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somesuperherowrites · 4 years

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For Him

spencer reid x fem!reader

summary: The team is working a case when things start to go awry. After Spencer and reader get kidnapped, some feelings come to light that will change the way they look at each other.

tw: typical criminal minds stuff - kidnapping, mentions of murder

.......

It was a blistering day in Fort Worth, Texas. The team had just landed to investigate a serial killer who was abducting couples and holding them for days before eventually killing them. Hotch started giving out orders as the team began walking from the airplane to the SUVs waiting for them.

“Y/N, Spencer. You go to visit the most recent crime scene. See if you can find anything the local PD missed.”

You nodded and looked toward Spencer who was already smiling your way. You stuck your tongue out playfully at him. He stifled a laugh as Hotch continued to give assignments to the rest of the team. As soon as he finished, the team split up to their own SUVs, with you, Spencer, J.J. and Emily piling into one.

It was a short ride to the first crime scene where Emily dropped you both off before her and J.J. headed to the M.E.’s office. You walked to the police tape and Spencer held it up, so you could easily duck under it.

You entered the house with Spencer following closely behind you. You crossed your hands over your chest. “First impressions?”

“Well, C.O.D. is probably blunt force trauma. If you look at the blood spatter patterns, you can see that the woman was probably sitting here when she was beaten.” Spencer stated.

At this point, you chime in. “Yeah and he had to position the man right here. So he could see everything that the unsub was doing. Positioning may be important to this unsub.”

Spencer paused. “It’s interesting that he beats the women so severely, while the man is relatively untouched, besides the single bullet wound to the head of course.”

“So his rage is against the woman in the relationship. Not surprising. There are a lot of guys out there with hatred toward women.” You half-joked.

Spencer nodded. “The only problem is that we don’t know what’s driving his anger toward these women.”

“We’ll have Garcia check if there are any recent incidents involving violence with women in relationships. I think we can omit domestic violence cases though. This kind of beating is the result of a lot of suppressed rage. Let’s see if we can catch a ride with some of the local PD back to the station.” You shot Spencer a small smile as you walked away from him to talk to a local officer.

.......

As soon as you arrived at the police station, you and Spencer split up. You sought out Hotch to bounce some theories off him of what the crime scene could mean. Spencer quickly busied himself by calling Garcia to ask about violence toward couples excluding domestic violence cases.

“Hotch!” you called out as you saw him walking across the precinct.

He raised his eyebrow in response and waited for you to catch up with him.

“It seems like all the violence is toward the woman. But the thing is, it seems staging is important to this unsub. Spence is having Pen look into cases where there is violence against couples, especially women, but omitting the domestic violence cases.” You stated.

“Good work, Y/L/N. It’s possible that the unsub is sympathetic toward the male in the relationship, which is why he kills them so quickly.”

Your eyes light up. “You know, Hotch. He might see himself as helping these men. Since he makes the men watch before killing them, it’s possible he always wanted to do this to his significant other, but something was stopping him. This could be revenge toward the woman but a mercy kill for the man.”

Hotch nodded. “Let’s go see what Emily and J.J. found out from the medical examiner and then give the profile.”

Emily confirmed that C.O.D. was blunt force trauma for the female victim and gun shot wound for the male victim. Hotch shared your preliminary profile with the team, who added some more possibilities to the mix. Just as the team was finishing up the profile, Garcia called Morgan’s phone.

“Whatcha got baby girl?” Derek asked.

“Well my hunky crimefighter, I am coming up with nada. That is a big ole zilch. There is nothing here with violence against couples that isn’t domestic abuse. If you could give me some more parameters, I might have more luck?” Garcia quickly stated.

“Okay, try men whose girlfriends or wives have left them recently.” You started.

Spencer chimed in, “they might have left because of a specific incident that revealed to them the unsub’s true nature.”

“Also, look at any cases that have ended violently, with one of the couple in the hospital,” Derek added.

“You all are wonderful. Just WONDERFUL. I am working on it know. Hit you back when I have something. Garcia out.” Penelop stated, already typing away.

“J.J. and Rossi, you stay here, we’re going to give the profile to the local PD. Emily and Derek, you go talk with the recent female victim’s family. Spencer and Y/N, go talk with the male victim’s family.” Hotch stated.

The team looked at each other for a second before breaking to do their respective duties.

.......

You and Spencer finished talking to the victim’s family and headed out the door of their house. You sighed as you looked at Spencer. “Better call Hotch.”

“Hotchner.”

“Yeah Hotch, we just finished up with the victim’s family. They don’t know anything. They say that the couple was happy. Nothing to report on this end...” You started your report just as you got an oncoming call from Garcia, “Um, hold up Hotch. Garcia’s calling.”

You added Garcia to the call, “Garcia, you have me, Spencer, and Hotch.”

“Okay my lovely doves, I found information on a Jacob Waterson. 28 year-old white male. Recently seperated from his wife after an incident.” Garcia started.

“What was the incident Garcia?” Spencer asked.

“Ah ah ah, I��m just about to tell you! Stop stealing my thunder.” Penelope scolded, “When the couple was walking back home from a date, gang members approached them. In strange fashion, they let the woman flee, but beat Jacob to a pulp. Put him in the hospital for 2 weeks.”

“Did the woman call for help after she ran away.” Hotch questioned.

“Hmmm, yes... it looks like she reported it a day later to the police. Said she was too scared the day it happened. Someone who was walking by the alley later that night found him.”

“Hence his rage toward women in relationships,” you stated.

“Y/N and Spencer are closer to his home. I’m sending you his address now.”

Your phone dinged with a notification, “I got it Garcia. We’re on our way.” You put the SUVs’ lights on and turned the car toward the address.

“Be careful. I’m sending Morgan and J.J. for backup. Rossi, Emily, and I will check out his work address,” Hotch stated.

.......

You made your way out of the car and hesitantly placed your hand on your holstered gun.

“I’ll knock on the front entrance, and you go to the back. Sound good?” You asked.

Spencer hesitated before he agreed with you. “Just be careful, okay?”

You gave him a small smile, “always brainiac.”

He gave you an awkward pat on the back before he headed behind the house pulling his gun out of its holster.

You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at Spencer’s awkwardness. He had to know by now that you liked him more than an awkward pat on the back, right?

“Ughh, focus Y/N,” you whisper to yourself as you pull out your own gun. You approach the house and harshly knock on the door.

“Jacob Waterson, this is the F.B.I. Open the door.” You shouted. After a few seconds of no response, you kicked in the door.

You cleared the first room and started the second room. As you walked into the second room, you were hit with a blunt object. You fell to the ground and struggled to maintain your grip on your gun. You fired off a shot at the unsub, but you were too disoriented to see if you had actually hit him before he hit you again and you passed out.

After hearing a gunshot, Spencer hurriedly cleared the rooms closest to him before heading toward the room where he heard the shot go off. He immediately saw you on the floor, but cleared the room before approaching you. While he was checking your pulse, he heard a shuffle behind him and turned just in time to be hit by the end of a bat.

........

You woke up disoriented. After blinking a few times, your vision settled and you tried to move. When you were unable to move your hands, you looked down to see your wrists had been tied together with some rope.

You looked around the room to take note of your surroundings. Spencer was still unconscious across the room from you. There was no light or windows. Must be a basement. However, the structure doesn’t look like it belonged with the house that you had stormed earlier. You furrowed your brows in confusion. Secondary location?

The unsub wasn’t in the room with you, but there was no telling when he would come back. “Spence!” you whisper shouted. “Spence, I need you to wake up.”

Spencer drowsily came to and blinked his eyes. You smiled as he immediately looked toward the location your voice was coming from. “Spencer, hey.” You were relieved he wasn’t hit too hard by the unsub.

“Where are we?” His scratchy voice was music to your ears.

You sighed as you pulled at your restraints. “I’m not sure Spence. I’m thinking secondary location. This basement doesn’t look like it would connect to his house. What do you think?”

He cleared his throat. “What I think is that this unsub is extremely dangerous and is especially violent toward women. Y/N, you need to be careful.”

“Why don’t you stop worrying about me and work on finding us a way out of here, brainiac.”

Spencer smiled at the nickname you had given him lovingly. He looked toward the ground as he continued talking, not able to meet your gaze, “I just need you to be safe, okay?”

You stopped fiddling with your restraints and looked up at him. “You say that like you care about me, Spence.”

His cheeks turned crimson in a matter of seconds, “I do.. I do care about you Y/N,” he murmers lowly.

You tilt your head and look at him curiously. You had liked, as in really liked Reid for a while, but before you can interogate him about what exactly he means, you hear footsteps on the floor above you.

Jacob descended the stairs with a baseball bat in hand. He stared at you as he stalked toward you. He eyed you as if he were challenging you, and despite Spencer’s previous warning, you returned his harsh glare unwaveringly.

“Oh, we’ve got a fiesty one. Huh?” Jacob sneered at you.

You heard Spencer sigh from across the room and let out a soft, “Y/N, don’t do it.”

You swallowed your pride and broke the staring contest between you and the unsub. The unsub chuckled at your response to Spencer’s words. He looked between you and Spencer before his gaze ultimately landed on Spencer. “I see.” He began walking toward Spencer. “the way to get to you - ” he stated as he pointed his bat at you “is through him.”

The unsub swung his bat at Spencer and you heard a sickening crunch. God, you couldn’t just sit here and listen to this.

Before you knew it, the words were coming out of your mouth - “Stop! You want to know why you are the way you are - why you kill couples?” - you blurted out to stop him from advancing on Spencer.

You could take it - the unsub’s pain and anger. In your eyes, Spencer needed protecting. He didn’t need to be subject to the unsub’s rage. Especially since he had been through enough to last a lifetime already.

Spencer watched with horror as the unsub turned his attention to you. “Y/N, what are you doing?”

You ignored him and focused your attention on the unsub who was stalking toward you. His large hand wrapped around your throat.

“Oh, please tell me.” He said sarcastically as he applied pressure.

You began gasping for air and struggled to talk. “You kill couples... because... of your wife.”

This seemed to pique his interest as he abruptly go of your throat. You fell to the ground coughing as you tried to breath.

You faintly heard Spencer calling your name and pleading with you to stop talking. You squeezed your eyes shut for a second. If you were going to do this, you had to ignore Spencer.

The unsub tapped you with the baseball bat he held in his left hand. “You think you know so much? Kept talking.” He wrapped his other hand in your hair and yanked until you were standing up. “But it might cost you.”

Spencer pleaded with you once more. “Y/N. The team will find us. Please stop talking. You don’t have to do this.” With every statement he mumbled faster tripping over his words - his tell that he was nervous. You could practically hear the desperation in his voice.

The unsub looked toward Spencer. “If you don’t shut up, I’ll make you.”

You panicked as Spencer kept talking so that the unsub’s attention wasn’t on you. You had to get the focus back on you.

“Your wife ran away and left you to die when you were approached by gang members. You’ve been kidnapping couples, because you want to see if true love exists. Will someone die for their significant other?” You practically shouted to the unsub.

He cocked his eyebrow and pursed his lips. “Go on.”

You took a deep breath. This was for Spencer. You had to say something that would really get him riled up. “The truth is your wife lied to you. She never loved you.”

Anger flashed in the unsub’s eyes, and he hit you in the stomach with the butt of the bat. You grunted as he reared back for a second hit.

“You’re lyin’. She loved me.” He swung the bat this time at your mid section. You doubled over as pain immediately blossomed in your side. The sickening crunch that had accompanied the hit was definitely a sign of a few broken ribs.

“She didn’t Jacob. If she did, she would have been willing to die for you. That’s why you killed all these couples. When they’re willing to die for their partners, it just shows you what you never had.”

The unsub threw his bat across the room and punched you in your face. Your head lurched left at the strength of his hit, and he quickly followed it with another hit, effectively knocking you the ground. Because your hands were restrained, you couldn’t catch yourself from falling and your shoulder took the brunt of the fall. A loud pop followed by searing pain in your shoulder let you know that your shoulder was dislocated. A pained groan left your lips.

You knew you couldn’t keep doing this, but one look toward Spencer desperately trying to maneuver his restraints off his wrists quieted any reservations or weakness that you had. You were doing the right thing. You were doing this for Spencer. Your resolution hardened and you looked the unsub in the eye as he towered over you.

“The problem, Jacob, is the fact that you couldn’t have picked a better pair of FBI agents to kidnap.”

He snarled at you and gave you a swift kick to the side, “What do ya mean?”

You took a shuddering breath. “Well, you want to prove that people won’t die for their partners, and I would gladly die for him,” you said nodding over to Spencer, “because, I love him.” You squeezed your eyes closed to help block some of the oncoming pain that the unsub was no doubt going to inflict upon you based on your confession.

Spencer look wide-eyed at you after your confession. The unsub was standing between the two of you, and Spencer tilted his head to try and get a better look at you. He had to mouth the words. He had to yell it from the rooftops. He had to do something, anything. You had to know that he loved you too. Spencer let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw you physically shift, no doubt preparing yourself for the unsub’s attack.

Jacob was seething with rage at you. “You lyin’ bitch. You don’t love him.” He landed a series of swift kicks to you stomach. Everytime a hit landed, you felt your entire body cry out in pain.

“Y/N! Y/N! Look at me. I love you. I love you!” Spencer continue to plead with you to hang in there. He was helpless as he watched the unsub kick you around like a rag doll. He wanted you to know that he was here with you. He wanted to hold your hand and assure you that everything was going to be okay. Tears began falling down his face.

You heard Spencer faintly shout your name, but all of your concentration was going to the pain that your body was in. You eyes were already swelling from the impact of his earlier hits, and it took all your remaining energy to look at Spencer through the slit of one of your eyes and give him a small smile. You passed out as the unsub continued his relentless attack against you.

Just after you lost consciousness and your body went completely limp, Spencer heard the sirens. The team was coming.

The unsub frowned as he kicked your body out of the way and grabbed Spencer. He reached for the gun that he had taken from Spencer when he kidnapped you both and held up it to Spencer’s head as the team kicked in the door.

Hotch slowly walked down the stairs into the basement with his gun drawn. “Jacob Waterson. Put the gun down.”

Jacob tightened his grip around the gun. “I’m not goin’ back to prison.”

J.J. walked down quickly after Hotch. “We can talk about that. But right now I need you to put the gun down.”

The unsub thought for a moment before he pushed Spencer away and dropped the gun. Hotch ran toward the unsub and starting reading him his rights as he was cuffing him, while J.J. ran towards Spencer. Jacob had a cocky smirk on his face as he looked toward J.J. and Spencer on the floor. “It’s alright. I’ll go to prison, but at least I’m still livin’.” He gave a pointed look to your limp body on the other side of the room.

Derek rushed over to your side as J.J. undid Spencer’s restraints. He quickly checked your pulse - it was thready, but still there. “I need a medic! Agent down!”

Spencer leaned against J.J.’s side as she brought him over to where you were laying. He cried at the sight of you. Bruises were forming over your face and arms. Your eyes were so swollen that there was not a chance of you opening them anytime soon.

J.J. placed a hand over her mouth in shock at your condition. “Spence, what happened?”

Spencer felt the tears rush down his face as the medics placed your body on the stretcher and raced back up the stairs. “She did it for me. She said she loved me.”

J.J. wrapped her arms around Spencer. “This isn’t your fault - what happened to Y/N is not your fault, okay?”

Spencer looked at her with pain in his eyes, “It should have been me, J.J.”

She just hugged him tighter. “Don’t say that. Now c’mon. Let’s go to the hospital and make sure our girl is okay. Okay?”

Spencer nodded aimlessly as J.J. helped him up into the ambulance. Only one thought was running through his mind as he stared at your broken body laying in the ambulance - it should have been him.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x you #spencer reid

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dcladies-secretsanta · 5 years

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Bats In The Belfry

TO: @bottomless-pit-dweller

FROM: Your Secret Santa

"Who are you?" A quiet voice asks hours later, Steph drenched in sweat and fists wrapped but still aching something awful. If she weren't a bat she wold have jumped; she was a bit caught up in her head, didn't even hear the girl come in. She couldn't be Batman.

"I'm the new Batman." She answers with a resigned sigh, turning to face the girl.

"Hey Steph, can you do me a Solid?" Tim's voice started when she picked up the phone, and she groaned in frustration because that voice was the 'I'm going to ask you do do something you don't want to do' voice, but it was Tim, so it was also the 'You'll do it anyway' voice, and she just wanted A Day Off.

"What's up, Tim?" She sighed, and got gratification from the 'ah' that always accompanied that uncomfortable-guilty cringe he did. Good. If she had to deal with his bullshit, then he probably deserves the discomfort.

"So. Don't hang up-" he says, and, if Steph was stupid enough to believe Tim hadn't done something to remotely disable the Hang Up button on her phone, she definitely would have. Heck, she kinda wanted to try anyway, and he hadn't even said anything yet. "But.Um. So."

"Get to the point, Tim." Steph gritted out, and Tim heaved a sigh of his own.

"So. Dick's off planet with Duke and Babs for some peace talk." He started and yes, she already knew this, and he was clearly and blatantly stalling for time, and she didn't want to deal with this bullshit.

"Yes, Tim. I was there when Ol' Batty went over the plan. You're Batman- sorry for your luck-, Damian's Robin and training that girl from his school- that's honestly kinda cute- and Cass is flying back in to fill in for Nightwing. Cullen gets to try his spot at Oracle. Harper stays Batgirl, I stay awesome, Jason stays Redhood, and Bruce stays in bed on Alfred's orders. Seriously, Get To The Point or I'll just drop the phone and leave." she threatens, and Tim is silent long enough that she almost starts celebrating a rare bullet dodged, because whatever he's trying to ask is not gonna be good. But, Alas-

"Damian snuck onto the ship with the others. And Zeta beams as well as Communications were quickly disabled." Tim doesn't know how to blink first. Figures. She mutters a curse as she figures something else out, fingers turning white in her grip of the phone, because-

"They left a week ago, Tim. Ever think that maybe this is information you're supposed to share with the class?" She nearly growled, because she loved Tim, but he's also the absolute worst sometimes.

"I didn't want to worry anyone! We can't really do anything about it besides hope everything's fine and try to fix it from our end, and The Leauge is already working on that. I've been training Olive, and it's been a quiet week. I didn't need a Robin." He defends himself, and there's a bit to unpack and talk about there, because he must be woried out of his mind and it's bullshit that he didn't tell any of them, but there are more pressing matters.

"I'm sensing a 'But' here." she says hesitantly, reminded of Pandora and her Box.

"But," he obliges, "I'm a little...Shot, right now. Ok. Maybe a lot shot. I'm on bed rest for the foreseeable future. Bart dragged me to Titans Tower because Alfred's so busy with Bruce. I had to blackmail them into letting me have this call instead of passing out." He admits reluctantly and yeah, now that she's listening for it instead of just being angry at him for talking, she can hear his breathing and he's talking a little slow, which is the Bat Equivalent of slurring your words.

"What the hell Tim." she groans, feeling a headache start to form. "Seriously, spit it out. What do you want? What is this about?" She asked, anger masking worry.

"You are my last hope." he starts, and that's not good. "I swear Steph, I wouldn't ask if you weren't. I need you to be Batman."

Steph is silent. She freezes. she's clenching one fist hard enough to draw blood with her nails, and the other hard enough to crack the phone in half if it wasn't a BatPhone designed to keep sturdier then a fucking Nokia. It makes sense, given ho angry people get when talking to Bruce. After the seventh that broke being thrown against a wall and the 12 that was snapped in half and the 3rd ground into bits under someone's heel, they went through some revisions.

"Please Steph. I'll delete that blackmail from Star City, you know the one. I'll give you eternal access to whatever you want. I'll dress in drag and do the Hula. I'm actually begging here. Harper can't be Batman. Jason *laughed* at me when I asked. Cass is dead set on Nightwing, something about a bet. Kate doesn't have time to be Batwoman right now, let alone Batman. No one can get a hold of Azreal. Jim's too old, even with the mech suit. You're the only option." He rants and wow, either pain or drugs is really getting to him because he sounds almost hysteric.

"Fuck you." she snarls. "Fuck you sideways. Fuck Everyone in this god forsaken family. Fuck Damian in particular, little brat. Fuck you." She spits, because she;s a fighter and this is the best she can do. "Seriously. Fuck You. My revenge will be slow and painful, and you owe me so many things, and I'm dying the BatSuit purple out of spite. All of them. Except Cass's, because I love her. Once you heal, I'm kicking your ass." She grumbles and promises and goes on, but it all boils down to her reluctant defeat.

"Thanks Steph, yes I know I suck, you're the best, Goddess amoung Mortals, yes I know you hate me, sorry steph-" Tim indulges her rant because he's a good friend and a smart guy like that, and she only stops when he actually starts slurring words.

"Go The Fuck To Sleep, Boy Wonder." She growls and he hums a good bye and hangs up. She almost buries her head in her knees and pities herself, but instead goes to the BatCave and works through her anger with a good old fashioned punching bag.

Fuck This.

READ ON AO3

#stephanie brown #cassandra cain #gotham academy #batgirl #dcladiessecretsanta2k18 #fanfic #bottomless-pit-dweller

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mavmax · 3 years

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The Re-Encounter | Maverick & Nicole

When: May 8th, 2021

Where: Somewhere in between Sunset Park and Pico District

About: Mav and Nicole have their grand re-encounter after 8 years...and let’s just say it was the catalyst of Pride’s most infamous fight.

Featuring: @nicolevondra

Maverick had spent time in the library furiously studying for his finals when he realized it was starting to get late and he should definitely head on home. He had stopped by Giji’s to grab a bite and began making his way out when he nearly knocked into someone. He apologized and then realized, just who he had knocked into. “Oh, hey, sorry, didn’t see you there,” He offered with a polite smile. Hopefully the talk would be brief and both of them could go on their merry way.

nicole vondra.

Nicole was pretty happy with how her business was going, she was also excited to see how much it will thrive, but the other part of her missed London, missed not knowing anyone from Santa Monica. But now she was back, the accent she used slowly disappeared due to the automatic response of American. Although her brother seems to hold it rather well. The blonde adjusted the flowers in one arm and her phone in the other when she felt the compact of knocking into someone, her eyes dart up to see the familiar face that had her adjust her posture. “Right...maybe you should look at your surroundings.” Nicole commented, her heart still thumping against her chest which taken her by surprise, she thought that feeling went away after the dinner incident.

Maverick was definitely aware now that this wasn’t a fever dream and that he did knock into Nikki at La Playa and had a seemingly normal conversation while tipsy. Of course now, they were sober, and tensions ran higher than ever. But he wasn’t going to let that faze him. It was a long time ago after all, so he decided to lighten up the mood. “I may be vigilant but I’m always knocking into something,” He teased. “Wow, so it’s actually not some drunken fever dream that you and Nick are back, huh?”

nicole vondra.

Nicole pressed her lips together before signing, “no...it’s not a feverish dream. Nick and I are actually back and probably for good.” The blonde responded, as much as she wanted to return back to the place she called home for eight years was now nothing but a feverish dream. “Although I was hoping to run into for awhile...apparently that doesn’t help.”

Maverick nodded slowly in understanding. He was beginning to think it was time to meet with an old friend about what the next move was to be with the Vondra twins. That would be a wild ride bringing up eight years of repressed trauma. “Ah, well you and me both, but Santa Monica being a pretty small beach town and all, paths are just bound to cross, I guess,” He shrugged.

nicole vondra.

”Unfortunately,” she responded, after returning back to Santa Monica, she did in fact looked into him and Vanessa to see if they started dating. But nothing came up besides Vanessa making it big in the fashion world and Maverick fulfilling his dream he would talk about with her. Nicole realized a lot has changed throughout the eight years. And yet, she felt like the same person.

“Yeah...quite unfortunate,” Mav chuckled. He wasn’t going to let the snark get to him, after all. It was crazy that so much had changed in the last eight years, but the hurt and the anger still lingered. Well, the anger had subsided but, the hurt was still there for him. He was at least glad to see she was doing good for herself. “Well, I’m glad you’re doing good, at least,” he said with a small smile.

nicole vondra.

Nicole wasn’t expecting him to act nonchalant, then again he always learned how to control his actual emotions. The fact they once were able to talk about things, be real with one another, all gone and felt like total strangers. She almost found herself reaching up to touch his face like she used to do, just to pinch his cheeks to get him to flash that silly smile he always gave her, a sign they would give one another to assure they’re okay. But things have changed, betrayal were made and Nikki knew they couldn’t come back from that. “You don’t have to lie Maverick.”

Maverick seeing her sober, made him realize how hard the encounter was now years later. He hoped for a laugh out of her, a genuine ‘It’s so great to see you again’ hug...but the way things went down years ago...there was no coming back from it. What was done is done and now, they’re strangers. “You know, believe it or not, I’m not lying. You’re out here doing your thing, least I could do is give credit where it’s due.”

nicole vondra.

Nicole was a little skeptical of Maverick, the last she seen of him was the dinner, where he threw shade towards her, get her riled up and now he’s acting like a good boy. Part of her wanted to crush that image, maybe it was the years apart and her exploring sexually that has her wanting to crush anything decent. “I’m a little surprised if I’m honest.”

Mav was taken aback by the comment but as he started to think about it, things were starting to make sense. While he did change and became more skeptical of people’s intentions, Mav still had a softer side beneath the chaos and arrogance. So he chuckled, “I’m guessing you’re expecting some villain vs hero type of thing?”

nicole vondra.

Nicole raised her eyebrows in amusement, “what is this...some cheesy ass teen drama show? No.” The blonde scoffed and rolled her eyes, she wondered how much he has changed since they were last seen together, before the cheating and the cheap blows, when they were actually in love with each other. It seemed like a far away dream to her.

Maverick let out a chuckle at Nicole’s reaction. He was pretty amused but he didn’t want to come off as he was making fun of her, the thought was just pretty hilarious. He knew things had changed between them and he wasn’t expecting this wholesome reunion after the cheating and revenge and the dinner of complete shade, but...he was beginning to think maybe he was over it all, and that it was better to remember the happier times. “Sorry, sorry,” he cleared his throat. “The thought of a teen drama just made me laugh for a sec, but no you’re totally right.”

nicole vondra.

Nicole struggled to keep her lips from curling up into a smile at the sound of his laugh, it was something she didn't realized she missed, it brought back memories, memories she tried to bury deep inside her head to forget about. The blonde pressed her lips firmly together and nodded her head, clenching onto the flowers as she tried to regain her emotions. "It was the only example that came to mind," she shrugged and flashed a smile.

For a moment, it almost looked like Nicole was about to smile, almost. He could tell she was fighting through her own emotions now, which is something she often did when she was under high stress. It was going to be pretty hard to not feel this sense of nostalgia, but such was life. “I mean hey, I also liked the concept of it. That was pretty much high school in a sort of weird fucked up way.”

nicole vondra.

Nicole looked down at the flowers, the thought of eight years ago felt like a life time ago, but part of her still held resentment towards Vanessa and Maverick, yet here he was conversing with her about the good ol' days. "Yeah, young dumb and naive." She looked back up and met his eyes, the emotions she was almost feeling gone in a flash, it was like a void at this point and she had no one to blame but herself. "But it looks like you followed after your dream."

As much as Maverick wanted to just move past it and just be like 'fuck it, the past was the past', there was damage done between both of them. Nicole made the initial blow, but Maverick made the final blow, and even though it was a lie, it caused a damage that radiated towards both of them, and that wasn't something to bounce back from. "Naive's putting it pretty lightly," He chuckled once more, noticing the sparkle leaving Nicole's eyes was wild...it was like...she was hollow. "I did. I finally got drafted to the Lakers," He chuckled. "But, it looks like you did too. You opened up your flower shop."

nicole vondra.

He had a point, naive was putting it lightly, it was a disaster. She wondered how life ended up screwing her in the ass so hard that she now barely even recognized her own self sometimes. "Ah yes...I suppose I did, funny how life turns out." She shrugged, although she knew it wasn't something her parents wanted her to turn too, maybe somewhere along the lines of becoming a lawyer or help her older sister with the company. But instead, she did things her own way, invested her money into her own business without the help of anyone. So she could at least say she did something herself. "Congrats on the Lakers though, I know that was something you would always talk about."

The way life had ended up between him, Nicole, even Nick, and Nessa, wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Each of them, he could tell all wound up jaded in their own way, even himself. It was a heartbreak that led them right into reality, that not everything was all rosy and hazy. "Yeah...life has a weird way of fucking everyone up in its own way, huh?" Mav said sincerely, not meaning any malice, but the reality of it. "Thanks, it was...pretty solid. I mean, I finally got to meet Shaq in person after he followed me on instagram."

nicole vondra.

Nicole nodded her head in agreement, life did have a funny way, after so many years later she thought she would be fine with not having any sort of resentment towards Maverick or even Vanessa, but seeing them all again, it was like those surfaced emotions came forward. The blonde was just shocked to see she is able to hold a decent conversation with Maverick. Maybe part of her will always have some sort of connection with him. "Shaq...amazing. Who would have thought huh?"

Maverick didn't think that any of these emotions would be making their appearance, but he was learning to feel them and work through them. Except right about now wasn't the time to do so. Instead, he put on a brave face and, surprisingly held a solid conversation with Nicole for once. There wasn't shade or malice thrown, just a casual conversation. "I know, here I thought the closest I'd ever get to Shaq was just signed merch," He laughed, shaking his head. "So, is your shop just opening or is it still in the works?"

nicole vondra.

Nicole moved to the side when someone passed and realized they were probably blocking the entrance, she shuffled closer and reached out to move him out of the way before dropping her hand to her side. It almost felt like a familiar moment before she crushed it all down and focused back on the conversation. “Shaq...who would’ve thought, funny how things changes.” She brought her eyes back up and nodded her head, “it just opened, it’s going pretty good so I guess there’s that.”

Maverick quickly moved out the way as someone was passing by him and Nicole when he caught on to her hand just barely attempting to reach out for him to move him. Almost like old times, where she'd try and pull him out the way when someone walked or meandered by them. He almost wanted to sigh, but shook it off in the back of his mind as his eyes met hers once more. "Yeah, it's crazy. Time flies, people grow, things changed so fast, huh?" He added with a sigh. "Yo, that's dope. I'd have to tell my mom, although my dad might kill me because the old greenhouse is flooded with greenery now."

nicole vondra.

Nicole laughed, she certainly loved Maverick's parents, their family, they always held that warmth that she wished her own parents gave her. The blonde knew that after everything, she knew that maybe they despise her which she didn't blame. It was her fault for ruining things, and hurting Maverick. "I can only imagine your dad groaning at more plants. But you can never go wrong with buying flowers, maybe gift it as a present to your mom...sister...whoever."

Maverick laughed alongside Nicole, things feeling just a little more natural around the other...like old friends, he'd say. Almost. Even despite everything, Maverick still held a place in his heart for Nicole deep down, despite everything. His family would say the same...for the most part. "Oh yeah, he's getting real tired of it, but he's gotta kiss up to her for a little bit cause he's in the doghouse," He laughed, shaking his head. "Definitely! I wanted to get Lexa and Izzy some flowers as a thank you for dealing with my dumbass during my college years."

nicole vondra.

Nicole wanted to stay in this bubble, it was a feeling she never wanted to leave, maybe it was a familiar feeling she hasn’t felt in a long time. The way he made her heart warm and the fact she was within reach to reach up to caress his face. Maybe if things weren’t so fuck up, maybe they could have worked out, she tried not to think those thoughts. “Congrats on graduating, I believe.”

Maverick missed the feeling of catching up with Nicole. It was something they’d do after long summers away, just casually catch up and laugh at their own antics while they were away. This...almost felt like those times. “Thank you, it’s kinda daunting,” he chuckled. “But you know, I’m...looking forward towards what’s to come at least.”

nicole vondra.

”It’s all up from here as Nick says, but he clearly was talking about weed at the time so I wouldn’t exactly take his word.” Nicole laughed lightly, as much as she loved her twin, he gave her a headache. She wasn’t positive if it was just her who was enjoying the attention, almost like old times, his attention solely on her and that was one of the things she missed about him. Nicole started to realize that maybe she still loves him, as much as she doesn’t want to admit it, it was hard to fight. Which was probably stupid of her on what she was about to do. “Mav...” she trailed off as she took a step closer, raising onto the tip of her toes as she neared closer and pressed her lips against his, her free hand pressing against his shoulder for a steady hold.

“I mean, he’s not exactly wrong in that aspect,” Maverick teased with a chuckle. He was enjoying the conversation. Who knew after so long they could have a light hearted conversation like this. He was glad to have been able to—well—until suddenly Nicole’s lips were on his and his eyes widened, while he panicked at first, he was hit with a rather daunting realization. For the first time...he didn’t feel that pulling urge to kiss her back. He didn’t feel this intense spark that he had felt once before. So he sighed, taking Nicole’s hand carefully to set it back to her side, and stepping back from her. “Nicole,” He sighed. “I don’t feel that way about you anymore, and don’t get me wrong, if this happened maybe a year ago, two years ago, I’d say otherwise but, things changed.”

nicole vondra.

Nicole thought he would lean into the kiss as well but it caught her off guard when he pulled away from her, it was like a slap in the face as a reminder that things weren’t the same between them, at least for Maverick. Nicole felt her gut twisting as she dropped her hand to her side, maybe if she was two or a year sooner, maybe they could have worked out. “Oh...” she replied, taking a step back and motioned behind her, “I should...I need to go.” Nicole turned away and quickly walked out, cursing under her breath at what she did.

#para #p:nikki

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