#idk what to tag this but i hope whoever needs to hear it does | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

soleadita · 1 year

Text

the arospec eddie diaz post

in honor of aromantic awareness week and also me having a lot of thoughts about eddie diaz at all times, i'm going to talk about arospec eddie. sorry but not sorry. it needed to be said.

(tagging @xjustonemoremiraclex because i promised you a post about this a while ago but i had too many thoughts and no idea how to wrangle them. and ty @scattered-winter for witnessing the pure unfiltered chaos version of this unfold over dms <333)

this is sort of a spiritual successor to my queer pepa post, by which i mean it's about the possibilities!! i'm not saying i believe this is canon and i'm not saying i hope this is canon and i'm not saying it's the one and only and correct way to see eddie. i'm just saying the foundations are there, and the possibilities are fun to think about!! (and also ok fine, nothing about this man gives me any indication that he’s got a firm grasp on what romantic attraction feels like.)

disclaimers: (1) this is heavy on the projection; (2) I AM NOT SAYING I DON’T WANT BUDDIE CANON I DO WANT BUDDIE CANON I LOVE BUDDIE. this is just something i think about kind of a lot and i’m always saying i want more aro headcanons and interpretations of my beloved characters (or literally ANY characters, i'll take anything i can get), so i’m just trying to be the change i want to see in the world. (3) i really tried to make this as aro-focused as possible but it ended up being a blend of aroace + autistic because, like i said, this is projection, and for me, those three parts of me are wrapped up in each other in a way that's hard to separate; (4) re: canon and timelines, i did go and google a few things that i wasn’t sure about but other than that, most of this is pulled from my own recollections. if there’s anything glaringly and FACTUALLY incorrect, i’m so sorry, it was not intentional; (5) i tried to organize this in a way that somewhat makes sense but it's a little rambly; i hope the little subheadings help.

pre-canon | eddie & shannon

so ok. consider this:

maybe, as a teenager, eddie is captivated by shannon. she's pretty, and she's so vibrant, and she's interesting to him. he likes talking to her. he likes being around her. they're friends, but his friends, parents, sisters, whoever - they're annoying about him having a friend who's a girl. maybe his friends make suggestive comments and say shit, and maybe his parents start to ask questions, and maybe adriana is like, “oooh, eddie and shannon,” in that annoying (affectionate) way only little siblings can achieve. and at first he's irritated, but then he starts to overthink and wonder. “do i actually like-like her? well, what does that even mean? what does that feel like?”

and maybe he asks his parents or abuela, and they feed him lines that can basically double as a description for friendship: "someone you want to be close to, someone you can talk to, someone you can be yourself around, someone you like to spend time with." (entirely possible that the list would be different for people raised as cis dudes, idk actually, but this is what i grew up hearing.) and what if eddie takes this and thinks, “well...i guess i do feel like that about shannon?” and then maybe they touch a little more—they hold hands, they hug—and one day, she kisses him, and he's like, “well ok this is nice, i guess,” and he does like affection, his dad has always wanted him to be tough but he misses being little when abuela would pull him into her lap, and when it was ok to ask for hugs, and when his mom would kiss him on the forehead before he went to bed.

so he kisses shannon back, and that's just like something they do now? and he rolls with it. and he does care about her and he does love her but he just...? he just doesn't know what it feels like to be In Love. but that's ok, because he's still young, and this doesn't have to be forever, and maybe it's too soon to know anyway. he has fun with her. he likes being around her. and isn't that more important than knowing for sure whether or not he's in love with her?

and eventually they start having sex (obviously because, as we know, christopher exists), and, again, it's...ok? it's not the worst thing in the world, and he’s always heard that the first few times aren’t great, but he really just thinks it's overhyped and he'd rather, like, sit and listen to music with her and talk or something. but again, it's Something People Do, so he does it.

and then, you know, she's pregnant, and he panics, and they get married because he feels like they have to, and maybe it's actually almost a relief. because now he doesn't have to overthink whether or not he's in love with her, because that doesn’t matter anymore. they're getting married regardless. they're having a child regardless.

anyway, i know this isn't necessarily a groundbreaking interpretation of their relationship; i think this is probably how a lot of the fandom would interpret them (although i do tend to live in a little echo chamber, so i could be wrong). and i think this interpretation usually paves the way for gay eddie, sometimes demi/ace eddie. and that's totally valid!!! i love a gay eddie fic!! i am SO grateful for the abundance of ace eddie in the fandom!!

but lately i've been having a fun time looking at this and thinking about an arospec and/or aroace autistic eddie who falls into a relationship with shannon because it feels like an unspoken rule, a logical next step, something that others want for and expect from him. a tactile eddie who wants physical affection in ways that aren't socially acceptable for him to get anywhere else, and because he's not really sure what love in a romantic sense is supposed to feel like anyway, but he likes spending time with her, so why not? a quietly rebellious eddie who has sex because he is sorta curious, and his parents wouldn’t approve, and his friends are doing it, and people generally seem to enjoy it, and he tries it, and he's just like, “hm. whelp. that was that i guess.” an eddie who is not all that great at interoception?? who is not entirely sure how to interpret feelings in the first place??

season 2 | eddie & shannon 2.0

ok, so this is also well-established: we all know that when shannon comes back, eddie isn't thinking about what he wants. or, like, he is ostensibly, but he's thinking about what he wants for chris. he wants chris to have his mom around. he wants to "be a family" (god forgive him he knows not what he says, he knows not of the amatonormativity in which literally everything is steeped). yeah, he falls back into hooking up with her and then some sort of weird tentative relationship, but like: patterns of behavior. masking. once you Are a certain way with someone, it can be hard to Not be that way with them.

and i can't remember how much of this is canonically established or fanon embellishment, but there's the element of eddie feeling some sort of obligation (shannon is still technically his wife, maybe he owes it to her, to chris, to try again?) and searching for some form of absolution? (yeah, shannon is the one who left most recently and most permanently, but he left first, he made the first cracks, and maybe if he can make it work this time, he can forgive himself?)(<- i do not personally think this about him myself but it is something i can see eddie's gorgeous little traumatized season 2 brain coming up with.)

there’s also an argument to be made that maybe he thinks it would be easier for other reasons, too. like, yeah, it would be so much easier to have a household with two adults. it would be so much easier to have more childcare options for chris, less questions from places like chris's school, someone else to help with managing things like grocery shopping and making dinner and running errands and laundry (i swear to god i'm not listing these things because they're like "women's work" and shannon's a woman, it's just those are the things i fucking struggle with so they're at the top of my mind). they'd be a fucking dual income household. like. that shit would be LIFE CHANGING.

(are these things i've thought a lot about in relation to being autistic and aro…who can say…who can say.......)

seasons 4-5a | eddie & ana

i mean. i think this is also self-explanatory at this point, and eddieana has been dissected to shreds. i'll just say that pretty much every piece of evidence for gay eddie in this scenario could also apply to arospec (and aroace) eddie. (and it's not like he can’t be, like, gay ace, but we all know when fandom talks about gay eddie, it’s usually gay allo eddie. and i’m NOT AGAINST that (really, i love all queer eddie headcanons, they're SO SPECIAL), but. you know. it's like this post.)

ok, wait, no. i’ll say a little more. consider this:

maybe eddie was so weird around ana because the way he masked around her was, like, a little stiff and overly formal; partly because the first time he met her it was at a parent/teacher conference, and partly he was trying to perform the role of Good Date/Boyfriend, and then she ended up in his house and around his kid (outside of the classroom context) sooner than he originally planned, putting him in the awkward position of, "fuck, how do i be at-home-with-christopher-me and also trying-to-date-ana me?"

or maybe he just didn't know her well enough to have that basis of friendship he had with shannon (remember i'm extrapolating here, i don't think we know whether or not shannon and eddie were friends first, i think that's just something from the autistic!eddie series of all time that i've integrated into my eddie backstory fanon forever), so he just straight up didn't care about her the same way!! literally just in a “oh, i actually don’t know if i really enjoy this person’s company” way, and then in a “oh we’re not vibing as expected” way. only instead of peacing out once he realizes that, he fucking DOUBLES DOWN.

there's also, of course, the department store panic attack. feeling trapped. trying to convince himself that she is what he wants. that maybe if he stays long enough he'll change his mind. and i know this can all be attributed to MANY things; i'm just saying the entire eddieana arc was really relatable to me, local aroace autistic, who has fallen into Situations not entirely unlike this prior to realizing i am in fact aroace.

season 2-onward | eddie & buck

i don't have TOO much to say here, mostly because i know we all know the buddie moments inside and out, and there are so many beautiful posts that already exist about the depth of their relationship, and i don't really have anything new to contribute.

i guess i just wanted to say regardless of whether or not it's ever a canonized romance, it's SO clear to me that they care SOOOOO deeply for each other and in a way that transcends most people's framework for friendship. and i absolutely do not want to devalue platonic relationships or found family dynamics, because THOSE ARE SOOOO IMPORTANT, but like. okay. chim and hen? platonic soulmates. bobby and buck? father/son dynamic. chim and buck? brothers. hen and athena? besties.

buck and eddie? i look at them and i'm like WELL. it doesn't have to be romantic but it's also definitely not like, "oh yeah we're friends!" or even "we're brothers for life." like. they love each other, and in a different way than the rest of the firefam loves each other. and that's one of my favorite things about them as a ship; even without any elements of romantic or sexual attraction, they'd still like...fight like hell for each other. they're still home for each other. idk. can't think about it too hard otherwise it destroys me but in a good way.

ok that's all. <3

some miscellaneous things that make me giggle

(1) THE WAY EDDIE IS CANONICALLY SOOOOOOOOO DISINTERESTED IN DATING. COULD NOT CARE LESS. WOMEN FLIRTING WITH HIM ON A CALL? ANNOYANCE.* "I HAVE A KID THEY'RE NOT MY TYPE" ??????? SIR????????

*this is really valid, actually, aro or not; like, he's just trying to fucking do his job, please leave him alone!! that said, it also amuses me greatly.

not to fucking mention he's told ana (or maybe ana just inferred?) that there hasn't been anyone else since shannon. which is really interesting and could be interpreted in SO many ways (like...there haven't been any other women, but we all know buck's been there? not to mention the rest of the 118?), but to me, it also sounds like NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEKING PEOPLE OUT AT ALL, regardless of gender. <333

(2) he never so much as LOOKS at maddie. granted, she’s almost immediately paired up with chim, and she's buck's sister but?? jennifer love hewitt is GORGEOUS. i am Looking i am Looking so hard and with no particular motive other than to admire because, you know, ace. but i'm just saying.

(3) he's soooooo embarrassed and constantly trying to downplay his relationship with ana in front of other people. like, the man does NOT WANT HER in the firehouse, he does NOT WANT HER around the 118. RELATABLE!! JUST SAYING!!

people start giving him a hard time about going to the christening because that means "it's getting serious" and he shuts that shit down immediately. "it's not that serious." PLEASE. PLEASE.

(that was fucking hilarious to me by the way because like. straight up denial. that IS serious, eddie, i'm sorry, but you are going to CHURCH with that LATINA AND HER ENTIRE FAMILY AND THEN TO A PARTY AFTERWARDS PROBABLY.)

in conclusion...

i guess i just feel really soft about the idea of characters who did things because they were doing what they thought they "should" do, and/or they didn't realize there were other options, and/or they didn't realize what they were feeling wasn't what other people feel. and i also feel really soft about people having ace and/or aro realizations, especially after struggling through a few relationships and feeling shitty and confused. AND i also feel really soft about eddie diaz.

💚💚💚💚💚

#aro eddie diaz #arospec eddie diaz #aroace eddie diaz #autistic eddie diaz #911 fox #aromantic #aro tag #leo.txt #this is once again ridiculously long and the thing is i actually tried to condense it. it WAS LONGER. sorry.

36 notes · View notes

cloudbends · 2 months

Text

Was tagged by @oceanfossil to answer these 15 questions!! ty maddie :]

are you named after anyone? If a mistranslated made up name of a mysterious character from a 90s british stopmotion animation series counts than yes. otherwise a definite no.

when was the last time you cried? thursday. a protest overwhelmed me emotionally.

do you have kids? no and most likely won't.

do you use sarcasm a lot? if you knew me for longer than a month you'd know the answer is yes lol. it's the one trait people associate with me even when they don't know me that well.

what sports do you play? absolutely none.

what's the first thing you notice about people? its really hard to put into words... I guess manner of speech and what undertones does it hide? I can overall read people well.

what's your eye color? classic brown

scary movies or happy endings? maddie put it perfectly in their answer: of the two I'd say happy-ish endings because I'm not a horror person at all, but it needs to be narratively satisfying for me to enjoy it. I'm more into ambiguous endings and I do love a good brain shaping tragedy

any special talents? uhm. I have very good hearing but idk if that's a talent? im good at sneaking around too

what are your hobbies? currently art and animation are hobbies but I'm hoping to be able to turn them into something more so otherwise! bass playing, impromptu media analysis for my own enjoyment, cooking, embroidering, and of course video games

do you have pets? no and I never had... I'm not sure I'm a pet person because it's a lot of responsibility that I'm scared of, but our previous neighbors dog called galileo did visit our backyard daily through a crack in the fence so that was really fun :) sort of a pet situation. pet grandparents maybe

how tall are you? also 5'2/159 cms.

favourite subject in school? literature and english i think?

dream job? animator! or character designer!! or well actually an artist creating media of my own but that is the most unrealistic job ever

tagging: @ponytailzuko, @kitsuneheroes, @fagcrisis, @hollowslantern, @rivaltrainer, @shimamitsu, @princesable, @reloaderror and whoever else wants to !!

#vi rambling #been a while since i did these so thank you maddie hehe <3

5 notes · View notes

mirkwoodshewolf · 2 years

Text

You’re an asshole, but you’re my asshole; Stephen Strange x reader

*Author’s note*

Hey guys well this was one of the first tumblr requests I had gotten since I started opening requests up. And with MOM now out, this fic was SLIGHTLY inspired by it plus Ep. 4 of Disney+’s WHAT IF...? And yeah it’s a long one but I hope the anon who requested this loves it in the end as well as the rest of you guys.

Warnings: SLIGHT SPOILERS OF DSITMOM (again nothing MAJOR just America Chavez and her backstory but if you’ve read the comics I guess it’s not really a spoiler? idk I’ll still include spoiler tags if need be), kidnapping, OBSESSIVE YANDERE STRANGE!! angst ends to fluff, talking sassy kitty-cat (you’ll find out).

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@queensdivas

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@peter-parkers-cullen-nerd

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queen-paladin

@austynparksandpizza

__________________________________________________________

God Stephen Strange is the most arrogant, egotistical, hypocritical asshole that has ever walked the universe! Always with me he’s gotta find some sort of flaw and compare it to his ex-lover? Partner? Whoever the hell she was, Christine Palmer. Now I get you can’t ever really let go of your first love but come on Strange. You were the one who fucked it up and I was there to pick up the pieces for you.

And even once we managed to get together, you still had to compare me to her. And even as you forced me to go with you to her own wedding (to SOMEONE ELSE MIND YOU!!) you had the gall to lie and say that you were happy. Yeah I know when he lies.

When his hands flinch and try to clench up at his side and his adam’s apple bobs up and down quickly. That’s how you can catch the great Doctor Stephen Strange in a lie.

And now once again after we got into a huge scuffle about something else. He had the nerve to say to me that he wished he hadn’t screwed things up with Christine, cause then he wouldn’t have to be dealing with my constant nagging. After giving him a hard falcon punch across the face that’s when I had stormed out of the London sanctum (since I am the Head Guardian of it) and stormed across the city.

I went over to my favorite cat café (yes a real cat café) and got my usual drink plus big chocolate chip cookies, all the while my favorite cat, a Calico named Demeter came up to me and she sat down in my lap. She was a beautiful 6 year old cat that was tri-colored of black, yellow and white. She had piercing green eyes and was the most skittish and cautious cats in the whole café, the owners even said that until I had come in, she never associated with anyone else but me.

As I broke apart my cookie but could barely enjoy it, my other hand was stroking down Demeter’s back.

“What else does he want from me De? Am I really not good enough for him? Is it the distance? I know that things have changed since he was last here but—is it the distance that’s forcing him to think about her? Or is it just me?” her tail curled up around her and her ear twitched as she just stared up at me. “Must be nice to be a cat. No worries, no expectations. All you really demand is pets, food and a clean place to go to the bathroom.”

“(Y/n)?” I didn’t even need to look up to see who it was.

“I thought I told you to not come after me!” I snapped as I took a sip of my expresso.

“I—” he paused.

“What Strange? What do you wish to say to me now, hmm!?! Does my (h/c) not match up to her strawberry blonde or whatever the hell they call it. It’s red hair for Christ sake! Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m not a doctor and could never get the hidden jokes you both used to share.”

“No! No that’s not—You were right.” I looked up at him puzzled. Okay now this is a first. Stephen never admits he’s right. “I….I was a fool. Better yet I was an arrogant, shit-faced asshole who screwed up big time. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness but can you at least hear me out?”

I raised my brow skeptically at him but allowed him to sit down. At first he went for the chair next to me but I snapped my fingers and it moved away. I then pointed to the one in front of me and he softly nodded in understandment.

“You have 1 minute.”

“Wow. You—really mean business don’t you?” he softly joked.

“50 seconds.” I snapped.

“Comparing you to Christine is—the worst thing I could possibly have done. And I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just….you never forget your first love.”

“You’re really not starting off on a good foot.”

“Wait, wait. You didn’t let me finish. I took you for granted and I should never have done that to you. To us. I’m sorry. From the bottom of my heart I am truly, deeply sorry.” I pondered and pondered on his word and I said.

“Well Stephen. Even through your stupidity and ‘ignore all rules’ attitude, that apology would make most girls fall to their knees and make them fall in love all over again. And I might’ve been one of those girls. If it was the real you.”

“What? What are you talking about? I am real, see?” he knocked on the table which produced a knock. Behind my back I summoned out my Sais of the living Tribunal.

“I’m not saying you’re an illusion or a projection of Stephen Strange. You may have his face but you’re not him. Plus don’t think I haven’t noticed how frantic Demeter’s tail has gotten, or the fact that she’s met the real Stephen Strange and never acted this way towards him.”

Demeter let out an angry hiss before growling defensively whilst still in my lap.

“Now I’m going to say this one time. Who the hell are you and why do you have Stephen’s face? Are you a shifter from the Dark Dimension? Or a changeling sent by Nightmare?” at that moment the Stephen before me dropped the niceties and his voice grew into a more darker, menacing tone.

“You always were too clever. That’s what always drew me to you. Even in my own dimension.” Demeter immediately hopped off my lap and I stood up holding my sais toward him.

“No games! I want answers fraud!”

“I am as I appear my dear (Y/n). My name is Stephen Strange, just not yours.” His normal clothes then morphed into his sorcerer clothes, but there was a huge difference, even his face looked different.

Dark circles underneath his eyes, his beard was more gruff (like he didn’t trim it). He almost looked like a ghost or a demon if anything. His normal blue robes looked more dark purple with some black mixed in, but the biggest difference was the Cloak of Levitation. The friendly, soft red material had been changed to a straight menacing black satin that almost appeared to have an edge about them. Even the collar was spiked upward almost or even stocking out past his head like a crown.

“The name is Strange Supreme. And I have traveled through multiple universes to find you. And at last I have.”

“What are you talking about?” I sneered.

“It would seem your Stephen takes you for granted. Whilst I and—” he trailed off, I saw a glimmer of what may have been tears (crocodile tear or not I couldn’t tell). “In my universe, I had an (Y/n) (L/n). She—was my everything. My life, my heart, my soul. And I never took her for granted. Until the day she was taken from me. I’ve tried every spell, every ounce of magic to prevent her death but—she was gone. But now—now I see that if I can’t bring her back. I could find a new one to take her place.”

“Sorry to tell you this psychopath I’m not going anywhere. Especially not with—” my vision went fuzzy. I shook my head briefly. “Especially not with—” suddenly I lurched forward dropping my weapons.

“I knew this would happen. I knew you wouldn’t be willing to come with me by your consent. So I slipped a small spell in your drink that would activate if you rejected my offer.” What? No but the barista was a she and she—hold on. I looked up at him and I saw how he morphed into the barista for a split second to say in her Edinburgh accent. “Sorry dearie, guess I might’ve made it a bit too sweet for yah.” Before he morphed back into himself.

“You…..son of a b……” I collapsed and my world went black.

*3rd Person POV*

Strange Supreme walked over to (Y/n)’s body and gingerly stroked her cheek.

“100 years and finally at long last. I have you once again at my side my beloved. And I swear, I will never let you go again.” He picked her up and before summoning a portal with just a simple thought and he walked through it holding an unconscious (Y/n) in his arms.

From the corner, Demeter watched intensely before she looked around and saw the aftermath of what this ‘Strange Supreme’ had done. All the coworkers were frozen in their spots and as for the other cats, they had all been knocked out and were in a deep sleep. She raced towards the back (and by some string of luck) one of the employers had been frozen right by the door and had left it opened.

She dashed out and ran through the streets of London. Knowing of the stories ever since her favorite human arrived of the London Sanctum, she ran as fast as she could to the London Sanctum and when she got to the door, she proceeded to scratch at the door meowing as loudly as she could.

Inside the real Stephen Strange was now sporting an icepack as part of his recovery from facing the wrath of the current girlfriend.

“Hate to tell you this bruv, but you deserved it.” Taron, (Y/n) second in command born and raised in Wales said as he came passing by Stephen.

“Yes, yes I know. I’ve already been told that by half of the London Sanctum already.” Stephen snapped before sighed and holding the icepack close to his cheek. “I don’t even know why I said it. I was angry and it just—”

“Slip of the tongue?” Taron replied as Stephen nodded. “Look mate, when you blipped for five years. (Y/n) was a wreck. Especially after you two had recently gotten together. When you came back and all you thought about was Christine after Stark’s funeral, it really hurt her. She and your ex stayed here for the Blip, what made you think it was okay to think about your ex-girlfriend instead of your current one who had poured through every scroll, every page at Kamar-Taj to try and bring all who were blipped, mainly you, back?”

“Like she’s said. I’m an arrogant, selfish asshole.”

“And a number of other things but I’m keeping that to myself.” Taron muttered.

“Oi Taron!” a voice exclaimed. A young blonde haired boy with piercing green eyes came running forward.

“What is it Ben?” Taron asked.

“Okay, umm….this is gonna sound crazy but you might wanna open the doors.”

“What?” questioned Taron.

“Look not even I can explain it just open the bloody doors.” The three men went down the steps to the front door and Taron waved his hand to unlock the doors and soon bursting in meowing frantically was Demeter. She lunged towards Stephen and leapt at him. Awkwardly he caught her as she was meowing and pawing at him.

“You know this cat Stephen?” Taron asked.

“Hoe she’s not an ex too.” Ben muttered before snickering to which Taron kicked him in the shin.

“Demeter?” she let out a loud meow almost as if saying yes. “She’s one of the cats from the cat café (Y/n) liked to go to. But they—they never let you guys out at least not unsupervised.” She then started up her frantic meows and squirmed in Stephen’s grip. He set her down and she paced around him, rubbing up against him and pawed at his boots, almost as if telling him to go. “Okay this is insane, I’m talking to a cat. I mean it’s not like there’s a—” he paused before turning to Taron. “Please tell me there’s a spell to make animals talk.”

“You…..want to talk to the calico?” Taron sounded out suspiciously.

“Look Taron I know it sounds crazy, hell even insane but trust me when I say this cat does not normally act like this unless something is really wrong. And I have a sickening feeling that there is, and that it involves (Y/n).”

“There might be something. Not necessarily Kamar Taj material but an old Inuit spell from America. The Ancient One kept various spells based on different cultures here in London due to our sophisticated filing system. Follow me.” Taron led Strange, Demeter and Ben into the archive wing of the library.

Taron levitated through shelf after shelf until he found the book of Inuit spells and skimmed through the book until he found the spell he needed. Together with some basic ingredients like hair of creature needed, 2 tsp. of vinegar, 1 cup of water, 1/4th tsp. of food dye, a drop of honey and 3 grams of salt.

Taron mixed the ingredients together before pouring it into a cup. The potion now looked like a liquid formation of Demeter’s fur pattern and he handed it to Stephen.

“Once you drink this all down, say these words exactly. I even phonetically sounded them out for you in case you couldn’t get it.” Stephen glared at Taron who merely shrugged and handed Strange the cup.

“The things one does for love.” He then downed the entire glass like it was a shot and grimaced at the taste. He let out a couple of coughs before taking the paper from Taron and began to say the spell. “Deila hér me. Dag eru nou rar vitur orum.”

They waited for a few minutes to see if anything would happen. And they waited, and waited, and waited. Stephen let out a growl before throwing the cup to the wall and snapped.

“The longer we wait the longer it’s going to take to find out what happened to (Y/n)!”

“Maybe we missed something, here Taron let me see the book mate.” Ben said taking the book.

“So I drank that nasty shit for nothing. Great, great just great.” Stephen snapped before sitting down in a huff.

‘No wonder why she can’t stand you.’ A female voice spoke up. Stephen looked around but there was no female in the room, only he, Ben and Taron. He then felt a light pressure on his lap to see Demeter standing on his lap. She cleaned herself up before saying to Stephen again. ‘Not only are you too hung up in the past, but you’re too impatient. And I can see what she meant by your temper.’

“D-did you just……you’re talking?”

‘Well talking as in you can hear my thoughts, yes. How you ever became Sorcerer Supreme I’ll never know.’ Demeter hopped off his lap and onto the table, her tail wagging and curling up into a question mark point every now and then.

“Hold on Stephen, are you—”

“Shh!” he hissed at Taron and Ben before turning towards Demeter. “Look I’ll let you insult me all you want later, what is it you came here to tell me?”

‘Normally I’d never go running for a human, but (Y/n) has treated me like a cat should be treated, and not like some fragile glass doll.’

“Focus! (Y/n). What happened to her?!”

‘Okay Mr. Pushy. Look, I couldn’t even explain it myself. The guy who took my (Y/n) looked just like you. Only if he hadn’t gotten some sun in all of his life.’

“You’re saying he looked like me?”

‘Yep. Right down to your weird, Stark-copy beard.’

“I do not have Stark’s—besides that. What else happened?”

‘It all happened so fast. My brothers and sisters had somehow been knocked out cold, and everyone became like the statues you see outside. Still and frozen. Then just before my (Y/n) could fight back, she was knocked out. I think he said he put something in her drink. Then they both disappeared into one of those portal things you guys always love to make.’

“Did he say why he wanted her?”

‘Something along the lines of wanting to find her after so long. If you ask me, the guy was eyeing her like how Butch eyes that mouse that’s been sneaking into the café. Like he really wanted her and was going to do anything to get her.’

“And that’s it?”

‘Next thing I did was find a way out to try and come here. Of course I was hoping it wouldn’t be you because you hurt her Stephen Strange. Big time!’ Demeter swiped at him with her paw and let out a hiss as she said that. ‘If you don’t bring her back unharmed, you’re gonna regret ever having met me.’

“Alright. Alright.” Stephen stood up and faced Taron and Ben.

“What’d she say?” asked Ben.

“Take some sorcerers and investigate the café. I need to get to Wong and ask him if anything else has been disrupted since this look-alike has come into our world.”

“Wait Stephen are you suggesting that this is a Multi-versal threat?” asked Taron urgently.

“I can’t say for certain. But I can’t just let (Y/n) be kept prisoner from this other Strange.” He opened up a portal which had opened up to Kamar-Taj where Wong, and by sheer luck, America Chavez was also there standing close by.

“Strange, what’s going on?” Wong asked.

“It’s (Y/n).”

“Tía (Y/n) is in trouble? What did you do now Stephen?!” demanded America.

“It’s a long story but it would seem we got a visitor from another world, and by world I mean multiverse. Another version of me kidnapped (Y/n).”

“And how do you know this was another you?” asked Wong.

“You’re gonna think I’m insane.”

“Not the first time.” Wong muttered. Stephen glared at Wong and that’s when Demeter came through the portal right as it closed and she let out a meow.

“Aww what a pretty kitty.” Cooed America as she knelt down and tried to get Demeter to come over to her. “Come here sweetheart, come here.”

“Don’t waste your breath America, Demeter doesn’t go to just any—” but Stephen was interrupted as Demeter actually walked up to America and nuzzled against her hand and let out a purr.

“Demeter. Like the Greek goddess of harvest and agriculture. Ohh that’s a beautiful name for a beautiful cat like you.” America said as she continued to pet Demeter.

“You mangey little—and why did it take you months to get used to me?!”

‘(Y/n) has talked about this girl a lot. Shown me pictures, plus she has a good aura. You however are too arrogant and reckless.’ Demeter said as she allowed America to pick her up in her arms and continued to pet her.

“Strange. Are you—talking to the cat?” Wong asked hesitantly.

“And Inuit spell Taron found in the London Sanctum.”

“Are you serious? There’s a Doctor Dolittle spell? I wanna try it!” America proclaimed.

“No, you don’t trust me. Alright now wait we’re getting off topic here!”

“Even if there were another Stephen Strange here, what would be want with (Y/n)?” asked Wong.

“I think I might know.” America spoke up. The two men turned to her and she set Demeter down on a nearby table. “Can you ask Demeter if he had a black cloak on? That was spiked at the end and collar reaching up to his head?”

‘Yes. Yeah it did.’ Demeter said as she sat down and stared at America.

“She said yes. America do—do you know this version of me?”

“Briefly. He uhh—when I jumped into his universe by accident, he promised he’d help find my moms, but only if I told him where to find his (Y/n).”

“Find her?”

“He told me of a battle he and his (Y/n) fought a long, long time ago in his world. I don’t really remember much of who this foe they fought was but—he told me that the fate of their world collapsing was at large. But his (Y/n) didn’t hesitate. She and their foe broke through their reality and ended up being lost in the multiverse. Just—just like my mamás.”

Wong and Stephen sighed heavily.

“I told him I couldn’t help him find her, and like others have in the past he tried to take my power but I quickly got the hell out of there and never went back.” She stroked Demeter’s head and Demeter nuzzled against America’s forearm to comfort the young girl.

“I know you said you’d never go back, but do you think you can take me there?” Stephen asked.

“Stephen you know the laws of what multiverse jumping could cause.” Wong warned him.

“Yeah, yeah, conversions of our worlds mending into a multiversal war. Not like anything we haven’t faced before. But tell me this, Sorcerer Supreme. Are you willing to let (Y/n) die or worse in that world should it perish because of what that Stephen Strange has done?”

Wong sighed heavily. (Y/n) was his dearest friend, she saved his ass more times than he could count and now he had the chance to finally repay that debt, but would he risk two worlds potentially colliding that could either destroy one or both their worlds?

“You take the cat with you.” Wong said.

“What? Why?”

“Because that cat seems to knows to keep an eye on you and will keep you in line of you don’t.”

‘Oh I like him too.’ Demeter said as she walked over to Wong and let out a meow and raised her paw at him. Wong extended a hand out and Demeter gave his thumb a soft lick and purred once more.

“Is this a gang up on Stephen day or what?” Stephen questioned out annoyed.

“Probably. Especially after what you said to Tía (Y/n).”

“I—how do you know that?”

“She’s always told me. Ever since we first met. When you were still butthurt over Christine. Like I said I’ve seen more of yous and hers together than you and Christine. Even the creepy yandere version of yourself.”

“Yan—what’s yandere?” Stephen asked. America and Wong looked at each other and America spoke in Spanish.

“Should I?”

“It’d probably be best not to.” Wong responded back in Spanish. “Now if you’re going to go into this other world you’ll need to get in, find her and get out. The convergence can happen by a simple change in two variants of the same person being there but the effect of the convergence actually happening can either be instantaneous or prolonged.” Wong explained.

“Well let’s hope it’s the latter. America, do you remember where this other world with this Stephen Strange is?”

“A bit yeah. But he could sense you coming before the portal even opens. He’s that powerful. Last time I went, he was at the exact spot I would land.” She said.

“Okay so brute strength and power isn’t going to stop him. Guess I’ll just have to outwit him and I am good at that.” Wong and America looked at each other but chosen not to say anything.

“If the world you enter doesn’t start to collapse the second you arrive, give yourself an hour at most to find (Y/n) and then get out. America will open the portal for you to come through no later than that.”

“One hour, okay.” Stephen and Wong stood back as America stepped forward and she concentrated on summoning the portal to Strange Supreme’s universe.

“I’ll try to open it at this exact spot after the hour. And…..please be sure you have Tía (Y/n) before I do.”

“I’ll try. Come on Demeter.” Demeter hopped off and got up on top of Stephen’s shoulders and the two of them quickly hopped through the portal before she closed it behind her.

There was nothing but darkness surrounding them. As Stephen walked along, soft creeks sounded off with each footstep.

‘Could you be anymore louder than you are right now?’

“Okay one more insult out of you and I will throw you across the room.” Stephen threatened her in a quiet voice. She hopped off of Stephen’s shoulders and she sniffed around.

‘I can’t seem to find a trace of her scent.’

“Nothing?”

‘As I said, nothing. You sure we’re in the right place?’ As they walked further along they now stood before what almost resembled the main hall of the New York Sanctum, however the aura in it was dark and ominous.

Books were scattered all over the floor, candles by the mile decorated the floorboards ahead, and a large opening into what looked like a wormhole stood behind where the large window overlooked Bleeker street. As they walked along, Demeter suddenly stopped and she lowered herself briefly as she let out a soft but menacing growl.

“So……” a deep, gravely, possessive tone spoke. Stephen turned around and soon a grand fireplace lit up and sitting in a large red chair was Strange Supreme. “You did come.” Strange Supreme said. “And you brought vermin with you.”

Demeter let out an anxious meow as Stephen stood in front of her and the cloak of levitation picked her up and hid her behind Stephen’s back.

“More like a friend.” Strange Supreme scoffed.

“My (Y/n) did adore strays. Cats especially were her favorite. Even when I’d tell her we couldn’t have one, they were always drawn to her. She even took care of one that looked exactly like the one you’ve got.”

“I didn’t come here to make small talk. Now where is she?” Stephen demanded.

“Surprised that you still care. Why don’t you just go back to your world, patch things up with Christine. After all that’s who you truly love right?”

“What I said was…..”

“A mistake? A slip of the tongue, a sudden outburst of anger.” Strange Supreme mocked as he stood up. “I’ve seen her mind and her heart. You don’t know how good you’ve had it Stephen. Christine never treated us right, she never understood us, especially after our accident.” Strange Supreme showed Stephen the same scars on his hand from the car accident. “But (Y/n) did. She picked up the pieces, she taught us how to love again, and to see the light in everything. And you threw her out like trash.”

“I came here for her didn’t I? If I didn’t truly love her, I would’ve turned away and tried to go back to Christine like you claimed. But no, I’m here. I won’t ask this again, where. Is. She?”

“The only (Y/n) that’s here is mine. I worked too hard and sacrificed soo much to find her.”

“Look, I don’t know if your (Y/n) looks anything like mine, but if she does, She’s not yours. Her face may be the same but it’s not her. Plus even if it was her, what would she say if she saw you like this?”

“It wouldn’t matter. She’s here with me now and I’ll love her and take care of her ten times better than you ever did.”

“You have a very sick way of showing it.” Stephen sneered lowly. Strange Supreme smirked wickedly as he chuckled darkly.

“Love makes us do strange and crazy things. But it’s all worth it in the end. So long as we’re together.” Stephen noticed how Strange Supreme was fingering what appeared to be a pearl ring on his left ring finger. An odd piece of jewelry especially given the fact that the pearl was scarlet red.

‘Oi Strange. You might wanna wrap things up here with whatever this lovefest is. I’m starting to sense this world collapsing in on itself.’ True to Demeter’s word, the wallpaper was starting to roll upward, the books starting to disappear page by page and the candle were slowly melting away.

Stephen turned back towards Strange Supreme and he told him.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been planning. I know you can sense it. Even if you do have her, your world is collapsing in on itself.”

“So it seems. But I could care less. The only world that matters to me is (Y/n) and I.”

‘God this poor bastard is even more delusional than I thought.’ Demeter said.

“Not if I find her first.” Stephen challenged.

“And how would you know where she is?”

“I just do. We are Doctor Stephen Strange after all, and if I know myself…..”

“I always got to be smarter than everyone else.” Strange Supreme finished. “Well, produce her.” He challenged Stephen. Stephen looked around until he saw what looked like a small secret doorway right by one of the bookshelves.

“You’ve hidden her behind that door.” He said pointing out to it. Strange Supreme then walked over to the small doorway mocking him.

“Did I, Stephen Strange?” he stood by the small door as Stephen now walked over to the chair where Strange Supreme was just sitting at.

‘Wait, I sense something.’ Demeter told him. Stephen felt Demeter hop off his shoulder and she walked around the fireplace until she stood before a tall purple chair just across from the red chair. ‘There!’

Stephen looked carefully and saw a glimmer of what looked like the mirror dimension.

“Clever man.” He softly muttered. He heard a rough cough and he turned to see Strange Supreme hunched forward as he coughed up a large black skeleton key into his hand. Strange Supreme turned towards Stephen with a questioning yet challenging look. “Yep. Right there, she’ll be there alright.” Strange Supreme softly shook his head.

“You’re wrong Stephen Strange, she’s not there.” Strange Supreme hauntingly mocked as he unlocked the door to reveal an abyssal portal of dust and cobwebs. “Now, to ensure you don’t take my (Y/n) away ever again.” He summoned from his robes, the black dagger of Yama (which had the power to send a person’s soul to the Underworld with just a simple knick of the blade).

“Just allow me to make this one final declaration before you ‘do me in’.” He then picked Demeter up in his hands and he said. “SHE’S NOT YOURS!!” and then as hard as he could, he tossed Demeter right at Strange Supreme.

She yowled and growled as she was thrown through the air until she landed on Strange Supreme’s face. He roared and tried to get the calico cat off his face, but Demeter held firm scratching and biting every square inch of his face.

Using this as a distraction, Stephen quickly unlocked the purple chair to the mirror dimension and there he saw (Y/n) tied up and gagged in the chair wearing a deep purple and black dress, and a crown almost similar to the Scarlet Witch’s.

*My POV*

I watched as Stephen and evil Stephen had conversed back and forth with each other. But when Stephen threw Demeter at the evil Stephen, he took his chance and stood right in front of me and I saw as the mirror dimension was finally opened. He came right up to me and freed me of my chains and gag.

“I know, I know. Not the best idea to throw your favorite cat at my evil twin.”

“I’ll yell at you about that later. Did you get it?”

“Get what?”

“My heart. Stephen that-that psychopath reached into my chest and took my heart. He told me even if you came to save me, I’d never be able to leave this world without it.”

“I think I might have an idea of where he has it. For now let’s get you out of here.” He helped me up and we both left the mirror dimension and he closed the door behind us. Just in time for us to see the evil Stephen literally get his eyes torn out from his skull by Demeter’s claws and he threw her across the room.

But I opened up a portal and she went threw it before ending up back in my arms. Demeter yowled aggressively, baring her teeth at the evil Stephen.

“YOU SELFISH, CHEATING, BASTARD!!” evil Stephen roared as he turned to us, his eyes now hollowed holes and blood pooling out like tears.

All of a sudden the sanctum began to fall apart wood by wood. The floor beneath us became what almost looked like a giant web as we both fell through. I ended up getting stuck along the side while Stephen ended up falling all the way to the bottom.

“Stephen! Are you alright?” I called out.

“I’m fine, how about you and Demeter?” Demeter who was hidden within my dress robe meowed.

“We’re fine.” All of a sudden a monstrous roar was heard from above us. The Evil Stephen seemed to morph into some sort of dragon-hybrid creature as he then fell down into the web to try and get to Stephen. I then watched as Stephen quickly summoned a portal underneath him and he disappeared just before the dragon Stephen could land on him.

“NO!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!? YOU SELFISH PRICK!!” He looked around trying to feel or hear anything from Stephen. I then felt someone beginning to cut my bonds from the web, I turned and Stephen pressed his index finger quietly to his lips as he continued to cut me free from the webbing.

When my upperbody was free, he allowed me to rest against him as he continued to work on freeing my legs (which somehow proved to be difficult.) I also worked as did Demeter on freeing my legs but one thread soon began to vibrate all the way down towards Dragon-Stephen.

“Oh shit.” I said which caused all of us to stop. Dragon-Stephen ceased his frantic searching and slowly turned towards us smirking maliciously.

“There you are.” He growled sadistically. Stephen then quickly cut the rest of my bonds and threw me over his shoulder as he quickly raced upward with Demeter behind us. “YOU’RE NOT TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME!!” he roared as he got closer to us.

I quickly summoned the sword of Vishanti and sliced him across the face which caused him to pause before growling at me.

“Now that my dear, wasn’t very nice. I was merciful last time but it seems you need a stricter hand.” Suddenly his arms turned into large snakes and they reached up and grabbed hold of the both of us, separating the two of us once more.

The snake that held me kept me high up in the air while the snake that held Stephen brought him towards the Monster-Stephen.

“You pathetic fool. You thought you could get away from the most powerful Sorcerer of this world!?” Monster-Stephen hissed. “Now you look into her eyes, I want her to see you die.” The snake squeezed Stephen so tightly that I could hear his bones cracking from up here. Our eyes locked with each other’s and I shook my head at him.

He-he couldn’t die like this. I just got him back after five years and yeah he’s an asshole at times but I still love him. I’ll always love him. But that’s when I heard My Stephen choke out a laugh. Wait what was he laughing at? I then saw his finger point upward and that’s when I saw the familiar spark of America’s blue portal starting to spark.

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s just that—we hate to…..leave you high and dry but….our ride’s here.” I then let Demeter out from my robes and she bit Monster Stephen’s snake arm that was holding me and he let out a painful roar which released both Stephen and I.

Soon the bright blue star portal opened and I placed a binding spell on him to keep him bound to his world while Stephen, Demeter and I ended up getting sucked into America’s portal and ended up back on our Earth.

Stephen and I looked at one another before embracing each other. I buried my face into his neck thanking him repeatedly.

“You guys alright?” America asked us.

“Yes mija, we’re okay.” I told her. She smiled and ran over to me and I embraced her as well as did Stephen. “America, you know how you’ve been listening to those ASMR videos? I think you might wanna exclude the yandere videos from now on.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing tía.” I kissed the top of her head and held her tighter.

“I think we all can pretty much say we’ll be staying away from stalkery, obsessive media of any kind.” Stephen said. As we separated, that’s when Stephen pulled out from his pocket the pearl ring that Strange Supreme had turned my heart into.

A simple motion of his hand and the cloaking spell dropped and there in the palm of his hand was my heart.

“Oh my—is that…..” America started.

“Yeah.” I replied bluntly.

“Damn. To be honest though I thought it’d be more—you know bloody? And you’d be—dead? I mean don’t you need a heart to like you know, live?”

“Not if you carefully remove it with magic. A heart is the most powerful thing a person can control. The evil Stephen thought that by taking my heart, he’d have me be under his control forever. To be the (Y/n) that he lost. But how did you—”

“A Sorcerer never reveals his secrets.” He teased me with a cheeky wink. “And unfortunately for him, my (Y/n) is smart to know who the true Stephen Strange is.” Stephen said.

“Your (Y/n)?” I questioned.

“Urm not that you’re my possession or anything god no! I mean, what I meant was you are your own person but uhh—I’m not making this better, am I?” I softly chuckled and kissed his cheek.

“I get what you mean.” A soft smile spread across his face. “Does…..this mean you’ll try to stop comparing me to Christine?”

“I promise. I don’t know why it took me losing you to some psycho-obsessive version of me to realize just how different yet important you are in my life. I know I’ve got some serious making up to do, but I am truly sorry (Y/n). And I hope you can forgive me, or at least give me another chance?”

“You maybe an asshole at times, but you’re my asshole.” We both chuckled before he returned to me my heart. After that we immediately kissed each other and held each other tightly.

*Stephen’s POV*

That night as we lay in bed together (Y/n) had long fallen fast asleep but I wanted to keep watch over her. Not only to see that this was real, but to also ensure that she was going to be safe. From the full moon I saw a small shape come at our window and the sound of a meow was at the window.

It was Demeter, and judging by the tail flickering the way it was and the way her ears were, she was not happy with me. Slowly I got out of bed and went to the window and opened it up.

“Hello again.” A deep but soft growl came out of her. “I’m sorry I threw you at him. At the other Strange. It was the only thing I could think of to distract him to save (Y/n). Can you forgive me?” her narrowed eyes softened and her pupils grew in a more friendlier manner.

Her ears were now fully erect and her tail wasn’t flickering as much as she now began to purr. I slowly reached my hand out and she headbutted my fingers before giving my wrist an affectionate lick. I picked her up and carried her over to our bed and she immediately began to spin around and kneed right near (Y/n)’s feet before letting out a yawn.

I got under the covers and held (Y/n) close to me right as Demeter lay there in what (Y/n) and America refer to a cat’s ‘bread loaf’ style. Her purrs had gotten louder as she closed her eyes and fell asleep right at our feet. I lay my head against the pillows but buried my face into (Y/n)’s hair taking in her scent.

She was back with me, and I won’t risk losing her again even by my own hand.

135 notes · View notes

oh-no-a-whovian · 2 years

Text

Two more lonely people Part 3

Lemon 18+

Summary: “should we fight this?” “Si.” “I don’t know if I can” “neither do I”

Pairing: Bruno Madrigal x fem werewolf! reader

Warnings: age gap (Y/N is 24 and Bruno is 50) thinking nsfw later on, idk yet but imma tag it as such. Any others let me know please. Because of the recent ios bs I will be using the old citrus system.

Word count: 4219

Masterlist PT1 Next

Herbs and spices waft through the air around the casita as you approach, the strong scents making you sneeze a few times as you adjust. Every damn time! Dolores tries to hide her amusement at your predicament, covering her mouth as she stifles a laugh.

“Laugh it up Doll.” You say as you rub at your nose furiously. “You’ve had to hear half the babies being made in this town. We both have downsides to our ‘abilities’”

“Yeah, yeah.” she rolls her eyes. “Try not to get caught. I’ll see if anyone needs help.” Your friend tells you as she wanders off toward the kitchen.

Breathing deeply, you make your way up to the painting that you’re sure hides the way to Bruno. You make sure no one will see you as you enter the wall, listening and looking out for any sign of movement in your direction. You’re not willing to be the reason he’s revealed to his family before he’s ready.

Gently you pull at the side of the painting, surprised at how it swings open so easily. The hole behind it is dark and barely looks big enough to even allow a person in but you can see a floor in the narrow space so you squeeze in. Dust floats through the air and spider webs hang above you as your eyes adjust to the dim light of the narrow corridor inside the wall.

You take your first steps hesitantly, noticing the bare boards and cracks in the walls and floor, threatening to break at any time. A musky smell floats through the air as you make your way through the path in the wall, the scent overpowering the smell of food that floats through the cracks from just the other side of the boards. Pipes and wires run through the space and loose nails stick out at precarious angles, more than one trying to tear at your skirt or impale your hand. It almost seems like a maze as you make your way through, curving in different directions.

The house looks normal and stable in any one of the rooms, so why does this space look so damaged? Doesn’t the magic maintain it? Shouldn’t it be perfect inside and out? Does this have something to do with the cracks that Mirabel said nearly tore the house down after Antonio’s gift ceremony? You feel uneasy as you run your fingers along a crack, your brow furrowed at the attempts to fix it, each part filled with spackle. Should you tell someone?

You stagger to a halt at the edge of a massive pit, so dark it seems almost bottomless and filled with an eery mist. God knows what would have happened if you hadn’t been paying attention to each and every step you took. You sniff at the air, checking if you should go down or try to make your way across the pit, the scent of the man you’re seeking floating across the gap, locked into the wooden beams from years of him passing through, telling you exactly how he crosses each time.

You breathe deep as you back up, hoping that you don’t lose anything in the basket when you make the jump across the gap. With three big leaps you cross the pit, stumbling as you land but steadying yourself, so you don’t fall and lose everything.

Eventually you come across a makeshift door, ropes holding the board in place so it can swing open and shut. Tiny squeaks sound out on the other side of the board, silencing when you knock upon the old wood. You can hear shuffling in the room, but you can tell he’s not approaching the door. Probably hiding instead or thinking that if he’s quiet whoever has found the door will think the room empty.

“Bruno” you call out as you push the door open a little. “it’s me.”

You cast your eyes across the room as the door swings open. Many eyes are locked on you, including a pair of green ones, their owner holding onto the armchair as he hides behind it.

“hi” you smile as you slowly step fully into the room, holding the basket in front of your legs. “Quite the place you’ve made for yourself here”

“Hmm yeah, it’s uh a fixer upper” Bruno says, pretending that he wasn’t hiding by leaning nonchalantly over the back of the chair. “Which you should probably…” he gestures to the door, his hand falling as one of the rats climbs onto your head again. Probably realised it’s not gonna be that easy. You smile.

“I brought you something” you tell him before he tries to kick you out, holding the basket up for him. “it’s not much, some food, a few shirts, a nice blanket I saw in the markets, and a glass bottle of water.”

“Why?” he asks with furrowed brows as he slowly approaches, glancing at the weaved basket in your hands. He flinches as he takes the basket from you, his fingers brushing against yours.

“Why not?” you counter.

You watch him as he hesitantly carries the basket to his chair, placing it down and glancing back at you as he looks through it. You’re surprised that he didn’t try to reject your gifts, telling you it isn’t necessary and that you should just leave. Going by how people have spoken about him over the years he probably doesn’t want to add rude to the list.

As you look around Bruno’s space you notice something on the table by the wall. Just a little spot of colour on the plain wooden surface and as you approach it to get a better look your heart breaks. A little design like the plates the Madrigals use, with his name on is drawn crudely onto the table in chalk. Your fingers hover over it, not touching as you admire it. Your heart hurts at the sight of it and shatters when you notice the crack in the wall looking over the dining table of casita. He just wants to be with his family. He must feel so incredibly alone.

You hear his heart race a little and you turn to see him staring at you, one of the shirts you got him clasped in his hands. His eyes look so tired and sad, large dark circles making them look sunken. He probably hasn’t seen the sun in ages and god knows if he’s getting enough food. Is it wrong to want to just hug him right now?

“I uh hope you like the stuff… I brought some food, and that bag of oats and dried berries is for your rats, though I notice you have a lot more than the four from last night.” You ramble, lifting the rat from your head, sighing as it holds onto your hair, pulling as you remove it. “I should probably get going… someone probably noticed me arrive and they might start questioning where I’ve gone.” You smile, handing him the rat and moving toward the door.

As you open the door to leave, he takes your hand in his, a small smile on his lips. “Umm thanks… for… thanks” he says shyly, rubbing his thumb on the back of your hand without thinking. You glance down at his hand holding yours with a tilt of your head and parted lips. Your heart races at the feeling and you don’t want to pull away from him. “Oh! S-so-sorry!” he gasps, pulling his hand from yours when he realises that he was holding onto you too long. Rubbing his hand on the back of his head as he looks away from you, casting his eyes to the ground.

Gently though, you place your finger under his chin, making him look up at you as you smile at him. “It’s ok. I’ll see about coming back in a couple days with some more hmmm? If you don’t mind the company?” you see his eyes darken and notice as his whole body seems to react to the touch, is lips parting as his heart race. You hadn’t thought that he would react like that, and the realisation goes straight to the space between your legs, though you’re not sure why. “I should get going” you tell him, dropping your hand from his chin. Part of you wants to keep it there, to feel the scratch of the stubble on his chin.

“Uh ye-yeah, of course” he says shaking his head. “See ya round” he smiles awkwardly as he allows you to walk out the door.

As you make your way back through the path in the wall, you question and berate your body the whole way. It’s probably been years since he’s even had physical contact, it makes sense for his body to react certain ways but for you? Why is it the moment you noticed how he reacted, your body reacted in kind? Pooling between your legs and making your heart race. You’ve known him since you were little, what the hell is your body thinking? Why’d you even lift his chin like that?

The amazing smell of food re-enters your nose as you climb out of the hole in the wall, setting the painting back into place against the wall as if nothing moved it. There’s no one around as far as you can tell, everyone focusing on their own things.

As you walk back along a flickering catches your eye and you frown at the sight. The doors leading to each room dims on and off, the magic in each seeming to die just a little.

Ahead of you, Mirabel races down the steps from Bruno’s tower and heads around along the balcony toward her room, not even spotting you as she stares into her bag. A green glow emanates from her satchel, barely stifled as she hurriedly shuts it.

You listen from a distance, your head tilted as Alma seems to question Mirabel about where she’s come from, suspicion lacing her tone. She’s acting the like the younger girl is the cause of all their problems, that everything that’s going wrong is because of her. Louisa running up in tears claiming that she’s losing her powers right after talking with Mirabel really doesn’t help.

Mirabel tries to explain herself, saying she’s just trying to help the family and figure out what’s wrong, but abuela is having none of it. For a moment the young girl looks dejected at her abuela’s harsh words, but determination takes control once more the moment the older woman walks away.

“You have any idea what’s going on Dolores?” you smirk. You caught the scent almost immediately as she started to sneak up on you, staying just out of your sight and quiet as a mouse as you watched the exchange across the landing.

“You always know.” She squeaks, huffing as she rises to her full height. “Something is wrong with the magic of casita. Abuela is putting on a brave face, but she is afraid that we are losing the magic.”

“she’s acting like it’s Mirabel’s fault though.” You mention. You notice Augustine wander into his daughter’s room, probably to tell her that dinner is ready, the door drifting closed behind him. Dolores stares at the door, listening to what they’re saying, and you watch her as concern crosses her features. You can barely hear what they’re saying, muffled words about a prophecy from Bruno and not telling anyone until the dinner is over.

Slowly the door hiding them creaks open, revealing you to them. You wave with a grimace as Dolores tells them she knows what they were talking about, squeaking and walking off to dinner.

“you’re not gonna tell, are you?” you cautiously ask her as you follow her down to the dining room.

“I have to. I can’t just not tell anyone about THAT”

You glare at the back of her head at her words. Can keep her mouth shut for ten years and let her uncle just sit alone in the walls but can’t keep this quiet for a few hours.

Mirabel runs up beside you and watches you and Dolores like a hawk as you take your seats at the table. You have no intention to say anything, but you can tell Dolores beside you is fighting the urge to tell her brother as he takes his seat to her left.

As Mirabel focuses her attention on her cousin, you feel another set of eyes on you, sending warm shivers up your back. You glance up at the artwork on the wall, their family tree for all to see in radiant colours. You and the girl to your left are the only ones that know about the man just the other side of that painting. You almost wish you were on that side instead of at this table, pretending to be excited for this proposal. Hoping no one is looking, you smile up at the painting, your eyes locked on the crack where the man behind can see it’s for him.

Just below the art, abuela Alma chats away with Mariano’s mother, laying it on thick with wine and nice words. A jug is passed in front of Mirabel’s face, and you watch as disaster slowly unfurls. Your friend leans over to tell her brother what she had heard and along it went, each person telling the person next and a wave of concern moving closer to Alma.

Mirabel tries to stop the news from reaching her Abuela, trying to get Mariano to propose to Isabela as soon as possible. Unfortunately, her plan goes even more awry. Louisa is asked to get the piano and returns crying as she fights the weight of the massive instrument, unable to move it as her powers fail. Mirabel launches under the table and Dolores takes the moment of chaos to shout her gossip to everyone and across the table in front of you a glowing green tablet slides toward the elder of the household.

She stares at the prophecy in horror, glancing between it and the girl who was trying to hide it. The girl who is in it.

Around the room cracks shatter across the floor and walls, the world seeming to rumble surrounding the casita as it starts to fall apart. Extreme rain clouds spread from Peppa, covering all near her in icy water. The door across from you swings open revealing others from the town ready to join the celebrations, their faces turning to concern as they see the catastrophe before them.

The animals with Antonio race out of the building, followed by Mariano and his mother, Alma begging for them to come back, telling them everything is fine and the rest of the family berating Mirabel as they pass her. As you make your way around the table to leave, sudden movement of the green glow catches your eyes.

Several rats each grab a piece of the vision, racing away to return them to their owner within the walls. He saw that whole thing from the crack in the wall, watching in horror as his family seems to tear itself apart before his eyes.

The rodents catch Mirabel’s attention as well as they run past her with the pieces, and she follows them closely toward the painting. You consider following her for a moment to make sure she’s ok. She seemed so afraid as her abuela saw the tablet, knowing what it looked like to any who saw it. you didn’t get a clear view of it but in the green glow you could see cracks and Mirabel standing at the centre, the cause of what is to happen. I can’t really be her fault though… can it?

You really don’t know what to do. You run your hand through your hair, listening as Alma shouts for Mirabel. You lean with a hand on the table, watching as abuela Madrigal passes the doorway to find her granddaughter. You don’t know how to help them. They may not be blood but they’re family.

With a saddened sigh, you decide to clear your head, walking out of the house and down the hill into the tree line. The jungle will always help you ease your thoughts.

~~~~

Bruno’s POV

He’d watched as chaos ensued at dinner. The damned prophecy that he had destroyed for a reason, making its way in front of his mother. The cracks tearing their way through the walls as his family panicked. The moment he saw that blasted piece of stone he sent his rats out to gather the parts so he can hide them from his mama. The last ten years in the walls was to protect his niece. What if it’s all been for nothing.

The only good thing he saw during the dinner was the small smile he knew was meant for him. The beautiful eyes unknowingly meeting his through the gap in the painting. His heart raced as she’d brought him the basket and as she lifted his chin to look in his eyes, he practically melted into the touch. The shame he felt for wanting more of her touch was painful. The way his body reacted to her warmth…

He shakes away his thoughts as he waits for his rats to return from their mission. fiddling with the fraying edge of his ruana as he peeks around the corner to the painting, each of his rats returning a part of the shattered vision. His heart falters as he looks to the painting to make sure it’s closed, his niece Mirabel standing there instead, staring at him.

He tried to get away and hide again, avoid explaining himself, terrified of how his family will react upon seeing him again. He’s gone hiding for ten long years, watching his family grow as he sat alone in the shadows. His niece seeking the truth put an end to that, especially once she fell into the pit that he thought was way deeper than it is.

Mirabel questioned him, demanding answers he didn’t really know how to give. Why he’d left but stayed. What his prophecy means for her and the family.

Just like [Y/N], Mirabel noticed the crack to the dining room and his little drawing on the table that he’d made when he felt truly lonely. He’d wanted to come back so many times, but eventually it just felt too late to come back. His heart has ached all these years, wishing he was experiencing it all with the ones he loves.

He did it to protect Mirabel. He knew how his mama would react when she saw the vision and he was right. He just hopes the second viewing of his prophecy will reveal something for the young girl.

~~~~

[Y/N]’s POV

Amazing new plants sprout from nowhere, as you walk back toward the casita. You’d wandered down to the river, splashing your face with the cool waters.

Carnivorous vines and spiked plants fill the edges of the jungle and plumes of coloured powder cover your skirt as you bump into the taller plants. The new scents of pollen and sap fill your nose, nearly making you sneeze again. But the plants disappear as quick as they came, shrinking back into nothing and easing you irritated nose.

A horrible sound echoes through the trees and you speed up, launching over fallen trees and nearly tripping on vines as you race back to the Madrigal’s home. Massive rumbling fills the air as cracks shatter across the ground as you run toward the side of the house. The mountain straight down the centre of town breaks in half with a thunderous sound, massive stones falling down the centre of the new cliff. The people in the town scream and scatter as the world seems to tear itself apart around them.

As you reach the top of the hill, you’re knocked over by someone with a bucket on their head launching out of the wall, rolling you back down the incline. you groan as you look up, your eyes locking with his before you both turn to the destruction up the slope. He doesn’t move as you watch, too shocked to register he’s even still on top of you.

You try to focus on the building as it tears itself down but the feeling of Bruno on top of you keeps pulling your mind away, hyper focusing on the warmth and the weight and the scent of him. Not the time!

The tower crumbles before your eyes, massive chunks falling in toward the courtyard. High up where the candle sits, Mirabel reaches desperately trying to save the eternal flame and her home. The vision she had found coming true to everyone’s horror, the building shattering before their eyes and the candle dying.

A mass of the building falls outward toward you, breaking into big pieces as it rolls down the hill with threatening force. Without thinking you roll, placing yourself above Bruno as you shift. The massive chunks of building smash into your side as you tuck yourself around the man, protecting him from harm.

You can feel his wide eyes on you as you whine in pain, pressing your snout down into his neck as you try to bear the agony, another chunk smacking into your side with a crunch. You’re sure there’s something broken, your side aches and something feels so wrong, grinding against itself with each breath.

“Por favor, [Y/N], tell me you’re ok” you hear Bruno ask when the rumble of devastation finally ends, his voice muffled by your fur. He reaches up and nudges your side and you growl in warning, just the little movement sending shock waves throughout your body.

Breathing in deeply to steady yourself, his scent filling your nose, you find the strength to shift back. Your human body is pressed flush against his, your legs straddling his hips and your face pressed into the crook of his neck as you bite back the pain. You feel like your body would enjoy being this close to him if not for your nerves sending jolts of sharp agony through-out your body.

“I think somethings broken.” You tell him breathlessly, trying not to cry into his ruana from the sharp jolts of your nerves on fire. You can feel his hands hovering at your sides, trying not to touch you but not knowing what else to do.

“I need to get you to Julieta; she can heal you.” He tries to lift you off but can barely move you, your weight and not wanting to hurt you preventing him from picking you up.

“I’ll be fine.” You yelp as you roll off him onto your back, pressing your hand to your ribs. “You need to go, find Mirabel and your mother. I know she wouldn’t have done this. They need to know it’s not her fault.”

“b-but what about…” he stutters out, gesturing toward you as he kneels to your left. You know he just wants to help you, but you don’t feel as important in this moment, even with broken bones.

“I can find Julieta. I just need a minute.” You glare at him as he just sits there, debating in his mind about leaving you here alone. “I’m a wolf Bruno” you tell him, hissing as you pull yourself to your feet, him rising alongside you. Gently you reach out and grab his hand, pulling his attention away from the wound on your side. “I promise, I’ll be fine.”

Looking into your eyes, he nods and reluctantly pulls away, stopping himself from launching back toward you to stop you from falling when you stumble forward. you breathe out shakily as you take a step toward the crumbled remains of casita.

“i-I’ll be back, ok?” he tells you once he’s sure you’ll make it, reaching into his pocket and throwing salt over his shoulder. he’s such a caring soul, staying by his family and making sure they’re safe. you watch him race off, mumbling to him self about what he’s gonna say to his mum when he finds her.

You stumble your way up to the remains of the house, following the sound of the Madrigals calling out for Mirabel. You place a hand against the only sturdy wall, holding yourself up while you hobble forward. You call out for help, crying as your ribs shift again. Just breathing hurts and moving is debilitating.

“I just heard something!” you hear Camilo shout to his family. You try to call again but you can barely breathe as you lean against the stone. “[Y/N]! over here! What happened? Were you in the house?” he asks.

“Oh my god, [Y/N]!” Isabela and her mother say in unison as they round the corner, rushing to your side just as Camilo had.

“I was down the side, some of the building fell…” you whimper, squeezing your eyes shut. “Something is broken.”

“I can’t heal you” Julieta tells you, shaking her head and glancing to where you have your hand pressed. “Our powers are gone.”

“Fucking great” you groan sarcastically. Losing your fight against the pain, the world goes dark. The last thing you feel are three sets of hands catching you.

A/N: this took a while! I have had an amazing amount of attention on this series, and I love you all! Thank you to the people who commented on the terms of endearment post! Some amazing info from that perspective! Like and reblog to share the love!!!

two more lonely people tags:

@pink-hufflepuff @kyriekurokami @goblinenby @fraujar @ducks118 @lemonbaby @sylum @life-hater39 @abelbai000 @sarashitposts @sweatyroadcowboyjudge @mother-dragon-and-her-hatchlings @elysiadjarin @multifandombtch @insanitybyanothername @inthewindsomehow @gloryekaterina @anactualvelociraptor @originalsoulcollector @hlxoos @tangerine-kitten @psychomanias @nectamburne @mary-wolf @wo1fwitch @jesuisravenclaw

#we don't talk about bruno #bruno madrigal #encanto bruno #bruno madrigal x reader #bruno my beloved #isabela madrigal x reader #dolores madrigal x reader #disney's encanto #encanto x reader

379 notes · View notes

sunaswife · 3 years

Text

𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖉 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖍𝖎𝖒

Shigaraki X f! Reader

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, brainwashed/ programmed reader, implied kidnapping, Dom/sub, use of the word ‘pet’ and ‘master’, first time sex, uh..does this count as yandere..? Idk lol

🔪: this is like my second time writing smut so I’m sorry if it’s bad 🙇‍♀️ plz don’t spank me. N E Wayz I dedicate this fic to @aoi-turtle 🖤 and Any other shiggy whores out there

Edit: I FORGOT TO TAG @dinablossom and @toworuu IM SO SORRY BSVAKAGSJA

Summary: Imagine being programmed to be the leagues healer but also Shigaraki’s little cum bucket

♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎♡︎☠︎︎

“Master what is the meaning of this.” Shigaraki looked at the television screen as he scratched his neck. “I took her quirk and made it a thousand times better.” He said simply. “Tomura shigaraki where should I place her?” Kurogiri asked. “Anywhere. I don’t care. I just don’t understand why you brought a stupid hero here.” He said annoyed.

“Now now—“ “Shut up and put her somewhere out of my sight!” Tomura demanded and Kurogiri sighed and carried your body to the spare room by shigaraki’s private quarters. You looked dead, you were exhausted, traumatized, in shock.

You were frozen. Your eyes stayed open, unblinking as you stared at the ceiling. It looked as if you were dead. But your body is warm and you were breathing, you’re alive and you’ll recover quick. Thanks to the quirk All for One fixed for you.

Dabi smirked at your ruined form. Spinner hid his rosy cheeks, you were a cute one. Toga was excited to have another girl in the league she talked with Twice about all the fun things you two could do together. Whether it be painting your nails, doing your hair, torturing someone, or making them bleed. She was excited.

“What’s so good about her quirk that you needed it.” Shigaraki asked. “It’s come to my attention that the league has been missing an important puzzle piece.” He started off. “Yeah? What’s that?” The light blue haired man asked. He was beyond ticked off to have a hero here. “She’s not a hero. She was training under UA’s school nurse. But she fell into the hero course for recovery and first aid training.” He said and everyone stayed silent and patiently listened to the brain behind the league.

“Her quirk is pyrokinetic regeneration. She manipulates fire with the energy of the person who needs healing and together she heals with so called fire. Her quirk was small, only a few cuts a bruises here and there could she heal. But I added cell regeneration so she can even fix up deep wounds that could need surgery in a matter of days instead of months.”

“Sounds amazing! No she could use her fire against us!” Twice said and Toga nodded. “She won’t. Her fire doesn’t burn unless you’re hurt.” Kurogiri returned. “But she’s still a hero brat so wouldn’t she try to resist?” Dabi asked. “I don’t know but let me try and see!” Toga giggled and pulled out a knife she easily slit her wrist and skipped her way to your new room.

Out of curiosity the other members followed suit. Shigaraki first, he wanted to see if you were truly useful if not then he’d disintegrate you right here and now. “Hi hi new friend! My name is Toga!” The psychotic girl giggle as her blood dripped all over the floor. You looked up slowly from your spot on the bed. “H-hi...T-toga..” your voice was low. “Kurogiri Can you bring her some water?” Toga asked and he left and came back in the blink of an eye.

Your hands were shaking for the cup of water but Toga held it back, away from you. “If you want the water then heal my wrist first.” She said sweetly with a giggle. “Heal your wrist?” You whispered and she nodded. “O-okay..” you stuttered and you slowly removed the blanket from your lap. You stood up with wobbly legs to go to the girl but you fell. The chain on your ankle pulled you back. You winced and looked at her, pleading for her to come to you. She asked if you were okay and when you responded she shoved her bloody arm to your face. “Take a deep breath. This may sting...” you started and a small green flame came upon your hand. You rubbed the flame over both of your hands like you were putting on lotion, finally when the flames covered both hands you pressed hard on her wrist. She winced, “ow ow ow.” She whimpered, you removed your hands and everyone stared at the flame around her whole wrist. “Give it thirty seconds....or not...” you said as you stared wide eyed at her already healed cut. It was barley a touch and it’s gone now. “Wow. No scar!” She giggled and turned to show the guys. “Wow stab me next, please don’t or else I’ll bite ya!” Twice said and you reached for the water. “Interesting.” Shigaraki mumbled with a small squint. Kurogiri looked over and hoped he wouldn’t do anything bad to you.

“Shows over. She needs her rest.” Kurogiri said and everyone left one by one. Toga gave her a hug and wished for you both to be the best of friends and she skipped away. “Tomura Shigaraki. What are you thinking?” Kurogiri asked as Shigaraki began to walk into your room. “Nothing that concerns you.” He spat and slammed the door. Kurogiri sighed but returned to the bar nonetheless.

“Do you know who I am?” Shigaraki asked, “Yes you’re the leader of the league of villains, You’re name is Tomura Shigaraki and your quirk is decay—“ “that’s enough!” He raised his voice and looked at you with wide eyes.

You looked so sad and you glanced down at your cup. “Mr. shigaraki I know I don’t usually talk this much. I’ve always been the quiet type. I think whoever kidnapped me gave me a huge sense of knowledge. I know the league is bad but I don’t care about the heroes anymore and I don’t know why. I know everything about you guys, your true identity, your quirks, your past. And when I see you I—“ you quickly stopped yourself.

Shigaraki raised a brow. “You what?” He asked curiously. “N-nothing. Just forget it.” You answered and he growled. “Answer me now before I kill you.” He said and your legs subconsciously clenched together. You stayed quiet and your chest rose and fell a little more quickly. Why was this feeling in your chest when this killer, this man child looked at you? What exactly did the man he calls master do to you?

Before you knew it he gripped your chin and lifted it harshly so you could look at his wrinkly red eyes. Even though he looks like a bum he smelled nice and clean. A hand was covering his face and you slowly lifted your hand to touch it and his other hand grabbed your wrist. “What the fuck are you doing? Do you have a death wish you fucking idiot?” He growled and you gulped. “C-can i see your face?” You asked and he tilted his head confused.

“No. Answer my question-“ before you both knew it, as if your body had a mind of its own you tackled shigaraki down and you snatched the hand off his face. His hand quickly wrapped around your neck and arm and you pressed your lips against his. He halted his finger from pressing against your neck. He was beyond confused.

“If only tomura finished listening to what i had to say.” All for one chuckled loudly. You both were able to faintly hear the television from down the hall. “He would know that I managed to change y/N’s desires and whole way of thinking. She’s now with the league of Villains and she’s in love with its leader, Tomura Shigaraki. Consider it a present and motivation for the future of the league.” You both heard and you pulled away from him. “I’m sorry. I should have asked.” You said lowly. He stood there stunned and silent.

He slowly sat up and looked at your figure. “So you were brainwashed like my Nomu.” He hummed and took a few steps back. He noticed how you crawled closer to him but the chain was keeping you away.

“Who do you love?”

“You.”

“Who do you belong to?”

“You.”

“Who’s your master?”

“Tomura Shigaraki.”

You said and he smirked. He was gonna have fun with you. “At least master was kind enough to give me a beauty.” He said as he held on to the chains. “Don’t freak out.” He warned and you nodded. He disintegrated the chain around your ankle and he pulled you by the arm. You were wearing an ugly hospital gown and you were barefoot. You couldn’t help but shiver. He went next door to his room and he shoved you in and slammed the door. You nearly tripped over the mess and you turned to look at shiggy. “Why are you just standing there?” He asked, “You haven’t given me orders.” You deadpanned. “You can’t think for yourself?” He questioned. “No i can but I Don’t want to upset you.” You replied.

“Fine then clean this shit up.” He referred to his very very messy room. You nodded and began to lift up a piece of trash but he pulled you away. “Change first.” He said and handed you a black hoodie. “Do you have a bathroom?” You asked. “No change here.” He said and you nodded. You turned so your back was facing him and carefully began to take off the gown, leaving you completely bare and Shigaraki couldn’t help but look.

Your skin was so beautiful and looked so soft. He saw as you carefully put on his hoodie and it completely engulfed you. It reached to your mid thigh. You slowly turned to look at him with rosy cheeks. The hoodie smelled just like him. “Tomura—“ “It’s master to you.” He Interrupted and you nodded, subconsciously squeezing your thighs together once more. “Sorry...m-master.” You said and played with the hem of his hoodie.

“Master..can I have some underwear too...? I feel weird, when I’m bare underneath..” you asked. “No, continue cleaning my room.” He answered coldly and sat on his gaming chair. He turned on his console and began playing whatever game he had.

You sighed and you couldn’t help but admire his gorgeous yet scarred face and his beautiful long fingers. In an instant he can kill you, but if you’re good..then he might even reward you. If you were to die, I’d rather be in the hands of your master than anyone else.

You quickly began you pick up the instant ramen bowls and bags of chips. You separated recycling and trash. You even managed to pick up all his dirty clothes and put it in the hamper in less than an hour. Tomura was stunned, one minute he can barley walk in, the next It’s almost spotless. He saw you from the corner of his eye, you were folding his clothes that practically had the same color scheme.

“Can i go through your drawers to put your clothes away..?” You finally spoke up. “Yeah it’s whatever. I don’t care.” He mumbled and returned to the screen. “Ugh stupid game!” He huffed and began pressing the controller more furiously. You chuckled and thought that it was so cute and adorable when he was frustrated.

You went to his California king sized bed and began to fix the sheets and make his bed. Since it was so huge, you had to climb on to properly fix it. You were completely in your own world when Shigaraki turned and saw your wet cunt on display in all it’s glory. Ever since he saw you he couldn’t help but feel that urge to take you. His resistance was getting to him and now he wanted to give in to his urges even more. He was too distracted that he lost the fucking game and he growled and disintegrated the controller. That was his own form of rage quitting.

You heard his sound of frustration so when you turned you expected him to be in the same chair uttering bullshit, but you were shocked when you felt your hips being pulled back. Your cunt was touching his pants, but you can feel his bulge. “Um..master..I—“

“Shut up.” He said and reached for your neck. He pulled you back to him and wrapped his other arm around your waist, hovering your aching clit. “This is whats gonna happen.” He started off and you nodded. “I’m going to fuck you. And you’re going to like it. Okay?”

“I understand.” You said softly, you felt his hands slowly lift up the hoodie just a bit to get a better view of your ass. You couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed. “I know I’m probably not your dream girl but I promise to be a good girl, master..” your voice shook. He tilted his head, were you getting insecure?

“No pet, you’re perfect to me.” He assured and you could hear his belt jingle as he took it off. “You seem pretty wet already, pet. Since how long have you been like this?” He asked as he got out of his jeans. He slowly open your cheeks to reveal your little pussy clenching around nothing, how cute. “Since I saw you..” you mumbled. He smirked and leaned down. He immediately began to eat out your cunt causing you to gasp in shock and grip the sheets. Your chest layed roughly against the bed as your ass stood proud in the air for the leader of the league of villains to enjoy.

“Fuck—“ you moaned and you felt a slap on your ass. You slightly jumped released a small yelp. “Watch your language.” He growled from your pussy. “Yes master.” You whimpered and he slowly began to rub his thumb on your other hole. Your small moans filled the room and he easily slipped his middle finger in you. You squeezed around him so deliciously, he couldn’t help but wished his cock was inside.

This has never happened to him before, this feeling in his chest. Someone that loves him and will obey his every command. You’re so beautiful as well, and your sounds. Your moans and whimpers, in all honesty he jut wanted to get himself off. But after hearing you and seeing you. He wants to make sure you have pleasure as well.

He continued pumping his finger in and out of your slick walls and your voice started getting slightly higher. “Master...I—I’m gonna cum...”you panted and your toes began to curl. “It’s okay, cum for me, pet. You’ve been a good girl.” He said softly and he felt you clench around his finger. When you came he slowly removed his finger and examined it. You must be new to is if you could get off with just one of his long fingers.

You layed on the bed a bit tired, not paying attention to your master who had tasted your cum on his finger. It was delicious and he wanted another taste. When you felt a lick on your cunt again you immediately shivered and clenched your thighs. “Hold still I just wanna taste some cum.” Shigaraki huffed and he pulled your thighs apart. You were pretty sensitive but you obeyed nonetheless.

You moans began to fill the room once more and before you could finish and cum again he pulled away. You automatically whimpered and turned to give your master puppy dog eyes. “I would let you cum again, but my cock is so fucking hard I don’t think I can wait another minute.” he said and began to pull down his boxers.

Before you could get back in position, which freaking hurt, he flipped you over on your back and you made a small oof noise. You looked up to See shigaraki focused on his cock, he was rubbing himself up and down your slit to use your cum as lube. “Alright I’m going in.” He announced and slowly pushed his rather large member inside your tint cunt. You immediately yelped and held on to his biceps. “M-master wait—it hurts..” you pleaded and Tomura finally looked up at your face.

He loves inflicting pain, he loves watching people’s painful expressions when they’re hurt or when they’re gonna die. Chisaki’s face was so amusing. But when he saw yours, his heart shattered and he didn’t want to hurt you at all. You’ve been nothing but good to him, he doesn’t want to hurt his little toy. “I’m sorry.” He apologized, “it’s okay..” you sniffled. After a minute of him being patient you gave him a nod and he continued to slowly bottom out.

You both released a moan when he was all the way in. You both have never felt anything like this before. “Can I start moving?” Shigaraki asked you as he brushed way the hair from your face. You nodded and he pulled almost all the way out and he slammed back in. Your little gasps and moans came back which made shigaraki feel at ease. You can clearly hear your slick with every thrust and it was music to his ears.

“I’ve been neglecting these.” He grunted and lifted his hoodie over your chest. Finally he was able to see your beautiful soft breasts bouncing with each thrust. “Fuck you’re so beautiful.” He moaned and immediately lowered his mouth to one of your nipples. You squealed and your back arched and he pushed you down. “Master...” you moaned softly. His tongue swirled around your hardened bud and your fingers tangled in his light blue hair. Two of his fingers pinched your other nipple and he lightly bit the nipple in his mouth.

“I think I-I’m close—“ you gasped and he removed his mouth. His thrusts decreased in speed but they became harder. He had a stupid smirk on his face and your eyes widened when he wrapped his hand around your throat. “Hold it until I say so.” He demanded and you muttered a weak yes. He felt how your gummy walls squeezed against his large dick, he was getting close too. “Fuck Fuck Fuck.” He groaned with his head tilted back and your mouth watered at the sight. Why is he so fucking handsome?

He could feel himself getting closer to his climax so he rubbed his thumb on you clit while increasing his pace once more, causing you to be even louder than before. Everyone in the bar could hear and a certain fire villian grumbled in annoyance. “Master I can’t hold it anymore!” You screamed. “Then cum my stupid little pet. Cum all over my cock like a good girl.” He grunted and bit his lip at the sight of your sweaty body. Your bouncing breasts, crazy hair, your adorable ahego face, your twitching legs and finally your grip on his biceps. You were so prefect and so good to him and only him.

When you came you felt his cum shoot inside you as well causing you to gasp at the delicious feeling. Tomura rested his head on your shoulder and tried catching his breath. You couldn’t help but smile and blush at the closeness. You slowly wrapped your arms around him and you gave his shoulder a kiss causing him to freeze. “I love you master, thank you for making me feel good.” You said softly. He chuckled and pulled you closer, “I love you too.”

I wanna write a part 2 of Shiggy finding out his little toy is being used by a certain fire boy 👀

#tomura shigaraki #shigaraki smut #league of villains #my hero academia #yandere shigaraki #smut #[🏌️‍♀️🔪.yandere]

390 notes · View notes

ironmandeficiency · 3 years

Text

pedro boys + spending habits

word count: fuck if i know, wrote it thru the app

characters: din, marcus m, dave, pero, marcus p, oberyn, max, frankie, whiskey, maxwell, javier, ezra

a/n: idk what caused this to happen but it works i guess. hope they make sense

✨support my ko-fi✨

trust him with your money, your drink, your social security number, everything:

din. this man is barely scraping by on his own when you first meet him. when he adds the kid to the mix, he gets even more frugal than he already is with an old as sin ship that many people are surprised to see fly. he will have a policy of “you earn it, you choose what to do with it” and since he goes after most of (if not all) the bounties to keep you all alive, he has the final say in how most of the credits are spent. he does want you to have nice things though, so he makes sure to configure the budget to where you don’t have to pour your credits into the group’s survival money very often. it’s the least he can do. he’s very big on taking care of his people and will show that in small ways.

marcus m. he’s a single dad for a significant amount of time, he has no choice but to be responsible with his money. he has to take care of missy, keep them both fed and housed and healthy, and that’s not even touching on how expensive all of high school graduation and college will be once she gets there. he teaches missy very early in life how important money is bc he doesn’t want her to ever know how it feels to not have enough. he makes a considerable amount of money w the heroics tho so he can afford to responsibly splurge on you both, but not constantly. is very cautious abt the splurging becoming a habit

dave. yeah he may be a murderer, but he’s scary great at managing his money (to continue being able to murder). he’s got his ex wife’s alimony (that still pisses him off but that’s another story) and two girls he takes care of, there’s no other choice for him either. there’s never a worry about dave having a midlife crisis and spending money on some stupid dad thing (like a motorcycle or assless chaps or a country club membership) because he murders to keep his mind off that sort of stuff. files his taxes diligently every year the day tax season starts and will pass this wisdom to the girls.

pero. he’s very good at judging if you need something or not. if it can’t feed you, keep you healthy, kill someone, or protect you, you don’t need to buy it. definitely not a man who indulges in trinkets and frivolous things that do nothing but weigh down his horse and his person. will encourage this way of thinking with whoever travels with him to whatever extent he can, but won’t be a dick about it if you have something sentimental on your person. if it’s a necessity, he will splurge on a bed and bath at an inn but not much else for a while. cheap because he has to be

marcus p. i don’t think i have to explain this one so i won’t. no i’m not being lazy who said that?

maybe you’ll be fine if he’s in charge. maybe:

oberyn. being a prince (and himself), there are different ways this could go. he spends his money frivolously at brothels & on his daughters + other loved ones (as well as other luxuries) and doesn’t really seem to be the type to keep tabs on it all as he goes. but... he’s a prince in a prosperous kingdom and so there isn’t really a worry for money. he’s known as the red viper for many reasons, including his clever nature and the ease with which he can get what he wants thru whatever means necessary. if you want for something that he can’t buy, you know he will find a way to get it for you (which can be a problem sometimes).

max. he’s good with money in the sense of perpetuating capitalism — that’s the red flag here. hell, he’s gonna be investing into bitcoin and who knows what stock market bs & bc it’s max, of course you trust him. max can’t control the stock market tho, so sometimes things are a little iffy. it always evens itself out though, and you make sure in the future that he invests his money instead of your joint money. he’s still gonna share anyways, it just helps you have a little more peace of mind.

frankie. he just wants to take care of you, okay? you can’t fault him for that 🥺 he maneuvers his budget around to make sure he can do all these nice things for you while leaving his own needs unchecked, which isn’t okay. he just wants to provide for the ppl he loves the best he can, but the problem begins when he starts to think he isn’t doing enough. his insecurity & lack of self-worth (fueled by his guilt for “not being everything you deserve”) is what makes him agree to the Trip™️ in the first place. once he comes back & sees you frantic, only wanting him home and not giving a flying fuck about the money, does he realize that you’re devoted to him and not what he can do for you.

whiskey. working for statesman made him forget what things really cost bc he suddenly never had to worry again about not having enough money. being with someone that isn’t practically made of money will snap him back into reality. he looks at his bank statements and his balance occasionally, but our big spender cowboy hasn’t really counted money as something he worries about for a while. when he constantly showers you in expensive gifts (only the best for his baby, that’s his motto) and you tell him that he has to not do that bc he’ll go broke, he plays it off because he doesn’t remember having to worry. separate bank accounts are only because you want to make sure your money is being spent smartly (even though jack has offered constantly to pay for literally anything you need).

don’t give him anything you want to see again:

maxwell. as much as i love this dork, he’s absolute shit with money. when his business is falling apart (bc he made the stupid ass decision to buy the oil rigs no one wanted bc they weren’t producing oil), he throws it all into saving face and trying to make investors buy into something that isn’t there. what a smart business man would’ve done was liquidate his assets and possibly try to get into a business that will yield at least some profit. he does learn his lesson tho and eventually can be trusted with money, but even he is hesitant to do anything with the household finances. he’s a dreamer, and dreams and money are the same as oil and water.

javier. i know you’re possibly surprised but hear me out. he’ll go all in to get info, whether he’s spending american taxpayer money or his own money or anyone else’s, if it’s valuable info that can be bought, it’s gonna be bought even if he goes without groceries for the next two weeks. before being with you, it was booze and prostitutes and cigarettes that ate away at his checks outside of buying information. the only thing that really changed once you got together was the prostitutes and slightly less cigarettes and booze. however, when he goes back to laredo permanently, he’s perfectly capable of keeping his shit in line. he’ll balance every checkbook in sight and run a tight af ship.

ezra. this man is a scavenger by necessity, a con man by choice. he has a silver tongue and a roguish charm and pretty questionable morals; he’s not gonna have any issue with getting his hands dirty. he’s probably gonna use your joint money to try and pull a fast one on some unsuspecting stranger (“it’ll double our money,” he says, “it’ll be fine,” he says), but then said stranger will end up turning the tables and leave you both absolutely broke. yeah he will feel guilty, no doubt. the only problem is that he won’t take it as a “hey don’t do it again” lesson, it’ll be a “this is how i can improve for next time.” eventually you have to put your foot down and take control of the money and when he realizes that you’re improving your lives much better than he is, he will thank you for it.

all pedro character taglists: @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky @obirain @leias-left-hair-bun @themarcusmoreno @catsnkooks @captainrexstan @mackstrut @torradoza @simping-for-fives @stardustsunrisekisses @darthadeline @artemis61003 @majorshiraharu @getdookuedon @capricornrabies @max--phillips @darklingveracruz @book-of-anarchy @andysficrecs @purelypascal @whovianwar @lv7867 @hornystarwarsbisexual @kaermorons @princess76179 @pedropasscals @greeneyedblondie44 @seasonschange-butpeopledont @qhbr2013 if you don’t want to be tagged, lemme know!! the link to join is in my bio

138 notes · View notes

rhysismydaddy · 3 years

Text

Unholy Matrimony Pt. 1 (Nessian)

Nesta’s part of the Damnation Series.

OOF this took so long sorry. I rewrote it, changed it, then deleted it entirely about 9 times. I literally started writing the version before you, from scratch, on Sunday. All parts are linked below, so I’m only tagging people on this version! To go to the next chapter, there is also a link at the bottom <3

ALSO, an important caviat: Nesta is an only child in this one! I originally wrote it for her to be adopted and not know it, but it wasn’t really relevant to the story, so... idk. Just ignore that plot hole I guess.

Parts 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 -- pls like each part I’m insecure

______________________________________________

~Cassian~

“You’re getting married.”

The glass of bourbon halfway to my mouth pauses, because despite being known for being rash and unpredictable, even I’m surprised by the sudden change in conversation.

My eyebrows raise as I look over at Rhysand, my best friend and Capo, trying to figure out if this bastard is serious. His tone says he is, but that doesn’t make sense, because before a few seconds ago, the word “marriage” was in neither of our vocabularies.

He’s been single for as long as I have, although I’m starting to suspect he’s got a bird in the city. He’s too damn happy these days, and the other day I saw him laugh at something on his phone.

Which is weird, because we both know long-term commitments don’t really do well with our lifestyle.

We were raised to not give a shit about anything except the job. We kill without remorse, live in the shadows, and whatever other shitty euphemism you want to use. Settling down in some suburban, picket-fence prison has absolutely no appeal to Made Men.

Don’t get me wrong, most of us get married at some point. But never for love.

Some men choose a bride that’s pretty and sweet. Someone who will donate to charity and help clean up their image. Governors’ daughters, women from old-money families, and social princesses make up this category.

Some men marry to advance their station in the Family. Second sons who will never inherit the business marry daughters of Underbosses to get a nice boost to their status.

And then there’s the ones who are forced to marry by their capo--ie. me-- so they choose whatever attractive woman that’s in the Family and available. Those are always the happiest.

But regardless of the reasoning, marriage in the mafia is heartless, political, and for me, unnecessary.

I know I’ll have to pick someone eventually, but there aren’t a whole lot of desirable options at the moment. Not many of the other Underbosses have daughters that are over the age of fifteen right now, and I have no interest in doing the child-bride thing.

Plus, there’s no way I’d marry someone outside of the family. At my rank, it isn’t an option.

That leaves... a widow?

The only one I know is Ianthe, and considering I highly suspect she killed her last husband and the fact that she’s crazy, there’s no way in hell I’d legally bind myself to her for life.

So he must be joking.

I take a pull from my cigar and look over at Rhys with narrowed eyes. “Uh huh. Sure. To who, exactly?”

“Volchonok.”

The Wolf Cub.

The cigar snaps in my fingers.

“You’re fucking kidding,” I say, honestly hoping that’s the case. He’s either that or insane, and I’d hate to lock someone who’s like a brother to me in a padded room.

Rhysand’s unflinching gaze doesn’t change, but his tone morphs from that of my friend to my boss. “You will marry her, Cassian.”

“She’s a fucking Russian,” I spit, not understanding. That should be reason enough for him to be joking.

In our world, being Russian is a crime similar to stabbing the Pope.

We’ve been at war over New York with them ever since they decided to try and get a stronghold on the east coast, and I’ve killed more of them than I can fucking count. Now I’m marrying one?

“Yes, she is, and so is her father, Alexei Olov.” Aka the Bratva Boss responsible for blowing up half of St. Petersburg last year when the local police refused to buy his weapons. “You will marry her, move to New York full time, and run the city with her by your side.”

“Why? Two or three more years, and we’ll have the city anyway.” Every day the Russians get weaker, and I’ve been responsible for pushing them out of my city block by block.

So there has to be a reason we’re suddenly okay with the enemy.

Rhysand sighs. “It was his idea, not mine. Orlov has agreed to sell our coke in Moscow and Seattle instead of his usual dealer and will supply us all the weapons we need for five years. There will also be no more midnight raids, bullshit arrests on bullshit charges, or missing shipments. He’s offering you a dowry, too.”

I don’t need his money, but the old fashioned term makes me laugh.

“Yeah? And how much does he think his wolf cub is worth?”

His lips twitch. “Ten million.”

“She must be a real pain in the ass, then, if he’s going to pay me that much to take her,” I chuckle.

Not that ten million dollars is anything but pocket change for the man. Orlov may be losing the fight in New York, but the bastard is richer than sin.

Selling arms to half of the entire world will do that to a person.

“I hear she’s beautiful,” he says, trying to tempt me to not fight him.

“Then you marry her,” I shoot back, not ready to give up the argument.

“I don’t feel like it.” Fucking typical. Rhysand sighs. “You and I both know we can work this deal to our advantage, so what will make you say yes?”

He could order to me to say yes and I’d have to, but he hates enforcing that kind of authority with me.

So I think it over, make a show of lighting a new cigar. “I want Sera.”

It’s a burlesque club in New York I’ve always been a little envious of, owned by Orlov and operated by his men. I’d tried to buy it a few years back but hadn’t had enough leverage on the Russian to strongarm him into selling.

Now I do.

Rhysand--the only one who knows about my failed attempt to buy the place--nods and tells me he’ll make it happen.

“When’s all this happening, anyway?”

He looks like he might laugh. “Wedding is in a month, but she’s flying in tomorrow night.”

A quick laugh forces its way out of me. Also typical of him to give me absolutely no time to change my mind.

Well, I have a month. That’s already longer than any relationship I’ve ever had.

Sighing, I stand and shake his hand, cementing the deal before I can even lament the loss of my bachelorhood.

~Nesta~

“Chto sluchilos?”

I slide my gaze to my father, because seriously, that’s the stupidest fucking question I’ve ever heard.

What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Everything.

“Nichego,” I lie, assuring him for what feels like the tenth time as I look out the window. The plane picks up speed and lifts off, taking me towards an uncertain future, an uncertain place.

I might have told him nothing’s wrong, but inside, I’m screaming.

Three days ago, I woke up to find a marriage contract on the pillow beside me. There was a blank space where my name had been typed and a pen waiting for me to remedy that.

I still haven’t.

I’m not signing anything until I meet this... Cassian.

God, what an Italian name.

An image springs to mind, one of a slumped-over, hairy-chest beast with slicked back hair and a gold chain.

I know it’s stereotypical and hopefully incorrect, but I’ve never been to Italy and Alexei strictly forbids me watching movies that portray Italians as anything except revolting.

But looks aside, there’s one thing I don’t need to guess to know.

My future husband will be like all the other men in my life: controlling.

Men in the world I live in take what they want, don’t ask for permission, and feel like they’re entitled to anything and everything. I’ve dealt with it my entire life, so it’s more amusing than anything at this point.

I guess I’m a bit non-traditional in that sense, considering most of the women around me have no problems taking orders from their fathers or husbands. But Alexei and I figured out pretty early in life that wasn’t going to work for me.

As he frequently likes to tell me, I started telling him to fuck off when I was five.

What did he expect? All the kids I hung out with were the opposite sex and at least five years older than me, so my vocabulary and mannerisms became pretty... colorful early on.

Regardless, I’m just not looking forward to having to deal with yet another man who thinks he can control me.

“Ty vresh',” Alexei accuses, lips twitching. You’re lying.

“Konechno.” Of course.

Of course I’m upset, but I understand what’s happening. I might have found out about it three days ago, but I’ve known it was coming for far longer.

As the only child of the great Alexei Orlov, Wolf of Moscow and Pakhan of the Russian Bratva, I’ve been told my entire life that I will one day be used as a pawn to gain more power.

It would--should--piss me off, but I’ve also been told I’m to one day take my father’s place and run his company.

So by gaining more power for him, I’m also doing the same for myself.

Not that I really give a shit about that kind of thing. I started officially working for Alexei years ago, and I already have enough money saved to never have to work again.

But in the Bratva, there’s no getting out. I was put in this world by birth, and the only thing that will take me out is death.

In case it isn’t obvious, I’m not a typical business woman.

My father is an arms-dealer.

A less than legal one, if you believe the heinous lies the media spreads about him.

He sells weapons to governments, private armies, and whoever the fuck else has the money to buy.

He’s also built himself a shipping empire to haul said weapons around the globe, runs the drugs and prostitute rings in Moscow, and has enough real estate to rival most small countries.

It probably sounds like I don’t care, and that’s because I don’t.

I like what I do in the sense that I have a mind for business. I went to business school and graduated at the top of my class, and I enjoy running the clubs and hotels I have. Trained by Alexei himself, I’m ruthless in negotiations, enough so that people started calling me the Wolf Cub by the time I was twenty.

But despite being good at it, I’m not particularly fond of the aspect most people think of when they picture my career in the Bratva. I detest drugs, have never hired a prostitute, and don’t really enjoy selling arms to bad people.

The alleyway meetups, the broken bones and bullet holes, and the blown up houses are all a little tiring to me.

Sure, it sounds exciting. And for a while, it was. I used to lose myself in the chaos, used to enjoy coming home with busted knuckles. But I honestly just got tired of it.

Right now, I don’t have to deal with it as much because Alexei’s still alive. But when he dies and I officially take over the family business, I’ll have to be more involved. Even if the thought makes me want to sigh.

I pull out my laptop and look over the financial report for Sera, my newest club in New York. As predicted, everything’s running smoothly.

I turn the laptop around to show my father, grinning when he pulls out his reading glasses and leans closer.

“Starik,” I tease. Old man.

He flicks my forehead, then reads the report and nods. Then he turns to his phone, probably playing Angry Birds or some shit, and leaves me to work.

The plane ride goes by quickly, and by the time we’ve landed in Chicago, I’ve gotten ahead on my schedule for next week, slept, and changed into what I’ve chosen as the “meeting my future husband” dress.

It’s simple and sleek, the black material clinging to my curves without being obscene. It’s long enough to hide the holster on my thigh, not that I feel in any danger with four personal guards stationed near me at all times.

My heels click as I make my way down the plane stairs and across the tarmac to the waiting sedan, and once my luggage and belongings are unloaded, we head to the Italian Capo’s house.

We’re meeting here, finalizing the contract, and then Cassian and I are flying to New York.

My new home.

“Try to look happy,” Alexei tells me, his heavily accented English almost ridiculous to hear. He speaks English only when he’s in the states, and considering he hasn’t come here since I graduated B school two years ago, he’s a little out of practice.

“I’m ecstatic,” I say, intentionally using a word I know he doesn’t understand.

His eyes narrow, because it isn’t the first time I’ve used this trick, but he doesn’t call me out on it. We continue to ride in ecstatic silence, eventually pulling up in front of the Capo’s... house.

It’s almost obscene to call it that, considering it’s fucking huge. Like obnoxiously huge.

I heave a sigh, step out of the car, and take in my surroundings. The neighborhood’s quiet, likely filled with friends of the Cosa Nostra too scared to make any noise.

A butler--seriously, a butler--opens the door and welcomes us inside, and as soon as I step in, I have to repress the urge to roll my eyes.

The amount of dirty money in the air is suffocating. It drips off the vaulted ceilings, down the artwork on the walls, across the marble floors. It’s in the little details of the crystal chandeliers and the mahogany staircase.

Ridiculous.

One look at Alexei’s disgusted face says he’s thinking the same thing.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re rich. Grossly so. Alexei could have ten houses just like this, if he wanted them.

But he doesn’t. He owns property all over the world, but most of it is commercial or apartment complexes--property that makes him money, in other words. This, however, is a massive waste of capital.

The butler leads us further through the house and into an office where four men wait.

One is immediately identifiable as their lawyer, his over-priced cologne making me have to resist the urge to sneeze. The humongous man in the corner is hired muscle, if the boxy shape of the guns under his jacket is any indication.

The man behind the desk is obviously in charge, so I’m guessing he’s the Capo. Rhysand or Rhyland or something weird like that. He takes me in silently, bright eyes not seeming to miss any details.

That leaves the man leaning against the desk to be Cassian Azara.

My fiancé.

Our eyes meet, his golden gaze beautiful and wild, and I have to remember to keep my expression bored.

Because the stereotype, the horrible image I’d conjured up in my mind, couldn’t be further from the truth.

For one, he isn’t hunched-over. He stands tall, leaning a hip against his Capo’s desk with obvious confidence. But I see more than just self-assuredness in his eyes. He seems a little too rough around the edges, wild gaze almost like he’s daring someone to swing at him.

If the confidence didn’t already make him attractive, his looks sure as hell get the job done.

His hairs long and dark and curly, half of it pulled up in a rouge manner that clashes with the suit he’s filling. He has a few days’ stubble, too, like standing still long enough to shave just isn’t an option.

His shoulders are impossibly wide, narrowing down to trim hips and legs long enough to make him tower over everyone in the room.

His knuckles are tattooed and split open, and there’s a cut above his eyebrow that tells me I was correct to assume he’s a fighter by nature.

Usually, that would be a deterrent for me, but there’s something about the way he’s dressed in a dark suit jacket and crisp white shirt while also looking so untamed that has me cocking my head to study him some more.

He studies me, too, beautiful eyes taking in the long blonde hair and bright blue eyes offset by pale skin. He looks at the dress like he can see everything underneath, and I have the strangest urge to blush. Jesus, he’s toxic.

He’s attractive, is what I’m getting at.

Which is not what I had planned on, considering I’d been trying to think of a plan on how to not sleep with him, but suddenly that’s all my mind can focus on.

His lips twitch like he knows what I’m thinking, and I realize we’ve just been standing here staring at each other for a bit too long.

So I turn back to Alexei and shrug like I’ve seen what my future husband has to offer and aren’t impressed in the slightest.

I toss the marriage contract on the desk, grab the Capo’s fancy little fountain pen out of his hand, and sign my name on the blank above my name.

Cassian watches, but I ignore him entirely until the ink has dried. Then I look up at him through my lashes and wink, turn on my heel, and leave the room.

~Cassian~

I think I’m in love.

Fuck.

She hasn’t said a single goddamn word, but the way she looked at me has me feeling itchy all over, anticipation and nerves rolling through me. I feel like I feel before I fight or something exciting happens.

Like I’m primed and ready and need it to happen now.

Nesta Orlov, my bride to be, is nothing like I expected.

I was fully braced for some meek little woman, similar to most of my friends’ wives, to come in and smile and say hello.

But nope. Nesta didn’t smile; she came in like she was walking onto a battlefield.

And she didn’t smile. She looked me over, clinical blue gaze noticing too much, and left me feeling winded. God, she’s beautiful. Just looking at her made me hot.

She also didn’t say hello.

Just signed the contract and left, like this was nothing more to her than a boring business deal. I mean, that’s what it is, but... I don’t know, I expected more of a reaction.

I’ve heard from some Underbosses that their wives cried or raged when they were forced to sign, but shit if that were the case with Nesta. She honest to God looked like she didn’t care.

Alexei, on the other hand, does look a little pissed about the situation, but I couldn’t care less of the old man’s opinion. He’s signed the contract, so to me, he’s irrelevant. Regardless, he and Rhys proceed to iron out some of the details about the wedding and other shit I’m not paying attention to.

Then they shake hands, and the Russian warlord turns to leave.

He reaches the door and looks over his shoulder at me, and there’s amusement in his cold gaze as he mutters, “Udachi.” Good luck.

As soon as he’s gone, Roman and the lawyer follow, leaving me alone with Rhys.

He slides the contract to me, and I sign my name next to hers, making this shit official.

“This should be interesting,” he comments, vague as usual.

I sigh, because I have a feeling interesting isn’t going to cover it.

_____________________________________________________

NEXT CHAPTER

Tags: @elorcan-trash @januarystears @emikadreams @sjm-things @santas-dwynwen @thebitchupstairs @sayosdreams @perseusannabeth @cursebreaker29 @a-bit-of-a-cactus @elriel4life @girl-who-reads-the-books @shinya-hiiragi @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @ireallyshouldsleeprn @highqueenofelfhame @rowaelinismyotp @nahthanks @ghostlyrose2 @lovemollywho @tillyrubes10 @claralady @tswaney17 @rowanisahunk @superspiritfestival @thegoddessofyou @awesomelena555 @booksofthemoon @greerlunna @jlinez @studyliketate @over300books @justgiu12 @masstrash @aesthetics-11 @bamchickawowow @b00kworm @sleeping-and-books @musicmaam @hizqueen4life @maybekindasortaace

#nessian #nessian fanfiction #acosf countdown #acosf #nesta archeron #cassian #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acosf fanfiction #a court of mist and fury

158 notes · View notes

katytheinspiredworkaholic · 3 years

Text

WIP Wednesday

Title: Extraordinary

Pairings: HotchReid (more to come)

Summary: League of Extraordinary Gentleman/Vampire AU;

Within the FBI there is a specialized team full of an elite selection of people. Unique individuals with very particular skill sets. And their job is to take the unusual cases: the ones that need to not only be solved, but are undetermined if the unsub is human, or something else entirely.

In a world filled with Vampires, non-human creatures, and subspecies unknown, there is only enough information to have them vaguely regulated. Rules that are so easily, and violently broken, all while hidden in plain sight among the unsuspecting public. Unrivaled for eons.

That’s where the BAU comes in.

Official Posting Date: October 2021

Links: (Masterpost) (Snippet 01) (Snippet 02) (Snippet 03) (Snippet 04)

(TW/CW: dead body/crime scene, blood and bite wounds talked about in detail, hypnosis/compelling someone to do something against their will, overall discussion of murder (basically what we see in every episode of the show))

(the story so far/what you need to know for this clip at least: Absolutely nothing you don’t already know, this is legit from the first chapter. Hotch is a Vampire (although the LEOs don’t really know that), Rossi is a priest, Morgan is so empathetically telepathic he can touch the auras in the air, and Reid is Reid. I know I’ve been giving you the juicy HotchReid stuff but here have some case stuff too, to see what you’re in for with the plot and everything. This is FIRST DRAFT so it’s terribly unpolished, first part is generalized POV (hence the more professional titles) and the second is within the team dynamics so they get more familiar. idk my first drafts are messy and indecisive, enjoy anyway. 💕)

–

They approach the body and Rainer shoos away his pestering, hovering officers and --- winces once again at the sight of the bloodied woman. “This is the third body in two days; a jogger found her about 6 am. Coroner says she thinks she’s been dead for about 6 hours; killed in the middle of the night, just like the others.”

“Closer to five hours, I think,” Dr. Reid says, crouching down to look closer. All long legs and his gun looking too big on his belt next to his FBI badge. “Could still be within the Witching Hour, though.”

“Do you have accurate time of death estimates for the other two bodies?” Agent Morgan adds on, already picking up the train of thought Dr. Reid has started on. The detective pulls out an old-school flip notebook book and looks through it before answering.

“3:15am the first night, 9:30pm last night and now this.”

“Well that rules out hex, sacrifice, and spell gone wrong,” he concludes, as the other agents surround the body to inspect it from all angles. “So what are we thinking?”

“It’s a frenzied bite,” Agent Hotchner points out, looking from where he stands and not having to get as close as Dr. Reid to inspect it accurately. His eyesight is better than any microscope. “Shows multiple entries, it couldn’t get a good enough hold to rip her throat. Or she struggled, so it wasn’t strong enough to keep her pinned down.”

“The boys think it’s a Vamp,” Detective Rainer points out. “Maybe a baby one, still learning the ropes?”

“Vampire changes are regulated and no sire would allow whoever they turned to do this,” Agent Hotchner says, a colder flint to his voice that matches the way his dark stare cuts up to the detective. “No one has been turned in the United States in the past twelve years.”

“It’s not a Vampire bite,” Dr. Reid agrees, putting on latex gloves to further inspect the body and test the bite radius. “And it’s not a werewolf bite, either.”

“...Werewolf?” the detective says with a winded sound, eyes wide and looking to the three agents who didn’t even blink at the word. “There’s -- there’s such thing as werewolves?”

“Detective, I think you should let my team and I work, we will come to you with our findings and then help you track down your killer.” Agent Hotchner doesn’t leave room for argument, his dark brown eyes looking pitch black in the early morning light, and Detective Rainer… suddenly feels the overwhelming urge to walk away. Like he can’t breathe if he doesn’t comply; he fights it, tries to fight it, and feels his will crumble beneath him like a sand bank giving way under his feet. He turns, even that small gesture lessening the pressure crushing his chest, and takes a step away from the group, air swept into his lungs like a riptide. He makes a hasty retreat after that, winded as if he just ran up a flight of stairs and the sweet taste of oxygen being his only reprieve. He doesn’t know what happened, and wouldn’t upon further inspection until much, much later.

“That wasn’t very nice, Hotch,” Rossi points out with a look of glib reprimand towards their team leader. “I thought compelling feeble minded beat cops was for those who have no skills to avoid it.”

“My patience was running thin, and we need to move faster on this case before our unsub kills again. He’s escalating.” That much is obvious, by the timeline alone, but Father Rossi still gives him a side-ways glance that says he finds far too much amusement in the undead’s antics. “Reid, are you sure it’s not a werewolf bite? It would explain the lack of control and precision.”

“I’m sure,” Reid says with finality, and no one makes a mention on why. He had done more research than any human possibly could in the past few months on werewolf transformation and the after effects of attacks. With what happened to one of their former agents mere months ago, no one doubted his newly learned expertise. “It’s also not a shifter, or a ghoul. We can rule out ghost and poltergeist as well, no residue or temperature shifts.”

“Demon possession?” Morgan asks, looking to Rossi just as he does his customary Sign of the Cross at the mere mention. Can’t help the gesture, after his own past experiences. Giving anything the power of a name, even arbitrary, can be a dangerous thing.

“We can’t rule it out,” he admits. “The teeth marks are human, someone possessed would still have a hard time biting that deep and doing that much damage. Cannibalism is only reserved for the amusements of level three demons, however they aren’t usually powerful enough to reach the mortal plane or take possession of someone’s body. They would need help.”

“You really think someone would weaponize a demon like that?”

“We’ve seen people do worse things, as has history, but I’d like to hope it wouldn’t happen in my lifetime.”

“We need more information,” Hotch concludes, arms crossed and watching as Reid stands up and removes the blood stained gloves. “Morgan,” his gaze cuts to the tall man in his deep blue suit. “Can you walk the scene, tell us what you see?”

“Not with this many people around,” Morgan shakes his head, eyes glancing to every person within a twenty foot radius. “Too many readings, the aura field here looks like an oil spill. The only thing I can latch onto is…” his gaze is back on the ground, hovering over the dead woman, who would have no aura to speak of at all and therefore a blank canvas. He replaces Reid’s space, crouching down to touch the air over the bite wound. Fingers spread wide, less than a foot from her but not touching, palm suddenly curving as if over an invisible shoulder, the place where someone had once been not so long ago. It could have been the coroner, or the crime scene photographer, but with it being so close to the body -- chances were it was the unsub.

“They were crouched down, half on the ground, no… human thoughts that I can hear,” he says, closing his eyes and letting his hand glide through the air a little more, following the curve of someone’s spine and up their neck, resting where the head would be. “They have a fever burning them up, hot as a furnace--” he keeps his hand there too long, suddenly jerks it back as if it had physically burned him, then stands up again. Shaking off the aura reading still sticking to his fingers and the forefront of his mind. “Sound like anything you’ve heard of, pretty boy?”

Reid shakes his head, sharing a glance with Father Rossi. “We might have to go through some of your demonology books.” The older man grins wide.

“You just want to get your hands on them, at this rate you’ll have them memorized by next week.”

“Dave --” Hotch says slow, a reprimand of his own.

“Fine, fine, I’ll have Garcia send us some scans. If the Vatican knew I was putting a book like that in his hands they’d strip me of all my titles.”

“Didn’t they already do that?” Morgan teases with a grin.

“Ex-communicated. I got to keep the dog collar, the honorifics, bless the holy water, you know -- the party tricks.”

–

((if you want to be apart of the taglist just hit me up via comment, reblog tag, DMs or asks 💕))

#THIS IS JUST A SNIPPET #a really fucking long snippet but who's counting #I've missed WIP wednesdays #spooky season is upon us so I'm channeling that #a glimpse at how they handle cases that obviously don't look human #cw blood #cw murder #cw biting #paranormal stuff #sorry it's kind of all over the place but I got to play with Morgan's abilities and that was fun for me #Extraordinary #katyswriting #katyswip #wip wednesday #ALSO I DECIDED ON A POSTING DATE hope that doesn't bite me in the ass later lol

35 notes · View notes

fandomgodmother420 · 3 years

Text

Okay so I saw

This post ^^

And I was like

Wait wait wait okay okay hang on wait a damn minute-

Because this is cursed rite we all know this is cursed but somethin about it got me thinkin it got me thinking quite a lot and it’s the idea of Callahans character being deaf and like obviously the way it’s done here is bad but it got me thinking okay well what if you did it well? What if it wasn’t garbage? What if it became a super important part of the show?

I think I have a new favorite au now?

Okay listen listen let me explain right-Callahan would still be a side character to the side characters but first things first he’d talk using sign language and literally the first thing that he signs when people try and talk to him is that he’s deaf. He also wouldn’t be able to understand people who talk to him, they’d have to either sign, write something down, or be super expressive. (Ik a lot of deaf people read lips but I feel like in media with deaf people almost all the time they like fully rely on lip reading and their almost superhumanly good at it and idk I think it would be cool for a deaf character to just not lip read-hardly ever) so now the fact that he’s deaf isn’t just something that you can drop in interviews for brownie points. Still, he’s hardly ever there and he’s not really a part of the story and that’s just kind of annoying and for a while it seems like that’s just how it’s gonna be, just one background background deaf character who’s pretty cool but who we almost never get to see...

But the explosions that went off during the pogtopia manburg war where pretty fuckin loud

And Quackity was right on top of them. He might’ve lost a cannon life to them-it’s kinda up for debate but for the purpose of the au we’re gonna say he did, because losing a cannon life affects your body. Your body changes to suit how you died-you get scars from losing a cannon life.

Here’s where it gets good

One of the next episodes post war is 100% Quackity focused and he wakes up in a bed and he’s like welp lets just hope I’m not as bad off as Tubbo was. There’s no rustling noise when he moves the sheets and blankets to look at himself, at this point the viewer might realize there’s no music in the background either, there’s no ambient noises from outside. Quackity sees he doesn’t have visible scaring anywhere and he’s like that’s weird but good for me? I guess? He walks outside and his footsteps don’t make any noise. Tubbo runs up to him and starts talking-except he’s not making any noise either. His mouth is moving but there’s no sound coming out of it. Both quackity and the viewer are currently experiencing what’s going on in 100% silence and Quackity starts to panic. A scar would’ve been fine, a limb he can live without, but this??? He can’t hear! He can’t hear anything! Fuck is he supposed to do now?

He runs to Sapnap and Karl, they’re not dating yet but they make him feel safe and he doesn’t know where else to go or what to do and Sapnaps like “I know a guy” but neither the audience nor Quackity hears him say it. His mouth moves but again, no sound. Nothing. Still he makes it clear that he has an idea and that he’ll be right back. Mans fuckin books it to Callahan and after a bit of frantic gestures and sloppy sign language because ya know of course Sapnap did try to learn sign to talk to Callahan at some point he just doesn’t practice nearly enough, Callahan comes over to Quackity and starts teaching him and Karl ASL and gives Sapnap a much needed review course.

That’s it. That’s the episode. An entire episode that’s 100% silent with no subtitles, that’s just Quackity learning how to function without being able to hear. In the places where Callahan can’t help Sapnap and Karl come in. Tubbo gets in on it too since he’s deaf in one ear ever since the festival. (Quackitys like damn cheif I didn’t even kno that and Tubbo admits to thinking it was just him being in shock for a long time until a bee flew around his ear for 20 minutes straight a week after the festival had happened and he didn’t know it was there until Tommy asked if he was gonna name it.) Quackity learns how to talk when he can’t hear himself speaking, how to read lips, what music is like when you can’t hear it, how to speak sign language, all that jazz.

One of the things about being deaf that scares the shit out of Quackity is not being able to hear people sneaking up on him and Tubbos like “oh you need a spotter” and Quackity makes it clear that he has no idea what the fuck that means. So Tubbo explains “a spotter, I don’t know if they actually have a different name but I call them that cuz they cover your blind spot. They’re like your eyes and ears where you don’t have any. That way nobody can sneak up on you.” If the audience is particularly observant they’ll realize that ever since the festival Tommy has always stood on Tubbos right, witch is where Tubbo had gotten scarred. (Later on after Tommy’s exiled Quackity and sometimes Fundy become the ones to cover Tubbos right, but Tubbo is more clearly on constant high alert than he used to be. On a few days like the one before the capturing techno and the one before the second festival he’s straight up jumpy and he hates it) So Quackity of course has a lot of questions is this is pretty important. “well how do I know who I should get to be my spotter? Do they need like training or something? Should I just get a service dog? ???” And Tubbos like “No. Well-maybe that’s the proper way to do it but I’d just go with someone I trust my life with-whoever makes you feel safest, go with that” and Sapnap and Karl start laughing like idiots because Quackity IMMEDIATELY grabs them-like Tubbos barley finished his sentence and Quackitys like ah yes

The hardest part is preserving Quackitys ability to speak Spanish, because he’s the only one who knows it so Karl Sapnap and Tubbo can’t tell him weather he’s pronouncing it right or not and none of them know Spanish sign language. Hell Karl and Tubbo didn’t even know Spanish sign language existed until that day. After a bit of panicking Sapnap is like “wait I know a guy” and Quackity can actually tell what he’s saying this time. (Woo parallels) So sapnap and Co. go to George who’s king now and has access to all of Erets king stuff. Turns out Erets castle has a whole shelf of translation guides for different languages and their sign language counterparts. She kept them for diplomacy reasons. It’s much harder to learn without Callahan teaching it, but progress is made and the gang decides they’ll keep working on learning it together. There’s still the problem of Quackity not being able to speak Spanish though, they end up going with does Quackity sound like how he normally does rn? for figuring out if he’s pronouncing things right. Karl and Sapnap are surprisingly good at being able to tell.

But here’s the best part rite:

So after this episode Quackity, Karl, Sapnap, Tubbo, and obvs Callahan all know sign language-they don’t all know it perfectly nobody’s gonna master it in a day but they’re working on it. And so now in later episodes in addition to the gang talking in sign language a lot when they’re the focus of a scene, you can make them talk to eachother in sign language while other stuff is going on!! No subtitles to translate or draw attention to it, some people might not even notice its happening, but if you watch them you can see them signing to eachother. You could add so many convos and lore and secrets and the best part is if the audience wants in on it they also have to learn sign language!!

Literally just-oh my god it would be the coolest thing okay like immagine:

Ranboos doing his dramatic speech to everyone. Y’all know the one-the one before doomsday after Tommy gets out of exhile. So like Ranboos doing his bit and Fundy and Nikki are arguing with him and :0! what’s this? Look in the background and Tubbo and Quackity are signing to eachother, Quackitys angry and Tubbo is somehow angrier and you watch them more closely to see what the hell is going on and realize (with your sign language knowledge)-they’re fighting about executing Ranboo.

LIKE HOW FUCKING COOL WOULD THAT BE HOLY SHIT

Anyways I have so many headcannons for this now I think it’s the coolest thing if there’s like a tag? Or something? For this thatd be so fuckin cool if there isn’t I feel like I should make one but idk what to call it ion know man I just think this is poggers as hell. To think it all sprung from someone making a DreamSMP as a garbage riverdale show joke

57 notes · View notes

debbiechanclub · 3 years

Text

Best Two Out of Three, Part 26

This is it: the last chapter of BTOOT 😭

I wrote a long, sappy post about what this means to me *months* ago when I thought we would finish much sooner than we did (whoops), so I won’t get into all that again. However, I will say that this is a huge accomplishment for me because I have never finished a multi-part fic until now. But I didn’t do it on my own. I absolutely could not have completed this in the time that I did without @hotyeehawman, and BTOOT absolutely would not be the fic that it is without her. So thank you so much, Lauren. We wrote a whole ass 123,419-word, 228-page mf’in fanfiction novel in less than a year 😳

And, at the risk of sounding cheesy AF, we couldn’t have done it without you all, either. The response to this little wrasslin’ fic consistently blows us away. SO THANK YOU. It means more than words can say. So once you finish reading this last chapter, please come scream at me in your tags, in the comments, in my asks, in my DMs. Because I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

Alright, enough of that 🤧 I’ll let you get to reading 😉

Best Two Out of Three

Part: 26/26

Pairing: Kenny Omega x OFC, Matt Jackson x OFC x Cash Wheeler, Adam Page x himself

Word count: 7.8k

Warnings: Language; MAJOR angst

Catch up on previous parts here.

Tag squad: @freshlysqueezedmox @comeasyoudar @heelchampbucks @bec0m @betsy-bradock @linziland13 @gabbynorth98 @exe-darbyallin-exe @librathepheonix13 @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @kingswitchblade

Callie pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time again. 8:57 a.m. She put it back and glanced anxiously around the hotel lobby. She and Cash had agreed to meet there at nine to head to Orlando, and with each passing minute she worried that it would be Matt who stepped out of the elevator instead.

Their conversation had played on a nonstop loop in her head all night. This all happened way too fast. Yeah, I guess it did. Over and over again. Except, in her head, it didn’t end the way it had last night. Instead of Matt walking off she called out to him to wait. She told him that the reason she’d been avoiding him was because she felt guilty about how much she enjoyed being with him. Her brain told her it was wrong, but her heart told her otherwise, and because she didn’t know how to reconcile the two it was easier to just avoid the issue all together.

And that’s exactly what she was doing now: avoiding the issue by going to Orlando with Cash. And she wasn’t just going for the day—she was staying the night at his place.

It had been Cash’s suggestion that she spend the night. It’ll save me a round trip, he’d said via text. It made sense; they both had to be back in Jacksonville for Dynamite tomorrow, so there was no point in making Cash drive four extra hours tonight. So, Callie had agreed.

But, deep down, she knew she’d mostly agreed because it helped her avoid Matt that much more.

She pulled out her phone again, but rather than check the time she opened the camera and flipped it to face toward her. Her double black eyes had worsened from last night, turning an ugly bluish color, but thankfully some full-coverage concealer had made them barely noticeable. Even so, she pushed her oversized sunglasses onto her face. The last thing she needed was people thinking she was a battered woman.

The elevator dinged, and Callie’s chest constricted as the doors slid open. Mercifully, it was Cash.

“You ready?” he asked as he moved toward her. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

She nodded and jumped up from her seat. “Mhm,” she said as she grabbed her suitcase. She couldn’t leave the hotel fast enough.

* * * * * * * * * *

The drive to Orlando was mostly quiet. Cash had asked her if there was anything in particular she wanted to do or see, but she’d just told him she was up for whatever. She knew absolutely nothing about Orlando outside of the fact that Disney World and Universal Studios were there and the little bit she’d seen when she’d stayed with Britt. But Cash didn’t seem bothered by her apparent lack of enthusiasm; he’d just grinned and said, “I got you.” It made Callie’s stomach flutter.

They dropped off their bags at his place and she met his English bulldog, Pawla, before they set off for their first stop of the day. Cash seemed excited as he steered his truck into a parking lot in front of a large complex. Callie, however, was more than just a little confused when she saw what it was.

“Go-karts?”

She hadn’t meant to sound so disappointed, but Cash just let out a laugh. “What? You don’t like go-karts?”

She didn’t answer, looking skeptically out the window at the building. For whatever reason, it made her think of Alex. Go-karts seemed more her speed. She frowned. I wonder if he took her here, too.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Cash said. “I think you could use the adrenaline boost.”

“I can think of better ways to get an adrenaline boost.”

As soon as she said it, Callie wished she could take it back. It had just slipped out, implication and all. She looked hesitantly at Cash. He was smirking.

“I’m sure you can,” he returned. Callie felt her cheeks burn hot behind her sunglasses.

“Come on,” he repeated as he unbuckled his seat belt. “I’ll let you pick where we go to lunch afterward.”

He got out of the truck, and Callie drew in a deep, calming breath through her nose as she did the same.

Maybe avoiding Matt wasn’t the only reason she’d decided to stay overnight in Orlando.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex still hadn’t gotten over what had happened at the Labor Day party. In a word, she felt awful. She wanted to text Callie and apologize again, but between nearly breaking her nose and all but telling her to stay away from Matt, she doubted she wanted to hear from her. So, in hopes of boosting her mood, she’d decided to sit out by Kenny’s pool and soak up the last vestiges of summer while she still could.

But, so far, it hadn’t worked.

Her phone chirped next to her on the lounger, and she picked it up and unlocked the screen. She had a text from Trent.

Hey loser. You have plans today?

She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips as she typed back. Not really. Why?

She hit “send,” but instead of setting the phone back down she opened up Instagram. She clicked on Jay White’s story and let it autoplay through a couple more people before it unexpectedly came to Cash’s story. It was a Boomerang video of an indoor go-kart track. Alex recognized it; he’d taken her there one of the first weekends she’d stayed with him in Orlando.

A banner appeared at the top of her screen with Trent’s reply. Because Sam is in town if you want to come hang out.

That caught her off-guard. Sam, the boys’ friend who she’d first met five years ago. Alex had had no idea she was going to be in Jacksonville. Had one of them told her and it’d slipped her mind? But she didn’t think too much of it as she opened the text and sent her response.

Idk. After yesterday I kind of just feel like being a hermit today.

She went back to Instagram and refreshed the page—and her eyes widened at the first picture that popped up.

Callie, a bright smile on her face as she posed in a helmet at the very same indoor go-kart track from Cash’s story.

“Are you shitting me?”

“There you are.”

Alex nearly dropped her phone on her face at the sound of Kenny’s voice. He gave her an amused look. “You alright?”

“Yeah…” she started. But she thought better of it and huffed, “No.”

Kenny cocked his head in concern as he sat down on the edge of the lounger next to her. “What’s wrong?”

Alex let out a sound that was half sigh, half groan. The last thing she wanted to do was to complain to Kenny about Callie and Cash, of all people. But if she couldn’t talk to him about it, who could she? “I’m just frustrated with the whole Callie situation,” she breathed.

She glanced at him from underneath the bill of her baseball cap. He frowned sympathetically at her. “I know, baby. But you didn’t hit her on purpose. If she doesn’t believe that it’s her problem.”

“It’s not just that,” she interjected. “According to Instagram she’s in Orlando with Cash right now.”

His brow furrowed in confusion when she said that. Alex knew exactly what he was thinking. “I don’t give two shits about Cash,” she assured him. “He can do whatever and whoever he wants. Honestly, I expect bullshit like this from him. But I don’t get where Callie’s head is at. Where the hell does she get off blaming me for ruining her relationship with Adam while she’s off driving fucking go-karts with the guy who stabbed him in the back? It hasn’t even been two weeks since she left him!”

“Because it’s what Callie does,” Kenny blithely returned. “She thinks she’s blameless in everything and doesn’t take accountability for anything. This isn’t the first time she’s shown you that’s exactly the kind of person she is.”

“But we were friends, Kenny! Somehow, we got over all the bullshit and became friends, and then fucking Adam…”

She trailed off, her voice growing thick with emotion, and looked to the ceiling. She didn’t want to get upset. But it was hard not to. She felt betrayed. That was the only word for it.

“Hey.” Kenny put a hand on her bare leg, drawing her eyes back to his. “Do you want my honest advice?”

She nodded.

“Stop wasting your energy on Callie and Adam. They’re not worth it, Alex. You’ve given them so much of your time and effort and what have you gotten in return?”

A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away. She didn’t need to answer him. They both knew the answer. “I know,” she softly agreed. “You’re probably right.”

A corner of his mouth quirked up. “Of course I am.” He leaned over and kissed the side of her head. “I was thinking about ordering sushi for dinner tonight. That always makes you feel better.”

She perked up a bit at that. “Can we get sake, too?”

He nodded. “Yes, I’ll get you sake, too.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

He gave her leg an affectionate squeeze and stood. “Well, I’m gonna go get a workout in. Wanna join me?”

Alex couldn’t help herself. “Is that a euphemism?”

He grinned. “No, despite how much I want to take that bikini off you right now.”

She just playfully rolled her eyes in response.

“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand. “Endorphins will make you feel better, too.”

Alex emitted a dramatic groan as she put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. “Not if you try to kill me like you did last time,” she argued.

“But I always take good care of you afterward,” he said. “That was a euphemism, by the way.”

She returned his smirk. “Yeah, I got it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

To Cash’s credit, the go-karts had been fun—but Callie was more than happy to take the lead on the rest of the day. She’d picked out a restaurant on International Drive for lunch (Cash had groaned and said that was where all the tourists went, to which she’d cheekily replied that she was a tourist), and afterward he’d convinced her to ride the Ferris wheel at ICON Park, where he’d pointed out some of the different areas of the city to her (Callie, who was afraid of heights, had kept a death grip on his arm the entire time). Then, at Callie’s request, they’d driven around some of the neighborhoods so that she could get a better feel for them (“Obviously, I recommend my neighborhood,” Cash had said). Overall, it had turned out to be a good day after all, and Orlando was looking more and more like the place Callie wanted to move.

But, the more time she spent with him, the more she started to wonder how much of that feeling was due to Cash.

“What’re you craving?” he asked as they sat on the couch in his living room.

“You pick,” she returned. Pawla lounged between them, and she reached down to scratch her behind the ears. “I’m honestly still stuffed from lunch.”

“Chinese it is,” he decided, and he pulled out his phone to order. Callie did the same, but to open up Instagram—and she found that Alex was the first person in her stories queue. She stared at the little circle of her profile picture, hesitant. But she was too nosy not to look, so she angled her phone screen away from Cash and clicked.

There were only two pictures in her story. The first showed her in sweat-drenched workout gear lying face-down on a gym room floor with the caption, “@/kennyomegamanx tried to kill me again.” The second was of her smiling in satisfaction in front of a takeout container of sushi. “He made up for it,” the caption read.

“I guess Alex and Kenny aren’t hiding their relationship anymore.”

She froze and glanced at Cash out of the corner of her eye. That was the second time that day she’s put her foot in her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “They’re probably the last two people you want to hear about.”

But Cash shook his head. “I don’t care. They can have each other.”

Callie frowned. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he spoke up again before she could.

“Do you prefer beef and broccoli or chicken?”

She thought for a second. “Beef.”

A few more clicks and he finished putting in the order. “It says it’ll be here in thirty-five minutes,” he said as he stood from the couch. “You want a drink? I have a bottle of The Rock’s tequila, it’s really good.”

Callie’s nose scrunched up. “Do you have vodka?”

“Yeah. You want it on the rocks or mixed?”

“Mixed please.”

He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Callie occupied herself with petting Pawla until he returned with their drinks a few minutes later. “Here you go; vanilla vodka and Coke Zero.”

“Oo, that sounds good,” she said as he handed her the cocktail. She took a sip. He’d made it just right, not too much vodka, not too little.

“So, what’d you think of Orlando?” he asked as he sat back down. “Did I convince you to become my neighbor?”

His choice of words made her stomach flutter again. “I think so. There’s more to do here than in Jacksonville, and a two-hour drive to work is a lot better than a cross-country flight.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I like it. Dax is planning on moving back to Asheville, but I think I’m gonna stay here. It’s grown on me. Plus, I like Disney and Universal Studios too much.”

“Yeah, I definitely want to check those out,” she returned.

“We should plan a weekend,” he smirked. Callie took a sip of her drink to hide her blush.

They fell into silence, and they both turned their attention to the random show Cash had put on the television. But there was something hanging in the air; Callie could feel it. She was about to speak up when Cash beat her to it.

“So, we’ve avoided the topic all day, but I kind of feel like I have to ask now.”

There was no need for him to clarify what he meant. “Matt?” she guessed.

He nodded. She shifted in her seat. “What about him?”

“Well… are you two not together?”

He sounded almost hopeful. She hesitated to respond.

“That was the rumor backstage,” he added.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it was. But I guess, yeah, at one point it was moving in that direction. But… I actually told him last night that I think we rushed into things.”

“Oh,” Cash said. It was obvious that he expected her to continue, but her confusion over Matt was the last thing Callie wanted to get into right now. So, she deflected.

“There’s something I need to ask you, too.”

Cash arched his eyebrows as he raised his glass to his lips. “That doesn’t sound good,” he joked.

But Callie wasn’t joking. “Why’d you do what you did to Adam?”

He paused to cock his head at her. “What do you mean?”

She shot him a flat look as he took a sip of his drink. “I mean when you stabbed him in the back, Cash.”

Cash made a noise as he swallowed down the tequila. “Damn, not pulling any punches, huh?”

“You didn’t with Adam.”

He looked back at her in surprise. She didn’t waiver. He breathed out again.

“Alright, look,” he started. “I don’t have anything against Adam. I’ve known him a long time. But he and Kenny had what we wanted, and we did what we had to do to get it.”

She rolled her eyes again. That was such a canned response.

“What?”

“You did not have to do what you did,” she returned. “You didn’t have to manipulate him the way you did.”

His eyebrows arched. “Manipulate him? Callie, all we did was point out that Kenny and the Bucks don’t give two shits about him. He did the rest himself.”

“What?”

“I swear.”

“So you didn’t tell him to sabotage Matt and Nick in the gauntlet match?”

“No! He did that because he was upset about you and Matt!”

Callie’s brow puckered in confusion. “What?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He told us at the hotel bar that night that he found out right before the gauntlet match that you were staying with Matt in California, so he retaliated by sabotaging their title shot. Dax and I didn’t have anything to do with that, I promise you.”

The room grew silent as his words sunk in, stunning her. That was exactly what Alex had surmised when Matt had confronted her immediately after the gauntlet match. But Callie hadn’t wanted to believe it, and after FTR had turned on Adam she’d assumed that they’d been the ones to put the idea in his head.

But if Cash was telling her that they hadn’t, then it meant she really was to blame.

“Hey,” Cash softly beckoned. She looked back up at him. His eyes were earnest. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t mean to make it sound like it was. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Callie stared down into her drink, tapping her fingernails on the glass. She appreciated the sentiment, but she didn’t agree. Not really. “Well, technically I walked out him, so…”

She trailed off and took a long drink. She felt like such a bitch. I shouldn’t be here.

“And?” Cash returned, drawing her out of her thoughts. “I’m sure you had good reason to.”

Callie didn’t answer right away, nearly draining her drink. Once she’d had enough, she looked down at Pawla and scratched her head again. “Let’s not talk about it anymore,” she said.

“Done,” he said, and she sent him a tight, grateful smile. “So what do you wanna do? Watch a movie?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. I just have one request.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Anything but Mean Girls.”

* * * * * * * * * *

When Matt arrived at Daily’s Place on Wednesday, he had half a mind to go to Tony and tell him to cancel the mixed tag match. He had no desire to wrestle a match with Callie anymore. To be frank, he didn’t want much of anything to do with her at the moment.

He knew she’d been in Orlando with Cash yesterday. He’d seen her Instagram photo at the go-kart track and hadn’t thought much of it. But not long after, Kenny had texted him.

Hey, did you know Callie is in Orlando with Cash right now?

It had caught him completely off-guard. No? he’d responded. Who told you that?

He’d been more on-edge than he cared to admit while he’d awaited Kenny’s reply. Alex. I guess they posted photos from the same place on Instagram or something.

A quick search for Cash’s Instagram profile—Matt didn’t follow that asshole—had confirmed the claim to be true. It wasn’t a photo, but a Boomerang video on his story that gave it away. It was unmistakably the same indoor go-kart track from Callie’s picture.

I just thought you should know, Kenny had followed up. Matt hadn’t responded. He’d tried to put it out of his mind ever since, but he couldn’t. He kept going back to what Callie had said to him the last time he’d seen her.

This all happened way too fast.

He didn’t disagree; they had moved fast. But what confused him was that Callie had been the one to set the pace, not him. He’d thought she’d wanted everything that had happened between them.

But the way she was acting now made him feel like nothing more than a regret.

“Matt.”

“Hm.” He looked up from his phone at Brandon. He, Nick, and Kenny all stared expectantly at him from across the EVP room.

“Do you want me to film the mixed tag match for BTE?” Brandon asked. His tone that conveyed he was repeating himself. Matt obviously hadn’t heard him the first time.

“Oh, no. Sorry,” he replied, and he looked back down at his phone. He saw the three of them exchange a wary glance out of his peripheral vision. Thankfully, they just left it alone.

“Alright, I’m starving,” Nick announced as he stood from his seat. “You guys coming?”

“Yeah,” Brandon agreed.

“No,” Kenny wearily returned. “I got that interview with JR.”

There was a pause. And then, “Matt?”

He looked up again, this time at his brother. He shook his head. “No. I’m not hungry.”

Nick let out a breath. “Alright,” he said, and he and Brandon went out the door, leaving Matt and Kenny alone. The silence in the room was deafening. But it didn’t last long.

“Have you talked to Callie at all?” Kenny asked. “About the match,” he quickly clarified.

Matt shook his head again. “No. I haven’t talked to her period. Not since Monday.”

There was another beat of uncomfortable silence. Again, Kenny was the one to break it. “Look, about yesterday. I wasn’t trying to—”

“Don’t,” Matt abruptly cut him off. He knew exactly what he was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear it. “I’m glad you told me. Let’s just leave it at that.”

He raised his palms in surrender. “Fine,” he said, and Matt hoped that really was the end of it.

But then Kenny added, “But I think you owe Alex an apology.”

“What?” Matt cut his eyes at him in disbelief. “For what?”

“Oh, come on, you know exactly for what. For the whole reason the mixed tag match is happening in the first place.”

That confused him even more. “The mixed tag match is happening because Trent can’t mind his fucking business.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “Oh, okay,” he sarcastically returned.

“What?”

“You called Alex a slut, Matt!” Kenny burst. “That’s what led to the mixed tag match! You accused her of putting Hangman up to sabotaging your title shot and you called her a slut for being involved with both me and Cash. But where was Callie yesterday? In Orlando with Cash, even though she’s apparently with you. So yeah, I think you owe Alex an apology.”

Matt sat back, physically stung by Kenny’s words. They hurt because there was more than just a grain of truth in them. But, at the moment, he was too stubborn to hear it. “Oh, so Callie’s the slut now? Is that what you’re saying?”

Kenny expelled an exasperated breath. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“It sure fucking sounds like it is.”

“I’m saying she’s making you look like a fucking idiot.”

They were thrown into silence again, their arguing replaced with quiet, palpable hostility as they sat opposed on either end of the room. Matt’s eyes turned dark. He didn’t need this. Not now. Not from his best friend.

“Fuck you, Kenny,” he spat. He stood and stalked toward the door, and as he gripped the handle he turned back, a cutting remark on the tip of his tongue. But in a moment of clarity, he decided it was better left unsaid. The shoe was on the other foot now. So he just went out the door, suddenly glad that he did have a match. He needed to hit something.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Are you guys going out for Jim’s match?”

Alex glanced across the locker room at Trent, looking for him to answer Chuck’s question. He met her gaze before responding.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We’ll probably stay back here and focus on our match.”

Chuck nodded. “Yeah. I wish it wasn’t mixed tag rules. I’d like to see Alex hand Matt his ass.”

“Oh, she doesn’t even need to touch him to do that,” Trent returned. “Didn’t he train Callie?”

Alex knew he was asking her, but she didn’t look up as she rummaged through her suitcase. “I think so.”

Trent smirked. “So then kicking Callie’s ass will be kicking Matt’s by proxy,” he said. Chuck blinked at him.

“Wow, you actually used that correctly.”

He sucked his teeth. “Fuck off. I know big words.”

“‘Proxy’ is a five-letter word.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Spell it.”

“Are you serious?”

Alex smirked to herself and let them continue to argue while she grabbed the top to her gear and a pair of joggers and went into the bathroom to change. Truth be told, she didn’t want to talk or even think about the match against Callie and Matt. It was a complete one-eighty from a week ago—she’d been aching to kick Matt’s ass then. But now, she just wished the entire situation would go away.

She finished changing and returned to the main area of the locker room. Chuck was still challenging Trent to spell different words. “I’m going to hair and makeup,” she announced over them.

“What gear are you wearing?” Trent asked.

She turned to face him as she pulled on her zip-up hoodie. Her top was a sparkly dark silver-purple with black trim. “This gear. Why?”

“Because we should try to match. I knew I should have brought the gear from Fyter Fest…” he trailed off as he dug through his things and pulled out his dark gray tights with the blue and pink designs. “Do these work?”

Alex gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, those work. I’ll ask Stella to do a blue and pink eye look,” she said, and she went out the door.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get ten steps before she ran into Adam.

He slowed to a stop when he saw her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she returned, and her brow puckered with concern as she looked him over. He had his ubiquitous glass of whiskey in hand, but he at least looked better than he had when she’d seen him at the hotel on Sunday. “Going somewhere?”

He looked confused at that. “No… why?”

She awkwardly fidgeted with the sleeve of her hoodie. “Well, you just look dressed for TV and I didn’t see you on the card tonight. I wasn’t even sure you were here.”

Adam hadn’t said a single word to her since she’d texted him to ask if he was going to the Labor Day party. But she hadn’t said a single word to him since then, either. Because the more she’d thought about it, the more she’d realized how right Kenny was. It was exhausting putting so much effort into a friendship where she wasn’t getting the same effort in return.

“Oh,” Adam regretfully said as he looked down at his pale blue button-up. “Yeah, I just had an interview with Schiavone.”

“Oh,” Alex repeated. “About—”

“Where I go from here,” he interjected. “I said I was still open to tagging with Kenny if he was.”

He laughed wryly to himself and took a sip of his drink. Alex frowned and looked away. Kenny was not open to tagging with him again; she knew that for a fact. But judging by the look on Adam’s face, deep down he knew that, too.

“Where are you headed?”

She looked back up at him. “Oh, hair and makeup. For the match tonight.”

Realization dawned in his eyes. And then, sadness and hurt. “Oh, right. You have the mixed tag against Matt and Callie.”

“Yeah.” Alex fidgeted and glanced away again. She couldn’t bear the look on his face. But then she wondered: did he know that Callie had been in Orlando with Cash yesterday? Should she tell him?

No, she quickly decided. It’s not your place or responsibility.

“Well, I should get over there,” she said, gesturing in the direction of hair and makeup.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded as she started walking. “Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks,” she said, and she turned and hurried off as quickly as she could.

* * * * * * * * * *

In the years since she’d started wrestling, Callie had never felt as much of an outcast as she did now. As soon as she’d arrived at the arena with Cash, she’d realized she had nowhere to go. The EVP room was out of the question, and she didn’t want to go back to sharing a dressing room with Britt—she was the one who’d blabbed her business all over Daily’s Place to begin with. Cash had offered for her to share with him and Dax, but she’d turned him down; she could only imagine the rumors that would start if people noticed her sharing a locker room with FTR. No, she needed to keep a low-profile, and so she’d found an empty room away from everyone else. Now, she sat in one of the lounges watching the show as she awaited her match, alone.

Orange Cassidy had just beaten Angelico with the Orange Punch. Callie had expected Best Friends and Alex to be at ringside for the match, but they weren’t. She looked away from the TV and down at her phone as Bryce Remsburg raised Orange’s arm in victory, but a commotion a moment later redrew her attention. Santana and Ortiz had attacked Orange from behind. The assault didn’t last long, however, as Chuck and Trent ran out and chased them off like a pair of guard dogs. Callie couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Trent angrily paced the ring, shirtless in his skinny jeans. She sincerely hoped Matt would get a quick pin on him in their match.

Chuck grabbed a mike to speak, but Callie’s phone buzzed in her hands and she looked down at the screen. It was a text from Cash.

Are you free? I need a favor.

Her pulse picked up a bit as she unlocked her phone to respond. Yeah… what’s up? she typed back and hit “send.” She watched as the typing bubble appeared and, soon after, his answer.

Don’t laugh. I can’t decide on a shirt.

Despite his request, Callie couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. But she couldn’t blame him too much; FTR was having an in-ring celebration in honor of their championship victory at All Out that night. He probably wanted to look his best.

Usual room? she asked as she stood to leave.

Usual room, he replied, and she headed off in the direction of FTR’s dressing room.

The door was slightly open when she arrived, and she knocked to announce herself before she let herself in. Cash stood alone in the middle of the room in a pair of dark navy slacks and socks, shirtless. Callie’s mouth went suddenly dry as he looked over at her.

“Okay, I can’t decide between these two.” He motioned to a pair of dress shirts hung up in the cubby behind him—one white with tiny blue dots, the other with a subtle blue and white checkered pattern. She walked over and pulled them both out of the cubby so that she could hold them up next to him. He smirked at her as she studied them. She did her best to ignore it.

“This one,” she decided, handing him the checkered shirt. But she frowned as she returned the white shirt to its place. “Are those the only dress shoes you have?” she asked, nodding at the pair of black square-toed loafers on the floor.

“Yeah…” Cash slowly returned. “Why? Is something wrong with them?”

It took every fiber of Callie’s being not to blurt out with, “Yes, they’re hideous.” Instead, she said, “Just brown would look better with navy, is all.”

“Oh,” he realized. “I guess I should have asked your advice before we left this morning.”

She smirked. “Is that all you needed?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he answered as he pulled on the shirt. Callie watched as he fastened the buttons, and she realized she was staring. She fidgeted and looked awkwardly away, but Cash didn’t seem to notice. “Are you ready for your match?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Physically, yes. Mentally… not at all.”

He snorted. “Make Matt do all the work. He’s the one who dragged you into this.”

Callie anxiously bit her lip. He wasn’t wrong; of the four of them in the mixed tag, she was the only one who hadn’t been present when the match was made. But even so, she couldn’t do that to Matt. “No, I don’t want to do that. And besides, Matt didn’t ask for the match, either—Trent did. All because he didn’t like Matt mouthing off about Alex.”

Cash rolled his eyes as he tucked his shirt into his pants. “That doesn’t surprise me. I think he has a thing for her.”

She scoffed. “You think he does? Please, it’s obvious he does,” she said. And then she muttered, “It seems like everyone has a thing for her.”

“Not me,” Cash abruptly announced. “I’ve moved on.”

Callie looked up at him, but he turned away to grab his suit jacket. She wondered if he had more to say—it felt like he had more to say—but before she could ask the door to the locker room opened and Dax walked in. He halted when he saw her.

“Oh, hey, Callie. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

He glanced between her and Cash. They both quickly shook their heads. “No, I just asked her to come help me pick out a shirt,” Cash said.

“Ah,” Dax nodded. Callie didn’t miss the little smirk on his face. It was her cue to go.

“Well, I’ll go so you can get dressed,” she said to Dax as she started to leave.

“Good luck if I don’t see you before your match,” Cash returned, and she gave him a tight smile and went out the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex’s hands were clammy as she stood at Gorilla with Trent. The mixed tag match was next. Unfortunately, it was right after FTR’s joke of a tag team championship celebration. She did her best to tune out Dax’s egotistical blathering as she rolled her neck and loosened up. She needed to focus. A match was a match, and even though she wasn’t looking forward to this one, she still wanted to do her best.

“You ready for this?” Trent asked.

She looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Are you?” she meaningfully returned. She still couldn’t believe that he and Chuck had challenged Santana and Ortiz to a parking lot brawl next week. On top of worrying that they’d murder each other, she was concerned that Trent’s focus was no longer on their match.

“Yes,” he assured her. “Don’t worry about me.”

Alex smirked. “Man, have I got bad news for you next week.”

He gave her a crooked smile; but then his eye was drawn to a spot just past her shoulder. She turned to look. Matt and Callie had arrived.

Trent scoffed. “They don’t match at all. Losers.”

Normally, Alex would have laughed. But it was obvious even in the dim lighting of Gorilla that Matt and Callie’s gear wasn’t the only thing off about them. Callie in particular seemed unsure of herself. Her eyes met Alex’s. She turned away without a second glance.

Back in the ring, the “celebration” came to a screeching halt when Jurassic Express dumped a cooler full of beer cans over Cash, Dax, and Tully’s heads. Thankfully, they returned backstage a different way than through the entrance tunnels.

Alex drew in a breath and shook out her arms and legs as the show went to commercial. But it seemed like no time had passed at all when she heard the distinctive beat of the Best Friends theme song sound throughout the arena.

“Let’s do this,” Trent said as he held out his fist to her. She bumped it confidently with her own, and they walked into the tunnel together.

* * * * * * * * * *

A boulder settled in the pit of Callie’s stomach as she watched Alex and Trent disappear down the entrance tunnel. She didn’t know why she’d expected Alex to be just as nervous as her. On the contrary, she’d looked laser-focused; her and Trent both had. It was glaringly obvious that they were ten times more prepared for this match than she and Matt were. The two of them hadn’t even walked to Gorilla together—they’d just happened to get there at the same time.

“I’ll start the match,” Matt said. “I’ll try to keep your ring time to a minimum.”

Callie looked at him in hurt and confusion. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s obvious you don’t want to do this,” he breathed. “So I’ll just make quick work of Trent and get it over with, alright?”

“SUPERKICK PARTAYYYYYY!”

The opening of the Young Bucks theme interrupted before Callie could say anything. Matt didn’t so much as glance at her before he walked into the tunnel, and she had no choice but to follow him out.

The crowd offered a mixture of boos and cheers as they walked out onto the stage, but Callie couldn’t hear them over the music. She stood awkwardly next to Matt and waited for him to do his signature pose, but he never did. He just glared into the ring at Trent, who glared right back.

BOOM!

The cannons on the side of the stage shot fake $100 bills high into the air, making Callie flinch. She looked back into the ring as the paper money floated down around them. Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to say something to Trent.

She stood stiffly at the top of the stage until Matt moved, and they made their way down the entrance ramp. Trent started jaw-jacking, but Callie tuned him out as she took her place on the ring apron. Matt, however, took the bait; Aubrey had to push him back as they yelled at each other. Eventually, Trent scoffed and turned back to Alex.

“You wanna start?” Callie heard him ask.

But Alex didn’t even get the chance to open her mouth before Matt yelled, “No, we’re starting the match!”

Alex and Trent exchanged a look, but she stepped through the ropes and out onto the apron next to the turnbuckle. Matt removed his leather jacket and tossed it to the floor. Aubrey called for the bell, and the match started.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex didn’t know if Matt was ignoring Callie, if Trent just wanted to beat the shit out of Matt, or if it was some combination of both. But whatever the case, the match had been going on for nearly ten minutes now, and neither of them had even tried to tag in her or Callie. It was aggravating, but at least it worked in her team’s favor. The match had effectively become a singles contest, and Trent had far more experience wrestling on his own than Matt did. That, and his cardio was better. If it continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before they won.

Matt tried to whip Trent toward the ropes, but he reversed it and pulled him into a side headlock. He pivoted toward a corner and charged, running up the turnbuckle to hit a float-over DDT. He went for the pin—but Matt kicked out at two. Afterward, both men remained still on the mat, taking what chance they could to catch their breath. Alex eagerly stepped up onto the bottom rope and banged on the turnbuckle. She wanted in.

“Trent! Tag me in!”

She leaned into the ring, reaching as far as she could, and he looked over at her. But just as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, Matt hit him with a clubbing blow to the back. He grabbed him by the hair and jerked him into a chinlock. It wasn’t a move that Matt typically did. Alex knew it meant he was getting tired.

The crowd started clapping in rhythm for Trent, and Alex stomped her boot on the ring apron in time. Trent wrenched at Matt’s fingers, prying them away from his face. In response, Matt pulled him to his feet and swiftly maneuvered to hit a float-over DDT of his own. Alex bit down on her jaw as she watched him hook his leg. Trent got his shoulder up at two.

Alex stepped back up onto the ropes. She was tired of this. “Why don’t you tag in your partner, huh, Matt?” she taunted. “Worried she can’t beat me?”

Matt glared daggers at her as he climbed to his feet. “I don’t want to subject everyone to having to watch you wrestle,” he spat.

But Alex’s wit was just as quick. “Oh really? You look awfully lost without your little brother out here doing all the work.”

That needled him. She knew it would. But what she didn’t expect was his response.

“Please, you wouldn’t even have a contract if you weren’t on your knees for Kenny every night.”

For a second, Alex was stunned into silence. But then a white-hot rage bubbled up inside her. She ducked through the ropes and charged toward him.

“What’d you say to me?”

“You heard me.”

“Why don’t you say it again.”

“Get out of the ring, Alex!” Aubrey ordered.

“Matt!”

At Callie’s warning cry, Matt instinctively whirled around and dodged—and what happened next seemed to unfold in slow motion.

Trent flew toward Alex like a bullet. He crashed into her and knocked the wind from her lungs, sending her violently back into the turnbuckle. She felt a pop in her right shoulder, and then nothing but searing hot pain.

* * * * * * * * * *

When Trent realized what he’d done, he felt sick.

He hadn’t known Alex was in the ring. That DDT had left him dazed, and he’d been oblivious to his surroundings until he’d spotted Matt with his back turned to him. So he went for a spear. But Matt dodged at the last second. Trent had absolutely no chance to stop himself or correct course, and he rammed full speed into Alex.

He watched in stunned horror as she writhed against the turnbuckle. She clenched her right arm, her face screwed up in pain. She was hurt. He’d hurt her.

“Alex—”

Smack!

He was abruptly cut off by a superkick to the jaw. He crumpled to the mat. Matt dragged him by the ankle further into the ring and pinned him. The count sounded distant and faint.

One.

Two.

Three.

The bell rung. Trent felt Matt throw down his leg as the music started, ringing in his ears. He stared up into the lights, unblinking, while Matt’s arm was raised in victory. He’d hurt her. He’d hurt her and then lost the match.

“Alex,” he said again as he rolled over onto his hands and knees. She was still huddled against the turnbuckle, clutching her arm as Aubrey checked on her. He felt sick all over again.

“Alex.” He crawled over to her and put a hand on her knee. She looked up at him. Unshed tears shined in her eyes. It broke him. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It was an accident—”

“Alex!”

Suddenly, Kenny was in the ring. He practically pushed Trent out of the way as he knelt in front of Alex. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“I think it’s dislocated,” she winced.

Trent looked at her right shoulder. It hung visibly lower than her left. His heart dropped into his stomach.

“Let’s get you to Doc,” he said as he tried to move toward her again.

But Kenny blocked him. “I got it,” he bit. Trent didn’t have it in him to argue.

He watched as Kenny helped her to her feet and ushered her to the ropes; he held them open for her so she could gingerly duck through. As she stepped to the other side, Alex looked back. For a brief second their eyes met. But then Kenny put his arm around her, and she turned away and disappeared into the back.

* * * * * * * * * *

Callie couldn’t stay out there a second longer. She was horrified by what she’d witnessed. The way Matt had taken advantage of Trent’s awful mistake, how he hadn’t hesitated to kick him in the jaw—there’d been a viciousness in his eyes that she’d never seen before. And she didn’t want any part of it.

She stormed off before Aubrey could even raise his arm in victory, marching quickly up the ramp. Kenny nearly bowled her over on his way down to the ring, and she turned to watch as he ran to Alex’s aid. But then she saw Matt coming after her, and she turned back around and hurried through the entrance tunnel.

“Callie!”

She didn’t stop or even glance his way. She just kept walking.

“Callie! What the fuck?”

That got her stop and face him. “Me what the fuck? You what the fuck, Matt? What the fuck was that out there?”

If looks could kill, she was certain she would have been dead on the spot. “Are you serious?” he spat. “I won the match and you just ran off!”

Her eyes darkened. “Well, I didn’t want to be a part of it anyway, right?”

Matt bit down on his jaw. There was nothing he could say to that. She gave him one last glare and turned her back on him again, praying that was the end of it. She just wanted to leave. Alone.

“I want your shit out of my house by the weekend.”

Callie halted. His words were like a knife in the back. They hurt. And suddenly, she wanted him to hurt, too.

She turned around again, her head held high. “That’s fine, because I don’t want to move back to California anymore.”

She held his gaze in defiance. But Matt just laughed, cruel and low. “Let me guess, Orlando with Cash?”

She faltered. He knew about yesterday. But she steeled herself again. “No. I want to move to Orlando for me.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

“That’s the truth!”

“Was all this just a rebound to you?”

If his previous words had been a knife to the back, those were a blow to the gut. Tears sprung to the back of Callie’s eyes. Her voice came out strained. Apologetic. “No. I care about you, Matt. So much that it scares me.”

He laughed again and looked away. “Coulda fooled me.”

She took a step toward him. “Matt—”

“Have fun in Orlando,” he cut her off, and that time it was him who stormed off and left her behind. Alone.

#aew fanfiction #kenny omega fanfiction #cash wheeler fanfiction #matt jackson fanfiction #trent beretta fanfiction #the elite fanfiction #young bucks fanfiction #best friends fanfiction #adam page fanfiction #hangman page fanfiction #hangman adam page fanfiction #ftr fanfiction

56 notes · View notes