throwing me questions about my divorce. I already had enough thrown at me when I was a liaison.” Then, she leaned in closer. “Also because I didn’t want some unsub or detective thinking they have a chance and try to hit on me,” she winked.
Emily chuckled in amusement. “Wow.”
“I’m telling you, the ring works every time.”
Emily playfully shook her head and stared at the ring on JJ’s finger. While she wasn't the one married to the younger woman, she smiled at the thought of sharing her life with JJ. But that seemed too soon to think about.
“What’s with the smile?” JJ asked, forming one of her own.
“Nothing,” Emily played off with a wave of a hand.
JJ tucked a piece of hair behind Emily’s ear and kissed her knuckles. “Emily,” she quietly said. “I know I’m in a tough situation right now, but… how about I take you out on a date after this?”
Blushing at the small gesture, Emily answered with a smile. “I would love that.”
JJ felt a sense of relief when she accepted the invitation. “Does this make us a couple now?” she wondered where their relationship stood at this point.
Emily opened her mouth, blinking as she carefully chose her words. Sure, they had just confessed their love right now, but she decided she wanted to take things slow with JJ. “Well, we’ll see how things go before we think about putting labels on whatever this is,” she offered as a compromise.
“Ok,” JJ nodded in agreement and beamed at her. “I love you, you know that?”
“I love you, too.”
After a few seconds, JJ nudged Emily’s arm, “Hey. Once I get discharged, do you think-”
“Nope! No, absolutely not. You are not working under those conditions,” Emily warned, shaking her head.
“But Emily…” JJ stressed each syllable of her name, pouting. She hoped this and her irresistible baby blues would work on the grey-haired woman.
“That’s a no, Agent Jareau,” she said with a serious look in her eyes, though, she had to mentally restrain herself from giving in.
JJ playfully whined even more, “Emily, I thought you loved me!”
“That gives you no excuse to be out in the field right now," Emily shook her head. God, JJ was even more stubborn about her well-being than she thought.
"Fine,” JJ crossed her arms over her chest and pretended to sulk, like a child not getting their favorite candy.
“You’re so cute,” Emily smiled and kissed her nose.
JJ took this as an opportunity to snake a hand behind Emily’s neck, bringing her head closer. The softness JJ felt against her lips made her melt instantly and she wanted to continue kissing her longer. She felt herself nearly getting dizzy from it and thought she was going to faint soon, but she didn’t care. JJ had been waiting years to do this. She just didn’t expect Emily to be that good of a kisser.
They both heard a rapid beeping and Emily nearly jumped out of her chair. Dr. Hsu came rushing in and laughed after she got the EKG monitor back to normal.
“Oh, I knew you two were a couple,” she said, seeing the flustered women, before leaving the room. “Make sure you take it easy. You almost had us worried for a second.”
“I told you,” Emily smirked at JJ, now noticing the effect she had on the blonde.
JJ lifted a shoulder and innocently smiled. “I couldn’t help myself.”
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andguesswhat · 3 years
Text
The Fool on the Hill - Chapter 4
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The secret behind the Two Gentlemen of Verona and the beginning of Lokius...
Their story on the Archive
Between the shelves
*
Tom’s fingers slid over the spines of the books along the shelves.
MayaAngelou...
William Blake...
Robert Frost...
Ah there we are Shakespeare's poems...
He took an edition of Shakespeare’s poems before 1640 out of the shelf and sat cross legged on the floor.
Camera and lights had to be relocated for the shoot in the library and Tom thought he might spend the break doing something useful.
“Sir?” he heard Owen’s voice imitating a stern security guard, “I’m afraid reading on the floor is prohibited. I have to ask you to get up immediately.”
Tom looked up to a smiling Owen and smiled back. “Why don’t you come down?”
And he did. Owen sat down, leaning at the book shelf opposite, his legs drawn up, smiling at Tom.
“So Shakespeare again?” his head pointed to the book Tom held in his hand.
Tom laughed softly. “Yes, the conversation yesterday got me thinking again.”
Owen nodded and smiled in amusement. “Maybe I get myself a copy of Hamlet to read before bed. What do you think?”
“Good choice, good choice,” Tom reassured him.
And he couldn’t help smiling either. They had been doing this a lot lately. Talking and constantly smiling at each other.
Owen leaned forward to search for the right book, his fingers now also sliding over the spines.
“Ah look at that!” He pulled out a copy of Two gentlemen of Verona and waved it in his hand.
“I read this in college. I always thought: this is about two bisexual guys, right? And the teacher was like,” he mimicked an older Brit, “oh no, this is Shakespearian English, it’s a bit different than you are used to, I guess. He was from England and wanted to show me that I as a stupid kid from Texas could not understand Shakespeare...”
“And oh how wrong they were about you...” Tom remarked and hoped, it didn’t sound like he was blushing.
He imagined Owen in high school and how he got underestimated just because of the way he was. Tom certainly would have loved being Owen’s friend back then.
Owen opened the book. “Aaah, I remember it now. Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus:
Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.” He looked at Tom. “That already sounded somewhat gay to me. All these sweet words they have for each other…”
Tom’s heart began to pound. He had been looking for the right moment to tell Owen.
He had talked with Owen about Loki before they began shooting and of course he had mentioned that Loki was bisexual. Owen had been surprised but not in a bad way. He had said something like “Okay, good for him.”
So Tom could assume that Owen wasn’t homophobic. But still, what would he say when he knew Tom was bisexual himself? And Tom even wondered about Owen himself?
Tom had the feeling that Owen was flirting with him. But Tom had flirted with his straight friends, too, so that could mean absolutely nothing. And he would hate it for the flirting to stop just because Owen was suddenly insecure about knowing Tom was bi.
So Tom just said, “Look, this is interesting as well,” and showed Owen the book with the poems. “These are the poems by Shakespeare. And this is an edition with the original text, where a lot of poems are directed to… men. And later they were published again by a publicist called John Benson. But he changed most of the pronouns from he and him to she and her.”
“Wow…that’s… outrageous! I didn’t even know that... You really know a lot of that stuff. Not just Hamlet.” Owen smiled at him. “Maybe we should start a new lecture, the Shakespeare lecture.”
Tom laughed in embarrassment. He knew he was a nerd and got on people’s nerves with this whole stuff.
“You know, I always could kinda relate to Shakespeare somehow.” Owen said, looking at him, intently. “I always felt we shared some similar… feelings. It felt somehow familiar.”
Tom felt a little dizzy hearing this.
He still could be misinterpreting this.
But he had heard Owen say that and he thought he just had to act on it.
So he looked a bit left and right to see if there was anyone near them and said, “I know what you mean, I always felt the same. Because he wrote for both, you know. For women and for men.”
He cried out inside. Why was this still so hard to just say it? He was 39 for Christ’s sake.
But he probably got it right after all, because Owen nodded slowly, his face all soft, his smile reassuring, knowing.
“It was nice, by the way, there at the table. I loved that," Owen said after a little pause. "That Loki would sleep in front of Mobius.”
Tom became a little embarrassed. “I just felt that it would fit. Because he trusts Mobius. That’s new for him. And there’s a scene later on with Sylvie where he says that he can’t sleep around people he can’t trust. So… I wanted this to match. I’m glad Kate went along with it.”
The look that Owen gave him was kind of mischievous…
“I think we should talk about the relationship between Loki and Mobius a bit more… dig a bit deeper. Because I think there is a lot to show that’s not necessarily in the script. You know I was lying in my bed yesterday, imagining Mobius lying in his bed, thinking about Loki. Yes, he’s obsessed with him but I think there’s so much more. He really cares for him, you know.”
And the way Owen said “he cares for him”, God, Tom’s heart immediately began racing again. And he thought he would burst. He felt so much joy and so much love and so much excitement that he was probably grinning like a clown.
Yes, they already talked about the relationship between Loki and Mobius a lot, how much these character could give to each other… but they hadn’t taken it to another level… yet. Honestly, when he first read the script, he didn’t see it either. But with Owen now here on set… it was getting better every day.
“I’d love that,” he said softly.
And Owen just smiled at him. And then something happened that Tom hadn’t expected. Owen leaned his head back on the shelf and began to talk quietly.
“You know, there was this boy. Charly. We were best friends, from a young age, you know sandbox friends. And we were doing everything together. And one day when we were like 9 or 10 or something he asked me ‘Should we kiss?´ like he would ask me `Wanna go for a ride?´, as if this was just something you just do with a best friend. So we kissed.” Owen smiled in memory of this. “And it was nice… It felt good… So now and then we would make out… And… a few years later he would ask me `Should be jerk off?´ and I again was like ´Why not´… so we jerked off together” He shook his head as if he himself couldn’t believe that really had happened. “So until we were 18 we pretty much did everything one could do in this… area. We had girlfriends from time to time. We were crazy about them. But with Charly… it felt always different, more like coming home, something you could always go back to. It was comforting. And all the time it felt like it was the most natural thing in the world.” He sighed and looked at the floor, lost in thoughts. “If there hadn’t been the people to tell you otherwise…”
Tom didn’t know how to breathe, didn’t know what to say. He was so overwhelmed about Owen’s endearing story, and the sadness behind it. And that he had shared it with him….
“TOOOM? OWEN??” Lea, the production assistant, was searching for them and calling their names until she finally found them between the shelves. “How should I find you here?” she reprimanded them. “It’s all set up!”
“Sorry…” Tom and Owen answered simultaneously and helped each other get up.
Owen straightened himself and turned to Tom.
“Meet me at section F for Fitzgerald at the next break?”
Tom laughed softly. “Sure!”
And while he said this, his heart fluttered in his chest excited about what would happen in section F.
*
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