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#I wish I had more space to put things. if I did I would go to the thrift store even more often and obtain even more delightful candlesticks
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You don’t get to tell me about sad
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Previous chapter
a/n part three! I’m brain dead so sorry for the wait. I hope you will all enjoy this. 🫧🫶🏻
summary: Azriel gets an assignment he can’t seem to decline. Now he has a princess full of attitude under his protection. The only question is whose cold heart will break first.
warning: past trauma, scars, injuries, blood.
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You were sure that your lip was going to burst from the way you kept biting on it, trying to suppress the laugh as the carriage rolled through the misty autumn forest. Convinced that nothing was ever going to top the sight of Azriel, squished the opposite of you. He was scowling so hard that he was most definitely the reason why the sky had ripped open. Pouring rain drowned the lush forest since the early morning. It looked like you were driving to a funeral at best, gruesome execution at best. 
“Don’t start with me today," Azriel grunts, his eyes burning into yours. Yet now that he acknowledged you, the smile only seemed to spread wider. He lets out a grunt, and a quiet giggle slips past your lips. "Princess, life suits you," you mumble, making Azriel roll his eyes. “Come on now; it’s not so bad. Don’t huff”, you nudge his leg with your heel, earning yet another glare.
“Could have winnowed us there”, “You did almost all the way”, you point out. And you would have happily obliged, but the murmurs about something being wrong with the high lord’s family had started. So Lucien and Eris had made their outing. If not for the rain, you would have done just the same. Take a walk through the main streets. But now seeing the family carriage and your face through the glass would have to be enough. 
“Why do you hate autumn so much?”, It’s a bold statement to make. You’re not sure if he even hates it. Well, considering the amount of frowning he does, he has to. “I have my reasons," Azriel answers as bluntly as he can. “Care to elaborate?", you turn to him, ready to dig an answer out of him if you had to. He owned you, considering his creeping around your room. But your eyes fall on the way he’s trying to subtly rub his palms together. The scarred skin—humidity must be making the bones ache too. He’s impossible to read, but you’re convinced that the discomfort hunts some of his features. You don’t care. You shouldn’t care, yet you still inch closer. There’s not much space inside the carriage considering that man’s size, but it’s enough for you to brush your legs against him. As expected, Azriel’s hands instantly reached to put distance between you both. But that’s when you yank the side of your cloak up, draping the fur-lined material over his scared palms. 
“What are you?", "Shhhh," you say quickly. He tries to pull them out, but you catch his gaze—a daring look there. “Know your”, but you cut him off once more, “Next words out of your mouth better be, thank you, princess," you muse. Azriel clenches his jaw. But he doesn’t pull back. Doesn’t fight the warmth slowly seeping through the stiff skin. “I thought you hated that nickname, princess," he says. One thing this man hadn’t learned in life was dealing with women. Clearly. You shrug, “Not so bad when it’s you who calls me that," you muse, watching as a glimpse of surprise washes over his features, and then the scowling coldness returns. 
Azriel doesn’t like it here. The thought alone had unsettled him ever since Lucien had announced the need to go back. “The High Lord needs to make a statement," Lucien had stated. Azriel itched to say that Eris wasn’t his high lord. But he knew that regardless of Eris’s wishes, he would have gone. Because you were going there. So here he was, standing outside the forest house. Not daring to go forward alone. You had waved him off. Told him to go inside while you checked on the horses. But he refused to step inside. So he stood there, trying to memorize every window.
“Who’s snooping now?", your voice fills Azriel’s ear as he slowly turns to you. Arms crossed as you grin at him. He wonders why you hadn’t mentioned that night in your room. Why you brushed it off so easily. “I just needed to stretch my wings." It’s not so much of a lie. It had been a disaster of a trip here. You barely manage to open your lips when an unfamiliar voice comes from behind, “Yn, Yn.“
Azriel pushes you behind him, his hand reaching for his dagger. But you slip out of his grasp, glancing over his shoulder. And then you’re stepping forward. “Makoa?”, it’s a whisper, and Azriel doubts that a disheveled-looking boy would hear it. But he does. And that name alone makes Azriel uneasy. The same boy you had sneaked out with. And just like that Azriel decides that he hates Makoa.
"Wait," you push again Azriel's arm, but his grip doesn’t falter. “Anyone can be a threat," the spymaster points out. “I know him," and it’s the desperation that makes Azriel back up. The same one that he had when he called out to Mor. To Elain. The lost kind. One that had you hanging up on things that weren’t there. 
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you," Makoa mutters once he is in arms reach of you. Azriel has to bite his tongue because nothing about that statement seems genuine. “You can imagine it’s been busy over here," and your voice is different too. Hazy almost. You bite at Azriel. Spewing venom. And here, this boy makes you behave like a youngling with your first-ever crush. “You could have written to me; I’ve missed you." Makoa raises his hand, and Azriel instantly inches to step forward, but then the boy is leaning in, his lips brushing over yours. Making Azriel lower his head. A strange sort of feeling brews within him. One that’s not welcome here. So he turns back onto his heel, heading deeper into the woods. To clear his consciousness. His logical thinking. His heart.
“Everyone missed you," Makoa points out, your hands clasped in his. The feeling is strange. It’s all so wrong  because, yes, he has been vocal about courting you, but this… To be kissed in front of someone he doesn’t even know. You glance back. Eyes scanning the front gardens. He’s not there. Azriel isn’t there, and a dreadful sort of uneasiness pools in your stomach. 
“It’s just been a couple of days," you brush his statement off. You were trying to find joy in something you had dreamed of ever since you slipped that book beneath the floorboards. “You’re behaving strangely," Makoa mutters, his hand reaching out for your forehead, but you bat it away. “I’m just tired," but you’re more than tired. You need answers, and quite frankly, you’re willing to do about anything to get them. 
You can trust the man in front of you. His mother used to do laundry for your family. Until Beron changed his mind or whatever happened. As if reading your mind, Makoa reaches up, cupping your cheek, “What is it you can tell me?" A part of you is screaming to just drop it. Talk to Azriel first. But then he wasn’t there. He wouldn’t know. 
“Do you remember the night on the harvest moon, well after it?”, you say quietly, looking over your shoulder for servants. “I walked you home," Makoa shrugs. Well, he did more than that, but sure, that will do for now. “Someone was waiting for me," you admit. “I didn’t go inside; I went to the barn to feed the horses." It was misty and cold outside. You didn’t catch their face. Just a hooded figure.
“I... someone tried to slice my throat open." Brushing your hair to the side, you let the white line shine in the midday sun. Makoa watches. But he doesn’t frown. There’s almost no reaction. Azriel looked more concerned when you caught him brushing his fingers over it that night. Genuine concern. Or maybe you were just imagining it. 
Makoa brings you into his chest. “What a shame," he breathes out, and your hands are instantly pushing against his chest. "Pardon," you huff, brows knit together. “I mean, it’s horrible, yes," he says, lifting his arms in defiance. You shake your head. Too tired. Too tired for this. After all, you didn’t expect him to take you seriously. He was too wild. Too carefree for that. 
"Look, just be careful, okay?", you mutter, your eyes searching him, but he only shoots you a wicked smile. “You don’t have to worry about me," he muses. You burn to tell him that you both are no longer kids. There are serious matters, but you don’t have it in you to fight another battle today. “I’ll see you in the party," you say as you step back, letting your fingers slip out of his grasp. But then he’s pulling you back. Hand on the side of your face. An eager kiss smothered against your lips, “I wouldn’t miss the spectacle.”
Azriel’s task this weekend was easy. If he was being honest, he didn’t quite grasp why exactly he was asked to come. But then Eris might have just done it to spite him. All he was responsible for was keeping an eye on you when Eris and Lucien couldn’t. So essentially, babysit a grown woman. Now he was standing with his back against your door. Throwing his knife up and down in his hands. Trying to beat his record of spins before it lands back into his palm. 
“Okay, am...", your voice breaks the second-floor silence, making Azriel pause. “Can you get Maria?”, Azriel shakes his head even if you can’t see him, “She just went outside for the flower arrangements." The elderly woman had pinched his cheek way too many times, but as much as he hated it, she reminded Azriel of his own mom. 
"Fuck," the sound of things falling inside the room, makes Azriel press his ear to the door.“What’s going on?”, he demands. Silence falls. “I...", you start, but it ends with a frustrated sigh. “Well, let’s hear it," he muses, hoping for yet another privileged little dig he could throw back at you. 
“I can’t reach the back of the dress to do the..." It’s a whisper. A frustrated one at that. “We have twenty minutes," Azriel points out. “I know, tree man, I know," you growl in frustration, cursing to yourself as you continue to struggle. 
“I'm coming in," Azriel states, instantly frowning at his own words. "No, you are not," you snarl, and he is sure that you are frowning. “On three," the spymaster warns. But he doesn’t even get a chance to start the countdown. “Fucking, Azriel,” you say, yanking the door open. Rosy cheeks. Slightly disheveled hair. And that deep red satin dress. So far different from the one he had seen you in the first time you both met. That was a girl. This… You were meant to be in red. In…
“Eyes up here, moron," you say, reaching up to flick his nose. One arm holding the material upfront. You turn away from him. The smooth back exposed to his scared hands. Azriel shakes those thoughts away. “I’ve seen females before," he states, reaching for the golden buttons. “Really? I would have taken you for a virgin," you snort, shaking your head ever so slightly. Azriel fake gasps, earning a glimmer in your eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”, he says in the most dramatic way possible. You bite your lip, trying to hide that smile. He knows it. Feels it.
“Just do the dress up," you urge him, motioning to your back. Azriel halts, letting his hands drop to his side. “Start with a please," he says proudly. You glance up at him, “Are you being serious?” Surely a man who just completed about the amount of time you had wasn’t going to start playing games. “I decided that etiquette lessons are in order," he shrugs, making you roll your eyes. “I will spit in your drink tonight. How is that for your etiquette lessons?” You flash him one of your fake smiles. “Delightful, just how I like it," and it’s so unexpected that you are left slack-jawed for a split second, and then he grabs your shoulder and turns you around, nudging you forward. “You’re disgusting," you say, pushing your heel against his leg, making a little rumble of laughter fill the space. “Says you," he breathes practically against your skin, sending shivers down your back. 
You fidget with your sleeve as you and Azriel make your way towards the main part of the event. Public outings still felt strange. The big crowd overwhelmed you. But you had missed out on so many great things  and parties, especially when you were growing up. That now….
“Only a weirdo disappears like that," you halt suddenly, leaving Azriel to walk along until he too stops. Turning to face you. You quickly put a finger against your lips, stepping closer to the second-floor railing. “That’s what I told Makoa”. You know those voices. You don’t even need to look down the staircase to know who they belong to. 
“Daddy beat her, I heard," and it’s like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on you. Tingles spread through your body like fire.“ She lived beneath the floorboards; I doubt she knows how to interact with living things." You let the words slash at you. After so many years, they don’t make a difference. It’s the fact that every time you feel as if you found someone willing to look past it, they still end up stabbing you in the back. 
That’s when your eyes fall on Azriel, practically charging towards the stairs. "Don't," you hiss, reaching to grab at his wrist, pulling him back. “It’s disrespectful, and I’m being very polite with my words here," he grunts. Venom. Purest of venom painting his features, and yet you cut him off. “I said don't," you step in front of him, pressing your palms against his chest. “It’s just another joke for them. You throwing a fit and acting all gruff won’t change a thing.”
Azriel watches you for a moment before a bitter laugh crawls up his throat. “And those are your friends? People that you think are not a threat to you? ”, he points downstairs in frustration. A wave of guilt. Shame. Fills you in seconds. You feel that familiar sting in your eyes. But you brush it beneath all the other pain. “Daddy got them for me; I didn’t have a chance to choose; my apologies," you purr through gritted teeth. 
And it’s as if you threw a comeback punch. The arrow shooting once again. Azriel’s shoulders sag. “Yn...", he breathes out, but you don’t want it. Don’t want pity. The sad eyes. The smothering. To hell with it. “We should go find my brothers." You pick at the skirt of your dress, turning to the stairs. “It was insensitive of me," Azriel’s words slam into the wall you had built, making you close your eyes for a moment. “Don’t get tangled in this; this has nothing to do with you," you mutter, not turning back to face him. Forcing your legs forward. Azriel stands at the top of the staircase for a heartbeat, watching you. Then he glances over his shoulder. One heartbeat. Two. And he unleashes his shadows to the first floor. 
The terrace is buzzing with people. If it were up to Azriel, he would be right by the platform, but there are Eris’s guards here. So he’s just standing by. That prick had it in him to suggest wine. Azriel, of course, took it. Before dumping it right next to Eris’s shoes. Rhys told him to behave, yes. And so he was, because the second option was to punch the fireling in his face. Pick and choose.
Azriel catches a glimpse of you. Well, more like all he had been doing was catching glimpses of you. Like a moth to a flame. Even if he tells himself not to, his eyes always seem to find you. That distant look in your eyes. Like you’re not here, even if your body is. He also doesn’t doubt that it’s partly because of the things the people said. Why not fight back? You seem to be fine doing that when it comes to him. But crumple the moment the people who are meant to be closest to you are involved. 
As if by coincidence, your eyes glance up, meeting Azriel’s. He should be scowling, yet he finds himself smiling. Just a little. He puts a finger beneath his chin, pushing it higher. Encouragement of sorts. You’re supposed to radiate power, not look like a damsel in distress. You return it with an eye roll, making the corners of Azriel’s lips curve even more. Deny it or not. You do lift your head up. That tingle of fire blazing just a bit brighter. That will do. It would have to be enough to get you through it. 
The music dies, and Eris walks close to the platform edge, that fox-line smile on his face. “It’s an honor to have you all here, so I thank you for finding time to join us," the high lord begins. “I know that the court is facing some challenging times, but you should not be afraid." Azriel crosses his arms over his chest as he listens. “I will do everything that is in my power to protect our people and be a true and fair high lord." Then the Autumn High Lord turns back breathy. “And... I’ll have my family to aid me in these matters," motioning for his two siblings to come to stand closer. “Lucien and Y/n Vanserra will be taking their rightful place on the throne." The crowd explodes with chairs and joyful applause. As the three siblings smile in unison.
“And…”, But there’s no and. Nothing comes after it. As if someone had stolen all of the other promises. Azriel feels it too. It hits his senses. Making them restless. There’s something wrong. Something that doesn’t feel right. A banner behind the platform bursts into flames. The hot tongues, lapping at the family insignia. Some people back up. Eris waves for his guards, ordering them into action. People are bringing buckets full of water while Eris and Lucien try to wield the wildfire. 
It’s the lightest of the sounds that follow next. It flickers, and... "Y/n," Azriel calls, making you snap your head sideways. “Y/n," he breathes out, and then he’s winnowing. His hands already stretched out. He has to make it. He will make it. There is no other option. So Azriel doesn’t let the what-ifs set in. Shrieks echo. Chaos breaks out. And then he’s up there. On the platform. One arm behind your body, the other on the arrow. 
The time stops. Your wide eyes are looking at him. Green so deep that Azriel knows he has never seen anything like it. The freckles seem even darker now that your skin has paled almost to snow white. His fingers are trembling. He can’t see it. Can’t fucking see it; the bunched-up fabric is making it hard to judge. Had the arrow met its target? Your heart seems to beat beneath his palm. But are those the last beats? Then the red fabric turns an even deeper shade of red. 
Every muscle tenses in Azriel’s body. "No," he mutters under his breath. He’s not letting you die just like that. Not on his watch. Not in some pointless death just because someone has a bone to pick with your brother. Your eyelashes flutter, and just for a heartbeat, Azriel is too slow to catch you. Your body sags, but the arrow stays there in Azriel’s head. It didn’t meet its target. Not fully, at least. Just nicked the skin. It feels as if someone rolled a mountain off of his chest. 
"Azriel," it’s so light he almost misses it. The plea. The fear. Your fingers reach up for his leg. His darkness swirls around you both. And quite frankly, the spymaster is not too sure as to what’s going on outside. The world might as well be going to shit for all he cares. Kneeling, Azriel takes hold of your trembling hands, “I’ve got you, darling; I won’t let anything happen to you." He’s not sure if you even hear him. Eyes fixed on something as if you’re looking right past him.“I'm here; I'm with you," Azrie promises, moving to drape your arms over his shoulders. “Are you with me, love?” You’ve gone into shock, that he can tell. Yet you blink. Fingers gripped onto his flying leathers as you nod. "Good," he says, brushing a strand of hair away from your face, “Hold onto me, fireheart”.
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Taglist: @emryb @glitterypirateduck @xxtakeachancexx @justyouraveragekleemain @5onedirection5 @paleidiot
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sinon36 · 2 days
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Husband!Ghost x teacher!reader HC - Part 2
Part I
Author's block and tummy aches don't make a great team. Apologies that it took some time to post this. Enjoy!
Warnings: none other than mistakes, it's fluff.
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Being a primary school teacher is far from easy. From the endless hours spent correcting homework or grading tests to preparing visual materials, your work never ends. Maybe you should listen to your colleagues and double down on the work you put into this. But you can’t deny the satisfaction you get from seeing your students get excited in class even when you assign extra work for them over weekends and holidays. But now that you came down with the flu, another downside of working with kids, you couldn’t care less about the little punks.
You lay down in bed covered in the thickest of blankets, shivering and barely able to breath. The house is empty and you’ve never felt so alone. You wish Simon would walk through the door and snuggle you until everything is better again. He was deployed again, and in the past few months you managed to talk to him for a total of 10 minutes. He’d call you to check on you and let you know he was fine, but he’d be quick to tell you he can’t say more about his whereabouts.
Being married to him brought a hell of a lot more stress than you could have imagined. Not knowing where he was or what he did was eating you on the inside. You worried about your husband’s well being but you always reminded yourself not to pester him too much. His job is stressful as it is, no need for you to put anymore pressure on him when he was home. You painted an image of his coworkers through his brief comments on what they did on base. The most you heard about was the Scot, Johnny, the young lad had made an impression on Simon. Even though he’d complain that Johnny was a ‘pain in the arse’, you couldn’t miss the small chuckle he let out whenever he spoke of him. You concluded that this young Scottish man was the closest thing to a friend your husband had.
The clock on the nightstand reads 2AM. The fever and headache are back. Your body hurts everywhere. you stand up readying yourself to leave the warm cocoon of the blanket and go to the kitchen to make some tea and take some more medicine. The otherwise short trip to the other side of the house seems now like an endless maze, it’s dark and you can barely see; you keep one hand on the wall just to be safe if nausea takes the better of you. You take a seat at the dinner table as the kettle starts warming up.
There is a faint click at the front door, so soft that at first you believe you imagined it. But it turns out that it was real, that the sound was a key turning the lock and the knob twisted, and the door opened. You watch everything as in slow motion, your brain too fuzzy with the flu. The massive body dressed in all black walks in illuminated from behind by the street lights, leaving their shoes on the rack. It’s Simon…. He’s home but you don’t have the energy to move. In the still and quiet atmosphere of the house the bloody kettle lets out a blood curling whistle signalling the water is boiling. Simon’s eyes dart towards the kitchen space, not having noticed you until now.
  ‘What’re you doin’ in the dark, love?’ he chuckles coming over to you. He’s becoming suspicious when you don’t make a single move to get up and greet him as you would. He first reaches for the knob to turn off the stove, then he pulls off the balaclava, reaching down to your sited position to kiss your forehead. ‘You a bit warm…’ he hums and you nod sniffling your runny nose. The rest is a blur, you can faintly remember him pouring the tea for you and handing the medicine. Next thing you know strong arms carry you to the bedroom, the same arms you fall asleep until morning.
Simon is trained in the art of staying still no matter what waiting to get a clear shot of the enemy. But since he met you, that skill has been put to a better use. He had no qualms with becoming your body pillow over night. He just loves the feeling of you pressed so closely to him, head rested on his peck near his beating heart. He would gladly stay there for an eternity is you asked him.
Anything for you. Always, no matter how costly or how small, he’d do anything to see you happy. That’s his love language, while he struggles to word it he makes up with his actions. And you’d never trade him for anyone else in the world. The following days are spent with him not leaving your side, pampering and loving you the way you’ve never been loved before.
Once you feel better, he asks you to go on a date just like first time he asked you accepted with a school girl giggle. It’s safe to say you’re in love. The date goes well and you find yourself walking through the park like two hopeless romantics, talking and laughing. He tells you that Soap caught a whiff of him being married to you and now he won’t stop pestering him with questions about you two. ‘Maybe you should invite him to dinner… if you want to.’ You smile at him. ‘Maybe’ he grunts not looking at you. Bringing Johnny to your house, to meet you, it involves risks. But he knows that he can trust the sergeant with his life, so what if his only friend meets his wife. Nothing can go wrong, right?
Bonus:
On base, Ghost approaches Soap in the armoury, making sure no one is in ear shot. He gives the Scot a date, time and the name of a bus station somewhere in suburban Manchester. At Soap’s questioning look Ghost lets out a grunt ‘Wife wants you to come to dinner.’ At that Soap grins and accepts politely which prompts the lieutenant to threaten to kill him if he tells anyone about this.
The day when Johnny arrives at your doorstep comes faster than expected. You open the door and greet him, rather warmly which is a stark contrast to your husband’s harsh demeanour. Opposites do attract, he supposes. At dinner you listen to him talk, about their time on base, stories from missions, nothing too detailed though, and about his own family. He shows you pictures of his sisters and his nieces and nephews. They’re cute. You talk about your pupils, sharing stories of your own. Johnny perks up at the knowledge that you are a primary school teacher. He asks if he can have your number in case he needs help with their homework. You gladly give it to him, asking in return to keep an eye on Simon for you. He accepts your deal.
Johnny leaves after a couple of hours, going back to the hotel, even though you insist he can take the couch. But you know that Simon is glaring at him over your shoulder daring him to accept. Once he left you turn towards your husband hugging him and kissing him. You thank him for letting you meet his colleague, and he reminds you that he’d do anything for his lovely wife.
A couple of weeks go by. You’re in bed with Simon having a heated kissing session when your phone rings. Groaning you pull off from him and grab it. Johnny’s name lights up the screen and you answer. The conversation is short, something about math and how to use the graphic method to solve a problem. Simon listens intently seeing you smile conspiratorially. When you end the call, he grabs you and pushes you underneath him, trapping you between his body and the bed. ‘Why does Johnny have your number?’ the low rumble pulls a laugh from you. You know you have no chance to lie to him, he’ll see right through. You explain to him that he wanted it so he can ask you whenever he doesn’t know how to solve his nephews’ homework. He watches you not really convinced by your answer. ‘You hate talking to parents on the phone. What did you get him do? Spy on me on base and report back to you?’ Busted. You laugh and let out an even more unconvincing ‘no’ for an answer. He knows you too well.
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vinceaddams · 2 years
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I sure do love to go to the thrift store and acquire things!! Today I got a broken (?) little wooden music box, a couple pieces of fabric (one dark pink cotton jacquard and one dark brown and gold sari silk) and also a plate with a picture of the Hartland covered bridge on it. That's the longest covered bridge in the world, and I've walked across it, and now I can eat sandwiches off it's monochromatic blue image.
#hi yeah yes i AM slightly tipsy at the moment sorry!#OH i also got 4 little packs of gold plated sewing needles!! and another plate that has Green Gables on it#but that;s in a different province from me so marginally less exciting even though I do love the 1980's anne of green gables series#just had another hecking busy week at work (because it is prom & wedding season and I am Suit Alterations Tailor#but now it is weekend and I have 2 days of no things#yay!! Maybe I will work a bit more on my shirt and some drawing!#I wish I had more space to put things. if I did I would go to the thrift store even more often and obtain even more delightful candlesticks#and also more silver plated goblets. I'd have a whole corridor of shelves with all my fancy little metal thrift store goblets#thrifting#hey did you nkow that all aclohol tastes bad and yucky and you can only hide it in lots of fruit juice and stuff???#this is a fact I know but learn all over again every frew several months#blergh!#speking of which! fun fact: I am a balding old man of 27 and when I got to the beverage store with a hat I get asked for ID usually#but never when I have no hat!#today I had a leafkerchief on my head which I have been wearing a lot lately for balding head reasons and also cause#of those dang sebaceous cysts upion my scalp that are so lumpy and numerous (4) and unsighlty#unSIGHTLy I mean#UGH the surgery people said I'd hear back about an appointment in a month and it's been almost 3! I should phone them!!#It is unfair to have lumps almost as big as marbles just chilling there on a balding scalp!!#SPeaking of leafkerchiefs I Realy need to finish that damn sewing tutorial video! I filmed most of it last autumn!#and now it's late spring!#is there a limit to how many tags you can put on a post??#ok well I hope these have ebeen entertaining to you I will go eat a food and maybe do soem sketching now goodnight
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neverendingford · 8 months
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#why the fuck did I ever start tagging text posts#I made the choice somewhere that I reblogged solely visual art and then started reblogging other things and felt the need to categorize them#just in case someone was as weird about it as I was. but none of you are. at least not the I can tell.#I've been curating in hopes of finding someone similar to me. a stupid wish and a hopeless cause#I went to sleep at 1am and woke up at 4am and I want to get run over by a steamroller everything hurts and I hate it#why the fuck did I start tagging tag rambles either. deal with it#idk. I've been a lot more annoyed and straight up mad. I've been blocking old mutuals who try and talk to me too much#we aren't friends we aren't friends we aren't friends we aren't friends I am just some fucked up creature you watch at the zoo#if we were friends we would talk if we were friends I would know who you were if we were friends I would block you at 2am in a fit of anger#this isn't implying I'm friends with any mutuals on here. I'm friends with some followers but tumblr is not the place I make friends#tumblr is the place I watch people and wish I could put a metal spike through their head.#tumblr is the place where I watch people and wish I could put a metal spike through my own head#I get bored too quickly. I don't allow myself to get bored quickly enough. I am too angry but I don't allow myself to be angry enough#I had a million dreams but none of them were good. a million dreams and all of them cold and shivering#I slept on the floor last night because the bed is too painful. I almost slept outside on the property's stone wall#brick under my head and stars over my eyes.#I think I've talked about how sleeping fucking sucks when going to bed is just intense fear time.#hands under the covers. eyes over the railing. soft footsteps on the carpet. raged breaths through my nostrils.#I should clear out a space under my bed again for curling up and sleeping there when things get like this#remember kids. you're never too old to hide under your bed in fear from the brain monsters#I say that as if 25 is old. idk. for people like us it is old. anything past high school is old. anything past college is ancient.#and anything past thirty is just overstaying the welcome inside your own mind. get your plans together already.#idkkkkk. it's just moving stress is just moving stress is just moving stress it's just#I keep reminding myself but knowing why I feel this way doesn't stop me from feeling this way.#it just makes me frustrated that I can't fix it already. I made a phone call but they never called me back so I have to call AGAIN now#ughhhh everything is hard and I know I'm not a failure but growing up being taught that people like me are failures.... guess how that ended
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sp0o0kylights · 23 days
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Wayne takes in a Beat to Shit Steve Harrington after Starcourt as n Owed Favor to Hopper Part 4
Part Three: link
First Chapter (parts 1-3 on tumblr) on A03: Link
The kid was madder than a wet hen.
Just as slippery as one too, when he got like this--music pulsing like a living thing to signal all his rage and upset.��
Not like Wayne hadn’t expected it. 
He just wished it wasn’t quite so damn loud. 
The music had started up almost immediately after Eddie had stormed to his room, startling Steve awake and nearly making Wayne curse for it.
Normally it was a good thing--music meant Eds was willing to listen instead of heading for the hills.  
Normally, they didn't have a house guest who looked like he'd gone ten rounds with a bear.
They had a routine for this, was the thing and the music was a key part of it. It worked all the edges off for Wayne, and he'd long figured out that about thirty minutes was a the perfect length of time for Eddie to stew before he could actually talk things through.
Given the hand Harrington put to his forehead, Wayne wasn't eager to give him that thirty minutes.
Not when Steve deserved little peace he could have.
Unfortunately, so did Eds. 
Still.
 Strutting through the door and demanding to talk right now was a bad move and so, with a sympathetic look given to Steve, Wayne did what he did best
Gave space.
Let Eddie rage, as Wayne got up and shuffled about the kitchen.
Pulled out the soft earplugs he pretended weren’t there for Eds to steal (playing that damn loud guitar all the time could not be good for his ears) and offered them to Steve, before making two cups of what Wayne privately thought was the Munson “chitchat” drink. 
One cup of hot water, one packet swiss miss, a small amount of maple syrup drizzled in, topped with little marshmallows they reserved for these types of situations. 
Wayne took his time with it, thinking through what he wanted to say. 
‘I understand that this is a screen door on a submarine kind of situation...’ 
Nope. 
‘Son I know you hate listening to anyone for anything but this is serious...’ 
Absolutely not--that would end up with the boy bolting for sure. 
‘Ed’s, I love you but could we please turn Ozzy off while we talk? That man wails louder than any damn cat I have ever met.’
That one was purely self indulgent, mostly because the wall was starting to shake. 
Wayne put the finishing touches on the cocoa before staring at both of them. 
Perhaps if he stared the Garfield mug in its eyes hard enough, the right words would come through. 
They did not.
He kept trying, standing there long enough for the cocoa to reasonably have cooled and for Eddie’s song to flip over to something with more screaming in it than singing. 
Wayne supposed that this was the hardest part of being a parent. You just didn’t get to have the magical one liner. The right thing to say at just the right time.  
The joke that would ease all the tension and let things progress forward nice and easy.
Instead, you got to fumble your way through the dark with a flashlight up your ass and hope you were going in the right-ish direction. Ideally without making things worse. 
Wayne was here though, and that had to count for something. 
(Knew it counted for something--because Eddie was still here. 
They had cleared hurdles far higher than this when it came to trust. They’d get through this too, come what may. 
Steve too.)
“Can I just ask,” Eddie started, aggressive as always when Wayne finally gave in and entered his room, feeling all sorts of awful for the migraine Steve had to have, “what the absolute fuck is happening?” 
Sure as fire he was sitting on his bed, leg bouncing a mile a minute.
An unlit cigarette hung between two fingers, looking a little chewed on, but otherwise undisturbed--as it should be, because one of Wayne’s few rules was that smoke stayed outside the house. 
“You could.” Wayne said loudly but agreeably, as he turned himself around and dropped down next to his kid.  
Held out the Garfield mug, and was happy when it was taken from him. 
“Figured you might have other things to say, though.” 
Likely a lot of things. 
It was as good an opening as any, and his kid didn’t disappoint, launching right to it. 
“Why is he here and not at a hospital?”
 ‘Here’ was punctuated by Ed’s hand winging towards the door, and while it wasn’t the righteous fury Wayne expected, it was at least, an easy answer to give. 
“Steve has some people looking for him. Bad people. Hospital makes him an easy target.” 
Wayne was still talking loud. Could only hear Eddie himself because he was looking at the kid’s lips more than he was actually hearing his voice. 
Eddie took that in, swallowing it about as well as he’d swallowed anything he hadn’t liked. 
And thank the stars above, he finally reached a hand out and turned the music down. Not a lot--Steve wouldn’t be able to hear them over all this--but enough that Wayne didn’t have to struggle. 
“We’re hiding him from the cops now?!” Ed’s spat. 
“Cops know he’s here. Hopper’s the one who asked me to take him.” Wayne reminded him, because it was the truth. 
Not the full truth, but given how Ed’s pissed off half the local PD on a good day, Wayne absolutely did not want to see his nephew take on Federal Agents.
(Particularly not the kind who were going ‘round killing kids.) 
“So--what?” Eddie yanked hard on his hair, a gesture that looked less intentional and more like he was trying to fight his own anger down. “Hopper just called you up and said ‘Hey, we had a whoopsie with the rich kid, the hospital’s not safe anymore. Can we stash him with you for a few days?” 
Wayne nodded once, slow-like. 
Always remembered how too fast movements had made Eddie flinch and jerk back when was littler, and given the way Steve was looking, figured it was a good time to be cautious again. 
“He did.”
“And you just--agreed? Just like that!?” 
“I did.” 
He pretended not to see Eddie boggle at him at the simple admission, so furious that he seemed to struggle for words when he normally had too many to say. 
Wayne took advantage. 
“We did talk a bit more than that, I’ll admit.”
Ed’s scoffed. “About the weather I’m sure.” 
“‘Bout trust.” 
Eddie blinked at that. 
“Trust.” He echoed flatly. 
“What have I always told you? People like to ask you to trust them, but you they don’t get to have it until--” 
“They provide proof or a reason.” Eddie finished with an eyeroll. “So which did Hopper provide then?”
Wayne took a noisy sip of his coca. Smacked his lips a little before saying: “Both.” 
Didn’t bother to say anything else, because he knew Eddie would finish the thought for him. 
“One of them was me, wasn’t it.” 
Eds didn’t say it like a question, but Wayne hummed in agreement anyway. 
He wasn’t gonna shame his boy, but he wasn’t gonna sugar coat Eddie’s involvement in this either. Not when he’d already admitted that was half the reason Hopper had gone to Wayne to begin with. 
“No one is expecting Steve to be here.” He said, seeing the chance to hammer home the most important part of this entire shitshow. “So long as no one finds out he’s here, he’ll be safe. Everyone will be safe.” 
Steve from the Feds who were hunting him for while he was busy being involved in shit he couldn’t control and Eddie because he had a mouth that most people didn’t like. 
Not small town people anyway, and absolutely not authority figures with guns. 
“Who’s even after him?” Eddie was theatrical as always, hands waving away as he talked. “Did he make a deal with the mob? Piss off some other rich guy? I know it’s not anything drug related, I’d have heard about it by now.” 
After years of experience, Wayne knew exactly how far to lean away to stay out of range, too used to his nephew talking with his entire body.
“That’s his story to tell ya, Ed’s. It ain’t mine. Same way it ain’t my place to tell him your story.” 
That at least got the boy to think for a minute. Put down that frustration he carried with him all the time, and use the brain they both knew he had. 
“How long is he staying here?”
Wayne shrugged. “Don’t know.” 
Eddie sighed and mockingly mimicked Wayne, taking an obnoxious slurp of his cocoa. “The neighbors are going to notice if he’s here more than a few days. The trailer park isn’t exactly big.” 
“They didn’t notice that time you decided to make fireballs with the cooking spray and about blew up half the driveway. Don’t think they’re gonna notice someone being quiet in the house.” 
Eddie snorted, and probably rolled his eyes again, not that Wayne could see it given the kid was looking into his own mug as he thought it all through. 
Wayne sat with him as he processed. 
Eds worked at his own pace with things, and while life at large might be against that, Wayne was happy to let him do it. Found it easier that way, then trying to poke and prod and force him like so many father figures did. 
Wayne’s patience was rewarded not even a full minute later, when Eddie turned to him and asked; 
“What if he finds out?”  
This in a quieter voice. An unsure one--words and body hunching in a way unlike the Eddie the world outside knew, but very much like the little boy Wayne had brought inside his home. 
It took Wayne  a moment to connect the dots--he’d been speaking out of the place parents and authority figures often do, and in doing so hadn’t thought much of the fact his nephew had a real secret. 
The kind small town minds didn’t like--and would kill him over. 
This all wasn’t about Wayne taking in Steve, he realized abruptly.  It was that Steve being here meant Eddie couldn’t be himself. 
Could not relax in a place he was accepted for who he was, because Wayne knew and made sure Eddie understood he was wanted here, had a place here, regardless of who he loved. 
Now, Wayne had gone and removed it.
‘Shit.’ 
“He won’t.” Wayne said. 
Knew that wasn’t enough, and so, promised: “But if he does, I’ll make sure he understands his safety here relies on your own.” 
Ed’s chin jerked in a nod, the two of them sitting in silence for a moment before the boy did as he often did when he wanted a hug but felt too awkward to ask for one, and tipped himself into Wayne’s side. 
“Thanks old man.” Eddie whispered into his shoulder and not for the first time, Wayne wished things were easier for the poor kid as he put his mug in one hand and hugged his kid with the other. 
Hoped that in the future, it would be.
Even if he had to force everyone and everything coming after him--and now Steve--to do it.
(Wondered vaguely, how bad it was that he was already getting as protective as Steve as he was of his own kid.
Probably very, given his kid clearly hated Harrington.)
xXx
Wayne took the first night of Steve’s stay off.
He wasn’t the type to use his PTO lightly. Was used to rationing it for any possible thing Eddie might need him for.
A night up sick when he was younger, to a night spent chasing him down during some of their bad spots--but the last year or so Wayne had slowly realized he hadn’t had to use it much.
He was still careful with it though, precious as it was, and was thankful for it now as it ensured his nephew didn’t murder their house guest. 
Or at the very least, didn't sit there pecking at him.
The kid might've failed English a few times, but he had a real gift with words and an even better one with insults.
(Wayne wasn't quite clear on what all the "King" jabs were about, and absolutely did not get why Steve looked far more hurt at the comment about his "sad ass floppy hair" but given the increasingly flat look Steve was throwing Eddie's way, Wayne figured it couldn't be anything good.)
Thankfully a pointed reminder about Steve's injuries had finally gotten them all some peace, enough for Harrington to drop back to sleep--and for Wayne to realize he looked a little too dead while he did it to be comfortable getting any sleep himself.
The kids chest barely moved, and that it ate at Wayne’s until he got up and shoved a hand under his nose. 
Felt his breath, and told himself the poor sod was fine. 
Hurt, absolutely, but alive. 
Over and over again, until the sun had made its rotation in the sky, bringing the morning with it.
‘Better than nightmares, I suppose.’ Wayne figured, as exhaustion scraped at his eyelids.
Those Wayne knew, would come later. When Steve’s brain caught up to the rest of him, and stopping dumping survival chemicals through his battered body. 
He'd given up on sleep entirely sometime around 1 am, and now he sat at his small kitchen table, writing out a medication schedule for Harrington so he and the kid both knew when he could have his next Tylenol. 
Wasn’t even halfway through it before Eddie made his typically late appearance and blew through his door. 
Had his back up from the moment he’d stepped a foot in the kitchen and it didn’t take a genius to see he’d worked himself into a snit again.
Unfortunately for him, whatever scenario that imaginative brain of his had cooked up fell flat to the reality that was the poor kid on the couch. 
Steve Harrington was one a hell of a sight.
Didn’t help that he was doing his level best to make himself as small as possible, curled deep into Wayne's ancient couch.
The blankets covered the ribs and hid away most of the damage, but there wasn’t much Steve could do to hide the shiners on his face--or the marks around his neck.  
Not when they’d grown worse overnight, practically inviting questions.
It was almost laughable how quickly Eddie ate whatever words he’d prepared, mouth awkwardly chewing around them as if they were tangible. 
The less-than-sneaky looks he threw at the younger teen were equally amusing, and if Wayne wasn’t trying to peace keep, he’d have given in and chuckled when Eds split attention caused him to pour half his coffee into the sink rather than a cup. 
Looked utterly lost when, after finishing putting his coffee together and grabbing some junk food thing that absolutely was not a breakfast item, he came to stand awkwardly at Wayne's shoulder, openly staring as Steve blatantly ignored him.
Eds didn’t know what to do, and Wayne couldn't blame him. 
Seemed to keep thinking he was going to encounter a boy that likely no longer existed, and whose blood tinged specter just made things sad.
Shit like this, Wayne knew, took a man’s ego and warped it, shaping it to something else entirely. 
At least for Steve, it seemed that getting wrapped up in whatever mess he had had shaped him for the better, instead of pretzeling him into something worse. That, Wayne thought, spoke to the boy's character more than anything he’d done prior. 
(It helped to know what Hopper tolerated and what he didn’t. That he’d vouched for Steve in the same way Wayne knew he’d vouched for Eddie, even if Eddie didn’t yet realize the cop he antagonized so much would do that for him.) 
That didn't erase the history his kid had with Harrington, though.
Wouldn't stop him from seeing the old Steve, first.
‘Don’t you got school?” Wayne asked when he decided Ed had stared enough. 
“Yeah, yeah.” Eddie waved him off, trotting out the door. “Bye old man, house parasite!” 
It was clearly a jab, meant to nettle, but Steve barely acted like he heard it. 
Wayne rolled his eyes. 
“Goodbye, Eds.” He said firmly, much of a warning as he ever gave, and fondly watched his nephew scuttle out the door. 
Turned to see how Steve was taking things, and was once again given a reminder that Steve wasn’t doing a hell of a lot other than feeling his injuries. 
“I think I promised you a game, son.”  Wayne said gently, startling Steve out of the distant, dim look he had trained on the wall. 
It wasn’t a lot to offer in terms of a distraction, but it would have to do.
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ellecdc · 1 month
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Mother, i have another poly!moonwater request but its a little angsty and tbh its probs mostly Barty appreciation because i 100% believe he'd be the best support system.
So, it doesnt happen very often but Reggie and reader are fighting. Idk what about, maybe she put herself in unnecessary danger or hid a wound?? But Remus has to take Reggies side or maybe he refuses to get involved.
Anyway, as a result she runs to Barty (i imagine she's his James and hes her Sirius) because he's her safe space and is surprisingly soft and comforting. If its readers fault he would be gently upset with her but calmly talk it out with her however he's still on her side and would hide her away for a couple days and let the boys panic for a minute because thats his person aaaaaand he is a little insane.
Hope that all made sense, and then a happy ending or i will cry.
Love youuuuuuu 🫶
'happy ending or I will cry' say less, babes 🫡 Barty to the rescue
poly!moonwater x fem!reader who's best friends with Barty
CW: mentions of fainting, angst, hurt/comfort, mention of blowjobs, Barty wishing people dead (what's new?)
Remus, throughout his life, has not been a stranger to conflict. His father spent Remus’ earliest years in constant battle at the Ministry fighting against werewolf rights. That conflict turned into Remus’ own lifelong curse of lycanthropy as a form of revenge. Remus’ muggle mother and wizard father spent many years in conflict over how to best love and support their werewolf son. Remus and his father experienced a lot of conflict when Dumbledore invited Remus to attend Hogwarts despite his lycanthropy. Remus experienced a lot of conflict with pureblood supremacists at school. Remus experienced conflict with his own friends, namely Sirius, after an unfortunate ‘prank’ that nearly cost both Remus and another student their lives.
But one aspect of Remus’ life that had yet to be a source of conflict had been his relationship with you and Regulus.
It seems almost unfathomable that the three of you managed to intertwine your lives without so much as a clash, but it was true. Regulus brought a confident and assured energy to the relationship, you brought an empathetic and quiet energy, and Remus supposed he was perhaps the most easygoing of the three of you, and that was good for the group. 
It is because of this lack of conflict that Remus was very confused to walk into the private study room that the three of you had reserved to find you and Regulus in the middle of a very heated spat.
“And since when don’t you tell me these kinds of things?” Regulus barked angrily at you. Remus actually had to shake his head as if he were hallucinating; he could have easily mistaken Regulus for his brother who was far more hot headed.
“I didn’t know I had to keep you posted on every little thing that happens, Regulus; I was busy.” You spat back.
“Whoa, okay. What have I missed?” Remus asked cautiously, placing his book bag down slowly on the table as if the situation in front of him were a live wire.
“Your girlfriend” Regulus spat as if girlfriend was a dirty word, “fainted today. And I had to hear about it from Pandora!”
Remus ignored most of the things that came out of Regulus’ mouth at the sound of ‘fainted’.
“Dovey! What happened?” He asked, looking to you in horror.
“What happened is she’s been overworking, under-sleeping, under-eating, and she needs to learn to say no to people!”
You scoffed at that. “You mean learn to say no to McLaggen. Just say it Regulus, this about me tutoring the sod in Herbology.”
“This isn’t about some bloke, Y/N!”
“You fainted?” Remus interjected, looking you over as if he may see signs of a fall. He did suppose you looked slightly peaky, but you were clearly worked up over whatever was going on with Regulus.
“Only a little.” You mumbled; voice still taut with impatience though you lowered the derision in your voice when you spoke to him.
“Right. And tell me, how does one only faint a little?” Regulus sneered.
You met him head on, grunting “Knock it off, Regulus. I mean it.” 
Remus noticed a slight quiver in your lip, but you stood your ground. He couldn’t say he completely disagreed with Regulus, but he didn’t think shouting at you like this was particularly helpful.
“Dove, we’re only worried about you. It makes us nervous if you’re not taking care of yourself and we don’t know about it, if we at least knew-” He tried, but you scoffed again, but this time at Remus. 
“Of course you’d side with him. I don’t need the two of you looking after me!”
“Well apparently you do.” Regulus barked. You didn’t bother dignifying that with an answer.
“Can we just talk about this later, please?” You asked quietly, eyes turning towards the table.
“No, we’re talking about this now. Because Salazar only knows what I’ll be hearing from Pandora next!”
“Maybe I didn’t say anything because this is exactly how I knew you would act.” You glowered at him.
“Are you even supposed to be out of the infirmary yet? What were Madame Pomfrey’s instructions?” Regulus demanded.
“I’m not doing this right now. You’re acting-”
“What were the matron’s instructions?” He asked again, voice threateningly low.
“Stop it, Regulus, I'm ser-”
“When I ask a question, you answer me.” Regulus ordered; voice booming and full of authority. 
You paused in packing up your bag to look at Regulus, holding his gaze as if daring him to utter another word. The atmosphere went from the heat of battle to ice cold in a matter of seconds.
Remus took one last look at Regulus, knowing this would be it; this was how they would lose Regulus. He’d have to tell Sirius that his brother was dead, and it was just better if they all moved on. Cause of death? Oh, Y/N burnt him to ashes with nothing but a glare.
You dropped your bag back onto the table and took a step towards Regulus, dropping into a verydramatic curtsey, making sure Regulus watched.
“Yes, Master Regulus.” You sneered with contempt before returning to your full height, eyes still never leaving Regulus’. “I seem to have forgotten myself. I live to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.”
And with that, you snatched your book bag and left the study room, slamming the door behind you. 
Remus was admittedly very surprised everyone survived this ordeal, though he took a moment to examine Regulus’ form.
“Well...” Remus started. “You’re not bleeding.”
Regulus let out a breath he’d been holding and sunk into his chair. “I don’t...I don’t understand. Was I wrong?”
Remus felt like this may have been a trick question. “Well, I don’t think you were right.”
Regulus looked over miserably at that, eyes begging Remus for comfort. Remus unfortunately couldn’t give it. 
“I’m sorry, love. You went too far.”
“I should go after her.” Regulus sighed, looking like he was thinking of getting up.
“Do you value your life?”
“Remus...”
“You need to let her cool off, Reg.”
“But-”
“I mean it, Regulus.” Remus said sternly, raising his eyebrows at the shorter boy. “You were too angry to see it but she was very upset – probably even more so if she’s already not feeling well.”
Regulus crossed his arms not unlike a petulant child being told they weren’t allowed to have a cookie before supper.
“Fine, but soon it won’t just be Y/N I have to convince to forgive me.”
Remus, completely unsympathetic to his boyfriend’s grumblings, smirked as he took out his homework. 
“Well, perhaps that’s what you get for acting like your father.”
Regulus let out a very inelegant groan and let his head fall onto the table with a thunk.
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Everyone had their person, for better or for worse. Sirius had James, Regulus had Pandora, Remus had Lily, and you...well, you had Barty.
And perhaps whatever Barty lacked in terms of critical thinking skills and sanity, he made up for in terms of loyalty and enthusiasm. 
You knocked on the door to Barty’s dorm from the hallway when you heard a muffled “occupado!” through the wood.
“Barty? It's me.” You called quietly, hearing the sound of a locking charm being lifted from the door immediately.
You pushed open the door to see Barty laying back against his pillow with a cigarette in his hand and Evan Rosier laying on top of him with a book as he read. 
“Hiya, treasure. Where’d ya leave Reggie?” Barty asked, blowing smoke away from Evan’s book.
“We got into a fight.” You admitted quietly. 
Suddenly, Barty’s cigarette was flicked towards the fireplace and Evan was, very roughly and unceremoniously, dumped from his lap.
“Ah! Fuckin’ hells Junior, what was that for?” Evan muttered as he rubbed the back of his head, standing from his newfound place on the floor.
“Out! I need time with my beloved!” Barty squawked, sitting up further against the headboard and opening his arms for you as an invitation.
“Wha- what do you mean? I’m your sodding boyfriend!” Evan beseeched. Barty spared the boy a glance at that.
“Exactly, you’re only my boyfriend, Y/N is my soulmate. Now out with you.” He dismissed, returning his eyes to you. 
You (somewhat meekly as you passed Evan) made your way over and crawled into Barty’s lap as Evan let himself out of the dorm room (his own dorm room, mind you).
“Alright, my sweet treasure, spill. What are his crimes?” He murmured into the top of your head.
“He yelled at me.” You said meekly, voice turning up at the end as you felt tears well in your eyes.
“Dementor’s kiss.” He proclaimed without hesitation. “Egregious, absolutely horrific crime.”
“Barty...” You moaned.
“What? I’m not kidding, I want him dead. Yelling at my sweet girl like that. For shame.”
You let out a sigh as the first few tears fell onto Barty’s shirt. You knew he was seriously hurt on your behalf for not saying anything about ruining his silk button up.
“What reason could he possibly have had to yell at you?” He murmured again into your hair, rocking you back and forth.
“I fainted... in class today.” You admitted with a grimace.
As you expected, Barty paused in his movements and lifted you up off of his body to examine you.
“Fainted!?” He hollered. “How, treasure?”
You groaned and leaned forward, wanting to hide your face in Barty’s chest again. Thankfully, he allowed you to do so.
“I don’t know...Madame Pomfrey said it could be a few things. Not enough sleep, not eating enough, stress.”
“And he yelled at you for that?”
“Well...sort of.”
Barty hummed in acknowledgement but allowed you to sit in silence as he rubbed circles onto your back.
“He was mad because he found out from Pandora.” You admitted. 
“Hmm, sounds like Regulus felt stupid. Not an easy task, sweets, Salazar knows I’ve tried.” Barty determined.
“How do you mean?” you asked into his chest.
“He just always seems to know the answers when I-”
“Not that, Barty!”
“He didn’t know you had fainted, and it sounds like he perhaps didn’t even realize you were unwell. He would have thought that made him look like a fool, which it does.” He explained, lacing the words at the end of his sentence with disdain.
“Barty...” you chided.
“I mean, come on treasure; you have two boyfriends, and one of them is a Slytherin! You’re telling me neither of them noticed their most perfect, sweetest angel was struggling? Foolish. You can’t blame Lupin, though, he is a Gryffindor after all; hanging with the likes of those oafs ought to cost him a couple brain cells each day. Hey, listen... you say the word and you and Lupin are more than welcome to shack up with me and Evan.”
“Barty!”
“I’m just saying!” He yielded, holding his hands up in surrender. His faux-serious façade fell away when he noticed the corner of your lips quirk into a smile.
“I’m sorry he yelled at you.” He offered.
You half sighed half groaned as you fell back into Barty’s chest.
“I guess he was just worried about me...” You relented.
“Yes. But don’t make it easy on him, okay? It’s fun to see the sod sweat every now and again.”
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“Regulus...I don’t know if this is a good idea. I really think we should let her come to us.” Remus muttered quietly from behind Regulus, but he wasn’t having any of it.
This had gone on too long, in Regulus’ opinion. You were hiding in Barty’s dorm room whilst Regulus stayed in Remus’, and while he loved Remus, he hated Gryffindor, and he missed you.
“Enough is enough, Remus. I want her back.” Regulus declared as he stepped up to his door and banged on the back of it none too gently.
“Junior!” He barked through the door. “I want my girlfriend back!” 
“No one’s home!” Barty called through the door. 
Regulus rolled his eyes so far back into his head even he was sure they were going to get stuck there.
He put his hand on the door handle and was hit immediately with a localized stinging jinx, causing him to rip his hand back off of it and hold it to his chest protectively. 
“Ow! Fuck Junior, what did you do!?” He called through the door. 
“Leave a message!”
“Oh, I’ll leave you a message alright.” Regulus spat.
“Dovey?” Remus tried calling gently through the door. “Can we come in? Please?”
It was quiet for a moment before Barty answered for you. “No.”
Remus shared an eyeroll of his own before cautiously touching the doorknob – apparently it had only been cursed against Regulus. 
“Okay, I’m opening the door.” Remus warned.
“I wouldn’t do that! I’m shagging your girl in here.” Barty called.
Regulus watched Remus’ face and knew two things to be true: that Remus was 97% sure that wasn’t true, and that Moony was very worried about that 3%. Ultimately, it appeared that Moony had won, causing Remus to barrel into the room rather ungraciously. 
Barty was sat in a chair with his feet kicked up on a desk and a book in his hand, which he lowered to examine the two intruders casually.
“That was very rude, you know. What would you have done if the lady had been indecent.” Barty scolded, using his book to point at your curled up form on Regulus’ bed, pointedly facing away from Remus and Regulus. 
Regulus felt his heart crack painfully at the sight, sharing a look with Remus who gave him an encouraging nod.
“Amour?” Regulus called gently, moving around the side of the bed in an attempt to see you. His heart cracked again when you hid your face in your arm.
“Please, my love. I’m...I’m so sorry.” He pleaded, kneeling down in front of you and cautiously stroking your arm. “I should never have spoken to you like that, I...I was wrong. And rude. And out of line. I’m sorry. Please? Please look at me, mon amour, laisse-moi arranger ça?” 
You turned your head up at that, and the final splinter that carved Regulus’ heart into two was the tear stains on your cheeks. 
“Oh, mon amour, je suis vraiment désolé. Je suis le pire, je suis vraiment désolé.” 
“Your fancy sweet talk won’t do you any good here, Black!” Barty hollered from his place across the room. “I’ve already told her that she and Lupin are more than welcome down here with me.” He added with a lascivious wink in Remus’ direction.
Regulus could see Remus’ cheeks pink at the compliment, but he also gulped at the threat.
“Say it ain’t so, mon amour.” He said to you, caressing your arm with one hand and delicately taking yours in his other, bringing it to his lips for a delicate kiss. “Is it finally happening, are you going to leave me for another? Surely you can do better than Junior, non?”
Regulus’ heart sped up almost double time as you offered him a watery smile. “No.”
“No? You can’t do better than Junior?” He teased.
You rolled your eyes as you sniffled and tried to wipe some of your tears away. “No, I’m not leaving you, you sod.”
“Oh, thank gods.” Regulus sighed dramatically, letting his head fall into the bed in front of him. He heard you chuckle above him, and you moved your hand into his hair, gently massaging his scalp.
“Oi! How come he gets head scratches for being a wanker and I get jilted?” Remus pouted from the middle of the room.
“Oh, come here lover boy.” Barty cooed at him, opening his arms and spreading his legs to make room from the lycanthrope.
Remus let out an awkward ‘erm’ from the middle of the room before you chuckled and invited Remus to join you for his own head scratches.
He opted to curl up behind you as the big spoon and wrap his arms protectively around your middle, adding his hand to Regulus’ shoulder as he still knelt on the floor at the head of the bed. Perhaps not the best angle for head scratches, but he was clearly very happy with his current predicament.
“Right then; have either of you tossers seen Rosier?” Barty asked as he stood from his chair.
“Common room.” Remus and Regulus answered in unison.
“Thanks.” He said as he made his way to the door. “Stay out of the bathroom for a while, yeah? I owe that sod so many blowjobs after all of this.” 
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outsideratheart · 3 months
Text
By Your Side, Always (Alexia Putellas x reader)
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A/N: We’re supercampeones!!! I’m not sure what this is but I hope you like it.
The first 45 minutes of the game you were having fun, the whole team was. Levante knew that Barcelona would make them work but tonight you and the team were putting on a world class performance. They were never a team to give up but with 7 goals scored and them not being able to find the net, they struggled to find hope and accepted their defeat. They were now fighting to keep the score at 7 and it started to get messy. 
It was clear that you had been made a target by Levante’s entire back line. You didn’t care though, you could take it. If anything you welcomed the physically because it meant you were allowed to give them a taste of their own medicine every so often. 
Alexia wished she could be on the pitch with you but she must admit it was fun being in the stand watching you play the way you were. 
“She’s showing off” Mapi said to no one in particular as she watched you dance around their left back even looking back and smirking to her once you sent the ball into the box. 
“She’s unstoppable when she’s like this” your girlfriend says. 
She regretted her choice of words not even a minute later. There were two defenders between you and the goal. You were determined to make it 8. That is until you get taken out by not one but two players. You felt one set of studs go into the outside of the ankle and another set on the inside. You truly had never felt pain like it. 
Alexia heard your outcry of pain and could do nothing but watch as you laid on the floor clutching your ankle. 
“I need you to get up. I need to go to her” Alexia stood to her feet, desperate to be by your side. 
“You can’t go onto the pitch” Mapi slowly got up, careful not to knock her knee. 
Her warning fell on deaf ears and Alexia was already rushing towards the pitch. As expected she was stopped by Jona but she stayed near the sidelines waiting for you. 
“Please get up” Alexia whispers to herself. She began to fear the worst when she sees the physio signal for a stretcher. 
“We both know she’s too stubborn to use it Alexia. Give her a few minutes and she’ll be up” Jona pats his captain’s shoulder in support. 
The coach was right. It took a little longer than Alexia would have like but you are up on your feet. It’s obvious that the injury is bad because you are using the teams physios as crutches so you don’t put any weight on your ankle. 
What is the ultimate telling sign is the way you refuse to meet Alexia’s gaze when you get to the sidelines. Nevertheless she follows you into the tunnel and waits by the door of the medical room. 
“Come with me, please” you have your back towards Alexia but she can hear the pain in your tone. 
“I’m here” 
Alexia sits on a chair beside you as the physio begins examining your ankle. At the first touch you wince and move your foot away which only makes it hurt more. He gives you a couple of minutes to compose yourself but asks to try again. Your arms hide your face as the pain becomes excruciating. The only thing stopping you from breaking completely is the soothing way Alexia is stroking her hand over your thigh. 
“They’re almost done. Try and breathe for me ok?” 
And try you did but you also failed. It was a form of panic and you knew it. 
The physios explain that they think it’s major ligament damage and that they will take you for scans once you’re back in Barcelona.  
“I’m going to give you some space. Alexia, make sure she ices it and try to get her to stay still. Give it ten minutes then she can put the boot on and use the crutches. No weight on it, understand?” 
“They studded my ankle, not my ears. Don’t speak about me as if I’m not here” you sit up quickly. At least now you understood why you needed to keep still. 
Alexia got up as the physio left. She places ice on your ankle as gently as she could before she turned out the lights. She knew that when you were overwhelmed the darkness help calm whatever you were feeling inside. 
“Whatever it is, i’ve got you. I know how you think and how you’re going to want to do this alone but that won’t happen. I won’t let it”
Alexia moves the chair so that it was closer to your head. She places a gentle kiss on the crown on your head. 
“I don’t want to talk about it” 
You turn your head away from her. That hurt Alexia but she knew it was your coping mechanism and once you’ve processed what’s happened you will be more open to talk.
Alexia had just opened her mouth when she heard a door slam and a lot of foul language. 
“That’s Lucy and if she’s in here for the reason I think then I’m going to kill her” 
Your girlfriend rolled her eyes. You weren’t in the mood for this and deep down she knew the reason why the English defender was now in lockeroom even though there is 10 minutes left, maybe less. 
“Y/N I’m coming in” technically it wasn’t a question but still she could have waited for a response. 
“Get out” you growl. 
“Oh did I interrupt something” Lucy gives you both a playful look. 
“You’re a fucking idiot Luce. I know for a fact you didn’t get subbed off because that wasn’t part of the plan so that only leaves one reason” 
“Y/N calm down” alexia begs.  
“I was defending you. They took you out. I wasn’t going to let them get away with it” Lucy met your anger and walked towards you. That was a mistake. 
“Get out!” You stand up and your own weight collapses underneath you. 
“Lucy, please” Alexia begs your England team mate who raises her hands in defeat and leaves you be. 
She then helps you back on the bed. A couple of minutes pass and you hear the final whistle following by the cheers of your team. 
“I’m not going back out. Torre can lift the trophy” 
“Y/N. You’re their captain and you scored a hattrick. It should be you up there” 
“Well I’m not going to be and you can go tell them. Go Alexia” 
She saw the look in your eyes. The look, which in the past, told her that your mind was made up and there was nothing she could do to change it. 
“Just come out when you’re ready. We don’t let moments pass by without celebrating them. You told me that” before leaving Alexia made sure she turned on the TV so that you could at least watch the trophy ceremony. 
You didn’t like what you just did but you did it anyway. Alexia has had a tough few weeks and she need this, she needed it more than you needed her. 
As instructed Marta lifts the trophy and you feel fine about it. Barcelona has a group of leaders but it just so happens that only one can wear the armband. 
The silence wasn’t comfortable and it started to put you on edge. You saw the boots and crutches by the examination table taunting you.  
Don’t let the moment pass by. 
Alexia watches Marta lift the trophy and then celebrated with the team like they do after every trophy win. She hoped you might have come out by now. 
She is near the centre circle when she hears the crowd errupt. She may have her back to the tunnel but she knows it’s you. 
“I thought you said she wasn’t coming out” Jana asks. 
“No. I said she wasn’t lifting the trophy” Alexia knew you would come out. Due to your slow pace, no thanks to the crutches, Alexia met you half way. 
You let the crutches drop to the floor as you wrap your arms around her neck. 
“I’m sorry for pushing you away. I just —“
“Needed a minute. I know. You’re here now and that’s all that matters” she lets you rest against her as your hands you the crutches. 
“Have you been crying mi amor?” She noticed the tear staines on your cheeks. 
You nod slightly and she can see that something is going on in your head because your eyes begin to well up. Alexia cups your cheek and gently wipes away the stray tear that has fallen. 
“You don’t have to wait until I’m not there to cry Y/N”
“I know” 
Side by side you walk towards your team mates who are all ready to greet you. Bruna is the first one too you, of course she is. 
“Here” she hands you the game ball “I got everyone to sign it for you” 
“Thanks B. You know I’ve got so many of these I’ve lost count. Why don’t you go give it to a fan?” The young forward takes the ball back happily and runs towards a little girl. She makes her turn around so that you can see the fan is wearing you shirt. You send her a little wave and it makes her day. 
“I don’t want to be injured” you stick your bottom lip out causing you girlfriend to chuckle slightly. 
“We’re professional football players, we never want to be injured but sometimes it happens. There’s nothing we can do about it” Alexia was full of wisdom. 
She definetly didn’t feel this way when she got hurt but you decide not reopen old wounds. 
“And these things are stupid” you wave one of your crutches around. 
“Are you going to be complaining everyday until you’re back on the pitch?” 
“Yes Alexia, I am. If you don’t like it then tough because you’re stuck with me” 
“I’m ok with that and I’m ready to return the favour because we both know I wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine when I got injured” 
“You can say that again. I almost sent you back home to your mothers” you were teasing her and she knew it. You didn’t like being more that 5 feet away from Alexia when she was hurt. 
“We both know if I went back to my mama’s that you would be right behind me” 
You could only nod in agreement. Alexia suggests you do what will be half a lap of the pitch so you can thank you fans. It’s a slow amble but she doesn’t seem to mind. The rest of the team had walked ahead so now it was just you, Alexia, Mapi and Ingrid. 
“Does this mean we can do our physio together?” Mapi asks you. 
“No” Alexia and Ingrid say in unison. 
“Why not? We will push each other to get better” 
“And that’s the reason why. You’re too competive, you will make it into a game and we” she points to herself and Alexia “know that it’ll end badly”. 
When you are back at the hotel you are dragged into the celebrations and for the most part you don’t mind it. After a little while you realise that Alexia isn’t around and that is something you do mind. You feel yourself getting more anxious without having her calming presence beside you. 
Then you hear your phone go off. 
Come to you room. Your rehab starts now. 
When you enter your room, Alexia is standing outside the bathroom. 
“I’m going to need you to remove your clothes” Alexia says and your eyes widen. 
“Ok” you pull your shirt off in record time, the shorts however were more of a task. 
“Let me” once the injured leg was free alexia places your crutches aside “rest on me” she tells you. 
She looks up grinning like a devil which makes you shake your head. She always did have half a mind in the gutter when it came to you. 
“Maybe later” she pecks your lips and doesn’t expect for you to pull her back in for something more passionate. 
“Sure, Putellas”
She pretends to act offended at the use of her surname. Alexia then uses her strength to lift you backwards and onto the bed, something she could have done earlier. 
“I’m going to take your boot off. It might hurt” she was so gentle in the way you undid the Velcro straps. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry” she says when she hears you wince. 
“I’m ok” you reassure her even though you were far from it. 
What happens next came as a shock but a good one. Alexia lifts you up and carries you bridal style towards the bathroom where you are met with a bubble filled bath. 
“You did this for me?” 
“Yes. Although I’m going to be joining you so I guess it’s also for me” 
“Are you now?” You tease. 
Alexia nods her head in excitement with a huge smile plastered on her face. 
Your girlfriend helps you in and then lowers herself behind you. With one hand on your thigh and the other one on your abdomen, you allow yourself to relax. As you tilt your head back to rest against Alexia it gives her full access to your exposed neck and she takes advantage of the opportunity. She knows things can’t get too heated so she settles with peppering kisses on your sensitive spots. 
The two of you stay in the bath until the water becomes cold and your hands like like prunes. 
“You’re strong Y/N, you’ll be ok” Alexia says as she lays in bed with you. You have a movie on and somehow Alexia has gotten some popcorn. 
“I’ll be alright” 
It wasn’t how you expected the night to end. You thought you would be celebrating with your team, jumping for joy and taking advantage of the free champagne. Instead you are in bed, with you leg elevated and ice compressing the injured area. The this one commonality in the current and what come have been; you have Alexia by your side. 
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ddejavvu · 8 months
Note
MORE BEREAL WITH HOTCH OMG!!
but he takes one where he rails me from behind 🤭
part 1
this post is 18+, minors dni.
The consequences of your relationship with Hotch being outed are much less severe than you'd worried about. No one has snitched to Strauss, no one accuses you of sleeping with the boss for leverage in the government. But they do adopt a penchant for teasing you, and it grates on Aaron's nerves more than yours.
"Y/L/N, I didn't peg you as a grave robber," Derek grins, his pen caught between his teeth as he leans back in his chair, "Tell me, can the old man even get it up anymore?"
"That's enough." Hotch snaps, "You're working right now, Agent."
"I'm working, I'm working," Derek assures his boss, putting pen to paper but writing nothing, "Just making sure Y/N's not getting the short end of the stick in this little thing you've got going on."
"It's not short." You promise with a sly grin, and you see Aaron's jaw clench as he tries biting his tongue to keep from smirking. He's stirring his coffee on the counter of the kitchenette and Derek, properly cowed by your retaliation to his teasing, ducks his head and begins scribbling away with a grimace on his face.
You've developed a habit of meeting Aaron in his office for lunch, and today is no different. You take the brunt of your coworker's teasing jeers as you bounce happily up the stairs to Hotch's office, shutting the door on them before Emily can finish whatever jibe she's got locked and loaded.
"Hi," You greet, like you haven't seem him all day, like he wasn't expecting your presence, "You ready to eat?"
"I am," Aaron beams at you, shuffling paperwork out of the way to clear a space for your lunch bag, "Did you happen to grab any crackers from the pantry before we left?"
"I did," You brag, showcasing a full sleeve of them to pair with the dip you'd made, "We need more of them, though, this is the last portion."
"I'll add it to the grocery list," Aaron mumbles, digging in his pocket for his phone, and you feel something warm and soft in your chest at the domesticity of it all. Your grocery list, your joint grocery list with the man you love. Food bought together, with shared funds and shared smiles across the shopping cart as an unnecessary bag of cookies is added to the cart.
"JJ thinks you're nicer now that we're together," You muse, munching on a cracker with dip smeared over its surface, "She says you smile more."
"I do," Aaron's eyes scrunch slightly with the force of the expression in question, "I bet Morgan doesn't feel that way."
"He does that to himself," You scoff, reaching over the desk to squeeze Aaron's arm, "He loves you, Aaron, he just likes teasing you. That's his way of showing it."
"I know," He assures you, "I just wish he wouldn't do it in the office."
"I bet he wishes we wouldn't do it in the office," You gnaw at your lower lip, remembering Derek's scandalized grimace when he'd forgone a knock at Hotch's office door last week. It had been a kiss, barely more besides wandering hands, but since then he's doubled his efforts to tease you two.
"I locked the door this time." Aaron chuckles, but falls silent with the weight of his words, "That is- if you want this time to be like last time. Or we could just eat, or-"
"Shut up," Your finger flies to Aaron's mouth, his eyes crossing to follow it as you press it to his lips, "I want you."
His chest shakes with a hearty chuckle at your brazen words, but he's more than happy to scoot his chair back from his desk to give you space to sit over his thighs. Your kiss tastes like the dip you've both been sharing, but the messier it gets, the more you lick and drool into his mouth the less potent it is. It doesn't take you long to feel a needy ache in your core that Aaron's bulge would satisfy, so you reach down to palm him through his pants.
"Jesus-" He hisses, eyes fluttering open to blink dazedly at you, "You- do you want- here? Now?"
"Yes here and now!" You nod vigorously, his face held in your hands, "I need you, Aaron, please."
His hands fly to his belt buckle with no further hesitation. You're eager to help, palming his cock through his boxers until it's sufficiently hard and tugging eagerly at the elastic waistband to free it. It's a mouthwatering sight, but you don't have time for that now, all you can manage on your lunch break is a quickie.
With mental plans made to suck him dry as soon as you cross the threshold of your apartment, you lift your hips, relishing in the way that his fingers prod at your barely-slick entrance to coax more lubrication out of your cunt.
"Just go," You beg, "There's no time, I- I'm wet enough."
"Okay." He hums, kissing your mouth where you pant against his own, "You sure you're ready?"
"Mhm! Yeah, I'm ready." You nod, letting him line up his cock with your entrance, "Aaron, please- hnngh!"
You bury your face in his shoulder at the slight sting of his dick, the pain eased when he pushes all the way in and the slickness that's accumulated deep inside gets distributed around your cunt. It's smoother then, and he's able to get a steady rhythm going with both his hips and yours as you ride him. He thrusts as best as he can and you pick up the slack by bouncing your hips, until you're biting into the soft silk of his tie to muffle your moans.
Your phone chimes. It's BeReal.
You've had a little more freedom since outing your relationship, your photos now of you and Aaron together rather than the grass beneath your feet and a carefully taken selfie that doesn't include your brooding boss.
But it's Aaron this time that lunges for the cell, your weight supported when his arm wraps around your thighs, and your legs encircle his waist. It's a startling change of position, and you're worried about falling, but he's surprisingly strong.
"Aaron!" You gush, your back aching when it's pressed against the corner of his desk, "Ow, don't-!"
"Sorry," He pants, hands falling to your hips and hips jerking backwards. His cock is no longer buried in your cunt and you mourn it's loss, but he manhandles your waist to turn you around, and you fall forwards against his desk. You catch yourself on your palms against the smooth wood, yelping as he shows no hesitation in lining his hips up with your ass and plunging his cock back into your pussy. He's thrusting from behind now, one hand latched onto your phone as he clicks the notification.
Your face barely suffices to unlock the phone, your expression warped in pleasure as Aaron takes you from behind. But the phone unlocks after only a moment's struggle, and Aaron eagerly loads the front camera.
"No porn," You warn him, "I- I don't need Reid seeing my- tits!"
"I'm not showing anyone your tits," He grunts, aiming the camera at your face just as your brow scrunches, and your mouth falls into a rosy ring, "I'm showing them your face."
"Aaron-!" You mewl, hearing the shutter of the camera as he takes his own picture, the saliva-ridden bite you'd left on his tie. There's a ring of darker fabric where your drool had seeped into the silk, and he's proud to showcase it alongside your pleasure-ridden expression.
"There," He tosses the phone back on the desk, perhaps harder than he should. He's simply overwhelmed with passion, the need to prove himself worthy of you. Derek's nagging comments eat at his brain, 'the short end of the stick.'
It doesn't look like you're suffering. His chest surges with pride as he stares at the photo he'd snapped of you, face contorted and riddled with bliss.
'Short end of the stick', he sneers, digging the expression into your back and nipping at the skin of your neck, you're nothing short of mindblown.
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hauntedrain · 4 months
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New Year, New me | Charles Leclerc x fem! reader | 
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Summary: Charles cares about your opinions, even when it comes down to a new haircut. 
A/N: so of course this is about his new haircut, and personally I like it <3 so I based a lil something off of it. Also this is badly written cuz I was half asleep writing it but I hope you like it.
Warnings: the normal; not edited, really short, more of a Drabble tbh (500 words).
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 He was scared—most definitely scared. He liked the haircut—a new change for the off-season—but nonetheless, he was scared. He didn’t tell you about his plans for his haircut; he didn't even bring it up that he’s going to get one. So on his way back to the apartment, he was stressed. Would you like it? Hate it? wish it was different?
He knows you would never downright say you hated it, disliked it, or even commented on it if he enjoyed it. But he wanted your opinion; he knew how much you liked his hair before, and he’s seen a lot of stuff on social media about people's significant others getting a haircut and not liking it or them the same as before. So now that he was walking to the apartment he was preparing for the worst. 
    “Ma chérie, are you there?” He called out while closing the front door and facing an empty entryway and living space.
  “I'm over in the room, Char!” You called out.
    He put down the few small bags he had in his hand along with his keys as he walked over to your shared bedroom. He didn’t initially see you as he walked into the bedroom, but once he noticed the lights on in the bathroom and the slightly open door, he found where you were. He moved over and slowly opened the door, and he was met with you putting on what he assumes is a form of lipgloss or lipstick. You didn’t immediately notice him as you were too focused on your makeup; however, once you did, you turned around and hugged him, not noticing immediately the major change he made to his hair. He nuzzled into your neck and shoulder while returning the hug. You guys stayed like that for a bit until he pulled back a bit, looking down at you.
    "Oh my god, you cut your hair!” You said this while looking up at him and finally noticing it. You ran your hands through the top part of it that was still fluffy while smiling a goofy but surprised smile.
 “Yeah, do you like it?” He asked sheepishly while holding you.
    “It’s pretty cute, you didn’t tell me you were gonna cut it. Was it a spring of the moment type thing?” You asked pulling him over to sit on the bed while you stand in front of him.
“I mean yeah, kinda. I wanted something new for the new year.” 
    “You took ‘new year, new me' seriously huh?” You said smiling at him while running your hands through his hair again. “It’s pretty though.” 
“Thank you, ma chérie. I was worried you wouldn’t like it.” He said messing with the bracelets he was wearing. “But I’m glad you do. Now we just have to see what the fans think of it.” 
“Bet they’ll like it, for the most part.” You said slightly laughing while going back to get ready for the event later that evening. 
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stsgluver · 2 months
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“i like this one,” you pointed to a particular design in one of the portfolio books you’d stolen from geto’s desk. it was a dahlia – black and white with wisps spinning around the flower. it was delicate and soft, and very much unlike the usual tattoos your boyfriend usually created.
the boyfriend in question peered over at you laying across his tattoo chair that you’d adjusted so the back was resting horizontally. he looked unfairly attractive – hair tied back in a messy bun and the glasses he only ever wore when no one else was in the room tipped to the edge of his nose. 
“want me to do it for you?” geto nodded his head towards the portfolio in your hands, a small smirk present. to say you weren’t a fan of needles was an understatement and, in the six months you’d been together and the two years you’d been friends, he was yet to convince you to let him do one for you.
“no,” you scrunched up your nose at him, ignoring his light chuckle at your quick response. 
“yeah no one wants your shit ass.” you spun your head around to see fushiguro toji sliding open the door to geto’s work space. out of all the people geto worked with, toji by far ranked in last place for his distasteful personality. his lips curled up into a twisted grin, scar lifting as his eyes drifted over your figure and you wished you were hiding behind your boyfriend and not sprawled out along the chair. “i’ll do it for you darling, even add some extra benef–”
“fuck off fushiguro,” geto said forcefully. you’d been coming to the tattoo shop long before you and geto had started dating and the older man had always been this way, but he’d ramped it up tenfold once you’d officially gotten together. 
toji rested back against geto’s door frame, his cocky attitude fueled by geto’s clear annoyance. “gojo just wanted me to tell you that you haven’t responded to an email yet.” he gave a wink in your direction before he ducked back out of the room. you gagged in response, slipping off of the chair to shut the door he’d left wide open.
“asshole,” geto muttered under his breath, leaning back and pulling his hair out of its loose bun as he so often did when he was stressed. “how much longer are you going to be here?” 
geto loved having you down at his work, loved being around you as he sketched as he considered you his muse. however, toji had his own special way of tainting every situation he was ever in and digging his nails right under your boyfriend’s skin in a way no one else could.
there was a small pout on your lips as you made your way over to geto, to your boyfriend who was usually always so level-headed no matter what was happening. “hey, don’t punish me for him putting you in a bad mood."
holding onto the back of his chair, you spun it slightly so that he was facing you. he didn’t resist your movements and his legs naturally spread enough so that you could shuffle between them, your arms loosely swung over his shoulders. beneath the collar of his top you could see the ends of several tattoos that decorated his tanned skin. 
“i’m not,” he closed his eyes, leaning into you to press a light kiss to your forearm. “i just prefer for my girlfriend not to be sexualised by that thing.” 
you pushed the strands of hair that obscured his face from your vision behind his ears, “i think i know what will make you feel better.”
“letting me tattoo my name on your forehead?” geto grinned up at you and you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning down to kiss him. knocking your nose against his, you feel the cool metal of his nose ring against your skin. a nose ring he could definitely convince you to get, though it would be from shoko and definitely not him. you had seen what had happened to gojo’s ear when the two of them had gotten drunk and thought piercing each other with a sewing needle would be a genius idea.
“buying me something from the vending machine?” you countered, giggling at the drop of his smile. the vending machine had been gojo’s idea of bringing in more money for the business and he’d somehow managed to convince yaga he was right. so far, the only person who ever seemed to use that thing was you (with geto’s money). 
“i hate gojo for buying that thing,” geto sighed, dramatically making a thing of grabbing his wallet from his drawer. he pinched your hip lightly and nodded his head towards the door, “after you, princess.”
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fangswbenefits · 5 months
Text
The Arrangement (8) - Revelations
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Chapter summary: You finally confront Ava, but the conversation takes an unexpected turn.
Pairing: Astarion x female!Tav
Warnings: Innuendo. Mentions of abuse and trauma.
Word count: 5.3k
Series Masterlist
You found him by the edge of a cliff overlooking Baldur's Gate.
The first rays of light began to spill into the morning sky in hues of yellow fused with orange. You would never tire of watching the city you called home being engulfed in such beauty.
“Enjoying the view?”
Astarion was holding a somewhat mellow smile on his lips as he turned to face you.
“I hadn't seen this much colour bathing the city in over two hundred years.”
You stopped next to him, looping an arm around his and resting your face against his shoulder.
“It's beautiful, isn't it?”
He sighed. “I do not want to get too attached to it. In case things go awry, that is.”
‘Awry’ meaning that he wouldn't be able to ascend…
It always made your heart clench to think about how much Astarion still held on to that.
But you didn't want to think about such things for now.
For now, you were more than content to share this moment with him.
“The sun looks beautiful on you,” you said truthfully.
It wasn't exactly a challenge, but you adored praising and stroking his ego.
A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest. “As most things do, darling."
"That is true.”
He then placed his cold hand atop yours. “As you once did.”
His words hit you with such force that you felt your chest too heavy all of a sudden.
You glanced up at him, meeting his soft crimson eyes. “Astarion…”
Would he ever move on?
Would he ever move on from you?
He offered a defeated smile. “I know, I know. Just friends, right?”
You nodded. “Yes.”
He didn't utter another word as he looked on ahead.
You kept your grip around him, enjoying his firmness and how he made you feel so safe and comfortable.
Deep down, you were just thankful he couldn't see the single tear that streamed down your face.
The cold and wet trail brought you back to witness the sight of the sun emerging on the horizon line. 
You pulled your legs up so you could rest your chin on your knees, hugging yourself as the breathtaking view filled your vision.
How you wished you could share this with him like many times before.
As lovers.
As friends.
You wiped the tear away with the back of your hand as sadness spread inside you.
There was no point in dwelling in the impossible. At least until you found a way for him to experience all the colour the world had to offer with no limitations.
Sleep hadn't come to you this night and it wasn't because of nightmares or the fact that Astarion had left you painfully yearning for his touch.
Your mind was just all over the place, trying to make sense of how things felt with him after that conversation.
Truth be told, you were more than happy with the occasional intimacy and giving him space.
But his taunting words still lingered in your mind.
You were certain he craved more than a friendship, but how much of that spread beyond carnal lust was something you weren't sure about.
Maybe even Astarion didn't know.
As much as you longed for more, you still wanted to mend your friendship first and bridge the distance that had come between you two. 
As you pushed yourself from the bed and slipped into your robe, you took a quick glance at the mirror in front of you.
Eyes puffy and reddened paired with deep eyebags.
Wonderful.
You heaved a deep sigh as you exited the room, heading towards the kitchen area to brew some tea.
The door to his room was firmly shut and you hurried past it with bare feet.
The entire house was still swallowed in silence and darkness.
You quickly lit up a few candles before reigniting the fireplace and putting the kettle on.
The familiar squeak of the door to his room filled your ears.
As the water came to a boil, you poured a few herbs inside the cup as you poured the scalding liquid.
You heard him call out your name and your stomach immediately fluttered as he came into view, slowly pacing towards you.
“How did you know it was me?”
Astarion's lips curled into a smile. “I know the sound of your footsteps by heart.”
There was no trace of deceit in his remark.
His voice rang true and not as a mere attempt at flustering you with honeyed words.
He meant it and you felt the warm embrace of his presence tightly enveloping you.
Astarion had learned the way to your heart like no one else had ever tried to. 
He could crawl under your skin and have you yearn for him like no one else could.
And he did all of this effortlessly and like second nature.
You returned a warm smile, feeling the addictive embrace of his presence.
He felt like the home you longed to come back to.
As you moved to sit on the sofa nearby, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the cup in your hands, he eventually sat next to you, crimson eyes meeting yours and, for a moment, you held your breath.
He was your home.
“You look horrible.”
A snarky one.
You chuckled at his bluntness, taking a sip. “Didn't get much sleep.”
“Nightmares again?”
“No. My mind was just busy…”
He slowly nodded. “Was it too much? What we did?”
You glared at him in surprise. “What? No. What about you?”
His eyes narrowed. “I wanted more.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
He crossed his legs, adjusting his elegant shirt. “It wasn't nearly enough.”
“You were the one to stop it…”
“Because I had to. Gods know how long it took to… calm down, so to speak.”
The implication that dangled from his words wasn't particularly subtle.
Oh.
Oh.
Your cheeks flared up. “I… didn't hear you…”
Astarion flashed a teasing smile. “I know how to avoid being heard, unlike a certain someone.”
Bad timing had you nearly choking on your tea.
“Careful, darling. You'll get all wet… again.”
The nerve!
You shot him murderous glare, wiping your chin.
Then the two fell into a comfortable silence.
You melted into the backrest of the sofa, cradling the cup in your hands, humming a tune that you had almost forgotten about.
“I find myself missing our journey, you know?” he said after a while.
“Even having to play the hero?”
He tapped his chin pensively. “Even that, as surprising as it sounds. I could have done without all your ridiculous acts of heroism, but I grew to enjoy indulging in some of them.”
Your heart thudded happily at his honesty.
“Who would have thought that you’d find joy in being selfless,” you teased with a smile.
He lifted one finger. “Do not misunderstand. I still come first. I spent too many centuries not being able to and I won't give that up now.”
You nodded, fully understanding his line of thinking.
In the meantime, your hand had dropped in between you two and you felt coldness reach your fingers.
You looked down, startled, only to be met with his fingers gently brushing against yours.
And just like clockwork, your heart sped up.
Astarion had his eyes fixed on the swirling flames that emanated from the fireplace.
Little by little, his fingers began to intertwine with yours until his hand gripped you tightly.
Your mind blanked for a moment at how unexpected this was.
In time, his cold skin began to warm up against yours.
And then it dawned on you that he had never held your hand this way.
He had helped you up on your feet more times than you could count.
He had gripped your hand in his as both of you hurried along collapsing halls and while being chased by the most vicious of creatures.
But he had never held your hand as if seeking for silent comfort.
You shifted so you could rest your head on his shoulder.
He tensed slightly under your touch, but eventually relaxed and you seized the opportunity to melt into his side, enjoying the familiar scent of bergamot and rosemary.
Home.
You weren't sure how much time had passed, but the tear in your cup had gone tepid and you began to feel guilty.
You had considered not telling him about confronting Ava.
But you didn't want to lie and hide anything from him, especially if it concerned him in the first place.
You pulled slightly away from him and he met your gaze.
“I'm going to meet Ava tonight.”
You expected an angry outburst of indignation from him, but were met with an inquisitive glare instead.
“Why doesn't that surprise me at all?”
That was it?
“Wait… you are not going to talk me out of it?”
At this, he faintly chuckled, still firmly gripping your hand in his.
“Honestly, darling, when has that ever worked?”
Point taken.
He knew of your stubbornness all too well.
“Besides, do you intend on killing her?”
You widened your eyes. “I – no? I don't think so?”
Though you couldn't swear on this until you were actually absolutely sure she was as harmless as he claimed her to be.
“Then, you have my blessing.”
You then narrowed your eyes suspiciously at him. “You don't even want to go with me?”
“Do you want me to?”
“It's not necessary.”
He shrugged. “Then I won't.”
Astarion was acting uncharacteristically accepting of your intrusion, and that rang a plethora of alarm bells in your head.
It was as if he knew you'd have no reason to harm her.
“Why are you so… calm about this?”
His eyes met yours. “I am well aware you can turn Ava into a pile of dust should she cross your path. But I don't believe you will do such a thing.”
“Why not? I don't trust her.”
His grip around your fingers eased slightly. “I don't expect you to, but you do trust me, don't you?”
“Yes.”
You didn't hesitate for a second. After all, you had trusted Astarion through things that most people would have staked him for. The two of you were way past the uncertainty of not trusting each other's intentions.
It was more evident that the glaring issue that plagued your relationship was rooted in miscommunication and not mistrust.
“And I trust her.”
That ground on your nerves. “But why?”
“Because I have to.”
You immediately dropped his hand, turning in your seat to fully face him, already feeling the familiar irritation that came with him not being fully open with you at times.
“Astarion, you need to start telling me why you hold her in such high regards,” you said, pinching the bridge of your nose. “You can also trust me. Whatever it is… just tell me.”
He glared at you with a faint scowl. “She is taking my blood with the intention of lessening some vampirism weaknesses.”
Oh?
“Such as?”
“Well, the insatiable hunger is the main focus.”
You stared at him in silence, not quite sure what to make of this.
The Wish Spell could grant him the ability to walk in the sun again, but this seemed even more ambitious.
And dangerous.
“Obviously, this is all rather theoretical, but it seemed like a sound prospect,” he went on, sinking into the sofa with an exasperated sigh. “As selfish as I am, I also considered how this could be helpful to the spawn in the Underdark.”
His words took you quite aback.
“This… seems too good to be true,” you said hesitantly.
“Oh, I'm aware. That is why I am keeping my expectations in check.”
You really, really wanted to hate Ava.
But if her motifs were truly this altruistic, then you were going to have a hard justifying that feeling, which provided another added layer of anger altogether.
“So, if you want to talk to her, you are free to do so. Seeing is believing or so they say,” he said with a witty grin.
You sighed.
Astarion was a bad planner.
No. He was a terrible planner.
He could identify the end goal, but would have no clue how to get there and would merely make adjustments as he went along, hoping for the best.
Luck had been on his side as of late, but you lacked that optimism.
And he obviously saw that splattered across your face.
“Oh, please. I know that look – just say it,” he scoffed.
You weren't even sure what you wanted to say.
Deep down, you felt extremely protective of him and didn't appreciate that she was exchanging lessons in intimacy for his blood.
It all seemed very one-sided and the promise of also helping him – and by extension, the spawn in the underdark – still seemed unrealistically… convenient.
“Are you even sure any of this will work? Has she made any progress with your blood?”
“Some progress. Not enough to keep me too hopeful, but I will take anything these days.”
You could sympathise with the sentiment, but…
“I still think there is something off about her.”
Astarion just looked as amused as ever. “No jealousy?”
You rolled your eyes. “No.”
“Well, she would have nothing to gain from sending us both to prison,” he said. “She knows I exclusively feed on you and that I do need to feed regularly.”
The nonchalant way in which he uttered those words, brought a wave of heat to your face, as the events from a few hours earlier resurfaced in your mind.
There was a hint of intimacy in the act itself, but also in the aftermath. Astarion's senses would be sharpened as your blood coursed through his body.
“Seems like I broke your concentration, darling,” he said teasingly, effectively snapping you from your thoughts.
You jolted briefly and then scowled, annoyed that he could see right through you so easily.
“Don't flatter yourself.”
He gave you a devious smile. “I don't have to. Not when your body provides the finest flattery there is.”
Gods.
You wished you could turn off the effect his honeyed words always had on you.
Clearing your throat, you straightened up in your seat. “Very well, then. I am willing to be enlightened.”
A teasing smile tugged faintly at his lips. “Good girl.”
Your heart skipped a beat.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
Regaining your composure, you said, “Wyll is going there with me tonight.”
Astarion drew a sleazy grin this time. “Oh, so that was what the two of you were plotting yesterday.”
You rolled your eyes.
“And here I thought sweet Wyll had finally mustered the courage to take you out on a lavish date,” he said with a dramatic and forceful pout. “Seems like romance is dead, after all.”
For some odd reason, Astarion was under the impression that Wyll harboured feelings for you that surpassed friendship.
But what Astarion didn't know was that your heart was too full of him to allow room for anyone else.
His taunting words created the perfect opening for you to return the gesture.
“No jealousy?”
His smile only grew wider. “Do you want me to be jealous?”
You were entering his territory, and should tread lightly. 
“Maybe you should be jealous,” you whispered.
He shifted closer to you and you held your breath.
“And why is that? Why should I be jealous of your friendship with him?”
Gods, he was good .
Your heart drummed faster in your chest as his face drew near.
He was a master at disarming you with carefully laid out traps whilst using his words as alluring bait.
“He's very… friendly.”
You inwardly cringed at your ridiculous remark, which earned a chuckle from Astarion.
At this point, he was so close you almost feel his cool lips on yours.
“Well, hopefully not this friendly.”
That was it.
He was going to kiss you and you couldn't give a damn about it.
But before he could do so, the faint rhythmic thud of footsteps pulled you out of immersion, and the two of you pulled apart at once.
Lae'zel.
She reached the bottom of the staircase, eyeing both of you like she had just run into the most disappointing event of her life.
“The sun has yet to fully rise, and the two of you are already at it again,” she said with a scowl. “Wasn't the coupling from last night enough?”
Your jaw dropped open in sheer mortification.
Surely she hadn't… heard anything… right?
“Where is your sense of decorum, Lae'zel?” Astarion clicked his tongue, leaning back against the sofa once more.
She gave him a stern glare. “You wouldn't know decorum if it hit you in that pale face of yours, Astarion.”
He chuckled. “My, my… someone is feisty today.”
“The sounds you two made could raise the dead from their graves,” she said, moving swiftly towards the front door with her sword keeping her company. “I am not sure how much more of this torture I can take.”
You stood up at once, feeling embarrassment take over. “Oh! We… uh… Astarion was just feeding and–”
She held a hand up. “Spare me the grotesque details. I'll be going out on a hunt. Don't expect me for lunch.”
And without a further exchange, she slipped through the door.
Astarion was now on his feet and heading towards the staircase.
Somehow, you couldn't help but feel a tad of disappointment as he left your side.
His company was something you reckoned you'd never tire from.
“See you later, darling. And do fix that lovely face of yours,” he teased dramatically. “Rose water works like a charm.”
And you couldn't hold back an endearing smile.
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The night came quicker than you had hoped.
Confronting Ava made you feel truly uneasy, especially after learning some more about her.
As promised, Wyll had come to you, escorted by two Fists. The mage slayer stationed outside, quickly joined the four of you, and you felt the magic within you dip dangerously low from her presence.
The journey to The Blushing Mermaid proved to be rather uneventful and you were more than thankful for it.
“Does Astarion know about this?”
You nodded. “He has also told me the reason why she's taking his blood.”
Wyll's eyes met yours and you could see the tension on his face. “Whatever could be the reason?”
Fortunately, the two Fists walked far behind the two of you to preserve some privacy.
“She wants to lessen the effects of vampiric hunger.”
He arched an eyebrow and you approached the familiar tavern.
“That sounds too convenient .”
You almost pulled Wyll into a kiss as he unknowingly validated your concerns.
“Exactly. Maybe I am overthinking it, but I need to make sure nonetheless.”
He nodded firmly.
Those crowding the entrance immediately made way for you to walk inside, and you heard a few salutes as others inside bowed to Wyll.
Bork approached the counter with a tilted smile on his face. “Duke of Ravengard. To what do we owe the pleasure? Hope we are not in trouble?”
A few drunkards nearby erupted in laughter.
“Unless you have indeed done something unlawful, I wouldn't worry too much, Bork.”
He offered Wyll a forced smile, which he didn't return.
“We are looking for Ava,” you chimed in impatiently.
His face instantly dropped. “Ava? Is she in trouble?"
Honestly, what was with everyone and this woman? Was she some goddess in disguise?
“We just wish to talk to her,” Wyll answered.
Bork hesitated at first, but glared at the two Fists flanking you. “First floor. Third room to your left.”
You nodded and swiftly made your way upstairs, feeling your heart hammering fast in your chest as you paced along the corridor.
Wyll knocked thrice on the large door.
It swung open almost immediately, and Ava came into view, holding a knowing smile.
“I was expecting you.”
A swirl of nausea settled in your stomach.
She extended one hand, standing to the side so you could walk in.
“As pleased as I am to be visited by our Duke, I shall ask for you not to enter.”
You immediately turned to see Wyll scowl deeply. “Tonight I'm no Duke – I'm her friend and you shall let me enter.”
Ava tapped on the door lightly. “These are my quarters, and unless I am being charged with wrongdoing, I have the right to decide who to invite inside, Duke .”
The two Fists were gripping the handle of their swords, ready to draw them.
Wyll motioned for the to be at ease and turned his head to you. “I will be waiting outside.”
Ava wiggled her fingers dismissively, further gnawing at your nerves.
“Do not try anything witty, hunter,” Wyll said in a tone you hadn't heard since he last faced Mizora.
She chuckled. “I have abandoned those ways. You may simply call me Ava.”
But before he could reply, she pushed the door closed in one swing and glanced at you with an excessively sweet smile.
“So? I don't believe you came all the way here to simply gawk at me.”
You cleared your throat. “I have a few things I need to discuss with you.”
“Of course. I would be surprised if you didn't.”
Your patience was running thin.
“It concerns Astarion.”
“Still not surprised,” she said with a tilted smile. “I'm all ears.”
“He's told me about you.”
“Hopefully not everything, but do go on.”
She moved to a table and poured a red liquid into a goblet. “Can I tempt you with some red wine?”
You scowled and she laughed. “It is not poisoned, though I do understand your hesitation.” She then took a long sip.
Glancing around the room, you realised it could easily pass off as the inside of an apothecary store. There were endless rows of shelves and cupboards that housed countless vials of glass with suspicious content.
There was a small fire burning by the window with a large flask set right above, the flames barely reaching the bottom as a deep dark red liquid gurgled.
Ava sat on a lavish armchair, holding the goblet to her lips.
“I know you're taking his blood for some experiment in regards to vampirism,” you began, keeping your voice steady. “Even to supposedly help the vampire spawn in the Underdark.”
Her pleasant face wavered momentarily. “He's offering it to me. Freely.”
“You are taking advantage of him.”
“I am not taking advantage of anything. It's a mere transaction that we have both agreed upon.”
“Blood for intimacy?”
“That seems rather… crass.”
“You are taking advantage of his… wounds…”
“Why are you so hellsbent on accusing me of being the one taking advantage of him? He also has much to win from this arrangement.”
“Because you have the upper hand here. The price for a chance at healing from his wounds seems rather unbalanced,” you said, feeling heat flare throughout your entire body. “You get his blood, which is a sure thing, and he gets a ‘perhaps’ on all fronts: intimacy and that hunger “cure” you're promising.”
Ava glared at you with eyes slightly narrowed, chin resting on the back of her hand.
“There are wounds that take time to heal. Some never heal at all, my dear.”
“I'm aware.”
“Are you? Are you, really?” Ava said with a scoff. “I am not the enemy here. Your vitriol against me is rooted in something primal.”
You raised an eyebrow. “Primal?”
“Is it jealousy, I wonder?”
You clenched your fists. “It is not. Whatever bond you think you share with him is superficial and frail. There's nothing to be jealous of.”
“Actually, I do believe your words… it is not jealousy, indeed,” she said, tapping a long nail on her chin. “But rather… protectiveness.”
You remained silent.
“I dare say that protectiveness can blind even the wisest.”
“I am not blinded. I can see there is something unsettling about you.”
“You look, but you do not see,” she said as she took a sip of her wine. “Your attachment to him is your weakness.”
“Caring for others isn't a weakness.”
“You taught him that, did you?”
The faint mockery wasn't lost on you, and it made your nails dig further into your palms, regning in your temper as best as you could.
“He doesn't need to be taught anything. Astarion may need some guidance, as we all do from time to time.”
Ava merely chuckled. “May I see your neck?”
What?
Her words caught you off guard, but you did not move an inch to comply with her request.
“Ah… your reluctance is answer enough,” she tutted. “He has fed on you recently, hasn't he?”
Now, that immediately had your stomach turn in revulsion, realising just how transparent she truly was.
“So this is what it's all about – you just want him to feed on you instead.”
Ava rolled her eyes with a forced yawn. “On the contrary. Of course, I have vaguely wondered what it feels like, but Astarion is far too devoted to your blood to even entertain the idea.”
“Then why did you complain to me about him not feeding on you?”
She crossed her legs elegantly under her emerald green dress. “I was merely taunting you. Again, his devotion gets in the way.”
“I wouldn't necessarily call it ‘devotion’.”
“Oh, but I would. See, Astarion's bond to you is exquisite and much welcome… to say the least.”
Her flowery words were really testing your patience now.
“Elaborate.”
“The last time he fed on you and gave me his blood was right when you left The Blushing Mermaid. A few days later, I tried his blood on some spawn in the city outskirts that have taken to living underground in search of a cure.” She paused briefly to take yet another sip from the goblet. “The results were vastly different from my previous experiments.”
“Can you just get straight to the point for once?”
“Oh, you really are a feisty one…” Ava said with a teasing smile. “As I was saying, the results were rather interesting and unexpected. The spawn reported feeling sated much quicker than before, but the effect wore off in the first hour, which was a disappointment.”
You froze instantly. “You're… using my blood?”
“Well, yes… and no,” she said in a casual tone. “Your blood mixed with his, that is. Before that day, I had never tried his blood after he fed on you.”
You felt as though you might be sick as your stomach lurched violently.
“This is… I – does he know?”
“Well, I haven't been given the chance, considering how the two of you got thrown into prison,” she said with a shrug. “And I am fully aware you think I am somehow responsible for it.”
You were still so taken aback by her earlier revelation, that you had momentarily forgotten about that detail.
“Now, what would I gain from setting you two up, especially after I just told you this.”
She did have a point.
Seemingly.
“You mentioned other spawn – why not use their blood instead? Why his?”
“Oh, darling… ” 
The way that word rolled out of her tongue grated on your nerves, and you realised only one person could masterfully use it without provoking a visceral reaction.
“Astarion isn't really your regular spawn, is he? Even when he was under Cazador Szarr's influence, he would still rebel against his commands while his siblings cowered in fear of defying their master.”
An overwhelming sense of dread took over at once.
Astarion has revealed how Cazador had kept him buried alive for a whole year as punishment for letting a potential victim go.
He had clawed his hands raw from despair as he wished for death to just take him.
Even remembering this vaguely, made your heart hurt for him.
“How do you know that?”
Ava rose to her full height, brushing her long and dark curls from her shoulders.
She paced towards a desk and began ruffling through pieces of parchment.
“I was a monster hunter for over twenty years and my group kept a close eye on Cazador and his spawn,” she said, not lifting her eyes. “Astarion had been on our radar for a while, but he was quite experienced in slipping through the cracks whenever we tried to go after him.”
You swallowed.
“Imagine our surprise when he suddenly goes missing. My partners were dumbfounded beyond belief. No vampire spawn is able to resist the compell of their master for that long.”
She then moved back to the armchair, flipping through a couple of scrolls.
“We thought he had met his demise somehow, so imagine my surprise when I find out that he's back in Baldur's Gate. Walking in the sunlight and next to… you.”
You weren't sure where this conversation was headed and you weren't sure you wanted to know.
Ava took your silence as encouragement. “Cazador was attempting to become the Vampire Ascendant and we were set on stopping him, but were instead met with his manor bathed in blood and corpses littering the place.”
So they had gotten there after your group stopped the ritual and prevented the rite from taking place.
“So now you're suddenly an alchemist who wants to help vampire spawn? Why the change of heart?”
Ava met your eyes and her face was void of any amusement. “Astarion and I connect in more ways than you think.”
You scoffed, crossing your arms and waiting to hear some circus clown reasoning.
“I wasn't a monster hunter by choice,” she said sternly. “I was born into it and molded into their ways.”
Your defensive demeanour wavered momentarily.
“I shall not go into details, but all you need to know is that once Cazador Szarr was gone, I was driven by curiosity and sought Astarion out so I could learn more about what makes him so different from all the other spawn I've come across.”
You narrowed your eyes at her. “So you just left your group? Just like that?”
She snickered. “They were killed.”
“What? By whom?”
She snickered as she took another sip. “By me.”
You were left speechless.
“I thought that if a vampire spawn could break the chains from his master and embrace freedom again, so could I.”
She let out a chuckle, emptying the goblet in one sip.
“So, I offered to help him as he's helped me. No more, no less.”
You really wanted to hate her.
You wanted her to give you a solid reason to be suspicious of her intentions.
But…
“So you genuinely care for him?”
She nodded. “I do. And if Astarion were to walk through that door and ask for us to part ways, I would accept it. It would essentially kill my research until I found someone remotely adequate, but I would make peace with it.”
This conversation had not taken the turn you expected.
At all.
“I can see the confusion in your eyes. You truly believed I am out to get you when I'm probably your best option right now.”
“Best option? In regards to what?”
She extended her arm towards a chair in front of her. “Take a seat.”
You did so, reluctantly, never letting your guard down and her out of your sight.
“Cazador Szarr had many enemies, but he also had many allies. People who were not pleased with his death.”
She now had your undivided attention and you felt your palms sweat.
There wad actually someone going after you? After Astarion?
“I have ways to find who they are.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” you immediately asked, feeling rather unsettled by her words.
She clicked her tongue. “I need assurances first, and I have a proposition to make.”
You saw the flash of a knife emerging from her sleeve and a tall glass container being placed on the table by her side.
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bluebeary-jay · 4 months
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Hold me close and hold me fast
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Hi, my darling @always-andromeda!! I'm your secret santa from the space sisters server 🥰 I hope you're having a fantastic day and will enjoy what I wrote for you 💕 I tried to mix fluff and angst into your Joel prompt and it was tricker than I thought it'd be but hopefully I did it justice 😌 I wish you all that's best and happy holidays!!
Summary: It's been a long time since Joel was in any relationship and because of that he has absolutely no clue how to react to your affections. It culminates into an angsty conversation which he wanted to avoid at all costs.
Tags: tooth-rotting fluff, fluff and angst, soft and shy Joel, hurt/comfort, established relationship 💕
Word count: 3.3K
A/N: dividers by @saradika, beta read by @reddedmiller ❤️
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Twenty years ago, when the apocalypse started and Joel Miller lost his only daughter, he was certain that he’d never feel happy again. Time didn’t heal his wounds – he still thought like that when he was fighting for survival with Tommy, then when he was doing side jobs with Tess in the QZ… It was never going to get better.
But somehow, as he looked up at the massive tree he just helped the others set up in the middle of the square in Jackson, he realized that it could. It did. Now Joel had a home here. He had his brother back, he had Ellie whom he cared for like his own kid and he had a community that welcomed him into Jackson, people who didn’t know about the horrible things he’d done and therefore didn’t hate him.
“Hi, handsome,” he heard from behind his back and turned around to the most beautiful face in the world – the main source of his newfound happiness. You. His girl. “Are you done with work?”
He nodded with a small smile gracing his lips. You were the newest addition to Joel’s life, but the most precious one in his eyes. Unlike everyone else in Jackson (excluding his brother), you knew all about the sins he’s committed. And yet, you still chose him. Every day you continued to choose him, to envelop him with the warmth of your love which Joel wasn’t sure he deserved.
He’d never tell you, though. Not as long as you kept him in your heart.
“Yeah, no, we’re done. M’pretty sure my back will blow if I have to pick up or carry one more damn thing.”
Right at that moment Tommy walked by with another box full of tree ornaments in his arms, and huffed a laugh when he heard his brother complaining.
“Jesus, Joel, you really are gettin’ old.” He put down the heavy box on the snow and sighed, propping his hands on his hips and nodding at you. “You sure you’ll be able to put up with this grump?”
“Positive.” You climbed onto your tip-toes to press a kiss to Joel’s cheek, and he felt his skin growing hot under your lips. He turned his head to hide the embarrassment evident on his face, missing the slight furrow of your brows, but not missing a hearty laugh his brother let out.
“Aww, is the big, scary man gettin’ all shy from a little kiss on the cheek?”
“Get lost, Tommy.”
Tommy chuckled and bent down to pick up the box again. “By the way, you two have any plans for today? We’re makin’ a screening of some Christmas movies for the kids, and after that the adults will head to the bar. You should come.”
“Well, if you want to?” you directed the careful question to Joel, but he shook his head just slightly, causing you to smile. “But we actually have other plans for tonight.”
That was true, and there was no way Joel would trade those precious hours spent in your company for having to sit – or worse, dance – in a loud room full of half-drunk people.
“Sounds like somethin’ I don’t wanna know about.”
“We’re just gonna bake some cookies for Ellie,” Joel murmured when you bumped his arm lightly with a giggle. The irritation at his brother lessened slightly when he heard the sound of your laughter. “But don’t tell ‘er.”
“My lips are sealed.” Tommy winked at Joel, then shifted his eyes to you. “Enjoy your evening, lovebirds.”
“That’s the plan.” You took Joel’s hand in both of yours, beaming up at him with excitement. “You’re ready?”
“Yeah.” He inconspicuously let go of your hands to brush the arm of your jacket lightly, and then nodded in the direction of his house. “C’mon, darlin’.”
He hoped he wasn’t coming off as too harsh as he hid his gloved hands in the pockets, intending to blame it on the cold in case you asked. But instead of saying anything, you just matched his step and slipped your hands around his arm. Joel went rigid when you leaned your head on his shoulder, the side of your body almost hugging his.
Joel loved you like no one before and until he met you, he hadn’t been this happy in years. But there was a problem, a major one, in your relationship that he didn’t at all know how to address.
Because Joel didn’t have any clue how to react to all your touches.
No matter if they were tender or needy, brief or lasting, he always felt out of his depth. It’s been so long since he actually wanted to be intimate with someone that when the chance arose… he was at loss. You were such an affectionate person and he loved that part of you, he cherished all touches and gestures you graced him with – craved them even – but…
He stole a glance at you, wondering if you could feel the stiffness of his body when you were so close, but it seemed that you were none the wiser. He tried to will his muscles to relax, but it didn’t work and he still felt an uncomfortable feeling crawling up his arm.
The problem wasn’t that he didn’t know what he was supposed to do as your partner, but ever since Sarah died, he hadn’t had an opportunity to show affection to someone. Everything he thought about seemed awkward and incongruous, but he really didn’t want you to think that he was an inexperienced old man who didn’t know how to please – and in your case, love – a woman.
He did. In theory.
So he tried his hardest to show you in other ways how much he cares about you. He brought you gifts, whether they were knickknacks scavenged during his patrols or wooden figurines he made for you. He did what he could to relieve you of your duties, helped around the house and out in the town. He found time during the day to spend with you or at least just talk in passing if you both were busy.
But that still wasn’t enough. He knew that wasn’t enough.
Every damn time you cuddled, every time you kissed him or did something as simple as lay your head on his shoulder, Joel never felt better. He never wanted those moments to end, but at the same time he just couldn’t reciprocate, and it was tearing him apart, because he could see how hurtful it was to you.
“You’re quiet.”
Joel snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at you, noting that you’re almost at his place. He breathed a little lighter when he realized that he managed to go all this way without the need of pulling his arm out of your grasp.
“Is everything alright?” you asked with concern in your beautiful eyes and squeezed his bicep slightly, causing Joel to clench his teeth. “Listen, if you’d prefer to go with Tommy, just tell me…”
“Hey, I’m okay, sweetheart,” he assured you quickly and even managed to smile as if the guilt of not being able to even kiss your forehead wasn’t eating him alive. “There’s no one else I’d rather be with right now.”
“Just right now?” you asked teasingly, and Joel couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him.
“Listen here, you little tease…”
A bright smile returned to your face and you tugged his arm down so your lips could reach his stubbly cheek – and (only a little) reluctantly, he let you kiss him with a huff.
But the guilt of not telling you the true reason of his worries was still swirling in his stomach, making him feel sick for the rest of the way.
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An hour and a half later the cookies were already done, and somehow the attempt to clean each other off the flour and the colorful frosting you used to decorate them ended up with you sitting in Joel’s lap, kissing him softly.
Not that he minded.
There was nothing as wonderful as the feeling of your lips on his skin, Joel was sure of it. It’s been an embarrassingly long time since he was with someone that made him feel like a young boy in love again, but your every gesture, every sound coming out of your mouth and every day he got to spend with you was just a confirmation of how lucky he was to have you.
Even now, as you were kissing him slowly and without any rush, he felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach. But while they initially appeared from the happiness and giddiness you were causing in him, the longer your hands wandered – and the longer his stayed uselessly at his sides – the worse and more stressed he felt.
“You know you can touch me, right?” you asked playfully at last, and the pit in Joel’s stomach grew almost tenfold in size. “It’s highly encouraged, actually.”
There was an actual question in your voice, which made him feel even worse. He should’ve known you’d address it eventually – after all, nothing went past you – but it still felt so awfully embarrassing to admit it to you. He was an old man, but felt like an inexperienced teenager who didn’t know how to make a woman feel good.
You moved to kiss him again when he didn’t answer, too lost in his own thoughts, but on instinct Joel pulled back – actually ducked – out of your reach. Immediately regret painted his face at the rejected look in your eyes, and he started to rake his mind in search for something he could do to fix it, but nothing came to him. He knew what you’d want from him – you’d forgive him if he took your face in his hands, kissed you with all his strength, let you know that you did nothing wrong… but it made him nervous just thinking about it, let alone do it.
“Sorry,” he quickly muttered. “I didn’t– didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”
“Hey, look at me… What’s wrong?” You brushed some hair out of his forehead and Joel exhaled shakily, feeling weak in the knees at your touch. “Talk to me, baby. Did I do something?” Joel shook his head and you pressed your lips together. “Did something happen, then?”
“No.” He shook his head quickly, but he avoided your eyes. “No. Nothin’.”
“Joel…”
The room got too stuffy all of the sudden, the shirt on his back too tight and your body too heavy on his lap. Joel knew he was panicking over nothing, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want you to see him like this, so unsure and embarrassed over his own insecurity and behavior… So he gently removed you from his lap and stood up from the couch.
“Sorry, I gotta… I need some air. I’ll be right back, alrigh’?”
“Joel.”
No ‘baby’. No ‘handsome’. The tone of your voice made him stop dead in his tracks, and he turned around to meet your sad, solemn eyes.
“Just tell me if you don’t want me anymore.”
Your voice, so small and weak, took him off-guard and for a couple of seconds Joel wasn’t sure if you really said that, or if it was just his imagination playing cruel tricks on him. He blinked several times, but you were still in front of him, sad and… oh, god, you were on the verge of tears.
“What?” He couldn’t help a curt, disbelieving chuckle that escaped him – which was a terrible reaction, he realized when you turned your head away from him. “I– I don’t understand.”
“You don’t ever want to touch me first.” You let out a shuddering breath and lifted your arm to wipe your eyes, and Joel realized with mortification that he fucking made you cry. “And when you do it’s only when I initiate it, but sometimes you just pull back and it… it makes me feel so unwanted. And I know I might come off as too clingy…”
“Hey, none of that.” Joel quickly made his way to you and sat back down, gazing at you with his brows furrowed in worry. Your face was tearstained already and you avoided looking at him, but didn’t pull back when he took your hand gently in his. “Darlin’...”
“Just tell me if it doesn’t work for you,” you breathed, your voice thick with tears which also welled up in your pretty eyes again. “I hate not knowing if I… if our relationship makes you happy.”
“Of course I’m happy, babygirl.” Joel lifted your hand as if to kiss it, but hesitated. He had half a mind to draw back, but you needed him now, and he needed to prove that he really loved you. So, tentatively, he pressed his inexperienced lips to your fingers, making you look up with suspicion dancing in your irises. “You make me the happiest I’ve ever felt.”
“You’re pretending.” The quiet accusation combined with you withdrawing your hand caused Joel’s heart to break and he opened his mouth to explain, but you didn’t give him a chance to. “I don’t want you to pretend now that I’m upset, I want– Joel, I need you to be honest and tell me if it isn’t working for you. You always move away when I try to hug you and during all this time we’ve been together I can count on one hand the number of times you kissed me first. I don’t…” you choked down a sob and a new wave of tears flew down your cheeks. “I don’t want to waste either of our time if that isn’t what you want. If I’m not what you want–”
“Sweetheart, you’re the only one I want,” Joel whispered with pain in his voice, moving so he could sit closer to you. “M’so very sorry that I wasn’t…” He searched for the right words, but everything felt flat on his tongue. “I’m sorry. For everythin’ I did that made you feel this way.”
“But why?” you asked pathetically, staring at him with defeat and sadness. “You never said anything and I wouldn’t try to touch you so much if you just told me you didn’t like it!”
“I do like it,” he cut you off with a firm tone, which caused you to stop abruptly. “I fuckin’– I love it when you touch me, darlin’. I’m dyin’ for you to keep doin’ it, but I…”
“You what?” you asked, softer this time, and Joel swallowed hard, nervous how you’ll react. But you had the right to know, so ultimately he pushed through his discomfort.
“I just don’t know what to do,” he finally settled on that. “I really, really love when you touch me, babygirl, no matter in what way.” He took another deep breath, bowing his head to look at his hands so that he didn’t have to face you. “But it’s been so long, damn decades, since I… since anyone touched me in the way you do. I never loved someone the way I love you. I’m very sorry, I just don’t know what I’m s’pposed to do… when someone…”
He trailed off, worried that he might break down and cry in front of you if he says another word, and he’d prefer to avoid it at all cost. The world outside was so harsh and cruel already, and you needed someone strong – a safe haven, a pillar you could lean on. He was that someone for everyone around him for the last twenty years, and even longer before the outbreak.
But it was so much different now. You made him feel safe and loved no matter what he could provide to you and it was almost scary how vulnerable he was becoming in your presence.
“...when someone cares for you?” you asked quietly. Joel nodded, and tears gathered in your eyes again, though now for a very different reason. “Oh, Joel…”
“M’sorry,” he whispered, his own vision also going misty. “I want to give you everythin’ you desire, darlin’. If you give me another chance, I promise I’ll try to…” He shook his head, defeated. “I don’t know. I’ll try to get past it.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” You scooted just a little closer and put your hand on his knee lightly. He looked up with anguish swimming in his brown eyes, not believing that you were still here and not already out of the door. You worried your lip between your teeth for a couple of seconds before inhaling deeply. “How about… I show you what to do? We can go as slow as you want.”
Joel slowly shook his head, not understanding. “...show me what?”
“You said you don’t really know what to do, right? So how about I show you exactly how… you know.” You smiled almost shyly, but it only caused Joel’s heart to beat even faster. “Where to put your hands.”
Joel was nodding before you even finished speaking.
It was embarrassing, really, how excited he got at this idea, but just the thought of your hands guiding his, demonstrating where and how to touch you, had him feeling weak in the knees and hot under his clothes. You smiled, almost with relief, and moved even closer until your thighs were touching.
“Here, just relax. We can stop at any time, just say a word,” you said soothingly, placing his palms on your hips and sending him a small smile. Joel wondered if you could see how red his face surely was, feel how sweaty his palms got. “Is this okay?”
“S’better than okay,” he breathed in something akin to wonder. “It’s easier… Everythin’ seems easier with you.” His chest was tight when he looked up at you. “Thank you.”
It wasn’t a lie. You did make it seem effortless, and though Joel could still feel the rigidness of his muscles and tendons, the tension was slowly melting away, replaced by a tingling warmth on his skin.
You gave him a reassuring smile and his eyes flickered to your lips almost involuntary. You noticed it, of course – Joel didn’t think he was exactly subtle with his staring – and cupped his jaw in your hands. His arm, practically instinctively, encircled your waist and pulled you closer before he could stop himself, but you didn’t berate him – in fact, you seemed delighted by his action.
“Now, are you going to kiss me or not?” you whispered coyly, brushing his cheekbones with the pads of your thumbs. Joel chuckled at your attempt to put him more at ease, but it worked and he leaned in to press – very, very carefully – his lips to yours. He felt you smiling against them and his eyes filled with tears from the overwhelming relief.
“I love you so much,” he murmured with his mouth only millimeters from yours. “So much, babygirl.”
You hummed a quiet love you, too, and moved your lips up to softly kiss his eyelids, then temple, then cheeks and nose. Joel almost wanted to cry when you started running your fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp gently. It felt so good, your touch so nice and tender… He couldn’t remember when was the last time someone treated him with such care. Maybe never. “Next time it becomes too much, you tell me, got it? And I promise I’ll make you feel better.”
Your touch didn’t bother him now that he admitted what was weighing heavily on his chest for so long. Now, it felt soothing. Grounding.
So, so loving.
Joel held you closer, melting into your embrace, and claimed your lips in a soft – if not a bit shy – kiss.
There was nothing else he’d rather be doing tonight.
913 notes · View notes
luvhughes43 · 3 months
Text
so it goes | jack hughes
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[journalist!au masterlist⭐️]
the previous part is linked here !
word count: 6.5k
jack hughes had thin curtains. you would think that a 22 year old millionaire would invest in good curtains, but alas here you were. the sun shone into his room, and you could do nothing but groan as rays of warm light illuminated your face and his. 
you swore jack was a cat with how completely unbothered he was all the time. he’d happily lay and soak up the sun, not bothering to twist away from the light now encasing the room. you look over to your daughter, who slept exactly like her father. leighton was sprawled out on her back, completely content as the sun shone off her.  
“you need better curtains,” you mumble, too awake now to fall back asleep. jack snores lightly in response, and so you move to drape one of leightons baby blankets over the top of her bassinet to help shield her from the light. 
“where u goi-ing?” jack's speech is slurred, and you watch with butterflies as he stretches out across his bed and paws at the empty space where you once were resting. It felt wrong to want him. nothing had happened last night, and yet you were wanting him as if it were two years ago and you hadn’t broken up with him. you wish one of you had been smarter and been the first one to pick up the phone. 
speaking of phones, you pick up yours only to see a slew of messages from friends. you click on claudia's first, and your heart immediately drops.
claudia: i think vivienne was talking about you and jack on her podcast??
claudia: idk she said Jack may have cheated and now ppl are going crazyy
claudia: this is genuinely insane when I catch vivienne…
you: did she mention my name?? did she say anything about leighton ?
you wander out into the kitchen, perching on an island stool with your lip between your teeth. 
claudia: link
claudia: no she didn’t drop names but people are digging. some of jack's fans on twitter are putting the pieces together and speculating that you're the ex but it hasn’t gotten out yet. 
you: wtf
as soon as you send the last message your phone rings with a call. “hello?” 
“what are we going to do about this?” claudia's voice rings out through my speaker and you hastily turn the volume down. 
“well, there's not much that I can do right now”
“uh, you can sue her ass! hello!” 
“sue her for what?
“i don’t know… defamation?” you put claudia on speaker and then swipe up on the call. you do a quick search on twitter, and by screenshots and transcripts it's clear the podcast was solely focuses on jack and whether or not he cheated. “i’m not going to sue her,” you sigh and claudia groans in annoyance. 
“why not?”
you take a second and pause, “well if i sue her everybody would know that i was the ex and also, i don’t even think there’s legal grounds for-”
“okay jack can sue,”
“i don’t think anyone needs to sue,” you reply, setting your phone on the countertop so that you can make yourself a coffee. hopefully jack had some pain meds because your head was starting to throb…
“i’ll talk to Jack about it, but things like this go away. i’m not going to risk leighton getting exposed to crazy fans and to be subjected to vivienne's publicity”
“vivienne has already damaged that little girl's life,”
“and so I'm not going to let her do anything else! if vivienne speaks on leighton then i'll look into my legal options. but no, i'm not going to let her get any more of my time. i need to focus on my daughter, and my family, so if some influencer wants to go on the internet spreading lies then so be it! i’m done with her. I can’t handle any more than i already have,”
claudia's silent on the line and for a brief second you're afraid she’s hung up the phone. “claudia…?”
“she’s going to get her karma. she can’t be let off the hook forever”
“oh, trust she will. but i’m not going to have a hand in it,”
⋆ ★
vivienne
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liked by oliviajade, alisha, alix_earle, and 267 092 others
vivienne as promised… some exciting things are coming your guys’ way! follow viv212 to stay in the loop! 💆🏼‍♀️🍾
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oliviajade cant waittt!! <3
alisha youre stunnninggg ! cant wait to have you on the pod!❤️
user01 ahh so excited to see what u have in store viv!!
user02 we know what u did!!!
user03 ?
user02 don't question me.
claudiasphotos posted 2 years ago !
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claudiasphotos yn 📸🥂
tagged: ynuser
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ynuser love you!!! thank you for the incredible photos🫶
jackhughes ❤️‍🔥
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user04 jacks heart?? the tag?? is this his ex gf
user05 wait what
user06 claudia is yn’s friend! they both follow each other
user05 maybe yn just modelled?
user07 how tf did u guys find this acc? Im crying there's no way😭😭
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⋆ ★
when jack found out about the podcast episode he was beyond pissed off. vivienne telling everyone that he was a cheater was one thing, but spreading those lies knowing that she helped keep him away from his daughter… he had never felt rage quite like it. 
“i’m getting lawyers involved,” is all jack says to yn when he passes her phone back to her. “i don't want her speaking about us ever again,” jack’s voice is steady and firm. 
“what are you asking the lawyers to do?” 
“sue her, make her take down the video, i don't know they’ll find something,” jack rambles, pulling out his own phone from his pocket.
“i just want to make sure that she doesn’t speak about leighton,” you say, deliberately choosing not to say vivienne's name.
jack looks away from his phone to make eye contact with you. “i swear i’ll make sure of it,” 
“thank you,” you respond simply, cradling your head in the palm of your hand. when was this nightmare going to end. 
⋆ ★
“you’ve got to take the video down,” viviennes manager, louis reiterates for the tenth time. 
“well, no” vivienne sasses as she scrolls through her social blade. “it’s pulling in insane numbers i’m not taking it down because of one complaint,”
“lawsuit, it’s a lawsuit vivienne” louis sighs, cursing himself for even taking influencers on as clients. 
vivienne sighs dramatically. “i dated jack for months, the video should be my compensation”
“his lawyers want you to sign an NDA,” 
“well i’m not signing or taking down anything,” 
theres a tense silence for a minute before louis groans in frustration. “he doesn’t want you talking about his kids,”
“kid. singular. he only has the one,” 
“can you stop being difficult? you’re going to lose more money than you’ll gain if you don’t just settle with jack. delete the video, and sign the NDA that his lawyers are going to send over,”
“but-”
“but nothing! your brand is dropping next week. if you delete the video now people will be tuned into your next moves,” louis explains his business plan, even though he’s mentally cursing vivienne in his mind. 
“fine.” vivienne stubbornly admits defeat as she switches off her social blade and logs into her podcast channel. 
⋆ ★
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⋆ ★
it was the beginning of december now, and jack’s schedule has picked back up now that he was back to playing. as well as the busy schedule, vivienne had finally signed the NDA jacks lawyers had sent over, and with her podcast episode scrubbed from the internet all was well for the moment. 
on jack’s days off it wasn’t uncommon to find him at his ex-girlfriends place, which is why when y/n got off work she didn’t bat an eye that jack was chilling on her couch with their baby in his arms. 
“did you pay the babysitter?” you ask absentmindedly as you shrug off your coat and let your work bag drop to the ground. 
“yes i did! isn’t that right leighton? daddy paid the sitter?” jack coos, eyes never straying from the little girl in his arms. leighton giggles loudly, her little hands smacking at her dads cheeks who grins in delight. 
“thank you!” you call out as you round towards the kitchen. “are you staying for dinner?”
jack gets up off the couch and settles himself in the kitchen. leightons little hand grips at her dads shirt, the other tugging on his finger. “do you mind?”
“no,” you reply softly, and when you look up from the pantry you catch eyes with jacks. you immediately feel delighted and delirious at the sight of him (looking handsome) with your girl resting happily in his hold. “leighton, do you want daddy to stay for dinner?” 
“dada!” leighton squeaks, and both yours and jack’s heads whip towards the small girl. 
“did you just say dada?” jack giggles, his face lit up with pure joy.
“dada!” she says again, wiggling in his grasp. 
you gasp, “our baby’s first word!” and rush to be by jack’s side. he looks up at you fondly before using one of his arms to bring you closer to his side. “leighton! say it again, say dada!”
leighton doesn’t respond this time, just giggling happily at her parents' happy words and sounds of encouragement. “she said my name,” jack whispers sappily, and when you look at his face you see tears line his eyes. 
“she knows who her daddy is,” you smile tearfully, leaning your head against jack’s who leans his against your chest. 
“i’m so happy i get to know her,” jack’s voice is quiet as he gazes at his daughter. he still wasn’t over the fact that he missed your pregnancy and the first few months of leightons life, but hearing his daughter call for him certainly helps ease some of the sadness. 
you don’t reply to jack’s comment, knowing that there’s nothing in the world that you can say that would erase any of the past. so instead you brush your hand through jack’s hair, and enjoy the happy moment. 
⋆ ★
vivienne
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vivienne so beyond excited to announce that my haircare brand viv212, is being released next friday! please follow the viv212 account for updates, posts, and product info before the first launch! i love you guys so much! mwah <3
tagged: viv212
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alixearle loveeeee
alexandracooper Cannot waitt!!
user08 AHH VIV!! <33 
user09 saving up as we speak🫂
user10 another influencer brand… we do NOT care!!
⋆ ★
jack’s voice rings out through your phone's speaker, his face half in view as he brushes his teeth and gets ready for bed. you guys were just talking nonsense now - you had both put your daughter to bed a long time ago but jack didn’t get off facetime like you had expected him to. 
you were both distracted which if claudia asks, is your excuse for staying on facetime with him so late. because really, you were catching up on work and it just so happens that jack was talking to you in the background. 
“do you think if i started reading now then my brain power would double?” jack asks absentmindedly through a mouth full of toothpaste. he spits, “quinns doing it and he says he feels smarter. but i don't know,” 
“i don't know about double… but it’d definitely help!” you tease, looking up from your mounds of documents to catch jack pouting at you. 
“that's kind of mean!” he replies as he rinses off his tooth brush. “but whatever, what are you doing for the holidays?” 
you watch silently as jack pulls his phone off the hotel bathroom counter, and tosses it on his bed. you stare at his hotel room ceiling as you reply, “my parents are going on vacation so i’m just gonna stay here. do you have any plans?” 
jack picks up his phone - shirt noticeably gone - before he settles himself in his bed. “my family’s gonna fly in to jersey. quinn’s coming too. it’s just easier with our schedules and luke and i being here already,” he responds, and you nod along to his words. you missed the hughes family. they were so unlike your family growing up. their parents were present and not always gone for work, and it felt so nice to be around siblings who weren’t constantly at each other’s throats. 
“that’s really nice,” you hum. “i have a few days off during your break. you should pick a date when we’re both free for your family to meet leighton,” 
“mom’s so excited,” jack chuckles. “i keep sending her photos and videos but it’s never enough,” 
“your mom’s so sweet,” you smile, leaning your head in your palm as you look at jack. “she texts me everyday just to check in and wish me well,” 
jack smiles back, and you would pay any amount to know what he was thinking. “quinn’s excited too. luke keeps teasing him about how he met the baby first,” 
you roll your eyes - that was such a luke thing to do - and before you can reply there's a sharp succession of knocks at your door. 
“are you expecting someone…?” jack asks with a frown, and you shake your head. 
“not that i know off… one second,” you walk towards the front door and if you had brought your phone with you you would have seen the worry and concern etched on jacks face. 
you look through your doors peephole, before shouting a quick, “it’s just claudia!” which causes jack to visibly relax. 
“just claudia” the woman in question mimics as you finally open the door. “who are you talking to,” 
“jack,” you reply, and claudia rolls her eyes dramatically as she pulls her shoes off and wanders over to your phone. 
she waves at jack, before telling him that you have to hang up. you barely get a good-bye in when she’s hanging up the call and turning towards you with a grin. “you're still talking to jack? at 9:30pm on a monday…” she teases, and takes your spot at the counter. 
“we were putting leighton to bed!” you refute, ignoring the knowing looks your best friend was sending your way. 
“uh-huh,” she shakes her head. “you’re unbelievable!” 
“no i’m not! that’s my daughter's father! who, by the way… was her first word,” 
“yah yah, if auntie c were easier to pronounce she’d call my name first,” claudia laughs before composing herself. “but seriously y/n, you guys broke up for a reason. you can’t just forget all about that now that you see him with the baby,” 
“i’m not getting back together with him! it’s different now. we’re just friends,” you defend pathetically, knowing very well that you were already re-developing feelings for your ex. 
“i just want you to be careful,” claudia stresses, grabbing a hold of your hands and pulling you into the chair next to her. 
“i wasn’t in the right headspace last time. i was insecure and i-”
“he was still liking other people’s posts and staring down models babe, just be careful please,” claudia reiterates. 
you nod, knowing that she was ultimately right. “we have better communication now. we’ve grown,” 
 “whatever you say!” claudia wraps up the conversation, before diving into the reason she actually came over. “okay, but i logged into my photography account and people are starting to connect the dots that you’re, well… you”
“what do you mean?” you question, picking up all of your work documents and placing them back in your bag. 
“there’s a few instagram comments speculating. jack left a heart comment on one of my posts about you when you were still dating, and his fans have just found it now. do you want me to go private? delete the comments? i don't know,” claudia explains, pulling up her photography instagram and scrolling through the comment section of said posts. 
you think for a minute, before responding simply, “keep it up, i don’t really care”. claudia nods and logs out of the account. 
⋆ ★
drama.alert 
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drama.alert people have finally received their viv212 hair products after a massive delay in shipment, and unfortunately the product is causing their hair to fallout :/ despite being asked to comment, vivienne nor her team have responded to the accusations. not the best way to start a brand is it? what are you guy’s thoughts?
tagged: vivienne, viv212
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user11 whoever buys haircare from an influencer deserves it lowkey🤷‍♀️
user12 yikesss😬 looks like the products were rushed and there wasn’t a lot of time to get the formula right… i hope everyone who lost hair grows it back quickly. what a shame. 
user13 i honestly can’t believe she hasn't spoken up yet. the people who bought her products were all fans so this is just soo disappointing. she better apologize and start refunding people soon or she’s going to lose A LOT of loyal fans and viewers. 
user14 YUP! this! and did u see the pr reviews? lotss of acting going on lol. you can tell that nobody likes the products and it's obvious as to why! very messy and not good at all. 
user15 trevor? wtf are you doing here??😭
user16 he stands on business
user17 trevor is so damn messy liking this im cryingg
user18 who tf is trevor?
user17 jacks best friend lol 
user18 ohh that's so nasty..😭
vivienne
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vivienne i hope u guys are loving all the products! let me know if u guys got anything💐
tagged: viv212
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viv212 😍😍✨
user19 yeah girl we did get products… AND NOW MY HAIR HAS STARTED TO FALL OUT!
user20 this is so out of touch. you’ve ruined so many peoples hair!! apologize!!!
user20 youve really shown ur true colours lol.
user21 posting this as if u haven't ruined so many of ur fans hair… wow..
user22 ignore all the hate viv! I know u just haven't seen the reviews! take all the time u need to respond <3
user23 bffr she's just money hungry and dgaf if she ruins her fans hair for money. shes weird af
⋆ ★
if you thought work was rough before - with all the bad articles you were given- you weren’t prepared for what was waiting for you on monday. after a peaceful weekend with your babygirl and your best friend claudia, the last thing you were expecting was to receive the worst case you’d ever been assigned. 
“y/n, we need you to cover social media drama today,” your boss had said. there were a million headlines rushing through your mind, from small scandals to non-disclosure disputes, you hadn’t even considered you’d be assigned to write about… viviennes new brand. 
“i mean, are you fucking kidding me?” you whisper-shout to claudia through the phone. you were pacing inside the girl’s washroom, disbelief written across all your features as you stare perplexed at the folder in your hand. “her brand is making peoples hair fall out. and i have to write about it… this is a joke. this actually can’t be real,”
“are you even allowed to write about her? with jack’s NDA and everything?” claudia asks from the bathroom stall at her work. 
“i mean, it was just about leighton and my identity, and the whole jack cheating thing, i don’t think it applies to this,” you're beyond stressing. the story had to be finished by lunch and here you were, pacing the bathroom borderline having a panic attack. “i think i’m going to pass out,” 
“okay breathe! breathe!” claudia's voice was loud and clear on the other line. “you’re just going to write the article with indifference, and everythings going to be fine!” 
“indifference? she fucking kept jack from finding out about our baby and harassed me?” you seethe, stopping in front of the sink to splash your face with some water. “this article is going to be so biased,”
“regardless of your history, she's an asshole. i mean she’s literally causing people’s hair to fall out,” claudia states, flushing so her coworkers don’t get suspicious of her long bathroom break. 
“i’m just going to write it and i’ll call jack once he's out of practice,” you settle, knowing there is really no way out of your work. even if you told your boss you had a history with vivienne and that there was going to be bias, they wouldn’t care. they just wanted the story posted so they’d garner as many clicks as possible since it was going viral right now. 
“okay, good luck! love you,” claudia says her goodbyes, and with a quick i love you back, you hang up on your best friend and prepare to write. 
⋆ ★
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you had called jack after his practice, but with the articles deadline hastily approaching there was nothing you could do to delay writing the article. jack of course understands, offering a quick, “i’m sure she won’t read it anyway,” before he was called back into whatever a hockey job required on the daily. 
once the article was published on the newspaper's website, and vivienne hadn’t outright harassed you, you take a deep relieved breath before continuing with the rest of your day. 
⋆ ★
of course, vivienne the lurker had seen y/ns article about her hair products. she’s seen every little message and video about the whole situation, and so as tempting as it is to find y/ns number and send her a… compromising video of jack, she resisted. instead, she took her anger out on her manager who insisted she sign an NDA in the first place. 
“you made me sign that stupid document! now i can’t even say anything about her! she's slandering my name and brand!” vivienne yells, fuming as she paces around her office. her manager, who was sitting on one of her chairs, rolls his eyes. 
“you wouldn’t be able to say anything regardless of the NDA. you know you’re in the wrong with the whole, y/n-jack-baby situation. and plus, lashing out at journalists won’t do you any good when you post your apology,”
“it's not fair!” vivienne whines. “what am i supposed to do? she’s just going to get away with this?”
“your interns and i have worked up a statement for you to record. you should probably try and get ahead of this now before it's too late,” her manager finishes, placing a small packet of papers on vivienne's desk. 
“whatever,” she huffs stubbornly, leafing through the small apology packet. 
⋆ ★
after a rough two weeks, it was finally time for the rest of the hughes family to meet baby leighton. ellen and jim were beyond ecstatic, carrying armloads of gifts for their granddaughters first holiday season. 
the family comes to visit after leightons nap, so for the grand reveal you sit the family down in your living room and bring your daughter to them. “awh… she’s so sweet!” ellen immediately starts to tear up as you slowly place the tired baby in her arms. “leighton baby,” she coos, finger tracing leightons little nose as the baby looks up at her. “she looks just like jack when he wa a baby,” 
“she’s perfect, guys,” jim speaks next, gently holding little leightons hand in his larger one. 
quinn sits quietly just taking in the sweet moment. he remembers the night jack first called him, panicked and lost about the whole situation. he was just so glad everything was working out for his younger brother, and to see jack become a father? it was surreal. 
“i don’t think i want to let her go,” ellen laughs softly as tears spill down her face. jack discretely wipes away his own stray tears as he watches his parents fall in love with his daughter. 
“that’s how i felt when i first met her too,” jack laughs weakly as he presses the corner of his sleeve into the corner of his eyes. you stand close behind him, rubbing his back comfortingly and he leans into your touch. every time you were reminded of what happened, you felt such a strong pang of guilt. like it was somehow your fault that jack didn’t get to experience the pregnancy, birth, and first few months of his baby’s life. 
ellen passes the baby to her husband, and then slowly makes her way over to you. she holds out her arms, and you easily walk into them. “you did so good,” she says, and all of your feelings bubble to the surface as you softly cry. 
“i’m really sorry,” you whisper to her and she only holds you tighter. “i should've tried harder - i thought that he didn't want to be in her life,” you gasp through your tears. ellen squeezes you and whispers reassuringly in your ear. she was always so kind to you and it made you feel sick sometimes - this family loves so thoroughly and effortlessly, something you missed from your own parents. 
when your calm enough, you remove yourself from ellens arms. jim was now cuddling leighton and quinn was leaning over his shoulder. luke was teasing jack about something, having already met leighton a long time ago. when jack notices you're no longer hugging his mom, he grabs hold of your hand and gently soothes his thumb across the back of your hand. 
you spend the rest of the evening in your apartment surrounded by family. 
⋆ ★
ynuser
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Liked by jackhughes, trevorzegras, claudia, and others
ynuser leightons first holiday season🥹🤍
tagged: jackhughes
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jackhughes to many more!❤️
colecaufield did you get the gifts i sent? 
ynuser yes! leighton loves all the habs merch!
jackhughes but she loves the devils more!
trevorzegras cant wait to meet her!❤️
_quinnhughes lee is the cutest!❤️
claudia loveee😭😭🫶
user1 happy holiday sweetheart! 
jackhughes added to his close friends! 
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⋆ ★
after viviennes less than impressive apology, her fans quickly gave up on the star. people who were only invested in vivienne for the jack hughes drama, grew bored, and angry fans were boycotting viviennes videos and social media platforms to show the influencer their disappointment with her behaviour. she lost thousands of followers, and she was absolutely pissed off. 
behind the scenes, her friend emily was fuming. vivienne had promised her a shoutout on her pages in order to boast the girls social blade, and with all the recent drama vivienne kept pushing the dates. so, emily did what she thought was best.
REDDIT SNARK PAGE
user455595654: vivienne aiden sent nasty messages to jack’s ex girlfriend while she was dating him from random instagram accounts. here are some of the tamer ones lol. she drunkenly confessed to me one night and i got her to send me ss to keep as collateral incase she fucks things up as usual. so there's that
jack hated you so bad that he couldn't stand being a father to his child... and you know that he wants to be a dad in the future. gonna make him a dad and send u the pics. know ur worth nothing
he never wanteddd you... and know he doesnt want his baby
happy birthday to your baby! thought i'd send u a message since we know jack's not.
crazy that you get to look at your babygirl and know that she was abandoned. probably hurts
he's all up on me :)
⋆ ★
“did you want to take any of the clothes leightons got for your house?” you ask jack as you fold leightons laundry. jack’s family and friends went a little overboard with the gifts, and so now you were left with dozens of little onesies and clothes in various different team styles. 
jack glances over at you and nods, and you can’t help but wonder what’s got him so distracted. he’s barely taken his eyes off his phone in the past half-hour, and even though it was none of your business you were starting to worry. 
“do you have any preference?” you follow up, hoping to get at least a response. 
“uh,” jack tears his eyes away from his phone and takes a deep breath. “i’ll uh, whatever you think,”
you sit in silence for a moment, thumbing quietly through your daughter's pile of clothes before deciding to question jack. “okay, what’s going on is there-”
“did uh, did vivienne…” you pale immediately at his words as your heart starts racing. “the messages she sent you uh,”
“what-”
“someone posted them online and i just - they got sent to me and i need you to confirm if they’re real of if someones just fucking around,” jack finishes shakily, and you sit in shock as he passes his phone over to you with unsteady hands. 
there were so many messages, each taking you back to when you first received them. you remember the panic each time a new one came in, how you kept blocking viviennes accounts and how a new one always replaced it. you nod slowly, and jack breathes in. 
“i’m going to- i-” he stutters, cluelessly trying to piece together a coherent plan. 
you pass his phone back, and slowly focus your gaze onto jack. his hands are trembling, and his jaw keeps clenching as he scrambles to make sense of what he’s been reading. “why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”
“i’m sorry,” your voice is quiet and jack has to strain his ears to hear you. the familiar pang of guilt wells up in you again and you so desperately wish that you had just told jack the full truth. that there were dozens of more messages, and that you had been receiving them for much longer than you had let on. that you received instagram follow requests from accounts impersonating your coworkers and friends in attempts to bait you to accept them. you knew vivienne was borderline stalking you, but you didn’t want to worry jack further. you witnessed his reaction to the first batch of messages, how he gagged and cried and blamed himself. you shouldn’t have hid the rest from him, but you didn’t want to be the one to expose him to all the hurtful things you were dealing with. you wanted to put an end to the past and to move on, but it seemed vivienne and whoever was in her close circle were determined to keep you hooked and battered. 
“is there anything else? i want to know everything,” jack replies, his hands twisting together as he fidgets. you nod slowly, and jack looks sick with worry as you beckon him to sit down.
you take a deep breath before pulling out your phone. you still had all of viviennes messages saved in your dm requests, and you click on one of her burner accounts. “she uh, sent me these pictures after i had given birth,” you explain with a shaky voice. when you pass over your phone, jack sees all the lewd pictures his ex had sent to you. pictures of the two of them, cropped so you couldn't make out the faces but it was still so blindingly obvious. some of the pictures were tame, jacks back to the camera as he cooked with a simple caption “he’s so sweet to me❤️”. others not so much - dark lingerie, jacks hands wrapped around viviennes body and cupping her boobs. a picture of his head resting against her naked chest, her hand buried in his hair. it went on and on, all with annoying captions talking about how he was hers and that he didn’t want a family. 
the worst picture though was of an unused pregnancy test sitting in the palm of viviennes hand, “he’ll love our baby!❤️” . 
it took awhile to go through everything, and jack sat unusually quiet as he switches between different message threads. “i, i don’t know what to do,” jack admits after you had showed him everything. 
“there’s nothing that you can do,” you reply simply.
“i didn’t get her pregnant,” he states, completely disregarding your reply. “she was just being cruel and trying to bait you or something-”
“jack i know-”
“and you know that if i knew about leighton i wouldn't have abandoned her, and those pictures, i didn’t know she was taking half of them let alone sending them to you, i just-”
you place a hand on jacks arm, silently urging him to stop explaining. “i know,” 
“i’m just- learning about all of this for the first time-” 
you let your hand trail down jack’s arm, and then you slip your hand into his. you squeeze twice, and then run your thumb along the width of his hand - a habit you picked up when the two of you were dating. jack squeezes back. 
you don’t have time to say anything else before leightons soft cries spill out of the baby monitor. “da-da,” she whines, and when you turn to look at the monitor you see her thrashing around in her crib. 
“i’ll get her,” jack says with a gentle tone as he squeezes your hand one more time. 
you cuddle into your throw blanket, completely and mentally exhausted from the night's events when you hear jack’s soft voice through the monitor. 
“i’m always gonna be here for you okay? dada will always be here,” 
“i love you my sweet girl, always.”
 ⋆ ★
he had liked her. he had actually liked vivienne when they were together and the thought makes him feel sick. 
jack had first met her two months after his breakup with y/n. it was way too soon in his opinion - but his teammates were relentless and tired of his moping around. so, instead of picking up the phone and dialing y/ns number he had agreed to meet the girl everyone seemed to think would be a good match for him. and she was at first, it was simple and there were no complicated feelings. jack didn’t promise to be anything, and vivienne was fine with that. there was no pressure to stay hidden, they went out and had fun. not that y/n didn't go out, but there was a clear difference between both girls and jack wasn’t mad about it. 
that didn’t stop him from thinking about y/n though. he still had a photo album dedicated to their pictures together, and he still had her favourite music neatly organized in one of his playlists. he never deleted the list of her favourite things from his phone, never unpinned the addresses of the new museums, art galleries, and coffee shops they wanted to try. jack hadn't done anything at all, instead he let himself drift and he found some comfort in a girl he wasn’t sure he even understood properly because really, there were two sides to vivienne aiden and jack didn't have a strong grasp on either. 
now that he was with y/n again, or at least raising their daughter together, he can’t help but feel the urge to get to know her again. he wanted to do everything a boyfriend would do, but the timing was always wrong. they were parents first now, and it was way too soon to start a relationship up again. 
plus, they broke up for a reason. jack would be the first person to admit that he was in the wrong. liking other girl’s picks and lingering on girls in public… meanwhile he had the most amazing girl he’d ever met on his arm. he felt like such a fucking idiot, and ruminating on those facts on the drive back to new jersey seemed like a constant these days. his communication was awful too, not apologizing and not realizing the problems sooner. now he faced those consequences, driving an hour each way to spend time with his daughter. he should be there all the time, or they should be here - whatever. 
traffic stalled, and jack sat in uncomfortable silence. no depressing country song would even come close to how awful he was feeling right now. then when he got home he’d be faced with luke and his family, all doped up on all the quality time they were fortunate enough to scrape together between everyone's busy schedules. he was so tired, and everything just seemed to keep piling up. he didn’t want to hide anymore, he was tired of vivienne dictating his life and making y/n feel awful. 
therefore a week later with your permission and before jack boarded his flight for his roadie, he posted a simple but effective instagram post. 
jackhughes 
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liked by trevorzegras, colecaufield, dawson1417, and 361 299 others
jackhughes baby’s first holiday season❤️
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trevorzegras does she love the duck teddies i sent?
colecaufield little love bug🐞
dawson1417 my best girl !
_alexturcotte dads a dad🫡
holtz_10 bring her to the rink when were back
_quinnhughes best duo💯
lhughes_06 tell everyone who her favourite uncle is (it's me)
nicohischier happy holidays!❤️🎄
user24 WHAT THE FUCK?????
user25 JACK?? DAD??? IM SO CONFUSED WTF
user26 this has to be a joke
user27 im crying so hard is he actually a dad?? this is my worst nightmare omfg
user28 congrats on the baby hughes! being a father is hard work but its rewarding!
user29 who’s the mom??? vivienne?? 
user30 no its 1000% his ex. look jacks name up on twitter and you’ll find all the threads!
user31 omg… 
user32 im in disbelief i think i passed out what the ..
user33 this HAS to be yns baby omfg. If u compare the backgrounds of these photos it’s literall her apartment
user34 ? how tf do u know what her apartment looks like?
user33 it’s the same background in her friends pics of her
user34 that sounds genuinely psychotic im sorry!
user35 DAD JACK DAD JACK DAD JACK
everything had already gone viral with vivienne, and there was nothing else for jack to add to the public speculations aside from be truthful. so he worked behind the scenes to protect his family, and made it known he wasn’t hiding or playing anymore. 
vivienne got what she deserved, and her career would surely be over with the massive amount of hate she received, and jack knew it too. the countless voicemails she left told him enough, and with every swift delete and the final press of the block button - he felt a massive weight lift of his chest.
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905 notes · View notes
urdepressedslut · 10 months
Text
You’re Mine, Sunshine ❝part five❞
♡ Pairing: Grumpy!Bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x Sunshine!Fem!Reader
♡ Summary: Getting to know each other better doesn’t go according to plan. Bucky has to comfort you and fix the mess he made. Will you forgive him?
♡ Warnings: self hate, mentions of parent death/family death, panic attack, heavy angst, fluff, literally sobbing i love them
Part 6
Trope ⇢ Grumpy x Sunshine | Mob!Au Bodyguard!Au
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It was almost becoming a mantra, reminding himself daily that he needed to keep things strictly professional. He just didn’t realize how hard it would be. You were so easy to be around, it was a different change of pace with you, he felt he could actually think— slow his mind down around you.
He had tried to digest the thought many times.
I could be her friend, nothing more.
Would it be unprofessional though? He tries to think how Pierce would react to that. He feels completely and utterly confused— the devil and angel on his shoulders battling constantly.
Even then, he was already a bad friend— if that. He was keeping something from you— something extreme. He had caught himself thinking of where you could be in the house— the part of him deep down wanting to tell you. He knew he should, but he knew that’s not what Pierce wanted. If anything, Bucky didn’t want to mess anything up— or he’d never see you again. The thought shouldn’t of scared him as much as it did, but he didn’t like it.
That’s where he found himself in the bathroom of his room, staring into his own eyes through the reflection. He had showered and caught himself trying to find a nice shirt amongst his clothes— immediately he stopped. He had to take a moment to take a deep breath and remind himself how ridiculous he was being.
It had been so long since he actually cared about his appearance. But as he was scanning every line and wrinkle on his face in the mirror— he knew he was doomed. Suddenly he felt insecure, and for once it wasn’t about his arm. His mind was consumed with the thought if he was good enough. While he felt overwhelmed, because he had never worried about such a thing. Well, in awhile at least.
You had kept yourself busy in the library for most of the day, and while you looked to be buried into the books— your thoughts were of him. You couldn’t ignore the giddy feeling that his words gave you— his want to get to know you better. Maybe, just maybe— he wanted to be your friend.
Just as you were about to get up and leave to seek out Bucky, you heard the sound of the library doors opening. A smile worked its way onto your face, excited to see him— though you had just seen him not that long ago.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the space, and soon revealed a handsome looking Bucky. Your mouth hung slightly open, his appearance looking sharper than usual. He was wearing his classic black shirt, and had the black leather jacket over— along with his jeans that hugged him just right in all the areas. He wasn’t dressed all that different, so why did he look so good.
You cleared your throat and broke your stare— yes he looked good. But you shouldn’t stare.
“You look great James, I wish I would’ve put something better on.” You laughed nervously, looking down at your t-shirt and shorts— along with your different colored socks.
Bucky on the other hand, thought you looked fine. He was pretty sure you could wear pretty much anything and look good in it. He also shook off your compliment, thinking you were just being sweet like you always were.
“You look fine, (Y/n).” He assured you.
Truthfully, standing here in front of you now— Bucky wants nothing more than to go back upstairs, choosing to avoid getting to know you better. He wasn’t sure why his walls were coming down so easily, but he hated it. Oh he hated it— he hated you.
“So…” You started, walking back to your seat. Bucky followed after and took his spot from the nights before. “I know this kinda takes the fun out of this but— I had a list of questions.”
Bucky shook his head but chuckled lowly, not surprised at all.
“Of course you do.” He acknowledged, and you scratched the back of your neck nervously.
“Uh— but there are rules! I made them up of course— but there aren’t many.” You rushed out, sitting crisscrossed in your seat.
Bucky exhaled annoyed, but couldn’t really argue otherwise. This was his idea. Was it to distract you from going out? Yes. But a part of him really did want to get to know you better.
“Alright, what’s the rules?” He asked, crossing his leg over the other— leaning back in his seat.
“Okay the first one— you have to answer the question that’s asked, no matter what.” You told him, watching him raise his eyebrows.
“Easy.”
You giggled, remembering how fast the conversation ended last time because he didn’t want to answer. This would be harder than he thought— but you wouldn’t call him out on it.
“Second rule— Can’t ask dumb questions.” You told him, and he chuckled again.
“That’s the second rule?” He chuckled, and you nodded your head.
“Yup.” You confirmed, “Okay— who should go first?”
You were ready to jump right into it, while Bucky was still thinking about your rules— rethinking his decision to do this.
“Why don’t you start doll, since you apparently have a list.” He spoke sarcastically, and you couldn’t stop the heat from rising to your cheeks at the nickname.
He never called you that before, and you didn’t know what to think of it.
“Um… okay yeah,” You thought about your first question, deciding to go easy on him at first, “What’s something you like to do on your free time?”
Bucky squinted his eyes, expecting a more personal question from you. He also had to think for a second— what did he like to do? He used to have hobbies at one time, but he couldn’t recall any in the moment. He felt he was a pretty boring person. There was one thing.
“I like to read sometimes.” He answered, and you smiled at that.
“Really? You don’t seem to spend a lot of time in the library for someone who likes to read.” You joked— knowing he was rather busy with his job as a bodyguard.
“Well, if I had free time— I’d probably be here.” He pointed out, slowly melting into his seat, his muscles relaxing against the couch.
“Okay your turn.” You told him.
Bucky didn’t want to admit it, but he as well had a list of questions for you. Things he was dying to know about you.
“What do you want to do in the future?” He asked, and you looked at him with furrowed brows.
“Huh?”
“What’s your dream job— like, what do you want to do for the rest of your life? Besides read.” He added at the end, making you giggle.
You thought about your answer for a moment, smiling to yourself when you came up with one.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever stay in one spot, there’s so much I want to do. But whatever happens, I wanna volunteer places. I want to help people— help them heal, cope. I just wanna do good.” You explained happily.
Bucky was not surprised by your answer by the slightest— of course you wanted to be helpful. It only made sense with your bubbly personality. He cleared his throat, fighting down a smile.
“Your turn again.”
You nodded and took a second to think of a question again, closing your eyes in thought. An idea popped into your head and you were hesitant about it. Last time you’d brought it up— he left.
“What’s your family like?” You asked anyway, keeping your voice soft in hopes he’d feel more comfortable.
Bucky tensed immediately and just glared at you for a second. His jaw clenched, and his eyes squinted at you. He was annoyed at you pestering him with this question— he’d answer every single one but this one. He’d play dirty if you were.
“My family… isn’t around anymore.” He answered quietly, his anger lacing his words.
His tone had you swallowing nervously, and deep down you regretted asking him. You didn’t mean any harm by the question, and you immediately felt bad. Your heart hurt for him, the way he didn’t have a family.
“I— James I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t o—”
You tried to apologize but got cut off.
“My turn.” He interrupted, sitting up in his seat now. His whole body tense again, his relaxed muscles no more. “Why does your Father hate you?”
He couldn’t stop himself from letting the words out, but as soon as they passed his lips— he was ashamed of himself. His face softened immediately at your face dropping, the way your fingers started to fiddle anxiously with the hem of your shirt.
You were shocked— at a loss for words. You probably deserved his anger, but you weren’t expecting such a harsh question. You felt your chest tighten, and suddenly you weren’t in denial anymore. Everything you’d ever thought— the nights you wondered if your Father really did hate you. You pushed away with a laugh, knowing he could never. But now as someone else witnessed it, and pointed it out. It ought to be true— and you felt sick.
“Um… He’s just having a h-hard time with the passing of my…” You tried to take a deep breath, feeling your throat tighter than usual. “Hard time with my mothers passing is all.”
You repeated from the first day meeting him. Your head pounded— your ears thumping loudly. Your fingers were numb and you felt like you couldn’t swallow.
Were you having an allergic reaction to something?
You tried to take another deep breath and felt your chest stop expanding. Your eyes widened in panic for a second.
Bucky felt so shitty— he couldn’t control himself for a simple question. The fact that you had answered it anyway broke his heart. He watched as your eyes darted around, in search of help. The way he could start to hear your breathing— the way you were beginning to wheeze.
“(Y/n), you ok—”
“Excuse m-me for a s-second.” You rushed out, stumbling out of your chair and towards the library doors.
Bucky was concerned for you, standing up immediately to go follow you. He was so ashamed of himself, angry that he let himself lose control like that. He had sensitive topics that just brought up a defensive side in him. The image of your face as soon as he had said the words was burned into his brain. You didn’t deserve that— you had been nothing be sweet since you two had met.
Making it up the stairs, he started down the hallway— body tensing in alert at the sight of you sitting up against the hallway wall. He rushed forward, kneeling down to your curled up form, scanning over you for injuries.
“(Y/n), what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He asked frantic, he noticed your hand clutching the area above your heart.
You shook your head, but seemed confused— and only panicked more when you couldn’t get the words out right away.
“I c-can’t breathe!” You wheezed out, your hand not clutching your chest— reaching out to grab onto Bucky.
You held onto him like he was your lifeline.
“I-I think I’m having a-an allergic reaction.” You panted, fisting Bucky’s sleeve in panic.
Bucky didn’t know it was possible for his heart to break anymore— but he swore he heard the cracking sound. He felt it drop to his stomach, his own throat tightening with emotions. You were having a panic attack— and it was because of him. You had no idea, and yet here you were still clinging onto him when he was the cause of it all. He was disgusted with himself.
“(Y/n)— you’re not having an allergic reaction. You’re having a panic attack.” He explained to you clearly, holding onto your shoulders, trying to bring you comfort.
You nodded in understanding, feeling lightheaded from lack of oxygen to the brain. Tears began to escape your eyes, you felt helpless— you felt like you were dying.
“James…” You whimpered, “I’m s-scared!”
Again, he felt his non existent heart break again— falling into his stomach. He felt sick watching this go down, wanting nothing more than for this all to be a nightmare.
He had experience with panic attacks and luckily knew what to do— he just couldn’t get over the fact that he caused it.
He grabbed your hand fisting his sleeve and put it above his heart. You lifted your flushed face, your bloodshot eyes watching your hand. You could feel the strong thump of his heartbeat, the feeling soothing against your palm.
“I want you to try and breathe with me, okay? I want you to match my heartbeat. You feel it?” He asked you softly, his voice gentle like honey.
You nodded your head, trying to focus on slowing your breathing— stop your chaotic mind from spiraling.
“In… and out— In… and out.” He started breathing, and you struggled to match him at first, but as your eyes met with his— you felt your heartbeat start to match his rhythm.
His eyes were comforting and warm. You felt safe in his hold— and you could already start to feel your everything relaxing.
“Good, just keep breathing with me. I’ve got you— you’re gonna be okay.” He assured you, rubbing your shoulders up and down soothingly.
You knew you’d be risking it, but you slowly moved forward— wrapping your arms around his bulky frame.
Bucky tensed up at first, a part of him knowing he should push you away— this wasn’t professional. But he knew he couldn’t— not after what he did. He relaxed, and wrapped his arms hesitantly around your back, hugging you tight against him. He could feel your quick heartbeat thumping competitively against his. He could feel your breath fanning his neck— as you rested your chin in the crook of his neck.
He hadn’t felt such affection in so long— he had missed how much he craved the protection— the security he felt being in someone’s arms.
Now, in Bucky’s hold— you felt at peace. You knew he’d never let anything happen to you. You still trusted him with your life.
“Doll,” You smiled weakly into his neck, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t of asked you that— I’m an asshole.”
You held onto him tighter— enjoying the embrace while you had it. You were sure it would never happen again.
“It’s okay James, I’m sorry too.” You weakly replied, your body drained of energy. “Thank you, I feel a lot better now.”
He wanted to scoff. You wanted to thank him for helping you out of a mess that he caused. You had the right to scream, punch, kick him. But he knew you’d never do that— and that’s what killed him.
He didn’t know how to respond to your thanks, and stayed silent instead. Holding onto you— never intending to let go until you did first.
“I’m tired James.” You mumbled sleepily.
“I’ve got you doll.” He whispered, easily standing with you in his arms.
He slowly and carefully carried you to your room, setting you down gently onto your bed. He was having déjà vu— memories of when he first carried you to bed that one night.
He lifted the covers, tucking you in. He watched you for a second, examining your face like you were a piece of art. His eyes danced all the way from your chin— passed your lips— to your eyes. Before he could stop himself, he was reaching out to brush a loose strand of hair out of your face. You sighed and leaned into his touch, and this time— he didn’t fight the smile down. He gazed down at you warmly, genuinely smiling for the first time in awhile.
“Stay with me.” You mumbled sleepily, just as you had wanted to that one night.
Bucky took a deep breath, staring down at you with sudden tenderness. He shook his head, ridding his mind of the thought.
“Okay.” He told you, watching you give a small smile in your sleep. Snuggling your face into the pillow.
Although both of you didn’t really get to scratch off every question of each others list— you both felt more connected after today. You just wanted someone, someone constant in your life. Bucky needed more light in his life— like you.
You both needed each other more than you realized.
🤍 taglist is officially closed for this series 🤍
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porcelaindoll-exe · 2 years
Text
☇ SECRET — E.M.
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— pairing ;Eddie Munson x Fem!Popular!Reader
— summary ;Y/N's convinced her boyfriend is embarrassed to be with her in public, why else would he want to keep their relationship a secret?
— warnings ;Fluff, Angst, Swearing, Season 4 content, Eddie and Reader misunderstanding each other.
— A/N ;I'm normally a slut for Steve Harrington, yet here I am, writing for my new favourite character. This is my first fic on tumblr, so feel free to leave a comment on how I did! Requests are open for any stranger things character, feel free to drop one! ♡
— word count ;3,089.
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You loved his hands.
No matter where they were, they always felt amazing, running through your hair or simply rubbing up the sides of your waist, it was as if they had been graced by god.
"G'morning, sweetheart."
Eddie's breath fanned against your neck as he shifted, pressing open mouthed kisses on the sensitive skin, his hands coming up to rub your stomach as pulled you closer.
"Morning, Eds.."
You mumbled back as you snuggled your back into his chest, his fluffy hair tickling at your cheek as he moved around, making sure to cover your entire neck with kisses.
"You slept well, right? I slept like a fucking baby."
Eddie chuckled, the vibrations against your skin sending shivers up your spine, your hands coming down to interlace your fingers with his.
"Yeah, I slept well... Your bed's way comfier than mine..."
You firmly believed that was a fact.
Even in the small dingy caravan he shared with his uncle, his room seemed like a safe space from the rest of the world.
A little isolated corner in Hawkins for the both of you to relax after school, away from everyone else and every problem you had.
You'd spend hours lying in bed in his arms, his face snuggled into your neck much like he was now, his warm hands roaming your body and finally resting on your breasts or stomach; some random vinyl that he had put on hours ago forgotten in the background.
It had been the first time you had actually slept overnight at his caravan, and it truly felt like heaven. His warm body encasing you as you slept, his light snores filling the room once he nodded off, the sounds the TV made from the living room mixing in pleasantly with his own noises.
Although you wished you could stay forever in his arms, feeling the cool air coming in through the window from behind the curtains, listening to his random thoughts and feeling his sweet kisses, you knew everything good had to end.
Eddie pulled his arms from around you, pressing one last kiss to your jaw before leaning up and stretching his arms into the air, making his shirt ride up and reveal his tummy, a yawn leaving his mouth once he had finished his obligatory morning stretches.
"Fuck... Wish I could stay longer here, sweetheart, but duty calls. Got a campaign to organise for tonight, the guys have been cheewing my ear off all week."
He leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek before getting up onto his feet and making his way to the bathroom, a faint "hey" coming from outside as he said hello to his uncle.
You shifted underneath the duvet (which smelt just like Eddie, although a bit more weed-ish than he did), looking up at the poster of Black Sabbath he had pinned to the wall right next to his bed, claiming that it was as if god looked down on him while he slept, when for you and everyone else it was just another rock poster among all the others.
As you heard the shower go on, you sighed, knowing that you should probably get up yourself, not wanting to intrude in his uncle's home more than you already had.
Even if he claimed that he didn't mind, that he was glad that Eddie had found someone and was actually going out more often due to you and his club, you couldn't help but feel nervous around the man, feeling as if you always overstayed your welcome.
He would embarrass Eddie in front of you, taking on the roll of the typical mother and showing you pictures of a small Eddie in baths or wearing sunglasses that were too big for his tiny head, the boy whining and complaining the whole time until he was able to pull you away from suffering even more embarrassment.
His uncle claimed that you two were like those cheesy couples he'd watch on late night TV, the picture of a perfect relationship.
Your relationship with Eddie was in fact perfect, everyone knew that.
Well, everyone would know that if you actually came out as a couple.
For some unknown reason, the first few dates you had had with him were done in secret, up on top of a hill at night or in his caravan after school.
You hadn't mentioned it at first, thinking maybe he was new to dating or that he simply felt more comfortable alone, which you of course weren't going to judge.
But you started to gain suspicion when he shot down your ideas of going out together to somewhere like Starcourt (when it was still up and running), or simply meeting up at school to have lunch together.
Then when you had finally started dating, he asked you to keep it a secret for a while until he was ready, but that 'while' quickly turned into half a year.
You loved Eddie, you really did. But sometimes you wondered... Did he love you the way you did? Was he embarrassed of you? Did he feel uncomfortable being around you when you were with other people?
Your thoughts were interrupted as Eddie came back in, his hair slightly damp from the condensation and a towel wrapped around his waist as he walked around the dimly lit room to try and find his clothes.
You smiled at the way he rummaged through that big pile of clothes on his chair, pulling away one of your bras in confusion before throwing it over his shoulder, continuing with his quest to find wearable clothes for that day.
"Here, let me-"
You pulled the curtains away from the window, rolling your eyes as Eddie hissed dramatically as the rays of the morning sun hit his skin, striking a vampire like pose with his arm covering half his face, stopping instantly as he saw your eye roll, watching you start to tidy up his bed.
"You're killing me here, babe."
He mumbled under his breath, grabbing his Hellfire shirt and slipping it on, turning away from you to pull down the towel and put some boxers and trousers on.
You couldn't help but sneak a peak at his ass as he leaned down to pick his clothes up, blushing bright red as he quickly shimmied into his jeans, finally noticing your stare when he turned his head around, smirking proudly before clapping his hands together and snapping you out of it, motioning to your discarded clothes on the floor.
"C'mon, you want a ride or not?"
You stopped as you leaned down to grab your bra, turning to look at him in confusion as you slowly moved to pick your underwear up.
"A ride?"
"Yeah, a ride, y'know, vroom vroom?"
He moved his hands as if he were holding a steering wheel, staring back at you with the same confusion written across his face.
"I- I know what a ride is, Eddie! I'm not stupid!"
"Then why are you acting like I just spoke russian?"
You blinked owlishly at him, forcing yourself to rip your stare away from him and back down to your clothes, fiddling with a loose string from your underwear that stuck out.
Truth be told, Eddie had never offered you a ride.
Well, that was a lie. You had been in his car million of times, whether it be to make out or to drive you to his house, but he had never once offered to take you to school.
He picked you up sometimes after your club had ended, when there were barely any people hanging around the school grounds, saying a brisk hello before latching onto your lips once the car doors were closed.
Even when you mentioned on the phone that you'd be walking to school from your house or that Robin and Steve were going to pick you up, he simply hummed and wished you a safe ride.
He never once volunteered himself to take you to school.
"Hey, love? You're not blacking out on me are you?"
His voice and his sudden touch on your shoulder made you turn around to look at him, his lips turned up into that goofy smile of his, fingers softly squeezing your shoulder to make sure you were okay.
"Yeah, yeah- It's just, you've never really driven me to school..."
Now it was Eddie's turn to look away, inhaling sharply and kissing his teeth, fiddling with one of the rings that he had accidentally left on while sleeping, the cool metal feeling nice against his warm fingers.
"I uh- I'm not going to make you walk all the way from here, am I?"
Eddie could be a dick sometimes, but he wouldn't go to the lengths of making you walk from the caravan park to Hawkins High while he drove there, he wasn't that type of guy.
Still, you couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought that maybe- just maybe, he felt obliged to giving you a ride simply because he would feel bad for making you go to school alone.
"I thought you were embarrassed of being with me..."
You suddenly muttered underneath your breath, Eddie almost getting whiplash from how quick he turned to look at you, his eyes blown out wide as his mouth opened and closed, much like a fish out of water would.
"Wh- Embarrassed? Of you? Never! Why would you-"
He tripped over his own words, hands moving around as he tried to articulate the words he couldn't find, and if you weren't in the middle of being upset, you would have found it quite endearing.
"You're embarrassed of being with me! That's why you want to keep this a secret, right?"
You said, trying your best to not let your voice crack, but it ended up being in vain, since you ended up sounding like a teen going through puberty.
His warm hands instantly found yours as he realised how upset you actually were, bringing them up to his lips and peppering kisses over your knuckles, muttering "no", over and over as he shook his head.
He couldn't believe what he was actually hearing.
Embarrassed? Of you?
You were one of the most, hell, scratch that; the most beautiful girl in Hawkins! Why would he be embarrassed of being around you?!
His kisses halted as he let go of your hands, looking down at you with a concerned look, his fingers coming up to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear, wiping away a few stray tears that had started to form with his knuckles.
"Why'd you think that? Why would I ever be embarrassed of you, darling? You're perfect..."
You looked away from his dark gaze, shrugging your shoulders, knowing that if you opened your mouth right then it would all come out messy, probably making the poor guy even more confused.
Yet, he deserved to know what you were thinking, right? That was how relationships worked.
You took a deep breath, turning your head to look back at him and finally spoke. "You always go on these rants about the popular kids being dicks, yet you spent like... Half a year making out with me... Even if I'm one of those so-called dicks."
Eddie's face softened, bringing his hands up to cup your cheeks and nodded, egging you on to continue, letting you know that he would listen.
"You want to keep us a secret because you're worried that people will see you as a liar when they see you dating one of the people that you claim you hate."
You felt bad for saying all these things, but you couldn't help but finally get it off your chest, all those feelings that you had pushed down for his sake, scared that maybe he'd get angry at you for not respecting his wishes and dump you, even with the knowledge that Eddie wasn't like that.
He wasn't one of those dicks that went from girl to girl, not caring about their feeling nor the consequences of their actions. Eddie was nothing like them.
He was the sweetest person you had ever met, making sure you were always comfortable around him, that his antics never scared you, that you were okay whenever he saw you mildly tense... He even introduced you to his uncle, brought you to his caravan, let you into the deepest parts of his heart that he had always kept to himself.
You felt bad for unloading this onto him, but you couldn't just ignore it anymore, even if he broke up with you, he had to know how he was making you feel.
You take his calloused hands into yours, pulling them away from your now-red face and taking a step back, your arms crossing over your chest as you looked away as soon as you realised the tears you had tried your best to keep at bay were now freely running down your cheeks.
"Hey, hey, no!"
You felt his warm hands instantly land on your waist, pulling you towards him and letting you rest your head against his chest, a shaky breath leaving his mouth as he snuggled his face into your hair, sighing softly.
"I'm sorry, pretty girl... Of course I'm not embarrassed of you. Far fucking from it. I want nothing more than to drive into school with you every morning, hold your pretty lil' hand as we walk through the halls, eat lunch underneath the bleachers with you like in those silly rom-coms my uncle watches, I want nothing more than to be your boyfriend... A proper one."
He leaned back, allowing you to continue your hug as he brought his hands up to your face, smiling softly at the sight of your confused expression, finding the way you cocked your head to a side adorable.
His thumbs ran over the apple of your cheeks, the cool metal of his rings rubbing comfortably against your warm skin, a small part of you getting worried that maybe your tears would rust the cheap material.
"You, my beautiful girl, are the most amazing girl in Hawkins. I could never be embarrassed of you. I... Never meant for it to come off that way, I was stupid for even suggesting to keep this a secret."
"Then why did you?" You asked slowly, recognising the guilt written on his face as he tried to come up with an answer, your nails digging into the denim of his jacket.
"Cause I thought you would be the one who'd be embarrassed. Not me."
Huh?
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, making him groan and raise a hand to his face to cover his eyes, already having felt exposed enough, not ready for another wave of nerves to wash over him.
"What do you-"
"Fuck, look! You're - You're the most popular girl in Hawkins! Everyone wants you, fuck, I'm surprised Steve hasn't made a move on you yet, considering how much you hang out with each other!"
He cried out in exasperation, moving back as soon as you let go of his jacket and leaning on the wall of posters behind him, running his ringed fingers through his curly hair.
"I... Didn't want to ruin your reputation. If people realised you were dating someone like me, the fucking king of freaks, they'd label you as one too! I'm sure you've worked hard for your reputation... I can't just ruin that out of my own selfishness."
Your gaze softened as you noticed the way his fingers were nervously tapping against the wall, his other hand pulling and tugging at his locks as he looked everywhere but your face, clearly doing his best to not feel even more uncomfortable than he already was.
"You were doing it to protect me?"
"I mean- Protect your reputation more than anything. I didn't want you to get bullied like me or the Hellfire club, y'know? I didn't want to see my favourite person be put down simply because of going out with me. I didn't want to be the cause behind your friends leaving you-"
You interrupted him as you smiled, his eyes instantly darting towards you and cocking an eyebrow up in confusion.
"Is my meltdown amusing to you, Miss L/N?"
You gasped, shaking your head and trying to wipe the smile off, yet you couldn't help it at the realisation behind his words.
Eddie only wanted to protect you from being hurt by your friends.
He didn't hate you, he didn't feel embarrassed by you, fuck, he loved you!
"No, of course it's not, Mister Munson... I'm just... Shocked that- that's the actual reason."
Eddie chuckled, pushing himself forwards with his foot and walking up to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and starting to sway you around.
"You actually thought it was because I was embarrassed? Oh, honey. You're the best fucking thing that's happened to me. Why in the world wouldn't I want you next to me?"
Your arms found their way around his neck, his thumbs softly rubbing circles on your waist as he slowly pulled you two around the room, what had began as an attempted hug, now having turned into some sort of weird waltz.
"Does that mean that I get to be your girlfriend? Officially?"
You'd never seen Eddie smile brighter than he did right then.
"Officially."
Your heart did flips as he spun you around, finally dipping you and dramatically pressing his lips to yours, lifting you back up before you could slip out of his grasp and smiling down at you.
"So about that ride..."
Dustin and Mike had seen weird, terrifying, hell even traumatic things... But nothing could have prepared them for the sight of you, one of the most popular girls in school, climbing out of Eddie's car in one of his jackets, his hand holding yours as he helped you out.
"Oh, dude, no, no, no."
"I think I'm going to puke-"
Dustin hurled as soon as he saw you press your lips to Eddie's, Mike's expression of horror being shared amongst most of the students of Hawkins High.
Everyone got the memo as soon as Eddie lifted his middle finger up, his other arm hooked around your waist as he buried his face into your neck, everyone turning around and trying to get back to their own conversations.
"You're so extra, Eds... You literally parked in middle of the field..."
"What can I say, honey? I love a dramatic entrance."
11K notes · View notes
ecneremili · 3 months
Text
The One With The Proposal
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Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!OC
Warnings: smut, fingering, oral sex (m receiving), slight BDSM (use of cuffs), delayed orgasm, P in V sex, unprotected sex (people pls be safe), creampie, no use of Y/N
Word Count: 4.1k
A/N: Well... Okay. There's a few things you need to know about this piece of work you're about to read. This is actually a part of my series that I'm writing on Wattpad. I will put the link below in case you want to read the whole thing. It's not finished, I'm still writing it. This chapter, however, can be a standalone and can be viewed as a one-shot, so I decided to post it here, too. I wish you an enjoyable reading. Oh, and this is not read through, so if you find some mistakes, pretend that you didn't.
Wattpad acc link: here
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Spencer Reid. A man known for several things. His knowledge. A brilliant man, whom the FBI owes many thanks. Uncountable cases that he helped solve that would probably stay unsolved without him. His blabbering. He had a whole paragraph ready to shout out on anything you say. The sky? Fun fact... The book you're looking at? Fun fact, the author actually... A specific person who's dead or alive or never surfaced for something they did? Fun fact about them...
You will never see him wear anything outside of professional clothes. Comfortable professional clothes. Sweaters, cardigans. He sometimes reminds me of older women who wrap themselves in their cardigans. You will never hear him swear. Not in public, anyway. The most he said once was goddamn it. The entire team was left in shock. Penelope was even scared of him that day.
He will stutter in conversations and situations that make him even slightly uncomfortable. He has a germ thing. He never shakes hands or hugs with random people. He makes contact with his friends, me, and some close people like his mother, Diane.
Now put all that into an image and try to picture that man. A shy, uncomfortable, boyish man. Stuck reading books when he has free time. No, no. He cancels plans to stay indoors and read books. Even re-read them.
That same man proposed to me half an hour ago. It was small, intimate, and sentimental. We walked by the restaurant where we confessed we loved each other. He let my hand go and I took a few steps ahead. When I turned back, he was down on one knee and held a small box in his hands.
I said yes.
I said yes more than once.
He was the sweetest man. He was mine. I loved to be loved by him. Delicate, heartwarming, caring and sweet. The man I just described above.
That same man was driving us home at the moment, his dick hard, bulging in his pants, one hand or the wheel, the other deep in my cunt while curving his knuckles at a new angle as he fucked me.
Every person has two sides.
And boy, oh boy, did I love his other side.
Everything anyone knew about Spencer, they would say he would be a sweet, whiney, submissive man during intimacy. I beg to differ.
His fingers twirling inside me, I huff as I refuse to moan just yet. I hated the way he could make me fold so, so easily. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. My mouth is open and I can't hold in pleads from him. His fingers are long. I love his fingers. But his cock is bigger.
He pulls into our parking space and he removes his hand from under my dress. He walks out and comes around to open my door. I begin to come out when he stops me, picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder. I yelp, feeling almost powerless. He slams the door and locks the car and continues to carry me up almost three flights of stairs. The apartment door flies open before we go in. He closes it with his leg and heads directly to our bedroom.
I can't help but blush. I felt like a tiny girl. How disgusting that the tiny girl imagined all the things he would do to her in a few moments. He slides me down and steps back to look at me. His eyes scan me, from the smallest hair on the top of my head all the way down to my toes. There's a devilish desire in his eyes, his mouth parted ever so slightly. His eyes come back to mine and he, almost growling, says, "I kneeled for you, now go ahead and kneel for me."
Tingles run down my entire body. I don't hesitate to obligate his request. Not a request. He demanded. And I wasn't going to defy this. I wasn't going to defy him. Not breaking eye contact, I slide down on my knees, perfectly aligned with his belt. I look ahead, seeing him painfully hard in his pants. I slide my hands up his legs and start undoing his pants. Every clank makes me tingle between my legs.
There was a specific time when a powerful, strong and independent woman only wants, no, only needs to be told what to do. I raised myself from nothing. No one helped me. I could only thank myself for everything I have accomplished in my life. I would listen to no man. No man had the power over me. No man could take nothing from me. Except him. He had all of me wrapped around his little finger.
And I didn't mind.
Being submissive to someone means so much more then people think. It means trust. It means love. Truth be told, not every submissive person tends to be like that in everyday life. Don't get me wrong, I know what comes to mind when you think of someone like that. Porn taught us so wrongly. And this? This was so much more intimate then just porn. This was desire, lust, and pure neediness.
After undoing his belt, I pulled down his pants, tugging his underwear to, removing them to. I would skip everything just to feel him. Being released from his clothes was hitting him sweetly as he took a sharp breath when my eyes fell to his dick.
I look up, almost lustful, maybe waiting for him to tell me to touch him, maybe even to beg me, a whole 180 to what I just described myself as. His eyes were dark and watching me from a high. He simply smirked, almost reading my mind and what was going through it.
"Go on," he half whispered, voice deep just like the darkness around us, "be the slut the outside world has no idea you are."
And that was all it took. My hand takes his base before I stick out my tongue and slide it up his entire length. There was a lot of length. He inhales, pushing a groan down his throat at the first touch I plant on him.
This was going to be a long night.
The kiss I leave at his tip as I start stroking him with my hand sends his head falling back. The motion pushes his curls off of his forehead. I loved when his hair fell on his face. It made him look messy. It made him look more flustered. And the image of him like that made me throb between my legs.
After enough slow-play, I stick out my tongue and take him in my mouth, slowly, reaching as far as I could before I feel him touch my throat. He feels he reached far and he groans. The funny thing is I had taken only half of him. He looks down again, his hairs flying back to his face. His fingers twist around in my hair and tug slightly, almost like he was checking the grip he had on my head.
But I soon found out it wasn't the grip why I thought he wanted it. He held my head in place as he started to rock back and forth. He was using me. Using my mouth to be precise. And he started fucking it. At first it was slow, almost shallow thrusts, reaching where he first did. But as time passed, he became more fierce. He started going deeper, hitting the back of my throat with more force making me gag. My eyes started to water as I had no control over anything. His hand held my head in place as he now almost pounded into my mouth.
As he continued, I could feel him twitch on the top of my mouth. And so did I. I felt my panties dampen with every second that passed. I was horny because my boyfriend, my fiancé, was fucking my throat like it was just something for him to use.
Muffled moans and occasional groans escaped his mouth. He was about to finish. I could easily tell by the increased speed of his thrusts and their force. Finally, he pushed himself almost the whole way, deep into my throat and let himself release there. I gagged pretty hard, trying to keep him down and not throw out his cum.
He pulled himself out and let go of his grip on my hair. His hand slid from behind to my chin and he lifted my face up. He was taking deep and long breaths, his chest falling and rising every time. His eyes scanned me, a fucked mouth, watery eyes and bright red cheeks. Must have been quite a sight.
"Swallow, baby." he said and left his mouth slightly opened, watching as the small bulb went down my throat and he smiled in satisfaction. "Good girl. Your turn."
He bent down and picked me up to carry me to the bed. Back facing the mattress, he climbed on top and roughly kissed me. I loved when he did that. After what I just did, he didn't hesitate to kiss me. He didn't get disgusted to do so. His fingers hooked around the hem of my dress and he pulled it off in one quick motion. I was left in my bra and panties that were already soaking wet. Every time he saw me like that, dressed but not dressed, I'd get shy.
I never liked my body. And yet he worshipped it.
"God, you're so gorgeous." he hovered over me, his eyes trailing over every inch of my body. I shivered from his words that sounded like a prayer. It was half whispers. Like he was afraid that if someone heard what he had, it would be stolen from him.
His lips come down and start kissing my neck, my weak spot. Just the warmth of his kiss makes me moan, eager for more as I buck my hips up towards him. I feel that I caress his cock against my thigh, and as soon as he feels it, he pushes my hips down with his hands.
"Needy, are we?" he chuckles against my skin as he now slowly moves lower and leaves a trail of kisses at my collarbone.
"I hate when you do this." I whine, my fingers roaming through his hair.
"You hate when I kiss you?" he says between kisses, one on my shoulder, one at the base of my neck, one directly in between my breasts.
"No, I-" my words get interrupted when I moan. I feel him smile when he hears me. "I hate when you make me wait. You tease. Every time." I take a deep breath in between every sentence to take in his kisses. As much as I did hate the delay of the actual sex, I loved feeling him everywhere. I didn't know what I wanted more.
He continues kissing, his lips reaching my stomach and he stops. I look down to see him slightly smirking as he is settled just between my legs. I feel shivers. He lets go of my hips and slowly pulls down my panties, sliding his fingers down along my legs in the process. He is continuing to tease me with every touch he leaves on my body.
When I finally think that he is going to stick his tongue at my cunt, I am yet again met with disappointment. He comes over me and trails his hands, slowly, around my back as he keeps looking me in the eyes to catch every whiney face I make as I plead him to fuck me already using no words. But he knows. Oh, he knows that's what I'm asking of him.
He unhooks my bra and I am completely naked. His shirt comes off as he makes us even. Again, I hope that he will now go down. It doesn't have to be his mouth, I'll be happy if he would just stick his fucking fingers into my pussy and rummage through it. But, no. He bends down and kisses my breasts, moving from one to the other. Kissing it, sucking on the nipples, squeezing them with his hands.
If he was kissing and/or sucking the right he would be squeezing the left. There was no space left for me to catch a breath. Then, he bit down on one, just enough to make me squeal. He chuckled with my tit in his mouth. I had enough. I gripped his hair and pulled him up to my face.
"What do you fucking want from me?" I say with a whiney voice. I sounded desperate. I hated it. I loved it, too.
His face had a drunk smile across it. He was enjoying this. My torture was satisfaction for him. Fucking great. "I want you to beg." he said through a whisper. His head was tilted back as I was pulling his hair.
I hated to beg him. Especially to do what I wanted. I knew he knows what I want, but he loves when he makes me break and I have nothing left but to fucking beg him to do the most unholy things to me.
I roll my eyes. "No." I simply say.
He smirks and bucks his hips so his dick slides over my dripping cunt. My entire body arches and he smiles again. "Beg, my love. Use that mouth for something else then a place for me to dump my cum."
That mother fucker. "You assh-" he bucks his hips again and breaks me mid-sentence. I growl at him.
"I don't think that's how begging works. C'mon. Beg me to fuck you. I know you want to."
It was weird hearing him swear. Not just swear, but use vulgar words in general. I used them everyday. It was like saying 'hi' to someone. But Spencer? Noup.
I gave up. I close my eyes and just make peace with my fate. "Please, Spencer."
He bends down and kisses my lips. "You have to be specific, my love. What do you want from me?"
I'm boiling at this point. Do I have a choice? If I want to be fucked, not really. "I want you to fuck me, please me, make me cum. I'm fucking tired of being teased." I practically cry out the last part.
He smirks and I let go of my grip on his hair. He doesn't move, he is still looking me directly in the eyes as he slides one hand down and caresses my inner thigh. He goes over my cunt with his entire hand and I loudly gasp. He watches, enjoys the reactions he gets as he touches me. He brings his hand up and licks his two fingers and then slides them down again.
Baby, you don't need no more moisture, I'm wet enough.
His hand finally connects to my core and he starts making circles around my clit. My body erupts. I no longer have control over my reactions. My eyebrows furrow, my mouth is wide open and it's letting out moans, whines, sounds I didn't even know I could make. And he simply watches. From time to time he would bend down and kiss my neck, maybe even bite down on it, making me buck my entire body up.
"God, you're so fucking wet." he says and starts rubbing up and down my entrance. "You're so pretty. My pretty girl."
I'm melting. Melting into his sinister hands that are touching me in the most horrid ways. And I wouldn't stop him even in a million fucking years.
He slides the fingers in, gently, slowly, caringly. I let out a loud moan, slapping my mouth after I do. Just as I did, his other hand takes my wrist and pulls it off. Holding it, he collects my other hand and pins both of them above my head. "Why would you do that?" he asks. But I don't answer, it's a rhetorical question. "You sound so beautiful when you moan for me. You sound so pretty."
His knuckles are now buried deep inside my pussy and he starts to pump them in and out. When he slides them back in, his thumb hits my clit and he curls his fingers inside just enough to hit that little spot. Every movement he made was followed by that wet sound. I just knew his fingers were drowning in my arousal, and I just knew he was so eager to put his cock inside there too.
He kisses my jaw, my neck, my cheeks. He is enjoying this. Pleasuring someone you truly love is pleasure to you as well. His other hand in on my thigh, pulling it away so he has better access and can slide in deeper then he usually could. In between my own sounds, I can hear him groan whenever I jerk my hips upward and slightly stoke him against my leg.
I want more. Now, I'm just desperate because I don't want to finish now. I want to cum over his cock while he is buried all the way inside. I want him to see that little blub in my stomach appear and disappear as he fucks me.
Like on cue, as if he heard me, he pulls his hand away and climbs the bed again. Pushing my legs fully apart, he aligns himself at my entrance. He pushes, but purposefully jerks himself up so he slides against my clit. I see him place himself on my abdomen as if he is looking how far he goes when he's inside.
"Look at how deep I can bury myself in you, love." he admires and glides his fingers over my skin. He pulls back and leans over to the drawer next to our bed. For a moment he rummages through it. "Shit."
I look over, trying to figure out what was going on. "What is it?"
He pauses and looks at me. "We don't have any condoms."
Well shit.
But I put on my big girl face. "And?"
He looks slightly surprised by my reaction. "No protection?"
I shrug. "What's the worst that can happen?" I smirk, moving myself lower on the bed and connecting myself with him. He really was hard.
He says nothing and just enters. He pushes in with quite a bit of force. I let out a quiet scream at his motion. I still needed time to adjust to his length. But he didn't care. He was already in full force, starting to pick up the pace of his thrusts. His hands go down and wrap around my hips and he uses them to pull me on himself as he continues to pound me.
The room is filled with my whines and moans, the sounds of our hips connecting and slamming against each other, and his groans. I love when he groans. I know he feels good. I make him feel good.
"You're so tight. It's so warm inside." he says through rough groans.
His fingers are diving inside the skin of my hips. I feel pain as he squeezes them. I push the feeling away, I even don't have to. The feeling of his dick hitting my deepest point is strong enough to push it away almost instantly.
The repetitive slamming into me lures my finish to approach. It's forming in my gut and I feel it slowly coming as he continues fucking me mercilessly, rough and fast thrusts.
"I'm gonna cum- Oh, God, Spence." I saw, although I'm not sure how I managed to.
Just as I said that, I felt my climax get at its highest point, and I was about to finish-
He pulls out.
What the fuck?!
"Wha- what are you doing?" I stutter, the high still in the air but it's fading away.
He looks down and has a wicked smile on his face. His cheeks are deep red and his hair is damp from his sweat. "I'm not done with you. Turn around."
I'm mad. Furious. I want to defy him so badly, I want to say 'no', maybe even flip him off. But I want to finish. I was just about to. So I do as I'm told. I prompt myself up and turn around and stand on all fours on the bed. Might I add that this is my favorite position.
I expect him to align himself again and continue to thrust like he did, but he gets off the bed and walks over to the corner of the room. The corner where he keeps his bag for work. I hear a clank before he walks back behind me. He places his hand on my upper back and slightly pushes, indicating for me to lower myself even more. My face and chest lay on the mattress. My ass is now the only thing in the air.
This position gives him more access. I am ready for it to hurt before I can adjust myself to his length again at this angle. Yet again, I don't get what I'm expecting. He takes my wrist and places it behind my back, then the other and connects it with my other one. I hear that clank again. He takes one of my wrists again and puts the metal around it.
It's his fucking cuffs.
He puts his cuffs on and thugs on the chain between them to pull my arms back. He pulls so much that I have to lift myself slightly off the bed. I tremble. Out of excitement. Our of slight fear. Out of horniness, simply.
I feel him bend down and kiss my back. He knows I love that. It feels very intimate to me. He kisses down my spine and then slaps my ass. I yelp, not just by the sudden contact, but also because he slapped it pretty hardly. Not enough to leave a bruise, but it will definitely go red in a few seconds.
"You ready?"
There are certain points in our sex life when he asks, or even simply warns to hold on tight to anything. Since I was obviously restrained, he's asking. That is enough to know this was going to be really good.
"Yeah." I whisper, my face buried back into our bed.
"You know I love you, right?" he whispers again and pushes his tip into my cunt.
My breath trembles since I was still sensitive from the high I missed a few minutes ago. "I know."
"Good. Because for the next few minutes it might not look like I do."
He didn't give me time to respond. He slammed himself inside, making me scream out. This was enough for the neighbors to hear. He started thrusting. I still wasn't adjusted to this position, and his cock was hitting from a new angle that allowed much better access. I felt pain. But, God, was it good. My eyes started watering from the pain as I couldn't take it. I prayed that my pussy would stretch just slightly so I could take him a bit easier.
After a short while, I did. The slight pain was still there. It couldn't really go away from the force he was driving himself in. And then it happened. He slapped my ass again. It was a strong slap. His hand was big enough to cover my entire cheek. I yelp at the sudden pain.
As he continues to thrust, I feel him occasionally twitch. That can mean only one thing. He is about to cum again. Just when I realize that, he speeds up. He pulls on the cuffs and makes me get up from the bed. He's pulling hard enough to hold me in the air.
He hits again, going back to squeeze after. I feel the slight burn of his slaps. Another one connects to my skin and with it I feel that high again. I don't want it to escape again, so I bend slightly so he feels me letting him slide even deeper.
Spencer quickly realizes what I'm trying to tell him, but there's not much left before I feel him hammer himself once, then again, just as I feel my climax release. I scream out, and I feel him empty himself inside.
It takes him a few seconds to calm down before he lets me fall down on the bed again. I'm a fucking mess. He takes off the cuffs and places my hands on my sides before he bends down and removes my hair from the back of my neck and kisses in that spot.
"My perfect girl." he cooed. "You're so fucking special."
I breathe deeply. "Well..." I begin as he lays down next to me. "That was fun." I feel his cum drip down out of my cunt.
He chortles. "That's one way to put it."
I was about to marry this man. I loved every inch of him. Every version there was of him. There was nothing that could take that away from me.
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