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creedslove · 1 year

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DESERVE IT - PART TEN

Javier Peña x f!reader

Summary: you are forced to hear what Manu has to tell you, and a surprise at the office makes you rethink your relationship with Javier

Warnings: hurt, angst, offenses, fluff, mentions of smut, sexual tension, jealousy and more angst

A/N: sorry taking so long, I was sick and I was caught up in a sudden Agent Whiskey vibes that got me distracted from Javi and Joel 🥺

Also, I think it's pretty obvious I have no idea how the DEA office works in the show, so in my story, I picture it as the station of B99 where there's the upper floor department which is the DEA and the lower floor department that it's the station, lol

• PART ONE

• PART TWO

• PART THREE

• PART FOUR

• PART FIVE

• PART SIX

• PART SEVEN

• PART EIGHT

• PART NINE

5.3k words

When Manu left his home that Sunday morning, he was determined to face the man he hated the most in the world.

He wasn't sure how he began hating that man, but it had something to do with the moment he joined the police enforcement in Colombia.

He was a typical american guy, looking down at everything in Manu's beloved country and always thinking he was above all.

Maybe it was his smug smile, those stupid tight pants as if he'd been trapped for over a decade or how the office girls swooned for him. He hadn't exchanged more than two or three words, but whenever they had some mission concerning Escobar and the DEA dogs, that motherfucker walked around with that attitude, as if he was better than anyone else.

Manu just hated how pretentious he was, how he swore he had all those women on his feet. Most of the time, he did, but the women he had on his feet weren't the kind of women Manu liked. They were usually cheap, easy girls, or literally prostitutes. And then he saw you.

You were possibly the most beautiful woman Manuel had ever seen in his life, you were always sweet and kind to everyone, politeness and efficiency were something everyone from the office noticed, you treated everyone equally… except for maybe Colleen, it was noticeable how you couldn't stand her, but no one could actually blame you as that woman was kind of annoying. Manu watched you from afar every day, since you began working at the station. He liked admiring you, he had never spoken to you, but in his mind, he was sure you were a beautiful person, inside and out. He just didn't understand why you seemed to be attached to Peña's hip, you weren't a cop, you weren't his partner and you certainly weren't his girlfriend, as the word on the street said Peña didn't do relationships.

And yet, you gave him the heart eyes, you were always laughing together and very often you giggled at whatever he had said.

Manu was always confused as to why someone like you, could orbitate around Javier.

Then, Carlos initiated his weird obsession with you. He still went after the girls in the office, but you seemed to linger longer in his mind. One of the reasons was that, just like Manu, he also couldn't stand Javier. And winning one of his girls would be a great victory for him. And also because you never gave Carlos the time of the day, and it drove him mad. Not many women refused him, but you did, so when flirtation didn't work, he turned his aim at you, and tried making you the office's joke, which Manu immediately put an end to it, when he was around at least. He didn't need people gossiping around and distracting themselves from work.

So he just decided not to listen to any of that gossip and remind himself that everything that came from Carlos was pure shit.

And then you were transferred to his department, and when he met you, he knew he'd made the right choice by not letting any gossip about you influence him. You were everything he'd dreamed of in a person and just the fact that you actually took a liking on him, was enough to show Manu that sometimes good things happened.

During your brief relationship, Manu never really liked the fact you were once so close to Javier, but just as he had his own past relationships, you did too, besides, you were always so honest when you said you didn't have anything with him, you two were friends and nothing else, and well, as for Manuel, he had no reasons to doubt you.

He was bothered ever since he woke up the day before, he'd spent a wonderful night with you, you had finally had sex, he was staying at your house and that must've been a big deal, right? But once he woke up, he heard you whimpering and moaning in his sleep. He smirked happily, assuming you were dreaming of him and possibly wanted another round of him.

So he trailed kisses around your neck and your shoulder, which you sleepily welcomed with more moans, but then he heard Javier's name coming out of your lips.

Manu didn't really believe it at first, he must have misheard what you said, and even after he questioned you and you explained yourself saying you were just telling him good morning. Once again, he believed you, he had no reasons to doubt you after all.

Then when you both got to the barbecue, he couldn't help but have that characteristic feeling of hatred and anger spreading through his body. The mere presence of Javier caused that. Everything about that guy bothered him, made his skin crawl and the fact he kept his stupid, ridiculous sunglasses on all the time pretending he wasn't eye fucking you, was driving him insane.

Manu couldn't lie about the fact he was a little disappointed when you asked him to go home, he loved every minute of the night you had spent together and every fiber of his body was longing for a repetition of that, he wanted to do it again, to have you lost in his arms, being in so much pleasure you couldn't help but being loud as hell. However, he didn't want to overstay, if you were asking him to leave you had a good reason, and for the third time, Manuel Herrera believed in you because he had no other reason not to.

When he woke up that Sunday morning, he sighed as the side of the bed you were supposed to take as your own was cold and empty. He hoped he could wake up to your sleepy, smiley face, but that was not happening. He got up and made himself breakfast, taking his time to think about your relationship and smiled at himself, he had something good going on and he wanted to assure things would continue that way. An idea crossed his mind and after debating it with himself, he decided to do it, as there was a slim, but consistent possibility it would work out.

He saw himself driving to the place of the guy he hated the most in the whole wide world: Javier Peña.

At first he hadn't planned it very well, but it was something pretty simple, he was going to talk to Javier in a straightforward way, no beating around the bush, he was just going to straightforward ask Javier to leave you alone once for all.

He wasn't trying to control your friendships, but he didn't trust Javier and since you seemed to have been so vulnerable towards him, he thought it could be a nice request, a fair request, even. Especially since Javier had been treating you like shit for months, Manu thought it would be a decent idea. First he was going to knock on his door, have a chat with him and then he would go to your apartment, kiss you on the lips and take you out for lunch.

He stood in front of Javier's door, knocking on it and as soon as the door opened, he recited the words he'd rehearsed in his mind, until he went completely silent at the image of you, standing there, naked underneath that shirt and Manu's world was forever changed by that.

At first, it took him a split second to recognize you, he'd eyed first the naked legs and only then his gaze went up until the confirmation of who it was hit him harder than a train running right off the track. His first assumption was that it was just another hooker opening the door, but when he realized it was no one but his own girlfriend, it felt like the ground had disappeared from under his feet.

"Manu?" You whispered in shock, he was literally the last person you thought that would knock on Javier's door. You were even holding his badge, being sure Javi himself returned to get it, but not your boyfriend. He just stood there, with a shocked and horrid expression, he didn't dare say a single word, instead he saw as your lower lip trembled and your eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Manu" his name was nothing but a ghostly whisper coming out of your lips "I'm so sorry…" you began your apologies but he didn't want to hear any of it.

He ran his hands through his hair, in frustration, pain, heartbreak.

"How long, Y/N?" His voice was steady, he really thought it was going to break, show you how gutted he really was, but to his own surprise, it came out as emotionless as it could be.

"Manu, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for anything to happen, I was gonna go and talk to you later today, explain to you what's happening, I know I hurt you, but I don't want you to hate me…"

The way he stood there, not moving, not speaking, just staring at you was worse than if he was throwing a scene. So far, you had only met the good side of him, the side that was docile and sweet, you had no idea how he'd react to the shock of catching you red-handed.

"How long, Y/N?" He repeated himself "how long have you been double dealing like that? How long have you been cheating on me with Peña?!" He raised his voice and grabbed you by the arm. His grip wasn't painful but it was strong enough so you couldn't simply break free from it.

He took you inside Javier's apartment and closed the door, not wanting the neighbors to experience that scene.

"I-I haven't been with Javier for long… it happened last night, but I was gonna talk to you Manu, I swear. You are a great guy, and you deserve someone good to you, someone who doesn't hurt your feelings and can love you…" you explained, as you couldn't control your sobs, too many feelings flooding you all at once, finally the guilt and shame you had been lacking appeared. It was completely different now, at the light of the day. During the night, you'd been so caught on in your feelings for Javier, he was arms length close to you, he was right there, you couldn't resist, and your boyfriend… well, at that moment he was just an idea, a thought pushed away to the back of your mind. But now, Manu stood there, flesh and bone, right in front of you, anger and disappointment all aimed at you, and he was right in every single aspect. What you did to him was inexcusable, you couldn't even try to justify… what could you tell him? You couldn't resist Javier? You were carried away in the moment? You loved Javier and the whole reason why you dated Manu in the first place was because he made you forget your heart break for a little while? Would all those excuses be enough for you if the roles were reversed and you just found out your boyfriend had spent the night with the woman you hated the most in the world? You knew it wasn't enough.

"Ay, eres tan dulce!" He scoffed and looked at you, before turning around and taking a good look at the apartment "even when you were bouncing on Peña's cock you were still worried about my feelings… aren't you a great girlfriend?"

"I'm so sorry Manu, I never meant to hurt you, I really care for you, but we are not right for each other.."

"I'll give you one on that, querida, we are definitely not right for each other, because unlike your new boyfriend, I don't go out with whores" he said in a low voice "you know, Carlos always said you were one of those, a whore, a tiny little stupid girl who ran after Peña like a puppy with stupid heart eyes in hopes one day he would pay the slightest attention to you, and I always thought he was wrong… but now, I see he was absolutely right. I just came over to have a small chat with him, about you, by the way! So he would leave you alone, and I find you here, playing housewife, cleaning up after his mess, look at the way you are dressed, for fuck's sake, I've seen Peña pick up prostitutes wearing more clothes than you are right now! But I guess Carlos was right, you are not only a bitch, Y/N, but a real stupid one… out of all the men you could get involved with, you go and choose Peña?!" Manu laughed softly "I don't usually have hard feelings, and to be honest, if I could I'd wish you to be happy with him, but the problem is that I know you won't. Because he is an asshole, he's a manwhore, and you and your tight little pussy aren't gonna be able to keep him to yourself much longer, eventually he'll grow tired of you, and he'll go after other whores to seek the pleasure you won't be able to give him any longer, so I just know for a fact you won't be happy with him, but it's fine by me, because you deserve every single heartbreak he's gonna put you through, Y/N" Manu said giving you one last glance, a glance full of despise and walked out the door, leaving you alone with your guilt.

Now, if Manu had slapped you across the face, or kicked you in the guts it would've probably hurt less than his words.

You knew he was right, you couldn't even try and argue, he was just right. You had played with his feelings, used him in order to feel better about yourself and pretty much just to make Javier jealous.

You felt so ashamed of yourself and you wanted to curl up in some corner and disappear, everything he'd told you echoed through your mind. You didn't regret your night with Javi, not in a million of years, but now you saw you could have handled things better, not only that, you should have handled things better, that was the bare minimum. Manu never deserved the heartache you put him through and you would live with the guilt of that.

You walked back to his bed and curled up under the blanket, you wanted him there, you wanted to assure yourself he was real, what you two had was something worth screwing up your relationship for, but at the same time your ex's words were haunting you. Was Manu really right? At some point, would Javi just get tired of you?

You didn't know when you fell asleep, but you certainly did so while you were still crying, and only at the smell of Javier as you buried your face into your pillow was able to calm you down.

•••

Now, Javier was annoyed.

He wasn't just annoyed, he was pissed off. If he were trapped in a room with Steve Murphy and Pablo Escobar chances were he would shoot Murphy.

Javi felt he had been ripped off a dream, he'd spent the perfect night with you, the woman he loved and craved and he had made plans to spend the perfect day with you.

He would bring you breakfast in bed, sit next to you and enjoy your company, maybe share a cigarette with you. Then, he would invite you to shower and play with your tight, sweet and beautiful pussy there, kiss your body and soap all over it, so his hand would be a lot slippery when he explored your body.

Taking you to bed, he would probably rail you, and god, he wouldn't save any of his fantasies, he would have you on top of him, doggy style, topping you, it didn't matter, he just wanted your body against his, he wanted to spill inside of you and keep you to himself.

Then, as a gentleman, Javi would take you out on a date and finish this perfect Sunday buried balls deep inside of you once more. But then, Steve began knocking on his door like a madman demanding Javi to go check on La Quica information that led to nothing and deprived him from a whole day of you.

He wondered what you were up to, though. As he drove through the streets of Colombia and pretended to hear Murphy's words, as he blabbered about his wife, his kid and his life. But Javi's mind… ohh that was elsewhere.

He licked his lips and focused ahead, but all he could think of was you. He wondered if you went back to your place, if you'd changed clothes… what if you were on his bed, legs spread and fingering yourself thinking of him? The thought made him groan and his jeans get a little tighter.

"Wow, pay attention, man!!!" Steve suddenly said as Javi had run the red light and nearly hit another car.

"Jesus… sorry" Javier mumbled as he got back to his senses, your sweet pussy nearly got him killed, he smirked at himself.

It didn't take much longer to get home, he was just so eager to see you. Javi was convinced you were getting ready for your date, maybe he should have bought you some flowers? He wasn't sure, he hadn't been on a date in ages, what if you didn't like flowers? Was it possible? Women usually liked flowers. He could always get some on your way to the restaurant, it didn't really matter, he just wanted to be near you.

He barely paid attention to Steve saying his goodbyes and got into his apartment. He knocked on your door first, but as he had no replies, he went to his own, maybe you were still there.

He silently walked inside, and headed to his bedroom, he called you in a low voice but didn't get an answer, he didn't like that silence and closed his eyes, allowing himself to be taken back to his pop's ranch, he was sure he would never be welcomed by silence, instead there would always be music, laughter and giggles, coming from his loving wife, you and your babies.

He shook his head, he couldn't keep having these thoughts, it was too damn early for that, he didn't even know if you relationship would last. He wanted to, of course, but he also knew you deserved better, so if you ever found someone really good and would like to be with the new guy, Javi was sure nothing could be done.

But those self loathing thoughts died the moment he found you in his bed. You were still in his shirt and his heart clenched at the image.

You were just so relaxed, so gorgeous, and he smiled at himself. It felt like a whiff of new air, leaving the suffocating feeling he constantly had in his life, his job and just going home to something good. Suddenly he understood what his dad meant, fuck, he understood what Steve meant. It was about having something to come back home to.

Javi got rid of his shoes and sat next to the edge of the bed, he admired you, your hair, your body. You were everything Javier ever wished for, and he was aware it was too much for him, but it didn't matter at that time.

His hand went for your hair, caressing it gently, seeing how you barely moved in your sleep. His hand ran down your back this time, he stroked you over the shirt, and saw how it rolled up, exposing your cheeks. He bit his lips, your ass was so perfect, so gorgeous, inviting, it was a sight that would always drive him insane, but at that very moment, he didn't want to touch you inappropriately, he wanted to feel you closer. He lowered his body and sank his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent, it smelled like home to him. Javier chuckled at himself at how pathetic he was, you definitely put him under your spell and he loved every single minute of it.

When Javi wrapped his arm around you, you shifted and raised yourself startled as you didn't even remember falling asleep in the first place.

You turned around and saw him, he looked puzzled, confused even, but you didn't care. You just threw your arms around his neck and pulled you for a real tight hug. You tried controlling your tears, but it was hard. That heaviness in your chest wouldn't go away, it seemed every time you took your breath something stung inside and it was like a pool of tears were being contained by a thin curtain that was about to burst at any minute.

Javi just held you, keeping you in his embrace as tight as he could, though he immediately demanded to know what was going on. Through his mind the worst possible scenarios ran freely, he gulped thinking of what could've happened to you, fuck, for a moment he feared even someone from Los Pepes had tried to harm you in any way, but when your shaky, low voice professed the name of your now, ex-boyfriend, everything made sense.

Truth was, Javier was so drunk in love, he spent his afternoon living in a world where only you and him mattered and only you and him were a couple. No one else existed, no else was in the picture, so of course he forgot about Manu's pathetic existence, and consequently, also forgot you were going to talk to him.

"Shit baby, what happened? Did he hurt you? Did that motherfucker harm you? If he touched a strand of your hair I'll go over there and I'll fucking kill him!!!" Javier raged, though you didn't seem physically bad, he didn't trust Manuel at all. But your head shook and your grip got tighter around his body, in a clear sign you didn't want him to leave at all.

So he patiently waited. He rubbed your back, pulling you so close you were now on his lap again, and for the sweet coincidence of having you on top of him like that for the second time in less than twenty four hours, he smiled. With the exception that this time you were the one who needed to be comforted.

And eventually you started talking.

You told him in details, how you noticed Javi had forgotten his badge and you were just so sure he was the one knocking on the door. You told him about Manu's shock, how silent he was, until how he crushed you with his words.

But you didn't stop there, you looked into Javier's eyes, not hiding your tears and told him how every single word Manu had told you was right, how guilty you felt and his heart shattered, as he had no clue on how he could help you.

Javi cupped your cheeks, wiping your tears with his long fingers and pecked your forehead.

"Guilt is painful too, when you have conscious, it hurts to deceive someone you care about. I'm sorry it is eating you up alive, cariño, but the damage is done and all I can tell you is that I'm here for you… maybe it's too soon, maybe it's stupid but if you want to try, I want to try, we can make something out of this situation… maybe what he talked about last night, about the ranch, about leaving our jobs, maybe it could happen.."

Javier's eyes were so hopeful, so full of expectation you couldn't even believe in yourself. It was just too much, too many feelings overwhelming you, crushing you and he was there, wanting to date you.

Oh my god, the date.

You were supposed to go on a date with Javi, and there you were, crying your eyes out because your ex barked a few mean words to you.

You felt so angry and so tired, you could feel another wave of hot tears threatening to spill from your eyes, but his soft touch snapped you out of your crisis.

"Come on, princesa, let me get you home" he said in a calm voice, helping you out of his bed and crossing the hallway with you. It was funny how close you two were living and how easy it was to just come and go.

He closed the door to your apartment behind him and once more cupped your cheeks, holding your head in place and making you pay attention to him.

"You need to rest, you're too nervous… it's just a lot of emotions, I ain't no expert, but I guess it is making you suffer, so you should take a shower, put on some of your own clothes…" he pointed at his own shirt that covered so little of your beautiful body "we can just go on our date tomorrow or some other day, there's no pressure… I can also stay tonight, or not… you can think about that while you shower" his voice was calm and he just walked you to your room, opening the wardrobe and picking you something he thought you would enjoy wearing.

That was some domestic Javier Peña you didn't think you would ever witness. It made your heart warm, melting slowly and you suddenly felt like your chest had been cleared away, like a wave of good, positive feelings were going through your veins and for a brief second, that known feeling everything would be alright.

You didn't even bother looking at the clothes he pick vced for you, instead, you just got rid of his shirt.

"Javi?" You whispered and waited as he turned around, you rested your arms on the side of your full naked body, a little nervous, not sure what to do with them, as Javier stopped everything he was doing and stared at your gorgeous, naked body.

He had touched you, and he had eaten you out, sure, but it was dark the night before, he'd seen you but not as explicit as he was at that moment, and he loved it.

He could feel his cock twitching in his pants and didn't hesitate in walking to you, arms around you, pulling you for a deep kiss.

You corresponded to it, wanting his body on yours. It wasn't enough, you were craving him just as much as he craved you.

"I want you to shower with me, Javi… please" you begged against his lips, though you knew you didn't have to beg, he would take you right there and then if it were to him.

As you helped him undress, you both jumped at the phone ringing.

You ignored it at first, your hands unbuttoning his painfully see through white shirt, giggling as you kissed along his jawline and down his neck.

But then the phone rang again, and again and at some point, Javier sighed annoyed and broke the kiss, walking to your living room and picking it up. He didn't care if it was your mom, your dad, your sister or Pablo Escobar calling you, he didn't make any efforts to sound remotely polite, he just wanted whoever was calling you to stop.

"Oh, hello agent Peña… I've been calling your apartment but I had a gut feeling you would pick up Y/N's phone…" Manu's voice greeted the man with a sinister excitement, he sounded way too happy for someone who had just found out he'd been cheated on.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to interrupt your night, but as Y/N might have mentioned, I got the evening shift at the station tonight and we made an arrest… now our prisoner is asking specifically for you, to see if you can help with the release"

Javier's blood ran cold.

What if they'd arrested someone from Los Pepes, that would explain why that son of a bitch was probably grinning as he talked on the phone. In fact, the whole call was weird, it sounded like a trap to begin with, but he'd called and asked for Javier himself, and not for you… so he didn't really think Manu would try and do something against him, then yes, you confirmed he had the evening shift that Sunday, which meant he might have been telling the truth.

And it also meant Javier would only find out when he got there.

At first he said no when you insisted on going with him, even if Manu had come up with an evil plan, Javi was driving towards the office, there was no problem, there were always so many people no matter what time of the day, so he couldn't really try to do anything against him. But Javier wasn't comfortable with the situation, what if it was indeed someone from Los Pepes, he didn't want you to see it, to witness it… it was humiliating, embarrassing even. But then you gave him those beautiful puppy eyes of yours and he had to give in, he always did when you begged him right.

As you both arrived not later than 30 minutes, you both saw Manu waiting at the door, he was in his full uniform and smiling big as he realized you'd come along. Just like he had planned.

He greeted you both good evening, which was ignored as Javier rushed inside, getting to the cells as fast as possible, you followed him right behind, being also tense and curious to know who was the mysterious prisoner.

"So, as I was trying to say, the prisoner is an old friend of yours, Agent Peña…" Manuel couldn't hide his excitement as the two of you stood in silence.

"JAVIIIII!!!" a squeaky voice came from the inside of the cell, where the prostitute was being held.

"G-Gabi?" Javier stuttered, swallowing hard as he looked from you to the woman.

Gabriela used to be his favorite girl to go to when he needed a hand… or a mouth… or any other part really. He'd spent quite a lot on her services over the years and the two of them had the closest thing Javier could call a relationship before you came along. He'd paid for her services, enjoy them and she would still linger around for a cigarette or two, there was even a time she ended up falling asleep next to him, and they only woke up in the morning, and of course, she didn't charge any extras.

Manu saw your jealousy expression and felt so much joy. He had predicted Javier would screw things up with you, but he just had no idea of how fast he would do it. Even if Manu was enjoying every single second of it, even he thought it was kind of ridiculous how quick your fantasy of living a happy life with Javier was falling into pieces. Because even if he did get his shit together - which Manu and everyone, even you deep down, doubt it, would you still be able to deal with his past?

Manuel grabbed the key and opened the cell "here it is, the person you requested, ma'am" he bit his lip to try to hide the smile the moment Gabi dramatically wrapped herself around Javier's neck and began crying into his shirt, telling him a sob story of how one of her clients refused to pay so the situation turned into a whole scene and the cops were called and she was arrested even if it was unfair.

Your stomach churned at the scene and you tried your best to remind yourself Javier had a life before you, a very busy one, but would that be frequent? From time to time you'd have to handle ghosts from this past like that?

When that that woman who knew your man better than you did, intimately, more than you did, wrapped her arms around his neck, you knew you had enough for the night, not only for that, but for the whole weekend.

You turned around and walked out of the station.

____

A/N: so I guess Manu's "revenge" was pretty satisfying, wasn't it? I told you guys I wouldn't turn him into a bad guy, and idk to me he had all the right to call reader that way and he could've done it even worse but I guess he's just a good guy after all. And then he had a little help from destiny and now we gotta wait and see what happens next!!! Tell me what you guys think of this chapter besties ❤️

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goldustwomun · 2 years

Text

right where you left me (m.m.)

pairing: matt murdock x reader

summary: snippets of how you once met matt murdock accidentally, and then purposefully on the same day every year.

warnings: smut; oral (m receiving); fingering (f receiving); p in v sex; angst; time jumps; giving november 9th by colleen hover xoxo; unedited <3

wc: 4.6k+

note: she’s baaaack! i’ve been barely motivated to get this done for the past month (????) but here it is! finally! it’s based on a request but i cannot for the life of me find it now xoxo and i’m not sure how much i will be writing given the fact that i’ve started uni (first year shit and all that), but i will do my best :) hope you all enjoy!!

It was a fluke that you had even shown up to the bar on the corner of 34th street, the border of Hell’s Kitchen and about as far as Matt would ever venture. You didn’t think he’d show up, knowing he had his own firm to take care of now, a life, a job, a potential partner or whatever it was he called them.

You knew all of this, not because he had told you, but because a month earlier, when you’d been drunk out of your mind on a Monday night, weeping into an empty bottle of wine you’d opened and finished yourself, you’d opened your laptop and typed his name into the search bar, stomach clenching at every bit of information you found.

And you knew – the pesky feeling had scratched at your mind until past midnight – that it had been almost a year and he had most definitely moved on from the almost one-night-stand the two of your shared, while you still felt him lurking in your bones, stuck like molasses on the edge of a spoon.

But it’s Matt Murdock, for crying out loud.

Of course he would be the one you would never get over. How could you let go of the man who sensed your every worry despite only having met an hour prior, sent you swoon worthy upturns of mouths that had you wanting to kiss those cheeky grins right off of his face? The man who stared like he could really, truly, see you?

You’d asked yourself all of that and more in the past thirty minutes, casually swirling the teaspoon in your stale cup of coffee, needing a clear state of mind as the jetlag had your eyes begging to shut. Coffee at a bar was never the right idea but you were desperate, in more ways than one.

There’s no way he remembered, you reasoned internally, doing your best to not stare too intensely out of the glass window you sat by. Everyone, out there on the street, moved with a precision and purpose you’d lacked in the last year. You could feel yourself flailing in the dark, grasping at the ends of things and people and emotions you could never get a firm grip on.

So this, the coffee and the possibility of him, of more, was a last ditch attempt of soothing that phantom ache.

If he showed up, even though you knew he wouldn’t, maybe you’d be able to get back that piece of your heart he took with him when he left the last time. You hadn’t realised it was gone until you were already in the cab, the airport your final destination, where you clutched your chest and felt a newfound emptiness, a lightness you never asked for, that hadn’t been there a day earlier.

One year ago, you met Matt Murdock by accident. You drank and laughed and blushed at everything he threw your way, and said thank you even when you could sense he was about to leave you wounded and alone all over again. You were beyond desperate, for reasons unknown to even you, for another drink, another joke, another hidden caress under the table, so you did what any sane person would in such close proximity to someone so God-like, so Devilish.

“How about this, I’ll meet you back here in a year, and we can pick up where we left off?”

He chuckled into his drink, setting it down then shifting in his seat to face you, and the moment his knee knocked into yours, you knew you were a goner. “And where is it that we’re leaving off, hm?” He had a way of making even the most simplest of situations and sentences charged with an unfathomable tension.

“Well I think, and please, correct me if I’m wrong– but I think you’re about to ask me to your place and maybe, possibly… fuck my brains out?” You said it like a question, leaving enough room to label it as some unnecessarily complex joke if he seemed at all deterred.

Instead, he leaned closer, breath curling against the sensitive shell of your ear while his hand, large and calloused, gripped the bare expanse of your inner thigh. You snapped your legs shut instinctively, trapping his hand in between them, and he only smirked like that was exactly what he wanted: to be between your legs forever.

“I’m not that kind of guy, sweetheart,” he teased breathlessly. Liar.

You shook your head, then remembering yourself, skimmed your nose up the line of his jaw until you were mimicking his position. “I think you’re exactly that kind of guy. And guess what?” you prompted, and he responded with a nick of his teeth against your skin– “I’m that kind of girl, as well.”

Looking back, none of it made sense to you and it probably hadn’t to him either, but in that moment of alcohol-induced lust, it was the sexiest thing you could think of given how dumb and foolish he had left you in such little amount of time.

You left the bar soon after to catch a red-eye back home, to your normal, brutally mundane, everyday life of sleep, work, eat, repeat– no time for handsome strangers with wandering hands and inappropriate promises.

A chair scraped against the wood-panelled floors next to you, the sound irritating enough to paint a scowl across your face that you planned to aim at whatever idiot–

Oh.

Oh. “Huh, funny bumping into you. Mind if I sit?”

It took all of five minutes for the two of you to drag the other into the bathroom, thanking whatever God there was up there, looking down at the two of you pawing at each other, for the single stall.

“That’s it sweetheart, open up for me,” Matt cooed, tugging your chin down as he painted his cock across your lips, hissing abruptly when your tongue skimmed out to lick at his weeping slit. He couldn’t stop his hips from bucking up, forcing the entire head into your awaiting mouth, all hot and wet and exactly as he’d imagined it. Fucking heaven.

Matt gathered your hair, pulling it into a makeshift ponytail as he thrust shallowly into you, mouth hung open in awe or shock, you weren’t entirely sure. But it was perfect, he was perfect, panting and gasping and entirely ruffled from your hands with his pants shucked down and his shirt half buttoned.

You looked up through bleary eyes, the tears stinging them shut but you persisted, not wanting to miss a moment of him in all his annoying beauty, looking entirely like some sort of fallen angel with the halo of yellowed light around him from the flickering bulbs in the bathroom.

“You’re doing so well, sweethe–fuck!” You swallowed around him, your nails dug into his bare thighs, whining around his length and pulling at the short hairs in admonishment but he retaliated with a sharp tug on your hair, halting your movements as he guided you to stand up, the hard length of him jabbing into your hips as he pressed his mouth roughly to yours.

“Be good for me now, I’ve waited an entire year for this and don’t need you acting like a brat.”It was deliciously mean and exactly how you wanted it, so all you could do was nod with pleading eyes, whining your acceptance and submission.

His tongue flicked out across your puffed lips, swollen and pink, and he moaned at the taste of him on your tongue. You almost lost it right then and there, unable to cope with the pretty sounds he was making as they scraped at your insides, as heat filled your belly.

He was how you remembered, as attentive and giving as he had been a year earlier.

When he slid in next to you, face already pulled up in a sardonic smirk and hand sliding up your thigh– surprising enough that you admittedly choked a little on your coffee, you’d eventually found yourself whispering, begging, for something hard, Matt, something hard and fast and a little mean.

You don’t know where it came from, and from the conflicted look on his face, neither did he. He wasn’t a naturally cruel person, had that kind of warm, gooey smile that lit up the whole damn universe, but something flickered in his expression and he was, soon enough, gripping your wrist tight enough to bruise, urging you quietly in your ear to find the bathroom because he needed you now.

Maybe later, when you tried to rationalise your actions, your thoughts, your feelings, you’d deduce it was because you needed to taint his perfection, even a little bit. If there was even a slight chance he could fuck himself out of your system and you’d no longer depend on him as whatever emotional crutch or midday fantasy he’d become, maybe you’d make it the rest of your life without needing.

“Please, please, Matt. Want you inside of me,” you whimpered into his probing mouth, fingers tugging at his short strands of hair, hot breath gasping like the air was running out of the room and he was your only source of oxygen.

“I dunno, baby, think you deserve it?” he taunted, that same look, the one that screamed desire and power and I fucking own you aimed at you had you nodding dumbly at him, eyes wide and desperate, and he forced himself to look away, spinning your around and pushing you into the marble counter of the sink.

“I want you to watch yourself fall apart,” he whispered, voice deadly, grip strong and unmoving. And you wondered if it was the Devil himself currently pushing down your trousers, hooking your panties to the side, sliding a finger through your slick folds once, twice, before ramming in with little to no warning.

“Oh–” you all but shouted, agape and knuckles turning white as you were forcibly shoved forward. His hand, calloused and scraped but somehow soft and delicate at the same time, held onto your shoulder, while the other travelled up your front, groping and searching and taking, until it rested against your throat.

You were pulled back against him, could feel his muscles shifting through the thin material of his shirt as he pistoned his hips up into you, pulling you down with his hold on you as he dealt you promises in your ear.

It was hard to hear, words getting lost between pants and groans and the ringing that had begun since he showed up, but you savoured every piece, every sound, anyway.

“Fuck– fucking, fuck. You’re tight.” Matt shoved a hand down your front, plucking at your clit with an easy expertise that had your thighs quivering. You wondered if this was what he wanted to do a year ago when you’d trapped his hand in the same position, and with the way he seemed to throb inside you, somehow going faster and harder and deeper, you think it’s an appropriate assumption for your rather inappropriate position.

“Just for you,” you promised, nodding and words tumbling out, tripping over each other until you weren't sure what was real and what wasn’t. “I haven’t– I haven’t been with anyone, not since we almost– we–”

The moment crashed down on you moments later as you realised what you’d admitted. It was pathetic, you were pathetic, and you felt him still almost instantaneously. The change in pace had you clawing back at him, urging him to continue and forget because your mind was scrambled and you were so close.

“Matt, please. You stopped– Why’d you–” you begged around a sob, your voice hoarse and unrecognisable to even your own ears.

But he was pulling out, tightening his pants around his waist and then helping to pull yours up as well. Next thing you knew, you were being turned around, still flushed and pliant and throbbing with a need only he could fulfil.

He brushed your hair back, damp with sweat, as his hands cupped your face, the air shifting from borderline animalistic to something softer, sweeter, a side of him you hadn’t encountered yet between the first time and now when he’d been all cocky grins and charming words.

His thumb traced the ridges of your face, like he was trying to remember the impression of you through his touch, slowly putting together a portrait in his mind with every glide of rough skin. Then, he leaned down, kissed you all sweet that you wondered if you’d imagined the man from earlier.

It was silent for a beat, then another, and when he finally spoke your stomach dropped. “You waited for me? The whole year you never–”

“It wasn’t– I didn’t–” you stammered, seizing up as every defensive thought and argument you could think of fought to be heard. “I didn’t wait,” you said eventually, exasperated and embarrassed. You turned to look away, ears burning. “Not for you, it wasn’t a choice. I was just– I’ve been busy and well, I’m busy right now. In fact, I’m here for work and– stop! Stop that!”

He was laughing. Whether it was because of your lame arguments or the way you never really finished a sentence– you weren’t sure but likely both.

“What– why are you laughing?” you asked pointedly, shoving him back until he fell against the opposite wall, the space between you like a no man’s land you didn’t dare enter, not until you knew what was up.

“You’re just cute, that’s all,” he reasoned, that same stupid smile on his face that had you wanting to get on your knees all over again, even if the floor was grimy and the lighting in the restroom so terribly unflattering you were sure you couldn’t look anything that resembled attractive in it.

Matt, on the other hand, looked stunning. It annoyed you that you noticed that, still believed it even after his sudden change in mood.

“That’s not– I’m not–” you retaliated.

“You're not– what? Cute?” he stalked forward, palm on either side of your hips as his lips puckered up in front of you and you instinctively leaned forward to kiss him.

It took you admittedly long to process what you’d done because a second later, you pulled back, brows knitted together as you stared up at him, convinced it was a curse or a drug or something because why?

There was something about him, magnetic, an innate yearning you couldn’t let go of.

“I think you’re fucking adorable, sweetheart,” he continued, smirking like he’d seen the emotions flicker across your face. “And you know, even if you didn’t wait for me, I waited for you.”

The two of you made another promise: next year, same time, same place.

You smiled to yourself as you left for the airport again, no longer worried you were a psychotic fool a little too addicted to a man she didn’t really know. Because he felt safe and comforting and like a home you never knew you wanted nor needed until you’d stumbled inside, and you think, maybe, possibly, he felt the same way.

He kissed you goodbye, said he’d take you somewhere nicer next year and maybe you’d get to finish what you started– again.

And surprisingly enough, you were fine with it, with waiting and double-taking every time you crossed a brunette in sunglasses on the street.

You’d make it work as long as you ended up in his arms a year later.

He showed up, but you wished he hadn’t.

You never thought you’d see the Matt Murdock stumbling and incoherent, hair sticking up in opposite directions, and reeking of alcohol so strong you’re surprised he hasn’t blacked out yet.

Not to mention the indistinguishable stench of someone’s perfume, the bruises climbing down the column of his neck and disappearing into his partially unbuttoned shirt.

Yeah, you really wished he’d stayed home.

“Sweetheart, baby, love– where are you going!” he called behind you, tripping over invisible cracks in the pavement and suddenly, you wondered if he was even blind because you followed you with a confidence, albeit, a drunken, slurring confidence, that you hadn’t expected.

So you stopped, worried he’d walk right into traffic, and he slammed into you, large palms circling your waist as you steadied him by his shoulders. It was cold, unbelievably so, and his breaths puffed like cigarette smoke in your face.

Strangers walked around you, avoiding whatever was going on between you and your– whatever he was, like a plague.

“I’m going home Matt, I have a flight to catch,” you answered calmly, words a little short, a little terse, and even in his state, Matt noticed as he nuzzled into your neck. You couldn’t help but shiver, missing his touch and mouth and presence over the past year.

Sometimes, you wondered what would happen if you got on a flight and knocked on his door. You didn’t know where he lived, had never made it that far into his realm or world, but Google was worryingly useful these days and you didn’t think he’d turn you away.

But then someone drops a stack of papers on your desk– “Need these edited and sent back tonight, thanks!”, and you're reminded why you never bothered getting his number or address or an actual date.

Sometimes your life barely has space for you let alone a whole other person.

“But I just got here. Please. Wanted to take you out, then take you home…” he trailed off, now sponging kisses into the little bit of exposed skin above the turtleneck you had on. And your eyes fluttered shut because, well, why wouldn’t they, and you let yourself enjoy it, him, for a moment longer before the wind picked up and carried with it that same fucking perfume you’d smelled earlier.

You pushed him back and he pouted like a kicked puppy. “Matt, please, don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” you insisted, holding his hands in yours, between the two of you, so they couldn’t get closer to your skin, to where you really wanted them, because then you’d forget about where he’d been and why he’d been late and let him have his way with you.

You might have been touch starved for the past year but that didn’t mean you didn’t have any self-respect. Or at least, you hoped it didn’t.

“Hard? I can show you exactly what’s hard,” he mused and you scoffed at the line that probably would have had you giggling into his side had the night gone different.

“Fuck– grow up, Matt!” Your voice was getting louder, angrier, the exhaustion seeping in as your gloved finger pressed into a particularly prominent bruise on his neck. “You were with someone else, you prick!” It was like the drink drained right out of him as he stood straighter, sobering up almost instantly as if realising what he’d done. “I waited for two hours and you were messing around with some other girl or guy and–”

“I’m sorry, I–”

“No. You don’t get to be sorry,” you jabbed the bruise harder and he hissed, finally stepping back. “And– well– I don’t even get to be mad because we’re not dating either. We meet once a year and we apparently don’t even fuck but you’ll sure as hell go do it with someone else it seems–” He frowned but you kept going, needing to get it off your chest before you imploded.

You sighed, hiding your shaking hands inside your coat pocket, hoping anyone passing by blamed the chilled wind for your tears and not the man in front of you. “I’m an idiot, Matt. I’m fucking stupid.”

“You’re not– I swear, Christ– you’re not,” he surged forward, wiping your tears and your brows jumped. “It’s me– I’m– this past year– it hasn’t been good, none of it has been good, and I thought you’d see it in me. I’m not a good person, sweetheart, not for someone like you.”

Your chest ached. You felt something splinter, crack, break apart until you were melting into his arms, anything to get away from the pain of it all. You’d blame the blistering cold for it later, how you curled into his warmth and comforted his broken words in any way you could.

This time, when you left, you didn’t say anything about next year.

He could smell it on you. Someone new, different– male.

He didn’t say anything, knew he couldn’t because you’d definitely look at him like he was insane and really, he was starting to feel it because all he’d thought about was you, you, you, and here you were, new hair, new look, fucking beautiful, and someone else’s.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said over the rim of his glass. Water, just water.

“I didn’t think I would either,” you answered, and your mouth quirked like you were proud of your answer and the detachment in your voice.

Matt was proud of you too, despite it all. Something about the way in which you seemed to move about with ease, your heartbeat unwavering, no sign of the mess he’d left last time.

“So how’ve you been?” he asked finally, unsure of what to say. Because what could he even say? Sorry for fucking us up? Sorry for being an absolute prick of a human being and breaking your heart, but hey, I’m still reeling from it and it’s been a year but maybe my suffering will make it all alright?

Probably not.

You hesitated. He heard the hitch in your throat, how you tried to clear it and chugged down half your mug of coffee. It was burnt and bitter but you downed it like it was something exotic and worth the five bucks you paid.

Then, you lifted your hand, placed it on the table– the rustle of your shirtsleeve hinted at your movement– and you reached over with your other hand, held onto his wrist loosely, almost disinterested, and laid it on top of your hand.

He froze. He froze and he almost begged you to take it off, the words dying on his tongue but the ghost of them desperate to haunt the air around the two of you.

“Engaged,” you cleared your throat again, like you were uncomfortable and he hated it. “I’m engaged.”

It took him a moment to realise you weren’t saying more, and it took another moment for him to realise that you didn’t owe him anything else.

I’m not a good person.

“That’s– that’s incredible, congrats!” The slight inflection of his voice, something that probably should’ve conveyed genuine excitement and an eagerness to know more– he cringed at how it sounded– like complete bullshit.

“Thanks Matt,” you answered, voice barely above a whisper. “We work together and, honestly, he’s a real sweetheart so it was just– I dunno, easy? I guess that’s the right word, yeah. It’s easy being with him.”

Matt smiled wryly, stole his hand away and tucked it neatly on his lap. “Sounds like a charmer,” and he prayed you didn’t hear the sarcasm in his voice.

“Yeah, he is,” you agreed, entirely too loved-up to notice what was happening right before your eyes.

“So, does he know where you are right now?” he asked, suddenly curious. Like you’d said a year earlier, you weren’t dating, and any possibility of that becoming a reality had drained away the moment he’d shown up to the bar, drunk off of his mind and dishevelled from someone else’s hands.

But you’d done things, said things– things that might have been meaningful enough that when it all ended, like it had a block away from where you both were sitting, it still hurt.

So he needed to know if you’d told your fiance anything, if you still cared enough to hide it, hide him. Because if you did, maybe he’d hold out hope for once in his life.

The heat rushed to your face and you craned your neck away, twirling the lone ring around your finger. “Not exactly,” you relented. “I told him it’s a business trip, this yearly conference– and that’s not a lie because the conference was yesterday, I just– I guess I didn’t want to tell him about this.”

“Why?” he asked, whispering like a secret.

“You know why Matt,” was all you gave him.

You didn’t show up the year after, or the year after that. Matt sat in your booth alone, all night, until he had to show up at the office and explain to Foggy why he looked like he hadn’t slept.

“No, Foggy, it’s not that, I’m fine,” he’d insist when Foggy refused to accept any of his excuses. Like you hadn’t said anything to your fiance two years ago, he hadn’t told Foggy anything either.

Not because he was embarrassed or ashamed, but because he knew for a fact that Foggy would kick him in the ass for letting you get away.

But that was a month ago and Matt had been walking around like more of a zombie than ever. Mugs strewn across his desk, possibly growing mould but he was afraid to find out. Papers scattered, transcripts of interviews he doesn’t remember conducting on papers he doesn’t recall signing.

Matt Murdock was a mess and the only cure was probably off making babies with some other guy.

The twang of the bell hooked onto the front door alerted him to someone knew.

“Karen, we don’t have time for walk-ins right now!” he called, head in his hand as he was slumped over his desk.

He was met with silence and he rolled his eyes at no one. With a huffed grumble, he stood from behind his desk and swung the office door open.

His walking stick clattered to the floor when he realised it wasn’t Karen.

“Any exceptions to that rule?” you asked, timid and shy but entirely real. You were there, in front of him, mere feet away, and you were definitely not Karen.

“I don’t know if my answer to that question is entirely appropriate for a married woman,” he replied slowly, even though he knew there was no ring on your finger.

“I’m not–

“--married, I know,” and now it was your turn to roll your eyes.

“Then why’d you say that?” you countered, taking a step closer, and he parroted your movements, heart hammering in a way it hadn’t in too long.

“Instinct. I wanted to make sure. Maybe you lost the ring, or someone stole it, that’d explain why you’re here, at least,” he reasoned. Another step.

“So you can’t think of any other reason for why I’m here?” You were a breath away, his strides admittedly, desperately, longer so he’d reach you sooner.

“I can think of a few but I’d like you to tell me yourself.” His voice was low, afraid if he spoke any louder he’d scare you away, feel you evaporate out of his touch as he raised his hands to your face and yours came up easily to cover them, like you wanted to hold him to you and never let go.

“This guy he– well, he said he wasn’t a good person and, honestly, I’m a sucker for a lost cause–” Matt huffed out a laugh. “So I thought I'd give him another chance.”

His head dipped, lips brushing against yours effortlessly. When he spoke, his breath licked across your mouth, a promise of what's to come, and you nudged your nose against his, hurrying him along.

“Where’ve you been, sweetheart?” he wondered aloud with the kind of reverence he reserved for confessions and church and a nameless priest.

“Right where you left me.” And you pressed forward, cementing yourself to him.

reblogs are much appreciated <3

#matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock angst #daredevil #nmcu #charlie cox #matt murdock fluff #matt murdock smut #matthew murdock #my writing #right where you left me

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livelaughwhump · 10 months

Text

Worthless - Part 18

Masterlist | Previous

Content: strong language, brief mention of past captivity, brief mention of past abuse, brief mention of past noncon, self-hatred, self-deprecation, former pet whumpee

If I forgot any content warnings, please let me know

Landon woke up to the sound of his text tone. It was a sharp ringing sound directly beside his ear, and it made him jerk in surprise and sit straight up. After a few seconds of catching his breath and gathering his bearings, Landon grumbled and lay back down in order to go back to sleep.

Then, he heard the sound again. And again. And one more time, for good measure. Landon groaned and turned onto his side to peer at his phone screen. His eyes were watering as he gazed at the bright screen. The digital clock read 12:42, but Landon hardly paid it any mind. He would've slept much longer if he'd been given the chance.

The text messages were all from the same sender, his little sister, Colleen. Seeing this, Landon's heart rate skyrocketed. It wasn't like the two didn't speak often, but it wasn't like Colleen to send more than one text at a time, unless it was important. Landon just hoped it wasn't about what he suspected it was.

However, as Landon read the texts, the anxiety in his stomach calmed, but only for a moment.

Hey, L! Remember that time you promised to introduce me to your mysterious team? Well, that was over a year ago. Soooo, I've taken the initiative, and I'm on my way over. See you in half an hour!

The next couple texts read,

You better not still be sleeping

I swear to God, Landon, if you're asleep by the time I get there, I'm gonna lose my shit

Landon Jackson Copeland!!!

Landon's stomach dropped. He had intended for Colleen to meet his friends so long ago, but that was before Elliot had been kidnapped. Since then, she'd asked more times than he could count, but he'd had to turn her down every time. Only a few weeks after Elliot had been rescued was not at all a good time to introduce his sister.

Landon quickly sat up, cursing under his breath. "Shit, shit, shit." He clicked on Colleen's name and held the phone to his ear.

She answered on the first ring.

"Good, you're not asleep," she giggled.

Landon wasn't laughing. "Coll, listen to me, now is really not a good time."

"Because of your so-called 'emergency'? It's been over a year, Landon!"

"Because it's really bad! A member of our team is going through something really serious right now, and he can't have any distractions. I'm begging you to go back home. Now is a really bad time."

"It's too late, Landon," Colleen said. "I'm not driving two and a half hours back home when I'm twenty minutes away from you."

Landon dragged a hand down the side of his face. "Colleen, I'm serious."

"So am I. I haven't seen you in over a year. Sure, we talk every day, but it's not the same. You need to be with your family as much as I do. I'm sure your team will understand."

Landon scrambled to his feet and began slipping on a pair of pants that had been discarded on the floor. He kept his phone wedged between his cheek and shoulder to keep it close to his ear. "Can't you do this one thing for me, as my little sister?"

Even though he couldn't see her, Landon could tell she was rolling her eyes. "Come on, Landon. How bad could this 'emergency' possibly be?"

Landon quickly put her on speaker as he slipped a red t-shirt over his red. "Bad enough to last more than a year."

"Well, I can't wait to hear all about it when I get there. See you soon, bye!"

"Colleen...!" She had already hung up.

Landon was panicking. To say that Elliot was doing better wasn't untrue, but he was nowhere near ready to interact with people outside of the team yet. How was Landon supposed to explain to everyone that his stubborn little sister was on her way over? What would Lyra and Karine say about it? Surely, they were going to blame him. What other possibility was there?

After pulling on a pair of socks and shoes, Landon burst from his room in search of the rest of the team.

Elliot was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a soft blanket, with his new art kit open on the coffee table in front of him. He'd hardly put it down since Lyra had gifted it to him, and it seemed to improve his mood exponentially. At the very least, it gave him something to focus on, and something to distract him from the panicked discussions the rest of the team had been having about the pictures they'd received from Elliot's kidnapper.

Lyra was sat beside Elliot, fast asleep and snoring loudly. Broderick was playing some kind of video game, and Karine was writing something in a notebook on her lap. A delicious smell wafted in from the kitchen, so Landon could only assume that Yvonne was in the process of making lunch.

Landon's loud footsteps alerted Karine and Broderick, who looked up from their activities in order to meet his gaze. Karine smirked. "'Bout time you woke up. I was starting to think you had somehow drunk yourself into an early grave." Broderick chuckled, but Landon still wasn't laughing.

Landon rolled his eyes. "Funny. Anyway, Karine, I need to talk to you. We have a...situation."

This seemed to strike Karine. Her amused smile disappeared, she hopped up from her chair, and approached him. "How serious?" she asked as she grabbed him by the arm and steered him into the hallway, out of earshot.

"I'm not sure," Landon said. "Remember my sister, Colleen?"

Karine wore a mask of suspicion. "Yes?"

"Well...she's on her way over."

Karine's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. "What?" she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do! She's been trying to get me to introduce her to the team since I joined!"

Karine glanced in the direction of the living room and lowered her voice, "Landon, Elliot is not ready to meet a stranger, least of all someone related to you."

Landon rolled his eyes. "Cool it with the insults, would you? This is serious. There's nothing I can do. I tried calling her, but she's already driven two and a half hours to come here, and she refuses to turn back now."

Karine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How far away is she?"

"About twenty minutes."

Karine threw her hands into the air in exasperation. "Fucking hell. All right, we'll have to warn the team and figure out what to do about Elliot. When she gets here, you're going to meet her at the door and try one more time to see if she'll change her mind."

Landon pursed his lips. "Whatever you say, but I wouldn't put much faith into that plan."

Karine glared at him. "I'm just trying to cover all our bases here, Landon. Let me think, and feel free to chip in, if you feel like being useful for once."

Landon rolled his eyes. "Would it help if Elliot stayed in his room the whole time? Lyra could stay with him."

Karine shook her head. "We can't confine him to his room. He'll think we're hiding him because we're ashamed of him." Karine dragged both of her hands down her face. "How long is she planning to stay?"

"I'm not sure," Landon admitted. "I didn't ask."

Karine sighed in exasperation. "Great," she mumbled. "In that case, we'll warn the team, see how Elliot feels, and then figure out what to do once she gets here."

Landon nodded. "Okay. I assume you want me to tell the team?"

Karine shrugged. "She is your sister."

Landon rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He rounded the corner and entered the living room. During his conversation with Karine, Yvonne had joined the rest of the team and Lyra had woken up. Now, Elliot was in the middle of hiding his drawing from Lyra's eyes, while Broderick was explaining the game he was playing to Yvonne. Landon sighed. "Guys?" All eyes turned to him. Elliot yelped in surprise and curled up to Lyra, but quickly relaxed when his mind caught up with the situation. "We, uh, we have a situation."

Lyra's eyes narrowed. "What kind of situation?" They asked.

"It's not a really serious one. It's just, um...my sister is on her way over."

Elliot's face went white. Lyra's grip tightened around him and they whispered reassuring words into his ears.

Karine appeared behind Landon with her arms crossed over her chest. "We've probably got about fifteen minutes before she gets here."

Elliot's breathing ceased and Lyra gently rubbed his back. Guilt swelled in Landon's stomach as he watched Elliot dissolve into a mini panic attack. His shoulders were shaking and tears started to fill his eyes. The sight was heartbreaking. Luckily, Lyra was able to guide him out of it pretty quickly.

"You're okay," Lyra whispered. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You didn't do anything wrong. Just breathe."

Elliot followed Lyra's breathing until he started to calm down, but he didn't look any less panicked. "I'm s-sorry," he mumbled. Lyra tried to reassure him, but it didn't seem like he believed any of it.

Broderick look at Landon and gestured to Elliot. "Are you sure that's a good idea, given the circumstances?"

Landon shook his head. "I couldn't change her mind. Karine just wanted me to warn everyone and to see how Elliot feels about it."

All eyes turned to the shaking boy on the couch, who flinched under the weight of their gazes. Lyra hugged him close and glared at Landon. "How do you think he feels about it?"

Karine approached Elliot and kneeled in front of the couch. "What would you like to do, Elliot? You don't have to meet her if you don't want to."

. . .

Elliot's mind was racing. He'd almost forgotten that people existed outside of the safehouse. The safehouse was just as the name implied; it was safe. It was warm and comforting and predictable. Nothing ever changed. Elliot knew everyone that lived there and they knew him. How was he supposed to deal with a stranger coming in? What would they think of him?

It took him several moments to realize he'd been asked a question.

Elliot sniffled. "I-I will d-do as I'm t-told."

Apparently, that was the wrong answer. Karine sighed and the expression she wore was unsatisfied. "Would it help if I gave you some options?"

Elliot didn't know the answer to that. He looked at Landon. "I-I will d-do whatever L-Landon w-wants me to. If-If he wants me to-to meet his-his sister, then-then I will. If he w-wants me to-to leave, then..." He turned his sad eyes down to his lap. "Then I'll leave. I-I understand if-if you're embarrassed by me."

Landon frantically shook his head. "I'm not embarrassed by you. I'd love for you to meet Colleen, but only if you're comfortable with it. She can be very stubborn and brutally honest, but she means well."

Karine scoffed. "Sounds familiar," she mumbled.

Landon ignored her. "I don't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable with."

Elliot was conflicted. He wanted to make Landon happy, but he just didn't know if he was ready. "Do-Do you think she'd like me?" He mumbled.

"She'd love you!" Landon exclaimed. "Believe me, you have nothing to worry about. But if you're not comfortable with it, you don't have to meet her. It's totally up to you."

Elliot nervously picked at the skin around his nails. "I-I wanna try."

Lyra rubbed his back. "Are you sure, sunshine? You don't have to."

Elliot nodded. "I w-wanna try," he repeated.

Karine smiled. "That's very brave of you, Elliot. And if you get too overwhelmed, I'm sure Lyra would be happy to stay with you in your room. Right, Lye?"

Lyra nodded. "Of course. I'm very proud of you for trying, but I don't want you to force yourself. I'll help you out of there the second you get uncomfortable, okay?"

Elliot nodded again. "O-Okay. Th-Thank you, L-Lyra."

Lyra smiled and gently combed his hair with her fingers. "Anytime, sunshine."

The room froze when the sound of knocking filled the air. Elliot's face went white and Lyra wrapped their arms around him.

Karine looked at Landon and nodded in the direction of the door. "You know what to do."

Landon rolled his eyes and approached the door. "This isn't gonna work."

"Just try," Karine urged.

Landon sighed and pulled the front door open.

. . .

Seeing his little sister on the other side of the door was bittersweet for Landon. It had been almost two years since he'd seen her, but there was also the matter of Elliot. Still, it was nice to see her smiling face again.

Colleen was grinning from ear to ear, her bright green eyes shining with joy. "Landon!" She exclaimed as she practically tackled her brother in a massive hug.

Landon grunted and stumbled backwards, laughing. "Uh, hey, Coll." He glanced back into the living room. Elliot was still lightly wrapped in Lyra's arms. "Can we talk outside for a minute?"

Colleen let go of him and gave him a skeptical look. "Okay?"

Landon led her onto the porch and sighed as he closed the door behind them. He looked over at her with a tired expression.

Colleen raised a brow. "You okay, L?" Landon didn't know how to answer that.

Landon sighed again and gave a small smile. "It's nice to see you, Colleen."

Colleen's smile returned and she wrapped him in another hug, which nearly cut off his air supply. "God, it's been forever. How are you? What's been going on? Tell me everything!"

"Later," Landon said as he released her from the hug. He shoved his hands into the front pocket of his jeans and smiled. "So, how are the kids? Or, I guess I should ask, where are the kids?" Landon chuckled.

Colleen smiled. "They're great. They're staying with Andrey this weekend while I work to get the divorce finalized. I just got back from grabbing the paperwork, and we decided that we'll sign it together when I pick up the kids on Monday."

Landon raised an eyebrow. "Damn, well...I wasn't gonna ask about that, but I'm glad its going well, I guess. How are the kids taking it?"

Colleen sighed, but her smile didn't falter. "A lot better than I expected, to be honest. Jamari was a little upset at first, but Kiernan was very brave and helped to calm him down quickly. Once we explained it to them, they both understood and they're doing a lot better now."

Landon smiled. "Damn, Kier is more mature than I was at age seven."

Colleen laughed. "She's more mature than you are now."

Landon rolled his eyes. "I guess that's fair. Um..." He needed to try to do as Karine had asked, but the thought was too daunting. No matter how he phrased it, there was no way Colleen was going to take it well.

Colleen nodded. "Yeah?"

Landon didn't know how to say it. It was so nice talking to his sister face-to-face and he didnt want to ruin it by trying to kick her out. He sighed again. "I'm sorry, but...you shouldn't be here, Colleen."

Colleen's smile died. "What?"

Landon shook his head. "I wish I could explain it to you, but..."

"Well, you're gonna have to," Colleen exclaimed, folding her arms over her chest. "I just drove three hours to get here, Landon. I'm not leaving now, especially not without an explanation."

Landon dragged a hand down the side of his face. He didn't know what to say. "Look, I want you here. I really do, but something really bad happened to the team, and we're in a bit of a recovery period. That's all I can say."

Colleen shook her head. "That's not good enough. Why don't you want me here?"

"I do!" Landon exclaimed. "But things are complicated."

"Complicated how?" She asked. Landon didn't know what to say. "You can trust me, Landon. Whatever it is, I can help."

"No, you can't, and that's the problem. None of us can. This is something that just takes time, and you being here won't make it any easier," Landon said.

Colleen didn't say anything to that. After spending a few long moments staring at him as he paced the porch, Colleen released a heavy sigh. "Landon, please. I'm your sister. You've been with me through my rough times, of which there have been many." Landon looked up at her. "So, let me be here for you. I promise, I can help if you'll just let me. Just tell me what's going on."

Landon's shoulders heaved when he exhaled. "Fine," he said. "One of our team members was kidnapped last year." Colleen gasped, but Landon didn't look at her. "He was tortured and dehumanized and...and sexually abused." Landon took a moment to breathe. It was never easy recounting what had happened to Elliot. "When we rescued him, he was nothing like the person we remembered. He was quiet and frightened and-and so, so skinny. He would only move around by crawling across the floor like a dog, and-and he wouldn't eat." Landon had to try hard not to cry. "He's only been back for a few weeks, and-and we've only just gotten him to start eating again. That's why I didn't think it was a good idea for you to come. He hasn't interacted with anyone outside of this house since we rescued him."

Colleen was awestruck. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape. Of all the things Landon could've said, she clearly wasn't expecting that. Landon pursed his lips and shrugged. "Any questions?"

Colleen glanced at the door behind Landon before fixing her gaze back on her brother. "What's his name?"

"Elliot," Landon answered. "He's twenty-two."

Colleen nodded. "I remember you telling me about him when you first joined; how you thought he was a kid at first." Landon nodded, smiling slightly at the memory. "You told me how funny and loud he was. You said he was the human equivalent of a ray of sunshine." Landon's expression turned sad once more. He nodded again. Colleen was silent for a moment. She scratched the back of her head, completely unsure of what to do. "Does he know I'm here?"

Landon nodded. "I told everyone just before you showed up. I wanted to know his thoughts on it and what he wanted to do about it."

"And?"

Landon shrugged. "He wanted to try to meet you; even though I told him that he didn't have to."

Colleen clamped a hand over her forehead and sighed. "Oh god," she mumbled. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for me to come here."

Landon nodded. "Would've saved you a long drive and a lot of trouble if you had just listened to me when I told you we had an emergency."

Colleen ignored him. "Does his family know?"

Landon's face fell. "We are his family."

Colleen nodded. "No, I know, but I mean like his parents and siblings, if he has any. Do they know?"

Landon sighed and rubbed at the growing headache behind his eyes. "Colleen, this team, the five of us, we are his family. We're all he has."

Colleen's eyes widened. "That's so awful. That poor boy." She covered her mouth with her hand as tears flooded her eyes. "But-But maybe that's how I can help. I'm a mom; I'm naturally nurturing."

"Coll-"

"How am I supposed to leave now, knowing what all of you are dealing with? I can help."

"By doing what?"

"I don't know yet, but I want to help." Landon was silent. "Please, Landon."

Landon sighed in defeat. "Fine. Come inside and we can talk to the team about it, okay?"

Colleen's wide smile returned. "Okay."

As Landon pushed the door open, he wasn't surprised to see Karine's disappointed expression. He shrugged and looked at her in a way that said I tried.

Karine's face quickly shifted into a welcoming smile, but anyone that knew her could tell that it was forced. She, along with most of the team, approached the door to greet Colleen, but Lyra remained on the couch with Elliot. They whispered something into his ear, to which he responded by shaking his head.

Colleen smiled as she stepped through the door. Landon couldn't help but glance between his sister and the top of Elliot's head over the back of the couch. The rest of him was buried in Lyra's arms.

Karine stepped forward and held out a hand to Colleen. "You must be Landon's sister. I'm Karine."

Colleen quickly shook her hand. "Colleen. It's very nice to meet you." She giggled. "It's also a long time coming."

Karine nodded. "Agreed, but we've had a bit of a situation we've been dealing with for a while. I'm sure Landon's mentioned it to you."

Colleen nodded. "He told me all about it."

Karine glanced at Landon with an unreadable expression before she gestured to Broderick and Yvonne. "This is Yvonne and Broderick, our researcher and medic."

Colleen shook each of their hands with a large grin on her face. "It's nice to meet both of you."

Yvonne smiled back. "You as well. We've heard a lot about you. It's incredible how close you and Landon are."

Colleen nodded. "We've always been close. I had some tough times growing up, but he was always there for me." She glanced at Landon and gently nudged him with her elbow. "I couldn't ask for a better big brother."

Landon rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Don't compliment me. It doesn't sound right coming out of your mouth." Both Landon and Colleen laughed.

. . .

Elliot listened to Landon introduce his sister to the team. As much as he wanted to join them, to do what Landon wanted him to, he couldn't move.

Lyra rocked him back and forth and whispered, "You don't have to do this. We can always hide out in your room or mine, if you want. Don't push yourself."

Elliot shook his head. "I-I can d-do it," he whispered. "I can b-be good."

Lyra smiled sadly. "Okay, sunshine. Would you like me to go with you?" Elliot nodded without hesitation. Lyra gently rubbed his back. "Okay. Don't worry, I've got you."

Lyra helped both of them off of the couch and started to lead Elliot toward the group by the door. The movement caught their attention and Elliot felt the weight of everyone's eyes bore into him. He whimpered quietly as Lyra squeezed his hand.

Lyra smiled as they reached the door. They stuck their hand out and said, "I'm Lyra, the team caretaker. I've heard a lot about you."

Landon's sister gently shook Lyra's hand and said, "I'm Colleen. It's so nice to meet you." She glanced down at Elliot, who was still protectively wrapped in Lyra's embrace. "And you must be Elliot," she said. "I'm Colleen." The woman quickly stuck her hand out for Elliot to take. He didn't take it, though. Instead, he flinched away and clung to Lyra desperately.

Colleen's smile disappeared and she quickly retracted her hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry, honey. I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to shake your hand. Landon's told me a lot about you."

Elliot didn't know what that meant. What had Landon told her?

Elliot squeaked and buried his face in Lyra's shoulder.

Colleen frowned. "All good things, I promise. He's very proud of you."

Elliot glanced up at her when she said that. Actually looking at her face was odd. She looked very similar to Landon, but with more feminine features. She had long blonde hair and kind green eyes. She wasn't as tall as Landon, but Elliot could tell she was taller than anyone else on the team. She wore a sweet smile and the tension in Elliot's shoulders started to relax, slightly.

Elliot's mouth was bone-dry, but he forced himself to speak, "H-Hello." It was barely more than a squeak, but Colleen's smile grew when he said it.

"Hello, dear. It's very nice to meet you."

"N-Nice to m-meet you t-too," Elliot forced out. Lyra rubbed his arm encouragingly. He felt pathetic. The old him had no trouble talking to strangers.

Pathetic. This is why stupid dogs shouldn't try to act human. All you're doing is reminding everyone how utterly useless you are.

Colleen glanced at Landon, who's face was a mask of sadness and pity. Elliot wondered what he'd done wrong. He thought he was being polite, but maybe Colleen was put off by how clearly broken he was. Elliot's eyes grew misty, but he forced himself to push back the urge to cry.

Go on and cry, you fucking mutt. It's what they've come to expect from you. It's the only thing you're good at. Show them how pathetic you are.

Elliot squeaked as he fought to hold back the flood of tears threatening to overcome him. His face grew red-hot as the weight of everyone's eyes fell upon him.

"Everything okay, hun?" Colleen asked, genuine concern painting her words.

Lyra rubbed Elliot's back and shoulder. "Are you okay, sunshine? Do you need to step out?"

Elliot couldn't bring himself to speak. He desperately tried to hold back the tears that threatened to push him over the edge. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just talk to Colleen like any normal human? Why couldn't he do anything he was told?

Colleen leaned over a bit so her face was level with Elliot's. "If you need some time alone, hun, that's totally okay. I completely understand. Please don't push yourself."

Lyra squeezed Elliot's shoulder. "Come on, sunshine. Let's get you to your room."

Elliot wanted to argue. He wanted to say that he could do as he was told, that he could be good, but it was too hard. He did need some time alone, but he didn't want to displease anyone. So, he simply nodded and let Lyra gently guide him to his room with a hand on his back.

Colleen Copeland has finally made an appearance! I've been looking forward to adding her in for so long and I'm so excited that she's finally been introduced! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you like my newest character! (I will be adding her backstory onto the character backstory link on the masterlist)

Taglist:

@l-antre-des-merveilles @pigeonwhumps @nicolepascaline @burningkittypoet @whumpinggrounds @suffering-and-misery @make-them-scream-blog @honeycollectswhump @rabass @whumpdreamz @clairelsonao3 @rosewriteswhump @cepheusgalaxy @pinkraindropsfell @mj-or-say10 @considerablecolors @whatamidoingherehelpme

If anyone wants to be added to or removed from the taglist, please let me know!😊

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ya-pucking-nerd · 1 year

Text

4 times you ruined his plans and 1 time he ruined yours - c.makar

Hello lovelies! So sorry for the wait! Please enjoy <3333

taggin the moots: @2manytabsopen @jostystyles @typical-simplelove @youngbeezersmixtape @imagines-r-s @fallinallincurls @hockeylvr59

Small note: reader insert is female!

Very big note: this fic contains mentions of pregnancy and surgery and motherhood

Calgary International. Not exactly how you planned to spend your Saturday, but you wanted to be back in Seattle to rest up before you started your job again. You were on your way back from the short 4-day holiday you managed to snag after Christmas and Boxing Day. You stayed with your brother, Michael, and his family of 7. It was nice, but 5 kids are so many kids.

You had gotten anxious about missing the flight, so you arrived at the airport 4 hours early and, fortunately, breezed through security. All that remained was waiting the 3 hours and 52 minutes until your flight officially left the gate. Well, at least you had a book and headphones.

You sat near your gate, still nervous that you might lose track of time and miss the calling of your flight. But you set an alarm for 60 minutes before the flight would leave so that you would have plenty of time to await the calling of flight AIRCAN1442. So, for now, you set your phone aside and pull out your iPod Nano and headphones. Call it old-school, but that thing worked as well as the day you got it. Your current read is a book called It All Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. You loved it so much, that it was actually a re-read. And apparently, the guy who sat across from you did, too. You noticed him staring, and at first, you thought it was at your book, but the more you thought about it, maybe he was looking at you.

He was cute in a boyish way. Solidly built, but you could tell a lot of it was muscle. He wasn’t dressed like a snobby businessman, but rather a guy who wanted to be comfy on his flight to wherever he was headed, like you.

In a moment of boldness, you closed your book and said, “Where are you off to?” It was small talk, but hey, you still had 3 hours to kill.

“Oh. Me?” He looked stunned that you even looked his way. “I’m headed back to work in Denver, Colorado.”

“Oh, that’s awesome! I work in the states, too. Seattle, Washington.”

“What do you do?” And for once, he seemed genuinely interested, unlike the men you had met at bars.

“I’m a surgical OBGYN.” Now, that might have freaked him out a little.

“Oh wow. Sorry, I’m a little squeamish about blood. But wow. I can’t even imagine. That must be exciting. I hardly remember when my mom was pregnant with my brother, but I just remember my dad said there was a lot of screaming. Do you get screamers all the time?”

Ok. He was absolutely adorable. His cheeks were getting bright red as he asked, aside from the redness you already noticed. Doctor thing.

“I don’t generally do normal births. More like C-sections and stuff. But, yea, there’s always screaming. Occupational hazard, I guess. I’m Y/N.” You reached your hand out.

“Oh, shoot. I didn’t even ask your name. I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m Cale, like the vegetable, but with a C.” He shook your hand a little longer than most handshakes last. He was still smiling, though.

You giggled a little. He probably got that all the time and had become accustomed to introducing himself that way. Further increasing his adorableness.

You guys talked for about 2 hours until Cale checked his watch. “Shit! I missed my flight! Oh my god.”

“Oh my god! I am so sorry! I-“

“Nah,” he interrupted. “You know what. I think everything happens for a reason. I’m glad I met you. I would miss my flight all day to keep talking to you.” He was so sweet. “But I do need to rebook my flight,” he laughed.

“And I do need one more thing.” You looked at him and nodded, silently asking him what that could be. “Your number?”

You had talked to Cale almost every day since you met him. It seemed the two of you would never get the chance to meet up in person. Until Cale texted you on Tuesday.

From: Cale like the vegetable but with a C

“Y/N! I have a game Thursday night in Seattle! There’s a morning skate, but my afternoon would be free. Wanna grab coffee somewhere? You know Seattle better than me :)”

The butterflies in your stomach were uncontainable at this point. You knew you liked him, but you just now realized how big of a crush you had on him.

Frank, the best birthing coach on the floor, popped up in front of you with a smirk on his face.

“Heyyyyy, Y/N.” Ok. He was up to something.

You put your phone down and took the bait. “What’s up, Frank?”

“Who has you smiling at your phone? You haven’t smiled at your phone since Paul from oncology asked you out on a date. That was three years ago, honey. You, you are not subtle.” Caught red-handed. The worst part was that he was right. Super right. You haven’t been on a date for almost three years. You were a devoted doctor, always on-call. Sometimes it ruined your nights out with your coworkers, but half the time, they ended up running to the hospital with you.

“Frank. I- No. It’s nothing.”

Frank smirked before he grabbed your phone and started texting faster than any average human should be able to. It was no use trying to grab it back because Frank was the sneakiest and most agile person you’d ever seen. Frank could probably do more intense gymnastics than Simone Biles if it meant he would keep your phone.

He comes back with your phone and a smirk on his face.

“First date secured, bitch.” And the smirk grows to a smile. “Thursday at 2 at Pike Place.”

You groaned. “Frank! I’m on-call Thursday afternoon!”

“Y/N, chill. Literally, nothing is going to happen. And if it does, I’ll hold them off. It’s just pregnant ladies.” He laughed it off as if giving birth was something you could just hold like your bladder.

You glared at him but were secretly happy he took the initiative instead of you. You would have typed and deleted and re-typed for an hour before answering.

Thursday morning came, and you woke up giddy. You Facetimed Frank to get his opinion on an outfit. He picked the grey sweater dress with a red flannel tied around the waist, calling it “the perfect winter outfit!” Wallet? Check. Keys? Check. Spare scrubs in case you are called in? Unfortunately, check.

Meanwhile, the boys were giving Cale a hard time in the hotel. He was dressed in his suit because after your date, he had to head straight back to the arena for the game. Nate was messing his hair up. JT hid one of his dress shoes. By the time he got out the door, he was more nervous than ever. He wanted to ask you to be his girlfriend. The boys teased him for his crush, but he knew how he felt. You were his dream girl.

You decided to meet at Starbucks. Seattle, after all, was the home of the original Starbucks. When you got there, you found Cale sitting in a booth, looking incredibly good in his suit. You started to doubt your choice in outfit, but it was too late. He saw you. You straightened your dress out and walked over. He stood up, giving you a hug and handed you a latte.

“Cale, you didn’t have to.”

“I know, but I wanted to. I guessed on the latte. I can get you another if you don’t like it.”

“No, it’s actually perfect.” So now the perfect guy already got your coffee order right. It was too good to be true, right?

Things were going so well. The conversation felt so natural, like you were already dating. You found out he was continuing some online classes while playing hockey, he was a type-a neat freak, and he called his mom at least once a week because he loved her. Each thing you learned about him made your crush on him grow.

About an hour and a half into the best first date of your life, your phone buzzed. Inwardly, you prayed that it was just Frank texting you about a funny hospital story. Unfortunately, it was a page. A mom with twins went into labor 6 weeks earlier than her due date. You groaned out loud.

“I have to go. I’m so sorry. Oh, I knew this was going to happen. I’ve been paged to the hospital. A mom needs an emergency c-section. Cale, I’m so sorry.”

“What? Y/N, go! Don’t apologize. I know your career can be a bit unpredictable. It’s no big deal. Go, save the day!” God, he was perfect. You thanked him profusely before rushing out.

An hour later, you were stripping your gown and gloves. You scrubbed and changed before leaving the hospital. The paperwork could wait. You wanted to call Cale before his game to wish him good luck. You truly felt horrible.

Instead, you found a text from Cale.

From: Cale like the vegetable but with a C

Hey, could I have your address? I don’t know how long surgery takes, but it’s probably tiring, and I don’t want you to forget to eat. Dinner’s on me, just need the address for UberEats.

The shock on your face was probably laughable.

From: Y/N Y/L/N

How about I make you dinner? You can come over after your game and I can make up for running out on you? I promise I’m not tired.

From: Cale like the vegetable but with a C

Absolutely! What did you have in mind?

From: Y/N Y/L/N

Pancakes? Feeling some breakfast for dinner.

From: Cale like the vegetable but with a C

Perfect. I’ll see you around 10 :)

You texted him your address and you wished him good luck in his game. Then, you panic cleaned your apartment. It wasn’t extremely messy, but you were a little sloppy this morning when you were getting ready.

At 10:15, you buzzed Cale in. The two of you shared blueberry pancakes and finished your date.

“I’m sorry, again, for running out on our date. Totally bad first date.”

He smiled and grabbed your hand. “Hey, I’m not mad. I swear. I think your job is so cool, and pregnant people going into labor is like the most unpredictable thing I can think of. Besides, I don’t think this date turned out so bad.” His stomach did a cartwheel when you squeezed his hand back.

You smiled back, loving the way he was rubbing your palm. It gave you butterflies.

“Hey, can I ask you something? I was going to ask you at Starbucks, but I think now is better.” Cale asked. You nodded. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Cale was the most incredible guy on Earth. You had been dating for one year and a month when he finally asked if you would consider moving in with him. His cheeks turned red when he asked you. He said, “I know you love your job, and I would never ask you to quit it. More like a transfer?” about 5 times. He even told you he asked Nate’s girlfriend, Alyssa, about openings at the hospital. For you, the choice was obvious. You had been thinking about making the transfer when you hit your first anniversary. But watching him sweat because he didn’t want you to feel that he thought you should give up your amazing career was probably one of the sweetest things you had ever witnessed him do.

Your transition from Seattle to Denver was smooth as silk. Maybe because Cale organized the whole thing. He was there to help you pack, and he was there to greet the moving trucks when they arrived in Denver. Slowly but surely, your belongings began to infiltrate his house. The spare bedroom became your storage until the two of you sat down to figure out all the things you could give away. Your seasonal throw pillows decorated his couch, and the smell of your perfume lingered on Cale’s bedsheets.

Cale played the best he ever had the day you finally came to see a home game in person. And it didn’t go unnoticed. The girls you sat with giggled all 4 times Cale assisted a goal and skated over to your section with a toothy grin and a point into the crowd. You assumed the boys were chirping him, too. And when he was named “first star,” he could hear your cheers from the other side of the arena.

One night, you found yourself at a Denver Nuggets game with Cale. He invited you after JT bailed on him. At first, you were hesitant because he told you he got good seats. The word “good” seats usually imply expensive seats, and you weren’t used to people spending that type of money on you. You offered to pay him back for your ticket, which he refused. See, Cale was raised right. His mom taught him that he should always pay for his date, no matter how big or small that date should be.

Cale did invite JT first, but he was relieved when JT said no. He had been feeling like this for a while but wasn’t sure if the time was right. Cale was ready to tell you he was in love with you. He knew how big the words were. And yes, maybe it was a little soon, but they say when you know, you know.

You started walking towards the “General Admissions” entrance, when Cale grabbed your arm and pulled you towards the “LEXUS CLUB” entrance. The two of you walked down one of the many staircases of Ball Arena, Cale making small talk. Then, you noticed just how many stairs down you were walking. When you finally got to the bottom of the stairs and through the door, you realized just how good the good tickets were. They were courtside seats.

“Relax, Y/N.” Cale grabbed your waist, leading you to your seats. They were in the middle of Ball Arena. You stared at Cale in amazement. How could someone so be so amazing?

The game was exciting. You and Cale each got food and some beer. Despite not knowing much about basketball or its players, you were having a good time, until the free throw competition. During a commercial break, people were coming down the stands for the free throw competition. The people were doing pretty good, until a basketball bounced off the rim. You saw the basketball coming towards you at a very fast speed. You completely acknowledged that. Did you move out of the way? Did you use your hand to block your face? Absolutely not.

The ball hit you square on the head. In an instant, Cale was on the floor with you. When did you get on the floor? He was saying your name, but it sounded muted almost. The jumbotron camera man was on your right, pointing his camera at you and Cale. Your vision was a little blurry, but you focused hard enough to see yourself on the jumbotron. It was a sight to see.

Cale was tugging on your arm to help you up. Your balance was definitely off. You must have said that out loud, because Cale said, “Alright. Let’s get you to the hospital. I think you might have a concussion. It’ll be okay, baby. I’m right here.”

You didn’t know it, but Cale was a little disappointed that the night hadn’t gone how he’d planned. He wanted you to enjoy the game, and then he wanted to tell you he loved you. This was not in the plans.

He turned down the lights so you wouldn’t get a headache. You wanted nothing more to sleep on the way to the emergency room, but Cale wouldn’t let you. What if the ball had hit something that made your brain bleed? No, Cale couldn’t take the risk. He turned on soft music in the car to keep you awake and kept talking about anything he could think of to keep you awake.

He pulled up to the valet, despite your insistence that you could be alone for a few minutes while he found a parking spot, but he was stubborn. “I am not leaving you, Y/N. I don’t want you to fall over or something.” If you weren’t so dizzy, you would have found it sweet.

As embarrassing as it was, having your accident go viral on Twitter helped you in the emergency room.

“Hey! It’s Y/N from OB! She just got hit in the head! Let’s get her in!” you heard an intern shout.

You were seen fairly quickly and diagnosed with a mild concussion. No work for a week, stay off screens as much as possible, and definitely no more courtside Nuggets games.

Cale stayed by your side the whole time. He was dozing off holding your hand waiting for the discharge papers. He was doing that thing where he rubs the palm of your hand with his thumb that gave you butterflies. You leaned down to kiss his forehead to thank him for staying with you.

“Love you, babe,” he whispered. You did a double-take. His adorable cheeks flared red. “I- uh- well. Yeah, I love you, Y/N. I was meaning to tell you after the game. I wanted it to be special. I’m sorry it wasn’t more romantic. I wanted there to be roses and champagne.”

“Cale. I love you, too. This is perfect. I’m sorry for ruining your plans.” You giggled. “We can have a re-do sometime. Just not courtside.” You kissed his forehead and then his lips. You really loved this boy.

Generally, you would consider yourself pretty fearless. You worked in surgery with screaming parents for God’s sake. You loved going on adventures, especially hiking through Colorado. But, this test on the counter was scaring the shit out of you.

You didn’t tell Cale. You didn’t want to freak him out in case you were overreacting. You and Cale were certainly not trying, but you had to admit, you would be a little sad if the test came out negative. Already spiraling before you knew the results, you began to think about Cale as the father to your child. You thought he would make the most amazing girl dad. But on the other hand, Cale teaching his little baby boy how to hold a hockey stick would be so sweet.

The timer on your phone went off. This was the moment of truth.

It’s positive. Now would probably be the time to tell Cale. With shaking hands, you texted Cale, asking when he’d be home from practice.

From: Cale <3

Actually, you got me at the perfect time. Practice just ended and no film. Great day! How do you feel about Indian food?

The thought of Indian food made your stomach grumble. In your haste to take the pregnancy test, you forgot to eat lunch. You requested butter chicken and garlic naan.

Cale came back to your shared home with your order and an extra mango lassi. He didn’t even know you were pregnant yet, but he was already doing the most.

“Cale, I wanted to ask you something.” You were so nervous.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve just been thinking about it recently. How do you… how do you feel about kids?” You weren’t ready to ask him about the kid growing in your uterus. You decided to start off your questions in general statements.

“Oh, I love kids. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Cale, I mean, like, your own kids. How do you feel about having your own kids?”

“Kids someday would be nice.” He smiled. He began thinking about his own little boy. Your stomach dropped. He said “someday.” And no, he didn’t know that his kid was sitting in your uterus. How could he have? But his reaction just made you nervous. “Why do you ask, Y/N?”

“Just thinking about it. I work with babies all day, you know?” You felt a bit bad about lying to him, but it wasn’t really a lie, right? You were thinking about it recently, and you did work with babies all day.

Cale knew after that response that something was wrong, but he didn’t know what. He thought he did well with the Indian food, but he knew you well enough that you would have told him upfront if you didn’t want the Indian food. The problem was something deeper than Indian food.

You helped him clean up the food and told him you were going to take a nap and asked if he wanted to come with. Cale happily accepted. You climbed on top of the bed instead of snuggling under your mountain of blankets, and he knew something was really wrong. You loved your blankets. Even in the summer, you turned the AC down so you could still use your mountain of blankets.

“Y/N, please. What’s wrong? You’re making me worried.” He climbed on the bed with you, and tucked you in a blanket, hoping it would give you the comfort he couldn’t.

“I don’t know how to say it, Cale. I don’t want you to be upset.” He was holding both your hands, fighting a few tears. He thought this was the “breakup talk.” He didn’t want to cry, but he could hardly imagine himself not being with you. He wanted to fight for you with everything he had.

“Cale, honey, why are you crying? I haven’t even told you yet.” He looked at you in shock. This wasn’t the breakup talk? What else could it be? “Cale. I’m pregnant. I took a test. It’s in the bathroom. I didn’t know how you would react. I’m so sorry.” All the words fell out of your mouth before you could stop yourself.

Cale felt his entire world freeze. Almost instantly, he pictured the little boy from earlier in the afternoon. He pictured teaching him hockey and how to be a gentleman. Dressing him up with little bowties. Giving him a mohawk when his hair is wet. And above all else, he pictured doing all those things with you.

“Oh, Y/N! This is fantastic news! What do you mean you didn’t know how I would react. Oh God, I am … I don’t even know the words. But, no, I would never be mad. Oh!” He bent down so his face was in front of your stomach. He put his hand on your stomach, and he swore he fell more in love than he even knew was possible.

“Do you know the gender?” His eyes were so hopeful. He wanted a boy so badly.

��No, I just found out. We’ll know around the fourth month.”

He paused for a moment. “Can I tell the boys?”

“Yes.” You rolled your eyes, playfully. He eagerly whipped out his phone, typing fast. You knew the boys wouldn’t be able to hide it from their girlfriends/wives, so you grabbed your phone waiting for the avalanche of texts you would receive.

The first trimester went well, considering the way the first trimester went for other women. You went through bouts of morning sickness and moodiness, but Cale took it in stride. Each time you were bent over the toilet, he was there holding your hair back. When you told the nurses on your floor, they were all so excited for you. They threw you a small party in the break room. They decorated onesies with glitter glue and markers. They told every single patient of yours, too. Every room you entered, you were greeted with “congratulations” from patients about ten minutes from having their own babies. Their excitement made you even more excited for your little bundle of joy. You were barely showing, but you wore slightly tighter clothing just to highlight your stomach.

The second trimester was about to begin, and you and Cale were sitting together in your office, waiting for your appointment. Today was the day you were going to get an envelope so you could find out the gender. You knew Cale would be happy if it was a girl, but you also knew he deeply wanted a boy. He talked constantly about a little baby boy. He even bought little baby hockey gear and skates.

Amanda, your doctor and colleague, came into the room. She explained everything she was going to do, then laughed because she realized you knew it already. Then, the dreaded question. “Would you like to know the gender?”

“Actually, could you just put the results in an envelope? We’re going to give it to a friend. We’re doing one of those gender reveal parties.”

“Oh! That’s so exciting! Will do. But for now, I see ten fingers, ten toes, and a healthy heartbeat. Do you want to hear the heartbeat?” You and Cale both nodded, and you teared up a little bit when you heard the heartbeat. Sometimes, you forgot that you were growing a literal, living tiny human. It was difficult to conceptualize.

At the end of the appointment, Amanda gave you a sealed envelope, and you rushed over to Alyssa Mackinnon’s house to give her the gender of baby Makar. When you told her a few weeks ago that you wanted to have a gender reveal party, she squealed and asked if she could plan it. You agreed, and then fawned over party themes and ideas for the actual reveal.

The party day came. You wore a pink dress. Cale wore a blue polo and khakis. When you got to Alyssa and Nate’s house, the whole team, your friends from work, Cale’s parents and brother, your parents, and your brother and his family were there. All the people that were important in your life were here to see whether baby Makar was a girl or boy.

Alyssa had a few small party games going on along with a blackboard for people to tally their guesses on your baby’s gender. The men took turns racing to put diapers on footballs, while the women wrapped around your stomach with ribbons to measure how round your belly was. Then, Alyssa announced to the guests that it was time to step outside. When you stepped outside, you saw a goal post with a white balloon hanging from the top post. And you got so excited.

You knew what was about to happen. Cale was going to shoot a puck at the balloon, and you were going to know the gender. Cale grabbed the stick from Alyssa and took aim.

DING. Hit the post. POP. The balloon bled pink confetti. A GIRL! You squealed with joy, running over to Cale, giving him just enough time to drop the hockey stick and catch you in his arms. You started to cry tears of joy. Cale was crying, too. But soon, your overactive overthinking kicked in. How did Cale really feel? You were forced to push down the anxiety as your families and friends swarmed you and Cale with congratulations.

The guests slowly made their way back inside Alyssa and Nate’s house to head out. You wanted to stay until the end to help her clean up and to thank her for all the hard work she put in for your gender reveal. You were packing paper plates into a garbage bag when you heard a loud gasp behind you.

“Y/N! Give me that! You are pregnant! Sit down! Kick your feet up! Don’t you dare touch another paper plate!” Alyssa cried. She pointed at your stomach and then to the couch. You handed her the bag and sat down on her couch. She gave you the “I’m watching you” stare before resuming what you had started. A minute later, Cale appeared. He sat down next to you, and you knew this was your chance to talk to him.

“Cale, how are you feeling? I know you wanted a-”

“Y/N. I’m happy. We both knew I wanted a boy, but I’m not upset. I swear. I just wanted our baby to be healthy. Her happiness is my top priority, not her gender.” You could have sworn your heart grew three sizes. You may have ruined his plan to be a boy-dad, but you always had a feeling he was a girl-dad anyway.

The next four months passed without a hitch. The OBGYN floor had a field day with your baby shower. Mel Landeskog planned a separate shower, and with permission from the hospital, she brought the party to your break room. You thought you received a lot of gifts at the gender reveal, but now that everyone knew it was a girl, You and Cale swore you had enough baby clothing that you thought you never would need to do laundry because of how much they got for her. You had enough diaper boxes that they stacked from floor to ceiling in the nursery you and Cale had set up.

At this point, you due date was 15 days away. Your belly was swollen to triple the size it used to be. Your feet hurt if you stood for longer than 20 minutes. You told Cale you just wanted the baby out. He would laugh at you and then take your feet and give them a massage. You really had the best boyfriend in the world.

Truth be told, Cale was more prepared for a baby than you were. He had two go-bags packed – one for you two and one for the baby. You were extremely calm for that aspect of the actual birthing process. You also knew Cale wasn’t happy about you working, but you insisted on working until the minute your water broke. Your rationale was that you would already be at the hospital, and then as a bonus for your patients, you would be able to give them the care they needed. You just knew that the floor would take care of you. You knew each of the charge nurses. You knew how well they took care of their patients. They already told you that you would be their VIP patient.

Today was relatively slow for you. You had no scheduled C-sections, you were only on-call for obstetric exams and emergencies that entered the ER. All of a sudden, you got a frantic call from Steph, the charge nurse in the ER. She was freaking out, as the entire ER staff did when a pregnant lady came in.

You went down and examined the woman and asked the nurses to admit her into the birthing wing when suddenly, you heard screaming. You rushed back over. She needed a C-section. You knew you weren’t supposed to, but you took an oath, and you had to save this woman and her baby’s life. You yelled at any nurse nearby to clear an ER for you and rushed up to scrub.

You were gowned and gloved, finally. Mid-way through the C-section, you felt a pinching in your own stomach. You figured your baby decided to kick. It was only when nurse Kimmy gasped, “Y/N! I think your water broke!”

You barely registered the shout, but then you felt a tightening in your own stomach. A contraction. The nurses were already calling Cale without you even needing to ask them. They knew you were determined to finish the surgery. You pushed through and helped your patient deliver her baby. You took off your surgical gown and the nurses immediately put you in a wheelchair.

“Marci! I can walk myself to the OB wing!” you protested. She just shook his head and kept pushing you. You met Cale in the waiting room. The nurses had prepped a birthing suite for you the minute they found out your water broke. Cale brought both your go-bags into the room and helped you into the bag.

“You really had to be in surgery when your water broke?” he joked. He kissed your forehead, and together you waited and waited for your baby girl to make her grand entrance.

Marci came in periodically to check on you. The whole floor came in to say congratulations and dropped off some food. Maybe it was the hormones, but their love surrounded you, and it made you feel really good about having a baby.

Finally, six hours later, baby girl Makar made an appearance. You and Cale never picked out a name. You could never decide. He thought of a name that you liked, but then you thought of another name. You would try to convince him of the new name, but then he would think of another one. The two of you were stuck. And now she was here!

But as soon as you looked at her face, you knew the name. You looked at Cale, and both said at the same time, “Lilly Grace Makar!”

+1.

Your daughter, Lilly, was three, now. You and Cale were holding off on this for a long time, but you decided that the summertime would be the perfect time to go to Disney World in Florida. She loved watching Mickey Mouse in the mornings before daycare. Even though you both knew she wouldn’t remember the trip, you just wanted to take her for your own personal fun.

At least, that’s what you told Cale. Secretly, though, you had other motives. Cale and you still weren’t married. Not even engaged. Obviously, the two of you were bound to each other forever. Cale was yours and you were Cale’s. But you just wanted the title of wife. It had been over six years since you went on that first date. You thought that was a reasonable amount of time to get engaged and married. And for goodness sake, you had a kid together and you hinted about wanting more for the past few months.

So, that was where you hatched your plan. On a day off from work, you took Lilly to the mall. You told Cale she needed some new summer outfits because she grew out of the clothes she had in the spring. But you also made a quick pitstop at the jewelry store. You stole Cale’s Stanley Cup ring, too, so that you could get an accurate measurement. At the jewelry store, you picked out a solid silver band. Nothing extravagant, but enough for the occasion. At the end of the day, it was about your love for one another, not the extravagance of the ring. You were going to ask Cale to marry you at Disney World.

That same week, Cale entered the guest locker room in New Jersey, and pulled Gabe and Nate aside. He had a very important question.

“Hey. So, how did you guys ask Mel and Alyssa to marry you? I think Y/N’s been dropping a lot of hints lately. I mean I know it’s just a title, because we’re both there, but I’m pretty sure it’s something she wants. I think I’m overthinking it.”

The two men laughed, remembering the times when they felt the same way. They each launched into their stories of asking their girlfriends to marry them. Gabe’s was intimate in Sweden. Nate’s was slightly public, in front of their families on the beach in Cole Harbour.

They gave Cale a lot of ideas. He already knew the ring he was going to get you. He even knew he wanted to include Lilly in the proposal. He just didn’t know how public you wanted it to be. He thought about proposing in secret, like in the hotel room, but that didn’t feel romantic enough. He thought about proposing during the fireworks at Magic Kingdom, but that felt too public.

You, on the other hand, had an exact plan. You wanted to propose in front of the Magic Kingdom castle. You figured that a proposal to hockey’s best defenseman would garner media attention regardless of how private you tried to make it. You might as well get some good photos out of it.

You secured the ring you got for Cale in your carry-on. You had to hide it strategically, knowing Cale probably forgot something and would need to borrow it from your stash. Cale secured the ring he got for you in his suitcase between his underwear. There was no way you’d go through his underwear.

The flight was smooth, Lilly was content to watch Mickey Mouse on the plane’s television screen. Cale insisted on first class, knowing this was Lilly’s first big vacation. She didn’t seem to notice, falling asleep about two hours into the flight.

Arriving at your hotel, you unpacked and got onto the monorail to take you to Animal Kingdom. Lilly loved everything about it. The next day at Epcot was so much fun. She wouldn’t remember it, but you and Cale took enough combined pictures that you would never forget. Hollywood Studios was your favorite.

The fated day finally came for you. Magic Kingdom. You secured the ring in your baby-backpack. You boarded the monorail with Cale and Lilly, as if everything was normal. Every bone in your body was on fire. You were nervous, but you wanted to be married to Cale. It was the only thing in the world that made sense. He was your rock. He gave the best advice. He was an incredible father. And you just knew in your gut he would be the best husband (not that he already wasn’t performing husband duties).

As excited as you were about proposing to Cale, you also wanted to do it early in the day so that you could enjoy the day with your daughter and hopefully-fiancé.

“What do you wanna do first babygirl?” you asked Lilly as you and Cale grabbed her hands.

“Umm… I wanna see the princesses!” she shouted. Perfect. This would be the most perfect opportunity to walk towards the Magic Castle.

Upon arrival, you stopped and pulled Lilly over to the side. Swinging your backpack down, you grabbed your phone and the ring box.

“Lilly! Cale! Smile!” She posed with Cale in front of the castle. Cale put her down while you put your phone back in your bag and turned around with the ring box open.

“Cale?”

His face was in shock, but all of a sudden, he started laughing and reached into his own bag. Suddenly, Cale was down on one knee with a ring box while you stood in front of him with a ring box.

Your face was flushed. People was stopping to look at you. But all you could see was Cale. Your perfect, sweet, caring, thoughtful fiancé.

You screamed yes before he could even get the question out. He laughed as he put the ring on your finger.

“Cale, you didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t ask one, love.”

“Will you marry me, Cale Douglas Makar?”

“It would make me the happiest man in the world.” He kissed you sweetly, and you slipped the ring on your finger. The small crowd of people around you cheered for you. Cale picked Lilly up and you handed your phone to a nice-looking couple and asked them to take a picture. And it now served as your wallpaper.

A/N: Yes. This entire fic was based off of this tweet. No, I will not be taking questions. LMAO

https://twitter.com/virgoprincxss/status/1031921634951684097?s=20&t=t5DZrxlxwSquOAQ5pZi32Q

I hope y’all enjoyed!!

#emma writes #nhl fic #hockey fic #cale makar fic #colorado avs fic

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ameyareadstoomuch · 1 year

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normal people - sally rooney

summary: "Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t."

personal opinions:

this book was a masterpiece- truly. i know that “booktok” has their own misconstrued and one dimensional opinions on “normal people” and on a lot of promising and trailblazing work in general, but i vehemently disagree with most points of theirs. one primary gripe that most readers online have is the book’s lack of quotation marks. i wanted to quickly address why i think this is- and why this stylistic choice is so important for the plot.

quotation marks separate the said from the unsaid. in a book where everything misaligns and aligns in tandem to the main characters weaving in and out of themselves and one another, everything can get misconstrued- reality is subjective, things are unsaid that should have been and things are said that shouldn’t have been. the “confusion” caused by this lack of punctuation is entirely intentional. it adds to the book in a deeply profound and impressive way. we don’t know what is said and thought, we see all of this from a viewer’s perspective, like it’s playing out in front of us and we’re telling a close friend about it in a coffee shop. we only get the thoughts, feelings, and opinions that the characters give us, nothing more and nothing less.

i was truthfully and naturally disappointed about the book’s ending- i hated the way it seemed incredibly sudden and cold. it was like it gave me just enough to become invested but not enough to feel content. i hated how connell and marianne never ended up sickeningly happy with a white picket fence. however, this ending was soul-achingly perfect for the book. it would be against its nature and unnatural for connell and marianne to give us anything more than “just barely enough”. it feels full circle in a gritty and truthful way. i loved this book so so much- it had me crying and laughing and changed my outlook on my life and my past connections quite a bit.

there was a review on amazon that i wanted to bring up: “I don’t understand what the plot of the book was, or what the point of the story is. I wish I could have my time back. I guess maybe that’s the point of the book? That there is no point. Who knows. Not me. That’s for sure”

i thought this was incredibly interesting because of the person being right to a degree (besides wanting my time back). they’re right- there is no “plot” in this book because it’s supposed to be heavilyy realistic. there is no climax, there is no rising action, no falling action, no exposition, no resolution, no nothing. there is nothing, it’s the story of two people coming in and out of each others lives and leaving bits and pieces of themselves behind in the other’s clutches each time they visit. it’s a story about gray areas, shared bathrooms, human connection, and painful illustration. if you want a book that offers a break from your existentialistic trains of thought, maybe stick to colleen hoover or penelope douglas instead. this book isn’t a “light read”. this book is raw and deep, incredibly nostalgic, and undeniably brilliant.

i don’t usually do this, but i wanted to include some of my favorite quotes below:

“She believes Marianne lacks “warmth,” by which she means the ability to beg for love from people who hate her.”

“I'm not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.”

“It was culture as class performance, literature fetishised for its ability to take educated people on false emotional journeys, so that they might afterwards feel superior to the uneducated people whose emotional journeys they liked to read about.”

“Being alone with her is like opening a door away from normal life and then closing it behind him.”

“Because of the white dress and because of the small white china cup, he wants to say: You look like an angel. It’s not even something Helen would mind him saying, but he can’t talk like that in front of people anyway, saying whimsical affectionate things.”

“Cherries hang on the dark-green trees like earrings. He thinks about this phrase once or twice. He would put it in an email to Marianne, but he can’t email her when she’s downstairs. Helen wears earrings, usually a pair of tiny gold hoops. He lets himself fantasise about her briefly because he can hear the others are downstairs anyway. He thinks about her lying on her back. He should have thought about it in the shower, but he was tired. He needs the WiFi code for this house.”

“He has sincerely wanted to die, but he has never sincerely wanted Marianne to forget about him. That’s the only part of himself he wants to protect, the part that exists inside her.”

#book recommendations #booktok #bookish #book review #booklr #currently reading #bibliophile #read in 2022 #authors #literature #normal people #sally rooney #book blog

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justmultifandom · 10 months

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Kidge summer event

Day 25: House party (Stranger things AU)

Keith let out a sigh of relief as his feet hit the sidewalk, finally feeling that he was outside the Holts' backyard. Even though they were only going to a summer evening party (which he had actually used as an excuse to invite her out as a real date), he was dead scared when he picked her up in his new red car (a gift from Shiro) with Colleen had threatened to snap him in half if he tried to make Katie come home late, Sam had sworn to kick him out of afternoon space science classes if she came home drunk, and Matt had threatened to cut off his penis if he ever dare to touch her (he took the scissors as he said it).

Katie walked over to him, wrapping her hands around his arm and guiding him towards the car, her tight, short dress fluttering with every step.

“Matt makes you wear something like this?” he pointed out, starting the engine and starting to drive.

“We had a bitter quarrel about it”: she replied, adjusting her lipstick looking at the mirror, to then look at him: “He threatened you, didn't he?”

"Exactly": he replied, looking at the road and parking a few houses away from the one of the party, but they didn't get off immediately: "You think your brother is afraid of the Mind Flayer?"

"Come on! Matt doesn't even know the Mind Flayer exists!”: She exclaimed, bouncing her hands on her thighs as he shrugged and stepped out of the car.

“Look, I know that a lot of shit has happened in these three years, but tonight, at least tonight, can we pretend we're just normal teenagers?!”: she exclaimed, grabbing his cheeks with her hands and looking at him: “No Mind Flayer, no Russian dudes hiding in the mall, no Upsidedown, ok?”

"Only us": he repeated, giving her a quick kiss and then taking her by the hand and leading her to the house where they could hear the music and lights. There were a lot of boys and girls dancing, throwing toilet paper and drinking a strange dark red drink. Neither of them had any idea why Lance had decided out of the blue to throw such a party, with the Mind Flayer and his people around, but everyone needed a break after all.

“You think Lance invited his girlfriend?” Keith yelled, approaching the kitchen island, filled with food and drinks.

“The one from summer camp in England?! I don't think she's going to travel to another continent for a simple party”: Katie chuckled: “If he ever had a girlfriend!”

He laughed back as she shifted her attention to the table, waving her hands and feet in time to the music, reaching for an open but still nearly full bottle.

“What is it?”: she asked, reading the label but understanding that she was in a foreign language.

“It's Italian wine,” Hunk replied, popping up suddenly as he ate some pizza and chips, while his girlfriend Shay nibbled on his plate moving from his right shoulder to left.

"I brought it": Shay replied, chewing: "My parents took it on their travels, then they became stems and it would be a waste to leave them there"

Katie smiled, giving her a thumbs up, removing the cap and taking a sip. She made a happy expression and kept drinking until half bottle.

“Katie, I promised your father to bring you home undrunk!” Keith rolled his eyes as she staggered as the alcohol surged through her brain.

“But I'm perfectly fiiiiiine”: she hummed, shrugging to the music and approaching him: “Let's daaaaance”

"Katie, you're obviously drunk," he pointed out as she took his hand and led him into the middle of the DIY dance floor of Lance's house. She started to dance, holding that drunken smile on her mouth as she had her hands clasped between his. He felt embarrassed for a moment: he had never been to many large parties and he certainly had never unloaded dancing among other people.

"Hey, Keith": he looked at her when he heard her call and she wasted no time getting up on her toes and giving him a passionate kiss. He opened his mouth to say something, but she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and slide her tongue in, studying his palate and leaving a sour alcohol taste.

“You're beauuuuuutiful”: she exclaimed, breaking the kiss and drinking some more from her bottle. He blushed furiously, snatching the bottle from her hands and pulling her out of the house, towards his car.

“But Keeeef”: she whined, “We were having fun!”

“Katie, you're drunk, we have to go back to your house, hoping your parents don't kill us!” Keith exclaimed, taking her bride style so he could walk faster.

“The Mind Flayer will kill us”: she grumbled, as he put her back on her passenger seat: “If you don't give me a kiss”

He turned looking at Katie, who had made puppy eyes. He rolled his eyes.

“No”: he put on his belt.

“Not even a little one?” She persisted, leaning forward towards him, nimbly dodging the gears and sitting down on his lap, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket.

"Katie": he looked at her, raising an eyebrow: "Not in these conditions"

“Mm”: she pouted at him, leaning forward and biting his lip: “Then I'll stay like this for the whole trip”

“It's a five-minute ride to your house”: he pointed out: “I can handle it”

"You'll see that five minutes will be enough for me": she smiled, kissing him again.

#voltron legendary defender #keith voltron #keith x pidge #kidge #voltron pidge #keidge #kidge summer event

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away-ward · 7 months

Note

Thank you for your reply, KO! This is the anon from #asked and answered 176.

1 yes i like your fics, i like no apologies the most because we had insights to emmy's career and life in sf. Emmy might find herself boring, but ive always been a busy body reader so i would eat up everything about her personal and professional life in sf. I still hated will there, but thanks to you i hated him 5% less

2 "Ummm. I do think it’s a little weird that you’ve read multiple PD books, and even finished the DN series… especially since you were looking forward to Will. Because I hated Will for the first three books and if I weren’t curious about Emory, I wouldn’t have finished the series at all."

KO, you've underestimated a loyal hate reader's journey of hate reading 😂 i love pd's writing and i love some of their books that were not DN because of the chemistry of the main lovers (theyre not bad as many have said actually), but i still hated the ongoing misogynistic dynamic that they always had in their books. Its like having an author that you majorly like what they do, but their side mistakes were big enough to irritate you so you remember them, kinda thing. Do you have these kinds of author that feel like this towards? To answer this simply: pd's books are like worms for brain for me. Like when i read books by Colleen hoover, or hd carlton, sophie lark, lauren asher, or susanne valnti &peckham. It's the kind of toxicity you need from time to time but still get mad and disappointed by your low expectation at their shit ass plot and mfcs and fmcs anyway, yk.

KO, i cant lie, im just a hater first, a hate reader second and a reader third 🤣 once i stop, i cnat quit. Like damon torrance, that punk ass devils night philosopher said, sometimes you just want to feel everything including the ugly ones you know, and like michael crist the logician, you just gotta own it, before it owns you, GOD HAHAHAH i cant believe im using them as my metaphors right now!! Please bare with me here.

3 "I also find it equally weird that your first impulse after finishing a series you hate is to go to the tag of the character you hated the most? I mean, I’ve definitely clicked on hot-takes I know I’m going to disagree with and hate-read things, but it’s not my go-to."

hmm? KO, i think... youre just not as toxic of a reader than me, ohmygod, im so sorry! 🤣☠️ im really of those people that will immideately look up one and two star ratings on goodreads so that i know my feelings and thoughts were validated by other haters, lmao! Do not mind me, its not a good thing, but like damon torrance said, live, love, laugh, and hate, you know 🤩

4 thank you so much for your recs, i also actually grew up watching hana yori dongo! I watched the kdrama version too but idk if i'll watch the thai version. I have less patient for dramas now unfortunately, and the last drama i watched was "celebrity" on netflix, and i still havent finished it, even after 3 month ☠️ I used to love kdramas and lee minho was so popular back then, so i also watched him in "the heirs" too. Ohmygod his hairsyles in both dramas (boys over flowers and the heirs) were so funny, but i remember enjoying these stories a lot. I believe these two kdramas were released during the time where kdramas were having a lot more angsty romantic relationship than platonic ones and they both stood out among many others, not only because of lee minho, park shinhye and bunch of k-idols acting there, but also because of the friendships and platonic relationships shown that were fun to watch. It's a break from other dramas like moon embracing the sun, or my love from another star that were romance-heavy, yk. But tbh, i prefer my love from another star and moon embracing the sun more than bof/hyd and the heirs. If there are two recs i'd like to give you, they would be "hotel del luna" and "sky castle". God damn, i cried in every single episode watching these two dramas. They really touched my soul, everything was so good!

5 i havent scrolled through your blog and notice your recs for sempre, but from your recs, i checked and saw its goodreads rating and it's pretty high! Maybe i'll check it out if im interested. Seems like a mafia gang story? I need to be in the mood to be reading mafia stories because my first ones were from reading kpop mafia fanfics from years ago and the latest and the last one were the made series by danielle lori. The made series were entertaining but i noticed that i didnt care much about mafias? Hahahahah idk, and idc much about vampires, and wolf stories either, but i like faes. Not Sarah j maas type of faes, but holly black's and cassandra clare's. The ones that are beautiful, creepy, complicated and loves/have to lie but cant. So yeah, thanks for recommending sempre!

6 as for alex, im tired of her, and honestly i dont want to think about her anymore. I'll pretend nightfall alex never existed, and nightfall will grayson fucking died a gruesome death, becoming of two stupid selfish best friends who think theyre the only suffering in this world. You know this reminded me of a quote by madeline miller's Circe that really fits will's selfish behaviour especially in blackchurch: “He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none.” thats exctly how i felt throughout blackchurch. Because emmy always had to heavylift whatever bullshit that alexwillaydin put out to her. And as someone who was so used to just move forward and not caring about her small losses because she had suffered worse, emmy just had to act like she was okay with all the little hurts and cruelty cause by people, just because she loved them/will and wanted to not give up on him and give him a second chance, because he was hurting and she understood that he cared then (🙄). Good thing, she admitted she was at fault partly too, but god, i hated when she felt like she need to go above and beyond for a man who admitted didnt care enough about her. Gods, these mf men need therapy frfr.

7 "I truly am sorry that it was such a bad experience for you. You’re welcome to stick around, but I’m sure since you hated so much, you’re ready to move on after unloading like that. But it’s all good either way. I hope you’re on to better and better things."

No need to be sorry, but you're right, i'm starting some new reads right now, and idk why, but kandi steiner, liz tomforde and laura pavlov really do be hitting with their releases!! Like their stories are not dark romance so tat cleansed me from devils night series a bit, and they are so fun to read! They gave me melanie harlow's vibes. If anyone's interested, i suggest checking out Blindside by Kandi Steiner, Right Move by Liz Tomforde, and all of these four authors backlogs tbh. Kandi Steiner even have like a college frat series? Which i havent checked out but it sounds fun, and its called Palm South University series.

I dont have anything else to add as well, thank you for reading my rants, have a nice day! I think this will be my last one, so goodbye!

KO, you've underestimated a loyal hate reader's journey of hate reading

Hey!! Okay. This is very helpful! Thank you for the insight. I’m not a stranger to hate watching/reading and (used to) do it frequently. And I would complain to all my friends about all the horrible stuff that was happening, but they knew I was having a good time.

It’s harder when I don’t really know who I’m talking to, to tell if I should take it seriously or if they’re enjoying the trash like me. We’re completely on the same page in that case so ignore very thing I said about not getting it. If you’re having a good time hating it, I got you!

i think... youre just not as toxic of a reader than me, ohmygod, im so sorry!

I might not be anymore but I definitely used to be, ngl. And I don’t know if you can end up running a DN blog without having some toxicity left in you??? I mean. We’re not here because this work was a masterpiece, am I right?

I don’t currently have any authors I must read/hate-read. Like I’ve said, I haven’t had the time to get into a lot of new stuff lately, and my tastes have changed. They could always change back, since reading is a mood-based activity. For now, though, I’ve left the dark and toxic behind for something that makes me feel good about the world.

i also actually grew up watching hana yori dongo! I watched the kdrama version too but idk if i'll watch the thai version. I have less patient for dramas now unfortunately

Oh my god the Kdrama! It was my first Kdrama. Fond memories. And no worries, I haven’t touched any drama in years. Truthfully, I think the only reason I can get into the Thai version is because of the familiarity.

but from your recs, i checked and saw its goodreads rating and it's pretty high! Maybe i'll check it out if im interested. Seems like a mafia gang story?

It is, kinda? But it’s really layered, with a good plot and great characters. I could ramble about it for a while, but I don’t think anyone is interested currently, so I won’t burden you with it 😂

holly black's and cassandra clare's

I did really like the folk of the air series, and I read the spiderwick chronicles in middle school, but I haven’t gone back to holly black in a long time. I did want to read the new one but haven’t had the chance.

Oof Alex. Now that I know where you’re coming from, I can completely agree. I’ve been re-reading and analyzing her intro in Nightfall and how weird it was; how it derailed everything in the worse way. Sometimes, when writers are stuck on where to go with a scene or plot, there’s a tactic that’s recommended: have someone walk in with a gun. It causes enough of a upheaval to keep the plot moving. I’m not sure if that was what Alex was supposed to do, but it really didn’t work for me for a lot of reasons.

Because emmy always had to heavylift whatever bullshit that alexwillaydin put out to her. And as someone who was so used to just move forward and not caring about her small losses because she had suffered worse, emmy just had to act like she was okay with all the little hurts and cruelty cause by people,

Yes! She had to work so hard just for a little, and what killed me the most is reading her scenes where she agrees with them.

She has the moments of clarity, where it seems she remembers why she did what she did, and she's not sorry, and that she wasn’t to blame for what happened to Will. Then next minute… she’s back to blaming herself for no reason? I’ve said many times before that Emory’s guilt is misplaced, and at certain times, it can’t be ignored that it was really PD pushing this “Emory deserves this” narrative, but I just can’t jive with it at all. There's a question on her good reads page where she says that she thinks Will is the most justified in his hatred.

And just... no. He's not. Literally none of them were justified in their hatred. They had the right to feel wronged. Sometimes we feel wronged, even if we carry some of the blame for what happened. But to say they were justified is just over the line. I really wish PD had more balance when it come to assigning blame. I think this series would have benefitted if one of the themes of the story was that everyone makes decisions, and right or wrong, we have to living with them. These are the consequences.

Like their stories are not dark romance so tat cleansed me from devils night series a bit, and they are so fun to read!

Yeah, it’s always nice to find something new that works! Thanks for the recs. I hope if anyone is looking, they’ll look them up. Sorry I didn’t have more strong female friendships, but they can be tough to find in todays romance climate.

I totally get you not coming back. It was absolutely a blast talking to you and thanks for the clarification! It always helps.

Have a great one, KO

#asked and answered 177 #related to prev ask #asked and answered 176

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fazcinatingblog · 7 months

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When my boss listed the people coming to the Christmas lunch, she's like "there's five downstairs, two upstairs, Simon (IT guy), Simon's wife...." and I just had a thought that if Colleen was repeating that list, she'd add the dog and the cat as well plus anyone walking past

#no but like two of those people only start on Monday and one is starting mid November #like colleen would say they've 'only been here two seconds'#colleen has also joked that you don't need to do much to get hired by Sophia #like she's said that anyone could just show up and they've got the job #godddd i miss colleen so much #I'm just laughing by myself on a Friday night thinking of all the things colleen said #when she'd forget someone's name (usually one of the ever changing bookkeepers) and call them 'oozy bob whatsit' or something #just wave in the general direction of their desk #or how Sophia always talks about hiring more people to 'get more work out' so colleen jokes that they'll be sitting on each other's laps #when the client and Sophia wanted to use the cute Pakistani boy's computer and he had to get up and colleen joked he could sit on my lap #she also told him at one point that if accounting doesn't work out he should become a model (because he's hot)#aw man #I'm so annoyed colleen never got a proper goodbye #never got an actual retirement gift #if i had my time again I'd do more to organise it #i don't know what i was thinking at the time????? i was just torn up that she left and that Sophia paid her out for the notice period that i #just forgot to do anything #Colleen deserved more

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lilyvandersteen · 1 year

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Home Away From Home Chapter 4: Big Plans

Chapter summary:

Blaine turns industrial buildings into a leisure centre, gets into trouble but is saved by a knight in shining fashionable waistcoat.

Many thanks to my beta @hkvoyage!

You can also read this story on AO3.

~~~~~~

Chapter 4: Big Plans

So far, Blaine had only focussed on the hotel and had kept the industrial buildings Cooper had also bought at the back of his mind.

Clearly, the hotel was Cooper’s priority. He hadn’t even mentioned the rest.

And seeing as the hotel licence was in jeopardy, it only made sense to deal with that issue first.

Still, whenever Blaine had a spare moment, he ran the matter over in his mind, trying to find the ideal use for the abandoned factories.

Most of the ideas he came up with were better suited to a smaller property, though.

It wasn’t until Blaine met up with a few Dalton friends for coffee at the Lima Bean that he got an idea that would work.

For that, he had David to thank.

David’s elder brother was getting married (“More fool him!” said David), and David had been appointed as best man and had to organise the bachelor party.

“And now Colleen says he isn’t to have any strippers, and he isn’t to get drunk the night before the wedding. And you just know Jim is going to stick to that, he’s so whipped! But then what do I come up with that’s still FUN?”

Blaine cocked his head to the side. “Didn’t Jim room with Nick at one point? Bit of a prankster, wasn’t he?”

“Yep, that’s where Nick and Jeff learned it all,” Wes grinned.

“That was before he met Colleen and became boring,” David sighed, looking gloomy. “If that ever happens to me, get me away from that woman before I turn into a pod person, all right?”

Blaine patted him on the back. “We will, man, that’s a promise. And I may have an idea for your bachelor party.”

“All right, hit me with it.”

“I’d start with a laser-shooting session,” Blaine suggested. “Jim used to have a team he went laser-shooting with, right? Every week or every two weeks?”

“Yep, that’s right. Though I don’t think he does that anymore. Colleen won’t let him. Still, it’s a great idea. And then?”

“Does he still like escape rooms?” Blaine asked.

“Oh yeah. But we’ve done all escape room activities in the area already. I’d have to find a new place.”

“We’ll find you a new place,” Blaine promised. “And then you end the night by going bouldering, and afterwards having wings and beer at a sports bar. He can have a few beers, right? He won’t get drunk off that.”

“True, true… Thanks, man! You’ll help me find an escape room Jim hasn’t already done?”

Blaine rubbed his chin, thinking hard. “Tell you what, I’ll MAKE you a new escape room! And the rest of it, too. A bouldering hall, a laser-shooting hall, a place to chill out and have wings and beer… In those factory buildings Cooper bought in Lima. They’re certainly big enough. When’s the bachelor party supposed to be?”

“In five weeks,” David answered. “Can you do all that in five weeks?”

Blaine shrugged. “With a little help from my friends.”

David grinned and started to sing. “What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?”

They all joined in for the chorus, and then laughed.

“We’ve still got it,” Wes said.

“Yeah, we do!”

“I’ve got to go,” David said after checking his watch. “Blaine, you’ll keep me posted? And let me know if you need help.”

The other Warblers promised their help as well, and on that note, they left.

K&B

Now that Blaine knew what to do with the industrial buildings, he needed to go check them out as soon as possible, and with the escape room in mind, he contacted Nick and Jeff to come with him.

What he hadn’t counted on was Jeff’s car having trouble, so that Saturday morning, instead of getting on with things, he stood in an auto shop waiting for one of the mechanics to become available.

He hoped they wouldn’t lose too much time. If they only had five weeks, he wanted to get cracking.

His gaze swept around the place idly, and then froze.

Was that…? It couldn’t be. Could it?

His feet took him closer of their own accord, and Blaine gasped.

Was that really Inspector Hummel, working on a car with some other guy and looking like a wet dream come true in well-worn coveralls with the sleeves turned up? Would you look at those arms, yum…

As in a dream, he watched the man work for a while. He seemed to be teaching a newbie, showing him what to do and then letting him try it.

Blaine saw him slide under the car with practised ease, admiring the long lean lines of him.

He still wasn’t sure it was the inspector, though. The auto shop was called Hummel Tires and Lube, so maybe he had a brother?

Hesitantly, he asked, “Inspector Hummel?” and then winced when he heard the man thump his head into the car.

Oops. Might have waited until he’d come from under the car.

No wonder that Inspector Hummel sounded irritated when he asked Blaine what he needed.

And of course that was the exact moment Nick and Jeff turned up to make matters worse, teasing Blaine for staring at the inspector. How could he help it? The guy was gorgeous, all right?! And now Jeff’s teasing actually made the inspector grin, and wow, what a sight!

It took Blaine a while to retrieve his tongue from where he’d swallowed it, and even then, his brain was too scrambled by the sexy guy in front of him to string sentences together, so Jeff had to take over.

Slowly, Blaine’s heart rate went down again, and he became aware of Inspector Hummel talking to him. Asking him if he planned on buying more hotels. What?

Oh, right, because Jeff had mentioned the buildings they were going to look at. Better explain.

When Blaine mentioned the abandoned factories, though, Inspector Hummel frowned and told him it might be dangerous to go check out the buildings without taking reinforcements along to deal with the squatters. He suggested Puck and his brother.

Blaine fell in with the suggestion and excused himself to call Puck and ask if he was available.

Thankfully, he was, and his brother Jake too.

Once the car was fixed, all five of them headed to the industrial buildings, while Puck filled them in on the people who lived there.

“Well, the ones I know are people who don’t live by society’s rules, really. Never have. In high school, they were the Skanks. Skipped class more than they went to class. Spent their time smoking under the bleachers. You don’t want to get on their bad side. Zizes is a champion wrestler.”

When they arrived, Blaine got out the keychain Smythe had given him, but Puck just rolled his eyes and headed to a spot where the wire netting had been cut. “Through here.”

The lock on the heavy metal doors of the first building was hanging open, and all they had to do was push the doors to get in.

“Hey girls, it’s me!” Puck yelled.

Blaine glanced around. The TL lights on the ceiling didn’t all work anymore, but there was enough light to see everything. And what he saw looked amazing.

“Look, they’ve made a parkour and skate park with the old factory equipment. This is awesome! Look at those ramps and pipes!”

Jake flashed Blaine a grin, produced a skateboard from somewhere and started to do tricks on the pipes.

When Jake rejoined them, Blaine clapped him on the shoulder. “Brilliant, man! You’re so good!”

“Hey Puck,” a lazy voice drawled behind them. “Brought us some puppies to play with, I see?”

Blaine turned around and saw a pretty brunette sizing him up. She was flanked by two other girls, and a third hung back behind them.

“Hey babe,” Puck grinned. “You know Jake, right? And this is Blaine, I work with him, and his friends Jeff and Nick.”

The brunette lit a cigarette and blew the smoke into Blaine’s face. It made him cough, and she laughed.

Puck rolled his eyes at her. “Mack, be nice. Guys, meet Mack, Sheila, Ronnie and Zizes.”

The girl called Zizes came closer, scowling at Puck.

“Blaine? Isn’t that the guy from the hotel? He’s here to tell us all to leave, is he? Well, we won’t. And if he tries to make us, I’ll break him in half!”

She crossed her arms and glared at Blaine. “I can, you know. I’m a wrestler. A good one.”

Blaine grinned at her. “A champion, Puck says. Congrats!”

“So what are your plans with our home, puppy?” Mack wanted to know. Her voice had somewhat sharpened, and her eyes had narrowed to slits.

“This skate park is perfect,” Blaine told her. “Oh, and is that graffiti over there? Can I take a look?”

Mack laughed. “Be my guest. Don’t ruin any of it, though, or Matt and Kai will have your head!”

Blaine went to check out the graffiti on the walls. It wasn’t just random tags. No. Whoever had made these detailed and colourful drawings was a true artist.

“This is beautiful,” he sighed, running a finger over a portrait of a cat so lifelike it seemed on the verge of jumping out of the wall.

“It’s graffiti,” Nick shrugged.

“It’s ART, you heathen,” Blaine protested. “Put this in a gallery and millionaires will pay through the nose for it!”

“You think?” a deep voice behind him asked.

Blaine turned around and saw a muscled Black man and a wiry Asian guy.

“Yes,” Blaine answered. “If you make me a small version of that portrait on a canvas, I’ll ask Trent to get it into a gallery.”

The Asian guy chuckled. “As if Matt has money to buy fancy art supplies.”

Blaine shrugged. “Fine. I’ll get you a canvas. Or a couple of them.”

“For me too?” asked the Asian guy.

“Why not? Which of the paintings are yours?”

After a tour of all the graffiti paintings in the building, with a full explanation by the artists of what they were portraying and why, everyone came along with Puck and Blaine to go check out the rest of the buildings.

There were no beautiful graffiti paintings there, nor any factory equipment that had been given a new implementation. They were just big empty buildings, with plenty of room for any of Blaine’s plans. He saw a few mattresses and sleeping bags lying around, and looked for their owners, but Matt said, “The guys living here work during the day. They’re only here at night.”

Once they’d seen the whole property, Mack asked again, “So, what are your plans?”

So Blaine told everyone about the paradise for bachelor parties and team building events he meant to turn the buildings into.

“And in the afternoon, after school hours, the activities here can be offered to middle and high school students, free of charge. We need to train up the next generation, don’t we? And keep them out of trouble. I remember that my boxing lessons did wonders for me.”

Blaine saw Kai and Matt nod, and grinned at them.

“Your building is perfect as is, for graffiti and parkour initiations. We won’t let anyone ruin your wonderful art, obviously, but it can serve as an inspiration, and we’ll set up big plywood boards for people to practise on.”

“And you’ll throw us out to sleep out on the street again, huh?” Zizes growled at him.

Blaine shook his head. “I have an acquaintance who makes custom tiny houses on wheels. I’d have to take exact measurements, but I believe there’s room enough to put two tiny houses in your building without crowding things, each of them housing four of you, and you could live in them with a lot more comfort than you have now. Of course, if you’d rather rent a regular house somewhere, I will help you with that too.”

“Why would you do that for us?” Mack wanted to know.

“Well, I’m counting on employing you. Matt and Kai as teachers for the graffiti initiations, and maybe the parkour ones too? And you, Zizes, could give wrestling lessons. You’ll have to help me out as to what’s needed for that. I’ve only ever taken up boxing, not wrestling.”

“Colton boxes,” Kai volunteered. “He’s one of the people staying in the biggest building. And I do taekwondo.”

“Brilliant,” said Blaine.

“For parkour, you’re gonna need Ronnie here, and her boyfriend Connor.”

Blaine jotted that all down on his phone, then said, “All right, that’s a great start. Now, in the biggest building, I want to create a bouldering and sport climbing hall, ‘cause it has the highest ceilings, and I want a sports bar there as well. So I’m gonna need bartenders and instructors for the bouldering and climbing.”

Mack grinned at him. “I’ll be a bartender. You too, won’t you, Sheila?”

Sheila scowled. “I have a criminal record for vandalism and stealing. I’m sure Mr. Squeaky Clean won’t want me working here.”

“Oh yes, I do,” said Blaine. “I believe in second chances. If you want in, Sheila, you’re in.”

She gave him a piercing look, and then a sharp nod. “I’m in.”

“Good. Welcome aboard.”

Blaine then explained about the escape room and virtual reality activities he envisioned in the third building. “That’s what I brought Nick and Jeff for. They can come up with fun themes and scenarios.”

Jeff pretended to take a hat off his head and bowed.

“And in the last building, we’ll have laser shooting and maybe paintball shooting, too.”

Mack put her hands on her hips. “Won’t you need all kinds of permits and stuff? And will we really be allowed to live here? I mean… Legally?”

Blaine smiled confidently. “You leave all that to me. I’ll sort things out with the mayor. He won’t kick up a fuss about anything, I promise. I’ll call and schedule an appointment with him as soon as possible.”

K&B

If there was one thing Blaine’s parents had taught him, it was how to speak and behave like a politician.

From a young age, he’d been brought along to all sorts of official events and had learned not just how to network and schmooze, but more importantly, how to assess people in just a few minutes’ conversation so as to be able to spin the message he wanted to bring in a way that would garner their support.

Little wonder then that the meeting with the local and regional politicians ended up a resounding success.

It took Blaine less than ten minutes to get a read on Lima’s mayor.

The derelict and unused factory buildings were a thorn in his eye? Blaine would spruce them up and turn it into THE place to be for adventurous rich thirty-somethings.

Worried about the homeless, jobless, delinquents and drug addicts? Blaine would give them homes and jobs and turn them into model tax-paying citizens.

Wanting to keep youngsters from disappearing to big cities? Let’s give them all kinds of fun stuff to do outside of school hours to keep them out of trouble and to grow roots here in Lima.

By the time Blaine was done talking, the politicians were like wax in his hands, only too happy to help him in any way he liked. They promised to get him the building permits he needed, and he’d also receive subsidies for the youth programme he’d presented to them.

Having received official permission to start on the renovations already, Blaine contacted Monique to tell her about his new plans.

As he had expected, she balked at the cost of this ambitious project (“So much to buy and install! And I shudder to think of the insurance premiums you’ll have to pay!”), but she did admit that it was a great idea to entice people to come to Lima, of all places. And she applauded the initiative he’d shown in contacting the mayor and even securing subsidies.

“If you can pull this off, you’ll make money like water. But, Blaine, you’ll need a top-notch marketing team to turn Lima into a hotspot for thrill-seekers. That will cost you a packet, too. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on the hotel first?”

Then, when Blaine explained about David’s brother wanting a cool bachelor party, she hummed thoughtfully. “All Dalton alumni, I take it, the people coming to this party? That will be good advertising for your new project, if they like the activities you come up with for them. All right, sweetie, you tell me what I can do to help make this happen.”

After discussing all the practicalities with Monique, Blaine spent the rest of the day with Jeff and Nick, brainstorming about possible escape room activities.

When they’d decided on a Jungle Room, a Spooky Boarding School Room and an Escape the Mafia Room, and sketched it all out, Jeff told Blaine he wanted to go out dancing to unwind.

“There’s a gay bar here called Scandals, we can go check it out!”

Blaine tagged along with Nick and Jeff, but was far from impressed with Scandals. It looked seedy at best, and the patrons of the bar were old and unattractive.

“Good thing I’ve already got my man,” Jeff whispered, and Nick grinned at him and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Let’s dance,” said Blaine.

The sooner Jeff started dancing, the sooner they’d be able to leave, right? And unlike the rest of the bar experience, the music was not a let-down. They were playing Katy Perry!

For a while, the three friends had the dance floor to themselves. Then the crowd started to migrate from the bar stools to the dance floor, and Blaine felt bodies move sinuously against his.

When he got a little too hot and uncomfortable, he nudged Jeff and Nick and told them he needed a drink. “You want something to drink too?”

Jeff shook his head. “Maybe later.”

Blaine paid the barman, installed himself on a bar stool and took a long drink from his glass.

Aaah, that’s better!

“Well, if it isn’t Baby Anderson!” a voice slurred next to him.

Blaine turned his head and saw Smythe.

Ugh, what’s he doing here?

“Looking for a hook-up, are you?” Smythe continued, bending towards Blaine and then almost falling off his bar stool.

Clearly, he’d had quite a few drinks already.

Blaine held his hands out to stop him from face-planting, but Smythe didn’t so much as notice, focused as he was on picking Blaine up.

“No need to look any further, I’m the hottest guy in this place,” Smythe boasted. “Come, I’ll show you where to go!”

Smythe made to grab Blaine, but Blaine quickly moved out of the way.

“No, thank you. My friends and I are just here to dance.”

Smythe quirked an eyebrow. “Ooooh, dancing! I’m a great dancer, let’s dance together.”

Blaine smiled politely. “I wanted a bit of a rest, really, and a drink, because I’m parched.”

“Well, then, drink up, and when you’re done, we’ll dance together.”

Smythe waggled his eyebrows, and Blaine understood that Smythe meant to dry-hump more than dance.

Ugh. I’ll take as long as I can with my drink, and I hope Jeff and Nick will arrive in the meantime and then he’ll switch to another victim.

He took a tiny sip of his drink.

“How’s the hotel, by the way?” Smythe asked, smirking. “I bet you wish your brother had never bought it, right?”

Blaine put his poker face on. “Not at all. I’m quite enjoying running it.”

Smythe looked surprised and none too pleased. “You’re still in business? I should have known those inspectors wouldn’t close the hotel down. Empty threats. Might have swung it another few years.”

Blaine struggled to hide his anger. This was clear proof that Smythe had sold the hotel to Cooper to get rid of it because he was going to lose his licence.

He didn’t reply. Let Smythe think whatever he wanted.

Come on, Jeff and Nick, get over here!

But they were lost in one another there on the dance floor. Nick had his head in the crook of Jeff’s neck, and Jeff’s hands were in the back pockets of Nick’s jeans, gently kneading. They slowly revolved, not noticing anything or anyone around them.

Blaine found himself smiling, and wishing, as always, that one day he’d have a love like that too.

“Friends of yours?” Smythe asked, following Blaine’s gaze.

Blaine sipped his drink again to avoid talking to the guy, and looked at the other dancers.

One of them moved with such effortless grace that Blaine instantly wanted to hop off his stool and join him.

And then the guy turned around, and Blaine was thunderstruck.

Inspector Hummel! Dancing with abandon, his eyes closed and a dreamy smile on his face. Wow, what a sight!

Look at those hips move!

Without even thinking about it, Blaine drained his drink and headed straight for the dance floor, drawn like a magnet by the mesmerising moves of his by now favourite inspector.

He just wanted to be closer, because this show was not to be missed.

Though he had a writhing mass of people around him, he focussed on one person only, and for a while, it seemed like they were in a bubble of their own.

The bubble snapped when Smythe’s voice broke through it. “Let’s dance, killer!”

Smythe pulled Blaine against him, plastering his front against Blaine’s back, and started to grind up on him.

Blaine pushed him away, but the sudden movement made him dizzy, and he stumbled and fell.

It took some effort to get up again, and he realised the wooziness was getting worse instead of better.

What was the matter with him? He’d only drunk one light beer, and he’d eaten a filling meal before he came to the bar, so why did he feel like he’d been binge-drinking?

“Hey… Are you okay, man?” a kindly voice asked.

Blaine looked up at the man and woah, that made his head whirl again, and his vision got kind of blurry.

“He’ll be fine once he gets some fresh air,” Smythe said. “Come on, let’s get you outside.”

Blaine felt himself being tugged away, but the air didn’t become fresher. Quite on the contrary. With every dragging step he took, the smell of urine became stronger.

And then their progress halted, and Blaine sagged against the wall, his eyes drooping, wincing at loud voices close to him that hurt his head. He felt nauseous. Why did he feel so sick off just one beer?

There was a loud crack and a bang, and then all was quiet again.

Not for long, though.

An insistent whisper made Blaine struggle to open his eyes and focus.

Pretty eyes. Such pretty eyes. Blue and grey and green and gold, swirling, swirling, swirling… What was that? Jeff? Jeff wanted to dance. Why didn’t I stay with him and Nick? Yes, yes. Take me to Jeff.

He felt a hand slip into his, and again he was being led somewhere, but this time, he didn’t feel the slightest apprehension, only blind trust and a sense of rightness. As if this was a hand that had always been meant to hold his.

The place he was taken to now was hot and noisy and crowded. Loud beats throbbed through the air, and Blaine felt his head pound to the rhythm.

He felt the comforting hand slip from his and let out a squeak of protest –

No, don’t leave me, stay with me so I feel safe

– but then, though his view was blurred, he saw a tuft of blonde hair and he heard Jeff’s voice, and he knew everything would be okay.

#klaine fanfiction #klaine prompt reverse bang #enemies to lovers #artist: justgleekout

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the-firebird69 · 3 months

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2m$ A Year For North Sea Rescue Job? 😱

We're moving out and we're rescuing a lot of people and we're pulling them off the deck and people laughing his antics two people came up to take pictures with a shark and he said we have some tourists on the deck and it's a deck and it was fun this is saying it's a rig but there's more going on and Charlotte county is gearing up for some changes

-the whole place is going to be turned upside down pretty soon

-is other things happening and yeah our son isn't sent to humor and then some people don't get it it was too much right away and again she said would you take my picture and you held his own phone up and he's laughing and she finally got it and he says just three smile and it didn't work and she got nervous and that was is what usually happens and Hera is laughing it might even Becca

-there's a huge number of people wondering what happened if they did something and created a monster and it's going down in history as a big fight and Brad is suffering and she is too and it doesn't pay to haunt our son like an a****** forever if you did nothing don't act like you did and their men are paying Sarah and the two girls and Trump was surgery they're going after him

-this morning news it's a big event the above. They're having a war with the pseudo empire and they're starting s*** with the max big time and they're going to get their asses kicked that's what the Mac said and they will decide happened before and huge forces okay this time we anticipate by estimate by the language on the radio and the numbers possibly about 5% of the general populace and out of 25% 5% of the populace would be 5% of the 25% because that 25% is out of the general populace. And scheduled for petrol and wise asses and he almost got clocked cuz we're going to help and he would have been real surprised they're trying to kidnap me cuz they're having problems because they're stupid they're going to pull Trump out by his years and he says he knows about what happened with Melissa and Jennifer and Colleen and he is going to be in a lot of trouble and these guys are too and they've been s**** and assholes for years and it's going to be fun he says watching them fall cuz he keep doing it to him don't trip Jason you can get hurt and that's all you got and he's starting to get something it's not fun a bunch of false alarms but not for long the Mohawks start losing minority will come after you too some are and for the secrets and they have a wonderful way of talking. You set them up and said they hit people with machetes and all sorts of other stuff so that's going on and there are other things but we'll publish

Thor Freya

Olympus

Zues Hera actually I feel much better now this is much better and you're trying to get it out and they said okay good idea it's working and let's hope things straightened out this is a disaster I even rather have you been working at something part time but wow this is terrible

We have several jobs in mind and we can pay cash and it's really a ridiculous place and they do it all the time and she paid cash and you leave and that's it and really how they going to know and they won't really it says you go to Walmart and you get a card and Walmart they don't hold the money it's true too sometimes usually they put in the drawer.

We do have ideas like that and it makes it hard for them when they put it in the drawer they can't mess around with it

Ben Arnold

Olympus

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sassylady1103 · 10 months

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Nuka Scorched

Colleen and I had decided to head west of Charleston toward the river. She said when she was young, Mama and Papa would take her there to go boating, fishing and picnic. We did family outings in the Vault…as much as we could being confined in an underground space…but I wish I could have seen this world with my parents as Colleen had.

We ambled along the empty riverbed of the Kanawha river away from Charleston. As we passed a huge nuclear power facility, we could see a few people working on the huge towers and outside structures in an effort to get the plant up and running again. Colleen said she had spoken to them and they were former Vault engineers that had worked on the generators to keep the Vault powered all those years. She believes they’ll have this plant up and running in a few weeks, which means she won’t need to rely on a generator for the apartment, though she’ll keep one as backup. The team has found that the plant seems to attract Scorched by the dozens and Colleen took them to AVR to be vaccinated. They must have been grateful to have run into her that day!

We stuck to the dry river bed on a slight descent. Colleen said that was because we were going toward the river. At one point, we met a man digging in the river bed. We said hello and talked about what good weather we had today. Colleen was making like she was ready to move on, but I just needed to know what that man was digging for! “Gold!” he told me. “Haven’t you heard? There’s good all over these hills, and I aim to find it!” I wanted to ask what he needed gold for, but Colleen gave me a look, so we wished him luck and moved on. I asked Colleen if she’d heard this before and she said she’d seen a few gold diggers. She mentioned that a woman named Duchess, who owned a bar called the Wayward near Flatwoods, said people were coming in droves to Appalachia in search of some big treasure. Duchess didn’t know much more, though. I think I may have to do some research…if gold is that valuable, maybe I should be looking too!

Eventually we could see what looked to be some sort of prewar plant in the distance. I asked Colleen if she knew what it was. “This is what I wanted you to see! It’s an old Nuka Cola plant where they made Nuka Cola and bottled it! When I was in school, we had a field trip here and got to tour the plant and see how our favorite Nuka flavors were made. I remember getting my picture taken with Bottle and Cappy….I was so excited.” Her expression, which I hadn’t seen in years, was pure happiness as she talked about her memories of that field trip. I wanted it to last, but she quickly turned sheepish and said “I mean, I was a kid and at the time…we didn’t have any other cares in the world….but I thought you’d enjoy it, so I wanted to bring you. It’s relatively safe, barring a few ghouls. What do you think?” I laughed as I said “I think I love it! Let’s go!”

The Nuka Cola plant was amazing! There’s a giant bottle of Nuka Cola on the roof! The biggest I’ve ever seen! I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. This was the best thing I’d seen outside the Vault, except maybe the book house.

Colleen noticed I was taking pictures and asked if I’d like her to take some of me with Bottle and Cappy, the way she had when she was young. I told her only if I could take some of her too! She laughed and it was good to hear.

We got to the entrance and took photos with a Bottle statue before going into the building. Inside was a reception area, and when we went further into the building, there was a giant bottle of Nuka Cola, floor to ceiling in a huge open space. I think my jaw dropped to the floor. I had never seen anything like this!

“Come on” Colleen pointed toward a staircase off to the side “ if I remember correctly, the flavor labs are up there.” We climbed the stairs, and sure enough, we found the labs and I found a terminal that still worked that had information on all the flavors Nuka Cola was testing before the war. We even found some customer evaluations in the tasting area!

“Hey, Col! Do you think we could make up our own flavor recipes and bottle them? Wouldn’t that be crazy?” Colleen laughed, but then she looked very serious. “What if we could? And if we could add anything we wanted to it?“ she said. “What do you mean ‘add something’?” I could see her brain working quickly. “What if I could work out a way to incorporate the vaccine into a Nuka Cola and that way I could take the vaccine to them, rather than trying to get them to come to Charleston?” “That’s a great idea, Colleen! Do you think it will work?” I already knew it would by the look on her face.

We looked around a bit more and then headed out to get our camp set up by the river. Sitting by the fire after putting the tent up, I thanked Colleen for bringing me here. The river was beautiful and peaceful. I could hear insect sounds and frogs. It was so good to be able to spend this time with Colleen and exploring. I couldn’t wait to see more of the world, but first, sleep.

Forever the explorer,

Mags

#fallout #gaming #journal #fiction

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ya-pucking-nerd · 2 years

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4 times you ruined his plans and 1 time you ruined his plans - c.makar TEASER

hehe. causer of chaos. should be out in a week or so?? bully me so i actually do it.

1. The Missed Flight