#i don't even know how this nurse's page ended up on my for you page when i only watch f1 makeup and graphic design videos | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ibbythebee · 7 months

Text

Hospital Wing Hermits

gif credit: @handknit on wattpad

pairing: Neville Longbottom x year younger!reader

summary: From Neville's second year at Hogwarts to his last, his most memorable times with you have been spent in the hospital wing.

genre: fluffiness all round, slight angst at the end... but only a little, slow-burny

warnings: this fic is so soft that you will potentially combust, slight swearing, SO MUCH hand holding, the reader is an oblivious goofball until she's not, kissing, talks about illnesses and injuries, blood and boogers

words: 6k

masterlist

»»————-　⌁　————-««

Neville's 2nd Year

Clutching onto Madame Pomfrey is nothing new to Neville. In the middle of the night, however, is a different story. The Nurse coos whenever the boy makes the slightest sound of pain, holding him up as not to put anymore pressure on his right foot.

"We're just about there, dear. Come on, just a few more steps..."

Leading him to the middle of the hospital wing's room, she then guides him onto an untouched bed, and immediately slides a pillow underneath his ankle. A spot of light on the opposite side of the room does not go unnoticed to either the woman or boy as soon as they had entered the room.

Neville rubs his eyes, squinting at the strange glowing mound of sheets. He watches as, with a sigh, Madame Pomfrey marches to the other preoccupied bed and pulls over the white covers to reveal you, a sheepish looking girl.

Under the light of your wand, your face looks puffy, lips and nose chapped, hair amuck. You cough into your elbow and smile a toothy innocent smile, batting your big eyes at the woman, silently pleading your innocence.

Pomfrey, however, does not play games. "Turn off that incessant light, Miss L/N. Do you realise what time it is?"

Your lips shape into a pout, voice stuffy as you answer. "But Madame Pomfrey, it's so boring here. I'm bored."

"No, you should be asleep. Turn that off right now. I don't want to have to send another owl to your mother about you refusing medical help."

"Just a few more minutes please? I'll finish the page I'm reading."

"Absolutely not. It's basic manners and respect for your fellow peer." She motions to Neville, and you finally turn to him.

Despite the fatigue in your features, your eyes seem to glow, piercing through the dark room. Perhaps it's just his lack of sleep or absence of light, but there is something drawing him to you and he fails to look away. Nothing comes out of his mouth even though he knows he's probably supposed to greet you, but neither do you.

A second longer you stare at your new roommate and in eventual defeat, you pout. The light from your wand fades, as you mumble 'nox' under your breath and get comfortable under the blankets.

Satisfied, Madame Pomfrey clears the rubbish bin underneath your bed and turns back to Neville handing him a small flask of some sort of healing potion.

"All right. Off to bed now both of you. Good night, dears."

You both mutter a 'goodnight', closing your eyes, gingerly pulling the covers up to your chins.

It stays mostly quiet in the room, apart from the Nurse's shuffling. Though as time passes, shoes click and click away, and then the door creaks shut.

"Psst!"

Neville stirs.

"Hey, psst!"

"Huh?" Is all Neville can manage, lifting his head with a groggy squint.

"What happened to you?" You ask in a loud whisper and sniffle. Sitting straight, and staring right at him. Your eyes really are big, inquisitive.

"Well I... twisted my ankle," he finally says.

"How?"

"I... I'd rather not say. It's embarrassing, really."

"I won't tell anyone," you say as-a-matter-of-factly. "You can hex me if I do."

He looks at you through narrow eyes again and this time it's your teeth that glow. As you show no interest in falling asleep, Neville's neck admits defeat and his head crashes back down onto the pillow. "Can we just please go to sleep?"

"I caught a cold... or maybe a fever. Runny nose—" you sniff, wiping your face with your pajama sleeve "—wet cough, high temperature. My mum says I have a weak immune system."

"Well, that's not very good, is it?" He comments half-heartedly to the ceiling.

"No, it isn't."

Silence. For a moment, he believes that you've finally surrendered yourself.

"So how'd you twist your ankle in the middle of the night?"

Never mind.

"You don't seem like a rule-breaker," you say.

He carefully shuffles up to sit and sighs. Where on earth did you get your energy from? He hadn't met such a talkative first year before.

Neville takes a moment to answer, debating on whether or not you're harmless enough for him to be vulnerable. "I had a nightmare, okay? I fell off my bed and... landed badly."

"Well, that's not very good, is it?" You echo.

"No, it isn't."

Silence once again ensues, but this time Neville's ready for your chatterbox mouth.

"What's your name? I'm..." You suddenly stop and he nearly laughs when your silhouette jerks and you sneeze. It's loud, like his Gran.

"Nice to meet you, Achoo." He chuckles, holding a hand over his mouth.

You sniff again, face hot in a new wave of humiliation, and this time you wipe your face with more aggression. "Hey, that's not funny! My name is — A-ACHHHOO!"

"Isn't that what I just said?" He can't help but laugh again. Relishing in the groan you emit and how furiously you blow your nose.

With a poke of your tongue, you retort. "Whatever, Mr... mm... Fall-out-of-bed...n-nightmare-broken-ankle-boy."

"Wow, that's really fantastic, Achoo." He slides back down into his bed, closing his eyes with content and tries to hold in his giggles as you continue with determination to clear up your mistake.

Initially, Neville thought he wouldn't even be able to get in a nap, but now with the understanding that you bark more than you bite, he creates a silly image of you in the form of a puppy. As your voice rings in the background, the puppy image barks with you, and he feels his eyes grow heavy, falling into a content and nightmare-less sleep.

»»————-　⌁　————-««

Neville’s 4th Year

Ever since sleeping the night in the hospital wing, Neville knew he'd be seeing more of you. It was surprising to him that he hadn't noticed you before that night, especially seeing as you were such a social butterfly. And despite being in the year below, he'd always manage to catch your eyes in the Great Hall. And in the courtyard. And in the halls. And through a classroom window. You were everywhere and anywhere. And when you weren't, you were in bed in the hospital wing.

Just like you are now. The fourteen-year-old hadn't seen you for the past few weeks after the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, and needless to say, he had to see you.

And such a perfect opportunity had arose today, albeit a painful one, but an opportunity none the less.

Neville opens the door to the wing as gently as possible as not to wake you, however knowing you, you probably already were.

Entering the room, he clutches his sore hand to his ribs and cranes his neck to spot the nurse. Instead he finds your lying form under a mountain of blankets.

You stir, and Neville curses at his shoes for making so much noise. Sure, his intention of coming here was to see you, but he’d seldom seen you in such a peaceful state and didn’t want to ruin that for you.

“Neville?” He hears you say and then you’re facing him.

He smiles down at you, with a voice just as soft as silk. "Hey, Achoo. Didn't mean to wake you. How you feeling?”

“I’m feeling alright. Kinda headache-y, but fine. Ugh, what time is it?” You rub your eyes and stretch as you sit up.

The messiness of your bed-hair is incredibly endearing and the curve in Neville’s lips only grow at the sight.

“It’s third period.”

“Then… what are you doing here? Are you hurt?”

You’re suddenly on your feet, eyes round and wide, taking in the scene of the tall boy. He flinches, attempting to hide his hand in his robe sleeve.

You snatch his hand, bringing it close to your face. It’s a burn. All over the back of his palm. "Bloody hell— Where's Madame Pomfrey?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." A small chuckle falls from his lips as you examine him. Somehow, in some miracle he watches your big eyes grow larger as you twist his hand, move his long fingers to get as much information about his wound.

He feels like he’s going crazy, your touch is a new kind of burn on his skin. It doesn’t sting, but it is hot. And you don’t even know you’re causing it.

"She's always gone when you actually need her,” you huff.

"It's not as bad as it looks, really. Just hurts a little when I move it."

"What about when I...?" You drift off, as you slide a delicate thumb over his beet-red knuckles.

The tips of his ears turn the same shade of red. "Stings."

With no further words, he lets you pull him to one corner of the hospital wing, searching for a particular ointment on the many shelves of medical supplies. You don't let go of his hand, and he doesn't dare pull away.

"Let me guess how it happened—" you say, grabbing a round jar of blue gel to read the label.

"Seamus." You both state and then share a laugh.

Placing the jar back, you continue your search and Neville fills the comfortable silence. "It's Potions class. For once I thought I was doing pretty decent and then next thing I know, Seamus' cauldron blows up next to me and of course I get the damage."

His hand is held up to your face again and he watches as you grab a new jar with a less solid looking gel, creamy in colour.

"I suppose it's a good way for me to get out of the rest of the class," he shrugs.

"And get away from Snape," you quip and earn a chuckle from him. There was a time in Neville’s third year, when you had come to learn about his amusing boggart. He’d snuck into the hospital wing, claiming he had a nasty headache and ended up staying the night, neither of you getting a wink of sleep. It had also been revealed that the thing you were most frightened of was giants.

“Sit down,” your motioning to the mattress behind him.

He does so without question, still attached to you by your pinkie, making himself comfortable on the edge of a neatly tucked bed. He follows your every action as you place the ointment jar beside his thigh and open the lid. You scoop a teaspoon amount with your fingers and lifted his burnt hand again.

Before the cream touches his burn, you begin to tell him about what illness you've caught today and he barely feels the sting of the medicine. There's no better spell or potion to kill pain than your voice, that much was evident even back when he first met you.

Concentration laces your features and unbeknownst to you, your hips hit the edge of the mattress, unaware to the fact that Neville's knees are on either side of you.

The sight of you between him for some reason makes it difficult for him to swallow. The urge to trap you with his legs increases by the second. "Hey, Y/N?"

You wipe off excess ointment on your pajama top and turn your attention to him. He rarely called you by your first name. Something's up.

"Yeah?"

"Well, the erm... You know in a week or so?"

"Mhm?"

There's a pause as he searches your eyes for confidence, then he finally announces. "Would you say you're a good dancer?"

Creases form between your brows and you pout at the question, really thinking it over. If there was anything else Neville had learnt about you was that you always answered his queries with great interest and thought. You never treat his questions as though they're dumb, and he’s come to adore you for that.

As you ponder, he slides his non-burnt hand under yours, idly fiddling with your delicate fingers; tracing around the length of them, lifting them up and dropping them one by one, and eventually laying his palm flat on top of yours. Were his hands always this big?

The tips of your fingers tap-tap against his, as you finally answer. "I suppose... I would like to think I am."

"Well... that's good to hear."

"What about you?"

"Oh me?" He finds your face and swallows thickly. "I've been practicing lately, so I can only hope I've improved."

A giggle breaks free from your lips and it’s music to his ears. "Practicing? Whatever for?"

"The Yule Ball, of course."

"The..." The creases near your brows form again. "I've completely forgotten about that."

He squeezes a finger of yours. "So, no one's asked you yet?"

You sneeze into your elbow and then for a second time, and your voice becomes stuffy to the amusement of Neville. "Asked me what?"

"Asked you to be their date, of course."

"Oh. No." Scoffing. "Being stuck in here means no social-life. And besides—" You spin around quick to grab a roll of bandage, and gingerly flatten it over his burn "—who's gonna want to dance with someone who sneezes every five minutes?"

"I would."

"That's what I thought — wait... you would?"

In an effort to look nonchalant, Neville shrugs, finding interest in a bird that's flying near the window. The tips of his ears poking out of his shaggy hair are giving you a different response, they're blushing.

You finish with his wound and step away from the bed, fingers feeling cold when you let go of him.

Upon inspection of your medical handiwork, he smiles gently. He hadn't felt a thing. "Thanks for this."

"I... I can't guarantee that I'll be completely healthy that day," you say.

"The Yule Ball?"

You nod in an almost embarrassed way, as you fiddle with the collar of your sleeping clothes.

Neville just shakes his head. "The suit my Gran got for me has a lot of pockets so I’ll carry all your tissues for you. Or anything else you might need, I'll keep them for you."

"That'sssss.... ACHHU!"

"Bless you. So what do you say? Would you... want to go with me? Maybe? I promise not to step on your feet."

"Miss L/N?! What on earth are you doing out of bed?!"

"MADAME POMFREY!" You both exclaim, faces and necks feeling hot.

"Come on, dear, why don't you ever follow simple orders?!"

Mumbles of pathetic protest fall from your lips as the woman drags you back to the other side of the room. You knock into Neville’s knee on the way and so he’s quick to follow behind you with his own incoherent babble about the burn on his hand.

You're settled under the blankets once again and watch as the nurse's eyes bulge at the sight of the tall boy's perfectly cared for palm. She inspects the bandage, inquires about the pain and what the cause was, all while Neville can't keep the flushed look off his face.

"She— well... Y/N helped me out. It doesn't hurt anymore, I'm fine now, Ma'am."

As the said woman keeps a hold of his hand, she turns to you with daggers. "What did you use? A potion? Spell, perhaps? Mr Longbottom could have severe side-effects if you're not careful."

"He won't," you grin toothily as you did back in your first year and point to the shelf in the right corner. "I used the ointment that you gave Theodore Nott not that long ago. Haha, Nott not."

Neville stifles a laugh, and isn't surprised when the nurse doesn't question you further. You might be the only student that can get away with arguing with Madame Pomfrey.

The nurse's face instead takes the form of an appreciative and impressed expression. It's only natural that with your ‘weak immune system’, you've gained as much medical knowledge as you have colds and flus.

"I'll admit, you've done a splendid job with Neville. However, you simply cannot use whatever you like, whenever you like, on whomever you like. Next time this happens you need to wait for me to return, alright? Is that understood?"

Taking a glance at Neville's sheepish state, you sigh and nod in response.

"And Neville dear, don't encourage this behaviour. Especially not from Miss L/N."

"Okay, Ma'am."

She gives the boy a goodbye and immediately turns to you, a full on lecture spilling from her mouth. He isn’t supposed to leave yet, not when he’s just finally had the courage to ask you out.

Neville finds your helpless gaze behind the woman’s shoulder, and sends you a sad sort of smile before turning on his heel to get to the door.

"I-I'll go with you!" You yell.

The tall boy pauses, heart flipping at your words.

"To the Yule Ball."

There’s no stopping the grin that forms, and he finally nods after a second, hair shaking with the action.

Your eyes speak to him as your own smile appears.

Meanwhile, the woman huffs and puffs, cleaning the area around your bed. "Not in this state, you won't."

»»————-　⌁　————-««

Neville's 5th Year

The last time Neville was in the hospital wing, he'd come to talk to you about his recent endeavours in Herbology and let slip that he's been secretly practicing defensive magic with a group of other students, being taught by none other than Harry himself. There was no doubt that you would also be trusted enough to join, however seeing as you were once again bed-ridden, it felt best to keep it a secret until you got better.

Now it wasn't a secret anymore, and each time he'd visit you'd ask him to put in a good word with Harry, with the group. Neville always said he would, but he never did, fearing that Professor Umbitch would eventually catch onto you and you'd have to pay the ultimate price.

Karma is an Umbitch, however, and now it looks as if the only answer to Neville's current predicament is to let you join Dumbledore's Army, despite all his worries and his efforts to stop you from doing that.

Today’s DA training has been cut short, due to the fact that the fifteen-year old is now incapacitated. Blood refusing to slow down from his nose.

Going to Madame Pomfrey would've required him to come up with a believable story as to what happened, so the next best thing was to send for you, someone who already knows about this secret group.

"Neville!" A Ravenclaw boy shouts, interrupting his thoughts. "Your Bogey Bug is here— ow!"

Someone smacks the kid, and then suddenly the Weasley twins are leading you into the Room of Requirement. You stand over him, adorning new pajamas he hadn't seen before.

"Hey Achoo," he weakly smiles. "Thanks for coming."

The DA gather around, as you crouch to his side and immediately take the cloth he's been holding to his nose. You make a face at him. “Oh Neville… what are we going to do with you?”

A fresh line of blood rolls down to his lip, so you let him leave the fabric there to sink it in.

"Keep your head steady, okay? Don't lean back, just let the blood flow for now."

"I think my nose might be broken?"

"Neville, I swear to..." your head spins sharply, and a few students flinch. "Who did this?"

"We were practicing stupefy," the familiar voice of Seamus answers and immediately your tense shoulders relax seeing his face emerge behind the twins. "I didn't mean to. I swear, Y/N."

"He really didn't mean to," Neville echoes.

You sneeze into your elbow and shake your head, palm making contact with your cheek. "See, this is why you should’ve told me about this secret army group thing so I could've joined and stopped something like this from happening.”

"I'm sorry."

You take Neville's hand again and lift the cloth, checking over the damage. There is damage, alright. You try not to make a show of wincing, fearing that the brown-haired boy would get anxious by your reaction, but his nose really does look quite out of sorts. Out of line. Broken.

He realises you haven't said a word in a while and smiles again, "you can fix, can't you, Achoo?"

"I told Neville I could treat him, but he kept refusing and insisted for your presence," Luna's soft voice interrupts as she crouches down beside you.

Someone amongst the crowd starts to coo and the tips of Neville's ears manage to turn beet red, more so when you turn your attention to him, expression unreadable.

Luna carries on, eyes focused on you. "He wouldn't let anyone touch him. Not until now, anyway."

"Okay!" A sudden clap startles even Luna, and you all turn to the perpetrator. Harry Potter's back is turned to your direction as he addresses the crowd, "I think we'll call it a day. Neville needs his strength and so do you."

The crowd murmurs, exchanging pouts and disappointed shrugs.

"Be proud of yourselves, you all did brilliantly today. Each and every one of you have improved. Next time we get to meet we'll continue with the Patronus Charm."

"What about Bogey Bug? How do we know she's not gonna rat us out?" A girl in Hufflepuff asks.

Neville sees you stand up, slapping a hand over your chest. "I swear on my life and the life of Neville—."

"Hey!"

"—that I will not snitch on this group or expose any of you. I promise to be loyal and keep my mouth shut about this."

Some faces don't seem convinced, as more murmurs and chatter erupt.

"She can be our nurse!" Neville exclaims, stealing everyone's attention. It's time to put in that good word for you. "We won't have to go to the hospital wing if Achoo— I mean, Y/N is here. She's really good at what she does. Plus, I accidentally told her about the army about a month ago and she hasn't told a soul since. I do..."

Your big eyes soften when he turns to you.

"...I trust her with my life."

"All right then," Harry claps once more. "All those in favour of Y/N becoming part of the army, raise your hand."

A few hands come up, whilst others whisper for a moment. One more, then four more, and then more hands raise faster than you can count them. You and the broken-nosed boy share grins, as you squeeze his free hand.

"That's it then. Y/N, welcome to Dumbledore's Army."

»»————-　⌁　————-««

Neville’s 6th year

Following the events of the previous year of school you and Neville had grown ever closer. Outside of the classroom you'd never be seen without the other. Inseparable. There'd even been a rumour going around that you were dating, but you always denied such claims and Neville could only comply. He hadn't yet told anyone about his feelings for you, although it seemed that those in his close circle were figuring it out on their own.

After having looked like a lost pygmy puff in the Great Hall, Luna found Neville and mentioned to him that you looked 'out of sorts' during class. He hadn't even asked about you. She just knew to tell him.

So, it’s only fitting for him to be by your side now, during lunch hour.

You’re shivering underneath all the sheets and blankets, and yet as Neville glides the back of his fingers across your forehead, you’re sweating as well.

“Hang in there Achoo, you’ll be fine in no time. The spell will take effect.”

You can only give so much as a nod, and groan when your lower abdomen tightens with a deep, stabbing ache.

“Shh,” Neville smooths his delicate fingers over your forehead again, tucking loose strands back to their place with the rest of your hair. “I'm here. Do you want me to distract you with anything?"

"Anything," you squeak, eyes shut tightly as if doing that would stop your cramps and make you fall asleep faster. "Please."

"Alright, erm..." He slides his tongue over his bottom lip and leans in closer to you, elbow pressing into the mattress. "I suppose I can tell you about a dream I had not long ago. You were in it."

"The Hippogriff one?" You tremble.

"No, this is a new one," he smiles when you meet his gaze, finding your fingers peeking through the sheets and taking them into his hands. "It's really stupid, as dreams usually go, but I really like it."

Your fingers are stretched out, as Neville begins to trace over your palm. First he draws a circle and you giggle a little at the feeling.

"This is me," he draws a triangle, "and this is you. It seems like any ordinary day, except you and I have the same classes. In the dream we're both popular. Everyone cheers for us when we get good marks, and even Professor Snape smiles at you."

"No way."

He laughs and traces a shape with lots of spikes. "Yes way. It really seems too good to be true, because there's even a moment where we successfully sneak out at night, we're just in our pajamas and we're watching the stars from the astronomy tower."

"I'm waiting for the 'but'."

"But — here comes the stupid part — you just start flying out of nowhere. One second you're next to me, the next you're just in the sky. I'm freaking out trying to reach for your hand, but you're just so calm about the fact that you mysteriously gained the ability to fly."

You're giggling again, especially as he slaps your palm a few times to emphasise the story. "Accurate reaction."

"And then it just ends with me being able to breath fire."

"What?" You laugh, brows pulling together in amusement. "I wonder what Professor Trelawney would say about that. What all of it might represent."

He draws a line on each of your fingers, slow and tickly. "If it's anything like I've been told before, it probably means bad luck."

"Well I was also in the dream with you, so we'll go through the bad luck together." To his surprise, you thread your fingers through his and squeeze. You're not trembling anymore, you haven't been for the past minute or so, and it doesn't feel like you're being stabbed over and over in the stomach.

"Think you can sleep now?" He asks, fingers hesitantly unravelling.

You nod, grinning at him, those eyes of yours finally shining as bright as they usually do.

"Want me to go get Madame Pomfrey?"

You shake your head. And then your arms are around his neck, head tucked in the space between your bicep and his jawline.

It feels like a millennium till he returns your gesture, arms securing around your waist and back, pulling you in tightly and desperately. The mix of the wing's clinical scent and the smell of baked desserts fills his nose. He could've sworn he'd smelt something like this during Potions class.

"Stay with me," you purr. "Please."

He knows he has class in ten minutes, he knows he can't skip, he knows he'll get in trouble.

So with your arms determined to remain wrapped around each other he bends over, moving till your head meets the pillow. He kicks off one of his school shoes. Then the other.

You feel his knees dip into the mattress beside your thighs, and then you have to part for a moment as he slips under the blankets, his head settling on the pillow right beside yours.

When he's comfortable, you take one of his hands and lower it until he brushes over your clothed belly.

Keeping the heat from entering his ears and cheeks is impossible, as his hand flattens over your stomach, shock evident in his features from your bold action.

"Could you keep it there?" You say, when you feel his uncertainty. "It'll help if the cramps come back." Your own hands smooth over his, trapping him there.

"I will." He swallows thickly. "Are you comfortable?"

You nod. "Are you?"

"Absolutely. Yes. I am."

A content breath passes your lips and you smile, all giddy like, at the ceiling. "Thank you for being here. For being with me always. For not making fun of me being sick all the time. Not calling me Bogey Bug. For... for just being you. For being my most favourite person ever."

"I could really say the same about you." Both your voices are barely above a whisper, seeing as your faces are so close together.

"Thanks Neville," you turn to him, and tap the back of his hand on your belly.

You stare at each other for a moment, and for some reason it doesn't feel wrong. It's not awkward.

Neville breaks the silence. "You... you know how everyone keeps saying that we're... you know going out?"

"Yeah."

Neville pauses for a second, you're staring so intensely, pupils large and beautiful. He tries to swallow past the lump in his throat and squeezes the material of your clothes. He can talk to you, he can ask you the question. He's battled against Bellatrix Lestrange before, he's been put in Gryffindor for a reason. He can ask you. "What do you say we make those rumours... not rumours anymore?"

The corners of your mouth twitch. "You-You mean... you mean like...?"

"Yes. Like that. Like... I want to spend the rest of my life with you, sort of way."

You don't say anything.

He continues, with a small bite of his lip. "Like... I'm completely mad for you and if I don't tell you now I don't think I'll ever get the chance to again."

"This... isn't a dream, is it?"

"Can I prove to you this isn't a dream?"

"Okay."

And it really feels like a dream, as his face leans in and you feels his lips press against the corner of your mouth.

"Did that help?" he whispers.

You twist around to lay on your side, guiding Neville's big hand up to your waist. "You missed, Neville."

"What?"

"You missed."

This time you both lean in, and this time Neville doesn't miss.

»»————-　⌁　————-««

Neville’s 7th year

The last Horcrux has been destroyed, Voldemort's killed, the Death Eaters have fled. New life has been brought to Hogwarts, sun pooling through the shattered windows of the Great Hall.

People sit on broken stools, torn and ashy blankets, chatter quiet and solemn. A few people manage to tell jokes and liven the mood, others cuddle, kiss, crying tears of relief. Nurses scamper around tending to the badly wounded.

Only...

As Neville limps his way through the hall he desperately scans over the crowds only to realise you're not here. You're not by Madame Pomfrey. You're not by Luna either. Neville finds Ginny's tired but hopeful figure and before he can tap her shoulder, she's already turned to him with a gentle smile.

She shakes her head before he even has a chance to speak. "I haven't seen Y/N. Not since... well not since she took care of Freddie. 'M sorry Neville."

"No," he shakes his head and gives the girl a gentle hug when her voice wavers and her bottom lip quivers. "No, I'm sorry."

"You helped kill Voldemort. That's hardly anything to be sorry for," she smiles again as they part, softly pushing at his shoulder to leave. To keep searching for you. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for her."

Neville sends her a purposeful nod and turns to leave, the sword of Gryffindor still snug in his hand. At times he uses the weapon as a crutch, the pain in his everything starting to take a toll as previous rushes of adrenaline begin to fade. The only thing keeping him going is the thought of you. You and your sneezes, your messy hair, your often nasally voice, your big eyes and equally big grins. You.

He passes what looks to be remnant of the hospital wing's door, merely a pile of wood chips and metal beams now. He hears the distant tweet of a bird, the pitter-patter of loose rubble and someone's sneeze.

The sword clangs to the ground and he's sprinting. Neville rounds the corner of the entrance to the wing and he stops, breath heavy, vision blurry.

You're there, and you're already staring at him, your grin so large and your eyes even more so and you're holding onto something familiar.

"N-Neville?" your voice is soft and so stuffy and gorgeous.

"Achoo, good Godric." His sore legs carry him to your side, and you're running toward him, arms open. And then you jump and he completely forgets about how much pain he's in when he catches you.

You cling to his sweater, to his shoulders, to his neck, to his waist, squeezing him with every bit of strength you've got left.

He's grasping at your hoody, your waist, your hair, your skin, he's touching all of you, scared that if he'll let go you won't be there anymore.

"I love you so much," he says through a trembling voice.

You pull away slightly and return your feet to the ground, legs unwrapping from his hips. You crane your neck to kiss his jaw, and then you kiss his cheek and his other and then finally his lips. And it sets your heart on fire, full of adoration and care and relief. You don't ever want to stop feeling him here, his supple lips against yours, especially as his hands cup your jaw, reeling you in for more and more.

"I love you Neville," you cry when you finally have to pull away to catch your breaths. "Ever since I first met you. You and your twisted ankle."

He chuckles, tenderly wiping a tear from the apple of your cheek with his thumb. He scans over the room for a moment, as he feels your fingers come to dance over the dry trail of blood from his head wound.

"I don't think we're ever gonna leave this place," he says with a caress of your jaw.

Following his gaze, you giggle. Those beds you spent countless nights on, those countless concoctions and medical supplies you've had used on you, they're all here, scattered and battered around the room.

"That's why I came here instead of the Hall," you say, keeping one arm around your boyfriend's waist and unravelling the other to reveal an intact jar of creamy coloured ointment. "I'm so sorry, I must've scared you nuts."

"Scared me to death more like, but all I had to do was listen out for your sneezes. Turns out it isn't that hard to find you."

You poke your tongue out and he laughs. "That's so embarrassing. Always comes back to me being a Bogey Bug."

"Yeah," he smoothly pulls you in for an ardent kiss, "my Bogey Bug."

"You know what else I am?"

You're leaning against his arms that are wrapped around you and he watches as you take off the lid of the jar. Just like his fourth year, you use your fingers to scoop up a teaspoon of the cream.

"What? What else are you?"

You step out and take one of his hands, letting his palm sit over the top of yours. And then the cream is applied over the burns on the back of his hands. In spite of these burns looking way worse than his wound from Potions class back in his fourth year, the pain is still barely felt once the ointment's smoothed over. What's also killing the sting is looking at your breathtaking eyes. He's lost in them, distracted completely.

"I'm also your nurse," you finally say, wiping the excess over your hoody.

Neville's mouth curls into a smirk, snaking his arms around you again and pressing your bodies tightly together. "Well, nurse. My lips are feeling kind of sore, do you think you can fix them?"

You hum, eyes twinkling with mischief as your hands link behind his neck.

His gaze dips to your mouth, trying to fight the heat flowing to his cheeks and ears. There will never be a time when you won't make him nervous and giddy.

You mirror his action, eyes taking their time stare at his lips. "You know what, darling? I think I've got just the thing for you."

#neville x reader #neville longbottom #neville longbottom x reader #neville longbottom imagine #neville longbottom x you #neville longbottom smut #neville longbottom x reader smut #neville longbottom x y/n

720 notes · View notes

roguerogerss · 7 months

Text

Show You How Much I Love You

Pairing: Michael Gray x Reader

W/C: 3.5k

Warnings: SMUT!!, the second half is just sex, bit of a praise kink, talk of injuries and blood (not related to the smut!)

Description: After Michael gets shot, you’ve been visiting him in the hospital every day. He has a realisation on his last day there, and when you get home, he shows you how much he’s missed you.

(took a lil break from writing tommy all the time - he will be back! promise! - and did a lil spin for michael. i’ve been OBSESSED with both of them recently. so proud of the smut in this bc it’s literally only my second full on smut!!! let me know what u think babes! b back with tommy shtuff sooooon)

—

You hated the hospital. The building always smelled of antiseptic, slightly bitter, but with the added scent of artificial fragrance contained in soaps and cleaning products. And what was worse, the smell would linger on your clothes and in your hair, even hours after you'd left, and you'd have to bathe after every time you visited, to avoid going to bed smelling like death.

"Morning, Miss L/N." The nurses had gotten to know you over the last five weeks, and they'd always greet you when you came to visit. As much as you hated the hospital, and it's smell, the nurses made your visits very slightly more bareable.

"Good morning, Margaret." You sighed, smoothing your hair down and fixing the fur collar of your coat. "How is he, today?"

"He's had some great news today, ma'am. I think you'll be delighted." Margaret smoothed a hand over your back and then hurried off, the nurses were always on the run. You wondered what news your boyfriend could possibly have gotten that would've delighted you, considering all you'd had the past five weeks was more death, upset, and terrible news.

You climbed the stairs, still fussing over your hair, and your coat, and pulling out a small, pocket mirror to fix your lipstick in. You always ended up going to the hospital dressed like a model, because Michael had told you the first time that seeing you all dressed up had been the only thing he was looking forward to.

You plucked a cigarette from your pocket, and balanced it between your lips as you reached his room, "Miss L/N! No smoking, please! It's not allowed.", You waved the nurse off.

You took a slow drag from your cigarette, filling your lungs, and then pushed the door to Michael's room open. You beamed when you saw him, standing by his bed, something he hadn't done for the entirety of his time in recovery.

He held his arms out when he saw your smile, smiling himself, as though he was presenting a gift to you. "Well?"

"Oh my God, Michael!" You ran for him, giggling as you did, and you were met with a grunt when you dived into his arms. Michael stumbled backwards slightly as he wrapped his arms around you, before regaining his balance. His chest stung in all the places he'd been shot, but he didn't care too much. You looked so happy, something you hadn't been since finding out about the mafia, and he wasn't going to take that away from you.

"Jesus." He laughed at your excitement, "I'm still sore, sweetheart."

"Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just...You look so much better."

"I feel better. They've been doing physical therapy the past few days, getting me up on my feet, finally got up on my own today."

"Margaret told me you'd had good news, was it this?"

"This, and," He reached behind him and produced a piece of paper from the bedside cabinet. The words "Discharge Notice" were printed in black at the top of the page. "This."

You gasped, "You're getting out? Today?"

"Yes." He nodded, and you clasped a hand over your mouth, ready to squeal with excitement. Michael interrupted, grasping your wrist between his fingers, "But, love, I'd have to stay with you, so it's only if you'll have me. If it'll be too much of a bother, I can stay here-"

"Michael, don't be daft." You moved your hand from your mouth, to press each palm to Michael's cheeks. "Of course I'll have you. It'd be my pleasure."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you close, so that your noses were touching. "Are you sure? It's not going to be pretty for the first couple of weeks. Changing bandages, cleaning bullet holes-"

"Michael." You interrupted him quickly, thumb swiping over a small, stitched scar on his cheek. "Of course I'm sure. I mean, it was only a matter of time before we moved in together, anyway, wasn't it? I suppose, it's not under the circumstances we'd like it to have been, but I want to do it."

A comfortable silence fell on the room, Michael was simply smiling, green eyes exploring yours. You ran your fingers over the new scars on his face, and found yourself frowning when you reached a particularly deep one, straight through his eyebrow. He breathed out, "I love you, so much."

You'd never heard anyone say anything with such passion, but Michael had never meant something more in his life. Tommy always spoke about feeling like you'd been pardoned by God when you should've died, and everything else being extra, borrowed time. He didn't think he could live another day without helping you to feel exactly how much you meant to him.

"I love you too, Michael." He was hardly listening to you, just thinking about things he needed to say to you.

"More than anything, you know that, don't you?" He continued. You looked at him, eyes full of concern.

"What's going on?" You were convinced there was something really wrong that he wasn't telling you about.

"Nothing's going on, my love." Michael smoothed your hair down comfortingly, chewing on the side of his lip while he thought about what to say next. "I nearly died, Y/N. I should've died, John did, and he didn't get to tell Esmé that he loved her again. I need you to know what you mean to me. Need you to know how much I love you."

He let his forehead fall against yours, sighed, and squeezed his eyes shut. Tears were threatening to fall, and he knew you'd get upset if you saw him cry. But you'd already sensed he was unsettled, and you pressed your lips to his cheek, and then to his nose, and then to his lips, he loved how loving you were.

"I'm going to show you how much I love you, how much you mean to me. As soon as I can, I'll help you around the house, I'll do everything I can for you." He clasped his hands together at the back of your neck, holding you far enough away that he could really look at you, breaths slightly shaky. "And when I'm better, really better, I mean, I want to marry you."

Your eyes widened, you supposed you might've looked scared to anyone who didn't know you too well. "Michael-"

"I'm serious. If I asked you, right now, to be my wife-"

You shook your head, a grin making it's way onto your face now. "Michael-"

"Will you marry me?" He sounded so serious. You'd spoken about getting married before, and you'd both meant what you'd said, but you hadn't expected he'd ask you so soon. You'd been together just over a year, but you were both still young, and nearly four months of your relationship had just been casual nights together.

"Are you proposing to me?" You were really smiling now. As much as you were young, and as much as you hadn't quite expected this, you were excited. Of course you wanted to marry Michael.

"If that's what you want this to be." He was smiling down at you, grasping both of your hands in his own. He’d have gotten down on one knee if he could’ve, and he felt a slight pang of guilt knowing this wasn’t quite the proposal you’d probably hoped for.

But you didn’t care. Growing up, you’d wanted a big wedding, with a big proposal beforehand, but having someone who you loved as much as you loved Michael, he could’ve proposed to you at a funeral and you’d have said yes. “Well, if that's what's happening, then yes."

"You'll marry me?" The surprise in his voice was completely unmasked. He’d had no idea you’d actually say yes.

"Yes. Yes, Michael, I'll marry you." You felt yourself doing a little jump up and down out of excitement.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!"

Michael arms were around your waist, now, picking you up from the ground and kissing you, completely ignoring the burn in his chest. Your lips always felt made for eachother when he kissed you, and this time was no different, if not even better. You hadn’t been kissing him half as much as you normally would, what with everything going on, and it almost felt desperate, needy.

"Tomorrow, I'll go out, and I'll buy you a ring, alright? Tommy owes me money, I'll use that to buy you the biggest one I can find." You laughed at Michael's excitement. "But this is official. We're engaged, love."

"We're engaged." You repeated, tears in your eyes, and let Michael take your face in his hands and kiss you again. You couldn't quite believe what had just happened - truth be told, neither could Michael - and you certainly didn't ever expect it to happen in a hospital room, but you were excited nonetheless.

"Come on, I've got all of my things packed, let's go home."

As soon as you stepped through the door to your apartment, you were apologising to Michael for the "state of the place". You weren't entirely used to having him round, and so felt you had to explain the little messes that you'd often leave laying around.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess. I've not been home too often. And it's not as big as yours, I know-"

Michael stopped you before you rambled on about how the fireplace wasn't lit, and you hadn't washed your dishes from that morning, and how you'd left all of your makeup out on the bathroom vanity because you hadn't time to put it away.

"Stop it." He soothed you, pressing a finger to your lips and looking around at your ground floor flat. It certainly wasn't much, but he actually liked your house better than his own. It was smaller, and therefore cozier, and he found the looks he got from neighbours the morning after you'd slept together funny, knowing they'd heard you screaming his name the night before. "It's perfect."

You smiled, half-heartedly, and gestured to the living room doorway, "Here, you can lay down on the sofa, and I can make some lunch. What would you like? Oh, and when do I have to change your bandages, do you remember?" You swung open the kitchen cabinet, searching through the groceries you'd bought the day before. "I'm not sure what I could make. I can go to the store, I think it should still be open-"

"Love, stop." Michael stepped closer to you, hands settling on each of your shoulders. "Just take a minute, calm down, we've got time."

"I know. I know, I just-"

"Don't." He let a hand slip down your arm and into your own, "You've said yes to marrying me today, I'm very much happy dealing with your unwashed dishes, and you can make me lunch any time, now, okay? I'm here to stay."

"Come on, fiancé." Michael grinned at you. "Lay with me, please? Missed you."

You sighed, and turned to close the cabinet door behind you. You were quick to stress yourself out, and normally you'd argue that you couldn't just lay down and forget about the things you needed to do, but you'd missed him too. "Okay."

Michael led you down the hallway and into your bedroom, he'd been here before, but you'd spend most of your time together at his house or at the office, so it felt strange having him in your bedroom. He was one to make himself at home, and today was no different. As soon as he reached your bed, the shirt that he was wearing was unbuttoned and on the floor, and he was sprawled out on top of the sheets, gesturing for you to join him.

You tried to lay down next to him, but he had other plans, hands reaching out to grip your hips and pull you on top of him, one knee on either side of his torso. "Michael!" You giggled.

"Oh, come on. I haven't had any time alone with you in over a month." His hands started to make their way under your dress, and you almost let him, until you snapped back to reality and noticed the bandage wrapped around his body.

"I know." You wanted to, you really wanted to, but you found yourself smacking his hand away before he was able to get past your thigh. "But you're still recovering."

"I'm fit enough." He raised an eyebrow at you, and you were certainly considering it. He could definitely be very convincing, when he wanted to.

"Are you sure?" You stuck your bottom lip out, pouting at him.

"I'm sure, baby." His hands found their way to your waist, and he was looking up at you with what you could only describe as hunger in his eyes, jaw clenched. He made it so hard for you to say no. "Come on, let me prove it to you. Let me show you how much I love you.”

"I don't know, Michael-"

"Please, sweetheart." He interrupted you, "Missed your body. Been so desperate for you."

Hearing him say he was desperate for you had a knot growing in your stomach. You sighed, weighing up the options you had, but ultimately deciding that you'd both be unable to think about anything else if you didn't have sex.

"Okay. Alright, but if you feel like you need to stop, you stop. Okay?"

"I will. Thank you, darling." You could feel him hardening through his trousers, and it had you biting down hard on your lips, having been waiting for this moment to come since he could sit up straight. He'd teased you while in the hospital, talked dirty, touched you every now and again, but it was hard to find a time when a nurse wasn't going to walk in and scold him for being too active, and Polly wasn't going to come in for a visit. "Now, come here."

He pushed himself up, back against the headboard, and dipped his head to connect your lips. It was fast, rough, a clash of teeth and tongue and lips, he'd missed you, and you were making it clear that you'd thought about him for the entire time he'd been in the hospital.

His hands roamed your back, pulling you closer so that you were chest to chest. He could feel his wounds burning when your torso collided with his, but the taste of your lips on his and the feeling of having you so close again quickly dissolved any discomfort he felt.

He was so needy for you, hips bucking upwards to meet yours, hands sliding down to grip your hips, you thought it was the hottest you'd ever seen him. "Fuck, Michael." You gasped out as his lips found your neck, head falling back.

He groaned at the sound of you moaning for him, he'd been waiting to touch you for so long. "Need you, pretty girl. We've got plenty of time for other things later, but I need to be inside you right now."

You didn't need to say another word, you simply nodded and helped him to unbuckle his belt while you hiked your dress up above your waist. His fingers grazed over your lingerie, and you mewled, the feeling almost too much. "Jesus, baby, you're so wet already. Haven't even done anything yet."

"Missed you so much, Michael." You breathed out, an answer to his statement, and simply a statement in itself.

"Missed you too, princess." You loved when he called you pet names.

You watched as he freed himself from his underwear, and his cock sprung up, hard and ready for you. "You're hard already." You mocked his words, and he laughed.

Neither of you wasted any time with foreplay, your panties were ripped off and on the floor with one flick of Michael's wrist, and he was lifting you off of him slightly, and guiding you back down onto his cock.

The feeling of him sliding into you again was euphoric for both of you. You hadn't had sex in more than a month, as opposed to usually being borderline sex addicts, and you knew you wouldn't last long.

You both let out pornographic moans as he bottomed out, Michael's face said it all. His mouth hung open, eyebrows knitted together, eyes wide, you were so tight, he could've came at the feeling of his cock stretching you out.

"Fuck, not gonna last long, honey." His forehead fell against yours and he screwed his eyes shut, just revelling in how good you felt around him. "Are you alright?" He asked, hand holding and stroking your waist lovingly. He was big, and you were so used to him before that you hardly needed any time to adjust, but with being away from eachother for so long, he was almost too much to handle.

"I'm okay. Give me a second. Feel so full." You were breathing heavily, shifting around. It wasn't uncomfortable as such, just a lot to take.

Michael ran his fingers through your hair, soothing you and pressing kisses to your forehead. "Taking me so well, baby. Just take your time."

"Fuck," You moaned, you loved when he was sweet to you in bed. You'd told him months ago that you thought it might've been your biggest turn on. "You can move."

Michael looked up at you, just for an extra check that you were truly alright, and, upon finding no sign that you weren't, bucked his hips up to meet yours. You almost screamed, he knew exactly what spots to hit, and he did every time without fail.

You bounced on him, his hands helping you, lifting you off of him and bringing you straight back down at new angles every time. "You feel so good, Mike."

"Fuck, good girl. That's a good girl." Michael let his forehead drop onto your collarbone, watching your tits bounce up and down. You were so beautiful, he often wondered how he'd gotten so lucky. "Tell me how good I'm making you feel."

"So, so good. Missed your cock so much. Love it so much." Your words were slightly slurred, eyes starting to droop. He loved watching you, how much of a mess you'd get, just from riding his cock.

His hands found your tits, massaging them and twisting your nipples, which always had you screaming for him, and today was no different. "Feel good?"

"Feels fucking amazing." He thrust into you at just the right angle, which had you gasping and digging your nails into his back, leaving little red half moons on his shoulder blades. "Oh, right there, Mike.”

"Shit, baby, are you close?" You were clenching around him so tightly, "Can feel it, you're close."

"I'm so close." You moaned, you were certain your upstairs neighbours would hear you, the walls and ceilings were thin, and Michael was making you yell out in pleasure.

"Me too. Almost there, sweetheart. Hang on for me." He increased his speed, making it even harder for you to hold on, and making your moans fall from your lips even louder than before.

"I don't think I can, Mike." Your legs were shaking like crazy, and you could feel his dick tensing inside of you. You needed to come so badly.

"I said hold on. You can hold it." His face was stern as he said it, dominant side coming out as he grabbed your hips and slammed you down onto him, bucking his hips at the same time. He was going to make this so good for you.

"Fuck, Michael, please." You threw your head back. You felt his cock twitch, and a loud moan come from him, he was going to come.

"Alright, baby, come. Come with me."

Your throat was hoarse from moaning as loudly as you were, but it didn't stop you from screaming his name as your walls tightened around him and you came undone. The feeling of his cum painting your insides never got old, always made you feel like you could go at least another few rounds.

"Oh my God." You panted, collapsing onto his chest as he lay back on the bed. You both lay there, breathing heavily, sweaty messes, for a few minutes. You didn't think you could move very far, your legs were shaking against him.

"Jesus, have I missed this." Michael kissed the top of your head through quick, harsh breaths.

"I've missed this so much." You agreed, heart pounding.

You lifted your head, just enough to see that there were a few speckles of blood seeping through the bandage that was wrapped around his torso. "You're bleeding, baby. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He nodded, and reached over to your bedside cabinet to grab the small alarm clock that sat there. It read two o’clock. Michael grinned at you.

"Time to change the bandages."

#michael gray x reader #michael gray #michael gray smut #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinders #thomas shelby #tommy shelby smut #peaky blinders smut #peaky blinders x reader #finn cole #peaky blinders fic

491 notes · View notes

shmaptainwrites · 2 months

Text

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀 [𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐒𝐎𝐍]

PAIRINGS — James Wilson x ex-wife!Reader

SUMMARY — James and Reader have not been on great terms since their divorce, but an emerging situation with their son forces them to put aside their differences and work together and hope that past feelings don't resurface

WARNINGS — hospitalization, chronic illness, swearing, complicated feelings (idk y'all they're divorced what more can I say)

NOTE — Okay so I have so many things to say about this fic, but if I say them all this post will be way too long it already is like this came up as 33 pages in my docs but this is a day late birthday present for @shots-of-wilson-and-whiskey who also provided the James pic I hope you had such a fun day and a great year of simping ahead!

Pronounciation — Mahlet = Ma-h-let | Hennock = Hey-knock

Ever since you had become a mother, birthday parties were the bane of your existence. The sugar overload, the loud noises, the cleanup afterwards, all amounted to your own personal hell. Yet, you would move hell or high water for your son to have the most enjoyable party every single year.

Today was no different, eight years later you were still breaking your back to ensure every small detail was perfect, from the pin the spikes on the stegosaurus to the cake you’d spent at least a month painstakingly training to make.

A friend of yours, another parent from the school your son Julian went to, came over in the kitchen to give you a hand with some of the snacks.

“How are you managing here?” she asked and you took a deep breath.

“Managing is the operative word,” you chuckled. “Kids having fun out there?”

“Yeah, loads, you’ve outdone yourself again,” she assured you. “Will James be making an appearance?”

“I stopped asking myself that question after we got divorced,” you said while fixing the plate of vegetables and dip. “He’s supposed to, he promised Julian, but we all know how that ends.”

There seemed to be a bit of commotion out in the backyard and you tried to assess what was happening from the window, but your suspicions that something was off was confirmed when Julian’s best friend, Hennock, came rushing inside.

“Mrs. Wilson, something’s going on with Julian,” he said and you frowned while your friend followed you outside to see the kids circling around Julian who seemed to be gripping onto his chest.

“Jay, what’s going on? Are you okay?” you bent down to be closer to his eye-level, trying to understand what was happening to your son.

“Can’t…” he pointed to his mouth. “Can’t…breathe,” he wheezed.

Your eyes went wide, but before you could grab him and run for the car he began to cough and you hoped and prayed there was just something caught in his throat that would make its way out, but with the coughing came spatters of red all over your white shirt.

“Mahi,” you looked over at your friend quickly while picking Julian up. You didn’t have to say a word, she already knew what she needed to do.

Living close to the hospital, it was worth it to drive yourself, that way you didn’t have to wait for an ambulance to get to you. You had made the mental calculations many times before, just in case there was an emergency and now it was finally coming in handy.

When you got Julian in the car, you checked in on his breathing, it was still laboured, but at least at this point he was getting in the air, even if he was coughing up blood.

You turned on the car and began driving while calling your ex-husband with one hand. The line rang until you reached voicemail so you called again, expecting at least this time for him to pick up, only to hear the tone once more.

“Dammit James!” you threw your phone down on the seat next to you knowing you’d deal with him later, now you needed to focus on getting to the hospital without killing either of you.

Barely paying attention to how your car was parked, you grabbed Julian out of the back seat and ran into the ER with him.

“Ma’am, what’s going on?” a nurse came and asked you as you put Julian down.

“My son, he-he’s having trouble breathing and he’s coughing up blood I-I-I don’t know what’s happening.”

Before you could say a word they had whisked Julian away and another nurse came to ask you some questions about his medical history and any information that may be important to the doctors treating him.

“Where’s my son?” you asked, “I want to see my son.”

“Ma’am I’m sorry, but the doctors are working on getting his airway cleared, you can’t be with him right now.”

You pressed your lips into a thin line and bit back your tongue. There were a million and one things you wanted to say to the nurse, but none of them would help your situation. On the other hand, finding your ex might.

So instead of finding the waiting room you went over to the elevator and made your way up to the oncology department, briskly walking through the halls until you reached his office. At this point, you didn’t bother knocking, opening the door to see him sitting down over a file and talking with House.

“Hey Greg,” you said in a fake cheery voice. “Mind giving us the room?”

“Oh, this is the wife with the kid, did you forget to pay child support?” House asked James.

“Get out, Greg,” you said warningly and he listened, instead opting to steal the rest of James’ sandwich and slipping past you, while wishing James good luck and letting you slam the door shut behind you.

“What’s going on?” James asked, clearly confused by your demeanour and appearance. “If this is about the party I didn’t forget I was-wait is that blood,” he stood up from his chair and came over to you.

“What’s going on is you didn’t pick up your fucking phone,” you said angrily.

“Hey,” James looked at you sternly. “What is going on?” he repeated his question, this time more pointedly.

You could feel your lips begin to tremble and your vision became blurred while you shook your head.

“Who’s blood is on your shirt?”

You chewed on the inside of your cheek, “It’s Julian’s.”

“Julian-I-what happened?” his demeanour changed from frustrated with your attitude towards him to worrying for his son.

“I-I don’t know he said he couldn’t breathe and then he started coughing up blood and I just picked him up and drove him here a-and now they won’t let me see him.”

“You drove him?” he asked incredulously. “You didn’t think to maybe call an ambulance?”

“That’s what you’re hung up on? That I decided to drive because it was faster than getting him an ambulance?”

“That’s not what I-,”

“Yes it is,” you stepped back. “I wouldn’t have needed an ambulance if you were there.”

James sighed and chose to ignore your comment,

“Where is he?” he asked.

“Emergency room,” you muttered. “They won’t let me see him, you need to talk to them, say something, anything.”

James nodded his head, at least you could agree on that. He walked with you out of the office and to the elevator so you could go to the ER together and figure out what the hell was happening to your son.

When you got down there and James began speaking to the nurses, they informed him that Julian had been moved to the ICU and his respiration was being closely monitored while they ran a few tests to see what had caused the arrest.

You had to fight to hold yourself upright when they pulled back the curtain and you could see Julian hooked up to all the machines and with a ventilator tube stuck down his throat. You covered your mouth with your hand and shook your head again. This couldn’t be happening, now you were supposed to be cutting into cake and opening presents, not sitting in the ICU.

You stepped inside with James and he closed the curtain to give you a bit of privacy and decided to look over his chart and see if they had given any relevant information there. Seeing none, he turned his attention over to you, seeing your eyes filled with tears, unable to tear your gaze away from your son.

James walked over to you and cautiously put a hand on your shoulder, eventually encouraging you to turn around so he could pull you into his arms. You allowed your tears to soak his white coat, gripping onto him so tightly because there was nowhere else to hold.

You could hear his breathing change, accompanied by the small sniffles and you knew he was doing just as bad as you were right now, wiping the tears from his own eyes as he finally allowed himself to see his son as he was, sick, helpless, vulnerable, and only moments ago, without his dad’s help when he needed him most.

Your moment was interrupted when you heard the curtain being pulled back and you saw two doctors standing there. You pulled away from James and wiped whatever remaining tears were in your eyes so you could properly address them.

It seemed as though one of the doctors recognized James and when he looked down at the file and saw the name he made the connection internally.

“Can we talk to you guys out in the waiting room for a moment?” he asked.

“I don’t want to leave my son,” you shook your head.

“Ma’am, this is the ICU and the visiting hours are very strictly adhered to, I think your husband maybe got lucky and pulled a few strings so you could see your son, but we need to leave now.”

“He’s not my husband,” you muttered and reluctantly followed them out of the makeshift room and towards the waiting area.

“Did you find out what was wrong?” James asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I looked at his chart. You took him for an emergency CT and bloodwork.”

“We also ran a few other tests,” the doctor began explaining. “From the medical history your, um, ex wife gave I had a suspicion of something so we ran a sweat test to check for elevated chloride levels and it just came back positive.”

“Chloride levels?” you looked up at James. “What does that mean?”

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “It means Julian has cystic fibrosis.”

“I-I’ve heard of that, is it curable?” you asked.

“I’ll leave you guys with Dr. Liu, he deals with the pediatric cystic fibrosis cases and will be able to answer your questions better than I can,” he wished you a good day and left you alone with the other doctor.

“Cystic fibrosis is manageable-,”

“So you can’t cure it,” you reiterated.

The doctor shook his head, “Unfortunately there is no cure for CF yet, but many people have been able to live longer and happy lives with the medical technology now available.”

James was silent, taking in all the information that was being presented.

“How did he get it? Is it contagious or-or was it just always there?” you asked.

“It’s a genetic condition, so he’s always had it, the symptoms have just gotten to the point where they’re now visible,” the doctor explained.

“I-It’s genetic so one of us is a carrier?” you pointed to you and James.

“We both are,” James said. “Both parents have to be carriers to pass it down to their child, right?”

Dr. Liu nodded and you pressed your lips together.

“C-Can you just tell us what this means for right now?” you asked. “I just think-I think I need a minute.”

Dr. Liu nodded his head and explained they were giving Julian medication to help with the infection and airway damage that caused him to cough up blood, then they would get him on some bronchodilators to help with his breathing for the time being while they assessed what other issues the cystic fibrosis had potentially caused in his body. He’d have to stay at the hospital for a while, but hopefully could be moved to the pediatric ward within the next day or so.

“We can talk more about what Julian’s medical journey will look like later, I’ll give you guys some time together and if you have any questions, Wilson’s got my pager and knows where my office is.”

You nodded your head and thanked him quietly as he left the waiting area. You finally sat down on one of the chairs.

James took the seat next to you and you covered your face with your hands.

“We couldn’t give him a functional family and a happy home and now we’ve given him a chronic medical condition to top it off.”

“Blaming ourselves isn’t going to do anything for Julian,” James said.

“And sitting around here is?” you asked and James sighed.

“No, no it’s not.”

You sat there in silence for a little while longer before you noticed James stand up and motion for you to follow him. As much as you didn’t want to listen to him and just sit and wait until they would let you be with Julian again, you got up and followed him to one of the OR supply closets. He used a key to unlock the door and sifted through some materials until he found what he was looking for, pulling out a scrub shirt in your size and handing it over to you.

You looked down at your own shirt, seeing the red specks of Julian’s blood and closed the door behind your both, pulling your shirt off over your head and handing it to James. You were about to put the other shirt on when you noticed the flecks of dried blood against your chest.

While you eyes were transfixed on that, James had grabbed an alcohol wipe package from the shelves and tore it open with his teeth, removing the wipe and reaching over to help you clean the blood off yourself.

“James, I can do it myself,” you reached for the wipe, but he pulled it away.

“You’ve got some on your neck too, just let me take care of it,” he insisted.

You knew better than to cause a fight over something trivial like this right now so you put your hands down, watching as James tossed your shirt over his shoulder and carefully began wiping away the specks of your son’s blood off your chest, collarbone, and neck.

“Have you eaten today?” he asked you while holding your face to tilt it to the side so he could get a spot he’d missed earlier.

“No, why?”

“Because it’s his birthday, you’d always forget to eat until dinner and even then it would be scraps from the party until I forced you to eat something better,” he recounted. “Let’s just go grab something from the cafeteria before we go back to the ICU, okay?”

“Will it make a difference if I say I’m not hungry?” you asked.

“You can’t take care of Julian if you’re not taking care of yourself.”

You scoffed and pulled the shirt over your head, “And you’ve suddenly become an expert on taking care of your family?”

“Believe it or not, we were once happy and there was a reason we got married and decided to have a child together.”

“And there’s a reason we got divorced too,” you added and opened the door behind you.

You didn’t go to the cafeteria, instead heading back to the ICU waiting room knowing either visiting hours would have to start eventually or they’d move Julian to his own room and you could finally sit with him.

James clearly hadn’t followed you so you ended up alone again, wringing your hands and waiting for some sort of news.

Eventually, you felt a bag drop on your lap and you looked up and saw James standing overtop of you. You looked inside and saw a package of a sandwich, a small bag of chips, and a water bottle.

You knew he was right, that if you didn’t take care of yourself you wouldn’t be able to take care of Julian, so you forced yourself to eat, even if you didn’t want to.

A little while later, Dr. Liu had returned and informed you that they were moving Julian to the pediatric ward and you could stay with him there in his room. When you joined him there, James had taken off his white coat and tossed it on one of the chairs, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and sitting down next to Julian’ taking one of his hands in his own.

“Don’t you have patients you need to see?” you asked, sitting on the opposite side of the hospital bed.

“I told Cuddy I needed the day, someone else is taking care of it for me,” he said, not removing his gaze from Julian.

With the two of them sitting next to each other like that, you could clearly see the similarities Julian had with his father. They shared the same eyes and nose, and when they smiled they had the same little creases around their eyes.

You wished that’s what you could have been looking at, them smiling together, instead of the frown etched onto James’ face and Julian still fast asleep while an oxygen mask now delivered the air he needed to help him breathe.

“Do you know much about cystic fibrosis?” you asked James, brushing your thumb against Julian’s other hand.

“Only that it mainly affects the digestive system and the respiratory tract,” he explained. “I’m not too familiar with how it's managed, just that there’s regular doctor’s visits and probably some medication and therapies involved.”

You could feel a small stirring and you looked down and saw Julian’s hand begin to move underneath yours.

You smiled when you saw his eyes blink open and James was quick to stand up and come closer to him so he had a familiar face to look at while he took in his surroundings.

“Hey buddy,” James smiled and you could see Julian light up at the sight of his dad. He lifted his hand to try to remove the oxygen mask, but James gently encouraged him not to. “This is giving your lungs an extra hand right now, let’s just keep it on until the doctor tells us it's okay to take it off.”

“But you’re a doctor,” Julian countered and James chuckled.

“I am, but I'm not your doctor. I am, however, your dad so you have to listen to me anyways,” he teased and bent down to kiss his son’s cheek and tickle him a little bit in the process.

“Hey, go easy on him,” you placed a gentle hand on James' arm and he laid off.

“You know,” James said. “It’s still your birthday.”

“It is?” Julian asked and you both nodded and James reached down to grab something he’d brought with him.

“All the presents your friends got you are at home waiting for you to get better so you can open them, but this is what I got for you,” he said. “I was gonna come and bring it to the party, but I think you brought the party to me.”

Julian laughed a little at that and you rolled your eyes, of course James could make himself look good by not showing up.

He sat up with the help of his dad and pulled out the tissue paper from the bag to see the present that was hiding underneath. With a big grin on his face, he took out a dinosaur stuffed animal along with a book all about the different species of the Cretaceous period.

“This is awesome,” Julian grinned. “Thanks dad, I love it.”

James gave Julian another kiss and you joined them, taking a seat on the bed and glancing over at the book on Julian’s lap.

“How are you feeling sweetheart?” you asked, fixing the twisted band of the oxygen mask on his face.

“My throat hurts a little bit,” he admitted. “And I’m kinda hungry.”

“Let me call a nurse and we’ll see what you can eat,” you said and pressed the button to send someone over from the nurses’ station.

Meanwhile, James poured Julian a glass of water and helped him take a few sips of it. His throat was probably irritated from being on the ventilator, but his lungs had become stabilized from the use of the bronchodilators.

The nurse came and you spoke to her about getting Julian something to eat and she said she’d double check with Dr. Liu and then grab him some food.

“Hey, Jay,” you walked over to the bed and took your son’s hand in yours. “Are you okay to hang out here with dad while I go grab some stuff from home? The doctors said we might hang around here for a few days so I think I need to pack a bag.”

“Yeah, that’s okay,” Julian nodded. “Are you okay mom?” he reached up and touched your cheek and you realized you'd let a few more tears slip.

“Yeah, I’m just really happy you’re okay,” you wiped the tears away and pressed a big kiss to his cheek. “Right, Jamie? We’re both happy he’s okay.”

James looked over at you with softness reflecting in his eyes at the sound of the nickname he hadn’t heard in a long time and nodded his head.

“Bring some cake back with you,” Julian whispered. “Even if dad and the doctor say no we can sneak some.”

You laughed at his plan and gave him another kiss, assuring him you’d pack some in a container to bring for him when you came back.

When you arrived at your home, you thought you might cry at the sight in front of you. The kitchen and living room were completely clean, presents piled neatly on the coffee table along with a new card you didn’t recognize. Coming closer, you noticed the bright marker, signature of eight-year-olds across the country, with the message Get Well Soon Julian! written on it and signed by all his friends who had attended the party.

You packed the card in your bag along with a few other things and made a mental note to grab a nice thank you gift for Mahlet to thank her for what she had done.

As promised, you cut a big chunk of cake, enough for the three of you to share, and packed it in a tupperware to bring back to the hospital.

You grabbed a few changes of clothes for both you and Julian and changed out of the temporary shirt you had on and into something more comfortable for the rest of the evening, making sure everything you needed was in place before heading out and going back to the hospital.

When you got back to Julian’s room you saw James squished in next to him on the bed, the book he had bought him opened on his lap as he read its contents to Julian. Julian was resting his head against James’ arm and James was doing those big exaggerations he always would whenever he’d read bedtime stories to Julian, emphasizing all the insane details and changing the inflections of his voice in just the right way to make him laugh.

“I brought cake,” you grinned, holding up the container as you entered the room, holding three plastic forks. “If Dr. Dad says it's okay, we can eat it.”

“Dr. Dad desperately needs some sugar,” James nodded his head and closed the book for the time being while you took a seat by Julian’s legs and opened the container, handing each of the boys a fork.

You helped Julian take off his oxygen mask for the time being and placed it off to the side, acutely aware of how his breathing sounded more laboured without it.

James only snuck in a couple bites of the cake before taking the mask from your side and holding it ready in case Julian needed a bit of an extra hand.

Just as he had predicted, after a few bites of cake Julian was noticing a bit of a difficulty to get air into his lungs and James held up the mask to his face, allowing him to take a couple deep breaths.

“What do you think of the cake, Jay?” you asked.

“Really good, just like everytime you make it,” he grinned.

“I’m sorry you didn’t have a great birthday, buddy,” James apologized. “I mean with all your friends and classmates.”

“What do you mean?” Julian asked. “I think I had a good birthday.”

“You do?” you frowned curiously, wondering what kind of light he’d seen in the day that you and James as worried parents had somehow missed. “What made it good?”

“We’re sitting eating cake. Together. Just like when I was little,” he said simply and you chewed on the inside of your cheek, looking over at James whose gaze hadn’t left Julian. He almost looked disappointed, at what, you couldn’t place, but at least for the moment Julian was happy and that was all either of you really wanted.

—

You grabbed your purse from the ground and thanked Dr. Liu for all of the information he had given you and assured you’d be there with Julian at the allocated follow-up time you had arranged. You were just about to leave when James came rushing into the room, apologies spewing out of his mouth for being late.

“Late? You missed the whole appointment.”

“I-I did?” he said, looking down at his watch and cursing when he saw the time.

“Jay, sweetheart, why don’t you sit down here,” you moved out of Dr. Liu’s office and set him up on a chair in one of the general waiting areas and handed him his dinosaur book from your purse. “I just need to go have a chat with your dad real quick.”

Julian nodded and opened up the book, flipping through the pages while you grabbed James’ arm and pulled him into a dead-end hallway so you could speak in private.

“What the hell took you so long?” you asked firmly. “We waited for twenty minutes before even starting the appointment!”

“I’m sorry,” James apologized, “I was in the OR with a patient and something went haywire and it took longer than expected to fix it.”

“Still, you couldn’t have told someone to at least pass on a message?”

“I was in the middle of saving a patient’s life! What did you want me to do?”

“I wanted you to be there for your son,” you whispered harshly. “You make promises you can’t keep and I have to watch him get disappointed over and over again. He does not deserve that, especially now.”

James placed his hands on his hips and said,

“I am trying to be there, it’s not for lack of effort-,”

“Well try harder!” you threw your hands up in the air. “You’re an ex-husband James, not an ex-father. You don’t have to show up for me anymore, but you damn well better show up for him.”

When he said nothing you continued.

“Believe it or not, you don’t have to work as much as you do James. You chose to do that and right now that’s coming at your son’s expense and he is scared and vulnerable and neither of us know half of what Dr. Liu is talking to us about. Do you know what he said to me when I was confused about the management plan? He said Dad would know what this means. Dad can help us. And he’s right, you would have known and you can help so stop acting like your fucking schedule controls you and get your schedule under control.”

James was quiet for a moment before he nodded his head,

“Okay,” he said simply.

You knew better than to get your hopes up with him and you didn’t have any more energy to argue, so you told him you could talk more later, but right now you were going to take Julian home so he could rest in his own bed and finally open his birthday presents.

“Is dad coming with us?” Julian asked when you picked him up and began walking away to leave the hospital.

“No, not this time,” you shook your head.

“Did you fight with him again?” Julian asked and you pressed your lips together.

“We just had a disagreement,” you settled on. “You can call him later when he’s done work if you want to talk to him, sounds good?”

Julian was content with your answer and left it at that.

Over the next few days, aside from Julian’s call, you didn’t hear much for James and you assumed things were right on track to going back to the way they had always been. You loved your son to pieces, but this was one time you wished his dad would be here to support, working and caring for Julian on top of trying to figure out how to be his at home doctor was already taking its toll and you didn’t know how you’d be able to keep it up.

One night, you were sitting in the living room reading a book Dr. Liu had recommended. It was detailing strategies for parents with children who had cystic fibrosis. In the middle of your chapter you were interrupted by a knock to your door and you put in your bookmark, wondering who was stopping by this far into the evening.

Unlocking the door and opening it, you found it hard to hide the surprise in your face when you saw James on the other end.

“James?” you tilted your head. “I haven’t heard from you at all this week, what’s going on?”

“I reduced my patient load,” he said, “and I talked to Cuddy about reducing my clinic hours. I still have to do some administrative stuff for the department, but it can be done from home for the most part.”

“Oh,” you were surprised to say the least. You didn’t realize your outburst the other day had worked.

“You were right,” he said. “I need to be here for Julian and I can’t do that if my work always comes first.”

You nodded your head, following along with what he was saying.

“C-Can I come in and see him?” James asked. “I know our custody agreement has always been all over the place-,”

You didn’t say anything, simply opening the door wider for him to come inside.

“He’s asleep in his room,” you said. “When you’re done we can talk some more.”

James nodded and stepped inside, slipping off his shoes and taking off his jacket, making his way to Julian’s room to sit with him for a moment before joining you in the kitchen.

“Want something to drink?” you asked and he said some water would be nice. You poured him a glass while waiting for the water to boil for your tea.

“I saw the book you were reading over there,” he pointed to the couch. “Dr. Liu recommended it to me too, I just finished it the other night.”

“Show off,” you rolled your eyes and handed him the glass.

“What I was trying to say is I think something that stood out to me is having consistency and a routine is good, especially when things are new,” James explained. “I don’t think it makes sense for him to be moving back and forth from here to my place.”

“So you think we should have a home base here?” you confirmed and he nodded.

“I can come by more often, if there’s days where you need to be at work I can be doing the administrative stuff here after school and take care of Julian until you get back.”

You pursed your lips and as you heard the kettle click, moved to pour your hot water into the mug you were holding.

“These are all good ideas,” you started.

“I’m assuming there’s a but coming?”

“But I don’t want to give Julian the wrong impression is all.”

James shook his head.

“You really need to pick whatever it is you want,” James crossed his arms over his chest. “First I’m not here enough, I don’t put my family first. Now I’m putting my family first and you’re worried Julian’s going to think this means we’re getting back together.”

“He doesn’t need to get his hopes up for something that’s never going to happen,” you said flatly.

“Have you ever considered having a conversation with him instead of shielding him from every little thing that might hurt him?” James asked and you rolled your eyes.

“Clearly every little thing can hurt him!” you pointed over to his room. “He can’t even breathe without help, James. Maybe he needs to be protected.”

“Stop, just stop,” James ran a hand over his face. “I can’t get into a fight with you every single time we see each other. Julian is just as much my son as he is yours, if this is going to work we need to be able to have a conversation with each other.”

You took a sip of your tea and said,

“Okay, I’m worried Julian might take the fact that you’re around more the wrong way.”

James nodded his head, “I hear you, so maybe we should talk to him about it and say I’m coming around more to lend a hand around the house and help take care of him.”

“Dad? What are you doing here?” as if on cue, Julian had walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes awake and adjusting to the light.

“Julian, where’s your oxygen mask?”

“I don’t wanna wear it mom,” he whined. “I don’t like the way it feels on my face.”

You sighed, having had this conversation at least five times before, you didn’t know what else you could say to convince him.

“Hey buddy, maybe we should listen to mom on this one,” James suggested. “You know that feeling you’ve got right here,” he pointed to his chest. “That’s only gonna get worse if you don’t wear it and we don’t want to have to go to the hospital again, right?”

Julian shook his head and sighed, stomping back over to his room to grab the portable machine and place the tube under his nose and around his ears, allowing him to get the right amount of oxygen.

You looked over at James gratefully and he reached his hand out to yours and gave it a squeeze. It was nice being on the same team even if you had just been arguing.

When Julian came back he repeated his question to his dad who explained that he was here to talk to you about a few things that would be changing soon and that he’d be around more to help look after him.

“If you’re going to be here to help look after me can you stay tonight?” Julian asked. “Mom still has some of your clothes in those boxes in her closet.”

“She does, does she,” James looked over at you.

“It was the stuff you wanted to give away and I never got around to it,” you said. “There’s probably a hoodie and some pyjama pants in there if you want to stay.”

James pressed his lips together and sighed,

“You know buddy as much as I would love to have a sleepover with you I don’t think it’s a good idea if I spend the night here,” James said. “But I can tuck you in again and wait until you fall asleep to go back home.”

“Mom, can you come too?” Julian asked and you nodded your head.

James stood up and helped Julian carry his portable oxygen machine back to his bedroom and you trailed behind them, watching as James carefully tucked Julian back under the covers while peppering his face with small kisses, like he would do when Julian was younger and just learning to sleep in his own room.

“Dad that tickles,” Julian giggled and James simply smiled and continued littering his face with kisses.

“Too bad. I love you too much; I just can’t get enough of you.”

“Alright, move it,” you nudged James from the opposite side of the bed and took your turn. “It must tickle having two parents who love you so damn much.”

“It does,” Julian’s laughter died out as you both finally left him alone, sitting on either side of his mattress.

You both wished him a good night and waited as he slowly fell back asleep. When his breathing was steady and his grip loosened on yours and James’ hands you took it as your cue to leave the room.

James placed a hand on your shoulder as you stepped out of the room, prompting you to turn around and face him.

“I’ll come by tomorrow and we can work out a schedule or something, does that sound good?”

You nodded your head,

“Yeah, I have a work thing tomorrow in the evening, I was gonna ask Mahlet, Hennock’s mom, if she could come look after Julian, but if you’re around…”

“I’ll come for dinner and then do the bedtime routine,” he said and you smiled.

“James I’m begging you-,”

“I won’t be late,” he assured. “No surgeries planned and I’m ending my shift with clinic duty.”

You pressed your lips into a thin line and nodded your head.

“I’ll see you then,” you patted his arm and he showed himself out.

You walked back to the kitchen grabbing your now lukewarm cup of tea and sitting back on the couch picking up your book and opening it, reading until you couldn’t keep your eyes open any longer, falling asleep right there on the couch.

—

Over the next few months, you, James, and Julian had developed some sort of routine around school, work, and doctor’s appointments. A part of you thought you were spending more time together as a family than when you were married.

Today you had to go in for work, also having reduced your hours, but in a way that you were working in tandem with James. When you arrived back home the house smelled like warm spices and big plates of home-cooked food.

You dropped your keys on the entryway table, next to James’ keys and wallet and took off your jacket, hanging it up before coming to the kitchen and seeing Julian and Hennock doing their homework at the island.

“Mr. Wilson, what is the difference between these two words?” Hennock asked, holding up his paper so James could see while cutting some vegetables for a salad.

“I think the first one is the kind of principal in your school that looks after all the students and the other one is… man, that’s hard to describe. Hey, how do you describe what principle is to an eight-year-old?” James asked you.

“I think that kind of principle is something that guides the way people behave or act,” you sat next to Julian and Hennock. “Like a principle is the foundation for something that people believe in.”

Hennock and Julian still looked a little confused by your explanation so you tried to give an example.

“So a principle could be to be kind to everyone we meet and so people who believe in that principle will try to follow it.”

That put it in better terms for them to understand and there was a chorus of oh’s before they looked back down at their papers and scribbled down a few things to answer the questions they were asked.

“They learning about homonyms?” you asked James and he nodded.

“I talked to Mahlet,” James said, changing the topic. “Hennock’s gonna stay for dinner and she’ll come pick him up around seven.”

“Sounds good, it’s always nice to have you, Henny,” you smiled and ruffled your hand through his coarse curly hair in an endearing way.

“Thanks, Mrs. Wilson,” Hennock smiled.

James was now over the stove, stirring what looked like a soup before giving it a taste and figuring something might be missing.

“Can you taste this?” James asked. “I don’t know why, but every time I make it there’s something off.”

You took a spoon and tried a little bit of the broth, looking down to see that he was making matzah ball soup and immediately when you tasted it you knew what was missing.

“I know what it is,” you said. “But you can’t tell your mom I told you. She swore me to secrecy.”

“My mother told you this?” James asked and you nodded.

“When we were getting married she wanted me to know how to make it the way she would for you when you were sick.”

“And she didn’t think to tell her own son how to do this?” he seemed thoroughly offended, but all you could do was laugh.

“It’s tarragon. I don’t think it’s something everyone adds, it was just something special she’d put in hers to make it a little different. Here,” you reached into the spice cupboard and took out a jar of dried tarragon and took a bit of the herb out of the container and crushed it in your hands before sprinkling it into the soup. James mixed it in and gave the broth a minute to soak in the flavour before trying it again and shaking his head.

“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me!”

“I’ll let you finish having your little meltdown,” you patted his back. “I’m gonna hop in the shower quickly and we can eat when I get out.”

“Did Dad forget the tarragon?” Julian asked and you nodded your head.

“Wow, so everyone knew, but me?” James asked and you nodded your head with a shrug.

“Sorry, I guess your mom has favourites, or something.”

“Figures,” James teasingly rolled his eyes and you chuckled, waving him off and going to take a shower and change into something a little more comfortable.

When you came back outside they had migrated to the dining room table, each with a bowl of soup in front of them and a plate of salad. You sat on the same side as James since Julian and Hennock were already sitting next to each other and the boys happily recounted the details of their school day and playdate with you while everyone ate their soup and salad.

“What did you do at work, Dad?” James asked.

“Oh, nothing interesting,” he shook his head. “I think your mom was doing bigger things than me.”

“Bigger than treating people with cancer? You flatter me,” you drank some of your soup’s broth. “I had a meeting with a big company about a building they’re making.”

“Did you go do a site visit?” James asked and you nodded.

“Engineers are being a pain in the butt, keep making me adjust the design, but we’ll see who gets the last laugh.”

“Mom always does,” Julian told Hennock and they chuckled along with James.

After dinner James helped you clear up some of the dishes before heading out and leaving you with the boys. When Mahlet came by to pick Hennock up you invited her in for tea and a little visit.

“Thanks for coming to stay with Julian the other night,” you said after handing her a mug. “For once, I was the late one and James had an emergency come up so it was a huge help.”

“And how are things now, with the co-parenting?”

You took a sip of your tea, “Weirdly good,” you admitted. “We don’t argue as much which is nice and Julian gets to see his dad more.”

“Do you think maybe you’re not fighting because he’s changing?” she asked.

“I don’t wanna go down that path,” you shook your head. “If Jay hadn’t been diagnosed things would still be the same as they always were.”

“But they’re not. More often than not people show their true colours during times of difficulty.”

You took a deep breath and sighed, “If that was the case I would have seen something worth keeping when my marriage was falling apart.”

Mahlet nodded, seeing as you had a point and your conversation was halted as they boys came out of Julian’s room.

Mahlet and Hennock left shortly afterwards and you quickly got Julian ready for bed, tucking him in and then going to get settled yourself. You looked through a few client papers for work before calling it a night and turning off your bedside lamp, curling into bed and falling asleep.

Your sleep was interrupted in the middle of the night by a tapping on your shoulder and when you blinked your eyes open you saw Julian standing next to your bed.

“Jay, sweetheart, is something wrong?” you asked.

“My stomach really hurts,” he told you and you sat up, motioning for him to come sit with you on the bed.

“Where?” you asked, turning on the light and he pointed to the upper right corner of his abdomen. If you remembered correctly that wasn’t exactly where his stomach was and your suspicions were confirmed when you saw the yellowing whites of his eyes. “Oh, sweetheart, I think we have to go to the hospital.”

“The hospital? What happened?” Julian looked worried and you assured him everything would be alright.

“We’re just being safe,” you told him. “I’m gonna call your dad, maybe he can tell us a little bit more of what’s going on. Do you feel good enough to get your jacket and shoes and your hospital bag?”

Julian nodded his head and you gave him a kiss and he went off to grab his things while you did the same, but also taking your cell phone and calling James.

It took a few rings, but he eventually picked up.

“Hey, did something happen?” he asked and you could still hear the sleep thick in his voice.

“I think something’s wrong with Julian. I’m gonna take him to the hospital, can you meet us there?”

“Yeah, of course, I’m on my way.”

“James…the whites of his eyes were yellow. Does he have jaundice?” you asked.

“It’s possible, was there anything else?”

“Yeah, he mentioned stomach pain, but he pointed to like his upper right abdomen, I think,” you explained while grabbing your bag and putting on some socks.

“Makes sense as a liver issue,” you could hear his car starting in the background. “If he’s presenting symptoms now I would call an ambulance.”

“James-,”

“Just trust me,” he said. “Call 911.”

“Okay,” you nodded your head and hung up, calling the emergency services and explaining the situation to them and then to Julian while you waited for them to arrive.

James made the right call, seeing as while you were in the ambulance Julian began to throw up and the paramedics obviously handled it better than you could have if you had driven him.

When you arrived at the ER they wheeled Julian away and you began getting flashbacks to when you first brought him in.

“Where are you taking him?” you called after them, but no one answered you. “What the hell kind of hospital is this?! Where are you taking my son?!”

“Ma’am they're taking your son to do a liver biopsy,” one of the nurses came back and informed you. “We need you to sign this consent form.”

You nodded your head and took the pen from her hand, signing it, but just as you were about to ask her a question she ran off to give them the okay.

You could feel your anger and worry bubbling inside your throat and you wanted to let it out in a scream and you were about to go running after her, but before you could you felt someone grab your wrist and pull you back.

“James let me go,” you said warningly, looking back at your ex-husband.

“No,” he stated just as firmly.

“James-,”

“I am not going to let you do something you’re going to regret,” he said and pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you, even when you pushed to get away.

“James, let me go.”

“No,” he repeated and simply held onto you tighter.

“Let me-,” your voice broke and you stopped pushing away. “Please, Jamie, please I just want to see him,” you cried into his shirt and he squeezed you so tight you thought you might get bruises in your arm from the way he was holding you.

“I know, I know,” he whispered. “You brought him here and he’s going to be fine.”

“I can’t do this anymore, James. I can't be his mom and his doctor and they can’t expect me to wait out here while they drag him away and ask me to consent to God knows what.”

James didn’t know what to tell you, instead he just continued to hold you close, rubbing his hands up and down your back, and pressed a soft kiss against your temple.

You wrapped your arms around him and finally let yourself fully sink into his embrace, hating yourself for how much you liked it and how good it made you feel while your son was in some back corner of the ER getting a piece of his liver biopsied.

Eventually James pulled away from you, helping you dry your tears on the sleeve of his sweater and walking with his arm wrapped around you to the waiting area. You didn’t know how long you were sitting there, but it was possible that you had dozed off once or twice against James’ arm, waiting to hear some sort of news from the ER doctor.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wilson?”

Your eyes blinked open when James gently shook you awake.

“That’s us,” he said. “Is Julian okay?”

“Your son has a mild case of cirrhosis,” the doctor explained. “Due to his cystic fibrosis diagnosis we believe this is due to clogging and inflammation in his bile ducts.”

“What does that mean for him? Does he need surgery to fix it?” you asked, fighting back a tired yawn.

“Unfortunately, yes,” the doctor nodded. “It’s good you caught it early, there’s minimal damage to his liver so far and he’s still growing which means his liver is too. We can get him into an OR tomorrow if you consent to the surgery.”

You looked over at James and he nodded his head. You trusted him and told the doctor you would sign the papers as soon as you could see Julian.

“He’s been moved to the pediatric ward for now and Dr. Liu has been informed of the development. He should be in touch with you tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” James said and when the doctor left, he helped you up and you began the walk up to the pediatric ward.

When you arrived a nurse pointed you in the direction of his room and after each pressing a kiss to Julain’s forehead you sat on the seat bench together.

“We should sleep,” James said, but you had a hard time imagining how that would be possible.

“I’m having a hard time working out the logistics,” you admitted.

“Come on, it’ll be just like on the way back from our honeymoon,” he insisted, recalling your extremely delayed flight on the way back from France, causing you to sleep with your head on James’ lap, stretched out along the airport chairs.

You were too tired to argue or try and find another way, so you leaned down and rested your head against his legs, closing your eyes and sighing when you felt his hand rub up and down in long motions along the side of your body. Sleep could not have come quicker.

—

“Mom…Mom, Dad?”

Julian rolled his eyes when he received no answer and grabbed the stuffed animal you had placed next to him when he’d come into the room and threw it at his sleeping parents, nailing his dad in the face.

“Oh, God, mhm, wake up,” James shook you while he raised his hands to rub his face.

“Huh?” you opened your eyes and pushed yourself off of James’ lap. “Oh crap, my back. Remind me not to listen to you when you talk about doing something I did ten years ago.”

“Julian, did you throw Steggy at my face?” James asked, picking up the stuffed animal from where it had fallen on you.

“You weren’t getting up,” Julian shrugged his shoulders.

“Julian,” you chastised and took the dinosaur from James’ hand. “You could have hurt your dad’s important doctor-face,” you joked and rubbed your hand all over James’ face making Julian laugh.

“Okay, okay,” James moved your hand away and gave you a look.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” you yawned and moved from the bench to the side of his bed.

“A little better,” he said. “Did the doctors fix what was wrong?”

“Not yet,” James shook his head and came to sit next to you and placed a hand on Julian’s. “You’re gonna have to go in for surgery today.”

“A surgery?” Julian looked a little nervous. “Like cut me open?”

“It’ll be just a line right here,” James drew it with his finger along Julian’s abdomen. “They’re going to fix a part of you called your bile duct and then sew you right back up and you’ll be good as new.”

“Is it dangerous?” he asked.

You looked over at James, a small note telling him to lie to make him feel better. He didn’t need to know all the details.

“No,” James shook his head. “You’re gonna be fine and your mom and I will be here the whole time.”

“Promise?” Julian whispered.

“Swear on it,” James leaned in towards his son and snuck a kiss to his cheek. “We love you, buddy.”

“I love you guys too.”

Dr. Liu came by a little while later to inform you what time the surgery was scheduled for and he helped make Julian feel a lot better about the procedure. When it was finally time for him to go, you were a nervous wreck, but tried not to let it show for Julian’s sake, instead just pressing a big kiss to his forehead and telling him you’d be waiting for him once he got out.

It only took about fifteen minutes of your pacing to get James to grab onto your arm and make you stop.

“You’re gonna burn a hole in the ground,” he said.

“I don’t know what to do with myself,” you admitted. “If I sit I’m gonna fidget, if I stand I’m going to pace.”

“Then come on, let’s go to my office for a second, grab a coffee and a snack and then we can come back out and wait,” he suggested.

You agreed to his idea so he stood up and you walked side by side to his office, passing House who had some comment about your dishevelled appearance together.

“You’re an interesting man, Greg,” you shook your head at him. “You can’t think of any other reason we might be here?”

House was silent so James explained,

“Julian’s in surgery right now. He’s got cirrhosis.”

“Ah so not a late night ex-wife rendez-vous. Can’t get ‘em right all the time,” he shrugged and you chuckled. “I hope the kid’s alright.”

“Thanks, that means a lot coming from you,” you admitted.

He raised his brows and lifted his cane to say goodbye, letting you and James continue your walk to his office.

“House mind that you’re not spending as much time here?” you asked.

“No, he just bothers me more when I am around,” James said while opening the door and letting you inside.

He went towards his desk and pulled out a few packages of snacks tossing you one and you shook your head when you saw the label.

“You still eat these? I thought the FDA recalled them?” you asked sarcastically.

“I’m sorry I have better taste in food than you do,” he said right back.

“Right, this is food,” you chuckled. “And if you have such good taste why didn’t your mom tell you about her secret ingredient?”

“That’s cold,” he pointed to you with a bag of chips in his hand.

“No, it’s true. Just like your dad telling me I was his favourite wife of yours,” you opened the bag James had tossed you.

“Just shut up and eat your snack,” James chuckled and you listened to him, beginning to eat a little something, not realizing how hungry you were until the food made its way to your stomach.

“You got another one of these?” you asked and he nodded, passing it to you when you were finished with the first one.

“Feeling a little better?” James asked and you nodded your head.

“Hey James?” you said, unsure of how you’d gotten to this point, but you were too exhausted to stop yourself from saying it. “I want you to move back in.”

“You want me to do what?” he raised his brows and looked at you stunned.

“I want you to move back in with me and Julian,” you said. “It’s becoming pretty clear to me that it’s safer to have two people around when possible than not and you’re already around all the time now.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked. “I mean you didn’t want to give Julian the wrong idea about us.”

“Our lives changed the second we got that diagnosis. I think we need to change along with everything else.”

You couldn’t believe that just barely twelve hours ago you were telling your friend there was no chance James had changed, but here you were saying things that had proved you had changed. Things you wouldn’t have dreamt of saying a year ago.

“Okay,” James nodded. “I’ll move back in.”

You just silently hoped you wouldn’t regret asking.

Waiting for Julian to get out of surgery was a little easier now that you had some food in your stomach and you decided to wait on coffee until you got the note from the surgeon that everything had gone well.

As James had continued to assure you almost a hundred times, the surgery went fine and before you knew it you were back in Julian’s room watching him sleep off the anaesthetic.

“You know he looks like you when he sleeps,” James said from the bench while you sat on the bed next to Julian.

“He does?”

“Yeah, his nose does that same scrunchy thing when he sniffles and when he snores-,”

“Hey, I only snore when I’m congested,” you said defensively.

“I never minded,” James smiled. “I thought it was cute when you sounded like an old man.”

“Yeah, but you’re not fond of all my old man characteristics,” you turned around to face him, still holding Julian’s hand in yours.

“All your old man characteristics?” James furrowed his brows in confusion.

“You told me I argued like an old man. Stubborn and could only see my own way. And I fought dirty.”

“You sure did,” James nodded. “If you brandishing my mother’s clear favouritism shows anything, it’s definitely that you fight dirty, but I never said I disliked that about you.”

“Really? Near the end I thought there was a lot you disliked about me.”

James shook his head, “No, I was just upset and you were passionate. It wasn’t like my other marriages where things just…fizzled.”

“We did go out with a bang,” you inhaled deeply.

“If it weren’t for Julian… do you think we’d…”

You shook your head.

“No, we probably never would have seen each other again. Another old man trait, I hold a pretty mean grudge.”

James pressed his lips together and looked over at his sleeping son.

“I’m happy we had him,” he said quietly. “Even if we didn’t work out.”

“Me too,” you agreed, looking over at Julian quietly snoring, just like his dad had said. “Best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

You leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Julian’s nose watching him scrunch it up, making you smile. It was a miracle that two such flawed individuals could make a child so perfect.

—

“Alright, he is asleep, but I do warn you it took some bribery so you’ll have to buy him another dinosaur book to read to him at night,” you walked out of Julian’s room, dusting your hands off like you’d just finished a heavy labour job.

“I’ll run to the bookstore tomorrow,” James nodded and you fell onto the couch next to him and sighing as you sunk into the plush fabric before noticing what he was doing.

“Where did you pull these out of?” you asked with a soft chuckle.

“I was just clearing up the closet in the guest bedroom and I found a box of these,” he picked up the albums. “Look at this one.”

He placed the book of photos on your lap and you smiled seeing as it was Julian’s baby album, filled with small mementos and little notes you and James had made in the margins.

“Oh my God, Mom’s first day home, she looks like an angel,” you read from the side. “And my response: I look like I just got hit by a bus, cut it out.”

“You can still read my chicken scratch writing?” James asked.

“My most useless talent as I like to call it,” you nodded. “You wrote a lot in here.”

“I used to bring it with me to work cause I missed you guys so much,” he admitted. “Made me feel closer to you.”

You read through some of the notes in the book, chuckling a little at some of the written back and forth you had. Eventually you got to the family portraits you’d had taken a few months after Julian was born, smiling softly to yourself.

You remembered the day well, you felt like you hadn’t slept in weeks, James was just getting off of a twelve-hour shift and you were almost late to your appointment with the photographer. You were worried everything was going to look terrible and you’d barely had enough time to do your hair or makeup, but James had silenced your worries with a kiss and assured you the pictures would be fine.

In the end most of them were terrible, but the photographer managed to get two shots, one of you and James smiling down at Julian in your arms and another immediately after where you were looking up and smiling at each other.

“That session was a shitshow,” you recalled and James agreed. “We did get a few nice things out of it though.”

You looked back down at the pile of albums in front of you and noticed a large white one, tucked under a few things and even though nothing good could come of it, you pulled it out from the bottom of the pile, carefully blowing off the dust and turning the first page.

Centerfold, just like you remembered it, was a picture of you and James on your wedding day. You leaned further back into the couch and James scooched in closer to get a look.

You both looked younger in the picture, with that spark of je ne sais quoi in your eyes.

“I told you there was a reason we got married,” he said quietly, his hand brushing the corner of the photo.

“Yeah, we loved each other,” you said. “That was the reason.”

“Same reason we decided to have Julian,” he added.

You could feel your breathing become a little more shallow and a tightness in your chest as James spoke about Julian. You remembered the conversations so clearly, like you’d had them yesterday, caught between happy and passionate kisses while James made some dirty jokes about getting you pregnant.

That was back when he still couldn’t get enough of you. Before things changed and he slowly distanced himself until it felt like it was just you and Julian against the rest of the world, and not the three of you like he had promised all those nights throughout your pregnancy.

You wondered quietly to yourself what had changed? What had become so unbearable that there was distance in the first place? There was never a lack of love on your end which is why this was dangerous.

At least when there was distance you could be angry with him, you could go to bed at night and not remember all the little things that made you love him in the first place. He wasn’t there as a constant reminder that you loved his cooking, or even just your banter together. More importantly, it was giving you new reasons to feel that fluttering feeling in your stomach.

You’d always loved how he’d interact with Julian, but now that you got to see it day in and day out, it made it harder to weigh that against the cons of everything. Most notably, this was the beginning of the end. If you let yourself fall you would both crash and Julian would be caught in the middle once again.

You tried to distract yourself by flipping through the album photos to find some funny old picture of a relative or maybe even an embarrassing moment to tone down whatever it was that looking at that picture was making you feel.

All you could focus on was how in every picture, almost without fail, James was looking over at you. Rarely into the camera along with everyone else. He was enamoured, that was the only word to describe it, and oh how much you missed that look.

You made the mistake of tearing away your gaze from the pictures, looking up at James instead, and for a moment you thought just maybe you saw that same look in his eyes. But no. It couldn’t have been. The dim light of the lamp must have been playing tricks on you.

Finally you closed the album and put it back down, unsure of what feelings might resurface if you opened another one. Your honeymoon, family dinners and pictures were all just reminders of the happy times, not what came after.

James did what you didn’t want to, grabbing another album and sifting through the pages until he found what he was looking for, taking a picture out of its protective sleeve and showing it to you.

“Can I keep this one?” he asked.

You took it from his hands, examining it while your fingers precariously held the edges of the photograph.

It was a silly picture, something you had taken while you were travelling. James got someone to take the camera, but along with snapping a few shots while you were posed with smiles they caught a few candids, most notably, James kissing your cheek while you laughed and tried to squirm out of his grasp.

Your finger gently brushed over the spot on the photo where James’ lips were against your cheek before nodding your head.

“Sure, you can have it,” you handed him back the picture and patted your hands against your legs, preparing to stand up. “I should get to bed.”

“I’ll be out here for a while longer if you need anything.”

You gave him a tight lipped smile and stood up, walking towards your bedroom. When you closed the door behind you, you let out a breath you had been holding and ran a hand across your face.

Maybe Julian was never the one at risk of getting the wrong idea.

—

Waking up in the middle of the night always made you feel uneasy. Especially if Julian was the one waking you up. The chance that you’d have to drive to the hospital or call an ambulance was high and you hated the fear and worry that came along with any possible complications.

Tonight, you woke up on your own accord. Your heart was beating inside your throat and your stomach felt like it was housing a group of persistent butterflies.

You glanced over at the clock and saw the time, flashing in red.

3:07

You took a deep breath trying to steady your heart rate and breathing before peeling away your blanket and kicking your feet over the side of the bed. You grabbed a different pair of pyjamas from your dresser and walked into the washroom, tossing them on the far end of the floor while you stripped down and turned on the water for the shower.

When you stepped inside you hissed initially at the cold, but forced yourself to become fully submerged under the water, closing the curtain behind you. Your muscles clenched as your body adjusted to the temperature, and when the time finally came you let your thoughts and dreams become washed away by the water coming out of the shower head.

You were simply standing there, letting the water fall on your face when you heard the click of the door opening.

“Julian, sweetie,” you sighed, turning around so you could speak. “Maybe you should go to your dad if something’s wrong, I’ll come out in a sec.”

“No need,” you heard a voice that did not belong to your son.

“James? I’m in the shower. What are you doing?” you asked incredulously, feeling the need to cover yourself up even though there was a curtain blocking his view. You felt exposed nonetheless.

“It’s three in the morning, I thought something was wrong, I came to check on you,” he explained.

“And what were you doing up?” you asked.

“Got in late. There was an emergency at the hospital after you guys went to sleep, I dealt with it and just came back.”

You stepped under the running water again, washing the water over your face with your hands.

“So, is everything okay?”

“Peachy,” you said sarcastically, leaning against the wall of the shower.

“Nobody ever says peachy when things are okay,” James pushed further and you sighed, moving to sit down on the floor of the shower, still positioned under the water.

“I just had a dream, that’s all,” you said, watching as the water hit your toes and the ground around you.

“A bad dream?” he asked.

“No, it was more like… déjà vu.”

James sighed, and rubbed his hands on his legs.

“Was it about us?”

He took your silence as a yes.

James didn’t really know what to say, his hands were clasped together as he leaned forward sitting on the bathroom counter.

“You’re not gonna ask what it’s about?” you hugged your knees close to your chest.

“Would you tell me?”

“Maybe…I don’t know,” you mumbled.

There was another moment of silence before James spoke up again,

“What was it about?”

You turned to face the water with your eyes closed again, gathering the courage to speak.

“It started when I told you I was pregnant,” you said softly. “Like the memory replayed in my head, exactly how it happened.”

“I remember that day,” you heard the soft smile in his voice as he spoke. “You took the test at work and when it came back positive you came straight to the hospital to tell me.”

“I was barely two steps inside your office when I blurted it out, you were eating lunch and had that stupid look on your face with a mouth full of sandwich,” you chuckled to yourself.

“I almost choked on that,” James shook his head. “And I just remember running up to you and freaking out.”

“And then when you were done freaking out and everything sunk in you kissed me, and you told me you loved me, and we cried because we made a child. Our love did that.”

You reached forward and turned the shower off, pushing yourself up on your feet and taking a deep breath before pulling back the curtain. You had told him what you were thinking. You couldn’t get any more exposed than that.

James looked stunned for a moment and it didn’t go unnoticed how his eyes raked up and down your figure.

“Get me the robe, would you?” you motioned to the back of the door and he jumped down grabbing the robe and holding it out for you so you could place your arms into the sleeves and wrap the towelled fabric around you, trying it off with the belt.

When you turned your head to look back at James, you could tell at least you’d succeeded in raising his heart rate, much like he was doing for you recently.

You moved to go sit on the closed toilet while James retook his spot on the counter.

“Do you remember when Julian was born?” he whispered.

“I like it was yesterday. I can’t believe it’s been eight years,” you nodded your head.

He was having trouble holding your gaze and you wondered what he was about to say.

“I-I screwed up,” his voice was soft, almost hurt, like it pained him to think about what he had done. “When you were resting afterwards the nurse asked me if we were going to do a newborn screening. We hadn’t talked about it, but you were so tired and it was such a hard labour…” he swallowed thickly, his voice wavering slightly, remembering the birth. It wasn’t easy by any means and James had often thought that the hardest thing he’d ever had to watch was you in that much pain. “I told her we weren’t going to do it. I just didn’t want Julian to leave and h-he looked so perfect I never thought anything could have been wrong with him.”

James took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, “I am a doctor and I didn’t get a newborn screening for my son, what the hell kind of father does that make me?”

“Oddly enough, I think it makes you a good one,” you admitted.

“Even though we could have known about this years before? We could have gotten him treatment, medication, therapies, all sooner?” he looked back at you confused.

“You said it yourself, Jamie. He was perfect for us. Still is.”

James nodded his head and looked forward at the opposite wall. You stood up and walked over towards him, reaching out a hand to gently hold his face, your thumb brushing against his cheek while he looked at you.

“I don’t blame you for this,” you whispered. “I don’t blame you and I don’t think you’re a bad father.”

“I know,” he murmured, “but I do.”

You leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, not knowing what other comfort you could offer.

James leaned in a little to your touch, sitting up straighter when it was gone, trying to play it off like he hadn’t been missing it and craving it as much as you.

You were about to say something when you heard a knock on the washroom door, and this time it had to be Julian.

“Mom? Dad, are you in here too?” you could hear his small sounding voice, a little strained and worried so you quickly assured him you were both inside and opened the door.

“Sweetheart, what happened?” you asked, noticing his tear-stained face.

“I just had a bad dream,” he sniffed and wiped his eyes.

You kissed away his tears first before assuring him everything would be fine, you and James were there to take care of him.

“Why don’t you go and lay down on my bed with your Dad?” you suggested. “I’ll get dressed and come join you.”

Julian nodded and made his way over to your bed while you went to quickly speak to James.

“It’ll be good for you. Both of you,” you told him.

“You don’t mind?”

“Just this once.”

James thanked you with a kiss to your cheek and left the adjoining washroom, closing the door behind him and giving you a minute to get changed and deal with anything you needed to before going back to bed.

When you opened the door and came back into your room, you saw James under the covers with Julian pressed close to him, their foreheads resting together while James told him everything was going to be alright and he could go back to sleep.

You slipped in under the covers, sandwiching Julian between you both, letting his back rest against your chest while you pressed a kiss to his hair.

One hand was tucked under your pillow and another was draped over Julian, and your fingers carefully placed over top of James’.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” Julian asked his dad.

“Right next to you,” he kissed his nose. “Now try to get some sleep, okay?”

Julian nodded his head and yawned and you whispered a quiet goodnight to bed him and his dad before letting your eyes close, silently smiling when you could feel James’ hand finally hold your own.

—

“You guys, relax, he’s going to be fine,” Mahlet placed a hand on both yours and James’ shoulders while you spewed out your worries. “It’s one night, I have the whole list of things he needs and I’ve taken care of him before, right? It’s just at my house this time so the boys can have a sleepover and you two can have a bit of a break.”

“She’s right,” James sighed. “I’m still worried out of my mind, but she’s right.”

“Mahi, are you sure you don’t want us to come even for a little bit?” you asked.

“Absolutely, if something happens I’ll call an ambulance and then you, but Julian’s been good for months now, he can survive one night away from home,” she assured you.

“Thank you, Mahlet. I’m sure Julian and Hennock will have a great time tonight. Just call us when he’s ready to be picked up tomorrow morning,” James said.

James wrapped his arm around you, giving you a squeeze knowing you were still uneasy about this, but deep down you knew Mahlet was right. The chances of something going wrong at this point were small and you’d had enough time since your last hospital visit to even consider doing something like this.

“You boys ready?” James called and Julian came rushing out of the room with his bag in hand, Hennock following close behind him.

“You have fun tonight, okay?” you bent down and gave Julian a kiss. “And if anything happens or you feel sick, or are having trouble breathing, tell Mahlet, okay?”

“I know, Mom. Dad already told me this like fifteen times,” Julian chuckled.

You looked up at James and he shrugged.

“Alright, well you guys better go before I change my mind,” you crossed your arms over your chest and that was all the permission the boys needed to run off, leaving Mahlet to say goodbye before stepping out and closing the door behind her.

You sighed and turned around, looking at James who had his hands shoved into his pockets.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“I could eat,” you nodded your head.

“Why don’t we make something for dinner together?” he suggested.

You looked at the clock and smiled, “I think we’ve got enough time for pizza, what do you think?”

“I think that’s a great plan,” James agreed. “I can start on the dough and you get the sauce and toppings?”

You gave him a thumbs up before putting your hand out to high-five him, noticing how your fingers so easily intertwined before you walked apart and let go.

James rolled up his sleeves and took off his watch, placing it on the small jewelry tray you kept by the sink for when you were washing dishes, while you went to the fridge and began pulling out all the things that could make good pizza toppings.

Moving to the sink to wash some vegetables, you noticed James’ watch resting there. You didn’t pay much attention when he was wearing it, but now you realized why it looked extra familiar. It was one you had gotten him as an anniversary present after your first year married.

“You still wear that?” you pointed with your eyes to the watch.

“It’s my favourite watch, of course I wear it,” he nodded while portioning the flour into a large bowl.

“Even with that engraving?” you raised a questioning brow.

“Dearest Jamie, Here’s to the first of many happy anniversaries. Love forever, Your Wife,” he recited the engraving back to you.

“I don’t know why you do that to yourself,” you chuckled a little, looking down into the sink.

“Yeah, well why do you still go by Mrs. Wilson?”

“Easier to keep the name than change it again,” you partially lied, it wasn’t the full truth, but it was what you had been telling yourself ever since the divorce was finalized.

James could sense you were lying, but he knew the only way to get you to open up would be to let himself be open with you.

“The watch is my favourite because you gave it to me. Functionally it sucks and it's uncomfortable, but you went out of your way to get me something that looked nice and that’s why I love it.”

You smiled a little to yourself, but kept your head facing the sink and continued to wash the vegetables.

“You’re not going to say anything?” he inquired.

“Do I have to?” you asked.

“That’s normally how a conversation works,” he remarked and you chuckled.

“What do you want me to say?” you asked.

“Honestly, the real reason why you kept your married name,” he said plainly.

You sighed, “It wasn’t a full lie. If I went back to my maiden name Julian and I wouldn’t have the same last name it just makes things complicated and confusing and I didn’t want to deal with it, but,” you added, “I always kind of liked the sound of Mrs. Wilson and even though I was pissed at you all the time I still liked that there was one thing aside from Julian connecting us. I don’t know, maybe I didn’t want to end up like Sam or Bonnie just…detached, like there was barely a trace that you were even there.”

“It’s a fingerprint,” James said. “Mine.”

“Yeah, even though it's small for who we were to each other, it's the fingerprint you left on my life.”

James pressed his lips together and opened his mouth to say something before shutting it and evaluated how he was going to speak,

“Can I ask you something?” he settled on.

“Sure,” you nodded, moving over to the cutting board and placing yourself on the opposite side of the kitchen island.

“Did…Did you ever stop loving me?”

Your smile faltered and James noticed the change in your demeanor, quickly retracting his question.

“You know what, forget I asked,” he shook his head and continued to knead the dough.

There was a moment of silence before you spoke again.

“I didn’t, but I got tired of not being loved back.”

James stopped what he was doing and looked up at you with concern.

“You thought I stopped loving you?” he asked.

“James, I was wife number three. Didn’t take much to connect the dots and see you got tired of me,” you said bluntly. “I wanted to know if I could count on you, and it was starting to feel like maybe I couldn’t. Then the divorce happened and everything after that just made me feel like I was right.”

James chewed on the inside of his cheek and remained silent.

“You didn’t fight for me,” you said quietly. “You fought for joint custody, but you didn’t fight for me. You just…accepted it.”

“I…I didn’t know you wanted me to fight for you.”

“Are you saying you would have?” you asked, unsure of whether or not you wanted to hear his answer.

“I’m saying I thought I didn’t even have a chance,” he admitted.

“So you wouldn’t have,” you clarified for him, beginning to chop the toppings into pieces and separate them into bowls.

He chuckled humourlessly, “I have dated one person since the divorce. I hated it.”

“Why do you have to talk in puzzles, James? Why can’t you just come out and say what you really mean?”

“And then what?” he asked. “We go back to living in the same house. Sleep in separate rooms. Move on now that we know the truth?”

“Say it,” you put the knife down and looked him right in the eyes.

“What are you going to do about it?” he asked, cleaning the dough off his hand. “I’m going to say it and you’re just going to stand there and I have to live with that?”

You walked around the counter and came right up in front of him.

“If you were listening to anything I was saying, you would stop making excuses and say it.”

“Fine!” he threw his hands up in the air. “I still love you. I never stopped loving you. These past few months, even though stressful, have been the happiest I’ve been in so long because I feel like myself again when I’m with you and Julian. Because I feel like your husband, and I feel like a father and I keep kicking myself wondering how I could have been so stupid to lose that.”

“Say it one more time,” you whispered, lifting your hands to hold onto his face. “Please.”

“I love you,” his voice was softer, relieved like after being underwater he could finally breathe again.

You finally pulled him into you, your lips hesitantly resting on his at first, before you found your rhythm again after so long. It was muscle memory, his hands finding the spot they always rested against on your hips, his lips moving in synch with yours, eventually trailing off and finding their favourite spot against your jaw and behind your ear.

“James,” you breathed.

“Jamie,” he mumbled against your skin. “Call me Jamie.”

“Jamie, Jamie, Jamie,” you repeated the nickname until he silenced you with another kiss, muffling your voice.

“God, I missed you,” he whispered when you pulled apart, breathing heavily due to your fast beating heart.

You closed your eyes while your forehead rested against his, feeling his nose touch yours, his hands still firmly planted on your hips when your thumbs brushed against his cheeks.

“Jamie?”

James snuck another small kiss at the sound of the nickname.

“Yes, my love.”

“Can I count on you?”

You could feel him nod his head and confirm with a verbal ‘yes’. And even if it turned out to be a lie, at that moment you didn’t care. He had proved to you that it was possible, you could work with that.

“I love you,” you said and kissed his nose and then you said it and kissed him again for good measure. “You told me twice; I tell you twice.”

James moved his hands up from your hips and brushed the back of his fingers against your cheek, a warm smile coming to his face.

And there was that look, the one you thought had vanished over time. His eyes fully transfixed on you with nothing but love and admiration. It didn’t take much to convince yourself you could get used to seeing that look for a long, long time.

TAGLIST —

@cuntyvicodin @paola-carter

#james wilson #james wilson x reader #james wilson x you #dr wilson #dr wilson x reader #dr wilson x you #house md #house md fanfiction #house md x reader #hate crimes md #james wilson fanfiction #james wilson fanfic #james wilson fic

291 notes · View notes

billlydear · 1 year

Note

Imagine Billy getting injured while at basketball practice (Steve may or may not have played dirty) and the reader is a first aider and has to give him an ice pack or something on the bleachers 👉🏻👈🏻 maybe they're also like opposites, the reader on the quieter side? I don't want to give you too much !! <3

MEDIC - BILLY HARGROVE X READER

W.C 1354- INBOX (please request !) - GIF CREDIT TO OWNER

"Medic," A husky voice pants from above you, and you slam your hand down over the page of the book you've just been reading, staring up with wide eyes at the newcomer.

You're not sure how you hadn't heard the boy's shoes squeaking on the gym floor, but Billy Hargrove is looming over you, a hand on his incredibly toned stomach.

"Uh," You start, bookmarking the page you were on and staring blankly up at him, "...What?"

"I need ice," He jerks his head back towards the court, chest still heaving with hearty breaths, "I got tripped, and he kicked me in the stomach. Coach said to sit out for the rest of the game."

"Oh," You finally kick into gear, fumbling for the cooler beside you, "Uh, okay. Here," You wrap the frozen block in a towel, "Sit wherever you want, just make sure to bring the ice back to me or take it up to the nurse's office by the end of the day."

Despite your first instruction, Billy nods, and lowers himself right beside you on the bench, arm already stretched over the bench behind your back.

"Thanks," He glances sideways at you, sweat dripping down his temple and nearly veering into his blinding grin, "You get really into those books, huh? Haven't seen you look up, like.. ever."

"Yeah," You hum, brushing your fingers against the cover of the novel, "I guess. Basketball's not really my thing."

"Boring?" He guesses, and before you can think things through, you nod.

"I mean-! Sorry," You gush, cheeks blazing with heat at the chuckle he lets out, one of his large hands still holding the ice pack to his chest, "I didn't mean to insult you, or anything."

He shrugs, "No offense taken. I didn't invent the sport."

"You play it, though," You mumble, as if he's forgotten, "I didn't mean to call you boring."

"I think reading is boring," He taps the spine of your book, "Doesn't mean I think you are."

"You just haven't found the right book," You decide, after a moment's silence. You're sure he doesn't really want to read more, that he's set on his views and doesn't need you to help him, but you can't help but advocate for the hobby.

"Oh, yeah? What book do you recommend, this one?" He reaches for the novel laying in your lap, taking the ice pack off of his side and swapping you for it.

"Hold this," He instructs, and you take it only because you don't know what else to do. He leaves you sitting there, ice pack in your hand, eyes blank and brain empty as he thumbs through the front few pages in your novel.

He stills after a few seconds, both hands firmly on the book as he turns to look at you, "No, like, hold it on me."

"What?"

"Here," He lets one side of the book go to point to a newly-forming bruise on his side, "Hold it there, would you?"

Your hands have never shaken this hard before. You're praying he doesn't notice, that somehow he misses the trembling of your fingers as you slowly reach out to press the ice pack against his bare stomach. And of course, fuck, of course it's rock-hard.

"Thanks," He hums, fingers flipping through page after page before he finally shuts the cover.

"Boring," He concludes, passing it back to you.

You don't know what to say. You're not like him, you don't have a thousand witty quips at your disposal or a raspy drawl that makes anything sound like one even if it isn't. You're a fish out of water here, and all you can do is nudge the ice pack back into his hands.

"Wait," He boomerangs it back to you, "Just a second. Lemme get a smoke."

He reaches up a step, turning his torso so that he can grab his bag from where he's left it on the bleachers. You don't blame him for not leaving it in his locker, break-ins and searches are extremely common. He digs a lighter and a pack of cigarettes out of the bag, torso still twisted so that his side presses into your hand. You're desperate for something else to look at, settling on the gum stuck to the bleachers two feet away from you. It used to be mint, you think.

"There," Billy sighs, and you hear the rrrip of his lighter. You focus your attention back on his face, and you let yourself catch a miniscule glance at his chest first. Really, it's just the path your eyes traveled on the way to his face, surely that's not your fault. That was inevitable.

"Thanks," He shoots you a lazy grin, billowing smoke like a steam engine, "Mind holding it for a while longer?"

"Uh, I would really-"

"Thanks," He doesn't let you finish, keeping his cigarette in one hand as he stretches the opposite arm behind your shoulders. He's draped dramatically out over the bench, and doesn't have to stretch far to nudge your knee with his own.

"Look at number 18, Simmons? Y'see him there?"

"Yeah," You nod, eyes locked onto the jersey.

"He's gonna miss," Billy predicts, and sure enough, the boy's attempt at a shot is abysmal, you're certain you could make a better shot.

Billy snickers, and his chest shakes against the ice pack, moving through to your hand.

"Guy shouldn't even be on the team," Billy scoffs, "If he's not missing a shot he's playing fouls."

All you can let out is a hum of acknowledgement, and Billy turns to you with that same grin.

"Right, I forgot. Boring. Well we have to talk about something," He huffs, smoke pouring from his nose, "Otherwise that would be even more boring. So what's it gonna be?"

"English," You decide after a moment of deliberation, "Have you started your essay yet?"

"Do you think I've started my essay yet?" Billy raises one of his perfectly shaped eyebrows, and you nod slowly, comprehendingly.

"You should," You tell him, even if you know your input won't matter, "It's a big part of your grade."

"You should help me," Billy parrots your advice, and at the second he's done speaking, the end of class bell rings. "I don't know how to write an essay."

"I- I guess I can," You stammer through your offer, balancing the ice pack on his thigh and turning to gather your things, "-but I don't really know when we could-"

"Today," Billy drawls, snatching the ice pack up and standing, stuffing his bag over his shoulder. He repositions it over his ribs once more, standing there looming above you on the bleachers, "In the library after school? You got plans?"

"No," You admit, thumbing at the strap of your backpack you've just thrown over your shoulder, "I guess I can help you then."

"Thanks," His face scrunches into a bright grin, and he glances behind him as his friends urge him back into the locker rooms. He makes a show of things, waving as he backs away, then shouting, "See you after school!" across the gym. His voice echoes and reverberates back to you what seems like a thousand times, as do the intrigued questions of his classmates.

By the time the final bell of the day rings, you have a date with Billy Hargrove. Or- at least that's what everyone has been whispering to each other. But it's a study session, you tell yourself, gripping the novel that he needs to analyze in your left hand while your right fiddles with a ring you've got there, that's all it is.

You're surprised to find Billy in the library at all, not to mention before you. You have a sneaking suspicion he'd ditched his last class of the day, but what you're more worried about is the single plucked daisy posed by your place at the table.

"Hey, nurse," He greets you with that signature grin of his, but this time there's gum in his mouth instead of a cigarette, "Ready for our study date?"

Okay, so it's a date.

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove angst #billy hargrove fluff #billy hargrove oneshot #billy hargrove blurb #billy hargrove drabble #billy hargrove fanfic #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove x reader fanfiction

810 notes · View notes

leothil · 7 months

Text

fic recs: archive edition

So earlier this week I was lightly complaining about how there are so many good fics I read back in 2021 (the good old 5A days. Christ.) that I never se recommended anymore, and @shitouttabuck asked if I could make a rec post of some of those fics.

Now, I still think of myself as somewhat new in the fandom - I joined within the first episodes of 5A - but it is true that a lot of people I see on my dash nowadays came into it much later. Fandom in general has a big recency bias when it comes to fics, and trying to find older fics can be a daunting project, unless they've ended up on the first page of most kudosed/commented/bookmarked on AO3 or you have a lot of time and patience on your hands. There are currently over 21600 fics in the buddie tag on AO3, so I don't blame anyone for not having the energy to go through all of that.

Side note - calling fics published during or before S5 old feels fucking weird. I already gave some friends crises when I mentioned reccing "older fics (aka 2020-2021 ones)" so all of you who have been here longer than me - I know, trust me, I know. It was yesterday. We are withering away.

There's no way I could fit all fics I want to recommend into one post (I want to keep it kind of short so people actually have a chance to look into all the fics on the list), so I might do this as a weekly thing for a while. I quite enjoyed going back to some of the fics I devoured in my early days of fandom, so this might turn into a proper nostalgia trip for me personally!

Without further ado, some fics published in 2019/2020 that I think you should read:

falling by @elisela Buck and Eddie take a walk up to an overlook and share one of the softest moments I've ever read. 1.3k words, rated G

Work Husband by hideeho (@agentlemuse) Chimney messes with Eddie's phone and changes Buck's contact to "husband." Eddie doesn't change it back, for some reason he can't articulate to himself. 1.4k words, rated T

four a.m. by asgardiun (@kitchenscene) Buck follows the rain up to the roof of the firehouse. Eddie follows Buck. 2.9k words, rated G

Medicine Man by @lovelylittlegrim Buck hits his head at work, and Eddie kisses his forehead to make it better. Buck gets stuck on it and thinks he'd like Eddie to do it again. 4.1k words, rated G

like a revelation by throughfire Maddie watches Buck and Eddie's casual intimacy and is confused by what their relationship status is, until she gets help realizing she doesn't need to be. 5.2k words, rated G

the meaning of the words you see by @florenceandthemachine Nurse!Buck gets a text from an unknown number who thinks it's someone they talked to in a bar, but they keep texting even after clearing up the mistake (and proving it with selfies), and things evolve from there. 8.6k words, rated E

#fic rec #911 fic rec #frida's archive project #it's *really* not as pretentious as that tag sounds but i needed a tag for this #better name suggestions are heartily welcomed #let me know if you end up reading any of these and what you think!#and of course feel free to ask for targeted recommendations if you want to!

175 notes · View notes

mysumeow · 1 year

Text

My ears! Why won't you pet them? 2/2❜

PREVIOUS PART

Summary: Tighnari is used to the attention his fox features bring to him. Your apparent indifference to them makes him wonder: why's that?

Warnings: Once again, Tighnari calls reader a lummox. That's like his catchphrase. Non-graphic descriptions of violence. Pretty sfw all-over, but gets mildly suggestive towards the end with nudity.

a/n: asks and requests are open ^^

Tighnari awoke with a severe headache that prevented him from even sitting up in bed. Next to him, you were sitting on a chair as you jotted down some notes. You noticed that, despite his eyes being open, he still had a dazed expression.

"How are you feeling? You received a strong hit to your head," you closed your report journal and left it on the desk. "If I hadn’t disobeyed your request, who knows if you would’ve made it out alive,"

"Ah, right. Now I remember," once again, he attempted to sit and rest his back against the headboard. "We were…cleansing a withering zone?"

"And then a pack of rifthounds attacked us."

His hand brushed against his bandaged abdomen, the memory of how it got there coming in as fresh as the wound.

"You’re not harmed, are you?" he took a quick look at your body in search of any telltale sign that you were also hurt.

"How would I be harmed if you told me to flee as soon as those rifthounds appeared," you crossed your arms. "I did come back not even a minute later and drag your body out of there,"

"I was too reckless," he recognized, ashamed. "I had already cleansed a withering zone earlier in the morning and didn’t regard proper rest before going to the next one,"

"Don’t overthink about it," you told him before he could apologize. "We made it out of there alive; that’s all that matters,"

Despite your assurance, the need to apologize gnawed at him in the back of his mind.

"Look at you. You’re always complaining about adventurers being reckless and having to nurse them back to health," you teased.

"Very funny," he rolled his eyes.

"I know," you said as you rose from your seat. "You look thirsty. I’ll go look for a glass of water. Don’t go anywhere,"

"Do I have a choice."

Tighnari, ever the stubborn one, managed to get out of bed and scan his own appearance, just to get a better idea of the injuries on his body. You weren’t trained on how to approach these types of damages, unlike all forest rangers, so he figured Collei gave you a hand on how to treat his wounds.

His eyes fixed on the square band-aid patch at the base of his left ear and what that meant.

"I’m back—And of course you wouldn’t stay in bed," you said, leaving the glass of water on his bedside table and gathering your belongings, such as the report journal. "Because you need to rest, let's put research on hold for today... or until you feel better."

"No need. We can continue right away."

"Don't be silly; go back to bed," you said gently. "Remember to update your own journal,"

Maybe you didn’t care about it or didn’t notice, but Tighnari was too aware of your proximity. His heartbeat spiked up and didn’t calm down, even after you left his room.

Late at night was when he decided it was a good time to finish documenting recent finds.

Tighnari yawned and opened the journal to the page he recalls being the latest he wrote on.

Not only was the pencil on a different page, but the texture of the notebook was also different. With a confused frown, he checked the front cover.

You took his journal by accident.

It wouldn’t be bad if it were the one dedicated to academic endeavors.

You took his personal one.

He shivered as a cold bead of sweat ran down his neck.

He almost had a heart attack when he opened his door to run to your temporary home, and he was met with your just as startled expression. Tighnari heeded the familiar cover of his personal journal clutched against your chest.

"You read it, didn't you?" he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "…Listen, let’s pretend this didn’t happen—"

He recalled that the last paragraph he wrote was about how much he wanted you to touch his ears and how frustrated he was that you were being oblivious about his feelings for you ever since you both were students at the Akademiya.

He wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight.

"Why didn’t you tell me sooner," you interrupted and stepped closer to him. "I always thought you were the one too entranced in your work to notice my feelings,"

He gawked at you. "You can’t be serious. Tell me you’re joking,"

"I’m not."

"Your visits are work-driven, and most of the letters we exchange are focused on that too! How would I guess you feel the same for me if the idea you give me is that we’re mere workmates,"

You sighed and averted your gaze from him.

"I’m sort of familiar with your kin. They tend to pursue knowledge and appreciate educational accomplishments over anything else. I didn’t want to feel like a burden?"

"…Wow, you really are a lummox in all senses of the word."

"Gee, thanks."

"Your information regarding my kin is not wrong. However, I must address the fact that you’re overlooking that not only are you not a burden to me, but I’m also capable of still pursuing knowledge and be with you,"

"So, in other words, you mean…"

Cautiously, he reached out to you and observed your reactions for any sign of rejection. With sheer tenderness, his hand grasped yours and pulled you inside his home.

The first graze of lips was sweet, his arms circled around your waist, and you pressed your bodies together. You pulled away to relish the feeling, which Tighnari granted you a second to do, and he was pulling you again for another kiss.

Tighnari jolted when you decided it was a good moment to rub his ear, and not being able to control it, he began to purr.

"You can do that?" it was a welcomed discovery.

"I—Yes—" his cheeks flared pink with embarrassment. "Don’t exploit it!"

"Hm. You're lucky I'm exhausted," you let go of his ear and preferred to nuzzle yourself onto his neck, the vibration from his purr all too soothing. "Let's just rest, yes?"

He didn't bother to move an inch, content with holding you closer and relaxing his cheek on your head.

The chirping from the birds outside awoke you from sleep, and the embrace you both dozed in was now pretty much over. Tighnari's leg is over yours, and your arm is tucked under his back.

Your arm was so numb that the pain shot right through it when you tugged it from under Tighnari, waking him up.

"Ah, my whole body hurts."

"I might as well lose an arm because of you," you groaned. "How about your wounds? Do you think you can continue today?"

He shook his head no, viridescent eyes staring back at you.

"If you want to carry on with your duties, don't let me hold you back. I can manage on my own."

"No need. I'll stay with you. And won't receive a no for an answer," you grasped his arms and led him to the bathroom.

"You're too kind. You could just scrub my back with a rag and I'll take care of the rest."

"You don't... want to take a bath together?"

"Oh," his eyes widened and processed the information. "...Oh. Uhm—if it's okay with you...?"

"I wouldn't have offered to in the first place," you laughed as you turned on the bathtub's faucet.

You were humming to yourself as you got the bath ready.

Self-conscious now, even though he wanted to go in with you, Tighnari began disrobing himself as slowly as possible.

By the time he was moving on to undo the sash around his hip, you had already removed most of your clothes. His eyes trailed from your face to your neck, and lower...

"Need help with that?" you volunteered to give him a hand, startling him and he forced himself to look away bashfully. "Your arms must hurt, after all,"

You directed him a teasing smile. If his ears could turn red, they would do so now.

Once bare, Tighnari followed behind you and sat on the corner opposite of you. He lowered himself enough so the bubbles would hide his face up to his mouth, not sure where to focus his eyes.

You weren't helping matters by sitting on his lap and running your shampoo-slathered hands through his hair, your chest right at his eye level. Perhaps you were having too much fun with the fact that he starts purring as soon as your hands touched his ears; you spent most of the time with your fingers there.

His delight was cut short when your fingers came across the deep cut those monsters released, and pain shot up at that instant.

"It stings," he hissed, scrunching his nose.

"If someone wasn’t reckless yesterday…"

"You’re not going to forget about it, will you?"

"Never.”

#tighnari #tighnari x reader #tighnari fluff #/ᐠ - ˕ -マ .. cute cute

832 notes · View notes

storiesofsvu · 10 months

Text

Solace in Solitude Ch 2

Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, medical/injuries talked about (i googled, don't come for me if they're not 100% right), hurt, minor anxiety, two buttheads not getting along.

You were right, Emily was exhausted. And she was annoyed. Both that she was so tired and that you had been right about it. Not that she expected to be full of energy bounding around the room, she’d just wanted to pull one up on you, prove that you were wrong, that she could and would do better. Instead she’d ended up sleeping most of the rest of the day, her brain still foggy, not fully able to pick up whatever French programs were playing on the television. With her attention lacking, she drifted off more than once, only waking up when a nurse was back in the room prodding at her body again. Her body ached, even just getting out of the bed and making it the eight steps to the bathroom winded her, which of course just made her more tired and even more annoyed.

This whole recovery thing sucked.

At least you weren’t so early on your rounds when you checked in on her today, she was awake, half paying attention to the television, a breakfast tray on the small table at the bedside.

“Morning Valerie.” You greeted with a smile, “how’re you feeling today?”

“Bout the same.” She grumbled.

“Have you managed to get up at all? Even within the room?”

“A couple of times.”

“Good.” You flipped open her chart, checking any additions since you’d left the night prior, “let’s keep that up for a few days and then we can start with trips down the hall, make sure your body’s up to it.”

“I didn’t think you meant it when you said I’d be this tired.”

“Yeah, anaesthesia can be a bitch like that.” You commented, checking a few of her vitals before you eyed the still full tray of breakfast, “not to mention your body needs fuel if it’s going to heal.” You moved back to the foot of the bed, scribbling into her chart, “you need to eat.”

“They’re withholding coffee.” She grumbled, sinking back into the bed.

“And you thought that warranted a hunger strike?” You huffed a laugh, “without a spleen you’re going to need to limit your intake of coffee, among other things. Didn’t a nurse drop off those pamphlets?”

“Yeah.” Her gaze drifted over to the bedside table where they sat untouched, she figured her life was already altered enough she could go another day without knowing every other change she would have to accommodate just to survive.

“Then eat.”

“Would you touch that?” She gestured toward the tray, wincing at the pain in her side as she did and you let out a soft sigh. The tray had a container of applesauce, a banana, a couple pieces of bread, “who eats jello for breakfast?”

“I would if I had just had my spleen and part of my stomach removed and it was advised and instructed by my doctor.” You cocked a brow in her direction as you continued to update her chart, she simply scoffed at you.

A nurse wandered in to check on a couple of things and make sure there was a large fresh bottle of water left on the table. You seamlessly swapped over to French while they were in the room, continuing to check in with Emily about how she was feeling, getting more specific on details and you checked over the stitches on her incision before the nurse finally left.

“Your French is really good.” You commented, readjusting her gown back down and loosely tucking the bedding in before peeling off your gloves, “you speak anything else?”

“I dunno.” She grumbled, rolling to face the window, “am I allowed to talk about that?”

“Ah.” Your lips pursed, holding back a sigh, “well, I’ve got some other patients to see. They can page me if you need anything and I’ll check on you before I leave. And you better have eaten something by then.”

Emily didn’t dare move; she didn’t dare breathe until she was certain the door was shut behind you before she suddenly let out the choke of a breath. Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn’t help as they rolled down her cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away, this didn’t just suck, this was absolutely horrible.

She’d barely managed to calm herself down by the next time a nurse came into the room, this time they seemed to be focussed on her breathing and heart rate. Whatever panic soaring through her was being reflected by the machines she’d forgotten she was hooked up to. The nurse talked her down until she felt like she could breathe again and Emily curled up on her side with her back to the door when it was suggested she try to eat something. There was a pit in the deep of her stomach, heavy and lingering, almost creeping through her body with waves of nausea and she was certain that food wouldn’t help with that, no matter what medical professionals said. Reaching out she hit the button to send more pain meds into her IV, the stifled cries and deep breaths sending shooting pains through her side, her hand gingerly clutching where the stitches were, moving to rub softly at the ache in her ribs. She didn’t want to be doing this, didn’t want to be here especially not like this, without someone by her side. The longer she was conscious the more memories she found were coming back to her, she could see the haze of Derek hovering over her as he pleaded for her to hang on. Penelope’s voice strangled with sorrow on the voicemail she’d left. If it hadn’t been for you mentioning a blonde she would’ve thought she was going crazy, that her mind was sending her some kind of guardian angel in the form of JJ while the ambulance sired blared, she could almost feel her hand in hers.

It had already been over three weeks and she couldn’t help but wonder if her team was already beginning to forget her. If she would be nothing but a long lost memory to them by the time she was finally able to get out of here. She caught herself spiraling, wondering if she ever actually would be allowed out of here, if she’d ever get the chance to go home, maybe this was supposed to be home permanently now.

You spent the majority of your day switching between the ER and the OR, there had been a couple of call ins of other doctors so you were actually kept relatively busy. A handful of smaller injuries, stitches to be done, tests to run to rule out worse conditions before sending them back home or off to a different specialty, an easy appendectomy to spice up your day with a little bit of surgery. You got outside for your lunch break, thankful to breathe the fresh air without the smell of hospital for an hour, it always helped you relax a little bit more. You’d been thumbing your way through a novel with the intention of getting a chapter or two in over the break but the words were all starting to blend together. After countless amounts of paperwork in French your brain was starting to not want to comprehend it anymore, practically begging to revert back to English. So you let out a soft sigh and closed the book, hopefully your afternoon would involve more cutting than paperwork.

Reluctantly, you returned back inside the hospital, checking through a few charts before you got called off to another surgery, thankful that you could immerse yourself into that and not have to worry about anything else for the next few hours. There were no issues, the patient pulling through perfectly before being sent off to recovery and you headed back to the nurses station to finish up on a few things. You made sure the chart was updated with details from the last surgery and assigned a nurse to keep watch on them overnight in case anything popped up.

The day was winding down and everyone could feel it, the extra excitement buzzing through the air thanks to it being Friday, chatter of weekend plans, date nights, family outings all around you. You were going through your patients charts to see how everyone had faired through the day and if there was anything you’d need to check up on before taking off, adding in notes here and there, signing off that you’d seen them. Across from you a few of the other doctors were wrapping up their own things, asking if the others were doing something that evening. When the resounding answer was no there was an invite for drinks, one that extended to another nurse as they walked up to the desk. Your eyes flitted up briefly but the group was so wound up in each other they barely even glanced your way and you huffed quietly. While everyone here was professional and approachable enough, they’d help out if you had questions or needed something but there was absolutely no interest when it didn’t happen within the four walls of the hospital. You’d been rather friendless for the past three weeks and you highly doubted that was going to change anytime soon.

Emily’s chart was the last one in your pile, the last thing you had to go through before you achieved freedom. Naturally, that became a bigger obstacle than you’d been hoping for. As you read through the updates from her day and checked through things you let out a frustrated groan, letting the chart fall shut before you tossed it back into the rack. Just as you pocketed your phone you heard someone speaking French but this time, actually directed to you.

“Your VIP girl?”

“Yeah.” You grumbled back in the same language, “turns out the ‘p’ is for pain in my ass.” They chuckled,

“Sucks. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Gracing them with a friendly smile and a small wave you turned from the counter, wandering down to Emily’s room. As per usual, the door was shut, thinking maybe killing with kindness would help you gently knocked, waiting a moment before slipping into the space. Emily’s eyes flicked up from the book in her lap, practically glaring you down as the door swung shut behind you.

“Great. What’d you want?” She grumbled, looking back down to the book.

“You to realize that dumping your uneaten breakfast in the bathroom garbage doesn’t go unnoticed by the nurses.”

“Maybe if they weren’t so nosy.”

“Valerie you need to eat.” You let out a quiet sigh, folding your arms onto the table at the foot of her bed, “I know you might not be hungry yet but your body needs nutrients to heal properly, even if it’s just a couple of bites at a time.”

“Whatever.”

“You know, we see this a lot in people who have gone through traumas, that’s part of the reason I pushed for someone to come down from psych today.”

“That was you!?” Her gaze shot up to you, cutting you off instantly as she glared you down, her voice hardening as she spoke, “you sent in the shrink? Why would I need a shrink?! You’re being ridiculous.”

“I get that you’re upset, but you really don’t need to be mad at me about following hospital policy. It’s standard procedure for patients like yourself. At the very least, just let me make sure the paperwork reflects that we’re doing the right thing?”

“Paperwork said he was here, he was here. Believe me.”

“Okay.” You held up your hands in submission, “normally we do wait a week or so depending on everything else but considering the whole food thing I thought it might be worthwhile. Clearly I pushed too soon.”

“Yeah. You did.” She glared, “I’m fine.”

“Well… for what it’s worth I do think it’s a pretty good idea for you to talk to someone.” You stated, readjusting your stance against the table.

“Oh? So what, now you’re gonna shrink me?”

“Not my specialty.” You shrugged, “but if you decide to open up to me then so be it. Otherwise I can put the call in to psych and have someone come down again when you’re ready.”

“You want me to open up? Really?”

“That’s the general idea of talking to a shrink, yeah.” You nodded and her eyes narrowed in your direction, you could see the tension building in her body as she spoke.

“And how exactly am I supposed to do that when I’m supposed to pretend that I died a month ago? You want me to talk to someone about what happened that night but half my medical records are redacted, destroyed or simply don’t exist. When I woke up this morning? I couldn’t even remember the name that was on my hospital band, and you want me to be able to twist up some weird fake stories to help my mental state?!” Her voice shook, the raw emotion starting to break her cool façade, and she took a heavy breath, dropping back into the bed, “you say it was a car accident, it was a car accident.” She held up her hands to signal that that was it, “I clearly had a head injury, I don’t remember the details and I’m not about to do a cognitive interview on myself, okay?”

She picked up the book again but you could tell her eyes weren’t focussing on the words and you could see the shimmering of tears in them, knowing just how frustrated she felt. Emily truly didn’t understand how this was supposed to be helping, she just had to keep shoving everything down until this was all over, she was good at that, she could do that, but not if you kept prying into her life and shattering the illusion that it was going to be okay.

“Well,” you let out a sigh, “then I guess if you’re ever ready to talk, you really are stuck talking to me.” She didn’t reply, keeping her gaze on the book as she did her best to ignore you so you pushed off the table, “if you’re not gonna talk at least do me a favour and eat something. If you haven’t by the next time I see you I’m putting in a feeding tube, understood?”

“Sac a merde.” She muttered and you let out a small laugh.

“I’m fluent, remember?”

“Vai a fotterti.”

“Ah, Italian, now we’re getting creative.” This time she did look up, a glare still on her face as you pulled the door open, “eat your dinner.”

With that last warning you were gone from the room and Emily was left to let out an angry growl, tossing the book onto the bedside table. There was still a pit in her stomach but this one was beginning to gnaw away at her and she was starting to think maybe it was hunger related. She picked up the bottle of water to take a couple of sips, her eyes landing on the brochures one of the nurses had brought by earlier. Maybe if she read through them she’d understand what was going on with her body a little better, maybe it would make this easier.

Unlocking the door to your apartment you let out a sigh of relief, kicking off your shoes as you entered the code for the security system. You’d picked up dinner on the way home, you couldn’t be bothered to cook, not now, not with the limited amount of mental energy you had left. You needed a drink. A stiff one.

Keys were dropped on the counter along with your bag and dinner before you disappeared into your bedroom to change out of work clothes. Once you were cozy in a pair of shorts and a tank you padded through the apartment, tidying up a couple of things you’d left out during the busy work mornings. You pulled down a wine glass, filling it higher than usual with merlot, scooping up your phone and food to take out onto the balcony. This was one of your saving graces, the nightly ritual that had been to unwind out in the cooling air, taking in the views of the city as the sun sunk in the sky. It calmed you down after long days at the hospital and you certainly needed it tonight. This entire project had been one you’d been apprehensive of from the start but you’d at least had time to let things sink in, to get used to the new routine in a new place. It had been considerably easier when Emily was still unconscious and you let out a groan at the thought of having to deal with her again in the morning.

A chorus of laughter burst from down in the street below and you felt a wave of melancholy shoot through you, thinking about the others from work out on the town tonight. You understood being on the outside and you understood why you were, but it would be a lie to say that some nights it didn’t get a little lonely. You’d thought that maybe you and Emily would’ve bonded over that, being trapped in a life that you didn’t necessarily want. That you’d be friends, have each other’s backs until this whole thing was over. You took a hefty swig of wine, shaking your head at yourself, at how naïve and ridiculous you’d been. She wasn’t going to be your friend, that was for sure, it was almost like she blamed you for waking up in Paris, like you had personally made the call and lugged her halfway around the world yourself. Your gaze drifted out onto the horizon, watching the last few rays of sunlight dancing through the sky as you let out a small sigh. You’d let her keep playing the victim card a little longer, after all, she did have the reason to be miserable. You knew she’d tire out of it eventually and come around, it would just be a test of willpower to see how long it would take her to cave.

At least you weren’t trapped in a hospital bed. You had some sense of freedom around the city, a freedom she was likely jealous of and that certainly wasn’t helping things. Hopefully things would change once she was discharged.

________________

@mickey-gomez @momlifebehard @daddy-heather-dunbar @maybe-a-humanbean @rustyzebra @ilovemycrayons @mandy-asimp @leftoverenvy @kades95 @dextur @supercriminalbean @daffodil-heart @its-soph-xx @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @hopelesslyfallenninlove @peanutbutterprincess @emilyprentisssluvr @lex13cm @zizzlekwum @emobabeyy @riveramorylunar @s1ut4nat @scorpsik @prentiss-theorem @strongsassysexysloane @happenstnces @sapphicprentiss @geekyandgay98 @pagetboobstarcomments @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @desperate-gay @amypoehlfey @overtrred28 @theclassicgaycousin @regalmilfs4me @kalixxh @ara-a-bird @five-bi-five-mind @niyizh @inlovewithmiddleagewomen @tommyriddleobsessed @hotchs-bitch @ollysmulti @iluvsreid @kmc1989

#emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #criminal minds #solace in solitude #emily prentiss series #emily prentiss fanfic #criminal minds fanfic

147 notes · View notes

loserdiaz · 7 months

Text

april's fics masterlist! 💌

unbetaed, unedited, unhinged

This is a list of all most of my published buddie fics for the 9-1-1 fandom (will be updated as needed).

I hate accidents (except when we went from friends to this) | teen and up | 4.2k words

"What did you just say?' Buck swallows thickly and reaches for the marriage certificate, passing it to Eddie. "Don’t panic but I think we might have accidentally gotten married." He lets out a breath, bracing himself for the worst case scenario. 'Don't panic', he says, which is rich coming from Buck since he feels like all he'll be able to do for the foreseeable future is panic. Eddie doesn’t react, which is kinda great and definitely something Buck can work with, but he’s also honestly a little worried Eddie went catatonic. “Married?” Eddie repeats, in a hollow voice. from the tumblt prompt: "Don’t panic but I think we might have accidentally gotten married."

i'll heal eventually (but faster if you're next to me) | teen and up | 19.2k words

School Nurse Eddie and the idiotic Gym Teacher Buck that keeps getting injured.

we are a fresh page on the desk (filling in the blanks as we go) | teen and up | 29k words

Buck's a best seller author under a pen name, Eddie is an actor auditioning for the movie adaptation of his books, and somewhere along the way, they fall in love.

made my way to a life i would choose | explicit | 34.9k words

In which Eddie transfers from his station to the Dispatch Center to be the LAFD Liaison, change is hard, staying away from Dispatcher Evan Buckley is even harder and not falling in love with the man is god-damned impossible. Eddie makes his way to a life he would choose and to a family who will choose him back.

he never thinks of me (except when i'm on TV) | mature | 18.1k words

In which Eddie finds out years later that his unrequited feelings for his high school best friend were not actually unrequited, Buck is stupidly famous now and they pine. They get there in the end, they just need to get their timing right. Inspired by the prompt: “you’re famous and just got asked if you were ever in love this should be good– WAIT WHAT."

it can't be unlearned (i've known the warmth of you) | teen and up | 4k words

Buck gets attacked by hunters on his way to Eddie's, Eddie takes care of him and some revelations come to light in the morning.

spinning faster than the plane that took you | teen and up | 9.2k words

Buck flees to the other side of the world, they're both miserable and also pining idiots in love. Somehow it all works out in the end.

the way you move is like a full on rainstorm (and I'm a house of cards) | explicit | 2.7k words

Buck and Eddie play strip poker and things get a little out of control. It's for the best, though.

trust me to take you home | teen and up | 2.2k words

"Listen," Eddie clears his throat. "Thank you for doing this. I—" "Thank me after we get out of this alive." Buck leans forward, his face just a few inches away from Eddie's, he has a conspiratorial glint in his eyes and his cheeks are flushed— Eddie should get an award for how strong he's being right now, seriously. It takes everything in him not to close the gap between them and kiss Buck right then and there. He could do it, though, with the excuse of people watching. They need to keep the charade, right? When Pepa kept setting him up on awful, horrible dates, and Buck offered to pretend they were dating— well, how could Eddie ever refuse something like that? The chance to get a taste for what he's been aching and longing for since forever, even if it'll end up with his heart more broken than it already is. It seemed like a good idea at the time, alright? Eddie's never claimed to make smart, sound decisions. or: there's a wedding in texas, a meddling tía pepa and only one bed. somehow, it all works in the end.

called my bluff (and saw through all my tells) | explicit | 2.3k words

eddie knows exactly how long buck was dead for and buck doesn't really know what to do with that information— so he does the logical and sensible thing and fucks the guy.

believe in one thing (i won't go away) | mature | 24k words

"I think— I think we should go to therapy. Together." Eddie says one night and takes Buck completely by surprise. "Therapy? Together?" "Yeah, like, couple's therapy or something. Frank told me he can recommend someone for us." "Eddie…" Buck says slowly, as if he's trying to explain the hardest math problem in the universe to a five year old. "We're not, uh— We're not a couple." "No, I know." Eddie frowns and looks down, fidgeting with the beer in between his hands. "But we're partners." He says, this time a lot lower that Buck barely hears it. "Right?" or: the one where buck is figuring out stuff after waking up from a coma, eddie misses his best friend and they go to couple's therapy.

I woke up just in time, (now I wake up by your side) | teen and up | 2.9k words

"Fine, I'm his fiancé." Eddie rolls his eyes and ignores the stares of his teammates behind his back. "It's fairly recent, we haven't had the time to finish the paperwork. Are you really not gonna let me see my fiancé?" or: Buck is in a coma, the nurses are being difficult and Eddie pretends to be engaged to Buck so they would let him see his friend. prompt: what are the ethical implications of pretending to be engaged to a comatose man?

romance is not dead (if you keep it just yours) | teen and up | 2.8k words

Buck went on a mysterious date, he's being oddly secretive about it and his family is just too meddling to let it go. (Eddie is having the time of his life.)

i've spent my whole life trying to put it into words | teen and up | 4.1k words

5 times Eddie was in a car with Buck, trying not to tell the man he loves him +1 time he says it. prompt: you're in a car with a beautiful boy and you're trying not to tell him that you love him.

I'd marry you with paper rings | general audiences | 1.7k words

In which Buck has thoughts about Valentine's day, he makes paper rings and somehow ends up proposing to his best friend. It kinda works out for him in the end.

I'm so in love that I might stop breathing | teen and up | 5.5k words

In which Eddie's parents come to visit, Buck is an idiot and as always, a family dinner goes wrong. BTHB Prompt: Allergic Reaction

my hands are shaking from holding back from you | explicit | 7.5k words

5 times Eddie sees one of Buck's thirst traps/nudes. Inspired by the prompt: whoops I accidentally found a naked/sexy selfie of you on your phone and fuck how am i supposed to function around you now?

pining and anticipation (I don't want you like a best friend) | teen and up | 3.3k words

"So teach me. Show me the Buck 1.0 moves or whatever." He grins at him and moves his hand, brushes his knuckles against Buck's forearm— ghosting over his skin. Buck gets goosebumps and pulls away, nearly falling off his stool. When he straightens, wincing, Eddie is grinning at him, delight all over his face. "Who doesn't have game now, Buckley?" or: Buck inadvertently challenges Eddie to try to hit on him by laughing at the fact that the guy has no game. It ends up being the best thing ever.

the songs i wrote as your other (are the best i´ll ever sing) | explicit | 7.4k words

“Should we take this new romantic love song to mean there’s someone new in your life?” “No.” He flashes another smile, all teeth and confidence he doesn't really feel inside. But he feels the weight of the cameras on him and the weight of Eddie's gaze against the side of his face; he needs to keep the act up. “Trust me, you don’t need to be in love to write a love song. It’s ingrained.” He glances at Eddie. or; Buck and Eddie are in a rock band together and have this friends with benefits thing going on. They try to keep things casual... except Buck keeps writing love songs about Eddie.

this is my idea of fun (playing video games) | explicit | 5.1k words ( co-written with @cowboy-buddie )

Eddie’s just trying to enjoy a day off filled with video games, but when Buck comes home, well, he has a diffrent sort of game in mind.

it's what my rotting bones will sing when the rest of me is dead | teen and up | 12.4k words

the one where a call goes wrong and leaves everyone thinking eddie was dead, buck finds about the will through a letter and comes to some other revelations in the process. and in which eddie finds his way back home and finally gets to be happy with the love of his life. BTHB Prompt: Missing and Presumed Dead

situations, circumstances, miscommunications ( i just may like some explanations ) | teen and up | 4.3k words

from the prompt: We're best friends and have been dating for over a month now but you won't kiss me so should we just break up and just be friends? But turns out you didn't know we were dating

the night i nearly lost you (really thought i'd lost you) | teen and up | 2.9k words

"Buck! Buck, baby! Stay with me, okay?" Eddie. Eddie's voice washes over him like a warmth blanket, comforting and grounding even amongst all the pain and fogginess. "Buck! Buck!" The screams calling his name pierce through Buck’s skull like a freight train. The pain pulses behind his eye and echoes down his spine until it falls into the churning waters of Buck’s stomach. Nausea rolls through him and he groans, closing his eyes. or: The woman sleep driving her car into the station goes a little faster and hits Buck... Eddie doesn't handle it well. BTHB Prompt: Ambulance Ride

I'm the one on the phone as you whisper | teen and up | 1.2k words

Buck's date cancels but he has already made the restaurant reservation, so he decides to call Hen and ask if she'd like to take Karen there. He dials the wrong number. It all works in the end.

i don't want to keep secrets just to keep you | teen and up | 5.5k words

Buck insists on keeping their relationship a secret for longer than Eddie thought they would. It causes some problems... until he finds the reason why.

#okay fineee these are not ALL of my fics but i have a lot and i gave up halfway through #here's a mostly kinda completed masterlist tho ig #my fics #my writing #april writes #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buck x eddie #buddie #buddie fic #buddie fics #buddie fanfiction #911 fic #911 fics #911 fanfiction #911 abc #911 on abc

92 notes · View notes

quokkahans · 4 months

Text

Knight with a Shining Crown

Tags: Feederism fic, royal AU, gradual wg (Chan-centric with implied immobility), mention of breaking furniture

Warning: DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ.

Ship: HyunChan (Hyunjin x Chan)

A/N: And I'm back 😈 Hope y'all enjoy a kind of holiday special from your resident author mwehehe!

request from my one and only twin: @jaethecreator 🫣🤭 hope ya like it, bestie!

AO3 LINK

【 ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘) 】

It was a normal day in Stayville Kingdom, where Hyunjin was the crown prince and next in line to the throne after his own father. But within the 4 corners of the walled dominion, there was some concern regarding security of the royal lineage after a series of strifes among two neighboring kingdoms, making the Court come up with preemptive steps to heighten Stayville’s security.

“A personal knight?”, Hyunjin muttered after receiving word from his father, a finger placed intently on his chin before the king hummed. “Yes, my child. I’m afraid this is just for defense purposes, we don’t want anyone to harm you and they should be with you at all costs.”

The prince fixed the sleeves of his top before running through the pages containing profiles of every person in the Royal Guard, but one in particular already caught his eye.

“I think I already have someone.”

“Who is it?”

“Chris..”

The blonde-haired boy, a bit shorter than Hyunjin and most especially he had a bulky build with strong arms, sharp eyes and that sculpted, stoic face.. Perfect for a boy to toy with– I mean, a personal knight.

Even Hyunjin’s father took an esteemed eye for the knight, since he proved to be a leading man in promoting peace and order, just what he needed. “I’ll let him know then, son. But that was quick..”, he chuckled.

The prince shook his head, “No, father. He’s just the perfect one.”

And Hyunjin didn’t lie about that. But deep inside, there was this urge to spoil Chris.. maybe give him so much food as a treat of honor, a feast fit for a trusting guard.

【 ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘��˘) 】

As soon as Chan got wind of the news, he couldn’t believe it. “Me?”, he pointed a finger at himself before chuckling. “Wow.. it’s an honor. I’d gladly accept it, your majesty.”

The king smiled and nodded his head, “The prince would also like to see you in his quarters. He’s.. been waiting for you.”, he said before Chan expressed his gratitude and headed off, his heart thumping suddenly as he felt giddy.

As soon as the door opened, a full spread of food was there before him and a beaming Hyunjin who finally got to see his prized knight. “Oh, Chris! So glad you made it! Come sit!”, the prince would be all smiles and made the guard flustered at the lack of time to process the scene, but at the mention of food, he automatically knew what he was here for: a celebration.

“Oh- uh- Your majesty! You didn't have to do this, really.. I-”, Chan said, a bit overwhelmed by how the prince could even afford such a thing but a shush from Hyunjin already made him fall into silence.

The young man walked up to him and smiled, giving him a golden plate and shiny utensils before smiling sweetly. “I insist, my knight. After all, never in all the years I'm here would I get an opportunity like this..”, he mumbled. “So you better savor it.”, Hyunjin ended as he emphasized every word while placing food on Chan's plate.

Those words would leave Chan speechless, shocked to see another side of the otherwise lovely prince but a discreet blush was all it took and Chan would see himself eating the food off of his plate.

But that one plate turned into many more as Hyunjin broke his knight little by little, just encouraging Chan and teasing that he must be “eating well like a king” before starting his duties.

That made way for a stuffed Chan nursing his tummy and Hyunjin trying to restrain himself from doing anything that would stray his way, but the scene just lighted something inside him the he never knew..

After a while, Chan went back to the shared quarters of the guards and Hyunjin would see him again but the next thing on the agenda was his personal self-defense classes.

But why? Of course, Hyunjin knew how to defend himself but where was Chan in the picture?

In Hyunjin's eyes, he would be useful. Of course, he'd use the knight’s help as the job would settle on the older's shoulders but that's about it.

【 ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘) 】

In reality, this wouldn't be the first time since a long time that the two would cross paths. The knight and the prince were mandated to stick by each other and that meant more time for Hyunjin to know the cute knight by his side.

“So your family knew my dad? Huh, what a small world..”, Hyunjin said to which Chan nodded with a shy smile. “My dad worked for yours as a secretary, while my mom worked as one of the special seamstresses.. They had these jobs since they helped our kingdom in the past during the war.”

Those ancedotes made it more clear that the hard work ethic ran in the blood and Chan didn't let any bit go to waste, such a characteristic resembling the kingdom.

Hyunjin smiled and couldn't help but think on how much it meant not only for his dad but for him. “Well, I'd like to thank both of them for their hard work, and even you.”, he said sweetly and held his hand, making Chan blush as he was fed some special desserts as requested.

【 ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘) 】

As time passed by, they would spend their time together walking outside the castle or just accompany the prince in everyday things like buying from the market or on his self-defense classes.

But then, with more time getting close meant more time Hyunjin spoiling Chan with food that he could afford or already stored on the castle as the prince ordered another feast.

Time passed and Chan put on a significant amount of weight, mostly on his belly and thighs that made sure to leave a mark on his suit and even made it a bit hard to wear his armor. The continuous spoiling he received made it hard for Chan to keep up with training.

“Looks like someone's been spoiled rotten by the prince.”, Changbin smirked and patted his friend's belly to which Chan nudged him away.

“Oh, shut up! At least he treats me well..”, he blushed. “Ooh, someone's eyes are keen on a royal?”

“SHHHH!”

【 ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘) 】

It would be proven true after one day, when Hyunjin and Chan were guiding each other to wield a sword as the prince wanted to be prepared in case he'd go for a strife.

As their hands interlocked along the base of the sword, Chan looked at Hyunjin with a blush on his cheeks before looking down and continuing with their practice. Once it ended, he decided to confess. “I’d.. like to court you, your majesty.”, he smiled.

“Wait.. really? You know I've been waiting for this moment”, the prince blushed, hovering closer to Chan and connected their lips together. And the rest.. was history.

But of course, the story doesn't end there.

【 ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘) 】

A couple of years pass, and along with the king and queen’s blessing, Hyunjin and Chan seem to be over the moon and in love. One thing that has changed, however, was how the prince treated his lover of a knight and led to more weight being gained by Chan.

From having a small tummy, it grew immensely and blew up, making it harder for the knight to keep on restructuring his suit and all. But most of all, his body was inflated with fat and made it hard to walk without waddling his fat ass (which was a point for Hyunjin to tease his boyfriend about).

Not to mention his toned chest melting into squishy, sizeable pecs that resembled the shape of breasts now due to how much it sagged and how fatty they were.

But little did Chan know, he already knew how to defend himself.. Hyunjin just happened to have a crush on the knight and wanted to play with him, mission accomplished.

Then, as soon as they were comfortable and Chan took in all the relationship weight, Hyunjin proposed to Chan and he agreed, not too long after the chair he sat broke under his weight and jumped each other's bones afterward.

“So fucking hot..”, Hyunjin muttered, caressing Chan’s chubby cheek.

After some time in engagement, it wasn't long after the wedding ceremony happened and both said their “I do’s” in front of many people, making Chan a prince as well due to royal rules.

Once they got to their chamber, Chan pulled him closer and saw how hard Hyunjin tried to wrap his arms around him but with no use, he was too big and his fat ended up getting squished with the prince’s slender hands as they kissed.

“I love you, my prince”, Chan smiled and caressed his hair.

“I love you, my knight in shining armor.”

#j fics #chubby skz #hyunchan #chubby chan

35 notes · View notes

indouloureux · 2 years

Note

Hey, Sunshine! ☺️

I’m curious if you’d be willing to write about Eddie showing interest in the new girl, and she’s a curvy girl. Being in a new element, she’s nervous and keeps to herself mostly, covers herself up with oversized clothing- but, Eddie catches a glimpse of her and cannot wait to show her what an absolute goddess she is in every way he knows how. 🥰

Thank you so much!

You’re wonderful. 💛

aaaa i love u ty for requesting

— i know you requested for plus sized!reader, but i don't think the size is heavily written in here. i hope you enjoy this lovie.

you're overwhelmed by how loud it is, the noise reaching the far back where you sit alone, a sandwich and a book keeping you occupied enough, distracting you from mentally counting the minutes left until lunch ends.

everyone is brash and condescending in every pack that sits on every table. you judge them through your eyelashes, every one of them split in between the lash before you look down on your book. because now you realize that maybe being alone in this school was okay — you'd rather that than sit on the table in front of you, one of them being walked into the clinic after a fork accidentally stabbed him in the eye.

you flip a page, the usual comforting sound tuned out by ravaging gossip. but by the way you've aggressively flipped it from the irritation you received by the crowd who doesn't give a shit about silence, the paper splits your skin in a small cut, deep enough that the crimson peaks through the gate, dripping down your finger.

cursing silently, you wrap your lips around the fresh wound, sucking on the blood. sandwich dropped on the tray, and a speck of blood falling onto the book until it dissolves in into nothing but a brown dot.

a hand slams a bandaid beside where your elbow rests, the faint calamitous smack of rings across plastic coming with. the unfamiliar hand stops you from sucking the blood onto your tongue, following the vein on his knuckle to his forearm. a faint glimpse of a bat beneath a sleeve until you skip the rest and look up his face.

you know him, he sits behind you during history humming gently to every song you're unfamiliar to; the scraping of his pencil on paper loud enough for only you to hear. eddie, you think, smiles softly at you, hovering over you — hopeful to look affable in your eyes.

"you need one?" he nods his head to the bandaid beneath his fingers. "saw you cut yourself. thought y-you might need it, so." eddie blinks rapidly. "i mean, well duh you do need a bandaid. i'm just offering you this so the school nurse doesn't give you ice for-for your cut. ‘d you know she gave me an ice pack when i tripped and scraped my knee?"

you lick your lips, furrowing your eyebrows because why is he suddenly talking to you? "um. no i'm new..."

eddie stares blankly at you before he laughs dryly and pokes his tongue on his cheek. "right! you don't know that. just—the bandaid," he slides it over until it touches the cover of your book. "i'm giving you a bandaid."

"thank you," you take it from his fingers, carefully opening it. but he suddenly takes it from you before you even had the chance to rip the paper.

"silly me," he laughs nervously. "you just cut yourself and i'm letting you open it? ‘s like i'm letting you hurt yourself more."

the package rips open before you can even say anything. you expect him to suddenly yank your bleeding finger into his hand, but he simply removes the left plastic of the bandaid and opens it, nodding to his offer as a silent command for you to place your finger on it. you do, because it would have been embarrassing for you to say no, not because a butterfly bumps everywhere in your stomach at his succor.

eddie's fingers tremble as he sticks the open side on your finger, before he unwraps the other and places it on top of the left bandage. wound bleeding onto the square cotton. he smiles triumphantly once he's done.

"there," he claps his hands. "now you don't have to suck yourself—that sounds wrong,"

at the pinch on the bridge of his nose, you laugh shyly at his embarrassment. eddie opens his eyes at the sound of your laughter, a sound he now definitely prefers over metal after hearing it for the first time; the receiving end of that smile being him. he feels like he won a ribbon.

"thank you," you tell him. "do you always help people when they're hurt? because this kid in front of me got jabbed in the eye by a fork and now i'm beginning to wonder if you'd neglected him."

"oh, no," eddie scratches the side of his head, leather squeaking at the movement of his forearm. "i stole the bandaid from a kid."

"so you could come here?" you wonder why he stole a bandaid for you. something cheap, something he didn't have to do in the first place because you really could have just kept it in your mouth until it stopped bleeding. but it doesn't stop you from wondering why he did it for someone like you — a pariah by chance simply because of appearance.

maybe he's done it because he's a pariah, too; you hear people talk about his hair and how its style has always been out of the ordinary, out of the trend every year. or how he's in this cult with underage teens, or how he's repeated senior year twice. now, they'll probably talk about how a twenty year old is talking to you, despite not knowing that you're only two years younger than him.

"well, i was supposed to come here without the bandaid but i saw an opportunity to not make things awkward," he carefully sits down beside you, keeping a respectful space. "because i...was planning on asking if..."

his finger stands on the plastic table, lips pursed to make a weird sound of unsettlement — nervousness. eddie munson is nervous. around you, because of you, you're not sure. your thumb plays with the edges of the bandaid, looking at his twirling finger.

"if?"

"if you wanted to join us?" he finishes, snapping his eyes shut as if that wasn't the question he was supposed to ask (it wasn't). "my friends, and i. only if you're comfortable sitting around boys."

"but," your eyes skim around tall heads until you catch sight of the table, full of rowdy boys who wear the same shirt as his. "aren't you guys like, a club?"

"you're welcome to join that too. hellfire accepts all kinds, freaks or not freaks." eddie grins. "but you can just sit with me— us. but i recommend you sit beside me just to be safe. i mean, every one of us is safe. i just meant-" he sighs. "what i'm trying to say is that you can sit with us. if you don't want to, maybe...we can sit with you?" you stare at him. "or just me, if you want to."

you feel eyes on you, now not just because of what you look like but because eddie munson's offering you something you never knew you'd be offered to. you scratch your jaw, looking up to his eyes in search for something like a prank; you see nothing but genuineness.

and now you see his eyes scan every inch of you — at the fat of your thighs, at your stomach that you try your best to cover your shirt with, at your arms hidden beneath the oversized sleeves, and the apple of your cheeks, in all its plumpness and glory.

"i'm not forcing you—"

"yeah, sure," you close your book, keeping your eyes at him. "yeah i'll sit with you guys. why not."

"great!" he smiles brightly. eddie takes your book into his hands, and does you a favor by slinging his bag over his shoulder, a finger grazing your sleeve and thinks how you should be wearing something that shows more of you.

you smile back at him. eddie has a hand hovering over your back, guiding you around the table. "this way, m'lady."

he can just ask you out someday.

reblogs and feedback are appreciated <3

#eddie munson blurb #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson #blurb #joseph quinn #joseph quinn blurb #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn x y/n #joseph quinn fic #joseph quinn fanfiction

499 notes · View notes

deans-baby-momma · 6 months

Text

Law & Love Chapter 25/Epilogue

A/N: This is it. The end. I had fun writing this one and enjoyed all your feedback.......but, to be quite honest, I am actually scared of it now. Please don't hate me. This is the ending I had in mind from the beginning.

And without further ado

The first thing I notice when I come to is the steady beeping and the swish-swish whoosh of air.

I take inventory of myself before I even open my eyes. My torso is sore but it's nothing compared to the pain in my left shoulder and down my arm.

How rough did Beau fuck me?! Did I tense so hard that my whole body spasmed into shock? What happened to me? Why am I so achy, like I've been run over.

Damn, that must have been some great sex! What I remember of it, I know it was and I wonder how Beau is faring.

I slowly open my eyes and immediately squint as a brightness blinds me. What the fuck?!

I try again, this time being able to bear the light as I realize I am not where I should be. The room is too drab, the air too clean, the bed too rigid.

I lift my head and look down at myself, becoming more perplexed as I notice I'm covered from my chest to my toes in a thin blanket, there are wires that disappear under the fabric that lead to machines attached to stands beside the bed.

My arms are stiff, laying beside me and there are needles and lines connected to them. I look to the right and see a closed door with a small sink hanging on the wall next to it.

As I try to figure out what the hell is going on, another door- on the opposite wall - opens and a man walks in, holding a clipboard.

"What do you mean I've been out for almost 2 weeks?" I ask the man in front of me. He's wearing a long white coat so I assume he's a doctor.

"Ahem. Ms. Y/L/N, you were unconscious for 13 days following the accident." He opens his mouth to continue but I cut him off.

"Accident? What accident? No," I shake my head. "I was just having the best orgasm of my life and…..and….and…."

I can't stop the tears that begin pouring down my cheeks. "I was with-" This time I'm the one interrupted, the door opening quickly and Beau stepping in. "Beau!"

He walks to my side, a smile on his face but stays a respectable distance from me. I want to reach out and pull him to me; to feel his arms around me, holding me close but he is too far away. I am completely confused but relieved he is here.

"Chief Arlen, I was just explaining to Ms. Y/L/N her condition and the cause of it. But it seems to have put her into a frenzy."

"I'll do it, " Beau says as he turns toward the doctor. "It is official police business after all, Doc."

The doctor nods, writes something on the clipboard and then pockets his pen. "If you need me, just have the nurse page me. I'll come check on you during evening rounds otherwise."

I watch as the doctor leaves and then turn toward Beau.

"What the hell is going on, Beau?!"

"What do you remember, sweetheart?"

I listen with astonishment as Beau explains how I've ended up in the hospital. He had pulled a chair to the side of my hospital bed and sat down.

"After the judge found your assailants guilty and recommended their jail sentence, you left the courtroom feeling justified. You turned to us - Cassie, Jenny and I - and smiled the first real smile I'd seen on your face in days, weeks even. You said you were finally free and you were going to treat us all to a drink at MacAlley's. We agreed and walked out of the courthouse. You practically skipped down the steps.

"It all happened so fast," he continues and looks down at his feet. "If I had just been a foot closer, I could've pulled you back; pulled you away from getting hurt."

I look at him, his head down with his elbows on his knees. He is feeling guilty that I was injured but it wasn't his fault.

"Beau, it isn't your fault."

Beau takes a deep breath and looks up before exhaling. "You don't know that. Y/N it was Buck Barnes behind the wheel. He was trying to divert my attention from the investigation into him and Sunny."

"What?" I ask, perplexed. "What investigation?"

"Sunny and Buck Barnes were covering up for Sunny's eldest son Walter. He's the man in the woods that's been kidnapping and murdering all those hikers and campers. We were closing in on the truth and Mr. Barnes tried to prevent me from finding out. So yea Sweetheart, it is my fault. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry."

"Wait, so I've been in a coma since the hearing?" I have so many questions bouncing around in my head now. “Uh….” I don't even know how to word the questions I want to ask.

Beau nods as he sits up in the chair and sighs. “We’ve all been keeping an eye on you. Jenny, Cassie, even Denise have come by and visited and sat with you during the day when they can get away from work. I have spent the last 13 nights right here in this chair.”

I look at him bewildered. If I got knocked out right after the hearing, that means he never went back to Austin with Carla, I didn’t hook up with Cordell. Hell, I didn't even take a trip to Texas! And he has stayed in the hospital with me every night?! We haven’t even officially been on a date yet. We were just getting up to that point when the hearing happened.

“So,” I begin, trying to get the words to make sense. “You’ve been here every night? Just watching me sleep?”

Beau smiles and leans up to take my hand. “And praying to whatever deity I could think of to bring you back to me.”

His words warm my heart and I smile at him. He is such a sweet man. I am lucky that he is mine. But wait, is he mine?

“Beau, I know we had been living together before the hearing out of my safety but….” I trail off as I look away from him, trying to get the courage to ask what I need to ask. “Are we more? You spent 13 nights in that god awful chair waiting for me to wake up; praying that I did. That couldn’t have been comfortable.”

Beau chuckles as he leans forward and kisses the top of my hand, being wary of the IV there. “We were going on our first official date last weekend, after the trial.”

“Oh. So I guess I dreamed that you went back to Austin with your ex-wife and daughter?”

“Honey, I haven’t left the city limits since your accident.”

“Wow. Now I feel really bad,” I say sheepishly.

“Why?” Beau cocks his head to the side.

“While I was sleeping, I dreamed of another man. Someone I met after you left. I’m sorry.”

Beau laughs, low. “We can’t control what our mind brews up. It wasn’t real.”

I couldn’t help but ask. “Do you…..know any Texas Rangers?”

Beau confirms that he has worked with a few of them in the past on cases that came into his jurisdiction and when I mention the name Cordell Walker, he gets a weird look on his face.

“Don’t believe I know that one, sugar.”

“He was who I met. He, um, came looking for you and one thing led to another,” I explain.

Beau smiles and chuckles. “It was only a dream darlin’. Ain’t nobody coming for me, Texas Ranger or not.”

After being released from the hospital two days later, Beau takes me home. To his new home, a house on the outskirts of town with a front porch that has room enough for a porch swing. He explains that the trailer had only been temporary.

Beau spends the next few days making sure I’m healing and getting enough rest. Almost to the point that I want to yell at him but I know he is only doing it to show me he cares. So I keep my lips sealed and bask in the sentiment.

Beau Arlen is a good man and a good friend. But will he ever be more?

TO BE CONTINUED……..MAYBE

@spnbaby-67 @sea040561 @delightfullykrispypeach @larajadeschmidt13 @atc74 @vicariouslythruspn @squirrelnotsam @sandlee44 @blacktithe7 @hoboal87 @mogaruke @supraveng @akshi8278 @lyarr24 @kazsrm67 @chriszgirl92 @deanwithscissors @raisinggray @fanfic-n-tabulous @hobby27 @stoneyggirl2 @purpleeclipseeggsland @kmc1989 @deans-spinster-witch @yvonneeeeeeeee @tmb510 @globetrotter28 @leigh70

#law & love #beau arlen #y/n #big sky #beau x y/n #not spn #sorrynotsorry #don't hate me

29 notes · View notes

itwasthereaminuteago · 2 years

Text

|| From Ashes ||

Pairing: Frank Castle X F!reader

Rating: M

Tags/warnings: unexpected pregnancy (wrap it before you tap it!), bit of angst and small scuffle between Frank+Matt, birth (not explicit), fluff.

A/n: I am not at all interested in having kids but I look at Frank and he somehow just makes me broody as fuck. Also I have limited knowledge of childbirth so please don't come for me with my inaccuracies 😅

If you like my stuff, I'd really appreciate a reblog ♥️

You'd talked about it before, you both wanted to start a family at some point, but that was sometime way off in the future, after all the shit that he was caught up in was taken care of. Frank said it wasn't safe for you and you had agreed. But one day...

The night before the explosion at the docks, not that you could have any idea he wouldn't be coming home, you'd begged him to fuck you raw. You'd had to talk him round to it. Of course you were on the pill and usually always used condoms, but that night for whatever reason you just wanted to feel him.

"Better be careful darlin' or I'll put a baby in you."

The sound you made and the way you felt when those words left his lips and hit your ears you'll never forget.

"Oh, you like the sound of that sweetie?"

In the midst of the gut-wrenching grief and fog of confusion after Frank was gone you'd missed a couple of days of pills but didn't think anything of it. After all, what were the chances? A few weeks later you put the skipped period down to extreme stress, it had happened before. Now you were here, crumpled on the bathroom floor with five positive pregnancy test sticks confirming the real reason behind your 'vomiting bug".

You didn't know what you were going to do. The only thing you were certain of is that you were keeping it.

When you had asked Matt to meet you it was as if he already knew something was up. Aside from the obvious hammering of your heart with nerves, "you smell different", he'd told you.

"I'm pregnant".

That was the first time you'd actually said it out loud.

It suddenly made everything real and you didn't even realise you were crying into Matt's chest as he held you and promised it would all be okay.

When you went for your first scan you realised that your wage from your shift at Josie's wasn't going to cut through the upcoming hospital bills alone. Matt insisted on helping you with the finances but you didn't want a hand out, you wanted to work.

"Well, Nelson, Murdock and Page are actually doing pretty good now, and as we're so busy we could really use some help. How about you come work for us?"

You couldn't thank him enough.

Now it was time. Once you were checked into to the hospital and given a room, Karen and Foggy helped you get settled in and comfortable while Matt gave the nurse some more information.

"Mr Castiglione?"

Matt nodded, going along with your preference of Frank's old moniker and pretending to be your partner. You didn't want to take any unnecessary risks and Matt was more than happy to be there for you.

"Okay, you say the contractions started around an hour ago, and she was feeling a little dizzy?"

"Yes," Matt confirmed, "I think her blood pressure might be low. Will her and the baby be okay?"

The nurse nodded. "We'll keep monitoring her as normal but it's looking fine at the moment, contractions are still quite far apart. Certainly nothing to worry about."

She turned to you. "If they start coming closer together you just let me know, but for now try and relax as best you can honey."

Matt cocked his head as he picked up the radio call of one of the police officers at the opposite end of the floor. A fight underway in an alley a couple of streets away, suspected armed gangland conflict. He looked over at you talking with the others.

"Uh, I'm just gonna go pick up some snacks and water for you from the store round the corner okay?"

You nodded, "thanks Matty, don't be too long, no idea when this baby's coming!"

"Don't worry, be back in no time."

Was it irony that tying up the last loose ends of Frank's past had brought him right back to Hell's Kitchen? When this was over maybe he could finally work out how to come back to his life, back to you.

He'd put three of the gang he'd been chasing down already before a familiar masked pain in the ass jumped down from the fire escape landing in front of him.

"The fuck you doin' here Red?" Frank spat, flooring the last goon with headbutt.

Matt approached him. "Was in the area, heard a ruckus. The usual. Sure as hell didn't expect it to be you somehow..."

Frank chuckled, "yeah I'll bet, you feel like fightin' a ghost?" He inched towards the Devil.

Matt was on his guard. "Not here to fight you Frank but you gotta come with me. Now."

"Nah, nah, you're comin' with me, gonna tell me where my girl is."

"Listen, how long have you been away?" Matt asked him, circling Frank and keeping his distance.

"Had stuff I needed to take care of, what the fuck is it to you?"

"Nine months, Frank. You've been gone nine months."

"Why the fuck does that matter? Where is she?" He roared. "Went to the apartment and most of her stuff is gone... looks like she ain't been there for a while. I know you know, Red. You were always close."

"She's been living with me the last few months-"

Frank charged forward with a growl, aiming to kick Matt square in the chest but he dodged away before he could connect.

"Oh, right yeah! I get it. I'm barely dead and you just slide on in, huh? Real gentleman." He span around fast, popping his elbow up and smashing it into Matt's face making him stagger back, blood gushing from his nose. "If you were anyone else I'd fuckin kill you. But I won't, for her sake."

"Jesus Frank, you've got it all wrong," Matt wiped his nose and spat out the blood in his mouth. "if you'd just stop trying to beat the shit out of me and let me explain!"

Frank grabbed him by the throat, slamming him against the roof door. "Yeah I'd fuckin' love to hear how you think you can get out of this one "

Matt choked, swatting and wrenching at Frank's arm but he was running on pure rage and too strong, his dark eyes blazing into Matt's unfocused ones.

He swallowed, "she came to me... 'bout a month or so after you were gone..."

Frank's grip tightened. "She came to you?"

Matt tried to get the words out as fast as he could given the circumstances.

"Hngh-... s-she was scared, she'd just found out she... she was pregnant. She was worried about money, worried she couldn't cope. Karen, Foggy and I... we've looked after her, made sure she has everything she needs."

Frank choked as he processed Matt's words.

"Pregnant? W-what? Who's... is it yours?!" He pushed Matt into the wall.

Matt spluttered out an incredulous laugh, "Think about it Frank,"

He turned it over in his mind, you were his everything, all he wanted was to keep you safe, and him ending up 'dead' had the perfect way to do it. He could hunt down every single threat from his past and blow them away easy. It had taken him almost all the way across the country in about nine months. Nine fucking months...

"Fuck." Frank released his hold on Matt and fell down to his knees.

"My girl, she- she's..." He ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head. Matt coughed, trying to get his breath back as he straightened up, laying his hand on Frank's shoulder.

"She's in Metro General right now. I've been trying to tell you, c'mon I'll take you to her."

They entered the hospital through a service door at the rear, Matt guiding them through the corridors without drawing attention to an vacant locker room. He gestured at a shelf of clean scrubs opposite as Frank checked behind them was clear before closing the door.

"Clean up as best you can and put those on. Can't have you waltzing in there looking like you just beat some Russian gangsters to a bloody pulp, huh?"

Frank grunted, shedding his bloodsoaked, dirty shirt and donning the blue scrubs and borrowing a hoodie hanging on a peg before heading to the sink in the corner, washing his hands and splashing his face with water.

He paused gripping the edge of the sink, leaning over it. Bloody droplets fell onto the stainless steel and trickled down the drain.

"You ready?" Matt called, taking off and shoving the makeshift mask he was wearing under some trash in the bin.

Frank shook his head slowly. "I'm scared Red, christ.'

"I think that's normal...."

"I mean, I'm fucking terrified." He started pacing, "what if I go in that room and she... she doesn't want me?"

"She will Frank. She does. She loves you, she never stopped loving you."

Frank looked up at him.

"C'mon," Matt said, opening the door. "you don't want to miss this."

As they headed up to your room, Matt filled Frank in.

"Her water broke after I uh, made her laugh a bit too much..."

"Typical." Frank mused.

"Mild contractions started a couple hours ago, they're still pretty far apart but I brought her in early as her blood pressure was low," Matt sensed Frank's immediate concern. "She's fine, she's okay. Baby's heart is strong."

Frank chuckled in disbelief, "you can hear that?"

Matt smiled, shrugging, "yeah."

"Jesus. Can you tell what it is, I mean, does she know... boy or girl?"

Matt smirked. "No, she didn't want to know. And I'm not that good Castle. It's a... surprise."

Frank laughed nervously as he followed him around the next corner. "Damn right it is."

Frank froze in the doorway when he saw you, lying propped up on the bed hooked up to a monitor. You were talking to Karen. A little bit of sweat beaded your forehead. He could see the rounded swell of your stomach under the sheet that covered you. He'd never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

"Matty, you're back! What the hell happened to you?" You exclaimed, seeing the bruises on his face, eyes flicking to the hooded figure in scrubs beside Matt.

"...Karen, they've definitely not given me any drugs yet have they? This baby's making me crazy, I thought I saw Frank standing next to Matt."

You watched Karen stare at the doorway, her jaw opening and closing silently.

"He- he is." She finally said in disbelief.

"Karen don't joke, Frank's dead."

You laughed as the Frank-shaped hallucination belted across the room to your side and gently grabbed your hand.

"What? This... isn't real... he's- you're dead." You stuttered, trying to comprehend the fact you could feel him squeezing your hand, his eyes fixed on yours, glittering with tears about to fall. "But, you're dead..." you choked out.

Matt rubbed at his throat, his voice still hoarse and raw, "I promise you he's real, and very much alive."

"Sweetheart." Frank's voice was small, rough and choked up but there was no mistaking it. He raised your hand to his lips and kissed, brushed your hair back out of your face and kissed you on the forehead. He said your name, it was just like the dream you had on so many nights but the warmth of his lips that you thought you'd never ever feel again was so solid and real and here. You flung your arms around him pulling him as close as you were able to. Holding on to him so he wouldn't disappear again.

"Frank! Oh my god Frank-"

He nuzzled against your neck, kissing you there too. "I'm here baby, I'm so sorry! God I've missed you so so much." You breathed each other in, you were whole again.

You cried, he cried, Karen cried, even Matt was blinking away tears.

Frank finally found your lips and almost kissed the breath from you. You held him there for a long moment, foreheads touching, before letting him go and smacking him in the face with your right hook.

He rubbed at his jaw, moving it from side to side. "Yeah, I deserve that."

"Fucking right you do, where the hell have you been?! I thought you were dead! We all did!"

He sat beside you on the bed. "I know, god I wanted to tell you, to see you..." he kissed your fingers again. "there were things I needed to take care of you to keep you safe, and it meant that I couldn't come back. I didn't know that... that you- fuck if I'd known..."

"That I'm having your baby? Our baby."

"I'm so sorry honey, sorry I wasn't there for you. Shit, I've really missed everything, the scans... wasn't even there to rub your feet..."

"Not much to miss, just me growing to the size of and looking like a beached whale. Anyway, Matt and Foggy gave A+ foot rubs."

Frank dipped his head. "Shit, I owe you guys, big time. You came through for my girl. I'll make it up to you I swear."

Matt shrugged, "you don't have to, nothing we wouldn't have done anyway. Just glad you're back Castle."

"Yeah," Karen added, smiling, "you're where you belong."

Just then Foggy returned from the coffee run. "Sorry it took so long, the guy in front punched the machine and actually broke it because it wouldn't give him change so I had to go-" he clocked the hooded figure crouched by your side stroking your hair. "Castle..?"

Matt reached out catching hold of the coffee cups before Foggy dropped them out of shock.

"Holy shit... I guess daddy's home?!""

"Good to see ya Nelson." Frank nodded before turning back to you.

"Anyway, you ain't the size of a whale, you look beautiful, doesn't she?" He looked to the others for some backup.

You snorted, "oh yeah, ask the opinion of my best friends, one of whom is blind..."

Matt just grinned while Foggy and Karen clamoured to assure you that you looked great.

"Well you're fucking gorgeous, and I love you." Frank said as he kissed your lips again. You saw his eyes flick down to your belly as he sat back.

"I love you too, so much. Here," you say, pulling your gown up a little way and taking his hand and placing it carefully on your bump.

Frank shook his head, a choked laugh escaping his lips as he felt movement, still not fully believing.

"I swear it's gonna be better at kicking ass than you!" You joked.

He smiled, and you bathed in it. "This is really happening huh?"

"Yeah, and-" You hissed, gritting your teeth as pain suddenly lassoed around your abdomen. "it really fucking hurts!" Frank tried to soothe you as you shifted around trying to get comfortable, you got him to pull you up so you could stand and lean over the bed while he rubbed your lower back.

"You okay?" Matt asked. He tilted his head, a furrow appearing between his brows.

You laughed nervously, "heh yeah, peachy." Another contraction, this time much stronger hit you and you felt like you wanted to bear down. "Oh fuck!" You groaned, your legs buckling with the pain. Matt made to move towards you but Frank caught you and held you up.

"Okay," Foggy said, putting his coffee down, "I'm no expert but I think these contractions are getting a mite closer together, gonna go get someone."

"Thanks Foggy." Frank resumed massaging your back and you hummed with gratitude, bracing yourself for the next round of pain.

"Think this baby decided it's time to meet their daddy..."

The midwife and nurse appeared with Foggy. "Alright, anyone who's not a parent will have to leave. This ain't a party."

Karen squeezed your hand, "we'll be right outside, you've got this."

"Good luck!" Foggy said, kissing your cheek.

"You're gonna be fine sweetie, Frank's gonna take good care of you." Matt said. As he reached for the door you turned to Frank.

"I want him here, please..." Frank nodded, he owed Matt that much and it was your decision.

"Matt will you stay?" You called out to him.

"Of course, if that's okay?" He replied, humbled that you'd asked.

"Can he?" you asked the midwife with pleading eyes.

"Fine, just don't get in the way." She said. "Dad, you come over this side, you're gonna be her squeeze toy and help her breathe okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Frank replied, taking your clammy hand in his as you focused on him.

Matt sat on the opposite side, his fingers locking between yours.

The midwife checked you over. "Alright honey it's time to push, nice big deep breaths for me, here we go."

A girl.

Frank was so in love with you both and he couldn't do enough to help when he got to take the two of you home. It made your heart burst to see him singing to her, getting up in the middle of the night to help feed and change her. This was a side of him you'd never seen but you always knew was there.

Matt, Foggy and Karen worked tirelessly to find a way to exhonourate him from the dock incident, and all the other gang hits while he was 'dead' were untraceable back to him anyway. He'd been careful.

You both finally had your own family, as well as your found family, and nothing was ever going to take that away.

#frank castle x female reader #frank castle fic #pregnant reader #frank castle fluff #the punisher fluff #the punisher x reader #punisher fic #frank castle x reader #the punisher x female reader

456 notes · View notes

jazzycurls · 2 years

Text

I want to know what love is -

pt.4

Summary: After years of being stuck in an abusive marriage you are hoping to start a new life with your son. Meeting an old acquaintance awakens feelings in you that you thought were long gone. Will your broken heart allow you to love again?

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!Reader

Warnings/Tags: No use of y/n, angst, PTSD, domestic violence, injuries, jealousy, brief arguing/raised voices, curse words, hurt/comfort, fluff, smut, (let me know if I missed something)

An: Hi you guys! This is my first attempt at writing of any kind. All feedback is welcome, be gentle please haha. Please do not steal or copy my work. Don’t repost without credit. This is my written work, everything besides the characters and plot points by the original writers, belongs to me.

Word Count: 7,330

You were officially avoiding Eddie. The first few times you had blown him off it was coincidental. Things with the divorce proceedings had finally kicked off and time was sparse these days. The judge had approved having the court date moved up to two weeks due to the special circumstances with your husband. Which really meant it was because he was a pos woman abuser.

The bad thing about that, however, was it left you with time to fester on your thoughts and insecurities. Like, how could you have allowed yourself to get involved with someone?

You were still married technically. Even though that meant nothing to your husband, it still meant something to you. No matter if your marriage was dead and buried.

So whenever Eddie called, you feigned that you were too busy to talk or if he stopped by you were suddenly just leaving. The hurt look in his eyes killed you inside but you knew it was for his own good.

He shouldn't have to settle for someone with so much baggage. No matter how much you wanted and cared for him, you weren't good enough for him. If you love someone you only want the best for them and you loved Eddie, you were sure of that now.

You sighed as you sat in the doctor's office, today was the day that your cast would come off. Picking up a Rolling Stone magazine, you flipped through the pages trying to pass the time.

You were halfway through the magazine when someone sat next to you and leaned close to your ear, whispering your name. A small gasp escaped you, startled by the unexpected noise.

Looking up you saw Robin's smiling face. "Hey Robin, how's it going," you asked with an easy smile. You sat the magazine down on the end table and turned your body slightly towards her.

"It's going good, just getting ready for Eddie's graduation and all that jazz," she replied slyly.

"Right— that is coming up huh," you said thoughtfully. With everything you had going on you had completely forgotten about that. You had wondered if Eddie would graduate this year. At that moment you wished that you weren't avoiding him so he could have told you personally.

"So— when is the date?" you asked nonchalantly. Pretending to feign interest, you looked down and began to pick at your nails.

Robin nudged your shoulder with hers gently, forcing you to look into her eyes. "I think you should ask him yourself," she said softly with a knowing smile.

Guilt ate at your conscience, making you lower your gaze again. "It's not that simple Robin," you replied with a heavy sigh.

She took your hand into hers. "I know that we don't know each other that well," she pauses before continuing. "But what I do know is how Eddie feels about you," she states firmly. "I think that you both deserve to have a conversation and be honest about what you want."

Tears spring forward threatening to fall. You looked at Robin and nodded your head, giving her hands a light squeeze. Before you could respond the nurse came into the waiting room, calling your name. You gave Robin a quick hug, promising to meet up soon before heading toward the nurse.

You sigh as you skirt around the question asked by your son. He had just asked if Eddie would be able to come by soon. Giving him a vague answer, you simply stated that you wanted to give him space so he could focus since it was the end of his school year.

He seemed to accept the answer and went back to preparing for bed. Once you had tucked him, you went to take the trash out. The trash had rapidly filled up and you had waited until the last minute to take it out.

You lugged the bag into the trash can on the side of your house before tossing it in. The night air was humid with no clouds in sight, with stars glittering in the sky. You dusted your hands off as you turned and walked back toward your trailer.

As you neared your porch steps, you noticed Eddie standing on his porch smoking a cigarette. Your eyes met at once, you held his gaze unable to look away. A puff of smoke exhaled from his lips, drifting off into the air.

You slowly walked along the short path to his home, stopping at his steps. Your stomach was twisted in knots as he regarded you with an impassive look.

You lowered your gaze unable to bring your eyes back to his face. You settle for staring at his Metallica shirt. Your nerves were shot and it felt as if you could hurl at any second.

Seconds ticked by without either of you speaking. "He's not going to make this easy on me," you thought silently. With another exhale a cloud of smoke floated through the air.

"Nice weather tonight huh," you joked lamely.

"I guess it is, huh?" he replied in a monotone voice. He turned slightly and flicked the ash into the yard. His eyes looked emotionless, you never realized how much you adored his expressive eyes until now.

"Eddie— I," you began and stopped, unable to form your words. You ran a hand over your face in exasperation. Taking a deep breath you gazed into his eyes imploringly, trying to convey all of the emotions you were feeling.

Something within his eyes stirred at that moment, warmth flooding his irises. A small smile worked its way onto your lips at that, which he quickly returned. Suddenly, a nice-looking car pulled into the driveway beside you.

You could tell they weren't from this park. No one had a car as nice as that one around here. The driver sat in the seat for a moment before getting out of the car. She was a petite blonde with a Hawkins High cheerleader outfit on. Her blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail.

She gave you a small wave of acknowledgment before sauntering up to Eddie. She smiled prettily as she greeted him, her eyes crinkling in merriment. "Hey Eddie," she said sweetly. "I needed to see you, are you busy?" She cast a glance in your direction with a small smile before turning back to him.

You looked towards Eddie whose gaze was on hers with a fond expression. He looked back towards you, his face conflicted. "Wait for me in my room Chrissi, kay,?" he replied.

Your heart twisted painfully, feeling the bitter emotions of jealousy brewing again. Who was she? Was she just a friend? What was it about Eddie that caused you to be so jealous? You were never like this with your husband.

She nodded in agreeance and strolled into the trailer, shutting the door.

You cleared your throat awkwardly, everything that you had wanted to say earlier had dried up on your tongue. "I um— I just wanted to say that I," you faltered. You took a deep breath before continuing "I know your graduation is coming up and I wanted to know when is the ceremony," you asked, averting your eyes.

"Is that all that you wanted to say to me?" he retorted. He flicked the cigarette butt onto the gravel of the driveway, without taking his eyes off of you.

You sighed "I also just wanted to say that I was sorry for blowing you off," "I've been so busy with my divorce case, that I haven't had the time for anything else," you replied, telling half of the truth. You weren't that busy.

He tilted his head back in silent contemplation before looking back at you. "I know that wasn't all that you wanted to say," he replied bluntly.

"I'm not sure what's going on with you but whenever you're ready to talk to me, I'll be here," he says slowly, shoving his hands into his pajama pockets.

You just stand there, staring at him in shock. How could he expect you to spill your guts to him when at this very moment he had another woman waiting for him in his room?

You nod your head slowly "goodbye Eddie," you softly reply, turning and heading back to your home. Tears fall silently down your face. "Geez, get a hold of yourself," you admonish softly.

Stepping through your doorway, you close and lock it behind you. Light sobs finally escape you, once you're in the privacy of your home. Unable to stop yourself, you go to your window and peek out looking at Eddie's trailer.

He's still standing there on his porch leaning against the railing. His head hangs low, letting his curly mane fall into his face. Abruptly, he turns his head and looks directly at your window. Even though you know he can't, it still feels like he's looking directly at you.

Just as quickly, he turns and goes into his trailer shutting the door. You close your blinds and flop onto your couch. You lay there for a long time, staring up at your ceiling, as tears stream down the sides of your face into your hair.

Today is the day of your court date and you're nervous as hell. Your son is with your neighbor Mrs. Brenda, which allowed your parents to be present with you.

You, your lawyer, and your parents are all crowded in a small office for a quick meeting. Your lawyer goes over some small details before the proceeding commences.

Once he's finished, you excuse yourself to the restroom. You walk the short distance down the hall into the small bathroom, closing the door behind you. "You got this," you repeat to your reflection in the mirror.

Your words sound brave but your nerves are shot. Dark shadows sit under your eyes from lack of sleep. You were up all night, mind racing a mile per minute.

The person you needed the most right now wasn't here and that was entirely your fault. At this point, you couldn't find a valid reason as to why you had pushed him away. Maybe this was an effect of the abuse you had suffered for so long. Maybe you were too afraid to love again for fear of the unknown.

You weren't sure of anything anymore. The only certain thing was that everything seemed easier when Eddie was around. Now that he wasn't, the weight of everything pressed down heavily on your shoulders.

You had already come to terms that you had fallen in love with Eddie. Plain and simple, you weren't sure when it happened but you knew that it was a fact that could not be changed. You just hoped that there was still a chance for you two.

You could do this, your son needed you to be strong no matter what. With one final look in the mirror, you steeled your shoulders back and slung your purse over your shoulder. You exited the restroom and headed toward the entrance of the courtroom. Proceedings would start in approximately five minutes.

You stood by the side door to the courtroom with your lawyer patiently, when the bailiff opened the door ushering you inside. Your case was public, so anyone could attend if they wanted.

You glanced around the room noticing that your ex-husband and his lawyer were already seated. He sat there with a scowl etched into his features. You looked at the benches behind him and noticed that his parents were a no-show, which was no surprise. They were absent as parents and as grandparents so that was expected.

There were a few people here in show of support for you. There were your parents, of course, some of your co-workers and unexpectedly Nancy and Robin were here.

You gave them a small smile. Even though you hadn't known them very long, they were proving to be great friends. Towards the back you noticed a curly mop of hair sitting tall against the pew.

Eddie was here! Your eyes watered briefly as your eyes met his. You mouthed a brief thank you to which he returned with a smile and a thumbs up. Your spirits were instantly lifted, you could definitely do this.

You quickly sat down and waited for the judge to enter. After a few minutes, she arrived in the room.

"All rise," the bailiff commanded. After everyone besides the judge stood up, he continued "the court is now in session."

A triumphant grin was plastered across your face as you exited the courthouse. You were officially divorced from your husband. The judge also awarded you full custody of your son as well. Tears of joy slipped down your face.

You stood on the court steps and turned to your lawyer as you shook his hand. "Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into my case," you stated sincerely.

"It was my pleasure, hopefully, this will be the last time you need my services," he joked lightly with a smile before walking away.

You turned to your parents who both gave you a big hug at once. "We're so happy for you dear," your mother whispered to you.

"I love you, honey," your father said kissing you on your forehead.

They let you go giving you a quick goodbye, so you could greet your friends. Nancy and Robin stood to the side, with big smiles on their faces. "What you did today, that took a lot of guts," "I'm so happy and proud of you," Nancy gushed giving you a tight hug.

"You're a strong woman and you deserve nothing but happiness," Robin stated cheerfully.

"Thank you guys, I appreciate you being here for me, it means a lot." You brushed a few stray tears from your cheek. "I'm so happy, I met you two."

"Ditto," Robin replied hugging you.

Nancy smiled in response "Steve wanted me to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it and he sends his love."

"Tell him I said thank you." you smiled back.

You turned to your right, seeing Eddie standing off to the side. "I'll see you guys later," you stated, giving them another hug before heading over to Eddie.

"Hi, Eddie," you said as your eyes crinkled in happiness.

"Hey sweetheart," he stated in response.

"I just want to say how grateful I am to have you in my life," you replied earnestly. "I know that things aren't great between us right now but you still were there for me nonetheless." You pause and wait for his reply on bated breath.

"I would do anything for you, nothing's going to change that." He looks down at you gazing into your eyes. His eyes were guarded but still held some of the warmth you were accustomed to.

"You step closer to him, putting your hand upon his cheek. "Eddie, I lo—."

"I can't believe this shit!"

You and Eddie both turned around in surprise. Your now ex-husband stood a few feet away with a grimace on his face.

Your breath left you in one full swoosh. Even though you had won the case, you were still terrified of him. Eddie quickly grabbed your hand in his, pulling you closer to him. He gave your hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I guess you couldn't wait to divorce me huh?" "You're like a bitch in heat, jumping from one dick to the next!" he snapped.

Before you could react, Eddie flew from your side towards your ex. His ringed fingers smashed into his face with a sickening thud. He hoisted him up by his collar, putting his face near his "watch your fucking mouth, you son of a bitch!" he snarled.

Your ex yanked his head back, smashing his forehead into Eddie's mouth.

Eddie stumbled back, dazed for a moment, before righting himself and charging in again. They began to exchange blow for blow before tousling each other to the ground.

Tears ran down your cheeks as you screamed for them to stop. You grabbed onto Eddie's arm, who was now sitting on top of your ex pummeling him into the pavement. "Eddie, please!" you begged.

He turned around, his face falling at seeing your tear-stricken face. He stood up abruptly and swiveled towards you, taking you into his arms.

You both became aware of the onlookers and the fact that you were still standing near the courthouse. "C'mon Eds, let's get out of here please, he's not worth it." you pleaded.

Eddie turned his head in your ex's direction, who was still sitting on the ground holding his bloody nose "don't speak to her, don't look at her, don't even think about her," he exclaimed. Heavy breaths caused his chest to rise and fall.

He turned back to you and ushered you down the steps into the parking lot. You were in a stupor when you both came to a stop by Eddie's van. "Hey— princess?" "Look at me please!" Eddie gripped your arms tightly, peering into your eyes.

Finally, you turned to him with a pained look in your eyes. "I'm sorry," your voice was small and broken. You laid your head on his chest, sobs wracking your frame.

"Hey, hey— sorry for what?" "I hope you're not apologizing for what that fuck face did back there," he said.

"This is exactly what I didn't want to happen, Eddie," "you shouldn't have to deal with this!" You let out an exasperated sigh, stamping your foot to the ground.

"You shouldn't have to either, sweetheart!" "Nobody deserves to have to deal with that, especially you!" he affirmed.

You knew deep down that he was right but a part of you still believed that it was your mess to deal with alone.

"Let's get out of here, I'll drive you home if that's okay?" Eddie asked gently.

You nodded your head, yes, letting him help you up into his van. He ran around and hopped into the driver's side, cranking the car quickly. The drive back to the park was silent, you closed your eyes, instantly feeling drained.

It was crazy how your ex could manage to destroy the joy you felt from the divorce settlement in a split second. You opened your eyes and peeked over at Eddie. His eyes were focused on the road, a frown was settled on his face from deep contemplation.

You closed your eyes again letting yourself drift off to sleep.

You were awakened by someone gently shaking you awake. You opened your eyes to find Eddie standing beside the opening of the van door. "Hey sleepy head," he said giving you a lopsided grin.

"Hey," you mumbled as you rubbed your eyes. You let out a small yawn, before taking his outstretched hand and hopping down from the van.

The sun was low in the sky creating a pinkish-orange hue directly behind Eddie's silhouette. You thought that he looked like an angel at that moment.

"So, where's the little man?" Eddie wondered aloud breaking you out of your reverie.

"He's with Mrs. Brenda right now," you replied distractedly. Your gaze was now focused on your fingers intertwined with his, you had yet to let go of his hand and you didn't want to either.

"Eddie, I'm really sorry," you implored. "I shouldn't have let my insecurities push you away." You ran your thumb across his as you continued "I realize now that my fears were unbased and I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way."

You sniffled a little as you poured every ounce of courage into your next words "I love you, Eddie," "I love everything about you, from your personality, your laugh, your hair, and the way you uplift me." "I know that you may or may not have a girlfriend but I can't let another day go by without telling you how I feel."

Eddie looked at you, his brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. He coughed, swiping at his eyes as he squeezed your hand. "I love you too, I think I've loved you ever since the moment I caught you spying on me," he laughed.

"Hey! I was not spying, I was just making sure that there wasn't some crazed maniac loose in the neighborhood," you quipped, giving a light laugh. Your nerves started to settle with the banter.

"Seriously though," he began, unsure of how to put his feelings into words adequately. "I love you and there's no one else," he replied seriously. "You deserve all of the happiness in the world and I want to be the one to give it to you."

You laughed breathlessly as you rested your head on his shoulder. Lingering tears dusted your lashes.

With his finger he tilted your chin back up, directing your gaze onto his. You held your breath as he leaned in closer to you, his lips hovering over yours. "I missed you, sweetheart," he whispered.

"I missed you too, Eds," you confided, whimpering as he pressed his lips to yours. You ran your tongue against the cut on his lower lip soothingly, trying to kiss the bruise away.

He pressed his body onto yours with a groan, pushing you against the van. Your hands fisted his shirt as he stole your breath away, his lips nipping at yours in soft bites. His tongue caressed yours sensually making heat pool in between your thighs.

You pulled away with a gasp, lips swollen from his kisses. "I have to go, I need to pick up my son," you mumbled, a pout on your smiling lips.

"Yeah I need to go too, I have rehearsals tonight for my graduation next week," he replied.

"I'm so proud of you Eddie," you stated giving him a tight hug.

"Me too," he said as he squeezed you back just as tight. "It'll be next Thursday at 8 p.m., I hope you can make it."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," you promised. You gave him another quick kiss before pushing lightly on his chest so you could move away from the van.

"Tell your son that I'll be by to see him soon, we need to practice for the DND campaign coming up!" he exclaimed as he hopped into his van.

"Will do," you laughed before turning and walking away. You felt a little lightheaded from the emotional roller coaster you went on today. With a smile on your face, you headed to your neighbor's trailer to pick up your son.

It was the night before Eddie's graduation and you were preparing for the surprise you had planned for him. You had just come from the store to get the ingredients and party decorations you needed. You were going to cook his favorite food (you had gotten that information from his Uncle Wayne) and bake a cake.

After introducing yourself, Wayne had let it slip that Eddie had never had anyone throw him a party. His parents were too self-absorbed to be bothered and once Wayne had taken him in, his job took up a lot of his spare time.

The thought of him never being celebrated saddened you beyond belief. He was such a great person inside and out and he should be celebrated as such. You shook your head clearing all thoughts and focused on the task at hand.

Your son was with Eddie at the moment, they were both at Hawkins High playing DND. Apparently, this was the start of a new campaign, allowing your son to be able to join in.

You hung up black, red, and gold streamers all around the room. There was also a black tablecloth laid out across your dining table.

You had chosen these colors since they were some of the main ones he usually wore. As you were finishing up some of the final touches, you looked at the clock noting that it was seven o clock.

You had about another hour before they came back and you wanted to make the most of it. Eddie had practice with his band after DND, so you didn't have to worry about him coming over and spoiling the surprise.

As you were finishing up the final touches you heard a jingling of keys in the lock at the front door. Your eyebrows furrowed in worry. Whoever was on the other side eventually gave up with the keys and proceeded to start banging on the door.

"Come out here, I need to talk to you!" It was your ex-husband and from the sound of it, he sounded three sheets to the wind. You peered nervously out the window and saw him, one hand leaning up against the door to keep from stumbling.

Your first reaction was fear, which had seized you by the throat. Eventually, that gave way to anger. Anger over the abuse you suffered for years, anger over the pain your son suffered, and last but not least, you were just plain old tired of his shit.

Banging still rang in the air, as you walked to your room calmly and went into your closet. You pulled out the steel bat you kept for protection and headed toward your back door. You made a quick detour to your phone and called them informing them of the situation.

Taking a deep breath, you opened your back door and made your way to the front of your home.

"You looking for me," you stated as you stood on the gravel in front of your home.

He turned around, stumbling, before righting himself and coming down the steps. "Yeah, I need to talk to you— you slut," he spat.

"No— you don't, I've always listened to you!" you stated firmly. Your courage began to build as you continued. "That ends right now, it's your turn to listen to me and listen clearly because I won't repeat myself."

His eyes went wide with shock and for once he was silent.

"You made me feel worthless, ashamed, lonely, and unlovable," you let out. "I used to wonder what it would feel like to have a man touch me gently, to want me and caress me." your hands gripped the bat you held as anger and sadness began to bubble up within you.

"You abandoned your rights as a husband and a father a long time ago." "You don't get to question me about my personal life any longer." you glared at him as you continued. "I no longer give you power over me or my life." you declared finally.

You eyed him as he stood there and took in everything you just said. He looked towards you with a defeated look in his eye before nodding his head. With a staggering step, he turned to his car to leave.

You let out a silent breath as you watched him near his car. You turned around to head into your home when the crunch of heavy footfalls came from behind you.

You turned around quickly, swinging your bat along with you, connecting the heavy steel with his midsection. He doubled over with a grunt as you stepped back holding your bat up in defense.

"You're gonna regret that," he huffed before charging in your direction.

You hastily dodged his step bringing the bat down again with a crack against his back making him fall to his knees. Your heart thumped wildly in your chest from the adrenaline.

"Just stop it already," you yelled, out of breath.

Suddenly, he side-swiped your feet from under you, resulting in you crashing to the ground. The wind was knocked out of you as you hit the ground with a thud.

He crawled over to you as you lay on the ground, momentarily stunned. A sinister grin slid across his face as he hovered over you bringing his hands to your neck. Before he could reach you a single gunshot rang in the air, catching both of your attention.

You turned your hand in the direction of the noise finding Mrs. Brenda standing on her porch. "Get your ass up you yellow-bellied coward," she snapped keeping her gun trained on him.

He scrambled to his feet as fast as he could in his alcohol-induced state.

You sat up slowly, standing up, and dusting off your clothes. Turning to your neighbor, you nodded your head giving her a small smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Brenda, I got it from here," you stated lowly.

You walked over to your ex and stood in front of him toe-to-toe feeling nothing but contempt and disgust. You stood there glaring at him directly in his eyes, mustering all of the rage you felt for him before hauling off and punching him square in the temple.

His head snapped sharply to the right as he dropped heavily to the ground, knocked out cold. You kicked his side, detecting no movement whatsoever.

The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the background getting closer and closer. You turned around and walked over to your neighbor who now sat on her steps. You sat down beside her with a heavy sigh and lay your head down on her shoulder.

She grabbed your hand giving it a tight squeeze. "I'm so proud of you dearie."

You nodded your head with a faint smile gracing your lips and waited for the police to arrive.

You help up your camera as you watched the Principle call Eddie's name to receive his diploma. As he walked across the stage you, your son, Uncle Wayne, Nancy, and Steve along with his friends from the DND club clapped loudly cheering him on.

Eddie stopped to take his picture one handing holding his diploma and the other shaking the principal's hand. He took the diploma and walked to the end of the stage before quickly turning around and flipping off the principal and the rest of the staff.

Some of the audience gasped loudly while others whooped and hollered in amusement. Eddie quickly made haste, running comically, down the steps before the security guard could catch him.

You laughed along at his theatrics feeling your heart swell with joy. The situation that had happened last night was nonexistent in your mind. You had yet to tell Eddie, not wanting to spoil or take away from his moment.

So when Eddie and your son arrived home, the police had already escorted your ex off of the property and on the way to jail. With the no-contact order violated and the assault he committed, it didn't seem he would be getting out anytime soon.

You promised yourself that you would tell Eddie when the time was right but for now, you just wanted to enjoy him in his moment.

After the ceremony, you all planned to meet back up at your place for Eddie's graduation surprise. With the help of your son, you invited the rest of his friends from DND to the party as well.

It would be a tight fit but you had cooked plenty of food for the special occasion. One of the younger kids named Dustin (who was a total sweetheart by the way) would keep Eddie preoccupied as you and your son went home to set everything up.

Dustin had just sent a message through his walkie-talkie, letting everyone know that he and Eddie were on the way. You absent-mindedly thought about how convenient those things were. You had read somewhere about a portable telephone but it cost thousands of dollars. Way out of your price range, you would have to stick to the corded phones.

"Okay focus," you told yourself. Everyone began to take their places when the crunch of gravel could be heard from Eddie's van. Everyone had parked a ways down, so Eddie would be none the wiser as he walked up your steps. Quickly lighting the candles on the cake you stepped forward holding it up with a big smile.

You held your breath as the door nob jiggled before opening. "Surprise!" everyone yelled. Confetti shot up in the air and began to fall like rain.

In true Eddie fashion, he stumbled back a bit, falling into Dustin who was standing directly behind him. A big O shape was formed on his pouty lips as he held a hand to his chest. His gaze was on yours when he asked "Wow, is all of this for me?"

You shook your head yes, beaming with joy "congratulations Eddie, I love you." You held the candlelit cake towards him, prompting him to blow it out.

Tears glistened in his big expressive eyes before he closed them and blew out his candles. He bashfully swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand "thanks sweetheart— I've never had anyone do this for me— ever."

You sat the cake down and turned to him, giving him a deep hug, your arms circling his neck bringing him down to you. "It's just what you deserve Eddie, you mean a lot to me, to all of us," you finished, whispering for his ears only."

You pulled back with a grin "Alright who's ready to eat, Eddie gets the first plate though." Several groans could be heard from the younger kids.

"Hey, you guys better be nice or I'll make the next campaign your worst nightmare," Eddie threatened with a saccharine smile.

"STOP threatening those kids Eds," you admonished as you handed him a plate.

"Yes princess," he replied with a sweet smile.

The party was a hit, everyone loved the food. Especially Eddie who had gone back for seconds and thirds. There were a few folks still lingering around talking as you cleaned up. Your parents had picked up your son and were taking him out of town to six flags for the summer vacation. They would be gone for about a week.

It was pretty easy to clean up since you had used paper plates and cups. The only thing you had to wash was the cake pan and a few dishes that held the food. You were done with the dishes in fifteen minutes and had moved on to the cups and plates.

Most people had been respectful of your home and had put everything into the trash. Before you go to take out the trash, a hand rested on your shoulder, stopping you. "Allow me, please," he whispered near your ear, taking the bag from your hand.

After getting an earful from Eddie about overexerting yourself, you sat down, letting him finish the rest. You dozed off into a light slumber as you waited for him to finish.

A kiss to your temple roused you awake, which was followed by another. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Eddie asked as you opened your eyes.

You blinked slowly, trying to clear the sleepy haze you were stuck in. "I don't think so," you replied finally.

"That's a shame," he said thoughtfully before pressing another kiss along your jawline. "Because you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I always thought so, even back when we were in school together," he confessed pressing his lips against the hollow of your throat.

Your mind spun at the revelation, had he always liked you? Why had he never said anything? Before you could ask, he answered for you.

"I had a big crush on you back then but by the time I built up the courage to approach you, it was too late." He leaned over you from his seat on the couch, pressing your body into the cushions.

Your hands instinctively went around his neck, pulling him closer to you. "You shouldn't have been nervous, I always thought you were cute," "But now I think you're hot," you admitted.

You slid your tongue against the shell of his ear, pulling it between your teeth. He groaned in response, pressing wet kisses onto your collarbone.

His hands began to move up and down your sides before grasping your legs and settling them around his hips. The skirt you have on rises and pools around your waist in the process.

You whine as you feel him press against your center. Warmth begins to flood the space between your legs, making you grind wantonly against him.

"Fuck baby, I've been thinking about this ever since that night at the club." He slides a hand between the two of you and against the front of your panties. "About this tight little pussy of yours, squeezing my fingers so tight."

You moan out and run your hands through the curls at the nape of his neck. "Me too," you whimper needily.

He leans back, looking into your eyes as he slips his fingers under the band of your underwear and slides the two digits right into you until his palm is flat against your clit.

A gasp leaves your mouth which he quickly swallows with a messy kiss. His lips slide over yours as he begins to move his fingers inside of you. The palm of his hand provides the right amount of friction to make you pulse around him.

He groans in response pulling away from you to lean up a bit as he increases his speed. He takes his other hand and begins to rub against your clit with fast strokes. "I want to see you cum first before I fuck you," his voice is dark and raspy with desire.

"First on my fingers," he says as he slides his fingers out and shoves them back in.

You roll your hips in response, small whimpers of pleasure falling from your lips.

"Then I want you to cum on my tongue." he groans, rubbing your nub even faster.

A high-pitched whine leaves you as your walls began to flutter harshly. Your eyes feel heavy as your orgasm began to bloom. You cum with a jolt, soaking his hand and the cushions beneath you.

As you try to catch your breath he removes his hand from you, slipping it into his mouth. He hums to himself as he removes them with a pop. Leaning over you, he gives you an open mouth kiss, both of your tongues are sliding across each others frantically.

"Too many clothes on," he says, tugging on your skirt.

Lifting your hips you allow him to pull it off the rest of the way. You hurriedly pull off your shirt, throwing it across the room, leaving you in your red bra and panties.

He notices the bow at the top and his eyes darken. "You know this is my favorite color right?" he declares giving you another heated kiss.

He quickly tugs off his shirt as you unbutton his pants and belt, sliding them down his legs.

Your lips part in desire as you notice him straining against his boxers, a stain from precum coats the front. You can tell that he's big just from the outline of it. Suddenly, it jumps making you gasp out like some sort of virgin.

"Like what you see," he says cheekily. His eyes flashed in amusement.

"I do," you reply honestly, licking your lips slowly.

"Jesus Christ, sweetheart," he replies as he palms himself through his boxers. "Okay baby, turn over," he demands as he grabs your hips and flips you over, pulling your ass up into the air.

"Fuck me," he says as he admires your body, his breath fans across your cheeks. He unclasps your bra and you let it slip down your arms before pushing it onto the floor. Next, he takes off your panties, slowly dragging them down your hips, caressing your skin along the way.

They too end up tossed carelessly around the room.

You're on your hands and knees. His arm is tucked under your waist, keeping your lower half in the air as he presses a hand against your back, pushing down until your chest is on the couch.

He pulls away briefly and both hands grip your ass before pulling them apart. "Eddie, what are you—.”

Your question dies on your tongue as he licks a fat stripe from your clit all the way to your puckered hole and back. You keen into him, arching like a cat. "Fuck Eddie," you yell loudly, all of your inhibitions are gone as he takes you apart piece by piece.

You cry against the fabric of the couch as his lips close over your sensitive clit, flicking it repeatedly with his tongue before dipping into your hole. He repeats this action a couple of times before you lose track. Your orgasm comes faster than before, building you up into a frenzy.

Eddie pulls from you gaining a disappointed groan "Eddie, I'm so close," you whine bucking your hips. You feel the couch shift and suddenly his head is underneath you, his hands pulling your hips down to sit on his face.

His tongue is sticking out as you lower yourself down, slipping it inside of you. His nose bumps into your clit as you grind on his face.

He's relentless, his hands are massaging and then smacking you on your ass repeatedly. He suctions his lips around you and sucks at your clit harshly. Your body begins to vibrate in pleasure, incoherent sobs echo off of the walls as your heat blooms through you making your toes curl.

Your face is smushed into the couch as you rut against him, crying out his name in a chant over and over.

Tears stream down your cheeks as he lifts you by your arms and turns you over onto your back.

"Fuck— you're so pretty princess," he says running his thumb over your tears. He's sitting up on his knees as he slides his boxers down and off of his legs.

"He's big," you think absentmindedly. Lengthwise, it hangs heavy, curving slightly to the right. You take your hand and guide him to your entrance.

He chuckles "So desperate, huh baby?" He groans as you began to pump your hand against him. "Okay you win," he mumbles, slotting himself in between your legs.

His gaze is steady as he eases into you, his mouth falling open. His cock slides in easily from the wetness of your orgasms, as you accept the burn from the stretch around him.

Your head falls back against the couch as you moan in ecstasy, your hands gripping his hair. "Fuck, you feel so good, so wet," he exclaims, breathing shakily against your lips.

After a moment he begins to move, pulling out before plunging back in. His fingers dig into your hips as he quickly finds his rhythm.

Your breasts began to bounce as thrusts in and out of you. The movement catches his attention and he latches on, swirling his tongue around your nipple.

"Eddie," you sigh as you stroke the back of his head lovingly. You push your foot onto the cushion of the couch and began to move against him.

"Oh my God," he moans, biting his lip harshly. "Sweetheart, you're gonna make me cum if you keep that up," he grunts, driving into you deeper.

"I want to feel you cum," you breathe out, feeling your orgasm starting to build again.

Still pumping into you, he glides his hand from your hip, brushing over your clit.

Your hips jerk away from his as he rubs your bundle of nerves. The feeling is too much, bordering the thin line between pleasure and pain.

He holds you still, making you accept the pleasure that he's giving you. His hips begin to falter as his release draws near. "You close baby?" he asks shakily.

You nod your head yes, unable to form any words. He presses down onto your clit again, drawing your orgasm out of you.

This one is bigger than the rest, your whole body is strung tight as he pistons in and out of you at a deafening speed. You cry out, your walls clamping down tight onto him as you gush around his cock.

A low moan leaves his lips as he follows soon after. You could feel him pulsing inside of you, filling you up as he paints your walls.

Heavy breaths fell from you both as you tried to catch your breath. Eddie is the first to move, lifting his weight off of you, and leaning onto his forearms. "Hey," he says with a smile.

"Hi," you giggle, nuzzling your nose into his neck.

"I think I'd like to cash in on that kiss you owe me," he wonders aloud, grinning deviously.

You scoff in disbelief, this man is literally still inside of you and is asking for a kiss. With a shake of your head, you pull his head closer, slotting your lips between his. You pour yourself into the kiss, giving yourself to him completely. Your tongue strokes his passionately as you feel your heart open up to him, ready to love and to be loved.

You pull away gasping for breath as you rest your forehead on his.

"Damn, I'm so glad I won that water gun fight," he says before going in for another kiss.

"Shut up," you laugh as you move to sit up.

He moves with you causing him to fall out of you, a trail of fluids following. Your eyes widen as his cock jumps at the sight.

"Eddie, I—," you trail off unable to finish your sentence.

"Don't worry sweetheart, I'll take it easy on you tonight and give you a break before we start again," he states cockily giving you a wink. He stands up and walks down the hall to the bathroom naked to get a towel.

Your eyes are glued to his ass as leaves. He returns quickly with a warm towel and cleans you up before cleaning himself. You take the towel and put it in the hamper.

After putting your clothes on, you both sit silently on the couch, leaning against the other in comfortable silence. A thought comes to you making you jump up in excitement.

Eddie raises an amused brow in response.

"We should have the movie night," you reply, giddy with happiness. "Y'know since we had to cancel it like a million times."

"I think that's a great idea," he says smiling at you lovingly.

You walk over to the tapes scanning them before selecting one and popping it in.

"Nightmare on Elm Street, my favorite," he nods. "Y'know, if u get scared, you can just hold onto me sweetness, I'll protect you," he states holding up his arm and kissing his muscle.

You roll your eyes at him with a grin before cutting off the lights in your living room and heading back over to him.

You sit next to him on the couch and he pulls you closer, tucking you into his side. He tilts your head back to look into his eyes "I love you," he says seriously, his eyes are big and filled with warmth.

"I love you too Eddie," you reply giving him an intense kiss. A smile spreads across your face, you feel overwhelmed with happiness. With a happy sigh, you nestle your head against his chest as you settle in for the movie.

The End

#eddie munson #eddie x reader #stranger things #stranger things smut #eddie angst #eddie munson angst #eddie munson smut #eddie my beloved #eddie smut #eddie stranger things

142 notes · View notes