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thesapphictimelady · 1 month

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Ad Astra Per Aspera Chapter 5

Word count: 1.8K

TW: Implied domestic and verbal abuse

A/N: This is not proofread at all and I am slightly drunk so please excuse any typos and formatting errors! I hope you all love it and please comment! Tell me what you like and dislike! I have no idea what’s gonna happen next so I’m also open to ideas! The next thing I write will not be a part of this series but I hope you all will love it just as much!

“Is that-”

“Jenny.” Cassie whispered, “Yeah,”

“How did she-”

“I don’t know,” Cassie said, “I didn’t tell her where I moved to. I don’t know how she found me.”

Melissa gently embraced the shaking girl, “It’s okay. Listen, I’m gonna go to your apartment and grab you some clothes. And then…and then you can stay at my place until we sort this out.”

“Ms. Schemmenti I couldn’t impose-”

“You aren’t. It’s gonna be okay, Cassiopeia. We’ll sort this out.”

“I-I should call the cops-”

“No,” Melissa cut in, “Nothing good ever came from getting them involved. I’ll take care of it. I’m gonna have Barb take you to my house while I get your stuff,”

“No!” Cassie said, “I-I want to come with you.”

“Hon, are you sure? We don’t know if she’s still there or not.”

“Please?”

Melissa sighed, wiping a stray tear from the young woman’s cheek, “Okay. Okay, you can come. Let me go make our excuses with Ava.”

“Won’t we get in trouble for leaving early?”

“It’s a teacher workday. Things are more relaxed. Besides, Ava doesn’t care if we’re here or not. Get your stuff together and make a list of what you want to grab so we can be in and out quickly.”

Cassie nodded and the older woman left the room, her heeled boots clicking on the floor. She looked down at her phone and shuddered, quickly closing the photo and powering her phone off. Cassie stood and grabbed a piece of construction paper and a colored pencil from one of the shelves to start making a list of things to grab.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Barbara said, leaning on the doorframe, “Is everything okay? Melissa looked a bit ruffled when she passed my classroom.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine!” Cassie said quickly, “She just went to talk to Ava! She’ll be back.”

Barbara stepped into the room and lowered her voice, “Are you sure you’re okay? Your hands are shaking.”

“I-” Cassie paused and bit her lip, “It’s…it’s complicated. But Ms. Schemmenti is very kind and she’s helping me out.”

“Well, I’m glad Melissa is there for you. She seems to have developed a soft spot for you! If you ever need anything else, Gerald and I are happy to help.”

“I couldn’t possibly ask-”

“You aren’t asking, I’m offering. Really, Cassiopeia, you deserve love and kindness,” Barbara stepped forward and wrapped the younger woman into a hug.

Cassie froze and then the floodgates opened and she was sobbing into Barb’s shoulder.

“I’m just so scared, Mrs. Howard!” she sobbed.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’ll be okay! Melissa and I are going to take care of you!”

“Hey kid, you got your list…” Melissa trailed off as she entered the room and saw Cassiopeia wrapped in Barb’s arms, “What happened?”

“I hugged her and she just broke down. She says she’s scared.”

Melissa crossed the room quickly, picking up Cassie’s phone to make sure there wasn’t anything from Jenny. Once she was satisfied, she started gathering their things into her arms.

“Cassiopeia and I are leaving early. Something came up.”

“Melissa, is there something you want to tell me?” Barbara said, eyeing her over the top of Cassie’s head.

“I think it’s better you didn’t know,” Melissa said, gently coaxing Cassie out of Barbara’s embrace, “I don’t think you’d approve.”

“Melissa Schemmenti…” Barb started.

“Drop it Barb. Listen, I’ll call you tonight, okay? You can be mad at me all ya want but just trust me.”

Cassie sniffled and wiped her eyes, “Bye, Mrs. Howard.”

Barbara’s expression softened and she smiled sadly at her, “Bye, sweetheart. I’ll see you on Monday. And my offer still stands, okay? I’m a phone call away.”

Cassiopeia nodded and let Melissa guide her out of the classroom, down the hall, and out of the building.

“Do any of these cars belong to Jenny?” Melissa asked, pulling into a parking spot.

Cassie looked around and shook her head, “I don’t recognize any of them.”

“You got your list?”

Cassie held it up and Melissa grabbed it out of her hand and unbuckled, reaching behind her seat and pulling out a baseball bat.

“Stay here, I’ll go get everything.”

“Okay first, no, I’m coming with you. And second, WHY do you have a baseball bat in your car? And…please tell me that’s rust.”

“Yeah…rust. Let’s go with that,” Melissa said, making a mental note to wash her baseball bats later, “Are you sure you want to go inside?”

“Ms. Schemmenti, I haven’t unpacked anything. Even I don’t know where half of this stuff is. It’ll be easier if I come with.”

“Fine. Okay, but give me the keys. I’m going in first.”

Cassie dug her keys out of her bag and handed them over. Together, they walked up to the front door, which stood slightly ajar.

“Guess I don’t need these,” Melissa tossed the keys to Cassie, readied her bat and pushed the door the rest of the way open with her boot.

The apartment was quiet and dark. Melissa flicked the lights on and grimaced. All the glass in the apartment had been smashed and littered around and the words “Worthless Bitch” were carved into the wall and doused in red paint. Cassie pushed in front of her and grabbed a duffel bag, dumping the contents on the floor and walking around the room, careful to avoid the glass.

Melissa lowered her bat cautiously once she was sure no one was inside and went to the kitchen to grab the groceries she had left there. Her pizza dough sat untouched but she tossed it in the trash can just to be safe.

“She wouldn’t have poisoned that,” Cassie said softly, shoving a blanket into her duffel, “It’s not her style.”

“Not mine either,” Melissa muttered, going to help Cassie, “You don’t need a blanket kid. What, you think I’m gonna make ya sleep on the floor?”

Cassie blushed, “I-I didn’t know where I’d be sleeping,”

“I have a guest room. You just need clothes and toiletries. I’ve got everything else.”

Cassie paused and looked up at the redhead, “How long…”

“As long as you need to,” Melissa said, grabbing some random clothing items from a box, “I don’t care if it’s a day or a month. You’re not living here until Jenny is taken care of.”

“Taken care of? What is this, The Sopranos?” Cassie joked.

“Until she leaves town,” Melissa said, “Or until we find you a new apartment.”

“I can’t afford anything else…”

“Then I’ll help you. I’m gonna keep ya safe, kid. I’ll always catch you, remember?”

Cassie smiled softly and zipped her duffel bag, “Thank you, Ms. Schemmenti.”

“Cassiopeia, call me Melissa,”

“Thank you, Melissa.”

“You’re welcome. Now get back in the car. I’ll lock up.”

“Hey,” Melissa said, parking the car in her driveway, “Are you doing okay? I mean, your apartment…”

“Think I’ll get my security deposit back?” Cassie joked.

“Kid…”

“I’m okay, Melissa. It’s not the first time she’s done something like that. It’s better to just let her throw her tantrum. I’m less likely to get hurt that way.”

“Cassiopeia, this…you know this isn’t okay, right?”

Cassie shrugged, fiddling with the strap of her duffel bag, “It’s the way it’s always been,”

“That doesn’t make it okay though!”

“Can we please go inside? I-It’s been a long day.”

Melissa sighed and lead the younger woman up to the house.

“Melissa, this is…wow, your house is gorgeous!”

“It’s nothing really,” Melissa said, dropping her keys into a bowl and locking the door.

Cassie laughed, “I haven’t seen a plastic covered couch in years!”

“Yeah well, sometimes people spill and it’s easier to clean!” Melissa said defensively, taking the duffel bag out of Cassie’s hands, “Let me show you the guest room. It’s…it’s a little messy right now. I’ll change the sheets before you go to bed.”

The two women climbed the stairs, Cassie smiling at the family photos lining the walls. Melissa pushed open a door and set down the duffel bag.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, walking further down the hall to open a closet and retrieve fresh sheets.

Cassie set to work stripping the bed and then helped the older woman remake it, tucking the sheets in tightly.

“My room is right down the hall,” Melissa said, pulling her hair into a ponytail, “If you need anything tonight, and i mean anything, just come wake me up.”

“I’m not going to…”

“Kid, I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. Anything.” Cassie nodded, unzipping her duffel bag to retrieve something to sleep in. It was still light out, but the two women had hardly slept the night before.

“Bathroom is right next door,” Melissa said before closing the door so Cassie could change.

Once she had changed into a tank top and shorts, she took her bag of toiletries to the bathroom and set to work removing all of the makeup she had put on that morning. All the concealer on her neck was wiped clean and she winced slightly when she touched the bruises there.

Melissa knocked on the door softly, “Hon, I just wanted to let you know I’m heading to bed. I didn’t actually sleep at all last night. The doors are all locked and if you need ANYTHING, you come and wake me up.”

Cassiopeia opened the door and Melissa winced at the sight of the bruises on her neck.

“Thank you, Melissa. It means a lot that you’re letting me stay here.”

“Of course. If you get cold, there’s more blankets in the closet at the end of the hall. G’night.”

Melissa headed into her room, closing the door behind her and Cassie headed into the guest room, flipping off the lights and climbing into the bed.

An hour later, sleep was still not coming. She didn’t want to admit it, but after finding out that Jenny had found her, she was terrified. She tossed and turned, she practiced all of her breathing exercises, but the panic attack that had been brewing all evening was closing in on her.

Biting back a sob, she threw back the blankets and curled up on the cold wood floor, trying to ground herself. She knew she was safe, she knew Jenny didn’t know where she was now, yet her brain was still in overdrive.

Another hour of silent sobs passed and she finally decided enough was enough. She crept out of her room and down the hall to Melissa’s room. Slowly, she pushed the door open and tiptoed into the room.

The redhead was snoring softly and Cassie didn’t want to wake her. Instead she climbed into bed with her and laid her head on the pillows. They smelled like vanilla and the faint menthol scent that had lingered in Melissa’s car and…

Cassie frowned, feeling under the pillow and then snorted out a laugh.

“Do you really keep a baseball bat under your pillow?”

Melissa rolled over and hummed sleepily, “What you mean you don’t?”

#abbott elementary #abbott elementary fanfiction #melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti x oc #melissa schemmenti x reader

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joonslfttiddie · 2 months

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Chapter 45: Piece of Happiness...

💜Fic Pairing: OT7 x OFC

💜AU/Genre: Reverse Harem/Polyfidelity/Ghosts/AMBW

💜Warnings: Smut/Adult Language/Adult Content

💜Rating: MA

💜Word Count: 4,175

A/N:

Compersion (noun): A feeling of joy when a loved one invests in and takes pleasure from another romantic or sexual relationship. The opposite of jealousy and typically is used in reference to nontraditional or polyamorous relationships.

Yoongi's POV

"No, I'm okay for now. Y'all go ahead. I'm almost done," I tell Tia when she asks if I'd like to come down while she prepares dinner. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely starving but I really want to get this bed done so that she and the guys can rest comfortably tonight. My guys bring up the last few boards, and I send them home for the evening after thanking them for their hard work. Once I'm done nailing the last slat board down, I start to assemble the drawers that will serve as storage in the footboard. When they are complete, I install them on the drawer slides, opening and closing them several times to make sure they have smooth movement. This sprawling bed is equivalent to two king size beds put together, taking up the entirety of one wall, only leaving room for the night stands to fit snuggly between it and the adjacent walls. Thankfully, there is more room in the bedroom, almost like a whole other bedroom is attached. This place is incredible, from the high ceilings, to the gold sconces, beautiful color palette, to the awe-inspiring floor plan.

The way that I've built this bed allows for a platform feel with no need for a box spring to support their current mattress and the new one that was delivered yesterday, being able to rest on the slats. I am a man that knows my limitations and realize that there is no way that I'll be able to get this mattress on the frame or bring the one from the garage up alone. When I'm finished cleaning up my mess and gathering my tools, I head downstairs to ask the guys for help. My foot hits the bottom stair when I overhear their cheerful conversations and joyful laughter. It's a sound that I wish could be bottled up and saved for later, I imagine that this is what heaven sounds like. I drop my things onto the floor after rounding the staircase and head into the kitchen. As if waiting for me to join them, they all greet me with such excitement and so much love.

"Yoongi, come join us," Jimin offers, reaching for my hand while Jungkook reaches for the other.

"Are you finally done? We've been waiting so long," Taehyung adds.

"Yeah, I just finished up and was actually coming down to ask for a hand or two putting the mattresses on."

"That can wait. Come. Sit," Namjoon says.

"You really should eat something. You haven't eaten all day," Tia mentions, putting me on blast.

"WHAT?!" The guys all speak in unison, clearly upset that I've not had a meal.

"No, I did. I had a few tangerines, some water, and-," I say nervously rubbing the back of my neck. I don't even get to finish my sentence before multiple hands are pulling me to sit at the table.

"Why haven't you had a proper meal," Hoseok asks with a frown. "You have to make sure you don't miss meals so that you won't get sick. Here," he says as he places a plate of spaghetti in front of me, grabs my hand, and slides a utensil into it. Even though I love this bunch, it is still awkward to have everyone's focus on me, worrying over me. Before it gets too uncomfortable, everyone goes back to what they were doing as if on cue. Some are bringing food to the table while others are bringing more dinnerware and utensils, napkins, and taking drink orders. They are all busy doing this or that, except for Hoseok, who hasn't left my side since I sat down.

Once everyone's task is done, they come to join us, sitting comfortably around the table. The sound of dishes clinking, more conversations, and laughter fill the space. This is not something I'm used to being that I live alone. Even my dog, Holly, is with my parents as I've been too busy to properly care for him, too swamped with jobs.

"Wow, everything looks delicious and this spaghetti is the best I've had," I compliment before digging in for another bite.

"I'm glad you like it! It's a simple meal but is still one of my favorites," Tia tells me.

"It really is so good. Here, try this too," Namjoon says, placing pieces of steak on my plate.

"Me, too," Taehyung says, wanting Namjoon to share with him as well and he does as Taehyung reaches over to put a piece of fried chicken on my plate next to the steak tips. "Here. You don't have any chicken."

"Sorry about all the random sides. I know they don't really match but we wanted to make sure there was enough for everyone," Tia says. "Speaking of which, who wants to do the grocery run tomorrow?"

Jungkook and Taehyung volunteer, then Jungkook asks, "You coming, Yoongi?"

Even though I understand what this relationship is and its logistics, I'm still caught off guard by the question.

"Huh?" I ask for clarification while almost choking on my drink.

"My bad, I just thought..." he trails off, looking around at the others seemingly afraid that he's made a mistake.

"We didn't get a chance to talk about the next step," Tia tells everyone. "So, we talked about our relationship, things that the rest of us have experienced, and the things that have led up to this point. I didn't get a chance, however, to get your opinion on living arrangements. Of course, we all want you to stay with us, but what is going to make you the most comfortable is what matters."

She is sitting directly in front of me, peering at me while everyone else goes back to their meals. It's like they know how to treat me, understanding that I get uncomfortable under pressure, without me having to say a word. When she offers to speak with me privately, I find my courage and decide to talk as a collective.

"Is that truly something you all want? I really don't want to intrude or be in the way."

"You wouldn't be," Namjoon says, and goes into further details regarding accommodations. "We all have a separate bedroom outside of Tia's, though we don't sleep there, preferring to cozy up together in Tia's bed."

"Our bed," Tia corrects him with a sly grin.

"My bad. Yes, our bed," he says, giving her hand a squeeze. "Our clothes and other belongings are in those bedrooms, though."

"There are, also, bathrooms upstairs that we've used if the main one is occupied. There is another in the basement as well as a couple more bedrooms," Jimin explains.

"So, the bed was built so that we could all fit but there is plenty of space around here and things for you to do if you ever need some alone time," says Jungkook.

"We are in no way trying to talk you into doing something you're not comfortable with, but I think I can speak for everyone when I say we would be thrilled to have you here," Taehyung says, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Have you decided what you want to do, Hobi?" Jimin asks Hoseok, taking some of the heat off of me.

"I have. Actually, I mentioned to Tia earlier that I would love to stay if you all would have me," he answers. "I would just need to tie up the loose ends back home which will be easy since the lease on my apartment will be up this month. I can probably get that done tomorrow."

"Nice!" Namjoon begins, followed by similar sentiments from the others.

"What are you thinking?" Hoseok asks me.

"I don't know. It's all happening so fast. I told Tia earlier, it all seems too good to be true. Do you guys never get jealous of each other? Is everyone dating each other? I have so many questions right now."

They speak more in detail and patiently answer any of my additional questions. I do, really, want to stay but I also value my time alone, being more introverted than the others. The lease on my apartment ends this month as well, so the timing would be perfect. It's just so much happening at once. Tia is so patient with me and shares more of the knowledge she has acquired regarding polyamorous relationships.

"Polyamory, of course, is being in a relationship with multiple, consenting individuals at one time. Being that there are seven of us now, we are considered a polycule. You guys are not required to do anything you don't want to, including dating or being physical with each other. The guys are used to and understand the pull that brings more love into the house. Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but they seem to experience compersion seeing me meet new people."

"Absolutely! She is so damn cute when I watch her with the other guys or meeting new people. Her joy brings me so much joy," Taehyung confirms and the others agree with various hums and nods.

"So, Tia is like an anchor, being our 'home' of sorts. She is the reason we are all here and is our primary priority," Jimin adds. "There are rules that we choose to abide by," he says while pointing to the other men, "and that is that the relationship is closed. We have no desire to find love or other romantic relationships outside of this polycule. Did I use that word right?"

When Tia nods, his eyes disappear when he smiles with pride. Taehyung winks at him as if congratulating his feat. They are so fucking adorable.

"So, these guys have decided to be my nesting partners," Tia says with air quotes, "who will live here with me. We will share our lives fully, from living arrangements to finances."

"No pressure. I get it if you need to think about it a bit more," Jungkook comforts me. "And solo poly is an option, right, Noona?"

"Of course. You can choose to live independently to come and go as you please."

The way that my true feelings burst out of my mouth is borderline scary, both because it seemed to pop involuntary and because I'm saying it aloud, "I want to!" Fuck, that was loud. I pause for a moment to compose myself. They have not given me any reason to keep this hypothetical wall up and I must admit, I've never felt this secure in a romantic relationship before. "I want to stay, too."

"Yay!" Tia practically jumps from her chair and skips around the table to me. Standing behind my chair, she drapes herself over my shoulders to take my face into her hands, freckling one side of my face with kisses before she kisses my lips. I hear Jungkook and Namjoon whoop loudly while Jimin and Taehyung clap their hands with excitement. Hoseok gently places his hand on my thigh under the table before I take it into my own hand. They sure have the ability to make a man feel wanted, and I've never been more certain of a decision in my life. I guess I'm home, sweet home.

Hoseok's POV

Meeting Yoongi was like looking into Tia's eyes for the first time; comfortable, loving, and magnetic. The grip on my heart is like a vice and the lust I have for them burns, scorching my body from within. I'm not saying that I love him more than the other guys, but it is definitely different. I could have orgasmed just from touching his hand earlier, the feelings so overwhelming and intense. I'm so glad that he's decided to stay with us. I was afraid for a moment that he was going to decline.

After dinner, I volunteer to do the dishes which are in a hot, soapy bath that Taehyung prepared. Even though Tia mentioned that he did the dishes this morning, he still offers to stay and help me while the others do their own thing.

"You really don't have to help me. Tia said that you've done the dishes today already. I just want to help out, you know? Earn my keep around here," I say jokingly but also meaning it wholeheartedly.

"No worries. I want to. Doing the dishes is therapeutic for me, plus, I get to spend some one-on-one time with you. I can't turn that down."

Not me blushing, now knowing that Taehyung has been wanting to spend time with me.

"Yes, it does seem like we haven't really been alone. I'm sure it's because I just joined you all and was in the introduction stage. Do you usually get to spend time with the other guys?"

"Yes, we all get to spend quality time together. Me and JK play video games and I watch movies in the theater with Jimin. Earlier, I was able to chill with Namjoon in the library," Taehyung shares.

Curiosity eats at me and I can't help but question him, "Do you guys ever-?"

"Ever what? Are you asking if we have sex?"

"W-well," his directness along with his deep voice and piercing stare makes me feel bashful under his gaze. "Yes. Do you guys have sex? Are you attracted to the other men?"

"No, we've not had sex but we are intimate when we're with Tia. I am, absolutely, attracted to the others and you. You are all so beautiful, how could I not be? There is no rule saying that we can't be together if we want, it just hasn't happened yet."

We finish up our chore while speaking about this and that. The conversation is comfortable like talking to an old friend. I rinse the last of the dishes that he then places into the dishwasher. We wipe down the countertops and stove, then sweep the floor as this is what 'cleaning the kitchen' consists of, Taehyung mentions Tia's statement from a previous conversation.

"She's super chill and doesn't ask for much, but I notice that her mood can change a bit if things aren't clean. I think clutter makes her feel overwhelmed and frazzled. That's another reason I don't mind cleaning; I want to do my part to keep her happy. She's been through so much and deserves to live a soft life."

I'm falling in love with the look in his eyes as he's mentioning Tia and I want him to be just as happy as she is. I consciously vow to make sure that I also do my part to keep that expression on all of their faces.

Jimin's POV

I am the type of person that observes, clocks things, but keeps it all to myself until others are ready to express themselves. So when I see Hoseok reach over to rest Yoongi's thigh, I look at Tia. She saw it too, judging by the knowing smirk on her face and that twinkle of mischief in her eye. I wonder what is going on between them and when she looks over at me, I raise a questioning brow to which she smiles fully.

When we finish our meals and clear the table of its dishes, Hoseok and Taehyung stay behind to clean the kitchen, Jungkook goes upstairs to shower, and Namjoon takes Yoongi on a tour of his new home. I am so excited that there will be more people to share my love with, but right now, I need to talk to Tia.

"Come here," I whisper to her and lead her down the stairs into the basement.

"What? Boy, what are you doing?"

"Well, there are a couple of things I'm curious about," I confess once we make it to the bottom of the stairs, while rubbing the back of my neck, suddenly nervous to bring this up. I really don't want to make things weird or disrupt the peace we have in this house. At the same time, she is the love of my life and I've decided to dedicate my life to her and the fellas. I should be able to be my true self and be honest with them all. "Fuck, I'm gonna grab a drink. Would you like something?"

"Honestly, I've been craving some red wine," she mentions while making her way to the theater area, taking a seat on one of the comfy chairs. "I don't know if I've developed an aversion to it after being poisoned, but I'm afraid to drink it. Does that make sense?"

"That makes perfect sense," I say while making my way to the bar area. "I'll pour you a glass from one of the bottles I brought from my house if you want."

"Yes, let's try that. If it's coming from you, I know I'll be fine."

"I figured you'd be reluctant to drink anything from the cellar. I hope you don't mind, but I threw all of the wine bottles and liquor bottles that looked tampered with away. Also any bottles that looked like they could be easily contaminated. I did bring all of the bottles I've been saving from home and I plan on replacing the ones I tossed."

"I don't mind at all. I'm touched to know that you thought about me and wanted to make sure I felt safe. You are so stinking sweet and I love you so much."

I round the corner with two glasses and the bottle of wine, nearly prancing from the affection she's expressed for me.

"Awww, babe. I love you, too!" It's not the first time I've heard it, but it makes me giddy just the same. I lean over to kiss her glossy lips before I take my seat next to her and open the bottle. "Here you go," I say and hand her the stemless glass. My heart warms when I watch her take a sniff of the liquid and close her eyes before bringing it to her plump lips. Watching her savor the drink as it washes over her tongue is damn near orgasmic and I'm trying not to drool at the sight.

"Oh my God, Jimin. This is so good and it's been so long, I could cry," she says jokingly but there is some truth behind her eyes.

"I'm glad you like it. I know how you love a good red wine so I can imagine it being tough being afraid to drink it. I'm glad I could bring you a little piece of happiness."

"A little piece? Just you being here fills my heart with so much joy," she says and leans over for another kiss.

Fuck! I want her so bad right now. Her lips, her skin is so fucking soft! Oh shit, I hope she doesn't notice.

I swear that she could just breathe in my direction and my dick would stand to salute her. I really hope she doesn't realize there's a bulge in my pants from just a little kiss. I've gotta stay focused as there are things I want to talk to her about. Taking a swig from my own glass, I think of the best way to approach the topic.

"I wanted to talk to you about last night. When we were watching that shit movie Jungkook picked, I noticed that you were a bit out of it. Your expression looked troubled, pissed even, and for some reason I feel like you're hiding something from us, like there is something you're purposely keeping from us."

"I can't sit here and say that's not true, Jiminie. There are things that I've seen in visions that I'm trying to prevent from happening. Please trust me on this and know that I will tell you all eventually, just not right now. I promise."

"I trust you baby, with all my heart. I just don't want you to struggle or suffer alone. That's what we're here for; to love you, care for you, and lessen your stress the best we can. If that means something as small as me sitting here so that you can vent, I'll do that."

"Jimin, baby, I really do appreciate you being concerned but just know that everything will be okay. I've seen things, heartbreaking things, and the only way I can stop those things from happening is to remain silent about this; at least for now. I hope you understand, in no way am I trying to be secretive," she rambles, trying to explain herself.

"Babe. Babe...shhh. I get it. You don't have to explain yourself. If this is the process you have to take, then do that. I am not questioning your honesty, I'm just worried about you," I say, placing my glass next to my feet before turning my whole body to face her, cupping my hand around hers which are still wrapped around her glass. "You don't have to share anything that you're not comfortable with, whether it pertains to your visions, your knowledge, or anything else. And with that being said," I pause a moment, looking down at our hands. "You saw it, too, earlier."

"Why, whatever do you mean?"

I look back into her eyes, amused at her trying to skate around my statement.

"You know exactly what I mean. So, is that a thing or...?"

"Hey, it's not my business to tell but I will say that I've seen that they both will be very happy here with us."

"So, you knew Yoongi would decide to stay?"

She just smiles, remaining tight-lipped, before saying, "I would hate to spoil the ending for you", then winks before kissing me one last time. I don't consider myself nosy or a gossip, so the information, or lack thereof, that she's provided will have to do. As long as they are happy, I'm fine with anything and honestly I'm just taken aback being that we've not experienced another couple within our relationship. If I'm being truly honest with myself, I've had similar thoughts. I know I could have just talked to her about it but all of this still feels weird to me. I wonder if she's seen things about me. About my desires.

Tia's POV

Yes. I saw it, but way before Jimin did. When I looked into Yoongi's eyes, I saw that he will experience a beautiful love with Hoseok. While the love we share is strong and the love they have for the others is undeniable, their love will be something special. I am over the moon and so excited to be able to experience it with them. I think by answering Jimin the way I did, it will provide privacy for Hoseok and Yoongi while also answering the questions that rest unasked beneath his eyes. I have not seen what lies ahead for him, but I can feel his hunger as well as his uncertainty. I want to maintain the trust amongst us all, allowing us to feel secure and safe to be our authentic selves. And I will do the same for Mr. Sassy Pants if he decides to date within our relationship.

Jimin has my heart and I don't think he realizes how big of a gesture and how much he touched my heart by cleaning out the wine cellar. While it may have been a small act in his mind, for me it means so much more. As a mental health professional, I can definitely see signs of PTSD within myself from my experience with those brothers, but knowing that my men care so much for me and are attentive enough to recognize and want to combat the symptoms melts me.

I've not spoken to the guys about my past before meeting them, only focusing on our present and future, but I've not had a partner to care for me or treat me so tenderly before. And if I'm being sincere, it is taking some getting used to.

I can understand what Yoongi meant when he said that this all seems too good to be true. If I hadn't seen glimpses of our future, I would be skeptical, too, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I guess my ancestors know me better than I know myself and knew that I would need to see at least a peek of the intimacy and love we will experience for each other. Even when I have my moments of doubt or possible self-sabotaging actions, a comfort comes over me that allows me to lean into the love the guys are providing instead of pushing them away out of fear of getting hurt. Every time they kiss me,all of my doubts and worries disappear, being replaced with excitement and anticipation for our many days to come.

A/N:

Thank you so much to @downbad4yoongi for beta reading this chapter!

#joonslfttiddie #bangtanwhq #ambw #bts fanfction #bts fanfic #bts smut #reincarnated lovers #reverse harem #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoesok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #black protagonist

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dre6ming · 2 years

Text

The delicate beginning rush

Chapter VI ~ my darling

Masterlist

Chapter V ~ torn

Instagram photo dump masterlist

To be added to the tag list click here

Pairing: Austin Butler x fem singer/actress reader

Warning: age gap, mentions of poor mental health, depression, anxiety, mentions of abuse, talks of toxic relationships, divorce, fluff, angst, cursing. That’s all I hope :))

Plot: after a horrible article makes the headlines you find yourself back in a place where you judge your every move. Your crush on Austin only seems to grow as does your liking towards Joshua.

Word count: ~6500

Disclaimer: everything I write is fake. Except for the songs I mention.

I see it as soon as I wake up. The bad habit of waking up and checking my phone, giving my team no time to hide this from me. I stare at the screen of my phone with blurry eyes, the big red letters screaming at me.

"19 and taking hearts left and right"

The title reads and I could lie and say it's unexpected for a piece like this to be written, but it's not. I knew, I always did, but I guess I never anticipated how sharp and evil their words would be. Bringing up my parents divorce, saying dating is some coping mechanism, because they left me? Pulling up those pictures of me, balling my eyes out on the street. That day being one of the worst days of my life and they had the audacity to photograph it and now use it to justify my serial dating behavior? I know this is the price I pay for the job I chose, but sometimes the price feels higher than the reward.

With shaky hands I wipe my face, or try to, then turning my phone off I get up to go in the shower. The warm water engulfs me, my tears mixing with it. Each sob that shakes my body, makes my muscles contract painfully and I struggle to wash myself, as I feel like my legs might give out at any minute. I let out a scream so loud and sharp I scare myself and fall on the shower floor, clutching my head in my hands.

I need to get out, I need to breathe, I can't breathe. I'm stuck. I need out. I need...

Gathering up my strength, I get up, turning off the shower and ignoring the pain in my knees, which are sure to have bruises on them later. Using a warm towel to dry myself and then hurriedly putting on some clothes. Comfort being my goal I choose in oversized dark blue sweat suit. Staring at the clock, it's only 7:45 am, I woke up way too early, because of all the turmoil I faced in my sleep, caught between dreaming of Austin or Joshua. I'm supposed to be going to a fitting today, for the Oscars, also Jack expects me in the studio, but I can't. I don't want to see or talk to anyone right now. So I don't. My phone is turned off, it's too early for Matt to be here, my parents don't live here and don't care, it's easy for me to avoid people, so that's what I do.

Taking my bag, I make my way out of the apartment, after feeding Simba and William, no need for them to suffer just cause I do. Putting on sunglasses and hiding my hair as best as I can in a beanie, I walk out of the building, the cold air of the early morning hitting my cheeks. Behind my glasses my salty tears are still flowing. New York is busy as ever and I'm happy for it. The crowd occupied with whatever they have going on, so no one pays any attention to me, it's comforting, but I can't hope for it to last. I like to think about myself as one of those celebes who knows exactly how to work their private life, while keeping people entertained, I don't push fans away and I usually don't mind paparazzi, but then again, I wasn't an Oscar nominee before, nor was I lunching with famous men. I'm growing with my career and I arouse more excitement now I guess.

I'm walking like a crazy person, almost running, my feet carry me unconsciously down the street. Looking down at the watch on my wrist I see it's now 8:15am if I keep at this pace I'll be at the Chanel studio in about an hour, sure I'll be all sweaty and gross, but I don't care, at least I'm showing up. Showing up is the best I can do now. I try not to think about how everyone must be freaking out right now, calling my phone. By now Matt probably got to the apartment and is frantically searching for me, scared something bad might have happened.

I sigh annoyed that I didn't think to take time and text him that I'll go to the fitting by myself. I hate worrying people, but then again that's not healthy, because I often think if the worse were to come and that dark part of my brain took over, then I'd fail all of them, but I should be thinking about failing myself. It's my life and it has very little meaning to me, all I care is to be here for the people that I know care and my therapist has been struggling to drill into my brain that I should stop thinking of others and how my life affects them, but rather about myself and how I affect myself. Easier said than done. Guess I'll have to squeeze a session in today or tomorrow morning, because I know I'm not ok and I would like to know why. Because I can't accept the fact that, that article has me twisted like this, it has to be something more as well. It's not fair for my brain to fail me like this.

Lost in the spiral of my mind, I don't even acknowledge I got to my destination, until I'm looking up at the tall glass building. When I walk in I see Levis, coming out of the elevator, talking on the phone, worried, but when his eyes meet mine he visibly relaxes, murmuring some words into the phone and ending the call. "(Y/n), what the hell? Matt was frenetic, what happened?" I roll my eyes at him and go past him, to get inside the elevator, but he grabs my arm and keeps me in place. "Sweet pea, tell me? You know you're like my daughter, what's wrong?" I only shake my head, not really willing to talk about what's got me so twisted. With a defeated sigh, he understands and let's me go. I'm silent for the elevator ride and for most part of the fitting, only making the effort to talk when really necessary.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the tall mirrors and I have to force myself not to gasp. I look so tired. If Timmy or Roxanne would see me right now they would freak out and maybe they should. Sighing I turn around and show the stylist where I want modifications to be made. The whole process goes by in a haze, I'm not really here, my body is, but my mind?.... Well definitely somewhere else.

All that keeps going through my mind is : Are they right? Am I playing? But then again I know the truth, I know Austin is just a friend and so is Joshua. Sure I wrote Austin a whole song about wishing on dandelions for his love, but he's still just a friend. Ugh god I sound crazy, maybe I am. "So what do you think?" One of the stylists asks me, but I'm unable to actually formulate an opinion, so I smile and nod. I like it, do I think it's amazing? Not really. Does it age me a decade? Yes. But I do look beautiful and professional in the dark blue plaid pants, that are so wide legged they look like a skirt and the halter top white shirt, completes the look nicely. "Yeah, you can't go wrong with a classic!" I mutter and they go on to take the measurements needed for further alterations.

Happy to be out of playing dress up, I sink into the seat of the car, burying myself in the huge sweater I have on. Matt doesn't look at me, he just greets me politely as always. I know I scared him, disappearing like that on him. I don't think anyone on the outside could really understand how much the people working around me are like family to me, so them worrying for me is beyond a professional care.

I'm feeling a bit better now, but definitely not ready to go and finish 'Dandelions', Austin's song can wait. Instead I think I'll try to bring him a song I started a while ago.

I greet Jack with a tight hug and go to sit down at the piano. "So I've been thinking, about a lot lately, all these fittings and photo shoots, they have me hyper fixing on things." Jack listens as I play the piano, "Ok, so are we talking-" "Body image" he nods, closing his eyes to listen to the soft melody I'm playing. "She just want to be, beautiful" I sing "She goes, unnoticed she knows, no limits" I sigh and keep playing struggling to keep my voice steady. "She prays to be, sculpted by the sculptor." The rhythm of the song picks up now and Jack goes over to his computer snapping his fingers to the melody, adding it over the piano. "Oh she don't see, the light that's shining. Deeper then the eyes can find it. Maybe she's blind?" I shake my head. "Maybe we have made her blind?" He suggests and I sing it that way.

"So to all the girls that's hurting, let me be your mirror, help you see a little be clearer" I write that verse down, smiling at the almost complete song, for hours now we've been throwing lines at each other. I usually write my songs alone, but this felt right to be done like this, I trust him to know exactly what I want to say. "That's beautiful, I'm thinking for the end we can have you and a choir sing and you could be saying 'No better you than the you that you are, No better life than the life we're living' , but right at the end we quiet down the music and you go with the chorus again one last time, on your own" I like that idea, putting on the headphones and going to sing into the mic.

We get most of the song done, but we have to see about that choir and we still have a lot in production to do, but I'm confident, "Scars to your beautiful" will be a song able to touch many people, not just girls, because we unfortunately live in a society where molds and labels are frequently used. I haven't always been the kindest to myself, my body, my craft, my mind. I'm my worts critic, but that's normal, my therapist says. I didn't expect this morning to go in the studio with one line that came to me in a flash and from there to build a whole song. I kind of wanted to finish "Idontwanttobeyouanymore" , but I think I'll keep that for my sessions with Finneas, it feels like a song for him, maybe I could ask Billie to feature and do vocals? I write that idea down in my journal and closing it, I discard it in my bag, occupying myself with looking out the window at the fast moving city as Matt drives me back home.

When I get to my apartment everything is the same as I left it. I hate it. I used to come back home and mom would've cooked something, or cleaned something, maybe dad had built some new furniture or he was loudly watching tv in the kitchen, or they were both on the balcony smoking. I miss them, but then I remember those were the good simple times I missed. They're divorce was long coming, just like that source for the magazine said. My parents had a toxic relationship and they used to hurt each other a lot and me as well. They were also codependent on each other, so it took a lot of pushing for my mom to finally file for divorce. My dad, a smart manipulative man, who loves me truly, but who holds no respect for my mother, had his claws deep into her and he was abusive towards her, both verbally and physically, though the latter was not as often. As you can see it's safe to assume my dad blames me for the divorce, but so does my mom. They think I'm spoiled and unrealistic, living in a fake world with an imaginary career.

I pick up my phone from where I left it on my bed and turn it on, notifications flooding my screen. I delete the unimportant ones, reply to some emails and text back a few people, leaving the best for last. I open the group chat with Timmy and Roxanne, reading over their texts, they were both going crazy over my ghosting of them. With a shaky breath I start tipping.

Me:

Sorry guys, was busy in the studio. Had an early fitting for the Oscars as well

RoxiBear🐻:

Girl you had us worried. Everything ok? I saw that garbage article.

Me:

Yeah I'm ok, I guess. I don't know.

Timmy💝:

Don't lie!

Me:

I don't know what you want to hear. None of what they said was true.

RoxiBear🐻:

I'm with Tim on this one, don't lie.

Me:

Idk what to say. Yeah I was alone w/ Austin and then w/ Joshua, but nothing happened. I don't think

Timmy💝:

You don't think?

RoxiBear🐻:

What does that mean?

Sighing I decide this is too much to be carried over text, so I FaceTime them. They both answer in an instant, Timmy seeming tired, already lying in bed and Roxanne waiting at the airport for her flight home. "So I took Austin out, to show him New York, but that was that. I'm not making moves on him" I roll my eyes at the stupid assumption. "And with Joshua, I think it was a date? He did give me this, that was true" I lift up my right hand and they gasp at the sight of the bracelet. "Definitely a date, girl and that looks so gorgeous, it's your style" Roxanne says, and Tim is quick to chime in. "Yeah I can confirm the dude likes you, he skipped flowers and went straight to the rocks." I laugh, brushing a hand through my hair. "I guess what bothered me most was them using those pictures of me and saying that I'm doing this because of the divorce, it's just. If I wanted it discussed over media I would've streamed it." They laugh a bit at that, but return to their serious demeanors. "Hon' I wish I was there to hug you!" Timmy says, sticking out his bottom lip. "I will, in a few hours, I'm taking my Uber straight to your place, so let the front desk know I'm coming." Roxanne says, before she drops her phone, making us all giggle. "Shit, gotta go, how can I be at the airport early and still get late on my flight, fuck me! Bye, love you!" She waves quickly, ending the call, leaving just me and Timmy.

His knowing eyes watch me through the screen, but I know I have to cut this short, the dark circles under both of our eyes, prove that we need more sleep. "I hate to cut this short- " he breaks to yawn and as on cue I do the same. "-but I have early call time tomorrow. I just want you to know, that I'm with you no matter who you want?" This makes the hair on the back of my neck stick up. "What?" I ask almost scared of the answer. "Sweet dumpling, yesterday when we talked you had this light in your voice, now call me crazy and tell me that I'm wrong, but I do think that hanging out with Austin did it or maybe it was the anticipation of the date with Joshua? I don't know, but sis, you sounded alive, for the first time in months. So, and I know Roxi, would agree, have your fun, turn a blind eye to all the gossip. Dating isn't bad, neither is making new friends, so whichever you decide Austin and Joshua are, I think you shouldn't overthink it." Smiling at him I dry my now damp cheeks, I don't know why I'm surprised he said these things, he's always been there and he's never judged me just like never judged him. "But I don't even know, what this is? Not Austin, not Joshua. I'm just, I don't understand. I've never-"

I can't find the right words to say, the matter is still very new and unknown to me. I think I like Austin, I mean there's definitely a lot to like, but then there are those things that should stop me, like the age gap and the girlfriend, doesn't matter that the relationship is fake, it still exists. And then there's Joshua, didn't write a song for him and I barely spoke to him, but he's sweet and does make my heart beat faster. Ugh I don't know what this is. Am I living a teenage drama show? Am I in a love triangle? No, I'm not, cause I'm not sure either of them like me the way I like them. "(Y/n)?! Still there?" Timmy waved his hand in front of the camera and I blink to bring myself back to this reality. "Yeah, no I'm here, I'm just..." letting the words fly in the air, I watch as Timmy looks at me a little worried. "Sweet sœr, I hope you know Matt called me, I was scared. Are you having those thoughts again?"

I look away, shy about my past, but knowing full well I have no reason to be, I look back at him. He's talking about the thoughts that inspired "everything I wanted". Back before the divorce, when I was still filming for Reconstructing Amelia, I was slowly sliding in a dark place, being in constant conflict with my parents, feeling alone, useless, stupid, meaningless. My life meant little to nothing to me back then, I had gotten so wrapped up in those dark corners of my mind, I don't know that I actually ever thought of doing anything to myself, but I was definitely thinking that if something bad were to happen I'd be ok with it. I made myself think it's ok to feel like that, but it's not, no matter what, your life should mean something to you. I am now in a stable place, my life means something to me, not much more than it used to, I'm still working on it, it's a long process. "No, double B, I'm not, I'm just tired and sick of everything. I wrote a beautiful song today, but you should sleep now, you look tired."

A smile creeps up on his lips, his white shiny teeth showing up. "Please tell me if that changes, I'll be there in a second." Shaking my head, I wipe some of my tears away. "I will, sleep well, sweet dreams!" We wave at each other and then end the call. I sigh throwing my phone on the bed and splay on top of the sheets, starting at the ceiling. With my eyes closed I can once again take myself back to that night, when we danced, drunk or red Shiraz wine, swaying to the sound of 'Are you lonesome tonight'. Humming to myself, I get up and change into my purple silk pajamas. Lost in thought I almost miss the phone buzzing. Answering the call without looking who it is first. As I pick it up and look at the screen, the fact that is yet another FaceTime call is obvious and mess of blonde hair is showing up on the screen.

"Hey there!" The breath gets caught in the back of my throat as I lock eyes with Austin through the screen. "Austin..." he chuckles at my dumbfounded face, almost like him FaceTiming me out of the blue is just as normal as drinking water. "Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were? Been thinking of you and I read that pice of shit of an article. I wanted to make sure you're fine" I'm still a bit confused about this whole interaction, not really sure if it's real or if sometime between talking to Timmy and changing I fell asleep, so now this is all a dream. A beautiful dream. I also try not to read too much into him saying he's been thinking of me. "(Y/n)?" Austin's voice grows concerned as I seem to be just a frozen image on his screen, unmoving and definitely not breathing.

Shaking myself up, I push some of my hair behind my ears. "Sorry, yeah, no. I'm, well, you know , right, I'm -" I'm fucking rambling nonsense. He licks his lips, catching the bottom one with his top teeth, the flesh turning white, as it's released from the tight bite. I swallow thickly, trying to gather myself up. Taking a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm tired. The article, was-" I pause searching for the right thoughts. "A misogynistic piece of shit." He finishes for me making me giggle. "Yes, that exactly." He seems to be happy that he's managed to make me smile, a pleased look on his face. "Busy day?" He asks and I nod.

"Fitting for the Oscars, then I was in the studio until a few hours ago." Austin hums low, that sound vibrating through me like electric current. "Anything I can hear?" The question catches me a bit off guard. "I get it if I have to wait with the rest till the album is complete and out, but I like hearing you sing." And this right here is what I meant when I said, I liked the way he played his game, because he's a master at making me fold. The blush that rose into my cheeks, a scarlet shade, painting my skin. "Wait here!" He laughs as I prop my phone up on my pillows and jump off the bed, to run into the living room and get my guitar.

"Ok, I'm back" I say jumping on the mattress, placing the guitar in my lap. "I can see!" He snickers, making me blush one more time. The soft pads of my fingers, brush the rough strings of the guitar, the simple cord progression filling the room with a beautiful slow sound. "Ok so this song is not done. I'm waiting for Finneas to come to New York next week and finish it." Austin nods, turning over in bed to lay on his side, one hand tucked under his head. Sleepy blue eyes staring at me. "Don't be that way, fall apart twice a day, I just wish you could feel what you say" I sing, harmonizing the words. "Show never tell, but I know you too well, Got a mood that you wish you could sell." Sighing I keep going, preparing myself for the dark and twisted chorus. "If teardrops could be bottled, there'd be swimming pools filled by models. Told a tight dress is what makes you... a whore" closing my eyes, I push back my feelings. "If 'I love you' was a promise, would you break it if you're honest? Tell the mirror what you know she's heard before"

"I don't want to be you anymore..." this is how far I've gotten to writing this one. Opening my eyes again, I look at Austin, but I'm not able to read anything about what he's thinking. "That was so beautiful." A relieved sound escapes my lips and I lick them before talking again. "Thank you, it's not really about runway models, I meant models, like, the people you look up to." He nods "Yeah I get that's it's about the pressure you're under when you're supposed to be some example for the world" blinking stupidly at him, I feel the kick of my heart against my chest, like a punch coming from the inside.

Placing my right hand on top of my heart, I massage slow circles into the muscles there, over my silk top. I see something in Austin's eyes change and if I didn't know any better I'd say it's jealousy? But that can't be it.

Looking down at the place where my hand rests on my chest, you can clearly see the bracelet Joshua gave me, but that upsetting him makes little to no sense, he clears his throat before speaking. "Did I get it right?" He asks, a tint of knowing in his tone. With a big smile on my face, I nod. Austin seems fairly pleased with getting the meaning of my song right.

In the silence that falls between us for a few seconds, my stomach growls and I pray he didn't hear it, but he did. "Did you eat today?" He asks and I try to hide my face in my shoulder, knowing how red it must be. It's embarrassing for my body to betray me like this. "No, I didn't have time" he sits up on his bed, ruffing up his curly hair. God how soft it look, I wish I could touch it.

"Go eat, it's not healthy to not eat." Sighing I look at my lap, running a list of everything I have in my fridge. There's plenty of food, but none of it sounds appetizing and I'd have to cook it, which I hate. "I'm not that hungry." As I say that, my stomach makes a point to growl again. "I think your body betrays you here." He says giggling. The sound of his soft laugh, bringing a smile to my face. "I'd have to cook, not my forte, I'll eat tomorrow." I try to reason, but it's clear he won't have it.

Austin stands up from his bed, confusing me a bit about where this is going. "Well I'm hungry as well, so why do we cook together?" He raises a brown at me, biting his lip in waiting for an answer, but he's already up and walking to his kitchen. I laugh and also drag myself off of the bed, to make my way into the kitchen. "Ok I'll trust you." He smiles from ear to ear, walking quickly through his house.

When the both of us are in the kitchen, I place my phone down, prompting it up on the counter against a jar of cat treats. "Let's make French toast? It's not hard." I shake my head before he gets a chance to defend the choice of food. "Ok not that, let's see..." he looks through his fridge and pulls out a cartoon of eggs. "Scrambled eggs?" Austin questions. "Yeah, that we can make." I say, going over to my fridge to get everything out.

After I lay everything out in front of me, looking at Austin expecting, waiting for me to tell me what to do, even though I actually know how to make eggs. "Ok put the pan on the stove, medium heat" I do as he says, following his steps, like I've never done this before, hoping he won't see through my little lie. "After it's warmed up, add butter and crack the eggs in it." Carefully I add butter into the pan and swirl it around to coat it evenly, then I crack two eggs and discard of their shells into the bin. "Good girl" I get goosebumps all over and it's a good thing I have my back to the phone cause I know that if he were to see my face right now, he'd catch me and my little crush. "Use the spatula to mix the eggs in the pan and break them into smaller pieces."

With a shaky hand I grab the spatula and do as instructed, staring into the pan, like it'll give me an answer, like those eggs would arrange themselves into a sentence and say: you're not dreaming, he likes you too. Suddenly I feel an itch all over my skin, like I miss something and when I realize what it is, it hits me like a train. Because it's his touch. I miss him. The way he swayed with me in my living room, like we had no worry in the world. "Show me." Austin demands and in a robotic stance I take the phone and turn the camera towards the pan. "You're a natural, add salt and pepper." I put the phone down, adding the seasoning as he said.

After a few minutes our virtual cooking class ends and we are sitting each at our table, in different states, looking at each other through a phone. "So when are you coming to LA for the Verity interview?" He asks eating some food. Putting some food into my mouth as well and chewing it carefully, I skim through my schedule into my brain. "Hm so today it the 28th, Oscars are on March 12th, I should be there on the 15th" I nod double confirming the information I just gave. "You'll have to come over, have dinner, I'll make you pizza in my stone oven, I bought this house especially for it, my ex's had one and in the beginning of quarantine I got addicted to it."

"Yeah I know, you told me you once cooked 20 pizzas in a day." I interrupt and he laughs drinking some water, leaving me staring at his Adam's apple moving up and down. "Yeah I guess I did, so are you coming?" Eating some more food into, I try not to seems so desperate about seeing him, so I struggle to be casual. "Sure, I will." Austin seems happy with the answer. "Great it's settled, I promise you, I'll cook you the best pizza you've ever had."

"Could you actually teach me how to make it? You're a good teacher." I ask. Austin seems a bit surprised at my request, but a wide smirk quickly appears on his face as he scratches his chin. " 'Course I'll teach you, we'll make it all, from the dough to the very end" I raise my brows at him, shocked at the extent of his love for cooking. "Hm ok then it's only fair I find something to teach you." I get up from the table and move over to the sink to rinse the plate and pan and put them into the dishwasher, cleaning after myself. "How about crochet?" He suggests, the fact that he remembered it is a hobby of mine, making my heart skip a beat. "Sure, I'll do it." I say drying my hands on a towel, folding it and placing it back in its place afterwards.

Taking the phone in hand and walking back into my room, I plop down onto the bed. "Was that a twilight poster I just saw?" Austin asks, a deep color flushing my cheeks. "Maybe" I bite my lip to stop my smile from getting too big and turn the camera around to show him my poster wall. "Wow, marvel, Disney, twilight, lady Gaga, Madonna, you've got all the goods." Austin's amazed tone makes me laugh. "Well what can I say, I like the things I like and I love posters, let me show you this one." I get up and take him over to the opposite wall to show him the huge poster I have of Elvis singing dressed in the leather suit, for the '68 comeback show. "I have that suit." Turning the camera quickly around so he could see my surprised face, I search his face for a hint that this is a lie, no way he just casually confessed to stealing such a piece.

"I'll show it to you when you come over, I have the movie replica of course, but still, it's beautiful." His raspy voice sounds so angelic, I could listen to it nonstop. "I can't wait for you to show me." I say jumping back on the bed. "You didn't show me your room, when I was over Saturday." Austin points out, pouting like a little child. "It escaped my mind, I guess" I try to play it cool, but he can probably see right through me, as he laughs. "I'm sure it did." A wide smirk stretching on his face.

I turn on my side in bed and put the phone down on some pillows, so he can see me without me having to hold the phone up. "So how about you, any interesting work in the future?" He shakes his head rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. "Not for the moment, just press, but then I start working on Dune 2, in late August, so I guess that one will be exciting." I knew that, Timmy told me he was casted for a role in that movie, but I try to hide the fact that that was already known information for me. "Hm means you'll get to know Tim plenty." I conclude. "Yeah, I guess I will. Though I'm not sure he likes me, that much." I shrug my shoulders, knowing that's only half true. "It's my fault though, I kind of, you know"

"Dated his ex?" I finish for him, as he nods. Austin's lips stretch out in a thin line, he seems fairly embarrassed by the fact that I knew about him and Lily-Rose. "Well Timmy will get over it." Relieved he lets out a breath that gets caught in his lungs midway, following my next words. "If you are on your best behavior" I push my lips together trying to hold my laughter in, but failing miserably as a fit of laughter shakes my body and he follows suit joining me. "Your laughter is so beautiful." I stop laughing and look at him wide eyed, he seems just as surprised as me, that those words came out of his mouth. Austin moves his mouth open and closed like he's trying to say something, but nothing comes out and I'm holding my breath, scared that if I were to breathe right now, this whole moment would vanish. "Thank you." I whisper, placing the backs of my hands on my cheeks, feeling how hot the flesh is burning.

Neither of us knows how to move on from what just happened, but we have to bounce back. He has a girlfriend and I'm, well, I guess I'm just me. William jumps up on the bed and comes to snuggle close to me, getting in the camera view. A wide grin shows up on my face as I pet the cats fur and it immediately starts purring. "Hey there good boy." Austin says, as William turns his small head towards my phone, sniffing at the screen, before burying his face in my neck, making me giggle at feeling of his wet nose against my warm skin. "He likes me" Austin states proudly, smiling from ear to ear. Just then a yawn goes past my lips and in true lady fashion I cover my mouth with my hand.

"You're tired and I'm keeping you up." He says sounding disappointed. It's then that I look at the time and see it's now almost midnight, means I should probably get back to sleep as I have yet another early morning tomorrow. "It's fine-" "Oh god I'm so stupid, it must be midnight in New York right now, I'm so sorry." He interrupts me, apologizing for not taking into account the three hours difference. The way he seems so upset with himself, raises a new feeling within me, again a very unknown, very warm feeling, indescribable by all means. "You should be sleeping" now Austin's voice sounds almost scolding, like he's somewhat directing the loosing track of time on me as well. I feel small and bring my knees up to my chest, caging William in between my torso and legs. "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I should have thought about time difference." Austin sighs, dragging a hand over his face. "I just, I don't know, I got home and picked up the phone, calling without thinking."

"It's ok Austin, no harm was done, plus if it weren't for you, I probably would've gone to sleep without eating." The features on his face don't soften, if anything they grow more stern. "I'll take that win, but you should know that's not ok, you should be eating!" He seems to be slowly relaxing and coming back to his jovial stance. "Anyway guess it's time I let you sleep. Sweet dreams, my darling!" He puts three fingers up to his lips, kissing then and blowing the kiss to me. My heart starts racing and my cheeks flush a deep burgundy color. "Goodnight Austin!" I say and end the call with a small wave.

After the call is ended, I shift on my back and hold the device close to my heart. "My darling" I whisper, as if the words were a sacred spell. He called me darling and he called me his. The ceiling is spinning and I feel light headed. I can feel the irregular thud of my heart against my breast bone and I struggle to get my breathing back to normal. I feel like I'm flying. Is this how having a crush feels like? Like you're drunk? Not that I've ever been drunk, but I've been tipsy in the past and it feels like that, only stronger.

Closing my eyes I dive back into my memory of his soft lips against my cheek, the way it felt as the little wet spot left behind dried. I go back to his flaming hands on my waist, missing the weight of them. I remember the way my cheek rested so perfectly against his chest as he held me close, like we were two puzzle pieces, designed to fit together.

I'm woken up from all my dreaming as the phone vibrates against my chest, my excitement picking up, thinking it might be Austin. The notification is not from him, but it still has the power to get me to blush even harder, if that were possible. Joshua's name shines on the screen and I open the text.

🎶Joshua🎶:

Hi, sorry for not calling today as I promised and sorry for the late hour, I just got back to my hotel from a gig.

Me:

No worries, I don't mind the hour.

🎶Joshua🎶:

Let me make it up to you. Are you free tomorrow?

Me:

Sure, I think I can manage some free time around noon.

🎶Joshua🎶:

Perfect, how about a walk in Central Park?

Me:

That's my favorite place in the city.

🎶Joshua🎶:

Ha lucky me, seems like I guessed right and you'll be sharing that secret place with me after all. I count on you for a tour💟

Me:

You've got it. Good guess by the way. Hope your gig went well. Did you have fun?

🎶Joshua🎶:

Yes!!! it was amazing, I love playing in front of my fans. I have another one Thursday night, you should come.

Me:

Hmm 🤔 sure I'll be there.

🎶Joshua🎶:

Ok I'll sing my best! I should let you sleep now. Have a nice sleep, honey💟

Me:

I'm 100% sure you'll do great. Get some sleep as well, it's late. Gn💟

I lock my phone and place it on my nightstand, trying the relax enough, so that I could get some well deserved sleep, but I'm wide awake. Wide awake thinking of how my mind keeps circling back to every pet name Austin and Joshua use with me, struggling to convince myself they are just verbal ticks and not a real signs of affection.

Pushing my face harder against the pillows, I count my breaths, slowly coming down to sleep. But before I fall into complete darkness a flash of color splashes in front of my eyes, it's blue, a shiny Egyptian blue - his eyes.

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thefriendlyghvst · 1 year

Text

melancholia // jjk nanami kento

⚠️ WARNING: JJK MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️

a/n: this is not accurate to the manga HAHAHA if that's what you're expecting i am so sorry. i also wrote this before the release of the newer chapters, so yeah, not accurate at all.

enjoy!! xx

- nur

*****

"wake up, angel," smooth and soothing, your husband called you to wake up from your sleep.

"five more minutes," you mumbled at him, turning over to face his side of the bed.

he chuckled. "we don't have five more minutes, baby,"

your eyes were still closed as you smiled at him and reached over, only for your hand to fall flat against the surface of the mattress, the spot where nanami was supposed to occupy, empty and cold. you wanted to peel your eyes open and get up to find him, but the sinking feeling in your chest was screaming at you to go back to sleep. to go back to where he actually was. in your head.

soon, the sinking feeling in your chest turned into a lump in your throat and you sat up, fully awake now. your eyes were already open and teary.

we don't have five more minutes.

he was right. you didn't have anymore time with each other. he was gone forever, and you had to live with that for the rest of your life. the lump in your throat turned into choked sobs, and you cried and cried until you grew tired again.

this was how you spent your nights ever since the news reached you that that nanami kento was not coming back from shibuya to you alive. he wasn't even coming back to you in one piece. they had gathered what they could, and for at least an hour, fought you off when you tried to see him. yuuji, mostly, held you back and the kid alone was supposed to be strong enough, but even he had lost someone dear to him, so he had ijichi's help. they didn't want you to see the state your husband was in, claiming that you wouldn't be able to take it.

"please let me in, he's my husband!" you screamed and tried to push through the both of them.

the tears flowed down your cheeks in hot streams, burning your eyes. the feeling in your heart was indescribable. it really felt like someone had ripped it out and stabbed it a million times, and then did a terrible job at sewing it back in your chest. you knew you wouldn't be able to handle looking at his lifeless body, but you had to. you couldn't believe nanami - your nanami, was gone forever.

"please," you sobbed.

you looked at yuuji in the eye, and the kid let you through. and how you wish he held onto you so much harder and dragged you home instead.

when you finally saw him, you felt all the colour drain from your face. ieiri did not expect you to be able to come in, and immediately ran in front of you to cover him up with a blanket. or what's left of him. you grabbed onto her hand to stop her, gripping so hard that from the corner of your eye you could see the doctor wince.

the man that was once your husband, your lover, your knight in shining armour, was now nothing but dust and broken bones, and his lower half. nanami didn't deserve this. you didn't deserve this. no one deserves to go like this. or see the love of their life end up like this.

the wind was knocked out of you. you couldn't breathe and the room began to spin. you let go of ieiri's arm and took half a step closer, before your knees buckled and you fell onto the cold tiled floor. you heard a blood-curdling scream and only realised it was coming from you when your throat felt like it was being ripped out. ieiri was holding onto you, also on the floor as footsteps rushed over and you were being held by another pair of arms. yuuji cradled you as shoko stood to cover up nanami's remains.

the doctor and young sorcerer did not say anything and let you grieve, screaming and crying. you sobbed into yuuji's shoulder as he continued to hold your shaking body in his arms.

"i'm so sorry. i'm sorry y/n-sensei. i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm so sorry," the boy whispered into your hair, apologising profusely.

you wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, that it wasn't his sin. he was just a kid, and just like nanami, you treated him as your own kid brother, or even as a son. you wanted to tell him that it was okay, that as much as you didn't believe it, things were going to be alright. no words could come out of your mouth, so you opted to grab his hand and squeeze it in your grip. you hoped that he could get the message, blinking through your tears.

time seemed to slow, but yuuji stayed glued to your side for what felt like hours. he helped you off the floor when you had no more tears left to shed, holding onto you so you did not fall since the both of you had been sitting on the floor in the same position for longer than an hour. you told ieiri to do what had to be done, and that you will sign all the legal documents later.

when you somewhat regained yourself, you gently peeled off itadori's hand from your arm and managed a smile at him. you told him you'd go home and freshen up a little before the funeral, even though that wasn't your plan at all. you were going to find who did this, and make sure the fucker regrets ever being brought into this world. cursed spirit or not.

and then you would join kento and be with him forever, just as you promised each other. in life, and in death.

"sensei, you're a good liar, but i've been around you and nanami-san for long enough to know your tells," he said softly, sadness in his voice.

he insisted on following you home, refusing to leave your side in case you did anything stupid. you declined, lying again and hoping he believed you this time. you even begged him, fresh tears streaming down your cheeks. you were frustrated, and desperate. you couldn't just let nanami go like this.

please let me do this, itadori. you thought.

"sensei, please. i can't lose you too," and you felt your heart shatter all over again.

it had been almost a year since that day, and though you think you're improving during the day, the nights just seem to get harder for you. every night you would dream of him and wake up crying, and you would cry about him even before you went to sleep. some nights you didn't sleep at all, not willing to see him in your dreams and wake up disappointed and depressed all over again.

in the morning, you'd miss him. you would miss tying his tie for him as he got ready. you'd miss his tender kisses and light touches, his scent, and his cooking. you would miss every part of him for every part and every second of your day. the apartment home that was once filled with your laughter and his warmth was now deafeningly silent and cold. with every passing hour, you would miss the man you vowed to love forever even more, and every time you did, the wedding band on your left finger would remind you of its weight.

you would kiss it softly, thinking that the sudden weight was nanami's reminder that he was with you, always. in life and in death.

you woke up tired. your sleep was restless, and the sound of the morning traffic outside of the window when the sun rose did not let you sleep in this morning. it was bright and sunny, and birds flew over your window as soon as you opened your eyes, chirping happily.

you sighed while rubbing your eyes and sitting up. they were puffy and your nose was red, you realised as soon as you saw yourself in the mirror. you had gotten up to take a shower and start your day. the sight of your reflection almost made you want to laugh, in a pathetic and dejected way.

why did he have to leave me like this?

you shook your head and washed your face, then stepped into the shower once you picked out some new clothes to wear. when you felt better and slightly refreshed, you decided to go and pay your late husband a visit. you stepped out of the bathroom and sighed again, a sinking feeling planting itself into your chest.

your outfit was simple. you had picked out a white long sleeved a-line sundress that reached just below your knees, pairing it with a silver watch that nanami had bought for you as a birthday gift a few years ago and the silver chain that held his wedding ring and a heart shaped locket that had his initial engraved. you had that done a week ago for your anniversary.

with a small exhale, you gathered your things in your purse, spritz some perfume on your neck and wrists, and put on your shoes. you opted for a pair of flats since you would walk around a lot today. you had taken a month break when you thought it would not get better for you, and wanted to go back to work soon. with your keys in your hands, you glanced at your watch to look at the time. 10.30am. the flower shop down the street could already be open, so you quickly left and locked the door behind you.

the columbarium was quiet, breeze gently swaying the leaves that hung over its walls and the potted plants beside it. you slowly approached the row that held nanami's urn, a familiar feeling bubbling in your chest, where your heart ached the closer you stepped towards it. you shifted the bouquet of flowers in your hand to the other, bringing two fingers to your lips, kissing them, and then pressing them to the glass surface that protected your husband's ashes and the photo of the both of you that was placed beside it.

"hi, my love," you whispered, letting your hand fall back to your side.

"how have you been?" you asked, to no one in particular. "i brought you flowers... and your favourite bread from that bakery you liked,"

you knew there wasn't going to be a response, but you kept talking anyway. you didn't want to think that he was actually gone, so you stood there and talked to the picture of you and your husband. you knew you probably shouldn't, but you figured it would help you cope. at least for the time being.

"it's been tough. i'm sorry it took me so long to come and see you,"

silence.

"i miss you so much, kento," you paused, your voice getting impossibly softer as you whispered.

a lump was beginning to form in your throat as it got harder for you to speak. your voice broke as you tried again, tears streaming down and staining your cheeks.

"everyday. more than you think, more than you would ever know," your voice was thin as you tried not to crumble.

you opened the glass with the key you were given and gently placed the flowers you bought on top of the ones already there, not taking them out since the flowers still looked pretty fresh. someone else must have been here, you thought.

when you closed and locked the small door again, you felt a breeze behind you and a familiar scent overtook your senses. then, you felt two strong arms wrap around your waist. you sighed, the tears threatening to fall again as you felt yourself relax into his embrace. there was no mistake, you could recognise this man by touch alone.

"all dressed up for me, sweetheart?" you heard him whisper in your hair, his chin resting gently on your shoulder.

"kento," you sigh out his name, trying not to cry again.

"oh no, baby, shh," he cooed. "don't cry,"

he soothed you, lifting his head and brushing his lips against your temple. you kept quiet, not daring to move. you were afraid he was going to be gone again if you did. you felt him sway both your bodies side to side a little and you let yourself follow his movements, quietly enjoying his presence. his chin was back on your shoulder, his nose buried into the crook of your neck as you stood there.

"you look so beautiful, princess," he complimented softly, his lips brushing your neck as he spoke. "my y/n,"

"nanami," you began. "come back to me, please,"

you turned around to face him, gathering the courage to look at your husband in the eye. you thought you would see him burnt on one side of his face, or that he'd be gone, but he remained. in front of you he stood, handsome and perfect as ever.

he was still holding onto your waist, keeping your body close to him as he gazed at you. the look on his face was a mixture of everything. his eyes showed nothing but pure love and fondness, but his eyebrows were furrowed in regret, and a small, sad smile settled on his lips. he was wearing a white dress-shirt, similar to the ones he used to wear when he was alive, and his hair, dirty blonde, was neatly styled in his signature side part. he wasn't wearing his glasses, but you didn't care. you got to see your nanami again, and that was enough.

your eyes blurred with tears as you swallowed, the lump in your throat making the simple action hurt. the ache you felt in your chest was almost unbearable as you reached up to touch nanami's face. he smiled wider a little at you, his gaze soft as he leaned into your touch. you choked on a sob when you felt him lean his forehead against yours.

"i'm sorry for breaking my promise, y/n," he muttered, his eyes closed. "i'm so sorry, my love,"

the tears did not stop flowing. your eyes and cheeks burned with the heat they left, but you couldn't stop crying. nanami embraced you completely, engulfing you in his arms and his familiar scent. though you wished you could cry out in agony, you stifled your sobs. you missed him so damn much, it was killing you on the inside. when nanami died, it felt like a part of you went with him. your whole world, your happy little world filled with hopes and dreams, crashing down and destroyed in one moment.

the two of you pulled away after a moment, taking each other in. he studied your features, the same way he used to do when you did his tie for him in the mornings, the same way he used to do when you spoke and he listened, the same way he used to do all the time, as if trying to memorise every inch of your face.

you just wanted your husband back.

"my beautiful, beautiful, y/n," he declared quietly as he cupped your cheek in his hands.

"thank you for coming to me, my sweetheart. i love you," he uttered as he leaned in to place a kiss on your forehead.

you didn't feel his soft lips press themselves onto your skin, but felt another gentle breeze blow past as you heard a voice say your name.

"y/n sensei?"

your eyes opened and you found yourself still facing the picture of you and nanami beside his urn. your heart sank again, but your hand subconsciously reached up to play with kento's ring and locket on your necklace. you planted a kiss on your own wedding band as an 'i love you too' before you turned around to face the owner of the voice that called you.

yuuji stood a few feet away from you, hands clasped together in front of him. in the few days you haven't seen him since he last checked on you, the kid seemed to look much older. your heart ached for him, too.

he was taking care of you all the time, but who was looking after this poor kid? he has been through so much more than all of your problems combined. with a warm smile, you opened your arms for him and he ran up to you for a hug.

the younger boy paid his respects to both nanami and his grandfather while you waited outside after paying your own respects to mr. itadori. your dress swayed with the gentle wind, the open columbarium's natural light and wind keeping the plants that decorated the place alive. birds flew ahead in the sunny blue sky, and the clouds moved in line with the earth's steady rotation. you inhaled and exhaled deeply, again playing with your necklace.

"i'm done," yuuji's voice said from behind you.

you turned around and smiled at him. with an arm around his shoulder - or the best of it you could do since he was slightly taller than you, the two of you walked out of the place together to head back.

"have you eaten?" you asked the teenager who was clad in his uniform.

he shook his head and you frowned, quickly rummaging through the bag of fresh bread that you bought so that you could pass him a sandwich. he refused to take it at first, but accepted it anyway when he saw how insistent you were.

you watched him munch happily on the sandwich, thinking, you knew he missed your husband too, and you vowed to yourself you'd protect him, the same way nanami had. it was your turn to take care of him, come what may.

nanami smiled to himself as he watched the two of you walk out of the place with smiles on your faces, talking and laughing with each other. it was nice to see you smile again, and he knew that you were both going to be okay in each other's good hands. he sighed.

i'll see you next time, my love. the both of you thought at the same time.

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dumbfloweralive · 1 year

Text

The salvation of humanity

Chapter 6: A piece of art.

Warning : death mention, blood, mention of PTSD, nightmare.

You stumble through the door leading inside the principal house where every meeting happens. The dog run inside first, happy to see the others, as you lead Dream to the main room. Small maps were upholstering the walls, while the biggest lied on the table at the centre of it. A small fire reside in the chimney. Graham and Elisabeth stand at the top of the table. Oscar was beside him and Edith was on the opposite. They were looking at the map, speaking. The rest of the group was around the room, gathered in small groups.

You step closer to them, and Elisabeth seemed to be the first to notice you around the table. Her smile grew wider and she came closer.

“It is so good to see you back” she said, taking you in his arms. You hugged her back, muttering a “good to see you too” before letting go of her.

“And you must be Dream, pleasure to meet you” she continued, moving to Dream offering a hug that he declined politely.

“The pleasure is shared” he said, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of hugging her, which make you laugh a little. Dream noticed you making fun of him and moved his head in a sign of disapprobation. Which would've made you laugh harder if it weren’t for a pair of arms grabbing you and raising you from the floor.

It was Graham.

“Will the minimoys gave me the pleasure to say hello and introduce me to her new friends” he said referring to Dream while he put you back on the floor.

What an odd habit, Dream thought.

“ I am not that small” you said in defence, pointing your finger at Graham the moment he let you down.

Graham was young, in his thirty, charismatic, Dream could discern a strong British accent from the men.

He was working in the military before all this. That probably what made him the best to take the role as leader in the beginning.

Dream faced Graham, standing next to you.

“ I am Dream” he said.

“Well, welcome Dream.” Graham opens his arms wildly as for emphasizing the “welcome”

Dream muttered a thank you, before Graham gather everyone around the map.

That would be some kind of meeting. You signed for Dream to follow you, and you took your place beside Oscar, Dream standing by your side, close to you. Oscar was next to Graham.

The meeting begun. The most important people of the town were here, especially those who left on supplies run, to establish their next target. You gave them hint on where were the best place and spot, and the place to avoid, as you always did when you get back here.

Dream stay silent, waiting patiently for the moment they will take about the place you two needed to go.

“Y/N i’ve heard you wanted to find the group of magician” Graham said after the usual debrief.

“Exactly, we tried reaching for them but didn’t succeed.”

He nodded. Everyone were now waiting for the orders. Graham made a move toward one of the new people who had arrived, Thomas, you think, and he went to take a map out of the wall before handing it to Graham. He put the map on the bigger one and started, pointing the place where the town were. Near London.

“This is where we are.” he started.

Then, he moved from south to north before stopping close from Liverpool.

“Last time we had contact with them, we located their group here, around Liverpool, fifty miles from it. “

That was far from here.

“It is far from here” Oscar said, and you turned to him.

You nodded, acquiescing. But you had your idea. A good one.

You turn toward Dream. Everyone was arguing on the best option and not wanting you to go, if you could bring other people with you. Oscar unhappy to see you going this far but still defending your capacity to succeed.

“ We could use the pacifier” you told, quietly to Dream.

He lean forward to you

“What is it?” he asked.

You observe everyone around you and continue.

“The last train still on tracks, it passes through all England, once a day. It’s been a while since i last saw it and i don’t know if it's still working” you pointed toward the map, and get closer to Dream, to a point you could feel his breath on your hair.

“If we go to Oxford, we could catch the train here, it’s hard to get it and not totally safe, but it will buy us some time”

As you turned toward him to say it, you noticed how closed you were now, only separated by inches, and he was staring deep in your eyes. You felt your heart skipped a beat. Those pretty eyes he had, so deep, like they contain the whole universe inside.

“If you think this is the best idea, i’ll follow you.” he said, still holding your gaze.

He was so beautiful, you thought, the world around you two seems to disappear as you stared at him. The words left your lips before anything else could stop you from saying them, as it did before.

“You are beautiful.” you said to him, in a whisper again.

Dream hold your gaze, but he felt struck by your words, by the sincerity in them. It was as if he gets a slap, but a soft and gentle one. He hadn’t heard a compliment for a long time, and somehow, your words warmed his heart.

He did felt touch deprived ever since he was in the cage but never act on them, ignoring and letting his feeling and thought beside, forgetting, despising them. But, as you had spoked this word, Dream felt the urge to be hold, to hold, to get more compliment. He felt the urge to be held by you, or to hold you, perhaps even to feel your touch on him, he didn’t know.

Dream had forgotten how it was to be worship.

“I know you’re not going to like my idea, but” you said out loud.

Breaking eye contact with Dream, you turn toward everyone. Dream felt fluster by the lack of your contact.

“We should use the pacifier.”

Silence lingered in the room, and you take a look at Oscar, seeking for his approval.

“No” Graham said.

“It’s far too dangerous, we don’t even know if it's still working, you don’t even know which scoundrel you could fumble into.” Graham argued again.

“It would be safer, and even if there is danger inside, it would be more predictable than outside.”

“The pacifier is governed by rules.” you continue.

A flow of plea come, both for and against the idea. The room filled with debate. No one wanted you to put yourself in danger.

“She’s right” a voice said, and the room went quiet.

Oscar, who had stayed silent since the beginning of the dispute, had finally spoked. You turned to him, and he was staring at you.

“I am not pleased with this, but she is right.” he continued and laid a hand on your shoulder.

“If she said she can do it, she can.”

Dream saw pride in Oscar’s eyes, like a proud dad supporting their child.

Silence lingered once again in the room. The fire crackles in the chimney.

“What do you need?” Graham ask in a sight.

You gave him a small smile as a “Thank You”.

“I won’t need anything, i am good on everything.”

He nodded, and the meeting continued, speaking about different stuff the community needed.

Soon after, you leave the house with Dream. The dog was having fun with the kid outside.

“We should leave this afternoon, get some rest before going.” you told Dream, still by your side. He was observing the children.

Looking at them, anyone could think it’s a normal day of autumn, a weekend even. No monster outside, just kids playing mindlessly.

Oscar joined you, and you moved to his house to get everything packed. You spent the few hours left helping, spending time with your loved one, learning about the new people. Having dinner with everyone before it was time to leave.

And the time to leave come fast. With your backpack on your back, you were checking the spot with Graham before leaving, getting a new talkie-walkie. Smaller one.

Oscar came to you before leaving, holding you close. He wasn’t happy that you leave that quickly.

“ You take care kid.” he whispered to you, looking directly at Dream, reminding him silently of the talk they had.

Dream was an endless, but even now, he felt threatened by his warning.

Oscar step back and kissed your forehead before putting both his hands on your cheek.

“I am proud of you, never forget that.” he said before leaning his forehead against yours as he always did when you two had to leave each other.

“I know your father would be proud too.” he said this time, even lower.

Your eyes filled with small tears at his words, and you smiled at him.

“Thank you” you said in a whisper.

Oscar step away once again and smiled at you, his eyes watering too.

“Go before i changed my mind and force you to stay.” he said in a laugh.

“Alright, i’ll see you soon, promise.” you told me.

“You better keep your promise” he said.

A soft laugh left your lips as you turned away from him, waving at him one last time. You could feel your heart ripped apart as you leave him once again, like every time you leave.

Everyone wishes you good luck, petting the dog, saying, in their one way, goodbye.

And you passed the doors, walking away as the town the people you loved lived in disappeared on the horizon.

With Graham, you had prepared the path to take, giving you the place safe to stay at night. You arrived to the first stop just before night, after a safe journey. It was in a small town. Not the calmest, but you knew they had a place that was safe for the night. They had given you the indication, now it was time to find the door with a cross on it.

It was supposed to be on the left part of the town, on a building with two floors. You were quick to find it. The place was cleaned from any zombies and mutant. The flat was on the last floor, with a good views outside. Dream and you enter the flat, and you locked up the door. Now the two of you were on a safe place for the night.

Everything useful was inside, woods for the fire, blanket, camping stove, food. That was your idea, to create a few places to camp for the runners when they were outside, so they could have everything they need for the night outside, to be safe.

Dream and you barely talk, except for the exchange of task. He had taken once again the first shift, and you had insisted on him to wake you up this time, so he could get rest too.

You were sleeping on the couch, blanket over your bodies, the dog in your arms. Dream was outside, on the balcony watching for any threat, contemplating the skies and the stars, it felt good to see them ever since he came out of this cage, he felt freedom while looking at them.

It was around midnight, Dream felt something coming, something bad, it wasn’t any monster nor human with bad intention, no. It was a nightmare. Dream could feel it, lingering in the air, and he turned toward you, watching your figure asleep on the couch. He closed his eyes, focusing on your mind. Soon, he finds himself in your nightmare.

He could see long corridors, lockers, backpack, children, happy children. It was a school. Suddenly, everything turned dark and he heard screams. The children disappear, the conversation filling the place faded away. It was silent. Dream moved inside the corridor, seeing movement at the end of it. He fumbled on zombies running around the place, noticing blood covering the walls. Corpses with ribs open, missing limbs rested on the floor. The light of the neon above him flashed, and he covered his eyes, dazzled by the sudden brightness.

He kept walking forward, climbing over the corpses, walking in the puddle of blood, occasionally crossing the path of zombies. Then he finally saw you. Way much younger. You were covering the door of a room, probably to stop the zombie to get you and the student you were with. He could hear a scream.

Once the door was shielded, you told the people you were with to run, and you came to his direction, running with your classmate, he thought. He saw you passed him, without you noticing his presence.

He kept following you.

It wasn’t just a nightmare, it was a memory.

He saw you holding the hand of one of the girls. Blood was running alongside her arms, she probably got hurt. After what felt like an eternity for you, you had found a room that seems to be safe for your friend, and you went inside putting furniture over the doors. Dream was inside the room, he recognized what was a classroom.

He kept observing what scene was going on in front him, watching as everyone were catching their breath, crying for some. Then he looked at you. You were one of those to cry, holding the blond girl in your arm, caressing her hair as a puddle of blood form around you two. He heard you whispering : “You’re going to be okay” to the girl.

He came closer to you and observe more carefully the scene. As he did, he noticed a bite on the girl shoulder.

You take a step back, breaking the embrace and holding her face in your hands. Her face was cold, blood starting running from her noise but, you kept repeating those words “You’re going to be okay” more for you than for her.

“I am sorry, i am so sorry” the girl say between sob.

Then, she whispered something, Dream couldn’t hear it, but from the face you made, it must have been something terrifying. The girl started convulsing, blood dripping from her mouth. You were holding her against you, crying. Then she stopped moving. Everyone had stopped moving and were looking in your direction. She had died. You stood there, unable to move, to process what just happened, still holding her corps in your arm.

At Dream surprises she started moving again, first slowly, but her movement grew stronger, like the zombies outside. The people around started freaking out while Dream come even closer to you, watching you closely. You pulled something out of your pocket, Dream didn’t notice what, and you stick it under her jaw, and she stops every movement. Dream could see your eyes go livid.

You left your head to him and for the first since he was here, you seemed to notice is presence.

He felt ejected from the nightmare and open his eyes on your figure lying on the couch. Dream turned his head, watching outside, when he heard movement from the couch. He looked in your direction and saw your back facing him, you were sitting on the couch, breathless. You turned to him, catching his eyes on you.

You took a sip of water before joining him outside, needing fresh air.

“Nightmare?” he asked.

He knew.

“What happen?”

He knew.

“Just the usual stuff.” you said, sitting next to him.

He knew.

“Sometime it’s Elisabeth or Graham, most of the time Oscar or the dog, some night it’s…” but you didn’t finish, thinking of her.

He knew. He knew, but couldn’t say a thing.

You looked tired, he noticed, watching you as your head rested on the railing of the balcony, and you looked at the stars. Then you turned to him and watch him, catching his pretty eyes on you again.

“Go to sleep Dream, i won’t return to bed, i’ll take it from here.” you told him, but he didn’t move.

“I am not tired, i can stay.” he answered back.

God, his voice was so sweet. You hummed in answer, and stay like this, eyes shifting between the night sky and Dream face, admiring his beauty.

Dream wondered after the few days he had spent on earth since he got out, the thing he had witnessed, the nightmare you had, how could humanity keep up this much. How human could live like this when everything on earth was lost, when the dead were walking the earth as the first threat for them, tearing them apart. How, after all the destruction he had witnessed, they could gather and laugh together like nothing was happening as he has seen this morning at the town. Like nothing but the living matters, even when everything was against the living.

“Why do you keep fighting so hard, even when your life could end in just a second?” he asked you.

You took a second to answer back, thinking of the reason.

“ Well, i guess in the first place, i am doing this for the people i love and care for. I mean, even if the biggest part of humanity is dead now, there are still living people, good people, so i fight for them.” you answered, toying with your fingers.

“And i guess it is hope that keeps us alive despite everything. We hoped to stay alive, some of us are still alive. We hoped to find a place safe to stay, to build a new life together, and we find it we built that life we wanted.”

Dream was watching you, thinking about your word.

“Yes, definitely hopes, that’s what has been keeping us alive. All of us now, most of us at least, are hoping for a better tomorrow. A better world.”

Hope.

Hope could defeat an army of dead. Life always wins if there is hope.

Dream nodded and hold your gaze, waiting for anything you could say again. But, nothing come.

After some time :

“I think i know why you don’t want to sleep.”

Dream felt curious about it. About your theories.

“ Are you scared of your nightmare? The nightmare you could have?” you asked.

And Dream finds it sweet. The ruler of the nightmare realm, scared of nightmare. He laughs, a small one, but you find it so adorable.

“ You can laugh all you want but i learn that, when we go through something traumatic our brain made us relive the event, so we could get use to it, to help us, it’s a symptom from PTSD. Some nightmares are actually here to help us and that’s cool”

That shock Dream a little, finally someone who understood the proper meaning of nightmare, who didn’t despise them.

“ Therefore, i think you don’t want to relive what happen to you, not in your mind nor your nightmare.”

Touché, Dream thought. You stayed quiet, once again, too afraid to push too far.

“Perhaps”

You lean against the wall, pulling your legs to your chest, searching for warm.

“Scar, they heal” you said, and Dream looked at you confused.

“Come on, it’s a quote from Kung fu panda, you got to know this?”

“No i do not” he answered back.

You let out a small laugh.

“ You are an enigma Dream. You know nothing, John Snow” you said, quoting once again a part of your favourite TV show. But once again, he didn’t seem to know anything.

Dream turned to you, his eyes questioning you.

“Who is this John Snow” he asked. And if it weren’t night, if you weren’t the target of an unhuman beast, you could laugh even harder.

“ Come on, from Games of throne. No? Oh, We will watch it. Once we are done with our quest and if you want to stay a bit, we’ll watch together the best chef d’oeuvre of the cinema.”

And this time, you could swear you heard him laugh.

Silence stand for a while, only disturb by the few zombies and the winds. You felt good by his side, without even knowing why, wishing for him to stay long time.

“The point is, it doesn’t matter how bad we get hurt, in the end it gets better, we get better.”

Dream had to admit, you had a point. In the end, all the pain and anger he felt for is imprisonment, one day, they’ll be gone. He knew that, had noticed it through all his long life but, he had always left aside his feelings, never reaching for anyone. He knew the pain would go away, but a reminder was welcome.

You stayed silent for the rest of the night, enjoying each other presence. Enjoying the pretty night sky. Enjoying the peace because, in the morning, the peace will be gone.

And the morning come by quickly, too quickly for you. You had wished you two could have stayed for hours again like this. But it was time to move again, so you moved.

The usual stuff happened on the road, zombie, mutant. Nothing too dramatic. Dream and you had talk about your plan for the moment you will arrive at the magician place. You had made jokes, which didn’t make Dream laugh. The usual for the past few days.

Until, while walking, you saw a small cottage, near the place you two should sleep at night according to Graham plan. Instead of sleeping there, you will spend the night here, in this sweet place.

You jump of happiness seeing the place and the dog mirrored your action, jumping by your side.

It looked like your dream house.

“Hang on boy, inspection first” you told the dog as he sat in front of you waving his tails.

The dog loved inspection. Mostly because he would be the one to attack zombies if there were any.

You approach the door and kicked it open.

“Look for” you said and the dog run inside the house searching everywhere.

Dream stood by your side, waiting for the dog too. He would not admit it, but he did grow fund of the dog. Surely because he did believe him, mostly because he loved Dream petting and Dream loved petting him.

The two of you heard one bark, and you run inside, gun ready to shot. You whistle and the dog bark again, so you could find him faster in the house. He had found something.

You saw him in a room with big windows and a desk in front of them, inside, laid a zombie, crawling on the floor, missing one of his leg, therefore, not really vigorous.

“ Good boy” you said, petting the dog on his head while putting your gun back in its place.

You use the knife for that one, not wanting to waste any bullet. Then, you took your time, looking at the room you stood with Dream and the dog.

The windows as you saw first were gigantic, the light of the end of afternoon seem to be glowing into the place, they were some old plant, some had overgrown and covered the floor, others were dead. It was majestic.

You moved to look around the other rooms. Each one of them were pretty.

“See this Dream? This is my perfect house” you told him, excitation filling your voice.

Dream looked around after looking at your eyes full of wonder and happiness. To him, it looked small compared to what used to look like his kingdom. The same way, it was splendid compared to the place he had spent a century in.

“It’s a sweet home” he said.

The two of you walked around the place, checking one last time, before condemning all the issue except for one, only locked from the inside.

You used water to refresh yourself, splashing your face and Dream did the same. The night settled rather quickly, and you organized the place for the night and dinner. Dream and you sat side by side on the floor, facing the fireplace, back leaning against the sofa. The dog laid just in front of it.

Dream’s mind played again the moment you had whispered to him, saying he was beautiful. He wished silently to hear this again. He longed for your sweet words and touch. Dream even hoped secretly for you to hold him, to feel your touch against him, and so, without knowing if it was only because of the lack of physical contact he had felt over the century or just by your own presence. Because you had saved him. He didn’t know, barely acknowledging those feelings, he couldn’t, not after what humanity did to him.

Small droplet of water start falling against the window, filling the place with the sweet sound of rain.

You closed your eyes and enjoy the peace of the moment. Lately, any moment you had to spend with Dream seemed to be peaceful. You had noticed you liked his presence. The way he spoke, his sweet voice was reassuring, he smelled so good despite all the dirt and mud you walked all the day, he was so fine. The fact, he didn’t know any film or show, and you wanted to show him all the best one. He looked so lost in this world, totally unable to understand, and the only thing you wanted to do was to protect him at all cost. Because behind his word and action of godlike, you could sense fear, grieve, anger. You could feel his struggle to trust people, to trust you and who could blame him, after everything he probably went through. It was all the same emotions you felt before helping him escape from this glass prison. The only thing was now, they felt stronger.

Dream shifted in his position, you opened your eyes and stared at him. He was looking at you, and you stumble under his gaze, pretty blue eyes, those eyes, they always seem to shift in their colour patterns. The warm light of the fire dance on his figure while you kept holding his gaze. It felt so intimate.

If gods were real, you had no doubt Dream would be one of them. But they weren’t, Dream was just lost in his mind.

Because if he was a god, how could he have stayed trapped in this cave? If Gods existed, they would have saved him, they should have.

You leaned your head against the sofa and kept looking at him, you're all body shifting toward him.

He spoke in a whisper, as if he was afraid to break the calm.

“What if we don’t find my sand in this place?”

You could feel slight tremors in his voice.

“What if we don’t find any of my tools? Humanity will be doom” he continued

You were right. He was lost. But you didn’t want to argue, to let him closed up to you.

“You will find what you look for. And, even if you don’t, if you are truly a God, why would you need tools Dream?.” you said, also in a whisper.

He wished your words were true. But he put his power inside those artefacts. Now without them, he had no idea how to use his power, to be as powerful as he used to be.

He wished he could trust you that you would bring the answer to him.

You saw doubt in his eyes. All you get as an answer was a deep humming. You didn’t really like seeing him like this, but, once again, you feared he would close himself from you. So, instead of advice, you decide to opt for comfort.

Shifting slightly from your position, you raise your hand to him and start caressing the side of his head, letting your hand move from the top to the end of it, slowly, repeating the movement each time.

“It will be fine.” you said.

“You’re going to be okay, Dream” you whispered to him, repeating the words as if they were a prayer.

Dream felt warm insinuating in his chest, he felt safe. God's be damned, he wanted you close, to lean on your touch, to let himself, for the first time in a century, feel safe, getting touched, speak to someone. But he couldn’t stop his mind to think of a “what if”. What if you betrayed him and leave with the tools. What if you were mocking him. You didn’t even believe him when he said he is lord Morpheus, King of the dreaming, an Endless. Even refusing to call him by his name, his title. He wasn’t even powerful enough to clearly surround your thought.

Dream tried. He really tried to trust you. But after all, his fear wins over, and he backed away from your touch, though he regretted this movement, the lack of contact.

Your heart broke as he back away from you, rising to his feet and walking away, outside, in the rain. What could you have done wrong this time? Saying nothing yet, once again, he pushed you away. How could you blame him? You’ve only known each other's for a few days, but still, it was an odd meeting, in which, under odd circumstances, could let him understand you wouldn’t hurt him.

You let him go. Giving him the space he needed. The dog rose his head as he heard the door opening, ready to leave if he was asked to. Then, he turned his head to you, before coming closer asking for cuddles, probably feeling the tension remaining in the room. He let his head fall abruptly on your laps and pushed a long yawn. Truly, sometime, you thought he could understand everything you were saying and that, right now, he was judging you.

“Stop judging.” you told in a whisper. Your eyes fall shut once again, and you let your head fall down on the sofa.

After some time, you noticed the rain had stopped, and you looked outside. Dream was still in the garden looking at the stars, his raven by his side on his shoulder. You told the dog to move and the two of you join them in the backyard. As you approach, the raven flew away.

There was a full moon. Now, the sky was cleared from any clouds. The light of the moon shine over the earth. And you stood next to Dream, admiring the stars, even if all you wanted to admire was him. How could you feel attracted to someone so fast?

Time passes.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.” he said.

And you turned to him. Watching over him. The light of the moon illuminating his features. His pretty face, staring at the sky still. Utterly beautiful, and it catches you every time. But tonight, under the night sky, his beauty felt different, unreal perhaps. He reminded you of the art you found in the museum.

Ethereal beauty.

“You look like a piece of art” you told him, in a whisper.

This time, he turned to you. His eyes falling on you. This time it was softer. Every time, you had held his gaze, proud, this time as you still hold his gaze, he could see shyness in your eyes.

His heart warms again, and he couldn’t fight the feeling away. Dream was struck once again by your words, he loved the sincerity you always had in them. He wanted to lay against you again.

And he smiled. Not a small smile as he did already. A real one, genuine one. The corner of his lips smirking at you. And you smiled back softly at him.

He lean forward to you. His nose only inches away from yours.

“You’re too kind, my little human.”

You adored him.

Hello everyone ! Here the next part, hope your gonna love that part 🤞 as usual, let me know if there is anything wrong, to give advice, I'll be happy to heard about it.

Have a great day ! Love you all 🤎

#dream of the endless #dream x reader #morpheus x reader #the sandman #dream x you #morpheus imagine #sandman imagine #sandman x reader #the sandman fanfic #morpheus imagines

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tomtenadia · 1 year

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Thicker than blood - 29

Hello!!! So, here I am with another chapter. I promise that this chapter and then 30 and then the really horrible part is over. So hang tight! CW: Aelin is in a bad place and she has almost given up on everything, so yeah, her thoughts are quite dark.

I am coming.

Aelin had felt that. It had been clear through the bond. His voice brushing her mind gently.

She opened her eyes and only saw darkness and the horrible stench of blood. How many humans had she killed? How many had she turned? She was helping Maeve build her army and the idea was driving her crazy. She was tired. Erawan had kept pumping her blood with whatever toxic juice he fancied that day. Her body was on fire and she was constantly sick. All the humans she drank were not A+ and her body rejected them but they were so jacked up with drugs that she kept drinking no matter the pain. If she ever made it out alive it would be very hard to kick the addiction. This time it was bad and in the last few days she had given up. A part of her had begged for death. She was so damn tired.

I am coming.

His voice again.

Why would he bother? She was such a mess that no one deserved to take care of someone like her. But a part of her, a tiny part that was still trying to hope for the best, wished he was there already. Hoped to scent again pine and snow and fall asleep at the feeling of being at home.

A sob escaped her mouth. She missed him. Gods, she missed him so much…

She was sobbing hard when Erawan opened her cell “come on pet, we have another session ready for you.”

Aelin tucked away the thoughts of her mate in her heart and pushed emotions aside ready for another session of torture.

Rhoe had tried to contact Rowan for days now. He had left voicemails, texts, call after call got unanswered. After three days like that he had decided to take his car and pay the man a visit.

He arrived at the house and saw all the lights were off. It was evening, maybe Rowan had gone to work. He very much hoped so. Lysandra had admitted she had a spare key that Rowan had given her when Aelin was staying at his place and was unwell. She had felt bad at betraying Rowan’s trust that way but Rhoe had convinced her that it was important.

He opened the house and stepped in and switched on the lights and once in the living room he saw a sea of maps sprawled on the floor. The man crouched down and had a look at all the notes and satellite photos. Rowan had been trying to find Aelin.

A sense of guilt hit him. That should have been his job, but he had been so busy with Darrow that he had let one of his men in charge of it. Gods, he had abandoned his daughter once more. How could Aelin ever forgive him? He was about to stand up when he spotted a mark on a map. Rowan had added a note saying that it was a fitting location. Rhoe grabbed the paper and then a noise startled him. Rowan’s mobile was abandoned on the table and a man called Gavriel was calling.

Rhoe picked up the phone and answered.

“Damn it Rowan, about time. Where are you? We were expecting you at work three days ago. Lorcan said that you have been reinstated.”

Rhoe listened in silence “Rowan is not here at the moment.”

“Who are you?” Asked the man on the other side of the line.

“Rhoe Galathynius. I think Rowan has left on a mission.”

Silence.

“He is going to do something stupid.”

“Leave it to me.”

Rhoe hung up the phone and went back gathering all the info his son in law had pieced together. The location he had chosen was so deep in the mountains that there was no vehicle access. Had he been hiking this whole time? Frantically he grabbed his phone and made some calls and a few minutes later he locked the door of the house behind him and left.

Lorcan walked to his office and once inside he collapsed exhausted on his chair and ran a hand through his long hair. A deep sigh left him.

He was in his dress mess uniform. Interim mayor Darrow had organised in record time a memorial for all the humans and vampire victims that had lost their lives in the recent months. The attendance had been very high and the main square in front of the main government building had been packed. Police and his unit had been patrolling for fear of a possible attack from Maeve. But that fear had not stopped all the citizens from taking the streets and pay their respects. Rhoe Galathynius had joined the ceremony a little later and Lorcan was surprised at seeing the man late.

Darrow and Rhoe had then taken the time to explain to the population that change was coming. They were both running for mayor, and the plan got a roaring approval from the vampires who were aware that they finally had some representation. They wanted the two species to coexist peacefully like in other parts of Erilea.

Rhoe had then stated that he was converting the now abandoned deviation centres, in venues to help people with addictions but with a program that was not as brutal as the previous one. He explained that his wife was planning on creating a foundation to look after these structures and allow vampires to have a second chance. Lorcan thought about some of the guys in his unit. They had gone from criminals to agents and although he agreed that the program had been brutal it had worked. He admitted to himself that perhaps a gentler approach was needed.

He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them Gavriel was standing in front of him.

“Rowan is gone, I thought you allowed him back.”

Lorcan groaned. Since the jail incident they had not talked and he doubted his friend wanted anything to do with him.

“I have no idea where he is.”

Gavriel’s hand landed on his desk “I haven’t heard from him in ages and when he finally picks up it’s Rhoe Galathynius. Something is brewing.”

“He will come back after he clears his head,” he added coldly “since he married that woman he has lost it.”

Gavriel growled “That woman makes him happy.” He stood back and left the room slamming the door hard.

His hand ran through his hair once more and a ragged breath left his lungs. He had to apologise to Rowan and get his friend back in his unit. It was all falling apart and he needed his friend at his side.

Maeve was sitting comfortably in her studio with a newspaper in her hands. The front page was plastered with the news of the riots that had ended the tenure of the mayor and the rebellions in the deviation centre. But as she perused the articles there was no more news of Aelin being a junkie. It had lasted for a day and then it had disappeared. At the memorial, Rhoe had gathered supporters instead of losing them after the harsh interview released. Maeve groaned in frustration. She had failed at undermining the man and now he had put his name down to ran as mayor with Darrow.

In a burst of anger she balled up the newspaper and shouted for one of her guards to call for Erawan.

The man arrived a few minutes later.

“You called?”

“How is our pet doing?”

The man smirked “I have been increasing the doses of spiked blood and she is feeding now from all the humans I place in a cell, but she is not ready yet.”

Maeve looked at him with curiosity.

“For our plan to work she needs to be on the verge of slipping, but I can’t seem to push her that far.”

“I need her to transform in a wild animal. I need my niece to slip.”

“I am trying,” he snarled back.

“Rhoe and Darrow are having a rally soon. I need to be able to unleash Aelin on the crowd and have her kill humans in front of her dear father. That will definitely destroy the support for him.”

The man nodded.

“I thought all the modifications were meant to make her more prone to relapsing and slip.”

“Yes,” he nodded “But somehow she is resisting.”

“Fix this.”

He bowed and left the room.

Maeve called a few of her men and told them to keep attacking humans. If Rhoe thought he had won, he had a surprise coming for him.

Aedion had finally managed to go back to his lab in the huge mansion after the police had released it back to the Galathynius. Rhoe had been staying there from time to time when he had meeting in town with Darrow but Evalin had decided to stay in the mountains and the man had been happy at the idea. At least he knew his wife was safe.

He had missed having a professional lab. The one is his house was okay for very small jobs. He needed state of the art machines and the Galathynius had it.

Aedion was still dead set in creating a type of synthetic blood that Aelin could tolerate. He used her golden blood as a template and started working from it.

Lysandra had told him that creating golden blood in a lab would help humans too. But alas that experiment had failed. Humans could not tolerate synthetic blood so the dream of solving the chronic shortage of blood for transfusions had remained a dream.

He was busy at work when he heard footsteps approaching. He turned and saw Rhoe dressed up in mountain gear.

“How does it feel being back here?”

“I missed having a real lab at my disposal.”

The man chuckled “Aedion, I am going on a mission for a while.”

Aedion stared at him in confusion.

“Rowan is going after Aelin. I was in his flat and saw maps. I think he found the location and I can’t let him deal with this on his own.”

“That is dangerous.”

“I need to save Aelin.”

Aedion nodded. Rhoe had been hard at work since Aelin was taken. It had destroyed him making that horrible interview but it had helped to keep Maeve at bay. As long as he was back for the rally with Darrow. They had to win the public in the last stretch of the campaign.

“Save her, please.”

The man nodded “You and Lys go and keep company to Evalin from time to time.”

Aedion nodded.

“We will come back with Aelin.”

Aedion really wanted to believe the man in front of him.

Gavriel and his unit were patrolling the streets at night. After Rowan’s disappearance Lorcan had placed him in charge. It did not matter that Hamel had been deposed. Maeve and her minions were still a threat so Lorcan had ordered the paranormal unit to continue patrol as if nothing had happened. Slowly some clubs had started reopening and a few more people flocked again back to the old customs although the streets were not as busy as before. People apparently were still wary and knew that the danger was not over just yet. Gavriel loved that they were being cautious.

He was walking with Fenrys when they reached the Vaults. The club was boarded shut and still had the police tapes to mark it as a crime scene.

Gavriel paused and stared at the flowers and cards that citizens had deposited in front of the place. The images of that night forever etched in his mind.

“All those life destroyed…” was Fenrys’ comment. His voice low and deep with grief. He had not gone inside but he was on the streets and had watched the paramedics carry away all those humans. It made him want to bring Hamel back from the dead and inflict an even bigger punishment.

Darrow had slowly removed all the bans that the previous mayor had inflicted and stopped the need for vampires to submit to blood tests every two days. He had called it the firsts step into creating a new bridge towards the two species co existing together once more. The decision had gained him a great success among both species. Ansel had gone back to work in the deviation centre and was helping dismantle the hellsite. She then had asked Evalin Galathynius to take part in her initiative and the woman had been ecstatic.

“Any news from Rowan?”

Gavriel shook his head “I just hope he is fine. I don’t want to imagine what is passing through his head right now.”

Fen was about to speak but down the road they heard screams and they ran and once at the spot they saw a man attacking a young woman and drinking from her.

The two men ran in her aid and while Fen looked after the victim, Gavriel neutralised the man pretty quickly. A newborn.

“Fen, a newbie, there might be more around.”

Fenrys called paramedics and a police van to take the vampire away. With the transition they were trying to decide what to do with people they arrested, so for now they were taken to HQ and booked in.

Once the paramedics arrived, Fenrys let the young woman in their care and joined his partner “This is Maeve. The bitch needs to die soon too.”

Gavriel sighed and looked away “Soon.”

taglist

@rowaelinismyotp @swankii-art-teacher @whimsicallyreading @elentiyawhitethorn @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity @mis-lil-red @thegreyj @sailorsassley @leiawritesstories @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn @backtobl4ck @susumaus98 @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee @athena127

#rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin #aelin galathynius #aelin x rowan #rowanwhitethorn #rowan x aelin #vampires au #rowaelin angst

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luna-is-lost · 26 days

Text

UNDERWELCOMED

CHAPTER 13

Sir POV:

A fleet of great men and women lost in a signal day…

15 of our best hounds lost; 5 no longer able to serve…

All because of him…

So, “WHY WAS I SPARED!”

I scream staring into the mirror, which shatters as my fist collides with it, knowing we need to get him back…

Sans’ POV:

…This is probably fine…

Papyrus is lying unconscious on Snowdin’s floor, Flowey is most likely watching still, and I have no clue what to do now that Pap remembers.

‘Maybe start with healing that crack in his skull’ Yelled the analytical part of my brain, but I was still frozen in shock.

After a few seconds I gather my self and begin to evaluate the situation. Papyrus looks okay, provided the exception of the small crack in his skull (it could be easily healed, Papyrus had always been stronger than him), a few marks from the thorns of Flowey’s vines, and a small fracture in his left arm… Papyrus will be fine. Papyrus is ALWAYS fine, he has to be… ‘Cause I’m not sure how to do this without him… He’s my little brother, so I’ll do what’s needed to protect him. That’s my duty, always has been.

I gather Papyrus the best I can into an almost hug and prepare to teleport… I’m going to feel horrible tomorrow with all this used magic, but Papyrus is worth it. He’s always worth it.

Undyne’s POV:

A bright blue flash appears and out comes the silhouette of the skeleton brothers. “Sans? Where were you…?” My question is lost to the wind as Papyrus drops from the arms of a dizzy-looking Sans. I run up to them and throw Papyrus over my shoulder (rather easily I might add) as I grab Sans’ shoulders to help him steady out. “ ran into a certain flower that really makes my anger ‘bloom’. heh… oh… and pap needs some help with…” He trails off as he gestures to the rather pained skeleton on my shoulder (who happens to be my best friend, and if I find who did this I WILL TAKE REVENGE), looking kinda sad. “Let’s get HIM healed and YOU some food, not to be rude, but you look awful.” I chuckle as I (not so) gently lay Pap on a floor mat, and apologize to said sleeping skeleton when he winces. “yeah… prob’ly for the best…” Sans yawns as he walks to the kitchen-ish area, though it isn’t much. One day, when the humans accept us, we can have the wonderful thing the surface offers, but for now, we need to work to get our prize. We WILL Win. We have to… I am DETERMINED to make it work.

“Papyrus?” I nudge my friend in an attempt to wake him up. It’s weird to think that not long ago I had no idea he was capable of doing that, but I feel more and more like Papyrus is part of something MUCH bigger than anyone thought… Maybe he is…

“…owie…” Papyrus’ broken voice responds. “Can you eat something so you can heal?” “Mmhm…” He sits himself up with a tired groan and a worried look on his face. “I-Is… Sans A-Alright?…” As if he was called on, Sans appears right next to Papyrus. With another yawn; seriously, how tried can one monster be? He hands him some sort of canned fruit and a piece of monster candy, before settling down next to him, leaning against his brother’s shoulder for support. “Okay, NOW, tell me what happened!” “really it was nothin’ “ Sans gives me no helpful information while Papyrus shivers and grips his skull painfully. “Are you okay Papyrus!?/you okay paps!?” Sans and I ask him simultaneously. His eye sockets are wide as he repeats, “I R-Remember…” “WHAT EXACTLY DOES HE REMEMBER?!” I yell out but Sans is already falling asleep… What happened…

Sir’s POV:

The tracking device on the giant skeletal monster was going haywire earlier. Appearing from an undisclosed location to Mt. Ebbot in seconds… That should be physically impossible… Maybe monsters are more powerful than we thought. Even Papyrus rose high in military ranks swiftly. Actually, he did in three weeks what take humans 25 years… He became a general… If Papyrus and his race are similar, there’s no way we can win this… They’re to powerful to destroy. So not only is our government’s power and the country’s military strength in danger, but they could easily overpower or destroy us. Destroy everything… There would be nothing we could say or do. They’d win… Unless…

…we destroyed their order…

…we destroyed their king…

Papyrus’ POV:

Sans… The King… Undyne… The Royal Guard… The Web Of Lies… Muffet… The Machine… The Army… The Underground… Humans… SOULS… The Human Frisk… Death… Resets… Timelines… Flowey… Manipulation… Loneliness… Forgettable… Useless… Dust… …👎︎☼︎📬︎ ☝︎♋︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎…

How do flowers talk. Why did he hide. Why did she lie? Why didn’t they live? Can I trust him? Did he mean to? Why did he disappear? Will the world go back? How can silence scream? Why does it hurt…

I wanted them back. I wanted to remember… But the memories bring more questions, bring more pain. I wanted this… WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH! … I just wanted to remember… It hurts… Why?…

I feel tears stream down my face as I begin to shake… Why does it have to hurt?… I don’t think I like this very much…

“U-Undyne…?” I catch the captain’s attention in a second. “Papyrus! Are you alright?!” “I T-Think?…” I try to sit up, but Undyne shakes her head in disapproval as she sits next to me. “So… uh… are you feeling any better?” “A l-little?…” She smiles and compliments my strength. “If you’re feeling up to it, could you tell me what you remember?” “E-Everything… M-My Childhood, The Royal Guard, The Base I W-Was Kept At… You and S-Sans and Everyone Else T-Too…” She looks shocked for a moment then she just smiles. … The Human… “Papyrus? Is something wrong?” “No… J-Just… I M-Miss My Friend…” She looks down sadly. “Yeah, a lot of monsters are missing or dus- on vacation” “I…” I sigh. What’s the point of talking about the human if it will make Undyne sad? My friends deserve the world, my brother does too, despite being lazy and slightly self deprecative… “Undyne” “Yeah?” “I T-Think Everything Is Going T-To Be Alright, We J-Just Need To Believe!” Right?…

CHAPTER 14 COMING SOON-ISH

#undertale #underverse #underwelcomed #papyrus #sans #sir #undyne #angst?

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abronzeagegod · 5 months

Text

Untitled YA Novel Chapter 10: Practical Learning

First Chapter || More

9:54 AM local time

Untouched Horizons, House Dinchdrast, Si Yátz

After a long day and all the stress that came with it, the boys slept for a long time. Their new neighbor Hira tried to sleep but she was consumed with a burning curiosity for the notes that she had received from Alt.

When her phone beeped with the delivery of the materials, she found that she was awake and there was no going back to sleep. All of the things were direct historical records, the kind of thing she always read about but never managed to get her hands on documents themselves.

The zlilfian people were fastidious record keepers. Usually it was dull things like the accounts and ledgers of crop harvests and taxes and population counts and breeding rights. But these were accounts and even court records for some things that happened thousands of years ago. It was too good a chance for Hira to pass up reading them.

She read through as much as she could in her room, but the bed she was on was softer than the one in the barracks and wound up falling asleep while reading. And she wanted to see if she could get print outs, actual paper to read off of.

As she collected herself to head out, getting changed with the loaner clothing that was provided for her, she briefly had a moment of panic that she was going to miss morning drills with Rafe, again.

But after a moment, the panic subsided, only to be replaced with sadness and despair.

Hira left her room with the sadness still hanging over her, so she went to go find something to eat. And hopefully some chocolate.

She gathered up her stuff and left her room only to find Justin and Mike a moment later, clearly lost, trying to get into a locked cleaning closet.

“You know where the cafeteria is?” Mike asked. “We’ve been wandering around for an hour.”

“Yeah,” Hira responded. “Follow me.”

“I told you that wasn’t the elevator,” Justin muttered to Mike.

The boys followed Hira back down to the first floor cafeteria.

She didn’t speak much to the boys, who felt like she was mad at them for some reason.

When they got to the wide open room, she went off to a station off in the corner. When she returned she set down two cups of hot chocolate for herself. Just as she did, another zlilfian came by with a stack of papers for her.

They exchanged a few quick words in their language.

Justin and Mike went to try and find something to eat. They recognized only a few things, mostly from what they ate last night. There were oranges, some kiwis, a couple of kinds of bread, and a few bagel shaped things that didn’t seem to have the same coloring as the bagels that the humans were used to. Mike was more adventurous than Justin was.

They sat down at Hira’s table which was now covered in papers.

She nodded at them as they sat and continued to drink her first hot chocolate.

“What are you reading?” Justin asked. “Looks like historical records?”

“Yes. These are the things that the human who attacked me was after. This is all to see if there are clues as to what they are after for me to find.”

“What could they want from the historical records?” he asked.

“I brought you some food,” Mike interrupted as he slid a plate that he had picked up and loaded up with food over to her.

“Thank you,” she said as she picked at some of the stuff he got. It was the good stuff too. Mike had excellent taste. Turning back to Justin she said, “That’s exactly something to figure out, which I am attempting.”

“What could have possibly happened in the year 100 that requires breaking into your… barracks to look up?” Mike asked as he read a piece of paper close to him.

“That’s the First Mayan Collapse,” Hira said through a mouthful of fruit. “It’s when Untouched Horizons first investigated something that they thought was related to the Silence.”

“Maybe it’s just a thing to try and figure out how they’ll respond to this,” Justin said before pausing for a long moment, “attack.”

“That’s exactly my thought,” Hira said. “You should try that one, the small green one. It’s my favorite. Very sweet, a little tart, and the texture is very pleasing. It is similar to your… gello, I think it’s called?”

“Jello,” Mike said as he took some and immediately started to spread it on some of his toast.”

“What about this stuff from… two hundred BCE?” Justin asked after tasting some of the fruit Hira had grabbed first. It was extremely sweet and a little tangy. It was interesting, unlike anything else he’d had to compare it to.

“That? I do not know,” Hira said. “It’s a time that I haven’t read very much about so I don’t know what the big events are. There’s a bunch of stuff about a political party that I’ve never heard of.”

Justin grabbed the paper he was reading and read out loud, “The Home Party commissioned a large boat, possibly the biggest wooden ship ever built, as part of a recovery mission.”

“Recovering what?” Mike asked. He had taken to his old standby of trying a single bite of everything and then moving on to combining them to see what new and strange combinations he could create.

“I don’t know,” Hira said after a long moment of thought.

“On the bright side that’s something we have in common,” Justin said as he kept reading.

“What is that?” Hira asked back, suspicious of what the commonality could possibly be.

“Our politicians suck too.”

Hira let out a low hum that was mirrored by her wings.

“What’s it like to fly?” Mike asked between a particularly unpleasant bite of a fruit combination and a much better one.

Hira paused for a long moment, she couldn’t think of a good answer. “I suppose it is like what you must feel when you swim. Freedom of direction. Something we were made to do.”

Mike nodded sagely as he turned his full attention back to his food and trying to combine things into fun, different tastes.

Hira finished off one hot chocolate and returned to her notes.

Justin wasn’t paying attention to either of the two at the table. He was trying to look over all the pages, trying to figure out what was going on and how his dad was wrapped up in it. No answers were forth-coming, and the world around him seemed to go strangely quiet.

“It’s quiet,” he said, he knew he said it. But he couldn’t hear the words.

The Silence was here.

Justin tapped Mike on the shoulder who looked up at him. His friend clapped hard in front of him. No sound came out. It was the only thing he could think to do. He did the same to Hira.

Both of them looked scared, desperately looking around everywhere trying to find the source. All they saw were what appeared to be the usual zlilfian crowds going about their lunchtime business.

A moment later an explosion rocked the cafeteria. The outer wall exploded inward, no sound accompanied it, but the wave of pressure and dust and debris sure did.

Mike immediately shoved Justin and Hira down, below the table.

After a few seconds of silence and settling dust, the attack began.

Peeking up over the edge of the table, the group saw a few zlilfians moving in and fighting with the dazed others, still stunned by the explosion.

Then in walked a man, human, with a close kept beard and brown hair. Bradford Frost. It had to be him.

Justin tapped both of his companions and pointed out the man. He could feel Mike tense next to him. However, Hira wasn’t looking at Frost. She spotted Rafe moving through the attack like she was still asleep.

She leapt up and went to Rafe, to do… she hadn’t decided what she was going to do if she was honest.

Justin tried to stop her, but Hira was gone before he could do anything. Mike looked like he wanted to jump u p and help, but Justin held him back. He pointed towards the kitchen vigorously, but Mike looked at him in confusion. Using the little bit of sign language the two managed to learn, he signed “go over there”.

Mike suddenly caught on and nodded.

Justin held up three fingers. Then two.

Then one.

The two boys stood up and immediately ran straight for the kitchen. A zlilfian got in front of Mike to try and stop them, and he didn’t hesitate to punch them right in the head.

Justin could see Mike yelling, “Sorry!” even if he didn’t hear the sound of the apology.

The two boys made it into the kitchen and ducked behind the buffet line.

Mike made a gesture that Justin didn’t realize but must have been a “what now” gesture. He tentatively picked up a sharp knife, but Justin vehemently shook his head. He had an idea, he just needed ingredients. And hoped that the zlilfians had the same safety codes that humans do.

Meanwhile, Hira had pushed by and flew by more than a few of her fellow zlilfians on her way to Rafe.

She got to her partner, and stood in front of her. But Rafe didn’t stop, or even slow down. She drew her dlondzhii and advanced on Hira.

The first swing went wide and Hira ducked under it. Rafe didn’t stop her attack. Nothing about this was right. Hira’s friend, really her only friend, was attacking her. But the body language was all wrong. Rafe didn’t look quite right. She looked like a sad puppet, being controlled by something bigger than her and without the power to stop herself, or really be aware of what was going on.

Hira dodged every attack Rafe was trying to hit her with. She had to do something to snap Rafe out of it, she just couldn’t think of anything to do!

Another blow came right at Hira’s head, and this time it looked like it was going to connect. In a decision that Hira wasn’t conscious of actually making, she dived right at Rafe.

The two boys were tearing the kitchen apart in a frenzy. Justin needed a few very specific things, and he knew very little about zlilfian cooking methods, or even their language. But what he did know was building things, breaking things, and accidentally starting fires.

Mike held up a package and frantically waved his arm at Justin to get his attention. He pointed it at it.

Justin nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

Mike went to put it in the pile of stuff that they had collected already.

Justin pulled open a cabinet and found exactly what he needed: a fire extinguisher.

He grabbed the red device and turned around to run back towards the ongoing battle.

Instead he came face to face with a zlilfian that looked like it was about to attack him. He hadn’t gotten used to their features or mannerisms yet, but this one clearly looked ready to attack. Frozen in place, Justin didn’t know what to do.

Mike knew exactly what to do.

He threw the nearest thing at hand, which was a cutting board, right at Justin’s attacker. The large piece of wood smacked into the zlilfian a few moments before Mike followed, slamming his body into the person attacking his friend.

That snapped Justin out of his shock and he ran towards the buffet line and pulled the safety release on the fire extinguisher and pulled.

Instead of a spray of cold smoke, there was a thick foaming liquid.

“There goes plan A,” Justin said to himself.

He was hoping for more smoke screen, like he so often saw in movies. But that didn’t work out how he wanted. His thought was that if sound was a problem, then take away the attackers’ vision too and it would really hamper them. And he knew that zlilfians weren’t the same as bees, but he did know that smoke had a stunning effect on bees, so maybe if he was lucky that was translate.

Time for plan B. Justin was going to have to make his own smoke.

Mike was busy defending him from the attacking zlilfian, so that meant he had to work on his own. And fast.

Justin got to work opening the various ingredients he had found in the kitchen. He really hoped this worked. And didn’t burn the entire building down.

He kept the fire extinguisher close by, just in case.

Hira tackled Rafe to the ground. She managed to duck under Rafe’s attack and eliminated her reach advantage. But now she was in a wrestling match with a girl that was bigger, stronger, and a more disciplined fighter than her. Hira could only hope that her scrappy nature was enough to keep her conscious this time around.

They landed hard on the ground and Hira tried to take advantage of bing on top to sting Rafe. She hoped to use the same tactic that Rafe had used against her and knock her friend out. Maybe that way she’d snap out of it.

Unfortunately, she missed. Rafe was the better fight, even as controlled as she was, and rolled out of the way. Now she was trying to pin Hira under her. But Hira fought her off, kicking at her with all her might. She wanted to save Rafe, but she wasn’t against hurting her a little bit. Especially since Rafe had stung her twice.

Each time she connected with a blow against her friend, Hira desperately hoped that this would be the thing that would snap Rafe out of it. But nothing was working, and they were rolling around on the floor fighting each other.

Some small part of Hira’s brain wept at how sad this situation was. She was fighting Rafe. But there was nothing else she could do but fight.

Justin was good at a few things in life. And chemistry was one of them. He did his own research outside of class, and more than a few experiments at home that got him in trouble with his dad. This was one of those things.

There are certain things that simply should not be burned, set on fire, or in this case, put in a hot thing of frying oil. Thank god that zlilfians also like their foods fried.

Justin grabbed a heavy pan and hit the valve on the back of the frier. Most times he would say that the temperature control unit was extremely important, now was not one of those times. He needed smoke and he needed it fast. Thankfully he learned his mistake when messing around with the home doughnut kit he got a few years back for making Christmas doughnuts and almost burned the house down. Justin just wanted it to be faster and more efficient.

Once the two fryers were screaming hot, Justin did the other thing you’re never supposed to do with a fryer: add things that were not designed to be fried. The correct, or incorrect, combination of ingredients would create quite a mess, and hopefully a smoky one.

Now all he could do would be to wait, and stand by with the fire extinguisher just in case.

Within moments, smoke started to fill the kitchen. The zlilfian that Mike was fighting started to retreat from the oily, dark smoke that Justin was successfully producing in great quantities.

Hira smelled the smoke before she saw it. Immediately she felt dazed and saw Rafe in front of her stumble as the smoke hit her too. For a split second, Rafe seemed to be coming out of whatever controlling haze was over her.

She moved to reach out to Rafe, but the human Bradford Frost touched her first.

Rafe settled back into the dull stupor of control by the Silence. And they were leaving.

Feeling like her chance at saving her friend was slipping from her, Hira tried to chase them down.

But the smoke was getting too thick, she felt her movements starting to slow down. She wasn’t going to let that stop her. Hire was going after Rafe, no matter what.

She tried and she tried to keep pushing forward, but after a moment it was clear that they were gone. She wanted to just settle in and go to sleep, but the enemy was flying away.

Justin heard Mike coughing and that’s when he knew that his plan had worked. Mostly.

He tried to move to shut down everything to stop the smoke, but Mike grabbed his arm to try and pull him away from the kitchen.

Justin ripped himself out of Mike’s grasp, “I’ve got to shut it off!”

“Oh, I can hear you,” Mike yelled. “At least stay down! Grab a towel and put it over your mouth!”

Justin nodded and awkwardly crab-walked over to his improvised smoke machines and quickly shut them off. He found a large cooking tray and covered the friers as best as he could. With this kind of thing, he knew that you had to smother it.

With that done, he quickly left the kitchen and followed Mike to what he hoped was safety.

i have a kofi

find me on pillowfort

#my fiction #untitled ya novel #these poor kids i put them through so much

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reidsaurora · 1 year

Text

Part Ten: "You Have To" ~ S. Reid

Summary: Two weeks had passed since the incident at Bennington's, and Spencer and Imogen hadn't spoken since then. However, on day fourteen, an important piece of mail arrives explaining to Spencer why that is.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Imogen Sterren (bipolar!OC)

Word Count: 1,186 (she short 🤩)

Content Warning: very mild swearing, a couple mentions of the sanitarium, a mild mention of manic and depressive episodes, overall just really angsty

Genre: Angst. lots of Angst.

Extra Notes: no one talk to me about how short this chapter is

Based On the Song: Soon You'll Get Better by Taylor Swift

Originally Written: 01/02/2023

Criminal Minds masterlist can be found here!

"Soon You'll Get Better" series masterlist can be found here!

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥." - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐬

Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three-hundred and thirty-six hours. Twenty-thousand, one-hundred and sixty minutes.

That's how long it had been since Spencer had last seen Imogen.

Every night, he sat in his now half-empty bed, on the right side, almost like he was waiting for Imogen to climb into the left side. He'd wait up, phone in hand, waiting until the clock struck seven.

After a week, he'd started calling her. Though, every night, he'd be met with the same response. "I'm sorry, Dr. Reid. Imogen isn't feeling well."

On the fourteenth night, he hadn't even had the strength to move from his couch to his bedroom. He couldn't. Not when Imogen wasn't hiding behind that door, ready to greet him with open arms.

A knock startled him as he stared at his safe spot, a small patch of green paint that had been seemingly impossible to cover up with the new paint color. "Spencer," a familiar voice as sweet as candy called through the front door, "it's Penelope. I come bearing gifts."

Spencer forced himself to move from the couch, not even bothering to pick up his blanket—one his mother had knitted him, of course—as it landed on the hardwood floor. He trudged over to the door, wiping his tear-stained cheeks as he unlocked it. "Yeah?" he said, nearly in a whisper.

Penelope held out her hand, a wide smile spreading across her face as she handed him the envelope. "It's from Imogen."

She didn't have to say it. He already knew. From the signature brown envelope she always used to the curls on the crosses of her t's, he knew it was her.

Penelope could tell Spencer was hesitant to open the letter. Still, she cleared her throat awkwardly before asking, "Would you like me to come in?"

He didn't say anything, instead opting for a nod of the head. He shuffled toward the sofa, Penelope following behind him after closing the door. She placed the rest of his mail on the coffee table before taking a few steps forward. "There's the rest of it. I'll go make us some tea while you sort through it, OK?"

He nodded again before picking up the stack of envelopes. A letter from his cable company, a late Christmas card from his primary care physician's office, the newest edition of Mercury Monthly a.k.a. his favorite astronomy magazine... and then there was the letter from Imogen. The sagebrush on the stamp stared at him, a sudden wave of homesickness hitting him like a ton of bricks.

He looked over to the kitchen, making sure Penelope was distracted with her tea-making before opening the letter.

"Dear Spencer,

I am afraid that with this letter, I come bearing bad news. If you're reading this, that means I'm moving facilities and will no longer be able to see you.

These last few months have been heaven for me, and I gathered as much that it was the same for you. You will never know how much it meant—and still means—to me that you pushed yourself well out of your comfort zone to check on me that first night. I've known ever since we played Margery Kempe trivia that I've loved you, and Christmas only further solidified it for me.

I'm afraid I have to go for a while, but I will never forget you. I will never forget that sweet, innocent, and strong man that held my hand through both manic ups and depressive downs—even from 2,423 miles away.

I love you, Spencer. I will continue to love you, whether or not we reunite someday. I know you will do the same. You have to.

Love you, bye. - Imogen 𖤐"

Spencer had barely gotten past the greeting of the letter before tears poured from his eyes, sobs wracking his body. He fell back onto the couch, grabbing his knit blanket and clinging to it like his life was dependent on it.

Penelope couldn't help but hear. She quickly turned off the burner before scurrying over to the couch, attempting to wrap her arms around Spencer. "Hey, boy wonder, what's wrong?" she cooed, pulling him up into her chest.

"S-she's gone," he choked out. "Imogen's gone."

"Gone?" Penelope worried what he might mean by that. "Where's she gone off to?"

He shook his head, wiping a few stray tears with the back of his hoodie sleeve. "She di-didn't say. She just s-said she'd be going away for a-a while. A-And that she c-can't talk to me."

The blonde wrapped her arms even tighter around him, leaving a soft kiss atop those curls she was so often jealous of. "He's a guy, how does he get such beautiful hair but has no haircare routine?" she'd asked herself so many times.

They stayed there like that for quite some time. He sobbed into Penelope's shoulder, secretly hoping he hadn't covered her favorite blouse in his snot and tears. Penelope's arm was wrapped around his back, the other petting his hair gently as her way of saying, "Let it all out, sugar. Just let it all out."

By the time he'd finished crying, Penelope had cried along with him. Sure, it could've just been that she always cried when she saw other people crying, but she believed it was because Spencer was her little brother. In her mind, it was like if Spencer was the moon, she was his Saturn. If he was the hot cocoa, she was the mini marshmallows. Or—her personal favorite analogy—if Spencer was the taco, she was the Tuesday.

She stayed there, arms wrapped around him, comforting him the way no one else ever had, until he'd finally willed himself to shed his last tear a couple hours later.

Spencer wiped his cheeks one last time before forcing himself off of Penelope, knowing if he didn't, he'd cling to her all night.

"Thank you," he managed to whisper. "For everything. For helping me through this—this whole thing, not even just tonight. Hell, I'm even thankful you picked up my mail for me," he chuckled.

"Sure thing, Spencer," she told him, followed by a closed-lip smile. "You gonna be OK?"

"Yeah," he said, pinching one last tear away from the end of his nose. "I actually have somewhere I need to be tonight."

She nodded understandingly, stepping toward the door. "Hey, we're here for you. The whole team's been worried about you. I know you took an emergency leave of absence, but we're all ready for you to come back when you're ready, OK?"

He gave her one last nod before grabbing his coat and hat from the coat rack. He locked the door behind himself, letting out a sigh as he walked toward the stairwell.

He knew he'd have to get over Imogen. He knew he'd have to forget her. But today? Today was not that day. He knew neither tomorrow, nor the day after that, would be that day either. But he did know one thing: even if he had to forget Imogen, it didn't mean he had stop to loving her.

"𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨?" - 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭

AAAAHHH, WE'RE GETTING SO CLOSE TO THE END AND I'M GETTING ALL EMOTIONAL ABOUT IT 😭😭

anyway yeah, this chapter was super short but i couldn't think of like filler material to put but also i didn't wanna use filler material and make it boring so this is what you get instead 🤣

anyway, i hope you're all enjoying what i keep calling "the nitty-gritty" of sygb. i'll see you all next week!!! 💛💖

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soulmate-game · 3 years

Text

Harley’s Plea for Help: Chapter 2

Chapter 1

“How long do you think it’s gonna take before she decides to sneak out?” Nightwing asked over his comms, lazily leaning against the balcony railing in front of him with his head resting on one hand.

“Dude, I started sneaking out almost twenty minutes ago,” a girl’s voice made Nightwing squeak and turn around, to reveal a teenage girl leaning against the door that led to the balcony he was on. “I didn’t want to draw attention to myself by doing unnecessarily showy gymnastics down from my hotel room’s balcony, no matter how much fun that would be, so I just snuck out one of the hotel’s back exits. Then I looked up to admire the moon and saw you here, staking out what is clearly my suite, and decided to come pay you a visit.”

“How long have you been there? And how did you even get behind me? I hope you didn’t break and enter, that’s an actual lived-in apartment behind us right now,” Nightwing asked, turning around to analyze the daughter of Harley Quinn for the first time in person.

She looked just like in her pictures, of course. Jet black hair like her father’s, except it seemed to have a bluish shine in the light. And her eyes were definitely Harley’s— thank goodness for that —vibrant blue and clearly analyzing him with the same amount of intensity as his did her. He had to bite back a chuckle. In a turn of complete irony, she really did look like a Wayne kid. Fit all of Bruce’s usual criteria to be adopted. But she was tiny, even smaller than Harley’s lithe form. He, Bruce, and Tim were of the hypothesis that the exposure both her parents had to Ace Chemical’s vats of acid likely had an effect on her DNA that stunted her growth. Perhaps there were other effects that they wouldn’t be able to figure out until they got to know her better, too, though it was clear that her skin was a likely one. It wasn’t unnaturally pale like her parent’s after their acid dips but it was paler than normal for sure, just a shade or two shy of being paper white.

And he could see, now, what Harley meant when she referred to Marinette as a powerhouse. It wasn’t very noticeable in pictures, but up close Dick could see the carefully honed muscle of an acrobat curling over her otherwise slim build. Combined with the knowledge that Marinette had been taught at least some serious self defense from a young age, he could see how such a tiny package could be a remarkable threat when necessary.

Marinette grimaced as the other Batfam, who were all nearby staking out her room from different angles, dropped onto the large balcony with them.

“Uh, well. I didn’t break and enter, I rather not get off to a criminal-ly start on my first night in Gotham, you know? But I realized that even though I was able to figure out the exact room you were staking me out from, I realized as soon as I got into the first floor of the building that I had no idea how to actually get to you. So I just climbed the stairs all the way to the roof and scaled my way down to this balcony, and pretended I’ve been here for a while when really I was barely able to hear you ask when I was gonna sneak out. I’m still out of breath, actually,” she put a hand on her chest and sure enough her breathing was still slightly fast. But not enough to be worrying or even all that noticeable. Yet another piece of evidence to show that she was a very active individual and had resistance built up to physical activity.

“Yup,” Robin groused grumpily, crossing his arms. “With all that rambling, you couldn’t be anyone else’s child but Quinzel’s.”

Marinette’s face immediately flushed pink all the way to her ears. “I’m sorry! I’ve been trying so hard to quit that habit, too!” She grumbled a bit to herself, putting her face in her hands. They all chuckled at the display. Red Hood ambled over, draping his arm over her shoulders (he nearly had to bend in half to do it, the height difference was that bad).

“As adorable as your freak out is, why’d you even come up here anyway? There’s no way you’d scale down a ten-story building just to say hello.”

She let out a heavy sigh at that, slowly peeling her face out of her hands. “Yeah, I recognized you guys right away. And honestly, as much as Momma Harley would be super proud of me for managing to give an entire group of vigilantes the slip, she’d also ground me for life if she found out that I saw you guys and still snuck away even though she probably swallowed her pride and asked you guys to babysit me, right? Self preservation. Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have some.”

“Wait,” Red Robin held up a hand, brows clearly furrowed under his cowl. “You expected her to ask for our help?”

“Well,” she made a so-so motion with her hand. “I didn’t think of it beforehand, but it all clicked once I saw Nightwing. I know how much my mom is worried about me, especially since you-know-who broke out a few days ago. She is more than worried enough to ask you guys for help. Even if she does complain about you guys, a lot actually, she also has made it clear that she trusts you guys with the stuff that actually matters.

“‘You know who’?” Batman repeated, arms crossed. If Marinette squinted, she thought there might have been a grin on his lips. “Is that how you always refer to him?”

“What else am I gonna call him?” she asked, face going deadpan. “Sperm donor? Source of a large amount of my self doubt and depreciation? The prime reason I haven’t been able to see my mom in person more often over the years? Oh, I know! How about I just always refer to him as ‘that bastard I wanna punch,’? That sounds good!” she rolled her eyes sarcastically. “Only one person in this world has the right to be considered my father in any capacity, and it sure as hell isn’t him. Genetics notwithstanding.”

Red Hood straight up guffawed at that, landing several rough pats on her back that made the girl stumble a bit. “Yep, I like this one! But as fun as it would be to see you give that jackass a mean left hook, it’s better if he never finds out who you are or knows that you’re here,” the vigilante’s voice got dark and serious very quickly. “He doesn’t forget people he finds interesting easily, and if he ever finds out about the connection you have to him, he’ll be a constant threat in your life.”

“I know,” Marinette agreed with a nod. “And if this conversation was happening two years ago, I’d say that my mom’s concerns aren’t unfounded. That I am too easily emotionally compromised and despite my deep seated issues and hatred for that man, I couldn’t guarantee he would be unable to get to me.”

Batman straightened up, as did all of his sons around him. None of them had missed the ‘if’ there. Batman’s voice went from charmingly deep to it’s usual gruff grumble. “What changed in two years?”

They all watched as Marinette gulped, taking a deep breath as she stalled for time, looking out at the view on the balcony before seeming to steel herself and return her gaze to Batman’s. When she did, it was suddenly full of iron will.

“I didn’t lie when I told Mom that I came to visit her— but that isn’t the whole truth, either. If I just wanted to visit her in Gotham, I would have waited until I was eighteen like we agreed. But I can’t wait, Paris can’t keep going on like this. I entered that contest because it was the fastest way to see you. I didn’t know if I would win, but… I had to take the chance. There was no way I’d be able to get to Gotham behind my mom’s back otherwise.”

“What are you talking about?” Robin hissed, stepping up to his father’s side. “Paris has been silent. If anything were happening, we would have heard about it by now.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Marinette corrected, never losing that ironclad look in her eyes. “Because a combination of magic and politics is keeping it quiet. No news about Paris’ situation is able to leave the city limits. Magic makes any non-native who leaves Paris think that everything they experienced was just a crazy dream. Natives won’t forget, but politics has all of us under very strict NDAs if we leave city boundaries, and all of our local news and social media is blocked from being accessed by anyone outside the city. But, I figured a little breaking of the rules wouldn’t exactly put a stain on my family’s reputation or anything, so,” she dug in her pocket and pulled out a thumb drive, holding it up for all of them to see. She swallowed again, but never stopped her eye contact with Batman. She held out the thumb drive.

“I came to Gotham to ask for your help. This sped things up, I didn’t expect to see you on my first night here, but two years in Hawkmoth’s Paris has really taught me how to roll with the punches. This,” she shook the thumb drive. “Holds videos of every fight since HawkMoth first showed up. It has all the information I’ve gathered over two years, tracks his movements and lists all his targets and— everything. But I’m not a detective, I’m a designer. I make clothes, I spar on the weekends, I am not good at getting evidence to prove that someone is a magic-abusing villain holding an entire city hostage.”

“We’re gonna need some details, Little Q,” Red Hood finally removes his arm from around her shoulders, instead crossing his arms and looking down at her sternly. “If your city has a villain holding it hostage, is anyone fighting him? And if you do have someone fighting him, why don’t you need our help, or why didn’t they call the Justice League? The JLE should be in Paris, right?”

Marinette snorted, face scrunching up in obvious distaste. “I’ll have to answer those a little out of order. First; the JLE was kicked out of Paris. They moved their headquarters to Italy about five years ago, I’m just surprised they apparently kept that secret from you,” she gestured to all of them, who indeed seemed very caught off guard by that tidbit. But Marinette just sighed and continued. “Though that’s a good thing, actually. We do have heroes, it started out as just a pair but it’s grown into a small team out of necessity. They didn’t call the Justice League because the last thing we need is any powered heroes coming in and making it worse— your league doesn’t have the best reputation for letting newer heroes take the lead even on their home turf, you know,” she pointed out, which made Batman shift a bit guiltily. He knew the JL was often a bit… heavy handed in their methods.

“What makes the situation so bad that you don’t want to bring experienced heroes into it?” Red Robin cut in, sounding as if the whole situation was a puzzle he was determined to sort out. Which, really, was exactly what Marinette had been counting on. She shot him a finger gun, grinning.

“That’s exactly the point! Hawkmoth uses a magical artifact, like I said— but this artifact can brainwash anybody who experiences even the slightest negative emotion. Sadness, anger, fear— anything negative. And it gives them powers, but puts them largely under his influence,” her expression twisted again, this time into a wry little grimace. “I guess you can say that my momma’s psychiatry background has secretly come in handy a lot over these past two years. And Hawkmoth is exactly why I try to tell Momma Harley to stop visiting me— I have worked my butt off to keep her from finding out about his attacks or getting Akumatized. Every time she shows up it gives me a heart attack!”

“Akumatized?”

Marinette waved a hand dismissively. “It’s the term used for when someone is turned into a super powered villain because of HawkMoth. The brainwashing— really it’s more similar to a straight up corruption. The person usually lacks their usual moral compass, and just seeks to soothe whatever set off their negative emotion in the first place. Usually, that means they seek a bloody revenge. And if someone who already has extensive training or extremely strong powers gets Akumatized, guess what?” She made jazz hands even though her face was deadpan. “Extra powers, or amplified ones, for the metas or superheroes who are Akumatized. And imagine what someone with, say, Batman’s level of experience could do if he had powers and no moral compass,” the silence that followed her words was deafening. She just nodded, knowing she had gotten her point across. “I’ve been working my butt off to stay positive, because if I’m Akumatized…” her shoulders fell, and she had to swallow a lump in her throat. “... I have no idea what I’d turn into, but if you take into consideration both my training and my family history… it’s really best if we never find out what kind of magic-powered supervillain I’d make.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Nightwing said after another long moment of silence for that to all sink in. He gestured at her with an open palm. “You’ve been dealing with a terrorist for two years who targets emotional vulnerability, you apparently have never been corrupted by this magic at least to present day, but your mother still worries about you being very emotionally fragile. And your heroes are not detectives, which is clearly what you need or you wouldn’t have asked us for our help.”

Marinette nodded. “I used to be very impressionable. At the start of all this, I was a huge people-pleaser. I got attached to new people in a matter of minutes. My mom always said I reminded her too much of herself— but two years of fighting off a guy trying to get into my head—“

“Wait,” Batman nearly barked, taking a step forward. “He’s been targeting you? You specifically?”

Marinette nodded grimly, mouth a straight line. “Not from the beginning, but this past year it’s been painfully obvious. He might be able to sense the strength of people’s emotions, and unfortunately I don’t exactly experience my emotions very… gently. All of my emotions tend to the much more intense side of the spectrum. If that’s true, then he might know that any negative emotion I feel will make an extremely strong Akuma. Either that, or he’s going by process of elimination. All of my friends, except for one, have been Akumatized already. So has my Papan and my grandmother. But it’s obvious when he’s targeting someone, I’ve felt him try to override my will on several occasions. But I can’t just repress all of my negative emotions forever, so consider us working against the clock right now. That thumb drive has all the details you need about our heroes, how exactly Hawkmoth’s powers work, and so on.”

“Do your heroes know you’re asking for our help?” Red Robin asked, gaze burning a figurative hole through Marinette’s face. “Better yet, if this drive has as much information as you say it does, how did you get it?”

Marinette handed the drive over to Batman, who finally took it and tucked it in his belt as she answered.

“Momma Harley might have a lot to say about your detective skills, but you are all still strangers to me. So consider this a test of your abilities— I expect that you will all go to extreme lengths to verify all of the information I gave you anyway. After all, I’m still the daughter of your most hated enemy. Right?” She met each of their gazes, one by one, with a challenging one of her own. “You’ll just have to figure out my connection to the heroes on your own. And how I got the information, too. It shouldn’t be too hard for the so-called world’s greatest detectives. And maybe this can double as a trust exercise. I fully expect you guys to scour through every inch of my past, and dig up everything you can on me. I encourage you to try to find everything you can, so that hopefully you can decide to trust me on your own once you have all the details laid out in front of you. By the way, for your own sanity? I’d start with reading about all of our heroes’ powers and abilities before you watch any footage of past attacks.”

Red hood rocked back on his heels, trading glances with the other vigilantes before they all shared a nod. Apparently having decided their course of action, Red Hood leaned down and hoisted Marinette up into a princess carry. All traces of her previous iron will melted away in favor of the high pitched squeal of surprise she gave, and once more she became an overly flustered teenager.

“Alright, little cutie. Let’s get you to your mom’s place before she and her crazy plant lady fiancé come hunting us down.”

“I can walk! I can freerun on my own! Mon dieu please let me down! Eeeeek!” She squealed again as Robin slapped a domino mask over her eyes and Red Hood wasted no time jumping over the balcony railing with her still in his arms. The fact that they were lowered down by a wire wrapped around Hood’s waist didn’t seem to take away any of the fright that came with a sudden drop over an eighth-story balcony.

Part 1

@emotionalsupportginger @alysrose-starchild @emistar0 @kibastray @justanotherfanficlovinbitch @alyssadeliv @blackroserelina @blackstarlight-co @readingalldaysleepingallnight @maanae @aespades @jaybird-and-co @fleursroses @probably-a-hologram @misterpianoman (didn’t work sorry)

#dc x mlb #dc x miraculous #maribat #bio!dad au #Bio!mom Harley Quinn #Bio!Dad joker #mlb x dc #ml x dc #Harley’s Plea for Help #platonic brucinette #platonic jasonette #platonic Harley Quinn x Marinette

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praisehoes-and-runovervirgins · 3 years

Text

Chapter 3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

---

You hold the last box of your belongings close to your chest and take a deep breath nervously pressing the button to your new home. Wow, that sounds weird. Sharing a home with the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight. Your chest tightens. “God, I better not fuck this up” you mumble to yourself as the pent house suite door opens. Noah stands in clear view of the door as it opens. You walk into the apartment. “Y/N'' he yells at the top of his voice. “Where were you? I didn’t see you. I was worried, '' he said all in one breath. He wraps his arms around your leg and takes a deep inhale.

You look at him confused and put the box down. You have to tear him off you so you can kneel down to give him your daily bear hug. As you do, you notice his teary puffy eyes. You look at him puzzled then suddenly, almost like something in you woke up you panic, “Are you okay baby?” you grab him by the arm and turn him around manically looking for a source of pain. He doesn’t answer. You grab his leg and pull his PJ's up to continue looking for some sort of bruise, anything physical that would explain him crying. “He was crying cause he didn’t see you” a voice said walking past you and Noah. You look up at Liam grabbing a piece of fruit from the counter. His face looked disinterested. “He woke up and he didn't see you, he thought you left,” he said, rubbing the apple on his shirt. You lock eyes for a moment as you try to read into his expression. Fuck, he’s just like his dad, so hard to make out what he’s thinking. The sniffles coming from Noah make you break your eye contact. You look at him with wide eyes. “It’s okay Y/N. I’m okay. Please don’t cry. I just thought..” he jumps on you again, this time throwing you both onto the floor. “I’m not leaving Noah” you say, squeezing him tight. You didn’t even notice when your eyes were wet before Noah pushed back on you. He wipes the tears out your eyes. You smile at him softly. A few moments with Noah went on about how he’s so excited about your room and how it’s really close to theirs. Where’s Bakugou? You look around distracted as Noah goes on. “He’s upstairs” Liam says walking towards you with a napkin. He hands it to you and turns on his heel as he takes another bite of his apple. You sit there stunned, holding the soft piece of tissue in your hand. “Did you hear what I said?” Liam says, grabbing your face with both hands and then smashing his face into your neck. “Let’s go find your dad, yeah?” you say as you start to pick Noah up.

Bakugou is on the floor, legs crossed as he’s holding a piece of your unmade bed frame. He has his phone pressed against his ear and shoulder. “I already told you I don’t want to go on another date with her” he growled into the phone. “Well, that’s not my problem. I don’t care what the public thinks about us.” he says a little louder. “Daddy!” Noah says running, throwing himself on his back. “Hey buddy” Bakugou says, ending the call in one swipe of his finger and tossing it on his lap. “What were you talking about?” he says, gripping Bakugou's neck a bit too hard. “You're trying to kill me buddy” Bakugou says, letting out a quick laugh as he releases Noah's hands off his neck. They sit there laughing for a little. I love seeing them like this. It’s so different from how the rest of the world sees him. Bakugou looks at you leaning on the door and cracks a smirk. “Are you gonna come into your new room or what?” he says, turning around to face Noah again. You feel like the wind was knocked out of you when he looks at you even for a second. I’m going to have to live with this man. You got this y/n? You steady yourself and walk over to them. You kneel down on the floor next to Bakugou, “Do you need help? I am pretty helpful with these types of things” you say taking the piece of wood off the floor. “For starters, this was supposed to go in that thing” you say giggling. “Ah fuck” he says rolling his eyes. “HEY, WATCH YOUR MOUTH” Noah scolds him. You all break out in laughter. You spend the rest of the morning setting up your new bed set. You told bakugou that you could just use the one you had in your old apartment but he insisted on getting you a new one. You can appreciate all the things he does for you, since you’ve almost moved in he’s gotten you the best of the best; everything from fancy towels to new hair products for your hair type.

“We’re off to the park” Noah screams at the top of his lungs towards your bedroom at Bakugou. He wouldn’t be louder if he tried. But then again, look who’s his dad. He usually doesn’t raise his voice around me but when he does, oh boy is that grown man loud. The walk to the near park was one of the best, Liam actually was talking to you about his classmates and how one of them has been giving him problems. You try to come up with a plan of how to deal with it. “If I tell dad, he’s going to make a big deal about it. I already get enough attention as it is.” he explains when you asked why you haven’t told Bakugou. “Well, I’m happy to hear you out. I’m not as hot headed as your dad” you laugh. He cracks a smile as you put an arm around him as you’re walking. After a few moments Noah bust between you both and yells, “are you guys done talking? I want a hug too” he says scrunching up his nose. You hug both of them. Noah pulls you close, puts his hand on the side of his mouth and whispers, “without him please”. This child is going to be the death of me. You pick him up and swing him into your arms. “You’ll have to let me go, we’re here guys” you say as you put him down. They both run off in different directions. You sit there on a bench taking in the warm sun. I can honestly do this everyday. This feels like.. You’re stopped mid thought when your phone starts to vibrate. Oh, the alarm I set for earlier. Well might as well check social media. I haven’t had much time since moving. The first thing you look at is twitter, you follow a few of your friends and some popular celebs.

“Did you hear about Dynamite and his new girlfriend?” you overhear two women say as they walk past you and take a seat on the next bench. What? “Oh my god. They look so good together. I would die to trade places with her”. You sit still for a moment trying to gather your emotions. Who is she? Why didn’t he tell me he was dating someone? I thought. I-I don’t.. You grab your phone quickly, opening it and going to twitter again. You search up, “Dynamite and” and there it is. You stare at your phone for a bit. There she is, a beautiful tall slender blonde woman arm in arm with Bakugou. You sigh in disbelief pushing your back into the bench. Why does this hurt so much? Fuck. Why do I even fucking care? He’s not even.. “Hey, are you okay?” says a deep voice. You turn your head, noticing the very handsome man next to you. “Yeah” you say, taking another breath. “You don’t sound okay” he says looking deep in your eyes. His hair is black as night and his eyes are deep purple, you can honestly get lost trying to figure out how many different shades there are in them. “Yeah, I just got some news.. I wasn’t expecting it” you say shifting your eyes down and moving some hair out of your face. “I bet. Boyfriend?” He says as he watches your face carefully for a reaction. You let out a slight giggle before letting out a breath and bite your lip, “no”. The man and you sit in silence for a minute. Fucking hell. Why do I feel like shit right now? This hot guy is next to me and all I could think about is you wrapped around another woman. Fuck this.. You lay your eyes on the man again. He’s about Bakugou’s age with a very muscular build, he has a couple white stands in his hair, he’s beautiful. “Which one is yours?” you scooch over towards him. “The little one over there” he points at the kid playing with Noah. He stretches his arm to rub the back of his head, you can clearly see him clearly stretching his muscles. You almost laugh out loud. Trying a little too hard buddy. You both make conversation for a while. It doesn’t take long before He’s asking you on a date, you accept of course. Maybe seeing someone else for a couple hours will help me get over this.. whatever this feeling is. After a few more minutes Noah comes over to you all sweaty trying to hug you. “Let's go home” you say with a smile. I feel like shit but I can’t even show it. This kid can read me like a fucking book. Okay, put on a smile y/n.

A few days have passed since you saw the pictures of Bakugou and his “girlfriend’. When you came home that day, you couldn’t even look at him. Why the fuck am I acting like he betrayed me or something. I’m just the nanny. Get a fucking grip y/n. Still, you tried to avoid him as much as possible. When he walked into the room, you would walk out, you ate dinner in your room unless Noah asked you to stay with him and you tried everything in your power not to look at him in his eyes. You were butt fucking hurt to say the least. After a few days you get the courage to talk to him. You take a deep breath before knocking on his office door. “Come in,” he says lazily. He’s sitting in his chair facing his computer typing away. He stops and cocks his head over his shoulder to look at you. You can do this. You need to do this. “Do you need anything?” he says, turning his head back at the computer with his hands still on the keyboard. “I-I I won’t be home Friday night. I don’t know what time I’ll be back” you say almost in a whisper. “Oh” you’ve caught his attention now. He turns off the monitor and swirls in his chair to face you. Fuck fuck fuck fuck “I checked your schedule and I saw you work till about 3. That gives me time to..” you say waving your hand around like a child explaining something. “Yeah, that’s fine” he says, eyeing you up and down. You look nervous, like you have something you’re hiding. “Cool” you say, taking a deep breath as you turn on your heel about to make a run for it. “A date?” he says in a low deep almost bitter tone. I was so close. I WAS SO FUCKING CLOSEEEE “Yeah.” you say turning back around to face his him. “With that guy in the park?” He says looking you up and down almost like he’s looking for a reaction. “Yeah, How did you..” you look at him confused. “When you guys came home Noah told me that you were upset about something while you were in the park and this guy started talking to you,” he said, crossing his arms. Why do I feel like I’m getting fucking scolded. “Yeah, I was pretty upset about something" you look away from him. How can I say: Hey, I was upset that you're dating a blonde supermodel because… well, I don’t know. Also, please sign my check sir without sounding like a total psycho. You quickly snap out of that thought as he stands up and slowly walks over to you. You’re still staring at the floor as he stands in front of you. “Is that why you haven’t said a word to me for days?” he says in a low tone, still arms crossed but this time biting his top lip looking for your eyes. You slowly look up at him. He’s so big and muscular next to you. He’s also wearing your favorite outfit. Those sweats and tank top combo will be the death of me. Your eyes finally meet his. In this moment you’re lost in his eyes, the intensity that’s usually there isn’t. You can’t quite put a finger on what he’s thinking or this unknown expression plastered on his face. It feels foreign but nevertheless it knocks the wind out of you. You feel your heart rate increase. “No” you say after some time staring into his eyes. I don’t believe her. “Okay” he says with a sigh. “Okay” you say back to him looking away. Tears start to form in your eyes as you walk away from the office. You take a moment to catch your breath in the hallway and turn back towards his office. Your body almost moves on it’s own. Maybe I should cancel. I don’t even- I don’t want anyone- Before you can knock on his door again you get a twitter alert. “Bakugou and girlfriend were spotted kissing in the park two days ago” it read. The pictures in the tweet were bad, you can barely even tell if they were kissing or not but It still made your chest ache. Bakugou opened the door to see you squinting at your phone trying to zoom into the picture. “Change your mind?” he said leaning on the door frame. You jump up and step back, you didn't notice how close you guys were. “No.” you say looking him dead in the eye. “Why would I? I am so excited” you say with a broken smile.

Bakugou and you don’t speak for the rest of the day. You are both noticeable in a bad mood.. “What’s wrong with daddy?” Noah says to Liam as Bakugou stomps around the house while you’re hiding in your room. “He’s jealous,” Liam says looking at Noah. “I have a plan, wanna help?” he says, smiling at Noah. Noah gives him the same devilish smile back.

Taglist: @lil-miminini @bqkuho3 @xoxo-teddybear @candybabey @butterflyhallucations @sizzlingdonutturtlemuffin @hay-leeeah @speedmetalqueen @yourfavoriteblackfemweeb @bakucumsackslut @shipchild @nanamithecute

I'm so sorry it took so long but If anyone else wants to me on the tag list for the next one lmk :)

#mha bakugou #bmha bakugou #bakugou x fem!reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou angst #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #dilf bakugou #daddy bakugou

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drabblecat · 3 years

Text

Yandere!Heisenberg x F!Reader Part 2

Rating: Explicit (18+)

Warnings: yandere behavior, slight nudity, drugging

Part 1

Slightly longer than i was aiming for but that's ok! My initial thought was more pwp but then I realized I kinda wanted some sort of plot... Anyways, big plans for next chapters! As always I'd love to hear what you think and the ask box is open!

You took a moment to try and calm your nerves. Heisenberg still had your face in his rough hands, and you couldn’t try to run with that chain holding you down. As his thumb ran across your lips anger built inside you. Mother Miranda was supposed to protect everyone in the village, but as soon as shit hit the fan there was no one that came to the rescue. You parted your lips as if starting to speak, his thumb now pressing down on your lower lip. Tilting your head forward ever so slightly, you bit down on the man’s thumb. He pulled back and sat up in shock that someone in your current position would do such a thing.

“Take care of me huh? Like Mother Miranda was supposed to? Yeah, well look how that worked out!” The hand still next to your head quickly gasped onto your neck, lifting you up to meet his eyes.

“That bitch was just using the village. It was a lie she used to make sure we had the right number of bodies to work with and everyone fell for it!” Tightening around your throat you started to gasp for air, hands pulling at Heisenberg’s grip. He let you go, house bouncing against the mattress. “It seems you need some more time to adjust. I’ll be back later and hopefully you’ll realize your place here.” The bed shifted as he stood up. Walking to the door and closing it behind him you heard a loud telltale click of a lock.

You stared up at the ceiling for a moment, not only to catch your breath, but also in attempt to process what exactly was happening. Tears formed in the corner of your eyes, one spilling over your cheek and rolled down to your chin. You let it fall for just a moment, and then gathered yourself. What was done was done. True you saw people that you knew dying in the streets, but you didn’t truly know them. You were just the new girl in town, if they were in your place, they would just be happy to be alive. Besides, Heisenberg was one of the town’s lords, right? It’s possible that this isn’t all that bad, you don’t know anything about him besides owning the old factory. At least he’s not Beneviento or Moreau. The dolls were creepy as hell, and you were never one for going near the waters that looked like they’d eat you if given the chance.

Using the sheet you wiped your eyes, and decided it was best to examine your surroundings further. Getting off the bed, the chain falling to the floor with it, you saw the cuff had a decent amount of length to it. Besides the bed and the heavy door, there were a few other things. There was the chair still at the end of the bed, a small nightstand, a vanity, and two other doors. Walking over to the vanity you were taken back. It had a framed photo of you that you do not remember taking. Especially since it was of you just out of the shower! Hesitantly you tipped it over, not wanting to even think of what that photo implied. Below the vanity were some drawers, opening them you found a hairbrush, and what only could be described as some of the raunchiest lingerie you’ve ever seen. Then came the two doors, one was significantly smaller than the other. Trying the small one first in the back left of the room, no luck. After turning the round door knob a few times you gave it a rest. Next was the larger door, this one opened right away. Nothing too interesting, just an ordinary bathroom. It was a little dirty, but nothing worse than what you’ve seen at certain gas stations.

Starting by opening all the possible cabinets you found they were all empty. Nothing to even try to use to get out. No cleaning chemicals or even medicine in the medicine cabinet. Heisenberg must have thought this through this for some time. The chain finally ran out of length at the toilet, just short of the bath. Seeing as nothing came from this, you returned to the bed to stare at the ceiling and think. Not like there was anything else to do. Who knows how long it took you to explore the room and think your thoughts. Without windows or any sort of clock there was no way to tell. Curling up to one side you snuggled into the blankets. Once again you heard the door click, causing you to bolt upright to face the noise. Heisenberg came through the door, carrying a metal tray holding a plate of food, a fork, a glass with what looked like water, and a small white vase with two wilted yellow flowers.

“Dinner time! Now I know I’m not the best cook, but you should find this to at least be appetizing. After all you must be starving darling.” He sat the tray on the bed and sat back in his chair. The plate was just as he said, didn’t look five stars, but your stomach growled at the mess of food. It looked like some baked beans, accompanied by some thick slices of grilled ham, and a chunk of corn bread. You still didn’t move, despite your hunger.

“Ok ok, you probably think I drugged the food, right? Well, I didn’t. Drugging you would be easier with a dart gun.” He lowered his glasses slightly to look you in the eye. With a sigh he grabbed the fork, picking up an entire slice of the ham, ripping a bite out of it. “See?” he placed the ham with the fork in it back down on the plate, speaking as he chewed. You couldn’t hold out much longer. If now was dinner time, that means you missed an entire day with nothing to eat. Planning any sort of escape or resistance to him couldn’t be done on an empty stomach. Reaching forward you used the fork the cut off a bite sized piece. It was surprisingly well seasoned, and super tender.

“There you go sweetheart! I knew it would just take some time to get used to, I’m not all that bad.” He chuckled and watched you as you ate. Only because he was watching you did you eat just a little faster than you had wanted to. Sure, he was a little off putting, but he seemed happy when you played along with whatever sick fantasy he had conjured up in his head. Once the meal was done, he set the flower on your nightstand and the tray right beside it. He stood up, taking his hat and coat off and throwing it on the chair.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I had a full day today and I am beat. Time to get some shut eye.” He glanced over to the vanity; a small piece of cloth poked out from where you had rummaged around. “I see you had some fun today as well. Your still in that ragged gown, I think you might want to change into something a little more… fresh.” Shit, you thought you’d put everything back to where it was. You mentally curse yourself as he opened the drawers. He was right though; you were still in the stained nightgown from the attack. As much as a fresh outfit was a good idea, you dreaded what his choice might be.

After a few moments of rummaging, he pulled out a gown that looked like it went down to mid-thigh, in a deep crimson color. It would have been a nice gown, if it wasn’t for the fact that the entire section around the breasts were almost see through lace with slits on both sides that went from the bottom and halfway up.

“Absolutely not.” You blurted out, causing him to chuckle.

“Sweetheart I don’t think you have a choice in the matter. Besides you and I both know that if you stay in that grimy thing, it’ll make you more uncomfortable than wearing this. It’s soft to, pure silk.” He tossed it on the bed and gave you a wink. Giving a defeated huff, you picked it up. He was right, it was incredibly soft. Getting off the bed with the garment in hand you headed towards the bathroom.

“Aww, and I thought I was going to see you strip. Maybe some other time…” He looked at you with his shit-eating grin. Your face became flustered, and you slammed the door as fast as you could, not shutting all the way due to the chain. Once inside the bathroom you began to change, making sure he couldn’t see you through the crack in the door. It was only then that you found the slip came with a matching pair of panties. Sighing in defeat and honestly just tired of all the bullshit thrown at you these past days you just put them on. It did give you some comfort, surprisingly feeling clean in this lewd outfit over your much more covering, yet crawling with filth, night gown. Taking a look in the mirror you looked yourself over. At least your tits looked hot in this, a confidence boost is good, right?

Slowly opening the door further, you became almost timid at what you saw. Heisenberg had also begun to strip down to his boxers for the night. He was in the middle of removing his shirt. His muscular back was littered with all sorts of scars. His muscles flexed as he took of the white stained undershirt, the smallest beads of sweat wicked away by the fabric. His tight ass was also a sight to see. Looking over his shoulder, he locked eyes with you, no longer having glasses obscure the direct line of sight.

“Well well, seems we’ve both found ourselves some eye candy huh.” Tossing the last piece of clothing to the chair he approached the door. Opening it and taking your hand he looked down at you, you quickly looked away to avoid feeling more embarrassment. Suddenly he picked up bridal style, your hands immediately reaching for his chest in attempt to hold on. In doing so your hands felt the warm firm handful of his pecks. He chuckled as you quickly folded your hands back into your own chest. Ever so gently he set you back on the bed, a sharp contrast to what had happened earlier.

Settling down next to you, you turned away from him. As you felt the bed dip with his weight, he wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you close. You could feel a slight bulge resting against your ass. You tried to create some sort of distance, but you couldn’t move at all. Resigning to the situation, you tried to settle down, eyes unable to close despite some tiredness. All you could see in the limited range of movement you had was the nightstand, remnants of the meal, and the two flowers wilted but vibrant as they sat in the small vase.

#karl heisenberg x reader #karl heisenberg #re8 #yandere!heisenberg #yandere resident evil #smut #re8 smut #x reader #karl heisenberg x you

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megthemewlingquim · 3 years

Text

someone new.

summary: there's an art to life's distractions.

pairing: eventual hades! loki x persephone! reader

warnings: implied smut, alcohol consumption

a/n: here it is, the first part of foreigner's god. as said in this fic's masterlist, these will not be chapters, but rather short stories and one shots that can be read separately or as one whole piece. it's up to you.

i plan to base each part off of one or two hozier songs. this is inspired by "someone new".

is there a right way to fall in love?

that’s what loki asks himself every day — well, every night — when he spends his free time at bars and gatherings. populated widely with fellow gods, goddesses, and spirits of many colors and passions; these bars are perfect places to find someone new.

being the god of death, however, puts loki at a bit of a disadvantage. yes, the stereotypes are, unfortunately, true. loki is dark, a little antisocial, and very quiet. beautiful in appearance — death is seductive, at least to the willing.

‘the willing’ being many a spirit, many a dryad or goddess or creature who wants bragging rights, or a little nightly thrill. ‘that’s right,’ they say, ‘i had a little dance with death last night.’

loki doesn’t mind the mornings when his temporary partners talk about the nights, but he always cringes when they mention that accursed french phrase — la petite mort. it’s a joke to them. a mockery.

yet, they stay, and sometimes, they come back for another little death.

the spirits and goddesses never make a big impact on him. he is with one for a night, then another for a night, and so on. he falls in love every day with someone new and it’s a bore. a bore and a drag.

dark caresses don’t do much to numb the pain: the pain of loneliness and solitude. the ache in his heart is constant, tearing at his mind whenever it can. alcohol can't do much either — all gods have a very high tolerance. mead was made for them.

so loki is left with no escape besides those that come from the willing. little deaths. they make him feel loved.

no...

no one loves death. some crave him. but they don't love him.

that’s the common theme running through loki’s head every time he takes someone home with him, or goes upstairs with them to the top floors of the inns he’s at, where the bedrooms are. it’s a distraction.

however, the cycle ends when, while pointlessly wandering around his usual bar, he sees someone new one night. you.

you radiate this... this warmth that he’s never felt before. everyone around you seems to be affected by it too - they don’t treat you as the life of the party, but they do gravitate towards you like birds to a nest.

and you’re quite shy, but infectiously happy and cheerful. you’re so beautiful, with your bright eyes that he knows are wide and filled with wonder, and your lovely skin that he knows is so soft. and your smile that he knows is so comforting to all who see it.

to everyone else, you feel like they’ve just wandered into a happy memory, or a sun-lit room that’s pleasantly warm and golden. you feel familiar. ordinary, but lovely all the same.

to loki, you feel... feel like something he’s only experienced in dreams. so, really, he’s never felt it before in his immortal life: something warm and alive and... and anticipatory. like there’s new things about to come up to the surface — flowers, new animals, maybe. you give off a sense of... he can’t describe it well. a slow and joyful awakening something.

and you also feel completely and utterly powerful. unstoppable. he’s terrified of you, and yet he’s drawn to you. you’re so fascinating, strange. not as if you could end the world, no, that’s his own job. but it’s as if you can bring the whole world to life, raise it back up again after the chaos fades.

you feel like spring. like rebirth. like new life.

and that’s when it hits him.

persephone. he’s heard the name passed around before, but before now, he has never seen the face behind the name. something about this sparks some fear in him: how would persephone, goddess of spring, daughter of demeter, react to seeing anyone even remotely like himself?

for a moment, he’s grateful that you’re not looking at him; you’re actually looking at the table, at the drink you’re sipping. there’s a look on your face that isn’t bored, nor afraid. maybe... observant.

people are around you still. not crowding, but not interacting with you either. it’s like you have a bubble around you, keeping everyone from getting too close. maybe it’s your doing but maybe it’s theirs. honestly, you’d think that dryads and gods and goddesses and spirits of all forms and colors and subjects would be more accepting.

he pities you. you seem lonely.

loki takes a few steps forward, betraying his own fear. like the red sea, the crowd parts. some are bold and unafraid, and they give loki varying looks: disgusted, seductive, snarky. you don’t notice him until he sits down in front of you, at the other end of the table.

“hi,” he says calmly. he manages a small smile. “you’re new here, aren’t you?”

your eyes lift to lock with his own. immediately, you recoil just the slightest bit. he knows what you’re thinking: wait, that’s hades! god of death... wh-why is he talking to me?

“it’s alright,” he soothes. “don’t worry. you’ve probably heard of all the stories: gods kidnapping and doing terrible things to goddesses and spirits and dryads. i’m not here to do any of that. i promise.”

with a single, somewhat confused blink, you nod. “m-my mother has told me a lot about that stuff,” you say slowly, as if saying anything too revealing will somehow alert demeter and get you in trouble. “she’s... she’s terrified...”

“what is she terrified of? that those terrible things might happen to you?”

“yes,” you say. “she’s told me that she’s had nightmares in the past. specifically about you. how you’ll kidnap me and take me to hell to live with you.”

he laughs at that - a rich, amused laugh that takes the shivers out of you. “that’s bullshit. overprotective mothers, yeah?”

you shrug. “she loves me.”

“and are you afraid of me, princess?” the last word is whispered. his voice extremely soft - it’s a curious question.

he notices how you lick your lips. “no,” you say. he notices how your eyes flick all over him. “no, i’m not.” and you seem truthful.

“smart girl,” he says with a grin. “i hate liars. there’s not a god on in the world that’s ever been truthful. well, besides jesus. yahweh. whatever you wanna call him.” loki leans back, crossing his hands behind his head and bringing his feet up to the table. “your father, though... he’s the worst of ‘em. having children with other women, including your mother, while hera has to sit by and watch, and then lying about it.”

“we’re gods,” you say. “i'm not trying to justify things but... we’re far from perfect.”

“damn right we are. we’re fucked up. good. we can agree on something. most days, people think us gods are... perfect things. role models. and, maybe some are. but not us. not the gods of olympus.”

he pauses, takes a swig from a beer bottle that was not in his hand a few seconds ago. “i was wondering if you wanted to do what humans do.” loki winces at the awkwardness. “when they're... y'know. interested in someone.”

“you're interested... in me?” you ask, incredulously.

“yeah, i am.” one sip of beer has loosened his tongue. or maybe that's just his confidence soaring now. “maybe this hasn't been the best introduction to things but i would love to take you out sometime. show you things.”

“my —” you swallow. “i'd get in trouble.” you shrink away just a bit.

his smile fades and it's replaced with a sadder, more sincere look. “the best things in life have risk to them. it's time i show you that.”

and really, he does feel sorry for you. it's your first time at a bar, you're lonely. no friends as far as he can tell. an overprotective goddess mother.

“think of it this way. i think you're very pretty and i like your honesty. i would like to help you see the world, and to have a little fun, since your mother has obviously never let you do anything in your very, very long life.”

“i'm twenty—one.”

“and now i'm wondering if demeter actually has you tell people that, as if you're a teenage mortal.” loki shakes his head, disappointed. “that's pathetic. you're a bajillion years old. you're a goddess! you should be able to do whatever the fuck you want, right?”

when there's no answer from you, he sighs. leans forward to sit normally, putting both of his elbows on the table and pointing his hands at you. “alright. i'll roll with it for now. you're twenty—one. i guess. you can drink. you can go out alone to bars and other places. you can meet new people. you're an adult. think about that.

“so, again. i think you're very pretty and i wanna show you around. get to know you. would you like to do that with me?” he raises his eyebrows a little, waiting for a response.

it's an eternity before you can win a battle in your mind. slowly, you nod, giving him a smile. “yeah,” you whisper. “yeah, i would. thank you.”

“don't thank me just yet, sweetheart. i haven't shown you anything yet.” he gets up, pushes his chair in.

before he leaves, he winks at you. “call me loki. it's... not as dreadful... as hades. and... what do i call you?”

you say your name, your voice quiet.

“much better than persephone, i think. it suits you. we'll keep in touch, ok?”

“okay,” you say. butterflies are flying rapidly in your stomach.

loki leaves you there. he'd much rather take you back to your home himself, but that would be too risky for the time being. for now, he walks out of that bar feeling like the king of the world.

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somewhatgreatexpectations · 3 years

Text

Like I Can (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello, again! As always, post- Age of Ultron and pre-Civil War. Loosely inspired by Sam Smith’s “Like I Can”. Let me know your thoughts! :) Warnings: A potential cavity with the cuteness that may or may not be in this chapter.

“There may be lovers who hold out their hand, but they’ll never love you like I can.”

“Wanda?”

The girl in question looked up in confusion from her place on her bed when she heard a knock on the door and the sound of your voice. “Y/n? Since when do you knock?”

“Can I come in?” You replied completely ignoring her question, but she could sense the smile in your voice.

Wanda shook her head, a smile of her own covering her features. “Only if you can guess the magic word.”

There was a beat of silence, “I love you?” you answered which made her smile widen.

“Nice try, the magic word was ‘capsicle’, but you may enter either way.” She said in her most formal tone as she snickered.

Slowly she watched the door to her room creak open as you poked your head inside, a playful smile spread across your lips. Her heart fluttered at the sight. “You realize that this is practically our room since you live here 99% of the time and all your stuff is here. You don’t have to knock.”

You stepped in fully, but a hand remained behind your back which she took note of curiously. “I know. I just wanted to ask you something.” You answered cheekily.

Her head tilted at your words, “And that would be?”

With a flourish you pulled your hand from behind your back and revealed a bouquet of purple violets and white dittanies. “Will you be my date to Tony’s party tonight?” The bashful way in which you asked made Wanda’s heart flutter once again.

She stood up and made her way to where you stood as she gently took the flowers you offered her with a smile. “Of course, I will be.” She pressed a short kiss to your lips, “I had already assumed I was.” Wanda wrapped her free arm around you, so she could pull you closer.

“I figured, but I still wanted to ask. You, my love, deserve to be romanced.” You tightened your arms around her when you saw a blush spread across her cheeks. “I picked these flowers out specifically for their meaning.”

Wanda rested her head against yours gently, “So romantic, moya lyubov. What do they mean?”

You plucked the flowers out of Wanda’s hand and placed them on the bed, so you could hold each other properly. “Well, a white dittany means love and passion, and a purple violet means true and everlasting love. Flowers to represent how I feel for you.”

The thought you put into everything you did constantly took Wanda’s breath away and often left her speechless and this instance was no exception. “I love you… so much.” She whispered breathlessly. You responded by pulling her into a passionate embrace.

A few hours later and you and Wanda were walking hand in hand to the already thriving party that Tony was hosting in the Avengers tower tonight. Almost immediately you both got pulled to the bar by a drunk Tony and Sam. As they started chatting away with Wanda you couldn’t help but watch the interaction.

The way Wanda flourished in the light of your love was astonishing not only to you, but to the rest of the team as well. For the first time since joining them, Wanda had actually formed her own friendships with everyone, even Tony. She attended dinners, random movie nights and even joked around with them comfortably. Sure, she still gravitated towards you at each of these events, but she had allowed them in. It warmed your heart to see them get to know the Wanda you’ve known all along.

When Wanda noticed you weren’t as hyperverbal as you usually were she quirked an eyebrow at you as if she was silently asking if you were okay. You just wrapped your arm loosely around her waist and leaned in close to her ear, so she could hear you over the thumping of the music. “You look beautiful.”

A blush tinted her cheeks a rosy pink as she leaned in even closer to you, “You’re one to talk. You’re absolutely breath taking, moya zhizn.” Now you were the one blushing.

A rebuttal was on your lips when Steve interrupted by clapping a hand on your shoulder causing you to jump and him to laugh. “I hate to break up this little love fest, kid, but I need your help to settle a debate I have with Natasha. Do you mind if I steal her away temporarily, Wanda?”

Wanda waved her hand, with an easy laugh as you feigned betrayal. “Be my guest. Just be sure to return her in one piece.” She winked at you as Steve dragged you begrudgingly over to Natasha.

For moment she looked around the party and merely took in the sight of dozens of people she didn’t know with the occasional Avenger scattered around mingling. A short laugh escaped her lips when she met your eyes from across the room as you pouted at her and crossed your arms like a child while Steve and Natasha kept arguing. As she was watching you she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

When she turned she found Vision standing before her with a friendly smile on his face. “Hello, Wanda. How are you enjoying the gathering?” He questioned formally which amused her.

“Hi, Vis. It’s…” she looked around once more before looking back at Vision, “Interesting. How are you liking it?”

“I don’t believe I was programmed for situations such as this.” He replied unsurely.

Wanda laughed at his response, “I don’t really think I’m programmed for this setting either, if it makes you feel better.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded at her. A smile on his face. “It actually does, thank you.” Wanda simply smiled back at him. “I feel as though you and I understand each other.”

Wanda tilted her head curiously, “Why is that?”

“Well, we each developed our powers under the same force, which is why I feel the stone is drawn to you.”

For a moment Wanda just stared at him thoughtfully, “I never thought about it that way before. You say the stone is drawn to me?”

Vision took Wanda’s hand and placed it over the stone which she felt the force of underneath her fingertips. “I believe our powers are intertwined.” They both stared at each other when the sound of a short cough caught Wanda’s attention.

“Am I interrupting something?” You questioned, your brows furrowed as you stared at Wanda’s hand still hovering over Vision’s stone. She dropped her hand.

Wanda shook her head, “Of course not, krasivaya. Vis was just telling me about the stone.”

With a nod you took Wanda’s hand in your own ‘Vis?’ you thought to yourself. That was certainly new. You brushed it off and pressed a kiss to Wanda’s cheek who smiled at the action. Vision long forgotten to Wanda as nothing mattered whenever you were around. “I was wondering if I may have this dance?”

“You certainly may.” She replied cutely with loving eyes.

Gently you lead her by the hand to the make-shift dance floor, walking backwards so you never had to look away from her beautiful green eyes which you loved so much. Her eyes never strayed from your own either. When you stopped you dropped her hand only to wrap your arms around her waist as hers moved to wrap behind your neck.

For a moment you just stared at her with a tender smile which caused her to duck her head shyly. “What?” she questioned with a chuckle.

You tilted her head up so you could look into her eyes again, practically melting when they met yours. “I just love you. I’m so happy to be with you.” You admitted honestly.

Wanda smiled at you so brightly it could have rivaled the sun in your opinion. She gently caressed your cheek. “I love you, too. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love someone the way I love you… Or for someone to love me like you do.” Something about her words was vulnerable and it moved you.

Both of you leaned forward and met in a gentle kiss. Spending the rest of the night in one another’s arm and ending it the same way when you went to bed. Wrapped up tightly together, unaware of anything outside of each other.

The end of part 4! Do we sense a storm coming or do we think it’ll be smooth sailing for our couple here? ;) As always, I hope you enjoyed and would love to know your thoughts.

(P.s. the parts are 1: Latch, 2: One Day at a Time, 3: Fire on Fire in case anyone wanted to know)

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oneoftheprettynerds · 3 years

Text

Just My Type: Dark!Steve x Reader (Mob AU)

Chapter 2 in the Lipstick and Crayons Series.

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Darkside

Main Masterlist

A/N: This chapter is 2K words more than the last chapter and I’ve second guessed every single line in this one. This story is getting a lot of traction guys and I’m equal parts happy and scared. Thank you for the nice comments, they do encourage me. Also I’m just ranting feel free to skip this note haha. Your support in any form: like, comment or reblog is appreciated greatly. Also you can dm if you want to be friends, God knows I need those. Hopefully, this chap was worth the wait. Also, I made a poster for this on the main masterlist so check that out, it might be foreshadowing dome plot.

Warning: Eventual Non-Con, Sickening Threats, Mob Themes, Violence, Death, Manipulation, a mild mental breakdown, Cheap Tricks later.

Genres + Characters: Mob AU, Single Parents AU, Steve Rogers x Reader.

Summary: Steve can't ever repay you for what you did. After meeting you, Steve believes his broken family is the missing piece in the puzzle of your own wrecked one. Indebting the crime lord to you has been the biggest mistake of your life, cause now you can't get rid of him, no matter what. Loyalty and favours go a long way in the mob.

Chapter 2: Just My Type

It had almost been a week since the incident and you had barely gotten a wink of sleep. When you drove back to your house that night, Steve surprisingly didn’t argue as you had expected. After that friend of his whispered something in his ears, you only assumed he was needed elsewhere and you couldn’t be more thankful for that. They escorted you to your car and Steve thanked you with a strained smile, words genuine but eyes calculating. You didn’t even wonder what went inside his head. You were thankful for the peace and quiet of your own car, content to just get out of the area and into your humble abode.

After you put the already asleep Grace to bed, you couldn’t bring yourself to get out of her room. You just sat on the floor beside the bed, hand intertwined with hers as you rested your head beside her tummy on the mattress.

Your adrenaline wore off and your limbs ached as your thoughts finally settled into place, the gravity of the catastrophe a few hours prior hitting you. Tears made their way down your cheeks as you realized that you both could have very well died tonight.

One bullet could have sealed each of your lives and you were basically defenseless had Steve not saved you against the creeping assaulter. You couldn’t commend yourself for even defending yourself against one attacker, the guilt of killing someone harboring in your tired head. Your quiet whimpers eventually wore you out, while Grace’s shallow breaths lulled you to sleep.

You didn’t manage to sleep for long though, every time your eyes closed, horrific images flashed in your mind. A blood curdling scream here, heaps of dead bodies there, with distant exploding sounds all around. You could see men clad in black holding guns to Grace’s head and whensoever you woke up, you just wondered how much more creative your mind could get, making these visuals so realistic.

When 8 AM rolled in, you didn’t wake Grace up even though it was Monday and you had work. You got up, changed into a long tee after a shower and called your office and then her daycare. You knew you would have a hard time going back to your normal life, to become trusting enough to leave her alone.

Your assumption about yourself was right. You took almost the entire week off, which your boss generously allowed you to after hearing your traumatic experience, which soon made the city news headlines. All your colleagues checked on you, almost once in the five day break you took, and sweetly enough offered to bring you anything you needed.

It was kind of them, but none of them could bring you what your heart genuinely craved: peace and assurance that you and Grace would be safe.

Even though Saturdays were off, you did go to work to see what you missed and where to start on again. You went in because you knew that the random spurt of resolution you got in the bathroom to collect your life, wouldn’t last.

To ease back into your normal life, you gathered your guts, called a babysitter and left home. You couldn’t bring yourself to leave Grace at the daycare just yet. One of your good friends offered to come in to the office and help you, even on the weekend and you were quite grateful to him.

When you both decided to take lunch in the nearby dining place, you both got to talking, the conversation obviously originating from ‘How have you been?’ and ‘Is Grace okay?’. You reminisced about how you used a photobooth to hide, grotesquely and uncomfortably chuckling when you remembered Sarah calling you her mom and how her dad saved you all.

You deliberately left the part where you killed someone and Steve shot someone too. You hadn’t come to terms with it yet and you stiffly restricted your mind whenever it tried to go down that lane.

He sensed how the conversation was becoming tense and distressing for you and briskly redirected the topic.

“I hope the dad was hot though?” He wiggled his eyes creepily and you snorted at his vulgarity, light for the first time in days.

“He was easy on the eyes; I will admit that.” You played along, recalling your girlfriends and how you used to ogle people.

“Don’t be a homewrecker though, I don’t support cheating.” He said nonchalantly, checking his phone as a notification bell rang off.

“He’s a widower.”

His eyes snapped up and met yours as his head tilted in confusion. “That’s a strange fact to know about someone you met for a few minutes.”

Steve’s even stranger comment about his dead wife popped in your mind and before you could stop yourself, you blurted that out as well.

“He even said and I quote, ‘She deserved what she got.’” He put his phone down, weirdly amused.

“Ooh Creepy! Do you think he is one of those husbands who kill their wives and bury them in the backyard? The podcasts always say that the psychopaths are visually handsome and charming. And his statement was quite vague and spooky.” He continued munching, and you felt that now Aiden was really paying attention unlike before.

“Steve did have a gun while searching for Sarah, come to think of it.” You drank your tea and awaited his response. What you did not expect was his eyes to widen and worry to cloud his features.

“Um Widower Steve with a toddler Sarah? At the place where The Vices attacked?” He mumbled, grabbing his phone and doing God knows what on it. Your eyebrows furrowed and before you could ask him what was up with his antics, he resumed.

“This is a long shot but I really hope your Steve didn’t look like this.” He positioned the phone in your vision, and you could already tell it was Steve by the sapphire blue of his eyes piercing through the screen into your soul. The picture was a month or two old, his hair was much longer when you met him than in the photo.

“This is him.” Your eyes met Aiden’s and worry visibly took over his features as his forehead creased and jaw tense.

He looked around the restaurant, finding it empty in the afternoon. He leaned and whispered, “This Steve of yours is dangerous.”

You interrupted Aiden, even though you already knew Steve was, the sight of his armed men still fresh in your head, and inquired, “Why do you say so?”

“It’s just like the fictional stories we hear from our parents, except here, in this city of ours, every myth holds true. There are really powerful men, untouchable by law, who reign the city silently and live luxuriously. Every shady, under the table deal you’ve heard of, transpires. Illegal trades, fraud schemes and bounty hunters are not fictional, they exist here. These men kill whatever hinders them and trust me, you don’t want to be the deer caught in their Jaguar’s headlights.”

Ice froze in your veins again, resembling the fear you felt that night but now because of your deemed ‘savior’. You convinced yourself that you had not wronged him in any way, instead had saved his daughter’s life.

“Are you in contact with him? If you are, distance yourself cleverly, don't block him immediately.”

“No, we just parted ways near my car, he thanked me for Sarah and was called away. It’s almost been a week and he hasn’t reached out if that’s what you mean. We didn’t exchange contacts and I don’t think I even told him my full name.” You explained yourself as if you were on the witness stand in court, trying to convince yourself more than Aiden.

“Pray that he doesn’t remember you more than that, if at all. I’m being totally honest here in telling you this, I’m genuinely worried for you and Grace. You are smart but he is powerful. He has unimaginable resources and if you become more than a speck of dust on his windshield, you are screwed. There is no exaggeration here.” You took his words to your heart and swore to be careful, if not for yourself then for Grace.

The rest of the day went by and you found yourself dwelling on and worrying about Aiden’s words. At least he put it out there as it was. Heeding his advice, you did google Steve on your phone, finally finding him in the topmost news headline when you added ‘Buck’ in the search bar as well.

‘With 38 lawsuits pending against businessman Steve Rogers, the filers have lost all hope in prosecuting him. All cases are being drawn out for indefinite periods of time by the Chief Justice Bruce……’

Aiden was right.

Businessmen was code for illegal mob heads. Cases being stretched on meant he was, in fact, invincible, at least to the common man’s fists.

You flickered through several titles, each one more surprising than the last. He was believed to be involved in the carnival attack, alleged for three hit and run cases that he didn’t lose but the witnesses swore they saw him driving and was also rumored to have brought in quintals of drugs just last week, but the packets just evaporated into thin air and there was no proof of their existence in the first place even on incessant searching.

Every crime of his made you shudder and you mentally thanked Aiden for pulling you out of your oblivion. Your mind raced and heart palpated and you cursed yourself for being so drastically unaware even after living here for almost four years. Technically speaking, Steve and you were even, him saving your life and you saving his daughter’s. No logical reason came to your mind for him contacting you ever.

You wished as Aiden said and assured yourself that your paths would never cross again, Steve not having reached out in a week, so hopefully never again.

That thought went out the window when you reached home to find a box awaiting you. Hannah, the babysitter you had called, informed you it came around 5 in the evening and was exclusively to be opened by you today.

Your mind raced as you paid the babysitter, your hands sweaty as you tried not to think about the gift and its sender. There was an apparently clear answer to who mailed it but you refused to accept that, courtesy of Aiden.

The box was of the height of Grace, it was black with red hearts painted across it; some red roses also sparingly adorned it. You opened the lid and found tons of red tissues and a multi-flower bouquet adorned with mostly red roses and a few purple and pink flowers.

Because of your frequent gardening in your backyard, you knew all the flowers’ meanings. To sum it all up, red flowers, especially roses were used for courting someone. Pink meant admiration, purple for beauty and you knew the ‘violet’ flowers were for loyalty.

As your nerves increased tenfold, you willed yourself to get it over with and empty out the box first, ignoring the little card in your bouquet, saving the ‘best’ for last. You find a mini bouquet inside but unlike yours, it had chocolates of every kind. You did read its card and cringed when it was for Grace, bothered not by the deed but by the doer.

Further inside were some animal plushies, face masks, perfumes, scented body lotions and shampoos. Your head hurt thinking about the ‘single mother care package’ delivered to you by someone you refused to acknowledge.

As Grace sat in her playpen occupied, you dared to pick your card and read its message, your heart beating unrealistically fast for someone who refused to accept the cruciality of her situation.

I can’t thank you enough in this lifetime for saving my little princess. The gift of your help is more than anything money could ever buy for me. Please accept this invitation of mine for dinner tomorrow night, 7PM at La Bonne Nuit, as a symbol of my sincere gratitude for everything you’ve done. I’ll gets the kids covered and pick you up, you just be ready and look as amazing you always do. Sincerely, Steve Rogers

You stilled as you read it over and over again.

An invitation, your ass. Even in writing his authority portrayed, there was no question and hope for you coming, he just stated that you’d come. Looking pretty as always? You just met him once, in the middle of a calamity, covered in dirt and blood.

All the red roses and gifts screamed his romantic interest but you illusioned yourself into thinking they meant gratitude. You wouldn’t be able to digest it all otherwise.

Knowing what you knew now about Steve, you understood there was no denying the dinner tomorrow. You had to get out of his clutches and distance yourself, but as Aiden had so rightfully said, cleverly.

That night you laid in bed mulling over your next course of actions. You had called the gift shop to return the unwarranted presents you received but they said it was non refundable and anonymous to trace. You bitterly snorted in their face, they put a card with Steve’s name on it for heaven’s sake!

You didn’t flinch even when you realized you never gave Steve your address, neither for mailing stuff nor for picking you up. There was no number given to call him and thank or to call him and deny. The bastard had planned it all out, and you felt like you were driving in a one way lane, going deeper into the tunnel. Somewhere among your all-relentless fretting, you managed to finally sleep.

When the doorbell rang, your eyebrows furrowed. It was just 6 PM and you weren’t expecting anybody else except for Steve. You had already begun getting ready, having developed a habit of keeping an extra margin of time now having a toddler. You still had to assemble Grace’s essential backpack, fill it with her meds and bottles.

While still putting on your diamond earring, you made your way to the door, unlocking it to find a redhead grinning at you. Before you could interact with her, a small body clung to your legs and you looked down to find the azure eyed kid that put you in this mess, Sarah, smiling up at you.

“Mama! You look pwetty!” She looked up in awe and now aware that she didn’t have a mother, you were even more so coerced into accepting this title rather than telling the kid that 'you are semi orphaned'.

“I’m Wanda, Sarah’s nanny. Mr. Rogers told me to pick her friend, Grace, up for the night?” So, this was what Steve meant. Bringing Sarah was proof enough of her legitimacy, but behind her you saw ‘Buck’ salute you from the driver’s seat of the black car. One of these days, you needed to learn his real name.

You invited Wanda inside and Sarah ran to Grace immediately, grabbing and whining while asking Grace to give her some popcorn she was munching on, her fist generously full.

In your open plan kitchen, you grabbed two plastic bowls, filled them with each with the tub of popcorn that sat in the microwave and handed each toddler one, fortunately quietening Sarah. Sarah obeyed Grace, in first thanking you, their ‘mama’ and then following her to her open playpen.

You faced Wanda again who sat on a barstool and kept on beaming. If your annoyance at her amusement showed, she sure didn’t let it falter the smile.

“Mr. Rogers told me you’d worry about your daughter, but I assure you she’d be in more than capable hands.” All you could focus on was how self-reassured she was. “I’ve served him for almost two years, the last family I served, I was there for 8 years and before them, I was employed for 3. I know the general bedtime and snacks, all I need from you is information about her allergies.”

You nodded and told her about Grace, her meds and what all you packed. When you got to know that her family owned the daycare Grace went to, you were finally somewhat convinced. After seeing them off, it was about fifteen minutes later, that the devil disguised in Prada showed up at your door.

You grabbed your purse and your keys. Wiping your sweaty palms on your dress, you opened the door. Steve stood there, a smirk lodging on his handsome face. His blue, three-piece suit perfectly paired with his cerulean eyes was impressive to say the least.

He was dressed to kill, and it appeared as if you were his first victim.

As your eyes took him in from top to bottom, his did the same lazily, taking their time, resting at certain places for longer period than others.

“You look stunning.”

You knew you did. You wore one of your more expensive dresses when you found out La Bonne Nuit to be one of the few seven-star hotels in the country. In hindsight, if you’d have dressed worse, maybe he’d have left you alone.

“Thank you.”

“Shall we?” He offered you his hand and you obliged with your palm in his. Your other hand pulled the doorknob while you stepped out, all alarms already set-in place. He waited while you locked and put the keys in and when you were done, with a soft kiss along your knuckles, he pulled you along.

The act surprised you, your stomach turning and your gut wrenching and you wondered if you’d be able to process the food after all, with your upset digestive system.

Like a proper gentleman, he opened the door for you and when you settled, he took his position at the driver’s seat. The silence was painful for you, your overthinking finally filling ideas in your head that you avoided contemplating about all day, focusing on Grace.

He was relaxed though; his humming was proof enough.

Mid way through, your thoughts were rudely interrupted when a hand housed itself on your knee. You glanced to find Steve’s palm slightly rubbing your knee. If it was meant to be assuring, you certainly didn’t feel like it.

You frowned and looked up to Steve who still had the arrogant smirk on his face, eyes straight ahead on the road, giving no indication of his inappropriate touching.

You wanted to swat his hand away but a brainwave dashed through your head and a disturbing thought made you halt, that whether he carried guns to restaurants as well, since carnivals were no big deal.

You ignored his hand and continued looking outside, pretending to ignore it as well as he did. Your scowl was a huge giveaway though.

You didn’t know that, but when your eyes found their way out, his finally rested on your face, the smirk growing even more.

Thankfully, apart from the incongruous touching, the dinner went okay-ish. The food and wine were impeccable, perfect even, the restaurant on the hotel’s top floors was so picturesque. You tried to savor your one-time experience there, knowing you’d no way be able to come back there.

Well, you tried to relish as much as you could while your mind still sat there, wary of the human in front of you. If you’d ignore your journey here, Steve was nothing short of a true gentleman, often making you wonder if you had imagined his hand on you.

This ‘friendly’ date you were having was probably one of the best you have had, he had left no expenses. He appeared to be interested in your work, about your childhood and about Grace’s but you swiftly avoided his questions about her father. He was growing a tad bit too comfortable for your liking and you still refused to entertain the idea that this was a ‘date’ date.

When you were finally onto dessert, the last course of your meal, your table was shadowed by the broad frame of a brunette and his date. He clapped Steve’s shoulder and Steve rose to hug him, you awkwardly smiled.

“It’s been far too long since you’ve been here, Cap. Why don’t you and your gorgeous date stop by my penthouse for a bit? We could finally go over the papers you sent me, in person?” He winked, they discussed something more and then went away, his date bowing and trailing after him as well.

Steve claimed his seat again, and finally told you about the interrupter. “That was my good friend, Tony Stark, always in a hurry. I’ll introduce you to him when we meet him later.”

“I think I’ll be heading home; you need not worry about my introduction, I hardly think we’ll ever run into each other again.” His eyes narrowed and you clarified, “Me and Mr. Stark, I meant.”

That’s good, don’t associate yourself with more of his kind.

“He was so kind in inviting you though, it would be rude to refuse.”

“It’s already late, Steve. And I’ve never left Grace alone for a night yet. What if she’s antsy? What if she is bothered? What if she feels unsafe? She's only used to very few people, and after last week, I-” You had started the sentence hoping to use Grace as an excuse but every word of yours succeeded in making you more apprehensive.

The carnival night flashed in your mind, along with the nightmares and you started panicking even more. Your hands clammy, your dessert spoon fell in your lap as sought your phone in your purse, hoping to call Wanda for an update. You felt like a terrible mother, who left her child with a stranger, only a week after she suffered trauma, just to go on a date with a mobster.

Steve reached across the table and grabbed your fidgety hands and as you wriggled to get your hands free, he softly called your name. Voice stern but vocals gentle. Your blurry eyes snapped to meet his while he guided you to breathe deeply, in and out.

His firm hold convinced you to listen to him, you’d never free yourself of them otherwise.

When you had calmed a bit, he withdrew his hands and fetched his phone. Your thoughts slowed down, and you wondered if anyone here was judging you. Your little scene, mercifully, went unnoticed by the other affluent people dining here.

Steve handed you his phone where four colored frames rested, the screen showing you Grace and Sarah cuddled in a frilly, pink four poster where Wanda sat too, her lips moving.

The feed was live and the screen muted, both the toddlers’ eyes fluttering close slowly, on the bridge of sleep.

You handed the phone back to Steve and drank your water while he rubbed circles on the back of one of your hands. You never freaked out like you did right now, always collected and never giving into anxiety. What had happened to you?

Well, In your defense, you had never experienced a disaster either.

“The kids are safe; I’m never putting either of them in harm’s way ever again.”

Your mind did catch the plural in his statement but you promised yourself you would not let it get that far and continued drinking your water, emptying the entire glass.

“The HD image you just saw was by cameras Tony recently developed. His technology is amazing, I’ll take you to his lab sometime.” You appreciated his attempt to redirect the topic but you also focused on how tech-savvy his friends were as well.

You hummed and agreed, trying to be ambiguous with your answer.

When you finished your dessert, you hoped he’d forget about his ‘friend’ Tony but to no avail.

“His penthouse is two floors above. He owns this hotel as well in case you didn’t notice.” He led you to the elevator as you recalled the Starks Group logo you saw earlier sometime.

Some AI named Jarvis opened the elevator doors for you in the living room of Tony’s penthouse. It was even more magnificent than the restaurant earlier, the place illuminated by several hues of different colours. Steve chuckled and strung you along, introducing you to a ginger-head named Pepper, who was Tony’s date earlier and went to search for his acquaintance.

She offered you wine but you politely declined, opting for water instead. She brought your glass to you from the extravagant kitchen and you both sat on the barstool there instead of the living room. Too anxious to say the wrong thing, you stayed quiet until her voice filled the deafening silence.

“So, Steve almost never brings dates around. You two serious?” She questioned, leaning towards you, waiting for some gossip, no doubt.

“Oh no! We aren’t dating. He just invited me for a friendly dinner. We merely met the other week.” You deliberately left out the part where there was bombing by crime families and attack on the common man.

“Honey, in the mob life, you don’t just introduce random people to the fam.”

Oh, she wasn’t being shy about the whole mob ordeal. It seemed weird to hear it from her, since you and Steve hadn’t used the word yet. Maybe he figured you already knew considering the circumstances you met in or how famous he was.

“We really aren’t romantically involved. This dinner was just a gesture of gratitude if I’m being truthful.”

She chuckled, as if you were a kid making stories and quizzed, “Gratitude for what?”

You trapped yourself into that one. You didn’t know how to answer her and your brain downright blanked. Surprisingly,, Steve came to your rescue and two voices interposed your conversation.

Steve called your name and as you turned to the men, he continued, “She’s the one who saved Sarah the other night. You know the story, Wilson probably got it printed.”

“Impressive, really. Hey, I’m Tony and I see you’ve already met Pepper, my fiancée.” He shook your hand and kissed your knuckles, much like Steve did earlier in the day. You bowed, smiled and mumbled a ‘nice to meet you as well’. They escorted you to the elevator and Tony continued.

“Well, it’s not everyday Steve brings brave and extraordinarily attractive women around. Welcome to the family, sweetie. She’s a keeper, Cap.” He winked while saying the last sentence and before you could correct him, Steve ushered you inside the elevator, bro-hugging him. As the doors closed, Pepper winked at you from behind Tony and a shudder ran through you.

Okay you had to make it clear, get on the same page.

As the elevator music filled the silence, you started, “Steve, look we aren’t-”, “I served in the army, that’s why Tony calls me Cap, short for captain.” And crudely got interrupted.

“I never wanted to get into the army, I thought people were fools to sacrifice the one life they got. But I went to make my mother’s dream a reality, I really loved her, you know? Sarah is named after her, my mother.”

His voice broke at the end and as much as you wanted to redirect onto your former topic, you couldn’t. This amiability of yours would be the death of you.

“She died alone in her bed; I was dispatched too far away to even make it back for her funeral.” He mumbled but you heard him clear as a sunny day, and he leaned back onto the wall for support while you awkwardly rubbed his shoulder to return the support he provided earlier during your mental breakdown.

He closed his eyes and gathered himself, taking deep breaths. As the elevator dinged, his eyes opened and he gave you a strained smile.

The car ride to his mansion was painfully silent, his mind too sidetracked to focus on harassing you again. With all that you went through today, you almost forgot about that.

His mansion was enormous, twenty guards stood outside and even more patrolled the lawn. He took you inside his house, the interior even more detailed and scenic than Tony’s temporary residence.

You just concentrated on swiftly getting Grace and Uber-ing back. As Steve showed you earlier, Grace and Sarah hugged and slept and it was a meticulous task to untangle their limbs without waking either of them up andnd get Grace with her back-pack. You thanked Wanda on the way out, hoping to avoid Steve but somehow he stood outside before you, leaning on his sleek black car. He opened the door for you before you could refuse the ride. You settled with Grace in the backseat itself, trying to be smart.

He just summoned one of his guards to drive and sat alongside you in the back. You didn’t let the annoyance at his clinginess show though. You just focused on Grace who drooled over your shoulder.

Hopefully, there won’t be any point of exposure to him ever again, your circles didn’t match, both social and professional. Your Venn diagrams didn’t overlap anywhere. This should be reason enough to avoid meeting ever again.

He didn’t try anything even this ride around. You doubted it was hardly because of the toddler or because of the driver. He did as he pleased, if he wanted to he could very well grope you. Luckily, he wasn't in the mood.

When you reached your dwelling, you stepped out hastily, thanking him in a whisper. You fumbled to get your keys out, but since everything you held slowed you down, he caught up with you without even trying.

He took and held Grace’s bag while you drew the keys out, Grace still on your hip. He handed you the bag back, “So this is it, I guess?”

“Yeah, tonight was a total delight. Thanks for the dinner and everything, really.” You put up your best façade, hoping to convince him.

“It was, thanks to you. The company matters the most.”

You awkwardly chuckled and you sensed him leaning in, his eyes flickering shut. Your eyes closed as you turned your head to avoid him, so that his lips would peck your cheek.

They never came.

Your eyes opened to find his and he chuckled, leaning in once again swiftly, catching you off guard this time. He didn’t meet your lips though, he kissed the corner of your mouth, lips overlapping for a fraction of skin.

“In due time, baby.” He stepped back and strolled to his car leisurely, content in his own world.

You opened your door and slammed it shut, the peck feeling wrong on so many levels. It felt more sensual than a lover’s kiss, leaving room for intimacy and longing.

Your thoughts ran a hundred kilometers an hour, the most absurd but nauseatingly true being, this was a date and it was not your last encounter.

Steve smirked outside in his car, the dinner an absolute success in his opinion. Tonight just made him feel that you both were more than compatible for each other. You needing him during your mental breakdown, him relaxing under your shy touch, Tony’s approval, not that important though, and your anxiety for Grace was the best part, because he, more often than he’d like to admit, fussed about Sarah the same way, agonizing and fretting her well being.

A text lit up his black screen and his grin widened even more if possible.

‘The Stark cameras are up and working, Sir.’

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